June Happenings

We started off the month by tracking down 94.1's Mercedes in the Morning to snag one of their signature Hockey tees that they were giving away, and we were super lucky to get one!  Nolan saw these a while ago at an event, and he was set on getting one.  Even though they didn't have kids sizes, I let him wear it when we got home, and I'll steal it from him every now and then ;)

Day Four... ALL DAY DISNEY!

The BIG DAY of our vacation had finally arrived.... our Disneyland day!  This was definitely the one the kids (and us grown ups) were most looking forward to, and true to Disney fashion, didn't disappoint.

Southern California Vacation - Traveling North!

After our big day at the Zoo and Old Town, we had another early morning to make our way up North for our next destination: Anaheim!  Before we checked in to our hotel, we wanted to make a few stops on our way.  First up, was La Jolla Cove to visit the sea lions!

Southern California Vacation Day Two: San Diego Zoo and Old Town!

On our second day of vacation, we had a big one ahead of us: The San Diego Zoo!  The last time we were here, Nolan was just 6 months old, so it was exciting to know both kids would be way more into the animals and sights.  We left early for the zoo opening, and decided to spend as long as we needed or the kids' allowed before melting down.  They did great, and we lasted until about 2pm before heading back for naps, even with Acelyn taking a catnap here and there throughout the early afternoon.

Southern California Vacation Day One!

A few months back, Jason applied for a grant at his work to attend the National Environmental Health Association's Annual Education Conference, and he was given the privilege to attend.  His work covered all the expenses and his travel, and he would be gone for almost a week to participate.  

I figured it would be an opportune time to take a trip with the kids and my Mom to some of our favorite California spots, so we planned out a little trip and made it happen during the same time frame Jason was out of town for his conference.  The plan was to spend a couple days in San Diego, and then travel North and spend some time up in Orange County and Anaheim, where Jason actually was for his conference, and then head home.  We had the San Diego Zoo in our itinerary, as well as the most exciting plan... Disneyland, too! We weren't sure how much free time Jason would have, so we went in with the mindset that he'd be tied up pretty much the whole time (which, in reality, he was).  So, although we were bummed we couldn't see Daddy more while we were in the same town, we still managed to have a pretty great time and made some fun memories with Grandma. 

Here's the Scoop: Acelyn's Ice Cream Party 2nd Birthday!

Acelyn's 2nd birthday party snuck right up on me this year... how in the world can my baby be turning TWO already!?  Because she has such a sweet tooth, and one of my absolute favorite words she says is "ic-sh guppies" (ice cream), we decided to throw her an ice cream themed birthday party.  I decided to venture outside our norm of throwing the kids' birthday parties at our house, and set up at a local park and splash pad, which was actually perfect and easy in so many ways!  We chose our favorite one, with fun fountains and one of Acelyn and Nolan's favorite park structures to play at. 

Acelyn's "Sweet" 2-Year Birthday Pictures

For Acelyn's second birthday, we decided to throw an ice cream and sprinkles party theme, since it's one of her favorite things to eat and, even better, one of my favorite words she says currently (Ice cream = "Icesh-guppies!"  Why guppies, I have no idea.. but it's friggin' adorable).  

To get in the party theme, I decided to give her an ice cream photoshoot... complete with sprinkles and a huge, huge mess!  These might be some of my favorite pictures of her yet.  Of course we couldn't leave Nolan out of such a fun photoshoot, so he joined in with his ice cream, too.  Acelyn definitely enjoyed herself, and wore her ice cream quicker than she could eat it!  The good news: no stains after an immediate soaking and a really happy 2-year old who took an amazing nap as soon as we got home. 

I can't believe my baby is turing TWO!  We can't wait to celebrate her big day with an ice cream party this weekend with our family and friends.  Until then, try not to drool while looking through these yummy pictures!

March Happenings

We started off the month with some sniffles and coughs, which led us to stay in the house and build forts, instead. 

A new favorite is playing Hide and Seek everyday, and since we've been playing so often, Acelyn has officially learned to count to ten (even though she doesn't do it completely in this video)!

February Happenings

February started off with a wait in the PreK drop off line, so we took some silly selfies to pass the time. 

January Happenings

Well, we're already in March and I've already fallen waaaaay behind with keeping up on on the monthly updates... but, such is life!

Here's how our first of the year started out!

Acelyn looked super grown up overnight, and adorable as ever.

Nolan's 4th Birthday!

When I asked Nolan what type of theme he wanted for his birthday this year, he was quick to respond with one of our most watched movies lately... Sing!  I wanted to make sure it wasn't 100% cheesy character overload, so I tried to incorporate a little bit more into the party.  We recently went to a good friend's movie night birthday party, and I thought it would be cute to use that idea a bit and show the actual Sing movie during Nolan's birthday, as well!  I asked him what else he would like to do at his party, and he said he wanted to sing all of the songs from the movie, so of course, I had to throw some karaoke in there, too!  Nolan's Karaoke Sing 4th Birthday was a success, the kids had a ton of fun and I was super happy with how everything turned out!

November Happenings

We started November 1st off with candy inventory... and the kids were allowed to eat candy before breakfast for their one allotted day of the year.  (Don't worry, Acelyn didn't eat all of those lollipops... just unwrapped and carried them everywhere... and was so happy about it!)

October Happenings

The month started off with a lazy Moana filled, messy bed head morning for us.

Acelyn had such a productive Sunday, that she fell asleep in her high chair after lunch.  I placed her on the floor for a second while I cleaned up, and she stayed snoozin' and looked adorable as ever.

September Happenings

We started out the month checking out Toys R' Us for Star Wars' Force Friday, followed by a play date at My Gym with our friends Coen and Shaw, where the boys tried realllllly hard to reach the bars and Acelyn went down slides a million times.

First Annual Girls' Trip!

Back in the Spring, some of my best friends and I decided we were well overdue for a big girls' trip that we've yet to take, although we always talk about one every year.  We finally pulled the trigger and after a few deliberations, decided our vacation spot for the year was going to be... New Orleans! 

August Happenings

The kiddos started the month off by coloring in their PJs and watching Daniel Tiger. 

July Happenings

The month started off with a fun little catastrophe, as we woke up and found our backyard completely flooded!  After a few minutes of finding out what the heck was happening, we discovered our neighbor's pipe had sprung a leak and had been seeping through our concrete wall.  Luckily, it was so hot outside that it all evaporated within a few hours.  At least the heat was good for something!

After our eventful morning, we decided to take a trip down to the Discovery Museum.  The last time we had gone was almost a year ago, and I knew Nolan would love it and was hoping Acelyn was big enough to enjoy most of it, too.  I was right, and the kids were obsessed with the water room.  Since it's the first thing you come upon entering the museum, I had to pry them away and convince them we would be back before we left, since I knew they were going to get soaked.  So, off we went to check out more fun.

They darted around, exploring every inch of the next few rooms- King's Castle where they sat on a throne, a pirate ship where Nolan raised the flag, and Acelyn found lots of mirrors to say Hi in, and abruptly run away to her next adventure. 

Daddy helped Acelyn slide down this slide over and over and over again, and also gave Nolan a little extra muscle to lift the car lever.  Upstairs, he pulled the kids up on the pulley lift, where Acelyn loved it and Nolan was a bit timid!  

Acelyn played some music on the giant xylophone, and Nolan did some grocery shopping, which is always his second favorite spot of the museum.  They also worked on cars and helped with airport luggage!

Finally, we made our way back to the water area and the kids loved it.  They started off with ponchos, but we eventually ditched them as they weren't keeping much water off of them, anyway!  We spent lots of time here and Nolan spent all of his time at the ball launcher, while Acelyn made her rounds, running around like a wild child and splashing away.  In the end, they ended up soaking wet... which just meant they had a successful day at the museum! 

We got down on some Cold Stone ice cream after dinner one night. 

We spent another morning at the M Pool, where Acelyn decided she was over her floaty and needed to be held/carried/swim on her own the whole time.  This led to her learning to jump in off the side and she was obsessed!  Nolan chose the more relaxed route, playing with his toys and swimming around on his own.  Before we left, they snuggled in towels and relaxed from a fun morning swim! 

We spent the 4th of July with our friends and had a great day!  We started our morning off at the M Pool (yet again!), where the kids swam all morning long and Nolan kept up with Grace and Charley, following them around like a little fish.  Acelyn stuck with her little bestie, Perry, and they hung out on the daybed together, swam and fought naps together, too!  We spent all morning drinking mojitos and stuck around for lunch there, too.  

Back at home, we rested up and took some naps, where everyone slept for a decent amount, and then got ready to head over to the Espejos for some fireworks.  The kids played and we all snacked on (even more) chicken fingers, when all of a sudden, Nolan was acting super strange and kept complaining he was cold.  He wanted to play but kept lying down, so we made him chill out on the chair and relax with a blanket, all while wearing his light up 4th of July glasses... when all of a sudden...... vomit.  All over.  Poor guy threw up all over the blanket, and we all felt horrible!  He wasn't 100%, but wanted to stay for fireworks and legit had a fit when I told him we had to go home because he was sick.  I felt bad, so we stuck around to light up some sparklers and throw poppers, which he really enjoyed.  He looked ridiculous in his sister's 12/24 size shirt, but hey, it worked.  

We all sat and watched fireworks light off in the neighborhood- Isaac lit off a bunch and we also got to enjoy their neighbors, who had a ton of different ones, too.  Some were being lit in the desert next to their house, which were the "big ones", and Nolan wasn't too sure about those.  Acelyn, in her typical self, had zero fear and kept charging towards the fireworks, wanting to touch them.  Nolan went back and forth between liking some and being scared of some, and I could tell the kids were starting to melt down, so we decided to head out a little earlier than planned. We had such a fun day with our friends, minus our little sick-hiccup, but I know the kids had a blast regardless!  

The next few days were followed by Nolan being down and out... he was definitely sick!  This kid never passes out randomly, so when I found him asleep on the couch in the middle of the morning, I knew he wasn't feeling good.  When he started complaining that his belly hurt and he felt "cold" again, I wasn't taking any chances and set up camp in the kitchen so we wouldn' get more vomit over furniture!  Luckily, he never threw up again, and we laid low for a while and spent a lot of the week inside!

We spent a morning at Ikea, where Acelyn danced it out before leaving and helped push the cart while we shopped.  The kids ran around the store like always... thank Goodness Ikea has big aisles with no people around!

Acelyn talks a ton now, but she is SO hard to get on camera.  She knows when I'm filming and will not perform in front of people... little stinker.  But, I did manage to get her saying "Cheese"... one of her favorite words and foods!

She spent a morning relaxing, watching Daniel Tiger while sitting on the new rug that makes her look super, super tiny!

We received a little package from Freshly Picked (thank you!) and Acelyn not only loved her new moccs, but the paper just as much!  She then proceeded to carry around her "shhhhhhhoo" (shoes, as she calls them) and refused to take them off.

We met up with the Espejos and the Gerfys for dinner at The District to splurge on some Shake Shack that had just opened!  We met up with them at the splash pad where the kiddos played, took a break for food and went right back at it after.  There was a "live band", which really just turned out to be a solo singer, but that didn't stop the kids from dancing it up.  Acelyn was more concerned about the splash pad, and girlfriend got cray in it.  She was obsessed and kept getting sprayed in the face but just went back for more.  Needless to say, she was soaked at the end of the night, but definitely loved every second of it!

We relaxed the next day, and Acelyn found Daddy taking a nap on the floor, so she joined him.

We played with lots of Snapchat filters throughout the month.

It was National Ice Cream Day, so what better way to celebrate than a trip to Cold Stone (again).  Acelyn wore her special Ice Cream dress, and accessorized with a chocolate mustache face. 

Nolan woke up with his rash that he gets when he has a viral infection, which was earlier confirmed to be Strep throat that both kids had.  We spent all day in our jammies, watching movies and enjoying and playing the rain.  Even though it was a sick day, it was still a fun, relaxing day around the house!

I caught them in a moment, completely unprumpted, being super sweet with each other and I died. 

Acelyn is in nap limbo lately, where she can't make it to nap time without being extremely cranky and almost falling asleep at lunch time, yet, fights me when I try to put her down for a morning nap.  This results in almost always falling asleep in the car if we are out running errands or going places in the morning... and this particular morning, she refused to wake up even after getting out of the car, so she continued sleeping on the rug. Nolan thought it was hilarious and needed to join her for a photobomb.

Jason made us a free decal from Disney in anticipation of our Disneyland trip in December.  I think it's safe to say we are wayyyyyyy excited and are definitely counting down the days!  4 months and counting!

We had the best park day with overcast skies and the coolest summer day (70 degrees!?)  See all the pictures here, but some videos of our fun below: 

The kids pushed Harley around in the play stroller... I don't know who enjoyed it more?!

Acelyn has started sleeping with random objects to help with her twiddling fingers at bedtime... and she's grown pretty attached to this hairbrush, in particular.  Haha!

Jason took a few hours off of work in the morning to adjust his night schedule for the week, so we ate breakfast at The Kitchen Table, which is always so good. 

Nolan took his first selfie video which had me laughing SO hard. 

We took a trip to check out the new At Home store, and it didn't disappoint, especially since we randomly arrived at their grand opening dedication, which meant the kids got cake at 10AM.  They were pretty stoked, and I got to get some browsing done with them being happy campers!

The last Saturday of the month, we grabbed some donuts at Donut Mania, had wrestle-mania in the afternoon, caught Acelyn matching and napping with Winnie the Pooh, and ate out (again, ugh) at The Habit for dinner.  

On Sunday, Jason had to work most of the day, so we picked up Grandma and took a visit down to the animal shelter to visit the kitties.  Jason is allergic to cats, so we'll never get to own one, so this is as good as it gets for us and coming in contact with them!  Nolan and Acelyn loved it and could have spent all day there.  I wanted to take one home sooo badly, but cuddled and loved on them enough to satisfy my need.  

That evening, we dropped the kids at Grandma's so Jason and I could catch a movie for his early birthday gift, where we saw Dunkirk and had anxiety through the whole movie, but loved it. The kids were angels for my Mom and proved it in this picture.  After, we all had dinner together to celebrate Jason's birthday, too.

We celebrated Jason's birthday on Monday, and kept it low-key with one of his favorite meals for dinner and some of his favorite pie for dessert.  Of course we had to sing Happy Birthday, per Nolan's request.  We love him so much and couldn't have as great of a life as we do, without him in it.  He works hard for our family and I love that I can still call him my best friend and partner for this crazy ride in life.  Happy Birthday, Daddy!  We love you!

...Until next month!