A lesson in sharing...Raumi seems to be loosing her battle to be the Alpha dog in our house.

I have been working really hard on lifting my head lately. My mom and I are in a battle about tummy time. I would much rather be sitting up-right inspecting the world around me but she just babbles on about building my muscles, blah, blah, blah.

See how happy I am when you let me sit up!

This is the stool that has robbed us of all of our peace and sanity in our house. Austin drags this thing everywhere with him and if he is too short to see what he wants to see he just plops it down right there (even if your toes are sharing the same space as the stool) and viola he is two feet taller.

We put the "Labor" in Labor Day

Packing up two kids, two corgi's and one husband to go out of town is laborious before you even get out of the driveway. We went to Bass Lake this weekend with our friends the Strickland's. Austin loved the attention he got from the girls and they even took turns dragging the dogs around on leashes.This is Kaylynn, Austin's "stalker" she loves her some Austin. He always has to remind her about personal space. Don't let him fool you though, he can't get enough of the attention she gives him. I don't think he did a single thing for himself while she was there. If she could have spoon fed him she would.

Kylie, Kaylinn and Krista.

Here is our other little star. She is kicking the smiles out regularly now. She is definitely a late afternoon kinda girl. She gets to cooing and smiling and it just melts our hearts. She is such a sweet little baby if I could guarantee that I would be able to have more like her I would have 10 more. Okay, so maybe that was a lie...I think I will just get another corgi instead.The next American Idol...need I say more? This kid just exudes personality, I have a feeling we will be spending some time in the Principal's office with this one!

What would a trip to Bass Lake be with out Otter Pops?

We have a documented smile!!

Believe me when I tell you how difficult it is to get this girl to smile and have her eyes open at the same time. I am in no way complaining, just happy to have finally documented the most precious little smile in the world (the world of girls that is).
This is almost a giggle.
Austin and his fleet of firetrucks.

They call me the Fireman

So we went to a great birthday party this weekend and they had some great water slides, served my favorite foods i.e. chicken nuggets, grapes, oreos and cheetos but the best part was when the Fire Truck showed up. I was a little apprehensive as you can see in this first picture but I warmed up once they brought out the water hose.
I was trying to squirt Morgan in this picture

It was a great day and it got even better when they turned the lights and sirens on. Austin said, "look Mom, it's like my fire truck engine." I think Mom and Dad are going to have some pretty big shoes to fill on Austin's 3rd birthday. Maybe they will get the SWAT Team out :-)

How to get a 2 year old to sit still

Okay, listen carefully because I really think I am on to something. For those of you who are experimenting with toddlers I have learned the trick to get them to stand still for that just perfect photo. All you have to do is pretend like you are taking pictures of their siblings and they will pose like you wan them to and even smile here and there.

Baseball, Diego & Free Ice Cream!

You heard me correctly, Austin and I were invited by his Aunt Pat to go see the local AAA team play ball. It just happened to also be Go Diego Go and Free Ice Cream night. Those promoters really know how to get a kids attention. Austin was awesome and he really enjoyed himself, he even stayed up 3 hours past curfew and didn't make us pay for that indiscretion.
Do those look like the eyes of a little boy who stayed up past his bed time?Learning how to do the wave.
Pat & Granny taking over Me & Austin

STAY-cation

Okay, so gas prices are brutal but even more damaging to the potential for relaxing during a vacation is a newborn and a 2 year old. This past weekend Adrian and I really wanted to go to the coast but we couldn't sucker anyone into taking care of our "Angels" for the night so we took those lemons and made lemonade.
This is our new pool. We decided not to hassle with the in-ground pool. You know, too much maintenance :-) I told Adrian that next summer we are going to have to splurge and get the $12 pool because both kids won't fit into the $8 version. Austin enjoying a little granola snack.And of course, Ms. Morgan came out to catch some rays.

Another 1 year old hits the streets

Austin's cousin, Paiton, turned one this weekend. What is the best part about that? BIRTHDAY CAKE!!! That is all we heard Saturday as we prepared Austin for the party. Well, birthday cake and prizes (presents).

A-Ross hits the tee

This is the best $2.00 I have spent at Target in a long time. A-Ross loves this little tee ball set. He has been working on his throwing arm for a while but since Mom and Dad put a cabash to throwing in the house he only gets to practice outside. Keeping his eye on the ball...uh, shouldn't the ball be moving and not the tee and the boy?
Just look at that stance.

1 month and counting

My Grandma J calls me sleeping beauty because she can't believe how well I sleep at night. My mother on the other hand is waiting for the streak to end. I have been sleeping 7-8 hours a night for the past week, I just like keeping my mom on her toes because I am willing to bet she still gets up every few hours just to check on me. I don't know how she does that all night, I would be tired if I didn't get a full nights sleep. My milestone for this month is that I am finally in my big girl crib. I am enjoying the fruits of my parents labor by sleeping in my overdecorated, toy infested room. It's kind of nice having my own place because Dad's snoring was really getting to me

Brawley-Bound...Again

Well, as usual we made our annual summer journey to the Imperial Valley. After 979 miles we have decided that Morgan is definitely a keeper! That girl is a TRAVELER!! Unlike her older sibling, who my own mother was convinced was a "baby traveling" anomoly, Morgan slept, woke up, ate and slept again until we reached our destination. Austin loathed his car seat for about 6 months and in turn we loathed traveling.

Morgan with her, Tio Uncle and Pappa J. Pappa J and Patrick don't get too jazzed about the newborn phase so we had to snap this photo QUICKLY
Austin is working on getting used to the pool again. He has had a little PTSD since our failed attempt at swim lessons. It was soooo cool, with each day you could see A-Ross getting more and more comfortable in the water. We discovered that Shor-Tee on the other hand was right at home in the pool.

Short Dawg also liked Papa J's sprinklers. I am telling you people are really missing out on the little town of Brawley, there is entertainment for EVERYONE!!

Grandma J gave us a few afternoons off so we could go on a few "dates". It was kind of nice to sit across from Adrian and not worry about what my son is throwing, refusing to eat, or hollering at. NO MORE WINE for this little girl!! Seriously, one night we were trying to keep Morgan awake and no matter what I did this was the position we would find her in. Needless to say I won and she stayed awake when she was supposed to and slept when she was supposed to.

RJ's wife, Dawn, came down to see the ever-expanding Garcia clan and she was a natural with Austin in the pool. It was amazing how quickly he took to her and actually trusted her. Prior to her arrival we had a hard time getting him off the top step of the pool.