Step By Step

There are some things I don't teach Rex how to do because it makes my life a little easier. Climbing down stairs was one of those things. With him believing he couldn't climb down stairs, he couldn't get out of the house because all 3 doors have steps and he couldn't go down to the basement. Last Wednesday, he went out the back door and down the steps to the backyard. Hmm. We grabbed him and brought him back in. He went to the garage door and went down those steps. Uh oh. We secured those two doors so he couldn't do that anymore (the third door was already secured). Then he got really brave and tried the basement stairs which are pretty steep. He did just fine. And it turns out, he loves being in the basement. We couldn't keep him out of there so we decided to go ahead and fix it up so he could play down there. Part of the basement is finished- finished in 1960s style and not my taste but it could work. I spent some time clearing out the finished part of the basement this winter and organizing our stuff down there so it only needed a little work to be ready for playtime. Rob replaced the overhead lights and some ceiling tiles and cleaned it up. We got some big rugs and moved some furniture down there and both boys have had a blast playing down there.





The biggest surprise of all is how much Rob and I like being down there. We thought it would feel like you are in a hole but it doesn't. With the paneling, good lighting and new rugs, it feels nice. It feels like we added on to the house or we are on vacation or something. There are still things to do as far as decorating and storage but it is usable and comfortable now. And since the only guest room is downstairs now, I don't feel bad at all about having people stay in the basement because now it is a nice place to be.

We had a nice Easter. I was really excited about the Easter baskets because I got some new ones for the boys. I wanted to get Rex one with his name embroidered on the liner for his first Easter but I thought I should wait to do that until his little brother/sister came along so they could have matching, or at least coordinating, baskets. Since I had been waiting a few years to do this, I did it right and got nice ones from Pottery Barn Kids. Here they are before Rex got to them.



Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the boys with their baskets because Rex took them all apart before I even got Wyatt out to see them and get any pictures taken. Oh well. I am just lucky I took this photo so at least I had something. We didn't do any egg hunts because it was cold and rainy for Easter weekend. I am not a fan of ham so I took another crack at making lechon asado which uses a fresh ham. I found a 17 pound bone-in fresh ham and cooked the whole thing. It was crazy- I've never cooked anything that big. I went ahead and copied the whole Versailles menu and did rice, black beans and fried plantains too. My plantains came out perfect. They were so delicious. We had some guests which were kind of a last-minute deal and I was a little nervous to feed them my Cuban Easter meal but they said they liked it. Rob and I thought it all came out really good. I wish I had some photos but between being cook and hostess, I didn't have a chance to be photographer too.

Rex has his first cold today. I guess we did good because he is almost 3 years old and he's never had a runny nose, cough, any of that before but our luck has run out. I noticed he sounded a little stuffed up and then I noticed his nose was running and now he even has a very tiny fever too. He doesn't seems to feel too bad but is definitely not running at 100%. I had a migraine yesterday, my first in about 2 years, so thank goodness these health issues are back-to-back and not overlapping. Hopefully we can keep Wyatt and Rob healthy and get everyone back to feeling good soon!

Nothing To Say

It has been very uneventful around here lately. We were going to go to a big festival thing that we went to last year but it was so cold and rainy that we decided to skip it. When I did the link to my post about last year's festival, I noticed a photo of Rob mowing for the first time. It just so happens that he mowed yesterday for the first time this year- AND for the first time with his new mower! Yay for the new mower! It is much taller so he doesn't have to hunch way down and it actually starts the first time you try to start it. This was the first year I didn't get a picture of him mowing the grass and he even had the new mower so I really blew it. It is very exciting stuff to mow your yard around here because it means you made it through another winter and you don't have to deal with snow for the next 6 months or so.

I got my haircut on Friday night and got a little time out for myself which was nice. I like the haircut too and if it wasn't still wet right now, I would take a picture and share. I don't have any pictures of anything to share this time so I'll be sure to start taking some photos right away. The only photos on my camera were from Rex's first number 2 in the potty and that is not something to share with the world. Potty training continues at a snail's pace. The boys are getting restless and I don't really have anything to say so I think this is it for now.

The Great Outdoors

It has been so warm and wonderful for the last week or so- it was 82 here today and in the 80s last weekend as well. We all have been having a great time outside but nobody more so than Rex. He loves to go to the park a few blocks away and go on the slide and jungle gym.





When we can't make it to the park, he likes to play around in the backyard too. He has a little golf set, tee ball set, soccer ball and various toys for the backyard. His favorite? Taking the golf "bag" for his clubs and pretending to vacuum with it. I'm trying to get him to butch it up a little but what woman wouldn't want a man who does the vacuuming? I guess it is good to be well-rounded.



He has this cool big wheels trike to ride on but he is having trouble getting the hang of it so Rob decided to show him how it is done.



Even though Wyatt can't do as much as his big brother just yet, he still likes to be outside and feel the wind blowing through his hair (what little of it there is!).



After a long cold winter, it is so nice to be outside again! I love playing with the boys outside and seeing all my flowers come out of the ground. Right now I have daffodils and hyacinth in bloom and the tulips aren't far behind. Rob will probably even have to mow the grass sometime this week. He got a new mower that he is pretty fired up to use- I'm surprised he hasn't been out there mowing yet just so he can use his new toy. Maybe he is just pacing himself because there will be plenty of time to use it in the next few months. It was a pretty low-key weekend for us. Rob worked on some stuff around the house and I took care of the boys. We're still working on the potty training and man is that a drag. I think I'd almost prefer to change diapers until he is old enough where I can just explain it to him, he gets it and we're done. And it's weird to tell someone how to pee when it is all very different from how you do it. There's a bit of a learning curve there for both of us. Anyhow, still plugging away at that. I realized today that if I can get Wyatt potty trained around the time he is 2, I only have like 1 more year of diapers to go. Woohoo for that!!

Table For 4

Our new table was delivered this week!



It is so nice. So is Wyatt's new Space Saver Highchair that we had to buy because our old full-size one no longer fit in the dining area. Now I need to find a new impermeable vinyl tablecloth so the boys don't destroy the new table. There are already sticky handprints all over the table where the two of them sit.

The new table and finding related accessories has been the big excitement for the week. We are on the hunt for a new garage door but not sure what to do. All I know is I really don't want the standard raised panel garage door that everyone uses these days. It looks fine on newer homes but I just think they look weird on old homes like ours because they don't go at all. I think something like this, in the Westfield design, would be great. Lots of decisions still to make but we are working on it.

Wyatt is getting better and better about eating. This week I've gotten him to eat some Cheerios, ground beef and rice. Baby food doesn't really seem to get him excited but he does okay eating bits of whatever we are eating. He also does a lot better if he can feed himself. I decided yesterday that I've had it with changing Rex's diapers and so we are now working on using the potty. He gets ADD though as soon as he gets in the bathroom (toilet paper! curtain! towel! sink!) so it's tough to get him to focus on the task at hand. He isn't telling me when he needs to go either so we just keep trying every hour or so. It's very time consuming which is tough with a baby in the house that needs a lot of attention too. We'll get there, hopefully sooner rather than later!