And the summer days draw to a close…

Growing up, I remember getting excited that summer was coming. The days in San Gabriel were getting longer, the Santa Ana winds meant the hot days felt hotter, and the heat of afternoon recess made me drowsy. Didn’t help that school didn’t have A/C. Which usually wasn’t a problem until those last couple weeks before the year ended. I remember looking forward to days in the pool, pretending to be the little mermaid with my cousins, and then laying on the sidewalk to dry off, which never took that long. I remember going to Lacey Park, playing with My Little Ponies, and going to Hotel Del Coronado. I remember waking up to the delicious smell of the sprinklers creating steam on the sidewalk and watching Under the Umbrella Tree (did anyone else watch that show??) with Cocoa Puffs in the mornings. I loved reading as many books as I could every day, keeping a tally, and then when the new school year started we did something for the amount of books we read… too bad I don’t remember what? Anyway. I loved summers. Most days. The only disadvantage to going to private school meant that your friends didn’t really live nearby. And the cousins couldn’t always come over. Summers were full of lazy days and seemingly endless possibilities. And then by the time September drew near, I was so excited to buy new school supplies and meet my teacher. (Yes, I am a self-proclaimed dork. I love buying new notebooks, pencils, pencil boxes, stickies, pens, etc…)

Now, I can’t believe the summer is already over! I guess that’s what responsibility does. I hope my kids will enjoy their summers as much as I did. This year, well, Cana was born in June, so it was a busy one, but I think it was still a fun one for Vaden Elliot. He started walking, talking, and eating “cookies” (his new favorite word for anything that looks good. Especially animal crackers.)  He loved going to the pool, the park, playing with his auntie, tios and tias, he loves his new room (since we moved in May), and he got to make some new friends.

He got his first haircut of many already.

One of my high school buddies –Daniel, his wife, Ashley, and their son, Jacob were in town from AZ, and we not only enjoyed dinner together, but our boys (10 days apart or so) sure did play!

Right before I sold this car, the gang joined Vaden for some loving.

Vaden liked the sand…not entirely thrilled with the water. I think his most fave thing was running away from it!

And then he melted down.

A big thank you to the Byrds who cared for the babies while we shot Emily & Andy’s Wedding!

We love the new Joyner Park!

Happy Birthday Vaden!

I can’t believe it’s already been a year since Vaden Elliot was born! I found it ironic this morning, on the one year anniversary of giving birth, I was pulling into Rex Hospital parking lot to get my glucose test for Baby #2. I never would have guessed that would be the case! Especially on that morning after 24 27 hours of unmedicated labor! It was so worth it though. I can’t –we can’t — imagine life without Vaden. He is so much fun. Today we took a walk to A La Mode– an ice cream and gelato shop here in town and Vaden had his first taste of ice cream! I wish I had a camera for the ridiculous face he made at its cold temperature, but he soon acclimated and I couldn’t get it in his mouth fast enough!

Last Sunday we celebrated his birthday at Pump it Up here in Wake Forest, which is an inflatable playground. It was perfect since last weekend it was cold and oh-so-rainy. Vaden actually seemed to enjoy himself! And so did all his friends! We are so lucky that so many people love him enough to come from all over to celebrate his birthday! Thank you for coming! His cousins Keeley and Addison came from nearly an hour away, the Glens came even though they are packing up and moving next week (We will miss you guys!), and Aslan stuck it out even though he wasn’t feeling too well. Vaden is one lucky boy to have such great friends already.

In lieu of gifts, we asked that those who still wanted to buy something to consider making a donation in Vaden’s name to World Vision. They have a great giving program with specialized gifts like soccer balls for inner city kids, chickens to feed a family in South America, or a well fund for a well in Africa. We are so glad to participate in this program.

So anyway, here are some pictures from his party!

Allie is a slide-aholic. She was so brave!

Vaden even went down the slide a few times. He kinda liked it, kinda got nervous.

Now this girl is a daredevil. Watch out for Gareth!

Keren decided she liked staying in the middle of this obstacle course. She didn’t feel it was necessary to climb the wall and get out.

Baby Addison!

This was hilarious. We could not get all the kids in one picture to save our lives. So here’s two to prove it.

Vaden and his ducky cake! He got a stuffed duck from the hospital on the day he was born, after a minor surgery, and he loves that duck with all his heart. So, we decided to do a “ducky” theme.

You don’t have to teach my kid to eat cake.

Oh January, where are you going?

Phew. It’s been a real tough couple of weeks, but I survived the Hebrew class…and the spring semester is now under way. (So basically homework-o-rama for me.)
I promised some photos on the last few weeks… and there are so many more than these, but this is what I have at the moment.
Here’s Grandma Betty aka “Nana” with her two great grandchildren, Allison and Vaden. Two more on the way!

And Vaden likes to grab Allison’s head.

Here’s adorable Allison. We got to see her for the first time in December and she and her mommy and daddy came for a few weeks to spend. She is so precious.

And then the other day we got SNOW! It was a perfect amount- Vaden thought it was funny. We thought he looked funny. Teletubby?

a little Bat-man.

So yesterday morning I decided to stop into Old Navy and see if they happened to have any costumes. I lucked out and got the last boy costume for $4.99! That’s just about what I wanted to spend, too!

So we decked out our Vaden in his first costume and headed over to Mimi’s where her boys were dressed up and ready to go to Open Door’s Party on the Block! We tagged along for a little while before V got too sleepy. I loved loved loved seeing all the littles in their adorable costumes. Especially the babies! Little turtles, giraffes, lobsters and bananas make me smile. And of course, bumble bees!!

Anyway, here’s my little bat! Even though it can kinda look like a rabid rabbit, it’s a bat costume people. And it was this or a pink poodle.

Scaredy bat…

waiting in line for the moonbounce!

Braylon the bumble bee!

his brother the turtle!

The Glen princesses!

Ava & Gabriella: The Princesses of the Garden

Ava & Gabriella are not only super cool sisters…they’re princesses. And I got to go to their castle and secret garden. It’s in this garden, in a very special place, that they keep their secret gems disguised as rocks. As I watched them flutter through line of rosebush after rosebush, I was reminded how l used to be a fairy princess. And I even collected secret treasures that looked like ordinary rocks. The funny thing is, I kept my most treasured ones even when my family moved across the country. My mom found my “box o’ rocks” and had a fit that I packed them! But all girly girls see more than just a rock. It’s a secret, powerful treasure.

Anyway, Ava and Gabriella are so sweet. They cherish each other. You can tell they have a lot of fun together. Thanks so much for playing with me!

Here are a few of my favorites, the link to the slideshow will be at the bottom of this post.

For a slideshow of all the images, click HERE.

Anna & Dawson

The other day, we met Anna & Dawson for some bubble fun and ring-around-the-rosy. Anna, full of personality, very quickly informed me that she and Dawson were both kids, but that she is older than him. “I am 4 and he just turned two.” Anna kept me giggling the whole time with phrases that belied her four years.

I thought it oh-so-fitting that Anna had fairy wings to match her social butterfly persona. She fluttered all over the yard and gleefully helped Dawson pop the bubbles. Dawson was such a cutie. I love his “cheese” face. So here are a few favorites from the shoot. Click HERE for a slideshow of the rest!

And here’s a quick one of the whole family on their golf cart- a favorite family activity of theirs is riding it!