Roman 3.5

Roman is right around 3 1/2 years old. WOW! Time sure does fly by and sometimes I look at him and just can't believe what a big boy he is. I am loving this age. Life seems pretty easy (for the most part), other than his occasional temper tantrums that are screaming fits at the top of his lungs. But for 95% of the time, he is so sweet, chatty, funny, silly, imaginative and loving.

Roman started the 3's program at Walnut Avenue Preschool. He lucked out and got 2 amazing teachers. Miss Paulina and Miss Helen (his teacher from last year). Both these women are so loving, sweet and perfect for his gentle personality. He actually looks forward to school now and is so comfortable there. I love the nurturing feeling of the school and how it just feels like home. Miss Helen told me that he is a totally different child from last year and is really talking a lot at school. I always wish I could be a little fly on the wall to see what he does at school. He enjoys artwork, playing outside, singing and most importantly...SNACK TIME. I have started to notice some things he is picking up from other kids at school like saying, "Shut Up" and "I'm going to shoot you." I know this is just the beginning. YIKES! They are so impressionable.

Roman is really getting into imaginative play. It really is his favorite thing to do. He loves his new doctor kit and Paisley is the perfect patient. He is very nurturing and always concerned with how everyone is doing. He definitely inherited my empathic soul.

I just love this picture since it captures his true spirit. He takes EVERYTHING in around him. He notices it all and remembers everything. He is the type of child that tells me things that I hardly remember from weeks before. Sometimes I think his mind goes a mile a minute and I wish it would slow down just a little. He is always wondering WHY and HOW. It can be very hard for him to relax and even take an hour to unwind. It looks like he is going to be a lefty, which we have been thinking for a long time. Just like his Pop.

Our little engineer. Roman has loved building things since he was 6 months old. These toys "Magna Tiles" are AWESOME! He could play with them for hours and I'm so impressed with what he builds.

These 2 love each other so much. He is such a good big brother and loves her like no other. (YES...they also have their moments, but for the most part there is so much love between the 2 of them). He likes to give her squeezes, chase her around the house and I know it will just keep getting better. Roman can be pretty shy and apprehensive to new situations and Paisley is always there as his comfort. I like that she gives him that. What an awesome gift.

Other new things include starting Promiseland Preschool at St. Matthews. Now that he is 3, he was able to start going to Sunday School at church. I was worried about the transition since he was leaving Paisley in nursery (and all the cool toys) and moving on to more of a classroom setting, but he walked right in and sat down with a smile. I was so proud! For him this was so HUGE. This is a boy where transition has always been tough and to see him so comfortable and confident made me so happy. Happy that he was happy. The best part is when I picked him up and asked him what did you learn, he then said, "Nothing can separate us from God's Love," by Roman Walter Maddox. (The verse was from Romans, how appropriate). I couldn't believe he memorized the verse in just an hour, but he has a photographic memory. Definitely not inherited from me.

He loves spending his special time with both sets of grandparents. Mondays are with Betty and Bob and Thursdays are with my parents. I love seeing their special relationships. What a blessing to have both sets of grandparents so close by.

Roman,
Thank you for bringing us so much joy! We love you so much and are so proud of you. You are such a good big brother and always looking out for Paisley (or Paze Paze as you like to call her). You are always full of so many questions and I wish I had the answer to them all, but sometimes you even stump me. We are so proud of you and we know that it takes a lot of courage for you to try new things. We hope you always know just how special you are. I love that you have good manners and are can be so nurturing and affectionate. I always hope you ask me and Paisley for one extra kiss and hug when I leave you at school, like you currently do now. We love to see you smile and can't wait for many more fun adventures ahead.

August Summer

I love the summer and especially August. We had a busy, but relaxing month and I'm sad to see our pool days and agenda free mornings to be gone next week. It really was a fun summer, especially with the kids current ages. They have become much easier to handle out and about and I'm really enjoying our adventures together. I finally feel like I can handle the both of them since they have become good listeners and also really good friends with each other.


Jason and I celebrated our 8th Wedding Anniversary. We went out to dinner at Sasa. We promised that we would start saving up for a special vacation for our 10th year. I feel so blessed each and every day to have Jason in my life. This past year has not been an easy one, but having him by my side makes me always remember the positive. I'm so proud of him and all that he has accomplished this past year at his new job. He works so hard each and every day to provide for our family and allows me to stay at home with our kids. I couldn't ask for a greater gift.


Roman learned how to peddle his bike this summer. Now we can't get him off his bike. He loves to ride his bike up and down the halls of our little house. You constantly have to be watching your toes.


A's Game - Jason has been begging me all summer to go to a game. I could think of more relaxing ideas, but we had a good time and the kids loved all the food and roaming around the ballpark.






Dinner for Jason's birthday with our parents to Lark Creek. It was special to be out for a nice dinner since it has been a LONG time for all of us to enjoy a night out without the kids.


Cooking Club goes Retro. Meg hosted a fun 60's night.


Hanging with friends at the pool (and the showers too).


Paisley started My Gym this summer and she (and I) love it. It is fun to do something with just her.


Zoo with our friends, Grady and Sean


Today we headed to Fairyland. It was the perfect day in Oakland and the kids had so much fun.


Paisley found her favorite, A Gigi.


Roman had picture day and orientation at Preschool. I'm so excited with the teacher that he got, Miss Paulina, and that most of the kids in his class this year were also in his 2's class. He will continue to go 2 days a week (I just can't give him up for 3 days yet)

One of the major changes this summer was how Paisley and Roman have been playing together. They love to hang out, run around after each other and get into mischief. There are moments were they annoy each other, but for the most part majority of their days together are filled with laughter and silliness.

I'm sad to see summer go, but looking forward to lots of fun upcoming events.

Soccer Class

Is there really anything cuter than toddlers in sports? I signed Roman up for soccer class and was excited since it was something Jason could do with him after work. The class met once a week at Heather Farms and here are some pics from Class #1.


Roman's favorite part of the class was chasing his Dad. It was pretty cute seeing him giggle so much. Totally violating Rule #1 in soccer (no hands on the ball). Ha ha!


Happy Boy


Lil Miss P is already ready for soccer. We realized after Class #1 that she would need to stay home with me since she didn't want to sit on the sidelines, but would rather be doing every skill with the kids. This girl is definitely destined for sports.

I was so proud of Roman. I got to go to his 6th class last night (since Jason got home late) and was blown away with how good he listened and followed instructions. With anything new, Roman is always a little shy and aprehensive, but usually warms up within a day or so. He was so good in this last class and totally following everything the coach asked of him. I just smiled when I saw how much he was enjoying it. Roman's favorite part of the class is when you get to kick a goal and then everyone cheers and yells your name. His face just lights up.

Escondido Summer Vacation

Thank you to Melissa and Steve for throwing a wonderful wedding celebration in San Marcos that gave us the motivation to take a family summer vacation. We got the rest, relaxation and fun that we needed. We stayed at the Lawrence Welk Resort in Escondido and it was perfect for the kids. Tons of pools, water features, a playground and even a golf course to run around at night. This is an awesome vacation resort for families and I can't wait to go back again. Here are some of my favorite pics from the trip.



We stopped at the Holiday Inn Express on the grapevine. You would have thought we were at the Plaza Hotel with how Roman reacted. He LOVED it and was so excited to be in a hotel room. Kids make me smile so much with their simple joys. Him and Paisley could have played with the phones in the room and jumped on the beds until midnight (OK they tried, but we got them to sleep by 11pm).



Her favorite activity.


Happy Girl. Did much better than our last roadtrip.


Coolest water features at our hotel
Happy boy to be swimming with Daddy


Snacks by the pool


Paisley swimming with her Grammy


The best way to handle 2 kids in the pool. Intertubes


We loved seeing Uncle Jim, Aunt Val and Melissa.


Our night away to celebrate Melissa and Steve.


Loved hanging with some of my favorite friends




Love her smile.


The wedding venue was paradise. The entire night was perfect and I couldn't have been happier than to be celebrating Melissa and Steve.


Beach day


The kids loved the ocean


Swings in the sand


Our favorite restaurant, Hacienda de Vega.


Cheers to some good margaritas.


Pretty cool view from dinner


My Girl


These 2 characters are really starting to entertain each other. I love seeing their interactions. Paisley wants to do everything (and I mean everything) her brother does.


We were going to head to Legoland, but a few people recommended we wait another year since our kids were still pretty young. So instead, we hit up the San Diego Zoo. It was gorgeous. This zoo is unlike any other. I was so impressed.


Roman and Paisley loved the monkeys, apes, gators, GiGi's and bears.


Ready to swim


She would have stayed here all day, but she would start turning purple.




It can be near impossible to get Roman out of the pool, so we all loved the water features since it gave us all a break from swimming.


Cool diner that we hit up before we left.

I realized coming home from this trip that everyone needs a summer vacation. Jason has been working so hard this past year and we really needed to get away for more than a long weekend. It was exactly what we needed with the perfect mix of relaxation and activity. Thank you Betty and Bob for coming along and helping us with the kids.