Wow. Spoiled.

So yesterday Rian was not only spoiled at school but again spoiled at home. We went out to dinner with my parents, he got sung to, he got presents when we got home and he ate probably three cupcakes total yesterday. S.P.O.I.L.E.D! I dont want to write much but here are some pics and vids from the day/night!

Preschool Celebration!

Dinner Celebration!

Home Celebration!

Thank you Strickland Fam!

Thank you Trojan Squad!

Not so little anymore!

Three years ago today my little man was brought into this world with only a hope and a prayer to his name as well as of course some really good doctors who I was hoping had my sons best interest at heart (no pun intended). As everyone knows we were told, surgery in no more than two weeks, we waited 9 days (talk about last minute!), we were told second surgery probably by 1 or 2 (if at all), we were told sickness was higher risk for him, we ended up in the hospital twice, once being in ICU again, and out of all of that I sit here today and only want to remember the good. Rian has over come so many things in his short lifetime and he did all of it with a smile on his face. He is a strong little man and although you love every child equally he has helped me to love all of them even more. His gentle nature, his quick sense of humor, his shyness when he realizes all eyes are on him, his ability to understand his own feelings and desire to learn all he can soak up and his joy for life is all that makes me appreciate what is good in our world. I never thought I would be at a point where I said I think I am feeling secure in his life and how few struggles I see ahead of him and being able to feel that today makes me grin from cheek to cheek. Never will I forget the rough times, but always will I focus on the good.

Here are a few things that Rian has got going on his world:

- He loves to watch Thomas the Train (or anything related to any type of automobile really)

- He still plays with cars at any chance possible

- He weighs almost as much as his 7 year old sister (She is just 'miniature')

- He can count to 10 with no help and 20 with help

- He knows his ABC's

- He knows his colors (for some reason Red can still throw him off)

- He can dress/undress himself but seems to be lazy still so he oftens asks for help

- He stands to pee (yes he is finally potty trained!)

- He now has a say in the clothes/shoes he wears (little diva in training...I blame the older sisters)

- He terrorizes the dog on the daily but loves her oh so much

- He knows how to work mom and dad in order to get whatever he desires

- He chooses apples over fries

- He loves Fruit Snacks

- He is a big fan of movies

- He sleeps through the night without wetting the bed

- He is in the 3yr class at Preschool and loves ALL of his teachers and friends

- He can now officially ride his bike on his own

- He memorizes almost any song that comes on the radio (and makes up songs which is hilarious)

- He sits through all movies in the theatre now

- He is slowly figuring out how to 'write' his name (by tracing)

- He is always willing to help pick up or be part of a team

- He loves to play games and do puzzles

- He loves to be read to

- He throws fits like no other but also knows when mommies means business

- He always asks to ride in the 'car' carts at the store (and I always say they are broke down)

- If he doesnt want to do something and then you act like you want to, he is quick to jump on the wagon :)

- He loves to have his picture taken

- He hates bandaids with a passion, doesnt want to see them, touch them, have them on him, nothing. He will however stick them on his cars when they are 'sick'

So many things our little man does and loves and thats just a glimpse. I am so proud to be his mommy and I can't wait for many more years of smiles, laughs and even tears.

Happy Birthday Little man! We love you so so much!

Labor Day Weekend!

Well this weekend was long to say the least. It actually started on Thursday for me as I had a sick sick boy at home. He was sick Wednesday and then that carried over to Thursday and then to Friday and LUCKILY he was nice and healthy come Saturday with only a cough lingering (and yes its still here) but the doc says thats fine and to only get worried if he gets a fever that won't go away. So far he only had a fever Friday Am and it was off and on that day but only up to 101.4 so nothing to be too scared about. He did lots of sleeping (almost 10 hours each day, not to mention bed time), lots of whining, asking for things he knew he could only get if he gave me the 'but mommy I'm sic' look and lots of 'stealing mommies affections' from anyone else in the house. We also watched lots of Thomas the Train, Dora, Spongebob and Rio. He was a happy camper all that time with mommy and the TV to himself! haha.

Saturday was going to be our down day but since I do also have two little girls to please and Rian was up with no fever and in a pretty good mood I decided to venture out to Fairfield in the afternoon to go to the movies, eat lunch and do a little shopping. After all not to often we get outta the house to head to the mall! We saw Smurfs, which, for the kids, is still something they giggle over but for an adult I would just compare it to those Garfield movies with Jennifer Love Hewitt. Less than great but keeps the kids entertained. They still sing the 'lalala' song and Rian often asks to watch it at home, poor him, that won't be a movie we will buy! We grubbed out at Red Robin (love that place) and then shopped around. Mommy even got a nice new pair of pants! I know, shocking! After we got home and such RC ended up taking me out and although he had great plans for dinner and karaoke I was beat, so we opted for Dinner at Rutherford Grill, hello delicious chocolate martini, Salmon and Ribs! Afterwards we headed to the bar up by our house, we apparently showed up too late and missed some friends of ours but we hung out for a couple drinks anyways, good times!

Sunday we headed to Six Flags a.k.a Marine World (back in the day) because my dad and cousin perform in a Ballet Folklorico group (my dad teaches it, translation is Mexican Folk Dancing) and I was super stoked to see them at one of their biggest venues yet. It was Latin Festival day so not only did they dance but we got to grub on street tacos and yummy authentic mexican food. Yay! (yes I know I am all about the food!). My dad had 4 performances throughout the day and I took a TON of pics of vids. I won't post them all because seriously Blogger might kick me off, but here are a few of my faves. We also hung out with my aunt and little cousin after and rode some extra rides. It was packed and I was glad that we weren't originally there for the rides or else I might have gone crazy. Man the lines are more nuts than at Disneyland! The good news is my dad got us free tickets, free parking and all we paid for was grub! Ya buddy! Either way, my dad was awesome, the kids were in good spirits, we got to finally watch the dolphin show and Rian had no accidents all day! Considering we got there at 9am and left at 530'ish and the bathrooms arent all easily accessible I would say that was a pretty good day. Carina still didn't get to ride on Medusa but one of these days that is our goal. Medusa! I still say she might chicken out last minute but hey, if we can get her inthe line thats good for me, not to mention she is totally over having to ride the Looney Tune rides with the little kids. Hehe.

Monday we went to the zoo. Yet again my awesome parents hooked it up! They went to a fundraiser a couple months back and got free passes to the SF Zoo. It included free admission, free ride ticket, and free parking. WOOHOO! So we took advantage. We took Lauren with us and we had a blast. We saw everything and although it was nearly as great as the Phoenix zoo it was still fun. We saw tons of animals, learned lots of new things like Koala Bears sleep all day actually aren't BEARS at all, they are marsupials and Pelicans can hold up to 3 gallons of water in their beaks! Who knew. The kids were great, they loved the train ride, and the girls read nearly every plaque that was placed at the animal cages. Carina might only have a couple more years of wanting to do this sort of things with us so I am glad we are able to have the opportunities before it turns out that she wants nothing to do with us. The odd part of the Zoo, they had no Elephants! Weird. I think next time we will try Oakland or Sacramento Zoo but hey, when its free, I am there!

This weekend is Rian's birthday and I cannot believe he will be three! IN exactly 2 days the little man that stole my heart will be THREE years old. Wow, I am sure you guys will read a nice sappy post from me that day! ON a crazier note I will be making his came this year again and just to stress myself out I am going to try and make it look great. Ugh as though I need any extra stresses. He wants Hot Dogs and Pizza and hey, thats easy enough so I think we will oblige. He is finally understanding what his birthday is and keeps asking when its his "birt-day party". Makes me laugh and he gets soo frustrated when I tell him it's 'x' amount of days away. I still wish all our AZ friends could be here as I feel they were there for all his big moments but I understand that life takes other trails. Boo to Life! Haha. To end this though I would like to say...when you are at your worst and sometimes feel like you are never goign to get on top again just remember the little moments that make you smile uncontrollably and if you can share that moment...DO...Someone else can always use a pick me up! So to share my pick me up, here is a pic of a face only a mother could love and laugh hysterically at. This is what happens when I tell my kid to say cheese!

Well guys thats it! Hope you enjoyed all the pics and don't you worry I am sure these next couple weeks will be just as busy!

Random Pics/Vids...

I take quite a few random pics and very FEW videos but here are couple of them that i have taken recently that I feel are blog worthy :) Enjoy!

Neya thinks she is soo funny. She referred to herself as "one of those old people" haha. Rian clearly has no personality ;) Chloe, getting bigger and more crazy every day :) Rian showing us how proud he is of his bike riding skillz! Reading RC the directions to his helicopter he told us they said "Sorry, your helicopter does not work." Haha. Neya made a bakers apron and she loved it, took overnight to dry all that puff paint but she did good. Very creative, she may give me a run for my money. LOL. Thought this pic was funny. Check out the headphones on both Rian and his shirt ;)

Disclaimer: We do have three kids, I swear it, but lately Carina has been gone on the weekends and if she isnt around we get no pics, not to mention she is WAY to cool to be caught doing anything dorky. Haha.