family plug...

Our good family friends Judson Morgan and Kelly Overton have made an fantastic movie...check out the trailer...

First Hair Cut...

Well...after MUCH resistance on my part...I finally went through with it today...I cut the cutie's hair. He was very patient and even added a hmmmmmmm sound to match the sound of the clippers. He looks very handsome....and much older....but still as cute as ever!

Worth Blogging for...

Abby had her first day of ballet today...she was so cute...excited...and completely self critical...she REALLY did not like being perfect right away...she did really well...but her perception of her performance was sub-par. She really was great at following the teacher, but she felt overwhelmed by all the newness. Cutie girl. She certainly looked PERFECT in her leotard and tutu! SO CUTE...I hope she sticks with it, cause I can't wait to see her in the recital...priceless!

Why I don't blog...

Here's why I don't blog....THIS is what I took out of Aaron's mouth while attempting to post a new blog entry....Bad mommy!

P.S. I guess I'm officially a realist...since I'm posting in December...although the pessimist in me doesn't have much hope for future blogging after today~

"Good Bye Everyone" (Pessamist) "Check Back in Decemeber" (Realist)

So it is official...I am a classroom teacher again...I'm working half time (every afternoon)...I'll be up to my neck in busy (even more-so than usual)...Here's the view from my classroom...you can't beat that. If you want some updates you're going to have to visit Andy's blog.. Bye for now...or for a WHILE!

Second Child Syndrome

Being the youngest of 4 you'd think I'd be ultra sensitive to making sure to not let things go un-noticed...don't get me wrong being the youngest had it's perks...but it was also pretty easy to fly under the radar...

The last couple days Aaron has been super fussy at bedtimes, while nursing or eating(previously his favorite activities), and then came a runny nose...a parent of one might say...oh he's coming down with something, better keep him home,give him extra rest...nope...we had to go to Abby's wrap-up show for the vacation bible school (affectionately known by her as "bible-school-camp")...so we trudged Aaron to the show, and tried to keep him happy...I reached my finger in his mouth as a last resort to figure out what could be bothering him...DUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHH mommy! HE HAS TWO TEETH!!!! Lest you think I haven't checked...I did check on Wednesday...that means in two days they surfaced and pushed through...POOR cutie...no wonder he's been complaining...he's so sweet most of the time that these moments of unhappiness really stand out...don't worry...he's still REALLY cute!
See!? Don't you just love how his eyes disappear when he smiles!!

And since the last posts have been about Aaron I'd better include an Abby update. The other day on the way home from homegroup we asked Abby what she is thankful for. Here is her list in order:
1. The Sun and the lights (they keep us warm)
2. horses (they are very beautiful, I wish I had a horse)
3. cars (we are really lucky because we have two cars so that when Daddy goes to work, we still have a car for us)
4-6. my mommy and my daddy and baby Aaron
7. trees
8. fireworks
9. Jesus (I really like doing that stuff...what stuff? learning about Jesus...Oh!)
10. stars
11. rainbows
12. buildings
13. water (it cools me down)
14. milk
15. soft blankets

MA! MA!

While we have unofficially been saying that "Hi" is Aaron's first word...the only one he would regularly mimic since he was about 6 months. But NOW it's official his first spontanuos-self-chosen word...MA ! MA! Yep! It happened this morning, when I was leaving him with Andy while off to work my first day of summer school (incidentally this is the first day I have ever LEFT him for work...all last year he came with me...)So...he picks today to make it official. Technically I think it happened yesterday, but it was 5 in the morning...I was dead tired and he was REALLY wanting to play so he tapped my face(my eyes were barely even open at that point) over and over and finally said MA! He was satisfied because it woke me up and he decided to stop saying it...But today he has said it over and over, and YES, my heart melts more and more each time!

By the way, Andy took this awesome photo yesterday evening at the Mission Rose Garden! He's good! And that boy is CUTE!!!!!!!

Four???????

How can it be...age four is here...well almost anyway. Abby's friend Sydney had her party this weekend...which means we're going to blink and Abby's going to be four. Wow!
Here's some of the action from "Under the Sea" These Little Mermaids had a splashing good time!

The A-Man!

What can I say...being friends with Tad Wagner is a cool thing! Not only is he a guy that I respect tremendously...but he takes some AWESOME photos of my kids...we were out working on a project together today and having Aaron with me turned out to be an added bonus. You have seen many pics of Abby by him on our blogs...but this is the A-man's T-bone Debut!

Few Things More Fun Than This!

Abby loves to help me cook...tonight she was SUPER bummed at me because I had done all the work and didn't have her help. I can't wait for the day when I get to step aside and let her cook a meal for our family...I know I am going to blink and the day will come~I was cooking for my entire family by the age of nine! It will be kind of nice to have another cook in the rotation in a few years! On another cute note...she also LOVES to hang out with Andy while he BBQ's...I guess it's only a matter of time before we are not needed to provide the meals...meanwhile I will cherish the moments of her soaking up the experience of cooking! What a joy!

VOTE FOR CHRIS MUNDELL!!!

VOTE FOR CHRIS MUNDELL

His video is the one in the middle calle "Resume for Pizza VP"!
Vote for HIS video...it is the BEST!! If you are my friend then you will do this right now~~I'd say no pressure...but I'd be lying...there's $25,000 at stake and he has 3 adorable children to feed..and two very old, very needy vehicles! SO enough with the guilt...JUST GO VOTE NOW!


Click here to go VOTE NOW!
Tell EVERYONE you know VOTE NOW~~~~PLEASE!!!

I'm sorry...but that is CUTE!

I dare you to argue with me!

Tired Beyond Belief... of looking at that old post???

Finally a moment...here's a fun photo side by side...well one on top of the other anyway...Abby is three weeks older than Aaron in this comparison...check out how much more hair she has! So here's how I see it...As I have been saying, they are VERY different. The mouth and chin (the unescapable!) is the same...that's about it. You may weigh in with your opinion.

Tired BEYOND belief!!!!!

Do you remember that feeling you had in college the week after finals. The hazy-sick-to-your-stomach-head-in-a-fog...feeling. Now imagine that feeling for nearly 4 months (well wait...add to that the last 4 months of pregnancy)!!! The other significant difference is that in college you only had to take care of yourself and you can nap at almost any hour...so in my foggy existence I also have to care for 2 children...yikes...Oh and I am considering long drives at 4 am to get my son to sleep...I reccommend staying safely in your own bed...I predict I'll be running into Carrie Eacker sometime out on the roads!!!

WILL I EVER NOT BE TIRED?????!!!!!!!!!!!

And the winner is....

My wonderful husband wins the prize today. He let me "sleep in" both Saturday and Sunday and last night he took Aaron until 5:00. The amazing thing is that Aaron went nearly 8 hours without eating! This proves to me that he is NOT hungry in the middle of the night...just wants some cuddles! Thankfully daddy was willing to provide! I feel like a new person...I slept more last night then I can remember in a long time! Andy may on the other hand be tired beyond belief today...but I am OH SO thankful!

Abby is today's winner!!!!!!

I have a favorite child...there I said it! This is my wonderful first born child!


She slept through the night immediately! Yes, I know that I was spoiled. Most babies don’t sleep from 10:00-7:30!!! But Abby was and continues to be a stellar sleeper! Now mind you I realize that this phase of life is temporary and that “this too shall pass” But I’d advise you to steer clear of reminding me of such things in person these days! That sounds harsh...what I am trying to say is that I have run out of the fumes I was running on. My second child (adorable though he may be!!!!) has decided that he’d like to be awake multiple times a night....and some times for an extra special bonus he’ll stay awake for an hour or so around 3:00 a.m....for the record he does have some pretty bad gas...but DAYS of gas! It is time for me to cash in on my husband’s promised spa day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh and by the way this post is subject to change by the end of the day...you never know what Abby's gonna do next...little miss 3.5 going on 13!
Here's a memory of a sleeping Aaron!

The Alpaca Farm

This is Ticky.
She greeted us on our arrival to the Alpaca Farm in Carpinteria.




Grandma Shudu and Papa James took us to see these cute fuzzy friends.

Abby loved getting to pet them. She even got to give Ticky a kiss. Ticky believes she is part human, by the way....she was bottle fed by the owner. We got to see an alpaca who had just been born a few hours earlier. He was pretty cute...kinda wobbly like Bambi.



It was a beautiful spot to see the sunset overlooking the Carpinteria Valley and the Pacific!

I got a hair cut today...

Or as my family would say...I had more than one cut...or I had my ears lowered. I had had it with the school marm look...I'm not even a teacher anymore...and I had the eternal "up-do" If I wore my hair down my cute little newborn would flail his arms about and manage to get tangled in the mop...so it's "mom-hair" time...you can be brutally honest...weigh in with a thumbs up or thumbs down. I can take it! Fortunately my husband likes it!

take what you can get...

Here's Abby's preschool portrait...pretty cute if you ask me.

I have been getting hints that some have thought I have lagged in the area of blog updates...WELL YES!!! As I type I am holding sweet Aaron in one arm, while I type one handed...as you can guess this is not the easiest endeavor. We are managing to survive through the fog of VERY LITTLE sleep...well for me at least...Aaron manages to sleep through most of the day still...well I hope you will all forgive my absence from the blog world...

Halloween Fun!

What a fun day to be a mom! Abby was on cloud nine all day! She loves to dress up...so a whole day dedicated to it is like bliss for her...she would be happy if there were a dress up hour every day...kind of like the siesta tradition of Spain...I digress. This morning Abby's school had "Fall Festival" with an Ocean theme...her class were the Rainbow Fish. They paraded around the courtyard. What I really should have been taking pictures of were the hoards of parents crowding around with every form of camera related technology trying to capture the moment...too funny us ridiculously proud parents!

After that it was time to go to Daddy's school. Abby changed into her Tinker Bell Costume which my friend Tina sent her (extremely thoughtful of her...knowing I would have NO time to shop for a costume this year!!! Before we left her school she wanted to show EVERYONE her new costume...she was BEAMING!!!

A few years ago I made Andy a costume...let's just say it's a lot of yellow for one man...he is the perfect "Man-with-the-yellow-hat" (by the way I am still mad that they gave him the name "Ted" in the movie...but don't get me started) So what better costume for Aaron than to be CURIOUS GEORGE! My friend Sarah gave us some cute little brown jamies for Aaron...I slipped on the shirt from one of Abby's stuffed Curious George monkeys, sewed some ears onto the hat...and VOILA the cutest monkey you've ever seen! At Andy's school they had an assembly and he held Aaron up in front of the school like a proud father (anyone seen Lion King...picture pride rock...Simba...it was adorable!)






p.s. sorry tosay but this was not one of my better photo days...lack of sleep has damaged my attention to detail!