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.