The Story of Curious George: As Told by Eden

"Once upon a time there was a little boy named Curious George. And the man throw him a yellow hat. And he get it! And they played peekaboo with the yellow hat. It was so silly!"

She really is blooming right now. And becoming ever more willful. We have lots of ups and downs lately. Sometimes I feel ready to burst, and then she tells me the story of Curious George or asks me to scratch her back at bedtime and I remember that I really do love being a mom.

Today we made pizzas for lunch. I thought letting her "decorate" her own pizza would be fun and exciting. Can you tell which pizza is whose?

the pizza chef

The holiday where we celebrate a big huge bunny leaving eggs for small children to find. (who thinks up these things?)

So the Easter Bunny came. But not until about 10am. Lucky us, no one really noticed!

The bunny looks bigger than Charlie, but trust me, he could take the bunny in a fight.


While Eden was egg hunting, Charlie was chillin. Look at those baby blues! Remind me to always dress him in this color!

Morning Egg Hunt. Obvious bed head.

Afternoon egg hunt at Danny's Aunt Beth and Uncle Dave's house. The hair looks much neater now, eh? They were so nice to have us over and feed us and let us crash their family's party.

The only family shot we got where my eyes are open. Granted they are only partly open.

The happiest place on earth (again!)

So even though we knew it would be a zoo, we went to Disneyland on the Saturday before Easter. We got some two-fers a while back and needed to use the second half before they expired. As luck would have it, we had a grand time. Since we don't go on any of the big rides anyway, we barely stood in any lines.

Family Photo. Note Tinkerbell in the background. Eden loves her, thus our posing near the only Tinkerbell we could find.

This is Eden pre-Disneyland. She was so stoked to go. And that is a silky shirt she is wearing, by request.

Fairy Godmother. A first for me. I have never seen her there before. Eden loved meeting her, despite her petrified look.

Eden's favorite place in all of Disneyland, The Princess Fantasy Faire. She heard Snow White read a story from this very seat.

And here is Lady Eden during the Coronation Ceremony. We were anxiously awaiting the arrival of Cinderella.
All in all, a great time. Who doesn't just love this place??

lake mission viejo

On Friday we went to Lake Mission Viejo. What a crazy throw back! I haven't been there in a really long time. But I did have a birthday party there when I was like 10 or so. Missy, Becky, Ashley, Nicole, and probably some other Santa Margarita ward girls were there. It is still the same, right down to the smelly black sand under the pretty white sand.


The babies! Charlie, Beck, Audra, Luke. We had a great time. Thanks Kimmie for getting us in! We went with Kimmie, Whitney and Katie and all the kiddos, but the only ones we could keep still were the little ones!

the greats

Last Saturday we got a chance to visit my grandparents, who usually spend their winters on Balboa Island. It was a beautiful day and it was so nice spending time with them. Unfortunately when picture time came, Charlie was sleeping. So we snapped a couple of Eden with Grandpa and Grandma.

chopping block

it is a tad on the dark side. guess i need those highlights after all.

Random Ruminations

1. Charlie has been growing exponentially. It cannot be stopped. Pic on the top was taken at about 5 days old. Pic on the bottom was taken Friday, when he hit 14 weeks.
Whoa Child!!

2. When you tell a two and half year old that she has to go poo poo on the potty, she may just take you seriously. Today I was feeding Charlie and Eden was finishing up a bath. She climbed out of the bath and made her way downstairs to her potty. On her way she left several poop nuggets; like a little trail. By the time I found her she was happily going on her potty, oblivious to the poo that had already come out. (Don't worry Debi, I cleaned up very thoroughly!)

3. Frozen grapes do not live up to the hype. Someone, who shall remain nameless, recommended them to me and I was not into them. Ick.

4. The best things in life really are free. Except houses.

5. Disneyland with a 2 1/2 yr old and a 3 month old should not be attempted alone. I did this yesterday and I wished Danny was there the whole time. Eden gets nervous before every ride and has to be persuaded (read: forced) to get on. Danny is much better at this than I am; especially when Charlie is strapped to my chest.

at least the little guy was smiling! he did pretty well besides getting overheated once. my body heat + his body heat = one hot chubby baby!

isn't Eden's reaction to seeing Cinderella priceless? She was so sad when Cinderella left.

Thanks to Candice and Jordyn and Whitney, Scotty and Luke for coming with us!! I hope you guys got some better shots of the kids in the tea cup, cause mine didn't come out at all.

6. Bribing your kids really works. Too bad it is frowned upon.

7. I move for a four day work week. Who's with me??

Games we play

Oh how I love mornings like this one. Days like today it is never too early to start abusing caffeinated beverages. This morning Eden was playing a game we like to call "20 Demands in a Row" and I was playing "Try to Keep on Smiling". I am fairly certain Eden won.

Thankfully we have days like yesterday to get us through fun days like today. Yesterday we enjoyed a very pleasing beach day. Sorry to everyone still covered in snow. Cover your eyes if you can't see children playing in the sun without crying and wishing you were here too. (You can be of course, just call me up.)


Charlie enjoyed some shade and his fist. I am certain he will be a little beach baby just like his big sister.






Eden spent her time collecting rocks and throwing them into a bucket of water. I think she liked the pleasing splashing noise best.

Pals at the beach. Scotty, Jane and Ruby. So much fun. Eden calls them all her cousins. Since I do not know what the technical relation is, I will go with cousin. ( These are the kiddos of Danny's cousins, Ashley and Whitney.)

ALSO:::BELA'S SURGERY HAS BEEN SCHEDULED FOR FRIDAY AT 11AM. PLEASE BE THINKING OF AND PRAYING FOR HER ON FRIDAY.

bela girl

Sometimes there are things in life that make you take a deep breath, slow down for a second, and remember that your problems are minor. This past weekend was a time like that.
Avery had her little girl on Friday morning. Bela Grace Milne weighed 5 lbs 14 ox and was 18 inches long. She is precious. We arrived late Thursday night in Phoenix and made our way to the hospital on Friday. Avery was doing great and other than being tired (who isn't after delivery??) she was really in good spirits. Danny and I both got to visit Bela in the NICU. The sweet little girl looks so healthy next to some of the little preemie babies.

For those of you who don't know my sister-in-law Avery and what is going on, here is a short recap. When Ave was about 20 weeks along they found some irregularity with the baby's heart. After seeing a half dozen specialists they were told their little girl had hypoplastic left heart syndrome and Turner's syndrome. Imagine. Here is a link to the definitions of those syndromes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoplastic_left_heart_syndrome
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turners_syndrome





So little Bela is going to have her first surgery later this week. Please pray for the sweet girl. And her family. Isn't she so beautiful??

I am so grateful for the healthy little kiddos I have been blessed with. I know I don't usually get this sappy, but after spending time with Ave and seeing how well she has handled this challenge, I have to wonder if I would be able to be strong if I were facing the same thing. I am pretty sure I would curl up in a fetal position and not move.

Now I just need to take a deep breath, slow down, and realize that my problems are minor.