Tonight's Entertainment

The video's say it all...

The funniest part of it all, is that he continued this behavior for at least 20 minutes!

Enjoy... I did!

Things I don't want to forget...

Arlo is growing so fast and every time he learns something cute, I swear that I will get it on video so I wont forget it... but wouldn't you now that every time I get that video camera out, all he wants to do is play with the camera.  So, needless to say I don't have anything on video... which is why I am writing it down, so I never forget!

1. Excited scream.  When he calls my name, when he is running through water... it is not a hi pitched scream, it is a low, lion roar voice.  It is so funny!

2.  Blowing kisses.  Whenever I say I love you or goodbye, he always makes sure he shows me (or anyone for that matter) that he heard you, so he will blow you kisses!

3.  Scrunched nose, heavy breathing.  Sounds weird, I know.  But... it is something Arlo does when he wants to make people laugh, or just make himself laugh.  When he does it, he scrunches up his nose and then starts breathing in and out through his nose... quickly. (Try it you will see what I mean!)

4. Ho! Ho! Ho!  Arlo is a clown... this is another thing he does to be funny.  He keeps his elbows at his sides and then flaps the rest of his arm and hands as he yells ho, ho, ho.  And if you do it back to him... he will do it over, and over, and over again.

5.  Bye, Bye.  His new thing lately has been getting into his play car and as he gets in he yells out to me (I am usually in the kitchen as he does this) bye, bye.  He will get in his car and honk the horn and try to move the car with his feet like he is really leaving me.

6.  Kisses.  This one requires some background knowledge.  The last few weeks I have started time out with Arlo.  Usually it is for hitting or kicking, but when he deserves a time out, we (Arlo and I) go sit in the corner together.  I hold his hands and we sit there for 30 seconds or so.  Then, when it is done, I turn him around and we talk about how hitting and kicking hurts and then I tell him how much I love him and I give him a kiss.  NOW, when he gets in trouble and I give him his warning.  I will get down at his level and talk to him about what he is doing is wrong... and he will look at me, interrupt me, start babbling at me like I know what he is saying and then give me a kiss.  Just like I do to him after time out.  It makes my heart melt!  Not only is it so cute, but it also shows me he is picking up on our time outs!

7.  Belly buttons.  Arlo is infatuated with belly buttons!  Every chance he gets he will pull up his shirt and stick his finger in his belly button and yell out belly button like he has never seen it before.  But he also loves to find other people's belly buttons.  When he does find them he will either stick his finger in it or blow on it.

8.  Bronco.  He LOVES Bronco!  He likes to take Bronco for walks, he likes to throw Bronco his ball, but more than anything... he loves to love on Bronco.  It is like there is a magnet attracting Arlo to Bronco, because every time Bronco lays down, Arlo is right there wrapping his arms around Bronco's body and giving him kisses.

The list could go on and on because just about everything Arlo does is cute to me...
EXCEPT his tantrums!

Arlo's Many Faces

Many of these pictures are from vacation... cropped and blown up!  But, when looking through our pictures Tim and I realized that Arlo has so many different facial expressions. 

Bruised cheek face

Spaced out face

Right black eye face

Starting to get mad face

Hungry fish face

Smiley boy face

Water in my eyes... but still so much fun face

You want me to do what? face

YEAH!!! face

I'm workin hard face

Ewww face

Warrior Yell face

Shy giggle face

Don't mess with me face

I don't know about this... face

Super Star face

I love getting messy face

Surprise!!!!! A new bump on my forehead face

Seriously? Another cut on my forehead face

I'm tired face

Wild hair and loving it face

Your crazy face

I'm trouble face

And these are only a few of the faces I get to see everyday!  Life is anything but boring here!

Details

When we got back from vacation on Saturday night/Sunday morning, I was just too tired to do anything spectacular... but we did so much on vacation that I have to journal it so we can always remember all the fun we had!

(Arlo, baby #2 and me playing in the water!  Everyone was right... the 2nd bump comes so much faster than the 1st, good thing they are so worth it!)

For vacation this year, we let dad get his Utah fix!  And I am so glad we went while we did, because a few more days in the humid Arizona heat would have made me crazy.  Everyday that we were in Utah Arlo and I were able to play outside.  We stayed with Tim's oldest brother and his family.  They have an absolutely beautiful home with a great front/back yard.  It was there that Arlo learned how to jump on a trampoline and he learned that his favorite thing to do (that we had to do EVERYDAY) was go outside and turn the hose on the trampoline.  He also loved having his cousins around to play with... which was so much more fun than just playing with mom. 

Besides going to a water park, our nights were the busy part of our Utah trip.  

Saturday night was the 24th of July, which is the day that the Mormon pioneers settled in Utah and so they have a huge fun day at the park and then finish up the day with a firework show.  Arlo, had such a blast!  His dad bought him not one but two light up swords where he quickly learned how to use them and terrorize the entire park by running and crashing on random strangers blankets.  It was so funny, but seriously if we did not watch him carefully enough he would have disappeared in less than 2 seconds.  The only thing that would have helped us find him is his giggles that he would be belting out as he would run and jump on blankets.  I knew we would have fun but I was really worried because the fireworks did not start till around 9-9:30 and Arlo's bedtime is 7:30.  And when Arlo gets tired he gets fussy, so I had no idea how he would do... but luckily for me, he was an angel the whole night!  I was also really excited to have Arlo see fireworks, he did not see them on the 4th, and last year he was too little to get excited over them.  So, when the fireworks finally came on... he watched with big eyes and clapped for each and every firework that went up into the air.  Needless to say, the day could not have gone better and Arlo was passed out in the car in less than 2 minutes.

Sunday night we had a family get together for my wonderful husbands birthday.  Tim has a wonderful family and we spent the night eating, talking, eating and watching the kids have fun with their cousins.  And then we had another late night because Tim entertained the entire family with another wonderful firework show.

Monday night we supposedly did not have any plans, even though I had planed a surprise get-together party for Tim with all his friends.  First some background knowledge... Tim hates his birthday, he hates surprises, he does not like to be sung to and, he does not like people to pay more attention to him than they normally do.  He made me promise that I would not do anything for his birthday while we were on vacation.  So I smiled and told him okay and then continued planning.  Another thing about Tim is that he is very observant,  he catches onto everything.  So, when I planned his get-together (which I did not do alone... thanks Aleksie!)  I had to plan a few 'hooks' before the party so everything would go smoothly.  I made sure that we were busy every night before the party so Tim did not have an excuse to go out with his friends.  I planned a birthday cake at his family party, even though he asked me not too, because then he would think that is all I would do.  Aleksie and Mijken came over and gave excuses for not being able to get together on Monday night, and then together we all planned on getting together with all "the boys" on Tuesday.  So the plan was set, the bait was hooked, I just had to get him to The Pie on Monday, which would not be hard because it is his favorite place to eat in Utah.  So, on Monday we went throughout the day, when it got to be close to the time we were supposed to meet everyone I casually told Tim that I was hungry and that we should go out for dinner.  He thought it was a good idea and we got ready to go.  My sister in law Jen volunteered to watch Arlo, so we left.  I mentioned that I was craving pizza.  Everything would have been perfect if Tim hadn't gone out bowling and then to The Pie with a few friends at midnight a few nights before.  (I was so mad when I found out!)  So needless to say, Tim did not feel like going to The Pie.  I was basically begging Tim to go "just for me".  He was starting to get so annoyed with me.  Claiming that I was being irrational and not making any sense.  But I persisted in going to The Pie and so like any good husband with a pregnant wife with a craving, he finally took me to the Pie.  When we got there Aleksie and Mijken were already there, Tim did not know what to think at first and then when he finally put it all together, I was forgiven.  Like I promised, we did not sing, I did not have a cake, I just got a few of his friends together for a good time at his favorite place.  It all went well, and Tim got to see a few friends that he had not seen in a while, so after all was said and done, I think he was happy that I threw him a surprise get-together.

Tuesday night we decided to have a BBQ up in the mountains.  When I was thinking BBQ in the mountains I was thinking a grassy area with a BBQ grill and a few picnic tables.  Well, I was wrong... when we got there it was a steep, rocky mountain with a waterfall.  Pretty, but NOT a good place for a one year old.    To make things worse, Tim planned on going mountain biking with a friend a few hours before we were to meet at the BBQ area, and he ended up crashing and falling making him at least an hour behind schedule.  So, I was left chasing/holding a screaming toddler because all Arlo wanted to do was play, but it was too dangerous so I would not let him out of my sight, and he was not to happy about it.  By the time Tim had arrived, I was ready to go.  It was an adventure!

Wednesday came and It was time to say goodbye to Utah.  So we packed up and left.  But vacation was not over yet.  My family is lucky enough to get a full week on a beautiful houseboat on Lake Powell every year.  So we headed down to Lake Powell to finish up our trip.  Everything was going well until we got to the Utah/Arizona border and then it happened... the transmission on my truck gave out.  My Mom just happened to arrive the same time we did and so she picked us up and took us to the boat.  We spent Wednesday-Saturday without worrying about the car and enjoying the lake.  We found the perfect beach to park the boat on.  Arlo spent all his time sleeping or playing in the soft sand.  When he was lucky enough, his dad or his Grandma GG took him on the jet ski which he loved... when he stayed awake on them. :-)

We were going to stay on the lake until Sunday, but because of the truck, we decided to come back a day early.  We were able to drive our truck about 40 miles an hour.  So, what normally takes 4 hours to get home, took us 6 1/2.  But home we did get... safety!  So we are grateful for that.

And that concludes our crazy... wonderful vacation.  And, like I said before... I am happy to be home.  But now that I am here... I HATE AZ SUMMERS!  It is too hot!

Vacation - Picture Post

We went to Utah for a vacation and to get out of the heat.

While we were there, we went to Cowabunga Bay...

and went swimming,

Arlo played with his favorite cousin, Katie,

went down slides,

made big splashes,

played in the water park.

had so much fun,

and then relaxed with dad in the lazy river!

Just a picture of beautiful Utah!

24th of July!

It's a big deal...

Dad bought light up swords,

Arlo learned how to use them (a little too well!),

We were going to pack a picnic, but couldn't because of dad's late golf game, so this was dinner!

And dessert!

Cousins Arlo and Maebel equals trouble!

BBQ in the mountains!

Didn't get a lot of pics... if I took my eyes off Arlo for just 2 seconds he would have fallen of a cliff or into a waterfall!

Lake Powell...

On the houseboat...

On the jet ski!

Vacation was a blast... but I love being home!