Choo Choo! Archer turns Two Two!

Well Wednesday is the day...Archer turns two. Two, as in "The Terrible Twos". Aaahhh! But I'm optimistic and am hoping for more of a terrific two stage. We shall see how it plays out. We celebrated his birthday this weekend with a train party (or "choo choo" party as Archer calls it.) Choo choos are the in thing in this house for sure so nothing else would work for this birthday boy.

We invited a handful of friends to join us at Balboa Park in San Diego. We played on the playground, ate train-shaped sandwiches, and even rode the Miniature Railroad. Aunt Jill and Uncle Matt joined us, along with the Mitzner family, the Washington family, and the Wackerman family. It was a fun group! The kids all got engineer's hats and train whistles, which I'm pretty sure their parents all planned to "lose" between the park and home.

It was all great but the train was definitely the highlight. Archer cried and cried when our ride was over; he wanted "more choo choo". It's tough to be (almost) two. Below he's checking out his birthday brownies, complete with a miniature train, which quickly became the "it" toy.

He didn't like it when we sang Happy Birthday to him. He cried and said "all done, all done!" hahaha! I guess he doesn't like to be the center of attention.

Below are a few more shots from our day. It was so much fun; the only thing that could have made it better was if Dad was home to party with us! I can't believe Archer's already two. It's been quite a couple of years. Here's hoping he goes easy on me for the next two (or more!)

Firecrackers

The boys and I had a good, if low key, 4th of July in Coronado. I had grand plans for a day full of activities but the weather was a bit dreary and naps ran long so we only got a little celebrating in. But that's okay by me! I'm less tired today because of it. The highlight was the Coronado 4th of July parade, which runs all the way down Orange Ave, the main drag in Coronado. Aunt Jill and Uncle Matt joined us, which was nice. The parade is a big deal in Coronado; this is a patriotic town! Jill and I actually got up before 5am to go stake out a spot on the parade route. Good thing we did or we never would have seen a thing, although some bold people felt that they could encroach on our spot once the parade started. Grrr! The parade was good but long! We actually cut out early but still got to see lots of military displays, firetrucks and police cars, and the highlight of the parade for Will...the San Diego Star Wars Society. It was pretty cool to see Will's face light up when the Storm Troopers came by. Nothing quite says "Independence Day" like Star Wars. :)

We didn't make it to see the fireworks last night. 9pm is a little late for these monkeys...and it's not like they'd sleep in the next day to make up for it! But I could see the fireworks over Glorietta Bay from our balcony so it wasn't a total loss. We were definitely missing Dad all day yesterdays; holidays and birthdays are the worst during deployments (Keith will miss all of our bdays this summer too...boo!) But we managed to make the most of it! We've got a big celebration coming up this weekend too. We'll be celebrating Archer's birthday with a train party. Check back for pics from his Choo Choo, I'm Two Two Birthday!

Archerisms

Archer is just at "that age" right now. That age where he's funny, curious, naughty, crabby, silly, and a bit overwhelming at times. What I love most about this age (almost 2...big boy!) is the things he says. He's still hard to understand a lot of the time but he's talking a ton and saying new things every day. One of his new favorites is "I don't know" when asked about anything or nothing in particular. He also throws out a lot of "No, Whoa!", which is his way of saying Will. He pretty much says "No, Whoa!" to any question Will asks, even when Will isn't talking to Archer! It's pretty amusing, although I'm not sure Whoa sees it that way. :) He mimicks Will (or Whoa, as it were) to a T. So when Will plays good guys/bad guys, Archer runs around yelling "I'm a bad guy! I'm a bad guy!" at the top of his lungs. And, of course, because Will can turn anything into a fake gun, Archer is also mastering the art of firearms at a very young age. I get shot at least a dozen times per day. Good thing I always have on my SuperMom Bulletproof Bodysuit. If only it prevented me from having to deal with meltdowns and fighting as well. Other Archerisms include using sounds instead of names when referring to animals, trucks, etc. So a motorcycle isn't (yet) a motorcycle, it's a "na-na-na". It sounds a lot like the sound a motorcycle makes when it revs its engine. A cat is still a "Tito" but also gets an enthusiastic "eeeeoooowwww!" along with it. Dogs are "arfs" and elephants are a large trumpeting noise with an arm raised in the air. It's like verbal acrobatics around here. My favorite is "please" which sounds like "ease" but gets a big smile and two arms raised overhead for emphasis. How can I say no to that?? Both boys are doing well and adjusting to life in Coronado. Will's regular school is out for the summer but he's going to take 2 summer camps through the City of Coronado, as well as attend a few weeks of "camp" at his school. He's also doing swim lessons and will probably continue through the summer. Hopefully the summer will fly by with all of our activities. Keith is going to be gone for most of the summer, bummer. He should be back before Labor Day though, hopefully in time to enjoy a little downtime before we start our sure-to-be hectic fall routine. We shall see!

Catching up, Vol. 3 - The Condensed Version

So once again I am lagging behind in updating...still haven't updated everything that has happened in the past 2 months. It's been such a whirlwind. So in an effort to move forward, I'm going to give a lightning round update here. Buckle your seatbelts!

March 29 - During Will's concert, our packed cars (cats included) wait in the parking lot of the school. As soon as he's done singing his little heart out, we hit the road enroute to sunny California (by way of Nebraska). We take a few days, with mercifully little traffic or weather issues, and hit Nebraska over the weekend. We get to hang out with family for a few days (lots of fun playing with cousins!) before we follow the Erb clan to Colorado for even more family fun. Our time in CO gets cut short (due to the delivery of our household goods in CA) so we hit the road a day early and cover the rest of the ground to San Diego! We were SO relieved to finally get here. Our Easter weekend was spent unpacking in our new place; we actually hunted for eggs amongst the boxes. An Easter to remember!

In the wake of all of this moving, Keith and/or I attended 3 weddings on the East Coast. We like to keep busy...ha! A week after we arrived in CA, Keith flew back to Virginia Beach for his friend Gregg's weddding. I wish I could have been there, or that we could have moved after Gregg and Johanna's wedding, but it just wasn't possible. A few short weeks later Keith and I boarded a plane to fly back to the East Coast for Jill and Matt's wedding. Grandma Gigi and Aunt Donna were nice enough to come watch the boys so we could enjoy a weekend kid-free. Yippee! The wedding went off without a hitch (okay, one minor hitch of rain right before the ceremony so we had to move things inside) but everything else was great. It was a beautiful ceremony and fun reception. A good time was had by all on both coasts. And Archer picked up a new term of endearment, "Nene". I thought it was a mix of Gigi and Donna at first but he uses it for all females. Creative little chap! A big thank you to the 2 originial Nenes for allowing us to get away! After the Hicks/Zvolenski, we were back in town for a few weeks once again. Then this past weekend I boarded a plane for my friend Sarah's wedding in Massachusetts. I was so happy to be able to be there while she and Dave got married. It was a great day! Here is a pic of Jill and Matt getting their pic taken on the big day!

In the meantime, Keith started work and settled in to his new routines at VRC-30. He will be doing a RimPac this summer so he'll miss most of our "free" time. Bummer. With that in mind, I orchestrated Will's schedule to keep hiim semi-entertained over the summer with camps, etc. Archer and I plan to stay busy by looking at lots of "Gucks" and "Choo choos" and fighting with random kids over the slide at the park. :) We'll stay busy, I'm sure. That's it, in a nutshell. I know I'm missing stuff...can't seem to locate our pics with the Erbs, Grandpa Heyen or Grandma Charma and Aunt Rach. I'll fill those in when I find them. In the meantime, here are some odds and ends:

Update on the Littles

I've been *trying* (really, I have!) to get my pictures from our move organized so I can finally update everything and move on. But it's proving harder than expected; time is short with 2 little people hanging around so much. So I thought I'd provide an update on the boys in the meantime. We've been in Coronado for almost a month and we're starting to feel settled (or at least I am). Keith is definitely settled; he's back flying and doing his thing at work. Will started preschool at his new school a few weeks ago. He's attending Resurrection Preschool and so far, it's good. I have to admit, at first I was a little nervous. I forgot how much more laid back everything is on the West Coast. When I took him for his orientation, I was thinking "whoa, hippie school!" And that may be a tad bit true but he seems to like it and I'm adjusting to the more "play" centered way of learning. Every day when I pick him up, he's smiling and laughing so I guess that's something. I'm hoping we can make some playmates to keep us company over the summer before school lets out! Below is Will on his first day of preschool at Resurrection!

Archer and I have been keeping ourselves busy by going to the park every day. We also take long walks around the island. It's great to be able to be outside so much. Both boys are enjoying the sunshine and mild temps. Spreckles Park, the main park in Coronado, has quickly become a favorite. Will loves to climb and jump and throw things down the slides. He also loves to play Lego Ninjas, which I'm sure leaves every other parent wondering why that kid is running around and yelling and kicking at random objects. To each his own... Archer and I were lucky enough to meet a new friend, Shahana, and her son, Haas, while playing at Spreckles. So far the little boys don't really play together but I'm hoping with time they'll become friends. Archer's current MO is standing on a piece of playground equipment and screeching anytime another kid tries to get on with him. Oye! He also has a great little "arm bar" bit that he does by throwing his arm out to stop "intruders". He's a real joy at the park, let me tell you! Hopefully this phase will end quickly.

So it seems sharing is not Archer's strong suit. Luckily he's making up for it by picking up all kinds of new words lately. "Whoa" is Will. "Guck" is truck, sock, duck, sometimes shoe. "Da da" is Keith but also airplane. There are many other sounds for things like motorcycle, boat, etc. "Bup" remains as up and "ease" is please. Oh and while Grandma Gigi and Aunt Donna were here watching the boys while Keith and I went to Jill and Matt's wedding, Archer decided to call them both "Nini". Not sure if that's a combo of Gigi and Donna or a term of endearment but it's sweet. After they left, he walked around the house looking for them, calling "Nini? Nini?" He's a ways off from actual back and forth communication but we're slowly getting there. When I can actually figure out what he's trying to say and do what he wants BEFORE he melts down, I feel like I've won a little victory!

All in all, life in sunny Southern California is not bad at all. Check back...I reall will update soon!

Catching Up, Vol. 2 - The Concert

We were supposed to leave Virginia on March 28th and head west. Only one thing could keep us there an extra day: Will's patriotic music concert at school. We had figured out "the plan" to get from VA to CA, leaving on the 28th as soon as our stuff was loaded up...and then Will comes home and tells me that his program is the NEXT morning (29th). When I said that he couldn't go because of our move, he was devastated. So, change of plans! I figured that since we were making him leave all of his friends and his school and home, the least we could do was let him sing with his class one last time. The concert was great. They sang the sounds of Americana, from "You're a Grand Old Flag" to James Brown's "Living in America". Will gave quite a performance, complete with hand gestures! I've seen several school concerts in the past years and he really sang his heart out this time. I was so glad we got to stay one more day. As soon as the concert was over, I grabbed Will from his class. It just about broke my heart to watch Will's classmates tell him goodbye and say how much they were going to miss him. I cried and cried and his teachers joined in. We have so many good memories from Great Bridge Preschool. And with that we loaded the kids into the already-packed van (complete with 2 cats!) and headed out. The adventure was underway!

Catching Up, Vol 1 - Haircut

It has been a LONG time and a lot has happened since my last update. To say we've been busy is an understatement! We are now semi-settled in California. We still don't have much on the walls but we're getting there. The move across the country was good...lots of pictures to come but I'll save those for another post. First I have to go way back to Virginia to catch up on all that happened there before we left! This is volume 1 of several...so check back!

On our last Friday in Virginia, Archer got his first haircut (just above is the "before" picture). Oh man, he's growing up. We took him to Pigtails and Crewcuts in Virginia Beach, which is the same place Will got his first hair cut. Archer chose to sit in the police car and held on to two "choo choos" the entire time. He didn't seem too interested in the actual haircut itself; there was plenty to distract him. It was a quick process and $16 later we had ourselves a cleaned-up little boy. No baby left there! It's now been almost a month since his first haircut and he's in need again. I think I need to learn how to cut hair; I could save a fortune on these boys and then spend it on myself! Here he is in the middle of the action:

Here's the handsome guy afterward:

One down, many more to go!