The Coolest Great Aunt

Growing up, my mom's sister always gave us the best gifts & took us on amazing adventures. Imagine Wyatt's excitement when he received this t-shirt in the mail, screenprinted by Aunt Joey - the coolness continues...

Peas in a Pod

We have our moments, but these too are generally just smitten with each other. It is so much fun to watch them changing & growing together, and to think back on all the fun I had with my own brother & sister growing up. Monkey also enjoys having someone to boss around & pay nothing but attention to him for now too :)

Fort building

Monkey waking up the Bean - the morning ritual

Including Bean in the fun

More fort building

The First Cut

Just a little evening out to rid her of the "baby mullet," but monumental none-the-less.

PS - She loved every second of it, even getting that ridiculous bow at the end ;)

Mommy Forgets

I am sitting down to write a post about how these days, it seems I have less & less time ALONE. Just as I am about to dive in, my 4 year old, who is currently having "rest time" on the sun porch, comes in & hands me a Bud Light (must interject that there was an old cooler of these that I just moved into sunporch last night - son did not go to fridge & find this) & says "Here, this is for you mommy - you can drink this." I laughed initially, but them immediately dashed out to the sun porch to make sure he wasn't enjoying one himself. AND back to my point that...I CANNOT FIND ANY TIME ALONE.

While I won't be sucking back a Bud Light at 1:00 this afternoon, my days have gotten insane with a 14 month old who is trying to do everything in her power to make me go batty. I am discovering that I have total amnesia when it comes to remembering things about Baby #1. Of course I remember all the great stuff - fondly - but it's the little things that come creeping back into my memory as I experience them again with Baby #2. Here are some of the highlights of our recent days:

- the constant repeating of no - I even hate hearing it at this point

- the reminder that our last house was baby-proofed & this one is not. I was trying to tell myself that we could just really keep a watchful eye in the kitchen, but mama can't get a damn thing done without someone climbing into a drawer, or shutting their fingers in a door, pulling out all the Tupperware or unloading the pantry

- the need to practice our walking skills at all times - my back might just break, but I know Bean is just eager to get going on her own

- the dog hair covered infant clothes that come with having a crawling baby & two dogs

- the involuntary shouting sure makes for fun family outings. We eat early anyway, but now we are really venturing into true 'Early Bird' territory, so as to hopefully be in similar company when dining out

- trying to remove both clothing & diapers, whenever the opportunity arises (see above photo)

All in all, life is good though. As soon as this "phase" passes, I feel certain I will be reminded of yet another one that is just as fun! What are some that came creeping back to you?

The Park that Ikea Built

I am totally psyched about a park we visited the other day with a few fiends we haven't seen in quite a while. One of them suggested we try out a new park, and I was pleasantly surprised to find it was just down the road! It's still in the process of being finished off - currently there is no parking lot, and there is still some brush & mud to be cleared out around the edges of the park.

Seriously though? It was one of the most fun parks I have been to in a while, and the kids agree! We've dubbed it as the Ikea Park, simply because all the okay equipment is like nothing I have seen at another park, and it all looks truly like something Ikea would have put together. Here were some highlights of our visit: