Summer So Far...

We are 2 weeks in.  Summer has settled in here.  We are completely adjusted to no schedule.

We sleep in...the girls room is quiet until at least 8am, some days more like 8:30!  Landen takes an extra 15 or 20 minutes to crawl out of bed in the morning and thinks it's sleeping in.  I can't complain too much...he for sure gets it from me!  

Layne's very stylish sunglasses...she insisted on this pair!

We do projects.  I have dozens of projects before this baby arrives.  Closets have been re-organized, clothes sorted, toys cleaned out, and the list goes on!  These kids have been troupers in helping get it done!

School year memory books...done!

We slowly make our way to the beach.  Then stay until dinner time.

Landen & Layne tossing the ball around

We meet up with some friends at the pool.  Then stay until dinner time.

Abbey and friends...1, 2, 3 Jump!

It's been nice to slow down, go where we want, or stay home if we want.  My prego bones have appreciated the new pace.   

We have a few more exciting things planned for these summer days.  Close to home.  Staycation summer has just begun!

And I plan to get back on the ball taking pictures...please excuse the above.  Half of them are iphone shots!  Did I mention the tired prego bones?!

Waiting for Baby

This pregnancy has been moving along.  Maybe not flying by, but for sure moving at a steady pace.  There's so much to keep us busy and so many things to plan, and I know before I even take a breath, this little baby will have moved right in on us!

And so, I wanted to capture this time.  This, that I feel pretty sure, is the last pregnancy.  This crazy excitement in my kids.  This anticipation, for things that we know and remember, and things that will be all new.  And so I made the crazy decision to have photos done.  Crazy, because who really wants to be photographed with an extra 30 pounds on them, a few of those on my face alone! limited wardrobe options, and a rather tired, cranky disposition at 7 months pregnant?!  A few dear friends raised eyebrows and gently questioned what I was thinking...but I was determined to get it done...and have it be a success!

I called my friend Sara and knew I was in good hands.  I love how she captured this big belly and our excitement for this little guy's arrival.

And I love how she grabbed each of my kid's personalities in these photos.

I'm so thrilled to have these moments captured, for these kids above, and for this little one set to arrive in a couple of months.  I'm also thrilled that we are already booked up for family photos after the red ninja baby arrives.  I can't wait to capture those moments...smiling kids holding their new baby brother.

IronKids

my 3 proud finishers

As part of the Ironman festivities, a kid's race was held the night before the big race.  Abbey and Landen were ready and excited to race...a 1 mile race ending at the finish chute, under the Ironman official banners and crossing the official Ironman finish line .  When we arrived at town square and registered the 2 big kids, we learned that Layne could do a 400 yard dash!  Woohoo!  This little girl was thrilled to do what the big kids were doing!  We suited all 3 up in their race T's and headed for the start.

Royal ran with Layne while I waited with the big kids to start their race.  He did ask if I wanted to run with her, then looked at my big prego belly and retracted the question!  I guess it's a compliment that he forgets that I'm 6 months pregnant.  I'll take it.

 The big kid race began with a bang!  So many little runners!

Abbey and Landen come to the end of the mile...Abbey ran with Landen

 most of the way (per mom's request) then pulled ahead at the finish!

into the finish chute

the whole ironfamily

These 3 kiddos earned their medals.  Ironkids.  Royal earned his medal exactly one year ago.  Ironman. And me.  I think I need a medal for being an ironmama and an ironwife.  Maybe I won't be competing from sun-up to sun-down tomorrow, but I do make a good race poster and I have got the cheering bit down.  And maybe someday, I'll compete just to prove I can do it.  Nope.  No way.  Jose.  

Big race tomorrow!  Dragging my Ironkids, our 6 posters and a few supply bags of our own to watch our men kill themselves, from sun-up to sun-down.  Go Ironmen!!

Sunday Best

Happy Easter

From the Men

and the Ladies

Red Ninja Baby a little squished as usual.  Coming in August to even up these numbers!

Easter

These kiddos are getting bigger.  I think 2/3 of them are convinced that a giant bunny did not make a secret visit this morning to drop off baskets of candy and plastic eggs.  It's really o.k. with me.  There are just not enough answers to all the questions!  The movie Hop is a favorite of Layne's, so she has it all figured out!

  there were no Easter jammies this year

Layne also figured out that she did not have a personalized Easter basket, so off to PBKids we went.  She chose the purple tutu liner!  It makes its debut this year, then reappears each year filled with new goodies.  They love to see these baskets come out and I love not having to buy new baskets each year!

The baskets will always be fun, bunny or no bunny.  So will the egg hunt. 

They ran and searched high and low and then we made the hunt a little more interesting.  We told them that there were 3 golden eggs out there somewhere, one for each of them.  The golden eggs held a better prize than candy or an Easter penny toy.  Bigger, better.  So, they searched harder and faster!

One by one, they were FOUND.

OPENED

LEGO MINI FIGURES....YEAH!

I thought these were fun little items to stuff into eggs.  I think there was a part of these children that was hoping for $100 bills.  Maybe we hyped up the golden eggs a little bit too much!   Once the reality of the BIG prize set in, everyone was happy with a new Lego person to add to the collection.

We ran home.  Then ended the afternoon with Layne's favorite Easter basket treat...colored bubbles!

Blonde, Blue-Eyed Rosa Parks

It was Abbey's 3rd grade American Hero Presentation and her hero was Rosa Parks.  We knew a lot about Rosa Parks after some online research and writing a report all about her life.  What we didn't know was how to dress up like Rosa Parks...with all that blonde hair!  Thank goodness for the Halloween witch wig!

It was some presentation!  There were 29 different heros represented by 3 classes of 3rd graders all on stage in costume.  They sang a variety of inspiring songs and then each presented his or her hero.  Abbey did a great job!  She knew her lines and looked completely comfortable up there in front of a packed room!

It's a...

Cupcake!  A whole dozen of them.  Chocolate and vanilla with sprinkles on top.  The real fun is hidden inside.  Blue filling for a boy...pink filling for a girl.

And it's a boy!



We are so excited.

I picked up the box of cupcakes in the morning and it sat on the counter just staring me down all day.  I almost poked a hole, went through the bottom, stuck a finger inside!  I figured I was going to be giving birth so I for sure had a right to know and not be killed by suspense of the cupcakes.

But, I made it all the way to dessert.  I even had myself convinced that either blue or pink icing would be just as amazing and taste just as yummy.  Up until Royal teased Landen that it must be a girl because the sticker on the cupcake box was pink.  And his face fell.  All the way to the floor.  And he couldn't get a word out.  And I was sort of with him.  I love these girls, but I wanted that little boy to have a brother.

I don't know who was more shocked and delighted when we took those first bites and saw a glimmer of baby blue.  We did it all at once...1...2...3...bite!  And then we had to take a bit or two more to get to the middle and then...I yelled and the kids yelled and it was utter chaos and excitement!  And then we heard Layne trying to get our attention and tell us she didn't have any blue.  So we just ate a few more bites for her until her cupcake was oozing blue and she could also be certain that a little boy was joining our family.

And now Landen can say he is having a little brother.

Smile

a smile

is a smile

is a smile

Such goofy kids!
I hope I have better luck with smiles from this next little one!

RocketBlasters

the happy bunch, especially Landen getting his teeth squeezed right out of him!

Disneyland is chock full of fun rides and fun times to be had.  This night, we met up with Uncle Ryan and Aunt Whitney, had some dinner, and picked the RocketBlasters as our final ride of the night.  It was no short line, but these guys had it in them.  Me, I chose not to spin in space, especially with a baby on board.  Pregnancy does nothing for my motion-sensitive-stomach.

They had a great time, going up and down and all around.  Especially Layne.  The littlest one loves this ride.

The only thing that makes this place happier, is meeting up with friends and family...and Ryan and Whitney made our night much warmer and much happier!

Mai Tai, Chihuahua, and Tiny Puppy

It all started with Mai Tai.

The real little pup that Layne loves.  The bug-eyed, drooly one that we said goodbye to in Atlanta.

Layne loves that little animal.  She would ask to talk to Mai Tai when we would call Mimi.  She still talks about her to make sure she knows exactly where she is.  We repeat, Mai Tai is living with Uncle Seany.  The real puppy is at Uncle Seany's house.

This little stuffed version does not leave Layne's side.  Abbey and I had the idea to find her a Pug Webkinz for Christmas.  We called all around and found a store that had one.  It was so fun to see her open it up and in the last 2 months, it is hands down the most well-loved toy of all the presents she opened.

And then came Chihuahua.  Dad and Landen found this one for Layne.  They bought it as a back-up just in case we didn't locate a Pug.  It didn't get wrapped up because the Pug was under the tree, but Layne found him anyway and added him to her collection.

Then came Tiny Puppy.  I have no idea where this one came from.  She found this amongst all the toys that have a home here at our house.

This is how she sleeps.  All 3 puppies must be found before she will lay down.

If we run to the store, one, two, or three of them join us in the car.  If I want to live dangerously, she gets to bring one in with her.  So far, we haven't lost one anywhere, but I'm really afraid of what will happen if one should go missing!

If they stay in the car, then Layne will make sure and tell everyone she meets that she has a puppy named Mai Tai.  The checker at the store gets to hear about her puppy.  The ladies in line behind us.  My chiropractor couldn't even get her name before she was telling him all about Mai Tai.  It's not an easy name for people to understand.  And when they do, they always give me a curious look.  How in the world does a 3 year old come up with a name like Mai Tai?!  They must think we serve cocktails at the dinner table!

I love her imagination.  I love how she cares for these 3 puppies.  We have had a few chats about maybe not talking to complete strangers about her stuffed animals, but it's good for a laugh!  I love how hilarious she is.  I don't want this one to ever grow up and not be my side-kick.  My side-kick with her 3 little side-kicks.

Let the Back-blogging Begin!

It's February 9th.  It wasn't a super exciting day.  A very average Thursday.  Big kids go to school, Layne goes to playgroup.  I hit the mall for those 3 precious hours a week I have alone.  Then it was school pick-up and gymnastics for the big kids.  We get home at 5pm and I begin to panic about what to make for dinner.  I'm pulling off tortellini soup tonight.  All the ingredients are staring at me from the fridge and it's a completed meal in under 30 minutes.  So typical.  Every Thursday I think that I should have pulled out the old crock pot and been able to walk into my house at 5pm and smell dinner, not panic about what it is we should eat.  I might just get this figured out some Thursday.

The week wasn't super exciting either.  Not blog-worthy.  My camera didn't get picked up once since the weekend!  And no photos means no motivation to add a post.

But, I have a few spotty months in the past where big things happened.  They didn't get documented here.  The photos sit in my iphoto and I really want to make sure that those stories are told.

So, I'll be backblogging.  I love it in order.  I love it to tell our story from beginning to end.  And, when I have a minute and no exciting stuff to tell about they day, I might just pick up last October and add our Halloween photos...they for sure need to be preserved for my all-grown-up kids to look back and laugh about!

To my faithful 5 followers:  when you jump onto this blog on that Wednesday night when there is no tv and you just finished your riveting book, look back.  There just may be an update.  It won't be in season, but it will tell our story.  Guaranteed photos of the little people and some adventure that we found ourselves on.

Surprises

My three little kiddies discovered a tissue-filled package just for them to open.

I wrapped it up and Royal and I were in on this one, but we didn't say a peep.  Or give any hints.  Or refute any of their crazy-wild speculations as to what the surprise gift would be.

They slowly opened it up.

Each one of them pulled out a special item.

A pair of baby booties.  A white onesie.  And then, an ultrasound picture.  Of the new baby that will join our family!

Abbey catches on pretty quick...you can see that smile break out!  Landen takes an extra minute to check out the items and figure it out.  Layne is still looking in the bag to double check there isn't something really fun in there that someone else missed!

They have been lobbying for a baby for a long time.  I think it began with Abbey and then all 3 of them decided it would be a great idea to have another brother or sister.  I would get a question here and there about baby number 4.  Is there going to be a baby number 4?  When in the world are we going to get around to having another baby?  Can the baby sleep in my room?  I didn't alway have an answer!  So, I was so excited to answer them all and show them this little baby that will be coming.  Soon.  For the pregnant mom and the 3 year old, not nearly soon enough though!

Surprises are the best.  I love a good surprise.  I loved these little faces as they realized what surprise we were so thrilled share.  I loved hearing their excitement.  They were bursting with funny questions and big plans for our new arrival.  By the 4th pregnancy, I realize there are not too many surprises for me, so I will be watching these little faces for 9 months to see the surprise in their eyes.