blessed mama

What can I say...I am a blessed mama with lots of love. Enough said.

Technology as part of our lives

I have talked before about what is screen time and how it impacts young ones (see post the TV debate), but I have to admit that with our second son, we are way more relaxed about technology being part of his life in general. We caved and bought Iphones this fall, which has made gaming, searching, and talking long distance face to face even easier for our family.

I can't help it but I love to watch as my boys grow up able to navigate technology in ways that was unheard of when I was their age. AND I love to snap these type of pictures of a dad and his boys bonding over a little video gaming.

Bath time: love and hate all in one experience

My boys jump up and down, screaming " bath, yah, bath, yah, yah!" in excitement when Olde and I mention the idea of it being a bath night---meaning we head upstairs a bit earlier than usual to start our bedtime routine (more on this later) for a bath, which usually happens every other night. It starts out with so much excitement, kids feverishly getting undressed, searching out toys that are bath-able, and screams of delight as their little toes touch the warm water for the first time.

I, as a parent, love and hate bathtime. It can be a time of real fun as the little ones learn so much about them selves, gravity, and physics, as they dump water through toys or let boats sink, or spray/squirt each other. It can also be a time of a real test to my parenting abilities when the kids do not behave with the new found skills of above mentioned ideas, or when they refuse to be washed with soap.

There is always a ton of giggling that is interspersed with fighting over who splashed who and why they did it. But the echoing giggles are what I try to concentrate on when they are trying my patience of being splashed for the 198th time or when I have to hold them down to soap them up meanwhile the entire time being told "they don't like soap!"

Although many a nights, Olde and I find ourselves negotiating for the prize of not being the bath giver, the other night as I was watching the boys romp in the sudsy water, I realized I better enjoy it while it lasts because soon enough I am sure the door to the bathroom will be locked with the shower on, while I yell at one of the boys to hurry up and get out of the shower. And I am sure, I will look back on these days with fondness...of the splashing fun, bonding over the hate of soap, and love of warm water wrinkling the skin.

"Mama, i-e luv ewwww."

As we were snuggling in bed tonight Aram told me, "Mama, i-e luv ewwww." Magic to any parents ears for a son to say without prompt. I love you too little guy!

a fast growing boy!

His smarts are showing more and more every day in the form of words...sometimes stringing 2 to 3 words together to form a sentence, like, "Cereal, mine, [with a gesture of hands up and palms out] signaling where?" or "go, chooosee (shoes), bru-bru (brother)!"---meaning time to go get brother from school now. It is cute but a sign of my little baby turning to a little boy. Grow my little one, but remember you always be my baby.

Jungle Noises!

Aram plays with toys in such a creative way these days. His make believe play skills are SUPER strong. I think this is because he has a big brother doing it all the time with him...or it could just be the age he is at. Man he grows so quickly these days.

Brotherly Love

Aram mimics EVERYTHING his big brother does these days. He wants to eat, play, sleep---literally everything J does he tries to do. It is really fun to watch the two of them bond through this admiration and love for each other. Even when the space available is a tad small he will sneak himself into it so he can be near his brother. He tells his brother "love you" and gets really upset when his brother is upset too. Olde says that Aram gets really excited to pick his big brother up from school on days when J goes to preschool. He says "shoes, go, brobro" when the time is getting close to pick up time.

It is adorable.

Jasper has been good to his little brother too. He finds toys that are similar so that they can play together and gets very upset when Aram is in "danger"---such as trying to climb down a hill his brother just did that he views as too steep. He also does not like it when dad and I play "we are leaving aram" card when trying to get Aram to move on---which by the way does not work with this child.

The parent role of referee ...well that is a post for another time.

Dirt Lover

Yum, I love eating dirt!

I think Aram was a gopher or mole in another life. No matter where we go he finds the dirt---restaurant courtyard's landscaping, neighbor's yards, etc.  It usually ends up in his mouth as some point too. Today a trip to the Duck Ponds (aka Whitaker Ponds) was another time where he found the mounds and fell in love.

He spent a good hour playing with dirt, while his brother hiked, checked out nature, pretended to get the shadowman, and played baseball. 

found the alligator---whoa!

Every time we go we always see all kinds of birds and other creatures---today we saw a red bellied turtle sunning themselves on the logs. It is a magical place for dirt lovers and nature watchers alike. Thank you Portland Parks and Recreation for such a great place for my boys to interact with nature!