Father Daughter Dance 2011

Olivia and Chad went to their 4th Father/Daughter dance at Malibu Presbyterian Church last Saturday.  I think it was the first year that Olivia really understood that this was HER night alone with Daddy.  They had a wonderful time dancing, working on a craft, eating cupcakes, and visiting with preschool friends!  Every year I marvel at how she has grown and this year was no different.  She is growing up soooooo fast.....:-)

xoxoxoxoxo

Tired

ok....i think you all knew this post was coming.

i . am. tired.

and, the baby isn't even here yet.  ha!

The weather has been nice so soon I hope to have some pics up of the kids playing and such....until then you might be able to find me in sitting down some where...or maybe just laying down some where with the kids crawling all over me.

And while it is really annoying that I get out of breath washing the dishes...in a way I relish it.  It forces me to slow down and just enjoy being with my little monkeys...

xoxoxoxo

Sometimes....

Don't you just feel like this?

Or maybe mom asked you to smile for the camera and you ( being a  2 1/2 year old - very - small- nap - today- kind- of - day) took a swipe at the camera....hmmmm...

But wait....there is always a light at the end of the tunnel....usually when there are promises of cookies, or a special video , or maybe just mommy playing peek-a-boo.  The rebound period from grouchy -to- sunny is very quick....like maybe...4.5 seconds.

  Pretty amazing...and they thought that 7 month pregnant mommies were moody...:-)

xoxoxo

And so it begins...

I was wondering when my job as "mom" would take on a whole new meaning...like "car transport lady".  Well, that role has officially started....well...actually it started last year when I started driving Olivia 19 miles to preschool twice a week, but now the fun really begins.....otherwise known as "enrichment" activities.  hahaha!  

Olivia has wanted to take dance for a long time...but I didn't think she was ready until very recently ..and...we got a membership at our local YMCA and they offer introductory dance lessons.

Soooooo...she is now enrolled in Tap/Ballet once a week at the Y.  She friggin' loves it.  And I don't blame her.....her teacher Miss Lisa is a hoot...very patient yet firm, they get to tap their little feet to great music ( Austin Powers soundtrack at her second class) , and at the end they have "free" dancing with scarves to the soundtrack from the Little Mermaid.  Pure girly heaven....:-)

Here are some pics of her concentrating and practicing her moves...:-)

xoxoxox

Merry Merry!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year....we stayed home and celebrated with family from both sides, relaxed, and just enjoyed each other.  The kids were really into everything this year and really enjoyed both Advent and all of the other Christmas activities...

We are truly blessed.....

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

2 and 4 year old interviews...

These are a little overdue...as with everything else, unfortunately my blog has been put on the back burner...but here are the kids' 2 and 4 year old interviews....pretty good stuff if you ask me...:-)








xoxoxoxo

Pistachios

When Olivia was about 2 1/2 years old she became obsessed with pistachios.  When I mean obsessed I mean that whenever we would set foot into her Grammy's house she would immediately make a bee-line for the dish that held the little nuts.  She would then proceed to ask me to open each one.......

Now...she can open them herself and has passed her love of the nut onto her brother.  We were at Trader Joes the other day and I'm not kidding when I say the girl practically got down on her hands and knees and BEGGED me for a bag of pistachios.  What's a mom to do?

At home she proceeded to carefully explain to Finn how NOT to eat the shell , to peel the shells away , and then eat the "treasure" inside.  Finn, latching on to his sisters' excitement is hooked , HOOKED , on pistachios.

I guess there are worse things, right?  ( sorry for the poor quality of the pics...just figuring out the new camera).

Oh, and this pic is for free.....sometimes a girl just has to express herself ..........:-)

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

5 months came along really fast...

I simply cannot believe that I am 5 months pregnant already....just the thought of childbirth sends chills up my spine BUT at least there is a really nice end result. :-)

Here is a recent pic of the "bump".  Baby is moving sporadically BUT when he/she does move it is quite intentional and deliberate.  Hmmmmmm.....i wonder what this means about he/she's personality?  One never knows....:-)

Overall the pregnancy has been VERY easy ( knock on wood) and I am enjoying carrying my little one around in my ever expanding belly....*sigh*.  

xxoxoxoxo

My new favorite...

Sorry for the lack of posting....my 1 year old camera broke....( yeah, so not happy about that), and I had to break down and buy a new one....soooooo...here we go again...:-)


My new favorite...

xoxoxoxo

Neverland dreams..

....i love that i still have "some" control over what the kids want and will wear for Halloween....*sigh*...I know the day is coming when that will not be the case....

...so this year they made mommy very happy and obliged me by transforming in to TinkerBell and Peter Pan.

...my heart flutters when I see them....:-)

xoxoxoxo

Some mornings are like this....

I love it when the morning starts with a giggle....

xoxoxox

Joy

...it's not too hard to capture the "joy" of a two year old.  

..it is one of two very common emotions that they hold.

..i thought i'd focus on my favorite..

..JOY!

xxoxoxoox

Pic of the week

Uhhh....hey Olivia ,...you've got a little somethin' on your head there....uhhhh....

Yeah, and just for the record....that is a REAL spider.  

....and it was HER idea to put it there.  

xoxoxo

WWF in my living room

In the last few months, Olivia has taken it upon herself to develop her wrestling skills.....the target of her affections used to be taken out upon the poor dog......but now.....

....she has a new target....

...a certain 2 year old....

...welcome to the WWF of Barber wrestling.  

Most of the time I just let them go at it....except for the time I saw her standing on his back.  ( that produced some interesting inquiries from mom as to why that was not a good idea).  Wish I would have had my camera for that one....but I do have some footage of another match...

So without further ado....

xoxoxoxoxo

13 weeks and counting...

Hurray!!  I'm 13 weeks and starting to feel better....still can't look at a piece of lettuce but the nausea is subsiding significantly!! Whoo-hoo!!

Here is a pic of my 3 month belly....can't believe it's already starting to POP!!!

xoxox

One potato, two potato, THREE potato...

Yes, that's me comparing babies to potatoes...

If you didn't know already...we are expecting our third little one on April 3, 2011.  

( this might explain the lack in posting...i am NOT feeling well lately...not at all).

no energy + no appetite + upset tummy = a non-blog posting mommy.  

I hope to return to our regularly scheduled blogging just as soon as I'm feeling like a human again.  

( at least there is a WONDERFUL end result...)

xoxoxo

How could this happen?

How is it possible that my darling baby girl is 4 years old today?

How is it possible that she is such a big girl?

How could 4 years have flown by in the blink-of-an-eye?

A note to all of you new parents out there.....

-cherish EVERY moment, even the bad ones...they are gone in an instant.

-savor each kiss, each hug, each tender love that your child gives you

-marvel at the world through their eyes

and...

LOVE them for who they are as individuals , not as who you think they should be.

Happy Birthday my darling child....i love you more than you could ever know.

xoxoxoxoxo

A moment of silence...

Can you hear it?  

The silence....

The wonderful , beautiful silence.....of.....

my darling husband whisking my children off to a weekend in Palm Springs to be with their grandparents..

Which meant...

mommy had a weekend....YES! , a weekend to herself...( minus the Saturday I worked all day..but we won't think about that...)

...and...

i actually made, ate breakfast, read part of the newspaper, and took a shower...all...

...in silence....

no t.v., no radio, no NOISE!  

Do I miss my children?  

...of course...

.......BUT........

I never knew "silence" could be so therapeutic. 

xoxoxoxo

p.s.  i love you, my husband...you truly know what I need , and when i need it...

A bountiful harvest...

...well...maybe not quite "bountiful"....but we're pretty proud.  Olivia is in the garden daily picking cherry tomatoes and we tried growing a few carrots this year ...they were small but created squeals of delight from the kids as we pulled them out of the ground....we have a couple of pumpkins growing and some corn.  The zucchini plants are also producing like crazy....yummm!

Oh, and the reason there aren't any picks of Finn with vegetables is because he chucks them like baseballs when you hand them to him.....ahem.. :-)

xoxo

Summers are for splash parks and movie nights..

...the title pretty much says it all...

....you just gotta love the FREE splash parks that are popping up all over...this one doesn't happen to be particularly close to our house but it is the best one...or at least Olivia thinks so..:-)

.....and there really is NOTHING better than a movie night ( i think this one was "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs") and popcorn with you cousins!  Ahhhhh....summer....

xoxoxo