Solomon is FOUR!!!

Solly Mack, you're FOUR! We had the best time celebrating you on your birthday. We continued the tradition of donuts for breaky - only this time, daddy scored them before you guys woke up so we could eat them at home and send Mosie off to school. Daddy picked out a super cool skateboard for you (want) and you've totally rocked out on it. We scooped Amos up from school for an early dismissal and headed to the new trampoline park in town. Let me just say, it didn't disappoint. Even Oscar loved it! We took back to the house for a rest time after jumping for over an hour, then loaded up and went to Sidewall for cheese pizza + ice cream and then to the park so you could check out your new skateboard. A birthday well spent, I think! 

You've seemed so big to me lately. You're confident and sassy. And independent. You love PJ Masks and your sleepy dog. This past year you've added stamps to your passport, learned to swim, driven the East Coast, and learned to ride a bike without training wheels. 

You are so wonderfully you. I have loved watching you grow over the past year and am admiring who you're becoming. We call you our poet ... you have an appreciation for fine things that is uncommon in a boy your age and this does not go unnoticed. You're a fierce fighter (always have been) and run towards battle. 

I sure do love you, Solly Mack. Keep growing big and strong! Cheers to the past 4 years! 

Solomon is THREE!

For Solly's third birthday we had day of "birthday maximization" as we like to call it 'round here. We started the day with presents: a new glider bike (something you want), a super cool helmet (something you need), the Postman Pat story time book (something to read) & 2 pairs of Toms (new to us / something to wear) + the sweetest gift from Amos, a Paw Patrol figurine set that he thought up all on his own. Immediately after opening gifts, we headed to the Donut Experiment where Solly's donut of choice included pink icing + rainbow sprinkles. Next up, we ventured over to the airport park (our favorite) for a couple of hours so Solly could try out his new glider bike. After lunch at home + a nap for Ez we loaded up and headed to Gravitopia (thanks Groupon!!) ... where we had the place almost to ourselves for an entire hour of jumping, flipping (Solly got the hang of a front flip in the air!), Ninja-Warrior-course-completing fun. And, to top it all off, birthday maximization ended with pizza at MellowMushroom. Oh yea! I almost forgot ... one of my favorite things has been ordering special shirts for the boys on their birthdays! Solly is super indecisive at this age, but we landed on a Moana shirt with Maui (thank you Etsy!). 

Solly Mack Martin, you're so fun. I've loved watching you over this past year fully take on the roll of big brother while fully embracing the roll of little brother. You're such a middle child - you know how to push buttons without actually doing anything (something Mama will never understand, but Daddy gets perfectly). You love Amos and think he hung the moon and you take such good care of Ez, always including him in whatever you're doing (you two have the sweetest bond). 

You (still) love Little Einsteins and Moana. You're super smart & sometimes surprise me with Spanish phrases / counting. You loved the beach this summer and I'm confident will be swimming by next summer. You like to play with Play Dough, water balloons and side walk chalk. You still love sleep dog (more than anything). You're still hilarious and super witty, always making us laugh. And, recently, you've developed quite the sassy attitude (helllooo threeeeee). 

Little buddy of mine, you are such a joy. I love being your mama and watching you grow. You're so fun and smart and funny - I hope you know how much each of us loves you! Happiest third birthday to YOU! 

Happiest birthday, Sollah-Roo!

We celebrated our sweet & spunky Sollah-Roo with our friends & family at the "airport park" with Mickey & Minnie Mouse |cup|cakes, donuts, and lots of airplanes! I ordered Solomon a special Little Einsteins shirt with his name & age on it a few weeks ago and he wore it proudly all day. I gave it to him the day before his party and he so sweetly kept pulling it out to see the characters. My heart. 

Solly Mack, at two you are so fun. Mama & daddy are loving watching you grow into the sweetest little boy. You still love Amos so very much & have fallen seamlessly into the roll of big brother over past six months. I've loved watching you fearlessly do everything that Amos does (I even watched you fly into the pool and sink to the bottom a few times this summer...thanks for keeping me on my toes) and kiss Ezra when he's fussy. 

Dude, you talk all the time. In the past few (two?) months you've really become very articulate and it makes me super proud. You can count to twenty, have a handful of Spanish words, know all of your colors and love to sing "church music." Your favorite show right now is Little Einsteins, but Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is a close second. You're super athletic and love to be outside. You also are very good at playing by yourself (a change from Mooshka for sure). This summer was too fun with you...you loved "da beash" and swimming, playing with water balloons and going to the park. You love sleep dog more than anything! One of my favorite stories from our 2 week stent at the beach was driving from Edisto to Litchfield I gave you a piece of gum, which, you pretty immediately swallowed. You said, "I want more gum, mama!" To which I replied, "Solomon!!! If you just ate that gum you may not have another piece today..we'll try again tomorrow." Silence ... "Mama, sleep dog want gum." Hilarious. Very creative and witty, little guy! 

Solomon, I love being your mama. You are such a joy. I love who you are and what you bring to our family. Keep growing big and strong. Know that you are loved and so, so special! 

Solomon turns TWO!!

Solly, DUDE!!! You're TWO!!! You woke up on your birthday to balloons and your very own cake for breaky thanks to OD & Cat! We took you to "the peanut place" (Five Guys) for lunch and then, to the zoo, for the very first time!! I'm not gonna lie - it started out rocky when you got your thumb accidentally smashed in the door by an unsaid big brother. It also didn't help that we were there during nap time, but we survived. 

You wanted to see the monkeys, but weren't impressed with them. You also didn't like the giraffes ("I don't want to see those.."). However, you really, really liked snakes...so the trip to the zoo wasn't a total bust. (: 

wild explorers

my little wild explorers

We're LOVING this warm weather. We spend hours in the morning wandering around the yard, finding silk "woms" and roly poly bugs (even though I'm the only one that will touch them), blowing bubbles and splashing in buckets of water and mama made puddles. We leave the front door open and let Ezra hang out in the house in the boppy just inside the door - so he's never too far away. 

I'm thinking of creating my own version of the Wild Explorers Club for these guys this summer (a membership is on my birthday / Christmas list for Amos this year). I love the idea of weekly adventure assignments and a way to keep up with what they accomplish. I'd also love to incorporate our friends / family (camping trips with Papa to the land // fishing trips with Pop in his boat..things like that) -- stay tuned!