the happiest place on earth...

grauntie gave us our first family vacation- a weekend at disneyland.

friday night she met up with us for a walk in downtown disney.

super stars

grauntie treated us to a wonderful dinner at the rainforest cafe, elephants included.

not sure who the guy with the big ears is. but that is one good looking family.

let the games begin!

grammy, grauntie, auntie, and auntie's friend stephanie joined us on saturday for a day at the park.

the castle shots

apparently it really is a small world after all.

times two.

toon town was a favorite. so much to explore. isaac could not get enough

grandma treated us to lunch, cookies were included

isaac had the best day of his life.

goodies purchased, check

2 boys sleeping in stroller = free time on big thunder mountain railroad

carousel fun for all

give me an R (for ryder)

give me an I

(the child does not stand still...EVER)

thank you grauntie! we had the most wonderful weekend - ask isaac.

our boys at 4 months

isaac alfred (december 14, 2007)

ryder jedidiah (april 18th, 2009)

ryder giggles...

water works

isaac has always loved water. this is him at legoland this past saturday. he played so long he was shivering by the time we left.

in order to keep him safe around the water this summer, we enrolled him in a program called isr (or infant swim rescue) that in six weeks is supposed to teach him how to swim to the side of a pool, even if he falls in with all his clothes on. given how the first day went, i wouldn't be surprised if this is actually true. video below.

theme parks galore

grauntie gave us season passes to legoland and the sea aquarium for easter. 

a boating adventure

first train ride

boy meets lego- girl

downtown NYC in mini land

annie and isaac inside the sea aquarium

yes, he did use only two fingers like they requested.  he still managed to pluck 3 starfish off the edge of the wall.

green eggs and ham

isaac and hayden at the play group they checked out for free last monday. isaac is learning to jump, thanks in part to the trampoline.

isaac and the drake girls who came down for spring break

sleepy time

early easter baskets

another holiday involving food? bring it on!

the boys in their easter outfits, compliments of grauntie

yes, it is a family picture. ryder is under the blanket on the front of me.

the egg hunt at the ymca. the competition was pretty fierce, there were five year olds in the two year old bracket, and parents who were filling their children's baskets, even though they were specifically asked not to. i told isaac those will be the same kids who will show up with science projects their parents built for them. overall, good times.

good friday dinner before grammy and grandpa left to rough it in hawaii. we miss them this week.

the good friday baskets

the montgomery cousins on easter

ryder, soaking up a little extra attention

life continues to fly, ryder is almost four months already. my buddy joe talks about how now that his daughter is two and a half, every developmental step is collapsed so he cannot remember what happens when. i am beginning to feel that with ryder. he seems to be moving so quickly, more fun all the time.

he rolled over this past week, and of course in the way of second borns everywhere, nobody saw it. i put him down on his stomach, looked away for 10 seconds, looked back and suddenly he was on his back. before you hate on me, none of the other 6 people in the room saw it either, including his mother.

he has been getting lighter since his birth, trading darker skin for lighter, and brown hair for what seems to be thick blonde. we are still not sure what is going on with his eyes, they seem to be a hazel-ish color right now. we shall see if that continues.

fun with feces

trust me, it is all fun and games until your son starts playing with his own poop. tonight he pushed out quite a doosie, full, thick and sticky, the consistency of peanut butter, or a pb and deuce for those of you who need a slightly more graphic/disgusting description/mental picture. but that wasn't even the worst part.

as i was changing him, he started reaching; problem being, i was still cleaning. his hand and the legos he was playing with both found their way into the chocolate thunder from down under. in the moment, these things are at least slightly hilarious, even when, in the flurry of hands and wiping and grabbing, he puts those same hands in his mouth. the laughter only encouraged him, so now i am sure we are going to have to contend with this same issue for a while. oh, the party continues.

the forgotten kingdom

the funny thing about the whole isaac wants his own way/kingdom thing, is that i totally forgot to mention my own culpability in the whole situation. the most frustrated i get with isaac is when he does something that i have told him not to do, mostly centering around the theme of him putting any multitude of items into his mouth. i have realized the reason this bothers me so much is b/c it flies in the face of my kingdom. ideally as a parent/steward the main reason i tell my kids what to do and what not to do is for the sake of their own good, but often times it turns out it actually just boils down to me wanting things my way.

over coffee this morning a friend of mine shared something his brother said, which i feel has deep relevance here. he said, "our kids do not exist for us (as parents), but we exist for our kids." i might add that the goal is that we both exist for a greater, more common Good.

on a completely different note, i drove to pasadena this evening, as i do every monday, for my theology and culture class at fuller. tonight's drive brought two especially strange sites that i simply must share:

1) while on the 57 north, i saw what appeared to be a mountain (or at least a foothill) the top of which was covered in what seemed to be snow. but in the smoggy film and hazy sun, it looked like one of those ocean rocks covered in bird droppings. it was so out of context to see snow in such close proximity to downtown la, that it looked like a poop capped mountain. i still am not even sure it was snow.

2) on the drive home i saw a delorean, a real honest to goodness, doc brown and marty mcfly driven, flux capacitor wearing delorean. it was pretty cool up until the point it caught fire. seriously. he veered across 4 or 5 lanes of traffic, orange flames already licking the back window. i am sure that guy is super bummed, b/c you know they don't make a lot of replacement parts for those things. he may be in the market for a kia.

while i was out, the boys gave annie a good run for her money. when i came in the front door at 5 till 8, isaac was dressed in a diaper and one lone shoe, ryder crying in her arms. it was actually really good to see them all.

my kingdom for a horse

this is isaac's new laughing face. eyes clenched, teeth bared, cheeks round.

here it is again. ryder is listening to learn.

ryder loves the sling. he gets to be held all the time, and looks dang cute in the process.

these are his new leg warmers. annie thinks they are "super cute". i think he looks like he is about to bust out on the cast of fame.

an action shot during time at the park.

the dinosaurs roam at quail botanical gardens

ryder is still pretty excited, but isaac is a little bored.

our friend jenny and her daughter cora (along with husband tim and son nate) came to camp at the beach this week and we got to visit on monday.

although i used to think it was a good idea, we will not be going camping as a family any time soon. isaac loves eating dirt and trying to touch the campfire.

i once read somewhere that your kids will be your greatest teachers. like it or not, i am afraid that is true. isaac continues to make me his padawan learner like yoda to luke. the most recent lesson: getting your own way.

like most people, isaac likes it when the world conforms to his preferences. give him what he wants, and nobody will get hurt. on the other hand, stand in his way, and he will make you pay.

we are not talking about violent coups or anything like that, but much more subtle battles that happen on a daily basis. like the campfire thing, or any other situation for that matter. i have to walk half step behind him most of the time, gaurding but not violating his space. the instant i reach my hand in to correct him, it gets swatted away like shaq in the key.

when you think about it, we all have this insatiable lust for control, this craving to be king of our own kingdom. it is a marketer's dream come true , because you deserve to have it your way. our world is overrun with little heirs and heiresses, all vying for their share of the estate.

today is a day not only to celebrate jesus' entrance into jerusalem, but also to remember that the messiah she got was much different than the one she was hoping for: the one who would come and kick the holy crap out of the romans, establish israel as a blessing, not unto all nations as she was originally designed, but wholly unto herself, unto her own kingdom. instead we look forward to good friday, a day marking victory, not through politics or power, but through suffering unto the point of death. a day of reconciliation, and invitation to submit our own kingdoms to the new creation, to bend the knee to a good king, to subject ourselves once again.