The Little

Sixteen pounds of pure joy.

Anderson's personality is starting to show more and more.

He is a talker like his big brother,

and will chat himself back to sleep early in the morning.

He is stubborn and refused to take a bottle all week while I was at work.

He is good for a cheap laugh and has many tickle spots

that result in the most delicious baby belly laugh.

He loves to eat dinner at the table with us

and loves to take charge of the spoon.

He is starting to scoot forwards and backwards

and will play independently for a few minutes before fussing.

He is sweet and smart, loud and feisty at times,

and he may be little, but he is ready to do big things!

The Big

So big ... and growing so fast.

Currently loves all things cars and trucks and dinos and dirt.

Talks from the minute he wakes up to the minute he goes to sleep.

Fell asleep mid-sentence the other night ::

in a sleep slurred speech,

"Mommy, one more thing. Can you..."

Questions everything.

"Why?" "What does the inside of an eye look like?"

Helpful and independent.

Sweet and sensitive.

Energetic and loud.

Our precious boy.

So big ...

and so loved.

Today's Lesson

It may have appeared that today's lesson

was strictly about playing with dump trucks.

Big brother is a master player.

The biggest imagination you have ever seen. 

But after closer observation, the focus of the lesson

was kindness, patience, intentionality.

It only lasted a few minutes, but my mommy heart soared.

No one has ever taught Alekzander how to be a good big brother,

but this kid has the biggest heart.

He is gentle, kind, patient.

He shares his toys, makes his brother laugh, 

teaches him the important facts of life.

Playing with dump trucks is pretty important.

But being and having a good role model, a best friend, and a protector

is even more important.

Popeye's Dinner

  On the menu tonight :: A Popeye Approved Meal 

:: Deconstructed Stuffed Peppers Reconstructed ::

Alekzander devoured his dinner tonight before we even sat down to begin ours.

After two helpings, he ate close to one cup of quinoa, half of a giant {raw} red pepper, 

two big handfuls of {raw} baby spinach, and about a half cup of pumpkin puree.  

These ingredients were combined to construct Popeye's boat many times...

fitting of course because he was wearing his Popeye "Ladies Man" shirt.

Dinner is hardly ever a battle, but on this night, 

we were exceptionally proud of his food induced excitement!

 

So far, Anderson is also following his brother's lead when it comes to eating.

Tonight he enjoyed close to two ounces of pumpkin puree and half of a banana.

Much joy followed as he proudly practiced feeding himself with his empty spoon.

Goodbyes from a 4-year old

Oh to have the perspective of a 4-year old.  

To not know the hurt or permanence of certain situations.

To see things at face value rather than feel things in the depths of your heart.

To have faith. To naturally pray.  To provide humor on a sad day.

Alekzander, Anderson, and Andrew were the bright spots of my day today. 

Alekzander for his humor and straightforwardness, 

and also for his faithfulness and sweetness.

Anderson for being pure joy; pulling on me, smiling at me, trusting me.

Andrew for being our family's rock and leader.

We had to make the difficult decision to say goodbye to our sweet 14 year old cat.

I struggled with this for close to a week, but our big guy was sicker than we knew.

We knew we didn't want him to suffer nor did we want to put Alekzander in a position

where he would be traumatized as Ryelee's health deteriorated.

Talking about death, even the death of a pet, and heaven is not an easy thing.

Talking about it with a four year old is hard, 

but we decided to be as honest as necessarily appropriate.

Before nap, I had Alekzander say goodbye to our good, good cat. 

He explained to Ryelee that he was going to have to go to the vet and maybe to heaven.

He promised that we'd send up meat to heaven for him 

(as we spent the last week hand-feeding him ham, turkey, and chicken).

He wagged his finger at Rye and told him not to scratch God or be mean.

He told him that God would give him "big, killed rats" to eat if he wanted.

We told Ryelee we loved him and that he would get to play 

in heaven with Harleigh and other animals soon.

After nap, we explained that the vet said Ryelee had to go to heaven.

"How did he get there?" 

"I don't know, but God took care of it; God loves the animals."

That was kind of the end of the conversation.

I think sadness may hit more in the coming days,

but in Alekzander's four years, he knows what heaven is and 

that it is something to look forward to,

whether our pets are there or not.  

He has a deep, wise heart.

At dinner, Alekzander prayed for God to take care of Ryelee 

and to remember to feed him good cat food.

At bedtime, Alekzander asked if there would be a comfy chair in heaven for Ryelee. 

And then said he cannot wait to pet Ryelee again.

Heart wrenching to hear, but so good for my soul

to be blessed by his sweet 4-year old perspective.

If pets do go to heaven, I hope there are Christmas trees for Ryelee to sleep under.

Head bonks from Jesus.  Snuggles with Harleigh. Lots of good meat to eat.

And a comfy chair to sleep in.

Patient Ryelee in his big, comfy chair.

December 2011.

Our first furry baby inherited from ATB and my parents.

Future Olympian

Perhaps this little guy will be a future hockey player

in the 2034 Olympics.

He does love watching the hockey action on TV.

And happens to look adorable just wearing brother's winter hat and an Olympic diaper!

 

Gold medal cutie

Seven Months

Man alive, could you get any cuter?!

Sweet Anderson, these last seven months have flown by.

You continue to be the biggest source of joy.

We love making you laugh by jumping, tickling, and raspberry-ing.

While I could listen to your laugh for hours, I cherish our quiet moments together.

In the days surrounding your seven month birthday,

you grew two teeth 

{that are NOT to be used to bite me},

you slept on your belly for the first time 

{don't worry, I am still a nervous mommy and woke you up to flip you over 

and spent the next hour trying to get you back to sleep!},

you ate protein for the first time in the forms of chicken and egg yolk 

{and you loved both!},

you started to babble more and blow bubbles,

and you started to work hard to pull yourself pre-army crawl style.

Life is about to get more interesting...

and so much more fun because of you.

Brand New Valentine

 My brand-new Valentine in 2014.

Love this doll baby to pieces.

Joy and Winter Wonder

Snow Family

Snow Day Number Two

Andrew went outside to grab something from our iced-over car,

and came back inside more excited about the snow than our four year old.

From his northern experience, he knew that the snow was perfect for snowman making.

One napping baby and two hours later, we had a complete snow family.

{Anderson, Mommy, Daddy, Alekzander}

Carrot noses also make excellent snacks.

The birds in the backyard got to enjoy a life-sized snowman too.