We have a severe case of AMPLIMC syndrome in this house: All My Pictures Live In My Computer. Even MORE embarrassing, even when I do manage to get them printed out they end up living in the protective sleeve for months (years. decades.) until I can find just the RIGHT frame and just the RIGHT mat and just the RIGHT place to hang them. But when you’re busy being as epically lazy as I strive to be it’s hard to remember to get all that done.

This Picture Frame Clothes Pin Photo Display fixed my problem:

I was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest (here’s the blog post), but that version was way too complicated. Mine is an old glassless frame I pulled out of someone’s trash, a few pieces of ribbon I found in my craft box and some wooden clothespins left over from the nursery makeover. If you’re looking to add more of a personal touch to your project, custom enamel pins is a great idea. I used teeny tiny nails to secure the ribbon to the back of the frame and hung up pictures I got for free from Shutterfly during their mother’s day sale. Total cost: $3.17 for the shipping on the prints. It’s super easy to switch out the pics and I could totally change the mood of the board by using all fall pictures or all black and white pictures or all close-ups. I can also use it to display Caroline’s monthday photos all at once for her first birthday.

Update: I DID indeed use it for Caroline’s winter sparkle snowflake first birthday and it worked perfectly.

This is the first month I actually had to count on my fingers to figure out how old Little Evan is, which then sent me into all sorts of fits of emotion. He is officially old enough that I just say “He’s two” when people ask his age – and more importantly, HE can say “TWO!” when people ask his age. And then I die a little from the cuteness.

I have already forgotten why I even MENTIONED seeing a speech therapist to the pediatrician. Evan is talking constantly now, with new words every single day. Some times he still needs a little mommy translation when he’s talking to strangers, but after just a few days with him my parents understood 90% of his speech. He also has a really good memory, which is something I guess I didn’t know about toddlers. He talks about things that happened days or even weeks ago – and is going to be heartbroken EVERY MORNING for the next few weeks when Mormor and Bamba and Hersh (their dog) aren’t here to play with. So I guess his memory isn’t exactly perfect.

Little Evan is now MORE of everything. He is more fun and more loving but also more trouble and more tantrumy. He wants things but then he DOESN’T want them. He loves things but then he HATES things and then he LOVES THEM SO MUCH HE HATES THEM. It’s a little bit exhausting, the mood swings, but I’m getting used to them. It’s good practice for when he’s a teenager.

Favorite things include: sippy cups of milk, his blue blankets (which he calls buh-byee), talking to his sister, hockey, bubbles, his grandparents, dancing, pretending to drive the car, sleeping (SERIOUSLY. HE LOVES TO SLEEP) and helping daddy get a beer. Least favorite things include: being told no, being tired, sitting in the shopping cart, boo boos (especially on his feet), and seeing either of us leave the house.

Look at those eyelashes!

26 Month Milestones (if you’re super perceptive, you’ll notice these are the SAME milestones as 25 months – apparently BabyCenter got lazy after 2 years old. WTF BABYCENTER?)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
• Stacks six blocks – Do Legos count?
• Walks with smooth heel-to-toe motion – Yes. And he runs in a smooth motion too, instead of the crazy high-knees march, which makes him look SO MUCH OLDER.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
• Uses pronouns (e.g., I, me, you) – I’ve never heard “you”, but he uses names (mama, baby, Mormor, dog) combined with another word. And he identifies himself as “I”, his things as “mine”, and uses his own name “Ef-ahn”.
• Washes and dries own hands – He can wash and dry his own SELF, including emptying the tub, putting away his bath toys, and drying his hair.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
• Speaks clearly most of the time – A lot more that he used to, but not “most of the time.”
• Draws a vertical line – He doesn’t really like drawing, unless it’s on the walls. But some of the lines are pretty straight.

Still deep in the middle of Patiopalooza, but the end is officially in sight.

So far during our project, Little Evan has:

– Decided he LOVES bananas, a food he hated last week, and demands them constantly.

– Learned the following words: Hershey (“hiiirsh!!” – my parent’s dog), banana (“meee-nyaaaaaah! meee-nynyaaaaa!”), lemonade (“meh-mah-myaaaah”), and the phrase “More dirt!! MORE DIRT!!!”

– Peed in the potty seven times.

– Become an expert at shoveling gravel.

– Fallen down a zillion times.

– Worn an average of four different outfits a day.

– Filled and emptied his water table more times than I can count.

– Whined until I’ve almost lost my mind.

– Been totally freaking adorable (see above).

E goes back to work today so it’s just me and Dad working in the yard while Mom watches both kids. Unless Caroline is as COMPLETELY MISERABLE as she was yesterday and I spend 12 hours with her attached to my boob until I’m bleeding from the nipples. Again. But I’ve already ordered an outdoor dining table so this thing is getting DONE.

We’re having an extremely busy week with more busy days to come…but somehow 90% of my pictures are still “Caroline being cute!” “Evan making a face!” Obviously I need to take more pictures that prove sometimes I actually DO STUFF besides stare at my kids.

Sunday:

Caroline learned to talk just to tell me "Happy Mother's Day!" OK, so she said "Aaaaaaeeeiiiiihhhhh!!" but I knew what she meant.

30 seconds later that lemonade was all over the floor. Oh, two year olds.

The toddler insisted I push them both around Target like that. So much for taking it easy on my special day.

Monday:

Someone found her feet!

He couldn't find the dog, so he tried lying on the cat. Meanwhile, the cat plottd my demise.

I should NOT have let him do this - it is now impossible to get him out of the car without some "driving" first.

Right now, as I write this, Caroline is SCREAMING HER HEAD OFF. So I'm posting extra smiley pictures to remind myself she's usually extra smiley.

Sharing a joke.

Tuesday:

Evan's choice was to eat with his blankie. I support him when he makes good choices. Even if they're weird.

Swinging high!

Kale before it was turned into chips. I think from now on I'll just put it on my sandwiches.

Wednesday:

Mmmmm...bread. I ate at least half the loaf myself and I don't even feel bad about it.

We read Chicken Soup with Rice before nap time.

This is our other EVIL cat, Rabbit. She likes torturing mice and peeing on E's pillow. EVIL.

Onesie embroidered by the lovely @lifeversiontwo and skirt from Uff Da!

Thursday:

I-95 is really boring at 4 am - Just the way we like it.

CHEESE!!!

Cracker Barrel! I had breakfast for dinner, which is the only acceptable choice at Cracker Barrel.

Lilacs in full bloom - does ANYTHING smell better than lilacs?

Friday:

Have I mentioned recently that Eastern Connecticut is a BLACK HOLE of chain food restaurants? So when we come to Ohio we hit up everywhere possible.

FRENCH FRY! So the reason we were at lunch was because E has these internet friends he plays WoW with and he wanted to finally meet up in person. HE IS NO LONGER ALLOWED TO MAKE FUN OF BLOGHER.

Looks like a hat to me.

Part of the conservatory where my SIL is getting married. Outside. Everyone pray for NO RAIN on Sunday!

At the rehearsal dinner, the tables made a big rectangle. We threw Little Evan in with his cousins for some toddler-child death match. It was excellent entertainment.

I usually do pics for Saturday too but the next three days are going to be full of family and severely lacking in naps so I’m giving myself a break and getting this done early. I’ll try to take some pictures for Steppin’ Out this weekend, but if it continues to be EIGHTY DEGREES they’ll just be of me slumped over in the shade with a baby attached to my boob while I drip sweat. Sexy and awesome. Maybe I’ll fish some vintage tissues out of my purse to stick under my arms.

Did you take any camera phone photos this week? Link up with one or lots using the linky below and grab the code (so it shows on your blog too!) over at Amy’s . It’s really fun! )

Sunday:

We let Little Evan play with our shock-proof video camera at the farm. Watching the video he took would make a fish seasick.

I did some garden clean-up and remembered how much I LOVE my yard.

Caroline is skeptical I will ever finish this sweater. She's right.

Monday:

Playground time after Stroller Strides

I started to work through the giant pile of stuff to do on my counter. It's hard when I keep stopping to blog.

We went to E's (very very cold) hockey practice

And I ALMOST convinced Caroline the Moby is awesome

Tuesday:

Right after this, she threw up on my clean laundry, just to show me who's boss.

Stroller Strides on the Mohegan Indian Reservation. It's a really beautiful park.

Enjoying cuddles while he's willing to give them

Wednesday:

Since giving up Diet Coke I have been SO GRATEFUL for my Keurig

Hello! I see a baby!

Someone is still a little bitter she isn't the baby anymore.

I was really proud of my super colorful, fruit and veggie filled cart.

Thursday:

She thought this outfit was so ridiculous, she barfed on it after 5 minutes.

So I put her back in pajamas. But she couldn't escape the headbands!!

Baby geese at Stroller Strides!

I boiled oranges. It was for a cake. Pictures & link coming later but I can tell you it tasted about how you'd expect.

Friday:

Stroller Strides at the park closest to my house! SO happy to be back there.

I put Caroline in the big kid stroller seat for the first time. She seemed to like it enough to fall asleep (thanks to the fountain noise).

Whipping cream by hand: least fun thing ever. My hand-crank beater is broken and I don't even know if anyone still sells those.

Saturday:

OMG ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO PUT THIS THING ON MY HEAD?

Kisses as an early Mother's Day present

I’m “celebrating” mother’s day today because E has a hockey game tomorrow he doesn’t want to miss. Celebrating is in quotes because so far absolutely nothing about today has been any different than the rest of the week, except that I had an extra cup of coffee. But this afternoon I’m going to do some child free errands (and maybe a little fun shopping too) and plant my front step flower pots, so the day is looking up. This is our lazy non-crazy weekend of May so tomorrow I’m going to enjoy some couch sitting and sweet baby cuddles while I can. I hope your week was as nice as ours and Happy Mother’s Day Weekend to all the mamas!

Did you take any camera phone photos this week? Link up with one or lots using the linky below and grab the code (so it shows on your blog too!) over at Amy’s . It’s really fun! (COMING SOON)