"Whatever you do..."

A couple weeks ago, the boys and I were driving home from somewhere.  Out of the blue, Ryan said,

 " Mom, whatever you do, don't go in the office." 

Of course that made me curious, so I asked why.  The thing that I love about 4 year olds... they just have to be honest.  It is hilarious.  So, Ryan proceeded to tell me that I couldn't go in there because he cut the cord to the iron. He just wanted to see if he could. 

 I wasn't quite sure how to handle the situation.  I was a little angry and frustrated,  but the silliness of his statement outweighed all of that that and I just laughed and laughed. I had to compose myself so I could teach him that we really should NOT cut electrical cords. We talked about why that was not a good idea and he had to give me a dollar out of his bank to help buy a new iron.... so hopefully he forgot how funny I thought it was and learned a lesson.  Taking a picture probably didn't help.  But, that is motherhood.  I love it.

Brett's Birthday

Brett's 33rd birthday was last month.  It was a Friday and he was working.   I pulled the pregnant card and told him that we would just be going to dinner and to a movie because I was too tired to come up with anything else.  But then I started feeling guilty.  I love birthdays and I love celebrating... so the night of his birthday, I was on the computer and happened to come across tickets for us to ride a chairlift to the top of Mt. Baldy to have dinner.  It was perfect!  We had a wonderful ride up and down the mountain.  The food... not so good - we ended up at a great burger place later that night though.  We had such a fun time.  I am so glad that Brett was born.  He is a wonderful friend, husband and father.   

Soccer Shots

Ryan is in a little soccer group called Soccer Shots.  It is a soccer skills class that meets once a week.  He absolutely loves it.  He has really learned a lot and has come to love soccer.  He played Pee Wee through the city last year but didn't like the chaos of three year old " beehive ball".  He wanted to play " real soccer".  So, Soccer Shots was the perfect thing for him.  And his coach has a British accent.  How perfect is that?  Luke loves it too and likes to join in the fun.  I love watching them cheer at the end. That is my favorite part!  Go, Soccer Shots!

San Diego

We wanted to take the boys on a special little trip.  We surprised them and drove down to San Diego for the weekend.  The first stop was Sea World!  They loved it! The weather was a perfect 70 degrees and we were able to hit all the shows.  Brett's phone was being weird, so all of the pictures are blurry, but at least they will help us remember some things!

 Day two of our trip consisted of bike riding around Coronado Island and swimming at the hotel.  It was so fun to be with our sweet boys.  Ryan is ready to move to San Diego now because he loved it so much.  I wouldn't protest that at all!

Getaway

Brett and I got the chance to go on a pre-baby getaway in June.  It was so fun and a wonderful chance to spend some quality time together.  We went down to Dana Point.  Highlights included: relaxing, massages, a fun-filled surrey ride, walks and lots of eating! Thanks to mom and dad and Christie for taking on the boys for a few days!

On the surrey:

The best or most embarrassing part of riding in this thing was all of the looks we got from people driving in their cars.  I don't know how many couples without kids ride surreys... There weren't many places to ride, so we decided to go to 7-11 to get some drinks.  We parked our surrey right outside and had to cross a busy intersection to get there.  It was pretty funny.

Heading out to dinner

The following pictures are from my new favorite restaurant - ever.  Yes, ever.  Even out of all of our favorite NYC places. It was on a small, quiet street in historic San Juan Capistrano.  The setting was so cute, quaint and funky at the same time. The food was beautiful and so delicious.  I have never said " this is one of the best things I have ever eaten" nor have I had the desire to snap some pictures of my food until this place.  I am finding it funny that I am writing more about this place than the whole trip combined, but #1, I am pregnant and #2, it was a really great place.  Ramos House Cafe.  Only brunch is served on the weekends.  I recommend it!

 We had such a great weekend together. It was sure wonderful  to have some time just the two of us, but we missed our boys and found ourselves saying how they would have enjoyed some of the things we did.  I am so grateful for our marriage and the deep friendship and love we have for each other.  

Luke's Birthday Day

On Luke's actual birthday, Brett was gone so we spent the day down at the beach with my parents. Luke got a fun, new car from my parents, which he loved.  It was a fun way to celebrate a fun little boy!

The little two year old charmer

Ryan "surfing" on his board he got for Christmas. He was very serious about this.

Being silly on the ride home

Luke is TWO!

On June 26th, 2010 at 9pm my water broke.  I was not expecting it ( who is?) because I didn't go into labor with Ryan.  We quickly got everything ready to go, woke Ryan up and drove him to my parent's house.  As I left Ryan that night, I started to cry.  He was my whole world and I felt so bad that everything was going to change for him.  I was unsure how I would be able to love another baby as much as I loved Ry.  Little did I know... 

From birth, Luke has been happy and peaceful.  He makes people smile just by looking at him.  He is one special little boy and we have no problems loving him.  He bring so much joy to us and Ryan.  We can't imagine life without him!

His personality is really starting to shine now that he is two.  He know how to charm and can get most anything from me by looking at me with those beautiful blue eyes while he says " peas, momma?" He is talking quite a bit.  There are times when he tries to say something to me, but I can tell that he just doesn't have the words to express what he is thinking.  It will be fun to see those thoughts come out over this next year as he learns more and more! 

Things to Remember About Two Year Old Luke

1. He loves baseball.  He uses anything he can get his hands on as a ball and bat.  For example, a paci and a bowling pin.  It works.  He says, " Hey, batter, batter... swing!" And he can sing "Take me out to the Ballgame". He enjoys watching baseball on tv and especially at a stadium!

2. He is always on the go.  He runs fast and anywhere we go.

3. He is a pretty good eater.  Although he is quickly learning about the " good stuff".  His favorite foods are hot dogs and french fries!  Anytime we drive by In and Out or Chick-fil-a, he will point out that that is where french fries are.

4. He loves Ryan.  He is excited to see him each day and will copy anything he does.  He also loves Ryan's friends.

5.  He is super friendly.  He says hi to all the strangers and loves to give people high 5s then "bones" then a handshake... in that order.  Someone just taught him " spirit fingers", so that gets thrown in there too sometimes.

6.  He loves music and loves to dance.

7. He asks me every night to "nuggle" him.  I love it.  He says I love you, but is sounds like " I wub u".  He also calls me "omma" sometimes.  It is cute.

We just adore our little Luke!

End of Preschool

Ryan had a wonderful year of preschool this year!  We loved his teacher, Mrs. Sara.  He looked forward to learning and playing with his friends each week.  he really learned a lot.  By the end of the year, he could identify and write all of his letters and numbers. They did a cute performance the last day and celebrated those who were graduating.  Ryan will be back next year with Mrs. Sara... one more year until Kindergarten.  Good thing since this is the only picture I took of the last day!  I will get more next year!  Mrs. Sara said sweet things about each kid. I loved what she said about Ryan: she said she never had to remind him to be kind to others.  He was always nice and helpful to others in the class. 

So proud of my boy!

We Love Dad

When you marry someone, you don't really know what kind of parent they will be.  You can make reasonable guesses, but you don't really know until you are one.  For the last four and a half years, I have been counting my lucky stars at what a wonderful dad Brett is.  Our boys adore him.  They love to play and wrestle with him.  He is always making them laugh.  Especially right before bed.  I don't love that as much.  I love that he is a wonderful example of patience, kindness and integrity. We loved celebrating him yesterday, but he really deserves to be celebrated everyday!

Disneyland

We got Disneyland passes again!  I was so excited to take the boys and wanted to have a few trips with them before the new baby comes.  However, I was tempted to see if I could get my money back on that first day... Ryan just does not love it.  He does enjoy being at Disneyland and seeing the shows and characters, but try and get him on a ride... forget it.  

Here is Ryan on a teacup-type ride in Bug's Land.  I made him go on...

Nervous anticipation

Right after the ride finished.  Direct quote, " I HATED that ride.  Don't ever make me do that again!"

 But, what am I to expect.  He is my mini-me in many ways and i did not ride on Pirates until I was 9 years old and that was with extreme coaxing... Peter Pan had to give me a magic leaf to make me brave!  While is is frustrating, I still remember feeling what he is feeling...

We do have fun times.  Sometimes we go with great friends and sometimes we go solo so we can just do what Ryan feels comfortable doing.  It is fun to be able to run off to "the most magical place on earth" whenever we want to.  We are lucky.