Clean boy, dirty water

This child has the best grin, I just love that mouth full of big white teeth (although Alan is already talking about what a bad ortho case he will be. Let's just say he was on the ba-ba a little bit longer than he should have been! Whoops. I take full responsibility.) The baby blues get me as well, especially when they are full of crocodile tears as has been the case a lot recently. Will is definitely a 2-year old, and even though he is very verbal (he can say almost everything, including gracias at the appropriate time) he is showing all of the signs of the terrible two's with his fits and tantrums. But we love him and accommodate him, probably too much. What can I say, he is the baby in this house and always will be!

The big boy turns 4!

Well, he actually doesn't turn 4 until Friday but the party was today, and man, was it wild!! I was thinking since it's a holiday weekend and I only sent the invitations out about a week ago that we would have a small turn-out. Not so! Even people who had rsvp'd NO showed up, along with siblings to add to the fun! It was crazy and I was so happy that we weren't having it at home. (I must say that until today I was a big believer in at-home parties, but after experiencing how little work it can be to throw a party somewhere else, I'm converted!) It was a blast and I really think Alex felt important and very loved, which is the whole point. So I'm calling it a success! We had it at Funastics, where they set-up about 6 different "bounce houses" around the room and had a balance beam and bars for the kids to hang from. It was a great place for a bunch of wild 4 year olds (and some older friends and cousins)!

Making silly faces for Alan.
Alex's favorite- pepperoni pizza.
This cake was a dream come true for Alex. Many of you know how I feel about his long-suffereing Thomas obsession. I decided to indulge him one last time with the cake of his dreams, courtesy of Costco (Thanks Jen, for the topper idea!)

Last day at LadyBug

It was Alex's last day of preschool today. Next year he will be attending Pre-K five days a week at the local elementry school. My eyes started to well up with tears as we hugged and said our final goodbye to Mrs. Anderson. I feel so grateful to her for providing him with such a caring and loving enviroment for his first-school experience. I felt like I was leaving a piece of Alex behind in that classroom. A big chunk of his childhood- over forever. So tragic and exciting all at the same time!

Seattle

Don't know why but we look very few pictures while in Seattle! Here are a few that we did manage to snap at the Public Market (Pike's Place), overlooking the view of the city from Queen Anne (with Shannon, who lives in Queen Anne, from our UCLA days), and of course Ellie eating a cupcake from the famous Cupcake Royal in Seattle. We loved Seattle! This trip reminded me how much I love to explore a new city. It was rainy and wet most of the trip which is just what I would have ordered. (Do you know how long it had been since I had put on a pair of jeans?? We've been in shorts since February.) We had a great time seeing my sister and her family and catching up with old ortho friends from dental school and residency. We love Seattle!

Livin' the Life

Boys love swimming at Nana and Papa's pool.... here they are enjoying some watermelon, poolside. Does life get any better? As I was taking this picture I informed them that I'm pretty sure it does not. I'm going to miss them this weekend.... Alan and I are headed to Seattle for AAO conference. Good luck Dave and Julie! Thanks for taking care of them!

Father and Sons Campout

Alan gave me the best mother's day present ever- 20 hours all to myself. Our ward held their father and son's campout and Alan took both boys, which left me home alone! He tells me the boys were so well-behaved and happy to be out in nature and away from the 100 degree heat we've been having. I must admit by the time they came home I was ready to have all three of my boys back.

Oh, the lemons!

Beautiful, big, juicy, fresh-off-the-tree-in-Julie's-backyard lemon's- yum!

My little boy is growing up

Today at preschool they had a Mother's Day celebration, and while I watched Alex up at the front of the classroom with his friends, it hit me how quickly it's all going by. It's so rare that I get the chance to focus on just him, without the distraction that is his brother Will. I arrived a little early for the program so all of the children were still on the playground having recess. I sat in my car and watched him playing with his friends, and had to resist the physical urge I felt to jump out and go be with him (this was partially because I wanted to tell him to stop harassing the poor little boy that he and Shane were pouring buckets of sand on.... but also because I just wanted to hug him.) He is growing and changing so quickly and I'm realizing more and more that this time in our life is such a brief period. I need to work on savoring each moment.

Breakfast with the Franco's

Alan's former co-resident, Krysten, and her husband Pedro, are in town! We met them for breakfast in Scottsdale and had a great time catching up. We were talking about how strange it is that for over 2 years the ortho residents at Baylor spent practically every day, all day together. And then, all of a sudden, it was over when they graduated last August. They have all gone separate directions and will never be involved in each another's lives the way they once were. It was great to be able to catch up with the Franco's! (It also made both Alan and I really miss Dallas!) Oh, and don't mind Will who was having a very sticky meltdown as I was trying to snap this photo!

Lady Bug Learning Club Spring Picnic

Seriously, Will? You are barely 2!

Alex and Shane- preschool buddies!

More Visitors!!

One of the great things about being in AZ is the constant stream of visitors!! Today at noon my little bro called to tell me he would be here at 6pm- Yipee! Julie had already offered to watch the boys so Alan and I could have a date, so Alan picked Nate and Carla up from the airport after work and we met for sushi. Our favorite spot was closed for remodeling (so sad!) but we improvised and found a great little place. It's so fun to have Nate and Carla here, even if it's just for 12 hours or so.