Buddies

We had the Lefferts family over for dinner last Saturday night and it was great to finally see them since they've been in quarantine for a while. Hopefully the whole family will stay healthy from now on and won't catch any more cooties from school...especially since the boys are playing so good together now. They are so cute to watch, they interact and talk to each other like little people. It's also amazing how much Kaia has grown, it makes me panic about how fast time has gone by and that soon, Kadence will be that big also and I am just not ready for that. We had such a blast with them and we are all so crazy for staying up until 2am playing cards! Who says that having 2 kids slows you down? We definitely couldn't have planned it any better having kids almost the same ages...Aden is almost 8 months older than Tristan and Kaia is 3 months older than Kadence. I can't wait to see these kids grow up together and get into lots of trouble!

Is this where 'we' got married?

Darin & I have been fortunate enough to get married at the Roadhouse and every time we go there, we walk through the grounds and talk about how special this place is for us. We've told Aden a while back that this is the place where we got married at and every time we drive by it (atleast once a week), Aden asks us "is this the place where we got married?". We've explained that it was mommy & daddy's and that he wasn't there, but I think the whole concept is still a little complex for him to understand. It's too cute though every time he asks and it's amazing that he remembers it. Anyways, it was a beautiful day last Friday so we decided to have lunch at the Roadhouse and enjoyed the outdoors and walked around our favorite spot. Maybe someday one of our kids will also choose that place to get married at...who knows? It sure is such a special place for us and I'm just glad that we can bring the kids there and enjoy it and reminisce about that special day...

Hanging out in Hood River

We went to Hood River today to celebrate Darin & Brent's (Darin's brother) birthday. It was a beautiful day despite the wind and we had such a wonderful time hanging out with everyone. The kids played in the freezing water and we all enjoyed watching the kiteboarders (there were so many of them)!

Aden & Lily playing in the water:

Walking hand-in-hand:

The boy enjoying the freezing water:

Aden goofing off with Gayla:

Hanging with Aunt Julz:

The brothers:

Group shot:

Celebrating Daddy

We had a little shindig for Darin's birthday. His birthday was on Friday but we decided to quietly spend it as a family and then have our friends over on Saturday for a little gathering. It was a fun time had by all, unfortunately all of my candid party shots didn't turn out well. I did get good pics of the kids...that's all that matters, right?



Aden "petting" his sister. He kept going up to her and would make sure she's doing fine. He is such a great big brother.

Ms. Grace hung out and was awake for most of the party. She even got hit by a few phantom balls but none of them bothered her at all. She was taking everything in and was just happy to be in her bouncy. We'll have to watch out for her, I think she enjoys partying just like her parents...

And this is what happens when you party too much and finally crashed...thanks to Mr. Dady. I guess she'll have to learn at a young age never to pass out at a party or else you'll get "decorated". Good lessons to learn for her future houseboat trips...

Let it be known that when Aden saw the burito on Kadence, he was not so happy about it and asked us to take it off of his sister. What a good brother...we'll be set if he's this overprotective when she's in her teens!

Growing like a weed...

Kadence had her 2-month wellness check-up last Thursday (although she's technically 2 1/2 months...) and the girl has grown so much! She weighed in at a whopping 11 lbs. 5 oz. and is 22 in. long! She grew 3 inches in 2 months! We are in shock at how heavy she is especially since Darin thought she only weighs around 9 lbs. She's definitely a healthy baby. She did awesome considering she got 4 shots and an oral medicine. She cried for a bit but I was able to calm her down and didn't really have any other issues for the rest of the day. She's proving to be such a trooper.

She's a happy baby and is interacting with us more often each day. She smiles a lot and makes lots of cooing/babbling noises whenever you talk to her. She is sleeping longer stretches at night now and I'm able to get atleast 4 1/2 hour stretch of sleep at a time. I can't complain since she goes back to sleep right away after feeding. She is such a joy to us and I'm just so grateful that I'm able to experience each milestone with her. She is growing so fast, I'm trying my best to take it all in and enjoy each moment.

First boat ride of the year

The perfect end to our day on Sunday was a boat ride from St. John's bridge all the way to the waterfront. It was the first boat ride of the year and Aden was ecstatic.

It was the first boat ride for the girl...she enjoyed the ride and proved to be a trooper just like her brother.

Aden got to "drive" the boat for a bit...

Sunny day at the park

It was such an awesome weekend and on Sunday, we went to the park to let Aden run around and we soaked up the sun. Darin fixed us a picnic lunch and spent a couple of hours just letting the boy(s) play. We then walked 8 blocks to NW 23rd area to a toy store and for some gelato for the boys and a hot milk bubble tea for me. It was such a beautiful sunny day and it was so nice to be outside!




Aden's ready for the big kids swing

Kadence slept through the entire outing

Golf cart ride...

Aden & Darin enjoyed the nice sunny weather on Friday and took the golf cart for a spin around our neighborhood. Good old cart is back in action after some minor issues, we're rethinking plans of selling it since Aden's having a good time having it around. Maybe we'll just keep it at home instead of at the beach?!

What are you looking at?

Enjoying some mat time...

All bundled up with nowhere to go...

During the stormy weather at the beach, we decided to brave the elements to give Aden a few minutes on the beach since we were getting cabin fever. I bundled up Kadence, thinking we can get out for a bit. After seeing people walking on the beach getting sand blasted and running from the hailstorm, I decided that the truck is a perfectly comfy place to hang out in while crazy dad & brother play outside for 15 minutes.

Smiles

I love watching her sleep, especially since she always smiles in her sleep. And I finally got a shot of that smile, must be some nice dream she's having...

Later on that day, while playing in her swing, I caught her smiling at the toys hanging on the swing. She kept doing it and I'm glad I got the chance to capture it!

6 weeks has passed...

Kadence is already 6 weeks old! Time is flying by. It's amazing how when I was pregnant with her, 6 weeks seemed like an eternity. Now I wish time would slow down so that she doesn't grow too fast. She's already cooing a lot when you talk to her and she started smiling a couple of weeks ago. She sleeps a lot and she started getting on a schedule at night. She does a 5-hour stint early on in the night, if only I can get her to do it around midnight, closer to when I go to bed. Right now, she usually wakes up around 2 or 3am and after a feeding, goes back to bed for another 2 or 3 hours. So I can't really complain, it's just hard to get used to waking up in the middle of the night again. I'll take the lack of sleep any day rather than the agony of the whole pregnancy. She's definitely worth all the pain though!

We went to the beach last weekend and unfortunately, it was storming the entire time we were there. It was at least 30 mph winds and hailing on and off. We were stuck at the house and although it was nice to chill with the kids, we were looking forward to long walks on the beach and hanging out on the sand. Oh well, sunnier weather is almost here, right? Here's some shots at the beach house...




Aden goofing off

Hanging with dad

Paying close attention to what dad is saying...

Sweet moments

Seeing these two interact has been such a joy...I try my best to capture each moment.

Pump it up

We went to Pump it up with the Johnson's a couple of weekends ago. It was a lot of fun, Aden really needed to burn some energy and it was the perfect place to do it.

Enjoying the sunset

Beautiful sunset, perfect photo-op for Aden & Jade May