SeaWorld

If you ask Jaxon what his favorite part of the whole trip was, he will probably ramble on and on about Orcas, shark tunnels, dolphins etc. He LOVED SeaWorld! He is slightly obsessed with all ocean animals especially orcas and sharks. So he was totally in HEAVEN!
We got up bright and early and stopped at a local hotspot for breakfast called Hash House A Go Go. A friend of mine who lives there recommended it to us... and thank goodness she did! It was about 4 minutes from our hotel, and we loved it! Huge portions, amazing food, fun atmosphere.... we ended up going twice! And resisted going back a 3rd time!

The Shamu show didn't start until 12, so we had some time to see and do a few things right when we got there. Carson and Jaxon loved watching these dolphins swim around!

 Jaxon was dying to ride the Manta rollercoaster, but he is about 2.5 inches too short. So we distracted him with other little rides.

He was so excited to go in the Shark Tunnel! Once we got in there he was a little nervous about how dark it was. But he still loved it! Carson even thought it was cool!

This boy and sharks! He is obsessed!

A dad showing his boys the BIG sharks! :)

We decided to sit in the splash zone for the Shamu show! We bought a poncho to cover Carson and I, plus our bags... just in case. Luckily we didn't end up needing them! The show was amazing! Joel has been before, but it was my first time, and of course the boys. We loved it!

Jaxon didn't move the whole show. He was glued! He was squealing, giggling and awwwing the whole time! It really is so fun to see you kids THAT excited about something.

Right after the show we had our Dine with Shamu! One of my friends told us about it... I am soooo glad we did it! It costs a little extra, but was worth every dime! I honestly thought it was one of the best parts of our whole trip! It was a buffet lunch, while you eat the whales have free time. So they are swimming around, playing, doing what ever they want. So neat! Then one of the trainers comes out and has the whales do some tricks, and stuff. The best part was how up close and personal it is! We had awesome seats and literally loved every minute!

This silly boy has a new obsession with spoons!

Family picture.... yikes. It was not a good one. But better then nothing I guess!

This one whale would sit right by Jaxon and spit at him! Jaxon was loving that!

After lunch we walked around some more, went to the sea lion show, and then the dolphin show.

We got the boys caricatures done on our way out! I love these! I think they are so funny!

 It was a long, fun day! We were so tired by the time we were done! We went to dinner at one of the restaurants in our hotel, grabbed some ice cream. And went to relax in our room for the rest of the night. Making memories as a family..... nothing is better!

Our Trip!!

We decided to take a little trip to San Deigo for Joel's spring break! This was our first vacation as a family, with just us! This is going to be long, wordy, and probably broken up into a couple posts. But I use this blog as a template for my scrapbooking/project life. So the details help me more then anything else! :)
Tuesday March 12, we left our house at 5pm. We loaded up the kids, and got on the road!

I saw a few ideas on Pinterest with some tips about road trips with kids. I utilized a few of them. Snack (wipes) box was a huge hit! He loved getting to pick what he wanted for being a good boy! Another awesome idea I saw was of course bringing new toys/movies/ activities.... but for older kids.... wrapping them. Jaxon totally loved that! Instead of just handing back a new toy or something. I told him for being a good boy I had a present for him. He was pretty excited to unwrap a present in the car!

 

 

 Both kids were pretty good in the car, but there is no way we could have done the whole drive in 1 day (about 11 hours). So we stayed at the half way point in Vegas! We stopped in Beaver, ate dinner, and made it to Vegas at about 10pm. Jaxon mostly played some new games on my iPad, watched movies, and of course had some snacks. Carson slept a lot of the time, but he also played with a ton of toys.
I am married to 1, and gave birth to 2 water boys... we just had to swim before we left the hotel. So right after breakfast we headed to the pool for a quick swim! It was 8:30 am..... so we were the only ones there of course! :)

We got to our hotel in San Deigo at about 4, dropped our stuff off in our AMAZING room, and headed to Coronado! It was literally a 10 minute drive from our hotel. That little island is beautiful! We let the boys play in the sand until it was almost dark.

Digging for "treasure"!

We found this hole someone had dug. Jaxon was SOOOO excited! He called it a Dinosaur Nest!

His first time at the beach!

Didn't know if he liked the shovel or the sand more.

Such a happy boy. He was clapping watching his brother play.

We didn't put the boys in swimsuits because we knew the water would be freezing. But Joel and Jaxon just HAD to get in! His shorts we soaking wet, but he loved it. :)

We are a beach family! Wish we lived by one! 

More pictures to come! ;)

Jaxon is 4!

His Shark Party was yesterday! We only invited our parents and siblings, but it was still a big group for our little house! I told myself to keep it simple this year.... yeah that didn't happen. I went a little crazy with paper crafts and decorating! :)

 Shark by Joel... yes he drew that!

His cake was amazing! Joels cousin Danielle made it and it turned our darling! He loved it!

With Grandma Brown. (we somehow didn't get a picture with Grandpa)

Jaxon, Tyler, Mel and his newest cousin Coleman!

Stef, my Dad, and Celeste with the boys.

My mom and Stef with the Birthday Boy.

Carson just hanging out enjoying the fun

 He had such a great day! He was crazy, spoiled, and had so much fun with all of our families here! Him and Garrett spent almost the whole time running, hitting balloons, or playing with toys. They didn't even want to eat lunch.
He loved when we all sang him Happy Birthday! He grinned ear to ear the whole time. And he blew the candles out all on his own! I wanted to cry putting 4 candles on my baby's birthday cake.

He was ready to open presents!
Just look at that face.

We saved our presents for him and gave them to him this morning! Again, spoiled. We sure love this boy! 4 seems so grown up! He is all boy. LOVES dinosaurs, animals, Octonauts, cars/trucks, trains, and just about anything ball related. Jaxon is potty trained, still takes naps, goes to preschool 2x/week, is a picky eater, loves to run, loves his brother, hates taking pictures, and wants to be a paleontologist and a dinosaur when he grows up.
Love you my little man! Stay my little buddy forever please.

Valentines Day

We had a very busy, fun Valentines this year. We might have gone a little overboard! ;) But it was fun! Jaxon was very into all of it, which made it that much better!
First up... Valentine cookies! 

I am no decorator.... this is as good as it got! :)

Joel on the other hand.... by special request, made Jaxon a train. With heart steam. Who knew he was so dang talented?!

Jaxon went sprinkle CRAZY!

Valentine Cards for the Grandparents!! Lots and lots of paint! We hand delivered them on Valentines day.

I let Jaxon pick out his own Valentine presents for his friends. He picked some random stuff! Bubbles, Lightening McQueen cards (with Tattoos), and a couple suckers. He was pretty excited to take them to school.

After school, Jaxon and I "Heart Attacked" some cars! Joels, my sisters and my moms! It was a lot of fun!

Even the littlest guy had a fun day!

Joel and I got SPOILED!! I got an Ipad mini, and Joel got a Nexus 7. It was an Anniversary/Valentines/Tax Refund present for each other! :) Then Friday night we went on a mini date to see Safe Haven. I sure love my little family and especially that Husband of mine! ;)

EIGHT!

Carson turned 8 months old last Friday. This has been a big month for him! He has learned so many new things and is getting so big! He is also very clingy with me! He will smile, talk, and wave at just about anyone... until they try to hold him! Even grandparents with grandparents! So not fun! But he is the silliest, most smiley little guy ever! His favorite thing is to clap!! I die seeing those chubby arms/hands clapping!

He rolls ALL OVER the place now. Which means he gets stuck under things, finds random toys under the couches he shouldn't have, and has gotten a few good bonks from the tv stand. He is also scooting...but not in a normal way. While on his back, he arches he back, and pushes with his feet.... scooting along on the top of his head. So random! And it has worn off most of the hair he has finally grown back on the back of his head!

He is trying to figure out how to go from sitting, to laying down.... it usually ends badly. So we have gone back to keeping the boppy around him so the falls aren't so hard. But he can quickly roll off that boppy and get where he needs to go. 

He eats like a champ (but only if he is hungry), and definitely prefers fruits or fruit/veggie mixes. No straight veggies for him. We have struggled a bit with constipation, so no more rice cereal. Just oatmeal with fruit, and prunes every few days. But I am not convinced that is doing the trick.
STILL NOT SLEEPING. Don't ask. Just when I think he is doing better, he proves me wrong. Once a night minimum...and wide awake by 6:30am. I should just get up and work out... I am awake anyway.

He loves his brother, and is starting to really notice how he plays, what he is doing, and if Jaxon is paying attention to him. I make them take baths together, and Carson literally sits and smiles and splashes at Jaxon the whole time, waiting for a response. It's so cute!
He is soooooo loud! Something about listening to himself scream/squeal is so funny to him. It drives me nutty after a while! If you hand him a stuffed animal of any kind, he screams and bites it until you take it away! Jaxon always asks "what is he doing? why is he crying?" I've resorted to telling Jaxon that is how babies sing.... so when Carson starts up, Jaxon will usually "sing" with him. Lovely. Sorry neighbors!

 Still no teeth!! Not even one starting! I thought a few days ago I felt little bumpies and swollen gums, but nothing ever came. (Jaxons first tooth was at like 13-14 months, so nothing too unusual for our kids.)
Even without teeth he sure LOVES his puff treats. So far his favorite flavor are the vanilla ones. He was not a fan of the peach ones at all! He also likes cheerios, bread and pretty much anything we are eating. He will drink a little juice and water, but not very much at a time.

Naps are about 2-3 times a day. And an occasional cat nap in the car to or from somewhere. Bedtime is 8pm.... and it is tough to make it that long! We don't let him sleep past 6ish in the evening, so depending on how his naps went really makes or breaks the night time routine for us. But having both kids in bed around 8 is heaven! Wish it was 7:30.... ;)
Of course he is talks in baby jabber... but his favorite and first word.... Dada. He says it constantly! Carson sure loves his daddy! The last day or so I have heard the beginnings of Mama.... but it sound like Maaaaaamaaaaaa.... and it's only when he is crying or whining. 

Love my big boy!! His dimples melt me and his smile is contagious!