Colorado Family Visit in July

 We went to Colorado in July!  It's Jack's first trip on an airplane.  I was so worried that he was going to be a "mess" but he did great and EJ was an awesome traveler too.  He was so helpful and even held his little brother while I was getting us settled.  We were so excited to get to Colorado as it had been a year since we had been there.  That's the longest I have ever been away.

We made a trip to the mountains with my parents.  It was so fun to feel this crisp, cool mountain air. Here are the guys looking for rocks to throw in the river. 

 Mom and EJ ventured out to the rapids.  They also put their feet in the frigid water.  We put Jack's toes in too but he wasn't too fond of the cold water.

 Daddy and Jack in the mountains.

 My parents loved having the boys around and did a lot of fun things with them including daily trips to the park, bowling, frozen yogurt trips, games, mario racetrack racing, playing endless Wii games, and playing pirate and digging up treasures in the backyard. 

We also got to see some of Eric's family while we were there.  Here we are with Uncle Brian.  He really likes living in Colorado and his company is doing well.  He gave EJ a Spiderman backpack for his birthday and it was a big hit.



4 Months!

 I'm a little late posting Jack's 4 month picture because we've been so busy this summer.   You can see his facial expressions are expanding and he is using his hands to reach for toys and my hair.   His cheeks are as big as ever and his thighs have triple rolls!  I'm happy to report his demeanor is improving; he has a darling laugh and loves to smile. 

Jack is growing so fast.  He's in the 95th percentile for height & weight.  He's a hefty 17 lbs which makes carrying him in his infant car seat quite a workout. Here he is getting weighed at his 4 month appointment.  Look at those meaty thighs!

Speaking of thighs...check these out. Triple rolls!!

EJ loves to kiss Jack and Jack loves to reach for EJ's face.  We had to set a limit to the kissing.  EJ can kiss Jack 5 times and then he has to back away for a bit.  We love how affectionate he can be but it gets overwhelming for Jack.  Likewise, EJ isn't allowed to touch Jack's face and usually when he is in a room alone with Jack I catch him touching his face. Sometimes it's gentle and sometimes it's not so we may have to introduce consequences if he continues to disobey us.  Other than that, he's a fantastic big brother.

San Diego Fun with Grandma & Grandpa

Grandma Carol and her dog, Max, came to visit this week and Grandpa Michael came for the weekend.  We had lots of fun enjoying the perfect California weather.  One night we went to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant and then crossed the street to play in the waves with Max.

EJ and Max throwing rocks back into the surf.

Enjoying the sunset with Jack and then dipping his toes in the ocean for the very first time!

We took grandma to the beach on a sunny afternoon and Jack had fun lounging around in his adorable swimsuit set that grandma brought him.

We took grandma and grandpa on our favorite hike on the Guy Fleming Trail through Torrey Pines.

Eric carried Jack while he slept.  What a way to hike!

Another highlight of the week was an evening trip to Sea World.  We went late so we could see the fireworks.  Sea World is only 7 miles from our house so we hear the fireworks every night.  It was fun to finally see them! 

Walking under the sharks at the Shark Reef.

Our favorite show was the Blue Horizon Dolphin Show.  As you can see, EJ was mesmerized!

Happy Sea World Penguins!

My sweet boys!

3 Months

Jack is three months old today!  He was all smiles after his bath this morning. He is starting to stay awake for longer periods of time and he doesn't always cry about everything.  Let's hope that continues!  EJ continues to be super sweet to him and is doing a great job in his role as a big brother.

Check out the thighs!  The boy can eat!

Goodbye Preschool

EJ had his last day of preschool.  It was a bittersweet day.  We are sad to leave but so thankful for all we expereinced through the program.  EJ loved his teacher and friends and he grew monumentally during his time here.  This school was one of the best things to come out of our move to California.  A really superb place.

Here is Mr. Matty leading the kids in singing the goodbye song.  EJ is fighting back tears.  So precious.

All th kids made cards and helped with the Goodbye sign.  We hung it in his bedroom so he could continue to enjoy it.  Both EJ and I made good friends and we are so thankful for them.  It's translating into lots of playdates this summer.  Preschool ended Friday and Kindergarten camp starts Monday. I hope his next expereince is as fine as this one was.

Paul & Carri Visit

We were so happy to have Carri and Paul come to visit us!  We had wonderful food and fellowship!  We also hiked around Torrey Pines and the views were spectacular! Here are some fun pictures from our weekend together.

At the Hotel Del Coronado

The guys!

Our first time hiking Torrey Pines.  Jack was really calm and EJ loved our "nature walk."

Carri and I have been friends for 20 years!  Here we are for lunch at George's at the Cove.  She once wrote down 10 "impossible" prayers in her Bible.  My name was on that list to have a baby.  How fun to celebrate her answered prayer! 

Jack "dancing" by the fire pit at the Hotel Del Cororado.

Art Show

EJ's preschool presented an art show to showcase the art that the students worked on the past couple months.  EJ wanted to draw Forsberg so his teacher found a picture of a black lab to use as an example.  EJ's finished painting is the red canvas.  The yellow shows the picture he used, his sketch and a picture of him at work.  He loved the project!

Here's his beloved teacher, Mr. Matty

 Eric and I attended the art show and we were so proud of EJ's work.

 The students also presented the race track that they created.  They used and electric sander and other tools along with glitter pain to make it a super cool race track.  EJ would talk about his work on the track every time he came home from school. 

 In true Reggio Emilia form, all of the student projects are storyboarded.  It was neat reading about the progression of the race track.  It was completely student led and Mr. Matty just acted as a resource and helped them achieve their goal. Pretty amazing for 4 year-olds!