A few minutes ago...yes can you believe I am posting this quickly...I went into Ayden's room to get him out of bed from his nap.
Oh wait...back up...
As you ALL should know, the University of Arizona beat Duke to enter the Elite Eight last Thursday. This means we are set to play UConn today at 4pm Tucson time.
So,since we live in Tucson (which revolves around the U of A), I went to the U of A law school and Jeremy is attending their Executive MBA program (not to mention the countless others in our fam/friends who are Wildcats) the Riley house is gearing up for the big game today. My 'gearing up' includes throwing on my only U of A gear....a hoodie that says ARIZONA in large letters across the front.
Ok, back to Ayden and nap time.
I walk into his room and he's looking at me all funny - his little brow is furrowed and he is quite pensive.
I reach out to him and say 'what are you looking at honney?'.
He takes a second, then says 'letters!'.
'That's right! They are letters!'
Pointing to each one he then reads out: A-R-I-Z-O-N-A!
Gavin and I are rockin' it in the music city visiting my dad and trish this week. For those who have been to Nashville you know how beautiful a city it is and how all the homes and neighborhoods look like scenes from a movie. Well my dad's *new* neighborhood is no exception. Though they have been here over a year, the neighborhood is still going up around them and so it is very different looking than last year. I haven't taken any pics but will before I leave to throw up in another post.
Anyway...this morning I went for a run and as I was cooling down [which was important bc dang the humidity - which I know really isn't bad yet - is REALLY REALLY bad compared to Tucson], the song 'Life is a Highway' came on my iPod. I love to hear this song for many reasons...1) it is a great song! 2) It has a good running beat and keeps you moving, 3) Ayden is OBSESSED with the movie Cars right now [in fact I don't think obsessed is quite strong enough], and so the song makes me smile thinking of him.
Well today was no exception, only today while I was stretching enjoying a little Rascal Flats I happened to be staring at this spectacular home across the way from my dad's and wouldn't you know it, it belongs to the Rascal Flats manager!!
The home is actually up for sale. It is approx 15,000 square feet (yes that is three zeros) and is on the market for....... drum roll please......
3.5 Million.
Now, don't get me wrong, 3.5M is a large chunk of change and I don't expect to ever be shelling that out for a home...however! This is definitely a testament to the market in Nashville and why this city is one of top three best places to live. A great standard of living...no income tax...sweet southern demeanor without being tooooo far south....four seasons without being too cold....good schools.....excellent entertainment.....
Every time I am here I think "I could live here!". But then I remember that I am on vacation every time I am here....(across from Rascal Flats' manager's house).....which is not per se where I would be living and certainly not close to my dear group of friends whom I cherish and love and thank my lucky stars each day to have in my, and as importantly my sons', lives =)
People ask me often why we don't move - especially to a larger job market - and the truth is, J and I have talked countless times about moving and each and every time we do the math we conclude that our focus is our family. We don't intend to chase our career around the country or world and drag the family with us. So long as we can be happy in our jobs in Tucson, you cannot beat the community of friends and family we have surrounding us. This is not to say that we will never move from Tucson. But it is to say that the priorities must be in the right order for us to do so.
And now that this is post has been completely and utterly side tracked - sorry -....I'll sign off...
Simply because I am lazy and forget that I take pictures on my i-phone with the great (oh yes...they are great!) intentions of blogging about them and the surrounding experience, I wouldn't want to starve you the reader of them....so enjoy =)
So this was quite cute and deserves a couple words...
Ayden made a 'Caterpillar' our of his play-do.
THis is the face I got when I asked him to smile....hahahahah - makes me laugh every time!!
This is the next day and we are again making Caterpillars only this time Ayden is obsessed with taking a picture with each color play-do. So, he pulled his little chair into the middle of the room, sat down and asked Mommy to take picture. It was hilarious...this little photo shoot. Makes you wonder where he sees this stuff! Here are a few:
As most of you know, J is getting his MBA through the U of A Executive MBA Program. This Program takes him away from us =( every other weekend as the classes are in Phoenix.
This weekend we decided to join him. On Saturday Gram-E and I took the boys to on a road trip to Phoenix. The ride up was perfect as both boys took their respective naps - just as planned!
And....that was about all that went "just as planned" for the rest of the trip ;)
But, that is not to say it was bad just because it was unplanned. If there is one thing being a parent has taught me (or at least continues to try and teach me) is that nothing goes as planned.
The first stop was the new Phoenix Aquarium (located in the Arizona Mills Mall). Though the plan was for Ayden to have had lunch before his nap - per his usual routine - he did not want what was packed for him and thus he fell asleep in the car without eating. So....despite Ayden wanting to see the fish NOW, Mommy an Gram-E overruled with a trip to the food court where, despite good intentions, Ayden's lunch consisted of a hot dog, fries and JUICE and Mommy managing to get no food!
With both kiddos fed (mommy still has plenty of pregnancy spares to be able to skip many meals!), it was finally time to see the fishes!
But...by now it was time (overdue) for Mommy to pump. Time to divide and conquer. Gram-E took excited Ayden to see the fishes while I took Gavin to the family bathroom for an exciting round of pumping. Once there and settled in, I realized I did not have all the parts to the pump - you can imagine how thrilled I was. So I packed myself back up and headed out to the car. Gavin and I then found ourselves in the aquarium 'family bathroom' which despite the guy assuring me that this was their 'nursing' place as well, there was no seat but the toilet. And so there I was....sitting on the public toilet, jeans on, Gavin in the stroller, numerous knocks on the door, pumping away - AWESOME!! (thank goodness for the kindle!!!)
By the time all this was done, Gram-E and Ayden had successfully made it through the (surprisingly small) aquarium.
Stop one complete!
Well almost...
While eating lunch Ayden noticed the rather large spinning thing with horses on it. His first Carousel!! Ayden and Gram-E went round and round for four rides..each time was "the last time".
Finally, Gram-E offered him ice cream to get off and Ayden said 'NO', he wanted to ride again! So, Gram-E said ok one more then we can get off and get ice cream.....to me it sounds like Ayden is quite the negotiator....he got another ride AND ice cream...way to go kiddo!!
He just LOVED it. Look at that Smile!
Time to head to the hotel where J had arranged for an upgraded suite with two beds.
Or at least thought he had...
Three rooms later, forgotten breast milk, lots of rides on the cart and too many keys to keep track of, we found ourselves in the "largest suite they have available". It had a king bed and a pull out couch - certainly no room for a crib...I think "suite" is a term they use quite liberally!! But it's one night...what can't we handle for just one night?!?!
J was thrilled to hear all his arrangements went so smoothly which put him in just as good a mood as us =)
Time for dinner.
Without further ado, we hopped back in the car, only this time I got the honor of sitting between the car seats of my little boys. After much confusion/discussion about who should drive so the seat wouldn't go back too far, we were off with no place in mind and too many i-phones and suggestions to actually help!! Somehow we ended up at a great place with a wonderful patio where Ayden could play, watch the passing cars and get some good eats in too. [Mark this down as a success!]
Before we knew it, it was way past Ayden's bed time and we were back at the hotel deciding who should sleep where and how.
Conclusion...
Ayden and Daddy on pull out couch
Mommy and Gram-E in king bed
Gavin in swing next to Mommy.
Results...
No sleep for anyone =)
Phoenix Adventure Day 2.
Today we were off to the Children's Museum. The boys were amply fed, but the adults were not. Despite our best intentions to grab something (at least COFFEE!!) on the way it just didn't work out.
The museum was fantastic and a good price to boot. Ayden could have spent the whole day with each activity. He was in heaven.
But... adults were tired and hungry...we were closing in on nap time....by this point we needed to find Ayden food as well... and of course...Mommy had to pump. So after much logistic deliberation and another round of bathroom pumping we were on the road home.
Despite nothing seemingly going as planned (which should always be the plan with kids) I mark the weekend down as a successful first trip with the boys =)
So last Monday Ayden flipped the potty training switch. He decided all on his very own that he now wants to use the potty and since then I can count on one hand the number of wet or poopy diapers he has had (not including nap/night time). This kid just keeps on amazing me.
But...that is not what this post is about. This post is about last night and the quite hilarious situation that occured in the shower.
It is now our routine for Ayden to take a shower before bed time. He simply LOVES LOVES LOVES showers in our shower. As my mom pointed out we can expect there to be quite a water bill (before you pass out Candice, I have now implemented a timer that makes an Elephant sound when it's over and it is working quite delightfully =) ). Again I digress...this too is not the point of the post.
So, last night Ayden was finishing up his shower when he was overcome with the need to poop. I could see it right away in his face but that was already too late. Next thing I know..."Plop...Plop" there is a pile of poop in my shower. I think it startled Ayden some as he didn't really know how to react and I thought it was the funniest parent moment of the month. I was tempted to whip out my camera and capture the moment but figured neither you nor Ayden would actually appreciate that. In fact I'm sure Ayden won't appreciate this post either way...but such is life =)
After quelling my laughter I assured Ayden it was OK and that it was just an accident and we will try to get to the potty quicker next time. He walks out of the shower, turns to be and says very enthusiastically, "I POOPED IN THERE!". It was adorable and disgusting all at the same time. So I did what any mother would, I wrapped him up in his towel and proceeded on with the bedtime routine =)
[Warning....this next moment might be a little TMI, but after some internal deliberations I figured, the point of this blog is not to censure parenthood]
As I said, I carried on with our night getting Ayden to bed and feeding Gavin, when Daddy arrived home. Of course the first thing I tell him is watch out for the pile of poo in our shower. Later that night as we are getting ready for bed J peeks into the shower and says, "I don't get it...I don't see the poo." Next thing you know, Erowyn hops up on the bed and it occurs to us exactly where the poo went....
It seems appropriate that when you turn two you get two parties =) The first was really just recognition of his real birthday day...but it did have balloons, presents and birthday cake.
Last Saturday though, we celebrated Ayden again...only this time we had lots of friends, way too many presents (despite evite saying no presents!), and cupcakes!
It was awesome. The kids had so much fun playing together it made me feel officially old. Our lives will now revolve around the kids, their activities and their friends. No more fitting them into our routine and lives...it is now all about them (well, really just Ayden right now as Gavin is super flexible and not tooopinionated yet ;) ).
There was a great turn out and the weather held for the most part - a little on the windy side though!
Most important, the birthday boy was in heaven. Ayden spent two hours straight playing with his friends. He checked in with mom every so often, but mostly he didn't even know we were there!!
Ayden played with Syd and Camden Soloway all afternoon. I nannied for those two starting when Camden was 6 weeks old!! Syd is now 9 and Camy almost 6 - holy cow!! And now they are playing with my 2 year old....just thinking about it all makes my head spin. WHERE.....HAS....THE.....TIME....GONE?!?!?
Here is the handsome bday boy. If you notice in his hand he has a Thomas The Train. Well that was the theme of the party [I'd like to say because Ayden loves Thomas - which he does - but mostly because that was the theme of my nephew Zane's 2 yr old party we threw him...and well...hey, we have two kids now...we have to recycle and reuse!!] But, back to the train in his hand. That was actually a decoration on the cake. I made the amateur mommy mistake of showing Ayden the cake before it was time to have cake and faster than you can blink the train was ripped off and he was begging for birthday cake! Thankfully, the train was the only collateral damage and the cake stayed intact until we were ready.
This is Ayden's friend Audrey. If you are an avid reader you will remember her from the pumpkin patch farm posting. Can you believe how big she is!?! AND, she is going to be a BIG SISTER soon ;)
Audrey gives Taylor a BIG hug! Then Taylor finds Audrey's eyes.
ADORABLE!
Can you feel the love??
Ooooh and here is my little man! All bundled and ready to come out of his stroller and meet the guests.
CUPCAKE TIME!!
Shyla did an AWESOME job on the cupcake. She sat down so nicely and just went to town. Believe it or not she ate the whole thing!!
This picture occurred just after Candice and Taylor flew off the end of the slide. Doesn't it just scream.."I LOVE being a Mom!!!" =)
Then Ayden thought it would be nice to share his demolished cupcake with his (yes I'm going to say it) girlfriend Taylor.
You may be thinking, oh how nice he is sharing! But really he was done and looking for a place to dispose of it. Hey...it's a start!
Despite the horrible wind, GGJ made it out to meet her fourth great grand child!!! Gavin was completely content and snug as a bug in a rug in her arms. 4 generations under one ramada - we are one lucky family.
And so Ayden's second year was celebrated with friendship, love, laughter and play! All things we wish each and every year of Ayden's life will be filled to the brim with.
Thank you to everyone who came and made Ayden's day special. And to those who couldn't make it, we really missed you =(
On the drive home the utterly exhausted little man says out of nowhere..... "I'm Happy!"
