Eight years!

Holy crap. Today Adrian is EIGHT. 

And it's hard to believe that he's been here for so long. We've traveled a lot together, and most days we're a great team. 

Would I do it all over again? Absolutely. He's taught me to become more patient, more kind, more generous. He's taught me that I have the power to heal scraped knees and hurt feelings. He's taught me that a word in the right place is will outweigh any number of common parental bargains. Being a parent to Adrian is never dull. It requires quick thinking, mounds of empathy, and a sense of humor.

Here's to Adrian! May the days ahead of you be full of joy. May you find pleasure in work, always have a full belly, and fuller heart. I love you for always.

Adrian at one month

At 7 months, with the famous "snorty pig face"

2006: At 2 at our belated wedding reception

2007: At 3 at the Aquarium

2008: At 4, with Aunt Erica (who is a Mom now)

 

2009: At 5, for his pirate birthday party 

2010: The first day of kindergarten (almost 6)

2011: Our East-coast road trip (almost 7)

2012: Last week (almost 8)

You make me crazy, you make me laugh, you make me proud. I love you, little man.

Happy birthday.

I'm baack!

Well, sort of. Mostly, this is a photo-heavy post about our trip to visit our friends down state. 

It was a 5 hour road trip, during which Fiona got sick twice. But once it got dark out, she was no longer motion sick. I figured out that she can't have activities that require her to look at her lap. So, there was music, and looking out the window, and much goofing off in the back seat.

We got to our destination at 9:00 pm, put the kids in their PJ's and put them to bed. Then the grown-ups (foolishly) stayed up talking and laughing until 4 am. 

Saturday was a day of "yeah, sure, whatever" because I didn't have the energy to argue and it was surprisingly cold outside.

Thankfully what the kids wanted to do was feed, groom, and enjoy animals. Also known as "farm chores".

Adrian and Gracie Lou the donkey. She's shy, but if she thinks you have food she'll come to you. She spent 5 minutes just smelling Adrian. Her whiskers were tickly and he was giggling and I was enjoying his laughter so much I nearly forgot to take a picture.

After saying hello to the donkey, goats, and horses, it was time to let the chickens out. The polish roosters with their ridiculous head feathers are always a favorite.

And eggs! Which were still be laid on the floor--this led to the chore of "preparing the nest boxes". Good times.

Back to visit Gracie Lou. Fiona really really loves the donkeys and horses.

And of course there are golf cart rides and funny faces.

Horse grooming! They have their winter coats now, so they're all fluffy.

Bareback riding! 

More bareback riding! At one point, Fiona forgot to hold on to the mane and slid off of the horse. She did it in such a way that it looked intentional. 

Before we left, Adrian was already trying to get us to pin down dates to come back.

And now Aaron is thinking "how hard could it be to get a little bit of land and do a little bit of farming?"