Mom's Day

Yesterday was Mothers Day! My second Mothers Day that I actually got to be spoiled on top of spoiling the other women in my life. I feel SO lucky that I have 2 amazing guys in my life to help me celebrate!  

10 Reasons why this mothers day rocked:

My new necklace from my boys

Homemade cards...there's nothing better!

The men in my life

He wasn't too thrilled to be at the Zoo

This picture melts my heart...I love seeing Ryan and mini-Ryan walking side by side

Love them

1. I got to sleep in! (Meaning Ryan got Hunter when he woke up, and fed him breakfast!)
2. Ryan made me a SCRUMPTIOUS breakfast....Belgian waffles, eggs, and bacon!
3. My boys spoiled me with gifts...A new iHome clock radio (mine was ancient) and a beautiful necklace!
4. I got HOMEMADE cards from my boys...Hallmark can suck it!
5. Ryan and Hunter took me out to lunch at Panera. This is a big deal for us because Ryan has a big grudge against Panera...he says he hates paying up the wazoo for "mediocre" food...whatever..I like it!
6. We took Hunter on is first trip to the zoo! He wasn't as excited as I thought he would be but we still had a great time!
7. I got to take my wonderful mama out to dinner at her favorite restaurant!
8. I got sushi for dinner! YUM!
9. We went out to my in-laws for dessert :)
10. Because I get to say I am "Mommy" to the cutest little boy!

Motherhood

I've seen this floating around the internet. The first time I saw it I pretty much wept. And then I watched it again...more tears. Being a mom is so incredibly honorable and I am proud to say that I am a mother. I can't wait to see my kids grow up and come into their own. I just hope I made my mom feel the way these moms feel in this commercial... 

Proud.

The Mr.'s Birthday Celebration

 This past weekend we celebrated Ryan's big 2-6! (Yup...I'm a cougar....but only by 4 months!) I really wanted to surprise him with an overnight getaway so we can have some much needed alone time. I didn't want to go somewhere too far since we would only be staying one night. So I opted for our neighbor, Sacramento. I wasn't sure if we would have as much fun staying so close to home but we had a BLAST!

I woke Ryan up on Friday morning to some blueberry waffles and bacon!

 

After breakfast, we packed up our stuff, dropped Hunter off at my moms and headed towards Sac. That was when I told him I was taking him to the gun range in Elk Grove. He was shocked that I even thought to do that. We always go shooting out at his parents house but we have never actually  been a REAL gun range. We had a blast! I think we will definitely be back soon!

  

After our shooting session, we grabbed a quick bite and made our way up to Sacramento. We checked into the Hyatt which WAY exceeded my expectations. It was SO nice! Not to mention our killer view...the Capitol was right across the street.

 

We spent the rest of the day walking around downtown Sac, shopping, buying Ryan some new sneakers (and I even snuck in some new pants for myself!), eating delicious food in Old Town Sacramento, and we even caught the late night showing of Hunger Games! We both loved it! I can't believe it took me so long to get on that bandwagon. 

The next morning we slept in (or tried to at least). It was so nice not having to get up right away to a hungry toddler. We laid in bed, watched TV and just relaxed. After leisurly getting up, we took a stroll down a few blocks to a TINY little diner (I'm talking enough to fit 10 people max) called Jim-Dennys. As soon as we walked in, I realized that I had seen this place somewhere before. I then remembered I saw it on an episode of Man V. Food! They have the biggest pancakes I have ever seen! Neither of us were actually in the mood for pancakes though but what we did order was DELISH! I got the french toast and Ryan got the omelet that was the size of a newborn baby. It was heavenly!

  

 After our breakfast, we checked out of our hotel and took a stroll over to Capitol Park. I can't believe I have been a Californian my whole life and have never visited our state Capitol. We toured inside the Capitol which was fascinating! This makes me want to go to D.C. even more!

  

After touring inside, we walked around the park. It was so beautiful and it was hard to leave.

  

Before we left Sacramento to go back to reality, we walked a few blocks down to a little chocolate shop, Ginger Elizabeth. Believe it or not, I have NEVER had a macaroon before. I heard that this place that macaroons "to die for", so we decided to give them a try. I am officially converted! I can't wait till the next time I can bite into one of those little pieces of heaven!

  

I love birthdays! It is a time where we get to celebrate our loved ones! It also gives us a reason to take overnight trips! We sure missed this guy though...

This Guy

It's this guys birthday today!

He is the most AMAZING husband...

And the BEST Daddy...

 

And we are SO lucky you're ours!

 

Happy 26th Birthday to my one true love! 

He's Walking!

It only took 14 months but he's walking!

His little butt wiggling just kills me! I love it!

What An Adorable Mess

I tend to be a little...OCD. Seriously....I follow Hunter around the house all day picking up after him. I HATE having a dirty house. Everyone who knows me (well) knows this about me. Having a toddler has taught me that it is OK to let things get dirty. And this morning, Hunter had SO much fun playing in his oatmeal. I knew that he would be taking a shower with Daddy right after breakfast so it was no sweat of my back (minus cleaning up the highchair). It was so worth it to get these pictures! Being a mom is sometimes SO stressful and tiring...but its moments like these that makes me forget everything else except that I love him.

Happy St. Patricks Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day 

Love, 

The Kidd Family

Randoms

My thoughts lately-

• I have really turned into a sucky blogger. I just find it exhausting to get on the computer, type a witty post, and include some pictures from my camera that I usually can't find. But at the same time, I love blogging and I'm so glad I started it almost 4 years ago. I have always loved to write and this has really given me that chance, along with the bonus of keeping my family updated on our life.
• This blog was originally intended for deep, original thoughts. It has turned into your typical "mommy blog". All I post about is Hunter.I'm sorry if this bores you but you know what...I love it! He is pretty much all I think about so naturally, he winds up in every post. (As I am speaking (or typing), he is crying for me to come get him from his slumber so hopefully when I come back to this, I will still have all my thoughts.)
• Speaking of Hunter, I think he has jumped straight to his "terrible twos". Seriously, this kid can throw a mean temper tantrum. It's not very often though...he is usually such a calm, sweet little boy. But when he is feeling moody...WATCH OUT! I am in serious trouble...
• I really feel a strong need to clean these days. Okay, I ALWAYS clean...Ask Ryan, I am a clean freak...like border OCDish. What I am talking about is ORGANIZING clean. Even though my house looks very put together on the surface, behind every door is a tornado. I really need to get organized! I took the first step yesterday by tackling my our closet. I bagged up a ton of clothes, shoes, and accessories and sent them off to Goodwill. It's only one closet, but it's a start. And on top of that...I made room for new clothes! Just kidding...sort of 
• I have a confession...some days I feel like an inadequate mother. The older Hunter gets, the more he needs mental stimulation. Gone are the days that he sits in his Bumbo and coos while I read him a story or show him some cool toy that lights up. He needs to actually get out in the real world and see and do things. And I actually find myself getting a tad overwhelmed because of this "need" to feel like perfect mom. Like I have to have some sort of educational outing planned everyday. I am actually really excited for summer so we can spend our days outside, going to the park, swimming, etc. But some days, I am just too tired and we never leave the house. I hope this doesn't make me a bad mom.
• This has been a really crappy month for the Kidd family...My mother-in-law got into a 5 car pileup...shes fine (just some whiplash)! My sister-in-law and my adorable nephew came to visit Lodi for a week and a few days into their trip, Krew got Croup. They spent 3 (maybe 4?) days in the hospital. I felt soo bad for them! He is feeling much better now. Ryan's amazing Uncle passed away. He went in for a routine hip replacement surgery and developed a blood clot which took his life. We took an emergency trip to Salt Lake City for his funeral. I only met Uncle Don and handful of times but every time I did, he truly made me feel like family. It was so heartbreaking seeing his 4 (grown) kids and wife bury their beloved dad and husband. It really brought back some memories from my own dads funeral. AND just a few days ago, my father-in-law fell off a 15 foot ladder while pruning trees. He was rushed to the ER and is still in the hospital. He has 5 broken ribs on is right side and a broken clavicle. He will be fine but he has a long recovery road ahead of him. Seriously....this family is feeling a little jinxed these days. I'm just hoping the rest of 2012 goes a little smoother.

And of course, no post is complete without some pictures!

We lost my dad on February 24th 2004. This year, we took Hunter to visit his Grandpa's grave. The moment was so beautiful. I can't wait till Hunter is older so I can tell him some fun stories about his Grandpa.

Nothing like a boy and his dog

Hunter and his friend Greyson out for a stroll

I could stare at this face all day...THOSE CHEEKS! His cuteness kills me

What did I tell you? Random!

Trains, Trains, Trains!

Ok so I have REALLY been neglecting this blog lately. I feel like this might be a common thing with new moms...or maybe its just me. But now that Hunter is older and I'm lucky if he naps 2 hours a day, I  have ZERO time to sit on the computer. And if he does take a solid nap, blogging is pretty low on my list of things to do. To all my family members that read this....I'll try to be better! Promise!

Even though I have a ton to blog about, I'll start at a random day. Our friends, Kathy & David, were visiting Lodi from Orange County. They also brought their daughter, Kristen, all the way from Missouri. She has an ADORABLE little 2 year old named Greyson. We decided to take the boys to Sacramento for the day to visit the California Railroad Museum. I wasn't sure how Hunter would do because he isn't quite at that age to get real excited about things like that. He actually had a great time...it probably had something to do with his bud, Greyson, being by his side.  On the bottom level of the museum there were some HUGE locomotives from the late 1800's. It was so interesting but Hunter didn't seem to care to much. It wasn't until we hit the second level where he got pretty excited. The entire second floor was dedicated to model trains and there was a HUGE playroom with TONS of Thomas the Train tables set up. Hunter and Grey LOVED it!!

He looked so tiny on that big train

playing with the Thomas the Train

Greyson!

Watching the trains go round

After the railroad museum, we took a stroll around Old Town Sacramento, browsed in the cute little shops, and got some yummy treats! I love that Hunter is now getting old enough to appreciate our little outings!

Hunter with his new train from Grandma

The boys were pooped by the end of the day

Nothing sweeter than sleeping babies!