California ~ 2011

California is definitely our favorite vacation spot! We **LOVE** California...that's for sure!

This trip was extra fun because my mom decided to join us, and we are SO glad that she came along. I think that she was a bit nervous about going on a road trip, especially when three kids are involved, but I think that we convinced her that it really wasn't *that* bad. The kids were so, SO good in the car...the only hard part was listening to Noah ask EVERY.FIVE.MINUTES if we were there yet! It was ridiculous, but, I guess I kind of expected it. The good news is that we did make it without any major meltdowns!


Leah won the prize for best road-tripper. She was a total tramp. I think I did pretty well too...I mean, sitting in the back of the car with the kids for 10 hours...I deserve some credit :).
The main destination for this trip was to go to...wait for it...DISNEYLAND! We just love visiting The Happiest Place on Earth! One of the reasons for going on this trip was that Leah was turning three soon...so we decided that we just *had* to go so that we didn't have to pay for her! Good reason, right?! Noah's birthday is also coming up, so this was a great way for us to celebrate both of their special days :).

Our first day was absolutely beautiful! The kids were beyond excited to *finally* be at Disneyland...waiting three whole days was just way too long for them. We jumped right into the fun and started to go on any ride that we could. We were glad that Leah was a bit taller so that she was able to go on more rides with us. She was excited about it too!

Mom was ready to go! Let the fun begin!
Our first ride was Autopia...
Then we took them on the Matterhorn...Leah was a bit nervous, but she ended up loving it!
Bug's Land was a hit, but the show was NOT! We had fun getting a picture in our 3D glasses...I mean, look how cute Isaac looks! BUT, the fun was diminished once the show started. Leah and Isaac were terrified...I had forgotten how loud it was. We ended up being *that* annoying family with the screaming kids who had to leave early...
When Doug was taking Noah on Space Mountain, which he LOVED, Mom and I took Leah on the Carousel. Leah's all about the very happy rides!
She LOVED Dumbo too! I mean, who doesn't?
Day TWO was St. Patrick's Day! I made sure that we all wore our green :).

Family picture with Mickey! I wasn't planning on getting this picture...but Mickey was just walking out when we walked into the park! Score! We only had to wait like 5 minutes to see him, thank goodness!

Ah...how cute is this!
Noah and I in jail in Toon Town.
And, Leah and Isaac's favorite ride, by FAR, was It's a Small World. Oh my goodness...they LOVED this ride so much! I couldn't get that dang song out of my head for the rest of the trip! Ha!
Day THREE was our "relaxing" day, so we decided to head down to the beach in Newport. It was a bit windy and cold, so we didn't stay too long, but we stayed long enough to have a good time :). The kids loved walking on the sand and putting their feet in the water...man, I love the beach!








Day FOUR was our last day at Disneyland. We started the day off by taking Leah to see the Princesses! Noah was just thrilled about waiting to see them...can you tell?
Leah really didn't know what to expect...she was a little shy, but she was sure happy when it was all done and she could look at the pictures of her with...

Ariel...
Belle...
and Tiana...

It was a bit chilly on our last day, but that didn't matter to these two. They were definitely so happy and made the best of our last day.
Waiting in line to go on the Haunted Mansion.
Cute brown eyed boy! Love that boy!
Doug absolutely LOVES this tire ride...me...not so much. So, Doug took Noah on it with him...can you see Noah holding on for dear life in the red hat? I think this was one of Noah's favorite ride.
It was a wonderful trip, and we look forward to going back again...soon! The kids were so incredibely good and had such a wonderful time. I am so glad that my mom was able to come along on this vacation with us...we had so much fun with her and I know that the kids love having her there with us. She was also such a wonderful help with the kids...thank you, mom, for that! This was definitely a trip to remember!

Raspberries

This cute little guy has discovered how to blow raspberries...and he is constantly sharing his new talent with us. It's actually pretty funny to watch...his facial expressions crack me up! Man, I LOVE having a baby around...I mean, look at that face!

Afternoon Stroll

The weather today is just lovely, so we definitely had to go outside and enjoy it.

After lunch, I got everyone ready {which took about 30 minutes after getting socks on, shoes on, jackets on, going potty (twice!), getting snacks...oh my!} and we were off! Noah and Leah rode their bikes, while I pushed little Isaac in his stroller. Isaac has been so, SO, sick this past month, and I really think that he needed to get some air. I think that he really enjoyed this little outing, as did Noah and Leah. I have been waiting for a day like today for a long time...I hope that we have a lot more, and soon :).

Ready to go...Leah was very anxious to get going {notice her up ahead}.
Isaac was very mellow this afternoon...I think he's still in the process of getting back to his *normal* self. His little nose has an owie from being chapped...so sad.
Noah got ahead of Leah, and Leah wasn't having it...she'd run into him at full speed whenever he stopped. I thought it was pretty funny to watch...Leah really knows how to push Noah's buttons! She knows how to push all of our buttons, for that matter!
We ended up riding/walking around for a good hour...it was absolutely wonderful!
Leah got warm towards the end and abandonded her jacket. She dressed herself today...she looks like a little hippie with all of that color and flowers! And those sunglasses...love it! She's definitely a girl!

Fun and Crazy Girl

Leah is so much fun! Our family would not be the same without this little ball of energy!

She speaks so, SO, well and I just love hearing what she has to say next. She uses the word "actually" all of the time, which is just so cute to hear! Whenever it's time to eat she'll say, "Actually, Mom, I'm just not hungry right now." Or, "I actually like *this* instead of *that*."

She is constantly saying "I love you SO much" to me, Doug, Noah, and Isaac. And she's so genuine when she says it...it's very sweet.

She changes her clothes ALL.OF.THE.TIME! At least 6 times per day. It's ridiculous, but that's her thing and she loves to change her look up...every few hours. She has some dress up dresses that she got for Christmas that she is just in love with...especially her Cinderella dress. She actually went to the store the other day wearing it...there was no way that I was going to convince her otherwise, and I wasn't about to go to the store with an upset 2 year old! It was great fun!

She is not the best eater in the world, but at least she'll eat something at every meal. I tell her that her button {meaning her belly button} is hungry and that she has to feed it...she believes me and will eat and say "I need to fill up my button". Ha!

She LOVES Barney! I'm not a huge fan, BUT I can tolerate it. The good thing about Barney, is that she has learned SO many songs! She LOVES to sing and she has ALL of the songs memorized. It's pretty great to watch her sing AND dance along when they sing. It's classic :). Oh, and she thinks that Barney is a GIRL. And don't convince her otherwise. If you ask her why Barney's a girl, she says that "She's purple!". Good point.

She has an attitude. It's a good one too! If you try to get her to do something that she doesn't want to do, watch out! She doesn't neccessarily cry, but, instead, has this "you can't tell me what to do" attitude and she'll scowl and stomp her feet too. She'll even run into her room and shut the room. I laugh every time! She's going to be a great teenager...I can just feel it!

She's a smart cookie...she knows her ABC's, can count to 20, knows her colors and shapes {even a diamond and hexagon}...

She loves music, singing, and dancing. I'm starting her in dance next month...should be fun!

She absolutely loves to talk on the phone and every.single.time that I am on the phone, she will constantly ask who it is and if she can talk to them. Noah was never like this...he still isn't a fan of talking on the phone. Must be a girl thing :).

She does not like to have her picture taken...makes me sad. She runs every time I pull out the camera. Sometimes she will come and tell me to take her picture, and as soon as those words are spoken, I hurry and grab the camera and jump on the opportunity.

If you ask her when is her birthday, she'll say "March 21...I'm going to be THREE!". She is well aware that her birthday is next month...she is constantly reminding me that she wants a pink princess party.

I better enjoy this last month of Leah being 2...I don't want her to turn 3! She's growing up too fast for my liking...

Shoveling

It snowed today...this is *supposed* to be one of the last storms of the year. I'll believe it when I see it ;).

The one thing that I really don't mind about the snow is shoveling the driveway and walks. I've just always enjoyed doing this, and I'm lucky that Noah loves it too! Whenever it snows, he keeps reminding me that we need to shovel...even when it's freezing outside. I swear, kids have no sense of what cold is...he'll go outside and play in the snow no matter how cold it is!

Well, Noah was more than willing to help me shovel this morning. We have a pretty big driveway, so it takes a while, but Noah is actually a really good helper and is very focused when it comes to shoveling! I'm so thankful that he loves to help!

What is LOVE?

According to Noah, LOVE is...

How cute is that?!?! I just love getting stuff like this from my babes...seeing this made me have a grin that lasted the rest of the day, or even longer! I love being a Mom!

"What?"

I seriously can't leave this little guy alone for a second. Little stinker!

Isaac ~ 8 Months

This has not been the best month for Isaac. He has pretty much been under the weather the entire month due to being sick and getting two teeth. It has worn me out too...I'm beginning to think that sick kids is just as hard on Mommy as it is on the kiddos. Needless to say, I'm a bit tired. AND...just when I thought that Isaac was getting better, he started to get sick again this past weekend. Breaks my heart! But, on top of being sick, he is still such a happy little guy. Yes, he has his moments when all he want is for us to hold him, but I love those moments because I know that they don't last long. Here are some actual *highlights* from this past month:

~ He has two cute little teeth. I just LOVE when he smiles and grins so that we can see them!
~ He is growing like a weed. He is such a long little boy, but he's way skinny...just like his bro and sis. It looks like I have another stringbean on my hands...good thing I'm good at finding clothes and altering them for the kiddos :).
~ He is on the move! He is everywhere and into everything! He doesn't stop or slow down when he is on the ground. He is the fastest little crawler...I think that he is moving around a lot faster than Noah and Leah were at his age. We definitely can't leave him alone anymore.
~ He is SO determined to get what he wants. AND, if he doesn't get his way, he'll let you know how he feels about it.
~ He is finally a good little sleeper. I am VERY thankful for that!
~ He's our little snuggle-bug. He absolutely loves to be held and cuddled. It's the best!
~ Now...he's a good sleeper once he goes to sleep, but getting him to sleep is another story. Since he likes to cuddle, he *won't* go to bed in his crib by himself. He will *only* go to sleep if he is held until he falls asleep. He's so spoiled!
~ He absolutely loves to eat solids now...especially peas! He LOVES them! When we're feeding him, and he wants more, he starts to kick his legs like crazy. It's so dang funny. This goes back to his determination to get what he wants ;).
~ Leah thinks that she is Isaac's second mommy and says that he's her baby. She is constantly trying to hold him, and he absolutely hates it when she does this. I know that she does this all out of love...but she's two...
~ He went through a phase this past month where he was sucking his finger constantly. He doesn't do it as often anymore, but it was pretty cute when he was doing it.

We can't imagine our family without him. He's a little treasure and we can't get enough of him :). Now...I just need to figure out a way to make time stop because I am just LOVING having a little baby around the house! I better enjoy every minute, because I'm well aware of how fast the time goes by.


Bright green pea lips!
Sucking on his little finger. Love that look!
He chews on everything...his favorite is to chew on Noah's trains. Noah doesn't think it's very funny.
Isaac always has something in his hand. He loves these little rings and usually crawls around with one in each hand.
Making a mess.
Tolerating his sister.