Pirate Trenton's birthday

It's official! He's 4 years old!!!
He is a joy beyond expression, and today he was such a little man as we got all dressed up to celebrate the pirate in all of us.
There will be more pictures to follow, but for now here is a taste of the fun.

And... I went a little over the top with his birthday cake. Here are the pictures...

Wipeout!

We watch TV in our house!
I'm not sure that I should admit this out loud, but I guess this is just us. Just to compensate for what you are about to read... we do like to play too. We play hard, we crash hard. While we are crashing (and DVRing till it is maxed out)... we are watching these.

I like... Oprah, The Biggest Loser, Supernanny, The Bachelorette
Emile likes... golf, The Soup and Big Break
Together we LOVE ... Wipeout, So You Think You Can Dance, American Idol, House, Prison Break (so sad it ended), The Office and can't wait for Community
Trenton likes... Transformers, Go Diego Go, Superwhy and Word World
Simon likes... Go Diego Go (aka "go go")

With all this fascinating and captivating television, we caught this last night, and laughed so hard that my stomach hurt! You'll have to watch this and tell me if you fall over. If not... just join us on Wednesday nights with a bag of popcorn and I dare you not to laugh so hard you fall off the couch!

Beach weekend

Here are just few pictures and a video from our trip out to the beach!!!

The summary sounds something like this....we met up with sweet friends for a short time and fell in love with their new baby! We got to know my brother's fiance and fell in love with her too! Then, we played in the sand, ate great food, hunt for pirate treasure and cried when we had to come home.

Here are our friends... safe, sound and on the ground.

Then, this happened, you cannot see it well.. but if you squint, blow up the picture, or look below you'll see Tony showing the boys how to be men.

I.... can be found behind the camera.

and... this video is not short, and most likely not exciting to anyone NOT in the family. Feel free to watch, but really.... just smile and say that you did.

Beach Trip 2009s from Raina on Vimeo.

Behind a photo

Here it is!!! A new family photo! We were so excited to be at the beach this weekend, and to have a photographer in house. This is what we came away with, but let me tell you what is actually behind each one of us.

Trenton, boy was he anxious. He did not want to sit still for two seconds. This picture was captured precisely between him yelling "Let me down" and "I wanna go play". I did feel bad, He had been awaken from a nap and was barely content finding "pirate treasure" in the sand before we rudely forced him to take this photo.

Simon... this child is ... a handful! He is actually screaming here. He was shivering, angry, tired, and only happy for this very brief moment because he had a Tic-Tac in his hand and somehow he heard us say "cheese".
(I can't believe this happened at the same moment Trenton smiled!)

Me... I am a master ventriloquist! I am begging them "please smile boys!" "One more smile and you can have another candy." "Trenton, one more and we'll find treasure!"

Emile... frazzled. He may not look it, but those eyes are ready to run away. Two boys crying and a wife grumbling threats and rewards get pretty old very quick!

Summer time and the livin's easy...

Our little tadpole is growing!
Look at him, he is still in the "goldfish" class, but we'll take him as a goldfish, a tadpole, a penguin or whatever they want to call him there at the Wilson Pool. We can't wait for his next session to start!

Riding the rails

Right now Trenton likes Trains, Transformers, TV, Tater Tots, and his new Trampoline. (Yes, this is seriously coincidental that they all start with the letter T!) So, to over indulge him and blow his little 3 year old mind, we took him out to the big train for a day. This was big excursion and a special time to spend with JUST Trenton!

Babysitters NOT for sale!

I'm convinced I have the greatest babysitters in the world! Mostly because they LOVE my kids. They both came to play with Simon the other day while I took Trenton to swim class... and somehow I think Simon had WAY more fun when I was away.

The boob tube

Shonda took some pictures of Simon since he is officially 18 months old.

You just have to see what she did. Check it out here.

18 months old!

It's a half birthday!

Here is what Simon is doing these days.

1. Eating. He is picky and has two categories of foods ... sweets and trash.
2. Telling jokes. He cracks himself up at his "Knock Knock" jokes. Trenton has taught him the rhythm of the joke.. and he knows right when to laugh and what to do.
3. He is best at saying.. Mama, Dada, mine, no, Gramma, pease, cheez, juice and baby.
4. He throws tantrums that are right out of the insane asylum!
5. He is mentally a 3 1/2 year old. Baby toys, food, sippy cups, plastic things are for losers.
6. He is nearly as heavy as his big brother and uses his weight to stop just about anything. He will sit, jump, roll, and squash you if you get on his level.
7. He wants to golf just like Daddy! He has his own set of clubs and knows how to use them.
8. He is a lover and a fighter. He hugs.... a lot! He cuddles, kisses, and wants to be close all the time. This is cute until you try and move away, and then he hits, kicks, and lets out the scream that gets most of the neighbor dogs up on their feet.
9. He's independent. Don't try and help him or he's not interested.
10. He knows how to twinkle at you. His chubby cheeks, and his beautiful blue eyes will just melt someones heart someday.

I'm so in love with this guy!
Oh... did I mention that he is a stellar dancer and can play a mean game of peek a boo?

Happy Anniversary!

11 Years ago this month we starting dating!
8 Years ago today, we made it official!
I really didn't think we would ever end up HERE! It's been a fun journey together.

Here are just a few reasons (in no particular order) why I am so obsessed with him.

1. He doesn't usually get mad. Even when I shrink his favorite shirt in the laundry, or loose a tool that is important... he remains calm and collected. The only time you'll see him get a little red in the face is when he is golfing.


2. He changes diapers. The diapers that make most people crinkle their nose and make their ugly face. He handles these by quietly disappearing and coming out unscathed by the mess. Even when we were at the park the other day, no diapers, no wipes and diarrhea was the villain, he didn't even argue when I handed the babe over to him.

3. He laughs at my jokes when I'm not funny, and he makes me laugh all the time.


4. He looks more handsome bald than he did with that adorable Rico Suave hair he had when I met him.

(I think we both have aged well... if I do say so myself.. YIKES!)

5. He doesn't watch too much Sports Center and doesn't obsess over video games!


6. He is passionate (yes... use your imagination ladies). He he he... I'm referring to work! He works hard and is passionate about what he spends his time doing.


7. He likes being home. He purposely golfs in the wee morning hours to not take away from being with us in the evenings.


8. He still gives me butterflies. Sometimes when I kiss him I still feel like it is the first time. A little goofy, and I can still smell him. I think he smells GREAT!

Happy Anniversary my love! I feel like my life really started when I met you.
I love you more every day!

Happy Birthday!

Emile's mom had a birthday, and she KNOWS how to celebrate! I'm pretty sure the city put on this festival just because of her. She was ready to party...

we rode the ferris wheel

...rode the cars

...LOVED the rollarcoaster

...ate cotton candy while gaulking at Brian Grant (former Trail Blazer) in the background
... and what carnival wouldn't be complete without a classy tattooed, smoking, sweaty carnie!

Happy Birthday!! We all love you!