Man Work

CR and Poppins cleaned all of our windows last Saturday...I deemed this man work and got some less strenuous house work done that day, i.e. vacuuming, dusting and laundry.

CR2 can not stand to be left out of manly activities, so CR let him "hold the ladder" for Poppins.

And no, we did not let him climb the ladder unsupervised.

Precious!

Nice face CR...ha!





Love to you all!


JP

The Big Boy Park

This fall we have really enjoyed taking CR2 to the

East Cobb Park

We like to call it the "big boy park", it's a step up from our neighborhood play set with one slide and 2 swings!

CR2's favorite apparatus is the dinosaur slide. He has mastered climbing the stairs and sliding down on his own! He is so independent!

Enjoy the pics below!

Headed to the park

CR2 loves to run in this field!

The favorite Dinosaur Slide


"Umm, that boy is on my slide!"

"Here I go!"

Weeeee!

Just a swingin'

Merry Go Round

Back to the Dinosaur Slide

So Proud of Himself

Such a big boy!

Wasn't he in a baby swing just yesterday?!?

Love to you all!

JP

A Lesson on Thunderstorms

So this week the weather in Marietta has been completely miserable! Non-stop rain and humidity...blaaahhhhh!

It all started early Monday morning. The thunder and lightening woke CR2 up around 6:15am. CR plucked him from the crib and threw him in our bed. A crash of lightning...CR2's head buried in my neck, "It's OK buddy, that is just lightening", loud booming thunder...CR2 crams his knees in my arm pit and his face smashes closer to my neck, "And that would be thunder...this is what you call a thunderstorm."

I guess Mother Nature did not take into account that Monday is "our day"; a day that I don't have to go into the office, a day that we stay in our p.j.'s later than normal and watch Playhouse Disney, a day that we go on our long morning walk, a day that we pack it up and head to the big boy park, a day that we enjoy spending time outside together!

Well I guess Mother Nature doesn't really care about anxious toddlers who press there face against the window, and repeatedly bring me their tennis shoes, because she hasn't let up all week!

Busy toddler + Rainy Weather = Disaster!

CR2 only finds blocks and play dough entertaining for short periods of time. He would much rather be running on the driveway or crumpling up leaves! Kids need to play outside!

This morning we cracked the window and listened to the wind as the storm rolled in...so depressing :( CR2 decided to watch the rain for a while...poor buddy!

Can we please go outside???

Watching the yard puddle up :)





Dear Mother Nature,

Please be kind and take this storm elsewhere!
If you ruin Halloween you will be added to my hit list!

Regards,
JP

Family Blessings

From Left to Right: Zeb, Dylan, JP, CR2, CR, Scout


Last weekend we were able to make a much needed trip to Waynesville, my home town. I think the last trip we made was the beginning of summer...no excuses other than letting life and finances get in the way. I guess the fact that my brothers and sisters are in prime activity overload age (12-16) may factor in as well. Anyhow...I have missed these people, and I find myself missing them even more now that I am back home. My dad always catches me (and my bad attitude) on the day I have to leave and says with a squinty grin "you hate leaving, don't you!?!" And you know, he is always right, especially now...

You see, my grandmother...i mean my Mamadele :) has been battling cancer for the past 5 years. It started with breast, and has progressed to her lungs. I have never seen someone deal with so much crap and worry more about those around her than herself. She is the prime example of the kind of woman I hope to amount to one day. I look so forward to a long conversation with her, be it over the phone while in traffic, or preferably right beside her on the blue couch. She has great insight, reads people so well, and her advice is always welcome. Her smile is beautiful, and she has an infectious sweet southern laugh.

This past weekend I asked her about "the albums" that we used to look through all the time when I was a little girl...and of course she still has them. I was specifically looking for the album of newspaper articles. She has kept record of all articles featuring our family to grace the local paper. From my fathers band achievements, letters to the editor, adoption news, dance achievements, and fashion ads featuring my mom (what a trip!). We all found joy and humor looking through this.

Mamadele also wanted me to have this picture:

This would be me around age 5 with my first dog, Charlie Brown. My family likes to tease me about my love of the name Charlie...my first dog was Charlie, I married a Charlie (Charles), and my first born is named Charlie. I mean really...what is my deal??? Here again she reminded me of simple childhood joy and the important things in life.

It's times like these that I want to freeze...times where we are all more aware of each other, our emotions, and our WANT to be together as a family. We had home cooked (Val cooked) meals, we went to the Apple Festival, we sat in the cool fall weather at Zebby's last football game of the season, and engaged in long family conversation. Conversations that are still sitting with me, so much so that my brain wouldn't slow down as I tried to fall asleep last night.

I guess Mamadele is trying to teach us to hold on to joy, and not dwell in our problems and heart aches. I am so lucky to have family members who have influenced me so deeply. I am SO looking forward to the holiday season that is upon us, and the time we will have to spend together!

Love to you all!

JP

P.S. - Take a moment and say a little prayer for my Mamadele :)

Store Bought...pssshhh, I'll Make My Own!

Broke...check!


Need fun activity to do with toddler...check!


MAKE SOME HOMEMADE PLAY DOUGH!


I remembered how Mel's mom saved the day a few years ago when a group of us pulled out Cranium one snowy day and found dried up play dough. Being the forward thinking Kindergarten teacher that she is, she whipped us up a new batch!


I thought CR2 may get a kick out of the squishy texture, and if he decided to take a bite...no harm done!


I found this little recipe in a google search:

Ingredients:
- 3 C flour
- 1 1/2 C salt
- 3 C water
- 1 T vegetable oil
- 1 T cream of tartar
- food coloring or kool-Aide

Directions:
- Mix ingredients in a large sauce pan over medium heat until dough pulls away from edges
- turn out of pan and knead 3 - 4 times when cool
-store dough in air tight container
-PLAY!


We have played with our creation a few times, and CR2 seems to become a little more interested each time.

Now how to keep him from throwing the stuff on the carpet, and running out of the room to find a hiding place for the play dough!



Love to you all!

JP

MOHAWK MANIA

A few weeks ago CR took the little man up stairs to get dressed for the day.

This is what came down the stairs!

And if I'm not mistaken I heard some Beastie Boys blaring on the i-pod.

What silly guys!

Love to you all!

JP

A Day At Dobbins With Poppins :)

I am pleased to announce my first guest post: written by CR's father, a.k.a. Poppins.

CR2 and Poppins had a boys day out on Friday and I asked Poppins to write about their first special outing together. CR2 and Poppins share such a special bond and are such a cute pair!

Enjoy!!!

Friday, October 15th was my first outing alone with CR2, and knowing his love for airplanes, we went to the Wings Over Atlanta Air Show - 2010.

Up until this day, the only airplanes CR2 ever saw (and pointed at) were 6000' in the sky. Fasten your seat belts, sit back and enjoy...

Friday's air show was a day set-aside for special guests, including military (active duty and retired) and there were only about 3,000 people there (as apposed to over 100K people during the weekend shows). We arrived at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta in the mid-morning, and as we passed-through the magnetometer, it didn't take him long to figure-out, this was cool!

The first aircraft we saw was an Air Force C-5 cargo plane. The front and back were opened, which allowed us to walk right through it. Other air crafts we could walk right up to were YF-22 (guarded by armed Security Police), B-25, F-18, C-130, C-17 and others. What was also really cool about this day, was the air base had not yet put-up all the barriers, so you could essentially walk right out on the runway.

The first to perform were the Canadian Snowbirds, then we saw an F-18 do a screaming pass-over at about 20' at a speed just under mock-1. Next we saw a couple bi-planes perform and later the Blue Angels.

CR2 had a BLAST!!! He spent about 20% of the time in his stroller, but really wanted to just walk around and point at airplanes and give me that "CR2 expression" he is so famous for when he's excited about something. At lunch time, we sat on the tarmac and ate because he wouldn't keep still in the stroller because the airplanes kept passing overhead. After lunch, we toured all the planes again and I'd explain to him what each aircraft was for and I could tell by his facial expressions and his focused thought, he knew exactly what Poppins was saying.

I'm also certain now he knows really how big airplanes are and that they are not just some little thing in the sky the size of a bird.

When it was time to leave, and after I put CR2 in his car seat and packed everything back in the car to head home, I looked around at him in the back seat and asked, "CR2, did you have a good time?" His smile said it all. By the time I exited the base through the main gate, I looked around and he was sound asleep, dreaming of being a fighter pilot.

Our next trip I'm thinking either the Colorado River or skydiving.

.....................................................................

Thank you Poppins for such a sweet post!!! You absolutely made CR2's day! CR and I are so appreciative of the time you spend and special moments you provide our child with. He is such a lucky boy!

Love to you all!

JP (and Poppins)

The Joy of Having a Little Boy

As we were driving around town running errands last week CR instructed me to turn around and look at my son.

This is what I saw:

"I picked a good one just for you mom!"

And so it begins!

Love to you all!

JP

Hiking Review #3: Amicalola Falls Loop Trail

In mid-Septmeber we decided to take advantage of a beautiful Saturday and find a waterfall hike. We chose the Amicalola Falls Loop Trail and are so glad that we did. This is by far my favorite hiking spot.

Book Review:

Length: 2.8 miles

Configuration: Loop

Difficulty: Difficult

Scenery: Waterfalls, long-distance mountain views

Exposure: Full sun a the falls, visitor center, and upper third of the East Ridge; mostly shaded elsewhere

Traffic: Heavy

Trail Surface: Compacted soil and gravel road. The trail from the West Ridge parking lot to the falls is made of rubber tires.

Hiking time: 2 hours

Here is our review in pictures.

As we drove in to the Amicalola Falls State Park we stopped to pay the $3 fee listed in the book. Surprise, the fee was now $5. CR scrambled for change and handed the park ranger a handfull of penny's and said..."that should do it" Thankfully he let us in and said "I'll cover the rest". We were probably only short 5 cents.

We stopped by the visitor center to get a map, and found a park ranger displaying a very large snake...a python maybe? CR2 didn't know what to think!

We then stopped at the picnic area to fuel up before the hike. What a nice area! There were alot of picnic tables, a covered shed area, and a few playgrounds. There were also cabin's available for passing through hikers to rent, as this trail is part of the A.T.

We gathered our things and I started with CR2 in the pack! I really do love to hike with him, such a great workout!

A shot of CR2 and mommy during the first mile of the hike. I think that we followed an additional trail making our hike around 4 miles.

At this point we came upon the Amicalola creek and started our acend to the waterfall. I toughed out the climb for a little while and then gladly handed the pack over to CR. He really doesn't appreciate comments from strangers when I am hauling CR2 up a mountain. My favorite came from a little old lady who said "honey, you carried that child for 9 months...it's his turn now!" I really do insist on carrying CR2 for at least part of our hikes. Mom's can be tough too!

Here are the boys at the bottom of the steps. There are about 500 steps that lead up to the base of the falls, and 300 more that take you to the top of the falls. Talk about a "stair master workout"!!! If you are looking to sweat, this is the hike for you!



We made it to the base! Not a great picture of the falls, but man is it a sight in person!

Here is a shot of the stair climb...now muliply that by 10. My thighs hurt just look at this!

View from the top of the falls

We made it to the top! Now just a few miles down to go!

As you round the top of the falls you see this! Beautiful mountain range views for the majority of the hike down. North Georgia reminds me so much of home. This area is in between Dawsonville and Ellijay.

Boys on the way down. We passed a group of girl scouts that came up this way, and assured them that they were close. I can only imagine the melt downs if they would have taken the stairs!

Mommy and CR2 stop for a drink! Nice sweat curl...gross!

Boys playing in the trees!

We thought this tree was pretty neat...and strange.

And WE MADE IT! Cheesy photo to end the day!

There are other trails that we would like to try around this area and we will definitly go back.

Have a happy Monday!

Love to you all!

JP