The World of Williams

If you give a mom a water bottle...

2012-01-22T20:29:00.000-08:00

*photo via pinterest
Note to self:

If you're out of town and you're breastfeeding, you might be in a situation where you need to pump. If you pump, you might have to find an alternate method of storage (because you probably left those little baggies at home). At that point, an empty water bottle might seem like a really good idea. BUT if you are holding the water bottle, with 6 oz. of warm breast milk in it, talking to someone who is drinking water out of a water bottle, you might forget what you're holding and absentmindedly chug half the milk you just spent 20 minutes painfully juicing from your own body... It doesn't taste too bad actually, very sweet, but that doesn't stop the dry heaves.

Resolutions

2012-01-09T21:03:00.000-08:00

*image via pinterest.com

2011 was awesome for me. I had a beautiful baby boy. My husband turned 30 (and I threw him a pretty successful surprise party, if I do say so myself). My daughter is as happy, healthy, intelligent and spunky as ever. 2011 was a good year. I even stuck to my 2011 resolution of refraining from seeing rated R movies (and I LOVE movies).

This year, (other than wanting to lose weight, but who DOESN'T have that resolution?) I'm really going to focus on being more punctual. I have a little bit of a lagger problem. I'm always always always on time for work... but that's about it. For one thing, I really don't want to walk into church late anymore, it's mortifying. Especially because we live ACROSS THE STREET from the church building. So my motto for 2012 is, "If you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late." It's so true. I need to try to show up 15 minutes early instead of showing up right on time. With a toddler who wants to "do it myself!" and a baby that can't do anything for himself, I feel like I'm always running on a hamster wheel and getting nowhere. But, in 2012, I WILL be on time (for everything except maybe parties - I hate being the first one there). Phew. Wish me luck.

Some great talks on balancing time and setting priorities in life:
"Life's Obligations" by Gordon B. Hinckley
"Keeping Life's Demands in Balance" by Dallin H. Oaks

8 Months

2012-01-03T21:12:00.001-08:00

Harvey at eight months:

weighs 24 lbs
carrying around all his dead weight finally threw my back out on Christmas day :(
he is SUCH a good eater, but am I really suprised? He really likes most of the solid foods he tries, he prefers veggies to fruit (very unlike his sweet-toothed sister)
cut his two front teeth (it was all he wanted for Christmas, yyyyuc yuc yuc!)
is babbling more and more and I LOVE it
Harvey's favorite words:
"Adah" said with a head bob (I think it means "Daddy")
Gurgle talk - Wendy said, "My baby is so smart cuz he can talk like that guy thing on Starwars" (she meant Chewbacca - sounds just like him).
I wish he could stay in this stage forever... or a least just a year. He's all the good (cuddly, interactive, giggly, playful, recognizes (and prefers) me) without any of the bad (doesn't make messes, doesn't get into anything/immobile, no tantrums, no back talk, etc.)
firsts this month: Christmas, trip to Vegas

*he's been making this face a lot. i think he likes the way his lower lip feels on his upper tooth. i love it. thank you aunt vanessa for getting a picture of it on your phone!

Santa

2011-12-19T22:35:00.000-08:00

*can't believe they're both smiling... actually, can't believe Wendy even got near the guy

Wendy & I agree that the Santa at the Brea Mall is probably the really real one. He's amazing. Like the guy on the original "Miracle on 24th Street" amazing. On top of it being kinda weird that I just stick my kids on some complete strangers lap, Wendy is majorly shy with stragers. Especially men. ESPECIALLY if they have facial hair or visible tattoos ( and I'm gonna try to keep her that way, at least til the end of her teenage years). But the Santa at the Brea Mall is so good... not only does he completely look the part, but he really knows how to talk to the kids. Just look at her face. I love it.

Christmas

2011-12-15T22:09:00.000-08:00

*photo credit: Mossi Watene. Thanks Mos!

This year, Ryan and I were asked if we would be Mary and Joseph in the live nativity our church puts on for the community. It was a pretty big commitment, but apparently they were pretty desperate (I guess the 1st 3 couples had said yes then backed out). I thought, "No big deal. I'll sit in a stable and hold a baby doll." Not so much. When I was practicing my "lines" and cheesy acting skills (or lack thereof), practicing riding a donkey side-saddle, bare back, I realized why a lot of people had backed out. Struggling not to fall off the donkey who was spooked by the white lines on the asphalt of the parking lot, I thought, "OOOkay. Nope. I'm done." But I'm glad I didn't back out.

We had over 2.000 people show up to watch the 18 minute story of Christmas. It was such a touching experience to try to portray such a person and share such a sacred message with so many people. Standing in the rafters before each performance, I had a couple minutes to myself. I tried to really think about how Mary must have felt. It helped me step away from the craziness of December and the Brea Mall and Target and traffic and just focus on what really matters. I was so humbled by the people who came up to me after and told me that I had helped them. Plus, I didn't fall off the donkey even once, soooo mission accomplished.

If you have a second...

I love how Jeffrey R. Holland puts the first Christmas into perspective in his article, "“Maybe Christmas Doesn’t Come from a Store”", in the Ensign magazine, Dec. 1977, 63–65. He writes:

" We need to remember the very plain scene, even the poverty, of a night devoid of tinsel or wrapping or goods of this world. Only when we see that single, sacred, unadorned object of our devotion—the Babe of Bethlehem—will we know why “tis the season to be jolly” and why the giving of gifts is so appropriate.

JOSEPH

I have recently begun to think more often of Joseph, that strong, silent, almost unknown man who must have been more worthy than any other mortal man to be the guiding foster father of the living Son of God. It was Joseph selected from among all men who would teach Jesus to work. It was Joseph who taught him the books of the law. It was Joseph who, in the seclusion of the shop, helped him begin to understand who he was and ultimately what he was to become. I believe any father would have done any honorable thing in this world, and mortgaged any future they had, to make sure their wife had the clean sheets, the sterile utensils, the attentive nurses, and the skilled doctors who brought forth their new babe. If she or that child had needed special care, I believe any father would have ransomed their very life to get it. I compare those feelings with what Joseph must have felt as he moved through the streets of a city not his own, with not a friend or kinsman in sight, nor anyone willing to extend a helping hand. In these very last and most painful hours of her “confinement,” Mary had ridden or walked approximately 100 miles from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea. Surely Joseph must have wept at her silent courage. Now, alone and unnoticed, they had to descend from human company to a stable, a grotto full of animals, there to bring forth the Son of God.

I wonder what emotions Joseph might have had as he cleared away the dung and debris. I wonder if he felt the sting of tears as he hurriedly tried to find the cleanest straw and hold the animals back. I wonder if he wondered: “Could there be a more unhealthy, a more disease-ridden, a more despicable circumstance in which a child could be born? Is this a place fit for a king? Should the mother of the Son of God be asked to enter the valley of the shadow of death in such a foul and unfamiliar place as this? Is it wrong to wish her some comfort? Is it right He should be born here?” But I am certain Joseph did not mutter and Mary did not wail. They knew a great deal and did the best they could. Perhaps these parents knew even then that in the beginning of his mortal life, as well as in the end, this baby son born to them would have to descend beneath every human pain and disappointment. He would do so to help those who also felt they had been born without advantage.

MARY

I’ve thought of Mary, too, this most favored mortal woman in the history of the world, who as a mere child received an angel who uttered to her those words that would change the course not only of her own life but also that of all human history: “Hail, thou virgin, who art highly favoured of the Lord. The Lord is with thee; for thou art chosen and blessed among women.” (JST, Luke 1:28.) The nature of her spirit and the depth of her preparation were revealed in a response that shows both innocence and maturity: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38.) It is here I stumble, here that I grasp for the feelings a mother has when she knows she has conceived a living soul, feels life quicken and grow within her womb, and carries a child to delivery. At such times fathers stand aside and watch, but mothers feel and never forget. Again, I’ve thought of Luke’s careful phrasing about that holy night in Bethlehem: “The days were accomplished that she should be delivered.“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and [she] wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and [she] laid him in a manger.” (Luke 2:6–7; italics added.) Those brief pronouns trumpet in our ears that, second only to the child himself, Mary is the chiefest figure, the regal queen, mother of mothers—holding center stage in this grandest of all dramatic moments. And those same pronouns also trumpet that, save for her beloved husband, she was very much alone. I have wondered if this young woman, something of a child herself, here bearing her first baby, might have wished her mother, or an aunt, or her sister, or a friend, to be near her through the labor. Surely the birth of such a son as this should command the aid and attention of every midwife in Judea! We all might wish that someone could have held her hand, cooled her brow, and when the ordeal was over, given her rest in crisp, cool linen.

THE BIRTH OF JESUS

But it was not to be so. With only Joseph’s inexperienced assistance, she herself brought forth her firstborn son, wrapped him in the little clothes she had knowingly brought on her journey, and perhaps laid him on a pillow of hay. Then on both sides of the veil a heavenly host broke into song. “Glory to God in the highest,” they sang, “and on earth, peace among men of good will.” (Luke 2:14, Phillips Translation.) But except for heavenly witnesses, these three were alone: Joseph, Mary, the baby to be named Jesus. At this focal point of all human history, a point illuminated by a new star in the heavens revealed for just such a purpose, probably no other mortal watched—none but a poor young carpenter, a beautiful virgin mother, and silent stabled animals who had not the power to utter the sacredness they had seen. Shepherds would soon arrive and later, wise men from the East. Later yet the memory of that night would bring Santa Claus and Frosty and Rudolph—and all would be welcome. But first and forever there was just a little family, without toys or trees or tinsel. With a baby—that’s how Christmas began. It is for this baby that we shout in chorus: “Hark! the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn king! … Mild he lays his glory by, Born that man no more may die: Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth.'"

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

7 Months

2011-12-09T23:08:00.000-08:00

Harvey at 7 Months:

weight: 23lbs 2oz (97th percentile)
length: 29inches (95th percentile)
wearing size 12 - 18 months... at 7 months! So much for all the 6 - 12 month winter clothes.
is breaking my back, for real. My lower back has been mad at Harvey (and at me) for a couple weeks now. I've been trying hard to focus on lifting with my legs (which is kinda hard to do when you're leaning over the railing of a crib).
a month of firsts:
1st (and 2nd) tooth
1st real food: rice cerial, sweet potatoes, avocado, bananas (LOVES sweet potatoes)
started sitting up at about 6 1/2 months (can't get into sitting position by himself, but will stay there)
does this weird head butt-y thing in his high chair then cracks up when I do it back
likes to use my chin as a teething ring. I would have NEVER let Wendy put my chin in her mouth (oh, the germs), but I guess I'm a little more laid back with #2. He gnaws on my chin while I laugh, then he laughs. I turn my head back and forth to cut off his voice and he cracks up. If I'm ever kissing his chubby cheeks he whips his head around to find my chin. I guess I do it a lot because I even caught Wendy acting this out with one of her baby dolls. I know it sounds kinda weird, but it touched my heart to see her wanting to play the roll of mommy.

Notice something missing?

2011-11-29T21:29:00.000-08:00

Before

After

*both pictures by my talented sister Nessa

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, in Wendy's nursery class at church, her teacher had all the little kids go around and say things they're thankful for. What was Wendy's answer?

"I'm thankful that my gap closed!"

It was something I noticed while helping her floss her teeth a couple nights prior to that day. Only the daughter of a dental hygienist.

Yo Gabba Live!

2011-11-26T21:41:00.000-08:00

Today we got to go to the Yo Gabba Gabba Live show in LA! And it was "AAAAWWESOOMMMMME!!!" to say the least. Harvey slept in my arms most of the time and Wendy was a little nervous we were going to make her go up on stage to do one of Biz's Beats of the day. It wasn't without reason because it was offered to her and brave little Harper was super excited about his chance to go up on stage. She kept leaning over to me and saying, "Mommy, I don't really like Biz a lot. Maybe I just wanna stay here with you." Once Biz's Beats were over (and she had a fist full of cotton candy) she relaxed a little and let herself enjoy the show. Her most favorite part, though, was the after party. My most favorite part was just sitting back in awe and watching this phenomenon that my uncle Scott created. I was sitting next to him wondering if anyone around us realized they were sitting next to the man who dreamed this whole thing up and brought it to life. Being surrounded by thousands of people all decked out in Gabba gear, screaming and singing along and all the celebrities that are fans... it's surreal.

asd

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-20T23:14:00.000-08:00

*Our family on Harvey's 1st Thanksgiving

I thought about doing a list, but it would take too long. I have SO much to be thankful for. All the love, support, health, joys and freedoms in my life are overwhelming. I love Thanksgiving and the opportunity I get to step back and realize all that I've been blessed with in my life.

abd

asd

6 Months

2011-11-10T20:51:00.000-08:00

*don't ya just wanna squeeze those chubby little arms and legs!? Cuz I do.

Harvey at six months:

weight: 22 lbs!!!
has discovered his hands. He will gaze at them opening and closing in slow motion like they are the most fascinating things in this world. I love watching him take it in.
has also discovered his feet. Every time I put him on the changing table, he curls his chubby little body in half and grabs his toes. Sometimes, if he's lucky, he can get them into his mouth. It should probably gross me out or something, but I love it so so much.
has developed some super sensitive skin. Baby eczema, bacterial infection/rash, dermatological fabric allergies, constant diaper rash, blah blah blah. not fun.
still the most laid back baby ever. If all my kids are this easy, I might have 5 or 6 of them.
My favorite thing about Harvey at 6 months: his baby babbling. He's constantly talking and it kills me. I could listen to him all day. It's usually a single sound over and over: Ba ba ba..., ma ma ma..., da da da...., fffffff, screaming or the "motor boat." I remember why I wanted Wendy to stay that way forever now.

2011-11-03T20:51:00.000-07:00

It has happened... again. Ryan got an iPhone... again. Last time he got one I have to admit, I hated it. I hated talking to myself all the time and his delayed, "...Huh? Did you say something?" I hated the glow that ruined my perfectly pitch black room at night. I hated the extra $30 a month on our already overpriced cellphone bill. I hated how he couldn't function if it wasn't working or was lost for 5 seconds. I hated this unnecessary object that took all of my husband's attention. Seriously. We have a desk top and a laptop, why would you NEED to have the internet in your pocket 24/7? Honestly, I had visions of throwing it out the car window.

But this time around, for some reason, I don't mind so much. Maybe it's that he's not as obsessed. Maybe it's that I love watching Wendy laugh over and over again at the "Talking Tom" app. Maybe it's because I have reaped the benefit of having the internet in Ryan's pocket on more than one occasion. Maybe it's because I secretly covet instagram. Okay, I admit I was wrong. Maybe I might kinda want one some day.

Our Very Hungry Halloween!

2011-10-27T23:30:00.001-07:00

For Harvey's 1st Halloween, I knew I wanted him to be The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It's one of my favorite children's books and so appropriate for my happy, chubby, HUNGRY little boy. (Have I mentioned that my father-in-law calls him "Starvey Harvey"?). I found some great ideas here and here, bought some yarn and sent it to my amazingly talented grandma. She whipped this little number up for Harvey and mailed it back to me within a week. And since this may just be the last year Wendy lets me sway her into a costume of my choosing, we made it a family affaire. She was the butterfly, Ryan & I were pears and strawberries.

*i LOVE how she's kissing his hand...

* ...and i LOVE how he's grabbing her tutu.

*this face reminds me of another little baby I knew, back in October of 2008

Wendy was a trooper, going for the whole butterfly thing. We found a pet caterpillar over the summer and watched it morph from bug, to cocoon, into a very ugly moth. She also helped me make her antenna, so those were the selling points. We did have SEVEN opportunities to dress up this year (1.Charlie's spooky dinner, 2. Yo Gabba Halloween Wrap Party, 3.Sloan's 4th BDay costume party, 4. My parents "trunk-or-treat," 5. Wendy's pre-school Halloween parade/party, 6. Our "trunk-or-treat," AND 7. the REAL Halloween trick-or-treating) ...so there were a couple times she decided to be something (or should I say, "someprincess,") else. I have a feeling I won't be so lucky with the family themed costumes next year. Or maybe I can just hope Wendy doesn't want to be a princess and we can base our costumes around her instead.

*Yo Gabba Season 4 Wrap Party

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

May yours be safe and full of Reeses snuck out of your child's stash once they're asleep :)

5 Months!

2011-10-11T10:11:00.001-07:00

Harvey at 5 months:

weight: 2o lbs 14oz - 97th percentile
length: 28 in - 96th percentile
head: 17.7 in - 88th percentile
in the grab-whatever-i-can-reach-and-put-it-in-my-mouth phase. especially loves to try to eat: his fists, fingers, blankies, and my hair
simply ADORES his sister, even after all the abuse. his face lights up when she talks to him in her silly baby talk voice. she can get him cracking up so easily by jumping on the couch or making fart noises (yes, i admitted it) (i know boys are boys, but isn't he a little too young to think that's funny?)
has rolled over once, from his tummy to his back on his left side
My favorite past time with 5 month old Harvey: right before i lay him down to sleep, i sit in the rocking chair and sing (or try to sing) "You Are My Sunshine" to him. He always stops squirming, lets the pacifier drop out of his mouth, opens his eyes and smiles a wide open smile at me the whole time i sing. When I'm done his mouth searches for the pacifier, his eyes close and he's out.

*i gotta give a shout out to my little helper. notice how he's smiling big in every picture but not quite at the camera? yeah, that was all her.

2011-10-03T21:43:00.001-07:00

Dear Pinterest,

I was introduced to you 2 weeks ago and I wish I had never met you. I love you too much and this relationship isn't healthy. I NEED to go to bed early. I have a newborn that needs me. But you keep me up too late at night and leave me with a hangover in the morning. It's not you, it's me. Maybe one day, when I have a smartphone, you will fit more conveniently into my life. But for now, I think we should just be friends. Sorry to do this to you so abruptly, but I'm suffocating. I think we need some limits on this relationship. Don't worry, this isn't goodbye, it's more like let's cool things off for a while and slow down. Thank you for being so understanding and giving me the space I need right now.

Your Friend,

Heather

Williams Family Beach House 2011

2011-09-21T15:48:00.000-07:00

*family photoshoot by my talented sister, Nessa!

*"OUR" lifeguard tower, #17

*The grandkids: Harvey, Wendy, Ruby, Landon, Charlie

Almost every summer of Ryan's life, he has spent a week with his family at the same beach house. So, for the past 9 years (the length of our dating & married life) I've got to benefit from this family tradition as well. Every summer at the beach house has been wonderful, and this summer was no exception. Some highlights:

having the help of my MIL, SIL, aunt-in-laws, teenage girl cousin-in-laws... I was actually able to have some time to myself and do things like take showers and make dinner without worrying about the kids!
sitting out on the beach all day. Wendy played in the sand with her cousins and Harvey professionally kicked it in our hand-me-down baby tent (thanks aunt Ruth- that thing is awesome!)
games at night! (This is always my favorite part. We put the kids to bed, cover the table with treats and play games til we can't keep our eyes open anymore. Love it.)
family bike rides along the boardwalk and to the ice cream shop
the time I accidentally locked us out. We didn't mind being stuck on the beach. The land lord came within an hour or two to unlock the door. Apparently during that time, all the other beach front rentals were broken into and all the vacationers' electronics were stolen. Good thing I'm so scatter brained!
finding out that my sister-in-law is pregnant! Everyone thought they were done. I'm SO excited that Harvey won't be the odd man out, trailing behind all the older cousins. Can't wait to meet my new niece/nephew!

4 months

2011-09-12T22:18:00.000-07:00

Harvey at 4 Months:

weight: 19 lbs. 10 oz
has been wearing size 6-12 month clothes since he was about 3 1/2 months old
cooing all the time. loves to have long "conversations" with me after he eats and it's my FAVORITE time with him. he gazes up into my eyes like i'm the most wonderful thing on earth and just sighs over and over again. i melt.
loves to gnaw on his fists & fingers
easiest way to get him to laugh: stand him up and bounce him on my lap and say "Har-Vee-Jay!" as he bounces (Wendy likes to "help me" do this and changes the words to "CHUB-EE-JAY!" Harvey's laughs turn into nervous smiles, but he still loves it).
loves the mirror... will smile big and coo to himself then gets embarassed and burrows his face into my shoulder, he totally flirts with himself
SO laid back. I feel like it's because I neglect him (compared to Wendy who NEVER got put down as a newborn, he spends some time in his swing & bouncy chair so I can take care of both of them). It's like he's learned not to expect much. But then again, I really think it could be his personality.

*thanks to my talented sister nessa for taking these adorable photos

Tiny Tots

2011-09-07T22:06:00.000-07:00

* 9/6/2011 - Wendy's 1st Day of Preschool

Dear Wendy,

Yesterday was your first day of preschool. You were SO excited. You kept asking me and your dad a million questions like, "What's my teacher's name? What does she look like? What kind of hair does she have? Is it brown, or white, or red, or blue, or green? Will there be a playground there? Will it have swings? Will I have any friends there? What about Harper? What kind of backpack can I get? How about a Giselle one?" You could hardly sleep the night before.

I know it's only preschool, but I have such mixed emotions about all this. I'm so excited to watch you grow, progress and learn new things. You are so smart and I know it will be wonderful for you to be in an environment that will allow you to begin to develop to your potential and intellect. But part of me wouldn't mind keeping you just the way you are now for a little longer. I keep thinking things like,"If we get to preschool and she skips in without looking back, I'm gonna cry. But if she goes into her classroom runs back to me crying, I'm gonna cry." I didn't cry, but it was a little hard for me to walk away from you. Your teacher, Miss Lisa, could sense my hesitation and told me that it's usually harder for the parents than the children. I hope she's right.

I hope that as you begin your schooling you remember to reach out to the other kids who seem to need a friend. I hope that when you're away from me and surrounded by your tiny peers that you are not too intimated to let your adorable personality shine. I yearn for your teacher, your schoolmates, and especially for you to appreciate how smart, fun and clever you are. I hope going to school doesn't mute your personality, you know, the one that lights up my day, every day. I've heard it said that everyone always thinks their first child is a genius, and I'm no exception. You are brilliant and I know it.

Thank you for the joy you bring into my life.

I love you sweetheart.

Love,

Mommy

Yosemite? No, MYsemite

2011-08-21T17:09:00.001-07:00

*The 3 Amigos - Wendy, Harper, & Hazel pulled around by Mikey (bless his heart). See half dome in the backround?

It's hard for me to express the nostalgia I feel and the love I have for Yosemite. It was my favorite family tradition/vacation/reunion growing up. I know I am hopelessly a "girly-girl," but this girly-girl LOVES to CAMP! I prefer to "rough it" (as Ryan, my hotel loving husband, says) in a tent and soak up all that nature has to offer. (As long as there are bathrooms - I'm not gonna act like I don't get up a little early and go get ready for the day by washing my face, putting on a little make -up and doing my hair). I love the woodsy/camp fiery smells, the sounds of the wind & river, and the sights.

I felt like we were a real family when we packed up the kids and took the 6 hour road trip up to mysemite for the week. For some reason I felt so grown up, I'm used to being the kid along for the ride, but this time I got to be the parent making it all happen. I was so giddy as we left, giddy that I get the opportunity to provide these kind of experiences for my children, giddy that I have the freedom and the gusto to just load up my little family and drive somewhere far away for the fun of it.

Then & Now

Bike riding through the forest

Wendy was OBSESSED with Hazel. She followed her around like a little puppy, playing with her long golden (rapunzel-esque) hair any chance she got. If Hazel did or wore something, Wendy wanted to do it or wear it. I felt a little sorry for Wendy when she would ask me, "Mommy, can you braid my hair like Hazel?" Sorry sweetheart, mommy likes your hair short. Actually, mommy loves your hair short. She keeps asking me to grow it out. I don't know what to do because growing it out means having to DO it all the time :/ and it's so cute short. Now Wendy keeps asking me when we can go to Arizona.

The Pose

* Me, Melanie, & Rachel doing "our pose"

* Wendy & Hazel doing "the pose"

Kids on a log

Indian Village

*some things never change

*Harvey spent most of his time on a lap or in the bouncy chair. He did great!

*people came and went, but this was the day MOST of us were there

This year was special because it was the first time I got to share the Yosemite experience with Ryan. He doesn't quite appreciate it as much as I do, but he had fun (I think). We spent our days hiking through the woods and up to the base of Yosemite Falls, bike riding, exploring the indian village, and by the river's edge. The only bummer (and it's a pretty big bummer) was that it was so hot that sooo much snow had melted and it made the river too high & too fast to go in. One of the most fun things to do is lazily float down the river, just taking in the grandeur of the wilderness that surrounds you. It was kind of ironic that the HEAT made it impossible for us to cool down in the river (not that we didn't sneak behind the rangers' back and take a little dip). Other than that, it was a great trip.

3 Months of Harvey

2011-08-14T22:04:00.001-07:00

*Newport Beach, CA - Near lifeguard tower #17

*I love this little outfit! And I squeezed him into it as long as I could.

It reminds me of 1920's mens swimwear.

At 3 months, Harvey is:

27 inches - 95th percentile for length
18 lbs - OFF THE CHARTS (like 120th percentile) for weight
Has laughed twice and it's probably one of the top 5 cutest things I've ever seen (sounds just like his lawnmower/little lamby cry)
In his 3rd month, got to experience his 1st trip to: the zoo & the beach
No longer sleeping in a basinet next to mommy, but in a crib in his nursery
Like his grandpa, he is not a fan of loud noises (especially screaming 3 year old big sisters)
Eyes are getting lighter and bluer by the day. People are always taken back when they see his eyes. They do a serious double take and look deep into my dark brown eyes, to make sure they remember them right, "He's going to have blue eyes!" They tell me. "Maybe. My mom has blue eyes that look just like his." I tell them. In all honesty, I'll be surprised if they end up blue and surprised if they don't.

Some of my besties on etsy

2011-08-03T22:07:00.001-07:00

Normally I just blog about my family. My blog is basically an online baby book for my kids and their grandparents that don't get to see them every day. I don't normally tell people what they should buy, but lately I've been so impressed by some of my good friends and how incredibly talented they are, that I just can't keep it to myself.

Let me tell you about my friend Emily. She is SO crafty. She is not only crafty but really funny. And despite being almost intimidatingly pretty, she's incredibly down to earth and genuine. For Wendy's 3rd birthday she blew me away, I mean I was speechless, with the adorable little doll she made to look just like Wendy. I love it a little too much, more than anyone should love a material object. I was going around the party showing it off like it was one of my own children. Wendy named her "Wendy Dolly Doll." It's soft and cuddly and my most favorite item in Wendy's "big girl princess room." She sits proudly next to the pillows on Wendy's bed. I've had a lot of people ask me where they could get one and I had to regretfully inform them that it was a gift. A one of a kind. But not any more! YOU can have your very own "Dolly Doll" made to look like your own little one! Her etsy shop is YellowString. (p.s. Emily made some of these doll to help raise money for my cousin Davy's benefit. It was a labor of love. That's just the kind of person she is.)

Moving on, let's talk about Yvette. She is a sweetheart I know from church. We both work with the youth at our church and she is SO much fun! She also blew me away with her gift, but this time it was for my Harvey. She missed his baby shower, and came to my house out of her way to drop off her hand made gift: these ADORABLE beanies!! As you can see, I love it SO much, I made it the theme of Harvey's 2 month bearcub-in-the-woods photoshoot. They're not only cute, but made out of cotton (not normal yarn) so they're super soft. Wendy was jealous so she went home and made a girly one for Wendy. I told her I saw some wanna be woodland beanies at baby gap that didn't come close to hers and that she needed to sell some on etsy. With some encouragement from her hubby she opened up shop! Now YOU can get these wonderful beanies at Vetty Artsy!

I've already told you about my friend Melany before. Her hair clippys for little girls are some of the cutest I've seen. ESPECIALLY the new bows she's put out. I bought about 5 of them and think I need some more (you can see Wendy wearing one on Harvey's blessing day). I told her she needed to make bowties for little boys as well. There are a lot of different bows out there and hers are the best. Melany also donated a lot of her goodies to Davy Jean's benefit. YOU can get these goodies on etsy at Jellabee Jr.

asd

And finally, Merrilee. We are not actually "friends" but I feel like I know her. She is an uber talented artist with two little boys. I LOVE her blog and her ideas for parties and fun boy activities. Now that I have a boy, I've realized how hard it is to find cute boy stuff. I mean the kind of stuff that makes me giddy because I love it so much (like Emily's doll). But her blog makes me feel that way. Among LOTS of other cool things (like the "Lovely Love My Family" prints), she does custom portraits. I bid for this one at Davy's benefit and won. This portrait of Wendy hangs on the wall in her room and makes me smile, not only because it's so darn cute but because it was for a really great cause. I love her work and YOU can get some of it on etsy at Tuesday Mourning.

You're welcome.

Harvey's Blessing Day

2011-07-18T21:40:00.001-07:00

June 12, 2011

Thanks to my little cousin Davy's benefit on June 10th, my little family was blessed to have A LOT of friends and family in town for Harvey Jay's blessing. In fact, we planned it that way. And even though I knew there would be a lot of people, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the love and support we felt from ALL the friends and family who came out to share this day with us. My kids are so lucky to have so many people out there who love them.

The day was perfect. The weather was perfect, the turn out was perfect and my baby was perfect (even after being passed around like a hot potato). It was the first and only time I've ever seen Ryan's father and brothers in suits & ties, which was so sweet. I also think it was really cool that Harvey, like Wendy, got to have SIX great-grandparents at his blessing. Ryan did a great job with the blessing and then I got to show off his skills to our friends and family when his a'cappella group sang the musical number, "Love At Home," in sacrament meeting. They are so talented. I didn't want it to end (the musical number OR the day).

Thanks again to my awesome aunt Ruth for taking these pictures! Homegirl's got talent.

2 Months... no not five, two

2011-07-10T21:37:00.000-07:00

*these adorable pictures were taken by my wonderful mother in Yosemite, in an actual forest. Ryan said I should clarify because he thinks they look fake.

Harvey Jay at 2 Months Old:

16 lbs 2 oz - strangers have asked me if he's 5 months old... um, no... try 1 1/2 to 2 months (he is one big little boy)
smiling & cooing
loves his binki
most laid back baby I've ever met (unless his tummy is gassy)
likes to eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hours, not a minute more
in his 2nd month got to experience his 1st: road trip/vacation to Yosemite & movie (Water for Elephants)

Turning to the dark side

2011-07-05T23:36:00.000-07:00

My husband and I have an ongoing debate about fast food. He loves it, I don't. He tries to hide cash so he can get fast food for breakfast, lunch and dinner without me knowing. He also does things like this. I don't blame him though, I give him a pretty hard time for it. On rare occasions, like road trips or after a long day at the beach, I think it's okay. But on the whole I think fast food is a waste of money and bad for your body. Actually, I know it is. He says it's his one splurge for himself. Tell me that when you're suffering from diabetes.

On our way home from camping in Yosemite yesterday, we stopped at a Carl's Jr. Ordering Wendy's kids meal, we asked, "Do you guys substitute anything for fries in the kids meals?" The cashier looked a little lost, "Um... we could make it a large fry? Or crisscut?" Wow. Really? You can substitute the fries for... more fries? Thanks. I guess the only place that has "healthy options" or really caters to kids is McDonalds. Nasty. I took a bite of Wendy's left over chicken nugget at a McDonalds on the way up to Yosemite and just about barfed before I spit it out.

But I have a confession. I think I love Chick-fil-a. Weird, I know. I wouldn't even go there for the first while after they built one close to my house. I'm not a huge meat eater and I'm definitely not a fast food fan. It sounded like a bunch of chicken nuggets and greasy chicken sandwiches on low quality buns and did NOT tempt me at all. But then Ryan made me try it. Wow. Here are some reasons why I love Chick-fil-a:

soft pebble/snow ice
they list the calories next to every item on the menu (not just next to the "low calorie" items and not on a special nutrition facts menu that you have to ask for, but up in the restaurant behind the cashier)
the play area is indoors=air conditioned, but separated from the eating area= the whole place doesn't smell like stinky socks and kid sweat
they have hand sanitizing wipes right outside the playground door
there are fresh flowers on the tables
they give the kids balloons
they will substitute fries for a high quality fruit bowl (I'm a bit of a fruit snob, I don't like fruit that is mushy or warm)
it's always clean
the workers are always super nice & happy
they will substitute the crappy kid's meal toy for an ice cream cone, and not a child sized cone, a full on regular(mom) sized ice cream cone
they're closed on Sundays
they're a little pricier than the other guys, but they give GREAT coupons and the food quality is worth an extra 50 cents (this week, July 8th, go in dressed up like a cow and get a free meal)
did I mention that the food is actually good?

Tonight, after dinner, I was feeling a little restless so I took the kids there for an ice cream cone and to let Wendy release some energy on the air conditioned playground (it was like 90 degrees today). We walked out of there an hour later with our 170 calorie dessert, a yellow balloon tied to her wrist, Wendy's bangs wet and her little cheeks red from the running around and I thought to myself, "Maybe I do like fast food." Just don't tell Ryan.

One Month

2011-06-28T21:34:00.001-07:00

*gotta love my little helper there

At one month:

12lbs 5oz (I seriously thought the baby scale was broken)
his cry sounds like a lawn mower or little lamb. we noticed this in the hospital the day he was born. when he gets hungry ryan tells me, "You better hurry up, the lawnmower is about to start."
likes to eat just about EVERY HOUR and has the chubby cheeks to prove it, so much for sleeping at night
affectionately nicknamed "chubba"
favorite place to be: on mommy's right shoulder (I love holding him there too. I love looking over to see how he wraps his chubby arm, with his hand in a chubby little fist, around my arm to hold onto me)

*this little silly face makes me giggle

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T14:57:00.001-07:00

Wendy, who still sleeps in a crib and has NO desire to move on to her "princess big girl bed" calls to us every morning to get her out. Last week when I went to get her out of bed one morning, this was our exact conversation:

Wendy: Oh no, not you. (said with a smile on her face, she knows she's teasing me).
Where's daddy?

Me: He's in the shower. Don't you want to play with me?

Wendy: Okay, sure.... Let's pretend you're daddy.

That about sums it up. Ryan is an amazing dad and our kids know it. I fall more in love with him as I watch him take care of, play with and love our kids. Nothing melts my heart more than the mornings he quietly gets up with Wendy so I can sleep and I wake up to the sound of them playing princess barbie dolls in the living room & find them BOTH fully decked out in costumes (instead of just sticking her in front of a movie and falling back asleep on the couch - which would be way easier). He is the most fun, loving, silly and hard working guy I know and we are all so lucky to have him in our lives.

p.s. Wendy has been referring to Ryan as "Father" all day. "Where's my father?" "Father, I'm thirsty." "I have to potty Father." It's pretty cute. It's been making Ryan and I giggle all day.

The Not So Quiet Life of MRS. Whispers

2011-05-23T18:11:00.001-07:00

Being considered "well endowed" on a normal day, my belly is not the only thing that becomes obnoxiously large while pregnant (or after when the milk comes in).

"I'm sorry, is this a bra? Or a helmet for twins?"

-Ryan

Getting to know Harvey

2011-05-16T21:51:00.000-07:00

Harvey at exactly 1 week old

At 1 week:

is grunting ALL the time and therefore has earned himself the nicknames: "grunts/grunts mcgee"
looks a lot like his sister did, just with thinner lips and blonder eyebrows & eyelashes
has survived his big sister's pats and squeezes so far- I think she's going to make him tough, which is a good thing, right?
weighs 8lbs 12.5oz (the nurse at his one week appointment said it usually takes about two weeks for babies to gain enough weight to put them back at their birth weight. It only took him one. Which means he's probably going to be a big boy. I guess that's what happens when you eat every hour.)

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, to Wendy's 3rd Birthday We Go...

2011-05-10T11:23:00.001-07:00

So let me rewind a little and tell you about Wendy's Snow White Princess/Knight party. She has been talking about her "Snow White Party" since she was about 2 1/2 and realized what a birthday party was. (Until "Tangled" came out and Rapunzel became her new favorite princess. Sorry sweetheart, it was too late).

I kept saying that I wouldn't go all out, that I was too pregnant and this party was going to be low key. I kept saying that as I made a wishing well, candied "poison" apples, a magic mirror, a costume station full of princess dresses for the girls, capes and swords for the boys, and a princess pinata. But once I started I couldn't stop. I kept getting these ideas and felt like I HAD to them. As I was up sewing capes by hand the night before I kept thinking, "Somebody make me stop!" Ryan kept teasing me, asking me what a party would look like if I DID "go all out." But all of the craziness paid off, the party turned out really cute.

I loved how giddy Wendy was the whole time. She's at an age where she'll say things like, "This is the BEST.DAY.EVERRRRRRR!" or "This is what I ALWAYS wanted!" and it's so gratifying to get that genuine happiness and appreciation in response to something I've done for her.

I am in love with the 3 year old Wendy. I am in love with her little voice and the funny things she says. I get a little sad that she's growing up but I am in love with the different kind of fun we have together at this stage of her life.

Wendy's Current Quirks:

LOVES any and all movies/shows (t.v. shows) and "weedeo's" (youtube videos)
Ever since Ryan's dance party, loves to sing "So I put my haaaaaaands up, singin my song, butterflies fly away... noddin' my head like 'yeah,' movin' my hips like 'yeah'."
prefers to be told classic stories at bed time (3 little pigs, goldilocks, little red riding hood), but gets scared by the 3 bears so she picks a different, less scary animal each time. Last night I overheard her tell Ryan to tell her the story of "Goldilocks and the 3 Giraffes."
probably because of her name, loves Peter Pan (Disney's version), "the other peter pan" (real people), and "the different peter pan" (return to neverland) and "the old peter pan" (the play with the old lady that plays peter pan).
Every day wants to know what we're gonna do. She'll keep asking, "Then what are we gonna do?" until we get to something fun. She'll tell me over and over, "I wanna do something fun."
Dress up queen. Will pick out dress ups for Ryan & I then refer to the 3 of us as our costume all day. i.e. "Mommy-Cinderella" or "Daddy-Snow White." (Once she went in her room to "get ready" for nap time and came out like this. She calls this her shaker girl costume- it was an outfit I wore in a tap dance recital as a kid).
favorite word: Collage. She gathers random things from around the house and when I ask her what she's doing says, "I'm making a collage." I did't think she even knows what a collage is, so I asked her and she said, "It's when you make something." I guess she's partially right.
Identifies colors by princess dresses. Anything yellow is a "belle -----," pink is a "Sleeping Beautry -----," green - Tiana, purple - Rapunzel, blue - Cinderella, etc.
33lbs - 75th percentile for weight; 37 1/4 inches - 50th percentile for height
Phrases she says wrong, but it's cute so I don't correct her: toe-foot = barefoot; breast-fast= breakfast (makes sense for Harvey); chicken-play= chick fil-a (it is where you eat chicken and play); yo ho, yo ho, gently down the stream (i don't know why she mixes these songs up, but i love it); cimanin toast= cinnamon toast; mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb, mary had a little lamb, merry christmas snow;

Introducing Baby Harvey

2011-05-02T19:14:00.000-07:00

Born April 29, 2011
4:54pm
8lbs. 12oz.
20 inches long

Thursday, April 20th : At my doctors visit I learn I'm 3 cm dilated & Doctor H says he'd be surprised if I last a week and that I definitely won't make it to my due date (May 1st).
Thursday, April 28th : At my appointment a week later. Doctor is surprised that I made it this far, still only dialated to a 3 - 3.5. He tells me we'll induce on Sunday, my due date, at 8am. Sweet.

Friday, April 29th:
6:15am Ryan gets up to get ready for work & to be up with Wendy so I can get a little extra sleep
7:30am Ryan leaves for work which means I wake up and waddle to the couch to be up with Wendy
7:35am Okay, something feels a little different. Maybe my water broke. If it did, it's a VERY slow trickle. I tell myself it probably didn't.
8:30am I start to have contractions that get steadily more and more uncomfortable.
10:30am Okay, maybe my water DID break. I mention it to my mom on the phone. She says I should go and get checked, but I don't want to spend the whole day at the hospital just to be sent home. She talks me into going anyway. "Okay, I'll drop off Wendy in about an hour. Then I'll go." I tell her. "In an hour? What do you have to do?" The laundry. Vacuum. Go to the bank to deposit a check so I can pay the bills. Pay the bills. Finish packing a bag for me. Pack a bag for Wendy. Get Wendy's old infant carseat out of the garage (just in case this is the real deal). "Heather, I will do your laundry and vacuum and go get clothes for Wendy if she needs them. Just go," she tells me. Adrenaline kicks in and I do everything on my todo list anyway. I start to get a little anxious, my hands start to shake as I scramble to get everything done. Wendy senses my anxiety and says, "Mommy, you're scaring me." I stop what I'm doing and I just hold her for a while. I get choked up thinking this is our last moment together with her as my baby.
11:30am I leave my house with a bag for me, a bag for Wendy, and an empty infant carseat in the car. After a quick stop at the bank, I go to my aunt Ruth's house to drop Wendy off with my mom there. I tell my mom & Ruth I haven't texted Ryan yet because, knowing him, he'd be too excited and leave work and drive all the way home for nothing. (I wanted to make sure my water broke before I told him) They convince me I need to text him.
12:00pm I drive myself to the hospital.
In the car alone, I think to myself, "What if I do actually have him today? Won't this be a funny birth story."
12:15pm I arrive at hospital, go up to the 3rd floor. My nurse, Liz, shows me to my nice room in the the new maternity ward and gives me a pink gown to put on.
12:30pm Ryan, on his lunch break, finally calls me back and I tell him where I am. I can hear his voice get excited. I tell him not to leave work until I find out if my water broke.
12:35pm I get checked and find out I'm dilated to a 5.5 - 6, but the test to see if my water broke comes out negative. They check again a couple minutes later and the paper turns blue= my water HAS broken. I KNEW it.
12:40pm I call Ryan and tell him the good news. I tell him not to rush, go home, take a shower, pack himself a bag and come on over to the hospital. The nurse laughs at me because she thinks I should have told him to rush.
1:00pm A nurse comes in and tells me how incredibly busy they are in the maternity ward today. The anesthesiologist has been running around from room to room, c-section to c-section, and he's almost to my room. If I want an epidural, I should have it now. I think, "This is CRAZY! I haven't even been here an hour. Ryan isn't here yet. My contractions don't even really hurt yet." But I want an epidural and if I have to get it now, that's what I'll do.
1:30pm The anesthesiologist walks in. "How are we doin' in here?" He asks. "Great!" I say with a smile. "Great?" He checks a clipboard, "You ready for an epidural?" My nurse answers for me, "She's dilated to a 6, she's in a lot of pain, she's ready for an epidural," then she whispers to me, "Honey, you're in a lot of pain." She had my back.
1:35pm As I'm getting the epidural it hits me that nobody is here. Not Ryan, not my mom. I get a little worried that I'll be alone when the baby is born. I stop feeling proud and independent that I've come this far by myself and start to feel a little lonely.
2:00pm Ryan walks in the door. I instantly feel relieved. We laugh about how fast this is going compared to the 13 hours we spent in the hospital before Wendy was born and watch the Royal Wedding (it's the only thing on every channel on this Friday afternoon).
2:45pm They break my water (the tear in my sac is up high & they need to break it down low). Nurse Liz says that's the most water she's ever seen. Awesome! I knew this was just a bunch of water weight. And the more water weight I lose the more weight I lose.
3:30pm My mom shows up. I'm dilated to an 8 but the baby hasn't dropped enough.
4:00pm My mother-in-law shows up. I get turned on my left side to help the baby drop.
4:40pm The nurse comes in and says the doctor has a c-section at 5pm. We all assume she's telling me this to let me know the doctor is coming to my room after the c-section. "So the doctor is going to come in here and we're going to have this baby by 5pm." WHAT? That's in 15 minutes. I pushed for almost 2 hours with Wendy.
4:45pm The doctor comes in. I get turned from my left side to my back. The nurse says, "Hey Doctor, look at this. She hasn't even pushed once yet." I hear the doctor say, "Oh wow, the head is almost out already." WHAT?!
4:50pm During my pushing the doctor tells me to stop. The mood in the room changes. Every0ne gets really quiet and the doctor starts making fast, jerky movements and calling out orders for the nurses to hand her things. I don't even have time to get nervous before things are okay again. Apparently the cord was wrapped pretty tight around my baby boys neck and she had to cut it off.
4:54pm After pushing for less than 10 minutes, my son enters this world and gets placed on my tummy. I feel like I'm dreaming. Everything is wonderful.

* This is my "I love epidurals" face.

asft

*i LOVE the genuine happiness on Ryan's face in this picture.

* proud parents.

Thank you to my aunt Ruth who took these priceless pictures so my mom could be there for me instead of trying to experience the birth of her grandchild from behind a camera. I love them.

Ruth, you (and your camera) are invited to the births of all my future children.

THREE!

2011-04-24T22:34:00.000-07:00

Happy 3rd Birthday to my Easter baby!

(Well, this year she's an easter baby... and not so much a baby anymore.)

SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!

2011-04-19T18:39:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, my husband turned THIRTY! Wow. I have officially known him for more than half his life. In my attempt to be a good wife and let him know how loved he is, I decided to throw him a surprise party. Eight months pregnant. It was a major success, but WHAT was I thinking?

I know what I was thinking. In Ryan's perfect world he would have a surprise party for every one of his birthdays. When we were first married, he kept throwing me parties for my birthdays & I kept planning awesome, just us dates for his. We soon realized that we were giving each other what we really wanted for ourselves. (One of the many perks of being married to someone long enough is that eventually you learn how to make the other person happy on their terms).

*he was actually surprised. I couldn't believe it.

I tried to throw Ryan a surprise party once before, but it was a failure. He wasn't surprised and the party wasn't that cool. But this year he turned thirty. And that's supposed to be a big deal. I know his feelings & priorities are already being put on the back burning because I'm pregnant, so I really wanted him to know he's still loved.

*this idea copied from Martha Stewart was a big hit

I was SO happy with the turn out of people who came to show their love! Some of Ryan's best friends were even there from out of state. I had catered mexican food (his favorite) and a DJ so we could turn it into a dance party (also his favorite). I kept joking that I was basically throwing Ryan a wedding reception for his birthday. The man loves a good dance party. He also loved that he got to pick all the music. He prefers top 40 and early 90's hip hop. He HATES it when a DJ throws on something other than hip hop. During the party he whispered in my ear "Do you know what the best part about this being MY party is? No 'My Sherona,' no 'I Love Rock N Roll,' no 'Love Shack,' no 'Play That Funky Music White Boy'!"

The best gift anyone could have given Ryan was to get their booty out on the dance floor. And his friends did not disappoint. Here you can see them playing the game where everyone has to copy the dance moves of the person in front. It looks SO funny! Like a choreographed dance. I wish I would have videotaped it.

I love you Ryan. Happy Birthday.

34 weeks

2011-03-22T13:20:00.001-07:00

Sunday, March 20th 2011 - 34 WEEKS!

And so the countdown begins. THIS was the week I really started to feel it. My belly is officially uncomfortable. It's no longer soft either, but firm and full to the brim of baby boy. Putting on my own shoes takes a lot of effort and leaves me breathing heavy. I have to raise my arms and put my hands behind my head to make room for my lungs to get a good, deep breath. I can see the pregnancy in the swelling of my face, bleh. But I'm feeling proud of myself, because all of these symptoms came on a lot earlier in my pregnancy with Wendy, due to the fact that I didn't take any steps (no pun intended) to monitor my weight gain the first time around. I'm still walking every day, but I think I'm done with things like Disneyland trips until after the baby. I'm down to weekly visits to the doctor instead :)

Pregnancy #2 - Fun Facts:
RE-OCCURRING NIGHTMARES

Harvey is born a 6 month old girl
Ryan is cheating on me
I can stretch the skin on my belly & see my baby's face as clearly as if a balloon has been stretched over it. Everyone around me is grossed out, but I love it.
I end up giving birth to SIX boys, but get sent home with 6 plastic baby dolls to take care of while they get bigger in the NICU

Lucky Number 7

2011-03-19T20:55:00.001-07:00

Today I have been married to my best friend for SEVEN years! That sounds like a long time. Well on our way to a decade. I don't think I've ever stuck with anything for that long. Except for maybe piano lessons. People talk about the "seven year itch," but besides rarely seeing each other (Ryan's nights are filled with either school, work, church, or a'capella practices) I still consider him my best friend and boy friend.

During these last 7 years we've...

learned how to read each others mood and know what to do to cheer each other up
lived in 2 creepy apartments and one amazing rental home (and I have a feeling we might be here for a long time)
been through 3 pregnancies and blessed with 1 and 9/10ths children
traveled to Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Hawaii, Mexico, France, Belgium, & Taiwan (next stop? I'm thinking Italy.)
blown through 3 dogs, a tortoise, lots of fish, and 18 birds
worked through some random jobs to support each other
attended a combined total of 4 years of schooling... only about 3 more to go!
figured out how to cook some decent meals and manage a checkbook without overdrawing
grown closer as best friends and developed a deeper love and appreciation for each other

abcd

*some of our favorite spots at the Ghetti Center

Every year, for our anniversary, we explore a different city. We stay in a nice hotel, go out for dinner and go a little crazy (like order an appetizer AND fancy non-alcoholic drinks instead of water and trying to stick to the cheapest things on the menu - like I said, at least one of us has been a student for a while).

Last year... we did Paris. This year we went ALL the way to Los Angeles. We tried to do LA on anniversary #4, but ended up with the flu and spent the night taking turns hovering the toilet of the rad hotel room we stayed in. So this year, we lived it up. We stayed in a different rad hotel, The Luxe. It's hidden on acres of lush, green LA jungle and used to be an apartment building in the 20's. We went out for a night on the town in Westlake Village, ate dinner at Jerry's famous deli, got a kick out of our wacky lip injected waitress, window shopped hand-in-hand, waited in line at Diddy Riese for the best ice cream sandwich you'll ever get for $1.50, snuck our desserts into the old fashioned movie theatre and saw "Limitless," closed the black out curtains and got to sleep in til 11AM!, had an overpriced breakfast at our hotel at lunch time (banana blueberry pancakes mmmm), then spent the day exploring the Ghetti Center, were both relieved to admit that we were ready to go and hour earlier than planned (he was freezing and I am uncomfortably large) and spent the last hour of our LA anniversary driving around the mansions in the hills of Bel Air, picking out our dream home. It was a much needed get away. I almost forgot how much I love being alone with Ryan.

*balcony of our hotel room

Happy anniversary babe!

Here's to another 7 and hopefully another 2 kids & another college degree by then :)

Strollin' with the hommies...

2011-03-15T21:21:00.000-07:00

I have waddled my sciatic nerve ALL OVER Babies R Us, Sports Chalet, Bergstroms, you name it, trying to test out double strollers to see how well they glide, fold, lay back, ect. NONE of them had the strollers I was looking for (even though they claimed they did online). Then I took Wendy to Disneyland last week... WHY didn't I think of this sooner? Disneyland is a stroller shopper's DREAM! I worked up the guts to interrogate strangers on why they love/hate these three strollers, but I was too chicken to ask if I could actually pushthem around for a second. I wish I would have inherited some of my mom's gusto and just gone for it.

P.S. I have to apologize. This is a selfish blog post. It's solely for me to organize my thoughts and maybe get some good advice. I feel like I'm buying a new car. I need this thing to last. I've narrowed my double-stroller hunt down to 3:

1. Baby Jogger City Select

2. Phil & Teds Inline Buggie

3. Baby Jogger City Mini Double 2011

These are the features I'm looking for:

Large Sun Shade Canopy

Smooth ride (not too heavy to push)
Easy to push through doorways (not too wide)
Separated seating (difficult for the kids to mess with/reach each other)
Relatively easy (for a double stroller) to fold up and throw in the trunk

Ability to lay both seats ALL the way back (for a newborn & in case both kids are asleep)

Decent storage space

Any advice?

This is pretty amazing.

I usually just skip to 1:13 minutes in when it becomes a double.

THE door

2011-03-07T21:26:00.000-08:00

Ryan & I rent a home from my in-laws. It has been one of the biggest blessings and I thank my lucky stars for it almost every day. Before we lived here, Ryan's brother & his family lived here. They have the oldest grandchild - Charlie. Charlie made this art when he was 2. He's now 10 and has lived in Arizona for 6 years. My mother-in-law wouldn't let me paint over this door for a while, but I convinced her to let me take some pictures of Charlie's artwork, then paint over it with chalkboard paint so Wendy could make some art of her own. I've been wanting to do this for a long time.

To be honest, I think I finally sanded, taped, primed, and painted (like a crazy woman, til my bones were sore) because it was one of the things on my "before baby to-do list" that I could get out of the way pretty quickly. I'm feeling overwhelmed and this was something I could do relatively quickly and actually SEE the results of my labors instantly. But now what? I feel like my head is spinning. I don't know where to begin, and I don't think the other "projects" will be so easy.

Thank you Bobbi for giving me the creative freedom most renters don't have. We love our chalkboard door.

All aboard the POTTY TRAIN!

2011-02-28T21:55:00.000-08:00

*image courtesy of google images

In our house, we have been riding the potty train for about two weeks now. I am so AMAZED at how well Wendy is doing. We got rid of diapers cold turkey (not counting the "princess pull-ups" she wears to bed). As an incentive, we have a gift bag full of cheap plastic food for her kitchen we call "pee pee prizes." Every time she goes, we make a big deal over it and she gets to pick one. Getting her to go #2 is like pulling teeth, so we've upped the ante to TWO pee pee prizes PLUS a sucker for a #2. I liked the idea I saw here of instant gratification with a reward that can be immediate and small enough to repeat over and over again. (At this point, she could open up a plastic grocery store with all the plastic food she's accumulated). We sit her on the toilet every hour or two and that's it. All I can say is that it's been over two weeks and I can count the number of accidents she's had on one hand. That includes trips to target, the doctor's office, and 3 hours of church. Twice.

*my blurry daughter with some pee pee prizes: strawberry ice cream cones

As time goes by, I've come to realize that potty training is not something that can be done in an allotted time period. It's never ending. I wanted to cross it off my to-do list, but I don't think I can cross it off as DONE until she's going on her own, free of accidents, and making it through every night dry. I don't feel like that will ever happen. But I'm so proud of her (and for myself) for the progress we've made.

Wendy's Big Girl Princess Room

2011-02-22T21:05:00.000-08:00

I'm moving along on my "before baby to do list." I think decorating the kids rooms is definitely the most fun thing on there. Doing it on a budget is the only challenge. Wendy's big girl princess room is about halfway done. I've had fun looking for pink posters for her walls and these are some of my favorites:

1. I Am a Child of God

2. Temple ( I LOVE this one because I've explained to Wendy that the Temple is HER castle, where HER prince will take her one day. She refers to the temple as "My temple castle." So this poster is kinda princess-y without being princess-y at all, know what I mean?)

3. Someday My Prince Will Come

4. Lovely Love my Family (if you don't already know, all the proceeds from these posters go to help pay for my cousin Davy's medical bills. I love it!)

30 Weeks

2011-02-22T20:59:00.000-08:00

Sunday, February 20, 2011 - 30 WEEKS!

Lovely Love

2011-02-13T22:57:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I wanted to share (brag about) a crafty, valentine's-y gift I made for my husband. I was actually too excited about it to save it for Valentine's Day and ended up giving it to him for Christmas.

*you sick of this picture yet?

Figured out how to turn a picture into a stencil here.

Printed it out on cardstock paper, in grey to save some ink.

Cut it out with an exacto knife the best I could and sponge painted it onto a shirt with acrylic paint + a fabric medium to make it stay through the wash.

Tadaa! I lovely love this shirt.

Happy Valentine's Day to my sweetheart. Je t'aime.

Nesting

2011-02-07T20:54:00.000-08:00

*image courtesy of flickr.com

I am currently deep in the throngs of nesting. My "Nesting To Do" list is filled with small to large home projects I would like to get done before this baby gets here. Many of them are somewhat unnecessary, but for some reason I feel like I HAVE to get them done NOW (i.e. re-paint my bedroom a better color). But, apparently I am not the only one nesting in this house. See for yourself...

Ugly little things aren't they? Ugly in a kinda cute way. Something interesting my bird nerd husband told me - the momma bird lays an egg every other day, then after sitting for 22 days, a baby hatches once every other day (in the order they were laid). Wouldn't it be nice only being pregnant for only 22 days? Then again, maybe not. If that were the case, I wouldn't have time to get everything done.

Pregnancy #2 - fun facts:

UNNECESSARY MUST DO NESTING PROJECTS:

Deep clean the grout in my shower - DONE

Deep clean the carpets

Organize all the closets - DONE

Install recessed lighting in living room & kitchen - DONE

Paint outside of patio door with chalkboard paint - DONE

Paint my bedroom

Move computer/office space into the living room - DONE

Re-upholster & paint vintage chair

Convert current office into "Wendy's Big Girl Princess Room" - working on it

Convert Wendy's current room into baby boy nursery - working on it
Get Wendy to sleep in her big girl bedroom - DONE
Get Wendy off the pacifier

Potty train Wendy - DONE

Plan New Beginnings - DONE

Decide on a double stroller - DONE

Sell/just get rid of some of these stinkin' birds (really, they kinda smell) - DONE

Sell single jogging stroller, RockBand, & microphone on craigslist

Get new dinning chairs for kitchen table

Complete enough CE Units to renew my RDH license - DONE

Throw my husband a big 30th birthday party - DONE

Throw my daughter a little princess birthday party - DONE

Have Innocencia deep clean my house

26 weeks

2011-01-24T22:15:00.000-08:00

Sunday, January 23, 2011 - 26 weeks!

So we're in the 3rd trimester now. It's official - I'm bumping people in the face with my belly as I clean their teeth (that's embarrassing). Trying hard to commit to a name. I've been noticing that baby #2 moves A WHOLE LOT more than Wendy did. He never stops in there. They say it will be the same after he's born. I'm just slightly terrified to have a boy. I don't know if I can keep up with all that energy. Maybe it seems scarier because I'm SO tired right now (being pregnant and all). Good thing I have a pretty okay sized backyard for him to play in and get all of that energy out.

Pregnancy #2 - fun facts:

NAMING

Today, the front runners are:

Harvey (a family name and our favorite... I think)

Milo

August (Gus for short)

Felix

Dexter

Any suggestions?

Princess, shmincess

2011-01-17T20:31:00.000-08:00

... I thought I was above the whole princess thing. I remember running into a friend at the mall on a Black Friday. She has a daughter about Wendy's age and excitedly told me about the great deals they were having at the Disney Store and showed me all her princess paraphernalia. I really hate to admit it, but deep down (or maybe more in one of my more shallow areas) I turned my nose up. MY daughter is't into cheesy things like princesses, I thought. Boy have I eaten those thoughts now. I should probably apologize to my friend. My daughter is obsessed (and you can bet I was one of the first people at the Disney Store this last Black Friday).

I've come to realize there is "a whole new world" out there when it comes to princess culture. Letting Wendy wear her cheesy princess dresses to Disneyland and ignoring all the rides just to get a moment with one of the princesses, I can't help but melt when I see the way she lights up. I don't fight it anymore. Now my only dilemma is planning a princess party. Dang it. I don't want to, but she's been talking about it for 6 months. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve to make this party not cheesy and fun for the boys. I hope it works.

And so it starts again...

2011-01-12T21:44:00.000-08:00

Anyone wanna buy a beautiful pair of cockatiels? Ryan has his eye on yet another new bird. I thought we were done with this. But he's used my own "bird conditions" against me. (1. They're not in the house, 2. We only have ONE bird cage - a cool vintage looking one of my choice, and 3. I never ever EVER have to deal with them). Nowhere, he reminded me, did I mention which type of bird has to be in the cage. So now that I actually kinda, sorta don't mind the birds we have, he's gone and found another one he likes better. Apparently, this new bird is "so chill" it would hang out in your pocket all day at work, if you wanted it to. I highly doubt the Target Corporation would be down with that.

SO... does anyone want to buy some birds? Seriously. They come with a cage and a perch. They are beautiful. You will love them.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-12-31T13:43:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've been thinking about how the last 365 days that have flown by and all that I've been blessed with this year. Ryan and I have been reminissing about what we each think the highlights of the year were. These are my top 5:

1. Our trip to Paris

2. Mommy-daughter dates to Disneyland

3. Antoine Dodson

(he cheers me up every time)

4. Growing this little guy and the fact that he seems to be healthy and growing properly

5. Ryan going back to school, pulling A's & B's and actually enjoying it!

As for my new years resolution... of course there's the "lose weight" thing (for me it's more like, "Don't gain as much weight as I did when I was pregnant with Wendy and lose it faster than I did"). There's also the generic "Be more optimistic and patient," which I also want to do. But my cousin Cambi makes a REAL, do-able and measurable resolution each year (in 2010 she didn't drink any soda). So, this year, I think this year I'd like to do that. For 2011, I'm going to give up rated R movies. I haven't seen one in a long time, but I'd like to see if I could do it for a whole year. Then, who knows, maybe for the rest of my life.

GUESS WHAT?

2010-12-21T22:35:00.001-08:00

*told ya she's been clingy.

she's also got her pacifier in her mouth & her "white blankie" in her hand - just like I said

It's a... BOY!

We are SO excited! We just aren't so sure what to name the little guy.
Any suggestions?

Where have I been all your life?

2010-11-30T21:05:00.000-08:00

...Or, should I say, the last couple weeks. I've been sick. And tired. REALLY tired. Creating a human will suck the energy right out of you. Throw a 2 year old into the mix and there you have it, I'm gone. Luckily I'm into the good phase now (2nd trimester = no longer nauseous + not TOO uncomfortably fat... yet).

*how I told Ryan

I love telling Ryan, "I'm Pregnant." His face lights up so instantly and so genuinely that I know he feels the same excitement as I do. Maybe even more so. It makes me feel so close to him to know how much he loves our kids, even when they're not born yet.

*how we told our families

I'm trying to mentally prepare Wendy for what's going on, but I'm not quite sure how much of it she absorbs. I'd love to have her potty trained and off the pacifier before this baby comes, but I'm not sure it's gonna happen. She tells me she has a baby in her tummy too, a girl she is going to name "Princess Tinkerbell." When the waves of nausea hit me pretty bad, I sit down and close my eyes and take deep breaths. I've seen her do it once or twice and I wonder what she thinks is going on. She's very concerned. She'll put her hand on my shoulder and ask, "You got tummy hurts mom? You need some medicine?" She's been EXTRA clingy to me, her blanket, and her pacifier. Once or twice, out of nowhere, she's put her mouth to my stomach and talked to the baby. So I think she understands a little. If she treats this kid anything like she treats her dolls, she's going to be a great big sister.

Pregnancy #2 fun facts:
CRAVINGS
broccoli cheese soup
cottage cheese
chef boy-r-dee beef ravioli (nasty, I know)
homemade fruit smoothies
1 cup simply orange juice
1/2 cup silk vanilla soy milk
1 cup fat free vanilla frozenyogurt
1 over heaping cup of frozen fruit- usually strawberry, pineapple and mango chunks
Sometimes, if I crave this smoothie late at night after Wendy's asleep, I'll take the blender in the garage and plug it in there so I don't wake her up. To be honest, I'm probably out in the garage blending smoothies most nights of the week. That's how much I love them.

The Wendy of Oz...

2010-10-31T16:35:00.001-07:00

One of Wendy's loves is The Wizard of Oz. You'd think a little girl of 2 years old would be afraid of that movie, but not her. She'll watch the whole thing and sing along with every song (she knows the words better than Ryan). So when I asked Wendy what she wanted to be for halloween this year, I wasn't surprised when she said "I wanna be DOROTHY!"

My incredible mother went all out and whipped up these coordinating costumes for the family. Wendy had been telling them this is what their costumes were going to be for the whole month of October. My mom surprised her and when we showed up to our church halloween party, it really made Wendy's night to see them all as Wizard of Oz characters. Her mouth was hanging open and she couldn't take her eyes off my mom.

(Some of our family is missing... Wendy didn't forget them. She wanted Aunt Vanessa to be the little mermaid because she has red hair, aunt Rachel to be Belle because she has brown hair, and uncle Aaron to be Muno because he's really tall).

;lk

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The Happiest Place on Earth

2010-09-20T20:48:00.001-07:00

*her favorite rides: the carousel and it's a small world

Now that summer is over and our passes aren't blacked out anymore, Wendy and I have been going on a lot of mother-daughter dates to Disneyland! I've always enjoyed going to Disneyland, but getting to watch my little girl light up as she experiences it for the first time is a whole knew kind of wonderful.

Currently, her favorite part of going to Disneyland is getting to see the princesses. I really think she thinks they're the real ones. She does this slow motion running hug to them then caresses their face and hair as they talk to her. And MAN those girls are good. They do such a great job of returning the love and making her feel special. Whoever is hiring/training these girls deserves a raise.

Wendy knows EVERY Disney song and sings them to herself all day long. In her little voice and with her little lisp, it's the cutest thing I've ever seen/heard, but the girl WILL NOT perform for the video camera. I've tried everything: begging, bribes,sneaking up on her... nothing works. She always catches me because the flip beeps when it turns on. Then she stops. So no video.

The Plunge

2010-09-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

*Harper, Wendy & Franco

The swimming lessons in Brea are somewhat of a local phenomenon. Parents camp out in line over night to get the time slots they want. I'm not that crazy, I just get up and get there by 5am with a bunch of my mom friends. Wendy's swim teacher, Brett, is amazing. He is the reason I get up and wait in that crazy line that goes all the way down Brea Blvd. We call him "The Baby Whisperer," like the dog whisperer, because of his calm/assertive ways with screaming toddlers. Like all the dogs on the show, by the end of swimming lessons, all the kids are broken in and happily swimming. This was our second year taking lessons from Brett at the Plunge. Last year, we did mommy n' me. But this year I got to watch from the sidelines while my daughter was "broken in" and taught this essential survival skill against her will.

I love the progression from terror to pure enjoyment. It was so depressing ignoring Wendy when she was sobbing for me to help her. I had to hide so she couldn't see me and call out. In the beginning, Harper kept escaping. But by the end, as you can see (if you made it that far into this long video) Wendy can't even wait for it to be her turn and Franco kept giving his mom the cutest thumbs up every time he did something cool.

P.S. vote for Wendy's amazing swim teacher BRETT MURDOCK for Brea City Council!

Summer Lovin'

2010-09-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

This summer was Wendy's third summer on earth, but it was the first summer she really understood what it meant. She understood and really enjoyed what it meant to spend a day at the beach, at the pool, or at Disneyland.

This was also the first summer Wendy was able to play with her cousins. All three of them live in Arizona (pretty weak for a mormon/catholic family). Her cousin, Ruby, is 2 years older than her. So this was the first year they were kinda on the same level and able to hang out. At the beach house, they were pretty much joined at the hip. Wendy wanted to be just like Ruby - matching hair in pig tails, matching bathing suits, matching pajamas... I really wish they lived closer.

As they get older, two years will feel like less and less. I hope they can keep this relationship strong the way I did with my cousins who live far away. I think it's all about making family vacations a priority.

2010-08-23T21:29:00.000-07:00

Ryan decided to go back to school. Today was his first day. I'm so proud of him because I know he's making a sacrifice to provide a better future for our family. I'm so excited. I'm nervous too. We will have to make some changes, some sacrifices, but it will be worth it. Is it weird that the thought of him going to school makes me even more attracted to him? Because it does.

*photo by Jenn King

The Evolution of my Apple Tree

2010-08-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

I have lived in my current home for FIVE years and it was only this spring that I realized I have an apple tree in the back yard that grows edible apples. I always thought they looked too small and too green to be edible. Apparently, I only really look at them when they're not ripe yet. One day, my friend, Stephanie, came over and said, "You have an apple tree? I'm so jealous!" She walked over to the tree, picked an apple and took a big bite. "STOP!" I told her. "I don't think those apples are edible." She told me I was crazy and that they were delicious. I must be stupid, I think, not crazy. Who's ever heard of a poisonous-tiny-green-apple tree? I have been missing out all these years!

*March

*May

*July

I love having a fruit tree. Free produce that's organic and delicious and (did I mention)FREE! It makes me want to plant a garden. It also makes me feel safer knowing that my family will have fresh fruit to eat when "the big earthquake" hits and we're living back in the dark ages, living off our emergency food storage. You never know...

Heather's Favorite Apple Pie Recipe

Dough Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tps fine salt
3 tbsp granulated white sugar
12 tbsp butter (cubed, cold/frozen)
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Dough Instructions:
Freeze butter. Place mixer bowl and paddle in freezer as well.
Mix flour, salt, and sugar until mixed then add butter a little at a time. Add water 1 tbsp at a time. Stop adding water as soon as the dough comes together (it will form small, pea sized balls). Do not add too much water or your dough will be slimy. When it comes together sotp working it, otherwise the dough will get over-worked and tough. Divide the dough in half and flatten it slightly to form a disk shape. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 min (while you make the filling). On a floured surface, roll each disk out into a 10 - 11 inch circle to make a 9 inch pie.

Filling Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
6 - 8 medium tart cooking apples, pared, cored and thinly sliced
3 tbsp butter, cubed

Filling Instructions:
Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; mix with apples. Divide pastry dough in half. Roll to 1/8 inch thickness and line 9 inch pie plate. Fill with apple mixture and dot with butter. Roll out remaining dough and place on top of pie. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400 F for 50 min.

Au Revoir Paris

2010-08-03T00:07:00.000-07:00

Leaving Paris was definitely bitter sweet. I could have stayed a lot longer, but by day 4 - 5 I started missing my sweet baby girl. If Wendy was with us, I could have happily stayed all summer. I probably would have HAD to stay all summer to get all the things we did in. Lugging a toddler around and sticking to nap and bedtime schedules to prevent a terrible-two-year-old-meltdown would have slowed us down a lot.

I was worried I might get the cold shoulder for leaving her for a week. She did just the opposite. She held me tight and let me smother her for a couple days. I felt like she grew up way too much while we were gone. She amazes me everyday with the things she says and how cute she is. I love this little girl so much.

* if you want your 2 yr old to be happy throughout an entire photoshoot, stash a sucker in your purse

Wendy's current quirks:

She has cutest lisp ("S" and sometimes "P" becomes "th")
She LOVES to sing all the time (any disney princess song, wizard of oz songs, happy birthday - which becomes "hattha birthday" with the lisp, little church songs, the horribly cheesy song one of her barbies sings when you press a button, every yo gabba song ever written, ABC's, twinkle twinkle little star, etc.)
Like her dad, she's really good with names. I don't know how they do it.
Speaking of names, she likes to call us by our other names when she's being silly. She knows daddy's other name is "Ryan," but she thinks my other name is "babe," because that's what Ryan calls me. This morning she was calling for me from her crib, "BAAAAAAAAAABE! I'm awaAAAAKE! BAAAAAAABE! Where ARE you?! Get me OUT babe!"

Paris, Day 7 - Final Day Mini Photoshoot

2010-07-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

I want to say THANK YOU to my wonderful mom. She followed me around Paris to all the spots we found on our bike ride for this mini photo shoot. The metro line we were on shut down on our way to the Eiffel Tower, so we ended up having to walk... a lot. She was a trooper. So thanks mom! These pictures are my favorite souvenir.

*making friends while trying to get a cab after the metro shut down. no luck.

Paris, Day 6

2010-07-14T22:36:00.001-07:00

On our sixth day in Paris, we did exactly what I wanted to do from the moment I started saving my pennies 6 months earlier. We spent a leisurely day in the city, taking it all in and stopping in every cute little shop we saw. We took lots of pictures, rode bikes, took slow hand held walks through the tuilleries gardens, people watched, ate at cafes and got little pastries here and there.

This was one of the cutest shops in all of Paris. It was a tea/herbs & spices shop. I was drooling at the windows. I love everything about this shop, from the onings and the art hanging in the window to the color scheme and the little green 34's showing the address. SO cute.

I spent a little too much time in this French book shop. They had me at the children's book window display. I LOVE children's books, so I figured this would be a great souvenir for Wendy (better for her than the sugary treats we brought home for most others). I grabbed so many, it was hard to narrow them down. Now that we're home and our chocolate and macaroons are eaten, I wish I wouldn't have narrowed down so much.

One thing I remembered from doing my pre-trip research on Paris, was that StephModo said there were blue doors everywhere. I didn't realize that she meant EV.ER.Y.WHERE. In every shade of blue you could possibly imagine. It was beautiful. I started snapping pictures of my favorite ones. I wish the United States were a little older so our buildings and doors had this much character.

We parked our velib bikes and went to the old opera house. It was like being inside another French palace, extravagant and ornate. I loved it. Warning: we took lots of pictures there.

*ryan's opera debut

*my debut as Evita. I loved this view of the city. I felt like I owned the place.

asd

After touring the opera house, we continued our bike ride around the city. I had asked (begged) my mom to do a mini photoshoot of us around Paris on our last day, which my wonderful mother did and made me feel like she loved it as much as I did (even though I know she was working hard). So on this bike ride, we scoped out some good locations for our mini photoshoot (pictures to come later).

Day 5 - BELGIUM

2010-07-08T20:48:00.001-07:00

On our 5th day in Paris, we took off and spent the day in Brussels, Belgium. It's about a three hour drive from Paris. Tata and Pierre rented us a LIMO to make the trip more fun. And let me tell you, driving through the French countryside in a limousine is such a fun way to see the landscape!

I have to be honest, I was a little reluctant to "waste" one of my Paris days in Belgium. Ryan was excited about it and his enthusiasm (plus the thought of a relaxing/beautiful drive in a limo) convinced me to go. I'm SO glad I went! Brussels had a lot of the Parisian charm with less than half of the tourists (hypocritical, I know). It was a fun change of pace and now I can say I've been to Belgium.

*in The Grand'Place - one of the most beautiful town squares in the world!

So of course we loaded up on Belgian waffles and chocolate while we were there. The waffles were more of a dessert than a breakfast food. They're thick like old fashioned donuts with a sweet glaze and whatever toppings you want! And the chocolate... Oh the chocolate! We bought two 13.5 lb. bags of Belgian chocolate chips. They were one of our only souvenirs for ourselves from the whole trip. They are currently in my freezer and my chocolate chip cookies have been to die for since we've gotten home (not to toot my own horn, but seriously). I also eat them like candy whenever I go to the movies or need something sweet.

Long story short, no regrets here. If you get the chance to go to Belgium, take it from me, it's not a waste. It' was beautiful. And delicious.

Paris, Day 4 - The Louvre, Our Fave Cafe, & a Night Tour

2010-07-01T23:12:00.000-07:00

On our 4th day in Paris, we spent a leisurely morning going off by ourselves on bikes, stopping in cute shops, taking LOTS of pictures of little details, and getting a taste of what the street vendors had to offer.

Our first (big) stop was the Louvre. It is SO big. We got some wonderful advice from some friends we made on Pierre's birthday cruise. They told us the Louvre is almost impossible to navigate by yourself, you'd get lost. They told us about the book "Rick Steve's Guide to Paris" and even were so kind as to photocopy the pages on the Louvre. It totally helped. He walks you through the Louvre, tells you which way to go so that you get to see all the best parts of the exhibit in a couple hours instead of a couple days. Don't go to the Louvre without it!

*my best attempt at a Mona Lisa smile/grin + the crazy Mona Lisa paparazzi

*Venus de Milo & the glass pyramids

After the Louvre, we took a stroll through the Tuileries gardens. We stopped for lunch at the Cafe Reale. My Tata told us that it's the best cafe in the gardens because it's the only one there with a kitchen attached where the food is made fresh. It was SO good! (It's a tie for my favorite place to eat in Paris with the restaurant in the Orsay Museum).

After lunch, we rode over to Notre Dame. I was as surprised by the tiny details in the huge cathedral as I was by the amount of gypsies out in front of it. For real. I kept my eye out for a sexy one hanging out with a hunch back, but I didn't see any. After giving ourselves a tour of the inside of Notre Dame, we crossed a bridge, sat on the edge of the Siene river, listened to some street musicians and had some mango & coconut ice cream. It was perfect.

That evening, my Tata took us on her own "Paris by night" tour. She followed the double decker red bus and looked up information online on all the stops they made, and gives this tour to all her guests. It's awesome because it's free and she gives time to get out and take pictures. The tour begins and ends with crepes (first for dinner and then for dessert). It was so much fun. Thank you Tata!

Paris, Day 3 - VERSAILLES!!!

2010-06-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, so one of the things I was most looking forward to about going to France, was Versailles. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Just a 40 minute drive from Paris and it's free to get in. Versailles was the home away from home for French royalty to spend their summers when Paris got too hot and muggy. I don't blame them. It's insanely cool. All the trees and shrubs are immaculately trimmed, with man-made lakes and greek style statues and fountains. Marie Antoinette even had a little Austrian style village built to comfort her when feeling homesick that looked like something out of a Thomas Kinkade painting (but a lot less cheesy).

*click to enlarge

Although, the palace in Versailles is beautiful, it's the grounds/gardens that take your breath away. The grounds are HUGE, so after walking a couple miles to get in, we had a picnic lunch of baguettes, cheeses, fruit and chocolate on the lawn right by the man-made lake where you can rent row boats (which, of course, we did and it was wonderful... at least for me, Ryan did all the work). The surroundings made me feel like everyone should have been dressed like they were in a Jane Austen novel, but it felt a little like we were at some kind of confused beach, because it was so crowded and lots of people were laying out in their bathing suits. Maybe in that part of France, it's the closest thing they have to a beach. I don't know, but being at this 4 century old castle with people laying on a towels in their bathing suits with their mp3 players in and ipads out just didn't feel right.

All over the gardens are fountains. The cool thing about them is the fact that they were built centuries ago, before modern technology, and they run on pressure. Also all over Versailles, there are mazes of 6 foot tall shrubs. You'll be walking through these mazes then, all of the sudden, you find a giant hidden opening with crazy fountains and sculptures. The fountains only go off on Saturdays and Sundays at certain times of the day. Luckily we went on a Sunday. Not only were they beautiful, but the mist felt SO good after walking around in the sun.

I think you get the best view in Versailles from the top of a large marble stair case in front of the palace. If you're looking out over the fountain there's a view of most/some of the grounds (seen in the top picture), then if you turn around you'll see the palace behind you (the bottom picture). I loved it, I could have gone back and spent another whole day in Versailles. Maybe one day I will.

Paris, Day 2 - Evening on the Seine

2010-06-15T07:55:00.001-07:00

So, after a day of bike riding, museums, and car tours, we got all dolled up and set sail on a river cruise dinner/party for Pierre's 40th birthday! It was an enchanting/relaxing way to see the city. The Seine runs right through the heart of Paris so we got to sail passed everything: the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Musee d'Orsay, and even the o.g. statue of Liberty.

Tata & Pierre have some friends who are in a bluegrass trio that plays at Disneyland, Paris. It made for a fun atmosphere. In Paris, I kinda felt like a kid at Disneyland, the feel of the city is like what Disneyland is trying to re-create, but it's better, it's real. The castles are real. The musicians on the streets are real (not hired). The cool buildings that line the main streets are real. And the boat rides are real.

When I was about 7 years old, my parents hired an au pair (nanny) from Italy to watch over us and keep us out of their hair while they ran their businesses from home. Her name was Rosi. She was amazing. Now she's married to a really awesome guy named Mirko, and they have two little girls of her own, Vanessa (named after my sister), and Paula. They drove 5 hours from Germany to Paris to see us and come to the party!

The night the view, the people, the music, it was all wonderful. And the food. Oh the food. There was a 5 course meal that ended with all the desserts and pastries you could ever hope to try. They were bite size and as cute as they were delicious. I took a sampler plate of tiny french pastries to the front of the boat and just ate them slowly and took in the view. It was another one of those surreal I can't believe I'm actually here doing this right now moment.

Did you know that the Eiffel Tower sparkles? Well it does. Every hour, on the hour, as soon as the sun goes down (so pretty much from 11pm tp 3am). At first I thought "Yeah, the Eiffel Tower is alright, but what's all the fuss about?" This is what it's about. It's like watching a new kind of fireworks.

Paris, Day 2 - "Paris Authentic" Car Tour wtih Squints-McGee

2010-06-09T19:08:00.001-07:00

*It was a pretty sunny day and Ryan is squinting in EVERY picture from I have from this tour.

He gave me permissions to use these pictures.

Sorry babe, you left me no choice.

On our second day in Paris, after enjoying lunch at Musee d'Orsay, we rode our Velib bikes back through the city to meet up with my mom, Tata, Pierre, their baby Gwendolyn, and Pierre's dad, Pierre. My Tata had arranged for us to take a tour through Paris in these tiny, convertable, vintage cars. She has a lot of people visit and says that out of all the touristy stuff she recommends, this is usually everyone's favorite.

One reason this car tour was SO much fun was because the drivers were able to take us through tiny side streets that were obviously built for a horse and buggy and were definitely too small for a normal car to fit through. We drove right through some of the town square's and right past everything you could ever hope to see in Paris. We had a great tour guide who told us the history of the city's attractions and a thorough history of his own life.

Along the way we made a little pit-stop to a pastry shop that sells "THE BEST" macaroons in Paris (there are so many perks when you know someone who lives there). I bought a BUNCH as souvenirs and Ryan and I ended up eating half of them throughout the rest of the tour.

The tour was an absolute blast! Riding around in those cute cars would be fun anywhere, let alone Paris. If you're interested, go to parisauthentic.com. You won't be sorry.

Paris, Day 2 - Musee D'Orsay

2010-06-02T22:07:00.000-07:00

In the middle of our wonderful bike ride, we decided we were going to spend an hour or two at the Musee d'Orsay. It's the second most popular museum in Paris (after the Louvre). It was built as a train station in 1900 before being converted to a museum, and the building itself is really a work of art. We got to see collections from Renoir, Monet and Van Gogh. We also got to see the actress, Emma Thompson, who was there in real life with some of her children. She's even prettier in person than she is with all the professional make-up and lighting in the movies.

One of my FAVORITE places to eat in Paris, and that's saying a lot because the food there is a-ma-zing, was the restaurant at the Musee d'Orsay! Before eating salmon, I tried a platter of salad, bread and stinky cheeses! The waiter said it was his favorite and I wanted the real French experience. The food was wonderful, the waiters were wonderful (not always the case there, like it usually is here in the USA), and the dinning room was gorgeous! You can see a little of the wall paintings, chandeliers, mirrors, gold leaf, and windows in that picture, but it doesn't do it justice. There were giant windows over looking the Seine River and the Tuileries gardens. I could have sat in there and just stared all day. If you ever go to Paris, this is a stop I HIGHLY recommend.

Paris, Day 2 - Velib Bike Ride

2010-05-31T17:36:00.001-07:00

So Paris has this wonderful public trasportation system of bikes called "Velib." Pierre told us it took them a couple years to get the system figured out, but boy did they figure it out. They are genius. There are stations of them all over the city and it's free for the first half hour (which is all it really about all takes to get from one side of Paris to the other on a bike) and cost an extra Euro for each additional half hour. They work so well because Paris is almost completely flat and not that big. But the BEST part about these bikes is that you actually get to see the city as you travel through it, unlike the metro which is underground. The metro also has a bunch of stops and is usually crowded. Not to mention the smell when there are crowds of sweaty people with their arms up, holding on to the railing and you're stuck standing right on top of them.

Driving with the traffic in Paris is insane. Tons of people on bikes ride right along with the cars. There is no rhyme or reason to the traffic in the streets of Paris. There are no lanes. There are more 6 to 12-way stops than 4-way. The round abouts are huge with people merging in and cutting across 5 lanes to turn right or left (my imaginary lanes, because remember, there are none). Lots of one way streets and tiny alleys so you can't go back the way you came if you get lost. It took some time to gain confidence on bikes, but it was worth it.

Disclaimer: sorry this little video is so shakey. It's hard to film and ride. You can't really tell how beautiful it was to be riding down the cobble stone streets with the seine river on your right and the eiffel tower on your left. And yes, I wore a skirt, scarf and sandals on a bike ride. If the French women can do it, so can I. During this bike ride I had an I can't believe I'm actually here experiencing this right now moment. It was so surreal.