The McLeans and the Wonderful, Amazing, Not Bad, Very Good Day!

Some days just warrant recording.  Some day are so good that you have to write down the details because you don't want to forget them.  Some details you need to savor so in 20 years you can recount them and remember how you felt when you were there.  Today was one of those days.

It started like most of our weekends start.  Chris woke up early and took the dogs to the park to play ball.  He came come and I was up and dressed in running clothes, waiting for the boys to wake up.  Once we heard Brody ping us with an "UHHH", we knew they were up and waiting for us to come and rescue them from their cribs.  Chris went to get the boys and I left to run to the farmers' market. 

I ran the three miles to the market, enjoying the quite streets, enjoying the crisp weather, enjoying the alone time and enjoying a rare break from having to change or dress the boys!  When I arrived at the farmers' market, I grabbed an iced coffee and made my way to the parking lot to find my family.  Chris was just arriving with the boys and unloading them into the stroller.  He had dressed them in really cute outfits (of which I have no pictures) of coordinating stripped shirts, khaki shorts and their hipster shoes.  I always enjoy seeing what he decides to put them in since I tend to be the one who picks out their clothes.

We shopped for our meat and produce and enjoyed the music, the weather and the people.  When we were all finished, we go back in the car and decided to head to REI to check out their store brand balance bike.  We are in the market for bikes for the boys and wanted to try some out to see which ones were going to be a good fit.

The boys love REI.  We tend to let them terrorize the place when we go, running up and down isles and touching as many things as they can before we shoo them to the next interesting item.  This time was no different.  Brady was immediately mesmerized by the bike selection, especially the ones hanging form the ceiling.  We put the boys on the balance bike but they were way too big.  We let them run around and then herded them up to head home.

 "what do you mean this bike is too big!"

Once home, we ate lunch and then decided to head to the beach.  We got ready, placed a few things in a bag, and left right before nap time in the hopes that the boys would sleep in the car on the 40 minute drive over the hill.  We were 50% right and Brody took a nice snooze while Brady pretty much talked and demanded that I read to him the whole time.  Once we got to Half Moon bay, we grabbed some coffee and some snacks and then went to the beach!

The boys LOVE playing in the sand.  It was cold and windy and they hardly noticed.  They like to run around and play in the little tide pools that exist along the rock walls.  The love to see the birds and kites flying overhead.  The beach is hardly crowded so if the boys want to take off and run, they have no shortage of space.  It is truly great!

We played hard, letting them splash and run and throw sand and expend all sorts of energy.  After they were sufficiently dirty, wet and cold, we stripped them down, wrapped Brady in Chris's sweat shirt and Brody in a towel and carried them off the beach.  We changed them and the had a picnic in the car.  The boys devoured multiple slices of cheese and fruit and could not stop giggling and laughing because they were in the front of the car.

After our picnic, we strapped the boys down and left town.  They immediately fell asleep and Chris and I decided we were not ready to go home and end our day.  I started googling to see what stores carried balance bikes and we headed to a fantastic toy store just West of where we live.  We tried out some bikes and settled on two that were awesome.  They fit the boys perfectly and did not seem to heavy for the boys to manipulate.  We bought two and headed out to dinner. 

Very close to the toy store, there is a great hamburger place that uses all natural products to make their food.  We all ate burgers and the boys tried their first french fries and sweet potato fries.  I can't say they were too impressed with either but it was still a treat to eat out and have someone else have to clean the floor ;)

After having filled up on food and adventure, we headed home.  Chris put the boys bikes together and the boys tried riding them around the living room.  We bathed them and put them to bed with smiles on their faces and on ours.

Not every day is like this, but I cherish the ones that are.This particular day happenes to be one that I want to remember forever.

First Haircuts

After waiting as long as we could stand, we decided to cut the boys' hair.  Chris asked me why I wanted to cut their hair so badly since it was only a little unruly and not as bad as it could be before their first real hair cut.  I told him that I feel like I am always walking around half dressed with stains on my clothes and crap falling out of my diaper bag.  I want at least one thing to look groomed when we leave the house so I do not look like a complete basket case all the time!  Thankfully, he understood.

Before the first hair cuts thought, we headed to the park for some play (and one last round of shaggy hair photos!)

The befores:

 The during:

 (my favorite moments were when Brody's hair first got cut he gave the guy a dirty look.  And as the hair fell on him, he picked it up and handed it back to the guy.  So funny.)

 (Brady was pretty easy going about the whole thing.  He just played with a toy while the guy worked his magic).

The afters:

Still handsome.  phew!

Month 16: Visitors!

This month we were lucky enough to have the McLeans come to visit.  The boys LOVED having their grandparents here to play with them.  In fact, they loved it so much that they would even wake up in the middle of the night and demand to go into the living room just to see if they were still sitting on the couch waiting to play with them!  In addition to lots of fun, snuggles and playing, we also got a killer cold that took down Brody, me, and Brady in that order.  Thankfully we had lots of extra helping hands to nurse everyone back to health!  Despite sniffles, we managed to salvage one day of sight seeing.  We went to Half Moon Bay, drove through San Fran and headed to Sausalito.  We really crammed in lots of great sights in one short trip!

 Love this!!!

And last, I have this hysterical collage of Brody faces.  I'm not even sure how I caught these in succession, but this makes me laugh so hard. I may frame it and put it someplace just to make me smile. I also love that Brady is just sitting in the background clearly eating sand.  Classic.