We're here!

Well, we're in Utah. Unfortunately, all of our stuff is still on a moving van somewhere so we're living very simply right now. It's been fun to explore the area that we're living in (I have to say that I like Draper quite a bit) and eat some yummy food that I've been missing for the last four years but I can't wait for our stuff to get here so we can settle in and have this place start to feel like home.

It's a little weird being back in Utah, I won't lie. It's all so familiar but different. It's hard not knowing anyone and being the new family again. I hate this part of moving. But Utah is beautiful and I'm loving all the amazing scenery. I had forgotten how beautiful the mountains are- especially right now while they're still green. All I want to do is take pictures of them but sadly, my camera battery charger has gone missing (I'm guessing thanks to a small munchkin who likes to grab things and throw them away) and I'm without a camera right now. I'm hoping I'll find it while unpacking but I have a bad feeling that it's long gone. Oh, Alex.

So since I have no new photos to share, I thought I'd put up some old ones that I never got around to sharing on the blog.

Alex is my little monkey. He loves to climb and swing on things and one of his favorite things to do at our place in Virginia was open the big drawer and swing from it.

 It's a miracle he didn't break the drawer and it was a battle everyday to get him to not swing from the drawer.

So that's about it... hopefully we'll have more to share soon and hopefully our stuff gets here quickly! I might go insane if it doesn't.

Crunch time

I made the announcement on Facebook but have neglected to post our news here on our good ol' blog for some strange reason, so let me share. We're moving. Back to Utah. Draper, to be exact. Chris recently interviewed and got a job offer with Ebay, so we're heading back to the Mountain West. We're excited to be starting a new adventure and phase of our life in a place that we love and have fond memories of. Utah's where we met, fell in love, got married, graduated from college and had our first child, so in a way, it's like going back to something familiar. It's going to be a hard transition for me though- I've come to love living on the east coast and Virginia has been good to us in many ways. I'm sad to leave my wonderful friends (beyond words) and sad to leave all the exciting things to do and see here in the DC area. There's so much that we thought we'd have time to do and now that we have about a month left here, we're trying to cram in as much as we can.

Chris took a day off this week and I decided we should spend it in the city even though half of us were sick at this point. Even a nasty cold couldn't keep us from marking a few things off my list. First up, a trip to Georgetown Cupcake, made famous by the TLC show DC Cupcake. We parked in Georgetown and it's so pretty I had to take some pictures along our walk to get cupcakes (at 10:30 in the morning).

We walked down these crazy stairs and Brendan was happy to pose for me. They were so steep I was a little scared he was going to fall and break his neck, but my dare-devil was happy to stand alone and even jump around more than I would have liked.

On the street getting closer to cupcake heaven.

And here's what we ended up getting. They were sooooooo good. I think I may have to make another trip because there are still so many flavors I want to try.

Brendan was totally into his cupcake. Seriously, his plain vanilla cupcake was delicious. It was one of my favorites.

My baby has my sweet tooth so he was happy to sample each cupcake. And make a mess in the process. But those cupcakes were worth it. The chocolate ganache was heavenly.

Next, we hit up the National Museum of Natural History. Brendan was so excited to see the dinosaurs and I was looking forward to the butterflies.

The Butterfly Pavilion was so awesome. There are hundreds of butterflies flitting around you and, if you're lucky, land on you. They didn't like us but it was so cool to watch them.

Alex was mesmerized by them.

Both boys were so good and didn't try to touch or grab them (which is against the rules) and they loved seeing all the different colors and sizes of butterflies. It was a really neat experience.

We hit up the dinosaurs next since Brendan had been talking about them all morning long. Alex was a little freaked out but Brendan was in his element. He was running from exhibit to exhibit and asking questions and soaking it all in.

After the dinosaurs, we checked out some other parts of the museum and had fun watching the boys enjoy themselves.

We were pretty worn out by that point and my cold medicine was wearing off so we headed home for a late lunch and quiet afternoon. It was a fantastic day and hopefully we have more of these in our last month here.

Brendan the Amazing

A couple of weeks ago Brendan's preschool put on a music and art show, and let me tell you, it was the highlight of my week.

When it started, I expected the normal reaction from Brendan- some interest in singing but most likely a lot of looking around, fidgeting, spacing out and, most likely, some misbehaving. What I was not ready for was his whole-hearted  joy and excitement. He was so into his performance.

This was pretty typical of Brendan's performance. Lots of energy and exuberance. He was doing all the actions, jumping up and down and singing his little heart out. Seriously, he was belting out those songs. He was definitely the loudest of his group.

Oh how I wish this was a better picture but it still captures perfectly how focused he was on singing. He was so loud and adorably off-key that I couldn't have loved him more in that instant. I was so proud of my little man. And I love the contrast between him and the little boy next to him. I thought that was how Brendan would be- totally uninterested and wishing it was over- boy, did he surprise me!

Alex was equally riveted on Brendan's performance as we were.

He loved clapping along to his brother's awesome musical skills.

I was kicking myself for forgetting our video camera so all I have is this crappy cell phone video but it will give you a glimpse into how awesome it was.

Often, I am frustrated and annoyed with all of Brendan's energy and craziness but in this moment I have never been more proud of him. It was such an eye-opener for me because I would never want to take away the joy and fun that he was having, so how can I wish that he were any different than how he is? No matter how frustrated I get, no matter how many times I have to tell him to calm down or be still, I would never want to kill the amazing spirit he has. He is just perfect the way he is.

Still dirty

Here are some more pictures of my dirty boy. I swear, when Brendan was this age, he was never this dirty! I don't know how Alex manages it but I swear, if I turn my back for more than a second, I'll turn around and he'll look like this. I don't know how me manages it. Drives me crazy!

Just look at those hands. It makes me cringe remembering how black they were.

But it makes him so happy to be so dirty.

Spoons!

It seems like in the last few days, Alex's vocabulary has been growing at an exponential rate. I went from being worried at his 18 month check-up last month that we might have another delayed speaker, to being amazed at all the new things he is saying every day. "Spoon" is one of his new words and I think it's because the boy is never without a spoon.

He walks around everywhere with one in his hand and he even loves to share them with others. I love when he finds one on the floor that he had forgotten about and he runs to me, holding it up, saying "spoon!" like it's the coolest thing in the world. His excitement is just too cute.

And he even helps put them away when he's finished. 

I just love this little boy. He's so much fun to watch and now listen to. I love that he can now say: spoon, juice, please (which turns me to butter and he always gets what he's asking for because it's so adorable, I can't say no to him- and I think he knows it), rock, bowl, shoes, and booger (no joke). I can't wait to hear what's going to come out of his mouth next!

The helmet

Alex recently discovered Brendan's bike helmet and put it on all by himself (mostly).

He had to concentrate on the strap but he was determined to get it buckled.

He was so cute and focused that I couldn't resist helping him achieve his dream- and because he was starting to get really angry that he couldn't buckle it.

Success! He didn't even mind that it was on backwards. This boy just loves to be like his big brother and it melts my heart.

My boy likes to get dirty

It is no secret that Alex likes to make a mess and usually that includes on his little body too. The boy is always messy and dirty! But I think that goes hand in hand with being a boy and being 18 months old.

Whenever he eats, I have to have extra napkins or wipes nearby because by the end of dinner, he is a complete disaster. He gets food down his shirt, in his hair, all over his face and even sometimes in his ears.

If I take my eyes off of him for one second while playing outside, he ends up with dirt and/or mud all over him. I feel like I am constantly doing laundry thanks to this kid!

This was his most recent mess on Easter. I will note that this was all Chris' fault since he was entertaining the kids in the backyard while I took a break after cooking our Easter feast. When the boys came upstairs, I couldn't believe my eyes. Alex has a mixture of dirt, leaves, snot and bubble soap rubbed into his face, hair and clothes- disgusting! A quick bath took care of it though and I don't think I've ever seen more dirty bathwater.

Most of the time though, this is the sweet face that I see. Some food and grime on his face but mostly all I see is my happy, funny, lovable baby.