February Moments

In June, we'll have lived in our house for six years.  And for six years, I've looked at this every time I close the door to the boys' bathroom:

And I've often thought to myself, "I should really paint over that."  But yet it remains, partly because I am lazy and have too many other more important things on my to-do list, but partly because it somehow feels wrong to paint over it.  We have our own little growth chart going at the top of the basement stairs, and it makes me sad to think that someday someone else will live in this house and will inevitably erase my boys' names and the physical record of just how tall they were at various points in their childhood.

These snapshots, these moments in time that we parents record and document, these are our way of freezing time, if only for a split second.  These are our attempts to capture just a few of the infinite number of moments we'd like to capture, to turn this parenting experience into a string of memories that will stay with us forever.

As the boys get older and life gets busier and "big" milestones are fewer and farther between, turning to my little blog to document our life is not as automatic as it once was.  With less to "report", weeks whiz by before I think to write.  But I am always happy when I do - happy to look over photos we've taken on our phones (gone are the days when we dragged out our big camera for extensive baby photo sessions), happy to reflect on all that we've been up to, and happy to force myself to mull over this whole parenting journey for a bit.  And when it's all said and done, and the growth chart at the top of our stairs is long painted over, I want a record.  I want this record, not just of the big "firsts", but of all the little moments that I will surely forget along the way.  Tonight, I am savoring these little moments from the last few weeks:

No school on Valentine's Day, and lots of extra time with my valentines.

Our medal count tally!  The boys had so much fun researching and drawing some of the countries' flags and recording the medals won.

Date nights, and weekends away

Finding this smiley face in a dying plant.  Apparently our Adam thought this plant was happier once he watered it.

Hearing nice words about my kid.

Being served a homemade stir fry and tea at Adam's school Chinese New Year party.

And watching adorable preschoolers sing and dance and speak Chinese.

Maine winters.  OK, I'm aware that comment's not making me any friends, but I love me some Maine winter.  Until March.  Then I'm ok with spring.

Ethan's first sleepover!

Friday night dates with my little men while my big man brings home the bacon at his poker tournies.

And more date nights (and grandparents who are forever willing to babysit!)

A new obsession in our house: trading NFL player cards.

Sorry, Sorry, and more Sorry.  It doesn't get old (nor do the costumes)!

OK, maybe I'm a little bit sick of winter...

An amazing February vacation week at the Duck House - ski school every morning and activity-packed afternoons.  This guy started the week on the bunny slope and ended it on the black diamonds!

And this one couldn't stay out of the terrain park.

Being able to all ski together.

Winter or not...testing out new bikes!

A fun weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's with the Ferenc family including many, many runs down our custom world-class luge course.

Big cousins showing little cousins how to rainbow loom.

And boy cousins getting into lots of trouble with a whole bottle of shampoo and the whirlpool.

A friendly visitor who liked Grandma's coconut cream pie almost as much as we did.

Finding love notes from my lovebug everywhere.  If you read this from bottom to top, you'll see it says "Adam loves you."

My growing, happy boys!