Let's go to the Movies

Kristyn and I decided to take the girls to their FIRST movie (Princess and the Frog) today and we joked about how we thought we'd be successful if the girls make it thru the first fifteen minutes.....well, they lasted almost the entire movie, just over an hour. Whooo hoooo!!!!! And they really enjoyed it too. Grace was a little chatty so I felt a little bad for the audience but like Kristyn said, it's a Disney movie at 11 am. What do people expect :) We followed up the movie with pizza, yogurt and a trip to the pet store. It's so fun to watch the girls' little friendship grow. Next up, Alvin and the Chipmunks. And a bonus - kids under 3 are free!!

Pathways Christmas Party

We had our church preschool Christmas party on Tuesday. The theme was "Happy Birthday Jesus" and there was tons of crafts, card making, cupcake decorating, pizza eating and storytime. It was so much fun celebrating with our Pathways friends. Grace loves to decorate cupcakes. Here she is blowing out a candle for baby Jesus.

To the North Pole!!!

Grandma and Grandpa took us to the North Pole (in Laguna Niguel) this weekend. Grace saw her FIRST live reindeer and got to pet a 7 month old reindeer baby. This event was so much more than we expected --- there were lots of different Christmas crafts, cookie decorating, games, face painting, santa storytime and a music show. Grace loved it (minus the Santa part of course) and us adults had a great time too!!

Two Peas in a Pod....or Crib

Grace was so excited to welcome Sophie over for their first sleepover last night. The moment Sophie walked in the house, these two were off and running. We sang and danced and ate and played and then played some more. The cutest moment was when Kristyn and Ethan and I were sitting on the couch and Grace and Sophie came downstairs holding hands and giggling and laughing their little heads off like they were up to mischief. The sweet bond between these two is PRICELESS....just like their mamas.

Is Santa Scary?

Grace says YES....here is our one-and-only picture with Santa this year since Grace is not a big fan. When we ask her what she wants Santa to bring her, she replies "pink toys" :)

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Birthday Rosco

Rosco - 2005

Not only is today Thanksgiving, but it's also Rosco's 5th birthday. We celebrated this milestone by taking him for a long walk to the park this morning. Rosco has given us unconditional love for the last five years and for his companionship we are very thankful.

Thanksgiving dinner this year was soooooo good!!! We went to Grandma and Pa's and had fun playing, making bead jewelry, taking a walk, visiting, laughing at silly things like Ashley's computer photo game & Pa's version of Grace's bubby/bobby, and we even snuck in a little 'Home Alone' watching. The dinner was fantastic so I just HAD to have two platefuls and now I'm sporting the after-effects of a bulging belly :) Grace enjoyed a full plate as well (see below) but I think the pumpkin pie was her favorite - what can I say, she takes after her mom. Thanks Grandma and Pa for a great Thanksgiving! Nana and Papa were missed but they were spending it with my 93 yr old Grandma and Uncle; and Jeff and Trina are enjoying a seasonal (not 80 degree) Thanksgiving in Bozeman so we're happy for them.

We are most thankful this year for our wonderful family and their good health.

Christmas Company

This past weekend Grace, Nana and I visited Santa & Mrs. Claus at the Christmas Company with our best friends Kristyn, Sophie, Ethan and Grandma Retta. Although the visit with Santa didn't go so well, Grace was soooooooo excited to see Sophie. Seriously, she talks about Sophie every day. The two girls had a great time running around, visiting the booths and egging eachother on. I watched this thinking they are going to grow-up to be the teenagers that Kristyn and I were (uh oh....just kidding.....good ones of course! ;-) Ethan is seriously the best baby on the planet --- he loved being passed around, hugged and squezzed. What a great start to the holiday season!

Baby Ella Rose

I met Grace's new friend Ella Rose for the first time today and she sure is a little cutie!! Born in October --- a wee bit earlier than expected --- she has gained weight and is such an adorable peanut at 5.5 lbs now. Her mommy Temre is doing great too & we're so excited for them! Ella, Grace can't wait to meet you this winter :)

Grace is 2!!!

My sweet baby turned 2 last Sunday!! Where has the time gone? This little angel we were given as a gift from God (defintion of Grace = an undeserved gift) has made our lives so complete and blessed and joyful. Gracie, daddy and coco and I love you with all of our hearts. We love the way you view the world with such wonder and interest...a 2-yr old is truly magical :) Happy Birthday baby girl. We love you!

Happy Halloweeeeen

My princess Grace had a magical evening this Halloween. She loved being a princess and enjoyed "poofing" her friends. We kicked off the celebration with a pizza party at our friends Keri and Jacob's house down the street. It was so fun to see all the little kids arrive in costume. Keri sure knows how to throw a partay. Around 6 pm, the kids were itching to begin so we all headed out to trick or treat. Grace quickly got the hang of it and was very sweet saying "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you" for the candy. We did about 2 streets total and she would have kept going, but we decided to come home and help Daddy hand-out candy. After all, we had a BIG day ahead of us on the 1st!

Harvest Day

I got to tap into my inner 'Middle Eastern ness' on Sunday during Harvest Day at our church since I was assigned the middle eastern table for the International food part. Here's Grace helping me set-up :) Actually, this stuff was tasty!!

Grandma's Birthday and Julian

Happy birthday Grandma!!! To celebrate Grandma's b-day we took a little day trip to Julian today. Set high in the mountains above Ashley's college town, Julian was packed with lots of earthy people and their canine companions on the search for the perfect apple pie - just like us. Well we found it...and thinking we were really clever Grandma and I decided to split 1 apple and 1 boysenberry-apple pie so we could take half of each home with us. Welllllll, the guys didn't think we were so clever, but Pa did a fabulous job splitting and transferring pies with a few plastic forks along the side of the road. Grace was much better than I anticipated with the long drive and she just loved having everyone in the car together. She was too cute walking along holding Ashley and Ryan's hands. It was a fun day but we're a little bummed the Yankees/Angels game was rained out. Oh well, here's to tomorrow night. Go Yankees!!

Here Kitty Kitty

Another first to report!! Tonight Grace had her face painted for the first time....and she chose a 'kitty cat'. I was so impressed that she liked it because I kept thinking she'd back out as soon as she sat down. Nana took us to Harvest Day at her church Mariners and it was incredible - a full blown carnival packed with games, rides, ponies, petting zoo, funnel cake and everything else you'd find at a local fair. A bunch of the ministry/therapy dogs were there to greet the kids and that was a definite highlight for Grace. She is such an animal lover. We are looking forward to Harvest Day at our church on Sunday.

Oh, and I had a nice encounter with a boa constrictor which is something you don't see everyday. We were watching a snake show and one of the snake charmer peeps asked me if I wanted to hold one. For someone who hates bugs, bees and spiders, for some reason I have no fear when it comes to the big snakes (the little ones still freak me out). So as Grace had a first, I had a second. My first boa-constrictor-holding experience happened about 6 years ago in Bangkok Thailand. I thought I'd post both pics here to show the difference..and similarity I suppose.

The Pumpkin Phantom...

...came to visit us last night. He left Grace bag full of goodies and a cute little pumpkin. Mommy let Grace have too much candy so she preceded to run circles around our family room for at least 30 minutes. Daddy warned me that might happen, but hey, I'm a softy.

Uncle Jeff's Big Move

Uncle Jeff and his girlfriend Trina are off to Bozeman, MT!! They decided to embark on a fun new adventure and move to the Big Sky Country. Although we will miss seeing them often, we're excited for this new opportunity for them, and we can't wait to come visit next year once the big freeze melts away :)

Luv These 2

Pretend City

Driving around town
Setting the table and talking on the phone (like mommy?)

Playing with dolls & counting money for the grocery store

Yeah, a fun new place for kids in Irvine!! Pretend City. Today was my first visit to Pretend City which is an awesome hands-on pretend city/museum for kids. It has everything from a grocery store to a doctor's office to an arts & crafts room...to a stage and dress up area. How perfect for preschoolers. Grace has already been there twice with Nana so she was able to show me the ropes today :) We met up with my new friend from church, Christina, and two of her three adorable little girls. Here's Grace and Aliyah having some real fun.

Playdate with the Girls....and Ethan

Best Friends

Ethan must have been asleep during this picture..worn out from the crazy girls

Our little buddy Ethan is going to look back one day when he's a teenager and think how lucky he was to have playdates with all these cute little girls...Grace, Paige, Olivia and big sister Sophie :)

We got together at Kristyn's this weekend and enjoyed catching-up and watching the little kids play. Grace and Sophie were connected at the hip...even at the potty...and they had a ball dancing, playing, eating and having an all-around good time. Us mommies had fun doing the same thing.

Thanks for those cupcakes Julie! You may need to bring more for me next time :) Oh and Jen, did you get on your preschool wait list yet (ha ha...jk)? Can't wait till we meet up again in October! Love you girls...mommies and babes!!

The Beach

We went to Laguna Beach today with Grandma and had such a blast. The water seriously looked Hawaii-blue today. Grace was so entertained with a bucket, a shovel, some sand, and a little ocean water. It was so cute seeing her play and take-in the beautiful ocean. Grandma made lunch for us and the beach we visited was so cool because there was a little playground for the kiddos too. We walked down the beach and found some tidepools among the rocks. Grace had no fear when it came to climbing the rocks and she loved sitting in the tidepools. Unfortunately there was little sealife because the tidepools were close to the sand, but we did see a crab which really impressed Gracie. We'll need to visit the beach some more before the cool autumn weather kicks in. PS - Ashley, we missed you!!!

On a separate note, Grace is really into pretending right now and this morning she came running into my room saying "Mommy silly tiger is going to get me". I said "where is the silly tiger?" and she said "right there" pointing to the ground. This is the first time she has imagined anything scary and I told her "don't worry, the silly tiger has to go home to her babies". She seemed fine with that response and I'm waiting to see if the silly tiger re-appears any time soon :)

Cupcake

I was craving a cupcake the other day soooooooooooo Grace became my partner in crime!! Green frosting and all :)

Whale Watching...or Dolphin Watching

We went whale watching with our neighbor friends today in Newport and although we didn't see our whale, we saw lots of dolphins, sea lions and pelicans. This was Grace's first ocean boat ride (besides the ferry) and she did really well and sort of just rocked along with the boat as it was a pretty bumpy ride. She always loves being with her friends, no matter what we do, but the marine life, biggie boat and ocean in general definitely added to the excitement of the day. She was so sweet saying "cute dolphin" and "cute sea lion". Everything is "cute" right now - I guess she picked up that word from me because she uses it all the time.

Lunch with GiGi

Grace and I like to pay GiGi a visit at her house in Loma Linda on a regular basis. They enjoy eachother very much and it's so great to see the smile Grace brings to her great grandmother's face and I know Grace thinks her GiGi is very special. We usually sit around and talk, have lunch, play a few games or read a few books and Grace loves to check out GiGi's "stuff". Luckily she has not broken anything yet! During our most recent trip, on Monday, GiGi had animal crackers ready for miss Grace and boy did that make for a happy girl. She also read Grace 'Olivia' and I was able to capture a little bit albeit the bad backlight...

Mommy's Helper

So Grace has become a great little helper at the ripe old age of almost two. She loves to help me clean the house and insists I give her a wet paper towel to do so. If I give it to her dry, she gives it back and asks for water. She cruises the house cleaning the tv, floor, couches and her toys. Sometimes she likes to try to clean me too and I just squirm as that dirty wet paper towel comes towards me. She also like to help me cook. Here she is helping stir the pancake batter this morning. Of course bubby is helping too. I missed the shot where the batter spilled out onto the floor, but she helped wipe it up with a wet paper towel :)

Ashley's Birthday

Ashley turns 19 this weekend! We enjoyed her birthday dinner on Wednesday night and stuffed ourselves full of ravioli and carrot cake (worth the calories). Grace had fun celebrating and singing 'Happy Birthday', and then Ash and I had ourselves a little massage and spa time on Thursday. Grace loves her Auntie Ashley soooooo much.

Natalie and Audrey

Today we met our good friends Megan, Natalie and Audrey for lunch and to play at the mall. The three girls are very cute together and we always have a good time with them. Natalie was so sweet with Grace --- just like a big sister.

Weekend Wrap-up

Fun weekend! On Saturday we had Grace's friend Kate's 2nd birthday party at the Santa Ana zoo. The little kids had so much fun seeing all the animals and having lunch and cake. On Sunday we had a 'park day' thru church and it was sooooo geared for the kids....snow cones, cookies, arts & crafts and THE LIZARD WIZARD. The lizard wizard brought all kinds of reptiles and part of his show was show & tell while the other have was a demonstration. Grace held turtles and lizards, and even cleaned a tortoise's shell with a toothbrush and squirt bottle (who knew?). She wasn't into touching the snakes and spiders but who can blame her - I wouldn't hold a tarantula if you paid me!

Happy Birthday Kristyn

Kristyn and I celebrated her birthday on Thursday. We both found babysitters and snuck off to Huntington Beach for lunch and a bike ride. It was so nice to relax & enjoy the weather, and we were joking about how we felt like we were on vacation. We've been friends since 8th grade and she's an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G friend. Happy Birthday K!!!

Oh, and PS - Totally unrelated, but Grace pooped in her potty - sorry K for including this in the same post as your b-day but I know you understand since we're in the same boat :)

Potty News...

Proud mom moment: Grace took her first pee pee in the potty tonight. It was right after her bath and we were in her room getting ready to put on jammies when she marched right into the bathroom, sat on the potty, and viola! I tried to make a big deal about it and since I hadn't bought any M&M's yet, I told her she could have some fruit snacks and a Calliou episode as her "treat". Let's hope she does it again one of these days :)

Blog Makeover!

So what do you think about my NEW and IMPROVED blog?! Danielle at the Design Girl Studio did it and she was so fun to work with. I highly recommend her if you're thinking about a little makeover yourself. Thanks Danielle!!!!

OC Fair

Last night Grace and I went to the OC Fair with Grandma and Pa. We had a blast eating yummy fair food and checking out all kinds of farm animals. Here are some of the photographic highlights:

Funnel Cake - BEFORE

Funnel Cake - AFTER - as Grace says "Full Belly"

(OK, I should explain, she did not demolish this alone!)

Hanging out with Pa and Grandma

Seeing the cute baby piggies, which Grace talked about all day today and she insists one of these babies is the "Daddy Piggy"