7 Years

(June 25, 2004)
Today is Matt and I's 7 year wedding anniversary. Hard to believe it has been 7 years, but also seems like a life time ago that we were heading up to Lionscrest in the drizzle for our wedding. We have had a great ride so far and are both excited for what the next 7 years have in store for us. Hopefully good health for us and the boys, lots of adventures and laughs, and a move back to CO! In lieu of getting a babysitter and doing something romantic, we opted for a fun family outing this morning. We packed up all our bikes and went over to Geneva for a bike ride along the river and lunch. Charlie did great in the Chariot - zoned out and then passed out, and our big boy rode his bike the entire time. We can hardly believe we are now riding bikes with him on his own. He had a few falls, one really big one on a steep hill in a parking lot, but even with a major tumble and bloody knees, he hopped right back on the bike and asked if we could go for another ride after his nap. Our goal is for him to be training wheel free by the end of the summer:) We are both so proud of how adventurous, brave and tough he is. We're gonna grill burgers with the boys tonight and maybe watch a little Entourage after they go to bed. A pretty great day to celebrate #7.

(June 25, 2011 - taken at lunch by our 3 year old!)

A riding break to skip rocks






before we started riding...

and after

Grammy and Papa Ross

We had a great last 10 days with Grammy and Papa Ross at our house. My mom flew home with us from FL and Ross came in last week for the end of her stay. We had a great time bumming around and even managed to get in some fun touristy Chicago activities while they were here. It is so nice that my mom has the summers off and can still get to enjoy extended periods of time with the boys even though we now live 1,000 miles apart. Only bummer is when we have to drop her off at airport:( Thanks guys for another great trip, we love you!

at the Morton Arboretum

Getting Papa Ross to climb the giant tree house with him


the heat took it out of Charlie

cooling off


Before taking the Chicago architectural tour



Look at what a mini-me Alec is - I can't get over how similar their cheese faces are

with my babies

Modeling his new summer shades

Our moose boy - I got on the scale with him yesterday and he clocked in at 17.9 lbs - I had hardly fit him into several of his 6 month outfits already.

We didn't remember to take a pic on Father's Day, so here is one a few days late. Matt is a wonderful, hands-on dad and the boys and I couldn't love him more :)

Giggles

Seriously, how cute is this??

Big Boy Bike

After demonstrating his maturity and budding sense of responsibility by putting an entire cooked noodle up his nose at dinner last night (which I had to remove in about 10 pieces via tweezers at the dinner table,) we decided to give Alec his new summer toy - a big boy bike. He has been riding his strider bike with ease and confidence for about a year now, so we have been talking a lot about a big boy bike and we decided that if Alec could teach himself to pedal on a tricycle that we would get him one this summer. The idea of a big bike like his dad's was impossible for Alec to resist, so he mastered the art of pedaling in a few days before our trip to the beach and yesterday we busted out his new bike. He was beyond excited. We first attempted to go straight to 2 wheels, skipping the training wheels altogether, but since Alec is still mastering the art of pedaling, doing that while balancing was a little too hard. So, the training wheels are on and he's ready! He only had a chance to ride around the driveway a bit last night b/c it was getting dark, but he did great and can't wait to practice more after his nap this afternoon. Here are a few pics of my big boy, and his big boy bike!

Not sure if there is anything cuter than a boy learning to ride a bike with his dad. I still remember my dad running behind me in his suit the day I learned to ride on my first 2 wheeler when I was a kid:)

Beach Vacay!

We got home on Sunday from a week vacay at Amelia Island, a great spot just north of Jacksonville, FL. We lived up life on the beach! The boys and I joined my mom, my sister, my Aunt Barbie, and my cousin Rhett and his son Tyler. Both boys continue to be great travelers, and aside from Alec's 3 year old tantrums and meltdowns (which there were certainly a fair share of) we had a terrific time. Charlie charmed everyone; he loved lounging in the sand and listening to the waves, and was pretty much game for anything we wanted to do with him. He has been deemed by all in my family as an amazingly sweet, care free, and easy going little man. Alec was his usual crazy self and loved all the freedom he had to run wild at both the ocean and the pool. Plus, we were only about 90 miles south of Savannah, so we also got to spend a day and half visiting my dad and Loretta! We certainly missed having Matt with us, but we had an awesome time with family and I loved seeing how delighted both boys were with traveling and being at the beach:) I think I took about 400 pics, so here is a small sampling of some of them.


In his first pair of swim trunks

Tyler and Alec in their matching pirate jams

Chatting with Bub





Love from Aunt Abby, aka Root


Rhett and Charlie

Loretta made Alec his very own dog cake - Dodo was waiting for him when we got to Savannah.

Mr smiles rolled over for the first time while we were in Savannah - he actually did it twice and then refused to do it again b/c I got out my video camera.

Retta and Charlie

Alec had a ball with Papa Randy - a few highlights were riding in the convertible, aka the "no top," riding in the golf cart, and going to the recycle center.

plus some yard work


and more sweet treats from Retta


More matching clothes, we couldn't resist

We brought Dodo back to the condo and he lasted approximately one evening




Charlie also celebrated his 3 month b-day on the trip - his second monthly anniversary spent on the rode (last month we were in CO.) Like I said, he has started to roll over, he loves to coo and chat back and forth with us, he smiles constantly, he has started to laugh, and he has started to successfully grab for things. Matt and I think he is pretty much perfect in every way! (He also continues to look more and more like his big brother.)






Tyler got a new boogie board for the trip, and riding it was one of Alec's favorite things to do!

With the ladies, Charlie has beach life down

He took several 2 + hr naps on the beach


and tested the water

All in all, a great vacation