Back to Dland.

After a good hiatus from the Happiest Place on Earth we renewed our passes just in time for the Holidays. We have to buy 5 passes now....holy cow! Reason #1 why we took a hiatus. Forking over that much money to Disney is hard to swallow. However, the money was forgotten once we hit the tram and saw the excitement on our kids faces.

This was Chase's 1st time to Disneyland and he got to share part of the day with his future best friend Bentley.

I wish I was a baby mind reader for times like these. I wonder what he is thinking.

Our family now has to split up between big kid rides and little kid rides. Poor Ash is just not quite tall enough for the fast rides and Taylor and Andy are big fans of them. Ashlyn and I rode Winnie the Pooh 3 times in a row waiting for the Splash Mountain riders. For the most part, she is a good sport about it. Taylor on the other hand likes to pretend she is SOOOO bored on the baby rides. Secretly I know she still likes them.

The friends from T-ball that now have kids strapped to them and cameras ready. So funny!

Such a fun day! It's good to be pass holders again.

My Wise Baby.

All babies are special.  All babies are unique and perfect.  There was something instantly different about this little guy.  Tyler felt that he needed a name that was different and meaningful because he felt that this baby was going to have charisma.  Well, the name he wanted I don't even think celebrities could pass off as cool so luckily (I don't think Tyler has completely gotten over it yet) I won out.  You can thank me later Chase.  The point is that we knew that he was something special. 

 Tonight was a hard night playing the single mom role.  My heart is heavy but as I browse through these 6 month pictures of my baby boy, my eyes swell up, the tears flow, and I feel overwhelmed with joy that this little guy was sent to me.  He is perfect!  He does have charisma! He knows what is going on around him!  He is wise!

 

The best description is that he just gets it! He knows why he is here.  He knows who loves him.  And he is happy to be here. It is the most amazing thing to watch.  And when you look into those big brown eyes you see it.  

And he is just about the most precious thing ever!  He will cuddle and love with you as long as you want.

 

His smile is infectious. He brings joy and peace into this crazy life of ours.  And I am beyond smitten. 

Thanks to Rachelle for once again capturing the expressions and personalities of my kids.  Another great job!

Chase 5 and 6 month update.

 It has been a busy couple months for our little dude.  He is now fully crawling and is getting faster everyday.  He is sitting up which came after the crawling.  He loves his walker and can get around the entire house.  He is eating baby food...kind of.  He's not a big fan. But we keep trying as ordered by the doctor as a result of his low weight gain this last appointment.  He does like apples in his cereal so that is good!  He pulls himself up to a standing position already.  Seriously, why is he in such a hurry? He continues to be a hit wherever we go and melts the hearts of everyone he comes in contact with.  We just LOVE him!

Kneeling for the 1st time.

Chase took his 1st airplane ride the beginning of October.  The two of us went to Utah for 1 night to visit the Jacobson's.  He did great on the flights even with a 5AM wake up call and an hour and a half delay. He slept both there and back.  

 Z

1st rice cereal attempt or it may be his 2nd or 3rd attempt.  

Baby #4 milestones are not exactly recorded right on time.

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He LOVES toys and the other night played for an hour by himself while I folded laundry. 

My big kids don't even do that.

 Despite all the suffocating loving Ashlyn gives him, he adores her. 

 And here's our big boy at 6 months. 16.2lbs 26 inches

 Standing up.

Seriously can not get enough of him.  He is not the best sleeper and we are attempting to sleep train but how can you let that cute face cry it out.  We can't which is why he sleeps with us. 

Cupcake Party

 One of our friends little girls passed away earlier this year.  On what would have been her 2nd birthday they invited everyone to have a cupcake in her memory.  So we did and I think it was awesome and a sweet way to remember their baby.  It gave me chills and tears when I saw all the pictures posted on facebook of so many people taking a moment to think about their family.  It was amazing!  Here's to you baby Caitlin. XXOO!

Tyler's new project.

Tyler got a new toy AKA project....a 1973 VW bus.  Seriously??? I have said that about a hundred times.   It needs some serious work.  The kids think its awesome and play in it ALL.THE.TIME.  Andy asks me everyday if it has a motor yet.  I think he is just as excited about it as Tyler is.  I personally think its the eye sore of the neighborhood but luckily we haven't received any complaints from the neighbors yet.  And all our friends that drive by for the 1st time quickly text or send a message asking me what is parked in my driveway.  Yes I am the wife of the proud owner of the orange bus.    

Taylor did an oral presentation complete with pictures in school about the differences between the old bus and our new van. She highlighted the fact that in the old bus if you got hot you turned on the little fan and in the new van you have air conditioning.  In the old bus you have to listen to tapes (what are those) and in the new van you can listen to fantastic music and it has a DVD player.  The advancements in technology!

I do have high hopes that he will continue to find these cheap, restore them, sell them and make enough money to buy a cool one.  I would like it to be light blue with white interior....see I'm supportive. 

Yum???

Taylor loves to bake.  She loves to watch baking videos on You Tube.  Her favorite is Betty Crocker Kitchens.  She recently watched Liev Hanson make a mermaid cake. Taylor was determined to make one just like it.  I decided to leave her to it and went to give Chase a bath.  She enlisted Andy and Ashlyn to help.  I was nervous as I listened from upstairs but they had fun and did a pretty good job (if you like a zillion sprinkles).  

Travel Town

With Tyler back in school, I am having fun figuring out new exciting places to take the kids on the days he's gone.  This is pure selfishness on my part.   I don't want to dread school days and the kids are easier to manage in a fun environment.  

1st trip:  Travel Town USA in LA.

I am a huge fan of this place for 2 reasons.  

#1: its free...do we need even need reason #2????  

Here it is anyway, #2:  the kids can run around and climb on trains and they LOVE it!.

 

We recruited Grandma and Grandpa P on this outing.  Grandpa P loves trains and gave the kids lots of little train lessons throughout the day.  We were able to tour this particular train which was once the train to ride for famous people like Lucille Ball back in the day.  

 

After Travel Town we drove a few minutes to Griffith Park and played on the playground. 

Day 1 of Tyler in school = success!