Dear Casey (19 months)

Dear Casey,

You are 19 months and I really meant to be writing stuff down more often but the holidays were here and I was too busy and distracted to even attempt. (Also, you will learn as you get way older that I get a little stressed and overwhelmed around the holidays but I am trying really hard to make them special for you.)

It was so much easier to write about you when you were just hitting milestones.

You rolled over! Yay!

You started eating! Yay!

You are walking! Yay!

You are still hitting milestones, of course, but it is much more than that. You have a will now. You have thoughts and plans and schemes and frustrations and feelings. I can see all of them in your perfect eyes. And you are talking a lot. Some words very clearly. Outside. Airplane. Apple. Bubble. But you can't always verbalize what you want or need and I know it is frustrating for you. It is frustrating for me, too.

And sometimes you take your frustration out on Rose. (That was your first two-word phrase : NoNo Rose! And Rose sounds alot more like 'wos') And so do I, so I get it. This is just a phase little baby. As Grandma Lauri says, 'This will pass." And that is what I want to talk about.

All of this will pass.

I can already tell how much quicker this year is going. I just want it all to stop. Or at least slow down so I can enjoy it. Spending days with you is the most fun I have every had. I really mean that. We have TONS of fun together. We played this game tonight when you in the bath. You would call my name, I would lean towards you, you would splash, and I would pretend you got me all wet. You laughed forever. It was the absolute best.

Know that I am trying to soak it in. And know how much I absolutely adore you. And know that my love for you has no limit at all. You really must know these things.

And also know that being a mom is hard and there are lots of days where my exhaustion/frustration/lack of self are through the roof and it is hard to remember how important these days are. These incredibly special years.

I know you won't really remember, but I just had to write it all down. Because we are on this journey together. Figuring out life and all that. And it really isn't easy at all.

(When I starting writing, I was really planning on keeping it light. Sorry, kid. You get what you get.)

Love you.

Grass!

Very happy to announce that winter around the Swen house has been full of projects! Things are getting done, people! 

As our Christmas present from Jay's parents, we got sod! There is no other explanation needed. So, have a look at the Before & Afters!

In this last picture, you can see that there is another addition! String lights! Hellllllo, patio party!!!

We got 100 feet of sting lights as a Christmas gift from my parents and Jay ( & brother-in-law Teddy) had them up before New Years. Productivity is a great thing.

Looking forward to all the projects (and repairs) of 2016 to our Verde Street.

A New mailbox and Halloween

I have some major blog catchup to do... So here goes a very odd combination of events!

First, here is a before shot of our mailbox:

Here is a shot of our new mailbox behind Lyra the giraffe:

Which brings us to Halloween! This year was super relaxed. Casey and Lyra were both giraffes, and Eleanor and Elio were a flower and a peapod, respectively. Everyone came over, hung out, had food, and basically did nothing but talk about babies. (Are we even interesting people at all?) 

There were many attempts at picture taking, including a group cousin shot. It looks like just a pile of stuffed animals really. We took the big kids to a few houses and let them paint pumpkins. Overall, very quite and relaxed. Now, time for the pictures!

And yes, we let Casey eat paint. It was non-toxic and he is still alive. No mom-guilt there.

Also, giraffe Lyra in flip-flops?!? Kills me everytime.

This is what we wanted.

So awhile back, we had plans to take a trip to Portland to meet Jayson's nephew. We were pumped. We were taking a day off work; it was practically vacation. And then there was a mudslide on the 5 and no way to get to LA. We tried and tried again to rearrange plans. But sometimes you just have to give up. And we did.

Thankfully, we were home when our backyard had a mudslide of its own.

There was some slight panic when we looked in the backyard and saw one large puddle. Thanks to Jay's handman skills, he was able to turn the water off at the main and stop the water flow. From that point, there was lots of digging, mud, friends who brought food and beer (still thanking God for them) and putting the pipe back together.  And a reminder to ourselves that 'repair' is the name of the game when it comes to old homes. 

We have had a couple things brake on us since moving in. A/C, the pipe pictured, and the one remaining cast iron pipe behind our sink (resulting in only minor basement flooding). Nothing we can't handle. Or Jayson can't handle. I will stick to the less manual labor type of home duties.