Little Fish

When we learned the McKinnons were moving here, Shealy asked if we wanted to put Will in swim lessons with Kate. Will took lessons last year, but never really got to swimming. He got comfortable with the water, could blow bubbles, loved putting his head under, but I didn't trust his skill to just let him jump in and swim. This year he made SO much progress. I was so impressed! I definitely think it helped that this year we opted to do 8 lessons in 2 weeks...having them back to back totally made such a difference. By the end of the 2nd week, he was leaping in the pool and swimming around to the side, swimming long distances and taking a breath in between with decent looking strokes. I was so proud of him!

 Alex and Ann Clayton were troopers....they liked to watch too!

I like to say that Will and Kate are going to be best buds by default since Kate's mom is one of my favorite people! But...I think it is safe to say that these two really do like each other and like to play. Will looks forward to hanging out with the McKinnons just as much as John and I do.

 

They are pretty cute, that's for sure!

TWO

How can it be that two years have already passed. I seriously can't imagine our little family without him. He and Will could not be more different, but that makes it fun and provides a good balance.

 Last night, Will spent the night at my parents house with his older cousins. It was so weird having just Alex in the house. We enjoyed the one on one time with him, but both John and I laughed that Alex was probably bored because he was used to just jumping in on whatever Will is playing with. I have had people tell me before that your second child will sometimes skip over entire hobbies/shows/toys because they are into what the older sibling is into. This is so true with Alex!! I don't think Alex has ever watched an episode of Chuggington or Choo Choo Soul (these were Will's favorites at this age....remember the train obsession?). Alex's favorite things right now line right up with Will's....Monsters, Inc, Toy Story (All things Woody and Buzz), superheroes, trampoline, big trucks.

Alex has totally fallen into the role of second child/younger sibling beautifully. He is amazing laid back, chill, go with the flow but knows how to TURN IT ON if Will is bothering him/taking a toy. Suddenly he is the victim and plays the "woe is me, I am smaller than you" card extremely well.

Recently I have seen the "temper tantrum" stage come out in Alex, but even these are so different from Will. He seems to be very dramatic and then get over it and carry on in the same breath.

He is still a big boy. He weighed 31 pounds 12 ounces at his 2 year check up today and was 35.5 inches long. That puts him around the 85th percentile. He is SOLID. Everyone that picks him up comments about that :)

He is much more talkative than Will was at this age. About 2 weeks about Will turned 2 his vocabulary just exploded....having said very few words before that. Alex cracks us up with his words/phrases. I can pretty much understand him all the time and he can find a way to communicate what it is that he wants. My favorite words that he says right now are "monk" (milk) and "moe" (more).

I love love love this child. His smile is the most precious thing and I can't imagine life without him. He smiles with his whole face and you can't help but smile right back at him!

...Workin' at the Car Wash....Alex turns TWO!!

 Saturday, June 1, our baby turned TWO! I cannot believe it!! 

 I love having a June baby because there are so many options when it comes to a birthday party. Being able to plan a party outside lends itself to so many options! A while back I decided that I wanted to do a "Car Wash" themed birthday party for Alex. Alex loves anything on wheels so I knew this would be fun and enjoyable for him! The actual car wash was super easy to make. We found instructions on Pinterest and John the engineer received his "honey-do" list :)

 The party was exactly what I envisioned in my head. Kids arrived to the party and rode up in their favorite ride on toy. They used buckets with soapy water to get their ride-on toy sparkling and then rode through the car wash. There were squeals all around!! I was so happy with how it turned out and couldn't have imagined a better way to celebrate our precious boy!

 We are so incredibly grateful to our family and friends who play an integral role in our lives and the lives of our children on a daily basis. Birthday parties always make me feel so blessed...to see my babies surrounded by so many sweet friends and their families is very special!