Mama pride.

I am sure every mother, every parent, has this moment when your little one is running around, they stop and smile up at you and you just think, "Wow, you really are the most beautiful creature I've ever seen."  Tell me you have moments like this!  And your heart fills with pride.

Gabriel is at the cutest stage right now, jabbering all the time, running around with the most enthusiasm that a child can muster.  He's talking, using words (some of them I understand, about 80% of them I don't).  Then all of sudden out pops a sentence, "Where'd it go?" with a cute little upward inflection at the end of the sentence.  He's simply charming.

Today, while at the grocery store, he flirted with all the cashiers he saw and waved to each person stocking shelves while pretending to drive around in his racecar shopping cart, feet up on the wheel.  My dad would laugh right now, I can hear him.  Since this is exactly the kind of thing I would have done as a child.  If I let him, he'd happily load the shopping cart (helpfully) since that's what he loves to do these days.  Help.  He loves to put things away.  His toys, books, shoes.  Sometimes in the right place.  And sometimes not.  Like the brand new rubber boot that we assume ended up in the garbage can before I put a lock on it, since we haven't been able to find it.  A favorite is unloading the dishwasher and putting things in drawers. He's in charge of the tupperware and the cutting boards.

And that hair!!! With his little curls.  I don't dare ever cut it!  I wish I could just keep those cute little blonde curls the same length forever.  (Also another reason why I took this picture--to show his first hair stylist. "See this haircut.  This is what we want.").

I want to say "Just don't grow up, stay this way forever," but I don't dare.  Growing and changing will only unveil more beauty and more personality, so I am reveling in each little moment. 

Happy Anniversary to us!

Here we are--so young!  It's been a beautiful thing, these past eight years, being married to my best friend, going on grand adventures and starting our little family.  Can't imagine life without you.  Happy Anniversary Husband!

Apologies for the poor picture quality.  We had a million photos taken that day, all of which were much better quality, but for some reason, this is one of my favorites, that candid moment just after the pronouncement and before we went down the aisle.  A little, "Oh hi there husband." :)

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Our weekend :)

Hope you all had a great weekend!!  As always when husband gets home, life just gets a little bit easier and a whole lot better!  Had a fantastic weekend with him home.  In between the craziness of listing our house and finishing off mini renovations and cleaning, we ended up filling our weekend quite nicely with spontaneous adventures, including biking and impromptu BBQing and many dinners at home--great for Jordan who has been living in hotels and eating out every day for three months straight...

On Sunday, hit up the Squamish trails for a little cross-country biking with Gabriel on the back and Abe in tow.  Pregnancy in Squamish doesn't mean a mama-to-be puts her feet up for nine months.  Oh, no, not here.  We go hiking, climbing and trail riding for sure, just nothing too strenuous and nothing "new."  Squamish mamas and mamas-to-be are the fittest in the country, hands down.  I don't happen to necessarily count myself in that, but I did have a good time!  And so did Gabriel, who bounced along behind me, whooping "Bump! Bump! Bump!" as we gently bounced over roots and rocks on the trail.  And Abe came bounding after us, ears straight back, ear to ear grin and his two foot long tongue hanging out the side.  Boy, is he ever happy when dad comes home!  And a little note about trail riding.  So amazing here!  The woods are a good 10 degrees cooler and in the hotter weather we've been having, Abe couldn't be happier!

Check out the moss on those trees!!  One of my favorite parts of biking these trails.

My sidekick--the G-man, had a great time, and just wanted more bumps!

Happy, happy tired dog!

Jordan is way, way cooler than me, and G loves it!  Dad can do tricks.  Sadly, I am one of those lame moms who can't do any tricks...  I'll come along for the ride, but I'm not into getting hurt. So it's dad who's going to be teaching Gabriel all these things and I'll just be on the sidelines praying no one breaks anything.

 
Apparently high fives are still the coolest thing around!  They never get old.  You want to be a toddler's best friend, give him/her a high five.  Hugs are good too, but not everyone is into them right away.  High fives are an automatic in.

After dinner, we treated ourselves to icecream at the Gelato Carina.  I still think they have the best icecream in town. 

Making the most of the weekend, we walked along our favorite trail down by the Sound--Nexen Beach.  Gabriel amazed us and walked all the way there, and almost at pace.  This kid is growing up!!  By the time JanBug gets here, he won't even need the stroller, just a skateboard attachment! 

The tide was out, so we walked the beach, getting our shoes all wet and admired the waves, the mountains and a ship loading up for it's journey across the ocean. 

These are our few weekends left here and we are making the most of them!

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The other day at the park.

So with all the craziness of getting our house ready to sell and move across the country, it's just been a little bit busy/stressful here.  But we've been keeping our sanity by getting out and doing fun things, mostly meeting up with friends and having play dates at the park.  Here are just a few photos from the other day at the park with my some of my closest mama friends--Tina and Jenn and their littles.

We had a little picnic in the park and, in one of those rare moments, we all ended up at the same place at roughly the same time and it was a little bit crazy but we were so thankful for even a few moments together to play.  

 

The boys served up "french fries" at the little play food stand and I purchased with wood chips and pretended to gobble them up.  Well, both boys thought was hilarious.  And then Gabriel actually put the wood chips in his mouth (I guess he still is trying to figure out "pretend.")  Yum.... 

Oh Jenn, my twin mama.  Never has an arm free this lady. It's kind of a two for one deal.

Move over, Eli, there's barely room for you on this swing with baby number two on the way!

We are cherishing all of these fun/crazy/hurried playdates these days, before we leave!!  Whatever will I do without these mamas and their babies!?!?!

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• The Best Parts of May.
• Day with the twins.
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• Berry Picking! 

Berry picking!

Around our neck of the woods, it is just filled with so many things to do, especially if you love being outside.  And the weather lately, has been terrific.  So when my friend, Jenn suggested that Tina and I and all our kiddos head up to nearby-ish Pemberton to go berry picking at North Arm Farms with our babes, it was an opportunity we just couldn't pass up!  Besides what is cuter than little ones stumbling through rows of berries, their mouths and clothes covered in dirt and their bellies full of warm berries?!

So this place has gotta be the most spectacular backdrop for berry picking!

 

Gabriel was pretty excited about being able to eat all those berries!  He just couldn't get enough!

Jenn has her hands full with these two, but she amazed us all with the efficiency with which she was able to pick as many berries as us WHILE holding these two.  Yes, twin mamas are an amazing breed of mamas.  Total admiration!

And Gabriel and Eli got to feed the chickens and roosters.  Those roosters were pretty assertive though, and almost got Eli's finger!

Love these two women and their littles!  Mamahood is a wild adventure and I feel so lucky to have these two sources of wisdom, strength and compassion in my life!

Thanks for the beautiful day!!  It's never easy juggling four littles, their naps and 3-4 hours of driving, but I think we all agreed the day was well worth it!  We are trying to cram in as much time together as possible these days! 

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• The Best Parts of May.
• Day with the twins.
• It's a date with the Butterflies.
• Cherry Blossoms on Marble and a Sunny Little Picnic with friends.

Photo credit: Some photo credit goes to Tina Chamberlain and Daniel Councell (Not pictured here!)  Thank you for capturing these memories!