The Olson Boys: 2014

A few professional pics before my snapshots

Making music & having fun!

At Rocket Barn Studios

The less glamorous but more adorable, life on the home front.

Drippy noses, coughs, sweaters and slippers. That is all you will see in this blog post. I was inspired to write another post after looking at my friend Mary's pictures of spring gardens, baby chicks and new green grass in Washington State. You will see no pictures of the outdoors here. It's been below zero for most of the last two months in Minnesota and the outdoors are something to be tolerated between racing from the car to the house. I have tension in my body just thinking about the cold. This winter ate me for breakfast, and that was before January even arrived. I hardly ever complain about winter, but this winter was the exception.

Now it's March and the sun is shining and snow is (slowly) melting. I went for one short walk puddle-splashing around the block with the kids. There is not enough room between snowbanks to push our stroller through, but we'll find our way to the park again soon. While the temperature in our house hovered between 55-60 during the cold snap (not for lack of plastic on any windows or doors), I put on my big girl mittens and set out to record a few songs at my friend Matt's studio (The Rocket Barn). The band did so well I just asked, "What do you think about doing a whole album?" The answer was yes--from the band and from Matt--and I am pinching myself every day. It may feel like Narnia-pre-Aslan outside, but my heart is toasty warm thinking about everything we are doing inside four walls. William and Wesley are, in one word, adorable. Zac's job oscillates between extremely stressful and extremely rewarding, but he is overall doing well. And I am making a long-time dream a reality. More about that to come...

William is especially sensitive to stress. Mommy's gone, Daddy's gone, or we're all gone most of the time. He sometimes lashes out with a big 'ol tantrum when things aren't quite settled the way he'd like, but lately he's used his words to express subtle and complex feelings. For 3 weeks he shared our room while we hosted my friend Diane in his room. He handled it all quite well but used his words to tell us when it wasn't working for him. "I like Diane, but I don't love Diane. It's hard when I can't sleep in my bed." (He would later profess his great love for Diane because she made him laugh.) He is pushing boundaries when it is time to leave the house. He is anathema to socks, even when it is 20 below zero and, lately, he is also reluctant to go along with underwear, too. But, given the chance and space and time, he will dress himself from top to bottom and come through the house parading his pants on backwards as proud as a peach. He is growing in his understanding of the world in general. Yesterday he took one of my books and pretended to read, "God said, 'Let us be lovers and not hit each other" and then proceeded to lead a prayer for his pretend congregation. "Let us pray to God. Make us lovers and Amen." He asks about different skin colors and usually prefers to play with his "brown" doll who looks like his friend from school. "Wessie can play with the white baby but I want the brown baby." We had an interesting conversation about race a couple days ago. It's hard to know where he gets ideas, but he gets them and wants to talk about them, that's for sure. He still butchers some words in his adorable way. "Lirabry,""Essefee" (E.C.F.E.), "Snuggle whiff me," and word order, "I ate the snack all."

Wesley is talking up a storm lately, too. Going up or down is "up" in his world. He says, "Out" when he's ready to get out of his crib or high chair. He finds places to sit and read to himself; even the laundry basket is a suitable chair for a 1 1/2 year old. He is an affectionate boy and sometimes a morning hug isn't enough. "Kiss, kiss" he says and plants a big one on my lips. Then he smiles and gives more kisses. To William, to Daddy, and more for Mama. We love his hugs and kisses. We LOVE to sing. He sings all the way through every song and sometimes even matches my pitch or word. His favorite song is "Wheels on the Bus." He understands everything we say and goes to the entry way to hunt for shoes when we talk about leaving. He's not particular whose shoes he puts on his feet, and Eric's shoes look like clown shoes on him, but he tells us he is ready to leave in his own way. Wesley cherishes books ("bop") and still loves to nurse ("dees"). It's our special time before naps and after waking up to sit and look at each other, twirl each other's hair and share sweet smiles. When he is done eating at the table he starts throwing things off of his tray. I have to wipe the floor quite regularly. We often play at William's preschool for awhile in the morning. He is swimming with the preschool crowd quite easily and I foresee his need for peer interaction dramatically increasing in the next few months. Unlike his big brother, Wesley is an extrovert and very interested in getting attention from other kids. He is very sweet in how he introduces himself, too. He usually offers a toy he is playing with as a way of saying "hi." I am always so proud of both of my boys when we go to pick William up from Preschool. William comes running from across the room and gives Wesley a big hug, which Wesley eagerly returns along with a big kiss (of course). Here are a few pictures from the coldest winter since the 1880's. I hope we never have to re-live anything like it again!