9 months???

Seriously could it be that Lil 29 is 3/4 through his first year??? Insane!

AJisms

So AJ is waiting for me to put away my bags and he says, "Mom, what the heck?" I had him repeat. Sure enough, "mom, what the heck?"- he did just spend the evening with his Uncle Sean and Daddy. ;)

Daddy: AJ do you have a poo?
AJ: let's go change me!

This kid seriously talks all the time now!


Love him, momma

Ode to Big Brothers....

"Aylen, stop pushing Ryker's head into the wall." 
"Aylen, quit lying on top of brother."
"AJ, it's not nice to take toys from brother, please give it back."
"AJ, stop throwing things at brother, you might hurt him again, and that's not nice is it?"
"Aylen John, go to the stairs right now!"

Aylen:  I love watching you grow up as a big brother.  You are so helpful and sweet most of the time, and sometimes you are so..... brotherly.  :)

Ryker:  It is truly wonderful watching you grow so fast.  You play with anything, eat anything, put up with nearly anything from your brother, and are so smiley and happy most of the time. 

I can already see the scene playing out some day in the not-too-distant future....

(AJ comes running inside, holding his head or chest, balling his eyes out)

"AJ what's wrong?"
"Why are you crying?"
"What happened???"

(Kissing the boo-boo's, giving a big hug, wiping the tears...)

"Rykee hit me!"

 (still balling his eyes out...)

"Rykee hit me right dere!"

(Points to head)

"Awww that's not very nice of Rykee!"
"Why did Ryker do that to you?"

Looking to the side and at the floor, AJ says innocently..."I dunno."

(Yeah right 'you don't know'!)

(Putting AJ down, walking outside to do the dirty work of parental punishment...)
(Trying with all my might to fight back a hearty, racous laugh, yet I can't hold back the miles-wide grin!)
(Atta boy, Ryker!  Atta boy!)

Rest assured there will be punishment in the above scenario, but it may be rather light this time...


When that day comes Ryker, this will be one proud Daddy that you can finally get even!

:-)
R

5 Years

5 years ago on 9/8/7 I married this guy.  This handsome handsome dude.  And it was an awesome day.  Seriously, anytime we bring up our wedding we could talk for hours about it.  It was insane.  One big, HUGE, dance party.  A room filled with our loved ones there to celebrate US.  How freakin awesome.  If I could have predicted all the craziness that has happened in the last 5 years...well I might have just said you are kidding and potentially just stayed on my honeymoon:)

NEVER.  Kidding.  But seriously....I have this book.  That I just love called The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work.  I had to read it for Social Work and Family class.  I refer back to it from time to time.  In this book it states that when you have a child you might as well have just dropped a bomb into the relationship.  And seriously, I think that is a fair analogy.

Life BC (before children) was truly awesome with Russell.  It was filled with late nights with friends at bars, backpacking in the Tetons, going on various trips to Boston, New Jersey, Kansas City.  BC time consisted of sleeping in late, napping whenever, and having LOTS and lots OF pets.  We ran a half marathon because we totally had time to train, and run, and run.  We went out to restaurants and talked alot and left without even glancing at the floor to see what mess we might have made.  We WENT to movies.  And we both went to grad school.  BC time consisted of a lot of house improvement projects together.  Life BC was awesome, exciting, a little crazy, and mostly a time where we did whatever we wanted to because we could.


Fast forward a bit.....life AC (after children) with Russell has been so amazing and so stressful and everywhere in between.  We have learned to love each other in ways that we had no clue about BC.  I have seen Russell become this amazing father to his boys.  The time I love the best is in the evening when there is WWF wrestling going on, or maybe afterwards when Aylen and Russell read about Tractors and Trucks.  Or perhaps it's the morning time, like this morning, when Aylen doesn't want to be put down, but would rather be curled on Russell's chest.  Or maybe it is how Russell can cause the most amazing laugh in Ryker.

Life AC has been a doozie.  It has consisted of REALLY late nights and really early mornings rocking children, not many Movies at the theaters, perhaps more moments of snippy comments due to the aforementioned sleep issues, less friend time, more family time, and lots and lots of colds!  Life AC has consisted of less major traveling for both of us, and definitely tipping are wait staff more due to the amazing mess that such little boys can leave.  Life AC consists of Friday Pizza and Movie nights at home, and in general more time at home just BEING perhaps due to lack of energy to do more things.  But it also consists of hiking new hikes almost every other weekend.  And waking up to mountains and that amazing MOUNTAIN air EVERY single morning.

BUT life AC for Russell and I has included a new found love for us-TENNIS, which has created a semi-permanent date time 2x a week where we get to be with each other, outside, competiting, and getting a workout.  Life AC has brought a new appreciation to DATE nights, and even the littlest things of a time together-without anyone else.  Life AC has included an amazing battle of Marriage where we have fought vs each other, but have FOUGHT even harder for our relationship.  Life AC has consisted of many late night talks, therapy sessions, and Google chat/email sessions at work.  Life AC has brought to the forefront that we as a couple (and as individuals) have basic needs that need nurtured.  And it won't be easy, but it will be done because we have made a choice to be together.  A choice that we are who each other wants to be with to raise our boys, climb mountains, run marathons, cook breakfast and make mochas, cuddle watching a horrible scary movie, and play racquetball and tennis, enjoy beer on a Friday, and work out our differences on a court somehwere.

AND best of all RUSSELL, you are the guy that I'm going to Aruba with in 89 days to celebrate how much we really do rock as a couple.  ERMEGERD.

<3 p="p">Wifey

Personality Test

Nursing:  Allow child to nurse until he gets teeth.  Then allow them to bite you while nursing.  Scream.  Take note of their reaction.  This will tell you what your child's temperament will be like for the rest of their years.

If child cries.....he will be a sensitive fella that will take life very seriously.  He will be an awesome confidant.

If child laughs his head off....he will be the jokester, the kid that hides in the hallways and scares you, the kid that drives his teachers insane.

Love,
Momma

He Said What???

Here is a video of AJ and what sounds like him saying....well just listen. This happened last night and the week before when we had French toast! (Oh yea, disregard the picking of the nose..if ya can!)

Lol!

< 3 momma

Mark my words.

"that kid will be walking in a month"-dad. Now I don't quite think it will be that soon, but it will be sooner than AJ. Of course, he has to keep up with AJ! I love milestones! Seriously it's so fun to see this guy start cruise and then let go, fall, pull up, cruise some more!

Love,
Momma

We going "HIKING".

It is not rare in our house for Aylen to holler out, "Let's go HIKING".  He'll do this first thing in the morning, right before nap, or even at night time.  I obviously don't quite remember, but I'm placing bets that I wasn't asking to go hiking all the time when I was younger!  Can I get an AMEN that we live in Colorado and can a) Go on a hike whenever we want, and b) Go on a hike with one of my BFFs.  love.

Yesterday, we went hiking and it was a freaking doozy.  It wasn't the kind of hike that offered the occasional flat spot.  Nopers.  It went straight up. St Vrain Mountain.  Check it out here.  
Holy monkeys.  Add that Russ and I are carrying little BIG boys, let's just say we got a workout.  Thank you Kellen:)

As we were hiking I usually find it necessary to ask Russ how far he thinks we are, and 9 years after knowing each other you'd think I'm figure this out...but Russ can tend to be a bit optimistic.  Like every time.  2/3 the way through...psha.  Anyways...after 3 hours of hiking straight up Ryker was hungry!  And he decided to be the biggest punk in the way he let his Momma know.  In the backpack he decided to pull my hair as hard as he could.  And every time I would scream, and every time he would LAUGH his pretty head off.  You'd think I'd realize that he really enjoyed my scream and got a reaction so of course he would keep doing it, but IT HURT and I was tired and couldn't help but give him that reaction.  And it's pretty hard to get too mad at the dude when he is seriously giving a belly laugh...but darnit Ryker you were getting on my nerves.  So I made a decision that says a lot.  I stopped and didn't trek up 1/3 more mile to the top because Ryker needed to eat and be out of the pack.  So boom.  Momma just being selfless.  What's new. :P

It was one of those hikes that I was super duper happy to be back at the van with my pack and shoes off!

:) dah Mountains.
Momma

LakeMac 2012

Several years ago my friends decided to create a tradition of going to Lake McConaughy.  With friends in Colorado, and friends in Nebraska it was the perfect meeting spot.  We were able to go one of the first years, and the was prior to us having kids.  My friend had a child and it was fun being able to see him experience the lake but couldn't help but think how fun it would be when we all had children.  Last year we skipped on it because we were BURNT out.  We had just completed our Colorado move, I started my job, we had moved into our house, and I was just a bit too preggars and not interested in camping.

This year we were determined to make it happen because we all (well MOST of us) have kids and I just felt it was so important for us to all have our friend time.  Most of our group (at the least those of us willing to camp...no names JESS!) agreed that we were going!  I was pumped and was not about to let our last camping experience turn us away!!  Two days prior to LakeMac 2012 people started dropping like flies--wedding, money/school issues, and lastly RSV:(  Boo.  But my awesome dedicated friend Cristy was willing to drive 4+ hours by herself, with her two little ones to camp darnit because she believes in TRADITION.   love that about her!  

Our first night, I told Russ that I'd be putting up the tent by myself thankyouverymuch.  No problem.  I remembered back to our Tetons days.  Cristy and company didn't arrive til dark-so Cristy and I took on the watching of 4 kids while putting up her tent, while Russ accompanied Cristy's mom back to her hotel.  And darnit- we did it.

That next day we had a blast.  Since LakeMac is know for it's sand-Aylen couldn't get enough.  Ryker severely enjoyed it too.  Our other friend Gert came and her child played with ours and it was so awesome.  We went to the water and it is amazing how much it feels like the ocean.  I know I know....a huge gigantic leap Momma.  But seriously, the waves crashing in feels more like an ocean than a lake.  It was Aylen's first time with waves and he rocked it.  HE LOVED "jumping the waves" with both Daddy and I.  It was one of those surreal moments, because one of my favorite little kid memories is when I was with my Dad at the Gulf of Mexico visiting my Grandparents.  We were jumping waves, and I remember getting knocked over by Dad who had just gotten knocked over himself by a ginormous wave.  In my head, I remember Dad being really proud of me because I wanted to continue being in the water and I didn't let that moment freak me out.  It is a known fact that water calms me, settles me, and completes me still to this day.  So to see my little 2 year old son out there "jumping the waves" despite these waves slamming into his little 3 foot frame and being a bit cold so much so that he kept shivering as he spoke-my Momma heart was proud.  OH so proud of him!  (SIDENOTE-Aylen John we will be going to the real ocean soon, I PROMISE YOU!)

As my friends and I sat at the beach, then back at the campfire it was so fun just to look around at what we have created.  Seriously, I just can't get over the fact that we were all friends in college that did our fair share of partying and being crazy and now here we are as mothers.  It's just so wicked.  Everything has changed.  What we talk about, when we go to bed, the number of beverages we enjoy or not, what we do for fun, how we manage our time, how we talk care of our selves, our relationships, the rules we set for our children....  It is so awesome to get together with friends because being that we are all with children it gets so HARD to keep in touch sometimes.  I miss them a ton.  And wish that we could all be closer so that our children could play more, and we could chat about life.  Nonetheless, I'm thankful for our traditions and knowing that we will always have this place every Labor Day year to be together.  Thank you friends for being there for me and being so amazing!

Love,
Momma

The Why stage has begun...

I was just warning Russ about using Why questions with Aylen. I told Russ that Why questions should be avoided because a lot of time you don't know why, and when asked why you are immediately put into defense mode. Counselor 101 stuff. And I added plus we don't want to encourage why questions in fear of starting that fun, charming, long lasting why phase. And whatdoyaknow. It started.
AJ: help please. ( pointing to the comb he threw over from his bath)
Momma: ok. (I put it into bath)
AJ: help please (again, throws comb over)
Momma: nope. I told you I'd only pick up toys once.
AJ: why.
Momma: because I said.
AJ: why. Why. Why. Why. Why.
Momma: (thoughts- I need to google. What do I say? Omg here we go. But seriously what is the best answer?)

Oh dear. Any advice welcome.
Love,
Momma