so much fun

greetings from Ohio

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

We traveled to Ohio over the weekend to visit R’s sister Michelle, her boyfriend Bob, and our nephew Spencer.  What. FUN!

It was weird to see Theo going up and down the stairs with no problem.  I was hovering like a helicopter the first few times but tried to back off over the course of the weekend as I realized he’s got this.  What I wasn’t expecting was to see Dex climbing up the stairs with NO trouble at all.  Yes, I remained hovering helicopter with Dexter.

Theo had the most fun playing in Spencer’s room, in Spencer’s super cool bed.  I have to admit, I’m a little jealous of this loft bunk from Ikea. All weekend Theo was announcing “I wanna play in Pencer’s room!” And play they did!  They were basically adorable in their matching McQueen slippers. 
Dexter took a little snooze on Daddy’s shoulder…
then we took a short ride to the local fire station for some exploration. 
still sleepy, mama!
hello, brown eyed boy!
Michelle’s neighbor, Chief Tony, welcomed us inside. 
both boys love their Aunt Chelle

jaws of life!
Official Freddie Firefighter badge.  And yes, Theo always wears a band-aid, boo boo or no boo boo.
We had a great, great time. 
There was more playing back at the house (in Pencer’s room of course)!
Theo was exhausted, as evidenced by him sucking his thumb for 5 continuous hours or so. 
See?  Coolest bed ever.
Sunday morning it was time to pack it up and head back home. We loved our weekend and spending time with family.  Can’t wait to see them again in a couple of weeks for Theo’s birthday. 
xo, 
~C~

blooming.

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest
Dexter & Dawson
I gotta give it up to professional photographers.  It is not easy to get 2 babies to look in the same direction and smile simultaneously. 
Aren’t these two buddies the most precious little things?
Dawson’s mama and I went to college together and stayed in touch off and on through Myspace (oh, remember Myspace?) and Facebook.  We really started talking a lot more after I started my blog and then even more a few months later when she got pregnant. 
She always had questions for me about pregnancy, then labor and delivery, then about having a newborn.  Hey, I’m no expert, but I like feeling like one.  I always take an interest in my friends’ pregnancies and babies, that’s my thing. That’s what I love.  If I have a pregnant friend, you can bet I’ll be cheering them along throughout their pregnancy and pep talking them, pumping them up about how childbirth is what their bodies are built to do.  That the female body already knows how to give birth, even when the female mind is scared to death.  If they’d let me, I’d be in the delivery room with pom poms and a megaphone.  Maybe that wouldn’t be so helpful.
Alas…
Some friends appreciate it, some friends blow it off.  Dawson’s mama, I guess she appreciated it.  And I appreciate that.  And since her sweet little peanut was born last August, we’ve become pretty good friends.  Almost daily texters.  We went from just talking about babies to a whole lot more.  I like it.
Sometimes friendships bloom where you least expect them.  Sometimes they wilt when you never thought they would.  I’m thankful for my new and blossoming friendship with Dawson’s mommy.  Even though we live an hour apart, we’ve made a point to get together quite a bit.  Every relationship takes a little work, you know.  I guess the ones that were meant to wilt…just wilt.  The ones that are meant to bloom will flourish.
Maybe motherhood bonded us.  Maybe it’s what has made other friends of mine drift away.  Maybe some friendships aren’t supposed to span lifetimes.  Maybe they’re just intended to support you through a particular phase of life.  Maybe that’s all this is, but I hope not.
So us two moms, we’ve decided that our little silly billies will be friends.  We will force their little baby friendship to bloom, whether they like it or not. 
So far?  So good. 
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Happy Tuesday.
~C~




the best thursday and friday in many moons.

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

R surprised me Thursday morning after I got off work when he texted and said he was working a half day and asked if I wanted to go get pizza for lunch.  Um? Yes!  I told him that the boys would be with us because I promised our babysitter I would come get them after I took a quick nap since, you know, she’s 9 months pregnant and all.  So I hurried home, got my nap in, and picked up the babes.  We had a wonderful pizza lunch with two tired, silly billy boys.

While we were at lunch, R told me that he also took Friday off.  As much as I love being home with Dexter and Theo every Friday, it’s always nice to have company, help, and extra time with my main squeeze.  What a surprise!  I was super excited.  
It’s kind of hard trying to come up with things to do here in the winter.  I thought about the big library downtown but when I looked it up, I couldn’t really see that anything was going on there.  Found LOTS of cute sounding classes for the boys through the week – you know, when I can’t take them.  Boo to that.  Then I remembered the indoor playground and old-fashioned soda fountain about 45 minutes from home. We hadn’t been there since July, so we decided to go back on Friday. Wow, it’s crazy looking back at the pics from our last visit there.  Both boys are so much bigger now!


The boys slept all the way home and SURPRISE, they didn’t want to take naps Friday afternoon, but who cares?  Shockingly enough, they weren’t too bad considering the lack of sleep.  R’s extra day and a half off felt like a little mini-vacation.  Wonder if he’s thinking about getting that work schedule switched around? 
feelin’ pretty happy, y’all. 
~C~