My Sweet Colby

I feel as if sometimes my little Colby gets lost in the hustle and bustle. With a big bro that demands quite a bit of attention, I often write about them both or focus on Chase without realizing it. Chase is at such a precocious age that it sometimes is just the way it is. 

As Colby gets older, he's holding his own. He watches Chase with eagle eyes and absorbs everything he is doing, he also tries everything his brother does and in many instances gets in trouble the very same way his brother does... His big blue eyes often have a sparkle and he tends to smirk a little under that binky of his when he comes up with a plan to annoy Chase somehow... He inserts himself into playing games that Chase wants to play and if Chase is in "character" as one of his very many superhero heroes Colby will try his best to be involved and a part of the fun. He is no wallflower, he doesn't shrink into the background, he is here to stay and his big brother will just have to get used to it! 

Despite Colby's vying for position in our household as the second born in a family of four with two boys, he is and always has been the sweetest little boy. He loves Chase unconditionally, will share all his toys. He gets so excited when we are on our way to school (never puts up a fight like you know who) in the morning especially when we see one of his friends. He walks right into his classroom ready to start the day. He always says goodnight to me and some version of Mama, I luv u. He gives the best hugs (much like his daddy) not just quick, short, hugs but long, tight around the neck bear hugs that can last five or more minutes if you let them... He is an artist, our very own Jackson Pollack! He loves to color mostly with markers, so watch out! You MUST have washable markers when he is around! 

You can always get a smile from Colbers, sometimes by just looking at him with a smile, he is almost certain to smile back. He is so ticklish and his giggle is infectious. He also has a million different facial expressions that he can switch in the blink of an eye but mostly to get a laugh! He loves to show you his belly button and blow  "shurberts" on your bellie. He plays so well independently and is so curious. Much in the same way he watches Chase, he watches everyone and everything and wants to try and do everything. He has no fear and quite an arm. He LOVES bugs and will stop me in the middle of anything, grab my hand and pull me over to check out a cool spider that has made a web next to our garage door. He loves to run, play tag, climb ladders, slide on his belly down our slide, and swing, and swing, and swing. He loves bath time (maybe b/c he recently found his manly parts ;) and swimming and stomping on rain puddles with his boots on. He loves wearing shoes and going bye-bye. He will always wave hello and bye-bye to everyone. He loves to eat and will shove as much food in his mouth that he can get at a time. He will watch you watching him and do whatever it is over and over just to make you laugh. He gets dressed in whatever I pick out and doesn't fuss. He's more focused on what he's going to do next, what his older bro is up to or, what he's going to eat next. :) 

Colby hasn't completely ditched his binky yet but we're down to two at home and one at school and when they're gone they're gone. He is starting to talk more, test out those vocal cords. His current vocabulary consists of:  more, muma, dadeee, puh-lease, cheeeez, ches (chase), ball, yeah, uh oh, up, all done, baba, hop (help), no (he said yes before no :) and bye.

This weekend we spent time at our family's hay farm near White Pass on the Cowlitz River. I realized as I watched Colby playing at the river's edge all by himself completely engaged in throwing rocks into the river how sweet and innocent he is, how much I truly love being his mama. I took the following photos of him playing by the river... 

Colby is my sweetheart, a complete joy. I am so lucky to have little Colby. He brings balance and joy to our lives. He's funny, sweet, caring, rambunctious, my little scooterbug...

My Sweet Colby. 

The Lucky One

As I write this post, I'm cuddling with my boys in my bed watching Despicable Me. I know, despicable right? Well, not really it is actually a really cute movie. Colby is on the verge of a nap and so not really watching... As we snuggle and laugh at the funny parts of the movie, I find myself telling myself, remember this moment, this feeling, I am so blessed, so lucky! I have been telling myself that a lot lately whether I am playing with the kids, talking with Chase about something he's inquired about (he asks so many questions!), or just watching the kids work in the yard with Scott as his little helpers. I'm so glad they both like to work with Daddy. Chase especially because he's at the age where he is big enough to help and learn at the same time. I feel so lucky that I have had these moments, so many moments to remember that I will treasure forever. I sometimes think that when it is my time to leave this earth that no matter what the circumstance that I will remember all the times I told myself to remember.... that I had so many wonderful memories of my life as a mom, a wife, with all my boys (including Scotty :) and just the memory of me wanting to remember all the moments will provide a sense of peace that nothing else possibly could. 

Mother's Day is tomorrow and even though it is a day to celebrate moms which means me, I realize that it really isn't about me. Although technically the day is about moms, I am a mom, I love my kids more than my own life and try everyday to be the best mom I can be, some days I rock and other days not so much but I try so hard because I love them.... It seems that Mother's Day for me is really about my boys. It is because of them that I am a mom, that I have this opportunity, this very important role in life. That I have had this chance to learn so much about myself and to grow into the person I am, their mom. 

Thank you so much, Chase and Colby. You are the best boys a mom could hope for. I am so grateful to be your mom, to have this amazing role in life to take care of you, teach you, and love you. You both are so full of energy and wonder and without you both my life would be so empty and meaningless. You have given me so much, taught me so much and challenge me so much. You both are so alike and different at the same time. It is a joy to watch you grow and change and become the best of friends. You make me laugh so hard and cry sometimes, too! You both are so special and I am truly the lucky one because of you... 

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. We are all truly blessed to be moms. To have this very important role in life, the opportunity to love our children, take care of them and watch them grow. We are all so damned lucky, aren't we?

Chase's Cheezy Birthday

This past week our first born turned four years old. I can't believe it! He is growing so fast. For the boys' birthdays we've started a tradition to do big birthday party's every other year. Since Chase had his Superhero birthday bash last year, we decided to do a small party at a place we knew he would love, Chuck E. Cheese.

I'm embarrassed to say that I had never been to this mecca of video games and pizza for kids prior to Chase's party. So, needless to say I didn't quite know what to expect. It was fun despite some of the party planning details that a mom planning a party there for the first time would not be aware of. Chase had fun, even though he was not too impressed with Chuck E. himself and all the attention, but he loved playing all the games to get tickets for a prize, the pizza, and of course opening all his presents and that is all that matters. (For example, there are certain cups for kids that adults can not use. If you want cups for water, you do not have to pay for them but they are strictly water cups and cannot be used for other beverages, juice, softdrinks, etc... you have to pay extra for cups to use for those beverages.) Here's the link to photos from Chase's Cheezy party....http://flic.kr/s/aHsjzbAhfV

So, Chase is four. Wow. He's so smart and full of energy... He's a really sweet kid, shy and sensitive. He is a thinker, and always has been since he was born. He also has the best smile and can be sooooo funny. He is inquisitive and asks all sorts of questions about everything...

Chase's birthday party at school. He prefers chocolate chip cookies to cupcakes. 

Silly birthday boy

He is a wonderful big brother always including Colby in the day's big adventures, most of the time. At school he likes to play with his friends and he enjoys learning his letters and numbers.

Chase and Colby so excited to test out Chase's new birthday present before Daddy's finished putting it together

Chase and Colby taking the jeep for a spin around the neighborhood.

He can write his first name all by himself and almost his last name. He knows the alphabet and can count to 100, with a little help on the transitional numbers lik 20 and 30 to get him going...

Chase and Colby enjoying the bath tub crayons from Aunt JJ. Bath time is ALOT of fun these days!

Chase is still in to Superheros, loves Ironman and Spiderman right now as well as all versions of the Power Rangers. He likes to play the Wii and enjoys the Wii sports and resort sports games. He loves baseball and football and can't go a day without asking me or his Daddy to play.

He loves the weekends when we're all together and when we just stay at home. He loves to go to the park and play outside, too. He also loves to cook, well especially bake. He loves making cookies with me especially sugar cookies that we can cut into shapes, although he loves making chocolate chip, his favorite! He also loves making pancakes and waffles, too!

Chase making his birthday breakfast, waffles -- YUM!

Our lives would not be the same without our Chasers. He has brought Scott and me so much joy and love to our lives while teaching about who we are and what life is all about. He has also challenged us more than we realized he would prior to becoming parents. Challenges that can be heart-wrenching, hear-breaking, and stressful but ultimately I feel so blessed to be his Mama.

Happy 4th "Cheezy" Birthday to you, Chase! You are my superhero!

Love,
Mama

Monday Madness: Off without a hitch...

It has all come back to me. My one-on-one days with my kiddos. I forgot just how much I loved our days together until today. It has been just over three months since we've had one of our days together and we had a jam-packed day full of fun and madness. It wasn't quite that chaotic but as I sit here typing this post, my legs feel as if I've just run a half-marathon. I'm fairly exhausted and am not looking forward to my 7:30 a.m. board meeting and 10 hour work day. The icing on the cake is that I will not be able to make class so my day isn't quite as long as normal Tuesdays but I will miss my weekly get together with Sarah at Harmon but we'll pick up next week. :)

One thing that has changed quite a bit since our Wacky Wednesday Days is that Colby has grown a ton in the last few months and is going non-stop. He's full of energy but most of the time he's trying desperately to keep up with his big brother. Although at times, I think Chase tries to keep up with him, too. He's climbing all over the place especially on the stairs, we have to watch him closely, he can actually open the gate sometimes, not all the time but if he hits the bottom railing just right it opens (we have to fix that soon!) 

Our morning started with breakfast, Sesame Street and Curious George. Chase slept in because he's been staying up later than normal. It has been really difficult to get him to bed any earlier than 8:30ish and sometimes it's even 9:00... After checking email and the weather forecast for the day, it was going to be another gorgeous day as it was all weekend, I knew we had to get out of the house. I had plans to start our Valentines cards but that could wait, the sun was shining!!! 

I decided it was time to head to the library and then the park. On Mondays, the library usually has story time and this would be the perfect day to go with the boys and their official first library story time. We've gone to the library a few times before but not for story time. This was sure to be an adventure. Chase was on board after he was dressed in his camo sweatpants and shirt (he absolutely LOVES wearing this outfit! I do not know why this is his favorite but he would wear it everyday if I let him). Colby goes with the flow when it comes to his outfit for the day. I miss those days with Chase and am so grateful I still have them with Colby. I can dress him in cute little shirts and jeans and cords and other outfits I love, he does not care. Chase on the other hand would rather go to school in his just superhero underwear and socks than put on a pair of jeans these days. I'm really bummed about this because he looks super cute in jeans and one of his superhero t-shirts. His black Batman is a favorite of mine and I love it when he wears a long-sleeve tee under a short sleever...totally cute. 

Our library adventure was good, not great. Chase listened to one book, I didn't quite get the official title but it was about a dog named George. It was cute, Chase really liked it. We took seats in the back just in case I needed to run after Colby. Which I did many times especially after he found a ball he proceeded to throw all over narrowly missing innocent library-goers (it was a cushy, soft ball) as they headed out to find their next great story. The librarian also facilitated activities as well as read stories and san songs which was really fun. Chase has always been an observer and demonstrated this yet again which I had a feeling he would. He doesn't often join in unless he knows the kids or feels absolutely comfortable. He wasn't totally shy today but he did not participate with the other kids although he watched them and laughed along at all the funny parts of the stories. He did lose his focus and turned his attention to the computers at the back of the room and the shelves lined with books. He asked me a number of times, "Is storytime almost over?" I was a little sad he didn't join right in and wasn't captivated by all the stories, songs, and activities but I was happy that he lasted as long as he did and was focused on finding books. He actually found eight books he wanted, two Caillou books, "Caillou Makes a Snowman" and "Caillou, where am I?" The other two were pretty random but cute, "The Day Ray Got Away," and "Four Legs Bad, Two Legs Good." We read the two Caillou books tonight and saved the other two for tomorrow. I'm looking forward to our Mondays at the library for storytime and getting both boys more familiar with the library, new activities, and new friends we'll meet there.

After the library we were off to the park. Our most favorite park in Gig Harbor, the Sehmel Homestead Park. We love it even more now that they have swings and picnic benches! It's a gorgeous park and there are always tons of kids there to meet and play with. It has been awhile since we visited the park and both kids were so excited. As soon as Chase could see the park from the car he was super happy, Colby, too, although he was on the verge of a nap, I didn't time this part of the adventure quite right but this trip would ensure without a doubt he would nap later. You could not have asked for a better day. Blue skies, sunshine and upper 50s, perfect weather to be outside getting some Vitamin D. Colby loved going down the slides with Chase. At the park they have side-by-side slides where the boys each have their own slide right next to eachother, they loved sliding together over and over. We played in the sandbox, Colby loved playing in the sand a little too much and took ownership of a little girls shovel. I had to pry it from his fingers when she wanted it back. It was not a pretty sight, and towards the end of our park adventure which was a good thing.

After the park, we ventured home for lunch, did a little cleaning, laundry, and then began our Valentines card project. The photos today are from the project. Unfortunately, I did not capture any from our fabulous, sunny adventure at the park. I am, however, proud of myself for leaving the camera/phone behind and just immersing myself in play with the kids. I find that I am often caught up in capturing the moment to remember than actually living the moment in the moment. Note to self, MUST do that more often. The boys are just growing way to fast as kids do. I'd rather have the memory of whatever we were doing together than remember that I was worried about capturing the photo and not focused on what they were doing. Easier said than done, it's so hard to put the camera down!!! :)

We're baaaaaaaack!

I'm happy to report that instead of Wacky Wednesdays the boys and I will now have Monday Madness! Starting February 1st the museum is adopting winter hours and I will be working Tuesdays through Thursdays with Mondays off! Yea!

Since I began my new job at the museum, not only have I been getting used to a 40+ hour work week, I have really missed my day with the boys (as crazy as that may sound, because those days are quite wacky and mad indeed, thus the name!). I am really looking forward to our Mondays together and posting each week about our mad adventures. Stay tuned, there will be plenty of madness to share very soon!

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