Fun in the Summertime - the Labor Day edition

We had such a great weekend celebration for Labor Day this year. On Saturday and Sunday we hung out at home with our cousins visiting from England and it was glorious. On Monday, we took the boys to a local Labor Day carnival and they had a ball. We were a bit nervous about taking all he kids out by ourselves but I am so glad we did because they had a ball and the outing was a great success.

You guys, 4 kids is hard work and taking those said 4 kids anywhere is like herding cats. This was the first time we took all 4 kids anywhere by ourselves. It always takes over an hour just to get ready and getting in and out of the car is like pulling teeth. I know it will get better and frankly I am a glass full kind of person so I will always focus on the positive of any situation but man, managing 4 young kids is a daunting task. I am glad that I have an awesome partner who does not get fazed :). We got this 4 kids business, can't wait to have a great routine going.

Before we left for the carnival, we bribed our biggest boy Tman and told him that if we had any issues we would leave right away but if everything went well they would all be getting cotton candy :). You guys, a promise of candy is always a sure bet; my kids might not have any teeth left in a few years but we will survive these hard years.

 Tman was so well behaved which translated into his brothers being well behaved too, bribery works every time. The boys had a ball while Emilia slept the entire time.

We of course got a family picture as soon as we got there. I love my family and I am excited for all the adventures that await us

We let the boys choose the activities they wanted to do and frankly they wanted to do everything :). We started with the throwing dart game. Bean was too young for this plus he has no aim so Tman and Jbird took care of business

Check out hubby helping Jbird

After throwing darts, we went for a few rides. The boys got on this awesome car ride where all 3 could fit in one row. They loved it so much they did it twice

Hubby was in charge of the boys while I managed Emilia

My boys were so happy

After that ride, we found a carousel ride and Tman and Jbird couldn't wait to get on it. Bean had to sit this one out because we didn't have enough hands but he didn't mind

Check out our baby girl sleeping away in the baby bjorn. This girl can sleep for hours if I am holding her but try putting her in her bassinet and it's another story :)

After the rides we walked around the place to see what else was there. Jbird asked to throw baseballs at the bottles. We didn't think he could do it but he sure surprised us.

Then the boys wanted to shoot water guns. We didn't think they would have great aim but after a few practice rounds, Tman was a pro. Jbird still needed help so hubby stepped in to help him

The race was intense :)

Tman giving tips to his brother

Bean asked to join his big brothers and we let him. He had so much fun with it with hubby's help. Check out Tman's happy smile, Jbird strong hold on the gun and Bean trying to get out of the stroller to join the crew. My boys are hilarious

 I love this picture of the boys getting ready for their race

After we were done racing, we then went back for more rides. Jbird did one by himself and absolutely loved it. I was nervous that he might not do so well alone but again, he totally surprised us.

My happy Jbird on his bike ride

 Then Tman decided to join him

Poor Bean was too small for that ride so we went back to the ride with the car but Bean decided that he was done. We let Tman and Jbird ride it and knew it was time to leave before any meltdown occurred

The boys did so well at the carnival, not a single meltdown. It was 2 hours of total fun in the sun at the carnival and for that we kept our promise and rewarded them with cotton candy of course.

Hubby with his boys enjoying their cotton candy

Me and all of my babies

As soon as we got home, we took a well deserved and absolutely glorious 2-hour nap. Our day out at the carnival was such a great success. I am excited for many more fun days with my crew and even more excited for our baby girl yo join in on the fun.

Back to school and sightseeing

It is that time of the year when all the kids go back to school. Our big boy Tman is off to first grade while our big boy Jbird is off to Pre Kindergarten. You guys, these kids are the proof that the days might be long but the years are really short. I can't even believe that we have a first grader in our house.

We really liked Tman's school from last year and though I wanted him to be in a French immersion program to improve his French, we decided that we rather have him in the same school since we loved it.

I always like to make everything a family affair but this time we decided to give Tman our undivided attention. We left the other kids at home and only took him. He was so happy. I think that was the best decision.

I present to you my first grader, my amazing first son on his first day of school

Chilling with my big boy in his class

Look at Tman copying his father posture, he is so cute

This picture just cracks me up, he was so excited to have us all to himself

A week later, it was Jbird's turn to start school. Jbird is in a Pre-K program full time to get him ready for Kindergarten. He attended the program part time last year and did amazing. His speech improved tremendously. We decided to keep him in the same program this year.

I present to you my big boys Tman and Jbird on Jbird's first day of school. These two are two peas in a pod. Jbird was scared until his big brother gave him a big hug. Tman was just happy that someone was wearing the same uniform as him :).

We now have 2 kids getting ready for school every morning, crazy I tell you

My amazing second born son Jbird who was unsure about all this first day of school craziness but did really well on his first day

We let Jbird take the bus from the daycare because we didn't want him to have a meltdown if we dropped him off. We planned to pick him up that way at least he was going home with us. My mom took the day off to be there for the pick up, she is amazing I know. I want to be just like her when I grow up.

Between drop off and pick up, we took my cousins on a little sightseeing tour around the city. They were excited to see all the monuments that this great city has to offer. I love going on sightseeing tour around the city, I always end up being the one taking everyone to see the monuments.

Our first stop was at the White House of course ;)

And of course we did a jumping picture, these are my favorite :)

Then we checked out the World War II memorial

And the Washington monument

And the Lincoln monument. By this point we were spent, it's not easy walking around for hours with 3 little babies in the heat.

My mom really wanted a picture with the kids and the monuments. They were both passed out

After checking out the monuments we went to Jbird's school to pick him up. He was so excited to see us and we are so happy that we did pick up rather than drop off

Chilling with my Jbird on his first day of school

We tried to get a picture of everyone but it was a total failure :)

Back to school was a great success this year. The big boys got a great start and we are slowly adjusting to this new routine that includes school drop off and pick up. You guys, it is so much easier to manage these tasks because I am at home all the time. I am not even sure how this is going to work out when I am back at work. I am not going to worry about it right now, I still have over 2 months left at home before I go back to work. So happy for a successful back to school, now onto having a successful year.

Emilia gets lots of visitors

Our house has been bustling with visitors ever since our baby girl arrived. That is very typical of African families, a new baby means a great cause for celebration. Let me tell you there has been lots of celebration around these parts. We've loved having visitors and though it got overwhelming at times with getting some sort of routine with the kids and all, it's been so great to introduce baby girl to our family and friends

Family members traveled from overseas to come hang out with us this Summer and we are so grateful for this awesome family support. The sweetest has definitely been hubby's grandma who came all the way from England to spend a few months with us. The last time she was here was for our wedding 7 years ago and now she is here hanging out with all 4 of our kids. Is that amazing or what?

Emilia's firs 4 generations picture with hubby's dad and grandma, I love this so much

Hubby's mom and grandma hanging out with our baby girl

My cousin Sophia is here from London and she has been giving Emilia lots of cuddles

My aunt J is also here from Paris and spending lots of time with our sweet girl

My mom's friend came over to visit and all the kids cooperated for a group picture, yep those kids are all mine

My cousin Irene and Emilia chilling and relaxing, I used to change her diapers when she was little and now she is changing my baby's diapers. Circle of life I tell you

My friend HJ visited from California, the last time we hung out she was 19 weeks and I was 13 weeks and now we are holding our babies

Look at those future besties

And of course we got a group picture of everyone who came to visit

Me and my cousins hanging out with Emilia, just us girls

Irene wanted to carry Emilia in the baby bjorn but my baby was not impressed :)

My uncle E came to see the baby, don't mind Emilia's face she actually enjoyed the visit :)

My cousin A is here from London and he came with his wife and kid, check out the second cousins meeting for the first time

My cousin A holding our baby girl

Our family friend T also came to visit, we grew up in Cameroon and have know each other for more than 25 years

Our baby girl is one lucky lady because everyone wants to come visit her and shower her with love and kisses. We love visitors and how excited everyone has at the arrival of our Emilia. We are thankful for family and friends and our beautiful baby girl who is growing strong and healthy everyday.