The Zoo

We went back to the zoo the other weekend. The crowds were a little overwhelming but we managed to have a good time. We only saw the giraffes and then headed for the carousel and play park. Once again, we had to ride on the bench of shame in the carousel (reserved for handicapped people and apparently those scared of the animals). See picture. Then we went to the play park where we ate lunch, climbed nets, and went down the slide... The play park has a little water park inside of it when the weather turns hot and apparently we were the only parents that didn't bring our child a swimsuit. Problem solved, we went into the gift shop and paid for an overpriced swim diaper. Will was a little tentative but made friends with the manatee. Enjoy the pictures! Btw, Lane went with us but the camera didn't take too many pictures of her...next time!

Jeep!

Here I am cruising down the street in my new set of wheels! Thanks mommy and daddy...I love it!

I'm 2!

Will is 2 years old! His actual birthday was last Thursday and it feels like we have been celebrating ever since! It's like Mardi Gras or Hanukkah or something. And at the rate we are spacing out all the gifts, it will still be his birthday next April. We had a big day, starting at his buddy Blaine's house. Blaine is a "big" boy (almost 3) and Will thinks he is really cool. Then we went to "Pump It Up" for his friend Michael's birthday party. This was a little confusing for us but we just rolled with it, pretending it was Will's birthday party too. (We steered clear of Michael's gifts, though.) Inflatable bouncy things are Will's favorite; he is fearless. A huge birthday dinner of fried chicken capped off the evening, followed by a monkey cake, and yep, presents. Saturday was the actual day of his birthday party. The theme was Curious George, Will's favorite cartoon, which admittedly has some poor role modeling in it. In every episode, curiosity evolves into mischief and then some form of shady (dis)honesty. But monkeys are cute so I figured it would make a cute theme. It turned out to be a lot of fun for the kiddos but the weather didn't exactly cooperate. See the dark skies in the above picture. Tica and Tati were so gracious to let us move the party indoors. We are still celebrating but here are a few pictures to tide you over. His major present, an electric jeep, is still waiting to be unveiled but there are just too many other distractions right now. It will remain my wild card... :)

Easter

We had a great Easter weekend. Yesterday Will and I dyed eggs which was an eventful experience to say the least. First off, my precious toddler kept saying over and over, "Mama, let's dye. Dye, Mama, Dye." It sounded pretty morbid when we were supposed to be in a celebratory mood. Then, he kept looking for Ollie (a duck from his favorite book) inside the eggs. It's very hard to explain to a toddler there are no ducks inside eggs when all of his books say there are. The picture of him in bunny ears reminds me of Ralphie from A Christmas Story...poor guy! We also tried a photo shoot with Lane in her easter getup. Clearly, it wasn't too successful. On Sunday, church was incredible. Will was sick so he couldn't come but Michael, Lane and I went and celebrated Christ's resurrection. As Will's favorite song says, "Oh Happy Day!" Lane went to the nursery for the first time, which also made her mom very happy. Afterwards, we had a yummy brunch with my parents and an easter egg hunt in the backyard. Enjoy the pictures!

Tag!

Here's a picture of Little Lane...she's a doll. Well, I've been "tagged" thanks to my good friend Meg! Here it goes, in no particular order, 7 strange things about me...

1. I acquired a taste for green olives when I was pregnant with Will. It hasn't gone away. At any time of day, I could go sit on the couch with a jar and a fork.
2. I don't keep a calendar anywhere. I keep all of my events in my head and just hope I remember when the right time comes. I am disorganized with myself, but almost obsessive-compulsively organized when working for an employer.
   
3. I love t.v. I love surfing up and down the channels even when I know nothing's on. I watch mainly FoodNetwork and HGTV, planning recipes and house projects I'll never do. I read the bumper stickers that say "Kill your television" and I think "Are you crazy?" I don't allow myself to watch it until Will's in bed...that would be bad. Oh, and I love the show "Cops".
   
4. I love to travel but hate flying in airplanes. I go up and talk to the pilots before take-off and tell them to "do a good job" and "talk to us a lot back here". They think I am flirting but I'm totally serious. There's a humiliating story of me holding on to a sailor I was sitting next to when the plane was bouncing all over the place. He thought I was coming on to him. Once we landed, I had to run through the terminal to get away from him. That is one of many a bizarre story.
   
5. In conjunction with #4, I love tracking flights on USA TODAY Travel or FlightAware. If I know you are flying, I will get on Weather.com, check the turbulence report for you, then go to a flight tracking website and follow you through the air, checking wind speed and altitude that sort of thing. Very bizarre... I am fascinated by airplanes but terrified of flying in them. If you invite me to your villa in Europe though, I will get over it and come anyway, just to be clear.
6. I floss for at least 10 minutes per night.
7. I don't like to sip Diet Coke over ice. I only like it if I can chug it from the can.
   

Backyard Fun

Will had a BIG weekend. When he woke up from his nap on Saturday, he had a nice surprise waiting in his backyard...the Cadillac of all jungle gyms was set up just waiting for him to take a spin. Our friends, the Feeleys, generously let us have their swingset since their kids had outgrown it. We gladly accepted! Of course now my plans to grow amazing roses and veggies are shot since we have this monstrous piece of yard art but I am getting over it. It's all about the kids, right? Will's cousins' Jack and Frances were also in town so that was exciting. Then on Sunday we went with our small group to the "woods" and had a big time, the hit being an old John Deere tractor. Will was in heaven. When he reached for the motor oil and the key, I knew it was time to go home... Too much fun!

Recent Pictures of Will

Will is at the cutest stage ever. I swear I want to freeze time and bottle his cute little expressions and mannerisms. We've had a busy few weeks, even with a 6 week old baby. Will won't let her slow us down a bit so she comes along for the ride. Here are a few pictures... The first one is entitled, "Dump Truck in the Buff"....Will's two favorite things combined-- trucks and being naked. The next few are from the Metro Park "Kids Kampus". We went to rent a tricycle for Will and they made him wear a hairnet with the helmet! Hilarious! The next one is Will getting up close and personal with a train. He and his daddy got out of the car, shades on, and went right up to the cross bars. Bathtime is always a hit--one thing I've realized is that life is better with bubbles. And then there's Will's "sissy", this "thing" that he knows is very important and never seems to leave. He gave her a ride in his pick-up truck the other day, which is his clearest expression of "I Love You", before only reserved for his beloved Elmo and Cousin Jack. Good times!