Photo Shoot!

OK, so last night Lindy and I (and our husbands were wonderful enough to come help us) took Jordyn, Lexi, Lyric and Alyson to get "cousin" pics taken for my mom's bday. I don't think I've ever had a smooth and easy photo shoot, so we geared ourselves up for some drama. I especially know how much Lexi hates it, so we were REALLY talking-up all the treats she would get afterward and how happy Grandma would be, etc. Nonetheless, it went pretty much as we expected! Lots of drama, but we also captured some great shots! Here they are:

OK, so I had to buy this shot because it TOTALLY shows Lexi's hysteria! Can you even believe we kept trying after this face? But I KNEW she had the potential, so I persisted...

Isn't it amazing that this next shot is within 5 minutes after the previous hysteria? I told you she had potential! This isn't "perfect" of all the kids, but to us it felt like it after what we endured!

And finally....this is Lexi's official "2 year old picture" (we finally got it Gam!!! I'll be sending it to you soon to add to your wall!). Only 10 minutes after her screaming and crying, here Lexi was posing like a model and cheesing for the camera. This kid sure has a mind of her own!! I like this shot because it captures her personality. Whew, I'm still tired from the experience!

My Grandma

I just barely downloaded this picture from a while back, but I just had to post a little blurb about it. This is my Grandma (my mom's mom) and I just love her to death. She is a one-of-a-kind soul! She has always been the most giving person I know and is a very strong woman. Now that she's nearing 80, I can see her health wearing her down. But she's got a fighting spirit and so much tenacity that I think she'll be around for quite a while. So much of what I've learned from Grandma is woven throughout my life on a daily basis....little things, like every time I see a full trash can in my house, I picture how hers are ALWAYS empty, even if there was only one tissue in it that day! Every time I butter my toast, I picture her talking about "real butter" and "lots of it" on her toast. Every time I see Famous Amos cookies at the store, I'm tempted to buy them...not only because they are SOOOO good, but because she ALWAYS has them in her cupboard! These are just a very few of the little things that make me think of my Grandma. I don't seem to make it to Anaheim to visit her as often as I'd like anymore, but her home will always be a sort of "home base" for me. It's the only house that has been a part of my life since birth and her decorations, her photos on the wall and the memories I have there are absolutely priceless to me. I wish you had internet to see this Grandma, but I love you so much!

Cousins and Costco

Alyson's been visiting for the past week, and tonight the girls decided to go swimming in our backyard blow-up pool. Alyson is a year older than Jordyn, and they love to play (and argue!). It's fun to have cousins so close in age and living so close.



Today I had a OBGYN appt - baby's heartbeat is strong...and so is my weight gain (ha ha). Anyway, Lindy came with me and the girls and we decided to "stop by" Costco after the appointment. Costco is NOT a place you merely "stop by", even if your intentions were to grab just 2 or 3 things. So after a long, hot walk around the wherehouse, trying samples and keeping kids happy, we checked out with each of our carts holding more like 12 or 13 items! I just can't believe how much energy a Costco run takes in this extreme heat! Loading in and out of the car...ugh.

The Girls Get Shots

Oh what a day! The girls were both in need of doctor's check-ups and an update on their shots, so I scheduled them at the same time. Kill two birds with one stone, right? Ugh, what an ordeal! After lots of crying, about 8 needle pokes total, eye exams, hearing exams, etc they really DID survive! The doctor was even a close friend of ours - but you wouldn't have known it by the hysteria my kids displayed! (Don't be fooled by the temporary smiles in the photos!) I'm so thankful my mom came with us. She's such a natural "coach" in those stressful situations. She even climbs on the doctor table with the girls! I couldn't have done it without her today.

The happy news is Jordyn is all registered for pre-school now (the exam was our last step) and starts in a few weeks! She's very excited.

Summer = Fresh Fruit

I love living here this time of year (and NOT for the 113 degree days!). We have fresh produce stands EVERYWHERE and you can get fruit or veggies for like 1/5 of the grocery store's prices. There is a stand right by our house that sells 5 lb bags of peaches or nectarines for $2 per bag, so I've been stopping there every couple days to get some! These have been such a lifesaver snack during this pregnancy! I love it!

Bargains

I just love when I find things on major clearance! Last week The Children's Place was having major sales (both in the store and online) so this is one of my bargain finds! The outfit Jordyn's wearing was prob about $5 total after all of the sales and online coupon codes I found (check out the Screaming Penny link at the top of my page).

Looking Older!

Both Jordyn and my niece Alyson have really curly hair. Yesterday my sister Kristy (who has beautiful, long, blonde straight hair herself) straightened Jordyn and Alyson's hair, just for fun! We were surprised at how long their hair looked (after seeing ringlets everyday) and how old it made them look!! They sure love their fun Aunt Kristy. They think she's like a movie star and want to be just like her!

Potty Training!

Well, we've been working on Lexi's potty training for about two weeks now. She is actually doing really well! It's just such a roller coaster ride because I can feel so frustrated when she 'forgets' and stands on the carpet saying "uh-oh!" while peeing all over ... and then I can feel so elated when she 'remembers' and runs to the potty just in time! But it will be all worth it to have it done by the time the baby gets here. All of these emergency runs to the potty throughout the day would probably be more challenging with a newborn baby in my arms!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

It's 3 am - I'm posting this during one of my middle-of-the-night boughts of pregnancy related insomnia. I hate it.

Tonight Tucker and my brother, Ryan, took Jordyn and Lexi to a minor league baseball game nearby. It was the girls' first baseball game and they were so excited. Not that they understand much about baseball yet, but it was still a very exciting event to them. They had hot dogs, and went down a huge slide and Tucker bought them pink baseballs. I, on the other hand, opted to NOT go to the 100 degree game (even at 8:00 it was that hot) and had a nice evening alone. Thanks Tucker!

Free Food

So Friday night, the girls, Tucker and I along with Lindy, Kristy and Lyric went to Chili's. We all love it there and go quite often. This time our experience was way under par. The wait was long, the food took FOREVER, they were understaffed, and each meal seemed to have something wrong with it. Having been a server for a like 5 years in college, I am understanding to a certain degree. But this went beyond the norm, and we were getting annoyed. So the manager came and talked to us and ended up giving us our whole meal for free! This sort of thing embarrasses me because I'm not a big mooch, but I actually felt justified in this one! So we all got a free night out and the manager (after finding out I used to work for Chili's) even begged me to come work for him after the baby was born! Thanks, but I'm not sure that'll work into my schedule! :-)

The Gang

Katie and company left this morning. We had a fun week of swimming, eating and hanging out together. It's fun to hang out with friends who are more like family! I don't envy their drive back home, but I'm sure glad they were willing to do it for a visit!!!

Katie, Savannah and Cooper!

We are lucky to have visitors this week. Katie, Julie, Savannah (4) and Cooper (2) came to visit us from Utah this week. Katie and I have been friends for 19 years, and we live in different states now, so we only get to see eachother a couple times per year. Our kids are the same ages, so they have had a lot of fun playing together. Today we swam for a few hours in the 104 heat, so that means TIRED kids tonight! We're having a good time and its fun to see the kids making memories together. As my mom always tells me, its your job as a mom to "MM" - Make Memories for your kids.

Superman Returns

Tucker and I went to see Superman Returns tonight. He's already seen it (of course) but we wanted to see it at the IMAX theatre in 3D. I really liked the movie a lot. I'm not a huge comic book fan or anything, but (being married to Tucker) I've certainly learned more than I ever thought I would about Batman, Spiderman, Superman, etc. Plus, I've taken an extra interest in the Superman story ever since the TV show Smallville came on the air like 5 years ago(?). We LOVE that show. (Not to mention Tom Welling is SO good looking!)

TUMS!

I just have to say that I can't believe I have three months and three weeks left of eating these SEVERAL times per day. The thought of them is already making my stomach churn. Too bad I don't think of them as "candy" like my kids do!!!

4th Festivities

We celebrated both last night and tonight for the 4th of July. Last night our city did fireworks, so we watched them from the front yard of some of our good friends' - as well as set-off our own in the street. Then tonight we celebrated with my family - swimming, BBQ-ing and setting-off some more fireworks in the street! All was fun and well....unless you ask Lexi. She absolutely HATED the noise of - actually everything about - the fireworks! But she DID get in the pool finally, and immediately loved it. She wanted to swim and be a fish, but still doesn't have much concept of how hard that really is!

Getting Bigger By The Day

For some reason I thought I'd post this picture of myself - for those of you who find pleasure in my ever-growing body!! Sorry this is such an up-the-nose angle picture of me. I just can't believe that I feel and look so big and I have FOUR whole months to get even bigger!! I already feel like I can't get a deep breath, and bending over to pick up toys is my worst nightmare! O'well. It's all part of the pregnancy package, right? And I keep telling myself that I would take this part a hundred times over compared to the horrific nausea I had (it's all about the mental pep-talks!!!!)