Halloween

This year Daddy took PJ the Firefighter trick-or-treating for the first time.  They went to about ten houses.  At each house Daddy asked PJ "what do you say when the door is answered?"  PJ promptly responds "trick or treat".  Then they rung the doorbell.  When the door was answered, PJ said "Thank you" and held out his bucket.  Well he didn't really get the idea, but he has sweet manners!  While they were out, MJ and I stayed home and answered the door.  MJ loved seeing all the kids come to the door.  He squealed with delight each time.
  

Fireman PJ in all his glory

Loving this new smile, better than the sideways pout

MJ smiling and PJ serious

PJ smiling and MJ serious

FaceTime

I went on my first overnight away from MJ last night.  I had to be in Dallas for a meeting today so yesterday afternoon I left Seattle and have just over 24 hours in Texas.  While I am here I plan to go to the meeting and eat as much beef as possible. Last night we went to a steakhouse and I had prime-rib. So far my mission is being executed perfectly.
Its not easy leaving my baby behind, although a little easier leaving the toddler behind, so Ry was kind enough to FaceTime with me before they went to bed.  I know that this is an exercise in patience for Ry, because I have been on the other end while Ry is out of town.  Its hard enough getting the boys home, fed, bathed, and ready for bed single handed while keeping both happy.  When the missing parent calls its great for the missing parent to feel apart of things at home, but its very disruptive for the bedtime routine. Luckily my husband loves me more than the need to keep things easy so we got to FaceTime and I got to see my boys.  MJ loved seeing me, and PJ couldn't stop hogging the video image.  I felt like I was home for a few moments, and laughed at how my parents must feel when we FaceTime them.  Its a bit nauseating as the camera is always moving, noisy because PJ can't just talk to the phone like he can when I am in person, and Ry is trying to talk through all of it to let me know how they were all surviving. 

Happy Boys

PJ needs a certain amount of rough housing, so after bath, before quiet time  Daddy shook him up, down, over and under.  MJ thought it was hilarious to watch.

 

 

I Apologize, but bear gifts...

So I promised a return of this blog and then immediately failed; I apologize.

I imagine you all will forgive me with this adorable story and photos of MJ and PJ.

First of all I must start with the fact that I really like where we have chosen to bring the boys for daycare.  For so many reasons we are fans.  Today we are fans because the teachers take time to take photos of sweet moments, and they take time when they are having lunch to share the story with us. 

Message sent from MJ's teacher:
We took a buggy ride last week and Porter was out on the playground as well.  The boys really enjoyed seeing each other.  Porter held onto the side of the buggy and walked beside Miles as we cruised around the playground.  He was also quick to give him a kiss when I asked if he wanted to; even taking it upon himself to climb up on the buggy deck to get a better hold on his brother.  'Twas very sweet.  :)

PJ and his friends walking next to the buggy.

PJ climbing up to give MJ a hug

Sweet brother hugs

A kiss too!

Photos!

Here are some photos covering some of our summer since I last posted...

Auntie Amy came back to the PNW for a couple months and made sure to get in some MJ cuddles.

Pure sweetness

Summer time naps = riding in the pack while we mow the lawn.

Loving pretend play with boxes, this was the first of many rocket ships.  Thank goodness for Amazon Prime Subscribe and Save; new boxes/forts/rockets/planes every month.

MJ on his first boat ride with Uncle J and Aunt T.  Best neighbors ever!

Picnic on the boat

Daredevil in the making.  He and his friend took turns riding this bike around this loop seeing who could go faster!

This photo captures one of the first times PJ realized MJ could be more than just a baby.

Sweet boys!

Saturday morning cuddles

PJ at the fair testing out a tractor. 

MJ's first bite of solid food.

MJ's first and last bite of food he has spit out to date.  He loves eating!

As the rainy weather comes near, PJ prepares with a new pair of hiking boots, his first of many from REI.  He had to test them out as soon as he put them on.  Love this boy!

K and MJ cuddling.  K got a new haircut

MJ at about 6.75 months.  Still sucks his thumb and loves his momma cuddles.

We are Back and Being Real!

Hello Sweet Friends and Family!
We took a little break from blogging to enjoy the summer, which was absolutely perfect this year.  We had a great time enjoying the new yard and deck after work each night, and on weekends doing our best to balance yard work/house work and fun. With all the changes we have had happen to our family in the first part of the year - new house, new child, different work commutes, and so on; we also spent a good portion of this summer talking/fighting/sharing our priorities about life.  We have realized that we have a lot of demands on our time since we are both working full time jobs, we are parents of two young children, we value time with our immediate family and extended family/friends, we have a house that needs maintaining and upgrading, etc.  Needless to say we have a lot of tasks we need to complete to survive each day.  At the end of this summer, after some great growth group discussions, church sermons, therapy and our own heart to heart conversations we have come to the realization that we want to do more than survive, and need to do more than just survive.  We want to stop and smell the flowers, show our love more, show our appreciation for our blessings, and just be more in the moment.  As we take on this fresh look on life for LIVING and not just surviving we look forward to sharing our successes and failures with you all through the blog.

Exponential Verbal Growth

In this last week, PJ had an exponential growth in his vocabulary.  I feel like overnight he is saying full sentences and repeating things he hears way more often.

So first I feel I owe you a follow up on "Who's the Boss?"  We have since realized that PJ learned about 'The Boss' from his time with his older cousin in Ohio last weekend.  Ry remembered that his sister and brother-in-law were constantly telling their oldest that she is NOT the boss.  What I find to be fascinating is that it took PJ several days before he tried out the words.  How long did he think about this statement?  Was he trying to figure out the context as to when to say it?  What is he hearing now that he will "try on" later?  What a fun new angle in this parenting adventure!

PJ has been trying out being the boss since we have explained to him what it means, and who is the boss of who.  This week he has been really letting Cheyenne know she is to do whatever he says.  In the past week we have heard a lot more, "Cheysh Cheysh Sit", "Come Cheysh Cheysh", "Stay Right Here!"  He says this with a bit of a demanding voice.  The dog has done her best to comply, but we have also had to explain to PJ that when he bosses her a lot, she needs a break.  She likes to listen to PJ, but he has to be as nice to her as he is bossy.  After this explanation a few times, he now tells he he wants to kiss and hug her, then he tells her what to do...Progress...

On the note of hearing words and ideas, and then waiting several days before he starts using them, last week we heard for the first time and then 100 more times, "Why?", insert answer, then "Why Momma?", insert answer, "But Why?"  Haha, yep, "Why?" has started.
Although we have heard the simple question a lot this week, so far I am loving it!  I loving being able to come up with answers, and share ideas.  I love telling him, "I don't know".  I love showing him how to find out more to his "Why?". 
Please pray that we continue to find joy in this constant question. 

MJ at School

Today MJ's teacher emailed us some photos she has been taking of MJ during his time at school the past few days.  I love when we get photos from school and we can see what they are doing without us.  We do get to hear daily how the boys spend their day.  Although I know the boys are doing well at school, seeing the photos really help make me feel secure that this school is right for the boys and our family.  Seeing MJ playing, smiling and being taken care like I would really lessens the stress associated with not being able to be with him all day long. 

Who's the Boss?

I know I usually post on Mondays what PJ has been saying with his ever expanding vocab but I didn't get the chance this Monday due to traveling.  "Luckily" for the blog world PJ said something tonight for the first time that has caught me off guard and has gotten me thinking about what is to come in this "verbal expansion" adventure. 
Tonight my sweet toddler looked up at me, after I had asked him to go sit down for dinner and said with his hands on his hips, "Momma, not the boss." 
I just stared stunned at him.  A ton of thoughts flooded my head - WHAT! Where did he get that from, the heck I am, haha, $#%(&, where did my baby go??
After about 5 seconds, I found some words and said, "PJ I am your boss, and this boss asked you to go sit down for dinner."  I said it firmly, but lovingly and he didn't seem to mind. 
I thought that was it, he was just testing the waters to see what I would say.  Well he tried it on a few more times tonight, and it turned into more what it means to be the boss.  PJ learned tonight that Momma and Daddy are the bosses of this family.  PJ can be the boss of Cheyenne, but not the boss of MJ.  PJ, MJ and Chey do what Momma and Daddy say, and hopefully we can all be loving to each other. 
It will be interesting to see in the next few days where this came from and how PJ processes this concept.  

P and R Go East

Here comes a post from R! Last weekend P and I flew to Cleveland and then drove to Lake Chataqua in NY, and back again. The occasion was my brother in-law's 40th birthday. When we arrived Ome picked us up at the airport, we went to her house and had a quick dinner before heading to my sister's house which had just been vacated by T and A so as not to ruin the coming surprise.

P had about 30 minutes to acclimate and then we had to "rip the bandaid" and head to the surprise party, leaving P in a new place with new babysitters and missing his family, which was very hard, but of course P was a champ!

That night P hit the hay about 9 (6 PDT) in the babysitter's arms and the adults had a great time at The Wine Spot in Cleveland Heights - and A had no idea the surprise was coming!  

The next day there was another surprise for A, that it wasn't just his immediate family going to Lake Chataqua, but also us, his parents, some friends, and his brother's family! But before we left we got in a few fun moments at Ome's house including P sleeping below R on a pullout trundle bed and driving Cousin E's car!

By the way P was well-behaved on the two flight legs of our trip, sleeping from taxi-out to taxi-in on the second leg.

In between legs we enjoyed riding the tram at MSP and the moving walkways too.

The travels continued the next day in Ome's car as we spent about 2.5 hours driving to beautiful Lake Chataqua. After we unloaded the cars T and A arrived and we (sort of) surpised A again. P spent the afternoon in the lovely upper 70's temps outside where he is happiest. First we walked the ~200 yds to the lake and stood on the dock and took it all in. Then we investigated the "big boy" tree swing.

After lunch we helped A inflate a big wading pool for the kids. In the afternoon we all worked on the water balloon production line making ammunition for a big fight to happen the next day. This lasted almost three hours and the kids really enjoyed having tasks to do. The best was getting Cousin E to throw finished balloons in the pool for P to retrieve and put in the box. Later that night P experienced a perfectly fire-roasted marshmallow courtesy of cousin C who quickly became P's favorite playmate. That night P enjoyed sleeping with Daddy due to space limits in the rented house, but both slept very soundly and we slept until 8. Sunday morning we went to pick up another of A's surprises - a ski boat! On the quick ride from the marina to the house's dock, P was pumped and was able to stay awake. But after lunch, the vibration and hum of the boat and his comfy life vest were too much to overcome and P was right to sleep in my arms!

We had another great afternoon Sunday, learning from other kids how to ride the swing on our belly and throw water balloons, but the highlight was easily the boat rides.

P took 3 separate naps on 3 boat rides. Later that night we watched fireflies light up and bats swoop through the sky catching many of them. The next morning we woke up and enjoyed our last bountiful meal full of many choices, the best of which were Ome's scrambled eggs and cinnamon rolls. We hit the road with a long travel day ahead of us. P slept most of the car ride back to Cleveland. We stopped at Ome's house for lunch and to stretch our legs before going to the airport.

Our flight was late and P had some energy to release making the first leg an active one! When we got off the plane there was a nice man waiting for us from Delta's "Elite Services" who offered to drive us directly to our next gate so we could make the close connection.

This was the first time I have been offered this service as a "Diamond Medallion" member at Delta, it made us feel pretty important! After a good early dinner on the go/snack and engine start, P curled up in his frog blanket and sacked out...for the entire 3 hour flight!

What a wonderful gift for Daddy! When we arrived P was ready for more modes of transportation and had fun riding the airport train and then the bus to our car, but was disappointed no boat was in the equation. On the drive home P topped off the trip by asking Daddy "why" about a motorcyclist's helmet - beginning what I'm sure will be a prevalent question in this new stage!