Father's Day

For Father's Day Steve wanted a long board.  Here are a few quick pics of him and the kids riding his new toy.  I tell you, this guy is a toy junkie.  A total kid at heart.  These boys are so lucky their dad always wants all the fun new things to play with.  He is an amazing father.  Some of our friends told us the other day that they decided when they were young not to let savings get in the way of memories.  I think that just helps Steve validate his toy addiction.  We will always have lots of fun memories.  He is an amazing father to our kids and he has so much joy in raising them.  Thanks for being the best dad ever!

Good fun with old friends

We went up to Reno to visit some friends of mine from growing up.  Corin and Jason and the rest of their family were my neighbors growing up.  Their parents were like second parents to me.  We usually walked into their house without knocking, we tested out each others recipes, we baked cookies together, we spent holidays together, they were the best neighbors ever.  Their mom even tackled a kid riding through the neighborhood on our stolen bike.  How much more could you ask for in a neighbor?  

Corin was up visiting her brother, so we met up with them for the afternoon.  Landon loves her girls because Corin used to watch him while I worked one day a week.  They played in the water, played dress up, rode bikes, scooters, and the Barbie jeep.  They had a blast.  The girls talked and the guys watched a movie.  It was fun to see how cute they all played together and how big the kids are all getting.  And above all, we made it despite the crash (see the next post)

 

 

   

All banged up!

Last weekend we took a quick trip to see some old friends up in Reno.  On our way up there we were in a car accident.  All I can say is that the Lord was watching over our family.  We all walked away totally safe.  While we were driving on a part of the freeway that is under construction, the car next to us blew a tire at 80 mph.  He lost control of his car and came into our lane.  Steve tried his best to avoid him, but due to the construction, there were concrete barriers and no where to go.  We clipped the back of his car and he spun around and hit us head on.  All of this was around a blind turn with semis behind us.  We were not hurt.  The impact seemed minimal.  No one hit us from behind and the boys hardly knew what happened because they were watching a movie when it all happened.  I shook so hard I couldn't even hold the phone to talk to 911.  Steve has this amazing ability to become so calm in stressful situations.  He reminded me that our boys needed me to be strong and calm because they would follow my lead.  He reminded me it was just a car and that above all, we were all safe.  It is amazing how we are protected by the Lords' watchful eye.  I am grateful for our safety.  This could have easily been one of those accidents that turned gruesome.  

The front end damage.  Not bad considering the speed.

The side we clipped him with.

The boys.  Scared and bored.  Landon cried, but I think more because he was afraid he might not get to see his friends.

The other car.  You can't see the damage, but I had to at least snap a picture.

The officer directing traffic away, so the other car could be towed.

Swim lessons

We did swim lessons through the city again this year.  I signed Co up for the first time.  Last year they let him pretend to be in the class, but this year he got to actually participate.  He was all talk about what a big guy he was until the first lesson.  Then he was all tears.  By the second lesson, I figured out that if I gave him a fruit snack for every time he did what they wanted him to, he didn't cry.  Like rewarding Shamu for his tricks.  Whatever works!  Right?  I signed both Landon and Cohen up for level 1 so that Co would feel more comfortable.  I think it worked, but Landon didn't do any comforting.  Instead he played with his buddy Josh.  They carried on their own swim lesson, while the little guys did something else.  It was actually pretty funny.  

Then Landon did level 2 with his friends Eli, Chloe and Josh.  Landon is making huge strides in his swimming this year.  He is doing well with the strokes and breathing to the side.  He also is super brave when it comes to the diving board.  He actually did a flip off it the last lesson. Crazy kid!

Co did get better.  He was getting more comfortable putting his face in the water and is working on some of the strokes.  He even jumped off the diving board the last 2 days, thanks to Dad's encouragement.  I think next year will be better for him, but he liked hanging out with his buddies Wes and Kali and playing in the water.  It was a great way to entertain them the first two weeks of summer.  

Grey did pretty good.  We only had one day that we had a massive blowout.  Other than that he just hung out.  He slept a lot if I held him, but wasn't as crazy about being put in his car seat.  It is hard to be drug everywhere when you are #3!!  He is a pretty good guy considering.  All in all it was a good time for everyone, Mommy included because it is always fun having mommy friends to chat with when we do these things.  

Waiting for the first swim lesson to start.  (Do you see the pecks on these kids? Whoa!)

Happy Shamu!

Hot, sticky and cranky!

Landon the fish.

Getting braver.  Blowing bubbles.

Landon going off the diving board.

Daddy talking strategy with Co, convincing him to jump.

Co hanging on for dear life, scared out of his mind to jump.

 

Co entertaining himself while Landon did level 2.

The cheer leaders. Go brothers! We are super proud of you!

They change so quick...

I was just thinking how I need to write quick notes when things change, because it is hard to remember they change so quick.  Grey has discovered that he can reach for things this week.  He has really started unjoying the toy bar on his bouncy seat and if I had any idea how to get a movie clip on here I would post the cutest video of him trying so hard to get to them.  He had been having a hard time with nap and so I have resorted to full time belly sleeping.  The result: last night and the night before, he actually really slept through the night (9:15-7:30, and 9:30-6:30).  What a difference a full nights sleep makes for mommy.  Go Grey!  We sure love him.  

2 months

We had a visit with the Dr. for Grey's 2 month check.  So here are the stats:

height: 24.5" long

weight: 13 lb. 14oz.

Grey love to stand on my lap and is super strong.  He is smiling and laughing tons.  He has discovered that he really likes to sleep on his tummy.  I have resorted to that for naps, but still have him side sleeping at night.  He is sleeping a 6 hour stretch at night.  Usually I put him down at 9:30-10:00 and he is sleeping until about 3-4.  He is up for a quick snack and then back to sleep until 7.  He likes to be on a schedule and if he had it his way, we would never leave the house, because I can put him down for a nap as soon as he is ready.  He is getting less crabby and is usually only fussy when he is tired or hungry.  His eyes are still a grayish blue.  If I had to break him down by parts, he is a good mixture of the two boys, but looks more like Co.  He likes his binky when he is tired.  He is still a mama's boy.  He loves his face covered when he is falling asleep, which I would think was weird, but Cohen liked that too.  He loves his bath, but still cries while getting dressed.  His skin looks way better, not perfect, but much better.  He has super sensitive skin and so I have to use Dreft and Bounce free, and Cetaphil to bathe him in.  He is a sweet, sweet boy and we love him dearly.  

Dear Mr. Toad, I am sorry...

So Landon found a frog in the back yard the other day.  Cohen was napping and he was instructed to play alone, because there are very few quiet moments around here.  After playing outside a while, he came in extremely excited because he found the frog he had put in the back yard a week or so ago.  I have no idea if it was really the same frog, but he was excited.  He went straight for the tupperware drawer and caught him all by himself.  A while later he came in and said that he had hurt the frog.  He wanted to open the container to take a closer look and when the frog jumped it scared him and he snapped the lid back on and caught part of the frog in the act.  The frog was alive, I checked, but he wasn't moving, either because he was hurt or scared to death.  I went back inside, and about 10 minutes later Landon asked if he could play in the hose.  He was sure the frog would be back to his usual jumpy self if he gave him a little water.  I explained that being sprayed with the hose wasn't nice so he told me he would stop.  I went inside and decided to get the camera and snap a few photos.  This is what I saw when I came out.  He thought that the frog wanted to have a little fun, so he made him a slip and slide and took him for a ride.  The poor frog was alive, but just barely.  It was so sad.  I tried to explain to Landon that he had killed the frog and he was being really mean, but he was sure the frog was fine because he could see him breathing.  He promised to leave him alone, but apparently he didn't.  When he realized he was really dead, he dissected the frog.  I feel horrible, but I am sure he didn't understand.  This both creeped me out and worried me. Is it normal for a kid to feel no remorse for the poor frog?  I am terribly sorry Mr. Toad for not stopping him much, much earlier.  I didn't use the mean voice and although I knew you were pretty much dead, I didn't mean for you to become a science project.   

Where is summer?

It is June.  It is cold.  Ok, so maybe not cold, but with the wind and it being 60 degrees, it feels cold to this Arizona girl.  Or maybe it is that I have a cold.  Yuck!  Wish it was warm, I was laying on the beach watching my boys play in the sand, and wish I didn't have a cold!  Guess it is better than 110 degrees!

Giants Game

We have been so adventurous since we have had Grey.  I would never have done this with one or two, but with three, no problem.  I must be getting crazier.  Saturday afternoon, after our last t-ball game and team party, we packed up and headed to San Francisco.  We stayed the night there and took the boys to a Giants game.  I think Landon has been to a baseball game in Arizona, but this was Cohens' first game.  They had a ton of fun, especially since the tickets are 8 rows up behind home plate.  The boys were super tired because they didn't nap on Saturday, but they still had fun.  They got ice cream sandwitches, popcorn, and corndogs.  I had to hold Grey most of the game and I think my back was numb from the pain, but it was a great family weekend.  I love doing new things with my boys.  

T-Ball

T-ball season has come and gone.  I was horrible about bringing my camera to the games.  I did take pictures at one game.  It happened to be the game that I forgot Landons' cleats, so yes, he is wearing slip on converse.  The games were fun.  Cohen always had to bring his bike or scooter, we had to get treats from the snack bar, and try to pay attention long enough to not miss Landon doing something great.  They improved so much.  By the end of the season, they knew where to throw the ball when the fielded it, most of the time.  They could hit the ball off the pitch instead of the tee, and they seemed to do less digging in the dirt and more paying attention.  It wasn't my favorite sport, since there is so much time that not much action is happening, but Steve wants to keep doing it.  If I am in charge with 3 kids, all by myself, like I was a ton this season that may not be the case!

Memorial Day in Monterey

We are so lucky to live so close to so many cool places.  We decided to take our first adventure to Monterey/Carmel for Memorial Day weekend.  It is about 3 hours from our house and the boys all did amazing in the car on the way there and home.  We met my mom and dad there and my Dad and Steve golfed ( I think it was Spyglass they golfed at).  It was a really cold weekend down there, so I was really bummed we didn't get to go to the beach, but we did go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, did the 17 mile drive in Pebble beach, cruised the shops in Carmel and ate at some fun places.  I am glad my mom was there to help.  We have the most fun with her when we are away from home and she can actually relax a little.  It was a little crazy with 3 kids in one hotel room, but all in all we had a good time.