Wednesday, August 26, 2009

New Blog Title et al...

Big boys are in the background on their noodles while we hang out in the sun/shade.


Daddy attacks!


First day of school for the little boys


First day of 1st grade


Daddy's office building (his office is up those stairs)


Boys swimming in our wonderful neighbor's new pool. Nothing particularly notable here, except that you can see the back of our house through the fence.


Lathan loves the pool!


JJ has to take breaks to warm up.


Sometimes Daddy is a bit too rough, but I think Kaelan likes this game.


Lathan jumping in from the "jumping rock"


A night out at P.F. Changs.


Daredevil stunts taking place while I was still inside.


Kaelan and his rice bowl.


Taking turns soothing a tired and teething baby.


Best buds when they have full bellies.

We have really been enjoying our time here in California. You can see some of the pictures recently posted show the boys obsessed with everything water. I thought that since we no longer live in the 'hood, that I should update our Blog title that would be more current to our situation now (Sons of the Sierra Sunshine) - and I am open to suggestions. This was the best I could come up with in a minute's time.

Dave was so nice to post something after so long. And thank goodness for Aunt Lucy and Uncle Dito (Fernando) because they were the ones that took all the pictures! I didn't have to do a thing...

But now I think I'm ready to post a few updates and pics - but only a short one.

Dave:
Has really gotten into the groove of work. Has learned a few new procedures here that he never did in MI. Loves his partners and his staff. Currently has Mondays off. Passed his fluoroscopy exam and is now licensed in CA!!! Now preparing for oral boards in October in Chicago (over Halloween - who does that????)

Lathan:
Learned to comfortably ride a two-wheel and started 1st grade here. He has two special-needs kids in his class, one with simple hearing aids and the other that gets to bring his service dog every now and then. So Lathan gets a puppy to come with him to class sometimes. Very cool. He is doing well and reading a ton. He hasn't had the easiest time being outgoing or making friends in this new environment. We are lucky that our neighbors behind us are members of our ward and they have a pair of 5th-graders that chaperone Lathan to and from school. Those are currently the friends with which he feels most comfortable. He's been taking the bus; but last night we decided that I or Cindy (my neighbor) would take the kids in the morning and let the bus drop them off in the afternoon. Lathan was tardy too many times with the bus in the morning and it came at 7am! School starts at 8, so I thought that was a bit ridiculous. He does have a whole hour less class time this year, getting out at 2, though.

Kaelan:
Started his Montessori program and seems to love it. They don't have the musical influence here that they did in MI, but they do have a Spanish immersion curriculum. He doesn't like coming home at lunch, so we are going to try letting him stay until 3pm for the month of September. We'll see how cranky he gets with that schedule. He is much more vocal and communicative lately. He swims like a champ (with water-wings, anyway). Loves to play with Lathan and is totally annoyed with JJ while at home. Loves his Haefan to pieces and says that he is Haefan's favorite - even over Mama.

Jeydan:
Completely potty trained now. Woohoo! It's been about 3 weeks without any accidents. He tends to pee in his pull-up in the morning if we don't get him in the first 5 minutes that he is awake. I'm not sure if you are aware, but my kids don't get out of bed (except for potty) until we come and get them. That's just how they are. Anyway, on Saturdays when we try to sleep in, we let him hang out in his bed until the other boys are up (sometimes that can be a LONG time) - hence the pee in the the pull-up. I'm ok with that since I'd rather have that than him wandering around in the morning. He also started pre-school with Kaelan, but not in the same classroom since he's only two. He likes it once he's there, but has difficulty saying goodbye. I think I will pull him out at the end of September if Kaelan stays until 3 because I don't want to do 2 pick-ups at that school (a 30-min drive without any traffic troubles each way). I don't think he'll mind; but for the month of September I will being doing the double-pick-ups.

Haefan:
Teething and still refluxing a ton. He is so messy, but so happy and still growing; so we can't really complain. He loves being around his brothers. Even if he isn't able to directly see them, he is content to hang out if their voices are in the same room. He protests A LOT otherwise. Still has a Faux-hawk, but it is growing out. He receives lots of love from all of us. Lucky dude.

Me:
Trying to run a lot. My leg is better finally, but I think my extra weight is doing a number on my joints. Don't like it. But I'm trying to not make excuses and get out to exercise. Come October, Haefan will be 6 months (!!!) and I'll join a gym near the Montessori school to continue my exercise routine through the winter. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up tennis again, too. I get to see Dave so much now that I can't imagine what I'd do without him. He's wonderful around the house and being a supportive husband for me.

Other:
We were able to visit with family at various times these past couple of months, most recently this past weekend - so that's AWESOME!!!! We love our community here and take advantage of the amenities all the time. Our neighbor behind us is so helpful and they let us come swimming in their new pool a lot (but apparently it's never enough for the boys, they always want more). We had the deal go under on the first house we wanted to buy here because the bank came back with a much lower appraisal. So now we are in the process of getting another house here, but it is a bank repo. So it's a great deal for what we get, but there is a lot of work we want to do before it will meet our needs completely. The big selling point wasn't so much the house, but the lot. It's on an acre (huge for our area) and at the end of a cul-de-sac. Perfect. With a beautiful view, mostly (if you ignore the one eyesore of the water treatment plant out in the distance). It's one-third the cost of the other house, but we get a lot more land and overall potential with this one. So we are taking a leap of faith.

We miss all of our ol' friends. I'll do my best to post pictures more regularly for the Nana and Pops.

We give our talk in church this Sunday, so wish us luck!

-griselda


Sunday, August 23, 2009

Potty Training

So, JJ is now potty trained. Quite an accomplishment for him and his mama; however, there was a period of rough and tough love. Here is a winner. This is JJ getting ready for his nap time, perhaps just a little too ready.....

The California Boys now!!!!

Kaelan and JJ hanging out at the local mall play area....
Kaelan trying to wait patiently for his older brother Lathan to get home from school.
The cutest little feet in the world....

Love all around......

JJ waiting not so patiently for his brother Lathan.
JJ would run to this fence, stare out over the lake, and then turn, run and jump full speed into the pool. No fear.
JJ telling mama a joke.
The boys getting ready for battle.
Uncle Fernando brings a suprise attack.
Kaelan, with his straight as an arrow pencil jump. Can you say future diver? I still am hoping for a water polo player, but with his height and build maybe diving is in his future....
Three of the four getting ready for a day at the beach.
Haefan, trying to show his brothers that he really can stick his whole hand in his mouth.
A common site with Haefan. He really likes to stick out his tongue. So, don't ever take it personally.
This is the flying JJ.
And after all the running, jumping, and swimming, JJ is done.