golden ticket

On Monday when we visited Jason at work, one of his fellow officers asked if we were "done" having kids...this is a funny question for me because when I'm with Jason, I always hesitate and see if he answers first. This time he said something I hadn't heard before - he said " yeah, we are - I mean, we got our Golden Ticket." I looked at him slightly confused..."our golden ticket?" And he explained himself: "Violet is our Golden Ticket. She's our girl." I laughed, but thought a lot about it later. Yes, Violet is our Golden Ticket. Though we would have been thrilled with a 3rd boy (I have to say that!! :))...it is so cool to us that our 3rd is a girl. And she is such a delight to all of us. It's hard to put this into words, and I guess everyone thinks the same thing about their own children, but Violet is in her own category (to us anyways!). She is such an easy baby and when she is awake she is happy, smiling, laughing, content and easily pacified. It is very rare that she is fussy and she is never inconsolable. Jason is definitely different with her than he was with the boys - and Violet truly lights up when she sees Jason. She immediately smiles and starts cooing to get his attention. She is a daddy's girl already. We never knew how much different it would be to have a girl...but we are so thankful that now we do.

Updates....

*Potty-training day 3...Ezekiel is doing great! Only 1 accident today (not counting pooping in the undies - I totally expect that for awhile) and he's loving no more diapers

*SO grateful we have a talented photographer friend - Becky Fisher took our pictures today and I'm so excited to see them. The kids all did great(including jason).

*For a lot of reasons that I'm not going to list, we(and by "we" I mean me) are going to "home school" Gavin for preschool at least for the first 1/2 of the year. I'm excited about it. I'm going to plan out my days with him and really focus on teaching him (and Ezekiel some) about other cultures, exposing him to different parts of the world and stuff like that. He's excited to do science experiments with me too:)

*I'm excited to be resurrecting the co-op with Becky, with some slight changes while the babies are still young.

*Some of you knew I was training for a marathon with Sally in Oct. We have decided not to do the race. I have done a lot of thinking lately about my life and what my priorities are and what I want my life focus to be. I am making some changes in my life and one of the things I decided was to put marathon training on hold for a few years. It was an added stress on me, plus it took time away from the kids and Jason - and we have limited time together as it is. I'm happy with our decision and feel very freed up since I'm not under pressure to run 5-6 days a week anymore and maintain a certain mileage at that. I'm enjoying running much more now.

*I can't believe its almost Sept. Wow. That means Violet is almost 6 months old!!!

Venice and Undies

Since Jason started working the beach patrol in Venice, Gavin has asked to see where he works. Yesterday morning he said to Jason "when are we going to visit you at work?" Jason answered "maybe today." Ummm...maybe I should have been consulted?? No, it was fine. We didn't have any plans so it was a perfect day for it. The drive only took us about 45 min and since I have never been to Venice, it was fun for me too. I hear Jason's stories and now I can picture what he's talking about. The boardwalk is crazy and its so bizarre to me that people would spend money buying what the merchants are selling. I mean, who really needs a $3 tongue whistle?? We played on a playground there, walked the boardwalk, had lunch with Jason and his partner and then the boys played in the sand/water. They had a lot of fun. I had to really engage them on the way home since I didn't want them falling asleep in the car (it was almost 5pm!) so we sang songs, played I SPY and told stories. I was successful and they were in bed at 7pm and asleep shortly after.
Another detail that slightly complicated our trip was the fact that I started potty-training Ez yesterday in the midst of all of that. He has been "ready" for awhile, but I have been lazy. With this boy, I had to take the power struggle away and just tell him : We're Potty Training. No arguments. I was sort of waiting for him to do like Gavin did - one day tell me he was done with diapers and virtually potty train himself. Hmm. Not going to happen. SO - he was in undies ALL day - didn't even want a pull-up for the car ride. He did great. We had a few accidents, but I expected much worse, actually. Today is day #2 and he's doing well - yeah - a few accidents, but for the most part he seems to be getting it. I'm looking forward to the day I'll just be changing one kid! The funny thing to me is his motivation. I am giving him treats for every pee and I thought that would be a big motivation because he LOVES candy. While that is a good motivator, the best motivator is the promise that he can go in the Ikea play area with Gavin when he's potty trained. He has seen Gavin go into the play area 2 or 3 times and he has not been able to go because of his diaper (they only take potty-trained kids). Somehow he remembered that and out of the blue yesterday after his first time peeing in the toilet said "does that mean I can go to class with Gavin now??" I was confused and asked him what he meant and he said "at Ikea." Ohhhh...funny boy. Yes, I told him - after you are really good at wearing undies and peeing in the toilet, you can go in to the Ikea class with Gavin. He asked me about it no less than 5 times over the course of the day yesterday. It must look really fun in there!

Venice playground

The boys are "resting" together and its working pretty well today. I've started letting Ez just rest too and have found that it has really eliminated our bedtime battles. He is so tired at night he falls right to sleep instead of staying awake for 2 hours and getting up 100 times. I don't mind that they don't nap...I still have them play in their room or "rest" for an hour. That's enough break for me until bedtime!
PS - Anyone impressed with my voracious blogging?

Some old pics

When our London Prince family was here we spent a lot of time in the pool at Dan and Judy's. One day I think Gavin swam 6 hours - straight! Violet also went in a few of the days. She seems to enjoy being in the water. I just think she looks cute in her swimsuit.

"we're tired. why are you bugging us?"
red, red eyes
dancing around

Fantastic!

I had the idea to make dinner for another mom-friend possibly once a month just to give her a break...and today it was done for me! I don't have to do prep, cook, or even do dinner dishes. I haven't done it for anyone else yet, but I'm thrilled to be blessed with this today. Thanks Sally!

A little Unsteady...

A funny story came to my mind while I was on a run the other morning. I was post-high school, so I was at an age where I enjoyed hanging out with my parents :-) After high school I went to a DTS (discipleship training school) with YWAM (youth with a mission) and after I got home, I had several months working and just living at home hanging out with my parents. We frequently went on runs together in the morning. One such morning my dad was trying to be a hot-shot and tried to jump over a little chain fence(think about 3 feet off the ground). His foot caught on it and he took a hard fall. My mom and I died laughing at him (yeah, we're so mean) and weren't that surprised because my dad has definitely had his share of falls in his time. So maybe a few weeks later my mom and I were out running and I said to my mom "hey, who am I?" and went to jump over the same chain. That foot of mine got caught just as my dear old dad's had and DOWN I went....HARD!!! My knees were torn up really bad - serves me right, huh??
Why did I think of that story on my run?? WELL...I was running a good pace, feeling good, listening to a rockin' song when....down I went. Yup. I fell. On a busy, busy street. Kinda embarrassing. But at least I could finish the run home. It could have been much worse (i see myself trying to flag someone down, call J on his cell, tell him I'm on my way to the hospital with a broken tib/fib...hahahaha - nurse talk for those of you who care...). The kids (and J) sure got a good laugh out of my skinned knees.

happy b-day jason...a day late

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband!! It was yesterday and we had a good day. Nothing big...just breakfast in bed, a soccer game and then a fun dinner/swim time at Dan and Judy's with Ben and Addie too. It was nice. Though I would have loved to have a huge party, buy Jason lots of wonderful gifts and spoil him...the reality of life is that I couldn't' do that so we celebrated more simply instead. Jason and I have been married almost 8 years so we have been together almost 10...meaning we have been through a lot! Just in the last 5 years we have: had 3 kids, started new careers, and moved 2 times...that's a lot! Jason loves our kids with all his heart and strives to be a better husband and father. He is loving, funny, easy going and thoughtful. Here's to 30 more years! Oh wait that makes us 60.....here's to 50 more years! :-)

YaHoo!!

I'm proud to say I'm an aunt again!! Last night Sarah had their 3rd...a BOY! Troy David is beautiful with a headful of dark hair. Everyone is doing great this morning and I can't wait to go visit!!

the Olympics

I really do love the Olympics. Jason does too, but he just doesn't know it yet. Do you ever wish you were an Olympic athlete? I do. I am sitting watching the women's marathon right now, fascinated by how FAST these ladies are. What if I was that fast...that would be amazing.
Did you know I am friends with one of the athletes?? Well, sort of friends. Ok, I saw him running and made Jason yell out the window to him (I was sitting in the 3rd row and didn't have a window to yell out of). We were in Mammoth and I just knew we would see some of the runners who train up there. Jason made fun of me on our way up but guess what? We did! Ryan Hall is the #1 American for the marathon and I saw him training! We were driving home from fishing and I saw him and said "thats Ryan Hall!!!" Jason said "no it isn't" --so I said "TURN AROUND! It IS him!" SO Jason turned around and I was right! It was him. I told Jason to tell him GOOD LUCK (I'm such a huge dork) and Jason did! He said "HEY RYAN! GOOD LUCK IN BEIJING!" Ryan smiled at us and continued running. That was my Olympic moment.

Cousins!!

The past week can be summarized by : cousin time! We had a great time seeing Darren, Pam and Jesse and Luci as they were in town for the week. Its always great to catch up with Darren and Pam, but it was also so fun to see how much Jesse and Luci have grown up! It was fun to watch Jesse and Gavin have fun and play (and Ben!) and Luci is a funny little British girl...her accent is great! We also had fun seeing more of Ben, Addie and Sarah (and Mark) than we usually do. Addie loved Violet and V was very responsive to Addie. We loved swimming in Nana and Papa Dan's pool Tuesday and Friday - its a salt-water pool which makes it easier to handle for long periods of time. The kids all played really well together and I'm so glad they got time together as we won't see our London family until next July....unless we win the lottery and can afford to fly there! :-)

Addie playing with V
The bribe of a cupcake makes for the sweetest smiles...we are only missing our 8th cousin...currently still in Sarah's belly...just waiting for his/her entrance!
Lunchtime!
pretty V
We attempted to get a "whole" family picture...wow. Quite difficult. I like the chaos this picture shows, because that's realistic. We have 3 pics with all of us in it (dan is missing in this one) and none of them are just right..either eyes are closed or faces are weird.

And speaking of cousins...we are excited to have another GREGORY cousin.......YAHOO!! Jason and Angela are expecting their first baby in Feb and we can't wait!!!!!!!!

Our kids have been the only ones my side of the family, so this is especially exciting. Jason and Angela live close by and I can't wait to meet my new niece/nephew! They are going to be amazing parents.

5 and 5

Yesterday was most importantly Gavin's 5th birthday, but also Violet turned 5 months. Its weird to me that I have a 5 year old. On one hand, I can't remember my life before kids...on the other hand, it feels like just yesterday he was saying "ba" asking for ice chips from my mom...at 6 months old. Crazy.
We had a wonderful exhausting day! We unexpectedly got to spend it as a family - up until noon on Wed, Jason was working. He managed to get the day off last minute, so we decided to go to Sea World since that was Gavin's gift instead of a party. It was hot and crowded, but we still had a great time. Gavin liked the Clyde and Seymore show especially. We were sweaty all day (seriously - you can see the shiny sweat on us in the pictures) but managed to cool off feeding the dolphins, seeing the penguins and the polar bear. The greatest part is we got a pass for the rest of the year for only a few dollars more than an admission ticket. We plan to go back many times before December to get our money's worth!
Gavin is a special kid. Ok, he's ours - so of course I would say that. He has always had the unique ability to connect or engage with adults at a very young age. He is social, caring, thoughtful and tender-hearted. He is intelligent and inquisitive. He is affectionate and I love that he will spontaneously ask me if I know how much he loves me...He has been such an amazing kid...we could have not asked for a better little boy. We can't believe he is already (or ONLY) FIVE!!! Gavin was the first...he alone changed our lives forever. We thank God for giving the perfect child to us at the perfect time.
Our Violet is such a delight! She is happy, content and mellow. She smiles and laughs and we are all enamored with her. She has changed our lives since her entrance 5 months ago and we are so thankful for her!!

Our "big" present for Gavin was a hamster...he named him Craydon. We have no idea where he got that name...
He wanted cherry cheesecake...wonder where he got that (that's what I always want for my birthday)

The boys all went around Sesame Place for awhile while I fed and hung out with V

I like this picture...
at the penguin encounter
I think this pictures is funny because of Violet's expression...and Jason's come to think of it. Its cute. And I think the saliva evidences teething??

Gav has been with Craydon at least 50% of the day today. not exaggerating.
Birthday boy eating Cinnamon rolls and OJ for breakfast
watching the Journey to Atlantis...they were both nervous they were going to have to ride it
Shamoo show (his button says "birthday champ" and he wore it all day!)
Petting/feeding the dolphins. Gavin was so brave. Fed a fish and pet the dolphins

Happy Birthday MOM!

I have not been very good about mentioning all my family members on their birthdays...sometimes I just don't have time! But today I do...and of course I have to mention today is my Mom's birthday!! She is an amazing woman...I'm proud she is my mom. A few reasons why I think she is super fantastic:

*She is always available to me, whether to chat on the phone, give me (asked for) child-rearing advice, watch the kids so I could run when Violet was only a month or 2 old...etc. She is always available to me. One time I remember specifically: Violet was a few weeks old and was crying a lot every day. I figured she had colic. One night she cried 3 hours straight. The next morning she was crying again and I called my mom (she was at work!) and told her I didn't know what to do. I was crying and she talked me through it and made a few suggestions. That's just one of many, many, many examples.

*She loves my kids almost as much as I do... :-)

*She is really smart...did you know she went back to school 8 years ago...got her Bachelors in Criminal Justice, her RN in an accelerated program and just got her Masters? Yeah, she's smart.

*She knows me SOOOOOO well - meaning she also knows my struggles and how best to encourage me

*She is a great listener

*She is SO generous!!

*I feel like she is my personal cheerleader in life
*Most importantly...she loves Jesus with everything in her

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I LOVE YOU!!

Am I a Sucker??

Jason would answer wholeheartedly YES to this question. I tend to be sympathetic to the people who come to the door...trying to get "points" or selling different items (yes, I bought some cleaner from someone at the door several years ago! Jason still teases me about that purchase). Last night about 8:45pm a girl came to our door and rushed through her "speech" about earning points to get a scholarship for college. I believed her. She got a certain amount of points for cash and a certain amount for checks. She told me where she lived (in HB) what school she went to, what she wanted to do for an occupation and where she wants to go to school. She was Hispanic and said if she didn't get financial help, her parents couldn't afford to send her to college. Yup, I gave her money. Not a lot. But she was very genuine (or an absurdly fantastic liar) and I decided that I would rather give her money...and if she suckered me (don't worry, I made the check out to a legitimate company and got a receipt for tax deduction purposes) then I would rather err on the side of being generous and giving and have my heart soft towards those who are "less fortunate" than be stingy and cynical. And I'm even ok if I was suckered.