Happy Father's Day

For Father's day Park woke up early and went golfing with his buddies. Now don't judge him because he didn't spend the entire day with his family. Park and I have made the decision that since we are parents every day of every year from here on out ( and have been for the last 5 years) that Mother's day and Father's day are going to be days away from being a parent. ( I admit on Mother's day Monica and I had a spa and movie day!). While Park was golfing, Lexi and I made him this book that list some of the reasons she loves him. I have to say that when she was looking at the pictures, choosing which ones she wanted to add all she could do was smile looking at her dad. The 1st picture of Park was one that she chose and wrote " He acts silly". There are other pages and pictures but that one made her giggle while she wrote.

Park-You are a phenomenal father and I love you very much for that. I love that you want to be involved in the kids activities and I don't have to beg you like some women do to their husbands. I love that you take pride in our family. I love that you make dinner every night because I work late. I love that you help with laundry. I love you for many, many reasons but most of all I love you because when you are with us we feel protected, safe and loved. Happy Father's day Park.

Ryan Turns 2

It's Saturday. I wake up and look at the clock, it's 7:24 am. "Nope, not yet" I think to myself. Park rolls and groans so I know he's waking up. I scoot closer him and put my chin on his chest looking at his face. He opens his eyes and I say "I'm in surgery now." Park glances over to the clock, "Yup" he replies. "Just a few more minutes and Ryan is officially 2" I say. We lay there cuddling and Lexi comes in. Park and I both lift up the blankets and scoop her in to snuggle fest when we hear "MOMMY!". "I'll get him!" Lexi says and jumps off the bed. I follow her into Ryan's room where he stands in his crib rubbing his eyes. I pick him up and head back to my room with Lexi in tow. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU" we start.

Ryan- You beautiful baby boy! It was just 2 years ago that we had no idea we were missing a piece of our family. We thought that it was already complete and you were just going to add to the joy. We were wrong. You have made the Williams' family puzzle complete and I couldn't imagine my life without you! You are such a spirited little boy and watching you grow and learn everyday fills me with joy. Happy Birthday to my warm, yummy,chubby chunk of joy! Mommy loves you!

Slide Rock

Last Thursday we took a day trip to Sedona. Park's mom has her sister in town from Korea so we thought that she would like to see the red rocks of Sedona. We made a stop at Slide Rock so the kids could get out and stretch their legs. We were expecting a warm day and the cool water would feel refreshing except when we actually felt the water our feet froze into ice cubes. The water was a chilly 60 degrees yet it didn't scare away the kids. We had a blast and the kids loved playing with grandma!

The Joy of finger paint

My mom took Lexi to the Surprise pool to swim for a bit so Ryan and I busted out the finger paint. It was his first time and he loved it. He ended up painting his belly and face as well.

Please tell me you've done this!

Ryan is at the age where he is interested in bugs. He has been noticing flies and bees especially and when a bee landed in the grass last weekend I had to explain to him why he couldn't pick it up. I tried explaining how bees sting but he just looked at me with wonder. I thought " OK, he doesn't get what sting is" so I told him that bees bite you if you pick them up. He understood that clear as day and backed up immediately and started saying "BITE". The bee flew away with no harm done. The next day after returning home from the store, Ryan got out of the car and was walking around in the drive way as I gathered the bags. With hands that could not possibly hold one more thing, I called Ryan to follow me into the house. Ryan responded with "NO". Ughhhhh...feeling like a bag is going to drop and smash one of my toes at any moment I put on my stern mommy voice and said "Ryan, lets go!" again "NO". Oh geez I can't feel my fingers any more and right about that time Ryan says "Bee"and a light bulb pops up above my head! "Ya, that bee is going to bite you if you don't get in the house" I said. Ryan came running making a whimpering noise. Into the house we went and when I put down the bags I hoped that I did not just scare Ryan so badly that he would never go near another bee, or fly for that matter. This was about a week ago and he still is saying "momma, bee bite". I'm going to thank god for the idea that saved the future function of my fingers and hope that there is no lasting damage! :)

Is that the floor?

It's a rare occasion that we get to see the floor in the kids rooms. I made the kids clean up today so I thought I would mark the occasion with pictures. Plus, now that's proof their rooms are orderly sometimes!

YEAH!!!! Poo Poo!!!!!

Today was the day! Ryan in 23 months old and we started potty training him at about 22 months. We started with the small steps of leaving him without a diaper for an hour or so and taking him to the potty every 15 mins. That seemed to be going smoothly so we progressed on to the days spent at home without a diaper. It's a slow process but it seems to work. We just recently the last 2 or 3 have been taking him out in public without a diaper. Making MANY bathroom trips. All these things have been working fine with pee but poop is a whole other story. Ryan looses it if he has to poop. Crying, yelling and completely refusing to go. Don't get me wrong, he has pooped in the potty but it is an ordeal that has taken anywhere from 30-45 mins. to convince him it's a good thing. Today was the day he did it on his own. It started with the typical poop cry and the 3 trips to the big potty where he cried and then got down. I decided today that I would pull out the training potty and let him try when he felt comfortable. I sat it in the living room with the Imagination Movers on and that's all it took(typical guy)! Ryan sat on the potty and with Lexi as his coach managed to make his first poop on his own without freaking out! He jumped up, looked in the potty and got a huge smile when he saw that baby! Lexi and Ryan both started yelling and I was cheering as well!! What a big boy!!!

Lazy Weekend

This weekend was a wonderfully relaxing weekend. We stayed home except for a trip to the grocery store and spent most of the time in pajamas. We did however blow up our kiddie pool and pop up our canopy to give some relief from the sun. I love watching my kids playing in the water! The way they splash each other while giggling warms my heart. Lexi was trying to teach Ryan how to swim which is hilarious for many reasons. First, and most important she can't swim! Second, she puts her face in the water and squirms like a worm...adorable. Ryan spent most of the time drinking the pool water. I laughed watching Park continually telling Ryan not to drink water that his butt is in. Never killed me as a kid! I am going to work on spending more weekends at home to slow down the rush of life. I'll let you know how it goes :)

Preschool Graduation

Yesterday was Lexi's last day of preschool forever :( Park and I took the day off so that we could join the party at school and watch her say good-bye to her preschool friends. We are so happy that Lexi continues to grow and build new friendships. That being said, I almost lost it when they gave her the diploma. I felt like my baby had completely left behind her toddler years and joined the big kids! This fall she will be going to kindergarten at Boulder Creek Elementary School. I enrolled her there instead of any of the schools in our area because I run the before and after school program there. I have a good idea what teacher I want her to have in the fall and have already put in a request with the principal. On top of that, it is a much higher performing school and with the education ratings in Arizona, every little bit counts!

Summer is here!

We love any opportunity to play in the water!

Here is the deal with bologna juice

I had taken an afternoon shower and then made Lexi (who was 3 at the time) a bologna sandwhich for lunch. Like always, Lexi pulled the meat out first and was eating that when she told me she had to go to the bathroom. I told her not to wait and to go. I'm standing in the kitchen when I hear her shout " Oh yuk Mom, dad peed on the toilet seat!" (Gross I know) I said "No he didn't Lexi " stepping into the hall to talk to her, I see her smell her hand. She cut me off with "OH YUK, it's bologna juice!" At that point I burst out laughing because
1. Gross!
2. Her face was priceless!
3. What the hell is bologna juice?
4. I know that it's the mist from the shower I had just taken and that she is smelling the bologna on her hands that she had just pulled out of her sandwich .
She is staring at me holding her hands out away from her and laughing because I am. Once I could gain enough breath to explain to her what it was and have her wash her hands I thought to myself " I will never look at bologna the same."
Man I love that girl!

So...Now I'm a Blogger?

OK, so I have never been a big fan of blogs I know, but one day my friend Amanda told me a to check out her blog. I logged on and started looking at all the beautiful pictures of her kids and reading about the adventures of her 2 boys and I stared to change my feelings toward blogs. Those adventures often got me through the lunch times I spent pumping in my office after the birth of my son:) After reading her blogs for the last 2 years, it made me realize that I often think to myself "oh man, I have to write that down" after my daughter, who is now 5 years old has asked a hilarious question or made a comment that I love and don't want to forget. The problem is I never do write it down. With a full time job and 2 kids that I am chasing around, I find that I am loosing the brain capacity to remember all those wonderful things. So that leaves me here, trying out this whole blog thing and hoping that it will be easier for me to keep track of all the wonderful moments in my life! Wish me luck :)