one of life's greatest gifts

my beautiful brooke.  to me this picture is the perfect reflection of your personality.  there is so much maturity in your expression, such sweetness in your features and a hint of playfulness in the way you are wearing my hat and scarf.  i absolutely love to watch the girl you are becoming.  it is like slowly opening the very best present you could ever imagine receiving.  i never believed the people that told me that parenthood just gets better and better, but they were right.  it does.

2.5 yrs.

gavin,

i always tell you that you are full of personality, and you are.  you make me laugh a million times a day. i have no doubt that you will grow up to be the life of the party.  you are definitely the life of our little party of 4.

you are always bursting with energy and ready to play.  your favorite game to play these days is football (probably because we're indoors so much of the day now).  you and brooke set up the whole game in our family room - complete with baking twine as the admission gates, the mock "locker room" behind the couch and the sideline for the cheerleader(s).  your imagination grows stronger with each passing day.  you wear your superhero costumes for most of the day.  it's the first thing you ask for when you come into our room in the morning.  batman is your superhero of choice, but you request that the entire family get in on the act with your robin and superman costumes :)  you love it when i pretend that i'm in trouble, and i need batman's help.  you love to be the hero.  i love to watch you race in to rescue me from the pretend bad guys :)

you remind me of brooke now because you constantly ask for us to "read you a story," meaning you want us to tell you a story.  you tell us exactly what you want the story to be about, and then we must fill in the gaps of your outline.  and you always want another and another and another story... :)

you and brooke play very well together now.  naturally you get on each other's nerves like any brother and sister, but you genuinely enjoy each other's company.  brooke's even getting good at playing on your terms - superheroes, trains, trucks - and you've always been great at playing on brooke's terms.  suddenly you also both enjoy to rough-house and wrestle.  one of you will grab something out of the other's hand and run away, hoping to spark a game of chase and an eventual take-down.  watching you reminds me of myself and my brother.  it brings a smile to my face.

our move to cincinnati has infinitely improved your life in terms of playmates.  wherever we go, you are always surrounded by boys who are either your age or a bit older, and you love it.  you REALLY love it.  cousin jackson is your hero, and you and joey have become great playmates at school.  you turned 2.5 in october and started school two days a week at mt. washington presbyterian where brooke, jackson and joey all go to school.  you and joey are even in the same class.  you made me proud the way you confidently strode into school that first day.  you had a few rough days after that where you were sad during the school day and cried for me, but that didn't last long.  you're enjoying school and the sense of independence that comes with it.

speaking of school, you sing your ABCs now and get all the letters right :)  you love to sing just about anything, and you know a lot of songs.  you know all of your colors, and we're working on shape and letter recognition.  sometimes, it's really hard to believe how old you're getting and how much you are learning and growing every single day.

you've had your first two sleepovers without mommy and daddy - first with gram vicki (and brooke) and then with ba kaye and bob bob (and brooke) - and you did excellent.  both times your grandparents complimented you on your manners.  you do have good manners.  almost every night you very sweetly say, "thank you mommy (or daddy) for dinner," and you almost always say "please/thank you/excuse me."  you're also loving for us to say a prayer at dinner now.  brooke usually says it, but you often request it, and you always ask, "why do we say "amen?""

at this age i want to remember that you are always on the run; that you still do a lot of physical activity with your tongue out; that you hate eating dinner (only dinner); that you always eat the fruit on your plate first; that you like to pile your toys in your bed when you go to sleep; that you still love your hippo; that you like to wake up and come into mommy and daddy's bed; that sometimes your mouth has a hard time catching up with your mind, and you just can't get the words out; that you like to throw tantrums when you don't get your way; that you're still napping - for now; that you love grocery shopping with me; that you have your own ideas and opinions; that you are super sweet and gentle with your little cousins chase and london; that you love to help mommy and daddy cook; that you love a good sword fight; that you race to get all of your tools as fast as you can whenever mommy is doing a household project; that you tell me you love me many times a day.

you are a good boy, gavin.  you are rambunctious.  you are caring.  you are wild.  you are charming. your smile lights up our world, and we love you more than words can possibly say.

xoxo,

mommy

alive

this sweet girl of mine brought my blog back to life today.  my mom was here visiting and playing outside with brooke.  i knew they were going on a nature walk of sorts.  i was sitting at my computer, and i had the sudden impulse to get up, grab my camera and go outside.  i'm so glad i did.  it reawakened something in me, and i was so taken with the pictures of brooke that i felt very compelled to open photoshop and have a look at her beauty.  but more than that, her spirit and her thirst for discovery and learning is what made me fall in love with these pictures.  she was so excited to show me the deer tracks she found.  she is so inquisitive and her mind is so active.  nothing makes her more excited than being sent home from school with a special project to complete for "homework."  she is spelling and writing, singing and pretending, hunting and gathering.  her mind is like one big sponge, and i find myself thinking, "what am i going to teach my daughter today?"

tomorrow we say goodbye

i read a quote last week that said "home is where you unpack your heart, not where you unpack your stuff."  perhaps that is why i am having such a hard time leaving this place.  i unpacked my heart here.  it feels like my home even though it is not where i was born or where i grew up or where i've spent the majority of my life.  yet, i am deeply connected to this special place.  in part, the connection can't be described in words.  it's just a feeling.  but as i've been going through the emotions that come with saying goodbye, i realize that a large part of my connection comes from having "found myself" here.

in the beautiful snoqualmie valley, i found myself.

at home with my children, i found myself.

side by side with my husband, i found myself.

in new friendships, i found myself.

with the freedom to pursue my passions, i found myself.

and i'm terrified that leaving will mean that i lose a part of myself... that a part of my heart will not come along with me.

the same day i saw the quote about home, i also saw a quote that said, "wherever you go, go with all your heart."  i'm trying so hard to do that.  i believe that attitude in life is everything.  i'm hopeful that once we say goodbye, my heart and my mind will be ready.

i'm grateful to have the life experience that has taught me that this isn't the end, it's really just the beginning.  the beginning of the next beautiful experience in life.  and it's going to be a good one.  we won't have it any other way.

mill pond

i've been waiting for a year to take these pictures.  so many elements had to line up - water in the pond (there wasn't the first time i went), light on mt. si (not always the case with all the dreary days we have), calm weather (typically in summer), a little cloud cover and my schedule (the best lighting happens at the kids' bedtime).  since my time here is running out, i've had this on my mind lately. last thursday the kids and i were walking back from the baker's when i noticed the view of mt. si.  i ran into the house, grabbed kevin and my camera equipment and told the kids we were going on an adventure.  we loaded up in the car, made it to mill pond, and everything fell into place.  it was a fun adventure for all of us, and i'm so glad i have these pictures to take back to ohio with us.  it was totally worth the wait.

check us out

http://shannonsewell.com/theblankpage/2011/07/27/cause-if-i-gotta-play-by-your-rules-i-am-being-phony/

my FAVORITE photographer came to snoqualmie on sunday to do a family photo shoot for us.  check it out - shannon has posted a sneak peak on her blog.  it's a little crazy to see our pictures on a blog that i read regularly :)  the photo shoot was so much fun, and i love the pictures!  she is amazing, and i feel so fortunate to have had her take our pictures - she doesn't even do family photo shoots!  i can't wait to see some of these beautiful pictures hanging up in our new house :)

bainbridge

catching up... over memorial day weekend we took a quick little afternoon trip to bainbridge island.  we walked onto the ferry with the kids in the buggy, which was a super easy way to go.  the kids loved the ferry ride and had fun goofing around with each other during the short ride over.  we enjoyed the entertainment provided by our two silly kids as well as the great views of downtown seattle from the ferry.  bainbridge was super quaint and immediately struck me as the type of northwest island i'd want to have a house on.  idyllic little houses line the shore as you pull into the harbor, and the main street in town is a short walk from the ferry.  we didn't have much time so we took a brisk stroll to brunch at cafe nola where gavin slept, brooke colored and we enjoyed some good food.  after brunch we went looking for the "can't miss" mora creamery.  so glad we did!  amazing ice cream in so many yummy, original flavors....  while brooke and i were in line to get ice cream for the family, kevin and gavin walked down to a park where kevin ran into ashley, one of his best friends from high school.  what are the odds?  we didn't have much time to visit with ashley and her family before we had to run back to catch the ferry.  bainbridge was a really great place to spend an afternoon, and i'd love to go back when we have more time to spare.