Zoomars

Today the girls and I met up with a friend of mine, Sonya and her two year old daughter Mya and we went to the Zoomars Petting Zoo in San Juan Capistrano. We all had a great time, Kendall of course was cautious and shy. Some of the more aggressive animals, well everything except the Guinea pigs and rabbits scared her a bit. She usually just threw the carrot sticks at them while her sister was feeding all the animals. As scared as Kendall was Cadence was the complete opposite, I still can't believe how comfortable she was, epically when we went in the little goat area. Those things will climb all over you to get a carrot stick. There were two butting heads with each other right in front of Cadence and she just laughed at them while I was pulling her out of the way.

Cadence found this goat resting on the bench, crawled up beside it and said, " Look Mommy, I'm a goat."

This is Kendall and I taking a ride on the train. And the other is of Kendall running away from the goats.

Here are a few pictures of the very first time I took the girls to the petting zoo. Cadence was about twenty two months old and Kendall was six months old.

This is one of my favorite photos. Cadence was trying to feel Kendall a carrot stick through the fence!

Some exciting news!!!

Well hello again! I apologize for the long delay in between posts. Unfortunately we have been experiencing some computer problems lately and I haven't been able to upload any pictures and you know me... I love posting with pictures.

So this week has been busy and a lot of fun. On Sunday we all got to go to Grandpa and Monka's house to celebrate Rayven, Bryce and Aunt Sue's birthday. We had a great time, as always. Minnie make the most awesome birthday cakes, I am ashamed to say I didn't bring my camera and don't have a picture. But the first one was a pirate hat and the second was an amazing sand castle. So much fun to look at AND to eat!!! But the best news of the day came when Uncle Matt and Aunt Heather stole the thunder when they made their announcements!!! First, after four long years Uncle Matt Matt (not a typo, that's what Cadence calls him!) passed his board exams and is now a dentist!!! Congratulations Uncle Matt Matt. And second Aunt Heather is pregnant!!! So we are going to have another Cilderman baby coming in November!!! Congratulations Aunt Heather and Uncle Matt, you two are going to make wonderful parents!

On Monday the girls and I had to get out of the house to give Daddy some space to clean the fish tank so we went to the beach. We went and picked up some lunch and had a picnic. As much fun as it sounds it can be a little difficult eating at the beach. At first the girls didn't want to sit because they wanted to go play. Finally Kendall just got up and drug the bag of sand toys over to the towel so she could just sit next to them while she ate. Our picnic was officially over when Cadence decided to pick up a handful of sand to sprinkle it on her sandwich at say, "I put salt on my sandwich Mommy!" Such a good imagination! It was in the 90's that day so after an hour of playing all three of us were hot, sweaty and miserable from the heat so we headed home.
And then yesterday we spent most of the morning at the pool. This time I did not force Kendall to get in and just let her do things on her own time. She loved watching us swim and splash around, and about half an hour in she was comfortable enough to sit on the side and kick her feet. It was funny to watch her because every time her Daddy went underwater she would have a worried look on her face for a second but as soon as he popped out of the water she would burst out laughing and pointing at him. She is such a sweet girl and loves her Daddy so much!! After a long day of play we all headed home for some lunch and a long afternoon nap!

Ice Bath

I have no idea where I got the idea but one night before bath time, I decided to take a huge bowl of ice with me and when the girls were situated I dumped the whole thing in and let them play with it. And for the first three minutes or so it was a lot of fun. At first they didn't even know what was going on and probably thought I was crazy! But soon after the ice began to melt and it wasn't so enjoyable, only because I had to endure the next twenty minutes of bath time having the girls ask me over and over and over again for more ice. See, I was home alone and wouldn't leave the girls alone to go and get more...this is where I learned my lesson for next time. Now when we have "Ice Baths" I make sure both girls are all washed up and hair washed too (and boy do they stand still and not a peep leaks out about water or bubbles in their eyes on this night!!) and then I will fill their cups up with just a few pieces of ice so that the whole bowl lasts a lot longer. It is funny to watch the differences in what they do with their precious ice. Cadence will set her cup up on the side and savor every last piece whether she eats it, plays with it or just puts it in the bath to watch it melt. Kendall on the other hand will immediately dump her whole cup of ice into the water and ask for more. Kendall is also amazing at catching the floating ice. She is so patient and careful and the ice rarely slip out of her hands. It is always a fun time and even though the girls ask for an ice bath every night we only do this about once a week to make the fun last as well!!

Bubbles

Last night while I was giving the girls a bath, Kendall asked for some soap. So a gave her a little in her hand and of course it went staight to her mouth! It is the weirdest thing, she likes soap. She eats it without making a face and then asks for some more... Anyway, after she put it in her mouth she started blowing bubbles when she talked. She thought it was funny and she would try and point and grab the bubble it would pop and she would laugh and say "Bubble" and everytime she said that word another one would come. I was laughing pretty hard at her which made her laugh even more! We had a good time laughing at each other!

Mad Hatter Tea Party

Today the girls and I drove to Temecula to attend Cassidy Douglas' Mad Hatter Tea Party Birthday!! We had a fabulous time!

Cadence with Cassidy, doesn't she look exactly like Alice?

All the little girls had party hats for their "Tea Party", they were adorable!

Cadence taking a whack at the pinata and the mad dash after someone finally broke it open!

Pool Day & Beach Day

Yes, we got to go to the pool AND the beach this week. No, I don 't have any pictures... can you believe it?!? Well I can't, I left my camera home on Monday when Bart and I took the girls to the pool. And when I went to take a picture at the beach I realized I left the battery on the charger at home!! I was so bummed. But here is a recap anyway...

The pool was fun, we didn't get to swim that long. Kendall was not liking it at all. I was really bummed I thought all kids loved swimming. The whole time she was with me she was fussing and kept pointing to the edge of the pool because she wanted out. I made her stay with me for about ten minutes and when she realized that she wasn't going to get out she stopped whimpering and splashed and kicked for about a minute and then started getting up set again. So we let her get out and she was content in just walking around. I think she just needs to get used to it, if the weather is still nice we will try again next week. Cadence on the other hand loved it. She would stand on the side of the pool and hold my hands pretending to jump in, but I think it was more of me just pulling her in! She did let me put her down on the steps for a few minutes and we kicked and kicked and loved watching the "waves" we were making. Kendall was laughing at us and saying "WEEEEEE!" Then last night we all went to the mall. We had dinner at Ruby's ( one of my favorites ) and then took a walk to the water fountain and then to the pet store. I think my new favorite dog is the King Charles... so adorable. Afterward we took about eight rides up and down the escalators!! I felt like a kid again :O) Again Kendall kept saying "WEEEEE!" Cadence and I would be going up on one side and Kendall and Daddy would be going down on the other and we would give High Fives as we passed each other. It was a lot of fun!

So moving on to today, we went to the beach!! Three of my girlfriends from work and I met at Chili's for lunch and then took the girls down to Dana Point Harbor. We stopped and got ice cream Cadence got the cotton candy and Kendall the birthday cake, they loved it. We then took them down to the beach part to play in the sun and sand! Cadence loved it, of course. Kendall's first reaction was to cry and run away. Literally, she was running away from me to get to the sidewalk. She wanted to have nothing to do with the sand. I carried her back to our spot and she camped herself out on the towel for about thirty minutes until she felt comfortable enough to venture out onto the sand. It was so funny to watch her, she was walking like a new walker. Hands in front of her, thinking about each step she took. Finally by the end she was running around, playing ball and being herself. Cadence kept herself busy building sand castles! She sat and filled her huge purple pail over and over and made all these little mounds of sand all over. They were her sand castles and she was so proud of them. I of course was so proud of her.
This was Kelli and Amanda's first time meeting the girls and they were so impressed with our girls and how well behaved they were. I love my daughters and they made me very proud to be a Mommy!

Elated

Spectacular... Blissful.... Awesome... Relieved... Happy... Thankful... Jubilant... Eccentric... Vibrant... Rockin... Excited... Grateful... Rejuvenated... Giddy... Triumphant... Fabulous... Luminous...

These are just a few words that come to my head when I think about how wonderful it was that I found my camera. It was in fact with my class stuff at church so I feel better knowing that I didn't lose my mind and do something crazy with it like leave it on top of my car or put it in the refrigerator! Believe me, I looked.

The weather here has been beautiful, and a little unbearable. It was in the low 90's yesterday and in the upper 80's today. So we are looking forward to a pool day or a beach day or maybe both this week!! Stay tuned for pictures!!

Peeez

When Kendall woke up from her nap yesterday I was in the middle of folding laundry. So I told myself to hurry and finish the pile before I got her up knowing I had a few minutes before she would get mad. She did her usual calling out for Mommy or Daddy and she threw an occasional Meena in there, probably trying to figure out who to call to come get her. After a couple minutes of this she gave up and just started calling out, "Peeez, Peeez, Peeez." Such a polite little girl. Of course I gave up on trying to hurry and had to go give her a hug!

Kendall has also become quite the little helper when it comes to taking care of the guinea pigs. In the morning when the piggys start squealing at me for food, Kendall is right there with me to help. She has to carry the water bottle and empty food bowl into the kitchen. Then after I have filled them up, she carefully carries the food bowl back to the cage and puts it inside. She walks so slowly and she doesn't drop even one pellet! It is so cute to watch her get excited about helping, it is now her "job"!

*** Just as I am writing this, Cadence and Kendall are having a snack in the kitchen. I stop to listen for a second just to hear Cadence tell Kendall," Pull me Kendall." So Kendall reaches over and grabs Cadence to pull her closer. Cadence then say," Now I am next to you Kendall. I love you Kendall." Ahhh***

Still can't find my camera....can't stop thinking about it either.

Happy Birthday Becky!!

Freaking Out

So I was in the kitchen with the girls and I told Kendall that if she wants her milk she has to go sit next to Cadence. She thought I was talking about sitting on Cadence, so she went and sat on her lap!! So cute and Cadence totally let her. So I thought, go get the camera!! And I told the girls stay there and I will be right back. Well I went to go find my camera where I thought I left it last and ... it wasn't there. So I start looking all over the house and I can't find it. So I think the last place I saw it was when I took it to church on Sunday. I am hoping it just got packed up in all my class supplies and my only option is to wait until Sunday to see if it is there. But I have this horrible pit in the bottom of my stomach and my hands are shaking. I have some of the pic's backed up , but I don't think I have done it in a couple of months! Ahhhhhh!!!!

As far as my 2 and 3's class goes. I was so excited and prepared for class on Sunday and when we got there Cadence was my only age appropriate kid!!! We had a friend out sick, another one with his mom, and three absent!!! I was so bummed. So I just sent Cadence in with the little kiddos and went to church. And it worked out so well because the topic was on parenting!!! Perfect, I love that subject! ;D

We have had a pretty mellow week other than that. Our apartment complex has a small enclosed park that is right across the street from our apartment. When we first moved here we were really excited until we went there for the first time and realized that the red wood chips that were on the ground stained EVERYTHING and the whole park was really gross and dirty. Well... last week they changed out the wood chips and cleaned it up and we have been over there almost everyday! Yeaaaa!

~Happy Birthday Greg~

Happy Birthday Greg!!!!

We hope the firemen don't have to
visit today!!! Just kidding you know
we love you!!



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Yesterday after I washed Cadence's hands she was watching the water drip off of them and said, "Look Mommy, my hands are raining!!!"

Randomness

Wow this person has a lot of time on their hands! (No pun intended... I think)

*Thank you Cathleen for "walking" me through the steps to get the video up on my blog!!

Nothing much going on here. The weather has been kind of blah. Sometimes rainy, always overcast... that just makes me stay in more. We need to go to Costco tonight, half of me is trying to talk the other half of me out of it.

We finally did our taxes yesterday!!! And we are getting more back than we thought so we get to pay off a couple of debts and get our savings going again and... Bart might start looking for a new car!! That is very exciting to both of us.

On a different note. For the last two years I have been working a lot in the nursery (ages 0-2) at my church and now that all these little babies are growing up we have decided to start a new class for two and three year old's. There were no other children in this age range before so there is no class for these tots to graduate into. So with the help of my mom we are going to start this new class next Sunday!! I was hoping the curriculum that was sent out would get to my house by today so that I had some quiet hours with no distractions to go over it and get prepared. ( Bart gets home late from work on Tuesday nights) I also wanted to start a list of supplies needed so I could do some shopping before I had to work this weekend! Well, nothing has arrived yet and I am getting nervous about having to cram all my planning into a few days, oh well, I've always been a huge procrastinator and should be used to working under pressure!