Last week of school.

Tomorrow is Veronica's last day of pre-school. I don't know who is going to be more upset/sad. Veronica really likes going to school and I know that she'll miss going to school. I will miss having her away...that sounds bad...I will miss her being out and learning and growing. Regardless, it's been nice to have some time away from each other, both for her as much as for me.

Anyway, they had a field trip to the firestation on Tuesday and then today they had a field trip to the park.

Here they are lined up to enter the firestation. So well behaved sometimes...it's amazing.

Picnic at the park with her classmates.

Playing a very enthusiastic game of duck-duck-goose. I had a blast just watching.

In front of the fire truck.

Here are some of her classmates.

Pictures...

Even though we live in Los Angeles we still aren't Laker fans. My parents provided these shirts for the kids so maybe despite our best efforts David and Veronica and even Vanessa will be cheering for purple and gold. Veronica is holding up 4 for Kobe's championships. This picture is for one of the biggest Lakers fan, this one's for you Abuelo.


Here they are showing #1.


A pizza we made with fresh spinach, fresh tomatoes, pesto, ricotta cheese, and kielbasa sausage. It was so good. We even made the crust.


Veronica and her class singing at their culmination.


Jeff's parents and sister and husband were in town for Vanessa's blessing and this is David enjoying some pool time with Grandma.

Veronica went in and out of the pool and hot tub and Grandma was close behind. I'm sure by the end of their trip, Grandma was pretty worn out...Veronica definitely took full advantage of the grandparents while they were here. It was really nice to have them here.

The binky is my best friend.

Every time I put Vanessa down to change her diaper David runs in and insists on watching and getting in my way.

A close up of little Vanessa.

David sits and "reads" and it really looks like he is reading.

I had a birthday. My parents surprised me with this cake that I absolutely love. Jeff and I ate cake every night for 3 nights and when it was all gone I was a bit sad.

Blog hiatus

So, about a month or so ago our computer started having issues turning on and finally it decided to never be turned on again. We've been without computer and most importantly without the internet, which I've decided is my only connection to the outside world lately. Now we're back up and running.
I don't have much to blog about...
Vanessa's 2 week appointment went well. She weighed 9 lbs. even. The pediatrician was very impressed by her weight gain. We have small kids in general, so it's nice to have her be on the bigger scale. She sleeps pretty well, only wakes 2 times in the night, which is darn good if you ask me. I still have a hard time with the 6 a.m. wake up...it's just too early for me.
Anyway, Veronica is very excited for her culmination that is tomorrow. Pre-K graduation is a very big deal. They have been practicing for quite some time and Veronica has been singing all the songs they have learned and is very excited.
David is in the very best of the "terrible twos." It's hard because he struggles to communicate and wants to eat snacks constantly. We're trying to potty train him too and that's pretty much not going anywhere.
I will post pictures later.

Perfect day for a wedding...

My brother, William and his blushing bride Angie.
The first photo-op for the newly married couple. Congrats guys, we are all so so happy for you!


Abuelo and David.
Apparently David couldn't contain his excitement so he decided to sleep it off.


Here's the flower girl who stole the show. We had her practice throwing her flower petals and once if was showtime she decided that it was much more proper to place one petal at a time on the ground. When the wind picked up and blew it away she got upset.

Veronica and David were dancing the night away.

One week...

...so far so good. Vanessa seems to have taken the "Sleeping Beauty" role just fine. I guess the first couple of weeks are nice since babies sleep most of the day and don't really fuss much. It's the weeks after that, when they stay up longer and require more attention...hopefully by then we will have figured out our routine. I mentioned to Jeff that I don't look forward to bedtime as much because I know that I will be up constantly and won't really rest. I'm excited to get to know little Vanessa and her unique personality and to watch her fit into our family. David has been "helpful" with his new baby sister. He stands by her swing and waves hello to her and lovingly pushes the pacifier into Vanessa's mouth when she's sleeping. Veronica loves to talk to "her baby" and show her what she's has brought home from school. I just love to watch them all and know that soon enough all three of them are going to drive me crazy but still melt my heart.

Jeff with his little princess. A whole week old...so precious.


A common position for our little one.

...And now there are 3

Baby Vanessa arrives...

Since Jackie is feeling relatively not up to updating a blog, I thought I'd fill in temporarily. Forgive the lack of creativity and everything else about this post. Jackie is a tough woman...no drugs for the delivery "au natural". By seeing our hospital room Monday night, you'd have thought I had given birth, not Jackie. I don't do well missing 3/4 of a night of sleep (Jackie went into labor in the middle of Sunday night.) and I ended up feeling pretty miserable by Monday night. Jackie seemed to have recovered pretty well by that point. Anyways, she got a kick out of it. Basically, I wouldn't want to find myself in a dark alley walking across from Jackie-she's tough as nails (but as sweet as sugar). Here are a couple of pictures...I love you Jackie and Vanessa!

BTW...Her name is Vanessa Marcely (accent on the first sylable). She measures it at 7lbs 11ozs 20 inches long, and arriving Monday, May 11th at 4:18 AM.

And so it goes...

We are still in that horrible place...still waiting. People have been asking us what we're doing this weekend or if we have plans the next day and my only thoughts are ... "we're just waiting around." I feel like I can't make plans nor commit myself to anything because just when I do I will go into labor. For now, I've had 2 days of "false labor" with annoying contractions for most of the afternoon into the early hours then they simply stop. That happened Thursday and Friday. Today just nothing. Today is the due date, not that the due date means anything anymore. I am just losing my patience and know that the longer this little girl stays inside the bigger she will get making it much more difficult for me to deliver her. For now, at least I know she's growing and healthy so I'll be grateful for that. So much for the full moon...

"You can get so confused
that you'll start to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...
...for people just waiting."

Dr. Seuss is right on with this "waiting place." It's very useless and I hate being there. Anyday now, #3 will make her debut and I've been just anxious to meet the little girl. I know I should relax and enjoy my "down time and rest" but really who can rest with a 4 1/2 year old running around and a 2 year old right in the middle of his terrible twos? I was hoping this next post would be introducing our little girl but that will have to wait.

Look mah, no cavities!

Veronica and I had dental cleanings/check-ups today. Veronica was very excited to go and "be brave" and I was quite dreading it. Veronica was so patient and cooperative and was a great example for me. Anyway, I promised her a special treat if she did a good job and she did and she didn't have any cavities to boot! So, we hit the store and she asked for marshmallows (go figure) and then she thought about smores and so that's what we decided to do.

David was a good helper when we started but then he realized that he would be more helpful if he put the chocolate in his mouth.

Finished assembly of the smores.

Ahh...so so yummy! Veronica inhaled her dinner so she could enjoy her smore. David has yet to try it because he didn't want to eat dinner.

A video of us putting the smores together.

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.