The Robisons: forward, March!

March started off with Dr. Seuss and Sloan's birthdays, which are one and the same!

Ruthie dressed up as a Star-bellied Sneech for school Friday

lest you forgot

Saturday morn Sloan got breakfast and baby in bed

We let him go back to sleep till noon, then we dragged all 205 lbs him out of bed for a bike ride with the Petersens. We let him be in a sour mood all afternoon, which included a 2 hr solo trip to the pet shop to find Ruthie a guinea pig for her bday. When he got back, Ruthie, Luke & I went shopping and left him and Reggie to their own devices. Which, not surprisingly, included the park and balls.

Later on, he & I went cosmic bowling with a few of his friends from school. I had fun, but I couldn't tell if Sloan was more interested in us or the BYU basketball game overhead! But it was a good night, despite Sloan's mini mid-age crisis. He IS 36 after all.

Sunday we continued celebrations with a dog pile

and the long-awaited introduction of....

Evan! -affectionately named after a boy in her class

first and last time I held Evan (didn't take long to figure out I was allergic)

but it's worth it to see her so happy

and lets milk the bday thing one more time... gotta blow out the candles!

the next day the kids and I left for Dana Point to meet up with Aja & Elsie in town from Hawaii

get the party started!

I brought my new camera to get some tutorials from Aja
We went a little crazy with the pics

tub time with Luvy

and sitting up practice - Luvy's a slave driver!

Just Kidding. Luvy's so nice she took us to the Santa Ana Zoo

the rodeo camel was the highlight

we also loved the climbing turtles and baby anteater, but no pics.

she also gave the girls ceramic horses to paint

lovin on Loot

skoot to the beach

always starts out strong

but then there's the issue with the hard seat

lizard!

March 6
Ruthie turns 6

Luvy and Ken took her out to a 3D movie and shoe shopping. Here's Ruthie's video for Sloan showing off her new kicks:

Dad flew in just in time to celebrate

Love my Ruthie girl. She's a firecracker. This age has been so fun with her. She asks good (too good) questions, is helpful around the house, is starting to be more independent, and loves to read. She puts a lot of thought into making us laugh, but doesn't like to be laughed at when she's not trying to be funny. She's a sensitive girl, in every way, but also strong and resilient. She definitely has her moods and bossy side, but it balances out with her being creative and a strong leader. She loves time with friends & cousins, but also likes quiet time at home with us. I love that she'll hold my hand when we walk home from school (how long does that last?), talks to me about her day, and is generous with her affection. She's not grossed out by blood, bugs, or the contents of stinky diapers. She's observant of the details all around her, more than I was at her age, and has a sharp memory. She has a little bit of a naughty streak coupled with Sloan's unabashed flair for honesty. The truth always comes out! She's quick to apologize, even when it wasn't her fault, and pretty quick to forgive. But don't push your luck.

The next morning we left Ruth and Reggie with my mom & Ken and drove to Indian Wells for the BNP tennis tournament. We stayed in a dumpy motel and had the best time. Remembered how much we like each other. Lugged Loot around in the baby backpack and got lots of ooohs and awws from the Nadal-loving tennis grannies. Sloan had me laughing on the side-lines and held my hand as we walked from court to court.

soaked in the alone time with Luke

Our mission, which we chose to accept, was to find the best local places to eat. Tempting to try "Sloan's", but what are the chances it would be as good as its namesake?
Not likely.

ended up at this Mexican place, got an earful from a loco local, but the food was good

toddler Sloanie?

On our way out we lucked out by getting to see Nadal warm up. He's adorable.

We had a lovely time. So grateful my mom will take our kids every few months and let us go play. Especially when we're as sleep-deprived and stressed out as you get with a newborn, toddler, and dental school. I love Sloan's enthusiasm for good weather, good food, good jokes, good socio-analyzing and good hugs. The more time we spend together, the more I want to. Hope we can sneak away again soon.

Back home...

Sloan with Reggie at the park. He was very particular about this ensemble.

Donse Klauss (Reggie's translation of Dancing with Miss Jennie).
Reggie gave Luke his hard earned sticker.

Sloan's soccer games Friday nights

Ruthie's soccer games Saturday mornings

St Patrick's Day Tunnel Run 10K

with Sloan & the boys

fell asleep on the bottom bunk

Sunday evening at O'Callihan Park

Ruthie's world:

still sucking the fingers with the pink blank

doing grueling homework with understandable mistakes

losing and finding Evan

now that her hair's long enough, we've been playing around with some new up-dos

For spring break we stayed home and did our usual routine. Ruthie came with us to Miss Jennie's class (her old class, so excited to see Miss Jennie). She was a delight to have home, did lots of cleaning!

And on Friday I took her on a mommy-daughter date to Springs Preserve where she got to paint a wooden box for her collections. We also saw people break open Geodes and went to the new Nevada State Museum. We held hands all day and got ice cream on the way home. It was the best.

Luke's world:

being so. stinkin.

cute.

Got a little skiwompus in his bassinet one night, terrifying!

It's painless changing your 6 month old's dirty diaper after you've changed your 2 1/2 yr old's. Love him in blue.

but I still can't resist trying to potty train him early

he really went, haha :)

Reggie's world:

cautiously exploring

what goes up...

must come down!

fascinated with brushing my hair (mmmmm)

and a dedicated sportsman, despite the apron

Sloan took videos of them playing, but they are 4 mins long, of him running back to the baseline, hitting or missing the ball, running to get the ball to throw back to Sloan, running back to the baseline to try again OVER and OVER. He's so focused and never gets discouraged when he misses. Ruthie was a little more coordinated at his age, but this kid is tenacious!