Ten Things I Love About You

So Valentine's Day may have come and gone, but that doesn't mean I can't stop and recount some of the ways I love my two little heart breakers on this blog.  It was a somewhat neglected holiday this year with Beau gone all day Saturday working at our house and yet another slew of colds that plagued all four of us with coughs, runny noses, and stuffed up sinuses.  There were no heart-shaped cookies rolled and frosted, no planned photo shoots, and no themed tutu outfits for Mila or love machine shirts for Cruz, but there were plenty of hugs and kisses, cuddles, and a few presents.  Both Cruz and Mila are at adorable ages right now, Cruz acting more mature and grown up it seems every day and Mila getting feistier and sweeter all at the same time.  It's a wild world we live in, indeed, but these two little faces make it all worth it.  They melt me, both in their own individual ways every single day and I am so very lucky to be their mama.  

Four Valentine's Days with Cruz, themed photo shoots and all...     

And Mila.  No themed photo shoot, but the themed hats made up for it. :)  Notice all from last year, for there's no way she'd keep a hat on this year! 

Five things I love about Cruz this love month...

1.  The way he loves to read.  I hope he never loses this interest in books, the way his brown eyes light up every time we open a new adventure before bed.  He loves all books, especially chapter ones as of late, and his sense of humor amazes me.  when the day has been long and I'm feeling weary by the end of it, note to self - read Cruz The Book With No Pictures.  His belly laugh makes my world go round.  

2.  The big brother he is.  The way he reaches over to pat Mila's arm when she's upset in the car, or the way he shares his Rescue Bots with her and tries to teach her to play.  She adores him and I don't blame her.  He's patient, he's forgiving, he loves to include her, and he sees her as his friend.  I love this about him.

3.  His big vocabulary and the things he says.  He'll talk to anyone and is at that point where he is always listening and will repeat most anything, whether we want him to or not!  He told Mila the other night that he needed to "apologize to her" and told my mom all that the Joker is a "bad criminal".  My favorite as of late, though, is maybe too much to share, but memorable to say the least.  He plugged the potty the other day and as we stood above and watched it happen, he shook his head and said, "that is so embarrassing." 

4. His sense of humor, especially with my dad.  They've definitely grew closer over the past few months and sometimes act like bickering brothers, especially when the TV is involved.  The other day Dad was giving him grief and Cruz calmly replied, "Santa isn't going to bring you any plumbing tools for Christmas, Papa." 

5.  He's a thinker and I love to watch his wheels turn and witness his little discoveries along the way.  We had a long conversation about being married the other night after Cruz asked me about our wedding picture on my parents' wall.  I told him that Daddy and I got married because we loved each other and wanted to be together forever.  He looked at it for awhile and said, "And me and Charly got married, too, because we love each other and want to be together forever."  I'm sure he's recalling being in my cousin's wedding with Charly this summer.  Then last week, he filled out a questionnaire at school and when asked who he loved the most, he of course replied, Charly.  He won't marry her, but I'm confident she'll be a special part of his life for years to come.    

Five things I love about Mila this love month... 

1.  Her growing vocabulary.  She's quite vocal and a little brash at times, but I love the way she points at pictures in her book and loudly asks, "What's that?" or says, "Goooo!" holding out her 'o' sound.

2.  I love this little mama she is to her babies.  She started saying "bae bae" this month and definitely has a sweet nurturing side amidst her melodrama!  It's so adorable watching her feed her baby a bottle or put her up on her shoulder and pat her back.  She's also equated the phrase I love you with kisses and will respond accordingly to her babies with lots of hugs and kisses.  It's the sugar and spice I love about our Mila - one minute she's throwing a serious fit because we're attempting to read her the wrong page of a book and the next minute she's pouring on the charm with open-mouthed kisses and mama love to her baby dolls.  She keeps life interesting for all around her, without a doubt!  

3.  Mila is 13 months old and is still not walking.  She stands on her own all the time, is a pro at walking around furniture, and LOVES walking with someone holding her hands, but she hasn't mastered it on her own quite yet.  A whole new world will open for Mila girl as soon as she figures it out, but for now, we suffer sore backs in return for her happy squeals as we make many many laps around the house with her.  

4.  Mila LOVES her baths, especially when Cruz takes one with her.  I say the word tub and she immediately gets excited, crawling a hundred miles and hour to the bathroom and hiking her leg up over the edge as if she'd climb in fully clothed if I'd let her.  She's showing signs of a little fish, completely unconcerned when Cruz "accidentally" sprays her in the face with water with a squirt toy.  And the best is that she figured out how to spray him back and surprises him at all the best times.  

5.  My girl loves to eat and it's an absolute joy to feed her.  Last night, Mom made ham and corn casserole, and I couldn't put it on Mila's tray fast enough.  She inhaled it and was repeated her little more sign language before she even got the last piece in her mouth.  I pray she keeps this adventurous side when it comes to trying new foods, and maybe teaches her brother there are some things better, although not many, than peanut butter jelly sandwiches. :)     

7/52

"a portrait of each of my children, once each week, in 2015"
 

Cruz: This little bug had a good Valentine's Day, bringing specially made dinosaur valentines to his friends on Friday and getting another Switch and Go Dino from his mommy on Saturday.  On a question sheet he filled out at school, he said he loves when his mommy "cooks with me," but he really loves his cousin Charly the most.  And my favorite answer he had when asked how he shows love?  "When you get more play-doh after someone's dries up."  I guess I know the way to my boy's heart.  :) 

Mila:  Sitting on presents is the theme for Mila, and with two holidays and a birthday happening the past three months, she's had lots of places to sit!  Mila opened up her very first tea set for Valentine's Day and she was so sweet and dainty with it.  She watched me sip the make believe tea and immediately stuck her cup up to her mouth to mimic my actions.  I'm seeing lots of tea parties in our future, and hopefully curls, too!  I love to see those little curls peaking out from her little blond head.   

6/52

"a portrait of each of my children, once each week, in 2015"
 

  
Cruz: Some warm (hot) cocoa after an afternoon of sledding.  It was his first sledding adventure of the year and he loved every minute of it. 

  
Mila: First ponytail for this little girl, a long time coming!  I'm dreaming of piggy tails, skirts, and sandals come spring. 

scrub a dub love

Whatever kind of day we've had, we stick them in the tub at the end of it and get this.  Two precious little babes, just happy to be together.  Raising these two is tiring and hectic, but watching their bond form in these rare quiet moments brings me more joy than I ever dreamed.  We can learn so much from their kind of love - their patient, selfless, uninhibited love.  I love that Mila is most content when Cruz is near.  I love the look of pure joy on Cruz's face when Mila does something silly.  I love the way Mila watches Cruz and tries to mimic his moves and I love the patience he has for her when she wants to do everything like him.  I love that they make one another feel safe, protected, and content.  These bath nights are the calm at the end of my day, my chance to lather them up and soak them in.  

Until Mila poops in the tub, that is.  Which is like every time here lately.  

Happy Monday. :):)    

Misplaced Ramblings of the Displaced

This Saturday marks exactly three months we have been displaced.  Three long months of feeling very in-between, all the while trying to not let it impact our work lives, married lives, and kids' lives.  I knew it would be a challenge, but I underestimated so much.  Like not having an address for starters.  We put a forward on our old address to my parents' house, but didn't change my online billing address for various places because I knew we wouldn't be here for long.  Then, when we started ordering lots of merchandise for our new house - light fixtures, furniture, window coverings, etc., we found it a gigantic pain to have them shipped to my parents', only to have to load them in our car and take them to our new house in Cedar Falls.  So, we started shipping things to Beau's office.  Long story short, it seems we get a shipment almost daily right now - sometimes, to Beau's office, sometimes, to my parents', sometimes, to our old address on accident, and other times, well, we have no idea!  If I can't keep it straight, I'm almost positive UPS can't!  I've gotten so confused when I call online companies and they ask to verify my home address that I play a guessing game with them until we get to the right one.  And poor Cruz!  Of course our preschool would pick this month to start learning addresses!  He's asking when we get to move to our new house more often all the time, I think because I reminded him of all his toys in storage.  It's going to be like Christmas for him soon enough.

When it comes to building a house, I most definitely have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest.  On one hand, I don't know how people designed homes without it, while on the other hand, I'm confident it's cost us a lot of money. :)  Not to mention, it's made this decision process completely ridiculous at times.  In many ways, our decisions got much easier after the "big things" were purchased and decided.  Big things like flooring and siding, electrical wires and plugins, cabinets, windows, and tile.  Once we got past the dreaded paint colors, I made the mistake of thinking it was smooth sailing from then til move-in.  Wrong!  I have spent the last three weeks tirelessly searching for light fixtures for every room of the house.  That's over 20 light fixtures, people!  And to think my loving husband actually thought I could go to Menards and pick them all out at once!  Our contractor suggested we go to a few lighting specialty stores, but I decided to take my own route and rely on Pinterest to direct me to my favorites online.  Much easier said than done.  After keeping in mind a budget, measuring and searching for ideal sizes, matching and coordinating colors, attempting to decide what look I'm going for in each room, and dealing with company return and restocking policies when something arrives damaged or definitely not what I was going for, I have been in the depths of lighting hell!  And then I get these brilliant ideas from Pinterest that involve things like buying a cheap ceiling fan, replacing the hood plate with a three-bulb ceiling fan light kit, removing the three bulb 'hoods' and replacing them with cage lights and Edison bulbs for our outdoor ceiling fan.  So, instead of buying a completely fine outdoor ceiling fan, I buy a fan, a coordinating fan kit, and then find cage lights to order online.  I can't wait to see the look on my electrician's face when I explain that one to him. :)  Needless to say, I'm sure others have approached this building process much more efficiently than I have.  

And then comes our stories from the seats.  Car seats, that is.  If I have learned one thing in the three months I've commuted to work, it's how very lucky we are to live within five minutes of our job, our kids' school, and Target. :)  I have completely taken for granted the luxury of being able to run home to grab lunch, to throw something in the crock pot for dinner, or to grab my computer charger when I forgot to pack it the first time.  My alarm goes off at 5:30 every morning and it's a race to the finish just to get showers in, makeup on, bags packed, breakfast prepared, and kids out the door in time.  But the worst predicament has been when the kids are sick.  Beau and I are blessed with jobs that allow us to be flexible.  We take turns being where we need to be and often run back and forth so our kids can be home on days when they need to be.  When you live a half hour from home, this is far more difficult, if not impossible!  And with how sick we have all been the past three months, we've had to be creative and flexible with our schedules far more than I thought we'd have to be.  I swear Mila's been sick more than she's been healthy this winter and I am counting down the days until spring is here and my baby can kiss this dreaded cold season goodbye.  

But then, there are the sunrises.  I have seen my fair share of them the past three months and they have been this sweet, beautiful glimpse of perspective and hope to start so many of my mornings.  I've been able to catch a lot of them driving east every morning on Highway 3, and they always make me smile and glance in my rear view mirror to stare at the faces of my babes as they watch their movie with their stocking caps on, content and at peace in their car seats.  It is in these moments that I remember we are doing just fine.  God gives us hope in every sunrise, in every new day.  That drive, no matter how cold some of the mornings have been, has become this quiet little pause button at the start of every day, an opportunity for me to reset and recognize all the good that has existed during this crazy challenging period of our lives.  I smile and remember watching Cruz climb up on the couch with Papa to snuggle before bed.  I remember Cruz and Mila's baths together, trying to get Mila dressed as she crawls away from me on Cruz's bed, followed by "Five Little Monkeys" and lots of cuddles to follow.  I remember waking up with Cruz standing next to our bed after making the long trek from his all the way downstairs every night.  I remember impromptu visits to Great Grandma and Papa's, Parenthood sob sessions and Bachelor girl fests with Mom, and picnics at the library on a Saturday afternoon.  It's been wild and crazy most of the time, but I have a feeling we are all going to miss each other quite a bit when we part ways.  My kids aren't going to know what to do.

Thankful for this season, for the lessons, and most importantly, for the sunrises.  For there was never a night or a problem that could defeat them.
          

5/52

"a portrait of each of my children, once each week, in 2015"

Cruz: Received his first letter home from a teacher on Friday.  He was not being a good listener and was provoking his friends to be funny instead of listening, too.  Friday night, we were discussing our action plan as parents and Beau asked my parents, "Did Ashley ever get a bad letter sent home from school?"  After they gave an emphatic "No", Beau mumbled "hmm..." and walked away.  I guess he was having a little deja vu with that one. :)

Mila: FINALLY turned a corner late last week.  She has four new molars in that mouth of hers and she seems back to her bright-eyed, busy self.  We had a good, quiet weekend getting snowed in at Grandma and Papa's.  Mila took long naps both days and learned to say the word baby.  She says it in this high-pitched sweet little voice, usually when sticking her finger in a doll's eye, exclaiming, "bae bae?" and looking around for approving nods.  

A New House Bucket List

We have hit the month mark of moving in to our new house and we are beyond excited!  I stopped over there Friday and it was utter chaos.  There was a guy spraying trim in the kids' rooms, another one painting doors downstairs, someone building our board and batten in the office, and someone else grouting our bathroom floor.  The energy was palpable and it is so rewarding to see it all come to life before our very eyes.  

The other day, Beau and I ran to Des Moines for a quick trip to look at furniture.  We've been so busy making decision after decision on the house that we haven't had time to think much about what we want to put in it!  And since everyone has warned us furniture can sometimes take ten weeks to get in, we decided we better get a move on it if we want to start making this a home as soon as possible.  

We had a blast together, taking advantage of rare, much-needed time for just the two of us, laying on couches that weren't ours and imagining movie nights cozied up with our little ones.  We splurged and purchased an unbelievably comfortable couch, love seat, and a farmhouse table for our dining area.  Actually purchasing things we can soon move into those rooms made it feel very real and made us very excited!  Little by little, this is all coming to life.

On the drive home, we went back and forth sharing all the things we were most excited for about this house.  Amenities we've never had before, like a warm, attached garage, a mudroom for our shoes and coats, and more than one bathroom!  After months of making decisions, feeling displaced, and trying to maintain some sense of normalcy under a heavy amount of stress, we can finally see the end in sight.  Soon, we can focus on settling in and planting our roots in this new place we will call home.

So, a little house bucket list of things I can't wait to do in our new pad...

// Curl up on our new couch and watch season after season of Parenthood.  

// Blare Alabama Shakes through our whole house audio and clean with lemon oil and vinegar.

// Craft with Cruz at the kitchen table after Mila goes to bed.

// Make stiff drinks and sit on the deck with Beau.

// Host dinners for the friends who have opened up their tables to us the past three months.  Fill the house with my favorite scents of garlic and tomatoes and open bottles of red wine around the island.

// Fill the house with fresh green plants of vases of spring blooms.

// Soak for an hour in a tub filled to the brim with bubbles, dog-earring pages of a new book.

// Fill the pantry with clean, healthy foods for our family.  It's not every day you get the opportunity to fill completely empty cupboards with food!

// Play board games in front of the fire.  

// Have fresh baked banana bread ready for Cruz when he gets done with school.  I would be his forever and ever. :)

Happy February, everyone!