Happy Birthday Kora!

Kora's birthday was actually last Saturday, the 22nd. We were in Oceanside last weekend so we planned on celebrating her birthday on the 29th. While we were in Oceanside we took her to Chuck E Cheeses for the first time and she loved it. To top the day off we went to Toys 'r Us and let her pick out a toy. When we asked her what type of Birthday party she wanted she wouldn't hesitate to say "Cinderella"...well, actually pronounced "Si-le-la". In fact, every stranger we met for the last month has been told that she was having a Cinderella party. Well, guess what type of toy she picked out at Toys 'r Us...Snow White. Yeah, never saw that one coming. Even after she picked it out I kept showing her the Cinderella doll thinking she had to be mistaken but no, she wanted Snow White. She loves it and that's all that matters. In fact, she also recently told us that she wants to be Snow White for Halloween. Maybe I'll actually get her costume done early this year since I know so far in advance....lets hope!

As for Kora's party, it was just a small family party. I wasn't sure what kind of cake to make. I thought, maybe a doll cake...didn't know how to do that...then maybe a shoe...hummm...no and then Kelly told me I should make a castle. I had to go online to get some ideas on how to do it and I think it turned out ok. Kora and Hunter actually passed up the cake and ate the frosted ice cream cones instead.

This picture is Kora in a princess dress that she got. I apologize at how blurry and dark it is. I think I need to change the settings on our camera. She loves dressing up. Kora is such a girly girl she loves to be pretty.

Hard to believe my little baby is 3...and starting Pre-School next week. Cherish every minute with your children because they grow up so fast.

Legend of the Ghoulies

So, what do you do when you have a child that refuses to listen and you have tried all of the conventional forms of discipline ie: time out, yelling...? Well, you create a fictional character called a ghoulie and if they don't listen they will come and pinch them. Okay, we have probably traumatized our children for life but it works for us. Actually, this all came about quite by accident. Kelly was changing channels and stopped momentarily on the old Ghoulies movie (corny and lame 1985 "horror" film). Kora took one look and came screaming upstairs where I was. Ever since it has become a threat. Although, I don't know how you can truely threaten when you are laughing because it's too silly to really threaten with. But laughing or not it works.

Ghoulies have been known to take kids toys at night if they don't get put away. They have also been known to come and pinch you if you don't listen. Kelly and I have been in contact with them quite often over the phone when the kids don't listen and sometimes they wait outside on our patio and wait while the kids eat their dinner. If it's not all eaten then they will get pinched by a ghoulie. Ghoulies have one downfall, they are terrified of dogs. It's a good thing we have one and even more lucky for the kids that Carson sleeps in the kids room at night to protect them....but doesn't always protect their toys. If anything happens in the house it's surely a Ghoulie up to no good again.

Yes, this all sounds ridiculous but why is it that if me as "Mom" asks my Kora to do ANYTHING she just sits there and looks at me as if I hadn't said a word? Yet, mention the ghoulies are coming if she doesn't listen and she runs around cleaning her room or eats her dinner? You've got me! So, if my kids ever ask you about Ghoulies you will know what they are talking about and can maybe even embellish if you want...but Ghoulies never hurt kids, they only pinch!

Oceanside

This last weekend we spent 4 days in Oceanside for a little vacation. My parents and Jeremy & Kristin have a sort of timeshare and they invited us along with them. The picture above sort of sums up the whole trip...a lot of swimming at the beach. This picture was taken right after we got settled in our room. We headed to the beach because Hunter couldn't wait to see the beach. I told the kids to not get wet. Next thing I know Hunter fell in face forward and Kora was running into the water. Oh well. That's what vacations are for, having fun.

We drove down Saturday afternoon and just hung out and got settled. On Sunday morning Kelly drove down and joined us. He went to a soccer game with a buddy of his on Saturday. We later went to the beach and attempted to body surf. The waves were pretty small and hard to catch...although, Jeremy caught a few. Kelly was even out there with us. I love hanging out with my hubby. The kids stayed on shore building sand castles and burrying themselves and taking walks with my parents. Mylie enjoyed all the birds.

On Monday we went to Sea World. The kids loved looking at all the animals. Hunter liked the "sharkfish" (sharks) and Kora liked the dolphins. It was a long day but we had a nice time.

Tuesday was our final day. We started off by playing a few rounds of tennis. I don't know why we don't play more because we all had such a good time. After tennis Jeremy, Kristin and I drove down to La Jolla and snorkeled. We actually swam with a swarm of leopard sharks. Needless to say I was a little freaked out swimming with 3-4 foot sharks but once I realized they were more scared of us than we were of them and they really wouldn't come near us it made the experience a fun one. I would actually love to do it again. Kelly stayed back at the room and took the kids swimming in the pool and then we headed back home. It was a great trip. The kids had a great time and when we got home I think everyone was exhausted.

Kindergarten

Today was Hunter's first day of school. When Hunter woke me up this morning it reminded me of the movie Finding Nemo when Nemo jumped on his dad saying "First day of school, first day of school." Hunter was so excited. He didn't quite jump on me but instead he looked at me from the edge of the bed with little eyes peeping over the mattress saying, "I go to school today, right?" Because Hunter has already gone to 2 years of preschool it didn't feel much different...until I actually dropped him off. He looks too tiny to go to school but he's certainly old enough. There was so much going on that he seemed a little frightened but off he went with the rest of his class and then came the tears I didn't expect. My little boy is now a kindergartner.

When I picked him up he was excited to tell me about his day and show me his new folder. As we walked by his class he showed me the playground he played on. He was so excited and I was excited to hear all about it.

A Very Happy UN-Birthday

Mylie turned 18 months on Sunday. It's amazing how fast time flies. It seems like it was only a few months ago that I was holding a tiny baby in my arms and now she's an independent toddler.


As with each child you have, you realize that no two personalities are alike. Mylie is a very fun, happy baby with a mind of her own. She has a very funny personality and often pulls funny faces. She doesn't talk much but still uses sign language to help communicate what she wants. It has been a challenge to get her to talk with her hands rather than just crying until we run down a list of what she could possibly be crying about. She continues to be our most challenging child but we love her and are so glad that she's part of our family.


Mylie loves the water. If there is any puddle on the ground or a bowl of water for the dog on the ground she'll find it and be covered in water before you know it. She loves her baby dolls and when she wakes up in the morning she wont leave her crib without taking one of her stuffed friends with her.


Words she can say:
More "Moe"
Please "Peea"
Dad "Da"
Mom "MaMaMa"
Bye "Bye"
There it is "Day yiz"
Hi "Hi"
Airplane "Pay"
Bird "Burr"


The last thing about her being 18 months is she finally gets to go to nursery. I was able to go to Sunday School and actually pay attention and enjoy the great lesson this last sunday. As I was walking past the nursery to go to Young Women's I heard crying. I went inside and of course it was Mylie. Apparently Kora tackled her. She calmed down and I went to class and when I went to pick her up she was asleep in a corner with blankets on the floor and over her. She may be old enough for nursery but she's still a baby who needs her naps. I'm going to enjoy every minute of it while I can because she's growing up so fast.

Disneyland

Kelly's parents and sister gave Hunter a Disneyland ticket that still had 2 days left on it so we decided to buy myself a 3 day pass and take the kids. Kelly was unable to come with me so I took Hunter and Kora and left Mylie with family. Let's say that it was no simple task but I quickly realized what great kids we have. Don't get me wrong, there were moments they wouldn't listen but overall, it was a great experience. I still doubt that I would have ever been able to make it if Mylie had been with me but who knows...maybe in a few months. I was grateful at how well Hunter and Kora behaved. The only time I was pulling my hair out was when we decided to stand in line to see the Disney Princesses. We waited in line for an hour. Hunter didn't want to see the princesses so it made waiting in line that much more miserable but after we were done he did well. Of course, once we got to see the princesses Kora acted shy and almost made it not worth that hour wait. She got to see her favorite princess, Cinderella. After we walked away she was so excited that she got to meet her that it made it all worth it. She kept saying, "Mommy, I so essited"...too cute!

Hunter's favorite rides were Pirates of the Caribbean...which we rode on twice...both days we went and the Buzz Lightyear Ride which we also rode on twice...both days we went. Kora seemed to panic every time we got in line for the Pirates ride. She didn't like the dark too well or the drops. I can see how a talking skull could be quite terrifying as well. I just held her close and once we got to the fleshy characters and music she would be singing "yo ho, yo ho a pirates life for me" along with the ride.

Kora's favorite ride was Small World. She loved the dancing and singing dolls. I was amazed to find that they changed the ride to add a bunch of Disney Characters like Alice in Wonderland, Jasmine and Aladdin, Ariel, Cinderella, Dori and Nemo and a few more. It was really cute.

Overall, we had a great time. It was a bit hot but bearable. The only time I thought we were going to melt was when we were waiting for the parade. Unfortunately all the shade seats were taken so we sat directly in the sun. The kids enjoyed it but boy was it hot. Thanks to sun block and an ice chest filled with waters and capri suns we made it through! I have one more day left on my pass so I will be taking Kora for her Birthday. I upgraded Hunter's pass to a season pass so that he can come along with us. The kids are anxiously awaiting our next trip. I missed my little Mylie and my Handsome Hubby but we had a great time so I'm excited for our next trip as well.

Graduation and Birthday

The last week has been a crazy one. Hunter has officially graduated from Pre-school and had a little diploma ceremony. Kelly took half day and it was fun getting to spend the morning with him. It's still hard to believe our little boy is going to start Kindergarten this August.



Hunter's 5th Birthday was on Saturday...July 4th. The great thing about having a birthday on a Holiday is that family that isn't usually in town tends to be here for the holiday. We decided to have Hunter's Birthday at the park. The weather couldn't have been greater. It wasn't more than 96 degrees with a wonderful breeze and shade that made it so pleasant. The park that we went to was empty except for our little group which meant we had our own private park for the afternoon. Hunter asked to have a Star Wars party. Above is the cake I made for him (R2D2). Unfortunately, Kora decided to get a few samples of icing before I got pictures...not much you can do about it once the damage is done so I'll just say he has a few battle wounds.

Hendricks Kids were here and got to spend the day with us. Hunter, Kora and Mylie had a great time with their cousins.

After the park we headed over to Kelly's parents house and the kids played on their new water slide. The kids had a great time. When night time arrived Grandpa bought some party poppers and the kids got to shoot off 1500 poppers. The mess left over on the grass was crazy. It was a fun day spent with family. Hope all of you had a Happy and Wonderful 4th of July!

Here's our little Mylie enjoying some fun in the sun.

As we were about the leave Nani's house she asked if we could sing to Hunter one last time. When we were at the park it was too windy to keep the candles lit so she placed 5 candles in 5 Oreo's and we sung to him and he finally got to blow out his candles.

This last picture is our nephew Mason. He fell asleep about 6:30pm. He was wiped out. We thought he was only napping but apparently he slept until 8am the next morning. He missed...well slept through party poppers and fireworks. He must have been extremely tired. Actually, us adults were just envious of him because he was doing exactly what we wanted to be doing.