Oh My Mia

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Just about every day Scott and I are left looking at each other wondering where this little girl came from. She is just amazing. So sweet and cuddly ... yet not just a sack of potatoes. She's fiesty, loves to assert herself, and smiles pure sunshine. She sleeps like a baby (ha) and has the funniest little face when she's dissatisfied. She's my perfect little buddy; we go everywhere together (ok, I don't have much of a choice on this one). But, luckily, she's a dream.

We decided to keep her party low-key and celebrated with just the four of us. It was perfect. We enjoyed a late brunch (ok, by the time we ate it was nearly dinner ... but you get the idea). Then, we opened presents and rallied together afterwards to eat more cake.

Here are the new kicks she unwrapped.

LOVE LOVE LOVE them!

Her latest and greatest accomplishments are walking (kinda) and a few favorite words. Everyday she waves and says "hi" to people while we're out and about. It's this cute, airy, sort of melodic "hi". Just tickles me every time. She also likes "uh-oh". Sometimes there's a big pause between the two syllables and they're always descending in tone. Pretty comical. Then, she has her favorite all-purpose word, "dada." Miles called everything "dada" also. Kinda funny. She babbles about other stuff pretty constantly ... often in an escalating war cry when she's either attacking or defending herself against Miles. She has a sweet little sense of humor and we already have a few inside jokes with each other. Oh, and did I mention she has a healthy appetite? I suppose you could deduce that from the first pic. ;)

Little Soleil, you are my sunshine.

Happy Birthday sweet girl.

Happy Birthday Miles!

Admittedly, this post is a little late ... probably due to the fact that Scottie and I are super slick and had our babes 3 years and 10 days apart. Yup, that means 2 birthdays within a week and a half each other. But while it has been crazy, it has also been an amazing couple weeks. I am so grateful for these little munchkins.

And, birthday #1 this month? That would be ...

MILES!!!!

We started the birthday weekend off with a Buzz Lightyear party with his friends. He insisted on inviting "everyone I know" and then proceeded to name off 8 of his neighbor friends. So cute. We played Toy Story games, smashed a jet-pack pinata, opened presents, and ate rocket cupcakes. It was so fun ... and Miles & friends seemed to be in heaven.

Then, on Sunday we had our family party where we sat around a fondue pot telling stories about Miles. I loved how much he enjoyed hearing about himself when he was a baby. It's so fun to have a kid who's old enough to enjoy a little reminiscing. After dinner we opened more presents, then ate too much triple chocolate truffle cake. mmmmmmm good call on the cake, buddy.

And, now, a little about my big 4 year old....

*(read on at your own discretion - the following is mostly for my sake)*

My current adjective for Miles? Dynamic. This kid goes big or goes home. He's tough, kind, sensitive, and super conscientious. He likes to talk about how much we like chocolate. The other day he came over to me and said, "We love chocolate, right Mom?" I responded with something like "Yeah, we sure do, Miles." Then, he said, "Daddy doesn't like chocolate though." To which I reasoned, "No, Daddy likes chocolate also." Miles summed up the conversation with, "But not as much as we do. We love chocolate the most." It just tickled me that he wants us to be in some sort of exclusive chocolate club together. (Sorry Scott ... you better increase your cacao consumption if you want to get in on this one.) ;)

He loves pre-school and being a Sunbeam at church. He'll take any chance he can get to talk into a microphone. He's a good helper running errands and he adores his little sister. He loves to cuddle and read. We love going to get treats at Godiva together and picking the perfect truffle. He can't wait for his daddy to "put a whoopin" on him when he gets home at night. He loves a good party. He's a good little baker and insists on wrapping presents all by himself. He loves to scheme with Scott about tickle torturing me. He loves being outside and would surely starve if we didn't make him sit down to eat at mealtimes. This kid loves to play.

There is so much more to say about my little tiger, but I just can't find the words (like I didn't write enough already - ha!). Now, I'm just left wondering how he got so old. wild

LOVE YOU, BUG!!

...and don't worry, Mia, your post will be up shortly.

Sun-kissed miss said don't be late ...

I love the Golden Gate. I've loved it since I was a kid.

And, the best part of living in the East Bay this time around? Spectacular views of my favorite bridge. I love the view from the 580 ... and I especially love Cesar Chavez park, where we frequently come to fly kites, throw rocks, and check out my favorite bridge.

Ah, I love this place!

First Ride

Miles tries riding a bike without training wheels for the first time. He's so focused, it's so cute!

Go Miles!

best.trip.ever

The kiddos are in bed, so here I sit all cuddled up on the sofa with my laptop. Why, you ask? ... because my usual cuddle buddy is in class. This is his first day back after a good 6 week Christmas break. amazing. Never again will we have so much time together. (OK, sure we will ... but we'll never be so young & energetic with so much time together!) haha

OK, you're gonna die when I tell you how we kicked off our break. Seriously, don't hate me. We went to Hawaii. It was a last minute trip that just fell together perfectly. I know, I know ... who do we think we are? ridiculous. I still can't believe we went.

We found a great hotel on Oahu complete with waterslides. Actually, the waterslides pretty much put the deal together. Miles was in heaven.

We divided our time between the pool, lagoon, beach, and finding the local hot-spots. Of course, we couldn't let a beach vacation go by without burying our oldest.

Or insisting that our youngest sleep on-the-go.

We did a little fishing (read: catching minnows with a shovel)

tried out paddle-boarding (loved it)

snorkeled

LOVED watching fire dancing at the Polynesian Cultural Center

posed for some pictures (oh Mia)

and (almost) rode the paddle boats. haha

So, apparently these birds were really heavy. Miles was so so so excited about having a bunch of birds sit on him. Oh my goodness, it was so cute. He was just holding this tender little smile despite the talon marks the big red one was leaving on his wrist. Such the trooper.

And then, when it came time to go, he insisted upon dragging two bags down to the car. Did I mention he's not even 4 yet? He was actually a big help bc, of course, we hauled all of our own luggage down to avoid an extra tip for the bellman. Miles, you're really pulling your weight these days. Seriously, and probably more.

Having so much fun as a family was just perfect.

my lil piggy

So, here's the problem with being an aspiring photographer ... I never leave my kids alone! I have the perfect shot all lined up in my head and I just keep clicking and clicking until I get it. Problem is, there's something sort of unattainable about the perfect shot (at least for me!). Poor Mia, I keep undressing her and demanding big smiles everyday at about 11am when the light is just right in my bedroom. haha ... poor girl.

Although it's not exactly what I had in my head, I do love this picture.

Ooooh, this little girl!

Halloween 2010

Back on the blog wagon ... let's do this.

Two months ago Miles eyed a SWAT costume at Costco and decided he had to have it. I insisted that we should go home and think about it before making the purchase to be sure it was really what he wanted to be. A week later he was still dead set on law enforcement, so we made it happen. I even managed to keep it all packaged up for weeks just in case he changed he mind ... but he didn't. This kid didn't waiver ... and I'm impressed. Considering my flippant Halloween costume track record dating back to my childhood and constantly evolving Christmas list, I am completely impressed with my little Miles' determination and resolution to be a SWAT guy. And he loved it. Every minute.

So, of course, the rest of us had to coordinate. Scott is a natural Police Officer and I figured I could be a robber. But Mia ... she was a tricky one. We wanted her to be something darling ... but it had to fit with the theme. Naturally, we settled on a pig. ha! Of course, we spent a lot of time explaining that she was a pig bc of the cop nickname. Oh, but she was a cute one!

I'm pretty sure Miles thinks he's a SWAT guy because he gets to swat bad guys with his baton (which was strictly prohibited, by the way ;) ). I just love this little pumpkin.

and, a couples shot compliments of our personal 3.5 foot photographer ...

Earlier in the week Miles' friends, Ike & Ollie, showed up at our door wrapped like mummies. Of course, we had to join in the fun.

I miss Halloween already!

Good thing we have a couple fab holidays coming up.