California Fun!

 

 

 

It's become a fun family tradition to spend a week on the beach in California. This year we headed to Oceanside and got amazing waves, nice sandy beach, and a little less sun than usual. The public beach by our rented condo even had a playground, so Scotty was in heaven. Eric had to work most of the week but was able to take a few days off to come join the fun. Scotty LOVED the ocean this year and got a little too brave about jumping waves. Even in my current pregnant state I was able to conjure up some good boogie boarding :o) Eric was also kind enough to dig me a belly whole so I could do something I've been dreaming of for months--lay on my stomach. Of all the things I miss during pregnancy, sleeping on my stomach tops the list!

We also got to take Scotty to Disneyland (they're free till they're 3!). We knew he would love it but we fully expected at least a few meltdowns over waiting in lines, not napping, not getting to buy all the cool toys, or just general confusion. Instead he was seriously the happiest kid all day! What a treat for all of us :o) He even stayed awake for fireworks at the end--though he was asleep before we ever left the park.

Of course I have WAY too many pictures to even begin posting, so if you're interested, check out the slideshow. Thanks to my dad for lugging his good camera around! And yes, my solution to maternity swimwear is to just let it all hang out.

Happy Father's Day!

When I first met Eric, we were 18 and just starting college. There were so many things to love about him but I remember thinking to myself, "this guy is the kind of dad I want for my kids." I dreamed of marrying a guy who would be as into the adventure of child-raising as I was--not afraid to jump in and play.

When we were newlyweds we worked at a safe haven house that worked to prevent neglect and abuse situations, and what an experience that was! We learned so much about parenting by working side by side. Because of our time there he truly knows what it's like to be a stay at home mom and all the work that goes into just keeping it together.

Besides being a great dad, he's also a brilliant accountant who just passed his fourth and final CPA exam. Congratulations, Eric! May you never have to take those tests again.

Happy Father's Day, from your beautiful wife, your very best little buddy, and the tiny girl that already has you wrapped around her little fetal finger.

Melodrama

Bring on the melodrama. In our house there are rarely tantrums. Instead there are dramatic sighs, slouched shoulders, and a long plodding walk with the pronouncement "I'm going to my roooooom...."

Sometimes when he's whining he'll tell me "I just need to cry right now, mama, I just need to cry." You can tell we've been talking a lot the past few months about the difference between a "sweet voice" and everything else. Now he'll look at me with a ridiculously fake smile, eyebrows raised, batt his eyelashes, and say, "please whine, mama? please whine?"

He definitely has his moments (or days, or weeks) and potty training is a whole different story, but in most cases he's such a sweet little guy to hang out with. He is a great helper around the house with cleaning and cooking so I have to remember to find ways for him to help before I get my hands dirty in order to prevent chaos. Just this morning he lectured me for putting his milk cup back in the fridge: "I put my milk away mama--you NEVER touch it. NEVER touch it!"

He is also getting quite the vivid imagination. Yesterday he was particularly concerned for the physical safety of his Nana and Papa in respect to a certain monster that lives under his bed....

Here he is all decked out in his "monster fighting gear" and demonstrating proper use of the hose/baseball bat.

Uncle Brent and Aunt Carlissa

We had a wonderful weekend! Eric had Friday and Monday off from work and his brother Brent and his fiance, Carlissa, came to visit. Scotty LOVED the extra attention and it was nice to get out of the house and see fun things. Friday we were to the Science Center downtown (thank you, Culture Pass!) and had a good time gawking at the people attending the Phoenix Comicon convention. Hey, if you dress up like this and walk around downtown, you deserve a little extra attention:

Saturday we headed down to Tucson to the Titan Missile Museum, home of the last Titan II missile which was decommissioned in 1982 after the Cold War. They call the program "Peace Through Deterrence." I got the be the captain and launch the missile--my second time! I must be nuclear missile material.

Sunday was my birthday and it was a great day. My primary kids sang Happy Birthday, I got to take a nice long nap after church, Eric made a fabulous dinner, and Brent and Carlissa designed this awesome Death Star birthday cake, complete with destruction and fire.

Today Eric and the crew headed off to WalMart to buy fishing gear and head to our local park. I got to sleep in a bit and join them later. Scotty LOVES his Lightning Mcqueen fishing pole and we liked getting a little silly.

This adventure marks a big "check" off Eric's list of important fatherly duties. He's been looking at mini fishing poles since the day we found out we were having a little boy!

For more pictures of the fun and randomness, check out the slideshow.

Funny Boys

My boys say the funniest things. Scotty loved my singing when he was a baby, but for about the last 6 months anything more than 2 consecutive notes--even singing along to the radio--gets an immediate command of "Stop singing, mama!" Who knows how he'll survive adolescence when I'm sure to embarrass him just by existing...

Because music is important to me and I like singing, I've tried a variety of ways to get him to accept it. For about a week I got him to say "thank you for singing, mama" instead of commanding me to stop but he wised up.

A few days ago I tried a new tactic. "I like singing," I told him. "It makes mama happy."

He thought for a second and then looked me straight in the eye.

"Your singing makes me sad, mama."

Ouch! I couldn't help but laugh. And keep singing.

Eric is much more tactful when it comes to expressing his opinions. Unless he's asleep. I can always tell when he's exhausted because we get to have interesting conversations in the middle of the night. This past month he's been using every spare minute to study for the last of his four CPA exams. Last night I nudged him to turn over, as his snoring was keeping me awake. Instead of grunting and rolling a fraction of an inch like he normally does (or arguing that 'he wasn't snoring'), he reached over to pick something off the nightstand.

Meg: "What are you doing?"
Eric: "I just need to get this documentation."
Meg: "Documentation?"
Eric: "Yeah, for one of the entities at Freeport [the main client he audits]"
Meg: "Eric, it's midnight, and I just woke you up because you were snoring..."
Eric: "No, the documentation is right here...I just have to get it"
[random fumbling on the nightstand]

Meg: "Eric, that's the book you've been reading on the Constitution of the United States of America."

Eric: [confused silence] "Dang."

At least if I'm going to be awake in the middle of the night I have something to keep me entertained.