Summer = Fair

I know some people don't care for Fairs. However, I am Soooo not one of those people. I just LOVE the fair. It hardly changes from year to year, other than the weird foods that they attempt to deep fry and sucker people into buying (my husband is one of those very precious suckers!) We did not go for the deep fried butter (which I cannot talk too much about without starting to vomit, so we will move on). Todd did go for the deep friend smore and deep fried Klondike bar. I have to say both of them were actually not to bad. But anyway, fried foods is not what keeps me going. In fact, I don't really know for sure what it is that brings me back year after year. But I love it. And I plan to go every single year....even when we have 5 million kids to drag through there. In fact, since having kids the fair has become Soooo much more enjoyable. More expensive as well, but more fun than it ever was before!

This year I was able to get a ticket that can be used as many times as you want. So far I have been twice. I am hoping to get one more trip in before it ends July 5th. But here are a few pics from the fun moments and memories at the fair this year.

Our studly boy! Todd just told me he doesn't care for his hair being done this way. I like it! Good thing I am an the one that styles his hair :)

Grammy and the kiddos in the petting Zoo. It was so fun having Grammy with us!

The drama queen enjoying her pony ride

A little to my surprise, Kellen LOVED riding the pony! He looked so excited, so happy, so pleased with himself the whole time. It was adorable!

Kenna and Kellen's good buddy Cameron came to the fair to see Makenna dance. We swear the two will date some day. They are so cute together!

A little after dance cotton candy

Brookie is getting so big! She is starting to hang with the big kids now!

Fair rides. They can be quite intense. And it brings out pure and utter joy!

Thank goodness for Auntie Rah Rah. I obviously am not allowed on the rides due to my delicate condition (not that I would even be able to fit if I tried!). One of Kellen's advantages in being so tall is that he can get on some of the big kid rides pretty young. However, he does not quite have the maturity for the rides. But with Rah Rah holding onto him tight he did just great! When he came off his eyes were huge and he just said "Whoa!"

Brookie needed some crawl time, so we found a place and invented our own baby run. Makenna enjoyed keeping her moving and crawling as well!

Silly Pictures! This was right up Makenna's ally!

Love my girls!

Daddy's Special Day!

We Love Our Daddy! We really do! I know I am speaking not only for me, but for our children when I say that we couldn't ask for a better Dad. I feel so lucky to be married to a man that takes his role as a father so seriously. He wants to be the best father there is. He wants to have close, good, strong relationships with each of his children. And he works hard to make sure that he is doing this. The kids demeanor changes the minute he gets home from work. They are so happy to see him, help him get his shoes off, go with him to check the mail or bring up the garbage cans. They quickly put on their cutest faces and coax him into going outside with them and pushing them on the swings while I get dinner ready. There is nothing sweeter to me than watching our kids play and laugh and have fun with their Daddy. It melts my heart. I am beyond blessed to have him in our lives and to have his the Father, Dad and Daddy to our children.
We Love You Dada!

The kids giving Daddy their gifts on Father's Day

Makenna even had her own gift to give him that she made at preschool. This is just so sweet to me! I love it!

Kids are like candy....

Or at least mine are. My children have a lot of things in common with each other. But they are also Such different people. This is actually a very good thing because they both have different sweet sides and different annoying sides. (Did I just say annoying? Certainly I didn't use that word....could my kids ever annoy me? Lets say frustrating sides. Yes, that sounds much better.) This way there are a variety of buttons being pushed, versus the same ones over and over and over. This really helps keep me a little more sane. Anyways, I have decided each of my children is like a different piece of candy. So here, enjoy this analogy.

Makenna is definitely best described as being like a bag of Sour Patch Kids. With each and every bite and every piece, what you get is a little sweet and a little sour. And that is Just like Makenna. She is never a perfectly well behaved little angel. She has her very sweet and cuddly moments, but most of the time they are just sort of speckled throughout the day. She is also not really a terrible and wild child or mean or anything like that. But she is always sort of testing her boundaries, making sure the line is still there, seeing what she can get away with. She is quick to give hugs and kisses and tell you how much she loves you and do adorable, sweet little thoughtful things. She keeps me laughing all the time and knows how to make me smile, even when I want to be annoyed. And then at the same time she will quickly sneak a cookie and run outside with it before I can notice and stop her the moment my back is turned. So there you go...a little sweet and a little sour pretty much all the time.


Kellen would more appropriately be described as a Fireball. Remember these? As kids we used to buy them from 7 Eleven for something like 10 cents a piece. When you first put a fireball in your mouth it tastes super good and sweet. But before long the fire hits you. It is spicy and all you really want to do is get the thing out of your burning mouth. At the same time though, there is a sweetness to the taste that keeps you holding on. And if you can handle the burn long enough, the reward is amazing. Inside is a delicious, sweet center- Soooo yummy once you get through the challenge of the burn. And this is my little Kellen. The only thing is the the burn does not always, or even usually come before the sweetness. The burn tends to show up unannounced and often times hardly even provoked at all. Kellen is the sweetest, most loving, good natured, kind, loving little boy. He really is such a sweetheart. He loves big and wants a lot of love in return. He doesn't have much feist in him unless he is provoked. He is a very good, obedient listener most of the time and is such a cuddly little guy. But he is the most emotional child I know. At the drop of a hat this kid will fall apart into outrageous tantrums....Beyond your average 2 year old tantrum. He can be Soooo needy, especially of his mommy (which yes, is very flattering but also very daunting and exhausting at times too). So if you can tolerate the moments of insanity, you are left with nothing but sweetness. You just have to have the patience to endure the pain.

On that note, if anyone has any tips on how to handle extreme toddler tantrums, I am totally open to advice. I do not spank and never will, so if that is the only advice you have to give I will not be taking it ;) I have tried ignoring the tantrums, which is what I did with Kenna and it worked like a charm. Sometimes ignoring works. Other times he will just continue to go on and on and on for an unacceptable amount of time and at a painfully loud, high pitched volume. This just won't fly when there is a newborn in the house.

Today I tried putting him in his crib after a few minutes when I could tell he was not going to calm down. I went back in and checked on him after a few minutes of screaming by himself and he calmed down as soon as I walked in the room and was ready to come out and behave. We ended up having to repeat this 3 times within a half hour before he finally stayed calm, but it did seem to be working and did seem to get the point across to him that his behavior is not okay. So for now this is going to be my approach unless anyone has anything more brilliant for me to try. I am just feeling a lot of pressure to get this a bit more under control before Conner arrives in about 6 weeks. These tantrums have only gotten this bad in the last week or so, and I am also hoping it is just a quick stage or was triggered by the business and craziness of last week. Anyway, I needed to vent for a moment and now I have. Hopefully that leaves me a more patient and refreshed Mommy tomorrow.

Work It Girl!

The Del Mar Fair (now referred to as the San Diego County Fair) has always been one of my favorite things in the summer. Every year it is practically the same, and every year I can't wait to go! When my sister and I used to go together, one of our favorite things to do there would be to sit at one of the stages and watch the little kids doing their dancing and performing. It was always so cute to watch and would just make us laugh and smile!

When Makenna was 10 months old she made her debut on the Fairground stage by participating in a baby crawling derby. She was a crazy speedy crawler and, of course, during the race she decided the tape on the mat was more exciting than crawling. But still, how could a mother be disappointed seeing their baby on stage?

And now, all of the sudden, it is my little girl up on that stage doing the dancing! Makenna was dying to do a dance class, so we signed her up for one a few months ago. And the one we signed her up for was through a company that performs at the fair each year. Makenna loved her dance class and even more loved getting dressed and ready for dance class every week. I never really explained to her that she was going to be 'performing' at the fair. Instead I just told her she was going to have one last 'dance class' at the fair. Makenna, as Not Shy as she is, has the tendency to have her moments where she just freezes and become incredibly shy. I was so afraid this would be one of those moments. We had a lot of family and some friends come to watch her perform and I was so worried that they were going to be there for nothing...that she would walk out on stage, see the crowd and freeze!

To my utter shock, amazement and overwhelming happiness, she did just the opposite! (I think that Makenna just like to shock people and do the unexpected, which in this case worked out well!) She was so excited to get on stage. It was a bit of a chore keeping her excitement harnessed while she waited her turn to get out there and do her thing. But the whole time she was dancing she had a great smile on her face, never once got embarrassed or shy and, well, pretty much worked it! I was so proud of her. If it hadn't been so cute and so fun and exciting then I know I would have been in tears! Way to go Kenna! You did great! We love you!

Boys Make Me Smile!

Kellen can certainly be a Very emotional and moody little guy...especially these days. And there are times that this mini little man can really wear me out. But the love that this kid give, the way he makes me feel and all the smiles he brings to my face day in and day out are just amazing. I love my little boy so much. I love his silliness and his crazy, mischievous little boy attitude. I love his kind and sweet nature and his loving disposition. I love that he can be so serious and so goofy all at once. He just brings to much love and laughter, and a LOT of noise to our home. And I wouldn't give up any of hit for anything in this world!

One of Kellen and Kenna's new favorite things to do together...sit and cuddle in the rocker in the mornings. So cute. I really think they will always be such good buddies...if they don't kill each other first :)

Kellen painting for the first time. He really did such a great job and had tons of fun doing it....

Maybe a little too much fun. I left the room for a couple of minutes to go start filling up the bath. This is what I found when I came back.

I don't know who started this, Makenna or Kellen. I have my suspicions....but all I can say for sure is they were both happily painting his head when I walked back in the room. Thank goodness they were just water colors!

Daddy showing Kellen how to hit a ball for the first time. Start em young!

For two days Kellen was in love with wearing his hat, and he just looks soooo darn cute in it! I keep praying he will go back to that phase and let it last longer. Such a big boy!

Taking turns giving rides in a diaper box. I was very impressed that Kellen was able to do the pushing as well. And why do we buy our kids toys??

Summer...Finally!!

I am definitely a summer girl...no doubt about it. Yes, there have been a few moments since it started heating up that the warmth has been a bit overwhelming for me (which is only due to the fact that I have a furnace cooking away in me and it's no fun being pregnant and hotter than hot!). But still, I refuse to complain about the heat because I truly enjoy it and look forward to it all year.
A couple of weeks ago we broke in the pool at my parents house for the first time this season. I am yet to download all the pictures my mom took of actually In the water, but here are a few cute ones of the kids suited up and ready to go!

Makenna did a great job in the pool. Before we went over there she was not sounding very excited about the prospect of getting into a pool. And I was nervous for her to see how she did after so long of not being in the pool and the memory of last years events. But once we got there and everyone was excited and getting ready Makenna quickly forgot her fears and got right in. She was a bit clingy and nervous at first but she warmed up fast. Every time we have been in the pool since then she has been more and more brave and comfortable. She is anxious to start her swim lessons in a few weeks and is really doing great!
Kellen definitely prefers to hang out poolside right now than actually get IN the water. The only way he will go in is if you grab him and carry him in against his will (which I do of course!). He seems Okay with it once he gets used to it, as long as you are holding onto him tight. The minute your try and let him go or make his kick or use his arms or Anything of the sort, he just goes straight as a board and complains and whines. I am hoping that he gets more comfortable in the pool with more time and exposure and that he can learn to enjoy it. But I also think he just might not be much of a pool kid. We shall see. Either way he loves putting on his suite and floaties and looks totally adorable in them!

I think this is one of my favorite pictures of Todd and Kellen. Both of my boys...they just look so cute and happy together. I love this so much!

He is just learning how to really cheese it up for the camera!

Looking Back

I was working on some scrapbook pages and picking some pictures out when I came across this album. These pictures were taken very shortly after Todd and I got back from our Honeymoon. They were our Christmas pictures the first year we were married and looking through them just brought tears to my eyes. It was the beginning of our union, our family being formed and coming together. Seeing the three of us with each other, when it was so new and exciting and scary....it just makes me smile. It makes me feel so happy, to know the love and joy and fulfillment that being together has brought us all. I love my growing family. I love my husband- the lover and partner and best friend that he is to me. I love the father he has been to our children. The way that he has embraced his role as Daddy and grown and changed and given so much to our children. The best thing that ever happened to Makenna and I was having him come into our lives.

We are a happy family!