Four years, three different home addresses, two healthy boys, one happy marriage. Yesterday was our fourth wedding anniversary, and we celebrated by going out to dinner while the boys played at Grandma and Grandpa's. Over dinner at The Met, we shared our experience of the past four years and it was interesting to see that we sometimes had very different impressions of the same experience. For example, Aaron said he has really fond memories of our first apartment, while that stage of our life together was definitely the hardest for me. Jack was a cranky newborn, always angry, always screaming, never content. I'm so relieved that he has grown into such an amazing little boy, and there are so many things that make him happy. Lately, the beach makes us all happy. We've taken advantage of every sunny day this week, heading to the beach right after school. We've hit a different beach each day, but each one is pretty much a boys' paradise; train trucks run along each one, so while we're playing in the sand and throwing rocks we get to watch a train go by.
Matteas is offering me a spoonful of sand. He is nothing if not generous.
Jack recently discovered the power of rain boots and loves to wade through the streams and tide pools while relishing the security of his dry feet.
Matteas doesn't love his rain boots as much, and I recently cut the tops off to give him a little more flexibility. My attempts to keep him dry at the beach have mostly been futile, but luckily he doesn't seem to mind. I, however, do mind when he decides to run full-tilt into Puget Sound in the middle of winter. I didn't get to him quite in time the other day and he made it into the water up to his ankles before I grabbed him, and I thought the feel of the water would give him pause. No such luck; no sooner had I plucked him from the chilly water than he turned around and ran right back again, not the least bit discouraged by the cold water but very angry with his mother for ruining his fun. I admire his bravado, but I sort of wish he would develop a sense of his own limitations. Namely, the fact that he can't swim.
I have to pack extra clothes for Matteas anytime we go to the beach. I was really pleased with myself for bringing the pants he's wearing because they're quilted and lined with flannel so they're extra-warm; ten seconds after I took this picture, Matteas sat down on the wet sand. I keep telling myself that if it doesn't bother him it shouldn't bother me, but I know he'd let himself get dangerously cold before he'd complain if he thought it meant leaving the beach. I'm really looking forward to summer when I can actually let him get wet for a while, and he'll be a little more stable on his feet.
I've been really loving the stage the boys are in lately, which is part of the reason I haven't been blogging much; I've been too busy enjoying my kids. Back in the days of Jack's constant screaming or the early stages of my pregnancy with Matteas, when I'd lie on the couch too nauseous to move and Jack wreaked havoc on the house, I kind of figured things had to get better. Other mothers assured me that it would, but it was hard to conceive of anything different than my own personal experience. In my experience, motherhood was hard and mostly unrewarding. Rather than feeling like I was working hard at something I wanted to do, I felt like motherhood was what kept me from doing all the other things I wanted to be doing instead. I remember the feeling of impending doom while I was pregnant with Matteas; it was a really rough transition for Jack and there were many, many days when I would just show up at Briana's and ask her through my sobs how the hell she had four children and wasn't insane. Then Matteas was born, and the instant the midwife put his warm little body in my arms I was deeply impressed with his sweetness. Helping Jack through his feelings of displacement was pretty hard for the first six months or so, but then he just seemed to grow up. He became reasonable, and I found I could do things like take both boys to the grocery store by myself and shop without any incidents. Matteas is now a year and-a-half, and the boys' friendship continues to deepen. If one cries, the other(assuming they haven't caused the tears) comes running to hug and comfort the injured. They have common interests, like the beach and the library and playing with cars and trains. It's been especially rewarding to help Jack grow up, and while as an infant absolutely nothing satisfied him, there's now a long list of things we can choose from that he loves to do. He loves to cook with me, and we've been making our own alphabet cookies. We still have our cranky days, but most of the time I can identify what went wrong(not enough sleep, too much sugar, no outdoor playtime) and do better the next day. Now, instead of wishing I could do other things, I find myself turning down opportunities to go out so that I can be home with my family. Especially now that we have some rhythm to our days, I find my days with my boys satisfying and fulfilling. Some of the best days are days like the ones pictured above; I'd made dinner while Jack was at school, so after we got cold and wet at the beach we came home and had a hot dinner and warm baths. Good, good times. Thank you Aaron, love of my life, for a wonderful(albeit challenging) four years and two amazing little boys. I'm looking forward to more. Of everything.
Four years, three different home addresses, two healthy boys, one happy marriage. Yesterday was our fourth wedding anniversary, and we celebrated by going out to dinner while the boys played at Grandma and Grandpa's. Over dinner at The Met, we shared our experience of the past four years and it was interesting to see that we sometimes had very different impressions of the same experience. For example, Aaron said he has really fond memories of our first apartment, while that stage of our life together was definitely the hardest for me. Jack was a cranky newborn, always angry, always screaming, never content. I'm so relieved that he has grown into such an amazing little boy, and there are so many things that make him happy. Lately, the beach makes us all happy. We've taken advantage of every sunny day this week, heading to the beach right after school. We've hit a different beach each day, but each one is pretty much a boys' paradise; train trucks run along each one, so while we're playing in the sand and throwing rocks we get to watch a train go by.
Matteas is offering me a spoonful of sand. He is nothing if not generous.
Jack recently discovered the power of rain boots and loves to wade through the streams and tide pools while relishing the security of his dry feet.
Matteas doesn't love his rain boots as much, and I recently cut the tops off to give him a little more flexibility. My attempts to keep him dry at the beach have mostly been futile, but luckily he doesn't seem to mind. I, however, do mind when he decides to run full-tilt into Puget Sound in the middle of winter. I didn't get to him quite in time the other day and he made it into the water up to his ankles before I grabbed him, and I thought the feel of the water would give him pause. No such luck; no sooner had I plucked him from the chilly water than he turned around and ran right back again, not the least bit discouraged by the cold water but very angry with his mother for ruining his fun. I admire his bravado, but I sort of wish he would develop a sense of his own limitations. Namely, the fact that he can't swim.
I have to pack extra clothes for Matteas anytime we go to the beach. I was really pleased with myself for bringing the pants he's wearing because they're quilted and lined with flannel so they're extra-warm; ten seconds after I took this picture, Matteas sat down on the wet sand. I keep telling myself that if it doesn't bother him it shouldn't bother me, but I know he'd let himself get dangerously cold before he'd complain if he thought it meant leaving the beach. I'm really looking forward to summer when I can actually let him get wet for a while, and he'll be a little more stable on his feet.
I've been really loving the stage the boys are in lately, which is part of the reason I haven't been blogging much; I've been too busy enjoying my kids. Back in the days of Jack's constant screaming or the early stages of my pregnancy with Matteas, when I'd lie on the couch too nauseous to move and Jack wreaked havoc on the house, I kind of figured things had to get better. Other mothers assured me that it would, but it was hard to conceive of anything different than my own personal experience. In my experience, motherhood was hard and mostly unrewarding. Rather than feeling like I was working hard at something I wanted to do, I felt like motherhood was what kept me from doing all the other things I wanted to be doing instead. I remember the feeling of impending doom while I was pregnant with Matteas; it was a really rough transition for Jack and there were many, many days when I would just show up at Briana's and ask her through my sobs how the hell she had four children and wasn't insane. Then Matteas was born, and the instant the midwife put his warm little body in my arms I was deeply impressed with his sweetness. Helping Jack through his feelings of displacement was pretty hard for the first six months or so, but then he just seemed to grow up. He became reasonable, and I found I could do things like take both boys to the grocery store by myself and shop without any incidents. Matteas is now a year and-a-half, and the boys' friendship continues to deepen. If one cries, the other(assuming they haven't caused the tears) comes running to hug and comfort the injured. They have common interests, like the beach and the library and playing with cars and trains. It's been especially rewarding to help Jack grow up, and while as an infant absolutely nothing satisfied him, there's now a long list of things we can choose from that he loves to do. He loves to cook with me, and we've been making our own alphabet cookies. We still have our cranky days, but most of the time I can identify what went wrong(not enough sleep, too much sugar, no outdoor playtime) and do better the next day. Now, instead of wishing I could do other things, I find myself turning down opportunities to go out so that I can be home with my family. Especially now that we have some rhythm to our days, I find my days with my boys satisfying and fulfilling. Some of the best days are days like the ones pictured above; I'd made dinner while Jack was at school, so after we got cold and wet at the beach we came home and had a hot dinner and warm baths. Good, good times. Thank you Aaron, love of my life, for a wonderful(albeit challenging) four years and two amazing little boys. I'm looking forward to more. Of everything.
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