Our first of many Mommy and Me pedicures

We aren't going to have her party until next weekend due to Daddy working all weekend. Every year on her birthday we will do something special. This year was her first pedicure and it was love at first sight (feel). Not only did they give her so much attention at the salon but they also gave her a pretty pink crown to wear. She took it off because when she looked down at her toes it would fall off. I reached over and turned her chair vibrations on and she looked at me with wide eyes and asked "what's that?" After I told her what it was and what it was for I then told her to sit back and let her back feel it. She did and I asked her how it felt and she replied "good!". We ended the morning off with a Starbucks milk and madelines..yum!

She walked in the door and greeted her dad with not a "Hi Dad!" but a "Daddy, pretty toes me!". Got to love it!

and hello to the two year old!

So she does take after me! totally not a morning person but we did come in with a video camera, the digital camera, Tyler, Daddy, Kiki, me and the light on while singing 'Happy Birthday' to her. She looked around the room and was completely surprised by the balloons and streamers shouting "boon!" She was very happy yet very sleepy. Apparently she too, needs her coffee before fully waking..
The birthday fairy decorated her rooms with streamers, balloons, and left her a little present. One two three make a wish! Now Mom, do I get any of this cinnamon roll??
We have a special day planned for her. We are so proud of her! Now, with the ones behind us we are on to bigger and better things...

Say goodbye to the one year old...

Alyssa will be two tomorrow and we are so excited and yet a little sad. She has grown and changed so much in the past 23 months. We love every phase that she grows into. She is still saying 5 word sentences and starting to know her colors. With the help of a very special gift from Sadie and Oliva, she will know her colors soon. She knows all the animals and sounds, starting on shapes and is definitely brilliant. She has so much personality that we can't help but to laugh at almost every thing she does. Hope the Birthday Fairy comes tomorrow....

Just messing around...

Alyssa being silly. She is definitely into having her picture taken. She runs and gets the camera and says 'camera picture me' and sometimes she adds the please on. Not sure where she gets the poses from but it works!

ready for ballet class AND halloween

I realized that after buying everything she needs for her ballet class that she has the entire outfit fit for a balerina soooo she is going to be a ballerina for Halloween!! This works really well because even though she is drawn to the princess dresses in magazines, she says "awww cute" both Rob and I want to hold off as long as possible before she is introduced to the world of Disney Princesses. At least till we go to Disneyland in November. Can't even imagine what that will be like. :)

pictures from Sunday school

pictures that I couldn't upload on the previous page.

She also had time for an art project! Her first one without Mommy.


Her new teacher.

First day of Sunday school

We have a little girl in our life, no longer a baby. She is turning two at the end of the week, playing more by herself, and now off to her first school. WAHHH!!!

Her vocab is impressive, mastering the colors and starting on shapes, she is also working on her alphabet. She is also using 5 words sentences now. The past three weeks she has developed so many new words and her understanding is amazing.

We go to Tyler's school every morning and pick him up every afternoon and as we crest the hill she will say, 'Pick Tyler up school' and we go through the same converstation morning and afternoon. Well, this morning we were talking about her going to Sunday school today and that she was going to be a big girl and she seemed to be pretty into it. As we went up the hill this morning she said her usual words and then they were followed by "school me?" She remembered!!! After signing her up and filling out the paperwork she was ushered in and there was no looking back. I have to say that it was pretty hectic as there were a lot of moms and children trying to do the same thing as me. We received an ID bracelet that has a number on it. There are two little monitors on the church walls that will read the number of the child who needs their parents. Both Rob and I thought we would be see our number on the screen but 90 minutes later we went to pick her up and we sat there so happy to see our little girl playing with the other kids. The lady said she was wonderful especially with having never been to a daycare. Phew! Rob asked her if she had fun at Sunday school and she said 'YES!" not just yes. LOL.

Now, the funny part will be tomorrow when we take our familiar drive and crest the hill and then I will probably hear "me school?" How sad will that be? I will most likely have to take her into the church to show her that there is no other child in there playing. Knowing her she will want to stay and play with the new toys anway....I will take a snack cooler just in case we have to stay.

Celebrating three years of marriage

Rob and I went to the Dave Matthews Concert last night to celebrate our anniversary. We also went with another couple who was celebrating their anniversary! Lots of fun!!

Dad stayed home and babysat the kids...Lyssa was in bed 20 minutes after she was supposed to and Tyler was asleep on the couch and the cartoon channel was on...it was almost 1 am. Hmmmm... got to love grandparents. :)~


ahhh, the happy couple.


Our view of the concert! The concert was pretty cool but the moon was pretty cool too!!



Our friends, Cailin and Bryan.

Pretend Play

Alyssa has taken over the kitchen table, under the table that is. She puts a blanket down and lines up all her dolls and even brings in her shpopping cart to put her things when she runs out of room. She even had her baby on the board the connects the table legs and was trying to put a diaper on her!

She has been playing in her room with her kitchen and fridge set a lot and even with her baby and crib. It seems that her mothering personality has really taken off and I love it. I can't wait to play tea set with her with a real tea set (made for kids) instead of make shift things. One time she had me drink out of broccoli. That was tricky!

Bear Valley Trip

Three days in the living amongst the trees, laying in the sun, frolicking in the water, and even catching some fish...sounds like camping! Well, it does but we definitely were not camping!! Our friends own a cabin in Bear Valley (about 3.5 hours from San Jose) and it was really nice. The kids had such a wonderful time and frankly so do we. With all of our busy lives it is hard to see one another as often as we once had (before kids and jobs) and it is nice to connect with them again.

Alyssa tried her hand at fishing for the first time and she seemed to like it just fine until CJ caught a fish and she went running! I think it was more the fact that the fish was flopping around and she had never seen a fish that close but she definitely had her eye on it at all times. The weather was gorgeous and so were our views.

Alyssa also enjoyed dressing up, can't wait till after Halloween so we can get some really cheap costumes for her!!

Our second night there would have to be the most horrible night that we have had since Alyssa was born. Honestly, she tossed and turned and said "hi mommy" and 'Hi Daddy' all night long. It was like everytime she moved and she felt us she would wake up. We did have the pack n play but she hasn't used that in awhile so I thought she would sleep by us like she does when we go camping. We did learn a lesson tho. She did very well considering she probably lost about 6 hours asleep a day (counting both night and day). Tyler enjoyed being up there with CJ a lot as it has been some time since they really spent any time together. Kiki??? well, all this dirt makes me wonder what possessed me to get a white dog...........

Camping again...

I think our family is finally becoming used to sleeping outdoors. We thoroughly enjoyed this weekend with everyone. After coming from a 5 day camping trip it seemed really short but our kids enjoyed it tremendously. Alyssa was so into the dirt. She only asked to have her hands cleaned a few times this weekend which is huge. She found joy in the simplest things...like taking a water bottle cap and putting dirt into it then transferring the dirt to the bottle. It took a lot of patience but she was able to actually get dirt into the bottle. We did get down to the beach but the weather was so cold we opted not to put our feet in. Although the kids really wanted too.

Tyler seems to really get back into the hang of school and is fine with getting up earlier. He will be starting school sports in a few weeks so we have a little bit of time to get the schedule down before we have to change it up again.

Homework on the first day?

Having to get back into a routine for anyone can be pretty difficult but for Tyler this year is even more difficult. We, which means mostly me, decided that a kid going on the age of 12 needs more responsibilty and a mom less involved in terms of getting him ready and out the door and of course, reminding him to do and get everything. I don't remember how many times I would get a call asking me to bring his lunch or a forgotten homework assignment and me always rushing to bring it to him. Well, that was then and this is now.

He will be waking up 45 min earlier than before and having actual chores to do before and after school. Most of which will be for him like getting his homework and uniform together the night before but will also include setting and clearing the dishes after breakfast and dinner (last night he set the dinner table and had lit candles, WOW!) and so on. But all this doesn't come without the cons! With the family waking up earlier means Rob has less 'Rob time' in the mornings. He used to watch a movie (sometimes the entire thing) while drinking coffee in a silent house. Not anymore!

One of Tyler's biggest changes besides waking up early and chores will be his responsibility of lunches. Before I packed it, now he does but I will go through it just to make sure. We go through a list of possible items and he just picks what he wants and then we, together, goes shopping on Sunday. Okay, so there are three big changes for him!

He started his morning out with a wonderful breakfast and a healthy but 'cool 7th grade' lunch and off he went. He did manage to pose with his sister for the first day of school pictures!

Oh, and the first thing out of his mouth when I picked him up was, man! i have homework!!!

Well, there is nothing like starting the school year off with homework on the first day!

PS. he did say after all of his complaining, that he enjoyed his first day and it felt like it was last year because he has all the same teachers except for Bible class. That has to feel like he is still in the 6th grade.

End of summer backyard BBQ with friends

We have been doing so many things this summer that it was really nice to just relax as a family but with our friends. We spent last Sunday over at Cailin's house and they have the most awesome backyard. Pool, big playhouse (two story), sand area with sand trucks, swing set, hot tub, and a pretty nice garden. We felt like we were on vacation! Alyssa loves the water but loves it even more when Dad throws her up high. She screams in delight and it makes us all laugh. She comes out of the water with yelling for more. I am not really sure what we are going to do in the future in terms of her loving speed and being an adrenaline junky because neither Rob, Tyler, or myself care for roller coasters anymore. We may have to send her to Aunt Suzie's house for all her rides. I think it was the weekend that she came to visit where we spent ALL day at Great America and both Rob and I took turns riding the roller coasters with her. I know we both were feeling a little nauseous towards the end of the day and I seem to recall having big issues that night! Although, I have gone skydiving...twice..and would definitely go again so who knows.

Pictures from the WA trip

So here are the pictures that I have been trying to post for a few days now. She really loved to play in the water until a tour boat sped by and caused some pretty big waves (well, they were big to a one year old) and then wanted immediately out. Tyler got her to calm down and actually start to enjoy the waves, as long as big brother was holding on to her. The third one is obviously my family, there were 11 people not in it which means we have a pretty big family and growing every year. The fourth picture shows the pure delight Alyssa has with riding the neigh neighs. I am hoping she continues the love for them so one day we can go riding together.

Trip to Washington

We just returned from a long but very enjoyable trip to Washington State. It was nice to relax and hang out with family without having errands or the phone ringing. It was also to have the entire family back together. With Tyler spending a week at church camp then Rob leaving for Singapore only to return home to Lyssa and I because Tyler flew up to my brother's house for 12 days. It has been a long time! Every year we go up there to have this reunion and it is wonderful to catch up with family members and meet new ones. This year we welcomed three new babies to the family which means Alyssa will have three new cousins to pal around with next year. She really wanted to play with the big kids but they pretty much left at the campsite.The kids really enjoyed the water and of course, riding the neigh neighs. Lyssa went to bed that night talking about the neigh neighs.

I have tried to post a few pictures but it is not working, I will try in the morning. sorry!

22 months old today

A grown up girl. Her verbal skills expand everyday, she is saying four and five word sentences, knows how to count to 6, is learning to think in complex thoughts, and is taking over reading the books that we have been reading to her. Absolutely amazing. She is also learning to go in the potty...a lot! I bought her her first pair of panties and her booty looks so small in them. She went to the potty on her own four times today. So proud! She is now 22 months old and we fear that she is onto the terrible twos. Not sooo proud of that but we feel that she is ahead of the group in many ways so this is not surprising to us. We are working on her colors and ABC's which she loves to do. She loves to have her picture taken and she really really enjoys wearing shoes. Any shoes really but she is starting to favor flip flops. She was wearing flip flops and her panties earlier today. We can't believe she will be two years old in less than 2 months. hmmm...time to have another baby since ours is growing up???

Marine World

Lyssa was in love with all the animals at Marine World today. She got to see her first elephant, 'elies' and was in love from the beginning. We were all looking at the elephants when out of the trees came an elephant with kids on her back. Lyssa became so excited and started asking for a ride, "ride elies me!" How can you say no to that right?. Unfortunately, Rob and I had the joy of watching a documentary (the night before our Marine World trip) on the rage that elephants have and how they kill 500 people a year! Oh, boy, she was sad that she could not ride on the elephant. But no matter how sweet she was in asking we were not going to let her ride on the elephant. Fortunately for us, we walked into a souvenir shop and there was a little stuffed elephant and she ran right over there and asked to ride it. Boy, were we saved!! Another highlight of the day was to see the elephant take a shower. She was talking about that one for awhile! We saw animal after animal and amazingly she was able to repeat each animal by name and most sounds. Oh, and I was correct, we have a little speed demon on our hands! I was going on a little roller coaster with Cailin and her son and I had told Alyssa that she had to wait with Daddy because it would be too much for her little body and I didn't want to scare her. Well, Daddy called out to us while we were waiting in line because she really wanted to go on the roller coaster with us. I thought better of it but I said that she could. Oh my heavens, she is addicted that's for sure! I asked her if she enjoyed the ride at the end and she said "yep, more?" Then she rubbed the back of her head and said "head hurt' Well we were going pretty fast and she hit the back of her head at the end of the ride but that didn't stop her from wanting to ride again. We rode the train after that and I really think she was bored and wishing she was on the speedy roller coaster. It was nice to spend a day there but we sure missed Tyler! We just might have to go again with him in a few months and I am sure Lyssa will be just as excited as she was today.

Great America....again

We spent another day at Great America. We had another friend come and it was soo much fun. Love the way they all interact with one another. I really do think Alyssa will be a roller coaster girl. The look on her face is classic and so full of joy when the rides are in motion. She never gets a look of being scared on her face during the ride and always asks for more when the ride is over. In fact, as soon as she feels the ride starting to slow down she starts using her signs for more please. So cute. She is getting more daring as she runs through the water sprays, I think being around the other kids her age encourages her to be more independent and daring. At least that is what I think anyways. We all left at the same time and we were all getting to the freeway which is about 5 min from the park and we look at one another in each of the cars and we all give each other the sign of our kids being out. Perfect end to a perfect day. Three happy and exhausted toddlers asleep in their carseats. : )

Jungle Fun

We spent the day in the air conditioned Jungle today. It was nice and relaxing! Well, if you consider jumping into a ball pit or going down slides relaxing then it definitely was. When we started taking her at 8 months she would just crawl around but not too far from me. Now she runs at full speed not even caring if I am following her. She is still a little leary going down the big slides as they are over 7 feet long but she is very brave when her brother is by her side. We can't wait till we see him again! Three more days.