Sprints and Sprinklers!

I want to remember them just like this.

Young, brave, silly. Free.

I want to remember this stage of our life. Even though it's been a challenge, it's also been a dream come true, watching my boys grow together in love.

I want to remember this summer, every moment of it. This humidity, thick enough to swallow. The slick wet of the sprinkler, the infectious giggle of my baby, the flare of the sun through the backyard trees. Everett's flick of the frisbee, Daxton eying his brother with adoration. Stevie instructing them with everything he knows. I even want to remember the thickness of my body, the roundness of my thighs, ripe with nourishment for my baby boy. I was created to steward my family just like this. I am blessed.

I want to remember it being so hot, so so hot, that we all ran into the yard to cool off in the sprinkler 15 minutes before dinner. Even the mosquitoes needed a reprieve from this heat, and I won't be able to forget them, since our bodies are now riddled with their bites.

I want to remember Everett screaming "super heroes!!!", as he sprints back and forth through the sprinkler.

Every single moment of this life is a blessing. Every single moment, not just the picturesque ones when everyone is smiling in their perfectly pressed clothing. The messy ones, too. The sweaty ones, the stinky ones, the screaming ones. The moments when I'm overwhelmed because everyone is hungry for dinner, the moments when I'm followed into the bathroom by everyone because they all want to tell me things they need, the moments when I'm so tired that I want to slump into a nap at 4pm. These moments, though trying and taxing, are my great blessings. Because they are weaving together the fabric of this family that I am so privileged to shepherd. When I was a little girl, I never really dreamed of having a family. I always dreamed of having my name is lights on Broadway and wearing a red dress while I accepted an Oscar for best actress ;) Gotta love the dreams of a child! But now I know that this, this life I am living right now, is the greatest dream that could have ever come true for me. It's not easy, it's not perfect, but it is stunning. I revel in this blessing, to be a mom and a wife, and if I never accomplish another thing outside of this family life, I will still be a successful, accomplished, astonishingly blessed woman.

The heat is making me all swoony and that is just okay. May there be sprinklers and super heroes and melty popsicles in your future this weekend! Happy summer to us all!

Shop the Post:

Our 5 Favorite Toddler Reads (Lately).

One of my favorite things in the world is reading books with Everett before we put him to bed at night. He gets so snuggly and focused on the story - it's just the sweetest. I know that every parent must feel like this, but still, the whole parenthood thing somehow feels like a one-of-a-kind wonder when it happens to you. Most people read books with their kids at night, right? But it still feels like our own little ritual and I am just so grateful to have this meaningful experience with him, especially since my days as a mom of just 1 are numbered. I'm really trying to soak up our time together, just the two of us. Sharing my love for books with Everett has been a really special process, because I was a child who absolutely loved to read. It's been amazing to see how his appreciation for reading has grown as he's gotten older and his understanding for stories has expanded. Lately when we're reading, he points to the characters and laughs at the funny parts and imitates the sounds of the animals/cars/trains in the story. He's just the best.

I wanted to share a few of our favorite reads lately. I am always on the hunt for more story books, especially good ones that actually make me laugh, too. Because let's be honest, some kid's books are LAME. The following aren't. :)

1. Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site
This is such a great book for little boys. It goes through the process of each tractor on a job site, what they do and how they work, and then how they get ready for bed in the evening. It's so cute. Everett got this as a gift from his girl "friend" Finley and he has really gotten into it in the past few weeks. He even says, "goodnight, tractor!", "goodnight, dump truck!," and "goodnight, crane!" as each one goes to sleep in the story. It's sort of long though, so it took him a few months to actually finish the book. He would usually get bored halfway through, but not anymore!

2. Knuffle Bunny
This book legitimately makes me laugh out loud. Something about the illustrations of how the parents are depicted in the book is just so spot-on. This is a great one, especially for kids who have a special animal, doll or blanket that they carry around. This story has helped us teach Everett why it's important to take care of our "babies" (that's what he calls his stuffed animals) so that we don't lose them in public places. This was also a gift from his friend Evie - his friends really know how to pick cool books!

3. Dragons Love Tacos
I can't help it - every time I read this book to Everett, it just comes out in a Boston accent. And I do a terrible Boston accent, but still! Something about the main character of the story is just so Massachusetts to me. Bahahah so I end up reading this book and laughing through most of it because I'm a dweeb with a terrible accent and then Everett laughs at me and then we get hungry for tacos. Aside from all of that, the book itself is adorable.

4. Paddington at the Rainbow's End
Another gift! We just brought this one back for him from across the pond from his London pals Ella & Milo, and he's already asked for it every single night since then. He absolutely loves how Paddy walks through the village in his rain boots and coat, finding items that are different colors of the rainbow. It's such a sweet story, and he has a Paddington Bear that he clutches the whole time we read this one. So so good.

5. Peep!
This is an interesting book, because almost the only words used in the entire story are "peep!" It's about a baby duck growing up and how he goes from saying "peep!" to "quack!" But the thing about this book, is that Everett giggles so hard every time I say "peep!", which is obviously a lot in this one. It's not even a funny story, but by the end we are both practically on the floor from laughing and such silliness. It's really wonderful. But then we usually have to read another book to calm down, so it's not a closer, if you know what I mean.

There you have it! Just a few of our favorites lately. Like I mentioned before, I am always on the hunt for great books - any you can recommend? Leave in the comments below please, I know other parents out there would love to know, too!

Right now is my favorite.

I can't tell you the number of times I hear from people, "Enjoy every moment, it will be over in the blink of an eye!" I'm sure you've heard it, too. I hear it all the time when I'm chasing after my toddler, and passersby (who are already beyond the raising-toddlers-phase of their life) always seem to ooh and ahh over the wonder of raising young babes. Half the time I want to roll my eyes at them, because I'm usually working with exhaustion, a smattering of stains across my clothes ("Mommy, mud!!! Wheeeeee!"), and dealing with the defiantly fun word "NOOOOOO" that cannot be contained on my child's lips. When I see someone nod knowingly in my direction and prod with obnoxious tenderness, "Treasure every moment", as if the experience is an angelic and precious excursion into the Heavens above, I usually have to hold my tongue from being like, "treasure WHAT?"

But you know what. Those annoying people are right.

I went into Everett's bedroom last night to take a peek at him before I got into bed myself. He looked so big. I don't know what it is about when he sleeps, but he always looks older and somehow wiser to me from the slumbering position. He's got a protruding belly and socks on his feet and is surrounding by a zillion stuff animal (his "babies"), and somehow this is always the moment I can see into the future on his behalf. I see him in high school playing sports, I see him graduating and going off to college, I can see him becoming a man and being a gracious, thoughtful adult. I can see him as a father and a husband and he's so good at it and it just makes me want to cry. I know, heavy moment for just peeking in on his crib slumber with a crowd of stuffed animals. But I promise I can see and feel that his future is big and bright.

I think God lets us mamas have glimpses into the future like this because he knows it gives us the ammo to keep going. On the day-to-day basis, I can't always see the trajectory of how my being a good parent is really helping shape him. I don't know if the way I'm disciplining really works, I don't know if he's learning enough from me, I don't know if he's absorbing the gratitude for this gift of life enough from watching my experience. I don't if what I'm doing is enough! But when I think about what I do know about my son, and I'm reminded of the big, beautiful person he is becoming and that his future is brighter than the sun and he can accomplish anything in his heart, I am able to regroup. It gives me a serene sense of focus and ability.

I'm so lucky to have Everett. It's such a privilege to be fostering his precious soul and teaching him all the good things I know in life. But you know what? He's teaching me so much too. He is hilarious and good-hearted and sensitive and yet still so strong. And his opinions are so big now, I am daily laughing out loud at his strong convictions.

Everett loves wearing tank tops and that baseball cap, will ONLY wear that one pair of Nike tennis shoes (I have to keep cleaning mud off them daily), and refuses to eat vegetables if he can see them. Pizza is good in his book. He loves coloring and watching Elmo and dancing with Mommy around the kitchen while I fumble the tune to "Once Upon a Dream". He loves "making" me waffles in his playhouse outside, he hates it when his pants ride up, and needs to play ball everyday. It doesn't matter what kind of ball, he doesn't discriminate. But he has to throw a football, kick a soccer ball or make mommy play basketball (because he can't shoot high enough to actually make a basket, I've got to get him a little rim of his own!) every single day. He is ALL boy. He naps so well (finally!) loves the color green and is the chattiest person in our family. The other night he woke up in the middle of the night, and just had to tell me about the woodpecker outside. He really wanted me to set up a bath outside, near the trees, so that woodpecker could get a bath just like Everett. He was so upset, he HAD to let me know this information, at 1:45am. Side note - we have a woodpecker that I yell at every day to get off my house, and Everett has become fascinated by him. And he says woodpecker like "pa-pep-perrr", it's the funniest thing to hear.

This child. He's a handful of energy and fun and thought and hilariousness. The people are right - treasuring every moment is what I need to be doing. Because right now, he is what I'm doing. And right now with him is my favorite.