Sacramento

Jamie and Kinley

 Last weekend we got to go up to Sacramento and stay the weekend with my best friend and her family.  They were having a chili cook off, so we decided we'd join in the festivities.  Their daughter is about 4 1/2 months old, so Baby S and her had lots of fun staring, cooing, and drooling at each other.  We always enjoy our time with the Foster farmers! xo

Sydnie Ann 0-6 months

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This Veterans Day, we decided to head to Disneyland and meet my parents and my oldest sister and her family.
We went the night before, got to Anaheim around 10pm, and started the next day bright and early at Disneyland.
Both girls did great!  Baby S took naps in the stroller throughout the day, and Big S hung with her older cousins,
and didn't take a break at all.
The park was busy as usual, but we took our time and enjoyed our day.
The highlights for Miss S:
~meeting Ariel and Belle (awesome!!!)
~going into Minnie Mouse's house and meeting her (she said next time she is going to give Minnie a big hug)
~driving the car (Autopia) with Grandma
~the submarine ride
~the Tiki room
~It's a Small World
~and..."Pirates of the Caribbean"...I can't believe Jim took her on it and she didn't freak out!
We finished the day around 10pm, with two very sleepy girls.
We stayed two nights in Anaheim, enjoyed our "Marriott" breakfasts, and had great family time together!
Overall great trip ~ can't wait to go back!
(wish it was closer and not so expensive :)

Baby Sadie 5 days old

Oh so precious!

Baby Sadie was born to proud parents Dan and Honey, 

and big sister Kelsey, on November 2nd, 2010.

(Yes, they had our blessing to name her "Sadie"! It's such a great name, they couldn't resist.)

We visited her in the hospital, and I knew I had to get my hands on her for some newborn shots!  So here she is at 5 days old.

And I say again, oh so precious!

Honey is a very relaxed mom, which made the process of me trying to take newborn photos much easier.

Dan is "Mr. Photography" - a huge help to me.

And big sister Kelsey is sweet as can be.

Just me and my cami!
I'm determined to take more pictures and improve each time!
So here are today's...
I want to post more, but maybe I shouldn't because maybe my friend's son is maybe wearing a purple princess dress, and maybe her husband doesn't like the idea - eek!  We don't call them princess dresses though...we just say they're "costumes"!!!
So this is all you get.

Pumpkin Carving

For the past several years, it has been our tradition to host a pumpkin carving party.
In the beginning, it was mostly adults carving pumpkins and throwing back a few drinks. Now, it's adults that "need a drink", and kids galore, running around and staying up way past bedtime! I can't tell you how much fun it is to see all of our friends families grow.  I think back to one of the first carving parties, and there were no kids, and only a few married folks.  Now, 6 years later, the pumpkin party is pumped with so many kids, I may need to get a bounce house next year! I LOVE LOVE LOVE watching us all evolve (or should I say "get older"! yuck!)
*pictures to follow*

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

From our family to yours, Happy Halloween!

This was our first Halloween as a family of four, and we loved having our little "kitty cat" in the mix.  This was the first year we actually made it up and down most of our street.

We have a great neighborhood with fabulous neighbors.

So much so, that we usually start talking and don't make it past the first few houses.

But Miss S was determined this year, so off we went, collecting our treats.

Little Kitty was home and in bed by 745.

Miss Witch enjoyed her sugar high, and had an extremely soft face by the end of the night...she had my mint face mask on to make her face green :)

"cherish yesterday, dream tomorrow, live today"

It's officially up on my kitchen wall.

I never knew what to do with the space above my kitchen cabinets. Long ago, my mother-in-law suggested I have a saying painted up there, but I never could decide what to put. I knew it needed to be something that meant something to me, and something I wouldn't get sick of in a month. So, it finally came to me! A friendly reminder to myself and my family, to live each day to the fullest, always dream and have goals, and cherish all the yesterdays!

Love it!!!

painted by: Amie Ice

(phone number available upon request)

Pumpkin Patch

Was today the windiest day this year, or what?
We headed to the local pumpkin patch and got blown away by the wind.

We had good intentions, but the wind proved us to be the losers.

Jim tried to bribe Miss S on to the huge slide, but there was NO way she was going for it.

Geez...I felt like I was back in Santa Maria!

What a great big sister she has been!

From day one she has loved her - no jealously, no wanting to "take her back".

Big sis is always excited to see little sis, 

especially when she wakes up from a nap.

She goes into her room and says "is someone awake in here"?

 Happy 1st Halloween "Sissy"

Be-Bop

Baby S' first "be-bop" or a "bam-bam" hair do!

I think we waited a year and a half for this "do" with Miss S.

Fortunately, Baby S was blessed with lots of beautiful hair from the moment she came out.

Yes, she loves chewing on just about anything, including her own fingers.

Mmmmm...looks tasty!

2 teeth in, and waiting for more.

Pierced Ears

Well today was the day.

Aunt Mimi took Baby S to get her ears pierced.

ughhh....I can't do it, because it hurts me to put my child in pain...so with Miss S and Baby S, I've recruited their aunties to hold them while their ears are pierced.

Here she is before she knew what was about to happen :)

and then....ear #1 was done and the girl quickly moved to ear #2

POOR BABY!

She cried and whimpered, and wondered what the heck had just happened.

But soon after, she was again content and happy as if nothing had happened.

So sorry Baby S, but they sure do look cute!

(playin' with some editing stuff...oh, if I only had a month to sit on the computer with no interuptions...that's about how long it would take to figure this all out)

So, I know I talk a lot about Miss S always wanting to pick out her own outfits...

well here is todays choice!

Carefully picked and hand selected by yours truly.

Her room is destroyed everyday.

Drawers pulled open, shoes tossed on the floor. It looks like we have a teenager, not a 3 1/2 year old. Notice, she even has a red bracelet and pink polka dot bow...all picked out by her.

Everyday we seem to have a battle over clothes.

Not just one battle - on average, we have 3 wardrobe changes per day.

Many days I give up and let her wear whatever she pleases.

I tell myself: "pick your battles"!

Growing up with three sisters, I know first hand that clothes are important, I just didn't know it was going to start this early!

So cheers Miss S - to your independence, self thinking, strong personality and creativeness.

I love you!

My little sister

October 2, 2010 was a beautiful day!

My little sister got married...

to a great man!

Congratulations Leslie and Clarence!

May you be blessed with a wonderful lifetime together.

xo

Here she is peeking out the window.

We couldn't get her away from the "darn" window.

6 months

This girl is precious. She is still my little baby doll.

She can now roll over in both directions,

started eating more "big girl" food,

is almost off breast milk (I'm a little sad, but it is what it is...),

can sit up - but topples over every once in a while,

and she remains happy, peaceful, sweet and simple! Hooray!

AND...she's getting her first 2 teeth.

a.k.a her first two lower incisors

a.k.a. tooth O and P

(sorry, it's just the Hygienist in me :)

September Fun

Our friend Luis turned 40 (yikes!) and had a "wiggin' out" party!

We got a sitter, put on our wigs, and met up with great friends and neighbors for a fun night. Ever since that night, I've been having thoughts of going dark again! hmmm...

But mark my word - Jim will never have a mullet - again I repeat - never!

The following weekend, we had tickets for the Zak Brown Band concert.

My sister (Leslie) and her fiance, came up for the weekend, and we had a really good time. Jim's brother and girlfriend joined us, along with our awesome friends Michelle and James. We had a few drinks, crammed into the truck together, and partied like we were in college again. Fun for the moment, but not fun when you still have to wake up with your kids at 615am!

My baby doll was with me (well, my whole family was with me) while taking pictures of Madeleine. Madeleine needed a nursing break, so I popped Baby S up on the table to check the lighting. She was laughing and having a good ol' time for her whole 1-minute on the table :)