Owen turns 2!!!!

AHHHH! My baby turned 2! He is just such a blessing in my life. I admire his easy going nature and adore his sweet snugly personality. It seems that just when he turned 2 he had another huge burst of language and his voice is just the sweetest thing. Sissy likes to brag that she taught him all of these things that he says. It is the cutest. I wish I had wrote this post right when he turned 2 so I could remember exactly the things he was doing at that age, but all I can think of is what he is doing right now, at 2 years 4 months. He had another big language burst while we were at Mom and Dad's during the summer. He can say lots of sentences, and he asks questions now. My new favorite is how he very well articulates, "I don't like that." He likes to say this when presented with new food. :) Today, for the first time, he said, "Sissy my best friend." It is the very best to see two of the people I love the most in this world also love each other. Even though they fight like siblings, I will also believe and project to them that they will be best friends for life!

Owen is very advanced with gross motor skills. For several months now he has been using a bat (or anything that resembles a bat) to hit a ball (or other similar object) in the air as he tosses it. It is really quite impressive the hand eye coordination. 

We transitioned him to his big boy bed shortly after he turned two because he was starting to try climbing out of the crib. It was a little adjustment but overall he did really well. I love his little dinosaur sheets that I found for him. Instead of a stuffed animal, he sleeps with one or two or three cars. He just loves cars and monster trucks! The other night we were saying our "good nights" and he said, "Good night Roxy. Good night papa. Good night monster trucks." I love it! 

He still likes me to pick him up or carry him, and I was thinking when Raegan was this age I probably wasn't doing that with her because I was already pregnant with him. I love still holding him.... I know he's quickly growing too big for this! 

His favorite books are "little blue truck" and he can finish the sentences when I read them. He also really likes "where the wild things grow." He also found a new favorite at my parents named "pout pout fish" which I think I've memorized by now too! 

This little guy has blessed our family in so many ways! How did I get so lucky!!?? 

We love you Owen!!!!!

First (and last?) Trip to Disneyland

Haha! We went to Disneyland in February! I had to be in Anaheim for a doctoral residency, so we decided we would try two days in Disneyland while we were there. I thought for sure that going in February would be beautiful weather.....or at least NOT HOT. However, the days we were there were record breaking heat for February and it made it kind of a rough experience. Besides this, it was windy and so the park wouldn't open any of it's umbrellas due to wind advisory. The sun as hot, the blacktop as hot, and that made for a hot adventure. However, that aside, the kids had fun seeing the characters and riding on the rides. I was a bit disappointed with the food, and I found it difficult to navigate the park. I could go on and on, but I don't want this to be a post of total complaining. It was a memorable trip, but I think I would not recommend doing it with an almost 2 year old who still needs midday naps. Not advisable! Ha! Here are some pics from this interesting and exhausting trip!

Matt turned 18!! And College! Oh my!

Another one I wrote and didn't post...

Time is just going too fast these days. I can't believe I've let almost 5 months go by without a blog post. I have been posting more on social media, but I am a little sad not to have my posts on here to follow along with all of the events and changes throughout the year.

So, Matt turned 18 and we had a party for him at a local pizza place in March. It was a nice event and we had a lot of family and friends come out for the festivities. Shortly after, we attended his high school graduation. I remember later that night sitting on the couch with Jasen, and he just looked over at me with watery eyes and asked me where the time went? Really, it goes so fast. When I first met Jasen, Matt was only a little 6 year old. Hard to believe he left for college a few weeks ago! Here are some pictures from the events! :)

Five!!!!!!

Well my baby girl turned 5. She is maybe the only person I know that can drive me to the verge of complete insanity but also make my heart just burst with love. Parenthood is a remarkable journey, and it ain't for sissies.

Happy happy birthday to my so smart, precocious, tenacious, joyous, adventurous, and beautiful baby girl. As the cliche goes, she will always be my baby. I pointed out a picture to Raegan in the hallway of me snuggling her as a newborn baby. I said, "See, you're my baby. Look how much I love you." She beamed with joy.

This morning, as she came down stairs and we sang her Happy Birthday, she smiled from ear to ear, and then asked, "Mom, do I look different now? Do I look 5?" I had to laugh out loud, and then assure her that yes, she does look different now.

My big girl! :)

Spring Break Tucson Style!

Ohhhhh we had a blast for Spring Break this year! We had contemplated going back to Illinois for Spring break since we missed it over Christmas, but Mom really wanted to go someplace sunny. So, we decided to meet her and Dad in Tucson so we could see Lindsey as well.....and soak up some sun and warmth, of course. Jasen stayed behind as he was managing a kitchen remodel that we must have been out of our minds when we decided to start (HUGE Project - ugh). More on that later.....

Mom rented a nice house with a beautiful view of the mountains that wasn't too far from Lindsey. The kids completely wore all of us out with their 6:00am rise and shine routine every day, but overall we had a blast. And it was soooo nice to get some sun! We managed to go to the Zoo, hiking, to an outdoor musem, swimming at Lindsey's house, a bbq party (at Lindsey's), tried lots of great restaurants, and even enjoyed an easter egg hunt courtesy of Aunt Lindz. The kids had a blast and Raegan cried when it was time to leave. We were able to meet Trevor's family for the first time at a delicious bbq that they hosted for us. There are so many great pictures of the trip! Including the wild piggies that came to our back door a few times, that we fed some table scraps.
Can't wait until we can do this trip again!!!

Holidays 2015

I write this April 15 and forgot to post it....

I'm trying to remember back that far.....as it has been a while since I posted. I'm super sleep deprived right now but felt like I wanted to blog a bit before bed.

The holidays were.....different. This was the first year, in my life, that I did not spend Christmas in Illinois with my family. After traveling to Illinois to say goodbye to Grandma T, and the next month flying to Phoenix for Mom's 60th birthday, I was just pooped out. The thought of travelling via airplane with the kids just sounded overwhelming. So, we spent our Thanksgiving and Christmas here in California. It was nice and relaxing, and of course we missed the Trutter family so much. I had a huge surprise, though, when my parents and Lindsey flew in for the annual Christmas party! Despite Dad getting a pretty nasty cold/flu bug, it was a very fun time. He was quite the trooper through it all. It was a wonderful surprise and so fun to have them at the house for our party for the first time!

The kids had a wonderful Christmas, and so much fun! Owen this year was older and able to open gifts and really have fun with the festivities. Raegan got a new Elsa bike from Grandma Shari which might have been her favorite gift! Santa also brought them a giant car track, a doll house, and a train table.

We had a very nice time at Grandma Shari's for Christmas day, and Christmas Eve we did our traditional delicious dinner at Paul Martin's restaurant It was a wonderful holiday, and next year we look forward to being in Illinois for the festivities! It was tough missing Grandma T during this time of year that she loved so much because it brought the whole family together.

Mom turns 60!

To celebrate such a momentous occasion, the family flew to Scottsdale, Arizona and rented a huge house for a long weekend. Although the weather was barely warm enough to use the pool a few of the days, we had a wonderful trip! We did some beautiful hiking in the desert and had some very delicious meals out! For mom's birthday dinner, we went to Chelsea's Kitchen which was amazing, and the ambiance was perfect. Mom enjoyed opening all of her gifts, including the memory album that we made for her. Also, all of the girls took mom to a special spa day to spoil her, including a lunch by the spa pool! The kids had a blast, and since then Raegan has been asking if we can move to Arizona. Frankly, I think she just liked living in a house with 10 people! There is always something to do, somewhere to go, someone to play with! :)

Happy birthday to my amazing mother! 60 and fabulous!