Happy 28 months! ...the Canadian way. I think.

Somehow parents at the park with their kids have this unwritten rule: Chatting about each others kids is totally normal. I'm a new Mom, so I'm still getting used to parents/random strangers striking up conversations.

Today we were playing on the playground, feeding the ducks, and watching the golfers putt when a Canadian dad asked me, "So, how many months is your son?" Um....Months?! I haven't kept track. I literally had to use my fingers to help me get to the answer. Is that a Canadian thing to do? To keep track of toddler months, ay?

Anyway, Happy 28 months, Calvin! We celebrated by feeding the GIANT fish in the lake (because the ducks were already full) and running around the playground in circles (up the stairs-->down the slide-->up the stairs-->down the slide). You loved it.

Calvin moments to remember.

Here are a few Calvin moments to remember from 2012-2013.

Trying meat for the first time.

Screaming every time the vacuum was on. The only thing that soothed him was holding him while I vacuumed.

Entertaining Calvin with juice, chocolate, and the movie Cars while strapping him down for a hair cut.

"Folding laundry."

"Putting the dishes away."

"Taking out the trash."

Hating the snow from the first moment he touched it (refused to wear gloves). It took him 15 minutes to get dressed. And he lasted less than 3 minutes outside.

...Then needing hot chocolate to recover from the cold.

Freaking out about the "people" with no heads.

Shopping overload.

Aching for a nap after church.

Cheering for Mom on the sidelines during her flag football game.

Climbing out of bed and getting stuck in the toy dresser when supposed to be sleeping.

Kneeling for family prayer.

Making funny faces during General Conference.

Making a first marker masterpiece. With lots of juice and goldfish breaks.

Climbing on Justin's scooter and saying, "vroom vrooooom!"

Trying to grab the ball from Grandpa Scott.

Gambling at the Las Vegas airport.

...and getting caught by security for being underaged.
  

Being a goofball at Megan's wedding.

Trying to clean his face while fighting five adults. (Cleaning Calvin's face is always a battle.)

Joining Mom to do laundry at the laundromat.

...it was a few blocks away. We looked ridiculous.

Climbing trees with Daddy.

Messing with Dad's glasses on his shoulders. (Every time!)

Helping Dad cook.

Helping Dad cook with a more hands-off approach.

Comforting Mom after her trip to the ER.

The Big Move

This is the biggest move we've ever had! How can us college kids accumulate so much stuff?...Oh yeah, we had a baby ;)

Arizona is beautiful in it's own way. Yeah, it's dry, hot, desert looking, and cacti count as trees, but the sunsets are to die for. Each evening is filled with vibrant color in the sky that makes me so happy.

We first moved into my Grandma and Grandpa's house while we waited for our house to be available. For a couple months we enjoyed life in a retirement community. In this 65+ community, we REALLY enjoyed all the perks:

Swimming in this beautiful pool.

Cruising around in golf carts.

Playing with rocks.

Enjoying all the palm trees.

Running around in swimsuits.

And playing with cars in the water.

Calvin is always too cool for his parents...

...But one day, I noticed Calvin acting like the elderly neighbors, and I knew we had been in the retirement community long enough!

In November, we finally moved in to our own place! My boys are so excited to have more space to run around&wrestle, play in the backyard, and work in the garage.

Currently, the LDS Mesa Temple is the closest temple to us. However...

...we have a new temple being built closer: the LDS Gilbert Temple! The Open House (where ANYONE can go take a tour inside) is going on from January 18th-February 15th 2014 Click here to reserve free tickets! After the Open House, the temple will be dedicated where only baptized members who are qualified and prepared are allowed to enter the temple. So if you can, go take a tour and see what's inside!

Overall, Arizona is treating us well :) We are loving the warm winter weather and we're fitting right in. This Arizona desert has become our home and we are taking everything in stride. We've even become DiamondBack fans!

Summer all-year-round is the best!

Calvin thinks he's done with naps...

Every day I fight with Calvin to take a nap. He definitely still needs still needs one a day so that he's happy the entire day. Otherwise, he becomes a crying, unreasonable monster. I mean, c'mon. How cool is his bed?! Why doesn't he want to sleep in this awesomeness?

After a couple hours of fighting his fatigue and playing (aka destroying the room) by himself, he finally crashes in the only clean space left...his closet!

I love my little munchito (little munchkin with a spanish twist). But man, he can be so stubborn! I'm sure there will be many more stubborn moments to come. Yay for the terrible-twos!