long trip fun stay

My mom, sis and brothers live about 5 hours away from us...while it's hard, it makes our visits much sweeter and meaningful. But you know what? Moomie doesn't care, she puts you to work! After all, there's a lot of work to be done on the farm. 

Mom's got a freezer packed full of vegetables either grown from her garden or donated from other kind people...

and you know what vegetable we got to eat at dinner that night {and the night after, and the night after that}?? you got it! corn. But we eat it the Mexican way. Corn with butter, cream or mayo, some salt, and chili powder which is the best part! elote con chile, crema y mantequilla! freakin' delicious, especially in a vasito. 

The boys beg to be let outside just like the dogs do--every. day. Their love for the trampoline is unreal. 

and that afternoon, the sun just happened to be in the perfect spot to take some sweet pictures of my nephew, Leo. I will post those separately but here are a couple of teasers ;)

the pool was also fun, we layed out and soaked some sun {it was bloody hot} and then cooled down with water and the shade of the massive oak tree in the front yard.

there is never a shortage of animals on Moomie's farm: cats and rats and horses and cows and ducks and chickens and snakes....oh, and dogs. oh and fishes too {inside the fish tank of course!}

this baby got passed around like a ragdoll, many volunteers with open arms and soft touches. he consumed a million ounces while we were there and slept about 400 hours too. the sweetest grunter in the whole world you ever did hear...no crying. just grunt. grunt. GRUNT! 

and one afternoon, everyone just. crashed. hardcore. except for me and Andrew {it's weird that I wasn't involved, this pregnancy is completely ignoring my no-nap rule}. the house was so quiet for 2 hours.

some little kid wanted so badly to roast marshmallows. Moomie totally caved and made his wish come true...well, sorta. She got the marshmallows but Tio Carlos and Tio James totally helped with the fire. The most awesome part, duh.

I forced the kids to take a photo with their cousin Leo before we left. Jonah is still confused about why baby Leo is out in the world after he had just gotten used to the idea that he was inside my sister's belly. Andrew was never keen on Jonah as a baby, he hardly ever came near him. So it only made sense that no way in hell was he gonna touch Leo--hence the pillow he rests on and Andrew's lovely face. Jonah was just curious and sweet. I love the way he says baby Leo. We still love you Leo and can't wait for you to play with your cousins! 

sorry that i've been taking a small hiatus from blogging because i've been busy DIY'ing outside in this decent weather. some sprinkles, lots of clouds, some sun, and cooler nights! bring on the low 70's now!!!
can't wait to post those projects here soon!

i don't want you to grow up

I know that when he's older, he won't want to cuddle with me anymore. I know that.

Yet, I find myself denying him when he asks me to lay down with him.

He'll ask, "you wanna lay down with me, Mom?"

No baby, Mommy's got stuff to do and I shut the door.

An hour later, I check in on him and he's fast asleep.

I just want to remember that he was my cuddle bug. That he would rub my arm to the point of feeling like my skin went raw while he sucked down his milk from his sippy cup. That his tiny little feet overheat under the covers. That his lips, while sleeping, are always open and his little tiny baby teeth are exposed. 

That those blue, beautiful eyes are what made us all fall in love with him when he first came into this world.

The way he totally captivates my attention when he says little things I never knew a little person could say.

I love the way his nose is so rounded, yet mine is sharp. 

I love his lips, his little peach fuzz, his widow's peak, his tiny little ears...his fake laugh. I'm so in love with him, I don't know what I would do without him. He grabs my face and pulls it towards him and he says, "Mom, you beauuttiiful," when I don't feel an ounce of beauty. 

But every day, I realize he's growing. His birthday is coming up. He's not going to stay little. And I can't remember things anymore. I don't want to forget anything about Andrew, or Jonah, or Gary. 

I want to remember how his toes were little and hair free. I want to remember that he wanted me all the time. How he would smile at me and how cute his little freckles were popping up all over the place. How he tells me, "Mom, I wanna kiss your face," and plants smushy, slobbery sugars all over it.

How every time I look over at him and think, he needs a little trim around his ears. 

Or I wonder if those eyelashes will ever make girls go crazy for him.

And then I think about girls...I think about how I'll be replaced with them come the tween/teen years and how I won't be asked to cuddle with him when he goes to bed. Or how I won't be needed to soothe him with my arm. How I won't be able to give him goose bumps with the tips of my fingers along his back. 

How do I retain those moments, those feelings, with my terrible memory? 

How can I remember things like that? This fear is very realistic. And it keeps growing.

I guess that's why I love snapping pictures so much. For my memory's sake. 

For the sake of my children's children. For the sake of this blog. 

I love you, baby boy.