Utter madness

So, life has been a little crazy recently...Josh is 2 1/2 weeks into his 6 week training academy in Ione (about 4 1/2 hours away)...Koben & I are holding down the fort & trying to get through the weeks.  The first week I got a migraine (only the 3rd I've ever had in my life), I had surgery to remove a cyst from my neck last week, so far this week is going the most smoothly!
And on Monday, we got 6 chickens!  We've wanted chickens for years and finally were able to build a killer coop this winter/spring so we had a home for our girls.  I got our 2-month-old little ladies from a local family in Atascadero who's had them since they were a day old.  They are super cute & fluffy & we've loved having them so far.  As far as pets go, they're pretty stinking easy.  =)

Here's a little video of Koben feeding them some lettuce.  He's been awesome about taking care of "his" chickens.  If anyone has any name suggestions, let me know!  So far, the buff cochin (the brown one with fuzzy feet) is called Shaka Brah (Koben came up with that name after we got home from Hawai'i)  =)...the black one is Smoky & the one with the brown-ish head & speckled brown & black body is Sienna (as in Burnt Sienna, a very cool Crayola color growing up).  =)  So, we have 2 black & white chickens to name and one black & copper-y chicken to name.  Hit me up with suggestions!

Kaua'i trip!

My boss once told me "If you go by yourselves, it's a vacation, but if you take your kid, it's a trip." (He himself is a father to 4).  He's right.
We had a great week on Kaua'i.  The place is gorgeous, the weather hovered around 80 the whole week with lows around 70 (we had some crazy winds the first few days, but got through that), there was a lot to see and do...but it wasn't exactly relaxing or romantic or what our holidays have been like ever before.  We developed a great understanding of why families with young children travel with other family members (hello, grandparents!!!) or other similar families.  It's so you can get a break!  Koben is an amazing traveler - he does great on planes & in airports even with all the craziness and waiting in lines that I'm sure doesn't make much sense to a 2-year-old.  We received a lot of compliments on his behavior from other passengers & staff...he slept okay (although he woke up at 5:30 Hawai'i time every morning we were there except the last!) and generally was a great kid.  As far as having a long conversation, going snorkeling together, taking long hikes, going out to a relaxed dinner...nope! Those weren't part of the docket for this "trip." We're learning along the way & looking forward to our future travels that have some family involved (look out, babysitters!) ;)
We got lots of fun photos, mostly of the dude as usual, enjoying the island.  Some of the highlights were our last day on the beach up at Tunnels on the north shore, beautiful waterfalls, the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific," eating lots of pineapple & fresh coconuts, reading books & relaxing times.  We hope to get back to the island again (now that we kind of know what we're doing!) to explore more and have some more intense outdoor adventures that we love!
Even with all the madness - there are a few cute new things in Koben's repertoire that I need to mention.  One is, "No way, Jose!", which he loves to say to a whole lot of things...and he also says, "Yes way, Jose!" sometimes too!  Super cute. While we were on Kaua'i he learned about the hang loose sign, a.k.a. a shaka. A lot of Hawaiians would say it to him, and when he saw a picture of it, he'd say, "Shaka, brah!"  He's still working on the coordination to get his pinky & thumb out while the other fingers are down, but he's close! He's picking out letters and numbers all over the place - this afternoon he took a poop and said, "Look, I made a 'U'!" (which he indeed had!).  He's also super duper lovey and likes to give bigs zerberts (raspberries) on your cheeks, neck, arms, belly, or whatever other skin he has access to and will often bust out with, "I love you SOOOO much." - or even "I love you really so much." Sweet boy!

In a gigantic cave ("Look mama, there's Swiper the Fox!")

Hauling the beers to the beach. =)

Our ONE couple shot the whole week (it was a trip, after all, not a vacation). =)

Sand castle STOMPING!

"I got a big stick mama!"

Sandy, sandy tush!

Full 2-year-old sass - crossed arms & everything...

This is what I woke up to the first morning - Koben & Josh went down to the koi ponds early while I slept & Koben found me a beautiful hibiscus flower!

Cheese!

Windy beach day!

Swimming with daddy.

Our little ham.

At the Grand Canyon of the Pacific...with a very grumpy muffin.

Beautiful canyon as the fog was just lifting.

Mud-bogging (a.k.a. hiking)

Stretching those little legs...

...then getting a little help from daddy.

Being a cheeseball.

Here's my dirty tush.

Stole the shot with the .5 second turn around!

Whoa....pretty... (it was a LONG way down!)

Pretty nice foreground & background. =)

Near the Point at Poipu, where we stayed the first half of the week.  Shipwrecks Beach is below.

I want to swim!

Here's K adamantly saying, "NO!" when I told him I wanted to take his photo with the fish. Gheese.

Waterfall day!  Here's #1!

Here's JB & Koben at the top of #2 (with a bonus dog).

Monkeying around.

Cheers!

Mmmmmm...

This is how we do bathtime in Kaua'i - a little vodka & pineapple juice in a coconut? Yes please!

Proud mama

Monday at gymnastics, a woman I'd never met before walked up to me and said, "Your little boy is so polite!  He walked up to me, and I didn't even expect him to be able to talk and he said, 'Can I have the ball please?' and I gave it to him and he said, 'Thank you!'"
Seriously, how stinking cute is that.  How amazing is it as a mother to hear praise from another person you don't even know about how your child acts when you're not even around.  I was gushing with pride!  Koben is such a sweet boy, and it's so nice to hear from others just how nice he is (that's one of his favorite sayings right now, "I'm a nice boy.")  =)
While I'm bragging about how cool my kid is, I'll add about how smart he is.  He can identify all of his letters & tell you what sound they make.  He'll point something out - "look mama, Q!"...then say, "Q says kwuh."  He can do that for all of the letters and it's kind of freaking me out that he's too smart, but it's also pretty cool.

Happy St. Patty's Day! & potty talk...

We celebrated St. Patty's Day in style at the Block house.  It was cold & rainy today so we stuck close to home for most of the day, made Guinness stew, wore green, and had fun!  Here are a few highlights of our day...

Sporting my sweet green mustache

Koben got creative with his poop this morning and made it in the shape of his age.  He's that brilliant.

Cheese!  Mama, can I see my picture?

Aside from celebrating St. Patty's Day, we've been keeping busy - the big people in the house have been working a lot and playing a lot to keep busy, while the little person has been focusing on the playing aspect.  He's been talking a lot about his body recently, and here are two of my favorite stories I'd like to share.

One morning, Josh got up with Koben while I took my time climbing out of bed.  I heard a conversation that went a little like this (Josh had just taken off Koben's overnight diaper & was asking if he had to go potty).
Koben: Daddy, you have a penis?
Josh: Yes, I have a penis.  How about you.  Do you have a penis?
K: Yes.  Grownups don't have a penis.
J: Well, I'm a grownup and I have a penis.
K: No, daddy, girls are grownups and girls don't have a penis.

I was dying laughing!

Then, last Wednesday Josh had drill at the station he volunteers at.  He took Koben with him and Koben had a whole audience of guys around.  One time, he went into the bathroom to pee, came out, and announced very loudly to everyone, "I have a big penis!"...which of course made all the guys there laugh...which of course made Koben say it over and over again. Gheese.

Guess what the favorite topic is at our house these days?!?

Bikes & potties & plants & tushes...

There have been a lot of changes going on at our house recently.  The most important one is BIG BOY UNDIES!!!  Koben is well on his way to being potty trained.  He's been out of diapers for about a week now and he's doing great.  There have been a few accidents here & there but overall he's been way better at this than we ever anticipated.  He's even woken up from his nap dry the last two days!  Yippee!

Big boy LOVES to cruise on his bike. This is his "CHEESE!" photo for Grandma, who bought him that cool Cars helmet he's wearing.

The full monty. He's been getting better & better on his bike!  We took him to do the Bob Jones trail last week & he did great (for a while) - he was cruising along on the trail, didn't bonk into anyone...then he got tired.



Koben really wanted blueberries one morning.  Here's the result!

He was a sicky head with a double ear infection in this photo.  Just wanted to lay in his rocking chair & play with his cars.  =(  He's feeling much better now though!

Super Daddy!!!  Josh really has it down - child wrangling & cooking at the same time!

Our latest project - a little landscaping...before...

...and after!

Potty training started with a WHOLE lotta naked time (ask anyone who's been to our house recently or talked with us on Skype - there's been a lot of tush exposure!)  Here he is fixing Grandma's brakes with Daddy.

Pozo!  We love Pozo Saloon!  Here's Koben on a sunny Sunday afternoon at the little place in the middle of nowhere, taking in some live music.  We're going back this week too...and maybe the next...and the next!

Pyrex Monday in the Block house.  I always say that our fridge should be a Pyrex commercial, especially on a Monday (when I do all my lunches & Koben's lunches for the week).  Maybe I'll send a copy of this to the company & see if I can get sponsored or something.