2014: A Year of Adventure

As I mentioned earlier today, 2013 was our year of love.

And 2014? Instead of resolutions, we are declaring a theme this year.

So let it be declared.

What a fun theme, you may be thinking. Well friends, it is about to get a LOT more interesting.

Because.


Maybe I should say, 冒険の年 instead.


Intrigued?


It is {officially as official can be in the Navy at this stage of the game} official.


In late summer 2014, we will be making a move.


To...

Japan!

We don't have a ton of details yet, but A verbally accepted these orders, we have been in touch with his potential new command, broken the news to our families, and everyone is so excited for us.

We are excited for us too!

Well, my husband is super excited. I can see excited in the distance...you know, after the whole sell your first home, pack up your whole family's life and move it to the other side of the globe thing. Ha!

We weren't even really supposed to talk about orders until a couple of weeks from now, so neither of us were particularly emotionally prepared to deal with all of this in addition to the general holiday bustle. So our minds have been reeling, but in a totally ready for adventure and anxious/excited kind of way.

As always in the Navy, nothing is for sure until you are on board the plane...and sometimes even then, plans can change.

In any case, 2014 will indeed be a year for adventure.

Evelyn Rae is two, Liam is ten months old

...and my baby girl may very well start kindergarten in Japan. 

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT?!

2013: A Year of Love

Everyone else is sharing their resolutions and broadcasts and predictions for 2014 today, but I will go ahead and be back with you on that a little later today.

{Because, thanks to no napping, crazy off schedule, overtired and general messes of kids...this post did not get written yesterday as planned. Naturally.}


Last year, I made some resolutions for 2013. Let's evaluate.

1. Survive and Thrive - We definitely survived...thrived? Ummm. Well. Some days we did, and some days we didn't. Such is life. We did indulge in the philosophy that Babies Don't Keep and did our fair share (and then some) of snuggling, cuddling, loving and hugging.

2. Invest time in relationships - Sigh. I did and I didn't. I had highs and lows on this one. I hate to make excuses for this, but that whole world getting rocked by another baby{and then anxiety} thing meant that some days I didn't even want to hear my own thoughts by the end of it. I am going to be working *much* harder on this one this year.

3. Simplify - We did it! We cut cable. We don't watch nearly as much TV, though we honestly wouldn't have time to anyways with the way bedtime looks some days. It is hard to claim that we simplified "stuff" as I sit here surrounded in new Christmas presents and toys up to my very eyeballs, so it must be time for round 2...or 27. We are going to be purging even more in the days to come. That one is for sure.

4. Blog better - Yeah. Meh. I did write some things I was really proud of this year, but again, the time, friends. Where is the time?! I think this year will be better, as I begin to balance the needs of everyone a bit better, including my own.

5. Fiscal Responsibility - We can *always* do better, but I am actually pretty proud of us on this one this year. Bigger and better things to come.

So, I didn't do outstandingly well at everything I thought I would.

But, here's to 2013.

{With all of its ups and downs and all arounds.}

Our year of love.

I don't say that lightly or trivially. We grew in so many way this year - to a family of four, in our emotional capabilities, our very heart capacity {which grew to bursting and then went ahead and grew some more} and definitely in patience and flexibility. 

And with all that comes a little growing pain - but we grew in love most of all, and there was more than enough love to sustain us through life's little bumps. 

And thank goodness for that.

So here's to 2013!

We loved you, as you loved us.

Evelyn Rae is two, Liam is ten months old

...and that video is a full 5 minutes long, so if you made it through, kudos to you!

Screenshot Shenanigans

This made me giggle.

Thanks, iPhoto.

Evelyn Rae is two, Liam is nine months old

...and holy goodness, this week is Thanksgiving. 

MUST GO DO ALL THE THINGS.

It's Tradition

I guess, since I have done it for two years now, it's tradition.

Yup, just like last year - I made my kiddos some daytime Halloween outfits that will be used again on Thanksgiving.

I made Evelyn's skirt using this tutorial and this tutorial.

I wanted to make a skirt both ways, and figured, let's just combine 'em.

I made Liam's overalls using this tutorial and pattern. (The pattern is generously sized for my skinny baby and was perfect for length, especially if you plan on cuffing the pants to show the lining.)

I opted for a pocket instead of the button placket to decorate his overalls, and since the tutorial and pattern calls for *almost* a full lining, I went ahead and did a full one.

So now, they are REVERSIBLE.

I mean, why not?

If you're already making them it's like two more steps.

I promise. Not that hard.

{"Evelyn! Hug your brother!"}

AND REVERSIBLE. 

{This may be my very favorite photo, ever.}

Because REVERSIBLE.

 {Ok, maybe this one's better.}

Evelyn Rae is two years old, Liam is nine months old

...and we continued the baby in a pumpkin tradition too.

Nine Months

My little man,

Here you are at nine months old. Why does 9 months always seem like such a big deal to me? Is it the clothing size change? (…though you have been in 9 month clothes for a while now…) or is it just because you have been with us for 3/4 of a year? I don't know. But so it seemed with your sister, and so it seems with you.

You have had an event filled and traveling month, my son. We kicked it off with your very first mountains trip. Hooray! Last year you were just a kicking little ball in my belly while we learned that your friend Levi (whose name had yet to be revealed) was going to be a boy! I remember standing there and thinking maybe you would be too, but either way you would be playing together this year. And this year, there you both were, in all your little boy glory.

Being the sweet, but adventurous, boys that you are - we all found some good usage in the playpen that I made your Daddy tote along for the front porch. Your sister even got in on some of the jailing action. While we were there, Momma's suspicions were confirmed and we found out for sure that you are going to be a cousin! Baby Clark will be making their arrival sometime this Spring and I am just so stinking excited for all of you to be friends and cousins. It certainly makes it all the more bittersweet to know that we may not be able to make it on this little trip next year - but I know that someday we will be back. A long weekend with the best of friends and no technology, it really is fantastic.

We also took a trip up to Richmond to hit up the pumpkin patch with your Aunt Haley and Uncle Justin this month. You had fun and did pretty well with all the travel considering your most major milestone this month - all the teething.

Teeth, teeth and more teeth. Ok, well not so many actual teeth, but you are certainly working on them. Drool, drool, drool, for sure. And lots of misery and restless nights and Momma snuggles. You continue to be my snuggliest of babies, continually wanting to be with your Momma.

Which is, you know, fine by me.

Your new-ish interest in books has continued to develop, which I continue to love and adore. You really love all the animal books specifically. This puppy book is certainly a favorite.

And, it, you know, manages to keep you in one place on occasion, so we have it on hand quite readily.

 Your new teeth have not diminished your appetite in the slightest, which continues to amaze and bamboozle me. Considering that your sister is going through a particularly picky phase at the moment, you occasionally eat more than she does in one sitting. She is a peanut and sometimes I fear that you will turn into a veritable tower of a child.

Breastfeeding is still going strong, very strong…through all of your appetite changes. It is most certainly your favorite comfort activity with all this teething business and still your preferred way to nod off. Since it helps you sleep and Momma is oh so tired, we just keep right on with your demands. Someday - please, please - you will learn to sleep without, but for now I love the peaceful moments it brings to both of us.

You had your very first Halloween this month as well, and made an oh so adorable little punkin'. Your sister had an array of costume choices and changes - for a school party and trick or treating and ballet, because, heaven forbid, we reuse the same costume! - but you just worked it out as a little pumpkin for Halloween night. You did great watching all the other kids and riding in the Mazzio's trusty wagon for a bit of the festivities.

We also snapped your requisite "Baby in a Pumpkin" photo, which I am sure will hang somewhere on a wall at some point alongside your sister's.

You are moving and grooving, little man. Still cruising and pushing and pulling and crawling all the live long day. Your sister doesn't know quite what to do with herself now that you can, you know, get to her and her things whenever you want. I have tried to reassure her, but since is only the very beginning of an epic battle to wage over the next well, many years…Er, I mean, the beginning of a beautiful friendship and sibling hood between you two, there's not much I can say except to try to prepare her for the eventual happenings.

She does mostly think it makes for a better playmate though.

And besides all the gray hairs you are currently giving me with your fearlessness, I agree. 

You have stolen our hearts and souls my little blue eyed man.

I love you so.

All my heart,

Momma.

Evelyn Rae is two, Liam is nine months old

…and what am I supposed to do with this adventurous kid when it gets seriously cold outside? Yikes.

Punkin' Pickin'

The weekend before Halloween, we headed up to Richmond for a family weekend of Monticello and Pumpkin picking at the Ashbury Berry Farm, just like last year. They have an "all you can carry" policy, so Daddy started flexing his muscles bright and early.

And, just like last year, we measured up...

...and visited the fish pond..

 ...before jumping on our hayride out to the patch.

These kiddos had so much fun, Evelyn especially had a blast pointing and scouting at each and every pumpkin and then declaring it "beautiful" or "icky."

We came pretty late in the season, so the pumpkins were a bit more picked over than last year, but we still found some keepers.

And again, just like last year, Mommy got a leeeeeetle ambitious about how many pumpkins Daddy could carry.

But, he managed to carry them all the requisite three steps - and we had ourselves a haul!

After some fantastic homemade donuts, Evelyn declared it was time to go, and she showed Daddy just how easy it was to carry those pumpkins.

Well, she tried.


Evelyn Rae is two years old, Liam is nine months old

...and this post had a lot of pictures. I know.

{You're welcome grandparents!}

A Terribly Beautiful Night

Last night was a terrible night.

The kids were both congested all weekend, and by the time grown up bedtime rolled around they had each woken up once from coughing and snotty noses, and were generally whimpering and pathetic little beings.

That baby cry that lets you know they are still just so tired, but uncomfortable and 'Why? Why can't you make it stop, Mommy? I am just so sleepy and sad.'

I am a total pushover when it comes to sick babies. I can't stand being sick myself {and am generally pathetic when I am}, so something about my babies being sick just makes me want to coddle and snuggle them. My patience levels somehow always expand to fill me to the brim, and every time I wish I had the energy to sustain that kind of patience all the damn time.

So last night, by 12:30, I had a coughing, generally not feeling very well, so sad she couldn't sleep, two year old in my bed with me. I don't know who could have said, no to that sweet little flushed face as she reached out of her bed with a soft cry and a "I go to Mommy's room?" But it certainly was not me.

And as I laid there, cuddling that startlingly long little body (didn't she fit into the crook of my arm just yesterday?), of this fiercely independent child who has never been a huge fan of snuggles, with my chin resting on those slightly sleep dampened curls - my heart began to flutter.

She reached out to put her hand on top of the arm I had around her, with just enough grip to let me know she wanted me to stay, but just relaxed enough to convey the trust that she knew I wouldn't move a muscle. And then, she drifted off to sleep.

And my heart kept fluttering.

I now knew that it was one of those moments, I knew. A crystal clear one that strikes right into your soul and stays there.

It was a familiar sort of feeling, that fluttering, but different. Somehow, complimentary.

Yes, that was the word, I thought, as I drifted off to sleep, complimentary. Then I drifted still further, and I had a strikingly clear vision of a lock and key.

For many years, I knew, I was the key. I was the key in my own relationship with my mother. I would have never described it that way when I was the key, of course. I knew that we had a complimentary love for one another. That we were pieces of a puzzle - as all mothers and children know.

You don't know, or care how or why, it just...is.

But now, now I have a key of my own. Two keys, in fact. Two little winged keys flying around my heart.

Because these little souls that call me their mother - they unlock an appreciation and awareness of the entirety of that relationship - the absolute wholeness of the love between a mother and her child.

Those two little keys of mine, they keep flitting about, unlocking little crevices of my heart and soul that I didn't even know existed.

There in their lowest of moments - the sick baby needing a snuggle, in their most normal and mundane of moments - the little boy who locks his legs in just the right way around my hips as I pick him up because he knows his spot, and in their most exhilarating, giggle filled highs of moments - their need for me finds these little nooks and crannies of reserve love. They click and pop those little gates open and those reserves rush out to fill my heart with as much love as it can hold. More, even.

And it never stops.


All that undiscovered territory, yet to open.
All that love, still to give.
All this heart, ready to burst.


All because of a little cough and bedtime snuggle.

Last night was a terrible night, but a beautiful one too.


Evelyn Rae is two years old, Liam is nine months old

...and this journey of motherhood is a strange one indeed.

*I wrote this post a few days ago, but it didn't publish for some reason. Strangely enough last night was the first night in a very long while that Liam slept through the night.*