Roberts Family Blog

I LOVE babies in pajamas. They are so dang cute, in all their pudgy glory. If I were left to my own devices, I would probably dress them in mis-matched t-shirts and sweatpants (case in point, the first photo of poor Hayden below), however my friends and family got Pierce the most adorable pajamas for his birthday this year, and I have to show off how huggable he looks in them!

Ok, now that I've gotten in my daily dose of a million photos, I'll go on to tell you about the major events of the week.  Pierce has just cut his THIRD molar in as many weeks.  It's tragic seeing how unhappy this makes him.  His nighttime sleep has been so interrupted (which generally means Hayden's is too since they share a room), and his emotions are just so fragile when he is awake.  My typical teething strategy is to keep them dosed up on infant motrin, but with all the recent medicine recalls, it scares me, so I've been using generics, but sparingly.  However, orajel is my new best friend, and it seems to really calm him down to have his gums numbed, imagine that LOL.  I will be so thankful (and I think he will be too!), when that last first year molar comes through and we can move past this.  Of course then it will probably be time for eye teeth, which I remember for Hayden were even worse.  Nooooooo!

Hayden has had a couple of really really cut moments this week, and he continually astounds me with his affection and kind-heartedness.  Lately, whenever Nate or I discipline or reprimand him, he'll get this very worried, furrowed brow look, and he'll slink over into one of our laps, and look up at us with his big blue eyes, and say "mommy, you happy or sad?".  This not only happens when we get upset with him, but whenever I have a tense moment with Nathan or my mom, or even simply when I'm deep in thought (and perhaps look unhappy?).  I have to sometimes tell him that it makes me sad when he doesn't listen, or when he is rough with his brother, but he won't leave my lap, and won't let up on the question, until I reassure him that I'm happy again and that I love him, and which point he usually caresses my cheek and tells me he loves me too, before bounding off to get in trouble once again LOL.  I just think it's amazing that a child who is not even three yet can show such empathy and concern for the happiness of others. 

On a lighter note, the other day in an impulsive moment, I decided to spike Hayden's hair.  Now keep in mind this was a mini-spike given his new marine style haircut, but a spike none-the-less.  So later in the day I'm loading him into the car, and he has insisted on me hanging a mirror on the back of the passenger seat so he can see himself (I don't even want to go into the implications of WHY he demands this haha).  He takes one look at himself and suddenly he starts grinning and giggling, and he tells me, "Mommy I look just like Anders!".  Well, his friend Anders happens to rock a mohawk 'do on a regular basis, so he was pretty spot on!  Clever little guy   I love that not only did he recognize that he had a spikey 'do like his buddy, but also that it made him happy to share that quality with a friend!

And finally, I just have to give an example of why I would NEVER tell anyone that children's television programming is useless.  Yesterday Nate and I took the boys to Barnes and Noble just to look around at new books, and play with the train table.  Well Hayden and I were reading a book about helicopters, and there was a photo of a helicopter flying over the Statue of Liberty.  I was about to mention that to Hayden, when he interrupted me and said "Mommy, that's the Statue of Liberty in New York City!".  I kid you not - he honestly told me this.  We've never talked about either the statue, OR the city!  Later that night I asked him where he had heard about it, and he told me that the Wonder Pets had gone to New York City LOL.  Sure enough, I looked it up, and there is an episode of Wonder Pets where they travel to NYC to rescue a baby pigeon that is stuck hanging from the nose of Statue of Liberty!  Seriously, if I wasn't before, I am now sold on the fact that a lot of these programs really ARE teaching my kids something useful.

Well good bye for now!  Hope everyone is having a great week

We are coming off of my third mother's day, and it was such a wonderful weekend.  Being able to celebrate with my two beautiful, healthy little boys just reminds me how incredibly blessed I am.  They are the loves of my life, and I am so greatful that they made me into a mommy.  Hayden crafted an adorable little birdhouse for me, that he painted a lovely light brown, and we placed it already in our front yard tree.  Apparently when he was painting it in Grammy's front yard, he kept shooing birds away because he was worried they would fly in and try to live there before he was done LOL.  Nate took him shopping for a gift for me, and he told Nate he was SURE that I would like Chick Hicks and The King (characters from Cars), but after Nate told him that probably wasn't true, he revised his gift to a "plastic tree".  Lucky for me, Nathan was able to steer him to plants that were actually living, and I ended up with a really pretty pink hydrangea plant!  Such a thoughtful little boy, and he was so excited to show me my gifts and wish me a happy mother's day birthday as he called it haha.  Little Pierce was too young to pick out any gifts, but he was thrilled to look at our new pink plant, and he gave me plenty of kisses and hugs! 

In addition to being a mother to two perfect boys, I am also incredibly greatful to my own mother, who has always been my best friend, and now that I am a mom, a constant source of guidance, reassurance, and support.  More and more in my life, the parenting decisions that she made are making more sense to me, and I find myself modeling my own parenting after her.  Ever since she moved to Dallas almost two years ago to be near us, both her and my father have been the kind of parents who will drop anything to help me, or to spend time with their grandsons.  Their presence in our lives is absolutely invaluable, and I just consider our family so lucky that we can spend quality time together almost every day.  Our bond is strong, and I always feel like we can count on each other for anything.  Actually, I KNOW I can count on her for anything.  Not to mention we probably laugh together more than any two people I know - which is so needed at this time in my life, when I can often find myself dealing with the multiple stresses of career, family, and home.  She always helps me put things in perspective!  I love her to bits and am thankful for every moment we spend together.

We also got the chance on mother's day to skype with my mother-in-law, mammaw.  It was so fun to be able to see her on the computer screen (although not as good as in person!), and Hayden right away was thrilled.  One of the first phrases out of his mouth was, "Mammaw please come back to my house soon.  I'm going to make you a sandwich!", after which he proceeded to make her a pretend sandwich at his playhouse kitchen!  I consider myself lucky to have a mother-in-law that I really consider a friend, and who is always so quietly and strongly supportive of our family.  I appreciate the way that she raised her son, with tons of love and physical affection, and she imparted a passion and ambition in Nathan that I admire.  We all really miss Mammaw and are so lucky to have her in our lives!

In addition to my own mothers, today I want to wish all the other great mommys out there a very Happy Mother's Day - my aunts, my grandmas, and all my "mommy friends" here in Dallas, who have taught me so much about being a good, kind, humorous, and loving mother.  I couldn't live a day here without you all and your constant support!

Although Mother's Day itself was pretty fantastic, with Nate smoking ribs and turkey legs, while my mom and I leisured the day away in their hottub (it was disappointingly too cold for the pool), it was really the night before that was the highlight of my weekend.  It was "The First Sushi Night of the Summer!".  Finally!  Nate became quite the expert sushi maker last summer, after I gave him some tools and cookbooks for his birthday in July, but it never seemed quite like a winter food.  So we've been on hiatus.  Well on Saturday, we loaded the kids up and headed to an Asian Supermaket in Carollton called Super H-mart (love the name).  We were expecting a sort of small fish / produce market, but instead we found this huge Asian marketplace that was probably the size of two suburban Kroger stores.  Inside was a maze of exotic produce, super fresh fish and seafood (the boys loved the live crab and fish tanks), and tons of fun Asian groceries.   My mom joked that it was like a field trip, and it really did feel that way!  We ended up with white tuna, regular pink tuna, and salmon, as well as lump crabmeat and shrimp, and tons of veggies and fruits to stuff our rolls with.  I actually tried my hand at making some rolls this time, instead of just watching Nate do it, and it was suprisingly easier than I imagined.  We made SO much sushi - waaaay more than the 4 of us could eat.  And the total price-tag?  About $50 including a bottle of sake.  It a sushi restaurant that would have easily been over $100, even in the least fancy of place.  And it is just so fun to make it together!  Here are some photos from the fun.

The most beautiful salmon, and Hayden enjoying his chopsticks and shrimp tempura.

All the yummy veggies, fruit (and bacon!), julienned up for the rolls

Tuna and salmon - yum

Nathan's patented "East 14th Street Roll", modeled after his favorite sushi roll at a sushi restaurant in San Leandro, CA, where he used to work.  It is SO good, and pretty to look at.

It's 7:45 am.  I'm on the couch in the living room, sipping coffee, working on my computer, and savoring the morning silence.  Suddenly I hear quiet chatting coming from the boys' room (they are sharing a room right now).  The chatting continues, and although I couldn't hear the words, it was so sweet that I did not want to interrupt, so I just stayed put.  Finally a few minutes later I hear the bedroom door open, and I hear Hayden's sweet little voice say, "I'll be right back PJ, I'm going to go get mommy".  Then I hear his little bare feet padding across the foyer floor, and there he is smiling at me with his bed-head and mis-matched jammies, with his Tyrone stuffed animal tucked under his arm.  He says to me, "Come on mommy, let's go get baby Pierce", so I walk over to him, he grabs my hand, and leads me back into his bedroom, where PJ is sitting up in bed, clapping and smiling.  Favorite moment of the day

Pierce is officially walking!  I'm such a proud mama.  On Thursday, we took him to the airport to meet my grandma (Gigi) who happened to have a layover on her way from Milwaukee to Hawaii, and he was taking 2 or 3 steps or so for her, but nothing major.  When we got home that afternoon, I decided to keep practicing with him, and suddenly he walked across the entire living room!  I was like, "Nathan get in here!", and sure enough, it was no fluke - he kept doing it over and over again!  This was about 4 days ago, and now he's managed to learn how to pull up on something, turn around, let go, and start walking, and he can also turn corners!  He'll walk all the way around our couch in the living room.  The only thing he has to master is being to stand back up without having something to pull himself up with.  So if he's walking, and tumbles, he has to crawl to a nearby couch or bench or wall before he can stand up.  It's so dang cute though to see him toddling along, and of course it makes him seem incredibly grown-up.  His arms are fully extended in front of him, and his little feet are all turned out.  Very sweet.  My little baby is officially no longer a baby, but (quite literally) a toddler!  Here is a short video of the afternoon that he started walking.  Notice his very best cheerleader, Hayden.  Everytime Pierce tries to walk now, Hayden will cheer "Go Piercey Go Piercey".  He is such a good big brother

 

In the spirit of firsts, Pierce had his first haircut today as well!  Hayden has graduated from the kiddie haircut salon, where he used to get haircuts sitting in the fire truck and watching Cars.  Now he prefers Floyd's Barbershop, where they blast rock-n-roll music and all of the stylists have pink or purple hair LOL.  It's a fun place, and we took him today to get his annual summer short haircut.  Now, I've been feeling for awhile like we needed to cut Pierce's hair, which was getting very long in the back and around the ears.  He was starting to rock a mullet according to Poppy!  So spur of the moment, I decided to get him his first cut, and oh my gosh was he cute!  He sat there in the big boy barbershop chair, and just was a perfect little angel while she cut and buzzed his hair.  I honestly think he was fascinated by the whole process, and then he gave her a high-five when he was done haha.  She insisted on a faux hawk when he was done with his cut, to commemorate the fact that we were at the rock-n-roll barbershop after all!

And the exciting news of the week for Hayden is that we officially picked a pre-school!  Originally, I had planned to send him to pre-school at the daycare center in my neighborhood, which offers pre-school curriculum in the mornings.  They have a great program, but my concern was mainly with cost, because you are paying for a full day, when the actual curriculum is only offered in the mornings.  So I decided to explore a few more options, in terms of fully dedicated pre-school versus pre-school being taught at a daycare, and I fell in love with the center we visited today.  Nate and I brought Hayden there, to see how he would react, and this child was so adorable.  The first classroom we saw on our tour was one of the 3 year old rooms, and he immediately went and sat down right in their circle time, without even being asked or told, and started singing and joining right in with their game.  He kept telling all the teachers, "I'm Hayden Roberts and my friend is called Baby Pierce".  A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E.  He told us he can't wait to come back and have "mommy drop him off" next time.  Who needs mom when you have a classroom full of games and art projects and friends?!?  The school was just perfect, with the most creative art projects and classroom decorations I have ever seen.  It all felt very special, and I knew it was the right place for Hayden.  The even have an outdoor "nature exploratory center", with all organic, natural materials, where the kids can build with tree rings and bricks and things like that, and there are handmade wooden musical instruments, and rock-lined paths where they can build and practice balancing.  And all of this is under a beautiful, shady canopy of trees.  So we signed him up for 2 days a week this fall, and there is a special summer camp that I'm going to send him to in June that has the theme "The Wild West and Rodeo Days", which is right up his alley.  I'm so excited for him to begin this journey of pre-school!

And I'll leave you with a cute video of Hayden riding on a scooter for the first time at our friend David and Sue's house.  Their neighbors had this for their granddaughter, who is since grown too big for it, and after they saw how much fun Hayden had on it, they gave it to us!  I'm so excited for him to try it out riding to the park tonight.  Such a big boy.

This past weekend we had the pleasure of hosting Nathan's parents, who were visiting us from Colorado.  Hayden has always had a very tight bond with his Mammaw, and I was looking forward to them getting to know the new and grown-up baby Pierce.  As the boys get older, the visits with family just become more meaningful and special, and this trip was no exception.

Hayden was completely attached at the hip to his mammaw.  The first night she was here, he would not go to bed until we convinced him that Mammaw would still be here when he woke up!  And sure enough, first thing in the morning, he was tearing around the house trying to find her, and then he actually sat in the bathroom with her the whole time she was getting ready, just chatting away and having the best time.  It was darling.  They are very close.  In fact one afternoon he actually cried because Mammaw was going to ride in Nathan's car instead of ours.  Well...you can imagine what happened!  I don't think any grandmother can resist the sweet tears of a 2 year old, so she naturally ended up in our car LOL.  She even taught him to sommersault, which he simply cannot stop doing and showing everyone!

Mammaw and Grandpa got to see Pierce in action, and they agree with us that he has a big personality!  They just loved him to pieces, and I was *really* hoping they would get to be here to see him walk for the first time, but unfortunately he is just relunctant to take off on his own, and would much prefer to hold our hands and just toddle around everywhere.  But Pierce loved to be read to by Mammaw, and rocked, and he became very comfortable with her by the end of the trip.  It's always so hard to see the boys grow so close to their grandparents, and then have to say good bye at the end of the weekend.  It's difficult to live far apart.  Hopefully we can remedy that someday.  But in the meantime, we'll continue to make every effort to see each other as often as we can.

The weekend was mainly low-key, with a playdate for Mammaw to meet some of our friends, some nice dinners at home, playing in the yard, and things like that.  We did manage to make it to DFW to watch some airplanes take-off.  The highlight was a 747 lifting off right over our heads!  It was just amazing.  And Hayden discovered the telescopes at the plaza and was obsessed with finding British Airways, which unfortunately was landing late that day so we missed it.  Piercey J does not miss one airplane, and points them all out and yells loudly in some sort of foreign gobbledy gook language.  It's too cute.  Hayden told all of the people observing around us that "UPS planes carry boxes, not people!".  Smarty pants.

Spur of the moment, we decided tot ake advantage of the beautiful spring day to explore the Grapevine Botantical Gardens for the first time.  I've always been in love with the Dallas Arboretum, but we didn't have the time to drive an hour each, so we "settled" on Grapevine instead.  Well, now I will never consider it settling!  Although small, it was just beautiful, and the kids enjoyed themselves tremedously.  There are little koi ponds, with waterfalls, and gorgeous, colorful gardens, little footpaths through the woods, and bridges over the creek.  It was a really wonderful day spent together as a family.

I'm so greatful to my in-laws for coming to visit, and I'm so thankful to have such wonderful grandparents for my boys.  I can't wait for their next trip back!

Well the warm weather is finally back after a solid long weekend of rain, and it's so good to be able to get outside.  Both of the boys are definitely happier outdoors, and preferably they'd like to be wet and sandy too, of course.  We have a really cute little water table that Mammaw gave Hayden for his first birthday, and we also have our sandbox, and between those two we have hours of fun outside.  I'm trying to get outside my comfort zone, and not freak out when the boys go from water table to sandbox and end up covered in sticky sand (with some in their mouths)!  But boys are meant to get dirty - I know it's good for them, and a bath is never far away.  

Here Hayden is putting on his "Umi Goggles" which he often does to help him find something.  For those not in on "Umi" speak, this is from a show he loves to watch.  It's pretty darn funny to see him put those on, because he really thinks they will help!

Then, for PJ's birthday, our good friend Shelly gave us the coolest toy, the Ultimate Beach Ball Sprinkler!  It's amazing, and it was the perfect toy to convince Hayden to take a nap.  As soon as he woke up, true to form, he burst out of his room and told me, "Mommy I took a nap and now we can play with my beach ball!".  I dressed them both in new swimsuits, and I just set them loose under the nice, warm sun.  It was just such a good time, and even the dogs got into it.  Hayden was trying to throw the baseball OVER the arcs of water, and we were practicing jumping over them, and ducking under them.  Pierce just kind of stood off by the side, clapping and laughing at us while he got sprinkled with water.  Good times with my boys. 

As you can clearly see from these photos, Piercey J is a major outdoorsman.  He just loves to be in the sandbox, crawling around the yard, in the swing out front, in the wagon taking a walk, or splashing around at his water table.  But honestly, there are times when being outside is not an option (for instance when I am cooking dinner, or otherwise need to be inside where I can't supervise him!).  Let me tell you, this boy will NOT take "no" for an answer.  I don't know if it's just his age, and his inability to communicate, but he is such a tantrum thrower when he doesn't get what he wants.  He will just stand in the kitchen and scream and cry and wail, and carry on like the world is ending.  If I attempt to pick him up and move him into the living room where his toys are, he will just arch back, kick his chubby little legs, thrash his arms, and just scream!  It's so incredibly dramatic, and just so far beyond any sort of temper tantrum I ever experienced with Hayden.  It's literally like his world is ending.  And it happens frequently!  If I walk past the swing out front (like on our way in from the car), he will just go into Pierce tantrum mode immediately.  The list of things that ruin his day goes on and on - taking away a sippy cup he's not supposed to have, reading the wrong book to him, not picking him up to look at the fish, not getting him out of his high chair quickly enough when he is finished eating, etc.  He just has no patience!  I'm really having a hard time adjusting to a little guy with this kind of flair for the dramatic, and I am starting fear what kind of trouble he might give me as a toddler!  Nate and I have discussed how this could very well be related to the fact that he can't communicate, with words, what he wants.  And I think he is also very frustrated to not be able to walk.  I'm seriously hoping that those two milestones will help ease some of his frustration and impatience.  When he is happy, he is just the sweetest, giggliest, cutest little guy around, but it seems that his world his shattered just about every 10 minutes!

One of the most adorable things though is watching him try to contain his emotions and "get ahold of himself", as we say LOL.  If he starts to throw a tantrum in his highchair, right away we'll intervene and say, "No Piercey, calm down", and his little bottom lip will come out, and quiver, and he'll look up and us from under his long eyelashes, and gulp a few times trying to hold in the cry.  It's just the MOST precious expression you have EVER seen, and it just breaks my heart to watch him have to exercise such control over his emotions at such a young age - I just want to scoop him up and hug him forever.  But I love that he is trying, and Nate and I are starting to learn to help him diffuse and calm down.  My little emotional baby boy.

I'd like to devote this post to my baby, Pierce, who just turned one.  It's hard to believe that a year has passed, but I suddenly have this little boy, instead of a baby.  And boy oh boy has his personality blossomed!  I think I expected him to automatically be like his big brother, and for the same personality traits to begin to emerge as he got older, but they could not be more different! 

Pierce is certainly his own man, and his personality I think can be summed up as mischeivious, comedic, stubborn, emotional, and loving.  His naughty side is just starting to flare up; where he will deliberately touch something he shouldn't and then look at me with a little glimmer in his eye, and touch it again LOL!  And talk about a little ham.  He LOVES to giggle and laugh, and is always up for any kind of silly game or joke.  Chase is probably his favorite, and he's learned that if Hayden runs one way around the couch, he can catch him faster if he crawls the other way.  Then when they collide the laughter out of both of them is just priceless.  He loves to be tickled, blown on, kissed and hugged - basically he's a total attention hound!  I can't imagine where he got that trait.  Also, whenever a good song comes on the TV, or plays on one of his toys, he'll just sit and bounce up and down to the beat, with a big smile on his face.  The boy definitely has rhythm!

A side of him that Nate and I are trying to learn about, because it's so different than Hayden, is this very emotional and hot-tempered side.  We always say that his emotions run a fine line; one minute he'll be happy and content, then something will trigger a frustration in him, and he'll be screaming his trademark Piercey scream!  A lot of this is presumably related to the fact that he so desperately wants to communicate, but his speech is really JUST beginning, and he knows only a few signs to tell us what he wants.  His language right now consists of a handful of words that he can say consistently: outside (I love this!), car, mama, dada, Yukon, cracker.  I remember this age with Hayden, and how each week it seemed his vocabulary just grew, and I'm excited to embark on this with Pierce, and see if the ability to communicate will help him be less reactive and emotional.

Physically, he is growing into THE cutest little boy.  He has tons of wispy white hair, and it often curls around his ears like a little old man.  It's too darn cute to cut!  He has huge blue eyes, a little button nose, rosy round cheeks, and plump little pink lips.  His fine motor skills are developing rapidly - he can bang cymbals together with ease in his little band with Hayden, can fly Hayden's toy airplanes (complete with engine noises) around in the sky, and can grab tiny bits of food in his hand and actually get them to his mouth.  Reading books is probably his favorite activity, especially the kind that have any kind of texture, or that have buttons he can press that will make a noise.  He stays entertained for the longest time just "reading" on his own, and now the expectation is to read at least 2 books together before any nap or bedtime.  Walking is still something he is learning to master, but he can walk long distances just holding one of our hands, and just on Saturday night he took about 3 steps on his own!  Frequently he'll stand unassisted for up to a minute as well.  So I just expect him to take off walking any day now, and I'm so excited for it.  I think having that freedom will also help ease some of his frustrations that make him so emotional. 

Relationships are definitely something that is important to our baby boy, and it's wonderful to see him get more attached to various family members every day.  Especially our dog Lilly!  He will literally lay down right next to her, or even ON her, when he gets tired.  And he often crawls over to her and gives her a big kiss.  It's just too adorable.  Lately he's also become quite attached to his grammy.  She watches him while I work in the morning and he'll just sob at the gate whenever she leaves, and sometimes when she's holding him and someone else reaches out to take him, he'll lean away from us and bury his head in her shoulder!  Like "no way mom", I know who spoils me LOL!  One very endearing trait is that he always wants to say hello to whomever new enters his life.  The other day at the doctor's offce she was talking about babies developing separation anxiety from thier moms at this age, and as she was saying this he was practically falling out of my lap, reaching for her to hold him LOL.  No separation anxiety there!

We celebrate Pierce's birthday in style this year.  On his actual birthday, my grandparents were still here visiting after our Italy trip, so they were able to spend the day with us at the zoo!  It was wonderful to spend time together like that, and of course the boys loved seeing all the animals.  Pierce is in an elephant and giraffe stage, so he was pretty taken by those habitats, and Hayden was particularly drawn to the penguins and zebra!  After the zoo, we were off to the airport to pick Daddy up, then home to eat cake and open some presents from Gigi and Aunt Kathy.  It was just a great day, and he was thrilled to shove cake in his mouth, as suspected!

In addition to our little family celebration, we also decided to throw him a western themed first birthday party with all his little friends.  My parents opened up their home, and our close family friend, Linda, gave us the gift of a petting zoo and a pony!  Let me tell you, what a fantastic day!  Originally I thought the older kids would like the pony more, but quite a few of them were scared to ride, and actually I think Pierce liked it more than anyone!  He did his trademark scream whenever we took him off to let another child have a turn LOL.  He was born to ride a horse I think.  Hayden's favorite things were the goats and ducks in the petting zoo, even though the goat kept biting his ear!  I loved, loved, loved the party, and I think all the kids had a great time.  Once again, Pierce enjoyed his cake immensely, and he got some of the cutest presents.  Yay for first birthdays!  My little dude is ONE!

I have a list of events I need to post about, including little Piercey J's (thanks Britt for the nickname!) birthday festivities, but for now I want to focus on an Italy re-cap.  This is as much for me to get everything down so I can reminisce later about all the wonderful details, as it is for you all to read.  You'll probably get bored at paragraph 2, but here goes!

I spent so much time on this blog talking about our preparations, it's only fair to talk about how things went with the boys, and also about our travel adventures!  And happily I can say that it was fabulous on all fronts!  Saying good bye to my boys was one of the hardest things about the trip, which I had anticipated.  But once we got to the airport, we each had a cocktail and the excitement level went through the roof!  Europe bound!  We spent three days in London, where Nate did some serious solo sight-seeing while I worked during the day, and we finished out the evenings hanging out with my brother, Jeff, and his girlfriend, Rebecca, at some of their local haunts in Notting Hill.  It was just so amazing to have long drawn out dinners, and real conversation at the dinner table where I didn't have to constantly interrupt whomever I am talking to to pick up food off the floor, or try to entertain a fussy baby!  Truly refreshing, and I'm thankful for that time to live the cosmopolitan lifestyle in London for a few days   What made it even better was that I kept getting wonderful phone calls from home from my grandma (Gigi) and my sister-in-law, Britt, describing how well the boys were doing, and how much fun everyone was having.  I preferred not to even talk to Hayden, because it made me so homesick, but alternately it was super reassuring to know they were doing great.

Here are some of Nate's photos from the trip - first a view over the Thames, including the London Eye.

My favorite photo he took - looking towards Westminster Abbey from Trafalgar Square on a rainy day.  And Nate was fascinated by this baby armor at the Tower of London.

Nate self-portrait at the Tower of London!

We then shoved off to Pisa, Italy, where we were meeting my parents at the airport.  Unfortunately our flight was diverted to Genoa, which was about 2 hours up the coast, and we had to bus it back down to Pisa in the middle of the night!  Welcome to Italy - our bus driver hurling down mountainous roads and through narrow tunnels at about 100 mph.  Luckily we made it back alive (I seriously questioned this), and finally made it to bed in our farmhouse at about 3 am.  So it was absolutely exciting to wake up the next morning and actually see where we were staying!  Talk about unique and perfect!  In the light of day we could see the view - breathtaking.  We were up on a very high hillside (which explained the somewhat trecherous driveway we had climbed the night before!), with a view down a mountain valley filled with vineyards, olive groves, and various brightly colored villas dotting the mountainsides.  There was a little footpath leading out our front door through the olive grove that was just awash with wildflowers, and I just felt in Heaven.

Our time in Italy was extremely jam-packed, which is typical of my family!  We don't sit still for long.  The first day, since we were still recovering from our late night travel adventure, we decided to stick close to our farmhouse, and ventured up the mountain valley to a picturesque medievel hilltop town called Barga, which is in the shadow of the Apuane Alps, which were snow-capped this time of year.  On our way we stopped to see the Ponte della Maddelena, or the Ponte de Diavolo as it is sometimes know (The Devil's Bridge), dating back to the 11th century!  I had seen it in a guidebook and just knew I had to see it.  It did not disappoint, and the comic value of my mother climbing it while hunched practically in half (due to her fear of falling over the somewhat short walls) made it all the better LOL.  We stopped for the first of many wonderful meals at a little restuarant along the river, where we had wine and cheese and various meats and breads.  Perfection.

One thing we did each night we were there was to grocery shop together, and make a big, late-night meal (in the Italian style) at our farmhouse.  It had a functioning, but rustic, outdoor grill, and a huge kitchen with a gorgeous old fireplace.  So we would get the wine flowing, and cook some sort of wonderful meat or seafood, and a rich pasta, each night.  The first night we had actually gone to a local butcher in Lucca, and through our translator Nathan, were able to purchase some beautiful pork chops that he carved right there for us.  I don't even want to know how much wine we went through with dinner, but suffice to say it was enough, and we ended the night playing a rousing game of blind mans bluff poker LOL.  The things you do with no kids around! 

Speaking of kids, by this point Britt was finishing up her time with my boys, and she had nothing but great things to say.  I'm sure she hid some of the rough patches from me, but I truly believe that everyone had fun together, and I am so grateful to her for putting her life on hold for a week and packing up her little daughter to come help out family.  She sent me an email about this time that made me feel so good.  Apparently she had taken her daughter, Brylin, and Hayden to story-time at Barnes and Noble while my grandma watched Pierce at home.  After story-time, they went to the Nestle store for cookies, and then to the park to play.  Well according to Britt, Hayden was very sweet with Brylin and would hold her hand, and steer her around obstacles on the ground like a doting older cousin.  I just love that they were able to bond, and I'm excited to see Hayden's reaction when we see her again later this summer.  He still talks about "Bryanne", and all the fun they had together.  So as I got this update from Britt I was again reassured that the kids were doing great, and I was able to fully relax and enjoy the trip.

Our second day in Italy was spent hiking the 5 villages of the Cinque Terre - and I think by a narrow margin this was my favorite experience.  First we drove to a town called La Spezia, which is just north of Tuscany, in the Liguria region of Italy, and right on the coast.  From there we took a short (and very very crowded) train ride to the southernmost of the five villages, called Riomaggiore.  The attraction to this area is that there is very limited access by car, and the truly best way to see the villages is via foot, along hiking trails connecting them all.  The first hiking trail was actually a very comfortable paved path that was flat and easy to walk.  It took us along a spectacular segment of coast with mountains rising directly from the sea, and waves crashing on the rocks below us.  The landscape reminded me completely of Big Sur in California - gorgeous.  After about a 20 minute walk we rounded a curve that brought us into the second of the villages, Mannarola.  The most interesting thing about this town is that the streets are literally lined with brightly colored fishing boats.  It's so different from anything I've seen before!  And these towns are truly lived in!  You can see laundry hanging from each window and balcony, and there are little old women out sweeping their porches.  Life goes on, as we tourists just pass through for an afternoon.  It's hard to imagine such a tucked away life in such a rugged and beautiful place.

We stopped here for pizza and water, before we began a slightly more arduous bit of path that lead to the town of Corniglia.  The most challenging part of the walk was the 380 odd steps leading from sea level up to the hilltop town!  Very rewarding.  We didn't stay long in this town, because we knew the hardest hike was still ahead - the one or so hour hike to Vernazza, which was billed on the National Park sign as being the most "wild but rewarding" segment.  It started out meandering through the most beautiful olive groves and wildflowers, but quickly it became a steep uphill / downhill gauntlet, but it was super exhilarating and exceptionally beautiful, with views back to both Mannarola and Corniglia.  Well worth the effort.  The path was very very narrow, and the drop-offs steep, and after seeing some parents struggling with their young children, I was once again happy that we had made this an adult only trip!  I would have died of fear to have my kids on that hike.  It still will never touch the hike up to the Wiwaxy Gap along the Alpine Circuit at Lake O'Hara in BC, but it was a good work-out, and we all felt like we deserved the snack of wine and peanuts and chips that we treated ourselves to in the piazza at Vernazza.  It was a gorgeous little town, and very busy and friendly, and it capped off a great day in the Cinque Terre.  One which I will never ever forget.

Our third day in Tuscany was the one my mother was most looking forward to - wine tasting our way through Chianti!  But first, we headed straight for Montepulciano, rumored to be one of the most beautiful of Tuscan hilltop towns, and also the setting of the film New Moon (which of course excited only ME in our group).  Talk about a pretty town, set high on a hill with green fields and vineyards stretching for miles in every direction, and the most gorgeous old cathedrals.  What's so interesting is that some of the churches look so unassuming from outside, and then you walk in and they are just exquisite and so ornate.  Loved exploring that town!  Then we set off to wine taste, and ended up at the best little family winery in Montalcino.  We got to chat with the actual wine maker, while sipping a famous Montalcino Brunello (newly acquired wine knowledge!), which we learned would go for about $80 a bottle at our local wine shop.  So that might be my last Brunello for awhile!  We finished up the day at a tucked away little Italian restaurant in the Chianti region, where we ate wild boar, stag, and lamb, accompanied by seafood spaghetti and this most delish risotto (and of course plenty of wine!).  I loved that as soon as we sat down our waiter filled our glasses with champagne - it felt like such a perfect reason to celebrate.  My whole (adult) family together in Italy.

By the time our last day in Italy rolled around, I was getting very anxious to see my boys.  It was also Easter, and it felt somewhat sad to be far away from them.  But we all wanted to make the most of it!  Having already bought the groceries for our Easter dinner the day before, we set out to spend the day in the nearby town of Lucca, which we hadn't really explored yet.  Being that it was Easter, we were worried that everything might be closed, but as it turned out it was bustling there!  The "kids" - Jeff, Rebecca, Nate and I, ended up renting bicycles to cruise the walls around Lucca (supposedly one of the best ways to see the city), while mom and dad enjoyed some wine at a little enoteca, and did some people watching.  I have to admit, even though I haven't rode a bike in awhile, I had SO MUCH FUN!!  The city was just awesome to see on the seat of a bike, and we wound our way through every narrow alley and saw every sight there was to see.  We even parked our bikes at one point to climb to the top of the Tower Guinigi to get a rooftop view of the city.  Despite the rain coming down hard at some points, it was just the most fun experience.

That afternoon, I packed myself up, we ate another fantastic dinner at our farmhouse together, and then mom, dad, and Nate and I loaded up to take me to the airport in Pisa for my flight home.  And what do you have to see in Pisa?  The famous Leaning Tower of course!  Well it was about 9 pm at night and of course pitch dark, and the rain was just coming down in buckets.  But we turned a corner and suddenly the Leaning Tower was right in front of us, and all lit up in spotlights - and completely empty!  There was absolutely no-one in sight.  So Nate and I hopped out of the car, dashed through the puddles and finally huddled together under the eaves of the cathedral, about 30 yards from the Tower itself.  It was just spectacular and so eerie and beautiful in the night, in the rain, totally deserted.  We just cuddled close, and shared the most special moment together, knowing that it might be a long time before we are in such a special place again, and are able to share all of these truly amazing experiences with each other.  One of my favorite memories of the trip by far.

So I flew off alone later that night to begin my journey home to my boys.  Our reunion at the airport brought tears to my eyes, as Hayden yelled out my name as soon as he saw me, and came tearing across the waiting room to jump into my arms.  Pierce was waiting with arms out-stretched and a huge grin on his face.  My grandparents were saints to bring them both to the airport during naptime, and I was so grateful because I really just was dying to see them after 8 days away!  Hayden kept telling me "mommy I missed you so much" the whole drive home, and I just savored that evening with both of them - my two sweet sweet little men.  It felt great to be home.

They had been staying with my friend Heather, and her family, for the past 3 days, and I had been kept in the loop via youtube videos of Hayden and Keegan hunting for dinosaurs in the backyard, and Pierce having bouncing matches in the jumperoos with Heather's twin babies.  And for the whole week my grandma and grandpa had been helping out with anything either Heather or Britt needed, and shuttling boys all over the town between houses!  I'm sure they were so exhausted, but the boys were clearly very attached to them both by the end of the trip, and I just can't thank them enough.  It meant the world that all of our friends and family came together like that to make sure that Nate and I could take this vacation together.  So THANK-YOU to Britt, Heather, Eric, Gigi and Grampy, for just being the best friends / family a girl could ask for!  And also a big thank you to my brother, who was not only the mastermind behind the trip planning, but also the financial backer for a lot of it.  It was the trip of a lifetime for these two parents

Today my youngest son is ONE year old!  One year ago today, I was sitting in a quiet hospital room, filling with morning light, staring into the blue eyes of a little baby, wondering what kind of boy he would become.  The past year has been such an amazing adventure, learning how to adjust as a mother of two, and not only experiencing my own relationship grow with my baby boy, but also watching as my two sons grew into best friends.  Now I have this giggling, smiling, wild little one year old on my hands, who couldn't be more fun, and I consider myself so lucky.

Over the past month I've been compiling photos of Pierce since he was born, and I created a little montage.  As I watch it, it reminds me of all the ups and downs of the past year, and all the adventures we've had together as our family of four.  It's rather long (I take a lot of pictures!), but I think you'll enjoy it.   Just click on one of the photos below!

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby Pierce.  I love you so much!

Hi everyone!  Well, in light of the fact that Nathan and I will actually be celebrating Easter in lovely Lucca, Italy, we decided to throw an early Easter Egg Hunt for Hayden last night.  It's the first year that he can really have fun with the event, so it seemed like a shame to not be able to share it with him.  My friend Heather will be hosting an Easter party for the boys while she is watching them next weekend, so they are lucky enough to get TWO fun days.

We started the day yesterday by dying eggs, complete with Hayden the helper mixing up the colors and choosing the designs.  Every egg had to go in every color bucket, so needless to say, most of them ended up becoming a dull orangish / brown LOL.  But he was completely thrilled with the entire process, so it was well worth it to let him make his own design choices!

I dropped the boys off at my mom's house for the afternoon so I could go work at a coffee shop for a few hours, and we told Hayden that maybe the Easter Bunny would come to hide the eggs at Grammy's house, and he could look for them later when we got done working!  Of course we probably shouldn't have said a word, because as soon as he got over there he was insistent on either seeing the Easter Bunny, or going out to find the eggs.  Finally my mom called me in desperation and said I needed to call her back pretending to be the Easter Bunny.  So there I am, at a table at Panera during busy lunch-time, talking to Hayden in my best imitation of a manly Easter bunny voice, telling him that I am going to come by later to hide his eggs and he needs to be a good boy and wait patiently!  Well, my mom said he had a cheshire cat grin on his face the whole conversation and was just thrilled that he had talked to the Easter Bunny!  Silly little wonderful boy.

Anyway, we all gathered after the work day ended at Grammy's house, and I hid all the eggs around their vast backyard.  Hayden ran all over, finding the eggs with small clues from us, and beamed with purpose every time he found one.  Once we gathered all eleven eggs, he repeatedly counted them out onto the grass and then loaded them back up into his basket.  They didn't even have candy in them, and there were no special toys or prizes, but just the act of finding the "beautiful colored eggs" as he called them, was pure excitement in itself.  The simple things in life are something that we don't often appreciate, and sometimes it takes a sweet little boy to show you how great life is.

Sweet little Pierce slept through the Easter Egg Hunt, but luckily he woke up in time to discover the joy of the little plastic fake grass in the easter basket, and distribute it all over the house LOL.

Now I have some funny photos.  When I was in Denmark for a business trip, I brought home a "Bevar Christiania" t-shirt for my then 10 month old Hayden.  Now, the story behind Christiana is interesting....and one I learned while I visited my brother while he studied abroad in Copenhagen about 7 years ago.  To be brief, Freetown Chrisiania is basically an attempt at a free society in the City of Copenhagen.  Chrisitiania is very controversial and many of its inhabitants, as well as tourists, wear shirts and buttons that say "Bevar Christiania."  In other words, Preserve Christiania.  I rembered that my brother had a big red sweatshirt with the three yellow circles and words "Bevar Christiana" from his time there, and when I saw it in baby-size, I couldn't resist for nostalgia sake.  I have some cute photos of Hayden wearing it as a pint-sized 10 month old, and I recently retired it for Pierce's use this spring.  Well....signals must have been crossed because somehow Hayden ended up wearing it a few days ago after Daddy got him dressed   It's rather inappropriately tight and short, but how funny!  Here are some photos of him from July 2008 and March 2010.

And of course I had to get one of little Pierce wearing it too   I'm not sure as adults they will agree with the political message, but I'm sure they'll agree they look dang cute!

Well t-minus about 40 hours until we are airport bound for London and Tuscany.  Life is very good, and we are so thankful to our friends and family who are seriously going ALL OUT to make this possible.  Of course I'm getting sad about leaving my loves for 8 days, but I'm thrilled about the adventure ahead, and know the boys are in great hands.  I may not blog before we go, so goodbye for now!