Beach Days

Pretty much every Thursday we try to head to Zuma beach in Malibu for some fun in the sun...:-) I was a little nervous the first time I did it with the kids (alone) but now I'm an old pro and can successfully get the two kids, our stuff, and myself from the car to the beach in one trip. Pretty impressive right? I know exactly how much I can and can't pack to perform this amazing feat..hahahahaha! Olivia is a good helper too... she carries the snack/lunch bag for me.

Last year we only made it to the beach a couple of times before Finn was born and then not at all the rest of the summer because, well, who wants to take a newborn and an almost 2 year old to the beach. This year has been perfect because Olivia has seemed to develop a "healthy" fear of the ocean , which is great for me because she doesn't go running off into the water, and Finn is perfectly content to crawl around in front of the umbrella and play in the sand.

I am relishing and graciously thanking God for these precious days. I feel so blessed to be able to stay home with the kids, albeit giving up a lot of date nights, penny pinching, and eating out, nothing can replace my memories of seeing every milestone and hearing every laugh they make.

Here are some pictures of a recent Thursday at Zuma Beach....oh, and did I mention their cousins usually join us... another HUGE plus!!!

xoxoxox

A lady of many talents..

I turned around the other morning at breakfast and Olivia showed me this...





Who knew raspberries could do that?

xoxo

His new name is "Wedgie"..

because we often find him in places like this.....






xoxoxo

One year old

Finn is now One!! We had a grand celebration on Sunday and of course the weather cooperated... NOT! On Saturday it was a lovely 85 degrees.. on Sunday a balmy 100 degrees... ( this is why everyone in the pics looks flushed and sweaty!)...But, regardless of the temperature everyone had a great time! We ordered a bounce house for all the kids , ordered GIANT pizzas, and celebrated our dear little Finn! Here are some pics from the day!! Happy Birthday my darling!

xxo

So close...

He's really close...almost there...he might even be "really" walking by his birthday!

xoxox

Quote of the day

Olivia walks into the room..

me: "Can I have a hug and kiss?"

Olivia: (comes running over and gives me a huge hug and kiss) then...
" Mom, your my best!"

me: " Your "best" what?"

Olivia: "..just my best, ... my best. "



..if my heart could have exploded , it would have. *sigh*.

Anatomy of a Tantrum

Ahhhh..just when I thought Finn would be my "mellow" child...he has his first tantrum. Not quite as full blown as a 2 1/2 year olds ( she will remain name-less) ..but a tantrum none-the-less. It was actually quite comical at how dramatic he could get. The pics here are not from his first tantrum but of one he had a grammy and papa's house a few weeks ago when we were in Palm Springs visiting...*sigh*.

It starts with a cry of protest...



Then a look downward in complete frustration...



Then comes the dramatic "throwing of the body" onto the floor...


Then a smile of "possible" admittance of naughtiness?


Naw...just a slight hesitation and now a move away from mama in complete reproach..


Then finally, admitted defeat in a prostrate position...oh , the unjustice of it all!!




xoxoxo

Rainy days in June?

We are used to the SoCalifornia "june gloom".. we actually really like it...because once the valley heat hits...it stays for about 4 months or so...but rain in June? We VERY rarely get that...the kids got a kick out of watching it from the back door. That excitement lasted about ...oh....4 minutes , and then they asked to go outside to play.. I had to gently tell them that it was too wet outside to play...

Anyway... it was a hard concept to grasp. :-)

xoxoxo

Banana Bread Beater

Finn finally shared in one of Olivia's favorite pastimes... licking the beater after mommy whips somethin' up! I decided to make some banana bread last week and since I used "Egg Replacer" I figured it was safe for Finn to lick a beater...boy did he LOVE it!!! Then he tried to lick Olivia's beater....that did not go over very well...hahaha!

xoxoxo

More "Olivia-isms"

Here we go again..

Olivia: " Mom, we don't live outside.."

me: "You're right, we don't, we live inside, right? Can you think of something that lives outside?"

Olivia: "Yeah, cheetahs... and um..squirrels, and baby giraffes".

( Apparently regular "adult" giraffes were not on her mind) :-)

and..

Olivia: "Mom, what does dev-bo mean"

me : " What? What's a dev-bo?"

Olivia: "MOM! Dev-bo means nothing!"

*sigh*

xoxo

A new musician in the family...

Finn finally found the "big" piano in the house...xoxo

Hmmm..what's going on here???

I looked around the corner the other day and this is where I found Finn...


....the next day I found him on top of the coffee table...( didn't get a pic of that one). He is climbing EVERYTHING!! ...and he's not even walking yet...

*sigh*

There is DEFINITELY a difference between boys and girls... I have now been witness to it.

xoxoxo

Quote of the day

Here's a doosie..


Me: ( watching Olivia's finger head towards a nostril).."Olivia, don't pick your nose, you might hurt yourself".

Olivia: (considering this)..."Oh, ok mommy.".

*silent pause*

Olivia: " I will just do it in my bed tonight".

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

apples with brother

Our new favorite pastime is enjoying the late afternoon in the new little swimming pool that I recently purchased. Olivia loves to swim in her "green" pool (as she calls it)..and Finn is hesitant at first but after about 15 min. is usually on his stomach cruising around in the water.

The other day Olivia decided it would be fun to have her snack ( an apple) while sitting in the pool. She also decided it would be fun to share it with Finn...what a nice sister. :-) Finn loved the apple of course and tried his hardest to bite it but mostly ended up licking it like a lollipop....yummmmm..slobbery apple!

xoxoxo

Hello?

I know right?

*sigh*...I can always tell that my days are busy when I don't get onto the blog regularly. I would love to say that we have been vacationing in some far-off desert island with clear blue waters... however...the reality is we have just been knee-deep into navigating the waters of 2 1/2 year old behaviors/antics.

I am not joking when I say " the "stuff" finally hit the fan" when it comes to tantrums and cheekiness.

Don't get me wrong.. she is such a good and obediant little girl 97% of the time... but the other 3% has been brutal.

I know that God is just finding new and interesting ways to help me grow as a mom and wife... but dang it, does it have to be so hard?

On a lighter note... Finn has really started showing his little personality to us. Right around 10 months his little cheeky side started to show.. how you ask? The first sign was when I was trying to change his diaper and he (quick as a flash), flipped over and crawled as fast as he could to the opposite side of the room, stood up ( in all his bare-naked glory) and blew a raspberry at me. What is a mom to do? I definitely couldn't be angry...but I was shocked.. he had never shown this side of himself to me...( literally and figuratively). From there it has progressed into other facets... like crawling into the kitchen at my mom's house and grunting quite exuberantly at a fruit bowl sitting on the counter and squealing with delight when I produce a banana out of it. What a monkey. He has even made Olivia laugh on occasion.. ( though she doesn't like to admit it... )

Anyway, life is pretty normal these days...we are happy that summer is upon us which means many trips to the beach and warm walks at dusk before bedtime. I promise to post some pics and videos soon as they are accumlating on the computer at a rapid rate. Peace, for now...

xoxoxo

Good things about today..

1. I took my kids to Toys r Us and we bought a few fun "summer" type toys:
a. a new plastic pool to play in
b. play dough ( I have tried making my own but it just gets NASTY after a couple days)
c. bubbles
d. a new coloring book for Olivia
e. a new board book for Finn ( The very hungry catapillar)

2. The weather is warm...about 82 degrees.

3. The kids are both in a great mood today...no tears, no time-outs, and no sassiness! Whoo-hoo!

4. I'm having a good hair day... ( it doesn't happen very often )

5. I am going to take the kids to the park later in the new/gently used bike trailer that we recently aquired. It is attached to my beloved red beach cruiser that I LOVE!

6. I had fish tacos for lunch and they were very delicious.

7. We had lunch with Jamie and her daughter Rachel ( Olivia's age) and it just made the day even better.... yay for friends!

8. Chad looked very "professor-esque" when he left the house this morning and my heart beat a little faster than normal...

xoxoxoxo

There's nothing like...

a warm dog belly to lay on....

Couldn't you just die?


xoxo

Easter 2009!

Our Easter was so much fun this year! We started our day with Easter baskets and then church/brunch at the Hollywood Bowl. Afterwards we headed home to have a great Easter egg hunt and relax with family....Olivia really had a great time singing all the music at Easter service and Finn even enjoyed himself until he conked out right in time for the sermon. ( which was great for me because I actually got to listen to it! ). The weather was gorgeous and the company was awesome! It was a glorious day because of Him....Happy Easter!

xoxoxo

Two little monkeys...

Sometimes mornings are like this....

I just love it.

xoxo

My first Bagel

For some reason I think it's great when a baby can eat his/her first bagel.. kind of like a right of passage..anyway.. this morning Finn got to eat his first bagel (sans cream cheese)...he was so happy. I actually got to sit and eat a bowl of cereal for 5 minutes without interruption... what a concept!! I might just have to give him a bagel every morning except that might cause him to become a little " backed up" ( if ya know what I mean.. ).

xoxoxo