My Babies

Kelsey is almost a year old. One more week and my baby will be one. Unbelievable. People always say she's growing up way too fast, but I've never been sad to see my babies grow up because I've been lucky enough to be there for every day of their lives. I feel ready for each new stage that comes. So far. Sometimes I look back on Kelsey's newborn pictures and I think, wow, do I really think I'm done having these sweet things come into our home? But then reality hits and I think, if I had more babies I would treasure each one, but the sickness I experience till the very end of each pregnancy really limits the quality of life I can give to my family. I want to experience each day fully with them without that debilitating sickness to hold us back from our adventures. As always, I try to put my life into God's hands and know that no matter what I decide, he will give me exactly what I'm supposed to have to learn and grow and live with Him someday with my eternal family. That is the goal and I'm so thankful to have the opportunity to reach it!

Dumb Dumb Dumb Dumb

Warning: This post contains a disturbing picture of my skin.

Okay, so I'm white. I know I'm white. I've always been white. I'll always be white. So why do I try to tan every summer? One of these years I'll just accept the fact that I have a farmer tan, and that I'll never be a swimsuit model. This time was especially bad. I've never been this burned. I've got blisters which means second degree burns. David's been lathering on the Aloe and Vitamin E lotion while I scream in pain. Getting dressed and going to church today was painful, but as I told David, I couldn't stay home just because I was stupid. At least I have the good sense to sunblock my children. I only abuse my own body. Maybe next year I'll get smart and put sunblock on before that first token sunburn of the summer. But I'm not counting on it. After all, this is the 34th summer of my life and I haven't learned yet. Today is the first day of the rest of summer however and I vow to embrace the sunblock, embrace my white skin, and enjoy the rest of my summers burn-free! Wish me luck!

Swim Lessons

So I signed up the kids for swim lessons this summer. I went to one lesson with Kelsey and called to get my money back. It was unstructured and nothing I couldn't do for free in a pool. I'd wanted to sign up Jeremy last summer but with Kelsey being brand new it just didn't happen. Jeremy loves the water but has always been timid in the pool. I wanted him to become a strong swimmer and confident in the water. He is loving it! I'm so glad. He's going under the water by himself over and over and trying to follow what the instructor tells him to do. He's not the most confident kid in the pool but he's not the scared screaming kid either, (and trust me there is one.) He's progressed by leaps and bounds and it's only been one week. He's doing things I have never been able to get him to do. I'm so proud of you baby! Warm-ups Ready? Jump! Thumbs-up! He swam to the bottom and got the ring! He was so proud of himself and couldn't wait to tell Daddy.

Beach Day

Yesterday we went to the beach with some mommies from church. It was a perfect day. Sunny, warm, nice breeze. We are so lucky to live here. The kids loved playing in the sand. I brought a tent for Kelsey and it was a big hit with all the kids. The water was cold for Kelsey and I, but Jeremy thought it was warm and played in it with the other kids.

Daddy

So I was checking out some other blogs and saw many nice tributes to fathers last Sunday. In appreciation for my wonderful husband, I thought I would write something nice as well. When I was dating I always wanted to marry a man who would be a good daddy, and that's one of the reasons I married David. I know he's not perfect, but he's always happy to spend time with his children and wants the best for them. I love to be in another room and hear the squeals and laughter from my children as Daddy plays with them. I loved watching David at Jeremy's t-ball games, giving him tips, and encouraging him to do his best. I love hearing him try to teach Kelsey to say Hi Daddy. David's the one who taught her to fold her arms for the prayer, although briefly, and he always gets the most kisses from her. Jeremy believes Daddy knows everything. Whenever I don't know an answer to his question, he says, "Maybe we can ask Daddy." I love that David loves and adores both his children equally. He is just as delighted in one as the other. Jeremy is his favorite boy and they have lots of fun together. David adores his baby girl Kelsey and loves to snuggle her to sleep at night. Parenting is such a balance and David is so good at having fun with our children and gently guiding them in the right way. I appreciate so much all he does for our family. Happy Father's Day!

Time Flies

Wow, it's been a while. Here's what we've been up to.I went to the craft fair with my sister and came back with children's books! I got The Cat in the Hat Comes Back and Jeremy has been really enjoying reading it. David and I were realizing that we remember reading this book more than the original Cat in the Hat book. I love Seuss!We went to Huntington Central Park and we saw a coyote. Jeremy wanted to take a picture of it and this is what we got. For those of you that remember his butterfly picture, this one's even harder.

The weather's been gorgeous and we've been spending a lot of time outdoors in the backyard.

Such a blessing, our yard.Kelsey is standing more and more and has even taken a few random steps, but only when she's in the mood.

What a woman! Jeremy's new favorite swing thing is to twist and spin. I totally remember doing this when I was a kid. The garden is flourishing and Kelsey decided to test a tomato. Not quite ready baby!

We went to Disneyland a lot the last few weeks, squeezing in a few more visits before our passes weren't good for the summer. Jeremy missed Daddy coming so he could go on the big rides. His favorite ride is the Tower of Terror.

It was still pretty busy, so we played in the Brother Bear park and went to shows. We had fun.

For her birthday, I gave my SIL weekly pedicures for the month of June, and this was week one. It's a gift of time and self and although inexpensive, is much more valuable I think. I love to get these kinds of gifts!

I gave all Jeremy and his cousins buzz cuts for the summer. It was fun. I would sure love to go to beauty school. Maybe someday.
We finally reached the end of the T-ball season. It was fun to have Jeremy and his cousin on the same team. It gave my SIL and I some time to hang out while our cute boys had fun on the field. But boy am I glad it's over. T-ball is so boring! But I'm glad the boys had fun.They gave out these trophies at the closing ceremonies. I thought they were weird and was thinking he would get the traditional cheap metal baseball player on a stand. Jeremy loves it though because you turn it on and it lights up and changes colors. Fancy. Who knew? Probably his favorite part of the ceremony was the huge blue cupcake.Look at my boy. We were walking back to the car and he suddenly looked so big. I sure love him.

Did I Shave My Legs For This?

Today was the day I'd been waiting for. We were going to Disneyland with our friends who moved to New Mexico and my SIL and her youngest boy. Well I got everything packed last night, got up early this morning to get myself and the kids ready, ended up making another couple of lunches and got out the door. We picked up my SIL and baby and got over to Disneyland. As soon as we pulled in the parking lot, Jeremy said his head hurt. He wanted a hug so he came and sat on my lap and I snuggled him. And then he puked, and puked again, and then one more time. All over me, my seatbelt, the floor, himself and everything in the path of the putrid puke. My SIL felt bad for me but what could she do so she went off to meet the New Mexicans (LOL) and I tried to clean the big chunks off before we went home. I took Jeremy's shorts off and told him to get back in the car. He looked at me and nervously said, "But I don't want to go to Disneyland without my shorts." I told him we weren't going to Disneyland and he started crying. Oh what a sad sad day. We got loaded back up and I buckled my pukey seatbelt over my puke covered body and we traveled home in the smelly car. And as I was showering off the putridness I realized, it's a good thing we came home because I forgot to put on deodorant.