February 28

I have no cohesive narrative for today's post; it is just a jumble of random pictures.

Last night, Chris went out to our rental home to begin preparing it for a new tenant. While he was gone, the kids and I watched cat videos on America's Funniest Home Videos' Facebook page.

Even Eli wanted in on the cat video action, which was really cute. (Please ignore the chaotic mess in the background. It's just how we roll.)

What? You want to see the cat video?  I think you can click here to watch it for yourself Cats Leap for Leap Year It's definitely worth the minute or so it takes to watch.

Also yesterday, I got my early Mother's Day/late birthday gift in the mail.

I have had this necklace for a long time now; it has a disc for each child with their name on one side, and the meaning of their name on the other side. Now I've added that little pearl to it, except it's not actually a pearl. It is my breast milk, professionally preserved in resin. 

I know - it's kind of weird. At first I thought the whole concept of breast milk jewelry was tacky and gross, but now that the end of my breastfeeding journey is drawing closer and closer, I am feeling sentimental. I hope to nurse Eli until he is two, but then I will close the door on nearly seven years of almost continuous breastfeeding. It's a lot, and it has become a defining part of who I am. I have fought to nurse my babies, I have cherished nursing my babies, I have shared my milk with other babies. It matters to me. 

So yes, I will add a little pearl of it to my mommy necklace. No one else will know what it is, but I will know, and I will cherish it.

On to today. It was our turn to serve in the church nursery today, except that they have switched things up and now babies and toddlers are combined in a big kid classroom. That meant that this happened:

Yep. That is Eli, sitting in a chair, eating Cheerios out of a snack cup.

He looks like such a big boy, doesn't he!

Luckily, he isn't really such a big boy. He needed help to get in that chair, and was totally not ready to actually sit there. But it was fun for a moment!

We stopped at my parents' house for lunch on the way home, and then it was nap time. While I enjoyed this:

(Nursing, rocking, snuggling, asleep in my arms)

Chris and Caleb were doing this:

Yep! Caleb finally learned to ride his bike without training wheels! He's been ready to do it for at least a year now, but he was too scared. Today, Chris and I decided that he might just need a little push outside of his comfort zone. But then when I talked to Caleb about it, he freaked out. He was really scared. We watched a few videos about it on YouTube (including this long but adorable one, narrated by an awesome four-year-old girl!), but he was still freaked out. I talked to Caleb some more, and finally found a solution: he would feel more comfortable and willing to try it if he had knee pads, elbow pads, and hand/wrist pads.
Done.
I googled it, found some at Target, and sent my boys off in search of pads.

And that, my friends, was all it took. Caleb can now ride his bike without training wheels!
(Of course, the bike is looking pretty small for him now. I'm hoping we can extend the seat a little bit more until he grows into the bigger bike we have waiting for him in the basement.)

All in all, a great day!