No Words

Just a few snaps from the last couple days...

15/52

Jasper:  Gave his puppies a bath

Loukas:  Builds a puzzle daily

Last Minute Easter Gift Guide

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Well, I for one am pretty last minute when it comes to putting gifts together for birthdays and holidays, but they always seem to come together in the end and that's what matters.  What also matters is choosing gifts that are practical and reasonable, so in the past few years we have made our focus in gift buying about the season.  What activities we will likely be doing and necessities for the coming months are generally our focus in purchasing items for the kids.  Easter is definitely focused on gathering fun items for Spring leading into summer.  So I put together this first product collage for the blog- and I pretty much winged and am kind of jazzed to have pulled her off!  These items are fun and practical and will last through the season, and if you live here locally, a few of these can be purchased from our friends at TERRA TOTS.  I've fallen in love with the line of upcycled woolen creatures that Cate+Levi produce, and am excited to invest in UB2 Urban Bonnets for the boys this year.  We have been prepping and plotting out our garden for this growing season and are raring to get out and dig in the dirt!

Happy Passover.  Happy Easter.  Happy Tuesday.

Life slices / Jasper-hour

:: A new ritual::  Setting the table with the boys.  They are both eager to help, and we love that::

::I'm really relishing this season of my baby's toddlerhood.  He's still a baby in so many ways but is fast becoming a shadow of his brother.  The more words that he learns, the more he mimics and pretends and the further he gets from my lap, the more we get to know him and see who he is.  That's the beauty of children, in rearing our sons- every day we learn a little more about who they are.  It's really the greatest gift, one that I am aware of all the time in getting to spend my days in and days out with these two guys- everyday they are a day farther away from being at our feet.  With every step, the gift of their being unwraps a little more.

This boy's pace is a little different than his predecessor.  Learning to parent him is an exercise in surrendering the knowledge and expectations of what came before.  In so many ways, he shows us that he is growing and learning, but those ways are different than the pace of his peers and "where his brother was" at this age.  What I'm taking away from that is that this is just the way we must learn to parent this individual boy.  It will serve us best to abandon comparisons and just be what HE needs for him, and that will always be the way that it is and is certainly a nuance of parenting that one can not truly prepare for.  Who are children are and will be and watching it all unfold will never repeat, a reason to slow down and really take it all in and celebrate the littleness while they are still at our feet. They'll show us who they are in their own time::

14/52

 Jasper / loved the Carousel ride we took while visiting with my Mom in Branson, Missouri

Loukas / was thrilled to receive this thrifted Millennium Falcon from his Grandma and carried it with him all day around the theme park we visited.  He said, "She knows what I like!"

13/52

13/52

JASPER:  soft baby curls and sweater jumper 

LOUKAS:  fishing in the distance 

Gone Fishing

The time we went fishing and didn't catch any fish::

not a fish on the hook.  

The weather was perfect and our excitement was aplenty.  We procured licenses the day before and Papa Phil came to the ready with an arsenal of tackle and bait.  The wind was unforgiving, however, and not a single fish was pulled from the water.  Still, there were smiles and it was fun and I know I'll treasure these photos.  A great dry-run at many fishing outings to come.