Oh, the minor holidays

It is no secret that I have a special fondness for minor holidays. I can't explain it, but I think there is something fun about making a big deal out of something that is, well, not a big deal. So we celebrate the silly little holidays. I hope this is something the boys remember as they get older and one day look back on their childhood.

Here are some pictures from Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, and of course Earth Day!

Valentine's Day

My mom sent the boys these cute mailboxes last year. This year I used them to leave small surprises for the boys each morning. They were super excited about their mailboxes :) 

Festive brownies.

I love this.

Window Clings. Incredibly cheap entertainment.

Valentine's Treats. For this small holiday we do a book, candy, and small toy for each of the boys.

V-Day breakfast.

School treats for Carver's class.

This picture of Cargy is hilarious. Love that face and the enthusiasm.

St. Patrick's Day

Earth Day!

Painting Birdhouses.

Dear Carson: On Your Second Birthday

Dear Carson,

Tomorrow you turn two! Of course you have grown over these last twelve months, but what has really been so entertaining to watch has been the emergence of a character and personality that is uniquely YOU. And, oh you are so precious to me. Sometimes when I look at you I can literally feel my heart swelling-- too many emotions to be contained in one human heart. Pride over how you are growing and developing and learning. Thankfulness that God gave you to us. Joy because you make me smile and laugh out loud so many times a day. A little fear and worry over what you  (and we) might face in the coming years. Hopefulness over what kind of man you will one day become. And love. So much love.

It is fascinating to see how very different you are from your big brother. Your brother was so fiercely independent when he was your age, but you have always most loved to be held and carried and kept close by us. You are a little more cautious and a little less given to pushing boundaries and limits. You like to sit still and observe things and play quietly sometimes. But, slowly you are beginning to follow some in your brother's footsteps. You have become more inquisitive over these last months...and a little more stubborn. You are learning to hold your own in power struggles with Carver and you have become just a  touch feisty. You are opinionated and quick to let us know if you are not getting your way.

But I have loved every day of this last year. Every single moment. Not because every day was good, or every moment was easy, but because you are mine, and I am yours, and getting to experience life with you is an incredible blessing. A blessing that every day I thank God for because I feel so unworthy of the gift that is you.

This last year I used the word kindness to guide a lot of my prayers for you. I wanted for you to have a genuinely kind heart. I want you to love people, to have a heart for serving others, and to show kindness to friends or strangers. And in return I pray that you are shown great kindness from others. So that you can see and feel what a difference a kind word or gentle heart can make in your life and in the lives of others.

This year I am praying for joy. Right now you are filled to overflowing with joy. You are happy and content and quick to smile and laugh.  But, joy, real, true joy, is usually a choice. Because as you get older it is harder to be naturally joyful. But Carson, having joy leads to contentment. And people who are overflowing with joy draw others to them in such a positive way.

And there is no way to have true joy in life without Jesus. My biggest prayer for you will always be that you come to know Jesus. I pray that you will see Jesus in me and that you will live in a home where Christ is at the center and our faith is evident in all that we do as a family and as individuals.

Life can be hard. Your daddy and I will try our best to prepare you for this reality. Eventually. And in small ways. But for now, I hope that you are happy. And that you feel safe and secure. We will always be a safe place for you to fall. We will always hold your hand as you navigate through these coming years. We will make you mad and we will frustrate you, and you will not always get what you want-- but we will work hard, every day, to raise you well. I will have a lot of days when I fail to do my best. I have a lot of nights of laying in bed, thinking about regrets and wishing I could take back my impatience or outbursts of temper. I am sorry for those things. I can't promise to be a perfect mom, but I can promise that I will try every day to be better than the day before. I promise that I will always apologize when I make a mistake-- and there will be many...

And I promise that I will love you always.

You are special Carson. You are unique. You are fearfully and wonderfully made.

I am so thankful that you are ours.

Your daddy and I love you more than you could ever imagine.

Seek joy.

Happy Birthday Cargy!

Love,
Mama

The Longest Winter. Ever.

I have lived in Georgia for almost 9 years. In those years we have had fairly mild winters, some more so than others. The winter of 2012-13 was SUPER mild. No snow. Very little frost. It could barely even be called winter.

All that changed this year. It was epic. At least in terms of Georgia winters. Sub-arctic temperatures, snow, snow, and more snow, very little sunshine. It was insane. At least for us southerners.

One of the things I love about Georgia is that we get to experience all the seasons. But, I do not love to be cold. I do not love having to put 12 layers on the boys every time we walk out the door. I do not love having to put on a parka and gloves and a hat just to walk to the end of the driveway to check my mailbox.

But, I do LOVE snow. And we had a lot of fun snow this year.

Carson's first experience with snow. I bundled him up. He waddled 3 feet and fell face-first into it. While holding a snack in one hand. He was not happy. Not happy at all.

This one LOVES snow.

And snow angels.

He slowly started warming up to the idea of snow.

And realized that grabbing handfuls of snow and throwing them in the air and saying "hooray" every time was actually pretty fun.

And we bought a cheap sled....

And even sent Cargy down the hill on the sled. Which he thought was hilarious and great fun.

Daddy is always better than Mommy at letting them try out new and sort of scary things.

And this one was a natural.

Oh my goodness. These two. Make every single day worth it. Worth every freezing moment outside. Every pile of wet snow clothes stripped off right inside my front door. This is one of my all-time favorite pictures of my boys.

Doctors and Legos

After Carver's epic stomach issues in the late Fall, we were sent to a pediatric specialist down in Atlanta to have him checked out.

The appointment was pretty uneventful. We spent over two hours in the waiting room. (That's right, TWO HOURS with 2 kids). Then we briefly saw the doctor. She determined that whatever was wrong with Carver was unknown and sent us on our way.

So, we headed over to Legoland to let the boys play for a bit. It did not at all compare to Florida's Legoland, but they had fun! We don't make it down to Atlanta all that often so a family day out was just what we needed.

Singing Karoake

Doing a little dancing.

I love all these guys in my life. I'm exhausted and overwhelmed but oh so blessed. 

This.

House destroyed. Carver reading to Carson. Both in pjs, Carver in his angry bird costume.

This. Just this. There is something about this picture that speaks directly to my heart. I feel joy when I see it. And I feel scared. And tired. And confident. And insecure. And content. And hopeful. And proud. And stressed.

So many emotions wrapped up in this one snapshot of a moment in my day. And not even a particularly unique moment.

It shows exactly where I am right now.

This. This is my life. And where I am now is so far from where I thought I would be. I had no idea that these two little precious boys would come and change everything that I thought I knew about myself and about life.

They make everything so worth it. I hope they know how much they are loved. And I hope they know that I am trying my hardest to do this parenting thing right.

I love the rhythm and routine of our days. I love the small moments. Laying out clothes, playing in the bath tub, reading books and singing songs before bed. Every single day Carver hugs and kisses me more times than I can count. Carson comes to me with his chubby arms stretched up asking me to hold him. They destroy the house faster than I can clean it up. They fight with each other and cry when they don't get their way. They drive me completely and utterly crazy. I can't imagine my life any other way.

I think my biggest fear, and as a result, my biggest prayer right now (after safety for the boys), is that I will live long enough to raise them. Someone else could probably do just as a good a job as me, with a lot less mistakes and a lot more patience but...

they are mine, and I am theirs. And I am so incredibly thankful for them.

Carson 20-22 Months

Carson is (almost) 22 months old. We are so rapidly approaching the 2 year mark and I am just not ready. He is the baby. My baby. I can totally understand why the youngest in a family just always seems like the baby.

Cargy is feisty. I was so sure he would be an easier, more laid-back baby than his big brother. But daily he shows an increasing temper and defiance. Defiance in a not yet 2 year old is still somewhat cute but before long he is going to be a real hand full. He has a temper and gets crazy upset when he doesn't get his way.

For most of his life, Carson has been very dependent, much more so than Carver ever was. He liked to be held. He followed me around the house. I mean, he wouldn't even drink from a bottle or cup until he was a full year old. Slowly in the last few months he has become much more independent. He still does not love to play independently, but he will play with Carver for short periods of time and lately they will even head upstairs to play without us on occasion. He fairly easily goes to the nursery at church or into the childcare room at Jazzercise and seems to play pretty well without us around. He is a favorite of all of the nursery and childcare workers because he genuinely loves people, especially sweet women that will hold him and give him  a lot of attention.

He has become very verbal in the last few months. He has a ton of words and even uses phrases and short sentences. He has a crazy laugh and loves to be tickled. Carver can make him laugh hysterically but they also drive each other absolutely insane. Carson may be younger and smaller but he has certainly learned to hold his own in a battle of wills with Carver.

We have recently come to realize that we pretty much have to buy two of everything. Both boys always want what the other has. Carver loves to match Carson and he'll often ask to wear whatever Carson has on-- just tonight I had to change his pajamas so that they could be dressed alike.

Here are some of his current favorites...

* Yogurt Smoothies
* Dry Cereal (any)
* Sugar in any form
* Oatmeal
* Balls
* Playing outside
* Pacifiers
* Bubbles
* Baths
* Books
* Puppy (as in the blue and white puppy he sleeps with. I'm not good at naming stuffed animals...)

In January I finally gave in and we got his hair cut for the first time. He hated it.

The lollipop helped to get over the initial trauma.

He really loves after bath time when he gets to spend a little time wrapped up in his towel.

We are SO ready for warmer weather so that we can play outside more.

He is super interested in using the potty...

There is just something about this boy that is so endearing. It makes it easy to see past the crying (which he does a lot) and the new feisty attitude he has adopted. He loves to be held. He gets so excited when he is reunited after a separation, no matter how brief. He and Carver hug and kiss and he is always quick to love on Lea too. He has an enormous heart. He is so very precious to us.