Thousands of reasons to never look away!

Just one small event...but thousands upon thousands of pieces of glitter that are EVERYWHERE. In his ears, the bathtub, in books, the kitchen, ALL over the floor and the rugs, on Calem, my glasses, the dogs...ugh! 

So what was I doing while this all happened? I went to put Calem down for a nap. That is right just a minute. Now he is pretty sneaky and when I was feeding Calem he must have reached onto the back side of the desk and grabbed the glitter out of a basket...Notthing like a busy toddler to tell you that your house is IN FACT a disaster. AND that it is only going to get worse if you don't start organizing! I did not even get mad, I was really calm. I took away the glitter...after I took a few photos of course!

This sweet baby napped through the whole glitter ordeal. Despite what the shirt says he is not cheeky at all! At least not now, time will tell...

Racing to the park after daddy got home so we could all enjoy the outside air and last few minutes of daylight! 

Helping mommy clean out the car is one of Declan's favorite activities. Today the dogs are helping as they are reaching in and eating goldfish off of the floor of the car. If we don't do this about once a week we start to lose important items underneath all of the jackets, blankets, stuffed animals and cups that make it in the car. And no one likes a week old milk sippy cup surprise. Blegh!

Excuse the GIANT mess. But just an example of what this kid gets in to when you are standing right there

Finally this is how I am containing him today as I try to conquer the glitter mess again. I already vacuumed and mopped last night, only to think that I got it all. Not so lucky as I walked out to the still remaining dusting of glitter throughout the whole front part of the house. Sigh! At least we are all happy and healthy and our sense of humor remains intact.

Laughing at the small and messy things,

The Mommy Tree

Boy Moms!

Today I got to be the guest blogger over at Chasin'Mason ! Chasin' Mason is my dear friend Liz's blog, where she blogs all about the adventures of her sweet son Mason. She also throws in her pinterest finds and delicious recipes! She started a series about Boy Moms. So if you have a boy, want a boy, or know a boy you should go check it out! Also super thank you to Lizzy for thinking of me and letting me be your first guest blogger, I feel pretty special.

 

 

On Monday We Wear Blue…And a whole lot of messy too!

I met my dear friend Lizzy our freshmen year of college. It took us a few months to realize that we weren’t just in one of the same classes we also were living in the same building! From then on she has been one of my dearest friends.

Calem

Declan

Hi, I’m Tara from A Tale of Two Maples, and I am the lucky mommy to TWO BOYS!!! I have always wanted to be a mom to boys, once upon a time I dreamed of having three boys and a girl. Now I feel like whatever blessings come in this life, I am grateful. I met my husband at summer camp and I used to beg to have a group of the seven year old boys. They always seemed like so much fun! Fast forward through more summer camps, a year long trip around the world, nursing school, more traveling and arrive at the biggest adventure yet…PARENTHOOD! Most days I can’t believe that I already have two kiddos, Declan is about to turn 2 and Calem is about 2.5 months.

 

Have you heard the saying “Mothers of sons work from son up to son down.” NO JOKE! Being a mom to little boys means planned activities usually last about 5 minutes (10 if you are lucky), we are outside most of the day, outfits for everyone are changed at least thrice! It means that I face every day with a sense of humor and we laugh, a lot!  Declan is active ALL of the time…and he is fearless. His favorite activities are going to the trampoline park, chasing the dogs, exploring outside and anything that involves water, especially the dog’s water bowl.

Calem has already figured out that he must eat all of the time and grow strong to keep up with his older brother. In our house, we call this the “beefcake!” He is such a sweet baby, completely content to be held and snuggle into your arms. I prayed for a snuggler and here he is! Having two kiddos under two and two in diapers is…exhausting, sometimes challenging, mostly rewarding and always filled with love. The exhausting moments are headed towards the two of them being lifelong best friends. The gift of one another might just be the best gift I could ever give my children.

Thank you Lizzy for asking me to share my love of being a boy mom!

XOXO,

The Mommy Tree

Side by Side

I wonder how long these moments will last. Declan with his silly, cheeser face and Calem with his stunned, 'eyes as wide as they can be' look. The two of them side by side is one of my favorite things! It also makes for those photos that make me giggle, everytime I see them! Oh and don't forget MooMoo and Kitty...they might as well be our 3rd and 4th children. Because heaven forbid you leave them at home.

 

 

 

 

 

Our sincerest apologies for taking our hiatus from the blog. The holidays were crazy, lots of people and lots of love, our hearts are full! I managed to pull off another 4.0 in graduate school...what is going on...apparently I thrive in chaos and stress?! I am on the computer for the first time since finishing my papers and Christmas shopping, which means no blog updates...It's a new year and new resolutions! Jonathan has already completed one of his which was to compile all of our photos. That was one of the big hold ups in getting posts published. There is about 10 written but there were no photos to go with them. So now everything is organized and it should be so much easier to get updates out. So thank you to everyone who was super patient with us!
Much Love and a Happy Health New Year!
The Mommy Tree

Calem - 2 Months!

Calem: 2 Month Stats

 

Weighs: 13 lbs 7oz

Length: 22.75 inches 

Eats: About every 2 hours during the day. Every 4 hours at night.

Sleeps: a 4-6 hour stretch at the beginning of the night, than 3 hour stretches after.

Personality: Still a cuddler! Loves the sound of his brothers voice, even when he cries. We have even watched Calem smile while Declan is in trouble for something (makes it hard for us not to laugh).

He can hold up his head and while on his belly pushes up and looks around. He is happiest when he can be in on all of the fun.