A Little Piece of Perfect

The race

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 00:43:00 +0000

Alternately titled: 30 versus 60

This story really starts about 10 years ago, the last time Andy and his father Mike had a "race". Last time the race never really got past the starting line with Mike claiming injury after the first few steps. With Andy's thirtieth birthday approaching he challenged Andy to a rematch. A fifty meter dash, winner takes home fifty dollars. The timing was set up to fall during our family retreat to the cabin, the race itself ended up happening on the fourth of July.

Cutest little racers ever. Skyler went beefcake since he saw Daddy going shirtless too.

Mase running a warm up lap

You can almost hear Chariots of Fire

Andy and Mike took their marks, got set, aaaaand...

Yep, that's Andy with the win. Thanks for the fifty Mike!

Flashback Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 15:48:00 +0000

All of these cabin photos got me reminiscing about past cabin trips. You see, at the cabin itself the walls are almost papered with pictures of past cabin visits and visitors. Walking up the stairs, which has a wall particularly dense in old photos, is like an exercise in history mining. There are snaps from Andy's parents friends from over a decade ago, moments captured from our college graduation party (held at the cabin), and bits from the boys earliest visits to the "castle". I actually don't think this particular photo is on display there, a rarity, but looking back through my archives it just stood out to me. Especially seeing him in his then over sized life jacket, which this time fit just perfectly. Really the whole scene just looks over sized for "baby" Masey. I am glad our boys will have these memories.

Hayden: S'mores and other great downtime activities

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 05:18:00 +0000

Onward with our vacay recap. We did have to take a little break there for my little run-in with a rogue stomach bug. Skyler randomly threw up this past Monday and instantly bounced back, in the wonderful way that youth allows. We thought it was a fluke, hoped it was a fluke. Then Tuesday morning I woke feeling a little off, spent the whole day exhausted. Then Tuesday night, oh Tuesday night was a long one. Needless to say it was unpleasant, hopefully the virus has made it's run through our household and has officially left. Fingers crossed.

Returning to Hayden Lake. Outside of the sunny days and time spent in the water we had plenty of time to just rest and relax as a family. We even had a couple of rainy days thrown in the mix, so we pulled out the board games as well.

S'mores every night. The kids had withdrawals coming home to a place that didn't offer roasty marshmallow goodness every night.

Seriously, what else do you need?

Mason got in some quality time with his Uncle Zach(y). He especially appreciated Zach's musical talent of burping the alphabet.

A little family game of Sorry. It was easy for me to step back and take a photo seeing as we went several rounds before I managed to draw a card to get myself out of home base.

Nana, a good game and cuddle buddy

Mason trying to coax out some more belch-alphabet

All better

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 00:18:00 +0000

While suffering through my bout with the stomach flu yesterday (worst way to spend two days, btw) my boys came home with a cheery bunch of flowers for me, to make me feel better. Mason took this quite literally and when I tried handing them back to him so they could be put in water he frowned deeply and said, "No, dey make you feel better!". Even after they did find a vase he still kept insisting I take regular whiffs of the thing while repeating, "dat make you better". Yep, kids are cute.

Hayden 2012: The Water

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 04:59:00 +0000

Alright, I have soooo many pictures from our cabin trip (ahem, couple hundred) that I am going to break them down. We will start with the family section of the trip, since that happened first anyways. After that we will chop it up even more because within the family category there was still just SO much. So yeah, first comes the water...

Clearly visiting a cabin on the lake entails time on the water. Skyler has been in swim lessons off and on since early this year so he has had quite a lot of recent exposure to the whole water and swimming thing. Mason not so much, unless you count watching his brother through the glass partition. Which I don't, least not in any way that aids in water survival skills. Both boys aren't allowed anywhere near the water without a) an adult, and b) a life jacket. Fortunately neither of the kiddos had any issue with this. Mason never went any further than dipping his derriere in the water while clutching the dock ladder for dear life. Skye worked his way up to feeling comfortable enough to jump off the dock to his Daddy, though even that was limited. He had initially ventured out in the shallows but due to it apparently being the perfect time of year for the blue gills to be getting it on there were A LOT of nesting fishies hanging around. One of the anxious mothers to be took a nip at Skyler's ankles while he was wading and that was the end of that activity, cue shrieking banshee five year old who refused to so much as look in the direction of those fish after that. So it goes.

Mason loving all the toys for playing around the water. Not in it, just around it.

Yes, I know I already said that life jackets were a required must. This was the only exception, when he was in the shallows trying to use his kick board. Ever tried using a kick board while wearing a bulky life vest? It didn't work so well. I assure you he was well attended.

Pert darn pleased with hisself

Ahhh, the Oasis Island. This thing was awesome because it had seats (and beverage holders) for the adults, and a mesh inset in the middle for the kids to bounce around without being in open water.

Goof boy. This snorkel never saw any real snorkeling action

We had a bit of revenge on the fishies that took after Skyler so kindly. Andy caught one for the boys to check out. Catch and release, I promise.

Snuba! Cause who wouldn't want to take a dive down into lake water where you can't see more than a couple of feet through the murk?

Valiant effort being put forth here on Andy's part, since this was in the waning evening light when the water was most definitely fuh-reezing. And the boys were hemming and hawing on even getting in.

Privacy

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 19:17:00 +0000

Hey All -
I have toyed with this idea off and on but I think I am officially ready to take the plunge - this blog is going private. The boys are getting older, and just generally I am getting tired of wondering/worrying about who is viewing this content. For the good and the bad. This site was started as a baby book and has become a diary of our lives, I don't want that to change. So, if you still want the ability to peek in our lives now and again please send me a message or leave a note here with your e-mail so I can include you. Blog privacy will be taking effect in one week officially...

Aaaand we're back

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 05:35:00 +0000

Phew! Yep, we're back. From the cabin. Aaand the lake. Aaaand activities such as pictured above. Many, many, MANY more photos to come. We had a birthday (done twice!), a national holiday, a family vacation, and a friend party redux. So yes, lots of pictures. But right now? Lots of rest.

LBOH V.11

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Numbah one: Sitting here (inside), watching the boys (outside). We still haven't managed to get our whole backyard fenced but finally, finally I am starting to feel comfortable that one of the boys won't up and run off into the front and you know, the road. I still won't be leaving them wholly unattended back here, but I can pop into the laundry room or just generally hang out indoors while they go about their business. Particularly handy on days such as this one, where they enjoy the heat and the sprinkler and I enjoy the shade and the company of Thunderwolf.

Dos: Speaking of the Thunderwolf, this cat is awesome. He is equal parts sweet and psycho, and endearing balance that works well for our family. He is also growing like gangbusters, he is already twice the size he was when we brought him home. He tolerates the boys so well and actually runs around like a little puppy after the toys they drag around for him. Also like a puppy? He plays fetch. See, awesome.

Aaand three: Three things about this that make me happy. The first, my dad just finished off making some raised planter beds to pretty up our back patio space and provide a perfect platform for us to start our attempt to grow things. Very exciting stuff. The second, so I still have a looooong ways to go in unlocking the mysteries of my Canon. When I got the thing I was totally clueless, so the fact that I shoot in manual now is kind of a miracle. Today I realized something new to me when I was fiddling around unhappy with the way the color in my shots was turning out. I had my white balance set on 'sunny' and decided to try 'shade', something I never thought to do apparently. Enter epiphany, it was exactly what I needed. The last thing, those two big boys up there. I was seriously weirded out looking at how HUGE my kids looked when I was reviewing this photos. I know I have a three and five year old, but really they are a THREE and FIVE year old. I love them and I love the big/little people they are becoming.

Paper boy

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 03:52:00 +0000

Mason came home from my mom's house today insisting that I help him make a paper boy. What's that you say? Well in its original incarnation a 'paper boy' was something that Skyler had drawn out and then pieced together with tape, then taped to my parent's refrigerator. Once home I set some paper and pens out for Mason to create his own paper boy. In order for Mason to be satisfied when drawing people at this stage he wants you to draw the circle for the head and then he will fill in the rest. So he did. I drew the circles and he added the other necessary bits. We cut them out and then I had an epiphany. This tends to happen when I'm crafting, inspiration will strike and I just go with it. Instead of taking our paper boy and taping him to the fridge I took some spare foam magnetic letters that have been living on our fridge for the last, oh, four years and used double sided adhesive to bring magnet and paper boy together. Tadaa! Paper boy magnets. Mason was pretty proud of himself and quickly set to making a whole paper family who now reside, holding hands, on our fridge front.

Step one, drawing the paper boy

Step two, enlist big brother to cut out subsequent paper people

Step three, work peacefully assembly-line style to finish the job

Step four, stick 'em on and stand back to admire

My little fire bender

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 20:22:00 +0000

So I don't know how many of you out there are familiar with the Avatar series from Nickelodeon but around here it has become a family wide addiction. Not gonna lie, and maybe I should since it did air as a children's show, but I am kind of obsessed with it. We just watched the final episode a few nights back and I am already hopping back on to re-watch the series from the beginning. We are a family of nerds, Andy is big into video games and anime and I am happiest when knee deep in a book of the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter variety. The boys are doomed to some level of dorkdom, which isn't a bad thing in my opinion. I digress. Skyler and Mason have loved the characters from this show and the other day Skye asked me to use our face paint to turn him into Prince Zuko. The effect was instantaneous. After studying himself in the mirror with a pleased grin he popped out into the main room and started throwing around imaginary fire balls. I started taking pictures of course, and honestly Skyler wanted me to take even more than I did. I love that he truly believes in his coolness, that there is no doubt in his mind that he is an awesome, fire bending bad a**.

Flashback Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 07:00:00 +0000

June of 2009. I'm sorry but can we all just revel in the cuteness that is little two year old Skyler here. C'mon. He still has a chubby little baby face, his diaper is peeking out over his pants, and he is so clearly head over heels with the outdoors. You know I actually remember the day that this was taken, a rarity. This was shortly before Mason was born. Andy was at work and I was a very tired, very pregnant lady. The yard had been doing it's own thing because hey, we were about to have a baby and I certainly wasn't any help with the yard work. I was sitting on our front step watching Skyler race around the front yard with his little mower. Every couple of minutes he would stop, race over to me (pictured) and give me a kiss. Then he would go back to his mowing. He repeated this same little routine for like ten minutes. That's probably when even just being outside in the heat got to be too much for preggo. See, this is why I take pictures. It's like catching a scent that transports you back to a memory you didn't even know you had.

LBOH V.10

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 14:53:00 +0000

Two separate scenes from this past week, the boys each on their own doing what makes them happy.

I have to be honest and tell you that although I love the end product of this first situation I am NOT in love with these particular toys. Legos. Little, tiny, five million piece little buggers that will bust up almost immediately following completion. Skyler has gotten a lot of these lately for presents which he added to an already rather large pre-existing collection he inherited from his father's childhood. This time, for a change, Skyler just wanted to hang out in his room and fiddle with the bits and pieces on his own - creating "racing pods" apparently. He kept popping downstairs to show off his latest creation. So proud of himself.

Is anyone else surprised that Mason, when left to his own devices, seeks out the kitty cat? Yeah, me neither. I was doing the dishes when I heard Mason laughing maniacally (not out of character) in the front of the house. I peered around the corner and found him cracking himself up taunting Thunderwolf with one of our homemade (ghetto) cat toys. Child and cat, easily entertained. And cute.

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 02:48:00 +0000

Look who fell asleep. On the couch. In the middle of the day. On my shoulder. Guess that bit o' sun the PNW got today did it's trick.

Creepy mommy creeping a pic over the edge of the couch

Totally zonked, transformer still tightly clutched

Five year old in repose

Interview with (this) three year old

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 03:49:00 +0000

11:39 came and went. He's three years old now. "Free" years old. He looks it and he acts it. No baby here. Not even a little boy either, apparently. He told me, "my not wittle boy, my BIG boy now!". In case you were curious what other things he has on his mind here is his little birthday interview. Mason Alejandro, or Masey 'Jandro as he says it, at three years of age.

What is your favorite color?

Red! No, ummmm, purple!

What is your favorite animal?

Kitty cat (which in three-speak actually sounds like titty cat, whoops)

What is your favorite food?

Kitty. Oh, sorry, pizza my fave-wit.

What is your favorite movie?

Cars toons (This is what he calls Cars 2)

What is your favorite place to go?

Animals place, the zoo

What do you want to be when you get bigger?

Wace car dwiver!

What is your favorite treat?

Ock-uh-puss (translation: the most recent treat he had, a gummy octopus)

What is your favorite number?

Free years old!

What is your favorite car?

The red one

Who is your favorite super hero?

Gween Wantern (Green Lantern)

Sharing is caring

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Since three years ago a certain little boy made his arrival in very close proximity to Father's Day (ahem, Mason), poor Andy is destined to spend the rest of our lifetime sharing this particular holiday. As it is, living in such close proximity to both of our own father's, Father's day gets spread around a bit anyways. Today we made the most of things and had a joint celebration, saluting all the Dad's and enjoying an early birthday party for Mason. Pretty sure everyone won.

Celebrating two of my mens (hey, the other one already had his birthday)

Skyler rummaged up his birthday crown so they could be matching

His personal cake. By the way, we had three desserts. Everyone got their favorite.

Contemplating his next move

He figured it out

Three generations of boys

Clearly they appreciate their Daddy

Flashback Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 15:21:00 +0000

More Masey time warps! This was the littlest on his first birthday. When he was still a bay-bee. By the way, you cannot call Mason a baby anymore. He won't allow it. "My big boy mama, my not a baby!". He doesn't let one single baby comment fly, they all get that response. He was so much more into his cake than Skyler was on his first birthday. We actually had to grab Skyler's hand and touch it to the cake, even then he wanted nothing to do with it. Mason was born to cake smash apparently. We set that thing down in front of him and, well, you can see what happened.

LBOH V.9

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 16:21:00 +0000

This guy:

That's the hotness right there

In all seriousness though, Andy definitely deserves to be this week's little bit of happiness. Not just because this weekend will be Father's Day, though that helps, but because he is seriously the awesome glue that keeps this little family together. He works hard, he plays hard, he makes us good food, and sings us great songs. He brings me up when I am down, let alone puts up with me when I am down. He makes little things into big events for the boys. Who else would willing suggest waking the boys in the middle of the night so they can munch on popcorn and watch bad eighties anime in the man room? Not mom for sure. When the boys look back on their early years I know that those are the things that will stand out. Lucky kids, these ones.

He's my better half and the best Daddy. He's also tough, and brave, and strong - his words, and I second them. He's ours, for which I am supremely grateful.

Wordful Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 21:21:00 +0000

Skyler, to Mason, while observing Mason pretending to be a cat while next to the actual cat the other night...

"Mason, I don't think he will understand that you are a cat. Because you are wearing clothes."

He also made a compelling follow up argument that it was really the socks that were the issue. Obvi.

Their ever growing dynamic

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 17:45:00 +0000

When I was pregnant with Mason, and before we knew whether "it" was a he or she, I secretly wished for another little boy. Well, perhaps it wasn't so secret. I think I told quite few people that I was hoping for another little man. One, I already knew what to expect and it was awesome. Two, I really wanted a little buddy for Skyler. This isn't to say that he couldn't/wouldn't have bonded as well with a little sister. I have seen how sweet and gentle Skyler can be with little girls and I am sure he would have been a wonderful, doting older brother to some little lady. I just liked the idea of two crazy little boys, tumbling around and generally getting into mischief together. Careful what you wish for right? Mason is in many ways the polar opposite of Skyler's personality. Where Skyler is calm and cautious Mason is passionate and daring. Skye holds onto a mood (much like his mother), Masey can switch out of a funk quickly - like someone flipped a switch. They balance each other, and now that Mason is a little bit older they really have become great play buddies. Skyler finds Mason's hambone antics hilarious and loves to command him to perform an act over and over again when something tickles him. Mason is more than happy to oblige, he thinks the world revolves around his big brother. If Skyler says something Mason is quick to echo it. If Skyler is having a dance party in his room than Mason definitely wants an invite. Sometimes, nay a lot of the time, this ends in tears since being tailed by your little brother 24/7 is about as awesome as it sounds. That great bond, the one that I hoped for in my little compatriots, is there though. In hiding in their toy closet and playing with super heroes together. In setting up their racetrack and sending hotwheel after hotwheel down the course. In wishing each other good night, even occasionally Skyler wanting to be a part of tucking his brother in for the night or a nap. And of course, in sharing a good fart joke. 'Cause what's a brother for if you can't share a healthy love of body humor?

Flashback Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Hey Summer of 2008, how's it hanging? Soooo this was what I now realize was FOUR whole years ago. I just finished reminiscing with one of my lady friends about this little get together, a trip to the cabin with a whole group of super awesome friends on what we had intended to be the first of a recurring series of cabin trips in summers to come. Welp, it's four years down the road and we are just now getting things back together for a round two. Mental note, take a picture just like this one to compare. See it's been four years because this funny thing called life was busy taking place in the interim. At the time this was taken only the left two couples (ourselves included) were married, the subsequent pairings got married over the next couple of years starting from the right and moving in. Oh yeah, and we added another little man to our brood so that took up some time. So yes, four years has come and gone and if you add one more month you will find us at our (long awaited) reunion. Can't wait.

LBOH V.8

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 17:25:00 +0000

What's that? You want to see more pictures of my cat? Oh man, well you are in luck cause here they come. Seriously, I promise not to turn this blog into an all-kitteh all the time thing. It just so happens that this week our new little buddy is definitely our family's little bit of happiness. It kind of cracks me up because I think yesterday Skyler wanted a makeup photo sesh to redeem himself from his earlier picture of him and Thunderwolf. I think five years of living in front of Mom's camera has really caught up to this kid because lately he has been asking me to take pictures of things he wants recorded. "Take a picture of this car Mom!", "Do you want a video of me doing my muscle moves?". We will see if he still feels that way in another five years. Still, yesterday when he got some tender moments in with Thunderwolf on the couch he asked me to take pictures of it. Much obliged sir.

Totally in love with kitty, as long as it's not on his lap.

~~Puppy~~ kitty love

In love

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 06:40:00 +0000

I think it is safe to say the boys are in love with Thunderwolf. Mason in particular. Skyler loves the little bug too but, well...

He doesn't love the whole 'cats have claws' thing. More specifically that small kitties, when startled, are likely to produce their claws and might scratch surrounding objects/people. Skyler has a bit of pre-existing fear of cats from some less than friendly family member's cats and is very aware that cats have claws. So his anxiety is a little high, which leads the kitten's anxiety to be a little high... you see where this leads. In the photo above Skyler actually asked me to take a picture of him with Thunderwolf but for the life of him he could not wipe the terrified 'ohmygahcatwillscratch!' look from his face. Right after the picture Thunderwolf went to leap from his lap, after the toy dangling from Skyler's hand, which Skyler promptly screamed making the claws appear and all was tears after that. So, he loves the cat, wants to play with the cat, but tells me he does not want Thunderwolf to sit on his lap for five years until Thunderwolf knows how to control his claws. His words.

Mason, on the other hand, would like to spend the rest of his life wrapped around the kitty. He looooves the kitty. Wants to rub the kitty's nose, ears, feetsies, and just give the kitty a big bear hug. For the intensity of his love he has managed to remain remarkably gentle, so I am hoping to avoid a Mice and Men episode.

"Poor wittle kitty, sweet kitty. Kitty woves me"

Thunderwolf must be able to sense a kindred spirit as he puts up with this love very well

Featured

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 18:08:00 +0000

Just a little note to suggest you pop on over to Erika's blog where I'm sharing some of my favorite books (and why they are my favorite). Click on the pic to head on over!

Thunderwolf!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 22:31:00 +0000

Introducing Thunderwolf Purr Purr, the newest member of our household:

Oh yes, we got as kitty. A precious little bundle of fuzzy grey fur. Skyler came up with the name by the way. When we originally brought up the idea of getting a kitty Skye had said we should name it after one of the cats we had when he was born. We nixed that idea, to which he returned with "I have a good name, Thunderwolf!". I mean, c'mon, that's the most awesome name for a cat ever. We couldn't not name it that. So we had the name before the cat, and now that we have the cat (and it's a he) Skyler also added in the middle name of 'Purr Purr'. Done.

We have been adjusting well, both us and little Thunderwolf, and the boys have been remarkably restrained for small excited people of their age. After the first few days of warming up to us Thunderwolf now holds his ground when we enter the room. I personally am just please to have a little furry friend back under our roof, even if it does mean I am once again picking up someone else's poop.

Flashback Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Jeni) — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 05:30:00 +0000

Whoa baby, that's a lotta belly there. I got the itch to dig around in my archives and pulled out this little gem. No small coincidence that I was sifting through this segment of our lives seeing as the "baby" that was in that belly is about to turn three in a few short weeks. I know. So it is with much nostalgia that I look at that there picture, me on the morning of Mason's arrival, the last belly picture before we popped that kiddo out. I remember not being able to sleep very well the night before (duh), being anxious about getting time with Skyler before leaving (also, duh), and loving that comfy green tank top because at that point it was really the end of line wardrobe wise. I also remember feeling totally ridiculous being a hugely pregnant lady stuffed into my borrowed BIL's Mustang convertible, seeing as we had left our car (and car seat) at the in-laws the night before. Style, we has it.