Change.

I looked at this kid today and he grew right before my eyes. I watched him from the dinner table balloon fighting with his Daddy and I almost didn't recognize him. 

He's taller. He's leaner. His face is changing. 

His toddler years are fleeting and boyhood has arrived.

*sniff sniff*

Twopalooza.

The Birthday Breakfast of Champions:
Orange Pancakes (made with OJ rather than milk - try it - you'll never turn back)
Sausage
Blueberries

A beautiful morning spent at Neptune Park feeling like big kids and owning the playground.

Followed by a picnic lunch with Mrs.Debbie (she makes Tuesdays our favorite day of the week!).

When Daddy got home, it was time to par-tay and open presents (with some help from the big kids).

While the original plan was to personally decorate (with icing and piping and tips and what not) these 2 objects straight onto the cake, a last minute assessment of my talents revealed that I was thoroughly incapable of such. However, I was fully capable of cutting and pasting. Thus...Hello Kitty meets Helicopter - card stock style.

Wild Man blew out all 4 candles. Every time.  I lit them at least 10 times. Get 'em next year, Tiny Miss!

Welcome Terrible Two's!

Two for Two.

My wild, wild man...

Do you know how gorgeous you are? My head turns everyday when I see your fluffy blonde curls and beautiful blue eyes passing by.  You have grown so much in the last year. Your health has improved by leaps and bounds (excluding your last hospital stay!) and your personality is so much less strained because of it. We get to see your funny side and your silly side now which makes us all want to smoosh your cheeks with kisses. Which then leads to more giggles so it's a win-win!

You are so cute when you hear sirens: "Pawice Car!" No matter if it's police, ambulance, or fire truck, you light up and look for the "Pawice Car!" You hear airplanes and helicopters from inside our house and run to the window looking for them. One day, I do think you'll be flying one of those, Maverick.

Keep giving your big bear hugs. One day your twin sister will appreciate it. I know I do. 

I love you something fierce little man. Happy 2nd birthday.

Hey Tiny Miss.

Do you know you are a mess?  You sat back for a year while we tried to get your brother to stop screaming and now, little bit, you are making up for lost time! You are loud and you are in charge but you're the cutest little thing around. You know when you're being goofy and you make scrunchy silly faces that keep us rolling. You are a social butterfly (when you want to be) and people are drawn to you - always have been.

This year you fell in love with kitties and your favorite is "Meow" (aka Hello Kitty) and you get so giddy when you see Meow in stores or on t-shirts or even on your birthday cake. Lately you've added "ia" to the ends of words so we've become "Mommia" and "Daddia" and you'll tell us your "tummia" hurts or you can't find your "bunnia". Maybe you'll grow up to be an Italian veterinarian? 

I love your extreme independence and your necessity to have snuggle time. Such a perfect balance. 

I love you doodle bug. Stay little forever please. Happy 2nd birthday.

Savannah on my mind.

We took a short little trip to Savannah this weekend to attend a banquet for the President of the United States School Nutrition, aka my mother in law.  See how big-time she is? Only really important people make it to the big screen. I offered my skills at singing and interpretive dance but apparently she already had the banquet details worked out.

We had to take a ferry to get to the conference center so thankfully Aunt Laura came with us to make sure none of the kiddos fell off.

We made it through dinner and a few introductions and then they stuck a fork in it and were d.o.n.e. with sitting still.  So we bowed out a bit early to catch the ferry back.

My sweet lil punkin muffins.

Sisters. Now this pic will mess a mama up. I hope they don't ever plan on leaving for college because I've already made arrangements to have them home for the next 30 years.

The curls. The long dress and john john. The mary janes and saddle oxfords. The cutest near-2 year old twins I ever did know. Ironically, the only near-2 year old twins I ever did know.

Sanibel, O Sanibel, wherefore art thou Sanibel...

We are now real parents according to the Husb.  We planned, payed for, and executed a family vacation all by ourselves.  Husb said that made him feel like he's officially a father because that's what fathers do - they take their family on vacation.  I, on the other hand, felt like a legitimate mother 6 years ago when an 8 pound critter was pulled from my body and given to me to keep alive.  And the critter didn't even come with instructions, just a command of "Here. Take her."

But that's just silliness.  The real mark of a parent is in taking a vacay so I'm proud to say I am officially a mother now.

Whew.

As beautiful as the beaches of Sanibel Island were, some of my most favorite moments were made around this big circular table eating dinner together.  We ate the same type of foods we eat at home, we all ate together as we typically do at home, but everything about it was so not mundane.  The kids were giddy and everyone loved telling stories of sharks and crabs and pool noodles and puppies who ate seashells.  We even made yogurt parfaits in wine glasses and they thought that was the coolest perk to being on vacation. 

Our walkway from the condo to the beach was almost too easy.  No boardwalk, no stairs. Just a lovely brick pathway that landed right in the sand.

We dug a big hole the first day out and each day we would add to it making it bigger and bigger, even adding a staircase so Tiny Miss could walk down into it without face planting in the sand.  Since the sand near the ocean is fairly shelly, we smoothed out a "road" from the ocean to our hole and just made ourselves a little home away from home.  Can't even calculate how many hours were spent here. 

And on to more important news, my husband of 8 years is a stud muffin.

And I don't have to wonder where my stud muffin son got his stud muffiness from.

The Dynamic Duo went on a lot of "walks" together.  They felt so big stuff prancing around, chasing birds, riding waves and washing sea shells.  They had so much freedom they almost didn't know what to do with themselves.

Big Sis and I took an afternoon when everyone else was napping and it was a bit drizzly to go take pictures together.  She got a new camera for her birthday and wanted me to teach her how to be a photographer (shhhhhh, don't let her know I'm not really one because I won't be as cool as she thinks I am!).  She took some great shots and loved having this one on one time together (and so did I). 

These were some of the beautiful flowers we encountered on our photography walk. Everything was in full bloom and made for gorgeous surroundings to our complex. 

I was a little weepy packing up to come home because I really enjoyed the exclusiveness of the week.  Being far away from home and work and when the internet shut down for a couple of days, it was even better.


We've begun a tradition on a beautiful island 8 hours from home.  Cannot wait to experience 20 more years of this.

8 years and counting.

The 7 year itch is finally over.  And man did I ever itch.  Skritching and a scratching for 365 long days.  Benadryl just didn't do the trick.

But today.  Today is a new day.  Today, I have been married for 8 years and I can finally get some relief from all that itching last year.  Whew.

So my dear Husb...my gift to you this year is quite special.  It's a little something I whittled in my spare time and I think it would look great on your desk at work. That way, when all those ladies you work with walk by your office, they'll know you are a taken man.  By whom, who ask?

By your acrobat lover, of course.

(please tell me you just laughed your head off at that last line because I have tears streaming down my face typing that word combo!)

So here's to you, sweet Husb of mine!

For 8 years, you have...

     given more than you have received

          loved more than I knew you were capable of loving

               become a better and more amazing father with each day

                    grown more and more in strength, character and confidence
                      
                balanced a growing career, family and education with ease
        
          cheered me on in any and all new endeavors I want to pursue
  
     fought to keep our marriage the absolute number one priority
        
And I do believe I love you more today than I did 8 years ago. I am so ready for 8 more. Then college tuition. Another 8 more.  Paying for Celebrating marriages. Then another 8. Welcoming grandbabies. Then 8 + 8 + 8 more. Our nursing home days together. Can't wait for a lifetime of Bingo with my number one partner.

Happy Anniversary.