est. 2002

Feliz Navidad!

2011-12-29T19:16:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving

2011-12-09T13:08:00.000-08:00

Went up to St. George to Jeff's sister's house. Thanks for hosting Thanksgiving Mindy! All of Jeff's family was there...though not all at the same time. Good to see everyone and nice to see the little babies.

Hailey looks like she's wearing a crown. Waiting for Thanksgiving dinner.

Does it look like chaos with all these kids? That's not even including Lincoln, Parker, Rose and Logan.

Thanksgiving Wii!
Grandma, Hailey, Lincoln, Hannah, Veronica, Matthew, David and Vanessa. (oh yeah, Angela is behind Hannah doing her hair)

Don't know if this picture was taken pre or post Veronica's meltdown.
Baby Rose, Hannah and Veronica.

Partial month in photos

2011-11-10T16:45:00.000-08:00

Jack-O-Lanterns. The kids made the designs while the parents carved the designs on the pumpkins. It was fun and we roasted the pumpkin seeds which turned out great!

Picture with the pumpkins before bed.

Halloween night...finally! David as Mario, again! Veronica as Hermione in Harry Potter. Vanessa as a bee and Violet as a hot dog.

Our ward's Halloween party. This was the second time we had to get everyone dressed up.

At our friends' trunk or treat. This was the "dress rehearsal" to Halloween night. First night of dressing up in costumes.

At the school Halloween parade. Dressing up now for the 3rd time!

Veronica with some of her classmates.

Proud parent of a winner of the Award of Excellence for the month of October. Don't ask me what that means...I guess she's excellent! I agree.

Violet has taken to partially covering her face when she sleeps.

The Vidaurre family with my adorable neice, Layla.

a 7 year old and a 3 month old

2011-10-27T18:58:00.001-07:00

Veronica turned 7 on the 25th and Violet turned 3 months!
Veronica weighs about 41 lbs and Violet weighs about 13 lbs.

For those of you who don't know Veronica, let me describe why I love her so much. She forgives me constantly for my shortcomings. She has an amazing memory, can still recall things from 3-4 years ago. She LOVES to read and I can't really take credit for teaching her. She taught herself how to read, probably because I wouldn't read her all the books she wanted. She's a very loving soul but very stubborn. Veronica is smart and innocent. Veronica is competitive and loves to win and is still learning that sometimes she will be bad at something or won't win all the time. She loves to draw and can destroy a ream of paper in a day. I have learned that I am far from perfect and Veronica will remind me from time to time of that. I love having her in our family. She's complicated, emotional, dramatic, fantastic, creative, compassionate, curious and so much more and I love her so! Happy Birthday Veronica.

The LA County Fair

2011-10-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd treat the kids to something spectacular and awesome...loaded up the minivan (by myself) and headed to the fair. I know what you're thinking, and no I was not CRAZY to just go out there on my own. I met some people with their kids there and we all pooled our energy together to be able to undertake this fair. I would not have gone if I were not there with other adults to help me from being overwhelmed. I had a stroller full of snacks/food for the inevitable meltdowns and my books for free admission and my very well deserved carbonated beverage in hand. It was hot. It was huge. It was deep fried goodness. I did have to call on all my will power to not get a deep fried twinkie however I did cave and got some deep fried zucchini (at least it was a vegetable, right?). The kids had a great time and I actually had some fun too. The only reason I didn't konk out on the drive home was because I was driving! Everyone else was fast asleep 5 minutes into the drive, minus one super human named Veronica who has unknown amounts of energy.

There were TONS of thes photo-op cut outs and the kids stopped at almost all of them.

Grinding some corn.

Here we all are. And yes, Violet was there with us. She spent most of the day in her stroller very happy and very sleepy. She was the very best behaved out of the whole lot!

Cousin time, blessing, hiking and missing tooth!

2011-09-27T14:58:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, Jeff was able to do Violet's baby blessing. We had some family, from my side, and friends that were able to be there and share this sweet special moment.

Cousin Layla is playing with Violet...it'll be great once they can actually play together without poking each others eyes or pulling hair or any of that other stuff. This is the first time any of our kids has had a cousin so close and hopefully they can be really great friends.

This dress is almost as old as I am! All of my girls have worn this dress for their blessing and all of Jeff's sisters wore it for their blessings and I think some cousins have worn it too!

She looks so cute, huh? Her tia made her little headband flower thing...very talented!

Here's Violet right before Church.

Ventured over to Solstice Canyon in Malibu for this hike. Kids actually made it without complaining too much. "I'm dirty! I'm hungry! I'm tired! Carry me! I need to go potty!" That was just from me...he he.

Veronica has been wiggling her little front tooth for a couple of weeks now and finally decided that it was time for it to come out. So, she said I could pull it for her. She really wanted this and of course it was picture day the next day! Anyway, the good thing about losing a tooth is that Veronica insisted on getting to bed on time. I still chuckle when I see Veronica's toothless smile.

My little girls

2011-09-27T13:38:00.000-07:00

Violet in September

2011-09-16T10:44:00.000-07:00

8/29/2011

8/28/2011

9/03/2011

9/03/2011

9/07/2011

9/08/2011

9/12/2011

This is my chaos...

2011-09-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

Everytime I walk downstairs I see these 4 little people. Most days are overwhelming and exhausting but knowing they love me unconditionally gives me the energy that I need to do my work. I love my kids...they drive me crazy and wear me down but they make me laugh everyday.

Preschooler and 2nd Grader!

2011-09-07T11:35:00.000-07:00

David had his taste of preschool for a few months last school year, but he doesn't start Kindergarten until next school year (2012) so he's doing preschool again...this time for the whole school year. Luckily he doesn't seem to care that he's going to preschool again, he's just having a fun time being a "big kid."
Not a picture of the actual first day, but still equally excited. It's funny because I asked if he wanted to wear his new shoes for school and he said yeah and now has deemed them his school shoes. He will not wear any other shoe to school...very particular about his clothes.
Anyway, he loves preschool and it's nice for me to have time with the other 2 while both David and Veronica are in school. Hopefully David will stay relatively healthy this year. Last year he was sick a lot while he was in school. The summer has been illness free, sort of. Here's to a fantastic year of preschool.

She's finally back in school and we are all so happy about that!
It has certainly been a very long summer with Veronica and all of her questions and sass...I have had my fill and am so happy to have some time with my spunky little Nessa and little Violet without Veronica telling me how to do things. Love her and glad that she's back to being busy with school and friends.

YES!!!!

2011-09-06T12:27:00.001-07:00

School starts tomorrow!
That's all I can blog.

2011-09-03T14:34:00.000-07:00

Put in some new tile...no thanks to a leaking refridgerator line.

Took this picture right around midnight. As you can see, she's wide awake and so are we!

Violet and her best friend, green bink.

How was your weekend?

2011-08-15T22:02:00.000-07:00

So, our family just had THE longest week of our lives...as well as the hardest. I'll share a quick recap of what happened. On Thursday night, really late, we fed Violet right before bed and shortly after she threw it all up. We just figured she ate just a bit too much and didn't have much room for it so it had to come out. Anyway, we put her down to bed and she peacefully slept. She woke up at around 5am. When I first woke up I thought, "wow, she slept a long time." Then I fed her, but she didn't really seem interested. Within a few minutes she threw it up. So, then I remembered that she threw up earlier and thought that she must have some sort of stomach bug. All day Friday she would eat then shortly after she would throw up. I tried everything...sitting her straight up, feeding her formula, nursing her, not feeding her as much, burping her in the middle of feeding her. Nothing seemed to work and she kept throwing up- projectile vomitting. Called the doctor Saturday morning and took Violet into urgent care from the doctor's recommendation. The urgent care doctor sent us to the ER because Violet was very dehydrated. We spent all night in the ER, with blood/urine tests, and an ultrasound but nothing could be determined. They put her on an IV to hydrate her and did an ultrasound of her abdomen. I was hoping it was pyloric stenosis, I did some google searches on Friday, and her symptoms sounded like this, but I guess the ultrasound didn't show any signs of that. The ER nurse seemed to be happy that it wasn't pyloric stenosis, but if it was then we would know the problem and could fix it...but I guess she was happy because the solution is surgery and Violet is just a baby after all. Anyway, since they couldn't determine the problem, they admitted her to the NICU based on the recommendation of our pediatrician. So, we headed up to the NICU. Until they knew what was causing her to throw everything up she would have to stay in the NICU on IVs to keep her hydrated. Walking away from Violet, walking out of that NICU, walking out of the hospital and walking into our house without Violet was the hardest thing I've done. It still makes me tear up as I write this and remember that day. Long story already. A gastro-specialist came in and they did and x-ray where they found that indeed it was pyloric stenosis. Pyloric stenosis, semi-common condition that happens when a muscle near the stomach is enlarged and doesn't allow the milk to pass so it just builds up and then gets thrown up within minutes of eating. How does that get fixed? Surgery, a pyloromyotomy? Quick procedure where a small incision is made by her abdomen and the surgeon cuts the muscle that is enlarged so it lets the food pass through to the small intestines. One day of recovery. It took a while for Violet to fully wake from anesthsia so her discharge kept being delayed because they like to monitor their feedings for a day to make sure they are keeping it down. Wednesday night Violet threw some of her milk up and so the doctor delayed her discharge but then out of the blue Thursday morning he said it was okay to take her home within the next hour or two. What a relief.

After her procedure she was really sleepy. This is her relaxing.

My little Violet after coming out of surgery.

Although I can't understand what Jeff underwent, I do know that his strength helped me stand and helped me breathe. All the prayers from friends and family were also things that helped me have strength. Knowing that Jesus Christ suffered all of my pains/sorrows/heartache helped me feel some solace knowing that I was not alone in my suffering. The hardest part was not knowing what was happening to Violet...if she would ever get better. Once we knew what was happening I felt peace and I knew that there was a solution.

Violet is home and we are so grateful for her. Way more tired than I've been in a long time but so happy to be tired. So happy that she's here in our home and not in the hospital. So happy she's waking up in the middle of the night to eat.

Violet back home.

One week down!

2011-08-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

Only how many more? Violet has been a doll. Love how much they sleep and am still amazed at how I can just stare at her for hours.

They all want to hold her. David has been the most hands on with Violet. I can already tell that they will be close...he loves her so much.

Violet has definitely been the most pink out of the other kids.

Does this picture make Violet look tiny or does it make that diaper look huge? It's a 4.

Little Violet.

Baby Alert

2011-07-27T22:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome home! Violet Emily Enos, newest member of our family made her debut July 25th. We are so thankful and happy to have her join our family and are even happier to have her home now. More pictures to come. We love you little Violet.

Girls Night In

2011-07-22T11:56:00.000-07:00

This week has been lame for the kids. They have been bored out of their brains and looking for things to keep them entertained. I've been moving a lot more slow and can barely muster the strength to go up and down my stairs. Anyway, super pregnant mom=super bored kids...at least in my situation.
Veronica was super bored yesterday, after re-reading some of her books and exhausting her imagination with pretend play that she asked for a girls night. I asked her what that meant and she said, "you know, when we wear pretty clothes and makeup and talk about girl things." So, since I've been feeling super guilty about this being a boring summer for them I obliged and she even let me curl her hair. I gave her a mani/pedi, and makeup.

She asked if she could use one of my roses to take a picture outside. Where do kids come up with these ideas?

Happy Birthday 7-11

2011-07-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

Free slurpees at 7-11!

4th of July...

2011-07-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

4th of July at the Kerrigan's. This family opens up their home/backyard to family and friends and we have enjoyed coming to this every year since we moved here. I can't believe we've been here for 7 years now.

This was probably the best spot to be...it was SO hot. Nothing says 4th of July in the valley like triple digits and pools!

Another cool spot to be.

Vanessa was having such a fun time going up the stairs and sliding down the slide into the pool that she didn't notice when the adults left and she slid down into the pool and was underwater for a few seconds. Luckily, we had a little hero pull her up and held her head above the water. After this incident, Vanessa was pretty tired and fell asleep. Near death will tucker a kid out.

BIG NEWS!!! Veronica had a loose tooth for quite some time now....close to 2 weeks. Anyway, she kept messing with it and then one day I asked to look at her loose tooth and saw the new tooth poking through. So, I asked her if I could pull out the loose tooth to give room for the new one. She hesitated and then said I could pull it on Monday(4th of July). I forgot until that evening when she was sitting and reading and fiddling with her tooth and then I remembered. So, I reminded her and she put up a fight but then she let me pull it. It came out quick, thankfully! If you look super close you can see the top of the new tooth behind the bloody hole.

Her tooth was so little, I thought that the tooth fairy might have a hard time finding it...but alas the tooth fairy found the little tooth and left Veronica a very special monetary compensation.

2011-07-03T19:58:00.001-07:00

Funny story: Our friends, the Tanigawa's, asked if we wanted to go to the beach and so we got our stuff packed up and headed out to the beach. It didn't really cross our minds that it is 4th of July weekend and probably a SUPER busy/crowded beach day. We quickly found out that everyone had the same idea as us, and were stuck in traffic because EVERYONE ahead of us was looking for a place to park. Anyway, the Tanigawa's were there, amongst the traffic, ahead of us and were doubling back to try their luck again for a spot...and they sure are LUCKY...they managed to find a parking spot for their car as well as our car! Thank goodness for cell phones because we didn't really want to look for parking and they called with the good news and we doubled back as quickly as possible. I'm sure Mat got a lot of angry looks but he held that spot for us. We ended up staying there for quite some time because it was a pretty nice day. I only managed one picture of all the kids.

Beach babe!

2011-06-30T18:10:00.001-07:00

Quick trip to Provo

2011-06-27T11:40:00.000-07:00

We took a very quick trip to Provo, UT for a baby blessing for our newest nephew, Logan. Jeff's youngest sister, Rachel had her baby in May. Anyway, we left Friday afternoon and after spending the night in St. George (big thanks to Mindy & Jesse for letting us stay in your house)we arrived in Provo at around 12pm Saturday. We left Provo at 1pm on Sunday and drove all the way back to LA...arriving at around 11pm.
It was nice to see all my neices and nephews...hadn't met 2 of the newest additions. I wish we
were all closer so that they could have a huge network of cousins...but it kind of makes these long trips worth it to see all of them together.

These are the oldest of the 'Enos' cousins...Hannah will turn 7 in July and Veronica will turn 7 in October. Looking at this picture reminds me of how fast these girls are growing up...pretty soon they will be teenagers.

Left to right: David holding Parker, Vanessa, Matthew and Lincoln.
We tried taking pictures of all of the cousins, but you can only imagine how well those turned out. This is the only smile I caught out of Lincoln.

We had to go by BYU for chocolate milk and got David his first BYU hat. He wore the hat the rest of the day and the rest of the trip...very proudly declaring, "I got it at BYU!"

Left to right: David, Hailey holding Logan, Veronica holding Parker, Matthew in front of Hannah holding Rose, Vanessa and Lincoln.
This is the best I thought, considering there is a bright spot and you can barely see Rose. At least they are looking towards the camera!

At the ball game...

2011-06-27T11:26:00.000-07:00

I think the kids like going to Dodgers games mainly because I pack them tons of snacks and they like the seventh inning stretch when they can sing, "Take me out to the ballgame."
Seriously, as soon as we get there they say, "can I have a snack?"

Get excited!

2011-06-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

Burritos

2011-05-17T20:43:00.001-07:00

This is our secret to a low heating bill in the winter.

Birthday pics.

2011-05-17T20:33:00.000-07:00

Vanessa getting ready to blow out the candles to her birthday cake. Still can't believe she's 2!

I like to treat the kids to an out of the norm treat on their birthdays...so, after talking Vanessa out of wanting to go to Chuck E. Cheese's she asked to go to McDonald's for ice cream cones. Of course the older kids kind of baited her into asking, but Vanessa was still very glad we went.

My little ladies eating their cones.

Here's the birthday girl going to town on her cone. We all had a pretty big laugh.

Vanessa girl is 2!!

2011-05-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to my sweet Nessa! I love you so much.

Spring Break

2011-05-05T16:54:00.001-07:00

We had spring break a few weeks ago. We basically tagged along on one of Jeff's work trips to San Diego. We spent a night in Oceanside and then the rest of the week in downtown San Diego. If you ask the kids what the highlight of the trip was they would say it was the concierge lounge in the San Diego hotel. Since Jeff travels so much, he has wracked up the hotel points and gets access to the lounge when he stays. There is a hot chocolate machine and unlimited drinks. That's what the highlight of their spring break was.

Hanging out at the "royally" hotel. Veronica was very amazed at the hotel and the decor.

Vanessa was loving the beach.

These 3 loved the hotel. Can't you tell by their smiles?

Our LONG week

2011-04-15T15:51:00.000-07:00

We started the week rather slowly...with nothing much going on except free ice cream on Tuesday from Ben & Jerry's. Easy week, right? What could possibly ruin this week?

Then Wednesday came along and I smashed my thumb in my car door. Smart, huh? Later in the day, after I picked up Veronica from school, my car decided that it was not going to start. We've been expecting this but were putting off fixing it until I had all the kids with me, with no water or snacks, in the middle of the afternoon. I called our tow service and they took our car to the mechanic shop and thought I'd be without a car for a couple of days...so we did the logical thing and rented a car for a couple of days. Luckily, there was a park across the street and we just hung out there until Jeff came to rescue us.Anyway, I left our garage door opener in the car so we went by the shop later in the day, literally 2-3 hours after the tow truck took the car, and the car was fixed. Were they going to call to let us know? Whatever, so, now we have this rental to take back. Wow, a little annoying that we rented the car but we were able to take it back with minimal damage to our checkbook...and we drove home. Now we're done, right? I get home the next morning from dropping off Veronica at school and I park the car in the garage. I get out and hear something dripping. I go towards the sound and look under the car and there is fluid leaking from inside the car. Great! Turns out the engine coolant had leaked all over. Great. Drive the car to the mechanic and found that the container that holds the engine coolant had a bunch of cracks in it and was the cause of the leakage. Leave the car and walk home with Vanessa and wait for the car guy to call. Wait and wait...finally we call and they say it's fixed. Were they even going to call? Whatever...I'm just grateful they fixed it that quickly. Now, it's finally Friday and I'm exhausted.

Here's to spring break this coming week! I welcome nothing planned in the immediate future.

Lesson learned: When life hands you lemons,

...make lemonade.

Baby BOOM

2011-04-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

...this is NOT an April Fool's Day gag...just a funny thing... During Christmas, all 4 of my sisters-in-law (Jeff has 3 sisters and my brother's wife) were all pregnant. And 3 of those sisters-in-law were due in March. Oh yeah, did I mention that I am pregnant too!? Anywho, what are the chances of that happening? Jeff's sister, Mindy, had her baby February 23rd...a beautiful baby boy. Jeff's other sister, Angela, had her baby March 22nd...a beautiful baby girl. My brother's wife, Angie, had her baby March 23rd...a beautiful baby girl. Mindy was due sometime in March but she delivered her 1st 6 weeks early so they were kind of expecting their 2nd to be early as well. Big boy too! Angie's baby was close to 2 weeks post-due date... and a long 2 days in the hospital just waiting for her to make her appearance. Angela, had her baby, which is her 4th, at home...I think in one of those birthing pools. Rachel, Jeff's youngest sister, is expecting her 1st baby in June and she's having a boy. And it appears that I'm due at the end of July and will be having a girl. A lot of changes in the past few months and in the coming months. It certainly makes me laugh because the chances of this happening are slim but it's nice to have all these babies in the family. 2011 is definitely a mini "baby-boom" in our extended families.

Baby Layla and Baby Rose...I couldn't get a pic. of Baby Parker to upload. I'm anxious for Rachel to have her baby and for an Enos family get together to see the newest cousins. Nothing but fun and chaos at the next family get together.

Too cool...

2011-03-26T10:18:00.000-07:00

2011-03-17T22:13:00.000-07:00

David picked out this outfit for his birthday. He's really into Mario these days.

Vanessa being a cutie!

The big 4 year old!

2011-03-07T15:50:00.000-08:00

David turned four on Friday. He's very non-demanding and didn't really ask for anything for his birthday. Anyway, he finally decided he wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese for his birthday. We went and I think we all managed to have fun. We had David's abuelos come and his tio and tia and the Tanigawa's and the Ngyuen's. David didn't really care who was there, so long as I kept his hands full of "chuckecheese pennies." Happy Birthday David!

He looks so excited for his cake! I love this little boy.

Blowing out his birthday candles. He was so excited about the little Mario on his cake and managed to lose it before we left. Oh well. Maybe next time he'll listen to mommy.

The kids, minus Jared.

Waiting for the festivities to begin!

At David's preschool.

Oahu

2011-02-28T10:06:00.000-08:00

Call it recharging or boosting up...whatever one calls it, it was very NEEDED and I think very much deserved. We like to call this the "Census 2010 is over...I need a break from the kids...can't remember the last time I've been on an airplane...our last hurrah before #4 comes...vacation." I don't know if anyone can appreciate how happy I was when Jeff finished up his Census 2010 assignment...mainly because his schedule was so packed with work and out of town work that I wanted a normal schedule again and maybe have my husband home for a month without him being out of town. He's done with that but took a promotion that now means more responsibility and unpredictable travel...again! Anyway, enough about that because I am now sounding a bit ungrateful for Jeff's hard work and the opportunities we were able to have because of it and I am so not. It was just hard to have him gone so much. This trip was hard to plan...lots of factors to consider but really it only came down to one thing - Who would willingly take our 3 kids and watch them for however long we decided was possible. I'll spare all 2 readers the long drawn out story but we got everything figured out and marked our calendars for our long awaited vacation. Sidenote: All of us were sick at one point for 3-4 weeks leading up to the day we left...I was still in the recovery phase of my cold/flu.

I want to throw out the biggest thank you to my brother and sister-in-law for making this possible and taking on the Enos 3 for 7 days. I left knowing that they were in capable hands and that was such a huge thing in my ability to relax on the trip. I think the kids needed a break from me too...they seem happy to see me and talk to me...which was so nice to come home to.

Day 1 - Arrived in the early afternoon and headed straight for Ono's. I wasn't feeling too great, still a bit weak from being sick the previous 2 weeks and had an infection that was making my face hurt. Anyway, we had some grub at Ono's and then decided to take it easy and do some shopping at Wal-mart for stuff we didn't bring, like sunscreen and snacks and water.

Day 2 - Walked Waikiki for our early morning walk and then we grabbed some breakfast.
Had to get some malasadas from Leonard's.

Headed to the North Shore. I think this is right after Waimaea. Spent a few hours on the beach and the sun was HOT! I suggested to Jeff that we get in the shade but by then the damage was done to Jeff. Luckily it wasn't that bad of a burn for him.

Beach time makes us hungry. Went to a shrimp shack, got the spicy and the garlic shrimp.

Had to finish it with some shave ice from Matsumoto's.

Day 3 - Our plans were to hit the Aloha Stadium for some shopping but their website led us way astray and we ended up in Ko Olina. We were going to head over to this side of the island anyway so it ended up being okay. We spent the day at this beach, very calm and did some snorkeling when the sun was out from under those clouds. It poured as we were leaving, but it wasn't unpleasant.

Day 4 - Had a vacation presentation, to score cheap tickets to a luau, which took most of our morning. We got hit from 3 different people trying to sell us this time share type of thing but we held our ground and they finally released us. It's funny because at the beginning of these things they always say they aren't going to push us and try to sell us anything but when they're all done they try and make the sale and it's pushy. Anyway, we ventured over to the windward side of the island towards Kailua.
View from the Pali lookout.

Kailua Beach. Very nice, green and relaxing.

We got back and did laundry...what a drag!

Day 5 - No morning walk today but we did have a hike planned so we could find a waterfall but it was kind of a pain finding one not too strenuous...given my current condition. Came up with Maunawili Falls. Very green, lush and jungly and a neat hike...minus the muddy terrain most of the way up. It was worth all the "mishaps" encountered during and after the hike.

First we headed to Safeway for some lomi lomi salmon and some drinks for the cooler because after the hike we were headed back over to the North Shore.

Finally getting there!

Jeff getting ready to jump.

After the hike, we drove from the windward side of Oahu all the way to Sunset Beach. Jeff's favorite beach here. Loved the views on the drive. Grabbed a pizza to eat for lunch and stayed in Sunset Beach for the rest of the afternoon. Then back to Matsumoto's for a shave ice treat.

Day 6 - Our last full day here. Since we never went shopping on Wednesday we decided to do some shopping today. Just a way to walk around Waikiki and spend some money.

We went a presentation a few days back, sort of like a time share thing, so we could get some cheap tickets to this luau. It was in Ko Olina, Paradise Cove. We have been to the PCC so just wanted to try something new. PCC had a way better show but I think Paradise Cove was more intimate and some of the food was really really good. Next time I will probably go back to the PCC though. Still nice to try something new and have some fun.

Things to look forward to

2011-02-18T19:23:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd post some things that I'm looking forward to in this new year (in no particular order, just as they pop into my head).
-2 kids in school
-a new car (hopefully sometime soon)
-9 year wedding anniversary
-going to the beach
-trip to Hawaii (finally!)
-not driving the kids to and from school(for the summer at least)
-bringing #4 home
-David finally wiping on his own
-running again
-4 new niece(s)/nephews

As of 7:30p.m. this is the state of the Enos house...

2011-01-25T20:33:00.001-08:00

When Jeff's out of town I like to enforce an early bedtime. It's almost like a peace comes over me knowing that the kids are all safe and sleeping and it's quiet. I am very productive when I can actually have a couple of hours of quiet. Sometimes I just do meaningless things just to avoid the noise and chaos but this peaceful feeling helps me appreciate my life/kids/husband so much. Thank you for early bedtimes...it doesn't always happen but I am so grateful when it does.

A pre-schooler!

2011-01-19T09:31:00.001-08:00

When did this happen? David started pre-school last Wednesday and only cried because I had the audacity to pick him up from school. Seriously, am I that scary that my kids can't wait to go to school and hate it when it's over? Since David didn't make the age cut-off for a LAUSD free pre-school I thought it would be a good idea for him to test the waters for a semester before he actually has to start next fall. It's also nice to only have Vanessa to drag around with my errands. Vanessa loves having all the attention and it's kind of nice to have the peace of having a quiet baby(for now at least).

Everyone look at the camera!

2011-01-10T17:00:00.000-08:00

This was our attempt at a family shot...one of Jeff's little things that he insists on. Kids look great, except for Vanessa's mad face.

David's Drama

2011-01-03T12:22:00.000-08:00

A converstation I had with David when he noticed that the Christmas decorations were all gone.

David: Mommy, the tree! Where's it?
Me: We put it away because it's not Christmas anymore.
David: But I don't wanna Christmas to be done. (starts to cry)
Me: Do you want some raisins?
David: Mommy, you hurt my feelings.
Everytime I say something that David doesn't like, he cries and declares that I hurt his feelings.

I've been letting David's hair grow out...and Jeff finally had enough of the bushy hair and cut it while I was taking a nap.

This picture was taken about a month ago.

This morning.

2010-12-29T22:50:00.000-08:00

Day 1 of our drive we ended in St. George and spent some time with Jeff's sister, Mindy, and her family. They were generous enough to let us spend the night in their home and let Jeff play video games all night long.
Day 2 we left St. George and drove up to Salt Lake City. We stayed there that night so we could go to Temple Square and enjoy some Christmas lights. Then we went back to the hotel and went to the pool and had tons of snacks from the hotel concierge lounge.

Shot of the Salt Lake City Temple.

This tree was glowing. Looks like fire!

Cousins...
Top row, left to right: Hannah(6), Veronica(6), Hailey(4) and David(3).
Bottom row: Matthew(2) and Vanessa(1).
Day 3 we headed towards our final destination...Idaho Falls. Road conditions were amazing and not scary at all. Our vacation finally began once we were in Idaho.

Veronica thought it would be a good idea to cut Vanessa's bangs.

Getting ready to go flying over Idaho Falls. Thanks Tom! (Jeff's brother-in-law)

Merry Christmas!

Day 1 of our drive up to Idaho Falls. It took us 3 days to finally get there...we broke it up so it wouldn't be so long in the car. Those DVD players were amazing! It kept the kids quiet and entertained while we drove....who cares if they turned into zombies.

For lack of anything interesting to post...

2010-12-13T19:30:00.000-08:00

...I'll just post pictures...with no real story behind them.

Vanessa loves shoes...don't ask where that came from.

The kids think this is the best seat in the house...it makes me nervous all the time!

Thought I'd throw in a picture of Veronica...who is doing amazing in 1st grade.

His father's son...

2010-11-23T20:48:00.001-08:00

Such cuties.

They even furrow their brows the same.

Ivy Field Day.

2010-11-15T09:56:00.000-08:00

She is so pretty when she smiles!

Veronica was very determined to get the frisbee in the hole...we have to work on her form.

Veronica with Amanda.

This is Leo. I think Veronica likes him a lot. I think Leo likes her a lot too. (I caught them holding hands earlier.) They are 6...should I be worried?

Halloween dress up

2010-11-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

On our way to our ward Halloween party.

I spent $9 on the costumes this year. The bulk of the money went for those gloves that Veronica is wearing. Everything else I had on hand and altered or made it from lots of scraps that I have from other projects. David's was easy because he was Mario last year (the kid isn't really into dressing up) and so I just made it so it worked for his getting a little taller. I added the dark pink fabric to an old dress that Veronica had and made the little jewel for the front out of an old plastic pen topper. The kids were very easy to please this year, which makes it more enjoyable for me.

Princess Peach and Super Mario.

It was funny to see these kids dressed up in costumes in my back seat.

She looks very kitty-ish.

At the school parade. This is by far the quickest Halloween parade I've ever been to. It was 15 minutes!

How does it feel to be six?

2010-10-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

"I feel...umm...a little different...wait...I feel older now." That's what Veronica said to me when I asked her how she felt to be 6 now. I still am trying to compose myself from the realization that my first born is in fact 6 years into her own life. Anyway, Veronica wanted a Princess and the Frog Costume Party and I did my best. My favortie part of putting this whole thing together was this picture that I took of Veronica. She was so happy and felt so loved...it totally made it all worth it.

(Disregard my dying flowers)
This shot was taken while the girls at her party were singing Happy Birthday to her. She loves the attention.

We played "Kiss Naveen". My amazing, artistic, talented, awesome friend Sheena drew Naveen and helped with the puffy paper flowers.

I thought it would be fun to have the girls do some paper crowns. Then they got a little crazy with the glitter. I'm still finding glitter EVERYWHERE! It was fun...I think.

The birthday girl requested brownies and ice cream(thanks for not making me make a Princess and the Frog cake).

Some kids watching part of P&F to calm down their excitement before their parents came.

I made up a little scavenger hunt for the girls. I didn't think that it would go as well as it did. Well, there were some fights about who got to grab the clue and who could read it. But the end was worth it. I hid the goodie bags in a treasure box. By that time, which was close to when the parents were to come get their kids, I WAS EXHAUSTED!!! It was fun though.

My parents and my brother and his wife came over later for even more celebrations! Here is abuelo with his oldest grandchild.

My dad is so good at being an abuelo. It's no wonder these kids love to have him around. Veronica loves to draw and received lots of construction paper to draw on. Here she is not wasting any time getting to work on those reams of paper.

So cute!

Harvest Festival

2010-10-21T22:18:00.000-07:00

at Pierce College with the family. We were sitting around wondering what to do and decided to head over to the Festival for a few hours. It was a fun time. The kids got to ride a pony and go on a giant inflatable slide.

2010-10-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

We caught the street workers repaving the streets.

David loved watching this.

After bathtime.

Getting ready for bed. Vanessa sucks her thumb and likes to hold her softie. Funny thing, it's an airline blanket that Jeff brought home from one of his travels. We didn't think it would be such a big hit.

All clean and ready for bed.

Nothing like sourbelts to "encourage" the kids to finish their dinner.

This is a common scene in our house. Veronica is very much a bookworm.

What a treat

2010-10-16T15:05:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I got box seats for a Dodgers game for their last Friday game at home. We've stuck by the Dodgers in their not so impressive season. Anyway, I have decided going for box seats is the only way to watch the Dodgers at the stadium....except when you're sitting next to an annoying boy, old enough to know better, who keeps rocking the seats back and forth. I almost pounded the kid, and Jeff actually TOLD the kid to quit messing around. We were on 1st base side and the seats were awesome and did I mention the food that comes with it? Pretty good.

Jeff was pretty annoyed with above mentioned kid and I caught him with this expression on his face.

As we were leaving the stadium, we got to walk by the main offices for important Dodger people, and Jeff spotted this guy "punching out" for the evening.

goodbye old car...

2010-10-04T16:18:00.000-07:00

...Hello new car!

In a previous post, I mentioned how David was super attached/obsessed with a red car. Well, that car was totaled. Seriously, this kid took his car everywhere. He even recognized the sound the car would make whenever it was picked up or dropped on the floor. He named it "lightqueen" after his favorite character, Lightning McQueen from Cars. I have repaired it in the past with glue, but I honestly didn't want to go to the trouble to fix it. So, I did what any parent would do...got him the closest thing to his "lightqueen"...I hope this one can hang with David. He seems to like it as much and even agreed to dispose of his old car all by himself. Funny thing, when David came to me with his broken "lightqueen" he was very upset and I told him I couldn't fix it anymore and if he wanted a new car. He took a breath and said yes and ran to my closet and showed me my secret hiding spot for extra cars. He had already set his eyes on this car long before.

Thank you "lightqueen". You have been so good to David, I only wish he was a bit more gentle with you. He loved you so much.

Santa Barbara

2010-10-01T10:29:00.001-07:00

We headed over to Santa Barbara for a couple of days while Jeff had work. It was short but fun for the most part. We hung out with the Tanigawa's, who were also there for work. It's always nice to go somewhere and have friends to play with while there.

I think this is Stearn's Wharf.

All the kids. Vanessa, Lana, Jared, David and Veronica. Who is that nutty kid in the orange shorts?

Being wild on the hotel beds. I wonder what housekeeping thought when they had to clean our rooms. Seriously, it was a mess!

The boys, Jared and David, getting ready to head out and explore.

The guys had a free night so we headed over to the pier and had some yummy crab. Vanessa's at that terrible age where she will not sit for more than 5 minutes. After 5 minutes she is all over the table, has her hands in the water glasses and stealing all the forks.

The pier was showing a movie right behind the restaurant we were eating at. We got some high chairs, since the 2 babies weren't sitting in them, and set them up so they could watch the movie.

Red car & water bottle

2010-09-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

My 2 babies, Vanessa and David, have been obsessed lately. Vanessa just in the last week or so has emptied my bag daily in search for my water bottle. Once she finds it, she pops open the lid and drinks my water. Then she walks around with the bottle and spills it all over the floor. She's been very determined to do things on her own, like eating and drinking and she even struggles with me when I insist on holding her hand while we walk in a parking lot. It's cute and annoying.

David has loved cars his whole life. It was for that reason that we showered him with cars for Christmas, and so did Santa. We bought him all sorts. Does he attach himself to any of the fancy cars we got him...NO. I don't really know where he got this little red car but he's pretty attached to it. He sleeps with it, eats with it and brings it everywhere. One morning he woke up screaching because he couldn't find his car on his bed. Like most kids, he forgets about it on ocassion but once he realizes it's gone...he is heartbroken.

2010-09-11T21:49:00.000-07:00

I don't really know what setting my camera is on to make us look like we're glowing. This is us at Chase Park in Marina del Rey for Labor Day.

Married for over a year and they even sit alike!

Vanessa watched the soccer ball and would dribble it a few times. She was pretty good at it...for a 1 1/2 year old.

David was a soccer maniac...my dad showed him how to dribble. He was pretty attached to that soccer ball.

Check out their dirty faces...I make it a point to have barefoot children with dirty faces.

Part of our Labor Day activities is the water bus. Usually the kids enjoy it but I think David was the only one that enjoyed this bus ride. Veronica's expression says exactly how she was behaving. Vanessa had a meltdown right before we got off.

The abuelos enjoying their grandchildren.

Taking a break from tossing the frisbee around.

We offered the kids a dollar to push Vanessa in her stroller until she fell asleep...they didn't bite. William & Angie took her for a walk in her stroller and she fell asleep...we tilted the stroller and left her there for a while.

2010-09-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

Enjoying some frozen yogurt. Shortly after, Vanessa face planted while she was walking and chipped her tooth.

Poolside.

Veronica started 1st grade a couple weeks ago. She has to wear uniforms everyday, with a formal day on Friday.

This is her formal uniform.

Summer wrap up

2010-09-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

Since Veronica is back to school our summer is just about wrapped up. The weather here has been amazing. It hasn't been as hot as it usually gets in the summer. Only had a week or two of over 100, and that's not too bad. The only draw back to a cool summer is that the beach was a bit too cold to enjoy, but that didn't stop us from heading to the beach.

I have been terrible at taking pictures and most of the time I forget to bring my camera...so most of these pictures are from home.

After swimming, what better treat than a popsicle? You probably can't tell from this picture but these kids are super tan. We went through 2 sunscreen spray bottles and they still managed to darken up.

Jeff loves his little princess. I thought this picture is especially cute of Vanessa and Jeff.

Vanessa's tan.

The kids and I watched a Man v. Wild marathon and it inspired them to build a shelter and bring food for survival.

I love how you can see all 3 kids having so much fun. All they are really doing is playing follow the leader.

We were all so hungry one day and went to this pizza joint and Jeff ordered the XL. We had pizza for at least a week after that.

Vanessa is sprouting more teeth. She has been a semi-terror. I can't blame her for being irritable, I would be if I had those things poking my gums constantly.

Thanks to a friend of Veronica, she has taught herself how to swim. She's not that good at it and is still scared to practice in the deep end but I didn't have to pay for swim lessons! She was watching her friend, Sierra, show us what she learned in swim lessons and Veronica just put her face in the water and started swimming. She's frantic and super proud of herself after each swim but I'm just excited we didn't have to pay for swim lessons. She still likes to have her floaties for security.

Some night swimming at our pool. It's too bad it's been so cool it doesn't give the water enough heat to warm up. The kids are so dang skinny that they get cold pretty quickly.

On an especially windy day, we thought we'd head over to the beach to fly a kite. Thanks Rachel for providing the kite. It was a huge success.

Getting ready to watch Enchanted.
Close to the end of the school year, Veronica and a friend approached me about a sleepover. I told the girls to wait for the summer then we could do one. I thought they would forget but they kept reminding me and I finally caved. Turned out well and Veronica was so nice to me the whole time. I should do them more often if I get such a happy girl from it.

Digging and building all in the same week!

2010-07-18T16:21:00.000-07:00

So, on one of the hottest days of the summer, so far, I thought it would be fun to take the kids over to the Skirball Center, with my sister-in-law Angie, and try to score standby tickets for the Noah's Ark exhibit. We put our names on the list then did some other random stuff while we waited. It turned out that a group ahead of us, maybe 5 slots up, had a huge group and they took the last tickets. We then went to the digging exhibit and played there for a while. The kids enjoyed it and then we were so hot that when Angie suggested Yogurtland...we could not refuse! We will eventually get in there. We've been before and it is so cool we want to go again. Maybe we'll have better luck next time. We still had fun.

Last week I waited around the house for my VERY BIG package to come in the mail. It finally came. We cleared some space and began to put all the pieces together. We would not have been able to finish this without the help of Rachel and Darrin. Jeff's sister and husband were in town and they were so nice to actually want to help us build it. We had some set backs, like one part didn't have all the holes pre-cut and we used the wrong hardware in some spots...but after we fixed it we ended up with this...

Aquarium

2010-07-16T12:48:00.000-07:00

David was "lost" for a minute or two and we found him having a blast over at the boats.

Touching the sharks.

Veronica and David HAD to bring their babies to the Aquarium. Veronica was so delicate with the way she held her baby but David just held it by the arm...it was really funny to watch the two carry their babies.

Jeff's parents came into town back in June and we thought we'd head over to Long Beach to go to the Aquarium of the Pacific. We've lived here for 6 years and hadn't been.

2010-07-15T17:10:00.000-07:00

The kids and I drove over to Dodgers Stadium to buy some tickets. It's kind of nice being there when no one else is around...very soothing.

The kids watching the grounds crew do their magic on the field.

I think I like the stadium better when there aren't as many people there! Vanessa's face says how much of a stinker she was.

Is bringing a 14 month old to a baseball game really a good idea? No.

My attempt at a shot of the kids in the pool.

Jeff had work in Palm Springs so we tagged along. It was only 1 night. We went to the pool A LOT and had fun. Veronica is finally brave enough to be in the water without squeezing me to death. David stays out of the water, unless it's a kiddie pool that is only about 12 inches of water. Vanessa likes to come in and out, very undecided about the being is such a big tub.

Hotel lobby.

After a long and windy day at the beach, Jeff thought it would be a good idea to give Vanessa a red vine for the drive home. When we got out, she was fast asleep with red vine all over her face, hands and feet.

4th of July weekend

2010-07-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

Our 4th of July weekend started on Friday. Jeff took a half day and we headed over to the beach in the early afternoon. It's been so overcast most of the mornings so we figured we'd head over to the beach later in the day so the clouds would be gone. It was a great day.

Aren't fruit snacks a life saver? I love those things. I try to keep several bags stashed for the eventual meltdowns.

Vanessa thinks she's hot stuff now that she's almost 14 months old.

This is at around 5:30p.m. when I thought it was a good idea to remove their swimsuits and put on their clothes and de-sand them. The kids said they were done with the water and didn't want to get back in...so I thought it was a good idea. Within the hour they were down by the water splashing and rolling in the sand...in their clothes! Whatever...they got the cold showers when we finally left.

It's not the 4th of July unless there are snowcones...especially the blue ones that turn your lips blue! He was sneaking the cotton candy...I saw him with 3 different ones.

Don't you just love this face? She was pretty grumpy the entire bbq.

I didn't see Veronica the entire time...she's too cool to hang out with her parents these days. She had been asking me everyday if it was Monday yet so she could go to the pool party. I guess the pool party met all of her expectations...she had a blast.

This is the only pool that David will get near. He even went down the metal slide into the pool.

a little sunshine

2010-06-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

The girls going down the slide. Sorry I cut off Veronica's head in this shot...but Vanessa looks so excited.

After a long day, the 2 little ones fell asleep on the couch...this wasn't staged, it actually happened like this.

Veronica has loved going to the park since she was Vanessa's age.

She actually filled the cup with some sand and drank it...it was gross and she stopped trying to "drink" out of the cup.

June Happenings...

2010-06-11T11:33:00.001-07:00

Veronica talking on the phone with a school friend. They read Fancy Nancy and told jokes. Funny girls!

The children being reverent. Vanessa likes to do everything her brother and sister do. Hopefully she'll emulate only the good things.
BTW: doesn't Vanessa just look like trouble with that hair in her face?!

She loves to get into EVERYTHING! I hate it! The other two never did it...looks like I'm going to have to start putting locks on everything.

The 2 blondies are mine...he he...j/k. David, Ally, Vaughn and Veronica hanging out eating ice cream. We hung out with the Zollingers last week while they were in town visiting family. Veronica started babysitting Ally when she was a little newborn. We had a 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 year old there. Veronica always enjoys being the boss and telling the little kids what they are going to play and how they will play it. I wonder where she gets it from...certainly not me!

Ally would pose everytime I pulled the camera out...Good job Adam on training her to pose!

We had a girls night again. Jeff took David to another Dodgers game. We watched Enchanted and had a picnic while we watched the movie.

I caught David being cute!

Bathtime!

2010-06-11T11:24:00.000-07:00

Getting all 3 in the bath...not really such a good idea. Lots of fighting for the best tub positioning and the bucket. They seem to enjoy it though...

Week of birthday.

2010-05-30T20:48:00.000-07:00

Jeff took the day off for my birthday. That was a nice treat. He also got our kids set up with babysitters and we were off to the Getty Center. It was great. I should've worn different shoes...my feet were killing me after an hour. The views are spectacular from up there. Jeff showered me with clothes and even took me to pick out some clothes...since some of the stuff he picked out didn't quite work.

Part of my birthday week of events...we had my brother and wife take on the 3 kids and we were off to Monterey, CA. It was fantastic. On Friday, I had an hour full body massage. I was very reluctant...but I figured I could treat myself and it was pretty great. I was a bit awkward because I didn't really know what would really happen...but it was relaxing...except when I was in semi-good-pain. Jeff and I got some FANTASTIC bbq oysters and then headed to the wharf for dinner on the bay. We then headed to bed at 8ish. I love blackout curtains. We headed to Lovers Point for breakfast and took in the spectacular coast. Then we drove home and back to chaos. It was great. Thanks so much! It was just what I needed Jeff!

The view from our hotel in Monterey.

In front of the wharf.

Monterey

2010-05-24T17:23:00.000-07:00

So, I'm actually going out of town with Jeff to Monterey, CA this weekend...maybe, if the kids stay relatively safe and healthy and my willing brother and sister-in-law stay willing to guard my kids...
I only really know of the aquarium there, does anyone have any ideas of stuff to do there or places to eat? I hate going places and not knowing where to go and once we're back we find tons of stuff we could have done.
If anyone has ideas leave me a comment.

Orange soda

2010-05-24T16:58:00.001-07:00

So, we watched Lost last night with the Fornelli's. Had some food and DHARMA provided the drinks. It was fun to watch it with people who have kept up with it from the start. Does this make me a nerd?

Take me out to the ballgame...

2010-05-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

Jeff and David headed to the game.

Happy 1st Birthday Vanessa!

2010-05-17T11:47:00.000-07:00

Our little Vanessa turned 1 on the 11th and we had a week full of celebration and cake...lots and lots of cake.

Chocolate cake...yummy!

Vanessa loved it when we sang to her.

More cake...she approves!

From est. 2002

2010-05-10T22:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers Day to all the mommas out there...especially my mom and and my mother-in-law, Mary. You are two amazing women and I'm glad to have you there.

I made this for my mom.

Vanessa kind of saying mama.

2010-04-23T10:48:00.001-07:00

Getting ready for bed.

Reading herself a book before bed. I'm so glad to be in this stage with her. She always has her face in a book these days...thank you for not asking me to read your whole library!

Hanging out, eating our lunch.

After a spill.

We were sitting around on Saturday and instead of doing nothing, which isn't always a bad thing, we called up the Vidaurre's and went on a "hike" at Solstice Park. Veronica complained the whole way, wanting to go home and not walk anymore. David took a few spills and cried A LOT. Vanessa was awesome...no crying...just looking around and being happy. BTW, thanks Angie for lugging her around the way up...I would not have made it without complaining. It was fun and nice to get out of the house. David and Vanessa both crashed hard once we got home and slept until the next day.

David caught his abuela sleeping one day, while at her house, and pretends to be abuela once in a while.

2010-04-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

Checking out their stash.

Easter pics.

2010-04-09T10:27:00.000-07:00

Everyone, hurry and do your census so I can get my husband back!

2010-03-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

Random pictures that Jeff takes. Vanessa has been so busy lately. Always looking around for the next drawer to open or bag to empty or books to knock off shelves.

So, I came home one day after picking up Veronica from school and there was a guy sitting in his car, infront of our gate. I was already annoyed at something that happened earlier and so I wasn't very patient and I honked and pointed for him to move out of the way so I could get in to park my car in our garage. Anyway, after we exchanged a few hand gestures he finally moved and I charged in...but my gate opener didn't work. So, I get out and try using my key to manually open the gate but that wasn't working either. Whatever. So, I get back in the car and find parking out on the street and go inside to find out that the power was out. It was out till about 8 that night. Veronica almost had a panic attack because she thought we would never have power again. It was kind of nice, no distractions. We had dinner by candle light...not very romantic. The kids had chocolate cupcakes for dessert and since it was dark we couldn't really see how messy they were getting.

Chocolate frosting facial. Yum!

I tried to get a cute picture but they were too busy playing to sit still.

Waiting outside Veronica's school.

Playing in the car while we wait for the bell to ring.

March Madness

2010-03-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

So we had a some stuff going on just a couple of weeks ago and now things have settled down so I can take some time to blog.
Our ward was having a Mother/Daughter campout but luckily the threat of rain cancelled it. Instead, we headed over to the Relief Society president's house for a campout in her living room. Veronica loved it and I was more relieved that I didn't have to sleep on the ground or put a tent up.
The day after the campout we had a little party for David's 3rd birthday. The usual suspects were there. Lots of food and lots of fun. Thanks so much for all the love and presents.
I've been very diligent this month about potty training David. We've had major set backs but we both have committed to the process and are almost there...I hope! Note: Don't take a kid who is still getting used to the potty to Target if he has to pee. David was mortified at how loud the hand blower was (it was seriously like a vacuum cleaner but worst) and I finally managed to get him into the stall and sit him down and the toilet flushes (automatic flushers are not fun!) and freaks the kid out. He jumped off the seat and sprayed me all over. We came out of that bathroom very traumatized... I was sweating and peed on and David was scared and crying. Never again. But, onto more positive news, David has not worn diapers in almost 3 weeks.

Just being silly for the camera!

Sheena and big Jared. Vanessa doesn't know it, but Jared is going to be her body guard. They are about 2 months apart and I feel that they are going to be great friends. Good thing we like his parents!

One of the things I love about having our home is the gatherings we can have, especially around the table. Sharing good food and having a great time.

I think my parents were having a competition on who could stuff David's face with more cake. Seriously, look at David's face...it's priceless.

Little Vanessa loves her abuelo.

David was so excited to finally blow out the candles to his birthday cupcakes. Since his birthday was earlier in the week, he's been wanting cupcakes since.

Jeff came home from work with this monster Sugar Daddy that someone gave him for David's birthday.

Practicing their over-the-shoulder model looks.

David has been following Veronica everywhere and doing everything she does. I think he may need more friends to come over.

Since our 8th wedding anniversary is coming we decided it was time to get rid of our old mattress and get a new one. We saw these memory foam ones and had to get one. So, our tax return helped pay for it...now I just have to convince Jeff that we should get an actual bedframe or a headboard at least.

David turns 3!

2010-03-05T17:40:00.000-08:00

David turned 3! I brought some cupcakes to the park for our playgroup and had a mini party for David. This was the best kind of party, just bring cupcakes and since we were at the park I didn't have to entertain the kids...and David didn't really care about decorations or anything so it was easy. I don't know if the other moms were too thrilled about the chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting...he he.

It was a great day, perfect weather and a good amount of kids actually came. And then David saw the swings. It was fine until people got tired of pushing him and it was time to go. Let's just say that I will only go to a park without swings from now on.

Back to a more positive note...David had his 3 year check up. I am very proud to say that, according to the pediatrician, David is on target to being taller than me! He then informed me that he had to catch David up on his immunizations and so he was going to give him 4 shots. He took them all and not one tear or squirm. It's too bad he wasn't that good when I asked him to get off the swings in the park. We even had to get some blood drawn for him and again not a single tear or yell nothing! I was such a proud mommy of my little brave man. I almost forgot about the swing incident.

We're going to have a little bash for the birthday boy this Saturday so that my parents and his uncle and aunt can come celebrate. Always a good excuse to have good food and family together.

Dog pile on the slide.

Love that smile!

The bubble train was a huge hit! It sure beats having to stand there and blow out all those bubbles.

It took quite a show down for this to happen. He managed to "have his cake and eat it too" in every sense of the phrase. Such a little stinker!

Wacky Week

2010-03-05T17:31:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Dr. Seuss, it was wacky week at school for Veronica.

Wacky hair day! That's as much as she let me do.

Wacky everything day! ANYTHING goes. She wore her clothes inside out and her rainboots.

Need I say more?

2010-02-23T22:26:00.000-08:00

Community Celebration and the Super Bowl...

2010-02-11T16:51:00.000-08:00

Kindergarten update: Community Celebration. So the kids made communities out of recycled trash and they painted them and labeled them. They decided on the name of the city/town and decided what they wanted in their community. It was actually quite creative. It was quite a day, a rainy day to be more specific. Anyway, we finally left and as I was loading the kids into the car another mom gave me the "Been there ... I know you want to just get in the car and scream" look. I had to laugh and I did and I felt better. I failed to mention that as I was putting Vanessa in her car seat David decided it would be a good time to step into a gushing river that was flowing under our car and got his lower half soaked...and when I asked him to get out of it he flipped out and started crying. I guess I could have just let him soak himself and then taken off his wet clothes and had him sit in his diaper...in a car with a busted heater... Oh well. The crying makes him tired and then he sleeps the whole way home and I have only 1 baby crying not 2.

We had a super bowl party...since Jeff's team made it. We won't go further into what happened with the actual game.
Anyway, I thought I'd do some decorations and what nots...here goes.

Cool huh? Anyway, they were way good...I even made a football field out of the green paper they are sitting on.

Inserted these flags onto the mini footballs. It was cute.

9 months

2010-02-11T15:08:00.001-08:00

Showing off her dimple.

For our activity/treat part of FHE we had an OREO eating contest. Vanessa won for getting more on her face than in her mouth.

Playing with David's book and Veronica's stuff...such a cutie!

So Vanessa is 9 months today. Just thought I'd document her achievements so far. Little Vanessa is a speedy crawler and has finally mastered the crawl and sit move. For a while there she would just crawl around but never knew how to sit from a crawl position...she would kind of wait there until someone noticed and sat her on her tush. Anyway, her favorite move is to take off to the stairs and as she's making her way towards the first step she'll throw me a glance that says, "Come and get me mom!" She hates whenever it's time for a diaper change, which is why it's like a wrestling match just to put on a clean diaper. Her favorite food is anything that isn't from a jar. She really likes chomping on pizza crust. It seems like all her teeth came in around the same time. Right around January I started noticing the tops coming in and they are all mostly in now, about 5 1/2 on top and 2 on the bottom. Vanessa gets scared easily yet loves it when Veronica carries her around, which scares me! She's undeniably a daddy's girl. Come 6pm, when Jeff usually comes home, she's very irritable and unhappy but as soon as she hears the front door open she knows daddy's home and only wants him. It's nice...but if he's home later than that she's a little nightmare to deal with. She's almost been out longer than she was in.

David's birthday is in 3 weeks and I will officially have a 5, 3 and almost 1 year old.

Rain or Shine or...BOTH!

2010-01-19T21:55:00.000-08:00

It never rains here...okay maybe a couple of times a year. Anyway, my brother found some super cheap Disneyland tickets for this past Monday. Back when we baught the tickets we didn't think that the biggest rain storm of the year in So. Cal (where it hardly rains) was going to hit on the very day we choose to go. I checked all the weather reports and they all said rain...we decided to go for it regardless of the rain. We took Vanessa to my mom for the day and we bundled the kids. We got there and realized that our backpack wasn't waterproof, we didn't bring enough plastic bags to try and keep things dry, couldn't find David's rainboots, not enough smores bars and did I mention the rain? It was a steady rain and it would down pour a lot. It rained steadily for about 5 or 6 hours. By 4pm the clouds parted and we had some sunlight and blue skies. The positive notes...not scorching hot, the longest line we stood in was 10 minutes, not that many people, watching David light up when Mickey and Minnie were spotted. Thanks Will & Angie for braving the storm with us.

Thanks Mickey for letting us warm up in your house!

Nothing like male bonding on the Peter Pan ride.

Finding some shelter from the monsoon.

Soaking wet but they are managing to have some fun. David's lower body was soaked. His pants are completely soaked and his feet were soaked. Veronica was the only one in our group that had dry feet at the end of the day.

At the end of the day we were headed out and spotted Minnie. Veronica's pants seemed to have dried. David keeps telling me that Minnie kissed his face.

A lot happier once I peeled off his wet pants and socks. We changed David into some dry jeans and dry socks. His sweater managed to get wet too so I had to sacrifice my sweater so he wouldn't freeze.

Good thing Vanessa was warm and dry with Abuela. This is the only wet that she wants to be.

2010-01-15T18:17:00.000-08:00

**Shameless plug alert** Census 2010 is coming!

8 months old.

She's going to put robots out of style.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-29T15:01:00.001-08:00

We headed over to my mom and dad's place on Christmas eve. I always grew up celebrating on Christmas eve and waiting until midnight to open presents. The tradition is still there...though with 3 little ones it gets harder and harder to keep the kids up without meltdowns and grouchy faces. Anyway, my mom cooks amazing and had tons of food and we filled up so much. Probably my favorite part of the whole evening was the great food. We didn't torture the kids and opened presents early, since my brother had to work that night. Thanks mom and dad for the amazing generosity. Then we headed over to the LA Temple to see the lights...another one of our traditions. It was such a nice way to wrap up Christmas eve with being on the Temple grounds. Kind of turned my thoughts to how people must have felt to hear of the birth of Christ and how awesome was the faith of the believers.
Anyway, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Veronica taking a picture of us by our tree. We took the kids to this neighborhood in Woodland Hills that puts on a huge light display. I even brought some hot chocolate for us to bribe the kids to being good. It worked! Bribery has been my best weapon as a parent...I mean rewards have been such helpful tools. Christmas morning, the kids checking out what Santa left in their stockings.

I ventured out to the zoo with the kids...luckily my brother and sister-in-law were there to assist with the kids. The pink flamingos are so pretty but stink so bad.

Here we are at the ward Christmas luau. I picked this picture because I love how Vanessa is just gazing at Jeff and David is just full of silly faces lately.

This was Santa...looking a bit slim.

I don't know if David was really impressed by Santa, but he thought that if he kept getting back in line he would give him more candy. . . didn't really work!

Veronica was the first to spot Santa and the first in line. She didn't want to sit on his lap.

We were arguing right before we came because I made her wear those little pants...she said she looked ugly and hated pants. Us mother's can be so annoying...he he.

An actual family shot...that I don't hate.

The girls. Veronica has this weird thing about picking the sock lint from Vanessa's toes and then smelling her feet. I don't know where she gets these little quirks from....but Vanessa loves it.

I made chocolate mousse a couple of weeks ago. It turned out amazing...the second time around!

Sometime around the 7 month mark Vanessa started to rock back and forth and kind of lean forward enough to move. She now has the crawling thing pretty good. She still kind of looks like a robot and sometimes she'll get her arm caught underneath her but she is definitely moving. It's nice but kind of annoying...now I have to actually make sure she doesn't make her way to the stairs or into the trash or some kind of trouble.

Proof

2009-12-09T21:50:00.001-08:00

the magna-doodle says it all...

Thanksgiving, etc...

2009-11-24T22:02:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving came in a flash and I was so busy with the preparations that I didn't really think to pull out the camera and document it (Jeff didn't think to do it either). Anyway, it was a fun time and each year it seems to be easier to manage although it seems that the turkey gets bigger to feed the growing crowd. We had my parents, my brother and his wife and our friends the Tanigawa's. Since last year we added 3 new people to the celebration. I kind of like doing this but am so grateful it's only a once a year thing.
These pictures are from our November. Just a bunch of random things I think are funny that happen almost daily. Also, Veronica's class did a Thanksgiving Feast, complete with turkey, potatoes, popcorn, chicken nuggets...very traditional. I'm also very grateful that I can go to all of these things, eventhough I complain a lot about driving there and dragging the other kids along.

Veronica eating her very "traditional" Thanksgiving Feast. (Popcorn, watermelon and grapes)

Random pictures of the daily business.

Jeff's parents were in town in November. The kids loved having them around and so did we. Some pictures of when we went to the Santa Monica Pier.

Happy Half Birthday Vanessa

2009-11-24T21:33:00.000-08:00

Vanessa is 6 months old. She had her 6 month check up and she was 15 lbs 13 oz, right in the middle. We started feeding her baby cereal and she is now onto baby oatmeal. She's a pretty good eater and has been the easiest baby to feed. Vanessa loves daddy and loves to be kissed. Love my little doll face!

She loves her thumb.

Sometimes she gets a bit wild. Look closely and you'll spot her bottom teeth.

This girl's got talent. She can suck both thumbs, whichever gets to her mouth first.

After nap face.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T10:45:00.000-08:00

This year we did Halloween dress up 3 times. Our ward had a Halloween party the weekend before and Veronica's school had a parade and then the actual day. By the time Halloween came around I was exhausted. Veronica, who's favorite color is anything pink, decided she wanted to wear a black dress and be a witch. Don't know where that came from but it was easy so I didn't talk her out of it. David had 2 costumes...I just couldn't decide. Vanessa was a bee, didn't think too much about putting her in a costume that would be all bunched up anyway.

Ward Halloween party. David's looking tough!

Here's little Mario.

At Veronica's school parade. I guess he's baby Mario since I forgot to draw on a mustache.

This is right before he got stung by a bee. Yeah, it ended up being a miserable hour. Why do I put myself through this stuff?

We carved pumpkins the night before Halloween. Jeff always wants to do something intricate and so he set out to do his own. After lots of frustration he gave up and went to something a bit easier. You be the judge. I liked the spider so that's what I did.

Getting ready to carve the pumpkins.

Veronica was having fun and gave the pumpkin snacks and a drink.

Outside our door with the finished products!

I think they turned out pretty well.

Here they are ready to hit the doors for candy.

She's 5

2009-10-29T11:51:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Veronica got very upset because she kept saying she was 4 3/4 and I finally said that she wasn't 3/4 because her birthday was on Sunday. I asked Jeff to do the calculation and he figured it was somewhere in the 20ths...anyway, she refused that answer and said she was 4 and a BIG 3/4. There you have it! Anyway, Veronica turned 5 on Sunday. Wow. A five year old! It was a good day. I love it. It makes me a bit sad because she's getting older and isn't my little spark plug of a baby. I love you Veronica!

Veronica's school did an October birthday celebration...I got to bring 20 juiceboxes.

October birthday kindergarten kids!

Blowing out the candles on her very pink birthday cake. Veronica was very specific about her cake. It had to be "chocolate bread with light pink frosting and pink candles." Once I was finished frosting the cake I let Veronica put the rest of the stuff on top. (You like my cake stand? It's a lid from a bowl.)

She also asked for pink flowers and Lana to come. Hopefully she's as easy to please the rest of the years.

Happy now?

2009-10-20T12:44:00.001-07:00

Little Vanessa is 5 months old and cut her first tooth. Veronica told me that she was letting Vanessa bite her finger and she felt a sharp thing and sure enough...there's a little tooth.

I love her eyelashes.

Cuties!

I love this picture of David holding Vanessa. He's been very watchful over her this past month. He shares his dinosaurs with her and even lets Vanessa chomp on his arm...such a great big brother.

Sometimes I send Veronica to "make Vanessa happy." I usually am doing something so I can't really see what she's actually doing to keep Vanessa quiet and happy. This is what I saw her doing.

David loved feeding the ducks. He was getting even closer to the edge...not so fun for me!

At the park feeding the ducks.

Jeff has been taking the kids to Lowe's for their kid workshops. I think David wore the safey glasses the whole day.

This was our FHE treat...Monkey Bread. The kids helped me make it, it's that easy to make! It is so good, in a buttery, sugary sort of way! The only bad thing about this treat is that it is way too easy to make and eat!

Labor Day update

2009-09-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

We headed up to St. George for the long weekend. We went up there for our newest nephew, Lincoln. He was blessed that Sunday.
We will probably keep our roadtrips to no more than 3 hours. Vanessa thought she would make the drive up as miserable as possible. She cried the whole way there. She wasn't hungry or wet or anything, she just wanted attention and Veronica and David weren't good enough entertainment. It was fun to stay at a hotel and go to the pool, the kids like to go hot tubbing.
Anyway, it was the first time in a while that all of Jeff's family was in the same place. I think there are 7 grandkids for Jeff's parents. It was the first time that our kids met Matthew, our little Kohler nephew, Darrin, Rachel's husband and Lincoln, our Bird nephew. It was a fun trip, minus the driving, kind of short but fun to be with Jeff's family.

Here's little Lincoln. We're so glad to have you in the family! We love you so much!

Hannah and Veronica playing like best pals. The last time these two saw each other was last August.

Bedtime at the hotel. Veronica only managed to roll off once.

All the kids.

Matthew, David, Vanessa, Veronica, Hailey, Lincoln and Hannah.

Darrin holding Vanessa. Rachel, you two are cute!

An attempt at a family shot.

Mannywood

2009-09-20T16:31:00.000-07:00

Jeff went a little crazy with Dodgers tickets this season. I don't think he took into account that going to a game with a 4 month old wasn't the best idea. Anyway, we ventured out to several games this season and we actually got really good seats in Mannywood. It's too bad it was a day game, 12pm and half the roster sat the game out. We didn't even see Manny. After we devoured our snacks and drinks we decided we should take the kids out of the sun and head home. Luckily they didn't get too sunburned, just really sweaty and tired.

Checking out the score from the shady area with the rest of the people that were out in the sun.

That's what I call a sweat head. Vanessa is peacefully sleeping in the back.

David looking cool in his hat. He's obsessed with it and has to put adjust it until it's the way he likes it.

My attempt at a family shot...where's Veronica?

4 Months

2009-09-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

Vanessa kind of looking like Veronica but not really.

She is all smiles...take your eyes off her and it's a different story.

Cuddles are definitely sweet, especially from this cutie.

First Day, New School

2009-09-02T16:05:00.000-07:00

It has certainly been a long summer. Veronica is officially a Kindergartner. She started school at Chime Charter Elem. Veronica was super excited to start school. She wasn't the least bit apprehensive about it. It was a different story for me. I started realizing that I've had my 4+ years of being her only real teacher and now she's going to be out there learning what she will. Anyway, it's sort of bittersweet. Funny thing, once we pulled up to the school, Veronica insisted that I stay in the car and to leave her there. She kept saying to me, "Just go! I don't want you here in my school." There was a Kindergarten breakfast for the parents/kids so that the transition wouldn't be so difficult, otherwise I think I would've left a lot sooner. It was hard to leave. I know she's happy and safe so that helps me a lot.

Right before we headed out the door. This is a first, she is waiting for me and not the other way around.

Here she is at the playground. She's already sort of annoyed that I'm even there and taking pictures no less! Can't you just picture her saying, "Go away mom!"

In front of her classroom. That's her teacher behind her in the blue dress.

Wow, she actually smiled.

Here they are going into their classroom and I was trying to get her attention so I could wave goodbye and take a picture and she turned and said, "Don't follow me!" On that note I headed for the car and tried not to cry.

The heat is on!

2009-08-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

A picture of our new place. Still trying to figure out where to put things.

David has been crashing in the weirdest places.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Headed to Zuma 4 with our ward play group. This time around there were 3 moms and 8 kids. I don't know why I do it...maybe it's for the quiet car ride back when all the kids are exhausted from playing and they are all sleeping. It's very relaxing to drive in a quiet car.

The kids all packed into our snug backseat. Good thing about having them so close together is that if Vanessa starts crying the other two keep her occupied and happy. Love it! It's definitely a task to get them all in.

That's as close as David wanted to get to the water.

Veronica doing her usual beach thing: filling buckets with sand and water.

Vanessa relaxing at the beach.

Veronica's new haircut. I think she looks awesome with the new cut. Perfect for school.

Back to the beach, but this time Jeff came along. Yes...these kids do have a dad!

The girls in their feet pajamas.

new stunt

2009-08-18T17:04:00.000-07:00

Vanessa has been trying to impress us with her latest trick. I think it's cool and annoying. It's annoying because now I can't lay her down without her taking off. I think she really wants to roll off our bed or the couch even. She even tries to flip over while she's in her swing. Mobil babies are trouble...cute but still trouble. Poor girl even wakes herself up because she wants to roll over, so I have to tuck blankets by her side so she has something stopping her.

San Diego

2009-08-14T16:43:00.001-07:00

I can't really remember the last time we (kids and I) joined Jeff for one of his many work trips but he said he was going to San Diego and we tagged along.
I love visiting San Diego, it's such a great place to visit.

Anyway, we stayed in Downtown right on the Marina. I guess one of Jeff's people is a Platinum Marriott Rewards member so he hooked us up with keys to the Concierge Lounge where we had an unlimited supply of breakfast, drinks, happy hour snacks, and late night desserts. It was pretty nice.

I didn't take many pictures...everytime I'd go to pull the camera out I realized the batteries were dead. So, you'll just have to take my word for it.

Here's an example of a hook up from Jeff's people. They pulled some strings and we ended up on a boat checking out the sights. It's free and something the kids really enjoyed it.

That's Downtown S.D. in the back, so beautiful.

Right before we took off. David was a bit skeptical but managed to have a good time looking around.

This picture is my favorite. During the boat ride, Vanessa was wide awake for the first 2 minutes then I guess the sound of the motor or the waves put her right to sleep. Anyway, she's a thumb sucker and this picture is proof. It's so cute. She slept and woke up as soon as we "parked" the boat...what does one say ...I guess it would be dock.

We took a walk to the shops on the Marina. The kids enjoying some cookies from the Concierge Lounge...I was sneaking water bottles and cookies and pretzels all the time!

Summer is here.

2009-07-28T21:07:00.001-07:00

I know I'm crazy but I love the beach and figured I would pack up the car and the kids, 3 now, and head out to the beach. I had to plan ahead and pack for a couple of days so that I could just take it easy that morning and not be out there without something that I needed. It turned out well and I was pretty amazed at how organized I was...up until we got there and I couldn't find anything. If I did find it ... it was covered in sand. We had fun.

David checking out a sand crab. He sat next to me the majority of the time. His idea of going to the beach is not wearing a shirt and eating snacks next to mommy.

Vanessa's first trip to the beach...she slept the whole time.

Veronica doing what she does best...using her imagination and "creating" cakes and ice cream.

Jeff went to Hawaii for work and brought back some souveniers. The kids look so tan you'd think they went with him.

Vanessa loves to lay on Veronica's lap. Good thing Veronica loves having her rest her head on her.

House!

2009-07-07T23:02:00.000-07:00

When we found out that we were pregnant with Vanessa it kind of forced us to rethink our living situation. We were living in a one bedroom apartment with Veronica and David sleeping in toddler beds out in the living room. We figured we could stay there for a little while longer since it was so expensive to rent a bigger place. BUT, things all changed when we knew that #3 was going to come. We simply didn't have space and ventured into the world of house hunting. Due to an unfortunate incident, that I will spare details and won't even mention what it is (some of you may know what I'm talking about), we had to downsize our first home. Anyway, we found a really good realtor and we went to work on looking for a home that would fit our needs and came across this townhouse and made an offer. We were rejected and they took another offer but that fell through and we made a second offer and were rejected again! THey took another offer and that one fell through and this time we kept the same offer and figured if they were desperate enough they would take ours and they were and they did! It took quite some time to actually get to the point where we had the keys but it finally came and now we own something! The way the housing market is it is going to be slightly less for the mortgage than it would be to rent a 2 bedroom apartment...crazy, huh? Anyway, we certainly got lucky and we're so grateful for everyone who helped and supported us with this. It's funny because when Jeff and I first moved out here to LA we thought we would never own a home because that's when the price for a house was ridiculous expensive and now that it's hit bottom here we are with the keys.

During escrow. The living room. Any ideas what to do with that giganto mirror over the fireplace?

Kitchen. It has a dishwasher!

During our move. We did some painting.

Dining area. Still not finished but we're getting there.

Stairs to the 3 bedrooms. So far, David has tumbled twice and Veronica once and me once. I've never had stairs so this is quite the workout especially when I'm carrying a heavy kid.

4th of July fun!

2009-07-06T11:37:00.001-07:00

David was loving the attention. The girls made sure to put sunscreen on him. One less thing for me to worry about.

Perfect 4th of July treat...a snow cone. Veronica would take breaks from the kiddie pool with a slide to munch on the snow cone. Good thing because it was hot! And Jeff thought I put sunscreen on her and I thought he put sunscreen on her...so the result was a really bad sun burn on her back. She hasn't mentioned any pain so hopefully she'll just tan and be done with it. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Soaking in the pool.

Jeff and Vanessa staying in the shade.

Veronica loved the slide. She even slipped and fell on her back trying to climb it. She got back on and on and on and on...
Thanks to the Kerrigan's for their generosity!
My parents came over later and brought some very yummy rib eye steaks to grill. We ate so much and had so much fun.

updates!

2009-07-06T11:26:00.000-07:00

We've had a very busy June so I have not had much time to post. Vanessa continues to grow and to make herself known. She enjoys warm milk, sucking on her fist and cuddling really close.
We finally moved! For those of you who have ever been to our apartment the recent layout was 2 toddler beds in the living room and in the bedroom was our bed and a baby crib. It was quite the setup. We now have a lot more room and don't really know how to fill it.

Vanessa has been growing and is such a sweetie.

Jeff and Veronica right before their "Daddy Daughter Date." He took her to the movies.

Already embarrassed when I want to take a picture with him!

Here are the kids in our new home!

My mom holding the little princess. Her blessing day.

Last week of school.

2009-06-17T22:12:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Veronica's last day of pre-school. I don't know who is going to be more upset/sad. Veronica really likes going to school and I know that she'll miss going to school. I will miss having her away...that sounds bad...I will miss her being out and learning and growing. Regardless, it's been nice to have some time away from each other, both for her as much as for me.

Anyway, they had a field trip to the firestation on Tuesday and then today they had a field trip to the park.

Here they are lined up to enter the firestation. So well behaved sometimes...it's amazing.

Picnic at the park with her classmates.

Playing a very enthusiastic game of duck-duck-goose. I had a blast just watching.

In front of the fire truck.

Here are some of her classmates.

Pictures...

2009-06-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

Even though we live in Los Angeles we still aren't Laker fans. My parents provided these shirts for the kids so maybe despite our best efforts David and Veronica and even Vanessa will be cheering for purple and gold. Veronica is holding up 4 for Kobe's championships. This picture is for one of the biggest Lakers fan, this one's for you Abuelo.

Here they are showing #1.

A pizza we made with fresh spinach, fresh tomatoes, pesto, ricotta cheese, and kielbasa sausage. It was so good. We even made the crust.

Veronica and her class singing at their culmination.

Jeff's parents and sister and husband were in town for Vanessa's blessing and this is David enjoying some pool time with Grandma.

Veronica went in and out of the pool and hot tub and Grandma was close behind. I'm sure by the end of their trip, Grandma was pretty worn out...Veronica definitely took full advantage of the grandparents while they were here. It was really nice to have them here.

The binky is my best friend.

Every time I put Vanessa down to change her diaper David runs in and insists on watching and getting in my way.

A close up of little Vanessa.

David sits and "reads" and it really looks like he is reading.

I had a birthday. My parents surprised me with this cake that I absolutely love. Jeff and I ate cake every night for 3 nights and when it was all gone I was a bit sad.

Blog hiatus

2009-06-10T21:43:00.001-07:00

So, about a month or so ago our computer started having issues turning on and finally it decided to never be turned on again. We've been without computer and most importantly without the internet, which I've decided is my only connection to the outside world lately. Now we're back up and running.
I don't have much to blog about...
Vanessa's 2 week appointment went well. She weighed 9 lbs. even. The pediatrician was very impressed by her weight gain. We have small kids in general, so it's nice to have her be on the bigger scale. She sleeps pretty well, only wakes 2 times in the night, which is darn good if you ask me. I still have a hard time with the 6 a.m. wake up...it's just too early for me.
Anyway, Veronica is very excited for her culmination that is tomorrow. Pre-K graduation is a very big deal. They have been practicing for quite some time and Veronica has been singing all the songs they have learned and is very excited.
David is in the very best of the "terrible twos." It's hard because he struggles to communicate and wants to eat snacks constantly. We're trying to potty train him too and that's pretty much not going anywhere.
I will post pictures later.

Perfect day for a wedding...

2009-05-25T10:48:00.000-07:00

My brother, William and his blushing bride Angie.
The first photo-op for the newly married couple. Congrats guys, we are all so so happy for you!

Abuelo and David.
Apparently David couldn't contain his excitement so he decided to sleep it off.

Here's the flower girl who stole the show. We had her practice throwing her flower petals and once if was showtime she decided that it was much more proper to place one petal at a time on the ground. When the wind picked up and blew it away she got upset.

Veronica and David were dancing the night away.