Back-Logged

Photos get stuck on my phone far longer than I intend. There are tears to wipe, summer's dirty feet to wash, smiles to savor, tantrums to weather, eggs to gather, cuddles to linger in, herbs to weed, and more moments to cherish with these two sweet boys.

I *believe* these photos span since just before Memorial Day weekend.

 Owen tried the jumper for the first time and LOVES it! If he's awake enough, I can normally catch a span of time to work in the kitchen while he twirls and drools in this thing. After he's been in it a while, the floor has to be wiped because it's almost covered in drool puddles ;)

 We went to my parents' home for the Strawberry Festival, as seen in a previous blog. Here are the photos I took on my phone. Grumps and Owen smiles.

 Aunt Phoebe holding hands with Owen.

 Ian playing in the yard and on the porch with Papa & James.

 More Owen & Grumps smiles!

 Äma pulled out this set of blocks she's had since before Ian was born and he went to town building! What fun to watch his imagination and engineering sense take off!

 It's serious business. Someone's gotta do it.

 We returned home for our little family vacation. We spent time around the house, went to Claytor Lake, the aquatic center, had breakfast with friends and lots of babies, and to Pandapas Pond and then to our favorite restaurant for brunch.

 It's so fun to watch the boys interact. They LOVE each other so much. Just look at Owen's eyes as he watches Ian play and listen to Ian softly talk to Owen about things. Life around here is certainly not always perfect, but the interactions between these two are pretty close.

 I love this picture.

 We've started having bath time with the two of them. Both of them really seem to enjoy it!

 Crazy hair is the name of the game for me. Life's a mess and full of spit-up, loud running feet, and diaper changes. It's also full of gaping smiles, sighs of comfort, and song-singing. Who needs tidy hair?

Life! 

These two goofballs....

 Owen's rolled over from his belly to his back after waking up, but has only done it a handful of times. He can often be found like he is in the picture below. As soon as he gets the urge, there will be no stopping him!

So crazy about these little guys. Their zest and zeal for life and love. Life with them is incredibly full, tiring, and wonderful.

Sweet Relief

For the first time ever, I left Ian overnight. Actually, it was for three nights. I dropped him off at a friend's house (Thanks, Mary L!!!) and made the drive to Topsail Island, North Carolina. My mom was coming later that night to watch Ian and Jim was in the middle of a super busy rotation, but was able to do bath time with Ian most nights.

I spent the weekend with four other friends at our friend Joi's spectacular beach house. We got in late and pretty much just hit the sack. I woke up to this view in the morning, after waking up in my own time and at my own pace. What a glorious blessing.

 Their house has a 360 degree view of the inter-coastal waterways. A-mazing. This is where I tried paddle-boarding for the first time and went kayaking with a dear friend (Nicky) I haven't seen for over a year.

 We spent time on the beach. Walking, beach-combing (I found my first shark tooth!), chatting, and reading. On the last night, Nicky and I even went swimming as the sun started to set! We were surrounded by the beautiful pinks and purples of the sky reflecting off the water. It was spectacular. Though the weather at home was frigid, the beach was warm and inviting.

 We ate out one night and went to a fabulous local bakery, but otherwise stayed near the cabin. I love the detailing of their ceiling... it's slats from old porches, but it gives the feel of a ship. So neat.

 Nicky and I were a bit too cold after swimming to see the sunset, so we hopped into the hot tub. But, I did still catch this image after getting out of the tub! Oh, and this was before a full-body massage. Life was hard.

 The next morning, it was time for me to again hit the road. Farewell, for now, Topsail!!

 I returned to a happy boy and Äma! Apparently they had an absolutely wonderful time and Ian barely cried. He talked about how I'd be right back but never got too upset. My mom's exact words were: "I had so much fun!" Wooo!! Win-win :)

I felt like a whole new woman, wife, and mama. The trip did wonders.

The next day I had a follow-up ultrasound for our sweet baby. I didn't get the results right away and was a bit frustrated by the whole experience. Fortunately, though I was teary and flustered, Ian reminded me of the simple joys of life by facilitating play time in the leaves!!! It was a blast and he had me laughing.

Ian: "Where Ian go?"
Me: "I don't know. Where did Ian go?"
Ian: Giggle.
Me: "Is he under the trampoline?"
Ian: "Noooo."
Me: "Is he in the garden?"
Ian: "Noooo."
Me: "Is he in the chicken coop?"
Ian: "In da leeeeeaves!!!!"

So much fun, that kid.

Even still, last night was quite difficult and full of tears and scary research. This morning I continued to twiddle my thumbs waiting for answers. This afternoon the phone finally rang saying that all was perfect and that the baby is perfect!!!

Whew!! So, so relieved. I think it's time to play in the leaves again. This time, I won't be nearly as distracted and weepy!

And let's channel the relaxed woman that returned from the beach on Sunday ;)

Happy Summer!

I can finally say those two words because it's FINALLY summer. The solstice came and went last weekend and we celebrated with going to the Summer Solstice Festival in Blacksburg.

But really, we've been celebrating summer for a couple of weeks now, it seems. It's been quite hot and Ian's body weight has been mostly consisting of watermelon for the last month or so.

 With short hikes with friends, time at the pool, play dates, chicken-visiting, and playing with Leif, we've kept quite busy.

It never quite feels like summer until I've been to The Pinery and that happens NEXT WEEK! Ian and I will be there to visit with my parents, brother, and my uncle and his family from Washington state. I cannot wait to meet my newest cousins and to see Ian enjoying the river in all its glory.

Stay-cation

We normally have difficulty balancing relaxation with trying to fit as much as we can into a vacation. Even on our honeymoon, we tried to cram as many things as we could into our time on St. John. There's this added pressure to do and see, when we know that we have limited time to do so. But, after our most recent vacation I can say that we ARE getting better about this. 

And Ian's been a good lesson for us in picking and choosing activities for each day. We know his/our peak hours and are guaranteed a period of calm in the afternoon while he takes a nap.

Partly because we had just gone to Europe and partly because we just wanted to chill at home and enjoy our area, we decided to take our first, purposeful and declared "stay-cation." To us, the definition of a stay-cation means that you remain in your own home and surrounding area. It also means that you are, in fact, on vacation, and therefore are unable to attend the normal activities or meetings that arise because you are "gone." That, in itself, is freeing.

About one week before our stay-cation started, Jim and I were sitting in a coffee shop while Ian napped in the stroller. We decided to take advantage of the time we had to discuss his upcoming time off and what we both hoped to get out of the time. We drew up a list of activities we'd like to do and listed the days in which certain activities had to be done, but then left it open for changes. We agreed that we'd like to know our plans for the next day ahead of time, so we could be prepared/packed for what's to come. 

The most important thing about this vacation, for both of us, was that it was completely Ian-centered. While Ian did a phenomenal job in Germany & Switzerland, we didn't always tailor our days to things that would be enriching to him. We wanted this vacation to be different.

FRIDAY Evening: We started the vacation off by having one of our favorite couples and their daughter over for dinner. 

SATURDAY: Then they invited us over for breakfast (venison sausage & pancakes) and working in their garden the next day. This set a good tone to our week.

That evening we had a potluck to attend at another friends' home with a bunch of friends.

SUNDAY: We prepped for and got our chickens!!!

MONDAY: We took Jim to storytime with us!! There weren't as many people there, which was kind of nice. It was neat to show Jim one of Ian's favorite times of the week. He enjoys the books, songs, getting to shake the bells, and then the finale with the bubbles at the end!

After story time there is a play time. As you can see, Jim was Ian's main play mate that day!!

Next we went to Gillies for a delicious lunch and then on a walk to see the cows. Fortunately, Ian woke up from his nap just in time to see his one of his favorite animals.

Then we hit tractor supply, to get something for the chickens. We always stop and spend some time pretending to drive the gator!!

Finally we made it home and spent the rest of our day watching our chickens, who were hiding under the coop!!!

TUESDAY: Ian & I went to La Leche League in the morning, while Jim worked on things he needed to at home. That afternoon we headed to Pandapas Pond, which turned out to be an awesome place to take a toddler!! We hadn't been in forever, but we'll be going more often now.

WEDNESDAY: We went to The Cascades!! Our favorite family hike.

This dude was one happy hiker.

He hiked more than half of the steepest part of the trail, which is more than a mile. Proud parents.

That night Jim and I had a little date night out. Thanks, Kristy, for watching Ian for us!! We are so grateful :)

For the first time since Ian was born, I would spend the entire night without him for a whole week. Jim took over the night shift and got Ian sleeping mostly through the night!! Here's a well-rested mama and child. Thanks, Hon!

THURSDAY: We went to the aquatic center and played and played!! Then we went to our town's first farmer's market afternoon!!

While Jim worked on building rabbit hutches, Ian and I enjoyed time with the chickens and snacks outside.

FRIDAY: We headed to the best park in the area to play for a while in the morning. Then it was time for Ian's second music class!! It was really neat to bring Jim. Ian remembered a few things from the first class and surprised us.

That night we headed to Floyd for a cookout with friends. In the distance you can see Ian on Jim's shoulders in this picture. They are walking to the pond on the property.

SATURDAY: We had a potluck and invited a bunch of friends!! Christine came into town to stay for a few days.

SUNDAY: Mother's Day! I slept in, Jim made breakfast, we went to the vintage market at the farmer's market location in Blacksburg, ate lunch at Gillies, walked The Huckleberry and visited the cows, came home and watched our chickens, and ate a delicious dinner cooked over the fire.

This "stay-cation" was the best and only one we've ever had. Both of us kept commenting on how relaxing and pleasant it was. I'm glad we set the expectations ahead of time and kept to them. We all were the better for it.