Yo Quiero Del Taco

Well it seems like Zach already has a favorite food - I just can't seem to get enough Carne Asada Steak Tacos from Del Taco. I've always been a bigger fan of Taco Bell but Zach is not. Mmm they are so good with the lime squeezed over them my mouth is watering right now thinkin about it. Here is a close up for your enjoyment.
Nate's treat is the Del Taco Cheeseburger - I know most people think it's sacrilegious to get a burger at a taco place but he loves them and they are under a buck so I don't care. Another thing i newly discovered at the Del is that their "small" sizes are really the size of a medium - if you really just want an actual small, you can get a "kids" size drink or fry. Anyways it was news to me.
I just really like this picture of Nate doing 1 of his favorite things: jumping on Nana's trampoline.

Happy Valentines Day!

Ryan works on Wednesday Nights now so we celebrated our 10th Valentines Day together on Tuesday at Panda Inn (mmm...yum) It was just me and Nate tonight and our coupon for the Picture People expired after today so we headed on down to see what we could get. I love the new digital system, no more waiting for a hour to see your photos and they take a TON of shots. We had a good photographer - too many to pick from but here's what we got.

Holy crap!

Check out the big boy! Today Nate had his first #2 in the toilet! Whoo-hoo! I'm not "actively" training him it was really more of an experiment: he'd been going at the same time every morning so today I just sat him on the pot and we read books until suddenly... ta-da! We made a big deal and immediately gave him chocolate but I really don't think he made the connection or has any idea when his #2's are coming. We'll see what happens.
We then spent the morning at the park with our buddies Jenn and Jake. We filled the bellies of the local ducks with bread, fruit loops and cheereios then had fun playing on the toys.

My hump, my lovely baby bump

Just an update on the size of my belly.
I'm 27 weeks now - almost 7 months.
I've gained 10 pounds and I assume my total gain will be around 30 lbs. since that's what it was last time.
Lower back is getting sore and sleeping is uncomfortable but other than that things are going well.
Zach is movin and groovin all the time - especially when I lean forward too much (like when I'm sitting at the computer)
We tell Nate about the baby in mommy's belly and he gives it hugs and kisses but I'm pretty sure he has no idea what's going on.

Mouse House

Ryan earned half a day off work thru his bonuses so we decided to take Nate the big boy to Disneyland - if you haven't heard Nate took a step towards big boy this last week and has given up on a pacifier outside of his bed (not by choice) and we actually even stopped turning on the monitor on him at night - next stop: big boy bed! N8 is growing up so much lately and seems so much more aware of what's going on and interacting with the world as a little boy. It was such a fun day at the park. The weather was good, the lines were short, the Jedi Training show started right as we were in the area and let out just in time for our fast passes to start at Buzz Lightyear. We also discovered that N8 is now tall enough to ride the Matterhorn! We couldn't believe it! He's actually 2-3 inches taller than the mark which means he could have gone on the Matterhorn last month as a one year old! Unfortunately that line was way too long so maybe next time he can go with daddy. We also discovered a good way to get big smiles out of N8 for pictures - by pretending to hit ourselves on the head. Its not the most glamorous thing to do to yourself but look at those big toothy smiles! Hey, whatever works right?

Holy Moley!

A very strange thing happened when I opened up the mail on Friday, 2 Hundred dollar bills fell out of this envelope! There was no note, just a blank piece of paper and no return address on the envelope.
This kind of thing never happens to us so we were totally stunned!
I tried every CSI trick I know looking for any writing imprints in the paper or envelope even smelling the saliva on the seal :( - but there's nothing so we have no idea who sent it.
Well if whoever sent it happens to be reading our blog - Thank you very much, we totally appreciate the kindness and the surprise! We will be using the money to get a new car seat for Nathan, even thou he is still within the weight and height for his current one, the straps are too tight on him. If he's wearing a sweatshirt we have to take it off and we can barely get his arms thru the straps. So thanks again!

LA Zoo

Pictures from our zoo trip with Nana, Papa, Grandma and Papa.

Nate wanted to give this goat a huggie but the goat never took him up on the offer.

Joel and Becky's wedding recap 6-2-06

Climb every mountain

Even with an impending forecast of rain, we decided to head out with the Reynolds and Nana & Papa to spend an afternoon climbing the Mormon Rocks on the way to Wrightwood (according to my dad they are named after an old Mormon campsite near where the rocks appeared.) After a several miles in the opposite direction so Kev could save $3 on gas, a round-about way to pick up some Weinerscnitzel, heavy traffic, 1 road construction closure, and 1 stop on the off ramp for a nursing session we final arrived... and Nate fell asleep 5 minutes earlier. After a brief nap, we joined everyone out in the FRIDGED temperature. Nate and the kids really liked climbing around on the big rocks and exploring.

Here's

Nate's

grumpy

hot

chocolate

face.

A merry Christmas to all...

Christmas was busy of course but that's the way I like it. Here's a bunch of photos from our family celebrations.
Nate was very excited about his tambourine and electric guitar/violin combo.







Here's a PJ-ed Nate showing off his Toy Story guys and cars.

A Smootchie for Dad and now-empty stockings at Nana's.

Nate loved his tricyle and gave this basketball a snuggle.

It's tradition at Grandma's house for the kids to take a picture in their giant stockings!

2004 (three weeks old) - 2005 (one year old) - 2006 (two years old)