Mother's Day and Beyond...

Mother's Day has come and gone, and I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that Steve totally delivered. He fulfilled all of my requests on my wish list. Yes, there was chocolate and Cherry Coke. And the kids were about as perfect as possible. All in all, it was a really fantastic day. Delaney and Jude "helped" Steve pick out two hanging petunia baskets for the front porch (and yes, they were pulp pots, Dad!) and also gifted me with this beautiful necklace:

My necklace came with two pearl eggs representing my two little birdies.

The two little birdies which I speak of...

This little birdie is so darn lovable!

We hosted Mother's Day over at our place and Steve, Mike, and Doug were responsible for feeding the woman-folk. They grilled us up some delicious eats and Mike and Arlene brought over this for dessert:

And yes, that is sangria in the background!

Delaney loves her Auntie Beans! Only 46 days until Beans is officially a Dunlap!

We took an impromptu Disneyland trip the other evening and have the photos to prove it! It was just the right amount of time at the park with the kiddos and we all left with smiles on our tired faces.

Waiting for the train at Disneyland. The train is the highlight of her Disney experience every time.

I was clearly more determined to pull the sword out of the stone than she was!

Happy Disney family.

Random tidbits from around the homestead:

Both kiddos are rocking the Baby Legs. Looking good, don't you think?

This is what happens when I let the toddler dress herself. Eek!

Charlie turned 6 years old the other day. I didn't remember it was his birthday until later that evening and when I went to wish him a happy birthday, this is where I found him. I felt like he was sending me some kind of message. Poor guy, he has moved down a few notches, but he is still loved dearly by all of us...Steve included.

3 months

Jude William turned 3 months old on Saturday. We pulled out the wagon and did our best to position him comfortably, but as you can see, he's starting to get a bit squished! Jude just keeps getting more enjoyable. He has found his hands, which he munches on nonstop, and also loves to pull his legs up and down. He rolled over twice the other day from his tummy to his back. He loves to smile and talk, especially to his daddy. Teething has begun, so hopefully our happy guy stays happy.

3 month stats:

Weight: 13 pounds (25th percentile)
Height: 25 inches--I think. I had a tough time measuring this wiggly worm. (75th percentile)

Aerial view of Jude enjoying his swing. Such a sweet little man.

Jude looks like he's ready to go pump some iron. Cue the Rocky soundtrack in the background...

Of course sister had to help.

He's such a good sport to humor us, don't you think?

Catching Up

This post finds us, once again, in need of some catching up. Here goes...

Way back in April, we met up with some dear college friends at Disneyland. Joel and Jenni Florendo live in Boise now, which is not situated near I-5. That's usually how we reconnect with college friends--meeting up somewhere on I-5. So, if you're not close to I-5, you're generally out of luck. But as good fortune might have it, Jenni and Joel planned a surprise Disneyland vacation (coolest parents ever) for their twin 5 year old girls. We all got to spend the day together, and it was so great. Even though we haven't seen the Florendos in 6 years (boo), we picked up right where we left off. I just love those types of friendships. The only bummer thing was that I didn't take any pictures of the grown ups. So you'll just have to trust me and believe that we were actually there.

Johanna and Rosella became best buddies with Delaney in a matter of minutes. Don't you just love how kids can do that?

I don't know who this fairy is, and neither does Delaney, but she ran to her with open arms nonetheless. Perhaps it's time for a stranger danger lesson?

I don't know what's going on here, but I'm guessing it's some type of Delaney shenanigan.

And just last week another dear college friend, Megan Koops, came to San Diego for a visit. We got together with Joaquin and Laura Robinson (and our 4 rowdy kiddos) and journeyed to Temecula to meet up with Koops. It was another happy reunion, and it was so fun to have her meet our children. She works with kids so she was totally at ease with the chaos. We had dinner next to a duck pond, which the kids LOVED. I did my best not to hyperventilate as Delaney routinely got too close for comfort to the ducks and the edge of the pond. When will she ever acquire a healthy dose of fear?

Delaney actually asked me if she could kiss the birdies. Gross.

Delaney and Josiah. Delaney loves herself some 'Siah.

The gang: Laura and Harper (not sure what they're looking at!), Joaquin and Josiah, Megan, and the Dunlaps.

In other news, Delaney got her bangs trimmed, so she can now see the world:


And it's bathing suit season, which makes Delaney just a wee bit giddy:


And finally, Jude is really a very cute baby. Here's proof:

A few simple requests

May is my favorite month. Although it's starting to really brown up around here, it's still technically spring, which I love. And more importantly, it's my birthday month and Mother's Day.

Yes, I celebrate my birthday month. Maybe it's a twin thing, always sharing a birthday with someone--which is very special in its own regard. But now that I don't live under the same roof as my brother (love you, Jimmy!), I pull out all of the stops in May. I am one of those freak adults who really, really likes birthdays. So yes, I play the birthday month/Mother's Day card frequently. Ice cream is almost always involved.

So in honor of Mother's Day, I have a few requests:

1. Take a shower by myself and shave my legs. Yeah, it's been awhile. A child is usually either in the shower with me or crying for me outside of the shower, so I've perfected the art of the 3 minute shower. Who knew Karen (Lee) Dunlap was capable of such a thing?

2. Drink some Cherry Coke and eat some Ghirardelli chocolate. Sorry, Weight Watchers. You're going on hold for a day. PS--Steve, are you reading this? You're responsible for making this magic happen.

3. Skype with my mom, call my Grams, and hang out with my mother-in-law. I have some pretty important ladies in my life, and I wish more than anything that I could have them under one roof for the day.

4. Take a nap. Do I even need to explain this one?

5. Relax with my kids and hubs. Really, Delaney and Jude are the reason(s) why I get to celebrate this day, and Steve also played an integral part in me becoming a mother as well. I really just want to be with them. Being a mom is the hardest thing I've ever faced, but oh-my-gosh it's also the best thing ever. I'm not quite sure how that all works out, but I know that it does. And also I'd like my children to be perfect, eat all of their vegetables, and keep the house clean, just for one day. Maybe that last part is too much to hope for...

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!