The "Baby" is 4 Today

"The days go slow, but the years fly by." - unknown

I tried to find who said this, but I just keep coming up empty handed.

Whoever they were, they were certainly wise.

Because this thought has been rolling around in my head almost daily for quite some time now.

Especially on those days when the clock just seems stuck.. and it seems like the boys may just never stop running/jumping/climbing/screaming/wrestling/making messes... and it seems like bed time will just never ever get here.

But. Then it does.

And a few minutes later, they're all tucked in. Saying sweet, honest, innocent prayers. Giving hugs and kisses. And yelling down the stairs "You're beautiful pretty, Mommy!" and "You're handsome and I love you, Daddy!"

And then it's quiet.

And one more day has passed.

And everyone is one day older. One day closer to the independence that, I admit, I often crave.

But I know that way too often, I overlook the sweet and innocent parts of the day.

I am too overwhelmed or too busy to appreciate the few small, fleeting moments we still have with them as they are now...

Just little boys.

Curious, trusting, silly.. filled with jokes and joy and limitless energy.

And filled with unconditional love.

And right this very second, I want to cling to that.



Today, our baby turned 4.

And he's definitely not a baby anymore.

He's silly and creative, sweet and clever. He will never turn down a snuggle.

And he has been following the lead of his big brothers for so long now, that I'm pretty sure he hasn't been a "baby" for some time.

 

But today, it's even more real.

Look at this beautiful, happy boy!

So we had to take lots and lots of pictures.

 So we could remember this day. Exactly how it was. Exactly how he looked. Exactly as we were.








Exactly how it was to lay in the warm grass.

And just exactly how strong his mighty little muscles were.











We will remember that the sun was shining and the sky was as blue as his eyes.

And we'll remember the wind.


And how he had to get it out of Mommy's face so she could see to take his pictures.





“You will never be this loved again. So on those days when you are feeling stressed out, touched out, and depleted, just remember that you will never be this loved again. One day you will long for their affection. So choose a soft voice, choose gentle hands, choose love.” – AK

Graham Arnold. 

August 20, 2015.

4 Years Old

He is the one who was in my arms  - with Holden and Bridger sitting beside us on the couch - when I looked around the day we came home from the hospital and said, "We're all here now."

And he will forever be the "baby" who made our family whole.

♥  ♥  ♥

 

Our First Grader

So I don't know if it's just me - or if it's a negative indication of me as a mother... - but I must admit to you guys: today was so much easier than last year.

Like.. I didn't even cry.

He hugged me. Kissed me on the head (I have a cold). Blew me one more. And climbed on the bus.

With purpose.

And confidence. 

Today Holden is a first grader.

And he is so ready.



 

He's smart and funny.

He's kind and thoughtful. 

He's helpful.

He's capable.

And he genuinely tries his best when it counts.



 

I'm not sure why in the world I get to have such a great kid. But I know it's not because of me.

He is his own little person now. With his own thoughts, ideas, and opinions.

And he is truly a great kid.

 




 

I am so proud of him.


 

And today was just one more day.

Just one more step of growing up.

And I know he's going to do great.♥

 (Telling us a story just before the bus came.)

 And then a piece of my heart was on the bus and on his way.

 That toothless little grin was gone.

And just a tiny bit more grown up.

♥

 

Tents and Trails

This summer, in lieu of taking a big traditional "vacation", instead we splurged and bought ourselves.... garage doors!

(Bet you were expecting something more exciting. Haha... me, too.)

So as a compromise - and to treat ourselves to at least some kind of fun family getaway - we finally stocked up on some camping gear!

A nice, big tent and nice, new sleeping bags!

And after several backyard, trial-run camp outs.. we were finally ready for our first official camping trip.

Hocking Hills, here we come!

Even Indy Dog got to come along for family fun time!

Setting up the tent!

Our quiet little camp site - we were so fortunate to have the spot on the end.

Boys

Looking out over the river from our campsite

Group shot! :)

Waving at some kayak-ers passing by!

And after we got all set up, we decided to explore Ash Cave first.

(Jared and I have been there before and we knew it was a pretty short walk in and would be a nice easy introduction.)

Just as awesome as I remember it

Another view

And from underneath the cave roof

And then the boys got to play!

Testing out the chilly water!

Thinking about that waterfall....
 

 And they went for it! 

Standing under a waterfall!!

 

 More splashing and exploring

Watching the boys

It is so incredible there.

Splashy races

The man and his dog. 

Keeping watch. 

Protectors.

♥

"Holding up" the cave on the way out. 

Whew. Thank goodness for strong muscles. ;)

A brief pause to check out the ittty bitty fishies

And one shot of all of us on the way out. 

Ash Cave, you never disappoint.

Then it was back to the campsite for some more water fun

Exploring in the river right down the hill behind our site

They had so much fun in that icky mud. 

Ha. 

Didn't even phase 'em.

Just skipping rocks on the river...♥

And some around the campfire shots

And the next day we were off to the Old Man's Cave and Cedar Falls area...

 It's breath taking

 Although some of us were just way too interested in 

netting minnows to pay much attention to the scenery... ;)

 

 Mmmmhm. 

Even the big boy got suckered in to the hunt.

 

 Eh. We all did. 

It was fun spotting them :)

 Got one!

 And the first thing he wanted to do was hold it. 

Naturally.

*shudder*

♥

 

 Stud.

 

 And finally Holden had his first catch!

A two-fer! On his first successful attempt!

 And then it was time for more exploring!

 There it is. The Point.

This doesn't even do it justice. 

It is so amazing! 

(and so hard to believe its just right here in Ohio!)

All the trees and roots just growing all around and over the rocks.. it's just awesome.

Here my little super heroes climbed to the top and posed just for me :)

More awesome roots and rocks

And a whole family shot before we left Old Man's Cave

Then we had our little picnic lunch and headed over to Cedar Falls!

And spotted a couple little friends along the way.

 Hi, Momma Deer! We see you! (baby was out of sight by now.)

 

And, again. Hocking Hills did not disappoint. 

Cedar Falls was totally gorgeous. 

  

Buuuuut totally not as interesting as fish/frog hunting to some.

I mean... you do know there's a WATERFALL over there, right?

Boys.

Photo by Holden. ♥

And even though we were starting to feel kind of tired.. we decided to press on and try just one more spot.

And it was totally worth it.

Climbing inside...

Enter if you Dare!!...

The Rock House was awesome.

 

 Like, an actual, real life CAVE cave awesome.  

And WE were inside it! 

Climbing, exploring, and having an adventure!

 (the boys kept climbing up and sliding down.. they can make a game out of anything.)

 

So so very glad that we decided to push on and see this one last place. 

Such a cool experience.

And then they were OUT.

Ha!

And after a few more very silly, boy-humor-related giggles around the fire pit.... 

It was time to turn in for the last night of our camp out. 

But early the next morning, the boys still managed to squeeze a few more last minutes of fun 

 (and muddy footsies) out of the trip while Mommy and Daddy loaded everything up.

And of course it was doing their favorite summer activity, Critter Hunting.

(Holden just KNOWS he saw a frog in the bushes that last morning. ♥)

Thanks for the memories, Hocking Hills! Until next time!♥