Time Machine

We FINALLY hosted a playgroup pool party at my parents' house!

Before we left I snagged some arrowheads from my dad for my gallery wall. 

The land on which we are building our new house has been in my family for generations. My grandfather used to walk the fields each year after the plowing searching for Shawnee arrowheads. Over the years he collected hundreds and my parents inherited his collection. 

After dinner we went to play over at the build site while David mowed. 

This land is so rich with history. What a privilege to build our home on it.

If only we had a time machine and could go back through the generations to hear all of the stories it certainly could tell us...

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Choosing Home Birth"

Two years ago today: "Sweet Rewards"

And three years ago today: "The Power Of Play"

Sideways Glance

Our first Kiwi Crate activity saved our morning!

It kept Ayden engaged and occupied and gave David a little break from role playing dinosaurs for the 987th time in the past week. 

Ayden wanted to do the second activity right then and there but we talked him into waiting since we get one box/two activities a month.  We plan to save activity #2 for our next stuck in a playing rut "emergency."

Everybody wins!

David finished wiring the upstairs of our house while the boys and I rans a few errands.

It was a beautiful day for the Sunday market.

We stopped at Michaels for some party supplies.
(among other errands)
The sidways glance... LOL!
Hard to believe Halloween stuff is out already!

My family invited us over for a bon fire hot dog dinner but we passed.  Logan's schedule has been a little shifted and I worked hard to get it back on track today.  Going to a 7:00 bon fire would have gotten him to bed just as late, if not later, than he has been which would have made all of my efforts for the day futile. Also, I need kid free time to recharge in the evenings and when one or both of them go to bed late, that means I end up staying up too late too.

 Instead, we enjoyed a family night in and had roasted chicken and veggies for dinner.

A little more healthy and appetizing than hot dogs anyway...

It is our turn to host play group tomorrow.  We have tried having a pool party at my parents' house the past 3 times that it has been our turn but the forecast turned to rain every time.  We are hoping the weather stays clear for one last hoorah in the pool for the end of Summer!

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Girly Time"
Two years ago today: "Full Toddler Swing"
And three years ago today: "We Share Everything"

Immunity Booster

I have heard that playing in dirt is one of the best ways to strengthen a child's immune system. 

If that is the case, our boys strengthen theirs on a regular basis!

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Weightless"

Two years ago today: "Hammer Time"

And three years ago today: "A Doting Nurse"

Still My Baby

 Ayden and I got started on an alphabet for the wall in our playroom. We read Lady With The Alligator Purse (which he LOVED had me read 5 times!) and then we made an alligator out of a letter A. 

Logan's birthday has been on my mind a lot laty. Obviously, party planning is underway but mainly I'm just seriously blown away that this sweet baby has been with us for almost a year already. 

While he is growing and changing by leaps and bounds these days, there are still some things that are still baby like. The noises he makes when he is nursing, his sweet, whispy hair, his dimple knuckles, his adorable babbling. I feel incredibly grateful to him for still being so cuddly even though he is in full active toddler mode. He lets me cradle him and love on him all I want and even does it back.  I am soaking him and his "babyness" in as much as I can!  

We stayed home all day today for the first time in a long time and it was so enjoyable.  I had one on one time with each boy, they played together on their own while I got some house work done and I also joined in while we all played together. One of the most enjoyable moments of the day was during Logan's morning nap.  Ayden and I snuggled up on an outdoor chair and I read to him from his current beloved Magic Treehouse book (We are on number 6 and he is obsessed!)  Ke kept siging contented sighs and even said, "This feels good."  I could not have agreed more.  Also, I asked him what he loved about Mommy and he said, "I love how warm you are." and that also made my day.  What better thing to be for your child than a sense of warmth and comfort?  He is a sweetheart. 

 After David got home he scrapped his mowing plans and we all went on another adventure so we could show Daddy the "little house."  We all ended the night on a good note and are ready for a busy weekend.

~Sarah  

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "While We Wait"

Two years ago today: "Broken Window Theory"

And three years ago today: "Quite the Predicament"

Face Lift

We have eggs!!

Lots and lots and lots of eggs...
All of our hen chicks are laying now and we are getting at least a dozen a day.
Time to start selling them!

David's mom gifted Ayden a year long subscription to Kiwi Crate.  We are going to have so much fun with it.

He was so excited to get a package addressed to him at the post office today!

Mr. Indiana Logan likes to wear brother's belt around the house.
He puts it on by himself and then gets mad when he tries to take it off but it gets stuck on his head.

Thursday night means soccer night for our big boy!

I was amazed at his progress just from last week to this week.  He's going to learn so much by the end of this program.  Here are a few video clips from the past two days for your viewing pleasure:

Now that Logan is almost a year old, I figured it was time to change up my blog banner.  The old one still brought me so much joy every time I saw it, I didn't want to change it.  I kept wishing we could just photoshop Logan into that picture.  Haha.  When Logan was 2 months old, we had a family photo taken by a family member.  We asked them to offset it in the same way so I'd have room to put text but the camera focused on the background to the left and we were blurry in the foreground. DIYish blog photo fail.  My plan B was to put individual photos across a banner like this new one but obviously, finding a banner I like, searching for the right photos and putting it all together takes a decent chunk of time and there's not very much extra of that around here these days.  I finally got the itch to do it and knocked it out!  I like the way it turned out and while I will miss seeing that sweet family photo of ours everyday, I find the facelift quite refreshing.

~Sarah

Backyard Adventures

When David left to go work on the house after dinner, the boys and I set out for some adventures!

We went for a walk/car/bike ride.

We saved a bug from a spider's web.

We walked to a nearby spring on our rental property.

Our last stop was a tiny house in our neighbor's yard. Both houses, our neighbor's and the cottage we are renting, are on the same farm and are owned by the same family.  The folks who were renting the neighboring house recently moved out. I have always been so interested in the tiny house in their front yard because it has a little front porch and what looks like a pipe for a wood burning stove. It has an old stone foundation and probably a really cool history to go with it.  Since the big house is currently vacant, I finally got to scope out the tiny house.  It was as interesting as I thought it would be.  It had a little wood burning stove and some curving stairs up to a loft.  There was a little front room that looked like it had been converted into a gardening shed or something.  That room was the only one that had electricity though it did not seem to be turned on.  It was neat to try and think back to what this house was originally.  A tiny house that was a thing before "tiny houses" were cool must be something pretty special.  Of course Ayden was in awe.  It was very dusty and had lots of cob webs and a few old furniture and such scattered about.  I would imagine that it probably seemed even cooler to Ayden than it did to me.  Ayden wants to go back and bring David and all of the grandparents with us.  Haha.  He also said we should all wear our swimsuits so we can swim in the spring together.

The adventures definitely helped us end our evening on a good note.  I can't wait to see what we can get into tomorrow.

~Sarah

Park Hopping

The pre-Fall weather has been GLORIOUS this week!

I've started looking up new parks whenever we make plans to go somewhere and we've been having so much fun exploring all of the possibilities out there!

Today's park was a winner for sure!  There was even more diversity in the kids playing there which is something I've been trying to focus on providing for Ayden. Possibly the best one we have been to. It is near our pediatrician's office so hopefully we can make it back each time we go there for a visit. 

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Ticking"
Two years ago today: "Busted"
And three years ago today: "Fashion Statement"

Another Leap

It's that time again!

Logan is in a developmental leap/stormy period again.
Didn't we just get out of one of these?!?

His main signs that typically motivate me to open the app are that he wakes more frequently and is a little clingy/fussy (which is far from his "norm"). 

Something that amazes me every time I find that he has made it to another developmental leap is reading the examples for new behaviors and realizing that he just started doing some of them. 

He has started "washing" things with any wash cloth, rag or wipe he can get his hands on. Just today he got a pair of his shoes, sat down and held up a foot while trying to figure out how to put it on. He opened the door to the Cozy Coop and tried to get in by himself.  He has started signing.  I feel like the "click" of the connections involved in sign language would be classified in the leap of "programs" according to their definition. 

While he may be in a "stormy" period, he is still getting into that sweet spot territory between 10 and 20 months or so where they have developed enough to start being really interactive with us and their environment without the sass of a full blown toddler. It is adorable and so enjoyable.  It also makes me a little bit nostalgic for Ayden at this age.  And the flip side of that makes me wonder what Logan will be like as a threenager...  It's all such a great adventure.

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Happy Place"

Two years ago today: "A-Ma!"

And three years ago today: "A Bust"

Dating My Love

David and I had a date night tonight! 

We love eachother :). 

We so enjoyed having time to flirt with and talk to one another without interruptions. It was a beautiful and very enjoyable evening. 

~Sarah

New Adventures

Yesterday the boys and I found a new playground!

Every new playground we find takes us on new adventures. 

Ayden used to love helping me with the dishes and his interest has come back around. 

I also showed him how to collect all of the trash which will now become a weekly chore for him. He really enjoyed having the responsibility. We'll see how long that lasts ;). 

I ended the evening last night with a maternity photo shoot for my sister and had another this morning for a friend. I am using these photos as a reason to learn post processing skills in Adobe Lightroom. I typically take the photos and then David edits them but now I am ready to learn to do it myself. I am excited to see the end results!

We had dinner at a local festival and then went out for some fro-yo. 

I've accomished so much already this weekend that it feels like Sunday!  I'm excited to still have another whole day left in the weekend!

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Errand Day Snuggles"

Two years ago today: "Cutting Room Floor"

And three years ago today: "The Next Step"

A Tender Heart

I lost my sweet Polly today. Her health had been getting progressively worse for about a week so I was able to see it coming and prepare myself. She would have turned 17 next month. 

She was SUCH a sweet and lovable cat. She loved being outside and she loved snuggling into the most random places which was always so entertaining for us. 

Even though I knew it was coming I am still very sad. I have had her since I was in the 8th grade and she was the first thing (besides a hamster or two) that I ever mothered. 

The joy that I found today was given to me by Ayden.  Once I had discovered that she was gone I called Ayden over to me and told him I wanted to talk to him about something. I started to cry as I let him know what had happened and the sweet boy immediately gave me a hug. He asked a few questions, which I answered the best I could and then he got me a tissue and wiped my tears. He held me and told me he was sorry she had died. He was sensitive and empathetic and truly supported me as I grieved for my beloved cat. 

We involved him in the burial process and answered all of his questions honestly and to the best of our abilities. Though her last few days were rough, she handled them gracefully. Her last gift to me was to gently helping Ayden begin to understand this part of life without anything traumatic happening. He handled it in a way that I never expected. He was tender hearted and mature beyond his years. I will always be grateful to Polly for giving us a chance to teach Ayden such valuable lessons at such a managable level.  And I am so grateful to Ayden for being a shoulder to cry on. 

Sweet, sweet Polly will be missed dearly. 

Soccer Player

Ayden had his first soccer practice today!

He designed his shirt.  I made it with the help of iron on decals from Hobby Lobby.

It is actually a pre-soccer program that our county parks and recreational department offers.  They supply each child with gear and basic skill work for 6 weeks.  

Ayden was excited and did great!

He listened well and really loves the coach. Logan had fun too!

We chose the 6:30 - 7:30 time slot because it is what worked best with us all being able to have dinner and with David's work schedule but Ayden was SO tired by the end.  He had a great nap and everything but not only was it a lot of physical activity in a small amount of time but it involved a lot of listening and learning which can drain anyone.  

It will be great to see his progress over the next 6 weeks.  I am sure that he will build up some stamina!  David and I are both so proud of our little soccer player.

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "She Believed She Could"
Two years ago today: "Old Pros"
And three years ago today: "Beginning Of the End"

Up, Up, and Away!

Current question: "Are carnivores bad guys?"
It's a tough one to explain...

Brother love!

I am a little over errands at the moment so before heading to the grocery today I packed a backpack full of books for Ayden and timed our trip during Logan's morning nap. 

It was wonderful and was the most peaceful grocery trip I have had in a while. 

While we were there, I had the florist counter fill up a HUGE balloon for me. Then we went straight to my parents' house for this:

David usually does all of the post processing on any photos that we take.  I decided to give it a whirl this time and it was fun!

Invitation ready!

The theme for his birthday party is "Little Explorer" because that is one thing that best describes him during this stage in his life. These photos were for the digital invitations for his party.

I can't believe his birthday is in less than a month. I spent some time combining the video footage and photographs from his birth and I was reminded of what an amazing experience it was in my life. I also got to hear those little newborn squeaks again which were lovely. Our whole newborn experience with him was lovely and having extra reason reminiscing has been sweet. 

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Play Time"

Two years ago today: "Great Monday"

And three years ago today: "House Hunting"