Hello Again

Well isn't this embarrassing -- it's been nearly 7 weeks since my last blog post and SO much has happened since then! Mother's Day, Jonathan's Birthday, Memorial Weekend, Lexi's visit, Father's Day & even potty training just to name a few! YIKES...I have officially decided my mid-year "resolution" is going to be posting more on my blog so I don't fall so far behind!

So I think the best word to describe the last 7 weeks would definitely be eventful! Where do I even start?!

Mother's Day

We had such a beautiful day on Mother's Day! We started the day off with church at Saddleback <3 and then brunch with the fam! So much fun playing with the girls and celebrating with them! After naptime, we headed up to the Erickson's to swim and hang out!

PS. Someone please remind me to take more photos with my girlies on the one day they celebrate me being their mommy :) I only got 1 pic only because we stopped at the photo booth at church.

Jonathan's Bday

We had a mellow bday celebration with the hubs this year. We sang and had cake down at the beach with the kiddos and then went out to eat with the Erickson clan.

Note to self: take more pics of your hubby's birthday...we only got 1 from his celebration...wife fail ;)

Memorial Weekend

We had such a fun memorial weekend this year! We headed down to Carlsbad to spend time with our family and hang out. Since Lex came down a few days before, it was a full house of kids! We had an amazing time and the girls did amazing on the beach. Little Savannah is obsessed with the water and wanted to have her feet in the whole time! And all the kids loved playing in the sand, building sand castles, digging "caves" and just playing together!

Team Pink!

A normal pic for us...at least 1 of the girls isn't looking :)

Beach Fun!

Showing off my new beach cover up from Bali! 

Thanks Parks! xo

Don't think I can ever get tired of this view! 

Lexi's & Fam Visit

We did so much while Lexi was in town - it's crazy how quick the 10 days went while she was here!

They went to the aquarium -- so much fun! Jayden's still talking about it!

We hung out and played!

 

Went on a lunch date with Papa Frank...which somehow turned into a mini splash pad party for the kids :)

And back to the beach we go!!

BFFs forever <3

Potty Training

That's right! We finally decided to start potty training Savannah & Sophia! What a job that was! Luckily they picked up on it quickly and their accidents on day 3 were few and far between!

Getting their potties ready on day 1!

Taking their dollies out of their "diapers" and practicing on the potty!

I can't get enough of these girlies! <3 <3 <3

First time they made it on the potty by themselves! 

So incredibly proud of you S&S -- what quick learners you are! 

Love you to the moon & back x infinity!

Father's Day 

Usually we make it to church on Sunday mornings, but this year on Father's Day we stayed home since we were potty training. Jonathan's such a trooper and was so incredibly graceful as we spent the majority of the day chasing around Sophia & Savannah.

Silly Faces <3

We spent the afternoon at the Erickson's swimming and hanging with the family. The girls could live in the water, so they LOVED it! Plus, with the heat wave, it was nice to go for a dip in the pool!

Jonathan - I just couldn't do life without you...

Happy (belated) Birthday & Happy (belated) Father's Day. You are the best hubby, daddy, protector, provider & partner <3 Love you with every inch of me!!

Some of our new favorite things!

I was reading back over my blog and I found a fun post I did last year about some of my favorite things the girls say or do -- so I thought since the girls have been growing so quickly and have so much to say now, I'd update on some of the fun new things happening around our house!

I love listening to the girls talk to each other. They have so much to say and can have almost full conversations with one another! Sometimes I have NO idea what Sophia or Savannah are trying to say, but somehow Jayden is able to translate! I'm still not sure if it's a lucky guess or she really does know what they are saying, but either way, it helps! When our "translator" isn't available, we can usually figure it out by having them show us what they want.

Some of my favorite words Sophia says:

Savannah - "Si-ya"

Milk - "Mot"

Ipad - "Hi-Pad"

Denisse - "Niece"

I love you - "I wahve you"

Sophia is easily putting together 2-3 word sentences and picking up on new words every day! It's amazing how far her vocabulary has come in just a few months!

I think her favorite color is either pink or red, since whenever we paint nails, she always wants one of those two colors!

Some of my favorite words Savannah says:

Savannah - "Sannah"

Sophia - "Sea-ya"

Jayden - "Dayden"

Water - "Otter"

Denisse - "Niece" 

I love you - "uhve you"

I could not be more proud of this little babe. We were a little worried about her speech and word count just a few months ago. I even spoke to a speech therapist about where she should be and whether or not we should be concerned. Since her birthday, she has grown leaps and bounds and she's just getting better and better each day!

I think Savannah's favorite is pink and green, since she always picks those two colors...usually pink on her toes and green on her fingers.

The girls are also growing more and more independent. Jayden LOVES to dress herself now. She picks out everything she's going to wear (which most of the time does not exactly match)...not quite sure if that's genetic, but my mom tells me I was the exact same way when I was her age :)
The twins are also wanting to do more and more things by themselves, like putting their shoes on and strapping themselves in the car.

We are also going to start potty training in the next few weeks -- which I'm sure will be an adventure in itself! To help get the girls excited, we brought out the princess potty and show it to them each day. Now all Sophia wants to do is sit on the princess potty and just hang out.

Recently, another new favorite thing of ours is "gardening". I have to put quotations marks around it because I am by no means good at gardening, but lately we've been making an attempt to grow more flowers and dig in the dirt. Now it's become almost a weekly thing for our girls to go to Linda's house, one of our friends who lives next door, and dig in her yard. She's so patient with them and let's them play as much and as long as they want in her front yard.

The girls also love reading and playing pretend. One of my favorites is when they take turns reading to each other or "playing school" as Jayden calls it.

No matter what we're doing, I just love when the girls play together and have fun. It makes my day! 

Wife/Mommy of the year!

This blog is filled with amazing stories and pictures of our family, especially our 3 beautiful little girls.  Renee has even posted a few about me, but there aren’t any blogs about the woman behind the scenes who writes these posts.  I figured out her password and wanted to post this blog so I can share a little bit about the amazing woman behind these stories.

They say that everything happens for a reason.  I truly do believe that.  Renee and I have been together for 13 years and I feel so fortunate to have been able to go on this journey with her.  Everyday has been a blessing.

I’m lucky to have married such an amazing woman.  I’ve never met anyone who genuinely cares more about other people.  She is the most loving, caring, Godly, selfless person I know.  She has made me a better person and I can’t thank her enough for helping me become the man I am today.

Ferris wheel on date night!

Go Ducks!

What a view!

Not only is she an amazing person and loving wife, but she is the most incredible mother to our 3 girls.  I can’t even begin to describe what a wonderful mother she is.  There have been difficult times; the NICU, all the hospital and doctor visits, the sleepless nights and much more. Through all those tough times she never stops being our rock.  Our girls don’t know how lucky they are to have you as their mommy, but I am so lucky to have you as my wife.

Half Marathon under 2 hours and 15 minutes!  

3 day hospital stay!  Troopers!

Savannah and Mommy!

Painting with Mommy!

Peek-a-boo!

Reading with Mommy!

Slumber Party!

Thank you Renee.  Thank you for your selflessness, your faith, your love, and thank you for always being there for our family.

I love you past the sun the moon and the stars.