The Meinhardt Family

2012-02-14T06:30:00.000-08:00

That was then...

This is now!

Happy Valentines Day!

Each one holding their Valentine's school project! Jeremy hand stitched a red felt heart with a white J.

Have a happy day full of love!

2 reptile lovers and, well, 1 non reptile lover

2012-02-13T18:38:00.000-08:00

We went to Olivia's reptile birthday party yesterday and the kids had a blast!

They sat like this for quite a while and Amelia would turn and say, "I don't want to pet/hold it" when a new reptile was introduced. We reminded her every time, "just say 'no thank you' if you don't want to pet it."

The other two on the other hand, were all over them!

Fun times!

Visitors

2012-02-08T19:55:00.000-08:00

The Picketts were in town while we were in Hawaii but we were able to get a last minute play date. The kids were SO excited to see each other, especially these two boys!!! Makes me sad.

Tante (Aunt) Patty was also in town while we were gone but we got to see her and my cousin Patrick who lives in Santa Monica! He and his wife Carrie have a 1 year old daughter Addison, my 2nd cousin. Yes, I have a cousin who lives in LA but he's an independent soul so we don't see him that often! :(

Addison was so friendly and wanted to hug everyone ALL the time. Especially Jeremy! He was SO sweet with her!

Wish we all lived closer and could hang out all the time! Until next time....

Some random shots from Maui

2012-02-07T20:42:00.000-08:00

These are a few of my favorite from my sister-in-law's camera!!!

Mabel was so "grown up" walking (almost the entire way there and back) with her carry on bag and pillow pet! People were pointing and saying how cute she was.

Maui Family Trip Days 4, 5 & 6

2012-02-04T00:42:00.000-08:00

Have I told you this kid loves Hawaii?!!?

So does mom!!!!! :) Body surfing!

This toddler also LOVES it here!! She is really enjoying the beach! She doesn't mind getting dirty!

Exhibit A

This is how she gets dirty! Her and Benny are classic!

Playing hide and seek in a hole!

Opa and 1/2 of his grandkids!

An attempt at a family picture! The kids weren't having it!

But, after a little water mishap...

We got a great group shot!

And a "Little" family shot!

We joke when people ask us about our group and we say, "the blondes are related and everyone else married in"

Off to our whale watching adventure! We left Mabel, Amelia, Teddy, Oma and Courtney behind since they tend to get sea sick and it was a windy day!

The "young" old married couple!

4 whales if you can see them (puff of white is from one of the blow holes)

This was totally cool. A newborn and it's mom! As the guide said, the mom is always near the baby (no shit) and the newborns are spastic. It breeched a bunch of times as we watched them swim by. Baby is the little (1 ton) out of the water and the mommy's hump is next to it!

Tail going under!

The boys

After a nice dinner out last night, Dave decided to walk home along the beach. BAD idea! He stubbed his toe on a lava rock, shattered the tip of his middle toe and needed 15 stitches. They had to sew the tip back on. Poor guy!

The Meinhardt and Rimando cousins!

We are still doing mornings at the beach and afternoons by the pool. Amelia prefers the pool (she says she doesn't like to be sandy) and Mabel prefers the beach! J loves both! Mabel got a fever and a good cough so she's been up earlier and wants to nap earlier but a trooper through and through.

Miss Amelia has discovered (or finally allowed me to put on) arm floaties and loves to be in the water. We discovered that today....we leave tomorrow :( We were going to go out to dinner with the kids on our last night but we decided that ordering pizza, watching the sunset and letting the kids run around with each other would be better!

Tomorrow we're taking the kids to get some souvenirs and then hit up the pool for a few hours before we leave for the airport :( It's been an amazing trip and we're planning the next one!!!!

Maui Family Trip Days 2 & 3

2012-01-31T01:02:00.000-08:00

It's busy, it's beautiful and it's something these kids (and parents) will never forget. We're getting in a good rhythm and figuring out how to make days full and smooth. We start at the beach!

There is a lot of quality time with our little nieces and nephews. We brought soccer balls, baseballs and gloves, frisbee, music speakers and bring beer and coffee to the beach! You're not a "Little" if you don't like coffee! Auntie Coco with her namesake!

The three kids on the right are Teddy, Jett and Amelia. Better known as the Get Along Gang!

These two girls are funny. Take note of their expressions! These two are known as the Caboose Group!

Uncle Christian boogie boarding with Jbird on his back! J loved it!!

Jeremy and I have never been kayaking so we went today with Ryan!

So we went mostly to find whales and whales we found!!!! We saw a ton of whales from afar but then all of a sudden 2 of them came to the surface about 30 ft away! I mean, I have to admit that I freaked out a little inside. SOOOOO close. J loved it.

Next, we move to pool for the rest of the afternoon! Amelia loves the little kid pool!!!

Cuddles in the water!

Jeremy has still not gotten sick of the water slide!!!

Love these eyes!

At sunset we hang out outside the poolside rooms while we feed kids dinner, drink wine/beer and watch the sunset and enjoy the weather. The first night the guy blew the conch shell and lit the tiki torches by our room. A few of our kiddos got to help but there were only 3 so Amelia got really sad when she couldn't! Tonight...she and Mabel got to help and were thrilled!

Crystal and the kids (missing Kira)!

Last night we left all the kids with Crystal and went to a delicious sushi dinner. Tonight Oma and Opa went to dinner and then the boys headed out for some male bonding. Tomorrow night is a ladies night so I will be looking forward to that!

Aloha!!! Maui Family Trip 2012

2012-01-29T07:34:00.000-08:00

Well, we made it here! A classic meeting at the airport had heads turning but in typical "Little" fashion, we could care less. We love all these nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles and we wanted to hug every one of them.

The plane ride went great. It was musical seats, trading games, toys, coloring books, one spilled OJ on J's lap, one short nap for Benny and Mabel, two bags of trash, one scared Cece on take off and landing and we arrived with "we're in Hawaii"!!!!!!

Here is our mode of transportation....yup, a 15 passenger van that still doesn't fit all of us.

A blurry picture but we're the group that keeps on going and going.

Ah, but it was all worth it!!!!

Checking things out. The kids were spread out and going every which way within seconds. I think half of the adults got the welcome drinks and the other half were chasing kids down the stairs, across the bridge and around the lobby. My kids found this.

and a fish pond!

J taking it all in

We spent the day by the pool (which was chaotic at first with kids going all over the place) but eventually all settled down and the little ones hung out in the kiddie pool, J went down the water slide at least 30 times, we ordered lunch, about 30 beers and then headed to the beach. Unreal! No pics because I was trying to make my kids didnt drown but I'll d better today!

Dinner, a beautiful sunset and then bed!

It's now 5:30am on day #2 and the kids have been up since 4 am! Gotta love the time change! Off to make some breakfast in our little kitchen and wait for the sun to come up to start the day!

Just because

2012-01-23T14:38:00.000-08:00

Some updates and fun pics!

I love candid pictures and our neighbor just sent us a few of these from our Xmas Eve shore fishing day! Love when I actually get pics of myself with the kids because it RARELY happens!

Have I mentioned how much I love this boy?!?! Ugh, can't deal.

For as difficult an age that Amelia is, there are amazing moments of "big sister-ness" that melts my heart! They're lucky to have each other.

This girl is a daddy's girl!!!!

Mabel wants to be just like her big sister these days. She even wants her hair to be the same. I love it so I do it! :)

I love weekend mornings to chill out and not rush out the door by 7:30am!!!! Pillow pet time!

Family hug! Ryan is under there, you just can't see him!!!!

Oh yeah, Mabel is back in diapers! When I would ask her if she had to go pee, it was as if she looked at me and said, "F you" and then would pee in her pants! So I asked her if she wanted to be a baby in diapers or a big girl in underwear. She chose baby. So, baby she is. I'm secretly thrilled because I wasn't ready to do the whole potty training thing before Hawaii. She still asks to go in the potty but I remind her that SHE CHOSE baby! We'll see when she chooses to be a big girl! Until then, I am taking a break from asking, "Mabel, you have to go potty?" Thank god!!!!!!

Oh yeah, she is now off the wait list at Emerson (Teacher Kathy) so we started today and she remembered all the songs, etc from when she went with me to Amelia's class. It didn't even phase her when I left her on the playground. Well done #3!!! I guess that what being a third child is all about! Here she is starting her 1st real school experience! Lunch and all :(

Potty Training update....

2012-01-16T20:30:00.000-08:00

Miss Mabel is doing SO well!!! She has gone a few days with no accidents!!! She has woken up a couple mornings with a #2 so I keep telling her to hold it and tell us. Yeah right :) She did her first Daddy outing (I've been putting Pull-ups on her so he doesn't have to worry about it) to the beach today and went almost 3 hours without going potty. Needless to say when she got home, I stripped her out of her clothes in the back yard (so they wouldn't get sand on the clean floors) and she ran over to the grass and "drained her tank" for what felt like minutes. Poor girl! But, good girl too for holding her pee all morning! Almost there....

Holiday Weekend

2012-01-16T20:17:00.000-08:00

"Hand me downs" are amazing! They are also my nagging chore! I think there is a bag of clothes at least once every couple weeks on my porch from various people (and suitcases from Auntie Courtney) so I throw them in the girl's closet until they start to fall out every time I open the door. Once every few months, I finally concede to hunker down for a couple days and get it done. I go through the girls drawers and throw all clothes too small into the hallway. I throw good will clothes into the bathroom (if you know my house then you know that it's a straight throw from the dresser to both locations). I literally dump ALL bags of clothes on the floor and again, clothes I don't want go either to the hallway or bathroom and clothes we do want go into the drawers. Clothes still too big go into plastic bins that now say, 4 year and 5 year clothes. Don't forget the "life" bins (newspaper from the day they were born, home from hospital outfits, cute artwork, sweet cards, mementos of each girl) that also get any clothes they've grown out of that they loved. Think Barefoot dreams jacket, favorite onesies, etc. It's an ordeal and the kids love it!!!!!! See below!

Sunday we took the kids (those included in that would be Jack and Annie) and Luna to Solstice Canyon in Malibu. A little "hike", more like a walk, to an old burned down house and waterfalls. I had a bit of an anxiety attack when Ryan and I decided to only take the back pack. What?!?!!? That means Amelia would have to walk the whole time. It was a fun time but who are we kidding, I ended up carrying her almost the whole way back from the waterfalls and Mabel made it 1/2 way there before she wanted to be in the back pack! Good times!

I convinced Ryan to take the kids shore fishing with him today (he went with David George, kids and the same neighbors who went on Xmas Eve day) so I could get stuff done! It's AMAZING what I can get done now with not a lot of time. Here's what I accomplished today....

1. Ran to Bristol Farms with Luna to get coffee and get her out for a walk

2. Dusted, cleaned bathroom, kitchen and rest of house and did the mopping on all 4's!!!!!

3. 5 loads of laundry, folded, put away

4. Did I mention that I also took kitchen chairs outside for a scrub down

5. Showered

6. Bathed kids once they were home

7. Painted trim on 3 windows (Ryan replaced the windows about 2 years ago but has yet to paint them)

8. Painted an accent wall in kitchen (that was a last minute, "I'm feeling motivated" project that I started at 2pm!

Before...with paint tape

After.

A couple people have mentioned painting the left and right walls as well. Thoughts?

9. Made dinner

10. Got kids ready for bed and put them to bed at 6:45

I was on the couch by 7 pm to get my computer "to do list" done!!!

I'm beat! Hope you all had a great holiday weekend!!!!

MUST HAVE TOY

2012-01-06T14:21:00.000-08:00

We went over to Auntie Louise's yesterday afternoon and about 1/2 way into our play date, she whips out this toy called The Bubble Thing!!! Don't ask, just get it! It's the coolest toy ever!!!! You mix a big old bucket of dish soap, water, baking soda and corn starch (it seems like a lot but it took minutes or you can buy a mix online but it's $11) and dip the bubble wand in and follow some simple instructions and boom, you have the biggest bubbles EVER!!!

So Louise and I were following the instructions...move the rope together, dip, slowly open rope and then move against the wind. Louise was getting some huge bubbles but couldn't close it off to save her life. The kids loved it and even J did a good job getting huge bubbles. We took a break to let the kids have their turn and next thing we know, Emily is creating the biggest bubbles and cutting them off so they flew into the air. No strategy, no instructions, just dipped and walked around.

Even Mabel got in on the action...briefly. How cool is this bubble Jbird got going!

Here is Louise's biggest bubble and we didn't photo Emily's bubbles. It was so fun...Louise and I wanted to do it all day!!!

Oh, and your kids smell good afterwards because of the dish soap. Now, put your computer away (or don't if you want to get it online) and go get it!!!! The best!

Milestones

2012-01-04T22:28:00.001-08:00

2012 has already proven to be a year of change! Hmmm...where do I start?

Miss Mabel hates wearing diapers and asks to wear underwear instead. I'm reluctantly going with it and I let her wear underwear around the house and short trips in the car if she's gone pee before we leave. She has made it to Oma and Opa's house in underwear and has a much bigger bladder then her sister. She has done a few #2's and tons of #1's on the potty and wears pull ups . So, I guess I can say that we're POTTY TRAINING my baby! Where has the time gone?!!?

Look how big she is. Not a great picture but I like it. Almost 1/2 of me :(

On to Amelia's milestone....NO MORE NAPS! I am pulling her naps. I'm doing this for a couple of reasons;

1. She still asks to nap but when she does, she will stay awake reading/playing in her bed until 9pm sometimes. That's fine because she doesn't bother us but then she's up earlier because she's not as tired because she's napped the day before. But then she's asking for a nap because she was up early. Terrible cycle. So...with the cousins here and distracting her, we've pulled them. She may nap every once in a while but for now, QUIET time it is.

2. I want to get the pack n play out of J's room and that's where Mabel is napping now instead of her bed because Amelia naps in that room.

On a side note....Amelia is LOVING gymnastics and every coach she has comments on how strong she is, how coordinated she is and how well she listens. I've even watched and I've noticed that when the coach gives her something to do while she's working with the other girls, Amelia always does it EXACTLY how she was told. They have mats with hand/feet outlines on them and if Amelia is supposed to put her feet on the "feet" mat, she lines them up perfectly. It's pretty funny! Here she is two heads smaller than everyone else!

Jeremy's milestone came out of the blue. Ryan decided we were going to take his training wheels off. He took them off, we took J and the girls to LMU for wide open spaces of grass to start and Ryan pushed him and off he went. I mean, seriously, he just kept going. AMAZING! This was about 10 minutes after we got there!

Stockham Cousins are here!!!!!!

2011-12-28T21:28:00.000-08:00

Which means we spend LOTS of time at Oma and Opa's house and we have a lot of kids at all times!!!!

I took the kids, except Mabel who was napping at home with adults) to the old stomping grounds (Marymount) for some soccer fun!

Well, mommy played and the kids....well, I guess they played too! Rolling down the hill, kicking the balls, riding in a golf cart, checking out mommy/auntie's old school, etc. I think they had fun!

In case you missed how stinking cute these two were in the picture above, here it is zoomed in.

Georgia is sleeping in Mabel and Amelia's room and Cece is sleeping in J's room so we have a very full house!!!! I'm beat. Night night!

Christmas Day 2011

2011-12-26T20:59:00.000-08:00

The kids slept in until 7:30 which was AMAZING!!!! Here they are coming out to see what Santa delivered while they were sleeping!

They ran over to the plate of treats left for Santa to see what he left behind. He left one marshmallow and some M&M's which Mabel decided to eat once we all turned our attention to the presents! We made the kids wait for mom and dad to get our coffee because we love listening to them look for their presents. Well, Jbird is the only one who can read the names so he tells them!

Christmas 2011 kid picture!

Every year we get together with the George's to have coffee cake and mimosas and exchange gifts. Due to the amazing neighborly acts this year, they received the "NOY" (Neighbor of the Year) award!!!! They LOVED it!!!

The girls loved the dollhouse and played with it a lot!

The trash!

Jbird's "big ticket" item was a train and he says it's his favorite gift although I think the nerf guns Uncle Christian picked out might be a very close second.

We put the girls down for a nap and then Jbird and I headed up to my parent's so he could play more with his cousins. We took a beautiful walk along the bluffs! It was an amazing day!

The chaos of the Little house!

Present time! Yessssssssssssss

The Rimando Family in 2011

The Meinhardt Family in 2011

Have I mentioned that Ryan proposed on this very porch so I always like to get a family picture there because over 8 years ago, it all started right there.

The Little Family in 2011

These two are inseparable! I wonder why? Their mommies would be too if they lived close to each other.

It was a GREAT day and we will miss our cousins soooooo much. Until our next visit! Now, Auntie Courtney, Uncle Dave and kids come to town tomorrow so here we go again....

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T21:51:00.000-08:00

Uncle Christian, Windy, Kira and Kalea were not able to host Christmas Eve due to a stomach bug for poor Kira. A quick change of plans meant we were hosting. A little scrambling after shore fishing got everything all set and ready to go.

We had a yummy Dutch dinner (Ryan and Nick weren't huge fans) but the rest of us LOVED it :)

Tried to get a cute picture but not everyone always cooperates!

Quality time with Oma and Opa!

When everyone left, we put out a plate for Santa and carrots for Rudolph and the rest of his friends! The girls got really into it but Jbird wasn't that excited. Amelia thought the carrots should go right in the middle of the lawn. Then they ate some before they left it.

Amelia was very inquisitive about the whole process and thought we should leave the marshmallows outside for Santa. We had to explain that he comes in the house...hope that doesn't scare her.

Couldn't forget the milk, you know how Santa LOVES milk!

Amelia thought Santa would also like M&M's too so she threw a handful on the plate!

Shore Fishing Tradition

2011-12-24T15:04:00.000-08:00

Bethany suggested that we all meet at the beach for Breakfast on Christmas Eve morning! And so we did!!!! It was a GREAT way to spend a day that so often is left for last minute shopping, watching football and waiting for dinner. The George's provided breakfast burritos, we provided Monkey bread and mimosa's and the Bowers brought donuts and coffee. Yummy!

Jack, Annie, Christian, Alexis and our munchkins!

Oh yeah, the MEN fished and caught a couple leopard sharks! All the kids took turns touching it and watching it swim around!

David, Ryan and Chris

The kids slept in (7:30) so the girls went to the beach in PJ tops

Kristie, Bethany and me

Bethany was VERY nice and took my girls to the bathroom! Her little ducklings

Same time, same place next year!!!

The girls are napping now and we're getting ready to host Xmas Eve dinner.
Merry Christmas Eve!

Finger Food Night 2011

2011-12-24T14:41:00.000-08:00

A tradition in the George family is Finger Food Night. All appetizers, hanging out in comfortable clothes and good friends. This is our 2nd year joining the tradition and it's a blast! The kids run around and get to stay up late. Too late. Almost 10pm late! Who cares, it's Christmas time!!!!

We brought real food but I wanted to make "finger food" dessert. Grandmommy/Mary always makes white chocolate, peppermint covered marshmallows and I crave them! So, I decided to forgo the stick she uses and just make 'em "pop in your mouth"able!

Here are the kids helping peeling ALL the candy canes. And eating them!! Bethany had a great idea to use the food processor to speed up smashing the canes. BRILLIANT!! I wanted to make peppermint dust!

My new name for them! White chocolate covered marshmallows with peppermint dust :)

Happy Cousins

2011-12-24T14:24:00.000-08:00

We took the the kids to Candy Cane Lane and they had a blast! The boys didn't want to leave the train house! This isn't a great picture but you can just see how happy these kids are to be together. It's pretty unreal to watch them love each other.

The girls were playing so cute together so I made them stop and take a picture!!!

Then I made all of them get together!

Happy Holidays 2011

2011-12-21T16:13:00.000-08:00

Almost Christmas!

2011-12-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay but we've been SUPER busy getting ready for Christmas. We've had Christmas performances, rainy days for baking cookies, Christmas parties and lots more.

Sprinkles anyone?

Amelia had her Xmas performance and did awesome! Oma and Opa came to watch and she loved it!

Sisters! So stinking cute together!!!!! They posed like this on their own!

Only in CA and maybe FL could you hang out in shorts and side walk chalk an Xmas tree!

Tonight we're off to Candy Cane Lane and lots of fun things in the coming days!!! Jacqui and kids are back for a couple days so the cousins are having a blast!!!!!

Mabel 2 year stats

2011-12-12T14:15:00.000-08:00

She is 34 inches tall (75%) and weighed in at 29 lbs even (75%)! I am proud to say that she is well out of the 90% category and the doctor said she is "perfectly proportional"!! She is ahead of the game in verbal and physical milestones and wore underwear today for almost 2 hours. She's on her way to driving and rebelling! Way to go Mabes!

2011-12-11T21:43:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Sweet Mabel!!!!!

Wow, we can't believe she's 2!

As usual, I took a picture of her 1st thing (I do it every birthday because I like to remember what they looked like in their beds)

and after a hug from her big brother

and a crackly morning voice rendition of Happy Birthday, she made her way out to her presents! She would have had no idea except her brother and sister guided her to the loot.

Her new, bigger than life, puppy!

She heard barking from this bag so it peaked her curiosity!

And it was one of her favorite presents! A dog she can walk because it's on wheels with a leash!

Mabel loves donuts so she got them for her birthday breakfast!

We spent the morning hanging out with Jack and Annie (who came over to sing and eat with us) playing with new toys!

After a LONG nap we hung out in the front yard! The ice cream truck came before dinner and because it was her birthday the kids got to eat it before dinner.

"I'd like a push pop please"

And yes, she's still in her PJ's! That's how mellow and great our day was!

Eating on the front lawn!

Our new Xmas trees make the outdoor decor complete! Thanks Oma!

On a side note, Miss Mabel went #2 on the potty and not just by chance, told me she had to go and went. If you're keeping tabs, that's about 4 months before Amelia and maybe 2 years before J :) She has her 2 year check up tomorrow so I'm curious to see where she is in the % categories!

Mabel's Puppy Party

2011-12-10T22:02:00.000-08:00

Mabel LOVEd her puppy party!!!!! As soon as she figured out there were puppies in the crates, she was all over it. Here she is waiting for them to come out.

Pupcakes!

I bought and turned a cardboard house into Mabel's doghouse for the kids to color while they waited to get their puppy time.

I had puppy snacks for the kids and each party goer had their personalized cup so they wouldn't lose them.

Maybe the treats looked a little too "puppy" like because I was asked many times if the food was for the kids :)

Mabel waited patiently for the green light to get in with the pups.

Once in, she was never out more than a few minutes. The dog breeder was very nice and let the birthday girl in and out the whole time.

HEAVEN!

Mabel was lucky to have lots of friends and family there!

Hope you wished for another wonderful year! We love you sweet girl!

She watched every last puppy get put away and cried when they left :(

But, she has this to look forward to in the morning! We didn't get to open a single present because the kids played outside until bath and bed time.

Getting ready for Christmas

2011-12-06T22:20:00.000-08:00

It's been a little while since I've updated because I've been running around with my head cut off. Family, Christmas shopping, school, girls weekend, getting ready for Mabel's birthday party, etc. Yikes. December is ALWAYS a busy month!!!!

We wrote our letters to Santa! Well, tried anyway! Jeremy got "Dear Santa, I would like a remote control fighter jet" and then he lost motivation. I dotted "Dear Santa" for Amelia to trace and then she was done but she looked cute writing it!

I couldn't get much more done because Mabel was up to no good! She scooted the kitchen table chair to the front door and tried to open it.

She unloaded the books onto the floor!

Miss Trouble

"Pillow World" was invented last week. The kids take ALL the pillows off the couch and play in them. That itself takes a long time to clean up!

We decorated the house, put up our tree and went to Home Depot to pick out the kids "Charlie Brown" tree for their ornaments!

Finished!

Jeremy asked last year if he could go on the roof with daddy but we told him he was too little! Well this year, he got to help!

Done!

ps...runway for Santa is the random stuff in the middle. Well done Daddy!

Oh yeah, Polar Express is back!!!!! The kids favorite movie! Cuddle time with dad!

Auntie Jacqui and kids got here and we've had LOTS of cousin time. We've also had LOTS of "Mabel, no pushing! Benny, stop hitting" time! Amelia and Jett are AMAZING together and Jeremy loves having a boy around.

Elf is back and he had a friend while The Rimandos were here. Elf meet Juan and Juan meet Elf! The kids loved to find them and they liked that the elves were always together.

Juan is a darker skinned elf with brown eyes instead of blue eyes!

We had a play date with Kimmy and her newest daughter Elle. Her other daughter, Shea, had fun on the trampoline with all the other kids.

Based on these pictures, you would think that my family wanted another baby. Not the case. Jacqui even asked and the kids said NO.

We went on walks, beach, parks, Oma and Opa's house, the gym and played a lot at home!!!!
We also made gingerbread trains!

Kids started great, Mabel ate more candy then she put on the train and the moms had to do minimal help.

Mabel and Amelia faded first, then Jett, Jeremy held strong but the other kids playing seemed more fun so I was left to finish.

Meinhardt train

Rimando train

The Rimando cousins left today :( but we've got a busy week with Mabel's birthday party and her birthday on Sunday to keep us happy! To end on a funny note.....here is how one of our walks turned out. Pictures from phone so not the greatest but you get the idea.

All was good! Happy kids = happy moms!

Not so happy kids = a thousand bike and seat changes. Notice that Amelia is now pulling the wagon, Mabel is no longer in it, Benny is on her way out and Auntie Jacqui is riding a kid's bike.

Benny made it out of the wagon and then ALL the kids wanted turns on the handlebars! Can you tell it's getting dark? This walk took WAY TOO long!

The walk ended with me pulling the boys and a bike in the wagon, Amelia riding the big boy bike because no one else wanted to so I had to bribe her with candy and Jacqui pushing Benny on a little bike with Mabel on her back.

I mean, if that doesn't sum up mother hood, I don't know what to tell you.

Sorry for the long post but man, life is busy and full of really fun times and some not so fun times ;)

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T22:44:00.000-08:00

We had an amazing Thanksgiving!!!

We went back and forth about doing the Turkey Trot in Long Beach but with 3 kids and possible rain, we decided against it. I thought it would be cool to meet up with our "south bay" friends for a run and some play time. I sent out an email and within hours, we had a fun morning planned. Meet at the Manhattan Beach pier at 8:15 run a short 10K and then grab coffee and breakfast on the way to play.

The other mommies and I decided that the beach would be kind of annoying with the sand so we met at a park. I provided donuts, pastries, OJ, champagne and Jess and Seth picked up the coffees which were much needed after the run!

We stayed at the park until 11:15 because the kids were playing so nicely and we had mimosas in hand. We got home, put the girls down and got ready for the Little family to come over for dinner!

We moved the DVD player out to the garage so when the adults were eating, the kids could watch their 1st Xmas movie of the season. Polar Express was last years favorite and so we started with that one. Jeremy and Kira were so cute together and it was a very pleasant evening!

This picture didn't turn out like I wanted but the crowd in the kitchen was classic. Happy Thanksgiving...another one in the books!

I'm THANKful for...

2011-11-23T21:24:00.000-08:00

...my little man. There is nothing like a mother son relationship and you know what I'm talking about if you have one! Unreal.

...my daughters! And sisters! I'm lucky to have one daughter, let alone two and I'm even luckier that they have a sister! Hope you are as close and supportive of each other as your aunties.

...My girls

...my partner in crime and the best daddy in the world. They LOVE their dad like crazy and so do I.

...candid pictures. Even more when I'm in them because I'm usually the one behind the camera!

...our families, our health, the roof over our heads, friends, neighbors, food, coffee, paychecks, school :) and so much more.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thank you Ann for these amazing pictures!!!!

New head shot

2011-11-13T20:02:00.000-08:00

We got a new shot for ya! Biz has been really slow but she had her first audition in months yesterday for Old Navy. I had to wake her up from her nap to get there and she did alright. Doubt they'll book a kid who says, "I don't want to" when they try to take her picture but she sat for the video session :) We'll see how this goes but I would be surprised if she booked it.

We have a family photo shoot on Friday so I really hope to have some good ones of the kids from that.
ps...picture below is from the same shoot but the photographer who took that sent me that one as a sample of what was to come. The above photo was the best.

Wow, almost 2!

2011-11-11T19:55:00.000-08:00

In one month, my "baby" will be 2!!! I can't believe it. I have been thinking of this milestone since she was born because your name sake Auntie Courtney told me that the light at the end of the tunnel gets very bright once your youngest is 2! Life should become a little easier right? I shouldn't have to watch every move or worry that you're getting into trouble right? But wait, if you're 2, lord knows kids don't get easier at 2. And you my little one may be my "easiest baby" but you've got quite a trouble streak. So before I go into all the things you do so well and I love about you, let's talk about your trouble side.

You love to push the kitchen chairs around to get what you need out of cabinets or off the counter. I still find toilet paper completely unraveled in the bathroom and you love to open the back gate and escape to the front yard (don't worry, there is a padlock on it so she can't anymore). You hide things...my keys, my phone ear piece, Jeremy's shoes and anything you can get your hands on. I have watched you pick something up, open a closet and put it to the way back of the closet and then close the door. Stinker. You want to do EVERYTHING your brother and sister do but unfortunately you're not old enough so you get very upset. You like to throw your food to Luna if you don't want it and steal from your siblings if they have what you want. And the biggest current nuisance is the way you climb onto the dining room chair, open my computer and just start pushing buttons. Sometimes I want to put you in a cage but most of the time I want to eat all of you up. On to the funny, cute things you're doing now...

You're a LOVER through and through. Your daddy and I love the way you always have to give a hug after you give a kiss and not just any hug, a "pat your back and then rub" kind of hug. And you will always say "hug" and then go in for it. Your newest thing is to make mommy and daddy kiss and hug. When one of us is leaving, you will say "daddy" and then point to mommy's cheek and daddy has to kiss me on my cheek. Then you will point to the other cheek and if either one of us starts to leave, you will remind us that we need to hug with a "pat".

You're so mellow...if you want something to eat in the car and I don't have anything and I tell you to wait until we get home, you always say "okay" and that's it. No crying, whining, etc. Dreamy. You are SO social and I think you will have tons of friends. You current best friends include; Jack, the security guard at the gym who you high 5 every time you see him, all the kids at Jeremy's school who get waves every time we pick him up and "grandma" at the gym who is this nice older lady who told Mabel she was a grandma once and now every time Mabel sees her she yells, "hi grandma". You're funny. Everything about you is funny and sweet and we could watch you for hours. Keep entertaining us and loving us the way you do because you are a dream come true Miss Mabel!

Impromptu

2011-11-10T22:04:00.000-08:00

You gotta love it when an impromptu "hey, you want me to pick up Jack and Annie from school"turns into a trip to the park and a "hey, Madeline and Eleanor are here" and then "no way, Emily and William are here too" kind of day!!!!!

Madeline and Elaenor are between Jeremy and Jack and Annie's best friend Porter is between Jeremy and Annie. William and Emily showed up after the picture.

The kids had a blast!

Well, except for Amelia who was run over by a kid on a scooter going way too fast. I even told these kids to slow down when we first got there and then one of them ran over her. Her shin was bleeding in 2 places, swollen lump on her shin bone and a very shaken up little girl. I was SO mad that I almost went over and told the kid I told him not to ride around like that but he came over first crying, with red eyes and explained how he tried to turn to avoid her. Turns out he goes to Goethe. Small world.

Another visit from Auntie Jacqui and kids!!!

2011-11-06T21:59:00.000-08:00

Uncle Nick's team played in the Western Conference Championship this weekend so Jacqui booked a trip home to go to the game and lucky us, we get to hang out some more!!!! Yeah us and yeah for cousins!!!!!

This picture is a little blurry but I couldn't resist posting it. I love how the kids are alternating...one big happy family!

On Saturday, we took the kids to the top of Kenneth Hahn park for a nature walk. They loved it!!!! Some cute pics!

Miss Benny Rose

Auntie Jacqui walking with the little girls!

Group shot with downtown LA in the background!

It was raining when we woke up this morning so I took the kids to play in the rain! I ended up carrying 3 umbrellas, a rain coat and one child by the time we got down the block and back.

Uncle Nick's team lost tonight but it was a good game and we're super proud of Real Salt Lake! You'll get 'em next year. Now, we just have to wait until Thanksgiving to see Auntie Jacqui and kids again!!! Counting the minutes...

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T22:24:00.000-07:00

Candy pails were ready and decorated. Everyone got glow sticks so they wrapped them around the handle and put some in the bottom so their candy was illuminated. Smart kids!

A happy Halloween it was! We had a blast! We set out to "trick or treat" at 6pm ish and all the kids did awesome.

The Meinhardt bat family! Well, minus daddy and Amelia is the baterina. This was per Jeremy and Amelia's request that we go as a family, including mom!

Yes, Amelia is eating an apple!

Amelia did well last year and followed up with another super fun year. She just puts her head down, walks like she's on a mission, gets her candy and shows ryan every piece of candy on her way back.

Amelia even braved the scary house across the street and Pat the creepy witch.

Mabel was awesome and said "trick or treat" at every door and "thank you" on her way out. She owned the place.

Jbird was mature about the whole thing and just went about his business barely making a peep. I have no pictures of J "treating" because he was up ahead of me. All came home with tons of candy. We always set up in the front yard to pass out candy and this year, I made mexican casserole and pumpkin pie to enjoy with the George family.

We had a fun visit with Christian, Windy and kids who decided to join us this afternoon, and some friends of the George's, as well as some other neighbors.

We always have to yell at kids to tell them we're not at the front door so I thought of this last minute. A little path to guide them to us. The picture is blurry but you get the idea. Lunch sacks with candles! Oh, and happy, sad and funny faces in each one.

It was Jeremy's idea to put the tears.

The haunted house was going crazy across the street so the block was buzzing and it was so busy! Jeremy and Amelia decided to help with the last of the candy and were super cute passing it out.

Amelia would tell Jeremy to put the candy in the bag if it was a scary costume. She would also ask me if they were real and if they were ghosts.

Kids were in bed by 9 (I know, super late for us) but they had a blast and so did mom and dad!!!!! Looking forward to a mellow weekend and NOTHING to do.

Halloween Eve

2011-10-30T20:48:00.000-07:00

We carved our pumpkins today! Well, Ryan and I started with the kids and we lost their attention somewhere down the line. Ryan did the white one and the bat and I did the two on the right. I get really into it so I didn't mind that they ran around the front yard, played with bubbles and hung out with each other.

It would not be a Sunday if the ice cream truck didn't stop by and I've just resorted to the fact that my kids have lived in crappy food/candy for the last few days and will one more day :)

Every year, our neighbor goes ALL out and we have a block party the weekend before Halloween. Everyone brings food, drinks, desserts and hangs out while the kids dance and get a sneak peak at the haunted house. Nothing jumps out at them but it's too scary for me. Jbird went through at least 10 times. Here is a sample of his work.

The for sale sign hanging in the front yard.

This sketchy dude's eyes turn red and he starts to jerk around like he's actually being hung. Mabel hates him. Oh yeah, our neighbor made it with a windshield wiper motor. Crazy.

Party started at 6:30 but my crew, Annie and her friend Porter were ready at 6. The kids stayed up well past their bedtime...9 for Jbird because he came and asked me if he could go to bed and 9:30 for the girls.

Night night, momma's tired!

Halloween Parade at Johnny's 2011

2011-10-28T21:54:00.000-07:00

My "baterina"

She's missing her bat mask because we couldn't find them after Disneyland but she still looks cute. They of course showed up just hours after the parade and I was looking all yesterday :)

Teacher Chris invited Mabel to join along and the girls loved it. Here they are dancing to "Shake your bones"!

Time to trick or treat! Amelia is awesome and just walks right up. Mabel follows behind and loves saying "trick or treat".

Jeremy and Amelia having a sweet conversation and I am so happy I caught another moment between them. She always asks Jeremy if "he can protect" her is she gets scared. He always says yes.

Everyone waiting their turn to visit Teacher Chris at her door!

Happy campers! Lollipops and treats in their bags and ready to go home. Happy Halloween!

Amelia's new best friend Adia (A-dia). Teacher Chris told me that there is something special between these girls. Could they be any cuter together?!?! The cutest part, they're the tiniest little people ever. Watch out boys!

The kids absolutely LOVE all the stuff they get. Cards, pencils, play-doh, stamps, stickers, etc. Mommy could do with a little less mess :)

Another fun weekend ahead. Carving pumpkins, block party and Halloween! Yipppeeee!

Harvest Festival at Goethe

2011-10-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

Jbird's school hosted a Harvest Festival and the kids had fun eating yummy food (Jbird picked the fruit kabobs, Mabel the cookie-pop and Amelia chose the pumpkin bread I contributed so I spent more money on my own bread).

There was the cutest craft where the kids made their own wreaths. Mabel didn't get her own but as you can see, she tried to help. There was a nice man with a guitar playing Sound of Music songs so the kids liked it but mom loved it :) They also decorated pumpkins (again, Mabel didn't get one but she found a long ribbon that provided plenty of entertainment). Amelia lost it at the end so the walk to the car with 3 kids, 2 pumpkins, 2 wreaths and a bag was awesome :)

ps...all the pics are of Mabel because J was running around with friends and Amelia was grumpy most of the time.

Trick or Treat at Disneyland!

2011-10-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

We picked up J from school and headed for Disneyland to miss traffic and get started early! Amelia doesn't look like it here but she could NOT wait to get in! She's a Baterina which is a bat version of a ballerina. She's missing her mask!

Mabel is a baby bat (ears came in Amelia's costume) and she obviously had no idea what was going on but LOVED it.

We got there just in time for the regular parade before the park turned into the spooky Halloween park!

Amelia waved at everyone and it turns out, if there aren't any drums, parades are a HUGE hit with her!

We saw this all night...

The kids "trick or treated" all over the park and Jbird and daddy went into the haunted house! I am missing my bat face but in case you need help, we're all bats! Per Jeremy and Amelia's request.

The word for Mabel was trooper! She walked almost the whole night and was so easy going. J and A taking a break from walking but Mabel liked to help push the stroller.

Amelia did awesome as well and was dancing like a crazy person during the Halloween parade. Oh yeah, one freak out session for Amelia when we stopped to dance at the dance party and Donald Duck tried to dance with her. Jbird was a no brainer of course but I wasn't expecting the girls to do so well. The park was crazy crowded in the beginning but once everyone ate and we had a plan, it was a nice night.

We stayed until the Spooktacular fireworks at 9:30 and watched near the exit so we could make a mad dash for home. A group shot of us with the Rendes clan. For the Westchester peeps, this is the "south bay" group!

Don't mind Mabel's gut, we were all pretty tired by this point! Home and in bed by 11! Kids were beat and passed out within 5 minutes of leaving. Happy Halloween!

Rain, Rain, Go Away....

2011-10-26T13:30:00.000-07:00

Or don't because the kids were super excited to wear their new rain coats!!! When I say rain, it's like "storm watches" in LA! It drizzled just enough to make tiny puddles but it was still dry underneath our cars! :) But don't they look cute!!

Amelia's is a dalmation, Jbird is a shuttle launch and well, Mabel's is just pink!

All About Me 2011

2011-10-24T19:44:00.000-07:00

Jeremy's "All About Me" poster!!!!

They had to make a poster board all about them with different materials! I think he covered a lot and there was only a tiny bit of help from me. As much as it pained me to watch him underline and circle every word, I just let it go. The top and bottom of the poster board was folded so he could hang his airplane (green and blue) and glue a baseball player (missing bottom left). He wanted to write every word about soccer on the bottom flap, he picked grass to glue on and gathered sticks because he likes playing with sticks!

The stem of the pumpkin (penis looking thing glued on) had to go on because he likes those too and a matchbox car because lord knows, he couldn't live without them!

The George family gets a picture...

and, well, our family got some stick figures! The word sisters had to be broken up because it didn't fit (maybe because we were the last things on) and Mom and Dad just got heads. Whatever. :)

Climbing trees is more prevalent than us and Phineas and Ferb are written backwards!

Some random things that came out of nowhere...rainbows, Thomas the Train stickers came that day in the mail and golf.

All in all, an AMAZING job buddy! I loved watching you work super hard on it and I chuckled that you were just like your mom, project completed well in advance. My kind of kid!

Happy Birthday Opa!

2011-10-23T21:10:00.000-07:00

We had a busy, full Sunday! We hit the pumpkin patch and the kids loved it!

The kids loved the maze!

Too sunny so everyone could only open one eye!

The kids got to choose a few things to do since there was so much! They all wanted to ride the train first! Mommy joined!

They LOVE watching horses but NEVER want to ride them! I don't get it!

J and A chose to visit the petting zoo with their last token and Ryan said that Mabel cried when she had to leave her new bunny friend! She loves bunnies!

Amelia chose to ride the train again!

We then left the pumpkin patch and went to a local nursery to pick out pumpkins since they were half the price and they wanted BIG ones. Amelia chose a white one and J and A chose orange. It wouldn't be an outing without a meltdown and today (like most days) it came from Amelia! I tried to get a shot of her losing her senses but this is all I could get. She was a wreck. A 3 hour nap followed. Don't mix hunger and fatigue with her or you're doomed!

Jbird jetted off to baseball and I got ready for the busy week ahead. It's Opa's birthday so the kids made cards and a cake! We ordered Chinese food and enjoyed family time! Someone won over Mabel! Not hard to do but still...

Notice who's on Opa's lap in every picture!

She even called his name from her crib long after he was gone. :)

Can you see how old Opa is? The kids had fun doing that part!

Night night, lights out! Fun times!

I'm going to bed because we have a busy week ahead and if I'm saying it's busy, it would push some people over the edge!

We miss you Grandmommy!

2011-10-19T20:40:00.000-07:00

We tried to get a good picture of the kids before she left but the sun was in their eyes. Cheeeeessseee!!!

Grandmommy loved it when she walked off like she was heading somewhere. Smile grumpy face :)

Grandmommy helped us decorate for Halloween. Notice the scary bats hanging by the front door.

We've been enjoying cooler weather the last few days and I am LOVING it. Ryan's been on a trip so I light the fire and enjoy some mommy time!

Some spooky Halloween decor!

Used streamers to mummify this pumpkin. The kids love it!

We can't wait for the next week. Lots of fun stuff coming our way including Autumn festival at J's school, Amelia's Halloween Parade, Disneyland Trick or Treat, Halloween Block Party and so much more. Fun stuff!!!!

So I've started a little tradition that Jbird can sleep with me when daddy travels! He LOVES it and I actually sleep better when someone is with me :) Silly mom, maybe I like it more.

He insists on sleeping with the light on so here he is when I went to bed.

Hint about costumes (per kids request); we fit in with our house :)

Dinner at Terranea

2011-10-13T21:38:00.000-07:00

It was another warm day and it was a BEAUTIFUL evening. We went to dinner with Mary at Nelson's at the Terranea resort. No words needed for the view!

Ryan doesn't like me to post the pictures of him without his approval so the one of Mary and him is not posted :)

Kindergarten School Picture

2011-10-11T13:32:00.000-07:00

His German teacher is on the far right and his English teacher is standing far left. His German aid is the blonde sitting down on the left. Jeremy's little buddy Jett is the blonde boy in red almost behind him and his favorite little girl Holland (what a name!!!) is the blonde in the jumper behind him to the left.

Oma in Kinder

2011-10-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

Here is Oma on her first day of school with her Schultuete! How cute is she? Skinny little legs and curly hair. Hmmm...sounds like someone else in this family. Anyway, I thought it was fun to see the pictures!

I see a family tradition in the making :)

Getting ready for Halloween and hanging with Grandmommy

2011-10-10T21:18:00.000-07:00

We always carve our pumpkins too early so this year, I decided to let the kids decorate the pumpkins with face stickers now and then we will carve some closer to Halloween.

Amelia's pumpkin had 2 faces. I thought that was kind of funny because she is a Gemini and Ryan and I have two names for her. Amelia when she's good and Whine-elia when she's not!

Jeremy's was a one faced goofy pumpkin! Just like him.

Daddy was a good sport and let the kids put all the hair clips in his hair!

Time with Grandmommy!

The kids were hyper so not the best picture but they LOVE having her here. She takes them on walks, colors with them and just enjoys hanging out. We love you Grandmommy!

What a SURPRISE!

2011-10-10T20:55:00.000-07:00

Ryan woke me up at 5:30 am on Friday morning, told me to pack my bags because we had a flight to catch!!!! WHAT??? I thought we were driving to Palm Springs on Friday night but now we were taking a plane to Phoenix. Wait, what about the kids?? Um, another surprise. He flew his mom/Mary/Grandmommy in for the weekend! I could not have been happier!!! SO fun.

We ate, hiked Camelback, ate again, laid by the pool, slept in, drank (Ryan was all about Bloody Mary's and I would always start with Cappicinos and then move to beer), shopped, walked around Scottsdale, ate and drank some more.

Above: me hiking down Camelback

Below: me on the top of Camelback

Need I say more!

Thanks for the best weekend!

Girly Girls

2011-10-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

Amelia's new "do" and we both love it! :) Mabel wanted to wear the same skirt as her sis so she did! Love you little girlies!

Surprise Surprise

2011-10-02T22:17:00.000-07:00

Auntie Jacqui, Jett and Benny Rose surprised us and came to visit very late Friday night!!!! I was THRILLED! So were the kids when they woke up Saturday morning to their COUSINS!!!!

Jacqui took Amelia to gymnastics and I took the kids to the beach since it was the first thing Jett asked for when he woke up! It was a BEAUTIFUL day!

The Rimando cousins were under the weather (Jett had a fever and Benny had a heat rash on Saturday) so we stayed away from our previous commitments (birthday party, baseball, etc) on Sunday! We still had a blast! We met Uncle Christian at the park in the morning with donuts and coffee!

We take up the whole park so it's a good thing we were the only ones there. This is the 2nd Sunday in a row hanging with Uncle Christian so hopefully this becomes a tradition. Can you tell I like traditions? :)

We then headed to another park to look for frogs and ducks and threw pebbles into the stream.

We had Oma and Opa over for dinner and enjoyed lots of cousin time.

It's funny, we miss them SOOOO much when they're away but there's a little sadness when they're here that we don't get to hang out all the time. Jeremy and Jett play so well together doing boy things...such as racing with mini grocery carts, throwing things, wrestling, etc. Then on the other hand, the girls are getting more interactive by the day and do cute things like play with the kitchen and play with dolls. Mabel and Benny ask for each other if they can't find the other one. Jett and Amelia are sweet together and you can't find one without the other. When I was changing her into her PJs tonight she asked when Jett was coming back. She then said, "I wish he could stay here forever!" Makes me sad.

Caught this sweet moment!

Jeremy is so sweet with Mabel and just as sweet with Benny. It's fun to see him adore her as well as his littlest sis!

THANK YOU AUNTIE JACQUI for making our weekend!!! Miss you already and you're only in the guest room :) See you at Thanksgiving! :( WAAAAAAAAAAA!

Friday Tradition

2011-09-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

When we were kids, my mom used to take us to ice cream on Friday's after she would pick us up from school! I can't tell you how much we looked forward to this. Anyway, I've been wanting to start that tradition and decided to start it last week. Today was our 2nd trip to Yogolicious! The kids love it and I get a kick out of the things they pick!

Jeremy always goes straight for the vanilla and his toppings always include fruit. He's been a little risky lately and gets Fruity Pebbles. Easy Jbird, don't get too crazy. He gets that from his dad.

Amelia gets chocolate and chocolate only! I think she over heard me last week when I told Louise that it looks like someone pooped in her cup (she gets the tiniest amount and never asks for more) because today she said, "I'm getting chocolate and it looks like poop"!!!

I switch things up with Mabel but I get her a little vanilla with sprinkles!

We meet up with Louise and kids and today, Julie and her girls joined us. Fun times!

We had some rain today and the air is crisp so I am loving it!!!

There was even a rainbow!

It's going to be a fun weekend!

Full Weekend

2011-09-25T19:57:00.000-07:00

We started the weekend with gymnastics!!!! I brought my nice camera and got a few pictures before the battery died :( Oops!

On the balance beam

Her new outfit!

Someone loves her daddy A LOT!

My second cousin Roel (sounds more like Rool, rolling the R) was in town from Holland for the weekend and so the girls and I headed up to Oma and Opa's for dinner. Ryan took J to soccer and he said he almost scored! Way to go J!

Jeremy started Fall Ball today which consists of playing with a bunch of other kids and their dads on Sundays through November. It's to brush up on skills and get some scrimmages in before the real season starts in March!

Oma and Opa came by this afternoon with Roel again to have one last beer before he headed off for more travels. And it wouldn't be a special occasion if we didn't take a picture on the porch swing!

The kids wanted nothing to do with the picture but what else is new!

And another week begins....

Sisters

2011-09-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

There's a special kind of freedom

that sisters enjoy.

Freedom to share inner most thoughts,

to ask a favor, to show their inner most thoughts.

The freedom to simply be themselves.

Cuddle Time

2011-09-22T19:51:00.000-07:00

Blue Ninjas

2011-09-21T20:35:00.000-07:00

Jeremy's U-6 AYSO team started their season and it seems like a good bunch of kids and some good little players. I was very impressed with Jbird...more aggressive than last year, more social and quicker (and by that I mean in terms of running off the field for water instead of walking)! Good job Jbird!

Hug from little sis during water break!

He even celebrated a goal! I think kindergarten is really helping him be less shy. Kind of :)

Watch out Mary Lou Retton

2011-09-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

Amelia had her 1st gymnastics class today at Broadway Gym. I wanted her to take a class here because I really think the YMCA class would have bored her. I think I was right!!! It's the REAL deal.

She learned positions; pike, tuck, how to check her balance when she lands from jumping (which involves saying freeze with hands straight out in front and knees bent) and splits. I was so impressed with her. I'm not just saying that because she's mine but she was the youngest and the most coordinated. But I was more proud because she was the best listener! The teacher never had to tell her something more than once. She had to do some courses, walked on a balance beam (never fell off and she didn't want to hold my hand), swing on the rings, hang from a bar and pull legs into pike position, jumped on trampolines tucking her legs under and the teacher even told the other students to watch her. Saying she loved it would be the under statement of the century! She can't wait to go back!!!! Ryan will take her next time and I will bring the camera to take pictures and videos!!!!

ps...she loves watching gymnastics now!

Mabel - 21 months old

2011-09-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

Wow, time is flying!!! Mabel is almost 2 and she's changing by the minute! She has added a ton of words to her vocabulary list; ready, push, watch, pee pee on potty, outside, back (when talking about wanting to sit in the back of the car), stop, Jbird, trash and a bunch of other words. She is getting concepts and directions like a big girl and can run really fast, climb onto J and A's bikes and pretend to ride them, shares the best out of the 3 (at this point), LOVES dogs and is still obsessed with J and A!
Oh, and she has peed on the potty a few times, insists on wearing big girl underwear (I will fight this for as long as possible because I am not ready to deal with another "I have to go potty" while I'm in line somewhere), and carried her toilet everywhere. It's pretty funny!!!!

Delay

2011-09-17T21:49:00.001-07:00

My computer is acting up so i am not able to download pics so as soon as I figure it out, I'll update. Lots of posts ready to publish but they're lacking the pictures.

Labor Day Weekend 2011

2011-09-05T18:49:00.000-07:00

After one week of kindergarten, Jeremy spent most of Saturday in his PJ's. Until 3 pm. We all loved just hanging out, drinking coffee, watching cartoons and not rushing out the door. I now understand why "school age" families like the weekend so much!

Part of Saturday was spent with Annie, who likes to play dolls with the girls, and sometimes Mabel is the doll. I think she likes it because she never complains about it :)

We hosted a bbq for our "south bay" friends on Saturday night and cooked up some yummy stuff. Shrimp apps, BBQ'ed salad, artichokes, flank steak, green chili rice and lots of beer!!!! The kids had a blast and so did we!

The kids with Jolie (Mike and Christy's daughter)

All the kids are Mabel's age which is a nice change because none of our Westchester gang have a little one so it's HER friends!

Jolie and Bella (Jess and Seth's 1st daughter)

Some of us partied way too hard...

Seth using the restroom with his 2nd daughter Marley (5 months)

Amelia was a party animal! Seth said he's never seen someone her age run so fast. And who knows what she did when we all went to bed because she woke up looking like this. It took me 15 minutes to comb it out. My shoulder was aching and fingers went numb doing it. In case you can't tell, it's completely nested!

Sunday morning was daddy's donut run with the kids! He will drive around afterwards to give me some down time but they always come home looking like this :)

The babysitter came on Sunday afternoon so Ryan and I could join his boss and CEO for a nice BBQ at their AMAZING Manhattan Beach house. The view was unreal!!!!!

We spent today getting organized (grocery run, laundry) and enjoying one more relaxing day at home before the school week starts. Mabel carried on with her new look...

She LOVES to put on big girl underwear and has been wanting her diaper off lately. Not so fast kid, momma is not motivated for that AT ALL!

Jbird and Mabel still enjoying the roller coaster!

Amelia starts school on Wednesday and gymnastics on Saturday. Jbird starts soccer on Saturday and baseball on Sunday so life is about to get really hectic!!! Bring it on. I love it!

His 1st German words

2011-09-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

I thought Jbird would be the kid that learns to speak German with his teachers and peers but not to us. He surprised me! He has come home every day trying to speak new words he's learned. He was playing in the back yard yesterday and started telling me about this song they sing and and he said after it's your turn to sing you say, "Wie heisst du?" In case you don't speak German (I asked Auntie Nicole) this means "what is your name?" So fun watching him soak up stuff.

Pick up on day 1!

Side story...Nicole and I have started a little carpooling and she told me that they had a conversation today about how many hands Nicole had to do things and he said, "my mom needs 16 hands!" Oh, how true that is!!!! Thanks Jbird but maybe you could use yours a little more to help me and then I would only need 14 :)

Sweet Jbird

2011-08-29T22:14:00.000-07:00

"Mommy, if you were younger, I'd marry you"!

1st Day of Kindergarten at Goethe

2011-08-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

We sent him off to school with a full belly of oatmeal and strawberries. Don't forget the glass of OJ he drinks every morning. He was excited to show everyone his uniform (he ran next door to show the Georges) and showed Amelia his back pack and lunch box when she woke up. On the way to school, he asked, "what is recess for again" and wanted to hold both our hands on the way in.

I snuck into his German class to get a picture.

Can you imagine how yummy all these crayons smelled?!?! My favorite thing - school supplies!

We found his class line and we got into line on the black top and listened to our new principal. It was time to head into the class and he was SO brave and not a tear was shed. Mommy did. :(

The girls and I made Jeremy a schultuete, a German tradition that had been around since the early

1800′s! It's a cone given to a child on their first day of

school filled with sweets, trinkets and back to school supplies!

Finished product!

Pick up was chaotic and it took awhile but it was so good to see his little face! You have to wait in line and then they call his name. When he came down the stairs, Mabel started to cry because she didn't get a hug. He gave me and both girls a HUGE hug and Amelia gave him his cone. He then said she could have the cone he made at school. It's like they haven't seen each other in days. They're talking about the funniest things and he is telling us all about his day. He said he learned one German word but I don't know what it means, his new friend is Jett, he forgot to eat his chips with his hummus, he got to play for "8 minutes", he only "gets to use pencils", he played with Simone at recess only and he likes both teachers. When he's in the immersion week, he will swap to the English class for 30 minutes in the afternoon and he said that was the last thing he did before I came. So funny!

Congrats Simone and J! According to Ryan/Daddy, you've made it through the "first day of the rest of your lives"!

Last Days of Summer

2011-08-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

They had their dentist appts and all looked great! The dentist was VERY impressed with their teeth and no cavities for anyone!

Mabel's 1st dentist appt! Waiting very patiently!

The powder trick from the beach literally spilled over to the home. They were awfully quiet and when I found them they were GUILTY! Thank you J for getting the powder off the changing table!

Even though he's starting kindergarten tomorrow, he's still a baby and will get into the pack n play and fall asleep :(

We've been getting in school "spirit" and I made German pancakes and got cold cuts from the German deli! They've never been quieter while they ate!

Jeremy and I went to his school on Friday and he met his teachers and got to see his classrooms. He'll be starting in the German classroom so I'll let you know how that goes. Yikes. I love his teachers!

We had the Goethe annual picnic on Saturday and met some new families. There are some really cool people!

We spent today getting organized, hair cut, laundry, BBQ at our neighbors and baths for all. I'm feeling sad, excited, anxious (just like J) and unmotivated. Yup, you read that right, unmotivated. I always feel like I need all 3 to go on adventures. When I just have the girls, I feel like I should stay home and get stuff done around the house. I have to remember that it's now Amelia and Mabel's time to bond, play together and get to do fun things with mom. I will probably be a bit sad tomorrow (I almost cried meeting his teachers) but I couldn't be happier with where he is going to school. Pics from tomorrow coming soon!

Fun weekend!

2011-08-21T20:54:00.000-07:00

We played hide n seek! Well, kind of.

We had a play date at Jess and Dani's house Thursday and swim lessons Friday! The kids LOVE their house and they love their dog Sam and are pretty obsessed with Dani! Jeremy is a fish! He now dives to the bottom to get toys and jumps into the deep end. Good job J!

Ryan and I decided it would be fun to start a little tradition so we took J out to lunch and to the mall to get his school supplies and new school shoes! We will hopefully keep the tradition going and get one on one time with each kid before school starts. He had fun and was very grateful. We went to Soup plantation and he had tofu, edamame, raisins, olives and oranges! Not normal :)

Ryan's quote to J at lunch, "this is just the beginning of your road to Stanford"! He starts kindergarten in one week :(

We went to a birthday party while daddy worked and Mabel was Miss Independent! I took them to Paco's Tacos afterwards for dinner and they all behaved amazingly well. Even the people around me commented on it. Thanks guys!

We spent ALL day today at the beach with the George family and some friends we've met through them. We got there at 9 am and didn't leave until 4:30! No naps! Actually, mommy left for an hour and a half to go to J's new school and help clean it up and get it ready for the new year. What a beautiful day with great friends!

Did I say no naps? Well, daddy zoned out for a few minutes!

One more week of summer vacation and then we start a new adventure. I am going to soak up every minute with my little man. Love you J monkey!

UCLA

2011-08-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

I took the kids (and that means Jack and Annie as well) to UCLA today to see the old stomping grounds! It started a bit rough with 2 crying little girls but after a little while, they pepped up and had a blast!

We stopped and played around the water fountain, climbed trees and visited the sculpture gardens. One of my favorite places when I was there.

They went up and down the most beautiful stair case I've ever seen (well, I am a little bias) and peeked in at the men's soccer practice!

I love Royce Hall and the view towards the library so I made everyone take a picture! :)

Jack took one of my favorite pictures EVER!

We went to Kerkof (the coffee hang out on campus) for some coffee and ice cream and met Auntie Lou Lou there. She was one of my bridesmaids, fellow teammate at UCLA and Freedom and now coaches the Women's team! I love this girl like crazy and so did the kids. Lou got to meet Mabel and Mabel warmed right up to her. I knew she would.

We are now off to Mabel's 1st dentist appt and Amelia's 1st cleaning. Jbird is a pro so he should be easy! I'll let you know how that goes.

Monday Beach Day

2011-08-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

Another great day at the beach! We met up with our other neighbor Kristie and her daughter Alexis. Amelia fell in LOVE with "sis" and this was the happiest, most independent she's ever been at the beach. Hope they come next week! :)

From left to right: Amelia, Sis, Annie, Mabel, Jeremy and Jack!

My how they've grown!

2011-08-15T21:37:00.000-07:00

Since my sister Courtney doesn't have a blog I will go ahead and update about her kids. I cannot believe how big all these kids are getting! Teddy started his 2nd year of preschool today and he will be 4 in November.

Georgia is in 2nd grade and Cece started Kindergarten!! I can't deal with these sisters!

We miss you!!!!!

The Witch

2011-08-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

So my mom threatened to call the old lady, some people use Santa and my life has changed due to the WITCH that Auntie Megan thought of. It started as a fun game but the kids were scared of her voice and what she said and now it works like a charm to keep Amelia in line. For those of you who know little miss Amelia, this is VERY helpful. It has changed my life! Thank you Megan! Here is the super scary witch who will call if you're bad and may even visit you if you're really bad! Isn't she scary :)

The best part is that Amelia is scared to death but she wants the witch to take Jeremy sometimes. He was being a stinker last night so I told him the witch was going to take him to her house to spend the night and the funniest little smile spread across Amelia's face. She said, "yeah, I want him to go"! Ah, sibling love!

Reinkemeyer Family Reunion Trip 2011

2011-08-08T21:20:00.000-07:00

As you know, we were in Missouri for the family reunion since last Saturday. We got home late this afternoon and we're wiped out! Here are my pictures from my phone.

Waiting for our plane last week! We had a bulk head row so we were able to spread out a little and the kids could play at our feet. All of them fell asleep during landing!

We flew into St. Louis and stayed the night with Ryan's cousin Brandy, her husband Gregg and their sons Zach and Luke. We swam a lot in their pool which has a big shallow step (closest to me) and a waterfall the kids love to jump off of.

We went to the City Museum which is an old 10 story shoe factory turned interactive crazy, dark tunnel, slides, water fountains, hidden walkways kind of place.

We headed to Jefferson City (2 hour drive) on Sunday and it was HOT! And I mean HOT! Over 100 + humidity. Yikes. We spent lots of time in the pool thanks to Aunt Dedie and Uncle Dick! Mary's sister and brother-in-law were out of town but they told us to use their pool. And use their pool we did!

Jeremy did awesome swimming and Mabel is a water baby! Amelia likes the stairs but that's one less I need to stress over :)

Ryan spent summers as a kid at their family (Meinhardt side) cabin at the Lake of the Ozarks! We went back for the day, rented a boat and had a BLAST!

Here are Jbird and Ryan on the dock. Ryan jumps off the top but Jbird goes to the next step down! Pretty daring if you ask me as I went up there and didn't jump from the top step like he did.

Amelia took a little while to warm up to the boat and she didn't like it when we stopped and it rocked (she said her belly hurt) but once we got going she kept saying, "make it go faster"!

We went to the Capitol!

It was a week of 1sts!

Jeremy's 1st time riding in a convertible!

Mabel's 1st time on a 4 wheeler!

Mommy's 1st tractor pull!

Mabel's 1st family reunion! She walked in waving hello so as you can imagine, she enjoyed it. The best part is when the tables are cleared the kids run around like crazy!

We spent lots of quality time with Auntie Megan, Uncle Jeremy, Grandmommy and Beck and Nellie!

Making cake with Grandmommy

After the reunion, we headed back to St. Louis to stay with Brandy and family again so we could relax today and not drive 2 hours before the flight. Cute cousins this morning before we left!

Thanks for a good time everyone! We miss you already!

The Farm

2011-08-06T19:40:00.000-07:00

Missouri Trip

2011-08-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

Well, a part of the trip! We've been here for 4 days, visited St. Louis, done a lot of swimming, applied LOTS of sunblock and stayed inside when we're not in water because it's SO hot! I will update St. Louis pictures when we get home because they're on my phone!

We went to dinner with the Meinhardt side and we got some adorable pictures! Here they are! Thanks Auntie Megan.

Amelia doesn't look happy but that is her new "cheese" face! Cute isn't it?

The Meinhardt side. Left to right; me, Uncle Bob, Ryan, Uncle Jeremy, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Cindy is sitting with kids, Cousin Shawn, 2nd cousin Ava, cousin Molly and Auntie Megan.

Fruit-sicles

2011-07-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

We were at a friend's house the other night and Jeremy saw fruit popsicles on the cover of a magazine and said, "mommy, can we make these?" OF COURSE! So we did!

The buffet

"Jeremy, if you eat all the fruit, we will not have any to actually make the popsicles!"

Tried the fancy popsicle maker but it's too cold to start so the fruit got stuck along the sides. Old school plastic ones that cost next to nothing = perfection!

24 hours later we have yummy (and healthy) popsicles. Just added watered down apple juice to stick everything together!

One happy kid!

Note to self and anyone who wants to try this; strawberries and peaches freeze sweet. Blackberries, Mandarin oranges and raspberries freeze more bitter! He didn't care but I did.