More Pictures

Just realized you'd never know I was actually on the Oregon trip because I'm not in any of the pictures. This is proof I did partake - fishing and the jet ski! Also found a couple other cute pics I didn't want to neglect posting. Have a great week.

Celebrating the 4th of July in Oregon

A lot has happened in a few short weeks. My mom is moved into her new place (2.4 m from me), although still working on getting settled in. We've all had a virus which has meant lots of runny noses. Kyle fell off the top of a ladder while talking to the little girls next door (bruised up but not broken).
The real highlight was getting away to Oregon for the 4th. We left Thursday night, drove all night (9hrs) and arrived and Grandma and Grandpa Nelson's around 4:30 AM. We were a little groggy on Friday.
While there, we relaxed, ate a ton, went fishing, enjoyed the river/boat, jet ski, ATV, walks, and some amazing fireworks - thanks to Chad & Ron. They had a whole box which took about 2 hrs and all kinds of crazy devices - only one mishap but no one injured (thank goodness!)
Sean and Kyle were in their glory up there, so busy and so happy.
The trip back on Monday was long; making 3 stops (1 of which was Medford Costco) it was 12 hrs, arriving back to SJ around 11:30 PM. LONG DAY and the kids were ok but it was trying.
Sean is standing up on his own and trying to take steps, so it will only be a matter of time. He has completely given up baby food and only wants "people food." This means I need to go grocery shopping and get more creative with soft food he can feed himself.
Kyle is loving preschool (he was moved up to "room A"), is still potty training, talks constantly, likes to wrestle with Sean, and is really into baseball and basketball.
We just decided to start insisting he sit at the dinner table with us and eat what we're eating. It's been a rocky road. We made a few mistakes along the way with regard to his eating regimen that we're trying to avoid with Sean and make right with Kyle.
We're all doing well, very tired at times with so much going on constantly but nothing to complain about.
Looking forward to our motor home trip to Calgary/Lake Louise in August. Chad parents are being incredibly generous and letting us borrow their RV. What an adventure that will be. Enjoy the pics, you'll see the boys are getting big and are starting to look more and more different from one another - they are truly their own people.

Brothers

Just took this one tonight - very cute. I think they are starting to figure out that playing together can be really fun. They make each other laugh all the time.








Then there was the night mom got home late and dad fed re fried beans from our favorite Mexican restaurant Adelitas to Sean - this was the result.









This video is of Kyle shredding it up on his bike at Michelle's condo in Capitola.



This depicts the shenanigans that go on when they are in their room together. Sean jumps up and down in his crib and Kyle does crazy stuff in his bed - and you just hear loud screaming & laughter. Then mom or dad has to go in and say - "time to go to bed!" (note the cat tail walking through the video - that's "fat cat" getting in on the action).
It's been trying at times having them in the same room but it's worth it and I think we're on the home stretch - Sean has even slept through the night 2 nights in a row (keep your fingers crossed!)

Big Sur

It's feeling like summer. Last weekend we camped out in beautiful Big Sur - with the Burgs and Harringtons. We left Friday night after work and returned home on Sunday. We had such a blast with our friends and all the boys (6 in total). Chad did a great job of getting us organized, up there, set up and taken down. Only challenging part was Sean - still not feeling well and a little cranky. We did bring his porta crib which is truly a camping essential (we have a really big tent).
Kyle was in heaven - camping out on the river, endless rocks to the throw in the river, bikes, hills to climb, dirt to get dirty in, boys to pal around with, s'mores (2 weekends in a row) and all that mother nature, family and good friends has to offer. Camping is fun!...dirty, but fun! 5 loads of laundry later, we're catching up here at home and making our way through another crazy work/daycare week. Love summer and spending time with the boys (Chad too). Here are some highlight pics. oh - forgot to mention they have a great store/bar up the road - so Julia and I even got some girl time (w/Chardonnay) - loved that too.

Other Cute Pictures from Spring 2010

Before I forget to post these, here are other recent pics:

Time with my boys

The month has flown by. Chad's mom saved us - moved in for 3 1/2 weeks while I got through my busiest month at work - we are forever grateful. Work is still busy but I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Sean has become a little more challenging - definitely has his moments. We now call him "Jack Jack" the character from the movie "Incredibles"; if you've seen the movie you know why - happy one minute, a crying devil the next minute. He's also teething and has been constantly sick, so he hasn't exactly had it easy. The boys haven't seen much of me, so that's been a change for them as well.
We had a great Memorial weekend. We were invited to hang with the Newmans & Bonfantines in Aptos at Seascape. Kyle had a blast with little Luke, they enjoyed riding their bikes, riding in the golf cart down to the beach, playing in the water, building sand castles, the bonfire, eating S'mores, and the highlight was riding in the little race card Jeff rented (see pic). The boys are really cute together. Sean did well with the Newman twins, but it was busy with all the little ones. We decided to call in a sitter for a couple hours and had some time at the bar (so nice) with our best buddies - Jeff, Annie, Lindsey, Michelle and Cameron. Chad and I have the greatest friends.
Having a 3 day weekend with Chad and the boys was so needed. Back to the work week! Enjoy these recent pics.

Stamina

By definition "the capability of sustaining prolonged stressful effort." That's pretty much how I can describe this last month.
Life has been busy, and sleep has been minimal. My busy season at work typically heats up April and goes through at least June, so I've been mentally preparing. Just as expected (because the perfect storm was brewing) my moms home in Nipomo finally sold, so it's been a scramble to find her a home in the bay area. Luckily we did find something, worked with a realtor Thursday night to get an offer in and it was accepted. Beginning late June, my mother will be a resident of Quail Hollow in San Jose (55+ community), and just 2 miles from me.
Besides working 10+ hr days, I'm spending every spare second with my boys, a little time with hubby and just functioning in survival mode.
It's nuts now but will get better. I'm forcing Chad to plan a vacation for July or August so I can stay focused on some downtime with my favorite people (the fam!)
Boys are doing great. Sean, whom started crawling at 6 months, is now 7 months and fully mobile. He's pulling him self up on everything, and now reaching for everything in site (coffee table is his favorite). He's funny - so happy one minute and a screamer the next. He's a bottomless pit who wants to eat 24/7. Loves yogurt, bananas, apples, crackers, cereal puffs, and pretty much anything that can be mashed.
Kyle is a chatter box. Seems funny now that I was worried about his lack of vocabulary. His talking has taken off and he says the funniest things. He loves to yell at my moms dog "Loki - get in the backyard." He just tortures that poor dog. Loves to mimic us and gives me the most devilish glances - what a trouble maker. Today, Daddy took him to the lake to throw rocks and then we met up at a children's fair. It was my first break in a while and it felt so nice to be outside. I'm actually watching TV today and catching up on some Oprah/Biggest Loser. It's so nice.
Life is good! Working hard, loving my family, and found a great home for my mom (wish us luck getting through the next few weeks!)

Action Day / Primary Plus - Egg Hunt

Kyle and Sean had an Easter party at school today. Dad made it, mom didn't - at least there was some parental representation (Thanks Chad!)
According to Chad, Kyle wasn't into the Easter Egg Hunt like he was last year, he was more excited about taking Chad around the school to show him everything and play on the playground. Kyle made a cute Easter bag and collected a few eggs - he was eager to show me when I got home from work.
We're off to Reno/Tahoe tomorrow. Taking the kids to the snow (for sledding), will check out Circus Circus and do some swimming in the hotel pool (indoor of course.) Should be fun. Happy Easter!

Easter Time!

Love spring, the warm weather, easter egg hunts, pastel colors, and all that Spring and Easter has to offer. We hit the Los Gatos Easter Egg Hunt this morning and had a lot of fun. We didn't think to actually grab a basket for eggs, so Kyle used his bike helmet - whatever works....just glad we made it out of the house and over there on time (it's the little things). The place was so packed full of families that the egg hunt took about 3 minutes - you had to be fast. Lots of fun stuff for the kids, we had a blast - great to be outside too. Enjoy the pics!

Daylight Savings

We're enjoying our evenings; still some sunlight when we get home from work to enjoy the boys and their activities.

Sean loves his jumper, and he loves it so much that he jumps until he passes out!

Kyle loves his bike, he rides it every chance he gets during the course of a day. On daycare days, aka "school days" he wants to ride it before we leave and then as soon as we get home. Dad bought him a new helmet, and he'd practically eat dinner and sleep in it if we'd let him.

They are such fun little guys
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Face Plant

Well, well, well.....our almost 6 month old has decided that crawling will get him from point A to point B in a faster and more efficient manner. So this means, he spends every spare second he's on a flat surface, practicing. The sad part is, he face plants every time he gets himself moving forward - I finally had to stop him before he took the skin off his nose.
He's really working at it, which we've done our best to capture in the video clip. So hard to believe Sean is already at this stage.

Kyle is talking up a storm. Tonight it was "oh my goodness mommy", and also "what are you watching?" ...and more.
Stay tuned, it's all happening fast.

Growing So Fast

Here are a couple new pics of the boys. Just tonight Chad said to me "they are growing so fast." It's like we turn around and all of the sudden Kyle is almost 2 1/2 and Sean is nearly 6 months! The boys are just so much fun and SO happy. I love that they both smile all the time.

What's new for Kyle? Obsessed with riding his bike (it has no pedals and no training wheels), is starting to talk in sentences, struggling with potty training, very attached to mom, loves the Upside Down Show, favorite movies are Monsters Inc, Bolt and Cars, is showing a lot more affection towards his brother, is eating us out of house and home and growing like a weed.

What's new for Sean? He drives his daycare providers nuts because of his shrill cry (that we rarely hear at home), is eating pears, apples, bananas, carrots, sweet potatoes and peas, smiles and laughs constantly, can roll over, push himself backwards, is making moves towards crawling, loves staring at his hands (mostly the right one as he opens and closes it), is already in 9 month clothes, is always sick with a cold and on antibiotics and best of all, goes to sleep without fussing - I just lay him down in his crib and he eventually falls asleep. He still wakes up at 2am though.

This weekend we're off to visit my mom in Nipomo and Chads parents will come down from Oregon in a week or so as well. Looking forward to it!

So simple, yet so perfect!

I promise I'll post more pics soon, but in the meantime, just want to share my day with you. So today was the big 37. Birthdays are so different than they used to be. You wake up, acknowledge it, spend a busy day at work....and all day, it's all the little things that make it a day different than most.
It was the big hug Kyle gave me as I left him at daycare, the call from a friend/coworker this morning letting me know she was buying me a latte and it would be waiting on my desk at work, the flowers and card at my office door from another good friend, the bazillion facebook birthday greetings, the voicemails, the birthday song from my partners at work (although very embarrassing), the well wishes from my awesome work team, the amazing most loving email I received from my hubby, the pizza party with friends Chad arranged for me (the kids were so good while we were out), the homeade card Chad/the boys made for me, the lovely cards my mom, Chad's parents and other family sent to me. It all made a very busy "normal" day, seem extremely special. I'm truly blessed.

Blog Worthy

Couple thoughts tonight that seem blog worthy. So tonight, clear as day, I hear Kyle yell "Mom, I need you!" His speech has been a little slow to come (in terms of full sentences), but now it seems to be totally taking off. As he was going to bed tonight he says, "Mom, come lay down."

Work. So it's quite a transition. The main difference I find between being a working mom of 1 vs 2, is it seems the minute I get home, it's a long process to get dinner, bath, bedtime done and then begin the process to get ready for the next day. Not enough time.

Looking forward to my moms arrival tomorrow, and Baby Lily's birthday party on Saturday. I guess we'll have to stop calling her "baby" Lily soon, she's getting to be a big girl. Off to bed.

Valentines Weekend

We had a nice weekend together despite a few challenges. Poor Kyle was getting out of the car (excited as usual), jammed his foot and fell out of the car with the rest of his body. He is unable to put any pressure on his foot, but no swelling and it doesn't seem too painful for him. He hams it up with his limp though - we call him the gimp. I'll be taking him to the Dr's tomorrow to have it looked at.
Sean is sick with another bad cold/cough. Not surprising since he just started daycare and is surrounded by germs, but sad because he just got over one. Nothing more pathetic than a sick baby. He's not eating/sleeping well which is hard.
Yesterday we drove over the hill to Santa Cruz, played on the beach, took some great photos and had dinner at Crow's Nest (our favorite). This was all Chad's idea, and it was a great one.
This morning I gave Kyle a book for Valentines day that had my voice recorded on each page telling the story. He was underwhelmed at first (I think he was hoping the wrapped gift was a toy) but seemed interested this evening. Chad and I exchanged gifts - we both gave each other framed pictures of the kids, which was perfect (two great minds think alike). Chad made a neat card for me on the computer - I love homemade cards.
The kids received cards/goodies from grandparents and Aunts/Uncles, and it was all appreciated and very fun to get (THANK YOU!!!)
Back to the grind this week. I'm sure I'll be spending the morning in the pediatricians office.
Thank you faithful blog readers, I really enjoy writing for you. Although Valentines Day is a Hallmark holiday, it's nice to reflect on all the wonderful people we have in our lives.