thankful

 this was one of the best thanksgivings ever. i have so much to be thankful for! my kids are healthy, adorable, happy, animated, engaging and loving. my husband is amazing and i am madly in love with him, want to spend all my time with him and can't get enough of him... still. my in-laws and husband's whole extended family are wonderful. i have 5 cute nieces, 3 handsome nephews, 3 sister-in laws i call friends, 3 brothers i admire and two charming parents. our little house is in a wonderful neighborhood where we have made some life long friends. really, there is enough good that i can let it out weigh the bad because it is the BIG things that are so good right now.

 ALSO

i ran my first half marathon! it was cold, wet and windy and i honestly loved it. i cried as i ran through downtown (mile 1), tears of joy, kind of silly. my husband, kids and his best friend Ben found me 3 times during the race to cheer me on, plus carry the kids to run beside me for a second. i felt amazing and finished in 1hour and 55 minutes! lillian is the greatest cheerleader & loved my medal :)

one more: crazy driver

i dont want to forget this moment & i meant to post it in the lil quotes, but here it is:

I was driving in the car & this low rider car whips out in front of me. 

Me: "Goodness! Crazy driver!"

Lillian: "What mom?"

Me: "Oh this guy is just being a crazy driver"

Lillian: " What is a crazy driver?"

Me: "Well he was going fast and not looking around, he could get in an accident."

Lillian: "Were you a crazy driver in your accident?"

Me: "Hmm, no that was an actual accident when you don't do something on purpose..."

she is too smart.

my kids weren't in the car during my fender bender "accident", but lillian was so glad when i got the cars "owie" fixed. she asked me what color the car was that hit me and when i said, "red", she was so worried, "did you get in an accident with auntie carly?", no someone else's red car.

she said...

i love lillian! 

she fills my days with conversation and constantly keeps me watching what i say. here are a few quotable phrases from lil:

7am Lillian crawls into our bed. Justin leaves to go to the bathroom. Lillian says, 

"Is Daddy coming back? Cause you need your husband. I am going to have some alone time watching my show, so you will need your husband. Is he coming back?"

Prayers:

"Dear God please give Rowen peace. Like a piece of wood or maybe a piece of gum. Amen"

"Dear God thank you for Mommy and Daddy and Lillian and Rowen and Lillian and Mommy and Lillian"

October 30, 2011:

"When I wake up I'm going to yell 'SURPRISE'!"

Me: Why?

"Because it's almost Christmas!" (duh Mom:)

Little Mama:

"Minnie look in my eyes. Look in Mama's eyes. No hitting. No! Mom Minnie isn't listening to me!"

"Dad why don't you just take your SON with you? Take him with you Daddy." 

(Rowen was crying cause Justin was leaving)

My girl:

"Do you have something to tell me Mom?"

Me: I love you!

"No. Something else."

Me: You are the cutest girl in the whole wide world?

"No..."

Me: I missed you?

"And you dreamed about me ALL night long!"

Girl Time:

Lillian LOVES girl time and observes whenever it is just girls!  I managed not to LOL at our last in prompt to "girl time" when she very EXCITED said,

"We are having girl time Mommy! Just us girls and we both have vagina's!"

Princess:

"Daddy I am your princess & you are the Beast!"

"Rowen hold my hand! You are my prince, you have to hold my hand!"

Details:

"Mommy look she is so glitzy" (a lady in TJ)

Lillian is one of the most engaging and sweet three year olds I have ever chatted with. I know that I am biased, but her empathy amazes me. She remembers every detail. She gives compliments daily, "I like your boots mommy", "you look pretty mama", "good job mama, we are amazing!" She is the house cheerleader and my best girl friend. I love my lil!

cyclocross

my husband has joined the cyclocross series and therefore so have we (me & the littles). we have spent our sundays for the last few months cheering, "go daddy go!" as he pedals past on his single speed (or runs with his bike). we are so proud and to be honest i am kind of an intense cheerleader, which i validate by considering myself his coach :). the best part about our sundays at cyclocross is the KIDS RACE! lillian is convinced we go for her now & loves her race. she rides her strider, but i must note that she does ride her big girl bike withOUT training wheels now (she is a pretty big deal & so is biking).

Rowen is a trouper & points out every time Justin rides by.

MIA

I have definitely been missing in action from the blog world, but due to enough friendly nudges I am back ;). Here are a few snap shots to bring us up to speed:

Rowen has discovered the Lollipop & loves them

Lillian has a strider & is super fast

 Classic post nap snuggle

 Rowen picked out his first pumpkin

 Here we are at The Farm, so fun!

 Minnie Mouse

I am so delighted by my little family. Lillian loves picnics, dressing up and dates ("girl date", "Baba date", "happy family date"). She is also the best three year old mommy I have ever met, taking amazing care of her babies every waking hour of her day. She dreams about the day she will be a "big mommy with real babies". She recently asked me why her babies don't talk and I said, "maybe cause they are too little", she responded, "yeah and they aren't real." Rowen is a man of few words, but full of expression. His 5 words are: Mom, Dada, Uh-Oh, Uh-Huh, Hmm-mm (while shaking his head No). He loves music and has quite the moves, plus is one of the littlest jumpers you will ever see take two feet off the ground. Okay so I hope to get back on the bandwagon of blogging... more to come.

talk to me

When ever I say, "aha" to Lillian instead of opening my mouth to say, "Yes!" my sweet Lillian says, "mama talk to me." It just makes me smile because it sums up Lillian these days, she loves a good chat! Here are a few moments that I don't want to forget:

Every morning as we usher Justin off to work and each kiss him good bye Lillian says, 

"Bye Babe! Have a good day! You look fan- some!" 

Yes FAN-SOME, which we have come to believe means fantastically handsome.

She asked us at dinner the other night, "why can't kids have beer?" I responded with something about how you have to be older and she says, "Kind of like how you can't swallow gum? Kids can't drink beer or swallow gum, right?" She was very satisfied with her understanding and moved on.

Last night as I tucked Lillian into bed, read her book, sang her songs and then we prayed. She prayed, "dear Jesus please heal my blood owie and make it all better. Amen. Mom can we go visit Jesus sometime? Does he live really far away? Can we walk to his house or do we have to take an airplane? I think I would like to meet him sometime though. Do you think we can?"

Lillian melts my heart and has a way of loving me like no other. 

A few things that I love about her right now are: 

Her bursts of love for me that include a big hug, kiss and "i love you so much in the whole wide world mommy. you are just the cutest girl in the whole wide world. i love you so much!" 

Her song & dance, which is often spun, twirled and dressed in 3+ bathing suits/leotards. 

Her outfits are such an expression of her personality as she dresses herself and changes outfits multiple times a day. 

Her motherly instincts, which lead her to care for her babies so sweetly, nursing, swaddling, rocking and putting them to bed, "shh my baby is sleeping." She dreams about, "someday when i am a big mommy, I can hold big babies."

i love my Lillian Faye!

big happy family

Summer time was wonderful, so much that I never had a moment to blog. I felt fully immeshed and absorbed in my adorable littles & being a "big happy family!", Lillian says. Our kids are best friends and bursting with joy! It is truly a blessing to love and be so loved!

Princess Lillian all dressed up: CLASSIC

Sweet Sleeping Moment: PRECIOUS

 Ballerina in MY tutu: ADORABLE

Like Father, Like Son: HANDSOME

 Boat rides & sunshine: BABE

 2 sets of red TOMS: MATCHING

 Stanwood Fair: DAIRY GIRL

Cutest little girl in the whole wide world: FLOWER GIRL

Water + Outside + Rowen: MR. SMILES

South Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival: JULY FOURTH

 Helmets, Snacks, Bikes, Buckled, Trailer: CHECK

Swimming, Laughing, Water, JD Bike Shop, Toys, Backyard Bliss: DAILY