Scott Family Updates

Motorhome

2011-11-04T21:51:00.000-07:00

Today my parents sold their motorhome. Since my dad retired in 2002 (I think that is the right year?) motorhoming has been a fun way for my parents to travel and come visit us in Sacramento. We were laughing today, remembering that Chloe used to call the motorhome my parents "house," and the house in San Rafael their "other house!" Bye-bye motorhome!! You will be missed!

Yummy Cheerios!

2011-11-03T20:48:00.001-07:00

Micah loves to feed himself Cheerios for breakfast. Sometimes he tries to use a spoon, but he usually shoves handfuls in his mouth!

Can't forget to drink the milk...

Good to the last drop...

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T22:17:00.000-07:00

For Halloween, Chloe wanted to be Rapunzel, and she wanted Micah to either be a prince or the horse from Tangled. Thankfully, Rebecca had the brilliant idea that Micah could be Pascal, the chameleon from the Tangled movie. I bought Micah some green sweats and Elaine magically transformed them into a chameleon costume! Thanks so much!!

In the car, driving to church for Trunk or Treat!

Thanks to Dean for the following pictures....

Em, D, Shae, Chloe, with their dragon Devin

One of the cars was decorated as Rapunzel's tower. Chloe was being shy and wouldn't let the other Rapunzel hold her!

Em and D posing at the princess castle

Disney on Ice

2011-10-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

This afternoon Chloe and I went to see Disney on Ice at Arco. It was so cute to see all the girls dressed up and so excited to see their favorite princesses!! Thanks, Jen, for inviting us and getting some awesome seats for an even more awesome price!

Irie, Claire, Chloe, and Ella are ready to see the show!

still waiting!

My favorite was Alice in Wonderland, when the playing cards came out and turned around and the cards were two-sided. It was so cool to see them spinning around, red on the front and black on the back, but otherwise you can't tell the front from the back!!

This was Chloe's favorite...all the princesses dancing with their princes.

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

Today was a super busy day, and we managed to squeeze in time to carve Chloe's pumpkin from the pumpkin farm field trip. We have other pumpkins, too, but probably won't carve them. Oh well!

yes, she is licking the pumpkin top here!

gooey!!
the final product!

Chloe loves to put the pumpkin in the bathroom so she can turn off all the lights and see the pumpkin glow!

Fudgsicle

2011-10-29T17:36:00.000-07:00

Today was a fun day! We had Emelyn, Delaney, and Alannah over for the afternoon, and Andrew built them a huge fort in the living room. The older girls ate lunch in the fort and had a blast! For dessert, all the kids ate Fudgsicles. This was Micah's first popsicle, and he loved it!!!

Preschool Dress Up Day!

2011-10-27T20:15:00.000-07:00

At preschool today, the kids got to dress up in their costumes and go trick or treating in the church office and Life with Spice. It was so cute to see all these little kids parade around the church! Chloe refused to wear her Rapunzel hair, but I got her to carry it for much of the parade. After the parade, I stayed to volunteer in the class, and it was fun to see Chloe play with her friends and learn a bit of the class routines. Love the preschool!

Luke and Chloe during circle time

all the princesses showing off their costumes

ready to trick or treat

Kids at Doctor

2011-10-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

After getting haircuts today, we had lunch with Kari and the boys, and then I took Chloe to the doctor because she has had her cough for over a month and it seems to be getting worse. Doctor says it is a new cold that she is getting, so that is why the symptoms are worse. Awesome! While we were there, I decided to have the kids get their flu shots, and Micah was able to get a few other vaccines that he needed. Here they are hanging out on the table waiting for the nurse to get everything ready...

Micah's First Haircut!

2011-10-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

Kari and I took Sam and Micah for haircuts today....this was Micah's first official haircut. I had trimmed it a few times at home, but it was needing help from a trained professional to even it up! Micah was so brave...he didn't cry at all, and only whined a little bit. His hairdresser's name was Katie and she was awesome with him!!

not so sure about this!

those clippers tickle!

all done!

Handsome boy!!

Fun times with the Serranos

2011-10-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

Jodi watched the kids today while I worked, and she was super brave and took all 5 kids on an adventure!! They went shopping, to the park, and to the library!!! She is my hero. And she managed to take some super cute pictures to document the fun! Here are some I stole from her FB page...

Preschool Field Trip

2011-10-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

We had a field trip to the pumpkin farm today with Chloe's preschool class. This was our second attempt for the field trip--last time it got rained out! Today was nice and warm!!

Chloe and Luke on the hay ride...he refused to turn around!

Chloe and Luke getting ready to feed the goats

walking through the corn maze (well, more like a path!)

Micah (with Kari) and Sam getting ready to go down the slide

standing in line waiting for the big slides

Garren's Birthday Party

2011-10-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

Today, we helped celebrate Garren's 3rd birthday at Fairy Tale Town. We had fun on the slides and running around, but didn't play much with Garren. We will need to have a playdate soon!

Andrew and Micah in the treehouse

at the bottom of the slide

waiting for cake

goofy girl!

giddy up horsey!

let me go, Daddy!

such good balance!

and the following two pics are thanks to the Serranos....

on the slide...love this boy!

I love this picture! Chloe is very serious about keeping Alannah safe on the slide!

Sleeping baby!

2011-10-14T17:24:00.000-07:00

This does not look at all comfortable, but he is so cute!!!

Shop til the kids drop!

2011-10-10T19:37:00.000-07:00

The kids and I drove in the rain down to Vacaville today to have lunch and shop with Gree. Thanks for all the new clothes, Gree! We had a lot of time sitting in traffic on the drive there and back home. Thankfully, both kids were worn out for the drive home and slept most of the way!! Don't worry I took these pics while the car was stopped!!

This is a pretty good shot of Micah's poor scraped up nose!

Micah's smiles

2011-10-08T20:12:00.000-07:00

I am feeling a bit guilty about the lack of pictures from the past few months, so wanted to try to get some cute pictures of the kids today.....here are a bunch of Micah posing. I couldn't choose a favorite!

Hanging in the front yard

2011-10-08T16:51:00.000-07:00

Chloe wanted to walk around with her umbrella today, so we went out front. What is wrong with these kids' mom letting them run around outside on a cold day with no shoes on? :)

watching his big sister!

Extreme close up! Micah likes to run to the camera when I try to take pictures of him!

(and a good pic of his scraped up nose and head from a face plant)

Messy boy!

2011-10-02T16:38:00.000-07:00

Micah disappeared for a few minutes yesterday, and this is what I found when I hunted him down! Sitting in the middle of his room, with the contents of his dresser all around him, pulling wipes out of the container, and SO PROUD OF HIMSELF!!! This is an action shot of him pulling wipes out--notice the blurry arm?

The next day, Micah emptied out a box of Cheerios on the living room floor. I have a feeling we are going to have our hands full with this one!!

Camping with the Serranos

2011-09-24T23:18:00.000-07:00

Dean and Jodi took their girls camping this weekend at Jackson Meadows. We planned to join them camping, until Andrew decided that his shoulder is still too sore and his ability to use it too limited that camping and sleeping on the ground would be miserable. So, instead of camping, we decided to drive up for the day to hang out and have fun with our friends.

It took over 2 hours to get there, and we had to make a bathroom stop on the way there. Thankfully, I packed Chloe's potty seat, and we pulled over on the side of the road and hid behind some bushes. Andrew took some pics of Chloe exploring while we were stopped...

I downloaded the following pictures from Jodi's facebook...

hanging out by the lake

The girls preferred to eat their marshmallows uncooked and loved their chocolate, but I was way excited about my smores!

Silly Chloe!

2011-09-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

I love this goofy girl!!

Car Wash!

2011-09-18T19:14:00.000-07:00

Chloe has been asking to wash our cars, so she and Andrew put on their swimsuits today and washed our cars! Chloe helped for the first half of Andrew's car, but then was tired and didn't help with my car at all. I dried both cars!

and then a few pictures from my favorite poser...

Preschool

2011-09-06T10:51:00.000-07:00

Chloe has been wanting to go to school for as long as she has been old enough to talk and ask to go. She loves learning and having teachers!!! Thanks to the generosity of Gree and Gramps, we were able to sign up Chloe for the 3s class in the preschool at Christ Community. The preschool room is the same room she is in on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights, so she is already familiar with it, which has helped her to be more comfortable with it. When we were walking in this morning, she was singing, "I am going to school. woo hoo!!" I love her enthusiasm!! While I was waiting in line to sign her in, she ran ahead, got her nametag, and started painting. I don't think I need to worry about her at all!!

Big boy!!!!

2011-08-26T16:42:00.000-07:00

Today I moved Micah into a booster seat rather than his high chair. He had started climbing out of his high chair, so I thought it was time. Here he is having chicken nuggets at the table. He looks like such a little boy here and is no longer a baby... ;(

an action shot of Micah showing off his nugget!

of course, my goofy girl wanted her picture taken also!

My Little Helper

2011-08-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

I was vacuuming today and Micah started crying and trying to grab the vacuum away from me. I let him have it, and he started vacuuming the house. It was so cute!! I remember when Chloe was one she would cry because she didn't like the loud noise of the vacuum, not because she wanted to help clean! I have hopes that Micah's love of cleaning will continue!!!

VBS Performance

2011-07-15T21:34:00.000-07:00

Chloe spent this week at VBS at Fair Oaks Pres Church. I love their program there and Chloe had so much fun!! The preschoolers did the Panda Mania curriculum--the same one Chloe did at Arcade Church in June--and the older kids did a drama/music/puppetry camp. Tonight was their big performance. Chloe and the other preschoolers sang one song. Chloe did a few of the hand motions, but didn't sing much. She is so cute!!

here she is waiting with her class

a blurry photo of her on stage

Micah reading and watching Chloe perform

Micah sleeping

2011-07-09T17:27:00.000-07:00

We had to wake Micah up from his morning nap today, and this is how I found him--cuddling with his musical dog stuffed animal. So cute!!!!

He was not happy with us waking him up by taking pictures. Poor Micah!

Andrew's Physical Therapy

2011-07-08T17:13:00.000-07:00

Andrew got his brace off on Wednesday, so now has the painful task of strengthening his arm and shoulder. He has exercises to do at home, and will continue to see the physical therapist. He is thankful to have more use of his right arm, but he said that arm is more painful now because he is using it more. At this point, he is not allowed to lift anything heavier than 5 pounds with his right arm, which definitely limits carrying kids and helping out. He is already making good progress, and we are hoping he can be pain-free and have full use of his arm soon!!

Discovery Kingdom, animals

2011-07-07T22:37:00.000-07:00

The kids (except for Chloe) and Kristen had fun feeding and holding birds.....I was the photographer and keeper of Chloe!

Hannah looks so happy feeding the bird some nectar!

I think Shae was saying, "When is the bird going to leave?"

Devin loved this!!

Kristen showing the kids how it is done!

Chloe took this picture at the elephant show--pretty good, eh? She said she did not like the show, though, because the elephant pooped 3 times during the act. We also saw the orca, tiger, and sea lion/seal shows.

Discovery Kingdom, rides

2011-07-07T21:57:00.000-07:00

Chloe and I joined Kristen, Shae, Devin, and Hannah for a fun-filled day at Discovery Kingdom. I keep wanting to call it Marine World...oh well!!

Chloe and Devin ready for their first ride!

Shae and Hannah

Devin on the far left

Chloe and Shae

Chloe was a bit freaked out at this point! Notice all the other kids have their hands in the air, and Chloe is holding on tightly!! Thankfully, Kristen is awesome, and ran over and pretended to catch Chloe as the ride would go up, and then fall a bit, and repeated this a few times. I thought they were going to have to stop the ride so Chloe could get off, but Kristen made her laugh, so all was good. whew!!

Dumbo ride....

Ugh, tea cups. There was no way that either Kristen or I were going to ride with the kids on this one!!!

For the most part, the kids did great. We walked a bunch, and the kids traded turns riding in the wagon. Chloe enjoyed most of the rides, except for the water ride--of course!! I should have known better and not taken her on it, but it was hot out and I thought it would be fun to cool off. She was ok until about halfway through, she got splashed by a huge wave and her clothes were soaked. She cried the rest of the ride.....thankfully we had a set of dry clothes and got her quickly changed and cheered up as soon as we got off the ride. Everyone else rode again, but Chloe and I sat in the sun to warm up and dry off!

1 year check up

2011-07-06T15:53:00.000-07:00

Micah had his one year check up today. I was so curious to see where he was on the growth charts, because he seems soooo huge to me!!! Without further ado, here are his numbers:

height: 2' 7" or 31" (85th percentile)

weight: 25 lbs, 11 oz. (90th percentile)

He actually weighs less than I thought he did....but he is still pretty heavy to carry around all the time! I need to get this boy walking more than a few steps at a time!

Kids' Birthday Party, more pics!!

2011-06-26T21:24:00.000-07:00

Dean took these pictures at the kids' party, and Jodi emailed them to me.....I love them! (the pictures and the Serrano family!!)

look at those teeth!!

such a poser!

Delaney, Chloe, and Emelyn having fun playing together!

Em posing too!!

Blowing out her princess wand candles!

Delaney looks happy eating her cupcake! Better hurry before all the frosting melts off!!

Grandma giving Micah a taste of frosting

Kids' Birthday Party!!!

2011-06-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

Today, we celebrated Chloe's 3 1/2 and Micah's 1 year old birthdays! Happy birthday to our sweet kids!!! This morning, Andrew went to Patriot's Park to "reserve" tables by taping some homemade signs to the picnic tables closest to the play structures. It totally worked!! When we showed up for the party at 11, the tables were not being used. woo hoo!! Special thanks to Ade for coming over early to make a stack of PB&J sandwiches and to Elaine for coming early to help unload the car and set up at the park.

Daddy, Princess Chloe, and Prince Micah are ready for the party!!

(Ade bought Micah that cute crown!)

Beautiful princess!

Daddy and daughter snack time

Riding the airplane together--so cute!!!

Micah loves the slide!

Grandma helping Micah walk at the park--she was his self-appointed babysitter during the party. So awesome!!

walking is hard!

make a wish!

he looks like he is blowing out his candle!

yummy cupcake

Chloe squealed when she opened this present from Marisa (and Kevin and Jakob)--a Cinderella purse, gloves, and necklace.

Mommy loves her little princess!

Purple Princess!

2011-06-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

pretty princess!

After Chloe decided that she wanted to have a princess birthday party, I thought it would be fun to give her a new princess dress as a 3 1/2 year old present. Not sure if I will keep doing 1/2 year presents, but it seemed fitting as she was having her birthday party now. So, we found this dress online (on sale, of course), but it is way too big for her. She wore it at home for a bit, but then said she needed to get bigger to wear it. Thankfully, yesterday, I had been digging through the bins of hand me down from Shae and found a pretty party dress, and Chloe was very excited to wear it instead. Whew! Crisis averted!!

Foam Letters

2011-06-24T18:52:00.000-07:00

For some reason, Chloe thought it would be a good idea to take apart our foam letter floor mat and put them around Micah's neck. And for some reason, Micah let her do this to him.....

So, of course, Micah took this opportunity to chew on the foam pieces!

(I rescued him right after I took these pictures!!)

Fire Station

2011-06-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

Our mom2mom group took a field trip to the fire station this morning. Chloe kept talking about how the firemen helped her daddy last week when he hurt his shoulder. She really wanted to thank them for coming in the ambulance and helping her daddy and taking him to the hospital, and she talked about it most of the drive to the station. Of course, once we got there, she was too shy and made me thank them!!

It was a hot day, and all the kids did a great job listening to the fireman talk!

Devin posing!

(Chloe was too afraid...)

Devin driving the fire truck!

Chloe driving the fire truck!

(These are blurry, but I wanted to post them, because it was the first time she was brave enough to climb into the engine.)

spraying the hose!

future firefighters!!

Happy Father's Day!!

2011-06-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to my awesome hubby!! Even though he is recovering from a dislocated shoulder, he managed to have some fun today. We went to church, had breakfast burritos for lunch, he helped Chloe pick some cherries in our backyard, and played with some rockets and Bocce Ball at the park. Thanks for being the best daddy to our kids!!!

Micah wanted a turn on the ladder too! Thanks Gree for helping him out!

He climbed onto the rocking horse all by himself!!!

Such a helper!

2011-06-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

Micah loves to help me unload the dishwasher and today he decided to climb right up!!!

Micah is One!!!!

2011-06-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to our sweet little boy!!

Today has been an interesting day, for two reasons. First, Micah and I have both had 102 fevers since Sunday, and I went to Kaiser this morning and found out I have strep throat. Ouch!! Second, Andrew was playing softball last night and dislocated his shoulder. He started going into shock, and his teammates called 911. Meg called me to tell me what was going on, and to tell me that Chloe was ok (Chloe had gone to the game and was hanging out with Meg and her kids, while Micah and I were home sick). I called Elaine crying, and she went to Kaiser to meet the ambulance, Kristen drove out to Capital Christian to pick up Chloe, and Ade came over to hang out with me until Andrew got home at 12:30 in the morning. I love our family!!!

So, we didn't do much to celebrate Micah today.....poor baby!! He will be celebrated at the joint Charlie/Micah/Father's Day pizza in the park on Sunday, and at his kid party in a few weeks. We love you, Micah!!!

some snuggle time with sick momma

I did not make a cake for Micah like I was planning, so he got to eat some ice cream instead. In the picture above, he said "yay!!" when we handed him the empty bag!!

chewing his ice cream. He did not even react to the cold!

Tired boy!

2011-06-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

Today is Micah's first time being forward facing in the car seat. He was so cute looking around and talking to Chloe!! We went to Jakob's birthday party this morning and then had a long drive to get to Alannah's birthday party. I was so thankful when I saw Micah fast asleep in his car seat during the drive! I remember it being a hard adjustment for Chloe when we moved her to the new car seat, so I am glad it was so easy for Micah!!

Worst Mom Award

2011-06-08T17:01:00.000-07:00

Micah and I were sitting in the backyard this afternoon cutting his fingernails, I leaned over to pick something up, and next thing I knew, Micah had fallen off my lap and face planted on the ground. Poor baby!! He is so brave though, and only cried for a few minutes. He scraped his nose and has a nice goose egg on his forehead. Here he is with his road rash...

playing with mom's cell phone makes the pain go away

a few minutes later, walking around the living room!

Train time!

2011-05-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

Micah is getting better at walking while holding onto things--one of his favorites is this train. He especially loves to push it if big sister is going for a ride!

Yes, this is a blurry picture, because Micah was walking so fast!!

Just hanging out!

2011-05-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

Chloe and Micah and I (and Andrew when he was home from work) spend a lot of time this week in the garage and front yard watching PG&E repair a gas leak in the front lawn across the street. We first smelled the leak earlier this week and called it in. The crew came out and started digging, and broke the water main. Chloe and I were watching when that happened! She was fascinated by the water gushing down the street. I was amazed that it took so long for the water company to respond and turn off the water. The PG&E crew determined that a tree needed to be removed to fix the leak, so that is what the kids are watching in the picture above. Fun times!!

Mother's day

2011-05-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

After the bike ride yesterday, we spent the night at my parents' house. We went out for dinner to celebrate Andrew's birthday last night, and then spent the morning celebrating Mother's Day with my mom and Nitiya. Andrew and Chloe went for a walk and came home with some beautiful flowers, a balloon, and card. Chloe has decided that the balloon is for her, of course!! I can't believe that I forgot to take any pictures with my mom!! We drove back to Sacramento this afternoon and had a yummy dinner with Andrew's family. Happy Mother's day!!

Santa Rosa Wine Country Century

2011-05-07T20:08:00.000-07:00

First of all, Happy birthday to my awesome hubby!! We decided to celebrate his birthday this year at the Wine Country Century bike ride in Santa Rosa. Andrew has done this ride in years past, but I have never ridden it.

Looking wide awake at 7 am!

The Arcade Church team

Sisters-in-law ready to ride 35 miles!
(Everyone else on the team rode either 100K or 100 miles)

Silly Grandpa

2011-04-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

Bill and Elaine came over for dinner tonight, and Chloe was entertaining us with her singing and dancing skills. She then decided that it was Grandpa's turn, and he seemed very comfortable belting out tunes and strumming on the Elmo guitar!!!

Bike ride!

2011-04-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

Andrew and I are signed up for a bike ride on May 7. I am going to attempt to ride 35 miles, and Andrew's doing 65. We have not been training much, so we decided to load up the kids and go for a ride! They did so great in there together!! Micah cried a few times, but Chloe would stick his pacifier in his mouth, and he took a few short naps. We rode 10 miles today and are going to do 15-20 miles tomorrow....

Two princesses!

2011-04-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

We had Juni over for a playdate today, and she and Chloe played so well together!! I loved how they shared toys, took turns, and communicated their frustrations, rather than screaming or crying (which Chloe is apt to do!) Chloe was so funny--she told me that Juni looks kind of like Ella, so she started calling her Ella. When I reminded her that we had Juni over, not Ella, Chloe said, "I know, but she looks like Ella, so I am going to call her Ella!!"

peeling the paper off crayons...

Tinkerbell and Cinderella creating a masterpiece!!

Daisies!

2011-04-10T21:11:00.000-07:00

Back when I was in junior high, my Grandma Katherine brought some yellow highway daisies to my parents' house. She thought they were pretty and they planted them in the front yard. Fast forward about 20 years, and these flowers have taken over their front lawn....Chloe had fun sitting in the field of flowers!

Tahoe City, Day 2

2011-04-03T22:09:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, the Ewers drove up for the day to play and sled with us. Chloe had fun playing with Shae and Devin, and I think their presence made her a bit more brave on the sledding hill!!

Grandma and Aunt Kristen hard at work digging a sled run

Micah did NOT like his snow suit or the snow, but he had fun hanging out with Uncle Charlie!

We had such a fun weekend!! Thanks to Bill and Elaine for getting this cabin and to the Ewers for joining us!

Tahoe City, Day 1

2011-04-03T21:52:00.000-07:00

Bill and Elaine took our family on a weekend getaway to a cabin near Tahoe City. There was a ton of snow there, and we had fun playing!!!

Chloe with her snow princess. Note the "crown" she is wearing!

Cuddles in the snow cave Andrew dug

Chloe had a hard time walking in the snow, and this was her preferred way to get around!!

I love the expression on her face here!

Books!

2011-03-31T18:05:00.000-07:00

One of Micah's favorite activities is to pull books off the shelves and make a huge mess. Here he is in the office, looking so proud of himself and so happy after cleaning off almost an entire shelf. This is why we usually keep the office door shut! I hope that his love of books continues, and he will love to read them one day, not just throw them around!!

Straight Hair!

2011-03-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

Chloe was watching me straighten my hair this morning and then decided that she wanted straight hair, too. She usually gets upset when I straighten my hair, because she wants me to have curly hair like her, so I was surprised when she asked me to make hers straight, too. I was impressed with how still she stood while I was using the flat iron on her. She looks so different with straight hair! Here is the finished product...

Coloring Meigan's birthday card. I love how Chloe writes her "E"s!!

Crib time

2011-03-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

When Micah wakes up in the morning or from a nap, Chloe loves to run into his room and climb into his crib. They usually sit in his crib laughing and playing until Andrew or I go in there to rescue them. This time, I found them both chewing on the crib!! Chloe was just pretending to bite it, but I wouldn't put it past her to suck on the crib. That girl still puts so many random things in her mouth!!

Happy boy!

2011-03-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

I love this picture of Micah crawling. It does a great job capturing his happiness. He is generally a happy, smiley baby!!

Gree & Gramps

2011-03-14T18:57:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend visiting with my parents. Dad is starting to lose his hair from chemo, so I decided to take some family pictures before we left.

Love this picture of my parents!!

This picture is not the greatest, but it was the best we got!

Gree and Chloe!

Gramps and Micah!

Me and Micah!

Dad and Me. This is a blurry picture, but it is the only one we got!

Ella's Birthday Party

2011-03-12T23:38:00.000-08:00

Today was Ella's 3rd birthday party--a princess party!! Chloe wore her favorite princess dress--Cinderella--to the party. Little did she know that Cinderella was going to make an appearance at the party!! Jen borrowed this dress from a friend and looked awesome!! Some of the kids figured out right away that it was her, but some were convinced that she was Cinderella.

Here she was telling all the kids to be good listeners to their mommies and daddies. I love you, Cinderella!!

Dance party. I love how Chloe is copying Cinderella's moves!

all the cousins

Aww, this is my favorite picture!!

Happy girls with a beautiful Cinderella!!

Standing!

2011-03-12T12:47:00.000-08:00

Micah is getting so much better at pulling himself up to standing. He is getting better balance and stronger. His biggest challenge is that the toys that he stands on slide on the slick floors!! Maybe that will help him walk soon!

Zoo!

2011-03-10T21:22:00.000-08:00

My mom2mom group went to the Sac Zoo this morning, and Elaine brought Ella to play with us. The kids had fun running around and seeing all the animals. Before Elaine and Ella left, Elaine treated the girls to a carousel ride. This was super special for Chloe, because I don't usually pay for her to ride!!

Micah and I watching them ride!!

Micah got worn out by all the fun this morning and fell asleep in the stroller. He is such an easy baby!!

2011-03-06T20:46:00.000-08:00

Chloe wrote her name tag at church today!!!

Flower Girl!

2011-03-05T22:49:00.000-08:00

One of my students, Nikki, got married today and she asked Chloe to be her flower girl. Chloe had the perfect pink princess dress to wear, thanks to my parents' next door neighbor, Carol. I was so proud of Chloe. She was nervous before the wedding started, but was very excited about her pretty basket and rose petals. She waited her turn, and when I told her it was ok to go, she walked slowly down the aisle and dropped rose petals in an almost perfect line down the aisle. She stood quietly for a little while up front, but then started getting a bit antsy, so she sat with me in the pew until it was time to head back down the aisle after the ceremony was over. She did such a great job! She is also a very tidy flower girl, because after the ceremony was finished, Chloe went back into the sanctuary and cleaned up her flower petals!!

This was before the ceremony, waiting to walk down the aisle. Chloe was so nervous, and kept staring at Nikki!

Posing with Nikki and James and the rest of the wedding party

a close up of my sweet girl

Chloe was still a bit afraid of Nikki at this point. We were laughing that Chloe wouldn't move close to Nikki, so Nikki had to lean over so they could be in the same picture!!! I had flashbacks to Chloe trying to pose with Santa and refusing to get close to him. At least we did not have any tears today!

a few outtakes when trying to get a cute picture....

Family bonding time!

2011-03-04T19:48:00.000-08:00

Tonight Chloe, Micah, and I went to the rehearsal for Nikki's wedding tomorrow. Chloe is going to be the flower girl and had fun tonight with her pink basket and dropping crumpled up pieces of paper on the ground as she practiced walking down the aisle. I am hopeful that she will be willing to walk down the aisle tomorrow. I am planning on wearing pink, just in case I have to walk down the aisle with her!!

Micah was not so sure about this....

happy family!!

Visit with Gree and Gramps

2011-02-26T20:09:00.000-08:00

Andrew, Chloe, Micah, and I spent the weekend in San Rafael with my parents. My dad was recently diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and is going to start chemo on Monday, so we decided to spend the weekend together. Dad is optimistic that the chemo is not going to make him sick and that he is going to beat this cancer. You can do it, Dad!! We love you!!!

Chloe took all of these pictures.....

and then Andrew took these.....

Big boy standing!!

2011-02-23T20:55:00.000-08:00

Tonight, Andrew was brushing Chloe's teeth, and then he was calling out to me to hurry and come to the bathroom. I ran in there to find Micah like this.....

big boy pulled himself up!

Who's that cute baby in the mirror?

Chloe wanted some pictures taken of her as well....

she looks like she is skiing!

poser!

Hair air!

2011-02-23T20:46:00.000-08:00

Tonight after her bath, Chloe was complaining that her hair was wet and cold, and that she wanted to use the "hair air." After more questioning, I realized that she wanted to use the hair dryer!! She looked so grown up blowdrying her hair!!

Cousin time!

2011-02-17T21:51:00.000-08:00

Chris and Andy flew in today for their dad's funeral. Their dad, Jim, had been sick for a while--sorry for your loss, guys. I picked Chris and Andy up from the airport, and then drove out to the Denny's in Woodland to eat lunch and wait for Karen and Rori to get there and take the boys up to Redding. We had lots of laughs and ate way too much junk food!

Yes, Micah is blurry in these pictures, because he was jumping on Chris' lap!

mmmmm, airplane cookies!

can you feel the love between these brothers?

Micah is on the attack!

Chris is continuing his efforts of corrupting Chloe.....convincing her to eat jelly....

Wizard of Oz

2011-02-13T20:43:00.000-08:00

Chloe and I (and Ade) saw the Wizard of Oz at the Woodland Opera House today. Chloe liked most of the play, and only got scared a few times. When the stage would get really dark, she said, "I don't like this movie. I want to go home!" With bribes of fruit snacks, she got through it! She was a bit confused though how the wicked witch came out for the curtain call, because she had melted! My friend Emily was in the play, but Chloe was too cranky to hang around after the show to see her. It was past naptime, and thankfully, Chloe took a nice nap in the car on the way home!

It's a tent!

2011-02-07T16:37:00.000-08:00

Micah was playing happily in his exersaucer, when Chloe decided that they should be in a "tent" together and covered Micah with her blankie. He was not so sure about it, and ended up with some crazy hair!

Playdate fun!

2011-02-04T15:34:00.000-08:00

Chloe had fun playing with Augibi today! They had some nice snuggles in the Dora bed together!

My little man!

2011-02-02T17:08:00.000-08:00

I thought Micah looked so adorable in his sweater vest today that I had to post pictures!!

Dentist visit

2011-01-21T14:43:00.000-08:00

Today, Chloe went to her first dentist appointment. We went to Kids Care on Greenback--they had been recommended to me my multiple people. I am so thankful that I listened to the advice and took her there; they were amazing!!! This morning, when I told Chloe that we were going to the dentist, she started whining and said she didn't want to go. I told her that her dentist's name is Dr. Candy, and Chloe laughed and said that she would go.

When we got to the office, she was so excited about the princess movie showing and the video games. When Chloe's name was called, she stood up and starting walking into the treatment area all by herself! Kim, the hygienist, showed Chloe her "princess chair" and Chloe climbed right up. It was really sweet the way Kim took time to show Chloe everything and make it fun for her. The spinning toothbrush was "Mr. Tickles" and the "princess cape" that Chloe wore during her xrays had a big smiley face on it, so it was "Mr. Smiley." They had Chloe wear sunglasses and earphones, and she got to watch Princess and the Frog that was showing on the TV in the ceiling while she had her teeth examined and cleaned. Chloe thought that was super cool! After she was finished, Chloe came over to me for a hug and said that her princess teeth were all clean!!

Dr. Candy said that Chloe's teeth look great: no cavities! Chloe was so well behaved, and her dentist said that Chloe was a model patient, and she wishes that all little girls would act like her! I am so proud of my big girl!!!!

sitting in her "princess chair" chatting with Kim

Bike Ride

2011-01-17T17:24:00.000-08:00

Chloe wanted to go to the park today with Andrew, and decided that they were going to ride their bikes there. The challenge with riding to the park is that there are not sidewalks between our house and the park, or even a well paved shoulder to ride on. Chloe attempted to ride, but Andrew ended up having to carry her bike for much of the ride. Once at the park, Chloe was able to ride on the paths there--much easier than the ride to the park!!

putting air in her tires

ready to go!

Micah wants to go too!

Doctor visits

2010-12-30T19:18:00.000-08:00

Both kids had their doctor appointments today--Micah's 6 month and Chloe's 3 year. I did not manage to take any pictures....but here are their stats:

Chloe:

Height: 37 inches (50th percentile)

Weight 33 pounds (75th percentile)

Micah:

Height: 27 3/4 inches (85th percentile)

Weight: 20 pounds, 10 ounces (88th percentile)

Yes, Micah is only 10 inches shorter than his sister who is 2 1/2 years older than him! Pretty soon he will be taller than her!! He already eats more than her, so it is only a matter of time.

Both kids dropped in their height percentiles, making them in a higher percentile for weight than height. I was concerned because Chloe's pediatrician she had when she was a baby said that is a warning sign of obesity. Dr. Chou (our pediatrician now) said not to worry. Kids weights are like stocks, he said, that have peaks of growth and straighten out at other times. He said both kids look healthy, and are healthy. woo hoo!!!

Micah got more immunizations and the first half of his flu shot. Chloe told everyone that she saw that she did not want to get a shot, and we all reassured her that she was not going to get any. She was a big helper with Micah getting his shots, and she put his band aids on for him.

Rudolph!

2010-12-15T15:30:00.001-08:00

I found this cute little Rudolph when I went to pick up Chloe after MOPS yesterday!!

6 months old!!

2010-12-14T20:09:00.001-08:00

I cannot believe that Micah is 6 months old!! The time is flying by! He has been a fantastic addition to our family. Chloe loves him and often wants to hold him, feed him his purees, play with him, and make him laugh. He adores her and nobody can make him giggle as quickly and easily as Chloe can. Whenever he is crying, Chloe says "Micah is crying," and then she runs to try to make him happy. Although, he doesn't cry much. He is a pretty mellow baby and loves to people watch! He got to hang out with me during MOPS today and loved all the attention he was getting from the ladies!! He likes to take rides in his car seat and stroller, and is quick to fall asleep in them. He does not like to sleep much at night, and still wakes up at least twice a night, sometimes more. I tell him that it is a good thing that he is cute and that I love him so much, or else I wouldn't be able to handle all this sleep deprivation!! He is the sweetest little boy, and we are so thankful for him!

(these pictures were taken (11/6) by the fabulous DeAnna Gallardo)

Yummy Toes!!

2010-11-30T19:43:00.000-08:00

Look who discovered his toes....

Awww, I love this boy!!

Snuggles!

2010-11-26T19:38:00.000-08:00

Chloe and Micah didn't last very long in the Dora bed together, but it made for a cute picture!!

Goofy girl!

2010-11-25T16:36:00.000-08:00

I love this girl!!!

Nimbus Fish Hatchery

2010-11-18T21:23:00.000-08:00

We joined Jodi and her girls for a play date at the fish hatchery. (Andrew got to come with us because he is on paternity leave right now--hooray for having him home for 2 weeks!!) I had never been there, so I was looking forward to seeing the fish jumping up the ladder. But, we missed out, because the fish were not jumping while we were there. Oh, well. I guess that means we will need to go back sometime. The girls still had fun feeding the fish...

Chloe, Delaney, and Emelyn feeding the trout

D, Chloe, and Em posing. I am not sure what they were looking at, but I think it is funny because none of them are looking at the camera, but they are all looking in the same direction!

"Snack" time!

2010-11-12T17:39:00.000-08:00

Chloe loves to "feed" Micah. Here she is giving him something to drink from one of her play cups. She has learned how to be more gentle with him. I remember not too long ago that Chloe gagged Micah when sticking a play spoon a little too far into his mouth. Poor little brother!!

I love how he is just looking up at her here...

happy boy!!

Chloe wanted Andrew to feed her baby, and she took this picture of him giving her baby something to drink.

Reading books!

2010-11-07T21:05:00.000-08:00

Chloe wanted to read a book to Micah...

and then said it was Andrew's turn to read to him!

So tired...

2010-11-06T21:26:00.000-07:00

Poor Micah was too tired to play in his Exersaucer this morning, so he just put his head down and fell asleep!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

2010-10-31T22:17:00.000-07:00

We had a fun Halloween evening! We went to trunk or treat at church and met up with the Ewers, Young Scotts, Grandma, and some friends. Chloe had fun getting candy from all the cars and playing the carnival games. She even jumped in the bounce house and went on the huge bouncy slide!! Micah was mostly content to sit in the stroller! My favorite was the RV with a campfire, who was passing out smores.....made with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. So yummy!!

a monkey and Cinderella!

Ella and Chloe matching as Cinderella!

You can see Andrew's fabulous carving skills in the pumpkin on the left. I wanted to show my love of the Giants on my pumpkin, but rather than cutting out the logo, we cut a hole in the pumpkin and attached the paper logo. When the candle inside was lit and it was dark out, it really worked and you could see the logo from the street! Go Giants! Win the World Series!!

Pumpkin Carving

2010-10-30T20:54:00.000-07:00

I love watching Andrew and Chloe bond while carving pumpkins. It has become their tradition for Halloween, and I am happy to let them have that experience together!!

and Micah had fun sitting in his Bumbo watching the action and playing with his paci

Pumpkin Farm

2010-10-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

We went to a pumpkin farm with my mom2mom group this morning, and I only managed to take two pictures--thanks to Elle for taking tons of pictures and emailing me some!! We had fun feeding animals, riding on the tractor (well, being pulled behind it in a trailer) to the pumpkin patch. Chloe had fun seeing the pumpkins growing and choosing which ones we were going to have cut off the vine for us to purchase. She chose a huge one for Andrew, a medium sized one for her, and a white one for me. She said that Micah could have one that she chose the other time we went to a pumpkin patch!

my super model

being silly

Yummy!!

2010-10-26T20:12:00.000-07:00

Look who discovered his toes!! He laughs and giggles and munches away. I love it!!

Rolling Over

2010-10-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

So, a few weeks ago, Andrew let me sleep in one Saturday morning. He and Chloe were playing with Micah, and had him getting some tummy time. And they claimed that Micah rolled over....I didn't see it, so I didn't want to believe it. I missed it when Chloe rolled over for the first time, and I was sad that I missed Micah's first time too. Anyway, this morning, I finally got to see Micah roll over from tummy to back. He can lift his head up pretty high, and then he leans and rolls on over. I couldn't get any mid-roll pictures, but there are before and after shots. Chloe gets a bit jealous of us cheering for Micah when he rolls over, so she rolls over too and we praise her!!

love Chloe's smile here

and Micah looks adorable in this one
(Chloe's eyes are a bit creepy, though)

I did it!!

After Chloe and Micah took turns rolling over, Chloe wanted to take pictures of her pig rolling over. She posed the pig and took the pictures. Pretty good for a 2 year old, eh?

Oatmeal!!

2010-10-25T20:43:00.000-07:00

Even though Micah is only 4 months old, we decided to introduce solids. He really wants to eat, and tries to grab food out of our hands or off our plates when we are eating. I have gotten a bit of grief from a few people for not waiting until he's 6 months old, but the pediatrician said it wouldn't hurt Micah, so we are going for it!! Micah loves oatmeal!! He actually swallowed some during his first feeding! I remember it taking Chloe a while to learn how to swallow. This shouldn't surprise me--Micah was born eating!!

trying to feed himself!

Pony Ride

2010-10-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

We spent this rainy Saturday at the pumpkin patch. Chloe chose the pony ride for her special activity while we were there. I thought she would go down the big slide, but she wanted the pony. She was very serious for the whole ride, holding on the whole time.
(and a happy 5 1/2 anniversary to my awesome hubby!!)

Micah is 4 months old!

2010-10-21T15:31:00.000-07:00

Well, Micah was actually 4 months old a week ago, but he had his checkup doctor's appointment today. Here are his new stats:

weight: 17 lbs, 11 oz (90th percentile)
height: 2' 3" (96th percentile)

Chloe and I both got our flu shots today, and Micah got 3 more vaccines. He will be able to get the flu shot when he is 6 months old. I am so glad that he got another step closer to being protected against whooping cough. The nurse was telling me that there was just another baby who died of whooping cough. That makes 10 recent cases. Freaks me out!!!

Micah's Dedication

2010-10-11T20:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we had Micah dedicated at church. Our families came to be there for the service, and it was a special time for us. Pastor Greg called us and two other families to the front of the church and asked us some questions about our faith and raising Micah to know Jesus. Our friends and family then came up to lay hands on us while Greg prayed. After church we had the family over for a BBQ in the backyard. Didn't take any pictures then, but it was fun to see Andrew and the kids get soaked in a water fight! (the yard looks great right now, by the way--thanks to my parents for helping to clean it up all day Saturday)

Chloe was so excited to wear this fancy dress she picked out, and Micah was wearing some cute overalls from Grandma!

if 2 kids on Grandma's lap is fun...

then 3 is better!
(poor Ella, I think she was getting strangled)

Cute cuddles!

2010-10-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

Chloe wanted to get her picture taken with Micah, so here they are:

I love how Micah is looking up at Chloe in this one. He loves her!!

Walk to the River

2010-10-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

Andrew took the day off work today, and we enjoyed a nice walk to the river. Chloe had fun feeding the ducks, although we need to bring a lot more bread next time!!!

throwing rocks into the river

Apple Hill

2010-09-29T16:56:00.000-07:00

My mom2mom group took a trip to Apple Hill today. We went to Abel's Acres--we had never been there before. A lot of their features were not open yet on weekdays, but there were cute photo opportunities!! Elle was there briefly until her boys were too cranky and had to leave. It was sad. :( The rest of us went to another place, but there was not much going on. We went to a yummy cafe for lunch and headed home, with a Boa Vista frozen pie, of course!!!

in the hay maze!

riding the school bus!

cute worm in an apple!

Bibs!

2010-09-25T17:21:00.000-07:00

Chloe decided that she and Gree needed to wear bibs during dinner tonight. And Gree is so awesome that of course she said yes!!

Big boy playing!

2010-09-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

Micah is growing up too fast! He has started grabbing for toys on his play mat and car seat and even tries to sit up when lying on his back. He is so strong and so fun to watch!!

A's fans!

2010-09-23T21:15:00.000-07:00

Andrew dressed Micah in this A's outfit (which was a baby shower gift from Grandma)...

and then decided that he and Chloe would wear A's gear also...

Andrew then said that because I am the only Giants fan in the house, I got to take the pictures. I say there is still hope that our kids will choose to love the RIGHT team, like I do!

Folsom Zoo

2010-09-18T20:46:00.000-07:00

Elaine, Bekah, and I, along with Shae, Devin, Chloe, and Micah, spent the morning at the Folsom Zoo. It was fun to spend time together and see the animals. I did not take any pictures of animals, but we got to see the tigers and bears up close!! They were very cooperative and came up to the fence so we could get a close look. Bekah went on a train ride with the kiddos...

these are some cute animals!!

First swing ride!

2010-09-13T18:34:00.000-07:00

Micah has been to the park numerous times this summer, but is usually sleeping or being worn in the Bjorn. But, today he was awake and wanted to ride in the swing! He loved it!!!

Cinderella! (and more talk about poop!)

2010-09-06T20:32:00.000-07:00

Chloe has done a great job with her pee pee potty training. Pooping in the potty has still been scary to her, even with her magic wand. We have tried all kinds of bribes to motivate her to poop in the potty, the latest being a trip overnight to Gree and Gramp's house. This morning when they were packing up to go home, Chloe kept telling them to wait because she had to go poop to be able to go home with them. She had numerous failed attempts, and kept begging them not to leave. My mom promised her that they would get her once she had pooped in the potty, and Chloe ran to my dad and said, "After I go poop in the potty, you will drive, drive, drive and come get me?" My dad said that yes, they would come get her. Well, they left around 1:00, and at 6:00, Chloe pooped in the potty! Apparently, Gree and Gramps were the motivation she needed.

Shaelyn had handed down this Cinderella dress to Chloe, so I told her she could have it after she went poop in the potty. That poor kid doesn't get anything for free anymore--it's all about the bribes! After the initial celebrating, Chloe said she wanted to wear her dress and I took her out for a chocolate milkshake (another promise I had made at some point to try to bribe her)! Andrew said if this kid waited long enough to poop, she could have had anything she wanted! It was getting close to that!!

So serious looking--not sure why. She was so excited!

Reading time with Gree

2010-09-05T19:32:00.000-07:00

Gree and Gramps came to visit for the Labor Day weekend. Now that Micah has taken over the guest room, we decided to have my parents stay in Chloe's room. Chloe's bed is so cool--the drawers slide out and turn the twin bed into a king bed. It worked out really well, and Chloe loved seeing this big bed in her room! She also got to sleep in Micah's room, which she though was pretty special. (Micah slept in the office...)

snuggling and reading together...so cute!!

Potty Fairy

2010-09-04T19:45:00.000-07:00

Since potty training a few weeks ago, Chloe has only had a few pee accidents. She is great about telling us when she has to go, and will "run, run, run" to the potty. Pooping on the potty is still a fearful thing for her, and she refuses to even try. Andrew learned about this idea of the potty fairy, so we decided to give it a try. We wrote a letter and made a wand, left them on the front porch, and then rang the doorbell and had Chloe answer it. Here she is waving her magic wand...

Chloe took this picture of Andrew posing with the letter

Here's to hoping the letter and the magic wand give Chloe to courage to go poop in the potty!