Fair lady meets magical crocodile

February Randoms

The kids had such a fun Valentines day.  It was literally a week of nonstop parties and treats.  The gals at our weekly park day put together a fun valentine exchange and topped off the event with cupcakes.  The best part?  .. frosting, of course.

Joseph had to go to work Presidents' Day, so we met up with some friends at Irvine Regional Park, definitely my favorite place to spend a beautiful day.  The kids climbed trees, stood on rocks, fed ducks, watched peacocks, and played on playgrounds.

As a treat, we decided to rent these fun 4 person bikes.  David was my copilot in front and while Ruth and James enjoyed the view from the back.  Most of the time I didn't pedal because David was the "little engine that could".  He biked and biked as fast as his little legs could go for almost an hour.

Group shot of the kids.  Thanks for the fun day, Lakey family!

It's a ...

Girl!  Looks like Ruth gets a sister!  Thinking about the prospect of having two girls makes me grateful for my own 5 sisters.  What a blessing to have them to share life with.

Sunday morning photo shoot

For some reason, when one child gets photographed, the others follow suit.  I thought the result was too cute not to post.

What every mother hopes for: a picture of all her children smiling for the camera!

January

January's been pretty low key.  It always nice to clean up the holiday decorations and have a fresh start on the year.  We've had sunny days mixed with rainy days, which has made the landscape beautifully green.  I am always grateful for the rain, but equally grateful for sunny days when we can leave the doors open and spend the afternoon outside.

These kids love their daddy.

New Years

Still catching up on the holidays:

For New Years, we made the drive to Arizona to visit with three of Joseph's sisters and a bunch of cousins.  Usually the best thing to do with such a large group of kids is head to the park.

I love how Ruth and James are turning into little buddies.

This was a pretty innovative park.  We took this picture with Grandma and Grandpa Larsen in mind.  The kids were shouting, "Hi grandma and grandpa!"Hopefully this hello makes it all the way to South Africa.

We also managed a fun trip to the natural history museum.  I wish that I had photographed the kids with the huge dinosaurs.  They were so huge and realistic, that James spent most of our visit teetering between fright and intrigue.  David had fun wandering the jail cell.

Ruth and James really enjoyed excavating the T Rex outside.  They could've easily spent hours at this project.

Unfortunately, the most memorable part of the trip was bringing home the flu.  EVERYONE was sick by the end of the trip.  I guess the one good thing about getting sick is getting better.  I am SO grateful to be healthy again!

Today

James:

spends all day singing "yo-ho" and playing Pirates of the Carri "BEANS"

Later says, "mommy, will I be a grownup when you have babies?"
I reply, "no, you'll be 4 years old"
"But I'm already 4 years old!"
Hmm...  I guess he has some more things to think about

This is James' bed.  He spends a lot of time in the mornings making sure all the covers are pulled up tight and perfectly tucked in.  I've never seen a kid so meticulous about bed making.  David even admitted that he needed to take some bed-making lessons from James.

Ruth:

Sweet Ruth has been averaging atleast 2 timeouts a day.  I guess we're officially in the terrific twos.  She does still have cute moments, like today, when she fed snack to her baby.  I love having femininity in the home, such a nice balance.  Notice the new haircut; I am trying my best to manage her baby fine, super sparce hair.