Grateful for Daddy

Today, Rudy blessed me with one of those "melt your heart" moments that makes the "boil your blood" moments worth it:

We're saying his good night prayer. We've listed a bunch of things he's thankful for, and I pause after "We thank thee for" to try to think of something else Rudy loves and can say. That's when he pipes up all on his own: "Daddy!". Sniff. So sweet, so true. I'm grateful for you too, Jason. Rudy and I are your biggest fans, even if we both sometimes shoot you grumpy faces. Thanks for being the kind of Daddy and the kind of person that prompts Rudy's first real gratitude prayer.

A Near Potty Success

I just about peed my pants with excitement as I witnessed the following scene:

My freshly bathed, pink little sweetie approaches the plastic potty. He sits himself down, says
"poop" and strains in the way only 1 year olds are not embarrassed to do in front of others.

Unfortunately, that's where the story ends. No poop graced the potty's pristine plastic, but at least I know Rudy knows what it's for.
:)

Speaking in Sentences

I just realized this morning that Rudy is using a few key phrases-actual sentences. They are all variations of the same core idea: "I did it!" He says that sentence when ever he's proud of any accomplishment (which is quite often-Rudy never misses a chance to celebrate). :) He also says "I do." As in, Would you like more milk? "I do." (accompanied by an exaggerated nod), and "I did." as in, Did you see a kitty? "I did." (same nod going on).
Rudy's vocabulary is exploding. He'll try just about any word out, and sometimes it's funny to hear the words that come out of his mouth. Last night, Jason was helping him say his night time prayer, and asked for Rudy to wake up happy in the morning, or something like that. Rudy's paraphrase of that request: "Moing!"
Ah, kids. You gotta love 'em!

Goofing Off

After running an errand, I had planned on taking Rudy to a near by park. On the way, we strolled past a party store. "What the heck," I thought, "I'm going to take Rudy in. Either we'll both have fun, or we'll both hate it 'cause he'll be outta control. If we hate it, we can head on to the park, but if we like it, we'll enjoy some free air conditioning!" So in we went. And fun we had.

The Party King, Rudy. A stern, wise, and eclectic ruler.

Maria, his mousy jester.

We spent a lot of time at the bulk cheap-o party favors bins. Rudy loved collecting a handful or two, and then sorting them back into the right bins. And opening and shutting the lids, of course. I loved holding those cheap plastic toys and remembering back to my childhood visits to US Toy- a warehouse full of toys like this. I used to LOVE going there, 'cause I could bring a quarter, spend an hour, and come home with 3 totally 'awesome' toys. Each would quickly get lost, broken, or forgotten, but for 25 cents, who cares?

A Day in Midway

Rudy and I spent Monday with my parents in Midway. Of course, we found time for a hike.

This little meadow of yellow flowers was so pretty and sooo bright. :)

Just about at the 'summit' of our hike, I got just about as tired of carrying Rudy as he was of being carried. Easy fix: Rudy spends some time on his own two feet. :) Isn't that view beautiful?

Of course, rocks must be collected along the way.

My ponderous little geologist.

I like this picture for two reasons. 1) It shows how absolutely beautiful the sky was. 2) It shows how far Sam has come in his training. Pup he may still be, but I remember when the only chance I had at getting a picture of him was if someone was holding him with all their strength. Here Mutti is practicing "Stay" with him. He did pretty well!

Rudy and Sam on the trail together.

Playing in the kiddie pool with Oma.

Father's Day

For Father's Day, I gave Jason the Best of America's Test Kitchen cook book. (He loves that show.) I fixed him the french toast recipe from the book for breakfast that morning. It was dang good, but time consuming-I think it took me almost 45 minutes to make french toast (oven fried), instead of the typical 10 minutes.

Jason giving Rudy a magic cookie sheet ride while I prepped some things for the breakfast. I love how Rudy's using Jason's thumbs as handles. :)

Rudy gazing with pride at his part of the breakfast prep: get the bread on the cookie sheet for the preliminary toasting. (I helped with the arranging.)

Rudy just couldn't resist taking a quick nibble of one of the slices as it went from bag to cookie sheet.

The finished product.

Daddy Rudy playtime. Rudy's driving his car across Jason's chest, making sound effects as he goes.

My boys, satisfied in post rough housing exhaustion. :)

Jason, you are better than any "Dream Dad" I could concoct for Rudy. You are loving, kind, patient, firm, and fun. You are dedicated. What's more, you're a marvelous parenting partner for me. You support me in thousands of ways, both tangible and intangible. I love feeling that I'm really and truly a part of a parenting team. I love you! Thanks for being such a splendiferous man!

Happy Birthday Oma!

My grandma (I call her Oma) turned 80 on June 18th. Her daughter, MaryBeth, threw her a great open house party. Here's a few shots of the fun, courtesy of MaryBeth and the photographer who so nicely recorded the event:

Oma and Rudy. He was just warming up to being in a house swarming with people.

Two lovely ladies, Heidi and Oma.

Me trying to convince my fruit bat (his cheeks are stuffed with grapes) to have a little cheese to compliment his meal. He wasn't interested.

Chatting it up with cousins Nick and Madeline. When I saw Rudy's face in this photo, I was time warped back to the days when I practically died of boredom as my parents socialized. :)

I love to see Opa (my grandpa) in action at social events such as these. Typically, he's a very quiet man. VERY quiet. But at events like these, he's a great conversationalist. Something I really admire about Opa's conversations: they're intelligent. He talks about issues, not petty things like the latest gossip, TV show, or scandal. And he does plenty of listening.

Rudy followed the photographer all around. (He had a cool gadget.)

MaryBeth and one of her beautiful daughters, Madeline. Thanks so much for throwing such a fun and delightful party for Oma!