Conqurered

This has always been Wesley's drawer, full of his stuff. But he just realized that it is also the perfect throne! Since it is obvious that I have lost the battle for the kitchen, he can now rule over his kingdom and loyal Tupperware subjects properly.

Even kings can get stuck once in a while.


Don't you love this emperor's new clothes?

See? He even has a sceptor!

Welcome Home McLaughlin's

Our good friend's Kendra and John moved back to Orange County from Pennsylvania last week and we are so glad they are back! They brought with them two new additions to their family as well, AJ and Allison :) AJ is about 5 months older than Wes and he is really excited to have another buddy around who is close to his age!

Happy 2nd Birthday Tyler!

Wesley's good buddy Tyler turned two last week and we helped him celebrate at his party in the park! What a beautiful and fun day!

Tyler and his cousin Ashlyn.

Believe it or not, Wes did not crack open the pinata :)

A bounce house is always a good choice for a kids' birthday party, look at the joy on both of my guy's faces!

We got the bounce house to ourselves for a little bit while all the kids were waiting for the spoils of the pinata. I probably only have a few more parties left where Wesley doesn't know about the goodies hiding inside of those wonderful creations.

Happy Birthday Tyler, we love you!

(Are you surprised that there is no picture of Wes and Tyler together?...I'm not!)

The Friendly Skies

Wesley and I are both partial to United Airlines...Wesley, because airplanes are just plain cool (he learned this fact from his friend Aaron Gordy, who is obsessed with airplanes!) and for me, because they're letting me to stay home with my kid for two and a half years and keep my job, my base, my benefits and my senority. And for that, I am truly greatful!

We live about 5 minutes from John Wayne Airport and we hear the airplanes taking off all day long. While I was cooking dinner the other night, Mike took Wes to watch the planes land. Mike and Wes both had a great time! Mike thinks planes are pretty cool too :)

Wes likes to hang out in the bed of Mike's truck, it's a manly playpen!

Wesley has 6 teeth now (but still no hair!) :)

Finally a United plane! I'm trying to teach him to say "Buh-Bye" but he doesn't quite get it yet. Hopefully we'll get to fly the friendly skies again soon!

Wesley and Jessie

Wesley has become good friends with our neighbor Jessie. Actually Jessie and her mom and dad are now our former neighbors as they recently bought a house and moved to Orange. We miss them already, but know we'll stay good friends!

This picture reminds me of the 'Where's Waldo' Books.

In this living room, find 2 Babies!

Chicks dig a guy with cool wheels!

Our Easter eggs are no longer a seasonal toy, they are year round fun! Especially for these two; they always get them out and open every egg...what memories they have to know that there should be something special inside. Alas, every one of them empty! :)

These are some older pictures.

This was February when we went to the park after story time at our local library.

This is Jessie's 1st Birthday party in January. She and Wesley are almost exactly 5 months apart.

We can't wait to come see your new house Jessie!

Dinner on the Bluffs

We had dinner with Auntie Chrissy, Uncle Kevin and Cody on Sunday night at the bluffs overlooking the ocean by their house. It was a little overcast, but a really nice night to dine alfresco!

Aren't these the cutest boys you've ever seen!?!

A hug from his bro!


Lots of other people were enjoying the summer evening, so there were many kids to play with (and girls to flirt with, these two are going to be trouble!).

A yummy dinner with our wonderful friends :)

Lazy Dayz

I titled this post Lazy Dazy, but I think once you have a baby those true, honest-to-goodness lazy days are behind you. It seems there is always something to cook, clean, pick up, shop for, or get to on time! But now that it's summer, finding time for fun is much more important!

Here we are at the pool with Cousin Cash, Cousin Haley and Auntie Jessica:

This is right when he realized the cement was sorching hot!

It's fianlly gotten really warm, so a couple of days later we headed to Grandma's to play and swim:

Grandma has lots of fun old-school toys!

What a great investment, Wes loves this floatie :)

Wes will stand on the edge and "jump" (right now it's more like falling) into our arms.

We love summer days, even if they are just a little lazy!

Rocket's Red Glare

Happy 4th of July! Mike went back to work and Wes and I were pretty wiped out from his party, so we just stayed home and celebrated together. He loved this little flag and carried it around all day. We're teaching him patriotism early!

I love fireworks and remember when I was little and we would have a big block party and set off all kinds of them! I was so excited because sparklers have been illegal here for many years, but now they are back!! I just wanted to buy 1 box of sparklers but of course they come in packs of six boxes, and they happened to be buy one get one free, so I spent $10 to light 4 sparklers and now have 11 and 1/2 boxes left. Oh well, it was worth it! Happy Birthday America!

Cheerful Givers!

Wesley received so many wonderful and generous gifts at his party! Thank you so much to everyone (thank you notes will be on their way soon! :) Since he loves paper, Wes was in seventh heaven ripping and pulling and tearing. I tried to keep the paper eating to a minimum!

Here's just a few pictures of the gifts he received:

Grandma made Wesley this "street" quilt and Uncle Chris got him some wooden cars to race around the windy quilted streets. He's going to love it in a couple of months!

A fun Cars sound book from Grandma Missy.


This gift was from Grandpa Al...

...he was so excited to get...

...his own Radio Flyer tricycle!! (with a bell too!)

This was from Nick, Jessica and Gianna Sanicola...

...a ride-on dump truck with giant Leggos that makes all kinds of noises! The perfect little boy gift!!

Look at this huge gift from Auntie Chrissy, Uncle Kevin and Cody...

...a Water Table is perfect for some summer fun in the back yard!

Wesley is pretty much walking now! He's taking about 30 steps at a time and can turn corners and even stop to pick something up and then keep walking. He's still a little wobbly though and he looks like Frankenstein (don't you think?!?) but it's so neat to see how pround of himself he is when he reaches his destination. My little guy will be running before I know it!

Wesley even got some presents in the mail! This one is from his Great Aunt Marilyn and Great Uncle Dan in South Dakota.

Thank you again, Wesley (and Michael and I) love you all!!