Happy Birthday Eve

Today is my baby's second birthday! We celebrated on Sunday Evening so Aaron's family could be there. It was a lot of fun. She loved having the birthday song sung to her and she even knew what to do with the candles! Click on the play arrow below to see a clip of Eve blowing out her candles.

It was all so exciting because she didn't even realize that her birthday was coming. There was no hype beforehand, just all of the sudden it was her birthday...and boy was she thrilled. I just love the innocence of a two-year-old!

It was the "year of the baby." Eve is so into babies right now and everyone is aware of this. That's why she not only got a baby from Mommy and Daddy, but from Grandma and Grandpa as well! She couldn't contain her excitement and released a high-pitched giggle upon seeing the babies...she was beside herself!

Here's Grace and Eve trying out the new Mr. Potato Head from Uncle Brad and Aunt Callen.



Grace helping her sister open the present Julyssa sent her.

Eve's Shirley Temple Pout

I made Eve a caterpillar cake.

Its been a pretty normal day so far. Eve is napping right now (no, she can't even get out of a nap on her birthday!) We plan on carving pumpkins when she wakes up, and then later tonight after Aaron's home from work we'll go out for ice cream to once again celebrate Eve!

Signs of October

Looking around our home, you can definitely tell Halloween is coming...


The girls enjoying cupcakes they decorated themselves.

While I was away...

Even with as much fun as I had this past weekend in L.A., I was definatly ready to come back and be Mommy again to my wonderful girls. Here are some pictures Uncle Cameron took while I was gone.

Grace with her cousin Julia

Eve enjoying herself on the trampoline

Charlotte's Wedding

My life-long friend Charlotte got married this past weekend. Our mom's were friends before we were born, we played together as children, endured jr. high together, had a blast in high school, and were even college roommates! It was wonderful to see her get married, and to such a great guy. I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

I got to go down to L.A. for the weekend to enjoy this special day and also to have a lot of fun thanks to friends and family (especially my dear husband) that cared for my children while I was gone. I was gone for less than three days, but I really packed it in and did a lot during my short visit.

I drove down Friday and arrived in Glendale (the city I grew up in) around 3:00 p.m. where I was meeting Julyssa (who drove out from Arizona.) We stayed with her mom who still lives in Glendale (I just love her!) Since Julyssa came without her husband and children also, we had some serious "girl-time" (i.e. manicures, pedicures, staying out as late as we wanted...) It was the weirdest feeling being back in Glendale without our families. It felt like we were still in high school, and I was sleeping over at Julyssa's house for two days! Here is some of what I did:

Me, Julyssa, Charlotte, Chelsea (another life-long friend), Becky (one of Charlotte's friends that I got to meet this weekend) on Friday night at a get together at Charlotte's parents' home.

After the dinner at Char's parents' house Julyssa and I went to visit her brother in studio city, and then she and I went to near-by "city walk", ate crepes, and people-watched!

Chelsea, Charlotte, and I in front of the L.A. temple right before we went in for the wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony and the highlight of the day. This is the last picture of Charlotte single!

Becky, Chelsea, Nikki (our friend from high school), me in our bridesmaid dresses outside the temple after the wedding.

Brady (Charlottes groom), Charlotte, Julyssa, Me at the reception

It was so much fun to see people I haven't seen in years! The picture on the left is of me with Laurel and Jessica LeChemenant, friends of mine since I was a little girl. To the right is me with my college roommates: Chelsea, Charlotte, and Melanie (who came all the way from Oklahoma for the wedding...what a sweetheart!)

High School friends: Chelsea, Char, Judy, Stephanie, Me, Julyssa, Nikki

Julyssa and I went to the beach after the reception. We ran out to the water and then ran back...the sand was cold in the dark!

Pumpkin Patch

The girls and I went to the pumpkin patch this morning with a group of friends. It was the same one we went to last year and we really liked it. The kids got to feed coy fish, plant strawberries, go through a spooky maze, pet farm animals, and pick their very own pumpkin.

It was cute to see which pumpkin each of the girls picked. Eve picked the very first one she saw and then insisted on carrying it around with her. She got upset when I even suggested putting it down so she could more easily play with the other children! Grace wanted "the littlest pumpkin" like the one in a Halloween book we have about a small pumpkin in a pumpkin patch that gets overlooked. I think she wanted to make sure it didn't get picked last! Its funny how you can tell a lot about their personalities on something as simple as which pumpkin they picked!

Video Clip

I really wanted to try out this video feature. This clip shows some fun the girls were having yesterday. Click on the play button to see them in action!

Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head

We had a fun, rainy afternoon. We watched it through the window for a while and then Grace insisted that she needed to get out in it. So the girls put their rain boots on and did some serious splashing! It was extra fun because of the mud. Eve had a hard time keeping her boots on because they were too big. As she waddled around the yard (trying to keep her boots on) Grace would follow her around with the umbrella to keep her sister dry...it was really cute!

A Math Moment

Grace made a cool math discovery tonight as she was getting ready for bed. I heard her exclaim, "three and three is six!" Then she showed me her fingers (she had three up on each hand) and counted, "one, two, three, four, five, six!" I love to see when a concept just hits her like that. My baby is adding!

Blog Neglect

I have been guilty of serious "blog neglect" lately! It's almost been a month since my last post...and I don't even have a good excuse! Just busy with life I guess. Things with us are going well. The weather has been beautiful...not hot or cold, but just right. Blue skies with just a hint of breeze...I love it!

The girls and I have definitely spent more time outside lately (at the park, in the yard, or just walking around the neighborhood.) Today Grace took a bike ride on her trike while I pushed Eve in the stroller beside her. She is getting really good at maneuvering her bike. It was a pretty long ride and I was proud of her for her persistence. I could tell she was getting really tired toward the end, but she kept on peddling! Eve enjoyed pushing the stroller on the way home instead of riding in it!

I'll try to be better about recording our happenings as the holidays are approaching.