Terry's Birthday

My sweet husband celebrated his 38th birthday yesterday.

When I asked him if he felt like he was only 2 years away from 40, his answer was a definite NO.

Although I am 4 years younger than him, I have never "felt" the distance in our ages...even when we first dated and I was 19 and he was 23. And neither one of us feel like we're hiking up that hill of our 30's now. But like I always say, age is just a number.

But it is always good to do something fun for your birthday and though we didn't have any major festivities planned for his birthday, he did take a few days off of work, so we took a little trip to the park yesterday morning.

Terry has been into all things skateboarding since forever. He wears skateboard shirts any time he's not working and only owns Vans skateboard shoes (he has 13 different pairs...more shoes than I own!!). He hasn't skated much at all in the past few years since he is now a "grown-up" and has to worry about more important things like work and such. There is little time left each day for him to do the things he loves like skateboarding.

Fortunately for us, there is a nice little park not too far away that has a great skatepark. It has 2 large concrete bowls and some ramps and rails. We went by there once, but it was still under construction. So yesterday was his chance since most of the "kids" that would crowd the place normally were all in school.

But first things first...we had to take little Jude to the playground there at the park.

He got a few pushes from daddy on the swing...

Walked across the squeaky bridge...

Slid down the slide...

Rode the rocking seahorse...

and drove the train.

Then it was daddy's turn to play!

So Jude took a break from the stifling humidity to watch daddy.

Terry had to get all geared up for his first time in a concrete bowl. This was definitely something he had looked forward to for a long time.

And off he went!!

We had a little intermission when his shoelace broke...

But then he was back at it!

Jude liked when Terry would ride up and wave at him.

Jude would laugh so hard.

I was so proud of him. It's not easy to be out of practice with your skateboarding and then just hop into something challenging like a concrete bowl. Terry had a few little spills, but overall did so great. He really enjoyed himself. And he really deserves the time he got to do something he loves.

To my sweet "old" man...may you always be young at heart.

Happy Birthday Terry!!!

Love you!

This is how it works...

This is how it works
You're young until you're not
You love until you don't
You try until you can't

You laugh until you cry
You cry until you laugh
And everyone must breathe
Until their dying breath

No, this is how it works
You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
And try to love the things you took

And then you take that love you made
And stick it into some
Someone else's heart
Pumping someone else's blood

And walking arm in arm
You hope it don't get harmed
But even if it does
You'll just do it all again

(Excerpt from "On the Radio" by Regina Spektor)

Contentment

So our little life is not a complex one.

We don't hang out with lots of people, spend tons of money on entertainment, go off on vacations at every whim, etc.

Terry and I seem to both be of the school of thought that life's pleasures truly should come from those things found right under your nose.

It seems that when you have to seek out your joy elsewhere, you're really missing what's most important in life...those things that God has so richly blessed you with and put right into your hands.

We have been so very much blessed.

I am dedicating this post to the little things in life. I would like to impress upon anyone reading this blog that God always provides what you need. It would certainly be a shame to let discontentment cloud your view of those things that are most beautiful in life.

These are some of the things I find most beautiful...

Taking my Jude to the park

During our most recent trip he enjoyed a little of this...

...and this...


...and this (very uncertain about this wobbly bridge!)...



...and this (with mommy, of course)...



...but most of all he loved the swing.

He wasn't too excited at first...mommy wasn't pushing hard enough.



Things got a little better...



...okay...HERE we go! WEEEE!!



Hanging out at home

We love to read books...



...stack blocks...



...and knock them down...



...dirty up the coffee table with our funny faces...

...try out things we haven't seen in a while...
(yes, that's a halloween shirt...and he's had it for 2 weeks already!)

...constantly pose for mom...

...eat graham cracker crumb covered bananas...
(he's actually saying "cheese" here!)

...run around in a hat most of the time...

...touch those things that are most off-limits like the antique snowglobe that was pee-paw's (great-grandpa)...

...build amazing things out of legos like miniature versions of ourselves...

...try on any shoes we find...

...and sometimes watch a little elmo.

Sewing!

Something I love to do these days is sew! A couple of close-ups of the projects I've been working on for my friend Astrid.




And speaking of Astrid...something else we love to do is go visit her adorable triplets for some great playtime. This is from our last visit before Cecilia started school.

There are so many things that we love to do...but that's all this blogger has time to cover this time around!

So next time you're feeling lonely or frustrated with your situation, be aware that you need only look around you for all you need.

All you need is love....and GOD IS LOVE.

Here's to making every day full of the joy that comes from that love...

Growing!

Kiddos had check-ups this morning. Both are growing so much!

Cecilia had been behind in growth. She was only in the 15th percentile for her age. The doctor had been concerned...until today that is! Cecilia is now 4' 8.5" (50th percentile) and weighs 70 lbs (25th percentile). YAY! The doc says to keep on giving her lots of dairy so as to get as much height in as possible. Of course I get a bit irritated when she says in front of Cecilia that she can have ice cream, milkshakes, pizza, etc. to boost her height and weight. My child would live off of that stuff if I let her. I don't want her to get into a bad habit of eating now and then find out one day that a grown-up metabolism can't keep up with that type of diet.

As far as Jude goes, his growth these days is not nearly as drastic as it was during the first year obviously, but he is doing well. He now weighs 23 lbs. 10 oz. and is 31.75" long. About average for both. His head size is what is so surprising. His head measures 19.75" right now. That's at least 95th percentile. The doctor says that he just has a lot of room for his big brain. Haha!

She says both of the kids look great and is very pleased. Unfortunately both of them got shots today. Cecilia is a big girl now, so no tears for her. Jude on the other hand got quite upset but settled down pretty quickly. He also left with a super cool spiderman sticker to help ease the pain. =)

Good doctor's visits are always nice for the simple fact that it is a temporary reassurance that, as a mother, I am doing my job...at least regarding their health.

Have a wonderful weekend!

The Great Outdoors

It's been way too long since I've posted anything, but there are so many pictures that I want to share! I decided that I would devote this post to the wonderful outdoor time we've been having the past few weeks. Jude especially loves being outside. How do I know? Well, just try to take him INside and see what happens. I've just learned to ignore the fit he throws starting the instant he realizes that he's being taken in...can't stay outside forever (although the mosquitos would probably like it if we did).

I apologize in advance for the massive amount of pictures. I am LOVING my new camera and it's hard to pick just the best ones because so many of them come out so well!
So enjoy the great outdoors...well, at least our yard's worth of it. :)

Little guy was getting super hot from running around!

In Judie La-La land....

He was actually waving "hi" to his shadow here

Taking a break to cool off...

Trying to put Daddy's hat back on his head

Another cool off session (can you tell that they like to sit and cool off?)

Moments before the swing broke...sending Terry to bruised tailbone land (but Jude was fine!)

Cool cloud...I thought it kinda looked upside-down

Ahh...a rare moment where Cecilia ventured outside. She's deathly afraid of the insects as of late.

Walking around after a rain

Wet baby footprint

Cecilia standing in the garage after having been scared by a bug

She spent hours doing this burning thing...

Our resident "widow"

Another icky buggy

And last, but not least, this is what happens when you take a little boy away from the outdoors...

More pictures to come soon!

If I don't get to it before the weekend, have a safe and fun Labor Day holiday!