Rock Climbing

Mike and I recently celebrated our 6th anniversary.  For his gift, I signed us up for an introductory rock climbing class.  We had lots of fun!  We learned how to tie ourselves in, how to belay properly (Mike is heavier than I am by enough that he sometimes lifts me off the ground while I'm belaying him!), and we got to try a few walls.  Mike is definitely more skilled at it than I am (no surprise, looking at those muscles!), but we both had a great time!  In fact, they gave us passes to come back free in the next 2 weeks (to help cement what we learned), so we will be heading back again soon!

New Patio Door

When we had our home inspection before buying this home, one of the things that came up was that there was some wood rot on the base of the patio door.  Obviously, we didn't want that to spread into the wood of the house.  Also, the door swings in, which took up a lot of space in our (very small) kitchen.  So we decided to replace the old door with a new sliding one.

Here is the old door.

See how much space it took up when it swung in?

Here's the wood rot on the inside corner...

...and the outside corner.

And you can see the gross treads on the base board.

 So we had the Home Depot guy come install it.  (He was a great sport about being in all of these pictures, and he did a great job, too!)

He started by taking off the trim.

He had one very captivated two-year-old watching!

Next, out with the old - part 1

and part 2.

Unfortunately, the rot had already started to spread beyond the door itself, which was one of our concerns.

Luckily, the fix was this simple - a new piece of 2x4.

And now, in with the new - part 1

and part 2!

Batman thought this whole show was absolutely fascinating!
We sure like our new door!

Minneapolis Trip

While I was in Utah at my sister's wedding, Mike decided to do a mini vacation with Aidan.  They went to Minneapolis for two days.  They visited the Mall of America, complete with a trip to the aquarium there, a few rides on the roller coasters there, and a visit to the Lego store. 

Isn't this the most gorgeous photo?  It's completely un-edited... I think Mike should get some kind of prize for it!

I love the backpack!  Aidan hauled around his own spare pants and underwear, just in case... (didn't need them, thankfully!)

Not only are his arms adorable...

But this face is priceless!

Mike said Aidan just wanted to build here forever.

They stayed at a hotel overnight, then went to the Children's Museum the next day.  (I didn't find any pictures from that.)  I'm glad they got to have fun together, even though I wished I could have come, too!

Quick Trip to Utah

I was so excited to have the chance to visit Utah in April for my sister Rebecca's wedding.  I took Ethan with me (since he is free to fly and still needs me for nursing), but Aidan stayed with Mike.  Since I didn't want Mike to have to take too many days off work, it was a super fast trip, but I loved every minute of it. 

I loved getting pedicures with my sisters.

The temple ceremony was absolutely beautiful.

Jacob CREAMED Rebecca at the reception.

And of course, I had to get a picture with the blushing bride. 

Yes, Spencer, we all see your photobomb in the background.  Thanks for that.

Another great part of the trip was getting to meet new members of the family.  I had never met Jacob before the wedding, but he seems like a great guy.  Of course, no one but my mom had met Ethan, so they all got to see him.

I got to meet my new nephew Mason, who was born only weeks before the wedding.

I got to meet another new nephew, Jared, who was born about a month before the wedding.

After the wedding festivities were over, I had half a day before I needed to go back home.  Did we relax?  Of course not!  Instead, we threw a baby shower for Spencer, Whitney, and Mason!

Whitney with Natalie (Mason's birth mother), and of course little Mason, too.

This shows the three newest grandkids in the coordinating blankets, all made with love by Grandma. 
L to R is Mason, Jared, and Ethan.
There is another coordinating blanket just awaiting my nephew that should be coming any day now!

What a wonderful trip!  Congratulations again, Rebecca and Jacob!

Easter 2012

I'm only a LITTLE behind, right?!  I've been meaning to update for a while (translation: lots to come now that I finally found some time to sit down and do it!), and these were too cute not to share.  We did a community hunt again.

Aidan got a lot better at this year's hunt than last year's!

Little Ethan slept through everything.

 We also did a little hunt in our backyard.



Aidan's favorite were the eggs that had loose change inside.  And I love this picture - it really captured his running stride!



So triumphant - I got one!

Aidan at 3

My Men of Steele

Aidan made this birthday hat himself.

For the record, here are some things about Aidan as he turns 3.

Weight: 35.9 lbs
Height: 40.2 inches

Loves:

• All things Toy Story
• Searching for anything with a flashlight, especially his plastic bugs that he will hide all over the house and then find
• having Ethan lay on his (Aidan's) stomach
• being outside, especially if he can play in sand
• playing with our neighbors, especially their 5-year-old, David
• playing in the bathtub
• reading stories

Aidan with Mr. Potato Head, one of his treasured birthday gifts because it is a Toy Story friend

Aidan wanted to make a Mr. Potato Head on a tortilla like they do on Toy Story 3.  He actually did pretty well!

Dislikes:

• tomatoes
• being interrupted in the middle of something

Skills he has mastered:

• daytime potty training
• saying that his birthday is on June 2nd
• showing his age with fingers (although he can't say the matching numbers)
• talking a mile a minute about everything
• clearing his own plate and silverware
• memorizing favorite stories and "reading" them back to us
• coloring on the actual picture instead of all over the page (although still not staying in the lines)
• is just beginning to buckle himself into his car seat
• conjugating verbs in an overly-applied manner (I "gotted" something, I "ateded" it, etc.) 

Skills he is still working on:

•  nighttime potty training
• dressing himself
• saying all his ABCs (he likes to sing the song using only the letters that he hears me say during piano lessons!)
• counting correctly (we often get 1, 2, 3, 11, 16, 17)
• saying certain sounds, such as ch, v, and r-controlled sounds (squirrel is "skull-uh," church is "totes," shovel is "shuzzel," David is "Da-did")
• pedaling his trike
• pumping his legs on the swings

Personality:

• generally very loving
• currently going through a very Mom-oriented stage
• perfectionist tendencies - wants things to be in certain places or done certain ways
• getting more rambunctious every day
• is developing such a cute sense of humor
• occasional temper tantrums - he must be three!

We sure love our little guy!

Aidan got mad at Buzz one day and put him in the time out chair.  Cracked me up!

Why yes, Mom, I DO fit in Ethan's excersaucer!