Sunday, July 28, 2013

30/52



                                  " A portrait of my boys, once a week, every week, in 2013 "

Bear: lashes from behind the lens
Wolf: has to do what big brother is doing
Hawk: He's Home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Each of the older boys (it sounds strange to say that) received their own camera as a birthday gift from my in laws. It is so adorable to watch them roam around and take pictures. Bear is especially careful to get close ups of the details and trying various angles before feeling pleased with his results and moving on to his next subject.
In other news our sweet baby Hawk is home! We are so excited to be able to sleep all under one roof (scratch that, I forgot there is little sleep done with a newborn but we are happy to be together just the same) He seems to be doing well and getting use to his new environment and even sleeping through some toddler cuddles (we are still trying to master "gentle")  the boys are so happy to have him home and it makes my heart swell at just how much love they have for him already.

Monday, July 22, 2013

29/52



   " A portrait of my boys, once a week, every week, in 2013 "

Bear: Nature photographer in the making 
Wolf: Morning breakfast in our new routine 
Hawk: Day 13 in the NICU... is it over yet?

Life is still upside down with baby Hawk still in the NICU. Mornings are spent eating breakfast, squeezing in some play time with the boys before I am off to spend the rest of the day with baby. As you can imagine this has been a tough transition for all of us. It's been feeling a little like treading water hoping that this will all be over soon. I cannot wait  until we have this little guy home with us. 

Monday, July 15, 2013

28/52




                                 " A portrait of my boys, once a week, every week, in 2013 "

Bear: Needed a nap with mama  close to him
Wolf: luggage and messes in the background and extra cuddles from his uncle
Hawk: new and so tiny

not many real pictures taken this week but these Iphone pictures pretty much represent our week in a nutshell. Exhausted, emotional and new.





It's a Boy!!!!!


His arrival was just as big of a surprise as his gender. After a very hard to accept emergency C-section this baby made his arrival at 34 weeks. It was hard, heartbreaking, and scary but I am so thankful to say he is here and healthy. And I am now a proud mama of three boys. 
Things have been long and overwhelming. He is still in the NICU and we are anxiously waiting for him to get a hang of the whole eating thing before he gets released. Life has been a giant balancing act between spending time in the hospital while still trying to sneak in some cuddles for my older boys. No matter where I am I feel like I am missing something. There is just no easy decision  these days. 

I am thankful for a loving and amazing family that all came together and came ready to wipe tears, give extra hugs and overall take care of all of us during this time. My MIL has been amazing and I am so thankful that she is sticking around for a while to help. 

Maybe one day I will share my birth story as I have with the other two boy. One day when we are all together under one roof  and I am able to contain the tears enough to see my screen. For now I am holding on to the fact that he is healthy and will be home soon and we will all be together again. 



Sunday, July 14, 2013

27/52


                                      " A portrait of my boys, once a week, every week, in 2013 "

Bear: My little reader
Wolf: having a blast during our body painting

We took advantage of the simple joys of summer this week. Some outdoor water fun in the morning and some indoor reading time in the heat of the day. Feeling so very lucky to have such amazing boys.


Saturday, July 6, 2013

Outdoor Body Painting







We have been playing outside a lot lately and like most all things there are times when you need to switch it up. Thanks to a very large piece of butcher paper that came stuffed in one of our packages in the mail I got the idea of painting outside. Initially body painting was not the plan but as so many things with children their ideas are always outside the box and letting them explore things organically and coming up with a different uses is always half the fun.

What I set up:

  1. a large piece of butcher paper
  2. a few colors of finger paints (make sure they are washable before getting started) 
  3. two buckets with a small amount of water
  4. paint brushes
I didn't give them much instruction but rather let them explore. They apprehensively started painting on their toes after a few marks on the paper.Once I followed what they were thinking  I made sure they knew I was 100% okay with that idea (today). That was all they needed to run free. Bellies, faces, hands and toes were all slathered in paint by the end and ironically very little ever made it to the paper.

The best part was the cleaning. I filled up their water table and had them clean both themselves and theirs tools. Not only was this a fun activity but they also got to be a part of the cleaning process which made them twice as proud. I really cannot explain how much joy I have to see these little ones explore art in different ways.

Friday, July 5, 2013

daydreaming (pop shop)

Coming from Oregon and moving to Idaho has come with a lot of changes. One of the most obvious, yet forgotten about was the weather. I knew there was a lot more sunshine but somehow I forgot that comes along with heat. The boys wardrobes are a little bare when it comes to shorts and summer clothing and because I've been nesting like crazy I can't help but looking for some baby clothes both in gender neutral and girly colors. (we have plenty of baby boy clothes) I have to say Tea Collection has some adorable clothing. I've made a little pop shop of my favorite products that I can't wait to see them in. Am I the only mother that would rather shop for your kids than for yourself? **this is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own**

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Happy Birthday America






I hope you all had a lovely 4th with your family. Our plans for the day were canceled due to a preterm labor scare. After going to the hospital yesterday I am happy to report that everything is okay and I was allowed to leave with the peace of mind that this baby will hopefully not make an early appearance. (we love you baby and can't wait to meet you either but just hang in there a little longer) So it looked like the raspberry festival and parade will have to wait until next year.

That didn't stop us from having fun. We enjoyed our day together as a family, a lot of backyard play time and to end the night just a few fireworks. Wolf wasn't particularly impressed  with the whole ordeal but he gave it a go. After we put them to bed and the sun finally set (how come no one told me the sun sets at 10pm here) husband and I enjoyed the fireworks outside on our own, and good conversation about our future and that of our growing family. We are eager to see what's in store.

three/52





 Three favorites from the 52 week challenge 

 Bear: 9/52 Dirty knees and sunshine. Spring had just begun and Bear took full advantage
          21/52 I can't always capture just how silly his personality is but this one captured it just right
          24/52 full of curiosity and he is always in his element when in nature.

Wolf: 8/52 first time playing in the snow such a great memory of this trip
          9/52 again the first week of spring in Oregon is magical and those shifty eyes of his convey his                      
                  adventures side so perfectly
           21/52 that curiosity of his is just too much

We are halfway through the 52 week challenge and more surprising is it marks the halfway point of this year. It's so strange and perfect that I started this challenge the year we have had the most change, transition, and overall craziness. It has allowed me to take a moment and take in those sweet moment with my boys between the chaos and find beauty in it. Having to relearn each day to take all that is good. I am so happy to have these images to document the amazing blessings in my life.

                                                       **linking to Jodi's 52 week challenge**


Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Thomas The Tank Engine Birthday

the table setting using pre-existing toys to decorate

red presents were requested
even little brother was shocked by the balloons 

a pretend camping set was this years pick it came with a pretend swiss army knife. He was in heaven 


books are always a present must 

my first real attempt at cake making. 

my parents Skyping during the cake cutting. Also note the fact that W spilled water on his back, a talent he alone is able to do. The front of his shirt was totally dry. 

I think my cake made the cut

As I mentioned before I gave up on avoiding an actual character birthday especially since Bear has been asking for a "Thomas cake" since the talk of his birthday even started. His love for trains has not yet subsided and for the second year in a row a train birthday was requested. (you can see his last birthday based on  1,2,3, to the Zoo HERE).

Since we just moved and don't know very many people here yet I wanted to make our family birthday extra special but knew I didn't want to spend a lot on decorations since it was just going to be us. I asked Bear if he had any special request and slowly the list grew. Here are a few  things he mentioned.

1. pancakes
2.red presents
3.a Thomas Cake
4.balloons
5. shapes on the wall

Although the last item left me a little confused the list seemed manageable enough that I was able to fulfill the whole list. The night before husband blew up a ton of balloons and we lined the hallway and living room with them for a morning surprise. The shapes on the wall I translated to triangle bunting, strawberry pancakes were made first thing in the morning and  his presents were all wrapped in red paper. I even tried my hand at making a bake from scratch using THIS recipe. Frosting isn't easy as I expected but I added a few trains to the top and some sprinkles and it seemed to make the birthday boy very happy.

The "party" was split in two. The morning was opening presents and a pancake breakfast before papa left to work and when papa came home we ate hamburgers (per the birthday boys request) and cut the cake. We even had my parents Skype while he blew out his candles. I love technology. Overall I think he had a great day full of love and a whole lot of attention. Calls from relatives came in at different times of the day and it made me realize just how loved these boys are despite the physical distance between them and family.

The best part for me was that since we based his party on something he already owns decorations were practically free. Besides the bunting and plates everything used were things we already had. The track on the table, the trains used as cake toppers were all toys we owned. It just goes to show how resourceful you can be while still making something look cute and festive. Now to start prepping for Wolf's birthday which is next month.