Tea for two

Maddy loves to have tea parties. My mom gave her my old tea sets from when I was little. She keeps them in a special box and brings them out when she wants to have a tea party. She also has a special new "desk" (she calls it) from Nana for her tea sets. Today she had a tea party with her baby, Emerson. Yes, she named her new baby after her baby cousin in utero. :) I loved playing tea when I was little and think it is so special that my own little girl uses the same tea sets that I did one day. She has to set up high on the table so little stinker boy doesn't get the tiny pieces. Sidenote: I say stinker boy with the utmost love and devotion- that is just one of his many nicknames. We use chocolate chips as our scones and pretend to drink our tea. Aaahhh- another beautiful thing about my girlie girl- she loves tea parties!

man down

i have been recovering this weekend from a minor surgery on friday. i didn't realize it would take me down like it did. mike has been an amazing husband and daddy all weekend. he is definitely mr. mom. from dirty diapers, baths, feeding, playing ball, going to the park, bike rides, grocery shopping, laundry, dog duty- i think he has done it all. thanks babe for taking over. and a big thanks to gamma for taking maddy for a special day yesterday. they got their nails done, had a special lunch, made a delicious dinner for us and a get well cake with lots of sprinkles. those sprinkles definitely did the trick! i feel like i am back today :). so target here we come!

shwam party of 2

it has been so nice outside that we decided to eat lunch outside in the playhouse. brody hasn't yet experienced eating here and was pretty excited. how much food can he shove in his mouth at one time?

that is cute they are both smiling and kind of looking enjoying their OWN food, until...

...oh look you have another nugget Maddy and I will take it. Thanks! This boy can eat and Maddy is such a lady! Loving these hot days and lunches outside.

sending birthday wishes to san fran

we love you auntie lou! hope your 25th birthday is amazing! happy birthday and big hugs and kisses to you in san fran!

fore!!

Watch out folks- we now have a putting green and the Shwams might be yelling "fore" a lot! We walked up some big hills to get to our community putting green and park. It is at the top of the hill in Ladera and overlooks such a beautiful view. It is such a well-groomed, pretty park. Brody had his first putting lessons from Daddy and after awhile Maddy preferred to pick flowers for me. We had a fun family Sunday afternoon!

Just another day

playin ball and ridin bikes

Strawberry Shortcake

My little strawberry shortcake wanted to pose in her new strawberry jammies eating her favorite fruit-strawberries!

It's WILD in there

The three kiddos ready to go!

Look who our tour guide is??


Today we headed south to the Wild Animal Park with Bri and Grey. We got there early, about an hour after it opened and left when it was getting really hot and busy. It was the perfect three hours to be there! The kids loved it. We saw giraffes (Mad's fav) and lions (Brod's fav).  Brody "roared" everytime we talked about the lions- so cute! Bri and I walked our butts off, pushing a double for me, and her pushing while 16 weeks prego! Fun times! Thanks for joining us Moysas..such a fun day!

dance party, pizza and smores = perfection

Breathtaking view

Tonight we got to go and spend some time with Mike's sister, Stacy, Steve, Jack and Hayley at the Montage in Laguna Beach. We absolutely love it there! It feels like you are in Hawaii, when you are really in SoCal.  In the summer, Mike and I take the kids there for picnics and to play on the large grass areas overlooking the ocean. It is so beautiful.  It never disappoints and this night it didn't either. It was the most perfect weather of the week.  We played in the pool, ordered Z Pizza back to the room, had a dance party, saw dolphins from the balcony, and then thanks to Uncle Steve, went down to the firepits for some yummy smore making- delicious!! Thanks Holder family for a fun night!

Jack greeting his lil cousin- these two had so much fun together playing ball in the pool

Jack read to Maddy from his Alice in Wonderland book. He is such a good little reader and Maddy didn't want him to stop.  At one point, he said only a couple more pages okay Mad. So cute!

While Maddy and Jack read, Hayley and Brody played basketball on the balcony, while listening to Hay's Ipod. You better believe that Brody had already started the dance party!

Dance party in action! Jack had moves that I didn't know existed :). What a good little dancer!

The smore making begins! Steve had the brilliant idea of taping the short wooden sticks together to make a larger one- it worked! "Are you guys from around here?" Ha!

This precious babe loved her first smore making experience. She didn't care too much for the marshmallows but was into the chocolate and graham cracker part!

Brody got to have some graham crackers, and then pretty much chilled like this while enthralled by the fire. It was past his bedtime- can you tell?

The Holder Family cozy in their robes :)

Our happy, tired, smore lovin fam! I love nights like this-

 being with my family

in a beautiful place!

A date with the Hogans

We got to play with one of our favorite families today at the waterpark! It was a beautiful day and the kids had a blast! We love getting together with Blake, Cade and Vanessa.  Maddy and Blake have so much fun together and now that Cade and Brody are on the run, they too can join in the fun! We played in the water, climbed the play structure (too many times :) and had a yummy lunch on the benches! It was a fun day with the Hogan boys (and their mama)! We are so lucky to have such amazing friends!

Maddy and Mommy time

Maddy,

We had special Mommy and Maddy time tonight when Bro went to bed.  Daddy is at the Angels game and I let you choose what you wanted to do.  Tonight we layed together on the couch and watched Dora's Easter Egg Hunt, even though Easter was a couple of days ago.  We made popcorn, which you thought was fascinating to watch pop in the micro, and ate it together.  We held hands as we watched Dora and Boots go on their hunt. You gave me crazy ponytails and told me my hair "looked crazy". You said you were going to tell Daddy tomorrow that we had "special Maddy and Mommy time".  I love you so so so much little girl.  You make me laugh, you make me smile!  I will love you forever and ever and ever. And I love love love special Maddy and Mommy time!

I can't believe how quickly you are growing up. When I watched you play today at the park and talk to little girls that you just met, I was so proud.  You are a kind, compassionate friend.  You always use your manners and say thank you when people give you compliments.  I love our special times together and I cherish them.  Tonight before bed, I was holding you and giving you big hugs, you looked in the mirror and said, "I am a big girl- you don't want me to get big mommy, you want me to be your baby" with a kind of chuckle, and smile.  You are a big girl and as much as I don't want you to get big, it is a fact of life and I am enjoying every minute of watching you grow up.  But, you will always be my "baby girl." Sweet Dreams Sis! xoxo

Shiner #2

This is before the collision!!

It didn't take long for this little guy to get his second shiner in his 15 months of life. Collided with his sis in the hall and then must have hit the doorjam- we aren't sure because we ran when we heard the screaming. If you know me, you probably aren't surprised that I called the pediatrician and woke him every three hours in the night. Fun times! And through it all- he kept smiling.

Another before picture! These two love the camera!

The after shot!

It's nothing that a cracker can't fix!

Still smiling!