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June on the Beach north of San Diego
So what's this we hear of June Gloom? Well our beach vacation was a little chilly but we still spent it in, out and around the water. For the boys, this was the first trip to the ocean and they were in heaven.
We spent a week with our friends James and Sharon Eanes and their two boys in a condo outside Escondido at the Welk Resort. Yep, we were the youngest by about 45 years....just kidding. It was a beautiful resort with great pools and recreation. What a treat!
Oh, did we tell you we DROVE two days to get there? Yep, and we lived to talk about it. Actually the boys were great and with a few DVDs playing on our laptop, we were holding on tightly to our sanity too.
The Terrible Twos?
Whoever said that 2 was the terrible age was sorely mistaken...at least in our case. Three and a half seems to be a "trying" age. Ryan alternates between being the sweet angel child who will do anything you ask of him and the little hellion who invaded our home. We are getting through it but on some occasions we've wished that we didn't have to have the ritual of the evening meal. Take a look into our evening :
Julie: Ok, Ryan its going to be time to eat in about 5 minutes, do you want to help set the table?
Ryan: Sure mom, how many forks.....can I have a knife....no, I'm too tired to put napkins around the table.
Julie: Ok, well then I'll do the napkins then, can you go wash your hands? What do you want to drink?
Ryan: What are we going to eat?
Julie: Spaghetti.
Ryan: mmmmm I love Psghetti! Mom, T-Rex loves Psghetti! AGghhhrhhh (T-Rex sounds).
Julie: You need to wash your hands, hurry, or you'll miss dinner!
Ryan: Aghhhrrrrr, grrrrrrhhhhhh - goes into living room and starts to play dinosaurs.
Julie: Ok Ryan its time to eat. Lets get in your chair.
Ryan: What are we eating?
Julie: Spaghetti, salad and bread. What do you want to drink?
Ryan: Ewwwweh, I HAAAAATE Psghetti! I don't want ANY dinner!
Julie: Ryan, you love spaghetti, T-Rex loves spaghetti, what's the problem.
Ryan: Mom, It will take toooooo long.
Julie: Ryan, you need to eat to get big and strong.
Ryan: I don't want to be big and strong.......
Julie: AGhhhhhhhhh, mama T-Rex noises! (I give up!)
The Instigator....
Jeff and I are so glad that the boys are starting to play together, really play together. With the event of this, it is becoming apparent that Braden will be the instigator of all conflict between the two, especially physical conflict. He is the run over and hit your brother and run type. Everything he does is designed to elicit a chase from Ryan.
When he's not doing that, he likes to destroy all that Ryan builds. Ryan is doing pretty well with it but needs a reminder occasionally to tell your brother that you don't want him to do that, don't just say, "MAAAAHM, Braden just hit me, " "MAAAAHM, Braden is taking my animals", " MAAAAAHM......"
Ok, so life is tough for a second child. We see that now. I guess we'll just have to make sure Braden learns to talk soon so when Ryan asks him not to do something he can at least SAY no! Ha ha ha.
So have we been busy lately? Well, yeah!
We have two active boys and in a nutshell, all our time is spent trying to tire them out so they take their daily naps. Our world has been reduced to this quest for sleep. It ain't pretty but its where we are. Don't get us wrong, we love being parents but have definitely found that a great sense of humor really goes a long way in raising the boys.
Braden is now 15 months old and walking and grunting with the best of them. He is into anything round and hence his first word was "Baa" not to be confused with what a sheep says, more specifically ball! He seems to know how to scream very well and we are hoping that stage passes quickly. Jeff jokes about us needing hearing aids, but I'm not laughing these days. Braden is proving to be the instigator of all wrestling matches between the boys and has introduced the Mike Tyson special....biting! Those sharp baby teeth really leave a mark and all three of us have the scars to prove it.
Ryan turned 3 in December and he is as big as most 5 year olds. He is mistaken for an older kid all the time and that makes people expect more from him. He is 50lbs and 43 inches tall. Yikes. By all calculations he will be 7 feet tall when he is 18. Good thing we have a 9 foot ceiling in our living room. Guess the standard bed is going to have to go. We'll see what the future holds but up until now, he's been on the giant growth curve. Ryan is taking swim lessons on Saturdays and we battle every week to get him there. Once he's in the water, he loves it and won't get out. Hmmm, wonder what is going through that mind of his. Who knows!