Secrets.

Last night I was sitting in our living room watching Wesley play and feeling sentimental, so I called him over and told him I had a secret to tell him. He leaned in as I cupped my hands around my mouth and whispered in his ear, "I love you." Wesley looked back at me with a pleased and loving smile, then told me he had a secret for me too. I leaned in as he cupped his hands around his mouth and whispered in my ear, "I have a pickup truck."

Julia's 2nd Birthday.

Last weekend Julia turned two and we celebrated with a casual Elmo-themed birthday party. The weather was warm, so we inflated a couple plastic pools and filled them up in the backyard. Everyone seemed to have a good time despite Julia getting stung by a bee for the first time (no allergic reaction, thankfully). Aunt Kelley outdid herself, constructing an enormous 3D Elmo cake, with blocks spelling out Julia's name and all. Thank you to everyone that came - you made the day special for our little girl. And thank you Aunt Adrea for the first three beautiful photos.

Caillou.

Who is this monster who has overtaken our home? This is "Caillou," a Canadian animated show on PBS that until somewhat recently was completely off Wesley and Julia's radar. Not anymore - this boy and his show are an icon at our house, and possibly the only show on TV both our kids can agree on. Daily.

Our Girl.

I feel like we haven't posted much about Julia lately, so here goes. She loves Elmo and Caillou. She loves her brother. She loves babies and anything baby-related. She loves Mickey and Minnie Mouse. She loves walking on her own and thinks she is done riding in strollers and shopping carts. She loves wearing pretty shoes, pretty dresses and pretty jewelry. If you understand her dialect, she can communicate pretty well now. And she will be 2 years old in 5 days.

One more thing. Her brother is fiercely protective of her, and if you touch her in an unkind way you will have a four year old boy breathing down your neck demanding to know what happened.

Hiking.

A few weeks ago, Wesley and I decided to visit nearby Placerita Canyon for a hike. My previous hiking experience with Wesley consisted of us walking halfway up a small hill before he asked for me to carry him, so I didn't expect much in the way of stamina. Wesley got very excited about our hike, bringing along snacks in his Thomas the Train backpack and bright green binoculars to look for animals. We started off going on a short, mostly-level trail. Wesley thoroughly enjoyed the hike, which included a veggie chip and juice break, and wanted to go on another. So we found another short trail along a creek, which he loved as well. Well, after another chip-and-juice break, Wesley was ready for more. Surprised at his level of endurance, I found another hike up a short hill to a water tower. I figured this would be it, and we'd just turn around and go home after. But Wesley was loving it, and didn't want to stop at the water tower. One full hour of uphill climbing beyond the water tower later, we reached the top of the mountain. Wesley blew my expectations out of the water. After that feat, I fully expected to be carrying him down the mountain. Nope. Wesley decide to pretend he was surfing all the way down the mountain, sidestepping and making large plumes of dust all the way down the trail. Not until we were literally 30 feet from my car and on level ground did Wesley decide he had had enough of walking and asked me to carry him. Not a week goes by now before Wesley does not ask me when we will be hiking again.