1 year + 7 months....oh my!

while at times exhausting (ok, almost always exhausting), being parents to these two gets more and more fun every day.  they're turning into actual mini-people who can speak, run, dance and make us laugh hysterically. there are definitely periods of fussiness and clinginess (to the point that we joke about 'returning' them) but they always revert back to being happy babies that just make us smile.

over the past month or so, livi's language has risen to a whole new level - she's stringing multiple words together!  new phrases include 'good morning, toes', 'hi bones', 'two apples', 'bones food', 'dadda home'.  as we sit here, i can hear her on the monitor singing one of her favorite songs - "tick tock, i'm a..." that's as far as she gets, but it's so cute!!  she's also become quite the parrot and is repeating everything we say (so it probably wasn't a good idea for me to shout "f*$k" yesterday when i stubbed my toe).  in additional to long walks on the beach, she still loves carrots and hummus, pb&js, her 'baby,' bones and has come to really love dancing (granted her rhythm has room for growth).

jacks continues to use his single words, highlighted by the myriad of animal sounds he makes. john tries to lecture him on the proper use of 'all done' as jacks tends to use the phrase to mean anything from 'i don't want anymore' to 'if you don't give me more, i'm going to lose it.'  he loves his books and will sit on the potty for ages just 'reading' and pointing out his favorite characters (usually any giraffe, duck, or moon that makes an appearance).  he remains awesome at shapes, puzzles, climbing up and down stairs, running super fast, and splashing like crazy in the bath tub.

turns out no bribery for smiles is needed...

when i jump around and act like a clown

we had a great 4th of july weekend visiting my folks in santa barbara and then on to pasadena for mary and duane's wedding.  it was so fun to just hang out, spend time with family and relax!  we've come to really appreciate trips where we don't over schedule and just go with the flow (which is kinda required with toddlers)!h

pit stop on the way to SB - all they wanted to do was go on and off the curb...

and look for rocks and other random things you find in park bushes

turned their seats to face forward for the long road trip

they seemed to like it...
we liked it because we could both stay in the front seat and still entertain them

first order of business in SB was opening their new gifts from nana snoozie and papa bob

jackson was immediately drawn to the train and livi to the purse

as can be expected, she lost interest in the purse and spent most of the trip focused on cliff

john was also drawn to this blond beauty

story time

building a choo-choo

sharing their first milkshake to celebrate our nation's independence

the pellegrini patriots

taking baby for a walk

off they go 

captured a native giraffe

all three were very skeptical of the sprinklers

but felt very much at home with a hose and cliff's water bowl

they even upgraded to a bigger bucket

water (and rocks)...the undervalued babysitters

breakfast on the beach

race you to the lifeguard tower

the new cast of baywatch

not to be tried at home (with bones)

hmm, where could jacks be?

oh!  i see someone peeking

the peek-a-boo game quickly turned into...

his reading nook

did cliff really expect these two to throw his toy while they had their milk?!?

papa bob's waffles

we found an awesome slide

even i couldn't get enough of it

spiked peach sweet tea at mary and duane's wedding

those crazy kids

her first in-n-out 'cheeseburger' at mary's post-wedding brunch

checked into a fancy hotel for the night...
all i wanted to do was nap (but we were not all on the same page)

morning muffins

i think it's time we sign up for swim lessons - they really are loving the water!

headed back for a nice shower...wait-up, boys!

the first 2 hours of the drive back was blissful for all of us...
sadly, the next 6.5 hours were torture!  lots of tears = lots of pit stops

of course, coming back from the restroom i notice where we parked our kids

thankfully, they stuck to the rocks and away from where the dogs do their business

love those lashes

rocks, rocks, and more rocks (a solid source of entertainment)