Good times with DAD!

Just a few FUN things Marcus has taken the kids to do recently...

Last month I went to get a pedicure (thanks Allison!) and go out to dinner with some girlfriends so Marcus had the kids for the night. At the end of a long work day, he's pretty tired. So, I wouldn't blame him if he had just taken the kids home to a movie and crashed on the couch (that never happens). But being the fun-loving dad that he is, he took them out for pizza and BOWLING! Even Drew got to tag along (can't you see how much fun he's having-behind the kids in the car seat?)

Owen, who is CONSTANTLY told not to throw heavy toys, had a grand ol' time...and is now really confused.

The kids had so much fun! Pretty lucky kids to have a dad that loves to spend time with them and makes life so fun! Marcus can often be found coaching the whole neighborhood in some cul-de-sac softball on any given Saturday. They just eat it up!

And then the next week...

I was off to get my hair done and see my favorite hair stylist and little sister, Coco. My mom and sis. Jen met me at her salon and took Little Man Drew. The older munchkins were kinda sad they weren't going with Grandma. I told them if they were good for Daddy, maybe he'd take them to a movie...They came back from the mall with PIERCED EARS! Lucky girls! Their fun, spontaneous dad just walked them in and said "who wants to get their ears pierced?" At dinner the previous night Madie had been talking about really wanting to get this done, so she was THRILLED!

Avery actually went first (with much prompting from her dad--he thought she would never do it if she saw Madie in pain).

Such a sad little face...but that didn't last long. She felt like such a BIG girl. She chose some pretty red stones to match her glasses.

Poor Owen. All he got was a pretend ride on the Bob the Builder tractor. Daddy never carries change, so he just sat on it--but look how HAPPY he looks! This totally supports my husbands belief that we don't need to spoil our kids with actually buying something if they are happy with just pretending (just a tip kid--you better wipe off that grin if you wanna get anything out of your old man!) Thanks Marcus for being such a great daddy!

Owen sings Baby Drew a bedtime song

i just HAD to post this--my kid is soooo stinkin' adorable!

Love his little singing voice.

For Heather...

I put this song by the Cranberries at the top of my playlist as a tribute to my dear childhood friend Heather, who is suffering through a great tragedy right now...It's her favorite by a favorite band of many of ours--reminds us of our high school days...if only life were still so simple...my thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family. May you feel the love of friends and family lifting you up...Love you Heather.

"Nice dress, Avery..."

So a few weeks ago I told Avery to go get dressed for school. About 15 minutes later, she came out in this...

Her big sister Madie's INFANT blessing dress (size 3 months)...girl's got some tiny shoulders! Thing is, she really thought she was going to school in it! "ahh, why not mom?"

Gotta love that "O"!

This little firecracker just kills me! He's CONSTANTLY making us belly-laugh with the things that come out of his mouth...

One day while driving in a quiet car with Mom and Drew, he says in this funny little voice,

"WE use to have that cage when WE were a little mouse family"...?? Guess I missed the part where we turned into rodents?

These 3D glasses he found on the ground at some store and the clerk just gave them to him 'cause he loved them so much...

O loves his little buddy Miley! Funny little story: Her mom (my friend Nicole) told Miley "I love you"...Miley's response..."No, Mommy. I marry Owen"...awww, now they HAVE to.

Yea, I know there's some rule about taking pictures on the john, but...I'm just so excited he can do this and I don't have to hold my breath as I clean up his diapers anymore!

And out of the blue (as everything IS with 2 1/2 yr. olds), he told me,

"You make my heart feel better", as he gave me a big tackle-hug!

(SERIOUSLY? Can I just bottle you up and save you just like you are right now?)

Ok, so after this picture, I went and found his Spiderman costume for him to play dress-up with his sisters...Uncle Jefe, you can relate, right? At least there's no sissy bonnet (and make-up).

Rewind to...Christmas!

So, here's a clue about how BEHIND I am on this blog...Here's some Christmas pics from THREE months ago.

This picture really captures how I felt after all the holiday FUN was over...we seemed to be going, going, going. And I don't really even have many pictures to show for it...

Avery fell asleep after staying up late at Grandma's

Scary Mommy (with less than 4 hrs. sleep and without her make-up) holding my little man D on Christmas morn.

This kid was sooo in love with his "fwain" table, and all the "fwain fwacks". I could only get this cheesy fake smile out of him...my kids are so "over" taking pictures!

The kids were so excited to have their Daddy home more during the holidays--they miss him a lot when he goes out of town. Marcus got the girl's portraits framed for me! I love the frames he picked--great job, hun!

We were lucky to have Papa Paul spend the night with us Christmas Eve. That night we went to our favorite restaurant, PF Changs with our good friends the Taotafas. And after opening gifts, we headed over to the "other Weenig's" for our annual Christmas brunch--always such a yummy meal courtesy of my sweet sis-in-law Allison! (I need to get some pics from her)

This was my favorite present this year! Our little "Mr. Bvrew" (this is how Owen says his name) is so YUMMY!

My sister, Aunt Jen, took me and the kids to see Disney On Ice! The kids had a great time--they loved the fairies the best--and Owen got a cool hat!

THANKS Jen!

We had a super fun, busy holiday season, filled with caroling, Twelve Days of Christmas (the girls loved sneaking goodies up to the porch), and visiting family. It's taken me 3 months to get over all the craziness and finally post this! But I do love all the fun and great things Christmas means brings to our family.

My Two Babies: A Blessing and a Baptism

Last month was a big one for our family...

Thornton Family

L-R: Michelle & Chris, Mom and Dad, Jen, Jeff, Melissa, Blake & Ellis, MY FAMILY, Coco, Daniel & Carter, Grandpa Jerry (my kids' great-grandpa).

On October 10th, We blessed this little man when he was 6 weeks old.

It was a great day

Little D has us wrapped around his tiny fingers!

I can hardly keep myself from eating him...SO YUMMY!

Look how big my little guy looks now...already almost 3 months old

And some more big news...Our first baby Madison got baptized also on Oct. 10th. here she is having her first interview with our fabulous Bishop Hazen!

We're so proud of her and the beautiful, sweet young girl she has become...

Here is the proud Daddy and his little girl...growing up too fast!

I love this girl so much...she is such a great kid. She has many divine gifts, one of which is being inherently good and pure in heart, always wanting to do what is right. Ever since she was a little tiny girl, she's had a very sensitive conscience, feeling bad about the smallest misdeeds, and always wanting to set things right and please her Heavenly Father.

Madie was lucky to be baptized on the same day as her good friend, Emily Clifford. My sweet friend Rachel (Emily's aunt) spent a whole afternoon taking these beautiful photos of the girls! Thanks so much, Rach.

We want to thank everyone who came to support our family for these two important events! We had many friends and family members come from all over So. California for us...to name a few: Grandpa Jerry, Mom & Dad, Papa Paul, The Keslers, The McGregors, The "other" Weenigs, The Pittmans, The Meisenbachs, The Carliles, Aunt Jen, Uncle Jeff, The Lambournes, Connie & Jan Krc, and many friends from right here in San Marcos!