Boys' Birthday Weekend in San Diego

Since it has rained the past two years in a row on the boys' birthday, this year I decided to skip a birthday party and we took a family vacation instead. And this year, we woke up to a beautiful blue sky, sunshine, and 70 degree weather! We were thrilled to have such perfect weather for our long weekend in San Diego. We stayed at the Grand Pacific Palisades Hotel, which is walking distance from Legoland. The hotel was wonderful. Very kid-friendly. The vending machines had ice cream in them! They had a splash pad and pool just for kids and Dave and I managed to have a competitive game of air hockey and ping pong in the rec room. I say competitive but really I just tried really hard and he still easily beat me. Ha.

Next to the hotel was the Karl Strauss restaurant. Oh my. We were in heaven. The food was so delicious and they had a breakfast buffet in the morning. We went. TWICE.
Legoland was not exactly what we were hoping for. I was extremely disappointed in the height restriction (they don't let babies/toddlers ride ANYTHING!) The kids were too young to care though and managed to have a blast with the other cool activities (jumbo building blocks and fun play structures and a huge splash pad). Legoland has an Aquarium next door and it was small but really awesome. The kids loved it and we were the first ones there so we didn't have to wait to see anything. 

We decided to take the kids to Toys R Us on their actual birthday and they got to choose their presents. Carter, of course, chose a Thomas the Train railroad set and Archie picked out a small purple car. We also bought them some new Lego kits. Then we went back to the hotel room and played! It was so wonderful to spend so much time together as a family without any work, stress, or obligations.

Late night ice cream!

This kid LOVES to eat!

Carter  built this lego castle in like 5 seconds. Pretty cool, huh?  :)

I think we enjoyed the trip as much as the kids!

One of the cool parts of Legoland--the building play areas.

Chewy photobombed us!

Carter's favorite part of the whole trip was the water play area.

Archie was thrilled to get to sleep in a bed with pillows!

When we got home, there was a package of presents waiting on our doorstep from Grandpa and Grandma Cushman (my dad and Mary) They always pick such fabulous gifts. Archie's favorite was the musical card and Carter loved everything--he got a cool remote control car and a toy airplane that he has to put together himself with real tools. (The kids now chase each other around the house with the toy drill!) Our house looks like Christmas already because of all the new toys and boxes everywhere!

Birthday Boys

Carter Francis Hill is 3 years old. This picture says more than I could ever write about him. What a sweet, silly, mischievous, tiny little guy. He still loves to snuggle, cuddle, and dance with his mommy and daddy. I hope that lasts forever. He went from being a terrible eater to being much more open-minded at meal time which literally feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Not surprisingly, his favorite foods are still bacon, chocolate, and strawberries. I am contemplating combining those three things into some sort of delicious gourmet birthday cake of sorts. Like all little boys, Carter is obsessed with cars and trains. He still loves to read books and has memorized nearly every book we own! Carter is way more talkative in the past few months and I overhear him saying the silliest things. The other day I heard him counting backwards from 10 to 1 (something I have not taught him to do.) I said, "Wow! Who taught you that?" Carter responded: "Mickey Mouse did!" (So I guess TV isn't all bad, right?) During Halloween, Carter received two plastic spiders--one black and one pink. He came up to me and held them together and said, "Awww so cute. Look Mommy! They are best friends!" When he is happy or feeling lovey, he always comes up to Dave or me and says, "Ohhh.... you're the best." If we say, "Awww thank you. You're the best too." He says, "Yeah... I know." Gotta love it!

Archer Anderson Hill is 1 year old! My baby is no longer a baby now that he is toddling around everywhere. The only problem is I can't find shoes to fit his feet (he has cute chubby feet but skinny heels and ankles so he steps out of all his shoes). So alas, he goes barefoot everywhere so I guess it's a good thing that we live in Southern California! What can I say about this kid? He is the opposite of Carter in so many ways. He is a big boy! He will eat anything and everything that you serve him, although he usually always wants whatever I have more than what he is given and then ends up eating more of my lunch than I do! We lovingly call him a bully because he is very hands-on and loves to wrestle and tackle us all to the ground. He is so strong! He loves Carter more than anyone else and desperately tries to keep up with him and mimics everything he does. Archie is a kid that you can't turn your back on for a second as he is into EVERYTHING. If I try to take a shower, he ends up opening every cabinet in the bathroom, removing every item, and then climbing inside! He unrolls the toilet paper rolls daily, he gets into the pantry and tries to climb the shelves, he pulled out all of our important documents out of our filing cabinet, etc. He definitely keeps me on my toes! Despite his wild side, there is nothing sweeter than the moments I spend with him, snuggled up, nursing, and watching his big blue eyes drift off to sleep. 

Grayson Hunter Hill would be 3 years old but he lives in our hearts as a newborn. This time of year is a little bittersweet but not so much on their actual birthday. As stressful as the twins' birth was, it was still a joyous day for us and I have some good memories of that day. I was thinking of the moment I saw Grayson for the first time and remembered that Dave had captured it on video. I cut the video down to a little clip of when I saw his sweet face for the first time. I watched it over and over today and couldn't believe how incredibly perfect his little face was. See for yourself!

Happy Halloween!

This year was great. We had some friends over for dinner and then we passed out candy and went Trick-or-Treating. This year I gave Carter a Halloween catalog of costumes and he decided that he had to be an Angry Bird. (He is obsessed with that game!) My sweet little Archie was a cow--the cutest cow anyone has ever seen!
Carter was not a fan of Halloween last year, but this year he was totally excited to get candy and by the end of the night he was definitely on a sugar high! My kids were in great moods, no crankiness, and as of now, we are finally all feeling well after like months of different illnesses! I hope it lasts as the boys' birthday is in 2 weeks! Yay!
Photo credit goes to Jesse as my camera broke. Glad I made him take pictures because they turned out so cute!

Cutest cow ever, right?

I think this is my favorite picture from the night.  He was so excited!

Halloween pajamas!

The face of a kid who has consumed WAY too much sugar!

This Kid

Have I mentioned how awesome Carter is? He is just so much fun lately. I can't believe he is almost 3 years old! We are so thankful for his health and how far he has come. He is becoming more grown-up and independent each day... makes me a little sad, but I am so proud of him. Guess that's the emotional rollercoaster of being a parent.

He loves to read (yes, while sitting on the potty)



He is also a master of the art of lyrical improvisation:

Retail Therapy

Archer loves to shop. Guess he inherited this trait from me. I am not a great shopper by any means (Confession: I don't think I have ever been inside a designer clothing store.) Nearly everything we purchase comes from Target, Trader Joes, Costco, or Old Navy. That being said, I actually look forward to my weekly Target shopping trip. Ahhhh retail therapy. And my little Archie is the same way. No matter how tired, cranky, hungry, or grumpy... as soon as he sees a shopping cart, he gets very excited to sit inside. I have never had to leave a store because of a tantrum (and I think I have only had to do this once or twice with Carter.)
Carter received a shopping cart for his birthday last year and he mainly likes to race it around the house at top speed. Archie, however, has taken an interest in it already. I seriously think in a few months he will be pretend shopping around the house all day. I also think my little 10 month old is very close to walking! Check this out:

Crazy Carter

Oh life with a 2-year-old boy is never-ending fun!

Dance parties are a daily occurrence in our house lately. I think Carter learns all his dance moves from his Daddy.

Summer is winding to a close. . .

This was one HOT summer. Seriously. We had to buy a new air conditioner and while I was not happy to fork over thousands of dollars to Sears, it ended up being totally worth it. The humidity is so bad that when our leather couch is pressed up against the ottoman it actually sweats. Insanity.

We have managed to beat the heat by mostly staying indoors which my kids are not too happy about. We have gone to some really fun places recently though. (The Dinosaur Park in Laguna Hills, Pioneer Park in Tustin, and Scooter's Jungle Bounce House were big hits!)

Archer and Carter are happy, healthy, and active. They love to play together and are actually very sweet to each other. I know the days of screaming fights and wrestling matches are in my future but for now, they are kind and loving. Carter exists on fruit snacks, bacon, milk, and crackers. Honestly that is about all he eats. I absolutely hate it and meal time usually always ends in tears (from both him and me!) Archer eats anything and everything you put in front of him (except applesauce for some reason). Even after he is done eating, he will chase you around the house begging for bites and sips of whatever you happen to have. Dave hates it but I love it because at least one of my kids is well fed!

I am so looking forward to fall. I want to drink hot pumpkin spice lattes, eat lots of pumpkin baked goods, make crockpot stews, wear socks, sweaters, and scarfs, and curl up on the couch with a blanket and my sweet husband.

I am quite happy for summer to end. With that being said, it wasn't all bad... here are some highlights from the past few weeks:

Pioneer Park in Tustin--so fun!

This kid loves to eat... all day.

The Dinosaur Park