Proud - Our Backyard

This week, I had a goal - make the backyard safe for Aaron. Previously, this is what it looked like:

Those weeds are all pokey - the nasty ones that unless you have ridiculously thick leather gloves, you ain't pullin' 'em out of the ground. And by the time I tackled the project this week, they were all bigger. And our backyard, seriously, I don't know who designed it ... there is half a retaining wall in one spot with a 3 foot drop behind it, wooden beams in another, stepping stones, a brick path that goes no where ... I mean, really - whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?

Our end goal is to have almost all of it level with the patio, a shed in the back corner, and a garden between the 2 retaining walls with everything but the garden being covered with grass... but this week, I just wanted Aaron to be able to go outside and play and not worry that he is going to throw his ball in the weeds and try to fish it out on his own.

So yesterday I planned to put in 30 minutes of yard work, but Aaron loved being outside so much and I was feeling good, so we ended up putting in 2 hours worth ... I had previously worked on pulling weeds, but it wasn't for long and the area I had worked in was already over grown by the time I got back to it. Mostly, the other times I have done yard work, it has been pulling the fabric stuff that is supposed to stop the weeds from growing out from under the rocks. Yesterday, I got most of the weeds, moved the wood beams, discovered more bricks under the wood and moved those, and racked/shoveled wood chips and rocks to the lower areas. When Eric got home, he pulled out the metal poles that were holding the wood beams in place.

Then today, I had simply planned to get rid of the rest of the weeds but again, I was feeling pretty good (sore from yesterday but well enough to keep working) and Aaron was having a blast (poor kid woke before 6 and his nap was less than an hour (part of which was on the couch), but he loves outside so much) and so I raked rocks from one side of the yard to the other - again to fill in the lower areas. I have decided, that was a bad idea - and I am borrowing a wheel barrel.

Here is what our backyard now looks like - still needs a TON of work, but we are well on our way!

I shocked myself when I realized that my week goal had been accomplished in 2 afternoons. SCORE! I was sooooooooooooooo proud that I decided we were going to eat dinner outside :-) I moved the kitchen table and chairs outside and we ate there. (after all the work I did, we had a very simple but delicious dinner)

Aaron is such a good helper when we are outside - making sure I don't have an ouchie, rushing over to, "help you!" as I am pulling fabric or pushing the trash can or shoveling... I plan to stop by the store this week and buy him a small shovel so he can feel like he is helping without getting frustrated with the big shovel.

I'm looking forward to when the yard is grass and not all dirt and rock - the outfit in this picture is the second outfit from today because he comes in so dirty ... or, as I'm working, he comes to me and says, "I eat it." I have told myself he is eating dirt ... and not bugs. Not much better, but for some reason, I feel better about it.

Water Park!

I don't know what is going on with the weather here, but I'm loving it! We had another entire week of sun (with a tease day of the rain coming and going with sun inbetween) and this coming week has 0% chance precipitation and it is all sun again!

 Today was so relaxing. Last week was crazy and so it was great to just relax. Aaron had fun sharing his cars with the baby. But we couldn't be content to stay indoors all day, so we had a picnic at the water park!

Aaron was pretty distracted at first. The silly goose saw a little girl and lifted up his shirt to show her his belly button - haha. He ate a bit of dinner but he didn't really sit down until I gave him some brownies for dessert.

They had a system. Eric would crouch down next to him and they would count, "Ready, Set, GO!!!" and Aaron would race off into the water. When he got back, Eric would swing him around in a circle.

  Aaron had a blast - but he started to get cold and he slipped a few times and gave himself a good bonk, so he came to snuggle.

But that didn't last long - soon he wanted to race back in!

Even I took him in once and we touched the water as it flew to the sky!

 

 When we were all done, we took some family pictures ... the second one, well ... I guess Aaron found something better to look at.

On the way home, Aaron entertained himself playing with his cars.

When we got home, Aaron and Eric sat down to play a game called Bastion (curious? go see our Halloween post from last year). Eric would use the joystick and tell Aaron what color to hit.









So excited for more sun this coming week!!! Gotta come up with more plans to make the most of the sun!

Just Like Daddy

Eric came home while Aaron was still napping today and decided to take a nap of his own. When Aaron woke up, I didn't tell him Eric was home so that Eric could get a longer nap ... but eventually Aaron discovered him. He pointed to Eric and said, "Beeping Daddy?" and I said that he was indeed sleeping. After rushing at poor Eric, scaring him to death, kissing him all over the face and giving gentle hugs, Aaron pointed at the pillows and said, "Pillow? I beeping ..." He then grabbed a pillow and laid down by Eric on the floor so that he could be "beeping" just like Daddy. :)

Though you can't see it, Aaron even has his arms positioned just like Eric's. He loves to be just like Daddy.

Just Playing

Today was hot, but Aaron asked for soup for lunch, (I even offered pizza and hot dog... but he wanted soup) haha! We went outside for a bit, then he played with his car over by the window.

This video isn't terribly exciting - there aren't any theatrics or amazing Aaron-stunts. It is simply him playing and interacting with me. He does some colors and some counting ... but mostly, I'll admit, I took this video for my mom and dad (that's why it is so long) so they can see Aaron playing. It is a pretty cute video - as he is a pretty cute kid :)

Sweet Dirty Laundry

While doing the laundry this morning, I was reminded of a sweet story from while I was doing laundry 2 weeks ago. It is a story that I hope I remember each time I do laundry.

The way I do laundry is I dump it all over the railing, sort it into bins, and line the bins up in the hallway prepped for the washing machine.

2 weeks ago, on a Saturday, I did just that. Eric had been upstairs and as he is not usually home when I do laundry, he is unfamiliar with my methods. I was in the laundry room switching loads and came out to find my bins had been moved! Confused, I looked up and saw Eric sitting on the couch with my bins... folding the laundry. He thought the laundry was clean and wanted to help me! I walked over and informed him with a smile on my face that the laundry was dirty. He looked at me, slightly relieved, and said this was good because he had a growing pile of things he thought needed to be washed a second time. ;)

I love how willing Eric always is to jump in and help me with whatever I'm working on and how I never need to ask ... he is simply there to help. He truly is great and I am so lucky he asked me to marry him! For all of you who have never seen sexy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------->      this is what it looks like :)

I also love that he thinks of me and does sweet things like this - for no reason other than he wanted to make me smile.
I truly am so very lucky. I could not have asked for a better eternal partner.

Thank you Eric, for folding the dirty laundry.

2 Boys

2 boys down for a nap in separate rooms. One, Jude, starts to panic ... this isn't his home! The other, Aaron, calmly listens for a bit. Then Jude climbs out of his crib and rushes to the door, banging. Suddenly, Aaron becomes frantic. "S OK Jude!" is what I hear via the monitor over and over. As Jude escalates, Aaron becomes more desperate calling for me. When I free them both from their rooms, Aaron rushes in to Jude and tries to calm his little buddy. Luckily, it works ... perhaps we will try nap time again later. But if not, at least I know, 2 boys are happily playing as friends.

An Adventure in Babysitting

Now that we have a place big enough, we get to help in some of the bigger babysitting projects! This adventure was going to be a 3 day sleep over, but Grandma Cindy called and she trumps Aunt any day, so we only had a 1 night sleep over, but it was our first cousin sleep over and it was a blast!

I have learned that multiple kids isn't much harder than one (other than the fact that the smaller ones get more battle scars) because they all play together. Having a room dubbed the play room where all the toys stay is, I think, the most genius idea I've ever had. Our home did not get messy (other than crumbs under the table) because the toys stay in one room.

The best compliment I have ever received from Lucy: You have his dress-ups hanging on the wall. One day, you'll have to get a chest for these ... but for now, this is fancy!

I never thought I'd be a fan of peer pressure, but ... each child said they didn't like something, but when they saw the others eating it, they gave it a try and changed their minds. Score!