S'mores baby!

Well, Mommy and Paul made it through our weekend alone and Daddy arrived home around 1:30 today. The weather finally perked up a bit - we had sun but lots of wind and some heat and humidity. We certainly did not let that dissuade us from heading outside to enjoy some fresh air. After a quick trip to the local nursery, we brought home lots of plants to add to our front bed and planters. Paul was quite the helper....oh and daddy too! We got dirty and then headed in for baths and showers. Doesn't it always feel fabulous to shower after getting super dirty?!? The planters look great and I am pleased with the progress of our front perennial bed.

So then it was burgers on the grill.....and dessert was S'MORES! This was Paul's first time eating an actual s'more and I haven't had one in quite some time. We made them the lame way (in the microwave) but they were still delish! Paul most definitely enjoyed the concept of graham cracker, chocolate and marshmallow. I thought the ice cream cone of yesterday was pretty messy, but this was far worse.


First finger lick!Hmmmm....what's in there?!?

This marshmallow is pretty sticky between my fingers....

And it's really sticky on my face!

Wish I could have gotten better pictures, but I had to just grab my phone quickly. What a full weekend we had....although I think I need a day or two to recuperate from our full weekend. And while we enjoyed a well deserved 3-day weekend, we certainly remember the reason for the holiday. God bless all of those men and women that have served or are serving to protect our freedom. What a true sacrifice they make for us.

Spoiled rotten!

So this weekend was all about Mommy and Paul time since Daddy was spending the weekend with some of his friends. Saturday was our day of parties....first a high school graduation and then a surprise birthday party. I had the best date on the planet and he was in fine form. Today was all about my little man and I spoiled him rotten! I don't often get to do that and we certainly try to keep that kind of spoiling in check....but today was so fabulous for BOTH of us.

We kicked off the day of spoiling with the little man sleeping until 8:15....yes, that's right 8:15. I'm not going to lie, that was a little bit of spoiling for me too! He didn't wake up in the best of moods, but it only took about 30 minutes for him to snap out of it and the day of fun began! We started the morning by watching a little Lightening McQueen while it stormed outside. Took a little breakfast break around 10am and then it was time to play some choo-choo's. We got cleaned up and headed out for a Happy Meal lunch. And then it was off to see a movie....we both enjoyed Rio. Lots of vibrant colors and great music with a cute message. It was a 90 min run time and he sat through the entire thing.....oh, and ate almost an entire small popcorn.

We headed home for a little Dora and then some more choo-choo action before I made dinner. Since we had eaten a bit on the unhealthy side all day, we stuck with grilled chicken and corn for dinner. Paul was obsessing about getting an ice cream cone all weekend long.....so it seemed appropriate to end our day of spoiling with a trip to DQ. He really was a good kid today and especially because he didn't get a nap. So we ended our day with ice cream cones.....and then a bath! It was a great day and while Paul probably thinks that he was the one that got spoiled....it was actually me!


It looks like such an innocuous ice cream cone....nothing could go wrong with this picture, right?
First lick....

Starting to get a little on the messy side......

And then it all went south.....

I would usually be freaking out at the mess at this point......but I just let it all go and laughed at him covered in ice cream. We did, however remove his chocolate covered shirt before getting back in the car....it is ME after all!

Garden Fest 2011

Last year was our first spring in the new house and Paul's first experience with a vegetable garden. He had fun with it last year - he enjoyed digging in the garden and really loved the picking of the vegetables. About a month or two ago Paul started obsessing about planting the garden....like seriously obsessing. So we finally had the time and the good weather to get things in the ground this weekend - a little late, but we were late last year and everything turned out fine.

So, Paul and I headed to the local garden store to pick up our seeds and supplies. He was such a great helper. We happened upon a display that was aimed right at Paul....they had Mickey and Cars pails that included soil and flower seeds. He honed right in on the Cars pail and just had to have it....keep in mind that the pure joy on his face caused me to say "sure, let's get the Lightening pail"....even though it was $9. Seriously?!?! For a metal pail, some potting soil and a packet of marigold seeds. No joke....but let's focus on the pure joy part.


Here's our $9 bucket......

Here's our seed packet (fuzzy, I know)......

And here's the pure joy part.....

We just purchased a new patio set and a swanky new grill.....long overdue on both! We got everything all assembled and set up on the deck this weekend and Sunday was the inaugural run with the new grill. And it was our first corn on the cob of the season as well! Our boy does love his corn......

And a little Lincoln Log fun to round out the evening.....the little man loves his logs!

Outside fun

It's been a cruddy weather weekend...but this afternoon the sun came out (just a little) and we decided to take advantage of the small window of opportunity. We broke out Paul's new tee-ball/golf set and had some fun. It was windy and cool so we could only play for a brief time, but the fresh air was just what we all needed!

Step 1....carefully put the ball on the tee.
Step 2.....take a firm stance and get ready to swing.

Step 3.....watch that ball FLY!

Then it was time to use the plastic putter and practice our golf skills. Maya was overseeing the entire production....and very brave to stand so close to Paul with a club in his hand (plastic or not).

Running....and happy!

Watch out Paul....here come Maya.

Let's hope for some nicer weather in the coming days....all of this temperature fluctuation is killing us!

Getting back into our normal routine

After our fun family vacation, we spent the last week getting back to some sense of normal. Paul went back to school and was happy to see his friends and teachers.....I went back to work and tried to get caught up and back in the swing of things. On Tuesday, Paul had his 3 year old checkup with Dr. Dave. We are so lucky to have a good family friend as our pediatrician. We had a nice visit with Dave who was very happy with Paul's health and developmental progress. He was especially impressed with Paul's language skills and ability to put complex sentences together. We found out that Paul is 37 inches tall and 35 pounds....he gained 6 pounds and grew almost 4 inches in the last year. We are blessed to have a healthy and happy little boy.

This weekend was the annual Asian festival at the state capital complex downtown. We went last year for the first time and had a lot of fun, so we have been looking forward to attending again this year. Unfortunately, it was a very cold, windy and rainy day. We decided to wait until dinner to head down even though the weather was a real downer. We bundled up and looked forward to our yummy dinner.

Wow daddy, check out all the tents!

First stop - the University of Northern Iowa tent where we saw someone we know. Our friend Paul gave our little man Paul a sticker.....maybe he's a future Panther?!?

Next we hit the Korean food tent - bulgogi, rice, mandu and kimchi. Someone does love his mandu!

As we left the Korean food tent and started to walk around, Paul spotted a cooking demonstration tent where they were giving out free food....sweet! They had just made these mango filled rangoons with a little sweet honey sauce on top. Paul loved it.

Then it was off to the kids inflatables area. In the past, Paul had been afraid of the bounce houses and wouldn't climb up the large inflatable slides. Before we bought an armband for him, we asked repeatedly if he really wanted to play in there. Turns out, he has outgrown his fear and had an absolute blast.

The long ascent to the top of the inflatable slide.

Whhhheeeeeeee........
Then it was off to a toddler climbing area that was entirely inflatable.....it was cute and Paul had lots of fun.

As we were leaving, we walked by a balloon animal booth.....Paul got an orange dog!

We made a special trip to the toy store so that Paul could pick out his brand new potty chair. A note of explanation - we have not been pushing the whole potty training thing with Paul. He has interest in bathroom behavior, but thus far has not really wanted to sit on the potty at home. We bought a couple of the toilet seat insert things - I am not a huge fan of the little potties that you have to empty. They are just not terribly sanitary and if we could get Paul to use the regular toilet, that just seemed more ideal. At his doctor's appointment, Dr. Dave mentioned that we might need to get a potty chair so he can get used to that and then move him to the regular toilet with the seat insert. So, I have resigned myself to this plan and decided we would let Paul pick out his own potty chair. Seems fair.

Wow momma, look at all the choices......

Hhhmmmm, this is a cool flusher on this one daddy.
Oh, I see which one I want now.....Lightening McQueen!

SCORE!

We'll see if the fabulous new potty chair is the ticket to starting this whole potty training thing. We aren't stressed about it, but I think it is about time for him to get a little more serious about this whole deal.

And, as I was typing this post, I got some wonderful news from a very good friend of ours that has chosen to adopt a second child. Can't share it yet, but I am so excited for them right now!

Take me out to the ballgame....for Mother's Day!

Since we just returned from a fabulous family vacation, I wanted to enjoy my last day before heading back to work with my boys doing something fun.....so for Mother's Day I asked to go to an Iowa Cubs game. We are fortunate to have a AAA ball team in town with a fabulous stadium on the river front and overlooking the State Capitol building.

First order of business after finding our seats - FOOD! And you can't go to the ballpark without having a hot dog, right?!?

And then it was on to the popcorn. You have to reach in with 2 fists, right?!?

Helloooooo in there!

Here's a piece of popcorn for you momma!

Taking an interlude from the eating to be generally cute!

And then it was on to the peanuts in their shell.

It was fun to watch the concentration on his face as he tried to shell his peanuts....as I watched the video again tonight, it looks like he actually eats some shell. Sad that I didn't catch it when he was actually doing it, but obviously a little peanut shell never killed anyone.

Peanuts make such a fun mess!

And batting clean-up.....ice cream of course! Gotta love the wooden sticks to eat your malt cup.

We stayed in our seats until the 6th inning and then wandered to the outfield area. They have a splash park and some green space out there for the kids. Paul had fun jumping around on the rock wall...only holding daddy's hand of course!

It was a lovely Mother's Day....sunshine, slight breeze and my boys! Paul had a blast at his first professional baseball game (albeit the minor leagues) and it was a great end to our family vacation.

The Keys.....beach time fun!

On Saturday morning, we packed up the rental car and headed for the Keys.....we reserved a great beach house in the middle Keys but wanted to make a day trip to Key West to check out some of the sights. Driving down US1 to the Keys is a pretty drive, but can be slow on the mostly 2 lane highway. We sang songs, ate snacks and played with the "iPad" to pass the time. Paul was pretty excited to see the beach....he clutched some of his sand shovels a good chunk of the trip.

Once again, it was hot as heck but after we grabbed a bite to eat, we trekked to the Southernmost point. Seemed like the appropriate tourist thing to do. Not really all that exciting, but we grabbed a family photo. Doesn't Paul look thrilled?

After that, we hopped on the historic Conch Train for a little choo-choo tour action of Key West. Paul loved it and we enjoyed being in the shade with some breeze!

Do you think we were hot?

At the end, the train conductor let Paul pretend to drive the train. Our little sweaty engineer!

To cool off, we had to get the key lime freeze.....very good stuff!

And with that, we ended our day trip to Key West and hit the road for the hour drive back north to our resort. We stayed in a beautiful 3 bedroom beach house with wonderful views of the Gulf. Definitely recommend this resort! Paul was so patient all day wanting to go to the beach so we took a walk as soon as we checked in - he had a blast even without putting his swim trunks on.

We got settled in and got Paul to bed and then I stepped out on the deck of our master bedroom....what a sunset!

Early the next morning, someone was up and raring to go......to the beach that is. He was obsessing about his cool new beach toys.

Come on guys.....aren't you ready yet?!?

And finally we left and headed for the beach....a mere 2 minute walk from our front door! Paul had so much fun and we were thrilled to see his reaction to the ocean and the beach. The swimming beach at the resort was perfect for little ones - the water is very shallow for a fair way out and there aren't big waves crashing in. We could sit and let Paul play without worrying about him getting slammed with a wave or wandering too far out in the water.

There's sand stuck to my feet!

Cool dude....he actually kept his hat and sunglasses on the whole time.

Time for a drink break! Had to stay hydrated so he could keep playing......

Having fun digging in the sand (and aren't I brave for posting a swim suit picture!)

Someone found a coconut that had fallen from a palm tree......he coveted that coconut the rest of the trip and had to take it to show Mimi.

Cool water wheel.....he loved to dump water and sometimes wet sand in the funnel.

Just chilling out in the water with all of his toys.

Here's a somewhat long video showing just how much Paul enjoyed digging and scooping the sand, pouring the water and running in and out of the ocean.

After spending several hours in the morning and then several more in the afternoon, Paul was so tired that he slept through dinner and proceeded to sleep for over 12 hours straight. Early Monday morning we headed for the beach for our last few hours to play in the sand before heading back to Mimi's house. It was early and there was virtually no one else on the beach. We had a nice time and it was a perfect end to our trip to the Keys.

We headed back to the beach house and got cleaned up...had to snap a few more pictures before we hit the road (I think I took thousands on this trip). A family picture on our main level back deck.

Daddy and the little man.

On the way back to Mimi's, we just had to stop at this hilarious tourist stop that we saw on the way down.....a HUGE lobster in the parking lot. Paul wasn't so sure he should be standing in front of the beast!