Cake Skills

What with all of  Owen's birthday festivities

there was ample opportunity for Gabriel to practice his upcoming

first birthday cake skills.

This was a good thing.

For as you can see...

He was clearly unnerved!

No matter though! 

That's what cousins are for!

To help you along!

And of course, to share the burden!

Thanks Miss V! 

I've got it now. 

And I promise to lend you a hand when you need one too!

Love,

Gabriel

Let the Bounty Begin!

Our first squash of the season!

Yay!



Owen: The Big Three!


Owen, it wasn't that long ago...

...that we were very, very close!

 

You were unhappy at first to be so rudely extracted...

...but with a bath, warm jammies, & a blanket,
you settled down quickly.

Little did you know that you didn't have just one momma,

but four!

You were a blessing to your family...

...especially to Great-grandpa Lopez.

Ava soon learned that life is different with a boy around...

...and Isabella thought is was a good idea to give you a name tag.

You looked just like your dad, son...

...but I loved you just the same!

You got busy growing...

...became a Dodger fan...

 

...and developed a profound hatred for snow!

You figured out you looked darn cute in a tutu...

...and found solace in the absence of your sisters
while they were away at school!

This year you started pre-school...



...and immediately got right to work!

You experienced heartaches...

...and don't forget: 

Joy!

And above all else,

you found an incredible...

...lifelong...

...friend!

Happy 3rd Birthday, son!

Of course,
there will still be owies...

But with awesome Spiderman jammies...

...M&M's...

...and faith...



You're life will continue to unfold in a beautiful, beautiful way!

All my love, sweetheart!

Love,

Mom

Quissisential Summer

Need I say {or picture} more?

The Race is On!

When we get out the track everyone, including dad, goes a little ga-ga watching the race cars do their thing. 

Everyone that is, except Gabriel, who cool as anything waits passively while the race gets heatedly underway.  At that moment a chubby little hand darts out snatching an unsuspecting car right off it's track and is jammed, in one smooth motion, into his tiny little mouth.

I think it makes the race far more exciting. 

Everone else though,

especially Owen,

howls in protest.

Drivers:

Beware!

Hit the Road: The Last Day of School

Ava,
with one of her sweet classmates,
saying a final good-bye.

Ava is officially a 2nd grader...

Isabella a fourth grader (what?!?)...

And Iris joins the pack as an incoming kindergardener!

~

May this summer be long and sweet.

{Please}

Life with Two Boys at Home

I still can't believe that in addition to being a mother to

three stunningly beautiful girls, 

I am also the mother of two very handsome boys!

What a blessed life!

This realization hit me the hardest when the school year started

and we saw the girls off to school. 

Then it was just me and the boys

looking at each other thinking, 

"Now what?"

Here's what I discovered:

Boys are very different then girls. 

Though I can't really explain how. 

It's not that they rough-house more-you should see our girls! 

Or that their personalities are different-

you should see the range in our daughters-it's like night & day. 

See.  Unexplainable.

 

Yet, very different. 

But, in a good way.

Like girls, however, they love being "helpers".

Where else is the process of unloading a dishwasher

a main event that causes you to drop what you're doing and come running?

More kisses than I ever expected.

Maybe it's the latin-blood in them,

but these boys love to smooch! 

Kisses are aplenty in this household,

and who could resist their outstreched arms and "mmmmm..."-ing?

In a nutshell,

life with two boys at home is...

Wonderful!

And the only thing that makes it even better,
is hearing the girls barreling down the hall after a full day at school,
and Samuel's keys jingling as he walks in the backdoor. 

That, is home.

Period.

Gabriel's Baby Blessing...outfit.

So, there are many fabulous parents out there that are far, far superior than me at journaling.  I do my best to snap photos, record milestones, and chronicle the happenings of our growing family.  However, despite my best efforts some things slip by the wayside, and one of those things was photos of Gabriel in his baby blessing outfit!

Granted, his blessing was last year.  However when I added that post to my blog, I noticed, and very quickly so, that I didn't capture a single photo of my little guy all in white!  I promised myself, it's okay!  You'll get to it!  

Well, I made good on my promise. 

And I did indeed "get to it".

The only problem is,

Gabriel, our little bear cub,

is a whole lot bigger than a wee month old baby.

And let's just say his blessing outfit is a little...

...snug.

Yes, that's the word.

Snug.

Yes. 

Those are the pants.

There was no getting them on!

He's telling me the photo shoot is OVER!

Alright, son!

I love you!