Only 30 Once

You only turn 30 once, so I'm milking it for all I can and this weekend I was definitely spoiled rotten! My parents flew in for the weekend to watch the boys while Kevin and I drove up North to compete in our first Adventure Race (www.toocoolracing.com/naduah.html). It was a blast and deserving of its own post, soon to follow. We came home Saturday night to fresh tulips, birthday cake, presents and the best gift a sleep deprived mother could get: 3 nights of 8 hours uninterupted sleep! Thats right, my mom slept in Dash's room and attended to his every need for 3 WHOLE NIGHTS! The weather was perfect and we spent time outside at the park, botanical gardens, egg hunting, and gardening. One more great addition to the weekend: I was always right. All weekend long, those beautiful words rolled off Kevin's lips, "whatever you want Misty, it's your birthday!"

Camp Hnatek

This past weekend Kevin was out of town for a Rotary meeting so it was just me and the boys. Sweet Aunt Becky invited us over to their place for what I lovingly called Camp Hnatek. We roasted hotdogs, went fishing, rode motorcycles, ate smores, and played with cousins till we were drop dead tired and covered with dirt. Thanks Hnateks for entertaining us while daddy was away!

(don't worry...children were not left alone with fire)

Finding New Ways to Play

Little boys have been sick for a while so getting out amongst others hasn't been an option. After playing the same ol' thing in the same ol' places we headed outside for a "special" play place. Who knew the bed of Daddy's truck could be so much fun? We spent an hour and a half playing cars, reading books, and goofing around. What great boys!

Oh yeah, Maggie joined the fun too! (check out Josh's foot attire...he loves those things!)

And to celebrate St. Patty's Day: a dinner of green.

Mashed Potatoes, Corn Bread, Artichokes, Pistachio Pie and Green Juice. Josh's favorite was the green juice, known to most other children as Koolaid. His first experience with the stuff. Believe me our son doesn't need extra energy, so chances are the next green juice he gets will be water with some food coloring!

6 Months

Half a year. Really? So soon? Yes, little man is 6 months old and here are his stats: 16 pounds 2oz, 27 inches long, and happy, happy, happy. He is almost making it through the night (we still have the 3:30 feeding) but he is a super napper and is turning out to be a great eater! So far he loves his carrots, peas, butternut squash, and will eat broccoli but it's not his fav. He is completely fascinated with the dogs and does a great job keeping track of Maggie and her quick movements. He can sit up by himself for a few moments before toppling over, is rolling in all directions, and putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. He loves going to story time at the library and will sit completely still and watch every page the librarian turns as though he really understands the story- it cracks me up. Most of the time is is a mover and a shaker, I guess he is getting ready to keep up with his older brother. He loves peek a boo, being held, and eye contact. He is the best little addition to our family!
Below is Josh at six months. Not identical but you can tell they are definitely brothers!

It's That Time Again

Whether I'm ready or not, it is time for my little baby to start solids. No, I'm not talking about the oh so yummy rice cereal (super easy to prepare), I mean the real stuff, the kind of stuff we eat, only nice and pureed. With Josh I was super excited about baby food and even got a fancy food processor from my mom to make the best baby food ever! I loved experimenting with new combinations, especially with the fruit, and taste testing the final results. Now that it is time for Dash to start his food journey it isn't that I'm not excited for him, I just wondering where I'm going to find the time for all the steaming, pureeing, experimenting, and taste testing? Then I remembered I have a big brother who LOVES to help in the kitchen. While it might get a little messy and it might take a little longer, it should be a lot of fun. So on to the good news... Dash loved it. Well, at least the peas. Josh has always been a great eater and it looks like his little brother is following in his footsteps. Yeah! Lets hope he keeps it up.

hmmm...what is that stuff?

okay I'll try it...

looks like he loves it!

Proud to be an American

Josh had a serious infatuation with the Olympics and it was SO much fun! He loved the skiing and super fast skating the best (his words) and would "skate" around our kitchen in his socks and bike helmet representing the USA. For the first week everyone we watched compete was from USA, according to Josh, and he cheered them on enthusiastically. By the second week we started correcting him and explaining the concept of other countries. Kevin named Germany, Canada, and France the most often, expressing his desire for USA to beat them!

Well last night in the bath tub Josh's cars were ski racing when one crashed. His response: "Oh no, German crash. Yeah, USA win!"

Then tonight at the dinner table Kevin and Josh were racing to eat their carrots, when Josh popped one in his mouth super fast and exclaimed: "USA win!" Kevin preceded to tell Josh that "Daddy is USA". Josh's response: "No Daddy, me USA, you Canada."

PS: there is a video of Josh as a super fast USA racer to follow soon....