Who needs "L's"?

Not I.  Nor does Jaxon, as far as I am concerned.  There are so many things about my little (sigh) boy that aren't so little any more.  For one, his legs dangle down to my knees when I hold him, when I get to hold him.  He has opinions about everything.  He corrects my terminology when I am incorrectly identifying a vehicle. (No, that's a dirt bike Mom)  But the thing that makes me stop in my tracks and notice just how grown up he is becoming is the correct  pronunciation of words.  For now, P's stand in for F's (Past for Fast) and S's are still hard.  But I can deal with those.  Here are the words/phrases that will break my heart to hear spoken correctly.

~ Handy Mmm-nanny.  It cracks me up every time. And hard as he tries, he can't get rid of that "N" sound.

~Toe-got (forgot).  As in "Mom, I almost toe-got my hat."

~Titer (Sister)  I just love hearing him say anything about Camren.

and the kicker

~Yub...I Yub you. The day I hear the word LOVE come out of his mouth...It will be all over. 

 Water works galore.  Water works just thinking about it...so correct pronunciation be damned.  I'll keep my Bub 3 as long as humanly possible.  

**Spell Checker had a field day with this post! ;-) **

Zilla the Artist

There really isn't much more to say.  I think the pictures speak for themselves.  

Ok...you all know me better than that.  I do have a few things to say.

A.  Yes...she really was as messy as she appears.

B. Yes...I did watch her do both works of art, in entirety.  I figure she will have more than enough years and people telling her how and where to do art, so why not let her explore.

C. Crayola is AMAZING.  Both times the art medium wiped right off.  The markers gave me a much bigger scare than the paint surprisingly enough.

D.  We will do it again and again and again. The more "MOM" I get, the more I realize that a mess is just the clean up after the FUN.  Not always my favorite part of the day, but if we don't have any fun in learning then we are really missing out.  So stay tuned for more art work and messy learning!

Easter at Gram's

Easter weekend was spent in the Bay Area at Gram's home.  

 Cousin Wyatt came to play with Jaxon and Camren.  They had a blast playing out in the yard and enjoying the gorgeous weather.

 Camren and Wyatt proved to be Double Trouble!  They spent a lot of time helping Bob-o fill this pipe with pea gravel.  Okay...maybe it didn't help him but it sure kept the little kids entertained and in one spot for a while!

 The whole brood got to try their hand at dying Easter Eggs.  Some did better than others (Jaxon).  Some tried to eat the eggs (Camren) and some tried to drink the dye (Wyatt).  The end result was very pretty and delicious, according to the kiddos who ate all the eggs!

 The next morning Gram snuck in some early morning snuggles while we waited for the Easter Bunny to arrive.

 The Easter Bunny did a great job and delivered the most adorable baskets filled with dairy free candy for the kids! (a more difficult chore than you might imagine)

 Jax and Camren waited patiently while Daddy made sure that the Easter Bunny hid his eggs in all the right places. 

 Jax took off immediately at a sprint and collected the majority of the eggs.

 While Sister took a little bit of time to fully understand the concept of hunt and gather.

It was a great way to celebrate the Easter Holiday!

'Zilla's 18mo Red Chair Pics!

That's right!  We've made it to yet another Red Chair Picture.  Camren Grace Marie is 18 months old.  As you can see, she is still quiet the little Ham.  At 18mo, Camren loves the camera and will mug it up while saying her version of "Cheese" which cracks me up given that she's never had a piece of actual cheese.  However, this dairy allergy isn't slowing her down when it comes to food.  This girl loves to eat and will try just about anything (as long as Jaxon isn't around to influence her).  Edamame, asparagus, kiwi and fish are some of her more recent culinary loves.  

Still the ever moving monkey, Camren seems to have realized that Jax is a great subject for study.  She is definitely in a "Monkey See, Monkey Do" kid.  If Jax' jumps, so does 'Zilla.  Jaxon dances, Camren dances.  Jax says he's finished eating...suddenly Cam's full too.  Super cute and super frustrating to watch all at the same time!  But don't let this phase fool you.  She is still an "I can do it" kid.

"I can do its" of late... dress her self and  undress herself.  Picking out her clothing daily. Take off her diaper (she's super interested in potty training and has had quiet a bit of success, fingers crossed!)  Putting on and taking off shoes.  Also, she is a firm believer that she is now too old for this hand-holding stuff and tries to bolt anytime we are in a situation where I want/need control over her.  The girl is one parking lot dash away from giving me a heart attack. And I am positive that this will not be the last time that Camren engages in a heart stopping activity, nor will it be the last time that we result to spanking for running in a car infested parking lot. :-(

At 24lbs and 32 3/4inches tall, Camren is a shrieking tornado of activity.  As I've said before...she is a girl of passion and extremes.  Running or sleeping.  Happy or angry. Loves it or hates it.  And I for one am glad that she is passionate and voices her opinion (loudly) because I know that Camren is destined for greatness and these traits will help her achieve it with flair!

Easter Eggs

The Friday before Easter Dad was working, the weather was beautiful and the kids (ok...kids and I) were getting a little stir crazy. So out came the egg dying kit! The kids had a great time. Jax loved actually dying the eggs. Camren was at her 'Zilla best, and throroughly enjoyed smashing the eggs together and attempting to drink the dyes.

Jax was very proud of his color creations.

Camren with a death grip on a particularly flattering shade of green. (and thank goodness it was flattering since she got it everywhere!)

The results of their joint efforts. Colors by Jax. "Distressing" by Camren!

*I swear to my self and my children that we won't attempt 1 adult egg dying for many years to come. I am sporting a few grey hairs as a result of this year's session!*

Spring Break Get away

This year for Meemaw and Mamoo's Easter Break the family vacationed in Aptos. We had such a great time at Hidden Beach last year, we decided to do it again!

This is the walk that we took every day (ok multiple times a day) to Hidden Beach. Just up the hill from this spot is a playground that Jax and Camren frequented as well.

The weather was gorgeous and our days were filled with baseball on the beach, running in the waves and sand castle building.

Technically, the majority of construction done was on ramps and race tracks for the kids sand cars...but sand castles just sounds so much more nostalgic than race tracks! ;-) Also built was a baseball luge type of track that had a tunnel under a sand berm and everything! Jax loved it. Camren just really loved stuffing sand in her pockets. Which I'll consider a huge improvement over stuffing her cheeks!

Sand smuggling

These tired kiddies generally hitched their rides home! Playing in the sun and sand proved to be exhausting business.

On our final night the group took a trip to the Santa Cruz Beach Board Walk. This year, Jax and Camren were old enough to ride the kiddie rides! They had a blast "driving" the cars.

Jax took his driving so serious! Even turning the wheel in the direction that the car was "turning" He posted up like a cool guy as soon as his seat belt went on.

And what's a trip to the Board Walk with out playing some carnival games? Near the kiddie rides, they have games just for kiddos like Jax and Camren (and B and Tia and Daddy and Meemaw and Mamoo). This one was a huge Go-Fish game that everyone had a blast playing and winning toys!

This vacation has quickly turned into one of our favorite destinations. Such a relaxing week...This Mama can't wait to go back!

Date Night

Jaxon and Camren were recently requested for a Date Night with their Meemaw, Mamoo and B. Here's how the dates went...

Jax and Meemaw met B in Modesto to have dinner and attend a Gallo Center play "Are You My Mother". The book has been a favorite of Jaxon's since the first time B read it to him (complete with sound effects and songs of course!)

B did a great job of jogging Jaxon's memory of the events in the book over a dinner of grilled cheese and oranges! From all accounts, Jaxon had a great time at his first play. He was a super deliriously happy kid when he arrived back at the house...a sure sign of a good time!

Jaxon and his Meemaw waiting for the play to begin.

While Brother was broadening his cultural horizons, Mamoo and I decided to broaden Camren's dining experiences. With her allergies, dining out with Camren isn't always an option. So where'd we go? Sushi!! And she loved it. Edamame was her absolute fav, picking that over her rice and foiled chicken!

Nothing washes sushi down better than fro-yo. So down the street we walked to grab a little sorbet for the non-dairy kiddo.

As you can see...we don't miss the milk at all!! She looooved her sorbet and had a great time drumming on the chairs with Mamoo.

Both of the kids had a great time trying new things and I love watching them grow and brave new experiences!