Summer Throwback
Father's Day 2018
We kicked off Father's Day 2018 with a scavenger hunt for our favorite Dadford. Rhyming clues written by yours truly led him to find various items around the house. The first letter of each item spelled out where his big gift was hidden. Well one of the first clues was an egg hidden in our master bathroom. His eyes got huge and his face got a little ghostly when he found it. I was so confused. As the hunt progressed and he realized it was the first letter of the item that was important not the significance of the item itself, he explained his reaction. He thought the egg clue meant he was going to be a dad again. He thought I was telling him I was pregnant! Oops! After his blood pressure came back down, we laughed for a good long time about it.
We spent the afternoon playing putt putt golf. One of our first dates was to play putt putt, and I just so happened to sink like five hole in one shots that day. It was luck. I am a pretty average putter. To this day, despite him being witness to many embarrassingly bad games, Brad still thinks I am the world's best putt putt player and will tell it to anyone who will listen. On this particular day we were tied at the start of our 18th hole. I went first. Hole in one! Brad had this handsome smirk on his face that said I'm-so-proud-you're-my-wife but also I-can't-believe-you-just-beat-me-on-Father's-Day. Watching Eloise whack away at the ball diligently 47 times before getting it in the hole was pretty fun too.
I hired a babysitter for the evening to take Brad to go see the new Star Wars movie. He was, as anyone who knows him would expect, ecstatic. Don't tell Brad, but I actually enjoyed it too. Even better than the movie though was Brad squirming with the ultimate geeky glee and grabbing my leg when Chewbacca took the co-pilot seat with Han Solo for the first time in the Millennium Falcon. I am still smiling thinking about it. And the kids both got gold stars for keeping the Star Wars theme going without even knowing it. All of our moments in between scavenger hunting, mini golfing, and movie watching were spent on the floor embracing Eloise and Harvey's play. We live in a fabulous city with endless things to do and see yet watching them be silly and partaking in the silliness is still our favorite pastime. Brad was posing for a picture, reveling in an unprompted light saber sibling duel when all of the sudden Harvey went in for a Dadford attack and Eloise followed his lead. They couldn't have planned a better Father's Day gift if they tried.
The Highlights
Tuesdays are officially for smooffee walks now. As coined by Brad. Get it? Smoothies for the kids. Coffee for the moms. Smooffee walk is an official thing now. In Missouri we went for donut walks once a week -- a three mile round trip with a pitstop at Dunkin. A friend just shared a picture memory on Facebook from a year ago of all of us on a donut walk. It made me so happy to put that picture side by side with the picture the Camp Coffee ladies took of us this past Tuesday to share on their Facebook. Army life can be challenging, but it is also a gift to realize how many friendships are made and spread literally around the world along the way.
We took Harvey to see his first movie in theaters! Eloise's first movie experience was to see Finding Dory. On Saturday we went to see Christopher Robin as a family. Need I remind you of our family costume for Halloween 2016? We are big fans of that silly ole' bear and the rest of the 100 acre wood gang. Harvey might have ate his weight in popcorn, but he did great. There is not much better than watching your favorite tiny dude sitting on the lap of your favorite full sized dude, both shoveling snacks, wide eyed as they take in the magic of the movies together. Pooh's life lessons are always the best too. "Doing nothing often leads to the very best kind of something." Taking that one to heart this week. I will let the Harvey smiles speak for themselves here.
Fort Leonard Wood Donut Walk, 2017
Fort Carson Smooffee Walk, 2018
This week we also enjoyed a trip to the zoo and a Sunday morning hike and brunch date. A seemingly endless Thursday with zero plans stretched out before me when a text from my friend Stephanie suggested an impromptu zoo visit. I packed a quick picnic lunch and we were on our way. Cora and Eloise are kindred spirits. Not lacking in joy, these girls. And Harvey got to pet the goats in the hands-on farm area for the first time. And it may have been his last. Remember when I said he is into kissing every one and every thing right now? I spent the entire time chasing after him, scooping him up just before he planted a big wet one on the nose of every goat. On Sunday we took our friends Jake and Lindsey on their inaugural Colorado hike. They were friends of ours at Fort Campbell and just moved here last week. Reunions with old friends from former posts are always the best. Hiking kid-free is also always the best (thanks, Jake!).
The Small Moments
Blake Louise and Kennedy Nicole are here! I first met Jackie in 2011 when I moved to New York. We have stayed close friends through many Army twists and turns for each of us. She came out to love on me and six-week-old baby Eloise for Valentine's Day weekend when Brad was deployed. Brad and I went to visit Jackie and her husband Chris when they were stationed in Italy. She has loved on my kids endlessly, sending them the best little Italian outfits, and now it is my turn to spoil her babies rotten. Jackie gave birth to the most beautiful twin girls on July 28th. She absolutely nailed the whole twin pregnancy and birth thing. Seriously. She could not have done it with any more strength and grace. My mom is flying out in a few weeks to stay with my own kids so I can get to Missouri for a week to meet them and help however I can. Newborn snuggles (times two!), here I come. Small moment for us this week, life altering moment for some of our best friends. Welcome to the world, Blake and Kennedy! I love you both!
I love to craft, and every so often I get the crafting bug with the kids. I know it's messy. I know it is a lot of prep work. But seriously, why don't I craft with them more often? There are only a zillion fun ideas on Pinterest. Well, two minutes into our painting project as Harvey is licking red paint off his fingers, I remembered why. In all seriousness, Eloise is at the perfect age for fun arts and crafts. We did fish painting using celery as our stamps for the rainbow scales, and we made little animal pals out of an egg carton this week. I also am in love with the way my little back to school banner I made for our playroom book display turned out. Bonus discovery of pulling out all the crafting gear? I will never, ever tire of hearing Eloise say googly eyes.
There is no such thing as a quick trip to the pet store with Eloise in tow. She has to greet every single creature. Our visit this week resulted in a new epiphany. She needs a hamster, and I was dangerously close to giving in to her pleas. I figured she would fall in love with the sweet little dwarf hamster fluff balls. Wrong. Here is the one and only rodent my child wanted:
This, my friends, is a skinny pig. Skinny pigs are hairless guinea pigs. I cannot make this stuff up. I laughed out loud when she said he was the one. My better judgement led us home with only cat food and litter. That night Eloise said, "We didn't buy the hamster. Now no one will love him because he has no hair." I am still reminding myself daily that two kids, two cats, a dog, and a skinny pig is just one skinny pig too many. I did decide his name had to be Harry Styles if he had ended up a member of the family. Still cracking myself up over that one. Harry, I hope you find the absolute perfect family. One that can knit you tiny sweaters to keep you warm in the winter. I am inspired by Eloise's tender heart and eyes that see all beings as beautiful.
Wearing their coming home onesies I made for them
I love to craft, and every so often I get the crafting bug with the kids. I know it's messy. I know it is a lot of prep work. But seriously, why don't I craft with them more often? There are only a zillion fun ideas on Pinterest. Well, two minutes into our painting project as Harvey is licking red paint off his fingers, I remembered why. In all seriousness, Eloise is at the perfect age for fun arts and crafts. We did fish painting using celery as our stamps for the rainbow scales, and we made little animal pals out of an egg carton this week. I also am in love with the way my little back to school banner I made for our playroom book display turned out. Bonus discovery of pulling out all the crafting gear? I will never, ever tire of hearing Eloise say googly eyes.
There is no such thing as a quick trip to the pet store with Eloise in tow. She has to greet every single creature. Our visit this week resulted in a new epiphany. She needs a hamster, and I was dangerously close to giving in to her pleas. I figured she would fall in love with the sweet little dwarf hamster fluff balls. Wrong. Here is the one and only rodent my child wanted:
This, my friends, is a skinny pig. Skinny pigs are hairless guinea pigs. I cannot make this stuff up. I laughed out loud when she said he was the one. My better judgement led us home with only cat food and litter. That night Eloise said, "We didn't buy the hamster. Now no one will love him because he has no hair." I am still reminding myself daily that two kids, two cats, a dog, and a skinny pig is just one skinny pig too many. I did decide his name had to be Harry Styles if he had ended up a member of the family. Still cracking myself up over that one. Harry, I hope you find the absolute perfect family. One that can knit you tiny sweaters to keep you warm in the winter. I am inspired by Eloise's tender heart and eyes that see all beings as beautiful.
The Ways We Grew
I was sitting up on the patio reading while the kids played in the yard. Eloise was swinging and Harvey was opening and closing the door to the clubhouse a million times as he always does. Eloise said, "Look at Harvey, he's climbing the ladder." I hate to run. I think this may have been the fasted sprint I have ever done. When I got there he was already up top playing with the ice cream shop and looking at me as if to say, "What mom? It's no big deal." Good grief. My days of relaxing on the patio while the kids play are done until this dude becomes a bit more of a stable climber. It is super fun to see him conquering more and more big kid things though. He loves to stomp around up there and throw every single item from the ice cream shop down into the grass. Oh joy!
This week Eloise asked Harvey to say Eloise. And he did! We all heard it clear as day and just about lost our minds. It was one of those pleasant surprises you are so glad happened all together otherwise you might not have believed it actually happened. Also this week he says a lot of "no sir" (hmm, I wonder where he picked that one up) and "okay!" His voice is truly music to our ears.
This week Eloise asked Harvey to say Eloise. And he did! We all heard it clear as day and just about lost our minds. It was one of those pleasant surprises you are so glad happened all together otherwise you might not have believed it actually happened. Also this week he says a lot of "no sir" (hmm, I wonder where he picked that one up) and "okay!" His voice is truly music to our ears.
The Eloise-isms
"That's the bowl full of mush? Who eats that stuff? Mush? Yuck. Needs some sugar." -- Reading Goodnight Moon.
"Are you a little bit mad and a little bit sad? Be happy mom. Show me your big smile"
Not so much a quote but worth documenting. Out of the blue Eloise has started calling our house "Borabar." When we are out and heading home she'll ask where we are going. When I say home she says, "No mom, we are going to Borabar" and she calls herself "Princess Eloise of Borabar." I thought for sure this had to be something Brad made up as a part of bedtime stories. Nope! A genuine Eloise imagination creation, and we love it.
And just for some extra fun...
Currently
Watching: We just watched the movie A Quiet Place. Somehow I managed to talk Brad into it. He hates scary movies, but I love them. Even he agreed it was really good! The movie is set in the near future with humans being hunted by creatures with a heightened sense of hearing. So essentially survival is based off of achieving near complete silence. If you are looking for a good nail biter with some thought provoking ideas, this is it. I have also really loved my first few episodes of the Netflix original show Call the Midwife. I think it really appeals to both the mom and nurse in me.
Eating: I made my favorite Skinnytaste recipe to date, so I thought I would share. Her Three Cheese Zucchini Stuffed Lasagna Rolls and Summer Squash Pancakes were devoured by all Witt adults and tiny humans.
Reading: Bird Box by Josh Malerman. My hair stylist recommended it to me weeks ago, but I had two Liane Moriarty books on deck first. While I was enjoying those, Brad listened to Bird Box on audio book and loved it. He said the concept is actually very similar to A Quiet Place. I am looking forward to diving in. Edit: since beginning to write this post the diving in has commenced, and I am already a quarter of the way through. It is excellent!
Keep soaking up those final, sweet summer moments. You know we are!
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