We got to spend some time with Uncle Josh and Aunt Emily and baby Gwennie.
The kids keep trying to play April Fools jokes even when it is over.
We loved spending time with baby Gwennie. She was soo happy and such a sweet baby.
Elara just makes me laugh with her school photos. She has the hardest time getting her natural smile in and it just makes me laugh. Her real smile is the most beautiful smile, but she gets so goofy in front of a camera.
I can't remember if this was Connor or the dogs... But apparently Connor was a dog...
She wanted a picture of her pretty necklace and earrings. She is growing up too quickly.
I found the missing Easter egg that was in fact hard boiled a week later... Thankfully, not a month later. That darn Easter bunny should have counted all the eggs first.
Proof that he does indeed stop wiggling and sleep sweet "sometimes".
Kael's friend Jimmy came to play. Kael has made so many good friends. Jimmy is moving to Virginia in October and we are going to miss him. That is one of the harder parts of military life. I knew we would move, but didn't really consider how often their friends would move. It can be so hard sometimes.
The boys will play on the playstation together sometimes and Connor LOVES getting his own controller. He totally lets himself believe he is actually playing and will sit and hang out with them for at least 30 minutes sometimes. It is hilarious and I don't mind him being occupied for a while. It's so funny to me that the boys can sit and play and the girls just aren't interested... Eden sometimes likes to play, but mostly she likes to watch now.
Connor LOVES avacado. He sometimes finds a whole avacado on the counter and will eat it like an apple and just spit the peel out. It is so nasty and he is covered in it by the end of the experience, but I can't help but laugh and love that he loves healthy food. It's a good thing avacados aren't that expensive here in Texas!
I do not know why, but I am obsessed with a sleeping child in the car and something in me needs proof that they hold still so I always snap a photo. It is so nice to be driving around in the quiet and know they are happy and peaceful.
We had another hail storm in April. It almost always hails only in April. Thankfully not as bad as the 2016 storm, so it was mostly fun. I love love Texas storms. Not the ones that do damage, but a good thunder and lightning storm and the way it just pours rain is purely Heavenly. It reminds you who is in charge and it is quite beautiful. It has a similar feeling to being in the mountains in Utah and feeling a bit majestic.
Elara has hit a new phase of everything makes me grumpy. And then has a melt down about the smallest things. It's quite pathetic and funny to document.
Our Anniversary fell on a Sunday and a bunch of Pinkston's were visiting before Juli and Jacob took off for Idaho. So, we celebrated by having a family home evening in San Marcos. We love these people so so much! They teach us so many good things every time we visit. What a great way to celebrate starting a family by being with family.
Eden wanted her hair cut and it is really hard to teach a kid to wash their own hair when it is this long, so we chopped a good 7 inches off.
She felt like a new girl. And for Mom it still looked long.
Some things never get old and Connor wanting to be a knight in underwear is one of them.
We took a family vacation to Corpus Christi again. We splurged a little and went to The Texas State Aquarium, did our usual beach spot and celebrated Connor's birthday at Chuck E. Cheese which did not disappoint.
We love spending time together as a family and having these little getaways during Derek's residency made it bearable. Going from one rough rotation to the next and then only having a day in between at times with him was really tough. Derek was prepping to leave for a couple weeks to Panama and he never gets leave during the summer so we knew we needed to get away just the 6 of us and it was so refreshing.
We caught so many tiny little fish. She was so sad that they died 2 seconds after being out of the water. She kept trying to save them and put them back in the ocean.
We didn't boogie board this time and spent the whole time finding creatures and building sand castles and it was so much fun.
We immediately went to the hotel and swam in the pool to clean up a bit.
We brought the kids big blow up toys and it was so fun!
They were so big!
We love the hotel experience other than the kids sleeping on top of us.
Ya Connor didn't stay on his make shift bed and ended up in bed with me kicking me in the face all night. It was lovely.
We do love the made to order breakfast though. We stuff our faces and it is so tasty!
We brought Connor's presents and my baby celebrated turning 3!!!
He is getting way too big, but I cannot stop calling him my baby...
We opted for ice cream cones and throwing a candle on there instead of cake. It was a hit for sure.
Texas State Aquarium never disappoints. Eden really really wanted to help the dolphin trainers and with her Mom's super power of raising her hand frantically she was chosen! She got to help give commands to the dolphins. It was super cool. We also tried to recreate a photo from 2 years ago in the exact same spot we sat.
February 2016
April 2018
Oh how they grow! We totally nailed it.
They had a new exhibit open and totally had this turtle out and about that the kids could touch. It was so cool!
My favorite thing about the aquarium is that they make sure there are things kids can touch! They touched sharks, sting rays, hermit crabs, and a turtle. It is so amazing that it can be hands on. That is so huge for kids who experience so much by touch.
Those ginormous sea turtles are a favorite of mine.
Eden giving her dolphin instructions.
Last up was Chuck E. Cheese before we headed home.
It was an amazing trip, one that I know we will do over and over again. It refreshes my soul so much.
Connor has a weird fascination with helping me scoop dog poop. He can find dog poop better than a dog smelling out poop... It's weird, but oh so helpful.
He earns his keep... If I don't have to clean dog poop then it makes Connor peeing his pants ok. Or maybe not, but still it is helpful.
Mr. Independent
Dear Connor,
What a joy you are for our family. You add so much life to our family. You are so full of energy and keep us all on our toes. You really complete our family and make us all smile every single day. You are learning to speak better each day. You aren't in speech anymore and catch up every day. You love wrestling your brother and sisters. You are Elara's little shadow. You let Eden mother you. You will always be my baby and you are your Daddy's little buddy.
You are turning into quite the little boy. You love peeing outside and even pooped outside once. It was disturbing, but made you so proud.
You love being my helper and really love playing non stop. You are so full of energy and you love going to "Heidi's house". You love being outdoors, you love playing in the water, you love bugs and animals, you love being a boy.
And as much as you love life, we all love you!
Thank you for being our Connor. Thank you for the happiness you share.
Keep being who you are and know you are loved.
Love you always buddy!
Love,
Mom and Dad
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