Sous Chefs

Spring Running

I absolutely LOVE the first few runs of spring.

Ninja Turtles Meet Star Wars

SPRING is HERE!!!

Our subdivision has an Easter Party every year complete with eggs, a petting zoo, and balloon animals. Both my children are afraid of animals, so it took some getting used to, but they both had fun holding chicks and bunnies. And man, check out the facial expressions on Grayson. That kid cracks me up!

Playdates

I love play dates. I enjoy watching my children interact with other kiddos, but I also love hanging out with other moms. We had off from school today, so we basically had an all-day play date. Fun was had by all, and we have all officially been bitten by the summer bug!

MOA

Enjoying a family visit :)

Pretend you left me at Target...

Catchy title, huh?

Really, though. This isn't just a ploy to get you to read my post. This is a game my children want to play with me on a regular basis. As in I play this game at least once Every. Single. Day. Both my children like to play this game, but Grayson is the biggest fan by far.

Rules: Pretend you left your child at Target.

It's true. That's it. Griffin or Grayson will come up to me and say, "Pretend you left me at Target" and proceed to hide under a blanket or behind the couch. I then have to pretend I can't find them. I make my voice all shaky and shout, "Oh no. Where is Grayson (or Griffin)! I can't find him. I might have left him at Target!" I keep repeating this over and over. I hear giggles and giggles until I pull away the blanket, feign my complete and utter relief, smile, and shout, "Oh. There you are. I found you!"

For a while this game made little sense to me. I especially didn't understand the desire to play it every. single. day. But then it occurred to me. They like to be found because when I find them, I show how happy I am that they are no longer "missing." This game reiterates to them over and over again that I want them to be found. Translation: I want them in my life.

Don't we all like to be found? Don't we all yearn for someone to be truly and utterly happy when he/she finds us? Don't we all want to see joy on someone's face when he/she sees us? It's easy to get caught up in all that good parenting entails. It's easy to fall prey to the trap of comparing your family to another family. But at the end of the day, my boys just want me to love them and acknowledge them. My boys just take that desire and make a game out of it. It's their way of saying, "Show me again how much you love seeing me. Show me again how much joy I bring to your life."

As their mom, I'm happy to oblige. I found you my dear children. I found you.

Just a few more pics of my favorite four year old...

Happy 4th Birthday

My dearest Grayson,

Today you are four years old. And like you say, next year you will be five. Apparently you didn't get the memo to stop growing up so quickly.

On this day, I want to remember all the little things that make you, you. I want to remember you RIGHT now because the you I know today will be different in just a short while.

I want to remember how you say, "Mom, I have to tell you something." And then you proceed to ask a question. More often than not that question is whether or not you can have or do something...

I want to remember how you LOVE applesauce.

I want to remember how you often combine your memory verses to form your very own unique Bible Verse such as, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them. And self control."

I want to remember that when you get hurt, you try and pretend you aren't. And then a few seconds later you crawl into my lap, snuggle your head into my shoulder, and cry.

I want to remember your facial expressions. Man you know how to play a crowd.

I want to remember that you consistently ask if one of us will go under the "big bucket" with you. You are referring to the water bucket at the Wisconsin Dells Water Parks. You apparently can't wait to go back.

I want to remember...

Currently, you have a few obsessions. You recently started asking for Timberwolves things. You have never even seen a basketball game in your life, but your brother got to attend one, and now you are their biggest fan. Same with Ninja Turtles. Griffin likes Ninja Turtles, so now so do you. Jake and the Neverland Pirates is your own obsession, though. And man, you make a cute pirate.

One of my favorite things about you is that you LOVE to cuddle. Unfortunately you only ask to cuddle for a few moments, and then you are all done and ready to take on a new adventure. You like kisses, especially butterfly ones, and you love it when I lay with you in your bed. I smile, and you scrunch up your nose and smile back. My heart melts each and every time you do this. You will also randomly walk over to me and pucker your lips for a kiss. I also love that you are stubborn like me. Don't get me wrong; there are days when you drive me bananas, but you are a boy who knows what he wants, and I love watching you do whatever it takes to get it.

When I asked you what you wanted to do this summer, you said swimming, t-ball, and Holly Johnson's house. It's a good thing we plan on doing Play Net together with the Johnson Family, so your summer wishes might actually come true. You truly do enjoy being around other people, and you are NOT shy. You go up to anybody and anyone to tell them about what you are thinking or what you have discovered. A couple of weeks ago you walked around telling people you thought their eyes were beautiful. Currently you LOVE going up to anyone to say, "Guess What? Shake your butt (or if we are lucky, Chicken But)!"

Gluten Free eating is going well, but you still have your moments. Sometimes you refuse to eat anything; other times you eat like a champ. I hear that's normal kid behavior, though, so I am not going to worry :) Just the other day you finally tried a Cutie for the first time. Your face was priceless, and you abhorred it, but hey, you tried it. Gluten Free pizza from Brunswick Zone is probably your favorite food. Next to gum. If you can call that food.

Bedtime is a STRUGGLE right now. You are phasing out the need to nap, so when you do, you stay up WAY too late. On days you don't nap, you fall asleep almost instantly. You also don't like your bed for some reason. I catch you sleeping on the floor, in the hallway, or on our couch. Not sure what that is all about.

This summer you will go to the same Summer Preschool that Griffin went to. You currently write your name as though you are dyslexic. You get all the letters in, just not quite in the right order. You will occasionally tell me you wish you had an H and an L in your name, so you tack those on the end sometimes too. Like I said. Stubborn. You do like to read, but you have to be the one to initiate it. You especially enjoy listening to your brother read to you. I hope to capture those reading moments for years to come.

On Friday, we celebrated you birthday with friends. When I asked you what your favorite part about the party was, you said, "When my friends sang Happy Birthday to me!" I asked you later if there was anything else you wanted for your birthday, and you said, "Another Ninja Turtle Truck so Griffin can play with one too." You two can drive each other crazy, but at the end of the day, you both have the other one's back. I pray this continues throughout your whole life.

I love you little man. Your zeal for life and your many facial expressions bring a smile to my face daily. I wish I could stop time for a little bit, but I can't. Sometimes I get so caught up in trying to teach you how to live the right way that I forget to simply love you. Love you with my whole heart and nothing less. So today, I pause. I pause to just love you and remember when you turned four...almost as vividly as I remember the day you were born.

Lazy Sunday

Today was the last day of Spring Break, and it was definitely a LAZY Sunday. I taught at church, and we had swimming lessons, but otherwise we simply lounged around. Tomorrow we go back to reality!

Spring Break is coming to an end...

But that doesn't mean we aren't cramming in as much fun as possible :)

• Get Lucky 7K 
• Lunch at Chili's
• Play time with new toys
• Church

Life with two little boys is a wild ride, but man, I am thankful to have a front row seat!

Get Lucky 7K

Not gonna lie...I secretly hoped this race was going to be canceled. The forecast was not looking pretty, and I just didn't feel like running in the cold and icy conditions. I am happy to report that I am glad I didn't sit this race out. The bad news is that it was REALLY treacherous at the beginning. I was scared for the entire first mile that I was going to fall and hurt myself. Mentally, I was ready to call it quits because I was so nervous. Thankfully, though, after the first mile, the roads were no longer slick, and I could pick up my pace a bit without feeling like I might lose my life. The good news is that I was not cold during the race, and I got to see some beautiful MN scenery. I also enjoyed seeing some crazy outfits, and let's not forget that Team Ortho swag is the best there is. I did practically freeze my fingers off at the end waiting to meet up with friends, but the Caribou on the way home made up for it. A 7K is a good distance in my opinion. While I didn't "race" this race, I think I would say that I liked the distance even if I had. A bit more of a challenge than a 5K, not quite the challenge a 10K can provide. I do enjoy doing races at a slower pace, though. Don't get me wrong; I absolutely LOVE trying to meet a goal time, but sometimes a leisurely race just increases my joy for running. Today's race did just that.

Day Five!

Today we celebrated Grayson's 4th Birthday with friends :)