It's getting hot in here...

This is why Little Guy and Daddy don't go shopping alone very often...

We had to try out our new pool sea-saw (although Little Guy was perfectly content to keep it as an indoor climbing toy!) yesterday, and weren't we surprised when the pool was a toasty 94!! degrees... we're not sure what happened since the gas heater wasn't working four days earlier, but it somehow fixed itself and had been heating all weekend...

Outside the pool it was just as hot, especially with Little Guy rocking his Jordan's.  Auntie Katie and Uncle Mark brought these bad boys to the hospital almost a year ago when I was in labor...it wasn't until today that we tried them on and they actually fit, plus now Little Guy can walk so they make a little bit more sense.

Apparently you can wear Jordan's with anything...even your summer pjs!

This is B.I.G.

I know I won't do this post justice, but I have some pretty exciting, no scratch that, the most exciting news to announce...I am going to be an AUNTIE!!!!  My baby sister is going to be a mommy...

I am not sure I'll be able to handle waiting nine months to meet Mini Mirch, but in the meantime, I'll be offering her more than she wants a little unsolicited advice appreciated guidance and insight into the crazy hormonal world of pregnancy and motherhood!  We are all over the moon to see Mark and Katie become Mommy and Daddy and Little Guy is SUPER SIKED (I am sure of this, he told me so!) to be a big cousin!!!  Congratulations to my most favorite pregnant sister ever-  March 16, 2013 can't get here soon enough!!!

I am starting the poll:  Boy or girl?  Early, late, or right on time?  Weight?  Post your predictions in the comments.

Chatty Cathy

Little Guy loves to chat (I am sure he gets that from his dad!)...chats morning, noon, and night, and apparently even sleep can't silence him. After he was done nursing, he sighed into his sleep and then started in with this- he has a lot to say!

Vroom Vroom Video

Little Guy loves riding his scooter....he's just started to figure out how to scoot along and he loves to accompany his scooting with sound effects. Daddy and I love this video and we ESPECIALLY love the faces he makes at the end.

Knock Out

Today we celebrated the twins' fourth birthday!!!  Little Guy and I were lucky enough to tag along for a fun filled day at Six Flags.  Little Guy and Baby Jackson got to ride some of the "big boy" rides since they can now walk on (apparently if you can walk 3 to 5 steps, you are qualified to ride...)  It was a fun day celebrating two of our favorite four year olds around.  So much fun in fact, we had FOUR sleeping kiddos in strollers on the way to the car!

 Ready, Set, Go!

 

Walking Baby on a Mission

 

And he's spent!

DareDevil

Now that Little Guy is a professional walker (a little over a month of walking makes you a professional, right???), he's decided that simply scootering along on his "bike" is not enough.  He wants to treat it like a surf board...should I just get in line at the ER now? 

Uh-Oh

Uh-Oh, Little Guy has a new trick!  Yep, he throws/knocks over/drops anything he can so he can look up in surprise and say "Uh-Oh!"  It's pretty precious...especially when he systematically picks off each piece of folded laundry, watching it fall from the bed to the floor, with sheer glee in his voice as he shrieks "Uh-Oh"...I think we need to start working on a productive trick, like putting up one finger to show us how old he'll be in 25 days!

Cake Smash!

The cake smash was a success!  Aside from my generic store bought cake, it could not have been more perfect!  Little Guy dug right in and ACTUALLY ate the frosting- Go figure, his list of food likes now includes the following: Parmesan cheese, bananas, puffs (more for throwing than eating), and frosting...okay, he eats a few more things, but that's what he's REALLY into right now!  He hit meltdown mode at the end and the soapy bubble bath may have just set him over the edge...Daddy came to the rescue and he even needed a change of clothes!  Thanks Jess, we can't wait to see the finished photos!

 

These photos were just snapped with my iPhone...I am super excited for the professionals!

Somewhere over the rainbow

I was so excited for Little Guy's birthday cake smash...I had spent two nights baking, baking, baking...finally finishing with six layers, adding up to my ROYGBV cake.  I decided to assemble it this evening (because I couldn't wait to see it!), and THANK GOODNESS I did!  Long story short, you can't make a six layer cake without some extra support (which I didn't have), so I ended up in the bakery section at 10:30 PM, buying a generic store bought cake...I still have faith the cake smash will be DARLING!

 

 A few other highlights from the day:

1.  Little Guy took a  marathon nap, clocking in at over three hours...look at this sleeping angel.

 

2.  Little Guy discovered a new toy...a magazine rack!  He logged over 50 in and outs, glancing around for praise after every single completion.

 

 3.  We shared dinner with my in-laws and one of my husband's cousin's family.  They had never met Little Guy, and Logan was pretty excited to play with him!

All Aboard for Tilden!

I grew up going to Tilden Park in the Berkley hills, but I haven't been back in a long time, so today was as much a treat for Little Guy as it was for me.  We joined up with the Santopadres (aren't we lucky they have such a fun summertime bucket list?), Auntie Katie, Uncle Mark, and Grandma.  It was a beautiful day, almost too hot in the sun (unheard of in Berkley!), for a picnic, train trip, carousel ride, and visit to the farm!  Here are some photo highlights of the day:

 Sheer meltdown is starting to be a reoccurring trend whenever we try for a whole group shot...

  

 All smiles here, but we only have three on the bench...

 

All aboard Thomas!

  

This baby is almost one year old!! How did he get big enough to ride the merry-go-round all by himself??

  

Don't worry, even though he's big enough to ride alone, I was close by just in case!

  

Little Guy LOVED the chickens...Daddy thinks maybe he'll want to be a chicken farmer...Maybe then I'll find out if "the chickens have large talons"...

 

Oh Auntie Katie...Uncle Mark didn't mind, he wants to get a pet cow one day...

   

In case you've missed my posts, status updates, or pinterest board additions, these two crazy kids are getting married!  Happy one week of being engaged!!!

 

Super Franks!

You know your day is off to a good start when you get a 50 (yes FIFTY!!!) cent discount off each gallon of gas, AND you've been on EMPTY since yesterday!  We don't have Safeway gas in Vacaville, so each time we've been earning gas rewards, they've just been piling up and I cashed in ALL of them today!  And as crazy as it is, only spending $69 to fill up my tank made me want to air high five myself...but I stopped just short :)

 

After this glorious gas experience, we headed to Super Franks with the Santopadres!  Again they delivered on an INCREDIBLY FUN TIME!  Super Franks is the love child of Chuck-e-Cheese, The Jungle, and gymnastics class with a touch of Starbucks, yummy lunches, and even wine or beer...Yep, it was pretty awesome!  Little Guy feel asleep on the way so he was a little slow to warm up after being woken from his nap.

 

Once he got in the groove, there was no stopping him.  From the black light fish room, to the bubbles and scooters, we all had a blast!

 Where did my little baby go?

 

Not quite big enough for the zip line, but he loved watching the older kids play!

 

In the fish room, on a jet ski scooter!

 

We will, we will, ROCK YOU!

Who doesn't love a good baby giggle?!? We captured Little Guy and Grandpa playing around with rocks this afternoon in the backyard...who knew rocks were so funny?

We're Back!

What a life, I tell ya!  We just got back from a little vacay in Lake Tahoe (you have to love these quick getaways!)  We are pretty fortunate to live so close to the coast, mountains, and city, and we are even more fortunate to be able to take advantage of them during these hot summer months.  My husband's grandma rents a house (if we're being technical, it's a MANSION!) every year and all the kids, grand kids, and now, GREAT grand kids meet up for swimming, hiking, biking, eating, and most importantly, BOARD GAMING!  This year we caught up with the regular crowd and got to see Julian, whom we haven't seen in four years, and meet his new bride Claudia.  We took a boat ride to Emerald Cove (Little Guy slept there and back and played in the ICY water in between!), stopped by Donner Lake for a swim, and even grabbed a bite to eat while taking turns at the blackjack table.  It was a shorter trip then usual since Daddy had to fly out to Colorado in the middle of the week, but it was just enough rest and relaxation to get our batteries charged up and ready...Little Guy turns ONE in just 31 days, let the birthday chaos begin!

On a walk in Dollar Point-  Daddy continues to believe that Little Guy will like his stroller, and Little Guy continues to get shoulder rides half-way through the walk...

A special treat

We started our day out with an extra special treat- Daddy came to swim lessons!!  Our buddy Noah was sick, so it was nice to have Daddy to play with us in the pool.  Little Guy showed off all his skills, doing an exceptional job with his back floating while Daddy was watching! 

We followed swim class up with a swim date!  One of my earliest childhood friends, Shannon, came to visit with her two little ones.  Shannon and I have been friends since kindergarten when our dads bonded over being the only two dads video taping the first day of school!  Little Guy had a blast playing with Mikayla (22 months) and Tyson (7 months)...yes, Shannon is BUSY! 

We finally wound down our day with a little game of chase and riding our push cart.  Today was the first time Little Guy reciprocated and chased me- he was so excited "to get" me at the end, it was PRECIOUS!  It was also the first time he threw his leg over his toy and tried to ride it like a big boy...Mommy's not ready for this!  I took an extra precaution and decided to get some early use out of his new bike helmet...Just kidding, I just can't get enough of it (but Little Guy certainly can!) and I wanted to get another picture! 

I grabbed this shot of him on the porch, just stopping to smell the roses- babies can be great reminders of what is actually important in our lives...

 and if you don't want to smell the roses, well, you can always eat them!

 

 And in case you missed it, my sister is ENGAGED!!! 

Going to the Chapel

I was all ready to chalk up Friday the 13th to be just that, an unlucky day where WAY too many people decided to shop at the same stores I had on my errand to-do list and I was so busy I  never had a chance to shower ALL.DAY.LONG (which begs the question, why would anyone want to shop near me anyways?!?)...but just as I was composing this ranting blog post in my head (while standing in line at Target with a gazillion other people at 9:30 on a Friday night!), I got some of the MOST.EXCITING.NEWS.EVER!!!! 

 Katie and Mark are getting MARRIED!!!!!!!!!

After a recap of the amazing proposal story, yes there was a bonfire, s'smores, and a secret photographer to capture the whole thing, I spent the night sharing the good news with ANYONE who answered their phone.  So no, July 13th did not end up being just another unlucky Friday the 13th...it ended up being the one month anniversary of Matt Cain's perfect game (which is also the day Mark asked our Dad for his blessing) and the day my sister became a fiancee!!  Let the wedding shenanigans begin...I've already started preparing my toast!!!

San Francisco Zoo

We hit the road and headed out of town into a pleasantly chilly 54 degrees at the San Francisco Zoo.  We knew we would roast in the projected 106 degree weather, so we took off with Noah, Lizzy, and their parents for a fun day of lions, tigers, and bears...oh my!  The highlight of the day was the hippo...he swam right up to the edge of the enclosure (which was VERY close to us!), did some chomping, showed off his teeth, and snorted a few times...the babies (and us!) were very impressed.  Here are some highlights from our day:

Our Family

 

Waiting for the lion trainer talk...SOOO cool!

 

How do I measure up?

 

It's like visiting Daddy at work...love the socks and sandals Little Guy!

Puffs

It's getting hot...like 102 today and a projected 106 tomorrow, so I toted Little Guy to get frozen yogurt (for me!) after a an afternoon swim.  He's been really into his puffs lately and even more so into the cup I put them in.  The cup is meant for a little hand to be able to fit in, take out some food, and keep the rest in the cup for safe keeping.  I knew it wasn't fool proof, but when I let him hold it for the five minute ride to the shop, I didn't think he'd have quite so much fun.  Here's what I found after I parked:

And I am pretty sure he may have ingested an eighth of one puff, but that could be an exaggeration.

Crusin'

I think it's only far to give Little Guy a chance to show that he's actually walking now, not just talking five steps and face planting into his toys (which makes for very popular video viewing!).  Yes, he is EVERYWHERE on his two feet.  He hasn't mastered standing up independently, so he QUICKLY crawls to ANY stationary object, pulls himself up, and takes off.  I'd say he chooses walking now over crawling 90% of the time...today he even attempted running during our game of chase, that was funny.  He loves to walk in the pool on our extended shallow end- he thinks he's hot stuff since he doesn't fall in!  My mom says this on-the-go baby is a little dose of payback...apparently I wasn't much for lounging around either in my younger days. 

Coyotes and Cheerios

We spent some time with both families today, visiting Daddy's family this morning for a celebratory breakfast for the newly engaged Luke and Kim, then heading over to my parents for a little sleep over while Daddy was away for work.  My sister and I always joke (but we're serious) that our family could star in one of those odd ball reality shows...while most of the good footage would come from our dinner conversations (who wants to come to dinner now?!?), I am pretty sure there was enough material today to fill a half hour episode.  Highlight story- My dad is frantically calling my little 10 pound dog Winston to come in from the street.  He saw him jet out of the garage and is getting frustrated that he won't return...fast forward five minutes and he discovers that Winston is in fact, in the backyard, behind the closed fence, where he's been this whole time.  Now my dad is perplexed...if it wasn't Winston he saw jet out of the garage, who was it?  What's the logical conclusion?  Yep, you guessed it, a coyote...he alerts us to the fact he's just seen a coyote jetting out from our suburban home, at the end of the court, in broad daylight, resembling my chihuahua (later that day, we saw a suspicious looking house cat that MAYBE could have been the culprit of the coyote sighting...).

 What he does when he's not coyote chasing...hanging with Little Guy at Concert In The Park

Dinner By Design

We started out our day with a trip to see Daddy at the ranch.  He has been working extra late this week, so he didn't get to see Little Guy at all yesterday :(  I am not sure who had more fun in the corral, Daddy or Little Guy!  After work, we hit up the Farmer's Market with Noah and his mommy...we didn't just drive, no we hoofed it all the way from their house (and it was hot!) and on our way we stopped to get Little Guy a bike helmet...I know I say this a lot, but I am pretty sure Little Guy in a bike helmet is the cutest thing I've ever seen!!!  

We have been EXTRA SUPER LUCKY these last two days in that we have had not one, but two dinners made by my bestie Miss Heather...my husband covets her cooking and I LOVE LOVE LOVE when we get to have yummy food that doesn't involve my oven :)  After last night's legendary pasta sauce, we went over to their house for a full on rib BBQ, complete with watermelon, cornbread, pasta salad, roasted bell peppers, and homemade lemonade...I am getting hungry just remembering it!  Her dear hubby slow roasted these ribs to perfection and the kiddos all had a blast playing while they finished on the BBQ.  Little Guy continues to watch and chase Jackson, and Caden is the BEST entertainer any mommy could ask for!  What a great way to end our Saturday!

Audition Tape

I've said it before, Little Guy has a major slight flair for the dramatic...he can really turn up the heat when he needs to.  Here's a little glimpse at his skills...unfortunately, the best part of this episode happened right after I stopped filming- as soon as I put the camera down he quite literally COMPLETELY STOPPED CRYING, not like he lightened up and was just sniffling, no, he was 100% SILENT AND SMILING!!  Some of you may be thinking, why doesn't she pick him up?  I was on my way down the stairs to do just that, and he couldn't bear to wait any longer.  I could barely contain my laughter and the ridiculousness of it all, I had to tape it (personal favorite 19 seconds in)...What are we in for?!?

Code Brown???

After last week's Code Brown episode, I was a nervous wreck for swim lessons.  Little Guy didn't make it any easier with the fact he hadn't pooped in three days!!!  The teacher kept laughing at how paranoid we all were that it would be us this time, but when it's not your child potentially closing down the pool, it's easy to find humor in the situation.  Well, I am happy to report we did NOT have a Code Brown and, because I am sure everyone is wondering, Little Guy did finally poop later today...in a diaper...far, far, away from the pool.

Happy Anniversary

I wanna be the wind that fills your sails
Be the hand that lifts your veil
Be the moon that moves your tides
And the sun coming up in your eyes
Be the wheel that never rusts
And be the spark that lights you up
All that you been dreaming of and more
So much more, I wanna be your everything....

Four years ago we danced our first dance together as husband and wife, with Keith Urban's "Everything" playing all around us; we were in total newlywed bliss!  It has been an amazing journey- from meeting in Germany (you have to love Oktoberfest!), to an outlet shopping proposal, to the start of the next chapter together as Mr. & Mrs.!  We've made it a little tradition (three years so far, but traditions have to start somewhere!) to have delicious steak and extra special champagne to toast the occasion- last year I wasn't much fun for drinking, Little Guy was still cooking inside, but we toasted none the less.  This year I could enjoy the champagne, but we still kept to the tradition and cooked at home after Little Guy went down.  We even enjoyed a rented movie with our steaks and Little Guy slept the whole time!  Thank you honey for making me the happiest wife, and now mommy, I could ever be! 

Along with celebrating four years, we got two other SUPER exciting pieces of news!!!

1.  Our dear friends Mindy and Lance are expecting baby number 2 this January!!  We can't wait to see Evan as a big brother!  We joke that it will be ten years before all of us can have a drink at our annual January Birthday Bash Dinner...someone has been pregnant the last four years, and with this baby on the way, we're right on track for a big bottle of wine in 2022!

2.  Uncle Luke and Auntie Kim are making it OFFICIAL!  Luke proposed out at the ranch and Kim said YES!  We (really just me!) can't wait to get all the juicy proposal details at breakfast this weekend.  2013 is already shaping up to be a very exciting year!

Independence Day

Life has been a little hectic over here as we have been getting ready to host what's become an annual 4th of July BBQ.  This year we stuck to tradition with hot dogs, watermelon, and corn...oh wait, my husband scoffs at tradition when it comes to food, so we also roasted some chickens on our spit- yes we have a spit, and yes we have roasted a pig and a goat in the past...The food was delicious (if not VERY delayed...Hubby is still working out the timing kinks) and the company even better.  We had a blast seeing all the babies in their patriotic gear but we never got a picture with ALL of them together- there was always someone sleeping, eating, swimming, crying...as it is with babies.

 

The best picture we got with all four kiddos

 

 

This is really what the majority of the photos looked like

 

Almost all the babies, Ryan was sleeping and Jackson has already left (yes, I am still calling Jackson a baby!)

 After the fun BBQ, we headed downtown for some Journey music and Little Guy's FIRST fireworks show.  He and Noah were in AWE once the show started, too precious.  Little Guy got hungry towards the end and was perfectly content to nurse and snooze while the show went on.  He finished just in time to catch the finale and then was out before we even got home.  It was a great first 4th of July for all of us!

 

Waiting for the show to start! 

 

Family Photo- Little Guy couldn't take his eyes off the show! 

 

Passed out!  Celebrating Independence Day is HARD WORK!

He's baaaccck...

Daddy's HOME!!!  We're so excited to have Daddy back home, safe and sound, after his little fishing get away.  I love the simplicity of male travel; gone for four days, and all he needed was a school size backpack, THAT'S IT!  And this was hard core travel:  sleeping outside (sans tent), smelling like nature (no shower or soap), fighting off badgers (REALLY?!?)...it sounds like they had quite the adventure in Idaho!

Not one to be outdone, we kept with the adventure here in sunny California!  A quick tidbit about myself, I HATE/LOATH/DESPISE(take your pick) birds!  Not any certain kind of bird, just anything with wings, that flies, that poops on my porch, and can potentially make a nest in my attic to lay her eggs and torture/taunt/mock me with the sounds of baby birds chirping ALL DAY LONG (that really happened!)...so, what did I discover last Thursday about 1.5 hours AFTER my husband's plane took off??  A dove perched on her nest, right there in plain sight for all to see!!  How did I miss this??  You can see her from the pool, picnic table, and inside the living room!!  AGHHHHHHHH...while it isn't a badger or a rattlesnake (yes they saw BOTH of those in Idaho), the dove just about did me in...We are SO happy Daddy is home!