What a show off...

Alan grew up on a dirt bike. Riding is one of his favorite things to do. He decided to buy a dirt bike for Justin last summer when he turned 4 so as he grows up they will both have a hobby they love to do together. Justin loves his bike so much! It's been fun to watch him get more comfortable on it. At first, he rode really slow and was really cautious . Fast forward a year later, he's a bit of a show off. He rides faster (15 mph) and even puts one hand behind his back. I guess he thinks he's a bit of a dare devil. He's getting really good at riding on the grass. I think the next step (maybe next year) will be to take off the training wheels and then eventually move on to riding on the dirt. We took him to the park on Saturday to have him ride around. Here are some pictures.
Oh and BTW, Alan bought him all the gear he needs to be safe. The boots, jacket, pants, etc... We tried to get him into all his gear on Saturday but he's out grown everything. The kid grows like a weed! So here he is in just jeans and a t shirt but we'll be getting new gear before he rides again. :)

Here he is getting ready to go ride

This one is my favorite. Too funny!

It's true, I have an addiction

I have an addiction and it's really hard for me admit to the world what it is but the first step is acknowledging the problem, right? It's shopping. I love to shop! I do! It's a problem. I have gotten much better the last few months but I know Alan would still want me to improve. We are so opposite! He stressed about buying a pair of Nike's (even though he needed them because his shoes were falling apart.) I had to talk him into it. He just doesn't spend money on himself. I, on the other hand have NO problem shopping for myself. I have about 10 pairs of black shoes in my closet that go with different outfits. If you are a girl, you know what I'm talking about! Even though I have a closet full of things, I still feel the need to buy more. Every time I go on vacation I need a new swimsuit and/or a new outfit. I have 10 plus swimsuits but just need a new one for every trip. It's a problem, for sure!

I realized today my problem is only going to worse once Alan and I start having kids. Alan, watch out! Brace yourself! I came to this conclusion today when I was at Costco. I was looking at the boys clothes (for Justin) and that's when I realized this. We don't get him very often so we don't want to buy him too many clothes because after he wears them 2 or 3 times, he'll out grow them. But I couldn't resist! I found the cutest pair of shorts and I had to have them! Since I bought them, I had to go to Target and get him a cute polo and flip flops to match. Oh it didn't stop there! I ended up buying a pair of cargo shorts, t-shirts, socks and underwear for him. They were army. I just new he'd love them. So a pair of shorts (which I wasn't planning on buying) turned into a whole lot of stuff. It could have been worse though, right?

I'm really am so excited to dress my kids one day and have them look so cute! I do anticipate having a child who wants to dress themselves though. My cute little niece, Hanna is this way. She loves to dress herself and my sister is so good about encouraging her creativity and just letting her dress how she wants to. Here is just an example of how she likes to dress.

Isn't she so adorable? I just love my little banana so much! She has such a fun personalitly!

Anyway, so what did I learn today? I better not have kids. That'll solve the problem, right? ;)

Justin

Justin is my step son. He is almost 5 years old. He is the sweetest boy. I met Justin a year and a half ago and from the day I met him, he has accepted me as his friend. I adore him so much! When I was dating Alan, Justin was always wanting me to hold his hand, sit by him, put him to bed, read him stories, etc... We really hit it off right when we met. At the time, Justin was living in Vegas with his mom and step dad. Alan and I drove down so I could meet him. We went to Circus Circus for the afternoon. Alan sat back and let Justin and I get acquainted and bond. We did just that. He held my hand none stop and we really bonded.
When Alan and I got married, Justin struggled a bit but tried really hard to get used to his dad being married. It was a tough adjustment for him but he's such a strong kid and has really adjusted well.
One of the sweetest, funniest things he has said was one night when Alan was putting him to bed he asked him if his mom could come sleep over some time. Alan told him to ask her and Justin said that he did. She had told Justin to ask Alan. What was Alan to say? His response? "Uh, sure!" We had a good laugh over that. I could tell from that he was wanting his two worlds to come together.
The things I love about Justin is that he has such a big heart. He has so much love for people. He loves to make people laugh, he's good at comforting you, and he's so smart! The boy really gets it! The moments I love the most are when out of the blue he comes and climbs on top of me, wraps his arms around me, bury his head in my chest and holds on to me for a good 5 minutes. One night he asked Alan if I would come lay in bed with him. He did just that and it meant so much to me. Our relationship is 100% on his terms. I never want to make him feel obligated to have a relationship with me. So when he initiate anything with me, I want to jump up and down for joy. Instead I play it cool and enjoy every second of it. I want to be the type of step mom that always makes Justin feel loved and welcome at our house and that is my goal!

Father's Day

This weekend we had Justin. He's is such a sweet kid! We had such a great time! This morning he woke me up and we snuck in the kitchen to make Alan breakfast in bed. We also wrote Alan a card. Here is what Justin wanted to me write for him:
Dad,
Good Morning! I love you a lot. I like to ride motorcycles with you. I like to wrestle with you. You are silly. Happy Father's Day.
Love,
Justin
P.s. You are special and I am too!
I had to laugh! It was so sweet and so heart felt. As I was cleaning the kitchen, I heard them playing football and Justin started to cry. Alan said "there is no crying in football!" Justin said "it's ok to cry when you get hurt!" Alan's response was "not in football! If you want to play football, you can't cry!" He stopped crying and started playing. Tough love! We also played twister ( Justin's first time.) We had a great weekend and I sure do love my boys!

BTW, the screen on my camera broke so I can't see pictures when I take them. Some are off center but you get the idea!