Searchin' for bugs with Shannie

Looking for ants with his Aunt.

If you look VERY close, you can see his ant on the yellow toadstool.

Carson caught his ant on a leaf.

Thanks to Sonic Burger kid's meal, Carson is the proud owner of a bug house. Auntie Shannie came over last weekend and he was so happy to look for bugs with her. Surprisingly, bugs were hard to find in our yard. We searched under rocks and in the bushes, but only found some ants. We caught a couple of them, and then released them into the flowers. It was a fun bug hunt.

Mama...It's broken.

These are three words you do not want to hear from your three-year old. Here was our conversation
C:"Mama, It's broken."
J:"What's broken?"
C: "The blue chapstick"
J: silence...no clue what he's talking about.
Carson brings me what's left of an Office Depot blue gluestick and I notice his blue "chapstick"

Katelynn's 15 month appointment.

Katelynn just had her 15 month appointment. She did a great job and showed the doctor how well she walks and talks. Her motor skills are great (she can climb on top of any obstacle). Her fine motor skills are excellent (she can unzip any purse in an instant) Her verbal skills are the best (she repeats SO many things! Baby, taco, roar, mama, banana, daddy and many others!) She is a big girl. Tall, but her weight is balanced for her height. Happy and healthy...until she got three shots.

Sitting on the scale.
Having a snack.

Three shots...ouch!!!

She's all girl!!!

Katelynn has been walking a for a little over a week now. She quickly realized that she should carry things around too. She is such a girly-girl and carries her purse around the house. If she isn't carrying it, she grabs her shopping bag.

"I love my Reggie!"

Carson has decided that Reggie is HIS dog. We always knew that we got Reggie for him to play with and grow up together and now Carson has "claimed him." He will argue with us if there is any mention of the dog belonging to anyone but Carson. It's so sweet when he grabs on for a big dog hug and says, "I love my Reggie!"

Katelynn in walking!!!

Katelynn started walking last week! I put her down and she took off down the hall. I thought it was a "one-time performance", but I stood her up again and off she went. I grabbed my phone and got this video (sorry about the quality). She is pretty fast now and starts and stops without falling. In just one week, she has gotten better with her balance and gets up on her own without help and just walks away. It still cracks us up to see her walk into a room.

The Sights of Summer...

Playing football with Daddy at the Memorial Day church picnic.

Exploring the outdoors... one step at a time.

Eating watermelon...yum!

Getting into trouble...

How could such a sweet face get into so much trouble in just one day?
Katelynn cleaned out the drawer...

Just so she could climb into it!

Katelynn climbed into the corner between the couches and got stuck.

She then found her way into the playroom and climbed into the middle of the Lego table.

Here are a few photos of one day in the life of my monkey-climbing toddler. The event that started it all, was not captured in a photograph. Katelynn was being quiet and I found her sitting ON TOP of the table in the kitchen with the remainder of her brother's yogurt on her arms, face and hands. She looked pretty comfortable and proud on the table, but I didn't trust her long enough to grab the camera. I took her down and cleaned her up, just in time for her to make her way to the drawer.

Auntie Shannie's Graduation.

It was a beautiful day for a USC graduation!

Congratulations, Auntie Shannie!!! Fight On!

Katelynn took some of her "first steps" at the Historic Alumni House.

Carson practicing his graduation from USC.


Auntie Shannie has done it again and graduated.
We are so proud of her getting her Master's at USC.
She is now a part of the Trojan family.

Happy Mother's Day!

Mommy's New Camera...

For Mother's Day I got a new camera. I love it!!!

It is a little bulkier than my other one, but it snaps pictures much faster,

so I don't miss those great moments.

I walk around the house and photograph everything in my sight.

Thank you Paul, Carson and Katelynn!

Sleeping Carson.
Katelynn chewing on anything she can find.

Toys that need to be picked up in the backyard.

My favorite bunch of lemons on our tree.

Mother's Day at the San Diego Zoo.

Shhhhh! We had to be very quiet when looking at the sleeping Panda.
We got to see a baby giraffe that was only 3 weeks old.

Katelynn's first time at a petting zoo.

Carson and Katelynn posing with the gorilla.

The Mitchell Family at the San Diego Zoo.

We went to the zoo for Mother's Day and had a great time. Katelynn hadn't been there before and we had not been since Carson's first birthday.

We had a fun day, spending time as a family and looking at all of the animals.

Disneyland for Grandpa Tom's Birthday.

The Boys on the Teacups. Carson with Grandpa Tom and Uncle Jason.

Wheeee! Carson and Katelynn having fun on the Casey Jr. Train Coaster.
Carson walking down mainstreet with Grandpa Tom.

Carson had a fun day showing everyone around Disneyland & taking them on his favorite rides.

We had a great day at Disneyland, celebrating Grandpa Tom's Birthday. We rode many rides and saw Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto!

Fun at Legoland!

We went to Legoland at the beginning of May.

Carson had a lot of fun with his friend, Lucy.

It is fun to go back every year and watch the kids enjoy it more every time.

Spring break at The River was full of "firsts"!

First-time swimming without anyone's help! Just "floaties" on his arms.
First-time making his own peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
(If you look closely, you can see that he is using Reggie as a seat)

First taste of sand and rocks...didn't seem to mind much.

First-time flying a kite.

First-time walking the dog. (obviously it's not Reggie, whom I have trouble keeping under control) Bronco, Grandpa Tom's dog, walked along and Grandpa would tell him to "Heel, slow, wait" and Carson held the leash...all by himself.

Paul went to NYC on a business trip the week after easter, so the kids and I took a mini-vacation. (It was well-deserved after the previous week with Carson's illness) We had a great time and Carson showed that he is growing into a boy quickly with all of the things that he did for The First Time...All By Himself.

Easter eggs+easter baskets+easter brunch=Fun!!!

Finding easter eggs in the living room.
Carson had so much fun running around the yard,
grabbing up his eggs and finding the prizes hidden inside.

Katelynn enjoyed just chewing on the the plastic eggs.

Easter brunch was yummy!

The Mitchell Family on Easter Sunday.

We woke up early Easter and had a busy morning planned. We ate a bit of breakfast and then the kids discovered the treats that the Easter Bunny left in their baskets. We did a "mini" egg hunt in the living room and then rushed off to church. We had a small brunch at our home with family and then Carson and Katelynn had fun finding eggs in the backyard. It was really nice to have a holiday that we could share with family.

Hangin' in the Hospital...

First of all, I have to say...he's all better! But, if anyone had told me a year ago when I started this blog to share our families stories, that I would have TWO entries about kids in the hospital, I would not have believed it! Our life sure has been full of many adventures in the past year! Carson came down with a "stomach bug" last Sunday. He was pretty sick and had a high fever for a few days. His symptoms subsided, but he remained exhausted and uninterested in eating and drinking. So, we went to the doctor this morning and they confirmed that he was dehydrated and had lost a couple of pounds. So, they send us over to Children's Hospital Orange County. He got some IV fluids and some medicines for nausea and stomach cramps. He was such a great boy and sat calmly while they took care of him. It worked!!! He came home and was a new kid. He wanted to "play cars" again (anyone who knows him would know that he was really sick when he didn't even want to play with Lightning McQueen) He ate more for dinner than he had in the entire week! We are so blessed that our family is happy and healthy!

A boy and his dog.

I walked outside to find Carson and Reggie just "hanging out" together in the backyard. I had to take a photo and share it because it was just too cute!

Third time's the charm, right?!?

After three trips to Disneyland in less than a month...I finally remembered to bring my camera.

Here are a few photos of us at "the happiest place on earth". Carson has such a great time walking around and looking at all of the charachters. His favorite ride is Dumbo (Katelynn likes it too) We are so lucky to live only 30 minutes away! We even met Daddy there on his way home from work one night, had dinner and stayed to watch fireworks!

Daddy and Katelynn on "pink Dumbo" (Carson gets to pick everyone's color)

Carson, Katelynn and Mommy on the teacups. (Carson picked yellow and brown)

Wheee! Yes, Carson throws his arms in the air and hollars as soon as the ride begins.

On our way home after a fun-filled day. Carson fell asleep reading his map. He likes to take a map home and study it to decide which rides we will go on next visit.