Memorial Day In Bakersfield.

Memorial Day brought our family, once again, to good ole Bakersfield to visit with the Neff-Coopers, Aunt Jane Levine, Bubie and Grandpa. Bubie was a bit distraught as she couldn't pick up the babies due to her recent eye surgery However, with Aunt Jane as reinforcement, we had plenty of adults to entertain 3 children and completely exhaust themselves by the end of each day. I think the grown ups put in more hours of naps than the kids actually did.

The kids spent a lot of time playing in the back yard. Jake turned 7 months old and cut another tooth while on our visit. He loves to scream like a little monkey these days and experiment with his vocals. He has started to pull himself up in his crib to a standing position.
We celebrated Phoebe's 1st birthday over the visit. Happy Birthday Phoebe! Wilken, the expert present opener, kept a close watch as Phoebe opened her gifts to be available to provide assistance as necessary. I couldn't resist posting this adorable shot of our niece as she has more fun with the bows than the actual contents of her gift.
This is a common expression from our little Wilken as he provides some off beat explanation for something. I am sure he is trying to persuade the adults why he should receive some more presents (he had a few belated b-day gifts sprinkled on him throughout the weekend).

We had a blast at our buddy Ty's first birthday party which was Jungle themed. We got to connect with lots of our Bakersfield friends.

Wilken was transfixed by his tiger themed cupcake.

The children have learned their place in the hierarchy. Wilken is the pack leader. Jake and Phoebe look on him with adoration and tolerate his domination over the toys. They find him hilarious, and Phoebe in particular delights in watching him play. He is very gentle with Phoebe and gives her very tender hugs and kisses. Phoebe has realized that as a big 1 year-old, she has authority over young Jake. She established her place in the hierarchy by grabbing away items from the clueless Jake with a cave-woman like grunt while shaking the item in his face. Go Phoebster!

Mom and Jake Head to Austin!

The day after Wilken's actual birthday, Jake, Becky, Greyson and I headed off to Austin for a mom and younger sibling weekend with Meredith and Vivian. Wilken and daddy had many adventures at home with Sean and Rory (Legoland, bike rides, Toys 'R Us, and yardwork). Jake was a little touch and go for the airplane ride, but overall a pretty good traveler. He didn't sleep much on either flight, but was entertainable. His loud vocals were a little anxiety provoking for me. Hanging out with a non-mobile baby was quite relaxing. Jake was thoroughly entertained by all of Zachary and Vivian's toys. He sat in one area a majority of the time playing while the moms talked and drank coffee in the morning, wine and pina coladas at night (: We had a fabulous time and the babies were terrific. Jesse and Zachary made a few fun guest appearances, but spent their time camping with their good buddies so the girls (and boy, sorry Jake) could have some bonding time. Thanks so much again Meredith and Jesse! Vivian, the only mobile baby, was such a gentle playmate with her younger buddies. Jake had a great time. He had a few rough moments due to teething and constipation (nothing a little Tylenol, organic prune juice, and a suppository couldn't handle) but overall was quite a champ. It was nice for he and I to have some special time together.
Jake was very happy to see his house, daddy, and his big brother when we got home and happily joined Wilken in the blow up pool upon arriving at the house. It was a great girls' weekend, but always wondeful to get home too.

Wilken's 3rd Birthday

This is when our poor picture taking abilities are truly sad. Wilken's 3rd birthday party was quite spectactular. Wilken's obsession with CARS (more the toys than the movie which he has only seen twice as he is a little "nervous" about a particular scene involving a combine harvester) made a theme party a no-brainer. Having Julie Stovall as a friend (Aden's mommy) made the party planning a cinch. With all of the real leg work, creativity, and construction of most of the party supplies completed, we were able to put together a fantastic 3rd birthday party for our little buddy. Thanks again Julie for all of the supplies, spreadsheets, instructions, and inspiration! I wish we had good pictures of the day to really showcase the day, but alas, we don't.
Like Julie, we recreated Radiator Springs for Wilken's birthday at Stage Coach park. Shlepping all of the supplies and food was quite a feat as was setting it all up in 30 mintues as the party before us cleared out. We had a variety of stations (most of the ideas stolen from the Stovall shindig) including an obstacle course, a baby play area, a pull back car racing station, a "body art" station for tatoos and coloring, a towing station (to fish for cars), a bean bag throwing station, a hose down station), a race track station, etc. Of course we have no good pictures to document all of these wonderful ideas. Like his older buddy Aden, Wilken had a race track birthday cake with cake toppers Lightening McQueen, the King, and Chic Hics.
Our guests were served a variety of appetizers and Flippin pizzas for dinner. The adults received enourmous cupcakes from Costco and only 1 of the 3 boxes purchased were eaten. Elanor had to give the cupcakes away to fellow park patrons. Wilken couldn't resist sampling the cupcakes. Kids received gift bags with lots of fun race car themed junk. Thanks also to Grandma V, Bubie and Grandpa, the Kaufmans, and the Keenans who helped so much with setting up and breaking down the party. Wilken had a fabulous time and was spoiled rotten for several days afterwards opening up the obscene number of gifts he received.
Jake, outfitted in his new CARS teeshirt, slept for a portion of the party on his Bubie. He also cut his first tooth (on the bottom) that day!


All in all, it was exhausting, but a great time...