Seasons

Dear Lulu,

The other day when you were doing your reading homework, you chose to read a book called "My Favorite Time of Year." It shows a little girl and her baby brother enjoying each season, and each time she tells her mom that THIS is her favorite time of year.
I like this book because the pictures are really well done.  It's fun to look at all the detail on every page. I also like it because it is fun to focus on the best things of each season. The beauty of the seasons is that they keep changing, whether we're ready or not. I love the variety that the seasons bring.
I really love spring. I love that the days are getting longer and warmer so we can play outside more. I love seeing flowers and leaves coming to life again.
I love the fall too, in the beginning. I love opening the windows in the evening and getting a cool breeze. I love the beautiful colors everywhere. I love snuggling inside with hot chocolate and wearing my cozy sweaters.
I'd have to say though that I love summer the most. Just thinking about those laid back days, sprinklers and pools, barbecues, and more sunshine than you can soak up, makes me feel at home. I feel like I belong in summer. That's where I'm happiest; where I feel like I am really living in the moment.
Unlike the girl in the story, I can't say that I love winter too.  I tolerate it, but it's like I'm always counting down the months until it's warm again. While I'm tolerating winter, it's nice to focus on the few things that make winter enjoyable. The fire downstairs in our wood stove is wonderful. Christmas is the best, especially when it's white. I love the first few snow storms, if I don't have to drive in them.  The world looks so beautiful all blanketed in white.
Two mornings ago you looked out the window and drew in your breath. You told me "Mom, look at the trees!" There was frost on all of the branches.  Tiny diamonds shimmered everywhere in our yard! It was beautiful. I tried to take some pictures,:

but unfortunately I didn't use my tripod to get a brighter, clearer picture. But you get the idea right?
It really was a spectacular sight. Thank you Lulu for helping me remember that there is always something beautiful to find, even in the dead of winter. Thanks for helping me try to love winter a little more, while I impatiently wait for summer.
Love you,
Mom

Dear Hammer

Dear 5 year old Hammer,

Here are some things that I love about you at 5 years old.
1. You LOVE to build things.  You enjoyed the legos and lincoln logs that you got for your birthday a lot.  You love building houses that you can fit into even more! Every single day you build a "house." You get pretty creative a lot of the time, with laundry basket chimneys and second stories on top of chairs. You use all the cushions and blankets and pillows that you can get your little hands on. Sometimes I get frustrated because I can't keep the living room presentable! Or because you have un-made your bed AGAIN. Or because you are getting angry that Mr T won't get in his "room." I do enjoy watching you be creative though. I let you keep your houses downstairs as long as you want. Or until we need to use the couch. I think your building houses shows that you are great at problem solving and engineering.  You are our little smarty pants!
2. Did I mention that you are smart? :) You love to play Kindle Fire and are really good at one of the harder games called Sparkle. You have to quickly match colors and shoot them in the right place.  You want to play that game all the time and I can't believe how well you play it!
You have also picked up how to add and subtract from Lulu practicing at home. The other day I told you kids that you each got 3 more bites of mashed potatoes.  I started with Lulu and we counted out loud as she took her first bite. "1," we said, and before I could get her second bite you said, "2 more bites Lulu." I was shocked and I praised you. Not only can you do math in your head, you can do it in the form of a word problem! You will do great at school, I have no doubt.
3. I love that you love taking pictures.  You are not really into drawing or painting for very long, but photography is a great art form too! I like to see you developing in all areas of life.
4. You are still a good eater, even if you often complain when you sit down and before you take your first bite. Once you try it, you will eat it all up! You have a big appetite too.  You can eat almost as much as I can! No matter how many times you try celery and green olives you still don't like them. And that's ok with me because I hate those two foods too! Some of your favorite foods include hamburgers, pizza, bananas, hot dogs with mustard and ketchup on a bun, cereal, steak, and of course candy, ice cream, and fruit snacks.
5. You love your siblings. You love it when Lulu comes home from school.  You want to play with her, or chase her around while she avoids your hugs, or wrestle with her. You also really love playing make believe with her in the tubby with your tub toys. You love Mr T too. He's always there to play with you and laugh at you. But Baby is your favorite. You want to kiss him, pat his head, get in his face, and talk to him all the time. You were really happy yesterday when you made him laugh!
6. You are still really funny. For example, we attempted to take some family pictures on Christmas night in our new jammies. Daddy set the camera up on the tripod and then pushed the self-timer.  The camera was set to take 3 or 4 really quickly in a row. We noticed that Mr T or Baby wasn't looking at the camera, so Daddy got up and pushed the button again.  We took a lot of pictures before Daddy realized that you were making silly faces in Every Single picture. There we were, smiling away and looking at the camera, thinking you were doing the same. I don't know how you thought of that many faces that quickly, but it makes Dad and I laugh every time we look at the series of photos (some of them I zoomed in so we can see your face better):

and one more picture that makes me smile.
Grandma and Grandpa took you to breakfast for your birthday. Just the 3 of you! You loved it! Grandma took a picture of you and Grandpa checking out how big your scone was, and you made a silly face:

7. You love attention from Dad, Uncle John, and Grandpa. You love it when they take the time to wrestle or tickle you, or laugh at your knock knock jokes. You still sometimes where your hat backwards like Uncle John.

A few more things about you at age 5:
You are still a little mischievous. When I hear "the evil laugh" I have to go running to see what naughty thing you are doing that you think is funny. It usually involves the Baby or Mr T. I haven't heard it as much lately though.
You are still stubborn too. You do things on your own time when you want to.  I am usually able to bribe you with Kindle Fire time, losing your candy privileges, or praising someone else's good choices.
You love soft pants, as you call them.  Jeans are not your favorite.
You love to help me make cookies every Monday.
You are really good about going to bed on time, laying there quietly so Mr T can fall asleep, and staying in your bed all night! I appreciate that a lot.
You love boys night out when it's just you and Dad going out to get a treat!
I really loved giving you so much attention on your birthday.  You are such a sweet boy, and you always make Dad and I smile. I love being your mommy.
Love you my big boy!
Mom

An Angry Bird-Day

Dear Hammer Man,

This is the first of your birthday posts.  This post will be all about your big day and your very first friend birthday party!
The theme was Angry Birds.  The invitations had Angry Birds on them, as did the games, the cake, and the pinata!
We celebrated the Saturday before your birthday with your free scoop of ice cream, and then ran over to the grocery store to pick up orange "worms" for a game we had planned.  It was fun to go out with you!  You chose the brownie ice cream  in a cone and wanted to sit up on the high bar stools, like we always do on birthdays.  I watched you as you carefully ate your ice cream, enjoying each bite.  I thought how big you looked, and how handsome!
When we got home we took a picture, since I forgot to take my camera with me on our outting:

And then it was the big day. January 6th.
We had birthday pancakes for breakfast, complete with sprinkles and cool whip:

After you got dressed, in your angry bird shirt of course, we took some birthday pictures.  In between photos you talked to Baby. You sure do love him!:

Then when we were done trying to take pictures, in not enough light I might add making most of them blurry, you and Mr T played kindle fire up on your bunk bed:

Here is the pinata we all worked on over the weekend.  It's just waiting for the party to start!

Finally the Baby took a long enough nap that I finished your cake:

and took some more pictures of you holding it:

At 3 o clock the party started!  We played a game where you threw an angry bird and tried to knock over the piggies. Here you are stacking them back up for the next person:

We also played a game where you put on the angry bird blanket and did certain actions to earn some orange cheeto worms.  You sang the whole alphabet and earned 3 worms!:

Then after playing downstairs for a while, it was time for the best part of the party!  Pinata!:

What a cute group of kids:

Everyone loved grabbing the candy. And Grandpa even wore the pinata like a mask after it was smashed open!:

Everyone was also really excited to watch you open their presents. You got a lot of nice things!

Here you are, blowing out 5 candles!!! It took you a few turns:

Some of the kids wanted to try the fondant birds and piggies I made. Mr T was really happy that he got "Angry" as he calls the red bird:

After we sang happy birthday, we ate cake and chocolate ice cream, then it was time for people to leave. After your friends left, Daddy let Pluto in. He was a good boy and stayed in the kitchen behind his gate:

Lastly, here you are with your grandparents and parents, who all came to your party:

After the grandparents left, we had your choice for dinner, which was hamburger and fries.  Then after some more toy-playing it was time for bath.  Since we didn't have any more glow sticks, we had a special musical bath time! I brought the Kindle Fire into the bathroom and we played your favorite songs while you bathed. It was really fun for us all to sing along to Goo Goo Dolls, Lady Gaga, The Tokens, and One Republic, to name a few.
The next day you got to celebrate at preschool too! You took a treat of popcorn and cheetos to share with your friends.  When I picked you up you were wearing a crown and carrying a candy staff:

I loved watching you enjoy your birthday. It was fun to make you feel special all day long.
You are very loved my dear Hammer.
Love,
Momma

2013 in Pictures

A lot of pictures...