.Crazy love.

I think that most of the people that read this blog are moms {though there are exceptions} and that I personally know a good majority {though there are exceptions} and so I feel like it's safe to say that "we all know what it's like to have an overwhelming love of our child/ren".
But sometimes, like say when you have crazy pregnancy hormones going on, you are leveled by how much love you have for your little one{s}.
Case in point: yesterday Cheyenne & Amelia both had a mild but very annoying {for them} stomach bug that ended up leaving Amelia with a terrible diaper rash. She woke up from her nap screaming bloody murder and to say that I was crushed with guilt and sadness is just the tip of the iceberg. I ended up stripping her naked, giving her as much of a cooling hose down in the shower as she could handle, then cradled her on my lap like a tiny baby until she fell back asleep. For over an hour I sat crippled in the rocking chair in her room {holding a toddler that is over half of your height like she's a baby is hell on the back} watching her in my arms as she slept.
For the rest of the day she was on me like glue and I have to admit that I was more than okay with it, in part because holding her just made me feel like maybe I wasn't the worst mom on Earth.
Later that night when Cheyenne & I went to bed I was laying there totally preoccupied with love for my little girl and I missed her - as though we had been away from each other for days instead of just 2-3 hours. I was so fussy and forlorn with my missing her that in order to get any sleep Cheyenne insisted that I get out of bed and sneak into her room to give her a little kiss in the hopes that it would calm my nerves. After going back and forth with myself about it {and driving Chey insane} I finally went into her room, after I got back to my own bed the following conversation took place:

Cheyenne: "Feel better?"
Me: "Yes, a bit. She had kicked her covers off so ya know, thank god I was there to cover her back up. Mother's intuition!"
Cheyenne: "You know, she's always overly warm, I bet she kicked them off to get comfortable."
Me: "MOTHERS INTUITION!"
Cheyenne: "Yeah, you're right. It's a good thing you went in there. Can we go to sleep now?"
Me: "I miss her. We should wake her up and play."
Cheyenne: "That's insane. Don't wake up that child."
Me: "Okay you're right. But we should go get her and bring her in here to sleep."
Cheyenne: "No."
Me: "Yeah, that could wake her up too. Maybe I should go sleep on the floor by her bed."
Cheyenne: "You can't even get comfortable in our bed and with your 5 pillows, how are you going to sleep on the hardwood floor?"
Me: "Ugh, that's a good point. I guess I'll just lay here and fuss."
Cheyenne: "Okay, but I'm tuning you out and going to sleep now."

I fell asleep about an hour later. The moment she woke up this morning I was in her room ready to start our day together. I just love her that much. I want her around all of the time {unless she's having a tantrum, then I want some xanex and a babysitter}.

.Portland love, time-lapse style.

Finding Portland from Uncage the Soul Productions on Vimeo. This video makes me swell with love and pride for the city that is my home. Perhaps it will inspire the non-locals to visit?

.The "originial" Clarkling.

Josie, our miniature Australian shepherd, is also very very happy that Spring seems to be here and Summer is just around the corner.

 

.Spring is in the air part IV.

.Making mud pies in the sandbox.

.The other day when my dad & Cheyenne were in the garage working on our lawn mower Amelia decided to "help". Really what this means is that she started going through boxes of baby stuff that we have in storage out there. She's developed a newfound love of her old baby seat. I think a "normal" 2 year old would be too heavy but since she's such a thin little thing she actually does alright in there.

.Stopping to smell the roses? I didn't have the heart to tell her that 1. that's a concord grape vine and 2. it wont have fruit for another several months.

.Spring is in the air part III.

The first few of these photos remind me of my very favorite story about children and their magical thinking. When my uncle Curt was a little boy he set my grandparents backyard on fire while my grandpa was taking a nap on the couch. Curt kept running back inside the house for one juice glass of water at a time trying to put it out, after a few times of him asking for yet another glass of water in quick succession my grandpa went out back to see what Curt had been up to and there was the yard on fire. I've always loved this story because it's so absurd and funny to imagine the whole thing from either Curt's perspective {"Oh no! Maybe I can put it out 8 ounces at a time?"} or my grandfathers {"Oh my God, the kid set the damn yard on fire!"}.
Anywho, yesterday while in the yard Amelia decided to water the grass...one 8 ounce glass of water at a time. I immediately thought of the Curt story and laughed and laughed to myself thinking that all children are essentially alike. 

.There comes a time in every persons life when you realize that the best water you will ever taste in your life comes from the garden hose. Amelia was 2 years old when she made that discovery.

.After her attempts to water the yard she thought a nice dip in the pool - fully clothed - was needed.

.And yeah, she's doing push-ups in very very cold water...with all of her clothes on {she's a bad ass}.

.Spring is in the air part II.

.Spring is in the air part I.

As always, click on the photos to enlarge.

.I have had this garden gnome for years. His name is David, after the main character in the best chidlren's cartoon of all time. Cheyenne got it for me as a gift ages ago and I think he's happy in his little home among the flowers. Amelia firmly believes that it's actually Santa {or "Santy"} and this is his Summer home.

.It actually was exactly 3:00pm - she's a sundial.

.Doing her best impression of Tattoo from Fantasy Island.

.Playing soccer with Josie.