Nothing like a good book to relax. Yeah, this is our first attempt, not very successful. Is potty training a boy the same as a girl? That's all I know so any advice would be helpful. I'm tempted to just do the no diaper thing for a few days, but it will have to wait until I'm not pregnant because I can barely keep up with this little guy let alone clean up any accidents.


We took the kids miniature golfing and I pretty much knew that David would just hold the ball the entire time...and I was right.


Veronica requested a pink ball and they actually had one. Anyway, she was more willing to at least play along with us. It looks here like she has a really good stroke. Veronica is painfully uncoordinated and so this shot really took some effort...at least she tried!


At the pool where, again, David refused to participate in the touching of water. I was a bit more relieved than annoyed because that was one less kid to worry about in the water. He was just as happy sitting and watching.

Veronica loves any and all hot tubs. She justed soaked and let her stresses, what toys she forgot and the dimishing pink in her wardrobe, just soak away.

Veronica so helpfully openned all the eggs and David ate everything that was in them. I don't know if that was very helpful, but she certainly thought she was being helpful.

Winnetka Park has undergone some playground rennovations and this is Veronica enjoying the rock that they placed on the sand portion of the playground. They've added this soft paddy-floor thing under the slides and then a huge sandbox with swings. I wonder how long before it gets trashed.

You know how long I've waited for this to happen? It's too bad Veronica gets as tired of pushing David on the swing as I do.

Day 254, 36 weeks and 2 days

I am not any less nervous than I was a couple weeks ago about this soon-to-come baby. We still haven't decided on a name nor have we transitioned David into not sleeping in the crib. David loves the crib and sleeps really well in it since he was a newborn. I'm worried that he will not like to sleep in a bed and will feel some kind of issues when he sees the baby taking over the crib. We're going to try next week to get him into a bed...not this week because surprise surprise, Jeff is out of town.

Easter came and went. We weren't really prepared for it so it kind of snuck up on us. Luckily, I had some candy and special things for the kids but it was pretty low key. The whole "Easter Nap" thing didn't work for Veronica this year. We did make her lay down and have quiet time but I know she was just waiting for the "special eggs." Our Easter dinner consisted of frozen pizza and a bunch of junk. And we did manage an Easter picture, Jeff always insists on these for some reason. I think it's kind of funny what he deems a "mandatory Easter thing." He'll forget to take pictures on Christmas or birthdays or special ocassions but the Easter picture is always a must.

Sorry Rachel that I can't come to your wedding. I was hoping that I would be able to but alas I must stay here. I am so excited for you and Darrin. Loved your pictures!


What you can't see in this picture is that David's legs became like spaghetti after the first shot and we had to bribe him with jelly beans (that is what he is chewing on), Veronica kept waving her hands in front of her face and Jeff made the poor girl cry (he's very serious about the Easter picture) and I am still trying to control my hair and my dress and not be bothered that we're late for Church because of this picture session. Fun times!

6 more weeks to go

I'm about 34 weeks into this pregnancy. Most people have been saying that I'm not that big, but tell that to my ever so weak body. I can barely stand for long periods of time, that's my way out of doing the dishes, and if I sit at a certain angle my front load begins to suffocate me. Some things I've been thinking about lately are:
What are we going to name this baby? (any suggestions are welcomed)
I hope my experience with my other 2 births helps me prepare physically and mentally for this birth.
I'm SO nervous!
Where in the world am I going to put all these kids?
It's going to be a long and HOT summer.
I can't believe the stretch marks.
I hope Jeff is in town when baby decides to make her big reveal.

Anyway, those are some of things that I think of when I glance down at my belly.
On a happier note, I've been trying to find the right school for Veronica and put her name in 2 lotteries for 2 charter schools. So far, she was accepted into one and hopefully we'll hear about the second school this week. Sorry Winnetka Elem., nothing personal.

David's birthday celebration. Once he saw the cake all he wanted to do was pick off the m&ms and the fruit snacks.




He wasn't so sure about the fire he had to blow out...that's Jeff's hand pushing David's face closer to the flame.




Enjoying the cake that I labored hours to decorate. I almost didn't want to cut it.



A week ago Veronica had a bad stomach thing and was quiet and sad and vomitty the whole day. David's best effort to cuddle with his sister and help her feel loved. All she wanted was her space and David kept smothering her.



He's just so cheery, I love this little guy!

This week

David turned 2 on the 4th and we are having a birthday party for him on Saturday. He absolutely loves Curious George so I thought he would like a cake like that. Anyway, I have never decorated...much less frosted a cake before so I was pretty proud of this. Veronica was very excited to help me put the fruit snacks and m&m's on it...as well as sample all the frosting.


Jeff calls it the "Hispanic" George because his face turned out darker than the picture. Oh well, I tried.

The kids enjoying hot chocolate and scones after school.

This is how cute David acts right before bedtime...he's such a sweetie.

Veronica was so excited for David to open his birthday presents...that way she could finally play with them. Wow, I have a 4 yr old, a 2 yr old and one due in the next couple of months, that's pretty crazy to realize!

Jeff rants...

This isn't really a rant, but I wanted to list my all-time favorite restaurants:

10: Les Sisters - Cajun restaurant in Chatsworth. Good gumbo and even better buttermilk pie.

9: Pho 999 - this is a vietnamese restaurant. Beef noodle soup. Tai nam gao is my favorite (number 13 on the menu) and a mango boba.

8: A & W - Great bacon cheesburgers and even better root beer.

7: Tommy's Burgers - Best chili burgers in the world...even better after a Dodgers' game.

6: Pizza Pipeline - Best pizza I've ever had-large w/pepperoni & jalapenos, some cinnamon-sugar tricky stix, and washing it down with a sprite, plus it includes college-days nostalgia from Provo.

5: In-n-out burger - #1 combo with a side of "spread".

4: Ono's - great hole-in-the-wall hawaiian place in Waikiki. Poi, lau-laus, lomi-lomi salmon, kailua pig...in a word "ono" ("delicious" in hawaiian...I think).

3: El Taurino/Taco King - best taco stands in all of LA, burrito de pura carne, unos tacos de carne asada y lengua, y un agua grande de tamarindo.

2: Red Lobster - Raw oysters on the half shell for an appetizer and butterfly coconut shrimp with pina colada sauce for the entree.

1: Sam Woo's - this is a chinese restaurant-great mongolian beef, spicy salt pork chops, and chow fun with some "hi-chew" from the grocery store next door for dessert.

A lot of thought went into this list, but it can change on a moment's notice: discovering a new restaurant or getting a hair in my food from one of the places listed. And yes, I like to eat, and have gained a good 50 lbs of weight from my 140 lbs days in high school.

Lazy Sunday

Veronica has been sick this weekend, so today was definitely a lazy Sunday. The kids are still wearing their jammies.
I thought I would take some time to post some pictures of the happenings in the past month.


Jeff had another trip to Fresno and we tagged along. We had to stop at an A&W and enjoy the rootbeer....there are none in LA.


Here we are on our night out. Yeah, I look pretty huge in that tent.


Veronica helped me make cookie bars and they enjoyed some after their baths.


Enjoying the leaves at the park.


Veronica likes to climb into David's crib when she should be sleeping. He loves it and welcomes her intrusion.


Veronica has called this "table catch." The kids take turns and get up on the table and jump off into Jeff's arms. They could do this for hours.

Phantom

I haven't posted in quite a while and figured I'd post something. For Christmas, Jeff gave me a "Night on the town." He got us some tickets to see Phantom of the Opera and was going to take me to a fancy place for dinner before. Anyway, tonight is our big night and I don't really know what to wear...seeing as nothing really fits anymore. (Am I the only one who hates buying maternity clothes...?) He even got the sitter for the kids. I'm excited to see Phantom, although I read somewhere that it's a long show and I don't know if I can really sit that long without needing to use the bathroom. These are our last ditch efforts to do stuff before #3 comes along and it gets slightly more impossible to get out for the evening. What a sweet husband I have, thanks so much Jeff for the wonderful gift.

There has to be a more comfortable way...

to have an ultrasound without having to have a "full bladder." It's torture. Oh well.



This is the best shot of the little one's face...I guess this is what happens when too much caffeine is consumed by mother...the kid won't be still for a photo-op.

So handsome...

Looking sharp stud! New haircut and new church clothes...looking good David!

Christmas time...

I don't know about anyone else but it seems as if Christmas snuck up on me this year. We did most of our Christmas shopping early, like October, so maybe that's why I didn't feel the usual rush. It was nice and quiet this year...which I really liked. We went over to my parents and had some good food and nice family time. My mom made fresh fruit juice and David loved it and drank that until he had the runs. I thought I would run out of diapers....almost did! It was a really fun night and Santa was very generous to our family.
I didn't take very many pictures...here are some.


It's been really cold these past couple of weeks, this is what the kids like to wear to keep warm.



This was my attempt at getting some pictures of the kids in their nice clothes...didn't last more than 3 pictures.

Nice pose Veronica.


Christmas morning over at the Abuelo's home.

Our first of many...

holiday programs to attend. Veronica's pre-school class has been practicing their song and dance for the past week and today they had their holiday program. Of course they were the last class to perform so I had to sit through the whole program. There's nothing like an elementary class orchestra... The program wasn't too long and watching Veronica perform was amazing. I've been trying to get Veronica to show me what she's been practicing but she refused and just sitting back and watching her do her thing was cute. I couldn't get any good pictures, or any that were in focus...I was busy with the video camera. It was funny to see a lot of the parents watching their kids through their video cameras. When I figure out transferring video to my computer I'll post...she was cute none-the-less.


Sad...this is the only shot I got that was in focus. Veronica is on the right, with the pink shirt. This was shot during her "Rockin' around the Christmas tree" dance with her partner Harkirt.

Veronica caught a glimpse of me and posed for the camera...you see what I mean by out of focus.

Veronica, Gabby and Kathy posing after their awesome performance.

Veronica taking a crack at wrapping presents.

All wrapped and ready for the tree.

Also, Veronica has 3 weeks off school. What will we do with all this time? Any suggestions?

Ward Christmas Party

We had our ward Christmas party last Saturday. It was a pretty well put together activity with lots of activities for the kids and a special appearance from Santa. It was fun, except when David was acting like a terror close to the end of the evening. We hardly saw Veronica, she much rather spend the whole night playing with her little pals than sit with us.


David and his friend Iris hanging out under the table.


This is Veronica being surprised by Santa coming in the door. All the kids started jumping and giggling and following Santa. It was cute.


Can Santa look any scarier? Veronica didn't notice and was more excited than she seems in this picture.

"...and I want a baby and I want some coloring books..."


David didn't seem to mind so much, as long as candy was given at the end.


David got really into decorating the Christmas tree. It's too bad most of the ornaments ended up in a pile on the floor.


My boys, aren't they cute.




Santa was a busy fellow. He also made an appearance at Veronica's school.

Thankful Thanksgiving

Helping with dessert...


More help...


We had my parents and brother over as well as the Tanigawa's (Lana is peacefully sleeping and not in the picture.) I can't believe that many people fit into our little apartment. It was so much fun!