catch the moment: week 11

Posted on March 20, 2015March 20, 2015 by mommyinthemidwest

What a busy week! I have so many things I have been meaning to write about – the boys’ new bunk bed, Theo’s birthday weekend, funny things the boys have been saying, our upcoming vacation, and so much more. There are never enough hours in the day or days in the week.

Linking up with Mindi at Stavish Stills Photography, Carrie at My Life, Our Journey, and Stephanie at Behind the Camera and Dreaming.

071/365: Thursday, March 12th. FAIL. Fail, fail, fail. Not the dinner…the picture. I’m so sad – I broke my 15+ month streak of taking a picture every day with my DSLR. I didn’t grab my camera before work because I thought I’d have time to stop and pick it up before going out for a fancy (to me) dinner with the girls, but ended up not having time. Even told Ryan when I got home that I hadn’t taken a “real” picture yet that day. And still forgot! Waah! Aside from disappointing myself, the dinner and the night out were wonderful!

072/365: Friday, March 13th. Grocery store trip after work with 2 hungry boys went very well until the very end – when this little blonde boy dropped a glass jar of hot fudge on the floor (shattering it) while I had my back turned. And not more than 10 minutes after I warned him of the dangers of those glass jars in the pickle aisle. Yeeeeppp, mean mom made him put his $2 stretchy shark back on the shelf.

073/365: Saturday, March 14th. My sister and her family visited over the weekend and we drove an hour east to visit our grandmother. The day included a special trip to the toy store we visited as children ourselves, Veach’s Toy Station. The store is HUGE and any child’s dream. My sister let Theo pick out his own belated birthday gift – a Lego set, a tiny baby hippopotamus, and 2 Melissa & Doug sticker/activity pads. He was thrilled. It was a wonderful day.

074/365: Sunday, March 15th. We decided to visit the Indianapolis Museum of Art after hearing that there was no admission fee through early April. The website would lead you to believe that it was a very kid-friendly local attraction but we didn’t really feel that way except for in this one area. We made the most of it and had a great time just being together. Along with the museum people who followed us around, telling us not to let the kids breathe near the art. The kids LOVED using watercolors and made some really neat artwork.

075/365: Monday, March 16th. It was 74 glorious degrees Monday!

076/365: Tuesday, March 17th. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

077/365: Wednesday, March 18th. What a great big beautiful sky! We had such a nice weekend with family and the day after my sister left, my cousin Kara visited for 2 days. Even though I had to work, we enjoyed our evenings and even snuck out to watch Cinderalla Wednesday night. I’m feeling very full of love for my wonderful family!

Day 74 is my favorite this week – my nephew Malachi and little Dexter painting at the art museum. Which one do you like best?

xo,

~C~

catch the moment: week 10

Posted on March 12, 2015 by mommyinthemidwest

This week has been all about Theo. He had his celebration at Montessori school on Friday, his birthday party on Saturday, and a surprise overnight road trip to Chicago on his birthday, which was Sunday (see my sentimental, sappy ramblings in a love letter to Theo HERE). I attempted to start sorting through the photos from Friday through Monday and have decided to separate all that fun into 2 separate posts. Hopefully I will get to it this weekend – we had so much fun. I am anxious to put my thoughts, memories, and photos together in one space here to look back on someday. Linking up withMindi at Stavish Stills Photography, Carrie at My Life, Our Journey, and Stephanie at Behind the Camera and Dreaming.

064/365: Thursday, March 5th. Pull your eyes north of those pretty baby blues, right to the center of the forehead. You may notice a green hue. That’s what happens when your child paints his hair and forehead green at school.

065/365: Friday, March 6th. Theo generously passing out bat symbol-shaped rice krispie treats to his friends at school during his celebration. These celebrations are the most adorable thing ever. I heart Montessori. So hard.

066/365: Saturday, March 7th. I had such a hard time choosing just one photo per day to share this week. We had so many amazing moments. This is Theo, the star of the show, at his Ninja Gym birthday party. Everyone seemed to have a great time; it was just a whirlwind for me. I always say I’m going to slow down and try to enjoy more but I find myself such a nervous ball of energy and excitement that when I look back, it’s just a blur. I know Theo was happy and that’s truly all that matters!

067/365: Sunday, March 8th – Theo’s FIFTH birthday! The highlight of (and inspiration for) our one night trip to Chicago was visiting Legoland Discovery Center in Schaumburg, 30 miles from downtown. This is just a small portion of the Lego model of Chicago as you enter LDC. It was stunning; we were all in awe. I think Ryan and I could have soaked in all the details for an hour. The boys liked it, but were ready to breeze on to the next exhibit after just a few minutes.

068/365: Monday, March 9th. RARE family selfie (maybe the only one, ever???) at Navy Pier. Pure happiness bubbling out of every inch of my being – one of those happy moments where everything feels exactly as it should. I had such an overpowering feeling of love for my family and gratitude for the time we spent together.

069/365: Tuesday, March 10th. After our very fun, celebratory, whirlwind weekend, I returned to work. I couldn’t stop thinking about my family. I was missing them and Chicago and the whole dang happy weekend. Both boys took a Legoland Discovery Center map to school for show & tell. I might have picked up a little souvenir for myself while we were there. Every time I look at my new key chain, I think about our special getaway.

070/365: Wednesday, March 11th. Theo’s 5 year check up and a doctor visit for an infected bump on the back of Dexter’s right knee. 5 year check up stats: 40 lbs and 42.5″ tall so he’s still right around the 60th percentile like he has been the last few years. 2 shots. A lot of tears. I think he was more nervous about the shots than anything, but he cooperated and sat still like the nurses asked him to before they stuck him in each arm at the same time. He barely cried during the shots but let loose like Niagara Falls when they gave him the wrong sucker. I think he was just a nervous, emotional mess and relieved it was over. Sweet boy.This week, my favorite picture (hands down!) is our family selfie!! It may not be a fantastic photo but it means a lot to me.
Which one do you like best?

xo,

~C~

Theo is 5!

Posted on March 8, 2015March 8, 2015 by mommyinthemidwest

Theo,

I have been thinking about what to say in this letter to you for weeks. Your 5th birthday has been on my mind since right after Christmas. Not because I didn’t know what to buy you or where to have your party, but because I can’t believe my first baby boy is turning FIVE. It’s now been five whole years since your Daddy and I went to the hospital in anticipation of your arrival. What would your face look like? Would you have lots of hair? We were filled with excitement and worry. Did we deserve to become parents to a tiny human who depended on us for every single thing for his survival? Would we even know what to do?

Your first birthday was a hard one. I cried as we sang the birthday song to you at your party, surrounded by friends and family. The first baby year was officially over. You’d gone from a squishy pile of helplessness to a walking, talking, outgoing, opinionated little toddler. Two was hard for me, too. My baby who could barely walk a year earlier was learning and growing so fast. Stringing together sentences that were turning into conversations. Your third and fourth birthdays breezed by more easily with so many milestones and changes in between. All along reminding myself that this was the youngest you would ever be. I could never get this time back with you.

I think that’s why having a son who is turning 5 is SO hard for me. The past half-decade has whizzed by so quickly and I know these last few years are only a small indicator of how quickly the next 13 will go. I don’t want you to grow up. I don’t want you to get to a point where you are too big for hugs and kisses. For you to be annoyed when I rest my cheek on your head and smell your hair. I know once you start Kindergarten, time will only move more quickly. 1^st grade, 6^th grade, 10^th grade and beyond. Homework, class projects, field trips. Sleepovers, football games, girlfriends. Job applications, prom, college applications.

I know I can’t go back to those baby years and I’m not even saying I want to. They were just so sweet and it’s sad knowing that you get bigger and more independent every day. I can’t know when I will pick you up for the last time. I can’t know when you will sit on my lap for the last time. I’m so sentimental about where we have been and where we go next in life. It’s a beautiful pain that I never understood until I became your mother. Of course I want you to grow, learn, and explore with confidence and a passion. I want you to continue surprising and teaching me, as you have done for the past 5 years.

I hope you always love learning and building and making others laugh. I love that you love to color, write, and draw. I love that you are curious about everything. I hope you will try to do lots of things that are hard. I hope you will find things that make you feel happy and fulfilled.

I hope you love Kindergarten. So much. I hope you have a great teacher and make lots of friends. I hope you learn your way around quickly and feel at ease walking the hallways of your school. I hope you are kind to the people around you and that they are kind to you in return. I just want what’s best for you, whatever that might be. I know you won’t always choose the things that I think are best, but I hope you make the right choices for you. I hope you will prove me wrong. I hope I never say “I told you so.” I hope you learn from your mistakes. I will love you. I will always support you. For now, you are still my baby boy. You are getting big, but today, you are still little. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you. You are five.

xoxoxoxo forever,

Mommy