" A portrait of my child, once a week, every week in 2014. "

Last week we were out in the heat no matter how hot. We were suffering from cabin fever and could not be kept indoors. Michael was one happy camper to get out and play some baseball.


Our neighborhood is graced with a splash pad... so if you come by our house and find it empty, that's the next place you should look. Michael does lap after lap and will not tire of it-- even after running it for an hour.

Part of Practising Simplicity's 52 Project.

" A portrait of my child, once a week, every week in 2014. "

Michael is making leaps and bounds with his potty training, though I still see some bumps ahead of us. We try to encourage him as much as we can, so when he last made some progress-- he became SUPER MICHAEL!


Sometimes we need to just get outside, even if it's 105. The sprinkler is positively perfect for days where our grass isn't jungle-length and it's "cool" enough where we won't be too hot with the water going.

Part of Practising Simplicity's 52 Project.

While Clark was home he really wanted to do some camping. Since we weren't quite sure how Michael would act, we decided to test the waters in the backyard first. The other reason for this? It is already way too hot. Odds are, real camping won't happen until fall.


Michael loved being in the tent, as long as the "door" was open so he could see outside. He waited patiently anxiously excitedly for it to get dark outside and the stars to come out. We passed the time with s'mores and books. Granted, the s'mores didn't have roasted marshmallows. Nonetheless, Michael was a big fan.



We had a wonderful time. Once it was dark and Michael was getting sleepy, though, he requested to go inside. We didn't fight him. It was eight o'clock and over eighty outside. We'll try "serious" camping in the fall, but this will always be remembered as his first-- and mama's favorite.

" A portrait of my child, once a week, every week in 2014. "

Last week we ventured into our backyard for a camping adventure. Michael was so excited at the aspect of sleeping in the tent with us. In the evening he snuggled onto Clark's lap to read, and it was a moment that completely pulled at my heartstrings. I love my boys so much, and nothing makes me happier than seeing them together.

Check back in to read more about our camping adventure next week!

Part of Practising Simplicity's 52 Project.

" A portrait of my child, once a week, every week in 2014. "

Never leave a jar of Nutella unattended. It was on the counter when I went to switch the laundry upstairs, and when I came back down it was, well, all over Michael. I love his curious spirit, and the fact that he loves this stuff as much as I do. This was one time I didn't mind cleaning up the mess-- I just joined in the fun.

Part of Practising Simplicity's 52 Project.

I know, I know. I've been awful about posting this over the past month. I promise to do better. We have been busy bees around here. Michael has decided that he needs me every.waking.moment. Not even every waking moment, actually. As we are now potty-training, it seems me leaving him during nap time or bed time causes distress. I'm sure it will all pass, and I can't say I mind the cuddles. Now that Clark is home, I am no longer wanted. I was just told that I was to stay inside as they went out and play.

I didn't argue with him.

" A portrait of my child, once a week, every week in 2014. "
19/52

Michael absolutely loves that we have grass in our backyard now. While we still have a few patches of dirt that have yet to fill in, that doesn't stop him from running from one end of the yard to the other with his lawn mower. He wants to be "just like Dada."
Please excuse that this was taken with my iPhone.


20/52

On a very hot day, it was necessary to let Michael play in the ::ahem::doggy::ahem:: pool. He absolutely loved being able to stay in our backyard and cool off. This is not to say that we don't enjoy visiting the neighborhood pool, but lately the big kids seem to like to play in the kiddy pool and that makes Michael a little nervous... or maybe it makes me a little nervous.

Part of Practising Simplicity's 52 Project.

Things are always crazy when Clark comes home. It's easy to fall behind. Michael was way too excited to take Dada to "the trains" as he calls the railroad park. We had a blast, even if it was pretty hot.



Clark and Michael got sick, starting around my birthday. It's taken us all week to get Michael up and running again, but yesterday he finally seemed to be his "whole self". Now if we could just get his sleep back on track, I'll be one happy mama.

Part of Practising Simplicity's 52 Project.

" A portrait of my child, once a week, every week in 2014. "
This week has had a lot of ups and downs. Michael is really into the "mine" stage. This means everything is his, everything has to be done a certain way, and if we don't do something as soon as we tell him we're doing it-- prepare for a meltdown! So one afternoon we sat down and painted with fruit. He loved doing it, made some amazing artwork (I'm biased, I know), and went a whole hour without declaring something was his. I count this as a win.

Sadly, this photo was taken with my iPhone. We were having too much fun (did I mention the peace & quiet?) that I forgot to pull out my DSLR.

Part of Practising Simplicity's 52 Project.


HAPPY EASTER! HE IS RISEN!

" A portrait of my child, once a week, every week in 2014. "
My wonderful friend from NC was out here for a Juice Plus conference weekend so we got to spend some quality time together... with Michael, of course. Saturday we made our way to the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park. It was fantastic. I'm definitely thinking we need to get a year-pass for this one for Michael. He had way too much fun.

Also, this photo credit goes to Linden. I didn't actually take it, but it was too wonderful not to share for the 52 Project.

Part of Practising Simplicity's 52 Project.

" A portrait of my child, once a week, every week in 2014. "
My dad is visiting this week and we got to take him to the Cubs vs. White Sox spring training game. Michael loved being at the ball game with his Papa. After getting ice cream, pistachios (we brought them in place of peanuts), and popcorn, the boy was set. Did I mention Papa bought him the shirt and the hat? He's trying to bread a Cubs fan, considering when the See You There crowd was here we were rooting for the Giants. Sadly, I think Clark is stuck on rooting for the Giants. Something about the Cubs and my first game being at Rigley field, though, has me hoping that Michael might just root for both of them.

Part of Practising Simplicity's 52 Project.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed since we moved here that I'm pretty obsessed with hot air balloons.

I'm pretty sure we live by a launch site, or just a place in general that you can take hot air balloon rides. I've done a little research, and I'm not sure going on a ride is in our future as of right now, but they are sure fun to look at.

Saturday morning Michael and I were up really early, and both rather grumpy. He didn't want to play outside. He didn't want to do puzzles, or color, or anything. We weren't very sure how we were going to start our day.

And then he spotted a balloon.


Then another.


Somehow, these things manage to just cheer us up every time we see them. We sat in the backyard and watched them come closer, and closer, and then disappear in a different direction behind the neighborhood houses.


It's magical.

From then on, our day picked up, which was wonderful. It was like we just needed a little reminder from God that it was going to be ok, and that's what the hot air balloons always seem to do.

" A portrait of my child, once a week, every week in 2014. "
This week we had our first pool day, which just happened to fall on the first day of spring. Right now we haven't made any local friends with kids his age, but he gets along beautifully with little Grant. We had such a wonderful afternoon with friends, something we had clearly been lacking. It was truly a God-send when I was linked up with Jacquie for the first Cara Box I did through Wifessionals.

Part of Practising Simplicity's 52 Project.