Henry

Dear Henry,

Today we celebrate you.  As our first baby it seems fitting that your birthday and mother’s day fall close on the calendar for eight years ago we embarked on this crazy journey together.  I had big dreams and plans about what it would like to be a parent.  To be a mother to you, my first-born son.

Of course it’s completely different.  More often than not though, it’s better than what I dreamed.  We certainly have our moments, but somewhere in the middle we’ve taught each other a lifetime of lessons on extending and receiving grace.

Sometimes I wonder where that perfect mother, the mother who existed only in my dreams, went.   For I am far from perfect.

Sometimes I wonder how you and I can be so completely different and yet so very much the same.

I also never imagined how charming and loving you would be.  It is funny, being the mother of a boy like you, knowing that you operate best moving at full speed, talking always, knowing everything, and yet at same time you are so empathetic, understanding and always wearing your feelings on your sleeve.

It catches me at odd moments, just how amazing I find you to be.  Already, at only eight you are becoming a grown-up kind of handsome.  And yet almost daily I still catch glimpses of the little boy within.  I wish I could freeze those moments in time.

You are a wonder to watch in action.  You are a natural athlete, I’m not sure if you realize this yet.  You are a gifted people person – a social butterfly if you will – but this gift also brings you trouble.  Occasionally your teacher checks in with us, to mention that you are talking out of turn too often {and too loudly}, or that you are having trouble minding your own business.  And yet in the same note she can’t help but mention how delightful you are to have in class.  This is the paradox of you sweet boy.

Somehow you have managed to create a perfect storm for mothering.

You balance strength with weakness.  You are driven and determined and yet you are restless.  You are competitive and you are compassionate.  You are disagreeable, and then pleasing.  You are a mystery and yet I understand you completely.  I feel the same swing as a mother; one moment I’m teetering on the edge of “I’ve got this” and next I’m loosing my mind.

One thing is certain, I love you sweet Henry.  I’m so thankful for you, for all that makes you, you.  Your laughter, the pure joy, zest and wonder that you bring to this life.  I love you.

Happy Birthday sweet boy!  We are so thrilled to celebrate eight year-old YOU.

I want to give a special shout-out to Kristen. She has a way with words, and has served as a blessing and inspiration on raising-up boys.

Spring Break

We did it!  Spring Break 2013 was a hit.  There was nothing better than having the boys home for a week.  When all was said and done I was pretty bummed to head back into our school routine.  If anything I’m looking forward even more to summer.  And yes, this might be the hormones talking since summer = home all day long with three busy boys + one newborn.

I’m such a homebody at heart.  To me there is nothing better than puttering around the house, digging around the garden, baking something each day and just being with my kiddos.  Allowing our days to be determined not by a schedule, {pick-up! drop-off! practice!} but by our own rhythm.  I also love watching the relationships between each brother grow.  Of course this also comes with our fair share of hurt feelings and disagreements.  Yet sometimes its as if I can actually see the threads of brotherhood actually weaving in and out of each interaction.  I’m certain that this is yet another reason I’m so insistent on always circling the wagons.  Keeping playdates to a minimum and just letting my boys discover their days together – as brothers.

This week we are back at it.  Yesterday I counted and I loaded and unloaded and buckled the kids into the car seven times.  {Truthfully I just buckle William and Henry helps with Charlie but I did herd and coral the kids all SEVEN times.}

Yes, I realize how silly I am.  Always wishing for something else.  Like for my sanity.  One less errand.  Or a sudden burst of energy.  Too much to ask?  Maybe.

This boy.

Before the next big thing {little league baseball} takes over, its worth mentioning Henry’s first-ever basketball season.

According to Henry basketball was: “Pretty fun, but I’m not sure if I’ll want to play it again next year.  It does interfere with duck hunting season mom.”  This was especially comical coming on the heels of a game where he scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds.  While only playing two quarters.

{Now, before you think we’re the crazy point-tracking parents, let me clarify, my dad was there.  HE tracks this sort of thing.  This is especially worth noting because if truth be told, Alex and I – while we both played years of basketball – we were more of the bench-warming type.  Apparently twiggy arms and legs can only work so much magic on the court.  So to see their grandson nonchalantly playing and playing well was a real thrill for the grandparents.}

Anyhow, this boy, our Henry loved his basketball season for what it was.  Short and sweet.  We’re slowly getting into this world of extra-curricular activities as we’ve tried to avoid them at all costs.  But alas, it’s time for our kiddos to start testing the waters, to see where their interests and skills take them.

Seen and heard.

Henry: “William what’s your name?”

William:  “William”

Henry:  “What’s the color of the sky?”

William:  “Blue”

Henry: “What’s the opposite of down?”

William: “up.”

Henry:  “William…blue…up!”  Add lots of laughter and giggles from the boys. And repeat. And repeat again…

william *did* his hair before school.

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typical before-bed antics.  love you Alex!

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“Bubble gum, bubble gum in a dish….”

or

“Enie, Meanie, Miny Moe…”

“and you are IT!”

That’s how we now decide who says the prayer before dinner.

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Cousin Anna to Henry:  “It smells like up dog in here.”

Henry:  “What is up dog???”

Loooong pause

“OOHHH, I get it.  What is up dog!”

Five minutes later.  “It smells like up dog in here.”

Repeat endlessly.

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Ah…life with boys.

Happy New Year!

I realize that I’m about three weeks late with that sentiment but in my defense this is the first {ok, maybe second} *real* week we’ve had back in our usual routine.  The boys school vacation schedules were off so I was in part vacation mode/part real world mode for almost a month.  We {me} forgot more appointments and practices than usual and I probably spent more time in my jammies than I should publicly admit.  But somehow it was just what we needed.

We met the Christmas season moving at a snail’s pace.  And by the time the little ones were out of school if Amazon wasn’t delivering then it probably wasn’t going to be under the tree.  I just don’t take my little ones shopping.  Target and the grocery only if necessary, but other stores are an absolute no.  I can’t make a decent decision for the life of me and they are miserable too.  So we just skip it all together.  This probably also explains why we know our UPS man personally.

Anyhow, Christmas was wonderful.  We left town for a week of skiing and Christmas celebrations.  We have done this for a few years now and love it.  This also allows us multiple early Christmas celebrations with other family members who aren’t travelling with us.  We get to celebrate together but we aren’t rushing around, we actually get to relax and enjoy our time together and the kids have the chance to savor each gift they receive rather than loosing them in the shuffle.

I also realize that with our growing family this might not always work.  Quite honestly while on the road we looked like an episode of Hoarders buried alive, the *on wheels* version.  With three kids, two parents, one uncle, ski stuff for everyone, food, clothes, presents, etc. and yes even a suburban with a rocket box on top and we were drowning.  Oh and our speedometer broke.  But don’t worry, there’s an app for that.  However, there was no app to fix our DVD player.  Which also broke.  Sort of.  It would ONLY play Elf and Home Alone.  Parents of the year we are not.  In our defense it was a 9-hour trip.

We had a blast.  And of course I’m going to share an overload of vacation pictures.

Alex skied two full-days.  I skied two full-days.  Henry skied five.  Go figure.  And yes he has officially passed almost all of us up.  He is fast and prefers the bumps.  Did I mention that he is fast?  It scares me to death.  He was however, also very protective of me on the mountain.  “I don’t want anyone to run into you mom.  You’re pregnant so you need to be very aware of other skiers.  Tell you what, I’ll just ski behind you to make sure you are safe.”  That of course lasted for five seconds, but it was the sentiment that I loved.  This also means that I have no pictures of Henry actually skiing.

Charlie and William also put in some quality time on the ski hill courtesy of the magic carpet.  They both love to be on skis and their giggles as they fly down the hill and even when they eventually fall are the best.

We went bowling.  This was a great family activity for all of our kiddos, even the little guys had a blast.  As for scoring I’m pretty sure William was right behind Alex, and Uncle Jimmy might have come in last.  And yes, we used the bumper guards.

And bless my parents hearts.  They still welcome our loud montely crew.  We take over the entire basement and you can be sure that our stuff spills onto the other levels as well.  No matter, they still feed us and genuinely seem to have a good time with the whole crew under one roof.  {It’s 2012 kids, and Pop-pop is reading the Night Before Christmas via iphone…}  And a special shout out to my brothers.  My boys pretty much think they walk on water.

A regular ‘ol school year.

I’m the first to admit that I’ve never really fallen into the *pro-grow* camp when my kids are concerned.  Not because I’m not looking forward to what the future holds, but because I’m always wishing time would slow down so that I can soak it all in.  To really appreciate who my beautiful babies are growing up to be, and who they are right now.  Without all of the rush and the duties of life.  Because obviously it all goes so fast and sometimes I feel like I’ve missed it while buried underneath a pile of laundry.

This year is different.  We’ve turned a corner and voila!  We have big kids!  Well maybe not BIG kids, but at least they all use the potty, so yes, bigger kids.  And each kiddo is thriving and growing and right where they need to be.

Henry has happily settled into our neighborhood elementary school as a second grader.  {Second Grade!!}  He has grown leaps and bounds since this time last year.   {In heart, mind, and yes, shoe size.}  We are constantly blown away by his independence, his strong work ethic and determination.  And each of these traits is nicely balanced by a heart overflowing with love and concern for others.

He’s obviously not a little boy anymore. He is a big kid and he’s got it handled.  He makes it easy to simply love him as he grows.  For this I am so thankful.

Charlie cutie.

We truly understand and appreciate the gift that a regular ‘ol school year is.  {Who would have ever thought it?}  And so we are basking in the goodness of knowing that each kiddo is thriving.

This picture is deceiving because William really does love school.  He however, does not like picture day at school.  Obviously.

I’m so proud of our little guy.  He’s learning new things.  He’s making real friends.  And I love catching him in his steady stream of talk – singing songs he’s learned during circle time, rattling off the days of the week, or pretending to be the teacher.  He’s been busy creating his own little slice of life that I don’t know about.  It’s kind of killing me a little bit.  In a good way.  I’m so proud of him.  And let’s be honest, I’m proud of me too.

The county fair.

We channeled our inner country as Henry insisted that we all wear some form of cowboy attire.

We ate.  We played.

We saw all kinds of animals.

The boys soaked up every single minute.

Guess who loved riding the ponies?  This was especially exciting as Charlie starts his hippo-therapy lessons this Thursday!

Guess who might be a little too big for the ponies?

I even got to join in the fun and ride the caterpillar roller coaster.  Wheee!

We’re pretty sure William only met the height requirement thanks to his big hair.

We *may* have made a questionable parenting decision.

At least we left with everyone alive and in one piece.  That was a relief.  {For the record Henry had a blast but Alex and I might have suffered minor heart attacks from the sidelines.}

Whew.

Later that night Alex and I went back to the fair for a hot date at the Craig Morgan country concert.  You know International Harvester right?  No?  Anyway, I wore my best flannel shirt and cowboy boots.  My real cowboy boots.  Have I ever shared that story?  Last summer {2011} on our tenth wedding anniversary Alex and I decided to treat ourselves to custom Lucchese cowboy boots.  I knew that this spoke directly to Alex’s country-loving side and heck, if anything they would be a cute addition to my closet.  So we picked out our boots and had a good laugh while our our long and skinny feet were measured.  Five months later they finally arrived.  My boots fit like a glove.  Alex’s not so much.  Oh boy.  Not knowing what to do, he called the store and asked them what his options were.  The store {one of our faves} didn’t hesitate to take them back and offered my hubby store credit.  And what did my darling husband purchase to commemorate our ten years together?  A shotgun.  A camo shotgun.  So ten years in and we have a pair of cowboy boots for me and a shotgun for him.

Second Grade

Today was Henry’s first day of second grade.  Second grade seems so grown-up, but really he’s ready and we love his school and are thrilled with his teacher.

And no, contrary to what I believed, it does not get easier to sent them off to school as they get older, for me it is much harder.

I think its safe to say that we were both equal parts excited, nervous and a little sad to say goodbye to summer.  We were finally settling into our summer routine {or lack of} when it was time to trade in our lazy days for school dictated schedules.  In years past, I’ve been so physically exhausted by the end of summer that the school year was a welcome break, but this year we’ve finally caught our groove.

It wasn’t intentional, but this summer we really circled the wagons and held our little family tight no matter where our adventures took us.  We talked a lot. Big surprise right?  We covered heavy topics and silly subjects.  We played together and we were bored together.  We traveled and we stayed home.  But no matter what, we were together.  Perhaps this is why I’m so nostalgic today, missing my Henry.

And despite being so grown up and all, my sweet boy {bless his heart} gave me an unsolicited hug and kiss and an I love you mom before the morning bell rang.  There is no doubt that our firstborn was born a big-kid, but his is also a wonderful big brother, always willing to laugh and play and help with the little ones.  He is responsible, always eager to work hard and without prompting or need for praise.  I love that knows who he is and isn’t afraid to say no in a situation or activity that doesn’t line up with our beliefs.  He is always quick to share a story with me {and whoever else will listen} and has a heart of gold.

We had the best conversations this summer.  Henry has a heart of gold and without any prompting or leading he has brought up topics covering Charlie, where will he live when he is older, will he marry or have children?  {Don’t worry mom, I will always take care of him.  And on the subject of Charlie not having children; Charlie will be the best uncle mom, don’t you think?  On marriage, and what kind of man he wants to grow up to be;  Mom it’s really important that I protect what I see and what I hear.  I want to grow-up to be a strong and good man.}

To be fair we should also keep things real, because he is also stubborn {so am I}, impatient {so am I} and sometimes needs reminders about self-control {so do I}…you know what they say about apples and trees… But I can’t begin to tell you how much it makes my mama heart sing to see your child bearing fruit, real fruit, growing from years of love and labor and sweat and tears.  It is hard work raising little ones and sometimes the seasons are long, but when harvest comes {and thankfully there are many} it is heart-breakingly beautiful.