A Boy After My Own Heart (Wordless Wednesday)

Pool Playdate

Sebastian & I were invited to go swimming today with our friends, Mrs. JoAnn & her little guy, Ben. Ben & Sebastian are nearly the same age, Ben turns 3 next week & Sebastian this Fall in October. Ben, like Sebastian, is an only-child. I was a little worried about them getting along & sharing, but they proved to be two great buddies. Not to say that they didn't have a few moments, but all-in-all, they had a wonderful pool playdate. They both loved the water & had so much fun swimming at Ben's grammie's house. They swam, played on the swingset, had a snack break, swam some more, played on the swingset some more, then had some yummy burgers grilled by Ben's grandpa. (Well, Ben had a grilled cheese, but everyone else had burgers;)


I loved watching them swim. Floaties are the rules when we have little ones that can't swim. Sebastian doesn't mind floaties & they give him tons of freedom out in the pool. Sebastian showed off his swimming skills & glowed at every "hooray for 'Bastian" that he received. Ben is just a bit more timid in the pool itself, but has tons of courage when it comes to jumping in. I believe Ben spent more of his time getting out of the pool to jump back in. I got huge grins from Ben after every single jump. Sebastian's not a jumper, he's a thrower. I tried & tried to get him to jump like Ben who would just take of sailing across the pool; however, many failed attempts later, we stuck to just tossing him up in the air from in the pool which is just as fun I guess.

Those two little boys had a blast together today. Ben's grandpa set the waterhose on the slide of his swingset & they had their very own mini waterslide. Ben is hysterical, flying down the slide at full force, nearly colliding with me on a few occasions. I can't count how many times he went sailing across the lawn. Sebastian, as always, slows it down & is more cautious (that is until he he tried to stand up & walk down it, which he did NOT try again after he splatted his tush & went flying). Sebastian loved climbing up the rock wall. Everyone was amazed at how fast he could get up that wall in his wet bare feet. He was at one point just climbing the wood, completely walking over the foot pegs.

I'm telling you, these two guys were blowing me away with those dimples & blue eyes. Ben, for the most part, is the happiest little man. He was constantly grinning & laughing. Sebastian is more bashful & tons more serious. I have to really try sometimes to get those big beautiful smiles from him. It was a great Sunday afternoon & I can't wait to do it again.

Here We Go 'Round the Merry-Go-Round

My Tractor-Loving Boy

Color? Or black & white?
Color?
Or black & white?

Or Distressed?

I love playing with my new camera, which I was not at all surprised about as I loved my old camera. I love annoying Sebastian to death taking his picture over & over & over. He is a wonderful model, though ;) I still love playing with the unlimited possibilities that photo editing software brings. Everyday brings an opportunity to get out the camera & savor those memories for eternity. I love looking back, remembering silly little faces & grins; those looks that seem to change from day-to-day. All too soon he'll be grown up, hopefully taking pictures of his kids like I do of him. ~~~

David actually spoke these words yesterday..."We're going to have to have another child just so Sebastian can get a break from the camera." I said, "Well, alright, let's get started!!"

Bedtime Memories

It seems that everyday is a blur of clients, casework, daycare updates, dinner, baths, laundry...the list goes on. After bathtime, it has become a very important ritual to spend that last hour or two before bed lounging with Sebastian. He's really awesome to hang out with. He always has lots to say & I always have lots of questions. What did you do at school today? What did you eat for dinner? Who did you play with? What songs did you sing? When he gets bored with the 20 questions...

(and he will certainly vocalize it immediately with "I don't want to answer you!" or "I don't want you questions!" or on a few occasions "Get out of my room!") we just watch tv or read books, color in his coloring books. Right now he loves to play with Mr. Potato Head, so many nights we decorate him all crazy. He has TONS of accessories and we never get bored with trying to find him a cool new look.

Although I really try to skip the drinks & snacks after bathtime, we sometimes have to indulge in some popcorn or Oreos & milk or Ben & Jerry's ice cream. I'm a sucker for cookies & milk or big glass of chocolate milk. Sebastian loves to dip his cookies in milk & eat the creme in the center. He must get that from his Daddy because I fill my milk cup full of cookies & crunch them up with my spoon, then eat them like cereal. It always brings back memories from sleepovers at my best friend's from grade school. We even had special little cups we ate out of! ~~

Once Sebastian dozes off, I always have to tuck his blanket around him & smother him with kisses. There have been a few times that I've been up cleaning the house, doing the laundry, etc. etc. & I have gotten into bed without doing this, but I always remember before I close my eyes so I have to jump up and kiss him or I can't rest. Sometimes I just sit & watch him snoozing. I love when he's having a little dream & he grins or laughs in his sleep. My heart completely melts. I'll probably be doing that until he's all grown up & leaves me. (Rest assured though that I won't be driving across town to his house & sneak in his bedroom window & pick him up out of bed & sing "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be". Although I LOVE that book, a few parts are a little disturbing ;)

Sebastian is a wonderful, wonderful little boy. He brings more joy & happiness to my life than one person could possible hope for. No matter what the day brings, seeing that sweet, gorgeous face with his bright eyes & big dimpled grin, makes it all worthwhile. Being a Mama is the most awesome job I'll ever get to do. I'm so happy & thankful that He chose me to be Sebastian's Mama.

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Campers

Late Friday afternoon I decided that I wanted to go camping. lol! Yeah, I know, very spur-of-the-moment, but when I get something stuck in my head there's no sense in arguing with me. So we left for one of our favorite camping spots in Marble Hill. Whippoorwill Lake is a gorgeous little spot about an hour from our home. It's quiet & everyone is so friendly. The lake is not huge & has a nice little sand beach for swimming. The kids love the little slide out in the water & the big beautiful fountain. I love feeding the catfish from the dock & riding the paddle boats across the lake. The tent sites are all close to the water & have great shady spots. Summer nights are always nice & never any bugs or mosquitoes--which is wonderful. I love camping there!

Thankfully, because it's so close, so it's an easy throw-together weekend trip. My sister & brother-in-law decided to join us with their 3 kiddos & Anson's niece. It was an absolutely wonderful weekend. We couldn't have asked for better weather. The kids play so good together & I love hanging out with my family. Anson's niece Hannah, although already full of pre-teen drama, is a huge help with the kids and so sweet & polite. It was awesome watching the boys play lakeside. Sebastian & Dyson would have stayed there all day throwing rocks in the lake. The girls are so cute pransing around in their swimsuits & squealing at the boys. I love grilling burgers & hot dogs and just lounging by the water. There is not a bad camping spot anywhere around the lake and we had an awesome view of the water. Except for the crazy bad sunburn, I had an amazing time. I can't wait to go again!

Our view of the lake

Sebastian playing on the beach
The kids playing along the lake in front of our campsite

Feeding the catfish from the pier

The boys investigating things along the lake

My little man making silly faces

Multimedia message

View from our tent

Pearly Whites