Mother's Day

There truly is no greater joy, blessing or gift than becoming a Mom. They truly are gifts from our Heavenly Father.

Our Mother's Day was simple and perfect. Started out with Church, followed by a quick visit to Nana and Pop's house to drop off some flowers. We then came home and I cooked a few things for dinner that night and then headed back to my parents for dinner with the whole fam. We had such a wonderful time relaxing, eating and just having fun. 

Visiting with Nana

Paisley just started saying, "Nana"

This boy has been giving his Mama a run for her money lately, but he gives me Oh so much love too.

My Girl! Such a sweetheart.

Betty is an absolute dream. Roman and Paisley adore her so much and I'm so blessed to have her in my life.

Roman made me a special gift at school for Mother's Day. He was so proud when I opened it.

This Mother's Day was a little surreal for me. It has been a tough past few months with my Mom going thru chemo and radiation. Her poor body has been put through such challenges this past year and we are all hoping and doing a lot of praying that this last treatment worked. To see someone you love in such pain is heartbreaking. I've been spending lots of time with her and the kids just hanging out. I'm truly blessed with a Mom that is also a friend to me. I always know that she is my biggest supporter, cheerleader and encourager. THANK YOU MOM for all that you do and all that you are. Happy Mother's Day!  

Cheers to all the Mom's we celebrated with. 

Busy Month

This past month has been insane with lots going on here. I've had to neglect blogging, so am hoping to be back soon. Here are a few of our happenings this last month:

Finished my class (PHEW!) It was WAY more work than I anticipated when I signed up. I am so relieved that it is over. Balancing the kids, my part-time job, the class and other obligations was just too much. I will find out in December if I passed, however I feel good about how I did on the 3 hour final and think my project went good too.

Got Roman potty trained and moved into a Big Boy bed in the last 2 months. Potty Training is a serious commitment, but I'm feeling like we are in a really good place right now. THANK YOU to everyone who told me to wait until Roman was 3 (best advice ever). He was mature enough to understand the concept and it made for a lot less frustration on both our parts. Roman also started the kermits swim program, which is 5 weeks of daily :25 minute swim lessons. It has been AWESOME for him. He is loving it and gets so excited every day. I wasn't sure about it when we signed up, but I'm so happy that he did it. He really looks forward to it.

Paisley is starting to talk more and more, which is great since she was a little delayed in talking. She also has developed a hilarious chuckle. She continues to be such a sweet girl, but is showing glimmers of drama. She likes to throw herself on the ground and pout when she gets mad. It actually makes me kind of laugh since it is such an act. AND she is getting hair. We are so excited that her hair is growing and can't wait to put it in some pigtails.

We are loving this warm weather! My kids couldn't be happier than to be running around the backyard with the hose on, their water table filled and lounging around in their swim suits. Oh....and I'm obsessed with summer rompers for Paisley. Can't get enough of them.

My Mom has completed her intense rounds of radiation and is now waiting a few weeks for her spinal fluid to be tested. It has been a rough road and her body has been put thru quite a journey, but we are all hopeful that this new treatment worked. She is currently in the hospital, but we are hoping she will be out tomorrow. Please keep her in your prayers these next few weeks as we wait for the next step.

Lastly...
Here are some of my recent favorite pics.

THREE

Happy 3rd Birthday Roman! We had a fun day celebrating Roman turning 3 on March 13th. We tried to make the day a special one (even though it was on a Tuesday). He waited all day to open his presents until Jason got home, but I let him pick 1 to open during the day.

He brought his favorite treats to school. Cupcakes, fruit and smoothies. YUM! 

Roman's Class 

Grammy and Papa called Roman from Hawaii to sing Happy Birthday! He was very excited.

CARS Birthday presents

Some of Roman's new friends from Radiator Springs. It is fun to see Roman really getting into his toys. He just loves playing with all his Cars. 

Nana and Pop came over that night for dinner, donuts and playing. Roman loved his color changer Cars. Very cool gift. 

Happy Birthday Roman!

I can't believe Roman turned 3. WOW! Looking back on this past year, we have had so much fun. I have to admit that the "terrible two's" were actually pretty easy on us, but I hear that "the three's" are what I should really fear. YIKES! I have gotten a few recent glimpses of the attitude and acting out, but I'm hoping that it passes quickly. 

Here is a recap of Roman at 3...

Roman is a funny, silly, chatty and sometimes sassy boy, but according to his teacher is very quiet and reserved at school. I've realized he can be pretty introverted in new situations and it takes a while for him to feel comfortable with a new group. He looks forward to going to school and church and we haven't had any tears for months with either. A BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT for him. He is very routine and loves knowing what we have planned for the day. He loves playing with his cars, trains, jumping on the trampoline, hanging in the Hot Tub, playing with Paisley, reading books, playing store, going on little adventures, wrestling with his Daddy, hanging with his cousins, dancing, singing and playing at the park. He loves playing with Paisley and they have really started interacting a lot more with each other. I love watching them play outside together. It melts my heart when I see Roman sharing his toys with her. For his 3rd Birthday we moved him into a Big Boy bed. It was such an easy transition because of his age. Since he is on the older side for moving into a bed, we had no issues at all. From the 1st night he has slept in his new bed and loved it. We are in the process of updating his room into a Big Boy Room. Moving on from Animals to Cars. 

Roman has a photographic memory and remembers every detail with certain things. He has known all his letters for the last 6 months and actually taught himself. He loves bridges, tunnels and freeways. He likes to know what direction we are going while driving and we can imagine he will be out little engineer. The things that come out of his mouth are hilarious. I need to start writing them all down. The other day we were going to McDonald's for Kira's birthday. He kept repeating "Lets go to E.I.E.I.O's." It took me a minute to figure it out. 

Roman...we love you so much! You have brought our family so much joy and love. You are a ray of sunshine that keeps us smiling. You changed our lives forever the moment you came into our home. THANK YOU for being you. Our free spirited little love. You will always be my little boy.

Disneyland for Roman's 3rd Birthday

We had been planning to bring Roman to Disneyland for this 3rd Birthday and decided about a month ago that we should just wait until Paisley's Birthday. With school, Jason's busy work and other things going on it just felt too hectic to go. However the week of his Birthday came and I started getting the feeling that we just had to go to celebrate. I looked into last minute deals (no such thing at Disneyland) and found a hotel directly across the street (Fairfield Marriott). SIDENOTE: Amazing hotel! Loved it! On Tuesday night at around midnight I turned to Jason in bed and said, "Lets go to Disneyland this weekend." I told him about the hotel and quickly convinced him how fun it would be. I then made him call the hotel at midnight and book the room since there was only 1 room left (according to Expedia). Of course the only room available was a character room that was an upgrade for a character bed sheet and poster. Thank god we got the Cars Room. 

It was a magical trip. Jason and I have fallen in love with Disneyland as adults with young kids. It truly is magical and everytime we leave, we cannot wait to go back. 

Here are some of my favorite pics from our trip.

Paisley ordering some room service.

The fireworks from our hotel window. 

Roman loved the fireworks. Paisley clung to me like a koala.

Pluto

Just me and my Dad

1st Ride: Snow White (not recommended) Kinda scary to start off the day.

Dumbo. Don't worry, she didn't fly alone. 

Both kids love the carousel. They could ride it 100 times.

Both trains (Casey Junior and Main Train) were a big hit with this boy. 

Hello Paisley

Meeting his hero, Lightning McQueen. Can't wait for Cars Land to open. 

Kids napped, so we headed to the winery for lunch. 

Visiting Goofy's house

Total Daddy's Girl

Loving Heimlich's Train Ride

Our little bear

Tom Sawyer's Island is awesome. Kids can run free and explore. A little hesitant at first, but then could not get enough of all the bridges. 

She was so patient waiting in the lines. 

Our Animal Lover loved the Jungle Cruise. 

Happy Boy

Roman loved the castle that he sees at the start of every Disney Movie. 

Roman loved driving the cars. 

Nothing says the end of a trip like a giant lollipop. This is all he wanted from the store.

He still talks about his hotel room. It was a true highlight of his trip and he keeps asking if we can go back to the hotel. Miss Karen (from church) actually told me that Roman was sharing with her all about his new room (the week we came back). At first I didn't know what she was talking about and then realized it was his hotel room.

This was a much easier trip for us with the kids. Paisley is an absolute doll to travel with. Only problem is she didn't love being in her carseat during our 7 hour ride after 2 hours, but either did I. Roman was so much better than when we went a year ago. He was patient, understood the concept of waiting in lines and also understood that when the ride was over we had to get off. Thank Goodness! He did start getting a little scared of a few things, but still enjoyed Pirates of the Caribbean. I just knew what his limits were and didn't try and push them on anything that was too dark. Due to the start of Spring Break it was packed by 1pm, but we still felt like we got in the perfect amount of rides and just exploring Disneyland. 

We can't wait to head back in October and will seriously consider staying at the Fairfield Marriott again. It was so convenient and just what we needed. Until next time Mickey! 

Some Favorite Pics

Due to my studying and homework this last week, I've been slacking on blogging. So here are some pics from the last week to keep you entertained.

 This boy was due for a Big Boy haircut. Jason convinced me to take him to a new place. I was a little worried about how Roman would do since it didn't specialize in kids haircuts (meaning no movies, no cool chairs, no balloons, no distractions), but he did AMAZING! He loved it. I think it made him feel like a big boy. He sat in the chair for 20 minutes and just smiled and looked at himself in the mirror. The 2 people in the shop kept commenting on how he was the calmest child they have ever seen. I told them I was surprised too. He made me so proud!

YEE-HAW! Paisley loves all animals and especially horses. I can't get enough of this adorable little face.

I went to school on Saturday, so Jason and his parents took the kids to Muir Woods.  Roman loved exploring.

 I keep our Fridays low key and it is the one day of the week that we don't have to be out of the house early. Roman and Paisley loved snacking on some cereal in bed after their showers.

 How is she getting so BIG? She just wants to keep up with everything her big brother is doing. Here she is ready to take a plunge off the slide. Her favorite way to go down slides is head first. Cannot take my eyes off her at the park. She is a daring one.

 Skippypets were back. A friend of ours had them at a Birthday Party. It was so fun to ride them again.

Pudding + Her own spoon = PURE HAPPINESS (and a total mess)