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El Capitan

We went to the El Capitan theater with the KP family and brought papa along. First, we went to lunch at The Farm of Beverly Hills at LA Live. We had a gift card there that was one on 104.3 myFM and the last time we tried to use it, their gift card machine was down, so we got our full balance. Next, we headed through LA traffic, parked in a $10 lot and walked to meet our friends! Ooops on that one, we should have parked in the complex at hollywood and highland for $3/4 hours with validation, I guess ya live and learn. If you've never been to El Capitan, you pay to watch the movie in 3D, then they place armbands and you get to go to an outdoor, themed entertainment area. The boys had fun, except both big boys had fevers and the baby was a bit fussy during the movie. Overall, they hung in there pretty well! Thanks to papa for his company, extra set of arms and eyes and for just having a fun date with us. I'm really glad we went. Here are a few more pictures of our fun day...

We are a family of 5 now!

Again, it's been a while since I posted. I really have no other excuse than blaming the busy-ness of life. Since I blogged last, a lot has changed! We now have a family of 5! E was born in December of last year which makes him 7 months old now. He is a little doll and I love him to pieces. C is now 3.5 years old and Z is 4.5 years old. Each little guy brings such joy to me and I love them all for different reasons (isn't that unconditional love at its best?)

Little E

E is still at the age where he can really do no harm still. He is just a sweet, innocent, easy-going little baby. He falls asleep when you lay him down in his crib, in the car, in the stroller, in your arms, really--just about anywhere! He is very mild-mannered, well, except when you are eating. He screeches until you stick something in his mouth! He'll eat his baby food, drink his bottle

and then eat your food. If you stick it in his mouth, it's probably a sure bet that he will like it and continue to eat it. :) Funny boy. We have been making most of his baby food. I have bought some, like the stuff that is hard to make or has too many ingredients. Who would have thought I'd decide to make baby food with the third baby? Well, actually, it's pretty easy. We use the vegetables that we eat at dinner normally and on a regular basis. We have made him green beans, peas, spinach, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, acorn squash, cantaloupe, blueberries, apples, bananas, pears. I'm sure there are more, but the point is that it's easy, with no preservatives or additives and he hasn't refused anything! This little guy melts my heart. His little eyes smile at you, his whole body laughs when he laughs, he squeals and squeaks, he melts into you when you hold him. It's the moments like these that make me never want my babies to grow up. I love him so much.

C-bug is 3.5 years old now. He is such a little character. He comes up with the funniest things and really has no filter when he is going to share them. He is a free-spirited, curious, genuine,

innocent, fun-loving, daring, friendly, talkative, affectionate, impulsive, outgoing little boy. My little C loves talking, eating cake, making silly faces and trying new things. He likes to dream about "rainbows, more rainbows, wishbones and pancakes." He gets, "nightmares when [he] reads monster stories and Sharkmares when [he] reads about sharks." He doesn't do what he doesn't want to do and he HAS to do what he wants to do, even if I've said no six times before he actually does it. He will hug and squeeze you until you burp, fart, spit up or split in two, depending on who he's hugging. He'll climb up on the counter for candy, and down the stairs by way of the banister, open a bag of chocolate chips to eat for breakfast and hide under the baby chair, seek out the little snake peeking 'his cute little face out from behind the boat,' sticking jelly beans up his nose and denying it (even though he had one green jelly bean and now he has 2 green watermelon-smelling marks under his nose.), covering himself in "apple" & "warm vanilla cookie snap" fancy soap at 5:30am because it smelled good. C is so darn funny and never ceases to laugh. Anyone: "Carter, I love you." Carter: "I love you and I said it one, that means I beat you." He loves kissing, hugging and snuggling, except at 0530, he wants to talk, talk and talk. He wiggles, talks, kicks his legs, kicks the wall, gets into stuff, goes downstairs...agh! Hehas no idea how young he is, because he will befriend anyone -- young or old. That little boy can give me so many laughs and so much joy, while he can frustrate me the most. I suppose you've got to take the good with the bad and figure out how to make the most of who is and pray to God to find out how I can help encourage, love and support him.

Next up is my Z. Z is 4.5 years old and he is my little joy. He is a strong-willed, yet compliant, obedient, "strong-but-silent," follow-the-rules little guy. He is bashful, conservative, slow to warm-up, easily embarrassed, easily angered. He doesn't like to be wrong and wants so badly to be praised, helpful and the best. He wants to feel safe and he trusts himself. If something is dangerous and he wants to try it, he wont necessarily trust you in it, but more-so, he has to believe he can trust himself in what he is doing. He is cautious, but willing to try new things. He looks to others for encouragement as he gently leads. If Z knows something is wrong, he

usually wont do it. He does not like playing in the ocean or the waves, but could spend all day in the sand by himself. Z is really good with foresight; he can see a need before it is communicated to him. He likes to troubleshoot things and help. For some reason, everything is times (x) 42! Why? I don't know. " love you so much, x42!" He wakes up quiet, cuddly and mellow. He'll ask questions. Questions you don't necessarily want kids to keep asking. He'll drawn conclusions you don't necessarily want to have to explain. He's funny, bright, and quite the joy. Z is my little side-kick, my little helper and I love having him around. He's the one that goes out and makes everyones bed in the morning and helps to fold towels and baby clothes. Z restocks the toilet paper and straightens the papers up. Sweet boy . I love him.

It is my greatest joy to watch these boys grow up, get to know them better and record some of what they do. I hope to do more. I am so blessed. We are so blessed.