Mommy Day!

I feel like my post yesterday probably didn't even make sense (or at least was probably not that interesting). Yesterday was a blur of exhaustion on several levels. Today I knew I had to start my day with a clean slate and a good attitude. This is going to be a busy weekend for Doug and therefore no family time until Sunday evening, so I knew that if the boys and I were going to make the most of it, I was responsible to set the tone. I love it when I get a chance to start out on the right foot as opposed to wishing I had. God is good that He gave me some perspective this morning because our weekend has started out very well because of it!

The boys slept well last night although I was quite convinced after Tavin's crankiness yesterday and his frequent sneezing that he was coming down with a cold. After more sneezing and nasal noises in the night, my hypothesis was proved correct this morning when I picked up my crusty-faced baby. Thankfully though he slept fine despite it and was quite happy this morning.

Koen also had a good night (although I totally heard him talk in his sleep several times!) and woke up happy and ready to play quietly in his room for awhile before our day start time of 8am.

I made the boys whole wheat pancakes this morning, but due to my fresh outlook on our day and happy thoughts, I decided Koen and I could enjoy our favorite kind...chocolate chip! He was quite happy about it. Tavin enjoyed his plain as usual actually eating 2 this morning (not to mention they were followed by a whole banana!).

I was committed to really focusing on the boys today (and tomorrow too) as I have quite the tendency to multi-task as we go about our playtime. I know that with Doug working this weekend my responsibilites of prepping family dinners for us all to enjoy as well as keeping the house in tip top shape for visitors wouldn't be necessary (plus it's been a light work week for me), so the most important thing needed to be to give these little guys undivided attention today. I just know that this is a weakness of mine to get busy and today is a day where that is really not needed and I want to make sure to enjoy these moments to just enjoy spending time with them.

We played in the playroom after breakfast and had the special treat of Skyping with Gramma & Grampa! Koen is so engaging on the video call. It's very endearing. He loves to see Gramma & Grampa and update them on the goings-on here. He also asks lots of questions of course! Tavin is usually afraid of Skype for some reason, but he did very well with it today.

After more playtime, Tavin took a nap and it was time for Koen to get a haircut (way overdue!). I think this is one of the best ones I've done.

I'm learning to leave it a little long where the cowlicks are at the back and how to shorten the front without making it look like bangs or a straight bowl cut. Thankfully the neck and around the ears were good precise cuts this time (last time I totally messed up!). Koen was excited for the haircut because he got to watch a long DVD we had from the library, so we were both very happy. He continues to be quite a good hair cut getter, staying pretty still and being patient with my perfectionism.

While he finished his DVD I packed up a lunch for the boys so that we could head outside as soon as Tavin woke up.

Tavin actually didn't sleep very long this morning, so my plan was working perfectly. I had to throw Koen in the tub before taking off though to make sure to get all the scratchy hair off of him. This is where he lost it and had a very emotional temper tantrum. I think he was really tired from yesterday's no-nap and combined with hunger rising towards lunch (should've let him have a snack after the hair cut, oops!). Anyways, we made it through a very brief rinse off bath and I plopped him in the kitchen with some yogurt while I got Tavin up from bed and ready to go out the door.

So, finally, here we are on this gorgeous day outside in the sunshine and 65 degree weather! Amazing! It's quite windy here, but balmy! Koen's mood immediately changed (he originally said he was so tired he just wanted to ride in the carriage) and he wanted to walk for awhile. He was in great spirits after that for our entire outing. What a blessing! I was proud of myself for not losing it too badly around the temper tantrum. I just stuck with the plan and it worked out. Yay!

Tavin was also happy to be out despite the amount of junk coming out of his nose. Poor thing!

We dropped off a card at a neighbor's house (Koen was so sweet, he wanted to make a get well card for a nursery school friend!) and then headed to the library.

The boys just love the library. Tavin is starting to show some new traits as he seems to be growing into quite the little monkey. He totally climbed up on the small sponge couches and was then going to mount on top of the back. He was super proud of himself and just kept going back to it despite my attempts to distract him.Koen just loves picking out books for himself and Tavin. It is so sweet. I love seeing how much he enjoys reading and books. I hope Tavin likes them just as much. So far I think he seems pretty interested (it doesn't hurt either that the brother he emulates loves books!).

After we left the library I let the boys eat their lunch in the stroller. This was a first for Tavin and of course he loved it. He loves being out and about and he loves to eat, so what a great combination! We stopped at a few stores to run errands and then sat on a bench to finish our lunch. Somebody offered to snap our picture and I was thrilled (see boys, Mommy does exist, she is in a few pictures!).

Koen was hilariously friendly with everyone we met and bumped into. It's really great to see him becoming so confident with others. I think nursery school has had a lot to do with that. He is overly friendly with passers-by, but he's so cute, I think it's OK. We talk a lot about being kind to others, showing love, etc., but always being cautious and careful. We saw two gruff guys bantering back and forth today in a parking lot and Koen asked, "are those guys kind, Mommy?" I had to answer back honestly, "well, I don't know. They could be kind, but we can be kind to them." I love little moments like that to talk about real life in such simple terms and I love that he is able to notice certain behaviors and attitudes and is wondering "what does kindness look like?"

We got home just in time for nap. Thankfully Koen remembered how tired he was in the AM (he had told me around 11:30am that he didn't want lunch, he just wanted to go to sleep) and he told me he wasn't going to play today, he just wanted to sleep. Although this kid can be so stubborn and strong-willed with negative results, sometimes it plays to my advantage that he knows what he wants!

Tavin stayed up a little while after we laid Koen down. I think we just needed some us time, so we played in the living room. Here's a cute video (of course he was chatting like crazy before I started recording, but it's still pretty good).

He was pretty tired and snotty though, so he went to bed by 3pm and hopefully will be asleep until 5pm. His little body needs it for sure!

Well, that is Mommy Day so far. I thank God for how well it's going. I'm relieved that we are off to a good start for this solo parenting weekend!