Beautiful Messes

After I tuck the boys in for their afternoon nap I usually go back downstairs to survey the mess we made in the first half of the day and start the process of undoing hours worth of damage/destruction inflicted on every corner of our main level.  I mean, toddler "clean up" time can only restore things to a certain point, you know?  If I'm being honest...sometimes I take one look at it, sigh, and head back upstairs to my bed for a nap too.

How about a little before/after visual of what I'm talking about...

 The picture on the left was taken at 8:47am.  The picture on the right was taken at approximately 8:54am.  The mini tornadoes had already moved into the living room.  Now try to picture what this room looks like by 1:30pm.  Scary, right?

However, on the day the below photos were taken I was feeling a little sentimental about the little messes I found.  Partially because I just needed to have a positive perspective on the state my house was in.  But mostly because I realized the mess is proof that my sons are truly living, experiencing and learning.  We genuinely have FUN every day.  And because I know them both so well I can look around the house and tell who made which mess like an expert crime scene investigator.  So I decided to document the disaster instead of cleaning it.

Exhibit A:  Laundry.

I think it physically pains Sullivan to see anything in a neatly stacked pile.  Especially folded laundry.  As you can see from the fury with which he flung the clothes on the floor...folded laundry really pushes his buttons.

Exhibit B:  TP

I didn't witness this mess being made first hand and it could be either of my sons since toilet paper unraveling is very enticing to both of them.  But I'm going to go with Max on this one for two reasons.  1) You can't see from this picture but a portion of the roll is torn into individual pieces...he's obsessed with tearing the paper perfectly.  2)  His little orange dinosaur is wrapped delicately in TP at the bottom of the photo.  Max is a very caring and nurturing little guy who loves to take care of his "babies"

Exhibit C: General destruction/disorganization

If it is placed in something, Sullivan wants it out.  This is clearly Sullivan's work.

Exhibit D:  Hording toys.   

Max sets up all his favorite toys and reads to them.  Usually tucked away in a corner that I'll neglect straightening for a few days since its not in my direct line of sight.

And then there are some messes I actually don't mind. Hand prints on the glass and stainless steel appliances.  They remind me how tiny my babies really are.

Looking out a window through a toddler smugged filter makes the world seem a little more innocent.  A little less urgent.  And much more precious.  

Seeing my reflection in a mirror covered in tiny finger prints makes me judge the body I see in it a little less.  And even offer myself a few kind words as the prints remind me why things aren't the same as they used to be ;)  And why it's worth it.  

I feel lucky that I get to view myself and the world through tiny, greasy, hand prints.

I'll get around to cleaning up.  Wiping away the little hand prints that are just a tiny bit bigger than the ones I wiped away last week.  Refolding the laundry and picking dried play dough out of the rug (how does it end up in the living room??).  But only once we're done enjoying these sweet little messes.

Real Life Moments: August

I do this monthly post to document our everyday adventures that can't really be classified as any particular milestone.  A compilation of random photos that don't really fit together...other than the fact that they're how we spend our regular days. 

HOWEVER, the month of August seemed to be full of big events and milestones.  A couple of our dearest friends tied the knot in Vail, Sullivan turned 1, Max turned 2 1/2 and Billy and I had our 7 year anniversary just to name a few things.  It was a whirlwind of wonderful events and happy tears and toasting to all of our good fortune. 

So, sadly (but happily:), there are not many uninteresting, ordinary photos to post!   I dug around on my phone and camera and came up with these few "regular" days out of the very exciting month of August...

Picnic breakfast and an early hot air balloon competition was a great way to kick off the weekend.

A boy after my own heart. He'll eat a whole lemon or lime and not even flinch...

Frozen, ripe bananas blended with a tablespoon of Nutella makes for a special after dinner treat!

 And this is what happened when Max left his waffle bowl unattended...

Who doesn't love a wagon?  My little climber sure thought it was fun...

 We love when Annabelle comes to play!

Cowboy Max and the Underware Bandit.  Hiding in his fort.

We had a beautiful time in Vail celebrating the Mourning nuptials with some of our oldest and closest friends.    I was enjoying every second of our relaxing time away so much that I forgot to take more pictures!
                           

Library is our favorite place to escape the heat!

 Waiting so patiently at the doctors office.  If only he knew what was waiting for him...

Wrestle Mania is becoming a more and more frequent occurrence. They giggle so hard!

 Boys in hats.

The "bucket hat" was popular for a few days.

During our "anniversary extravaganza" weekend we took the boys to SMS to watch our friends play in the annual alumni soccer game.  Billy and I went to the same high school...just not at the same time (Class of '95 and Class of '00, respectively).  We loved showing Max part of our history.  And Winstead's for lunch was in order of course.  Max helped me surprise Billy by playing "All The Way" by Frank Sinatra on the jukebox.  It's one of our oldest "songs" and also the inscription Billy had engraved on my wedding band.

Anniversary Weekend Celebration

Here are a few pics from our celebration the other weekend...

Arcade games. Followed by a very decadent dinner at Ruth's Chris. A bottle of french champagne and a half bottle of the best Pinot Nior I've ever had. Lobster, steak, dessert...we didn't hold back. Then a little dancing at The Brooksider. Even after being together a total of 11 years...I've never met anyone more fun than Bill Murray :)

Last year, Billy and I made a point to include the kids in a portion of our anniversary celebration. We want them to grow up knowing that we love being married to one another.  And that marriage is a big deal and should be celebrated.  It's a tradition that we continued this year....

...with a picnic at Loose Park...

Walking! (a few steps here and there :)

Just relaxing and eating a little shrimp :)

My boys.

Playing soccer!  Sullivan wanted to jump in so badly.

 ....Followed by ice cream at Murray's!

Max is seriously the sweetest big brother!  Loves to share with Sullivan.

 

Our actual anniversary was on a Monday.  I happened to be doing some freelance work for my old company that day so I was away the while Billy stayed home with the boys.  He was a busy guy preparing all of this AND playing Mr. Mom... 

1) Billy and I always make cards for each other and he got very creative using a champagne bottle as his "card" this year :)  He even glued pictures on the other side of the bottle.  2) He also dug up one of the little candles we gave away as favors at our wedding for our candlelight dinner. 3)  I came home to flowers, champagne, and a special dinner.  Billy also organized a little wine tasting for us that paired perfectly with our dinner.  (Max and Sullivan, I  hope you take notes from your Dada and always make the women in your lives feel as special as he makes me feel :)

Max's Half Birthday

The tradition continues:

2010....Max's .5 year celebration at "Max's Diner":

 2011....Max's 1.5 year celebration at "Max's Diner":

2012...Max's 2.5 year celebration:

I hope we keep this fun tradition alive.  Do you think Max will want to celebrate here on his 30 1/2 birthday? :)

Piggyback ride for T-Rex.

I hope they never outgrow this!

A little chocolate shake doesn't hurt anybody.

This T-Rex is becoming like a "Where's Waldo" in our photos lately.  Loves this thing.  Thanks to cousins Brandon, Preston and Keegan for passing it down to Max!

 Dear Max,

We went to your 2 1/2 year check up on the same day Sullivan had his 1 year appointment.  You're still ahead of the curve at 90th percentile for height and 95th percentile for weight.  Those stats actually kind of surprised me, because you don't seem to be THAT much bigger than others your age.

The most impressive thing about your development so far continues to be your verbal skills.  Last year at this time (18 months) you could only put together a handful of 2-3 word sentences and sing the ABC's...but now you and I can have a full conversation about nearly anything.   The ideas you have and your perception of the world is amazing.  It's interesting to go from trying to get you to repeat words to you forming and voicing your own thoughts independently.  Yesterday you told me "Today is so wonderful, momma." and "This food is delicious!"...your vocabulary is multiplying daily.

Of course, along with your ability to communicate comes the ability to express negative opinions more clearly as well.  I have to remind you at least once a day in my warning tone, "I'm the boss, applesauce..."  to which you always reply "No, I'm the applesauce!!"  It makes us both laugh which generally diffuses the power struggle.

Another interesting side effect of your verbal ability is that I'm constantly aware that you could embarrass me in public at any given moment.  Just because you can speak well doesn't mean you have developed your filter yet.  Or volume control.  You like to point at people in the grocery store and judge what they're buying...if you see someone picking up cookies you'll say "That's not healthy, momma, that guy is buying a treat!"  Or once when we were in a public bathroom you saw someone's feet underneath the adjoining stall and you yelled loudly "What's those shoes doing momma?  What's all that sounds?"  Soooo awkward to be the parent in those situations! 

You're also my little smarty pants...you can count to 20, identify numbers 1-5 and like to trace them with your fingers. You can recognize quite a few letters in the alphabet too.  You're so interested in learning how to read.  You memorize favorite books and are constantly asking "What's those words say?" on signs, on packaging, in books.  I love how much you want to learn.

You're also incredibly observant.  You will point out similarities in things that I didn't even notice.  You picked out the Murray family crest hanging on the wall at an Irish store and said it "looks like Dada's tattoo, but different colors."  You'll point to a random house and say " that looks like Mimi and Pop Pops because the windows blue" (blue shutters)  You picked out a person in the library that was reading the same book Dad has at home.  The list goes on and on.  I usually have to look hard to see what you're talking about and then I'm always astounded to see that you're right...and I never would have noticed those things if you hadn't pointed them out.  I'm fascinated by the way your mind works.

Your active imagination also creates some pretty interesting ideas too.  You have created an imaginary tiger that lives in our house.  Sometimes he's your friend, sometimes you're scared of him.  Many times before you go to bed I have to go to the back door and "let him outside" because your worried he's going to get you when you're asleep.  Or you'll tell me not to let the tiger get me.  You wake up at night every once in awhile and tell me you heard a scary sound and often blame the tiger.  Other times you tell me you were "thinking at night" that Daddy and I got lost and couldn't come back.  I try to explain dreams, but they're kind of difficult to explain.  We're entering a whole new chapter of parenting here!  I remember my parents telling me that I thought there was an alligator under my bed when I was about your age, so the wild imagination runs in our family :)

Oh Maxman, I really could go on and on.  You stop me in my tracks daily with your brilliance.  Keep it up wonder-boy, you make us so proud.

My whole heart,
Momma