Adventures!

Well, since my last post we have officially moved to our new place and instantly called it home. We love it and are so comfortable here. We have a big yard for the boys to play in, we have great space indoors, and we even know our neighbors!

Just a quick update on things that have been going on here...

Barret is loving his backyard and runs around like crazy, he is crazy and loves to get into anything and everything he can while Mama is nursing, and he is still our wonderful little munchkin man.

Levi cries all the time, and when I say all the time, I literally mean ALL the time. He is getting better at nursing, he isn't a big fan of his big brother slamming into him, and he is still oh so sweet to cuddle with (but the opportunity doesn't come around too often).

We got a dog! Not a puppy, don't worry, I'm not that crazy. We took one of Daddy's old dogs off of Grandma and Grandpa Gaffney's hands. Wrigley is her name and well, she likes squirrels, walks in the park, and finding hiding places to keep Barret away :)

Barret loves her, maybe not loves her, but he sure enjoys the occasional love of Wrigley moments. Otherwise, he is attempting to pet her with his feet, which turns into kicking her. Or the ever so graceful times he tries to climb over her instead of go around her, which inevitably turns into Wrigley quickly getting to her feet to run and Barret landing on the ground where he looks up at me with a frustrated look. There is even what I will now call the Wrigley step. This is Barret's attempt to use Wrigley literally as a step to get up on the couches or whatever she may be laying near. However, Barret does think she is just the greatest "doggie" in the world and he can't get enough of her nose. His quick tap at the nose, where he just barely touches it and shouts out this forceful laugh and scrunches up his nose to make an evil sounding noise that is also a mixture with a squeal of delight just makes me laugh every time. Wrigley on the other hand isn't really amused.

Needless to say I seem to have my hands full. But, no worries, we will be adding yet another baby to the mix at the end of the month. Baby Caroline will be joining our possie and as excited as I am, I am also very uncertain how the first few weeks will turn out. Mama might just have to retreat to her room while they all scream it out. (If you know me, you know that I could never do that)

Our days in the new place have led to many adventures though. We went out and bought a little pool to set up in the backyard on Monday when the temperature skipped from Winter to Summer all in one day. Let me tell you, we LOVE it! The water is our saving grace, and Mama and Barret can't wait for the real pool to open this year. We certainly are water bugs if I ever knew one. It's so funny sometimes how much like his Mama Barret is. On Monday when we set the pool up I stuck the hose in it to fill it up then ran into the kitchen to grab the baby monitor. I was gone for a split second and Barret had already managed to pick up the hose and get in the water. He knew just what to do, and even though that water was below freezing, he had no problems enjoying his new backyard adventure. Speaking of, have you ever seen the kids TV show, The Backyardigans, Barret and I watched a couple episodes a few weeks ago and I still can not get the dumb opening song out of my head. It is probably the most catchy tune I have heard in a long time. Which I guess doesn't really say much for my music selection lately. Or I guess it just tells you I'm a mom. Back to the pool though...

Our yard is filled with toys and boys and a silly dog that just lazes around on these hot summer days and I'm positive she dreams of her old home where there was no screaming no crying and absolutely nothing ever tried to pull her tail or climb on her back to ride her as a horsey.

But of course with all this warm weather comes overtime for Daddy. We don't really get to see him that often anymore because he leaves the house at 6:45 am and doesn't usually get home until about 5:30. We look forward to the weekends and truly treasure the ones when we get to just hang out the four of us. which doesn't seem to happen very often. We are very grateful for the work he puts in to provide for our family but we miss him a lot and look forward to when he comes home. Barret's new thing when daddy gets home is to great him at the door with a shoe swipe. His hands wave back and forth above Daddy's boots and he says "achy achy" over and over again. No kisses, no hugs, just "achy achy". Yes Daddy's boots are pretty dirty but doesn't he deserve a quick wave and a hi at least?

Yesterday was Levi's one month checkup. He is getting so big already. His weight is already 10 lbs 8 oz and his height is 21 1/2 inches. He seems to be at the edge of the 50 percentile for both, and I'm hoping he will end up super tall just like his brother who is in the 90th percentile for height.

Last week we celebrated mother's day by enjoying a picnic in the park. We walked there wagon, stroller, and dog in tow. It was a sight to be seen I'm sure. It was wonderful and I loved every minute of it. The picnic in the park, the afternoon stroll, the relaxing on the back deck while the little ones were napping. It was perfect and I couldn't have been happier. There wasn't anything really special about the day, I wasn't treated like a queen, I simply got a gift which made it 'Mother's Day', otherwise we spent the day with our family, just like any other ordinary day, which makes me smile bigger each time. I love the simple things in life. Those moments make me realize how special I am to have a husband and two little ones who I cherish so much. I love getting to soak up the times we are together, just the four of us. They are the times I will remember most, the silly little adventures we take, the firsts in our boys lives, and the joy we bring each other every day. I love it!

Speaking of silly adventures, this evening we went for a walk because Wrigley needed to get out. We saw the clouds, we felt the wind, we knew it was going to rain but we went anyway. As we turned the first corner rain. A slight but hard down pour of rain. As it got harder and harder Steve began to run with Wrigley on the leash and Barret in the wagon. I on the other hand did a bit of speed walking with Levi in the moby. I didn't think running would necessarily be the best idea with a one month old strapped to myself. Eventually Wrigley got away from Steve and Barret got a little scared and Levi's head was a bit wet, but we made it home all in one piece.