Fun in the Sun!

Yesterday we spent the day at Joemma State Park near my parent's house. We intended to leave the house at 11:30am but Lucas was so grumpy and just plain whiny so we put him down to get a quick nap in. We woke him up just before 1pm and he was in a much better mood so we headed to the beach. It was about an hour and 20 minutes out there and Lucas is now a talker, especially in the car, so it makes the drive seem even longer. This time he was only interested in talking to me and I was trying to catch up on my magazines (I have 4 sitting here waiting to be read) but it wasn't working. He constantly says, "mom!" and I say, "what?" and then he'll say something like, "car" or "dada car" or his version of "horse" and he'll continue to repeat these same words over and over. And you can't just say, "uh huh" or "ya" because he gets frustrated, as if you didn't understand him. So you have to repeat what he said so he knows you understood. It makes for a very redundant conversation. Then of course the last 15 minutes of the car ride he had had enough and just wanted out! He was whining and screaming and nothing I did or said would make him stop. So finally we arrived, unloaded everything and set up on the beach. I went on the jetski first, along with my dad, while Channing was still asleep in the carseat. The water was like glass which was fun because I went really fast (60mph) which I don't normally go that fast but then it got kinda boring because there were no waves to go over. I went back in to see if Lucas would get on with me. He did reluctantly, in his cute life jacket. I wish I would have gotten a picture of him in his life jacket but Josh was able to snap a picture of him on the jet ski with me.

After my ride, Josh tried to get Lucas to go out with him but all of a sudden he had no interest in dada, he only wanted me so I brought him back onto the beach. We all ate and hung out on the beach but the tide kept getting closer and closer. We moved all of our stuff further up on the beach but we were only able to stay in that spot for a little while before the tide came within a few feet of us. So we decided to pack up everything and head to the picnic area to eat dinner.

Lucas loves any kind of fruit, especially watermelon. He ate so much watermelon I had to cut him off!

Yummy 7 layer bean dip! Notice Lucas' hand in the chip bag=)

Channing is the smiliest and most talkative 2 month old I have ever seen! He is tooooo cute!



My friend from church got him this adorable octopus outfit with matching hat. I can't get over how cute he is in the hat! When I got this outfit, it looked so big compared to the others (It's 3-6 months!) I never thought he'd fit in it before Summer was over. I sure was wrong!



Cousins...Levi and Channing

Brothas from anotha Motha

Cousin Levi

A good nap in the carseat

After eating we made a quick trip back down to the water. The water was SO clear and clean, quite surprising since it was the Sound. Then we packed up and headed home. Lucas was so very tired but again, a chatter box once we got in the car. Then he started to melt but after a few minutes he dozed off and it was silence...at least for a short time.
I think the reason he was so grumpy is he wasn't feeling good. He started to get more congested as the day went on and looking back, he kept pointing in his mouth and saying, "ow". I thought he was remembering when he fell and bit his tongue a few weeks back because he's been remembering more events lately. But he really must have been referring to his throat. Josh started getting sick late in the week last week and his first symptom was a sore throat and congestion. Lucas had a rough night sleeping, I kept hearing him wake up and cry, only for a minute and then he went right back to sleep. He does that, sleeps restlessly, sometimes and thought we don't usually have to rock him back to sleep, his restlessness wakes me up and so we both have a rough night. He woke up even more congested but seemed ok otherwise. We still went to church and though he was extra clingy, he was still his bouncy, excited self. But as the day went on, including a very short nap (his are usually 2-3 hours, this one was just over an hour), I could tell he wasn't feeling well. I had a church meeting to go to so Josh stayed home with Lucas. I got home just before 8:30pm and Lucas was up. Josh said he put him down at 7:15, after a huge meltdown, and he only slept for 45 minutes. Hopefully he can catch up tonight and feel better in the morning. We're hopefully going to the Woodland Park Zoo tomorrow! You know it's a big deal when I bring the double stroller. I have yet to use it as I usually just carry Channing in the front pack and put Lucas in the regular stroller but the zoo is a bit much to have to carry around Channing the whole time.
I'll post pictures from the zoo as soon as I can. I'm looking forward to it as Lucas knows a handful of animal noises and the sounds they make. He hasn't been since last Summer so it will be very new to him. Until then, I need sleep or I'm going to be the cranky one!

Summer Fun!

I've been busy planning Lucas' upcoming 2nd birthday party. It's a race car themed party at the park and I'm so excited! These first few birthday parties are definitely more for mama than they are for the birthday boy.=) Last week when I was shopping for supplies for his party, I found some crayons and a Bible coloring book at the dollar store. I knew I was setting my expectations high as Lucas has had many opportunities to color and he always chooses to do something else with the crayons-color the walls, throw them, eat them...yup, he's definitely a boy! But I'm always wanting a quiet activity to have on hand for those moments when I need a break. So I bought them, knowing the $2 might be a total waste or totally worth it. Here's what he chose to do with them:

He loves to stack the crayons...and then throw them all on the ground=)

I've also been working on getting Channing's birth announcements made and ordered. I really had nothing to do with the making of them, it was all my bestie Camie. She's amazingly talented in photography and just about anything creative. You should check out her work here. She's done many sessions for me and my family and she put together Channing's announcements, in two different versions so I could pick my favorite!

I've also had Halloween on my mind. Yes, it's still August, but September and October are very busy months so my mom and I start planning our family's costumes for our annual surprise costume party as early as possible. A few days ago we came up with an awesome idea for me, Josh and the boys and I'm excited to get started on them!

This past Saturday was the Kivley annual bbq. My grandparents used to throw this huge bbq potluck every summer when I was a kid. It was something my siblings and I looked forward to every year. When we were in our late teens, my grandparents stopping doing them. I think it was just getting to be too much for them. There were a LOT of people that would come so it was quite the task I'm sure to put it together. Well, about two years ago, my aunt and uncle, Tom & Cyndi started hosting them at their house. Last year it was rainy and cold (in August!) and there was hardly anyone there. This year, we arrived a few hours after the start time and it was packed! There were so many people I didn't recognize. My family had staked out a table and area, and so we spent the next few hours catching up and some people got to meet Channing for the first time and see how much Lucas had grown since they last saw him.

Yesterday Lucas had his first visit to the dentist. He had no idea what he was in for and I was a little nervous about how he would handle it all. The appointment was at 10am and he's been sleeping in until about 9:30am so I had to wake him up so we wouldn't be late.

It's rare to get a picture of him sleeping since he usually wakes up as soon as we open the door. I was happy to see he still sleeps like he did when he was a baby-butt up in the air.

Surprisingly, it was one of the easiest mornings I've had with both boys by myself. There was no yelling or tantrums (by mommy or Lucas=) and we left the house right on time! I wish all mornings could be that easy. Anyway, the dental office is specifically geared towards kids and decorated in a jungle theme. It was fun to walk around the waiting room and have Lucas point out the monkeys, frogs, rocks and water, all of which he knows by name.=) They put us in a private room and the assistant immediately started talking to Lucas to get him as comfortable as possible. He sat on my lap and she tried looking at his teeth with a mouth mirror. She was able to get a peek after a few minutes and with much refusal from Lucas. Then the dentist came in. They had me put Lucas on my lap but facing me and then lay back, into the dentist's lap. They expected him to cry and it's actually better because then they can see his teeth. He cried and it was so sad, tears running down to his ears and crying for dada. But then I told him he'd get a balloon as soon as we were done and he stopped immediately. They were able to remove the build-up from behind his lower front teeth and they said everything looked good. Next time they'll do a little bit more to get him used to even more instruments. As the dentist was leaving, Lucas yelled out "balloon" as if reminding the dentist that he promised him a balloon.=) It was precious!



Showing off his balloon and race car for being so good at the dentist!

 After the dentist, we met some friends at the spray park. The kids didn't play in the water long, Lucas was too hungry and the other kids were too cold. It was slightly breezy and that didn't make it very warm, plus the water was already cold and it doesn't get hot out until late afternoon these days. So we spent the time playing on the slides or "swings" as Lucas calls them.=) I didn't get any pictures of Channing because he slept the entire time.

Lunch: Bagel (His most recent favorite) and fruit (always his favorite)

Heading up to the slide



So excited! He was playing with my friend's daughter Ava. She was helping him climb the stairs to the slide and then would "catch" him at the bottom.

After dinner we spent some family time outside in the shade, eating popsicles and letting Lucas burn off some more steam. Even after a busy day this kid can still run and run and run until we make him stop. Of course after the messy popsicle it was bath time and bedtime.

Eating a watermelon popsicle mommy made



As cute as can be, even covered in popsicle juice=)



Attempting a family photo of my boys. Doesn't Josh look thrilled? One of these days he'll willingly smile for my pictures.



Hanging out with daddy



My little peanut



Lucas loves riding the lawn mower with Dada



Getting back into the swing of things...

   Channing is coming up on 2 months (where did time go?!) and I finally feel like life is back to normal. Now this time around was a much faster adjustment to "normal" than after I had Lucas. You'll hear so many different opinions about which is a harder adjustment...going from zero to one kid, one to two, two to three, etc. I've mostly heard going from one to two is the hardest but I think I will have to go with the zero to one crowd. It is definitely difficult adding another child into the mix, as it always will be, but I think you can find normalcy a lot faster because you mostly know what to expect and you're a lot less stressed about the little things. When adjusting to one, EVERYTHING is new to you and continues to be new as your child hits different stages of life. You're trying to figure out when to feed, how to nurse, how to change a squirming and screaming baby all while starting off after a sleepless pregnancy and two days of labor and a sleepless newborn! At least that's how the first go-around went for me. But this time, I was sleeping great during pregnancy (maybe because the whole prior year I wasn't getting any sleep with a zero-12 month old, so I had to catch up!), labor was quick and Channing started off as a sleeping champ! This time around I understand a baby's cry and cues a little better, don't stick to a feeding schedule- I go with the flow of the baby and the sleep definitely helps. So normal these days is being able to make breakfast, lunch and dinner without too much chaos. Normal is getting out of the house at least two times a week, just me and the boys. Normal is getting Lucas down for a nap by 1pm after a few chores knocked off the to-do list. But my normal will also continue to be piles of dirty laundry waiting to be put in the wash, hampers full of clean laundry waiting to be folded and put away, dirty bathrooms, a sink full of dishes and days where I just don't feel like doing anything but snuggling with my growing-too-fast newborn or playing with my oh-so-busy toddler. And I have to remind myself daily that this will be "normal" for quite some time...and that's OK. With just Lucas, it took a good nine or more months before I felt like I had figured out how to manage everything. It's still a daily battle with myself and the standards I put on myself to maintain a clean and chaos free home. But God reminds me often that these times with my babies are too short to worry about how my house looks. I look at Lucas and can't believe how fast he has grown. Everyone says it but you never really understand until you see your little 8lb 7oz baby boy grow into a 30-something pound busy BUSY toddler that only stops for a quick kiss and hug after much begging from mama. In these short 23 months, he has learned to feed himself, soothe himself to sleep, walk, talk, be independent and fight for his will. So I'm learning to soak in these moments with my sweet Channing as I see him grow leaps and bounds before my very eyes. And I'm trying to embrace even the most difficult moments with Lucas because I know these too will be a blip in my memory in no time. I think that's why this time around with a newborn has been such an easy adjustment. Because I know that the sleepless nights will end. I know the endless feedings will end. I know the anti-independent baby stage will end. And so will end the cluttered dishes and dirty bathrooms. Until then, I will embrace this stage of life as best I can.

Parks and Sushi

Today was such a fun day! After nearly 2 hours of trying to get out the door (this is not unusual, it's a regular occurrence when trying to head out for the day...diapers, lunch, snacks, wipes, burp cloths, change of clothes, milk, KIDS-all while managing a fussy baby and busy toddler!) we made it out the door and headed to my mom's to pick her up. We originally planned to try out the new spray park in Tukwila. I recently discovered spray parks...they are awesome! They're free (the best part) and Lucas just loves running around and getting wet. Well, the weather didn't cooperate so we revised our plan and just decided to see the spray park and hope that there was a playground near by. Since we were going to be in the area, we made a quick stop to visit Josh at the job site in SeaTac. Lucas LOVES visiting "dada" at work and seeing all the "cars" (trucks, dump trucks, dozers, etc.) so if we're ever around the job sites, we try to stop by for a quick hi. Then we went to our favorite mommy-daughter lunch spot to Sushi Land. We LOVE Sushi Land! It's a sushi restaurant with a conveyor belt that travels around all the seats and booths and you just grab whatever dish you want. Each plate is a different color to let you know of the price. Today was a little disappointing as they didn't have any of our favorites. Oh well, I guess we'll have to go again.=)


Lucas having his first Sushi! He's had rice but never a roll. We had to convince him to give us the seaweed back for fear he would choke on it. My little good eater!



Grammy & Channing at Sushi Land
Look at that face! He's got his mommy's cheeks for sure!

After Sushi Land we headed to the spray park. It still wasn't warm enough to play in the water, though I'm sure Lucas wouldn't have cared. But luckily there was a playground so we let Lucas burn off some energy. He loves going down the "swing"...he calls the slide a swing. He knows the word because of Channing's baby swing and he just decided the slide would be called that too.



I love when he goes down slides, his hair sticks straight up, as if he's touching one of those electrical current balls you find at gadget stores.



The park became so busy with kids at summer camp and Lucas hadn't had a nap (he becomes super clumsy when he's tired) so we headed home. But not without a stop at Starbucks and Wal-Mart for "only a few things" which quickly became more than a few things for both my mom and I after browsing the 50% off clearance isles. On the plus side, I got a great deal for a friend and some cheap stickers for Lucas' 2nd birthday party. As I told my mom..."I love how women justify spending money on anything".=)

Officially a Blogger!

I've been trying to get this started for about a week now. But life is busy! I was never really into the whole blogging phenomenon but lately I've become addicted to them! My favorite kinds are anything food related and I've been discovering a few "mommy blogs" that I also enjoy. The thing that got me interested in writing my own was I realized how many special moments in life we easily forget about after the initial excitement wears off. This is especially true when you have kids (sleep deprivation really takes a toll on your memory!) and life just gets busy. Right now, my "oldest" son is just under 2 (can't believe that! Less than 2 months and I'll have a TWO year old!) and my newest bundle of joy is 7 and a half weeks...yes, every day counts at this point. I already notice the subtle changes that happen so quickly, just in 7 short weeks and as quickly as they come, I quickly forget. I look forward to the day when I can look back at this blog, with my boys, and remind us all of the joys in life that we too easily forget. Thank you for enJOYing this with me!

4th of July 2011
Lucas-21 months/Channing-2 weeks