My AWOL Excuse

I think this is by far the longest I have ever gone between blog posts. I feel horrible. I have so much to tell and so many cute pictures to share and no lap top to do so (thanks leaky sippy cup of apple juice in my bag), so I am now on our desktop and because I can't remember all the really cute things that have been going on lately, I leave you with this lame update.

Here is what came of mine and Bo's flowers this summer:

June

July

August

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We were having the hardest time getting Bo the slightest bit interested in potty training until we found out while camping July 4th that he really really wanted his own 4-wheeler. Ah-ha! As soon as we told him that 4-wheelers were for big boys and big boys wear underwear, he was all over it. Finally a reward worth wearing underwear for. Success! We were stoked.

The original plan was to wait until he was completely potty trained before giving it to him, but summer is running out and we wanted him to get some enjoyment out of the deal, so about 4 weeks ago his dream came true.

It is old, has been ridden hard, and doesn't have brakes but it is PERFECT. He loves loves loves it! And now, even though he is not 100% potty trained (he's about 98% during the day, and 0% at night), we still use it as bargaining power. "No accidents today or you won't be able to ride your 4-wheeler." or "Do you want us to take your 4-wheeler away?" . . . works every time.

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And the latest Bo-ism:
Wes: Bo, do you want to wear pajamas or a t-shirt to bed?
Bo: I want to wear a t-shirt and t-pants.

Austin In A Nutshell (with lots & lots of pictures)

I'm a little (well, way) behind in posting about our Austin trip so here it is in a nutshell . . .

One of the first things we did while in town was have a family portrait taken in honor of my parent's 40th wedding anniversary. It was the first time that all, and I mean all of us were in the same place at the same time and to make it even more special, we had the photographer come out to the house. Amazingly, all babies cooperated and we were able to get some decent pics with everyone looking at the camera. (I will share them when we see the proofs)

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After that, it was all about family and more family. I loved hanging out with my sisters and their kids, and juggling all the chaos that came along with it. It is not easy coordinating 5 kids under the age of 3.5 and 8 adults, let me tell you, but it was well worth it.

Bo and Sam spent about every waking hour playing outside naked in the kiddie pool, sprinker, or hose. It was hotter than hot and neither kid wanted anything to do with clothes but everything to do with the water and Opa & Nana.
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Then is was on to Reunion where 13 became 300+. It was the first time Wes & I had been in 3 years and holy cow it was different this time having 2 kids. I was ready to pack up and go home after the first day. Bo was a wreck, wouldn't listen, wouldn't eat, wouldn't nap, and wouldn't get in the River. Ugh, it was not fun. But things got better and we all had a great time. On the last night of Reunion, we surprised Mom & Dad with a champagne toast in honor of their 40th wedding anniversary since we could not all be together on the actual day (July 5th).
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And to make it all complete, we were able to hang out with the Prtichard side of the family on Tuesday before heading back to Fairbanks the next day. We had a great afternoon hanging out and eating fajitas. All in all it was a great trip.

Sam's First Salon Cut

Every time we are in Austin we make it a point to go to the K.A.O.S. Kid Salon near my parents house. It's an awesome salon! There are all different cars, motorcycles, 3 wheelers, & ponies for the kids to sit on and TVs in front of each, playing one of three trillion kid movies they have.

So this time we took Sam. It was his first official non-mom haircut and he did great. He was really wiggly but came out looking like such a little man.

Before . . . During . . .

After . . .

Traveling Tales of Suck (in Denver)

What is it about airplanes and traveling that makes kids (and parents) go bazerko?

We just go back last night from spending 10 days in Austin with my family, soaking up the hideous record breaking 105 degree weather and many naked (the kids, not us) hours in my parents' front yard drenched by the sprinkler and shriveled in the kiddie pool, but its the hours stuck on the plane that always seem to be the true story tellers. The moments that make living so far away seem stupid and the memories that then make me laugh so hard I pee myself.

On the way down to Austin we got stuck on the tarmac in Denver for an hour and a half prior to taking off due to high wind sheers. Bo was excellent, mesmerized by anything and everything having to do with the airplane and all the games on his itouch, but Sam was a wreck.

Over tired and sick of traveling (left Fairbanks 11 hours earlier), he was done. Sitting still was definitely not on his priority list anymore and apparently the diligence of watching my kids that I started the trip with so many hours earlier no longer was on mine either.

You know when you hear from the woman sitting in the middle seat of the row in front of you, "Um, Ma'am, your son is up here," that all tact has been lost in kid control. Sam had somehow, without me noticing (how is that even possible when we are sandwiched in to a 4 foot by 2 foot wedge of an airplane row), crawled under the seat in front of us and popped out like a jack-in-the box at the lady's feet?! Ta-dah!! He was so proud, standing there facing her with his ear to ear grin and snot running down to his lips. The lady, however, was unimpressed and annoyed. I was mortified and busted out the Benadryl.

A few minutes later I was trying to explain to Bo that it was going to be bumpy when we took off so we needed to make sure his seat belt was on tight and without missing a beat says, "No Mommy, airplanes can't be bumpy; their aren't rocks in the air."

And a few minutes after that I got yelled at by the shit head of a flight attendant on a power trip for getting up to use the bathroom. Something about being on an active taxi way and it being entirely too dangerous for me to be up out of my seat.

Hello! For one, I'm 7 months pregnant, and for two, how the hell is it an "active" taxi way when the whole reason why we are stuck in this sardine tube without food or water (great customer service, by the way, United. You suck) is because the entire airport is temporarily closed.

Look around, ass hole, there's nothing active going on here except for the baby doing jazzercise on my bladder and the can of whoop ass I'm about to unveil on your skinny ass if you don't let me pee. (If only I was ballsy enough to say that to his face! That would have been awesome! But instead I sunk back in my seat and cried with exhaustion. Or was I peeing out of my eyes? I'm still not sure.)

And to cap off the wonderful Denver to Austin flight, we somehow managed to leave Bo's itouch on the plane. Superb. Great. Excellent. There goes $300 (and my sanity).

All I know is our family better be glad we love them as much as we do, because in the end, all the turmoil and stress and bloody lips (oh yeah, did I forget to mention that Sam whacked me with his sippy cup so hard coming home he gave me a fat bloody lip) is worth it if it means we get to hang out with the people who mean the most to us.

I love you guys, but it's your turn to come see us.

Quirks

(I wrote this post about a month ago but never shared it)

Sure, we all have quirks - strange things that we do or like that make us who we are. Some of us have more than others, and some are more annoying than others, but I think Bo may win the prize for this having the most. Here is a list of things that are all Bo, some endearing, some annoying and some just down right weird . . .

- ketchup makes anything taste better, even blueberries
- likes to sit in his poop (because it's soft and he wants to hug it)
- itches from mosquito bites and dinosaur bites
- favorite dinosaur is the T-Rex because it is "bad"
- puts up a fight to do almost anything, nothing is ever easy (brush teeth, change diaper, etc)
- loves airplanes except ones with propellers
- hates to talk on the phone (will hide his head in shyness)
- likes blueberry muffins without the blueberries
- will eat bananas whole but not cut up
- hates red garbage trucks, likes green ones
- can't sleep if his pillow is hot (has to turn it over to the cool side)
- grass is always greener (has mommy, wants daddy. has daddy, wants mommy)
- does not sleep through the night (wakes up between 2-5 times a night)
- hates to brush his teeth but loves to eat an entire tube of toothpaste
- won't eat bread crust
- prefers to go bare foot
- thinks his belly button is out of batteries b/c it doesn't do anything when he pushes it
- has a fake cry that sounds like a dying cat
- can throw a ball, rock, etc farther than any 3 year old should
- can hit a ball with a bat better than I can
- has toe nails that point upward
- has a fetish for "hot milk"
- doesn't mind if you pick his nose
- has to see the front of any cool truck, tractor, motorcycle, etc we pass on the road
- can't stand to be hot
- won't drink a glass of water at dinner but will drink all the water in the bathtub
- won't wear open toe sandals because rocks get in them
- calls the new baby "another Sam"
- refers to everything in the past as happening "last night"
- loves hamburgers without the patty
- his favorite flowers are white
- thinks every baby picture he sees is Sam
- loves to "hand dance" in the car (jams to the music with the thumbs up sign)
- will only hand dance to "bad" songs
- stutters when he's tired

Ohlendorf Reunion Fun

Bo swimming in the River . . .