Living the Dream

we're off to see the animals!

2011-01-18T22:40:00.001-08:00

we took logan, nate, and emily to the san diego zoo in january. it was a lot of fun! here are some pictures of our special day together.

"we've arrived!"

emily excited to hold the map

taking it all in

best buds

boys on the run

"we love the zoo!"

cousins

logie

"check out this big bird"

admiring the elephant exhibit

taking a break

oops. . . we lost one!

em loves her uncle

hanging out at home

"what a great day guys!"

My sweet little boy

2011-01-17T21:34:00.001-08:00

my sweet little boy is two and a half today. boy, how time flies! here are a few photos of my little guy in action. love you logan!

painting

"looks good loges!"

cool new bedding

helping to paint his new room

going for a ride

my little andy :)

ready for a rainy day

working hard

love this shot!

in deep thought

"what mama?"

The Holidays

2011-01-17T20:30:00.001-08:00

we had thanksgiving and christmas down in temecula this year. usually we head to san jose for christmas. my parents, auntie juju and her chris came down for christmas and stayed at our house. we had christmas morning at home for the first time with logan. then we headed over to auntie's and uncle's for food. here are pictures from christmas as well as christmas events leading up to the big day.

logan helping to put decorations out

umm. . . well sort of helping

asleep in mamma's bed with mickey

waiting in line to see santa at the lake house

my little guy worrying

meltdown! :(

picking out the christmas tree

"this is so fun!"

this was his reaction to almost every ornament

putting the star on top

the temecula holiday lights parade

logie and dada

it was so cold!

flexing their muscles for auntie's

annual holiday photo shoot

all giggles

funny faces

"aww. . . cousins"

decorating cookies with dada

spending time with nana and papa

and auntie juju

cookies for santa

christmas day

logan got woody and jessie from santa

his dinosaur raincoat

"this is a good look"

presents at auntie's

for thanksgiving, my parents came down and we had our usual feast at our house. here are a few pictures from thanksgiving festivities.

logan helping out

i found turkey hats for the kids

indian chanting

put the sticker on the turkey

watching prep and landing after dinner

the twins deciding they were ready for school

the twins awake from their naps

happy thanksgiving!

Legoland with Cousins

2011-01-17T20:29:00.000-08:00

we took a trip down to carlsbad in november to legoland with the cory's. we had a blast as usual! here are some pictures:

posing with lego santa

he was so excited to be at legoland!

"nice to meet you!"

friends just his size :)

nate and bob the builder

me and the "twins"

thumbs up for the helicopters!

"we love this!"

"hi em!"

after the firefighter show

logan feeling brave enough to say hello

riding the planes

"hi mama!"

nate being eaten by a shark

hanging out with the captain

logie exploring the shark's teeth

caveney!

logan and nate

best buds :)

riding the planes

my brother looks a little scared

all of us on the boats

em and auntie

"hey dada, what are you doing?"

logan and i are about to crash into a wall in front of us

it really was hilarious

(my brother getting a kick out of it) LOL!

playing the water instruments

(we love this!)

on safari!

"look, there's dada!"

family photo opp

Logie Pics

2010-12-20T22:05:00.001-08:00

he fell asleep unexpectedly

sweet little guy

playing with cups and straws

a favorite past time :)

hanging out with cousins

we had to get a new microwave so. . .

logan decided to help out with his tools :)

Halloween

2010-12-20T21:49:00.001-08:00

logan was robin this year for halloween. :) nate was batman. emily was batgirl. they were all so cute together! we did our usual halloween traditions. my work party. em's birthday party in costumes! her birthday is on 11/1, so we all dressed up just like last year for her party. the next day was halloween! trick or treating. i had the privledge of taking loges this year along with my brother, amanda, nate, em, my mom and amanda's dad. caveney stayed home to scare kids (he was dressed as the joker. in full make up mind you!). logan had a great time but tuckered out pretty quickly. i forget he is only 2! logan loved being robin for halloween. it was a bit of a jump from his sweet pumpkin costume to nemo (so cute!) and then to robin. but he was so cute! here are pictures of our halloween this year!

CARD Halloween Party

me and em walking through the cornfield maze

batman, robin, and batgirl

logan peering around at em's balloons and gifts

the birthday girl :)

bane, batman, and the joker

jen and pat as poison ivy and bane

me and loges waiting for cake

catwoman and the joker

the gang

logan decorated my pumpkin this year

oreo's

logan's pirate

nana taking the kids for a walk on halloween

the guys take halloween decorating very seriously

(notice my brother is wearing a mask)

the finished courtyard. . . ooo. . . scary!

the entrance

our graveyard

my cute little robin :)

love him!

trick or treating

all tuckered out

batman and robin

halloween sure was fun!

Fall Fun

2010-12-19T22:10:00.000-08:00

we had a lot of fun in the fall. we kept busy with trips to disneyland and saturday soccer games for our nephew nate.

the cousins playing together

dinner is fun at mimi's!

"nate, what the heck is on your face?"

logan loved putting his backpack on.

he looks like he's off to school!

"bye mom!"

as logan says, "best ever friends"

going for a ride down the block

yep, i'm really this big :(

my little andy :)

nate at one of his soccer games

logie enjoying the game

well. . . the "twins" entertaining each other

with goofy

(our first success with a character)

mouse ears

"i don't know about this"

having fun waiting in line for the cars

em wanted to ride with her uncle (so cute!)

my brother on the left in blue, amanda and nate

in the purple, and me and loges in the brown car

"watch out!"

"aaaggghhhh!!!"

my bro and nate on dumbo

(they know just how to pose for the camera)

me and loges

(it's become OUR ride) :)

on the merry go round

"i like this!"

goofing around with dada

"i am way too cool"

Our Summer

2010-11-14T22:10:00.001-08:00

aside from our amazing trip to yosemite this june and our wonderful trip up to san jose for logan's birthday party in july, we have been keeping very busy in southern california as well. we ventured out to sea world, hit up legoland again while we were at la costa for our anniversary. we also went to a concert here at the lake in harveston one night with my brother and his family. uncle steve was also here visiting in july! here are some pictures of our summer adventures.

logan enjoying his new water table

"it's so fun!"

outside with dada

"oh no dada"

all smiles

uncle steve came to visit

logan just loved him!

brothers

summer concert at the lake house

dada and logie

mmm. . . eating popcorn

reading with cousins

"brusha, brusha, brusha"

love him

seaworld

checking out the killer whales

our weekend at la costa

logan enjoying his bed

exploring the grounds

trip to legoland while we were in carlsbad

ready to go down the slide

swimming with daddy at la costa

"this was a fun trip!"

3 years ago

2010-10-21T23:22:00.000-07:00

so yesterday was a very special day. it marked the day that three years ago, we drove down to the san diego fertility center and ended our journey and the process of iui - inter-uterine insemination. it was quite a day! i remember making chris drive us to our favorite beach right before our procedure. i was so nervous. and anxious. sick to my stomach of the thoughts of "what if this doesn't work?" "what are we going to do?" "this HAS to work!" it had been a long road. of trying, of taking clomid, doing test after test, the next one more uncomfortable and unbearable than the previous. we set a plan with the fertility center. then came the shots. chris was so brave having to inject my stomach every night at 9pm. i dreaded the nights. but we stuck it out. so many countless tears. waiting. and waiting some more. we found out later that one egg fertilized. logan had been created. i simply cannot thank the doctors, the nurses, and the staff enough. every one of them so kind. coming in over the weekend since that was the day it had to happen. there is not a day that goes by that i don't hold logan and remember the feeling of how thankful i am for his little life. it's been a long journey. but i would do it again in a second to end up with logan. he's my everything. love you loges. happy "special" day. xoxo

naptime

2010-09-11T14:51:00.001-07:00

so i just put logan down for his nap for today and i took a peek in the monitor to see what he was up to. this is what i saw. . .

silly boy!

8 years

2010-08-23T23:56:00.000-07:00

today is our wedding anniversary! it's hard to believe it's been eight years. after work, we ate at pf chang's just the three of us. chris surprised me with a trip this weekend to la costa resort and spa. should be fun! here are few photos from our wedding eight years ago since i forgot to take any pictures of us tonight at dinner. :)

me and my girls before the ceremony

"did that just happen?"

chris carrying my train coming back from pictures

ready to start our life together. :)

Logan turns 2!!!

2010-08-07T15:37:00.000-07:00

logan turned two years old on july 17th. i can't believe he's already two! we decided to celebrate logan's 2nd birthday with a party up in san jose this year. most of our friends are up in the bay area and most of logan's friends are too. :) it was so wonderful to see familiar faces and spend time with our dear friends and their little ones. here are some photos of the special day we had with family and friends.

setting up the "kid area"

ready to party!

logan helping to set up the games

and water table

helping nana set up

testing out everything!

"this is fun!"

playing with daddy

toy story bounce house

buzz cupcakes

delish! (thank auntie jen!)

"ooooo"

nate and noah fishing

bouncing with auntie juju

the birthday boy having a great time

with auntie michelle

logan with his buddies noah, finn, and kyle

tyler

finn

kyle

cousin aiden and auntie kim

gathered around for presents

a cool pirate ship water table!

pinata time for the little ones

(a pull string buzz of course)

loges and em

the buzz pinata for the older kids

katya taking a swing at it

loges and grandma

with cousin aiden hanging out

my dear friend amy was out from north carolina

so good to see her and the kids!

my dear friends from high school

most of the party was us and our boys

me, my mom, nate and em enjoying the bounce house that night

thank you nana and papa for my buzz birthday party! love loges

4th of july

2010-07-23T23:52:00.001-07:00

we headed down to legoland this year for the 4th.

here are some photos of the fun we had!

logan and nate

em following loges following nate :)

too cool

way too cool

bffs

the three amigos

logan's first time in the front by himself

my sweet boy

having fun in the water

aww. . .

loges in the water

splashing!

chris and loges

(my brother and nate are in the back left)

me and em

fireworks!

happy 4th of july!

nate graduated

2010-07-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

our nephew, nathan, graduated preschool in june! we were so proud of him. here are a few pictures from his graduation ceremony. :)

em saying, "where nate cory?"

(seriously)

there he is! getting his certificate!

"way to go buddy!"

loges and em wondering what was going on

the proud graduate

yosemite!

2010-07-02T21:14:00.000-07:00

For my Mom's Birthday (it was a special one but i won't say which one), we surprised her and made a family trip to Yosemite. My Dad took her to the Ahwahnee to stay a few days in Yosemite for her Birthday. Little did she know, we had planned this trip for months! My sister and her boyfriend, Chris, drove from San Francisco. My brother, Amanda, Nate, Emily, me, hubby, and Logan caravaned from Temecula really early in the morning. The drive wasn't that bad, especially since we were so excited!

The Temecula gang left on Friday around 5:30 a.m. We arrived in Yosemite Park around 1:30 p.m. It took us another hour to make it to the Ahwahnee Hotel from the entrance where we entered. Towards the end of the trek through the Valley, a green jeep pulled up next to us. . . it was my sister and her boyfriend! So, entering the Ahwahnee in our cars were Julie and her Chris, me and my fam, and Chris and his fam (in age order. . . very strange). We unloaded the cars and entered the lobby all together. Across the lobby we spotted. . . my parents! Seriously, we could not have planned this any better! It took a minute for my Mom to make sense of it all but she was so thrilled! She seemed to run across the lobby and hugged each and every one of us in disbelief.

My Mom was very surprised to say the least! She couldn't believe we all came together to share this special weekend in this amazing place. We spent the next few days hiking, sharing meals, and just spending time together. I still can't get over how beautiful Yosemite is! As a child I didn't appreciate it the way I do now, really seeing the beauty as an adult. Yosemite has always been a special place to my parents and my Mom's family, especially my Grandpa B. It's nice to go back and really appreciate what he saw.

I had never been inside the Ahwahnee. It was just as I had hoped it would be. Chris and I had a room with a small balcony on the first floor (which wasn't ground level, it was just the first floor above the lobby and great room). We spent most of our time on my parent's deck. Yes, deck! They had a room on the 4th floor with a huge deck. We spent every night sitting on the couches outside talking, laughing, and listening to the Yosemite waterfalls in the distance. It was amazing. I wish we could have stayed longer. I know we will cherish this trip together. We even had professional photos taken of the family on one of the mornings. I will post some of those when we get them. The trip rapped up with a Sunday brunch for Father's Day. It was a great way to end our weekend together. It was perfect. Just too short. Here are some photos we took on our trip. :)

entering the valley through the tunnel

half dome is in the distance to the left

Yosemite Falls

we viewed the falls from all of our hotel rooms

The Ahwahnee entrance

the kids running around on the lawn

loges and his nana

the cory's watching a deer

my kid checking out rope

cousins exploring

em: "hey loges, where are we?"

loges: "i don't know, but at least we are together."

the boys up to no good

ready to go to dinner the first night

we took the bus

by far, logan's favorite part!

"BUS! BUS!"

another view from the hotel, breathtaking in person

juju and her chris after dinner

on the run

the next morning, during our photo shoot

on an adventure

"SQUIRREL!"

(logan was obsessed)

logan and his papa

taking the stairs with auntie juju

half dome (amazing!)

my brother and nate

some mommy time

the rivers were the fullest i'd ever seen

caveney with the boys

logan getting dirty (loved it)

"watcha doin logie?"

"that looks fun"

this girl would jump into the water if we let her

more run off

"i'm happy"

the gang

(juju and chris were hiking vernal falls)

nate

hubby

my daredevil

"CAVENEY!"

"hey, how does he know how to walk with a stick?"

"aww. . . that's cute. . . thanks nate"

the shirt says it all

Yosemite Falls

we hiked to the bottom one

(with two 2 year olds and

1 five year old. . . enough said)

hiking back

attempting a swim at The Ahwahnee

"thanks auntie!"

having a great time

splashing auntie

happy birthday mom!

we love you!

someone is missing

2010-07-02T15:49:00.000-07:00

on our way to yosemite, logan started off sitting behind me in his carseat. at one point i looked back at him and along the way, my eyes caught the empty seat next to him. i remembered my sister-in-law, amanda, saying a few weeks ago she felt someone was missing in our family. like we weren't complete yet. as much as i can't picture life with more kids than logan, i do feel like my mini-me is missing. what would it feel like to have a daughter sitting next to loges? while we were in yosemite, at one point, i looked around and saw my brother with nate, amanda with emily, and my husband holding logan. all with their own mini-me's. i know if we have another son, a daughter will follow. i just know it. i hope it isn't as difficult as it was for us the last time. but now that we have logan in our lives, it is definitely all worth it. no matter how difficult our path or how long it takes. it is definitely worth it. logan will be a great big brother. i know he will. someday. (and no before you ask me, we are not pregnant. i just wish we were).

june

2010-07-02T15:11:00.000-07:00

in june, nate spent the night again. logan was in heaven. they played together before they went to bed and then again when they woke up. the night before we had taken them to get ice cream, which caused bedtime to be a bit late. it was worth it though! logan just loves his big cousin!

auntie dawn came to visit. we took her to legoland

and the sealife aquarium. it was fun!

on the slide at the aquarium

building with the big kids

concentrating . . .

under one of the bubbles with daddy

"look! meno's!" (aka nemo's)

the fam at legoland

riding the boats with mama

auntie dawn entertaining the kiddos

they love her!

my very first friend, michelle, also came through town to visit us and meet logan. logan fell in love with michelle very quickly. michelle is honestly the sweetest person i know. we loved having her visit us!

logan and michelle paying blocks

"hmm. . . really? i can do that?"

friends for 30 years!

saying bye :(

my big boy

2010-06-06T17:59:00.001-07:00

on friday, my day with logan, i put him down for his afternoon nap. i layed him in his crib. kissed him nite nite, blew him kisses, and closed his door. then i went into my room to sort laundry. my usual friday routine.

two minutes later, logan walks into my room holding his blankie and says, "hi mom" with a look on his face that told me he knew he had done something he shouldn't have. this was the very first time he had climbed out of his crib. i was relieved he was not hurt and wondered how he had done this and so quickly.

i learned later how he did. logan had quickly learned to put his right leg on the top of his crib and hoist himself up. then he used the rocker chair next to his crib to climb down and out the door (which he knows how to open as well). dang it!

needless to say, chris and i scrambled to figure out what to do. do we get him a tent and keep him in his crib? do we put him in a big boy bed? what do we do? we decided to get him a big boy bed and hope for the best. we found one and bought him buzz lightyear sheets (his favorite). here are some pictures of the transformation.

he loved the buzz bedding. here he is hugging it.

the last time in his crib. :(

he's demonstrating how he got out.

right leg up. . .

and over. . .

safely onto the chair.

helping daddy take his crib down.

such a big helper!

building the new bed

patiently helping daddy

"where does this one go?"

"mom, enough with the camera"

this is me crying. . . how did this happen so fast?

logan literally jumping on his bed.

chris and i are laughing at this point.

"nice job dad."

logan with the giggles

at least he's happy about this.

"it'll be ok mom"

checking out his sheets

(that's an oreo stuffed animal tail he has, not the real oreo!)

seriously. . . he fell out playing. no harm done.

nite nite sweet pea.

and animals

2010-06-05T22:14:00.001-07:00

we also made a trip to the wild animal park with the fam. we went on the new tram for the first time too. so cool! here are some photos!

loges and nate checking out the meerkats

"i like this mom!"

hopping on the lily pads

we spotted 3 wild animals

our sweet niece em

the lions

giraffes while on the tram

"i love seeing animals!"

mommy and baby elephants

one serious gorilla!

more legos

2010-06-05T16:33:00.000-07:00

we went to legoland again in april. this time with nana and papa and the gang. here are some pics from our fun day.

auntie, em, and uncle

nate, nana, and papa

watching the cars

"when can we go on these?"

em and loges

a glimpse into the future

"this is fun!"

trouble

a great end to a great day

legos

2010-05-23T17:33:00.000-07:00

the gang all went to legoland last month and had a great time!

here are some photos of our day.

nate and my brother having a great time on the planes

(em is tucked under my brother's right arm)

logan and daddy riding on the planes too

chris, chris, amanda, nate, and pat

"on your marks! get set!"

"go!"

"whew! safe!"

it was jen and pat's first time to legoland

(hard to believe with this group)

logan, nate, and emily playing music

the "twins" playing with legos

logan being brave

daddy and loges at the firefighter show

"you put the wet stuff on the hot stuff!"

the men checking out the subway in mini-new york

(i had just pointed out the legoman on the toilet!)

uncle pat and em with their new family :)

happy birthday hubby

2010-05-18T00:36:00.000-07:00

happy birthday chris!!! we love you!!!

i'm baaaack!!!

2010-05-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

i can't believe it's mid-may already! this year is flying by! i have so much to update but thought i'd start off with a few low-key photos of us hanging out. enjoy!

one night, logan got headphones out of the side table

and plugged them into the i-pad; all on his own!

kids these days. . . :)

eating with his new buddy, buzz lightyear

can you tell he's really into toy story these days?

hanging out with cousins

he thinks he's hiding from me

"hi there!"

good one loges. . . good one.

having a son

2010-03-21T18:28:00.000-07:00

being a mom has opened my eyes to many wonderful things. i see the world differently. as much as we focused on getting pregnant and for the arrival of logan, i could never fully understand how he would change our lives once he was here.

he has given us so much already in the past 20 months. i try every day to soak in his amazing energy. his love. his wonderment.

now that he is on his way to turning two, i'm starting to realize what it means to have a son.

it's in the every day moments.

when i step on a random hot wheel, making it's way across the house.

when i watch logan fall onto his chair without fear. he rolls and tumbles. . . . i gasp. . . . he gets up, rubs his head. and then does it again. . . . and again. . . (you get the point).

it's hearing from the back seat of the car as i drive around town, dinosaur roars and car engines. lately, even a helicopter or plane.

boys are wonderful in their own way.

i never could imagine my life with a son. . .

and now. . .

i wouldn't have it any other way.

thank you loges. for all of your wonderful "boy" moments.

20 months

2010-03-17T21:07:00.000-07:00

logan is 20 months old today.

just 4 months shy of turning 2!

here are some recent photos of my baby.

sitting at his table eating

loges and mom goofing around

"and i'm off!"

"i like ducks"

"woo. . . swinging"

"this is fun!"

eating tostadas. . . mmm. . .

reading my valentine's day cards

"look over there!"

taking in the world

"i'm a happy boy"

we love you loges.

a remarkable woman

2010-03-04T23:18:00.000-08:00

so this week has been draining. this week started with a discovery. someone i've known for a few years now, losing her battle with cancer.

this woman.

such a remarkable woman.

so honest. a no-nonsense type. one i respected and admired.

i saw her as an amazing mother. before i knew what it was to be one myself.

balancing three children, one with autism. taking care of business. getting things done while still being an advocate for her daughter.

so respected and admired. full of fun. full of life.

slipping away from life this week.

it's not right.

it's not fair.

things like this make you slow down.

make you stop.

in your tracks.

it makes you question everything really. right down to your core.

if i had only a few days left. . . what would i do?

where would i go?

who would i spend time with?

these thoughts have clouded my mind this week. at the same time, making everything clear.

everything we see as so important. . . isn't really. i'd spend my day on the beach. staring at the ocean. with my husband and son. the ocean has a way of calming me. . . i'd spend my last day there.

my heart is filled with sadness. . . these remarkable women. . . losing their lives too soon.

the waxler's

2010-01-31T01:13:00.000-08:00

our dear friends, the waxlers, came to visit in october as well. jamie and i have been friends ever since our dancing days at alyce porter in san jose. john and jamie have a son, noah, who is 10 months older than logan. noah is such a sweet boy and is so caring towards logan. here are a few photos from their visit.

noah and logan at disneyland

climbing rocks at d-land

logan's first ride on dumbo

(he actually liked it!)

family photo

(thanks jamie for being our photographer)

this picture cracks me up.

they both just woke up. i love the hair!

playing cars together

riding in style

it was a beautiful day for a walk around the lake

(you can't tell in these pictures just how hot it was!)

we loved having the waxler's stay with us!

we can't wait to visit them at their house and

for them to visit us again!

first haircut

2010-01-31T01:07:00.000-08:00

logan had his first haircut in october.

here are a few photos of the event. :)

em and loges in their cars

loges getting his hair cut

em getting hers

"looking good!"

aunt juju and papa and nana

2010-01-31T00:22:00.000-08:00

my sister, julie ("juju") came to visit us in october.

the kids all love their aunt juju.

logan and aunt juju taking in nate's soccer game

"no auntie, please don't go!"

loges and em were being "helpful" going through juju's luggage

papa and nana also came down in october to visit

em with nana

(i love my mom's wolverine hat)

logan reading with papa

the dionnes

2010-01-30T23:10:00.001-08:00

we are so blessed to have such amazing family and friends who are able to visit us. in the fall, we had quite a few visitors. i will be recapping our adventures with our loved ones over the next few posts. :)

in september, our dear friends the dionne's came to visit. teresa and i have been friends since the first grade. her son, finn is only a few weeks younger than logan. we went to sea world and the zoo when they were here. logan and finn just loved playing together.

logan at sea world

pete just loves oreo :)

and oreo loves pete as well

logan and finn were inseparable

they had so much fun playing together

here they are playing with bubbles

getting into mischief

reading with teresa

banging pots with spoons

giving each other rides

and sleeping after a long day of fun

we loved having the dionne's visit!

i know logan and finn will be life-long friends

just like their mommies.

18 months

2010-01-17T13:37:00.001-08:00

logan is 18 months old today! i can't believe it. he's growing so fast! just today, i was carrying him upstairs to put him down for a nap. he was already asleep in my arms. his angelic little face on my shoulder. his eyes closed. lips pursed just so. he reminded me of a little doll. too perfect to be real. i could feel and hear him breathing as i gently laid him down in his crib. not a day goes by that i don't think of how lucky i am to have him in my life. i love you so much logan. just the way you are. happy 18 months baby.

nate's soccer games

2010-01-09T14:08:00.000-08:00

our nephew, nathan, started soccer this year. we loved going to see him play. he really enjoyed it too. i remember going to my brother's soccer games as a kid. i would pack up all of my cabbage patch kids and have a picnic on a blanket in the shade of the soccer banner my parents always made for his team each year. it was nice to see my brother and his son share the soccer experience. here are photos of some of the games.

first game. he seems excited. :)

"nice dribbling nate!"

"go nate go!"

logan and emily showing their support

logan doing laps with daddy

luckily, nate has uncle chris who is the family

papparazzi and his dad video taping.

we don't miss anything.

nate listening to his coach

concentrating

em having a great time

exhausted!

i love this shot.

my brother, the assistant coach on this day

showing off his skills

logan and emily were always

entertaining during games

playing together

getting into trouble

going for a ride

"who us?"

hanging out

looking fabulous

or stealing nate's chair!

end of the season huddle

"so proud of you nate!"

until next year buddy.

we love you!

catching up

2010-01-09T13:50:00.000-08:00

here's a quick update on some fun times we had in the fall that i never got around to posting. in september, we ventured out to the zoo. logan loved it. here are a few photos.

walking around with mommy

taking it all in

"hey dad, look!"

"whoa. . . "

my little thinker

logan and daddy in elephant odessey

riding the sky ride

"hang on tight mommy"

another year

2009-12-07T23:41:00.000-08:00

today was my birthday. i turned 33. having a birthday inevitably makes you stop and take a look around. do you like what you see? are you happy with who you've become? i find myself quite content today. i woke up this morning at peace. it was raining outside. i love the rain. i went downstairs to find hubby blowing up balloons and logan, both still in pjs, running around the kitchen, sippy cup in tow, holding a balloon himself. both of their faces lit up when they saw me come around the corner. who needs gifts? i already have all that i could possibly want or need.

we ventured out into the cold, wet day. headed to disneyland. we have season passes already so today, i received a "fun card," essentially a disney gift card to use as i pleased since it was my birthday. i have never been to disneyland when it was pouring down rain. at least, i don't remember a time. thankfully, my sister-in-law, amanda, had warned us to buy ponchos before we met up with them. we may have been cold and wet from the rain today but it didn't dampen our spirits. we giggled throughout the day at the mere sight of each other in our oh so fashionable ponchos. we didn't stay too long today. enough time to go on a few rides. logan actually enjoyed peter pan. it was too wet to try dumbo again. i'm sure he would have loved that one too.

later tonight, i opened gifts and we had delicious chocolate fudge cake. mmm. . . thanks guys! i truly feel blessed. thank you to all of the birthday wishes out there. here's a cute shot of logan from this past sunday. i know i have a lot of blogging to catch up on from the past few months. keep checking back because i plan on getting to it very soon. . . .

"happy birthday mommy"

the loves of my life

16 months

2009-11-17T21:11:00.001-08:00

logan is now 16 months old. he continues to amaze me every day. these days he is like a sponge repeating words. he now says, "please" while nodding his head "yes." just tonight i heard him repeat "thank you." my all time favorite is "no, no, no" while waving his finger back and forth. jee. . . wonder where he got that one! :) he is such a loving and wonderful little boy. love you loges. happy 16 months.

logan enjoying a meal

coloring

watching bubbles with oreo

hide n' seek

our sweet logan

2009-10-20T21:01:00.001-07:00

today is a day that will always be very special to me. two years ago today, the san diego fertility center helped chris and i become parents. we will never forget what they did for us and we will forever be grateful. we love you logan.

our sweet boy

15 months

2009-10-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

we have been very busy lately to say the least. work has been hectic for both chris and myself. we've also had the pleasure of family and friends coming down to visit. my parents, auntie juju, our friends the dionne's, and just yesterday, our friends, the waxler's. i will post very soon about all of our adventures and visits. today, i realized i hadn't posted yet about logan turning 15 months yesterday. he is doing so well and is so much fun! here are a few recent pictures of our sweet baby boy. love you loges.

logan enjoying a padres game in the petco suite

playing with his food

loving life

listening to cousin nate

"i love my oreo"

"daddy let me do this" :)

(mommy made daddy clean it up too!)

having a great time playing with my cars

Cousins Trip to Disneyland

2009-09-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

we ventured out to disneyland and california adventure last month when my cousin katie and her family came to visit. it was extremely HOT the day we were there. almost unbearable. here are a few pictures from our trip. notice we spent a lot of time playing in the water area! :)

toy soldiers from toy story

"where's daddy? there he is!"

em having a blast in the water

"hey! the water is peeing on my foot!"

the kiddos loving the water

getting soaked

holding on tight

holding on not so tight

alyssa and logan the next day

caveney reading to the boys

em was listening too!

end of summer pics

2009-09-29T22:08:00.000-07:00

here are photos of our end of summer fun. logan suddenly started becoming a little boy!

all smiles

logan LOVES books

he crawled up to cuddle with mommy. sweet boy.

reading on his own

having fun in the ball pit!

trying on daddy's shoes

i'm a sucker for this shot

playing on the slide (thanks williams!)

"how about head first?"

mommy does not like this!

playing with a left over birthday hat

"hmm. . . what to order"

dinner at pf changs for our 7-year wedding anniversary

logan came along too. :)

he put on a show for us with chopsticks

"logan! where are you?"

"right here mom"

phoning a friend with his blackberry and bluetooth

eating with a fork!

"aww loges. . . such a big boy!"

reading again with daddy

my tired baby

aka my little linus

seaport village

2009-09-18T23:33:00.000-07:00

about a month ago we headed down to san diego to finally take chris and amanda and co. to seaport village. since they've lived near us in temecula, we haven't really shown them the sights we know and love in san diego. here are a few pics from our day. :)

the paparazzi found us! :)

loges

the gang. . . notice my bro with his new sword

nate, loges, and me under the giant statue

logan smiling at his uncle

walking with daddy

my brother getting loges with the sword

"you're funny uncle!"

sweet emily

it was a thumbs up kind of day. :)

14 months

2009-09-18T00:08:00.000-07:00

logan turned 14 months old today (well yesterday now)! we had our mommy and me class again this morning and another mom asked me how old logan was. uh. . . 14 months today! is it just me or do the questions about your baby make you feel guilty when you don't know the correct answer right away? "how many teeth does he have?" hmm. . . 8? 12? (logan come here and open up). the other day in best buy: "how long has he been walking?" 2 months. no wait. . .3 months. ugh. my friend and new mom last week: "when did he get his first tooth?" oh no. . . i don't know.

these are all questions i've been asked directly during the past week! i have all of this info written down in his baby book. at least there's that. but i still don't avoid the internal battle with myself when i don't know the answer to these questions immediately. like somehow i've failed. i know it sounds silly. who cares right? logan sure doesn't.

the absolute best thing that other people have told me the past few weeks is commenting on how happy logan is. "he's such a happy baby!" best thing a working mom could hear. :) happy 14 months loges. i love you with all of my heart and soul.

Summer Time Fun

2009-09-15T21:55:00.001-07:00

here are a few pictures from summer

loges and em

the family was eating at island's

these two are inseparable

taking a stroll around the lake

the gang having a great time

taking a ride to get the mail

holding on tight

logan playing with his water table

he loves it!

video of logan making dinosaur noises (sort of)

Mommy and Me Class

2009-09-05T21:26:00.000-07:00

so logan and i had our very first mommy and me class this past thursday. it wasn't called mommy and me though. it was called good morning sunshine or something like that. but basically, it was a mommy and me class. it was held at the local temecula recreation center. which by the way, is so nice and new. we get to take our class every thursday for the next 6 weeks.

unfortunately, the class is right in the middle of logan's usual morning nap at 10 a.m. he started to fall asleep in the car but i was able to wake him in a somewhat good mood. whew! he was so interested in the other babies and what we were doing. there was singing and moving. they even let the babies bang on pots and pans! logan did a double take during this before he hit his pan with the wooden spoon. so funny. logan loved the obstacle course too. at the end of the class, the teacher read a book. by far, logan's favorite activity! he loves reading and frequently requests several books to read each night. the teacher moved around the room as she read to ensure all the babies could see the book. logan followed her everywhere she went and sat right in front of her so he could see the book. it was pretty funny.

all in all, i was so happy logan and i went to the class. we are looking forward to next thursday! i love our bonding time!

logan practicing later that day

he loves making music!

a video of logan showing chris his new skill

Finn's Party

2009-08-31T20:36:00.000-07:00

my buddy finn had his first birthday party while i was up in san jose. i got to see some of my buddies finn, tyler, and evan. i even met a new friend too, joe. happy birthday finn! love, logan

finn and me playing with his toys

me and tyler (he's a year older than me and i sort of idolize him)

my mommy with dear friends from high school

evan and jen, teresa and finn,

dawn and tyler, and mommy and me!

we found some sticks

getting into mischief

finn had a pinata. daddy is helping me get toys

having a serious conversation with my new friend, joe

(he's married to mommy's dear friend laura)

tyler, me and finn playing

finn and me with our daddies

mommy and finn's mommy have been friends since 1st grade.

i hope to be a life long friend with finn too. he's cool.

finn is coming to visit me at the end of september. i am very excited to show him my toys and play with him at my house! i can't wait finn! see you soon!

Bonfante Gardens

2009-08-30T11:14:00.000-07:00

here are some pictures from our trip to bonfante gardens with grandma. for those of you who haven't been there, bonfante gardens is in gilroy, california and is now called gilroy gardens. it is a cute kid's amusement park with lots of rides but amazingly beautiful scenery and grounds. we love it there. thanks grandma! we had a lot of fun!

arriving

checking things out

amazing views

taking a walk with mom and grandma

having a great time

posing in front of one of the many beautiful waterfalls

loges with mommy

saying hello to the swan below

another beautiful waterfall

taking a rest

on the move again

riding the teeny tiny merry-go-round

(this one made me really dizzy)

beautiful flowers

a boat ride we went on

logan had to sit in his very own seat

"good job loges!"

posing with grandma

making funny sounds with grandma while on the train

"i like this"

A Visit to Grandma and Papa's

2009-08-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

a few weeks ago, chris and i decided logan needed some one on one time with his grandma and papa. so we drove the 7 hours to see them. while we were there, we went to bonfante gardens (now gilroy gardens) with grandma. we saw grandma and grandpa caveney and auntie dawn. we also went to logan's buddy finn's first birthday party and saw lots of friends!

logan and papa enjoying the water fall

sitting on this cute bench in my parents backyard

going for a ride with papa

whispering secrets?

"that's so silly guys!"

7 years ago

2009-08-23T08:39:00.000-07:00

happy anniversary honey. love you. love you. love you.

13 months

2009-08-17T21:21:00.001-07:00

logan is now 13 months old! he is walking more and more. he crawls faster than i can keep up with him. he climbs stairs very quickly. we've even caught him running on occasion. he has 2 more molars coming in at the moment (poor guy). he is pointing at everything. his favorite being trees and balloons. he waves (backwards but it's still waving) at people. he "talks" to people too. he loves interactive games like peek-a-boo and chase. he laughs and smiles. he giggles. i know i say this at every stage but. . . i love this stage. :)

logan recently had a doctor's appointment. he weighed in at a little over 21 pounds and was 30 inches long. he dropped in his percentiles but the doctor wasn't worried. she said he's moving around so much that he's burning calories off faster than he can gain them. wish i could figure out how to do that! here are a few recent photos of our loges. happy 13 months baby!

shooting hoops with daddy

someone's got the giggles!

going for a ride on his atv

my little thinker

"and he's off!"

watching daddy outside

"another picture mom?"

"i'm outta here"

home again

2009-08-11T00:18:00.000-07:00

this is how logan greeted oreo. he missed his kitty cat so much.

"this is oreo"

"hugs for my kitty. i love you oreo."

(or should i say "odeo")

pinecrest 2009

2009-08-10T22:17:00.000-07:00

logan had his first camping trip the weekend after his first birthday. it was a family trip. an extended family trip. aunts, uncles, cousins, my parents, nieces, nephews, second cousins, etc. there were about 30 of us total. some of us camped in tents. some of us stayed in cabins.

chris, logan, and myself drove up to san jose to meet up with my parents first. then we drove the rest of the way to pinecrest. we camped in our new tent, which was much better than last time. logan even had an area to play! logan spent the first night camping in our bed with me. chris slept on the floor that night. the next 2 nights, logan slept in a pea pod chris had gotten for him. he slept right next to me, which i think helped.

logan did fine with the dirt, which is what i was most worried about. he was fussy for the entire trip because he had a big molar coming in. poor guy.

the first day at the lake, logan did not want to venture into the water. so he and i hung out on the beach for most of the day. the second day we actually got him into the lake, with mommy close by of course.

it was so nice to see family and the 4 new babies together! we made the long drive home straight from pinecrest to temecula. we were so happy to be home!

our cool t-shirts (thanks katie!)

our custom made drink holders

playing with cousin emily

relaxing with papa

mommy and loges the first night of camping

nate with all of the inner tubes

papa carrying some down to the lake

the first day at the beach

loges playing in the play yard

all tuckered out

playing with grandma

and cousins

pat, chris, and my brother bringing in a teeny tiny boat

notice their matching swimsuits. . .

the girls did that on purpose. ha! ha!

A LOT of us out on the lake

(my brother has his arms up for the picture)

alyssa, logan, and riley playing back at camp

cousin evan and logan playing with logan's new bug toy

(thanks cousin jenny!)

playing "hi fives" with cousin dylan

thumbs up for daddy's popcorn!

logan checking out his new bug toy

"what a perfect birthday gift for camping!"

first ones up!

em likes the view

logan trying to call oreo

"hi mom"

cooking breakfast

"i love you papa!"

caveney, loges, and papa

em is ready!

day 2 at the beach

the newest babies and their mommas

me and loges, cousin jenny and riley

amanda and em, cousin katie and alyssa

playing nicely with his shovels

logan swimming in the lake

venturing out with papa

(i'm in the inner tube to the left)

aunt mimi and nathan having a

good time

happy em

mom and aunt tricia posing

no idea my dad and uncle stewart are behind them

"uh-oh!"

the bryant clan

pinecrest 2009

Logan's Party

2009-07-31T21:02:00.001-07:00

ok. . . so here are the pictures everyone has been asking about. logan had a great first birthday party. lots of friends and family at our house. logan had fun with friends and all of his cousins. he woke up from his morning nap just in time for grandma and grandpa caveney and aunt dawn to arrive. perfect timing. he came down to a house full of familiar faces and loved ones all around.

we ate.

we played.

we smashed cake.

we opened gifts for what seemed like an eternity when you are the mom. so strange to suddenly be opening your child's gifts during a party. it almost doesn't feel right. :) at least i had two 4-year olds more than willing to help rip open presents. ha! ha!

here are some pictures from logan's party. still can't believe my baby is 1 already. (deep sigh)

logan and mommy at the start of the party

the food

the deserts. mmm.

logan's cake

logan and grandpa caveney

dancing with auntie dawn

cousin emily trying to get into the gifts

nate and conner in the bounce house

(thanks g&g caveney for letting us borrow your bounce house)

nathan and our dear friend's daughter, malia

playing at logan's new water table

(perfect for the heat that day!)

woohoo! party!

logan playing with auntie

logan talking to nathan and conner

emily joining in

time to open presents

loges with mommy and our two little helpers :)

logan loves getting cards

cute hat from the williams (missed you guys!)

still opening. . .

last one!

the atv we got loges (hilarious!)

going for a ride in the wagon from g&g caveney

emily and logan

they like it! :)

logan loves riding in his wagon to get the mail

and for our strolls around the lake

"this is fun!"

taking his car for a spin

"thanks grandma and papa!"

a pro already!

grandma taking logan for a spin

logan cracking up

the four year olds taking a turn in the wagon

aiden pulling them!

em driving

time for cake!

it started out okay

things got a little messy

daddy and mommy getting a taste too

exploring. . . good. . .

"oh my"

don't panic. . .

umm. . .

maybe chocolate cake wasn't the best idea. . .

things got out of control pretty quickly :)

birthday outfit. . .$20

chocolate cake. . .$5

smashing chocolate cake all over yourself

during your 1st birthday party. . . priceless. :)

logan checking out his new toys

(notice the quick change in clothes) :)

"look! my fish balloon!"

playing with his new activity center

(i love this thing! thanks g&g caveney!)

logan loves it too!

jumping with daddy

playing with friends. . .

and cousins

"it was the best day guys!"

Logan's 1st Birthday

2009-07-30T23:14:00.000-07:00

here are some pictures from logan's actual birthday. we spent the morning just the 4 of us (oreo included). logan opened a few of our gifts around the time of his actual birth 8:11 a.m. shortly after he opened his gifts, he took a nap. what a good boy!

grandma and papa drove down from san jose and spent some time with just loges. then cousins, aunts, and uncles joined in on the fun. we even went swimming later in the day.

that night, aunt kim, uncle ronnie, and cousin aiden arrived from san jose as well. it was so nice to have a lot of family around. logan didn't know what was going on but he enjoyed all of the familiar faces!

"hey, what's in here?"

"this looks fun!"

"i like my new chair! thanks mommy and daddy!"

logan's favorite thing to point at all day (seriously)

logan in his cute lion "i'm one" shirt

grandma and papa gave logan a water table!

i think he was good with the box. :)

cousin em joined in on the fun

these two are hilarious together.

they are never far away from one another.

see :)

swimming later in the day

(this is only logan's 2nd day in the pool)

logan and aiden playing together

cousin aiden arrived that night

they were quick to bond in the ball pit

"i had a great day guys!"

happy birthday sweetheart.

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY LOGAN!!!

2009-07-17T01:07:00.000-07:00

it's been a year. an entire year already.

i find myself not being able to sleep tonight. just like a year ago. . . only for different reasons. tonight i'm busy getting ready for logan's party on saturday. getting ready for both the cory's and caveney's coming into town for the big day. cleaning the house. finishing up work stuff. thinking about what we were doing one year ago.

i know i only got about an hour or two of sleep last year. knowing my little guy would be with us in a few short hours. we left for the hospital around 4:30 a.m. yuck. we arrived around 5:30. scheduled c-section at 7 a.m., which was actually closer to 8. he was born at 8:11 a.m. july 17th, 2008.

hands down. . . best day of my life.

happy birthday loges!!! we love you!!!

let the celebration begin! :)

here are a few pictures from our last session at picture people last weekend.

my big 1-year old

someday. . . he'll be driving too

(now that's a scary thought)

stacking blocks

(chris actually stacked these!)

"what are you looking at?"

4th of july

2009-07-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

here are a few pics from our 4th of july.

chris, logan, and nathan playing on the trampoline

"this is so fun guys"

"let's go guys!"

walking with dada

trying not to touch the grass with his foot

me and nathan

mommy and loges at fireworks

trip to sea world

2009-07-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

on friday 7/3, logan and myself took a trip down to sea world with my friend (and boss) kari, and her two little ones, skylar and mikayla (mj). skylar is only a couple of weeks younger than loges. we call her his girlfriend. :) here are a few pics from our fun day at sea world.

up close with shamu

logan eating lunch and watching shamu

(that's why the pics here are blue)

"mommy look behind you. . . .there's a whale!"

mj, skylar, and loges

kari's daughter, mj

"do we have to leave? i love it here."