Three Things

Three Things about:

Drew:
1. Just started a pre-kindergarten class at preschool. So far he loves his teachers and the fact that his buddy Noah is in his class.

Pumped and ready to go! August 19, 2013

Making name tags and meeting classmates. I don't think Drew will ever have an issue being dropped off in a new classroom. He love, love, loves all things social.

2. Now does this smirk when you ask him to smile for a photo. We call it "The Elvis Lip" because at times, it almost does look like he's trying to impersonate Elvis while doing it. Makes for some lovely pictures. ;)

3. Loves a good dance party. We crack up at his dancing these days because he does it with this face...a face that lets you know he just thinks he is the coolest. I clearly remember being little and doing things and thinking, "I must look so cool right now" (and then looking back later and being semi-horrified). Drew's dance parties are his "so cool". However, I happen to delight in these "so cool" dance parties, so just keep on rockin' there hot stuff. ;)


Collin:
1. Big on asking "Why?". This causes endless circles of conversations in our house (It's tricky to come up with answers that don't lead to a "Why?" response!).

2. Loooves animals. My parents have a kitten named Momo at their house and Coll could find her anywhere...earning him the title of "kitty catcher" for the week.

Momo

Auntie Jenn and Uncle Burkie's Pug Norman

3. Loves tomatoes...and I do mean loves. We recently got back from a trip to Oregon (more on that later), where my parents have grown a huge garden filled with tomato plants. Collin would go out to help Lala pick each evening and would just sit out there and eat tomatoes the entire time!

The thing around Collin's neck is supposed to be a bug catching jar, but as you can see, Collin used his to catch tomatoes instead of bugs.

Tanner:
1. Loves mud...might as well tack on that he loves eating the mud as well here.

2. Is almost walking. He confidently walks all along our furniture or pushing something, but isn't quite yet confident enough to let go and walk on his own (although I think he could at this point).

3. Flaps his legs and kicks while you're holding him if something makes him happy. These "happy feet", as we've come to call them, are in response to things like Daddy popping around a corner when he's been at work all day, or seeing a toy on the ground that he loves, or one of his brothers being silly and making faces at him....you get the idea. I love his happy feet!

I don't have a picture of happy feet, so instead you just get a picture of happy Tan Tan

***Bonus***
4. Points at everything

This was from a hike we took in Oregon and he spent the entire hike leaned back and pointing like this.

Aaaaaaand, one last fun one of sweet baby Emmie....just because. 

San Diego

We recently took a quick trip to San Diego for a family party. We drove down Saturday morning and drove back home Sunday night. Traffic was horrendous and we spent hours in the car, but it was so worth it! We rarely see my Dad's side of the family as an entire bunch, but my cousin who lives in Nashville and just had a baby was going to be in town. We were all invited to come meet sweet baby Ella and since my dad is one of eight kids, the party for Ella quickly turned into a reunion of sorts as well. It was so, so fun to see all of my cousins and their kids and to spend time with Aunts and Uncles I haven't seen in a while!

Unfortunately, I forgot my actual camera on the night of the party, so cell phone pictures it is! These are only a few of my cousins with their kids/spouses. Eight kids in my dad's family made for a lot of cousins and I love it! We're probably missing about twenty people in this photo!

My aunt brought these silly glasses for all the kiddos on the night of the party. Big hit!

On Sunday, we spent the morning visiting with Poppa John (my mom's side of the family also lives in San Diego) and playing at a park on the bay. I loved the cool weather! It was a much needed break from our summer heat. 

The boys and Poppa John also walked out to the pier to check out the fishermen

After breakfast and the park, we headed downtown to catch the ferry to Coronado. Poppi and Lala had mentioned the day before that the boys could ride the ferry while we were in town and of course, they woke up asking about it first thing the next morning.

Tan Tan holding on for dear life with Lala's crazy driving ;)

Poppi love.

My sister Christi came down to San Diego with us too. My other sisters weren't able to make it, but since Christi was down from Oregon visiting brand new baby Emmie, she made the trip to see all the cousins with us as well. We teased the entire ride down that "Nanny Christi" had joined us since she sat in back and catered to the boys' every I-need-a-new-movie-I-want-more-juice-are-we-there-yet?-whim. Really though, I loved having there for me and the extra time I got to spend with her while she was in town.

And since it was a prime picture spot, figured I may as well get a family picture in there as well :)

Ok, so this boat (Yacht?). We walked past it on the way to our ferry and saw that it was named "Lady Christine". It quickly became "Christi's yacht", as we sent a picture to her hubby Ty Ty who wasn't with us, and joked that it had been added to Christi's wish list for Christmas...complete with the personal helicopter that was parked on top. Yeah. No joke. It had a helicopter.

Anyway, our more humble little boat (yep, that's it behind Drew), was parked just to the right of Lady Christine. 

I loved that in all of these pictures Drew was saluting. ...Because that's what the captains on boats do, don't you know?

Coronado bridge from the ferry

Once over in Coronado, we spent the rest of the day wandering around and enjoying. We even managed to have lunch at Peohe's, the restaurant where my great-grandma Gwennie used to take me and my sister Jenn to learn manners. Fortunately, their patio is fairly casual, so we were able to sit and enjoy a fantastic lunch while the boys popped up and down to look at the water. I have so many fun memories at Peohe's and it was fun to share it with the boys. 

Later, it was ice cream...

...and the beach!

The very first thing Collin did was run straight into the water, which resulted in him tumbling head first into the water. He was soaking wet, with no change of clothes and of course, didn't care.

Tan Tan loved the sand! 

He thought it was tasty ;)

Like I said, a really quick trip. I wish I had more pictures from our night with my Dad's family, but it was great to see everyone and so fun to meet baby Ella. She is precious!

In other news...

...Drewski can now ride a bike without training wheels!

We attempted this a few months ago, but Drew lost interest fairly quickly, so we stopped, put the training wheels back on and patiently waited it out until he asked again. Sure enough, one morning he saw our neighbor riding his little bike outside and came back in asking to wash his bike and take the training wheels off again. Fortunately, it was a Saturday and Nathan was more than willing to help him out with all of this. I left to run a few errands, and when I returned home, I was met by a very excited Drew who told me he had a "surprise" for me (and Lala, Poppi, and the Aunties who were here visiting baby Emmie at the time).

Ready...

...Set...

...Go!

Shhhhhh. Now there's a secret to all of this working. In order for Drew to keep himself upright on the bike, he has to be pedaling all out. Full force. Which meeeeeeeans, Daddy has to sprint in order to be that protective buffer that Daddies so like to be. So cute, and so funny!

Victory Lap. High fives all around!

So proud of this Big Kid!

Emmie

If you haven't heard, I am officially an Auntie!

Miss Emmeline Grace was born on July 31st and she is just the most beautiful, squeezable, lovable little peanut! We were so excited to meet her and have loved the past two weeks of snuggles we have been spoiled with.

Brand new Baby Emmie

Who looks this good after having a baby?? My little sister. That's who.

The hospital that Emmie was born in has a rule that no kids under 12 years old are allowed to visit unless they are a sibling to the baby. Because of this, the day that Emmie was brought home was also the first time the boys were able to meet her. They were so excited! I had hoped to get a great picture of all three boys with her, but as it usually goes with trying to coerce kids into photos, the more you add, the less the chance for a great picture! I did like this one though because it sums up how each of the boys seemed to feel about Emmie:

Drewski: Huge grin. Very excited and proud that he has a new cousin

Collin: Baby lover. He's already claimed her as "his" baby and constantly needs to touch/snuggle her

and then Tanner, pat-pat-patting his new personal plaything.

The funny thing is, the way they look in this picture is almost exactly how interactions between the boys and Emmie have played out since her arrival.

As if you couldn't tell by these few pictures, we are smitten with Baby Emmie already! Expect to see her pop up often in pictures around here! :)