This Side of Sunny

Kindergarten graduate

A few weeks ago, Carter graduated Kindergarten. Wow, this was an emotional time for me. My baby boy is growing up and is going to be in first grade. No more daycare, preschool, or kinder, now it's real school! Recently he has begun to play Minecraft with his brother- Coleman on his ipod and Carter on the ipad. They play together in the same world online, it's wild. Carter was even giving his brother some tips on how to do things. He's a smarty pants.

I love this picture of him, full of his personality: monster truck shirt, spiky hair and a purple tie he clipped on all on his own.

Shaking hands with his principal.

Diploma in hand! That's even a picture of him on the diploma.

Trying to get a good shot in the sun...

Here's Mr. Carter:

 

 

Amelia is now 3!

On May 2nd 2010, Amelia Valerie Breedlove was born half a world away. She has two birth certificates, a passport and made the trek back home at 6 weeks.

This little whirlwind hasn't stopped moving since. She holds her own with her brothers but yet likes to wear her plastic high heels at the same time. She constantly keeps Jake and I on our toes. We wouldn't trade this three ring circus for anything.

Amelia wanted a pink birthday, complete with a Barbie Princess cake she picked out on Pinterest.

Close up of the Barbie cake:

I actually used the mold from her cake from her first birthday... remember this? Feels like yesterday.

There were lots of pretty presents.

Papa completed her special three figurine set with Sleeping Beauty of the Disney Precious Moments train. 

The first doll house given by Nana and Papa!

Cutting the cake with Daddy. What a perfect ending to a celebration to a little girl who has us all wrapped around her little finger, including her brothers.

A week or two after her birthday, she gave us a present: no more buying diapers! We have officially said goodbye to almost a decade of changing diapers!

 

Sweet moments

Sometimes life hands you sweet moments, and in that instant, you slowly unwrap them, savor the flavor and enjoy the moment.

That first missing tooth...

My dad and I "geeking out" with all things comics at a school presentation...

Family game of baseball...

A real baseball game for the boys...

Carter wanting to thank his principal at his school...

Coleman thanking his teacher...

and a sweet little treat from my favorite froyo shop, Yogurtini with my sweet kiddos on Mother's Day.

 

 

Mothers

Early days with my mom, the things I only remember in pictures. My mom looks exhausted and crabby, much like I feel most days. I draw strange comfort in this, knowing that my own mothering journey is similar to hers. There is the utter exhaustion and exhiliration with having a newborn. There are the combing little girl's long hair battles in the morning. My mom was real and so am I. She loved us fiercely but made sure we minded. She kept us in line but was always there on the sidelines cheering us on. She made our birthday cakes, Halloween costumes and made sure we wrote thank you cards. So even in the middle of the mundane, we share those moments where it makes it all worth it.

The newborn days...

The fun ones...

and the proud ones.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there, whether here or within our hearts. May your day be filled with all the mundane and wonderful things that make up this thing called motherhood. 

 

Highlights from Carter's 6th birthday

There was life before Monster Jam trucks and life after Monster Jam trucks for this now 6 year old. 

The family invite:

The birthday pancake breakfast:

The Monster cake:

Presents:

Carter's first monster truck instructional video: (Carter: put it on youtube, mom)

 

We love this not so little guy. He's the one that starts the bathroom floor slip and slide. He loves to use the stairs for a monster truck launch pad. He recently learned to suck in air and burp. He got excited when he started to read his Hotwheels early readers. He likes to show people how he rides his bike without training wheels and is trying to convince me to let him ride his bike to school for Earth Day because it's good for the environment. And he has his first loose tooth- finally, he's been waiting a long time. I love that when I go check on him at night, he's got two monster trucks sleeping next to him.

Thriftshop Breedlove Kids Style

Another viral video:

 

Happy Easter 2013

Coloring our Easter eggs and loving the daffodils in the vase- it just says spring time!

This year, we decided to keep it simple- the good 'ole white crayon and basic dye.

Jake came up with this great idea for Amelia to dye the eyes using a wire whisk! Before...

 

After...

I had to give it a try... Amelia liked my flower design.

Easter basket goodies...

Happy Easter to all, rejoice in the good news and may your day be blessed with family, fun and plenty of beautiful sunshine.

New York 2004

Before there was kids, before there was cancer, my mom and I went on trip to New York to see a friend of mine. I was six months preggo at the time with Coleman.

New York was our kind of city- busy, noisy, colorful and full of drama.

So much to do and see it could be difficult but being who we were, nothing was going to stop us. We took a boat over to the Ellis Island and I remember laughing with mom. It was so cold and windy- we looked like garden gnomes with our jackets on our heads, our hair whipping around us.

We looked for names of my dad's family on the granite walls. I remember standing inside the Statue of Liberty and look up, way up. I remember being facinated with her copper feet.

We took an elevator and then climbed many stairs until we made it to the Sears Tower. The city glittered at night.

I remember that night walking home by the projects and huddling close together, walking fast. 

Mom had the idea we were going to be on the Today show so we got up really early and headed out into the cold. We stood in line with our glittered sign, AZ Gals Love Al. Later, we saw ourselves for 2 seconds on the TV, we were famous!

We went out on the town and saw an off Broadway show with Brooke Shields. I don't even know what it was called but we loved it.

My mom will be gone three years tomorrow. It's not a day I want to remember but for right now where I am in this journey of life after mom, I think about her on this day and I'm sad. I share this story because it was so long ago, before her first grandchild was even born. I want my kids to know her and her story, what she was like and who she was. They will find there are parts of her in them and that's how we learn to carry on, how she is always with us. 

Carter asked me recently where heaven was. I was hard pressed to answer but managed to tell him it wasn't in the clouds like the movies. His reply: "Heaven is in our hearts." Wise words from my wise little man. 

Harlem Shake Breedlove Style

This all started with Jake showing us all the funny Harlem Shake videos on Youtube, so we decided to make our own.

 

The next Steve Nash

Carter is playing basketball this year. He loves the Phoenix Suns and even wrote a letter at school to Steve Nash telling him to come back to the Suns. He's number 6, if the orange shorts weren't a clue.

 

 

What can I say? The kid is a natural, I'm expecting a call from the Suns any day now. What the other two do to pass the time...