Here are some new pictures of my kids.  In honor of Kai turning 3 and
Ronin's 8 month picture, we went and got them done since I hadn't had
professional pictures taken of them together since Ronin was a month old. 
Enjoy my cuties!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know it seems impossible that I would post again so soon after the last one but I thought, hey, we have a lot going on and maybe the pleo world would like to hear about it before it is three month old news.

We are in escrow right now on our first house! Through several months of weird situations and stuff not working out, we are finally in escrow on a house that we love, fits us, and will hopefully work out for us. It is 3 bd, 2 bth, 1600 sq ft, but we love that it is on a huge lot with fruit trees and room for gardening, and it has a very lovely deck built just outside the master bedroom on the second story. Lots of character and feels right for us. If this is God's will, it will be ours.

Kai starts soccer camp tomorrow. Mommy is way more excited than he is. It is the first big thing my little one is participating in (okay, I know, it is only a week long and they are teaching them the basics, and they are not really on a team, but it is a big deal to me!). I will be taking a million pictures to post.

Ronin has two teeth! Last week was hard on him and us because he was sooo fussy, and not sleeping, not eating well, runny nose, just generally miserable. At least there was a reason. He cut his first tooth on Monday and his second on Saturday. He tends to want to eat solid foods more and really is starting to want to eat less of his formula, so new teeth mean new foods. Yay!

There really hasn't been any news on the allergy front with Ronin. We did allergy testing but everything came back negative (meaning no allergies). Doc said could be he is allergic to something but may not have shown up because of his age when the testing was done. If he is older it will show better. It is frustrating though to know your kid does not breathe normally and not much can be done. We do have him on allergy meds at night and he has Nasonex spray for his nose and while they seem to help, it is never completely clear. Mommy's intuition says there is still something there and I will continue to push the issue until it gets fixed. At least the docs don't seem to be too concerned with it, but it would be nice for there to be clear, unnoisy, breathing happening with my child. Any suggestions from others with this experience?

We are leaving next week to go on vacation to Phoenix, Arizona. Why, you say, would someone with small children go to one of the hottest places in the middle of the summer for vacation? Because we will be visiting my brother (Charlie Brown for those of you who know him) and his lovely wife. They are in culinary school pursuing their dream of one day opening a restaurant and they can't get the time away to see us, so we are going to go see them. Chico is off for summer break and my Mom and brother are coming along too so it will be a family reunion of sorts. It will be nice for them to see the kids since they haven't seen Ronin since he was about 2 weeks old. Barring the heat, it should be fun.

That is all I have to update on. I thought sooner was better than later so there you go. We'll chat soon!

Today my first born turned 3 years old.  I can't believe the time has flown
by so quickly.  He is an amazingly sweet child who is so inquisitive and
smart.  I love him so much and I can't imagine what Chico and I would be
like without him in our lives.  So, Happy Birthday Kai! 

Since I haven't updated in about four months, I thought I should give
everyone the run down.

In Chico news - Chico is still taking his Masters classes and is scheduled to
be finished in March of next year.  He will then move on to his PHD work in
Education.  He finished his first year at the continuation high school and
he loved it.  He feels like he is really making a difference in the lives
of lots of kids who are in tough situations.  He is teaching summer school
and still has about three weeks left before he gets his summer break.  He
has had a few health scares and illnesses, and even a minor fender bender this
year which has made life a little difficult but we are blessed that he is
healthy now.

In my news - Not much to say except I love being a Mom to my two perfect sons
and I am enjoying being at home with them and watching them grow and change
everyday.  Oh yeah, I had a birthday a couple weeks ago and I am now
officially the big 28.  Our anniversary is tomorrow.  I have been
married to a wonderful, caring man for 8 years.  He is the best father and
my best friend and he makes me happier than he will ever know.  I love you
hunny!

In Kai news - He is 3 now!  We did have a big birthday party at a local
park yesterday with lots of family and friends.  He wanted to have a shark
themed party (he is obsessed with animals, sea life, dinosaurs, etc.) so Mommy
went all out, complete with cake, pinata, food, water balloons, party favors,
and homemade aquariums (blue jello filled with gummy sharks, fish and coral). 
Check out the pic of the cake.  It was awesome!  He has a busy summer
planned with swim lessons and soccer camp coming up.  He got a new bike for
his birthday so I know there will be many days spent outside in the hot sun.

In Ronin news - My little baby is a huge boy!  He is now six months old,
and he weighs 21 lbs 8 ozs and is 29 1/2 inches long.  He is completely off
the charts (like 100th percentile) for his height and weight, and at six months
is already wearing 18 month clothing.  He is now rolling over, sitting up,
and eating solid foods.  How do these things happen so fast?  His
favorites right now are carrots, sweet potato, and pears.  He is such a
happy baby and a joy to have.  We are getting him tested for allergies
because he has had problems breathing since he was born and always sounds like a
bull dog and wheezy.  So there is a possibility he is allergic to our cats
and to pollen, etc.  I am new to the whole allergy/asthma thing so we will
see where we go once the results come in from the tests.

I have included some pictures so everyone can see my boys and how big they
are now.  Enjoy!

 

Waiting for Shamu at Sea World

 

Ronin at six months.  Naughty playing in the toilet paper!

 

He is getting so big!

 

Daddy and Ronin playing together.

 

Kai on the Chinese Dragon roller coaster at our local Cherry Festival

 

Ronin enjoying hanging out outside

 

Kai opening one of his birthday gifts

 

The awesome shark cake!

These are the new pics of Ronin.  I did pictures for Kai every month until
he turned a year old and I am trying to keep up with it for Ronin.  He is
already grinning and laughing and it is so nice to see a little personality
coming out.  He already weighs 13 pounds and has grown over 3 inches since
he was born.  It is amazing how in such a short time they change so much. 
I love being the Mom to two wonderful boys!

So Chico and I are in the process of trying to buy a house. This is our first house we have ever purchased. We currently live in a rental house and while it suits our needs as far as space and such goes, it is run down, needs many repairs, and the landlords are VERY difficult to deal with. We are greatful for the house we live in since the rent is very reasonable but we would really like to have a place of our own to be able to raise our kids and do what we want. We started looking about 3 months ago and weren't really sure if we could afford a house especially since I am a stay at home mom with no income and Chico is a teacher (everyone knows what kind of salary that is). But if we manage our finances and really cut back I think we can do it. We have put an offer in on a house and we are now in the dreadful waiting stage where they scrutinize every detail of your credit, the home inspection must be done, repairs from the home inspection must be done, and we must wait for approval of a first time buyers grant we qualify for and of course the approval of the loan for the house. We are asking for prayers that this will be a smooth process, that we will use God's wisdom/guidance in this decision, and that if the house becomes ours, it will be used to God's glory. We appreciate everyone praying for us and I will certainly keep you updated.