Brody’s hair is starting to grow so fast! I guess it’s been almost 2 months since his last trim, but he’s already ready again. Here are some cute photos from his last haircut on the porch.

He’s a modern kid alright.

Hallee usually takes a shower with me, but sometimes she gets in the tub. It’s a bit chaotic when all three are in there, but not too bad when there’s just 2.

Buns!!

As for Gigi…

We started doing some reading lessons together! When she doesn’t get frustrated, she does fabulous. We’ve done I think 12 out of 100, so still a ways to go.

SuperB owl Party!

We had a really fun party for the big game with David’s parents and our Community Group friends. We are really loving getting to know our group.

We had tons of good food!

Lots of kids = lots of chaotic fun!! (Thank you, Lord, for our playroom!)

Mandy & Ben

Sarah & Rob

David and Jeff watching the game.

Hallee teething on my beer bottle.

Getting tired.

Bedtime!

A bit more…

Gigi did a fun craft that I blogged about on Simple Organic.

I also did a 10 on 10 for February on Gidget Goes Home.

More January Photos Here

More Early February Photos Here

More February to come!

We had such a fun Christmas with the family. We feel so blessed to get to spend so much time with our extended family. Our kids don’t know how good they have it being able to spend the holiday with both sets of grandparents and one of their aunts/uncles.

Christmas eve tradition: breakfast at Swami’s and a walk by the beach.

I’m going to post just a few favorite photos here and then post a slideshow of the rest.

We decided to have a formal Christmas dinner, just for fun. Alex took as many photos as our cranky kids would allow.

You can view his photos from Christmas here, and here’s a fun video Alex made of Christmas day.

christmas day ’11 from Alexander T. Pavone on Vimeo.

Now if only I could finish my Christmas cards. They’ve officially become “New Year’s cards” by now I guess…

{Link to Christmas album – in case you couldn’t view slideshow}

We love having our pictures taken down at the beach each year.  This year’s taken by my brother came out great! Thanks, Al-Buddy! Here are a few of my favorites.

You can see a few more shots over on Alex’s blog.

As usual, we had an awesome time camping for the week of Thanksgiving. We arrived at San Elijo– after a long 10 minute commute — in the pouring rain and opted to cram our family of 5 into the motorhome and sleep with Yaya and Papa.

Watching a movie.

The girls snuggling in the morning.

Good morning, boys!

Mom’s thankful tree.

Bonfire with MOPS friends.

Our campsites were right next to the amphitheater and the beach! The kids loved playing around the benches.

We brought along the matchbox cars again and Brody was in hog heaven. Monday afternoon brought a surprise visitor…

Stacey and Charlie!!

David’s sister flew out from Indiana and surprised her parents. It was so fun having her there this week and getting to spend time with our new nephew who we hadn’t met yet.

Checking out the tidepools.

The Yogurt Man!

Charlie and Brody had so much fun playing together.

Simon watching the bubbles. A bunch of friends came down to play one day. The kids had a ball together.

Lunch at Bull Taco in the campground.

The babies.

The weather got pretty warm most days.

A chilly morning walk across the street.

Watching football!

The Bird.

Gigi loved watching White Christmas.

Biking buddies.

Our little friend Lana Ferry.

VG’s and Starbucks!

Alex, Angelina, and this cool guy came down!

The three boys.

The artista at work.

Brody’s first time finger painting.

Gigi and I had a dance show.

Micah’s really into buckles.

View all the photos here.

Hallee sporting a nightgown that was mommy’s as a baby.

Their first matching outfit (Thanks, Yaya!).

Hanging Out at Tia & Unc A’s House

A Day at the Botanical Gardens with Yaya

I just might have one more August update up my sleeve…

This month, we also went on a couple of walks.

…To Dairy Queen!

… on a new-to-us nearby hiking trail!

More of August still to come.

What a blessing to have David’s older sister and her family visit us from Indiana for a few days in July. We so love spending time with them and wish they didn’t live so far away. The cousins had a blast playing together as we hit up four beaches in two days and had lots of sweet treats and an all-around fun time.

reading.

“baaaa!”

bocce time at Moonlight.

“baaa?”

Reubster.

at Fletcher Cove.

Geedge.

Hallee’s first bottle.

Settlers!

Donuts at Stone Steps.

happy to be at the beach.

Micah and Brody.

Alex and Angelina met us at Fletcher.

He went through a phase of being deathly afraid of the ocean last month. Seems to have mellowed out about it now thankfully.

tired.

cute girl.

The week after they visited us, the Leonards finally got the call that they could travel to Korea to pick up their son. They brought him home just over a week ago and we are so thrilled for them and can’t wait to meet our new nephew Charlie Jae-min someday!

We started our celebrating on the 3rd with a little family outing to the Wild Animal Park. Gigi had the great idea to go there with a picnic dinner, so that is what we did!

We arrived around 5pm, when many people were leaving and when the weather was perfect (it gets really hot out there during the day), and stayed till closing at 7pm.

Just enough time for dinner, the playground, a few animals and a carousel ride… oh, and some African music, too.

Then we headed to my parents’ house where we spent the night (and Hallee slept great!) and enjoyed a sunny 4th of July as well.

We swam, ate and hung out with friends and family before heading over to our “secret spot” to watch the San Marcos fireworks. Well, it used to be a secret spot, now lots of other people go there, too.

View the album here.

Even though we rent our house, we decided it would be worthwhile to put a bit of money (and a lot of sweat) into a little grassy area in our front yard. Our backyard is great for entertaining with the lush planter and the patio areas, but there isn’t a lot of space for little ones to run around and play.

David worked so hard to clear the junk out of the front yard; then with my Dad’s expertise (and many of his tools!), he reconfigured the sprinklers and layed down the sod. The lawn is so beautiful and the kids love it. We still have a lot of work to do, little by little, to clean the yard up (front and back) but for now we are enjoying the grass!

Here’s the photo progression of David’s work of art.

The yard started as a strange combination of bark, gravel and oddly-placed plants.

Tilling the soil.

Rolling the ground to prepare for sod.

Our grass!

Final raking…

Finally laying it down.

The Supervisor.

Halfway done!

Now if only we could keep the bunnies from nibbling little bits of it every evening!

I’m so thankful for a husband who worked so hard to make a fun place for our kids (and who truly enjoys yardwork!).

We had a great day last Thursday when my cousin Breanna decided to come down and spend the day with us (and meet Baby Hallee!).

I just so happened to have 3 tickets to Legoland (including the aquarium and waterpark!)… so she arrived late morning, and then we picked Gigi up from preschool and headed out.

It was a beautiful day and we had a great time. I couldn’t have done it (especially the waterpark) without another adult with me, and I had a great time catching up with Bre, too!

After Legoland, we headed down the street to the beach where our church meets every Thursday evening. Gigi played with her friends in the waves and sand and we had some BBQ-ed dinner. David even got to surf (me=jealous!)

Thanks for visiting, Breanna! Gigi loved spending the day with you!

If you’d like to view all of June’s photos, click here.

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