8

8 years.  

How has it already been 8 years since we said "I will"??!  I hardly remember life before, and life after has exceeded my dreams.  We have 3 amazing boys and I wouldn't trade our life together for anything.

I'm sure somewhere there is the {written or un-} rule that you don't go into marriage hoping or wanting to change your spouse.  But I'm sure I'm not alone in believing I could change tweak him.  He's not quite the barbaric bachelor I married 8 years ago . . . he doesn't usually use clothes as kleenex anymore, afterall.  hehehe

But the one aspect of my dear husband I did believe and wish I could change, was his romantic side.  Or lack thereof.  And let me tell you, it hasn't happened.  One. Single. Bit.

So, I give up.  I quit.  He'll never be romantic and I just need to deal with it.  

This year I decided I'm done.  And, to follow the mantra of "if you can't beat them, follow them", I took his lead this year.  There were no trips to Hallmark, searching for the *perfect* card.  Instead, there was a thorough search of someecards.com and oh my word . . . so many to choose from.  

The following is the email he received this morning.  And, it was perfect.  He even showed his coworkers . . . something he certainly would not have done with a mushy, or even crass, Hallmark knock-off {cause you know I wasn't spending money on a legit Hallmark for the goober}.

Happy Anniversary, Babe!!  I love you!!

hahaha!!!

VA Beach 2013

Last weekend we headed down to VA Beach to visit Aunt Shannon for the 2nd summer.  I can definitely see this becoming a tradition . . . assuming she invites us back.  ;-)

The boys all love the beach and the water, and although I was AWFUL this year and didn't even take the "real" camera out of the bag, I did snap a few pictures with my cell phone.  The big boys were entirely too busy to pose for many, and I never even got one of everyone all coordinated and cute when we went out for dinner . . . you win some and lose some, right?

I think my favorite part of this picture {aside from it's one of the only ones proving the big boys were actually there} is that I caught Hudson in the background "diving" in the water.  All 2 inches of it.

A munchkin acting like a big boy.

They're so cute.

A "a-juss" and cat nap break.
{this was on Friday.  On Saturday morning he took a nap in the ocean.  Literally, Shannon and I took turns holding him while he slept.}

Friday night we went out to dinner and then to a local Farmer's Market for music and ice cream.  It was fun . . . with a side of interesting.  :)

On our way to dinner.  Shew.  

And, Monday morning as we were packing up.  Aunt Shannon had already gone to work . . . complete with heels.  H & E were helping me pack upstairs and H said, "Yook, Mommy.  I go to work."  Ha!

Thanks again for having us, Aunt Shannon!  We had a blast!  Sorry about the fingernail polish, the necklace, and the lamp.  We loooooooove you!

14 months

Easton . . . you're 

FOURTEEN MONTHS OLD!!

{I'll eventually catch up on the past few months!!}

* You are such a happy, smiley guy!

* You finally started walking {almost} full time on July 3rd.

* You didn't have a doctor appointment this month, but you had to go back for a weight check because you hadn't gained any weight between 9 & 12 months.  As we suspected, it was because you're just too busy.  It certainly isn't because you don't eat.

* You weighed 22.9 pounds and are probably around 32".

* You say a few words: ball, "oose" {juice}, bye-bye, hi, and occasionally ma-ma.

* You LOVE to talk on the phone . . . or anything that looks like a phone . . . and immediately put it up to your ear/on your shoulder.  

* We took a long weekend trip to Oma's and got to play with lots of boys!

* You are still a great sleeper - at least a 2-3 hour nap and 10+ hours at night.

* If there was any doubt, you're definitely mine.  :)

* You LOVE your brothers!  And balls.  I'm not sure which you love more.  You are also a Daddy's boy.  You usually want to know where I am, but don't usually mind being out of my sight.  You reach for Daddy as soon as he hits the door, and the big boys as soon as you see them every day after nap and when you get up in the morning.

* We made a quick trip to the shore last weekend, and spent Monday morning on Assateague Island.  You LOVED the sand!  People walking on the beach stopped to watch as you crawled, 'snow-plowing' the sand with your hands as you went.  You also didn't mind the water even though it was cold!

* You are into everything.  I can't turn my back for 3 seconds without you getting into something.  You're definitely giving Hudson a run for the title of "monkey".

* We went down to the Herndon fireworks for the 4th and you were completely enthralled.

* You think you're a big boy and can do anything your brothers do.  Even when you shouldn't.  

* You've cut 3 molars in the past few weeks, making for some rough days, but even at your fussiest, you're still happy.  You now have 11 teeth!

* You're such a little flirt.  When someone speaks to you, you'll tuck your head into my shoulder and grin at them.  

'

You are such an amazing little guy and your smile can light up the room.  Your belly laugh is as contagious as Garrett's and your blue eyes sparkle as mischievously as Hudson's.  You're such a combination of the two, yet have your own spark, too.  I'm so blessed to be your mommy.  I love you, Munchkin.

Back Again

Well, I only thought I was back before.  Apparently the computer I bought was a dud, ate 4 months worth of pictures from my real camera, and subsequently stopped communicating with the keyboard.  Niiiiice. 

But, the silver lining is that my next door neighbor was an IT guy in his former life and not only fixed {wiped out} this computer, but salvaged my pictures.  Praise the Lord.  I don't know that I'll ever catch up the past 7 months, but I'll hit the highlights as I put up some pictures.

Our newest 'life event' is that the munchkin finally decided to walk.  He took 2 steps on Mother's Day at the insistence of me and Mom, but other than an occasional step here and there, he waited until he was darn well ready, and proceeded to walk across the room.  This video was taken less than 24 hours after he first did it. And he hasn't stopped since.  

Happy 4th of July!

Slices of Life

I'm baaaaaack!  Finally I have a new computer {thank you, tax returns!} and although haven't messed with it much {what moron thought windows 8 was a good idea??!}, I will soon figure out how to get pictures off the camera {perfect timing since the memory card is full!} and get caught up on the past 3 months. 

Until then, here are a few things that the boys have been saying recently that I don't want to forget.  I saw a "Slices of Life" entry on another blog and thought it was cute, so I'm totally stealing that idea  {and if I ever come across or remember where I saw it, I'll give her{?} credit!}

* {H} ~ "Mommy!  That yight is hot!"

* After I asked Hudson how old he was and he held out his hands as he said "two-half!", Garrett said, "Mommy.  That silly Hudson.  He put out his 2 five hands to say he was 2!"

* {G} If we're lost we can ask for ca-rections.

* We took Rich to the "hairport" today so he could leave on a "hairplane".  {H}

* Garrett is our thumb sucker and has always sucked it when he's tired or after eating something sweet.  A few weeks ago he had a cold and I had given him some cough syrup.  A little later, he came out of his room to tell me, "Mommy.  After I took my medicine, I sucked my thumb to mix it up."

* Garrett got a Nabi tablet for this birthday, so we have delved into the world of electronics and "video" games.  Angry birds was pre-loaded and I'd been playing it one day during nap time :) .  Upon turning it back on that afternoon, it was still on the screen, so he played it for a little while.  {Sidenote: how in the hell did he know what Angry Birds was even though he - nor I - had ever played it before??!} The next day while I was cooking dinner, I hear from the living room: "Hudson.  Let's play Angry Birds.  You stand still and I"ll jump on you."

* After a random, nasty sounding cough, I aasked, "Hudson!  Where did that cough come from?"
{H}~ "It comed from my mouf."

* After fussing at G {again!} for jumping around on the living room furniture, "But Mommy! I'm superman and superman can fly!"

Eventually

Eventually I will blog again {I miss it!!} but my computer's jacked up and while I could use R's computer, I can't upload pictures onto his. And only reading words is no fun, so, I haven't.

My phone is also an option {like I am now} but I can't arrange the pictures like I'd like, so . . . there has been silence around these parts.

Until then, ill share with you my newest favorite picture . . . Of some little men who refuse to stop growing.