The terrible 2's are here with a vengeance

About a month ago a gradual but forceful change in behavior happened in Peyton. He has developed a mind and will of his own and took after both of his parents and inherited STUBBORNNESS. :) He's become good aquaintances with his "timeout corner." I had heard about the terrible 2's and even experienced them with my nieces and nephews growing up. Yeah, it's completely different when you're THAT parent in the store or at a friend's house when the tantrums are thrown. Although it's embarrassing, frustrating, depressing, and at times makes you feel like a horrible parent...it's a completely healthy and expected part of him being a toddler. He challenges me EVERY SINGLE DAY. From standing up on the couch, throwing his toys, hitting the dogs, whining, not wanting his diaper changed and our biggest challenge of all--brushing his teeth. But, he completely amazes us and surprises B and I with how smart he is. And yes, he still has his many many moments of being a totally sweet, loving, and affectionate son. We love him and are up for the many timeouts, kicking/screaming, tears, etc to come. Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks:

Autumn

I have to say, I love Fall. This hasn't always been the case, especially growing up. As a kid you always associate Fall with going back to school and the sunny weather disappearing. Now, as an adult I have grown to love all of the seasons, each in their own way. Fall reminds me of a lot of fun things...a lot of things I can't wait to experience with Peyton:

School supply/clothes shopping as a kid

Basketball season growing up

The leaves changing color

The crispness of the air

HALLOWEEN!

Sauvie's Island

Carving pumpkins

Warm sweaters

Comfort food...stew, soups, pastas

Hot Apple cider

Pumpkin spice candles

All the new fall shows

Warming up by the fireplace

Thanksgiving

Austin's 5th Birthday Party

We had a family birthday party for Austin last Saturday. I can't believe he's 5 already! His actual birthday is Saturday the 13th..which is also my great nephew Collin's 2nd birthday! (And Randy and Amy's anniversary!) Here's some pictures from the party. Happy Birthday Austin and Collin! Happy Anniversary Randy and Amy!

And here's a short video of Randy feeding Peyton some bites of cake...teasing him a bit.

Cruise/Steph & Joey's wedding

My family was lucky enough to witness my niece/best friend Stephanie and Joey, who is Brandon's best friend get married as well as go on a 7-day Carribean cruise. We left from Miami and set sail towards our first port which was Cozumel, Mexico. The wedding took place at this port and it couldn't have been more perfect. The weather was beautiful and HOT!! They got married at a place called Mr. Sanchos which was a great place. The ceremony took place right on the beach...so incredibly beautiful.....

Steph looked absolutely stunning, such a beautiful bride. I am so happy for them both, they are so in love! Joey and Steph are Brandon and I's best friends and I'm so glad Joey is a part of our family. I have to say though, it's weird to be his Aunt, ha! Thanks Joey and Steph for having us in your wedding and giving us an awesome opportunity to travel!

Because of Hurricane Gustav, our cruise was diverted. Our original ports after Cozumel were Ochos Rios, Jamaica and The Cayman Islands. To avoid the storm, we diverted to Half Moon Cay, which is a private island in the Bahamas owned by Carnival Cruise lines. After that we went to Nassau, in the Bahamas. Half Moon Cay was beautiful and very hot. We spent the day at the beach and swimming in the ocean. In Nassau, it was stormy on and off. It would be perfectly sunny and then downpour rain for about 5 minutes at a time. Nassau had some fun shopping. There was this flea market type place that was really fun. They sold all the knock off's of Coach, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany's, etc etc merchandise. The cruise ship was huge and had tons of stuff to do. There were four pools, hot tubs, a slide which was a blast. We didn't go in the pools much because they were packed with kids most of the time. There was a casino, multiple bars, a dance club, and a mini mall. Overall, it was a fun trip and it was nice to spend time with Brandon as well as my family. It was our first time away from Peyton which was hard. We missed him so much and couldn't wait to get home to see him. But it was a vacation well needed for both of us. Congratulations Joey and Steph!! Here's more pictures from the trip:

Joey and Steph:

Steph and I at Half Moon Cay, Bahamas:




B and I getting ready to get back on the ship at Half Moon Cay, Bahamas:
HalfMoon Cay:
My brother Randy, sis-in-law Amy with B and I:

My nephew Brandon on the left, my brother Hugh on the right:
After the wedding in Cozumel, getting ready to board back on the ship:
Crazy nights...
Ship from the beach at Half Moon Cay
Steph and Joey at their reception:

Brandon and Joey...Best friends:
Cake!
B and I at the reception (the food was THE best Mexican food I've ever had):
Carnival Triumph all lit up!

Loungin on the top deck in the sun:

Shopping mall:

After one of the formal dinners on the ship:

BP and I

Blog it up!

I decided to start a blog for our family. I've been following my friends Amy and Kate's blogs and it's been fun to be able to keep up with them this way. I think this can be a great way to keep in touch with my friends that live out of state (Jill, Becky, Dirty and Diana-- Love you girls!), and also with the rest of my friends and family. Life is so busy and it's really difficult to keep up to date with everyone.
I will try my hardest to keep this up to date. Just an update on what's going on with us recently...
We just got back from a 7-day cruise for Joey and Steph's wedding. I will post a blog with pictures of that hopefully tomorrow. Brandon is still working at OHSU, and testing with the Portland Police reserves. Hopefully that will all work out for him and he can get out of his desk job and doing something he's interested in! I am still working in the transfer center/bed control at Emanuel hospital. I love the job and the people I work with are like family...however it's very hard to work the schedule I do with a small child and also working opposite schedules as B is not fun at all. I have a class and a half left in my medical transcription course that I'm hoping to finish this fall and hopefully find a job working from home. Peyton is doing awesome. He amazes me everyday with his growth and learning. Brandon and I just love him to pieces. (More updates on him I'm sure!)
So I hope you enjoy our blog...stay posted!!!
~Springer family