Need Your Help...

Little Man has a new word or words, we aren't sure. He has been saying this....thing....for about a week now but we have no idea what he is saying. He is pretty intentional when he says it and is usually pointing at something, just never the same thing. The past three times he has said it it has been while pointing at one of the following: the sink, the empty elevator wall and a cord laying on the floor. Here is a video....any ideas?? It sounds like "Minema"

Mommy's Helper

A few years ago I stumbled upon a great article about teaching small children responsibility and accountability from an early age. The article included a breakdown of age appropriate chores for children of all ages starting at 1 year (which blew my mind in my pre-parent days). Although Little Man hasn't picked up any of the tasks over night, we are finally at a point where he likes to help and really wants to do a good job. Here is a video of him helping me load the dishwasher.

Free Organic Milk!

I am such a nut about organic milk...don't get me started on the benefits. If you are a nut too, be sure to check out 5 Minutes For Mom and their $300 Horizon Dairy giveaway. Entering is soooo easy!

Second Time Around

Today we made another trip to the zoo, thanks to our handy season passes, and were fortunate to make the trip with some friends. Little Man was much more brave this time around the birds even when one landed on his head!

Little Man was still pretty wary of the fish tank (who wouldn't be afraid of big bright floating animals?) but he paused in front of it long enough for a snapshot.
We took the monorail through the "African Wildlands" and Little Man was enthralled, exclaiming, "Oooh", "Wow" and "Oh Look" every time he saw an animal. So cute!
On the way home as Little Man fell asleep, I reached back to take off his shoes and he refused (he has this new obsession with wearing shoes 24/7). I waited a few more minutes until he had really fallen asleep and tried again and he even fought back in his sleep! Check out the video...

We ended the night with Little Man's favorite meal: Meatloaf, Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans. Can you tell it is his favorite?

Another busy week

This summer has been one big whirlwind and this past week has been no exception.

Trav started his new job this week and the normal hours (9-5) have really thrown us into a mess of childcare issues. I didn't realize how spoiled the firefighter schedule had allowed us to become. The next six months of academy are going to be pretty interesting and I am sure we will all be very anxious to be back to the 24 on/48 off lifestyle of the firefighter.

This week Little Man's Grandma Block came to visit us for several days. Here are the highlights of that visit:

Little Man's first pony ride

Feeding the birds (Little Man was not quite sure what to think)

Riding the Carousel with Daddy

Reading books with Grandma Block

This is also a very sad week for our family and for our church small group because some very good friends of ours are moving away. I am so thankful that Little Man is too young to understand that his sweet friend Riley is moving away and look forward to visiting them at their new home. We were fortunate to have one last playdate with Riley before they moved and it was so fun watching the two play with each other (but nearly impossible to get them to sit still long enough for a picture).

Sunday night we had a surprise going away party for the Reeses and tried desperately to get a picture of all of the kiddos which was like trying to capture a tornado in a soda can...

So we opted for a full group shot instead (with some poorly done photoshop on my part).

A New Sport

Ever since Little Man mastered saying the word basketball, he calls any and all balls, "basketball". Daddy decided it was time to try a new sport and since he is completely uninterested in soccer balls we went for football. He still calls it basketball but he has the "down, set, hut" down pat. See for yourself!

My New Favorite Phrase

I was awoken last night at 3:36am by the frightened cries of my little guy who was jolted after a nightmare of some kind. I rolled out of bed, shuffled across the house and was greeted, for the first time, with my three new favorite words, "Mama! Hold you?"

Makes a 3:30 wakeup call more than worth while!

A New Friend

What a great couple of days we have had! Little Man finally got to meet the man for whom he was named (middle name). Uncle Ryan is a very good friend to both mommy and daddy and although we usually get together about every six months, busy schedules have prevented a reunion for more than a year. This trip was quick but chock full of fun times. Here are the highlights…

Little Man's first piano lesson...Mommy and Ryan usually play the guitar together when we visit but this time Little Man and Ryan played their own duet...

Ryan, Little Man and Daddy after our second stop at In 'n' Out...
Don't ask....

Little Man loved spending time with Ryan and started gracing him with hugs, kisses and the coveted "sneak attack" after only a few hours!

What a great week!

Butterfly - Too Cute To Skip!

Out of order but too cute to resist....

Two Peas In A Pod

This week our family took a last minute 4th of July trip to visit a good friend in central-ish California before Trav starts his new job on Monday (he was hired at his dream fire department - yay!). After a lot of drama at the airport that had us stuck at the airport until nearly 3:00am, we were really fortunate to be able to spend a day with Little Man's cousin Trey, Aunt Nickie and Uncle Troy before our drive north. It was a busy day for the boys, that included Mickey Mouse waffles, a trip to the zoo, In 'n' Out burgers, and a cookout in the backyard. Here are the highlights...

Playin' cars and trucks

Checking out the monkeys during feeding time

Inseperable and yes they are holding hands!

How cute are they?

What a bunch of handsome boys!

Peek-a-boo