Spring Hike

Spring has finally arrived in Northern Michigan, and like most people in this area, the boys and I set out to enjoy the sunshine this weekend. On Saturday, we headed out to Empire (about 30-40 minutes from our house) to hike the Empire Bluff Trail. Somehow, in my 31 years living in Traverse City, I have never hiked this trail. Since Dave was working, the boys and I enjoyed this adventure just the three of us.

Within 15 seconds of our hike, Leland found a walking stick that he carried the entire hike, and I had to practically pry it out of his hands when we got back to the car at the end. He loved that thing. Alden found one too, but quickly tired of carrying it around.

Leland made up his own song and kept singing "We're going on an adventure, we're going on an adventure!"

They pretended there were bears in the woods, and Leland hunted them with his walking stick. Alden's face below is him saying, "Oh no, get da bears!"

Maybe halfway up the trail, we stopped here to rest and enjoy the view. Leland said, "Wow! It's beautiful. Who painted this?"

A little further along, checking out the view again.

And sometimes, when you're adventuring with your kids and no other adults are around, you need to pull out the selfie stick so you can be in a dang picture with your kids.

This was as far as we went - I'm not sure it really goes much farther, this is kind of the culmination of the hike. There was a boardwalk surrounded by sand with a big dune behind it. We played for a while.

Again with the selfie stick...

Panoramic

Climb up, run down...

...or scoot down on your booty.

We had a lot of fun. The boys did amazing the entire way up. On the way down, they wanted me to carry them, which was impossible. They cried and whined enough for me to carry each of them for five minutes. Then, at the bottom, Leland said he wanted to go again. I hope we can go again this summer sometime. Maybe next time Dave can go too.

These boys are my favorite little adventurers. I love that they're always up for whatever shenanigans I may have in mind. We have so much fun together.

2.5 years

Dear Alden,

Sweet baby, somehow time has just sped right along since you blessed our live with your presence, and you are suddenly two and a half years old!

You are equal parts sweet and stinker right now. Ha ha. You LOVE to snuggle up with me any time of the day. In general, whenever you are having a tough time, a quick hug stops your tears and tantrum pretty much immediately.

As much as you love to snuggle and just be lovey, you are very mischievous. If left alone for more than a minute, you will find some kind of trouble, which usually involves making a giant mess. You enjoy pulling all of your diapers out of the bins and wipes out of the containers. You like unrolling entire rolls of toilet paper as if it were an Olympic sport. And you like to put random objects in your ball popper, which isn't always fun for me. You sure keep us on our toes, and you think it's absolutely hilarious.

Speaking of mischief, you have been known to put things up your nose. A few weeks (months?) ago, it was a blue m&m. You had a cold at the time, so you were warm and had a runny nose. I got the m&m out pretty quickly, but unfortunately, m&m's DO melt in your snotty nose. Gross. But also quite funny.

You adore your daddy and big brother. You always want to be near Leland, but you're not always the nicest to play with, because you always want whatever toy he has at that moment. When daddy gets home from work, you jump right up and run to the door to give him a hug, and you get so excited when you get to ride in the truck.

Trucks, tractors, planes, trains, and all things that go are still your favorite things in all the land. You also like to play with Dinosaurs, dig in the sandbox outside, and drive your cozy coupe car in the driveway. Bath time is the best lately, since Leland got a Rescue Squad Mater tub toy for Easter. You splash like crazy in there and I always have to mop the floor after baths.

According to home measurements, you weigh 30.2 lbs and are about 36 inches tall. Growing like a weed every day.

You are talking more and more, and in longer sentences, all the time. Some of my favorite things you say:

-You reply "because" to almost every question. "What are you doing?"..."Because."

-When we finish an activity (eating, playing, reading, etc.), you say, "Now what?"

-You don't know your colors yet, but your favorite color word is blue. So you ask "Dat blue one?" or "Blue dis?" all the time.

-You're really good about saying "Thank you" often.

-I just love your long sentences these days, "Mama, please I have more snack." And inevitably when you get a snack, I will soon hear, "Oh no! I dwop it! Help me picka up."

You still go to Dawn's for daycare, and you love hanging out with your friends, Hudson and Isabelle every day. You talk about them all the time. Outside of daycare, you love when we play with Fischer and Otto.

Alden Walker, my sweet baby boy, you bring so much joy to our lives, and I am so thankful God gave you to us. You are the sunshine in my day, the sweetness in my evening, the song in my life. I love you more than I could ever express in words. I pray you always know how special you are and how much you are cherished.