Black and White Wednesday {more yellow roses}

I realized after I clicked "publish" to my blog post yesterday I had not included my favorite photo of the day. My sweet kid with a backdrop of amazing yellow pioneer roses. Love this little boy forever.

I had to include the color version as well. Of course.

Yellow roses at the farmhouse

On Sunday we drove down to Mount Pleasant. The drive was fantastic. Clear blue skies, beautiful dark green mountains and a happy boy for 90% of the drive. He is truly getting better and better in the car on longer drives.

We arrived in time for breakfast (ha! who am I kidding? It was 11:30, but we called it breakfast anyway) and devoured the most amazing farmhouse hash. Eggs, potatoes, bacon and cheese never tasted so good.

During a super successful baby nap (he's also getting somewhat better at sleeping away from home! Wahoo!) E, David and I sat on the fount porch in the shade. I colored a Harry Potter coloring book. The guys talked cell phones, Connie joined us and we watched small town life go by from the front porch in the shade. Nothing better.

Soon our sweet boy was awake and ready to play. We decided to go on a nice walk down the road to visit the horses. Dusty, hot, sunny and wonderful. James was as happy as a clam.

And after we were too hot and dusty, we piled into the car and took a little drive up to a park in the mouth of the canyon. It was cool and wonderful in the shade. The aspens had leafed out recently, and the smell of pines and aspens is heaven. It smells like the Utah woods, and the Utah woods make me a very very happy girl. :)

They yellow pioneer roses are magnificent. They smelly lemony and yummy and are just happy and beautiful.

E and Connie visit the horses we've affectionately named Speckly and Butterscotch.
James visits too.
What?! Another family photo of all three of us? Two in one weekend?! I know, it is as rare as lightning striking. Love this one of us on the swing in the mountain park.
The drive back home was just as brilliant and uneventful. We stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner half way home and James happily ate his mac and cheese and sucked on a lemon even though it was ten minutes past his bedtime. Hurrah!

Hot summer Red Butte day

We went to Red Butte Garden again today. We love that place. We go over and over and over and never tire of it's beauty. E and I walked hand in hand at a very quick pace, because James was leading the way and he slows down for no one. Even after being asked about twelve times to please walk slowly, he quickened his little baby pace. He has birdies to watch and "gagas" (waterfalls) to see. He's a busy kid.

What?! A family photo where we are all looking at the camera and smiling? I know. A kind stranger got this awesome shot. Thank you stranger!
He reached for my hand. It is getting more and more rare and more and more lovely.


Right at the end of the loop we stopped in the children's garden. Best part of this garden? The spraying water. Our kid was soaked within minutes. But what makes changing a dripping kid in the parking lot worth it once we were done? All the laughter we got here in the spraying water.
Also? E asked for this 30th birthday present early. He decided to get a Weber smoker. We made ribs tonight. They smoked all afternoon while we were gone and were ready to eat when we returned. Heaven I tell you.

Our walk this morning

We walk. A lot. It is something that I love to do with my little boy. Today I grabbed my camera because it is just beautiful. What makes 9:00 am in the summer just pure magic?
Scroll down to see 19 month Wolfy photos!

19 months old! Wolfy!

My little boy is getting so dang big. So dang cute. So dang naughty.

Every day he learns more, understands more and becomes more his own little person.

New things this month?

• Now we've got a climber! He can climb onto all the couches with ease. He is pretty good about sitting down once he's up there, but has fallen off and conked his head. Poor dude.
• Running. He's been working on this skill for awhile, but now he hardly ever falls and can run when he's excited (like towards his Dada!)
• More and more words and sounds. He now asks "down" when he's done with a meal. We knows a few baby tricks and when you try to teach him more he gives you little baby attitude!
• Pickiest eater ever. We've been struggling with him throwing food on the floor if he doesn't like it, most the time before he's even tried it. I get so frustrated when I prep an entire meal for him and he won't take a single bite, plus it all ends up on the floor. Let's hope this phase is short lived.
• Good sleeping! He was waking up a lot at night last month, due to teeth but he's doing a lot better this month. Yippee!
• More interest in TV. We don't watch a lot of tv in our house (under an hour a day) but it is so fun now that James will sit still and watch and point out things he sees on the screen. Tree! Bubbles! Dog!
• Lots and lots of exploring with Mama. This isn't new per se, but we've had the most fantastic weather this month. Mostly in the 70s! It has been perfect. So this means we've explored a lot of new parks. I love going to a new park with my boy and he loves it too.

Now, onto 19 month Wolfy photos. These are mostly blurry because my kid will not sit still, not for a moment. So it doesn't matter how fast my shutter speed is, I don't get a clear photo of this kid unless we are outside.
Blurry and adorable.

Climbing at lightning speed.
He's up!

And from month 1 until now:

Happy Napper {black & white wednesday}

James has shortened his naps a touch. Now instead of sleeping past 2:00 or even until 2:30pm, he's up at 1:30. Which is entirely too early for his Mama, but seems to suit him just fine.

He's happy and silly when he wakes which makes the shortened naps that much easier. I love his silly happy face when I walk into his room.

He thinks it is so funny to try to touch my lens when it is focusing. What does this mean? Lots of blurry shots of fingers. Lov'n 18 months. So damn fun.
Happy kiddo. And his tree. How did I know his favorite thing in the entire world would be trees while pregnant and I decorated his nursery? No clue. But he loves it and points it out to me at least a dozen times a day.

Father's Day Eve

We like to make a big deal over holidays in our house. Birthdays last a month. Christmas lasts easily two months. Father's Day and Mother's Day are not celebrated in a single day, but spread over the entire weekend.

So on Saturday I took my boys out to breakfast. With a big day of hosting parties to follow, I wanted some nice time with my family that didn't include cooking or cleaning. Just a long breakfast and really amazing food.

We chose Blue Plate Diner again. This place might be our new favorite breakfast joint here in SLC. We love it. The menu is huge. They serve lunch all day (which only matters when you want to order mac and cheese off the kids menu at 9:00 am), and the eggs Benedict are worth the millions of calories. They are divine. Plus? The entire joint is filled with ceiling fans, which James is mesmerized by, therefore giving E and I time to enjoy a long breakfast.


I tried a few times to call out to James. But the ceiling fans were just too amazing.
What a great kiddo he is. E and I seem to say it over and over. Feel very lucky to be his Mama.
Then after baby nap E, James and I decided to go on one of our favorite hikes close to home - Ferguson Canyon. James loves hiking in the pack, E and I love this trail because very quickly you go from seeing an amazing view of the valley below to being swept up into a hidden canyon with towering cliffs, lush green trees and a happy and swift river.
We didn't take a super long hike, and near the spot we turned around we got James out of the pack so he could do a bit of hiking on his own.
Some of my favorite photos from our hike. Yellow daisies were in bloom and we were totally getting a kick out of James hiking with Dada's trekking poles.
Little spring near the beginning of the trail. The water was freezing and so crystal clear. James only dipped his toes for a moment.
View of the valley on the way back to the car. Happy Father's Day Eve.