The new babe

Probably only a handful of times in the past three years have I thought: "I'm glad my parents live in Argentina." This circumstance is one of them.

Since my mom wasn't home to help Katie when she had her new baby, and I felt a great older sister obligation to do for her what my mom did for me when I had my first baby, I was able to convince Justin that I had to go spend a week helping Kates make the adjustment to all the new things a baby brings. I have never been able to cuddle a new baby almost non-stop if I wasn't also trying to recuperate from giving birth to that baby myself. It was super awesome. And baby Jack is a sweet little baby who is a really good sleeper (also something I've never experienced firsthand) and a great eater (once again...not like my babies). I can't decide if I'm now very baby hungry (definitely would be if I knew I was going to have a baby like Jack) or just afraid that if we ever have another baby, I've seen what a good, non-colicky baby is like and will just be sad. :)

Love that milk-drunk smile that newborns get after they eat.

Sometimes he's not happy, but even then, he's really easy to soothe. 

Yawning babies. Is there anything cuter?

Jack trying to eat Katie's face. Maybe he's still hungry?

Trying to get a normal picture of Ryan...He was cracking me up.

Jack is very reverent. He totally sleeps with his arms folded if he's not swaddled.

At the MLK, Jr. memorial. Kates and Ryan were super brave and took him out for a little outing at 9 days old! He was totally perfect the whole time.

Living in the past

True, it's been a while since I have done anything this fun with the boys, but since I documented it, I'm going to pretend this is the kind of mom that I am all the time. February and March brought much jubilation and I got a little burned out with all the festivities. We haven't decorated or had a party since.

Cake batter rice crispy treats we made for Dr. Seuss's birthday

Henry's hat was not fitted to his head and was a little too small. But  he was still a good sport and tried to keep it on for a solid minute.

Andrew loved his hat and still has it on his shelf just in case there's a need. Because sometimes there is.

St. Patrick's Day was big around here. We planned a really awesome leprechaun trap that we were sure would work.

We were proud, as you can see...

But he totally outsmarted us. 

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder??

Life has seemed to speed up since we've been in California...I can't keep up with myself. But, we're all here, healthy and happy. Here's an update:

Justin in his awesome Scout shirt. He's working with the Webelos and loves it. He will not love that I put this photo on the bloggy, but I seriously think khaki is his color. :)

The boys playing "yard" in the front room. We're definitely getting to the age of  boys needing a yard to run off their energy. But, alas, the parents of this family are commitment-phobic, so 6 month leases seem to work.

Henry has really embraced his doggy alter-ego.  It's cute/weird.

This is me driving carpool. It's what I do.

Driving back from Utah, Andrew got this awesome pirate eye patch and since has been uber-fascinated with people who can only see out of one eye. And people who lose their teeth. He asks me all the time to tell him about how my Grandma Peterson had pretend teeth so she couldn't eat apples. Cute/weird.

Henry and I dropped Andrew at a playdate. Henry was DEVASTATED that  he wasn't invited, so to drown his sorrows, we went shopping. He LOVES shopping, even if we don't buy anything. Here he is pondering the doggy toys at REI.

I know this is the weirdest photo, but I just think Justin is the best husband for a million reasons. This is one. He has his pre-gym protein shake all set up in our closet, gym bag packed every morning so he doesn't have to wake up me or the kids when he leaves (at 5:15..he's insane). He's so thoughtful.

My most recent project. I was going to sew chair cushions with this laminated cotton. It was too advanced for my sewing skill level (which is none skill), so I bought myself a staple gun and jimmy-rigged it. Doesn't look amazing, but it's good enough for my tastes. 

Poop, pee and the happs

This boy is the trainee...The rest of us are all set. In case you were confused.

We are potty training. Oh my. I remember swearing when we potty trained Andrew that there would be no amount of money too great to pay someone to do this. Alas, our financial situation is definitely not much better than it was then. So, here I am. However, can I just say, it is about a million times easier potty training when you're not dealing with a newborn and post partum? Plus, Henry is doing {mostly} great.

Speaking of poop, I think I lost all pictures from leaving Texas until February. Yes, folks, that includes Christmas 2011. Kind of mad at myself, but I blame the fact that our computer essentially went up in flames before we could save much of it. In the crapper, as it were. 

Therefore, rather than going backwards, we'll just update from where we are. Just know that we're loving California, missing Texas and having the time of our lives. 

They're just cute. That's the context of these pictures..

Andrew's dimples are getting even cuter. If that's possible.

We were feeling lonely for our friends, so we decided to take matters into our own hands and throw a party to drown our sorrows. We invited 6 families thinking surely we'd have at least 25% attrition...Not so. We ended up with 27 very fun people in our very small apartment. It was super fun. We set up all the rooms for different activities and it was actually not too terribly squishy.

Kids got all hopped up on sugar and watched movies

Grown ups ate yummy pasta and had a Valentine's box-making contest. We did NOT win. The "french kiss" box won the grand prize (mustache baking mold...because we're into re-gifting)

My long-time blog readers (Katie, Mom) may remember our tradition we started last year...books from Cupid's Library. He TOTALLY came through for us again this year, and even left a little bit of candy. Thank you, Cupid/me.

I guess the father figure forgot about Cupid's Library and went straight for the awesomest gift ever. I'm not going to mention it. I'm pretty excited about my new cycle shoes.

Is this brother love, you ask? No, no. It's WWF time on Mom's bed.

 Recently, we celebrated President's Day at the park with some friends. It was great weather last week (I think we passed 70), which made me love California a little bit more.

Andrew's friend Brooklyn. She's sweet and loves to play Jake and the Neverland Pirates with Andrew, which pretty much fulfills every fantasy he's ever had.

Andrew is definitely having the hardest time adjusting to CA. He really misses his school and his friends. We recently found out he has been accepted into a junior kindergarten program next year (district-funded, every day school...yes, I'm doing cartwheels in my head). Andrew was super deflated when we told him it doesn't start until after the summer. Poor guy. But, in the meantime, he's picked up on reading super quickly and hopefully that tides him over...so we don't all drive each other completely insane. 

How much life can you fit in one post?

Since the last post we have:

Celebrated Andrew's birthday
Graduated with a (very) hard earned Master's degree
Gone to Disneyland
Moved to a different state
Celebrated Christmas, New Year's, MLK Jr. Day, Valentine's Day, President's Day and Ash Wednesday
Started a new job
etc.

So, not much really.

These pictures take us through December 15th...More to come.

Andrew's birthday cake (or birthday sugar cookie shape. Cakes aren't my thing as a mom)

The birthday party crowd. Missing a few, but we had so much fun with all of Andrew's best friends. 

This kid is no stranger to the spotlight. This is him cheering while his friends are singing Happy Birthday.

Henry with our reindeer. Our sweet friends gave us a reindeer and Christmas tree because Andrew told them he had no place to hang his ornament he made at school. When I grow up, I'm going to be as thoughtful as the Christensens.

The boys decorated the tree with our awesome sticker and construction paper collection. They did a great job.

Graduation Day!! Henry wasn't all that pleased...But look at his weird toes?!

After the ceremony. I did cry during the ceremony (I am SOO proud of this guy!) and was so glad that I wasn't alone in my tears. Thank you Rick. :) And if you're curious, it was humid. Thus, the hair. 

alpacas, Mommy dates, and el futbol

 We went to the World Fest a few weeks ago. It was good. Fun was had.

Henry and I at the Argentina booth at World Fest

Alpacas

Dad and Andrew at the Argentina booth

 Andrew earned enough stickers to go on a special date with me. It was one of the best dates I have ever had. I even got a kiss at the end. That's saying something.
 

Andrew painting his bowl at U Paint It. This place is Andrew's dreamland.

The finished product (pre-firing). Thanks to the Halloween Costume Battle of 2011, I feel pretty confident in my rendition of an angry bird.

Andrew trying to learn some manners...Not going too well

 Andrew finished his soccer season a couple months ago. I don't know that he gained any more skills this season, but he loved his coach and his friends, so here's to another year.

Things I can do instead of packing...

We are moving in five days. The house is in complete disarray.

So, rather than rectify that situation...

Updating the blog it is!

This is our camping trip we took with some friends:

On a little hike...Henry got to ride most of the time

Isn't this so pretty?

The dads

The moms (just so you know, the two moms not holding babes in arms are expecting, so we have five moms and five babies)

Boys, take note of these pictures. It may be the only time you go camping before Scouts.

It was a super fun trip, only minor hiccups (biggest rainstorm of the year in Texas...4 hours long in the middle of the night...boys slept great, mom and dad were awakened at 20 minute intervals trying, unsuccessfully, to keep water from creeping into our sleeping bags), and the company was unbeatable! We are so sad to leave our wonderful friends we have here.