Kicking off the Weekend!

Life has been busy lately and luckily it has been all good! Friday my friend Susan and her kids dropped by for a play date and the girls were enjoying their glasses. I had to get a shot of them!I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a shot of B's thighs too.Chad got off work early that day and we were ready to hit the beach as soon as he got home. It was a beautiful day!Brooklyn had to have her doll with her.Chad and Micah played around with the skimboard and the water was COLD!Brooklyn wanted to lay out with me for a bit. Don't worry, she was covered in sunblock.Micah loved running around on the beach.We also dug up sand crabs and played with them for a while.Today I was able to stop in the NICU to see my new nephew. Here he is. I can't wait to hold him!

A Growing Family

Our family tree grew yesterday! Ashley went in for a routine doctor's visit at 33 weeks and her blood pressure was dangerously high, so they sent her to the hospital. At the hospital they tried to give her medications to lower her blood pressure, but none of it was working and they were afraid she might start to have seizures. The decision was made to have a C-section and have the baby that night, since that is the only real cure for preclampsia. They estimated that the baby would be about 3 to 4 pounds.

Of course all of us were a bit worried, but she was given a blessing and was in good hands. Ashley went into surgery at about 9:30 and her baby boy was born. He weighed in at 4 lbs. 9 oz. Both of them are doing great. Ashley is understandably sore and baby boy (we think he will be named Austin) is in the NICU for now gaining weight and letting his internal organs mature a little more. Ashley should be home on Sunday and baby boy should be home in about three to four weeks. I have only seen pictures of him (since I came with my kids and I can't take them in with me), but I have to tell you, he is adorable! He looks very healthy and I am hoping to see him soon myself and post pictures soon. For now, he will just be in my prayers until he gets strong enough to go home. I can't wait to hold him!

Making a house a home...

This weekend Chad's parents came into town and every time they come, we get projects done around the house. Let me show you what I mean:Chad's dad put up new plant hangers for our patio, installed a hose caddy (you don't know how much you like those things until you don't have one), the kids have a towel hook in their bathroom, my little stick figure family is up in the hallway (I think I might change the ribbon color. What would you go with?), and my favorite mirror ever is now hung above our dresser. I love it! All that work motivated Chad and I to get a few of our own projects done, so I hung the Chinese lanterns in the corner of Brooklyn's room and Chad and I created a collage above the fireplace. I am so glad to have so many projects done in such a short time. Now who else wishes their father in law was handy?

P.S. Now that I am looking at all these pictures, I am realizing that my house is so beige!

The B is 2!

OK, so her real b-day was last week, but on Saturday I threw her a family BBQ to celebrate. Chad said to keep it small, but our families alone make for a pretty big party. I made the barrel cake and it turned out great. Chad was a trooper to help out with a little decorating. Brooklyn had fun and everyone seemed to enjoy each other. If you have kids you will know what I mean by this: every year, there is one gift that becomes their favorite and the rest of the gifts kind of get the shaft. This year Ghee (Chad's mom) got her an Elmo t-shirt with her name on it! That was it, she was thrilled and had to wear it for the rest of the party. By the way Ghee, you should have seen the fit she threw when I took it off to wash it! When we went to sing her Happy Birthday, we didn't have candles, but luckily I had bought some poppers at the store and I think it made for an even better ending to that song. Did I mention she started eating her cake BEFORE we even started singing? She was pretty covered by the end! Anyways, the party went off without a hitch and to top it off, she was spoiled. Thanks everyone!

Ealy bird?

So I thought I was going to sign Micah up for early bird kindergarten. To those who don't know, this means school starts at 7:45 AM! I thought that Micah is generally a pretty early riser and that it would make us more productive in our day. The other reason is that we still have our Disneyland passes until March next year. Since early birds get out around 11:00, I thought I could pick him up and head straight to D-land and still have a lot of fun play dates. Well, I am rethinking this idea. Suddenly, Micah has become a late sleeper. He sleeps until about 8:30 if not later, so I am thinking this early bird thing, might just be for the birds. I really don't want to make Micah's first year of school difficult on both of us. I think I might need to make a call to his school and change my request. I'm just hoping Al and the boys are up for late night trips to D-land here and there!

A little celebration

I'm running behind here. This weekend wasn't much of a weekend at all. Chad worked the majority of it, so we are all tired and now gearing up for another busy week!

Let me just do a quick update on Brooklyn's actual b-day. I wanted to have a real b-day cake for her. I bought this cake mix that makes 12 cupcakes, so it is about half the size of a normal cake. I didn't have cupcake papers and I wasn't sure what to do with just one round cake. I got my creative juices flowing and I thought, why not a rainbow cake? So that is what I did...
Cut the cake in half and set it on it's side.Frost the cake and get your handy four year old to separate the colors out for you. Micah did this without even eating one. Can you believe it?Then you place the Skittles on around the outside of the cake and there you go!
Other than that, Brooklyn got a sand and water table from us that both her and her brother are loving. I think they will be spending a lot of time in their bathing suits in the backyard!
P.S. I thought I would leave you with a quick dialogue.
On our ride home in the car.
Micah: I think I need a treat.
I looked back to see him holding up a chocolate graham cracker.
Me: That's fine buddy. (He begins to eat it) Who gave you that?
Micah: I found it over here. (Points to the side panel on the door)
Me: Uh, that is probably pretty old.
Micah: Sometimes I like to eat old food.

Happy Birthday Brooklyn!

I can't believe how fast two came! I'm so glad you are the happy sassy little chick you are. For the first six months or so, I didn't think we would get along. You pretty much were the hardest baby ever, but once we got passed the colic, things got better. You became the fun goofy girl I know and love. You are girly, but tough. You have a lot to say, but most of it is garbled. You love your brother, but can also beat up on him. You loved to be dressed up and then get down and dirty. You are everything all in one. We love you Brooklyn and can't imagine life without you!