First M&M

Wesley sure enjoyed his first M&M. As well as the spaghetti, peas, and ice cream. It was so cute to watch him enjoy his meal.

Living it up in Ontario

We moved to Ontario this past Monday. So far so good. A few bumps and things to get used to but nothing I can't live with for a short period of time.

Water pressure, check!

Lovely heated swimming pools and jacuzzi, check.

2 very nice parks within walking distance, check.

Close to shopping, check. Ontario Mills is very nice but seriously lacking a children's play area.

Close to Johnny's work, check. We figure we are saving at least $15 a day just in gas by living here.

Nice neighbors, check. She not only jumped my car for me Tuesday morning but made sure to warn me to never let my kids outside alone during the day and never at night. Like I would? (I actually checked the registered sex offender listing and there are zero in this zip code, but 68 in my parent's zip code. Who would have thought?)

Easy freeway access, check. If you want to jump over the wall I mean. We can see the cars entering and exiting the I10 from our front door. Was that a car backfiring or gun shots we heard last night? Not quite sure.

Fire stations close by, check. Right next to the freeway access. Again, you can see it form the front door...and hear it during the night!

Landlady who won't let us hang pool towels outside, check. We hang them off the top bunk bed over Wesley's crib.

Hold on a second here, this just sounds crazy! Who lives like this? Oh yeah, we do. (Please excuse the freak out moment, it has now passed)

Wesley has been banished!

Where do you put a high chair in a trailer? You don't. That is the answer I have come to. It is just too big and constantly in the way. We thought about putting a baby seat on a folding chair and taking it on and off every meal, but I am practical. That is too much hassle and then the folding chair would most likely become a weapon for my two ninjas. The table is too flimsy to support one that hooks onto the edge of the table.

Our answer...we strapped the chair to the table leg. Kind of sad, but safe and practical.
It keeps him from being knocked over or pushed all over the place by the other boys. There is no large object to block the functionality of my kitchen space. It works. He has been banished and exiled. Poor baby!

One down side is the knee biting. When we all eat dinner together at the table Daniel and Jaxon have to sit next to the wall so they don't kick him, but that means he has easy access to our legs for biting opportunities. Lets not forget the handful of green beans he smashed on Johnny's shorts last night. That is fun too. The other down side is the easy access my other two boys have to unstrap him. They are quick so I have to make sure they leave him alone or food is everywhere and he ends up eating off the floor! A plus is that he cleans his own mess. If he drops something like the sippy cup, he picks it back up again on his own.

Butterfly Festival & Camping

Last weekend we went to the Butterfly Festival in Idyllwild California. It was so much fun. First we built bug boxes at the free Lowe's kid's clinic. Then we headed up the mountain to eat yummy Mexican food and set-up camp. Daniel and Jaxon were super excited to ride in my sister's car which made our car trip quite peaceful.

The Butterfly Festival was held at the Nature Center. The weather was perfect.

This was supposed to be a bean bag toss but there is something thrilling about sticking your head in holes for pictures.
The butterflies were in two tents. We arrived with plenty of time to spend catching butterflies on watermelon and making butterfly masks.

I didn't realize I had a few butterflies on my back but Jaxon and Daniel were quick to get them off for me.

Daniel and Jaxon were very excited to show Wesley the butterflies. He of course had grabby hands so that didn't last long. Mostly I think he wanted to eat the watermelon that kept being shoved in his face. At the end of the day all of the butterflies were released from the tents. We had a wonderful time!

I totally forgot to get pictures of the camp site but we had a great time at Hurkey Creek with my two sisters and their families. The boys had a great time on their first family camping trip and their hike with Aunt Jeanine. It is safe to say everyone made it home a "happy camper."

I have no idea how I ended up with no pictures of Jeanine, Kevin or Diana. Sorry!

R.I.P.

Daniel is obsessed with firefighters. Mostly firefighter clothing. He begged for firefighter boots for months before his 4th birthday. I found these at Target. They were too expensive and two sizes too big, but I could not take the disappointment on his face. 9 months later they were in rough shape. They were broke almost completely in half and the sole was coming off one. Daniel wears them every day. Anywhere. Everywhere. ALL. THE. TIME! The best $17 I have ever spent. So I spent it again! Best $17 I have ever spent twice. We gave him his new pair, the right size this time. He was so excited, but had a hard time giving up the old set.
Like his shirt? I think it is size 3T and he wears it almost every day. My little firefighter or should I say firecracker?

Daniel the Builder

Tape? tape? Does anyone know where the tape went? Is there ANY tape left in this entire house? NO! None! Daniel has made sure of that! He steals it out of every drawer and off the top of the counter. He will sit for hours cutting and taping (the idea of Daniel sitting for more than two seconds is crazy, but he really does)! Once the scotch tape was gone he moved on to packaging tape and electrical tape. He builds trucks, planes, boats, and finally trains. He then puts them on the book shelf above the bunk bed at my parent's house. This was his latest creation.

Can you see baby June's head in the caboose?

Granny

After visiting the LA Zoo the other day we went to visit my grandmother. We had a great time out to dinner where Granny thoroughly enjoyed feeding Wesley spaghetti. She even tipped the bus boy $10 to clean up the mess on the floor! After dinner we went to visit at her house.

It was the first time she met baby June and the first time all four great grandchildren were with Granny at the same time.

Granny is an antique dealer and is hired to run high end estate sales. Naturally her house is full of extremely valuable and breakable items. I felt like I was taking the bulls (my boys) into a china cabinet! Every move they made I would almost lose my breath, but Granny was not concerned. She told me to lighten up or the boys would never want to come back.

Granny has always been wonderful and I love her so much. It is great to see her interact with my kids. I love you Granny!