Our Weekend in Photos

A few photos from our weekend.


Eating yummy pancakes Randy made


Climbing up the stairs at Pump it Up at
Brody's 3rd birthday party. Happy
Birthday Buddy!

Down the slide tummy first



"Sharing" their new favorite chair (an infant bouncy seat
that tried to make its way back into the garage)

Celie feeding her babies lunch. At least someone ate it

Being a Rock star!

Bath time

Muffin Tin Monday-No Theme

No theme this week so I decided to jump back in. Lots of randomness. Hattie was thrilled. She loves eating food out of small little containers. Maybe I should try this with my picky eater next week.


L to R: cottage cheese, lentil soup from Costco, mozzarella,
crackers, weird-looking snowman, apple sauce

checking out the snowman, which she
ate immediately
Here are some other ideas:

Happy Birthday!

He's 38 today. We love you very much!

Birthday Girl

Today Hattie turned 3. Crazy. Couldn't wait to get past those first 3 months, and here we are at 3 years.
Today she said, "Mommy, I think 2 is going to be sad because I am not 2 anymore."

I'm a little sad too...

She:
-can say many words in Spanish, including counting to 10
-loves Wonder Pets, Diego and Little Bill
-is still a great sleeper-7pm to 6ish
-is potty trained (for about 4 months now)
-can dress herself
-has very long hair (not sure when we will trim it)
-loves to eat Craisin Brown (Raisin Bran), yogurt and hard boiled eggs
-actually loves to eat anything!
-enjoys playing with blocks, playdoh and her dollhouse
-loves wearing rain boots
-is starting to become obsessed with the ipad and "Angry Birds"
-likes to draw, especially people and now rabbits (???)
-reminds us to brush her teeth everyday
-takes pleasure in letting her little sis know that she is the big girl
-is loved to pieces

Adios 2010

After beginning 2010 with a big health scare for Randy (stroke/not stroke thing), we are happy to say that the rest of the year was easy peasy (though I do realize that we are not quite finished with 2010). Loved watching the girls grow and become friends. So much fun having two little girls in the house even though that somehow triples laundry around here. Have a safe and healthy 2011.

Picking the Perfect Tree

Yesterday we went and picked out our tree. We looked high and low, far and wide, and found it, in the Christmas aisle at Target! I wanted a fake one this year. I hated watering the one from last year, all of the needles everywhere, and Cameron eating them and throwing them up. So we bought a fake one, and I was happy until I found fake needles everywhere and Cameron still eats them and throws them up. Sigh. At least I don't have to water it.

Christmas Photo Shoot Gone Wrong

Just finished uploading the photos I took of the girls this morning for our Christmas cards. Here are some of the outtakes:



Yes, that first photo is of my closet.
This year's card should be pretty interesting...

Our Elf friend and more!

Our Elf friend (no name yet) came to visit us for a second year in a row. He watches us throughout the day (not as creepy as it sounds), and then reports back to Santa at night to let him know if we behaved. He can be very effective. Just yesterday, I heard a 2, almost 3-year old yelling from time out, "Do not tell Santa Elf! Do not tell Santa!" He is a kind Elf. He brought Christmas coloring books and snowman pillows for us to enjoy.

We had another friend stop by and visit. Liam and Hattie made a Santa, wore reindeer hats, and added cotton (the beard) to their Santa advent calendar.


Speaking of advent calendars, we decided this year to have a couple of them. One of them is a Christmas book advent. Each Christmas book (some from the library, some of our own) was wrapped and numbered, and put on a shelf up high. Before bed, Hattie opens the book to be read that night. Our first book was, "Hare's Christmas Gift."


I plan on Christmas activities and crafts every day up until the 25th, so if my computer is cooperating, I will add the activity of the day to the blog.
Stay warm!
Santa activity, Santa advent, and reindeer hat from Kidssoup.com

Thanksgiving 2010

We went to John and Jenny's in Los Banos. My parents
and brother joined us. Jenny set a beautiful table.


The food was delicious. I loved the stuffing.




I had to give them snacks so they would sit for these photos.




They were kept busy with blocks (their favorite toy right
now).


It's never a true holiday unless someone is crying. Thank
you iphone for distracting her.


It's an annual tradition to give Christmas pajamas on
Thanksgiving night. I like the idea of the girls wearing their
pjs throughout the holiday season.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Little Pilgrims

These two little pilgrims want to wish
everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Tot School-Thanksgiving

We've done several Thanksgiving related activities this past month. Hattie has learned about turkeys, pumpkins, cornucopias, and The Mayflower. This week she will learn about Pilgrims and Native Americans.
Here is a sample of what we've done this month:


Matching the letters to the word "turkey", (ingles360), cornucopia snack-
sugar cone and fish crackers :), play-doh and autumn themed
cookie cutters, painting a cornucopia with friend, Liam, gluing
Thanksgiving foods on paper, pumpkin pie made out of paper
plates and paint, The Mayflower made out of hand prints and
Hattie devouring a pumpkin chocolate chop muffin.
Click on the link for other tot ideas:

Muffin Tin Monday-Food Pyramid

This week's theme for Muffin Tin Monday is the Food Pyramid. I have to admit, I had to Google it to make sure I was adding the correct components. It's been a while since I've had to look at it. It has definitely motivated me to add healthier food options to our menu this week.


L to R: rice (grains), chicken and beans (protein), yogurt
(dairy), peas and corn (vegetables), apples (fruit) and
caramel for dipping apples (fat)
OK. OK. I'm kidding about the caramel and fat. I know they
aren't talking about this kind of fat, but I couldn't resist.


Guess what she ate first!
Click on the button to see more ideas:

Muffin Tin Monday-No Theme

It's been a LONG time since I've participated in Muffin Tin Monday, but my goal is to make lunch like this at least twice a month. We'll see. No theme this week, so I just put together some random stuff.

L to R: banana, pumpkin-shaped bread with pumpkin spice

flavored cream cheese, raisins to decorate the pumpkin's face

with, crackers, salsa for the crackers and a fortune cookie.

Totally random. Told ya!

Hattie having fun making her jack-o-lantern

Finished jack-o-lantern: a "miley" face, nose, eyes and

eyebrows.

I know Halloween has come and gone, but since I didn't

make a muffin tin for Halloween, I snuck it in now.

If you want to see other muffin tins, click on the button:

Halloween 2010

My computer has been down for a couple of days, so Halloween pictures are a little late.

Hattie was a flower fairy, and Celie wore the infamous rabbit costume. Hopefully it will still fit her for Easter.

Lots of Halloween ativities over here and even more chocolate.

My Favorite Thing Right Now

Looking in the back seat and watching the girls hold hands.

Pumpkin Patch

This past weekend we took our annual trip to Joan's Pumpkin Patch in Livermore. Hattie rode Red (again), and Celie rode on Lightning. We stayed a little less than two hours because it was so hot!

Birthday Party

The theme for Celie's birthday was a "Guess Whoo's One"

theme with brown and pink owls. I found the dress on Etsy.

It came with two matching hair clips. The owner, Tracy,

finished the dress in just a few days and it was adorable.

What I like about the dress is that Celie can wear it

as a shirt when it is too small for a dress. If you

are interested in taking a look at Tracy's shop, go here.






The owl pinata was from 1stwishes.com . Instead of hitting

the poor thing with a bat, each child pulls a ribbon and the

candy falls out. Much safer.






The owl cake was made by Randy, but Celie was not

pleased. I was surprised because Grandpa John

had to hold her back a few times as she took off towards

the cake before we sang "Happy Birthday." She cried when

we made her taste it and she definitely

did not like it on her fingers.




Some of the details of the party. The favor bags were filled

with chocolate and topped with an owl topper, the guests

ate owl cupcakes made by Randy and myself using this book,

a banner was hung on my parent's fireplace, and someone

was stealing candy from the children's pinata. I wonder who

that was?

12 Months and an Amazing Year

What a joy our Celie is. She hasn't changed much in personality over the course of the year. Still easy-going and happy. I hope it stays put through her toddler years. Who am I kidding. I hope it stays put through her teen years as well!
She has been an amazing addition to our family and I can't imagine our lives without her. I know Hattie can't. They are the best of friends.
At 1 year,
She:
-has 7 words: mama, hi, bye, uh oh, more, up, ball
-has 24 signs with the newest ones being: loud, car, shoe, bird, butterfly, and horse
-stands up with ease, no walking
-sleeps through the night
-still takes 2 naps a day
-doesn't like clips in her hair
-puts the phone to her ear and "talks"
-says "hi" whenever the phone rings
-tries to put shoes on her feet
-likes to comb her hair
-likes cannellini beans (white kidney beans)
-has her 1-year appointment this Wednesday( I'll know then how much she weighs-I'm guessing 19lbs.)
-is a good traveler except when she's tired
-doesn't like her picture taken (she often turns her head or avoids the camera)
-loves to throw her food on the ground (I find Cheerios everywhere)
-can show you where her nose is
-doesn't like birthday cake :) (pictures of that later)
ETA-also knows the sign for train and says "ashes ashes" when singing Ring Around the Rosy

Preschool

Hattie started preschool this week. She will be attending school a few half days per week in a Spanish immersion school. I was more nervous then she was; she didn't even cry when we dropped her off (I may have a little). When I picked her up, she ran over to me and said, "Mommy, we sang songs!" When I asked about her favorite parts of her day, she said she liked playing in the garden and splashing in the puddles. I am so happy she likes it there. It has put my nerves to rest.

11 Months and No Likey Grass

When strangers ask me how old Celie is, they are shocked when I say, "Almost 11 months." Their guess is usually around 6-8 months. I'm just shocked that I'm saying, "Almost 11 months." Can't believe how time flies.

At 11 months,

She:

-has 5 words (hi, bye, uh oh, mama and more)

-points to everything and it sounds like she is saying, "What's that?"

-has 18 signs total, with the newest ones being: cat, toilet (poop), all done, book, ball, get dressed, take off, Cheerio, and cheese

-is learning the signs: car, home, horse, duck

-still sleeps from 6pm-6am

-may be dropping her third nap any day now

-has 9 teeth

-is still not walking, and not even close

-LOVES cheese and peas

-is starting to understand the word "no"

-has been on her first carousel ride and roller coaster and she loved them

-doesn't like water or grass (see picture below)