Stoked...

For Family Home Evening tonight we went and saw Dylan's highly anticipated movie of the year...'WALL E'. When we got our tickets I gave them to Dylan so he could hand them to the ticket person. In return, she handed him a blue WALL E kids watch, he thinks it's the coolest. So he was really into the movie, making comments and asking questions. He talked in his normal voice even though we kept asking him to whisper. Luckily, there were only two people near us and they didn't seem to be bothered by his cute little voice. Connor actually chilled and watched the first 15 minutes of the movie. He definitely sat more overall this time around. I was able to actually watch the movie because Dave took a turn this round to get up and down with Connor. Dave had it easy, though. Connor only walked around our theater, not the entire building like he did for me. Ah well. They both had a great time and Dylan is so stoked that he's now seen 'WALL E'...

Afterwards, we grabbed a quick bite for dinner and then on to Baskin Robbins for ice cream. Grandma and Grandpa Andersen sent Dylan some gift certificates to BR as a congrats for doing so awesome with his swim lessons. Dylan treated us all to a Peanut Butter Cup Shake. Connor had some bites and then he was off to push the patio chairs around. :)

On the way home, I suggested we sing some songs. I was goofin' off while we sang - holding notes out super long, exaggerating vibrato, going super high, etc. During 'Popcorn Popping' I goofed off with my voice, paused for effect and then Dylan said in all seriousness, "Mom, stop singing. Dad's trying to drive." Needless to say, me and Dave thought it was hilarious. In all fairness, Dylan gets embarrassed when either me OR Dave sing goofy-like for fun. I tell him to just wait until he gets older. :) On a sidenote, Dave teases me all the time about my singing, how I hit three different keys in one song, etc. Like Dave's a rockstar or something. Ask him about his Robert Goulet moment during 'Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam'. (Mom, are you laughing 'til you cry? Matthew, any SNL skits coming to mind?) I was in choir in college and had a respectable voice back in the day, thank you very much. Guess I'm both out of practice and out of tune much of the time. Yeah, I'll put practice singing at the top of my to do list ASAP...but I'm not defensive or anything. :)

Happiness

We are so very happy to share the good news that Connor's rash is pretty much gone. We are so relieved to see his skin looking healthy again. And the roseola he had ran its course and is gone now as well. We want to thank everyone for the prayers and calls to the temple, we know it helped him and are so grateful that our little guy is doing much better again...

Shifting gears a bit, Dylan had a momentous occasion today...he finished the 300-piece puzzle he'd been working on this past week! When Dylan was about 3 1/2, we noticed that not only did he really like putting together jigsaw puzzles, but that he had a knack for it. I've continually challenged him by buying jigsaw puzzles with increasing numbers. He's been coasting with 100 and 150-piece puzzles for the past few months, so recently I thought I would challenge him again and bought him a 300-piece puzzle. The first time he tackles a new puzzle with a higher number we help him a little, but after that he's on autopilot. It's so interesting to watch him put a puzzle together because he just dumps the pieces out in a pile, picks the pieces out here and there and goes for it. He doesn't even do the border first. Of course we're biased, but we think it's pretty dang amazing. We've gotten some feedback that he's displaying a great ability to be able to sit and focus on something for a longer than usual time for his age. Along with this, we've been told that his ability for drawing trains, etc at a younger age is above age level as well. Since he's our first, we don't know any different, but it's fun to think of him as our little genius. I love how every parent thinks their kid is the brightest and the cutest. :) But really, it just makes us happy to see Dylan so happy...and we love cheering him on no matter what he's doing! :)

Connor wanted to get in on the action while Dylan was working on his puzzle, so I got out some of the beginner wooden puzzles that I bought for Dylan at Connor's age. He was lovin' it. :)

Before dinnertime, Dylan helped me make some brownies for dessert. I think Dylan does his best baking in just his underwear. :)

We had rice with our dinner tonight. I was on the phone with a friend while Dave was feeding the boys, but when Connor came barreling into the room all of a sudden I noticed right off his hair was sticking out all over the place! Dave said Connor was rubbing rice all over his hair during dinner. After explaining this to me he said to Connor, "So you're using your rice gel?" :)

This picture doesn't do his hair justice of course...just look at that rascaly face.

Before bathtime, Dylan was having fun running back and forth between me and the T.V. So interesting what makes for good times in the mind of a 4-year-old. :)

Back to normal...

Well, we hit 48 hours today and have our kitchen back...yay! Got it cleaned and put back to normal this morning. This afternoon, Dave took Dylan to the pool (glad those swim lessons are paying off!) and I took Connor to get us all some lunch. Quizno's has select subs on sale for $5 right now, for a large! We were all over it! :)

Then my Aunt Lori (my fave aunt) came down from L.A. and we went and saw the new movie 'Get Smart' with Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway. It's a big-screen adaptation of the hit 1960's-era comedy television series about a bumbling detective. It was great going with my Aunt Lori since she watched the original show (so that would make her 29?) and could give me insight on the characters, the phrases they used in the movie from the show, etc. We had a great time and look forward to hitting up another movie again soon! :) We are glad to have family not far from us...

What do you mean 48 hours?!

We were not informed beforehand that when they refinished our kitchen counters that we would not be able to USE them afterwards for 48 hours. A notice was left explaining this after the work was done. So today...still no functioning kitchen. And we had scheduled a carpet cleaning for today as well (it seemed like a good idea at the time to set this all up back-to-back). However, it gave us a great excuse to eat out for breakfast this morning! We've been meaning to try this place not far from us that we've heard good things about - The Original Pancake House. It lived up to the hype and we really liked it. Having said that, though, our fave local breakfast joint is still the 'Harbor House Cafe' in Dana Point. The food is really good, but what really edged it out is the local flavor and history of the place. They've been in business since 1939. The ambience is amazing with antiques and memorabilia all over the walls. It is located right on PCH and we highly recommend it to anyone visiting the area.

Later in the day - right before dinnertime - I ran out to run a quick errand and when I came back, I walked in to find Dave and Dylan playing a mean game of SORRY. I have to digress here for a moment and mention that SORRY is my absolute favorite game from childhood. If I'm remembering right, I went out and purchased our SORRY game when I was pregnant with Dylan because I looked forward so much to playing with my own kids. I know, I know. Just a smidgin early in buying it when my first kid is still in the womb, but that is how much I love the game. I've begun teaching Dylan how to play recently and he's picking it up pretty quickly. He asks to play all the time and I couldn't be more excited. So it was the best to walk into this scene earlier tonight...

Dylan was SO excited he won, he's already a champ like his mom. :)

Glimpses of Joy...

Today was a long, exhausting day, but amidst the challenges, I enjoyed glimpses of joy from my boys...






I started the day by taking Connor to his pediatrician for 2 reasons. First, he broke out in red spots all over his body yesterday, and has had a fever and been out of sorts at times the last few days. Turns out he has roseola. It is viral and will go away in 3-4 days. The secondary reason is so his doctor could see the rash that Connor has had for the past 4 1/2 weeks. Long story short...after a 3-week period of visits to the pediatrician's office trying to figure out what his rash was caused from, I took him to my dermatologist. He thinks there is a strong possibility he got a rare children's skin disease called 'Assymetric Periflexural Exanthem of Childhood'. The main reason he thinks this is because Connor's rash is only on one side of his body and fits many of the other symptoms I had explained. I went online and looked up info about it, the outlines I've read match pretty well. Thankfully, he has not been bothered by the actual rash (more bothered by the fevers he has had off and on related to it); and for the few hundred children that have gotten it, it hasn't been reoccuring and it doesn't leave any marks behind. For the most part, Connor has been the little 'Rascals' that we know and love, but at times has been off of course. He is a little stud, though, and has really endured it well. His rash continues to cover less area and we are hoping it is in the last stage - it goes through four stages. SO, that was the second reason I took him to his pediatrician this morning.

Then...I hurried home and cleared off our kitchen countertops because a few minutes later a crew was arriving to refinish them. The fumes created from this process are strong and so we needed to be out of our place until the evening when our place has had a chance to air out. We kicked off our outing by having lunch at one of our fave places - 'El Pollo Loco'. Dylan LOVES their popcorn chicken. Then, per Dylan's request, we stopped by the bookstore. Dylan was drawn to another 'WALL E' book, this one has buttons that make sounds. Connor enjoyed grabbing books from anywhere he could, and ended our time there by playing with some baskets they had on the floor for patrons - reference the pictures, they tell it all. :)

I then decided to take them down to Dana Point Harbor to get some ice cream and check out the boats along the harbor. Some sprinklers had created small puddles along the walkway in the area we were enjoying our ice cream. Dylan had SO much fun jumping in the puddles and Connor had fun watching him, he kept laughing really hard as Dylan made his huge leaps. Connor wanting to be like his big bro (of course) went over and quickly walked along the puddles attempting to mimic Dylan. It was really, really cute. I absolutely LOVE these moments between the little bros...

Dylan instructing Connor on how to correctly jump on the puddles. "Like this, Connor, like this." :)

I had a few minutes (while me and the boys were waiting to meet up with Dave for dinner) to explore an amazing neighborhood that I stumbled upon while driving around near the harbor. How fabulous would this view be from your front yard?! Ahhhhh...one can dream. :)

On Tuesday, I met up with one of my visiting teachers for our visit at a great fountain for kids at an all-inclusive shopping plaza near us called TownCenter; it includes a movie theater, restaurants, shops, services, etc. Dylan wanted to throw 5 pennies into the fountain, yes, 5 exactly. :) Both Dylan and Connor enjoyed walking around the fountain and on a big grassy knoll near the fountain. We then strolled over to Golden Spoon for some yummy frozen yogurt, perfect for a hot summer day. Dylan requested chocolate yogurt with mini M&M's. :)

Dylan, the little photog, took this candid pic of me and Connor. :)

Summer Movies

For Family Home Evening tonight, we went to the movie theater and saw 'Kung Fu Panda'. Dylan was very excited to go see it. He liked it, and said we should buy it. I only saw about 15 minutes of it because Connor sat and grooved to the music of the opening credits, and then was off to explore not only the particular movie theater we were in, but the entire building. No joke. He had us hangin' out by the concessions for a solid 10 minutes at one point. :)

Now Dylan eagerly anticipates going to see 'WALL E'...

Sundays...

Doing What We Love...

Dave received an invitation from a client to their housewarming party for the house he sold them last month in San Clemente. So we headed to San Clemente this afternoon for the party, which was great since they have two kids the same ages as ours. Afterwards, we hit our favorite hole-in-the-wall Mexican joint, Pedro's Tacos, for dinner and ate it at our usual beach spot in San Clemente, 'T Street'. Connor's already a fan of Pedro's and of course Dylan was converted long ago. :) It was great to hang out as a family doing what we love...

Dylan is spotting the ocean on our way there through his binoculars he made at preschool. :)

Connor chowin' on his bean 'n cheese burrito and lovin' it. :)

I took close-ups of them in the truck in hopes of capturing their big blue eyes in the good lighting of the moment...

They are concentrating so hard as they take sips from our Slurpee on the way home. :)

Staying out of the Heat

Dylan loves to go to the bookstore so I thought today would be a good day to go since we're apparently having a heatwave - it was over 100 degrees today. Dylan was drawn to a 'WALL-E' painting book. He's already into the movie and it hasn't even come out yet. Gotta love the marketing geniuses. I did read him a classic, though, 'Green Eggs and Ham'...love the classics.

Connor was in full effect like usual, he thought he'd take a rest and munch on a sunscreen stick he scammed from my handbag. :)











They both crashed on the way home. Once home, Dylan couldn't wait to paint a WALL-E picture from his new book, and proudly display it on his art wall. :)