Aidan

Aidan has changed so much in the weeks since turning two. He has really grown into such a funny little character!

While in Florida we watched "Special Agent Oso" almost daily while eating our lunch. Oso wears a watch which is also walkie talkie. While playing the other day Aidan kept holding his wrist up to his mouth and uttering indecipherable commands and phrases. It was so cute! Of course I tried to get a picture of him doing it, but he refused to do it on command.

Recently, Aidan has also taken to sucking his thumb. Have you ever seen a child start sucking their thumb at 2? I think that he does it to imitate his big sister because he copies everything she says and does!

These are just a few of the things that make Aidan such a funny little guy. I can already imagine the notes and calls I will receive from his teachers someday!

Airhead

Me: Mommy is losing her head! (after doing something stupid and silly)

Reese: Maybe you should put some air in it.

Me: Maybe! (laughing)

Reese: Take a breathe, that is what I do.

Sound advice, considering I thought she was basically calling me an airhead!

Hide and go seek

Thankfully, it has been nice enough outside for the kids and I to spend a few hours playing outside before dinner. Last night Aidan suggested playing hide and go seek after watching Reese and I play. He took off to go find a hiding spot while I started counting. He hid behind the tree that Reese hid behind while we were playing earlier. I finished counting and opened my eyes to see Aidan standing behind the tree in full view. As soon as he caught my eyes he turned around so that his back was to me! I guess that if he couldn't see me anymore, he thought that I couldn't see him! I played along and took my time looking around as if I had trouble finding him. When I finally found him he giggled and ran away! So cute!

Aidan's New Groove

During dinner out on our recent family vacation, Aidan got the urge to dance to the music of the live band. Though he has enjoyed dancing at several family weddings, I have never seen him move this way before! Sorry for the poor picture quality!

Here are a couple of photos of him during another dance:



He definitely has some cool moves!

Family Vacation

I have spent the past week vacationing with my family on sunny Pensacola Beach, Florida.
We spent the mornings playing at an area playground,


digging in the sand,

and running away from crashing waves,

and splashing and bathing in the hotel pools.


After a quick lunch and refreshing nap,

we prepared for dinner and nights spent out on the town.


We got to totally relax and just have fun as a family.

By the end of the week, I was totally refreshed and ready to return home! Though it was nice to not have to cook or clean for almost a week, I really began to miss my home!

The difference a year makes

Last year at this time Randy and I were completely at each others throats after a very long and stressful drive to Pensacola, Florida for our annual family vacation. With a 1 year old and 2 1/2 year old the trip did not go anything as planned. This year, with a 2 year old and 3 1/2 year old it was a completely different story. We planned to leave in the afternoon as soon as we had finished work and packed up the car. Thanks to a lot of preparation work, we had the car packed and left earlier than we had even thought possible. The kids were happily playing with the toys from the activity packs that I had made for them from a variety of Dollar Store and other bargain priced toys that were all new to them.



We had reserved a room about 4 hours away, but after driving for a while, Randy decided it would be better to try to book a room another 2 hours away. I was upset at his choice to drive further when we stopped for dinner and a restroom break and he was stressing about sticking to a time schedule. That was exactly what we were trying to avoid! He apologized for rushing us and things went pretty smoothly from then on. We broke out the DVD player after dark, which entertained the kids up until we arrived at the hotel around 11:30pm.

The kids were pretty wound up and didn't go to sleep until about 1:30, but at least they went to sleep! Last year I walked them around a parking lot for 2 hours in the stroller hoping they would fall asleep, but they never did! When they awoke at 5am the next morning we just got up and got back on the road. Aidan was so tired that he fell asleep around 9am after a nice long stop for breakfast and playing.

Meanwhile, Reese played nicely by herself, allowing me time to actually read the book I had brought along!

We made another pit stop to use the restroom a few hours later. Randy made a phone call, which allowed them several minutes to dig in the dirt and run around freely. When we got back in the car the kids watched movies.

We had some fun when we crossed the border into Florida and rolled down all the windows.

The lack of sleep finally caught up to her and Reese was down for the count!

We stopped for a few groceries and food when we were about 20 minutes from the hotel and beach and had to wake Sleeping Beauty. Fortunately, she woke up refreshed and not crabby at all. The kids were still eating as we pulled up to the hotel an hour later. They handed over the rest of their fries and jumped out of the car, ecstatic to finally be at our hotel. After checking into our room, we quickly changed into our suits and finally hit the pool! A few hours later as we returned to our room, Randy joked with the kids that vacation was over and it was time to get back in the car. Both kids immediately responded, "No way!"

Wishing on a star

Randy has been out of town for work and Reese is really missing him. Last night at dinner she said, "We are a perfect family, but I miss daddy."

Tonight while driving home she said, "I am wishing on a star because I miss daddy. I will wish and then I will see him!"

Me: "Oh honey, daddy misses you too.

Reese: "I can't wish on a star because there aren't any! Maybe I will wish on the moon!

Friends Forever

Reese: "Mom, we are Friends Forever!"

Me: "I sure hope so!"

A few hours later, after disciplining Reese for something:

Reese: "Mom, I hate you!"

Playing airplane

The other night while lying on the floor, I thought that it would be fun to play airplane with the kids. I started with my youngest and after a few failed attempts finally had him soaring in the air resting on my feet. Once I had the hang of it with my youngest, I decided to give my oldest a try. I got her up in the air, but had to make a bed of pillows before trying it again. Once I was comfortable, each of the kids continued taking turns until I was so tired and sore that I could not do it any longer. Thankfully, my husband came in at just that moment and took over while I snapped a few fun pictures.










It was a lot of fun while it lasted, but we definitely paid for it the next day!

One-sided conversation

Reese: "Mommy, I called you on grammy's pretend phone today."

Me: "Oh yeah, what did I say?"

Reese: "Nothing, you didn't answer."

Me: "Sorry, I must have forgotten my pretend phone."

Future spelling bee champ?

Reese was running around the house tonight singing, "I love to spell, E-L-R-O-L!"

Through my laughter, I asked her where she learned this little ditty?

Her answer was, "In the video."

I'm sure she can't quit make out the actual words, but need to find this video to make certain!