may iphone dump

Airplane. Feeding Erin. Candy for Dinner (aka, the Best or Worst Mom Ever). We now sit on the ground.

Bean Reflection. Sex Rug. Thank you, NATO.

 Vivienne got sick:

The most pitiful picture of Vivienne, ever. She needs a bowl to cough into. When her tummy hurts, she puts ice on it. Snuggling in the kitchen late at night. Getting some much needed sleep. Ice pops for hydration. Resting on the bath mat (the second most pitiful picture). Where she spent most of her time.

Avery making sure there were indeed 100 pieces in his puzzle. Parked cars. Beautiful boy. Eating lunch.

Small girl / big skyline. Brave Avery. Finally having fun in the pop fountains. LOVE this shot.

Let the potty training begin!

Still lining things up. I came into the bathroom to find this. Avery took and edited this pic all by himself. The back of the collection.

WWSB (What would Sarah buy?). Fop fops. French braids.

Pizza picnic

Mama got a new swim suit so Viv had to put hers on too.

My lunch dates

Of course, a bike helmet goes with her new blue dress.

Papa getting his girl on. Fire drill at 2am. Snuggling. Blue dress. Scott took the kids to Liks. Xtra dirty martini. The new procedure. Small girl.

I love how he plays. We certainly got our money's worth out of the train table. Transferring all of the stickers from one page of the book to another at Snooze.

PS. I am still messing around with the format of the monthly dump, so please bear with me.

mama's vacation | chicago

Since Sarah's condo was in need for lots of art and decorations, I knew that I wanted to do a picture project for her. Luckily, she had a work meeting downtown before my flight, so I took the opportunity to walk around and take some photos for her place. We had previously installed some picture rails in her hallway anticipating these photos. I mounted them on black mat board and I'm excited to see how they look in her space.

When Scott was watching me assemble the final products, he asked me if I found these pictures on the internet...because he thought they were so good. 

mama's vacation | sarah's condo

It goes without saying that everyone is so proud of Sarah for purchasing her first home in Chicago. Her condo is fabulous and in a great location. However, upon my arrival, it was almost completely empty. Do not underestimate how many pieces of Ikea furniture I assembled over the weekend, never mind the actual trips to Ikea and every other furniture store in and around Chicago :) I did not mind in the least. It was my sincere pleasure helping Sarah make her condo a home, and just the look on her face as the place came together was thanks enough. She deserves every bit of happiness that her new place brings her and I am so thankful that I got to be a part of the process.

mama's vacation | the shanes

Smiles from Isaac waking up from his nap

Kathryn & Isaac

Just some boys hanging out on the sofa

Isaac is in the phase where he puts everything in his mouth, including Eli

Airplane

Love the look on Isaac's face

It's too bad they aren't photogenic

Mama got to go on vacation by herself (oh, the luxury of flying without children)! Since Sarah started talking about buying a condo months and months ago, I promised that when she finally moved in, I would come to Chicago to help her put her place together. It only took a hint of an invitation from Kathryn for me to change my ticket so that I flew into Grand Rapids to spend a day with her and Eli and Isaac. Luckily both Kathryn and Sarah were willing to drive part way to make the Cassie exchange in Stevensville, MI. 


It was fabulous. The boys are getting so big and Eli and I picked up right where we left off. Fun Aunt Cassie is back! Kathryn and I went out for a fantastic dinner and spent lots of time playing with the boys. We may have taken a few pics along the way.

mother's day

All I ever want on Mother's Day is a nice picture of me and my loves.

I've learned that achieving this goal is much easier when we put the camera timer on, let Avery push the button and then scramble into place

The outdoor shots didn't got as well but Viv was willing to stand on the circles. Avery not so much. There were rocks needing to be played with.

Yeah, those rocks. Right there.

Down the drain they go.

Inspired by "Am I Mom Enough? A Motherhood Wishlist" by Kara Baskin, I decided to formalize the ongoing mental list of the hopes I have for my children. I think it is very important that children know what is expected of them and for parents to prioritize which lessons are most important, because as we all know, you can't choose every battle. This list also blends together the "Just in Case" letter I have also mentally composed. So, without further ado, here is an attempt to put into words what I hope for my children as they journey into adulthood:

I hope to raise children who have perspective – about their lives, about the lives of others and about the world. 
 

I hope to raise polite children who say “please” and “thank you” and really mean it.

I hope to raise children who are aware of their surroundings.

I hope my children will offer a helping hand when someone needs it.  

I hope my children will look people in the eye when ordering at a restaurant, when saying “I love you,” and when saying “I’m sorry.”

I hope my children will learn that it is not necessarily the mistakes we make that define us but rather, what we do to fix those mistakes. 

I hope to raise children with a strong work ethic. I hope that things come easily enough to keep them engaged and interested but not so easy that they never learn to work. I hope to instill in them the value of working hard and the satisfaction that comes from it. 

I hope to raise children who lose graciously and win without bragging. They need to experience loss so that they may know how good it feels when they do succeed.

I hope my children are kind. I hope they never embrace that false sense of self-worth that comes from being mean or cruel to others. I hope my children will stick up for those being bullied. 

I hope to raise children who realize that life is unfair and it is not necessarily my job to make it fair: Some people are born rich or good-looking. Some people are handed things that they don’t deserve. Some people luck into jobs or wealth that they don’t earn. Tough.

I hope to raise children who get what they want just often enough to keep them optimistic but not enough to make them spoiled.

I want my children to experience delayed gratification. 

I hope to raise children who know that they are loved and special but that they are not the center of the universe and never, ever will be.

I hope to raise children who enjoy life’s tiny pleasures—people watching, chocolate, sleeping in on a Saturday.

I hope to raise children who are open-minded and curious about the world without being reckless.

I hope my children travel. 

I hope my children love to read.

I hope my children find passion in life and develop interests that keep their lives fulfilling and meaningful. 

I hope my children are truthful and honest in relationships and seek out people who positively contribute to their lives. 

I hope my children spend little time worrying about what other people think about them, except for the really, really important ones.

I hope my children make quality friends and realize that the worthwhile ones will require some effort. 

I hope my children will be able to laugh at themselves. 

I hope my children are forgiving of the mistakes Scott and I make.

I hope my children deeply love each other and will not only be brother and sister, but close friends.

Avery and Vivienne, as your parent, I will try to the best of my ability to help you develop a joyous and meaningful life. I know that you two are your own people and ultimately you will make your own choices and decide what is most important. Should those things differ from my own values, I hope to respect your individuality and celebrate the people you choose to become. I hope your lives are intentional. 

Finally, my promises to you:

I promise to try not to diminish your experiences because of your age. 

I promise to provide you with the appropriate space to grow and learn.

I promise to let you make mistakes. 

I promise to celebrate in your successes.  

I promise to lead by example.

I promise to love you unconditionally...forever. 

new camera

After almost two months of waiting, I got the call that the camera I have been pining for was here. Not from the original place I ordered it from (a large national camera supplier who I assumed would get the cameras faster), but from Mike's Camera, on Colorado Blvd. You have no idea. Besides my children, this is the thing I have been the MOST excited for in my adult life and it is living up to all of my expectations. I don't know if the blog resolution shows just how amazing this camera is, but I love it. I haven't played with it as much as I would have liked, but there has been all that pesky sickness floating around here. You can bet, that there will be some playing around with Avery and his beautiful eyes. Meanwhile, I have a 400 page instruction manual to read.

reuben's 2nd birthday

Birthday Boy!

This kid LOVES vehicles. A helicopter is an air cock. Crocs are just plain cocks.

Brady. Walking man. Lover of trucks too.

A counterpoint to all of the truck love going on in the other room.

Blowing out the candle

Enjoying those cupcakes

And Scott W. wants to cut those curls.

This dress is ridiculously cute, but I only got a full pic on my iphone. Watch for it in the dump.

Side note: I am writing this blog with Viv on my lap while Avery eats breakfast beside me. They are very interested and excited to see Reuben. Avery asks me, "Is Vivienne bigger than Reuben?" I say no, so he asks why it says Reuben's 1st Birthday. I had accidentally written 1st since I still think these babies should only be turning 1, and Avery caught my mistake because he knows Sister will be turning 2. Thanks, son!

Since Avery was the first to succumb to the plague, he had to stay home from the party and decided that he wanted Daddy and Papa to stay with him. So Heidi, Viv and I had a great time celebrating Reuben. Heidi was super helpful with Viv and is invited to accompany me to any and all birthday parties. 

Happy Birthday, Reuben. I can't believe you are 2, so much so that I mis-labeled my blog thinking that you should only be 1. You are a sweet, funny, truck loving boy's boy and we love you very much.