The Gendron Family

Christmas

2012-01-12T16:05:00.000-08:00

Isabelle opening stockings

spinning toothbrush

Dr. Pepper lipsmacker

opening the "big" gifts

excitement! Isabelle got U-Draw for the PS3

I think they like their gifts

So happy!

Aunties

So pretty

B&C playing...what they do best

Uncle & Dash

Megan and the girls

kisses

Mr. Smiley

not so happy about getting this..

back to smiling...he's so easy

Our little family. ; )

C&P with the twins

C&P with the gkids

doing "June Ballerina"

Connor & Beau checking out Star Wars

Auntie Deni and Emme

2 of my boys looking so handsome.

Me & Emme

Rosa Maria & Luisa & Dash

Cellene & Emme

Nana & Santa

Beau & Santa...B got to be one of Santa's helpers this year

They are so cute!

Belle & Santa

Chloe got an outfit and she HAS to put it in right then and there.

Uncle & Dash

Dinner

Time to DANCE!

Nana & Dash

Chloe is entertaining everyone

Now Isabelle is helping entertain

Dash & Jake

Christmas day was filled with non-stop fun & family time. We woke up and opened presents & stockings, then we headed over to my parents for breakfast and presents. The kids put together their gifts and couldn't wait to play. We had to play another game of Left, Right, Center (Beau won!) and then finally got ready to head to Fresno.
We started with gifts this year. Chloe would not sit on Santa's lap, but she did give him a fist bump. She said that he was the BAD SANTA. I guess after seeing the one at Disneyland and the one Nana had over a few days before, she wasn't falling this other guy......in her defense, the other two were pretty amazing. They could have been the real thing, for all I know. ; ) We did dinner, the gift card game and dancing. I really love Christmas. It's so busy, but I wouldn't trade it for all the fun memories we are making. We did all sleep (at least) 10 hours that night.

Christmas Eve

2012-01-09T17:27:00.000-08:00

What do you want for Christmas, Beau? Lego sets.

We have more in the garage.

Eat, drink and be merry!

belles

Auntie Steph & the girls

Allie feeding Dash

Adam & mom

crazy girls

jalepenos stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped with bacon and topped with bbq sauce.

sin dip - thank you pinterest

It wouldn't be a family get together if Beau didn't get to wrestle with someone...

Time to eat for Dash

playing, playing, playing

present time - annual pj's

Chloe had to put them on ASAP!

they're on backwards. ; )

We had a great afternoon/evening just hanging out, eating, drinking, talking, eating, playing games and eating. My parents came, my sister, Nicole, Adam, Steph, the girls and Steph's parents. If you couldn't tell, there was a lot of eating going on. We had a gift card exchange and we played Left, Right, Center - everyone's new favorite game. I think the kids could have played all night, but were too afraid Santa wouldn't stop by if they didn't get in bed. We scattered our reindeer food on the lawn, set out cookies and put the kids to bed. Joey put together the Beau's Razor 360 while I finished wrapping gifts and stocking stuffers. At one point every kid, but Dash was up (midnight). They thought it was Santa, I guess. After we got them back into bed, we finished up and went to bed. I'm so glad they let us sleep until 7:30am.

Disneyland

2011-12-11T20:01:00.000-08:00

We tried to take the big kids to Disneyland in September, but it didn't work out. Chloe has never been and she LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the Disney channel and I didn't want her to outgrow that stage before we had a chance to take her. We've never been at Christmas time and I've never seen the parade, so it seemed like there were too many "nevers" and we planned a trip.
We left on Wednesday, but told the kids we were leaving early for our family Christmas party in San Diego. Beau had to go to the bathroom right as we were getting off the freeway to our hotel and the kids asked if we could use the bathrooms at Disneyland. Boy were they surprised when we finally told them! First went to downtown Disney. Thankfully, Nana & Papa showed up to help us out! We swam...and by we...I mean the kids. It was a l i t t l e chilly, but they loved the water slide and spa at our hotel. We stayed at the Grand Californian - it's awesome. The tree in the lobby is amazing. Thursday we woke up early and went straight into Disneyland. We practically ran to Star Tours and Chloe was able to ride...she liked it too. Joey's parents took turns with us riding rides and strolling the twins. Without them it would have been a lot crazier. We saw Santa, Chloe met Minnie Mouse and LOVED toon town. In the late afternoon, Joey & I took the twins and Chloe back to the hotel so they could nap and I could work on cards. He helped me get them down and then met his parents and Isabelle & Beau back at the park. That night, I finally got to see the parade. It truly is magical. If you haven't been at Christmas, I highly recommend it....especially at night. It's so much more beautiful at night. After the parade, we went to California Adventure for a few rides...mainly Soaring over California and the Tower of Terror. I loved "flying" over California. Chloe did too.....this little girl is NOT afraid of heights. Joey tried to take Chloe on Tower of Terror. If I hadn't caught up to him it would not have been pretty. Chloe was not happy about being left out until I showed her the elevator coming out and she heard all the screams. : / Chloe was able to ride a lot of rides...she's a pretty tall 3 year old.
Friday we were "on our own" - Joey's parents left. We went to California Adventure first thing and they rode Buzz, Screamin', ferris wheels, jelly fish and they played and played. We saw the green army men perform from Toy Story and then we went back to Disneyland. We were a little bit of a spectacle with five kids - two of those being babies. : ) We were not the only ones there with twin babies...I saw s few others strolling along with their double travel systems. We got lots of comments. The twins were AMAZING. They were so easy. Chloe had a few meltdowns on Friday.

After we ran out of bottles, we had to get ready to leave and head to San Diego. Dash cried almost the whole way there (and that was the worst part of the whole trip). I got to spend time with my cousins and catch up on each others lives. Once have this family party, I feel like it's officially the Christmas season.

This and That

2011-12-11T16:20:00.000-08:00

Since it's been a while since I've posted....

Hilarity

Great Grandma and her youngest great grandchild. : )

Watching Thriller for the first time....my little monster.

My favorite "Thriller" picture...Chloe is scared and Isabelle's trying to get all the moves right.

on our way to church

Beau

Chloe

Isabelle

Dasher boy!

Where's Beau?

Sweet M

Tree trimming

Isabelle's turn to add the angel

Big girl!

pushing up

tired...

She's so pretty

middle child...center of attention...

My presents. : )

LOVE.

sitting still only lasts a few seconds.

big boy!

Halloween...

2011-12-11T15:57:00.000-08:00

So once again I'm a little behind. Imagine that. Halloween was so fun this year, because we had a houseful of family and friends. We had a really good time this year.

waiting patiently to go out

super Dash!

super Emme

cutest little backside!

My kids and my bff's kids

cousins

follow the leader

ninja princess warrior

ninja boy

little mermaid

brooklyn mermaid

scary

the sorting and eating portion of the evening

the wreckage...

d&e a collage

2011-11-02T17:24:00.000-07:00

Trying to keep up

2011-10-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

I wish I had more time to keep up on this blog, but you know the drill 3 kids & 2 babies doesn't leave me with a lot of spare time. Here's what's new:

The kids are playing soccer again and loving it. Isabelle scored a goal early on, but then seemed to hang back for some reason. All of the sudden she decided to play and she was on fire! She's so fast with her long legs! She is loving 3rd grade and especially excited about science this year. Loves to talk about what she is learning at school, awana & Sunday school. She actually loves to talk about anything to anyone who will listen. She loves one on one time. I love get my alone time in with her, because she is so much fun to be with. Beau is on a soccer team with one of his buds and is loving it. He's upset they went down to one practice a week. He has scored some goals. I can't remember how many, because that's the kind of memory I have these days. He's a good little player I love watching him play. He turned 7 and had a family party at pizza and had a few school kids over for some wild & crazy fun. He has more Lego's that he knows what to do with. Chloe. What to say about her? She's 3 going on 13. I can't believe the sassy-ness sometimes. She's so helpful with the babies. She can't let anyone go anywhere without a hug and a kiss. She will cry and cry if the kids leave without both. If I run out to the store for 10 minutes, she runs and hugs me when I get back. She missed me. I love it. She loves dress up, pet shop & horses. Emme is so pretty with her big bluer than blue eyes and curly eyelashes. She is BIG! She is bigger than Dash. She is more reserved, doesn't smile as often, but when she does it's the sweetest! She coos & talks if you give her your full attention. She watches the kids play, she grabs things and puts them in her mouth, she rolls over, she is the BEST sleeper. She is a good baby! We love her to pieces. Dash is a wiggle worm. He is so busy. He reminds me of Isabelle as a baby. I think it's possible that he's even happier than Isabelle was when she was a baby. He will smile at a white wall. Just give him a smile if you want to see his face light up. He loves to gnaw on anything, his hands, your hands, toys & blankets. He doesn't enjoy sleep as much as his sister, but still sleeps 8 hours on a "bad" night. 10 is pretty average for him, though we do get 12 every now and again. I really can't complain. Joey is happily employed again and even "had" to go on a helicopter ride for work. Life is good. I decided to start playing soccer a few months back and broke my arm (elbow). It was a huge disaster, but the Lord has blessed me with amazing ladies that stepped in to "babysit" me. I had friends over to help hold & feed babies. My arm is pretty much healed now and I am so humbled by the generosity of my friends. It's so much different with 2 babies. I rarely go out with them (and never by myself). Some days I'm trying to keep my head above water and I need so much help. Other days are smooth and easy. I get laundry done and dinner prepared. It's never the same, but I love it. I try to remind myself that these days are precious and will be gone before I know it. It's not always easy to see that in the midst of chaos.

Soccer

We let him open gifts before school.

Family Dinner. He invited one of his neighborhood buds.

My sister & Dash. I'm sure there is a smile on his face even though we can't see it. ; )

Best Cousins.

Isabelle & Megan posing.

I just wanted a picture. I should have known better. They wanted to goof around.

What? A Lego set? Wow! Shocker. : )3

The school "buds"

3 months

2011-09-07T17:23:00.000-07:00

Emme & Dash are 3 months...time has flown by and at the same time crept so slow. They sleep like champs (10-12 hours) and go to bed about the same times as the rest of the kiddos. Dash is always smiling and cooing. He even laughs and yes, it's adorable. He moves around like crazy in his crib, so now they sleep separately. Emme can be a bit of a fusser sometimes, but her smiles totally make up for it. Her little eyes just light up when she smiles. She sucks her thumb, holds her hands (like she's praying) and she sleeps like a rock and doesn't move. She is VERY loud. She can outcry her brother any day. We still have lots of help (THANK YOU LORD!) and we appreciate every second of it. We are now busy with soccer practices, games, AWANA, school & all that other stuff. : )

Dash's smile is so sweet.

I love how she is content to hang out with brother & his arms are around and on her

Sweet M

Chloe helping feed Dash....he took over

Back to School....

2011-09-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

The kids were happy to get back to school and see friends after a long summer with no vacations or water parks. We did manage to swim a lot with friends.

Sweet 3rd grader

Chloe needs to be in on the action

Cute little 2nd grader

Cousin time!

Swimming at Nana & Papa's

Cute swimmer

Another cute swimmer

My girls!

Photo Shoot

2011-08-13T17:16:00.000-07:00

When the twins were 6 days old we had their photos taken. I love how they turned out.

6 weeks

2011-07-18T17:04:00.000-07:00

The babies are 6 weeks old today. It's very bittersweet. I'm sad this is my last time experiencing having babies, but I know we are done. I don't want to be pregnant or give birth again. I'm trying to enjoy it all, but it's happening so fast and I'm so EXHAUSTED! It's so much more work than you can imagine. I can't imagine life without these littles though. We are beyond blessed. Joey started his 2nd week at his new job after being laid off at McMillin in mid April. He was offered the job the day we brought the babies home. What a relief! It's been amazing to see God work in our lives...it's been quite the faith-building journey. We cannot express our thanks enough to our family and friends for all their support. God is good!

Gorgeous girl.

the little littles

<3 them

Dashing Dash!

The Lake

2011-07-18T16:42:00.000-07:00

Joey took the kids to the lake on the 5th for a little fun with Nana & Papa. I'm sure you can tell from the photos they had a great time. Chloe keeps asking to go on the boat.

2011-07-18T16:32:00.000-07:00

Little Miss Patriotic at 4 weeks old

Emme rocking the double chin and couldn't be any cuter.

I love her

Kisses

Mr. Man. He looks like a man to me...it's that "receding" hair line look.

2 peas!

Togetherness

4th of July Family photo. I'm sure our family photos will turn out like this for many years to come

Preparing for the 4th of July block party

The girls helping (more like melting...it was so hot)

The girls swimming

My handsome husband the grill master

Ping Pong

Beau couldn't wait to play

She picked all the black seeds out

doubles

The boys

Chloe made a friend

Future water polo star. Joey will be so happy.

Water balloon fight.

I only lasted outside for about an hour and a half. I was melting. It was my first time outside of the house for pure enjoyment. My parents came over to stay inside with the babies so we could enjoy our party. My sister came over to hang out and then helped me with the babies so Joey and the kids could enjoy the rest of the evening outside. Chloe was ready for bed at 8pm and missed the fireworks. She was pooped. Then everyone went back to do some night swimming and watch a movie outside on the projector. The neighbors did such a great job. The backyard looked amazing with candles and the light from the pool. I'm looking forward to next year already.

June

2011-07-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

Coo-Coo & Dash. First bath at home

Coo-Coo & Emme. First Bath at home.

Soccer Camp

Chloe at Soccer camp watching the kids.

Father's Day. Brooklyn holding Emme. She's very patient when holding babies.

Allie & Dash

Uncle Adam & both babies

Kids table.

Coo-Coo snuggling with Emme

She's so pretty.

A little smile from Dash

Daddy & Belle.

The kids enjoying one of a couple desserts that night.

Papa & the babies

Daddy & all 5 of his kids!!!

New hair cut. She donated to locks of love.

Emme & Dash are here!

2011-06-24T16:31:00.000-07:00

Our world has been turned upside down with the arrival of our twins, Emme Rene & Dash Scott. They are two and a half weeks old. Sweet Emme made her debut first. Dash flipped at the last minute and I had to have a C-section. They are "easy" babies. They only fuss if they are hungry, tired or need a diaper change. Don't get me wrong...it's not easy...two is more work than I thought, but we've been blessed with a lot of helping hands. Joey's parents stayed and did the night shift...talk about a blessing. I felt like a walking zombie and I wasn't even up for night time feedings.
The kids are adjusting well. It's a little crazy, but I love it. They all love the babies and are eager to help. Even Chloe likes to round up bottles and rinse them out in the sink. I could go on and on about how fun and sweet Emme and Dash are, but I'm tired. I feel like I say that a lot lately. I will be posting more as I have time & energy (wishful thinking)!

milestones

2011-06-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

I've missed a lot over the last few months. Mostly because I don't have all the pictures I want to post. At the end of April my girlfriends threw me a baby shower. Every little detail was just perfect. It was such a great night with some awesome friends. I am so blessed!

My mom threw another shower for me the next weekend and that was amazing as well. So many people coming together to celebrate these little blessings....it's so overwhelming! Isabelle was able to come to this one and was so thrilled to be included.

The kids had Open House and their performance at school....it was really cute. The performance started about the time Chloe usually goes to bed so every few minutes all we heard was, "I want to go home." The kids were adorable on stage. I love to see the work they've done in the classroom. We were totally blessed with great teachers again. It's always sad to end a great year, but I'm ready for summer!

Chloe turned 3 a few weeks ago and she got her wish....lots of "pink" presents. I couldn't muster the energy for a "friend" birthday party and I felt bad, but she was happy with 2 family celebrations. Joey's family came down and we were able to celebrate in our fabulous backyard! Another thing she wanted was pizza...she asks for pizza almost everyday, so we told her for her birthday. So my family met at Me & Ed's to celebrate her birthday, Connor & Megan's birthdays. It was Chloe's actual birthday that night so it really seemed like "her" party...at least to her. She unwrapped lots of pink presents from the wrapping paper, boxes, tissue paper and even the gifts. She was so excited! I can't believe my "baby" (not for long) is 3 now. Everyday is an adventure with her!

Oh...and our 11 year anniversary...how could I forget? We celebrated earlier in the month. You know...just in case the babies wanted to debut early. We had our "last" night out. That might be a little dramatic, but our last night out for a long while. : ) It was nice to have some alone time. Uninterrupted conversation and reflection back over these last 11 years. To see how much we've grown and changed and where God has led us. I wake up every morning next to the man I love. Sometimes there's a kid between us though.

panties on backwards....

party time

Papa had to help me out...it was a little windy

pizza & dip - 2 of her favs

a PINK bathing suit

princess cups - best $3.74 I ever spent.

$1 bin slinky...this kid is so easy to please

...and princess band-aids.

We got "her" a blow up pool. All the kiddos are enjoying it now.

a pink scooter from coo-coo & papa

This is the sweetest gift. My nephew Connor saved all his points from being good at school and redeemed them to get Chloe a necklace. It was wrapped in the envelope above with a sweet note. I know Chloe didn't quite understand, but I was so touched. He's such a sweet boy.

She put on the mermaid costume that my sister got her the next morning first thing, then moved on to her swimsuit and went swimming. It wasn't that warm, but she loves her new suit!

My little helper

2011-04-11T19:46:00.000-07:00

Beau helped me make dinner tonight. Mixer = a toy in a little boys mind.

Building

2011-04-11T08:20:00.000-07:00

Legos - possibly the greatest invention ever. My kids could spend hours making a mess. I mean building new creations out of legos.

on my way to Sutton's baby shower

my girls

kisses

I did her hair, but it was out before I got back from the baby shower.

Joey took them to Lowes to the Build and Grow workshop.

The girls watching the show Chloe's Closet.

8 years

2011-04-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

Isabelle is now 8 years old. I blinked and now I'm afraid to blink again...another 8 years and she'll have her license. Yikes! Isabelle's middle name is Joy (my grandma's name - love you gram!) and she truly is a JOY to us. Her smile lights up the whole room. She's got such excitement for life. She loves to read, learn new things and ask tons of questions, which her daddy loves and usually has an answer for her. She loves Taylor Swift and is obsessed with horses. She wants a horse, she draws horses, reads about horses, wears clothes with horses, puts up posters of horses....you get the idea. I love that she still wants to hold my hand in public and hug me at school.
We started the morning with Joey taking her to get donuts and we came home and put candles on it and sang happy birthday to her. She opened up one present from us - a color by numbers horse picture.
For her birthday "party" this year I told her she could invite one friend to spend a girls day in Fresno. We met our out of town friends to do some shopping, lunch & nails in Fresno. She was able to buy herself some toys (horses, of course) and lip gloss. We bought her a bunch of spring clothes from Justice that she got to pick out herself. We had lunch at BJ's with the birthday pizookie. The girls got their toenails painted - complete with fancy little flowers. Isabelle is always asking me to take her to get her nails done, but the answer is always no...it's something we save for special occasions. I wish I would have taken some pictures in Fresno - I'm so terrible at that when I'm having a good time.

weekend fun

2011-03-09T15:03:00.000-08:00

Beau

2011-03-09T09:12:00.000-08:00

Isabelle

2011-03-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

She's so happy that we finally ordered her tire. She wasn't able to ride her bike for a while.

Joey loves the new camera and Isabelle loves posing for the camera.

Fake sleeping.

Attitude

2011-03-09T08:33:00.000-08:00

Party time

2011-03-04T08:33:00.000-08:00

Beau had a great time at the Hockey Game for Parker's birthday. Here's a few pictures Joey snapped that night.

My Sweet Boy!

The birthday boy!

Cousins

Long weekends

2011-03-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

The kids had a couple of long weekends at in February, but that's not what I'm referring to...Joey worked 2 weekends that month. At least they were "fun" things where we could go visit him. The first was the Home Expo and the other was McMillin's Grand Opening of the 292 Neighborhood. It really was a lot of fun. There was face painting, the SPCA was there with dogs, TaeKwan-Do show, dancers, Run4Cover, a car show, popcorn, food and lots of people. My family tried to convince me to adopt a dog both days, but I think having 2 babies will keep me plenty busy in a few months. The dogs were really cute in their defense. On Saturday, Joey's parents, sister and the boys came down. They took Beau back up to Fresno for Parker's birthday party. Beau had a blast playing with his cousins. It was a really busy day...I also signed the kids up for soccer and we picked up our Treasure Box (which is amazing).
On Sunday, I went out to the neighborhood again to see the car show. The kids weren't happy when I told them we had to leave, but my feet ached and I was so tired. Joey was very happy with the Grand Opening and the models are AMAZING!!! It almost makes me want to move. Almost. : )

Isabelle - Reflux update (another one..again)

2011-02-24T15:18:00.000-08:00

Isabelle had a follow-up appointment in Fresno this morning for her acid reflux. It seems silly to drive 90 minutes for a 20 minute appointment, but it was nice to have some alone time with her (thanks to my mom). She chatted my ears off there and back. The doctor said she's doing great, but the medicine doesn't control her symptoms 100% of the time. She wants to do another endoscopy this summer. I don't know if she saw my eyes widen, but I told her the twins are due early summer and we would be very busy. We'll have an appointment in late August and then schedule the procedure sometime within the month of the appointment. Now that she's been through it once, I don't feel as nervous. Isabelle did great - no problems with the going under, no nausea afterwards and she wasn't even tired or needing a nap.
I'm glad we have 6 months before her next appt. That's a relief with all we have going on right now.

It's not a Valentines Day gift

2011-02-14T11:47:00.000-08:00

Joey worked all weekend at the Home Expo. He came home and told me that he wanted me & the kids to come check it out one of the days. Tiffany's Day Spa had a booth right across from him, the Sleep Number bed had a booth around the corner and we had free tickets to get in. Thankfully, my parents went with me on Sunday to help me with the kiddos. I was glad they came....we had a lot of fun and it was a huge help. I didn't really think I needed the help, but I totally needed it! How will I ever manage with five kids?

While I was checking out the sleep number bed, my husband was buying me a gift card for Tiffany's Day Spa. It was supposed to be a surprise, but I was too quick and caught him in the act. Whoops! When he got home he set it on my nightstand. He told me that it wasn't a Valentines Day gift...it was a just because I love you gift - which is way better. : ) I told him good thing, because my Vday gift to him cost a dollar. I'm not kidding. I got him a box of Hot Tamales and a note that said "I'm still HOT for you!" That's right..I'm cheezey and a frugal. We really don't exchanged gifts on Valentines Day. We think it's silly. We just had Christmas and my birthday is less than a month away. We always go out on a date around Valentines Day....I look forward to date nights more than any gift! I'm trying to figure out what we should do this month. Maybe something a little different than our usual. Any ideas?

We always make a special dinner & dessert and celebrate as a family the night of Valentines Day. The kids love helping set the table, get dinner ready and prepare dessert. We like to get the kids something...candy or a book or something small like that. Tonight's dinner is an easy one - a heart shaped Me & Ed's Pizza. We heart Me & Ed's! They are snacking on the candy we got them right now...See's Candy for the girls and Hot Tamales for Beau. He doesn't love Chocolate like us girls.
You'll have to forgive my blurry pictures...I lost my camera, but that's a whole other story.

It's getting more real

2011-02-01T16:27:00.000-08:00

I was so nervous for our sonogram today...not because I cared what the babies genders would be, but because we hadn't seen them since I was 7 1/2 weeks along. They are both healthy & growing at the same rate! There's a sense of relief you feel when you hear that as you are watching the tech measure and take pictures. Baby A is a girl! She is head down and wouldn't face us. We only got a profile from her, but we did get to see her moving around putting her hands to her face. Baby B is a boy! He is sideways with his head near my ribs. The Dr. says that could change in the coming months though. They both seem to like my right side....which is funny, because I only felt flutters on my right side a few weeks ago. I'm now feeling baby girl on my left. The sonogram tech says it's probably her hands & arms that I'm feeling. It was sort of confusing with the two babies in there....I had to have her show me on my belly so I could make sense of it all. Seeing them move their heads, mouths, arms and legs was so fun! We are so grateful to God for this double blessing! I couldn't be happier!

Lots of people asked if we had a preference of boys/girls/both for the babies. I didn't care either way....I am praying for healthy babies. I am very happy that Beau will have a brother though.
We have our names picked out.....we had 2 boy names and 1 girl name picked out. Having 2 girls would have been tough. We have such a hard time picking out girl names. We even have the middle names picked out! Yay! We are not telling anyone the names...we want something to remain a surprise!

One week

2011-01-25T13:09:00.000-08:00

One week can fly by sometimes and other times drag. Last week dragged, because we had a little stomach bug that made it's way through our family. It was not fun. This week hopefully goes by much quicker, because we have our sonogram next week. We get to find out if these two babies are boys, girls or one of each. I really have no preference. My prayer is that they are both healthy. That's all I want. I did have a dream last week that they are two girls. Joey had a dream a while ago that they are two boys. I'm so curious. One more week!

Words

2011-01-19T12:29:00.000-08:00

Isabelle was my talker early on and loved to talk, talk, talk. Beau didn't use phrases or sentences until he was 3 and Chloe is somewhere in between. There's just something so cute about they way little ones talk. Chloe is such a cute little talker! Here are some of my favorite words/phrases:

milky
sippy
dipey (diaper)
showy (shower)
appy juice (all juice is apple juice - even jamba juice)
your welkin (your welcome)
I luh you
where ma binky go?
you love choey? (chloe)
princey (princess)
Bookin (Brooklyn - her cousin)
You not get out (when she tries to trap you in a room)
I hungy or Ima hummy (I'm hungry)
daddy (or papa) at wuk (work)
bess you (after you sneeze or cough)
you got unawear on?

The list could go on and on and on. She is talking a lot more...I just wish I could understand it all.

Snow day

2011-01-10T08:25:00.000-08:00

Joey took the Belle & Beau to the Snow on Saturday. I decided to stay home with Chloe since I didn't have any snow pants that fit...I actually did find a pair that could have worked, but they didn't have an elastic waist and I would have been uncomfortable the whole time. Not to mention my morning sickness decided to visit again. Windy roads didn't sound very fun. I'm glad they were able to spend some time in the snow before school started back today.

Christmas time!

2010-12-26T11:34:00.000-08:00

December was filled with family, parties, food & fun. As Christmas approached, I started having more good days than bad days. I'm so tired of morning sickness. It's really a drag. We started off December with our annual Guerrero Family Christmas. The little cousins played, the big cousins, aunts and uncles ate and caught up with each other. It's always so much fun.

our family

here's most of the little cousins (missing Allie, Brook & Sarah)

The Guys (my dad, brothers, cousins & uncles) all went to a Charger game together. They had a blast. On the way down Joey bought a "new" car. We decided it was time to sell the Saturn and get another car that is safe and can seat 7. It gets better gas mileage than my Yukon XL. Now the kids just need to name it...my car is Rocket, the Saturn is Shark, my mom's car is Dolphin. : )

First day of Christmas Vacation!

Christmas Eve Dinner at our house...my mom prepared everything and then we hosted. It made it so much more simple. The kids exchanged gifts with Allie & Brooklyn since we wouldn't see them Christmas Day. They also opened their PJ's from my parents.

presents!

Apparently "Dwayne Wayne" glasses are popular again (remember those? Adam & I had a pair, but they had a wire rim). My 13 old niece wanted some for Christmas. Hilarious!

Christmas morning. Started with Reading from Luke chapter 2, stockings and gifts. The kids each got a pair of shoes, an outfit, socks underwear and a toy. Beau got Legos, Chloe got a beauty supply kit - fake blow dryer, flat iron, apron that holds the brush, clips & make-up. The girls gave me a make-over this morning. Isabelle got a guitar! We also got a PS3. I've been wanting a Wii for a long time now. Nana & Papa have one and we all love to play. Joey said no Wii...he wanted the PS3 since it's Blu-Ray and it can stream Netflix (not that we have Netflix). We did get the Move, so it's like the Wii. Beau and I did archery this morning together. It was fun. Then we played the Gladiator one with sword fighting and Beau kicked my booty. I love that it's something we can all play together....and the kids love it.

stockings!

Beau reading Chloe's book to her

She's totally meant for a guitar! She can't wait to get lessons from our neighbor.

Beau's gift to us

It just wouldn't be Christmas without Legos.

Isabelle got a wardrobe, doll & a bunch of clothes and accessories for her dolls. I think she needs an American Girl doll. She seems to take care of her fake ones (Our Generation Dolls from Target). The hair is just sooo terrible. It gets tangled so fast. I'm wondering if the AG ones are better? Maybe for her birthday or next Christmas. She loved her gift from my parents though...so perfect and it's really cute in her room.

Chloe napped while we played. It was a much needed nap and we were able to stay in Fresno til late without any tantrums!

Kids table. Nana set it up with tons of candy and activities for the kiddos. It was perfect.

Pretty girl!

eating some candy before dinner

in the playroom

the girls

I know that Santa is at the front door, but she doesn't...

that face....not happy!

Presents!

Waving from afar to Santa.

Getting her pillow pet from Santa.

Everyone has to sit on Santa's lap to get their gift. You are never too old.

Yes, we even torture the little ones...afraid or not, you have to sit on his lap at least once.

I'm a terrible mom..laughing at my baby girl's fear!

BeauBeau

Isabelle got the unicorn, Chloe got the "horse" zebra and Beau got the T-rex. They were so happy!

Approaching Santa for another gift...she decided it was worth it.

mommy's turn! Baby A and Baby B even got their first gifts...Nana had blankets made. They are too cute.

Family shot!

Time to dance! My girls LOVED it! The boys laughed us.

And then they started wrestling instead of dancing. : )

It was a great day. We are truly blessed beyond measure!

Awards

2010-11-30T20:35:00.000-08:00

Both the kids got an Award at school for Character & Attendance this month. We were so proud and found out their assemblies were not at the same time. We were there for an hour and a half. Chloe did pretty well sitting and being quiet for most of that time.

So beautiful!

Posing for the camera. I missed getting to see her afterwards, because Chloe had to go potty and Isabelle didn't want to miss recess. At least I got to see her get her award!

She's so happy!

Hiding behind his award...

I love this boy!

Even Coo-Coo came to watch the kiddos!

Decking the Halls

2010-11-30T20:21:00.000-08:00

The Christmas decor is out and the tree is trimmed. Now if we just had a fireplace to hang out stockings on....

Three cuties

It was Isabelle's turn to put the Angel on top

She's getting so big!

Mountains

2010-11-30T20:13:00.000-08:00

Joey recently took the big kids to the mountains to see General Sherman. I opted out of the trip thinking pregnant & sick + windy roads = bad combination.

Thankful

2010-11-30T12:39:00.000-08:00

There's so much to be thankful for in my life! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family this year. I took a 4 hour nap before we went to my parents for dinner and let me tell you...it was so nice! I didn't take a single picture this year. I brought the camera, but it never made it out of my purse. The kids had a good time playing horse shoes, running around outside and eating.

As we sat down to dinner we all had to say what we are thankful for...when it got to Chloe I asked her what she was thankful for and she shrugged her shoulders, threw her hands up in the air and said, "I don't know!" We all laughed and she probably had no idea what we were talking about. I could have gone on and on, but mostly I am thankful for Joey, because he is such a wonderful husband and is taking on a lot more of my household duties since I feel so terrible. And my family, the fact that we had such a large table with family to share Thanksgiving with this year.

Late at home when the kids went to bed I told them individually how thankful I am to be there mom and that I am thankful for them all year round. Beau asked me why I didn't say that at dinner in front of everyone. I told him that I said I was thankful for my family. He asked me if I could say it in front of everyone next year. It's so cute how much a small amount of praise means so much to kids. I am so thankful for the kids God has given to us and the two growing inside me! I hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Now let the Christmas Festivities begin! : )

x2

2010-11-16T14:12:00.000-08:00

If you've talked to me then you know we are still in shock, but very excited about our news...we never thought we'd have twins! We went into our ultrasound thinking we were going to see the baby's heart beat....not the babies heartbeats. Plural. Plural. Seriously, it's still sinking in. I am truly excited, but nervous. It's going to get even crazier around here. I can only imagine, but I don't think my imagination is really preparing me for what lies ahead. : ) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! That is what will get me through, I believe God's plans for me are better than my own plans.

Isabelle and Beau are very excited. Beau said, "Yes!!! I knew it! I knew we were having twins!" Thanks for telling me, buddy! Isabelle was happy and saying she wants girls and then she realized there was going to be 5 kids in the family and started laughing like crazy! That's pretty much how Joey & and I reacted, too. We laughed hysterically (and I cried a little, too). Now we are just praying for healthy, happy babies. : )

Halloween

2010-11-03T12:25:00.000-07:00

A horse, a cowgirl and a clone trooper is what the kids wanted to be this year for Halloween. Okay, so Chloe didn't ask to be a horse, but I thought it would be cute since Isabelle did want to be a cowgirl. Warning: Don't call Beau a storm trooper. He will correct you. He was a clone trooper. Isabelle's "costume" wasn't very costume-y this year. I was just too tired to go get more accessories. I do love it, because she can wear everything again. She loves her boots!

Yee-haw!

The back of Chloe's costume.

The cowgirl and her horse.

Chloe wasn't loving the costume.

She can't decide if she's happy or sad.

rummaging through Coo-Coo & Papa's Halloween candy.

Surprise

2010-11-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

We had Chloe wear her new shirt to the kids soccer games last week. Our parents came to watch the kids play, so we thought it was the perfect opportunity to share our news!

The front says, "I have a secret" if you can't read it that well. Chloe is going to be a big sister! We are very excited! Chloe just so happened to slam her finger in the door right when we got to the fields and wouldn't stop crying. She kept showing everyone her finger so it took a few minutes to get to the shirt. It was a very fun way to tell everyone about my pregnancy.

Hair

2010-11-03T09:40:00.001-07:00

Chloe's hair gets brushed and styled most mornings...she just doesn't keep it in. : )

Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

Every year we take the kids to the pumpkin patch at least once. Chloe & I went for MOPS and for the life of me I couldn't get her to smile. She didn't like the hay, but she enjoyed picking out a pumpkin. She tried to carry it to the car, but "it's hebby" and she ended letting me take it.

All smiles at home before we leave

Hayride

more interested in the other kids than the camera

Corn! She loved playing in there.

Think she's tired of taking pictures?

She didn't like sitting on the hay.

All in all it was a fun morning. We got to go to Avila Farms last Saturday as a family and it was very fun (and muddy). The kids did the maze, picked out pumpkins and saw all the animals. I didn't get any pictures..just a few on my phone.

Oh Wow Nickel Arcade

2010-11-03T08:07:00.000-07:00

Beau's party was a lot of fun...the Oh Wow Nickel Arcade was a great idea and super affordable. Beau invited a few kids from school, a few neighbors and a few other friends. Some of those boys could really go through a lot of nickels in a short amount of time. I brought snacks and drinks, but they mostly wanted play. We stopped for a few short minutes to sing happy birthday and eat some Cold Stone ice cream cake. Beau got lots of his favorites...Legos and Star Wars and a few other goodies.

I can't believe I didn't get more pictures, but I didn't want to spend the whole party snapping photos. I even got to play a little bit. I'm just happy Beau had a great party.

Lip gloss

2010-10-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

This should really go with my little Sneaker post from a few weeks ago. I was chatting on the phone with my mom. Chloe snuck off to my bathroom, quiet as could be, and got into my lip gloss. I'm just happy she didn't get it everywhere. : )

Kiss please?

2010-10-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

Say WHAT???

2010-10-06T13:46:00.000-07:00

The Gendron's went tent camping. I'll say that again. The Gendron's went tent camping. We camped in a tent. Can you believe it? We hadn't used our tent in 6 years. Isabelle was a baby and it was quite the experience. We were invited to a birthday camp out for a family friend and we (debated bringing our trailer) thought it would be a fun experience to let our kids see what tent camping is like for the night.

We really had a blast. The kids played so hard they didn't even care that they had to sleep on the ground. The kids played at the "park" which is just a swing set,but set in the middle of 5 acres it looks like a park, they swam, went in the spa, played games, saw the animals, watched a movie outside, ate and ate and ate...

The weather was hot and muggy. It even rained. The kids swam and played in the rain all afternoon. It POURED at 5 am while we were supposed to be sleeping. Joey and I woke up and were just so happy that our tent kept us dry. The kids woke up, ate, swam and played. It was so much fun! I know my kids will look back on it for years to come!

The girls new bathing suits I got on clearance for next summer. Isabelle has been asking for a tankini.

Not really wanting to take the time for mom to take her photo. She really wanted to swim.

Isabelle and Beau swimming in the rain. I'm so glad I washed, blow dried, and straightened my hair that morning. It was so worth it. Can you hear my sarcasm?

Here's Chloe swinging at the "park" as she called it. Notice the rainbow? It was amazing you could see the whole thing!

Sitting on the swing with mom.

Sitting on the swing with daddy and being silly!

Make a Wish!

2010-10-06T13:42:00.001-07:00

When you wish upon a Dib.....

Beau's not a huge fan of cake, but he LOVES Dibs. So that's what he got for his birthday treat.

Birthday Boy

2010-10-06T13:31:00.001-07:00

Beau is 6! He celebrated with 2 family parties, dinner to Red Robin and lots of ice cream. We had to reschedule his friend party, because he was not feeling well Thursday afternoon. He threw up and had a fever. I thought it he was better 24 hours later and we were out and about all weekend. When Sunday afternoon rolled around his fever was back and he was feeling terrible. After a quick trip to the pediatrician Monday morning we found out he had strep.

Here's our family dinner at Red Robin:

Seriously handsome.

He was shocked when the servers came out singing Happy Birthday to him! It was a fun surprise for him. He even shared his treat with the girls.

Typical...trying to get the kids to look at the camera.

After dinner we took Beau to Toys R Us to pick out a toy for his birthday. We thought we'd try something fun and different this year. We usually pick out his gift for him....Can anyone guess what he picked out????

Listen

2010-09-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

Isabelle gets very distracted, so I wasn't surprised to see her shutters open one night after I had asked her twice to close them up. She told me that she was listening, but just didn't hear me. Hmmm. Okay. She must have inherited that trait from her daddy.

This picture has no relevance to this post. My mom just can't stand it when I post something without a photo of the kids. This is for you, Mom:

Tall

2010-09-19T08:42:00.000-07:00

She's tall.

Isabelle is turning into quite an aggressive (and fast) little soccer player. I think she may be more of a defender. She had an awesome save this last game. So proud!

Sneaker

2010-09-19T08:40:00.000-07:00

Where's Chloe? After a short search, we found her in my bathroom. Playing with my mascara.

TV

2010-09-16T16:37:00.000-07:00

Chloe has now figured out how to turn on the TV & stereo without the remote. Great. I found her watching TV like this:

So, of course, I had to get the face shot:

Silly faces

2010-09-16T16:36:00.001-07:00

A Brownie in the house

2010-09-14T13:41:00.000-07:00

Isabelle is our social butterfly. She likes to be out and about. She wants to try all sorts of things and Girl Scouts/Brownies is one of them. My friend has sent her girls for years and after much pleading from Belle, we let her try it out. She was ecstatic! She came home and could not stop talking about the meeting and all the cool things they will get to do this year. And I mean she talked about it from dinner to the bike ride, during shower/bath time, reading time and every time I passed her room to put Chloe back in bed. : ) I'm pretty sure she liked it.

I was worried about adding another thing to our already busy schedule, but Brownies will be so great for her in so many ways. She will learn new ways to serve the community and she gets to see some of her friends that she doesn't see on a regular basis. I am happy I didn't let the fear of being too busy hold me back from Brownies! She has a few other things on her list that she really wants to try after soccer season: tennis lessons, horseback riding, gymnastics and dance. I can't keep up with her, but I love that she wants to be so active. She really has a lot of energy to burn.

Super Saturday

2010-09-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

I really wish I would take the time to blog more. My kids do and say the funniest things...I need to go straight to the computer and write it down. Chloe's had an interesting time of potty training. She had a horrible day at our first MOPS meeting and then later at home that day was just as bad. I wanted to just give up, but she woke up the next day and it clicked! She's been (mostly) accident free since then, but the accidents she's had....eww....not good!

She does try to make it to the bathroom! Bless her! She was at my parents yesterday, because of our soccer schedule they took her home to nap. She fell asleep in her panties and woke up a few minutes later and had to go...she pooped and made a mess, but my parents said she did make it to the bathroom. She tried to wipe, but made a mess. Her nap was about 20 minutes so she fell back asleep at 3:15 we took her home put her to bed and when we tried to wake her up at 5 to go out to dinner, but she couldn't stay awake. I put her down on the couch and she fell back asleep. We let her sleep for another hour and then woke her up to eat pizza. The downside is that she was up until 10. She just hung out with us while we watched a movie. She was our little sidekick. : )

So much for going out to dinner...

Sweet "baby" except she's not a baby anymore.

I love soccer! I especially love watching my kids play soccer. Isabelle towers over most of the girls out there. She's almost scored 2 goals yesterday! It was so exciting to see her get more into the game. She's that girl that was looking at flowers on the field, worried that she couldn't play against her friends on the opposite team and that she would hurt someone. It's great to watch really play this year!

Beau, on the other hand, is and animal. I had to talk with him about being too aggressive. He's a bit pushy out there. He has no problem running full speed ahead. He's quite hilarious to watch.

Isabelle played at 11am, Beau at 11:45 and then Isabelle at 2pm. We got lucky with our games times (except that they fell during nap time). Isabelle was NOT happy about playing twice. I think that they should have had the under 8's start their first game when the under 6's did 2 weeks ago. By the 4th quarter of her 2nd game they were pooped! It was a madhouse at the sports park. I am happy that next week we go back to just one game for Isabelle. I look forward to a million trips to gross bathrooms with a toddler. : (

Yesterday was long and a BIG thank you to my parents who tried to help us out by keeping Beau and Chloe and then having a huge mess to clean up!

Isabelle and Beau relaxing Sunday morning...I was hoping they would have slept past 6:30!

Ohhhh Bama.

2010-09-12T07:44:00.000-07:00

One night we were sitting at dinner talking about Nana & Papa's travels. They just so happen to be in DC at that time so Joey asked the kids who lives there. They both shouted, "the President." Then Joey asked them his name. All quiet. Thinking. I leaned over to Chloe and say, "Chloe can you say Obama?" Then she replied, "Ohhhhh Mama!" We all start laughing and I tell her again, "Obama!" Then she say's "Ohhhh Sissy!" Next was "Ohhhh Bubba!"

It was pretty funny. Needless to say Joey didn't to finish his quiz with the kids, but we had a great dinner that night. : )

Even though Nana & Papa are on vacation they still get to be part of dinner! : ) We are happy they are coming home soon!

soccer

2010-09-03T08:52:00.000-07:00

Beau had his first game. Isabelle was the photographer. The camera ran out of batteries during the warm up. She did manage to get a few good shots. He loves it (yay) and we love watching him. Another plus it that Beau has a friend on the team! Jen & I played together and now our boys do...it's so much fun!

warming up

warming up / goofing around

sweetness

2010-08-27T07:03:00.000-07:00

Chloe is officially in a big girl bed. The transition has been very smooth - no tears. Next is potty training and getting rid of the bink. Last night she kept getting out of bed. She came out to the living room and Joey told her to go get back in bed and that he loved her. Off she went and in the hallway turns around and says, "You love me, Mom?" Oh Chloe! I do love you!

pants off dance off

2010-08-27T06:58:00.000-07:00

Chloe thinks she's going to the pants off dance off! What to do with this girl? She's so funny & cute! I'm not officially potty training, but she's ready. She spends most of the afternoon in big girl panties and it's back and forth to the restroom. I came out to find her completely naked eating her snack. She's all about the food. It's just one of those times you have to take a photo.

Back to school....

2010-08-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

The first 2 days back were a success. A huge milestone for Beau....no tears. None! I wasn't sure how this transition would go, but he loves it. He also likes sharing a recess with his sister. I am really looking forward to this year and all it will bring.

Chloe had her backpack and was ready to go to school too. The second day she kept getting out the extra lunch pail we have in the pantry. She wanted me to pack her a lunch just like the big kids. I'm get to spend some alone time with her this year....I hope I can keep up with her! : )

Happy to be a first grader, see friends and eat lunch at school

She got to pick out where she wanted to sit....2nd grade is so cool!

Chloe & Daddy.

Mother & Daughter

2010-08-16T09:31:00.001-07:00

Beau took this photo of us....I did a little editing in photoshop....I heart photoshop!

Cramming it all in...

2010-08-16T08:31:00.001-07:00

Well our summer is just about over. One last play-date and birthday party before the kids start back to school. We really like to cram a lot into the end of summer....it seems to happen every year.

We've spend lots of time with Cousins this summer. Sarah & Kayla came over in the evening and we had a water balloon "fight." The water balloons were popped almost as fast as they were filled up. Even Chloe had a great time. Kayla ended up spending the night. Sarah decided to spend spend time with Connor.

Isabelle, Beau, Chloe & Kayla

I had to get some invitations to Fresno and to save myself the trip up there - I dropped them off to Shaun in Kingsburg. The kids were thrilled to see Uncle Shaun....or maybe it was the fire engines! : ) I think it was Chloe's first time where she could actually sit and check out the inside. She loved it. They all do. We couldn't stay long this time, but I'm sure we'll be back soon.

Chloe's in the front & Isabelle's in the back

Mr. Beau

Driving

Joey took 2 days off to spend some fun time with the kids. We had gotten 4 Wild Water Adventure tickets from the baseball game and Chloe was free...so we packed up some food and headed out for some Fun!!! The kids played and played. I finally "forced" Chloe to nap around 4pm by taking her for a walk in the stroller. She was so very tired. Then the next day we went to Pine Flat...I had never been. I'd only been to Millerton. We went with Suzanne, Shaun & the boys. It took us a while to get the boat hooked up....a few minor problems....so we got a very late start and didn't get a lot of time on the boat.

Here's Joey "surfing"

I guess Chloe got tired of watching. : )

I don't get tired of watching though.

He's sexy.

the "baby" and mommy soaking up the sun

My kids...and Carter...peek-a-boo!

Isabelle. Faster. Faster. Hmmm....why does this make me nervous?

Beau - "Fire it up!" Yeah, this made me even more nervous.

Making our way back....Sleepy girl.

We made our way home just in time to get to Beau's Soccer. My friend, Jen, and I are going to be the c0-team mom. I don't really think it's that difficult of a job, but it's nice to know that we have help if we need it. : ) The coach told us the job was to make (buy) the banner, snack/drink list, oh, and make the game line-up. Hmmmm...that sorta sounds like the coach's job! I started laughing and said I think that falls under the duties of the coach - not team mom! Yikes! Anyway, I am thrilled that we have friends on our team! It's going to be a fun season!

Saturday Joey had his alumni game. It sounded fun, but the kids weren't to0 happy about sitting in the heat watching their dad play water polo. It was really hot and lunch time. I didn't prepare well enough. We drank all the water right way, munched on the ice and the kids weren't happy. I think it was 1 too many days in the sun. Like the title says...we like to cram it all in. Three days in a row in Fresno in the heat with hungry, tired, sweaty kids. Isabelle and Beau could have made it through, but Chloe was melting down...which makes mommy want to melt down. I took the kids to McDonald's in the 2nd half, because it was too much for them. We came back to pick up Joey and headed home. Or towards home. We went to go check out some trailers and motor homes. It's free....unless you purchase one. We are not trading ours in, but we like to look! I think the kids found Nana & Papa a new motor home. : )

Here's some pictures of the kids while we were watching daddy warm up:

Chloe trying to stay cool

little boy blue (eyes)

Beautiful! How did she get so big?

I let the kids go a little crazy with the camera....it occupied them for a while.

I will say that I love to watch Joey play water polo. He's still got it. : )

Wild Water Adventure

2010-08-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

Today we took the kids to Wild Water in Fresno. It was a blast. Super fun. So much fun that I don't have a single picture. I was too busy playing, watching Chloe swim, eating, relaxing.....

I love the Island, but I do like the kiddie area better at WW. Way more for Chloe to do and there was no huge bucket of water crashing down. Joey said the water slides were too slow and there weren't enough rafts for the amount of people (and we didn't want to pay to rent one). Overall a great day....I love it when Joey takes time off work to hang out with us!

Beau fell asleep on the way home and put himself to bed. That's how tired he was tonight. If only it were that easy every night....

some things just don't change

2010-08-03T10:14:00.001-07:00

Getting that perfect photo isn't easy.

December 2008

July 2009 - a little better. Isabelle's hands aren't on Beau's face, but Beau still has the need to be touching Chloe's ear.

July 2010 - Chloe's given up. She's exhausted and the kids are trying to make her smile.

random summer fun

2010-08-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

a lazy summer morning that I'm not ready to give up just yet!

hide n seek

kisses

swimming

Star Wars Jedi

oh, thank heaven for 7-11! It's our summer time treat and much cheaper than tiki snow!

Isabelle took this picture. Beau has huge eyes...

Chloe just had to have her photo taken. I love her hands on Joey's face.

Newport...Isabelle just had to ride the carousel. She loves horses.

Hello Kitty shirts

All smiles all the time

playing with the water dispenser again....all wet and not so happy about it

OMG. Seriously....she kills me.

Daddy shooting the girls with Nerf darts. They love it.

Stick together my girls, stick together. Daddy has no mercy!

Still being shot and and loving it, can you tell?

Troublex2

Too many late nights and long days.

Do you like her bangs?

Memories in the making

2010-08-03T08:50:00.001-07:00

Chloe & Brooklyn got to spend lots of time together last week. It's so cute to see them play together....and they do it so well. Brooklyn likes to be in charge and Chloe's pretty good about it most of the time. They took turns being pushed around in the baby stroller. I hear, "it's my turn" a lot. Sometimes they say it and I have no idea why..like at lunch they just say it over and over to each other. I'm good with it....as long as they eat lunch in the process. I just love to listen to them interact at this age.

My favorite was when Brooklyn took Chloe's fake baby camera and took a picture of Chloe and then told her it was a good one. : ) They play kitchen, babies, doggies...I know they will look back at the fun childhood memories. I'm so glad my kids get to grow up with cousins in town. We didn't have that growing up and it made me sad.

How cute are they in their matching outfits?

Chloe loves her cousin "Bookin"

Friends

2010-08-03T08:34:00.001-07:00

We recently babysat for our friends. Our kids are the same age and they play so well together! It was so easy and fun! I wish they lived in Visalia still.

Faith & Chloe

The boys - Beau & Trey

The girls - Haven & Isabelle

If I had our external hard drive plugged in I could post pictures of the big kids playing together when they were about Chloe and Faith's age.

Remembering

2010-08-03T07:08:00.000-07:00

I wish I could write more consistently on the blog. I start to forget those cute and funny things the kids say and do....

This summer is flying by and I'm not prepared to give up our lazy mornings at home! I'm going to try and catch up the best I can.

Beau is a little mini-Joey. People say he looks like me, but he's all Joey. He builds things, he's obsessed with cars, trucks, jeeps, boats and most vehicles that move. He's very particular about his things. My favorite is that he's a Mr. Fix-it. If one of the girls breaks a toy, Beau can fix it (most of the time). This pictures cracks me up,because he wanted his Star Wars gun to have a light, but it didn't. He solved the problem:

He just used some tape. My kids think tape can solve all their problems. It solved Beau's problem this day. Every gun needs a flashlight attached! I like his creativity. I don't like it when he tells Chloe, "surrender or die". Not so much. But Chloe usually takes the "bullet", falls to the floor and plays dead. Beau also likes to have light saber duals with the girls. He better watch out...they are getting quite good. Beau's very gentle with Chloe for the most part. He loves to refer to himself as Bubba. Bring it to Bubba, Chloe. Bubba will fix it for you, Chloe. It's very sweet.

It's hard to believe this little boy of mine is going to be in first grade. I'm a little nervous for him! He also will be playing soccer this year (YAY)! I'm really excited about that for obvious reasons! : )

My handsome little guy. When he gets dressed nice he comes in and asks me how he looks. He wants me to answer like dad by saying, "looking sharp,buddy". I guess I should say here's my boy looking sharp!

Earlier this summer we spend the day swimming and celebrating birthdays with Jen, Carla and the kids. They love swimming at Carla's house because of the diving board. This was a fun day...I wish we could do it more often.

Isabelle has gone through another growth spurt. A few of her dresses all of the sudden are too short. Yikes! We took a trip to the orthodontist this summer and found out she will need headgear. She will need it for 18 months so so and she has to wear it 14 hours a day! Drat! Beau needs to stop the thumb sucking and will more than likely have to get something installed on the roof of his mouth when his 6 year molars come in. He was a late teether so I think he'll have another 6 months to a year. Back to Isabelle. She is thrilled that she got the teacher she wanted for 2nd grade. I'm thrilled as well. I think it will be a good year. Isabelle is telling Beau all about 1st grade. Everything from teachers, recess, lunch, math....she takes her role as big sister very seriously. I love it!

She has informed me that she is going to save her money so she can own a horse ranch. Beau says he is going to help build her ranch. Isabelle said she will provide all the equipment for Beau to build it. I seriously love her. She cracks me up. She's very, very, very into horses. I told her she will need to find a husband that shares her love of horses. Then she asked me if she had to get married before she gets her horses. She also wants to be a horse jockey. Hmmm....I think she maybe just the right size. She asked if I would come watch her race one day. If she's ever a horse jockey....I will be there! : ) Isabelle took a self portrait.

sometimes the kids play with the camera and when I load the pictures on the computer I find sweet things like this from my Belle:

I also find things that crack me up:

My girl. She's beautiful. Inside and out.

Chloe is just a bundle of energy. She's oh, so happy. She has a little skip in her step. She's so cute. I say it all the time. She's so cute. She's seriously so cute. See? I can't help myself. I like to say she's killing me with her cuteness. She loves to read (finally). She used to just look at the pictures and if you tried to read to her she would turn the page. Right now she's really into Brown Bear, Head to Toe and Good Night Moon. Good Night Moon used to be Belle's favorite. The book itself has seen better days, but I love it all tattered up...lots of memories reading it!

Chloe is talking so much all of the sudden!

I'm hungy

What doing?

Wanna him (swim)? Yeah? Yeah? (just like that...adorable).

Toast, Beau? (offering Beau toast)

Where's __________?

I don't know

Gimme it (not a big fan of this one)

Thank you

My turn

Let me have it (not liking this one either)

I want it

Where is it? (when looking for the remote)

I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of them right now. Chloe's keeping me busy all the time still - trying to change her own diaper, changing her outfit 5x a day, pushing the bar stools around trying to get things out of the fridge, drinking milk right out of the carton, and playing with the water dispenser on the fridge...

She's a busy girl, but such a good girl. She doesn't need much more than a talking to to set her straight. She might try to throw a fit, but it doesn't last more than a few seconds if you tell her, "We don't throw fits, Chloe. Do you understand?" I get a simple "Yes, mom" from her and it's over. I'm so glad she's not as stubborn as her brother. Every once and a while she decides to go all the way with the fit, as most 2 year old do. Those are the days I want to pull my hair out.

I finally cut Chloe some bangs, because her hair is crazy and was always in her eyes. She looks even more adorable than before. How is that even possible?

Getting into the fridge again:

Just being cute in her swim suit:

Being "nah-eee" (naughty).

wearing my sunglasses (thanks, Peter!), Beau's backpack & Belle's shoes

I love this crazy girl!

rrrrooooaaaarrrrr!

2010-07-12T07:27:00.000-07:00

The other night at dinner Chloe was eating (actually shoving food in her mouth) and she coughed a little like she was going to choke.

Me: "Chloe, please eat slower, okay?"

Chloe: "Yeah"

Me: "It scares me when you choke"

Chloe: "RRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!"

The funniest thing about that is that I have had that same conversations with Isabelle at this age and she did the exact same thing! De ja vu! We all had a good laugh.

I love this face.

EGD biopsy results

2010-07-12T07:12:00.000-07:00

The Dr. called with the results the other night as I was making dinner for the munchkins. There is no damage from the acid reflux to her esophagus, but she found some cells that indicate she has another problem....I can't even pronounce it, but basically she has something that (is supposed) to cause chest pain and trouble swallowing. They usually treat it with steroids, but since Isabelle doesn't ever complain of any of those symptoms we are not going to treat it at this time. We just need to go in for our regular follow up appt. in 3 months. I asked the Dr. if this is just something random she was born with or is it genetic. The Dr. said it can be genetic. Which brings me to Chloe and her choking. I asked if she could have the same thing Isabelle has (trouble swallowing). She loves to eat, but she's not a great eater in the sense that she needs her food cut up very small still. Dr. Davis seems to think it could be related, but I will have to take her into see her pediatrician to get a referral. Isabelle choked as a baby too. But on random things like stickers and toys....rarely on food. My girls...they are so much a like in more ways than I thought.

surviving motherhood

2010-07-08T08:16:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel like you may not survive motherhood? I do and often. My kids are little pieces of my heart walking around. I love them so much it hurts. Especially last week...we went swimming last Friday afternoon at my friend's house. This is a JH/HS friend. We played soccer together, went to dances together, sleepovers.....lots of fun memories! It was mostly a fun afternoon. We swam, we got chased by bees and Chloe choked on string cheese. She was trying to cough it up for a brief second so I let her try. She couldn't get it up on her own and and thankfully, Jennifer, grabbed her and started whacking her back and giving her the Heimlich. Chloe's lips were blue. I was trying to not panic. Chloe coughed up a little bit of the cheese, but must have sucked it back down again. Her lips turned blue again. Jen started whacking her back again. I started freaking out. I got on the phone with 911, but Chloe was crying by the time the dispatcher answered. After a few questions and instructions from her I hung up. Chloe ran over to me, cried for about 10 seconds and was ready to eat again. We were still shaking. In the midst of all this the rest of the kids ran out to see what was going on. After a phone call to my Dr.'s office where a nurse read me information off a pamphlet I called my friend Travis who is a PA. He came by to check Chloe out and he said she was fine. My kids love Travis. Travis is funny, we had Trig together in HS and he asked me to prom my sophomore year. Now we joke that Chloe & his son Jack will be prom dates! I am so blessed to have amazing friends.

This all happened in a less than 1 minute, but it was one of the worst minutes of my life. It's not the first time she's choked and I've had to call 911. The first time she was about 8 months and she choked on an apple. My heart hurts. God says he will never give us anything we can't handle.

Esophagogastroduodenoscopy

2010-06-28T19:14:00.000-07:00

Isabelle had her endoscopy. That's much easier to say that the title of my post. I actually just say EGD. It saves a lot of time.

We've been trying to schedule this for about a year now and she would always get sick or have terrible allergies. She had to be healthy for 6 weeks prior to the procedure. That seemed impossible this winter. I finally gave up in March and said I'll wait for the summer.

Long story short, we woke up 4:45, showered and left by 5:30 (we stayed in Fresno) to get there by 6 am. We checked in, weighed in, went over her health history and finally at about 8am they took her back and we went to the waiting room. Joey went downstairs to Starbucks to get us coffee. We barely had time to drink our coffee before the Dr. came out with the update. She was fine. The pictures looked great. There is no damage to her esophagus or stomach. The pictures are amazing. It's pretty weird to have a picture of Isabelle's esophagus, stomach & small intestine. The nurse who was with her and brought her to the "Popsicle room" (recovery) said she woke up with a huge smile. She was so happy to have a Popsicle for breakfast. She was amazing. No complaining....and she didn't get to eat or drink the whole morning. Before the nurse discharged Isabelle she gave us lots of instructions and told us that she may take couple of naps. We could barely get her to sit down when we got home. She was hungry and stayed awake all day. We forced her to go to bed at 7:15 and even then she tried to convince us that she wasn't tired. I knew better...she was exhausted and fell right to sleep. She was treated to pudding, 7up, ice cream, 2 new chapter books & some miniature toy horses. I never ceased to be amazed by this girl. She's happy and brave when most kids would be frightened. Love my girl.

waiting for the doctors.

Fathers Day

2010-06-24T08:28:00.000-07:00

We spent Father's Day at the Island Water Park. I was so happy that it wasn't crazy busy. I've been during the week before and it's was too crowed. We went with my brother Josh, his friend and his girls. It was a lot of fun! We got there at the opening (10am) and stayed until about 5pm. It was chilly more than half the day. Chloe snacked all morning until it warmed up a little and then we couldn't keep her out of the water. Chloe didn't like everyone leaving her in the kiddie play area. She kept trying to follow the big kids to the big water slides. It's a good thing we brought a lot of food. The girls (and Beau) played with her in the kiddie area. I went down a water slide once with Joey & the kids. I would much rather stay and watch Chloe. We all went in the Lazy River and that was a lot of fun. Cold, but fun. Joey took the kids in the Wave Pool (they all were wearing life vests). Isabelle and Beau came back in and then went back out without telling us. They were trying to get back to Joey. Isabelle left Beau to swim to Joey and he was floating all alone in the crazy waves. I was totally freaked. Josh put on a life jacket to go get Beau and Kayla who had gotten separated from Joey. There were kids on rafts so close to Beau...I couldn't stand it. I was so relieved when Josh got to Beau. He said he was stuck and couldn't move and he was happy to see Uncle Josh. He didn't panic (like I was about to). I said no more wave pool. Even with life vests...it was too much for me. Chloe finally fell asleep on me about 4:45 for a short nap. We cleaned up to leave for dinner with Joey's sister & her boys and Uncle Michael. We went to the habit, of course. The kids had so much fun playing with Jake and Noah that Auntie Denise let Isabelle & Beau spend the night with them. Even though they were so tired we let them...how could we not? Chloe wasn't too happy about being left behind...I wish I would have been able to get a picture of her in the back seat with her arms crossed and her crabby face. It was cute. We went to home goods to pick up our new entryway table. I love it. I really love it.

It was a really fun Father's Day. I wish that everyone would have been able to come, but maybe next year!

The Dads....Josh & Joey

Isabelle and then Kayla coming down the slide. I really should have cropped out the lifeguards bottom. Oh well.

The girls: Isabelle, Kayla & Sarah.

My little man in his camo hat that Coo-Coo bough for him. He said his new name is Army Beau.

Sarah & Belle in the kiddie area

Co-Co hanging out by the food & drinks. Just like her mother.

My new entryway table. I love, love, love it!

Too cool

2010-06-23T14:15:00.000-07:00

Nothing says summer like a day at the Island Water Park, a cute little girl wearing her big brother's life jacket and one over sized pair of toddler glasses from Old Navy! She is the cutest baby I have ever seen (other than Isabelle & Beau).

Dad's Rock!

2010-06-10T09:06:00.000-07:00

I knew Joey would be a good dad when I married him. It's wasn't because he was a baby person (he's not) or because he has to do everything as close to perfect as possible. He just fell in love, plain and simple. He amazes me everyday. He's patient, he's willing to play legos and dollhouse, he's always up for a trip to the park, he's fixed tons of broken toys, wiped their tears and change a lot of stinky diapers! I love that Chloe prefers to have Joey put her to bed and tuck her in just so. I love that Beau can build amazing Lego creations all by himself, but still wants Joey to help him. I love that Isabelle is constantly asking Joey how things work. And he loves its, too!

I am blessed beyond measure! I love the photo Isabelle took of us even though she had part of her finger blocking the lens. : )

First and Last

2010-06-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

Yippeee! Schools out!!! It was a great year for the kids. Great teachers, great activities like the Carnival, Science night, Green Eggs and Ham breakfast, Water Play Day (to name just a few) for the kids. We are blessed to be at our school. It was a crazy year a bit of a crazy year though...

8:15 drop off Belle

11:30 drop off Beau

2:08 pick up Belle

3:02 pick up Beau

Joey started taking Isabelle for me in the mornings most days and that was a huge relief for me. The schedule wasn't so bad. Chloe played with Beau in the morning, napped when we got home, and us girls ran errands for an hour before we picked up Beau. There were days I had to wake Chloe up, but for the most part she was up and used to the schedule. My wonderful friend, Nicole, would take Belle home with her for me sometimes. That was a huge help to me! My mom and Joey would pick up the kids sometimes too, but for the most part it was me (much to the kids disappointment).

Last year Joey took Isabelle to her last day of school and he took a picture....I never though to do that...only on the first day of school. I thought to myself last year...I must remember to do that so we can compare the pictures. I remembered! Here they are:

I'm so excited for the kids to be on the same schedule next year!