We Have a Yard!!!!

For those of you who have never seen our back patio, it was an area of our house that did not get used nearly as much as it should have. I didn't feel very comfortable being back there much with the boys because of the dirt and spiders mainly. Also it gets very hot back there in the summer. We decided to make some "changes" to this area so that we could actually utilize the space and I am I am so thankful for it. We (I say we but I mean mostly Jeremy) decided to put in some fake grass onto a large chunk of the patio. We also added a pop up gazebo to give us some shade and "Joilla", we have a new play area! It has been so nice getting to spend the days outside without having to always go to the park.

The boys really like hang out with Dad as he was working on it
Of course Logan has to do whatever Daddy is doing

The Finished Product!

What the area looked like before

Oh and I have noticed that lizards (which are all over in California) seem to like our new area also. A few days ago I found this guy hanging out by the air conditioner. He was pretty weird looking!

Jordy is 8 Months Old!

Jordy is 8 Months old today! Not a lot new to report except that he continues to charm us with his sweet personality and smile. His laugh is infectious and he can scream with the best of them!

Some things he is doing now:

• He LOVES to clap and has been for almost a month now


• He is blowing kisses and giving kisses but he still hesitates to kiss Daddy with his whiskers . . . Poor Daddy, you will get one, one of these days :)


• He hasn't shown any interest in crawling yet


• I can finally say that I know his schedule for naps . . . 9:30 am -nap, 1:00 nap


• We have turned a corner on sleeping at night! Yay! He is only up once around 3:00 am


• He is eating all second stage foods but doesn't really like the meats. He will eat them if I mix them with something else


• His second tooth is about to pop through and he is definitely teething . . . fussier than usual


• He is wearing all 12-18 month clothes


• He is still in the screaming/yelling phase


• He wants whatever Logan has and if Logan is close will try to grab it


• He is very close to transitioning to the next carseat
  

Mini Vaca in Newport

This past weekend we spent one night at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport as a job trip for Hensel Phelps. The trip was meant to celebrate the success and progress of the Kaiser Hospital that Jeremy is working on. The trip was supposed to be for just couples but since we didn't have a babysitter we took the boys along and made it a little family vacation. Because we had the boys with us we couldn't go on the cruise that night. That was ok though because we had a great night just the 4 of us. We even had our first family movie letting the boys stay up late and watch Toy Story.

The ship we would have been on

We went to the HP coctail hour and the boys got HP sailor hats

Logan loved looking at the boats

Swimming with Dad

Happy Father's Day

To all the Dad's, Grandpa's, Uncle's, and male figures who play a part in positively influencing our children's lives. Thank you for being their role models and heroes. To my own Dad, Thank you for being the amazing man you are and to my wonderful father-in-law. I know as I watch Logan and Jordy look at Jeremy that he is and I pray will continue to be their hero. I am so proud to call him the father of my children.

Every day or nearly every day for the past few months, Logan, Jordy, and myself trek up the hill out of our neighborhood to meet Daddy when he gets home from work. We do this because when Jeremy received his promotion and his new Hensel Phelps truck he was no longer able to park in our parking area because of a rule about having "commercial" vehicles in our housing complex. Yes we fought it but decided to just follow the rule and so he parks at the top of the hill outside our area. I think for all of us something that originally seemed like a nuisance has turned into a highlight of our day and definitely a great memory I will have. Logan looks forward to this part of the day as he know that not only are we going to see Daddy but also his big yellow truck! Everyday he gets to sit inside and sometimes even go for a little ride around the culdesac! Daddy is definitely HIS hero!

Daddy and Logan

Daddy and Jordy

Summer Fun!

With the summer upon us we have begun the season enjoying the weather and friends. This past week has been filled with the beach, a field trip to the fire station, play dates with friends, and water fun. Doesn't get much better than that! :)

You're heading in the right direction buddy! ;)

Jordy hanging out in the sand

We headed down to Doheny Beach for the annual post mud run picnic. This year just Jeremy ran in it. I wish I had a picture of him in the run but I wasn't too comfortable sending him to a "mud run" with the camera especially since I wasn't there. You can imagine though that he and the rest of his HP Team mates were covered in mud!
Ty, Kenley, Logan, and Maya playing in the sand

Logan playing in the fountains at the Spectrum Shopping center. It is a hot spot for Mom's during the summer.

We went with one of my Mom's groups to the local fire station for a visit. Logan loved it!

Brothers just catching up on a little Elmo!

More Water Fun!

"I sure am cute!"

Angel's Game

Just a fun night at the Ballpark! The Angels played the Devil Rays and they gave out Angels Poor Boy Hats, which I love! We decided to take a chance and go to the game despite our boys' usual 7pm bedtime. It can either go really bad or really good and tonight it went really good! Logan had a great time and Jordy always does when there is lots going on. Jeremy and I just kept looking at each other saying "This is fun!" WE were even enjoying the game which can be hard with little ones this age. So here's to many more "Fun nights at the Ballpark!"

A Little Logan Update

I know that Logan's 2nd B-Day is coming up but I feel like Logan has needed a little update and I didn't want to wait 2 months. In the last month he has really taken off with his language. He has always been a talker but he is really starting to form sentences and communicate with us all the time and inject some humor into our conversations. It cracks me up to hear him try to be funny or say funny things. I am really looking forward to our conversations. I know that might sound a little weird to say but it is like he is know a boy ready to be guided in this world, not that he wasn't before but we are now at that next "help me become a good person" age.

Another update is that we have officially "trashed" the pacifier aka "ma . . .ma". The Sunday after our California vacation, I talked to Logan about how we were going to throw away all of our pacifiers because he was a big boy now. I said let's throw it in the trash can and then the trash truck will take them away. Surprisingly, he had no issue throwing it in the trash all by himself. From then on it really was a non-issue. Even as I write this I cannot believe how smoothly this went. Writing this even makes me feel like I am going to jinx myself even though it has been a month already. Every time he cried for it, I reminded him that HE threw it away and that the TRASHMAN was taking it. That seemed to be enough for him and didn't ask for it again. And let me tell you this boy has been pretty attached to his "ma . . . ma" Not sure why he called it that but he did. Crazily he didn't cry once the first night without it. The second night and a few there after, he asked for it but again I reminded him and he told me what he did with it and then he was fine. So one task down, two more to go . . .Big Boy Bed and Potty Training to be taking place in July and August respectively.

He loves hockey these days as our neighbor, Delaney, plays street hockey and is always practicing outside. We found him a stick at a kids consignment sale and he LOVES yo be out there playing too

Helping Dad clean up the back patio

Playing in the dirt!

Girls Weekend

This weekend my amazing husband became Mr. Mom for a little over 24 hours as myself and some great girlfriends stepped away for a little relaxation away from the kiddos. Saturday morning we headed to Palm Springs with a stop at the outlet mall along the way. After an hour or so of shopping we headed to Mission Hill resort where we spent the afternoon and evening poolside enjoying a few drinks and good conversation. It is amazing what a little girltalk can do for the soul. For me it was the first night since Jordy was born to sleep through the night so that was a definite highlight of the trip. On Sunday the resort offered a free yoga class that we went to prior to a great breakfast and then drive home. It was the perfect little get-away for me. By the way we did not plan the hats . . . It was kind of funny to see us all walk in to the pool and we definitely heard a few comments. As for Jeremy, he and the boys' had a good weekend. A funny little story mom's will appreciate . . .So I left him a "typical" daily schedule for each of the boys that included times to eat, sleep, what to eat, ect. as he had asked for a little guide. The funny thing to me was that when I called Saturday evening to check-in, I asked how things were going? His response . . . They have been going great, I am 15 min ahead of schedule. Haha :) I thought that was too cute and I truly appreciated his enthusiasm for his boys' weekend! We all know those "typical" schedules do not happen all that often but I am glad they did that day for him .:)

Our Suite!
Michelle and Ann playing paddleball
Melissa and Nikki enjoying the sun
Ann was a wonderful bartender!

Thanks for a wonderful weekend ladies!

Jordy is 7 Months Old!

If you look real close you can see he his first tooth!

Jeremy and I are still amazed that we have a 7 month old! These times fly so fast. Jordy is really starting to pave his path into our family with his adorable little personality. Logan is enjoying his little brother more and more and I am starting to see the gap between them dwindle. I know it will be only months before they are playing together and I am so excited for the day!

Some things Jordy is doing now:

• He giggles and screams all day long (YES we are in the screaming phase again)
• He likes to have screaming conversations even . . .He screams, you scream, he screams and this goes on and on.
• I haven't mentioned this before (probably because I was a little embarrassed about it) but this child LOVES television and will sit and watch a half hour show with Logan no problem.
• He is sitting on his own but could still fall over at any given moment. He doesn't quite have the base yet to support himself all the time
• He is the smiliest baby EVER!
  
• He is eating all 2nd stage baby foods and enjoying them all
• His night time schedule is as follows : Bedtime - 7pm, Up at 11pm, Up at 4am, Up at 6am, So we are still working on sleeping through the night :(
• He is cruising in his walker these days
• He is wearing mainly 12 month clothes
• He is getting his first tooth on bottom