Thursday, January 26, 2012

Storytime with Grandpa

This is a sight I could never tire of:


My dad sometimes pops into town, having driven from Salt Lake to Oakland with my grandpa, who owns and manages some condos there. At the end of his visits, he always tells the boys a story. Trenton starts asking for it, in fact, the moment he walks in the door. T loooves a good story. He frequently asks Ryan and I to "talk about a story in the jungle." My brain is running out of action-packed jungle stories, but thankfully, my dad's small-town upbringing and ability to enhance his own life experiences provides some darn good entertainment for the grandkids! (We love Varmint the dog!) Thanks for coming over to see us, Dad!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Officially a CPA

I should really have posted this months ago, but I hesitated because poor Ryan probably doesn't want to be the center of a blog post, but oh well; I'm in charge here in this little corner of the web, and I'm proud of my husband!


After clocking many, many hours both in school and at work, studying for and passing four rigorous exams, and filling out a whole lot of paperwork, Ryan is officially a CPA! The funny thing is that now that he's got, he's moving a different direction, but I figure it can never hurt to have those letters behind your name. :) Congrats, honey!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Brave

The other day we found ourselves in urgent care for the second time. And for the second time, a doctor glued Trenton's head back together! (See the first incident here.) At least this time the cut was behind his hairline. So if you've wondered about that white tuft of hair, now you know—it's glue!


T was so brave. He gashed his head on the TV, but thankfully it stopped bleeding pretty quickly and was small enough to be glued rather than stapled. No more head injuries, okay T?

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Daily Sightings: Bare Buns

"Trenton, why did you leave your pants and underwear off after you went potty?"

"Because I wanted some nice air." 

Oh the life of a child! 

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Let Why Lead

Back here, I mentioned my interest in starting a blog dedicated to living a life of meaning. I'm happy to say that I'm on my way. This is the first I've mentioned of it to anyone other than Ryan, and I still have a ways to go with it, but since all of my readers over here are practically family, I thought I'd stifle my desire to not let anyone see it until it's perfect and instead point you to my new blog: Let Why Lead.

I love having an outlet to talk about things I think are important (and sometimes just fun!), and I hope it'll inspire others to live lives of meaning too. I'm still finding my voice, but please feel free to join me on this adventure!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Wow.

I had a nice, rare couple of hours to myself this morning while Ryan and the boys went to the gym. Then they came home. Chase screamed because Trenton ate his candy, Trenton screamed because we told him as a consequence that we would no longer be going bike riding, and now they're both screaming in their beds because we're making them take naps!

It is a party over here!

Friday, January 6, 2012

Sleeping Angels

I feel like I'm starting to enjoy the fruits of my labors (literally, labors, haha) with the boys, and I cannot keep myself from sharing. Maybe having them 18 months apart was not so bad after all! In fact, I think I might just love it.

After reading stories the other night Chase was NOT okay with getting put in his crib. He was trying so hard to climb out I knew he'd fall to the ground any minute. So we tucked him into Trenton's bed just for fun (and also pulled out the trundle). They were pleased as punch when we said good night, and to my surprise, they stayed exactly that way until 7:25 the next morning.


I never love them more than when they're soundly asleep. :)

Monday, January 2, 2012

T's First Two-Wheeler



At risk of getting all sentimental, MY BOY IS GROWING UP! When you become a parent, the passage of time becomes simultaneously deeply relieving and utterly terrifying. It's a relief when you realize your baby has stopped throwing all his food on the floor or when it occurs to you that you cannot remember the last accident your potty-trained child had. But when they pass milestones, sometimes you just want to grip onto things exactly as they are and never let go.

T has always been pretty coordinated. He stepped on an older friend's two-wheeled scooter at age two and a half and was flying around in no time. Tonight Ryan spontaneously decided to let him have a go at riding his bike without the training wheels. Trenton hopped on without fear and had it down almost immediately. He still needs more practice; as you'll see in the video, if anyone talks to him while riding (which I did), he is easily distracted from riding in a straight line... :)

This video makes Ryan and I laugh so much...but maybe that is because we know our kids' personalities so well... T crashing with style and Chase contentedly twirling a pole. Good times.