Life lately, late winter 2023

I've found myself lacking "topical" ideas for my writing here, lately. But then again, most of this blog is just sharing little bits of our life, and well, that's always happening. We have some family birthdays coming up later this month (including Finn's first birthday, my goodness!) But apart from anticipating those, here's what we've been up to lately:

I can't resist grocery store tulips. So cheery.

Cracking up at Cooper asking, "Hey, how's it going in here?" when he walks in a room. He's so conversational and genuinely funny.

Finn walking everywhere (hardly crawling now) and flying up the stairs whenever he has the chance (we have gates at the tops of our stairs, and have gotten creative at blocking off the bottoms of stairs). His big grin when he makes it to the top, quickly. And he loves to carry around soft things, like washcloths, an article of Cooper's clothes, socks, or anything he can wave around and yell and laugh with.

Cooper picked out a few new marbles at a shop downtown the other day. They have been a big source of entertainment at home, and even at the park. I found a basket with his little "treasures," i.e. a tea measuring spoon, his marbles, and a little yellow knitted heart he asked me to make for him.

We've had a few last batches of very wet snow just barely covering green grass, and we've gone on family walks with Cooper in the wagon and Finn in the carrier, and looking for spring buds on trees (and seeing some)!

Trying out a vinegar rinse with fresh berries. I just soaked them in a bowl of water with a splash of vinegar, rinsed them, then patted dry and stored in glass jars. Cooper helped with every step and loved the sensory play, and it was a fun activity to do with him. So far, I've noticed that our berries are lasting a bit longer! And the jars are prettier than the plastic cartons.

Playdates with my friends Megan and Molly: a craft for the kids, and some knitting for me and Molly, and lots of laughter with all three of us.

Finn loves to "get cozy," as we call it. He will always snuggle a pillow or a blanket on the floor, and he comes over and crawls in our laps, leaning against us for hugs. Such a sweetheart, our cozy baby.

And I got a set of stainless steel attachments to replace the aluminum ones that originally came with my Kitchenaid mixer. The boys played with them (mixer unplugged, naturally). And I made cinnamon rolls: one of our fika treats of choice around here.

So while nothing has been altogether eventful, it's just been regular life with littles. Hectic and noisy sometimes, with frustrations and lots of opportunities to model apologizing and asking for forgiveness, and learning to extend grace to myself, as well as these precious boys. There is always sweetness mixed in when I choose to look for it and ask in prayer for eyes to see!