Ruth the Great!

Last weekend we made the impulsive decision to drive up to Sacramento to see some family and friends. It was a quick but much needed trip for all of us. We got to see old friends and introduce Jonathan to the family! Matt has been enjoying a show called "Little Bill" and on the show Little Bill has a great grandmother that he calls Alice the Great. In order to explain my grandmother to him, we used that as a reference and it stuck. So now, she's "Ruth the Great"! She blushes every time and it's just too cute!

Matt played at the playground near the first house we owned.

Matt continues to amaze us with his sudden desire to explore on playgrounds. We are both still a bit leery about letting him do it without standby assistance!

One of Matt's favorite things to say these days is "I did it by self!" Such a proud big boy!

My mom met us at the playground for a little playtime with the boys.

Ruth the Great helps Jonathan get to his toy that was just too far to reach.

Matt was playing doctor and taking Ruth the Great's blood pressure one morning during our visit. She was so gracious to let us crash at her house during our last minute visit, it was the least he could do to offer his medical services!

Now he's self medicating. That's never good!

She was able to sneak in a little cuddle time while Matt was playing.

A little cuddle time for Jonathan as well.

More cuddle time for Jonathan. But, this cuddle time ended in a bit of a large accident and everyone involved had to change clothes! It was a full blowout just in time to say goodbye and get on the road headed home. What a way to finish the visit. She says we're welcome back though!

We tried to get Matt in the shot, but he gave a pouty lip and decided to hide his face. Jonathan enjoyed his photo shoot. Maybe he knew what he had in store for Ruth the Great!

Silly boys!

I am in a house full of silly boys, and I love it!

We took Matt back up to the indoor playground last weekend. It was CRAZY in there because the weather was a bit chilly and rainy. Matt was reserved to say the least and ready to go eat a little earlier than planned.

Nick and Matt pose with their drinks. Matt is so proud of his big boy drinks these days and he had posed with me for a shot, so he asked me to "take a picture of me & Daddy, Mommy"!

My other goofy boy poses here during a game of peek-a-boo!

Out Front!

Matt loves to play in the front yard these days. He loves going out there to see what neighborhood kids are out playing.

Sometimes he just amuses himself, like when he waters the plants.

This picture says it all. He is having so much fun these days and makes us smile and laugh every day.

Peek-a-boo!

He's checking out the birds' nest up in our eaves. It's right outside Jonathan's bedroom window and is causing a bit of an uproar at times. Matt was trying to figure out where the big bird kept disappearing to up there.

Nick brought home an airplane a few months ago and Matt is very attached to it. Here he is running around the yard flying his airplane.

This one comes with airplane sounds!

Here's our silly boy! He is really into dancing and singing since he started preschool. It is so fun to see all that he is learning these days.

Nick caught a picture of us playing one of Matt's favorite games, "you can't catch me". He doesn't get the whole concept of backing yourself into a corner yet. That's a good thing!

Trip to the pool!

We finally took advantage of the wonderful pool that we have in our new neighborhood. We took both the boys and met our friend Aaron and his son Waylon for a couple of hours of fun in the sun and water.

Jonathan chilled in his stroller for a bit while the boys got settled and swimming. He got to take his first dip in the pool and he loved it. We knew he'd like it because he kicks like crazy in the bathtub and always gives me a big bottom lip when he realizes I have let the water out!

We were a bit busy keeping our eyes on the boys while we were there, so I only got a picture of Matt out of the water. He enjoyed playing with his toys as well as borrowing the slew of toys brought by other children that day.

Once we got home, I just couldn't resist taking this picture of Jonathan. He was in such a great mood and just cracked me up with this one. He looks like he's ready for an Outback adventure!

Teaching Jonathan

Matt has been a great big brother from the start, but recently he has started to try to share his toys. He often points things out in the car and will tell Jonathan, "Look, there's a big truck, Jonathan." The most recent thing he has started to do is to teach Jonathan things and interact more with him while he's playing on the floor.

Jonathan is drooling a bit, as you can see. No sign of teeth yet, but he's a faucet some days! He has started reaching out for toys while he's on his belly and just this weekend he rolled from his back to his belly 3 times, but only to the right for now. Watch out, Jonathan will be on the move soon, rolling around everywhere!

A Mother's Day Visit

Nick was out of town over the weekend, winning first place at the Yaga's Wild Game Cookoff . The boys enter every year, but only seem to win something every 4 years. This was Nick's year!

Here's the team minus Erik Lynch who was off shore that weekend. Tony, John, Nick, Roon, Sean and Chris have a blast each year in the cookoff.

After a bit of mayhem, drinking, and a first place trophy, here's another team picture.

My mom came in to spend Mother's Day with me and the boys while Nick was out of town! We had a short visit, but it was great to spend some time together and Matt really enjoyed seeing Grandma.

Here are some pictures of me & Jonathan. He's learning to ham it up for the camera!

My mom worked on some baseball skills with Matt while I was inside feeding Jonathan. I think he's finally getting the "run the bases" concept.

He's rounding first!

I guess Grandma got the ball and he had to wait on third.

I don't really know what happened here, but he looks like he is saying his usual, "oh no, I fall down!" I'd say he slid into home, but the ball's on the tee. No telling!

We took Grandma on the long trek to the park in our neighborhood. The walk alone is a good workout, and then add chasing Matt around the playground. This was Matt's first time down the big slide at the playground. He's come a long way with his play recently.

Jonathan went to the park and stayed in his stroller, got a bottle, and smiled and laughed a lot while we were there. This was when we got back. He's a bit bright in this picture. He's got his 2 toys as well as a loud bib, and the beads that Matt thought he needed to carry on the way back from the park. Seems happy with all that stuff!

I tried to get a picture of my mom with the boys, but Matt decided he'd rather entertain his brother than get in a picture.

Lions and tigers and planes, oh my!

A few weeks ago, we decided to take the weekend and drive in a couple of directions. On Friday we ventured off to find the Orange County Zoo. It was an adventure, but not one that we expected. The zoo was limited with the amount of animals they have, but the surrounding area was amazing. Now we have to go to San Diego for sure, so Matt can see an amazing zoo!

Matt was so funny with the goats at the zoo. He even tried to give one of them a hug through the fence.

Matt saw the "choo choo" and the ducks were old news. We made a run for the train so we could catch a ride.

This was as close as we could get to getting Matt to look at the camera. We had to face the train so he was looking in the right direction. It was a great distraction!

The boys had a good ride while Jonathan and I waited until the ride was over.

The next day we went down to San Diego for the Red Bull air show. The actual show was during nap time, so we just went to see the planes and pilots. Matt was so excited. We kept him in the stroller for most of the morning so we didn't have to chase him inside the hangers and away from the planes.

We stopped to watch a plane take off. There was also a helicopter landing right next to us, that scared Matt a bit, but he still loved it!

Here's one of the planes we saw. Matt was fighting the stroller by this time.

Freedom from the stroller!