an obsession

When I sit down to do my posts and I look through my pictures, trying to decide what to put up and what not to, I encounter a real issue. I want to post everything! Every picture I take is a memory, a moment. A time when I thought my child was looking cute, doing something sweet, being funny or brave or conquering something new. One of my biggest fears as I watch my children grow and change is that I will forget what they were once like. That my memories of them as little children will fade. And mostly the things I fear forgetting are the every day life things. Because yes, the special moments and big events and holidays are great and all. But what really makes up life is your every day, normal life and routine. The stuff you do and deal with day in and day out. The way you spend your time, who you are with, what you are doing. That is what I want to remember. So when I go to put pictures on the blog (which I really consider my family journal) I feel this need to capture and record everything. Every moment, every look, every smile, so that when I am sad and lonely and all my kids are gone, I can look back and remember that day pushing my kids on the swing, or the way my child used to ask for mac and cheese for breakfast, or whatever the memory may be. So here is how October began....the every day stuff...

 Kellen continues his obsession with drawing rainbows. He is good at them...and he practices them mucho! Notice the K's and the e in the drawing....I am finding him making letters a lot more now. And he is a pro at writing his name. In this picture it was supposed to be him taking care of lots of little kids and babies. So cute!

 Makenna and Kara continue to be good buddies and Love to hang out. They are very good for each other...they are both funny, outgoing and head strong...in a good way.

 I continue to be lucky enough to always have front row seats to an acrobatics show any time I want! She sooooo reminds me of me as a child in this way!

 Kellen started getting Very excited for his birthday party. So excited that we needed to make a chain to count down the days. It helps him to be able to visualize the amount of days, otherwise he obsesses and frets over it and gets himself very anxious and stressed. Silly little boy.

 I enjoy seeing my kids have their own sense of style. This is Kellen's favorite way to sport his crocs- mismatching the colors. Every day is a new combo. He rocks it!

 Love my Aunt Stephanie. She threw me a totally cute and awesome shower for baby Carys. It is always fun to get a bunch of kret women together.

 It feels good to know I have a superhero by my side at all times, just in case. You never know what evil or villains we may encounter on the way to target. 

 Aunt Stephanie and her following. All these little kids adore her!

 Little girls apparently can grow beards.

 And Kellen discovered how to take self portraits on my phone camera.

 The pink panthers continued to have a great season. Makenna's best personal game was when she scored 3 goals in one game. But she also Loves to play defense and likes to be goalie. She does a good job, though she occasionally gets distracted while waiting for the ball to come her way. She is a good defensive player, but I like her to be forward. She is so fast and has so much energy and is scrappy enough to get in the thick of things. She is great at it all!

Zoo Much Fun!

I don't know if the kids and I could ever get sick of going to the zoo. Especially when we get to go with other people. Grammy was babysitting the cousins one Saturday, so we decided to keep all the kids busy with a fun trip to the zoo. It is fun the looks that you get when you are at the zoo with only 2 women and 5 kids ages 6 and under...and one of those women being 8 months prego ;)

 The little boys didn't want to go near the lion, but the big kids sure were cute.

 Grammy and her brood.

 I swear, any time we go through the petting zoo this goat is out doing it's rounds and being the social butterfly of the group.

 Kipper dude....it's always strange to watch the transition of a kid going from being the baby to hanging with and keeping up with the big kids. Such a cutie! He and Conner have a very similar spirit and energy. This is both a cute thing and a dangerous thing....

Grammy loves her wild boys. It must be something about the blonde hair???

Joy School...and more about Con

Whether I like it or not, my baby boy Conner is getting bigger and bigger and is definitely part of the big boys club these days. For whatever reason I have just had a really hard time accepting that Conner is growing up as much as he is. It feels like he is still my little baby. Like I can remember so easily when he was just a tiny little babe, all curled up in my arms and sleeping on my chest. But alas, he is not. He is a long haired, fun loving, wild, mischievous, adorable little man. 

One of my good friends was a genius and suggested doing a "joy school" for the little ones. Definition of Joy School - Mom's get together and rotate having the kids come to their house and host a couple of hours of "preschool" for the kids which includes a lesson, activities, songs, learning, playing, etc. 

So far it has been Conner and 3 others- Carter, Noah and Jocelyn. He really loves "going to school". He enjoys getting his backpack ready, loading it up with a snack, a pull-up, his "nigh night" and usually one of his baby dolls and heading off to school. I am really happy for him to have the chance to socialize and have fun and learn.

Such cute little kiddos having play time and then sitting on the carpet for songs and lessons. It is actually quite amazing what a long attention span these little 2-3 year olds have. I was truly amazed the first time I taught....they did so good sitting in one spot!

Mommy took the boys at the end of September to get their pictures taken. Both of them were soooo well behaved and did so good during their pictures that we went and shared some pretzel bites and a ride on the carousel afterwards. I am so blessed to have such handsome, sweet boys in my life!

I have to mention how cute Conner was during the pictures. He was trying So very hard to smile like the guy asked him to. He would stand still and look right at the camera, and with a very stiff face say "Cheeeeeeese". It was such a stiff, forced looking smile and the photographer was trying so hard to get him to give a real, genuine smile and make him laugh with puppets and stuffed animals, etc. But the more he tried to loosen Conner up, the more stiff and freaked out Conner got (I don't blame him for a minute). I finally got the guy to just be content to take the pictures as he was. Like I said, he was trying So hard to be cooperative. It was cute, pathetic, sweet and funny all at once. 

A few things I want to remember about Conner at 2 years old:

-He is definitely "The Con" and even calls himself "Con Con" which sounds like "Ton Ton"

-He is talking more and more every day and becoming quite the conversationalist

-He gets sad any time someone has a birthday because he thinks it is supposed to be his turn to have a birthday again. He loves to make pretend cakes in his room with his pretend food and throw pretend birthday parties.

-He loves to help feed Bella in the mornings and often times takes the bowl out, sits it on his lap and has her eat that way.

-Very independent little man. Right now everything is "No, ME!!!" which means, "No, don't help me! I want to do it on my own!"

-Pretty good counter: "1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 10!" (or something like that)

-Has very sensitive eyes. Loves/needs to wear sunglasses when we are in the car. If he does not have glasses with him he says "Hot day in my eyes" when the sun shines on his face. It is the cutest thing ever and always makes me laugh!

-Loves his baby dolls. He has his own baby, baby Steve, which he takes good care of and is quite attached too. But he also loves to play with and carry around Kellen's baby Toby. Most of the time Kellen is really impressive with how well he shares Toby.

-Con is going to be an amazing big brother

 Con is doing so good in his big boy bed. It still makes me smile to leave the room and say goodnight to my "boys" in the same room. It is cute to hear the two of them talking and laughing and chatting when they are supposed to be falling asleep. It is even funny to watch the two of them sneak out of the room together....but of course I am not allowed to smile or laugh at this in front of them. Conner is normally either sideways in his bed when I check on him or on the floor. He is on the floor A LOT! I don't know if he does it intentionally or just moves around so much that he rolls out. It is not something either of the other kids had issues with. But he always looks comfy there and never cries or complains. He is getting so big. They all are.

 When Daddy comes home from work he LOVES to help him take off his shoes. I don't know exactly how it started, but Conner is always there, eager and ready to remove his shoes and socks and then even help him put his shoe trees in. Whatever brainwashing or manipulating was done by Daddy here to get his kids to think it was the coolest thing to take off stinky shoes is impressive to me. It's a cute bonding moment to watch.

I don't know why, because it can't be comfortable, but the sunglasses are almost always put on upside down. I guess he just likes to have his own style!

ABC's and 123's...

Preschool year number 2! It's sometimes strange to look at my boy and see him suddenly looking so big. It is strange taking your babe to another year of preschool. They know the routine now. They know what to anticipate and look forward to. Kellen was quick to get out his backpack, find something to bring for sharking, help me pick out his snacks for the day. He knew exactly what he was doing and was very excited about it. It's a little bit sad seeing him act so big and so comfortable being so independent. But it also makes me so proud to see him growing up and maturing and having the confidence to take things on on his own. Where has the little baby that would cling to my leg at the park gone?

 Such a handsome boy. He really melts my heart....such good looks! He was cute and wanted to make sure to take a picture next to our nice flowers. Not the best lighting, but sweet all the same.

 Once we got to school a few nerves did come out. But he was quick to settle in to his new class and his new teacher, Mrs. Silva. He needed a number of hugs before I could leave, but no tears. Every day when I bring him to school and drop him off he always grabs on to me and tells me that he does not want me to leave and gives me a very cute, pathetic look. But after a couple of kisses and hugs and promises that I will be back soon he lets me go. And when I turn around to look back at him, he is always off playing and busy doing something within seconds. Maybe he just says this to make sure I know he needs me still ;)

 After his first day of school I let Kellen pick where he wanted us to go for lunch before we had to grab Makenna from school. Last year it was Taco Bell. This year it was Wendys...chicken nuggets with ranch, apples, fries and a chocolate frosty. These silly glasses came in his kids meal. Is he not a mini Harry Potter here? So cute.

What a little stud muffin....even in ridiculous glasses! He sure misses his big brother when he is gone at school, but it is also nice getting to have some special Conner/Mommy time. Love my boys!

 Conner is such a funny little kid. I just love this little boy so much. Even if he is a wild man and you never know what he is getting in to if you turn your back on him for more than a few minutes. He does always keep me laughing, and that counts for something huge! Conner Loves to help feed Bella. And a lot of times this is what I find when I look outside when he brings her the food. He doesn't just set the bowl on the ground, he holds it until she eats the whole thing. Such a sweetie.

 If you have spent much time at all around little Conner then you know how much this child loves "money". Every morning this little kid makes sure he has 2 coins (sometimes 3 if he can sneak an extra one) and he will carry these coins around with him pretty much all day long. He loves to have his "mimi" as he calls it. This has been going on for Months! I can't say exactly where or how it started. But it has truly become a part of who he is. Do I see a future in finances?

 On labor day our family decided to try and do something out of the ordinary and fun. Labor day is mildly frustrating for me. It is normally a very nice, warm, sunny summer day where kids don't have school and people have off of work. But it is too hot to go to a park or do most things outside without water, but the beaches are INSANELY packed, as are places like the zoo or sea world. So we decided to go up to the mountains and visit the observatory in Palomar. It was a pretty drive and the kids really enjoyed it. They always love feeling like we are in the "forest". It was a warm day, but it was not too hot to enjoy walking around a bit, going inside the observatory and collecting some acorns outside with the kids. It was just nice to spend the day together as a family and having the chance to do something new and different. 

It's been nice having some time with just Mom and the boys while Makenna is at school. It's sometimes strange to be out with just the two of them and feel like people look at me as the "boy mom" while my wild men run around playing super heroes and catching bad guys and just being boys. It is fun to see Kellen and Conner closing the age gap with each other and having fun being brothers together. Kellen is definitely getting bigger and braver and more mature. He was very proud of himself the other day for being able to cross the swinging pendulums on his own at the park. Of course Conner watched him once or twice and then attempted it on his own as well. Amazingly he was almost able to do the whole thing on his own as well. They younger ones learn quick that they have to work hard to keep up with the older siblings. 

 I am so happy that our family decided to get sea world passes this year. We have already been able to go a few times as a family, and the kids and I have gone a few other times as well. The kids are at great ages to go there and have really had a lot of fun every trip we have taken. Normally Kellen is brave and excited to go on the big ride there (he is just barely tall enough for it), but on our last trip he was unexpectedly nervous about it and decided to forgo the ride. 

 Daddy and Kenna decided to ride it together. Though Kellen's nerves wore off on her a bit, she still had fun and gave a big thumbs up at the bottom of the water slide. 

 Love my boys. Notice my mans beard??? Keep an eye on it....it just keeps getting bigger and better! I never thought I would love a hairy man....

 Daddy and Kenna getting ready for ride #2

 Makenna has taken to carrying around one of my purses with her while we go out places. She is so funny and it makes her look so big and grown up to me! I don't know exactly what she carries in it- I think she has a compact mirror, a paper fan, lip gloss, a hair brush and who knows what else. It's quite cute. I like seeing this girly side of her come out.

 After our sea world trip we hit up the corvette diner for dinner. The kids love that place, and so do us grown ups. Always a fun place to go and a very happy, lively, laid back atmosphere. 

 Love my man....don't love my swollen, pregnant face ;)

 Makenna got the royal treatment and had a waitress that was cool enough to do the straw hairdo for her. Makenna was in absolute heaven. She even tried to go to sleep with the straws in her hair before she realized that she was not able to get comfortable and asked me to take them out. Such a cutie. though....and looking so grown up!

 Conner had to be just like his big brother and got a spider man balloon as well. Both boys were so cute with their balloons. Kellen wanted to know why he couldn't get straws in his hair too. 

Dad, Dad, He's the Man!

We Love our Daddy! When he comes home he brings with him a feeling of love, excitement and completeness. We are all so lucky to be blessed to have him: as a Daddy, a husband and a friend.

We had a fun time celebrating Daddy's birthday as a family. The kids were so excited to give him cake and presents and sing to him and celebrate with him.

Daddy was sweet and let everyone participate in blowing out the candles on him yummy luscious lemon cake! And it was a good thing he had some help....trick candles take a lot of blowing to put out. The kids got a total kick out of seeing the candles re-light over and over again and Daddy was lucky enough to have the chance to make A LOT of birthday wishes.

Happy Birthday Daddy. We love you so much and are so grateful to have you and for all that you do for us.