Sweet Sunshine

I've not been much in the mood to write as of late.  Lots going on...ups and downs, traveling, baking bread, sickness throughout the house, cleaning said ick out of the house, and Stella is trying to get her groove back, dammit.  I took a time-out to breathe this morning.  To enjoy a hot cup of coffee on the deck while there was still a chill in the air.  To enjoy the sunshine.  And to watch this not-so tiny person dance around in his bug jammies and cowboy boots.  Seriously.  Look at this kid.

Room to Breathe

It's spring time in Colorado.  The warm days are starting to outnumber the cold ones, the crocuses are blooming, and we're getting to spend days walking through valleys to admire the peaks...just like we did last weekend at Hewlett Gulch  

Spring.  New beginnings.  Breathe in, breathe out.  Enjoy.  Repeat.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

And if it's going to be cold, I want there to be snow.  Seriously.  What's the point of cold weather if there isn't snow on the ground?  Henry loves playing in it and I love it, too, because it usually means he will Rip Van Winkle like a boss all afternoon.  Getting from point A (inside the house) to point B (outside in the snow) is hardly a direct line, though.  He enjoys putting on his boots; he enjoys putting on his gloves.  Everything in between, however, usually takes an act of Congress...and we all know what a pain those guys are.  Anyway!  We muscle through it because there isn't much more in this world (besides trucks, trains, planes, or his Mommm) that makes him as happy as playing in the "nooooo".  That's shorthand for "snow".  We're working on our annunciation. 

He's also pretty crazy about doing everything just like his Daddy... 

Snoooooow.

Hey now, ATL.  SnowMageddon, CarMageddon, IceMageddon...whatever y'all are calling it...y'all are stuck!  I am so glad that our family and friends in that area made it either home safely or at least had a warm place for the night.  I just cannot imagine having to leave my child on a school bus!  Hopefully, you didn't have to go anywhere today and you got to at least enjoy a little of the snow. 

Speaking of snow.  We still have some residual flakes sticking around from a system that pushed through a few days ago.  On days like this, I like to take Henry to the Tot Gym at the Aztlan (try to pronounce that one.  yeah.) Community Center in Old Town Fort Collins.  He loves it.  I love it.  We're both happy campers when we go because he gets to learn how to share (not really his forte) and I get to talk to other adults about how bad our kids are at sharing.  It makes me feel normal. Win-win.

I will tell you something that is not 'winning' though.  Opening your sunroof on the way home because it's actually pretty nice outside and you think you'd like some fresh air, but you forgot that there's still four inches of snow on said sunroof.  Yup.  So as we're driving down the road singing Raffi songs and minding our own business, an avalanche of snow rudely barrels down into the car and onto our heads.  I immediately start laughing, turn around to see Henry wiping snow out of his eyes and he says, "uh-oh".  Yup.  Uh-oh, indeed. Thank goodness we were close to home. 

We were heading up the steps to the house when we had to make a pit-stop to play with chalk.  And then snow.  And Lightening McQueen.  We're all about the pit-stops right now.

Here We Go

If the first month of the year is any indication of what the rest of this year has in store for my family, then we'd better hold on to our hats.  It seems like the hurdles are coming closer together and higher with each jump.  What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right?  Well, in my case it's also opened my eyes to the importance of slowing down, taking my time, and drinking in the blueness of my little boy's eyes.

Because what's important right now is the way Henry says "choo" for tractor and the way it took him nearly two years to call me Mom.  Not Mommy, or Mama....noooo, we're way too sophisticated for that.  It's Mom, with a long "m" on the end.  Mommm.  And the way he counts, "two, nine, two, nine!"  Or the way he fake snores when he's pretending to sleep.  Yep, that's happening right now.

These are some of the things that I hope to share with you by leaving Facebook behind and entering a world with more conversations and fewer status updates, less dilution and more concentration, and more love and less "liking".  Kinda like those Home Depot commercials...More Saving. More Doing.  Or something like that. 

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to send me a message of support and encouragement.  I'm blessed to call you my friends and I'm so excited about the conversations that I've had with some of you over the last 24 hours.  I'm honored that you are coming on this journey with me.  

I took these this morning while He Man enjoyed some of his birthday gifts.  Enjoy.