California or bust!

We have been planning this trip for a LONG time. But we finally made it to the lovely CA! (The last attempt we made at this trip was last fall, but my little pregnancy complication put a damper on our plans.) So here we are! We saw two of my best friends and played lots! (Sadly, I totally suck at taking pictures of everything and didn't get any pictures while playing at my friend Kristen's.) Most of the other pictures are of Disneyland and CA Adventure Land. And they aren't entirely in order, but oh well. So here we go:

THE DRIVE:

The kids were actually really pretty good.

 

My little Joe. What a cutie :)

  

They were just so cute sitting outside the fast food restaurant while I sat in the car nursing Elise.

DISNEYLAND! 

 The only thing better than being at Disneyland was that we were there with some of our favorite people on the planet :)

 The kids were in heaven! I believe this was waiting in line for Peter Pan.

 Daddy, Mikey, and Elise on Dumbo

 Suzanne and her little cutie

 Oh how cute. The dads enjoying every minute together on the carousel ;)

 I don't think we ever got a picture of these two looking at the camera at the same time! But this one was pretty close.

 THIS one is a little more typical of Luke/Gavin pictures

 Joey LOVED Mickey's Toontown!  

 Elise and her Bestie! Oh how cute they are.  And what do you know? They have the same outfit!

 And the funny thing is that we both received them as gifts from different people!

 The older kids couldn't stand by and watch a mini photo shoot and NOT be in it. So we had to let them jump in. (PS-"one of these things is not like the other...." Yet somehow two of those are mine. My little ethnic baby :)

CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE LAND:

This day was just us. 

 (Can't get the picture to flip around...)

 Yay! Woody!

 Yes. We bought the little monkey backpack leash for Joey. Judge if you will. There were just a few times when we just couldn't manage without it. Yes, I was embarrassed. But at least we still have Joey!

 Cute Elise :)  Almost asleep...

 ...and asleep.

 Joey waiting in line for Buzz Light Year. It was a long line. 

 Almost there! The glasses were half the fun

 The boys got to get up with the Toy Story soldiers. They loved it!

 My cute boys!

Cars Land

 So fun!

THE BEACH:

 The little baby-ladies just chillin' in their own personal shades

 Best beach picture ever. The sand covered trail of boogies are the best part :)

 The kids dug this hole with Lance and then just wanted to stand it all day

 Elise's first double piggies. Lance finally convinced me to try the two pigtails and they were adorable so I had to get a picture.

Duct tape and safety pins

Okay, so we've actually never used duct tape, but I've considered it and clearly this night would have been a good one for it!  

(This picture has been edited for public viewing :)

 

This all started a few months ago. Joey started to take off his pjs before going to sleep. At first it was just kind of funny. But then it started happening EVERY night. Then he also started sometimes removing his diaper. THEN sometimes we'd find him in the morning with the diaper thrown across the room and pee in his crib. So we started pinning his footy pjs at the top of the zipper so he couldn't take them off. This has worked well. But after a few months, it was getting kind of warm for his winter footy pjs and so we put him in summer pjs with no zipper and no way to secure them on. And he did well! No pjs came off for a long time! Until the other night pictured above...clearly they all came off. And he fell asleep like this. And he peed like this.

*sigh* back to duct tape and safety pins.

The rest of these are just a few more of my recent faves. Because, although the kid is a handful, he is just in the cutest stage. He's starting to talk more and more and it is so cute. And he is so cuddly with us and loves to give kisses and all that. He keeps us on our toes, but man we love him!

 He frequently refuses to let go of whatever toy he has at bed time and so ends up sleeping with all kinds of things. But it's usually not something quite as big as this car! Not quite as cuddly as a few of his other choices, but he looks happy. 

 It may look like he is just lounging in there, kicking his feet around. But he's not. He's asleep. Dead to the world.

Four months of Elise!

Here is a lot of Elise from three to four months (though the pictures are not in order). She is getting so big and is so much fun. She is the most smiley thing and has the cutest laugh. However, she pretty much reserves that laugh for her big brothers only! Try as we may, mom and dad just can't get much more than a little giggle out of her. But Mikey and Luke start jumping around and man, she is giggle central!

She started rolling over right at 4 months. She was 15.5 lbs and in the 99th percentile for height! That's my little tall lady!

 

 

 The boys are constantly fighting over who gets to hold her. Even Joey tries to step in and hold her.

 Man, I love that little smile :)

 Notice the drool...

 She loves her blanket that her awesome Aunt Natalie made and she always has all her fingers and toes peaking out through the holes while she sleeps. 

 I know, all the hair! She has a lot and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. So at about three months I started with the single pigtail. Now at four, the double piggies have become necessary. If I don't it's just kind of crazy, fluffy, sticking out all over no matter how much mousse and water I slather on! Good thing the piggies are cute :)

These are a little less than three months:

So cute!! We love her!