Three

Tonight Declan told me he loved me more than butterfly peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (yes, we cut most sandwiches into fun shapes) and a lot of hippos and ice cream. He told me I make his heart happy.

I haven't been able to write about his third birthday yet because I feel as though I can't do it justice. How do you put it into words when you have more love than you could possibly count inside of you? How do you express the joy felt every single day watching them breathe or smile or find the letter "D" on a sign? How do you talk about the fact that sometimes you don't want them to go to bed- you just want to lay next to them and hear all the amazing thoughts running through their head.

You can't. You can't ever get it right exactly. Everything I try to write isn't good enough and gets the delete button applied.

Declan,

My big boy. My boy that introduces himself as "Deckie the big brother." You have taken on the role of big brother so graciously and completely it is though you were destined to be Kiery's big brother. You run and climb and scoot. You eat so much, though you take your sweet time doing it. You are smart and kind. When you get upset you have learned to take a deep breath so that we can talk about whatever is bothering you. A kiss makes things better. When a kiss fails, you generally just ask for another kiss because more kisses will eventually make you feel better.

You say "It's a beautiful sunny day!" You have dimples and the humidity makes your hair curl even more. You don't have baby feet any more. They are longer but still recognizable with the freckle on the bottom of one of your feet. Every day is a new adventure as you are a cowboy, robot, dinosaur, Puss in Boots. You keep me on my toes and a smile on my face.

I know this is rambling, but I already warned you that words don't do you justice.

Declan. You make my heart so happy.

Eight months.

Late as usual.

So much to say about my little Kiery. I think that eight months with you is my favorite so far. You have kept up your sunny disposition and your smile is constant.

You are a mover and a shaker. You army crawl in record time, are up on all fours, and can sit yourself up so quickly. You babble all day, and Deckie lets us know what you are talking about.

No teeth yet, but you can definitely eat. You love black beans, avacado, bananas, crackers and anything you can pick up yourself. Your pincer grip is way better and you get so proud of yourself when you work to get that food in your mouth. You also love drinking water, and can drink from a straw. However, if you get a hold of the cup yourself you get way too distracted by banging it all around for you to actually drink anything.

You love watching your brother and spend a good amount of your day following him around. You are trying so hard to keep up with him.

Basically, Kieran, you were meant for us. My love for you grows stronger every day.

Friends

Last week I was so lucky to have two of my friends from home come and visit for almost a week. They were here to celebrate Deckie's birthday (his party anyway) and Easter and love on my children and family. It is an amazing feeling to have people around that love your children (almost) as much as you do. 

While they were here we had a mostly family friendly vacation. (That may or may not have been interrupted by some margarita time) We went to Zilker, splashed in Barton Springs, walked around South Congress, attempted- and failed... again- to see the bats, and ate a lot. One of our best afternoons was spent hanging out in a field at the park for three hours while pretending to be robots and throwing balls for Deckie to chase. 

I am so lucky to have these amazing women in my life. They are willing to spend their vacation time chasing my children and teaching Kieran how to mimic someone that is sticking their tongue out at them. Volunteering to hang up streamers, hide eggs, and push double strollers. And we'll just say that what happens on 6th St stays on 6th St. 

Thank you both so much for coming and making our lives that much better. 

Easter

We had a lovely Easter around here. Grandma was in town as well as two of my friends from Boston (Jessica and Dayna), and there will be more posts about our wonderful time together. I'm so lucky to have so many people willing to travel to spend time with me and my family. It is amazing to have friends that love my kids almost as much as I do. 

There were Easter baskets and fancy dresses and egg hunts and photo shoots. All in all I would say it was a successful day. And below is a massive amount of photos to commemorate Kieran's first Easter. 

Showing us his "Moves Like Jagger"