'Tis the season...

to get ready for Christmas!

I love this time of year!  Did I say "love" because I mean I love this time of the year.  I think I love it more now because not only is it warm, cozy, think of others season but it's the time of year when I had my baby Mabel.  I've thought a hundred times about what I was doing last year at this time. Good memories and still making good ones.  So we got the house FULLY ready for Xmas by Sunday night including the outside lights which is Ryan's least favorite thing to do but I make him do it anyway.  I love opening the boxes and the smell of Christmas is back instantly.  I am usually anal about decorating the tree but since the kids are older, they got to put the non breakable ornaments around the bottom.  Ryan still doesn't get to decorate :) They had a blast.  Auntie Jacqui was here to help so she had to rearrange because the kids put all the ornaments on the same branches so it was "a little heavy on the decor".  We started some traditions last year which we will continue this year...those being; we put away all Christmas books the minute Christmas was over last year.  We pulled them out this year and they had so much fun reading the books.  Their favorite...T'was the night before Christmas because Grandmommy gave it to them with her voice reading it.  Jeremy came running in and yelled, "grandmommy says she loves us" when the book ended.  He's listened to that page over and over.  Another tradition is that after dinner and bath, we load up in the car and drive around looking at Christmas lights before bed.   They would warn each other when lights were coming.  Jeremy would say, "Amelia, lights are on your side" and she would then say, "Jbird, your side".  Back and forth the whole 45 minute drive.  Yes, time flies and it's fun so why not.  Mabel just sits in the middle.  Some traditions to look forward to are Candy Cane Lane, Gingerbread houses, Grandmommy's peppermint sticks, Santa visiting Westchester, Griffith Park Lights, advent calendars from Oma and Opa, more driving to look at lights, J picking a present for A and A picking for J.  I think they've already asked 100 times when they can open the calendars.  Jeremy spent all of his "quiet time" with me :( finding every number so it wouldn't take too long on the actual day.  Sorry for the long post but I want my kids to read this and laugh some day.

Random things we did over the holiday weekend...

 We took the kids to the beach

We spent quality time hanging out

The boys watched football with their babies

Did I mention Cousin Eddy came to visit?

We celebrated Teddy's 3rd birthday!

Thanksgiving family photo shoot was a success!  Well, at least 

from the preview shots I got via email this afternoon.  Here is 

one of Miss Mabel.  She was quite the model.  Will post all the 

pics when I get them.

This blog update is for all the kids/cousins/neices and nephews!

Here is what your mothers go through to make sure you all get to hang out and develop strong relationships.

8am - Auntie Jacqui and mommy feed Jbird, Amelia, Mabel, Jett and Benny breakfast

9am - ALL 9 people (including Uncle Ryan and Uncle Nick) out the door in TWO cars to get to Oma's for the day!

10:30 - Mabel down for first nap so she's up and out of the crib by the time Amelia needs to nap

11:00am - Auntie Jacqui and Auntie Courtney take all but Georgia and Mabel on a walk to get them outside since it's a clear and cool day!  Georgia went to the vet with Auntie Sky while Mabel slept.

11:30 - Mabel up from nap #1, big kids and Benny eat lunch

12:30am - Teddy and Jett go "night night" in the same room in big boy beds so the little girls could have the cribs and pac n plays!

Amelia down to bed in one room and Benny napping in Opa's closet!

Cece and Jbird watch a show while kids nap, Georgia is at the grocery store with her mom and Mabel is eating Tilly's toys.
1:30 - Uncle Dave arrives from the airport with Uncle Christian and lunch is ready because Jacqui and mommy went to pick up Mexican food.
2:30 - Teddy and Jett wake up, have a snack and get started playing with Jeremy, Cece and Georgia.
3:00 - Wake up Amelia so Mabel can take another nap in that crib and Benny is STILL sleeping in Opa's closet.
3:30 - Uncle Dave, Courtney, Jacqui and mommy walk into town with Georgia, Cece, Jbird, Jett and Amelia while Oma stays at home with sleeping baby girls and Teddy because he was grumpy.
All the kids get ice cream while mommies and daddy get more cafiene to get through the rest of the day.
4:30 - Back to the house, Benny STILL sleeping
5:00 - Mabel up, dinner served to all the kiddos (video to come), followed by bath time, watching rocket ships with Opa (well, the boys did), a touch of chaos and we packed up the car to head home.
ps...did I mention that all the big big boys (Dave, Christian, Nick and Ryan are at a bar having some "boy time")
6:00 - My car loaded up with 5 kids, 2 moms and 1 dog to head home.
7:15 - ALL kids in bed and Jacqui and I prepared Monkey Bread for breakfast and jumped on the couch as fast as we could.  
We're wiped out!!!!!  You're welcome kiddos.  Hope you had a fun day because even though we're tired and you keep us VERY busy, we love you and these memories will last a lifetime.

Chaos Appetizer

Here is a taste of what is to come...

Just add 6 more kids and 6 more adults!  Yikes.  I will take a video on Thanksgiving so you can see!

Thanksgiving week has begun!

Auntie Court and kids, Auntie Jacqui, Uncle Nick and kids came to town this afternoon! Oma, Opa, Tilly, Jbird and mommy went to get them and we looked like the circus rolled into town.  Everyone hugging, kissing, being loud....typical Little fashion.

We came back to our house, had lunch and then Court and kids headed home with Oma and Opa! Oh yeah, they took Jbird with them so we had a somewhat peaceful afternoon with 3 girls and Jett.  Jacqui went in to get Mabel and she thought Jacqui was her mom.  She wouldn't come to me and was cuddling with Auntie Jacqui.  Jacqui was thrilled.  She finally figured it out but then Jett thought I was his mom.  Pretty funny.  Here are some pics of the girls (Jett and Amelia were racing around the house so there was limited time to snap shots).  

 Oh yeah, when Mabel and Benny saw each other they were trying to figure out the whole situation.  Benny follows Mabel around and tries to kiss her.  Video to follow...if it downloads!

We're thankful for....

In case you can't read what the kids said they were thankful for...

Jeremy is thankful for Lightening McQueen and Amelia is thankful for food :)  

"This is going to the best week ever" ~Jeremy 

That was what he told Amelia when he woke up this morning and he asked "what are we doing this day?" This is what we did...

Well, it started last night when we made chocolate chip cookies from scratch.  They didn't want any, I did :)

First thing this morning (9am), we headed to Fire Station 5 in Westchester to get a private tour.  I ran into an old friend (from high school...he went to my "brother high school") last week in Westchester and he told me he just started at this fire station in July!  The kids got stickers, coloring books and Jbird got to climb on the fire trucks and ask 100 questions.  Thanks Lee!

We then met up with Nicole and kids and headed to the California Science Center at USC. (Arrived 10:15am)  

You can lift a truck (or 4 1/2 year old)!

It's an interactive science museum.  Time for blocks.

This was the Kelp Forest in the Ecosystems exhibit.  The kids got a guide to the names of fish and sea life and LOVED finding them and pointing them out.

The Discovery Room for kids 7 and under.  Brilliant.  I could have stayed here ALL day.  SUPER clean and it had so many fun things for kids to do.  There was a play kitchen with cleaning supplies and pretend food, plates, food pyramid blocks, cabinets that were enclosed with glass because there were mice in one and cockroaches in the other.  That was to teach the kids that they need to survive as well and they can make their way into our homes :( There was a puzzle and book area, a toddler room where Mabel had a blast climbing in the shelves.  The outside area had a fake garden where the kids could plant veggies, rake, dig and explore.  The Discovery Room was empty so we stayed here a long time.

I wore pigtails for the first time today!!!

Daddy got home from India at 3pm so we spent the afternoon hanging out watching tv, dancing and playing with a fire (in the fireplace of course).  What a day!  I'm beat.

ps...and yes mom, I could have spent the day cleaning our house but this was way more fun :)  love you.

Trouble?

  Let me count the ways...

When an 11 month old is quiet you know they're up to no good.

If I leave the fridge open for a second, she's in it!  

Jeremy will set up their "house" and he will dump toys in for her.  She goes with the flow and she's so much fun!  She is standing on her own (not holding anything) a lot more so walking is right around the corner.  I can't wait...she's ruining all of her pants!  

I'm going to brag for a minute, and only a minute.  Ryan's new company makes these organic cotton growth charts and I embroidered one for a friend.  Paisley was born October 30.  I wish the pictures turned out better but my computer is acting up and not letting me touch them up.

Making a froot loop "candy" necklace!  It turned into a bracelet because we made a deal that he could eat the ones that didn't fit on the rope.  Note to self....use white string because MOST of the froot loops don't fit on the rope.

My girls in the bath at Oma and Opa's!

Some of my favorite people :)

Jeremy scored his 1st GOOOOAAAALLLL!!!!

I'm sad to say I missed it but Ryan said there was a cluster in front of the goal and he kicked it in!  Ryan said the coolest part was that everyone (coaches, parents) cheered so loudly for him.  He's like the "Rudy" of Boys Under 5 AYSO soccer.  Good job Jbird...we're SO SO proud of you!

Here is a thirsty player minutes before his goal :)

Miss Mabel is 11 months old!!!!

Her personality is really starting to come out.  Ryan thinks she will be the comedian of the family.  Her hair is getting thicker and longer, she HATES diaper changes, loves eating anything except eggs, still gets a major kick out of Jeremy and is constantly touched, hugged and kissed by both J and A.  She is still happy but definitely is starting to voice her dislike when she is moved away from something she wants to do.  She tries to put clothes and shoes on, copies Ryan when he throws something in the air, waves at everyone, makes kissing noises when you ask for a kiss, blows kisses and blinks when you ask.  Example below...

Her new favorite place to play...

A BEAUTIFUL day at the Getty Museum

Resting (or not) on the grass.  Nicole and Mabel are sitting in the middle of the pic and to the right, Jeremy, Simone and Blaise are racing!  Amelia and I are coming back from the "potty"!

Ms. Amelia running near the stream!

It was super windy and clear.  That's the ocean in case you couldn't figure it out.  It was so nice.  

Tuesdays = NO school, NO break for momma which = BE creative!

So....what do we do on Tuesdays?  We're usually out the door by 8 to get to the gym so mommy can have "my time" to take a spin class.  Then we usually hit the park with Louise and kiddos but today they were busy so we had our dear old friend Svetlana over for a playdate.  Svetlana was my nanny for Jeremy and Amelia when I was coaching.  She is now a nanny for Hayden, daughter of Nick Paneno who I went to UCLA with and lived next door to in the dorms.  He played on the men's soccer team so we hung out a lot!  It's pretty cool to see our kids playing together.

After the playdate ended, we played with floam (a mushy thing that resembles rice krispy treats that you can mold but it's NOT sticky), colored, practiced writing and had some cookies with Emily who turned 4 today.  I am short on crafty things to pull out that we can do when mommy is not motivated to go anywhere.  So I put my thinking cap on and remembered that somewhere, I have all the tools to scrapbook.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I used to scrapbook.  I found all my stuff in the attic so I busted it out and we found wooden airplanes left over from J's 2nd bday, puffy paints, stickers, glue, fun scissors and so much more.  We kept busy until dinner time and now all are in bed :)  Thank goodness.  Tuesdays are LONG days!

Jeremy styled Mabel's hair and it stayed.  Classic!

La Brea Tar Pits

We decided to take the kids to the tar pits this morning.  My memories of the tar pits as a child were from field trips and I was ALWAYS hot and sweaty. :)  Shocker.  Anyway, it was much more pleasant than I remember.  One slight problem was that there was a dog and cat adoption fair but we stayed out of the center and explored the park.