Smooth Operator

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there reading this, particularly Grandpa Earl and Grandpa P. Thank you both for setting such a good example of what it is to be a good parent (along with the grandmas), and please know that you are appreciated and loved very very much.

Today, for Father's Day, Ryan got cards (the one from Jakey was recordable, and I got him to say "I love you Daddy" - it was awesome, Ryan almost cried), two books (one on golfing and one with quotes/letters from the founding fathers - Ryan's a big Revolutionary War/history buff), and Tiger Woods Golf 2010 for Wii. I might not see him again for a while ;) We mostly just took it easy today, which was nice and the way Daddy wanted it, especially after doing lots of housework and prepping for Baby Ben yesterday.

For dinner we decided to grill. We made burgers (Daddy's favorite) with BBQ sauce, oven fries, and spinach salad (well, I ate that - no one else did). Yum yum! Then, for desert, Daddy suggested s'mores. Those were super-delicious as well. Jake certainly enjoyed them, as you'll see below:





The boy loves his chocolate, I will say that. And he was really hamming it up for the camera toinght :) Needless to say, there was significant face and handwashing this evening, as well as spotting of the clothing ;) Hope everyone had a great Father's Day!

A Public Service Announcement

Hello friends,

I'm going to share with you a hair-raising experience. Well, not exactly. More like a hair-coloring experience.

Now, I've been coloring my own hair for, like, EVER. I vaguely remember using "Sun-In" during late middle school, and I haven't looked back since. Initially with help from my mom, and then independently, I've been using permanent dye on my hair for what seems like forever. I even did my own highlights a couple of times (once was a near-disaster but ultimately was nothing another box of color couldn't fix). The main reason is that a) I LOVE changing my hair around - it's one of the few impulsive things I tend to do; and b) going to a professional for color is SO expensive. I mean, $60 bucks for something I could do in my own bathroom for like ten bucks (or sometimes less depending what's on sale). And generally, things had always gone really well. Please note the past tense there...

So on Thursday I though, "Gee, I need to dye my hair. My roots are showing big time, and Ryan's got that firm event on Monday. And hey, let's go darker, just for the heck of it!" I went to the cupboard and pulled out my Medium Cool Brown hair dye that I'd purchased for not a whole lot, and went to work. I left it in for 25 minutes as indicated, followed everything to a tee - except the whole "stay within 2 shades of your current shade" thing. Pfff. Whatever.

I actually didn't even look in the mirror until like 3 hours later. But when I did... oh Lord have mercy. The shade came out something like dark brown to jet black, and against my pale skin was akin to Morticia Addams. But that's not the worst part - the color didn't take in several places, including a giant chunk at the crown of my head.

So I call the help-line for the product, like, immediately. And I promptly get asked if I turned my hair green. Ok, so it could have been worse. Then, I get a lecture about too drastic a change and blonde hair taking in dark dye more easily than other shades. And the chick pretty much says to let it grow out or buy a kit to strip my hair. Ok people, I did that once before, and I almost had a heart attack with the results. NEVER AGAIN.

So I bit the bullet. I called the expensive salon near our apartment. Initially, the girl at the desk said, "Well, we suggest to our clients that they wash their hair with Dawn dishsoap and then schedule an appointment in two weeks." TWO WEEKS? Are you kidding me? Thankfully I'm able to maintain my composure, and calmly I explain that my husband has this important lawyer gig I'm supposed to go to, and I can't go looking like a cross between a tiger on acid and something from "Twilight" (ok, I didn't really say that and it wasn't really THAT bad, but it sure felt that bad). Suddenly I'm transferred to a stylist who graciously offers me a spot the next morning.

Remainder of the story comes to I love my new hair, but oh did I pay the price. A five dollar mistake resulted in a triple digit-costing disaster. So the moral of the story? Sometimes it pays to just go with the safer yet slightly more expensive option.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming :)

Happy 2nd Birthday Jakey!

It's hard to believe that Jakey is a two-year-old. His birthday was Wednesday, June 17th. Fun trivia: his actual birth day coincided with Father's Day; that was one rockin gift from me (and it's true, Ryan and Grandpa Earl did not receive their Father's Day cards that year - I was a little busy).

Jake's birthday party with friends will be in a week, but we did do some fun stuff on the actual day. In the morning we had a doctor's appointment - no shots, yippee! Then we went to the library to read and play with Brio trains. Then after nap we went to the zoo and saw the giraffes (Jake requested them specifically). Finally I took Jake to pick out a birthday cake.

Enjoy some pictures of Jake enjoying his birthday cake and his new T-ball set!

Here's the cake he picked with two candles. He was nervous about it at first, but then...

he realized he would get to blow out the candles! And boy was he excited about that!

He took a bite of cake, but really dove into the star-shaped sprinkles.

Here's his T-ball set. He's winding up...

and it's a base hit! Needless to say it was tough to get him away from this and ready for bed.

It was a fun day. Hard to believe he's already two. And almost a big brother! Happy birthday Jakey, we love you!

Dells Trip

We spent last weekend at Wisconsin Dells, which I'd say is kind of similar to Brason MO. We stayed at the Wilderness Resort, which has several indoor and outdoor waterparks - super convenient! We had a great time :) Admittedly Mommy was a little nervous when Jake shivered and acted terrified the first night in the pool, but he became a water baby the following day! Enjoy the pictures :)

Jake and Mommy at one of the more kid-friendly areas. Lots of water spraying and lots of slides, but the zero depth pool areas were fun for Jake.

Here is Jake driving the "truck". Several of the water sprayers had gadgets you could turn and pull, but Jake liked the wheel the best.

This is a side view of one of the huge buckets that dumped water on the kiddos below. Jake was very into the buckets - he talked about them all trip long. ;)

Action shot of Jake getting braver wading through the zero depth pool (with Daddy close behind).

Swings in a pool - Jake's in heaven!

And we managed to find basketballs and basketball hoops as well. Jake truly is his father's son.

By our last day there, Jake didn't want us to touch him while he went "swimming" in the little kids' area of the Wild Waterdome. My little boy is growing up!

And here's Jake with Mommy. He's decked out in his trunks, UV blocking swim shirt, a hat (which he LOVED!), and several layers of sunscreen. The roof in the dome was UV permeable. Now, being a healthcare professional of sorts from a very pale persuasion, I am anti-UV and a little psycho when it comes to the sunscreen. Thankfully my son and husband deal with it (what choice do they have, really?) ;)

Hi Mommy! I'm in the wave pool and it's my FAVORITE!

Floating around with Daddy waiting for the waves. On an unrelated note I must say I was very pleased with the lifeguards there - well done folks!

Jake on a mini-waterslide. He loved it, but it was kind of exhausting for Mom and Dad to help him up the steps then run around and catch him - but totally worth it for that smile ;)

Wild Waterdome kids area - just right for Jakey.

And the wave pool, Jake's very favorite place at the Wilderness.

We figured the end was approaching when Jake wanted to snuggle with Mommy.

And the last half hour of the 1.5 hour drive Jake spent like this.

We all had such a great time. Everyone was friendly, the Wilderness was HUGE, the parks were fun - a really good time overall. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to get away for a weekend. So it seems this is our last "hurrah" before we become a family of four... only five weeks to go!

Making Brownies with Mommy...

leads to messy chocolate chip-covered faces!

Fun with Grandparents

Both sets of grandparents joined us for a few days in May. Sorry we don't have any with Grandpa P, but Jake had a great time with him as well.
Here's Grandpa Earl golfing with Jake in the front yard. That kid can swing!Grandpa's pretty excited to have a new golf partner.

Jake was really into birthdays, so the grandmas made a birthday cake for Daddy with Jake. Here's Grammy Sue helping Jake stir.

And here's Grandma P helping Jake stir too.

Jake's lucky to have such great grandparents who love him so much!