Johnny and Julie + 2

Winter at the beach

2012-01-08T11:33:00.001-08:00

Weather has been chilly,(below 60), but sunny and beautiful! We live so close to the beach, closer than when we lived in Orange County. But we just got to experience it last week. We went to a couple different ones, and one of them had a Taco Bell right on the sand!(didn't get a picture of that). Got some good pictures of the kiddos, even though I can't manage to get a pic of them together while both looking at the camera.

She always looks concerned..she doesn't like the waves

Taco Bell

Christmas recap

2012-01-08T11:31:00.000-08:00

Legendary "Tom and Jerry's" house, and I don't mean the cartoon characters......Welcome to San Francisco! This couple goes all out. They have been decorating their house like this since 1984. One of the owner's was the Santa.

Saying hi to Santa, decked out in their Christmas jammies. Kailey wasn't having it..big surprise.

The massive Christmas tree in their front yard is real, and started out in the 80's as a small potted plant.

I added lace and letters to Kailey's new stocking. Couldn't use the pink,"baby's first Christmas" one anymore =(

Don't let the flash fool you, it was still dark outside when we woke up!

Didn't take too many pictures this year. We made a point of not getting stuck behind the camera as to not miss out on the experience. We did get some video though.

Pretty sure auntie Kim got Kailey her favorite gift

The aftermath

Kailey loves riding her scooter....only in the house

Past 2 months in a nutshell (pictures)

2011-12-23T01:29:00.000-08:00

Nov-Dec. oldest to newest

My real life doll

Johnny made my cake!!

I like how the camera captures the one giant fire ball of candles, and how amazed Dorian looked.

Thanksgiving

Nana's favorite grand daughter!

Going out for a late night ride with the boys

The next day......taking a ride through the pond

December 1st Christmas Tree goes up

See ya mama!

2011-12-22T16:41:00.000-08:00

Dorian went to visit nana at the ranch for a few days..all by himself! It was the first time since he was born that both me and Johnny were away from him longer than 2 days. He had so much fun, and I don't think he missed us too much. They kept him busy feeding mini horses, cows, and building a rock dam in the creek.

Amazing park discovery

2011-11-12T13:42:00.001-08:00

There are soo many wonderful parks in this area, it's hard to pick my favorite..but I think this park wins. Golden Gate park is huge, and the playground is only a tiny part of the more than 1000 acres. People compare this park to Central Park in New York city. It has 2 museums in it, and endless green trees and grass areas. Dorian loved the cement slide! All the kids had collected card board to sit on, to slide down at faster speeds.

She loves climbing up all by herself..without my help

Halloween

2011-11-07T07:24:00.000-08:00

He was a good helper

Carving Pumpkins!

Trick or Treating

Kailey wore the same dog costume that Dorian wore 3 years ago

Me and Johnny were 80's rockstars

Doesn't everybody go to Target on Halloween night??? Duh!

Dorian was so excited to learn about the magic trick or treating cart at target! You go into target with your candy bag and when you come out it is full of candy...amazing!! Say thank you ~~daddy,~~ I mean Target!

Splashing in the puddles!

2011-10-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

Press pause on my music up above before you watch.
Splish splash and in the bath!

Scenes from the Weekend/ Week

2011-09-26T15:42:00.000-07:00

The month of October is Pacifica's "Summer". So the past week we have had sunshine and warm weather. It is soo beautiful here when it's not foggy. We have been discovering all the parks here and they are so much fun. We found this one called Frontierland Park, I don't have any pictures of it because I was too busy playing. It reminds me of the playgrounds I used to play on when I was little. Lots of wood instead of plastic,lots of hidding places. It even had a water misting play area, amazing. Saturday Dorian got his first pet. He was originally wanting a hermit crab, so we were looking in to it and ready to get one. But when we got there I got to smell the cage and it wasn't pretty, not to mention they are really creepy looking. So I told Dorian they bite...which they probably do, and we were able to convince him to get a betta instead=) He named him Frisco.

We have thankfully made some friends from church, so we have been going to playdates and park meet ups, my sanity has been saved. Dorian was so desperate for friends that he was going up to teenagers in the park asking them if they wanted to play, poor guy. He now has a good friend Dillan, who is a few months older than him, and they are best buds now. I love how social and outgoing Dorian is, I think being around the older girls i used to nanny played a big part in that. Dillan was really shy and didn't talk very much when we went to their house, but Dorian got him out of his shell by talking to him and asking him to play, they were sword fighting in the backyard within 5 min.=)

But Dorian's best friend is Kailey. They play together so much more now that she is getting bigger.

Breaking the silence

2011-09-13T21:08:00.000-07:00

Pacifica CA, Our new home!

Wow talk about procrastination in blog posting. We moved to San Francisco!, well really Pacifica but it's 10 min. away. The actual move was not very fun...but who really has fun packing and unpacking?We are finally settled in. It didn't take us very long to unpack, because I would have lost my mind if I kept boxes around more than a few days. I have been spending the majority of my time getting the kiddos on a normal routine, which got lost in the move. Their bedroom was the first thing on my priority list of getting unpacked and organzied. Their room is bigger in this apartment, so it was easy finding a spot for everything....after I filled another box of giveaway toys.=) The things I love about our new place is,...... Washer and Dryer!!!!!!, Big patio, Bigger closets, bigger bathroom, did I mention washer and dryer? There is an open kitchen, the kids will run around in circles through the kitchen, into the living room, through the dining room and back into the kitchen, burns off a lot of energy. We are so close to everything, the beach, the city, shopping centers, museums, and amazing parks, and I haven't even begun to check it all out. It is really foggy in our area most of the time, but you literally drive 5 minutes south and it's sunny and warm...I can deal with that. I also found out from a local mom that I need to enroll Dorian for Kindergarten this coming January!!!! That's a little earlier than what I was expecting seeing he doesn't start til next September...so sad...I thought I had a year before I needed to think of sending him off to Kindergarten. Don't have a lot of pictures yet, but here are a couple cute ones we have snapped.

Very clingy and cuddly while adapting to new house, ok with me=)

4 Years ago

2011-08-16T01:35:00.000-07:00

At this time four years ago I was..... tired, anxious, excited, scared, impatient, hopeful, achy, happy,...I was pregnant with my first baby. This baby inside me already had a name, Dorian. A baby boy that we didn't know yet, that we could only dream about. We had no idea that the next day a little human being would come into our lives, and turn out to be our purpose, motivation, center of our world, our beginning.

He was such a good baby, so calm and peaceful. He was wide eyed and was always looking around, taking things in. Everyone knew he was going to be so smart. He grew very quickly out of the newborn phase. He loved to eat and was very healthy, and chunky.=)

Before we knew it he was a toddler walking around, exploring, before he even turned one. He was so curious and in awe of everything new exposed to him. He loved his mama when he was hungry, or tired, or needed to be held. He loved his dada when he wanted to go outside, explore on walks, car rides or shopping trips which always ended in bringing a special, new toy home. He loved building blocks, cuddling, watching sesame street in the morning, and staying up past his bedtime..which we didn't really enforce=).

His terrible twos were hardly terrible, as he tried to figure out things by himself, like talking, making his own artwork, and what different buttons did what on the remote controllers and computers. His walks with daddy turned into lessons, with him pointing to everything wanting to know what it all was. "What dat?", "daddy! whats dat?!" He was taking it all in, recording everything.

He went from being our one and only, to a big brother. He accepted that role with open arms as we placed his new baby sister into them. You could tell he already knew her..and he was soo happy she was finally here.

Three. He was such a little grown up. Testing his limits and our patience. He made sure we knew he was still there, when baby sister was being a little too cute, by turning up his volume. And just in case there was a chance that you didn't hear him he would repeat himself. His independence grew as we sent him off to his first day of preschool. He was the only three year old in his class that already knew all his letters and after one activity page of tracing, had it perfected.

But perfection or advancement is not what I pushed, or even wanted. He advanced a little too quickly for me. My baby boy was suddenly too cool, and too old for me to call him baby. "Mama,(at least he still calls me that!), I'm not your baby anymore, I'm your kid, you can't call me that", as he wipes my kiss off his cheek. The kid that wants to go somewhere with just daddy, "just the boys mama". That wants to brush his teeth by himself, and buckle his car seat by himself.

But, after daddy has left for work, and Kailey is still sleeping, that kid still curls up next to me on the couch and cuddles as we watch Max and Ruby...again.
My three year old. The one that is in my bed as I type this. Was too excited to fall asleep tonight. He knows what tomorrow is. He knows how old he is turning, and that when he wakes up he will be four. He already told me that not long after he turns four he will be five. But I told him not to think about being five yet. I told him he just needs to be four.....for a long time!

Happy Birthday ~~baby~~ Dorian

"Picnik Show"

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Mama loves you.

Scenes from the Weekend

2011-08-03T14:59:00.000-07:00

We went to Pretend City this past weekend, and it was amazing. Johnny had taken Dorian there before but this was my first time. Both Dorian and Kailey loved it, it's every kid's dream.

Kailey grocery shopping

picking veggis from the garden

My handsome boy

We went with one of my neighbors and her little boy that Dorian has been friends with since they were babies. They had a blast playing with the boats and the water tables.

Ended the day outside playing in the beautiful summer weather.

These two are quite the duo lately.

This is what they looked like the next morning.

Linking up here!

Wordless Weekend- aka writer's block

2011-07-23T23:58:00.000-07:00

Scenes from the holiday

2011-07-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

Mom I am trying to eat!

She is officially a Daddy's girl.

Tired boy watching the last of the fireworks. Perfect ending to the day.

F.H.E at the beach

2011-06-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

Our primary at church has Family Home Evening nights at the park every Monday in the Summer. To kick off Summer properly they held the first one at the beach. We had beautiful weather, the waves were huge, and the bonfire was lit. Perfection. Johnny was the hit of the night catching sand crabs for all the kids. Kailey was terrified of the waves, but they were pretty big and it was a high tide. We played in the sand ,ate smores and went home smelling like a bonfire, which would not wash out of my hair. When we are having a good time at the beach I always look around and wonder why we don't come more often, I mean besides the sand that gets tracked into my new car and in the car seats, and all the wet towels and dirty clothes we bring home with us we should really go more. =)

Happy Friday

2011-06-24T16:00:00.000-07:00

We have been having June gloom here in the O.C. It lasts until about noon, sometimes later, and let me tell you it's a downer! I like sun....ok I need it, and therefore we usually leave the house when Mr.sun shows up. Today was Costco day, only because Dorian doesn't have swim lessons on Friday so I don't have to fret about getting him down for an earlier nap, which also meant we didn't have to go until the sun was out...I have a problem. I might just go earlier during swim days because Friday at Costco is horrible! People are running around with there heads cut off as if the world is coming to an end and they need to get their food storage stocked up, and it doesn't help that the carts are humongo(lets pretend that's a word). But I'm glad the carts are big because now that Dorian is on summer break from preschool it means strapping them both into the cart, and that's really fun. The first half of the shopping trip is fine, I usually feed them before entering and it's just a calm stroll through the soaps, paper plates and gadgets......then we enter the food section and people around us probably though I starved my child. As soon as Dorian sees one of those people with the white shower caps passing out samples he is pointing and shouting,"mama over there! I see the snacks..mama why aren't we going over there!!!". I calmly tell him that we are not skipping isles to go get snacks and we will go get some when we are over there. Of coarse when we get there they already passed them all out and are awaiting the next batch of whatever it may be in their little toaster oven. This goes on throughout the rest of the trip. But other than that they are good kids to take grocery shopping. Dorain puts his arm around Kailey while we are in the refrigerator sections and it sure to put her hood on before we enter..too cute. I really don't know how this blog post turned into me talking about Costco. Lets move on. We have this great little petting zoo/playground/picnic lunch place, kinda nearby and it is awesome. They have this huge gated section filled with bunnies, guinea pigs, and chickens. All the kids go inside and they can pet, feed and hold the little critters. Every child's dream,.unless you are Kailey who is terrified of anything can moves that is not a person. they even have a train ride, an awesome playground, and tables to eat lunch at, perfect.

I love this table!

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I will leave you with this:

Linking up with

Catch up

2011-06-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

I've been a inconsistent blogger this month, going to work on that. June has been a pretty laid back month so far which has been welcomed. Preschool has been replaced with spontaneous long walks that end in a couple hours at the park. unscheduled naps, PJ's until noon, and too many cartoons.
Swim lessons have started and yesterday I told the teacher she has my permission to not be so nice. I know that sounds bad but since it's been a year since he had his last lessons he is back to not wanting to go underwater. The teacher was letting that slide, but I know for Dorian the best method for him is to see what he does when he jumps in the water and let him flip over on his back when he gets to the surface, instead of holding his hands while he jumps. So next week will have more progress, because my goal is to make it so if he was to fall in a pool that he would know how to flip over in his back float and get to the side of the pool.

Dramatic baby and empathetic little boy.

Deep in thought

This is an end to a good day....

****Linked up with the amazing Casey today. Check her out and all the other linkies!

First Steps

2011-05-26T20:28:00.000-07:00

Kailey took her first steps May 22nd. They were to Daddy, so he was very proud of that=) Those two are quite attached. Well Since then she is getting better and better. In four days she went from her first three steps to walking halfway across the room! And she is very happy with herself. Also, she has grown out of her baby car seat. I was hoping to keep her in that until 30 pounds, she is only 22 pounds right now, but she is soo tall she has exceeded the 30 inch height limit. So we bought big brother a new seat that will keep him in a 5-point harness til 65 pounds and then it will convert into a booster seat, and Kailey will get his old seat which is still in perfect condition. It just didn't make sense to get another convertible seat when Dorian would have grown out of his in the next year or so anyways.
Today was also Dorian's last day of preschool. They even had a little graduation for them, cap and gown too. It was so cute. He will be in preschool for another year starting again in Fall, but I guess they figure they need that positive reinforcement, and for anybody not returning it really would be graduating. I of corse forgot my camera but I will be getting some pictures from another mom shortly and I will post some then. I am still deciding what to sign Dorian up for this Summer, maybe a few things. I definitely want to do swim lessons again, and then maybe a sport..we will see.

Disneyland/ 5 year anniversary

2011-05-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

Yay Disneyland! What a special day it was for me and Dorian. I am not a believer in getting the season pass for Disneyland. Yes we live 10 min. away, and by using it 2 or 3 times we would have already saved money. But.... The kids I know around here that go all the time because they have a season pass think of Disneyland as another park with a bigger playground. There is no "magic" anymore. And that's ok if that's what you want, but I prefer it to be a special place that is saved for special days once or maybe twice a year. I love to keep it a secret and when Dorian finally realizes where we are, to see his face light up is priceless. It was supposed to be me,Johnny, and Dorian. But Johnny had to work last minute so it was just me and Dorian. So me and Johnny's 5 year wedding anniversary kinda got pushed aside but it's ok, I just told him he can make up for it next year :)
Little Kailey stayed home with Grandma because knowing her temperament she would have been very overwhelmed. Dorian was due for a "special Dorian Day" anyways. It is a must to have regular days where the oldest child gets one-on-one attention and treatment, once you have a second baby.It really has made a difference in his behavior towards us and Kailey. Disneyland was a blast, and I'm pretty sure I lost a pound walking around both parks that day! I didn't take a million pictures because it's kinda hard when it's just the two of us, and I'm not one to take that many anyways because for me it takes away some of the special moments that you just want to enjoy instead of pausing to snap a pic. But here are a few to enjoy from our day.

The 45 minute wait to see Mickey is always worth it.

Love capturing the candid face of pure excitement!

He was sure somebody lived in there and was offended they wouldn 't open the door

His "say cheese!" smile

I highly suggest to regularly hand your camera over to a three year old... they always capture the most attractive pictures of you.=) ha

I am ready to not be sick anymore!

2011-05-07T21:57:00.000-07:00

It all started last week, Dorian and Kailey got sick, then Johnny got sick. I was taking care of everybody and Dorian and Johnny bounced back pretty quickly while I was thinking I had a pretty good immune system for not getting sick even though you know I was sneaking in smoochys with everybody! =) Well....I got it. It started out with the sore throat that usually turns into a cold, but this sore throat stuck around for a few days and then finally turned into a cold. And it's so funny, and it happens every time, but when you have the horrible sore throat you wish it would turn into the cold because it would be better than having that annoying pain every time you swallow, but then you get the cold that turns into a cold worse than you thought and you wish you could have the sore throat back! HA! Well it was the same thing this time around but I got a super fun bonus,yay!, I got pink eye. yes. And what makes that even a more fun of a situation is that I wear contacts to correct the horrible vision I have. And I don't have a spare pair of glasses with the right prescription that I wear. So getting pink eye in one eye meant that I was walking around half blind. Luckily I had some antibiotic drops left over so got started on that right away, and made sure to wash my hands constantly so I wouldn't spread the curse to anybody else, and to not infect my other eye. Good news! I started the drops soon enough so nobody else got it. Bad news.....my other eye must have been jealous of the pretty shade of pink my infected eye was sporting because when I woke up this morning they were matching. UGH! I am now walking around wearing a pair of glasses that haven't been updated since I was in high school,( I don't know how or why I still have them), so they are not the right strength so my sight in still compromised. Lets not forget the fact that with pink eye I can't wear eye makeup...so I am walking around looking pretty hot with no makeup and glasses that look horrible on me. And I still have a bad cold on top of all of that.

OK.. I'm done venting. On the bright side I have wonderful kids who have been very patient with me. Like Dorian who will watch cartoons and let me nap while Kailey is napping, lifesaver. And Kailey has been a trooper, even though she has been battling a cold that turned into an ear infection and fevers, but that is all coming to an end with antibiotics as well.

I also have a wonderful husband who has been working all day on a Sat. But stopped by to drop flowers off to me for the second day in a row! The flowers I got yesterday were because I was sick, and the flowers today were for Mother's Day, which also included a new steam mop to replace my broken one, yay! He is the best. We are coming up on our 5 year anniversary and I can truly say every year has gotten better,and not just because I get more flowers. =)

Well I will close this super long blog post with Happy Mother's Day! And some pictures of my babies and me to celebrate this wonderful holiday.

Easter

2011-04-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

Easter was lovely this year. It started out with us finding what the Easter bunny had left us,then we watched the animated church movie about the resurrection, went to church, and then we came home and napped. I was still exhausted from Kailey's party and staying up late again to do the baskets. After we woke up we had dinner and then discovered that the Easter bunny had some hidden eggs for Dorian at our local park, ..Dorian thought that was pretty awesome.
Sorry I didn't get a picture of all of us in our Easter/Sunday best!

Kailey's first MnMs ..she apparently can chew them without any back teeth.

1 Year Old

2011-04-27T17:39:00.000-07:00

Kailey is one, it's official. Yesterday I took her to her one year doctor's appointment. I didn't want to take her on her actual birthday but it was the only day that Dorian would have been at school and to have her doctor be there. She is 30.5 inches long, 95th percentile, 22 lbs, 50th percentile. She had 4 shots =(, but she recovered quickly with some Tylenol. We opened more presents and she blew out her candle again on some yogurt because I couldn't bring myself to bake anymore cake, but she enjoyed the yogurt more anyways. And she loved being sang too again!

Kailey's 1st Birthday Party

2011-04-25T22:10:00.000-07:00

All the stress and hard work was completely worth it. Even the lack of sleep from staying up late making my first tiered cake, came out just the way I wanted. Even Johnny, who was so annoyed by all the time I spent preparing and organizing for the event, was very happy with how it turned out, and what a special day it was for Kailey. She was very aware of all the attention that was on her and she loved it. My favorite part of the day was when we were all singing happy birthday to her. She was sitting on the table with the cake in front of her and as we sang she smiled while looking at all the people in front of her, taking it all in. It was perfect, but...... when we were singing I looked down at Dorian and because of doing that I sang "happy birthday dear Dorian"......Nobody noticed except me. It's pretty funny though, and of course we got it on video. =) The tutu I made turned out perfect and ridiculously poofy, just the way I wanted it.

But...as of today she is still 11 months old, I am trying to slow it down. She will be 11 months old until tomorrow night at 10:06 PM! My baby =)

Kailey's invitation photos

2011-04-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

Now that everybody has received Kailey's birthday party invite I can post the pictures that were on it plus more. Some of them I was experimenting with the settings on the camera. Her party is tomorrow so my mind has been on preparing and planning. I am going to start baking the 3 tier cake here shortly, which will hopefully go smoothly. I have been obsessing,as Johnny would put it, by watching multiple YouTube videos on how to assemble the cake. I will post pictures of the final outcome. It sounds easier than my last birthday cakes I have done for Dorian, like the baby Einstein caterpillar cake, and the 3D dino cake. As long as I can assemble it correctly everything will go smoothly. I am attaching fake butterflies and edible glitter, that's as far as the decorating goes aside from frosting it. Wish me luck, and advice if you have done this before=)

Dorian is a rock star...and a really good big brother

2011-04-13T21:38:00.000-07:00

Johnny got Dorian his very own electric guitar. Johnny has played for years and is awesome. So he wants to start teaching Dorian how to play soon which will be ~~noisy~~ lovely =) But I was happy to spend money on something that will stay with him forever...learning a musical instrument. We love when Johnny picks up one of his guitars and starts playing, it's just amazing and beautiful..even when it's Metallica.

I got to throw in this picture of the cuties! We were at Costco =) Dorian hasn't had school for 2 weeks and while he is in school is when I usually make my bi-weekly trip to the super store. So I had both of them and it really wasn't bad. It was actually fun. They did not go hungry because they had a unusually large amount of sample people out. Dorian even began to look for that little cap they wore on their head and made sure to tell me where to go. When we went in the refrigerator sections Dorian put Kailey's hood on and wrapped his arm around her shoulders to keep her warm....I'm not joking, I should have pulled my camera out for that one. But I thought one photo shoot in Costco was enough.

They don't disappoint.

Busy month

2011-04-08T11:17:00.000-07:00

We are in the process of buying a new car. Geewiz I never knew it could be so time consuming and stressful but that's how it is when you put in the time and research to get the best possible price. After all the research I have put in I could literally hold a tutorial on how to win the battle with car dealerships. But at least I can say I have won thanks to this website, I am paying well below msrp and invoice and got almost all of the dealerships profits. So tonight we are picking up This! We love Kia. We have a sportage right now so this is the next step up and comes with a 3rd row for carpooling=)

Dorian looks so grown up sitting there behind her.

She and dorian put their finger's in their ears when they're tired=)

Dorian insisted on sitting in the baby swing so he could sit next to his sister.

On top of that I've been trying to think about Kailey's birthday. Not just the party but thinking about how quickly she has grown up and isn't a little infant anymore. I could think about how sad it is, and look at newborns and be jealous. But then I look at Kailey and see how fun she is now, how her personality is developing. How she can play with Dorian now and follow him everywhere he goes, and how forgiving she is of him when he pushes her or grabs a toy out of her hands. She loves him still and it's so nice to see that...while it lasts=)

11 Months old

2011-03-31T22:12:00.000-07:00

I did a photo shoot today with Kailey and pink tulips, for her birthday invitation I need to get out soon. The pictures came out amazing but I can't post them until I get out the invite because that would spoil it.
Kailey is about 22 pounds now as of last week..so it might be higher now from how she has been eating. She can stand without holding on to anything and can cruise around the furniture and can now walk around with her little activity, push walker. She sometimes forgets she can't walk without holding on because she will be cruising along the couch and then go to follow Dorian and crashes to the floor laughing. She is pretty tough physically, Dorian has made her that way with all the boy handling he forces on her, and the hugs that are soo tight that they both fall over. But she is as sensitive as she can be about other things. My little girly girl with massive curls growing in and front teeth trying to push out. Here is some inspiration I'm using for her small party I'm planning.

Ok...... I will show you just one picture from today!!!!!

I know...go ahead and tell me =)

Scenes from last week

2011-03-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

Johnny had all last week off. Paid vacation is wonderful..no matter what you do. I loved having Johnny home ! Our vacation started off driving to his mom's house sat march 12. It is a 6 hour drive but with 2 kids, driving during the day it was a little over 8 hours. But it was relaxing. Even though every time I go to put Kailey in the car seat now I feel her grip get really tight on me. I honestly think she thinks we are going on another road trip and that she will be in the seat waayy too long..so funny. It was a perfect 3 days out there filled with sleeping in, fishing, trips to Walmart without kids...bliss, and quality time together. It is also amazing to go away for a few days knowing when you come home you still have a week of time together with no work.

On Nana's "real" miniature horses with some neighbor friends.

He wasn't sure about the chicken.

I took a makeup break while up in the country.sorry

I let Johnny sleep in a couple days but the other days he let me sleep in while he got up with the kids..I still got up at 8 but that is sleeping in with early bird babies. And I know I need to get up when I hear Dorian asking for coco puffs for breakfast-I didn't buy those, And a few minutes later Johnny telling him that if he finishes his cereal he can have a rice crispy treat. I actually felt more tired having Johnny home and I think it's because I was allowed to be a little lazy with all the extra help which makes me more tired. We did get out for a couple bike rides. Kailey was ready. We put the Wee ride on my bike and Dorian was on Johnny's bike. It felt good to get back on a bike. We did it all the time when we just had Dorian but when I got pregnant we stopped once I reached my third month and then once we had her we had to wait til now. So I'm excited because bike rides is what gets off those last 10 pounds for me and it doesn't feel like exercise!

touch tank at the Aquarium in Long Beach

They love taking baths together! Cuts down on time too!

She loves when Dorian dumps water on her head.

10 months old

2011-03-08T15:38:00.000-08:00

My growing girl is 10 months old(as of 2/26). She is quite an eater..she must be going through a growth spurt because she can put it down. She loves cheese,yogurt,avocado,melon,bananas,berries,broccoli,carrots,whole wheat pasta and bread..and those are just some of her favorites she loves anything I give her. And she loves taking a bath and good thing too because she has one everyday if not two. I try to pick one meal of the day that includes all the messy foods so I'm not giving her 3 baths. She loves dancing whenever she hears music, even Johnny's heavy metal.....he swears that he saw her head banging one time. She loves playing with Dorian, and when he is in trouble or trying to take a nap she will mess with him. I am brainstorming her birthday party, which will be small but amazing. I was going to make her tutu but after looking at all the ones on etsy for twenty bucks I think I will just buy one of theirs. Since it's a Spring birthday I'm thinking "Pink Lemonade" theme or "Spring Butterfly". We will see=)

A couple of "First Days"

2011-02-26T22:00:00.000-08:00

Dorian started preschool in January and he loves it. He already knew all his letters pretty well and could even write a few, but this is helping big time. He comes home each day with something new he made so my wall that is now called my 'art wall' is getting filled up fast. In the beginning of January he also switched from being in nursery to being a sunbeam in primary! Me and Johnny went a little crazy with the camera and even snuck into the primary room and got a pic of him sitting in the front row..I think we were weirding the older primary kids out. =)

I guess the sun was in his eyes.

Tutus and rainy days

2011-02-26T11:20:00.000-08:00

A couple days after Valentine's Day it was a rainy,stay inside day. Which means I got bored. So while the kiddos were napping I got my craft boxes out and my scraps. I know for Kailey's birthday I want to make her tutu and I have come across many tutorials on how to make them. I thought I had two rolls of tulle but I only found one. So I used another fabric along with the tulle...it didn't come out the way I wanted but this was just practice anyhow. It still came out pretty cute and now I know what to do next time. Kailey loved posing in it..of course.

ooo what is daddy eating?

This is Love

2011-02-08T21:56:00.000-08:00

A little photo shoot of mine a couple days ago. Gotta love the weather in Cali. And will you check out my models...hello!!! It's ridiculous I know.

9 Months

2011-02-03T15:33:00.000-08:00

9 Month stats at Doctor's

19 lbs 13oz

29" long

I am sitting here watching my nine month old baby girl crawl cautiously into the hallway. Unseen territory for the crawler, as of two days ago. I am so happy to see her grow and her personality shine through. But as I watch her creep around the corner out of my sight, I ache. Inside I am yelling, "Come back! Be a little baby again! Just lay in your infant bouncer and stare up at me with your innocent little face that says 'love me, feed me, hold me mama.' " Those days are gone and I again ache inside knowing I won't have a little, dependant infant anymore that will sleep curled up on my chest.
But now I have this beautiful nine month old girl that has mama's blue eye's, that loves to dance with mama in the mirror to girly music while big brother is napping. A girly girl with bows in her hair and lacy,ruffle socks on Sundays. The girl I have always wanted. I look forward to dance class, more beach days lying in the sun under an over sized umbrella, curly long hair waiting to get dressed up in pigtails and bows, and tea parties with her dolls.....But I can wait..I am kissing those squishy baby cheeks while I can, before they aren't squishy anymore.

At the playground

2011-01-16T13:51:00.000-08:00

Painted toes and first tooth- 8 months!

2011-01-04T14:50:00.000-08:00

This was my attempt to get a picture of her first tooth thats popping through on the bottom, but this is what I got =)

Painted tootsies, except for the 2 she managed to chip off already.

Christmas

2010-12-29T13:35:00.000-08:00

Christmas gets ~~more expensive~~ better every year with Dorian getting older. And this was Kailey's first Christmas. I think I had Pandora on everyday with Christmas music playing. And anytime Dorian wanted to watch a movie he had a choice of about 20 all time favorite Christmas movies of mine! About a week before Christmas I had Dorian go through all his toys, again, and see what he wanted to give away. I told him he would be giving these toys to other children that didn't have very many toys, so he was happy that he was able to do that. Especially before bringing in all the new stuff Santa was to bring him soon. Johnny didn't really give Santa too much credit. All the big items that Dorian asked for on his wish list were from Daddy and Mama, not from santa. It was kinda a challenge shopping for Kailey, she has all of Dorian's old baby toys plus all his current toys to entertain her. But we were able to get her a couple of girly toys that she loved. I was going to make a gingerbread house from scratch this year, it sounded like a really nice tradition to start. Not to mention a whole lot yummier than the box kit ones that have been there who knows how long. But as time was getting crunched with everything else to do, Johnny had a feeling I wasn't up for it because he came home with a kit. But it was really fun for Dorian to make and nibble at..soo maybe next year.

7 Months

2010-12-02T15:37:00.000-08:00

My little chubby baby girl is 7 months old! She said mama on my birthday=) She says baba constantly. She turns into a drama queen when she hears her bottle getting prepared but she doesn't have it that second. She will grab your face in your hands. She rubs her ear when she is tired, just like Dorian. She loves playing with Dorian, but grunts and screams at him when he is annoying her. She loves her daddy. When she doesn't like the baby food I'm giving her she will act like I'm giving her poison and gag on it. When it's not her favorite but tolerates it, she will eat it but leave just enough on her tongue to spit some back out on me and anything in a 3 ft radius. She is still a wonderful sleeper who reignited a new love to be swaddled at night, because of the cooler weather I think. Isn't scooting or crawling yet..thank goodness. Will sit for a minute or so til she is 'tired' and then will fall flat to the floor.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-02T15:20:00.000-08:00

This year we made the six hour drive up to Johnny's mom's house again. We always have the great idea of leaving really late at night so both kids will sleep the whole way there. We are both night people and it's always easier than getting up really early the next day. Not to mention the traffic on Thanksgiving day would make it a 12 hour drive. So we did it and got there around 4:30am with the idea we would be able to transfer the kiddos into the house and we can just sleep in.ha! yeah right! Dorian was way to excited to be at nana and g-pas house to go back to sleep. So everyone was awake. But I managed to sleep for like an hour on the couch, which lessened my zombie morning effect a tad but I was ready to go to bed at 9 that night. Didn't get too many pictures except for some of the boys fishing in like 30 degree weather.

Cuteness

2010-11-20T16:05:00.000-08:00

Leftout Halloween pics

2010-11-20T14:54:00.000-08:00

6 months old

2010-10-27T21:58:00.001-07:00

These pictures reminded me so much of the 6 month pictures I took of Dorian I had to include one of his. Me and Johnny make beautiful children...I know that sounds conceited but it's true!

Punpkin Patch and big blue eyes

2010-10-14T21:07:00.001-07:00

Just pretend I don't look horrible in this picture...thanks=)

the best music video in the world..= )haha

2010-10-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

My faithful headband model

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

Beautiful baby Kailey.

5 months as of Sept.26

2010-10-01T22:42:00.000-07:00

Where did my newborn go? I still feel like I have a postpartum body, but my excuse of "I just had a baby" isn't working for me anymore=) She is 5 months old now...so sad, but so exciting! You don't realize how easy infants are until you have a toddler to compare them too. She is an easy baby! So happy and cute, good sleeper, really cute, squishy(finally has some yummy rolls on her), did I mention she's really cute? I finally decided that she decided she is done nursing. From day one it was just different than it was with Dorian. I was a cow after I had Dorian, with an unlimited supply it seemed like. And with her getting dehydrated from her not getting enough, which led to severe jaundice, which led to being in the hospital with her for several days... equaled to crappy milk supply. So I tried to keep it going for as long as could, but I would have to give her a bottle of formula almost every time. So she got used to the faster flow of the bottle and started getting frustrated when I tried to nurse her,even though it went down to once a day a few weeks ago...so it just wasn't worth her getting upset over anymore and I gave her the good stuff for the most important months anyways.
She is now eating baby cereal 1-2 times a day and started giving her fruit in the AM and veggies in the PM..so good so far. But just when I started doing the solids she learned how to do the raspberry sounds with her lips,so if she really isn't hungry too much she loves to spray it all over me!

She has a cold right now because she gets whatever germs Dorian decides to give her. So when Dorian got a cold I knew it was just a matter of time before Kailey got it. Even if I tried my best at stopping him from giving her kisses and touching her, he would still manage to sneak them in, or he would be standing near her and he would do this explosive sneeze,(the kind that my dad does that scared the daylights out of me, which is the same way Johnny sneezes!) that undoubtedly got all over her. So anyhoo, her usual 12 hour straight bedtimes are now her waking us kinda often because she can't breathe through her nose, but she loves the paci so breathing out of her mouth is a problem, hopefully she will get over it soon.

Big brown bear blue bull

2010-09-29T07:38:00.000-07:00

Two new headbands

2010-09-16T12:18:00.000-07:00

Pom Pom head wrap, and a flower headband with burnt edged pedals and black tulle.( Made that one for Kim's birthday.Going to make her 2 more when Dorian goes down for a nap.)

New hobby as of today=)

2010-09-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

My first headband for Kailey! Used an elastic headband she already had and made fabric flowers using her outgrown baby clothes=) I will post pics as I make more. Hopefully in the future I won't replace working out for doing crafts, like I did today..could become a bad habit!

4 months old

2010-09-06T00:03:00.000-07:00

Kailey is soo much fun. I am having a ball dressing her up and doing her hair. I am slowing down time and really enjoying my kiddos while they are little and squishy. They are me and Johnny's reason to live, our family is our life and we are enjoying every minute.Kailey at her 4 month check up weighed in at 13lbs 12oz (50-75 %tile).And is a whopping 25 inches long(75-90th%tile).

I am convinced her eyes are staying blue!! She is soo precious and sweet. I am thinking about not giving them anymore food so they will stop growing!! hehe

3 years old

2010-09-05T23:13:00.001-07:00

Such a happy boy who loves his little sister and is getting smarter everyday. He is fully potty trained now. I had him fully going to the potty during the day a couple weeks before he turned 3.And now he stays dry when sleeping as well.yay!! He enjoys making new friends at the playground, putting puzzles together all over the kitchen floor and going on bike rides with Daddy. He knows all of his letters and numbers almost up to 20. His vocabulary is amazing and he is an excellent negotiator ; )

The pigtails are here!!!!

2010-08-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

Dorian having a blast

2010-08-14T15:26:00.001-07:00

3 Months old

2010-07-31T18:36:00.000-07:00

4th of July

2010-07-10T12:09:00.001-07:00

We had a fun time going across the street where our neighbors were having a party and had about $600 worth of fireworks. And at 9 pm we Johnny took dorian on the bike while me and Kailey drove over to the backbay to watch the big fireworks show.

2 months June26th

2010-07-10T11:43:00.000-07:00

She is smiling and cooing all the time now, it's soo cute. She sleeps through the night and loves watching her big brother.

8 weeks old

2010-06-23T15:03:00.000-07:00

Just got back from her doctor's appointment. She is 9 pounds 11 ounces, and 22 1/2 inches long. She is gaining weight fast now which I am happy about. She is not very happy at the moment from the shots, her leg is a little swollen so I am going to go out and buy her some medicine now.

6 Weeks old

2010-06-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

I borrowed a scale from the neighbor so I could stand on it with Kailey to see her weight since I havn't had to take her into the doctor since she was 3 weeks old. She is an even 8lbs now which I am happy about, she has steadily gained. She is still tiny for being 6 weeks old now, but I'm enjoying having my newborn still.

1 month and 1 day old!

2010-05-27T13:42:00.001-07:00

Kailey is such a little joy. I never posted her health update but at her last visit at 3 weeks old I had her back to birth weight 6lbs 15ounces,

20 1/2 long. I am breastfeeding her every 2 to 3 hours and sometimes giving her a couple ounces of formula after that, so she is a really good eater and I am sure she is well over 7 lbs by now. She sleeps really good at night waking 1 or 2 times to eat, sometimes sleeping all night! Dorian can't get enough of her he constantly wants to touch her and give her hugs and kisses. He is a big help when I need a diaper for Kailey or need him to put her paci back in her mouth, but he does act out sometimes by not listening or he will want our full attention sometimes and freaks out when he doesn't get it but all was expected. So now I am just filling my days by taking care of the kiddos, keeping the house clean,cooking and taking walks to the park when we get a chance. Life is good.

First day at church

2010-05-27T13:40:00.001-07:00

At the zoo

2010-05-27T13:30:00.001-07:00

4 Years!

2010-05-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary hunny!! We have four years behind us and it wasn't perfect by any means, but we have learned so much and come so far, all of it has only confirmed to me that we are perfect for each other. We have created such a beautiful family. My love for you has grown so much. You are a wonderful husband and best friend to me. You are the best daddy in the whole world, I love watching you with Dorian and seeing the love and bond between you two. Thank you for giving me the perfect life and for giving me two beautiful children. I love my life and I can't wait to see what the future holds for us. I know we can do and handle anything as long as we're together. I love you!

she finally fell asleep=)

2010-05-07T14:39:00.000-07:00

May 7th (not so sure about the giant flower)hehe

2010-05-07T13:58:00.000-07:00

Hospital 4/30-5/04

2010-05-07T12:33:00.001-07:00

Kailey 4/26-4/29

2010-05-07T11:58:00.000-07:00

These are some more from the hospital after she was born and some that were taken the couple days we were home before going back to the hospital. I also wanted to share that aside from all the stress of her going back to the hospital, I wanted to share that I had such an awesome pregnancy with her and the most perfect birth experience. It was kinda the opposite with Dorian, so to have such an amazing experience with her was great especially since we're done having kids!=) I actually went into labor while at my doctors appointment, like with Dorian I didn't notice any early signs of labor as far as contractions. So While I was in the waiting room what I thought were the normal braxton contractions turned into regular contractions every 2-3 min apart.So once I got into his office he checked me and I was 3 cen. dilated, so he sent me across the street to Hoag hospital. They hooked me up to the monitors so we could see the contractions and keep an eye on how the baby was handling them. after about an hour the nurse checked me again and I was still 3 cen but my cervix thinned out so they admitted me. Since this wasn't my first they told me I didn't have to wait til 4 cen to get an epidural so I got it before they broke my water, which makes the contractions 10 times worse. Once I got that and they broke my water everything sped up but I was super comfortable. I even had one of those buttons that gave me more epidural medicine when I needed it. So towards the last part of labor I had to push it a couple times and then I was fine. So about 5-6 hours after getting admitted I was ready to push, it was wonderful! No pain whatsoever, I held my own legs back and she was out in like 4 pushes, I got to see her come out, it was amazing!

Baby Kailey is coming home!

2010-05-04T16:27:00.000-07:00

So I didn't have time to write about it til now but a couple days after being home we took Kailey in for her 4 day doctor appointment. Her birth weight was 6lbs 15 ocs, and it had dropped down to 6.3. The doctor also noticed that she looked pretty jaundice so he sent us over to the lab to get her bilirubin level tested. He said if it came back 15 or higher that he wants us to put her back in the hospital. Well about an hour after we had taken to the lab the doctor called me and said her level was 17.6 and that they were waiting for her at the hospital. So the hospital I delivered her at in Newport Beach was full so I had to go to Fountain Valley hospital...not as nice,especially after being spoiled at the other one with an Ocean View out my window. So we got her in and they got her set up under the bili lights they call them and took more blood tests, her poor little heels were becoming a pin cushion. The next night a doctor and like 3 nurses came in and told me that the blood culture came back positive for an infection and that they were moving us to the PICU to do further testing and to get her on antibiotics. So the poor little thing had to get a spinal tap to test for metingitis, and another blood culture. So at this point i'm freaking out thinking about what I did wrong and guilty that she was still supposed to be in my belly at this point warm and cozy> well a couple days in the ICU and the blood culture tests were coming back negative and her jaundice level went down to 11 so they moved us out of the picu into a normal room, where she could get off the lights but continue antibiotics. I guess the way blood culture tests work is that you have to wait 72 hours to see if any infection grows. So I get this doctor in today and tells me she thinks it's a serious infection that would have to be looked at by a special lab because she thinks it's in the same family as anthrax! and that the earliest day she would be able to go home is Fri. Well I asked to get the results from the doctor I had in the PICU because he was more familiar with the case. That doctor calls in a specialist directly into the hospital to look at her chart and to talk to the lab in detail about the results. He is the nicest old man you would ever meet and took the time to confirm everything . He finally told me that its not a serious infection and that he is going to have me sleeping in my own bed tonight. I was so happy but still a little concerned that I was getting a completely different answer. but he went back and double checked everything and actually went to that other doctor and told her and explained his findings and she came back to me and apologized and told me she completely agreed and trusted the other doctors result. So that's the long story in a nutshell believe it or not. So after 4 days here in the hospital I am now waiting to get discharged!! I get to go home to a little boy that has been missing his mommy and little sister. And to a wonderful husband, that has been cooking, doing the laundry, going grocery shopping, and cleaning, who now appreciates me on a whole other level for everything I do as a mom. More pictures to come...

Baby Kailey is here!!

2010-05-04T10:43:00.000-07:00

She took us by a little surprise and came 2 weeks and 2 days early, but we couldn't be more thrilled. Here is a little video Johnny put together. More pictures and updates to come.

36 weeks

2010-04-18T21:21:00.000-07:00

Easter

2010-04-18T21:12:00.001-07:00

March at the beach

2010-04-18T21:04:00.001-07:00

Babyshower

2010-03-24T20:51:00.001-07:00

Dorian rocking out!

2010-03-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

video of Christina sharing her talent of rapping

2010-03-18T14:08:00.000-07:00

30 wks 3/3/2010

2010-03-18T14:03:00.001-07:00

28 Weeks! 2/17/2010

2010-02-19T07:28:00.000-08:00

Dressed up for church

2010-02-12T15:43:00.001-08:00

New family photos

2010-02-10T23:36:00.000-08:00

Almost everything is pink...there was no way around it :)

2010-02-05T15:52:00.000-08:00

Babies"R"Us - Baby Registry

If you didn't know already the name of the baby is going to be......

2010-01-29T23:17:00.001-08:00

24 weeks 1/23

2010-01-28T14:20:00.000-08:00

Belly at 20 weeks 12/29/09

2010-01-16T23:03:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas card picture

2010-01-16T13:06:00.000-08:00

christmas pictures

2010-01-11T12:02:00.001-08:00

18 week ultrasound

2009-12-12T10:33:00.000-08:00

The foot thats been kicking me

Hello World!

Beautiful profile
Confirmed it's a girl!

My birthday at Disneyland

2009-12-05T13:44:00.000-08:00

This was also Dorian's first time at Disneyland so even though it was my birthday not his it was my treat to see him having such a good time. He loved all the kiddie rides including Pirates, and loved all the disney characters walking around. He wanted to give them all hugs and when they waved at people he thought they were personally saying hi to him=) Me, Johnny and Dorian went on that Sat. and then I went again on Mon., my actual birthday, because i got in free.

It's a baby girl!!!

2009-11-21T15:25:00.001-08:00

Halloween

2009-11-08T16:17:00.001-08:00

2009-09-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

We got his 2 year pictures taken yesterday at kiddie kandids. We were going to include a family picture but johnny got a cold sore, so we'll get those done on the beach or something soon.