Last Fling Before The Ring

My sister Summer is getting married in July.
However, she’s living in Rexburg for the summer
so wedding planning in taking place via telephone and Skype.
Luckily, she was able to come home for a quick visit for our baby sister’s high school graduation.
We took advantage of her weekend home to throw her a bridal shower.

Hot pink and zebra.
These colors pretty much define Summer.
And how awesome is that pom pom background.
I made it myself.
I’m pretty impressive.

In an attempt to be more like my friend Jen,
I made water bottle labels.
Easier than I thought, and such a fun little touch!

My mom made the banner,
’cause she’s crafty like that.

The front entry table.   

Calli, Summer, and Me!
Calli and I worked together to put the shower together.
With tons of help from Mom, of course!
I’m very excited for the wedding and am looking forward to finally meeting her fiancé!

Just Keep Swimming

Last summer, Riker was completely content to sit in the pool.
Mainly because he couldn’t do much else.

 
I was hoping that this summer would be even more fun in the pool.
Last week, we put Riker in the swimming pool for the first time…
I put his swimsuit on,
lathered him in 70+ sunblock,
and covered his freshly buzzed head with a hat.

It started out pretty well.
The water was pretty chilly still,
but we started with just his feet in the water to get him used to it.

After that, TJ tried to swim around with him.
That did not go over so well…

 

He was NOT enjoying this experience at all.
I was worried that he would be traumatized.
That he would scream any time I tried to get him in the water.
Luckily, I had nothing to worry about.
We attempted to go swimming a few days later…
and he was much happier about it!

 

Of course, Riker also has the attention span of a…
well, of a 16 month old…
so after spending about 5 or 10 minutes in the pool,
he’s ready to get out and do something new.
But at least he’s willing to get in!

Buzzed

Riker's hair usually looks something like this:

Standing straight up.
Sticking out at all sorts of angles.
Pretty much a Cosmo Kramer look-alike.
Well, not anymore!
Summer time in AZ calls for a summer time hair cut!
Grandma pulled out her clippers and started buzzing away.

Riker has developed a tendency to be quite dramatic.
Based on the faces he was making during this hair cut,

you'd think we were torturing him.

For a brief moment, Riker had a mohawk.
TJ really wanted to keep it like this.
I really did not.
I won.

He looks older now.
And maybe a little bit like a cancer patient.
But he's still really really cute.
And his fuzzy head is fun to rub!

I Think We're Gonna Like It Here

We landed in AZ yesterday afternoon.
Riker did pretty good on the flight...
although, he refused to fall asleep at until our plane pulled up to the gate at Sky Harbor.
We immediately drove to Gecko Grill.
It was a necessary stop.
When we arrived at my mom's house, Riker was excited to get to play outside with his cousins.

Blue, sunny skies.
Lots of room to run around and explore.
Riker is pretty much in heaven.

Riker has been non-stop since we got here.
He's been running in and out of the house,
up and down the halls,
in and out of every room.
Getting a picture of him has been difficult.
But I managed to get one of him sitting somewhat still,
wearing his brand new shirt:

In case you can't read between the drool,
his shirt says "Big Brother."
Because that's what he is.
That's right, I am 11 weeks pregnant.
Due December 6, 2011.
Tired, nauseous, and completely thrilled!

Deja-Zoo!

Sometimes, the weather in Ohio is AMAZING
(most of the time, it is not…but sometimes it is!).
Today was one of those days!

With no clouds, a bright sun, and 71* weather,
we pulled on our shorts, grabbed our sunglasses, and headed to the zoo!
I’m telling ya, our zoo pass was the greatest purchase we’ve ever made!

 

And now, each time we go to the zoo, Riker gets to ride on the carousel.
Totally worth a buck to see him smiling as it turns ‘round and ‘round!

And this boy loves playing with his dad.
Any time TJ walks near Riker, Riker will immediately start running away because he thinks TJ is ready to play with him!
They spend a lot of time chasing each other back and forth.

 

Sunny days are always the best kinds of days.
Too bad it’s supposed to rain tomorrow…AGAIN!
(BUT…only 8 more sleeps until we head to AZ, land of sunshine and Mexican food!)

Mother’s Day

Once a year, we spend a day reflecting on Mothers.
I would like to honor my mother…
who loved me enough to make me a beautiful dress with puffy sleeves and fluff my bangs as high as they could possibly go.

That’s true love, my friends.
But seriously, despite the dated look of those dresses, imagine the time and talent behind each of those.
My mom has sewn a lot of dresses for us over the years, from church dresses to prom dresses to bridesmaid dresses.
That’s a lot of time and a lot of love.

And despite the fact that my bangs are sky-high,
and Jessica is rocking a mullet,
my mom took the time to do our hair.
She cut and she permed…
and eventually she started to color and highlight.
Did you know I once got in a fight defending my hair?
True story.
Boy: “Your hair is pretty…”
Me: “Thanks, my mom did it!”
Boy: “Ha, pretty ugly!”
So I kicked him.
No one mocks my mom’s hair-doing-skills and gets away with it!

Now that I’m a mom, I watch my son each day and hope that I’m raising him right.
Am I teaching him the right things?
Am I setting a good example?
Am I taking the time to laugh and play with him?
My mom set an amazing example for me.
She showed me how important the little acts of love are and how love can be shown in our every day actions.
A 15-month old can sometimes be a challenge, as we try to set boundaries and teach manners.
But I remember my mother’s example and I try  to teach, and sometimes discipline, with love.

“All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”-Abe Lincoln

Artsy Fartsy

Last week, everything in the Dollar Spot at Target was half off.
Half off a dollar is only 50 cents!
We bought a little truck and a bucket of chalk.

Saturday we were granted a reprieve from the non-stop rain,
so we headed outside to teach Riker how to color.

Turns out, he doesn’t really care.
Riker was much more interested in taking every piece out of the bucket.

TJ, on the other hand, felt the need to create.
So he started drawing on the wall.

It started raining again a few hours later, washing away TJ’s work of art.