girls night!!!

i just lit some candles. i have my not so red velvet cupcakes. and girls are about to arrive! i promise pictures tomorrow... first... GIRLS NIGHT!!! (that's what we do when david is gone!!!)

my favorite thing...

did i ever mention that red velvet cake is my FAVORITE?? i LOVE it! so, i was searching for some recipes online to make it, and found out some interesting things. first of all, it's all about chemistry... the red color. (well, that and 2 bottles of red food dye) but, if you want to do it without the food dye, it's about chemistry. and you might not get the fire engine red fake color. but who knew? it (i think??) has to be more acidic to make the ingredients combine to be reddish.

another fact. red dye can cause problems in some kids' (or adults') behavior. or make people sick. or have bad reactions. red dye is made from coal. when it's not red dye #whatever, it's made from crushed up bugs. they secrete an acid used to make this color. AND, it's in lipstick. fun times. guess i'll be making my red velvet cake from now on...

nora.

two doggies!

snuggling with the doggy...

where's nora!!!????

cheese

well...

my girl!

super glue...

sweet baby boy.

this is my favorite. a great method of transport!

he might be a golfer!!!

such a big boy!!!

okay, so i superglued something today and for the FIRST TIME EVER, didn't glue my fingers together. other good news in that arena... they were nora's sunglasses. usually she just loses sunglasses. these were an easy and cheap fix! and the superglue is on a part where you don't even notice it!!!

the masses begin to descend today! i am so excited. uncle andrew comes to visit today. he has a work conference, and was able to finagle it to the san diego conference! this begins a BUSY month for us! visitors, vacation... can't wait! hopefully this will continue in hawai'i!!

james is the sweetest boy. i think i say this every day. he's just so fun! he LOVES attention, and glows when you walk into his room in the morning. it's so fun! he also is a stinker. he KNOWS he shouldn't get the dog food. but, he does. every day that i forget to move it in the morning. or, when we go outside and i forget to put it up. and, he does not like to not get his way. i forgot about the arching of the back! so fun! it is so cool to see the differences between guys and girls, even at this age! nora was saying more sounds, and james... not so much. "dada" about covers it!! oh well. at least nora said "mama" intentionally as her first words!!

sunday...

there was the most beautiful rainbow. but, you can't see it in the picture. sad.

aside from my odd look, we were having fun!

daddy reading to his babies. a new book about hally tosis, a dog with bad breath!

jamey, learning to walk!!!

his lovey now goes EVERYWHERE with him. including outside!

whimpering...

nora enjoyed an afternoon in the mud. i got some other pictures, but i have to edit them first, as she was fairly naked!

she told me she was giving her rocks a "bath", and then drying her hands...

her discarded unders. the baby benefitted from that!

loving on her penguin!!!

showing off her kicks!

doesn't she look so big!!!

james is in his room, just whimpering. he cried out for a little bit, but i usually let him cry back to sleep at this time of night. plus, it was less than 2 minutes. an hour later, we hear this awful whimpering. i went in to check, and he was sound asleep, but whimpering. a few minutes ago, he started wailing! (maybe disturbed since i was just in there) i went in and nursed him, and he's back to whimpering. i don't know what to do.... feel so bad for the poor guy! such a sweet boy!!

oh... news! today, he pushed his lion across the driveway in the backyard! like, three big cement squares! walking (pushing) the whole way.... i have it on video from saturday, when he did the same thing. will post that soon!!!

love.

saw a beautiful rainbow today. biggest and brightest i have seen. took nora to a store. major meltdown. got in the car, told her how frustrated i was, and how it made mommy and God sad when we didn't obey. went to groc. cried through most of groc. (her, not me) finally stopped. walking out to the car, and told her i was happier with this attitude. she said, "i am obeying. we will have to tell daddy about this one. it makes mommy and God so happy when i obey"! at least she gets it!

meanwhile, jamey is about the cutest boy ever. yesterday, we went for storytime. he was tired, and i kept expecting him to fall asleep. no luck. we put him on the ground to play, and he laid down on the ground, hands out, trying to sleep!!! today, in the nursery, i was in helping. he was sleeping in a swing when i got there. another boy woke him up. i set him on the ground, as i was holding another screamer (there were A LOT of those there today), and he laid on my foot, same splayed out, face down, position, like "mom, what are you doing? pick me up..." it was so cute. he is such a good boy in there. and A FLIRT!

a perfect day addition...

i forgot to add one more thing. i rarely buy magazines. i even more rarely read them for the ADS! but, i bought a magazine today. for an ad! page 40 of the most recent people. my dear friend is the model in the ad! LOVE IT!! go jennie! so proud of you... and so fun to see you in a magazine!

did i ever mention the time we saw her in a commercial on tv? it was right after i had nora, and i saw her. i yelled really loud. my mom and david came running (remember how i fell getting into the shower while i was still pregnant, then my water broke...). i was just so excited to see jennie on tv!!!

a perfect day...

today was a perfect day. david had to work this morning, so the kids and i hung out in jammies, ate late, just enjoyed life. then, david got home and we went to storytime at the library. it was awesome. got some books, went to up and downs, because nora filled up three potty lines on her chart with stickers (no accidents as she says...). we were leaving, and decided to grab a quick lunch at rubio's. while in line, two friends and their kids walked in. so, we had lunch with them. SO FUN! one of the friends and i had been trying to get together since november!

took naps/quiet time (nora actually stayed in her room...). we put nora in her room and let her keep her door open a crack. soon, we heard the door shut. then, lots of banging. soon, i heard "chase me". she had gotten sadie in her room and trapped her inside. after awhile, i heard "mommy, help me". she had a VERY poopy diaper that was leaking. so, i helped her. but, praised her for the good way she got my attention... "help me" is so much better than kicking and screaming! she also asked "is quiet time over?".

then, jamey started pushing this little lion around, taking several steps with him (will upload video later). he LOVED his black beans at lunch. and all that was shared between the other moms.

forgot to mention. nora called me "mommy de ville" the other day. cute! mostly these days i am the stepmother. although i don't feel so bad, because david is stepmother as well.

david got home and jamey LUNGED for him. hugged him so tight, looked up at him and hugged him two more times! so sweet...

a new shirt...

do you like my new shirt? i made it!!! i am a little proud!!!

shoot...

i keep thinking i post, then i don't! i guess missing three days isn't that bad in the scheme of things! i will keep trying!!

anyway, we have been struggling with nap times. nora has traditionally been a FABULOUS sleeper. she loves going to sleep. after our transition to a big girl bed, she realized she could just play. that was fine. she would usually fall asleep in the weirdest positions! but, she slept. then, she realized she could kick the door and cause an uproar. discipline and bargaining didn't seem to stop this. and, it would wake up jamey. then, she realized she could open the door. this started the locking phase. but, she still napped. (and kicked the door) then, she was getting better about being potty trained and didn't like messy pull-ups. so, that would upset her during her "nap".

now, she just doesn't really nap. maybe once or twice a week. i would really like the "quiet time", and she knows she can play, read, etc. in her room. doesn't help. if the lock is on, she kicks and screams. and i go in there every five minutes to stop it. and jamey doesn't nap. if the lock is off, she just comes out... "i forgot", "change me"... i tried no pull up at quiet time, but that ends in a lot of messes! (sometimes, i think, just to punish me)

so now, i am just torn. do i force the issue and make her "quiet time"? because it comes down to an issue of obedience. can she stay where i ask her to stay for the time i ask her to stay there. the other thing i have to remember is that there is SO MUCH she does right. if i let it, this issue can be SO FRUSTRATING for me. and i have to remember it's only been a few weeks that we have been struggling like this. this too shall pass... right, mom?

i am just venting and thinking and ... i don't know. she's growing into such a big girl! how did that happen? seriously, i think she's worn my heels EVERY DAY this week, unless i make her take them off to go somewhere. that's where i draw the line, public!

if anyone has great suggestions, i'd take them. otherwise, thanks for listening!

james, by the way, is cruising a bit more, loving his sippy cup, saying daddy ALL THE TIME. not mommy. EVER. can sign "more". has a new attachment to a lovey-bear. it's cute! and not as attached to the pacifier. although i keep shoving it in, because he will shove in anything else! he loves to sleep! he still gets up about once a night, but only nurses 3-4 times a day. last night, he got up at 11pm to eat. i got him up out of bed this morning, and nora had a show on. he had no interest in nursing. just wants to watch the show. i set him as far away from it as i could, and he's now moved to within a few feet (not as close as the other day!). he's such a flirt and a snugglebug. he loves to just snuggle when he's tired. i love to hold him. i know a day is coming, VERY SOON, when my little man won't want that quite so much. yesterday, he fell asleep on my lap while we were at lunch. still, his sister can CRACK. HIM. UP.!!! he loves her. and wants to be like her.

oh, and he LOVES his bath. he threw the biggest temper tantrum yesterday, red-faced, screaming so he couldn't breath, for the several minutes it took to clean up his poopy diaper. he was so mad, because his sister was in the bath, and he couldn't be in it for two more minutes. he LOVES his bath. arches his back when he has to get out.

and, he keeps reaching to use the spoon. he loves to play with it. he loves to chat on the computer. he wants to reach in and grab them! he pushes himself up on all fours (meaning hands and feet), trying so hard to stand from sitting.

the end. for today.

elephants on parade...

walking down from the polar bears. such a fun reminder to me that our zoo is so metro! i love seeing downtown. in the zoo, you feel lost in the environment. it's awesome!!!

just walking around the zoo...

enjoying the elephant exhibit!

nora loved hugging all these animals. she asked if she could sit on this one's back.

snuggles!!!

she was a little hesitant at first, but soon realized they weren't real!

a big kiss for the hippo!!!

too bad jamey didn't have any fun! he took a GREAT nap!!!

nora and i always take a picture by the hippos. it's our "thing"! so, there is a new elephant exhibit that is AWESOME! we walked that way first. you walk into this little enclosure type thing and there is a huge screen with an elephant show on it. it shows the elephants marching n the jungle. maybe a 30 second loop of them. but it's huge! anyway, we walk into this area and nora was a little hesistant, again, not sure if they were real. she got a little more comfortable as we stood there and she realized they were a show. then, they trumpeted and she jumped THROUGH THE ROOF! it was funny. now she will tell you, "the elephants are REALLY scary". but, it's all she talks about from the zoo and wants to go back. to see the show. and, i had to search forever on youtube yesterday to find a similar video!!!

success!!!

he was watching the tv. the tv is at the very edge of the picture. no matter how many times i moved him back, he moved RIGHT back there.

his daddy left. he was sad and sat at the door.

i have to find the picture, but this is DAVID HAILE. it's scary!!!

sweet boy... first time in the sand!!

little girl loving her some sand.

enjoying the waves with her daddy.

she took a faceplant after a big wave crashed.

all she wanted to do was sit and put sand on her knees...

and he wanted to eat and play with all the fun on the beach.

he got to play in the water. getting washed off after getting so sandy.

and knocked down sand castles.

he loved the shells we found.

and, he loved snuggling with his daddy!!!

today was a successful day. jamey drank out of a sippy cup AND ate a whole meal by himself! i just cut it up and gave it to him. it consisted of dried pears, black beans, FISH and GREEN BEANS!!! what a good boy! i am so stoked.

however, he also LOVES sharing his food with sadie. he realized how fun it is and that sadie pays much more attention that way. spoiled dog! silly boy.

wow...

totally forgot yesterday. totally spaced. i have been a little sick this weekend, bad cold, and took a three hour nap yesterday! it was wonderful. anyway, david was off today, and we went to dog beach. then, i went thrifting and got some great clothes for the boy. will post pictures tomorrow.

another conversation...

more playing with my camera... and my beautiful roses

sweet boy... and not sure what is coming out of his hand, but i think it's in the background...

so intent...

her brother cracks her up!!!

a little out of focus, but i like it!

james is about the sweetest boy i know. he is so fun. and so mellow. i love him. i went in to go get hi up from his nap and he smiled so big! he couldn't wait to see me...

n-"you know, i like hawaii"

d-"good, because we are moving there"

n-"can my friends come to?"

m-"they will come visit"

d-"you can make new friends there"

n-"can mom-mom come to?"

m-"of course... do you want to bring your bed?"

n-"yes, and can we bring my sheets?"

so sweet...