Hello...

Hello...silence.

Hello...Grandpa (pronounced "ampa")?



Then followed by gibberish and then "I wuv you" then "bye bye".



Yep, our lil guy loves to have a short somewhat understandable conversation on the phone these days.



It all started when I was at the rodeo seeing Lady A with some girlfriends and I called home to check on the boys. D got on and had his first ever conversation with me on the phone! It was the sweetest thing ever and melted my heart along with tears to the eyes. I loved it. Definitely made my night.



Since then, I have tried to make a conscience effort to chat with him when I am not with him on the phone. That way he gets to see that I can talk to him even if I am not with him.



So...we try our best to get him on the phone anytime we are talking to the grandparents. That way he can hear them even though he cannot see them. He loves it and we love it.



So hard to believe how big he is getting! Of course I say that as he is crying his eyes out in his crib right now...he does not want to go to sleep. :( Breaks my heart...I'm strong, I can do this...right?

Games...and more games!

D's favorite thing tonight besides the wonderful bike ride telling daddy to go "faster" was him getting out of the bath and telling secrets. Daddy and he were playing and Daddy showed him how to tell secrets. Of course his way of telling you secrets was coming up to your cheek and basically whispering and somewhat spitting on you. But none the less, it was cute.

He also decided to play ring around the rosie...with all three of us. And we had to do it "Again" and "Again" and "Again".

I know he does it all day long at daycare but it was the first time he wanted to play that with us...

The adventures of Chuck E Cheese...

I have to say after 20 or so years of not attending Chuck E Cheese, it really wasn't a surprise. The most surprising part was there was no ball pit! Yep, that germ infested ginormous ball pit I remember was non existent at this new and modernized chuck e cheese. The CEC we grew up going to was big, it had a big stage where the whole band played and there was a huge room for games, a huge room for ball pits and climbing aparatises. Wow, how times have changed.



None the less, we had fun. D was super excited and by the time it was time to eat pizza he didn't want a thing to do with food and wanted to go play in the arcade. He was obsessed with skee ball. He also loved Daddy being the overall high scorer on the football game. We ended up with lots of tickets and made it home with a bat and ball, frisbee and stickers. What more could a kid ask for?



Me, I was tired...exhausted and felt like I should take a bath! Ha! It was crowded and fun all at the same time.

Illness strikes...yet again!

I hate to say it but I think we have all been battling from a case of the "allergies". I never ever thought I had allergies...but did know from our wonderful doctor that certain times of the year calls for me to almost likely get bronchitis. In February I had a really bad sinus infection and a month almost to the day later, I started getting sick again. This time with a horrible cough.



Well, that was two weeks ago. Daddy eventually slowly started to have a cough as well and then D this past weekend started a fever and then THE cough. He battled a low grade fever all weekend and then was sent home from daycare on Monday with a really high fever. I think we should buy some stock for Zyrtec, geesh!



Off to the doctor we went the next day and he diagnosed him with bronchitis and prescribed him this nasty medicine. He also told us to not give him Tylenol or Motrin unless his fever was over 102. Ok...I guess doctor's orders. So for the next 36 hours he had a high fever but not enough for medicine.



Last night he finally broke the fever, we think. He was sopping wet every time his coughing attack would wake him up. Today he hasn't had a fever and he seems to be in better spirits. Except the fact that I know he is tired all the time and fights it! Ugh!



Hopefully this 10 day medicine will take us right up to his 2 yr doctor appt and we can see what Dr. E has to say then. Good times. But thank goodness it wasn't his ears!

Neglection???

So, I have to say that I have not been the best lately about updating the blog or taking pictures.


I'll sometimes write the posts and then let them sit there forever until our computer decides it wants to let me upload photos. It's so finicky sometimes, its not fun! Especially when you try to stay up to date on all the happenings and things the dude is doing.


My resolution for the month of April...to stay up to date...on everything! It's springtime and its just necessary to not get behind, I hate that!


I do have to say I haven't taken as many pictures either. Maybe because the dude is on the run so much I can't keep up. We've been so busy that time just doesn't allow for the experimentation of pictures.


So that's why I hope to be better about a lot of things in the coming months. Stay tuned, it shall get better...cross our fingers at least!

What's that, Bubble Wrap?

D got his first experience with bubble wrap when daddy's parts for his bbq showed up at the house.

It was an entire sheet of bubble wrap and he played on it, stomped on it and learned how to squish it all by himself.

He had the best time with it...who doesn't like bubble wrap?

BBQ here we come!

Finally, before putting the barbecue in the trash after months of it being broke down. Daddy thought he would call the manufacturer to see if they would replace the parts that were broken. Guess what, they did! We've been without a barbecue grill for almost 8 months and that's all it took???

After Daddy spending an entire day at the Grandparents house, his truck is also fixed. He thought it would take just the morning to fix, guess again! It took the entire day, but he has a working truck now and we have TWO vehicles! A long 4 months of sharing a car...he feels revived! Thanks for all your help Grandma and Grandpa Gonzo!

And after he came home from working on his truck all day, he saw that FedEx had also brought him a box filled with the parts for his grill!

His quote "I feel like a man again!" (I guess for guys, it's the simple things. All they need is a truck and a grill and they are set?!)

So, here he is cleaning out his grill to put in the new parts. Cross our fingers we will be having a steak off that grill in no time!

Terrible Two's...???

With D turning two in the near, near future...we believe the terrible two's has struck us just a tad bit early! I know, I know...everyone says it happens before they turn two. At first, I didn't agree...but the closer and closer we get the more he tests his patience with us.



The situations can be almost guaranteed by something that's brewing and Mommy and Daddy really make him mad then it's all over from there...or it can be like a light switch or the drop of a hat! Man oh man...are we in for a ride!



You try to be that responsible parent that wants to teach their kid logic, manners, whens a great time to throw a temper tantrum and when its not.



We have had our fair share lately and sometimes we can't help but laugh and others we've had to let him just cry it out for as long as he feels its necessary to.



One instance was a night he was going to bed. He didn't want to part with his little Hot Wheels fire truck. He wanted to drive it all over his bedroom furniture, which we wouldn't let him do. So what does he do? He threw his fire truck across the room, and hard! Immediately he threw himself to the floor and started crying. We said, ok tell fire truck bye bye. We don't throw our toys. It was kind of a fake cry, until Daddy said "ok, fire truck is going in the TRASH!" OMG, you would have thought the world was coming to an end. I guess b/c he is so obsessed with cleaning and throwing things away, he understood that once it went in the trash it was going bye bye for good. I guess the TRASH is going to work in our favor!!



He is master of this pouty face now, you almost can tell when it will spark a temper tantrum.



And well, he has this whine...I am not sure where it came from? Not crying, just a whine or moan that well...you know when he does this it won't stop for a while or you know...he's really tired and just won't tell himself when to stop.



Ahh the joys...I think we are in for one great ride!

Imagine that...

He loves his sunglasses! Yep, he has to have them on if it is "Bright"!

So one day, it was a peek-a-boo kind of day...

Oh and well...by the time we got home there was a mound of "dirt" in front of our neighbors driveway. There is no doubt this lil man is "all boy"! He had to go play in it, even if no one was outside to play with him!

Almost there...23 months!

At 28 1/2 lbs, 34 inches and on to a size 7 shoe...our boy is growing! He can no longer walk under my legs anymore without ducking!

Everyday is something new and exciting, some new word and some new gesture. The things that come out of that boys mouth are priceless!

His vocabulary is every growing and he is putting words together to make sentences now, at least some what.

He is pretty much still our fruit and vegetable kind of kid. He'll eat meat but not regularly, but for sure his fruits and veggies are all gone if not has second helpings.

He's all over the place by foot and mind. One minute he is doing one thing and then next he is on to something else. He's independent but yet dependent and is becoming quite the sport fanatic! Football, Baseball, Basketball...you name it and it has a ball he wants to do it!

His love of Fire Trucks is still there, but now including "boats" with an emphasis on the "S". Being I work right next to the waterway, and we are sharing a car...when they are waiting on Mommy they go visit the boats and play in the park. He's obsessed. One night in Cheesecake factory, talking about boats for 45mins really did him in!

I'm crossing my fingers this potty training thing will be a success. We haven't officially started, but he darn well knows what he is doing. He blows my mind sometimes with how good he is about telling us and how well he understands the "potty". I've been researching and researching trying to find the best "potty" for him. I want him to like it and apparently there are many negatives and positives to all the potties out there. How come there isn't that "perfect" one yet? Ok, enough potty talk. He's interested, he tells us when he is "wet", wakes up to tell us he went "poo poo" and well even started the "poo poo" talk before he has to go so he can go sit on the toilet. I sure hope this isn't a tease...it sure would be nice not to have to buy diapers. Oh yeah, they are pronounced "Ipers".

And I can't forget to say that the repeating of words has started. Oh boy, oh boy! It's quit nice though, sure keeps us from sounding like sailors around here. But the ones you have to worry about are the outside sources....thanks Uncle Dave! :) I accidentally pointed to my "Abs" the other night when I was working out and well...with your imagination I am sure you can think of what he said. Good thing is...once said, its gone. Out of sight out of mind, or is that what you call it?

Anyway, so hard to believe this little dude will be two in a month. Where does the time go? He's such a little man now it's crazy.

More outdoor fun...

As usual...the dude has to be outside. It's been so gorgeous...so why not?!

The other kids in the street haven't started their normal appearance just yet, wait a few more weeks until it gets warmer...and so he chose to entertain himself. With the dogs, his slow 4 wheeler and whatever he could find on the ground.

Self entertainment...that is until he needs "Help".

The Big 3-0...

I can't really say much about the BIG 3-0! I mean, I feel older but I don't. And really, these days it's more fun to celebrate the child's bday than it is your own. Especially when all your friends seem to have something going on.

I had my fun with an entire day with the boys at the rodeo the day before. And yes, it would have been great to have a big bash, 80's style to commensurate the year I was born. But those are all hopes, wishes and just all out party. It's not really us these days. We are low key, quaint and it's great to just get to hang out with those that mean the most to you.

So, what else do you do on a big birthday like turning 30? Well, I cleaned the house. Sounds fun, huh? I guess. It needed to be done so it was done. It was a rainy and groggy day anyway so it wasn't like we could get out and do anything anyway.

D was a ham as usual, and he and Daddy woke up early to make me breakfast. After D's nap I wanted to go to the park and feed the ducks and just walk around. So we did just that, but it was chilly outside. All bundled up we went and had fun, until it started to rain again. So we went shopping for D for some shoes at the mall to pass time until we met my Mom for dinner.

Dinner was great! We had fun and it was just right. I got a peach Bellini...Yummy! Of course what more than to remember that the Oscar's are on your bday, so we went to visit Grandad and Nina after dinner. It was a long day even though it was UN-eventful and the dude was wiped out.

Another year older, not bad if you ask me. I just can't believe how time flies?! Seems like just yesterday we were partying it up on 6th street for my 21st bday. Wow...now I feel old! j/j :)

This isn't my first rodeo...or is it?

I was certain I wanted to take D to experience his first rodeo this year! I knew he would love to see all the livestock and animals, along with all the carnival fun and then of course...I thought he would enjoy all the Professional Rodeo stuff inside before the concert.

We headed down on a gorgeous Saturday (the first Saturday the Rodeo was in town...so it was quite busy) and we originally were just going for a few hours. Then Mommy and Daddy kind of got a wild idea and said "how about if we stay for the concert"? It's a Saturday and the concert is earlier, why not? We really didn't have anything planned except for a night out on the town to celebrate my bday but I really just wanted to spend it with my two favorite guys!

So we stayed. We first got D his first corn dog at the fair.

Then we headed over to "Fun on the Farm" where you get to plant your vegetables, feed the chickens, feed the sheep, pick your oranges, stop for some photo ops and go shopping in the market from everything you had done. D was sure happy to receive his money at the end and purchase some yummy Orange Juice!

We walked through the huge arena where all the livestock was as well as the big green tractors, which I really believe is where D's obsession with tractors began (besides the visits to the barn where he was terrified of them). He also got to have a pig snort at him while trying to smile for the camera.

And then we came across the sheep in the livestock area. At first I thought he was tired...but then he kept saying "Pe-ew...stinky"! OMG, really? Did he just say the small was stinky? It was so cute I couldn't help but snap photos. Just like me when I was younger, as much as I loved those animals I could not stand the smell!

We met up with our friends and D finally fell asleep at 4:30! Then right when it was time he woke up from his nap to see all the excitement inside the Reliant Stadium. Oh did I mention I was adamant that the only way we could go inside was if I could find some ear plugs? Yep, we sneaked them in while he was sleeping. I really didn't think he would keep them in but he did! I think he realized how loud it was?!

He sort of looked like Shrek with these things sticking out of his ears, but it sure was cute!

He was a trooper and I really think he had a great time, as did all of us...I think?!

Our lil helper (cont.)...

We have all known he is such a little helper...but with the weather getting nicer he has turned into our little outdoor helper!

A sweet surprise...

30 wonderful yellow roses that I received at work for my 30th Birthday.

By far the biggest arrangement I have ever received!

Thank you John and Robin! And thanks to my co-worker for the stylin cool 3-0 birthday balloon...that lasted about a month!

Too precious for words...

Our lil fireman...

In an effort to get a decent picture of Dylan in his fireman hat for his birthday invitation, I just started to take shots. But he wasn't being very cooperative!

I think it lasted a good week and even made me get out the invitations later than I wanted because I was just not finding "that" picture that I knew I wanted it to be.

So, enjoy some goofy not so great photos of our lil man in his fireman hat! Oh yeah, don't forget about Dad!