happy birthday grandma chris

a couple of weeks ago, stew was away at camp, but we still got to celebrate grandma chris' birthday!  the boys had no problem helping her with the dessert(me either;)).   happy birthday chris!  thank you for raising the neatest man i know!  you deserve to be celebrated.

  to be honest, i was dreading the week stew was gone.  my mom and aunt were gone in paris and i was afraid i wouldn't have a moment to myself.  my mother in law and father in law were so great to offer to come over TWO nights!  heck yes!  the week ended up being a lot of work, but still a good week.  i am so grateful my sister came by and my dad watched the boys after they went to bed, giving me some time to be by myself.  we are spoiled!

bye bye baby

 my baby is no longer a baby.  this past month asher hit 18 months!  he has a strong personality and knows exactly what he wants, usually whatever the brothers have.  he hates to be left behind and does everything in his power to keep up with the big boys.  he has proven that he can climb stairs and throw himself down the slide all alone(i usually chase after him).  he loves a good juice box and is certain that milk is his favorite food group.  we have found that he LOVES water!  he thinks he knows how to swim and will launch himself off the side of the pool, like the brothers.  his vocabulary is ever growing.  his favorite word is still "mama" or "mommy".  i love it!  he loves trucks and trains.  one of our favorite things about asher is his love for music.  the boy LOVES to dance and show off his moves.  he does NOT love when we leave him in the nursery, but he is working on it.  this past sunday we asked for the policy on crying in the nursery and they were willing to keep him the entire time.  they said he cried up until 15 minutes before we picked him up.  it's progress.  you have to give it to him on persistence.  he is big into smiling for the camera.  this(see picture above) is often what we get when we say smile for the camera, along with the word "cheese".  the brothers love to tackle this tank and he usually doesn't mind.  he loves to play chase and hide and seek.  this little guy has more energy than i thought was possible.  i am not going lie, i often look forward to nap time, so that i can take a breather.  life with our three boys is no where near easy, but it sure is good.  isn't that how life usually goes.

side note:  i am reading an amazing book that i would highly recommend: bob goff's, love does.  tara livesay(one of my very favorite blogs to follow!) was reading his book and i decided to follow suit.  it's been encouraging and challenging for me in the way i live my life.  the livesays are honest in their writing and constantly challenging my thinking and living.  here's one reason why i love the livesay's blog.  they post life stories and reminders like this:

May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships - so that we may live deep within our hearts. May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people - so that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace. May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war - so that we may reach out our hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in the world - so that we can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor. Amen. (Franciscan Benediction)

if you have a favorite blog or book, please do share!  thanks!  

from fresno to san diego

 the drakes (my kids refer to them as the cousins)came to visit the first week of july.  we were all giddy and ready for the fun!  9 kids and 4 adults in our condo!  to be honest, it felt good.  i love when our home is full with kids running up and down the stairs and in and out the front door.  no joke, i was in heaven!

 we started the 4th off at the beach.  thanks to the wonderful dads, we had a spot all ready for us as we arrived.  the weather was awful, but the kids still had a blast.  do kids even feel temperature?  i was freezing!

 ok, these three were a bit cold.

 ryder and stew found a bunch of crabs.  ryder later informed us that was his high of the day.

 this guy loved the water so much, he kept signing more.  stew would take him out into the waves until i had to end it due to his purple lips.

 the jacksons were in town and joined us for some of the celebrating.  ryder threw his arm around kayla as if they had been friends for life.

 asher continues to prove that he loves to be the center of attention.  NEVER a dull moment with this child.  side note:  he is starting to add more words to his limited vocabulary and what he can't say, he grunts in frustration.  this little guy might have a bit of a temper, but he usually follows it with a hug or a smile. ha!

 the evening of the 4th we headed to my parents'(my mom was with my aunt in paris) and celebrated with my dad.  he busted out the rockets which are always a favorite!

 emma decorated our dessert

 and did a fine job at that!

 after we sang happy birthday to america, every kid blew out their candle.

 seriously love these kids! my heart was happy.  

 i totally forgot to do the annual parade down my parents' street so we did it back at our place.  no one seemed to mind.  later that evening we watched amazing fireworks from our front porch(we usually watch them from our bedroom, but found that we had a better view from the front.).  all the kids were asleep, except emma.  the girl knew to wait for the good stuff.

 sadly, thursday morning our friends had to leave.  i hate goodbyes!  we grabbed asher out of bed and decided to get a group shot.  here's my new favorite shot: the setup.

and then this followed.  i love you dear friends!  come back ANY time.  there's always room!

leaving on a high note

 we love our annual trip to the del mar fair ( i don't like change so i am sticking with the old title).

 this fool LOVES to dance.  he is constantly coming up with a new move.  this is a snapshot sequence of his latest arm move.  he will dance like this to ANY song!

 our boys were giddy about going to the fair this year!  they were certain they wanted to use their recycling money from gaga, for a ride.  turns out the rides don't open until 12 and we weren't planning on hanging around much past that.  fortunately they saw the cars racing and decided they wanted to spend their money on that.

 after the music, photo booth(annual photo booth picture to come) and car racing, we headed in for donuts.  can you tell we like to eat?!

 we did NOT try any of these!  totally fried kool-aid?!  HOW??? better yet, WHY?

 last stop: the animals.

 1 hour and 45 minutes and we had done our damage at the fair. we all left smiling and wanting to stay longer.

 as we were almost to our car, stew pointed out that we left on a high note- no meltdowns, no whining and all were still giddy about the fair.  maybe next year we'll stay for a full 2 hours :)

this sweet face was ready for his bed.  the fair opening at 11am was a late start for our crew.  one day we won't race home for naps, but fortunately we're not there yet.