and so it begins ...

bye-bye, diapers!  hellooooo big boy underwear!

although von's been using the potty since april, we've been hesitant for the switch to underwear.  well this was the week ... and so far, it's gone awesomely!!  von's not even 2 yet and he's doing so well :)

VERY VERY PROUD OF OUR BIG BOY!!

reading rainbow

so happy that von is a book worm. 
the awesome book shelf ma gave him could totally be a key factor in this whole book loving habit ... THANKS MA!!! 
tuesdays with grandma and her mad teacher reading skills could also be a key factor .. THANKS GRANDMA!!! 
whatever it is, we do a lot of reading 'round these parts.

finger painting party!

i must be losing my mind, thought i posted this weeks ago, and now i'm kinda bummed because i deleted half the photos off my phone thinking they were already on the computer .. ho-hummm

that being said, look at the fantastic time our little group had prepping their father's day gifts.  it rained that evening, so rachel - being the clever momma that she is - paint-proofed her kitchen and we just turned the kiddos loose.  a few dove right in, others painted themselves, von stood there somewhat amazed that this was all happening.  best part, all of the paints were homemade (think beets, turmeric, mint leaves), so it was totally ok if someone decided to lick their fingers while picasso-ing.  

now just take a look at von's finished masterpiece ... hanging so proudly in our hallway :)

'TOWA'

von's suddenly re-interested in building stuff (he took a small break from it this past spring) and that's pretty much all we do now.  he likes to build 'towas' (tower) and is uber proud, as am i :)  these pictures feature the towa built on the back of his car:

beat the heat!

rather than sweat it out in olean, we headed to the 5-star rumbaugh/steffy resort in kittanning that offers a heated pool and central air (oh, and free child care, just in case this momma wants to doze off for a few! .. thanks ma & t) :)
free daily entertainment provided by penn-dot pa, em, and hay-hay!

dad day!

after much practice, von finally had 'haaaaay dadda day' down ... however, when i went into his room this morning, i asked him what he was going to say to daddy and he said 'hi' (which is indeed what he did say upon seeing josh). 
the day was filled with daddy hugs, kisses, and relaxation.  josh is an AMAZING father and we are beyond blessed to have him in our lives.  
we love you!!!

i managed to sneak a mommy kiss in too :)
 

diesel

saturday night in olean ... what to do, what to do?
southern tier diesel football game??  sounds like fun to von!
so down to bradner stadium we went to watch some football.  
wont lie - the talent: eh, not so much ... the family fun & excitement for von, pretty good!
von was equally enamored with the chain-link fence that surrounds the stadium, and the fact that a loud truck or motorcycle went by about every 15 seconds.  
then we walked to the gas station at half-time, where von & josh decided to split a cherry slush puppy and a pack of nutter butters.  
sounds like a pretty decent night, right?  we thought so and think we'll do it again soon!

kitchen aide

can you believe it's taken me this long to make brownies with von??  he was such a fantastic helper.  poured the water & oil into the bowl, helped stir, helped pour the batter into pan, and then stood back while i opened the 'hot-hot' (aka oven).  ok, so maybe i missed the step where he flung batter off of his spoon all over the kitchen floor - that's when ollie came into the picture as 'the clean-up crew', but she had no complaints about it.  the brownies baked perfectly and made the house smell wonderful!  when it was time for dishes, von stood on his stool and loved rinsing each dish .... until i gave him a spoon, now that's when the soap bubbles were flung around the kitchen (ollie didnt help much with that clean-up).  
love him!

now that's what i call a nap...

thank goodness for A/C!

more boy stuff!

von's weekend couldnt have been more perfect.  friday was filled with pavers, rollers, and big trucks.  saturday brought helicopters, police vehicles, and fire trucks.  wow, talk about a little boy's dream!!  summer shall bring plenty more fun activities around olean :)

thank you, city of olean workers!

no explanation needed ... von's friday morning rocked!!!! 

HEY!

so this is easily the cutest/funniest thing that von does right now ...
grandma taught him to say 'hey pigeons' when they are at the bird feeder.  von's 1 year old mind has now adapted that to say 'HEY' to anything that approaches his feeder.  whether he's inside or out, he's saying HEY.  if outside: he'll take off running towards the feeder, say hey as he approaches (getting louder and closer if necessary), and then turns around with a beaming smile on his face like 'look what i just did'.  he's so proud every time.  and the animals dont seem to mind - they are making a game out of it with him.  fun for all!

giddy

von had a serious case of giddy-itis this weekend - ma & pa, his best friend in the entire world, were here for a visit.  we celebrated my 30th (yippie) and ollie's 8th, finished sprucing up the deck, and ran around olean a bit.  but the most fun was had in the backyard - first fire of the summer!!  no s'mores, maybe next time ... as you can see, von didnt stand still for even a minute to attempt s'more making!