A Wonderful Surprise!

I'm sure you've heard the story about how I have had two best friends all of my life, right? Seriously, Alison and Beka have been my BFFs for my entire lifetime. They are identical twin girls, and our moms met while pregnant with twinies in a Lamaze class. I've mentioned Alison and Beka numerous times on this blog; they are two of the most important people in my life.

Anywho, Beka flew down last week to surprise me! My whole family was in on the surprise and I never suspected a thing. Beka left her almost 2 year old and hubby for a few days just to spoil me. I can't even come close to explaining how much it meant to have her here. I only wish we had more time together, and that Alison could have made it as well. We missed her!

The greatest thing about having a friend like Beka is that you can totally be yourself and not be anxious about how you're being perceived. I didn't care that my house was a mess, we hung out in our PJ's, and I didn't feel the pressure to entertain. Besides, entertaining is Delaney's department, not mine.

Of course we didn't really take any pictures. We were too busy chasing after Delaney and dealing with a super fussy Jude Man.

Delaney and Auntie Beka "driving" the car at In N Out on Beka's birthday.

This one is for my dad: 2/3 of the Kar-Ala-Bek trio!

Steve took the kiddos for awhile Saturday morning so that Beka and I could go shopping. Look what we spotted at a rummage sale! We came home and told Steve about the mini piano and he dropped everything to go buy it. That man cannot say no to unique musical instruments!

Steve recently cleaned up his first guitar as a kiddo and bequeathed it to Delaney. Here they're having a folksy jam session.

Jude also benefited from our shopping adventures...a play mat for $3!

Delaney loves to "play" with her brother. This often includes putting stickers on him, which is a true sign of love...Delaney doesn't easily part with her stickers!

Thank you so much for visiting, Beka. And thank you Jake and Ayeresam, for letting me have her for a few days. We love you!

31 Years

Yesterday Old Man Dunlap turned 31. He's so old! I only have a few weeks to rub that in until I catch up with him in age.

Our little family is so incredibly blessed to have Steve as our Fearless Leader. Delaney will never grow up having "Daddy issues." Jude has an amazing example of what a Godly man looks like on a daily basis. And I have a best friend to traverse through life with, the good and the bad.

Jude dressed up for Daddy's birthday...he's ready to party in his baby tux onesie.

Happy birthday, Stevie. Here's hoping that 31 is the best year yet.

2 Months

Last Thursday marked Jude's 2 month birthday. We had his well baby check up on Friday and he's doing great. Here are his stats:

Weight: 11 lbs. 5 oz -- 25th percentile
Height: 24 inches -- 85th percentile...he's on track to become the tallest Dunlap in living memory!

Jude continues to be a great little baby. He's fussy from about 7-9 pm, and wants to be held most of the time, but other than that he's so chill. We love this baby guy!

Lately

Here are a few pictures documenting the smattering of things we've been up to lately:

Camera one

Camera two

Jude keeps getting cuter. He's smiling so much, crying less, and still sleeping pretty good. So, to summarize, I suppose we'll keep him! :)


Our local Chick-Fil-A hosted a Western Night the other evening. With Delaney's current horse obsession, we just couldn't pass up free pony rides.

Yes, the pony rides took place in the shared parking lot of the Chick-Fil-A and PetSmart. This is Southern California for goodness sake!

Delaney took her pony ride very seriously.

Jude came as well, but didn't ride any ponies.

The weather has been nice and Steve and Delaney have been busy out in the garden.

Daddy and his girl

Playing in the dirt

Wearing Daddy's hat

Auntie Kobbs

When I was a young gal of 18, I moved to northern California to attend college at Simpson University. I was very nervous about a great number of things, but on the top of my list of nerves was the roommate issue. I don't have any sisters, I'm not a girly girl, and I was so worried that I'd be stuck with a weirdo. When I walked into my new home away from home, my roommate was nowhere to be found. However, sitting on her desk was a copy of the Empire Records soundtrack. I breathed a sigh of relief; this was going to work out after all.

Fast forward about 12+ years and my roommate and I are still great friends. Laura Kobzeff (Kobbs) is more like family than a friend. She is my sister and I love her. We've all moved around since college but now she's back in Redding and attending Simpson again to become the world's greatest nurse. She's far away and we miss her like crazy. A few weeks ago she came to visit and Delaney had a fabulous time at the park with her Auntie Kobbs.

Sliding!

Jumping!

Climbing!

Swinging!

Twirling!

Thanks for visiting, Auntie Kobbs! Love you!

Photo Shoot with Kari Q.

One of my very dearest, very favoritest of friends, Mrs. Kari Quesada, came over a few weeks back to take pictures of my kiddos. Actually, she came over to take pictures of newborn baby Jude, but as you can see from the photos below, Delaney stole the show. She's good at that. While Kari may downplay her talent, it's clear to the rest of us how very talented she is. So, enjoy gazing upon my offspring and basking in the photo genius of Kari Q.

See what I mean about stealing the show?

And a big thanks to Soren Fairfield and his parents for Delaney's beautiful dress!