Fun Day In

The kids and I had so much fun playing today after I got home from work. These two really love playing and interacting with each other. If one is sleeping, the other wants to wake them up to play :)

I gave them a bath together and there were so many squeals and lots of laughter.

After a while I finally thought to get my camera and snap a few shots.

I absolutely love this pic of my boyfriend Cade and I :)  He came over and hugged me just as tight as his little arms would let him.

 

Ha!  This one makes me laugh!  Berks put Cade's fireman boot on all by herself :)

My two L.O.V.E.S. right after their bath.  I love how Cade is posing with Berks as if they are prom dates:)  This one might have to come out for laughs in years to come :)

 

And then they actually DID start dancing :)  Ironic, no?

Up and down the hall they danced....

Berkie is really able to keep up with Cade lately.  This is good and bad.  She gets crazy ideas that she never would've thought up on her own at this age.  For example: climbing on the couch running full speed from one end to the other....

.... or climbing on our bed and jumping up and down then falling on her bottom.  These kids have been all kinds of crazy today.  And while I love to see them loving the company of the other, their dangerous acrobatics have definitely kept me on my toes lately!

It was so cute.  The other day Berkley accidentally knocked something over and a little boy said, "she's a bad girl."  Cade jumped in fast and sternly said, "SHE"S NOT A BAD GURL!!  BERKIE'S A GOOD GURL!  SHE IS NOT A BAD GURL!"

I think I am still beaming and so proud that he stuck up so fiercely for his baby sister :)  Makes my heart smile.  Now let's hope he stays that way! :)

One of the Best Days...

I don't know if it was because I took the challenge and impressed myself by taking both kids to Disneyland by myself, or if it was spending time alone with my 2 favorite little people, but yesterday was one of my favorite days. 

The kids and I had a B.L.A.S.T!

We have never gone to DLand alone.  Either Brad is with us or we meet friends  - which means we have an extra pair of hands to deal with the kiddos.

Yesterday, I decided to give it a shot and take them all by my lonesome.  I figured if one (or both) had meltdowns and it turned out to be disastrous, we would just pack up, come home (with screaming children), and I would end up frustrated, exhausted, and needing a glass of wine (ha!).  My motto has always been: if you don't try, you'll never know.

So, off we went.

The day could not have gone ANY better!

Upon walking to our 1st ride, we ran into Tami, Sofia (Cade & Berks' cousin) & Mickey.  We rode 2 rides with them.  (Sofia had just had lunch with the princesses!  She looked so cute in her Cinderella dress and crown.)

Cade was so darn happy to see her.

Wow! We got 1 picture with all 3 monkeys!

After those 2 rides, we said our goodbyes and the kids and I kept on trucking.  Here is the key to the story - the place was dead.  We walked on all but 1 ride.  That made is super easy.  No crying because we want to go on the ride NOW.  And also, the kids (mostly Cade) could walk because there were no crowds.

I loved being able to give C & B ALL of my attention.  Since we were not with any friends, it was just me and my babies:)  Cade was a rockstar and waited patiently for the 1 ride that was a 30 min wait.  He stood by my side as I held Berks.  Sure, there were times when I had 1 toddler on each hip, but I loved it!

We hit 6 rides in 2 hours.  Score.

Cade and I woke this morning still talking about our fun day yesterday.

I think this might have to be a weekly date with my favorite little girl and my favorite little big boy :) 
(Cade corrects me every time I call him my baby.  "No Mommy!  I'm a big boy!"  So, I will compromise and call him a little big boy)

Ahhh, these 2 have stolen my heart :))

Brother/Sister Love

I know these are blurry, but I just love seeing these 2 play together. They really do love each other and miss the other if he/she is napping. Melts my heart :)

Berkley tries to copy everything Cade does which includes running full steam on the couch and jumping into the pillows!

Our neighbors (and friends) moved a few months ago.  We used to hang out all the time, so were were (are) bummed that they moved away. 

They came back to visit this weekend and we took the below pix of the kiddos :)

Sofie, Berkley & Cade:

Golfing Partner in Crime

Brad was very excited to take Cade with him to play golf.  We didn't tell Cade until just before they were going to leave.  Boy, was he excited!!  He was so happy to be a big boy and tag along with daddy!  He ran straight over and grabbed his clubs :) 

Brad said they had an absolute blast!  We are definitely having fun with the kiddos as they get a tad older and we can take them to do more.  Good times for sure!

Run Mama Run!

I have a slight obsession with running :)  I just tallied it up and I ran 2,246.13 miles in 2012!!  Not bad, eh? I love that it gets me out of the house, wakes me up, gives me some "me" time, and lets me think.  I end up having so much more energy for the day too which is always a bonus especially when I have 2 toddlers to chase around.  :)

The pic below was taken right after the Disney Half Marathon on Sept. 2, 2012.  It was so much fun to dress up as Minnie!

So much fun that I decided to do it again!  This morning I ran the Disney Tinkerbell Half Marathon.... dressed as.... you guessed it... Tinkerbell!  This race was primarily women - only about 10% men I would guess.



Monster Truck Races!!

Our little man Cade has a slight car/truck/motorcycle obsession:)   It doesn't matter how many he has, he always wants ("needs") more.  Oh, and they MUST be lined up!

He got a monster truck (we can them "stomper" trucks b/c we don't say the "m" word) for Christmas and has been hooked ever since. We TiVo'd a few monster truck events and he watches them over and over again.

 

So..... when we saw that the trucks were coming to the Anaheim stadium, we knew what we had to do - buy tickets ASAP.  We asked my mom to come spend the night and stay home with Berkley. 

 

It was so much fun doting on Cade.  It was really neat to be able to focus on him and him alone.  (We will need to do something special with just Berkie too.)

This was right before we left.  Oh!  It was in the 30s!!  We bundled up and brought a blanket so it wasn't too bad.

 

 

After loading Cade in the car.  He is saying, "Stomper trucks are #1!"

Poor guy fell asleep on the way there - it didn't start until 7pm.  He is trying to wake up and rally :)

 

L.O.V.E. this picture!!!!!!! 

We sat in the nosebleed section so that the noise wouldn't be quite so bad, however, we couldn't wait to show Cade the action, so we stopped on the bottom level for a bit to show him the trucks.  He LOVED it!

These next 2 pictures were taken back in the parking garage, I couldn't get it to go back in the correct order - whoops!

 

 

 

We made it to our seats! 

They had some motorcycles too which made Cade happy :) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every event needs a touch of drama, right!?  Well, we get back to the car and Cade asks for his "night night" (his blanket that he is attached to).  As far as Brad and I knew we never took it out of the backpack during the races.  (We usually don't let it out of the car - it stays at home or in the car - but we put it in the backpack in case he got super sleepy during the races since he was up so late.)

 

So he asks for it and I reach in the backpack to get it.  Well.... it is not there!  Gasp!  Insert my heart racing as I go into panic mode. 

 

Brad: "Oh well.  He needs to get over it at some point anyway.  I guess now is the time."

Me:  "Are you kidding me!?  That blanket is his sense of security!  We HAVE to trace our steps and find it!"

 

So I begged the parking attendant to let me back in.

Then I begged the stadium to let me back in.

I sprinted back to our seats. - no cigar.

I feel like the worst mom ever.

I am scared to death to see Cade's reaction when he learns it's never coming back.

I'm dreading trying to put him to bed that night without his "night night",

I just back in the car and try to drive through the parking lot, guessing our route.  Unfortunately, we zig zagged through it.  We never saw it so we were exiting and I was trying to accept the fact that it's gone... when all of a sudden Brad says, "something is on the ground over there".  I turn and drive as fast as I could and as we get closer it starts to look like it!  It was like slow motion as I could not believe my eyes.  I was screaming and jumping up and down.  I'm sure people thought I was nuts. 

 

I was one happy Mama!!!  And so was our Boy!

He crashed pretty quick once we got home.... with his beloved "night night" in his arms:) 

We had an AWESOME night!  It is so neat to see the kids' interests and then be able to take them to one of those events.  To watch his face light up melted me.  He is such a good, sweet little boy and I am smitten.  Cade, I will take you to these things as much as money allows!  It was worth every last penny and then some!

 

Mom, thanks so much for staying with Berkley so we could do this with Cade!  xoxo



Disneyland

I took the kiddos to Disneyland the other day to meet some friends. We were there almost 2 hours before the others arrived and I must say I impressed myself that I got 2 toddlers on rides by myself.

I guess Cade doesn't care for good ole' Pluto... haha! 

 

Nap time for Lil Miss Berkie :)  We strolled over to the park in Toontown so she could continue to sleep and Cade could run around.  He is so easy lately.  I love that I don't have to hover anymore as he climbs, slides, etc.  He can handle it all by himself.  Yay!!  It is getting easier for this Mama!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Berkley will be doing these activities soon!  She wants to do everything her big bro does!