Category: Project 52

I’m thankful for….

tiny bedside slippers

She currently is a sick, coughing, tantrum throwing, sassy, non medicine taking little girl. But seeing these slippers reminds me she is still that fun and innocent girl we all love. Through the tears and frustration at being sent to bed for a nap, she sweetly climbed out of her slippers and left them neatly until she wakes up. Rest well precious girl.

I’m thankful for…

making new tiny friends

We are fortunate to have moved into the neighborhood we did. There are so many little people for Hayden to play with. There is Max to our left, who comes to visit his uncle often. To the right of us, we have Ethen and Aelin, a couple of Hayden’s besties.

This summer we met Kendall and Chloe who live behind us. And last week we met Bella. Who has three brothers. Alex, Jackson and Elijah.

Sooo many kids.

Hayden and Bella are two little peas in a pod. While Hayden at times can be sassy and get an attitude, Bella loves to play and is really easy going. She’s up for anything and they will play all day and night if I let them.

They run back and forth between houses and the kid inside of me is uber jealous. How much fun is it having a trail between houses to visit your friends?!?

Sharky even has a bestie. Cooper. They run back and forth between their yards together.

The kids all have snacks together, and play house.

They even let Reid join in on the fun. He giggles and shouts, and follows them all over the house as they play.

Hayden is my social butterfly. She makes friends where ever we go, and doesn’t have a shy bone in her body when it comes to other kids. She is fearless and independent and thinks everyone deserves compassion and friendship. She is perfectly naive in seeing no fault in other people and completely heartfelt with her kindness. She makes me strive to be a better friend and a better person. Thank you Hayden.

 

 I’m thankful for…..

Summer afternoons that are spent playing with neighborhood friends. Eating popsicles that melt all over you. Taking a swim in the pool afterwards. And a baby boy who is so worn out from all the fun he snuggles up and falls asleep in your arms. 

I’m thankful for…

lots of tiny messes

We recently separated the kids and they now have their own rooms. My original thought was that having the kids share a room would make for easier clean up and they would bond and learn to share better.

Wrong.

Now that Reid is old enough to crawl and adventure around the house he gets into everything. And all of Hayden’s tiny projects get destroyed by baby hands and small Legos and Barbie shoes get eaten. Which results in a baby screaming because his sister took his toy, and Hayden is in tears because “Reid bestroyed my castle!!!” The both of them in one bedroom was constantly a war zone and every time I tried to put Reid down for a nap, my delicate foot inevitably found the smallest sharpest toy.

Reid also began a bad habit of waking up throughout the night again, and trying to justify making Hayden sleep through that just wasn’t working. So that led to her sleeping in our bed with us again. Ugh.

So the split happened. It took about a week to rearrange and downsize things and I won’t lie that I had it pop into my head that I would regret this decision. I liked having a spare room for guests, and all my unfinished crafts. We had to get rid of a bed, and desk, tv and stand. And I wasn’t entirely sure Hayden would do well sleeping alone again.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. She was soooo excited and happy. Which made me excited and happy. My house stays cleaner because all her messes stay in her bedroom. I can lay Reid down for a nap without worrying I’ll have to kick Hayden out while she’s playing. And I’ve noticed she plays and uses her imagination so much more. She has her own freedom and space where she can close the door and keep Reid out of her toys. I love to hear her laugh and talk to herself.

My pillows are constantly missing, but it’s because they are used to build forts.

And most days you can barely open her door because there are toys EVERYWHERE. But when I stop and look, they tell a story. Where she was having a picnic, or making dinner for her dolls. Where her stuff animals were going on an adventure, or she was playing dress up.

In a perfect world, her room would stay neat and clean, and she would put away her toys when she was done. But we live in the real world, not a perfect one, and instead her time is spent pretending and being four. So I will continue to not fret about it and let her tiny messes be something I can be thankful for.

I’m thankful for……

kiddie pools 

This is about the closest thing to a pool that most families have in Alaska. Our summers are usually short and mild and the up keep and expense of an in ground pool isn’t worth it to most of us. Unless your super fancy, and in that case, can we come swim in your pool??

In the last few weeks, we have had record high temps so we have been keeping the kids camped out in the pool.

And when the babies are happy, the mamas are too.

I’m thankful for….

impromptu trips

Andy and I celebrated our two year anniversary this month. He arranged a sitter for the kids and told me to dress for the weather and bring my camera. We loaded up and made our way to the quaint and tiny town of Talkeetna, AK.

What we didn’t account for was our sunny clear skies staying behind us.

Talkeetna is only about an hour away from home so while the weather didn’t look like it would cooperate for us, we decided to see our adventure through anyway. On the way, Andy revealed we were going to hop on a plane and head up to Mt. McKinley. But…… this is where our plane stayed.

Due to bad weather all trips were cancelled for the day. Ugh.

No point in wasting the day though. We were kidless, had time to spare and were already away from home. So we made like tourists and roamed the town. Starting here.

The place was packed, so we grabbed a seat at the bar, ate a few appetizers and tried out a few new brews.

Talkeetna consists of basically two streets, loaded with shops and restaurants, and in the summer is overflowing with people in all places.

We bought the kids adorable locally made wooden toys and walked aimlessly in the rain, people watching. We explored old buildings and checked out local art.

And we took time to simply enjoy each other’s company and appreciate the small moments we get to do absolutely nothing.

Last year we spent the weekend in Anchorage and before we checked out of our hotel, we sat down and wrote notes to each other to read on our next anniversary. So on our way back home, we found a trail off the highway to adventure on and stopped to read our thoughts that we wrote for one another.

We got back in time to have dinner and drinks with the family and when we got home we wrote new messages to each other and sealed them up for next year. The trip was short and sweet and filled with delicious food, great conversations and lots of laughter. And to top it off we bought our tickets for our trip to Hawaii in September.

Best impromptu trip ever.

I’m thankful for…

this view

Alaska was the last place I would have ever thought I would move to and start a life. It literally was. I was asked at one point in time if I would ever consider moving there, and I laughed and replied with a big fat NO. I had for some reason a very distinct picture in my mind that Alaska was rugged and cold. Remote and unoccupied. And while it’s all those things to some extent and more, it’s also, breathtakingly beautiful.

I often get asked why I moved here. A boy. Well, THE boy. That’s a whole different story in itself but in a nutshell, I moved here to start a life with the man who would later become my husband. We have a house, and two kids and right out our front door is a sight I’m not sure I could ever get tired of.

It had just rained. The sun was setting, it smelled amazing and the view from our street was without a doubt worth taking a picture.

Looking towards the city center, the sky was soft and blue and looking back towards Anchorage, the storm continued on.

I can give you a list of things that would make me consider leaving Alaska. But those reasons seem pale in comparison when you get to call this view your very own.

I’m thankful for…

a sweet girl and her brother

It took some time for Hayden to adjust to being a big sister. To have to share mom and dad, and her toys, and especially, her room. Now most mornings, she sings to him. Helps him play with toys. Dresses him up. Wrestles him. Plants lots of hugs and kisses on him. And he loves every minute of it.

He is your average little brother and wants to be a part of whatever Hayden is doing. She now embraces it, and involves him. Like making him a cheese plate.

She imparts her musical wisdom on him.

Reid follows her everywhere. Up and down the hall chasing her relentlessly. More often than not, I’ll find them playing quietly in their room. Wherever Hayden is at, your sure to find Reid.

Soon enough I’m sure there will be crying and yelling and all sorts of chaos that is a brother/sister relationship. For right now though, I’m going to soak up every sweet moment between them.

I’m thankful for….

yard work

It seems silly. Growing up, I dreaded yard work. It was the last thing I wanted to fill my weekends up. Now, I am so desperate to mow the lawn. To tend to our garden. To plant flowers, to rake leaves, to water everything in sight. Yard work means summer is near. Yard work means fresh air. It means winter is over and warm days are here.

This is our first spring with grass in our yard and I think the kids are enjoying it just as much as I am.

Yard work means afternoons spent playing outside. Bicycles are ridden. Motorcycle rides are abundant.

Here’s to more days spent just like this.

I’m thankful for…..

a boy on the move 

It’s spring and most of the snow has melted. The ground is still soggy and it will be a few more weeks of sunshine and warm days before we can really play on the lawn.  For this boy, those days can’t come soon enough.

Now that Reid is on the move, he finds his way throughout the house. His favorite spot though, is where he can look outside. If he’s lucky, a door is open where he can get a taste of the outside world.

So until we can venture to the great outdoors, we’ll enjoy all that entertains us inside.