What's in a Name?

Good idea/bad idea?!

Use Trader Joe's Alphabet Cookies to teach a 4 year old

 to spell and write his name

Brilliant because there are instant, yummy rewards ...

write a letter, eat a letter!

Bad because Alekzander's name has ten letters ...

which means ten letter cookies were consumed before nap!

Tracing the letter with a wooden skewer before writing

Ready to write :: serious business 

Pure concentration

9 letters down :: 1 to go

Boots Aren't Made for Walking

Silly boy wearing {and loving} 

Mama's new {obnoxious!} rainboots.

Race Day Juxtaposed

Running :: One foot in front of the other 

... repeated 10,000 times.

A hypnotizing cadence peppered by belabored breathing.

Step, step, step, step, breathe.

For any race, one can expect the same nervous anticipation, 

impending pain and sweat equity, encouraging onlookers,

and finish lines that evoke feelings of pride and accomplishment.

Andrew and I each 'raced' on Saturday,

but had very different experiences.

Pure Religion 5K 2014

Charlotte Spartan Sprint 2014

Ran alongside these little running warriors

{in their chariot driven by Daddy}

 Ran through these Gladiator type warriors

Post Race :: Sharing a sno-cone with my little love!

Post Race :: Finisher's Medal + Mud Cakes

Alekzander sound bites ::

"Mommy, I think you are winning!" 

{though clearly dozens of people are in front of me}

"Daddy, you're as messy as a dirty hog!"

Future Doctor?

Future Doctor

...or Aveeno posterchild?

Green Day 2014

Silliness is a staple in this household :: usually spearheaded by the 4 year old 

{and/or the 34 year old}.

We could not pass up these green mustaches 

from the dollar bin at Target over a month ago.  

At least twice a week, Alekzander would ask to open/wear them.

I hid them so he would stop asking and

would have completely forgotten about them

if my steel-trap minded son had not remembered.

Obviously on "Green Day" we had to wear our green mustaches

after we ate green {spinach} eggs and bacon,

green apples, and drank a green smoothie to start the day!

Anderson was not a big fan of the 'stache, 

but Alekzander rocked it!

Silly boy!

Lucky Family

So lucky to be able to love {and be loved by} these goofballs!

Eight Months

Cute even when he's crying!

Though most of the time, this babe is chill and happy.

Anderson at eight months ::

Still favors being held to being left alone.

Loves watching Alekzander.

Eats green veggies, lentils, and applesauce.

Says "babababa" and "ahhhh-a!"

Pulls up to standing.

Entertains himself with his treehouse toy.

Crawls bear-style.

Laughs heartily.

Loved mightily.

Standing

 "I'm doing it, but I don't like it!"

{March 12, 2014}

"Now I've got the hang of it!"

{March 13, 2014}

 "This is so fun!"

"...and the perfect height for cutting my new teeth."

Non-Optional Friendships

Anderson loves Kennedy!

{And he loves the way his brother loves him... a little too hard!} 

  

Upon Kennedy's birth, these two entered into a non-optional friendship.

When you are little, your mommy gets a small window of time to choose your friends.

Since I've chosen Kennedy's mommy as my friend,

by default Alekzander and Barrett are best buddies,

and I can only hope the same for Anderson and Kennedy.

Luckily, they're off to a good start!

Sweet big brothers with their sweet babies.

Doctoring

No one in the world has a Mia quite like ours.

She plays endlessly, creates amazingly, and loves tremendously.

Mia and Alekzander call each other "best friends."

When she is around, I am chopped liver!

The game of choice for the weekend was "Vet Clinic."

It was quite the elaborate and thorough set up.

Each patient {live or stuffed} was examined, bandaged, 

and monitored for the entire day.

I was not qualified to play "Animal Doctor," 

but when the doctors were on a break,

{and Anderson and I were playing in the Treehouse Room}

the cute young doctor went to the {pretend} jewelry store 

and made me the most beautiful necklace.

Far better than macaroni, these gems are one of a kind

and hand-strung by the handsome doctor :: to be treasured forever.

I guess liver isn't so bad after all!

In the Treehouse Room

Stole some quiet moments with Anderson in the "Treehouse Room" 

while Mia and Alekzander were playing in the "FROG Room."

You cannot not be happy in the solitude of the trees

with the smiles of this babe.

Treasure Hunt

When asked what he wanted to do when visiting Mia and Gruffalo,

Alekzander said he wanted to dig in the dirt.

Of course, in my parents' interpretation of this request,

that meant a full-fledged treasure hunt complete with an aged treasure map

that magically washed up on the lake's shore :: message-in-a-bottle style.

Alekzander was all in 

and beyond excited to find the six X's

marking the spots of buried treasure.

The first treasure box contained coins; he also found a compass, a shark's tooth, 

a magic gold doubloon, a mystical green rock, and more coins.

The best sound bite of this elaborate adventure 

{and proof that we watch too much of "Jake and the Neverland Pirates"} 

was when Alekzander ran to the 'tree with the hole in it',

and yelled, "More treasure, me Hearties!!!"

I truly couldn't love this little pirate more

and loved sharing my treasure with 

two of his most treasured family members.  

How Far for Fro-Yo?

A story we'll hopefully tell for a long time ::

One day we traveled four and a half hours to introduce you 

to your long distance best friend...

for an hour and a half frozen yogurt date.

And it was worth it!

Carter {8.5 months} and Anderson {7.5 months} meeting for the first time!

Baby trading.  

Wishing we had more time to love on Carter!

Alekzander and Abigail barely talked, but enjoyed their yogurt and an art project.

Such precious long distance friends.

The Ashleys and the kiddos

PS :: It is possible that we wrote short stories 17 years ago about this exact moment.

The real life experience far exceeded anything 
our 14 year old brains could have fathomed, 

dropped toys, diaper changes, spilled yogurt not excluded.

Family Fun Far from Home

The stars aligned, and our big boy was over-the-moon excited

to see his Uncle and Aunt who happened to be just one state

and a long straight highway away!

After a day of driving, and a fun dessert date,

we met J&T for dinner at an awesome little pub,

and then headed to their temporary 'home'

for some silly shenanigans before bedtime.

Big love for our little guy! 

 My favorite ... 

{though I felt bad for the neighbors nextdoor, above, and below!}

Such a fun, but short excursion; 

so thankful for the special time we got to spend with J&T.

We traveled back to North Carolina

with full bellies, full hearts,

and two tired boys who are so loved!