Fun with Cousins!

This past week we had so much fun visiting with my cousins.  My mom's dad's cousin's kids... are considered my cousins... to keep it simple. One cousin, Jeremy, lives in Visalia with his wife, Bibi, and 2 children, Brianna (5) and Kiara (2).  My other cousin, Kenny, lives in Saipan which is a small island in the South Pacific.  He has a wife, Crystal and daughter Shylah (18 months).  When they are visiting, we make every effort to see them... as it is a special treat!  

We went to see them on Wednesday night at my Aunt's house in Visalia.  

Shylah and Jed played with each other... it was soooo cute!

 Jed loved eating the toys and watching Shylah move so fast!

 We attempted to get a group picture... not everyone wanted to participate and it ended with a few tears, so this is the best shot we got of the kids!

On Sunday afternoon, the family decided to come up to Fresno to go to the Zoo... It has been sooo long since I have actually gone to the Zoo to visit.  We took our niece Aubrey Rose along.  

Bibi and Jed

Jeremy and Jed

 During the bird show, Aubrey Rose played in the dirt and got some on her nose...

 The owl in the bird show was unbelievable!  It's eyes were larger then a quarter and an amazing gold that I have never seen!

 Jed and Shylah checking everything out!

 The bear was showing off!

 Feeding the giraffe's was a huge hit!

Jesse helping Aubrey Rose see what to do with the gorilla... 

Brianna is sooo beautiful!

Shylah's adorable sunglasses!

Bye Bye Pony Tail!

I cut my hair.  A lot. 10 inches... yeah, finally... 

I have been thinking about cutting my hair for a long time but my sweet husband was a bit against it at first.

Reasons:  1. Jed pulls on it.   2. It's HOT!  3. I never did it, when I did, it ended up because of 1. Jed pulls on it.  4.  I looked like a high schooler... no offense... with a big pony tail on the top of my head... I needed a style and more sophisticated look.

Thanks to Meadow Rhotan for a great cut and for the idea to give it to Locks for Love!

Friends Forever

We have been friends with the Cadieux family for many years now.  We traveled to Costa Rica with their family and the Feils.  In this picture, Breann (far right) is six months pregnant (I know... you would never know!) and I am 4 months pregnant.  We like to say that this is our kids first trip together.  

Even though our pregnancies were two months apart, Emry came a week late and Jed came a month early... they just wanted to be closer in age!  

Last night Breann and Kris brought Emry over with a little onesie for Jed.  

They are both standing...

We took them in the pool... clearly, Jed is teething right now!

We are so glad to have such great friends and enjoy doing life with them.  We hope our little ones stay best buddies for a long time!

Self Do It!

When I was a little girl, I was very determined (so my mom says)... For example, my mom had to get velcro shoes for me because I wouldn't let her tie my shoes... I would say, "Self Do It!!!," throw tantrums, and usually make a scene (sorry mom).  So, it is no surprise that I have a child who is very determined.  For the past few weeks, Jed has been increasingly frustrated during feeding time.  He wines and grabs for the spoon.  It seems like he only likes his little puffs.  As I studied this behavior more and more I realized that it was more him wanting to feed himself.  Yesterday I researched good first finger foods and this morning we went to the grocery store.  

He LOVED it... I cut up bananas, cooked carrots, avocado and watermelon.

 I read about ways to make it easier for him to grab onto the food... they suggested making a powder out of puffs or in my case Trader Joe's form of Cheerios.  (If you use Cheerios, make sure you don't use honey nut... infants aren't suppose to have honey.)  I used a coffee grinder.  Then roll the food in the powder and serve.   Jed found it much easier to pick up and for me, it was a bit less messy... even though we still had to change clothes.  

 He was a happy boy!

 The dogs were happy too!  I remember when my niece Aubrey Rose would eat over here... the dogs would LOVE it... one for me, one for you, two for me, one for you... 

I hope this keeps him happy for a while!