Max and Courtney

A HUGE thank you to our good friends Max and Courtney for welcoming us into their home! We know it was hard at 3 in the morning when Declan would wake up, I'm sure they've enjoyed the past few nights of quiet!

Fun with Uncle John and Uncle Rick

Declan couldn't get enough of Uncle John and Uncle Rick...who would of thought they'd be so awesome with kids?! Seriously, Dec had so much fun with them:) They would take turns picking him up, running to a wall and bouncing his feet off of it...he loved it! Of course they had Nerf dart guns, I mean what 30 year olds don't?, and had a blast shooting everyone with him...except for me of course:) The best thing was flying on the puppy though. Again, why wouldn't they have a big fluffy puppy in their house? Well, it made for some huge fun! Declan would sit on it and Uncle John would pick them up and fly them around. Listening to Dec yell "I flying" and "hold tight" was so funny. Poor Uncle John has to have some sore arms!

Manhattan Beach

We spent Sunday afternoon at the beach in Manhattan. Max and Courtney live right up the street (see picture), so we just walked right down to the sand:) Dad and Dec had fun digging in the sand and I braved the the cold water with him! Boo 2 even got some vitamin D!

Venice Beach

We spent Saturday in Venice (Uncle John and Uncle Rick live on the canals) with Phil, Ashley, Patty, Daniel, Bob, Laura, Janna, Uncle John and Uncle Rick. We walked across the street to the beach and while the guys played paddle tennis, we took Declan to the Pacific! As soon as we put him down in the sand he began to throw it! Dad and Dec ventured down to the water, which was quite chilly or "brrr cold" as Dec would say:) He was a little hesitant at first, but did not want to leave even when he was shivering! He was definitely a beach bum with sand in his hair and ears:)

SMS Ladies/Auntie Love

Friday evening I was able to get together with all of the lovely ladies I used to work with (in back is Theresa and Susie, Lauren, Ruthy and Megan are in front). Thank you Susie for hosting, it was incredible to get to see everyone and Declan had a great time playing with Noah, Faith (Susie's little ones, Noah is a month older than Dec and Faith will be 6) and Nathan (3, Megan's grandson). The chips and salsa, hummus and pita and gossip, I mean conversation, was much needed! I just wish I could have had some of Ruthy's margaritas:) I love the picture of Declan and his aunties...how great is auntie love?!

St. Mark

Friday morning we arrived right on time for snack at my old school, St. Mark, in Venice. I loved walking through the doors and being greeted by Mary Anne and Maria, it was so nice to see them and right after those hugs came so many more from my old students! I taught first grade and my first year kids are now 6th graders! It's amazing how much they look the same, just taller and more mature...I'll be honest about half of them are taller than me! It was so awesome to see all of the kids and teachers and being called "Miss Butler" again was fun too:) The "class picture" is of my first year kids! Declan loved being a "kindergartner" in Auntie Lauren's room...he was showing her colors and letters!

Phil and Ashley

Thursday night our friends Phil and Ashley (Phil and BC went to high school together) had us over for dinner...thanks for the wonderful pasta and dessert! Declan had so much fun running around their place! He was a big help to Ashley too:) I'm not sure what the statues real name is, but Phil asked him who it was and he said "Pop Pop" (my dad)!

Dinner with Jessy and Taylor

Wednesday we were able to meet up with my old roomie Jessy and her little girl Taylor. Taylor will be 3 in July and her little brother is due at the end of May! The two little ones had a lot fun at dinner together and she taught Dec how to make funny faces:) It was so great to catch up and have the kids play together, last time we saw them Declan was only 3 months old!

Taking off for LA!

We left last Tuesday for our trip to LA...Declan was so excited to see the airplanes and although he didn't sleep on the flight, he was really pretty good (we were exhausted though)! We stayed with our friends Max and Courtney in Manhattan Beach and a were able to visit my old school, BC's old work and spend lots of time with friends and family:) Declan didn't do so well with the time change and not being in his own bed (I had to hold him in a chair to get him to fall back asleep at 4 in the morning and couldn't move!), but had a blast with everyone and everywhere! Here's a few pics before our plane took off:)

Carnival Fun

Today Declan and I went to the Parkview Preschool Coop Carnival (it's one of the preschools we are looking at) while dad helped with the neighborhood clean up. The first room we went into had reptiles...I don't like reptiles and I like them even less when I am near them, but I did it for Declan! He touched a Leopard Gecko, an iguana and a snake. They put out one lizard and he almost squeezed it's head! He did have fun trying out all of the musical instruments and playing in the Dinosaur Dig. Of course we couldn't leave without him eating an entire piece of cheese pizza and a cookie!

2 to the 2

Yep folks, Declan is 22 months old today! Just can't believe it, our weeks fly by as do our months, which means this past year has been a blur. Less than 2 months to plan his second birthday party. The crazy part is, two weeks after we celebrate Dec turning 2, little Boo 2 is due! Well, I can't even tell you how much Declan has grown and developed this past month. He is doing and saying things we don't think he's old enough to do. We love his interest in books, colors, shapes and numbers. Watching him enjoy being outside, whether in our backyard or at the park, is amazing. Our little guy truly enjoys being a kid and we truly enjoy that:) We bought him some new shoes last week and when they measured him he was a size 6, he first real pair of shoes were 4's...how does one's little feet grow so quickly in a year? He's still hanging out at 25 pounds...it's a good thing he's active because we swear his diet is going to make us bankrupt! No kidding, we have to buy bananas at least twice a week now and the waffles and string cheese seem to magically disappear (I think there are days he eats more than me and I'm preggers)! I think our favorite time of the day is putting him to bed, not because we get some time to us, but because he loves his bedtime routine...reading his 3 favorite books (Hop on Pop, Go Dog Go and My Mixed Up Days), turning on his monitor with his nose (Dad's idea), holding on to puppy, saying "night-night" to Jesus, which now includes giving him high fives, turning out his light and giving us our kisses and hugs...it's just so wonderful:)

Dad dad and Mama love you Boo!

T-ball

Here's a look at Declan with his new T-ball set...I played one year of T-ball, my specialty was doing cartwheels in the outfield (one year was all I played)! He's already doing better than me:)

Boo's boo boo

Sunday evening while we were grilling out our Boo fell down and got a boo boo! After a few tears, some neosporin and a band aid he was good to go:) Yesterday his boo boo was all he could talk about, so we took some pictures.And check out his new shoes!

dr appt (27+ weeks)

Boo 2 and I had a great doctors appointment yesterday...we are 27+ weeks and doing awesome! The doctor is happy with our weight gain and we are measuring right on schedule:) Heartbeat is wonderful, that's Declan's favorite part, and we don't go back til the end of the month. Here's the latest pictures of us! (yes, my belly button is popping out!)