Happy Third Birthday Freddie!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Buddy!!!

We decorated his chair on the morning of his birthday with a Bubble Guppies theme that he loved!!

Then that night we took him to Red Robin for a real birthday dinner...He had a blast!!

Now for the party...

we decided to have everyone meet at Chuck E. Cheese the Saturday before his birthday (the 25th) and let the kids run around like wild creatures...Freddie was in HEAVEN!! Since I have this thing with making and decorating cupcakes and cakes, I decided to try something fun and new for his birthday and this was what we ended up with.

At the time I was slightly disappointed with the Lightning McQueen on the cake, but looking at the pictures now I think it looks, well, rather awesome!!! Freddie thought it was the coolest thing ever and even the adults thought it was pretty neat. That made me happy!

When it was time to blow out the candles and eat some cake we practically had to drag the kids back to the table, they were having so much fun playing games. Luckily we were able to get Freddie to stop and at least not cry while he blew out his candles and we sang. The minute we were done he went right back to his games.

Then later that night we went back to Grandma and Grandpas to do the one thing Freddie enjoyed more than Chuck E. Cheese - opening his presents.

He had a blast and Karyl just couldn't help herself, she had to find a way to weasel her way in and "help" him...I guess that's what big sisters are for, right??

No. this isn't a picture of Freddie...nor was it taken on his birthday...but it was taken the same weekend and since she's not in any other pictures consider it a little treat!!

I don't have a reason for posting this picture other than sharing that Freddie's Aunties had given him this cool Monster Truck card that had punch out trucks and a ramp to play with...and he played with those trucks until the cardboard they were printed on totally came apart. He loved it!!

Happy 3rd Birthday to our Big Little Guy -

I know everyone always makes a list of all the things their kid can do on their birthday, but he's old enough that I don't think we need to drag that on to here...so I'll just say that he amazes us everyday. Karyl is always trying to teach him something new, and he is constantly spitting out new things he's learned.  I learned just the other day that he knew all the numbers up to 20, I had no idea! He already knows all the letter sounds and has sounded out a few CVC words (CAT, DOG). It's amazing how quickly they go from little babies to big boys like this. Freddie, you're all boy...you have nothing but blood and testosterone flowing in your veins. But, despite the ER visits I'm sure we'll be having as you get older and the worry ulcers you'll give your mom, you and your dad are going to have SOOOO much fun doing all the man things and you'll be amazing at it all!!

We love you Buddy!!

Happy Birthday Freddie!

This is what Freddie woke up to this morning....he loved it!

Freddie's Birthday Weekend

Check out what our little man got to make at Lowe's this morning...they could not have had a better project for his birthday weekend!!

Karyl and her Locks of Love

Karyl's hair is long....REALLY long. Long enough that it gets food and other sticky things in it constantly and I'm kinda tired of trying to untangle Rapunzel's hair every morning.

SOOOOO...we talked about cutting it. Not just trimming it like we've done before, but cutting it. Not just cutting it, but cutting LOTS of it off and donating it to Locks of Love. 

I discussed it with Greg before bringing it up to Karyl and he was OK with it as long as she was. So I sat her down and told her what Locks of Love was and what would happen to her hair. I really thought she wasn't going to want to do it and that I'd have to somehow bribe/coerce/otherwise trick her into doing it, but she was totally cool with it. She absolutely LOVED the idea that another little girl will get to have hair that her mommy could brush and put curlers in and enjoy. So, once she was on board I called our good friend Claire who works at an absolutely adorable salon in San Juan Capistrano called W Salon Studio and we made a date to chop off get her hair cut.

That brings us to today!! We took lots of pictures of her hair before and headed over to the salon. Karyl had been looking forward to this for a while and was always asking when she was going to get to donate her hair. I have to admit, I was a little nervous. This is my first little girl...it took her 4 years to grow that beautiful head of blonde hair. I was worried about what she was going to look like with it short, would she still look like Karyl?? But I put on a happy face and we drive down there.

Once we were there everyone was so sweet and Claire made sure to tell everyone that Karyl was there to donate her hair. All the other stylists were so sweet and made sure to make her feel special and tell her how awesome she was for sharing her beautiful hair.

The time came...she climbed into the chair, ponytails were made, and the scissors came out.

She cut one ponytail...then the other...

Then she took Karyl over to have her hair washed and she finished cutting it and making it cute, and the end result was so much more amazing than I eve could have imagined!!

She LOVED it!! And it seriously made her look SO MUCH older!! It totally changed her look, but for the better. Before she was cute, now she was absolutely gorgeous - and all the stylists made sure to let her know how pretty she looked with her new haircut!!

Then we packed up the ponytails and headed back to send them in. Some little girl is going to fall in love with this hair!!

Then, a few months later we got the sweetest postcard from Locks of Love, thanking Karyl by name for her donation. It also explained what they did with the hair and why her donation was so important.  She LOVED it re-read that postcard tons of times. 

Overall, it was an amazing experience and she has already talked about growing her hair out again and doing it all over - except this time she asked me if I would do it too...I told her I would try. Anyone who knew me in my younger years knows that I've had long hair all my life and I'm finally seeing the merits of shorter, more manageable hair...so we'll see if I can stand to let it go long again. 

I'm so proud of her for her donation and for being so excited to serve others, people she will never know. That's my girl!!

Happy Valentine's Day

Daddy brought these home the night before Valentine's Day....which means they have had some time to bloom, and aren't they large and gorgeous? Even Karyl's hot pink rose is pretty! Daddy spoils us!

To be a big sister

Karyl has been an amazing helper today and is doing an amazing job keeping Nicole happy and occupied. What an amazing big sister! You should she the huge smile Nicole has and hear the happy noises she is making!

Rare moment

It's a rare moment when I get to enjoy a sleeping cutie in my arms....I am loving every second of this. Sadly I have to go put her down so I can get back to real life. Until next time my sweet little girl.

Park fun

Today we decided to head to the park to burn off some energy...I got some weird looks from people pushing the double stroller and having Nicole in the chest carrier. Oh well, I'm used to weird looks :) The kids are having a blast!

Awwww...

This was the conversation between Freddie and I on the way home from dropping K off at the Learning Center this morning....
F: HEY! Mom, I forget my girl!
Me: Your what?
F: My girl, you know her, my Karyl.
Me: We didn't forget K, we dropped her off for her classes...we'll go pick her up again in 3 hours.
F: But I miss her.
Me: I'm sorry bud, but we'll see her again in a few hours...do you want to play when we get home?
F: Can we play Cars?
Me: Sure.
F: OK, I guess I can miss her while we play Cars, thanks mommy.

You have to appreciate the complexity of their little brains...:)

Happy Birthday Uncle David!

Epicosity!

Merry Christmas!!

Anyone else trying to make dough rise this morning??

Who loves the Holidays?

Batch #1 of 3 different types of cookies....oh the deliciousness!

Our new obsession...

Munzee...a 21st century scavenger hunt.

Greg got us to #19 worldwide for yesterday!

Check out the website to read more about it...Munzee website

A little something to make you smile...

Watch "Tickle Me Freddie - Ep. 2" on YouTube

You'll be glad you did...

Trunk or Treat

This year we decided to head to OC and go trunk or treating with Grandpa and the Grandmas....

The kids were loving their costumes...Karyl of course loved the fairy theme, and Freddie loved his red racing team outfit (he thought he was Lightening McQueen and who were we to crush his dreams??).

Even Nicole got in on the Halloween festivities with her pumpkin outfit...luckily she is so tiny that this 0-3 month costume still had plenty of wiggle room!!!

This was the best I could do as far as a group photo...Have you ever tried to get 3 kids to stand together for a picture, they NEVER all look at the camera at the same time!!

Grandma and Grandpa won the best decorated trunk award...there are even spider webs on the side of the car with big plastic spider. The kids loved helping decorate and it was fun to be festive!!

Had to get a back shot of Karyl's costume...she loved the wings!!

Finally, he poses...quick - bring the camera!!!  This costume had a cute red hat but Freddie's head was too big for it!! He's got a oval shaped head like Daddy that is too big for most headwear geared towards his age.  After his surgery there appears to be plenty of room for his brains to grow, so big head = success in my books!!

They were playing Charlie Brown's "The Great Pumpkin" and Freddie decided to sit and watch it...I swear, he is just the cutest thing.  He is by far my favorite son!!! Despite his wild testosterone fueled craziness I swear he melts my heart with his blond hair, blue eyes and his "please mommy."

The kids had a blast Trunk or Treating and are excited to do the real thing on Monday!!! I swear, I may be slightly biased but we have the best 3 kids in the world!!!