My handsome boy

Life Changing

A few weeks ago we started to let Connor swim in the pool alone, always with a life jacket on but still alone. This is life changing for mom. I sit on the side of the pool watching him, encouraging him and playing dolphin or otter trainer. He has a blast and I don't have to deal with the hassle of getting in my suit and getting wet if I don't feel like it. I have visions of laying by the pool this summer tanning my baby bump while Connor swims the summer away. Another milestone for our big boy. And once again Connor we are so proud of you.






Warning this video is not to exciting but I love to watch Connor swim around and enjoy his freedom.

Connor we are proud of you

Last week I was casually talking with Connor's teacher while he happily played airplanes with his friends Ryan and Conrad. Connor's teacher Miss. Cindy told me he is such a "Happy, easy child. That if all the kids were like Connor her job would be a lot easier".

Connor we are proud of you for going to school, for being a nice boy, a good friend and listening to your teachers. We love you buddy!

Playdate at the Ranch

Earlier this week we had a play date with Jessica, Hope, Turner and their new puppy Chillie. Connor had a great time with kids and they have such a SWEET doggie Connor was in love.

The kids had a great time playing pirates together ...

Connor and Hope sharing a moment.

While Turner had no problem keeping up with the "big kids".

We walked down to visit with the horses. It's a lovely walk down a quiet ranch road with green meadows on both sides of the street. It was so nice to let the kids run and run and not worry about cars. Connor was in heaven! We think he might be a track star someday because he loves to run and run.


Pretty horsey.

A few of the horses below were rolling in the dirt which was fun to watch . . . not sure why they do that.

The kids fed the horses hay and pieces of apple.

Oh and the donkeys too as you can see by the large ears on the one Connor is feeding above.

Then Connor was in heaven again when he got to ride Turner's motorized tractor around. Turner kept chasing him with his bike which Connor didn't like but Turner thought it was pretty funny as you can see by the devilish grin he is wearing in the below picture.

The little rancher.
I love this darling lemonade stand their dad build, its so charming.

We had such a nice visit. Thanks Jessica, Hope & Turner.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

If you can't tell this boy has some Irish blood in him.

Earlier this week we celebrated Thatcher's 1st birthday at our weekly mommy happy hour.

There's the birthday boy and his pretty mommy.

Here is Jack man smiling as always.

The big ones got to have cupcakes.


Ronda made a nice spread with a green theme.

The birthday babies and their mommies. We will be celebrating baby Leila's 1st birthday later this week.

Happy St. Patrick's Day Y'all.

another great family day

Saturday we went to the Santa Barbara Zoo for Princess Day. While Connor definitely had fun meeting all the princesses, they were a bit of a disappointment compared to the princesses at Disneyland. We had to ask each one who they were because you really couldn't tell. But truly Connor was very happy to meet them all! He really does love princesses and says he is going to marry one when he grow up. Also he now sleeps with a picture of himself and Belle and himself and princess Jasmin above his bed. My sweet sweet boy.


We ran into Eli, Matt and Jameson. Connor had fun hangin with Eli and playing a few rounds of the ring toss. Connor did pretty well, he won a prize both times he played.


Then we went on an amazing hike up San Ysidro trail to the waterfall. There are a few small waterfalls but the one at the top is pretty great. It's a round trip of 4 miles. Connor did great but Chris did have to give Connor a few rides on the way up and carried him on his shoulders the whole way down.

We watched as the courageous people across the way climbed up the side of the mountain. Pretty impressive!

This was a beautiful hike with lots of lush greenery, sweet smelling plants, the sound of flowing water, yellow & purple flowers, plenty of butterflies, a few lizards and of course the waterfalls.

Here is crazy Chris sliding down a little natural water slide. The water was crystal clear and freezing cold!!! but Chris CANNOT resist a water slide.

Beautiful clear water.

And here we made it to the big water fall at the top. It was flowing pretty good but I'm sure after a good rain it must be amazing.

Again we were so proud of Connor! It was a challenging hike especially for an almost 4 year old with no snacks. We have been taking Connor on hikes every weekend for the last 4 or 5 weeks and EVERY time we forget to bring snack on the hike (pregnant mom forgets them in the car). This was our longest hike and we were all starving, so after the hike we treated ourselves to burgers & milk shakes from Tinker's in Summerland. Wow I forgot how delicious their burgers are. I highly recommend making the trip down and indulging.

Redondo Beach with friends

Last Sunday we went to Redondo Beach and spent time with our friends Dave & LaVerne. They are our neighbors in SB but their real home is Redondo Beach. When we arrived we walked into the yummy smell of a chocolate cake baking in the oven, which we would have for dessert after dinner that night. After getting settled in Dave and LaVerne or 'Verne' as Connor calls her took us for a tour of the area. When we got back to the house Connor and I helped LaVerne make dinner while Chris and Dave went to "the shop". Dave is a car collector, specifically mercedes benz. Boys will be boys :-)

Chef LaVerne and Sous Chef Connor

We had a nice dinner and followed up with that delicious smelling chocolate cake LaVerne made to celebrate Dave's birthday. The next morning Dave and LaVerne's granddaughter Janey came over. She and Connor ate pancakes together and just had a blast. They were instant best friends in fact when we left for Disneyland Connor kept yelling "Bye princess Jane, I'll miss you & I'll love you forever". Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of Jane :(

Thank you Dave and LaVerne for the warm welcome, the nice tour & the delicious dinner!

Connor's 1st trip to Disneyland

Last week we took Connor to Disneyland for the 1st time. We all had a blast! Sunday night we drove down to Redondo Beach and stayed with out friends Dave and LaVerne. Then Monday morning we headed to Disneyland. We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel which was super convenient, we just dropped our bags at the hotel and walked into the park. Being Monday the park was not too busy and the weather was prefect. Connor went on lots of rides and met lots and lots of Disney characters. Some highlights were the Aladdin Show at California Adventure, the Monsters, Inc. mini Parade where dad was called on to participate in a funny skit, Toy Story Mania Ride, meeting the Princesses!!! the Jungle Cruise & of course the ice cream sundaes.




Connor loves Bella and Princess Jasmin. Last week he loved Sleeping Beauty and Snow White.


My little sword fighter defending Micky's house.

We met out friends the Delios on Monday. Connor and Bella had a great time picking out treats in the candy store and going on the Jungle Cruise multiple times ;) While Marina and I enjoyed getting some yummy ice cream desserts with baby Leila.




Connor was very sweet and ended up giving his balloon away to a little girl, to the relief of both his parents. I thought we might get kicked out of the park if he hit one more person with that giant mini mouse head.


Connor loved the Monsters Inc. performance and even gave a hug to one of the adorable monsters.

Look carefully at the picture below and you can see Chris in his big Disney performance.
Great job dad. Lookin' good :-)

For lots more pictures click here.