Filling the days with fun

We've been trying to make sure we take advantage of the great things around us to do, be it a local park or Disneyland! Last week I took the kids to the Discovery Science Museum, a local water fountain in town, and to the club we joined that has pools, play areas, and daycare for adults to work out by themselves (secretly my favorite part!). We've also had lots of fun connecting with good friends, and meeting new ones too! This weekend we went to the beach AND took the kids to Disneyland for the first time! We went to California Adventure, and Hudson got see Mater and McQueen in CarsLand, which was a highlight for sure. Stella and Hudson rode their first rides, and some how we made it out of there without spending our life savings on souvenirs! SO we will definitely be going back for more. :)

Mothers day

For Mothers day this year, we went to Balboa beach. It was fantastic. Relaxing, fun, peaceful. Best day ever. Hudson LOVES the water, but wants to hold your hand the entire time he is near it. Stella LOVES everything but the water. It will grow on her. ;)

riding the waves of change

It's been six weeks since we arrived her in Claremont. In some ways it feels like we've been here longer, in other ways i feel like we'll be heading back to Denver any day now. Our house is semi-settled. We've found the grocery stores and parks. Hudson has started going to school two mornings a week, and Andy's now working on his job in Riverside. Life could be semi-normal, depending on how you look at it. Still, we are in transition. I'm still adjusting to life at home. Still adjusting to not being a "professional career woman" at the moment. And Andy is still adjusting to his new team, role, etc. I know it all takes time, but I think the hardest things come in places you don't expect, and that's what makes some days harder than others. Changes in friendships, changes with the kids, etc. Yet that is the way life is, I guess. Ups and downs, cup half full or half empty. It's a matter of perspective, but it can still get you down on occasion. So we'll take it day by day, looking forward to the positives and supporting each other through the challenges. I am thankful to have Andy with me through this journey, I couldn't imagine it with anyone else.

Since we've been here, Stella has taken off walking and is now zooming around on her own! She's been walking with a finger to hold for months, and has taken steps here or there since she was just over 12 months, but for some reason she didn't want to venture out on her own two feet until she was almost 15 months! Can't complain about it though, it's made her so easy to cart around! And we all know Hudson is a lot of work on his own to manage in public settings (and at home, let's face it), so it's been nice to have Stella be more mellow. Hudson continues to amaze us with his growing intellect and vocabulary. He carries on great conversation, and has really gotten into ocean animals, airplanes, and riding his bike, but still loves his cars and trains. He is pretty ready for a bike with pedals, so we will look into that for his birthday most likely.

Stella is now wearing 12-18 month clothes, still in size 3 diaper, and fits her size 4 shoes pretty well now. She sleeps from about 7pm - 6am, then has been taking a 30 min cat nap in the morning and about a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. She still drinks a fair amount of milk, and since she still only has 4 1/2 teeth (one is about half way in), she can't quite eat everything. She is a pretty picky eater too, unlike her brother at this age.

Hudson is in size 4 clothes, sometimes size 5, he's squeezed into his size 11 shoes and just about ready for the next size up, and sleeps from about 7:30 (or whenever he can stop wiggling enough to fall asleep!) to when Stella wakes us all up in the morning. Depending on how hard he plays, he'll take a 1 1/2 − 3 hour nap in the afternoon! He is very energetic, and loves interacting with people. He talks often about his friends and family, and we know for sure he needs people around him!!

T&B Wedding

This last weekend my cousin got married up in Santa Barbara. It was a beautiful wedding and a fun weekend!! Here are some pics!

 Congrats Ted and Brittanny! Wish you the best!

 The heart was a hit with everyone at the wedding! You can see our family took a couple pics with it :) and you can see below how it hung between two palm trees!

 The ceremony took place on the lawn of this house…Dos Pueblos Ranch in Santa Barbara 

 During Brad's toast...

 Great to see Trim and Ambra again! And fun to get to spend some time with Amie and Grandma too!! Andy was wonderful to stay home with the kids, though I missed him and know he would have LOVED the location. 

 what a beautiful backdrop for the cake! They had lighting out to the water and uplighting the trees, creating a lovely effect for photos and viewing!

Friday  night we had a family dinner on a golf course, and it was so fun to have almost everyone together!! Our family continues to grow, and it's great!! You can also see the reception area on the beach as the sun was setting - it was pretty cool!

no shoes, shirt, anything required

 This week is in the 90s, and we just purchased a little pool for the backyard (small kid pool). This has meant one thing: POOL TIME ALL THE TIME. Which of course means, no clothes. I have now put clothes on these kids for two days in a row, after pool time, only to have them both back in the water fully clothed within 30 minutes. Therefore, we spent the afternoon naked. No. THEY spent the afternoon naked. I haven't completely lost all sense of reality yet. 

So what better thing to do than take a few pictures of these buns? 

 Hudson takes eating almost as seriously as he takes pool time. Almost. 

 Today, after morning time in the water, Hudson took a 3 HOUR NAP. If that tells you at all how much he loves that pool.

Meanwhile, Stella took every opportunity to get on the train while Hudson was preoccupied by the water. 

days at home with these characters

Well we've been home together for a little over a month now, and we are beginning to get into the swing of things. Routine is still developing, but I'm working to make sure we mix things up enough that no one is getting terribly bored or stir crazy (especially me). Hudson will be starting a preschool program two days a week starting next week, and that will keep him learning new things and making some new friends! We also just joined a local club - yes, we are moving up in the world! - that offers work out classes, 3 pools, and FREE DAYCARE while you work out. Yes. That is the main reason we signed up. That and we can cancel anytime, so we're just giving it a shot to see if it works for us.

Our days at home have begun to reinforce something with Stella and Hudson for me - Hudson is ALL boy, and Stella is ALL girl. Hudson could drive cars, crash things, play airplanes in the dirt, drive tractors through his dinner plate, all day. And Stella, (i have NO idea where she gets this from) finds random things that look like jewelry and puts them on. She's petite already, but how on earth does this ONE year old know about jewelry (i don't wear much, especially because she yanks on it!) and how to wear it!? She's girly. It's so amazing to watch their characters develop, their innate personalities. So much of our parenting can influence who they become, but these two are born to be who they are, and it's very cool to see it begin to take shape, even in the smallest of ways. 

So i've been unemployed for over a month now. Or, i should say, i've only been working one full time job instead of two. :) And i have to say, i do miss my coworkers, and the position I was able to have at Front Range. I met some amazing friends, and look forward to our paths crossing again. I don't really miss Denver. I do miss the kids' daycare teacher, Lina. She was awesome. And i do miss the freedom I had to drop the kids off and not have to worry about them all day. But I think I can honestly say I am enjoying my time with them - most of the time. Of course there are moments throughout the day when i just want to crawl in a hole for a minute. But then nap time comes, gives me a 20 minute break (maybe more, depending on who wants to sleep well that day), and i get to spend a few minutes cleaning the house by myself. Wait a minute, that does NOT sound like something I would say. I don't like doing that. In fact, I don't really know if i can explain how I feel about all this change. It's been a LOT. A LOT. These kids are handling it amazingly though, and I love that. I've LOVED connecting with old friends, meeting our neighbors, exploring parks, and just figuring out things to do together. I also love when Andy gets home at the end of the day. :) 

Sure there have been hard days, hard moments, second thoughts, and concern that we made a mistake. But in two days we're driving up to Santa Barbara for my cousins wedding. DRIVING. My entire family will be there. And though we would have gone even in we lived in Denver still, it's different. We spent Easter with family. Yesterday I took a friend to lunch for her birthday. Last weekend Andy and I went on a REAL DATE, while a babysitter watched the kids. It was awesome. 

So, so far, life here isn't perfect, but it's pretty darn good. I'm blessed, thankful, hopeful, and trying to keep the cup half full for our family, no matter what comes our way. 

And i think i'm going to take more pictures WITH my kids from now on. :) 

adventuring out to California

 On our last sunday in Denver, we visited my wonderful friend from work, Mary. It was a great way to end our time in Colorado, with her and her family! The next day the packers came, and the day after the moving truck came and loaded all our things for the drive out to Claremont. Wednesday, March 26th we began our trip…the four of us and Lego, in the car. For three days. No, we have not gone insane. And somehow, we did survive. But it wasn't easy!

 Our first night we stopped in Moab, thinking we could take the morning to hike and see the beauty. Our plans were spoiled when Stella started vomiting the day before…for the ENTIRE TRIP. So we limped along…by day two Hudson was sick, and by the end of day two I was sick. SO we rolled into Claremont, VERY anxious to get out of the car!! Thankfully we arrived to this beautiful home!!

 Two trips to urgent care, medication, furniture arriving, and help from Grandma Rosdil, we were on the mend. The first week we were here we headed out to Aunt Susies house to visit with Oma, Auntie and Uncle Travers, and the great grandparents! We checked out the aquarium in San Pedro and had LOTS of FUN! Which was a wonderful change from the week before!!

And Stellas in her first pair of SHORTS! :)