13/52

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

Bear: Even almost 3 year olds need to hold their mama's hand to feel safe sometimes.
Wolf: He always tries to run out of the park. Sheesh! This kid.
Bump: 20 weeks. Woohoo half way there!!!

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

Family Hike and a fun announcement

        

  Today we spent the day as a family and went for a much needed hike. I was so proud of Bear he hiked a whole 1.5 miles with the first half being a total incline. It was a proud parent moment. Wolf spent his time trying to spot dogs on the trail, eating PB&j  and pulling on my hair. Needless to say it was a fantastic day. And surprisingly this is the first photo I have actually taken while being pregnant. That's right I have somehow avoided being infront of a camera for half of my pregnancy. In retrospect I am not really sure why. We have been thrilled with this news but we haven't really shared it with anyone besides our close circle. Whatever the reason was it's all going to change because this bump is growing and it's time to start celebrating. Here's to a soon to be family of 5.

Leaf Printing and Palm Sunday

Sometime last week while playing outside I got the idea of doing a Palm Sunday craft that involved leaf printing. We went out and collected a few leaves and set ourselves up for an easy craft.

Materials needed
*green construction paper
*paints (we used light green, green, and yellow)
*collected leaves
*paint brush

There wasn't a whole lot of direction with this one. I was more curious to see how they were going to use their tools. Bear started painting the leaves themselves and later started stamping them on the paper while Wolf finger painted more and explored the leaves later. It was a very easy open ended project that  every kid will do differently.

I  later decided to cut out a donkey out of soft cardboard (cereal box) and have them paint it brown and cut the leaf print into a palm shape. I taped the donkey to the palm leaf and 'poof' you've got yourself a whole Palm Sunday craft.

Today was...

Life has been a little chaotic and it seems like it's going to stay that way for a while. Husband and I have been discussing and praying about our future and our dreams more in the last week than we have in a long time. Although the next few month seem a little daunting we are trusting that God is going to lead the way.

Despite all these things I am nothing short of lucky to have such amazing boys (including husband) in my life. Today was just one of those days that leaves you smiling. Pardon me while I list a few of the little things that made today lovely.

1. We were able to go to the park with the boys not once, but twice today
2. Both times there were no meltdowns from either of the boys about leaving!!!
3. Bear asked to go potty. 
4. There were very little sibling fights all day. 
5. We ate sushi for dinner where both the boys ate their weight in it and we had one of the most fun dinner outing ever. 

These may not seem  like much but they meant a lot. Did you read the part about no meltdowns when leaving the park!!!! I mean that alone would have been enough to make me happy. It's days like today that make all the the other stresses of life worth dealing with and easier to handle. I am so lucky to have my family. 

12/52

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

Wolf: Looks like an old soul that takes soccer way too seriously

Bear: Firefighter Bear to the Rescue!!!!!!

These boys never cease to entertainment.  Between Wolf's dedication when it comes to play, look at that face don't you dare try to take that ball away. Or Bear and his insistence on wearing his firefighter costume most afternoons making sure I don't forget the hat. These boys sure do know how to put a smile on my face.

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

Stained Glass Cross

 Easter is just a few weeks away and we are excited to start on some Easter specific crafts. We started with this stained glass cross project. I think the boys enjoyed the prep process before hand which involved them tearing tissue paper into small pieces. Our home looked like one giant confetti type mess by the time it was over.
 Once I gathered all the tissue paper scraps I cut the center of a piece of black construction paper into a cross. I watered down some white glue and handed  them a brush. Starting from the outside edges of the cross and working our way in layering the tissue paper on top of itself until we covered the negative space.  This was definitely a project that I helped with more than usual because they had a hard time understanding the fact that we were covering the negative space rather than the paper itself. It took a little more guidance but they enjoyed it and started getting the hang of it.
Once completely dry we hung them up on our living room window.  Make sure you keep your gluing to one side, this will keep the opposite side nice and neat for display.

11/52

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

Bear and Wolf: One caption- Mr. Independence

How are they growing so fast? This week has been one of those moment when I just want to freeze time and hold them extra tight. No one explained just how exciting and saddening raising kids was. Maybe someone in the past had tried to explain but I was never able to comprehend until now.  Seeing the boys grow up and become their own little people full of independence, whimsy, and love is the most rewarding feeling but you want it to stop all at the same time.

 Wolf's proud face as he climbed on the rocker with his stuffed animal and Bear now fully able to climb up and wash his hands all on his own. It's just all too fast yet somehow as parent you wonder what they are going to be like in a year, in 5 years,  as adult etc. I am slowly trying to rid my mind of those wonders and just enjoy the time I have with them now. When they still come over and want kisses when they hurt themselves, or extra books read for bedtime or even when Wolf rubs his snotty nose on my shirt before I get a chance to wipe it with a tissue (thanks for that). All these things won't stay that way forever. So for today I hope I enjoy the moments  that I have with them at this age, at this moment because they will never be this little again.

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

**pictures from Instagram follow me @cuteandpeculiar**

Humpty Dumpty Puppet

image source 

Despite snotty noses and and extra naps there was only so much TV these boys were willing to watch before they started getting a little restless. We managed to get this little craft done. 

I got the idea from Hubbard's Cupboard yet again. I cut and glued the egg shaped paper to the bag and also pre-cut eyes, arms, legs, hands and feet. I laid out some markers and a glue stick and let him go to town. Only explaining to him that Humpty needed a face. It was a similar process to what we did last fall with our Jack O'lanterns but with a different result. He actually got the placement of the eyes right. 

It is so amazing how fast our children learn and process things. Even the most simple craft project can make you see how quickly they are growing. 

Laying low

I have a few posts in the making that I have yet to dedicate enough time to sit down and get them finished. I am mainly writing a quick post so when I come by and check in I don't see Bear's sad glassy eyes looking back at me. My poor little guys. This picture is only a small improvement look at those rosy cheeks and tiny eyes. I tell ya, this cold really knocked them out.

I am happy to report we are almost fully recovered, their health and my sanity. Having two kids down for the count was no easy task and I am so glad to put it past us.

 Spring is slowly starting  to stick around and we have enjoyed some warmer weather more consistently. I also realized that our neighborhood streets are all lined by cherry blossoms, there will soon be "pink mist" in the air. I can't wait.

10/52

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

Bear: Being sick and being two if really tough
Wolf: Post fever rosy cheeks and hummus face

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

This week our home was hit with a nasty cold. So far I am the only one that hasn't been hit with it and I am crossing my fingers that it stays that way. The house has been full of extra cuddles, lots of tears (from all of us) and a few fevers. It seems like we are slowly on the recovering end of it. Hoping our day goes a lot better tomorrow. It is so hard to see your babies sick. 

Easter's on its way!!!

There are so many wonderful things about Spring. Flowers blooming, more sunshine and of course Easter. Although the whole lunar calendar always throws me off but never the less it is a holiday that we are so blessed to celebrate. The boys Bubbie sent over a few simple Easter story books that we have been reading together and she actually lead me to Hubbard's Cupboard. They have an awesome lesson plan for 2 year olds that ties in crafts, scripture and fun activities for the whole month. I read through it and the basis of the lesson plan sounds simple and fun while leaving a few spots that I may want to change or add on to. What's great is that most of the activities shown are either with things that you might already have in your art supplies or items that you could easily pick up at your local dollar store.

Our first activity we tried was this eraser sorting game. I picked up a couple packs of these erasers at the dollar store and pulled out a few small plastic containers for the boys to sort with. At first I placed one type of eraser in each container letting B sort out the rest. He quickly got the hang of it and did it a few more times before starting to make simple patterns on the table with them. W got the idea of sorting but not putting them in each container. After he sorted them he would place them back in one container and do it again.

I enjoyed the fact that it was a perfect dinner making game since it is easy to clean up and it kept the boys occupied for some time. Definitely something that we will be doing again through out the month.


*** p.s. in the first image you can spot Bear's sport injury on his forehead that I mentioned in this post. What a trooper. **

Something is Different

Can anyone spot something different about these photos? There is sunshine and the boys only have T-shirts on. YAY!!!! We  had the privilege to have the sun and a spring preview grace us with their presence over the weekend. We weren't the only ones excited. The whole neighborhood was filled with families walking, people washing their cars and the sounds of children's laughter coming from our local park. We headed to the backyard and kicked the soccer ball around as a family. I am happy to announce that Bear has officially survived his first sport induced injury, he can live to tell about it, and is sporting a pretty gnarly bruise and scrap on his forehead to prove it. He was a trooper and went on playing. Wolf skipped out on the game and turned his attention to other things like collecting rocks and pointing at "burds" (Wolf talk for birds). It was a simple weekend spent with family and friends, those are the best kind.

9/52

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

Bear: Grass and dirt stains, the true sign of a toddler boy having fun.

Wolf: Shifty eyes. Be warned he is plotting something. 

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