The Adventures of Amos and Eli

The Sweetest Peek

2011-03-23T08:24:00.001-06:00

We took a peek at this little sweetie today at our 20 week ultrasound. Each time we look in on our children I feel so very blessed to be the boring patient. It does not escape me how lucky and blessed we are to have uneventful pregnancies and healthy children, especially when I see them on ultrasound. I am struck in equal measure both by how unbelievably happy and thankful I am and by the fact that I have in no way earned this most precious of gifts.

There are beautiful, kind, mothering souls out there who have never had the boring ultrasound. Every time we have the boring ultrasound, I think of them.

And I am even more thankful to see our healthy little thumb sucker (see her up there?) resting comfortably and growing like a weed.

Two Men and a Little Lady

2011-02-19T20:33:00.004-07:00

Impatience got the best of us this time. Third time around we were just itching to find out who was coming to join our little family. So we scheduled an elective ultrasound to take a peek.

We are overjoyed to report that we're having a girl! We are all so excited to welcome a daughter in August!
Now I can finally dig out all the girl clothes I bought when I worked at Gymboree all those years ago. This baby is all set!

Amos' 1st Haircut!

2011-02-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

I resisted as long as I could. He's my baby. But we finally took baby A in for his first haircut. It was time to say goodbye to the Dumb and Dumber do.

He didn't love the idea.

That's better.

Sorry I don't have a better "after" photo. But, never fear. He still looks like my baby. Just less like Doc from Back to the Future.

The Adventures of Amos and Eli and???

2011-01-05T12:46:00.003-07:00

We would like to introduce you to the newest member of our brood. This sweet little critter will be joining his or her big brothers around August 11th! We had our first appointment this morning and all looks healthy and well with this little blessing!

Nothing says Christmas like a Glutony of Photos

2011-01-02T19:43:00.006-07:00

Sorry for the sparse blogging here lately. This ends up being where we do the big "Event in Review" posts like birthdays and Christmas. But if you want to see more of the day to day, you'll find that over at Happily Home Sewn - my crafty blog that gets a lot more attention these days because it's goes hand in hand with my etsy shop.

We'll try to do better. I smell a resolution!

So, as warned, here is a photo overkill post from our Christmas festivities. We had a lovely Christmas. The boys had so much fun with all their goodies and we had fun watching them have fun.

I hope that one's for me!

Eli's face says it all.

He was a bit groggy, but he got his second wind.

The boys got a kitchen for Grandma and Grandpa Decker and have not stopped playing with it, cooking up all sorts of delicious treats at "Cafe Eli."

Eli loved divvying out goodies from everyone's stockings. For days and days.

We went to the park Christmas afternoon. Amos strong armed these kids and climbed his way into their super cool power wheels. Classic.

It was a beautiful holiday and we hope yours was too!

Two Posts in One Day. Wha What?

2010-11-25T17:58:00.008-07:00

What I did on my summer...I mean Thanksgiving...vacation:

Did some swinging.

Listened to secrets from Aunt Joann.

Chilled out with my new buddy...Buddy.

Chased some kitties.

Beed cute. (There's a whole series of these found here. Trust me it's worth a click)

Played outside with Dad.

Posed with the fam.

Played charades. Two words. It's a dance move....Sprinkler Dance!

Watch a movie with my bro.

Looked cherubic.

And at the end of the day I jammed as many applesauce cookies as possible into my mouth gerbil style by the double fistfuls. And I was thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T09:19:00.003-07:00

We are whirlwind touring across North Carolina once again. We started in Black Mountain, then went our separate ways - Eric to a conference in Atlanta, the boys and me to see my Mom at the beach. We spent four unseasonably beautiful days in Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills. It was warm enough to frolic on the beach...some of us in our skivvies.

Today we're back in Black Mountain celebrating a lovely Thanksgiving with Eric and his Mom's family.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Just a few autumnal gems...

2010-11-16T00:02:00.001-07:00

...compliments of the Lazy Blogger.

Trick or Treat!

2010-11-02T21:15:00.001-06:00

Halloween night brought us a beautiful sunset fit for a lovely evening of soliciting free stuff from strangers. We joined some friends at their house in the burbs, had a spooky dinner and set off for tricks and treats!
Can you dig it?

They got the hang of it pretty quick.

Our crowd broke up pretty quickly. There were about 15 kids and their parent's in our group, so going all together was a bit ridiculous. Ironically, the racecar group was the slowest. I love how they're all doing their own thing in this shot.

Turtle crossing.

Nice trick.

A grand time was had by all.

Next year - smaller costume.

Iliff Picnic

2010-10-16T21:48:00.002-06:00

We went to the annual picnic at the Eric's school today. It was a great turn out. They ran out of food...but there was plenty of cute to go around.

Eli was leery of the kooky magician/balloon guy. But his trepidation paid off. He was the last little lad to get a balloon, after much coaxing from balloon guy. It was crazy awesome.

Pumpkin Patch 2010

2010-10-12T21:28:00.007-06:00

Saturday we made our 3rd annual trek to the Pumpkin Festival at the Botanic Gardens at Chatfield. We had to brave the crowds and schlepping without Dad this year, but I did get to park in handicapped parking, so that made it easier. And some lovely friends met us there, so that made it even better.

Eli's official costume wasn't ready yet, but we just happen to have on hand a pair of Aztec jaguar jammies the fella brought home from the British Museum. That'll work. So I whipped up a jaguar hood to go with...and Eli actually wore it.

He was a little too well camouflaged in the corn.
Amos revived the vintage tortoise look, circa 2008.

Keeping an eye out for those wily hidden jaguars.

Sweethearts Jon and Christa came too. They were such fun and a huge help!

Bird or Bug?

Intermission.

Cutie Leo!

Maya and Eli - Team Pumpkin!

Finding the perfect pumpkin is one dirty job!

What fun! Happy almost Halloween!

Photo Overload Volume IXMMV

2010-10-06T22:12:00.004-06:00

Here are a few (thousand) shots from some playtime in the yard. I'm having so much fun with these boys and this camera! I think the above shot is pure perfection. Other than the crop, I haven't altered it at all. The smile, the belly grab, the encircling background, the sun burst - so yummy!

Enter big brother...
And helicopter Dad!

Eli could not get enough!
But eventually Dad pooped out and so did Eli.
What fun!

Antics

2010-10-03T22:46:00.004-06:00

Amos is a regular riot these days. He's so close to walking, and you can tell he can taste it. He's taken up to five steps, and all day long he gets my attention and stands up, ready for more practice.
Baby A is as sweet and funny as he is cute, which is a lot. And for the moment he's a semi-stationary model, forced to succumb to my current photographic obsession (you can see the results of this week's photography lesson here. Good stuff.).
He's trying to get a good look at the birthday presents Eli's hoarding. See? That's a funny kid.

This morning Eli had a big time playing under the rug. Hy-sterical!

He thought he was sooooooo funny playing hide and seek from Amos. Amos was without a clue. Good times.

3rd Birthday Extravaganza!

2010-10-02T15:36:00.012-06:00

Get settled friends. This is a long one (with my new wonderful camera, they might all be this long from here on out).

Today is the 3rd birthday of the Amazing Eli Clay. Can you believe that? Neither can we. He is glorious. A prince among men. And the best comic relief I know of. He is sensitive, loving and kind, with a lightening quick wit and a very large brain inside that big ol' head. We love him to bits and are so grateful he's in our lives.

Today's birthday celebrations have been fantastic!

Part one - Eli gets a present.

I hadn't planned to do any presents until after the party and naps. But he woke up so sweet. So, I caved. Eric and I gave him his present from us early this morning. It's the Handy Manny Talking Tool Box and he loves it. You can see it in his sweet little face.

Poor patient Amos is waiting for the new to wear off so he can get his paws on those tools. He might be waiting a while. Eli did share - he offered Amos stretch, the tape measure. Slim pickens, but he'll take what he can get.

(p.s. We do having matching jammies, but who has time to match them?)

Part two: Eli has a party.
Thank goodness we planned a simple party in the playground outside our apartment. With the broken foot, I'm not sure I could have pulled off anything off-site or more intense. This was perfect. The weather was beautiful. The set-up was manageable. The kids were magical.

Oh - and the parents helped out so much! Thanks guys!

So we set up for a racecar themed shin-dig on the grass. (Note - the balloons are red and black, but they look hot-pink and black in the photos. Hot-pink and black would be a rockin' color scheme, but not for this party).
This is the first time I didn't say "No Gifts" on the invitations, so Eli wasn't quite sure what to do with the gifts. Poor Grace held this package out to him for a long while until I intervened and explained the present thing to him.

He figured it out:
He became obsessed with this gift in particular and toted it everywhere. Still got it.

The kids stamped a great fall mural with apples and fall foam stamps.

We remembered his birthday crown at the last minute yesterday - and added a third candle just in time.

Sweet Julia!
Why the pout?
Hooray for pizza delivery - another simple, foot/time saving short cut that worked beautifully!

Amos and Estelle had a grand time.

Once Eli got hip to the present thing, he got pretty sneaky about it.
Found one!

Amos, you've lost your juice box.

Reaching for the race flags while no one's looking.

Best moment of the day for Mama.
Cake time! You'll notice I'm not going on and on about the cake. It wasn't my best work...
but it'll do.

Eli had a grand time! He smiled and laughed so much!

He had one particularly hearty chuckle about the following:
Amos' cake face.

I put overalls on him today for a reason.

They may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!

Beautiful Birthday Boy.
Off to the races!
Eli waved his flag right off the stick. That's some good waving!

Go Sophie!
Amos and Leo!

The last event of the day was a mentos and soda geyser that Auntie Selena gave us. It was off-theme a bit, but soooo fun!
Jump shot.
Poor Amos left the party looking like a zombie. And I have to admit, I feel a bit like one. But I'm happy to report that we're on to...

Part 3: Eli takes a nap (as does Amos and his Mama).

New Camera Photo Fest

2010-10-01T10:00:00.009-06:00

Yesterday was the first session of an online photography class I'm taking called "Momtography." It's going to help me take better photos of the boys and the pieces I make for my etsy shop. Considering all our photos for the past few months have been taken with our iphones, we haven't done half bad.

I was so excited yesterday when a package arrived from my sister Madeline, the photographer. She helped facilitate the purchase of a snazzy new camera. It's a sony A-33 digital SLR that is 14 megapickles, records full hd video, and 7 frames per second, with live view on a TRU black 920 dpi swivel lcd screen with a lens. If none of that made sense to you, it didn't to me either. I copied it straight from her email.

I cracked it open this morning and I. AM. IN. LOVE.

Here are some shots I took today and consider these facts:
1)I have read nary a page of the manual and don't know how to work a sony A-33 digital SLR that is 14 megapickles, records full hd video, and 7 frames per second, with live view on a TRU black 920 dpi swivel lcd screen with a lens.
2)I have limited mobility, what with the broken foot. (Oh yeah, I broke my foot. For all the gory details on that, click here.)
3)The apartment isn't the best back drop these days, what with the broken foot and the lack of cleaning. Plus it's dark and the carpet is brown and ugly.

Handsome hubby, who, by the way, is going beyond the call of duty helping gimpy me, now that he's back from London.
Eli and Dad only made it in a few shots because they had to leave for school. More later for sure.

That's his flash face. The new camera's flash pops up and flashes, and that makes him scowl.

Beautiful boy.
No more photos!

I took these with me in them by just holding the camera out in a haphazard way. I love this camera.

Eee-gads. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. Just you wait until I've read the manual, figured this puppy out, and gotten tips from my class. I'ma be unstoppable!

In other news, we're thick into party prep around here for E's big 3rd birthday tomorrow!

The Fun on Campus Never Ends

2010-09-21T22:28:00.002-06:00

I hope you guys don't get tired of seeing pictures of the boys on campus, because we sure don't get tired of taking them.

There's always a new fun thing to check out. Today...a sculpture. Surrounded by a rock pit - bonus!
Trippy huh?

Hours of fun for the whole family.
He always breaks into the sillies tickly grin when he plays in the grass.
And we finish with a flip. Tada!

Blog Much? Neither do we apparently.

2010-09-15T23:15:00.005-06:00

Sorry for the break.

Here's a little fun we've gotten into the last day or two...
Literally - in to.

The boys love fall! School starts back. More students move into our building. They buy furniture and let the boys play in the boxes. Win, win, win, win!

Today we took a loooooong walk.
The primary destination was Ben and Jerry's. Clearly.
After B&J we meandered home through campus, stopping at all our favorite spots.
The pond. This is one of those places we go a lot. Ergo we have lots of photos here of our boys at all ages. So sometimes when I see them here it hits me: "GEEZ! They're huge!"

Eli ustacouldn't see over the rail. And now he stoops and can still rest his chin on it.

HUGE!

And sweet baby Amos came here as a two-day-old.
And today he started at one side of the rail, and step by step, grab by grab, made his way to the other side.
He's a gem.
I love this photo. It's making me even more excited about the photography class I recently signed up for.

And we finished off the adventure with a little brother snuggle.

Good stuff.

Birthday Party for Amos!

2010-08-29T22:11:00.000-06:00

A family photo! Astute observers will note that Eric is FaceTiming with his mom, whose face is on the phone.

Birthday boy!

Birthday crown!

Jessa made this magnificent cake. We had the party at Mellow Mushroom, where we took Amos on opening night when he was just over 48 hours old. They were having their 1-year anniversary celebration, Alice in Wonderland themed, so we piggybacked Amos' party.

Crawling around the patio.

We made birthday hats. Look at all the mad hatters!

There was a caricature artist. We got both boys' portraits done.

Brother of the birthday boy.

Thinking about walking for his birthday.

Opening a birthday card.

Right before blowing the candle out.

This lady was pretty cool. The kids couldn't get over how tall she was.

Babyville.

Brothers.

General party chaos.

More mad hatting.

Cake detail.

Mushrooms on the cake, since we were holding the party at the Mellow Mushroom.

Curious George.

Birthday boy and mom.

Cake!

More cake detail.

Flower.

He made quite a cake mess.

Surprised cake face.

A field of cake destruction.

Gnawing on the fork.

Eli lent a hand.

He soon turned his wrath on the crown.

Crown off.

More cake!

Surprised cake face.

Gimme that camera!

Amos kept at it for a while.

Amos opened lots of good presents! Unfortunately Eli has taken over this one.

Birthdays are exhausting.

Bounce!

2010-08-14T22:19:00.000-06:00

Tonight we went to a reception/party for a departing member of the church staff. We spent most of the night, however, on the hosts' trampoline. Check it out:

Apple?

Pure unbridled joy. Note the vegetation
in his mouth.

Brother bounce.

Static hair.

Static hair again.

Don't worry, he's not landing this way. He's
showing off his forward roll from gymnastics.

This is a video of Jessa, Amos, and Eli on their backs on the trampoline while I bounced them. They were all laughing so hard they could barely breathe.

Eli got a big kick out of pushing over his trampoline buddies, Addyson and Chloe.

Children's Museum

2010-08-09T16:30:00.003-06:00

Compliments of the Lazy Blogger.

Community Camp '10

2010-07-31T16:44:00.005-06:00

We just spent a week at our church's Community Camp down at La Foret, near Colorado Springs. It was our fourth year doing this camp (that doesn't seem possible), but the first time with two kids, which is its own brand of crazy. Below are tons and tons of photos from the week.

Dancing with mama at the square dance.

Just being sweet.

Amos often ended up in mama's bunk, and occasionally toppled over the edge.

The meadow.

Eli won a medal for his bottle rocket, "Eli's Wild Ride." He won Most Suspenseful Launch.

Eli spent most of the week cornering adults and holding them captive. Here, Eli chats with Dave during the bottle rocket launches.

Amos eating something.

Amos chowed down during the bottle rocket launch.

He somehow lost his shirt.

Friday afternoon and night it rained a lot, and so Eli decided to play in this huge puddle.

Happy in the trees, with his tie-dyed shirt.

Crashed out.

Amos insisted on eating dirt and sticks and pine needles, and eventually we stopped trying to stop him.

Eric and Jessa both played in the camp tennis tournament, but not together. Maybe next year....

Amos at the chapel at this morning's closing service.

Eli at the Chapel.

Eli looking out over the ravine behind the chapel.

The closest I could get to a pose. He doesn't like to pose these days.

The front-facing option on the iPhone is handy in situations like these.

Amos is asleep in his car seat in his pack 'n play (see his feet?).

Zzzzzzzzz.

At the Dining Hall.

At the pool.

Sharing a shopping cart on a Target run.

This was the view each morning,
as Amos' pack n play was right between our bunks.

At the Dining Hall.

Eli as a wookie at Star Wars night.

Playing with Brian in the woods.

Just hanging out on the back porch.

Amos got an official camp name tag!

The post-pool towel look.

Swimming.

Amos' bottle rocket: Mouse in Space.

Father and son.

Either going to or coming from the pool.

Dining Hall again.

Camp is exhausting.

Twice the Fun at Tiny Town

2010-07-20T15:03:00.006-06:00

We took sweet A to one of our old favorite haunts, World Famous Tiny Town and Railroad. I'm sure you've heard of it. We took Eli back when we lived in the mountain house.

I'm going to let the photos do the heavy lifting on this post...

(Eli's waving to deer).

Amos is much more adventurous on the playground then Eli was at his age. He was sliding, climbing, crawling up a storm and laughing his chubby cheeks off!

We took the obligatory ride on the Tiny Town Train. Eli was not pro the idea but he did great.
Amos was pro all the way.
My cautious boy. He ended up very happy - and by "ended up" I'm referring to once we got off the train, went in the gift shop and bought some Tiny Town merch. Specifically, a truck.

Ok, back to kid business.

2010-07-18T15:50:00.005-06:00

The boys and I went on a little adventure this morning (that's right. church smurch). We walked to the little Pearl Street Farmer's Market.

It's a great little market. It's smaller than our normal Saturday Cherry Creek Farmer's Market. It has all the fresh goodies, but no Biscuit Bus :-(. But, as a bonus, all the fun little Pearl Street shops are open.The boys got their faces painted. Eli made Amos go first. He got a mouse.
Eli wanted an elephant (in honor of Harry), but the face painter wasn't feeling too confident in elephant drawing, so he chose from her sheet of options.
A baseball. That's random.
We had just arrived and he was already fading. But he perked up after some water and snacks.
I just love boys in stripes.
We came upon our buddies Luca, Elsa, Courtney, and Fausto! While Luca was sidewalk chalking, Eli thought he might get away with stealing his lovey monkey. No such luck.
Then we walked to Illegal Pete's for lunch (seems wrong to leave the Farmer's Market to get lunch, but we walked there, had breakfast, walked almost home, and by that point we were hungry again and it was almost noon).
Eli had an excellent sweat-hawk.
Amos scored all organic farmer's market duds because I didn't change him out of his footy pajamas before our walk and it got hot real fast. He looks so cute.
Fading again but almost home. That little thing there is a genius invention. It's a car shaped fingernail clipper. Eli let me clip his nails with it for the first time EVER without a fight.
It was quite a lovely morning. Now two boys are asleep on the floor (Amos and Eric) and one in the bed (Eli). Good Sunday.

Kid-free entry. Date Night!

2010-07-18T15:34:00.004-06:00

If you come here for pictures of the boys, you're going to be disappointed. This one's all about the grown ups. We went on a date. Alone. Last night. Before the kids were even in bed.

It was amazing. We started out at this new little pizza joint called Kaos. I don't think they have a website, but you can check them out on facebook here. It has the most beautiful patio and the food was insane. This is an occasion to document with our new iphones! We're such dorks.

This was my dinner companion (I mean besides Eric). The patio has great vintage wrought iron furniture, church pews, sweet critters, herbs growing at your feet and a much needed gentle mist machine (it was 101 degrees yesterday). The atmosphere was perfect.

We sat under this beautiful misty canopy covered in trumpet vine.

The capresse salad and pizza were amazing. The sangria was spot on.

Sorry guys. No more blogging. Gotta go get some pizza.

**Revision** - I forgot to mention what we did after Kaos. We went to see Inception. It was great. But more importantly...pizza...(drool).

Iphone birthday fun!

2010-07-13T21:37:00.008-06:00

A very generous Gram gave Eric and me iPhones. These phones are way cooler than we are and we're both totally dorking out on them.

They take great photos and will be our go-to cameras from here on out I suspect.

Before we get to the birthday fun - a pitiful but very cute little detour.
Eli visited the doc today to check in on his giant tonsils.

Dr.'s report: Yes. His tonsils are huge. No. We're not concerned.

They did however want to draw blood to check on a possible egg allergy. I thought it would be a pitiful fest - but Mr. Tough Guy expressed nary a whimper! I cry more when I get blood drawn. I was amazed.He did like the sympathy of showing off his bandage though, and kept talking about the lady who gave him a "hole."
Man that child is beautiful.

Now...onto the birthday fun! Eric got home from his 8 day mission trip in Miami today. YAY!
Tonight we got dinner at Mellow Mushroom, then icecream, then played in the fountain.
Amos was fearless and got completely soaked. He shivered and turned a bit blue - but loved every second.

Little break.

We love the rotate feature of the iphone camera. Just push one button and the point of view changes to looking right at you. It always cracks Eli up.
Everybody was worn plumb out. They're snoozing away and Eric and I are fiddling away on the new phones.

Great day.

The Rare Colorado Puddle!

2010-07-06T16:10:00.004-06:00

Look - we found one! There were crazy storms on the 4th, which lead to crazy puddles on the 5th
Splash!
He looks happy, but like he's up to something.
Puddle yogi.
See - so. close. to. walking.

I'm going to win that twenty bucks.
Oooooo. That face! That soggy butt! Love him.
It looks so serene, but I had to sploosh through the puddle to extract whatever that was he plucked out of the water and jammed in his mouth.
Little puddle parade!
This was our second jaunt to the puddle this day. When you find one you gotta make the best of it!

Playdate

2010-07-05T21:06:00.003-06:00

Eli's buddy Luca and Amos' lady friend Elsa came over today for the standard Eli and Amos' house playdate. It goes like this:
We play in our apartment and on the porch/sandbox.
We wander on campus.
We eat at Mustard's Last Stand.
We get icecream at Ben and Jerry's.

Pretty sweet right? Don't worry. You're invited to the next one.Sweethearts.

Elsa dancing with Mama Courtney.

These boys are in a fabulous phase where they continually crack each other up. It's fabulous.

Yes Amos?

Both their expressions say a lot here.

Yum!

Eli and Luca like to go to work. They pack up the little car box and say, "We're going to work. See you when we get home." Such good work ethic.

House full of happy boys. And Elsa.

Amos is such a lovey little bundle right now. He's perfect. I know he's only 10 months, but I swear he's about to walk. He's always been physically adept. Even in my belly he got where he wanted to get.

Bet you $20 he walks before a year (I don't say that from a competitive place. I think you lose the need to baby compare after the first born.).

Roomies

2010-06-29T15:06:00.002-06:00

We recently moved the boys into the same room. It's going smashingly. Literally.

They really like being together. They laugh and cut up.

But when Eli wakes up (or before they get to sleep) he throws everything that's not nailed down into Amos' crib. It started out funny, until Amos took a book to the nose. We knew by the intensity of the cry that it was bad news. And sure enough he got a nice bloody nose. Poor Amos.

So more often than not these days, he ends up here:He has his own little nest on our bedroom floor.

Poor Amos.

Bubbles

2010-06-17T14:23:00.007-06:00

We're still in camera no-man's-land, since the battery charger for our actual camera got left behind in Denver. So we're making do with our mediocre cell phone cameras. This morning we spent about an hour making gigantic bubbles.

That's Amos' hand, chasing a bubble.

The Renup

2010-06-15T14:22:00.002-06:00

We celebrated 10 years of marriage among good friends and beachy goodness last week. The "Renup" as we've called it for months now, was more fitting and perfect then we ever envisioned it. It started with an informal walk to the shore at sunset. Our friends crafted a lovely sandy seashell isle and wedding spot for us.

Amos and Eli were perfect little best men:
Amos thought his boutonniere was tasty.

Incidentally, I'm really glad I decided to hire a professional to make a bouquet for me and boutonnieres for the fellas. I originally thought I might fashion some out of the blossoms on the beautiful bushes in the front yard of the beach house. Although since Amos spent the entire ceremony devouring his, I'm really glad I didn't use what was later identified as a poisonous Oleander bush.

The lovely and talented Rev. Sunny B. Ridings re-married us with these beautiful words.

And to seal the deal, Sunny invited me to kiss my groom. Don't mind if I do.

After a love fest of kind words between all the guests and participants, and a few gazillion photos, we meandered down the beach where a Renup worthy tide pool was forming. Eli was giddy and spent the rest of the daylight swimming and splashing with delight. Once dark set in, we wandered back to the house, put the best men to bed, re-danced our first dance on the deck to Etta James' At Last, just like the first time. Eric catered the occasion with his to die for gourmet pizzas. And a beautiful time was had by all.

More Beach Week and Renup photos to come, I'm sure.

The Ocean Agrees with Them

2010-06-08T20:17:00.003-06:00

Amos and Yaya Photos by Marc Stowe

Don't these two look alive and exuberant and absolutely smitten with one another?

Amos and his Yaya and the ocean make one great trio.

And this little sailor looks pretty seaworthy himself:
Big E did not actually get this vessel out to sea, but Marc did. With a gleam and his eye Marc set sail. Yaya was eager to be his first mate. I nicknamed them the Captain and Tennille. And by golly, love will keep them together.

This Is Why Summer Is Awesome

2010-05-29T14:03:00.008-06:00

Today was a divide-and-conquer kind of day. Jessa had a shower to attend, so she took Amos for the day, and Eric took Eli. On the E-squared side of things, we started out the day at the Farmers' Market (and the Biscuit Bus, of course), then ran by the grocery store to buy fruit and veggies for Jessa to take to the shower. After a quick stop at home to drop off the groceries, we went over to Southglenn, where Eli played in the fountain for well over an hour, and then had some lunch at the Mellow Mushroom. Here are some photos from the fountain.

2010-05-27T07:30:00.004-06:00

(Wedding Photos by Peter Decker)

Ten years ago...

Surrounded by friends...
and family (some barefoot)...
We exchanged these vows...

You are my dearest friend and deepest love,
and I am so happy that on this day I will call you my wife (husband).

From this moment on I promise to love you.
I promise to treat you with honor and respect.
I promise to embrace you each day with kindness.
I vow to be devoted to our love with honesty and vigor.

I will take great joy in you.

You are my greatest bliss, a source of my strength,
and an instrument of my growth and happiness.

I thank our God eternally for you and with his grace,
give myself completely unto you , from this day forward.

And a kiss.

We celebrated.
We danced.
We frolicked.
We loved.

I'm having a sale!

2010-05-24T14:35:00.006-06:00

Sorry guys - I promise to keep this blog mostly family - but I'd hate for our loyal friends and readers to miss out on a bargain!

These are just a few of the items I have just put on sale in my first ever Happily Home Sewn etsy Sample Sale!

Don't delay -End of May Sample Sale items will be 20% off through midnight on May 31st only!

Need a baby gift soon? You're in luck! There are lots of cute new baby pants/onesie sets I have samples of that need to find a good home!
Take a look and see if there's a goodie calling your name!

Fountain Fun

2010-05-23T23:44:00.002-06:00

There's a new spot in town that has our favorite restaurant (Mellow Mushroom) and our favorite fountain. On a beautiful day like today, it was the perfect destination. And the grass watering sprinklers were a total bonus.Yum.

So big!

Fun fun!

Baby in Bubble Suit

2010-05-17T22:07:00.004-06:00

This kid just can't get cuter.

That one's not bad either.
Bye!
(That's A's new talent. He waves.)

Seattle Fun

2010-05-08T23:11:00.005-06:00

So, a week or so ago, my youngest sister called. She was hatching a plan. A birthday surprise for my Mom.

The surprise? Us. The lovely Michelle not only hooked us up with passes from her sweet job with Horizon, she flew out to Denver to help schlep the boys and me to Seattle.

We arrived on Wednesday - which also happened to be Cinco de Mayo - and - Michelle's 21st birthday. I'm really glad I was there to help keep her out of too much trouble.
Once we arrived we traded sisters, and spent the day running around University Village with Maddie.
Optical illusion?
No. Toddler entertainment.

Hiding.
That evening we surprised Mom with a dinner with all her children, their significant others (except Eric - sadly), and children at the Melting Pot. Yum. Somehow none of us remembered to bring out our cameras to document this momentous event. To busy fonduing.

After that Maddie and I took Michelle out to celebrate the big 2-1. No photos of this either. Thankfully.

On Friday, Mom, Michelle, the boys and I spent the. most. gorgeous. day at I-don't-know-what beach near Everett WA.

There were eagles overhead, amazing big puffy clouds, ocean and sand - but best of all...

That sweet face! It's too much.
Sweet beachy nap.
Eli and Yaya had oodles of beachy fun, fishing, digging, and playing driftwood games.

It was a too quick, but oh so sweet trip! What fun to celebrate two big birthdays, and almost Mothers' Day with these lovelies. Great idea Michelle!

Today was for fun.

2010-05-03T23:25:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was for work (boo).
Tomorrow is for laundry (double boo) and packing.

Today was for fun.
It was for friends.
For playing in the park.
For book babies at the library and picnics.
And sewing (for more on that and a giveaway, click here).

Good day.

Picnic with Andrew and Kaite

2010-04-26T08:52:00.006-06:00

Get comfy folks...

We had a lovely afternoon with friends, surrogate aunt and uncle, apartment mates, fellow Mars Hill alums and Asheville expats Andrew and Katie. They are Eli's absolute favorite people.

Fishing in the fountain! Looks like Grandpa Ken!

It is absolutely beautiful on campus and we're so lucky to live here!

Amos' post-picnic scavenge was a big success.

We love Andrew and Katie and are so glad they're in our boys lives!

Boys and blossoms.

2010-04-23T19:52:00.003-06:00

We stopped to play in the springy goodness near the wandering fountain on campus the other day. Amos wouldn't look at me and Eli wouldn't come near me. Too busy playing...just as they should be.

Eli's going to end up in that fountain someday. Mark my words.
Big man loves to stand!
I'm not sure what happened in this photo, but it was the only one like it and I love it.

Too Tired for Words. Solamente Photos.

2010-04-18T22:31:00.004-06:00

Fun in the Sun

2010-04-16T22:27:00.003-06:00

Generally at least once daily we throw down a blanket and have a picnic on the quad outside our building. Who wants to eat indoors, when you can frolic and play and let crumbs fly everywhere?

The only trouble is, those bells ring really loud at 9am, noon, and 6pm, and if you're not ready for it, it'll scare the britches off ya.
Amos is poised to crawl any day now.
Sunscreen mohawk.
Today we had a lovely swim at our friend Inara's house.

Rawr.

Yuh Me.

2010-04-10T20:06:00.004-06:00

Just a couple of sweet shots from a gorgeous afternoon on campus.

That's not just a dance. Eli's playing "shoe ball." Sadly, the equipment did not make it home from the game. He's now shoeless.

That one there - it cracks me up!
Eli has one heckuva cute belly button.

Ooooweee! He's irresistible!

G'night!

Play

2010-04-07T22:13:00.002-06:00

We can't get enough of wandering around this beautiful campus. Eli's new thing is to tuck a weed into his mouth like a farmer. Classic.

Amos' thing is eating anything within his grasp.

The other day I walked the boys to the park about a mile away. Then we walked to a restaurant to meet friends for lunch. On the way they both fell asleep. It was like a mini-vacation. I got to use a public restroom and eat my lunch without anyone needing me. It was super sweet.
Eli slept through lunch and all the way home and for about an hour and a half on the porch. He's 100% asleep in the above photos, eyes half open. Creepy huh?
Today we went to the Children's Museum. Elmo and Cookie Monster came to story time. FUN!
Amos fell asleep and I laid him down in the babies only area.
So sweet!
"Wake up Amos! Elmo is coming!"

Easter Fun.

2010-04-04T21:15:00.005-06:00

Happy Easter All! It was a lovely day and the boys had a blast. Hope yours was a delight!Last night we did the Easter Bunny prep. The bunny brought a sandbox and 6 bags of sand up three flights of stairs. That's one strong bunny!
Under cover of darkness I went to work decorating the new sandy play area.
Pretty sweet.
You want to come over and play, don't you?
It was a hit!

I took about 90 of these shadow shots. Priceless.
Happy 1st Easter Amos!
Delish!
I can't tell you if that's a yawn, a hollar, or an Easter Bunny sighting.
Mmmm! Yummy boys in their sweet Easter outfits! I have been waiting to dress them in their Mama-made boat pants and it was worth the wait!
Dad and E.
The church egg hunt was oh so fun! I love this phase when I can just plunk Amos in the grass and he's content and stationary. How long you think that'll last?
Man I love these guys.
Eli's buddies, Inara and Maya met us at church for the Easter festivities. I love how not-at-all-interested they all are in the four adults waving at them trying to get them to smile and look at the cameras.
Nom nom.
Lovely lovely.
Easter snuggle.

And, here came the Easter bunny. Amos was not a fan.
But Eli got real chummy with him.
Happier here. Twins?
Home from church and back to the sandbox. And boy oh boy did the sugar kick in after that. Eli played through his nap and then was off the wall for hours. We spent the last few hours of the day letting him roam and run around campus. He was wired until Eric tucked him into bed and we haven't heard a peep since. Very unusual.

Happy Easter All!

Big News!

2010-03-30T22:04:00.004-06:00

My little crafty buddies and I are taking our craft show on the virtual road! I have started another blog to chronicle the crafting adventures that happen around here. I have also started selling my creations on etsy.com.

I have so much fun making things with and for my sweet boys. It has been so fun to tell the tales of what we get into around here. The new blog is called Happily Home Sewn, and you can find it at HappilyHomeSewn.blogspot.com. Bookmark it and check back often! (Take a look at my newest post: Make the Shift! I was featured as a Mother of Invention on a motherhood blog called The Make Shift Revolution. Check it out here!)

Don't worry. This will still be the main place where we report on the antics of Amos and Eli.

If you'd like to see the items I have put up for sell on etsy, you can find it at:

http://happilyhomesewn.etsy.com/

I only have a few pieces, mostly baby/toddler pants listed so far, so check back in a bit. I'll be adding purses/diaper bags, and sweet little dresses soon!

Playtime

2010-03-30T21:50:00.005-06:00

Something went amiss during the night for dear sweet Amos. He got all tangled up.
Happy Easter!
This kid, is a big old mush of love and happiness. He is a crack up!

It makes me so happy that he's so happy!
We had a playdate with Luca and Elsa the other morning. What fun! Elsa makes Amos look HUGE!
Be a gentle giant Amos!
Luca and Eli had a blast. Eli is like a different boys these days. He's progressed so much in language, social comfort, and potty-ing. I am constantly amazed!
If you happen to see Eli walking toward you in this hat and these boots, he is sure to tell you, "I'm an urban cowboy."
Spring. Finally!
Hi cutie pants.
Picnic face.
Eli did the same thing in one of his first baby swing experiences. Classic!

Way, way, way...

2010-03-25T13:49:00.011-06:00

too many pictures.

So let's take them in genres, shall we?

First...snow. We've had some peeks of spring, but this week we had two last (hopefully!) big drops of snow.

Eating snow.

And now...Amos puppy.

Baseball anyone?

Playing on the porch.

Eli's new fav. activity - feeding the birds (read: squirrels).

And now...a picnic!

Playin' his spoon like a tiny guitar.

My favorite genre: sleep.
Amos snoozed through St. Paddy's Day brunch with Melinda and Roger.

We've been finding Eli sleeping on the floor a lot lately. Usually he falls asleep in front of his door while he's trying to con his way out of bedtime.

There's no specific genre for this one. It's just cute:
Dad: "What's on your head Eli?"
Eli: "Nuffin."

And our final theme: Spring, would you get here and stay already?!
Yesterday Eli and I made two springy wreaths. It was so so fun.

Don't let those 8 inches of snow fool you. It's time to take down the ice skates.
And put up some spring!
Love it! I learned how to make this wreath here:
http://suaviloquy.blogspot.com/2010/01/as-promised.html

And it is beautiful. No more snow.

A. Dorable.

2010-03-13T21:18:00.002-07:00

Amos and his BFF Leo.
Whoa Leo, you're toppling!

Love these boys! They're one week apart and oh so sweet.
Love that one too.

Amos's 1st Swim

2010-03-13T12:06:00.006-07:00

Sweet little A had his first Friday swim yesterday. Friday swims were a weekly tradition for us before Eli started going to preschool on Fridays. But now Amos is big enough to take his place in the group. Yesterday was his 1st dip in the pool and he was a huge fan! Sorry for the fuzzy shots. It was steamy in there!
Amos played in my arms for the first 20 minutes, then he fell asleep on my shoulder for a half hour. It was so sweet bobbing around in the warm water with my sleeping boy.
Then after his aquatic snooze he tried out the floaty.
Loved it.

He was the last kiddo out of the pool (not to worry, there are a bunch of Mamas cracking up but on the ready, just out of frame).
Caught one!
What fun! Can't wait til next week.
He has also reached big boy bathing phase! So FUN!
And just for fun...Amos models the newest diaper bag for my Etsy shop.
Delish! Still working on getting the site up. I'll let you know.

Models of Cuteness

2010-03-09T21:15:00.004-07:00

Well folks...many of you have urged me to do this and I'm finally taking the plunge. I'm soon to open my very own Etsy.com shop which I intend to call Happily Home Sewn. I'll link to it once it's up and running. So I've been sewing up a storm and getting things ready for my shop's grand opening.

I couldn't ask for better models, wiggly though they may be.

Mmmmm! Love it!

I'll keep you posted!

Goodmorning Sunshine!

2010-03-02T22:09:00.004-07:00

Finally the mercury is rising around here. Today was in the fifties and absolutely beautiful and the boys and I ate it up!

Eli was so giddy he was hugging everything in sight!

(Insert tree hugger reference here).
And now for some redundant cuteness. Oh so yummy!

We love you sunshine. Come back soon!

Amos' Almost Half Birthday!

2010-02-28T22:31:00.002-07:00

Sweet Amos Mouse is 6 months old! Well...he's slightly less than six months, but seeing as how this year leaps, and there is no Feb. 29, we had to make it work. (Ooops, got a picture of the ugly side of the cake).
Now the pretty side! That is not a ponytail skull cake...it's a mouse cake! Get it: >1/2?
Amos' party guests: Andrew, Katie, and blue icing covered Eli!
Eli : Harry :: Amos : Jelly Mouse! Jelly Mouse diligently watches over our sleeping boy.
What a good mouse.
Birthday Boat Pants Boys!!!

Chairs and other random goodness.

2010-02-21T17:09:00.004-07:00

Cheapo Rocking Chair Before....
Fabulous Rocking Chair After. Thanks IKEA for this delicious tree fabric.
Monster pants and chucks. That's my kinda style.
Chillin'.
We're back from the laundry room.
Today we went to play with our buddies Miles and Owen. Amos spent the whole playdate jumping in their jumper (seen here).
Their Mama Eve and I worked out a trade! She lent us the fabulous jumper and we lent her our excersaucer for Owen. Sweet! Eric reports that while I was at the movies Amos jumped the whole time, nodding off periodically. We made a good trade!

Celebrate Valentines Day with...

2010-02-14T16:34:00.001-07:00

Three fellas in matching pjs!

I can eat that cupcake in...one bite.

2010-02-10T10:26:00.001-07:00

EAT! THAT! CUPCAKE!