Praise God....

from whom all blessings flow! Yay! We went to the dentist for Carson's 6 month check up and cleaning and he did so great! The last few times he's gone were not so great. I'm embarrassed to say that he's already had 5 cavities, but I can also breathe easy knowing it wasn't all us, genetics plays a big part as he was born with weak enamel on his teeth, making him more prone to decay. The dentist said that somewhere in the 4th or 5th month in utero is when the enamel is formed and a variety of things can affect that, I'm not sure what it was in our case, but something must have, poor guy. I sure am so thankful for dental care and insurance! He was nervous to go in, understandably so, since the last 2 times he's had to go under anesthesia and that's just weird for such little ones. But he was so brave and although he was very nervous he hopped right up into that big chair and let them brush and polish his teeth and floss and do the fluoride, etc. He did fantastic, I was beaming with pride...after the dentist reminded me to breath as he was checking for cavities or anything else wrong. All looked great. The brushing/flossing regimen is working! Thank you, Lord! Jason came home early from work to take Carson out to get a goldfish as a reward for doing so well at the dentist (it's something he's been wanting for a while). But Carson was so tired that he fell asleep at the pet shop in Jason's arms, so they didn't come home with goldie, just a sleeping boy. Maybe tomorrow we can try again.

Beach Day

We went down to Twin Lakes Beach today after Livi got up from her nap, we had so much fun! We went and got some burritos and took them over to the beach with us and ate and played in the sand for a few hours.

Just Blue Eyes

We went to the beach last week with our friends Robyn and Ocean. I only got one picture before my battery went kaput, so if I get some pictures from Robyn, I'll try to put them up. It was a gorgeous day, very comfortable weather and the kids had a great time playing in the sand and water. Carson got so wet, he had to ride home naked because I forgot to pack extra clothes! Poor guy. Good thing it was warm.

Carson and Livi love to take baths. Sometimes they forget how much they like it till they get in.

Livi woke up with some really great nap hair! Yeah girl!

Carsonisms

These are things I wrote down a long while back on a paper on the fridge, just so I'd remember them, so I'll put them down here. He was 2 when he said these things:

He used to call that yummy meal we make sometimes Chicken Lollipop Pie!
He used to call English muffins Angel muffins.
And when his stomach hurt he had a tummy wake. :-)

Just recently he told me:
"I've been waiting for years to get flip flops!!" (He still doesn't have them, but apparently he's been really wanting some)

"Mommy, I have mold on my hands...why do I have mold on my hands?" (He said this as he was eating breakfast, and I'm still not sure what he was talking about)

"Why don't I have fur on my hands?" (he's afraid of putting bandaids on his legs or arms or anywhere where there is "fur" since it hurts when we take them off) :-) One time he asked where his fur (down there) went, and then he came to the conclusion that it must have blown off. (Little does he know that when he's about 13 the winds will change and it will come back) :-) hehehe.

"I think we should get Gracie some butt bones!" (after we got Gracie some natural mint bones to make her breath smell better)...hmmm he might be on to something! :-) And yes, she could use some.

I'm sure there will be many more to come, so I'll post them when I can.

What to do?

Here is my question.....what do you do with all your kids' artwork? Do you keep every coloring/painting picture, craft they do at church or school, etc??? We have so much and I honestly sneak it into the trash sometimes cuz I'm not sure what to do with it. Should I feel guilty for doing that? Any experienced moms out there happy/glad that they kept every piece of art??? Where do you store it all if so? Is it okay for me to throw some of it away without asking or telling? :-) Help?!

Boardwalk

So we've lived here more than 3 1/2 years and have never even been to the boardwalk! Hard to believe, I know. So, today our friends invited us along to use their guest pass so Carson could go on some rides with his friend, Jack. Thanks, Michelle!!! It was so much fun! Carson was eager to do all the rides he could, without any fear! He even rode on the dragon roller coaster which was actually pretty fast and whirly and loopy for a little kid roller coaster! He loved it! Here are a few pics of him on some of the rides. Fun times. Livi was pretty content to just push the stroller around and hang on the bars outside the rides. :-)

Easter Sunday!

This morning we hid Easter baskets for the kids. We read the Easter story from Carson's Bible (and then the good Samaritan story...that's his favorite), and then they went and searched the house to find their own surprises. Looks like Livi got a mouthful of jellybeans...nothing like a sugar rush first thing in the morning! Whoa girl!

A friend at church tried to get a picture of us, this is the best that came of it. It was a gorgeous day and the service was so great, filled with awesome music and a wonderful message about why we ought to believe in the risen Jesus and how he can change our lives. You can listen to the sermon we heard today at www.tlc.org.

"Jesus was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God." (Romans 4:25)
Happy Easter!!!

I had been trying to get an Easter picture of the kids to include in the cards we made for our families, and a friend came over and managed to get the kids to both smile at the same time! So this is the one I used. Nothing fancy, but it works! :-)

Carson got a little haircut out on the deck. Jason does a really great job with the clippers and he used the scissors on the top this time and it turned out really cute. I didn't get a good shot after it was done, but you can tell in the Easter pictures we'll post. Carson did such a great job sitting still and patient. He always gets rewarded with something yummy, this time it was a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream and sprinkles! Knowing that's waiting for him usually helps him sit still. :-)

Lovely Livi.....hmmm... try saying that 10 times fast!

Playgroup Easter Party

We had an Easter party with our playgroup this week where the kids decorated eggs and cookies and went on an egg hunt. They had a great time playing with their friends and enjoyed lots of treats.









Carson and Livi have the same expression on their faces!!! I think they have mouths full of jellybeans!

Signs of Spring

There are so many trees and flowers blossoming everywhere. This purple tree sits across the street from us and is especially pretty in the morning.

Once again, another treat from Trader Joe's...8 lovely daffodils for $1.99. They bring such cheer into our house. I love spring!

Peet's at the Park

On Friday it was a gorgeous spring day, so we decided to go over to the new Peet's coffee shop and then head to the Felton Covered Bridge park. We hadn't been there in a while and the kids had fun. The coffee was delicious and the sun felt great on our backs. It was a nice morning. Peet's is the 6th coffee shop in our little town of 11,000. We have 3 Starbucks (one is in Safeway), a Coffee Cat, a Surf City, and now a Peet's. It's great.

I tried to get some good pics of the kids together so we could make some Easter cards, but they just weren't in the mood. I think I'll have to try again when they aren't tired and hot and hungry!

Praying for our Kids

I was just looking at someone else's blog and came across this link which is pretty cool. It's about praying for our kids. It gives a suggestion for a prayer for each week of the year. I think it is mostly in relation to sponsoring a child through Compassion, but they are great ideas for us, too. Check it out.

Happy Birthday Gracie!

Gracie turned 6 today, so we made her a cake. Well actually the cake was for us, it was a great excuse to make one! She turned her nose up at the cake part (it was a really good Paula Dean banana cake recipe), but she loved the lick of frosting we gave her.

The kids love Gracie...she really is the best dog with them, she puts up with everything! We love her, too, despite all her wierd quirks and the many times she's almost been given away, she does bring us a lot of happy times, too. :-)

Happy Birthday, Gracie!

Fun Sunny Day

Carson got a new soccer ball and swim trunks and a swim shirt, he was so excited about it. We'll get a lot of use out of them playing outside.

We went to Skypark to play on the field with the soccer ball and the frisbee and to fly our kite.

Carson and Jason got the kite all put together, it was a good kite flying day, a nice breeze was in the air.

And they got it up!

The playing in the field was more fun for mom and dad, but the kids thought it was much more fun to play at the park in the sand, so we spent most of our time there, which was fun, too!

Peek-a-Boo Livi Lu

Livi has many different nick names...one is Livi Lu, I actually call her Lu a lot, although her middle name is Joy.
She loves to hide things in the closet and she also loves to hide herself there as well. Today her piggy tails stayed in ALL day! Quite amazing. :-)
Here is a list of some of the names she goes by:

Olivia Joy
Olivia
LaLu
Ooo
Livi
LiviLiviLujah
Livi Lu
Iv
Lu
Ivee
LuLu
Ivee-ooo
LuLa
Ooobear
Livzilla

I know there are more, maybe I'll have to keep adding to the list as I think of them. :-)

Water Baby

Livi loves to play in the water. I remember when Carson was right around her age, maybe a little earlier, he started to love the water, too. Every day she asks for "bup" which means "up" (onto the counter) and then "bup" again, which now means "cup". The weather has been so nice, so every day this week, we've been out in the front of the house on the driveway with the water table and the pool and the hose....it's been so much fun. I even get to relax in the sun a bit while they play. And we've gotten to know some of our neighbors better in the process, as they come over after school to play with the kids in the water. It's been great, I'm looking forward to more and more of it this summer. Carson's already starting to get a little tan. :-)
We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Monday with some friends, and we had a great time. We were there for about 4 hours and we were all very tired by the time we headed out. Good thing there was a Starbucks on the way to the car so we could get a little refreshment. :-) Fortunately I remembered to bring the camera (I have blogging in the back of my mind a lot these days) but unfortunately the camera had no batteries in it when I pulled it out to get a picture of the kids, so no photos to show you of our fun day. Maybe next time.
I'm so thankful for this life God's given me. I'm so happy I get to stay home with my precious kids and soak up all these moments when they are young and love to give me hugs and kisses and crawl all over me and just play, play, play...it's so great. And the sunshine outside has a really great way of making the days even better. And the tulips! Oh spring bulbs, I love them. I got a whole bunch of tulips for the kitchen table at Trader Joes for $5.99, there were 18 orangy/red beautiful tulips in the bunch, and it cheers me to see them.

Duck, Duck....Duck!

For the past 3 days we've had this cute clan of ducks coming to visit us! They are very friendly and love to eat just about everything we've tried giving them, except for a bag of old almonds I found in the car...so picky! We've seen this little group of 3 in our neighborhood for about a year. The kids and all the neighbors get a kick out of seeing them come so close!













This white one is really cute!

Livi gets sad when they waddle away, she calls after them, "Dutty, nooo, dutty! Bye bye dutty!"