Blaine at One

I am constantly saying to Blaine these days, "When did you become a boy??". He has become so much more boyish-looking with his slimmer face and front teeth. And he's quite the little chatter these days too from first thing in the morning until bedtime. I absolutely love listening to his little voice and his attempts to mimic the words we say. There are many times we'll tell him to say a specific word and I swear he does! You can tell he knows exactly what he's saying.

He's getting closer to walking and every now and then will stand on his own in a somewhat squatting position for a few seconds. He just did his longest stretch today in the backyard pool!

He also has this really cute face he does when he is whining or upset. We call it his "ooooo" face. He scrunches his mouth into an "o" and knits his eyebrows while saying "oooo". It's so cute!

We've had some battles lately with eating big boy food with both boys. Blaine usually prefers to chuck it across the room instead of even tasting it. We think recent back to back viruses might be causing part of the problem, but we're trying to teach "no" and we've even started a short time out if they continue to throw food after we've told them no. We scoot their chairs to the wall and leave them for one minute. It's actually turned out to be really cute because they usually just sit there, strapped into their chair without the tray, and chat to themselves happily. We're not sure we're getting anywhere, but we're trying! He still loves waffles, sometimes bananas, goldfish,

Blaine's favorite toy right now is probably his little boom box that makes an incredibly annoying grinding sound while spinning to land on different nursery rhymes. He's also learned how to play catch which seems very advanced to us. He loves to have a ball rolled to him and then he throws it back. And he's pretty good and he grins the whole time. He also has a new affection for stuffed animals- especially his new birthday monkeys and Mr. Tiger at Nana and Papa's. He's very good at giving kisses, but also likes to throw them. :) He loves to swing outside and has really loved the new wading pool they got for their birthday. He's gotten pretty good at climbing up the slide!

His favorite song is "If you're happy and you know it", especially when we sing "Hooray!" He still enjoys reading books and likes turning the pages and a new favorite TV show has been The Wiggles.

Blaine is still our little adventurer and rarely stops moving. We still remember him as "Kick Kick" and his energy and excitement have carried through today. I look forward to each day with him and his smile melts my heart.

Our First Family Vacation

Sometimes last minute plans work the best and that was the case for our first family vacation. Abbey and Ava had been over for a playdate a few weeks ago and we were both having different stresses. I had been itching to go away for awhile now. It’s been almost a year and half since I’ve gone anywhere! I had thought a lake vacation would be fun and yada yada yada we spent the second half of Memorial Day weekend at Table Rock Lake with the Dunbars! I found a lakefront condo that looked nice online, booked it, and hoped for the best. I spent the entire week leading up to it shopping, gathering, and packing, but it was fun having something different to look forward to. The bad news was that 2 days before we were supposed to leave Aaron found out he’d been washed out of his program. We were devastated for them, but they said this trip was probably good timing to let them escape for awhile and it really did work out perfectly. 

We left Sunday morning and the boys took 2 hour naps on the way there! I worked on their birthday video in the car and it was a relaxing time. We stopped for an hour and a half lunch at Panera in Springfield and then we were in the Ozarks. I had forgotten how beautiful it was. As we pulled into Branson I realized that part of the sentiment I felt for it was that it was a landmark spot for BJ’s and my relationship. Being in Branson on 24s was were we had some deep conversations and also equaled my excitement to get to talk to him on the phone over our long summers apart. We found our condo and it was perfect. The boys had a ball exploring a new environment. I was reminded that we really don’t go to new places very often and it made me even more glad we were doing this. I had started getting pretty nervous about how they would do with pack n plays in a strange place. They were practically bouncing off the walls and exploring every nook and cranny they could find. Pierce even ended up crawling on top of one of the high chairs! We put the boys down for the first night (thankfully the Dunbar’s weren’t there yet) and they were quiet within 20 minutes! We couldn’t believe it! And it was no problem from there. They really only got one nap a day and they were so tired by each bedtime that they were quiet almost right away. We were so proud of them!

We started off our mornings with family nature walks- usually around 7 AM to try to give the Dunbars a little more sleep. On our first morning we found a turtle right outside of our condo. BJ introduced the boys to him. 

 

That day we went to Old Downtown Branson for lunch. We ate at the Farmhouse Café. Charming yes, quick and easy no. The boys did really well, but Ava had a couple of meltdowns due to a lack of nap. She even chipped a small part of a front tooth running away from Abbey in the shop upstairs. We walked around for a bit after and got some famous Branson taffy. Later that afternoon we took the boys to the condo pool for their first pool experience. We got them all suited and lathered up which was no easy task! They were actually a lot more scared than we had expected. They love their bath and so we thought the pool would be great. They clung to us with a death grip, but once we put them in their floaties they warmed up and seemed to enjoy it more. We played cards with Abbey and Aaron last night and had some pretty hilarious moments- one of which was the lifesaver in the dark failure. I realized later (after Abbey and BJ almost chipped a tooth) that it only works with wintergreen. We laughed until we hurt!

 The boys absolutely adored Ava (especially Blaine) and she was very tolerant of them! Our boys are very quick to wake up and Ava is very slow. But she was very patient with them as they climbed up to touch her face and tell her all about the morning.

 Our next full day was boat day and we finally made it to the marina by 3:30 that day. It wasn't easy getting everyone a nap, fed, and out the door. And it was an adventure! Abbey and I later said that we have no idea what we were really expecting. I think we both had a euphoric image of babies playing nicely on the deck of the boat while we chatted, ate, and drank. Ummm...not quite. They really did amazingly well, but they were still babies. Ava had a meltdown right away about putting on her life jacket, but once Abbey took it off she was happy as a clam. She later put it back on and had a ball swimming in the lake with Aaron.

 Piercey was a squirming, fussy boy most of the time. But I can't really blame him. Those lifejackets looked pretty uncomfortable and it was hot has Hades the whole time. I felt miserable watching him seem miserable. But he was a trooper and never really melted down.

 Blaine was a boating champ though. I think he was already pretty tired, but he just sat on whoever's lap was holding him and was lulled by the boat. He looked so relaxed. Quite the opposite of Pierce! It was so cute to watch his little relaxed face! Abbey and I laugh that at least we got some good pictures that make it look like we had a blast and had everything together!

 Aaron and BJ even got a quick cliff jump in. (Although the swim and climb about did BJ in. Plus he ripped a whole in his swim suit doing a cool move off the cliff. We are not the young bucks we once were.)

 We ate pizza that night and were so exhausted we could barely stay up to talk. But we did for awhile. :) Packing was an overwhelming thought because our condo literally looked like every suitcase had exploded in every room. We were a mess! But we were a whirlwind the next morning and both families were out the door before 10. Not bad! When we said goodbye it felt like we were leaving to go home totally different places. It had just been such a magical time that seems impossible to recreate back at home. It was seriously the most fun vacation we've had in a long time and to do it with 3 kids 2 and under was amazing. I am so proud of them! Consequently BJ has been looking up boats and properties on Table Rock ever since we've gotten home. We'll see... :)

ONE!

We have officially have 2 one year olds in our house now. I still can't believe it. It's amazing how much can change in one year. I've said it before that I don't think any other year could hold more changes than the first year of having your first baby. They went from helpless tiny creatures swaddled in blankets to roly poly chubs to crawling, talking boys. I am amazed and beyond blessed. I've heard other parents say that there is a sense of relief and pride upon making it to the first birthday. You kept your children alive for a whole year! And I feel the same way. It has been a roller coaster ride for sure, but I would do it all again. They are both such happy, healthy, joyful babies and I am so grateful that I get to be their mommy.

We celebrated this weekend with a family party on Saturday. I decided on a final monkey theme and I have to say that I impressed myself with how it all came together. I made a homemade birthday banner, photo banner of their first year, chocolate cupcakes complete with banana runts on top, and Mom and I made a homemade monkey cake that turned out great. We had my family plus Matt and Rachael, Abbey and Ava over for lunch. It turned out that I had way too much food, but everything looked and tasted great. Everyone came at 11:30 (although Rachael, Matt, and I were frantically finishing set up) and we ate and then opened presents. The boys did great! They kept their attention throughout their mountain of gifts and seemed genuinely excited about their new toys. Everyone was so generous. They got a new tool bench from Nana and Papa, an art book from Uncle Sam, a baseball toy from the Dunbars, a farm toy from Aunt Nancy, iPod holders from Beth, Winnie, and Kyle, a keyboard and puzzle from Grandma and Grandpa, and clothes, a walker, and a book from the Clarks. We are just as excited about new toys for them! We even stockpiled some away in the basement to bring out gradually!

And then the grand finale was their first cake. And it was even better, messier, and chocolatey than I could have imagined! They started out a little slow with just sticking their hand in the frosting. Then they started digging a little deeper, then they began biting it off their trays, and eventually both of them had the entire cake in their hands to their mouth. It was so cute, but very messy! We got great video and it was the highlight of the party for sure. Everyone was gathered around commenting and laughing. They were perfect little birthday hosts!

Yesterday on their actual birthday we went to church, out to lunch with Nana and Papa, and then home for naps. When they woke up we went to the park and then came back for dinner. I made one of their favorites- bbq chicken sandwiches and homemade macaroni and cheese. We even gave them some ice cream for dessert.

It's incredible to think back to one year ago and how far we've come. I'm so proud of all 4 of us! Happy 1st Birthday, Pierce and Blaine!