Destination: Hanford

Grammy & Gramps came for a quick visit and decided to treat us to a little ride on the train down to Hanford. 

All aboard!

Jack was LOVING every minute of the train ride.  I think we could have travelled all the way to Kansas and back and he wouldn't have moved from his chair.

Here we are (at least some of us) in the booming metropolis of downtown Hanford, CA.

What was the main attraction you might ask?  Yes, we rode on a train for 30 minutes each way to have a banana split the size of a newborn child.

Oh the anticipation...

No one was happier than Bradley.

In the end, we had 3 happy kids...

Who, like always, displayed superior manners and behaved like perfect angels while in public...

And who certainly did not leave that really big glob of strawberry ice cream on the floor.

Disney on Ice

Brooklyn and I had a little girl party.  Disney on Ice came to Fresno so we splurged for Skittles and 2 tickets to see the big show.  We certainly weren't disappointed.  It was a great show and of course it was fun to spend time together - just the 2 of us!

Waiting for the show to start.  There were vendors EVERYWHERE selling really exciting things like $12 snow cones, $8 caramel apples, and $10 boxes of popcorn.  I couldn't believe the dollar bills flying out of the wallets of helpless parents.  Brooklyn kept pointing to everything and saying, "Mom, we don't need those things."

That's my girl.  :)

One little picture from the show - she couldn't wait to go home and tell Jack all about it.

For the pre-show they had lots of princess stuff including a couple of real-life princesses.  The place was pretty crowded (I was thankful to only have 1 child with me) but people moved through pretty well so she eventually got a front row view of the lovely Cinderella.

We got pretty wet waiting in the rain (notice the crazy hair), but we had lots of fun! 

For the record

Our little Bradley man has reached a milestone...18 months old...HELLO NURSERY!!!

Stats:

Length: 32.5 inches - 50th percentile

Weight:  22 lbs 8 oz - 12th percentile

Most striking features:  his gorgeous blue eyes, extremely unruly hair, and lovely battle wound-looking birthmark which is beginning to disappear.  :)

Favorite food: bananas

Favorite toys:  cars, trains and books

Favorite word: NO

Favorite activity:  "Bringing it in" for the Bowen and/or Sunbeam cheer, ring around the rosies, going outside, running naked after his bath, and copying his two favorite role models.

I think we'll keep him.

Score: All tied up

Brooklyn's dreams all came true today.

We had the situation fully checked to find that Brooklyn is getting a baby SISTER!

She's been waiting...and waiting only to have gotten 2 brothers in the meantime.

Dave and I could hardly wait to tell her!

We pulled out all the baby girl clothes today - just for fun.  :)

Our little lady is due to arrive around the 11th of June.

Kira A. Bowen, B.A.

I was just thinking that I should be given a degree, actually, that all moms should be given a degree.  I was thinking I would like to start with something like, B.A. for Baby Advancing (I may need a little help from some clever friend to find a really good name for this degree) and each time I successfully survive, and more importantly, my children survive a given period of time, I shall be awarded another degree.  Beautiful. 
Everyone talks about the ability and speed that a toddler learns.  Well what about his mother - she has a lot to learn too - and must often figure it out before that little toddler does.  So, I have started to compile a list of things that I have learned so far.  I plan to add to this list as it would be impossible to record it all in one day.  So, if I fail to mention something, please share as I think we all have learned or will need to learn the same things.  The first sampling follows, in no particular order:

1.  Dad's will always gag while changing a stinky.

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2.  No matter how long the dishes sit in the sink, they will never wash, dry, and put themselves away.

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3.  When a 5 year old says her tummy hurts, believe her.  And grab a bowl.  She's not old enough to use it as an excuse to get out of something.

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4.  Moms need naps too.

ZZZZZZZ

5.  Babies poop in the tub.

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6.  Kid's have ALOT more fun when ALL the toys are out.

7.  Potty training is the devil, but having your child fully trained is fabulous.

8.  Teething is your constant companion from about 4 months until about 2 - so buy lots of Orajel & Teething Tablets.

9. Speaking of Teething Tablets, if your child, hypothetically speaking of course, were to consume half the bottle in less than 1 minute, there is no need to call poison control. They will just tell you that they are mostly sugar. Not that I would know.

10. Kids really will bring you more joy than you ever thought possible.  (and according to my dad; a head full of gray hair - but I think that comes with a different degree of parenting.)

After Bath Blitz

Who can resist little baby buns running through the house?

I certainly can't...

at least until I step in a little baby puddle.

Christmas Fun

We had a great Christmas!  There's nothing better than just being together, eating junk food, and opening presents!  We spent Christmas in Newbury Park with Dave's parents and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful weather and good company!  Here's a little sum-up...

Christmas morning!  Bradley is rockin' it with the shades and the other 2 are enjoying the fact that Santa didn't leave coal in their stockings.  And for the record, Jack went to bed with Christmas PJ's identical to Bradley's, but due to improper bladder to brain communication, he was forced to change into the old blue ones.

Tut, Tut it looks like rain

Any guesses on what Bradley's favorite gift was?

One of many attempts at a picture of the kids in their cute Christmas clothes.  Why can't they all just look at the camera?  I mean seriously, I took about 8 shots of this exact same picture, and there isn't even one where they are all looking....

Luckily, I had slightly better luck with them individually

We took a little trip to Travel Town inside Griffith Park.  A definite winner when you have a small boy who LOVES trains.  Note to self...Don't take a small boy who LOVES trains into an overpriced gift shop at a train attraction.  Many tears a certain grumpiness will follow.

Check out the size of these bad boys.  That is Brooklyn and Jack's face in the window.  And Jack standing in front of the engine wheel.

The engineers.

We were in bed by 10 on New Year's Eve because we had to prepare for a big day at Disneyland on New Year's Day. 

The main attraction...Lightning McQueen!  I think it's safe to say that Jack's life is now officially complete.  Thanfully the line wasn't very long so he got lots of time with Lightning and Mater.

Overall, the day was a success.  I only lost 1 child (Jack of course) but luckily I had tatooed my cell phone number on his arm.  Actually, he was only lost for about 30 (frightening) seconds, but he was already following my instructions to find a Disneyland worker and show them his arm.  Did you know that it takes almost a week to wash permanent marker off of skin?

We hope that everyone also had a lovely Christmas and New Year's.  We are trying to prepare for reality to start again tomorrow.  When is the next holiday?