Saturday, July 27, 2013

Happy Birthday, Husband!

Today is a big day around here. Ryan is 30. Yep, THIRTY. It’s kind of a big deal. You can bet that I’ve been reminding him of how big of a deal it is for weeks.

“You’re going to be thirty in ___ days!”
“When you’re thirty, I’m pretty sure it’s no longer acceptable to shoot birds off our deck with an air gun.”
“Really Ryan? Did you just call me a ‘butthole?’ You’re going to be 30 in ___ days!”  

These incessant reminders have been met with sideways glances and shoulder shrugs.  Apparently when your days have been filled with work, bills, diapers and t-ball for the last 6 years, saying goodbye to your twenties isn’t such a milestone.  

Despite his blasé mentality, there will be celebrating around here. Celebrating a guy who puts his family before all else and works ridiculously hard to ensure that our boys not only have the things that they need but those extra things that make childhood so sweet. We’ll be celebrating a guy who never forgets to pray before dinner, who reluctantly agrees to watch The Kardashians and whose goofy personality balances out his wife’s crazy type A personality perfectly. A guy who calls the family cat an idiot every.single.morning yet is still willing to maneuver himself underneath the stairway crawl space while simultaneously balancing his wife on his shoulders so she can attempt to rescue said cat from the ceiling in which he’s trapped himself. That wife and those kids? So very lucky. 

Happy Birthday Ry- we couldn't love you more!
 
While we're celebrating that guy, we’ll also be celebrating Mario Brothers, Hooters {they DO have decent wings} and Plinko. Add to that, Reading Rainbow, Chicken McNuggets, Cabbage Patch Kids and the always amazing Sweet Valley High.  Apparently 1983 was a big year!

Friday, July 12, 2013

Fourth of July Weekend {Day Two}

Day two started early and Matty was down for a nap by 9am. Ryan and I took advantage of the quiet time and sat on the beach drinking coffee and reading {yes, the planets aligned and this seriously happened}. Tyler alternated between playing in the sand and fishing. Once Matty awoke, we took a trip into Longville. We had stopped there on day one for a pizza and ice cream but made a quick exit {sans ice cream} after getting stuck in the middle of the parade crowd. It was insane. This tiny town with a population of less than 200 was bustling with people covered head to toe in red, white and blue.

We {as in Tyler and I} were determined that the return trip was going to include blueberry waffle cone ice cream, even if it meant standing in line for 35 minutes in 90 degree heat.
Totally worth it.

After a quick stop at the store we headed back to the lake to spend some time at  where else? The beach. Honestly, it seemed to be the one place where Ryan and I could hang out and actually have half a conversation while the boys were completely entertained.
Matty noticed that Tyler had a "new" snack and he bolted for the water.
But quickly moved on when he realized Tyler left his flip flops unattended. Matty is obsessed with shoes and spent the better half of the weekend swiping abandoned ones from the shore. What, that lady left her shoes unattended for 6 seconds? They're free for the taking.
The remainder of the day was a bit of a repeat of day one. Fishing, fires and lots of marshmallows. Oh, and about a bajillion sparklers, thanks to Tyler!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Fourth of July Weekend {Day One}

I may be the very last person in blog-land to post a 4th of July re-cap. I guess that's how it goes when you have two kids, a desk that requires your occupancy 40 hours a week and a husband who travels like it's his job. Oh wait, it is his job.

We spent the 4th and several days after up at the lake with the boys, just the four of us. We celebrated with lots of swimming, fishing, s'mores and watching Matty like a hawk. There was nothing more that little guy wanted than to fling himself off the end of a dock or dive into an open fire. No fear in that kid.

A little photo recap...

Tyler did a lot of boat racing.
 
 There's something about sandy little toes that I just love.

Matty did a lot of snacking on the beach {and on the dock, the deck and fireside}. Because if he wasn't snacking, he was running off on some new adventure that was sure to be dangerous.

And when it was time to leave the beach and head inside to eat some lunch? This is what Tyler looked like. Such mean parents we are forcing him to consume all those hotdogs, chips and juice boxes.

After lunch it was off to fish. Tyler was really into it this year. He baited hooks, reeled in fish and tossed his catch back into the lake, all on his own. He was pretty proud.
 
He had a pretty great fishing coach.

After the worms ran out exhaustion set in {for the parents, not the kids} we ended the day with a handful of sparklers and a couple of s'mores. I couldn't imagine a better way to celebrate.
 Happy Birthday America!

Monday, July 1, 2013

Tippy Toes

Matty has a way of keeping us on our toes around here. And lately? We’re teetering on our tippy toes. I’m going to go ahead and attempt to convince myself argue that Ryan and I still have this parenting thing under control, but this second child of ours? In addition to being undeniably sweet and absolutely adorable…
  • He’s mischievous. A sandbox on the deck sounded like a really great idea back in February. Think of all of the things I could get done while he happily built mountains and roads and castles in the sand! Then the snow melted, the top came off the box and reality set in. So far this summer, he’s dumped approximately 236 buckets of beach like sand onto the kitchen floor. And attempting to remove said sand from between the cracks of a faux wood floor? Not fun.
  • He’s brave. While Ryan was traveling for work and I was on single parent duty, Matty dove head first into a full tub of bathwater. Completely clothed. By this point in the day I was nothing short of exhausted. But I’ll admit, I laughed. Something about the look of shock on that bubble soaked face… I just couldn’t help it.
  • He’s determined. Some day that attribute is going to serve him well and get him somewhere wonderful, but on this particular day? His determination to get through the gate, down the stairs and out into the freedom of the front yard got him his first timeout and it got Ryan and I a giant hole in our living room drywall.
  • He’s quick. Like, super quick. On Father’s Day he swiped the sunscreen off the patio table so fast that he had a whole mouthful of the stuff before anyone could even think to stop him. Poison Control was dead on when they predicted he’d survive but likely suffer from a mild case of diarrhea before the day was done.
  • He’s inquisitive. Inquisitive as in, “hey I wonder how loud you’ll yell if I plunge my tiny little teeth into your hand and bite down for a full 30 seconds.” We’re working on this one. But if you have any tips? Please send them my way as just last week our daycare provider smiled and suggested a little “anger management” for the little guy.

I don’t like to admit defeat but at this rate, those future third baby negotiations? Almost laughable.