by gillian claire: June 2013

SOCIAL MEDIA

6.22.2013

happy things.

life has been very stressful for me lately. 
which makes me sad because in and of itself, selling most of our belongings, packing up the suv and moving out west with my family are totally things that i have hoped and dreamed of. i always long for adventure. and this is a good chance for change and for new. a good chance to dust off bad habits and replenish my soul,
our souls.
so although all of this change and new and the work that needs to be done to get there seems understandably stressful on the surface, i just didn't expect to feel this way.
.
but alas this is how it is with life. i can't always, or ever, expect things to go as i wish them to. 
it's just the natural ebb and flow of life. sometimes things feel like too much, but at the same time as i am trying to bury my head under the covers, there are so many other people dealing with their own "too much" as well.
.
having said that, today is a good day for many reasons.
i took the chance to spend time in the yard with my eager little explorer - ash. he soaked in the attention and slowly and carfully focused on all of his favorite things - checking for the bird in the bird's nest, holding my hand and saying, "go on a walk", searching for and then chasing the birds, hiding behind a tree and peeking out at me, asking me to pick him up and hold him over and over again.
calmed by his sweet meaningful baby rituals, i laid down in the grass and clover and my little blonde wonder laid down on top and sunk his little head into my chest.
and as i held onto his little body, i looked up into the trees and the little piece of sky that is still home for now, and i breathed in a good long breath of peace.
i haven't taken the chance to breathe like that in too, too long.
.
it felt so good.
life is good. 
and i want to share a little bit of the good from my life lately:
IMG_2252
a boy who always stops to smell the flowers, whether they be the pink roses sticking out from the fence on our walk or the fake flowers on display outside the dollar store.

IMG_2350constantly finding a trail of mischief, and we always know it will lead to ash.
IMG_2354
IMG_2384
a new little basketball star in the family. and those little leather bear shoes with stripes socks and a onesie? i'm holding onto those baby things as tightly as i can for now:)
IMG_2262summer finally peeking out to say hello.
IMG_2571IMG_3005-2photographing other people. oh how i dread the editing process, but the basking in the results part is always so worth it.
IMG_2405and these boys. enough said.

We Are A Top Baby Blog
6.17.2013

brothers.

brothers.

during the turmoil that was today - aaron reminded me that,
"nothing lasts forever."
it's true that someday soon, asher and roman will be able to play together more nicely. i have no doubt that these two boys will be partners in their imagination and will have all sorts of joyful play together for a stretch of many years. 
but today? today, i am happy to have a 5 year old and an almost 2 year old.
i love that i can still plop them up on the cement blocks at the end of our driveway and take pictures of them.
i feel lucky that they are still so small and so cute,
and i know that by having each other, they are learning lots and lots about love.
IMG_2419-2IMG_2423 We Are A Top Baby Blog
6.07.2013

happy friday!

IMG_0516IMG_1280
it's friday!
i stumbled across these two sweet brother moments in my photo library, sigh :)
this morning i woke up before anyone, and uncharacteristically decided it would be so nice to just grab the computer and go lay on the couch by myself for a little bit. so i did, but of course after about 1.5 minutes both of my little boys scampered down and joined me. i didn't mind; we just lazed about and ate a bag of "pirate popcorn" together for breakfast. a good start to the day, no?
.
 since then, it's just been an older brother playing with tin foil balls,
a little brother wrestling with mama,
couscous + mangoes for lunch,
feeling thankful for a bathtub that actually drains
(we finally got it fixed after emptying it with buckets for weeks)
and laundry that is actually clean
(our washer is slowly dying and i finally decided to do some laundry at my sister in law's)
ahh.
all the while sorting through things here and there, adding to the garage sale and trash pile.
it is very freeing although i was a little sad to finally pitch the perscription bottles leftover from asher's birth and the paints i used to always use when roman was a baby,
good, good memories. :)
.
my post about shopping clearance on spearmint baby this week!
.
vote for me today?

We Are A Top Baby Blog
6.06.2013

beautiful mama award.

IMG_2233IMG_2326okay, i am usually so not into the blog award thing. i'm super picky and mostly like to journal about my sons. but when sarah from our journey nominated me a while back for the beautiful mama award, i thought it looked simple enough and it was about being a mama after all, so i'm finally giving it a try :)


{ a few mamas i'd like to nominate }
.
jenn from these ripples and waves
michelle from dancey pants bebe
sally from nothing isn't nothing
hannah from little words & little pictures
.
What to do:
1. Use the above image in your acceptance post.
2. List 3 things you love most about motherhood.
3. Nominate as many other deserving mamas as you'd like!
.
{ 3 things i love about motherhood }


1. i love the simple everyday joys of having little ones. my favorite times are when music is playing in the background and i'm organizing or cleaning something around the house while the boys are jumping on the beds or running past me in the midst of a game they are playing. i actually love to organize and they love to play of course, and i just love when we are enjoying simple things around the house while keeping each other company.
.
2. i love getting out and exploring with my boys. when roman was little, i always took him places and i loved having that little boy always with me at the mall or the park or the thrift store. having him tag along made everything seem like a new and fun adventure. my adventures have significantly slowed down with asher in the past year, but i still love when we all get out and do something together. doing anything with little people is an adventure when you view it through their eyes. i am so looking forward to our road trip this summer and being able to explore so many new things with my family. there are many adventures in store for these little boys in the coming year!
.
3. i love building the story of each of my boys. i love all of the little memories that i have to tuck away and take with me as they grow. i often tell roman little stories of his life, like when he was born and was a “purple baby” and how he cried and cried until i finally held him and he wanted to have milk right away. i love being able to share these memories with him and i do the same with asher even thought he is still so little and doesn't fully understand. these memories will always be a part of their lives whether or not they are recorded or always remembered and i love being a part of their story. ;)
  .
We Are A Top Baby Blog
6.05.2013

my five year old right now.

IMG_2448logo
this photo kills me because roman fabulously struck this pose in a split second, mid-sentence, when i said "smile!" and then he just went along his way. ;)
 roman is growing, growing, growing, and when i look at him sometimes lately, i cannot believe how big he is. i'm trying to tell myself that my children growing is a blessing and not a curse. and it is. the world is just turning and turning all the while these boys are changing and growing and blooming more and more into who they are as people. and i am lucky and blessed to be right there watching them unfold in my hands.
.
roman right now:
inquisitive, curious and thoughtful as ever, spending lots of time thinking and asking questions and saying things like, "i have a hypothesis."
he is very deliberate and puts much thought into his words. he has an ever expanding vocabulary and an interest in words and i love when he says things like, "i admit it." then thinks and says, "what does admit mean?"
he is very creative and always inventing games. he focuses on a certain game or certain "thing" and plays it to no end and then moves on.
he loves organizing and putting his "things" into ziploc bags.
last night, we drove home from visiting my family and roman spent over an hour thinking about things like hello kitty, and why there is a hole at the park and then he would chatter away about how, "maybe miners made the hole, but there isn't a mine there but maybe there used to be." and aaron loved how he kept saying, "and daddy, daddy..."
is sweet, sweet, sweet as ever and does things like yesterday when he took a picture of my feet and then said, "i took a picture of your feet so you could see how beautiful they are."
he sings to his little brother, calls him "ashey" and says that he is "lovely."
.
oh, roman.
so much love for this five year old of mine who told me, appropriately,
"mom, you better enjoy every minute of me being five, because next year i think i am going to be six!"
.

We Are A Top Baby Blog
6.04.2013

puddles, rocks + other adventures.

IMG_2243
i attempted to get some good twenty-two month photos of asher the other night.
however, it turned into more of a splashing through puddles, rock throwing, bird chasing adventure, which happens a lot around here.
maybe another day i'll get those more "perfect" photos, but i love these as well and they definitely capture asher's true personality and zest for life. :)
IMG_2198IMG_2108IMG_2105IMG_2174IMG_2177IMG_2172We Are A Top Baby Blog
6.03.2013

bath time beauty.

IMG_1992-5FINALlogo
our little bath time beauty :)
i love when i get a chance to spend a quiet moment alone with ash. 
like this night; asher played in the bath - quietly pouring a cup of water, splashing it down his face and then carefully rubbing his eyes with the towel i gave him. 
and all the while, i just tried to save the moment, taking photos and taking in all the little wonderful details that make up my teeny boy:
soft, soft creamy baby skin, tulip lips, wet curls + curious eyes.
.
the photos below are a little flashback to an august bath in our old farm house.
i've decided by the way, that editing photos months later is much more fun and rewarding. :)
.
other favorite bath moments: here + here.

IMG_8798-2IMG_8816We Are A Top Baby Blog

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...