Da Boys

Although the last three posts have been mostly about what is going on in Jade’s life, I promise the boys get lots of love and attention too! 
  

To prove it, here is a big, long list of pictures from miscellaneous stuff we did back in May and June. 
 
Tanner Baby started solids.  He wasn’t so sure at first, but now you would never know!  That kid can eat!!  Cody and I worry because we swear he eats more than Ridge.
 
Tanner has such a fun personality and smiles easy. 
 
He finally figured out how to sit up and army crawl at some point.  He also grew a few teeth.  You know how you keep track of every milestone with the first kid… well, by the third… that just doesn’t happen. 
 
Tanner, like his brother, has had many hair cuts; I’ve already lost track of the number.  This mom simply can’t stand stringy, uneven baby hair.  Especially on her boys.  It sure is hard to cut a wiggly baby’s hair though!!  
 
I have always thought Tanner looks a lot like my dad.  Then one day he sent me one of his baby pictures.  Yep.  Here’s proof; they definitely look alike! 

Ridge… oh, Ridge.  Where do I even start with this kid.  He keeps us laughing with his easy smile, boyish behavior, extensive two year old language, and happy-go-lucky personality.  
Ridge is always doing or saying something funny, unless he is fighting with Jade.  Those two things pretty much sum up his life: being funny or fighting with Jade.  Sometimes it’s both at the same time.  Case in point:  Cody was watching the kids one night when I went to get my haircut. They were downstairs playing trains while Cody tried to get Tanner in bed. Jade and Ridge started fighting so Jade ran upstairs to tell Daddy that Ridge was trying to take all the trains away. Ridge soon followed after her crying and screaming and crying and screaming. He started looking in Jade's room, then he went looking in my room, then he went looking in his room.  He could not see Jade because she was hiding behind the rocking chair. Cody asked, “What are you looking for?”  Ridge said, “Me looking for Jade.”  Cody responded, “Why are you looking for Jade?” Ridge answered, “So I can pull her hair!”

Ridge is a boisterous boy who loves dirt, sticks, and rocks. 
 
I wouldn’t say he is “all boy” though.  He is totally okay with playing with his sister’s pink car and putting on her princess dresses once in awhile.  His play typically does lean masculine though.  After Ridge saw some cars up on the auto lift at a repair shop, he came home to fix Jade’s car on his own make-shift auto lift.  I thought it was quite clever. 
 
Ridge is really into monsters and growling like one.  We have a lot of animals around our house because of all the trees in the area.  Deer come through our yard probably once a month; we’ve seen a couple flattened turtles on the road by the stream; birds and squirrels are always playing in the trees all around us; we’ve seen a fox cross our grass a couple times; bats fly out of the trees at night (oh, and have decided to live in our attic, but that’s another story for another day).  The kids are fascinated by the animals.  One day as we were walking home from the park, Ridge spotted a raccoon running down the side of the stream.  He asked what it was, so I said, “It’s a raccoon.”  He’d never seen one before, so he replied, “Nooo… it’s a monster!  Raaaar!”
These brothers are great for their older sister.  I feel like they bring out the silly side of an otherwise more sensible, level-headed little girl. 
 
  
  
 
To celebrate our parenthood this year, Cody and I gave each other a grill for Mother’s and Father’s Day.  Probably the best gift ever!  We grill so often, our gas bill is at an all time low.  I simply don’t use the oven anymore.  I think we went through one propane tank in about a month or two.  My dad should be so proud. 
 
I am so grateful for my kids.  They truly bring me so much joy.  Sure there are days that are frustrating and even some that are boring, but for the most part I am happier at this point in my life than I ever have been.  I’m sure there is a lot that goes into that, but my husband and kids play a big role.