Monroe Is Two Years Old!!

Monroe at 2 Years Old

Height/Length: 36.5in (94%)

Weight: 32lb 6oz (91%)

Head Circumference: 48.5cm (49%)

Monroe continues to have LOTS of energy and I guess I don't see that changing anytime soon. He does have to keep up with two older brothers I suppose. Monroe has a super cute smile and people often comment on how happy he is all the time, which is pretty true...until it isn't. To compliment his cute smile he packs a really good scream and a pretty impressive tantrum so watch out. He has also been practicing his pout a lot lately which is actually equal parts cute and awful, depending on the situation. His chubby cheeks and lack of hair continue to make him look like a baby, but his size and attitude remind us that he is growing up fast. And here are some more stand-out tidbits about Monroe at age two.

• His vocabulary has recently exploded. Some of the more notable things he says are: "oh yeah, baby", pronounces Conway as Con-yay (aka Kanye), still working on a consistent pronunciation of "Parker", gobble-gee = garbage truck, any dessert is usually "cookie" and often in the form of a scream.
• David taught him the Batman theme music. You know, na-na na-na na-na na-na na-na na-na na-na na-na Batman!
• He gives great hugs and kisses and often requests hugs. "Ug?"
• Every color is blue and every number is two.
• He loves the word "no". I know this is pretty common for 2 year olds, but he must be setting some sort of world record. Seriously, if I had a dollar for every time he used the word "no" I would be a billionaire. Sometimes I think he says it just to mess with me. Grrr!!
• He loves to run and when he's running he pumps just his left arm.
• He's actually getting pretty skilled with a ball and generally favors his left foot. If the ball rolls to his right side he'll sometimes take a swing at it with his right foot, but when he has control over placement he kicks a ball with his left 98% of the time. 
• Monroe is very opinionated about food. He loves bread, pasta, and really any grain and we're slowly working up to the rule that one has to finish everything on their plate if they want more of something. It's probably time to draw the line on this. But oh, the screaming!
• Favorite food: bread in basically any form, pasta, corn on the cobb, BBQ chicken drumstick, cheese.
• Least favorite food: cooked greens or really anything that's standing between him and some bread
• Mornoe is getting really good at riding the scooter and it's been fun to see him gain confidence and skill with it. 
• He still naps from 1-4. At night he's asleep by 8pm and awake at about 7am. When he wakes up in the morning or from a nap he's generally happy to just talk/sing to himself and his stuffed animals for quite a while as long as he doesn't hear the rest of us having too much fun without him.
• Monroe loves to have his shirt off and give his belly a good rub.
• A few little curls are slowly showing up in the form of a mullet.
• He loves playing in the backyard and he's perfectly happy (if not more so) to be back there by himself. He kicks a ball around a little, plays with some of the other random toys out there, and spends most of the time riding a tricycle around.
• Monroe is obsessed with Conway. When we're at home or at the playground he can frequently be heard calling out "Con-yay!" when he's lost sight of him. He also asks for Conway first thing in the morning, just after requesting "eat".
• He is just coming out of a stage of taking his clothes off while in his crib. For what felt like forever, Monroe would try to get his pajamas off while he was suppose to be falling asleep. This would generally end in a lot of crying because he'd get stuck with limbs in places that weren't comfortable. Glad to be rid of that stage. 
• He did NOT want to stand still for these pictures, but we finally got a few to prove just how cute he really is. 

P.S. Monroe is 12 Months Old, Conway is Two Years Old, Parker Turned Two

Batter Up!

The 2018 baseball and t-ball season has ended and I think it's worth sharing these adorable pictures. Unfortunately even though David coached Parker's team he wasn't in the picture as he was out of town. It was a fun season, but I think we are all ready for the extra space on our calendars. Juggling two kids on two different teams this season gave us a tiny glimpse into our future lives with three active boys. Yikes!

P.S. The Undefeated Golden Eagles, Parker's First T-Ball Game, T-Ball 2016

Conway's New Favorite Girl

For a long time, Conway was very vocal about the fact that his "favorite girl" (his words) was his babysitter Miss Savanna. I of course was a distant 2nd. But there is a new favorite girl in Conway's life. Uncle Damo's girlfriend, Aunt Elly, has stolen the title. 😂 And it's pretty hard to argue with him...she is pretty awesome. I mean, check out the Tricerataco Holders she brought for the boys!

Mid-week fun w/ Papa!

Guest blogger alert!!  Nobody famous, just me, DWT!

Back in the day, I used to be able to spend all kinds of free time mid-week with my boys, but the opportunities are rare these days...well last week, I snuck in some fun activities with the two little ones while Treva bit the bullet and attended / chaperoned / played Jedi mind tricks to get kids to pay attention at Parker's school field trip.  It was a quick morning but a few highlights :).

First, we were out the door to head to Ms. Megan's music class for Conway.  We got to pick up our BFF, Reid - more on why I was in charge of transporting Reid in a bit.  Anyway, I had Roe in my arms so I couldn't hold the boys' hands while walking through the parking lot....they improvised.   

Then, the "biggest, Little Man," and I got a quick pit stop at Starbucks on our way to the hardware store.  Check this sequence out:

May whatever you do today bring you the anticipation of joy this child feels RIGHT NOW....

He's officially amped up for the treat....let's see how he does with it.

Pretty sure he likes it.  I can usually tell when he's happy, typically coincides with him eating.

Well then, we got to go on a mid-morning run!  I haven't gotten to do that in ages with my boys, this whole "work thing" is ridiculous!  So of course, Roe wanted to show me how he runs - he says "Run" and then he just takes off.  He starts with a nice wide stance - I think Parker learned this from Cousin Philip but now, all the boys seem to have picked it up....Notice one arm pumps while the other is used like a rudder steering a ship.  It's pretty awesome to watch!  Direct link here too if Google hates my video upload:  https://youtu.be/4xGEJAILNbI

Oh, and remember me telling you that I got to take Reid to music class?  It's because our dear friends Lars and Shannon welcomed the new little angel to FC Italy, Ella Caroline Johnson - the first "pink hat" the bouncers let into the club!  We love and cherish her so already, welcome home Ella!  

P.S.  No, we don't love her so much that we want another one....so don't ask :).

Introducing Mayspot

I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our family, Mayspot. No, we do not have another(!) child and we don't have any new pets. Mayspot is the name of our new sailboat and it turns out boats, similar to children and pets, are lots of fun and lots of work. Uncle Damo has been working on us for a while now to buy a sailboat with him and somehow he was able to convince us that this one was meant to be ours. So we went in on the sailboat together and have named her Mayspot. Where did the name Mayspot come from? The story goes like this: Growing up our family had pigs on our farm and our parents game Damo and I the job of naming one of them together. Damo wanted to name the spotted pig the very sensible name of "Spot". I on the other hand was learning the months of the year and wanted to name it "JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMay" (all the months I had learned at that point). So we compromised and named the pig Mayspot! Mayspot the pig in no longer with us, but the name can now live on in the form of our shared sailboat.

 On Damo's recent visit with us in Seattle, he and David spent lots of time on the boat getting things fixed, organized, and seaworthy. So on Memorial Day Damo, his girlfriend Elly, his friends Merebea and Shawn (who lucky for us are actually experienced at sailing) and I took Mayspot out for a sail. It was a beautiful day and although there wasn't a lot of wind we were in fact able to raise the sails and officially sail(!), as opposed to just motoring the whole time. 

The "Mayspot Board Meeting" in the picture above was actually after Mayspot was safely docked back in her slip in Elliot Bay Marina. David very kindly stayed home with the boys during the actual sailing and then brought them down for snacks after we returned.

A Beautiful Mother's Day

For Mother's Day we kept with tradition and once again enjoyed playing in the sand at Alki Beach. It was down right hot this year so putting our feet in the water was actually welcomed (or at least bearable). Uncle Damo was in town so we got to have him with us on this year's excursion. I had a beautiful day surrounded by my favorite people.

Happy Mother's Day!

P.S. A Tradition Unlike Any Other

Morning Coffee Date