Homemade goodness

I love seeing my babies in little hats knit by their grandmother.

(So much so I've been known to keep their heads covered even when we are indoors.
They only stay this tiny for so long.)

Me and my Hoo: Merry go round

It seems silly now that while I was pregnant with Evan I actually worried about how I could possibly love another child as much as I love Lane. I guess I thought I would have to divide the love I already had among the two of them.

For all of you moms of one who wonder the same thing - and I know you do - here's the thing. You don't have to divide your love. You just have more love to give. You love your second child just as much as you love your first. Your heart finds a way.

You know what I do have to divide. My time. And for me, that has been the trickiest part of the last four weeks. I still want to shower Lane with as much love and attention as I always have - and I want Evan to get his fair share too.

There are times during the day when it is easy to put Evan in his chair and focus on Lane. And then there are other times - nursing - when I can't focus on Lane. All my attention has to be on Evan. We are kind of stuck to one another - if you know what I mean.

Lane's adjusted well. But last week, I could tell he needed some mama and me time. It seemed every time I sat down to nurse Evan, Lane would request something from me. It didn't take long to figure out it had nothing to do with him wanting milk or juice or for me to play cars.

He just wanted me.

So Friday night, I gave him some much deserved mama time. We went to one of our favorite date spots: the merry go round.

I'm going to be honest here: I looked forward to our date all day long but when it came time to get in the car and drive the 30 plus minutes to get there, I kind of just a little wanted to back out. The fast food Chinese joint close to our house almost became our date destination.

Then, I realized what I was doing was so much more than taking him to dinner and to ride the merry go round.

So, with sleepy eyes, I drove to the mall. As we walked across the parking lot, hand-in-hand, Lane saw the bright lights of the merry go round and exclaimed, "There is mama. I ride tiger and deer."

All through dinner we talked about what we would ride. Then we rode the tiger and deer until I was dizzy and couldn't stand any more.

We topped off our date with some frozen yogurt and fruit then headed home to find Papa and Evan snuggled on the couch enjoying their quiet date night.

A perfect date with my little man.

Isn't he lovely

Four weeks

Tonight marks four weeks since we held our littlest babe in our hands for the very first time.
Yet, it feels like he's been a part of our family forever.

Make shift sandbox

There's a little patch of land in our backyard where grass won't grow. Papa's tried.

Each attempt failed. He's given up on grass and moved to pinestraw. Then mulch. Just this summer, rocks.

The dogs strew the pinestraw about. The mulch winds up in my house. The rocks thrown by Lane.

We called in a professional landscaper. Out of our budget. So, we live with the mess and the mud.

A few weeks ago, before the weather got so cold, I called to Lane as he played in the yard.

"What doing, Hoo," I asked.

"I dig dirt in backyard, Mama," he replied.

And there he was. Content as could be. Digging in dirt.

Slung

I pulled out the sanity saver (sling) yesterday in order to get some things done around my house - sweeping, laundry, dishes.

We've been stuck in the house for what feels like forever and our cute little Cape is a huge mess.


With Evan hanging out in his hammock, I was able to get some things done around here. However, this morning my house looks about the same as it did yesterday morning.

So we are out of here today. Off to bounce with the besties.



This one needs a break too. The short hair has taken the brunt of Lane's boredom in the form of pure torture.



Cute, aren't they?





But in reality, this is how the two spend most of their time. One running away. The other chasing after.



I'm pretty sure she put a posting on Craigslist:

Free to good home.
German Shorthair Pointer.
Have lots of love to give.
Up to date on shots.
Prefer home without children.

Like Papa

Our boy's got it bad for his papa.

"Like Papa," he will tell me as he mimics one of his papa's moves.

It took us a while to figure out this one. But when we did, Papa and I had a good laugh.

You see, Papa's got this funny little habit of holding his shirt with his teeth while putting on his belt each morning.

Yes, Lane. Like Papa.

You have no idea just how much you are like your papa.

How high

Fourteen......

Fifteen.....

Wow, bird. Sixteen blocks stacked.........



Almost .................

Snow bird

We dressed him in layers, and convinced him to wear a hat - even if that hat didn't cover his ears. We compromise here.

He headed outside with Papa and the short hair to play in what he refers to as snowman. He'd waited all day to get out there.

It only took a few seconds for his little feet to run across the yard. Soon, he was tasting the ice and snow and giggling with delight. He'd call his pup every couple of minutes - making sure she stayed close to our Cape.

He helped Papa shovel some snow. His cheeks turned rosy red.

And then he discovered a slick spot of ice on the driveway. The first slip was an accident. The second, third and fourth - not so much.

"I slip, Mama," he told me with a smile on his face.

He would have stayed out there all night had we let him. Luckily, I've got some marshmallows stored in a snack jar, which worked perfectly for coaxing our little snow bird back in the house.