Easton is 4!

Easton James Carlos this is your year of 4! You had the best birthday with your family and friends. You woke up to streamers, balloons, and presents! You loved your new big boy bike, legos, basketball hoop from Papa Jim and Nonnie and Ziggle from Papa Louie and Grammie. Daddy surprised you with your favorite breakfast...donuts!! We started your special day with a family bike ride on the trail with your new bike. You did great and had so much fun. We then enjoyed an afternoon of swimming because it was a really hot day. You laughed and played all day! We got you all cleaned up and handsome and headed to Irvine Spectrum where you played arcade games at Dave and Busters and then had a yummy dinner at PF Changs followed by a special cupcake treat. We all had a magical day celebrating you sweet boy. Then on Tuesday, you brought sprinkle donuts for your birthday celebration at preschool with Mrs. Hanenberg and all of your preschool friends. You were so proud and excited, Buddy. At the end of the week we had an awesome reptile birthday party for you and all your friends. Mommy decorated this house in all things creepy crawly and even made you a snake cake! The best part of your day was the reptile guy who came to our house with all kinds of snakes, a turtle, lizards, iguanas, and even a frog! You were in Heaven, Easton and so happy to be celebrated by all the people you love.

Some highlights of turning 4:

• After 2 intensive years of speech therapy, you passed out of speech. We are so proud of you!
• You love school and are doing so well.
• Your best friends are Nolan, Roger, and Aiden. You love playing on the grassy field with them after preschool.
• You are an awesome swimmer. You can side breathe, dive, and are even learning how to do the backstroke.
• You have the best, most creative imagination. You have an imaginary friend, named Ty, who you have incredible adventures with. 
• You love rattle snakes, sharks, and all things scary. You tell the best stories about all of your adventures with these various creatures. Most stories sound like this, "Guess what, last day I saw a rattle snake at pirate park. He had a fight with a king snake, but now their friends. Then the rattle snake bit my friend Ty, but he's okay now and the king snake got him." 
• Clayton is your best friend. You are his sidekick always and love playing swords and basketball with him. You love Chloe, but often argue with her. 
• Your favorite shows are Mutt and Stuff and Power Rangers. You love your iPad too. 
• Your favorite foods are snacks! You are a snacker and especially love yogurt from Trader Joes with "ganola peese". 
• You don't nap anymore unless it's late afternoon in the car. 
• You love legos, especially Star Wars and Lego City legos.
• Every night as we tuck you into bed, you say, "you weed a storwy to me." 
• You love spending quality time with Daddy at Petco. You get to hold the different snakes and lizards every time you visit. Your favorite snake is Sandy, the snake.
• You are a super fast runner and are just now expressing an interest in playing sports. You played in a basketball and t-ball league with YMCA and did really well. Your first official sport is soccer and starts really soon! 
• You are an absolute cuddle-bug. You play hard and love hard. 
• You love animals, especially your new puppy, Penny.

Easton James you are one of our greatest gifts. You are a blessing from above, the best miracle. You challenge Mommy daily, but your loving heart balances the challenge. We are so excited to watch you grow and pray that you always know how loved you are. Happy Birthday, Easton James! 

It's Christmas!

Our most favorite time of the year! We filled December with lots of Christmas festivities, including incredibly special performances by all three children. Clayton started basketball on the Warriors, Chloe continued dancing her little heart out and making new friendships, and Easton, kept us on our toes as usual! Our big family news is that we adopted an adorable Boxer puppy, who we named Penny Layne. She's been a perfect addition to our family. The kids love her. She replaced a lot of toys in our house because the boys, especially, would rather play with Penny than their toys.