sea world and old town

we've had lots of adventures the last few days - and more perfect weather to enjoy it! yesterday we visited sea world and had a ball. it was definitely time to pack up and go by 2:30 because the crowds were getting overpowering and the kids were out of steam (admittedly, the adults were ready to crash too).  p was still slightly apprehensive for the big shows with loud music and people screaming when they got splashed (um, you are sitting in the "splash zone"...and you are surprised that you are wet?) but we did get to see the dolphins and shamu in action, amongst visiting most of the other park exhibits. the bay of play is always a hit, i think next time we go we will just spend the whole day there and skip the fish! thanks to the grandparents for making an exhausting day for momma so much more enjoyable - its wonderful to have other people to chase and carry and hold-hands and help manage all the logistics of the day. i'm working on being better at letting people help (sorry, i know it sometimes makes me cranky) because i know in a few weeks i will definitely be needing some serious assistance while we transition to three babes under one roof!
today we enjoyed delicious mexican lunch and some ice cream with a side of sight seeing in old town before delivering deedee and bumpah to the airport. its been a wonderful week - and as we were saying goodbye, my mom says to my belly, "next time i come i'll get to meet you!"
yes!!!! we are all excited to meet this little babe in my belly and january is dedicated to prepping everyone and everything for his arrival. only three short weeks til grandma arrives - and then its officially "be ready to go" time. :)

bumpah's work team helping to assemble the new coffee table that is really a play-surface/train table/etc

getting all the baby things out and clean and ready for baby tres - betsy recognized her old car seat and climbed in right away (pete did the same thing when we got the car seat out and ready for her almost two years ago!)

he said "hello in there!!!!!!"

34 weeks pregnant tomorrow! xoxo

pete wanted to ride in the stroller so betsy happily dove into the lower deck seating for a ride

big balloon parade

this morning the kids and bumpah and i got on the sorrento valley coaster train bound for downtown san diego. the kids loved the trip on the train - and the adults loved the no-stress/no-looking-for-parking aspect of it.  we met up our sweet friends again and found a corner spot that was sunny this morning when it was cool and shaded once it got hot. it took about half the parade for pete to warm up to it, he was a bit apprehensive of the giant balloons going by. betsy, however, loved every single second of it and was clapping and waving and marching in place and dancing. i think we may have a future drummer on our hands, which will make her daddy quite happy!  the parade was fantastic - and much longer than i expected! as soon as it was over we made our way back to the coaster station to wait in the loooong bathroom line and then enjoyed a picnic lunch in a courtyard. there was a pretty cool fountain there, the base was wide and low to the ground and it didn't have a pool in the middle, just an area where the excess water slide back into the drain. pete and several other little boys couldn't resist and started running around it. i told him a few times to walk because i was afraid he might slip and fall - or get pushed and fall - or push someone else in. but after a few seconds of walking, he got that completely-full-of-joy look on his face and started racing to his hearts content again. after a few deceleration warnings and then returns to full speed, he got way too into the moment, and each step got closer and closer to the inner edge...i saw it happening in slow motion almost before it even happened. the next step he took missed the edge and at full-speed, it took him off balance and sent him into the fountain. he landed on his elbow and was completely soaked. he was crying, mostly because it scared him (and the water was COLD) - and of course all the other parents were giving me the disapproving "you are the worst mother ever" look as i sprinted, 8 months pregnant, across the courtyard to rescue him. and even though i felt bad for his fun being ruined and even though i felt bad for him being cold and wet and scared and possibly even a little embarassed, i couldn't help secretly giggling just a little bit because of how accurately i had predicted the incident and how insane it looked happening in my slow-motion-momma-goggles (and laughing a little too about how awkward it was to sprint being this pregnant!).  luckily i was prepared and a change of clothes and a little bite to eat and a not-necessary-but-sure-does-help bandaid on the elbow seemed to set things right again in his awesome little-man world.  the train ride home was pretty quiet and the kids practically dove into their beds when we got home for a nap. and...bumpah fell asleep promptly as well! what a wonderful day.

riding the coaster train on her bumpah's lap

chillin on the train with his shades and a mouthful of scone

sitting by the water in front of the midway with his best buddy

waiting for the parade to come

made me nostalgic for college days when i was a drumline groupie :)  i think daddy will be tickled to know how much b was diggin the drummers. i can totally picture her rocking some "quads" in high school. yes!!!!

watching the helo overhead

shan and peyton

feels like vacation

reading "the hunger games"....so glad he is hooked like we were! baxter is happy to have a snuggle companion

enjoying a beautiful morning at the park

for a few days now our only "jobs" have been playing and relaxing.  the weather has been absolutely perfect this week. chilly in the morning and evening and mid-upper 70's daytime. we have loved being able to get back outside again after a few weeks of yuck and gray and chilly.

december photo session with powell woulfe photography

angela from powell woulfe photography did a great job capturing some beautiful images of the kids and me a couple of weeks ago.  we met her this summer for a super-awesome photo session with the whole family and decided to meet up at old poway park again. i just love it there, its beautiful AND its right around the corner from us. i am thrilled with some of these incredible images she gave us. thanks for sharing your gift. i know i will cherish these beautiful photos for the rest of my forever. :)

christmas, part ii

we are hoping the recovery period is almost over for my sweet parents. they are both perkier today. dad busied himself with delivering the altima for some car maintenance and mom got one tiny step closer to being her busy self again (but still not loving food, unfortunately).  not quite back to normal for either, but much closer than yesterday, poor things. with more glorious weather being showered down upon us, we hit the park for some playing this morning and then came home to open up our christmas packages.  we may have to do the 12 days of christmas next year and open one present each day - because once one present was opened, they were so into that one gift that they wanted nothing to do with the other packages at their feet. i loved it, actually, that they were so enamored with each gift individually, requesting to open it up and explore it right away. with a little coaxing and promises of assembly "in a little while" they eventually made their way through each of their packages. they may have actually both had just as much fun helping me play elf and delivering each package from under the tree to the appropriate pile, each heaving and hoisting packages that were sometimes too big and sometimes too heavy, but determined to get the job done.  we are so blessed and grateful with our beautiful life, and even more so many wonderful new things (new age appropriate things which capture their attention and set their little minds a-spinning) to explore. 
i must confess i am not thrilled with the quality of the images i captured, but i'm practicing shooting in manual mode. the tricky part is in our house a) its hard to get far enough away from the person i am capturing with the lens i am using and b) our house has a different lighting situation every time you turn so its hard to figure out just what setting i should be rocking. i'm working on it, but just wanted to explain why these pictures that should be so rad are sometimes fuzzy or "off" a little. i am sure you'll see dramatic improvement over this year. luckily i have a lot of beautiful subjects to practice on in this house...and more on the way! xoxo

her homemade bear from aunt char and her kitty from santa. all is well in betsy's world

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the razor jr. scooter from g&g nannen. yippee!!!

aunt elle & uncle matt rock - this is a favorite!

sweet fleece blankie from aunt kathy - she immediately covered up on the floor and got cozy

her very own helmet so she can get some action on the strider bike (and scooter if pete will let her)

plan toys airport was a hit! so was the parking garage - thanks korty and wittmus family!

exploring her doctor kit

listening for the train in deedee's heart

turns out, bumpahs are excellent at assembly!

co-play happening with the plan toys stuff - they are loving them!

merry christmas to my sweet littles. xoxo

practicing sewing with deedee (thanks annie, its awesome)

the great scooter test drive was a major success!

we skyped the nannen grands in for the viewing since it was a gift from them.

love this boy and his whole body full of J-O-Y.