Aaron's 1st Pool Day!

Last Tuesday my good friend, Tamara, invited us to go swimming with her at the Double Tree right down the street. I was so grateful for the opportunity to be drenched in water in stead of sweat for the first time in a week!

My boys don't have great water skills, so we were happy to stay in the foot deep pool. It was perfect! And we had it all to ourselves! Tamara's kids would play in there and then run to horse around in the bigger pool. Roman and Isaac had a blast, and even started getting braver. Isaac would crawl on his hands and let his feet float behind him with his face just above the water. Roman got a little crazy tackling his friends and chucking balls at each other.

Aaron loved the 81 degree water. Just like a giant bath. He liked sitting on the step and splashing.

When Isaac was a baby, he was fearless. I wanted so badly to just let go and see if he could swim. (But considering that I wasn't as attached to him as a baby as I was to Roman... I worried what people would think of my intentions. And WHO really lets go of their 9 month old to see if they will sink or swim?!?!?) The next year he was TERRIFIED of the water, and I wished that I had taught him to swim when he was willing.

I still didn't think that just letting a baby go and fend for himself was a great idea. Although it was very tempting. And I hadn't bought a baby float for Aaron, because I didn't plan on doing the pool thing too much this summer with 3 who can't swim. So I took some arm floaties from the boys, and a little inner tube that we had and got Aaron all suited up. The arm floaties kept him from falling through the inner tube, which doesn't have a seat in it like a baby float would. So his arms went out straight, with his floaties flat against the sides of his face, and he was stepping on the bottom of the pool and pushing himself around.... and LOVING every minute of it!!! It was so cute. I am STILL kicking myself for not getting a picture.

Sorry for the two posts without pics!! I will be more diligent about taking my camera with me. And if I drop it in the water, well then I guess I will HAVE to get a new SLR :p

Beach Baby

Yesterday Brooke and I took the boys to the beach. It was a beautiful day, and at least a million people agreed. Torrey Pines was packed. Fortunately we lucked out with a parking spot right away. I always love when that happens, I take it as a good omen :)

We plopped down in the sand and set up this lovely shade tent that I have. I put down a blanket and some clean toys inside, thinking that Aaron would just be entertained in there for a while. Aaron naturally had other plans. The second that I put him down, he raced to the sand. He played in the sand a little and then charged to the water. We decided to go down to the shore line where his brothers were digging.

Again, I placed him on his bottom with a shovel, hoping he would stay still for a while. Again, he had other plans. He got on his tummy and headed straight for the waves. I watched him as he got closer and the water finally washed up underneath him. At first he didn't know just what to think of it, but soon Brooke had him out in the waves.

For the past two years my boys have been content to just play on the sand all day at the beach. Just this summer I have watched them get braver and venture into the water. Brooke coaxed them into where they could jump over the waves with her help. They had fun and we all played in the water for a while. When the boys decided to go back to shore, Isaac started crawling on his belly and letting himself get washed around by the waves. It was adorable. Roman followed suit and also had a lot of fun. Then all 5 of us sat at the water's edge and just enjoyed the cool water and the sun on our faces.

I love going to the beach and just watching the waves. I don't even know how long it has been since I actually played in the water though. Next on my list is boogie boarding!

A Trip to the ZOO

Aaron's 1st trip to the Zoo was poorly timed... We decided to go on Friday, July3rd.... along with about a million other people!

The night before, Ben was supposed to go to the Boy Scout store to get his Scout uniform for an upcoming camp out. He decided he just wanted to come home and go on Friday. The store is down by the zoo, so we thought we could make a day of it. Well, turns out that the BS store was closed on the 3rd! But I had already told the boys that we were going to the zoo, so we decided to keep that part of the plan.

We got there about 1030 (an hour and a half later than I would have liked...), and had to park in the back of the parking lot, not a good sign!

We headed down Monkey Trails, where it actually wasn't too crowded. The panda's of course had a line, so we headed up Cat Canyon. I don't think I have ever seen these cats so active. We saw a jaguar and a cougar and a lynx, what else? The cougars were cool to see up close, they paced along the front of the enclosure. It was scary to think that those thing roam some of the hills and parks in North County.... they are big and powerful, and gorgeous.

We ended up on the far end of the park, and the boys begged Ben to take them on the Sky Fari. I hate the skyfari, so I was more than happy to walk the sleeping baby in the giant stroller back across the park to meet them at the other end.

The only problem was that the shortest way to get to the other side was also the narrowest way! I headed up through Tiger River, against the flow of hoards of people, with a huge double wide stroller. I was hot and tired, and I don't do crowds well :P I was glad when I got to the other side. Ben and the boys beat me, of course, so they did the Children's Zoo while I fed the baby.

It was actually a good trip, but I am so spoiled, being able to go when the place is empty... you won't catch me there again for the rest of the summer!

A Trip To Dino Mountain

Ben's brother, Josh, and his long time girlfriend, Alex, came out to visit for the weekend. Josh is studying to take the ASVAB to join the Marines, and he wanted Ben to help him for a bit.

Of course it turns out that we all did a lot more playing than studying :)

Josh and Alex did a little mini tour of the So Cal Coastline while I took the boys to Ashlyn's birthday party. Then after a pathetic attempt at naps, we headed to the WAP to see the robotic Dinos.

Before we left, I heard Isaac in the back room talking to Alex while she was getting ready. He clings to new people, is it because the old people ignore him? He came running out of the room with this huge heart pendant that he said "the girl" gave him. We told him to say "thank you" but to give it back.

In the car Isaac said "Mommy" and I said "What" and he said "I looove you". I said "I love you too". So then Isaac said "I love you daddy. I love you Roman. I love baby Aaron. I love you Uncle Josh." Then Ben said "Girl, I love you"... he was being Isaac... I guess you had to be there, it was funny.

So at the WAP, Isaac was dragging "the girl" every where. One of the pictures shows him physically dragging her every where.

The dinos were cool, and we could have gone through again, but we only had about an hour before the park closed. We rushed through the rest of the park.... just to find that all most all the animals had been taken in for the night. I thought the animals get more active at dusk.... what a bummer.

The WAP has a program called "Roar and Snore", where you get to pay an extra fee, and sleep over in tents. There was a group passing through at the lion exhibit, and the girl in charge stayed behind to bring the stragglers. She kept saying, like just kind of shouting it, but to know one in particular "Well, we need to be sure and keep up with the group". And finally Josh was like, well, we're not with them. And she said she was with Roar and Snore. And he said, yes, but we are not with you. And she said, I was talking to some one else, and Josh said, but they aren't with you. Finally she touched Ben's arm (he had Roman on his shoulders, in a brown shirt that she had mistaken for R & S), and he said he wasn't with them. It was kind of comical.

Roman the Lego Maniac

Roman has entered a fun new stage. He is obsessed with legos. He wakes up in the morning, and plays legos. He gets out of his bath, and plays legos. We even had a birthday party last Saturday.... and he debated missing the party... to play legos. I love it. He builds bridges, houses, transformers, piggy banks..... anything he can dream up, he builds it.

This video is of an awesome drawbridge that he made with his daddy. Roman made the castle and drawbridge, and daddy the engineer helped rig the ropes :) They even had blocks that held the ropes tight and closed. It was adorable.

What the baby has been up to...

Well, still no teeth. But he is getting to do other big boy things.... like crawling!! It is more like a froggy hop, and I love it! He pushes up with his toes and hands, and then throws himself forward. He's gotten quite fast, and tries to keep up with his brothers! He has free reign of the house, and he loves it. He will start out in his room and end up in the play room, or even the kitchen. He talks and yells when he is crawling, so I have gotten pretty good at knowing where he is, just based on the echo of his yell :)

His summer wardrobe consists of onesies, and some times socks, but those really get in the way :) Between the belly dragging and rolling all over the floor, and the hot weather, I can't bring myself to put much more on him! Not to mention, it makes squeezing his big ole thighs a lot easier!




Here's a video of him crawling. I lvoe the faces that he is making too!

He is such a good natured baby, and a delight to have around :)

(Except if you see me in the halls on sunday with a non-napped, wriggly baby, I won't say the same!)

Toot! Toot!

That's the sound of me tooting my own horn :P

At the WAP and Zoo, they have people who will turn yours or your child's handprint into an animal. So cute. HOWEVER it costs $15 or more dollars a hand. I just couldn't bring myself to pay that.

So last week, I whipped out our huge box of paints and decided to try it out myself. Roman's hand was first, and he wanted to be a jaguar. I was very pleased with that one. Then Isaac decided that he wanted to be a giraffe... That one was a little trickier. But the hardest one was the baby, because he just wanted to keep his fist all balled up. Somehow I got him to spread his fingers and got a decent hand print. The boys love their pictures and I have framed them in a triple frame, but don't know where to hang it.

I guess the people at the WAP or Zoo could possibly do better... but then again, it might just be some punk teenager working the job for the summer.... so who knows. I'm still pretty impressed with myself :)

"When I'm a Daddy..."

The other day I dragged all three children to Wal-Mart and then Henry's... why do I do that to myself? Anyway. We were in the craft section, as usual, and the boys were asking for little junky things to paint. They aren't expensive, but we have painted everything Wal Mart has to offer, and I end up throwing them away. Who needs 7 rainbow colored trains with uneven wheels? So in the hopes of saving money and avoiding junk build up, I have decided if they want to paint, they can paint pictures on paper. Also more creative, right?

After I had told them each "no" at least 3 times, Roman turns to me, looks me dead in the eye and says "When I am a daddy, I will take my kids to the store and let them buy whatever they want". Oh, if he only knew...

To me, the hardest part about being a parent is telling your children "no". I have to admit it has gotten easier with time... But to see the joy in their eyes as they open a new toy/book/shirt/whatever. Don't kids realize that we would LOVE to see that every day? But that doesn't teach children to appreciate and work for things. A lesson that it seems too many kids are NOT getting these days.

I just laughed and called Ben. I do try to stress whenever the opportunity presents itself that we don't NEED all the things that we WANT and that we have to save for bigger things, instead of blowing our dough on all the little junks. Don't get me wrong, my kids have it way better than I did :) I mean, a whole room full of toys, they practically grew up at Disneyland, and Roman has even been to Hawaii! Not deprived by any stretch of the imagination!!

Well, while Roman was telling me just what kind of dad he would be, Isaac had to throw in his three cents. "Yah, when I come here with my new family, I will buy the Thomas the train". I love it when they feed off each other! They are adorable though. And I will keep working on that whole "appreciate what ya got" thing!