This is what we've been up to, among many, many, many, many other things. Hopefully after the holidays things will slow down a little.... but I'm not counting on it.

Trevor fell down some stairs and fractured his wrist. The cast goes all the way past his elbow so he won't pry the cast off like he did his splint. He's fine and you'd never know his arm was hurt other than the swelling, oh, and the constant whining. It hasn't slowed him down at all. This is my second Urgent Care trip in three months. I am getting very nervous......

Jumping Beans

Since Bella and Trevor got kind of gypped this year on birthday parties, I accepted the invitation for Bella to celebrate her buddy John turning 3. And Trevor tagged along. (OK, that's not the real reason I accepted the invitation.)

This is Bella's second friend birthday party. And she had a blast. But how could you not have fun at Jump Street (otherwise known as Heaven).

And Trevor never stopped moving, except to eat a cupcake. Then he was right back out there.

I seriously could not get a still shot of him. Every picture is blurry.

ZZZZZOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!!

And here's the kids with the birthday boy. Since I told Bella it was John's birthday party, she followed him around everywhere.

Trevor just wanted to JUMP!!

What a great place to lets kids go wild!!!

Happy birthday John, and thanks for the fun afternoon!!

Annual Texas Roadhouse Birthday Party

Here are some pictures from our annual "Help Valerie Celebrate her Birthday at Texas Roadhouse" tradition. Here's the birthday girl.
And of course, if Aunt Val is back in the saddle, the kids wanted a turn too!

Texas Roadhouse is the perfect place to eat out with two rambunctious toddlers. It's loud, messy and they let you dog pile in a roll around saddle.

Jeff even got to come this year because volleyball is finally over (hooray!!!!). Jeff has been coaching the freshman volleyball team at the high school here in Maricopa. It was a huge time commitment but he enjoyed it. We even got to go to a couple home games and watch him coach. (The kids loved it because they got popcorn each time.)

I swear, taking pictures with four people is impossible.

Love those brown eyes!!

We had a fun night. Thanks Val, for letting us crash your birthday celebration. At least you left without a drink in your lap this time.

I like to color

Birthday Boy

I remember the night very well. I wasn't ready yet. I hadn't even packed my bag for the hospital. I think the thing I was most nervous about was leaving her. I was afraid she would wake up with me not there and be frightened and disoriented. I cried thinking how her world was about to take a drastic change. I felt guilty for doing this to her but it was all for her, so she wouldn't be lonely... ever. And two years later we couldn't image life without our little T-Man. He's always quick to smile and give love. He's an active boy but very sensetive. He's got a hard head but a soft heart.

And big sister is always willing to "show" Trevor the "right" way to do things.

Happy birthday my sweet, sweet Bobo.

Gimme, gimme, gimme

Terrible twos - nothin'! Luckily I don't remember how frustrating it was to be a three-year-old.
I was going through and organizing some closets and Bella was grabbing things saying, "That's mine!" One of the things she acquired was a fancy pair of socks (which were obviously not hers). But she put them on - so I took a picture.... for when she turns 16.... or gets married... or has a 3-year old of her own!

She finally smiled for a picture. She was mad I wouldn't "turn it around" like I do with the video camera.

And here's sweet little Trevor. I don't ever want him turning three! I couldn't bare to lose my sweet, smiley boy.

Found it!

Another and so it begins...

Yesterday was my first Urgent Care visit with Trevor. He's not 2 years old yet- some people think that's good, me, not so much. I think it's a bad sign of things to come.
We thought he had broken his arm but it turns out that 2 Urgent Cares later, 2 doctors, 3 x-rays and 1 x-ray technician later, he just had a dislocated elbow. Still pretty painful for the little guy. He cried for about 4 of the 6 hours we were at the Urgent Cares. And, apparently this injury is pretty common among kids his age. While we were taking the x-rays, or better put, while I was torturing my child and holding him down so we could take x-rays, his elbow popped back into place. When we went back to our room, he was totally fine, no more pain and he was waving his arm around and throwing things and back to normal. So we headed home and tried to piece together a birthday party for Bella.
By the way, as I'm typing this, Bella just swallowed a dime. What?!?!?!?! So, I'm on the phone with the doctor to see if I will be missing church for another Urgent Care visit. (Are you kidding me?!) ......
Good News. No urgent care today (yet). But I get to go fishing for the next 3-5 days... (if you're picking up what I'm throwin' down.) Ah, I love being a mom..... right?

Bella Boo

Bella is three today (going on thirteen). We celebrated yesterday by having cupcakes, presents and cousins come and play. Bella loves Zeke and Echo and asks about them every day. So for her birthday, they came over and spent the afternoon playing. She had a blast!

Bella is such a sweet little girl. She is definitely getting some sass, but I love that she has opinions (she gets that from me). She is a good little girl and I love watching her learn and grow.

Bella still loves her "Baby" elephant. It got lost at a friend's house for a couple a days. The baby is safe and sound, back at home.

Bella always looks out for Trevor. They usually play well together.

Bella loves playing with friends, any age. She does well whether we play at home or at a friend's house.

Bella loves nursery and her nursery teachers.

Bella loves to pretend, especially with pretend food. She pretends she is making breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Happy birthday my beautiful Bella!

Camping Promo

We had a lot of fun camping.

Summer Camping

We went camping last weekend with some of my family. The last time we attempted camping, it was a disaster. This time was....great! Both kids loved being outside and being able to run and do what they wanted. They both slept well in the tent (except during the hail storm). It rained most of the weekend and we were cold and it was so nice. We all had a great time.
Since it was so wet and rainy, my camera stayed inside the dry tent most of the time. I only took about 5 pictures. However, there was plenty of documenting going on by others. As soon as those resources become available, I will attach a link to them (think six very creative 10 - 12 year-olds with a video camera). In the mean time, these will have to do.
Trevor was in heaven!

The Last of the Thirties...

Today is Jeff's birthday. We celebrated by lunch and a movie (with no kids) and store bought cheesecake. The kids loved blowing out the candles.

I should post a big, long tribute to Jeff about how he is such an amazing father and husband and how we all love him so much... But he doesn't read the blog so I'll just go tell him.

Happy Birthday el jeffe.