Hazy Shade of Winter

So we're deep into winter right now. While we haven't had a lot of snow yet this year, the weather has been cold and windy. The shortage of snow unfortunately hasn't meant a shortage of germs this season. Stomach bugs are running rampant (I am currently living in fear of the familiar sound of Brody-vomit that always seems to strike at 2am). Grammie has been quarantined to her place so we can try to avoid the week long fever and two week cough that she is recovering from. JJ is seriously missing his Grammie time! I hear that poor little Matthew has pneumonia and it sounds like Drew and Meggie aren't too much better. Ryan has had a cold since November it seems, and the little boys in the house have runny noses and barking, chesty coughs that just won't go away. I think Sampson even had a sniffle this morning and I heard several sneezes out of Tucker last night. I'll take sniffles and coughs over the alternatives any day, but springtime and weather warm enough to open the windows and get rid of all these germs seems so far away right now! I am praying that our little groundhog friend doesn't see his shadow this week...I just can't stand the thought of another long winter.

Ryan and I have been day dreaming about selling the house, packing up the kids and moving to San Diego.  Sounds nice right about now doesn't it?! Even if there are still germs in San Diego, being sick in the sunshine just seems way better than being sick under dreary winter skies that are spitting freezing rain at you. Of course we're not serious (I don't think), but the warm thoughts help us to get through the rest of the season.


While we've enjoyed the lack of snow for not having to plow the driveway or shovel or fear losing power too often, it has not helped our cabin fever. We said that we were going to get outside this winter and got Brody ice skates, a new sled, and snowshoes for Christmas. We are not a downhill skiing family (which our kids will some day hate us for when all of their friends go skiing together), but I'm grateful for that right now because the thought of my kids racing down snowy mountains scares the bejeezus out of me...and also because taking a family of four skiing for a day costs a fortune! Anyway, we were planning on having some winter adventures in the snow this year to make the long winter more bearable, but alas...no real snow to play in.

So instead, we've been playing inside. Jameson is crawling now and into everything. Despite all of his colorful, noisy, age appropriate, chew safe toys, he far prefers Sampson's slobber covered dog toys and the tiny pieces of Brody's transformers and legos. So after spending a small fortune on Jameson-proof plastic bins and drilling it into Brody's head that his brother will die if he doesn't put his small toys into said bins (I have no idea why my children are so dramatic!), we are learning to entertain a 4 year old and a 10 month old in the same play spaces. It's exhausting really, but flipping adorable.  Have a look!

We turned part of the play nook into a pillow pit. Brody is into wrestling and JJ is into testing gravity, so this is a perfect place for both of them. Of course we have to remind Brody often that his brother is still too little to wrestle...actually, we have to remind Jameson of that too!

I'm not sure what this face is, but those of you who have attempted taking photos of children will understand that sometimes this is the best shot you can get!

 

Someone is pretty proud of themselves for standing up at the ottoman! This was a few weeks ago now and he's got it mastered.

Irresistible...need I say more?

This was Brody's one attempt so far at snowshoeing. With only a couple inches of snow, he wasn't really impressed.

And we've been doing a whole bunch of this...Jameson trying to play and banging stuff around and Brody letting him know that he's not doing it right and showing him the "right way" to play with everything. He is such an oldest child.

Thankfully Jameson is a relatively happy second child and doesn't mind his older brother's bossiness...yet!

Hope everyone is staying healthy and finding their own ways to enjoy the winter!

Is it really possible?

Am I really about to start planning your first birthday?

I vowed before you were born that I would do my best to be present for each and every moment of your first year (and beyond) because I knew from your brother just how quickly it all goes by. Blink.Of.An.Eye kind of quick. And for the most part, I have kept my vow...even during the difficult up every two hours to nurse and infant reflux and the heartbreak of having to leave you with your nanny and go to work and the beyond heartbreak of you wanting to stay with your nanny instead of come to me at the end of the day - I'm still recovering from that one, but such is the life of a working mother.

I have tried to burn every moment and every emotion into my brain...better than that, into my senses (my brain has become a less reliable organ for memory recall since your birth). The smell of fresh diapers, the fluff of your hair against my cheek as you lay your head on my shoulder all fresh and clean, dried and wrapped up in your feety pajamas after the tub. I have watched as your tiny fingers, wrapped around mine, pudged up and dimples formed on your knuckles. I have watched you...every minute of you, gaining confidence, finding your style, finding your voice. I have watched you admire your brother, feed your sippy cup to the dog, attempt to eat the cat. I have watched you learn to do so many things. All because, well, that is what mothers do. We gaze at our children in wonder at the amazing and perfect things that you do every day. And also because you are my last baby. You are my last.

Still what I can't believe is that, even though I have been present and in the moment since your birth, the year is simply flying by. This first year of my last baby is nearly over. And we all know that once you're a year old, you're really not a "baby" anymore. You are your own little man. You are brave and bold and persistent with very little patience and I fear (and am simultaneously immensely proud) that once you put on those walking shoes and start running around, that you will never look back.

And so my sweet, vocal boy, please forgive me if in the next two months I snuggle you extra close. If I hold on to you for an extra breath to inhale your sweet baby smells before they all too quickly turn into little boy smells. Forgive me if try to rock you when you want to fall asleep on your own. Forgive me if I try to help you when you can do it yourself.

Someday you will understand how fast a year goes...how fast a baby grows.

xo - Mama

New Things...

This new year has brought a couple of new things to our house.

First, Jameson L-O-V-E-S teething biscuits with all of this little heart. Only problem is this little guy has a champion gag reflex. If even the littlest piece breaks off, he acts like someone stuck their finger down his throat. So, while it brings me much anxiety to have to supervise these noshing sessions, they bring him so much joy that I can't resist giving them to him. I'm once again becoming proficient at throat sweeping, and am counting the days until I stop nursing and can self-medicate with a nice big glass of vino to help me chill out!

And then Brody started doing something new and interesting in the new year as well. Thankfully he is only 4 and he doesn't read this blog because I'm about to post a very embarrassing picture of him. I was going to try to come up with a story as a lead in here, but there are just no words. I knew he was in the bathroom the other day, and when the minutes kept ticking by and I hadn't heard a flush, I went to check on him.  This is what I found.When I asked him what he was doing he told me he was "Just reading a catalog"! I love this kid!

Holidays and All that Jazz

I realize that this post is a little late in the season, but let's just say we're still recovering from the holidays and haven't quite fallen back into the groove of a regular routine yet. We had a marathon holiday season this year. We were able to see all of our family and spend some much needed time with our boys. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy...

Jameson is sitting up by himself now and is scooting and crawling backwards. He gets incredibly frustrated when he sees something that he wants in front of him and tries to get it, only to crawl backwards and get farther away. He'll get the hang of it in the next couple of weeks and then look out!

He's pretty fond of his own reflection!

Little donkey head asleep in the car.

Brody helped me make the pies this year for Christmas. He is becoming an expert baker.

He wanted to "cook" something all his own, so he went to town with some flour and sprinkles. I'm not quite sure what the expression is on his face, but I think he thinks he's being sneaky with the ingredients!

We celebrated with the Joneses on Christmas Eve morning at my parent's house. It's amazing how well behaved children will be when they are waiting to open presents!

"The Jones Center for Exceptional Grandchildren"

Some cool little boy superhero toy...

And this year was Jameson's year of paper...much more exciting than the gift itself!

Well, maybe not. Although he doesn't look very excited in this picture, he thought climbing all over his new anywhere chair was pretty cool!

We spent the afternoon with the Desmarais's.

Hmmm...despite the look on his face, I'm not sure Kev was too excited about the snow man bowls.

Mimi and JJ.

Mimi, Pa, and JJ

Christmas morning at our house. Is anyone else done opening presents at their house before the sun rises? I'm serious, anyone? 

I have no words for this picture...love!

Jameson didn't really know what all the excitement was about, but he joined right in.

Love this face. He's wondering why his brother is trying to take all of his fun wrapping paper away.

And this is what we call him megamind...look at the size of that forehead! It's partly the angle of the camera, but mostly the shape of his head. This kid has some good brains in there!

And these two, born a month apart, are totally in cahoots. Lots of people think that rotties, as a breed, are aggressive dogs, but I think it's a dog thing, not a breed thing. I've seen labs and goldens with far less patience for children. Sampson loves the attention that Jameson gives him and is gentle and protective of him...as long as, in return, Jameson lets him lick his toes and feeds him puffs under the table!

And later Christmas morning (I told you it was a marathon), we headed over to Hopkinton to see the Jones family and have ourselves a little swap.

My Gram!

Brody and Pa.

The next morning, the McCarthy family came over to our house to celebrate. We had a delicious breakfast/brunch spread and many, many little feet dancing through the house. I'm hoping that someone else took some pictures of the morning because Ryan and I had our hands full making sure Sampson was well-behaved (he still gets excited when new people come to the house), and taking turn helping Jameson stand. Ever since he got a taste of being on his feet, the kid hasn't wanted to sit down.

Side note: Sampson the Wonder Dog did exceptionally well with a house full of people. He just wanted to sniff everyone out quickly and then be allowed to lie down in the middle of the action. And then of course, he wanted to go up to Jan's to visit with his gal-pal Sydney, Pat & Evelyn's dog!

And because that wasn't enough...that evening Brody and I finally had a chance to build his gingerbread house. Brody did all of the decorating and, apparently some tasting of the frosting!

And then...when the kids went to bed, I found three minutes to myself to enjoy a moment of peace and calm and think about this amazing family we have created.

 

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and is enjoying the New Year!