How I reclaimed my living room...

There was a post on a website I frequent regarding kids and toys and how to keep it from swallowing up your life. Ahh..there is a question. I live in military housing. Aside from the outdated appliances and plumbing ala 1950, we deal with the joy of limited space and awkwardly-shaped rooms. I truly believe that they design them in such a way so that no resident ever gets too attached. The result: a need for creativity or deal with living in chaos.

Our solution to the toy conundrum was to buy a super gate system. It is brilliant, sheer brilliance. With the help of our faux-playroom I no longer feel like I am losing my house to a tidal wave of toys and L. has a space that is all his own.

I call it mommy sanity.

whewwww....2 for 1 day!

Do you ever have those moments when you look at your child and feel like you are staring into your spouse's past? The baby bear has so much of his momma's personality--stubbornly independent, cheerfully and ungracefully moving to his own quirky beat-- that I forget just how much he is like his father. Yet, watching L. systematically and single-mindedly figure out a puzzle is like seeing a piece of Jason as a child. Me? I've never been one to think in a straight line. I stumble along until I happen on a solution, relying on a combination of intuition and sheer luck to get me where I wish to be. Jason and L. are much more methodical and logical. It is what drew me to Jason way back when: he is the yin to my yang; the realist to my idealist. We deal in different realms and together we balance. It warms my heart when I see L. furrow his brow and puff out his chunky cheeks in concentration. He is his daddy's boy.

Just like daddy:

With Mama's sense of style..... :)

Scenic California Highway 1: Paradise on Asphalt

Monterey Bay Aquarium

There are many things I love about Monterey, but one that can't be missed is the Aquarium. Just be warned: go during the week or prepare to duck and cover from the throngs of 10 million running children.


Jason's Favorite: the sharks

L's Favorite: The watertable in Splash Zone

My favorite: the Jellies...

Weebles wobble and they sometimes fall over..

It has been almost 2 months since I last posted and I have so many back pictures to post. Logan found his walking legs around 13 months and it has been a busy house since. We had begun to fear that we would be carrying him down the aisle of his wedding, but alas, nature stepped in and one day-- seemingly out of nowhere--he was a walker. Jason has nicknamed him the drunken monkey, and the moniker is fitting, as he still falls as much as he walks. Poor child seems to have inherited his mother's lack of grace and coordination to his father's lament. Luckily he does not seem phased by the myriad of bruises and scrapes that show up daily.



Daddy's training involved rigorous ceiling walking exercises:

The safety zone:

Don't slow me down!

Getting to be such a big boy: