Life as an Avalos

Cousins!

2011-09-08T23:15:00.000-07:00

The cousins came to visit and we took them to "Baby Beach" in Dana Point. What a find! Waves were mere ripples and the water was shallow and not too cold. The kids loved playing in the water together. Donny & Lyla already miss their cousins. When Lyla spots something that Arianna played with during the trip she gets a smile, points and says "Ayana!"

Abeula Gigi with her grandkids. We were missing 2 though :(

We also spent time with my family. Donny & Lyla always get excited about going to Grandma & Grandpa's house, especially when there are aunts & uncles as well. This was the first time Tia Diana was not there :(

MEGA POST!

2011-09-08T22:29:00.000-07:00

Time for a mega post. Having not posted anything since before Summer started, I've had quite a backlog of pictures to post. At first, I thought I would skip it. After all, who would want to go through the whole thing besides me? Then I reminded myself that I'll be printing this out one day to make a book for myself. Ugh! I had a TON of work ahead of me! This has seriously taken hours though I know all of you will skim through it in 5 seconds, Ha!

Preschool ended in April for Donny because his teacher was moving...less than a mile from us! He absolutely LOVED preschool and always came home with fun projects & stories to tell. He had the BEST teacher, Miss Robyn THANK YOU you're AMAZING!

My little bro, Manny, had his Junior Recital/Concierto @ Cal State Long Beach and I was able to go. I always cry when he plays! He is truly a brilliant player & it was great to see all the people who showed up just to hear him. The best part, besides the playing of course, was when he thanked everyone for coming he had to stop because he was crying so much. I wish I had had my camera out to capture it! Looking forward to next year!

My youngest sister Diana graduated high school and is now far away at BYU. The kids already miss her tons. The Monday Diana started at BYU, Lyla asked about her all day. It's like she knew she was gone!

For Easter, Tia Sofia sent an Edible Arrangement for the kids. They absolutely loved it! When I first placed it in front of them they kept circling it and giggling and when it was opened they pounced on it!
Lyla kept pointing and saying "ooooooooh!"

Ever had Chris's Outrageous Cheesecake @ The Cheescake Factory? I tried to dupkicate it for Easter dinner. It's got layers of german chocolate cake, coconut frosting, brownie and chocolate chip cheesecake. Took forever to make but well worth it!

We did a sort of "Donny Day" for his birthday. We picked up his best bud, Apollo, and headed out. Stop #1 was the Railroad Museum in Perris where they got to explore old train cars and ride real trains and a trolley. We had to wait awhile or the train....

There was also a car show going on at the museum & the boys enjoyed checking out all the cool cars.

After the museum we went to see Rio. Lyla had a blast running up and down the stairs and in front of the screen. I guess she's not ready for the movies yet :)

Back out the house we pulled out the Lightning McQueen slip-n-slide.
After awhile they got the hang of how to slip on it.

Donny's Aunt Sofia brought him 2 goldfish for his birthday. His first pet ever! He named them Sharlokey and Showkey.

Surprise birthday gift, Lightning McQueen bike!

A Father's Day pic @ Grandpa & Grandma's house in front of his pomegranate trees

Fourth of July weekend on Lake Berryessa with the Copas the Harps!

Fun at the rock park

Popcicles outside have been a must this summer

Our water table out back has also been a must this summer. thank goodness it's shady back there in the afternoon. the kids can entertain themselves outside in the water for quite some time!

sharing a tricycle

Lyla is in love with animals, especially cats and dogs. Here she is looking through her kitty book
and showering them with kisses

Donny has been a building demon lately, constructiing homes for his train and cars out of blocks and legos. This particular one is a parking garage.

Lyla is a sticker freak. If you need to keep her busy, give her a sheet of stickers. It's great during church. She covers her arms with them, sometimes her legs, and if I'm anywhere near her, she decorates me too!

What could be more fun than a rubbermaid container in the garage?

For 4 days, I tried the hard core method of potty training. She went straight from diapers to underwear in hopes that she would quickly get the hang of the idea of going in the potty and recognizing when she needed to go. When I did it with Donny, he was accident free by day 3. for Lyla, day 3 only gave us 2 successes and by day 4 she would tell me she had to go but then refused to sit on the potty. It was a completely miserable 4 days but I was able to put it into perspective and realize that she was a lot younger than Donny when i tried it with him and she would be ready in a few months. Crossing my fingers!

We have a little garden in our side yard. Donny was excited to pull out a fat carrot we had been watching for awhile. It was tough, but he was able to pull it out all on his own!

Paint + large box = Fun Afternoon!

Camping!

2011-09-08T22:28:00.000-07:00

We went camping with our good friends, the Martins, at Pine Valley. The kids were in heaven surrounded by dirt and rocks with plenty of exploring to do!

The kids loved the creek the best. We had to pry them away when it started getting dark

Busy Busy

2011-04-07T14:34:00.001-07:00

No time to write just pics! A pic is worth a thousand words right?

Fire Truck @ the Library!

The Getty Villa

Park Dayz with buds!
Donny made a birthday cake just for me!

All Bundled Up

2011-02-25T20:56:00.001-08:00

Valentines Stalker

2011-02-25T20:33:00.000-08:00

This was a Valentines Day I won't soon forget. On top of getting a sweet delivery of a rose, balloon, cupcake and chocolates to my door that morning, I was surprised to receive a box delivered by ProFlowers. My joy turned to dread as I read the card on top "Happy Valentines Day Smookie Bear. I love you, John." JOHN? Oh my gosh? Who was this creep? How did he get my address and phone number and why is he calling me Smookie Bear?! Was he a stalker? Has he been watching me? Following me?
Before I let my imagination run any wilder, I gave Marlon a call. He assured me that the flowers were from him, but the card was, obviously, mixed up with someone elses. What a relief! A nice bonus was that we ended up getting them for free when Marlon called and complained that instead of enjoying the bouquet, his wife had been worrying about a stalker. What's better than flowers? Free flowers! I hope John's wife enjoyed the sweet note from Marlon :)

Daily Randomness

2011-02-25T20:29:00.000-08:00

After a bit of a picture drought I have begun taking pictures like crazy again. Donny is looking so much older now & Lyla is changing as well and I'm desperate to catch every minute! I love putting Lyla's hair in pigtails. She's so stinkin cute in them! Donny likes to make weird faces at the camera and do funny things with his hands as he poses. Sometimes I just catch myself admiring my little ones as they play. "How did I get such sweet children? Am I really a mother of 2? These two are really mine. An adorable blend of Marlon and I. How I love them." So many small sweet moments. I wish I could freeze these moments and relive them again when they're bigger. The triumphant proud look on Donny's face as he masters a new skill, his excitement at Daddy's homecoming everyday, Lyla's looks of wonder and curiosity, her wide grins and giggles of pure innocent joy. At least I have pictures. Lots and lots of pictures.

Poked

2011-02-23T22:07:00.000-08:00

Little Lyla had to get her blood tested for allergies a couple weeks ago. I knew she'd probably have to be pinned down, screaming and crying, but what I didn't anticipate was that her blood flow would be so slow that it would be a brutal 10 minutes, (4 vials of blood) switching arms and lead to Donny almost passing out. I was really upset with the nurses who, half way through, were already saying "Almost done, almost done," leading all three of us to believe it was almost over when it wasn't even close. It was so sad when Lyla stopped crying and squirming to wimper and ask if it was in fact, done yet? Donny seemed to be doing perfectly fine, but when they switched to the arm closest to him, his hand was over his mouth and his face went straight into my lap. He wouldn't speak or even look up when it was over. I had to carry him to the car and when I sat him down I noticed that his face was completely white with no color in his lips! I felt like such a crappy mom. I should have brought his Leapster for him and had him face the corner the whole time! To help them get past the trauma I had lollipops for both of them and let them watch an Elmo movie. Thank goodness for Elmo :)

Squirrels Squeak in Underwear

2011-02-23T20:53:00.000-08:00

Donny & Apollo do the funniest things together. Last week we had Apollo over & he says to me "Squirrels squeak in underwear!" ?? He then proceeded to bring down 2 pairs of underwear (yes, they were clean), pull one over his head, and then help Donny put on his. He was very specific on placing.

Everything

2011-01-17T20:47:00.000-08:00

Time to catch up for the past 6 wks...

Donny had his first time on a rollercoaster and shocked us both when he begged to go on the Matterhorn. We had him go on the Toon Town coaster first so he could get an idea of what he was getting himself into. It only seemed to wet his appetite for a bigger faster coaster so Marlon took him on the Matterhorn. He loved it, especially the big scary "creature" in the cave and went again. Now he wants to get bigger so he can go on the faster coasters! I think rollercoasters finally surpassed "Small World" as his favorite ride.

Some pics before church. Donny looked so studly that morning I had to capture it before his outfit was destroyed with graham crackers. He loved being my little model and posing for me

Miracle of miracles, my family was actually ALL together for Christmas this year! I think it was definitely my favorite Christmas yet. The kids loved playing with their aunts and uncles, especially the ones who live out of state and they don't get to see as much anymore.This was one of our many attempts at a serious picture. 5 Seconds seemed way too long to hold a straight face and inevitably, one of us would let out a squeak and it was all over after that!

Christmas morning. Marlon and I were actually the ones rushing the kids down the stairs in the morning. Donny wanted to change his clothes first...go figure! We wouldn't let him. You can't take Christmas morning pics in regular clothes it's just not done! Lyla's favorite gift was the Baby Alive that giggles and bounces that Donny picked out for her. She has to have it everywhere, gives it kisses and shares her snacks with it as well. We have to hide it during mealtimes sometimes so she doesn't bathe it in mac n cheese or oatmeal.Lyla is getting into everything of course. Her new thing is dumping out, then collecting, dumping and collecting again. Here she is doing it with shoes and then Donny's cars.

These pics are the kitchen floor during dinner prep. The kids empty out my cupboards and in exchange, I have 15 mins of peace to get dinner in the oven.
Yes, Lyla ripped open a bag of sugar and they played in it like it was snow. At least I got dinner on the table, right?

Edible Nativity

2010-12-22T15:18:00.001-08:00

Today Donny & I made a Rice Krispy Nativity. He had a ball, especially decorating with the candy, or should I say, eating the candy! I tried making the stable stand but it wasnt too sturdy and began falling apart immediately. Looks like we will be making this a tradition so maybe Marlon can figure out how to make it more durable next year. Hopefully it will survive the day so he can see it when he gets home!

Our Home

2010-12-16T22:29:00.000-08:00

After a year of having our offers rejected and ignored we bought a house! A huge thanks to our amazing realtor, Lars Nordstrom. When I was discouraged and wanted to give up he fought for us, stayed optimistic and showed us countless houses until we found the perfect one! I waited until we had at least one room mostly done before posting pics. The rest is a work in progress and we've got nothing but time. I've included some before & afters.
Living before
The Living Room after! Nope, not really much furniture yet but it's great for the kids to run amuck in! This room wil eventually be painted light grey.
Family Room before

Dining & kitchen before

after...kitchen before. The cheap laminate was warped and holey in the kitchen from previous flooding. Yay for tile!

Master Bedroom. Yes, we painted it a dark crazy taupe color. I like to call it our cave ;) I promise it will work once we've added curtains & other randomness!

Master Bath
Kid's Bath
Play Room. I love being able to close the door on the mess!
Kid's Room

Our next project...

The True Meaning of Christmas

2010-12-05T13:07:00.000-08:00

I was sitting in church today thinking about how to have a more Christ-centered Christmas this year and then after Sacrament we were asked to speak next Sunday on the true meaning of Christmas. How do you all keep the focus on the True meaning of Christmas?

Random Lyla

2010-10-31T23:25:00.000-07:00

Halloween Fun

2010-10-31T22:17:00.001-07:00

Donny had his heart set on making a pumpkin with an "angry face." When he saw a pic online of a pumpkin eating a baby one he just had to have that too.
He was very excited to carve a pumpkin until he discovered that it was pretty messy. He opted out and let Mommy and Daddy to the dirty work!
Donny was Thomas of course and Lyla was an octopus. There was a cute hat included but she wasn't having it.

We attended our old ward's Trunk-or-Treat to be back with old friends. Lyla somehow knew how amazing candy was and dove right into the bowl. She had quite a time trying to taste the goodies but with no luck.

Lyla's Birthday

2010-10-31T22:06:00.000-07:00

We did cupcakes on her actual birthday. She didn't want to blow out the candle, just touch that really cool bright thing burning on top. She got a cat piano that Donny plays with more than she does, and an SUV so she doesnt have to snatch big brother's trucks.
My family came by that weekend for a little celebration. Again trying to touch that flame :)

New House Adventures

2010-10-24T20:29:00.000-07:00

Dad, Marlon & Seth tore up the flooring on the entire first floor. The kids & I spent the next week living upstairs. By the way, a huge thanks to my mom & sis who took the kids til Saturday night & to the Harps who not only helped us load the truck on Friday, but spent their entire Saturday tearing up the floors and helping us unpack! We have amazing friends & family!

My dad spent his birthday helping us out, in fact, he was here all last week doing tile, painting & fixing miscellaneous things. It has been an incredible blessing having him around to help us out & I really dont know what we would have done without him. I've always known he worked construction & could do a lot of different things, but I guess I underestimated him. He really saved the day when he spent 3 days fixing a major plumbing problem. It would have cost us thousands of dollars to pay a plumber to do it. When we discovered raw sewage coming out of a random broken pipe coming out of our garage floor on Day 3 we were really freaking out. I called the plumber in the morning & then spoke with my dad. "What? You called a plumber?! I can do that!" What a relief! It was much worse that we had anticipated. Apparently, instead of doing the basic miserable things like banging holes into walls and taking front doors, the previous owners took a sledge hammer to the access pipe in the garage and cracked it all the way to the main before being evicted by the bank. I would have preferred holey walls. Dad had to scoop out a ton of crap (literally) tear up concrete, carve out pieces of the old pipe which took forever, rent a "sewer snake" and fix the blockage, then install a new pipe & pour concrete. At least we got to put the kids hand prints & names in the concrete right? ;) (Due to their graphic nature, pics have not been included) Did I mention that the company who did the home inspection didn't even catch this huge problem? I had noticed a hole with paper towels stuffed in it on the day we moved in but thought nothing of it. Don't use The Elite Group Property Inspection!
Seriously though, we would rather have a house & have these problems that not have one at all, we are so very blessed!

Donny approved of our paint color choice. He came downstairs & saw "abuelito" painting the walls & got a big grin on his face. "Mommy, I like when abuelito paints the walls blue."

"We're Best Friends"

2010-10-24T19:17:00.000-07:00

Donny & Apollo are best friends, anyone who has seen them together could tell you that. It was especially cute when Donny saw these pics on the computer the other day. He said, "Hey that's me & Apollo! We're best friends." These two are all about each other & when we lived in Tustin, they saw each other just about every day except for Saturdays, so it's been really tough on Donny, especially now that it's the second week after we moved & he's realized that this is where we're going to live from now on....far away from Apollo. I still take him back each week for preschool so he can see all his friends, esp Apollo of course. This last week after I picked him up he kept trying to convince me to take him to our old apartment. "I want to go to our old house" "But we live in the new big house. Don't you want to go back there?" "No. I want to go to the old one next to Apollo's house." He has missed his buddy so much that his best friend has now become his invisible friend. Twice this week he pretended to play with Apollo. I wanted to cry. He said "Look Mommy! Apollo's chasing me!" or "Look! Apollo has a firefighter hat on just like me!" I took these pics of the 2 of them a couple weeks ago @ the Irvine Park so he'd have pics of his BF in his bedroom. You can tell they are always so excited to be together!

I told them to sit in this "bear cave" so I could get some pics. They thought that was pretty cool.

waiting for the train...

Birthday Girl

2010-10-23T22:17:00.001-07:00

Lyla Rose Avalos Oct. 19, 2009 7lbs 11oz 20 1/2"
1 month
2 months
3 months
4 months
5 months
6 months

7 months
8 months
9 months
10 months
11 months

12 month birthday pics to follow ;)

Our little Lyla has brought nothing but joy from Day 1. She is such a happy girl! Lately, she loves to cuddle her baby dolls and play with big brother's cars, trains & cars & even tried to make the sounds. She adores her big bro & thinks he's pretty hilarious! Whenever he's not in sight she inquires about him, "Da?" and then laughs when she finally finds him. She loves her Daddy too & especially misses now him because of his long commutes. When he comes through the door she squeals and jumps up & down, her little body can hardly contain her joy! She is still not walking on her own though I'm sure she could if she could just get some confidence!

Favorite Food: cheese, blueberries, raspberries
Favorite Toy: baby doll
Favorite Book: Peek-a-Baby
Loves: Dancing, following big brother, going outside, animals, playing peek-a-boo, her blanket
Baby Signs: Milk, sleep, cheese
Words: Mama, Dada, Da (Donny)
Dislikes: Diaper changes, washing her hair

Caterpillar Adventures

2010-10-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

Donny found a small red caterpillar in the backyard last week. He named it "Furry" (the name of all of his pets lately, real and imaginary). It went everywhere with him (yes, I let it in the house) and got to ride in toy trucks and cars and of course, took a few hundred scenic rides on Donny's train across the bridge and through the tunnel. I had no idea what to feed it but then next day I discovered that he & Marlon had given it a cilantro leaf and some nectarine. I felt like an such an idiot...how may times have I read The Hungry Little Caterpillar? It was very cute to find it the next morning curled up on a half eaten cilantro leaf. Over the course of 2 days he lost it a few times but surprisingly, would find it again, under the tablecloth, in the bathroom, or crossing the railroad tracks. After the second day I decided not to push our luck and let it go. It had survived 2 days with a 3 year old, but who knew for how much longer before it would get smashed or eaten by The Hungry Little Sister?

"Furry" was very social. Here he is waving to the camera

Lyla "Rolls"

2010-10-03T20:21:00.001-07:00

Lately Donny has been full of questions, questions and more questions about everything. I think sometimes he asks questions just for the sake of asking, like things he already knows the answers to. Today, for instance, he was asking Marlon & I's names and then Lyla's to which I answer:

Me: "Lyla Rose"
Donny: "Lyla Rose. That what gramma says. Lyla Rose."
Me: "That's right Lyla Rose."
Then Donny goes to the middle of the floor and rolls and says "And see, I can roll to!" Lol!
It was only then that I realized he had been saying Lyla Rolls and not Lyla Rose. My funny boy cracks me up ;)

Old cute pics I never posted ;)

Catch-Up

2010-09-16T19:38:00.001-07:00

Summer's been busy & bit hot! Donny & friends enjoyed a slip-n-slide at a friend's house. He talked about it for weeks after!

Raspberry Baby

Plenty of park days...

San Diego Wild Animal Park

.......... finishing off the passengers?

Awesome petting zoo....deer and gazelles!

Cup of nectar...$3.00 The look on Donny's face....Priceless!

Donny's new race car bed. After we put it together he just laid there for a few hours. It's really huge & takes up most of the space in his room, but he really loves it & hopefully there will be more space in our soon-to-be new house!

Beach with Grandma & Tia Diana

2010-08-05T00:41:00.000-07:00

What's in the Can?

2010-08-05T00:29:00.001-07:00

Staci & I caught this huge creepy lizard for the boys to take a look at. We had it cornered for awhile but we were so afraid it might attack us that it took us a few attempts to finally get it in the can. By the time we knew we had it, the lizard looked so scared I felt bad scooping it up. Donny & Miles had fun peeking into the bucket and "feeding" it leaves and a few tasty rocks. We considered keeping it but who would want this thing to get loose in their apartment?

Martin Weekend

2010-08-05T00:03:00.000-07:00

Spent a fun weekend with the Martin family when they came to stay with us! Sadly, they live in Utah so we don't get the opportunity to see them very often but when we do we have a blast! We went to the San Diego Zoo & saw every animal under the sun!

Lyla made a new friend...

Lyla thinks she can walk
Lucy. Smiling as always!

The girls outlasted the boys @ the end of the day. Girl Power!

:)

2010-07-17T01:03:00.001-07:00

Real Men Sparkle!

2010-07-11T22:41:00.000-07:00

We finally went to see Eclipse with some fellow Twilight fans & then onto the after-party for some games & vampire-inspired treats! Robyn did an amazing job on everything, even made some exclusive VIP passes.
Yes, I know some think I'm kind of a dork for getting excited about a silly movie but if you've read the books you would know...this is not silly, it's important stuff! Plus it's fun :)

Some of the more devoted fans made shirts. I wanted to make a shirt saying "Real Men Sparkle" for Marlon, but for some crazy reason, he didn't want to.

Fourth of July Weekend

2010-07-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

Please excuse the avalanche of pictures. I may not know what I'm doing, but that doesn't stop me from going crazy with the camera!

Fourth of July weekend we went up North with our friends, the Copas & the Harps. The first day, we went on Carleton's family boat for some water sports. They were all shocked that it was the first time boating for Marlon and I. We tried out knee-boarding, tubing, skiing and wakeboarding. While Marlon was able to do pretty well, but my attempts at getting above the water were pretty pathetic and thankfully, not photographed :) Tubing requires no skill at all so I stuck to that. The kids all did great on the boat...5 little ones 3 & under on a small boat for 8 hours...no problem!

Donny & best bud Apollo had a blast! They were always laughing and playing together, keeping each other entertained. They're a crack-up to watch!

This is Carleton...can you tell he's done this a few times?

Lazy Sunday

We spent a few hours on Monday running around San Francisco seeing a few of the top sites:

The famously windy Lombard street. We crawled in traffic for awhile going up a pretty steep hill to get to it; so steep that one car had to give up & go back down!

Lunch @ Fisherman's Wharf

Lyla went nuts for the those pesky pigeons waiting for a few stray crumbs. She couldn't stop giggling!

Golden Gate Bridge of course

Father's Day

2010-06-20T21:16:00.001-07:00

Today is the day (but not the only day of the year I hope) that we thank our Fathers & Husbands & recognize them for the amazing men that they are. I have been fortunate enough to be sealed to a wonderful man who presides over our home with love, patience & humility. I love watching his tenderness, love & enthusiasm as he plays with & teaches our two sweet children. I am amazed at his patience in dealing with Donny when I'm completely done listening to the whining or defiance. His is the example that I follow when i'm trying to be a better parent. Thank you Babe, for presiding over our home in righteousness and giving our children a strong example to follow. We are so lucky to have you & I'm glad we have you for Eternity. Love,
Me :)

Rhapsody in Blue

2010-06-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

My younger brother, Manny, played Rhapsody in Blue with the El Camino College Orchestra 2 weeks ago. I just wanted to show it off ;) The video is kind of long & it's only 1/3 of the song!

Birthday Weekend

2010-06-14T22:37:00.000-07:00

Donny enjoyed a small party with his playgroup this year...

We took a trail in San Clemente that runs along the beach...and right next to some train tracks! A loud train came barreling down the tracks every 20 min or so. The perfect afternoon acvitity for our train lover!

Ruby's for dinner complete with a toy train chug chugging overhead!

Ending the day with Toy Story 2 on the beach!

Sunday was the family birthday celebration. This time, Donny, his Tias & Grandma got to decorate the cake ;)

Donny turned 3 this Saturday! Please excuse the mess of random pics :)

Favorite Food: Pizza & blueberries
Favorite Color: Green
Favorite Songs: It's a Small World, Bibidi Bobidi Boo, Hairbrush Song
Favorite Books: The Cat in the Hat & The Three Bears
Playtime Favorite: "Talking Trains," Tickle Time & Dancing!
Favorite Movie: Cars
Favorite Show: Thomas the Train
Favorite Playmate: Apollo
Favorite Disneyland Ride: It's a Small World

Donovan Elijah Avalos born 11:23 pm on 6-12-07 20 1/2" 9lbs 5oz

Tia Samantha Visits!

2010-06-04T22:52:00.000-07:00

The kids had fun with their Tia Samantha yesterday. I was editing these pictures & it occured to me that i have more pictures of my sisters with my kids than with me!

Memorial Day at the Beach

2010-06-03T22:18:00.002-07:00

Fun with the family

Hemangioma or Port Wine Stain?

2010-06-01T13:14:00.001-07:00

Lyla was born with a birthmark running from her hand and the entire length of her forearm. The pediatrician called it a Hemangioma which eventually fades with time. She sent us to a demotologist who said it was a Port Wine Stain which is permanent and thickens with time and can form lumps but can be removed with laser surgery. She sent us to a specialist at UCI who can't decide which one it is & wants to do an MRI to figure it out. We've decided to hold off on the MRI (she'll have to be put down) until January so until then, when someone asks me what she's got on her arm I'll say "Uh, I dunno..." It's not something that bothers us at all, only a super rude comment that I won't mention. But if it's a port wine stain we'll almost certainly have it removed because if we don't I'm sure she'll hate us for it when she's older :)

Tia Sofia

2010-05-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

Donny & Lyla's Tia Sofia came to visit for the day. She lives in Utah and doesn't get to see Donny much so it was a special day for him.

Mother's Day

2010-05-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

On Mother's Day my boys each made me something that afternoon. After a blissful after church nap I awoke to find this cute sandwhich Marlon had made for me with heart-shaped melons.

Apparently, Donny had his own idea for a Mother's Day creation. I followed my nose to the odd smell of...was that baby powder I smelled? Ah, it was! I discovered Donny in the living room making it "snow" as he called it. I had to laugh of course & take a few pictures for posterity.

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Real Food!...sort of

2010-05-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

Lyla has enjoyed some solids for the past month. She doesn't seem to be a big fan of bananas though. She sticks her tongue way out & goes "blah." Really. Her favorite thing is drinking water. As soon as she spies the water coming she giggles and grins & wiggles. She even starts to sing as she drinks. I find it pretty entertaining :)

Donny is not one to be left out of the action & asks to feed her sometimes. These are pics from his first tries.

Thats right Honey, feeding a baby isn't pretty

Who needs a spoon?

Chocolate Milk

2010-05-02T23:22:00.004-07:00

Donny has never been a fan of me breastfeeding Lyla. I have no idea why, maybe he just feels its something strange that he doesn't understand. He always says "Mom, don't feed Lyla. You don't want to feed Lyla" when she beings to eat. I think he has decided to go with the age old saying "if you can't beat em', join em.' Allow me to explain...

I sit down yesterday to feed Lyla & he grabs his teddy bear and sits down on his bed. He then proceeds to press the bear's face to his chest & says..

Donny: My bear is eating
Me: Oh yeah, what's he eating?
Donny: Chocolate Milk
I turn my head & press my smiling lips together, trying not to laugh out loud. He then takes it further and says...

Donny: Now he drank all the milk. (Speaking softly to the bear)Now gotta go to the other side..

He flips his bear and takes a second to find just the right spot on his chest. I cover my gaping mouth and almost lose it this time! I couldn't wait to tell Marlon how his son was passing the afternoon!

Blog Going Private

2010-04-20T22:08:00.000-07:00

I've decided to go private; too many weirdos out there & I don't want them looking at pics of my babies. If you'd like to keep viewing the blog, leave me your email so I can send you an invite.

Eddie's Sealing

2010-04-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

My lil bro was sealed to his sweetheart this past weekend in the San Diego Temple. They were so happy! It was wonderful being there in the temple, listening to all of the blessings the Lord has in store for someone that I love so much. It was also great being in the same temple Marlon & I were sealed in 5 1/2 years ago, coming back with our two little ones. It's one of those days where I want to shout "Life is Beautiful!" As you can see in the top pic, 1/2 of the temple is covered in scaffolding for renovations so I didn't take any get any great temple pics.

Abuela Gigi

2010-04-06T20:28:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a visit from Abuela Gigi this past week. Marlon's mom lives in New York & so having her was really great for us. The kids loved playing with her, Marlon loved eating her famous dishes & I enjoyed having help around the house & an adult to chat with during the day. We took her to the San Diego Zoo on Friday.

Donny learned to fly a helicopter while we were there :)
and made friends with the natives...

Beach Day

2010-04-06T20:07:00.000-07:00

A trip to California isn't complete without a day at the beach!

Just Pics

2010-03-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

Just the latest pics of my babies. Lyla is growing a ton & is learning to sit. Her favorite thing to do is hang out with her big brother!

Donny loves being a big brother. He always says 'Mommy, I want to make my sister happy." He gets the biggest thrill out of making her laugh, & gets very frustrated when he can't!

My Best Friend's Sealing

2010-03-08T21:38:00.001-08:00

Arianne & I have known each other since we were 4 & 5 & it was so amazing to be there in the sealing room & watch as she was sealed to her husband and beautiful baby girl to become an Eternal Family! Don't they make such a beautiful happy family?

1/2 of my family now lives in Utah so it was great to be together with them again as well & I know Lyla has missed them too ;)

Missing my Baby

2010-03-08T21:33:00.000-08:00

I missed my boys while I was gone but they had a blast without me I hear. They went to Disneyland and also to see The Princess and the Frog. Marlon was sure to remind Donny before he went to bed Friday night that I was in Utah & wouldnt be there in the morning. Saturday morning Donny walked into the room & woke Marlon. "Mommys in Utah. Let's wake up Lyla!" He peered excitedly into her empty bassinet. Marlon told him that Lyla was in Utah as well. "I miss Lyla," he said with a frown. Awww, he does love his baby sister!
It was good to hang out with Donny again. We had a good ole time throwing rocks at the fence :)

Sunday stroll

2010-02-24T14:52:00.000-08:00

On Sunday afternoons we like to take walks to get the kids out of the house. Donny's nice & cozy

So is Lyla :)
Donny's new "Big Boy" hair cut. He reached a point where he couldn't see anymore so we had to cut his curls. The whole day afterwards I kept forgetting it was him and it took awhile to get used to. I think my neighbor is upset at me for cutting them...

Looks like we've got ourselves a thumbsucker. As you can see from the pic Lyla has lost a ton of hair but only on the sides of her head, making her little mohawk even more pronounced.

Goin on a Bug Hunt...

2010-02-04T20:12:00.001-08:00

Donny & I decided it would be fun to do a little bug hunt. He loves playing with rolly polly bugs and watching centipedes & we haven't done it in a while. Our backyard was the perfect place to look as it has rained plenty lately and we have lots of yummy mud and dead flowers and leaves for bugs to play in. We quickly found a nice long worm that Donny couldnt wait to get his hands on. We found a bit more than bugs though...
Can you tell what he's holding in the picture above? It's a creepy salamander almost as long as the worm we found. It was very easy to catch because it was sitting completely still and stayed that way most of the afternoon, even when Donny fiddled with him. I was afraid to touch it with my bare hands but I let Donny pick it up...does that make me a bad mom?

Our loot of the day: 1 long earthworm, 1 big salamander, 4 baby salamanders ( they are the little squigglies in the middle of the pan) & 8 rolly pollies.
Donny had a great time with them but I was feeling sorry for the salamanders because they were finally starting to move and making pathetically slow attempts to escape their shallow prison, so I asked him to let them go. He didn't want to "No, I want to play with them Mommy," but I convinced him that they were sad & wanted to go back home so he relented. There's nothing like a good successful bug hunt.

Tough Cookie

2010-01-20T18:40:00.001-08:00

I realized that we didn't have any pics of Lyla on her own in her blessing dress so we took some after church this week. This top one is my favorite cuz she looks like a baby doll to me (perfect for dressing up!). Poor Donny, we were so into taking pics of his baby sister he felt left out & jumped in & demanded to be a part of it.

This little lady loves to smile but definitely makes us work to make her laugh! Notice poor little Donny on his own with a scowl in the background :(

Can you tell she's wearing earrings? We got them pierced at Claires @ the Spectrum this past Friday. After peeking into the store & looking at the girl on duty, we decided she looked experienced enough to pierce Lyla's ears. most of the crying she did was because I had to hold her still against my chest & I was surprised at how quickly she stopped crying every time an ear was pierced. Even the employees made the comment, "Wow, she hardly cried at all!" Lyla is one tough cookie!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T20:35:00.001-08:00

The Elder's Quorum did a little New Years party this year. As you can see, we brought the kids as well & Donny stayed up THE ENTIRE TIME! He was wired on the many yummy snacks that were available, thank goodness for the bounce house so he could burn off steam! We mostly played games til the countdown began & I learned a new one that I absolutely love, Bananagrams! Check it out!
Tasty apple cider.
Marlon brought his PS3 & Guitar Hero games and Donny got to rock out with the big boys with the drum set his tios got him for Christmas!

3 Christmases

2010-01-04T20:23:00.000-08:00

This year we had 3 Christmases. The first we spent with my family so we could all exchange gifts. It was great seeing my mom so happy, she was so cute & positively glowing!
The spent Christmas vacation with Marlon's family. We all met at his sister's home in Mesa Arizona & Lyla got to meet her grandma. Donny was in heaven having 5 cousins to play with & plenty of cars & trains to keep him busy.

When we arrived home from Arizona we found that Santa had stuffed the stockings we left behind & had delivered an awesome train table for Donny. The kid was on cloud 9! Christmas is so much fun when there are little ones to share it with!

2010-01-04T20:20:00.001-08:00

Alecia Dawn Photography

2009-12-11T10:26:00.000-08:00

We took family pics over Thanksgiving weekend with this amazing photographer, Alecia. It was freezing cold out & Lyla was crying 1/2 the time but Donny was a good sport & I love the way she captured our family! Can you believe she has never taken a photography class?
www.aleciasphotography.blogspot.com/

Isn't this photographer amazing?!! www.aleciasphotography.blogspot.com/

Blessing Day

2009-12-10T13:59:00.000-08:00

Marlon blessed Lyla last Sunday & for once, my whole family was together! Lyla was an angel during the blessing and a friend was kind enough to write it down for us!
The Fabulous Arellano/Avalos Family

5 YEARS!

2009-12-09T23:24:00.001-08:00

Marlon & I enjoyed our 5 Year Anniversary on Nov. 27th! We celebrated it a week early with dinner & then the movie New Moon! Marlon was a good sport about the movie & I even got him to listen to the audiobook of Eclipse on our trip to Utah. Now that's love! I found myself amazing man who loves me & inspires me to be so much better than I am through his example. What a blessing it has been to build a beautiful Eternal family with the man I LOVE! There is no one like my Honey :)

Thanksgiving in Sandy

2009-12-09T22:27:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving in Sandy. Most of my family was able to meet up at my Aunt Suzanne's home there & enjoy an amazing Thanksgiving dinner complete with her famous dinner rolls! Donny was super excited to get to see 2 of his aunts who have been living in Utah since September & they finally got to meet little Lyla. Our trip was way too short so we were only able to spend 30 min with my best friend and an evening with Marlon's sister & her family.
Can you tell she loves being a grandma?!

A visit to Utah is never complete without spending time with the Martins! They were kind enough to let us stay there the drive up & back to make the roadtrip bearable. This is a pic of Donny with their little man, Miles! Donny was so excited to finally get to his house!

Catch Up

2009-12-09T22:04:00.000-08:00

Lyla @ 2wks

I've got to do a bit of catching up now. I've been too busy to blog & it's not because I've been taking a million pics either. Poor Lyla has suffered from the same deprivation that many a second child has before her...there are not nearly as many pics of her as there were of Donny when he was a baby. I swore to myself that I wouldn't be like those other parents who somehow neglected to capture every nanosecond of their second child's life like they did with the first, but alas, I have fallen into the same pit! I now recommit myself to do better!

Lyla @ 4 wks

Donny must have taken pointers from his buddy Apollo because he really is the sweetest big brother! He loves to get down on the floor with her, get real close to her face & just watch her & smile. I can count on him to run over & give her a pacifier if she's crying & he likes helping me give her a bath, burp her, & sing to her. I always tell him that Lyla is so lucky!

3 Days of Halloween

2009-11-01T22:30:00.001-08:00

This year Donny & Lyla enjoyed 3 days of Halloween. The first was Thursday night with the ward's Trunk-or-Treat. He got to wear his dragon costume that my Aunt Suzanne sent him. He loved being able to "ROARRRRRR!"
Dragons eat babies for breakfast....open wide!
His favorite part, other than the candy of course, was seeing his little friends. He was totally wired on sugar afterwards & kept running around in circles over & over. It was pretty comical to watch!

Friday there was park day with Halloween treats. Donny wore his Pirate onesie made by the amazing Stephanie Toland http://weebabai.blogspot.com/ . This was Donny after the party with the chocolate covered face.

Here I am with my little dragon & senorita. As you can see, Lyla didn't like her costume much. Maybe she wanted to be a dragon like her big bro. For Halloween we went to the Anaheim "Spooktacular" where they had trick-or-treating & games. Donny could have cared less about the games, he was all about getting as much candy as possible!

Lyla wasn't interested in any of it, she felt that napping would be more constructive
Enjoying the loot of the day!

One Week Old

2009-10-26T21:39:00.000-07:00

Our baby girl is one week old & it already feels like it's going by too fast. It seems she hasnt decided what kind of sleeper she's going to be...Saturday night she was up for 5 hrs & then last night she slept from midnight to 7:30 in the morning! I hope she decides to keep last night's schedule. I have been doing really well, thanks to a hard working husband (in the office & at home) & lots of amazing friends willing to bring meals & take Donny so that I can sleep!

Donny loves being a big brother. He worries when she cries & likes to stroke her head & give plenty of kisses!

Lyla Rose Avalos

2009-10-22T19:03:00.000-07:00

We recently upgraded to "Avalos 4.0" with the addition of Lyla Rose Avalos on Oct. 19th @ 5:32 p.m. She came in at 7lbs 11oz & 19 1/2" Downloading this amazing new upgrade took a bit longer than expected. I was scheduled to be induced on the morning of the 19th but went into labor the night before all on my own (yay!). By 5:00 a.m. I couldnt take it any more & Marlon rushed me to the hospital. I was already dilated to a 6 & 2 hrs later I was at an 8. My OB said to expect Lyla by the end of the next hour, but 7 hrs & a ton of pitocin later I was still stuck at an 8. They gave me 1 more hour before they would "re-evaluate," meaning I would prob be on my way to the OR if nothing changed. Not only was I at an 8 but she hadn't "come down" AT ALL & she was face up. I prayed pretty hard that hour & when I was checked for the last time the nurse declared that Lyla was ready to join our family! Whew! By the time everything was ready I had her out in 3 minutes! Lyla looks a lot like her big brother did, only less hairy
For Daddy it was love at first sight of course. I loved watching him cry as she was born. Could anything be more beautiful? Not for me :)

Belly Pic

2009-10-17T21:50:00.000-07:00

I have had a few requests for a belly pic so Marlon took this one of me the other night. I can't believe we're meeting our baby tomorrow!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-11T22:06:00.000-07:00

Donny & his buddies went to a pumpkin patch this week & had a blast. I realized after looking through the pictures that he didnt take a single picture with a pumpkin!

Hotel Del Coronado

2009-10-11T21:20:00.000-07:00

You can't go to San Diego without stopping by the temple...especially if Donny is with you. As soon as he saw it he starting screaming "Mommy, the temple! The temple! I found it! I found it! It's right there! I see it! You see it? you see it? Let's go!"

Marlon had a 3 day marketing summit in San Diego & got to stay in the famed Hotel Del Coronado. We drove up the last night to stay the next day with him.

One day he actually might catch one...

Last chance to enjoy the beach this year!

Lila vs. Lyla

2009-09-14T12:17:00.001-07:00

Marlon & I decided early on to name our little one Lila/Lyla, but we discovered the other day that we wanted to spell it different ways. We didn't want to waste time debating it so we decided to let all of you vote on it & whichever spelling gets the most votes wins so help us out & vote for your favorite!

Slacker

2009-08-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

I've been a slacker about keeping up with the blog lately. My apologies. Nothing truly exciting, just keeping busy. Lately I have been nesting in the form of mass cleaning & organizing. The apartment is cleaner than it's EVER been. Not only that, but I've actually made sure that it stays that way! Donny is talking even more, especially a lot more English. His new phrases are "To infinity and Beyond!!" and "It's a bear!" He is really into the "Going on a bear hunt" song and is constantly reciting it. Our favorite part is when he says "Oh no! It's a bear!" and hops into the boat, rowing as fast as his little arms can go! It's truly comical, we really need to hide the camera somewhere & capture the whole thing one day before he grows out of it! Here are some pics of other things we've been up to....

Our great friends & neighbors, the Barons, moved to Florida :( We were very sad to see them go, especially me, as Sienna & I have recently become "attached at the hip" as her husband, Brandon, calls it, going everywhere from the Spectrum & Target to the Beehive Clothing store together. I don't know what I'm going to do now that I don't have her to hang out with anymore...maybe we'll move too ;) We had a bonfire to all hang out one last time, here are some pics

Donny & buddy Halley doing the Sand Dance!

Peeking through the holes in a dumpster as the sun sets...how romantic!

I took some pics of their 10 month old, Eamon. He was too cute & I couldn't pick just one! Check out those dimples!

rocking out with Daddy

A visit from Arizona cousins

Donny & Sofie at the park

Hammering away at the mud park. The hammer was actually really heavy & he kept dropping it so the nail never got very far, but it was still a lot of fun. They also had some awesome super sharp saws to saw wood with...mmmm...maybe next year

We took Donny on the train to Orange for breakfast. He was very impressed & lets out a few random "toot toots" every day, pumping his little arm

Another bonfire pic

Incubus Concert

2009-07-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

Last night we got the chance to go to the Incubus concert at the Hollywood Bowl with our friends, the Harps. It was pretty awesome & they sound exactly like their CDs! They even played my favorite at the end, Aqueous Transmission. The only downer was the people in front of us.

They brought the nastiest cheapest weed I have ever been unlucky enough to smell!

Palm Springs

2009-07-14T19:53:00.001-07:00

We spent this past weekend in Palm Springs & of course spent a lot of that time in the pool!

Birthday Boy

2009-06-15T20:34:00.000-07:00

He wasn't too keen on hitting his friend Cookie Monster, but after watching some of the other kids he got the courage to give him a whack. He definitely didn't have a problem collecting the candy inside!

His favorite thing was blowing out the candles on his cake. He kept asking Marlon to light them so he could blow them out again!

Grandma's Boy

Hey! She swiped some of my cake!

Donny & his pals

Donny is 2! His birthday was Friday & the party was Saturday. I can't believe this my baby is two years old! He has been such a blessing to us teaching us so much & most of all, giving us love. I would post a montage of pics of the past 2 yrs but our computer crashed along with all of the pics so until they are recovered we are left with only pics from the past month or so :( Here are photos of Donny's party. He had such a great time with all of his little friends. We had pizza of course, his favorite food & did a pinata & Cookie Monster cake. Thank you to all of our friends & family for coming & making it such a fun success!!

Graduation Day

2009-06-07T18:01:00.001-07:00

Yesterday my little sis, Samantha, graduated from high school. Go Sam!!! It was nice to get together some of my family & also visit my old high school, though it was a bit strange having my husband & son running around where I was once a clueless teenager. I guess now I'm just a clueless parent :)

Monkey See, Monkey Do

2009-06-07T17:43:00.001-07:00

Our little man loves to imitate us in the things we say & do. Sometimes it makes us laugh, other times, it makes us proud. Yesterday he did both. I was in the bedroom on the computer & Donny was suspiciously quiet in the bathroom. I was glad for a free second to check my email & didn't worry about what he could be up to. I was halfway through an email when Donny comes running in & gives me a big hug. I was beginning to thank him for being so sweet when I my nose was struck with the strong smell of MAN! What was that from?! I looked him over & noticed blue streaks all over his shirt & then recognized the smell of Marlon's deodorant, Old Spice. Ha! He had been trying to put on deodorant like he sees us do every day! I'm glad to see that so far we at least know we've taught him good hygiene!

"To ER or not to ER...that is the question"

2009-06-07T17:24:00.001-07:00

This week Donny was running in the hallway & tripped, forehead flying into the corner of the entryway. He screamed of course & I came running. He wouldn't let me look at it, just clung to me, so I had to peer at it in the mirror. All I saw was a big dent across his forehead & a cut in the middle. It hadn't started bleeding yet but I've heard that head injuries bleed like crazy so I began to freak thinking that my kid would have gallonsof blood spurting out of his head any second. Panicking, I shakily dialed Marlon, blurted out my story & we agreed what hospital to meet at. I grabbed a few of Donny's blankets to sop up the imminent bloody mess & ran out the door to the car. I was finally able to tear him away from my shoulder & put him in his car seat & that's when I saw it. Breathe Suzana. He was no longer crying, curiously feeling around his forehead for it, & what was more, it had barely filled with blood. Boy I felt silly. Marlon got home & declared it no big deal. He put a butterfly stitch on it & that was the end. As you can see, the cut was so small the small bandage almost completely covers it. Next time I'll be a bit more composed :)

Sugar & Spice....

2009-05-26T22:00:00.001-07:00

Looks like Donny will be getting a little sister in October! We are so excited! Woohoo!!!! I've already started shopping for adorable little dresses online & Marlon is planning on doing some shopping of his own...for a nice big intimidating shotgun! I'm 18wks now & feeling great! As you can see I'm showing now, I seem to have popped out in the past couple of days.

Visitors

2009-05-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

Our good friends the Martins came down from Utah & paid us a visit this weekend. We had a great time with them & Donny had fun with their one yr old, Miles. We took them to Downtown Disney & of course, the beach. Donny's favorite spot is Laguna Beach because he gets to play with the hermit crabs.

Just pics...

2009-04-19T21:12:00.000-07:00

Preggo

2009-04-19T20:58:00.000-07:00

I guess its safe to tell everyone now that we will be expecting another addition to our family @ the end of October. I am 13 wks and have been pretty much stuck in this apt. for the last 7 wks. I wont bore or gross you out & complain with details, but lets just say that when the mere thought of a hot cheesy pizza makes you jet to the toilet, you know you've got it bad. I've made dinner a total of 6 times & I shudder to think how much has been spent on take out meals as Marlon gets home late & has no time or energy to make dinner himself. The end is near though...I hope :)
Donny seems to sense that something is up & is much more clingy now & even requests to be held like a "bebe." Little does he know he won't be the "bebe" for much longer!

Update

2009-02-24T20:33:00.000-08:00

I just couldn't help posting my 2 new favorite pics of Donny. Marlon & I are literally obsessed with taking pictures of our son! Just a mini update, Donny's latest thing is learning at least 1 new word a day. My favorite right now is "wotit" (rocket). I also decided to write down each of his words & came up with 75 in Spanish, 40 in English, & 36 names of friends & characters including "Eh-mo" (elmo) & "Mi-hee" (Mickey).

To Learn & Create

2009-02-22T20:41:00.000-08:00

As of late I have had an increased desire to learn and create. About 6 months ago I decided to begin reading again. I used to come home from the library with stacks of books and lose myself in them, especially during the summer months when I was out of school. I got busy of course with college & a family & never made time for it. But something has awoken within me, a desire to learn about the world around me, increase my understanding of everything under the sun. I realized that during my precious "down time" moments I could do something better than plant myself in front of the tv. Since then I have enjoyed a wide variety of books from Autobiographies like Infidel & The Glass House, to fiction like Twilight (of course), to books like The History of Mexico, The Definitive Book of Body Language & Freakonimics & my favorite book so far The Lion & The Lamb, a powerful testimony strenghtener. I also recently learned to sew under the direction of a very patient friend & am surprised to note that the finished product (they're baby blocks if you can't tell) isn't half bad. Last week I also bought a new sketch pad & picked up a pencil for the first time in 5 years began to draw again. Add to that an increased desire to learn about photography & I'm keeping myself pretty busy during my little breaks. I am so grateful for this, I believe, God-given desire to expand my learning & talents. I know that all of the learning that I do will greatly bless my children.

First Kiss(es)

2009-02-14T19:26:00.000-08:00

Donovan had his first kiss last week just in time for Valentines. We were at a Valentines lunch & I looked across the room just in time to see him plant a kiss on his buddy Sofie, not once, but twice! They even hugged afterwards, it was super cute! It's pretty surprising though as even though he loves his friends he doesn't like them touching him, especially no hugging :) I ran & grabbed my camera & got him to kiss another friend, Halley. He learned a valuable lesson about girls this time as after the kiss she wouldn't let him go! She had a good grip on his overalls & no matter how hard he tried he couldn't wriggle away from her! I asked him to kiss Sofie again for a pic but it wasn't happening. I guess you can't force those magical moments!

From The Mouths of Babes

2009-01-26T19:53:00.000-08:00

Ahhhh, those adorable cooing, babbling sounds that comes from the mouths of our beautiful babes as they begin to express themselves. They tug at our heartstrings as they learn to say "Mama & "Dada" & we celebrate each new word & phrase that those sweet little mouths learn to form. Then we hit a wall as they learn to shout the dreaded "Mine!" & especially "NO!" Their vocabulary begins to expand rapidly to our utter delight & sometimes horror as they speak their mind in public! Donny's vocabulary is rapidly increasing & we are quickly learning that we need to put a cork in it sometimes because he tries to say everything we do! Not that we say anything "bad" of course, but let's just say we discuss things that only couples do in private & would be motified if he ever repeated it! Don't you ladies pretend not to know what I'm talking about! Twice Donny has made me want to disappear while in the line at the grocery store. The other day he noticed a man with a large gauze patch on his face. When he pointed to it with a questioning look I stupidly explained that the man hurt himself. So he began to excitedly point & say "Ow! Ow! Ow!" for the longest 5 minutes of my life! Though he had a very concerned look on his face I couldn't appreciate the cuteness of it as I was frantically trying to distract him with something else. Then today he loudly noticed a little boy with no shoes, but I thankfully a handful of goldfish crackers saved the day!

I know this post is already too long but for those bored few who have actually read this far have something great to look forward to. This was emailed to me yesterday & it made me laugh so hard I cried! Enjoy!

A 3-year-old tells all from his mother's restroom stall By Shannon Popkin

My little guy, Cade, is quite a talker. He loves to communicate and does it quite well. He talks to people constantly, whether we're in the library, the grocery store or at a drive-thru window. People often comment on how clearly he speaks for a just-turned-3-year-old. And you never have to ask him to turn up the volume. It's always fully cranked. There've been several embarrassing times that I've wished the meaning of his words would have been masked by a not-so-audible voice, but never have I wished this more than last week at Costco.Halfway, through our shopping trip, nature called, so I took Cade with me into the restroom. If you'd been one of the ladies in the restroom that evening, this is what you would have heard coming from the second to the last stall:

'Mommy, are you gonna go potty?

Oh! Why are you putting toiwet paper on the potty, Mommy?

Oh! You gonna sit down on da toiwet paper now?

Mommy, what are you doing?

Mommy, are you gonna go stinkies on the potty?'

At this point I started mentally counting how many women had been in the bathroom when I walked in. Several stalls were full ... 4? 5? Maybe we could wait until they all left before I had to make my debut out of this stall and reveal my identity. Cade continued:

'Mommy, you ARE going stinkies aren't you?

Oh, dats a good girl, Mommy!

Are you gonna get some candy for going stinkies on the potty?

Let me see doze stinkies, Mommy!

Oh ... Mommy! I'm trying to see In dere.

Oh! I see dem. Dat is a very good girl, Mommy.

You are gonna get some candy!'

I heard a few faint chuckles coming from the stalls on either side of me. Where is a screaming newborn when you need her?Good grief. This was really getting embarrassing. I was definitely waiting a long time before exiting. Trying to divert him, I said, 'Why don't you look in Mommy's purse and see if you can find some candy.We'll both have some!

''No, I'm trying to see doze more stinkies.

Oh! Mommy!'He started to gag at this point.

'Uh - oh, Mommy. I fink I'm gonna frow up.

Mommy, doze stinkies are making me frow up!!

Dat is so gross!!'

As the gags became louder, so did the chuckles outside my stall. I quickly flushed the toilet in hopes of changing the subject. I began to reason with myself: OK. There are four other toilets. If I count four flushes, I can be reasonably assured that those who overheard this embarrassing monologue will be long gone.

'Mommy! Would you get off the potty, now?

I want you to be done going stinkies!

Get up! Get up!'He grunted as he tried to pull me off.

Now I could hear full-blown laughter. I bent down to count the feet outside my door.

'Oh, are you wooking under dere, Mommy?

You wooking under da door?

What were you wooking at?

Mommy? You wooking at the wady's feet?'

More laughter. I stood inside the locked door and tried to assess the situation.

'Mommy, it's time to wash our hands, now. We have to go out now, Mommy.'

He started pounding on the door.

'Mommy, don't you want to wash your hands? I want to go out!!'

I saw that my 'wait 'em out' plan was unraveling. I sheepishly opened the door, and found standing outside my stall, twenty to thirty ladies crowded around the stall, all smiling and starting to applaud. My first thought was complete embarrassment, then I thought, 'Where's the fine print on the 'motherhood contract' where I signed away every bit of my dignity and privacy?' But as my little boy gave me a big, cheeky grin while he rubbed bubbly soap between his chubby little hands, I thought, I'd sign it all away again, just to be known as Mommy to this little fellow.
(Shannon Popkin is a freelance writer and mother of three. She lives with her family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she no longer uses public restrooms)

Missing...

2009-01-07T21:05:00.000-08:00

We were horrified New Years Day to find that someone had stolen Donovan's beautiful baby curls in the middle of the night. It is unknown who commited this unthinkable crime, but we are dilligently searching...

We have looked high.....

... and we have looked low. But to no avail :(

We are positive Donny knows who it was. I think he's trying to tell us something....but what?

Though we may never find the culprit, we are confident the curls will be recovered within a few months. Until then, please keep your eyes peeled for those curls....

In all seriousness...Thank you to Donny's Aunt Ashley for the much needed studly haircut! That hair was getting a way too crazy to handle!

Real Rockers are too cool to smile

2009-01-07T19:56:00.001-08:00

Santa got Donny a guitar so he could rock out with Daddy on Guitar Hero

What are YOU looking at?!

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas....

2008-12-29T20:33:00.000-08:00

This was the first White Christmas for Donovan & I. We drove up to Provo where all of Marlon's family met up at his sister's place. Donny had a ball playing with his cousins & it was great relaxing with the family & enjoying awesome Ecuadorian dishes!

We didn't venture outside too often as it was freezing, but Christmas morning we braved the snow & took Donny out to make his first snowball. He loved it & didn't want to go back inside!

The Martin's Visit

2008-12-15T19:30:00.000-08:00

Our good friends Rob, Staci & lil Miles flew down from Utah to hang out with us for the weekend.

The guys went to a Metallica concert (every rocker's dream according to Marlon) and us ladies stayed home.

We got ourselves some hot dates & went out shopping.

Miles was cool as a cucumber while Donny got a bit emotional. My guy was so excited to see Santa that he cried. Anyone who didn't know him as well as I do would think that he absolutely hated sitting on jolly old St. Nick's lap!

Mazatlan

2008-11-26T22:42:00.001-08:00

We spent last week vacationing in Mazatlan Mexico. Marlon really needed it seeing as the past 5 weeks his schedule has been grueling at work & elsewhere. We had a blast relaxing, soaking up the sun & sampling the local delicacies (plenty of great salsa & ceviche)! The best part was being together as a family the whole time, it was nice having Marlon all to ourselves :) Donny thrived on the experience and really let loose, becoming more social, even MORE talkative, and more daring & adventurous. There was usually music blasting somewhere, whether from a store, restaurant, or passing truck & he loved dancing along. I have posted only a handful of the 600 pictures & videos we took. Enjoy the avalanche of pictures they actually spill over onto the next page.....

We were surprised that Donovan changed his opinion of the beach. This past summer he would hardly step off the towel onto the sand, much less into the cold Pacific ocean. The water in Mazatlan was warm no matter the time of day so that probably had a lot to do with his change of heart :) He absolutely loved jumping into the water & we could hardly pull him away from it, it was all he wanted to do! Every morning he would wake up and say "Paya! Paya!" (playa is spanish for beach). He would continue to loudly request to be taken to the beach until we would finally drag ourselves out of bed & take him.

We all piled onto "Tigre" the horse & rode up & down the beach.

Aquarium

2008-11-26T22:38:00.001-08:00

Donny gets a wet one from "Bony" the sea lion!