Nap?!?!

Normally, Darren is really easy to put down for naps and bedtime. Today was definitely the exception though! I had just read him a story, and laid him down, tucked him in, kissed him, etc., and left his room and closed the door. I could hear him wiggling around a little bit and talking quietly, which happens sometimes for a few minutes before he actually falls asleep, so I didn't think much of it. Anyway, about 5 minutes later, Matt unexpectedly came home from work to grab a couple of things. Just as we start conversing, we hear a big CRASH! come from Darren's room, and then silence! Matt is closest to Darren's room at this point, so he runs over to the door to check and make sure everything's okay. He opens the door, I hear Darren say, "Oh No!" and Matt tells me to go grab the camera. By this point, I know there are no injuries, but my curiosity is definitely peaked! When I get to Darren's room with the camera, I see Darren sitting on top of the brand new dresser we just bought for the baby, with a broken picture on the floor (hence the crash we heard)! It's a fairly tall dresser for a kid his size- Darren can't even reach the top drawer! So, it scares me that he can climb up on top of it! I'm really glad that the dresser is very sturdy though. Anyway, we quickly got him down from the dresser, and picked up the picture, and then put him down for his nap...again! After a couple minutes of complaining, he did finally go to sleep! Thank goodness!

MMMMM! Cookie dough!

Last night, Matt decided he was going to make cookies. Of course, Darren wanted to help - more like help eat them! Anyway, Matt told him if he went and sat down, he could lick the beater. So, Darren plopped himself down right on the kitchen floor with his back against the wall, and went to town! The look on his face cracks me up, and check out the white knuckle grip he has on that beater! He was not about to give it up! He learns quick, and knows what's good! Just for the record, he took his pants and sock off all by himself, and wasn't about to let us put them back on.

Styrofoam!

We just got a new dresser for the baby, and Darren was having a great time breaking apart and playing in the styrofoam it was packaged in! He didn't even touch the cardboard. Thank goodness for vacuums! It was fun to watch!

Pioneer Park!

This last weekend, a local park up here (Pioneer Park) had a special day for little kids, and so I took Darren! We had a great time! Darren got to climb inside of a real fire truck, get his face painted like a puppy, see the animals at the petting zoo, ride a carousel for the first time, and play on a playground! It was a very full afternoon! Here are some of the pictures I took...

Darren getting his face painted for the first time ever! He actually held fairly still too!

Cute little puppy dog face!
The whole paint job!
Petting a goat.
He loved the baby goat! He started out petting the bunnies with his wrist.
Then he did it normal.
The bunnies were his favorite! He didn't want to leave their pen!
First time on a carousel!
He loved it! Going round and round, and up and down!
Cute boy!
The swings are fun!
Typical Darren.... trying to eat rocks!
All tuckered out! He was so tired by the end of the day, he was sound asleep before we even got out of Fairbanks!

I uh You!

Darren melted my heart today! He was just playing with his little cars and trucks (an all the time occurace!), and I was sitting on the couch going over some new music I'm learning. Then, totally out of the blue, he comes over, climbs up into my lap, wraps his little arms around my neck, gives me a big squeeze, and says, "I Uh You!" which means I love you in Darren language (he's still working on his consonants)! Then he gave me a kiss, got down off my lap, and went back to playing! This was the first time he's ever said "I love you" to anyone without first being prompted! I loved it! So, the whole thing really didn't even take a whole minute, but it totally made my day! It's one of those great rewards of motherhood! Anyway, I thought it was super cute, and just had to share!

Pregnant Belly

K, so this is probably about the only time you'll get to see pictures of me with a pregnant belly. I usually refuse to have my picture taken while pregnant - it's just so NOT attractive! Why I'm posting them on our blog, I don't know... it must be pregnancy insanity. In these pictures, I'm 1 day shy of 32 weeks, so I still have a little while. Ugh!

Fun Breakfast!

Yesterday, we decided to have a relaxing family day at home, since Matt had the day off, and no one had to be anywhere. So, our creative minds started working up a plan for a breakfast that was a little different from the everyday stuff. So, out came the cookie cutters, and the bread, and the eggs, and this is the result!

Matt wanted airplanes, Darren a truck. Darren got ahold of his before it made it to the pan - hence the bite taken out of the top of his!
I had a flower and a butterfly
Two happy, hungry boys ready to eat!
The spread!

4th of July!

We had a great time on the 4th of July! In the morning, we went into North Pole to watch their annual parade. Darren was engrossed the whole time - especially with the motorcycles, classic cars, and the whole slew of firetrucks (though the firetrucks scared him at one point - I was surprised!) Matt's favorite part was a solitary man playing his bagpipes. My favorite was the little circus organ (see the pic. below). Small town parades are very different from the big city parades, as I'm sure you can tell from the pictures. Still fun for little kids though - and DEFINITELY not as crowded! Then, later in the afternoon, we had some friends over for a little BBQ! I got so busy having fun and playing hostess, that I totally forgot to get out the camera. Oops! Oh well. We all had a good time visiting, watching our backyard turn into a toddler playland, and watching a movie on Matt's homemade projector! It was nice to just relax and have a good time. Unfortunately, we didn't get to watch any fireworks, because they are prohibited on base, and it's daylight for 24 hours, so we wouldn't have been able to see them anyway.

Havin' a good time while eating breakfast (this was actually a couple days before)!
Walking with Dad before the parade starts! Yikes, my baby is losing his baby face! He's looking so grown up!
In awe at all the motorcycles! There were a ton of them!

Just chillin' at the parade!
Only in North Pole do you see Santa in a 4th of July parade! Actually, about half of the floats had statues of Santa on them! His suit matches the color scheme!
This was a cool little organ thing. The lady was playing patriotic songs. I loved it!
Of course, someone had to put a moose on their float!
The picture says it all!

Dizzy! Dizzy! Dizzy!

Oh, the things that go on when Mom's trying to fix dinner! No, in all actuality, this is just another one of Darren's favorite games to play with his Daddy. Matt's such a great Dad! I almost get dizzy while watching this video clip though!