Two Wheelin'

I have been meaning on getting Brody up on two wheels for some time now.  He was really good on his strider and could go long periods of time balancing on two wheels.  After a few months on his tricycle, I could tell he was ready for a new challenge.  Travel, pneumonia (poor kid) and me trying to wait for Chris to be around for bike riding kept pushing the time line back.  Finally I decided not to wait any longer and I took the boys to the park after picking them up from school.

Knowing the boys' personalities, I figured Brody would be game to try no training wheels without any convincing but Brady would need some coaxing.  I also figured it wouldn't work out well for any of us if both boys wanted to try two wheelin' at the same time.  That being said, I still wanted Brady to have a mile stone he could be proud of so we decided that Brody would try removing his training wheels and Brady would try riding with his training wheels lifted by an inch or so.

Since both boys were on balance bikes until December when they got their "big boy bikes" it was pretty easy for Brody to remember what to do.  I removed the training wheels, told him to start riding and within seconds he was balancing and riding by himself.  I may have been more shocked than he was because I had been expecting it to take longer than that!  He had absolutely no problem balancing but he did have a terrible time steering.  I was running next to him and had to grab him time and time again before he steered into benches, picnic tables, off stairs, etc.  The park we were at had relatively few obstacles, or so I though, until Brody steered into every single one of them.  In an effort to end on a high note, I got the idea to grab a big stick and draw a very long time in the dirt trail.  For the last few minutes we played "stay as close to the line as you can".  Both boys did pretty great and we left feeling very proud of ourselves.

The next morning at 6:30 the very first thing of of Brody's mouth was "Mom, can I ride my two wheeler?".  I had plans for us to go to the park again later in the day and when we got there, Brody hopped on his bike and took off.  He was noticeably better at steering, almost as if he had been working on it in his sleep (I know consolidation is a thing, but it amazing to see it happen in real life)!  He "got it" and by the end of our play date he was a fully capable bike rider.  Once the newness of Brody's move to two wheels has worn off, it will be Brady's turn!

Side funny story: We were riding with our best buddies who are triplets.  Seeing 5 four year olds on bikes is really quite a sight.  A father and son biking duo road by and the dad asked me in a hopefull tone, "Is this a toddler bike club?!".  I laughed and told him it was just a set of triplets and a set of twins riding together and he laughed but was disappointed.  I guess we do look like a club or gang whenever we go anywhere!

Easter 2016

We had a fun Easter filled with jelly beans, bow ties and lots of eggs!  The easter bunny hid tons of eggs around the house and the boys had a blast finding them and trading their contents.  The bunny got smart this year and only put two jelly beans in each egg and the boys were sweet enough to share with each other.  They were quick to hand me every sticker they found... I am guessing they were not as valued as the jelly beans and bunny cookies!

After our hunt the boys played with the toys they got and we drank coffee and watched them.  Aunt Kathy showed up a bit later and we headed out for brunch.  After a great breakfast, we picked up the dogs and bike and went up the elementary school.  The kids were happy to speed along on their bikes and the dogs were happy to be able to run free for a little bit and play with their doggie cousin.  It was a very nice, very low key easter!

It is hard to tell from this picture, but Hank looks absolutely crazed when he runs.  He is like some kind of cartoon.  If I could draw, I would make a whole set of children's books using this dogs face!

(Sorry boys, your mom overexposed our family picture and used black and white to try and cover it up.  Thanks for smiling so nicely and being good sports, it won't happen again!)

Our first camping trip! Big Sur Camping 2016

We officially dominated our first family camping trip.  Given the tremendous build up including a reservation made several months in advance (not my style), and stories for the boys describing s'mores and other wonderful things about camping, you would have thought we would have been more prepared for our trip.  But alas, prepared is not our style.

The original plan was to camp for two nights but a rain storm blew in Friday morning so the rain combined with some complications from Hank's neutering surgery made us decide to stay just one night instead. We were supposed to leave on Friday, but as of Wednesday we still did not have a tent or sleeping bags, two necessities for camping.  Thanks to Google express and Costco, all of our camping gear showed up on our doorstep on Thursday morning (Google express is amazing BTW, if it comes to your area, sign up, it will save you so much errand running).

We packed the truck, hit the grocery store for some food and headed down to Big Sur.  For some reason the boys insisted on wearing specific hats for our camping trip.  Brady thought Mickey ears were the most appropriate and Brody went with a wizard hat.  They also insisted on bringing their elephants instead of pillows.  Rock on with your bad selves, boys!

It is a very reasonable drive from our house to Big Sur so we arrive fresh and ready for the woods (and beach).  The camp site was awesome and we were camping with three other great families.  We set up our tent while the kids played together and set off for a hike.  We opted to find a dog friendly hike so the four of us headed to Pzfiefer State beach, a hidden gem on the Big Sur Coastline.  Purple sand, giant rock formations and cypress trees make this spot a must see!  We hung out and played at the beach for awhile and then headed back to the camp site.  We also let the dogs swim in the river right next our campsite and the Hank had his first swim!  He liked it, we think.   We cooked dinner while the kids all played together and repeatedly (seemingly EMOM (every minute on the minute)) asked for s'mores.  Once the s'mores supplies came out, the boys dove in head-first to their first s'mores experience.  It is a no brainier and they loved it!

Somebody was very pleased that he snuck into my picture!

We got the kids ready for sleep and I laid in the tent with them to try and get them to settle down.  They were so amazed that we were sleeping outside, so much so that just when they were almost asleep (or so I thought) Brady yelled out into the darkness "I can't believe we get to sleep on the ground!".  It was so cute.  Unbeknownst to me, Hank was also trying to hunker down for the night next to the fire with Chris and the other grown-ups.  He kept trying to crawl into the camp chair but it would tip as soon as he climbed up.  Chris let him into the tent with us and he promptly laid on the air mattress right between the kids and passed out.  I think our littlest baby was just as excited and Brady and Brody that we were all sleeping on the floor together!!

The night was, well, let's just say it was a night to remember.  Not long after crawling into the tent, it started to rain.  The rain turned to pouring rain and that's what we heard all.night.long.  About two hours into sleeping, I could hear Brady tossing, turing and grunting, basically doing what I call "angry sleeping". I grabbed him and snuggled him close so he would warm up and that settled him down but it kept me wide awake the rest of the night.  I felt like I woke up 1 million times and everyone time I opened my eyes all I could think was "why the heck isn't it light yet.  Please please please let dawn break".  At one point I woke up with Brady's fingers in my eye socket and Hank's face/droopy lips plastered up against mine.  Again, it was still dark and all I could do was try and go back to sleep.  Finally, I could not take it anymore and I had to go to the bathroom.  My rustling woke everyone else up and we were all awake and partying inside the tent at 6 am (foreshadowing: it was 6 am according to my watch).  Now, under normal circumstances, it would have been light at 6 and  I could not figure out why it was still so darn dark.  I kept thinking "man, this is some storm that is creating this much cloud cover".  Fast forward a couple of hours and we realized it was Daylight Savings weekend!  The clocks changed overnight and we did not know!  Chris actually said (before he knew the clocks changed) "the only hours I slept were from 1-3.  I Never saw 2 am for whatever reason"...  now we know why!!!  What a fantastic night to lose an hour!

As soon as we had enough light, we broke down the tent and got ready to go.  We had a blast but when the tiredness set in, I wanted to be on our way home.  We had breakfast with our friends and the kids played in the rain.  When the moment was right, we said our goodbyes, hoped into the truck and drove back up the coast.  It was a totally wonderful time and I am looking forward to doing it again.  Chris has many many happy childhood memories that come from camping with his cousins.  I think the boys are going to have just as much fun camping with friends and family and generating similar memories!

Midwest Vacation: February 2016

We were overdue for a trip to the Midwest to visit our larger and ever growing family!  To show our rookie parenting skills, Chris booked the trip for a week in February straddling Presidents weekend.  After calling me to tell me that he booked a trip to the Midwest, it occurred to both of us that the kids had a February vacation (known as 'ski week' in California, how funny) that did not coincide with the weeks we were supposed to be away.  Chris hung up with me and called the airlines. After some shifting we had all new flights and a vacation that coincided with  a week of no school for the boys!  Score!

We arrived in Michigan at the start of what was an incredible cold snap and it was very very chilly!  It was a shock for our California bodies but it was also fun to have some extreme weather to deal with.

On our first full day in Michigan, we headed over to the sledding hill in the park near the McLean's house.  The hill was perfect for the boys.  Unlike the hill in Tahoe where Chris and I had to be the brake for the boys while they loaded onto the sleds, this hill was flattish at the top and the boys were able to sit and start themselves.  We lasted maybe 40 minutes in the bitter cold and it was so fun!  Hot chocolate, painting, play dough and coloring filled the rest of our indoor time.  We also had a great visit with baby Isaac and the rest of the family for a wonderful family dinner that Granny put together.

On Valentines Day we played with the Clark Trio and Chris and I had a romantic date in Ann Arbor.  It was bitterly cold but we had fun roaming around the dark cold streets feeling footloss and fancy free!

Chris headed back to work after a great weekend of fun but the boys and I stayed to play with Granny and Papa for another day!

After another full day of play, we embarked on to our next next adventure.  The four of us traveled to Toledo and met up with my mom and grandfather. We met at the children's' museum in Toledo and had a great afternoon playing all together.  It is fun to see the different fun things that kids museums put together.  Also it is so fun any time both sides of the family collide!  After our fun, we changed cars (and I installed the carseat, boom!) and headed off to Solon.

Once in Solon we fell into the pattern of visiting with family, playing with Nana, Gramps and Grandma Great, playing with cousins, and playing in the snow.  One of the goals for the trip was to build a snowman. Crazily enough, it was so cold in Michigan that we were able to play in the snow but not able to build a snowman.  The first couple of days in Ohio were also cold, but then an incredible warming streak occurred.  Brady and Brody built a great snowman with their cousins just in the knick of time.  By the next morning, all of the glorious snow was gone and it was 60 degrees and sunny.  We went from snowboarding in Uncle Mike's driveway to bike ridding in Uncle Tim's.   What a perfect way to transition back to California weather.

The ten days around family was wonderful.  It always leaves us feeling so refreshed and a little sad that we do not get to see everyone more often. We are already looking forward to our next trip.