Ocean's Three

The fountain show at the Bellagio:

Our family took a trip to Vegas this past weekend, because Kwang got two free nights at the new Palazzo. This was my third time to sin city but it was the first time with my kids. If there is any city where the oddest, most bizarre people blend in, it's Las Vegas. But strangely, our very plain and normal family attracted more attention wherever we went than I imagined we would... through the casino, in the elevator, at the restaurants, everywhere. I suppose two adults with a double stroller and an infant carrier in Las Vegas is ODD. The great thing is, everyone is suddenly your friend when you're carrying a little baby. Put her in a size do-they-even-make-them-that-tiny bathing suit and it gets even better.

The pool at the Palazzo:
 

relaxing poolside:

The boys' first mini roller coaster ride which wasn't really a roller coaster but it was scary enough for them (you should see our DVD):

A less scary ride for Eli:

The Venetian:

At the Grand Luxe Cafe, our favorite place to eat (yummy & family friendly):
   

A photo I get taken once every few years of just the two of us:

Of course, we had our forgettable moments like Eli falling off the bed in the middle of the night or Audrey crying for six hours on the ride home because of a three hour traffic delay. But there were so many more wonderful moments that were captured at these ages of our kids' lives that it was all worth it.

Looks Like My DNA Is Finally Kicking In

Saturday morning, I fed the boys their usual breakfast of cheerios and milk when Kwang came home with some yummy donuts (at my request). Eli, of course, asked if he could have some.

Me: "You can have some donut if you pray again." (Knowing he'd want some, I had my camera ready.)
Eli: (video clip below...)

For some reason, everything Eli does makes me laugh. Even when he's sleeping:

This past Thursday was "Donuts for Dad" day at Jude's preschool. Jude couldn't be happier:

Happy Father's Day to all the loving and hardworking dads out there!

And now for the portion of this week's entry titled Adorable:

Yoda takes a bath:

The fairest of them all (literally):

The Secret

Do you want to know the secret to making life with two little kids seem like a piece of cake? HAVE THREE KIDS. It's funny, sad almost, how easy having just two kids is when you're suddenly juggling three. And when the older two are boys who don't want to play calmly, forget about it. But I know I signed up for this program and, really, I couldn't be happier. The family definitely feels more "complete".  

 

For a while, I thought Audrey was well on her way to sleeping through the night. But no, no, that would be too easy and predictable. By this age, I had both Jude & Eli sleeping through the night. But Audrey's still too small for me to train, so for the past week she's reverted to waking up twice a night. And when I go to pick her up, she looks at me in the dark of night all wide-eyed as if to say, "Hey, where's the party? I thought there was a party. Take me to the party!"

Many of my conversations with Eli these days usually entail him asking a question about something edible followed by a smothering of kisses from me, just because it's Eli.

("Please can I have chocolate ice cream?")

L.A. Story

When my mom visited a couple months ago, she mentioned that I no longer look so lost all the time but more at home here in L.A. now. Yes, I know, it's been three years. Yet I still wish we could move back to the midwest not only because my family and friends are there but also because I have a fear that a huge earthquake is going to hit us. Now that I have three kids, the prospect is even more frightful because it's as if I have pieces of my heart walking around outside my body and I can't be with them all the time. But I'm in the minority with my paranoia, because no one else appears concerned. I think they're all, why think about earthquakes when we've got amazing weather?!

But even if an earthquake did hit us and I was with Eli, we would not be able to move to a safe locale fast enough because of his new hoarding tendencies. You know that Oprah episode with the lady whose house contained a warehouse full of junk? That is my life with Eli. If he and I move from Point A to Point B, so must ALL his toys. This new inclination has only been around in the past couple weeks or so, but this is how he HAD to go to bed for his nap the other day:

He's very content when he has all 592 toys and stuffed animals with him. I actually think he could stay in his bed forever if we would occasionally stop by and refill his snack bowl.

Audrey, on the other hand, has one simple toy that satisfies her-- her classical musical mobile:

The shirt she's wearing was a cute gift. Although her face still looks like an old man's to me, I think she looks adorable in anything. And while she's not a triplet, I think she is in fact part of a "terrific trio". The leader of our peanut gallery: