Play Dates and Baby Gates

The other day when I picked Parker up from school he looked really sad. He said a friend of his gave him something then took it back and said she wanted to give it to another kid because he was "cooler". That kid was also Parker's friend and he was hurt that this "friend" didn't just let him keep this item. It was worthless and something I would have just thrown in the trash but it meant something to him and since he was sad, I was sad. I know these situations happen to everyone universally and it teaches us how to be good friends, how to play fairly, and builds character but I still wanted to swoop him up into my arms and protect him. I wish I could shelter him from every pain on Earth. I asked him how he was going to handle it and he said he was going to bring something super cool to school and not share it with these people and rub it in their faces. I recognized this as a reasonable response. But the next day on the way to school I reminded him that it best to just forgive and forget. As it turns out, he had a great day with these same individuals. Kids will be kids. As adults it's important to surround yourself with people who lift you up and not tear you down. But as children, there is a lot of learning and growing up to do.

That being said, I made a more concerted effort to have some of his church friends over after school. We have the most wonderful kids in our ward and I feel so blessed that we can be surrounded by great examples! I also took the babies to Disneyland one morning and grabbed some Fast Passes for Parker and I to use that night for our special "Disney Date". It was so fun! We left at 9 when the parks closed but didn't get home until 11 because it took over an hour just to get out of the parking lot! Ugghhhh!!!!

Ray has been especially sneaky lately. While I was rocking Jack one night, I hesitantly left her in the tub and she got into my vitamins!!!!! I don't think she ate any of them but man, that gave me a scare. Can you imagine the night I would have had if she'd eaten my Green Tea pills? Yikes! She also sufficiently learned how to climb out of her crib and open the door. After climbing up her dresser and having it crash over, we bought her a toddler bed. We also installed a child safely thing on the door knob which she figured out how to dismantle in 2 days. We've since switched the door knob around so we can lock in from the outside and that seems to do the trick. But she hasn't been taking naps and if she does, she's up until 8 o'clock at night! No bueno. So she's transitioning from naps to no naps and she's a basket case. When she's at gymnastics she runs around and wants to be right where the teacher is. She won't wait in line or wait her turn. But she's learning and she loves it and she's non stop smiles. She's talking more fluently and saying new words all the time. I love her cute little chipmunk voice- especially when she says, "Bebo." She says "Banan" for Nana. haha And she ALWAYS wants to give kisses. Like 157 in a row before bed. She softly asks for kisses on her boo boos too which is just precious. She's turning into a big girl all too quickly!

Jack is my pride and joy. He's not quite walking yet but will stand up right where he is. He's so happy and smiles constantly. He's a great eater and sleeper. What more can I ask for? He loves his Nanny and cuddles with his blankets and stuffed animals. He prefers to be outside and can find me wherever I am, like a little duckling. He likes it when I sing to him and even tries to sing along. He claps whenever a song ends or when we say, "Yay!" He can say "Yay" too, and of course "Mama", "Dada", "Ni-night", "Baba" (for bottle), and a few other words. He's an easy going little guy and fits in perfectly with our family.

This is the day I took the babies to CA Adventure to watch the Disney Junior Live Show and the 10:30 was canceled.  So I had to waste time walking around the hot park. Ray didn't want to do Little Mermaid and threw a royal fit when I tried to take her in. She wanted me to hold her everywhere we went and since I left the stroller by the theater I looked like a boss holding both babies. She ran through the line at the Golden Zephyr and I had to have someone grab her. Always an adventure- not just at CA Adventure. We finally made it to the show and she loved it but we had to sit in the back so she could stand, crawl, dance, do somersaults, and scream. Glad we checked that one off the list! 

We love meeting friends at the park! There are so many families with moms my age, daughters Ray's age, and sons Jack's age! It's so fun! And the other girls always look out for the babies. Here's Jack and Jackson- he's about 3 months older than Jack!

Parker LOVES Ana. And she loves him. He gave her a 1 Direction doll 2 Christmases ago and they've been super tight ever since. But they are a wild pair.....

Parker and Malakai. I like when he comes over because he gobbles up my dinners and is so polite! Such a great kid!

More park fun. She was obsessed with all the ants...

My little Jacker's climbing the stairs like no body's business.

My roses have been blooming and they are gorgeous! I picked a ton and made a bunch of arrangements!

April showers bring May flowers.

Table decor for the win

Spring is so fun with hot days and cold days and drizzly days. Any day is a great day to be outside!

Sam is super fun!!! He loves to be active and play outside and he's so good with Rayleigh and Jack!!!

Here's Rayleigh's new big girl bed!

We were invited to our Stake President's house to celebrate his son's 1st birthday. It was an absolutely amazing party with a petting zoo, bounce house, delicious food, and a tent for the rain! The table decorations were so creative and on point and the party favors were excellent! Liz sure knows how to throw a party! Happy Birthday, Jackson! Tanner spoke with Jeremy's Dad who is the president of the San Diego Temple. They had a lot in common and knew a lot of the same people from Tanner's mission days.

After the party we drove to Visalia. I went dragging my feet. But we went to Brandon's beautiful house and they fed us yummy food in the huge backyard while his kids played with mine. I was able to ask a lot of questions and left feeling a little bit better about the prospect of moving again. But I still don't want to! We had an absolutely horrible, nightmarish night of sleep. 5 people in a tiny hotel room with 2 queen beds and a pack-n-play was ridiculous. Jack cried at 2am which woke up Ray who didn't fall back asleep until 5am. It was rough. And then, on Monday morning they called Tanner and said, "There's been some changes." and now he is in the running for a building with this company that is literally 12 minutes from home!!!!!!! I don't know it this is a test of faith, a sick joke, or an answer to prayer. We are waiting to found out and it's excruciating!!!!!!

Let's get the heck out of here!!!!!

"I see you!"

I took the babies to Disneyland one morning and we waiting in line for It's a Small World. Ray had about 7 melt downs and 10 tantrums in the time it took to get on the ride (about 10 minutes) The lady behind me finally picked Ray up off the ground for me and tried to help. Ohhhh man. It's a good thing Disneyland is so worth the tantrums. And she was sooooo happy and just fine when we got on the ride and the entire day after. Well, maybe not the entire day....

That night I took Parker back so we could ride some big kid rides! We did Space Mountain and then ran over to CA Adventure during the fireworks to try and jump onto CA Screaming'. But the ride was closed! So we did Toy Story and watched the back side of World of Color while we waited. He's my best little buddy!

These 2 pictures were taken 5 years apart to the day- 3 years old and 8 years old. Wish I'd seen this picture earlier and I would have forced him to re create this pose!

We were invited for a swim day at our friend's pool! Score! Parker brought his new blow up toys!

Ok, he's got me whipped.

Mess maker mess marker make me mess! These 2 babies.... I try to leave them for 10 minutes while they are eating so I can toss in a load of laundry or go to the bathroom. I almost always regret it. But it's almost kinda worth it....

We celebrated Max's birthday at Jon's park. It was "secret agent" themed and so fun! I love being with my family! Us siblings are all best friends and the kids are best friends too! The kids looked hilarious in their mustaches!

After the party we grabbed some Mexican food and went to the pool. It was such a beautiful, warm, sunny day!!!!! It was hilarious trying to get a cute picture of the babies swimming with Tanner. It was NOT happening.

The babies were asleep 3 seconds after we got in the car. 

We took Jack to Build a Bear to get him a special friend to snuggle with. It was one of the only times I really felt like I scored with the winning gift. He LOVES his bear. He immediately started hugging it and putting his head down on it. I could not have picked a better gift to give him. And Build a Bear makes each bear so special! I was glad my mom was there to share this special memory with us. We ate at Nordie's and then took our tuckered kids home. 

I love love love each day spent with my family!!!!!