15 August 2011

A Bedtime Story

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Holden. 
He was an angelic child who had no interest in climbing out of his crib. His mother was a big fan of sleeping all night long without worrying about finding a Holden in her bed in the middle of the night, so she was in no hurry to make any sort of change.
However, Holden was pushing his third birthday and was rapidly running out of space in his crib, so his parents finally gave in. 
I give you, Holden's Big Boy Room....


I tried to find a before picture of his nursery, but turns out I didn't take one.  But it used to have brown walls.  And zero artwork, so although his new room may look slightly bare, it is actually an improvement.  What can I say, decorating is not one of my strengths.

The moral of the story?  All my worrying was in vain, because Holden is still an angelic child and stays put in his bed and calls to me in the morning when he is ready to get out.    He did fall out once, but I don't think he remembers it.    The hardest part of the transition?  Having the strength to turn the poor kid down every.single.night when he asks if I want to have a sleepover party in his bed with him.

Bonus--now we have room for guests, and just in time, since we are having our very first guests later this week!  More to come (probably).

The End.

07 August 2011

I Haven't Been Blogging

But we are still alive, doing all the same fun and not as much fun things that I typically like to blog about. I have just felt zero need to document these things.  I am hoping this post will put me squarely back on the wagon.  Here is an adorable Holden picture to tide you over.

06 July 2011

How Our Fourth Flew By

Honestly?  Our 4th of July was probably spent the same way 99 percent of the rest of the country spent their 4th of July, so I'll keep this short and sweet.

    1.  We went to a parade.  Last year, the fact that we were at a parade was enough to make Holden clap his guts out.  This year, Holden discovered that people throw candy and it about gave him an aneurysm.  Stakes are high for next year.



2. You know how I really like to pick out Holden's Easter outfit?  Well, Reo feels just as strongly about a perfect 4th of July shirt.  He was very pleased with his choice this year.


3. I have been promising Holden for months that when it was July we would play with water balloons.  He has since asked daily whether it is July yet, so I decided to finally fulfill my promise.  And by fulfill, of course I mean pawned the task off on my brother.


4.  We attended multiple extended family gatherings.   One of which went entirely unphotographed (by me, other, more ambitious people were taking photos).  The other went pretty much unphotographed by me except for this photo.


5.  The one thing I didn't do that the rest of you probably did?  Fireworks.  Holden and I have bedtimes that we both hold very dearly.  Holden did burn through about 40 sparklers at the unphotographed event mentioned above, so imagine you see a really cute picture of Holden not getting burned (hallelujah) here.

6.  And as always, we stayed well hydrated throughout the weekend.

Don't worry haters---it was caffeine free. 

18 June 2011

My Thoughts on Father's Day

(Warning: Wordy post with pictures below to make up for it)
It's been a while since a "Reo" post showed up on here, so I thought I'd end that trend. Tomorrow will be my third Father's Day as an actual father. Being a father, or a parent in general for that matter, isn't always easy. For example, did you know that a two year old boy's favorite thing to do is whatever you have just told him not to do? I had no idea. Anyway, this past year has been especially tough for me, what with juggling work and school and family. Being away from Holden and Julie has been difficult. However, there are two good reasons why being a father this past year has been significantly easier than it could have been, given the circumstances:

1. Juliana. Simply put, she has been an amazing wife through all of my time away from the family. I seriously have no idea how she does it. I always tell her that her job is much more difficult than mine. There are times when I'll call her during the day and Holden is going nuts in the background and she is holding it together like a champ. I could never do that 10 - 13 hours a day, five days a week. I just wanted to say thank you to Julie for taking such good care of Holden and our house while I've been busy with work and school. You really are the best.

2. Holden. Seriously, he tries my nerves sometimes. But honestly, could you stay mad at this kid?


P.S. Sorry for the weird affects and colors, I took the pictures with some weird app on my phone, but seriously, how cute is that kid?

16 June 2011

Being Secure in Your Manhood is....

Not being afraid to always need to have your tea set close by.


Even when you are playing video games.


In case you were wondering--
Yes, my son's current favorite toy is a tea set.  Judge if you feel the need, but as long as it continues to buy me a solid 45 minutes of play every day the tea set is a friend of mine.
Yes, he is playing some sort of Nintendo gaming system circa 2005.  I found it in a drawer, and again, friend of mine.
Yes, Holden is having a particularly heinous hair day.  That one is my fault.  His baby chick texture hair continues to best me day after day.

07 June 2011

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Reo had last week off of school (yay!) and was also getting ready to start a new job (YAY!!), so the stars aligned and we had 5 straight days of uninterrupted family time last week.  And we enjoyed every second of it.  Well, I did.  And Holden did.  I am pretty sure Reo was really ready to go back to work after hanging out with the two of us non-stop for so long.

Here's a glimpse at some of the ways we wasted away those vacation days:

Little boy's dream come true:  Riding the train to the arcade.  Life doesn't get much better than this when you are Holden.

Unless maybe you also get to play Playstation with Dad.

There were French Toast breakfasts...

And after bedtime nostalgic movie nights for the grownups..

And we explored an awesome park, where Holden became more fascinated by whether or not certain birds were or were not "pooping" than by anything that the playground had to offer.

Not Pictured:
Eating out about a million times more than was probably necessary.
Local Celebrity sighting (Bob Harmon, of grocery store fame, for those who were curious).
Diaper changes done only by Reo the whole long weekend ( I know, right?  He is way more than I deserve.)

It was back to business for Reo today, but Holden and I kept the party going by having a long overdue lunch and shopping date with a friend.    It's a hard life.

30 May 2011

What's New With Two

A post for all the Holden fans out there.  If you are not a Holden fan, feel free to skip this one.  Then again, if you are not a Holden fan, you probably quit my blog a long time ago.
Holden is two and a half now, and it is quite clear that the best part of two and a half year olds (besides the tantrums, which are awesome) is the funny things they say.  Here are some gems as of late...


Best Caught Being Naughty Moment--
Reo:  Holden, did you spit your drink all over the floor?
Holden:  Yes.
Reo:  Why did you do that?
Holden:  Well, there is just one reason that I can't really think about right now.

Best Bedtime Stall Tactic--
"After bath, I am going to go to Sea World and Kindergarten!"

Best Break Your Heart Moment--
Holden:  I need something to make me feel better.
Me:  What do you need?
Holden:  Some medicine.
Me:  What hurts?
Holden:  My Feelings.

Best Diet Coke Related Moment--
Yelling into the opening of a vending machine:  "Can I please get a large Diet Coke please?"

Best Cat's in the Cradle Moment--
Holden:  I am going to Disneyland when I am three. 
Reo:  With who?
Holden: Mommy, and Grandma and Grandpa.
Reo:  Can I come too?
Holden:  No, you will be at school.

Best Example of My Parenting Fails--
Holden:  "Seriously, Holden?  Are you kidding me right now?" (to himself, after doing something that he was not satisfied with)

Best One Liners--
"First things first..."
"Are you calling me a liar?"
"Is this mine, yes or no?"
"I think I will just stand here and be happy."

Seriously, where does he come up with this stuff?