Terrible Two's...

NO NO, Joshua!...

We don't finger-paint with our yogurt!

Or rub it in our hair!

More Christmas Break Highlights

One of the many highlights of our Christmas break was our house guests. We're so glad that Kimi, Casey, and Jacob were willing to leave the 80 degree weather of Los Angeles to spend a snowy holiday with us.

The kids absolutely adore their cousin, Jacob. It was so fun to see them interact with him. My favorite was when Kimi and Jacob would come up the stairs in the morning and Jacob's sleepy face would light up when he saw Summer and Joshua. It was so cute the way Joshua would say "Good Mornin', Jacob."

(Joshua feeding Jacob some lunch)

(successfully sharing toys)

It was tough when they left. Joshua kept asking, "Where'd Jacob go?" Summer and I would try to explain that he went home to California on an airplane. It took a few days of more "Where'd Jacob go?" before he realized he was gone.



Besides the fun with the kids and all the Christmasy stuff we were able to do, Kimi and I were able to have some fun girl time together, which included:

• Shopping and more shopping (lots of cute jewelry, outfits, and of course, shoes for Kimi. More maternity clothes for me)



• Good Eats! Our favorites - sugar cookies from Cutlers, Mom's fudge and butterscotchies, Nielsen's Frozen Custard, and loads of Chicken Tikka Masala from Royal India.



• And of course, lots of movies... DVD's - Dan in Real Life, Mansfield Park, The Family Stone, Mama Mia (a few times) plus, a few rentals that were so dumb, not worth mentioning). In the theaters... Doubt (Meryl Streep is awesome), Valkerie, and the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. All very enjoyable.

• Some days (especially when it was totally snowing) we'd just stay home in our pajamas all day. Everyone needs days like those!
  

As usual, her visit went by too quickly. I can't wait for the next one! I love you, Kimi Koo!

Happy Birthday, Joshua!

Happy 2nd Birthday to our Joshua!

Helping Mommy with cupcakes

Licking the batter

Fun at the Discovery Gateway with our cousins


2 years old!!
(what a fun and crazy age!)

Christmas Break Highlights

Seriously, there was no time to blog over the holidays.

Here are the highlights of a crazy family night we had back in December. Assembling and decorating a gingerbread house with a 2 year old was quite an adventure. Both kids ingested an almost lethal amount of frosting. Thank goodness for flouride and toothbrushes!

(Hint to grandparents... you can click to enlarge)

Back to Life...

Happy New Year!

Wow - I can't believe the holidays are over. What a lot of fun and work!

Well, we have officially put Christmas away and have started to get back into the swing of things, which has been a little tough. Our day yesterday involved a hefty dose of separation anxiety. Dropping Summer off at pre-school involved a lot of tears and hugs, but in the end she was fine. I took Joshua to Kindermusik, but instead of his usual outgoing self, he was withdrawn and glued to me.

It snowed all day yesterday, so after all our running around in the morning, it was nice to stay in for the rest of the day.

I'll be posting some of the highlights from our holiday over the next few days (time willing, of course!).

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year too!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...part 5

This little toy nativity set has been such a hit...

Not only does it teach the kids about the real reason for Christmas,

It saves them from playing with MY nativity figurines

(which cost a little bit more)

(Do you love the addition of the pretty ponies...?)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... part 4

Exciting news!

Santa came to visit our local grocery store, Dick's Market.

Of course, Summer wouldn't sit on his lap unless Mommy did, too.
(ugh, my face is starting to look pregnant... gotta love the chubby cheeks!)

What did we ask Santa for?...

Joshua - "_______" (just a blank stare)

Summer - "A dollhouse"

Shurelle - "new MAC makeup - for this chubby face"

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... part 3

(actual size = 2 feet)

The kids LOVE the snow - good thing we're getting more this weekend!

Joshua loves to take his gloves off, and then cry, "oowww, coooold..." when his hands freeze.

This Christmas season has been a blast with a 4 year old and a 2 year old... everything is so exciting for them...

Check back for more holiday fun around here...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... part 2

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... part 1

I'm so lucky...

I get to have breakfast with this kid every morning!

Looked who just turned 4!

Happy Birthday, Summer!

We had a wonderful time celebrating...

(click to enlarge)

lots of cake, presents, balloons, a pinata, and of course, princesses!

Tricks and Treats...

We had a wonderful Halloween

(that was celebrated so many times during October!)

A few highlights from the many activities and parties throughout the month...

(these are pancakes that are suppose to look like pumpkins!)

(a spooky/silly salad)

(a beautiful princess - at Emily's party)

(spooky "glow-in-the dark" jammies)

(all dressed up again - I lost count of how many times she wore this costume this month)

which is why she chose a different princess dress to trick-or-treat in...

Look at that handsome fireman!

(fighting over the doorbell - I'll be they rang each doorbell about 10 times each)

We hope you had a wonderful Halloween too!

A Sad Farewell...

At 18 weeks along, it's time to say GOODBYE to my skinny jeans...

And HELLO to these bad boys!

The Scariest Pumpkins You've Ever Seen...

Joshua has been sick for the past 5 days or so, so we haven't left the house much. In order to keep ourselves from getting too bored, we've been making LOTS of crafts.
Here we are painting our pumpkins...

Pretty Scary, don't ya think?

A Night of Murder, Mystery, and the Bee Gees...

This year was our turn to host the Annual Murder Mystery Night.
This was the 5th year we've done this with friends

Kari and Jeremy, and Tom and Laurel.
We had a great time boogying to disco music, enjoying wonderful food, and getting into character!

(thanks, Laurel, for the photo montage, which I am totally stealing here)

Mommy's Little Helper... Part 2

Whenever I’m not feeling well, I’ll tell Summer that my tummy hurts. No matter what she’s doing, she’ll come right over and lift up my shirt and tickle/scratch my tummy and say, “There you go, Mommy. Does that feel better now?” I have to say yes, because it is so amusing.

Mommy's Little Helper... Part 1

Well, I am 14 weeks along in this pregnancy and I am definitely feeling better. I must say that this time around has been so much more difficult than my first two pregnancies.

Summer has been such a sweetheart through it all. I must share a few examples of her cuteness. One particularly rough day, I managed to talk Summer into lying down with me for a nap. As I lay there trying to fall asleep, I was so sick to my stomach. I was complaining to Summer and she said, “I know what you need, Mommy. I’ll be right back.” She dashed off to the kitchen and I could hear her rummaging around. She came back into my bedroom with a cup of water and about 5 cookies. She said, “Here, Mommy, cookies in bed always makes me feel better.” So, we lay there and ate cookies, and you what? It actually worked. I felt a little better and we both fell asleep. When I went to make the bed later that day (before Ryan got home from work!) I found lots of crumbs – on his side of the bed!

Thanks, Summer, for taking care of Mommy.

Ahhh... The Joys of Motherhood...

On days like this, I just have to laugh or else I'll get mad...

"uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh..."

is all he had to say for himself.

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's cabin...Part 2

Day #2...

Ahhh... the perfect S'more (for the baby, of course)

Hanging out with Dad watching "Playhouse Disney"

In the kids' happy place - the sandbox

Scaring the chipmunks away

Happy to be here.

What a fun weekend!

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's cabin...

Day #1 at the cabin...

As soon as we woke up (which was EARLY), it was "The chipmunks need breakfast!" Notice Joshua has a cookie and a flower - he kept saying, "Here chicka-munk..." in his Joshua language (which most of time only Mommy can understand ).

On a beautiful walk.. it was perfect Fall weather.

Going 4-wheelin'...

Throwing rocks in the water and laughing at the "ker-plunk" and splashes.

Summer making a "rock picnic"

Taking a break (with the favorite blue "bankie")

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for a wonderful time.

p.s. I'm officially done with the 1st trimester and am feeling SO much better.