Happy 4th Birthday, Connor Allen!

On a regular basis, I ask Connor if he will stay my baby forever and his reply is always the same..."No, Mommy, I'm going to keep getting bigger and BIGger and BIGGER!"  He usually tries to make me feel better by saying that Camille will stay my baby forever.  But then he changes his mind and tells me that she is also going to grow bigger...so the kitties will stay my babies forever.
SIGH.

 So handsome!

Ice cream cupcakes with all of his friends at daycare:

Dinner out at a teppanyaki restaurant and first time using chop sticks!

  

Last year, I started asking him 20 questions on his birthday.  Here are his replies as a 4 year old:

1.  What is your favorite color?  GREEN
2.  What is your favorite toy?  SPIDERMAN
3.  What is your favorite fruit?  BLUEBERRIES
4.  What is your favorite tv show?  SHERIFF CALLIE
5.  What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?  A SANDWICH
6.  What is your favorite thing to wear?  CLOTHES
7.  What is your favorite game?  PLAYING BALL
8.  What is your favorite snack?  STRAWBERRIES
9.  What is your favorite animal?  SHEEP
10.  What is your favorite song?  ABC's
11.  What is your favorite book?  THE AVENGERS
12.  What is your favorite cereal?  THE NEW SPECIAL ONE (Lucky Charms)
13.  What is your favorite thing to do outside?  PLAY BALL
14.  What is your favorite drink?  JUICE
15.  What is your favorite holiday?  CHRISTMAS
16.  Who is your best friend?  YADIR
17.  What do you like to take to bed with you at night?  MY BLANKEY
18.  What is your favorite breakfast?  A WAFFLE
19.  What do you want for your birthday dinner?  PIZZA
20.  What do you want to do when you grow up?  BE A REAL IRON MAN

Our little fish

Every day, I find myself in awe and proud of Connor and Camille's accomplishments, but there are a few that really stick out.  Last week, when I received this video of Connor at swimming lessons, I had one of those moments.

Up until last week, Connor has really enjoyed being in the water, but hasn't exactly been interested in doing much that involved putting his head under (playing on the steps and kicking on a paddle board have been his specialties).  On his last trip to Grandma and Grandpa's, he did jump in a few times, with a life jacket, which was a big step.  After learning how to go under the water without getting so much up his nose and down his throat, he seemed more interested.

I was shocked when only days later, I saw this video of him SWIMMING!

We're so proud of him and, better yet, he is so proud of himself!

Legoland California

I successfully convinced Connor to agree to a trip to Legoland instead of having a birthday party this year.  In retrospect, it wasn't all that much cheaper than throwing a party...

Connor loved the water park area and he even went on 2 roller coasters!

Meanwhile, Camille stayed with Grandma and Grandpa and painted, played in the pool and went to the park.  I just love how Grandma clipped a barrette to 1 tiny strand of hair to make her look more like a girl.

San Diego Fair

Grandma Karen and Grandpa Jerry took Connor again last week for some more fun in San Diego without Mommy, Daddy and Camille.  Grandma took Connor to the San Diego fair for 2 days in a row (she's so brave).

They watched pig races, turkey races, went on rides, played games and indulged in plenty of special treats.

Here is Connor in the butterfly area.  Nectar + a Qtip = holding a butterfly.

Of course Grandma bought him a toy that's bigger than he is!

I'm guessing that this 17 MPH pitch may have been from the kid in line before him.  Or not, I don't know.

And he ate the WHOLE thing...

Thank you so much, Grandma & Grandpa, for doing such special things with Connor!  He LOVES all of the fun and attention (without having to compete with Camille).

Happy Birthday, Chad!

Chad's birthday was on June 20th...guess how old he was?...

Check out their "rad" shirts:

We celebrated by going out to eat at a fancy restaurant...one that doesn't have a kid's menu.  We got there at 5:00 pm to ensure that we didn't disrupt too many diners.

Camille was a happy girl eating there.

We then walked a few blocks to the waterfront where there was a big grand opening party for the city which included fun stuff for the kids, live music and beer & wine for the adults :)

 We ended the night with presents and dessert at home.

Father's Day 2014

Thank you, Chad, for being such an awesome Daddy to our kids.  They are lucky to have such an active, fun, creative and loving Daddy who spends so much time with them.

We spent Father's Day doing what we do best...playing at the beach!

We also got to spend the previous day with our good friends, Jeff, Kristen and Evie Sachs.  The kids had so much fun playing in the pool!  

Connor and Evie also enjoyed reciting all of their memorized lines and song lyrics while watching Frozen together (what is it with that movie??).  Naturally, they had to have a Frozen blanket on them during the movie too...it was about 85 degrees in the playroom.

And here is a family picture of all of us at the end of the day (2 hours past nap time for the kids, as you can tell).    

For those of you who have been following Jeff's story, I encourage you to read Kristen's new blog where she writes about life since Jeff's accident.

www.newdawnforus.blogspot.com

(for those of you who checked this post earlier, I apologize that I had the incorrect web address for the blog, the above has been revised and is correct)

Noodle boy

We went to San Diego over the weekend to visit with Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Tammie. Connor spent as much time as possible in the pool.  With the aid of the new water noodles Grandma bought, he was able to swim laps all by himself.
"Here comes noodle boy!"

Camille preferred activities that didn't involve getting more than her feet wet.  Actually, she just preferred to stay attached to Mommy...all...weekend...long...

Learning from the pro:

Semi pro:

"Auntie Tammie, what are you doing to my sister?"