Highlight Reel: The Brown Chair

There is a brown bean bag chair in our home that has become very popular. It, discovered on a clearance shelf at Target following Christmas last year, found it’s way in to Everett’s bedroom. I’m not sure how they all get here but it has been a home for Everett’s steadily growing stuffed animal collection. In a small burst of inspiration, the stuffed animals most of which Everett is scared of anyway, were moved to his rocking chair. Everett, upon discovering this brown thing was actually not a scary stuffed animal holder, but in fact a kid size chair just for him, fell in love with it. And after his baby brother was briefly seated next to him, decided sharing is fun. Now the brown chair is often his seat of choice when he is watching shows, having a snack or his juice. And sometimes when he is in a generous mood, he reaches for his baby brother with an “uh, uh” which is code for “I want Reid to sit with me.” This goes fairly well but having a wiggle worm for a big brother makes parents nervous and Reid is normally transported to safety shortly thereafter. It’s cute while it lasts…






but then it doesn’t. This picture was taken immediately following Everett whacking Reid on the head. Generosity only lasts so long when you’re just fifteen months old. Though Everett does generally feel some sort of remorse. Hurting his brother is not his intent but thanks to his “helping” and “sharing” we are more familiar with Reid’s “I’m hurt” cry than any other cry but at least he tries.



In all honesty they do well and Everett really does enjoy his little seat. His favorite show is an Australian children’s singing group called The Wiggles. Captain Feathersword, a friendly and silly pirate, is Everett’s favorite. He always brings a smile to Everett’s face.



What doesn’t bring a smile to Everett’s face is the cold. Or rather the things you must wear in the cold. He is not a fan of his winter coat at all and the winter hat brings a full on meltdown.



We haven’t even attempted mittens yet but I have a sneaking suspicion of how that will go. Unfortunately for him, his family lives in the North and so he will have to learn to adjust to wearing them. They aren’t going away.



And so, until the weather warms up again I think it’s safe to say that it’s going to be a looong winter that will wear us all out.



Thankfully we have a warm home that has cool stuff to climb…




or crawl under. It shall be the Winter of fort building but probably not the snow kind. More like the blanket and pillow kind. Though I’m pretty sure Little Man will be quite intrigued by the snowy ones too.



It turns out that the other Little Man in our house doesn’t like wearing winter items either. In fact, he prefers to wear nothing at all. Reid is the happiest in his diaper. It does not matter what mood he is in, strip him down and the kid will give you a grin from ear to ear.




He also loves the vacuum cleaner of all things. I had noticed that whenever I vacuumed he always fell asleep and so on one of those days where nothing seems to go right. You know the ones. The one where the kids fuss and whine non-stop, your house is a wreck, laundry is everywhere and your husband is going to be home in an hour. Yeah, that one. I put him in his swing and turned on the vacuum cleaner while I rushed around to fabricate a scene that makes it seem that I am on top of things. After a few minutes, Reid, who had been particularly fussy that day, was out. That may not win me Mother of the Year award but it worked like a charm and, ahem, yes I will do it again.



And in other news, this cutie has discovered his tongue.



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It’s Thanksgiving week and I have a lot to be thankful for, more on that later, but it always amazes me when God provides something that may seem silly to someone else but is important to you. And by important I mean something that will really help you out, make things easier but you can get by without it if you need too. For me that has been a double stroller. I take the kids out pretty often by myself and I am okay if I am in a place where there are carts but not every place has a cart. This meant going anyway, holding one kid and pushing the other in a stroller or just not going at all. And those places are more of a “desire of the heart” type places such as taking a walk on a nice day or strolling around the mall when I need to get out of the house. Those places just weren’t an option. Then the other day I stopped in Salvation army and in the back of the store was a double stroller and it was only $10! I was so excited and of course I snatched that thing and rolled it right up to the register. Our car is so small that it doesn’t fit in our trunk so it is my fellow passenger.



But it is in great condition and with a good cleaning I can now do more with the boys. Going out on my own is not always easy, though I try to go at a time that works best for their schedule, there are moments. Like when Reid is screaming for a bottle and I just can’t make it fast enough for him or when Everett is whiny or loud and shushing him only seems to cause the volume to go up and not down. I am determined to take them out though because it makes our days fuller, helps me stay sane and happy and frees up our evenings from running errands. I am also learning to keep my cool in those situations and realizing that for every person that is rolling their eyes or making a snarky comment, and that has happened, there is someone who sends me a sympathetic smile or says something encouraging. I’m also thankful for that!



Anyway, all that to simply say, I am thankful for a God who doesn’t just bless us with the big things we need but also blesses us with the little things that we want as well.