Preschool Grandparents Day

We are thrilled with Elena's new preschool.  She loves going, her teacher is lovely and they have cute parties.  Today, her class celebrated Grandparents Day.  The kids prepared for weeks with artwork, songs and they even made gluten/dairy/nut free brownies to share :)  Elena even dressed up (thanks for the dress Maggie!)

 Elena's teacher, Ms. Amanda, took this photo after Elena and Pop finished decorating a foam picture frame.  Yay for a cute photo!!

Potty, Potty

 These naked pictures were taken March 8th.  We started some extra naked time because it has been warm, Charlie has been suffering from diaper rash and the cloth diapers we are using (from Elena) are starting to disintegrate.

Garden: Week 4

 Strawberry fruits are forming.  Elena is super excited! (okay, so am I!)

Hello Again!

Hello!  I'm not sure you remember me, my name is Rachel ;)

Well, it's been sometime since I've written.  I'm sure you thought I have given up and maybe even still pregnant but I only needed time to focus on our family.  In the past 7+ months, we have been quite busy as you will see.  I am working to update the blog by backdating posts so keep eyes open for new posts.  This has proven quite time intensive...we really have been busy.  The updates will start in August and post until we are current.

A quick catch up:

Toward the end of January, I resigned my job as a grant administrator with San Diego State University.  I'm now a stay at home mom, homemaker...eh, not really sure what title I would give myself.  We've had a bit of a transition but are finally getting in the swing of things.  Elena started preschool three days a week for three hours a day.  She loves it and her teacher, Ms. Amanda, is awesome.  Charlie is doing great, growing big and independent fast.  Carl is also doing good.  I've taken over gardening and enjoy spending an hour or so out there daily checking on my seedlings, weeding and smelling the flowers.  Life feels in balance right now, its a good feeling.

Thanks for sticking around!

Garden: Week 3

 The seeds were planted nearly 3 weeks ago and doing great.

Plank Baby, Plank!

 Charlie is trying to learn how to crawl.  He can body swim across the floor and now he can plank!

Ants Came Marching In

Elena has these magnetic triangles and squares, she loves playing with them.  Everyday she has something to build and share.

 Today a family of ants descended into our living room.

Elena's Photo Request

Elena requested photos be taken today.  Such a rare moment, one must jump at the chance :)

 One of the many ways Elena and Charlie play together.  Lots of giggling!

Strawberry Flowers and more

 Our first strawberry flowers, so exciting!

Garden: Week 1

Well, it has been 1 week since I planted the seeds.  Look at all the growth we have already!  Exciting!

Rain...Finally, Rain!!

The weather has been extreme everywhere.  Back in Illinois/Indiana, the area has been continually pelted with Arctic Blasts.  It has been one of the snowiest and coldest winters on record.  Here, we have had one of the driest winters.  The weather has been wonderful until you realize how short we are on rainfall.  A major storm came through and over the last four days we received over 2" of rain with a lot of wind.  We are thrilled for the rain and hope we get at least one more of these winter storms in the next month or so.

 After a certain amount of rain in a short period of time, our yard always floods here.  It doesn't stay long though.