birthday in the mountains

Since Floyd had to go to Cincinatti to play at the Midpoint Music Fest, RM, J'bug and Evelyn ventured up to the mountains to celebrate a little early with Grandad and KK. Here are a few shots together documenting the action!

oh, to be two.

our dearest, most favorite son in the whole wide world turned two yesterday. and we partied so hard i just haven't harnessed the energy to blog about it yet. Hah! but seriously, i put my mind to going 'RM speed' along with him all day and it'll wear any normal adult out, i can assure you.

The run down of the day:

So, Floyd and i walked in his room together to wake him up, singing "Happy Birthday To You" as sillily as possible to his delight. the night before i stayed up putting the birthday banners and balloons in the kitchen and dining room. (one of my most favorite memories growing up was waking up in the morning, and walking downstairs to see the birthday banner and streamers hung in the kitchen. it was a yearly reminder that i was a special person in the family, and cherished by them. that is one tradition i can't let pass us by, and i'm determined to step up the decor for future years too.) suffice it to say, the banners were enough to catch his attention. he had fruity pebbles (a very birthday-ish cereal, no?) and went to school. i hesitated bringing him on his birthday, thinking i needed to relish every moment of the day with him, but they make a big deal of birthdays at school. i made a dairy-free cake for him to share with his friends, decorated in the farm theme that they are 'studying' now. it was a hit, and he had a fun day. during his afternoon nap i was able to do some housework, and then we had another birthday surprise with Oma & Pops. RM is currently obsessed with lawnmowers, weedeaters, blowers, and all things motorized that relate to yard work. it's amazing. His Grandad and KK gave him a toy weedeater and blower for his birthday this weekend, and the excitement still cannot be contained. Anyway, Pops has a riding lawnmower at his office, so RM got to 'drive' the John Deere with his Pops on his birthday. It was such a precious thing for me to watch, as I can remember riding the John Deere with my dad myself (and watching my baby brother ride it) when we were growing up. After THE RIDE, we had dinner at Oma & Pops' house with cousins G-lou, O-man, & Clemie; as well as half the Colorado crew (JG & E!) Uncle Todd & Aunt Shin flew in for a visit this week, which was an extra special treat. The kids ran circles all over the house and yard and we filled our bellies with spaghetti pie and cake. J'bug rounded out the day with 2 hours of screaming at the top of her lungs, but slept soundly for 9 hours after that. It really was a wonderful day.

I'm sure i'll have more deep thoughts on 'two year oldness' soon.

mirror, mirror, in my daughter

so, yeah. she looks like me sometimes. am i the only one who thinks that is a little bit weird?

SAT problem: J is intoletant of dairy. RM is intolerant of soy. Floyd has allergies to soy & RM has allergies to dairy. Evelyn feeds J. How many varieties milk?

At 2 months, RM was 13lbs 13oz. At 2 months, J-bug is 10lbs 11oz. Quite the contrast. She gained 2 inches in height though.
Ps- boo shots. RM: "hurt junie?!"

singing in the rain

umbrella was one of RM's first words. seriously. i have a vivid memory from about a year ago, teetering an umbrella above the car door as i pulled him from his carseat. his gaze was fixed on that fascinating object above my head with wonder and amazement. he is still happily transfixed by these contraptions, and shudders with delight at the thought of using his umbrella in the rain.

guests are sweet

just in case you want to visit Evelyn and Floyd, here is a preview of the sleeping arrangement and bathroom we have available. Hotwire has contacted us about bookings, but we are limiting access to friends and family only - lucky you! KK & Grandad are giving it a test run tonight, we'll see how comfortably they sleep! Come Stay! (Tootie, we have you booked... we hope.)

main area of the downstairs

alright, i am trying to get a move on here and get documentation up of our new digs. we have a new den area downstairs, which opens to the laundry and storage 'nook' with doors off to RM's room and the guest 'suite'. We are really grateful to spread out!!

Today we learned that RM can climb into the crib with J-bug. She doesn't think it's cool either.
I also noticed a few words RM is saying sound kountry. "Meelk"

RM's room

i know, y'all want BEFORE and AFTER... sorry, for now you just get after. Because i can't find before. Suffice it to say, RM's room was dungeon like. It's awesome now. We have a built-in day bed for him to sleep in when I'm brave enough to take him out of his crib. And lots of shelving! Be impressed that i'm taking pictures before it's all 'done' to my liking... pictures need to be hung, bedding is needed, etc. etc. And yes, the electrical box is in our son's room. We're gonna hang a picture over that too. It's way out of reach though. :)

shameless

For any reader faithful enough to remember THIS, you might get an extra special chuckle out of Jim Hargate, III this week. You see, due to our recent renovations, he has been relegated to the new digs downstairs to keep watchful eye over RM. He's been non-plussed by the transition in some respects. You might say he thinks he's "owed" something. Like a nice cushy down-filled leather bed. Old Dog. Old Trick.

ps - if his figure looks more svelte to you in this picture, please feel free to say so. He's been on a wee bit of a diet this summer. The my-owners-had-a-new-baby-and-renovated-the-house-and-forget-about-me-sometimes diet. Just kidding. We decided to buy the 'weight control' dog food and actually try measuring his food when we scoop it more often. When we picked up the first 50lb. bag of it, Floyd chuckled and said: "Oh, you have met your match now JH."

affection

RM was never super affectionate - until J-bug arrived on the scene. We used to ask him for kisses, and he'd just lean his forehead near our mouth to receive our kisses. He didn't dole them out. Blowing a kiss was even a rare treat. Ever since we were blessed with June, he has been planting big slobbery kisses all over her head, sharing toys, asking to hold her, etc. This week he tried to share his nebulizer treatment... sly guy. The most recent development in his affection for his sister is illustrated in the third picture here. RM has a security blanket which he has named "Dah". He won't suck his thumb unless Dah is in his grasp. Just in the last couple weeks however, when he rubs Junie's head, he will put the thumb in too. I don't expect it to last, but his sister as security-blanket-subsitution at times is rather endearing to me right now.

bouncing babes

i don't know what the weight limit is on this seat, but i don't think these two sweeties reach it quite yet. so fun.

flower child

confession: i am overly critical of baby girl headbands. my friend cristy (or as RM says, "kissy" gave J-bug this one though, and it is GORGEOUS. if you want to find one for yourself, i suggest checking out the 'banner boutique' etsy store. (ps- this one is still a little big Kissy! she's growing into it!)

Fisher Farm

We went to the farm today for some fun. We found loads of it. Picnicing, Blowing Bubbles, watching Uncle Reid ride the dirt bike, checking out the 'ack-a-doo-da-doos' in their chicken coop, etc. Saturday with the cousins - ah bliss!

in other news

we did manage to go to the fountains - a big hit.

and Junie got a bath. A rare occasion for her. Oh, poor second child. :)

wheezie

What have we been up to this week? Well, RM came down with a runny nose Sunday, and was super clingy. No big deal, he's sick. Bummer. Tuesday morning he woke up and was wheezing like a mad man. I mean, for me to pull out the nebulizer within minutes of him waking up, you know it has to be bad. I took him in yesterday and every nurse and doctor turned to see who they could hear breathing as we walked down the hall. His breaths were at 65-70 per minute last night, which was scary. We have been up at all hours doing breathing treatments every 3 hours, and unfortunately are going to have to do them twice a day for the next 6 months as a sort of 'maintenence' for this issue. I feel so horrible for this little man. He's been a great sport despite his playtime and sleep getting interupted constantly. Pray for us if you will, that we will have patience and find fun ways to get RM to sit still that stimulate his constant need for learning and imagination. So far, we have been employing baby einstein a little more than I would prefer.

upstairs changes...

we're home!!

We repainted and rearranged the living room to accomodate the new layout. Please disregard our white-trash-style rug hanging on the railing out the window... nice touch, eh?

Our last minute decision to refinish floors was because of the found pine floors under the 3 layers of vinyl + roofers felt and glue in our kitchen. Yay Floyd for all your hard work :)


We relocated the stairs and got a cool 'loft' area. Cousins O & G are joining RM in dancing to Floyd's music. Big fantastic hit to have a little dancing area now. Plus, we have a pretty bannister. Ask me later about RM trying to kill me by dropping things over it.

We knocked out the wall btwn foyer and kitchen - the second archway in this picture is new, to match the old one, and it makes our little old house feel much more open and spacious. And, my china cabinet now fits in the kitchen - wahoo!