last monday ...

last monday was the end of a three day weekend - no school!
we had a fabulous family day:
Old Navy
Captain Nemo's Games
Game Stop
Merry Go Round Consignment Store
Applebee's
Michael's
... yes, it was great!
we drove up to San Luis Obispo and made a day of going
to a couple stops for mama and a couple for daddy,
lunch for all to enjoy ... oh, and that extra stop at the consignment
shop to get Liam a dry pair of pants!
(note to self: pull-ups really don't hold much pee)
I love it when we have a family day that goes super well,
this was one to remember!
I love three day weekends - I wish every weekend was one!

sick day ...

this was captain coughs-a-lot's second day home! yah, I know - he doesn't appear ill in any way, shape, or form. trust when I say, if you heard him cough - you'd know why I kept him home. I just figured they'd end up calling me to get him because it sounds so bad. plus, despite the looks of this photos, by staying home he gets more rest to try and get the sicky bugs to leave (between sleeping in, having a rest, no recess, etc. it does happen).


I really loved the boys' pirate ship! I love seeing the kids being creative! I think the captain has an awfully adorable first mate too - don't you agree? after their voyage, they sat and enjoyed a smidgen of tv! aww, "sick days" can be fun - when you're not too sick!

Happy Birthday Devin

five weeks ago, we were finishing up a birthday party for our sweet little Zoey, she was a day shy of being a year old. we read on facebook that up in Oregon, a family from our old church had been involved in a car wreck and two children had gone to be with Jesus. later that night, my mom came into the kitchen crying and told me who it was. honestly, I had no idea who she was talking about - as I never knew the dad or the boys, Devin & Dawson. I did remember the mom, we went to that same church when we were younger and I knew her sisters. to say I was sad, would be an under-statement. I cried that night for them.

since January 22, 2011 not a day has gone by that I haven't thought of those boys and their family. in fact, very few days have I kept from shedding a tear for them. I can't explain it. I never met them, but they have impacted my life. God has been revealing things to me (about myself) as I think about the family, and He's been bringing them to my mind for prayer - I'm sure.

a few days ago I saw that my friend, the boys' aunt, posted that saturday (today) would have been Devin's tenth birthday. the family would be wearing silly bands, a favorite of Devin's, in memory of him. she also mentioned anyone else wanting to participate could do so, and post photos. I knew immediately that we'd be participating.

as I thought about it, I felt that this was an opportunity to really show and share God's love. I got to talking to my friend and we decided to make a "party" of it. we'd gather up any of our friends who wanted to join us and we'd take photos to send our love to the entire family, in memory of: a son, a grandson, a nephew, a friend - a little boy who meant the world to so many people.

two little boys, who were very loved.

today was the party, Happy Birthday Devin ...

we had to do a silly one!
it's kind of hard to see the silly bands, but if you click
on the photos you'll see them full size!

our love and prayers to the family - from members of your family in Christ, in central California!

take two ...

now, if you haven't been keeping up with the birthday blog (shame on you) then you'll have no idea what I'm talking about when I say "take two"! yesterday was Zoey's thirteen month birthday, and I didn't manage to get any decent pics! today I decided to do a little "snap shot" photo shoot ... a re-do, just a day late! I got some cute stuff...

this one just makes me laugh, it's like she's saying
"you want me to do what?" ... just smile sweet baby!

this one is just sweet, I find!

this one - I'm in love with.
IN LOVE!

another sweet one, if you click on it
you might be able to see some of the three
teeth currently coming in on the bottom
(there's two on the top, too)

oh - lots of sweet ones

she was crawling for me, trying to get the camera -
I love it!

*photos taken February 24, 2011*

round one:

baby spoon: 0
garbage disposal: 1
and of course, these are now the preferred spoon -
clearly, I'm gonna need to purchase more!

chip-aholic ...

would you think any less of me, if I said I let my kids eat chips?

what if I told you I let my three year old eat chips?

what if I told you, he's eaten them enough to know what they are -
and if he sees them, he sweetly asks for some "xtips"?

what if I told you, I pretty much always give in?

what if I told my kids eat in the living room? watching tv?

what if I told you, that the other day, Liam fell
asleep ... like this:

that's right my peoples!

he fell asleep after a hearty helping of ruffles!

he fell asleep, with his hand in the bag!

oh yes, he did!

someone, get this kid an agent!

seriously?
this smile melts my heart!
tell me that's not a Hollywood cheese!

sunday - bloody sunday!

ok ... so, technically - it wasn't bloody! but, I just couldn't resist. what IS IT with sundays lately? maybe God is trying to tell me to get back to church - lol! anyway, on sunday there was an "incident" in our household. I'd say it's quite likely to become one of those infamous events that we speak of many times over the course of time. one to tell future children in law, future grandchildren, and so on. it was - the day one of Jericho's "buck" teeth, became no longer "buck"!
how? you may ask. simple: his sister punched him in the face! ok, in her defense she said it was an accident. upon further review from the both of them the story sounds consistent. they were playing with Liam's new bop bag, Jericho was holding it and Annicka was punching it. Jericho moved it - along with his head - and she bopped him a good one right in the tooth! she was all mad that "Jericho bit me", uh huh - I could tell by his cry that he was really hurt! as soon as I saw his tooth, I was in shock (this was before I knew the whole story). he kept saying "Anni punched me" and it was obvious that, yes indeed, he'd taken a good punch. his right front tooth went from sticking out toward the front, to ever so slightly angling into his mouth! his gums above it bruised immediately. if you look close, there's a tiny red/blood spot by the left tooth too!

I called the dentist and he said there was nothing to be done immediately. a lot of times it either hurries up the expulsion of the baby tooth (thank God it was a baby tooth) or the tooth resets itself. it appears the latter is true in our case. his tooth was looking nice and straight and we had him convinced that sucking his thumb would hurt it ... unfortunately, that only lasted a day. DARN. now it's looking like it may be coming forward again - so, I guess it hasn't set itself!

he's over it. it's been a rough week though, and now he's battling a horrible cough! he's already missed the past two days of school and I'm not sure if he'll be able to go tomorrow either, I hate when they have to miss school! oh well, such is life.

and that, my friends, is the day the buck tooth turned non-buck. LOL.

outgrowing baby-hood ...

yes, though she's still fairly small (she still wears a lot of 6-12month clothing) Zoey is quickly outgrowing her baby things. for instance, her little yellow bed (which, I might add, they now make in much cuter colors - this always happens to me - argh) ... now, size wise she has not outgrown it. in squirmy, I'mdeterminedtogetouttahere ways she has! so, it's on my for sale list.
I was sort of reminiscing the other day about last year. 2010 still feels like a blur to me. and it got me thinking of all the things I've sold in the past year and a half ... three cribs (it's a long story, sort of), a changing table, a train table, a vanity, two televisions, two strollers, a bouncy seat, two swings, a bunk bed, baby bedding, baby clothes, kids clothes, toys, a baby "gym", a baby bed ... that's a lot of stuff and there's lots more I can't even think of. it feels great to get rid of stuff. if you saw our house, you'd probably say - how on earth did you have room for that stuff? lol. clearly there's a reason I keep trying to get more and more stuff out of here!!!

quotes of the week ...

Liam has a bit of a bad habit of hitting & kicking, in fact - today I heard Zoey start to cry, it was a hard cry that I've never heard before. I came rushing to her and couldn't figure out what was wrong, she was just sitting there? I picked her up and turned around to see Liam dancing around with a fly swatter, then he said "it was just a little hit" - hmmm. naughty step for you buddy. then this afternoon he "hit" (think hammer fist style) his brother, I told him to go to the naughty step and he replied, "it was just my army" - meaning, his arm. he's a smart one - oh yes. but he still had to sit on the naughty step!
... I have to add - when I let him off I explained why he was on there and he goes "an hog an xtis" (that's the best way I spell the way he says it) ... awwwww, he's learning. so a hug and kiss and apology both bubba and I got!

I was blowing raspberries on Liam's tummy as I put his shirt on him and he told me to "stop it, you're putting yours germs on me". crack. me. up.

I have to mention here, it's not a quote - but it's adorable! the boys' latest "thing" is that they are Batman and Robin (Jericho is Batman) ... love it!

silly Zoey!

I could just eat my little baby up! tell me those cheeks don't look absolutely delicious? I love how I put those cute little flip flops on her, but she couldn't stand them! she got one off right away. that's our smart little cookie! love you "Zozo" ... and hope you'll eventually enjoy wearing "real" footwear!

oh-so-random ...

sometimes the random stuff is the stuff I love most. another afternoon. school is over. I'm letting the kids do their thing. this day it was games in the garage!

Jericho's been channeling his inner "jacob" for at least
several weeks now (if you've never seen Twilight, don't
feel bad that you have no idea what I mean by that comment)

I can always count on him for a good laugh!

is it just me, or does he look way too grown up here?
maybe his recent hair trim, ON his birthday,
has made him look a bit more baby-ish again?
(this pic is a couple weeks old, before the hair trim)

and my oldest, my most unwilling photograph-ee!
but this day, I caught some smiles ... or are those smirks?

definitely a smile!
does this one remind anyone else of this
My Girl poster???

and this is what baby Zoey was doing during all this!

pretty.

just pretty.
nothing especially fantastic,
but if you think about it - they are:
flowers!
what a beautiful thing God gave us!
here's a couple more pics from
the day of our walk - the first two were
on our way home and the last
is in my own front yard!!!

our family walk ...

last weekend we all went for a week. it was nice, mostly. there was some whining. Annicka, at one point, sat herself down away from us - upset about some odd thing. I only mention this as to not seem like everything was just "hunky dorey", la da da, aren't we the perfect little family out on our glorious little walk. uh - nuh. that's not how we roll. ha ha ha. but, I did capture some fun photos that will remind us of a (mostly) fun time ...