April/May catch up

It's been almost 2 months since I last posted! :/

Time to do a little catch up (with a LOT of pictures)...

I can't believe how fast time has gone this year...literally flown by.  I feel like it was just Christmas last week and summer is here already.  John is officially a 2nd year and done with his 1st year of optometry school.  I'm so proud of his hard work and dedication this year.  He loves what he is learning and it's been fun to watch him grow more and more confident over the year in his schooling.

Before John was done with school the kids and I were just up to the usual things...parks, pools, friends, the library, music class, Little Gym, and the splash pad.  We tried (and are still trying) to get outside as much as possible every day while the weather is still bearable (it has been in the 100's already several times, but luckily there are still 90 degree days too). 

lots of random pictures:

TWINS...I think they look so much a lot.  I get comments about how cute my twins are, how old are they, lucky that I got one of each, etc. 

this boy always has one shoe one, one shoe off. 

loves trying on my shoes and is better at walking in high heels than I am.

Jake is busy, busy, busy!  I feel like I clean up one room after another all day long.  He is so happy and content most of the time, so I don't mind the messes he makes...just a curious boy.

eating toilet paper

....notice the one shoe

another Jake mess....in the bathroom again, his favorite place.

In April we had friends over for a birthday dinner and dessert, for my birthday and my friend Alison's.

Annie came to visit!  It was so fun (and helpful!) having her here.  We played, went swimming, shopped, ate, watched Les Mis after the kids went to bed one night, and had a great time catching up. 

such a big boy - watching baby Einstein in his chair, all by himself.

We got a new car!!  After months of looking, we finally found the perfect one for us.  It is a 2005 Honda Odyssey.  We were originally thinking of buying a car in Utah because the sales tax here is so much higher, but John found this one on Craigslist from a private sale and we jumped on it right away (good thing we did because there were 3 people that showed up right after us to look at the car, one with cash in hand ready to buy it!).  I absolutely LOVE it...love the color, love the space, love it all.

We also got a new jogging stroller...I sold 2 of our other strollers that we don't use very often anymore to buy this.  I love it.  We've gone on lots of runs, walks to the park, and a hike with it already.

We went to a fun train park with friends one morning.  The train wasn't running, so we want to go back when it is, but we still had a good time - the moms chatting and the kids playing.

Some library fun...

We went to the Phoenix Children's Museum.  I have been anxious to go because I'd heard it was fun, but expensive.  Our library has something called a culture pass, which is 2 free passes to different things around the state...like this museum, the zoo, a science center, etc.  They are popular though so you have to go early and wait in line before the library even opens to get one.  John went one day and waited for the Children's Museum one.

We had a great time!  We stayed for about 4 hours and could have stayed long because there was more to see, but both kids were ready for naps.

cool tree house that I climbed up with Brooklyn

painting

play doh

Brooklyn's favorite place to go is still Little Gym.  Every day when John comes home from school and asks Brooklyn what we did that day she says we went to Little Gym (we only go once a week).  The teacher and other moms in the class comment a lot on how strong Brooklyn is...which she is.  It has been fun for me to see her improve so much since I started taking her (when she was 9 months old).  Jake is in the class too and just crawls around and plays on the equipment.   

her favorite are the bars..

her first medal

My friend runs a soccer camp every Saturday morning through the rec center.  She said I could bring Brooklyn for free...so I did.  She loved every minute of it and was surprisingly not that bad for a 2 year-old.  It made me a little proud :)

We have been swimming lots with friends.  It is getting so hot here that swimming is starting to be the only bearable thing to do outside.  The kids love it and so do I!  The apartment complex right next to ours has an awesome pool, with sand and everything, and is our very favorite to go to.  It is fun sitting on the sides and chatting with friends while the kids play.

I took Brooklyn and her friend Reese (and Jake too) to a trampoline place called Jumpstreet.  They had a good time jumping and playing on the bounce houses and little rides.

 

Last Sunday, I was in the shower and John was still asleep.  Brooklyn went and woke up John and told him she had something up her nose that hurt.  He looked up there with a flashlight, and sure enough, there was a red bead (it really was a styrofoam cranberry from a Christmas decoration..no idea where she found it).  John called a few instacares and asked them what we should do.  They all said to take her in to the ER.  We dropped Jake off with a friend and went in.  Brooklyn was happy and chatty as can be with all the nurses/doctors.  The PA tried to get it out and didn't have success, so the doctor had to come in and do it.  They put her in a straight jacket type thing, John held her head, I held her body, and she screamed for about 15 seconds until they got it out :)

 another Jake mess - this time was spilled dry formula

Much more coming soon...the zoo, Sedona, Jake's birthday/birthday party, and moving into our house.  Stay tuned!