10 Months

Isn’t she seriously the cutest 10 month old ever!?
Even with her crazy hair?!
I just keep hoping that her hair will soon grow long enough that it either lays down on its own or can fit into pigtails…because seriously, that hair is out of control.

Facts and tidbits about Olivia at 10 months old:
*7 teeth…4 on top, 3 on bottom
*too chicken to stand solo for more than 2 seconds
*walks along furniture/walls/whatever like a pro
*says Mama and baba, but will never perform on demand
*claps without abandon
*attempts to wave on occasion, but never when I ask her to
*smiles more for her daddy than for her mommy
*has perfected the fake whine, with accompanying “pathetic” face and will do this whenever she wants something but cannot communicate to you what that something is
*still sleeps like a champ and will take 2-3 naps per day and sleeps 12+ hours at night uninterrupted
*eats pretty much whatever she is given, be it bottle, jarred baby food, or “people food” off our plates (though she didn’t seem to care for the steamed broccoli TJ offered her the other day)
*at her 9 month check up, she was around 75% for height and 25% for weight (so very different from her brother!)…she’s currently wearing 9-12 month clothing, mainly 12mo tops and 9mo bottoms

Olivia is generally a happy baby.
Always smiling, often just chattering away to whomever will listen to her.
But sometimes, like when I try to get her to sit still for 2 minutes so I can take a picture of her, this happens:

But hey, it’s her 10 month birthday and she can cry if she wants to.
(she’s still cute, though…even when in hysterics)

Arizona Museum of Natural History

Thanks to Free Museum Day, we had a chance to check out the Arizona Museum of Natural History.
I’ve lived all my life (minus a three year stint in Ohio) and I’ve never been to this museum.
After Riker spent most of the day yesterday pretending to be a dinosaur, I knew this museum was a perfect choice.

Of course, we didn’t learn too much at the museum…
Riker was non-stop and just wanted to run from one exhibit to the next.
We saw dinosaurs, Native American artifacts, Spanish armor, and even had a chance to pan for gold and dig up some dinosaur bones!
All in all, a great day!

Gilbert Constitution Fair

This week was Constitution Week in Gilbert, celebrating the US Constitution.
TJ volunteered at the fair, teaching people about the Boston Tea Party, boston massacre, Paul revere, and the battle at bunker hill, and was given a fabulous outfit to wear!

Complete with a wig!
Riker thought it was so silly that daddy had long hair like mommy!

While TJ was talking to all the people, Riker, Olivia, and I got to explore the fair.
There were several booths set up with kid games…Riker’s favorite was “fishing”. We visited this booth a LOT!

And no fair is complete without getting your face painted.
Riker was a little unsure at first…

But he was so excited to have a flag on his cheek.
It, of course, did not last too long before he smeared it all over. But since it was on his cheek, he was oblivious to the mess.

Every time Riker got a cool prize at one of the booths, we headed back over to TJ’s area to show it to him.
TJ was usually surrounded by a crowd of people, listening to his spiel about history…his throat is pretty sore!

One of Riker’s favorite parts of the fair was seeing the old helicopter.
He was able to wear a helmet and hold a real (completely NOT loaded!) gun.

This kid was seriously in heaven all night long.
Being able to run around, eat a million tootsie rolls, and get a balloon sword is pretty much his idea of a perfect evening!

Plus, he got tattoos!
I’m sure I will regret putting these on him tomorrow morning when it’s time to go to church…but his smile kind of makes it worth it.

Overall, our time at the Constitution Fair was a blast.
TJ loved getting to talk about history all night and Riker loved playing outside all night!

Oh, and Olivia was there too.
She was ready for a nap the moment we got to the fair…so she just kind of zoned out in the stroller all night.
She was content to just be outside, watching riker run around, and chewing on her sippy cup (because drinking out of a sippy cup is for suckers!).
but here’s a photo to prove that she was there:

Conversations with a 2-Year old

(After a quick stop at Sonic for a much needed Vanilla Diet Coke)
Riker: Mom, Jesus doesn’t want us to drink soda.
Lisa: Well, its okay for mommies and daddies to drink soda sometimes.
Riker: No, Jesus doesn’t want us to drink soda and we have to OBEY him!

(We literally have this conversation every time I turn right at a red light)
Riker: Mom! Red means stop! You have to stop!
Lisa: Its okay, Riker…sometimes its okay to go when the light is red.
Riker: NO! Red means stop, green means go!

(every time I try to get Riker to eat his carrots at dinner)
Riker: Carrots are for bunnies. I’m not a bunny, I’m a big boy!

Date Knight

Once upon a time, I had one kid…Just Riker.
And when it was just me and Riker, we had all sorts of fun together. Lots of mother-son bonding time because there was no one else I needed to share my attention.
But then one day, Olivia showed up and started demanding some of that attention (which I happily give her because she’s so darn cute!).
And for the last 9 months, all of our activities and adventures and fun have included mom and Riker and Olivia…And for the last 9 months, Riker and I have had almost zero mommy-son bonding time.
Sure, we have moments here and there when Olivia is napping that the two of us can play together…but I wanted more. so When a friend told me about Chick-Fil-A’s Mother/Son “Date Knight”, I immediately signed up.

So tonight, we got ready to go on a date with just Mommy and Riker.

I wasn’t sure what to expect since I’d never been to one of Chick-Fil-A’s events, but I was amazed at all the effort they put into the evening.
The theme was “Date Knight” so the whole restaurant was decorated like a medieval castle.

We colored shields and talked about dragons and knights and rescuing princesses while we munched on our chicken nuggets.
(and seriously, I heart the nugs at CFA…so good)

All of the employees were dressed as knights and maidens.
And there was a juggler (wearing extremely tight spandex pants!)…he juggled balls, glowing sticks, and even FIRE!

What amazed me the most was the pony rides out in the parking lot!
Riker was pretty nervous on his first ride…after walking around the circle only halfway, he told me he was done!

But after playing in the play place with friends for a while, he was ready to go ride the horse again.
All fear was gone and he went for 2 more rides (and wanted to go more!).

So a huge thank you to Chick-Fil-A for providing such a wonderful family event.
It was so fun to get to hang out with my little buddy again, without having to hold/wrestle/bounce/rock/feed/soothe an active baby sister!
(I forgot how easy just one kid could be!)

Whoever Invented Splash Pads Is A Genius

We went to the splash pad yesterday.
And it made me wonder…
”Why don’t we go to the splash pad every day?”

Olivia loves to crawl around and get splashed by the water.
Riker loves running around, sticking his face in the fountains, and playing with friends.
and I get to sit in the shade, sipping a DC, watching my kiddos happily play.
I think my new goal will be to see how many times we can visit the splash pad before it cools down
(and since we live in AZ, I still have at least another month!)
so if you want to meet up at the splash pad, just let me know!

9 Months

Happy 9 months to my baby girl!
I know I’ve said this before but I’m gonna say it again…
she is the happiest little baby in the entire world.

Facts and tidbits about Olivia at 9 months:
*4 teeth, working on a fifth right now.
*walks along furniture and will push her walker around, but too chicken to stand up on her own
*very vocal, constantly making noises, but no real words yet
*eating stage 3 foods, but prefers to eat whatever I’m trying to eat
*bounces/dances when she’s happy, especially first thing in the morning when I get her out of her crib
*her favorite toy is whatever Riker is playing with
*she loves to be active and moving around…which means she hates diaper changes, sitting in her car seat, or being held for long periods of time.

I love all 18 pounds 10 ounces of this squishy bug!

Conversations with a 2-Year Old

After my recent birthday, Riker is obsessed with when his next birthday is…and ever since I told him that on his next birthday, he will be 3, he thinks that he is already 3. for example:
R: can I have a tootsie roll?
ME: sure, you can have 2 because you are two years old.
r: No I’m not…today I’m three so I can have three tootsie rolls.

After being scolded for jumping off of the kitchen chairs:
R: But I’m a bird, mom…a bird has to fly!

At an event for Kirk Adams, we heard TJ over the speakers, speaking to the crowd:
R: (gasp!) That’s my father! Where are you father!?

While walking around the house in his undies, carrying his laptop, barn full of animals, and flip flops.
R: I’m going to go find dad at work…I need to see him.
Me: Okay, have fun, I love you, be safe!
R: I’m not pretending MOM! Goodbye!

life with a 2 year old is never dull.

Parks vs. Politics

TJ works in politics and, in case you’ve been living under a rock, the elections are coming up and are pretty important.
This means TJ has been working a lot lately, which means we don’t get to see him nearly as much as we want to.
And because its hot and we live in a small apartment, the kids and I tend to get pretty sick of each other by the afternoon.
So when Riker woke up from his nap after only 45 minutes (as opposed to his typical 2+ hour naps), I knew we needed to get out of the house to preserve all of our sanity.
Lucky for us, it was very overcast today and relatively cool.
(Note: “relatively cool” during the summer in AZ is anything under 100 degrees…I think it was around 95 with a slight breeze today!)

We drove down the road to Freestone Park.
I always loved this park as a kid. I have many memories of cruising around on my roller blades, ice blocking down the hills, and feeding the ducks.

Riker was loving the freedom of being able to run around outside.
This boy thrives when he is outside and could care less what the weather is like.

Of course, Olivia’s favorite was the swings.
I think we stuck her in a swing once when she was about 3 or 4 months old, but this was her first TRUE swinging experience.
And by the look on her face, she was in heaven!

And her swinging experience was only improved when she saw her brother swinging right along side her!

Bliss.
The smiles and giggles coming from this little girl made the entire trip worthwhile.

Once he was done swinging, Riker was crawling up and down, over and under, around and through.
He is definitely all boy and loves to see how high he can climb and how far he can jump.
Of course, once his hands are dirty he needs to stop and wipe them off…I just need to teach him that a little dirt won’t hurt!

My favorite part was probably watching Riker run down the hills.
He’d start out pretty fast, realize that he was going too fast, attempt to slow himself down, and inevitably tumble and roll down the hill.
I never felt bad about laughing as he tumbled because he was laughing right along with me.

Being a mom isn’t always the easiest gig.
And until this political season is over, the long long days are left to just me.
Some days, alright MOST days, I look forward to nap times and bed times.
But I am so grateful to get to spend my days with these two adorable kids.
And I’m SO looking forward to more cool days so we can have more adventures at the park!
And I’m so looking forward to the elections being over so we can include TJ in some of our adventures!

Ghosts of Birthdays Past

Tomorrow is my birthday.
I’m not posting this to make you feel bad for not buying me a present.
I’m posting this because I was sitting here thinking about how OLD this birthday is making me feel.
You guys, I’m going to be 27 in like 3 hours.
27 seems really old to me.
So as I sat here reflecting on how old I am, I was thinking about my past birthdays.

Birthday #18.
This birthday was epic.
And not the good kind of epic.
18th birthdays are kind of a big deal, right?
18. Adulthood. Major.
Guys, my then-boyfriend bought me a jar of jelly for my birthday.
Grape jelly.
Oh yeah, and a pool noodle.
They were supposed to represent inside jokes, neither of which I ever found funny, but you’d think for my 18th birthday he would get me something more than grape jelly and a pool noodle.
To make matters worse, he didn’t even take me out for my birthday.
He had “plans” with his family.
Needless to say, I dumped him the next day.
BUT…the above picture does show exactly how I celebrated my 18th birthday.
My mom and sisters came to the rescue and took me to dinner.
Mexican food, a sombrero, and a mariachi band.
Epic.

Birthday #19.
Also known as, one of my favorite birthdays EVER.
Turning 19 is almost as important as turning 18.
Your 19th birthday means that it is your last year to be a teenager, to be stupid, to have fun.
And oh what fun was had.
My uncle handed me the keys to his San Diego beach house, so I loaded up my car with my two best friends and we spent a week laying on the beach.
Talk about the perfect way to spend a birthday.
We lived off ham and cheese sandwiches, cold cereal, and Taco Surf burritos (oh the joys of a teenage metabolism!).
Definitely one of my favorite birthdays.

Birthday #20.
This birthday was seriously so much fun.
My dear friend Sarah called everyone we knew, literally everyone that we had ever hung out with, and planned a big dinner at Red Robin.
I think we took up over half the seating at Red Robin.
Oh, and the best part was the cameras.
Sarah had bought like 10 disposable cameras and left them on all the tables…I have a box full of pictures from that night, which are so much fun to go through.
However, I must confess, I don’t remember like half the peoples names anymore.
The night ended with karaoke. Any night that ends with karaoke is a good night.

Birthday #25
If you haven’t seen all the pictures from my fabulous 80s birthday party, you must go here.
I threw this party for 2 reasons:
1. I really wanted a totally rad birthday party.
2. I really needed to make some friends in Ohio.
Reason #2 was actually the biggest reason for the party.
I branched out a bit and invited a few people that I didn’t know very well yet, but really wanted to befriend.
And let me tell you, I’m oh so glad that I did.
One of my dearest friends for life came to this birthday party…we really hadn’t talked much at all to each other prior to this, but after this party we became bosom buddies (holla Jen!).
Also, Riker wore a Run DMC onesie and a mustache.
Win.

Birthday #26.
I wanted to cry when I walked outside that day.
My favorite friends had heart attacked my door with the sweetest notes and made my walkway the cheeriest one in the neighborhood.
No big party was had for this birthday, just cake and ice cream with a few close friends, but the loveliness I found outside made this birthday oh so special.

So now, in about 3 hours, it will be birthday #27.
I’m not sure why, but this is a hard number for me to accept.
26 wasn’t too bad because it was just barely a year past 25.
But 27 means almost 30.
Thinking back on all of these birthdays, I can still remember them so vividly.
I can’t be turning 27 because it was just yesterday that I turned 18, 19, 20.
Aside from the metabolism, there is no way I’d ever want to be 19 years old again though.
I have an incredible husband and two of the greatest kids ever to be born.
So here’s to embracing 27 and all that it brings!