Craftsman in the Making

We went to Lowes this morning, and they were having one of their kid's build-it workshops. Today's craft was a fire truck. We knew Andrew would have to do most of the work, but we also knew Joshua would love the finished product. Joshua did a great job helping Daddy with the hammer and nails, but he'll probably enjoy it more once he's a little older. I'm sure we'll be taking him back for future workshops. I took some pics of my boys at work. I tried to get Joshua to wear his little Lowes apron, but he wasn't having it. The truck kit was missing the ladder portion, so this fire truck can only work at ground level ; )

All Tangled Up

Joshua had a little too much fun playing with Great-Grandma's yarn...

Just Like Daddy

I think someone has been watching how Daddy finishes off his cereal...

Blech!

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say she didn't like last night's dinner:

Dance Lesson

Joshua gave Makayla a lesson in dancing:

Blanket Head

Joshua's use of his green monkey blanket cracks me up. Every night I turn off his fan before bed, and I find the blanket wrapped only around his head. I love his little quirks!

Sick Cuddle Bugs

We've got sick kiddos over here. As hard as it sometimes is to deal with sick kids who don't feel good, I do love the fact that they like the extra cuddling.

Trash Day

Joshua loves seeing the garbage trucks on trash day! The truck driver even pulled his horn for us this morning, in which Joshua responded with a loud, "Wow!"

Trucks, trucks, and more trucks

Joshua had a wonderful 2nd birthday! As with his first birthday, he was spoiled by having both sets of grandparents, as well as his sister, Aunt Megan, Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Rahe, Great-Grandma Padilla, and Great-Aunt Kathy. What a special day!

We started the day off with Mickey pancakes, and Mickey Mouse even made a personal phone call to Joshua to wish him a happy birthday!

What a ham!

Joshua's birthday celebration consisted of trucks, trucks, and more trucks. My dad knows someone who works for a road machinery company, so he arranged for us to take Joshua to look at some trucks. He loved looking at the trucks, as well as getting in them. I'd say the guys had just as much fun on the field trip!

Isn't he cute in his construction vest?!

I love this picture of my two guys!

Looking at trucks is exhausting!

After lunch at Paradise Bakery, and a long pre-party nap, we headed to my parent's house for Joshua's birthday party...

All those presents for one boy, and 75% of them were truck-related.

My mom, Andrew's mom, and I had a blast making the truck cake!

That smile made it all worth it!

I'm Two!!!

Our little man is two!!! I feel like someone hit the light switch, and he grew up exponentially over the last few weeks. He is maturing, and has somewhat lost that baby face. I put jeans on him a couple of days ago, and for some reason it made him look that much older. As Andrew put it recently, "Has anyone discovered a way to stop time yet?" I have always heard about the terrible two's, but nobody told me that the two's would also mean losing my baby to a little man. It's sad, and yet also exciting. We are having so much fun with Joshua as he daily learns new things. He is more independent, more social, more tender towards his sister, his vocabulary is exploding, as is his understanding of the world around him. So, as we say farewell to the once dependent baby, we welcome a blossoming young boy who continues to bless our lives with his sweet personality. PS: Has anyone discovered a way to stop time yet?

FAVORITES:

1. Favorite Words/Sayings: "Big Truck", "Wow!", "Uh-oh", "Bye-Bye" (to both people and inanimate objects)
2. Favorite Things: anything truck related, books, his sleep-sack blanket (he doesn't wear it, but loves to snuggle with it)
3. Favorite Shows: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Chuggington, Doc McStuffins, Dora
4. Favorite Foods: Pizza, Fruit, Veggies, Pasta, Greek Yogurt, Goldfish crackers, Cheerios, Ice Cream
5. Favorite Places: Zoo, park, walks, anywhere with trucks, Grandma and Grandpa's, Keva - Frozen Yogurt 

STATS:

• 30.5 pounds (75th percentile)
• 34.5 inches (50th percentile)
• 14 teeth (8 on top, 6 on bottom - doctor predicts there won't be enough room for all those chompers...hello orthodontic bills!)
• shoe size: 6
• wearing 2T

UL: Birth, UR: 6 Months, LL: One Year, LR: 2 Years

Pool Bust

We had this grand idea of taking everyone to the local pool that features slides and water features for kids. We put on our bathing suits, packed the towels and other necessities for taking two young kids to the pool, and loaded up the van. My thought upon pulling into the parking lot: "The parking lot is really empty. This is going to be great!" And then all of our bubbles were burst as we found out that they were no longer offering recreational pool time during the week (hence the empty parking lot). Ugh! A quick search of all of the local pools revealed that all of them had closed after Labor Day. Seriously? The temperatures are in the 90's, and you're shutting down the pools? I was determined to get those kids into a pool, so we pulled out our little pool and set it up in the backyard. The kids had fun, and the adults oohed and ahhed with cameras in hand. Joshua's latest act of endearment towards Makayla is to dump water over her head (usually during bath time)...such a nice big brother.

Park

Joshua used to freak out if I took him anywhere near the park equipment, but now he can't get enough of it. He is turning into quite the little monkey, challenging himself daily with new obstacles. I was pretty impressed with his ability to climb up the tunnel slide. I'm so proud of my little guy! And, Makayla...well, she is the cutest hat-wearing baby I know!

Visitors

This past week was full of visitors. Andrew's parents left San Jose to spend the past week with us. Andrew's college roommate, David, came from Los Angeles to join us for the weekend. Finally, my grandparents came up from Hobbs for Joshua's birthday celebration. It was a fun week, and lots of great memories were made. Needless to say, we are now in recovery mode as we try and get back to life without the help of Grandma and Grandpa, as well as a normal 40-hour work week. Excuse me while I fill up my coffee mug...again...