MLB's First Professional Haircut.

Michael’s First Professional Haircut

So today I bit the bullet and took Michael in to a kiddie salon for his first professional haircut.  Dennis usually does the trimming around here.  I mean, how can you mess up a buzz cut, right?  I thought maybe we should see what someone else could do with his hair.  Man, oh man, what a huge mistake.  We walked in to wait twenty minutes for him to sit in a chair with a stranger (who didn't chat with him at all) arming a clipping tool to do the exact same thing Dennis does for a whopping $28!!  Can you believe that?!  Needless to say, I’ve learned my lesson.  Daddy is just as good as the professionals in my book!!  We’ll let him keep him official title as barber here in our house.

Little Pool of Fun!!

Little Pool of Fun!!

Who says you need a big pool to have a good time?

Week Forty-Five (William Reagan)!!

I'm 45 weeks old...

and so over taking these weekly photos.

All Aboard...

All Aboard...

Who has the best Gramma in the whole wide world??  We do!!  We do!!  Gramma decided that today would be the day she introduced us to one of her favorite places, The All Aboard Diner.  And, let us tell you that boy oh boy did she pick a great place.  We got to sit right in front of a train that brought out food out to us and was served by a real conductor!!  We had an awesome time chowing down and watching the train go round and round.  

Thanks, Gramma, for the awesome treat!!

Michael and William

Snapshots of the Day...

Thursdays With Michael.

I know that most of the time you find yourself reading my posts and I am bragging on and on about how wonderful things are.  Well, the truth is, they aren't always so wonderful.  As a mom I am sort of a head case.  You know the type, going to all ends of the Earth to mold my kids into perfect little human beings and at times somewhere along the line I lose my sense of reality.  You see, Michael just turned two.  And, my Michael really isn't talking.  I know, I know.  Some of you are thinking "He's two and doesn't speak?"  While some of you may be going "He's ONLY two."  You know who you are.  It all began at Michael's two year appointment.  I always walk in to D-Mats' office with short list of questions.  My list for Michael's two year appointment consisted of 1. We've been treating that tiny wart on Michael's foot.  How do you think it looks?  2.  He is an extremely picky eater.  Any suggestions?  Should I supplement him?  3.  Why isn't my two year-old speaking?  As usual my pediatrician answered all of my questions very smoothly with responses I already expected.  But, then I asked #3 and gave my reasoning behind my question my world was sort of thrown off kilter.  I was told that Michael's vocabulary should consist of 25-30 words (Michael maybe says 6 consistently) and BLAH, Blah, blah... enter panic.  I didn't really hear anything else he had to say other than "You should have him evaluated.  It's easier to intervene when they are younger.  Sounds to me like EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE DISORDER."  So, what do I do?  I rush home and Google EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE DISORDER.  To make a long story short, my worries have been put to ease.  After tons of reading, research and conversations with therapists I believe that Michael (who seems to be a little ahead of "schedule" when it comes to every other milestone) is just going to talk when he is darn good and ready.  I am well aware that there are many factors playing roles in his language development.  I have gone over each one in my head a million and two times.  He doesn't have to ask for anything because I am always one step ahead of the kid.  How much attention is Michael really getting when his little brother soaks up every single moment he can of Mommy time?  He signs, so why use his words?  HIS PACIFIER!!  Let it me known that the day of Michael's appointment was also his last day with his pacifier.  We took it away from him in hopes that it would encourage him to speak more.  We went the cold turkey route, and I was simply horrified about taking away his favorite item on the planet.  Much to my surprise he only asked for it once and we are now sailing smoothly to "MICHAEL NO LONGER NEEDS A PACIFIER" land!  It appears that the paci was pacifying Dennis and I more than it was Michael.  

So, now on Thursdays my MIL takes William so that Michael and I can spend some quiet quality time together focusing on Michael.  We do all sorts of things.  This particular Thursday I took him to Westmont Yard- where my son would rather vacuum than kick soccer balls.  Hey, I'm in love with this plan!!  His Daddy, not so much.  Needless to say, I have spent many hours worrying "is there something wrong with my baby?"  The truth is, and you see it everywhere you turn, kids develop at different rates.  I think as a mom I need to slow down for a second and enjoy every moment with both boys instead of marking off milestones on their (what seem to be never ending) to-do lists.

Week Forty-Four (William Reagan)!!

I'm 44 weeks old...

and won't sit still!

Meet FatStuff...

Our squirrel.  I use the word "our" loosely here, mind you.  He really doesn't belong to us at all.  We have sort of adopted him, well kind of.  Since the day we moved in FatStuff (as we like to call him) greets us every morning as we are beginning our day with the boys eating their breakfast in the kitchen.  FatStuff seemed to take a liking to watching the boys eat.  At first, it was kind of cute.  Then I just felt terrible for the little guy that he ,too, couldn't enjoy Cheerios and granola bars to jumpstart his day.  Enter bird feeder.  Now every morning we come down to the kitchen, throw together gather our morning treats and right there with FatStuff enjoy the first meal of the day.  After all, breakfast is the most important!

I Scream, You Scream...

William screams for ice cream and Michael (the wonderful big brother that he is) shares his vanilla cone- which technically began as Will's cone until Michael "borrowed" it from him.  So sweet, I couldn't leave a single snapshot out.  This happens to be Dennis' favorite cold treat spot.  I happen to love the shop itself, throws you right back into the 50's.  I think Michael and William just love it for the sugar and not so much the barstools and wainscoting.

Riddle Me This, Batman...

How do you get your wife to vacuum/sweep the floors every single day??  Install a sandbox in your backyard.  If you will recall my Dad made this little itsy bitsy (enter sarcasm here) sandbox for the boys as a joint birthday present.  I love you, Dad, but that's a lot of sand and it always makes its way into my darn house.  I guess it's a small price to pay for the hours upon hours upon hours of entertainment it provides for Thing 1 and Thing 2.

Week Forty-Three (William Reagan)!!

I'm 43 weeks old!!

Summer Sun!

Sun and Sand.

We were so excited that summer finally decided to show up because that means we have the chance to play at Ty Warner Park again.  I know I've mentioned this magical place before, but in case you missed it... Ty Warner Park.  If you live in the suburbs it is worth packing your tot(s) up and making the trip to Westmont.  Today, we enjoyed the sandbox.  How else could you waste away those four hours between nap and dinner/bedtime?  Let me count the ways... splash pad, walking paths, baseball fields, playground galore.  Ponds, water fountains, lakes oh-my!  You can't go wrong.

Usually parks with so many tot attractions are not maintained very well, but this one manicured to the nines.  I love this park, and I think the boys do, too...

Coupon Helper.

William decided he wanted to get in on the money saving madness that 

takes place every Sunday in our house...

TWO!!

Michael woke me up this morning by tickling my nose.  I opened my eyes to see this giggling two year-old boy.  When did he turn two?  Where have the last twenty four months gone?  We were so excited to celebrate this little boy!

We had a lazy morning as we ate Michael's favorite breakfast (pancakes), played with Michael's new favorite toy (swing installed by Boompa) and ran about the backyard as though we were all turning two.

Our afternoon continued with having a small group of guests over as we bbq'd to celebrate Michael's second year. Although Mother Nature didn't exactly cooperate with us for this event we still enjoyed our afternoon outside watching Michael run around, laugh with his brother and best buddy, Kody, make wishes, blow out two candles and dig into some cake.  It was splendid!

Thank you to everyone who took time out of their Saturday afternoon to join us.  We love each of you and I'm sure Michael appreciated you being there in honor of his two fantastic years!!

Happy Birthday, Michael Lincoln Log!!

Water Babies.

Week Forty-Two (William Reagan)!!

I'm 42 weeks old!!

Doop Coop.

It's been sometime since I've had the chance to get away for the night and leave Dennis in charge of both boys.  And, by "sometime" I mean NEVER!  So, let's just say I was a little stoked about this past weekend- I got away with some of my favorite ladies.  Jane, Danielle and I were off to Peoria to pay the Pup a little visit.  Let's just say Friday went like this... nice two hour drive down south.  Six minute tour of the Pup's new digs.  Five hours of consuming adult beverages on Laura's amazing front porch while people watching- notice the tarp pool full of 20 year olds.  One hour of Happy Hour on the Illinois River.  Two hours @ Weaver Ridge Golf Course enjoying some much needed food (and Vodka) served to us by who else?  THE PUP.  Three hours at the casino (and gambling away $100 that was not mine.  Damn you 15!).  One and a half hours at a Steak 'n Shake before my head hit the pillow at 3:30 AM.  We had a blast, and Dennis and the boys survived without me.  I think I'll grab my calendar so we can plan our next trip.  Thanks, Puppy (and Glenna), for the hospitality!  Doop Coop forever.

Our {Zoo}.

Geeesh, was today B.E.A.U.TI.FUL!  The zoo it is.  Auntie DL and Boompa joined us today and we had a great time.  Really, if you are looking to kill a couple of hours the zoo is the way to go.  We're in the middle of one of the worst nap schedules of all time.  Will is in between two (long) and three (short) naps, and Michael one.  None of these naps coincide with one another.  Really.  I ALWAYS have a child up during the middle of the day assisting me in my motherly duties (i.e. dishes, laundry, snoozing, vacuuming).  So, when I say it's a nice way to kill a couple of hours I'm speaking of the 2 1/2 hours mid-morning for us when both boys happen to be awake at the same time.  Hence, our zoo.  Usually people go to the zoo for the day.  Not us.  I love that Michael has started to take interest in the animals.  For a long time there we would go to the zoo to, well, how do I say it, burn calories.  All we did was walk around and frolic on the playground.  Yes, we went to the zoo to play on the playground.  I know what you're thinking.  You don't have to say it.  Whatever keeps 'em happy, right?  William still enjoys the walking and playing, not the animals so much.  So, Den had a great time educating Michael on all things wildlife and William and I blew bubbles at each other while my father-in-law literally tried to get the attention of a polar bear by waving and jumping up and down.  Unfortunately, my camera was out of my reach for this portion of the experience.  One minute into our drive home both boys fell asleep, only for William to wake up the second we got into the driveway and Michael a brief 34 minutes later.  Ugh.  Not all naps are created equal I suppose.