At long last...my Gabriel!

My son! My son! My son!

Where are you?

These are the words Samuel and I would utter every night and every morning as we waited anxiously-and yes, a little impatiently-for our son!

As the days crept nearer to my due date, June 12th, I realized with dismay that he would NOT come early like his siblings. And when the date came...and went...I was convinced this little guy, our last baby, was giving me a little extra time to enjoy being pregnant.

And enjoy I did.
I truly love being pregnant. It is something I have always enjoyed, and I will miss this season of my life.

But with those extra days, I was determined to keep busy, and find delight in simple things.

Hence:

The belly shot!

The crazy morning hair...

Fun crafts with the kiddies...

Do you like our homemade crayons?
(I'll blog about this later.)

And even tried out a few recipes too!

But on June 17th, the long awaited contractions began. And at 11:40 PM that night, Samuel and I arrived at the hospital to find that I was dilated 9 cm!

What joy!
We were having a baby!

But guess what?
Too late for an epidural!
OUCH!

But "beggars can't be choosers" and "the show must go on"!

I was ready as ever with my cozy socks!

And I had my honey! He is such a comfort to me.

And on June 18th, 1:23 AM, after 8 minutes of pushing...

Gabriel Dodge Lopez Ramos Elmer
7.5 lbs and 20.5 in. long

...made his way into the world...FINALLY!

He is, quite simply, beautiful.

The journey must be exhausting.

Father and son.

How wonderful to be warm and cozy again.

Amazing!

He is absolutely delightful in every way.

I am one happy momma!

Samuel and I are so grateful for this child of God!
What a blessing!

Welcome home Gabriel!
We love you so much!

Summer Lesson Plans...oxymoron?

Yes, summer is the time for rest and relaxation, but if your kids are anything like mine, they love to learn!

If you'd like some help stemming some of that summer boredom, check out this website, entitled "Hot Chalks Lesson Plan Pages" for over 3,500 free lesson plans for all grade levels. They're organized by subject, or you can utilize the "Seasonal Lesson Plans by Date", which allows you to view lesson plans pertinent to the calendar year. For example, I found tons of fun lessons and projects for Independence Day.

Here's to a fun, and yes, educational, summer!

Losing Kites, Blowing Bubbles, and How bout' a round of Golf?

On Saturday my grandma, mom, and Julia stopped by for a visit. They came bearing kites and since it was such a windy day Sam took one to the skies almost immediately.

Samuel decided to let out all the string, and as he was attempting to pull it back in, it slipped out of his fingers!

He had to chase it two blocks over, with four kids screaming after him, but he finally tracked it down. It was stuck in someone's backyard, and after knocking and explaining the situation, the homeowner came out with the kite. Unfortunately, it was the wrong one. Apparently his house is like the Bermuda Triangle for kites! Eventually Sam came home with the right one, and of course it took to the skies once again.

Time for a kite break!

How about bubble time?

Or a round of golf, anyone?

Resting on the green.

These are some of the best days!

Just relaxing with the people you love!

Happy 2nd Birthday Owen!

Talk about a happy boy!

We love our Owen, and we are so happy you came to our family! You have changed so much in two short years! Thank you for indulging mom in a little trip down memory lane!

Deja vu!

You finally stopped crying after a soothing bath to let us see your beautiful peepers!

In the arms of your great-grandparents: Nicola & Irene Lopez!

We learned quickly that boys ARE different from girls. For example, when dad changed your diaper, you managed to spray all your sisters, the wall, the couch, and dad!

Way to go son!

Visiting the cemetery for your other great-grandparents: Edwin & Lillian Schwab.

Visiting the happiest place on earth: Disneyland!

Enjoying a hike: Baby Style

Love that hair-do. You too, Owen!

Visiting our house during the construction phase. Me nor Owen are too pleased as dad just tried a water valve and sprayed us with gushing cold water. Guess what though? We finally have water!

What you love best at parks: The Slide

Rollin' around thanks to the manpower of three big sisters.

Boy time flies!
Here we are now celebrating the Big Two!

Because your baby brother was due on your birthday, we didn't make any big plans thinking we might be in the hospital. Since the little guy ended up being a no-show, we planned an impromptu birthday party in one day.

You can't go wrong with kid favorites like hot dogs, chili, potato chips, and fresh strawberries.

You dug right in!

Later everyone was jazzed for present-time!

What a difference a year makes in understanding the concept of birthday parties and in being able to open your own presents. We loved seeing you enjoy this special day!

The best part was seeing your car come around the corner. You maintained a blank facial expression and didn't utter a sound, yet we knew you loved your car when you tried to launch yourself through the window to get inside!

All year-long you love to sing "Happy Birthday". Today, we loved to be able to sing it to you!

Rather than eat your Blackberry & Lemon Cream Cake, you insisted on sucking on that blasted Jolly Rancher!

Happy Birthday son!

We love you so much!

"Isabella Captured"...By Ava

A while back Ava asked if she could borrow the camera to take some pictures around the house. Normally, this is an automatic "no". Samuel and I hardly even trust ourselves with the camera, as our record for taking care of the little contraptions is very, very poor.

But on that day I was interested to see what she would come up with, and so...

The Photographer

The first subject.

Now we're getting somewhere.

Surprise!

Where'd she go?

What was she doing?

A clue.

The Escape!

We're on to you!

I thought Ava captured the element of surprise and the thrill of the chase rather well!

Up and Over!

Another silly tradition we have involves our rides to Costco or Sam's Club. A trip like that always requires Sam to load items in the back of the van. The kids know that as soon as that door pops up, it's there chance to get in the car the "fun way".

Up and over!