The mind of a child...

Tonight Aunt Jamie was over and asked S "what do you want to do when you get big"?
Her response, "I wanna reach the jelly beans"!
Too funny! In her mind she thinks getting big ='s the ability to reach the jelly beans. Although we were wondering what she wanted to be when she got older, her thought process was different. Only in the mind of a child...

Pismo

We made a last minute, 24-hour quick trip to the Coast to escape the 100 degree weather. Along the way we stopped in San Luis Obispo for lunch and some browsing, then headed to Pismo to play in the sand. We saw quite a few dolphins out past the waves, and took a little tour down "all the stairs" to check out the beach and wildlife. We ended up in Santa Maria, with a yummy spaghetti dinner with the entire family.

Labor Day Weekend

This year was a busy Labor Day weekend. My parents and sisters family stayed with us for the weekend, so we had a house full. They brought their boat up, so Saturday morning we packed up and headed to Millerton Lake. The weather was great, and we got there early, so the lake wasn't too busy. We set up a day camp, where I unfortunately stayed most of the time, because it's not good for a pregnant lady to go bouncing around on a boat.
So from the shore I watched, as S went on the innertube for the 1st time. I didn't know if she would freak out once the boat started moving, but with her Pop and Madison by her side, she did great. So weird for me to look out and see my "baby" on an innertube in the middle of the lake! She really is growing up!! We enjoyed juicy watermelon and lots of snacks throughout the day. S even learned how to pee outside like the boys haha!

We came home from the lake, rested for a bit, then headed to Fresno State's season opener against UC Davis. We creamed them 51-0, while the kids enjoyed cotton candy and stadium junk food. Fun weekend!

BIG SISTER

On our 5-year anniversary, July 31st, I woke up and decided to take a pregnancy test. I wasn't late yet, but I had a gut feeling that I was pregnant. S and I went to the bathroom while Jim was still sleeping, and within 5 seconds, the test showed positive. I let the test dry, then I placed it in Jim's 5-year anniversary card. I had S deliver it to him in bed.

What a fantastic 5-year anniversary gift to ourselves!!

I dedcided to have a shirt rhinestoned for S and announce it to our familes with her wearing a "Big Sister" shirt. We kept it a secret for a couple weeks (hard to do), knowing that we had to tell our families within 24 hours of eachother, so nothing got leaked out (with facebook and all the other ways of communication these days).

We walked in the door to my parents house, and the first to scream was of course my mom! My dad caught on within seconds, and both were very excited for another grandchild. This baby will be the tie breaker - they currently have 3 girl and 3 boy grandchildren. All my sisters were very excited, and the kids were happy to know there was another cousin on the way.

When back in Clovis, we had to think of a way to get Jim's family here on a Monday night, which is an unusual gathering day for us. So, this was the day we made peach and chocolate pie and invited them over for desert. No problem getting grandma and poppy here, but Jeff and Jaime were a different story :) Jaime said thanks but no thanks on pie...she was busy at a friends, and Jeff hadn't eaten dinner, so he wasn't ready for desert! It took some coaxing, but when they got here they were both excited to know baby #2 was on the way. Again, grandma noticed S's shirt first, and everyone was thrilled with the news.

So baby #2 is due April 7th, 2010!!!

My Rascal

Every day is something new and exciting for this little 2-year old rascal/sweetheart all rolled into one!
This particular day she colored her hands with a black marker instead of coloring on her paper :)

And here she is making her famous "silly face"!
Playdough birthday cupcakes designed by Miss S!
And today, suddenly the newspaper was spread out all over the floor, and Miss Independent got markers out by herself and started a coloring project! She is always entertaining us to say the least :)

YUM YUM!!!

Today S and I decided to make our first homemade peach pie! Of couse we used Grandma Harris' famous recipe with homemade graham cracker crust (extra thick because I love it so much). S stood on a stool and helped through the entire process. We made the yummy, thick crust, boiled and peeled the peaches, added a dash of sugar to everything, and within about an hour we had the process complete. Since I had everything out, I decided to make another graham cracker crust chocolate pie for Jim because that's his favorite. Can't wait to dive into it all tonight, with a big scoop of cool whip on top!!!

A BIG day for a BIG girl!

My last time in my crib!
We've been debating over when to move S to a BIG girl bed...and today was the day. She has never tried climbing out, but she would scream and say "get me out" like she was trapped in jail, so we needed a change. I've been looking for bedding, and finally found something very similar to the latest crib bedding I had got her. We took her picture in the crib and told her it was the last time she was going to be in it. She was excited as we moved the BIG girl bed to her room. We made a bid deal out of her new blankets, pillows, and step stool to get up and down from the bed (it's a full size pillowtop bed, so it's pretty high).
One of my bestfriends and her daughter are here spending the night tonight, so I wasn't to sure how she'd do going to sleep in a new bed, plus having company here...but she did great (although they wanted to sleep in the bed together, we knew that wouldn't work). No crying and no trying to get out of bed. She is sound asleep. I just went to peek on her, and she looks too grown up! and too cute!!

My doll

Here is my doll this morning, hanging out in her chair after breakfast. I just love her to pieces and am entertained by her everyday! She talks and talks and talks, and tells us about things that we don't even know how she knows. Yesterday while we were driving, the sun was shining in on the backseat, and she told me she saw a "pyramid"...how she knows this word, I don't know? Everyday it's something new. True evidence that children are sponges and learn SO much in the first 5 years of life!!!

CC and S swinging at the park

After breakfast we headed to the park so S and CC could play together. They had a blast on the swings, and walked together hand-in-hand without being prompted! Friends since birth!

Cabo Cruise

The Carnival Elation

The entire clan of 15

Lover's Beach, Cabo San Lucas

Grandma and Pop with all their grandkids! Thank you so much Mom and Dad!!!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Sea World

Our vacation started in San Diego, at the wonderful Sea World. We spent a lot of time observing the dolphins, very up close and personal.

Next we met up with my sister and family, and headed to the fabulous killer whale show, where Shamu and friends entertained us with their amazing jumps, spins and tricks. How do they train these animals to be so perfect and precise? We sat in the "soak zone", and literally got exactly what it stated...soaked!

Miss S and her cousins watched the whales with amazement!

Mommy and S played with the Sea Stars (we always called them star fish when I was growing up). And of course daddy did not put his hand in the water. ha ha

Huge Sea Turtles

The polar bear exhibit use to be one of my favorties. I love to see them jump in and swim.
We ended the day with a fun ride on Elmo's flying fish.