4 years

Todd, usually I write to Josie or Hank, but today I write to you.

The last four years have brought the purchase of our first home, 

a few burnt dinners (only early on, of course), 

plenty of house projects, 

many notes left on the dry erase board, 

several road trips,

two beautiful little ones, 

lots of laughter, 

luckily just a little heartache,

and so much growth.

Together, we have grown so much since that hot June day four years ago.

Although lately our days consist mostly of cheerios, Dora, 

tutu's, diapers and super, duper early mornings, 

I am still captivated by your smile and melt at your touch. I really do.

Happy Anniversary, Toddie. 

Here's to us!

tall, dark and handsome

Hank, you are a typical 4 month old. 

With your weight and height above the 90th percentile, 

skin tanner than both of your parents, 

and a sparkle in your eye whenever you smile, 

you in fact are a typical 4 month old: Tall, Dark and Handsome. 

I mean, really. Are you kidding me? 

And to think, I worried whether I could love another little one 

as much as I have and continue to love Josie. 

Here's what I discovered:

In parenthood, love grows exponentially. 

With everyday. 

With every sweet snuggle and miraculously, 

with every two-year-old tantrum. It grows.

Hank, at four months, this is what we know about you: 

You are king of the exer-saucer, mastering this skill with your mega-baby strength.

You reach for toys and have craft-fully mastered the art of holding a rattle.

You LOVE pulling your sister's hair 

And probably your mama's hair too, but I've learned from experience, 

and now I'm quick to outmaneuver you.

You are slightly afraid of balloons 

But honey, I don't blame you.

 Those colorful, massive round floating things are a bit scary.

And through that experience, 

we learned that your lips curl into an adorable little frown when you are startled.

You are VERY chatty.

You can sleep upright while dangling from the baby Bjorn. Anytime, anywhere.

And lastly, 

you still love, love, love everyone you meet.

GQ Magazine asked if they could use this picture for their June center-fold. 

I think you still might be a little young for GQ. Maybe next month. :-)

And here we are, celebrating another milestone.

Watching you and your big sister grow has been and will continue to be 

a truly amazing and inspiring journey.

You guys can make this mama,
who sometimes feels frazzled and overwhelmed by motherhood,
feel like I can climb mountains.

Because I've discovered
that it's not just the unconditional love from your daddy and I
that is shared between us,
but it is the unconditional love that you two continue to pour back into us.
I love that. 

Happy 4 month birthday to you, my sweet little boy! 

thank you

Josie, Hank (and Daddy, too), thank you for a sweet Mother's Day. 

A homemade card (I love the concentration, baby girl) that daddy showed you how to make. 

And if you've ever received a handmade card from my darling husband, 

you know exactly what I mean. 

Who cares if you're running late to church?

 When your two-year-old SWEETLY asks you to paint her finger nails, 

there's always time for a little impromptu pampering. 

We ended up not being late at all and had time for a few 

sweet smiles and kisses before leaving for church.

Brunch, playing in the sprinkler, nap, out to eat for dinner and 

then cake and ice cream to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday. 

Kind of the perfect day.

Josie and Hank, you made Mother's Day perfect for me. 

Not perfect in the sense that everything ran smoothly, 

but perfect in the sense that I got to spend the day with you two.

Motherhood isn't anything that I had expected, 

but it is already everything I had hoped for.

And it's all because of you, my darling little stinkers, I mean, angels. :-)

The Third Month

Hank, our second month together brought your first smile. 

I wasn't sure if I could fall more in love. That was, until during this third month when I heard you laugh. Not a giggle, not a chuckle, but a big, loud, belly laugh. 

And ever since that first moment, I don't think you've ever stopped laughing.  

Your favorite things this month include staring at your hands, sitting in your bumbo chair, and of course, laughing. 

Laughing often and hard. 

You make me feel like the funniest mama in the world. 

Here we are celebrating your third month birthday. 

With a pink cupcake. A pink cupcake in which I cannot be blamed. 

Daddy brought it home. 

Apparently it was the only one left at the bakery. 

Daddy quickly put in a request for "boy colored" sprinkles, which apparently did not include purple or orange. Luckily I had green. :-) 

Here are a few other fun things I want to remember about our these first few months.
Hank, when you are getting full towards the end of a feeding,
you lift your arms high above your head as if you're signaling a feeling full touchdown.
The life of a baby, so simple and honest.

And since everyone we meet thinks you are at least 6 months old, it is only fitting that you're already growing out of baths in the kitchen sink. However, it is still my favorite place to bathe you. Probably because I get you all to myself for at least 5-6 minutes. :-)

Let's not forget to talk about you and big sister. 

As you can see, you're really into snuggling up for movie night with Josie...

...and listening to her read books. I love when you smile at Josie. It's maybe my favorite part of the day.

We're still getting to know our sweet little boy and from what we can tell so far, we cannot imagine how we ever lived without him. Here's an Oreo cheers to the greatest three months a family could ask for.

The second month

Hank, here are a few highlights from your second month.

You smiled. A baby's first smile is monumental. I had seen your smile before when you were itty bitty, when it was brought on by your tootie fruities (Which you got from your father. And for some reason, I feel that if I call them something light hearted, then they won't smell as bad. It's not really working).  Anyway, back to that smile. I was captivated. One little smile and my heart melted. Completely melted.  

Another highlight is the first bath you took with Josie. She was SO distracted by the part that makes you different than her. She giggled and pointed until I finally covered you with a wash cloth. After that, she was back to washing her doll, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Further to report at two months, I can already say you are one happy baby. Always smiling. Always showing off that one little dimple on your left cheek. *sigh* Heartbreaker.

I love watching you and Josie together. She is hilarious around you. She's learning to be really gentle. Well, except for that one time she thought you were trying to steal her cracker. Holy moly.

And I'm pretty sure Josie still thinks your full and official name is Baby Brother Hank. 

All in all, an absolutely perfect second month. I love watching you learn and discover new things. I'm looking forward to so many more baby firsts...first laugh...first rattle shake and most importantly, first full night's sleep!!!!!

Getting Ready for Easter

In an effort to teach my little Josie about Easter, I bought a children's book. A book in which she has had no interest in since I bought it 3 weeks ago. I don't blame her. Who wants to read a book when you can overflow the bathroom sink, color all over the dining room wall or stand watching TV two inches away from the screen?

This morning, during breakfast, I took advantage of Josie's brief attention span to read her the Easter book. As I showed her cartoon pictures of Jesus' life, I tried to explain the story in a way a two year old could understand. Keeping it simple, I told Josie that Jesus loves us, that He's our friend and that He died for us so we could live in heaven with Him someday. 

When I told Josie that Jesus loves us, she responded, in utter excitement and enchanting disbelief, as if she had won the lottery, "Jesus loves ME?" I smiled. And a sweet second question followed. Josie asked, "And Jesus loves baby brother Hank?'

Yes, my sweet little girl, Jesus loves you and your baby brother Hank. 

It's that simple.

And of course, no Easter conversation is complete without talking about the Easter Bunny. :-)

Happy Good Friday!!

Remember to remember

Josie, I want to remember every little thing about you. Except, I realized just the other day, how easy it is to forget. You change so much every day.

Here's something I forgot. When you were six months old, we discovered the "wrist dance". When you were excited, you danced with your wrists by twisting them into little circles. You did this all the time. So much, that I never thought I needed to remember it.

When you started crawling, you stopped doing the wrist dance. And when you stopped doing it, I stopped remembering. It wasn't until I picked up your baby book the other day, that I even remembered what the wrist dance was. I had completely forgotten. It's just really hard to remember you being anything other than who and what you are today.

Because of that, I need to make a point to remember. Remember all the cute, adorable, crazy and sometimes absurd things you do. At every stage in life. I just don't want to forget.

That's why we have this blog. So we can remember. Remember our life together. Because all of these little memories make us who we are today.

So my darling Josie, at almost two and a half years old, these are some of the things I want to remember about you...

I want to remember your first time on roller skates. And how you didn't need me to teach you how to use them. And in fact, when I tried to help you, you quickly let me (and the entire skating rink) know how horrible of an idea you thought that was.

And here's something else, I want to remember how at one point, you slept with 7 stuffed animals. A cat, a dog, two bunnies, a monkey, a bear and my personal favorite, a Strawberry Shortcake doll. Each animal has an assigned place in your bed. They must be lined up and then strategically covered by the blanket before you lay down to sleep. If this processed is rushed, well, let's just say we've added an extra twenty minutes to bedtime to avoid what happens when you are rushed. :-)

I also want to remember how we sometimes find you asleep looking like this...

Another thing, I want to remember that whenever the KU fight song is played, we would always find you, pom poms in hand, dancing your little heart out. Outside of your father, you may be the biggest Jayhawk fan I know.

And lastly, Josie, I want you to know how much I love when you say, "Mommy you're so funny. And daddy's funny too." I love you smile at me when we're playing and say things like, "this is so fun." and "mommy, we're together." I love when you "cheers" us at least fifty times during each meal and if I put my cup back down without drinking first, you sternly remind me to "take a drink." I love how you request to wear your tutu daily and how "Dancing With the Stars" could quite possibly be your favorite thing to watch (outside of Santa Clause is Coming to Town and Frosty the Snowman). 

As I said, this is my attempt to remember. I know you won't always be the way you are today. In some ways, I'm sad because my sweet little girl is growing up. But on the other hand, I'm thankful because maybe some day down the road, "me do it" is not a phrase I hear all....day....long. :-)