23 months

My baby boy turns two in less than a month.  He is sweet and mischievous and funny.  Chase likes to test the boundaries much more than Ashlyn every did.  And he laughs about it.  

He has been trying to say lots of new words just in the past couple of weeks.  Still no "daddy" but I think he will get that soon.  He started calling me "mommy" this week.  Melted my heart the first time he said it.

He likes to run and climb and find bugs and steal things from his sister and stand up in chairs and smile at me when I tell him to sit down.  But he also still snuggles with me a for a couple of songs at night and touches my face so sweetly.

My sister bought him this outfit in Hawaii.  haha. 

Summer Fun

Lunch at the pool with friends.

Chase practicing his boxing.

Daddy coming home is one of the highlights of their day.  

Ashlyn is going to be in my cousin's wedding next summer and she just got this little surprise in the mail.

FaceTiming with the kids while they spend a few days in Hilton Head with my parents.  They have been sleeping together in the same bed.  My mom says every morning they end up beside each other. 

Lake

Look who's doing all the work while Daddy and Chase relax.

He thinks he his getting away with stealing Ashlyn's Cinderella.  Look at that smile.

Eczema

Chase's skin has been terrible.  And as it gets hotter, his eczema is getting worse.  He has been scratching his legs all the time.  I feel like I have tried every cream in the world.  I only use free & clear detergent.  I took him to an allergist.  He only tested positive for peanut allergies but we already knew that.  I keep thinking it is something that he is eating that causes his skin to flare up.  I am going to go dairy free for the next week or two and see if that makes a difference.  And I am open to any other thoughts, suggestions, ideas.  

Poor little guy.  Hopefully some diet modifications will help.

A little catch up for the last couple of weeks. I had a wonderful Mother's Day and am so thankful for these sweet ones who made me a mommy.

Happy birthday, Daddy.  Look at that face.

My cute little yard boy.

Grocery shopping.

I love that she was "reading" to her brother.  

About thirty seconds after I took this, Ashlyn was screaming because Chase climbed on her to take the book.  It's never perfect.

Then & Now

Happy Mother's Day!  I am so thankful for the sweet little ones who call me mommy.

When we lived in this house 6 years ago, our living room looked like this.

It's funny to see how much my taste has changed.  I am sure in another 6 years, things will be different again.

This was our dining room.

And here it is today.  When we decided to move back into this house, we knew this space would be much more practical as a playroom for the lil ones.  Chris and I added the board and batten molding last night while the kids were sleeping.  Fun Saturday date night for us.

sweet minutes

I always want to remember the fun that we have with our sweet little ones right now.  Especially on the days that seem really long and tiring.  We are so thankful for our babies and the sweetest little moments that I cherish.

Like baseball games.

and sweet smiles.

and rainy afternoons playing outside.

and helping with yard work.

and Ashlyn getting a new baby doll.  

She named her Kitty and said "it would probably be a really good idea for Kitty to live in my tummy."  I gently explained that she is too little for a baby to live in her tummy right now.  And that Kitty would probably prefer to just play.

New House

We are all moved into our sort of "new" house.  We lived here for about a year over 5 years ago and have rented it out ever since.  I was kind of holding my breath when we did our first walk through.  After FIVE different families living in this house over the past SIX YEARS, it looked amazing on the inside.  We were so blessed that our last tenants took such good care of things.  We would like to start building sometime during the next several months - and our goal will be to sell this house once we are ready to move into the new one.

We have already made some changes to the outside (bye-bye faded hunter green shutters & door).  I will post some newer updated pictures soon!

Kitchen

Breakfast area & screened porch/deck

Dining Room (aka playroom)

Living Room

Our sweet ones have adjusted well to the move and seem to love their new home.  Ashlyn's closet has a little window inside and she loves to play in there.

Packing

We have been busy packing.  I can't believe we are moving in just a few days.  Our house is a disaster which makes me feel kind of crazy but *almost* all of our cabinets and closets and attic spaces are EMPTY! 

Looking forward to our last few days here and then getting settled into our new home.