Our Favorite Books Right Now - 1-2 Years Old

I know I've mentioned about a billion times how much Calvin likes to read.
We've spent hours and hours and hours (at Calvin's request) reading every book he can get his hands on.

We've amassed quite an impressive collection of books for him.
Our favorites tend to be board books with a good story.
Books with only 3 or 4 words per page just don't cut it anymore.

I LOVE when I can find classics I remember from my childhood in board book form.
Being able to share these stories is so special and the board books keep Calvin from ripping the pages as he enthusiastically turns them.
Or when he decides he needs to stand on them...

These are some of Calvin's favorites that we end up reading over and over again.
He knows them by name and will look for them specifically on his book shelf.

Little Blue Truck & Little Blue Truck Leads the Way

Giraffes Can't Dance

Goodnight Moon

Ten Tiny Tadpoles
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Slide and Find

Caroline Jayne Church books
Mr. Men and Little Miss books

*Groupon has a bundle of new Mr. Men and Little Miss books written by Roger Hardgreave's son. I've gotten 2 sets of them so far. They're not board books, and they're VERY British as they include lifts, zebra crossings and queues, but you can't argue with the price.

I hope you guys look into these books and enjoy them as much as we do.
What books do the kids in your life love?
I'm always looking for suggestions.

Looking Forward to Summer

Last weekend was Father's Day and we celebrated by going out to Tristan's parent's house for dinner.

My Father in Law got a fancy new Traeger Grill and was dying to test it out on his famous Salmon Grilled on Cedar Plank.

Oh my geez it was delicious.

Calvin and I got Tristan the new Jim Henson Biography that just came out, and as exciting as it sounds, some new socks.

I know... we're WILD!

I also made sure we had a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts ready for breakfast.

Father's day was fun, but we're REALLY looking forward to this summer.
The Fourth of July in particular.

It's always, always, always been one of my very favorite holidays for several reasons:
It's 3 days after my birthday.
There are fireworks.
 Food. Beer. Smores.
And most importantly...
We get to spend time with family at our lake cabin in Montana.

Last year

I don't get to see my dad's side of the family very often and we have the most fun when we all get together.
I love our lake place so much that Tristan actually proposed to me there on the Fourth on July, right before the fireworks, in front of my entire family.

We're already gearing up and looking forward to the madness this year!

You guys know that I love to be festive for holidays!
Getting Calvin in a fun patriotic outfit for the fourth will be awesome, but I'm not into plastering him in Stars and Stripes.
I'm not going to drop my hard earned money on clothes he can't wear all summer.
So here's what I think I'm going for:

Jammies, Fedora, Hoodie, Plaid Shirt, Shorts, Keen Sandals, Swim Suit, Sunglasses

Fourth of July Festiveness without being TOO over-the-top

I have to say that we already have the Keen Sandals for Calvin and he LOVES them so much!
He hates to even take them off.
I love that they're sturdy enough for even the clumsiest toddler and I don't have to worry about him stubbing his toes or catching the sole on something, like I would if his toesies were exposed.
The only down side is that they make his feet stink!
I think stinky feet is just something I'm going to have to get used to. I'm pretty sure that generally most growing boys don't smell like roses.

This Week

Things have been a little different this week at our house.

My mom and I left the boys to fend for themselves and took off last Saturday for a super quick trip to Seattle, and more importantly IKEA!

We walked down to the market, grabbed lunch did a little shopping (and a lot of people watching) then we hopped over to Kent for a visit with my Uncle and Aunt and one of my cousins.

It was so great to see them!

We spent the night at a hotel, grabbed breakfast and hit IKEA.

I think we were there for two and a half hours.

I needed 2 dressers and there was no shortage of amazing products to Ooh and Aaah over.
They were "over sold" on the dressers I originally wanted so I got some even bigger ones and will just have to find some nice handles to put on the drawers.
 

Once we payed and packed up the rig we hit the road home.

I was gone for 35 hours and I honestly don't think Calvin even noticed.

Monday was Tristan's turn to leave. He headed to the airport straight from work for a business trip to Oregon. I am anxiously awaiting his return late tonight.

Calvin, however, wont get to see him until tomorrow evening after he gets home from work.

Although we've missed daddy (and facetime is a God Send), we managed to keep super busy to pass the time:

Monday we went to the park with a couple of friends and our dogs.

Tuesday I worked late, so Calvin hung out with Grammy.

And yesterday my Sister, Brother-in-law and Step mom came over so I could take some pictures for them...

Looks like we have a niece on the way!

Calvin had fun running around the yard with Uncle Mike.

And today was my Niece Bella's last day of school so Calvin and I picked her up and we grabbed lunch and hung out for a few hours.

He loves his cousin "Weh-wa"

And in my "free-time"... HA! I've even managed to assemble one of the dressers all by myself!

(that smudge on the bottom drawer was just from the camera)

I had a moment of panic when I thought I was missing a piece, but was able to find it amongst the packing materials strewn about the basement.

-whew!-