Caroline @ 2 Months

Poor baby girl had her first set of shots today. I am glad that SuSu came with me for emotional support! Caroline cried harder than I've ever seen her. Her stats: 11lb, 2oz; 22 and 3/8 inches tall. She is in the 50th percentile for both. Perfect in every way! She even got compliments from the doctor on her strength in her neck and arms. She is sleeping it off today and getting ready for her first plane ride later this week!

Hot hot hot!

Yesterday, we set records all across the area for super hot high temperatures. SuSu was nice enough to survive the heat at home with baby girl while Justin and I took Jack to see Madagascar 3 for Father's Day. When we got out, this is what we saw:

Holy hotness!

Living without AC, and being super hormonal and having wicked hot flashes, made me one miserable girl. We all sweated and waited until it cooled off last night, and we were blessed with beautiful sunset skies! Jack (our newest resident photographer) took these pictures of the sunset...

We sent Daddy off to China last night, and we were sad to see him go but we know we will see him for a nice vacation in a few weeks! Today, we kept it low-key and took the kiddos to the pool to cool off. Jack, as usual, loved it. He even did better swimming, by wearing his goggles and putting his face underwater to grab things from the bottom of the pool. It was awesome! Caroline also LOVED having her little toes in the water. She kicked and splashed and smiled, and when we took her out, she cried bloody murder. I guess I have another little water baby!!

Trying to get a family shot. Not so much.

Baby girl LOVES the water!!

Playtime!

Showing off the toy he got from the bottom of the pool! (2.5 ft deep!)

Caroline relaxing in the shade.

Jack's Preschool Ceremony

Today, Jack's preschool had a graduation ceremony for the "big kids" moving onto Kindergarten in the fall. Jack's class performed songs for the ceremony, and he was pumped! He was a little bit shy up on stage until he saw me videoing him, and then he was happier. It was adorable and we had a really fun morning watching all the cute little kids!

SuSu and Caroline watching the show.

The little kids on the front row waiting for their turn.
Can you find Jack's little blond head??

Up on stage singing. Jack's in a white shirt, front left side. 

Singing about Jesus!! 

Jack the Photographer

First, here are a few pictures I found on our camera: 

"Sharing" with baby Caroline...

"Mommy, I want to say CHEESE!!"

This morning Jack picked up our camera and somehow figured out how to work it. Once I explained that he could take pictures of whatever he saw in the screen, he was in heaven! He went all around our house snapping shots of things. The captions are narrated by him.

"My Mommy!"

"My bedroom."

"The heater vent."

"Cookie Monster!!"

"My truck. It's battery died."

"My bag!"

"The door."

"Mommy's blanket."

"The baby."

"Mommy and the baby."

"The air conditioner."

"My toy box."

"The baby's carseat! And her binky."

"Baby Caroline in her swing."

He's a great little photographer! I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

P.S. I think his pictures of Caroline are better than mine :)

Weekend adventures

One of the things that has always been a "rule" in our house with Jack is a nightly bath. We started doing this when we first brought him home from the hospital, and I can count on one hand the number of nights he's gone to bed without his bath time. In theory, this helped him relax and get ready for bed as a baby. We decided to implement the same plan for Caroline, although it doesn't really seem to have the same calming effect...

Family bath time. Someone isn't very pleased. 

 All that crying can wear a girl out. I like to think of her as our little contortionist because she loves to sleep in positions like this:

Really?!

 On Saturday, we took advantage of a beautiful day and went to the San Mateo County Fair. We are happy to report that yes, there are rednecks even in California. It made me feel a little less homesick :)

The kids loved the fair. Well, Jack definitely did. Caroline did this first:

Happy here for 5.5 seconds.

And then she did this second:

Much happier little girl. 

Jack loved the rides (the ones he was tall enough to go on, anyway. It seems like "36 inches tall" is his own personal Everest. He just can't seem to get there, no matter how much I think he has grown. Or, more likely, none of the measuring posts anywhere are actually truly 36 inches off the ground and the poor kid gets screwed on a regular basis.)

He did get to go on a few, and had a blast.

Driving the monster trucks.

Happy boy!!

So much fun :)

The caterpillar roller coaster. He absolutely loved it!

Climbing up to the big slide...Jack wasn't too thrilled with this. 

Jack and Daddy on the spinning bears. I am pretty sure Justin wanted to vomit after this ride.

 Caroline and I spent most of our time seeking out shade and enjoying watching SuSu and the boys. I am so, so hot all the time that having her on me is like carrying a little sack of hot coals, but she's too cute for me to complain :)

Seriously, this could be an ad for Baby Bjorn - HA HA HA HA. I'm funny.

A day in the life

Caroline the ballerina. She doesn't look too happy with this getup. 

Jack the "Burger." (i.e. the BURGLAR.) 

Helping SuSu cook mushrooms. Poor kid needs a laundry basket for a stool!

Daddy's garden. He made it much bigger this year!

Side of the house garden. We already have tons of lettuce, peas, and green beans. Yum!

Green peppers? Squash? Not sure. But yummy just the same :)

Our blueberry plant that we thought was going to die is sprouting this year!
The fresh blueberries are delicious.

Trying to get a smile on camera. She's a sneaky one!

Happy little girl :) 

A break for funnies.

Since I'm always passing on funny blogs and articles, here are a few new ones I love.

Honest Toddler.  The name says it all. Hilarious musings written from the perspective of a three year old. I can relate.

Sh*t My Kids Ruined. If you want to feel good about all the things your kids didn't do, or haven't done, to your most valuable and prized possessions, read this blog. Truly hilarious! (And scary. Very scary.)

A Dad's Guide to Feeding a Baby. Super funny article by a trash-talking Dad about feeding his newborn. Tongue-and-cheek and totally true.

Summertime, and the living's easy...

Life with two kids is crazy, especially when one of those is a very active two (almost three) year old. Life with two kids and a helper with you 24/7 is pretty awesome! I am able to sleep when I need to, hand off the baby when I need a break or a shower, and have my favorite home-cooked Mommy meals on the table every night. I have to say - this is pretty amazing and I could really get used to it. Life is going to be pretty rough when SuSu has to go back to her own life...which will never happen. NEVER. Just kidding. Sort of. 

For now, we are all enjoying each other's company. We've had lots of play time (Jack is in seventh heaven because he doesn't have to hear "I can play with you as soon as I finish feeding/changing/rocking/soothing/bathing the baby" right now.) I feel much more relaxed and calm, especially at the end of the day, and Justin and I have gotten to spend some quality time alone together which rarely happens anymore! We are so thankful, especially because he is heading to China again soon. 

Caroline is such a good baby. I know I've said it a million times, but we are so blessed and so lucky. She is a good sleeper, a good eater, and other than a small cold she had last week, very calm and happy. She loves to sit outside at the park or in the backyard while Jack plays, and feel the breeze. We've taken family walks to the park after dinner and she loves to watch the big kids play. She's now on a more predictable schedule, sleeping from 8pm (ish) to 8 or 9am (ish) and eating a few times in between. It's very manageable. She also takes a sizable morning nap and a solid afternoon nap. She's moved to being a tummy sleeper like Jack, which makes her more comfortable and controls her startle reflex.

Jack is starting to calm down (I think.) He still has his moments of being two, but he's sleeping better and being more agreeable in general. We've had a few temper tantrums but nothing too extreme, thank goodness! He is still going to school and loving every day of it. He has a very active imagination and loves to "fight the monsters!!" with sticks and swords. Sometimes his stories get crazy ridiculous, but he's funny and he keeps us entertained. 

Poor Justin is still working like a crazy person but he's loving the time he gets with the kids and looking forward to his vacation in a few weeks!

Here are a few recent pictures. 

Caroline and her SuSu. What a cute blonde (?) pair!

Ready for ballet lessons? Maybe she will be more coordinated than her Mommy...

After bath time. So clean!

So we are trying to organize her closet and drawers. We put half (HALF!) of
her clothes that we washed in her crib while we did it. THIS IS RIDICULOUS! So much pink!

Bundled up and ready for bed!

Smiley picture of the little man.

I love this little face.

Yelling at Mommy.

When she had her cold, she spit up all the time everywhere
because she was so congested. Poor baby girl!

Jack got a scooter as an early birthday present from
Pop Pop and SuSu. He loves it!

Another sleeping picture. I can't resist!

She's trying so hard to smile! 

Another smile attempt. I will get better ones soon, I promise.

SHOES!!! The first pair of a very vast collection.