4th of July Fishing Derby

Anyone who knows me knows of my absolute love for the 4th of July, partly because I love the patriotism of the holiday, but mostly because I love picnic food. Wyomissing has an annual parade and community gathering at the Stone House that reminds me of an old Lou Holtz quote about Notre Dame - "Those who know Notre Dame, no explanation's necessary. Those who don't, no explanation will suffice." That's how I feel about the 4th of July at home. Ryan would probably beg to differ - he's been there and knows it, and still has trouble comprehending the magnitude of my love for it, but whatever.

Anyway, this year, much to my own surprise, I decided to take a year off from the Wyo parade and my parents' picnic. Lisa was in Italy and Sarah had a baby a few days before so I knew neither of them would be around and I knew that I was going to take the boys down the following weekend because Ryan would be out of town, so we decided to stay home and check out the annual fishing derby and picnic at Texas Blockhouse. 

It POURED the entire ride up there and they had to push the fishing derby back until after lunch, but we had a great day! 

Playing on the porch while waiting out the rain.

Quick walk down to the pond to scope out the best spot to fish!

Family photo

Watching Daddy bait the hook.

So proud of his fish!

Grant was rather unimpressed by it all, but I'm sure next year we'll have two fishermen!

With a little help from Daddy and Uncle Collin, Connor caught four fish and won a second place trophy for his age group! His biggest fish was a 15" rainbow trout, which is approximately 14.5" bigger than the biggest fish I've ever caught up there!

All that excitement put him to sleep about 30 seconds after we left. Needless to say we didn't make the fireworks that night!

Overall, it was a great day. We went to Ryan's mom's for dinner that night for pizza (she had to call about 12 places to find one that was open). A little different than the traditional 4th of July picnic food, but still a fun day. I am so thankful that we are able to take advantage of Ryan's Texas Blockhouse membership, not just on days that they have events, but any time we want to hike, fish, let the dogs run wild, etc. I know as Connor and Grant grow older they will love being up their with their dad, uncle, and Grandpa, and will learn to appreciate nature, responsible conservation, gun safety, etc. (and I will enjoy copious bottles of wine and pedicures to make up for all the weekends/hunting seasons where I was a single mom because the boys were too young to participate)! 

Summertime

This summer is flying by and we are busy, busy, busy!  Here's some pictures of what we've been up to the first half of the summer:

Memorial Day weekend - we had planned to have a picnic at Ryan's mom's house for the holiday, and she wanted to get something fun and entertaining for the kids. We thought she might get a sprinkler or a ball or something, but instead, she bought this:

Let me in!

They were hot, sweaty, and most importantly, tired at the end of the night!

Texas Blockhouse - We spent a beautiful Sunday morning up at T&B, the hunting and fishing club that Ryan belongs to. We are fully cognizant of the fact that the dogs have taken a bit of a backseat since the kids came along, and we usually decide to do something about it when we notice that more of the kids toys are destroyed by the dogs or we come home from work to find they have eaten all of the mail and two boxes of crackers off of the counters. Every once in a while it is nice to take them up there and let them run loose, swim in the creeks, etc. It is sometimes difficult to find a good weekend, as we don't want to take them up during hunting season lest they be mistaken for a bear or deer (although if you ask Ryan I think he prays for that on a daily basis) and when it is too hot you have to watch out for snakes. So when the weather was nice and cool, we loaded up the kids and the dogs and headed up there. 

Wyomissing - the boys and I went home for a weekend in June.

The maiden voyage of the wagon that my dad restored for the boys. Grant made it about 1/2 way around the block before bailing out, and I was a sweaty mess by the time I pulled Connor the rest of the way. It sure is cute but we'll have to get some padding and seat belts before it is ready for the Wyo 4th of July parade!

Itty Bitty Soccer - I signed Connor up for Itty Bitty Soccer through the YMCA. It is a six week session, once a week on Tuesday nights from 5:15 - 6:00. I thought he would love it, because he loves kicking around the soccer ball (or any ball) in the house, at the playground, etc. It is for 3-5 year olds and I thought that he was fairly athletic and big for his age, so he'd be fine. To be honest, it's not that fun. For him or for me. Since Tuesday is Ryan's night to work late, I always have to take Grant with me. I think part of it has to do with the fact that it is in a big, open gym, and they play basketball on the other half so it is noisy and he has trouble paying attention. Part of it has to do with the fact that he spends all day at school following directions and the open space is too tempting to be confined to one area doing "drills." I also think he's hot, tired, and hungry, and probably just a tad too young to really grasp the concept of organized sports. Most of the 45 minutes is spent with Connor running wildly around the gym, kicking any ball he can find or picking it up and trying to dribble it like a basketball (they have itty bitty basketball but I am not sure I have the energy to sign him up for that this year), and me trying to prevent Grant from having a meltdown in his stroller because he wants to get out and walk/crawl all over the place while at the same time trying to tell Connor to pay attention to the instructor and wait his turn instead of pretty much ruining the drills. A few weeks ago we were having a particularly bad session. Grant was screaming to be put down and Connor wasn't even bothering to pretend he was interested in any organized activity. He was just being a little brat, and when I told him to listen and stop throwing the soccer balls, he started having a major tantrum and throwing the cones, pulling on the soccer net, etc. I was pretty embarrassed and ready to get the heck out of there, so I wrangled Grant into his stroller, which proved to be very difficult because he was violently arching his back to avoid having to go back in it. I tried to nicely ask Connor to walk out with me since it was obvious he wasn't having any fun, and he started kicking and screaming. Somehow I got this weird old man strength, picked him up with one arm and managed to hold his hands down to avoid getting punched in the face by him, and pushed Grant's stroller out with the other hand. Thank God for the one kind soul who actually held the door open for me. Of course it was like 113 degrees and I parked in the farthest possible spot from the door so by the time we got to the car and managed to get both screaming kids loaded up in their seats all three of us sat and cried for a good five minutes! We did go back the following week (much to the eye-rolling dismay of the other parents, probably) and he did a little better, but last week was the last session and I can't say I was disappointed.

Connor is THREE!

It seems like everyone in our little family's birthday is crammed into a 6 week period. Grant's is April 22nd, mine is May 9th, Connor's is May 29th, and Ryan's is June 3rd. No sooner did we finish celebrating Grant's 1st birthday when (in theory) we began planning to celebrate Connor's 3rd birthday. 

Last night as a two year old!

I really want to start the tradition of doing something special with each kid (alone) on his birthday, so this year I had Ryan drop Grant off at school and Connor and I went out on a breakfast date for donuts before I went to work. Every time he is in the car with me and I get coffee, he knows as soon as we round the corner of the building what I am doing and starts repeating over and over and over "can I have some Munchkins. I want vanilla Munchkins," so I thought he would enjoy having a whole donut for a change. We went to Wegmans and I let him pick out what he wanted. I might have allowed his eyes to be bigger than his stomach, as both those donuts were his, and he pretty much just licked the sprinkles off the chocolate one. 

 

The fact that my birthday, Mother's Day, Memorial Day, and the all-important spring turkey hunting season all occur in the month of May made Connor's birthday party kind of sneak up on us. As I mentioned in Grant's birthday post, I have all sorts of great ideas for parties, and zero creativity/ability/time to pull them off. So, this year we were so busy every weekend in May (I realize this is not going to change next year, or the following year, etc. so I will have to get better about planning in advance - or learn to stay up later at night to get things done!) that I really didn't think about Connor's party until about 4 days before it. I mean, seriously, he's (and the guests) lucky that I remembered to order a sandwich tray and cake. Oops. I was having all sorts of mom-guilt for not having a "theme" party this year, but when Connor saw me decorating with his Dollar Store tablecloth, plates, napkins, balloon motif decorations, he squealed with delight, so I knew his birthday wasn't a total bust. Oh, and the fact that Ryan went and bought him this definitely helped ease any disappointment he may have had:

Three years old and drives a nicer, newer car than his parents!

Just like Daddy's truck!

My parents got him a Kindle Fire and he is already more proficient at it than I am. It is great because I can park him in front of it for a few minutes at the end of the day and I don't have to watch/listen to Thomas the Train or Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. 

Multi-tasking.

I can't believe he's three already. I must say, however, whomever coined the term "terrible twos" is a dumbass and is obviously childless. The twos were a delight. The threes have proven to be a bit of a challenge at times. He is definitely asserting his independence, and there have been plenty of feet stomping, kicking, hitting, screaming temper tantrums. The time out chair has seen plenty of action. But when he's not busy being a jerk he is so sweet and sensitive, and he cracks me up with his little personality and imagination. I think I'll keep him. 

One Lucky Mama!

My birthday and Mother's Day were on the same weekend this year and I had a fantastic weekend celebrating with these two! On Saturday, Ryan was hunting so the kids and I spent the morning at the farmers' market and at the playground. We got a babysitter that night so Ryan and I could go out and enjoy some adult conversation (and beverages). We had a few drinks at the Brickyard and then met Collin & Emily for dinner at the Moon & Raven. I had been dying to eat there and my reuben did not disappoint! It was huge and I ate every. single. bite.

On Sunday, we met Ryan's family for brunch at Barrel 135. Our reservations were at 1pm so I was worried about the kids having a meltdown, but it turned out okay. It was hot, and the service was pretty terrible, but the food was good and the bottomless mimosas made it alllll okay. The best part about the day? Once we got home and put the kids down for a nap, I also got to relax and take a nap.

I am one lucky mama!

Texas Blockhouse Fish Stocking

On the first Sunday in May, we took the kids up to Texas Blockhouse for the annual fish stocking. They do them three times every year. The first is on a Wednesday and usually only a few members go up but the other two are on the weekends and it is like a big party. It is so fun for the little kids to get to "help" stock the fish in the ponds and the creeks.

We followed the fish truck and the club trucks in my car so the boys could be in their car seats. It was nice because Grant fell asleep so whenever we stopped and got out for a few minutes I could just let him snooze in his seat.

Helping Grandpa load the fish into the buckets.

Connor got to ride on the club truck for a few stops. He started crying when I pulled up behind them and he thought he had to go back in my car. He also asked when we got home if he could "ride in the back of Daddy's black truck" the next day. Um, that's a no. Sorry, kid.

It was such a beautiful day and all that fresh air and exercise had Connor fast asleep about 45 seconds after we left. He slept the whole 35 minutes home, and didn't even flinch when I carried him in the house and put him on the couch.

Meanwhile, this little one, having had a good nap in the car, was busy causing trouble while his brother was out cold!

Grant Turns 1!

I blinked, and my baby wasn't a baby anymore!

Grant turned one on April 22, 2015. I don't know if I was in denial or just disorganized/busy at work/a bad mom, but his birthday sort of snuck up on me! Ryan was away a lot in April, and so we really only had a window of about 4 hours on a Sunday in which to have Grant's party, but I think everything came together just fine. 

I decided I wanted to do a cowboy theme. I have grandiose visions in my head of planning ridiculously elaborate parties, fueled by late-night Pinterest searches, but I normally run out of time (or money) and I realize that I don't have a creative bone in my body before I can bring all of my ideas to life so these poor kids are usually stuck with half-assed attempts at homemade birthday parties! 

The boys in their western finest before the guests arrived.

I'm not sure what I was thinking scheduling the party to start at 1pm, which is precisely the time the kids go down for a nap on the weekend, but oh well. By the time everyone was finished eating and was ready for cake, poor Grant could hardly keep his eyes open. 

Still waiting, Mom...

Not quite sure how I feel about this, but I'll give it a try.

Not too bad, I think I like it...

Cowboy hats make everything better...

Um, do i have to eat it ALL?

What a difference 10 minutes and some sugar makes! Grant got a second wind and was all smiles the rest of the day.

We had such a fun day celebrating with our family and close friends. Grant is a very lucky little boy!

Grant's actual birthday fell on a Wednesday this year. They made a big fuss over him at daycare, and I left work a little early so that we could all celebrate together.

I had to wake the birthday boy up in the morning!

Birthday selfie! How on earth has a year passed since we took our first one together?!?!

Ryan got Grant a little cupcake at the grocery store and this time he was well rested and ready to rock! No hesitation this time. I think Connor singing "Happy Birthday" in the background is adorable!

Grant had his one year check-up a few days after his birthday. His stats:

• He weighs 24 lbs. 4 oz. (70%)
• He is 31.5" (91%)

He is a big, healthy boy! He has more than tripled his weight since his birth (there is a very good possibility that all the cake he ate the week before pushed him over that 3x birth weight milestone). He has been crawling for several months but just doesn't seem to want to take off running. He walks holding on to furniture, or cabinets, or my hand but isn't overly motivated to take his own steps. Some days I wish he would just start walking because it will be two less appendages with which to collect dog hair off the floor AND he gets REALLY heaving lugging him around everywhere, but at the same time I know once he starts walking, he'll never look back and the thought of two of them running around is terrifying! 

Grant has always been a great eater and has done a terrific job of transitioning to real people food. He loves chicken, mac 'n cheese, cereal bars, avocados, blueberries, cheese, waffles, etc. Actually, he'll pretty much eat anything you put in front of him, just like his Mama! I have been working on transitioning him to a sippy cup, which I dreaded because I felt like I spent about $500 trying to find one that Connor liked, and then another $500 to buy a lifetime supply of that cup after he found one he liked, but I bought one for Grant to try the other day and he used it like a champ! 

His "talking" is mostly just babbling, but he's quite vocal. We're working on "hi," "ball," "dog," etc. I can't wait until he and Connor can talk to each other!