Hoggy Bird-day, Joooooohhhhn!

That is the phrase John has been saying to himself since last Thursday.

The longest birthday celebration ever started on Thursday (which was the last day of school). Since his birthday happens after school is out I brought cookies on that last day for his class to celebrate. As I got him ready that morning I kept telling him that his friends were going to sing him Happy Birthday at school. He got a big smile on his face. And as I walked him into school I said "John, today is a special day!" and he immediately said "cookie!!" (even though I purposefully did NOT let him see the cookies I was bringing to school). He must know the birthday drill by now since he was the last one!

So today is John's actual birthday. 2 years ago today I became a mommy and Kyle became a daddy.

We were spending our first anxious and excited night in the hospital meeting our little man and trying to figure him out. I remember thinking: Who is this little person and what are we going to do with him now? I never knew how much it would change us forever having this little guy in our lives. He is so adorable and full of personality. He has the best smile and the cutest laugh. His big blue eyes are so innocent and sincere. Among other things, he loves cars, trains, The Little People, working in the garden with Kyle, cooking with Mommy, Anna, cookies, and dancing. And I totally melt when he hugs me and says "Skeeeez!!!!" (squeeze). He is so smart and surprises Kyle and I every day with something new he does and/or says. I can't believe he's only been around for 2 years? I asked Kyle the other day what we used to do with ourselves before he was around??

So here's a recap of how John spent his 2nd birthday....

Ambushing you this morning with a Happy Birthday song!

What 2nd birthday wouldn't be complete without touching an earthworm (eeeeeewwwww!!!)

What 2nd birthday wouldn't be complete without holding an earthworm (double eeeeeewwww!!!)

We had a Memorial Day party with some friends at the pool. I brought a cake so John could blow out some candles on his birthday. When I brought out the cake and every one made a big deal about it being his birthday he literally did a little 2-step jig on the picnic bench and smiled and giggled with glee anticipating the birthday song.

Thouroughly enjoying the birthday song.

Blowing out the candles....

Luke and John doing a happy dance waiting for a piece of cake

After watching Dad do about 10 cannonballs off the diving board, John was determined to wait in line for his turn at the cannonball....and, no, he did not end up diving.

The sister chillin' in her bikini--it was H.O.T. (the weather, not my baby girl's bikini)

Happy Birthday, Love!

Here's the darling little lady on another photo shoot day....

The mama can go from happy to sad in a matter of seconds....yeee-ikes! Photo shoot is O-V-E-R.

Now look at that coy little smile....if that isn't the face of a Daddy's girl, I don't know what is....

Happy Memorial Day !!!!

John and T-Ball

It was a beautiful, unseasonably cool day today and we had a blast this morning at the park with Luke and Ainsley. The baby girls laid out on a blanket in the shade and the boys tore up the playground. It was nice to not sweat into a puddle after 10 minutes. We arrived at the park before the others but when Luke arrived it was so sweet to see John run and hug him. Normally he would yell "NO! MINE!" whenever someone approached him but not today. Hooray!

So moving on from golf.....another sport John is equally fascinated with is t-ball. He luuuuuvs playing this in the evenings with dad and he's actually gotten quite good at squaring up the bat to hit the ball. I like the look of concentration he gets. Here is a video of this evening's game.

PS - Don't ask about the outfit. John asked to wear his floater swimsuit earlier today to the park and I vetoed it. Then this evening Kyle was supposed to be changing John's shirt since he dirtied the one he wore at dinner. However, he came out dressed like this.

Waiting in the outfield for the hit in the "fielding position"


Then it's John's turn to hit a homerun

What Are Those Bethancourts Up To?

The answer: Lots of different things so bear with me on the randomness of the post.

First off, John has a new lovey. I am usually feeding Anna while John and Kyle run down his bedtime routine. Apparently after reading a few books John has started asking to sleep with a ball so Kyle gives him a football (hmmm????). So here's John cuddled up with his new lovey in the morning...

Yesterday we attended Logan's birthday party. John had tons of fun with his friends. Here he is with his bud Rusty. I had to include the ubiquitous cupcake shoveling picture I take at every birthday party he attends.....

This morning we headed out to Pump It Up with some friends. This outing was unique in that Leslie, Heather, Ruth, Emily, and I all have kids John's age and a second kid Anna's age. So we had 5 strollers parked in the open area in front of the bouncy houses. We took turns visiting or playing with the kids while someone usually did a baby check to make sure no little one was screaming. It was a fun, indoor AIR-CONDITIONED outing. Good call, Leslie.

And, once again, my John surprised me with his easy, breezy attitude in the bounce house. He loved falling down and rolling around and singing "Ring Around the Rosie" with Luke. He didn't even mind when a big kid was attacking him with some blow-up cylinders. He laughed at it. What a breakthrough. Now the stairs on the big slide were a bit harder to master but he managed to con Miss Heather, Mommy, AND Miss Shannon into taking him up the big slide and sliding down on our laps (that was even a little scary and steep for Mommy). Wheeeeee!!!

Then this afternoon the four of us headed to a neighborhood pool (with most of the same people mentioned above) for a cook-out.

Look who's ready for summer!!!!!

John checking out his "cool factor" before heading to the pool to pick up some chicks.....

The Day of Breakthroughs

So we seem to be adjusting well to having a new addition in the Bethancourt household. Yesterday was a good day for me/us. It also marked several significant breakthroughs.

Breakthrough #1: Yesterday I ventured out of the house to the mall with both of them by myself for the first time. No assistance from hubby or mother/mother-in-law.

This turned out much better than I expected. By the time we had breakfast, I made myself look slightly decent, got John dressed, fed Anna and made sure her diaper was clean, packed our double duty diaper bag with snacks and water for John it was 10:30. We started the morning at 8 AM. So it took us 2 1/2 hours to get out the door but we DID! I was actually able to run an errand at Target, then we went to the play castle, then I swung by Macy's to look for a wallet. No one had a melt down or diaper blow-out and we made it home just in time for Anna to eat again. You forget what it's like living life in 3 hour feeding increments. Man, it's much better when you don't have to race the clock constantly but that's our lot for now and I'm OK with that.

Breakthrough #2: John actually enjoyed himself at the play castle today. Hallelujah, praise the Lord forevermore.

My sweet little boy's personality is such that he has always been very cautious and observant, a little shy and very serious about his personal space. Now these are admirable traits but when it comes to playing in large play areas/parks with kids of different ages, his personality type clashes with those situations big time. I have left the play castle in the mall many a time very close to tears because John would not leave my legs and explore and go "wear himself out" (which is usually the purpose of the trip). Instead of giving him a place to be free he would just sit next to me or beg me to do everything with him and, goodness gracious, if a kid accidentally touched or bumped him......forget it. John just couldn't recover from that and we'd usually have to leave.

But today was different...I saw my little baby as a little boy. He took some risks, took off exploring by himself, laughed a lot, got bumped by numerous big kids and just shrugged it off and kept moving. I watched him in awe yesterday. He had fun! And I had fun watching him. And last night at dinner John couldn't stop talking about the "CAS-OL!" (castle) and how he went "UNDER!" YAY, John!

Breakthrough #3: Anna seems to finally be recovering from her unfortunate cosmetic maladies.

The little lady was born with a weepy eye due to a blocked tear duct. Then at 2 weeks she broke out with some FIERCE baby acne. I mean, all over, everywhere...bumps galore. Then, after about 2 weeks, the acne was clearing up but she started to get the cradle cap (or cradle crap, as I keep saying). Crusty head everywhere. John never had cradle cap at all or the baby acne to the same extent Anna has had it. But now we're on the road to Cutie-ville, population 1. And just in time, because little mama is starting to smile! Time to bust out the camera again!

Matching Game

I think the blue and pink outfits give it away but, really, don't they look so similar??

***insert twilight zone music here***

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

This is what you get when you try to take a family Mother's Day picture with two kids melting down. We may not all be happy but we're all there, dang it! I'm going to document this day even if it makes us turn purple from frustration and heat stroke!

In Case You Were Wondering.....

We are STILL loving the golf over here in the Bethancourt household!!!
And, please, don't forget the source of all his golf prowess...the HAT!

The Little Golfer

John has become quite the sports fanatic lately. Kyle got some new golf clubs recently (maybe 3 months ago) and while he was there bought John a cheap, plastic Snoopy set of clubs. Well, John has enjoyed playing with those clubs but not as much as he did yesterday. Yesterday Kyle and I estimated that he "played golf" or hit the ball with his clubs for at least three hours. I kid not.

Yes, AAAAAALLLLLL day long John wanted to play with his golf clubs and hit the ball. The longest stretch he played with them was for about an hour. Kyle was trying to keep John amused while I was fixing our internet router. Kyle and John were all over the house hitting the ball.

John put the balls in his pocket.

John removed the balls from his pocket.

John whacked at the ball over and over.

John chased the ball wherever he hit it.

John had his own personal caddy (daddy) removing his ball from "hazards" along the "course".

John insisted on wearing his special golf hat (you'd think this hat was the source of all his power the way he insisted on wearing it).

John took a nap.

John woke up thinking about "GOLS!" (golf)

What unfolded yesterday was our son evolving into a mixture of John McEnroe and Tiger Woods. He would yell at himself "TOO COSE!" (meaning he was too close to the ball to hit it correctly). He would mutter sternly (and unintelligibly) at himself and then whack, whack, WHACK it as hard as he could. As the day progressed he actually got good at lining up his shot and hitting it in the first try.

Yesterday was indeed the golfiest day ever!

Here John is showing off his swing (early in the day)....

Here John is whacking at the ball....yelling "TOO COSE!".....then demanding to see himself on the video.

And here we are again today. Nope, he didn't forget how exciting golf was overnight. This morning as I was drying my hair John came in the bathroom with his club and ball ready for day TWO of The Mini-Masters! We even took the club with us in the car to run an errand.....

The Poochie Smiles For A Photo!

GOTCHA! We love you, sweet pea! Even if we did trick you into smiling for the camera!!! HA!