A Day at the Beach

Peter and I went to the beach today all by ourselves. Clara was at school and Kate stayed at home with a babysitter. It was such a beautiful day and really special for me to have time with just Peter. Here are some of my favorite pics from the day.

Biker

Peter got this cool Lightning McQueen bike for his birthday, and he is already an expert biker. I'm thankful for this park with a bike track near our house. Go Peter, go!

Yikes!

I am so glad that I didn't go to preschool drop off today. Ben just sent me this pic of the special guest.

Family Trip to the Park

Today we went on our first outing as a family of five. Peter & Clara were happy to show Kate their favorite park.

A Couple of Firsts

On Monday, Clara had her first dentist appointment. Check out her face... can you tell she was a little bit apprehensive?

I was prepared for the worst... crying -- maybe a bite or two... but she did great! No cavities. Hooray! 

It probably helped that Peter was there, too, and she got to watch him have his teeth cleaned first. Also, the dentist's office is pretty fun with its big aquarium and fun toys. 

Both kids got prizes. Clara was really proud of herself. When she looks at these pictures, she says, "I want to see when I did a great job at the dentist." 

Kate had her first doctor's appointment today. She is only 9 days old and is already above her birth weight. 

Dad is very comforting. 

Kate's doctor had nothing but good things to say about her. We are so thankful for this healthy girl. 

Kate!

Wednesday was a pretty big day for our family. We welcomed the newest member, sweet baby girl Kate.

While Ben and I were at the hospital, Peter and Clara got to have a special all day fun fest with Nonnie. They did painting and craft projects and Nonnie even braved LA rush hour to take them to a place to play in the afternoon. 

Good work, guys!

Before we left for the hospital, Ben and I took one more quick pic to remember life before there were five of us.

Hospital scrubs are such a great look.

Here is my first glimpse of Katherine Elizabeth -- "Kate". Thank you Cedars Sinai and my fantastic doctor for bringing all three of the Apley kids into the world!

Hi, Kate!

She is such a sweet girl already. 

Try to ignore my tired, puffy face... This is our first mother / daughter portrait. 

Kate has a spectacular father. 

When we finally got to our room, Kate got a bath and I announced her arrival on social media. (Maybe I should have been paying more attention to my sweet newborn girl?) 

Trying to peek out at the world from her basinet.

The next day, Kate got to meet Nonnie. 

Instant love. 

Kate also got to meet her brother and sister and future BFFs, Peter and Clara. It is hard for me to describe how incredibly cute it was to see how excited and sweet they were with their baby sister. 

Kate brought teddy bears for Peter and Clara. They were a hit. 

Almost big enough to babysit.

Peter was extra sweet and wanted to give baby Kate a kiss. My heart absolutely melted. 

We are so excited to be a family of five. Thank you, Kate, for making our family complete!

Happy Independence Day!

The 4th of July is always fun, but this year was especially nice. We had a fun morning playing at home and a great afternoon over at our neighbor's house. I only have a few pics, but they are cute ones.

Father Son Special Day

Peter's school is closed for a couple of weeks, so Ben took the day off the other day to have a special day with Peter. They decided to go to the California Science Center. 

The museum had lots of cool stuff to do. 

The museum is the home of the Space Shuttle Endeavor. How cool, right? 

Peter may not have been all that impressed... Either that, or he is more interested in the space shuttle toy from the gift shop. 

Other cool things included the aquarium, which Peter referred to as the Aquarium of the Pacific (an aquarium in Long Beach that does a lot of advertising -- a clue that maybe he is watching a little too much TV?) 

Starfish! 

Peter called this "Shark Lagoon" -- Also at the Aquarium at the Pacific, also from the TV commercials 

Divers! Cool! 

Peter really loved this place -- the Rot Room -- where he got to watch time lapse footage of things (food, plants, animals (yuk!)) rotting. 

Father / son bonding while watching things decompose. Sweet. 

When they got home, Peter drew this picture of "Dad and me" on our sidewalk. He is a cute kid. 

Circus Act

I think these two circus performers are about ready to take their show on the road, don't you?