Who needs sleep?

After a successful trip to Tennessee, we're back on the West side of the Continental US and getting back into a routine. If only that routine included a full night of sleep! Rowan is growing leaps and bounds, showing off his new moves daily. Apparently in order to do these things, he has started to require some breaks from a full night's sleep for chow. I apparently became very spoiled by his record breaking 11-13 hours of sleep at night and can't quite seem to get on board with midnight snacks. And let me tell you, this child is not to be left wanting in the food department, a wailing will ensue and will not be silenced by anything but a full belly! He's started eating rice cereal in Tennessee and I think we'll be adding some goodies to that to keep little Rowan satisfied (albeit slowly to put off the inevitable arrival of real boy diapers).

In addition to Rowan's first "solid" (if I can even call it that) meal in Tennessee, he experienced his first boat ride, first swim and first 4th of July. He had no better luck than his mom, dad, or Uncle with getting up on water skis (haha kidding, we don't let our kids water ski until they're two!). When I last skied, it was about 7 years ago and I remember it being fairly easy. Not the case now; whether its that I'm close to entering the "30s" and my poor old body can't handle it or simply a lack of memory as to the basics of letting a boat pull you out of water at a burst of 30mph speed on skinny pieces of wood while you try to (a.) keep your shoulders in the socket and (b.) not drink a gallon of lake water at each attempt, I'll never know.

Speaking of the old body not being what it used to, I received a friendly reminder prior to traveling back East that I am no longer 20 years old. During a visit to the Alameda County Fair, I spotted a mechanical bull, prime for the riding! Now, I have always wanted to try out the bull, figuring that I should have quite the talent for it, given my equestrian background and peak physical condition (did I mention I'm close to 30 and have now brought two delightful children into the world, one a mere 5 months ago?). So, naturally, it made total sense to climb on and shoot for those "8 seconds"! With my loving family looking on, I mounted the bull and had at it! Of course, I made it through all the operator could throw at me and climbed off, successful (as opposed to landed on my duff, that would have been unsuccessful). The success ended there. I barely made it to the car given the pain shooting through my thighs and arms. That resolved quickly enough, but now, nearly 3 weeks later, I still feel the twinge that developed in my lower back when I bend over to drop the kiddos in bed. It pains me to not be 20 anymore... when will my back stop hurting?

While I'm discussing dishing out the hurt...why do little boys feel the need to punch, kick, yell at and throw everything in site? My darling little Noah, still one of the sweetest little boys you'll ever meet, has recently begun personifying the old rhyme about snails and puppy dog tails. Even his efforts to love on his little brother tend to be on the violent end of things, a squishing hug or even a tight grip on the wrist to show little brother how to hit things himself! I envision the my battle cries of "don't throw that at the dogs!", "don't hit the wall with that!", and "why are you dropping elbows on daddy!?" will not end when the terrible twos do.

So, life carries on. We're getting used to (and loving) the cool, humid-free life in California and I'm enjoying not working. And now that we've moved somewhere that has shopping nearby as well as friends (FRIENDS!!), the boys and I are keeping busy during the day learning the way around the playgrounds and parks. Today, we braved a walk with Noah in the stroller, Rowan in the Baby Bjorn carrier and a dog in each hand. No one got loose, no one cried (not even Mommy!) and everyone was tuckered out when we arrived safely home. A successful journey... stay tuned for more!