No Ho Ho Ho

Last week, after L's swim practice, I couldn't bear the thought of going home alone with 3 kids after already a looonnnnng day alone with 3 kids knowing DH was not going to be there to help me bathe, read books and put all 3 to sleep. So I took out my Blackberry, googled Candy Cane Lane in Rancho Santa Margarita and drove directly to the nearest drive-thru Starbucks (funny, never even understood why those existed until I had kids, now I know not only know why they exist but just how important they are to one's well-being). I got 3 yummy hot chocolates with just-a-little ( I think the man at Starbucks called it "extra extra light", why do they have to repeat their terminology every time even though they know exactly what you mean?) whipped cream, 2 pieces of banana loaf bread to share between the 3 of us and turned on KOST FM for some Christmas music and drove around Candy Candy Lane to admire all the lights. If I had planned ahead I would have brought our own Christmas music, a Christmas video for the minivan ride there and back, and put them in their jammies - we will do this next time. But regardless, I was so pleased with myself as L and I kept shouting out all the neat blinking lights, carousels, snowmans, candy canes, laughing, pointing, ooh'ing and awe'ing ... I even started to get tears in my eyes over this beautiful Christmas memory moment.

Then. It. Happened.

We saw the most realistic Santa Claus sitting in a very realistic sleigh on the lawn of about the 5th house in our car tour.

E. Lost. It. Right. There. My. Beautiful. Moment. Changed (momentarily).

E has now seen Santa 3 times this year and every single time my usually brave, courageous, daring girl freezes up, trembles, screams and jumps into my arms. This was no different, except the poor girl was strapped into her car seat trying desperately to get herself out and into my arms - her arms stretched in front of her as far as they could reach into my direction. I eventually was able to calm her down (thank goodness for that lollipop in my purse!) and we enjoyed the rest of our car tour. What a great kick-off to a new Christmas tradition.

The next night we took DH back to Candy Cane Lane to show him all the lights and walk around to get a closer look at all the details these nice people take the time to display for everyone to enjoy. And funny, the big man in the red hat didn't seem quite so big and intimidating to DD when she was with DH?! Wonder why that is?! :-)

**Disclaimer: please don't go thinking I am implying anything in the last paragraph about my DH, there is a nice inside joke for him there**see,there you go, thinking the worse, I swear it is all in good, clean fun**did you get DH?!**

A Godly Thanks

Yesterday before dropping L off at Preschool for their Thanksgiving celebration we talked about all the things we are thankful for. High on his list were chocolate, Daddy and strong muscles. While he was listing off many things to me he stopped, looked at me and said, "but God gave us all those things," long pause, "we should be thankful for God.". And to think, I was just recently having bad mother guilt over not always saying grace before dinner but then I hear this from my near four-year-old and it reminds me to be thankful for God in our lives every day - both big and small.

... hand washed car on the weekends by DH and L

... a big loud "muah" every time E gives me a kiss

... Diet Coke at lunch time (is it ONLY lunch time?!)

... dresses that always fit comfortably even when you haven't lost the baby weight ...yet!

... C's squinty left eye when she smiles REALLY big

... Grandparents on both sides that love our children as much as we do

... children that love their two sets grandparents as much as their parents

*ahhh, just a very small sample of my many Godly blessings*

Happy Thanksgiving 2009! Last year's Pilgrim and Turkey are HERE and HERE!

The First Graduation

While there seems to be much debate over when exactly a newborn becomes an infant I typically go with the 3 month mark and today marks that occasion for little Miss C. She started off her Graduation Day by sleeping for an entire 9 hours uninterrupted (can I hear a woo hoo!) and then continued her day by celebrating as all 3rd children must do ... tagging along to her sister's music class and then her big brother's swim lessons. But the entire day won't be lost on her older siblings today, we will have her all to ourselves tonight as the big kids are spending the night at Grammy and Papa's home. Tonight, on her graduation evening, she will receive our undivided attention as she sticks her tongue out, makes bubbles, coos loudly and squints one eye while smiling directly into our eyes. We are the lucky ones.

Psalm 4:7

You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.

Our Daring Darling

E is quite fearless which is in sharp contrast to her older brother L. She will climb to the highest jungle gym at the park, slide down the tallest slide, pet the biggest dog, feed hungry sheep ... and what ever else looks amusing at the moment!!! Today's adventure to Irvine Regional Park was no different then a typical adventure that requires a little risk on their part. E immediately answered "yes" when we asked if they wanted to ride the ponies before taking a ride on the train. L on the other hand had some questions before answering and had to assess the risk:

L: "Do they bite?"

DH: "No, they don't bite. They are nice ponies.".

L: "but they have teeth, right Daddy?".

DH: "Yes, they have teeth.".

L: "If they don't bite why do they have teeth Daddy? You put your hand in their mouth first so I can see.".

DH to me: "Only E for the pony rides today"

W(h)ines-a-lot!

DH has been a long time friend with the (now) big wig (aka: President) over at Henry Wine Group and it certainly has its perks (besides his wit, intelligence and guitar skills of course!). Do you need to ask what I am referring to? I think the above picture speaks for itself. :-) We are very excited to try our new collection of wine and discover some new great finds. In the meantime, I must mention a great Costco wine find just in time for your Thanksgivng meal: The Sanford Pinot Noir for $30.99. It will go perfectly with your Thanksgiving feast all your guests will enjoy ... and if you are not hosting Thanksgiving at your home (thank goodness the family of three young kids is not) it will make a perfect hostess gift all the dining guests can enjoy!

getting ready for a SPOOKTACULAR Halloween

... we will be staying around the neighborhood for the festivities as there is "no place like home.". As said by: Dorothy (E), the Scarecrow (L) and Glinda the Good Witch (C). I hope to get some pictures of my Oz trio (which will just be some snappies since the DC is in the shop after suffering a fall by yours truly!). In the meantime, we have been wearing our orange and black, painting pumpkins and skulls and eating candy already. LOL!!

You can't really see in the picture but L's skull's teeth are "painted black because he didn't brush his teeth Mommy. He is going to get holes in them". I guess he is picking up on something during our daily teeth brushing battles. :-) He also walked into my room this morning with a sick look on his face and a big blanket under his t-shirt and his cheeks puffed out and said, "oh, aw, I ate too much candy.". Followed by laughter. Can you tell I have already been preparing them for limited and controlled intake of candy on the most candy filled holiday of the year?! :-) But I have a funny feeling they aren't going to remember any of this tomorrow?! Especially since E screamed to her Omi when I dropped her off there this morning, "SHOCK-OH-LET PEASE!" (that would be E saying, "chocolate please"!). The TRICK OR TREATING has begun!

Friday Family Dinners

It has become a tradition for us to dine out every Friday night and having C has not changed that! DH and I drive down together to pick up the big kids from the in-laws (L and E spend Fridays with them) and we go straight out to dinner with all three of our darlings. We have always thought that the more we do it, the better our kids will adapt to eating out plus it really is a treat not to have to do dishes on Fridays! :-) Personally we have always been quite proud of how well we have managed eating out with three young kids (**toot toot** yes that is me tooting my own horn) and then last night came a confirmation from some one else ....

While dining al fresco (an October So Cal benefit, it has it been beautiful out!) with our three darlings an older couple sitting next to us during dinner got up to leave, walked over to our table and the gentleman says to us with a smile, "You two certainly have a handsome family and such well behaved children!". His wife nods and smiles. Wow, just wow, it certainly makes you proud of your children when someone else pays you a nice compliment like that because really, as much as we think they are doing fabulous at their young age, I am still wondering if anyone else sees all that rice they spilt on the ground or heard E scream for lemonade when we tried to give her water or L loudly demanding the YELLOW crayon (he must have yellow!) for his picture. But no, they see well behaved (& can't forget, handsome) children! Thank you, not only for the compliment but for taking the time to come over to tell the exhausted-overworked-parents-of-three-very-young-children-trying-very-hard-to-enjoy-a-Friday-Family-dinner-out *sigh*.

**picture above is our three darlings in a Westin Heavenly bed during our recent trip to Palm Desert, CA Westin Mission Hills Resort**

Falling Leaves

L (DS) and I put our scarecrow in the front yard yesterday in anticipation of welcoming the first day of Fall today. When I greeted L this morning I asked him right away, "Good Morning, do you remember what today is?". His head immediately spun around to look at me with the biggest grin on his face (the kind of smile that most likely meant he thinks there is a party, big holiday, a birthday, something, anything that means TREATS, the kind of treats that usually come in the form of cake, candy or cupcakes). I then remind him, "It is the first day of Fall today.". Thinking he is going to be incredibly disappointed that it means no cake, candy or cupcakes he says with as much excitement as his initial smile showed, "YEEEAAAHHH!!! All the leaves are going to fall off the trees today!!!" and smiles just as big as he had before while dancing around the room.

Oh boy, not only did I have to explain to him that all the leaves are not going to fall off all the trees today but also explain Southern California's climate and why we just might not see any leaves fall off any trees today, tomorrow or ever.

**sigh**just another gorgeous sunny day in So Cal today**another sigh followed up with a happy smile**we might just live in heaven you know?!**

School Year 2009-2010

Today was DS's first day of the new school year. We started it off with the obligatory picture by our home's front door with him showing me his age in fingers.

I can not believe we are already sending him off to (pre)school & I don't care if it is only two days a week for only 2 1/2 hours each day ... Mommy is still weepy *sniff sniff* seeing her little boy go.

Wall Paintings

The two *older kiddos* are enjoying more of the same type of activities and having more playing together lately! Although DS barely got a drop of paint on his hands (not to mention none in his hair) he had just as much fun as DD#1 painting on the butcher paper I taped to our backyard wall.

The benefit of outdoor painting ... I just used the garden hose to rinse her off (next time I won't even bother putting the smock on her)!

2 x 2

Our littlest girl gained exactly TWO pounds in exactly TWO weeks ... and (I think) most of it has gone straight to her cheeks!!!

We our in awe of our thriving, healthy, GROWING baby girl!!!

Ojo de Dios

DS: "Mommy, how does God watch over all of us?".

Me: dead silent as I try to think quickly on my (sleep deprived) feet and half closed eyes.

DS continues: "Does he have a really, really, really, really long window?"

And because he is the last child I am trying desperately to get down for a nap today so Mommy can have just one minute to eat lunch before his baby sister wakes up to nurse ... AGAIN!!! I simply answer, "Yes.".

**pictured above, the "men" of the house**

House of Questions

Our house has been filled with many questions lately ....

• What is that on her belly button?


• Why is she so small?


• When is she going to talk?


• How can she walk if her legs are so little?


• What are boobies?


• Why can't she eat this?


• Why is she bald?


• Did the Doctor help you get her out?


• Why is she sleeping again?

... and they keep coming!!!

Because, YES, our newest princess has arrived ... pictured above with her big sister (not the sibling asking all the above questions but the sibling wanting to point out each of her sister's body parts with great force ... causing us to quickly intervene when she goes for "baby's eyes, nose and head" ... we are quite proud DD#1 can correctly name all her body parts but kind of wishing we only taught her toes, feet and knees!)

Keeping it together!

DS started preschool. It is officially a 7 week summer school program only two days a week but it is at the same school he will attend in the Fall - again, only two days a week.

It has been a very positive experience and he has not had any problems adapting to being in a social environment of 12 peers. His teachers (one teacher, one aide) have had nothing but wonderful things to say about my sweet boy. Is Mommy surprised? I wish I could say no but I must admit I worried and hardly slept the night before his first day - would he be happy? would he be well liked? will he remember to use his manners? will he push the others kids when he is frustrated like he will do with his sister at home? will he cry when I leave? will he eat? will he go potty there? will he play with the other kids or keep to himself? will he think I am abandoning him? oh, the list goes on and on ... But if you're a parent you already know about the crazy things we parents worry about.

But, WOW, was I happy when the only tears shed on the first day were mine (& I think I can honesty say ... only mine, didn't see one other Mommy cry that morning ... or maybe they waited until they got to the car, but really, you can't expect a pregnant Mommy to have that kind of control?!)

He tells me funny stories about his day - like how he "went on the see-saw with the little boy who has a funny little mouth and was wearing a red shirt, he is funny, they pretended to fall off the see-saw and got pretend bruises all over". AND "how most the kids eat their junk food before their healthy foods at lunch time." AND "how he and the little girl played in the sand and made humpty-dumpty fall off the wall." AND ... he will sing to me his good-bye song with hand motions, "it is that time, it is that time ..." while pointing to a pretend watch on his wrist. And ... I cry all over again ... I just can not believe, he goes to preschool already?!

Along with all the cute stories that come home with him are they many many projects. So many that DH finally told me few days ago that there was NO more room on the refrigerator to display these projects. I decided a clear plastic box would be perfect. My first thought was to let him pick out some sort of stylish, fun, colorful box for him to store his projects in but my second thought was that is would seem like we were just "putting it away" but using a clear see-through one like this one would still feel like we were displaying them - still proudly in-sight with out having them all over our refrigerator. Of course, I got the Rubbermaid (new & improved) Revelations brand because I still stand by THIS POST. Out of all the plastic bins I have been given with hand-me-downs THESE are the ones that don't crack, lids don't droop and have the best size options. For his projects I choose the NEW & IMPROVED REVELATIONS with LATCHING in 16.7x13.3x5.3 inches - basically, slightly larger then construction paper (what many of his projects come home on) and over 5 inches of depth so there is plenty of room for all those papers/pictures/paintings but not too big that it easily fits in a cupboard or closet. If you are in need on new storage bins the new version says "Latching Revelations".

DS was so proud when I gave it to him after preschool this week and told him it was a special place for all his wonderful preschool projects. We gathered all his projects off the fridge and he proudly put them all in the plastic bin by himself ... then he went running around the house looking for "more preschool projects to put in there.". Mission Accomplished!

I also thought this will be a fun way to revisit together and "open" often to go through all the wonderful things he has learned and created. And he even wanted to bring it to "Omi and Opa's house yesterday to show them all his projects.".

**Pictured above: DS on his first day of summer school**

sick day with pay

So what do you do when your 8 months pregnant, need a break, DH isn't coming home any time soon and have two very sick whiney kids (too sick to run around at the park to let off steam)?! Not sure what most do but this is what I did ...

Rolled out some butcher paper, gave the kids brushes and paints and enjoyed watching them create (I typically am very actively involved with them during these types of activities so just observing was quite different). The result: they LOVED it!!! And one of the best outcomes, DS asked if he could clean the paint cups and brushes afterwards ... and had just as much fun doing that as he did painting. How did they know Mommy needed a break?! :-)

Luckily we did this in the late afternoon so it was straight to bathtime after this.

RED, WHITE and BLUE day!

Once again I must repeat, pregnancy keeps me from blogging as often as I want but before letting another week go by I thought I would at least post some pics from our fun 4th of July in Del Mar. I know, I know - I have missed Father's Day, my birthday (made special by DH and the kiddos), DS's first day of preschool ... and much much more. My hope (too wishful of thinking I am sure) is to go back and blog about those events too.

Until then ... here are some snappy's of our wonderful 4th of July at the beach. Unfortunately I left the DC at home (by accident) - you know the DC, the fancy schmancy Dear Camera that makes me look like a photographer but at least had my little compact in my purse to capture some of the fun (and only some since my compact camera was low on batteries and didn't even make it to our bbq/smores/firework fun!).

I hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day too! If you are interested in seeing the wee ones the last couple Independence Days you can click HERE and HERE - my how they have grown!

DH and DS on the right and leading the charge across the street to the beach with all our sand toys, umbrellas, chairs, coolers and more (yes, we were beyond excited to spend the day/night at my sister's Del Mar beach house ... just steps away to the beach):

DS spent the entire day playing in the sand - digging holes, building sand castles, jumping, running, splashing ... let's just say, he had a WONDERFUL 3 hour nap before fireworks!:

DD was right there with DS playing all day in the sand (including long nap as well ... and that was after a short one on the beach too!):

The last picture before the compact camera died (the battery actually died while taking this picture and wasn't even sure I had gotten it until getting home and checking the memory card). The kiddos cleaned up and ready for BBQ time, smores and then off to watch the big firework show at the beach displayed from the Del Mar Fair (they LOVED it!):

7 down 2 to go

I walked down stairs this morning in my jammies and immediately upon seeing me (before a good morning, before a hello ... ) ...

DS: "Wow, Mommy, your tummy is getting big.".

Me: "I know.".

DS: "Pretty soon the baby is going to break it.".

DS still looking at my tummy in amazement

DS: "And the Dr. is going to have to fix it ... (long pause) ... with tape.".



And to think, I still have 2 months for this tummy to keep growing, I am thinking tape sounds much easier then the working out I have ahead of me ... and besides that, DS is going to still think the baby is in there anyway when he sees how big the post baby tummy is. Oh, the joys of pregnancy.

Happy (early) Birthday Mommy!

Like all stay at home mothers the 5:00pm hour is probably my most challenging with the kids. That is why on days when my DH won't be home for dinner, bath and bedtime I will often treat the kids and myself to dinner out for less mess and a change of scenery. One of my favorite choices is Chick-fil-A. The kids love the food, it is affordable and they have a fun play zone to burn off their last bit of energy.

On our most recent trip to Chick-fil-A I noticed DS eyeing with wide eyes all the kids getting balloons and ice cream while we were getting ready to leave. We had already eaten our dinner and we had already played in the play area. I knew what question was about to come out so before he asked I decided to beat him to the punch and said, "if you go potty we can get an ice cream". (okay, cheating a bit, this preggo lady was looking for an excuse to get an ice cream and DS was already doing the pee pee dance, lol) His eyes lit up. After a quick potty break I ordered a chocolate shake (no, I didn't give him a choice, I let the baby in my tummy pick this time). I split it up into 3 cups and the 3 of us sat down in a booth enjoying our chocolate shake after a good dinner and a fun time in the play area ... and if his huge smile on his face wasn't enough (the smile that makes his eyes sparkle even more and every bit of frustration I had with him that day completely disappears) he leans across the table, looks straight into my eyes and with his red balloon tied around one wrist and his chocolate shake in the other hand he says in his sweetest 3 year old voice, "thank you Mommy, this is like a birthday party!".

Awwwwwwwwwwww, not only does he melt my heart from showing his gratitude but he makes me feel proud knowing he thinks of these moments as special (as special as a "birthday party") because I can't lie there are those days when DH is away and I'm exhausted and I wonder after I put them down for bed - did I let them watch too much TV today? did I give them too many treats today? did I give in too much today? (in other words, **mother guilt, mother guilt, mother guilt**)

Nah, he just made me hope that the balance I strive for is still there even on the long(er) days.
(or maybe I should just say, at least on this day, and leave it at that!).

California Candy

Am I rubbing it in if I say how lucky we are to not only have the sunshine to enjoy in Southern California but many many wonderful activities available to us with out having to travel far?! And getting there has become part of the fun in the new family minivan (an entire post needed just for the new shiney family 'mobile - stay tuned). So what have we been up to lately on our weekends?

Several days just enjoying the sun, sand and surf in Laguna Beach, CA:

Train ride at Griffith Park and visiting the Observatory: with a stop at the famous Phillipe's for sandwiches:

Ferry ride from Balboa Island to the Peninsula where we rode the merry-go-round and had lunch on the Pier:

Really?! Why would you live any where else? (*spoken like a true native Californian!*) ... gotta run, off to the beach, park, nature center, Sea World .... oh, so much to do!!!

Not-So-Picky-Eater

We have been enjoying our long holiday weekend. Saturday we rode the train at Griffith Park and visited the Observatory. Yesterday we spent most of the day at Laguna Beach where my little girl proved once again just how un-picky she is with food.

Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to all who have served and given us our freedom.

Will work for kinderschokolade!

When pregnant I seem to not take as many pictures of my adorable kids. I assume it is the lack of energy, constant uncomfortable full feeling in my mid section and the waddling that keeps my DC (Dear Camera) in it's bag more often. In fact, it has been about 6 months since I have bribed DS with chocolate to take his picture. The last time I bribed him is HERE. But a few days ago DD was already napping and DS was about 15 minutes away from his nap. I was trying to think of something different (that we didn't already do that day) to kill 15 minutes before nap time.

And then it hit me, what about DH's cousin's recent visit from Germany?! Her recent visit that secured her spot as DS's favorite relative when she immediately upon entering our home gave him a castle of kinderschokolade. (yes, enough for him to immediately build a castle of chocolate taller then himself). If you recall, most of DH's family lives in Germany and last September he fell in love with this special "child chocolate" from the Fatherland .

Without explaination from me, I assume you know what followed. Only this time, after asking him if he wanted to earn some kinderschokolade he responded without any hesitation and I immediately snapped ten fantastic shots of him, all smiling shots with eye contact (3 of the 10 posted above). This not only marks my quickest chocolate for pictures bribe to date but my most successful bribe in general. I know I could have brushed his hair, changed his stained shirt and been more creative with the background but then it wouldn't be us, as is, enjoying a sunny Spring afternoon.

Mother Nature knows (the Best) Fun!

Don't you just love it when that perfect activity you read about actually happens just as planned ... or even better?! I do! Because, let's face it, often times we read these great fun fabulous activities to do with our kids and they often times turn out to be a big ol' flop. You prepare, purchase and/or gather all the materials and envision just how perfect your toddler is going to be and WOW, what a wonderful learning experience they are going to have and boy oh boy how darn cute is the finished project going to be and on and on (well, if you are anything like me your vision of the perfect afternoon goes on and on into the late afternoon) then, you begin as planned and about 30 seconds into the activity your smart, curious sponge, who has such a thirst for knowledge turns to you and says, "I don't want to do this. Let's do something else Mommy." Bust.

So, when it goes just as you hoped and even better it is one that keeps you smiling and repeating for several weeks, am I right? :-)

Recently we have stumbled upon many activities that fall into this category. Including sorting our coins from their piggy banks into multi-colored bowls, talking about the value of each coin, bringing it to the bank, talking about interest earned, counting them, etc. We have also been playing with different colored water (add food coloring for this) in ice trays and using a small dropper (practicing fine motor skills) to mix colors together and experimenting with different combinations to make different colors (IE yellow + blue = green). Big hit with DS.

And most recently, making our nature box and our many nature walks. The idea came from Coastalgirl via Flipflops & Applesauce (Flipflops & Applesauce is a site I visit often and worth a bookmark!). If you thought ahead like me, you have plenty of egg cartons left over from dying Easter eggs. I had tucked mine away in the cupboard in anticipation of them coming in handy for a fun craft activity so I was happy when I stumbled upon this activity. If you did not save them, Spring is always a good time to make some yummy egg salad sandwiches for the weekend!

We painted our egg carton earlier in the week - making it a fun activity all on it's own. We had fun (once again) mixing colors together to make new colors and even though I encouraged him to paint one of the sections white he was having too much fun using white to mix in with other colors & didn't take my advice (although after our nature walk he realized just how many beautiful white flowers there are and that a white section would have been good ... and said to me, "next time I am going to paint one white and one brown." (another color he just didn't want to paint the first go around but certainly noticed was a common color in nature). We set it in the sun to dry and continued to paint pictures on large pieces construction paper (no reason to get out all the paints and put smocks on just for that!). It was a fun day

A few days later we set off on our nature walk collecting fun treasures to match up to a painted section of the egg carton. DS found this activity quite interesting and would even discuss how some leaves had multiple colors (red, yellow, green) so where should we put them? It was a great activity outdoors that had multiple learning opportunities making it a HUGE SUCCESS in my book. DD loved being outdoors with us, going on a slow walk and picking up leaves & flowers (I gave her a small bag to put her nature treasures in). When we got home DS wanted to dump out all his nature treasures on the table and sort them all over again! We have since gone on several nature walks making our daily walks around the neighborhood much more interesting for all.

A Flippin' Marvelous Mother's Day

I received a wonderful gift from DH, DS and DD for Mother's Day.

Those of you who don't believe an electronic device can be sexy haven't seen the Flip yet. It makes the Nano Ipod look quite plain in my opinion (ok, might be a bit of a stretch but definitely the sexiest video recorder you have ever seen!). Can you tell someone is in love already?!

But the best part, I now have a quick, easy way to record memories of my family - both every day life and special milestones. :-)

Thank you DH, not only for today but for each and every day. You make me feel appeciated and loved every day. I love you to pieces.

**Stay tuned for more updates and pictures this week. I know I am behind on posts. We have been busier then usual (if that is even possible, LOL!)**

Hope you all had a blessed Mother's Day and a special thanks to my own Mother who has always been there for me. I am proud to call you my Mother! I Love You!

Keeping cool in the heat

We recently had record highs in Orange County with it reaching 100 degrees!!!! My little munchkins found relief outside by playing with buckets of water (and yes, as you can see, DD is STRONG and DETERMINED).

Luckily I had just ordered this water play table last week in preperation of summer ... not realizing that we needed it NOW - it couldn't have arrived at a better time! They have enjoyed several days with this too but Mommy forgot to take a picture while doing so but no worries, there will be PLENTY of photo opps in the future. :-) If you are looking for a water table I highly suggest this one and would steer away from the sand/water combos unless you want an EVEN bigger mess to deal with after play time. I also decided to get several plastic art aprons that I can easily take on and off the kiddos when they play with the water table so they don't get their clothes too wet (at least not more then the sun can dry off before coming in, of course, on days like these they were stripped down to little clothing any way). I had DH put up a hook by the garage door to hang to dry and give me easy access to them. I am very pleased with the plastic aprons and they are coming in handy for our "shaving cream" art projects too. I just hose the aprons down afterwards to clean up. If you have never tried this activity, it's a MUST, it provides a lot of (messy) entertainment for active toddlers - the type of (messy) entertainment 3 year old boys like.

It has cooled down quite a bit and today it is only in the high 60's .... I am hoping the less sunny sky will bring longer naps today. :-)

Spring parties in full bloom

Being born in Springtime comes with a wonderful gift ... beautiful weather! It seems like Spring more then any other season brings a lot of BIRTHDAY PARTIES! And my guess is because it seems like the perfect excuse to get all the kids and parents together outside for some fun.

This weekend we had two FUN birthday parties - Saturday was for an adorable little 1 year old and Sunday for a beautiful 4 year old ... and next weekend we will be celebrating the G twin's 1st birthday!!! Party season is in full bloom!

Here are some pics of the kiddos (& DH) enjoying themselves at the festivities.