Saturday Morning

We had



a little



bit of



Saturday



morning



fun



at the



pumpkin patch!




How about you? How was your morning?

Ten on Tuesday Wednesday

Here is a random smattering of photos from the last couple of months, mostly taken from my phone. This is what we've been up to.

1. It's not unusual to find things such as this around our house these days. Thank you, Aaron.



2. One day where Aaron needed some snuggling during nap time. This is how he ended up.



3. A pretty common look for our playroom these days. The picture does NOT do the mess justice.



4. I asked for a writing desk for the alcove in our bedroom. I am repurposing the space from baby space (Aaron slept here for the first 4 months that we lived here and it's been empty ever since) to mommy office and retreat. John and I found this on Craigslist and bought the lamp, too. I love it! Now I have a place to work (and blog) again.



5. Seeing pictures like this just makes me want to break out in the Raffi song, "Bathtime."



6. This just melts my heart. John and Aaron are reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which is Aaron's favorite book. Aaron's favorite page is Saturday. Probably because it's filled with food.



7. I walked into the tv room one day and found this little guy. Again, playing with food.



8. Peek-a-boo!



9. Mama and her boys.



10. One of those times where I decided the mess is worth the fun. And oh, what a mess. But oh, what fun!

Orange County Fire Authority Open House 2010

It's that time of year again!

Fire Safety and Prevention Month is in October. Which means it's time for the annual fire station open houses. A lot of the stations have individual open houses on one Saturday, and then on the following Saturday, they have the big one, at the Fire Authority Headquarters, where fire trucks and assorted other equipment and fire fighters and EMT and all sorts of people and big trucks come for one HUGE open house. It even includes free lunch! We like to go to the big one at OCFA Headquarters. Remember this trip, from last year? Well, we headed out again, this time with two little boys that are fascinated by the big, red trucks.

I brought my little camera this time, so we wouldn't have to juggle the big camera with the boys. Usually, it takes pretty decent pictures, but for some reason, it wasn't cooperating on Saturday. Unfortunately, we missed out on a lot of great shots. Here are the semi-decent ones.

Jacob and Aaron had a fantastic time climbing in the big, big trucks!



They liked the ambulances, too.



John helped Aaron fire a water hose.



The fire fighters were very impressed with how well Aaron did. They think he'll be a future fire man.



Jacob's turn! He did awesome, too! They are shooting the water at little wooden houses and trucks that have wooden flames that flip over when the water hits them.



Jacob checks out some more of the interesting equipment.



We were waiting to take a ride on a fire truck.



I think Aaron was a bit overwhelmed by all of it. He passed out in his stroller before we even got to lunch.



The boys had a great time! It was an awesome family outing, and I even got some important pieces for their Halloween costumes. (Any guesses as to what they are going to be? Wink, wink.) Jacob has already asked to go to the fire station again. I'll make sure to put it on the calendar for next year.

A Bunch of Pictures from my iPhone

I've hardly used my big camera. I pulled it out on Friday to take a picture of Aaron's lunch tray, and the battery was dead. Oops. I guess I need to pull it out more often. Now that Aaron is running (usually in the opposite direction of Jacob, or trying to take whatever it is Jacob is playing with) it makes having two hands (and feet) available at all times an absolute necessity. So, here are pictures from my phone. Because that is all I have from the last month or two (hanging my head in shame now).

See, he really did eat his lunch out of the ice cube tray.



Look what someone else has been eating! Okay, so maybe a hotdog isn't the healthiest food out there. But it's meat. And it's something different. Baby steps, people, baby steps.



This big boy got to go to the park down the street because he now has big boy shoes. Brand new big boy shoes. Expensive brand new big boy shoes. Because he has really wide feet. I've had two children's shoes salespersons comment on his wide feet. All I have to do is walk in the store and they go, "Wow. He has really wide feet!" Oh, dear. That's not a good sign. So much for saving all of Jacob's old shoes. They won't fit.



Jacob and I went on a date to Zoomars. It was a perfect morning. Just me and my sweet first-born.



Aaron created his own jungle-gym.



A fun new game.



This is what's been going on at our house lately. Yes, it is installed wrong. It's a really long story.



And this is my new toy. It arrived Friday.



Happy May, everyone!

Aaron's Lunch

Make a Joyful Noise

The previous video I posted was from several weeks back. This video, however, was taken this afternoon. Jacob had a really good dinner--after refusing lunch, he was starving and grumpy, but Mandi finally convinced him to eat a hot dog, which filled him up, and then we let him have fruit and chocolate soy milk, wiring him up with sugar. A half hour later, this was the result. Aaron was all too eager to join in the festivities as well.

Happy boys!!

Aaron and the Recorder

Pretty self-explanatory. Aaron figured out how to play recorder and march around the house :)

In Which I Attempt to Put My Thoughts in Writing

For the two or so people who still read our blog, I have a confession to make. I've been avoiding our blog. On purpose. And it's kind of hard to explain why. But I'll try.

Over the last several months, I've been thinking about the purpose of our blog, and the direction I want to go with it. I have been reading more and more blogs, most of whom are people I have never met before. All are moms, most are stay-at-home moms, and for most, their blog is a sort-of outlet, or way to express themselves, and the trials, and triumphs of motherhood. And I have debated going that direction. But then I think, does the world really need another mom blog? Probably not. Do the few readers we do have want to read about my trials and triumphs in my boring, every day life. Probably not. We're probably going to lose what few readers we do have with just this post. (Just kidding, maybe?)

When we first created this blog, it was for the sole purpose of sharing the lives of our children with family, mainly grandparents, who don't live by us, thus allowing them to kind of be a part of their lives. And we have shared our blog link with many people through the last three years. But the blog has mostly been about the boys. And it was written for an audience that knows our family.

And we don't really have that many regular readers. Yes, you grandparents want to read about the antics of your little boys. But who else does?

But then, writing a blog for the sole purpose of gaining readership is lame. If it's truly going to be an outlet, a way to express myself while at home, surrounded by the daily tasks that I am, then I need to write it in a way that makes me happy. In a sense, the way blogging was created to be in the first place. Or at least how it was explained to me. A diary of sorts, that is public. And that people can comment on, if they want.

And then there is the issue of time. I don't have a lot of time. I'm a mom. You don't need a list. You know moms are busy. It's hard to find a time to get away to sit down and write a post, upload pictures, and the like. And then to keep two very busy boys from getting into the camera and cables and keyboards and stuff. It's not easy. Aaron's at that age where he is getting into everything. Or he wants to be held. Jacob is much more, but when I do have a minute, I like to have some one-on-one time with him, because he and I don't get it much.

The time issue is probably the real issue, more than anything else. (This was how far I was able to write before Aaron woke up, not a whole lot of time.) When I make the blog a priority, it seems to happen. But when I don't, it doesn't.

And I'm sure that since these are my thoughts, they probably don't make a lot of sense. They sure don't to me. But there you have it. What direction will we go with this, who knows? It's a journey. And if you read all the way to the end, thanks. I appreciate it.

Aaron is ONE! (almost)

Can you believe it? I can hardly believe our baby is almost one! To celebrate, I decided to do something a little different.

We've had Jacob professionally photographed a number of times. I haven't been overly impressed with the chain store company that we have used (and their prices!) and while I liked the private photographer we've used with MOPS, her pictures were getting kinda old, too. So, we just haven't had Aaron professionally photographed very often.

For Aaron's first birthday, I really, really wanted a smash cake with pictures. John thought I was crazy, but I thought it would be fun, especially for my little eater. But I didn't know any photographer who would do it, so I googled for "Orange County Smash Cake." And I found Suzuki Photography. I loved the pictures that she had on her site. And her prices were decent. I went ahead and booked a session.

Wow! Wow! Wow! I like to take pictures of my kids. But I'm not very good at it. This So. Cal. mom is amazing! She has a studio in her home, and two boys of her own, so she really gets kids. And she worked so well with my baby. The pictures are incredible! All we have now is some teaser photos, we should be getting more in a week or so, but you can see them here. I can't wait to see more!

Healthy Boys

I took the boys to their pediatrician for their well-checks today. I was 2.5 weeks late on Jacob's and 2 weeks early on Aaron's but I wanted to save a trip, and I also needed the doctor to check Aaron's ears to assure that they are clear. So, I killed three birds with one stone! Efficiency at it's best!

Anyway, here are their current stats, more for my memory than anything:
Jacob weighs 28 pounds (11th percentile) and is 37.5 inches tall (48th percentile).
Aaron weighs 23.5 pounds (66th percentile) and is 31 inches tall (89th percentile).

The doctor is not at all concerned by Jacob's weight. So, therefore, I'm not going to be either. He eats what he eats, and that's that. He's a smart, creative little man, and maybe someday he will eat a bigger variety. He may always be a vegetarian, but that's his choice to make. I love this guy!

As for Aaron, he's still our little garbage disposal. He will eat anything and everything, including dirt. I love him, too! They are so different. And they love each other so much.

They each got one shot today. This was Aaron's first, as we decided to delay vaccines with him. They both cried, for about 2 seconds. All is forgotten now. My sweet boys.

Talking

Our baby is talking! Aaron is very much a babbler, and has so much to say, as long as it's not in front of an audience. He's been verbalizing "mama' and "dada" (and many other baby babble sounds) for a little while now, but not really expressing a distinction between John and myself, or calling our names to us directly. Recently, he has been waving, or playing "Open, Shut Them" with his hands. And today, when he and I got in the van to go get Jacob, he started to wave his little chubby hand and say, "buh buh. buh buh." It was so stinkin' cute! I guess you really had to be there, and also be one of his parents, to really appreciate this. But I'm proud of my little man! He's saying "Bye, bye!"

And then later on this evening, while I was hiding in our bedroom and on the phone, he came and found me, and then said, "mama. mmmm- mama." Oh, my sweet boy! I am in love.

Aaron's Push Toy

Aaron discovered this little game very early on in Hawaii.



We did so many laps with him during the week. He needed one of us to walk with him and steer the stroller, but he did all the pushing.

Hangin' Out at the Beach House

John's parents rented a great beach house right on Keiki Beach (Baby Beach) in Lahaina.



And one of our favorite things to do was to just hang out, relax, and chase the kids around the house.



We loved the hammock.



With, or without the kids!



Right outside our gate access to the beach was a foot shower, which Jacob learned how to use and used frequently.



Aaron crawled all over and got very dirty.



He also liked to chase the cat.



And for some reason, we didn't get a single picture of the sun rising onto the island of Lanai, and this is our only sunset picture.



Maybe we were just too busy having fun with the kids. Aloha!

Where's Waldo?

John and I discovered something fun while eating lunch at a seaside restaurant in Lahaina one afternoon.

Do you see them?



How about now?



And since we're on the subject, look who started to crab-crawl while we were in Hawaii.



What a cutie!

Baby Beach