"I'm 2!"

Our little man is 2!  When did that happen??  His birthday was yesterday and it was so fun to see him get so excited and be so happy about getting sooo much attention!!  We kept asking him how old he was and this is how he would respond......

I'm 2! (with his fingers like that in the air!)

Here is the cheesy little two year old!

This is the only picture I got at his party.....and it isn't great....but you can tell he is soo happy!

At two Shaefer is a little smarty pants!  He can say pretty much anything and repeats everything he hears!  He sings "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "ABC Song", "I love to see the Temple", "I am a Child of God", and "Ice Ice Baby".  He loves "Toy Story" or "How to Train your Dragon".  He also LOVES animals (especially sharks, dolphins, and whales) and he loves reading/looking at informational books about animals.  He is completely potty trained too!  It blows our minds how much he learns every day!   We are constantly looking at each other saying "When did he learn how to do that?" He is such a good boy and melts our hearts every day!

We had him open his gifts from us and Grandparents at our house in the morning and then he had a Mickey Mouse party with all of his friends and fans last night!  It was a lot of fun - we are so lucky to be surrounded by such great people here!  I went a little crazy and decided to make a banner, cupcake towers, 72 cupcakes (all but 10 were gone by the end of the night), treat bags, invitations, silverware holders, food etc. for a big Birthday BBQ we had!   It turned out really cute and I will blog about another time.

Easter, Playgroup, and Zoo Splash Park!

We have had so much fun the past month...time really does fly!  Before I even know it I will have a two year old (two days) and we will be migrating North for the Summer!  Here is a quick re-cap of the month!

Easter was really fun with a two year old!  Shaef got to participate in two easter egg hunts and got an Easter Basket!  He used the same strategy for hunting eggs as for chasing seagulls.....get one single one in your vision and go for that one (even if you pass 10 on the way there)!  A few times another child swiped the one he had his eye on before he got there but he didn't seem to mind.  All he cared about was his "bucket" and "candy"!

Nope...didn't get one picture with him looking at my...he was too busy!

 We have had some really fun playgroups the past few weeks!  We decorated boxes to look like cars  and then the kiddos sat in them while we watched the movie "cars", we colored eggs at the park and played on the toys, and I hosted a playgroup where we decorated Rice Krispy treat bunnies and foam eggs.  

We have loved being able to go to the zoo with Kacey and Brooklyn.  We were so excited when the splash park finally opened again so we could play!  I think Shaef forgot how much he LOVED splash parks last summer and got a little nervous but did have fun!

One of my favorite things about Florida is the laid back attitude and the opportunity for relaxation......Shaef does too apparently!

On another random note -  I think Shaef has an imaginary pet lion.  He often tells me that the "lion's hiding" or "lion's get you".  Right now he is yelling at him to "go" and "stop".  We have been teaching him that if Mommy or Daddy tell him to "Stop" then he needs to stop running and turn around and look at us!  I guess the best way to learn something is to teach it...we will see if he has it down.  

Bad Day.....

So yesterday was a bad day........they say that bad things happen in 3s.....and they do!
1. The screen malfunctioned on my touch screen smart phone...I can only use half the screen which makes things difficult.
2. Remember the pancake mix incident?  Well my vacuum never completely recovered from that....and the filter has a hole in it now.  Apparently they don't sell the filters for our vacuum in town - so we ordered on online.  Too bad it doesn't come for 7-10 days.
3. Woody got decapitated.  If you know my son at all....you know this is very traumatic!  Shaef got these from his Grandma Clark and ever since has carried Woody and Buzz around everywhere!  We are going to have to see if we can fix him....

After all these unfortunate events... I asked Shaef what he wanted for lunch and he said "Mickey Pizzas!" I don't know where he got the idea but I was on board for something HAPPY!

This is how the story ended....

1) T-mobile is sending me a brand new phone!

2) My friend Lizzy is letting me borrow her vacuum!

3) We are going to attempt to fix woody (this is the only unhappy part of the story...)

Also - Anson made it onto the Nationally Ranked Moot Court Team at his school!!! There were 300 applicants and 49 made it onto the team and he was one of those!! He is really excited and we are sooo happy for him!!  

Life is good!

Puppy Love!

We have been hit with puppy love at hour house......and it is bad news!  No we do not have a puppy.....thanks to all the puppies/dogs in our neighborhood, Shaef has decided that he LOVES puppies!  Anson had a dog growing up and thinks that every kid needs a dog, I did not have a dog and was fine with playing with my neighbors dogs growing up.  We don't see eye to eye on the dog subject:  I don't want  a dog, Anson wants a dog; If we were to get a dog by some chance I would want a small dog, Anson would want a big dog; I would be ok with a medium dog.....but then Anson says we need two so they can have a buddy to play with.  I also have a few issues....1-I am allergic to some dogs and 2- I know I will be the one cleaning up the messes and I have enough of those around here! The only thing we do agree on is that we will not ever have a dog in an apartment!  I am glad that this isn't a pressing issue right now - as much as I don't want a dog.....those puppies get me every time!

Thank goodness here in the Jacksonville Mall they have a Puppy store!  The front of the store is accessories for your dogs (don't get me started on those)...and in the back is 30 cages of puppies that you can pet and look at!  They will even let you pick one out to hold in a little caged area!  It is perfect for my little man - and I think we all get our puppy fix when we visit!

Even though it looks like Shaef is torturing the puppy.....he is really good with them and he LOVES to let them give him kisses on the lips.  Cute but disgusting at the same time!!

"Help ou?"

This little man likes to help me as much as he can.  Sometimes it is 10x harder to get the job done with his "help" but we have all day every day to get stuff done!  Recently he has wanted to help me take out the trash.  We have a "valet trash" bin right outside our door (the apartment picks it up every night).  Shaef likes to drag the bag to the door and take it out. This particular time - he took the trash to the door, and unlocked it by himself for the first time....not my favorite things he has learned... but I happened to get the evidence on camera.

He hasn't used knowing how to unlock to door to his advantage yet (knock on wood) but I really do enjoy having such a handsome little helper to keep me company!

Shaefer meets Pancake Mix......

Yesterday was a bad day......and I have found more reasons why I dislike pancake mix than why I like it..... just to name a few reasons:

1) It is really hard to clean up....

2) When mixed with any moisture it makes a paste

3) It clogs the hoses in your vacuum

Needless to say I will not be eating pancakes for a long time....

not just because it was all over my carpet......

and my kichen floor.....

and the kiddos.....

I will not be having pancakes anytime soon because it took me over an hour to clean up this mess (and the other two messes that were made while I was busy cleaning this one up).....and because it makes me nauseous to think about pancakes right now!

At least today I am able to laugh about it a little...don't they look like they are having fun???

I have a nephew!

Lately I have really been missing being out West and Family.....for what reason.....his name is Thomas Michael Eaton and he has stolen all of our hearts!

I mean really...........look at that face and those eyes.....adorable!!! My sister Tiffany had her 4th child (1st boy) at the end of March!  I have been slow about posting it but definitely not slow about missing not being there to hold this precious little guy!  

Here are his stats:

March 17, 2011 at 1:09 p.m.

9 lbs. 1 oz. and 21 1/2 in. long

When we told Shaef the good news....he said "Thomas Train?"  We are going to have clear that misunderstanding up soon!  This little guy is way better than Thomas the Train!  

We will be that way soon!  Anson got invited to intern (for credit) with a District Judge in Pocatello for the summer so we are going to avoid the dreaded "H's" of Florida "Hurricanes and Humidity" and fly North for the Summer!