father's day photo shoot

take 1...

take 2...

take 3...

take 246...

...and after many candy bribes, this was the best we could do.

bottom line: we love our dad.

he rocks.

he is the bombsta.

he is the best hide and seeker.

he is the best rocket launcher in the pool.

he is the best snuggler.

he is the best story teller.

he is the best fort builder.

he is the best at turning a frown upside down.

he is the best dad.

p.s. my dad is pretty much the best too.

i love you, dad.

happy father's day

bathtime

if only we lived in whoville.

(ava lou who and eden lou who.)

a visit to papa's work

open wide... i told my kids that it was time to get their teeth cleaned which meant it was time to go visit their papa at work.

lucky for them, their dentist happens to also be their grandpa.

there are some definite perks to this.

for instance, you get to suck the spit out of your sister's mouth.

you get to play with the latex gloves and pretend you are the dentist.

and you get to push the button to snap the xrays.

ava showing off her freshly polished pearly whites.

my dad going to town on eden's teeth.

she didn't even budge.

after we left, jack said it was weird and he didn't like.

ava said the magic toothpaste tasted like it had sand in it and that it was gross.

eden had no comment.

good news: No cavities!

bad news: jack probably won't lose his first tooth until he's 8 years old.

summer is really here

(ava at her pre-school graduation)

For some reason, it hasn't fully hit me yet that summer is here.

i feel like its just spring break or something and that the kids will be back in school next week.

jack brought home a bag full of stuff that he collected over the school year and it still sits on the counter untouched.

i guess i feel like if i put all his school stuff away than that will mean summer is really here.

it's not that i don't like summer because i do. i love it.

i love the heat. i love swimming. i love the long days. i love schedule free days.

i love it all.

buuuut jack had an amazing kindergarten year and i am really going to miss that.

especially his teacher, mrs. peluso.

i was secretly hoping that she would move to first grade next year so jack could have her again.

now, my only hope is that ava gets her for kindergarten too.

regardless, summer is here and i better embrace it or it will be over before i know it.

and we have lots to do... that is, whenever we get around to it because after all, it is summer.

and summer is the season of laziness.

(jack with his cousin carter at their kindergarten graduation.)

(jack receiving his kindergarten diploma.)

(jack and mrs. peluso)

3 months old

it's hard to believe that this little monkey is already 3 months old...today.

he is growing up so fast.

all of his siblings love and adore him especially ava {a.k.a. his second mom}.

he has the longest eyelashes that curl up just perfectly.

he has the most scrumptious sausage arms.

he laughs and giggles and coos.

he loves his binky, chewing on his fists and could quite possibly be a vampire baby

since it appears that his k9's may pop through before any of his other teeth.

(that would be one awesome halloween picture.)

his dad also frequently calls him jonah-ba-bonah which absolutely has no meaning whatsoever.

jason is notorious for making up the most random nicknames.

it's great.

one more thing about 3 month old jonah,

he is one stellar baby who sleeps 8-9 hours straight at night ;)

i la-la-la loooove this baby.

mexican retreat

rocky point, mexico: the vacation before summer vacation.

i give you our top ten:

(the kids playing in the water as the tide rises to the steps of the cabin)

10. riding on the golf cart over rocks and through the sand and dirt.

9. digging for clams.

(ava washing the sand off her feet in the oldest sink ever)

8. all day dance parties on the patio.

(eden gazing out to sea, planning her next adventure)

(apparently, you are only cool if you're wearing orange)

7. eating thrifty ice cream in the fist market.

(for some reason thrifty ice cream just tastes better in mexico)

6. building sand castles.

5. eden's curly hair from the warm ocean air.

4. high tide.

(jonah showing off his cuteness)

3. eating cereal for lunch.

(jack and ava proving they really do love each other)

2. playing on the rocks.

hence the name, rocky point.

(jack and ava making sand angels)

and last but not least...

1. sparklers on the beach.

we will be back for more.... soon. very soon.

jonah's baby blessing

jonah was blessed on mother's day.

which is so fitting, since that is what mother's day is all about.

being a mother to the children we care for and love to pieces.

through the good and the bad.

so, what better way to celebrate it than blessing my newest little being.

another reason this particular weekend was so special, was that it was the first time in a long time that my entire husband's family was at the same place at the same time.

all of his seven siblings were there with all of their children.

it was pretty amazing to see everyone all together.

i bet his parents were thrilled while watching from up above.

getting prepared for the group picture.

the whole gang. (i could list everyone but that could get lengthy and confusing.)

where's jonah?

jack with the sun shining in his eyes.

eden being carted around on her dad's back.

my little family.

i am so blessed.