Family Headcolds

We are coming up to day 4 of Head Cold 2014 around here.

It's been mostly Sonny really.  Geoff and I are just getting it now. 
But whoa, for a kid who is usually pretty mellow, we've had some pretty amazing meltdowns in the last few days.

So he's watching ANOTHER episode of Dora the Explorer (why does she always have to yell??)
while I putter around the house and try to stay on top of things.

I have NO idea of what we will eat for dinner.

So I know what I will be doing for the next little while I guess.

Figure THAT out, is the answer.  In case you weren't sure.

please bear with me... pregnancy brain (aka The Stupids) plus headcold = s l o o w   J a n a.

(I love this picture of us from this summer.  That HAIR!  Oh those curls were so out of control!
Taken by the always lovely Stephanie Rae)

Kids in suits

The only time he will wear this Bear Suit is when we go out.

Obviously.

So Much, More than anything, Forever

This kid.  Oh my god this kid.
This kid who is vivacious, charming, sensitive and hilarious.

He kills me every day with some look or phrase or sweet snuggle and everyday I fall in love.

All over again.  Because holy shit, do I love this kid.

I would eat him alive if I could.
I. Would. Eat. Him. Alive!

He's starting to lose his sweet baby smell, so that there are times now when I snatch him up and squeeze him and breath him in, I get something new and frankly sometimes pretty gross (he has started refusing to let us wash his hair. It's become a Thing.)  Plus he's a little kid and is often getting into things.

Case in point; the other day we were at the playground and he got very excited when he found some poop.
"DAD!  Check it OUT!"

"What is it Buddy?"

"Just some dog poop"

"DON'T TOUCH IT!!"  (this was both of us hollering this one)

"Just a little touch!" and he does, just one finger, into the poop (UGH!) and off he races, screaming his laughter behind him while we chase him through the grass.

But it's still lingers, that sweet baby smell (NOT the poop thank goodness) so that this afternoon I let him climb up on my lap when I was working on the computer and we opened up youtube so he would sit still watching Buzz Lightyear or Spiderman or whatever the heck it was, and I could squeeze him and breath it all in.

(photo by the incomparable Stephanie Rae)

Happy Long Weekend

We're taking it easy around these parts, just a casual Egg Hunt in the morning, followed by BRUNCH, followed by naps and then DINNER.

Please look at those RIDICULOUSLY little boots and that huge muddy buddy crammed into them!
GAH!  Kills me!

Ugh, head colds are lame

We've all got one.  That's why it's been a little bare around here this week.

But I have some fun stuff to share next week so don't give up on me yet!

xox

Sonny & the Sticker Bandit

We have entered the Age of The Sticker around these parts.
I wasn't so sure if we would encounter it with Sonny because he is such a busy kid, but he received a book of sticker pages from my Mom and we now find stickers ALL OVER THE HOUSE.

I think it's adorable to see them pop up unexpectedly.  But Geoff is not so keen.

It would seem that Sonny got his love of leaving stickers everywhere from me... a trait that his dad is not impressed with.
(I will take the stickers off of fruit and vegetables and stick them on the sink.  And then completely forget about their existence.  I actually had a belt when I was a teen that would get COVERED in veggie stickers because my dad felt the same way!  And since I ALWAYS wore this belt, everysingleday, it was a no brainer.  But alas for my poor husband, leggings and skinnies do not require belts!)

Real life around here

This is a real life nap in action folks.

The sweetest little apron EVER.

Sonny was given this tiny little apron for Christmas last year and he's just big enough now to wear it.

Whenever I put mine on he asks for his too.

(I can not even describe how giddy my heart is when he asks for it.  LOVE IT!)

I love that he looks like a tiny, tidy butcher in that top picture!  Very serious.

All tucked up tight

It's midnight and I am waiting quietly while Sonny slowly settles himself back to sleep.  We've got some weather that's been waking him up these past few nights and I am starting to think that he's getting into a routine with it now.

Although it does sound like it's starting to pick up again outside.

It's less than a week until Christmas.  I have 5 gifts for Littles to make and 3 gifts for Bigs too.  I am not sure how I am going to wrangle this one, but I've got until Sunday morning to finish 4 of them. 

That's probably fine.
Right?

My fingers are crossed that I can squeak in a couple of baking afternoons in there too.  Or maybe just one big one! 
My Aunt sent me my Amma's much loved recipe for her Icelandic layer cake.    I made it last year gluten free, and it was such a joy to be taken back to being 10 years old again, as soon as I bit into it I could see myself downstairs in the laundry room, watching her pull it out of the deep freeze to slice off a piece for me.  And then another because she always cut me two.  Because I always asked for more.

And this year I want to make it for Sonny.  And every year after that.

Because to me it tastes just like love.

I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday, however you celebrate. 

And here is to a new year full of joy and peace and health and love.
xox

Father's day love

I snapped these shots a few weeks ago.
I love that they are just hanging out.  In the sink. 

I had gone to grab a towel, and they were just being so sweet together that I had to sneak back for the camera.

Right now they are both napping. 

I really love these guys!
Happy Father's day Babe, we are lucky to have you.

xox

First taste of sugar

Sonny enjoying his first cupcake on his first birthday!

xox
(this photo was taken my my niece.  Who is 6)

a trip to the park

Yesterday we went out in the afternoon to meet up with some lovely friends (who we ended up not meeting up with due to conflicting nap schedules, BUT WE TRIED!) and stopped at a playground to stretch our legs.

Sonny's legs, since mine were amply stretched on the 45 minute walk to get there.

I snapped a couple photos (by a couple I really mean 16) on my phone.

We snacked on strawberries and grass, and swung in the baby swing at the playground after a couple of bigger boys went home.

Good afternoon!

Easter Fun Times

We spent Easter weekend up at the Lake with Geoff's Family. My sister in Law Andrea's birthday was Sunday and we did a fun egg hunt with all the kiddos and a delicious brunch.
My other sister in law, Noelle is SO GOOD about taking pictures and sharing them with us immediately that I felt I should post this great shot of Ali that she sent to us LAST NIGHT.

The weekend wasn't even over yet!
(I still have not sent out my wedding thank yous. Yeah...)

I made some dinosaurs

for my sweet niece's who turned 6 in February.
6!

Their gift from us was a crafternoon and we got together on Monday this week while they were on spring break.

We made Sculpy beads as requested my Miss Cakes, and stuffed Dinosaurs as per Beans.
I didn't get any photos of the actual event, or of the beads, or of Beans' Anklylosaurus.

Yeah. An Ankylosaurus.

But I finished Miss Cakes' Pterodactyl that night after they left (turns out that crafting multiple projects with children AND a busy screaming toddler "Aunty Jana does Baby Aldous HAVE to scream like that?" is insane) and got a couple of pictures this morning before I took it over.

I was given some great faux ostrich by the lovely Tressa and I told the girls it was ethically sourced dinosaur skin!

They were pretty jazzed to think it was real dino skin, but were thrown off by the ethically sourced part!

No dinosaurs were harmed in the making of these stuffies.

Centric Photography

The very lovely Steph from Centric Photography approached me last year at a craft fair about doing a trade.

She came up to the lake in August and took some wonderful photos of us and I absolutely LOVE everysingleone.


She's probably snuggling in with her new little one right now, but when she's back in action I highly recommend her work.

We are looking forward to having more family portraits with her too!

My Guys

I love that they are making the same face!
Hello dimples.

A VERY late happy new year to you

Good grief.

One of my few goals for this year is LESS SCREEN TIME.

To be more present, especially since most of my time is now spent trailing after a VERY busy and curious little turd who for whatever reason LOVES THE FIREPLACE.

With a single mindedness and devotion that instills my heart with terror.
He burnt the tips of three little fingers the other night and has three little blisters to show for it.

Not cool Turd. Not cool.

He in fact was totally fine after a 20 second scream fest, which was followed by another 30 seconds or so of screaming while I held a freezing cold wet cloth on his little digits while he tried to wriggle away from it AND AT THE SAME TIME suck on it.
(I of course was crying too)

Naturally he's forgotten all about the dangers of the fireplace (our one source of heat is a gas fireplace in the living room) and is all about sitting as close to it as possible. Whenever he can.

YOU try reasoning with a 9 month old. Selfish little buggers.

"I just want to be COZY mama!" "I won't actually touch it OH NO WAIT I NEED TO REACH OUT AND TOUCH IT RIGHT NOW JUST TRY AND STOP ME!"

So my To Do for this week is to find a screen for the front of it so he can be cozy and I can keep some of my hair.

And I have been pretty good at the whole Less Screen Time thing.

You can tell, I know, from my lack of posting.
Like anyone is reading this besides our Moms! HA!

Happy Holidays

Little things

I came home to this last week.

xox

These guys

Every morning when these guys first see each other, Sonny will reach for Norman with his big smiley mouth open and Norman will promptly lick all over Sonny's face and in his mouth.

I think it's completely disgusting, but they love it.