December 2009

Merry Christmas 2009!

December is always full of so many wonderful and festive activities. December is even better when you have children to share it all with...

this is just a sampling of the fun we had...

A visit with Santa...with 2 little kids that weren't quite sure what they were doing sitting on this beared mans lap...classic photo...lol

We cut down our tree...which is one of our favorite holiday traditions..believe it or not...Richard have I have been doing this for the past 6 years...before we even had babies!!

Daddy and baby at the tree farm

I love my boys!!

the very bright and festive Christmas Parade in Downtown San Luis Obispo..soooo lovely at night!

Last but not least....the LOOT!!

Disneyland!!!!

Disneyland...the Happiest Place on Earth! In 2009 Disney had a promotion..you got in free on your Birthday! So...being the lover of Disneyland that I am...I signed right up for it! I was soooo excited to take my babies to the Magic Kingdom for their first visit!! Richard poo-poo's the place...but I LOVE it...and happy happy happy I am to be there! My kids loved it too!! We had sooo much fun! I have two favorite memories... 1) The look on my daughters face when she saw Mary Poppins for the first time 2) the snow on Main Street after the nighttime parade ended. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday present...I can't wait to go back! :-)

Maile, Momma, and Mary

these are just a few of the moments captured...love the look of wonder and amazement on my children's faces...

Happy Birthday to me!

November - the Birthday month!

HAPPY 1 ST BIRTHDAY SAWYER BOY!!!

WE LOVE YOU!!

My sweet sweet baby boy...ohhh how we love you! I can't believe a year how big you are getting! We had such a wonderful party with our family and a few friends. Yummy food and cake. I was surprised that Sawyer didn't jump in and go crazy over the cake like Maile did. He did a little tasting...and then went to it. He loved his red Cozy Coupe...so excited to get in it and be pushed all around the house.

Sawyer baby...you are Momma's little love...you are the sweetest baby. So handsome...so smart...such a little joy to have in our home. I couldn't imagine life without you..and I thank the Lord everyday that you are here with us. Your laughter..your smile..and your beautiful blue eyes light up the room.





















"Happy Birthday dear Sawyer.."





















the birthday boy...eating his own little cake! mmmm!!

Baby boy LOVED his ride on cars the most! can you see the excitement on his adorable face?? It was true love!

doggie update...

Well...we took the big dive and got ourselves a puppy the 1st of October 2009. Meet Walter, our English Mastiff puppy. He looks sweet and adorable now...but you just wait and see...in the posts to come you will see how BIG this boy is!!

One of our favorite photos is the one of Sawyer and Walter...tooo cute and so precious!! Welcome to our home Walter Dog...we love you!

October 2009

HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!!

I love Halloween..and I love it even more now that I have children! this year we had a little black kitty cat (meow!) and a real live Vampire (see the fangs?) We went to Farmer's Market in downtown SLO for trick or treating and to the Outlets in Pismo. Nice and safe!

I love taking pictures with the pumpkins at the Avila Barn...they have this HUGE pile and the bright orange makes a great back drop. I was a bit bummed that I couldn't get one of the kids together. I couldn't even get a good one of Maile looking at the camera...but I did get my pumpkin pictures..which makes Momma happy!

I dressed the kids up in their Hawaii outfits..they were so cute!

The Big Guy...? Thats Sawyer...at 11 months old!! WOWZA!

Just Maui'd

September 11 2009 ~
Maui
Hawaii

I married my love, my very best friend, the Father of my children, the greatest thing to happen in my life. I love you honey...

Aloha September! 2009

We fell in love...head over heals in love...with a little island called Maui. :-)

I can't remember the last time my darling husband was this relaxed...just look at him in that hammock! We were on a walk...I believe it was the day we got married. My Mother-in-law stayed with the children in our hotel room so that we could take a walk all alone. It was lovely...as you can see.












Happily strolling the streets of Lahaina...
I love this photo..











The next 4 photos are of Baby Beach (I couldn't even begin to tell you the real name of the beach..or spell it for that matter!) this beach was perfect...simply perfect! It was shallow water...the boys even got some snorkeling in and as you can see...the babies got to play on the beach! Uncle Russ even built Maile a sand castle. I can't wait to take the kids there again someday.

sigh...so so lovely!

This photo was taken at the start of the worlds most amazing drive...the Road to Hana. Don't forget to try the coconut candy and the banana bread along the way! Its also a MUST to swim in the pools at the Oleo gultch (I hope I got that right)

Maile girl dancing it up at the Luau...she still does the hula every chance she gets.

This is the pool at our hotel. We loved our hotel...we would open our slider and we were steps to the pool and just a few steps more and we were at the beach. It was amazing...the pool was amazing...it was a moving experience to be in it...just ask Maile. :-)

Maile's very favorite flower that she dubbed.."The Chicken Flower"

We were lucky to have Grandma Nancy there with us...this is such a sweet photo...I had to share.

a look back at August 2009

Can you see that beast? Yes...thats some...kind...of....BUG! I believe Richard called it a June bug. All I know is that Maile loved it...held it...petted it...and would have shared her room with it if we would have let her. My daughter is definatly not timid! EGAD!

Maile loves making. I remember this evening well...I had heard cupboards opening and closing. There were dishes clanging and then a sweet small voice..."Mommy...I wanna make!" I walked into the kitchen to find the lovely spread you see here...Chili powder, Fartless bean kit, rolling pen, and a couple of bowls. How could I resist...after all the work she had just put into getting things ready. I checked the pantry and the only thing I could find (time permitting) was a box of chocolate pudding. She loved it (especially the big wisk...and the finished product) she was one proud little girl. I love her.

August of 2009 took us to Oso Flaco for a little nature walk. We had a great time! It was lovely to walk along the path...I think Maile walked almost the whole way! At the end of the walk we let Sawyer out of the backpack so that he could get in a little crawl time. We often forget about all the great walks and hikes there are around here...I wish we found a little more time in our busy lives to do this more often. What a great day it was!

July 30th 2009

Its a bit sad for me to think about...but I must include it in the recap. We laid our lovely Saint Bernard, Kimber to rest on this day. I really can't put into words how much I miss this dog. Kimber was the first dog that Richard and I got as a couple. He was our daughters first dog...and they were the very best of friends. He loved us...and we loved him. I still get teary eyed thinking about him...and the tumor in his lung that took his life. We miss you K-dawg...we miss you something awful!

June/July 2009

As I was looking back into the archives I came across a few pictures of the kids that I love and want to share...

Sweet Sawyer boy @ 7 months old June 2009

The prettiest dirty girl I know...

Maile Rae

July 2009

loving the swing @ 8 months

July 2009