Brothers

Van, you scoot a lot faster when Hooper’s bottle is within sight. Hooper, you know your brother is fond of your cup. I watched the other day as you moved your cup close enough for Van to reach, waited for him to put his hands on it, at-which-point you grabbed the cup and ran away.
You were both playing with door. Van, you put your hand down on the ground and, Hooper, you proceeded to close the door over Van’s hand on purpose.
Van, you love grabbing Hooper’s hair. We’ve found a screaming toddler only to look down and discover a fistful of blond locks in your grimmy hand. You can be kinda aggressive.
Van, you love to make your way to Hooper’s room every night as Papa gets Hooper ready for bed. Hooper, each night as you put on your pajamas and brush your teeth, your brother is sitting in the doorway, watching. He idolizes your world.
Hooper, we played airplane the other day and with your chest resting on the bottoms of my feet high up in the air, you waved to your brother who was below, “Hi brodher”.
In general, you two are quite fond of each other and play well together most of the time.
You two are my world,
Mama
Side note: I’ll be announcing the winner to the Little Flourishes giveaway on Monday!

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Summer

One night, as some friends and I walked out of our book club meeting, I said, “Lately I’ve been feeling very wistful. Childhood is speeding by so fast. It’s such a cliche, but it’s true.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” one friend answered. “Whenever I get annoyed by the mess stuck to our refrigerator door, or about having to keep a stroller in the hallway of my apartment, I remind myself that these are the good old days.”Gretchen Rubin (as seen here too)
Side note: Many congrats to Darby, you are the winner of the Little Sweet Pea

 

giveaway. Remember you can still get free shipping with coupon code StorkFreeShip.

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Brothers

Dear Hooper & Van,
And just like that, you like each other. Well, some of the time at least. Van, whenever you’re napping, Hooper wants to see you. Like really wants to see you; as in he pulls at my leg and tugs at my arm until I get up off my butt and walk toward your door. Hooper, you’re always disheartened when I tell you Van is sleeping.
That little tidbit is first and foremost.
Hooper, you’re learning to share you toys and your space. Not that you have much of a choice, as Van is constantly in your space and constantly wanting to do whatever you’re doing. Your answer to this is to move him out of the way. I’ve caught you trying to drag him from underneath his armpits until he’s out of your path. You need to eat some more protein, however, because more times than not you are not able to move him and you’re left having to ask for help cuz’ he’s “heav-vee” (heavy).
Loving how you love each other… at the moment, anyway.
Mama

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Brothers

Motherhood has such a way of slapping you in the face, doesn’t it? I mean I’ve found myself wishing for something one minute, only to get it the next and curse it through and through regardless. Like the day Van was born and I “couldn’t wait” for him to get to know his brother. Now he knows his brother and you know what? His brother’s one big bully. Now I find myself eager for the day Van can stand and balance, and well, fend for himself. Though I know I’ll be cursing those days where they’re here too.
Anyone have any helpful hints on building a friendly sibling relationship? I can practically hear my mom laughing through the computer screen.
Side note: You have two more days to enter the giveaway for a $50 gift card to Sweet Threads. You can enter here. And don’t forget about their grand opening in Long Beach (see post for details). I’ll announce the winner on Friday. I consider Shella, the face behind Sweet Threads, so thank you for supporting those close to me.
Side side note: I have the privilege of being Modern

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Kiddos newest contributor. You can read an interview they did with me here and check out my new feature, Widdle Wednesdays, here.

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A Tour

Forgive me. I posted this over on the Mine Style Blog some time ago but wanted it saved here for Van’s future reference.

Things I love about the room: There is tons of natural light. Unfortunately, in the summer months this means it’s also the hottest room in the house. Our house was built in the 50’s and the windows are still the original. If anyone wants to donate to the new window fund, send your dollars my way. Why are windows so expensive? Seriously, it’s glass, not gold. But whatever, I digress. I love the angle of the ceiling, higher on one side and then sloping down. Most everything in the room was mine as a child or bought second hand, and I love that.

Things I hate about the room: We replaced the carpet when we moved in three years ago and it needs to be changed already. I’d love to put in wood floors or some deep shag carpet. The rug is from Cost Plus, but I’d love to change it out for this one from Target just for a change. I can’t seem to keep the door clean to save my life; the smudges serve as evidence of the dirty hands of the toddler that refuses to use the door knob. We took the crib bumper pads out only to find Van crying with his leg stuck through the bars, hence the random assortment of books that serve as our quick fix (I think I left those in for at least one of the photos). The clock on the wall does not work. Ho hum. I had intentions to fix it, but I also have intentions to have a clean house. I have neither. I’d also like to change the blinds or add curtains but my indecisiveness leaves me stuck with what the house came with.

Where things came from: The framed prints came from a trip we took to Cuba, when I was pregnant for the first time. We didn’t know if we were having a boy or a girl but agreed that the room would be built around those prints. The crib (Sparrow made by Oeuf), the danish dresser, and the knock off Eames chair were all bought off craigslist. Many of the books and toys were my own as a child or picked up along the way from thrift stores or flea markets. Van’s gray triangle onesie is from this etsy shop. The boxer needlework is perhaps one of my favorite things in the room and it came from this etsy shop (This one and this one are still available for a mere $5). The wall book shelf is from Pottery Barn Kids and the floating shelves are from Ikea.

A special story: Van was named in this room. At the time, it was Hooper’s room and we used to end our evenings as a family listening to music and watching Hooper play around. I put Van Morrison on the iPod, glanced down at my pregnant belly, then back at Willy, and asked, “What do you think of Van?”. And

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just like that, he was named.

The future: We’d love to move both of the boys into the same room. When that happens, I have visions of making their room a bit more grown up with an old vintage map of the world.

You can check out Hooper’s room here.

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A Day for Papa's…

+ click on the images above to be taken back to their place of origin +
Wishing all the Papa’s out there a very happy Father’s Day. And, as always, special love going out to my own dad who was also my softball coach as well as the man who ran to the store late at night to buy preparation H to put on my eyes (it apparently reduces the puffiness) after my 16-year-old heart was a puddle on the floor (as a side note, I learned that once while watching a dumb Miss America pageant… it’s probably the only thing I’ve ever learned from watching one of those  shows and that’s because how could you ever forget something like that… I’ve never looked at preparation H the same).
Special love also going out to Willy’s dad. If you engage Willy in a conversation that has any amount of substance to it, he’s bound to tell you something about his dad with pride beaming from his eyes. Papa Niles, you done did good.
And, much love to our two boys. Hooper & Van, I speak for your Papa and I when I say that it is a privilege raising you and watching you learn and grow. We love you.

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Hooper & Van

Dear Hooper & Van,
Van, you’re experimenting with new sounds. Oftentimes this means it sounds like there is an Indian in the back of our car. Hooper, you like to copy him by cupping your hand over your mouth and making whatever noise he is making back at him. It’s pretty cute and it’s, truly, the first conversation you two have had.
Hooper, for the most part you’re pretty good at sharing (and by pretty good, I mean that you’re pretty good on your terms. If I ask you to share, you’re not so good). The other day we were at the beach and Van started playing with one of the buckets you were not using. You came over, took the bucket from Van, and moved it about 6 feet away from him. Then you went back to playing with the bucket you were using beforehand.
Van, you long to be a part of Hooper’s world. Hooper, you had the portable vacuum and were pretending to clean up. Van followed you all. over. the. house. while you “cleaned up”. It’s amazing how much interaction can take place in the absence of conversation.
Love,
Mama
Have a funny sibling story? Do share.

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Hooper & Van

Dear Hooper & Van,
We’ve been working a lot on positive reinforcement lately to subdue otherwise torrential toddler behavior. And it’s worked wonders for your behavior, Hooper. The other day, in fact, you were kind enough to share several of your toy cars with Van. This event occurred unprompted which, of course, is always the goal. Van, you always love when Hooper brings you a toy; you stare wildly into his eyes, eager to be a part of his world. To reinforce this behavior, I gave you both a treat.
Later in the day, Hooper, you proceeded once again to be kind with your brother. You gave him your toy and patted him very gently on the head. Then you looked at me, raised your eyebrows with your chin high up in the air, pointed your index finger up to the sky in true Hooper fashion and asked, “Treat?”.
Hooper, I’m not sure what you love more: your brother or Gerber puffs.
I love you boys.
Mama

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Hooper & Van

Dear Hooper & Van,
We’ve been working on sharing and this last week I think you’ve finally grasped the concept. You started by sharing germs and both battled a husky cough, fever, and a runny nose that reassembled a leaking faucet. It landed you both in the doctor’s office: Hooper first and Van two days later.
It started with germs, but the sharing has reached the voluntary realm as well. Yesterday, I sat you down, Van, on the floor next to me. I put a modest pile of toys in front of you and got up to use the bathroom. When I came back, Hooper had nearly buried you in puzzles and coloring books and cars. Hooper, you proudly replied, “sharing”, and proceeded to gently rub your brother’s fuzzy head. That’s your new thing, by the way: Rubbing Van’s fuzz head.
So it’s not all ominous. Your budding relationship is looking upward. My black and white vertically striped top and whistle hangs neatly in the closet. Lets leave it there for a bit.
Love,
Mama

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Hooper & Van

I’ve been waiting since Van has been born for the boys to pay attention to one another. I worried about jealousy when Van was born, but surprisingly, Hooper did not exhibit any resentment toward his brother. With the exception of about a weeks worth of random hitting, he was gentle and kind.
Now that Van is sitting, he’s playing with more toys. And, for the first time, these boys are starting to build a relationship. And so the days of refereeing between these two has begun.
But it’s not all negative. As I type this, in fact, Hooper is howling like a coyote and throwing a ball in the air and Van is sitting, watching, and hysterically laughing.
I started this blog, first and foremost, for my boys. So, in addition to doing a monthly update on each of them, I also want to start tracking their relationship. I’m hoping to do this on at least a monthly basis, but we’ll see how it goes.
Dear Hooper, this month your brother is your number one fan. Dear Van, this month your brother is your number one toy stealer.

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