San Diego!

A couple of weeks ago we went to San Diego to celebrate Todd's birthday.  It was absolutely amazing in every way!  The weather was perfect, our hotel location was perfect, and we had the perfect balance of fun, sightseeing, and relaxation!  We checked out the local bars and restaurants, went on a food tour, visted a Ballast Point tasting room and mini-brewery, went to Coronado Beach (which was BEAUTIFUL), and toured the USS Midway museum.  What I love about where we stayed was that we were in the heart of downtown, yet less than a mile from the most beautiful beach waterfront.  It is definitely a fun, beautiful place!  We were so thankful that Todd's parents came down to take care of Cade and Luke.  While we really missed them, it was nice to have time together without them.  We can't wait to take the boys with us next time!

There were gold flecks in the sand!  It looked like someone dumped gold glitter all over the beach!

Our food tour guide, Eddie.

Barleymash was probably our favorite place for drinks and food.

We stayed in the Gaslamp Quarter.  I have NEVER seen so many restaurants and bars in one place.  So fun!

Hotel Solomar, where we stayed

Stopped by Berkeley Pizza on the food tour

Zymology 21/Food Tour

The Coronado Ferry Landing

Boat ride to Coronado Beach

Midway Museum - I think we were both shocked at how massive the Navy ship was!

Soccer Star

Cade,
This weekend you had your very first soccer practice!  You were AWESOME!  You were so fast and handled the ball very well, but we were most proud of you for listening to and following your coach's directions, working hard and giving 100%.  I really was impressed!  You're playing on the Tiny Tots team at Gwinnett Soccer Association...and Olivia is on your team!  We loved watching you play!

So Funny

Cade and Luke are growing up so fast.  Sometimes I am thankful they are a little easier to take care of (in some ways) and at other times I am so very sad that they're not little babies anymore.  But, as Cade always reminds me...he'll, they'll, always be my "sweethauts" (sweethearts).  One of my favorite things about their ages right now is the funny things they say.  I literally laugh out loud several times a day - they are hilarious!  Here are a few quotes I've caught over the past couple of weeks:

"Mommy, why do boo boos melt?" - Cade, fascinated that the scab on his knee is nearly gone!

"Can I have more pizzaronis" - Luke, eating his way through the pepperonis we were putting on our pizzas.

"Granddaddy doesn't have any hair."  ...long pause... "Who took it?"  - Cade, deep in thought

"I love whooping cranes.  I think about them all the time." - Cade

"MOMMY!  I just saw Jesus in that pick-up truck!" - Cade

"I not a muffin.  I wookey." - Lukey's response to me calling him my love muffin.

"Are you daddy's cousin?" - Cade, trying to figure out this whole husband-wife-marriage thing.

"Do you pee out of your bottom?" - Cade

"Give.ME.That.Ungin!" - Luke, the onion lover

"Mommy.  What would happen if you put snot in the oven?"

"Let's make this a love date.  On love dates you have to hug."  -Cade, before our breakfast date to Waffle House

"One time, when I was a baby, I was in the car looking out of the window during a bad storm and I saw cougars blowing off of trees."  - Cade

"Will I grow my mustasche soon?" - Cade

A conversation I overheard in the backseat on the way home from school last week:

"Achoo" - Cade

"Bless you.  You okay?  You have a wittle sneeze?" - Luke

"Yes, I have knees." - Cade

"Me too."  - Luke

There are sooooooooooo many things I will miss about ages 2 and 3, but one thing I know I will miss the most is the funny things they say. 

Lukey Bear is 2!

My precious, precious Lukey Bear...
You are 2 years old!  Your birthday was yesterday and we had so much fun celebrating you!  We went to Build-A-Bear (you made a white dog with black spots) and then out to lunch.  After nap time you opened your presents (you got a train table and some trains to go with it), played with balloons, we sang to you and ate cake!  After we sang Happy Birthday and you blew out your candle you said, "Let's do that again!"...so we did.  :) We decorated your door with streamers (which you loved running through) and we put PAW Patrol decorations downstairs.  You also got to FaceTime with Grandmother, Grandaddy, and GJ and you got a phone call from Blaze (and the Monster Machines).  I hope we made you feel loved and special!  Here's a little more about you at 2:

• You weigh around 28 lbs. 
• You wear size 2T clothes and size 8 shoes.  
• You have 16 teeth with a bottom left molar coming in any day now.
• You're a great sleeper!  You take a 2 hour nap each day and we don't hear much from you at night.  
• Eating, on the other hand, is not your favorite thing to do.  While your eating habits have improved a bit, you still don't eat super well.  Your favorite foods include waffles, cheese, pasta (plain with cheese), garlic bread, grapes, and anything sweet.  You still LOVE, LOVE, LOVE milk and ask for it several times a day and ALWAYS when you wake up in the morning or from naps.  
• I thought you were going to be a shy little guy, but you have proved me wrong!  You seem very social at school and your teacher loves to tell stories about the funny things you do there. One thing she recently said is that while the class is playing outside, you like to stand by the door and help her call for the kids to come in one by one to use the potty.  She said you yell each child's name and then clap and cheer them on as they run inside.  Apparently you stay there the whole time until every child has been called.  Haha! In public you say "hi" and "bye" to anyone who will listen!
• You have the most adorable little voice.  You are super talkative and speak very well.  We understand everything you're saying and we can have conversations with you as if you're 4 or 5.  :)
• You are HYSTERICAL!  You have a very creative, quick little sense of humor and you keep us laughing all day!  Earlier today I asked if you had pooped and you said, "No, Mom...it's just a little dump".  Ha!  
• I know I'm supposed to think this, but you are incredibly smart.  You seem to look at things in a different kind of way.  I'm not really sure how to explain it, but you make the coolest connections and point out ways of looking at things that I would never have noticed.
• Your favorite toys are cars, trucks, and trains.  You also LOVE the keyboard that GJ gave you for your birthday, and a little Leapfrog letter "computer".
• Your favorite TV show is Blaze and the Monster Machines.  You laugh out loud when funny things happen.  It's adorable.
• You still love music!  You love to sing, play music on your keyboard, and dance.  You made up two little dance moves that make me laugh out loud every time.  
• You're happy, independent, funny, creative, and ridiculously adorable.  I am thoroughly obsessed with you and could sit and talk to you for hours without getting bored.
• You love:  Cade, Cassius, singing songs, reading books, your bed, playing outside, playing with trucks, watching nursery rhymes on our phones, being rocked/sung to before bed, watching "a little TV".
• Things that you DON'T like so much are:  being hungry, having a toy taken from you, hmmm...I guess it's a good thing I can't think of anything else to put here!  :)  

We love you sooooooooo very much and we are truly blessed to be your family!  

Here you are on your last day as a one year old!  You're eating one of your favorite snacks...popcorn!

Bye, Bye Summer

School is back in full swing and the year is off to a great start!  I'm working part-time this year, making going back to school A LOT easier, and it has proven to be as heavenly as I imagined it would be.  I work 8-12 each day...and even better, not having my own class means I have the time at work to do everything that needs to be done (for now), so I don't have much at all to bring home!  I am so thankful for the extra time I have with Cade and Luke, and having more time to get things done around the house has cut stress levels in half.  So far, it has been the ultimate blessing for our family.

As we said goodbye to summer, Todd's family came down to stay overnight with Cade and Luke so Todd and I could celebrate my birthday.  We stayed in a nice hotel in Dunwoody and had a very nice dinner and grabbed a few drinks afterward.  We had the best time and we were so thankful not to have to worry about Cade and Luke (thank you Grandmother, Granddaddy, TJ and Betty!).  While they were here Granddaddy bought new bikes for the boys.  They LOVE them!

Fire Station

We had the chance to visit a fire station again this summer.  Both Cade and Luke love fire trucks so of course they were ecstatic to be able to go inside the fire station AND to sit in the fire truck (both boys say this was the best part)!  :)  We got to meet the fire fighters, see all of the fireman gear, tour the fire station, and check out the fire truck.  It was a great morning and definitely one of our favorite summer outings.

GJ Comes to Town

One of our favorite summer highlights is always a visit from GJ!  She came a couple of weeks ago and we had lots of fun - making trips to the INK museum, Fun-a-Thon, and our favorite....SIX FLAGS!  We were a little hesitant to take the boys to Six Flags because we knew it would be hot, hot, hot and the lines would be long, long, long, BUT we had free tickets and decided to give it a shot!  We were so glad we did!  While it was definitely hot, it wasn't unbearable and there was little to no waiting in line.  The boys had a great time!  Cade was fearless and wanted to ride everything he could!  He jumped in line and got on most of the rides alone.  Luke also wanted to ride what he could and got VERY upset when Cade could ride things that he couldn't, but there was a lot he could do and he seemed happy for most of the trip.  Cade reports that his favorite ride was the bumper cars and Luke says his favorite was the flying boats.  I can't wait to go back again next year when they can do even more!

Cade - here you are on your first ever amusement park ride!  I thought you might be a little leery of this one...it went a little higher than it appears in the picture, but you jumped right on without a worry in the world!  

Double stroller - best buy of the summer!

Selfie-fun!

Our brave little guy!

Cade and Luke are in one of these carts together.  Luke didn't make the height cut, but he screamed so loud for so long that he guy let him on....sigh.

Lukey loves carousels!