Memorial Day Memories

Well, it's been a while since I have posted but things have been very, very busy!  Between bachelor/ette weekends, sports classes, family time and just getting things done, we have found plenty of ways to fill our days.  

 This weekend, however, we didn't have many things planned and I had the chance to spend the long Memorial Day weekend with the boys. The Family Park had an event that we went to on Sunday and the boys were really excited that it was finally outside pool weather again.  They could have cared less about the concert that we went for and were just counting down the minutes until I would give in and let them go swimming.  Riley is such a little fish and Asher is doing a great job swimming to the wall.

I surprised them at the end of the day and asked if they wanted to go get ice cream - they surprised me by wanting to dress up for the occasion.   And who am I to deny my boys the chance to be creative, so we became super heroes who like ice cream!

Mt. Lebanon has a great Memorial Day parade so this morning, we loaded up the car, found a spot along the parade route and watched all of the fire trucks, police men, "army guys" and bands make their way down the street.  Bibi taught Asher to wave his little American flag at everyone to show that he appreciates them and the whole way home, every time he saw another car or motorcycle, he would waive his flag at it.

The boys both loved watching all of the pomp and circumstance and even better, loved going to check out the fire truck after the parade was over.  They were in every seat of the fire truck and I literally had to peel Asher out of the drivers seat.  Riley told me today that he wants to be a police officer, a fire fighter and an army guy - I am going to keep my fingers crossed that engineer will make it back onto the list soon.

And as if yesterday's ice cream surprise wasn't enough, we were invited to ice cream for lunch with Bibi and Zee after the parade.  This little total pole of happy people is brought to you by sunshine, family, fire trucks and sugar!

Waiting for the tooth fairy

It's official - Riley has lost his first tooth!  

His front two teeth have been a little loose since he and a friend were playing a few months ago and he knocked his face into a wall at school - it ended up being a lot less dramatic than it sounds.  Since then, he has been able to wiggle them both but this week, we have had a lot more motion.  He was eating an apple this evening and I didn't think anything of it. When I left to bring Grandmommy home, apparently the boys jumped into action.  By the time I came home, Chris told me to go check out Riley in his room.

There he was, grinning a gap toothed smile, very proud of his new look!  He said that it only hurt a little and that he was very brave.  His tooth is currently under his pillow in a Crown Royale bag awaiting the arrival of the Tooth Fairy.  He said that he knows that she will come tonight and that he thinks she will be leaving him $23 - that's a lot of inflation since my days of losing teeth!

The look is very cute today - let's hope it still looks this good in 8 weeks for Gabe's wedding!

Out of Africa

Well, I just got back from two weeks in South Africa and I truly had an amazing time!  I had a great group of 35 and everything went smoothly, we had great weather and the sights were incredible.  All the while, I kept checking in to see how things were doing at home, not knowing who had the harder job - me with 35 on the road or Chris with 2 at home.

Through the power of technology, I was able to send daily pictures and videos and we were able to video chat pretty frequently.  Whenever I did manage to call at a time when the boys were awake, they seemed more interested in being able to hold the phone than actually talking to me.  When I got back, they both seemed so much bigger than when I left.

One night before I got home, Asher wanted to sleep on his floor.  Rather than allowing him to sleep on the  floor, Chris brought in the race car bed.  Imagine my surprise when I came home to see Asher's "big boy bed" in the middle of his room.  And since Riley got upset that Asher was using "his" old bed, Riley got to sleep on his top bunk for the first time.  Changes all around!

I just went in to check on Asher and I am not quite sure that he understands the new bed completely...

Asher joins Club Tube

This week, Asher - in a quest to do everything just like his big brother - got his own set of ear tubes.  We had considered them for a while as he was getting multiple ear infections and then we thought we were in the clear.  He went a while without getting one and we had our fingers crossed.  Then, he got three in a row and the ENT had no doubt that tubes were the way to go.

Asher didn't really know what was going on, just that he got to spend the day playing in a new outfit.  Riley's procedures were in the morning so the fact that he couldn't eat was not a big deal.  Asher's procedure was in the afternoon and I thought it was going to be a big deal but he didn't even seem to miss breakfast or lunch.  He was a champ through the whole process and the only time he cried was literally the 10 seconds between when I put him down on the table and he fell asleep for surgery.

The procedure itself only took about 15 minutes and as soon as he was waking up, we were able to go back and be with him.  He was being a grouch - as expected with anesthesia - but as soon as he had us and animal crackers, he calmed down and got to go home.  The rest of the day was spent with snuggles, naps, tv and snacks so Asher was pretty happy.  And he was able to go back to school the next day - everything was back to normal!  Riley said that Asher should get blue ear tubes just like he had, so now they have blue buddy tubes and Asher is even more like Riley!

Let's lace up!

This weekend, we went to an ice skating birthday party and had the chance to take both boys out on the ice!  Riley has been skating a few times - with Stacey and Brad, and most recently with Chris, but Asher has never laced up.  Riley is getting pretty confident and I am so proud of him for getting out on the ice and not being scared.  He doesn't have great technique yet but he get excited about going to skate and is happy that we will be signing him up for lessons in March.

Asher wasn't quite sure about the ice at first, but whatever Riley does, Asher follows, so out he went without much hesitation.  There was a lot of wobbly steps and hand holding on the way to the ice but as soon as we put him on the rink, he put his trust in us and really impressed me with his go-with-the-flow attitude.  Chris and I took turns going around the rink with him cause there was a lot of bending and holding on our part (and aching backs today) but even though his feet were sliding this way and that and his coat kept riding up to show his tummy to all, Asher had a great time and kept asking to go around again and again.

I think this is a fun activity that we can definitely continue as a family and I look forward to the days that we can go around the rink without having to drag the boys along - maybe they can do the dragging in the future!

Hola Mexico

For Christmas and New Year's the boys were invited to keep me company in Mexico while I worked an AJ group and the countdown had begun months ago.  Riley kept asking when we were going on the cruise, if he could speak Spanish and if he would be able to eat as much guacamole as he wanted.  The time had finally arrived and we headed out west for our two week adventure.

It was not going to be a vacation for either of us as I had the group to take care of and Chris had the boys to control - I know that Chris had the more challenging and stressful week.  With three stops in Mexico and three days at sea, there was a lot of things to do but a lot of time to fill.

The boys liked the idea of the cruise and took to the ship like fish to water.  The pool and the hot tub was the all-time favorite activity and I knew that if I was looking to them, start in the water.  Either that or in the Piazza where the live music was playing.  Asher particularly liked the mariachi band and they would look for him at each performance.

We had beautiful weather and I was able to find a happy compromise between group time and family time.  The boys were a handful but for the most part, happy just to be in the sand and the warm sunshine.  Riley also liked going to the kids program for a few hours each day and with a huge screen out by the pool, all three boys liked the movies that were shown each day.

And of course, we got to celebrate Asher's 2nd birthday on board!  We had a family party complete with cake and a present from Bibi and Zee. Our little New Year's baby loved when all of the attention was on him and will now expect to go on a cruise to celebrate each coming year - which I could be on board with!

Let's celebrate Hanukkah

For the past 8 days, we have been celebrating Hanukkah to the max!  The JCC had an event where the kids did activities with the parents, performed their songs and shared snacks.  We lit candles at home and Riley proved that he can do it on his own (while Asher kept trying to blow them out), Chris and I went to a Vodka Latke party and we have had enough latkes to last us for the whole year. 

We have had gifts for the boys each night and there have been some top winners!  Riley got a loop-de-loop race track, Legos and lightsabers.  Asher got a train set, books and toys.  Tonight we went to the JCC for an 8th night celebration and tomorrow night we will be celebrating with the family for a bonus night of Hanukkah.

Asher now officially knows the word 'present' and knows to ask for them after we light the candles.  I think it will be a tough habit to break and he will probably expect a gift every night after dinner. Riley also thinks that the gifts will continue on Christmas, so that will be something to look forward to.