Every time we move, I struggle.  I miss our old home, town, friends so much it hurts, and I just can’t believe we had to move.  About halfway through our roughly three years in a place, it starts to feel like home, and I start to really enjoy the current place.  Now, with less than a year before our next move, I start to get the panicky, hold-on-to-this-place feels again.  This little slice of Northern Virginia has finally claimed a piece of my heart.  

We got some sad news today about a loved one, but we know that we are promised an eternity with no tears, and we cling to that hope in faith.  Our hearts hurt for those of us still here, but we are praying for comfort and a deep, sustaining faith in times of grief.

We’ve had a few surprise visitors lately, which has been lovely, and going through these pictures has given me such a wonderful reason to smile.  Hold your dear ones close.

Here’s another one from this week, where everyone’s blurry and having fun.  Except the cat.  She’s blurry but not having any fun.

I am taking a photography workshop, so I’ve been posting some of my homework here.  Hopefully it means you’ll get more photos from my “real” camera since my iPhone memory is full and it’s shattered anyway!

Some scenes from yesterday.  After Max went to bed, Ben and I made a trail of red solo cups from his bedroom door leading into the kitchen where we built a tower out of some blocks the Martins and Hogues sent him for his birthday (thank you!!).  In the first picture, he is starting to stack the cups.  He stacked them all the way to the kitchen and was very happily surprised to see the blocks.  He started reworking the tower immediately.  We tried to give him a blueberry and cranberry muffin for breakfast, but he just wanted his usual oatmeal.  (What can I say, he’s my kid.)  And he really just wanted to keep stacking the cups, anyway.  After Ben got home from work, we let him unwrap some presents.  As he opened each gift, he would say “oo-oooh”.  You can see kind of see him saying it in the last picture.  For birthday dinner, he had fruit salad (literally, just a bunch of fruit cut up in a bowl) and a piece of banana bread.  It was a huge hit.  We also sang “Happy Birthday” to him all day long, which he thought was really great.  He started requesting it, saying “happ, happ”.  It was a great day to celebrate you, little guy!

This morning at breakfast, he requested we re-read all his birthday cards over and over again to him.  He loved all of them, but he particularly loved his card from Mema and Grandpa – a pop up monkey whose arms open up to say “Love you thiiiiis much”.  Max kept trying to hug the monkey and feed him oatmeal.

I know I owe so many of you phone calls to say thank you for thinking of Max on his special day, but the screen on my phone shattered yesterday.  I should be back in business soon!

Max is two!  Thank you to everyone who wished him a happy birthday and made his day special!  

Max has many loves right now – reading, building, walks, stacking, snuggling, jumping, symmetry, the color blue, parks, runs in the stroller, school, and the cat are just a few!  He knows all his letters but struggles with pronouncing a few (like “R” and “L”).  He recognizes his name when he sees it.  He has a several words but still uses them sparingly, unless they rhyme.  He loves to rhyme “rock” and “walk”, “mom” and “bum” (much to my chagrin), “hole” and pole” and “meow” with “cow” and “wow”.  

He started preschool!  He goes to a small school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  It’s mostly just play, but it’s a great time for him to learn how to play well with others his age and gives me a chance to get some work done.  He takes a lunch and eats there, too.  I wish I could be a fly on the wall for lunch time with 10-12 other two year olds!  He is the youngest in the class but he’s doing just fine.  He has two teachers and they are laid back and so sweet.  

He cannot get enough of Paddington Bear.  We re-read the two we have ALL.  THE.  TIME.  We get several others from the library every week.  

Some funny things:  He calls stairs “up ups” and says “up” with every step, whether he is going up or down.  He calls a slide a “wheee” and loves sliding down and climbing up.  We finally got him a toddler-sized pillow and he loves it, but just to snuggle.  He still doesn’t lay his head on it.  When he takes a bite of something tasty, he says “mmmmm” with a lot of exaggeration and a big smile.  

Ben and I just can’t get enough of this guy.  We are so thankful to be his parents.  What a privilege!