Yet another lesson for a toddler

little brothers are good for moral support

With all big milestones come frustrations. This is especially true for toddlers. B's main frustration?Diaper changes and getting dressed. While diaper changes are not something that he can do himself, getting dressed is something that he can certainly start working on. This is a little lesson we had a few days ago.

1. We picked out his clothes together and I did sway the conversation to an outfit that was fairly easy to put on (you don't want to set your kid up to fail and give him something like jeans or overalls on their first go) elastic waisted shorts and a loose t shirt it was. 

2.Our first attempt at a t shirt, I had him lay the shirt in front of him and put both arms in, that worked well at first but he couldn't figure out how to lift it over his head while still keeping it on his arms. It was better to have him stick his head in first and find the arm holes. 

3.On to the shorts. I laid them out in front of him and had him slide one leg in at a time. 

4. stand up and wiggle and pull those shorts up!

5. We are still working on getting the shorts over his tooshie :) 

We have been practicing this a little more each day and changing time is little less of a battle and it's a bonus that he is so proud of his new accomplishment

The many faces of Bear- 25 month edition

I finally decided that the "many faces of Bear" posts will continue despite him turning two, and I am so glad I did because he has grown so much. He has physically gotten bigger gaining 3lbs in the last few months and getting taller. He is still on the smaller side but with growth spurts like that I am not worried. He is able to form 4-6 word sentences mainly "can I have some _______ please" (papa worked on that one a lot) also things like "I want to ______" "Read book please". Although I may still be the only one who understand some of his talking his words are becoming much more clear. He now "reads" stories to W out loud and is starting to memorize what comes next in a few of his favorites.

When painting or coloring he is much more intentional. With painting his stokes are intentional and he will actually tell me what he is painting (mainly cars and trucks) when coloring a picture he will use the correct colors but will still color all over. He has becoming very helpful with our garden and has jumped the gun on many of our plants and pulled them out ( I don't think our shallots will survive) but he is proud every time he waters.

He is able to drink from a regular cup pretty neatly and gets so excited when he does.  It's incredible to think just how big of a change happened in one short month.

Park Olympics

the 0.5 meter dash. Look at that speed, the camera couldn't even capture it.

B's take on the Javelin throw

Fencing, W was born a natural

Relay race 

taking a break on the sidelines 

In honor of the summer Olympics we had our very own park Olympics. All with a little imagination and a few sticks :). I always love that children find so much joy in simple everyday day things. We ditched the spandex and added hats to our uniforms. We could not have asked for better weather for our events.

We enjoyed our day off with Papi after what felt like a very long stretch of all work and no play. It was much needed and getting out and getting some fresh air felt rejuvenating. Nothing like starting your week with some family time.

The many faces of Wolf- 11 month edition

This little boy has really grown leaps and bounds  this month. He is moments away from walking  as he  is able to walk around with a mere finger hold. He is far more verbal and is able to say words like mama, papa, and car a lot more clearly. He will try to mimic most sounds he hears. His sleep schedule has gotten a lot better and really only wakes up once to eat lately. He is silly and happy most of the time although his temper is easily tipped. His separation anxiety has subsided a little and is now venturing a little farther from mama and I am sometimes able to do different task near him.
I am so proud to announce that he had his first finger painting experience and LOVED it (and only tried to eat the paint a little) His painting is proudly stored in  the boys art portfolio now, and can only assume this will be the first of many.

Kitchen Helper

While cooking dinner tonight I had a little helper by my side. As I have mentioned I keep my plastic containers and our play food  in the same cabinet so it was so nice to be able to pull it out and  have W keep me company and play along side while I was cooking. He is oh so close to walking and really only needs to hold on to a finger while walking around. I cannot believe that he is growing up so fast. Those little eyes of his get me every time!!!

Word of Mouth

The wait was a bit long so our hostess snuck some crackers for B. I didn't even have to ask, so awesome!

A few post ago I wrote about the boys needing time away from each other, equally as important is the fact that they get one on one time with each parent. Husband and I typically switch off who we go out with and a few weeks ago it was B's turn to go out with mama. We are very big breakfast fans so we went to a popular spot in town. Word of Mouth, we left W and papa home sleeping and I enjoyed my coffee being topped off more times then I can count. (yes please caffeine) while B enjoyed all the attention he was getting from the waitress and his monster bowl of berries. 

I know that as our family will grow these little dates will become a little more spread out so I am grateful that we have the opportunity now to spend a little alone time with them and reassure our children that they are special and important.

Look what I can do!!!

A certain husband taught a certain toddler a new trick. He is quite proud of himself and there is only a spill about 40% of the time. :)

Bamboobies giveaway through The {Breastfeeding} Initiative **winner**

When I started breastfeeding no one ever mentioned the whole thing about there being no on or off switch to your milk. Just because your baby is not feeding doesn't mean milk will not come out. After a few little hiccups of embarrassing moments I quickly discovered breast pads. I totally wish someone had told me about Bamboobies. They are soft, cute, and practical. Who wants plastic pads when you have adorable heart shaped, ultra soft natural fibered pads that come in PINK!!!!! I am sold.


The {Breastfeeding} Initiative is hosting this giveaway, one lucky gal may have a chance to with a Bamboobies multi- pack in the multi colors.

Here is the description of what you are getting:

Bamboobies Multipack = 3 pair of Regular nursing pads + 1 pair Overnight nursing pads sold in a cute washing bag 

Just click on the link below to get all the details to the giveaway good luck!

http://apps.facebook.com/hooplasoft_giveaways/go/161534270639349/18228

** I tend to not post very much about The {Breastfeeding} Initiative on here being that this is more of a personal blog. I might change that being that is really is starting to be a big part of my day to day (read what I work on most when the boys are sleeping) but if you are ever curios as to how my little self publishing adventure is going please feel free to click on the side banner our Facebook it updated often. 


Natalie Cameron  you're the winner!!!! Please email us at weheartbf at gmail with your address. 

First paintings

We did it! Wolf was officially introduced to the world of messy art. I was a little scared about it this time around but I am so glad we did! He did try  to eat the paint but after tasting a handful of brown he was a little more hesitant although he did taste a bit of each color.  Let's hear it for non toxic paint :)

Both the boys had fun and I got to enjoy watching them while I cooked dinner. B was very intentional with his brush strokes and was actually telling me about the things he was painting. Care to take a guess at what they were?.... how did  you know, yes they were trucks, cars, and trains, although he did mention a boat. (we have been reading the story of Noah's Ark  lately) 

We all enjoyed this messy afternoon and I especially enjoyed the laughter and extra entertainment in  the kitchen. I might  just have to try this again soon. 

Quiet Moment

quietly playing together

bed time story

Sometimes as a stay at home mom  I find it easy to have my days run together and feel like a little crazy and sometimes really chaotic. I tend to be a person who easily generalizes and puts one label on the day. Lately I have been praying to break the day up in moments and realize that not my WHOLE is like  that. To rest in those little windows of time when things are calm and truly beautiful. These pictures are a great example of what happens when I take a step back from attempting to do 100 things and just watch my family.

Willamette Fruit Company

We made plans to go berry picking with a few friends today. And it was just one of those days where things just didn't work out as planned. Moral of the story carry cash when you go berry picking.
So my friend and I decided to make the best of it and settled down at the Willamette Fruit Company.
They have a great playground and a few tractor bikes for kids to play with. We must have come at the perfect time because there was hardly anyone there. I enjoyed their raspberry scones and and a cup of coffee while B enjoyed riding around on a John Deere, although he liked riding it backwards a whole lot better. He also loved the entertainment. There was a few men driving forklifts stacking all the crates you see in the background. It ended up being a better day than planned. I do love when that happens.

Also when I drive out into the country it never ceases to take my breath away. I had never experienced a place like this in my entire life. It is definitely one of my favorite things about living here.

How did this happen?

Well first of all, as you can see the boys break from each other was exactly what they needed, They are good friends again.

What I am referring to by the name of this post is W. How is he getting so big? I realized it more yesterday when we were playing in the back house. I usually keep the doors open to let in a breeze and so B to run around in the backyard and come back in as much as he wanted. Typically I station myself with W either inside or on a blanket in the grass. I have never had to worry about him crawling off as he hates the texture of the grass and the paved walkway. Until yesterday he and I were sitting inside and I was reading when I looked outside to check on B there was W wanting to play with the push car too. He crawled under the table and explored the yard on his own while I (attempted to stay calm) and observe from a distance. I finally interfered when the push car game started getting a little too rough. But both the boys had a blast having that little ounce of independence to explore the backyard. You should have heard the laughter from both of them as they smashed their faces against the glass at one other. So funny!