Swim Lesson GED?

So, I'm not sure if there even is such a thing...but IF there is...that's what we are doing this week! Getting our Swim Lesson GED. Some of you will remember that Jax is--well--he's a swim lesson drop out. Last year we researched the surrounding schools, bought the correct (and cool) swim gear, arrived at first lesson ready to rock! And that lesson made up half of Jaxon's professional swim lesson career for the season. Life happened, swim lessons did not.

So this year we are trying a new approach. A 5 day boot (swim?) camp. Jax and his teacher (private lessons for our shy guy this year) will meet each day for the next 5 days and then we will go to regular intervals. Most of our first lesson with Mrs. C was about trust building, which is so important for Jax' cooperation. He was in the pool alone--Mommy and Daddy sat this one out!

Jax proved again to be quiet the athletic kid. He practiced kicking, using his arms to swim, monkey walking (using the wall) and getting his chin wet. Mrs. C did her best to get him to blow bubbles in the water today but was shut down hard! On the bright side, Jax seems to really like her and they worked well together. Let's all keep our appropriate appendages crossed in hopes that Jaxon comes out of these lessons a swimmer (they are too darned expensive to be a sinker!!) ;-)

Jax-ism's

Jax is a talking machine lately and I thought (what with my lack of memory and all) that it would be a great idea to start writing some of them down...here are the most recent "Jax-ism's"

"What are you doing?" and "why?"...true to 2 year old form, these 2 phrases are heard all day long. I kid you not, he probably says each about 50times a day. Cute, huh?

"I'll be right back"-this is said with 1 finger held in the air to emphasize his point. Generally said while I am trying to get him to do something he isn't on board with...like bath time.

"Umm...I don't think so"--this was his response when I asked if he wanted to go to the park. When I asked why not, he told me "it's too hot mom!" Uh...no it's not kid...the windows and doors are open--it's beautiful outside!

And my current favorite. I was sitting on the couch with both kids. Jax was playing with a truck. I asked him "what color is the truck" He correctly responded with "Red. Red Truck" We celebrated the correct answer and he went on playing. Then stopped and looked long and hard at Camren. "Mom...Sister White?" is what he came up with!! Choking I said..."Yes...yes bub, I guess you're right...Sister is white." He wasn't convinced and so we tried out a few different colors...brown, pink, purple...but no. Jax came to the conclusion that Yes...Camren is indeed white!

Oh that kid.

9 months old

Seriously...where does time go? I feel like I just finished writing about Camren being 8 months old!! Ok...well here we are a month later (thank god for this blog or I would swear it was still April!) so time for a Red Chair update!

This past month has brought us more Teeth!! Unbelievable but yes...there are more. Little's now has 7 teeth. Her 2 front top and bottom and the top 2 I teeth. She also has her bottom left I tooth and the right is going to make its appearance any day now (according to her grouch forecast)

The past month has also brought many firsts for Cam. She attended her first pool BBQ and has since been swimming many times. She loves the water...as long as the water is warm and the outside temperature is HOT. Sister is not a fan of cool water. Definitely a Central Valley Baby. (and no, that isn't her beer...she prefers a darker beer. lol)

Her first 4th of July was celebrated with a mud bath. The girl loves that stuff! She plopped down in the puddle but decided that rolling, swimming and eventually tasting it was much better than just sitting!

At 9 months old, Camren doesn't show any signs of slowing down. As a matter of fact, she is in fast forward all day long. Her crawl has hit Mach 1 speed and will actually chase Jax around the house (much to Jaxon's shrieking delight) Most recently she's been practicing standing solo taking her yet another step closer to walking (do you hear my silent screams??) Little's favorites of late...Food- all of it? No seriously. She loves to eat. ummm well she loves to feed herself. I am no longer a welcome food delivery system. Avocado still ranks #1 with blueberries a close 2nd.

Toys- Jax. or anything that Jax has. She is infatuated with her brother and NO ONE can make her laugh like Jax does. She gives up her giggles and smiles up for Jax more readily than any other person. She also has her "baby"...a doll that her Aunt Becca made for her. It's the last thing she holds before falling asleep and the first thing she finds upon waking. (it's what she's holding in the top pics)

Camren's personality is shining through more and more each day. She is definitely a girl of passion. She either loves it or hates it. Is totally entertained or totally bored. And boy oh boy a temper is beginning to show. One thing I know for sure...life will never be boring with Little's in the house!

Camren's 1st Camping trip!

It has been a year since I was camping. The logistics of naps/eating etc with both kids in the trailer just kind of intimidated me. Justin finally wore me down and convinced me that it was time to get the trailer moving and Camren in the sand. The trip was a blur...the weather wasn't the best (too windy)...but the company was great and it's another trip for the books!

Jaxon (as per tradition) helped Daddy drive the truck and trailer out onto the sand in search of a good spot to park.

Camren had a great time. She loves the sand and spent a lot of her time doing a belly crawl with arms spread wide so as to have as much contact with the stuff as possible. Much of the sand that made it into her hands also made it's way into her mouth--the girl ate so much sand I am surprised she didn't poop a sand castle!

Blue painters tape was Daddy's idea of keeping Cam occupied enough to make her forget about eating sand and charcoal (yeah...did I mention she liked that too? ugh)

In a pleasant change of events, Little's did a great job of keeping her hats on! She generally is not a fan of my favorite accessory, but the chilly wind probably helped convince her to keep her paws off!

MeeMaw and Mamoo were making a road trip to visit CA Missions and took a pit stop with us for a night. They brought out their kite and Jax had a blast flying it! Actually I'm not sure if Jax was flying the kite or if the kite was dragging Jax...either way it was fun to watch!

Daddy and Meemaw were also able to convince Jax to play in the ocean for the first time!! "Jumping" the waves was his favorite thing that day. Once he got started he didn't want to come out...all three came out soaked clothes and cheesy grins.

Jax and Meemaw entertained the crew by singing Old MacDonald around the campfire. Ok...my mom sang and Jaxon cracked up.

Our camping buddies, The Ognibene's (as were the Patterson's) were with us again this trip. Jaxon and Oliver spent a lot of time digging, digging, digging. This night they got to help dig out a deeper fire pit with the Daddies.

A tired Camren drinking out of a water bottle like an old pro!

Jaxon (2) Mia (6) Camren (9mo) Oliver (2)

Taking a surf board picture has become another camping tradition (like Jax driving on the beach, ordering Splash cafe to the gates and making breakfast burritos). The first picture was taken when Jax and Ollie were about 6mo old. We hope that we can remember to keep taking these pictures as our kiddos grow up together!

Happy 4th of July!

Justin worked on the 4th this year-so the kids and I decided to spend the HOT day with MeeMaw and Mamoo. Why be cooped up in the house at home when we can play with someone else?? And play we did! Atwater is a small community to the north of Merced. Every year they have a small parade and then a craft show with lots of yummy food. There is also bounce houses and the local FD has out rigs for water play. We made it out for the end of the parade and long enough to walk around with my Aunt and Uncle before throwing in the hot, sweaty towel and high tailing it for the AC.

After a good cool down and a nap, we headed outside to play in the water for a bit. Well...Jax and I played in the water. Camren played in the mud. She LOVED it. Loved it in her toes, her hands...her mouth. But at least she stayed cool...right?

After Sister went to bed, Jax and I went in search of sparklers. We found none but I did grab one Non-moving, Non-screaming firework. We all love and know Jax...and in knowing Jax, we know that he can have surprising reactions to things-especially things that are loud or startle him. I was prepared for him to hate the fireworks (which is why I only bought 1) and SURPRISE--he loved it and kept asking for more. Dang it! Next year kid...I promise!

Luckily MeeMaw swooped in to the rescue with Poppers. He got a great kick out of throwing those little suckers his hardest on the ground and hearing that satisfying POP. From what I understand this was not his first go round with Poppers and had practiced with them during his visit with B.

MeeMaw, Jax and I sweating in the front yard after firework (no "s")

The next day my Sister-in-Law Becca came by with the cousins Elijah and Lilly. We were able to get the girls to freeze long enough for a picture but those boys were running a mile a minute! It was a great holiday...a hot one but what else would you expect from a Central Valley Summer?

Vacations for all!

(well...maybe not for B and Tia. Read on...)

For our 3rd anniversary, Justin and I decided that a 3 night trip was needed! One night was spent at our wedding site, The SeaVenture (amazing as always) and the next two were spent in Huntington Beach (newly amazing!!). B and Tia volunteered their kiddo sitting services for the week and even chose to host at their house! (a little crazy I thought but wasn't going to argue...much) So the following pictures and stories are courtesy of B and Tia (and Sonnet). I tried to talk B into being my very first Guest Blogger-but she denied me! ;-) So I'll try to do their adventure justice.

The kids arrived with B in Hayward Saturday afternoon. I hear the drive was uneventful (sigh of relief) and everyone was happy to be at B's house! Unpacking with 2 kids roaming the house was a bit challenging...Camren ended up hitching a ride on B's back to keep her out of trouble! Beth and Maria's friend Sonnet came to offer up reinforcements since Maria had to work that night. Everybody enjoyed a picnic dinner since Some Body (alright...me) forgot to pack Camren's highchair. But really...2 kids packed with clothes, food and medicines for 4 nights and all I forgot was the chair?? Not bad!

The next day was Sunday and the family hit the road into SF for the Pride Parade. Camren napped. Jax walked. And Sonnet pushed the stroller loaded down with their gear! And B?? She was following my requests for pictures...of everything!

The weather was beautiful. The kids got to see most of the parade. Jax' favorite part was the motorcycles. Cam's fav was eating. ;-) Camp was set up in front of City Hall. It was there, I understand, that Jax decided to entertain the masses with an impromptu dance party. No one can resist the call of The Black Eyed Peas, especially not my Jax!

B doing her photo duties.

During Camren's naps, Jax got to do all sorts of fun stuff in the basement room. He tried his hand at playing the drums, singing in a microphone, throwing darts, boxing, bench pressing...I have photographic evidence of it all!! This boy had a great time with out his sister in the mix! Best of all I'm sure was having the undivided attention of his B and Tia.

Since the kids were going to be in the Bay, we put out notice (sorry again Michelle and TJ) that the kids were going to be in the area for visits if anyone was available. So Sunday night, the Fearsome Foursome made it up the hill (literally...Bob and Kelley live at the top. B and Tia at the bottom of the same street) to have dinner with Papa and Nana. I understand there was a lot of swimming but no race car this time--which shocked everyone!

Papa got some good girlie snuggles.

Monday night the crew made it back to the Ranch for dinner with Uncle T, Auntie Michelle and that adorable boy cousin Wyatt. Again--more swimming and lots of fun that we were sad to miss out on.

Tuesday brought lots of packing. And Beth made the trip to Merced with the kids...solo! They all stayed the night at MeeMaw's house before making the trip home to Fresno Wednesday. Whew! That's a lot of activity in such a short amount of time!! No wonder my kids and B looked so tired when we saw them! ;-) But they did have a great time (from the gazillion pictures and video we've seen) and it was awesome knowing that even if Justin and I weren't there, our kids were still surrounded with love. Thanks Beth and Maria!! Let's do it again next year!

Big Boy Bed!

After 2 1/2 years in his crib, Jax finally convinced us that he was ready for a big boy bed. Jax and Daddy set off for a shopping trip and returned with a twin sized bed that passed Jaxon's jump test. Currently, it's just a bed on a floor...closer to the ground=less of a fall. Soon enough we will make the upgrade complete with bed frame etc...but that just seemed way to grown up and for now, no more crib was all this momma could handle!

Reading his book (yes...reading it. Pointing out his favorite pages and pictures...it killed me!) All of his animals had to be strategically placed, as did the blankets. But once every one is in their places for the night, he crashes out and stays put till morning!!