11 months

11 months!  Here's the latest and greatest

- Good at Crawling
- Good at crying haha
- Pretty good at feeding himself (Inspired by hearing a friend's mom just giving a cup - not a sippy cup just a regular cup to the babies to teach how to drink from a cup, I tried that today. FAIL FAIL FAIL lol I didnt even fill it up that much! He just dumped it out everywhere. LOL)
- Identify dog, siblings, dad
- Does the motions for the song "itsy bitsy spider"
- Sleeps pretty good - first nap about 8am, 2nd nap around 2, asleep for the night between 7:30-8pm, up for the day around 6am.
- Seems to get a little more brave when cruising but I still think we have a ways to go before he walks
- Loves to watch older kids
- Loves to splash water

Thomas is doing great. I think maybe teeth are in the works but who knows. Such a guess until the sleep is really disrupted or something. He's had a runny nose that just wont stop but ...???

Just finished my last 2 summer classes last friday - WHAT A RELIEF!  I have good grades despite all the other things I have to worry about.  I walk in the spring and debate on taking this 1 class over winter session or just doing it over the summer session per the school's calendar/schedule.

Since all of that is behind me, really been trying to soak up the days of Bobby not being tied down to school 5 days a week - KINDERGARTEN STARTS IN A MONTH!!!!!! He's ready and so am I. I can't wait to watch him really flourish.  In the car he never stops talking and asking questions (can get annoying) but I know its healthy and the way we learn.


Happy August, stay cool!

Phase 1

Pictures of our unused waste of space aka the backyard

Our beloved doghouse which relocated to my mother-in-law's house 

The excavator aka a really big shovel 

Papa, Derek, and Jerry (who's helping us run the job as owner builder - thank goodness)

The bobcat shoveling more dirt out of the yard

About 6 hours of work done is pictured below

Enormous rocks that have now become part of the pool because there's just no way we are going to pay for dynamite to remove them, they actually look pretty cool

 Toward the end of the 12 hour work day

Kids back home seeing the almost finished pool

"Oh mom! Can I go on the rock!?!"

Phase 1 of digging the pool is almost done. We would have been if we wouldnt have ran into so many G-D rocks! And I dont mean little tiny ones, or even medium sized ones, I mean giant boulders! Ughhhhhhh then as we get deeper we start scraping decomposed granite, oh joy. We've had to change the layout of the pool along the way, and hopefully today we really figure out where our deep end is going to be. Its an extremely messy, hard project. Me, Derek, Bob, heck anyone that had arms was outside yesterday using a shovel to help scrape edges, smooth sides, and move dirt so the bobcat could access everything easily.  We've had to inconvenience a neighbor to get the machinery in the back, had to have our dog inside all day long (who leaves me "presents"), and help entertain the guys working (food, drinks, bathroom etc..) so I have to be around for certain times/days. 

Poor Derek literally has not had a break from working for 8 days straight (today makes 9 straight), and left about an hour ago for his regular work day.  As owner builder, you have to help as needed (to save on costs) but dang - its hard to manage when you have a regular job. I wish there was more I could do but with the kids and stuff, I'm limited.  

To get rid of all the dirt, we have these dumpster looking trucks which the bobcat goes racing through the neighbors yard to the street to unload. Its been pretty neat to experience and see how all this construction works.  We are all however, stressed out to the max and thankfully my mother-in-law fed our family dinner last night because I absolutely had no plan!

I hope today (which was not planned) goes much more smooth (and they're arent here as long), we finalize all the digging and move on to the next step.

10.5 months (almost)

These photos just kind of made me laugh....

Especially this one -----

Why Bobby???????????

Please be careful Brooklyn!!!!

Seriously you guys? Can you find Tommy in there? 

And then of course our dog couldn't be left out of the mess....

:)

10 Months!

Tommy is still - yes....still asleep and its 630am! I havent been able to sleep this late since ...????? LOL

Usually, up at 5-530am with him, give him a bottle and let him hang out until the first nap. So either I slept through the 5am waking (yesssssss) or he just slept (yesssssss). Either way, the fact that I'm sipping my coffee ALONE this "late" in the morning reminds me the light is at the end of the tunnel for early morning cries. ahhhhhh :)

His latest:

-Cruising everywhere (and falling and bumping everything). Crawling under and over everything. I dread the stairs.

-can say "dadadadadadaada" but not sure he gets Derek should be called "dad"

-Eating all kinds of stuff - animal crackers (have to watch but he will take bites now that the big teeth are in)

-Shaking his head "no" I saw him do it a few times, and I'm trying to get him to do it when he hears the word, but we're not there yet with comprehension. A little bit of clapping and waving; he knows us by name but won't point to us e.g. I'll say "where's the dog" and he turns his head to Sadie.

-Loves the pool. Loves to splash. My father in law dunked him a few times yesterday, he came up from being under and didnt cry. Need to do this everyday with him.


Pictures to follow after my sleeping bear wakes up. :)


Our other kids and stuff....

Bobby - doing great at swimming with no floaties. For security we tell him he needs to wear them when an adult isnt in the pool, but even now I think he knows the safety rules 1) if he jumps in, he immediately needs to go to the side of the pool, and if he gets tired of swimming with his head above the water to swim underwater because its easier. Yesterday he looked really strong in the water.

Brooklyn - trying to keep up with Bobby in every way. She is my little helper in the kitchen, with Tommy and anything else I'm willing to let her do.

Our backyard....Hopefully by the end of August it will have transformed into a mini paradise instead of the desert it is today! A week from today we hope the tractor is in our backyard shoveling dirt and digging us a hole for our new swimming pool! I'm a little nervous with the little kids to put it in but let's get real, summers in Ramona - you need one. Unless you want to sit inside all day with AC on (which I dont) a pool makes sense. And I dont see us moving anytime soon - if ever - so this is a great solution to the massive waste of space in the backyard.

Have a great 4th of July everyone!!!

Summer 2014

A few pictures from the beginning of chaos  summer :)

Seaworld and up close with Shamu

Awesome day with friends at Moonlight Beach

Happy Birthday to Derek!

Fun at the Del Mar Fair/Recital at the Fair

Friends spending the afternoons with us

Wild Animal Park visit - wait, who is visiting who? haha

Wildlife! Someone near has some turkeys? They have been playing down our street lately. The other morning when I was loading kids I heard these guys gobble out to me - they were on our roof! Made us giggle. Then today they were in our front yard, eating weeds I hope. This is one thing I did not receive growing up in the city - all this wild life! Peacocks, cows, chickens, goats and now turkeys! I like seeing all this wildlife hanging around. As I've been raising the kids, I've come to really appreciate living in Ramona.