A hodge podge of summer fun

We've been busy having fun these days, so here are some pictures of the kids being kids.


Tita Grace came to visit and took Nathan on his first train ride. He was so excited! He went to his little bank and pulled out $1 for his fare and we put it in his pocket. On the way there, he kept checking to make sure it was still there. He wanted to make sure he would be able to pay the conductor when he said "all aboard!"

We went to the zoo to check out the dolphin show. We also took in the special stingray exhibit and per Nathan's request, the monkeys. I had to get a picture of my little otters. These two LOVE the water!

Nathan making monkey sounds. He asked if he could nap with the gorillas.

Emie tried to dive in the stingray tank.

Emie and Daddy waiting for the dolphin show. She loved it! She was clapping and squealing the whole time. Too bad Nathan decided to "lose it" and spent the end of the show in time out on a zoo bench :( Not my favorite part of mothering.

We've been enjoying picnics at the parks. What better way to burn some toddler energy?!

Potty training + lots of rain =

Lots of rain + kids that really want to go swimming =

Hope you're all having fun too!

The little things

This is "monkey", Nathan's dear friend. But more about him in a minute. Yesterday I had the day off of work to spend at the hospital with my Dad, waiting while my Mom had surgery to implant a deep brain stimulator to help control her Parkinson symptoms. As I'm still nursing Emie, I had to run home twice to pump. When I went home mid-morning, I did a quick house clean-up because, well you know how it is when you leave the hubby to manage getting two kiddos ready to leave the house by seven. I came across Nathan's little monkey friend and I was going to just toss him up on Nathan's bed. Then I had a thought to instead place monkey on the couch and position him reading a little book. Nathan often tells me little things that monkey does while he's away, like eat snacks or read books or what not. I smiled thinking of how excited my little boy would be when he walked through the door and found monkey reading. And excited he was!

It got me thinking about how one of my favorite things about being a parent is doing those special little things that are for the sole purpose of making my munchkins smile. Nothing big, just things like surprising Nathan by putting nutella on his toast rather than butter, or letting him keep a quarter that he found under my bed and taking him to the popcorn shop to spend it on some penny candy (which is now 5 pennies!), or pulling over to let Emie swing at the park for a couple of minutes just to hear her happy squeals.

My Mom is great at this. A little note in your lunch box, her once a year tradition of showing up at school and pulling me out for a day of fun, the random Starbucks that she'll drop off for me to enjoy . . . and so many more.

I love these little things, both as a giver and a receiver. I hope my kids' have many memories of these little symbols of my love and I hope I can show them how God loves us in the little details. Like the time I was in China and thought "man, I could go for some pancakes and eggs tomorrow for breakfast". I'm sure you can guess what was served at the school cafeteria the next morning. I didn't even know Chinese people ate pancakes!

So what little things did your Mom do to make you smile? What little things do you do for your kids? I'd love to hear!

Ahhhh . . . summer at last!

The summer heat has come and the Arceos set out for a picnic at Blackwell. Here are some pictures from a wonderful day at play.

Doesn't everyone bring their rice cooker on a picnic?

Even Bailey came to enjoy some sun.

Sometimes brothers just love too much . . .

Emie is much happier when not being held down.

It was a little windy, so when we stood out on the dock, we had the sensation of movement and Nathan thought we were on a boat.

Emie enjoyed her new crawling surface, although I won't tell you the variety of things I fished out of her mouth that day.

Emie is getting pretty solid with her standing. . . crazy how fast this first year is going!

Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend too! Thank you to all of those who have served our country - we are incredibly grateful!

9 months

Emie turned 9 months last Saturday and had her well-baby visit today! Mainly for my own record keeping, here are some updates on what our little girl is doing these days:

• weighs 15 lbs 6.5 oz, 28 inches tall, 17 inch head
• crawling, pulling up to stand, cruising, standing without holding on to something for around 30 seconds, gets in and out of sitting with ease, got into standing without holding onto anything once, climbing stairs
• says "babababababa", "dadadadada", "mamamamama", but no real words yet
• screams in a very high-pitched, rather blood-curdling tone frequently
• giggles at pretty much anything daddy or Kuya Nathan do
  
• feeds herself a variety of table foods - favorites are banana, avocado, pasta, rice, cheese, pears, peas, broccoli, and potato
• eats pureed versions of what we're eating - loves daddy's tamarind soup with rice!
• also eats stage II baby food at her baby sitter's house
• still has NO teeth!
  
• will give high-five sometimes, waves sometimes
• steals Kuya Nathan's toys relentlessly and is capable of out-wrestling him
  
• LOVES the bath
• loves to play with her little piano, Nathan's trucks/trains, and her nesting blocks
  
• not a fan of diaper/clothes changes - why would she want to sit still for that?
• no longer likes her exersaucer, it's far too restrictive
  
• has earned the nickname "rubber-baby" from her babysitter as she is quite the contortionist
• nurses 5 times a day
• sleeps 12 hours at night, takes 2 naps
  

We love you so much baby girl and can't wait to see what you'll do over the next few months!

Diggers and dresses

This past weekend was full of things for boys and girls alike. We are in the middle of a project to change out the sidewalk leading up to our house for one made of pavers. When we were checking out with some supplies at Home Depot we saw this little shovel, perfect for our digging boy. He has loved helping Daddy and Tito Dong with the "project".

Yes, that is my minivan in the background. Shoot, I'm caught! I'm a Mom through and through now! The worst part is that I love that van :)

While the boys were digging, I was photographing my sweet girl in her sweet little butterfly dress. Truth be told, both this tomboy Mama and her rough and tumble girl would thoroughly enjoy getting our hands in that dirt out there. And once she starts walking, we'll be out there for sure, but this day was about a girl and her dress.

Doesn't she look like such a big girl here?

Don't you just love these sweet little feet!?

"Mommy, that digging looks like a lot more fun than our little photo shoot." "Can I get in on that?"

Next time baby girl. Mommy will be happy to dig with you anytime you want!