23 months...

happy 23 months, sweet robert!

i am so late with this blog post.. july has been the craziest month.. maybe the one of the craziest of my life! 

anyway, we are so happy to celebrate our 23 month old.. i really cannot wrap my head around the fact that i will have a two year old in just a couple weeks! 

despite the month being so crazy with work and all that brings, we have had a lot of fun too! every day, you are so much more your own little person, sweet boy. it makes our hearts so full to see your little personality develop and watch you discover new things!

since i am so late on this post, and the 2 year old post is so (too) close.. I will just show you some sweet snapshots of our month!

we started the month with a train ride! you loved it and were so sad when it was over! you love trains, to say the very least! the train is at this really cute shopping area near our house. it has become a favorite! 

we've been playing at the park (no surprise there!)

you have been drinking lots of fruit smoothies because it is so hot outside! one of our favorite things to do is go and sit in the shade and drink smoothies together. it is such a special treat to just sit and talk with you, sweet buddy!

you have been loving the splash parks!

and playing at your water table..

you have been really into feeding mommy and daddy lately. here you are feeding daddy some potato chips in barnes & noble. it is so cute :-)

we have been reading lots of books in our jammies..

you know them so well that we can't skip a word without you catching on!

your absolute favorite food to eat is a peanut butter sandwich.. i think you like sitting on the counter to make it as much as you like to eat it!

and you have been doing some planks to work them off ;-)

you are so loved, sweet boy. you make every day brighter. we are so excited for your big pirate party coming up and to celebrate 2 years of YOU! get ready for one huge 2 year old post coming up :-)

guppy lessons..

robert just finished up swim lessons again this year! he is still in the guppy/ turtle class and will be until he turns three! he had so much fun this year and really got into it!

swim lessons are daddy and robert's thing :-) mom just goes to clap and take pictures. i have so much watching fun these two play and swim!

check out the grip robert has on his daddy on day one :-) so sweet..

by the end of the two weeks, robert was much more confident!

he learned to blow bubbles, climb out of the pool, float on his tummy and back, kick his feet, and paddle his arms.. all with daddy's help, of course :-) 

here are some pictures of our little swimmer..

at the end of the session, all the kids get a little certificate and a lollipop! so fun.. although, robert is still not a fan of lollipops.. such a health nut ;-)

(are they not twins?)

we are so proud of our sweet swimmer! it is so much to watch you grow, baby boy! we can't wait to spend many more days and summers at the pool!

22 months...

happy 22 months, robert charles!! 

june has been wild and crazy in our house. i feel like june barely even happened.. where do the days go?!

i cannot believe my baby is almost 2! it is just so unreal to us! you are at such a fun age, robert, and we love watching your personality shine through!

let's see what we have been up to..

you still weight around 26 pounds and continue to grow like a weed! we have the big two year visit next month, so we will get some official measurements then!

you wear 18-24 month clothes mostly, with some 2T things. you are tall with a skinny waist! your size 7 shoes seem to be getting tight already!

you seem to be getting your two year old molars.. but who knows when they will actually show up.. you are chewing on everything! you look so grown up with a mouth full of teeth!

you are saying a few more words very clearly and constantly speaking your own language.. you say "croc" for crocodile, you will imitate words like cold, hot, hi and bye. you continue to be very comprehensive.. we have to spell out the words ice cream, outside, walk and park :-) 

you are still our very picky eater :-) and lately, you don't really even love your staples! thank goodness for chick-fil-a and fruit smoothies!

you are majorly into your books and read them to yourself with appropriate sound effects.. i am trying to hard to catch this on tape

you love throwing things in the toilet

you are in love with "your" ipad

your dance moves are absolutely precious. it is a full body bounce and swing now. we love it.

you can walk, with no direction from us, to the park from our house. it is amazing.. and it's about a half a mile away with some big hills! you will do anything to get to those slides. we just follow your lead ;-)

you like to bring a toy with you everywhere we go.. mostly it's a car or a train

you love playing in your "pool" outside and with your water table. it really helps pass the time on hot summer days!

you have discovered sidewalk chalk and love it. you will bring it with you on walks and just randomly stop and mark the sidewalk.. it's like you are mapping out your route. it is so cute!

we go to barnes & noble a lot as a family- we all really love it there. you run straight back to the play area with the train table and stage. you think the train table is yours and just make yourself right at home..

and one day i followed you and watched you hide here..

under a table on the stage. it was so funny!

you now smile for pictures.. i say "smile" and you do this.. :-)

and just because i have to document the good, the bad, and the ugly.. you are becoming very well acquainted to your time out mat :-( it is so sad, but it seems to be effective. i mean, we have to sit there and hold you there, but you seem to get the point. you are testing your limits, sweet guy.. and you have a very strong personality :-) i love it.. we just need to reign it it some!

you are still doing your gym class every wednesday.. you still love to do your own thing :-) we wrapped up music class a couple weeks ago and i can tell you miss it! we will start up again in the fall.. but until then, we sing all the songs during bathtime :-)

we spend a lot of time at 'the fountains'. it's this great shopping area that has a lot for you to do.. like look at the fountains, play at the park, and run around the splash park. it is a go to spot for our family! 

one time, you ran into the splash park when weren't really dressed for the occasion.. oh well!

we love you so much, sweet baby! you make everything more fun! only two more months until two.. i just can't believe we have been your mommy and daddy for almost two years. we are so, so lucky!

this month, we start swim lessons! yay! cute pictures to follow.. 

daddy day..

happy father's day to the sweetest dad in the whole world.. 

on sunday, rob worked all day.. and, of course, had to stay late. we knew this would happen, so we are going to really celebrate him this week when we are all off!

robert and i made a "we love dad!" banner and some cupcakes to just have a mini pre-celebration! i will post pics from the real celebration later this week :-)

we love you so much, rob! you are such an amazing father and husband.

here are some of my favorite pictures of the boys over the last year..

sliding down slides..



riding on airplanes..


walking hand and hand..


enjoying the sierra's..


going trick-or-treating..


playing at barnes & noble..


giggling..


enjoying a sunset..


reading the gruffalo..


and learning to swim..


robert loves his daddy so much. he lights up when daddy gets home from work and does a happy dance :-) it is so sweet. robert and daddy's favorite things to do together include playing ball, brushing teeth, going on drives, playing with trains, playing "where did robert go?", drinking jamba juice, bathtime, dunking daddy in the water, and cars... to name a few!

you are so very loved, rob! you make robert and i feel so loved and lucky.

and a very happy father's day to rob's dad..


and my daddy up in heaven!

we are so thankful for you both!