game changers {fridge edition}

As babies grow up, there's quite a few game changers that completely mix up your daily routine. There's the major ones, like rolling over (don't leave me on the bed anymore, mom! I will fall right off and break my head!), crawling (you have to poop mom? Cool. I'm going to crawl away from you as fast as I can and open the bathroom cupboard with the bleach!), pulling themselves up (oh hey cute frames on the shelves! I'm gonna pull you right onto my eye and poke it right out!), standing up in the crib (Oh, it's nap time you say? Well I'd rather stand up and scream for you instead! Go ahead, lay me down and see what happens next!) and walking (bye mom! I'll never sit still again!).

Then there's the less assuming game changers - some of them good and some not so great - like learning to put their own pacifier in their mouth in the middle of the night (whew!) locking a closet door when they're inside and you're putting laundry away (SOS), discovering how much fun it is to pull on the roll of TP when you look away for 5 seconds.... the list is endless.

Today's game changer may seem minor, but it was one I was waiting on for weeks now: opening the refrigerator on his own. Now every time Kyle goes in the kitchen (the place we spend the majority of our mornings and afternoons), you better believe he's opening that door to check out what's inside. He's been very interested in the contents of the fridge for months now; every time it would open his little hands would touch everything in reach and I'd have to pry him away to close the door.

How does this change my daily routine you may ask? I now have to teach him the appropriate times to open the fridge with my permission, or utilize the baby-proof mechanism, which means that every. single. time. I open it, I must first unclasp a latch. Game frickin' changer.

cuz you're happy?

If this is the happiest day of their life, why does it look like someone just told them their dog died? Even North looks miz.

I'm sure this photo will be viewed 1,000,000 times today and people will love it, but I don't understand these serious poses. It looks like they're sick. I guess I'm a bigger fan of the smiles in this instance (and really in every other instance). More "Yay! We're married!" a la JT and less "Do I look sexy right now?"

Shouldn't a wedding portrait showcase the joy you're feeling inside at that moment? Oh wait, maybe it is...

#kyleandpenny

About 2 months ago I had a terrible day with this wagon. Kyle refused to sit down in it, my back was hurting and I couldn't lift/carry him, so we spent 20 minutes fighting each other and both crying as we tried to make the 10 foot walk home. After that day I put the wagon away and knew we needed some space.

Now that Kyle has grown up a bit and (kind of) understands the rules that he needs to SIT at all times, the wagon is fun again! The past couple of days we've taken it to the park and ran around on the grass. We took it to a birthday party, the corner market and we also ride in style to gym class. This wagon was the present Brian & I gave Kyle on his 1st birthday in the hopes that we'd make many memories with it over the years, and we're already well on our way to doing that.

Also, I love looking back at old photos of Kyle & Penny together to see how much they've grown and to think of how much all of our lives have changed. Just 15 months ago our days were filled with snuggles, long nursing sessions, naps and... not much else. Penny thought she had a new buddy to sleep next to all day long, but she was in for a surprise! Now we are go, go, go all day long. Penny joins us in the back yard for water play, she goes on wagon rides, watches us at the playground, sits in the basket for family bike rides and has to always be on her guard for tiny hands grabbing her ears/legs/tail without warning. We're very lucky that Kyle learned early on to be "gentle" with his sister and other animals, but he's still a toddler and loves to play rough. Penny has been a trouper and is very patient with him, and also with me when I sometimes lose my cool with her after a stressful day. She's such an important part of our family!

snip snip

There's something about a baby's 1st hair cut that's a bit heartbreaking. Snipping off those delicate baby hairs is like shedding some of the "baby-ness" and a big step toward turning into a big boy.

We just had to go for it though, because those side curls Kyle had going on were getting out of control - they were a good inch longer than the rest of his hair. Brave dad took out his scissors and went to town, and he did a great job! ...and mom only cried for a second :)

summer bucket list

Last year Kyle was my little sidekick on summer playdates and adventures (he was 5-8 months), but wasn't old enough to enjoy/participate in the summer festivities. This year I'm really looking forward to doing lots of fun stuff with him, especially because he is obsessed with water and being outside! I can't wait to take him to the splash pad, swim with friends and make homemade popsicles. I am a little worried about his pale skin and keeping it protected, so I'm in the market for an easy spray sunscreen that I can reapply throughout the day (I've been using Neutrogena baby sunscreen, which is great but it's a mess to reapply). But in the meantime, I thought I'd make us a summer bucket list to get us me excited about the coming months:

• Go to the splash pad
• Homemade fruit popsicles (I need to find some molds)
• Concert in the park as many times as we can go!
• OC Fair
• Play in the sprinklers
• Swim with friends
• Fly a kite
• See fireworks
• Go for tons of bike rides
• Buy ice cream from the ice cream truck for the 1st time
• Do sidewalk chalk somewhere other than our back yard
• Make a tin foil river out front
• Make a water bin
• Ice chalk!
• Make sidewalk paint & get some brushes
• See a parade
• Do a 5K with Kyle in the jogger
• Go to a new park
• Do picnic dinners
• Go to the water park at my mom's house
• Farmer's market for yummy berries and corn

Cheers to summer! I need a tan!