October 2009

I'm so glad that the fall weather is kicking in. I can't stand the heat & was dying to turn on my oven again. We had lots of fun pumpkin events & here are the highlights:
Vaughn & Kaden at another Dodgers game before it cooled down. Kaden's painful smile shows it was 100 degrees that day. They still loved it of course...especially the playoffs.

My children are precious & I will always remember these as the craziest, busiest & funnest days. They are truly only this small once & it's flying by.

Scarlet is such a light sleeper but this time she's passed out after a jog with her daddy. She kind of looks like a lush the way she's gripping that water bottle.

What can I say about this crazy girl. At 8 months: she is a climber; crawler; stands up very well; loves to shred & eat paper; she has jaws of steel and can tear through almost any packaging with one attempt; she loves to laugh, shriek & scream with delight; she says "dada", "uh oh", "did it" but only says "my mamama" when she's crying or mad; gives kisses when asked; cuddles when we say "ah"; tries to sing when we sing; hates to sleep; and has to be where the action is.

Kaden scored his 1st goal of the season. We were excited & he was jumping up and down.

Kind of ridiculous but none of my kids will walk. They'd rather be all squashed in the stroller than stand on their own 2 feet. Lazy but cute.

The kids made me laugh with all the pumpkin stuff this year. I told Ashlyn that we were going to cut open the top of the pumpkin, take the yucky stuff out & bake the seeds. She pointed to the pumpkin and asked me if there was broccoli or milk inside? Yucky stuff to Ashlyn is Broccoli & Milk. Where does she come up with this stuff?

Pumpkin patch. Scarlet enjoyed the pumpkins but was not overly impressed. The older ones just wanted to enjoy the rides. Could they be outgrowing the simplicity of it already?

Gee, can anyone guess what my kids dressed up as? Scarlet didn't have a choice but you think Ashlyn could have picked anything other than a Star Wars character.

I love trying to get pictures of all 3 of them...this is about as good as it gets. I love the facial expressions, pink sneakers, and the fact that Scarlet actually wore the ears.

Star Wars fans you have to use your imagination for this one but apparently Father & Daughter are the ones that battle in this scene.

Little Yoda. Scarlet was so darn cute but I think people only knew who she was because of her siblings. We had someone think she was Shrek which I thought was pretty funny.

Princess Leia or "Yaya" as Ashlyn calls her. We tried to get her to dress as Padame but she really insisted on this one. The shooter gun didn't make it out of the house because before we left Ashlyn hid it in one of her "dark places" as she calls them. She hid it so well that we were a half hour late to our party while looking for it. Too bad I didn't think of looking on the sugar canister in the pantry. She simply amazes me...and confuses me too.

Nothing other than Anakin Skywalker would do. He dresses daily as either a Jedi or Anakin. He specifically asked to wear this particular costume, with his hair a certain way, a braid attached and no glove. It's funny how he has in mind which particular scene he is dressed as. I laughed when his school asked what he wants to be when he grows up and he said "A Jedi".

These definitely are the days.

September 2009

So I did it. I'm caught up to the month just before this one. Let's see if I can manage to post October in a timely manner.

September happened to be busier than August. Kaden started Kindergarten, Ashlyn started preschool, soccer games started, ballet started & Scarlet started crawling everywhere and getting into everything.

On top of it all Vaughn & I went out of town for one of his work conferences. He had meetings during the day while I slept & played. It was fun & much needed. My poor sister watched all 3 kids while we were gone. It's funny being on the other end of the phone listening to the stories that usually take place in my life.Kaden's first day of school was a success. I love his teacher & he just really enjoys going. He is so proud of everything he gets to do and appreciates all the little responsiblilities he has. He even enjoys doing his homework. It's a breeze this year. I just wish he didn't have afternoon kinder because it screws up the napping schedule. My girls now nap at 12:30 which is way too early for me.

Ashlyn is doing an amazing job in preschool. I can't believe how eager she is to learn. She is actually starting to master her alphabet which I thought would never happen. She loves her teacher, chapel, the playground, and her friend Kylie. She was so proud on her first day that she had her own school and that it was no longer Kaden's. She beamed with excitement when she got home.
Napa was fun. Vaughn had a lot of down time & most of the events we could attend together.

We actually went in a hot air balloon too. I'm not one for adventures but it was worth it.

We visited several wineries & this night we went to a fancy dinner.
Kaden is doing really well in soccer. He's very cooperative & really getting in there. He is on the All American Jedi...could you imagine anything other than something Star Wars?

My kids can not stay out of the crib. They love to go get Scarlet when she wakes up.
Ashlyn showing off her Yellow Day project. Each month they have a different color theme, shape, letters, bible curriculum, bible verse, and character quality. I love the school so much & all of their fun filled activities. It makes it really hard to go to a public school after having such an incredible experience at this preschool. Thank God I really like Kaden's teacher this year. Do you know that Kaden's school says the Pledge of Allegiance every day & sang America the Beautiful at one of their assemblies?...I thought that stuff was long out of the public schools. Hopefully nobody complains about it or it will be gone before Ashlyn gets there.

Ashlyn at her tap/ballet dance class. She likes it okay. She doesn't complain about going but she says it's too long. I bribe her with a sucker to dance the entire time.

And now last but not least, our little Scarlet. She had a very busy month...actually, a very busy week. She decided in the couple of days we were gone to completely crawl all over the house, go from her belly to a sitting position & pull herself to a standing position. I couldn't believe it all happened so fast. We got back a few days before she turned 7 months. Then the rest of the month she perfected her stair climbing (with me behind her of course). I just hope she perfects climbing down soon too because it makes me nervous.

August 2009

August is always a busy month for us as we finish out the summer. We went to Disneyland on Kaden & Ashlyn's actual birthdays, went on an overnight beach trip, had family in town, soccer started and we were getting ready for school to start.
Glad we bought the extra long wagon way back when Kaden turned one. Who knew we would be hauling this much stuff around for a day out on the beach.Kaden spent a lot of the summer out on the shoreline & in the water. It's funny because he hates the sun but would spend forever out on the beach. He never gets enough.

Everywhere we go people comment on how good of a baby Scarlet is. She really is an easy baby...well at least about as easy as they get. She finally lifted her body off the ground. She was scooting around and could get everywhere she needed to go. She turned 6 months mid August & it's really going by too fast for me.

All Kaden wanted to do for his birthday was go bowling. He turned 5 this year & is becoming such a big boy. He's a great big brother, a wonderful son & we are really proud of all of his efforts. Kaden learned how to read & ride a bike this summer. We worked on shoe tying but I really think his strengths are in other areas...maybe next summer;-) Ashlyn turned 3 a couple of weeks later & she still amazes me. We got her this doll house for her birthday because she has such a big imagination. She is really starting to blossom into a little girl. Her speech is becoming very clear, she loves playing with her big brother & little sister, she is very eager to learn, and has the most love and passion for everybody & every little thing in her life. I'm really going to miss her toddler years.

July 2009

July was fun. It's crazy to look back at these pictures & realize how fast time goes by. It's just zooming after having the 3rd one. Here's a quick recap of July...
Went to a friend's house for the 4th. The kids swam & played like crazy. It was fun with the exception of me totally eating it while holding Scarlet. I slipped on some water & hit the ground so hard. Fortunately I broke most of the fall before she made it down. It was the first time I've fallen with one of my kids & so incredibly scary. I was so thankful that she was okay & it was only me that got stuck with a very nasty bruise. FYI - I fell twice that night...I'm such a klutz.

It's been a while since I've posted one of these lovely shots. Ashlyn was so mad she couldn't get her other ugg on. She's happy, silly and goofy most of the time but don't make her mad.

We got Scarlet a Jumper because she loves to bounce on our laps. She jumped so much the first couple of days that she got a blister on her big toe. Her milestones in July were: sitting alone for a few seconds, getting her 1st tooth, waiving & rolling all over the place. Her favorite thing to do this month besides jumping was eating paper...she's a human paper shredder.

June 2009

June consisted of lots of fun activities. Here are some of the highlights...

Lots & lots of backyard baseball. They play it for so many hours that Ashlyn had to learn how to enjoy it too so she could be part of the action. It's really funny to watch her run bases. It's also hilarious to see how serious Kaden is when he pitches. He makes up the game play by play & directs everyone how they're supposed to hit & how many bases they can run.

Kaden's swim lessons have actually paid off. He really swims & is learning technique now.

Did you know Ashlyn can fly? She is so crazy in the water. Anyone who has watched her comments on how funny she is to watch in the pool. She LOVES the water & is learning to swim pretty well.

Scarlet mastered rolling over consistently. We had to move her to the crib so she wouldn't strangle herself in the bassinet. She loves to smile, laugh & baths are her favorite pastime. She's content wherever I set her as long as there's some sort of action in the room.

Kaden was fortunate enough to get chosen to fight Darth Vader at Disneyland. He was way beyond excited.

Kaden walked the Angels field with his Little League buddies. He watched most of the game and had a really great time. If you ask Kaden he likes the Dodgers first & the Angels second. He has shirts for both teams!

May 2009

Okay, so I fell behind again. My focus is obviously on raising my family & not updating everyone on our life's adventures. Until I can balance it all I guess people will just have to wait until I get around to things. Here's another fun filled month...
Scarlet was almost 4 months old in this picture & was working on holding her head up. This month she gave lots of smiles, laughs, rolled over a couple of times & started solids.

1 posing, 1 screaming & the other 1 doesn't have a choice. It's so funny having 3 kids sometimes.

Daddy started taking the kids out to surf.

The 3 Amigos.

Of course another Dodgers game. Kaden is obsessed with baseball. Real games, wii games, backyard games.

April 2009

This month was busy. Lots of LL games, birthdays, Easter. These are my favorite pics from the month…

Kaden is so darn cute playing ball. The 4 year olds are hilarious.

Ashlyn gets a little bored on the field & has a hard time understanding she can't stand out there with her brother. She's a good little cheer leader though...and a snack bar veteran.

Scarlet literally hangs out...she's more like a team mascot.

Kaden started to get really good towards the end of the season. He's now hitting a pitch & not just off the tee.

Sometimes it was still a little boring in the outfield. I'm sure the league loved cleaning up this mess. Boys will be boys!

Of all the things my kids have been exposed to they had never been bowling until my friend Danelle's party. They LOVED it and Kaden's requesting it for his birthday this year. Ashlyn cried the whole time she held the balls because they were so heavy but she insisted on doing it herself.

This is the alphabet, A-Z. Kaden one day decided to get creative with his cars...where does Kaden's creativity lead him, to the alphabet of course. I think he's going to be an engineer or something similar. Ashlyn talks with her cars. She may be an actress. Don't let her fool you though, she's a smart cookie.

Guess we need a bigger bed. I love when everyone gets up in the mornings and we all end up in our bed.

Easter is always one of my favorite "holidays". It's such a wonderful reminder of our purpose in life. I hope my children have many wonderful memories of their holidays together.

We still matter too. Can't believe it's been 7 years since we got married. It's even crazier that we've known each other for 12 years.

Can you be an American & not have an Easter egg hunt? Do other countries do this or just ours? What a bazaar way to celebrate the day but the kids love it.

Poor thing looked so cute but hated the dress. She was a good sport but she apparently doesn't have a desire to wear silk.

This is one of my absolute favorite pictures of Ashlyn. She looks like a little precious moments doll. Too bad my corner guard is almost centered in the shot.

This picture reminds me of the innocence of a child. Kaden, enjoy it while it lasts Buddy because it's gone very quickly.