A good rest

When Wyatt's done with a nap, I usually go into his room and ask him, "Did you have a good rest?" He's come to expect that question and now leads off with, "Wyatt good rest, Mommy." Not feeling well the past few weeks, I've often been napping while he naps and I tell him when I lay him down that I'm going to be sleeping while he's sleeping. Last week, as I entered his room after a nap he asked me, "Good rest, Mommy?" It was sweet and caring and I love seeing his heart expanding.

Rules are meant to be broken

Wyatt's birthday party was a good time. He's quite a social boy and anticipated his party for days talking about each and every guest he hoped would attend. He seemed to enjoy himself and I definitely enjoyed having so many of our friends in the same spot. We ignored the whole "invite the number of people for the year the kid is turning" rule and had about 30 guests.

We made chocolate orange cupcakes that were generally a hit other than the one eight year old guest who informed me that chocolate and orange do not go together.
Wyatt ate with his usual gusto and was disappointed when the cupcake was gone.

This little cutie is Huck. Wyatt especially likes his name because it rhymes with tow truck.

Check out Lauren in the lower right corner wearing her pretty pink party dress and a hard hat using the excavator. This is my definition of a good party.
Here's the food table about two hours in. We made Barefoot Contessa's Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers with Satay Dip and Sunset's Caramelized Pear and Sage Crostini. I also served Trader Joe's Coconut Curry Chicken Sticks to eat with the Satay Dip. A cheese tray with Gouda, Brie and Stilton with Dates and Oranges rounded out the menu.
I have a little book that we are hoping to have people write in each year when Wyatt has a birthday. We had our family write in it last year at his party. I mostly started it because keeping track of things is not my strong suit (nor is sentimentality, for that matter) but it's also going to be a great way to see how Wyatt's community evolves over the years.

Happy Birthday Wyatt

Today is the big day. I think Wyatt was mostly excited that it's Friday and today is the day that three gargage trucks pick up the garbage cans on our street. We sat down for pancakes, at his request, after Sesame Street.

After taking one bite out of a pancake, he decided that the pancake was a whale swimming in the ocean. The next bite revealed a wallaby hopping around. A rocking horse came next. And, finally, a tractor was born. The next pancake went from a bear to a goat to a guy. I love seeing his imagination develop and getting a sneak peak of what is going on in his mind.

We just visited our neighbor, Gail, who has two cats named Polly and Colby. Wyatt likes to visit Gail daily but mostly to play with (i.e. chase and harass) the cats. She is kind and lets us come around back to meet her at the sliding glass door off the backyard. Polly and Colby were the #1 and #2 requested attendees to Wyatt's second birthday party. We also visited our other neighbors, Mike and Linda, who have a lovely Koi pond and waterfall in their backyard.

I think we'll aim for an early lunch followed by a trip to the zoo. The last time we went it was rainy and most of the animals were inside hiding from the rain. After the zoo, we're headed to Turlock for a quick weekend visit. I'm really looking forward to it and I'm sure my mom has some special plans for my two year old boy.

A Corner Has Been Turned

After I got home from work today Wyatt and I went downtown to walk around. We ended up at Big Sky for a Grilled Thai Shrimp and Cucumber Salad and strawberry pancakes. Wyatt also filled up on the jalapeno cornbread mini muffins. The boy has not met a carb he doesn't love.

So, what corner has been turned? In addition to deeply loving Wyatt, I now like him too. Today as we were sitting together, enjoying lunch and coloring the place mat, I realized how much I love my boy. He is a delight. He's probably been a delight for awhile but I'm finally able to notice.

My heart is full and I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Thank you, God.

My boy last night

He's officially a big boy. As he's reminding me daily, he's almost two. Last night we took a short walk around the court. He's in such an explorer phase right now. Everything is fascinating to him. He stopped for a millisecond for me to take a picture and you can see how pleased he was to cease motion. I am so grateful that he's growing up and am especially enjoying getting to know more of him every day.

A Theme?

There is a lot of three-way cuddling going on in our house but I can't seem to get in on the action.

Happy 8.5 Garett

We spent the weekend celebrating Garett's 34th/8.5th birthday. We visited the zoo, checked out an amazing house on 20 acres, walked on the Port San Luis pier, ate brunch on the patio at Novo and slept in our front yard in a tent. I should rephrase that. Garett and I spent the night in the tent. Wyatt only lasted about an hour and ended up inside in his crib. And Garett and I only made it until 4:30 when we both agreed it was a little too cold to last a few more hours.
One of my best memories of my childhood is sleeping in the backyard. I don't remember pitching a tent very often but mostly dragging out my sleeping bag and sleeping under the stars on the grass. Sometimes I would have a neighbor friend spend the night with me and other times my dad would join me. A frequent occurrence was waking up to the sprinklers soaking my exposed head. My dad always promised that they were off but I think he liked hearing our squeals in the morning and we always had a good laugh. The thought of waking up to sprinklers now sends shivers down my spine and exhaustion through my body. But, as a young girl, I loved all of it. And not getting a good night's sleep was the least of my concerns.

New Look

I found a new look for the blog. The green was slowly killing my enthusiasm for life in spite of the fact that it's my favorite color.