"Shake It!"

On Veterans Day, David needed to unlock the school for the crazy teachers who like to work on their days off... so he took Nathan and Olivia along for the ride. He took them into the cafeteria to play around for a while. Olivia and Nathan got on stage with some microphones and music. Here is some video of our little "Rock Stars"! Check out Nathan's hip action!

This video below is a flashback for me. When I was about Olivia's age, I starred in a home video that my family has never let me live down. I shook my groove thang to "Mickey". Here is Olivia shaking her body to "Shake It". The apple really doesn't fall far from the tree.

Girls' Night at the Movies!

Olivia and I had the chance to go and see "High School Musical 3" tonight. We have been looking forward to this for a couple of weeks. Tomorrow is a day off from school, so we planned a date. We got to go with some pretty great friends too! Sean & Lisa and two of their girls (Hannah & Sydney) picked us up and we all headed to the Lodi theater. The boys in my family went together in August to see "The Clone Wars" (Star Wars movie), so tonight was the girls' turn. Sean is the daddy of 3 super cute girls, and he was great about coming with us to this movie. Olivia and I enjoy getting to spend time together doing "girl things". I really like it when I get to spend one on one time with my kids. I know they really like it too. We were moving our feet to the music tonight and predicting what would happen to the different characters throughout the movie. We enjoyed it and had a fun time being girls! When the movie was over, Olivia, Hannah & Sydney danced around to the music underneath the giant movie screen...it was really cute. I am thankful Livie has these surrogate sisters to do fun and crazy things with. Good times!

Cheerios!

Yep, that's a Cheerio, Derek!

"I got it, but how do I get it in my mouth?"

Proud Brothers
Nathan with his mouth open (a phase for him right now with photos...it's driving me nuts!), Derek a little overwhelmed by his excited big brothers, & Matty ready with the bowl of Cheerios.

Derek has reached the "Cheerios" milestone. He tried them yesterday with the help of his two older brothers. I had to convince Matty and Nathan that the highchair tray did not need to be entirely covered with cheerios. They thought this was a very exciting moment (I love that they get so into the new things Derek experiences). Derek played with the cereal for a bit and then he figured out he could put them in his mouth. From that point on, there really was no stopping him. He is getting big entirely too fast for me. I can't believe he is days away from being 8 months old. And yes, I know his hair is a little long (I get asked what "her" name is even when he is wearing blue). I can't bring myself to give him a real big boy haircut yet. I'll get there... some day.

A Great Night with Grandma!

Last Saturday night, the kids (Livie, Matty, Nathan) and I were treated to a very special evening with my mom. My sister and her oldest boy (Jacob) were able to join in on the fun as well. David was "Super Daddy", staying home with a sick baby Derek (I love you David!). We started the night with dinner at Chili's Restaurant near Arco Arena. My kids enjoyed their favorites (Olivia loves corn dogs, Matty really enjoys quesedillas lately, and Nathan is all about the macaroni & cheese). After they inhaled their food, we all piled into my van and drove through the rain to Disney on Ice. The kids were so excited and so cute. Nathan and my nephew Jacob were dressed in their Buzz Lightyear costumes from last Halloween and Olivia wore a beautiful princess dress. Matty resisted dressing up, but he did settle on wearing his Buzz Lightyear t-shirt. Nathan and Jacob are at the age (3 1/2) where they were waving to all of the characters and asking millions of questions. Olivia liked the music and the princesses. Matty was into the fight scenes with "Gaston" and the "Beast" and the battle scene from "Mulan" (typical for Matty). The show really did have lots for all the kids to enjoy. It was fun to be out with the "older" kids, but the first thing Olivia said in the car on our drive home was, "I wish Daddy and Derek could have been there with us." I am so thankful she loves her daddy and her brothers as much as she does. I am also thankful for my mom for planning this fun night out for all of us. I really needed to get out and have fun with my kids that week. GRANDMAS TRULY ARE THE BEST!!

Grandma Lynnie with 4 of her "Little Sweeties"

Buzz Lightyear Buddies
Jacob & Nathan

We had a blast together!

Love these guys!