The Glaziers

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-29T20:45:00.000-08:00

Ela & Tyler at the bowling alley.

Ela with her bowling helper.

Yay bowling!

We were in Utah for a wedding and had some time to kill between the ceremony and reception so we bowled! It was so much fun. Todd and I had never bowled together before and of course he is awesome at it.

We had Thanksgiving at a church building in Eden Utah to accommodate the gigantic Tanner side of the family. Here is our sibling picture plus Tasha. Notice Ela is nowhere to be seen in these group pictures because she was always running around with cousins having the time of her life.

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-02T12:08:00.000-07:00

Fairy princess Tasha, She Ra and Butterfly princess Avery (I learned quickly to NOT call her a fairy)

Tasha was an awesome trick or treater. She held up "punky" and pointed inside so everyone would know where to put the candy. She even said thank you a few times. True to princess form she did not walk from house to house, she had me push her in her stroller which she HAD to ride in between houses no matter how close together they were.

Funny face picture at trunk or treat.

Our friend had a party with about 30 kids which was way fun. Ela dressed as sleeping beauty and Tasha enjoyed the food.

Here they are doing freeze dance. It was a super fun Halloween!

Bates Nut Farm

2011-10-16T21:54:00.000-07:00

Ever since I moved to North County I've heard that I "NEED" to go to Bates Nut Farm during Halloween. This year I finally gave in and it was crazy awesome. It was like Disneyland for the fall/Halloween season. Ela got her face painted again with a rainbow and it was the highlight for her. She kept asking the whole rest of the day if it was still there and wore it to church the next day.

Avery, Ela & Big Mac

Hmmmm which one...this one!

We had so much fun. There was food, animals, inflatable slides and houses, hay rides, a corn maze and of course plenty of pumpkins!

Back to school carnival

2011-09-05T21:37:00.000-07:00

Ela's school had a back to school carnival which was sooo fun! There were actual rides, games, tons of food and Ela's most favorite thing in the world, face painting. Todd and I moped that all we got at our school fundraisers was stale popcorn and giant pickles in the fold over sandwich baggies but hey what can you do.

Ela's favorite ride was the frog hopper.

I think it was because she got to ride with her best bud Aiden (middle).

She even got to go on the swings although she was a bit too short. The carnie didn't seem to care and she had a blast! My camera died so no pictures but she ended the night with cotton candy and a face painting of hello kitty on one cheek and a rainbow on the other. It was great!

Nifty Fifty

2011-08-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

The lovely and talented Grandma Shel turned 50 this summer and had a party at La Jolla Shores to celebrate. Since she loves the beach and we love her we trucked our family through the bottleneck/circus that is getting to La Jolla and had a wonderful day.

Tasha had fun with the bean bag game with the dirty name that I won't say but it rhymes with horn pole.

Pretty girls! I thought about cropping these but there are some interesting nuggets in the background.

Dirty Thirty

2011-07-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

I would be morally remiss if I did not mention the most awesome birthday I've ever had. Knowing 30 was a difficult year for me my sweet step dad Dave sent some of my girlfriends and I to the Rancho Bernardo Inn for a serious spa day. He also flew in my best bud and sent me shopping. Does he know me or what?!
April, Brit & I with our fruity beverages.

Our cabana for the day. I seriously felt like J.Lo.

I may have said it was the best day of my life and I may have gotten a dirty look from my husband who then went on to mention our wedding, the birth of our two wonderful children blah blah. But it was definitely top 10.

KC 2011

2011-07-25T20:30:00.000-07:00

Suprise! We went to Kings Canyon this summer. And yes it is an annual event. The girls did great! Tasha played with her stroller, slept like a champ and was always happy. Except for that one time we thought we lost the last binky... Ela did her fair share of stroller pushing, playing in the river, delivering messages to our nearby campers and even napping. Hooray!

"Todd. How can you not smile on a hammock!"

Ela was quite the photog this trip. These are all pictures she took her self. She also took individual shots of the other families we camped with that turned out really well. Usually nobody wants a record of how bad they look while living in the dirt so they avoid others taking pictures of them; but who can say no to this punum.

The artist and her favorite pose. Good times.

Summer lovin

2011-07-11T20:57:00.000-07:00

Because I love these girls and these dresses!

Easter fun

2011-04-24T08:31:00.000-07:00

We had an action packed Easter Saturday this year.

We went to Grandma & Grandpa's house where the girls found lots of eggs with candy and even some money inside.

We also went to Gramy & Papa's Easter party at Ocean Hills where they had everything! The bouncy houses and giant blow up slide were definitely the favorites. Todd and I may have pretended Tasha needed help going down so we could get our slide on too.
Ela before the hunt. Poor girl carried on her Easter tradition of getting stung by a bee. Luckily Todd was able to get the stinger out and with the help of the giant slide she felt all better. Its like the saying, "slides heal all wounds."
Tasha was quite a pro at picking up eggs and putting them in her basket. And when it got full she took them out, put them on the ground and picked them up again for hours of fun. After all the hunting festivities mom and Dave watched the girls so Todd and I could go to the temple. Then we mat them for a lovely dinner. It was another great Glazier Easter!

Ela's 4th Birthday Celebration

2011-04-17T16:53:00.000-07:00

We had already celebrated Ela's 4th birthday in Utah so this party was a bit confusing to her. She thought she was turning 5 so we called this the celebration of her 4th birthday and it all worked out. We went to Sunset Park just like last year to celebrate royally our sweet princess Ela and she even declared it her "best birthday ever!"

The kids with the cake that stained the world.

The group. Minus the ones on the playground.

Here's Ela concentrating on the bean bag toss constructed by Gma Shel and Gpa Dave. It was a fabulous castle with holes cut out for the kids to toss they're princess or dragon bean bags through. Look at that form!

Utah

2011-04-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

Our Glazier family vacation this year was to Utah! We weren't sure what to expect weather wise and all Ela knew was that she would need LOTS of toys for the drive up. When we arrived at Leanna's house in Springville it was a balmy 76 degrees and we woke up the next morning to 6" of snow. It was beautiful and Ela learned that snow is not as soft as it seems on TV.

Here is the view from our timeshare in Wolf Creek. It snowed all day Thursday so we had awesome snow for skiing at Snow Basin the next day. It was both mine and Todd's first time skiing since we were 12. That means I had to almost completely relearn and Todd had to do the bunny slope one quarter of a time before he was swooshing all over the place and jumping off of stuff. It was very fun and I was only sore in my arms for the next four days. Mostly from trying to fight gravity the whole day.
Tasha because shes cute.
Tyler, Ela & Todd after sledding. Notice Tyler's shorts, such a tough little guy!
Ela and her cousin Malorie hopping in Huntsville. Check out the snow capped mountains in the back. "Beautiful! Wish you were here!"

A thoughtful snow bunny baby.

The whole gang at Bridal Veil falls in Provo. We had a bit of a hike in the snow which was quite chilly but beautiful. Ela declared afterwards that she liked inside not outside!

Uncle Cory and the kids' snow man. Easter Jack was the name they ended up going with (He had plastic eggs for buttons & eyes).

Cleaning the snow off of our car. Nevermind Todd's "Hey Bobby" look.

She pretty

2011-03-30T21:31:00.000-07:00

Why does her right eye squint more than the left?

Who cares!

March

2011-03-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

Time is flying by and I've gotten a bit behind with this blog so here are a few random pictures from March.

Its always Mardi Gras at our house =)
Chubbawumba baby.
Todd repurposed our broken down old barbeque into planters on our porch last month and was very excited to finally get some seeds planted in there. Ela helped drop the seeds in the dirt but would not touch the dirt as it was too "yucky." Such a little princess.

Sisters Beauty Shop

2011-02-22T14:12:00.000-08:00

The girls have really been into jewelry and dress up lately. I love it because they get along great while they do (probably because Tasha can't talk) and it keeps them quietly occupied.

Tasha even sits still while Ela applies lip gloss. Globs and globs of gloss. Tasha has started taking the pretend lipstick and makeup and putting it on herself and then carefully replacing the lid. She also loves digging out real chapstick tubes with her little finger and examining the gunk. This will keep her happy for as long as I let it go on which is usually not long as I love my chapstick.

The Glamour shot. Check out those tonsils!

The beautiful beautician.

I love my girls and love that they can play so nicely together. Ela has been pretending Tasha is her baby a lot and loves to give her choke holds...I mean hugs (tightly around the neck) and carry her around eventhough a 35lb Ela can't really carry a 23lb Tasha! She tells me "Don't worry about it Mom, I'll take care of Tasha". Sweet sisters.

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-14T09:20:00.000-08:00

Choo Choo Turns 1!

2010-12-28T20:02:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Tasha is a whole year old! We had a casual party with our family to celebrate.

Tasha with Grandma Shel and Auntie Kelly

Practicing her latest trick, walking! She took her first steps 2 weeks ago and does 3 or 4 back and forth to Todd and I. She still prefers crawling but is working on mastering her walking skills. Grandma Shell made cupcakes which were not a problem for this 1 year old. She jumped right in and ate most of the cake. She also did pretty well with her birthday hat and let us get our pictures before she ripped it off.

Another hat to torment Tasha. This time from Auntie Kelly. Its adorable and perfect for this chilly weather we've been having. Thanks everyone for making Tasha's birthday special!

Christmas

2010-12-25T11:50:00.000-08:00

We had ourselves a busy little Christmas. In the morning my dad, Gabriel, Kelly, my brother John & his daughter came to visit, we had brunch with Todd's family and dinner with my mom, Dave, Kelly and our friends The Santos'.

Here's Tasha on Christmas. First in the morning and then hanging out on a box. She wasn't very into opening presents this year so her big sister helped her, but she was very cheerful.

Dave gave Todd the most awesome present this year. A clock made from wrenches and spark plugs all welded to a brake rotor. He even sealed it up in a box so Todd had to unscrew it to open it. It will look great hanging in the shop for sure.

Grandpa Joe with his youngest son and granddaughters Ela and Zoey.

For some reason Ela thought the bows belonged on her pretty face. Here she is with her "twirly sparkly" dresses from Grandpa Dave. They are beautiful and were promptly worn for the rest of the night. We had a wonderful Christmas, it was great to spend so much time with friends and family and remember the birth of our Savior.

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T19:10:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas Eve with Todd's family this year.

First we had dinner at Ruby's on the pier in Oceanside.

Family pier shot. Check out the beautiful sunset! Just another December day in San Diego.

After dinner we took the kids to the playground where Mimi got to hear Tasha laugh for real for the first time. Since she is normally such a serious child we get pretty excited when she laughs. After opening presents at Joy's we went home to get the kids in bed. Ela put out treats for Santa and his reindeer and made sure I put her blanket "pretty side up" so Santa could see it. Although she was exhausted she had trouble falling asleep. She told me she couldn't sleep because her eyes kept popping open, she even gave me a demonstration. Adorable.

Its Christmas Time

2010-12-09T19:35:00.001-08:00

To get festive, the "Mishamaries" helped us decorate our tree and Ela put the star on top. She was super excited and had been asking when Thanksgiving would be over so we could do it. I think she thinks Thanksgiving symbolizes Christmas tree decorating so maybe next year we'll tell her about the pilgrims and indians.
We also went to Escondido Center for the Arts festival with some friends. Todd has been helping Tasha learn to walk and here she actually looks happy about it. Normally she's so happy crawling she will fall to her knees dramatically when we try to get her to walk.

An artist set up a blanket fort that the kids could play in. They loved it and played for a long time in there until we finally lured them out with cookies. Dean and Ela decorating cookies. Everywhere we went someone had a basket of cookies and was handing them out. It seemed to be the theme of the evening which was fine with me.

Can you believe this was Ela's first snow encounter? I felt kind of bad since it was really just a pile of ice but she thought it was cool and was a natural snow ball thrower. Ela also saw Santa and this time she was ready. She told him she wanted a princess doll and anything with princesses on it. It was a fun evening and it is definitely beginning to feel a lot like Christmas to me.

Tide Pool Time

2010-12-06T17:04:00.000-08:00

We took the girls to the Encinitas Tide pools this weekend. Ela was super excited until we got there and she realized we had to walk around and look for the "creatures".

The giant crab we found.

We actually found a few starfish. There was a group of 3; small, medium and large and they kept crawling around. Ela was not afraid to touch them either. Although she was not a fan of the anenome, they were too "yucky".

Todd on the other hand couldn't get enough of poking the anenome. We had so much fun and it was another beautiful day in December in San Diego.

Vegas Baby

2010-11-15T09:06:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we took a last minute trip to Vegas (or Begas as E calls it) to visit my sister in law and her family. It was a great little break from reality and so much fun spending time with our family.

Tasha was ready as soon as I opened the suitcase. If only she knew then that it meant her spending 4 hours in the dreaded carseat.

We visited the Hoover Dam where the "dam" jokes never got old. We wanted to get a treat but the "dam" ice cream was a rip off.

The M&M factory was a hit with the kids. Although Ela could go anywhere with her cousins and have a blast she loves them so much.

The mermaid in the aquarium at Silverton was by far the biggest hit. The kids were mesmorized and anytime we asked them what they wanted to do they'd answer "see the mermaid!" Even Tasha got in on the fun and put her little hands on the glass to say hi.

No trip to Vegas would be complete without a visit to Santa Claus. Luckily he was visiting his home at The Bass Pro Shops. Ela told him she didn't know what she wanted for Christmas but Tasha told him she wanted off of his lap!

Halloween Time

2010-10-31T19:57:00.000-07:00

Halloween lasted all weekend this year. Ela attended a Halloween/Birthday party as Cinderella then changed into a beautiful butterfly for our church Trunk or treat that night.

Our spooky family. Todd found this mask at his shop and went with it (how and why it got there we don't know).
Ela does not enjoy pumpkin carving due to the "stinky guts" so she used bling instead. Gathering eggs with uncle Cory in her Cinderella dress. Afterwards we trick or treated in his neighborhood and collected lots of candy. Ela did such a great job saying trick or treat and thank you and had no time for any other chit chat. Tasha was so "stinkin" cute people kept trying to give her candy too.

The skunk and the Zebra. Isn't that one of Aesop's fables?

Ela dancing with Gpa Dave and Tasha with Ggma Jerre. We're so glad they could come visit and help Trick or Treat!

Pumpkin Patch Party

2010-10-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

We went to a pumpkin patch in Rancho Bernardo this year with friends. The weather of course was the same it is every year we visit a pumpkin patch, sunny and hot but we still had lots of fun.

Ela is showing us exactly how she feels about all the staged photos.
All the kids on the hay ride.

Picking a pumpkin from an actual patch. We usually pick our pumpkins from a box at Ralphs so this was really cool. We finally got a good picture of Ela smiling and Tasha saying "hi."

Rasberries for Breakfast

2010-09-17T10:51:00.001-07:00

This is how baby speaks these days =) Ela is pretty cute too.

First Day of School...Sniff Sniff

2010-09-07T15:26:00.000-07:00

For the last few weeks Ela has been telling everyone (Vons checkers, bank tellers, strangers on the street...) that she starts school on Tuesday September 7th! She woke up ready to go, picked out her outfit and wolfed down her breakfast. She asked every minute if it was time to go until I finally took her. We got there 15 minutes early and she waited with her little face pressed against the glass door eager to learn. She had surprisingly little to say about the whole experience when I picked her up but I know she had fun because she is already asking when she can go back. She did remember Miss Hamburger (Amber) though.

Ela found her cubby and posed very patiently while I took pictures. It was definitely harder for me to leave than I had expected. I will admit I kind of choked up a little. My little girl is so grown up!

Labor Day Pier Swim 2010

2010-09-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

Some of Todd's family does the annual Oceanside Labor Day Pier Swim and this year Todd manned up and took the challenge. He shaved his head and beautiful beard and swam 1.5 miles in the freezing, choppy, 58 degree ocean. The girls and I were more than happy to cheer him on from the shore. He made great time and did not require a lifeguard rescue so we were proud. Out of respect I will refrain from posting any pictures of him in his purple swim cap. I should also mention that after the swim he played 3 games of beach volleyball, did 1 hour of stand up paddleboard and helped a friend work on his car. He is Ironman.

The group. Everyone swam except us girls and Uncle Tim who played photographer. Way to go Papa Frank for getting first in his age group again!

Choo choo

2010-08-26T15:03:00.000-07:00

For some reason I call Tasha all sorts of weird names, choo choo being one of them. This week she really became my little choo choo when she started crawling around. She usually walks with one foot and crawls with the other but the girl can really move! She also pulls herself up on everything and does a cute windsurfing stance. Love those cheeks!

Kings Canyon 2010

2010-07-31T10:51:00.000-07:00

The tradition continues!

Ela and Parker. We see him only once a year but I think a romance may be blossoming.
Hammock time. Shortly after this Ela walked through the entire camp saying she didn't want to be "Daddy's daughter anymore!" because he stopped swinging her. It was quite a scene.

Entertaining themselves. Such a miracle.

Nothing says camping like a bath in a Rubbermaid tub. Everyone had lots of fun at our annual camping trip and we can't wait until next year.

Rollin with the homies

2010-06-30T18:12:00.000-07:00

Tasha was not a big fan of her stroller until she realized she can sit forward and chew on the seat in front of her.

She has also discovered that it is the perfect spot to get a great grip on Ela's hair when she's riding in front of her.

The Del Mar Fair 2010

2010-06-29T17:47:00.000-07:00

The theme of the fair this year "Taste the Fun" and man did we taste it. Todd came with us for the first time since the dark days when he and I worked there 7 years ago. We ate, shopped, ate, rode rides, played a game, ate, watched the pig races, got to go behind the scenes in the Ag building and pet the animals, ate, watched the truck race and did I mention ate?

The beginning of the food fest. Our menu consisted of a footlong sausage, chili cheese waffle fries, 1/2 cinnamon roll, a cheesecake taster, fried zucchini nachos, a deep fried klondike bar, a vanilla ice cream cone and lots of lemonade . Can you say "ROLAIDS spells Releif." Ela and I on the roller coaster she requested. It actually whipped around pretty quickly, my old joints didn't feel so good afterwards but she is quite the adrenaline junkie.
Winning the dart balloon game. Her prize was a little stuffed horse that she loves and now takes everywhere.
The giant slide in the big kid section of the rides. I thought she would be scared but as soon as she stood up she was jumping frantically shouting again! She also rode the carousel, a kiddie rollercoaster and ferris wheel.

Fast asleep mid bite of churro. The perfect way to end a wonderful day at the fair.

Is Shrek missing a baby?

2010-06-13T19:39:00.001-07:00

We might have her...

Also,
Aaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh.

Princesses on Parade

2010-06-12T19:44:00.000-07:00

The children's theater in town is performing Cinderella this month and held a Princess Party this weekend. It was great because I used it as bribery for weeks and Ela had the time of her life!

Here she is chatting up Cinderella. Some girls were shy but not our little princess. She totally treated her like one of her little friends and addressed her as Cinderella everytime she spoke to her ie. Cinderella! That girl is calling you! or Cinderella! I have to go now.
Here she is with her ladies in waiting. They all thought she was the cutest even when she was bossing them around.
Dancing with a cookie (which also made an appearance in the first photo) to Auntie Princess Jenna's beautiful harp music.

My favorite part. Fast asleep still holding her balloon and fake cell phone probably still talking to Dean.

OMG

2010-06-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

Ela has been introduced to Barbie.com by her cousin and is obsessed. Here is a little ditty she learned from the website. I recorded it with my phone so pardon the quality and turn up your volumes.

Memorial Day

2010-05-31T21:19:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day was Tasha's first trip to the beach and she loved it so much she let everyone hold her. I of course was the annoying sunscreen freak making sure her perfect little skin didn't fry (which it didn't) and Todd was a good sport about letting me record the event with a photo.

It's amazing how much stuff comes with taking kids to the beach. Thank goodness Todd makes such a good pack mule.
I love how Jake forces a smile while Tasha calmly yanks on his ear and hair. That's Ela in the background playing baseball with her carrot bat.

It's Our Anniversary!!

2010-05-24T09:41:00.000-07:00

All I wanted to do for our anniversary was see Iron Man 2 so my wonderful mother in law babysit both girls so we could go. It was all I hoped it would be and more but I was so excited to be on an actual date with Todd that I could have watched paint dry and been ecstatic.

I can't believe its been 7 years, I love my husband, sometimes I think he's a super hero and no one's itchy.

Look out!

2010-05-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

While I was gone with my girls Ela and Todd had a daddy daughter day which of course means she got a new bike. It is the epitomy of girly, pink and purple with streamers, cupcakes and flowers and a barbie strapped to the handle bars. The best is the bell she rings while she's yelling at people to "Look Out!" I can't help but hear the Wizard of Oz wicked witch's theme song in my head when she rides, dun da dun da dun na dun da dun da dun na naaa!

Girly Stuff

2010-05-15T17:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend we celebrated my wonderful friend Brit's first baby shower. It was beautiful and wonderful to celebrate our friend and her expected bundle of joy. After the shower we did what girls do and shopped til we dropped at Fashion Valley. I appreciated my girls helping me dress myself and didn't get any other pictures than this since I was too busy having a blast.

Here we are with our moms and for some reason I didn't get a shot with Valerie, sorry girl - next time :)

And I promise one of these days we take a picture together I will do my hair. Love you.

Flower Fields Forever

2010-05-08T08:39:00.000-07:00

We played tourists in our own town and visited the Carlsbad Flower Fields with mom and g-ma Jerre this weekend. I had never been and it was quite a production. Lots of tourists and activities for kids and even a playground, not to mention the beautiful flowers.

Tasha slept the whole time but here she is waiting so patiently to go .

Beautiful, wish you were here.
Ela is holding her box of fig newtons. We thought she'd hold them tightly the whole time but replaced them with a "Passport" that she stamped at all the flower stations. It was a great time with the grandmas and the flowers were amazing and the reniculas were my very favorite.

4 1/2 month milestones

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

Here is a before, during and after of Tasha's first food experience. As you can see was pretty angry in the beginning but then she really "ate it up" and all was forgiven. We have since stopped the cereal since I think it causes her poo problems but we'll try again later. Ela really likes feeding her and only gagged her once when she slipped on the chair. It was pretty traumatic but everyone survived.

Not long after the food she rolled over from her back to her belly. I looked away and looked back and there she was on all fours. It was pretty exciting and helped distract Ela from
arguing with me about going outside with no pants. Here she is right after the big event drool waterfall and all.

Cinco de Mayo and Turning 29-O

2010-05-05T15:17:00.000-07:00

Todd turned 29 this Cinco de Mayo so we celebrated with Mexican food at my wonderful sister in laws house.

Look at all those candles, somebody call the fire department!

Ela & cousin Jocelyn riding around.
The birthday boy with our lovely host and cute cute Tyler in fringe.
Family.

and friends. Happy Birthday Toddy!

Who’s that Baby (to the tune of Who’s that Lady)

2010-04-16T10:47:00.001-07:00

Since the computers been broken I’m not quite sure when these were taken but I love this baby and love to sing silly songs to her. She makes me work pretty hard to get her to smile but its totally worth it.

Ela’s 3!!

2010-04-16T10:26:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Princess Ela’s 3rd birthday at a cool new park near our house with food, a blue, heart shaped strawberry cake at her request, and lots of family and friends.

She got a scooter and she hopped on and scooted like a pro. It was a very happy birthday.

Hippity Hoppity

2010-04-16T10:11:00.001-07:00

Easter egg hunting at Mulberry park with her best bud. There was lots of squealing with excitement at finding eggs followed by “can I eat my candy NOW?!”

Uncle Cory brought his nieces and nephew all different sized elephants from Africa for Easter. The white patch on Ela’s arm is a baking soda patch to soothe her horrific bee sting. She cried for an hour, threw up, got a fever and went to bed. Hopefully she’ll remember Easter as a happy holiday and not be too traumatized.

First Haircut

2010-04-02T08:40:00.000-07:00

I’ve always cut Ela’s hair myself so after 2 years of my homemade trims she was ready for a real stylist to have at it. She did pretty well, only complaining that her face was “buzzing” (tickled by hair) a few times and not crying at all.

She was also bribed with a cookie which didn’t hurt.

I feel Happy!

2010-02-04T19:12:00.000-08:00

Time flies

2010-01-29T18:08:00.001-08:00

These girls are getting so big so fast!
Tasha at 2 weeks

3 weeks

4 weeks and feeling hefty at over 10 lbs.

Weekend with Grandmas and Grandpas

2010-01-25T18:39:00.000-08:00

We have awesome grandparents in our family. My mom, Dave, Gma Jerre and Gpa Chuck had Ela over for the weekend so that I could get some rest. Since baby Tasha likes to party all night long I usually can only sleep during the day so their help was very appreciated.

Here is Ela hammering and then recovering from her hard days work.
Riding her bike with Gma Jerre and playing with a stick at the bay. Its not as obvious in these pictures but the poor girl got my huge crooked teeth.
On a side note her big thing these days is saying "I Promise." Usually its "I promise I won't do it again mom." Although I don't quite think she knows what it means because she usually does do it again...I guess its better than her previous favorite phrase "That was just an accident." This was used whenever she did anything, whether accident or on purpose. This silly girl is just too smart for her own good.

Baby Baby

2009-12-31T10:04:00.000-08:00

Our baby girl was finally born Monday December 28th at 6:40 pm via a scheduled C-section. She was a whopping 9 lbs and 20.5" long. The doctor was shocked since he had thought she was about 7 lbs. but I and my bruised ribs thought otherwise. Since Ela was an emergency it was nice to have this planned so the doctors could take their time and I could be awake to hear her first cries and actually see her before being in the recovery room for 2 hours. Plus my doctor said I would have ended up with a C-section anyway since she was so big. Everything went well and we are so happy she is finally here!
The second night we spent mostly awake so this is the morning after. Todd ended up having to hold her to get her to sleep.

The first meeting, as you can see she's pretty ecstatic. Due to swine flu hospital visitors were limited to the father of the baby plus one other person and no one under 14 at all.

Going home 48 hours later with our beautiful baby. It took her a few days to adjust to "life on the outside" but is now doing well as long as she gets plenty of food.

Fa ra ra ra ra

2009-12-25T09:40:00.000-08:00

Christmas was pretty calm this year considering I was "great with child" and some of our family was out of town. We had Christmas Eve with my family at our place and then spent the night with Todd's family so we could have Christmas morning together. Then we spent the day lounging, eating and playing games. Ela understood presents this year which was fun. She was very efficient. She would open one, say wow and thank you and move on to the next. Christmas was pretty quick.

She's Crafty

2009-12-15T10:02:00.000-08:00

Safety was not first, but at least she got the job done and was not playing with the knives.

My Baby Shower

2009-12-05T14:11:00.000-08:00

My super sister in law threw me a lovely baby shower with lots of family food and celebrating the upcoming arrival of our baby girl. It was a lot of fun and I'm so grateful for everyone who came and participated and the generosity of our family and friends.

The story of Tasha Joy

2009-12-03T11:05:00.000-08:00

So the name thing was a bit difficult for Todd and I to agree on this time around. All we knew was we wanted Joy in honor of Todd's mom for a middle name. I liked a few names but wasn't in love with anything and he didn't really like any of my suggestions so we weren't making progress naming this child. Ela on the other hand had decided she would be called Tasha since before we even knew she was a girl. She told everyone; family, friends, nursey leaders. It was weird because we don't know anyone with the name and it was completely random. She didn't give up either she was sure that her baby sister's name was Tasha. We ignored it until one day I found out that Tasha means "A Christmas Baby" and since my official due date is Christmas that clinched it. It was too crazy to ignore so we didn't have to worry about picking a name and Ela got her way. Everyone wins.

Giving Thanks 2009

2009-11-29T14:01:00.000-08:00

My mom hosted Thanksgiving this year so we spent the day with her andDave and his boys. It was a great time and mom did a fabulous job as host.

Ela and Kelly doing a "pinky promise." Its her new favorite way to get me to forget she's in trouble. "I won't do it again mama, pinky promise."
Us girls with Grandpa Chuck. He cleans up nice.

The future of my shoulders

2009-11-06T14:28:00.000-08:00

I was washing dishes today with my shoulders hunched so that my arms could get past my belly to reach the sink and I realized how horrible my posture is. It was never good before but now with this large 8 month pregnant belly its even worse. I hunch when I clean teeth and I hunch when I do pretty much anything standing up. Its getting rather uncomfortable so I'm extra excited for this baby to be born. Hopefully I will be able to straighten up before I become Quasimodo.

Halloween Happenings

2009-11-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

Halloween was great this year. We spent it with cousins and Ela got her first real trick or treating experience in an actual neighborhood which was very exciting.

Pre trick or treating/sugar rush.
Clapping for the other contestants in the costume contest at the trunk or treat. She really should have won for cutest costume but we were robbed by a little butterfly. I'm going to say its just because it wasn't our ward and they didn't think it was fair to award an outsider the prize.
The only pose I got since she was on hyper speed all night due to a combination of excitement and sugar.
Trick or treating for real. She was super excited and happy for about the first few houses and then she realized one of the older boys in the group had a pretty scary mask and suit on. She freaked and kept making us walk with or hold her since she "didn't want to see that little boy." The funny part was a few houses later she tried to comfort her scared cousin by saying "its just a mask" about a different guy. Of course she said this from the safety of daddy's arms and still would not acknowledge the first boy but it was still progress. Overall it was very fun and she was the most adorable "titty tat" ever.

Botanist much?

2009-10-25T17:01:00.000-07:00

Everywhere we go Ela is pointing out Bird of Paradise plants. She has spied them from across the street in the car to hiding in flower arrangements in restaurants. Sometimes I never see them but she has such keen eyes she can pick them out from anywhere. I'm pretty sure she learned about them from her Grandma Shel, I heard her teaching her about purple pansies the other day so now she'll be on the lookout for those too. What a random funny girl she is :)

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-25T16:32:00.001-07:00

We went to a cute little pumpkin patch in Bonita this weekend. I had never seen pumpkins actually growing in a patch so I was really excited. It was pretty much one big photo op for me but we all had fun checking out the different types of pumpkins, riding the tractor hay ride and navigating the corn maze. Ela called all the dead ends "dead ants."
Her favorite part was feeding the animals, especially the Llama she named Linda (just like the one on Go, Diego Go her new favorite show).
She wore her kitty ears for a little bit. She's preparing to be a "Titty Tat" on Halloween.

Laughing at Daddy making piggy noises.

Our family in a barn on some hay. It was a good day.

This is Halloween

2009-10-20T21:16:00.000-07:00

Last night Todd helped Ela carve her very first pumpkin. Actually he did pretty much everything seeing as how knives are rather sharp and pumpkin guts are rather gooey. She reached in twice to pull stuff out and that was it. Then she said "I'm all done making a pumpkin, I want to watch my shows."

I was expecting some triangles and square teeth but Todd ended up spending about 30 minutes drawing and then carving a "very scary Jack O'Lantern."
The finished product. I'm so excited for Halloween, pumpkin baked goods, sweaters and hopefully some cooler fall weather.

Choppin broccoli

2009-10-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

Grocery shopping today she picked a mini stalk of broccoli and carried it around the store. She squealed when she saw it and called it "my size". It did help her want to eat it later at dinnertime though.

Girls Rule

2009-08-22T17:26:00.000-07:00

(Sleeping Ela at 3 months)

We had our official sonogram and found out that we will be having another one of these sweet baby girls in December. The sonographer asked us if we had any kids already and when we said a daughter she said "well then this should look familiar." I am so excited to have 2 girls and know that Ela will be such a wonderful big sister.

San Clemente

2009-08-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we helped Dave surprise my mom at the beach in San Clemente for her birthday. We were waiting on the sand and she didn't know we were there so when Ela ran up and yelled "Surprise" my mom politely said hi and tried to sidestep this unknown little ankle biter. It wasn't until we shouted hello that she realized it was Ela. So funny.

After the shock wore off mom was very happy to see us.
Ela "boodie" boarding with her daddy. She tolerated it once and then wanted to go back to shore. Everytime we asked if she wanted to go again she would say "later."
Digging with Dave. Everytime a wave would come close she would thank grandpa Dave for saving her. After we played we ate dinner on the pier which I forgot to take pictures of but was beautiful. Happy Birthday Mom!

Down by the Lake

2009-08-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

We have been having some typical beautiful San Diego weather lately. We took advantage of it by visiting the ducks at a nearby lake this weekend.

On our way to find ducks. Note the bag of bread in daddys face.
She ate most of the bread she was supposed to feed the ducks. Luckily it wasn't moldy.
The duck swarm. Normally we go out on the pier to feed them but since we had Todd with us we climbed through the bushes to a closer spot.
Here she is jumping over cracks. After each one she would squeal "Let's keep looking mom!" (for more cracks). Its always good to hear my name when its not being whined.

The San Francisco Treat

2009-07-30T17:33:00.000-07:00

Rice A Roni has nothing on our 4 day girls trip to the city by the bay. I went with my most favorite girls in the world and we had so much fun eating, sightseeing and reminiscing about the good old days.

Here we are posing in front of the Golden Gate bridge. It was amazing to see it in person after seeing it in so many movies and pictures.
Posing in Chinatown at one of our many delicious meals. Our foodie Brit did her research and made sure we ate nothing but the best. I promise my belly is large with child and not pastries and sourdough bread.
Our statue poses at the Palace of Fine Arts. We walked around a huge park looking for it only to discover we were in the complete wrong area so when we finally got there we were even more impressed by its beauty since we had to work so hard to get there.

More posing in front of the Palace. It is so beautiful.

Brit and Emily tore it up in the San Francisco 5k while Kendyll and I supported them with signs and hoorays. This is after the race which is why Emily is so tired she can't fully lift her arm to cheer :)

I had so much fun so thanks to Brit for her awesome navigation, research & planning skills and beautiful photographs; Kendyll for her navigation, San Fran fun facts and our shared love of sweetarts; and Emily for making us make this trip happen, keeping me company in McDonalds at 6 am and also behind Brit and Kendyll while they guided us around town. Thanks to my awesome husband for taking such good care of Ela while I was away even though the first thing she said to me when I got back was "Buy me more doughnuts."

Kings Canyon 2009

2009-07-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

The Glaziers have an annual tradition of camping in Kings Canyon near the Sequoias. We almost didn't make it this year since baby girl had pnuemonia but she made a miraculous recovery just in time. We had a great time relaxing in hammocks, swimming in the freezing cold river, watching Todd fish, eating gourmet dutch oven meals courtesy of my talented mother in law, playing board games until the wee hours of the morning and spending time with family and our camping friends we only see once a year. The first few days she kept asking to go home and watch Dora but after about 3 days she realized the tent was her home and busied herself with the many duties of camp. Here she is showing me a "pineapple" (pinecone), making toast over the fire, unloading firewood in her "glubs" and pointing out the gigantic ants.

Taking some time to relax like a taco. The hammock was her tortilla if that makes sense.
Our kooky family. I love Todd and Ela's "whats going on" faces.

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

We love going to the beach on the the fourth of July but do not love fighting for a parking space. To avoid that Todd went super early to surf and park while Ela and I rode the Sprinter over at a more decent hour. Ela really likes trains and was so excited to buy her ticket and hop on for a ride. She climbed into her seat and started giggling. It was a pretty good experience overall, only one smelly b.o. passenger who luckily didn't ride very long.

She's got a ticket to ride :)
At the beach. We had lots of family there but I always forget to take pictures of people other than my girl.
Another reason I love America. Thrifty ice cream.

We drug Ela out to watch fireworks. Half way through she said "I want to go home" and fell asleep before the Grand Finale even started. They were beautiful as always though and overall we had an excellent Independence Day.

Baby Love

2009-07-02T15:33:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure most people already know but I'm officially announcing that I am pregnant. I'm due December 25th (who does that?!) so in August we'll find out if we're getting a baby Noel or a Jesus (with a "h"). We are very excited and I know it will be the best Christmas gift ever!

The Wilmar Fair

2009-06-30T15:03:00.000-07:00

I know its now called the SD County Fair but I still call it the Del Mar Fair and Ela calls it the Wilmar Fair so there you go. We went with Grandma Shell and had a great time.
If Ela ever tells you she rode a bunny rabbit it was not a real one but one on the carousel.
Her Pina Colada (white so it won't stain) shaved ice. She threw the straw and chug alugged!
Finishing up with our favorite ride, the foot massager.

Horses, horses, horses

2009-06-18T12:59:00.000-07:00

We went to an old school horse ranch in El Cajon last weekend with my mom & Dave and it was so fun! They just hand you a horse and let you take it to a corral where you ride until you or the horse is done.

Giving the horse Roxy some nourishment before the ride. We were very careful not to let the carrots get confused with fingers.
It looks like they're going really fast in this picture but she's just leaning into it.

Patting Roxy. Pat pat pat.

At the top of the hay bales. They were pretty far up there and I wished she still had that massive helmet on.

Walking off into the sunset with daddy.

Too much time out?

2009-06-05T21:18:00.000-07:00

Since my previous post Ela's time out spot has been relocated and she has been spending so much time there! I'm thinking maybe its a bit much since today she put her juice cup, Cinderalla's prince and an old container all on time out.

I know why the juice is there because I heard her scold it for falling off of the tiny ledge she kept trying to set it on but I'm not sure what the others did...

I hear you knocking but you can't come in

2009-06-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

Ela is getting sassier & sassier everyday and I can't believe some of the things she says to me. Today she was being extra "spirited" and ended up on time out which is a stool in the bathroom. I'm thinking she's doing well actually staying put when I hear the door slam and click. Sure enough she has locked herself in! I ask her calmly to please unlock the door several times. I try to explain how the lock works to get her to open up but to no avail. Everytime I ask she says "I can't mama" eventhough I hear no effort on her end being made to unlock the door. This lasted many minutes and I finally gave up and broke out the screwdriver when she said "I can't unlock it mama, I'm on time out." So sassy!

and on this farm he had a shark?

2009-05-03T06:24:00.001-07:00

Ela's favorite song lately had been old MacDonald and she sings it all the time about everything. Old MacDonald had a mommy, had a shopping cart, it is adorable and I love it. Last week Auntie Rabeka was kind enough to share Sea World passes with us so we went and had lots of fun. And of course Old MacDonald had everything on his farm from sharks to shamu.

Her favorite part of the Penguin Encounter? The moving walkway and stuffed penguins...we could have gone to the airport and she'd have been happy.
She really liked touching the star fish.

Waiting to roll with cousin Xander.

Ending the day with a big smile.

Dinner and a show

2009-04-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

Please also note that Princess Ela proceeded to wear her crown to Costco and tell everyone to "Yook it my pretty crown." Very entertaining.

Jump Around

2009-04-21T13:56:00.001-07:00

My sister in law has the coolest indoor bounce house. Ela played in there with her cousin Jocelyn for at least an hour straight today. She did pretty well on her own but I had to stay out of sight or she would make me hold her hands while she jumped so that she could keep jumping without falling down.

I'm so glad we have such great family nearby to play with :)

Sprinkler Fun

2009-04-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

Grandma Shel introduced Ela to the fun of a garden sprinkler last weekend. The actual sprinkler was a pretty big plastic ladybug which Ela loved to sit on. As Todd and I remembered our days of sprinkler sitting we realized that we never had such a comfortable seat. Those old sprinklers were always so small and metal and rusty but we never cared. We squatted and squealed just like Ela did.
Also please ignore her 80's styled bangs...it's just from the water, I did not put them like that.

Happy Easter

2009-04-18T21:09:00.000-07:00

For Easter this year we went to the Glazier’s house for dinner but with church and everything going on we didn’t have time for an egg hunt so we reenacted it at my mom’s the following weekend. Ela really wanted to get the eggs but couldn't quite find them on her own. We basically had to point them out to her but once she saw them in her basket they went. And when she realized there was candy inside she was all ready to eat the "fruit nacks" (gummy bears).

Thanks to Dave for playing Easter Bunny!

Ela turns 2 part 2

2009-04-10T15:57:00.000-07:00

We had Ela's second birthday party this week. We had dinner with lots of cake and balloons and presents. Auntie Leanna gave her her favorite gift; a Barbie cell phone and some little wedge heel flip flops which she has been wearing all week. She also takes the cell phone everywhere we go too. The other morning we were leaving and she said, "Wait. I need my cell phone." She's such a big girl!

Happy Happy Birthday Baby

2009-04-05T16:19:00.000-07:00

Although she's been acting like it for the last 6 months...Ela officially turns 2 this Tuesday. We celebrated on Saturday at my mom's house with carne asada by Dave, cupcakes by the grandmas & lots of Ela running wild and us trying to capture it on camera.
I can't believe she is already such a big girl! Everyday she is looking & acting older and is just as smart as a whip (not that I'm biased or anything). She is fearless and helpful and sweet and I am so glad she's mine. Love you Ela!

Things we lost in the guitar

2009-03-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

I caught Ela putting a wipe in Todd's guitar today and when I went to take it out I found a plethora of other goodies (PS2 memory cards, plastic jewelry & a toy syringe) . Maybe this is the packrat gene manifesting itself. She must have got it from her Grandma Shel.

My Back Hurts

2009-03-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

Freakin Lost. I just finished last night's episode and I cannot believe how stressed that show gets me every time. Its the same kind of back tension I feel during a good teeth cleaning and I love it so much.
Except what the heck is wrong with Juliet's mouth?

I put some new shoes on and suddeny everything is right

2009-03-19T23:42:00.000-07:00

Ela got new shoes today and is so excited. She's already starting to care about what she wears and if we tell her something is cute she is all about it and tells everyone to "yook" at her. She ran all over Old Navy to find some shoes and when she did she put them on and says "I like it mama." I let her wear them out of the store and she was even more excited. She would walk a few feet and then stop to reach down & touch the little bows one at a time with her little pointer finger and then proceed with the proudest little grin. People would stop and tell her how cute her shoes were because they could tell how into them she was. She wore them the whole rest of the day, even after the pants came off.

Later that night though the shoes were forgotten when she realized what awesome footwear the Girl Scouts make...

Her cookie box peg leg

Cinderelly Cinderelly Night & Day its Cinderelly...

2009-03-15T00:19:00.000-07:00

Isn't this why we have kids? To do our bidding?

Check out the intensity...

and please don't call CPS, I promise she did it all on her own.

Man on Wire

2009-03-10T00:39:00.000-07:00

I loved this movie. It's a documentary about a French stunt man who walked a tightrope between the twin towers in 1974. It was hilarious to hear this crazy guy tell his story and the photos & videos were amazing!

Sleeping Beauty

2009-03-06T08:38:00.000-08:00

After we read to Ela at night she likes to lay in her bed and finish reading on her own. Last night when we went in to turn off the light we saw that she had fallen asleep mid-read! I can't believe how grown up and sweet she is.

Lotions, potions & creams

2009-03-01T21:23:00.000-08:00

I basically followed Ela around with a towel today. This morning Todd was doing his hair in the bathroom and he looked over and saw Ela had done her hair too. Goopy hair gel & all. She had a couple huge blobs we had to clean out and of course it was 5 minutes before we had to leave for church. I could not stop laughing as I put her greasy hair up in a pony tail.

Later that day I went into her room to find...

Ela loves lotion so dry skin is not an issue for this child. It was hilarious chasing her around the house and onto the couch while she left a slimy lotion trail everywhere. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard while cleaning up a mess :)

Time to get ill...

2009-02-27T20:59:00.000-08:00

So my little girl is sick yet again. Last month she had an ear, sinus & eye infection which never fully went away but developed into a horrible hacking cough that lasts hours on end. We went to the doctor today which she was so excited about. Our appointment was later in the day and all day she talked about going to the doctor & riding the alligator (elevator). After getting her diagnosis of residual sinus infection and some amoxicillin we went home to relax and watch loads of Baby Einstein videos.

Little miss watching her "boovie"

Fun at Fry's

2009-02-17T14:16:00.000-08:00

We went to Fry's to buy a printer and some electronic thingy mabobs for Todd last night. Ela is doing everything herself these days so she insisted on carrying the basket even though its the same size as her. It took us forever to make it through that giant store and she only tripped once. We got lots of "awwws" and "oh what a cute helper" from other customers but if I tried to help her it was "No Mama! Ela do it!" She had fun but I got annoyed when we got in the weird Disneyland like line and everyone kept passing us because they didn't want to wait for her to walk to the front. I made some comments about people cutting and gave some dirty looks and everything worked out fine.

Even better than a McFlurry

2009-02-14T23:37:00.000-08:00

These are my beautiful Valentine's Day flowers from my wonderful husband. Tulips and Todd make me smile.

Boxy Lady

2009-02-11T22:26:00.000-08:00

Ela must have spent 20 minutes just hanging out & singing in this box tonight. Talk about cheap entertainment. Sorry if you get seasick. For some reason the camera kept zooming in against my will.

Where the Wild Things Are

2009-02-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

It was another beautiful day in San Diego today, at least for the first 5 hours before it started raining. We went to the Wild Animal Park with Dean & Lianna and it was so fun. Its another one of the places I haven't been since I was a kid so thanks to Ela for helping me relive my childhood.We rode the tram and at first she liked it but after 3 minutes she was trying to crawl up and over my head like a monkey. Her favorite animals were the elephant & cheetahs. She does a really good elephant impression too.

She really loved the play area where she could run free.
She gave every fake animal hugs & kisses.

Here's an Ela & Dean collage.
Aren't they so cute!

You can't beat free

2009-02-03T17:17:00.000-08:00

Today Montana Grandma Jerre, Ela & I took advantage of free Tuesdays at Balboa Park. The weather was beautiful so we visited the Rueben H. Fleet Science Center and the Natural History Museum. I hadn't been to the History Museum since I was really young and I had forgotten how cool it is! Ela especially liked seeing the snakes and dinosaurs and the pendulum thingy.

She only smiles for the camera if I bribe her with food.

She spent the entire time in Kid City at Reuben H. Fleet playing with the vacuum & ball contraption. She was kind of a ball hog.

What kind of moron buys nonwashable markers?!

2009-01-29T22:25:00.000-08:00

That would be me. I left her alone for 3 seconds and when I came back she had scribbled "InfraRed" marker on herself, her mouth (because she was eating it) and of course my carpet. No biggie I think, it's washable. Nope. Just plain old Crayola. Thank goodness I had an economy size bucket of Quick n Brite. So I smeared that plus some color safe bleach on the carpet and scrubbed the heck out of it and we're good as new. I'm sure it was the first of many art supply related incidents to come.

A Table For Two

2009-01-25T21:17:00.000-08:00

Ela had her friend Dean over for dinner tonight. They had their own little table and chairs to sit at and they looked adorable eating their chicken nuggets together. I couldn't believe they actually sat in their chairs and ate. I really expected them to turn the table upside down after 30 seconds. Plus once they finished eating the chairs became perfect for pushing around and playing bumper cars.

My Little Wedding Crasher

2009-01-24T20:33:00.000-08:00

Tonight we went to a wedding reception at an old schoolhouse in San Marcos and Ela was crazy! She was running all over everywhere, climbing on the stage during the speeches trying to get the decorations and candles, dancing, taking off her shoes, rolling on the floor, attempting to climb on the dinner table and trying to escape to the outside. She even kept influencing the other kids to make a break for it with her! The only way I could get her to sit on my lap was by feeding her cake. I guess she has her father's energy and her mother's love of cake.

Bye Bye Bushie

2009-01-20T21:36:00.001-08:00

Hilarious...I'm going to miss these.

To Grandmothers House We Go

2009-01-17T21:01:00.000-08:00

Grandma Shel & Grandpa Dave do a great job spoiling Ela and fulfilling their grandparently duties. Ela's Saturday with them consisted of feeding the fish, going to the park, playing with dogs, eating honey sticks, Baby Einstein videos, chocolate, riding in a wheelbarrow and finished off with some Souplantation ice cream. She's gonna sleep well tonight!

3 Baths by 1 pm

2009-01-15T13:37:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I think I am single handedly responsible for San Diego's water shortage. Yogurt for lunch was the reason for Ela's third bath today. Thanks for not letting me get bored Ela darling.

Misty Water-Colored Memories

2009-01-10T20:28:00.001-08:00

Today Ela & I went to visit Grandpa Duck & Bamma Ree (as Ela calls Chuck & Jerre). They currently live in Montana while renting out their house in Pacific Beach. They are so cute and drove all the way down to fix the roof so that Grandpa doesn't have to pay "some charlatan" to do it. While the men worked my mom, sister & I went through our old boxes of stuff stored in their garage. Some of the highlights were my She-Ra Princess of Power castle, old costumes my mom had made (one of them also She-Ra), my Easy Bake oven (which I hardly used since I liked to eat the mixes raw - Salmonella anyone!) and Kelly's massive stuffed animal collection. Kelly also found a bunch of other random collections plus a box of old notes & papers from high school which I though was funny considering I only had one box and it was all books. Hi, my name is Lauren and I like to throw things away. Many times Todd will ask me where things are and the answer is often "in the trash". Its not that I have no sentimentality...its just that I'm practical and I like things neat so there you go.

Meeeow.

Kelly with her pile. I couldn't even get all of it in the picture...

Ela in my Tweedle Dum hat from 8th grade Halloween.

Grandpa Dave passed the time by clothes pinning my child. She loved it.

Being in their house also took me back in time. The little table in the breakfast nook where I used to eat my Great-Grandma Wynn's sour cream cookies was still there. Plus I had forgotten how much time I actually spent in that city. The little bagel shop where I first discovered sprouts & tomato on a bagel with cream cheese is pretty tasty, driving to In-N-Out with my old Rabbit convertible spewing coolant and heaven only knows what else while everyone honks & points, riding bikes at the bay and excessively honking my horn. Good times. It was really fun to reminisce and Ela always enjoys her grandparents.

Its a Sunshine Day

2009-01-06T13:56:00.000-08:00

This morning started out a bit rough. My sweet little Ela is currently teething which makes her a bit grouchy. Although a bit chilly it was a beautiful day so we decided to walk to the park with our friends. As soon as we stepped outside Ela did a complete 180. Its amazing what a difference a bit of sunshine can do for her mood. We got to the park and she was riding the bouncy horse and smiling and laughing. I couldn't believe she was the same little girl who had screamed at me for not letting her jump on the dishwasher door less than an hour earlier. I'm so grateful to live in San Diego where my little outdoor lover can play outside in the sunshine.

Dean chasing Ela around the tree

They lined up about 10 chairs at lunch & played train

Entering the Blogosphere

2009-01-03T13:21:00.000-08:00

One of my resolutions this year is to record more of our family goings on and the Interweb is the perfect way to do it. I'm also excited to keep our family & friends updated without having to call anybody (another thing I'm not very good at). Plus I figure it will force me to do more exciting things so that I can have more to post. So get ready for lots of Ela and maybe a bit of Todd & Lauren!