Double rainbow

So last week we experienced a double rainbow. I almost felt like that youtube guy who was crying over it. Check it out here if you haven't seen it (and then click on the rainbow song if you haven't heard it!!!) It was pretty incredible. We saw it in completion from tip to tip but by the time Philip got the camera it was a little less bright. It kind of puts you in a trance and make you to do something you maybe wouldn't normally do......hence Amelia sharing her rainbow painting with the........rainbow???

Ode to the fluff

Oh how I love this baby's hair. He was born with, as I might describe it, a long fringe of front fluff. It sticks up in weird places, it didn't grow in the middle, it cannot be tamed with any product, and for some reason the hair in his widow's peak has come in very blonde and short, making his hairline very.....odd.  It was time to be cut, so you could actually see the blonde hair under that fluff  before it turns brown.  The hair I cut was probably the same amount I cut off Ben when he was 8 months old for his first haircut. He didn't squirm or squawk one bit as I shaved it. The kids thought it was hilarious, and as I was attempting to get the mullet, Amelia yells out, "no leave it so he can have grandpa hair!" I left it, only because I couldn't get that baby fine hair to shave.  In my opinion, now he definitely looks blonde. Sometimes I can't even believe he belongs to me with those blue eyes and light hair.  I will cry the day they turn brown (his hair and eyes) because I am not completely naive and know they inevitably will.  Curse those stubborn Portuguese genes. I will stare at him in awe every day until that happens.
AND, occasionally Philip likes to measure and weigh Miles to check out how he stacks up on the average growth chart. Yesterday he measured in at what an average 8.5 month old should be!!!  I fear he will be bigger than both the kids before he turns 2.
ALSO, Miles rolled over for the first time on Ben's birthday. I guess being strapped in a carseat for an entire day was just the motivation he needed to get mobile. Oh how my life just changed!!

Ben's Birthday

When we got home it was Ben's 4th birthday.  He keeps telling us all the things he can do now that he is 4!!  When he woke up and came in my room, I asked him if he knew what day it was. He didn't, so I reminded him it was his birthday and now he was 4. He ran out to find Amelia and said to her, "Amelia, I am four now!!!". He was so excited. We spent the day lounging around recuperating from our road trip. Ben requested pizza and apples for dinner and I made samoa cupcakes.  He had lego themed presents and Amelia gave him a bag of peanut M&M's, one of Ben's favorite. And just in case you weren't sure how big his eyes can get, here's the proof!!!

Family Reunion

The beach- being buried, making castles, Luke getting very, very muddy and LOVING it, walking to the lighthouse, running and dancing in the sand and the men diving in and quickly running back out!!

Cousins. Norah batting a pinata, swimming on the 4th, Liam kicking a ball ,Audrey singing and Amelia hopping on one foot for their talents, most of the gang and kids in the car

Over the 4th we went to Port Townsend, Washington for a Sargent (Philip's mom's side) family reunion. We drove in a van with 6 kids under the age of 6!! I am really surprised at how little problems we had. We had a caravan with some of the other family meeting up in various places while we made our way there. On the 4th we swam and watched fireworks. Fort Worden is an old military base that has been turned into a state park and the officer housing can be rented out. It is right on the ocean. My Cali babies were so happy to be back on the beach all day, digging in sand and laying around sun bathing. We mostly just stayed on the beach, as you can see!! The kids had fun playing with cousins the whole time.  We didn't see one spec of rain or clouds which is I think unheard of in these parts. I am so glad because I do not like being cold!! 70 degrees is about as cold as I like to be.  We also scouted around the old batteries and tunnels, climbing up ladders to overlook the bay andtaking a tour of a command post. Amelia loved picking flowers for her hair and wisely did not want to go inside the pitch black abandoned underground structures.  Philip's cousin did a fly over in a helicopter to take a family photo and Philip's uncle did a little air show in his bi-plane which included lots of loop-de-loops and stalling the engine out to free fall over the ocean. The other beach goers cheered him on with us. I didn't take any pictures!!!! What was I thinking?? 

It took us 21 hours to get back home and we made it without one meltdown, accident, allergic reaction or puking episode the whole way!! I was very impressed. When we got home, Amelia already was planning out next road trip!!  I guess that's proof what a good time she had.

New Tradition

So I saw on a list called something about "keeping your kids busy during the summer for free" and one idea was to make up a holiday. After a trip to the grocery store where they were sampling donuts, and then seeing the disappointment in Amelia's face when she heard she couldn't have what we were all enjoying, I decided to make Memorial day our family donut day. Then that night I found out by total accident that national donut day is June 1st, just a few days later. Oh well. (But if you are near a Krispy Kreme, you can get one for free on Friday!!!) You can never have too many donuts. And at least our Memorial day donuts are safe for Amelia.  Here are some pics from our holiday. We let the kids top them with whatever they wanted. Amelia's has Christmas sugar crystals, chocolate sauce, vanilla frosting, sprinkles and graham cracker crumbs. Ben's were simple, frosting and chocolate sauce. Later after much coaxing, he added some sprinkles to his plain frosted one.  Mine and Phil's, vanilla frosting, graham cracker crumbs, toasted coconut and chocolate drizzle. Needed some caramel and it would have been a samoa donut.

And you can't be more local than mowing your lawn on a riding lawn mower with the horses watching in front of your flag with a hat you can't see around and some overalls!!!  My kids love being country kids now. And did I mention we planted a garden. We'll see if I deem it worthy of ever speaking of it again!!

All the little parts I love of Miles...

I love all these little things on Miles. From top going clockwise, his little mullet, his fluff of reddish, blondish brown hair that won't lay flat, his adorable smile (and he has a dimple but you have to work at it, so it has not been caught on camera), his blue (for now) blue, blue eyes, his crooked weird toenails, his ridiculously long eyelashes (zoom in to see these puppies....and oh how they curl up) and of course his fluff again and his serious man looks. Oh and I guess the triple chin!!!

Made it a few more months!!

My last post said I made it a week. That makes me laugh. I feel like every week I look back and say, "Whew,  I made it another week".  Here's my attempt to sum up the last 3 months without being too boring, because let's face it, you really just want to see the pics.....



First, Philip moved and started his new job and loves it. There were a lot of concerns, complications and logistics to work out, but in the end, it has been a good move and hopefully will open some doors for him. If anything, it has renewed his faith in his degree, the law and his self esteem.  I say that's worth any inconvenience we may have had in the process.

Next, we had a baby. Miles Joseph born April 3 at 12:37pm. He was 8 pounds 10 ounces and 22 inches long. I basically gave birth to what Ben was at 3 months old!! He's patient, quiet, our "blondest" child (which makes the toe-head side of the family laugh), and growing like a weed.  The older kids ADORE him. I have to chastise them for things like messing up the closet to find the perfect outfit for him, brushing his hair too hard, kissing him too hard, or trying to make him smile while he should be sleeping and other sweet things like that. My delivery was a pain. Literally and mentally. I had 4 false alarm hospital visits with 2 minute contractions thinking every time that would be the day he was born, but due to some crazy hospital policy I wasn't allowed to have pitocin until my due date so I kept getting sent home. Finally 2 days past my due date I got the magical drug and 1 hour later he was born. I still cringe thinking about how it all would have been so much easier if they would have given it to me the first time I went in (or told me the policy about pitocin) and saved all the people who had to be involved a big huge headache for the last 3 weeks of my pregnancy. But what can you do... I guess it all worked out.

Miles and family in the hospital

Miles from 1 week to 6 weeks old

Then, we moved. 3 days after I gave birth. Never again would I do this, nor would I suggest it to anyone. Thankfully Philip's parents came and basically kept us alive. I have no idea how it would have happened if they weren't there. I probably would still be trying to clean and pack. It took us 2 days to make the trek and we still are trying to figure out what to unpack, but we have a great house with TONS of inside and outside space. Something we never really had in CA, but when you live in a small town in the middle of nowhere, I guess you can have all the outside space you want!!  The kids love the fact that they can do normal kid things like ride their bikes and jump on the trampoline and see birds and pick weeds. OK almost all of those.

Top: Our backyard Bottom: kids bird watching, Miles soaking rays when he had jaundice, kids making angry faces

Left: first day of school.  Right: last day of school.

Amelia (started again) and finished kindergarten. She had quite an adjustment but finally made it inside her classroom without crying on the last day of school. Better late than never I guess. She is already bored and ready to go back to school and it's been 1 week. I have a long 3 months ahead. Look how much she's grown up!! She looks like a little angelic baby on the first day of school. Now she looks a little bit more mischievous!!!

Where's Waldo......Amelia's kindergarten program.

We are really excited to be closer to family and even some old friends.  If anyone is bored and wants to stare at fields, you are welcome to come to our house anytime!!!

Time with cousins