One of Our Favorite Visits All Year!

It's a munch anticipated visit that we and the children (as well as the grandparents) look forward to all year long! When Grandma and Grandpa come to visit it makes for a very happy bunch of kiddos! 

Carys and Grandma meeting each other for the very first time in person! A very happy pair!

Like father/Like son. It always makes me smile when I watch these two men together. 

Grandma and the kiddos taking advantage of every moment together. 

Grandpa and Carys together for the first time. Carys was very good at relaxing right into Grandpa's arms. 

The spring weather was perfect while Grandma and Grandpa were here. We had a blast taking the kites down to the park, flying our kites, playing and showing off for Grandma.

Kellen could have flown kites all day long. That boy LOVED going back and forth, back and forth dragging that kite behind him. 

Makenna Loves to tell everyone that she is part monkey. Even more she loves to prove it to people. And she is actually pretty much right. 

Grandma and Carys spending some good bonding time together. 

While Grandma and Grandpa were here, Makenna had her school Jog-a-thon. Grandma decided to come with as well and we had a great time watching Makenna jog and cheering her and her friends on. They did a great job!

Great cheer leading partners!

It was a gorgeous San Diego day down in Sea Port village with Grandma and Grandpa. Conner knocked over a stack of kite string spools. We saw a seagull steal a woman's quesadilla off her plate. Mom showed off a few tricks with rhythm sticks. We saw the most interesting socks you have ever seen. And best of all the boys met a pirate. 

Kellen and Makenna started a short soccer season at a local indoor soccer field. It was Kellen's first time playing a sport and he was very excited about it. And he and Makenna got to be on the same team as well, which was really very cute. So while Grandma and Grandpa were here they got to come down and watch one of the games.

Unfortunately Makenna had a bit of a fever and had not been feeling well, so she did not get to play that day. But we all cheered on Kellen and he did a wonderful job hustling up and down the field. He is a bit hesitant to be aggressive in trying to kick the ball (especially with how many kids there were, all of them trying to kick the ball at the same time). But let me tell you, that kid is a hustler. He keeps his eye on the ball and keeps moving the whole time. I was very proud of him! We all were!

APRIL

In April there was A LOT of puppy love going around! The kids were on spring break for a couple of weeks, so little Toby added a great element of entertainment for the kids. I have to admit that at about week 3 I was feeling quite overwhelmed with puppy duties. I had my moments where I thought "WOW, we let the Easter Bunny make a big mistake!" But you know what, we worked through it and I am happy to report that we are all in love with Toby! He has become SUCH a good dog. He has a great little personality, is amazing with the kiddos and is a very sweet pup! I am Very happy we let the Easter bunny bring him to our family. 

Carys started solids at 6 months. I thought that she was ready. She was staring at food, really wanting to get her hands on it. And she was starting to not sleep as well. So we got the baby food out, gave it a go, and then had a big let down. She would swallow one or two bites and then be done. For a few days I got her eating carrot baby food. And then she was over it. She would clench her jaw shut or use her tongue to forcefully push the spoon back out if you even tried to put it in her mouth. And then one day she was watching me eat a banana while I was holding her. I put it up to her mouth and she immediately went for it. So I broke off a small piece. She scarfed it up. She ended up eating 1/3 of my banana. And that is when I realized she was just like her older brother Kellen....she wanted Big people food. Non of this "baby food/pureed stuff"! She wanted to chew. It took her a bit to learn how to do it well, but now she is eating off of my plate all the time and eating just like one of the big kids. Silly girl.

Makenna lost her first tooth (well, naturally that is!) It was exciting to have a tooth fall out on its own. It had been wiggly for months and months. And then finally, during spring break it started to get really loose. I could tell it was ready to come out but Makenna was nervous about giving it a good pull. So I took a tissue, took a hold of it, told her I was just going to test it and then out it popped. She didn't even realize it until she saw the tooth in the tissue. It was so cute! And yes, the tooth fairy came and left a shiny gold coin. 

Papa came down to spend the day with us during break. We had a really fun day. We grabbed some pizza, went over to Santee lakes and played and ran around and had a blast at the park. Papa showed us how to do a good handstand on the grass. We tried flying his kite, but the wind wasn't strong enough. He showed us a special seed pod that falls from trees that when you throw it in the air it spins down gracefully. The kids loved it. It was a beautiful day!

As we were getting ready to leave the park Makenna was trying to show off and climb a big tree. Papa saw the opportunity, took off his tennis shoes and was up in the tree in a matter of minutes! If tree climbing is a hidden talent then it is certainly one of his!

Toby and Makenna have a good bond. She adores him and is a natural pet lover. Reminds me a lot of the way her mama was as a kid. I was always the one with a dog or cat in my bed growing up. And sure enough, Toby can often be found at the foot of Makenna's bed when I go to tuck everyone in before going to bed at night.

There are never too many trips to the zoo!

Then again, I practically live at a zoo. My crazy kids. LOVE This Picture! A good representation of my children!

Toby lovin'

Grammy and I took our annual trip up to Time Out For Women. It was a really great conference and a break I really needed. It's so important to take the time to strengthen and rejuvenate yourself. I really hope this is a tradition my mom and I can keep up for many years to come!

Carys at 6 months! Sitting great and cute as ever!

Carys started sitting on her own at the beginning of April. It makes Such a difference in their ability to self entertain once they can be vertical! I would say she was mighty proud herself as well!

Cuddling a sleeping baby....pretty much the closes to a piece of heaven you can find on earth.

The Highlight Reel

As much as I hate the idea of speeding through the months and only posting the major events, even more so I hate the thought of falling so behind in my blog that I am never able to catch up. I love the way that this has become a family journal in a sense....documenting the daily happenings of the family and watching the kiddos growing up in bits and pieces. So since life has gotten away from me and I am falling behind, we are going to play a bit of catch up with each months major events...and maybe a tad more.

Which brings us to the end of MARCH

Easter in March seemed weird, but we did it well! Of course plenty of eggs to dye. It is fun watching the kids get bigger and their egg designing becoming a bit more complex. 

Grammy usually throws her annual Grandkid Easter party at her house each year. But this year Grammy's kitchen (and entire house more or less) was under construction and in no condition for Easter festivities. So we took the kids to the ceramicafe and had them each pic out something to paint and went to lunch. Such a fun day!

You can tell Makenna is growing up - she picked a squirrel and when it was all done it truly looked like a squirrel. Very different from the multi-colored puppy she painted there a couple of years prior. Its happy and sad all at once. 

Part of our Grammy day consisted of taking a pic with the Easter Bunny. Conner was a bit concerned (evident by his worried smile), Kellen was over the moon and poor Makenna had a touch of innocence taken when she saw the assistant pull down the bunny's sleeve to cover his manly arm. She looked at me with huge eyes and I just motioned for her to be quiet and later explained that we didn't want to ruin the fun of it for Kellen and Conner. Thanks a lot easter bunny!

Kellen, sweet Kellen, wanted to surprise the Easter Bunny himself with a little hidden gift. It was complete with a sign which read "Happy Easter, Easter Bunny" and a picture of him and the Easter Bunny together, as well as a small note, a picture and some candy and plastic jewelry hiding under the desk. That boy loves to celebrate and make things special. It melts my heart every time.

Easter Morning didn't disappoint anyone. Baskets for all, eggs for everyone and even the Easter Bunny found Kellen's surprise and took his candy.

Easter Best 2013

And of course a close up of the babe, seeing that it was her first Easter and her dress was just too cute! She looked like a huge flower and I loved it!

After church we arrived back to the house only to find an extra surprise left by the Easter Bunny. On the Garage was instruction for us to go into the house where we would find an extra surprise that didn't fit in our baskets that morning. We went around back, the kids walked up to the sliding glass door and suddenly Makenna was shrieking....

Puppyyyyyy!!!!!!!!

On a bit of a whim the Easter Bunny decided it would be a good idea to give the kids a puppy. A small little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. A dog that could be an inside dog and a bit more of a daily companion. Someone that could cuddle them on the couch and sleep in their bed. And give them the opportunity to have the experience as young kids to get to have a puppy. Silly Easter Bunny.

Meet Toby.