Lake Alpine

We ventured on our first family camping trip this past weekend...I know what you're thinking, camping with a crawler, are they nuts??  Yes, we may be just a little nutty, and after four days in the wilderness, a little dirty and smelly, but we had so much fun and can't wait to do it again.  Little Guy was in heaven playing in the dirt, eating in the dirt, walking barefoot in the dirt, basically anything in the dirt.  And Mr. Wyatt Bear likes anything his brother likes, so we were left with two very dirty bears.  The weather was beautiful during the day but FREEZING at night.  We all ended up huddled together (even wearing our shoes for extra warmth) on our two twin cots, but that's what it's all about, making memories.  I won't sugar coat it all, there were meltdowns (one that lasted three hours on the second night) and plenty of falls to go around, but I think we all enjoyed the break from the busy life.  We boated, fished, and had a guitar serenade around the campfire thanks to Ryan.  Gabe says he can't wait for the next annual camping trip; I say why do we have to wait for next year??

Indiana

We headed to Indiana to visit family this last week- it was everything we wanted in a vacation...TONS of fun family time with cousins I haven't seen in years, ample arms to assist with bathtime and meal time, incentive to use the potty and stop pooping outside, and laughs 24/7.  We were lucky to fly with Papa and Gigi and Little Guy was such an allstar, he made it the entire two flights with no accidents!!!!  Papa was so excited to have him sit in his lap (he has not flown with a two year old in a long time!) and was surprised that Little Guy didn't share his enthusiasm for just sitting and looking out the window...we all found ways to stay entertained and made it to Louisville no worse for wear!  We spent our four days there exploring Louisville's amazing parks, trekking over the Ohio River, visiting Churchill Downs, roasting marshmellows, basking in life without fences and with plenty of evening fireflies and lazy hammock rides, and celebrating the high school graduate!  No graduation party is complete without a huge bouncy slide and a couple of crazy adults racing down...my dad may have wanted to add water to the mix, but the slide had a HUGE warning against this.  Daddy, Papa, and Little Guy were treated to a private AIRPLANE ride with Taylor's stepdad Doug.  There was just room for four and we didn't think Little Guy would go for it, but we headed out and he ended up taking the fourth seat and LOVING the ride.  It was one of those moments when you're walking out on the little runway and you think, "Man, this kid is creating the most awesome memories" and sigh in gratitude at the life you're living.  We visited the Bass Pro Fishing Shop (talk about an outdoorsman's dream!) and Little Guy was in LOVE with Rosie and Oti and asks on a daily basis to go back to see them.  The first words out of his mouth every morning were "Where is my friend Rosie?  Where is my friend Oti?". I am hoping we'll make it back in two years for Matthew's graduation...until then, thanks for the awesome memories Indiana!

Big boy bath time

Ya, this little dude is taking baths unassisted now.  We had borrowed the bath tub bumbo from our friends and it was a life saver in bathing two boys together at the same time.  Mr. Wyatt Bear was starting to get frustrated by the toys always just slightly out of his reach so I decided to see what would happen if I just put him in the tub...low and behold, he survived!!!  I was a little psycho trying to keep one boy from splashing, drowning, washing, or bothering the other one, but it was pretty cute to watch my baby sit up in the tub all by himself!

Potty Time for Wesley

It finally happened...we were fighting a case of the summertime cold (UGH!) and I decided there was no better time than being stuck at home miserably sick to start potty training...truth be told I had marked it out on the calendar to start on Monday, but I decided why wait when we had a chance to start now.  The first day was rough, Little Guy begged for a diaper and found comfort in pooping outside (more on that later).  We decided to do diapers at nap time and bedtime- the first nap was dry and the next morning just a little wet.  Once I had one day under my belt, there was no stopping me.  My fault was offering a prize for even the smallest amount if urine- this kid can squeeze out a drip anytime he wants and my prize basket is already looking pretty depleted...I am not sure what we'll do come the trip to Indiana, but we are officially done with diapers for this dude!

11 months old

With just one more month until he's ONE, I am living in denial that my sweet baby Wyatt Bear is growing up.  This boy is cruising everywhere, so close to walking and loving to get into anything within his reach- even the stuff we were certain was out of his reach....  I love to watch him put his head down and turn on the turbo crawl to keep up with his brother.  There is not a day that goes by without someone commenting on just how incredibly happy he is...he is quite literally ALWAYS smiling, and if he's not smiling, he's really really really sad/crying/angry/mad.  We love you Mr. Wyatt Bear, here's to the last month of your official babyhood!