Memorial Weekend

Well, Memorial Weekend was a bit of a bust thanks to sub-Tropical Storm Beryl (and the migraines she brought with her). When it wasn't raining it was hellishly humid outside and the mosquitoes were out for blood. Even more so than usual, I mean.

We squeezed in a bit of fun here and there, of course. Haeden and I visited a children's "hands-on" museum Saturday morning with his buddy Owen. They ran around like the little maniacs they are. It was a cute place. The kids dressed up as firemen, shopped in a mini grocery store, jumped around in a ball pit and played wheelchair basketball. And then they both cried when it was time to leave, though not as bad as I would have expected. At least nobody (me) got a toddler kick to the shins.

Later that day, Haeden and I met up with my mother to play in Oma's pool. Although he has been asking to go for weeks, it was our first time this year. Her pool is covered and takes a while to warm up. I still have yet to get in, but he was not phased by the cold water. Lucky for Haeden, my mother isn't a  big chicken like me. 

Sunday we added a new family member to the household. Finn McMissile (guess who named him) is adjusting wonderfully, however, the same cannot be said for new "big brother", Ozzy. He is not a happy camper. He has made a bit of progress over the past few days though and I am hopeful that by the start of next week the two will be best buds. Fingers crossed!

I had to get H out of the house on Monday, so I took him to the mall for a little shopping and coin operated machine riding. Then I let him walk almost the entire length of the mall in order to ensure a nap later on. He was excited to be out of the stroller but he complained the whole way home (sitting in his car seat) that he was too tired to walk anymore.  I even had to carry him into the house at his insistence... "my too tiiiiired!"

Mickey's House

Things I Want to Remember:

- Haeden was in total awe on the It's a Small World ride. He just sat there quietly with bright, wide eyes taking it all in as all the adults pointed different things out to him. When the ride was coming to an end and we were waiting to get out of the boat, he turned around and saw that the kid behind him was wearing the same shirt as him. He jumped up and pointed excitedly at the other little boy saying, "You have same shirt as me! We match!" It was so cute.

- Haeden was soooo excited on the monorail. There was a little boy around the same age sitting in a stroller right next to him. They kept peering over at each other and then shying away. They both had the biggest smiles on their little faces - not knowing what to expect, but so excited to just be there. Haeden would say hi and wave and then turn around and grab my hand to bury his face into. Adorable.

- Haeden finally fell asleep on the way to the hotel. He has stayed in hotels before, but he must have been a little out of it. When we went in the room he kept asking where the living room was and got upset when I told him there wasn't one. 

- Getting to the gift shop at the end of the day and trying to choose a cool gift... but all he wanted was a toy Cars 2 car. You know, the same dang things they carry in Target. Figures.

I am sure there are more. I remember thinking to myself a gazillion times that day that I didn't want to forget a single moment. I don't want to forget the look on his face, the excitement in his voice or the spring in his step. I am still absolutely floored at how well he behaved the entire day.

I might have begun to think that someone had replaced my child, but he was back to being a brat again yesterday after work. Whined the entire time we were at Costco for no reason at all. I sure wanted to give him a reason though. Yessiree Bob.

Twas a Merry Christmas

Well, Christmas has come and gone and I have to say... Santa did not disappoint this year. We had one very happy little boy that not only received his big, BIG FIRE TRUCK! But also a big, BIG GARBAGE TRUCK! He got to open presents at four different houses and was basically just lavished with gifts, mostly of the vroom vroom variety. The kid? He made out good. 

All of the excitement, of course, got to him in the end. He slept right through Christmas dinner and then woke up in the foulest of moods. One should never wake a sleeping child. It isn't pretty. Oh, and he also now thinks that any and all gifts within his reach, wrapped or otherwise, belong to him. He will absolutely snatch a present out of your hands and tear all of the wrapping paper off before you have time to even think about stopping him. Once he comes to the conclusion that what's inside the box isn't actually for him, he'll toss it back in your general direction."Heeeere!" Isn't that... cute?! No? Okay, we'll work on it.

Now, who's up for video/pictures?! 

 Santa came!?

 Gasp! He ate the cookies and drank the milk!

 Check the stocking. His great grandmother made it last year. Too cute.

 "Christmas moooomie!"

 Continuing the yearly ornament tradition. Mickey Mouse in Space!

 He wanted to get in the stocking...

  

 "CARS!"

 Saved his trucks for last. He was one happy boy!

Christmas donuts. Yum!

 Enjoying a goodie he got from daycare.

Checking out his new camera... think he's a little young for this one. Mostly taking pictures of the carpet.

 Cute though!

At Oma &Opa's house with his new dump truck!

 Trying out his "brand new" big wheel!

 Passed out during Christmas dinner. Must have been his gift to me... eating in peace!

 After he was so rudely awakened. 

 The art station couldn't pull him out of his funk, but the scooter did!

 Trying out the new soccer ball and net.

 Pouty face.

 Such form!

Such attitude!

More pouting. Someone dared to take the ball from him. The horror!

So, now that that's that, we've got family coming into town tonight/tomorrow for the New Year. My SIL had the nerve to go and get pregnant again, so I have no idea if we're actually going out this weekend or if I am going to spend this NYE like the last couple of years... asleep in my bed.  Either way, I'm looking forward to the three day weekend and watching the cousins play!

Santa's Calling

When I was a kid, a family friend used to call us each year pretending to be Santa. In fact, he would still call and pretend to be Santa even after I'd stopped believing... and also in the middle of summer. It's a fun memory and a tradition that my sister and I both wanted to create for Haeden. Her husband jumped at the chance to play the role of good ol' St. Nick and we staged a call Thursday night.

We had to do a little planning for this, of course. I needed to change the picture and name that would pop up on my cell phone. I knew that if he saw Auntie Robyn's name and/or face, the ruse would be  up.We also had to make sure there wouldn't be a lot of distractions because we all know how short a 2.5 year-old's attention span can be, don't we?! Also, I wanted to film it. And I think I'll have to continue to film each year's call so that we can compare his different reactions.

Take a little lookesy...

Have you ever heard a more SOUTHERN Santa Claus?! I think not! I love how Haeden immediately starts telling him that he wants a big, BIG FIRE TRUCK with a LADDER and then reminding him that he saw him the other day in person. Oh, and the fact that he basically talks over "Santa" the entire time. Welcome to my world, folks. He sure can talk, but isn't so much into listening just yet.

I absolutely cannot wait for Christmas morning. I think Dan and I are more excited than he is... Okay, I KNOW we are!  Happy Holidays!

Our Christmas Card Photo

Fun at the Fair

This past weeked the whole family went to the fair. It was Haeden's first real experience. He went two years ago, but at 6.5 months old, he wasn't exactly impressed. This year, however, he was flipping out (in a good way this time) the moment we got into the parking lot. It kind of reminded me of Templeton from Charlotte's Web, only it wasn't the food he was excited about, it was the rides.

It was a picture perfect day. The sky was blue, the air was crisp and the excitement was high. Haeden was doing all sorts of pointing and wowing on the way to the ticket booths. He didn't know exactly what he was in for, but apparently he knew he was about to have a good time.

Side note: Fairs are freaking expensive! We lucked out because all three kids were free, something about it being student day. And then again because neither of the older boys are into the rides. This is both good and bad. Good because it saves money (tickets are now $1 per person and even the kiddie rides are 3-5 tickets!) and bad because I, personally, LOVE to ride them and never have anyone to go with. Well, until now. Haeden is going to love the thrill rides. I can tell already. So, that's one reason to not mind him growing up so fast...

First thing we did was the train. He loved every minute of it.

Next we hit up the games. This is why the older boys come. Daniel was victorious this time. And poor Dan. He tried to play his favorite water race game and his gun didn't turn on. It was pretty funny  sad to watch the intense look of concentration on his face turn into disappointment when he realized there was no water coming out of his gun and somebody else won the game (pretty sure he has never lost that one). Luckily, that someone else was Daniel. Kid was on a roll. And Haeden made out like a bandit because he got all the winnings, of course.

Haeden's favorite ride was the carousel. This one was much faster than the one they have at the zoo. He was so excited that he started fist pumping and yelling, "My going FAST!!!"

Notice the fist.

And again with the fist. Couldn't you just die of the cuteness?

Later, we watched a little sideshow.

After the crazy mirrors, we slid down a huge slide. I'm so glad I put him on my lap because we slid down so fast I thought we were going to end up in the parking lot.  He, of course, wanted to do it again and since we were out of tickets, he pitched a fit.

No trip to the fair is complete without some family member pitching a fit. At least, not in my family. Cannot wait to do it again next year! And better yet, can't wait to take Haeden to Disney next year before his 3rd birthday (when they start charging admission for him). He is going to looove the rides and... meeting Mickey Mouse?! He might never come home!

Weekend Review & Photo Dump

These African carvings are on a table in the living room. Keeping H's hands off of them has proved to be a bit difficult at times. Go figure?! While he didn't pick them up this trip, he did proudly point out to everyone that the ones with boobs were Mommies. "That's a Mommy and that's a Mommy and THAT'S a Mommy, too!"

This is where he tells me that he is stuck and needs help up. Minutes before I went down head first and told him to help me up. He tried to help in his own way... by grabbing my head and then my pony tail to try and pull me up. Thanks, kid!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I have to admit it. I was crazy excited for Christmas this year, mostly due to the fact that I knew Haeden would be having a blast with all of the wrapping paper, bows, boxes and, oh yeah, presents! However, I was also a little bummed because to me, Christmas is all about family and for the second year in a row we weren't having any extended family come to visit. Or so I thought.

It was the night before Christmas and I was laying on the couch in my pajamas, watching a terrible Lifetime holiday movie and feeling sorry for myself because of the migraine I had been developing all day. I had just put Haeden to bed, the boys were in their room testing out their new video games (we celebrate with them on Christmas Eve since they spend the next day with their mom and her family), and Hubby was at the dining room table working on... something. I don't know what. I was too busy feeling sorry for myself, remember?

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. We weren't expecting anyone, so I asked Hubby to answer the door since I was in my pajamas. He checked the peep hole and then opened the door just a little, telling me that I need to come and see for myself. I figured it was just a friend, maybe dropping off a gift for Haeden ( the ladies, they love him), but I still didn't get the whole "come see for yourself" line he gave me. When I saw my sister and her husband standing there, I totally peed my pants.  No, I'm kidding. I cried though! That was the most wonderful surprise this "peeker" could have received!

Now, on to the goodies...

Caught red-handed! See how he's reaching for an ornament?!

Santa brought Haeden an ATV! 

 We needed more cars in our house...

 Finally! A bike of his very own!

 Move over Bob the Builder! A new man's in town...

 We were, uh, testing for safety! And that bit, it is not safe! I have already been poked in the eye.

 They need one of their very own!

 My grandmpa. He's adorable.

With Grandma, who apparently didn't want her picture taken! But you can still see that she's gorgeous and doesn't look anywhere close to 81!

Wheeeee! That was fun. Let's do it again next year!



Steppin' Out: Halloween Edition

A Halloween Edition:

Me: Nothing exciting here. Everything except for the seriously seen better days Converse is from Target. Oh, and the $5 kitty costume from Wally World.

Haeden: Pajamas/ skeletoddler costume also from Wally World.

Halloween is a toughie in Florida. Most costumes are seriously hot and you never really know what the weather is going to be around here. Sometimes it's 85 degrees and sometimes it's 65 degrees. Last year it was the former and poor Haeden was rather crabby about his getup:

And he wasn't any happier with this one:

So, with that in mind, we decided that this year we would simplify. Plus, we already knew that there was no way in hell he would keep anything on his head for more than 2.5 seconds and that really limits choices these days. We found this year's costume while grocery shopping at money-saving soul-sucking Walmart. It's really just a pair of pajamas that glow in the dark, but we were sold on the fact that it would be worn more than once and still passed as a costume. We also planned to spike his hair and add a little makeup to his face, but someone wasn't cooperating. Imagine that!

As for the rest of us, we really tried to plan ahead this year. We tried, but we failed. Since we were strapped for cash, we didn't even consider the local costume shops and since we only have the boys every other weekend and they had no idea what they wanted to be, we didn't have the opportunity to thrift shop hop either . In the end, we found ourselves once again at Walmart two days before Halloween, picking through what little was left over. I tried to get the boys to go as fairies, Disney princesses or flappers but they just weren't having it. All things considered, we didn't do too bad. Patrick, the Woopie Cushion*, was a pretty big hit, as was Daniel's mustache! Ole'!



* I totally just realized looking at the pictures that Woopie is spelled wrong! Guess that is how you get around the trademarks! Ha!