April Snuggles

Pics from early April - getting our snuggle on. I've been trying to 'slow down' a bit more and be more intentional about spending time at home and engaging with the kids while we are here - at home. Looking back on some of the pics over the last couple of months I see some improvement in that area and it makes my heart happy.

This Guy - best part of our day, all day, every day. 

Zi Guy at 3.7

For the longest time, Zion begged me to sign him up for gymnastics so I started taking him back in January. After the second class the coach was so excited about him that she started talking about putting him in an older kids' class to start 'prepping him for the Olympics'(!) It was pretty hilarious and also so incredibly typical of Zi. He loves to be noticed, maybe not to be in the spotlight so much, but all of the time he is making sure that somebody notices him. He was proud of himself to have gotten the coach's attention like he did. Along the same line of being 'noticed', every chance he gets he will bring something to his Mommy and Me class to 'show and tell'. His class does not have a 'show and tell' portion. In fact, Zion is the only one to have ever brought anything in, and he has done it several times. I've tried to put a kibosh on it, since it's not particularly part of the curriculum, but some of his items are worth sharing - like the butterfly he found one day while walking down the street. He was so proud of and obsessed with the butterfly that he carted it around his classroom for the entire day. The third picture I have up of Zi is of him riding his bike without training wheels on New Years Day. He did it and he did it well! I was so incredibly proud of him! But that was the first and the last time I ever saw him ride it. He is not the expert on his bike that he is on his scooter so he refuses to ride it. Zion is a super boy with almost superhuman fearlessness and talent, but I am for the first time starting to see a chink in that armor. I believe that this trait I am seeing will not serve him well. Jon does not see it the same way I do. I want to take his scooter away to force him to develop another skill, but Jon wants to let him be 3. I guess my fear is that so many things have always come so naturally to him that he has not developed the ability to actually TRY. And the longer we wait to guide him through that process the harder it will be. The last pic I have up is just a very typical Zi moment around the house. During any down time we have at the house, whether it be 3 minutes or 30, you will almost always find Zi with Klamath in hand. I've added another 'last picture' since I posted this. One that is also very typical of Zi. He loves to be upside down and he loves to be showing off in one way or another.

Side note - 

Just today when trying to explain just how much he loves me Zion told me:

"I love you as much as God does!" which I realize is quite a lot and it melted my heart. (:

Yesterday when I asked him what the favorite part of his day was he replied emphatically:

"Petting the whales!!!" to which I replied: "Yes Zion, that was the favorite part of my life too." (:

A Word on Eden at 5.75

I have so much in my heart regarding Eden that I hardly know where to begin. Please bare with this stream of thought. Lately...she is dead set on being an artist when she grows up, and pretty confident in the fact that she is one already. Her two bottom teeth are extremely loose. She first noticed it back in February while we were in Baja - I didn't believe her then but when we got home I saw for myself that her tooth was indeed loose and the second followed shortly after. The picture I have posted here was taken back in January, I was still waking up when I came into the kitchen to see that she had already prepared "breakfast" for herself and Zi. Not what I would have chosen but beautiful and hilarious all the same....Just recently she had a dinner and desert that she really enjoyed, afterward she complained to me that her 'belly was full but her mouth was still hungry', perfectly verbalizing that feeling that I rarely have words to express. She is also in this place in time where she needs constant tabs on my whereabouts. Even, and especially, at the house. I can not go from one room to the next without giving her a full account. This is not really a new thing, it sort of ebs and flows with Eden and it's not a particular highlight either - I am open to suggestions regarding this, cause it kind of kills me. That aside, just the other day it occurred to me how incredibly strong this child is. She is strong in mind, body, and spirit. I find that this character trait can make it difficult for some to understand her or appreciate her, but I think it's the trait that will serve her best. She has a strength that I have rarely seen and to see it in all aspects of her person is incredible to me and I am so excited to see how she will continue to grow. 

Side note - Eden asked Jon and I to replace her carpets the other day, just before going to bed. We told her no, that it was too much money and that she needed to go to bed. The next morning Eden came out with all her money in her hand (a couple dollar bills and some change) and stated emphatically that she was gonna buy some new carpet with her own money. I explained to her that it would take a lot more money so as of last week she has started some weekly chores for a weekly allowance of $1/wk to put toward her carpet fund. 

Lately Eden has been really good about expressing her gratitude. Gratitude for the trips we take, for the time we spend together, the food we eat. If there is anything I would like to instill into my children it is gratitude, so the gratitude she has recently shown brings me so much joy!

Paddling the Harbor

One of my favorite things to do - just the kids and I - is to load them up on the paddle board and cruise around the harbor with them, and I find that I am running out of time on this activity. I like it best first thing in the morning, before the kids' energy and the wind has had a chance to really pick up. But since Eden starts school next year, this is really our last year to do it (consistently at least). Not only that but I assume in a years time they will just be too big for the board to support all three of us. Meanwhile I am really soaking it in, and getting as many trips around the harbor that our time will afford. 

I didn't get the pic I was hoping for here but it's a pic of one of  my favorite birds - the  Blue Heron, aka the Dinosaur Bird to the kids and I, because it looks like a giant ancient dinosaur up close and flying through the sky. Also it's nests up high in the trees are huge and majestic.

If you look closely you will see a one man submarine on this boat. It's the first submarine I've ever seen in person and for some reason it just floored me. Zion spotted it first and was so incredibly proud!

Beach treasure!

Family Surfs

Ever since coming home from Baja we have started venturing out on 'Family Surfs'. All that time in Baja spent in the water surfing and playing, we did not surf as a family even once. We all surfed, the kids and I surfed way more than normal, but never as a family. Somehow it was all just too intense while we were down there. Despite all the incredible fun we were having we were still in a form of survival mode - just trying to make it through each day. But since we have been home, and feeling more settled, we have started venturing out on these family surfs at Doheney. These surf sessions are arguably some of the most fun I have had in my entire life! The first round of pics are from a warmer afternoon session and the second round of pics is from an early morning session.

Pool Time with Riley & Pierce

Almost every day that our friends Riley & Pierce go to the beach, their parents take them to the pool after to 'rinse off', and almost every time they invite us. More often than not we do not tag along but when we do it is unbelievably fun!

This is our little friend Gavin being thrown in by his Dad.

Whirlpool!

Merchildren

Our friend and neighbor Megan with her boys Gavin & Jaxon

SO MUCH LOVE