Gravel anyone?

This is a post from September I forgot to publish.....

A few weeks ago we had 26 tons....yes you read that right....26 tons of gravel delivered to our humble abode to finish a few projects we had started. Matthew had quite a time climbing and sliding down the gravel and we burned many calories spreading said gravel. We had awesome weather, a little rain and are very happy with the progress that we made. We installed two sets of walkways, one through our vegetable garden and one through our cutting garden/patio area. Here are some before and after shots as well as a few fun ones I could not resist.

Checking out the gravel pile....

About to slide....tummy first.

Prepping the veggie garden - GRASS REMOVAL!!

Raking......

Almost ready for gravel!

Progress....

Holding down the gravel....such a good little helper!

Muppet riding on the skid steer.

Mommy-Love

The cutting garden/patio....before gravel!

Birthday Celebrations

As some of you know, Willie and I celebrate birthdays in a big way. We do not necessarily spend loads of cash but we have always celebrated a birthday week and tried to do whatever the birthday person really wants to do.

On Tuesday (his actual birthday) we made spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner, his favorite. We followed this with strawberry jello and cool whip!!! Then on to the gifts. He had quite a load of gifts from the grandparents and friends and it was funny to see him really getting into the opening of them. Throughout the process when we handed him a gift we would ask him, what is this and he would happily say TRACTOR. He thought every gift was going to be a tractor. While there was definitely a tractor thread running through the gifts....obviously every single one was not a tractor. He has enjoyed his new books, trains, scissors (yes I bought him safety scissors), clothes and such.

On Wednesday, his adopted Aunt Tedi took him shopping. He had such fun playing at the train table with her and he got to come home with two new Thomas trains as well as a book all about tractors.

Some intense decision-making as to what trains he "needed".

Since Matthew is such a HUGE tractor nut, on Friday Dad had a mini-excavator delivered to the house. It was delivered during nap time and boy was he surprised to see it. He spent many hours over the weekend on the tractor helping Dad do some much needed landscaping in our yard.

His first ride on the tractor.

Saturday was a big day. We drove the tractor, finished the sandbox and filled it with sand and had about 30 or so people, big and small, over for a celebration. He loves his sandbox and has spent countless hours in there since its completion. I think he had a blast at his party, he ran around and chased the other kids, climbed on the sandbox, ate hot dogs and his favorite...strawberry cake. The weather was GORGEOUS which really saved us because 30 people in the house would not have been fun. This little guy stayed up until 10:30 PM but then went to bed without a peep....which is far from normal.

The finished sandbox, a huge hit to say the least!!

Doing some final work before adding sand.

Enjoying his sandbox.

"Driving"

They even let me drive the tractor a bit.

Running around the backyard with friends at his party.

The cake....he was more impressed with his new tractor than the cake this year!!

My tired but happy boys.

All in all, I think Matthew's birthday week was a success. My little boy is two.....and I am sure the next year will be filled with adventure!

Kitchen Help

Several months back I taught Matthew to move the chairs from the dining table into the kitchen to help me when I was trying to cook, wash dishes, make lists, etc, etc. This kid is now incapable of walking by the dining room table without moving a chair. In fact, he moves them into the bathroom, his room, our room and the office. Sometimes I wonder why I teach him things because inevitably it comes back to bite me.

It is sweet that he wants to "help" but squeezing soapy water out of the sponge onto the floor is only cute the first 20 or so times.......

We charge more when you help.....

After 10 years of working for a service company, we joked about the fact that when we sent a technician to a customer who had been "working" on their problem themselves, it tended to be a bigger mess due to their "help".

I have learned this lesson in a completely new way since my little helper arrived in the scene. The boy loves to "help" in every way imaginable.

- Is convinced that he can steer the lawnmower much better than I.
- Wants to wash his tray off after meal times and then the floor, the cabinet, the dog, etc, etc.
- Helpfully points out dirt on the floor I have missed when sweeping....or simply running through the pile....which of course encourages Muppet to do the same.
-Loves to play in the kitchen sink "washing" dishes or simply squeezing the suds out of the sponge.

My new YARD man

So this cute little dude showed up at my house and offered to mow my lawn for free. Can you believe it? FREE!!!!!

Well, he would really like food, clothing and shelter for the next 18 or so years...but hey, who's counting.

What...we have seasons?

Being a TEXAN, it is hard to comprehend this notion of seasons, fall especially. We did not go from 80 degree weather to freezing overnight, as is so often the case at home. Our new yard is blessed with a number of trees and we have enjoyed watching the leaves change colors and then settle into a nice blanket of color in our yard.

Matthew has enjoyed helping rake...and un-rake the leaves along with riding in the wheelbarrow.

Playing in the piles of leaves....another fun adventure.

Helping rake.....

Watching Phlip-Phlop lounging in the leaves.

All Done!

Rodeo Time

Willie came home last week with a super cute rocking horse for Matthew.

I think Matthew had as much fun helping assemble it as he did riding it.

He actually got quite angry when Willie took the screwdriver away so he could get it put together. While no one likes to see their little one upset, it is a little amusing to see Willie's temper in such a little guy.

Finally....a ride and a drink!!