2/52

Bryan took this photo of me & Gavin while we were boating in Lake Havasu over Easter weekend.

1/52

I took this one of Gavin & I while we were heading out the door, hence the car seat straps. Dylan was already out the door.

52 Weeks - My Kids & I

I am taking part in a photography challenge to have my picture taken every week with my kids. I will try to take the picture on my own as often as possible but thankfully I can have someone else snap one too.

Since I am the person behind the camera 99.9% of the time, I hardly have any pictures of ME and my kids. So, I thought that this was a perfect challenge for me. I hope ya'll don't get sick of looking at my mug!

vocab

Toddler vocabulary is so entertaining. Not a day goes by that I don't crack up at something that comes out of Dylan's mouth. Here is the latest and greatest:

Last week we were driving along and out of the blue Dylan says "but-ho, but-ho, my but-ho mommy". Whaaaa???? My first thought was Oh. My. God. who the heck taught my son how to say "butt hole". I couldn't believe my ears, but I was laughing hysterically on the inside.

A few minutes later we were stopped at a signal. There was a lot of road construction going on around us and Dylan said "but-ho mommy, but-ho" again. Shaking my head in disbelief, I turned around and noticed he was pointing out the window at a backhoe.

animals

Today the boys and I went for drive around the area to scout out some neat photo locations. We were on our way home and I decided to turn onto a dirt road that I have never been down before. About 1/2 mile down the road I noticed a bunch of cars and people standing along the fence. Turns out the Budweiser Clydesdale Breeding Center is just a few miles from my house.

Such beautiful creatures. Huge too. Unfortunately there were 2 rows of tall fencing so these photos are the best I could get because, well, I am short.







The fence is over 5' tall. I am 5'4" and could barely see over when on my tip-toes.


Just a few days ago, the sheep were back in town. Every spring we get to see the sheep grazing on the rolling green hills of the valley. Again, cars were lined up the street with people taking pictures. There are hundreds of sheep in this flock.









You'd think I lived out in the sticks with all these animals around, but I don't. Notice the tract housing in the top left of the picture below? They were right on the edge of a 6 lane main road.


This little dude was crazy. He was running around like a mad man, and ramming into other sheep.

half

I cannot believe Gavin is 6 months old today. It feels like I was in the hospital giving birth just a couple weeks ago. Time definitely goes by faster when you add another kiddo into the mix. Gavin is such a happy & easy baby. Last Monday he weighed 15.3 pounds! He LOVES to eat.

Here he is in all his cuteness. He jumps like a madman in this jumperoo.

a mother's love

On Friday afternoon, I left the boys in front of the TV while I took quick a shower. Dylan was sitting in the recliner eating a snack and watching Blues Clues while Gavin was lounging on the floor nearby. When I came out to check on them this is how I found them:

Dylan loves his baby brother so much. It makes me melt.

As I mentioned in a prior post, Dylan likes to play with game pieces. Here he is admiring the tower of dice he made with our backgammon set.


A little G love


Showing of hie first two chompers.


I just LOVE this picture.

"Hadold high"

Bryan's birthday was earlier this month, and his friend Dantes (& Chantel) gave him a remote control helicopter. This thing has been our source of evening entertainment for the last 10+ days.

Dylan loves Harold the helicopter from Thomas the Tank Engine. He calls him "Hadold". Actually, he calls all planes Hadold. Every night Dylan demands "Hadold high, Hadold high, peas" which basically means "Yo dad, fly the helicopter, please."







Bryan's birthday cake made by moi. Yum!

retro valentine

be mine.

B3

Bryan, the boys, and I frequent the local It's A Grind coffee shop on weekend mornings. They have a half dozen games on a bookshelf for people to play while they hang out there. Monopoly, Scrabble, and Sorry, to name a few. Dylan loves to play with the game pieces. I think he learned quite a bit of the alphabet from playing with the Scrabble pieces. With Monopoly, he likes to walk around the coffee shop wearing the little tiny hat on his head. He likes the choo-choo (or "doo-doo" as he calls it) too.

Well we went to get coffee one morning and afterwards I took the boys back home so I could run some errands and get a pedicure. That entire afternoon my bra felt so uncomfortable and I kept adjusting it. I just thought the wire had poked through the fabric and was now poking me in the boob. About 3 hours after we left the coffee shop, I had had enough. While sitting at a signal, I reached down my shirt and into my bra to adjust the wire from the inside. To my surprise I found the letter 'B' instead.

How it got there, I do not know for sure. However, my gut tells me that a cute little 2 year old boy who goes by the nickname of Pickle dropped it down my tank top when I wasn't looking. We did practice the alphabet that morning at the coffee shop.

one

Happy 1st Birthday to little miss Mary.


Don't you just wanna stick your finger in this frosting?


Mary had her own little cake too.


Well, hi there little duckies!




Such a little doll!




Daddy's little girl.


With Mom & Dad.


Mary & her wonderful Grandma.


This is the greatest family, ever! I feel blessed to have them in my life.

party of sixty

We threw my mom a surprise 60th Birthday party on January 12th. Her birthday was on Christmas Eve, but we had to have the party after her birthday in order to throw her off. 60 of her closest friends and family members came to surprise and celebrate with her. Very rarely does something get by her, so the fact that we surprised her was a huge accomplishment for all involved, guests included.

Front of the invite:


The party was held at the Newport Dunes Marina Clubhouse in Newport Beach. My parents have a Duffy boat that is docked there. Two of her friends were visiting from Palm Desert that weekend and they tricked her into taking the boat out for a cruise that afternoon.

Here they come..


This is what she saw when they turned into the marina.


This is about the time she realized something fishy was goin' on.


We worried a lot about the weather because we didn't know how we'd get her down to the marina if it was raining. It turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL day.


My mom (in black) with the 2 decoys from Palm Desert. They did good!


Cute picture of my mom & dad. I have to say that I was a little worried at first, but to my surprise my dad did an awesome job planning the party. No offense Dad, I would be worried about the party throwing capabilities of 95% of the straight male population. You made me proud in the end.


The ginormous collage I made for the party. I was up many nights until 2AM working on this, but I was so happy with the final printed product.


Thankfully the fire alarm didn't sound. :)


We had a slide show running on my digital picture frame during the party and I was so thrilled that the photo on display at the time I took this picture was a goody. This is my mom & dad back in the early 70's. The mustache was very short lived and quite hilarious too.


Birthday Girl. Too much wine, maybe??