Now that the weather is finally nice, we've been spending as much time as we can outside.
And we're LOVING it!!
Owen's favorite thing to do is ride his scooter.
Driving Lucas' Lightning McQueen is a close second.
We have our own battery powered VW Bug, but it is not nearly as fast as Lightning.
So Owen requests Lightning McQueen whenever he has the chance.
And as far as Joe's favs, after watching him in the sandbox, I've decided that the majority of his summer will be spent there. He played with the sand nearly the entire time we were at the park. As long as he has a bucket and shovel, he's as happy as can be.
His second favorite spot is standing on his stool at the window checking out the rabbits in the backyard. Needless to say, he is pretty easily amused. :)
Looks like we have a fun Spring and Summer ahead of us.
Ryan and I upgraded our cellphones to the new Samsung S6's. These phones have
AMAZING cameras and one of the nice things is a quick launch camera feature. All you
have to do is push the main button twice and it launches the camera even when the phone is locked. It seems Owen has discovered the simplicity of this feature too. I happened to be looking through my phone the other day and found I had quite a collection of Owen selfies. Here are a few of his masterpieces. Now I just need to teach him the correct selfie angle.
Joe has a new found love for the big monkey. We've had it since Owen was born and use it to take their monthly/annual pictures. It's been sitting in his room the whole time, but he just recently decided he loves snuggling with it. When we go in to get him out of bed, he points to it and asks to get down. He walks right over to it, sits on it's lap and snuggles right in.
I'm sure Grandma will be happy to know it was money well spent.
I'm actually really surprised he is only in the 30th percentile for weight because this kid can eat SO much. He'll polish off his meal and then finish whatever Owen didn't eat of his. They're actually opposites in how they eat. Owen is a really light eater and pretty much lives on fruit and milk. Joe on the other hand eats a significant amount but steers clear of most fruit and won't even touch milk. In fact if I pour him a cup of milk and hand it to him, he sternly tells me "no" without even taking a sip. The only way I can get him to drink it is by making him a smoothie every morning. Fruit, Milk, yogurt, Spinach...check!
At least it's a healthy start to his day. :)
Favorite Foods - Pancakes, waffles, chex, pretzels, goldfish, Pirate Booty, cheese, hot dogs, noodles, mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, french fries, strawberries, clementines
Aside from eating, the other thing Joe is great at is talking. Ryan and I seriously can't get over how smart this kid is!! He is talking up a storm these days. And not just single words here or there, but stringing words together to make phrases. "I want juice dada", "I want down", "I want mama", "I have that" (meaning I want that), etc. I am honestly impressed. He'll try to mimic nearly any word you say to him, even tough ones...escalator, strawberry. Sure they don't come out perfect, but he gets close and at least he tries. He knows how to communicate what he wants and when he needs help, which is really nice and saves us from a lot of unnecessary headaches. I learned with Owen that things got a lot easier when he could tell me what he needed. Joe is also so polite and says "Thank you", most times without being prompted. Nearly every day he'll say something new that Ryan and I will just look at each other in amazement like, "did he really just say what I think he said?" We're so proud of him and excited to watch all the new things he's learning.
Current words (it's hard because he says a lot, but here are a few of the ones he uses most) mama, dada, baby, puppy, help, have that, down, juice, smoothie, lovey "vava", Grandpa (sorry Grandma), no, want, Scout, thank you Favorite Books - That's What Grandma's Do (book with Grandma's voice recorded), Barnyard Dance, Good Night Good Night Sleepyhead
One thing that is also developing much more is his personality. It's funny because people always say that he is so relaxed and calm, which he is in certain situations. He goes with the flow pretty easily and is happy to be anywhere as long as he's with his mama. But there is also a stubborn side to him that is unrelenting. If he wants to do something, there is no changing his mind. He gets his mind focused and won't let up. It seems this might be a trait he shares with his mama. Hopefully all that focus and determination will be one of his biggest strengths someday.
He's also developed a feisty side to him. Ryan and I kept joking that there was going to be a day when Owen would have to watch himself because Joe would start fighting back. Well it looks like that day is here. My days of cruising the aisles of Costco with the two boys sitting side by side quietly eating samples are gone. It normally takes a matter of minutes before one or the other decides to haul off and hit the other one (most of the time just playfully), and it turns into an all out war in the front of my shopping cart.
As much as they like to pick at each other though, it's clear they love each other just as much. When Joe is not climbing up stairs, playing in the toilet, trying to run into the road, unplug cords, or doing any number of the other dangerous things he can't get enough of these days, he's watching Owen's every move and trying to follow along. One of his favorite things to do is play peekaboo with Owen behind the play kitchen. He thinks it is so funny and laughs hysterically. It's hilarious to watch.
Favorite Toys - Scout, his 2 babies (Cabbage patch and Glo-worm), vacuum (his play one and the real full size one)
All that playing can tire a little guy out. He's still going strong with 2 naps a day and sleeps about 11 hours per night. He always sleeps with his lovey, and then we have a separate lovey for in the car. As soon as I put him in his car seat, he's either reaching or asking for his lovey "vava", his baby, Scout, or typically all three at once. When he's not cuddling his lovey, his favorite person to cuddle is his mama. He still has quite a soft spot for me. He's so sweet and is such a cuddle bug when he wants to be. And whenever he snuggles his little thumb still goes right in his mouth. I know there will be a time when I'll be over it, but for now I find it super cute.
Hard to believe a year and a half is behind us already, but it's so fun watching Joe get older. Seeing him and Owen begin to interact more is something we have been looking forward to. He's smart, sweet, super cute, and my favorite little 18 month old.
Today we met Grandpa and Gigi at the new Maggie Daley Park. It is such a cool place. Maybe geared towards kids a little older than Owen and Joe, but they still had a blast.
This past week Hannah and Bobby were in Florida for Spring Break. We were sad they weren't able to celebrate Easter with the rest of us, so I was super excited when I found out they would be driving through Chicago last night and needed a place to stay. I knew they would be getting in late so I didn't tell Owen Aiden was coming. Instead he woke up and was going about his normal morning routine when all of a sudden Aiden walked into our living room. Owen was so surprised his mouth dropped open and he didn't even know what to say for a few seconds. He just stared at Aiden with big eyes and then calmly said, "hi."
They were only able to stay for a little while today, but we made the most of it.
We started our morning with a walk to Starbucks.
In case you ever wondered what it looks like when you go on long walks during nap time. ;)
Then we went to the zoo. Owen was so happy to have a buddy with him.
Funny that with all of the animals we walked past, what caught Joe's attention most was
the construction they were doing over by the dolphins.
Thank you so much for using the Kalita Rest Stop Hannah and Bobby. We were very happy to have you. :)
