5 on Monday

1.) I think I've mentioned before that the house we live in was previously owned by a woman who LOVED to garden. She must have planted at least 50 azaleas and hundreds of daffodils, not to mention dogwoods, crepe myrtles, camellias, roses, clematis, gardenias, and a variety of other bulbs, vines, etc..Anyway, tucked away in a far corner of our backyard are three flowering quince bushes. We don't do anything to them, but every year in late winter they produce the prettiest flowering branches. I love them so much, and when they have buds I cut as many branches as I can and force their blooms inside. They last forever as long as you change the water. We're getting towards the end of their season and that makes me sad, but at least our spirea is about to bloom next.

2.) Last week it rained and I let the boys go crazy in the puddles. One of the great things about living in such a warm climate is that a rain in late February isn't always that cold. I think on this day the temps were in the 60s? Anyway, Ben taught Abe how to stomp, and then the fun was on!

In a couple of these photos, you can see that Abe had just face planted in the water. I thought that would be the end of it, but the love of stomping in puddles won out over personal comfort! By the way, do you see that the house that they've been building across the street from us for THREE YEARS is finally nearing completion?

3.) Look who just woke up from his nap all smiley? What a cutie.

4.) I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but our boys share a room. Sometimes this isn't very fun, like two nights ago when Ben woke up in the middle of the night for no reason, and after exhausting mommy and daddy's patience and attention decided to wake up his little brother for some social time. That was a bad night. BUT, other times it's very precious. At night we sit on Ben's bed for prayers and songs, and Abe always climbs all over Ben and snuggles with him. After I put Abe in his crib he always likes to check and make sure his brother is in bed too, and if Ben leaves the room he gets VERY upset. Ideally, the boys wouldn't have shared a room until Abe was slightly older, but after a rough start it's getting much better. I actually think that Abe will be ready for a big boy bed much earlier than Ben was, and it wouldn't surprise me if they ended up sleeping together some nights. I truly think that sharing a room is making the boys closer.

5.) I guess I haven't mentioned this before on the blog, but I started running about 6 months ago. Now, you have to understand that I have NEVER EVER played a single sport in my entire life. Not even summer softball, or a few years of dance, or going out for track in seventh grade. I mean NEVER. So taking up a sport and actually sticking with it for a long period of time is a big deal for me. I won't say that I love it, but there are days when I really enjoy getting my blood pumping and the rush of endorphins. I can tell that I have more energy since I started a running regimen, and I also think it helps with my anxiety and focus. Anyway, I'm running my first 5K on St. Patrick's Day, and I'm really excited!  I'm not very fast and I don't like to run more than 3.2 miles at a time, but that's ok cause I'm pretty sure that's all they make you run for the 5K :) It's fun to have a goal.

Abe has his 15 months checkup tomorrow, so I'll post a little update on him once we have all his stats. Happy Monday!