Unlikely Best Friends

Lean on me. When you’re not strong

And I’ll be your friend. I’ll help you carry on.

For, it won’t be long, till I’m gonna need - 

Somebody to lean on!

Oscar at 8 Weeks old!

My son has a best friend. His best friend’s name is Oscar. Oscar the Cat.

Josh and I got Oscar in 2007. It was about a week after we moved to Michigan when Josh was on the USCGC Mackinaw. He was 8 weeks old and tiny! Over the last 4 ½ years, he has turned out to be an awesome cat. He has lived in 3 states, 4 houses, and taken numerous road trips. He adapts well to every situation and is a really sweet cat.

The best thing about him now is that he loves (or at the very least tolerates) our little monster, er, I mean son.

I was a little nervous when Dylan became mobile, because I wasn’t quite sure how Oscar was going to react. But, being the most laid-back cat I have ever seen, Oscar turned out to be amazing. He lets Dylan pet him, lie on him, kiss him, and just love on him!

At first, I thought Oscar was just putting up with all of it. But over time, I have come to believe that he secretly loves the attention. I mean, this is a cat that has the ability to jump to the top of our Kitchen cabinets…getting up and moving two feet before lying back down doesn’t convince me that he is hating the Dylan-love.

I guess I shouldn't have been too worried. Both my cat and my son are extremely sweet & loving creatures...why wouldn't they get along?

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On a completely random side note: Did you see the exclamation point in Space? Just in case you didn't think Space was exciting...

Here is a Link to the full story/ scientific explanation from NASA. In Layman's Terms, I guess it is the start of two Galaxies colliding! I think that does deserve an exclamation point!

How beautiful is that? Of course, colliding galaxies sounds really catastrophic...is it bad that I just called it beautiful?

Big Boy Seat!

I know I’ve already said this, but the clichés about parenthood are true. And Dylan is proving them all. My little man is already ONE and I can’t believe it! And he's getting so big, and growing so fast, and all those other cliché-type things that parents say...

The week of his birthday is when we installed his new ‘big boy’ carseat. I’m really happy with it…and so it he! So, I just had to take a photo of him (surprised? I didn’t think so). My favorite part of this photo is that you can see Josh & my faces in Dylan’s mirror. At least we were just smiling and not making ridiculous faces to get him to smile.

This photo was taken on his birthday (July 14) - You can't probably tell, but he is wearing his Birthday Boy t-shirt from Grandma Linda.

In Celebration of Matt & Brittany Baron

I found this Wedding poem and thought it was really beautiful. I thought it would be appropriate to share with some photos of Matt & Brittany's Wedding:

Today's your special day-
 the start of both your lives, together.
 May it be special in every way,
 sparked by the love you've treasured.
 And may all the love you're feeling
 still find a way to grow,
 Sharing joys which have a meaning
 that only both of you could know.

 May God bless your health
 as you care for each other's needs.
 May you both share in the wealth
 of raising a family.
 May your new dreams never end-
 we hope they all come true.
 And may you always be two friends
 who have your love, each day, be new.

 Again, today is your day,
 with the bond between you strong.
 God has shown both of you the way
 and placed his love where it belongs.
 And as you hold on to each other
 always keeping your love dear,
Know you're blessed both by the Father
 and each one of us who's here.

 Today two friends start a journey
 walking hand in hand, as one.
 They'll share everything, always
 now that their journey has begun.
 And as they go on together,
 blessed by me and you,
 May these two friends always treasure
 the day they said, "I do."

It was a beautiful wedding and I am so happy for the new Mr. & Mrs. I love you both! 

Matt & Brittany Baron

July 30, 2011

Fist Pump / Thumbs Up!

Kids always have little things they do that parents tell stories about and love to encourage. This is the story of that thing I was super excited about the entire month of July, Dylan's new action makes me smile every single time! It started at Mom & Bob’s house in early July. And it started as a really excited fist pump/laugh. It then evolved into a happy thumbs up. It makes me smile  every time. It’s amazing how the tiniest thing a child does can make you so happy.

The 1-hand fist pump!

I haven't really caught the thumbs up in a photo. It happens so fast and there is that stupid delay on the camera. Arrg! But my mom managed to capture a couple photos of the fist pump and also a video of it. So you can at least see the first stage.

For the evolved version, just imagine the same thing, only the little thumbs up in the air every time I say, "Is that awesome?!?!" How awesome is my son?

And the Award Goes To…

Elleah checking out Dylan's huge stash of new toys!

Well, Dylan’s birthday has come and gone. And, boy, did he get spoiled! A HUGE thank you to everyone who gave my little guy a card or gift. We were definitely feeling the love. And Dylan has been loving playing with his huge pile of toys.

Josh and I have joined the club of Frustrated Parents Association of ‘How the Heck do you get this toy out of it’s packaging?’ What is the deal with that??

Because he got so many toys, I thought I would give awards out! But don’t get too excited, there’s no trophy or anything…

The Duplicated Award: Helicopter (The Gooch’s)
Even though Dylan got a ton of presents, there was only one duplicate! The helicopter that sings. And when you drop the colored balls into the top, it tells you what colors they are. Dylan really likes this one and it keeps him busy for long spurts of time (so I like it too!).

Best Themed Award: The Pirate Ship (From Matt & Brittany)
This ship is a Mega Blocks toy that you can take completely apart. And it makes noises when you push the little monkey on the ship deck. Matt & Britt also provided a second smaller ship because, “The pirates needed another ship to commandeer.” Brilliant!

Check out all those noise makers that came inside!

The Loudest Award: Drum Set (The Skala’s)
More often than not, you’ll hear single or kid-less couples say that they bought the noisiest toy that they could find. Our loudest toy this year was one of the only ones that didn’t require batteries…ironic? It was a drum with several instruments inside. It even came with drumsticks! He loves using the drumsticks (on everything) and really likes the little egg shakers. So much noise!!! The Skala’s don’t have kids, but they have a dog. I see a really noisy gift for Dixie from the Sitko Family sometime in the near future!

Best Immediate Appeal Award: Thomas the Train! (The Jordan’s) At Dylan’s birthday party, this was the last gift opened, and that was probably a good thing because he immediately got on his new train and continued to play with it for the next 25 minutes. At first he sat on it for a while and played with the buttons. But then he realized that he could push it all over the house. He forgot that there were about 25 people in his way and just took off. Who needs Mommy & Daddy when you’ve got Thomas? BTW, I find myself running up and down our hallway pushing Thomas around while Dylan sits holding on for dear life and squealing!

20 minutes later, he was still pushing it around the house!

Best Daddy Approved Award: Blue Car, Drumsticks, Green Balls
Let’s face it. My husband is just a big kid at heart. He gets just as excited as Dylan about having new things to play with. So there is an award for the Most Played With By Daddy toys. And it’s a three way tie!

~The Blue Car. This was one of the gifts from Jim & Diane Vana and I don’t think anyone realized how great this car was going to be. It’s one of those push and go cars. But what we discovered over time was that if you really revved it up, it would bounce off walls and turn around, pop a wheelie, spin around in circles, and more! Many hours are spent in this house with Josh letting the car fly and Dylan chasing it down and bringing it back. All boy, all the time!

~The Drumsticks. Yes, Josh is an accomplice with the ‘Loudest’ toy. His idle hands find themselves using those drumsticks on everything…his leg, the couch, the floor, other toys! One thing’s for sure - we’ve got the beat!

~The Green Balls. Danielle bought Dylan a variety of balls. A huge bouncy one, a medium sized one that looks like a giant tennis ball, and a smaller one with noise makers inside. These balls create elaborate games of catch between my two guys.

Best Gift Not At Our House: The Wagon!
I know I already posted photos of Dylan in his wagon. But he loved it so much! It was a huge hit! I know he can't wait to get back to Grandma Linda & Grandpa Bob's house so he can ride his wagon again!

Overall, all of the gifts Dylan got this year were amazing. I could have given dozens of awards, but I have to get back to playtime now.