Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Coffee Dates

Ryan went into work a little later this morning, so after we dropped Owen off at school
I got to have coffee with two of my all-time favorite coffee dates.


Saturday, April 23, 2016

Saturday Mornings in Wausau

When we're in Wausau, there is a 99.9% chance that come Saturday morning you will find
us eating breakfast at Tri City, aka "The Pancake Restaurant."

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We've been doing it for years and years now.  To be honest, I couldn't even tell you when it
all started.  My favorite part is as the years have passed, we've added more and more kids
to the table and we now take up nearly the entire front wall of the restaurant.
What a great way to start our morning.  Good food, better company!

Saturday, April 16, 2016

American Ninja Warrior in Training

It was BEAUTIFUL outside today so we decided to head down to the 606 to walk and then ended up at the park.  Owen wasted no time showing Ryan how he had mastered the monkey bars.  I have to say I am pretty impressed myself.


I love that Spring is finally here and we can get out and enjoy the amazing weather!!  I think it's pretty safe to say the boys are happy about it too.


Friday, April 15, 2016

Two and a Half

Joe had his two and a half year doctor's appointment yesterday.

Stats
Height - 37 in (73rd Percentile)
Weight - 30 lbs 2 oz (58th Percentile)

 He has stayed pretty consistent in the height category, but shot up in the weight category
which is no surprise given how this kid loves to eat.  He is a great eater and will typically tr
 most things we give him, with the exception of fruits and vegetables.  He has his favorites,
but otherwise he tends to steer clear.  In fact, I think he could live on cheese and carbs, with
an occasional chocolate treat here and there (sounds just like his mama!).  We continue to
make smoothies every morning to get him a good dose of milk, yogurt and fruit.  But his
breakfast of choice is most definitely sprinkle pancakes...he asks for them daily.  I finally
found a recipe for pancakes I love, and apparently so does everyone else in the house.  I 
make them at least 2-3 times per week, sometimes at the boy's request, sometimes Ryan's.

Favorite Foods - CHEESE!, sprinkle pancakes, Fruit Loops, Corn chex, mac n cheese,
hot dogs, grilled cheese, strawberries, clementines, goldfish, chex mix

 
He loves cheese so much that he is actually known by one of the checkout ladies at our
grocery store as the "my cheese" boy because he always used to warn her, "that my
cheese!" as she picked it up to scan and put in our grocery bag.  Now he has warmed up to
her however and requests to go through her line.  He is very vocal and friendly, but mostly
when he is around people he is familiar with.  He continues to use 5 and 6 word sentences
and I can understand about 95% of what he says.  He has finally transitioned to calling
Owen by his name instead of "ee-dee" which has made Owen happy.  Joe has the cutest
little voice and I could listen to him talk all day.  I love hearing all of the new things he has to
say.  He is also in the phase where he repeats what you say but poses it in a question.  So if
I tell him we are going to Grandma's house, he'll reply "We're going to Grandma's house?".

He is so sweet, partly because he's learned behaviors from watching Owen.  He picks me
flowers if we're out for walks and frequently tells me "mommy, you boot-full" (beautiful)
 because he's seen Owen do it before.  He loves to snuggle and is so loving.  He's definitely
still closest with his mama, but he is getting much better.  He always pleads "Mommy,
don't leave me" whenever he senses that I have to leave him with someone else, but he
gets over it pretty quickly now.  He and Ryan are developing a special relationship to the
point where Ryan gets the "Daddy, don't leave me" line, which I know he is secretly ecstatic
about.

Currently his favorite thing to do is anything that involves water.  He sneaks into the
bathroom so he can play at the sink and fill up random toys with water.  If he gets the
chance, he'll pull a chair up to the kitchen sink to play with the water there.  It doesn't matter
where he is, he somehow tries to get his hands on water.  Thankfully the weather is starting
to warm up so he can play outside at the water table in the backyard.  He would honestly
play back there for hours if I let him.  Filling cups, pouring water onto the plants, shooting
squirt guns...it doesn't matter what he is doing.  As long as his is in the water, he's happy.


He also loves playing with Owen and most of the time they do pretty well together.  They
have their days where they don't see eye to eye, but otherwise they have a great time
together.  They like to go downstairs and play with our massive supply of Matchbox cars. 
They also enjoy jumping on the living room couches.  They are best buddies and it makes
me so happy.  I love that they get along so well and have so much fun.



All that fun can wear a little guy out though.  Even though we dropped his morning nap a
long time ago, he still gets so tired in the morning that if we are in the car or out for a wal
mid-morning, he almost always falls asleep.  It can be as short of a car ride as driving from
our house to pick up Owen from school, and he will doze off.  Now that he and Owen share
a bedroom they both go to bed around 8:00PM, wake up around 6:00AM and take about a 2-3 hour nap around 1:00PM.  But for some reason, he needs that little cat nap in the morning, no matter where he might get it.

 

I am loving life right now and loving watching Joe experience everything.  He may be
attached, but I love how he loves to snuggle with me and I wouldn't trade that for anything.
Time flies and there will be a day where the snuggles won't come so easily, so I gladly take
all he is willing to give me right now.  He is so sweet and I look forward to watching what
these next six months bring.  Don't worry Joe.  Life might change a little bit when the new
baby comes, but you will always hold a very special place in Mommy's heart.