'Till Death To Us Part

My conversation with my dear sweet lovebug Cole last night:

Cole: Mommy, will you love me forever?
Me: Of course – I’ll always love you.
Cole: Even when you die and go to heaven?
Me: I’ll even love you then.
Cole: Will you live in my heart when you’re in heaven?
Me: Yes, I’ll live in your heart when I'm not with you.
Cole [Changing topics, or so I thought]: How old you have to be to get married?
Me: 18
Cole: Will you marry me when I turn 18?
Me: I can’t – you’re not allowed to marry people you’re related to.
Cole: But I love you so much. I think we should get married and be together forever.

And so it went on…and on...and on. We were in the car on the way home from Philly so luckily he had over an hour to continue this line of questioning.

Ever since he was a baby our Coley has loved with all of his soul…he’s going to make someone very happy one day!!

Photo Download

In a world of smartphone cameras it's just too easy to take shots of my lovelies. I'm way backed up on posting so I'm just going to throw some old shots into a post. Write your own captions and let me know what you come up with!!

What A Year

When we found out we were pregnant with Dean, we absolutely couldn’t believe it. We didn’t even talk to each other for a few days because we couldn’t form words. We were shocked.

The pregnancy was tough due to fears of complications. I was large, grumpy, tired, working, and raising 3 kids ages 5, 3, and 1. We were stressed.

When Dean was born, Charlie wasn’t walking. Cole wasn’t potty trained. We were stretched.

I very vividly remember walking up the back steps when I came home from the hospital. I was holding the baby carrier, and the other boys were jumping all around vying for my attention. I looked at Phil with tears in my eyes and said, “I don’t think I can do this.”

Then I walked into the Living Room and Grammy was sitting on the couch with her arms outstretched for the baby (literally). And from that point on, I knew we were going to be okay because we have very special people in our lives to help us through the hard parts.

It’s been an interesting year with a lot of laughs, tears, tantrums, hugs, and sleepless nights. But mostly lessons.

Lessons about multi-tasking, prioritizing, sharing, listening, and loving. Loving our boys, and loving the people in our lives who insist on helping us even when we say we have it all under control (because the reality is we usually don’t!!)

Happy (belated) birthday to Dean. Thanks for changing our lives and bringing love and laughter to everyone you meet.

Everybody Loves Dean

Dean always rides in the front of the double stroller. He's quite the chick magnet, and people are always stopping us to comment on his smile or his cute little teeth.

The other day we were walking in town, and a random woman started to talk with him. As she was leaving, she said, "Oh he was just put on this earth to bring joy to people, wasn't he?"

Based off how much everyone loves my little Deanbo, I'd say she was right.

It turns out he's also the new reigning decision maker in the family - just another party trick to keep Mom entertained. This video is dark because it was shot in the car last night, but you'll still get the point.

Next time you're looking to get out of something, just call me up and I'll get Dean to tell you no.

Sunshine On My Shoulders Makes Me Happy

Today was Mother's Day and it was filled with it's share of ups and downs.

Down: Phil had to work.

Up: He didn't start until 10 am so he got to hang out this morning. Before he left he took this pic of my boys on the front porch with the flowering bush in full bloom. Happiness.


Down: He called about 5 minutes after he left to let me know that his car died, it needed to get towed, and I'd have to drive him to work. In the city. With 4 antsy kids. And the potential thought of having to buy a new car.


Up: We picked Phil up from work and had dinner at Ruby's Diner. On the way home we stopped at the Brandywine Battlefield to watch the sunset. Wrapped up in a blanket with my boys on a bench watching the sun go down...a spontaneous moment remembered for a lifetime.

Thankful

We had Thanksgiving at my sister's house and it included lots of food and plenty of wine. 8 adults, 7 kids. Wine, lots of wine.

We usually have Thanksgiving with Phil's parents and we always decorate a gingerbread house before dinner. Since we missed it this year, my sister-in-law sent home all the fixins and we fired it up at home.

Ry said, "Daddy told me that my side is organized and Cole's side is creative." Can you guess whose side is whose?

I'm thankful for a lot of things. For my awesome hubs, for my 4 crazy boys, and for all of my buds who leave us dinners on the back porch or whisk a kid or two away when we need a breather. For you and you and you - I am thankful!