They grow so fast!

Reilly's First Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T00:15:00.000-08:00

We went up to my mom's house for the second year in a row for Thanksgiving. Oh my do we have a lot to be thankful for. This is Reilly's first time seeing Grandma since he was born 6 months ago.

Broccoli!

2011-11-24T00:11:00.000-08:00

I thought Reilly might enjoy gnawing on some raw broccoli and boy did he. In fact when I took it away he would cry.

Grandpa's house after swimming lessons

2011-11-23T17:24:00.000-08:00

Katie and JD did some swimming lesson this past month to get them a little more comfortable in the water. They are nowhere near water safe yet but at least we're on the road. I think we'll pause the lessons through the cold months and then start them back up in the spring or something. Lessons were on Mondays. So our tradition was to go to Grandpa's house afterwards and watch Monday night football.

More Park Pictures

2011-11-23T17:12:00.000-08:00

Isn't this grass great!

Stinky Park

2011-11-23T16:51:00.000-08:00

AKA Valle Vista. It is really not that stinky anymore but sometimes you can get a whiff. It is right next to a sewage treatment plant and this is what the cousins always called this park so we do too. It is a great park.

His Banner Over Me is Love

2011-11-15T11:14:00.001-08:00

More Fall Pictures!

2011-11-15T11:12:00.000-08:00

Katie's the teacher

2011-11-15T11:06:00.000-08:00

Katie has just one more story to read and she'll be done with the second grade level of hooked on phonics. JD knows all his letter sounds and is starting the kindergarten book. Here Katie is helping him with the at words.

JD's bandaid

2011-11-15T11:03:00.000-08:00

The day before I took this picture JD had fallen and wanted a bandaid. I said no, because it wasn't bleeding. He kept asking and I kept saying no. The next morning I hadn't seen him in a while and found him as he was coming out of the bathroom. He had climbed upon the toilet and got the box of bandaids down, opened one up, and put a bandaid on all by himself.

11/11/11

Just Reilly and Mommy

2011-11-15T11:00:00.000-08:00

Reilly and I visited Great Grandma and Great Auntie Janice all by ourselves last weekend and we got to see my cousin Monica too.

Halloween

2011-11-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

This year Katie was Jessie and JD was Woody from Toy Story 3. Reilly was a pumpkin. We had a great time and it was so much fun getting together with Mary and Mike's kids and Mike and Jenny's little Jacob. We used to trick-or-treat together when we were kids in this same neighborhood and now our kids are trick-or-treating together. It was a ton of fun! I especially liked the "yep-yep-yeppers" (as I like to call them) from Sesame Street. They weren't in our group but I thought their costumes were awesome.

Sailors

2011-11-13T10:43:00.000-08:00

John, Reilly and I went on a 2 hour sailing cruise on the bay (10/29/11). It was a beautiful day!

Fall

2011-11-11T21:23:00.000-08:00

I think Fall is my second favorite season. I love Christmas time in the winter but as far as weather goes I am a warm weather fan. Fall where we live is like Summer part two. I love it. Look at my baby outside with nothing on but a diaper.

This year I had Katie and JD decorate their own trick or treat bag. I bought these plain orange bags from Michaels for .99 and had them paint jack-o-lanterns on them. They turned out great. Too bad I don't have a picture of the finished product.

Reilly is 5 Months old!

2011-11-11T21:11:00.000-08:00

I know I'm his mom and everything but seriously isn't he the cutest. Just look at him! He's a doll. I am so happy. Having three kids 5 and under is not easy and homeschooling does not make it easier but really I have never felt so happy. Oh, don't get me wrong. I have my moments when I second guess my every move but this is what I was made for...to mommy.

(10/25/11)

Goofin' with Daddy

2011-11-11T21:03:00.000-08:00

pssst...this Daddy didn't realize he wanted kids. Now he has three!

DellOsso

2011-11-11T20:54:00.000-08:00

This year we only went to a pumpkin patch one time, Dellosso. Usually we go at least twice. This year we went to a new one. John got the day off and we went with our homeschooling group. It was HOT that day (10/24/11). We got a really great rate for going with our homeschooling group. It was a BIG place. There was a little track to race tricycles, a corn maze, petting zoo, rides and a lot more. It was a big place. To be completely honest though I prefer Joan's in Livermore or Lemo's in half moon bay for the little kids. We had a great time though.

Funny Pictures!

2011-11-11T15:20:00.000-08:00

Katie can be a little ham. I love the expression on Reilly's face on this first one.
(10/18/11)

Katie took this last one. She is really enjoying taking pictures lately. Grandpa lets her take tons on his phone. I keep meaning to get new batteries for my old camera so she can learn on it.

"You taking my picture again mom?"

2011-11-11T15:10:00.000-08:00

Reilly is 4 and a half months old here. He is starting to grow out his bouncy seat. Soon he'll be getting out of it himself.

(10/14/11)

Super Baby (and Mom)

2011-11-11T15:06:00.000-08:00

Thank you Dina for getting Reilly this shirt! We have had so much fun with it. I have put him in it a bunch of times and as you can see I couldn't resist buying one my size when I saw it at Target.(10/11/11)

Caden's B-day

2011-11-11T15:00:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Caden's 5th b-day at a Kung Fu studio. The kids had a great time! I did not get great pictures though. (This was the best out of all of them.) We live next door to Caden. I actually graduated with his mom, Cathy and she and I have become good friends. Our kids play together at least once a week. (10/09/11)

Rachel came to play

2011-10-08T18:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had Rachel over. Katie loved being able to dress up with her.

Grandpa's B-day

2011-10-08T18:17:00.000-07:00

Grandpa is 61 years YOUNG! We love Grandpa! He's the best Grandpa my kids could have! Thanks for being a great Grandpa and a great dad! We had a great birthday dinner. Ribs, asparagus, salad, fettucini and red velvet cake. YUM!

Brothers

2011-10-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

I gotta tell you a secret.

4.5 months and counting

2011-10-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

10/04/11 Reilly almost rolled over from back to front. He has been rolling over from front to back for a long while now. He is even trying to scoot forward/ crawl to reach a toy. Time is going by so fast!

It's Fall!

2011-10-08T17:01:00.000-07:00

10/04/11 It's definitely Fall! The leaves are falling off our big tree with a vengeance.

Yearly Checkup

2011-10-08T10:59:00.000-07:00

10/03/11 Katie and JD had their yearly checkup. Katie is 41 and 3/4 inches tall and 38 pounds. JD is 37 inches tall and 32 pounds. Both are in the 50th percentile and if they stay on this track Katie should be about 5'4 and JD should be about 5'10. They got a hep B shot today. The nurse came in with stickers and asked who wanted to go first. JD, not knowing what was coming before the sticker quickly said "me." They both cried and it seemed especially traumatic on Katie. Later she told me that she should have just said, ouch. That hurt.

Three's Not a Crowd

2011-10-08T09:59:00.000-07:00

We are thankful to have transitioned to 3 with relative ease. I can't think of a moment when Katie or JD have been jealous. My hope and prayer is that they will always be good friends!

Gilroy Gardens

2011-10-08T09:49:00.000-07:00

9/24/11 Thanks Mary for inviting us to share the day with you at Gilroy Gardens. Love this place!

We were super surprised to see Adam and his family. We have a funny habit of meeting up with them when we don't even plan on it. Last time it was the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Adam is doing great but he and his family could still use our prayers.

It was great fun to hang out with Mike, Jenny and Jakey too!

On the ride to Gilroy Katie was making up songs in the back and we just had to get some of it recorded.

Jumper

2011-09-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

9/21/11 Perhaps it doesn't look like it here, but Reilly is old enough to be in this jumper. This time he actually fell asleep in it. Maybe it is because he's the third but I find this guy asleep in the most random of places. I'll put him down for "just a sec" to go take care of Katie or JD and then when I come back I'll find him sound asleep... on the hallway floor, in the exersaucer, in this jumper. This can't have been very comfie. I don't know if you can tell but one of his arms managed to find its way through one of the leg holes. After taking these pictures I promptly put him in his crib where he transitioned nicely and slept for at least another hour.

2011-09-27T16:05:00.000-07:00

9/20/11 Reilly is such a happy go lucky guy. He is such a joy to be around. I think if I'd let her Katie would hug and kiss him all day long.

I have toes!!!

2011-09-18T16:47:00.000-07:00

I love this! Reilly has discovered his toes. Nearly every chance he gets he is playing with his toes. Even though this is my third baby every new thing for him is still so exciting and fun for me. Have I mentioned what a great and easy going baby he is. I'm just in love with this little guy. I can't believe he is almost 4months old!

I hope we learned a lesson

2011-09-18T16:28:00.000-07:00

We ended the A's game on kind of a sad note. Katie was so excited she just dropped her Dora blanket as we were headed down to better seats to see the fireworks. After the show she asked about her blanket. We went to look for it and it was gone. She doesn't even really like Dora anymore but she was tired and that made it very hard to think that someone took her blanket. There were lots of tears.

Let's Go Oakland!

2011-09-18T16:06:00.000-07:00

We went to the A's Game on Friday, the 16th. We went with Grandpa, Auntie Joy, Uncle Paul, James, Ashley and James' friend Colin. It was fireworks night and a special promotion for a new Star Wars special edition release so there were characters wandering around and the music during the fireworks was from Star Wars, perfect timing for James who is really into Star Wars right now. Grandpa held JD during the fireworks. The noise was a little scary for him. Reilly did great. He watched most of the fireworks and then fell asleep as I kept his ears covered. What a fun night. It is funny but going to the A's game made this weekend feel like a 3 day weekend since we were together so long Friday night.

A Special Shirt

2011-09-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

Almost 12 years ago I gave my very special nephew a red Nike basketball t-shirt. JD wore this shirt over 3 years ago and now Reilly has gotten a chance to wear it. Now I just need to find a picture of James and JD in the shirt.

Visiting Daddy

2011-09-18T15:36:00.000-07:00

9/9/11 We packed a lunch and visited Daddy at work. We even made some red velvet cupcakes for dessert. Then we took a walk around the marina.

Red Velvet Cake

2011-09-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

Walking at Berkely Aquatic Park

2011-09-18T12:39:00.000-07:00

I'd been wanting to check out this park. We took a walk after playing on the play equipment and Katie had fun climbing trees. It was a neat little park but it was a bit of a cool day. Luckily I had a box of goodwill clothes in the car and we found some warm pants for Katie and JD.

Wild Turkeys

2011-09-18T12:34:00.000-07:00

I counted 17 in our back yard this time!

5 year old Tiara

2011-09-18T12:31:00.000-07:00

Katie's great auntie Janice got her this cute 5 year old tiara that lights up. Thank you auntie!

Reilly is 3 months old

2011-08-31T17:51:00.000-07:00

Reilly is already 3 months old. He is such a sweet and easy going baby. He is starting to really use his voice and "talk" to us. He makes a lot of eye contact and smiles all the time. He enjoys playing in the exersaucer already and playing with the toys. I am often surprised at how easy the transition from 2 to 3 has been. We are blessed! We had a doctors appointment yesterday (9/2/11) and he weighs 14.5 pounds and 25 inches long in the 75th percentile.

3 in the stroller

2011-08-31T16:01:00.000-07:00

At least one of them is photogenic. Here they all are after a hard day of playing with the Hendren kids. I made a little bit of a mistake in having them ride their bikes over that day. We had one busy street to cross. I had Katie walk her bike across and I was going to push JD across at the same time as pushing the stroller. Unfortunately I didn't count on JD wanting to be like Katie and walk his too. So there we were in the middle of the street with me trying to get JD back on his bike, trying to tell Katie to keep going and push the stroller. JD had a tantrum right in the middle of the street so now I had cars backed up on both sides of the street, two of the cars were highway patrol cars. Thankfully a nice man on his bike stopped and helped us across. I was a tad embarrassed.

Central Park

2011-08-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

I love this park but if you have more than one kid you really need more than one adult in order to keep track of your kids. The park is really spread out. It has a couple of great water features, including a little creek. (Next time I need to bring some little toy boats.) It also has great climbing structures that my fearless three year old loves, and this new giant sized swing.

Our little creek

2011-08-30T23:11:00.000-07:00

We love our creek!

I have a 5 year old!

2011-08-30T01:00:00.000-07:00

After she blew out her candles I hear her whisper, "I wish for fairies."

A little KOA camping

2011-08-30T00:48:00.000-07:00

My silly Girl

2011-08-30T00:46:00.000-07:00

2011-08-30T00:45:00.000-07:00

Little sickies

2010-09-28T00:13:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had some sick kids. Katie had a fever the whole weekend and got as high as 104. JD started his coughing again. It got so bad that on Sunday he was coughing about every 3-5 seconds. He woke up about 10 minutes after his nap and was so tired. We called the advice nurse and she said to bring him in to the er since it was Sunday. The Dr heard some wheezing and gave him a breathing treatment. We also went home with an inhaler. I used it once in the middle of that night. He still has a cough here and there but not as bad. At the Dr there were these mickey mouse masks. JD and I brought one home for Katie.

Pink and Blue ice cream

2010-08-20T09:37:00.000-07:00

On our way to Tahoe we stopped and got ice cream at a Rite Aid. I wish our rite aid had the ice cream counter. Katie got cotton candy ice cream and we saw they sell it at our rite aid. I bought these tiny ice cream cones and of course the kids loved it. I just love JD's blue goatee.

Denise, Dina, me and the kids

2010-08-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

The Zoo

2010-08-20T08:09:00.000-07:00

John went on a weekend fishing trip with the guys while Dina and Sophie stayed with us. We went to the zoo one day and had a great time. JD and Sophie really enjoyed watching the otters. It was feeding time.

2010-05-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

JD is 2!

2010-05-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

I am so behind on blogging and so on but...we had so much fun at home with just mommy, daddy, Katie and Grandpa on JD's actual birthday. It is hard to believe that this little guy is two years old. He is such a joy to have. He brings us a lot of laughter, hugs and kisses.

Preschooler Activities

2010-05-05T15:59:00.000-07:00

Since Katie is not attending preschool yet (she'll be 4 in less than 4 months) I am constantly trying to make sure that I come up with good activities for her. I am putting some of what we've been doing together so that I can easily find it again. : )

Thanks to The Talking words factory and the Letter Factory both Katie and JD know their letters and the sounds they make very well. We also do puzzles and have started the hooked on phonics for kindergarten for Katie.

The best learning to write book that I've found it the one that we call her "Gorilla book" because it has a gorilla on the front. This is one of the Kumon books and teaches Uppercase Letters. I love this one because it is very basic. It has the letters organized according to how they are written. For example all the letters with curved lines are grouped together and so on. Most books have you trace the letter a couple times and then have the child write 10 or so of their own letter. This does not work very well on someone who has never practiced their letters before. The Kumon books just have you trace each letter about 3 times or so. Then there is always a review too.

Online I am working on some of the sight dolch words. You can print them out for free and there is a list of activities that we are going to try.

So here is what I'll be doing. I printed out set 1 which looks like the above. You can print it out from here.

Next I printed out the pictures of the nouns above. You can print yours from this link.

Then I will cut them all out and do an activity similar to activity one from this site.

I'll start with phrases instead of sentences. For example I might start with the word "a" and have her place it next to each noun and say the phrase. Then I'll add the word "big." I'll progress from there and see where it goes.

Update: Check out how I turned this into a Spanish activity!

Nativity

2009-12-31T00:29:00.000-08:00

This was FABULOUS!
My sister in law told us about this and we went together to a miniature Bethlehem. We waited in a line about 3 or more blocks long but it was well worth the wait.

While in line Centurions, Herod, people on their way to Bethlehem and animals kept us entertained.

Once we got to Bethlehem we had to pay our taxes and then sign the scroll for the census.

Then we walked through the town. We saw people making bowls, leather, bread and selling fruit.

"And there were shepherds out in the hillside keeping watch over their flocks by night"

"a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

So cold!!

2009-12-21T23:45:00.000-08:00

It was pretty wet and rainey all day so we stayed inside the whole day. Towards the end when it was almost dark we just had to step out. It was so cold. I think it might have been 50 degrees. (Just checking to see if you're reading this Tami) I almost got rid of this hat earlier this year. I'm so glad I didn't. It brought me a giggle as soon as I put it on JD. The surprising part was that he kept it on. I think it was because Katie had her hood on and so he wanted one too. We had a nice walk around our neighborhood looking at some of the lights.

It's not funny! It's funny!

2009-12-21T23:28:00.000-08:00

JD loves to climb all over this kitchen set that his Granny brought for him and Katie. Today he got stuck in the sink part. He and Katie took off all the removable parts as soon as they got it. It was difficult for me to get him out. I had to try several times.

Santa

2009-12-21T20:41:00.000-08:00

This last Sunday we went to see Santa at the village. I love this Santa. No long lines, free, and you can take a bunch of pictures. Its great. Both Katie and JD were excited to see Santa this year. Katie even knew what she was going to ask for: cotton candy and a lollipop. (This kid likes her sweets.) But when the time came she got too shy and barely said a word. Then all the way home she talked about how she forgot to ask Santa for her cotton candy and lollipop. She was starting to get sad so we told her we could write him a letter.

These last two are from last year. Look at JD. Just a baby.

Here's the whole post from last year.

Waiting to see Santa

2009-12-21T20:35:00.000-08:00

This is the new smile that Katie has adopted when we tell her to smile. Interesting huh?

Steinhardt Aquarium with Granny

2009-12-21T20:27:00.000-08:00

John's mom came for Thanksgiving and stayed with us for a few days. It was nice having her here and the kids really enjoyed her visit.

Christmas decorating

2009-12-21T20:04:00.000-08:00

We got out the Christmas decorations the day after thanksgiving. The kids were very excited. Katie started decorating the tree right away with a bunch of her toys. I've been reading her the nativity story and she's been coloring pictures of the manger scene. She is definitely understanding it a lot more this year. I explained that we would be celebrating Jesus' birthday and that everyone gets gifts on his birthday. She decided she wanted to give Jesus a present. So she told me she was giving him her red fork and a pretend strawberry. We even wrapped it. I've also been trying to sing some Christmas songs like "Away in a Manger" with her at bedtime and other times. She really is into saying "I love you" these days. She must say it around 50 times a day.

Payin the piper

2009-12-19T15:04:00.000-08:00

JD is 20 months old and I think I've finally decided that I have to have him learn to sleep by himself by crying it out. Katie had to learn much earlier since a new baby was on the way and I wasn't about to have 2 little ones sleeping in our bed. So last night was our first real attempt. This is so stressful. He cried loud and hard for a little over an hour. Then a few hours later woke up again, cried for a little bit and fell asleep. A little while after that he woke up again and was crying hard this time. I finally went in and got him and laid with him till he fell asleep. I know some people have their kids sleep trained within the first few months. Perhaps they let them cry it out early. I just can't do it. I'd love to hear if you've been in the same boat or how you sleep trained your little one.

Night #2
Repeated the brush teeth, read stories process. Then JD protested when I said it was time for ni-night but not nearly like last night. In a way it is nice that he is this old because I can really talk up certain things. "What a big boy. You get to be in your own bed..." Tonight he let me rub his back and then he fell asleep. I did not have to go through the torture of listening him cry. Although I'm pretty sure he'll wake up in the middle of the night. I'll try to let him go back to sleep on his own.

Night #3
Started off well. Put him in his crib. He asked why a few times again but then let me put the blankets on him and I said ni-night and shut the door. It was funny. He didn't start to cry until a few seconds later. He cried for maybe 10 minutes or less. About an hour or so later he woke up and cried some more. Then again an hour after that. This time I went in because he was getting very loud and I was thinking of our downstairs tenants. I held him for a minute and put him back in his bed. 3 or more hours later the same thing but this time I brought him back to our bed. So I called our tenant and let her know what we're doing. We're blessed to have such great people living below us. They are very understanding. I"m hoping for a good night tonight.

Night #4
Started well again. Not much crying but woke up a couple hours later. I went in and laid him back down, patted him...but he was crying soon after and yelling "I wanna dit down mommy" over and over again. I let him cry for a little while and went back and forth from his room to ours and finally decided to sleep in there with him. Me on the floor and him in his crib. It worked. He checked to make sure I was still there a couple times but then slept the rest of the night. Hopefully I don't have to do this too many times. It sure isn't comfortable.

Almost done nursing

2009-12-08T16:55:00.000-08:00

JD is nearly 20 months and I can't believe it but he is finally almost done nursing. It is hard to believe that I nursed him so long. I only nursed Katie for about 12 months and I thought it was because she was also used to a bottle from being at her sitters while I worked. Also I got pregnant with JD around that time and thought it best that I stop nursing her. JD has never really had milk from a bottle. He has been drinking from a sippy cup for quite some time but really preferred to nurse. This last week he has taken to asking more and more for milk rather than leche from mommy. It is bittersweet. It means my baby won't need me quite as much anymore. He is such a little pleasure, growing every day. Talking more and more. I can't believe that Katie was his age when he was born. He still seems like a baby to me.

Half Moon Bay

2009-11-27T14:51:00.000-08:00

After the pumpkin patch we bought some fruit at a fruit stand and sat and ate it at a beach. It was a beautiful sunny day and we had a great time.

Lemo's farm Sept 27, 2009

2009-11-27T13:18:00.000-08:00

We went to two pumpkin patches this year. The first was Lemo's farm in half moon bay. It was a lot of fun. They had a bounce house, animals to feed and pet, a "train" that went through some haunted scenery and more.

Pier 39

2009-11-27T12:56:00.000-08:00

While my friend Kelly was here we took the ferry to Pier 39. It was a great day. We checked out the seals, went on the merry-go-round, played in the sand and had ice cream.

It had been at least nine years...

2009-09-28T23:45:00.000-07:00

since I saw one of my absolute best friends. We met at PCC (now Hope international University) in Fullerton, played on the basketball team together. Seriously, a great friend. We shared so many laughs and a lot of great times. My roommate from college lives about 20 minutes away so she was able to come too. "Roommate" is on the left in the picture and Kelly is on the right. I'm so glad you came! What a great weekend! We barbecued and then had a little fire in the back yard. So fun! The next day we all (minus roommate) took the ferry out to SF. (I'll post more about that later)

Me and Kelly on a bball road trip in college with our blankies. Yes, mom, I did end up taking it to college with me.

2 peas in a pod

2009-09-14T11:27:00.000-07:00

These two love each other so much. But of course they don't always get along. They were having a "good ol' time" here. Katie likes to spin JD on the computer chair. She spins him around and asks him "Are you having a good ol' time JD?" He says "yeah." and then they repeat the process several times. Truly precious. When they're both sitting in the stroller a lot of people stop me to ask if they're twins.

A vist with Ember

2009-09-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

Hurray! We got to see Ember this last week! She's exactly 6 months younger than Katie.

Looking at the talking bear.

Mr. Mischief

2009-09-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

I suppose every kid eventually does this. I was putting on makeup while the kids were in the bathroom too. After I was done I looked down and discovered that JD had found a lipstick and was happily applying it all over his face/ head...everywhere except the lips. He looked so happy.

Lunch with Daddy

2009-09-09T08:18:00.000-07:00

My boy

2009-08-31T13:00:00.000-07:00

JD is 16 and a half months old. He has a great easy going nature and a quick smile. And he loves his momma!

Katie's B-day Party

2009-08-31T12:58:00.000-07:00

I'll have to put Katie in that dress again because I didn't get enough pictures of her in it. It was so hot that day.

Here we are playing pin the map on backpack. I think I had more fun making the game and having the kids play it than the kids actually did. They had fun though.

Yummy ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins

Katie's B-Day

2009-08-31T12:51:00.000-07:00

My little girl is 3!!! We went to Chevy's to celebrate with our international student from Korea and her mom. I think this was the best tasting Chevy's I've ever had. What fun it was to have them sing to Katie!

BBQ with old friends

2009-08-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

Tim and Tami were in town for her brother's wedding. I was so excited when I heard he was getting married because I knew that I'd probably get to see them! Too bad they live so far away! I would love to be able to get together with our kids more often.

This first picture has almost all the kids that were there. Tim and Tami's two plus her nephew, Colin's 2 kids, Jason and Karina's 3 kids, our 2, and Becky and George's 3 except Daniel didn't make it into this picture.

The Mommas

Oh, I wish they lived closer! I know they love where they live but...

Baby Shower for Denise

2009-08-31T12:19:00.000-07:00

August 22nd was Denise's baby shower. Afterwards we went to her house for a little barbeque and her water broke. It was very exciting and fun to be there. Baby Carson was born the next day. Congratulations Denise and Chuck!

Chuck and Denise had to leave the BBQ early of course so here we are enjoying hanging out at their place.

Great Grandma's Bears

2009-08-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

Great Grandma has acquired quite a collection of bears and one of Katie and JD's favorite things to do over there is take down the bears. There must be at least 50 bears. Last time we were there they took every one down and Katie did a great job organizing them and putting them back one by one.

Profesional pictures

2009-07-26T23:49:00.000-07:00

I finally decided to get their pictures taken in a studio again. These are some that I had to get but weren't the "best."

July 2009

2009-07-26T23:44:00.000-07:00

My little babies. Growing so fast! Katie did so well this day. JD did well too but didn't last as long.

WHY???

2009-07-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

It's official. Katie's hit the "why?" stage. Here's the longest conversation from last week. Katie: "why does daddy go to work?" Me: "To make money." K: why do we need money? Me: so we can have food. K: why do we need food? Me: So we can eat. K: Why do we eat? Me: Cuz otherwise we would die (I was getting tired of the conversation. sorry.) K: Why would we die? (And it went on and on like this all day.)

Katie has asked why before but not to this extent. Starting some time last week everything I said to her was answered with why. Yesterday I had a particularly hard time with this. I was having a hard day anyway and all the whys made it all the more aggravating. Today is going so much better!

I know it is because she is so inquisitive and she is learning. But after I've answered her for the billionth time it gets a tad exhaustive to put it mildly.

A fabulous piece of advice came from my auntie Janice who said to try asking her what she thinks. Ahhh...this DOES help! : ) And when looking for some answers from the internet the first site I looked at said that very thing.

When I wasn't looking...

2009-07-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

JD is...well...very clingy. Most of the time you can find him on my hip. He does play by himself and walk around but he really is on my hip a lot. Today I put him down as I was working on the computer. He cried a little bit and then toddled off to the kitchen. I heard him babbling away and making some noise here and there. I finally decided to see what he was up to. He climbed all the way up to the table and helped himself to Katie's left over pizza from lunch. I guess he was hungry.

Big Boy Seat!

2009-07-11T16:07:00.000-07:00

So after 14 and a half months of a baby carrier car seat JD finally moved up to a big boy car seat. I decided on a Britax and I'm very happy with it. It is a Britax Marathon, normally price at around $250. We got ours for $179.99 which is a good price for this. I asked a bunch of mom friends and the major consensus was Britax and I can see why. It was simple to install and it looks so much more comfortable than the seat I got for Katie. Hers is an Alpha Omega Elite. It does the job but this one is so soft. It is supposed to fit up to 60 pounds.

A day with the cousins!

2009-07-11T15:56:00.000-07:00

At the top left is Bailey, my cousin Lisa's daughter. Then Ashley, Katie, JD, and me.
On the bottom is James and Gregory. We all had such a great day together. We had lunch with Great Grandma Jeffers and Auntie Janice. Then we went to the beach.

Auntie Joy and Katie

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

This was such a fun day! We got to Grandpa's early in the morning to make it in time to walk to part of the parade.

Dina, Jesse and Sophie

Six Flags

2009-06-25T22:12:00.000-07:00

What a great day! Everybody had a good time. It was hot but not too hot. Perfect for enjoying the water aspects of the park.

Katie, Mommy, and Shouka!

3 takes on this one. So hard to get everyone to look at the camera (not to mention smile) when it is so bright and sunny and there are so many other interesting things to look at.

JD finally fell asleep on me towards the end of the day. He slept through the entire dolphin show too.

This was Katie's first experience with cotton candy. Her cousin Ashley shared some with her and she instantly became a big fan. She doesn't look that happy in this picture but really she's just trying to get every last bit from the holder.

Great Grandma's house

2009-06-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

We love going over to Great Grandma's house. We are so fortunate to live close by. We get over there every other week or so. Katie knows that Auntie Janice or Great Grandma always have the freezer ready with some ice cream for her.

Here Katie is with cousin Jenna.

Little Farmer

2009-06-22T13:42:00.000-07:00

Only problem with this is that I found two whole basil plants uprooted on the ground. But he looks so contented with himself.

Father's Day

2009-06-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

More pictures from last Sunday

2009-06-17T23:12:00.000-07:00

Katie loved baby Sophie. (And Sophie was a good sport.)

Not a great family shot (hard to come by right?) but I just love how JD is leaning in against Katie.

JD and Sophie. See what Sophie's eyes are looking at and the concerned look on her face? Well Mr. innocent just snatched her pacifier out of her mouth without thinkin anything of it.

BBQ

2009-06-17T22:56:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we got to hang with our friends Dina and Jesse and their new little girl Sophie (5 1/2 months old). They live in Southern CA and it was a great excuse to get together with a few friends and enjoy the day.

Denise and her baby bump! A new Lopez coming soon!

Next to tie the knot (no pressure!) Rob and Nancy!

I'm so happy to have my little family! It was so nice to stop and savor the day!

Birthday party!

2009-06-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

We went to Rachel's birthday party today. Sadly my batteries wore out after I took just a few pictures but the kids had a great time.

It is 7pm and this girl has finally fallen asleep. I thought for sure she'd nap today after being at the party but no. Finally she crashed watching Bee movie.

Happy helper

2009-06-13T19:16:00.000-07:00

This is why I usually fold the laundry downstairs. I had folded most of this and it was stacked neatly in the basket. Then mister curious came along and took a bunch of it out and put it back in. (That was nice at least.) Then he plopped himself right on top. Was I mad? No. How could you be mad at this face?

Content with himself.

JD can sing the "e-i-e-o" part to old McDonald. Soooo cute. His newest words/ phrases are:

I love you. - just melts my heart.
zapato - shoe
whad issit?

After all the JD pictures Katie needed me to take one of her too. She's getting so big. She's also becoming such a good helper. I love it!

Elaina

2009-06-13T19:11:00.000-07:00

My kids have had several of my former students as their babysitters but Elaina has babysat the most for us. We appreciate her! We went to her grad party last weekend. A perfect time for pictures!

Another injury

2009-05-30T20:12:00.000-07:00

I came home the other night and saw this face. She tripped over one toy and landed on another. Toys can be dangerous land mines. Watch out!

A Day in the life

2009-05-14T22:24:00.000-07:00

Sometimes Katie and JD play really well together. They giggle and have a great time. Then there's times like the video below.

JD is so curious and wants to know what everything is. I must hear him ask "wha dat" a hundred times a day. It is so cute. He has also added new words to his list:

bubble
nano (nariz-nose)
bola (boca- mouth)
mo (more)
mah (mas-more)

Growing

2009-05-14T22:22:00.000-07:00

Katie's fly-away hair continues to be an issue but I have found that pig tails tame it the best. Here is my attempt at two french braids. Turned out pretty nice but didn't last as long as the pig tails do.

In the words of Katie:

"I'm growing so big."

So Coordinated!

2009-05-10T20:13:00.000-07:00

(but not walking yet)

JD feels very comfortable going up and down stairs and feels very proud of himself for this accomplishment.

As far as walking goes...he can take up to 6 steps at a time when he wants to and he is starting to choose walking over crawling more and more but I can't officially say he is walking.

Look at this guy's eyes!

A Happy Mother's Day!!

2009-05-10T19:31:00.000-07:00

What a great husband I have. He got me all my favorites. Yum! You can't see from the picture but the card is in Spanish. See's Candy (Nuts and Chews. ) Red Vino (This one is from Rosenblume. Very tastey.) And finally he also got me the latest James Patterson (a favorite author of mine)

Then for lunch we went to a Mexican Restaurant in Alameda and had their brunch (which was very good by the way $10.95 with Mimosas.) The main reason we went was to see one of my credential students in her mariachi band. I've been wanting to see her perform and finally got the opportunity. It was a lot of fun! Good job Ninfa! Loved it!

Here's a small clip.

and another small clip. Wish they were longer but it was just my camera.

Another Haircut!

2009-04-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

I think JD looks so handsome with his hair short but it grows so FAST!

JD's words at 12.5 months:
-mommy
-daddy
-gato
-hola
-hi
-ball (new within the last couple days)
-thi (this- meaning what's this? or I want this.)

He also points and communicates what he wants in a variety of ways.

Easter

2009-04-29T23:36:00.000-07:00

JD with Rachel (pink hat) and Savannah. JD's birthday was on Easter this year but we celebrated it the day before.