Thursday, June 23, 2011

Logans backstroke

Just over a year ago Logan would relax enough to float on his back in the pool but just over a week into this years lessons he's starting to get the backstroke down!!

Annabelle talking

At 11 weeks old Annabelle is getting more animated everyday! She and I had a conversation Tuesday night that was so cute! Love my Belle!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Swim Diva

Not sure I have words for this one! Love you Peyton!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Just keep swimming...

School's out so that can only mean one thing...SWIM LESSONS!


This summer both Logan & Peyton are taking "Pike" level classes which is an advanced beginner class. Plans right now are for 3 two week sessions for a total of 30 half hour lessons! They love the water & are so excited for swim lessons!


Friday, June 10, 2011

As long as I'm living, my baby you will be!






When Logan was born we had a baby website that had statistics relating to his life. I remember seeing "Will start Kindergarten in 2011" and thinking "Wow that's a LONG time away!" And now I am thinking it was a blink of an eye! Our little man is growing up and today was the culmination of his preschool years.




The Part Day Preschool at the Miramar Youth and Teen Center is awesome. The wait list is long and we are very lucky that both Logan and Peyton have been able to participate this year! The kids from the 4 yr old class that will be moving onto kindergarten next year participated in a promotion ceremony, complete with caps & gowns and diplomas! Our graduate was the cutest one of all!!





I know I have said this many times but it always bares repeating. We are so very thankful for our military family. Days like today, 2000 miles away from our family, can feel like it lacks importance without someone to share it with. However we can always turn to our military family to share our joy! Thank you so much Ko and boys for taking a part of your morning to be there with us! And for taking pictures too! We are so blessed to have you guys in our extended family!








You are 5 years old,







You are 62 months old,


You are 270 weeks old,


You are 1,890 days old,


But you will always be our baby!


Congratulations Logan!!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

OH Peyton....

My little Peyton...my diva...my THREE year old!! She's so strong willed and independent. So loving and adorable...and sometimes not! I'm so thankful for the age of digital photography where it doesn't matter how many pictures you take that you can always capture the moment to remember forever!




When they insist that they are wearing what they pick out....





Or spending quality time with the doggy....





Or stylin' in their own way for water day at school!



Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Belle's 2 months already!

When we got pregnant with Belle and knew she would be our last baby we both swore to enjoy each and every moment possible because children just grow too fast! After waiting and extra week and a half to meet her Annabelle was just the most perfect thing ever!




2 days old - going home picture



The first month is now a blur but I remember thinking it was so much easier the 3rd time around than the first two! With Logan we were brand new parents who were nervous about everything, with Peyton we had another baby that we felt rushed for her to get bigger to make life easier. But with Belle we are lucky enough to know what we are doing (for the most part at least) and the other kids are big enough that they are big helpers! We are able to slow down and enjoy a baby for the first time!





1 month old!



Now she's already two months old! She's smiling and cooing all the time. She's holding her head up and trying to sit up in her bouncy chair. She's sleeping 7+ hours at night. She's growing way to fast in my opinion. I know it's impossible for her to stay tiny forever but it sure would be nice! But I also very much look forward to watching her grow and once again being amazed at the person my child has become!





2 months!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Nana's Visit

It's always so great when grandparents come to visit! Grandma Annie was here for almost 2 months before and after Belle was born and was a tremendous help to us. Unfortunately due to the craziness that was going on then we didn't get any group pictures (at least good enough for others to see)! :( So with Nana's visit I wanted to try harder to capture some moments of her visit.


Nana's visit was planned specifically to be here for Annabelle's baptism. It's my mom's influence along with her father's (my Grampie) that drives my faith so it was important to both of us that she be there for her baptism.


Belle's Baptism - May 29, 2011


She's probably going to kill me for posting this one but I couldn't help it! Here's Nana with the girls (& Duffy) watching morning cartoons. It was great not to be super busy that we were able to enjoy a few mornings like this while she was here!


The big trip the kids have had planned since December was taking Nana to Seaworld! Sean wasn't able to come because he had to work but it was a great day regardless! We saw and did a lot and actually got a decent group shot at the end of the day!



Seaworld - June 2, 2011


Our final outing was to Seaport Village. It's a cute little area right on the bay with lots of shops and places to eat. It was a typical beautiful San Diego day, a nice send off to Nana who was returning to almost 100 degree temps and probably 1000% humidity!


Seaport Village - June 4, 2011


It was a great week filled with lots of fun! Wish it could have been longer! We are looking forward to the next grandparent visit in July - Grandpa Jon & Grandma Pat!!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Sea World 2011 - Take 1

So since we are lucky enough to live in San Diego we are regular visitors to Sea World. They have an awesome program that gives free tickets to active duty military & 3 dependants each year. Today's trip however was a result of winning a door prize through MCCS Miramar. Not sure we've ever paid admission at Sea World...


Sean had to work so this outing was the three kids, me & my mom. I had planned one big kid to walk & Belle to ride in the stroller but they had different plans. Belle was cozy in her sling most of the day & my mom pushed approximately 100lbs around all day!!



First thing we stumbled upon was some animal encounters. Peyton got out of the stroller but didn't want to pet the turtle. We also saw a porcupine from Africa that was the size of a medium dog and two llamas. Very awesome to get up & close to these exotic animals!



Shows are always a must on a Sea World trip. Peyton has fallen in love with "The girl in the pink swimsuit". Blue Horizons, the dolphin show, is a tad too theatrical for my tastes but she loves it & watching the dolphins is always awesome! We also went to the Pets Rules show which I always enjoy, although after 6 or 7 times even Logan is beginning to remember whats going to happen... Regardless it is a great show, you never knew cats were that trainable! And has an awesome message for adopting animals. The last show we made it to was the new Shamu show, One Ocean. All I can say is I'm SO glad they finally replaced Believe! Again, I know we are lucky to have the opportunity to visit this awesome theme park as often as we do, but there are only so many time you can watch the same show before it becomes redundant. One Ocean is a great show and there is more audience splashing which lets face it, that's what we want to see! I was disappointed that the trainers are still not in the water with the animals but I guess the plans they have to make it safer do take time. Hoping that before we leave San Diego we will be able to see trainers in the water again because I know that's where they want to be too!


Sea World isn't all about the shows, we were able to squeeze in a few exhibits too! The penguins were cute and a few were probably the size of Peyton! We took this picture outside the exhibit, look over Peyton's shoulder, those are penguins! (gotta stop to give props to Angela Williamson for the sling! Belle loves it and it worked great today!) We also went through the Wild Arctic Exhibit where we saw begula whales, Arctic dolphins, a walrus, and most importantly, the polar bear!!!



The Sesame Street Bay of Play is great for the little kids! They have a few rides & an awesome play structure. With Belle the rides are harder because she's too small so only one adult to ride rides.




But that face makes it all worth it! She did so awesome, a few cranky fits but she slept most of the day in her sling! Two months old & a Sea World veteran!



And proof of a good day! All three kids slept all the way home...almost makes me wish we lived further away! ;) Thanks to MCCS Miramar for the free tickets and to Sea World for an awesome day!!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Evel LOGAN!

After Christmas the mommies at playgroup started bringing scooters & bicycles every week. Logan doesn't get much practice on his bike in the new neighborhood because there is too much traffic. So this was a perfect opportunity for him to get some much needed practice.

Logan is a very cautious kid. And therefore most of the other kids at playgroup do laps around him but he's been getting more confident on his bike.



This "hill" always intimidated Logan, he started by walking the bike down, then riding the brakes down, but now he's peddling down!!


Although a small accomplishment to you and I, it's a HUGE leap for Logan! You can see how proud of himself he is and he deserves to be!! He said he's fast like Dale Jr!!