Sweet Dreams

My darling husband has a beautiful voice. I'm not sure if that's what you say about a man's voice...I'm sure I should say "amazing" or "strong" or something but he doesn't really sing that often (seriously, that is) except for when he's singing our children to sleep.

It's probably one of the sweetest things I've ever heard and one of the memories I will keep with me forever. He would sing to Ellie for hours when she was a baby. And while Parker has been highly attached to a specific "Mommy & Parker" routine at bedtime he's missed out on some of the Daddy singing. Until the other night.

I listened to the song from outside Parker's bedroom door and didn't see the little man again until 14 hours later. Those Daddy songs. They do the trick. And I even sing and hum the song, too, and that's quite the feat as I was not blessed with musical talent. So here's a little song that makes a lot of little people in this house happy, sung by one of my favorites, Kristin Chenoweth.

Lazy River

With a house full of family and a what feels like a long, hot summer, my father-in-law, Jack, had the brilliant idea to go to Water World last week. We packed up the cars and made it for a whole afternoon. I had the distinct pleasure of riding along in a tube on the Lazy River with Parker. He LOVED Water World. What do you know!?! He might really be my son after all....

He waved at all the people, splashed in the water, giggled with delight, and when he snatched my sunglasses off my head and I playfully demanded that he give them back he cocked his head and gave me a big fat, "No!" He's 15 months old. And with that, I think, my baby Parker was gone.

He's acting so much older all of a sudden. He said "Blueberries" yesterday and "Grandma" this morning. He's paying attention to everything and he's learned he can actually tackle Ellie, knock her down, and pin her to the floor. He's 15 months old. Bye, bye Baby Parker. I love the little boy you are becoming. (Tackling Ellie included. I'm sure she deserves it.) How is it that a baby is just a baby for what seems like forever and then one day - not a baby. I'm glad I got the moment with him at Water World. It seemed like a little secret between me and him.

In other news we've got a list of things we still need to accomplish before these summer sands run out. Like a trip to Steamboat Springs with the parents and grandmas, a mountain retreat with all of the siblings when brother Dan and family get back from Japan, my cousin's wedding in Chicago and a few more house projects like painting the kids bedroom furniture. Not so lazy after all....

Quote of the Day:
"I love my Aunt Emma cuz she's all grown-up like me. And I love my cousin Cole because he's soooo handsome," ~Eliana

Dummy

I'm pretty sure I get taken for a dummy on a quasi-regular basis. Just this morning my husband questioned whether my brain was really hurting, when I claimed to have a terrible headache, as he is quite sure I lost it entirely quite a while ago. Mommy-brain? More like no brain. Blah.

But I'm a moderately educated kind of girl. Not smart enough to put my kids in daycare and go back to the world of designer suits, lattes and lunches, but smart enough. So it's obviously irritating when I'm treated like a dummy. (By someone other than my husband....that's just part of our marriage. I think we actually put it in our vows that we would tease each other relentlessly. And when I say "dummy" I say it like Joy on "My Name is Earl." See photo for inspiration.) But I digress.

We've been using the same plumbing company for all of our plumbing needs for about 5 years. Once our "guy" told me that toilets are only built to last 7-10 years and our 20 year toilet needed to be completely replaced....forget about just replacing the "hardware" as I'd requested. Um, No.

And then yesterday I was told to replace our very old (and blanket-wrapped) hot water heater for a measly $2,000. Sure! Whatever! Who needs to shop around or find out that this just might be a completely ridiculous bid. And you don't need to call your husband, he offered, we can just do it right now, while we're here fixing your leaking faucet. Thanks, you're so helpful, plumber dude.

So, I'm not a plumber, but I'm not a dummy. We'll find something that works better and possibly doesn't use up quite so much money.

And while we're on the subject, this whole thing is happening after some sales guy at the appliance store asked me if I had installed the oven racks in my brand-spankin' new, shiny, expensive, oven "correctly." They didn't fit. There was something wrong with the oven. It was replaced almost instantly once I called GE directly. But the sales guy asked if I had installed them correctly. Really? Oven racks? Yeah, I think I can figure it out.

Anyone treat you like a dummy lately?

Little Ballerina

Eliana concluded her 5 months of dances classes with a little recital for friends and family. She was just about the cutest thing I've ever seen. And I think I've already watched her video 100 times. Moments like these never last long enough, but with a little technology, they last a little longer.

Good job, Bug!!

Surprise

Mr. Pope still has the ability to surprise. Not something I necessarily expect after, what, seven years together? Here we are, doing the baby thing, living the baby life. Our paths cross at odd hours for feedings and bath time and every now and then even for dinner. We have a couple of laughs over the phone some days and when we're actually in person the conversations usually turn to planning and organizing, if we even have time (or mental capacity) for that.

This is in no way a complaint. I can only speak for myself, but I'm deliriously happy right now. We have two beautiful, healthy kids. I'm kind of in the stay-at-home-mommy groove. And my husband is awesome. He cooks, he cleans (not often, but he tries), he makes me laugh. Things are good.

I don't need 23-hour-a-day relationship validation. But then he goes and sets up a date....for me and my friend for dinner and a movie. The sneaky twosome planned it all without my knowledge and it made me feel loved beyond belief. They took the time to do it...in the middle of their busy days....to surprise me. Dinner was great (although I did yawn a few times) and the movie was just what I needed, about 2,000 laughs.

Thanks for thinking of me, love. I'll see ya tonight around 3 a.m.....

It's the thought that counts.....

I'm sure I do a lot of things that drive people crazy. I'm sure of it. But, one thing that I try to be aware of every single day is to not take people for granted. There are times and places for things like "pleases" and "thank-yous" and "would you minds?" and they should be lavished upon the people we spend the most time with, not just the teller at the bank or the kid at the coffee shop.

I try to appreciate lots of little things, probably because my life is all little things right now, but people are on the top of the list. I'll use that as the excuse as to why my house is always so messy....it's because I'm trying to put people first! Hehe.


So, I just wanted to say thank you to my mom and step-dad, Jim, for taking Eliana last weekend so Derrick and I could have a much needed and super-fun weekend up in Ft. Collins (to use the gift certificates that they gave us for Christmas...so thoughtful.) And, a thanks for just stopping by or calling to say "Hi" and all those nice things you do. Thanks to Derrick's mom, Barbara, for having so much fun with Elle on Wednesdays. She loves the time with Grandma and I LOVE the time to myself (even if it is spent doing a glucose test at the doctor's office....) Thanks to my dad, Ron, who actually called this week to make sure we were doing okay because he hadn't heard from us....in two whole days.

And thanks Armando for calling to make dinner plans as I've been MIA as of late....and "Auntie D" and JR for being our great neighbors and last-minute baby-sitters. We have the best parents, the most wonderful siblings, and the greatest friends on the planet.

The Little Things

Sometimes big events make you appreciate the little things. If it hadn't been strikingly obvious from my previous post, last week was a hard week. My grandfather, with whom I was very close despite his lack of verbal communication, died on Sunday, Dec. 7th. He was 88 and lead an incredible life that has always inspired me.

Dr. Harold Bowman was born in China to missionary parents who believed the world could be a better place. He always had charity and hard work in his heart. He was well educated, receiving his Ph.D. by the time he was 30 and spent the majority of his academic career right here in Colorado as a professor at the University of Northern Colorado. He was handy and crafty and full of little jokes if you were quiet enough to catch them.

It broke my heart to see him go. But in the days that followed we planned a beautiful service and I was able to be thankful for all of the many blessings in my life and all the little inspirations that find me everyday. Elle made it through a whole day of family and car trips and long meals and quiet services without a meltdown. She made every sad face smile with her funny personality and innate curiosity. And Derrick took on a whole day of baby wrangling without missing a beat. I wasn't the kind of day you'd ask for, but it was a beautiful day with a beautiful family and that made everything better.

Ellie did crash, but once we got home. Sweet little thing.