Over Memorial Day weekend, we went on our first camping trip as a family. Jake and I always really enjoyed camping together before having kids, but going with three babies seemed like a little more of a daunting task. However, when the opportunity presented itself, we just couldn't say no. Our friends, the Goulds, invited us to go with them to their land up in Strawberry (near Payson), AZ, and it ended up being so much fun! 
I nearly chickened out at the last minute when I started feeling overwhelmed at the amount of work I had cut out for me, but I knew that if I could just get myself over my mental hurdles with preparing, I wouldn't regret going. It turned out I was right. It was time for us to spread our wings a little as a family of five, and it was the perfect first camping experience. Seriously, it could not have gone better given our circumstances. It definitely helped that our hosts are such a fun, friendly, and prepared bunch; that their camping land had well water, a ramada, a fireplace, swings for the kids, and picnic tables; that Russ is a Scout Master and helped Jake pitch our "Tent Mahal" (10 person, 3 room tent); and that we were lent a backpack carrier for Jake to carry Ariana our our hike. Really, I just get so relieved when things go well (and I mean very well) that I could go on and on and on. And I will, so bear with me for a minute.
We got to Strawberry around mid-day on Saturday. We set up camp and went shooting. I hit the bulls eye every time (okay, that's a lie). That evening, it rained (the one and only time on the whole trip) as we were eating dinner under the ramada beside a roaring fire. Then we put the kids to bed and spent the rest of the night making s'mores and hanging out. 
The kids slept surprisingly great both nights. I'm pretty sure that they were just so worn out from missing their naps that they were out cold. Each of the twins had their own pack-n-play in their own separate room in the tent. It was chilly at night, so they wore 3 pairs of pajamas, 2 pairs of socks, and cuddled under 6 blankets a piece. Bella slept with us. On Sunday, we went on a hike with the Goulds after breakfast, and the weather was beautiful -- sunny and mid 70's. We got some great family pictures from the hike, but as luck would have it, they (and about 20 other pictures) got deleted -- boo. At the campgrounds, Gabe was hardly ever by our side. He had an adorable grin plastered on his face for pretty much the entire duration of the trip. He played with the other kids in the dirt, watched "motorcycles" (quads) come and go, played with toy trucks, chased someone's pet piglet "Lulu" everywhere she went, went crazy naming things in nature (always novel); played around in the tent excitedly announcing that he was "camping"; and helped shoot the potato cannon (which he's still talking about to this day). 
Ariana also loved the novelty of camping and being out in the wilderness. She loved rolling around in the tent, giggling the entire time; swinging in the toddler swings and hammoks under the ramada; being carried piggyback in the backpack carrier; and being with other kids. Isabella enjoyed being passed around from one doting set of arms to another.
I always expected that once we got on the trip (assuming we steered clear of catastrophes), we would have a great time. What surprised me was how relaxing the trip turned out to be. Yes, I actually felt like I was getting a break. Don't get me wrong, a ton of preparation went into it, and we were still "on" the whole time we were there (as in, doing the parenting thing), but it was just so refreshing to have that much of a change of scenery that in some ways, it seemed like a vacation. More pictures to come!
I nearly chickened out at the last minute when I started feeling overwhelmed at the amount of work I had cut out for me, but I knew that if I could just get myself over my mental hurdles with preparing, I wouldn't regret going. It turned out I was right. It was time for us to spread our wings a little as a family of five, and it was the perfect first camping experience. Seriously, it could not have gone better given our circumstances. It definitely helped that our hosts are such a fun, friendly, and prepared bunch; that their camping land had well water, a ramada, a fireplace, swings for the kids, and picnic tables; that Russ is a Scout Master and helped Jake pitch our "Tent Mahal" (10 person, 3 room tent); and that we were lent a backpack carrier for Jake to carry Ariana our our hike. Really, I just get so relieved when things go well (and I mean very well) that I could go on and on and on. And I will, so bear with me for a minute. We got to Strawberry around mid-day on Saturday. We set up camp and went shooting. I hit the bulls eye every time (okay, that's a lie). That evening, it rained (the one and only time on the whole trip) as we were eating dinner under the ramada beside a roaring fire. Then we put the kids to bed and spent the rest of the night making s'mores and hanging out. The kids slept surprisingly great both nights. I'm pretty sure that they were just so worn out from missing their naps that they were out cold. Each of the twins had their own pack-n-play in their own separate room in the tent. It was chilly at night, so they wore 3 pairs of pajamas, 2 pairs of socks, and cuddled under 6 blankets a piece. Bella slept with us. On Sunday, we went on a hike with the Goulds after breakfast, and the weather was beautiful -- sunny and mid 70's. We got some great family pictures from the hike, but as luck would have it, they (and about 20 other pictures) got deleted -- boo. At the campgrounds, Gabe was hardly ever by our side. He had an adorable grin plastered on his face for pretty much the entire duration of the trip. He played with the other kids in the dirt, watched "motorcycles" (quads) come and go, played with toy trucks, chased someone's pet piglet "Lulu" everywhere she went, went crazy naming things in nature (always novel); played around in the tent excitedly announcing that he was "camping"; and helped shoot the potato cannon (which he's still talking about to this day). Ariana also loved the novelty of camping and being out in the wilderness. She loved rolling around in the tent, giggling the entire time; swinging in the toddler swings and hammoks under the ramada; being carried piggyback in the backpack carrier; and being with other kids. Isabella enjoyed being passed around from one doting set of arms to another.I always expected that once we got on the trip (assuming we steered clear of catastrophes), we would have a great time. What surprised me was how relaxing the trip turned out to be. Yes, I actually felt like I was getting a break. Don't get me wrong, a ton of preparation went into it, and we were still "on" the whole time we were there (as in, doing the parenting thing), but it was just so refreshing to have that much of a change of scenery that in some ways, it seemed like a vacation. More pictures to come!
My sister, Marci, just graduated from ASU's Nursing School. We are so proud of her! We got to go to her Commencement Ceremony and listen to Pres. Obama give the commencement speech. It was a very memorable experience. It was really neat to be present at something that monumental.
We celebrated later over dinner at Digestif.
Today was such a great day. After church, Jacob gave me a heartwarming card that he wrote and a gift from him and the kids. So sweet! Then we went out for dinner at Chelsea's Kitchen. Everything was so delicious, and you know I'm a sucker for good food! Even the kids had a great time.
Gabe has also been showing a great deal more empathy lately. He frequently demonstrates this when other children, including Ari and Bella, cry or when someone says 'Oh, no!' by compassionately inquiring "What happened???". I think it's so cute. He is also gaining a deeper understanding of feelings. He can intentionally make different facial expressions (i.e. sad, angry, happy). When looking at illustrations of people exhibiting different expressions, he can identify what feeling is being felt, and his own expression and tone mirrors that emotion. For example, he'll say "Oh, Bella. Bella cry. Bella sad." Or when he does something wrong (like throw his food onto the floor), he'll anticipate my feelings by asking, "Mommy angry?". If I was upset, it sure is hard to stay that way with him being so darn cute.
This month, Gabe has starting peeing in the potty! He started doing this at the very beginning of April, and he's been doing it ever since. Gabe usually goes potty 4 or 5 times a day, which pretty much amounts to whenever he's asked. He loves the routine, including the flushing and handwashing. He thinks washing hands is just so great. He has still not gone #2 yet, despite our encouragement. He usually tells us that he has to go potty, and when we get there -- surprise, #2 has already been deposited in the diaper. I know he'll get there soon. We have a couple planned trips so I'm not going to start the serious potty training (timer and all) until we get back and settled.
Lastly, Gabe has started memorizing things he hears. He seems to have a great memory, from what I can tell. He has memorized parts of at least 10 books, parts of several movies, and knows the words to so many songs. His favorite songs to sing are the ABC song, Twinkle twinke, and Insey Weensy Spider. Gabe is doing much better with learning his lower case letters. He knows most of them, confusing similar-looking ones like (r, n, h) or (p, q) or (b, d) or (u, n). Gabe has also counted as high as 40 all by himself, but he has a habit of skipping numbers 13-15. Gabe also can count objects up to 12, instead of just counting from rote memory. He can arrive at the correct number of objects most of the time. I'm really proud of my little boy, can you tell?
Ari has starting babbling a little more this month, using more consonants than before. She has even started saying "Dada" to and about her Daddy, and sometimes when verbally prompted. Other than 'hi', 'Dada' is her second word (she stopped saying 'mama'). We are so happy for her. 
Ari has been doing some neat things in play recently. Ari really enjoys pretend play now. She's been at it for a couple months, but she's recently started to get very excited about having tea parties and pretend feeding her baby and her mama with a spoon, talking on the phone & saying "hi", and other make believe games. In some ways, she's just like a regular two year old girl. Ari has also been enjoying putting things in and taking things out of containers and trying to stack and nest cups and blocks. She often does this at her table, that her Grammy & Grandpa made for her, while sitting independently. This requires so much concentration on her part. I love to see her little determined spirit.
This month, Isabella was the babe with the most going on. At the beginning of the month, she started sitting independently. She is, so far, my most coordinated baby. Despite her apparent balance offset (missing part of an upper extremity), she sits securely and is able to turn in all directions while sitting. She frequently goes into the splits while playing, which she doesn't seem to mind at all. Bella rolls in every direction, and has learned how to pivot on her tummy as well. She seems so eager to get up and crawl, but that would be a much more difficult task with just 1 1/2 arms. 
Isabella has been babbling consonants. She loves to have little "conversations" with her sister Ariana. I love overhearing them talk to each other. Bella is also a little jokester. She is getting such a great sense of humor. She loves to play peek-a-boo and she "gets" a lot of humor that I wouldn't expect her to grasp just yet. For example, on a Baby Einstein DVD, there is a little puppet skit that involves some slapstick humor. Isabella just cracks up hysterically when she sees this scene. It's terrific! 
Although still totally laid back and just all around great company, Isabella has been getting a little more demanding this month. Sometimes, she won't tolerate being put down or left alone even for a second (who could blame her?). She is quite content most of the time though, as long as there are people around. I think that she may be teething, seeing as how she is drooling like a faucet, she puts everything in her mouth, and her crankiness comes and goes.
