Here comes a doozy...

Yes, we made it to Ithaca. No, this update will not entail beautiful, scenic pictures of Ithaca or our apartment or Ithaca really at all. That post will come when I actually take pictures of my apartment or Ithaca really. So stay tuned.

Until then, you get to read about the magic that is Rip. He turned two today, and I am here to document that I not only baked him a cake, I frosted a Thomas the train character on it (the kid takes obsession to a whole new level).. I, my friends, am amazing. Here is the said cake. Not that impressive when you compare all the cakes that are on the internet, but considering I have zero artistic ability and or creativity, this is like a serious work of art. This is comparable to when monkeys paint a circle or something.

And most importantly, it tasted good too. You can begin worshiping me now.

So like I mentioned before, Rip turned two today. Man. I would say it's gone by fast and all those cliche type things you're supposed to say in order to even pretend to be a good mom, but it really hasn't. I honestly feel like we've had Rip for at least 20 years. That would make him 20. But he's not. He's two. And very much so. Josh comes home and spends 30 minutes with the kid and always says the same thing. "That kid is on one. What is with him tonight?" Uhhh... He's two. And he has our genetics. Bad combination.

In spite of bad genes and being two, Rip is incredibly fun. Somewhat bizarre, he does and sort of says (he only talks a little) the funniest things. He's basically crazy. The phrase, 'Easy Psychopath!' usually comes out of my mouth at least 14 times a day. Not sure what the consequence for that will be...

Rippy the two year old. Here are some of his likes:

• Trains. Not just a little, not just a lot, but an extremely frightening level. 
• Climbing out of his crib and climbing into Chet's crib in the morning. He likes to show Chet his trains, just in case Chet forgot what they looked like.
• Bikes. He likes to look at other people's bikes and then cry about how I can't let him steal them.
• Balloons
• Hats
• 'Keck' (aka Chet). Although, if Keck (Josh and I both call Chet, 'Keck' now) approaches one of Rip's trains, Keck becomes less popular. Really, when Keck does anything besides laugh and smile at Rip, Rip is not impressed by him. But if he sees me getting frustrated with Keck, he comes over and hits me. Only he is allowed to abuse Keck, apparently.

These are a few pictures from the last couple of months. I will now begin to narrate.

Dayna took some family pictures for us right before we moved. I know she was busy so a shout out to Dayna is called for. Dayna, you rule. Move to Ithaca. We can stare at wildlife together. I'll post more of these fam pictures later. Just a sneak peek...

Two weeks before we left for Ithaca, we last minute flew to San Diego to see some friends and say goodbye to amazing weather. This was us at the beach. Chet was not impressed. Rip was. But then, Rip loves water. You wouldn't know it from his expression... his constant expression.

So for Rip's birthday we went to a kid science museum thing. It's the same thing as the Children's Discovery thing at Gateway in Salt Lake City. A little old for Rip, but he seemed to still like it. This is him and Nina doing arts and craft. Well, Nina is doing arts and craft and Rip was balancing markers on his head. It's a girl/boy thing.

After the discovery thing we went home for cake and ice cream (remember when I made that amazing Thomas cake? I rule). Here are the two points right after Chet attacked Rip's cake. Rip was ticked.

Oh, and my mom got Rip a train set that he idolizes. He goes ballistic every time Chet glances at it. But we also got Rip a bike which has been wanting since forever. Well, the second he saw the train set the bike took second fiddle. But Chet seems to like it so whatever. It works out. Here is Chet 'riding' Rip's bike. I do like Chet. How could you not like him? Oh yeah. He spent his first 6 months vomiting on everything. He still vomits but not as much. So we love him now.

This is what the porkchop used to look like. Amazing! He doesn't look anything like that now.

Rip feeding one of his trains. He has to have a train to sleep, eat, ride in the car, etc. etc. etc. A train is his constant companion. Now you understand why I call him a psychopath?!!

This is Rip's fort. He loves hiding. So hiding in a fort while he watches Thomas the tank engine?

This is at his cake and ice cream festivity. He loves hats, as I mentioned above. A lot of time he climbs out of his crib and finds his hat and is just playing in his room with his hat on. We think it's hilarious. But then, we're his parents. We think most things he does are hilarious.

Wow. This post is a doozy. I'll post in a few days about Ithaca in general. I'm sure after this marathon entry, you'll remember why you don't actually like me. So maybe you don't care about what my apartment looks like or what across the street entails. Well, my mom does. So deal with it.