A Good Reminder

I read this last week and thought I should pass it along.

you will never have this day
with your children again.
tomorrow, they'll be a little
older than they were today.
this day is a gift.
breathe and notice.
smell and touch them;
study their faces
and little feet and pay attention.
RELISH THE CHARMS
OF THE PRESENT.
enjoy today, mama,
it will be over before you know it.
-jen hatmaker

There are days that I love more than anything. There are also days that I wish away. My life for the most part feels repetitive. I  have come to the conclusion that I am okay with that. Even if it means changing lots of poopy diapers(Hadley never disappoints) or telling him to leave our dogs alone or not to jump on the couch a bazillion times each day. Today will be over before I know it, I MUST choose to enjoy every moment!

Whoa!

I am TERRIBLE! I was just thinking how dumb it has been that I have been absent for SOOOOO long! Blogging for me is my journal, diary etc. I must do better.

 I have a few excuses...

1. We sold my iMac- it is a little easier to blog on a computer rather than my iPad!
2. Loren is on his computer 95% of the day ( for work ) , so I will have to sneak time!
3. We've been... busy????? No excuse to not document our life, and more importantly Hadley's life.

I feel as if everyone now sees our life through Loren. With photo and video business in full swing he is not seen without a camera. And then there is me, with my measly iPhone. Needless to say, I will be stealing his pictures!

This might a be long "catch up" post...

This summer has been busy! Summer always goes by too fast. Although, it has been so blasted hot here this summer, I'm a bit ready for fall! Hadley of course is the best thing on this earth ( to us ).  And no, I'm not pregnant nor thinking I want to be quite yet. That seems to be the question I get the most now that he is two.  I love giving him my full attention in these fun developmental years. And God knows perfectly well that we are not able to have children too close together. I think my sanity would go out the window. I love my sweet boy and just him for awhile! He is full of words and short sentences. Favorites are "Birthday cake", "Hadley's skateboard" ( yes, he has a skateboard, go figure) , "Birthday shoes" ( pretty much anything he says about a birthday ), "Hadley timeout chair", " Where'd it/he/she go?", the list goes on. It is wild how much his speech has developed. I remember our pediatrician saying that but I didn't really understand at that point. He is full of surprises, sometimes naughty ones. Logan (Hadley's cousin that is 5 months younger than him) and Hadley have a love/hate relationship. They are happy one minute, screaming the next. Or hitting. Or biting. It becomes almost more of a chore to get together but, the mamas don't care!! It's not like we're not going to hang out. It just means lots of time outs and lots of tuning out! They will be the best of friends someday...right?! Hadley loves being outside. He would spend the majority of his time out there if given the chance. He is really into books, especially the book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. We read it over and over and over. We also got a potty for him. He did business once in it. That's all I will say. Since then, no such luck. It's fine. The interest has definitely started. I have mixed feelings about it. He loves to help clean by pushing his wooden duck on a stick while I vacuum. Some days are wonderful and some days are really hard. I am just trying to soak up every minute with my boy, because I know there will be a day that I will long for these special times.

Until then, please enjoy the last four months of our lives...

Not a fan of the large pig at the Fair...

 XOXO!

Vacay from a whole lot of everything

Greetings from the Lake of the Ozarks! I figured i may as well check in since it has beeen over a month. Yes, we are still alive and well. Yes, we are finally moved in to our new home. We are missing a few thinngs such as furniture, curtains, our box spring(it won't fit up the stairs...of course not, nothing has been easy), but it is all on its way! Being in the midst of all that and we packed up and headed south for the week. Lor is doing a wakeboard camp and Hadley and i are are playing in the sun and eating fruit salsa! Which by the way, may be come my new summer addiction! I will post when we get home some pictures of progress. Until then i'm just enjoying the down time! I'd say we deserve it!

old house=A LOT of work

I have been MIA. For good reason. Our cute, little new home that we once said, "Oh we can move right in." has turned out to be quite the 'fixer upper'. I told Loren I would never buy a 'fixer upper' again after our last house and then I fell in love with a 1927 charmer. And here we are in the midst of it all. Painting and painting and painting...that is what I do with my life as of now. Hadley has forgotten who we are. We are so fortunate to have our family close. We could not do it without them. But, I finally feel like we are making progress. Maybe someday we will move in...?

On another note, Hadley is so fun!
He is talking more and more everyday it seems. Still obsessed with brooms and anything you push. He makes the silliest faces at us. Anyone that is bald is 'Papa!' At times this can be embarrassing. He would eat all day if I'd let him. He loves bath time most of all. He goes crazy splashing and dumping water over his own head. He cares less when I put him in time out. I even get laughed at! I think we have our hands full! He is so busy, busy, busy, ALL.THE.TIME. Pretty much all boy and I love him with all my heart! His sweet giggle and blue eyes melt my heart. I need to post some photos soon. I don't have a whole lot of time these days. Once we get moved in, life will be normal...whatever that means.
Cheers to moving...SOON!

Life takes you in unexpected directions.

And this is how I feel at times. The excitement of new things ahead. Though other times I tend to focus on looking back and asking "what if...?" Regardless of where we are living I know that eventually we will feel settled. For now, it seems that Iowa is the place. Which I am okay with as long as we can visit Colorado at least 2 times a year! So, with that being said, say hello to the new home of the Ekarts!
It's a 1927 charmer! We love it. It needs some work, but nothing we haven't done before, minus building a garage. We are so excited to finally have a place to call home. Now I spend all my free time trying to decide what colors to paint and I am at a standstill! I will figure it out I suppose. I've never been so indecisive!

Hadley will love having a fenced back yard to play in. He LOVES being outside. He gets so excited when we mention walks or the park. He is always ready to go. He is becoming such a little boy. A naughty little boy at times! Good thing he is cute. I have a feeling I will be saying that the rest of my life! He gives us a run for our money, but is one of the most wonderful parts of our lives. He is a talker and he is so positive he knows what he is saying. We can understand him half of the time. He is learning more words each week and becoming so much more aware of what is around him. This spring/summer will be so fun with him!

Happy Monday! It's suppose to be in the 70's in Iowa all week! Love it!

A year older, wiser?

I celebrated my birthday this past weekend. It was great, filled with lots of fun. Loren too me out on a birthday date. We went to see The Vow. It was cute, not quite as good as I was hoping. The whole time I could only think of how terrible that would be! But, regardless it was still fun. Then we met up with a few friends. Loren's good friend Adam was so sweet and had cheese cake waiting for me and then we went and had a birthday martini-yum! We were a little late planning and didn't make reservations until that day. We should have thought of it earlier. The only reservation we could get was at 9pm! As some may know, we typically eat late. Most of the time it is because we don't start cooking 'til 6 and Lor always has a "detailed" recipe. So, 8 o'clock is very common for us. But, having reservations at 9pm, was still a bit late for us. We went to Lucca in the East Village. One word- EXTRAORDINARY! Lucca, in my opinion, has the best food in Des Moines. That may be a bold statement, but it is so very true for me. I see it becoming our "special date" place. If you live in Des Moines, please go there. You will not be disappointed!
Sunday(my actual birthday) was spent with my family. We had chicken tortilla soup and Loren make a delicious carrot cake(my fav).

This next year of my life I would like to become a better me. I want to grow in God's love and shine his love to other people. I want to be the best mama for Hads. I want to enjoy all the little moments with him, as I know they pass too quickly. I want to be a supportive, loving wife. It makes it easy when I have a great husband who I have 100% confidence in no matter what path he takes us. I want to be a better friend, daughter and sister. Most of all I want to focus on the things and people in my life that really matter. Life is too unknown to not invest and enjoy relationships. Thank you to all who have made my life thus far, lovely.

Happy Love Day!

Hadley sends his kisses to you today!