Saying goodbye to Cubbies

My good friend introduced us to Awana last year and Jacob really loves it. Each week begins with story time, where they learn their verse of the week. Their leader is so good with these little ones and I love that she teaches them the verse in sign language too. Then they have a craft, snack, game time (which two very enthusiastic dads lead), and lots of singing. The grand finale is the Cubbie bear puppet... you can just see their eyes fill with excitement! Best of all, they learn no matter WHERE you are or WHAT you're doing... God loves YOU!

It took Jacob two years to fill in all of his patches, so he was super excited.
Casey cheering on his big brother.
After the Cubbies sang for everyone, there were hot dogs, popsicles, and hay rides!
They were also having scoops of ice cream for 31 cents at Baskin Robbins, so we couldn't resist stopping there on our way home. ;) Silly Gavin insisted on wearing these funky sunglasses.

A rough day...

Just when I think my day couldn't get any worse, my husband comes home and makes it all better...

Look at me!

Casey and Gavin have hit some major milestones in the past few days. Casey has been scooting and rocking on all fours for a few weeks now, but finally figured out how to move his arms and legs in sync with each other on Easter. I don't know what it is with the holidays... laughing for the first time on Thanksgiving, cutting his first tooth on St. Patrick's Day, crawling on Easter. I guess there is a crowd watching so he feels pressure to do something special. Even though he has somewhat figured out crawling, he still uses his arms and legs to scoot where he wants to go. He can get across the room in a minute flat though so I really have to watch him!


Gavin decided to skip the tricycle stage altogether and go straight for Jacob's bike. He has been so stubborn on his tricycle, insisting on using his legs to walk the bike instead of pedal it. So he never learned how to pedal. When we put him on Jacob's bike, he couldn't reach the ground with his feet so he was forced to learn. He actually caught on pretty quickly and loves riding his big boy bike now.

As for potty training, we've finally had a breakthrough. I just wasn't holding out long enough when we put him in underwear. One accident and he was back in diapers. So I decided one day to put him in underwear until he was fully potty trained. We had a few accidents along the way, but I just put new underwear right back on. It took a few weeks, but was definitely worth it! No more diapers... thank goodness!

The Spring Fair

We always try to go to the fair on military appreciation day, which happened to be Friday. Although I was teaching that day, the evening was beautiful so we decided to spend it here.
When we went to Legoland last summer, Adam took Jacob on a gigantic dragon roller coaster. It didn't go upside-down or anything, Jacob's little hands were just tightly clutched to the bar because it curved around so fast. He has been scared of roller coasters ever since... even the little ones. Gavin has never been on a roller coaster though, so we were able to convince him to try it.
He was a little cautious, but it looked like he was having fun. There wasn't a line so the attendant let them ride over and over again. I think by the end, Gavin was definitely ready for his turn to be over!
Of course, having a pilot for their daddy, the airplanes are always a big hit!
Gavin was too scared to try the canoes this year. I think he was worried about falling into the water. The boy ahead of Jacob actually did fall into the water on his way out, so maybe Gavin knew what he was talking about!
The canoes are Jacob's favorite, but he made sure to stay on his feet the entire way so he didn't get his pants wet.
Thank goodness God was protecting us, because we could have been on this ride. Can you believe the entire structure tipped over while fourteen little kids were on the swings? Five of them were taken by ambulance to the hospital and the others left with several cuts and bruises. To think we were only a few rides away... I can't imagine watching the center of this ride crash on top of my kids. How scary!

There were news vans and helicopters everywhere! Thankfully, I just saw on the news that all five children were released from the hospital today and are OK.

Jakey's special day

I remember watching an episode of Jon and Kate plus eight, where they decided to take each child on a special date with just the two of them. I love this idea and thought today would be the perfect day for Jacob and me, since he had a preschool field trip in the morning and a doctor's appointment in the afternoon. So I took Gavin and Casey to Donna's house (where they usually go while I am teaching). I was really excited to spend time with Jacob and I could tell he was so happy to have mommy all to himself. I can't remember the last time just the two of us did something together.

We met his class at the fire station and he told everyone that it was his special day (even though they didn't know what he was talking about). It was so nice to be there without a baby and three-year old in tow. I just got to hold Jacob's hand and make it all about him. He kept thinking that there would be fire at the fire station, which actually makes sense. After all, there is gas at a gas station right? So around every corner, he was looking out for a fire. I tried to explain to him that there isn't fire at the fire station, fire fighters go out to help people who have fire at their house. My sister's husband is a fire fighter too, so it was fun for him to see what Uncle David does when he is at work. I forgot my camera, so I didn't get a picture of him steering the fire truck. Here is a picture of him with his hat when we got home though.

I told Jacob that he could pick anywhere he wanted to have a special lunch date. At first, he said he wanted to get a corndog at the grocery store. Really? Out of anywhere you could go? Seriously? So I gave him some more options to prompt him a little. After pondering for awhile, he decided to get a Happy Meal at McDonald's. We ate lunch together, talked about our day, and shared an ice cream treat.

After Jacob's doctor appointment, I took him to his first T-ball practice of the season. Thankfully, our friend's husband decided to coach this year so he was able to handpick the team. Which means that Jacob gets to play with a lot of his little friends, while I get to chat with my mommy friends. Perfect.

It was such a nice, relaxing, stress-free day... which is a rarity with three kids. We held hands on the way to the doctor appointment and ran, skipped, and galloped together. Considering I usually am lugging a car seat with one hand and pulling Gavin with the other, I cherished every second. After today, I think I will have mommy dates with each of my boys more often. Jacob definitely deserved a day without Gavin throwing a tantrum and Casey needing to nurse or a diaper change, that's for sure!

Our spring break

It's hard to believe that it was two years ago when we were here on spring break. That means I have been blogging for two years, because our trip to Disneyland was my first post! I am so glad to see lots of my friends who are new moms starting up their own blogs now. It's been really fun to look back on our last two years and read about things the boys were doing that I never would've remembered otherwise. I wish I would've started when Jacob was a baby... but better late than never!

Anyway, our spring break started off with SNOW! Seriously, when has it ever snowed on spring break? I remember being shocked three years ago on March 9, when it snowed as we were driving to the hospital to have Gavin. Spring break though?! Crazy.

So we made the best of it, got on all of our snow gear once again, and made a snowman. Usually, we're lucky if we get to make one snowman each year, but I think this is our sixth or seventh! After stacking our snowballs, we decided to use fruit loops to make the eyes, mouth, and buttons. I couldn't help but laugh as Sy ran up to the snowman and was devouring the fruit loops as fast as we had put them on! I guess we've never used anything that he liked before... it was hilarious. Even funnier (to me), as he jumped up to eat the fruit loops, he ended up knocking the snowman over.


As you can see, Jacob didn't think it was so funny.

On the last few days of spring break, the sun came out and it was absolutely beautiful! Snowy days and hot days are my favorite... so that made it a good week. Since Adam was going to on a trip on Easter, we decided to celebrate early.

We dyed some Easter eggs...

Gavin started out with a spoon, then decided it was just easier to use his hand!
What do you do with hard-boiled eggs when nobody in your famiy likes them?

Then we went to the Daffodil parade...


Since it was such a nice day, we were able to have an Easter egg hunt in our backyard!




The boys had a great time looking for the eggs and it was extra fun that Jacob was able to find the hard ones!

The good and the not so good

The good...
*I am so happy about all of this sunshine and that it is light out later so we can keep playing in it! Plus, Jacob always picks flowers for me in the spring which I think is absolutely adorable. And... Casey is finally big enough to go on the swing we bought for him last summer.
Hold on tight buddy!


*Jacob has been recently requesting to be woken up by Casey. So I have been laying little Case down next to him each morning. He wakes up with the biggest smile and squeezes Casey so tight.


*Today Jacob, Gavin, and Casey were all laying on their stomachs and playing... for a second, I got a glimpse of their future together.
*I am going to be a SAHM next year (hence, the life-changing decision we made in Hawaii). I am getting excited and will write more about it in another post.

The not so good...
*Gavin is not doing so hot with potty training. I think I might try underwear again tomorrow because wearing pull-ups has not been working! I'll just really have to stay on top of him since he is not telling me when he has to go. Between Gavin and Casey though, I feel like I am constantly changing diapers and I am SO ready for him to be done.
*I thought having three children was a piece of cake when Casey was born. Mostly because he was either nursing, sleeping, or cooing most of the time. Now that he is scooting around, putting everything in his mouth, down to two naps, and eating tons of baby food, it's getting a lot harder! (I am not a fan of the baby food stage by the way... I just don't have time to separately feed my kids anymore!)
*Adam is on military leave for three months, so it's back to ten days trips for a little while. He just left today and I miss him so much already. Everything is so much more work without someone to tag-team with. Thank goodness we figured out Skype, so I think that will help.

A tribute to my mom

Where do I begin about my mom? Words cannot express how much she means to me. She must know that my love language is spending time with people because she is always there for me. Growing up, she was at every basketball game, every swim meet. Even the majority of my swim practices... and can you imagine how boring swim practices are? She was there to help me with science projects, writing essays, and tears over silly boyfriends. My mom devoted every second and saved every nickel to give my sister and me the best life that she could.

Now that I am older, hardly a day goes by when I don't talk to my mom. She is there for me more than ever. If Adam is on a trip, she drives down in a heartbeat to stay with us while he is away. She watches our kids so Adam and I can go on vacation to refresh our marriage. When one of our boys is sick, she is researching how to help them. While I am teaching, she is in my backyard pulling all of the weeds. She reads to my boys, helps them put puzzles together, plays games with them, and most of all... makes them feel loved. There is nobody they run to with more excitement than their Grammy.
~Grammy with Jacob

~Grammy with Gavin

~Grammy with Casey


Today is her 60th birthday. Two weeks ago, a good friend threw her a party. My mom thought she was attending a dinner with staff from the school she used to teach at, but what she didn't realize was that they were all there for her birthday. My sister and I drove up to surprise her as well. Their former principal hosted the event with humor and fun facts about the year she was born. Then one by one, people stood up to share about my mom. One spoke about how she let their family stay at her house so they didn't have to live in a hotel. Others shared about her love for the students in her classroom... staying after school to help them or buying shoes for a student who couldn't afford them. Many had great memories about vacationing with my mom or holding up a GO COUGS sign in the back of the staff picture one year. It brought tears to my eyes to see how much my mom appreciated everything they had to say. I will always remember what a special night it was.



My sister and I had also made a special gift for my mom. We helped each grandkid stamp their handprint on a piece of paper, along with the bible verse "How can we thank God enough for you?" 1 Thessalonians 3:9. Then around the edge my sister, Maddie, Jacob, and I wrote words that describe my mom. Thoughtful, giving, hero, wise, beautiful, role model, caring, devoted, encourager, fun, blessing...

I love you so much mom. You inspire me every day with your thoughtful and selfless heart. So many of the things I do for Jacob, Gavin, and Casey are because you set such an incredible example for me. One of the saddest days in my life will be when you are gone and one of the happiest will be when we are reunited in heaven. Most of all, thank you for raising me to know and love God. Without that, I would have nothing.