memorial day

we had a very relaxing weekend. not too many activities planed. today jen, ray and bodhi came over for a barbecue. we grilled chicken and had corn on the cob, coleslaw and potato salad. it was a feast. we set up a big blow up pool for the kids to splash around in. mason and dahlia loved the pool, but bodhi seemed more interested in playing in the dirt. jen and ray brought over bodhi's new water table and they all had fun playing with it. even connor got to get a little wet. it is going to be a fun summer.

7 months

connor is now 7 months old. at his doctors check up last week he weighed 14 pounds 4 ounces and was 24.5 inches tall. he is still pretty small for his age. he is in the 10 percent range with his age adjusted for his early arrival, but developmentally he is meeting all of his milestones so i am not worried.

he is scooting all over the place and can now get up on his hands and knees. he isn't quite crawling yet. i have to be really careful and pick up all the tiny toys like legos that end up all over the floor. now that he is scooting he can pick up all kinds of chocking hazards to taste. we didn't have this problem with the other two. all the toys we had before were baby friendly.

he is a very good eater. he loves his baby food and is now at the stage where he gets excited watching us eat and wants to grab our food. he has lost his status at the super sleeper though. he still goes to bed early but now he wakes up at 4 am and then again at 5 am and then does not want to go back to sleep. this would not be as big of a problem if i was getting to bed before 1 am. i am sooo sleepy. on a positive note though i now take him everywhere with me. i am actually getting quite good at running errands with three children in tow.

a sidewalk

friday was fun. i took the kids tricycle and big wheel to my mom's house so they could ride. we live in the hills so we don't have any sidewalks for the kids to enjoy. at our house they ride their bikes around the bricks on the patio but it really isn't enough room. i thought it would be fun for them to get to ride on a real sidewalk. they loved it. mason was so fast on his big wheel and dahlia did a great job keeping up on her tricycle. i have done this a couple of times now and it is so cute to see them play. the first time bodhi and zena joined us so we had a big group. i think this will become a regular thing for us. it is so easy to just throw the bikes in the back of the car and take them on the road. it makes taking a walk even more fun and i love not having to push a double stroller. who knew you could miss having such a simple thing as a sidewalk.

the trolly train

we met my friend kimberly and her adorable daughter maya last week. we went to the americana at brand. they call it a shopping and entertainment resort. it does have the feel of a resort. it reminds me of vegas. they have a large dancing fountain designed by the same company that created the one for the bellagio. they also have a free trolly train that will take you for a ride around the center. mason loves the trolly train. he gets so excited to ride it.

kimberly and i usually get coffee before we ride the trolly and then we take the kids to the bookstore to hang out and look at books. i do think it is funny how bookstores seem to have taken the place of libraries for us lately. they have all these cute tables and corners in the kid section to sit and read.

after the trolly ride mason had to use the bathroom and i was floored when i saw how nice they were. we went to use the bathrooms in lobby of the parking garage. there was a huge room in the back that had large family style restrooms, changing table rooms with complimentary diapers and wipes, mommy breastfeeding rooms, and a large playroom at the end of the hall with a chalk board, blocks and a huge flat screen tv playing disney movies for the kids. we ended up just hanging out in the bathroom for an hour letting the kids play while we talked.

we had so much fun we met at the americana again this morning for a free kid concert on the grass. little maya was so cute. it was really fun to hang out with them. next week we are going to the zoo.

brothers

mason has really taken an interest in his little brother connor lately. it is simply adorable to watch them. mason has been asking to hold baby connor and give him a hug. he is such an affectionate child. i love it. i am really feeling lucky today surrounded by all this love.

mothers day

we did something different for mothers day this year. we drove to orange county for a picnic at tri city park. we met my mom, dad, sisters and brothers there. the kids had a great time playing on the swings and running around the grass. it was much nicer than trying to quiet them at a restaurant. too bad the weather wasn't that great. it was really cold. much too windy for me. we stayed for about three hours and had lunch. i was feeling really sick and so we kind of left early. i felt a little bad about being the first ones to leave the party but i was exhausted. the kids and i have had a cold all week. that means i have been getting very little sleep and it is taking me longer than usual to get well. the kids were cute and all wished me a happy mothers day. how sweet. they painted butterfly cards for my mom and me. they were beautiful. i really do love being a mom.

school fair

zena invited us to attend her school fair this year. we have been going every year with her. we love it. it is so funny to think that i used to attend the same school fair when i was her age. things haven't changed very much. they still have the "cake walk" game. the rules have changed a bit and you walk in a circle to music and then land on a number when the music stops. if your number is picked then you win a cake. it used to be more of a musical chairs game with everyone scrambling to sit in a chair. i never wanted to play. i was a scrawny girl and would easily be pushed out of the way. all the kids played this year and zena won. christina was disappointed to find that most of the donated cakes were store bought. doesn't anyone bake anymore? they no longer have the "win a goldfish by tossing a ping pong ball into the cups" game. that was always my favorite and i loved coming home with a goldfish to care for.

the kids got to play about half of the games before i decided to relocate us to the playground. it was a bit chaotic with three little ones for me to look after. of course we didn't leave the fair before enjoying some cotton candy. this sticky treat has become a favorite for mason.

gift for granny

mason and dahlia were busy this week making a mothers day gift for their granny. they painted these cute wooden cutouts that were then glued onto small boxes. we filled the boxes with the most delicious chocolate chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal cookies. they loved painting. mason made a box with an ocean theme and dahlia painted a garden inspired box. we all worked together to bake the cookies and miles was nice enough to take the whole package to the post office so she could get the cookies in time for mothers day. happy mothers day.

trains

dahlia and connor are sick so i stayed home with them today and miles took mason to the railroad days festival in brea. mason was so excited to spend the day with his dad. they met up with my sister christina and her daughter zena for the festival. the event was held on birch street in brea. there were lots of model trains displayed and railroad memorabilia. they also rode a free shuttle that took them to a full-size rail car. mason had a great day. i am so glad they got to spend the day together. hopefully the sickies and i will be out and about soon.