Fun Friday

I owe a big thank you to Corporate Executive Board for a little thing called "Summer Days". It allowed the employees to leave work at noon on 4 specific Fridays through the summer. Funnily enough, my personal CEB employee was on vacation with me for the first 2. So, today was the first one we were able to officially enjoy. And we DID!!

We headed where any sane Arizonan would on an August day. The ZOO!!

Isaac was in love with being outside, and even more in love with facing forward and seeing everything!

Scott was in love with the ANIMALS! Lots of them were sleeping, some of them were inside and un-seeable, but the elephant... ah the elephant!! she had just been let out as we arrived, and the zoo worker was just leaving. The elephant went straight to a bunch of branches hanging right in front of us, and we got to stand SO CLOSE, and watch, and talk about elephants.

After the zoo, we headed to a nearby splash park to cool off. It takes Scott a few minutes to warm up to things like this. He stands around watching all the kids, deciding if he wants to join in. But once the decision is made, its official, and utterly impossible to pry him away!

Isaac could not get enough of it!! We put him in a shallow area next to a waterfall, and as soon as he was put down he would bee-line it for the waterfall. We would drag him out and restart him, and once again, he would immediately head for the water. He had so much fun, and he quickly had an entourage of 6-10 year old girls who thought he was the cutest of cute and wanted to watch and be involved in everything he did. Life is hard as a cute little boy, what can I say?

Thank you, CEB, for giving our daddy for a day of Friday Fun!

Don't Blink or You'll Miss It

So, I left Saturday morning for an overnight trip and when I returned Sunday evening... Isaac was mobile. He also slept through the night. It must be some kind of daddy magic. Or mommy teasing. Hmm...
It took me a few days to get a good video of it, he is really into army crawling, or only crawling as much as necessary before he can just kind of lunge his body towards the goal and stop putting forth the effort.

So, I finally got the video today, and just after I did... Isaac pulled himself up against a cardboard box in order to get to something up high. Uh... he is BARELY 6 months. What is happening? I feel like I am in the twilight zone. Don't agree? It gets better, wait.

(Scott wanted to be in the video so bad, that I offered to take a picture of him afterwards, and he wanted to crawl like Isaac. So, here you will see the crawling expertise of Mr. Scotty B)

Here's the worst part. All in one day I get a video of Isaac crawling, he gets up to his knees against a box in order to get to something he shouldnt have (surprise surprise), and then this happens. I went to get him from his afternoon nap to find him STANDING in his crib! STANDING!?! I might as well have cried right then and sent him off to college. This is when it all starts happening so fast, I remember with Scott. But somehow, I didn't feel like it was all happening too fast the first time around. This time, I feel like if I look away, I'll miss it. Maybe I feel that way because I did look away and miss it. And I constantly am. Isaac is a speedy learner, stronger than strong, and will unavoidably be the cause of many gray hairs in his parents future.

I love this picture because he was SO SO SO proud of himself, then as soon as I took the picture he fell backwards into his crib. Flat on his back with the most shocked look on his face. "What was THAT?! Let's do it again!!"

A Month Later....

I did it! I completed the "Blog-a-Day" Challenge! With only one little hiccup, I feel very proud of my success, and much more likely to pull my camera out and sit down to blog... so you won't be getting a blog a day, but the blogging world should be seeing a lot more of me and my adorable family!!!

So... stay tuned!

Freeze Time

Do you ever wish you could stop time? Freeze it and stay in the moment forever. That happens to me more and more as I watch my babies grow. It all happens so fast, and life is so crazy that it is hard to cherish the moments... but it is SO important! Remembering the little things: like how Isaac hears his dad enter a room and starts a search. And the GRIN and smiley eyes that let you know he's found you. How he tries to imitate you blowing a raspberry with your tongue, but can't quite do it because of his tongue tie. How the hair above his ears sticks out over them, even when it is short enough that it isn't touching his ear at all... these are just a few examples.

Isaac is 6 months old!! He went to the Dr. today, and these are the stats:

weight: 18 lbs 0 oz
length: 27"
head: 17"

All of these fell around the 75th percentile.

Let's compare this to his brother's 6 month stats, just for kicks
Scott's 6 month check up was 22 lbs 5.5 oz and 29 inches long. Both in the 95th percentile, or higher. So, to be frank... Isaac has some catching up to do!

Things Isaac does at 6 months:

He laughs and smiles at EVERYTHING. He really is a confidence booster, you don't even have to be entertaining!
He is a MOVER. As soon as he is laid down he gets to his stomach and starts getting places!
He CAN sit up, but because of his "mover" attitude, he doesn't do it for long before he wants to be on his hands and knees and headed for fun.
He refuses to eat rice cereal. Really, can you blame him? That stuff is nasty! He makes the most terrible faces and spits it out. Every time. We will be trying apples soon... hopefully that goes over better than cereal!
He still has tongue tie, and it seems to be slowing progress in speech and the dr. seems to think it may be an issue with his spoon eating as well. We scheduled an appointment for him to see a feeding therapist. I'll keep you updated on that.
He loves to watch. His brother, tv, people passing by at the grocery store... moving and/or colorful objects. Maybe he's his father's son. Maybe.

The joy that is brought to the world in this little package is immense, and I am so lucky to be able to have it in my home. Isaac is a blessing to me, and I learn things about life and about me as I watch him learn about the world around him. Being a mom rocks!!

Playtime

No matter what else is happening in our home, play is always one of them! As soon as you enter, Scott will start the debate process of getting you to race with him. Circles, that is. Around the living room... all day if you will! Scott is NEVER the first one to get tired and stop!

Don't ever lay on the floor or the couch unless you mean to say "Scott, please wrestle me!!" He will be on top of you with force before you know what hit you!


Isaac is just getting old enough to get in on the playing, but for the most part he is the one being played with, and playing back is still something he is learning. His overly playful brother can get a little wild, so they have to be watched carefully, but there is nothing more heart-melting than watching Isaac watch Scott. He is Scotty's biggest fan!

"My Fwinkers"

I showed Scott these pictures and asked who was in them. "Me," he said, "and my fwinkers!"

Scott is living proof that things like swimwear and sunscreen are unnecessary and essentially just slow you down!! Just get out there and get WET!

Looking at these pictures made me feel sad... and old. He is looking/acting/getting so big! Today, a lady asked how old he was (as he ran crazy hyper circles around Aunt McKenna) and when told that he was 2, she said "oh his teachers are gonna LOVE him!"

He's a ball of fun, and I get to play with him every day. I'm lucky!

On the Move

He isn't crawling.... yet
But that doesn't stop him from getting where he needs to be!

The journey you are witnessing started in the middle of the living room rug, and ended when I picked him up as he crossed into the kitchen...

It wasn't a fast journey, but he is one determined little man!! I give it days before he is uncontrollable and into everything faster than I can catch him!

You can hear Scott cheering his brother on in the background.

Watch out world, here comes Isaac!

Beatles World Tour

Officially my favorite part of today was watching Scott play Guitar Hero. Only problem is that he would perform in short spurts, and by the time I got my camera out it was over. He was totally rocking out, swaying to the beat, talking to the game, singing and being uber cool. It was fantastic!!



You should have been there. You'd be his biggest fan!

Imagination

I am in love with the fact that Scott is starting to pretend. Just this morning he was playing in his room and I heard "Fee-Fi-Foh-Fum" as he stomped around his room with a matchbox car in his hand (who knows if it was part if the play or not. He just usually has a matchbox in his hand.)

Today, we went to a mall with a FUN play area. They have a house, a pirate ship, a treehouse, and a castle. Scott laid down on the bench inside the house to go "night night"...


Waited in a LONG line of kids to steer the pirate ship, but gave up before he got to the front of the line and headed to the front. He's King of the World!!!

There was one particularly bossy little boy, around the age of 4. He decided that Scott was gonna be his friend in the tree house, and was commanding Scott in every direction. Scott thought it was fine for a while, but when he was done being bossed around, he looked at me after a command and didn't have to say a word. I could tell that he was looking for me to give him permission to leave, so I did. And quickly, he was off! Using his own imagination again in the castle!

I'm learning so much about how kids function just by having one. This particular kid plays really well by himself, is more of an observer in big groups until he gets comfortable, then he is wild and crazy with whoever will join him. But the most imagination and pretend play I see from him is when he is being left to himself.

Actually, the past 2 nights at dinner there has been an elephant coming. You have to eat your dinner fast, or he will come get it!

Always an adventure, and more fun every day!!

The Return of Sunday Dinner

Believe me, I already know. I am a failure. Any thing that you have thought about it (i.e. she was doing so well, she was so close, etc) I have thought it first, and worse. I was so disappointed in myself this morning when I realized not only had I gone to bed without blogging, I had totally forgotten about the pictures I was planning to take at our Sunday Dinner so I would have something to blog ABOUT!! I knew what pictures I wanted, and what I wanted to blog about... and it didn't happen. I've been through a week long vacation and not missed a day of blogging. Even at 1:30 am FL time, I blogged... but then, on a LAZY Sunday it slips my mind. I'm totally embarrassed, so no need to call me and make fun. No need...

Here's the blog I coulda/shoulda/woulda posted:

If there is one thing I have missed "the most" about living near family, it is BIG FAMILY DINNERS. Every Sunday, gathering with family and other random loved ones to do the one thing we all agree on. Eat.
I can't believe it has taken me over 2 years to just fake my own big family dinner. Instead, I have been sitting on a Sunday evening, at my own little kitchen table, with one husband, one (or 2) kid and so much food it could feed an army. Twice.
So a few weeks ago, we had a Sunday dinner with friends because I lost a bet (not that I'd have to lose a bet to have dinner with them, it just worked out that way...) and it was SO GREAT! made it feel like my Sunday was complete.
So, we did it again last night.



What I planned: take pictures of the kids playing and eating their Sunday dinner to put in my blog about Sunday Dinners.
What I did: totally forgot the camera was in my bag, came home tired and went to bed early. Completely forgetting that I still needed to blog.

So you will just have to take my word for it. Sunday Dinners are awesome! Good food, loved ones and a return to what I think Sunday's are really all about!
Can't wait to do it again. If you're lucky, I'll take pictures.

Gatorland

It could be an attraction park ride, with the excitement that it produces. The words "grampy" and "gator" go hand in hand, and all day every day this is all Scott needed to be happy with life.
Look at the grin!!

First thing in the morning, last thing before bed. All day every day, like I said.


Hey, that rhymed!

We tried several times to feed the donkeys and horses next door with a camera present, but they were never there. He DID, however, feed them when the camera wasn't there. And he loved it. And he loved even more when anyone besides the donkey made a donkey sound.

"Daddy, you do it" "Mommy, you do it" "Daddy, you do it again"
It never ceases to amaze me the things you don't hesitate to do once you are a parent. All for the amusement of one little friend.

Grampy has a power wheels gator that Scott practiced steering on, but if he could convince you (which, let's be honest, wasn't very hard) he wanted the "big gator" most of the time. We won't be purchasing a power wheels gator anytime soon, because that would take all the fun out of "gators at grampy's". But he sure does love them!

Cuban Jumping Bean

Isaac is now on the verge of doing pretty much everything. Crawling, teething, eating, getting his drivers license... the usual.

We were hoping he would take some lessons from the master, Miss Julia Pearl. But, of all the skills that improved by watching her, his bounce seems to have made the most progress!

This toy taught him how fun his legs can be, and provided him with something to do for 5 hours today while on airplanes! Good exercise, great way to wear him out!






I am now currently posting our bouncer/exersaucer on craigslist and hoping for this upgrade. He could do this for hours, and I'm putting my money on the hope that he WILL!

Mood Swings

Last day in Florida. Thinking of things to do. When given a list of options, Scott excitedly chose "THE PARK THE PARK THE PARK!!"

So, we sweat it out and took a picnic to the park.
Isaac's first park swing, and he loved it. If he wasn't sitting upright he would have been sleeping withing seconds. Instead, he smiled a lazy smile and grabbed at everything grab-able!
All this while maintaining his cute. He's a multi-talented little man.

Taking a picnic to a park is like the ultimate dilemma for Scott. Food or play? Food or play? The answer may be surprising to those who know him. A sandwich with two little bites out of it was left by the wayside, and he was off!
Scott is a swing pro! He ran from swing to swing and tried them all out. Tire swing, kiddie swing, and this favorite. The "wed one".

Soaking with sweat in minutes, but having too much fun to notice or care. He did, however, drink tons of cold water and is currently in the middle of a fantastically long nap!
Any guesses what is up next?


That's right. Gator ride and the pool. What else?

Scott vs. the Beach

Scott spent a lot of time waiting to go to the beach. Mostly because his eyed opened ready. Forget breakfast, or a swimming suit, let's just get out there and SWIM!!!

Here's what he did while waiting...

Once at the beach, it's amazing the things a kid can find to entertain himself. This was a Scott favorite!

He is turning into a kid. Not a baby, not a toddler, not even a little boy. A kid. A talking, curious, wild KID!

Cousins

If there's one thing Scott has loved this weekend, it is following his cousin Alyssa around and doing (or trying to do) everything she does. She was nice to be patient with his endless "what's that?" questions and they played hide and seek, watched cartoons and (if it can be considered a game) played "who's your shadow?" 24/7. First question when Scott woke up "Where is Awyssa?"
When swimming, Scott constantly says "I'n coming Awyssa!" and paddles endlessly towards her (because Alyssa is a little too fast to ever be caught!)

Isaac's cousin counterpart is Miss Julia Pearl. She is 3.5 months older than Isaac, and he is fascinated by her! She crawls and stands and is little miss social. We hope that he takes a lesson from the master and is crawling soon. He has started to sit up (as you can see), but only until there is something to wiggle about. Then it's over.
This picture captures both of them in half-blinks, but they are both looking in the right direction, and that equals the best picture out of the 20 that were taken.
Isaac is a grabby grabberson, and always wants to hold Julia's hand, leg or face. Whatever is closest.

The 4 Bori cousins. Cute runs in the family!!

I'm not sure he fully understood when we said bye to Alyssa tonight. She had to go back to her home a few hours away, and won't be around for the rest of our trip. I full expect to hear the question first thing tomorrow. "Where is Awyssa?"
I hope he remembers her so that they can pick up where they left off next time!

I love my cousins, Dude loves his cousins, and we are excited for our kids to love their cousins!

The Beach Boys

There's no better place for a family of fish than the beach! But when the beach is down the street, and there's a pool right outside your hotel room door, sometimes you just can't wait!Isaac was AMAZED by the sand. He kept getting it on his hands and then giving it this look. Allow him to demonstrate....

We held him standing in the sand right where the water hit, and he jumped and bounced and seemingly enjoyed it! Sat him down and he splashed, grabbed sand, and continued to love it! Beach baby #2? I think yes.

Having 2 kids=having only one kid smiling in each picture. Scott was too distracted by all the sand and water fun that he would NOT stop long enough to look up and say cheese. Usually he's such a camera lover, but not today. There was something better to be doing!

Burying his feet! He kept himself busy filling his dump truck, burying toes, and throwing sand when his mom wasn't looking to stop him! He was a little hesitant to enter the water, because those waves are scary! They come right at you with their wetness!! Once past the waves, he couldn't get enough. The salt in the water added to his buoyancy and he was a pro! Kicking his feet and using his arms, almost a regular swimmer!

Coolest thing about the beach today? Oh, just that Dolphin swimming by, no big deal. Not too close, and we couldn't get Scott to look in the right direction when it came up for air, but it was cool for me!
We came back to the hotel for food and naps, and a classic Florida storm rolled in, so we are back. Will revisit the pool if the rain stops, but planning on eating some good food and playing some fun games. Just your regular family fun!!

The Happiest Place on Earth- Part 2

So much of the fun of Disney happens after the sun goes down, that we couldn't leave for something as silly as BEDTIME!
Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present: King {Arthur} Scott

I do have one complaint about our day. Mickey Mouse?! What on earth? Isn't this HIS place?? Where WAS he? On the park map, it gives you a "schedule" of the characters, but it says: Mickey Mouse at this location or this location or this location at various random times throughout the day. Good luck.
So, we went to the place we KNEW he would have to be. The PARADE! And we found him, standing up on a float, waving from a distance, out of picture taking range. That elusive stinker of a rodent! It's a darn good thing Scott had too much fun to notice the lack of Mice.

Oooh, Ahhh. You wish you were there, admit it!

And after the parade, the coolest fireworks show ever surrounded us. Literally had to turn our heads to see some of them from where we were sitting. Talk about magical!

And to top off the most fun day of his life, he got to pick out a souvenir. Not just any souvenir, but a Mickey Mouse, light up, twirling AWESOME souvenir. He may have been sweaty, overly tired, and generally wired... but nothing a light up stick of awesome can't cure!

So glad we got to do this with our kids, and that Scott enjoyed it as much as I wanted him to! Can't wait to do it again soon!!

The Happiest Place on Earth- Part 1

And it really was!!

Despite the HUMID weather, and Saturday summer crowds, it was TOTALLY WICKED!!

Both boys were such good sports, and stayed happy and cooperative all day long (and it was a long day... note the time of this post. 1:30 am FL time. This is not a breech of my challenge, however, because I'm from Arizona.)
Isaac learned that he loves ice. Little ice chips to keep cool, and it was funny to watch. Every time he made a face like it was terrible, til it was over. Then he loved it and wanted more! His happy is contagious!!

Happy Boy sporting his Mickey shirt!

Scott celebrating his excitement for the Aladdin flying carpets ride!

At one point later in the day, as I was changing his diaper, I said "are you ready to go on some more rides?" His answer was "Carpets". He loved this ride!

Scott went on his first ever ROLLERCOASTER. You will just have to take my word that he is on that thing, I had some technical difficulties. We were worried that he would hate it and come off crying, but he had a HUGE grin on his face and Daddy said he was thrilled and excited the whole time. It could have gone either way! I'm glad because this means I have a rollercoaster buddy in the making!! YAY!

Let's be honest, there really wasn't a ride that Scott didn't like. Another favorite was the teacups. We span (er, spinned? spun?) that teacup as fast as we could, and he giggled and grinned the entire time. Couldn't walk in a straight line when it was over, but what's the fun in walking straight anyways?

And this.... is what happens when you take a 2 year old to Disney World and stuff him full of fun all day! It's a good thing he napped, so we could get out and do more, but he was definitely a conversation piece for others eating their meals! You gotta do what you gotta do!!

More of our Disney fun to come!!!

Fly Me to the Moon

We have been looking forward to our Florida trip for months, and it finally arrived!!! The day started before the day actually started, at 4 am. It was Isaac's first flight, and he loved it. He wanted to be seeing and touching and eating everything. Only problem was that in order to see and touch and eat it all, sleeping was not an option!! So when the tired set it, the grump set in. Hopefully we didn't make too many old people mad. How could you hate it, he's the cutest screaming grump ever!? (I know it really is annoying when someone's kid is crying on a plane. I was totally embarrassed. Don't be fooled, I know it's terrible. I know...

Scott is a pro flier! His first flight was when he was 2 months old, and he has flown a lot since then! Now if only there was a way to release the energy that a 2 year old stores while on an airplane. Maybe they should have a treadmill section. "Run while flying". It could be a hit!

Don't get me wrong, with enough snacks and movies, this kid can be a perfect angel. You just have to be well stocked in the snack/movie department!

Scott was totally excited to pose for a picture with Isaac, and was looking at the camera and smiling. Til Isaac had a "I'm being held in a weird position" meltdown. The picture quality nose dived from there.

Of all the places to have a layover between AZ and FL, we stopped in Cleavland Ohio! I looked out the window as the pilot announced our initial descent, and I saw nothing but WATER. I had no idea that Ohio was near an OCEAN!? Oh... one of the Great Lakes, you say? I guess that makes sense. After we debated it right until landing, we turned to google, and sure enough! Great Lake. Looked like an ocean. Crazy! Learn something new every day, I guess.

When we finally arrived in FL, we got to ride on a SHUTTLE!! Scott totally thought he was on a train, and it was the most thrilling thing for him. He was so excited about the whole thing!

Just wait, kid. Tomorrow come the real thrills!!