Jaden's Baptism

Today we celebrated a very special day, as it was Jaden's Baptism. We decided, as we did with Alyssa to have it a little later than the normal infant Baptism. It took a little time to plan a date where all of our family would be in town for the occasion. The baptism was at St. Joseph Husband of Mary Catholic Church at 3:30pm. I spent the whole morning cleaning the house and preparing to have everyone over for dinner after the ceremony. Needless to say, it was a very busy morning! Thanks to Nanny and Opa who kept Alyssa overnight so that we would be able to clean and cook with only a few interruptions with Jaden.

We were so blessed to have Grandma and Papa, Nanny and Opa, Uncle Charlie, Uncle Jeff, Grandma and Grandpa by the Water, Miss Linda, Aunt Christina and Uncle Wayne, Hayley, Lilyanne and Brayden here to celebrate with us.

We arrived at the church with just enough time to take a few pictures, say a few hellos and take our seat. The actual ceremony was only 30 minutes. There were a total of 4 baptisms today. Jaden was so good and quiet for most of the time. He started getting antsy, as he wanted to get down and crawl around in his white tuxedo. Of course, mom wouldn't allow that! I must say, the only time he cried was when the Deacon accidently poured the water in his eyes. He didn't like that very much. I was so proud of how good Alyssa was, too. She sat quietly in the front row with Grandma and Papa and watched the whole ceremony. When one of the ladies started singing, she actually pulled out the hymnal and pretended to follow along.

After the ceremony, we posed for a few pictures. It didn't last too long, as Jaden was burning up in the 100 degree heat in his suit. It was also dinnertime, so we headed back to the house for a yummy dinner.

After much excitement and a very busy day, the kids ended the night by going to bed very early!!

Grandma and Grandpa by the Water (Jaden's great grandparents)

Nanny and Opa with Alyssa and Jaden

Grandma and Papa with Alyssa and Jaden

Jaden looking handsome in his tuxedo

Alyssa reading the hymnal

Me and the kiddos

The family

Lake Mead

We had a surprise visitor this weekend all the way from Florida. Uncle Jeff flew in for a short visit and to celebrate Jaden's baptism this Sunday. He's very into boats right now so we decided to take a trip to Lake Mead to the marina. It was a nice overcast day, therefore making the 100 degree heat with extreme humidity at the lake, a little bearable! We spent most of our time walking around the marina looking at the boats. Alyssa loved all the carp, ducks and the huge sole goldfish. We walked around the marina for a while before we headed off to Boulder City for lunch.

Huge carp

Fish in the Water

Today we decided to go to the clubhouse and go swimming with a few friends of ours. We met some of our best friends, Jo Ann, Maddie and Sophia for a lunchtime swim. By the looks of our stroller, you'd think we were going on a trip, not a 2 hour trip to the pool! I've come to stand by the motto that it takes longer to pack, load the truck & kids, unload the truck and kids, unpack all the belongings, than it actually does to do the activity we have set out to do! Oh well, it's all in fun I suppose! We arrived at the pool and swam for quite a bit before we had a picnic lunch. After lunch we decided to swim just a little bit more. Daddy and Uncle Jeff came down to the pool to join us for an after lunch swim, also.

Alyssa had a blast swimming and playing with Maddie and Sophia. Jaden, as well, was just as content to be floating around in his blow up crab or playing on the side of the pool with his toys and shovel.

Like any fun activity lately, it takes a bit of time to get everyone out and ready to go home! Thanks Jo, Maddie and Sophia for a great day at the pool!

Daddy being silly

Alyssa so tired after a long day of swimming

Jo Ann, Maddie & Sophia

Jaden playing on the side of the pool

This is everything that we had to pack for the pool!

Daredevil

As everyday passes, Jaden becomes more and more daring! His new fascination is climbing into containers and over anything that might be in his path. Today he decided he didn't want to go into the garden through the door, but that he might try to climb into the toy bucket and over the wall of the garden. Therefore, entering head first! He didn't make it all the way in, but pretty close!

Bridgeport, CA pics

Sunset view from our deck

Alyssa driving the boat

There were deer all over

As promised, here are a few pictures from our trip to Bridgeport, CA.....

Photos of Kids

Jaden likes to walk by pushing the walker instead of getting in it.

Jaden taking a rest

Jaden walks holding on to everything

Alyssa dancing!

Alyssa and Jaden playing so nice together!

Desert Turtle

Yesterday while Andy was doing major yardwork in the backyard, he came upon a creature. At first he thought is was a weird colored rock or a bag. Turns out, it was a little desert turtle. It had made a small hole underneath our rosemary bush to keep cool. He broought it out into the grass for us to see. Alyssa was so excited that there was a turtle in our backyard! We did a little research online and found out that they like to eat mostly vegetables, so we put out a little tray with water, salad and carrots. The turtle gulped the water, but didn't eat any of the lettuce. Alyssa decided to name him "Mr. Turtle." He hung out in the backyard all day.....behind the BBQ, behind the recycling bins....anywhere there's shade! Before we went to bed last night, Andy put him back into his little home (the hole) for the night! Now we're trying to decide whether to let him be or try to keep him as a pet. We aren't even sure how long he's been in our yard!

Hayley's Birthday

Grandma, Jaden and Alyssa

Jaden loving his boat

Alyssa & Hayley

Lilyanne

Grandma & Grandpa by the water with kiddos

Tonight we went over to my parents house to have a small birthday celebration for my niece Hayley. We barbecued dinner and swam in the pool. My mom bought the newest and greatest in the cupcake world.....ice cream cupcakes from Cold stone! They were delicious! Alyssa and Jaden had a great time swimming with their cousins!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAYLEY!

Catch Up

So here it is July 14th! As you may notice my last post was back on June 8th! In the midst of all of our travels over the last month, I haven't had much time to squeeze in my blogging. I promise, I will get better with this over time!

Because there is absolutely no way to play catch up, we'll have to use our scrapbooks to capture the moments of the last month. Pictures are always a good second! Our travels over the last month have included a week spent in Boston with Andy and Jaden. Alyssa spent the week here in Las Vegas with Nanny & Opa. She had a blast, and of course, Nanny had an exciting adventure planned for each day we were gone! The movies, swimming at Karen's pool, trips to the park, McDonald's, etc. She definitely had much more fun here!

We concluded that trip, came home, unpacked, did laundry, worked and started packing again for our trip to Bridgeport. A 6 hour drive there and back, lots of fishing, boating, hiking, playing in the dirt, making smores, and here we are.............back home! Time to unpack and do laundry, yet again. It will be nice to stay home and get reorganized in life again. I will definitely post some cabin pictures soon!

Jaden Standing

Over the few weeks, Jaden has mastered the art of crawling! Once he masters something, he's on to the next "task." There's never any spare time to just be good at the current stage ~ he's so quick to try to learn something new.

This week, his new thing has been pulling up and standing on everything! He loves to do anything that puts him the standing position, including standing at the side of the bathtub, walking around in his walker, pulling up to the recliner, etc. He's getting really good at it now, so I'm just waiting for him to start taking steps!

Mommy Alyssa

The kids stayed home with dad today while I went to work. Alyssa decided she wanted to play mommy and try to feed Jaden. Of course, daddy let her, and she did a pretty good job! She does get distracted at times and the milk ends up in the chair or down the front of Jaden, but in the end she was a great helper!

Park and lunch date!

Today we spent the day with our friends Jo Ann, Maddie and Sophia. We went to the park this morning near Jo Ann's house and played for a while. Alyssa wore her bathing suit in anticipation of playing in the water feature. Water feature's are the new additions to most parks here in Las Vegas, probably due the extreme heat in the summer! Today was a pretty chilly, windy day, so we ended up not playing in the water, but had a fun day playing at the park anyways.

We left the park and went to Jo Ann's house for lunch. As I was feeding Jaden his sweet potatoes and applesauce, Jo Ann decided to give him a bite of grilled cheese! It was all downhill from there. Any spoon I put in his mouth that contained pureed food, was then spit back at me!! All he wants now is "real food!" He absolutely loved that grilled cheese. I'm actually excited at the thought of the baby food bill decreasing! I wasn't sure how he would do with the cheese, but no problems! Thanks Jo Ann for a great lunch!

Jaden's Surgery

Jaden had his ear tube surgery today! A bit nerve wrecking this morning, but all is well! We went to the hospital at 6am for a 7:30 surgery. Jaden did absolutely perfect. The nurses just loved him! He was all smiles when they took him back for the procedure. Dr. Tolan told us it would be quick and easy with little or no risk, and amazingly, we were in the comforts of our own home by 8:30am! I had expected a little bit of crying and discomfort, after all the boy had surgery today! But, nothing......a few short naps, good breakfast and he was crawling and playing all over the house as if it were any other day!

I hope this is the beginning of the end of our sleepless nights and frequent doctor visits. Maybe, after all, Jaden will spend at least a week without being on antibiotics. Boy those weekly doctor copays and prescriptions have broken the mom bank!

Thanks to all who said prayers and gave us their well wishes!

Florida Vacation Part 1

Well, we just spent the last 10 days vacationing in Florida! I must say that although we had a blast, it was pretty exhausting!

It all started the week before we left for vacation. Jaden was in the hospital twice and between that and working, all my packing days were occupied. Needless to say, I ended up packing the night before and the morning before we left! Not fun when you are traveling with a toddler and an infant! We made it though and nothing was forgotten!

We trekked to the airport for a 1am red eye flight to Orlando. The kids were amazing! I couldn't ask for anything more than 2 sleeping kids the whole way to Florida. We arrived, uneventfully, to Orlando and got our rental car for our drive to Ft. Lauderdale.

We spent 5 days in Ft. Lauderdale and had a great time! We were able to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa in the Blue House, Aunt Laurie and Uncle Michael, Adriana, Vincent and Suzi and Freddy. We went to the beach, shopped and just hung out with family.

On Sunday, we packed up the car and made a quick stop in Okeechobee, FL to visit family for lunch. Then, it was off to Disney!