siblings. part 1

They say birth order has a lot to do with a child's personality, preferences, and patterns.  How would our family (and children??!!) be different if...

 Ali were the oldest, then Jake, then Drew, and baby Emmy (a little close together)?

 Or Jake was still first in line with Emmy next, then Ali, then Drew (again, kinda tight there at the end)?

 

Or how would Emmy do as the oldest, followed by Ali, then Drew as an older brother to baby Jake?

 

Or Ali leading the group with (gasp!) triplets??

Honestly, whatever the order...we are just glad to have them all!

bribe

Took some cute pictures of Emmy today.  It required this pink bribe:

and allowing her creative independence:

 I think it was a win-win.

look-alikes

People usually say how much our kids look like Steve.  I always have a hard time telling--all I know is they're just cute.  I, however, happen to think Drew resembles me a little bit:

 Kinda sweet.  Kinda fun.

(pink tint added)

not exactly

 These were supposed to be cute pictures of Drew happily eating all by himself. 

These are cute pictures of Drew, but he is obviously not happy.  And not eating.

Not exactly.

busy body

playing

walking

turning around...

because like Emmy informed her carpool buddy:

"Actually he's not still a baby.  He's one."

game day

What do you do on a rainy Spring break day??

Play games with friends!

the 'sides of spring break

We started Spring Break and Conference weekend in Sunnyside!

We watched Conference, enjoyed the sunny and windy weather, celebrated Drew's birthday side by side with cousins, and gathered outside for the traditional balloon release. 

 

 Monday we headed to Seaside, Oregon for a few days. 

What was it like?  In Ali's words:

 We had a blast playing in this water right outside our hotel.

 

 And this water inside our hotel:

  We loved the beach at Seaside!

 

We decided to see a different side of the area so we drove the 10 miles to Cannon Beach, and started at Haystack Rock.

We were happy to get a family picture, framed inside of these two rocks.

We had just as much fun playing at Indian Beach, too, located in Ecola State Park.

 

Back in Seaside, we wanted to discover all sides of the area so...we made sure to check out the candy store, the ice cream shop, the carousel, the arcade, the sea shops, and we ate at Pig 'N Pancake (a childhood memory) more than once.  The food was rated the BEST in the WEST on all sides, especially the hot chocolate, pancakes, fish and chips, french toast, and milkshakes.  So basically, everything we ate!

 

We finished off the trip with a (quick) visit to the (very small) Seaside Aquarium.  We fed the seals (the highlight) and walked inside the one room aquarium to see more marine life.

 

We had so much fun, we hope to visit Seaside again.

one

Happy first birthday, Drew!!

 

 Drew enjoyed a jamba and muffin for his birthday breakfast.  Such a big boy!

 When it was time to open presents, he wasn't too interested.

 "Drew, Come back!!"  they pleaded. 

 

After all, they had spent so much time and energy thinking about this big day and picking out the perfect presents.

  

Drew decided to come back and see what all the fuss was about.

  

He had a few eager and happy helpers.

Success!  Drew loved everything.

It was a gorgeous Spring day so we headed to the park to play.

After a nap and hot dog dinner, we celebrated with friends Mariners style!  Drew was a little overwhelmed by his cake and the chant, "Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!" 

 

He did get a few bites in there (and so did Steve).

Happy birthday Drew!!  We love you very much!