A Marriage Proposal

This is one of the cutest proposals I've ever seen!

A confession

Truthfully, growing up I never really had very high self-esteem.  I was a perfectionist, quick to see faults in my personality, my actions, my clothes.  I wasn't particularly funny or outgoing.  I had paralyzing shyness around people I didn't know and in unfamiliar situations.  I struggled with feeling as though I wasn't ever good enough.  I thought a lot about the major problems in the world and how I felt useless to alleviate them.  I was ok at a lot of things, but not incredible at anything.

But then I became a mama.

And as a mama, my self-worth has grown exponentionally.  I feel confident and capable, knowledgeable and secure in my opinions and beliefs.

I feel strong.  I am passionate and dedicated.  I am well-learned and educated in my "field".  I consider myself an "Expert Mama".  I'm not afraid of parenting a little differently than others might.  I am proud of my convictions and I'm not afraid to cite my research to back them up.  I parent with lots of thought and effort.  If there's a situation with Cole that comes up and I don't know how to handle it, I have faith that I will eventually find the right way to handle it.

Most especially, I love my child more than anything else.  Of all the "hats" I've worn, my "mama" hat is the one that fits me best.

I think back to all those years of painfully doubting my self-worth, of feeling inadequate and useless - and I wish I could tell myself, "It's ok.  Your time to shine is coming.  And you will shine brighter than you ever imagined.  You will be challenged beyond what you have ever been challenged before - but you will end up feeling capable and confident.  You will be amazing!"

Finally, I think I can say that with true conviction and belief: I am an incredible person.  I am a mama.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a wonderful and packed-full Memorial Day weekend.  Gram and Pap drove all night Friday in order to be here Saturday morning, and Aunt Meg and Uncle Stu came down Saturday afternoon.


Saturday evening we had an ah-mazing dinner at Porter's Restaurant, an old train depot remodeled into a restaurant.  The food and wine were fantastic and the company was even better:

Sunday, we made reservations for something I've always wanted to cross off my bucket list: Hellgate Jetboat Excursions, a very cool jetboat ride down the Rogue River.  Seriously, it was amazing!  We all had so much fun and got VERY wet.  The wildlife was amazing and our guide was hysterical. 

On our way:

The jetboats:

 We were pretty all smiles the whole trip! SO MUCH FUN!

 Somehow, Cole stayed the most dry of any of us (except maybe Uncle Stu, who I'm pretty sure used Meg as a human shield to stay dry):

Cole wasn't a fan at the beginning of the boating because of the wind whipping into his face.  But he snuggled up with us and peeked out when we paused to check out the wildlife, and at the end he kept telling us all about the "BOAT!!! BOAT! SHPLASH!!" and proceeded to reenact the big splashes in his bath!


Monday morning, we sent off Meg and Stu with breakfast out, and even met up with our friends Bridget and Marlena!  We have a busy week ahead - we're sooo glad Gram and Pap can stay for Cole's birthday on Saturday!

Fire Truck

Cole loves, LOVES trucks.  But the coolest truck, according to him, is a FIRE TRUCK!

I think it's because it's noisy.  My little boy likes noisy things.

So last weekend, when we got a chance to see a real, live fire truck, Cole was thrilled:

Cardboard Arcade

This kid is AWESOME.  I just love the attitude of making something and being creative instead of buying it. 

I know.  This kid is going places!

Indecision

Cole has reached the indecision stage of his little life.


Is this a stage all toddlers go through? I'm not sure.  But I would love to know how long it lasts, because it is driving me CRRRAAAZZZZYYY!!


See, it goes like this:


Mama: Cole, what color towel do you want: the towel that is white or the towel that is blue?


Cole: BOO! BOO!


Mama: Ok, blue it is.


Cole: YEAH! YEAH!

I start to hand him the blue towel.
Cole: NO!  WHIE! WHIE!


Mama: You want the white towel?


Cole: YEAH! YEAH!


Mama: Ok

So I hand him the white towel.


Cole: BOO!


Mama: You just said white! Now you want the blue?

Cole: BOO!

So I take a deep breath and hand him the blue towel.

Cole: WHIE! WHIE!

Mama: GAH! Cole, make up your mind!

Cole: (almost in tears) WHIE! WHIE!

See, now he's getting upset.  Apparently it's very upsetting to ask for something and have it given to you.  I'd be really upset if that happened to me.

Mama: OK.  Cole, I'm handing you the white towel - that is your final decision.

Cole: YEAH! WHIE!

pause

Cole: BOO!

Mama: Too bad!  White is your final answer!


I think my son is suffering from chronic indecision syndrome.  Any ideas for the cure?

Beautiful thought for the day...

Waterfall Hunting

I love waterfalls.  (Just check out my header, right?)  So when Chris suggested last weekend we go see Natural Bridge Falls, I jumped at the chance.

Grammy and Papa were here for the weekend - Cole was eager to get going with them:

 Spring was the perfect time to come see the falls - the water was loud and gushing and gorgeous!

 Cole holding the hands of a couple of his favorite people, Grammy and Papa:

 Throwing rocks and pinecones over the edge:

 Having a picnic lunch at Union Creek :

 Dipping feet in the river:

 After lunch, we stopped at Mill Creek Falls:

 Cole had the best seat in the house!

 It was a bit of a hike, but the view was so totally worth it!

We had such a great day exploring waterfalls!