Father's Day 2016

Father's Day weekend has been a blast! It has been busy, but so much fun. Saturday morning we let John open his presents. Mellany picked out a KC Royals Beach Towel, a KC Royals coozie, a basketball and a wallet. For Johnny, I picked out a car t-shirt for him to give to John. I mixed his love for cars with John's love for back massages.....it was a win-win! After opening his gifts we went to see "Finding Dory" at the movie theater (See: "Johnny's First Movie" post) then completed some housework for the rest of the day. 

On Sunday we went to church, made a trip to Lowe's, had mexican for lunch then finished some housework until Virginia got here and then went out for dinner. 

I can't say enough what a great dad John is to Mellany and Johnny.  He has such a busy work life but ALWAYS makes time for the kids (and myself) whenever they need him. They love to play hide and seek and be chased by him. Johnny especially loves to ride in daddy's truck and Mellany loves having him lay in bed with her and scratch her back. He truly is "the fun one"!

Johnny's First Movie!

We went to see "Finding Dory" this weekend as a family for father's day/Johnny's first movie. We have seen a ton of previews for it and thought it might be a good time to go as a family to the theater. He lasted about an hour which we were actually pretty impressed with....that was about as long as the popcorn and M&M's lasted. :) After that he got bored and tried climbing all over the seats, railing etc. At that point we knew it was time for him to leave, so John took him out and Mellany and I finished the movie. It was a really cute movie! I think we will wait till he's a little older to take him to another movie. 

{{Somewhat}} Wordless Sunday!

We've had a lot of randomness going on lately and I'm thankful for pictures to help me keep track of the chaos. Here's what we've been up to....

We're getting ready to paint the house and a trip to Sherwin Williams resulted in these sweet balloons. The kids fought over each other's balloons for three days, mom and dad were over it, and somehow they got popped in the middle of the night....strange how those things happen! 

Mommy and Johnny selfie

Slip N Slide with Lauren

Mellany's 2nd trip to the dentist and she was a rockstar! She even let them take X-rays....and that was after telling John and I that she would not be taking pictures of her teeth....we were so proud!!! 

This boy....just felt like pulling his pants up...

Mellany's photography

"Painting" the house and truck

Diva!

Typical Lunch

Mellany's Dentist Visit #2

Jump Start Summer Camp

Mellany had so much fun attending her preschool's summer camp that I had to make it into it's own post. They got to talk to firefighters and tour a firetruck, have a water play day, wear jammies and most importantly talk about God's creation of Earth. She was completely exhausted every single day and cried when Friday came and it was over. We'll definitely be sending her back next summer!

I am so thankful for teachers who take lots of pictures! 

Johnny: #2

Another year has flown by and our baby boy is now 2. He has changed and grown so much over this past year that we can hardly keep up. It has been incredible to watch him develop into his own personality and we couldn't be more proud to call him our son!

Here's a little bit about Johnny:

• All of his teeth are in except for his final molars, which we are expecting any day
• He has one speed: running. Because he likes to run so much and his feet can't quite keep up, he's been wearing a lot of bandaids. If he isn't running, he is usually galloping. 
• He loves to sing
• Paw Patrol is his favorite show
• Johnny is wearing size 4 diapers
• Clothes sizes: 2T (3T Jammies)
• He is super strong! He can push/pull just about anything he wants to (Mellany's power heels, John & I's bicycles, chairs, etc)
• He loves to help with anything and will tell us to "Be Careful" if we are carrying something. He has also recently told me to "slow down mom" while driving
• His vocabulary is incredible. He talks more right now than I ever would have imagined! 
• Swinging is one of his favorite outdoor activities, as is riding our little camouflage 4-wheeler and playing in water
• Johnny is obsessed with trucks/cars/tractors/construction equipment/airplanes/trains. They are his go-to for playing. He also really loves legos. 
• He loves to pretend to cook
• He is so interested in finding out how everything works and he will do whatever it takes to do that (like laying on the floor)
• As a true little brother, he can identify a few of the disney princesses by name
• He loves to watch firetrucks on youtube
• Wearing his hat is a must
• He tells me all the time that he needs to potty, but doesn't have any desire to really sit on the potty yet
• He no longer has a binky (we got rid of it shortly after his second birthday). Instead, he has a really cute stuffed puppy that he picked out. The transition was really pretty easy and probably could have been done a lot sooner.
• He sleeps very well. He will take an afternoon nap around 1:00-4:00 and then sleep from 8:00pm-7:30am
• He loves to be chased and play hide and seek
• He doesn't like sudden change (especially when coming inside) and needs to be given a 5/10 minute warning.
• He loves to eat and will try just about anything. His favorite foods are chicken nuggets, muffins, donuts, tuna casserole, applesauce, mandarin oranges, plain strawberry poptarts, yogurt, cereal bars and apple juice.
• He can go up and down stairs at a super fast speed.
• He loves to pick out his jammies for bed
• Riding on the lawn mower or "daddy's truck" is a big highlight
• His #1 buddy is another little boy named Simon
• Johnny is always saying please and thank you, you're welcome, no thank you and excuse me-often without having to be reminded
• He loves any book that has trucks/cars/etc on it and Biscuit books. Other than that, his desire to read doesn't last long
• He can do some counting and can partially say the ABC's. He also knows a few colors and shapes. These are definitely things we will be working on in the next year.
• He follows directions when he feels like it. Sometimes you have to be "right there" to tell him something, but he will usually do it without fuss. 
• He has a love for water
• Getting his hair cut is like torture for him
• There isn't much that really scares Johnny
• He loves animals--especially our neighborhood cat Oreo
• There are times when Johnny doesn't want to do what he is asked and flat out tells us "no". For that he gets to sit in time-out. He does not like being in timeout and cries the whole time he's there. 
• He has learned how to loosen the straps on his car seat. Thankfully, he will be switching to Mellany's soon and it is more difficult to loosen. For now, we will use a safety pin. 
• He would prefer to not wear any shoes and loves to take his pants and diaper off
• He has started brushing his teeth on his own (with help from us when he's done)
• When he eats, he is a hot mess all over...his hair, his ears, his lap...it's all a mess. 
• He loves to play play-doh
• Watching the trash trucks pick up our neighborhood trash is one of his favorite times of the week

On our "to-do" list for the next year: Potty training, ABC's, Counting, Colors, Shapes

2 Year Wellness Exam

Weight: 26# 6oz

Height: 34"

Head Circumference: 50.5cm (19.88")

Johnny's 2 year appointment went great! He was a little reluctant to get on the scales and have his height measurement taken but we did get it done. After we entered the exam room he quickly sat on my lap and did not move or speak except for "thank you" to the nurse for bringing him a sticker. I was partially ok with this because I was able to answer all her questions easily and without her having to repeat herself one hundred times. Once the nurse left, we took his shirt and shorts off and played trucks while we waited--he was his totally normal self. As soon as Dr. Fahler knocked on the door and entered the room, he was back on my lap and went totally mute. Again, this was nice to be able to talk about his development and answer questions that Dr. Fahler had, but on the down side, Dr. Fahler didn't get to witness his normal behavior and that he loves to talk. Once Dr. Fahler looked in his ears and attempted to look in his mouth (Johnny would open his mouth but then put his hand in front of it), the appointment was over. Dr. Fahler was very pleased with everything I told him as far as eating, physical development and growth and his mental development (he was particularly impressed that he can loosen his car seat straps). A different nurse came back in and let him pick a sticker, also checked his head circumference, and we were finished. Hallelujah for no shots!!!! We go back in 6 months for his next wellness exam. 

Birthday Celebration!
This year's celebration was so much fun!! Gammy, Nana, Aunt Amy and Daxton were all here to celebrate with us and it was a blast. We had cookie cake and took a trip to play and eat at Chuck E Cheese. Johnny was completely spoiled by the gifts he got (including presents specifically picked out by Mellany and Daxton--which I love!) and was in heaven! 

Presents!

Chuck E Cheese!

Playing on the iPad...waiting for Johnny to wake up

Teasing Uncle John/Daddy

"Happy Birthday"

Playing Johnny's birthday game: Uno Moo

Opening Presents