Maya's 8th

Maya turned 8 on the 13th of this month. For our religion, 8 is a big birthday. It's the age when they get to choose to be baptized. Maya is very excited for her baptism which is coming up this next weekend. Grandma and Grandpa Crop and Aunt Jessica and her family are all coming down to share in this special weekend. (It will also be my parents first time finally getting to meet Seth! He's 14 months old.)

This year, the weather worked out for us and we were able to have a little swim party for Maya. Just 4 or 5 friends came and hung out at the pool. Nice and easy and tons of fun. (Last year, during a drought, black clouds rolled in just as Maya's pool party was going to start and it poured for a couple of hours. This year it rained and was cloudy up until about an hour before her party. But luckily, the sun came out and it was a beautiful afternoon.)

Maya is such an amazing girl. We are so proud of who she is. She is such a helper and she truly finds joy in serving others.

Here is a list of some of Maya's favorite things right now.

Favorite Color: Pink and green

Favorite dinner: Chicken Paprikash

Favorite dessert: Brownies, cakes, and cookies - That's my girl!

Favorite Restaurant: IHOP

Favorite sports: Soccer, swimming, and football

Favorite movies: The Little Mermaid, Ariel's beginning

Favorite Books: Junie B Jones series and Percy Jackson

Favorite songs: Follow the prophet (primary) and So What by p!nk (radio)

Favorite hobby: Collect rocks (I am so tired of finding her rocks all over my house! ;)

She does very well in school and her teachers always have the most wonderful things to say about her. She loves her brothers. She has a real musical talent on the piano.

Maya, we love you so much and are so glad that you are a part of our family.

Luke's Words

On the way home from the gym today, Luke was complaining about a glob of chocolate on his seatbelt and pants. I think a chocolate chip from his granola bar had fallen onto it. I offered him a wipe to clean it up. His response:
"I don't want a wipe. I just want the stuff that hammers out tough stains."
Huh? I was confused at first. Then I realized he was quoting a commercial. No idea which laundry detergent he was talking about. I have noticed over the past few weeks that this is a talent with Luke. He remembers lyrics and quotes really well. He'll start singing songs from the radio and remember the words better than I do!

Coming soon

So, I realize it's been a few weeks since I've posted anything. It's not that I don't have anything to post. It's just a matter of finding the time and energy to do it (especially uploading photos). So a quick list of what's happening:
The main thing keeping us busy these days (mostly me since I'm at home) is getting ready for the move. On top of finding a home in California for us to live in, we are trying to sell/rent out our house here in San Antonio AND we're trying to find new renters for our townhouse in Maryland. It's kind of a handful - mainly of stress. But we feel good about the routes we're taking. After 2 months of this, we're mostly just ready to be past it and move on.
We're very sad to leave San Antonio and the amazing friends we've made here, but I'll delve into that another time. We are very excited to head back to California and be closer to a bunch of family and lots of fun places to visit.
Another big event happening is Maya's birthday. (Matt had one too, but our focus is on Maya this time.) Maya turned 8 and we're getting things ready for her baptism in a couple of weeks. It's a very special occasion and we're so excited that Grandma and Grandpa Crop can come along with Aunt Jessica and Uncle Lance and the Ferreira kids. It's always good times when they come to play!!
So, hopefully sooner rather than later, we'll have some fun pictures and stories posted for your reading enjoyment as well as for our family journal.
Peace out!

Wish I could do that

I've been here in the office working on some housing stuff. Seth's having a snack in his high chair and Luke's watching a show. I realize after a few minutes that the house is strangely quiet. So I go see what the boys are up to. Quiet usually = trouble in this house. But instead of trouble, I found this:

Ah, to be able to nap wherever I am. What would that be like? I am so not a napper. This boy takes after his dad for sure!

Little Memories - Luke

Last night I got Luke all tucked into bed and headed downstairs. As soon as I got downstairs I heard Luke shout from bed, "Mom! It's smoochy time! Mom! I wanna smooch you!" - That in and of itself cracked me up!
(Before you start thinking "gross", a smooch to Luke is a quick little peck on the lips, that's all)
So, he continues to shout this until I get upstairs and give him a "smooch". As I leave the room, he very sillily (I know it's not a word) starts saying, "Mom, I smoocheded you. Tell Dad I smoocheded you, okay?"
That boy definitely makes me laugh. A few minutes later he came downstairs to see if I'd told Matt and to see if it had made him jealous. Funny boy!

1 Whole Year

(2 days old / 2 weeks old)

I can't belive 1 whole year has gone by so fast! Last Thursday, March 25th, we celebrated Seth's first birthday. (Well, he turned 1 anyway - we celebrated on Saturday when Matt was home to celebrate it with us.)

Seth has been so fun. He's an amazing sleeper. At about 6 weeks old he started sleeping through the night all on his own. He is such a smiley little boy. He loves when he gets attention from his big brother and sister - and they have been amazing with him. He's got the same amazing blue eyes that his dad and Luke have. He's my blondest child. We'll see how crazy light it gets this summer in the sun. He is a complete momma's boy. Follows me everywhere and cries if I walk past him or out of the room for even a second. Sometimes it is tiring, but I love all the love. He's crawling and cruising, but he just doesn't seem to care about walking yet. That may be another month or two.

With each of my kids, they get their own little cake to eat/destroy for their first birthday. Maya and Luke had to warm up to the cakes and didn't really want to touch them and get messy. They both eventually did, but it took some convincing. Seth is our eater. He was not afraid to try his cake. Here's some pictures and a video of his strategy.

After

Happy Birthday, Seth! We are so glad to have you in our family. Love you!

His Father's Son

As soon as any light starts shining, the pillow ends up on the head to block it out. I can't stand a pillow on my head - he doesn't get it from me.

Luke is so like his dad.