Our little superheros

Henry was Batman for Halloween. The plan was for him to be the Big Bad Wolf to Eleanor's Little Red Riding Hood, but we couldn't find a decent wolf costume. So a couple of weeks before Halloween I asked him what he wanted to be and he said, "Batman!"  Huh? He's never seen Batman on tv, never really mentioned Batman before this, but ok. Whatever you want, little dude.

 

So I ordered a $20 Batman costume from Amazon and that was, without a doubt, the best $20 I've ever spent. Not only did he wear it and love it on Halloween, he has worn just about every day since. He's obsessed. And, of course, when he has on his costume, his baby sister has to wear her "costume," which consists of her RRH cape and her {outgrown} sunhat. Bless her heart.

 

Love those kiddos and love their newfound imaginations!

Decking the halls!

It's that most wonderful time of the year, and we are seeing it anew this year through the eyes of the kids who are VERY into the holidays and all that comes with them. For the first time this year we are doing an advent calendar, which I am really excited about...today is the first day of advent and I'm really looking forward to counting down this season of waiting with my children, while teaching them about the Christ child.

 

During the past week we kicked off the week by putting up our tree. As with all things when you have a 3-yr old and almost 2-yr old in the house, we accomplished it in phases. But had oh-so-much fun doing it!

 

I love my family so much it makes my heart ache just looking at these photos. I could not ask for more this Christmas season than the love of my family and their good health and happiness. Truly.

Henry's 3rd Birthday

I've said it before, but birthdays are a BIG deal in our house...or at least I try hard to make them a big deal. I think birthdays are important...I like taking at least one day a year to celebrate each special person in our family and we do it up right!

This year, Henry's birthday happened to fall on the day of a Titans pre-season game, and Barry and I decided he was old enough to go to his first game...it was the perfect opportunity.

I am SO VERY GLAD we did this, as it was one of the most memorable nights of my life to date. Henry was so wide-eyed and had so much fun...we all did...and I can't remember a time when I have been so proud of my sweet boy. He handled himself so well, and enjoyed it so much and I was so happy we had the opportunity to take him. It was a really special night.

(A little overwhelmed and very serious. When I first asked him,
"Are you having fun?" he answered, "no," and just sat there very quietly.)

(Starting to loosen up a little.)

(That's more like it! Starting to have a LOT of fun.)

(Heading home. Little guy lasted into the 3rd quarter and then quietly said,
"I want to go home." It was waaaaay past his bedtime.)

(Great memories.)

On Saturday, we had our close friends and family over for Henry's dinosaur birthday party. Six months ago, when I asked him what kind of party he wanted for his birthday, he said, "Dinosaurs!" and never wavered. Until last week. When he decided he wanted a fire truck party. TOO BAD, SO SAD, little dude. You're getting dinosaurs.

Really, I think we keep our parties small and basic, by today's standards. We limit the guest list to our close friends and family...usually around 15 people. And we don't go crazy with a theme. But it is still so.much.work. Every year I say I'm never doing this again, and every year I do. Because, really? I love it. I LOVE IT! There was a time when I thought I might never have children to do this for, and I am so, so grateful for my kids and for our good health and the ability to do this for them. So although I might be complaining when I'm baking the fourth batch of dino cookies at midnight two nights before the party, I'm really thanking God in my heart for the blessing of two birthday parties to plan and execute every year.

To say that Henry and Eleanor had a blast at this party would be a huge understatement. They are both getting to an age where they really love having their friends and family around and we are so blessed to have so many people in our lives who love them. I do sometimes regret that we don't live closer to my extended family, but we have so many people right here to celebrate with us and for that we are grateful.

The dino theme was a hit with everyone and so were the cake/cupcakes and cookies. My mom made her famous baked beans, I made an Asian slaw and Barry grilled brats for the adults and hot dogs for the kids. YUMMO!

It was a lot of work, and I'm not sorry it's over, but boy-oh-boy was it fun while it lasted.

We are blessed.

(Oh, and in true fashion, I spent the day after Henry's party beginning to plan Eleanor's next one...yet another reason I'm so thankful that my kids birthdays are almost exactly six months apart!)

Clover Lane

This is my new favorite blog.

This blogger has an opinion on EVERYTHING, and I don't always agree with her, but I can really relate to her desire to live a home-centered life with her family.

When Henry was born, we found ourselves drawn to a homebody lifestyle--all along, we'd thought that we would be the kind of people that would take their kids everywhere. We wanted our kids to be "flexible," we said. Well, it just didn't work out that way. Our kids have always thrived on routine and their schedule is important to us. Very few time have we skipped naptime or kept them out past their bedtime...only on very special occasions. Because we found that WE are the ones who needed to be flexible in order for our children to be happy, well-rested and well-behaved. I know every child is different, but ours are always at their best when we stick to their routine.

Beyond that, I have found that over time my goal as a mom has become to create a happy and steady homelife for our children. I really believe that so many kids and famililes are overscheduled these days, and while I know that in the coming years we will succumb to the intrusion of kids' activities (soccer, dance, piano, etc, etc, etc) my hope is really that we will keep it to a minimum. I want to give my kids time to relax and play and just be kids. I want family dinner to stay a priority. I want them to spend hours reading in their rooms or playing outside in the backyard. I want them to want to be at home.

This is a pretty unusual lifestyle, I'm finding. And I'm ok with that. And Sarah at Clover Lane has helped me get there. There is a lot of pressure in today's world to be "on the go" all the time, but her blog has given me reassurance that the kind of life I want for our family is possible. That the balance of home and school and activities can be achieved in a healthy way for our kids.

I'm glad I found it (but no, I don't want six kids!).