Happy 2nd Birthday Ian!

Here's our little Ian on his 2nd birthday!



These are some of the guests at his birthday party.

This is what the end of a birthday week feels like at our household!
We love you SO much Ian!!!!!!!!!!

The Sign of a True Friend

I'm still working on getting Ian's 2nd birthday pics up, but in the meantime, I want to show you a live example of a servant-hearted man. Our family friend, Jer Jer, (he was named Jerry until Noah came on the scene), helped us set up for Ian's party, clean up and all the stuff in between. During the party, a large number of ants were discovered on the playset so Jer Jer sprung into action. A large number of children were playing around the area (some of them playing IN the ant area) so he wanted to remove the ants with the least amount of disturbance to the kiddos. So here he is, on his hands and knees, blowing ants off the playset--the very definition of a loyal friend.

Happy Father's Day!

I was watching the evening news (E News) and they shared that a recent poll named Brad Pitt, David Beckham and Matt Damon as the top dads. Clearly the pollsters have never seen my man with his children.
They've never seen Seth wake up at 5:30am, go to work all day, come home to play soccer, motorcycles, chase, then give the boys a bath, read a book and put them to bed, then go to bed and discuss with me how in love he is with those little men. They've never seen him laugh uncontrollably while Ian jumps on top of him, head butts him then slobbers relentlessly all over his face. It wasn't reported the 845 times that Seth walked out of Noah's room in tears after reading to him and having Noah tell him that he loves him. They didn't mention the 5,678 times that this previously late sleeper was woken up at 7am to the shrieks of little men, with only the response of, "I love you, boys." No headlines mentioned Seth's unending patience as the little guys, who want to be JUST LIKE him, weekly "mow" the lawn with him, even though it takes him twice as long as necessary. Not once did they take notice of all the meals provided, the laughs given, the hugs and kisses dispensed, the love immeasurable, unconfined, and endless, but we did. And, to further prove my point, for my babies' daddy, that is all he needs.

'Tis the Holiday Season

My friend, Emily, calls the period around her birthday, "The holiday season". This was Seth's holiday season with a week long celebration of his birthday (we still have a dinner tonight with Mitzi & Duane, then we celebrate him as Daddy on Sunday:>).

The birthday boy with his boys after Dita's delicious birthday dinner

Vest men: Kevin, Seth, Derek & Brad

Let me explain why all the men are wearing vests. When we (our college friend group) were in college we didn't go out to eat much and we stayed casual most of the time. On the rare occasion that we did go out to eat, our friend, Seth, would inevitably wear a sweater vest (think, early 90s cardigan), to dress up for the big eating out occasion. Beth (college friend) started calling them Seth's dinner vests. Brad (part of the college friend group) suggested that the guys surprise Seth at his birthday dinner by donning the dinner vests (provided by Brad--but sans the 90s look). When we showed up at the restaurant Seth sat down across from Kevin at dinner (without really looking at the whole table) and mockingly said to Kevin, "Oh, you're sporting the vest tonight." Then he realized the joke was on him when he looked at the other vesty boys. Then the vest was on him, when Christy (Brad's wife) presented him with his OWN sweater that she purchased half off at the Salvation Army. Also, please note the "sprigs of patriotism" (as quoted by Karen) that are included in the dinner vest picture--the Shiloh's restaurant classy decor.

Non-vesters: Christy, Jenni, Karen & Leslie

Separated at Birth?

I need your votes on this. Yesterday, while watching Looney Tunes, Ian shouted, "Uncle Stephen" when he saw Yosemite Sam. I'm keeping my opinion private until others have a chance to weigh in. Except for the blazin' guns, do you see the resemblance?


"Okay, which one is this?" -Ian

Your Next Vacation Destination?

Now, you may not believe Wichita to be a happening vacation spot, but if you are four and two and your Grandmom lives there, then it might as well be Bora Bora. Noah and Ian always learn many lessons at their favorite getaway...here are a few from our last visit:
1. Popcorn is not just sold at the movie theatre. You can also buy it at the grocery store.
2. Cats really, really will not be your friend if you yell, "Cat", at them at high decibels and chase them erratically.
3. "Mary Poppins" is incredible when you are four and aggravating when you are two.
4. Grandmoms are the best at reading stories, giving horsie rides, providing treats, and giving the best hugs (this was a repeat lesson).
Thanks, Grandmom, for being the real happiest place on earth!


Let's say that only one of us is getting what we want (to steer the tractor)

Fishy

This would be one of Noah's highlights from his first four years of life--fishing with Uncle Duane. Noah's very first cast (or if we're being picky, Duane's cast) brought him in a humongous catfish. It took around ten minutes for him to reel it in (or for Duane to finally bring it on in) and Noah was so proud. For the three hours we were there, Noah caught around ten fish. And after three hours, this is what Seth could catch from the stocked pond. Mitzi caught a HUGE one, plus some and I caught a couple little ones (with Duane's assistance, of course), but Ian wasn't so much interested in the fishing as he was swimming with the fish. He attempted many maneuvers to escape and jump in the water--the forward direct approach, stealthily crouching backwards, hurling himself towards the pond's direction and rolling down the hill. He was as unsuccessful as Seth's fishing prowess. Ian thoroughly enjoyed watching the worms and seeing how far the worms would stretch. We discontinued playing with the worms when he said, "gummy worms!" and tried to get the worm to make a beeline for his mouth. Again, unsuccessful, but still quite entertaining for Ian. Thanks Mitzi & Duane for being amazing fisher(wo)men and friends!