A Day at ABC Kids Expo '18

The month of October kicks of the start of holiday festivities for us, but before all that goodness, the ABC Kids Expo is another exciting perk of the month!  I looked forward to attending the expo again this year, and applied for a media badge early on.  With our family dynamic changes and my start of full-time work, I was bummed to think I'd be unable to attend the show this year.  Fortunately, some days in my schedule switched around, and I was able to attend- even if it was just one day!  I packed up the kids and we prepped for a full day there... because last year was 2.5 days of craziness, and I knew I was about to pack in all of that in just a few hours!

A New Holiday Favorite - Operation Halloween

With the arrival of fall, my planning goes into overdrive for seasonal and holiday activities around town to do with the kids.  It's probably one of my favorite times of the year, because there are just SO many fun things to see and do from the start of October all the way until the end of the Christmas season!  So, as October comes upon us.... my planning begins!

This year, we were lucky to be able to preview the newest indoor Halloween experience in town at Tivoli Village... Operation Halloween!  We were invited to their media night preview, and we were totally impressed with their festive, hands-on activities for the whole family, and the kids had the best time in each of their five themed rooms and over 55 minutes of imaginative fun!

August Happenings

We started our August off with a super exciting Field Trip Friday to City National Arena.  I had been working on this one for months, starting back in the Spring when the team was doing so well during Playoffs.  Of course because they were swamped with press stuff, we couldn't get a date set until the summer, and even then we had some rescheduling issues.  So, the big day finally came, and Nolan was SO stoked to get up close and behind the scenes at one of his favorite places. 

July Happenings

We spent the first Sunday of the month soaking in the sun at the M Pool, yet again.  Definitely one of our favorite places to visit on the weekend in the summer!

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. 

May Happenings

Nolan's first day of the month started with a pajama party at Preschool to celebrate the completion of their ABC unit of the year!

From Instagram to Chatbooks: How We Save Our Kids' Artwork

When Nolan was itty bitty and our one and only, we did lots and lots of projects, crafts and in-home "tot school", which led to lots and lots of papers and crafts hanging out around the house.  As Acelyn came along and grew, we continued our projects, but not nearly as often, but then Nolan started Preschool and was bringing home 4-5 crafts and fun worksheets a week.  I absolutely adore these handmade things and would keep every piece of it, if we had the space.  But, coming from a family who kept all of my own artwork when I was small, and then having boxes of it to go through as I was older, I knew there had to be a better way to store all of these handmade goodies without losing the special memories from them.

Acelyn is TWO!

Another year down... and this one flew by just like the previous one!  My last baby is now two, which doesn't make her a baby anymore, at all!  Acelyn is still as wild and crazy as she was at one... and probably more so now that she is turning into her own little person, full of personality and feistiness! 

Our First Pogo Pass Outing! {Seaquest Aquarium}

Schools officially out for the summer, and with that comes the anxiety of how to entertain the kiddos every.single.day.  Although Nolan isn't in school full time, those two days a week definitely make a difference with him getting out of the house, socializing and just having fun!  So, with summer officially upon us, I couldn't be more thankful to have our Pogo Passes to use!  

The Pogo Pass is an annual membership pass that grants you admission into some of the best attractions in our city.  Each of our family members has their own pass, and is easily accessible through our phones as we visit each venue.  For Las Vegas, some venues include the Springs Preserve, Cowabunga Bay, Discovery Children's Museum, Bouncy World, admission to 51s games, and the recently added Glow Zone.  Some of these are favorites to visit a couple times a year for our family, and the discounted rate by using our Pogo Passes is amazing! 

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. 

April Happenings

We started off the month celebrating with an easy-going Easter at home and dinner at Grandma's.

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!

Easter 2018

Easter morning started early, as Nolan ran into our rooms yelling, "I SEE EGGS!"  He could see a few hiding downstairs as he scoped out the scene from the upstairs gate, and ran in to get us all up and out of bed to see what the Easter Bunny brought!

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. 

New Sandals Launch from Freshly Picked! {a&n Share it All}

It's no secret that our favorite in footwear for Acelyn is Freshly Picked, hands down, so when we heard of the new sandal product launch coming up, I knew I had to try them out!  We passed on last year's initial sandal release, so I was interested to see how we would like them compared to our typical summer sandals.  Even better, Freshly Picked released three all new colors and four new styles... making it hard to choose exactly which one we wanted since they all look amazing!  

Valentine's Day 2018

Earlier in the week, the kids surprised me with some sneaky laughter coming from the spare bedroom.  To my surprise, I walked in to find pink and red confetti a lllllllllll over the place!  They were having too much fun to get mad, so we continued the chaos by having a fun little Valentine's Day photoshoot!  We hope everyone had a messy and fun Valentine's Day like this one!

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.

Easy Bath Time Fun with Nuby Bath Crayons {a&n Product Review}

As the kids grow older, especially at the ages and stages we're currently in (ages 4 and 1.5), bath time becomes more challenging and quite a bigger mess, with larger splashes, louder yells and extra fighting over toys... a peaceful bath typically turns into chaos and myself cleaning the kids as quick as I can just to get them out ASAP!

Fortunately, the Nuby Bath Crayons turn bath time into the complete opposite experience, which is AMAZING! A once crazy, intense bath time vibe suddenly transforms the tub into a fun art studio, where the kids actually sit, draw and color all over their surroundings, allowing their creativity to flow.  I love that I can wash them up while they play and doodle, engage in conversation with Nolan about what he's creating and review the vibrant colors with Acelyn.  

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!

December Happenings

December started off with some late night excitement (like, 1AM early), as Acelyn was having difficult breathing in her sleep because she was wheezing and getting into lots of coughing fits.  I was worried about some retraction in her breathing, so I decided to take her into the E.R. to make sure her O2 levels were okay.  Sure enough, she was diagnosed with croup, and after a two hour ER visit, we were finally given some steroids and cleared to go home, while taking in some chilly winter air to help her lungs.

That morning, our Elf made his appearance and brought the kids their advent calendars for the month!