Random Stuff

The birthday fun continued this week with special deliveries for Rowan.

He was so excited to see a Target gift card in his card from his godparents, Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Tom! He's trying to decide whether he would like to get a workbook or a nerf gun. I told him he could probably get both. :)

Rowan read Aunt Cheryl's sweet words all by himself (almost).

Great Grandpa and Linda's cards are always fun. This one made the kids giggle quite a bit. 

In other news, Cora is now in her "big girl" car seat. In reality, its Cruz's old one. I so badly want to get her a pink one but for now, we'll stick with what we have.

Big girl on her way to the pool today.

We told Rowan that when he turned 5, we would get him a booster car seat. This actually worked well since Cora had just about outgrown her infant seat. She got Cruz's old seat and Cruz moved to Rowan's. 

I had to share a picture of Cora in her bug dress. Rowan and Cruz LOVE this dress and ask for her to wear it. :)

I want to share some swimming videos later this week. Stay tuned, Cruz has some exciting stuff to show. :)

More Gifts...

 Here are some more photos of some gift opening that Rowan did earlier this week:

Rowan was so excited to open his gifts from GeeGee

Rowan was so incredibly kind and let Cruz open several of his gifts. If you know Rowan, you know that this wasn't the easiest thing for him to do. I was so proud of him.

His hand is covering a Target gift card which we left to spend moments after opening this. He cleaned out the store with this gift card from GeeGee combined with the one from his great aunt and uncle. :) He was in seventh heaven. He even bought a giant ball for Cruz as well. So proud of him.

Thanks for the fabulous gifts, GeeGee!

Rowan got an awesome gift from Uncle Randy too. Its an electronic toy with learning games. Right up Mr. Rowan's alley. We've played it quite a few times.

Rowan got to Skype with Grandma while opening his gifts from her and we'll be seeing Grammy, Grampy, Aunt Amanda, Jade, Grandpa and Deona for some birthday fun in the coming weeks! This is the birthday that never ends. :)

Time to Celebrate!

Rowan's 5th birthday was absolutely perfect. He had a big ol' smile on his face from the moment he woke up, until the moment he fell asleep. 

A decorated door started out the morning.

A gigantic birthday donut. Both Cruz and Roger had these for their birthdays so Rowan was so excited that it was his turn.

Dressed for the day in his birthday shirt.

Rowan was thrilled that present time was so early on in the day.

Cruz chose to buy Rowan a birthday gift with money from his piggy bank. He chose a whoopie cushion. Can you guess which parent took him shopping?

I love this picture. Absolutely love it.

Snap Circuits was another hit gift.

Siblings shots are getting tougher...

We ended off to a big mall called Arizona Mills for the rest of the birthday fun.

Rowan thought it was neat that we parked at Entrance #5

The surprise lunch spot.

The very excited birthday boy enjoyed pepperoni pizza and a special dessert.

Next stop... GameWorks, which was also in the mall.

When we got home, we played with Rowan's new toys. The game Spot It was a lot of fun but Snap Circuits was the favorite gift.

The kit came with a book on how to make all sorts of projects using circuits. You can make a doorbell, police siren, fan, and a ton of other things. You literally just follow the directions and snap together various pieces to create the circuits. 

This is a bit advanced for Rowan but he managed to complete one of the easier light circuits on his own. 

We are so thankful for a fabulous day for our fabulous Rowan. Next Saturday is his birthday party with my parents, sister and niece and the next weekend he is having a bowling birthday party with his friends and Grandpa & Deona will be in town.... so there will be more birthday to come! :)

Happy 5th Birthday, Rowan Christian!

We are so proud of the little boy you are growing into Rowan. We love how sweet you are with your sister. She saves her biggest smiles for her biggest brother. We love the special bond that you have with Cruz... you are brothers and best buddies. You are so smart and we're not just saying that because we're your parents. Its a fact. You have a wonderful memory and know so many interesting facts about the Bible. You are learning to love Jesus more each day. You love singing praise songs. "Here I am to Worship" is one you are often heard singing. You still love cars, games, and playing pretend. You like to be the boss of the games around here. You are such a special little boy and we are so thankful that God gave you to us. Thanks for making us a mommy and a daddy five years ago today. 

We love you, Rowan!

Cora: 10 Months

Oh, this chubby cheeked little girl continues to be the sweetest little thing. There's not much more I love than a big ol' bow on her head. She loves her headbands too. She rarely touches them or even notices they're there. "No bow, no go" is the motto around here. :)

Coco now has 6 chompers in her mouth and she's working on a seventh. Either the amber teething necklace is actually helping or she has a high threshold for pain because we've only given her tylenol for her teeth one time. 

Cora has developed a loud scream this month. Rowan and Cruz love to scream at her and have her scream back. She loves to have them chase her around the house. One of her favorite toys to play with are their big trucks/cars. She loves to push them and crawl after them. Her other favorite toys to play with are her baby dolls. Her favorite is her Belle doll.

Little Miss is quite the eater. We haven't yet found a food that Cora won't eat. She loves peas, carrots and corn. She loves yogurt, pasta, cheese and chicken. She loves nutrigrain bars, graham crackers, goldfish and puffs. She loves watermelon, peaches and pears. 

I still usually see Sweet Girl once a night. I love staring at her chubby cheeks and long dark eyelashes. Cora's hair is starting to grow. Its a lot darker than her brothers' hair at that age. Its growing in thicker and more quickly on the right side of her head (?). 

Cora still does her "scoot" rather than a traditional crawl, she pulls up on everything and is starting to cruise on the furniture and tables. Cora says "ma ma" "da da" and the occasional "ahhh duh" (all done) when she's eating. 

Happy 10 Months, Precious Girl! 

Rowan's Birthday Week:

Rowan's birthday week began today and it's going to go on for several weeks. I can't believe my first baby boy is turning 5. 5 is so grown up. Rowan got his first birthday delivery in the mail today from his Great Aunt Jill and Great Uncle Jim. The Target and DQ gift cards were a hit!

He new right away what the DQ gift card was for. He was so excited about the Target one too. He's had his eye on several toys there.

Thanks for kicking off Rowan's birthday celebration with a bang! :)

Family Friday

Roger got invited to a Diamondback's game by one of the engineering companies he works with. We were all able to go and had a blast. Family time is so much fun with the five of us and our kids are generally pretty flexible and well behaved when we go out. We were the featured family on the jumbotron between innings, which was neat. The boys also got to play at the kids' playground at Chase Field. Cora just hung out looking cute... she even started clapping at the game.

I'm so sad about Cruz's eyes in this photo because everything else about it is perfect.

On our walk to the park there were a bunch of giant, metal bugs. This scorpion was their favorite.

I feel like this is a "Where's Waldo" page. It was the best I could do. :)

Its so fun to have our little family completed. I love doing stuff together and its nice to feel like no one is missing. :)

Cora: 9.5 months

My sweet little Coco is not so much a baby anymore. At 9.5 months, Cora loves to eat. She eats anything, which is different from her brothers even at this age. When I go in to get her from her naps she's standing up in crib, holding on to the rail. When she sees me she gets so excited and says, "ma ma... ma ma" I need to get a video of that.. its something I want to remember forever. Here are some other things she's doing:

Waving.

She was clapping a ton when we went to the Diamondback's game the other night. Of course this was the best she would do for the camera. :)

We don't have a lot of use for our sand table in the summer time... that is, until you turn it into a water table. I don't always feel like taking Cora in the big pool while the boys are playing so now she can have her own water fun. 

Love this one! 

Cruz: 3 yrs 3 months

I just wanted to share some sweet pictures of our sweet Cruzy.

Cruz is such a sweet little boy. I love his big kisses and giant hugs... he squeezes so tightly!

He loves his little sister so much. He often will entertain her when she's fussing without being asked. He is the reason I can ever take a shower in peace.

Cruz loves to make us laugh with his silly antics, words and dancing. This boy has some serious moves.

One of Cruz's love languages is definitely physical touch. He loves to be held, have his back or tummy rubbed, give hugs and run his fingers through my hair.

I never have to hold a door when Cruz is around. He almost always remembers to hold doors without being asked. He always waits and holds the garage door for Cora and me. He also holds doors for strangers and he always does this with a big smile on his face.

Cruz will do everything in his own time. He works hard to get over his fears and the pride on his face when he accomplishes something new makes my heart so happy.

We are so proud of you, Cruz Emerson!