Long Days...In a Good Way

The longer days have been a joy. When Garett gets home and the sun is still shining the days are just so much better. I has also been nice that Wyatt is now usually sleeping until 7.

We are learning how to be parents to our increasingly sassy boy. The words and tone kill me and I can sometimes hear my thirteen year old self in my four year old child. Any good book recommendations? Or general encouragement? I need it.

The house project is moving along. A midpoint inspection is taking place this week and then the drywall goes up. After that it's pretty much all of the finishes that will happen. We are still hoping to be done in May and continue to be thankful for our contractor. We've experienced a high level of communication throughout the project and feel like it's really been a team effort. The joyful part for me has been the creativity that Garett and I are taking part in most days. We have fun creating together and it's been fun looking at different ways to use non-traditional materials. For example, yesterday Garett suggested legos or tailgates for our fireplace mantle. We probably won't do either of those but the fact that Garett came up with that makes me love him even more. The minutiae of daily decision-making can be a bit much for me but we are trying to keep moving forward and feeling thankful for the gift of this home.

In some ways this project feels like the opposite of this season of Lent so I'm asking God to give me more opportunities to think of others. It is amazing how God answers that prayer in real ways. Garett and I are not watching television right now and that has been surprisingly heart expanding. We're talking, reading and sleeping more, and I love it. I'm not sure I'm ready to commit for the long haul but I can see how that would be a good thing for us.

Four

Wyatt turned four yesterday. To celebrate we rode our bikes down to the beach with a picnic dinner. The time change gave us more daylight and we enjoyed the beauty of our surroundings.

Three has been a long year with high highs and low lows. I've laughed more than I thought possible and said things that I never pictured saying like, "Please don't stand on the toilet seat while you are peeing." We've discovered the wonder of Nick Jr. on television and embraced a love of sharks, dinosaurs, and pretty much all living creatures. Wyatt asks a lot of questions about how things work together and how things are made. He seems a lot like his dad in this way. Bikes rides are daily and he can find mud anywhere and have it all over his body in a matter of seconds. I always keep a change of clothes or two in the car for any given outing. I sometimes assume that Wyatt is following along with us with the details of life and then he asks me, "Mommy, will I ever see my things from my bedroom again?" and I see that sometimes I forget to explain things like our construction project thoroughly to him. One of my favorite moments each day is when he wakes up from an afternoon rest and wants to snuggle up with me for a bit. He curls his growing body into my lap and rests his head on my chest while he holds his blue blanket in his mouth and sucks his thumb. While I am usually sad that his rest has come to an end, it does make it a bit more sweet. Wyatt has a zest for life that bubbles up and out during even the most simple life moments. A decorative tree in my mom's bathroom becomes a laser beam shooter. My iPod becomes an activator to make monsters appear. The cardboard tube from our friend Uma becomes a Spiderman tool. Wyatt believes himself to be an expert negotiator and I am learning how to nip it in the bud with a line borrowed from a wise friend that goes, "Wyatt, I love you too much to argue with you."

There have been moments this year when I've wished that I could just push fast forward to get to the "easier" part but I'm glad I didn't have that option because I would have missed so much. I am thankful for my spirited, strong, and tender hearted boy and am curious to see how four unfolds.

Birthday Bonfire

Last night we had a bonfire in Cayucos to celebrate the birthdays of my two favorite boys. We were given the gift of an especially warm, clear day. We hung out, roasted marshmallows and the kids got to be wild on the beach. Or wait, was that just my wild child? Wyatt was in the ocean up to his waist in his jeans, shirts, shoes and socks within the hour. Thankfully his thoughtful friend brought an extra swimsuit for him. We sang Happy Birthday to a ukulele played by an exceptionally talented and lovely friend and sipped hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows (which were better in the hot drink than roasted because they started melting away pretty quickly). We are thankful for friends who often feel like family in all the best ways.