Babysitter

I asked Max one afternoon to keep an eye on Lia while I was cooking in the kitchen. She was a little fussy and no one can cheer her up faster than Max. I came back into the room and saw this...



He surrounded her with toys and then put these sun glasses on her. And she was as happy as a clam! I think he makes a great babysitter!

Coolest Wedding Invitation EVER!

Okay, this seriously rocks. I have no idea who these people are, but this wedding invitation is one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

Memorial Day Nakedness

If you've lived in San Diego for any amount of time you are for sure familiar with a lovely secluded surf spot called Blacks Beach.

This quiet beach is also the home of naked old men. Yes my friends, it's a nude beach self-designated by the nudists themselves. And when we decided to go for a morning hike down to the water we weren't spared from a lovely show of old naked men busily searching for the perfect spot to sit their old saggy buns and watch the waves (or nervously hope that someone is watching them because let's face it people, old men who walk around on a beach naked have some serious exhibitionist creep vibes going on). In fact, this man in particular passed us on the way down and there was no question he was on his way to dropping his drawers when he walked by us wearing only a flannel shirt, a big floppy hat, and some little black chonies.

Anyway... besides being almost blinded by old man bare bottoms, we had a really good time! (I shouldn't complain to much about naked old men on public beaches on Memorial Day because for as much as I know they could have fought to keep that beach public -- or maybe they dodged the draft... hmm...) We only made it half way down. It's a pretty steep walk both ways so we decided to turn around half way (and it was a good thing we did because half way back up Max got a case of the whines and wanted to be carried -- we did not indulge for safety reasons. I didn't really feel like tumbling down an ocean cliff that day).


Max had a great time hunting for pirates and watching the dolphins we saw swimming next to some surfers. Lia was as happy as a clam. She loves being outside and being busy (just like Max) so it's not hard to keep her smiling. And Tyler was a trooper for carrying her the whole time in the Bjorn.


Max made Tyler stand there and told me to take a family picture. I thought it was really cute. He totally tells me when to take pictures now and poses for me, too.

Afterwards we came home and took naps and Max and I washed the car. When Lia woke up from her nap we went and bought some vegetable plants, dirt and pots to make a little garden on our balcony (pictures to come). And for dinner we had a nice little cook-out with our neighbors. Danielle came over, too, which just about made Max's whole day! Oh! And then for dessert me, Danielle and Brooke went to BJ's for a pozookie. Don't know what it is? Google it. Trust me. It's worth it.

We had a great little family weekend. Makes me think of summer and all the fun we'll have! Happy Memorial Day!

A Few Of My Favorite Things

This list might include my babies, or my husband or milk, or even the ocean. But hot biscuits with home made jam is pretty close to the top. I took about half the strawberries we picked and made jam. Here's my recipe. I didn't want to use pectin because it just kinda weirds me out. So I made it up.

Strawberry Jam
4-5 medium lemons juiced
1 cup of sugar
2 cups of sliced strawberries

Cook lemon juice and sugar on low until sugar is dissolved. Add the strawberries and bring
to a slow boil. Keep it bubbling slowly for up to an hour, or as long as it takes to reduce and thicken the jam. Pour into jars and refrigerate! You can adjust the amount of sugar based on the sweetness of your strawberries (more sweet, less sugar -- less sweet, more sugar).

Add a hot homemade biscuit with butter and here is the fabulously delicious result...

So yummy!! And of course I had to share with my friends. Also close to the top of my list of favorite things is feeding people. I love to feed people. And these jars are pretty dang cute, too. Only $1 at Michaels!

Moral of this story... go pick your own fruit and make jam.

Or make this:

Strawberry Shortcake with homemade fresh whipped cream! I better stop before I get too hungry.

Sweet Strawberries!

That was actually the name of a band I started in second grade. It was awesome. We were total rock stars. But that is not what this post is about... THIS is what it's about!!



and THIS!



We went strawberry picking! It was really fun, especially because we went with the Bakers. Anything is more fun with the Bakers! And Max is pretty much in love with Sienna. (I secretly hope they get married some day). The kids all got seriously dirty, covered in strawberry and dusty dirt. But the strawberries were gorgeous and so so so sweet! It was kind of pricey -- one little styrofoam container is $6 -- but they are organic and REALLY seriously sweet. And Tyler ate about 75,000 of them while we were picking so I think we got our money's worth.

I'll let the pictures do the talking, but it was super fun. Even Amelia got in on the fun! No surprise that she loves strawberries. We fed her a couple and then realized that there is some rule where you aren't supposed to give babies strawberries until they are like one or something. Oops! She's fine. No worries.

Okay... pictures!











I love this picture! One of my favorites of the day.



I think Max picked more flowers than strawberries.

Little strawberry face!




And in case you were wondering if Lia really did like the strawberries -- proof:

Happy Mother's Day to me!!

I love Mother's Day. And not just because I'm a mom. But I think it's cool how we have a day to honor parents and all the stuff they do for their kids (most stuff you don't even realize until you have your own kids).

My mother's day was pretty great. Friday night Tyler took me to Coronado for Moo Time ice cream and a romantic walk on the beach. It was pretty great. For all the years we've lived in San Diego we had yet walk on the beach in the moonlight. So glad we finally did. Coronado beach behind the Hotel Del is amazing. So pretty! And it was great to just sit and talk for a few hours with Tyler, uninterrupted.

On Saturday I got flowers from Max and some toast tongs. I love toast tongs. I think every well stocked kitchen needs a pair of toast tongs.

Then on Sunday Tyler made me breakfast in bed -- his specialty -- fried eggs and toast and chocolate milk. And orange pieces in the shape of a heart. Cute! And then he gave me the best present ever -- Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts.

I just layed in bed and opened every page. I can't wait to do ALL of the crafts! All of them! Then for dinner Danielle came over and made me an amazing salad with chicken and pecans and veggies... it was soooo good! I had a great Mother's Day!! I'm so grateful for my beautiful babies and my wonderful hubs. Although some days are tougher than others, I can't imagine a life without my kids being as happy. Thanks my sweet family!

Baby Girl is Half a Year!!

I can't believe how fast these six months have flown by. I think having a baby right before the major holidays makes those first few sleep deprived weeks go by so fast. And this girl is the sweetest thing ever. Tyler and I constantly joke about how we are not going to be able to say no to this girl when she gets older (daddy, I want this BMW! okay sweetheart!) This baby is wonderful (and so is her brother).

At six months she's in the 75% for height and weight coming in at a whopping 18 pounds. Yes, that is shock. We have a very chubby baby. She wears 12-18 month sized clothes and grows out of everything so fast it's crazy. We love her chubby chubby legs!

She eats amazing amounts of food. A bottle for breakfast with cereal in it. A lunch of 1-2 jars of baby food (squash, sweet potatoes and green beans top the list). A bottle for an afternoon snack. Dinner of 1-2 jars of baby food. And a night time bottle before bed with cereal in it. It's not surprise why she's the chub she is! Her reflux is getting better I think. She's still on medicine for it, but we're hoping to ween her off by 9 months. She's also really loving those Gerber snack things. She can't feed herself yet, they just kind of get stuck in her fists, but she loves to be fed one after another.

She finally sits up, too! This is like my favorite baby accomplishment! I love that she sits up and can look around and play with toys. She laughs constantly and is always smiling. She could be crying hysterical in her bed, but as soon as she sees your face she flaps her arms and legs and squeals and smiles HUGE. It's the best. We love that she wakes up so happy! (Max still wakes up cranky, but I secretly love that he wants to just cuddle with me when he wakes up. It's the only time he lets me cuddle and hold him. It makes me think about how limited my time is with him for that).

Lia is also finally sleeping through the night. We had a few weeks where she would wake up in the middle of the night and just be awake for hours. So after a few weeks of sleepless nights I had a little talk with her. I told her that if she woke up that night we would have to let her cry. And that night she slept straight through, and the next and the next. It's been a couple of weeks now and it's awesome. She wakes up maybe once for a paci but other than that she's been great. I think what has helped is that we've stopped moving her from our bedroom to the living room and just leave her in our bedroom. That means that Tyler and I sleep in the living room now on an air mattress and the couch. It's not so bad (I get my own bed!) but we're waiting to get her into Max's room.

We love this sweet little addition to our family. I can't believe six months is gone. I feel like it's going way too fast and I just want her to stop! I never understood when other moms said that when I had Max. Max never wanted to be a baby. He never acted like a baby. So I couldn't wait for him to get a little older so he could truly have the independence that he wanted. I love that about Max; his independence and wit and curiosity is unmatched. I wouldn't change him for the world. He wasn't an easy baby, but he's an amazing toddler. Amelia on the other hand is a sweet little baby. She likes to cuddle and be loved and sit on your lap and play with toys and snuggle and laugh and smile. She's just as perfect as her big brother. And I'm glad they are so different because it makes it harder to compare them. And it doesn't hurt that they are both ridiculously adorable!

Max's Baby

Every time we feed Lia it's also time for Max's baby to eat. When Lia needs her diaper changed, so does Max's baby. Max's baby, who is just named Baby (you can ask him) has a lot of the same needs as baby Lia. Here is a picture of baby that the proud daddy took.



Here is Max feeding his baby some sweet potatoes (apparently that is Baby's favorite food). He drags this bean bag chair out from his room, puts on the bib (has to be plastic like Lia's) and feeds Baby.



Baby also has to be put down for a nap in the same places that Lia sleeps -- her swing, her bed, her old car seat. I think having a fake baby is fine, but if that baby ever asks me to wipe his butt after pooping in the potty, I'm going to have to ask him to find new fake grandparents.

Coronado Love

We decided to spend a Sunday afternoon in Coronado. I'm kind of obsessed with spending time together as a family. I don't think it's a bad thing to be obsessed with! But I love love love to plan family outings for us to go on. This was kind of impromptu, but still fun. I feel like the more family time we spend together the more we get to know each other and love each other. And Tyler and I both love to see our kids learning and experiencing new things.





Lia's first time sitting in the sand! She loved it. She wanted to eat it, of course. And honestly I think she would have loved the taste. This girl isn't too picky.





Once again trying to get an unsuccessful picture of the two of them together, both smiling, both looking at the camera. Still cute though!



Amelia loves to play with wrappers and things that crinkle. This fruit snack wrapper was no exception.



And Max spent his time on the beautiful Coronado beach covering himself with sand. He also really enjoyed the cool Dr. Seuss statues at The Hotel Del. He loves Dr. Seuss.

Like a Zoo

Sometimes I feel like this blog is a lot like visiting a zoo.

"Here are the animals sleeping. Here are the animals bathing. Here are the animals playing. Here are the animals eating."



Then again, our lives are a lot like a zoo so... here is one of our littles eating. This girl can EAT. She loves loves loves food. Any kind of food. Baby food. Formula. Regular people food that she makes well known on a daily basis that she wants! She's constantly grabbing and reaching for our food. And I get so sad that I can't give her much of it yet! It's so nice to have a baby who likes food.



I think Tyler is pretty excited about it, too, as evident by the look on his face in this picture!

Spitting Mad

This is what Amelia does when she gets mad. She spits. She rarely cries unless she's really really mad or whacks her head (or has her head whacked for her, Max). She just spits.

Amelia and Emily

This is Emily doll. Lia loves Emily. Lia loves to chew the heck out of Emily's feet and hands and face and eyes and basically any little bit of her that she can fit in her mouth. This is pretty much Amelia's favorite toy. We are quite thankful for Emily!


(Oh, and on a side note, we have no idea why the doll is called Emily. I'm pretty sure my mom named her Emily when it was Mattie's toy. And the name stuck.)

More Laughs

Is there anything funnier than your brother making strange noises? Nope. Apparently not.

Elephant Rides

To get Max to take a bath for a while we had to entice him with an elephant ride to the bathroom that consisted of a very bumpy ride on Tyler's back. Since Max loves to do everything that we do, he decided Lia needed a ride, too. And Lia thought it was pretty great.

Bath Time Lia

This is how she likes to kick back in the bath lately. Silly girl.





She kept wiggling and wiggling every night in the bath and scooting down and basically almost drowning. So Tyler solved the problem by letting her just chill out like this. Works for me, as long as she gets clean!





Another example of her comfy sitting style in the bath. Crazy girl.

Best friends... for now

Max and Lia are pretty good friends right now. Lia pretty much idolizes Max in every way. She is fascinated by all his crazy moving wiggling screaming energy. Mesmerized actually. She loves to watch him play and run and jump and talk. It's adorable really.

But, there are times when I see a foreshadowing of things to come. Like when Lia gets a hold of one of Max's toys and he rips it from her little fists yelling "MINE!" or when her fussing annoys him and he says, "Mom, won't she EVER be quite again?" (Trust me kid, I think the same thing sometimes). Max is pretty territorial but he deals with it about as well as a 2 year old can I think. Most of the time he says "no no Lia!" very nicely and gently pulls the toy from her hands. Or he sits and plays with her or lets her tickle him and laughs with her.

I swear I have the greatest kids in the world!


Lia likes to roll under the couch and the other day I found Max laying right next to her - the two as happy as can be.



Lia loves books. Max is not that into them. But he likes to read them to her and tell her all about the pictures until he gets too annoyed by her constantly trying to eat the book.





And holding hands in the car. So cute, huh?