A Different Cousin to Play With!

It was a sad day when my brother transferred to KC. We were all so used to seeing my niece, Jasmine at least 3-4 times a month. She used to stay the night with us frequently, and I miss those times with her. Steven, Mason, and I hadn't seen her in a year and Addie had never met her only girl cousin so we were very excited that she was coming to stay for a month! We have done a lot of fun stuff with J, including a visit to Grove to visit my dad and his wife. I forgot the camera so I'm awaiting pics from my dad so I can post some from the lake (yep Dad, go to Wal-mart and put those pics on a disk!).

The first night she was here my mom cooked dinner and the kids played. Mase and J quickly found the sand pile out back. Hot summer evening + sand + sweaty kids=sand in every crevice...

So naturally we stripped them down and let them run through the sprinklers.

Note: Mase's undies are rolled at the top. Poor kid is skinny. Once those things got wet, they were sagging to his knees so we rolled them up at least 4x's.
Now for a little on Addison. She has been introduced to Cheerios. There goes the diet. Lil' Miss Independent is all about feeding herself and wants her own plate!

Swimming

One thing that is the absolute best about summer is swimming. There is nothing like spending a hot, sweaty day in a pool. It's been a lot of fun to see all the stages that Mason has gone through over the years with the water. When he was 6 months old, we took him to a baby swim class and to the pool all the time. Last year, we didn't do swim classes but, we hit the pool. So this year he asks to go "swiiiiimming" all the time (he drags out the 'i' sound)! This year he got brave enough to attempt the diving board. He did well. You can see how unsure he is at first, but after about the 10th time, he had it down.

I love his fingers in this next pic.

He was really reaching just in case Daddy was going to let him slip through.Just relaxing...
Addie also enjoys swimming, but gets very tuckered out.
She's taking a little snooze on her Papi's (Steven's dad) shoulder.
It's his only granddaughter and he soaked up every minute of it!!!

Investigating

Both of the kids got to investigate new things. After dinner, I gave Addie some finger foods. She picks them up easily, but has yet to land one in her mouth. Which is ironic because babies put everything in their mouths...
Mason also took advantage of some 'free time' while I was cooking dinner. He found his way into my purse. When I realized the eerie sound of silence I went looking. I found this...

Kids make life interesting!

This is a Stick-up!

These past few weeks have been B-U-S-Y! Not only have I had my two monkeys, but add another 7 month old and a two year old into the mix and you've got sheer craziness. While I was busy changing the babies diapers, I found Mase and his friend playing guns with...
...not something Steven was too stoked about, but I found it down right hilarious! After he was done shooting his buddy, Logan, he proceeded to show him what you really do with them (If you're not sure what's in the above picture just move on...not explaining).

:)

Since Linc's mommy is still away on training, he's stayed the night with a us a few nights. It still amazes me to see their size differences. Addie is two weeks older, yet Linc is SOOOO much larger. Here they are enjoying their first bath together. Can't wait to bust this picture out during the dating years!

Addie must have been tired of the outward exploring because she is now exploring the world of up...

This girl cannot be contained. She learns things so fast! I'm really hoping she stays on all four a little while longer. I am not ready for her to be walking.

Luggage

Luggage. One word to describe my trek to work every morning. Steven thought it would be suiting to capture what I drag to school every day...teacher bag, lunch sack, and breastpump. But, that's not it! Add an infant carseat, backpack, and a two year old. That would be me scurrying out the door on most mornings. Yep, luggage. Lots and lots of luggage.

Well, those days are gone. I have now entered the realm of a stay at home mom. Full-time. Not just summers or breaks, but all day every day until the kids are in school. It's something I've always had in the back of my mind since Mason was born, but finally took the leap of faith to do it. I did have a little breakdown at school once everything was taken down, boxed up, and moved out. That's been my life for 7 years. In a way, a huge part of my identity. I took pride in being a teacher. Changing the world one kid at a time. Making an impact. Giving hope and a future. But, my time has come to move on to my own children. I'm excited for this next chapter of my life. I can't wait for the art projects, the library, the pajama days in winter, swimsuits all day in the summer...I'm ready for it all!

My sweet Addie enjoying first real summer day!

Mason washing his trike. After the rinse off, he then got the shammy to dry it. I think he's got the cleanest trike on the block. Now if we could only get him some 20's...

A little update on Mason. It's no secret I've wanted Mason potty trained for quite a while. He was doing okay with sporatic peepees in the potty. However, that's not cutting it for me. So, we went straight to undies. No more diapers. Except for naptime (I'm not that crazy). I thought it would be a disaster today, but he surprised me by keeping his undies dry all day. I'm crossing my fingers for tomorrow. I'm sure I'll be tossing some undies if the poo-poos get in there. I am NOT, repeat NOT, going to scrape dung out of undies. To the trash they will go!

Not too much on Addie except she is crawling...everywhere. If she wants you she will cry and crawl until she finds you. She's a persistent little booger.

A Road Trip with a Few Bumps in the Road

Well, we did it. We took our first LONG road trip as a family. I have to say it went pretty well with the exception of a lost wallet, two sick whiney kids, and a 3 hour trip to the ER. However, we got to see family and that was worth it all! First off below is the reason we went to Illinois...

Is she not BEAUTIFUL! That's Kiera, Steven's cousin. She celebrated her 15th birthday Mexican style. I have to say it was fancier than our wedding. Steven's aunt Sandra sure knows how to plan an event.

We had a great time at the quinceanera despite Mason coming down with a high fever while at the ceremony and reception. He was such a trooper while we were partying. The next few pics are from the quinceanera...

Addie with her Aunt Damaris

Stephanie, Krystal, Addie, and Matthew

(The major reason I married Steven was because I saw that the Torres Family has cute kids. So to ensure my kids would be beautiful...I arranged our marriage ;)

Hard to believe that Mason had a 103.3 temp.

Lincoln hanging with his Aunt Sandra. I do have to say my nephew looked ballin'.

Addie in the baby doll stroller. She thought it was the funniest thing.

Now the last few pics are our ride home. After the ordeal with Steven's wallet (we think he accidently chunked it in a Subway trash can), the trip to the ER with Mase (he had a bad ear infection), and Addie's weird fever that broke in a day, we loaded the kids up and made the trek home. I have to say the kids were Super Troopers. Mason cracked us up the whole way, and Addie mostly slept. The times she wasn't sleeping she excercised her lungs...very well I might add!

A special thanks to Sylvia and BeBe who took us to the ER and stayed the entire 3 hours to wait for us. Even though the trip had a few bumps in the road we will always cherish the time with family. We love you all!

Baby Dedication, Green Beans, and Car Seats

Addie and Lincoln were dedicated at church Sunday night. It was really special to have both the kids dedicated together. Below is all of us after the service. Getting all seven of us to look at the camera is virtually impossible, so this is what you get...

Addie tried green beans for the first time a couple of weeks ago. As you can see, she didn't enjoy them too much. However, the gag reflux went away after the third day. She's now mastered peas, carrots, and squash. She'll get to start the tastier fruits in another week or so.

Today I was trying to get out the door for work (hooray for only 16 more days of rushing out the door) when I found the kids like this. I have no idea how Mason even got in the car seat. Getting him out was a feat in itself. I call this the 'Hey! Get out of my car seat!' picture.

I tell you what...I CANNOT wait to be with my little comedian and his fiesty sister!