Proud Domestic Moment.

So I just have to share with everybody my super domestic-ness of late. In an effort to build up our food storage I went and bought pears from Vons on an amazing sale and then canned them! That's right ladies and gents...I now know how to can fruit! I have to say, it was kind of satisfying to think that I did it myself. :) A lady in my ward showed me how to do it, I borrowed all the canning goods from Aunt Jan and away I went into the wee hours of Saturday night (ok, it was only till 10p, but that's pretty late for me, especially standing for like 7 hours straight!). Peaches are coming up next! Let me know if you want to come over and learn. :)

Antigone, it seems, has been growing leaps and bounds intellectually. Her speech continues to grow rapidly and she's even picking up Spanish words now (mostly from Diego) and knows how to use them in context! Her memory is really something else. She remembers directions (as in how to get somewhere) better than a certain 16yr old cousin I have. :) She's also immersed herself in imaginary play with "Mommy Pony," "Orange and Purple Baby Ponies," "Baby" (with a burp cloth for a blanket), and three "Little Baby Ponies." These are the best toys in Tigi's life right now. They sleep, bathe, eat and travel with us, wherever we go...they go. :) On the flip side of that, when one of them goes missing, the world as we know it is coming to an end until the beloved is recovered.
The pic's a little fuzzy, but you can see all seven of our must have "buddies."

Other happenings in Tig's life...we've put away her high chair (which she cried about this morning) and she's been promoted to a big girl bed (really just her crib without the front railing) and has now slept four out of seven days without rolling out. :) She loves to make "tea" and serve it to us. :) Oh and one other super fun toddler trait...Tig now loves to sing songs! And not just "Life Is A Highway" anymore, she's really branched out to other songs like "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "ABCs," "Twinkle, Twinkle," "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam," and "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." I don't even have to encourage her, she just sings them at will these days. Sometimes she even makes up songs about what she's doing (cooking in her kitchen, sweeping, jumping, playing cars...). It's so cute to see her imagination at work!

So basically, other than the yelling, screaming and negativity ("No Mommy I Can'ts") that comes along with toddlerhood, it's a really fun time. :)

Lovin SoCal

Last week we went to Southern Cali to enjoy the "cooler" weather and spend a few days having fun in the sun! Since I'm pretty sure it'll be our last road trip until after the baby's born, we made sure to pack in plenty of fun activities.

First we went to Disneyland and oh boy did Tigone love it! She's not fabulous right now with taking pictures, so she looks mad or annoyed in most of them, but she really did have a great time. :)

We spent the next couple days at Huntington Beach. The kiddies went crazy playing in the sand, building castles and jumping over the waves. Tig did much better this year than last (when she was entirely afraid of the ocean and hated sand) and I was so thankful for that! I think her favorite activity was running down the beach (and not stopping till you caught up with her). Little stinker.

A lot of Dev's extended family came to the beach on Friday and the fellas played a couple "heart-bounding" rounds of volleyball. It was the "Over twenty-eights" versus the "Under twenty-eights." It's kind of sad to think that Devin's now on the "old guys" team, but I guess that would have to happen eventually, right?! :) At times the "spiritedness" of the game got to be a little much for the "old guys", as did the BURNING hot sand they played in. But I'm pretty sure everyone had a good time.

And this is why we love summer, it's the best time for vacations!