Missing My Dylan!

Dylan has spent the last two nights with his Bop and Nana.  This is the longest he has ever been away from home with the exception of when I was in the hospital having Zoe. 

I know as a child some of my fondest memories are from when I would go spend the night at my maternal grandparents' house.  It was fun to be the sole center of attention, get spoiled, and do "life" differently than how we did things at home.  I'm very thankful that my son has the opportunity to hopefully build some of his fondest childhood memories spending the night with Bop and Nana. 

Since I'm a stay at home mom, it's not very often I'm ever away from either one of my kids for more than an hour or so.  And when I am away from my kids, I'm usually very busy doing something or engaging with others.  So it's been very strange to be away from Dylan for two days and having life go on as normal. 

When you are away from someone, you often think about what you miss most. Dylan brings a whole lot of energy and entertainment into our home.  He's always talking, singing or doing something.  I know I've said if Dylan is quiet, there's something wrong so you better go find out what's happening.  But apart from just missing his presence, there are two times of the day that I miss him the most. 

The first is bedtime.  We have a set routine for nap time and bed time that anyone who puts Dylan down will follow.  But Dylan and I have our own special part of that routine that is just "between Mommy and Dylan" that happens right after books and saying our prayers.  I always ask Dylan for 10 kisses.  He gives me 10 kisses on my cheek while I count each one.  Sometimes he'll stop at 9 just to get me to ask for that one last kiss.  Then after our 10 kisses, we give each other a great big hug with arms wrapped tightly and we say "big hug, lots of love."  Then I tuck him under the covers and I tell him that I love him and wish him a good night.  As I get ready to shut his door, Dylan will call after me most of the time and say "I love you, Mommy!"  And it doesn't matter how the day was, my heart is so full and happy now. 

My second time of the day that I am missing the most is when Dylan wakes up.  He gets up and quietly comes to find me.  He wants to sneak up on me and then he screams out some saying.  Most recently he says "Argh!" because he is still in his pirate phase.  I always act surprised and of course happy to see him.  I greet him with our "good morning hug."  Dylan is always so happy when he wakes up.  He has been this way since he was born.  And he always wakes up with some idea of what he wants to eat for breakfast, what he wants to do, etc.  So my favorite conversations with Dylan are often those right after he wakes up because that is when he seems to want to talk to me the most.  I love our good morning hug and conversation. 

It is true that absence makes the heart grow fonder.  Just when I thought I couldn't possibly love Dylan anymore, he goes away from me for two nights, I realize that I love him even more than I could have imagined.  I'm ready to see my little boy and give him a great big good morning hug and get my 10 kisses! 

More Snow!

It is unbelievable that we have already had snow twice this season when the majority of the time we never even see one snow.  The snow we had this weekend was perfect.  It started falling Friday afternoon, was pure snow with no ice mixture, and was melted by Saturday night. 

I had told Dylan Friday morning that the weather was calling for snow so he had been on the lookout all day.  Late afternoon he and Zoe were playing by our big window in the family room and Dylan started screaming with glee "Mommy, it's snowing.  It's really snowing!"  He was right.  Dylan also thought the snow falling meant it was time for hot chocolate, and I couldn't deny him that. 

We spent most of the morning Saturday playing in the snow as a family.  Zoe was quite pleased with the snow this time.  It wasn't nearly as cold outside and the snow was powdery and shallow so it made it easier for her to walk in.  Although my little tottering Zoe fell quite a number of times as she tried to walk through the snow. 

Dylan was very excited about making snowballs and carried a snowball around with him most of the time.  We didn't have any sleds to borrow this time so my creative Dylan decided he'd sled down our heel all by himself.  He didn't need a sled because he just slide down on his bottom. 

Dylan and I had a small snowball fight which was a lot of fun.  Then in brotherly love (at least that is what I'll say was the cause) he decided to try to have a snowball fight with Zoe.  Unfortunately Dylan hit Zoe right in the face and she was not too happy at all. 

That's when it was time to come in and have some hot cocoa and snacks by the fire. What a great morning!

Happy Valentine's Day

Today was a great Valentine's Day...
It was Sunday, so we set the alarm to get up and be sure to make the early service at church.  After getting ready, I came downstairs and made heart shaped muffins for breakfast and bacon.  Dylan was very excited about the heart shaped muffins and exclaimed "I love heart shaped muffins, Mommy.  These are my favorites!"  This was the first time I had ever made them but his enthusiam makes me want to make them everyday.  At breakfast we gave the kids their Valentine Day cards that arrived in the mail yesterday from Grandma and Grandad.  They both were really excited to have some mail and Zoe handed us her card several times and said "Read!"  Dylan told us he could read his card all by himself and so he pretended he was reading the card several times and amazingly he always "read" the same message. 

After breakfast we headed to church, and I really enjoyed sitting with my husband listening to a message on love and marriage.  On the way home, we stopped by the store to run in and pick up two Valentine heart shaped balloons for the kids.  Dylan told us he would like a balloon for Valentine's Day so we thought that was a very acceptable request.

Upon our arrival home, I made heart shaped PBJs for the kids.  Once again, Dylan thought this was so wonderful.  He told me "I love you, Mommy!  Thank you!"  Zoe seemed to really enjoy them too.  She ate her entire sandwich!

After nap the kids presented me some Valentines that they had made for me with a little urging from Daddy.  I love seeing their creativity at these ages.  Dylan choose to color me a picture which was all in black.  Zoe made various swirls and lines in red.  While these Valentines may not look like much to anyone else, they were beautiful to me. 

Bop and Nana came for a visit this afternoon and brought the kids a few Valentine treats which made them very excited.  Dylan and Zoe enjoyed some time playing with all of us in the family room.  Dylan played "pirates" and walked the plank with Bop.  Zoe curled up and snuggled with Nana for a while in the rocking chair.  Both kids were excited to show off their Valentine balloons and had to play with them for quite a while.

David cooked dinner for me.  He fixed one of my favorite meals of his which is a rotisserie pork tenderloin with this amazing apricot glaze.  He also gave me a dozen long stem roses and a very sweet card with a personal note inside.  It is so nice to feel so special to him after all these years! 

You just can't beat this kind of Valentine's Day because today was what his day is all about to me - love.  I have been blessed to be surrounded by those who love me and who I love and simply adore.  I have enjoyed so many hugs and kisses from two little sweet ones and the love of my life.  Life just doesn't get any better than this!

The kids eating their heart shaped PBJs.

Zoe carried her balloon around all day.

Dylan played with his balloon most of the day.  It was a HUGE hit.

My beautiful roses from David.

Dylan going through all of his Valentines from friends at preschool.

Dylan showed Zoe that he loved her by sharing his treats from his friends with her.

Zoe's Passions

I have the joy of being able to watch Zoe grow into her personality each day.   She knows what she likes and what she doesn't and she is not one bit afraid to let you know either.  She will definitely speak up for herself, despite at first glance she appears to be shy and timid.  Zoe is a very passionate girl. Zoe has several passions but three are cleary very strong right now - these are books, drawing and dancing!

Zoe has a strong passion for books.  We've always read to our children since birth and we have tons of childrens books all around the house.  Zoe will sit down by the book basket in the family room several times a day and pull out various books and look through them.  She'll pick out a book and come over to me, hand the book to me, get on my lap and say "Read Mama!"  Then she gets so excited and her face lights up when I start reading to her.  One of the cutest things is when she takes a book or several to the table, or sits in a chair, and pretends to read.  She'll flip through the pages and babble while she looks at each one.  It's simply adorable.  When we are going somewhere, Dylan likes to take a toy to play with in the car and Zoe will follow suit by grabbing a book.  I think I could read to Zoe for hours on end and she would never get bored.  Zoe loves books so much that she has to sleep with a few books in her crib.  And when she wakes up in the morning or after nap, she'll often sit in her crib and "read" her books aloud.  I love to just sit in silence and listen to her over the baby monitor.  When I go in to get her up, her face lights up to see me and then she'll show me a book and she says "Read!"  I hope she'll always have this love of reading and that it will always enrich her life. 

Zoe loves to draw and we can't have enough Aqua Doodles or Magna Doodles around.  I have them in the play room, the diaper bag and in the car.  She's only 20 months old and can hold the writing instrument the proper way and no one has ever taught her.  Zoe will just draw and draw and draw.  When she is finished with her drawing, sometimes she'll hold it up with a big smile on her face and show off her masterpiece.  I wonder if there is a little artist growing inside my little girl. I hope drawing will always bring her the peace and solace that it seems to currently. 

The other passion that really defines Zoe right now is her love of dancing.  Dylan loves to sing and Zoe loves to dance.  When Dylan sings, Zoe will dance a lot of the time even if she just wiggles in her chair.  I think Zoe often expresses her happiness and excitement through her dances.  She doesn't need any music either - she'll just start dancing around and spinning around and picking those feet up and down.  And whenever there is music, well Zoe is sure to dance then.  She has the cutest little moves.  They are so childlike and so innocent.  I can't even begin to describe them.  When she dances, I can't help but to light up with delight and it warms my heart.  Her happiness just radiates from her and she has a big smile on her face.  I don't know if this is all the start of a lifelong passion, a gift, or what, but I love seeing her dance.  I hope that she will always dance in whatever way she chooses. 

Zoe, I love you for all that you are today and for all that you will become.  I love you for being you.  When you grow up and start to make decisions on what you want to be, I hope I can help you by reminding you of your passions through the years.  I will always be here to support and encourage your passions in life whatever they may be! 

Zoe moved our time out mat from the corner into the middle of the floor and started dancing away on it. 

Zoe working on a masterpiece on the travel aquadoodle.

Zoe sitting happily reading a book at the table.

Milestones

Having two little toddlers so close in age makes it seem like we celebrate quite a bit of milestones around our house.  Today we celebrated one of our bigger milestones so far with Dylan. 

Dylan is officially potty trained and has been wearing big boy underwear with no accidents for a little over two weeks now!  I'm so proud of him!  He has been doing such a great job and even wants to go to the bathroom all by himself.  While he isn't quite there yet, he's pretty close.

Dylan, the great negotiator, asked Bop and Nana if they would take him to Chuck E Cheese when he could wear big boy underwear.  Who could turn that down?  So today, we all went to Chuck E Cheese!  The kids had a blast. 

Dylan and Zoe in the "red car."

Dylan on an ABC ride.

Zoe on a Teletubbies ride.

Dylan riding the clock swing.

Zoe on the horse. 

The kids worked up quite an appetite for lunch after all the running around at Chuck E Cheese.  So we all packed up and met Daddy for lunch at Steak and Shake.

Our baby boy is no baby anymore.  No more diapers for Dylan!  I'm so proud of my him.

Love and Acceptance

When David and I were about to become parents, we had many discussions on what things were most important to instill in the lives our children.  Most of these conversations centered around values, the things we wanted to teach them, the kind of parents we wanted to be, the activities and things we wanted to do with our children, what is important to us, what mistakes we hoped we didn't make, etc. For me and the way my mind works I needed to take all these things and simplify them into a broad statement or two.  I remember telling David I wanted to sum it up almost like a mission statement.  My mind was always working like I was a manager leading a business and group of people - and actually it still does.  I want things to make sense and for expectations to be vividly clear for everyone.  So while we didn't come up with a "mission statement" exactly we came up with two core concepts.  The first of these is that we always want our children to know that they are loved and accepted by us unconditionally.  The second is that we agreed our most important role as the parents of Dylan and Zoe is to do the best job we can to instill them with strong, good characters and souls.  We felt this was huge!   What a major task we have before us!!! 

I feel like a child who knows that they are unconditionally loved and accepted no matter what will have a stronger sense of security and confidence as they are in this world.  I want Dylan and Zoe to know that no matter what mistakes, decisions they make, life choices, etc that I will always be here to love them and accept them for the unique people that they are.  While I may scold them, discipline them, be disappointed at times, I want them to know that nothing could ever make my love for them diminish.  However, I also know I'm human and our emotions can get the best of us.  I also know that I'm still dealing with toddlers so this task is pretty easy now. 

So now we know what are visions are for our kids and why those are what they are.  But the biggest, most important task is knowing how do we execute on them?  The art of execution on this is larger than life and requires daily efforts. I'm continually trying to fill my brain with knowledge on how to execute.  Whoever said parenting wasn't easy, really said an understatement, didn't they?

So I'm off on my journey to show Dylan and Zoe each day that they are unconditionally loved and accepted.  But one of the most amazing things right now is that Dylan and Zoe both fully accept me and love me unconditionally!  When I am away from them and come back after a very short period of time, they squeal for joys and jump up into my arms.  Dylan will tell me he missed me.  When I discipline them, the first thing they want to do is to hug me and have me hold them.  I always reinforce that I love them and explain why they were disciplined.  I don't know how much of that they understand right now, but it's amazing how much they love me regardless.  When I play with them, they don't care what I play, they light up like Christmas trees because I'm doing something with them.  Again, I know this is all subject to change as they get older and the judgment of me as a parent sets in.  But for today, I've really learned that I can learn a lot from my toddlers on how to teach them how much I unconditionally love them!

And thankfully I've also got the help of a dear husband and father and a wonderful God to partner with me on this. Both who have continually shown me unconditional love and acceptance and made me a better person.

The Stillness and Peace of Snow

When it snows in the south, everything literally shuts down.  We just aren't prepared to handle this kind of weather.  While it can be annoying to some people to get stuck at home for a few days, I found an amazing comfort in the stillness and peace of it all.  Getting snowed in really forced us to take some time out from the hustle and bustle of our busy every day lives.  While chores around the house were done, the normal weekend errands and running around just couldn't happen.  So what did we do?  We all took time out to play in the snow a few times each day, to sit around the fire sipping hot chocolate, to spend some time talking, reading, and even watching a movie! 

It really made me take a step back and think on how to de-clutter my life.  What would our lives be like if we had a snow day once a week?  Ok, so maybe not a snow day, but a day that we really focus on being with our family and friends and a day to restore our souls.  How would my kids lives be different if every Sunday we really used it as a true day of rest, and spent the day going to church, and just being together with each other?  How much more refreshed would David and I be for the following week if we had that one day where we didn't clean, wash clothes, run errands, etc?  What will my kids think when they ask me to play and I can truly play with them without having to say "wait, let mommy do this first."  What will David and I gain if we don't spend all the nap times on the weekends doing tasks around the house, but instead spend nap time on Sunday just being together with just the two of us?  Well, for the month of February, we're going to see how much our lives will change if we use each Sunday as a day of restoration. I know this task won't be easy as it will mean doing a little more every day during the week but I'm really thinking it will pay off in all of our lives.

Thank you God for the snow and the stillness and peace it brought to our home.  While it seems like such an insignificant event in many ways, it was a significant call for our overly crowded and busy lives.  The snow made us focus on what matters most - each other and spending time playing together.  What could be more important than playing with your family and friends?  Could we ever get enough of that?