Dza Dza!

My dad (aka Dza Dza) came out to visit. It was great - normally he only comes from Thursday to Sunday, but this time he came from Tuesday to Saturday! We packed our schedule with lots of fun.


Nothing like forcing pics on the unwilling children.


Wednesday morning we headed to the zoo early, which was so much fun! No one was there, so the kids and Dza Dza enjoyed the splash pad.



We always have to ride the carousel. (For $1 each, why not??)


Just because I like this picture (my dad and I when I was little)


After the zoo, we headed to the Az Mills mall for lunch at the Rainforest cafe.

J was terrified of this talking tree at one time. Now he's "brave" and isn't afraid anymore.



J got a shoulder ride on the way out..


Thursday I had a MOPs meeting, so my dad stayed at home with the kids. They did great, he was exhausted of course. :)

After Sarah's naps, she and Dza Dza would take a little walk. She loved it.



Reading books...


Friday morning we drove out to the Mesa Swap Mart and had fun looking around.

This thing was called "Dave the Dinosaur" so we had to take a picture with it. (My dad's name is Dave.)



A quick trip to Costco after the swap mart. Sarah loves giving hugs right now.



More post-nap walks...


Dza Dza bought this fun Cars play rug for J. They kids love it.

Sarah's face in this photo is hilarious.


Saturday morning breakfast at the Farm.

Trying for some photos in the bright sun.



That's better!



Our final stop before we dropped Dza Dza off at the airport - the top of South Mountain!

The visit was so much fun. I think we spent enough money at our local ice cream shop, (my dad loves ice cream and we visited every night), to keep them in business for a long time.

Today

Today was just a fun family day. Church, lunch, naps, football, homemade pizza (that we all made - the girls made the dough, the boys did the toppings), visiting the local ice cream shop (Scooptacular), then a last minute pre-bed visit to the park. The park was great, both kids somehow managed to face-plant into the sand. I have no pictures, but I wanted to keep these memories somewhere...

Today is also a special day because it's one of J's best friends birthdays! Jayden, who J's known since he (Jayden) was born, turned three today. Yesterday we went to Chuck E Cheese for his party.


When J saw this picture, he said: "That's Jayden. He's my BEST FRIEND." Awww!!



Memories...Jayden (on the left), three weeks old, and Jeremiah at 3 months. My how they change!

Ketchup

Like the title? I'm so clever! Ha ha ha.

Lots has happened around here, mostly for Jeremiah, but a little for Miss Sarah, too. Here we go!

This past Saturday, Jeremiah spent his first night alone at his Grandma and Grandpa G's house. They did everything grandparents are supposed to do - let him drink some pop, have ice cream, stay up late watching movies, etc. And he did great. He slept really good (That was my main concern...of course we had to bring his fan, his 'heartbeat' - a white noise machine, his TWO nightlights, as well as all his stuffed animals/blankets.) He had fun and it was great for them to spend such a good chunk of time together.

Swimming at the community pool





Sarah wanted to go swimming too, but they only allow children who are no longer in diapers in the pool. (They live in a 55+ community). And speaking of that....

Now onto Sarah. Last week she decided she didn't want to wear diapers anymore. So I transitioned her to pullups and she was doing great over the weekend, but since Tuesday hasn't done so great. (You know what? I don't mind discussing this stuff in person but I really dislike blogging about it!) Long story short, I think she's leaning towards potty training but lost interest because it is kind of boring, plus I won't let her have any more little books (her favorite ones) because they kept ending up IN the toilet. Gross.

Word-wise, she doesn't have many. "Uh oh", "ball" (Sort of), "mama", "Dada", "Uh-uh" (for no), "da" (for yes). That's all I can think of now. She has loads of signs and uses them instead of words. She also is really funny - she makes great faces sometimes for the camera. She's also making this ridiculous pouty face whenever she doesn't get her way, and still throwing fits like nobody's business. She loves her blankets and sucking her thumb. She's almost figured out how to open doorknobs and can go up and down (although she likes 'help' down) the stairs on her own.

And, just now, she put her blanket on our dog Prince's head and laughed. When I laughed, she took it off and did it again. She thinks she's hilarious. Oh and she is SO NAUGHTY. Climbs on everything and thinks when I say "NO!" it means to do whatever she's doing and run away at the same time. Being in trouble just makes her laugh, so we're working on time outs. Not sure how affective they'll be though, since she just thinks they're funny right now.


This is her 'funny face.' It appears whenever the camera comes out.



Laying on the floor, with her blanket and her thumb. She might look tired, but she just likes laying around. I don't blame her!


And CUBBIES! Last night was J's first night at Awanas. This means being dropped off and picked up - and left there for two hours with no mom or dad in the near vicinity. And he did great! Shawn and I seem to have a recurring conversation about just how big J's getting. He's doing so much that even six months ago I couldn't imagine - he'd cry his head off at Mops last year and this year his teacher was amazed at how he not only didn't cry, but participated in the activities and had fun. It makes me so incredibly happy that he's no longer sad!! I think either moving up to the preschool room at church (he never ever wants to leave) or going to Ikea's Smal-land (where he plays on his own for an hour) helped over the summer. Or he's just growing up and becoming more independent. Who knows. Either way, it's bittersweet.

Awana

Last night was registration night for Awana at Laveen Baptist Church. They had a 'waterslide' - pretty much a tarp covered with water and baby shampoo - so we went to register J for Cubbies. Shawn grew up going to Awana but I hadn't heard of it until I was in my mid-twenties and going to church out here with Shawn. I'm excited for J - when I told him about it, he was a little nervous that he'd be dropped off and I wouldn't be staying, but when I explained it was like school, he asked what he'd be learning about. I told him "Jesus" and he excitedly replied: "I can't WAIT to learn about Jesus." It was precious.

It's a step in faith, leaving your three year old in the care of random people for two hours every Wednesday night. In addition to that, it also goes an hour past his normal bedtime, but hopefully he'll have a good nap those days so it won't bother him too much. Last night when we got home (around 730pm), I put him to bed and he was so wired it took him awhile to fall asleep.


All dressed up in his swim suit...



Waving at me from the slide.



He kind of ran on the slide, then onto the grass, then fell on his bottom. I had to explain if he wanted to 'slide' he had to stay on the tarp.



They gave out these goody bags, which are fun, if it hadn't been bedtime.



J knew there was candy in it, but I told him he had to wait until morning to have any...the first thing he asked for this morning? Candy. He's eating an apple and drinking milk first...

J is getting so big. Yesterday before we left for the registration he was talking and talking a mile a minute. It's amazing that a year and a half ago he was barely speaking and now he never stops. He cracks me up, he's adorable.