Rainy Day Fun

Today was a cold, grey, rainy January day so this afternoon we spent lots of time play with toys we haven't played with in awhile and doing activities we are usually too busy to do. The kids really enjoyed it, especially because dad was here. 

Toddlerhood

Now that Audrey is getting a longer attention span we are getting to do a lot more activities. Reading books, story time at the library, art projects etc. It is bringing Ryan and Audrey a lot closer together and it is making me feel like she has lost all the baby in her- she is now all toddler. Onto the next step...

Dirty 30

I had my 30th birthday. It's official the 20's are over. It's actually fine- no great difference. My brother came all the way from Chicago to take care of the kids (which they LOVED) and Don and I went out to a nice dinner and night at a local bed and breakfast in a beautiful historic home. I have a night out with my girlfriends in a few weekends to celebrate, it's a surprise as to what we are doing, but no matter what we do a night out with my girls is going to be excellent. The 30's aren't so bad when you are surrounded by great people!

Twins

I have been asked more then once if the kids are twins. They are two years apart but they look very similar (She is much smaller but you can't really tell until you see them standing right next to each other). More then looking similar they have very similar mannerisms and they have lot inside jokes between them. They are very much content to just have each other. They hold hands a lot of the time and they want the others attention all the time. It's funny that on the outside they can look so similar and be such different little people. Don caught some pictures today of them laying on the couch watching Blues Clues on the iPad together. 

Ryan and Mommy

I asked Ryan some questions about how he sees me: 

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?

Stop and Go

2. What makes Mommy happy?

Cooking

3. What makes Mommy sad?

Not being Nice

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?

Playing Funny

5. What was Mommy like as a child?

Playing a lot and kicking around a lot

6. How old is Mommy?

3

7. How tall is Mommy?

Big

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?

Cooking in the Kitchen

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?

Dad comes (Oh My) 

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?

Going to Sleep (Just call me Sleeping Beauty) 

11. What is Mommy really good at?

Cleaning Up (My life's ambition)

12. What is Mommy not very good at?

Not looking at Audrey. When the sun is out you can’t see her. (huh?)

13. What does Mommy do for her job?

Build and I can build with you

14. What is Mommy's favorite food?

Pretzels 

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?

Playing ball in the hoop

16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?

Football Player (Maybe I need to go on a diet)

17. What do you and Mommy do together?

Play

18. How are you and Mommy the same?

We Wear Shirts

19. How are you and Mommy different?

We wear different shirts

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?

Giving me a hug

21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?

To the Park

20 Things

My 30th Birthday is tomorrow, yeah I don't know how I'm feeling about it.  It helps that almost everyone in my life is older then me, it also helps that I have a really good life. I have learned a lot in the last 30 years, most of it in the last 10. Here are some of the highlights: 

20 of the things I have learned in the last 30 years:

1.  Don’t be friends with people that are mean to other people.
2.  Be nice to your family, you will likely know them longer than anyone else in your life.
3. You will have things in your past that make you cringe, do what you can to remedy them but don’t focus too much on them. Sometimes you just have to move on.
4. Eat well but don’t focus too much on calories. If you go to a restaurant with a renowned chef and you order something low calorie or a salad you are doing it wrong.
5. Don’t be someone that never finishes anything, but also don’t be someone that completes everything even when you know it’s not the best thing.
6. You feel like you dress. If you wear sweatpants every day you will feel like you look. To really feel like it is a night out you should dress up- it completely changes your perception of how your day is going to be.
7. No matter how hard you try kids will change every aspect of your life.
8.  Find things you love to do and make time to do them. 
9.  Make your bed- You won’t have as many midnight spaz outs when the sheet is awkwardly wrapped around your leg.
10. Do nice things for other people.  Even small gestures can make someone’s day.   Really show your appreciation when someone does the same for you.
11.  The older you get the less the night of drinking is worth the hangover the next day.
12.  The argument about whether it’s better to be a stay at home parent or a working parent can’t be won no matter what side you are on. Let it be. Do what is best for your family and leave everyone else alone.  This goes for most parenting decisions (cloth diapering, breastfeeding, preschools etc).
13. Be thankful for what you have.  Have some perspective on your problems, when you see the big picture you will realize most of the issues you are dealing with are pretty small.
14. Before you get married you should make sure you have the ability to be completely self-sufficient while also having the ability to rely completely on someone else.  Marriage is a unique combination of the two.
15.  I can’t be friends with people who blame who/ what they are on their past. A hard past is not a free pass to be broken the rest of your life.  
16. Accept that you aren’t going to be good at everything (Zumba for instance) and be thankful you aren’t in high school where you still have to do them and be graded on them (math).
17. Drive assuming everyone around you is an idiot. It will help to be prepared when they try to change lanes directly into you.
18. There is a difference between helping and enabling. Make sure you know the difference. It can start as one thing and end up as the other. 
19. Drink enough water. If you are dehydrated a glass of water will give you more energy then coffee.
20. Success means different things to different people.  Don’t force yourself to be someone else’s definition of successful. 

18 Month Stats

18 Month Appointment Stats for Audrey:

Height: 32.25 inches (50-75%)
Weight: 22Lbs 6.5 oz (25%)
Head Circumference: 47.5 cm (95%)














They didn't have any concerns- they said she was ahead of the curve in all the developmental tests. She recognized the nurse as the shot giver and freaked out every time she walked into the room but she was good with everyone else so we made it through (and the fact that I had a lollipop in my pocket).

Failed Bowling and Impromptu Playdate

We tried to go bowling tonight with some friends- apparently Sunday night is the night to bowl because when we got there it was a 2 hour wait. So we hoped in the car and our friends graciously invited us over to their house- kids waiting at a bowling alley until 8pm was just not going to happen. They had lots of fun stuff for the kids and the football game on for the husbands, I think that when all was said and done the kids had more fun playing then they would have had bowling.

Park Pictures

We seem to be having a spring in January with the temperature reaching almost 70 so everyone is spending lots of time outside. Here are some pictures we took at the park this morning. 

Bounce House Birthday Party

No, before you think it, I did not have my birthday party at a bounce house. It was a friend of the kids. They love the bounce house and it was the first time that dad has been able to go (Lucky him). Between running around like crazy people and then being hopped up on sugar the kids had a blast. Audrey started crashing before we left but that is a sign of a good morning. 

The Kids Laughing

Museum of Art Birthday Dinner

My birthday , my moms birthday and a very good friends birthday are all within 2 weeks of each other so we decided to go out to dinner this year to celebrate. We chose a very cool restaurant in the Museum of Art. The food is awesome, as is the atmosphere. After our wonderful dinner we walked around the museum for an hour checking out the galleries. It was a wonderful place to go with wonderful company. I took a few pictures (with my phone) of some of our favorite exhibits. 

 Upside down Mona Lisa- Cool

 Upside down Mona Lisa through a glass ball making it look upright- Cooler

 The fact that the whole thing was made out of different colored spools of thread- Mind Blown

 Can you see the two heads that are not the same :) ?

This lovely large man was hung from the ceiling- this camera angle is what he looked like when you walked under him and looked directly up.

Quick Updates on the Kids

Audrey's language is really coming along her newest thing is that she can say "I love you"... melts your heart. Her favorite words are Giggle, Juice and Bath and of course Dad.
She has learned how to play the little sister card. If she takes something and then cries it is usually assumed that Ryan started it and he gets in trouble and she gets the toy.... smart little girl but I am on to her games.

Ryan is starting a new school at the end of this month which will be an interesting transition. I think he will actually like it a lot it's just the change that might be a bit hard on him.
He has started wanting to know why things are the way they are and he remembers things forever which is both good and bad. He asked about names recently and I said "people call dad either Dad or Don" now he calls his dad Don and when asked why he said "Mom said you are called both so I am going to call you Don."  He has also decided thanks to his dad that his favorite band is 311 and he isn't just saying it, he can tell you when the music comes on the radio.

I'll update again soon, just wanted to give you a little sneak peak.

Welcome 2012

 Don and I spent New Years Eve playing our new Kinect. It was quite the workout and a lot of fun. After a night of games (and going to bed soon after midnight) we felt pretty good when we woke up which was good because we headed out early for my moms house for a New Years brunch.