happy friday!

it's friday!

i stumbled across these two sweet brother moments in my photo library, sigh :)

this morning i woke up before anyone, and uncharacteristically decided it would be so nice to just grab the computer and go lay on the couch by myself for a little bit. so i did, but of course after about 1.5 minutes both of my little boys scampered down and joined me. i didn't mind; we just lazed about and ate a bag of "pirate popcorn" together for breakfast. a good start to the day, no?

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 since then, it's just been an older brother playing with tin foil balls,

a little brother wrestling with mama,

couscous + mangoes for lunch,

feeling thankful for a bathtub that actually drains

(we finally got it fixed after emptying it with buckets for weeks)

and laundry that is actually clean

(our washer is slowly dying and i finally decided to do some laundry at my sister in law's)

ahh.

all the while sorting through things here and there, adding to the garage sale and trash pile.

it is very freeing although i was a little sad to finally pitch the perscription bottles leftover from asher's birth and the paints i used to always use when roman was a baby,

good, good memories. :)

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my post about shopping clearance on spearmint baby this week!

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vote for me today?

beautiful mama award.

okay, i am usually so not into the blog award thing. i'm super picky and mostly like to journal about my sons. but when sarah from our journey nominated me a while back for the beautiful mama award, i thought it looked simple enough and it was about being a mama after all, so i'm finally giving it a try :)


{ a few mamas i'd like to nominate }
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jenn from these ripples and waves
michelle from dancey pants bebe
sally from nothing isn't nothing
hannah from little words & little pictures
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What to do:
1. Use the above image in your acceptance post.
2. List 3 things you love most about motherhood.
3. Nominate as many other deserving mamas as you'd like!
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{ 3 things i love about motherhood }

1. i love the simple everyday joys of having little ones. my favorite times are when music is playing in the background and i'm organizing or cleaning something around the house while the boys are jumping on the beds or running past me in the midst of a game they are playing. i actually love to organize and they love to play of course, and i just love when we are enjoying simple things around the house while keeping each other company.

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2. i love getting out and exploring with my boys. when roman was little, i always took him places and i loved having that little boy always with me at the mall or the park or the thrift store. having him tag along made everything seem like a new and fun adventure. my adventures have significantly slowed down with asher in the past year, but i still love when we all get out and do something together. doing anything with little people is an adventure when you view it through their eyes. i am so looking forward to our road trip this summer and being able to explore so many new things with my family. there are many adventures in store for these little boys in the coming year!

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3. i love building the story of each of my boys. i love all of the little memories that i have to tuck away and take with me as they grow. i often tell roman little stories of his life, like when he was born and was a “purple baby” and how he cried and cried until i finally held him and he wanted to have milk right away. i love being able to share these memories with him and i do the same with asher even thought he is still so little and doesn't fully understand. these memories will always be a part of their lives whether or not they are recorded or always remembered and i love being a part of their story. ;)

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my five year old right now.

this photo kills me because roman fabulously struck this pose in a split second, mid-sentence, when i said "smile!" and then he just went along his way. ;)
 roman is growing, growing, growing, and when i look at him sometimes lately, i cannot believe how big he is. i'm trying to tell myself that my children growing is a blessing and not a curse. and it is. the world is just turning and turning all the while these boys are changing and growing and blooming more and more into who they are as people. and i am lucky and blessed to be right there watching them unfold in my hands.
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roman right now:
inquisitive, curious and thoughtful as ever, spending lots of time thinking and asking questions and saying things like, "i have a hypothesis."
he is very deliberate and puts much thought into his words. he has an ever expanding vocabulary and an interest in words and i love when he says things like, "i admit it." then thinks and says, "what does admit mean?"
he is very creative and always inventing games. he focuses on a certain game or certain "thing" and plays it to no end and then moves on.
he loves organizing and putting his "things" into ziploc bags.
last night, we drove home from visiting my family and roman spent over an hour thinking about things like hello kitty, and why there is a hole at the park and then he would chatter away about how, "maybe miners made the hole, but there isn't a mine there but maybe there used to be." and aaron loved how he kept saying, "and daddy, daddy..."
is sweet, sweet, sweet as ever and does things like yesterday when he took a picture of my feet and then said, "i took a picture of your feet so you could see how beautiful they are."
he sings to his little brother, calls him "ashey" and says that he is "lovely."
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oh, roman.
so much love for this five year old of mine who told me, appropriately,
"mom, you better enjoy every minute of me being five, because next year i think i am going to be six!"
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puddles, rocks + other adventures.

i attempted to get some good twenty-two month photos of asher the other night.

however, it turned into more of a splashing through puddles, rock throwing, bird chasing adventure, which happens a lot around here.

maybe another day i'll get those more "perfect" photos, but i love these as well and they definitely capture asher's true personality and zest for life. :)

bath time beauty.

our little bath time beauty :)

i love when i get a chance to spend a quiet moment alone with ash. 

like this night; asher played in the bath - quietly pouring a cup of water, splashing it down his face and then carefully rubbing his eyes with the towel i gave him. 

and all the while, i just tried to save the moment, taking photos and taking in all the little wonderful details that make up my teeny boy:

soft, soft creamy baby skin, tulip lips, wet curls + curious eyes.

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the photos below are a little flashback to an august bath in our old farm house.

i've decided by the way, that editing photos months later is much more fun and rewarding. :)

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other favorite bath moments: here + here.

happy friday!

( little hands always on my lens cap )

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it's friday! and aaron is actually off work today!

so, it has been a pretty good/slightly hectic/slightly lazy day.

a doctor's appointment that didn't happen ... don't ask.

a trip to target to stock up on diapers and wipes.

mcdonalds coffee, then starbucks coffee ... don't judge.

working out for mom + dad.

an ever messy house not getting cleaned and an ever lengthening to-do list never getting done.

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and now, roman is running full speed through the house chasing dragons and asher is sitting on the table eating strawberries and cheese with toothpicks. 

so, i'd say it's a pretty successful day overall :)
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what does your friday look like?

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p.s. i'm trying this out, so would you click below to vote for me? thanks!

brothers.

man, it's been a while since i've had a good "brothers" post. and i feel that one is in order. 

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this is a ridiculous picture - asher's goofy goofy smile cracks me up, and he is loving on his brother hard core, while roman looks slightly miserable and simply tolerates it so that i can take a picture.

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in the day to day, dealing with these brothers feels a little hectic right now. asher has grown up watching roman play with his toy swords and fight imaginary bad guys, so now asher LOVES to "fight" with roman and with us. what he doesn't understand is that not everyone wants to fight all the time. so basically asher just ends up tackling roman half the day. or hitting him with pretty much anything and everything. asher also puts a damper on any and all plans that roman makes; roman can't color or play a game or really do anything without asher getting his little destructive paws into it.

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so yeah, asher makes things interesting. and lately i've been getting so frustrated by the constant fighting.

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but i love little moments like in this photo, when the boys are enjoying the simple things in life together; playing with plastic storage bins, spraying each other with the hose in the yard, or cuddling on the couch watching a show.

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i love when roman says things like, "asher would LOVE beavers" or "asher is the KING of all babies". i love when asher's whole tiny being lights up and he yells, "momo!" 

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i loved when we were at the hospital without ash, and roman was so worried that asher would be sad without us. that's when i really realized how much these boys feel like they belong together. they spend everyday, all day, together. it isn't always nice and fun and perfect and lovely. 

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but it is pretty dang wonderful :)

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other brother post that i love:
here, here, here, + here.