So I lied - pics from the ice park!

Corralling two boys is not easy. You can see the displeasure on both of their faces.

Fish slide.

Crawling through an ice tunnel. CRM had a blast in it. Husband and I were surprised he didn't get scared.

Weeeee!!!!

I'm Calling It

I'm doing it, I'm calling it, spring is here! My mom will put me in the category of crazy with all the other newbie Alaskans who don't know any better, but I don't care. We have had temps in the high 20's, low 30's for a week and a half now, the snow is slowly melting, the sun is out, our days are longer...IT'S SPRING! And yes, I realize that only in Alaska do you declare spring when the temps are in the 20s! It has been wonderful. I've taken the boys outside to play and get fresh air every day; we've been to the park and CRM has played on the playground, gone down the slides, and even swung on the big boy swings! He is getting so grown up, well, for a two year old. I've been most amazed at how well he leaves the playground. Very minimal crying, but not tantrums, kicking or screaming, and running away from me. It'll be really great next year when I don't have to lug OMM around, 16lbs gets heavy, especially after an hour.

With spring here, it means the semester is almost over, which means Husband's job at the university will be on hiatus until September. This means we get much much more of him! The boys are missing him, and so am I. It's been a rough three months. Summer is going to be so awesome!

CRM is growing every day in every way. It's no wonder every parent of a two year old thinks their kid is a genius. There is such rapid development and he changes every day. He still isn't saying much we can understand, but what he understands is unbelievable. CRM picks up things so fast now.

OMM is still a movin' and a shakin'. Not much slows him down. The biggest development is how much he enjoys watching and interacting with his big brother. He lets CRM chase him around and giggling and laughing abound.

Husband and I took the kids to the Ice Park last week. CRM had a great time on the ice slides. This year they had a "train" (4-wheeler pulling carts) at the park, so we took a ride and saw all the sculptures the easy way. CRM thought it was a lot of fun. Check out the website to see more, it really is a sight to behold: www.icealaska.com I'll post pics sometime.

You all take care and enjoy the coming spring. Get outside and enjoy the fresh air!

Gumba Went Bonkers

The stars finally aligned and I was able to bring Gumba into town to play at the local toddler playroom. We had a great time once Gumba relaxed and stopped the white knuckle death grip. There was a very outgoing 2 year old that Gumba watched and learned from. I thought he'd have a little more fun then he did, but I think he's a tad bit shy because he's not in daycare. I sort of like the idea of daycare twice a month or so to get him around others his age. But who knows, that costs money and there are germs, and scheduled sleep times which would inevitably be different then his. Just a thought I've been toying with.

Also, I got my parents signed up for Skype. Today they saw Gumba for the first time via a webcam and seemed to really enjoy it. Gumba also was pretty interested in it, and the fact he was able to touch a computer. My sister happened to be over at the house, she hasn't seem him since Thanksgiving.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUMBA

One year old, can you believe it? I know he's gotten older, but a year older? No way. Husband and I had a bunch of people over yesterday to celebrate. I think Gumba had a great time. He didn't seem overwhelmed at all, must be that male selective hearing kicking in because I sure was overwhelmed. Take a look at the pics:


The cake was a homemade applesauce and banana cake with cream cheese frosting. Did you expect anything less from a wannabe hippie mom? He was a master at eating it, and everyone couldn't understand how it didn't get everywhere. What a champ!

Here he is eating his cake. Isn't he just precious!

The proud parents and birthday boy.

Our presents were a big hit with the two and under crowd, go me!

Gumba practicing rushing his cousin with a pig in his hand. That jersey spoke volumes to him! He more than once took her out. It's a good thing she has six other siblings, or else the tears would have flowed for sure. However, she was terrified of the dogs.

It's been a wonderful year, and I can't wait for all that year two will bring. We do have a great video of him eating his cake, however, it's too big to post here. Stay tuned for the YouTube link.

Jumperoo kicks a$$

Here is a video of Gumba in his jumperoo. He jumps so hard in it, it's amazing. Once he moved it a foot forward. We've been putting him in it since he was ten weeks old. Gumba has always loved to stand/jump and our arms got so tired we decided to try it out, and he had good head control early on so we could. I'm not sure how parents survived without these things, they are amazing, and make good babysitters :) Enjoy watching.