Eight Years.

Eight years ago today Buck and I were married.  EIGHT YEARS!!!  I know to my "more senior" readers out there (i.e., family members) eight years of marriage doesn't seem like that long.  But, to this thirty-year old, eight years seems like a long time.  Where did those years go?  They literally flew by.  I wish I could bottle up the time and hang onto it, but life just doesn't work that way.  Instead, we get to make wonderful memories and laugh about the funny times.  In our case, we often laugh about just how young we were when we got married.  We were twenty-one when we got engaged and twenty-two when we wed.  What were we thinking?  We didn't know much about life, and certainly didn't know what it truly meant to be married.  But, as the saying goes, when you know, you know.  And we knew.  While we had a lot of growing up to do on this side of the altar, we got to do it together, as a team.  And that's what's made the past eight years and all the growing up so joyful.  I know we've still got growing up to do and life lessons to learn, but there's no one I'd rather have along for the ride.

While the Cat's Away.

The mice (mouse in our case) will be tended to by his grandparents.  While Fawn was undoubtedly spoiled and showered with love at home in Birmingham, Buck and I enjoyed this view from our Sandestin balcony:

We were lucky enough to combine a little work (continuing legal education -- definitely as exciting as it sounds) with some R&R.  It was long overdue, and we enjoyed every moment.

The always slighlty akward self photo.

Summer's Here.

I know not officially, but it's 90 degrees outside and school is out.  In my book, that means summer has arrived.  How to pass the hot days and keep a two-year old thoroughly entertained?  Funny you should ask -- my aspirational "to-do" list follows (I figured if I posted it on my blog, I would feel more compelled to follow through and take pictures documenting our fun).

1. Lake Martin
2. Gulf of Mexico
3. Gardendale Splash Pad
4. Pepper Place Saturday Market
5. Swimming at my grandparents' house
6. Catching Lightening Bugs
7. Ice Cream Man
8. Baseball Game
9. Sprinkler in the Yard
10. Blueberry Picking
11. Fountains at Zoo
12. Sculpture/Fountain at Botanical Gardens
13. Imagination Lab at McWane
14. Watching Fireworks
15. Fishing
16. Summer Reading Program at Library
17. Doodles Italian Ice
18. Veterans' Park in Spain Park
19. Hiking Trail in The Preserve
20. Trussville Park
21. Veterans' Park in Leeds
22. Turkey Creek Preserve
23. Backyard Garden

Basically, let's see if we can have as much fun as last summer (a few of my favorite memories below):

Just Can't Get Enough.

Have I mentioned before that Fawn is obsessed with tractors?  Of course I have -- aside from mommy, daddy and the dogs, I would put tractors right up there with the loves of Fawn's life.

One of our friends has this awesome excavator in her sandbox.  Fawn's only played with it once, but he was hooked.  If we ever got one for our house, I'm not sure we'd have enough M&M's to lure him inside at the end of each day.  (In our house, if all else fails, bribery by M&M's is always an option -- and generally successful, though Fawn has started negotiating the number and colors of M&M's he receives.)

And then there's the old tractor in the Children's Zoo at the Birmingham Zoo.  No matter what, we always make a stop at the tractor when we visit the zoo.  Fawn is convinced that if he keeps "working on it" he's going to get it fixed.  So we keep trying.  Because a boy's got to dream.

Obsessed with Pajamas.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out by looking at the pictures on this blog.  Fawn would wear pajamas 24/7 if Buck and I would allow it.  He loves them -- "they awe so soft" he says to us.  He even mixes and matches so he can wear part of two sets at the same time.  Funny kid.  We always let him play in his pajamas until we leave the house in the morning (or go outside to play), and he absolutely will not nap without changing into his pajamas first.

He has been known to....

mow the grass in pajama bottoms

chainsaw our stairs in pajamas

literally live in pajamas when we were without power for three days (here he is watching cartoons on his "little movie", in the dark, while trying to get over an ear infection -- poor buddy!).

Homemade Popsicles.

Fawn loves popsicles -- one of our favorite ways to pass the time between Fawn's dinner time and Buck's arrival at home is to sit on the front porch and eat a popsicle (while counting cars, looking for birds and squirrels, and anticipating the arrival of Fawn's hero, of course).  And, Fawn loves to cook -- especially if it involves a loud appliance (my stand mixer, food processor, and blender are all sufficiently noisy to excite him).  Enter, the homemade popsicle.

1 cup yogurt (plain or vanilla -- if you use plain you will likely need to add some confectioner's/powdered sugar to the end product to sweeten)
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup frozen berries

Combine in blender and blend.  Makes 4 popsicles.  Super-easy, super-fun activity, and pretty healthy snack.  It was a huge hit in our house.

Messy face, happy boy.

(Almost) Lost in Translation.

Fawn is quite the talker.  His vocabulary is impressive for a toddler, and he generally uses the correct words for items.  But he's still managed to give a few items his own "name".

wheel drive = steering wheel
weed weeder = weed eater
mow grass = lawnmower
little movie = portable DVD player
home books = books that do not come from the library/books that he owns
new books = library books 
(He specifies whether he wants to read home books or new books when we read.)
farmers market cheese = any block of cheese (as opposed to sliced cheese or cheese sticks)

I'm sure there are more where these came from.  It's funny how little minds work -- happy translating!