Two.

My handsome & hilarious little boy turned 2 today.

If you ask him how old he is now, he'll tell you "fwee" (seriously, he has told every single person this today.) And while he may talk like a 3 year old and is as stubborn as a 3 year old, it was just two short years ago that our family expanded in a such a sweet way. This little boy is so incredibly happy & playful about 90% of the time. People ask me all the time (not an exaggeration) if he's "this happy all the time" & if he "just smiles all the time". Though we certainly have our dicey moments, he really is full of joy. He sees everything as an adventure & is excited by the littlest things. He's a severe Mama's boy; the phrase we hear most often from him is "Mommy, I need you. I neeeed you." Despite the serious temper tantrums and the button-pushing, he really is the sweetest, most loving little guy. And I really can't believe he's 2.

Happy birthday, buddy! Mommy & Daddy love you to pieces!

Joe's Birthday Interview: Year 2
1. What is your favorite animal? A zebra.
2. What is your favorite food? Pineapple...and sandwiches. (So so random & not really true. He's obsessed with mini marshmallows, oranges, & ice cream.)
3. What is your favorite show? Team Umizoomi.
4. What is your favorite color? Purple.
5. Who is your best friend? Um, Bwooke. (And that's when my heart exploded.)
6. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Cereal, Dora cereal!
7. What is your favorite restaurant? At Susan's house. In Umi City. I like french fries at Susan's house. (I have no words.)
8. What is your favorite book? Diego, he's my friend.
9. What is your favorite song? Baseball (Take Me Out to the Ballgame) and ABCD.
10. What is your favorite toy? Baseball! And my George. Hi, George.
11. What is your favorite snack? Graham crackers.
12. What do you like to sleep with at night? I like to sleep with George. With my bear & my penguin. (His Curious George obsession is new, but it's pretty darn cute. And the penguin was a toy he won at KI on a date with Daddy.)
13. What kind of birthday party are you going to have? A batketball birthday!

Soccer mom.

Becoming a soccer mom was my dream from about the time I knew what a soccer mom was. Being a stay-at-home mom to my two crazies put me pretty darn close to that goal (no pun intended), but on Thursday we took a pretty giant leap closer.

We bought a mini-van.

 

 

And I'm already in love.

 

So is Vanna White up there. She was THRILLED when we pulled into the driveway with it. Her little brother was less than impressed, mostly because he didn't realize we were now the proud owners of a rear entertainment system. (He has since become a much bigger fan!)

 

I am 100% impressed. This is certainly a luxury, not a necessity, for me. One that the husband was fully on-board with (and was even the cheerleader that pushed for it to happen.) We've already used it to carpool with family & friends to dinner, a task that once was impossible unless you were a super-skinny Minnie & could fit your hips between the kids' 2 car seats. The automatic sliding doors make getting out the door much easier ("Kids, go get in the van. I just opened the door." Jackpot.) And there are about a million other features that I adore & am so grateful to call my own.

 

I'm now a Starbucks addiction away from getting my soccer mom badge. Well, that & a soccer player.

 

(Which we're only about 8 months away from having. Mark your calendars, folks, peewee soccer starts in the spring!)



So much sass...

This is what happens when you try to take the sassiest 3 year old in America to get her picture taken.

So. Much. Sass.

It's hard to handle, you guys.

JUST STAND STILL FOR A HOT SECOND, CHILD!

I heart social media.

To say I've embraced social media is maybe an understatement. I'm kind of in love with it. As soon as I got my iPhone, falling in love with social media just seemed like a no-brainer. (Hey sister, did ya hear that?) Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter...all right at my fingertips whenever I have a few minutes to spare. And my most favorite? Instagram. For those unfamiliar with it, Instagram is a quick way for me to document the fun little parts of life. With the click of a few buttons, I can post a cute pic (98% of which are of the kids) with a caption - it's like my mini-blog. It takes way less time to do this than to develop an entire blog post, so it has become a great resource for documenting events/milestones/etc when I just don't have time to blog (which, as you've become quite familiar with, happens often.)

Here are our last few months, via Instagram:

Does it get much better to the 6 & under crowd than glow bowling? The answer is no.

 Snacking on the peas he threw all over the floor at lunch. Eating veggies while cleaning? Fine by me.

 I just adore these people.

 Fevers x2. So our day will pretty much look like this.

There's a big race today, you guys.

His future is bright.

 "Mom, will you take my picture?" #sallybrown

 Gorgeous day for a carousel ride w/my buddies. #love

 Pool days are a lot of work for Mom. But these faces totally make up for it :)

 Celebrating a brave day at swimming lessons :)

Arming the littles with grocery lists makes for a much calmer shopping trip for Mom.

 A boy & his boat. #summerlovin

 Watching Daddy clean the gutters. #wednesdaynightentertainment

Sticker chart complete. Prizes earned. Happy kiddos.

 Daddy's shoes & leg warmers for breakfast. Because why not.

 Just hangin' around. #summer

A unique way to eat an ice cream cone. #goofball

 Summa summa summatime.

 When did this kid turn 5? #sogrownup #lovehim

 This is what a 3.5 hour nap looks like. #sojealous #rainyafternoon

Preschooler update.

Happy half birthday to our little chickadee!

Brooke, at 3 & 1/2:

- can write all of her ABC's (well, almost...I never realized how hard "S" could be to a munchkin.) She loves to write out words if we help her sound out the letters. She can spell a few words; we're going to start doing sight word flash cards with her soon. I think she'll grasp the concept of reading FAST so I wouldn't be surprised if she's reading by Christmas.

- is soooooo dramatic. She has a career in theatre, that's for sure. On Friday, she said to me, "Mommy, you ruined my day!" after I told her to pick up a toy. Ay yi yi. I was a hot mess as a teen, so I'm pretty sure we're in for a challenge considering she is my Mini-me.
- loves to sing! She is constantly belting out tunes & asking me to sing with her. She's big on Disney songs these days, which makes my Mickey-loving heart burst with pride. Her favorites are all of the Tangled & Princess & the Frog songs. While she doesn't know all of the right words, she sings her versions with gusto!
- still takes a nap every afternoon, roughly 2-2.5 hours. And she rarely puts up a fight about it. (It's a non-negotiable thing in our house, so she knows she'd lose.) Bedtime, on the other hand, is a different story. She's still coming up with ridiculous excuses to get out of her bed (tonight's was "I was coughing in my bed." Apparently we needed to know that.) And no matter what time she goes to sleep (summer bedtime is 9:00, but pretty flexible), she always gets up at the same time - 7:21. Her bunny "alarm clock" switches over from night to day at 7:20 & I hear her bedroom door creak at 7:21 every single day. (We did a test tonight to make sure it wasn't making a noise and actually waking her. It's not. In fact, we don't know what time she wakes up; she's just not allowed to leave her room until it switches from night to day.) She really doesn't act tired the rest of the day, so I'm confident she's getting plenty of sleep.
- especially loves salad, cheeseburgers, raspberries, cereal, carrots, lemonade (a very rare treat), and ice cream (with sprinkles, duh!). We just spent 5 minutes trying to come up with foods she dislikes and only came up with two - lima beans & melon. While her pallet is tremendous for her age, so is her appetite. We are currently working on portion control with her, trying to teach her to listen to her belly to decide if she's full or still hungry. This is a tough concept to grasp (even for this almost-29-year-old), but we're pretty serious about this whole healthy eating habits thing so we're starting young. Vegetables are the only thing we insist she finishes (or at least gives a good effort) if she wants a small dessert.

- is currently attending the same summer camp that her Daddy went to. She spends 4 mornings a week playing games & making crafts with her cousin Claire and a few friends. She is loving it so far & will be bummed when it ends mid-July!
- insists on giving me a kiss AND a hug before bed. Must be both, not one or the other. Can't say that I mind... :)
- can get pretty upset if things aren't done "the right way". She thrives on routines & doesn't like it when we stray from them. For example, she brushes her teeth the exact same way every day. If we even start to suggest she go get in bed before she's had her tiny sip of water at the end, she starts to freak out. And she really doesn't like it when other kids don't play with her/toys the way she thinks they should. This is a real work in progress; I bet I say "Brooke, Joe's allowed to play with that however he wants to" at least once a day.
- finished ballet mid-May. We had taken a 6-week break from it, but we were persuaded to sign up for the last 6-week session when her friend from preschool decided to do it, too. Brooke & her buddy Sydney were like 2 peas in a pod at preschool, and that closeness was matched at ballet! Brooke had so much fun & remembered all of the moves from 6 weeks prior. By the end of the session, she was certainly one of the best little dancers in the class. At the little closing ceremony/recital, she gave a perfect curtsy :)

- is big into role-playing & has an incredible imagination! Her favorite things to play are restaurant & doctor. Luckily, Joe has finally reached the age where he can play along, i.e. do whatever she tells him to do. Another thing she does often is host a "Big Race", where they line up all of Joe's cars & send each one down his ramp. She narrates the whole things in a big, ring-leader voice - "Welcome to the Big Race!" Other favorite toys/games at the moment: a ballerina Barbie, dress-ups, Princess Yahtzee, her little pink VTech laptop, & her digital camera (meant for kids; more to come on this in a future post.)

- likes to help me fold the laundry. Her specialties are dish towels & socks. She finds 2 matching socks, folds each one in half, then hands me the pair to unfold & ball. She has deemed this her job. She also really enjoys carrying up & putting away her laundry, which is like every mother's dream so I'm going to hang onto this one as long as I can.
- is just about as girly as they come. She loves all things pink & purple. She wants everything to be one of her signature colors. Like, everything. And sparkly & glittery. She's into shoes & nail polish & jewelry & "accessories" (only my 3 yr old would have this word in her daily vocabulary.) I'm not gonna lie, I kind of adore this about her.

- says some pretty hilarious things on a daily basis. My recent faves:
  1. Brooke: "We learned about Spring at school today." Me: "Oh yeah? What things did you learn?" Brooke: "Well...bears wake up."
  2. Brooke: "I cleaned the potty for you." Me: (dumbfounded & terrified) "Why?! And with what?!" Brooke: "I saw a commercial for it on TV. I used a wipe."
  3. "I'm allergic to fish, but not Goldfish!"
  4. "Let's get you ready for your basketball game. Sit down, buddy, so I can help you put on this fancy skirt." - overheard in the playroom one day
- has a boyfriend. I'll give you a minute to let that sink in. Yes, a boyfriend. He lives in Evendale & has been in lots of little classes with her down at the Rec. He's in her group at camp &, apparently, they are constantly flirting with each other. (Can 3 year olds flirt? Maybe tease is a better word? You guys, this entire topic has blown my mind so much, I don't even know what I'm writing...) I didn't realize this was happening until she said to me one day "Mom, during Duck Duck Goose, I said to Finn, 'Just pick me since I'm your girlfriend.'" Boy-crazy at 3 & a half? Of course.

Super-duper obsessed with this picture. Captures her personality perfectly :)

Summer Bucket List.

Oh, summer. You've been good to us.

We've spent a fair amount of time outside, just basking in the sunshine.

There has been swimming & swinging & sliding & sidewalk chalking.

More than anything, there have been lots of smiling kids. Sweaty, smiling kids.

And although we've been enjoying ourselves, there's so much more to come!

With the summer already 1/3 over (I go by school calendars, so summer is Jun/Jul/Aug), it's time to get serious about summer fun! Now that I've got 2 very mobile kids, there's a long list in my head of fun summery things I'd love to do with them. Consider this my Summer Bucket List, if you will:

- Go to an outdoor interactive fountain & let the kids get soaked.
- Ice cream treats at the infamous The Cone.
- Catch lightning bugs in a jar...and then let them go :)
- Have a picnic at the park.
- Play a round of mini golf (I think Joe will love this!)
- Saturday morning trip to Findlay Market (I've never been, can you believe it?!)
- Dinner at the Root Beer Stand.
- Wash the car in the driveway. (And the husband just had a heart attack at the idea of me actually washing my car.)
- Feed the ducks at a pond.
- Spend an evening at a Dayton Dragon's game.
- Make s'mores on the grill.
- Ride the classic rides at Coney Island.
- Host a backyard cookout with our friends, just because.
- Special parent/child dates (each of us taking each of the kids to do something fun, just the 2 of us.)

Notice that a good portion of these center around food? Summertime is all about the treats (in moderation, of course!) We'll see how many of these we actually accomplish. If you're interested in joining us for 1 or more of these activities, just holler - we love adventures with friends!

I can't wait to create some more fun summer memories with the littles over the next few months :)

Toddler update.

Joe, at 21.5 months:
 
- can sing the alphabet pretty clearly (with the exception of "M M M O P"). He can also identify about 60% of the letters, with the other 40% being understandable mix-ups (like E & F, M & N, etc.)
- can tell you how to spell his name & does it in the world's cutest little voice.
- loves to sing! If you ask him to sing, he almost always picks the ABC's. But some of his other favorites include "Baa Baa Back Sheep", "Woah Woah You Boat", & "Tinkle Tinkle Lil Star". And we recently started listening to a Disney CD in the car, which both kids are loving & starting to sing along to. Joe loves the songs from Tangled & The Lion King.
- has become obsessed with all things Cars & "Toe Stories". He can identify every character in Cars & most from Toy Story, though "McKeen" (Lightning McQueen) is certainly his favorite.
- is becoming a Band-Aid junkie. The summer heat mixed with lots of sunscreen has really irritated his eczema, so we've been covering up some of his medicine with Band-Aids so he doesn't itch it off. And now he's slightly obsessed. Of course, it doesn't help that we have both Cars & Toy Story Band-Aids to entice him.
- is still in love with oranges & milk. Also on his list of favorites: all fruits, broccoli, Oreos, cheese, graham crackers, cereal, "guckers" (suckers), & Mommy's snack mixes - I typically do some combination of Goldfish, raisins, pretzels, Teddy Grahams, or "baby mallows" (mini marshmallows).

- still wants to eat all day long. He asks for snacks every 3 minutes, I swear. We're really working on teaching him that he doesn't get to have snacks whenever he wants them, that there are specific snack times. The husband & I have been eating much healthier lately, & we're hoping to set a good example for our kids. We're focusing hard on teaching them to have a healthy relationship with food, and at Joe's age, that starts with limiting unnecessary snacking. I know him well so I know the difference between him wanting something b/c he's hungry & wanting something b/c he's bored or tired. Thankfully, Joe's easily distractable, so it's not hard to take his mind off of the requested snack (I wish it were that easy for me!)
- counts from 1-15 & truly understands what counting is (not just reciting numbers). He likes to point to things in books and count them, though he doesn't always stop counting when he runs out of things to point to.
- doesn't stop talking. Like, ever. Which means we have 2 chatterbox children. Which means my ears hurt.
- went to his first Reds game of the season several weeks ago. He had a blast! He has a board book all about the Reds that his Daddy has been reading with him, so he knows who Mr. Red and Gapper are & can even identify Pete Rose & Ken Griffey Jr. (the latter of which I'm not super stoked about, as those who know me well might have guessed.) Though he was a little excited about the baseball game, he mostly enjoyed the snacks & people-watching, just like his mama :)

- has become a little bit of a biter, which is SO not cool. I have no idea where this came from, but he will randomly bite us now. It doesn't happen that often, maybe once or twice a week. The husband & I can anticipate it, so we stop him before he does it. But poor Brooke isn't so lucky; she's been his victim a few times. We do NOT tolerate the biting; he goes straight to Time Out.
- finally understands & "gets" Time Out. He knows he has to sit on the stairs until we come back to talk to him. When their time is up, our kids have to tell us why they were in Time Out (so we're sure they understand what it was that put them there), then apologize to whomever they hurt/disobeyed. Joe always knows exactly why he was put in Time Out, something his 3.5 yr old sister can't even do. He's very quick to say "Sowwy" in a sweet little voice & give out hugs, which is usually cute enough to make me forget why I put him there in the first place :)
- got his first fat lip earlier this month. He fell off a kitchen chair & cut his lip open. He was a sad little man. Just a few hours later, he walked right into a glass window that he thought was an open door - got a giant knot on his forehead to match his fat lip. It was a rough day for him.

- loves brushing his teeth at night. He has developed a little routine of how he likes to do it. It's always "Joe's turn" first; he's just now started letting us really brush them when it's our turn. He then has to follow it up with a "dink of water" from a paper cup (which, for his age, he handles surprisingly well!)

- is sleeping so much better lately! He sleeps straight through the night most nights...until about 5-6 a.m. He wakes up EVERY morning in that hour & it's a big struggle to get him back to sleep. Once we do, however, he sleeps another hour or 2. We used to bring him to bed with us so we could all just go right back to sleep (he LOVES our bed!) But, a few weeks ago, I reached my breaking point and refused to bring him to bed. So now we're battling him, but I feel like it's getting a little better. (Unfortunately, a lot of mornings he doesn't get back to sleep until about the time that Brooke wakes up, which means no extra sleep for Mom!)
- just started saying "Nice to meet you!" And it's pretty ridiculously cute.

A few more cute pics of our handsome man from the past month or 2.