Mother's Day is this weekend. It is our annual time to pay homage to our Moms. I blog all the time about my Mom because she is just that awesome. She is my example on how to be a great Mom. One of the best compliments I have been paid by many people is that I am turning into my Mom. She is the fun mom, the crazy mom, the patient mom, and the money-wise mom (just to name a few). My sister and I have many childhood memories that involve water fights with my mom (who is usually the instigator). My mom was always willing to be the extra person for kickball or the goalie for soccer. My mom hunted all over the Milwaukee area for a toy I wanted (purple pieman for the strawberry shortcake set). My mom has the gift of making situations learning experiences and finding the good in the situation. She didn't cover or try to hide the bad or the hurt- in fact she cried with us but she taught us to laugh at ourselves. She is an amazing steward of money: she taught us the principles and led by example. In fact my mom leading by example and not just words is part of who she is. My mom is the glue that has held our family together through hurt, sickness, laughter, and joyous times. She is a wonderful partner with my Dad (who is also an amazing example). While there was usually laughter in our home, my mom also was balanced and lovingly disciplined us.
My favorite parenting book is the one not written by my mom. It is the memories of how she handled situations in my childhood. It is her always relevant bits of wisdom. It is her example. Her patience and selflessness are humbling to me.
My mom is also an awesome Geema. Geema is talked about a lot around here because Derek loves her so much. Really the only thing missing is that she needs to live down the street! I am very thankful that she gets to visit often.
Thank you Mom today, Mother's Day, and every day for who you are. We all love you lots and lots!
We had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. We took advantage of the warm sunny weather to go to the Coast on Saturday. It was Will and Nates first trip to the Coast and out of the Portland area. They were awesome. We only had minor spurts of crying on the drive. We got there in time for an early lunch at our favorite fish place. Then we all walked down to the beach. Derek was very good about holding hands and walking. Will and Nate hung out in a little tent we brought with. Mike and Derek went down by the water for a bit. Derek thought the water was too cold and the tide scared him a bit. He LOVED playing in the sand. We brought plenty of sand toys for him to enjoy. I think his favorite part was trying to put sand in my shirt and covering my feet. At 1:45 (about 30 minutes after his normal nap time), Derek announced he was all done with the beach and sand, put on his shoes, and preceded to pack up his toys. All righty then.. so we all packed up to head home. I am sure we were quite the sight, each adult with a baby in a front carrier (MIke used an ergo and I used my new babyhawk), a backpack, and a 2 year old between us. It was a great day!
Will and Nate are doing great. They are both becoming talkative. Will talks more during the day and Nate more at night once Daddy comes home. Will has amazing neck strength and loves his thumb. Nate is more local and likes his pacifier. Both are great eaters and sleepers. Our sweet boys.. Derek is an awesome big brother. He is very talkative, very friendly towards others, and helpful. In his zeal to be helpful he sometimes tries to pick up one of the boys. He has great intentions but we are trying to teach him that only adults get to pick up babies!
Mother's Day is this weekend. It is our annual time to pay homage to our Moms. I blog all the time about my Mom because she is just that awesome. She is my example on how to be a great Mom. One of the best compliments I have been paid by many people is that I am turning into my Mom. She is the fun mom, the crazy mom, the patient mom, and the money-wise mom (just to name a few). My sister and I have many childhood memories that involve water fights with my mom (who is usually the instigator). My mom was always willing to be the extra person for kickball or the goalie for soccer. My mom hunted all over the Milwaukee area for a toy I wanted (purple pieman for the strawberry shortcake set). My mom has the gift of making situations learning experiences and finding the good in the situation. She didn't cover or try to hide the bad or the hurt- in fact she cried with us but she taught us to laugh at ourselves. She is an amazing steward of money: she taught us the principles and led by example. In fact my mom leading by example and not just words is part of who she is. My mom is the glue that has held our family together through hurt, sickness, laughter, and joyous times. She is a wonderful partner with my Dad (who is also an amazing example). While there was usually laughter in our home, my mom also was balanced and lovingly disciplined us. 
Every day Derek sits and watches me dry my hair and use the curling iron. Well yesterday he decided to go to work. He grabbed his black and decker tools and started brushing my hair with a clamp and then curling it with a screwdriver. Then he opened the gate (apparently not Derek-proof) and went to get a hair tie. Then he tried to put my hair in a ponytail. Derek is awesome. We think he is a riot.
Derek has a favorite Elmo song called walk walk. He loves to dance and run around the house singing it.
