what a girl will do for a cookie

in story board form:




and that's how you get it done when you're almost two.

all the while clueless that i'm snapping away. it was awesome. gotta give the girl some credit....

ps: happy leap year day (what IS today called?)

i'm calling it

it's been five days now. so i'm calling it.

hyde has started sleeping through the night.




now, by sleeping through the night i mean, 10 or 11 to 5. that's enough for me to consider it sleeping through the night, especially given he used to wake up every 2 or 3 hours. but all of sudden, one day this week, he just went 6 hours, then 7, then 7 again, and again. the little man has got it figured out. and thank goodness.

i realize i'm lucky to have a baby that goes that long this early. well... i'm not sure if it's luck or just the tender mercies of someone who knows that i am not at my best when i'm that tired. maybe a little bit of both. either way, i'll take it.

the irony is i'm still tired. rats.


as a complete afterthought.... i'd forgotten about the newborn crazy zombie arm thing. (it's amazing how much i'd forgotten about this tender age - and beth was here not that long ago. sheesh) you that thing where they make their fingers go all weird - like a mix of an arthritic geriatric and the wicked witch of the west? remember...? and they stretch their arms out wide and high as if reaching or grabbing for something...



poor little guy... feels so vulnerable. just makes me want to pick him up and hold him close and cuddle the little guy all day long.


man, i love this kid.

snow day

these days beth lives to play in the snow. she wants to go out and play in it everyday. even when the snow has been on the ground for days and is rock solid, she wants to go out and play. (insert beaming smile of pride from me HERE - i'm happy that i have a little girl who's not afraid to get a little cold and wet!)

we were eating lunch at the table not long ago and beth looked outside the window and said, "mom, i wanna play snow!" so i told her that after she finished her lunch we could go out and play.

"mom, i wanna play snow!" again i told her, after you eat some lunch we'll go play in the snow.

(in ultra super-whiny, pleading voice), "mom, i wanna play snow!" she then turned and looked out at the snow in a way that i could no longer refuse this girl her time in the snow.



i totally caved.

"okay sister, let's go play in the snow."





and the girl wins again.

just a picture today

because it makes me happy

the craziest/coolest thing

so the other day i found a package on my porch. it was addressed to hyde. it was a fairly good sized package. certainly this package wasn't just a nice card and a cute outfit. some thought had gone into this one. i thought to myself, sweet! can't wait to see what's inside for the little man! i wonder who sent it...

the return address was from a person and place i'd never heard of before. that's interesting, i thought. and even more fun with a hint of dangerous... mmm, mystery package! so i opened the box, pushed the wrapped contents aside to look for a card, anything that might give me a clue as to where this package had come from. but my search left me empty handed. no card. no note. no nothing.

i carefully unwrapped a portion of the contents to find blocks. big wooden blocks with brightly colored numbers on them. blocks that were way to big to be played with by little hands. i was thoroughly confused (and also glad it wasn't a bomb). so what to do with these cool colored blocks... decoration perhaps? okay, a cute decoration to put in his room.

and then i found a card. a business card from the maker of the blocks which showed a picture of them in use. they are meant be used in photos to keep track of ages and stages. oh man, this is GENIUS! i thought. total genius and so dang cute!!! but still, the card was generic and offered only the name of the company who made them. all i could think of was how in the world did these people just find out i had boy named hyde? do they randomly call hospitals all over the country and ask for someone born on a random day and then send a gift? how did they know i would take a bazillion photos of my children and die for this gift? who do i know in... wherever, Ohio... no one! this doesn't make any sense! does hyde already have a stalker? was i chosen as a winner in a drawing someone so kindly entered me in? confusion coupled with immediate brainstorming of the best set up i could create to use the blocks as soon as possible completely took over my mind for the next 30 seconds until it became just the brainstorming part. i again searched for additional information in/on/around the box that would tell me why we had received such a wonderful gift.

to this day friends i still don't have the answer. but i sure am happy that this "random" gift addressed to exactly hyde van orden at exactly our street address exactly 3 weeks after he was born showed up that day. i mean, come on... they're perfect. almost as perfect as the kid.

today is my birthday

and i'm on top of the world. after a very good (and quick) trip to new orleans...

i am happy to home with my family again. there is honestly nothing i want more than to just hang out with them and spend the day together. that would just top off my week perfectly.

so i've been thinking a lot since my time off at home about how this year is going to go, and i have to say i'm excited for it. already the first month has proven to be so fulfilling and it has me stoked for the coming 11 months. i kind of have this mantra that i've started to go by - mostly things i want to do for myself, some of it is for other people.




smile more is for me. so simple, yet so effective for me. this one is to help me remember to lighten up and laugh more often. as i've implemented this already i feel a difference in my attitude, in my energy and in the well being of my mental health. i am happier. i laugh more. and it's a good reminder to not sweat the small stuff, but to take it stride and laugh at things that could otherwise just cause me stress or frustration. i find myself in a much better mood when i remember to smile more. i love this one.

take more is also for me. this year i want to take more pictures, both professionally and personally. and personally i'm mostly thinking of our everyday life at home. that's the stuff i want to remember forever. time goes by so fast and it seems like i am constantly wanting to make it stop and hold on to every phase beth (and now hyde) are in. there's no better way to do that than with pictures. so i've resolved to taking more so i can hang on to our life and the sometimes simple, sometimes complicated moments that make it up.

do more is for me too. ever seen the movie yes man? that's kind of what i'm after here. i want to do more, get out more, see more, experience more, the whole bit. because that's what keeps me sane. i want to live outside and make sure my kids know how to live outside and learn to love it as much as i do. making a conscious effort to do more will bring a little more life and fulfillment to my soul and i think that's healthy. i think it's okay to take the time to do more for me.

be more is for everyone else. i really want to be more as a wife and a mother. i want to be more patient, be more open, be more active, more selfless, more personal, a better friend. i don't want to be lazy about it. and not that i'm trying to be wonder woman or anything, just that i think i can be better than what i am now in so many senses. so for everyone else, yes, i want to be more.

so that's it friends. that's my mantra. smile more, take more, do more, be more. i like that when i've thought about one of these in any given situation it's already made a difference. it changes my course of action and it's almost always for the better. it's awesome.

yes friends, i think it's going to be a good year. a good 31st year for me. we're on the right track so far, and i'm diggin it.

and now, i'm going to go play in the snow with my kids. a stellar day indeed.

our venture to steamboat

so we made it. snow packed/icy roads and all. only took an extra 30 minutes too. we love our explorer. it takes us anywhere our little hearts desire to go. it's awesome. and coming back was a breeze, and beautiful with all the fresh fallen snow i might add. both kids slept the whole way coming back, which made for some seriously good bonding time for me and the man. i'm sure he'll agree, i'm just sure of it...

we arrived to the hotel friday night and because of our awesomeness were upgraded to a suite. saweeeet! started our time there off just right. and we made big plans for saturday we did. hank went skiing in the morning while me and kids checked out the shops downtown. then we all went back and took some much needed naps before going out to the snowy hill to go.... TUBING! we were so excited and kept telling beth that we were going to play in the snow. well, we drove out to the first place, found out that you HAD to have a reservation (which we didn't) and that they didn't have any more room for that night. so we resort to plan B: tubing place #2. call them to find out what the story is, and as it turns out, they're going to close their hill down in 30 minutes. it's also a 30 minute drive from where we are. hill #2? out. so... tubing was a total bust. and we were all so disappointed. beth kept asking and asking to play in the snow, and being the stellar parents that we are, we attempted to keep our promise, so we resorted to playing in a park with snow that felt like it had been there for 4 years. our version of playing in the snow:



it was especially fun for they hyde-man.


okay, it was pretty much super lame, but beth seemed to like it, even if it was rock solid. she just liked to get outside i think. and has been asking to play in the snow everyday ever since. we have much fresher, softer snow here at home, so it works out good for her.

after playing the snow we hit up the hot springs and beth and hank swam their little hearts out.




hyde and i are both still a little too fresh off the boat to hit up the hot springs. next time though, next time...


one hot dinner at a sketchy mexican restaurant later we were back at the hotel and ready to crash. we rented a movie and all laid down, hoping beth would crash in the first 5 seconds. but no. of course not. of course she stayed up for the whole thing even though she was EXHAUSTED. meh, we were on vacation. who cares if our almost-two year old stays up until 11. big deal.

then back on sunday in time for the superbowl (go giants!) a really stellar weekend it was. and we plan to go back, few times in the near future.

tomorrow i am headed to new orleans for a quick overnight. my first time to new orleans. can't wait to check out the big easy....

OMG

this kid gave me 5 and half hours of sleep last night. holy canoly! it's amazing when 5 straight hours of sleep brings this much excitement. is that sad? just motherhood, i suppose. and i am totally calling it a fluke. i fully understand that i got lucky. but still... i rejoiced. it was awesome to wake up and realize that it had been 5 hours since he last needed to eat. i let out a huge sigh and smiled just as big.




and now, we're off to steamboat springs for an early birthday celebration. roads may be hazardous and i may never come back. but we are going. it's going to feel really, really good to get out of the house for a bit.

full report to come...