Pumpkins!

Today Liv and I met up with Erin & Eilee at a fun Pumpkin Patch in Irvine. It was so fun to let Liv crawl around checking out the pumpkins... it will be even better next year when she's walking!


Liv LOVES feeling things. Her favorite page in her texture book is the one that has sandpaper on it... she could scratch that page all day. Anyway, there were so many fun things for her to touch at the pumpkin patch. Of course the smooth skin was great fun to rub and pound on but she was drawn to the little scratchy bit at the bottom of each pumpkin!


She also loved feeling the straw (and the dirt underneath, of course!)


There were some goats hanging out and Liv loved talking to them and feeling their noses. She lectured them a bit like she does with that cat that hangs out on our patio. :)



I don't know why but we've never taken Liv on a carousel ride... until today! Ok, this was probably the world's smallest carousel but she LOVED it! She was kind of small for this ride but she did such a good job holding on tight and balancing!


After the little carousel, Liv checked out a little race car that she thought was pretty fun. Good thing she's been practicing her steering with Daddy!


Eilee is just 6 months older than Liv but she seems so much bigger... and she has a lot more hair! :) She walks really well and was so sweet to take Liv on a little wagon ride. When she got tired of pulling Liv, she decided to push her for a bit! It's going to be fun to see them play together even more as they get older.


Here's Liv & Eilee sharing a couple pumpkins...


I hardly ever get pics of just me & Liv (yes, even with a photographer for a husband... hmmmm...) Anyway, another mom offered to take our picture which was so sweet. So here we are... don't you think this is the best shot of Liv you've ever seen? :) Oh well.


We had a great morning and I'm really bummed that my camera battery died right before Heidi & Dahlia joined us. We had fun with them too... it's just not documented!

The last month or so...

Well, it's been awhile so I have a lot to catch up on. I know I still haven't even blogged about Liv's birthday... I will, I promise! But, here's some of the fun stuff we've done over the past month.

Our good friend, Jason Vasquez, was in town from Washington DC so we had a fun high school reunion lunch at the Filling Station one day. It was fun to see him and some other friends I hadn't seen forever! Jason & I have been friends since kindergarten... I can't believe we're "adults" now!
Liv & I have really been enjoying our morning walks lately. We've made a point to walk through the campus of Chapman University because it is so beautiful and peaceful. Liv loves the fountains and especially loves staring at the students riding their skateboards to class! I think the students like seeing a smiley baby too!


It was so fun to be back in Old Towne for the Street Fair. We used to live right above the circle so we'd always have people over to enjoy the festivities. We are a little farther away now but still had fun walking over with some good friends!


This is my inherited friend, Carol Ann and her boyfriend Brett. Missy's been good friends with Carol Ann for quite awhile and now I'm in their Bunco group so we've become friends too! She is hilarious and Brett is such a nice guy. It was fun to hang out with them a bit!

Liv cruised around on Kurt's back for a bit... she kept trying to touch all the people we squeezed by! This was so much easier than trying to maneuver a stroller through the crowds! I love Sara and Carol Ann enjoying their grub in the background... so street fair!


Miss took a turn holding Liv and she loved it!


Our builder gave us some Metrolink passes so we took the train down to San Juan Capistrano for breakfast one morning. Liv loves trains and waves to them even when we're just at home and she can only hear their horns!



Kurt's mom was in town for a week so Liv got some good grandma time in...


Liv got this super fun bouncy pony from the Kennedys and Mellemas for her birthday. She thoroughly enjoys it! I love this shot of her!


We've had this toy for awhile now but Liv finally figured out how to make the little doors open on her own... so fun!

The Metrolink passes were good for awhile so Meg and I took the kids down to SJC again. We had an adventure that day with a bunch of delayed trains and whatnot but it was fun... kind of. :) We are so lucky to have pretty easy going kids who were happy for the most part with lots of cheerios and book reading! Wallace is walking now... I think Liv's a little jealous of his increased mobility and freedom!


Last week we went to the Santa Ana Zoo with Erin & Eilee and Rebecca & Logan. Liv really liked the monkeys and it was fun to be with these friends!


Kurt gave me this awesome bike for my birthday back in March. I've been wanting to ride it more but we didn't have a seat for Liv (and I usually don't leave her at home by herself! :) We finally got the right seat and Kurt installed it for me last weekend. Liv & I have been enjoying our little rides! The other day we rode over to JDW to say hi to our friends!


That's it for now... are you happy? I still have to work on Liv's bday post and I need to write about my Westmont girls weekend away AND tomorrow morning I leave for Napa with the 7 girls. Man, I have a lot to do today!

First "Sentence"

Yesterday Liv verbalized a complete thought for the first time. There's this cat that thinks we are its family. We are NOT this cat's family, nor are we willing to pretend that we like having it on our front patio loudly meowing in our windows every time it sees us. So, we've been pretty vocal about it leaving the premises when it comes around. Liv, on the other hand, has been pretty captivated by this creature that sits on the ledge just a screen away from her. She has been pressing her face up against the screen and talking to the cat who loudly meows back at her. So, this past week Liv has finally learned that cats do not bark, they in fact meow. Liv's meow is more like "mmmmowwwwww" (think meow without the e sound). Yesterday I was holding Liv and the cat came to the window. I shook my finger (granny style!) at the cat and said "Go away, kitty!" Or something to that effect. Liv looked at me, looked at the cat and then shook her fist at the cat and said "No, no mmmmmowwwww!" :)

Toddler

To me, that word sounds so much older than newborn, infant and baby. But, I am realizing that my baby is now venturing into toddlerhood. My email updates about her development now say "Your Toddler This Week" instead of "Your Baby This Week." Her super cute pink jacket from BabyGap, sized 12-18 months, also says Toddler right there on the tag. There's no escaping it.

She's also exhibiting some toddler behavior... wanting a little more independence and freedom, racing to try to get up the stairs when we're not watching even though she knows she's not supposed to go up without us, saying "no" - even though I think it's more of a mimic at this point, getting frustrated with "rules," talking, engaging with other little kids and exploring like crazy. Sometimes Kurt and I look at her and shake our heads... where is our little baby and where did this toddler come from?

And then there are times when she snuggles for a minute, or lays her head on my chest, or just needs to be held (even though that's usually followed quickly by squirming to get down!), or reaches up to touch my face while I give her a bottle and I realize that even though she's getting bigger and learning more and more each day, she's still my baby.

Happy Birthday Liv!

Today Liv is 1 year old! How can it be that this year is already gone? We had a party and all sorts of fun. I will post pictures of that soon but here's a shot of our little muffin on her birthday morning.

Thirty-three

Today Kurt turns 33. Am I old enough to have a husband who's 33? Yes, I guess so. :) Happy birthday, babe! I love you and I know another little girl who thinks pretty highly of you, too!

Morning on the Bay

This morning Liv woke up early (figures.... it's Saturday!) We headed down to Newport and had a yummy breakfast at Alta and then met up with the Kennedys for a little jaunt around the bay on their boat. It was such a lovely overcast morning and we had a great time... even with two tired babies!


Liv loves water and Kurt had fun dipping her feet and legs in... she thought it was pretty fun too!

Thanks guys!