Summer Fun with my little men

Life at the Kalasek household continues to be busy busy busy....most of it is fun stuff so we cant complain :) Easton has been spending lots of time outdoors at the pool, doing fireworks (snaps), and lots of bubbles and time at the park. Ben is SO close to rolling over, still somewhat sleeping through the night, starting solid food (so far not a fan), and smiling and giggling in ways that melt our heart daily! 4th of July weekend was so much fun and the weather was great! We went to the new exhibit at the Childrens museum. If your kids like dinosaurs GO! its so cool!  

explaining everything to daddy

Easton claims he wasn't scared but wouldn't get close to any of the dino's without holding daddy's hand

riding the dinosaur train with mommy! for a kid who loves dinosaurs and trains this was HEAVEN

CHOO CHOO

Ben...clearly not as into the museum as his brother lol

E's favorite room....he refused to use the buckets to pick up the balls he wanted to hold them all.

 At one point in this room he started yelling "mommy mommy mommy" i ran to him thinking something was wrong and he just held out a pink ball and said "look mommy its pink its your favorite color" seriously precious!!!

Every few min all the balls drop from the ceiling. Even though hes seen this millions of times it still amazes him

 For the 4th we went out to our friend Chad Buller's mother in laws house which is on a lake in Valley. The kids had so much fun playing in the water, sand, and watching the fireworks. Easton had a blast with all the boys his age

Hanging with Pat Ricketts (Easton LOVES HIM) his daughter Samantha, and Hudson Black

the boys chillin at Grammie and Papa Kalasek's house

Kisses! Easton is still so protective and sweet to his brother

Bath time fun!

Easton wanted to help this time

Trying Rice Cereal for the first time

Not a huge fan...perhaps regular baby food will go over better

Sitting up like a champ...its no easy feat with that noggin :)



My little smiler....finally :)

As helpful as Easton is with Ben there are times where I forget what "down time" means. I think anyone with multiple children knows this feeling. With one you had a nice nap time window where the moments were yours alone and yes most of the time its spent doing dishes, laundry, or other "chores" you don't get done when the single child is awake you can still sneak in a shower, nap, or watch a favorite show you DVRd weeks ago. With two I find there is no more of that...or at least those moments are much fewer and far between. I feel like the second Easton goes down for a nap (and he still takes 3 hour naps which is HEAVEN) I sit down put my feet up and then Ben starts stirring and needs me. My life is now a constant state of "need"....meaning someone always needs me. Now the boys needs are very different. Ben needs me for practical reasons: snuggles, food, diaper changes, a pat on the back to get a burp out...Easton has some of those same needs however he also has a whole handful of illogical needs like "i don't like this shirt i want the yellow shirt" "the milk is too cold" "I don't want to watch this Mickey I want to watch a different one" Now when they are both needing me for these things at the same time (which is often) it can get so overwhelming. I wont pretend this mommy thing is a walk in the park but I will say its the greatest gift Ive ever been given. I may never be off the clock and may hear a cry or the words "mommy i need you, mommy i need this, mommy can you___" a million times a day I wouldn't trade a minute. I have to keep reminding myself in those moments of frustration, or days where I was up all night, or after a long day at the office that these boys need ME....no one else! Its an honor and privilege. God chose ME to be their mom and I never get these moments back. Brians work had a happy hour Friday and I brought the boys up to it to see everyone and so many of the women who now have grown children said "i wish i would've appreciated this time more when i was in the moment. I just never had enough patience or understood how fast it would go" as they snuggled Ben or played with Easton. Those are my reality checks. Those are the times where I really remember how lucky I am right NOW! Yes some days I feel like im surviving off of coffee and leftover goldfish from Eastons snack bowl. Sometimes Im so tired I cant keep anything straight and my chest is sore from feeding the baby or pumping and the rest of my body is covered in slobber. No one said motherhood was glamorous and Ill take this Sam any day over who I was BC (before children). I find joy in the 4am cuddles with Ben when he smiles and giggles at me bc he has no idea that in another 90 minutes I have to get ready for work, my heart melts every time I lay in bed with Easton before nap time and he pats my face and tells me silly stories, and I relish the fact that my kisses can cure any ailment they may come across during the day, they fit in my lap so nicely, and I get to wash their tiny lil clothes. Someday none of that will be a reality for me anymore so I need to eat it up now. Yes there are days I struggle with remember all of the above but I try everyday to be mindful of what blessings I have been given, and as much as they need me daily I need them as well. I have the most awesome husband and this week he sent me this blog excerpt in a text message to remind me just how hard moms these days work regardless of if you stay at home or work outside of the home. We put so much pressure on ourselves and need to take a step back and just breathe! If you have an extra moment check out the link below of the blog Brian sent me. Its awesome! XOXOOXO
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/2271349