Traveling solo

In March we were in a jam with childcare due to some heath scares with our provider's parents. My first thought was to call Auntie Amy and see if she'd be up for watching Mateo (along with Cash-man) if mom and dad would take Mateo for that week. Of course she said yes and called mom and dad before I had a chance :)

Mom and dad met us in Black River Falls and Mateo could've cared less that he wasn't going to see us for a week. Throughout the week we called and Skyped and all he kept saying was "I at Nani/Papi's house. I go play now. Bye" and off he'd go. Of course if I was him, I'd have the same reaction. Here's some of the fun he had:

 

They're 18 months apart....

 

Craft time with Auntie Amy

CHEERS!

 

Papa and the boys

 

Papa made a tent for Mateo for naptime since Cash needed the crib.

However, once Cash was awake he had to wake up his buddy too

 

Poor Cash - he had yogurt while Taye had ice cream

 

 

 

Making him earn his keep

 

Papa is a firefighter and had to show Taye how cool it is

 

Must be rough to be taken to the toy store...

 

And then get to test the toys up and down the aisles...

 

And then have Papa buy you Optimus Prime

 

Being goofy

 

Yep it was March and snowy

Hangin' with Dora and Diego

This year our winter lasted for freakin' ever. We thought toward the end of February Spring would be right around the corner...we were so wrong.

Anyway - toward the end of February we took Mateo to the MN Children's Museum. Every third Sunday of the month is free and this particular weekend it was packed. It was a Dora and Diego display (last time was Curious George) and it was awesome. Take a look:

In Dora/Diego's spaceship

 

Father's Day at the beach

Yes, you read correctly. Joe suggested the beach as something to do for Father's Day. I about fell over and quickly pulled together snacks and a cooler.

Joe is not a fan of water. He didn't grow up around water and can't swim. On the other hand, Lake Beulah was Amy and my second home as kids.

We went to Carver Lake Beach and it was amazing. The beach was gorgeous and Mateo loved it. He showed no fear and splashed, sat down and dunked himself for about two hours. After some snacks, it was back in the water and even Joe mentioned that he's going to buy some swim trunks. My heart melted when I heard that!

After the water we went back up the hill to the playground which was fantastic. Mateo is getting really good at climbing and Joe and I are learning we're old as we climb up the jungle gyms after him!

Mateo fell asleep about 30 seconds after he was in the car and then proceeded to take a two hour nap. To make Father's Day even better, Joe went all by himself to Menards and Gander Mountain to "just look."

A camping we will go...err went

For those that know me, you may be aware that camping to me is a hotel without a mini fridge or pool. Joe is big camper and over the years I've accompanied him for a day/night and have always had lots of beer to make it through. Once we had Mateo, all Joe has talked about is taking his son camping.

Well, Joe and Mateo in the woods by themselves is one of the scariest things I can imagine. So after putting on my big girl pants, we scheduled 3 camping trips this summer.

This past weekend (over Father's Day weekend no less) was our first adventure. And besides being a little unorganized and probably packing more than needed, we (well, I) survived. Mateo loved every single second and can't wait to go again. We took walks, made hotdogs, ate bad (but oh so good) food, made s'mores (and Mateo preferred regular marshmallows...whose kid is this!?), played at the playground and jumped in puddles.

The weather was beautiful Friday night and then overnight it poured but our tent held up just fine. Saturday started out beautiful but then turned cloudy and then overcast. Just as we were laying down to nap, the rain started. Two hours later, it was still raining. We decided to call it a trip and packed in the drizzle and mud. Just as I was getting in the car, the heavens opened and we knew we made the right call.

Joe and I will be spending the next few weekends getting better organized and repacking things to make things fit a bit better in the car as seen below...

Mama and Taye's week of fun....or not

So I'm back again...I'm making it a priority to keep the blog updated regularly so if nothing else we have a place that documents life as it happens.

Back in February our daycare provider took a week off so I did the same. Taye and I were going to have fun and have play dates but life had other ideas. Like I would get the worst cold known to man which would make me lose my voice. Has anyone parented a 2 year old with no voice? Yeah - he knew he had me :)

Monday we had snow and ice so we bundled up and went outside to shovel. I noticed some black smoke and thought it was the road behind ours. Nope - neighbors house down the way had a car fire. I felt so horrible for them but Taye got to watch the firetrucks and they even honked and waved at him so he felt special. And this I'm assuming is where the cold started.

Tuesday was a trip to Walmart so he could walk up and down the toy aisles and I could lean on the cart because kiddo needed to burn energy. Wednesday I felt better so we headed to the Mall of America to see the Sea Life aquarium. Not worth the money at all once he stops being free...not at all. When we got home from that, I lost my voice and the rest of the week is hazy...Taye was a champ though and took great naps so I could too!

Here are some pictures from the aquarium at MOA - seriously though, unless you have super, cheap tickets, find a real aquarium.

 

And so it begins!

Two and a half!

April 8th marked Taye's half birthday. I can't believe that every day that now passes Mateo is one step closer to being a three year old kid than a two year old baby.

He is incredibly independent and makes his feelings known. Mateo is all about cars, Transformers, tools, the kindle and whatever else strikes his fancy at any given moment. We have a long list of things that we go through every morning at daycare:

• Be kind to your friends
• No throwing food
• No squishing food
• Listen the first time
• No hitting your friends
• No pulling hair
• No throwing toys
• Be a good boy today
• No crabbing just to crab

And for the most part, he is really good. I notice the days I forget one of the above or I don't say it are the days he's not so good so I know he's paying attention.

I just can't believe he's two and a half. He's such a person and we can have conversations now. He gets mad and crosses his arms and tries to put me a timeout - its awesome and I love every minute of this stage!