A happy Thanksgiving!

 

Once again, our Thanksgiving did not disappoint.

We spent it with family and ate 'til our hearts' content.

It was quite a lovely day!

 

This was the best I could do this year for a photo...Taylor didn't want one and Ben was in his post-turkey-dinner-coma state. :)

 

This year, it goes without saying that we are incredibly thankful for so many things...but my sweet baby boy is certainly at the top of the list! There were many times I thought I would never hold another one of my babies...so to this mama's heart, every little bit of this baby is a blessing...and I am so very thankful for him and his big sis, too. What in the world would my life be like without them? I can't even fathom it...

 

The only thing missing from this Thanksgiving was our favorite guy.

Matt got to spend his holiday in Wisconsin hunting, surrounded by his family, and even got to enjoy two complete turkey dinners!  He's been gone for 2 weeks and comes home Monday...and I just can't wait!  I can handle life with two kids on my own, but I'd certainly rather not. There is definitely something to be said for an extra pair of hands and some back-up when it's needed! And don't think for a minute that I'm not planning my getaway when he gets home...I already have a dinner and Christmas shopping date with my bestie on the calendar! And a massage, mani/pedi, coffee date.... :)

 



5 months

 

♥ Oh, this little man...

 

He's all of a sudden obsessed with his toes!

As soon as the socks come off, they're in his hands and headed for his mouth.

 

 

He doesn't like to be left with anyone but mommy and daddy.

Matt and I have had 3 outings of less than 3 hours each time.  Twice he's stayed with my parents and recently with Cheri and Jay.  He's ok until he gets a little bit hungry.  Then, he wants his mama...and he's not taking no for an answer!  He then proceeds to scream for over an hour until he's so exhausted that he falls asleep.  And of course I come home from a lovely dinner and feel horrible that I was enjoying myself while he was having a complete meltdown.  And bless their hearts, they won't call me and tell me he's upset because they know I'll leave my dinner and come get him and they know we need some time to ourselves. Ugh.  Such a double-edged sword.

 

 

He's rolling all over the place.

He's talking up a storm and making new sounds all the time.

He laughs the most adorable belly laugh.

He's a little nervous around the dog.

He's got a little attitude that's starting to show...ie, arching his back when he doesn't want to get in his carseat...already, at 5 months.

He's had his first taste of sweet potatoes and thought they were sorta okay once I mixed them with rice cereal, but he wasn't overly excited either way.

He's started sleeping more during the day, which is nice...but he's waking earlier in the morning, which is not so nice.

He's hard to change! He wiggles and turns and rolls and kicks and makes it extremely hard to get a diaper on him...and his clothes.

He's still sensitive to dairy but can tolerate small amounts of it.

He's sitting upright without help but tips over if he's not propped up with pillows.

He's still in size 1 diapers and 3 or 3-6 month clothing.

He sucks his thumb if he can't find his binkie.

He pants like a dog when he wants to nurse.

He's super smiley for Matt, Taylor and I, but everyone else has to work for them.

He's nosey...he always has to know everything that's going on around him.

He likes pulling hair.

He loves his car and will scoot himself around in when he's on the wood floor.

Taking a bath is his favorite thing to do.

He's now able to sit in his high chair and play while we eat.  It's fun to have him at the table, too. :)

In general, he's a super sweet little man who we love with all our hearts.

 

He absolutely makes our family complete. ♥

 

Disneyland!

 

I'm a bit behind on posting these pics from our trip to California, but as usual, we've been pretty busy since we got home.  I finally forced myself to sit down and sort thru the almost 600 photos that we took during our trip and it was so much fun reliving this fabulous vacation we went on!  Honestly, I can't remember ever having a family vacation quite like this one.  It was just about perfect.  Both kids traveled amazingly well, the weather was beyond awesome, we had the perfect mix of fun and relaxation, and we had some good quality family time and also some time with some pretty awesome peeps.  It just couldn't have gone any better!

 

There are a ton of pics in this post!  I tried to consolidate by making a few collages, but be forewarned...it's still a long one!

 

We started out Wednesday morning by leaving our house at 345am and driving down to Portland {about an hour and 45 mins from our house} to catch our 7am flight.  I was a little worried how this would go, being we were leaving so early, but we were all so excited to be on our way that everything went really smoothly.  The kids basically went from their beds to the car and Benjamin didn't waste any time going right back to sleep and didn't wake until we were pulling into the parking lot at PDX.  Seriously...how did we get such good little travelers?!  It was pretty crazy getting all of our stuff on the shuttle from the parking lot to the airport...a booster seat, an infant carseat and base, a stroller, a pack 'n play, my bag, Matt's bag, Taylor's bag, the diaper bag, a snack/lunch bag, my purse, a backpack...I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but you get the point!  Ugh, so much stuff.  We were happy to check half of it, and from there on it was smooth sailing.  Even going thru security with both kiddos, the stroller, carseats and our carry-ons wasn't so bad.  {I'm telling ya, Portland is the way to go!  It's much less crowded, so easy to get in and out of, parking is less than half the price, and it's just a little bit farther than going to Sea-Tac {for us} but it's a much nicer drive without traffic.}

We flew into Orange County {which I also much prefer to LAX} and had our bags and rental car and were on our way to our beach house by 10am.  It was sunny and warm so we rode with our sunglasses on and our windows down...the perfect way to start our week long stay in California!

We got to the beach house, dropped our bags and fell into our beds for a little pick-me-up snooze.  After getting cleaned up and buying our food for the week, we headed for Disney!  It's about a 20 minute drive from the house in Newport Beach, but in rush hour traffic it ended up being more like an hour and a half.  We finally made it to the park, only to find out that it was closing early for Mickey's Halloween Party {which was the case every night we were there}.  We had 4-Day Park Hopper tickets but didn't want to waste a day by only going in for an hour so we decided to do Downtown Disney instead.  It turned out to be a great decision!  We hit up a few shops, let Taylor pick out a thing or two, grabbed some goodies and went home to get a good night's sleep for a long day of Disney fun the next day! :)

 

We started out Thursday at California Adventure.  We rode the rides, took in the sights, enjoyed the sun and loved every minute of it!

 Then, at lunchtime, we had a little surprise for our birthday girl...we had made reservations for a princess lunch at Ariel's Grotto! They sat us right next to the place where the princesses were introduced and made their entrance, and ours was the first table they came to every time...which meant Taylor was the first little princess to be showered with their royal affections.  It brought tears to my eyes every single time one of them came over to her...I will never forget the look in her eyes or her sweet little face.  She was in awe!  And the princesses were as sweet as they could be.  She loved each and every one of them and even got a second visit from Belle, who invited her to watch the fireworks by the castle that evening.♥

If you have a little girl who loves princesses, I highly recommend Ariel's Grotto.  It's a bit on the expensive side, but it was worth every penny.  I don't think Taylor will ever forget it! :)

 Disneyland time!!!

 Pluto was the first character we saw and he was such a goof!  He swallowed Taylor up when he hugged her and turned her around and around!  Her smile was from ear to ear when she skipped away from him! :)

 The castle!

 Our little dare devil on Splash Mountain!  I'm surprised she's holding on in this picture, because every other time we went on any of the rides her hands were in the air the entire time!  Even the big, fast, scary rides!  She gets that from me. :)

 The castle at nighttime.

 The teacups!  This was the one ride Taylor couldn't wait to go on...I think they show it on the Disneyland commercials.

 ♥ Love these happy faces!

 Waiting for Mickey's Color Percussion Parade to start!  This little guy spent half of his vacation in the Ergo and loved every minute of it...he's such a mama's boy! :)

The parade was fantastic!!

Friday, we met up with our friends who's house we were staying at.  They live about an hour North of Disney and came to spend the weekend with us at their family's beach house!  It was great to have their company and Taylor loved having Kelsey {their oldest girl} to hold hands and go on rides with. :)

Kaden, Taylor, Kelsey, Kaleb and Kinley

 See?!  This is Space Mountain...a completely pitch-black ride that's super fast and takes you down a corkscrew track thru the middle of space...complete with ghosts coming at you for Halloween.  Does she look the slightest bit nervous?! :)

 My boys ♥

Saturday we took a day off from the Parks and headed to the beach.

Oh. My. Lanta. I could've stayed there forever!  The sand was soft and warm, the water was beautiful and calm, and the waves were perfect for jumping.  Did I mention it was 85 degrees?! :)

 And look who decided to stroll by as we were enjoying the view...amazing!!!

 This woman was practically on top of this dolphin as he swam and played in the water right next to her!  So cool!!

 The view to the North...Huntington Beach.  We ate at Ruby's the next day, the red-roofed building at the end of the pier. :)

 And my little Benjamin put his feet in the Pacific Ocean for the very first time!

 As you can see, he wasn't too thrilled about it.  It was kinda cold. :)

 Two excited kiddos, ready to head back to Disneyland for one last hoorah on Monday!!

 This time we made it to ToonTown and got to see some of our favorite Clubhouse characters!  Taylor loved Minnie and her house, and Ben was awe-struck by Mickey. :)

 Waiting in line for Finding Nemo!

 She made a friend while we waited. ♥

 We ended our last night in California with Disney's World of Color.  It was awesome!  The perfect way to end our Disney vacation. :)

One last stroll through Cars Land, a family photo op and a "'til next time" to Mickey...

 

And that concludes this trip down Disney Memory Lane.

We had an absolute blast...the best vacation I think we've ever been on! ♥ 

Thank you Keith and Kim for a super fun weekend and for letting us stay at your awesome beach house!!  It wouldn't have been half as much fun without you guys! xoxoxo



Happy Halloween: 2012!

♥ Pumpkin Patch ♥ 

We started off our Halloween this year with Taylor's Pre-K class performing 5 super cute Fall/Halloween themed songs, playing bingo and eating snacks/treats.  We had just gotten home from Disneyland the day before so we were a little lacking in the costume department. {I was planning on getting her a costume at Disneyland, but the ears were $20 alone and with the actual Minnie costume coming with a $65 price tag, I just couldn't justify it!}  We made due with what we had...and I think she looked super cute! :)

Here's my little Mickey Mouse looking rather adorable himself.

Trick-or-treating at Grandma and Papa's house!

We stopped at the Dorhauers' before heading home to trick-or-treat around our neighborhood with our friends Chris and Brittnee.  Chris ran {literally} the kids from door to door while Brittnee, Matt and I hung back with Jorja in the front pack, Ben asleep in the stroller and Lambeau on his leash.  Good times! :)

 

Stay tuned for pics from our amazing trip to California and Disneyland!!!



4 months

 

They just don't come much cuter than this little guy. :) 

 

At 4 months, our little man is 12 1/2 lbs and 24 1/2 inches long...just over the 25th percentile for both weight and height.  A perfect, little peanut. ♥

 

And not to brag or anything, but last night he slept from 9pm to 8am.

Ok, maybe I am bragging just a bit! ;)

 

Love this boy with all my heart! ♥

 

{sorry for the poor photo quality.  I'm out of storage on my google account and I've been trying to upgrade for several days and it won't let me...so I finally gave up and posted anyway.}

 



Aaaand, she's 5...

 

Well, Taylor is officially 5 years old.

Yay!

Boo!

 

I have so many mixed emotions about this birthday.
She's growing up.

It's exciting to see her thriving and learning and eating up every little morsel of the world around her, but she certainly isn't my baby anymore.
She's always asking questions and says "mom, watch this" a hundred times a day while trying some new flip or twirl or jump.

She wants to start gymnastics and loves going to school everyday and seeing her friends.

She's such a good kid.

There is a pride that swells inside of me every time I think about what a kind and loving soul she is.

It's fun watching her grow in every way.

She's getting tall.

Too big for me to pick-up or carry.

She's always asking to have sleepovers and wants to be playing with her friends at all times.

She's not in toddler sizes anymore.  We have to shop in the big girl department now.

She has to comfort and snuggle me when I'm upset {damn hormones!} and is such a good little "mama" to her younger friends.  She's like a little mother hen...making sure all her babies are safe and taken care of.  I love that about her.  She's always looking out for the little ones.

She asked me again the other day about "when we have another baby" and I told her that we weren't able to have any more babies, that God blessed us with her and Benjamin and that our family was complete.  She proceeded..."but you and daddy can do a special kiss and make another baby."
Her innocence is such a beautiful thing. :)

She's always asking me to stop at the coffee shop {for chocolate milk}...a guilty pleasure of mine that has obviously rubbed off on her!

She wants to use her own money to pay for things, which occasionally I let her do for little things like snacks, gum, etc.  I think it's important for her to see how money comes and goes.  She obviously doesn't get it yet...she just thinks it's fun to give someone money and likes the reward of having something in her hand.  But, it's a start!

She loves to color, paint, draw and create.

She loves Barbies and babies and still plays with her stuffed animals daily.

She loves cartoons and movies, but will read a book with me over either of them any day.

She loves her brother and always gets the biggest smiles out of him.

She knows how to play the "I'm the poor neglected big sister now give me what I want" card with me.  It works for her most of the time.

All-around, she's just a darn good kid.

She's fun.  She's respectful.  She's honest.  She's adorable.  She's a joy.♥

***
 

Here's how our sweet girl spent her 5th birthday...

 

First things first...opening a Pinkalicious book from Benjamin! :)

Next, it was cinnamon rolls with sprinkles {her request} and of course a candle to blow out.  When I asked her what her wish was she said "I wish for a new puppy after Lambeau dies."

{Oh! No clue where that came from, but ok!}

 

I spent much of the day before getting all the decorations ready...I love how everything turned out!  These are a few of my favorite things...

The theme this year was a pajama party, which I happened to also love!  Everyone was comfy and the kids were super cute!  We had French Toast casserole {recipe courtesy of Pinterest and it was sooo good}, scrambled eggs with sausage and peppers, and fruit skewers for dinner.  And for drinks, we had milk, chocolate milk, orange juice, coffee and water.  Good stuff.

 

Next, all the little girlies played the finger nail polish game.  It's a cute little game where you spin the arrow, paint one finger with the color the arrow's pointing to, and end up with all different colored nails.  The girls loved it!  The boys, not so much. :)

 

We played "pin the jammies on the robot" next and then it was time to open presents.

Taylor got so many awesome gifts from so many amazing people!

Legos, Play-Doh, a Barbie princess, a Lalaloopsie doll, her very own Hello Kitty sleeping bag and color-yourself messenger bag, a DreamLite {that she's been begging for for months...thank you Grandma and Papa!}, Stompeez {the slippers that she's also been begging for for months...thank you Grandma Julie and Bumpa!} and so much more!

And then, the big surprise!
We're going to Disneyland!!!
Matt read the invitation from Mickey Mouse {that I made} asking Taylor to join him and all of her favorite Disney pals and princesses to celebrate her 5th birthday with them, Disney style!  As you can see from the pics below, she was pretty excited! :)

Cake time!  Make another wish... :)

 And finally, the presents came out of their packages and the kids dove in full speed.  Taylor, Kenzie and Avery hit the Barbie make-up case first. :)

 

It really was such a fun day!!!

***
 

We love you more everyday, Taylor Jade!

Happy, happy 5th year sweet girl...hope it's your best one yet! :)

xoxoxo