This was our second year spending the holidays in our home here in LA. Last year Iya and Papa came to visit just before the holiday and we had a couple of Christmas celebrations! This year, we kept it simple and it was again, wonderful!

All December long we have been reading the book “The Elf on The Shelf” and the kid shave LOVED it! Every morning Ella would wake up and run around the house trying to find what that silly little elf had gotten himself into. Luckily for us he usually did nice things (like help me with the dishes or play the guitar). On Christmas eve Bruce sat down with Ella to read her the book one last time – as the elf needed to get back to Santa and help him with all the work he had ahead!

I love to watch these two together! <3 Though, they really can push each others buttons from time to time! haha Ella adores her father, and I know that feeling is mutual.

On Christmas morning the kids woke up to a bunch of fun new toys from us, family and Santa. It was really great to watch their excitement and see how they enjoyed opening and discovering what each gift was. Santa got the kids a new play house this year and I must say, while I thought the kids would like it, I am blown away by how much Bastion LOVES it!!

He spends loads of time ringing the doorbell, shouting his trademark “EL-O” and opening and closing the little door. <3 The elves forgot to send any screws along with the playhouse, so I had an interesting time trying to make it safe for the kids haha. Luckily, the kids are not annoyed with this in the least!

I loved spending the day as a family, it was light and comfortable... we could stay in our jammies all day (and maybe we did!) Another big hit present wise for the kids is a digital art studio. Ella has REALLY started taking to this and wants to use it all the time. She "builds" her name over and over. This has also now lead to her discovering that she can text her name We may need to get an unlimited texting plan!

A very special part of the morning happened when Ella actually caught Santa in the act! Since Santa is magic, we couldn't get a clear picture of him while he was in our house, but she woke up to him finishing off his cookies!

I feel so very lucky to have this family. We got to Skype with Oma and Opa and Iya and Papa as well as our siblings <3 I feel like even though we are hundreds and thousands of miles from each other we are all so lucky to be able to pop into each others livingrooms (or offices) and share these special times.

So sad that it has taken a huge storm to get me back on here writing – but life has really gotten busy! These two little ones keep me on my toes and now with Ella in school we are much busier than I ever expected!!

Well, lets get to this storm… and what a storm it was. I remember hearing on the news that “dangerous weather is headed our way” and I kind of laughed it off. Really, ‘dangerous weather’ here in LA? I figured there would be some strong Santa Ana winds – but nothing like what we experienced. We lost our power on Wednesday night… this also just so happened to be the night that Bruce was working late for month end. He didnt get home till 3:30am! With the power out the kids and I made a game of everything. Bastion went to sleep with no problems – that boy is a great sleeper now! Ella was just too excited. I sat in our big comfortable green chair with a big candle by our front door, leaving Ella’s door cracked so she could see me. Every ten min or so she would ask, ‘mama, are you still there?’ About 11:30pm she finally succumbed to sleep. I sat there in our big chair, watching the wind tare through the neighborhood. I could tell whenever a big rush of wind was coming; I would start to hear this loud rumble, then the house would start to shake – very much like an earthquake, the windows would rattle and then you could see the trees bending. I watched four transformers blow up in the matter of about 2 hours. I was so worried about Bruce driving home. I slept on the couch that night so that I could be close to the kids if they needed anything or got scared. In the morning we all woke and went outside to survey the damage… this was the first thing we saw:

This is across the street from our house, a 100 year Oak came crashing down. This driveway leads to 4 other houses and all the families were blocked in. The wind had come in from the north and blown the tree south, into another of our neighbors yard/house. Luckily the house has some tall thin trees and a palm tree that saved them from having their house broken down by the tree. It was such an intense sight to see.

Here you can see the palm tree that saved their house.

And here is a shot of their house, with just SOME of the debris that was created.

Well into the night they worked trying to clear the driveway so the families could get out.

I climbed into the driveway to get a shot of how it looked for the families who live down the driveway.

We had 4 days with no power. That lost its charm VERY fast! By the 4th day I was done. We were not sleeping well, the house was cold, the kids were restless and all our food had gone bad. The last night we had no power and Ella woke up in the middle of the night puking. Poor girl! That same night Bastion pee’d through his diapers and the double layer of jammies I had him in. I went to go buy the kids more warm weather clothes to make it through another night and as I pulled into our driveway – THE LIGHTS CAME BACK ON!!!!!!! I promptly ran into the house and turned the heat up! I was so happy I broke out in tears!

Ella now plays a game she made up called “wind storm!” She will stack items on top of one another and then knock them all down yelling “WIND STORM!!” haha. She is still excited every time we can turn on a light – as am I. This experience has showed me ways we need to be more prepared for a large disaster. We were lucky to have gas and still be able to use the burners on the stove and have hot water. We lost all our food (including an upright freezer and chest freezer). I now have enough tea-candles to last a huge storm again! The evening after we got our power back I was holding Bastion on that big green chair I wrote about earlier. He was snuggling into my chest and we were both warm and cozy. I felt so relieved, I felt so humbled and so grateful that I could once again keep my children warm and safe.

Another note I want to add is how wonderful all our neighbors were with coming together to help each other out. We shared breakfasts and dinners to ensure everyone had food and there was nothing left over (since there was no way to store it). We all came out to help clean each others yards to to make sure that we all had everything we needed. We shared candles and stories and wine.

In order to stay home with the kids, I started watching other kids 2 to 3 days a week. I am SO glad that I made this decision as it has allowed me to experience every day with my kids. For the last 8+ months I have had the same 2 kids, but now they are transitioning into full time daycare and I am introducing new babies to start watching. I am BLOWN away by what a little mommy Ella is. She is AMAZING with the babies.

We were interviewing a new family, and I had explained to Ella that a “new baby was coming to visit”. Ella got very excited, if not a little confused. She started to say over and over, “My brother is broken, we need a new baby!” lol Rest assured, Bastion is not broken!

The new baby started with us 2 weeks ago and Ella is in LOVE! She cries when his mom comes to get him saying “MY BABY! BRING BACK MY BABY!!” I have to keep reminding her that it is n fact not our baby, we just watch him. In the mornings Ella will go to her little kitchen and make the baby coffee and breakfast. She also feeds him this yummy meal. lol She will be a great mommy and wife one day! Bastion was surprisingly jealous of this new baby. Now that he has been here a little longer, Bastion seems to be adjusting well. I think it will be really nice for Bastion to have a little boy around to play with since 90% of all of our friends have girls.

The kids are both growing by leaps and bound right now. Ella has become SO expressive and often reminds me of a 14 year old girl…. all sass! She has very specific ways she wants things done and when they are not done that way, oh man, she gets upset! Bastion has decided that he is going to become a professional climber. He stacks up anything he can find at the edge of our kid gates and tries to climb over. It wont be long before he figures it out… which scares me!

Here is a pic of Ella, putting on her sweet face.

For the 4th of July we went over to our friend Jaime’s house. He has 2 daughters around Ella’s age. Here I am with the kids as they are watching the backyard fireworks display. Ella LOVED it!

Another first that just happened was Ella’s first ice cream cone from the ice cream truck!

I think she was pleased!

Bastion, well, he is just the happiest little kid!

Wow! A year has gone by! One whole year with my little man! I am so ecstatic about him and the happiness he has brought to our family.  He is truly a ray of sunshine, so happy and full of energy.  He is very contemplative and rather quiet. He babbles non-stop, walk around and is perhaps the worlds best climber. Before he could even walk he was climbing. He is a very thoughtful boy. He takes his time deciding on people, he watches them, watches the world around him, just takes it all in. He is in all shapes and forms of the word – a boy! He likes to bang on things and nothing is safe from his curious hands.

A year ago this morning our good friend Charisee had spent the night to be there for Ella when she woke up. I wrote a long letter to Ella about how much I loved and adored her and how excited I was for her to become a big sister. She is an AMAZING big sister – we couldn’t have lucked out more on that respect! Bruce and I drove to teh hospital for my scheduled C-section and by 8:30am I was holding my little man. He was born looking like the cutest old man I had ever seen!

Bastion, I am so proud of you! I am in awe of you every day and so grateful for the love you have brought to this family. Thank you son! Happy birthday!

Bastion on day one:

Bastion on day 364:

That is right!! Bastion is not quite walking yet, but he sure is stepping. He took his first three steps at about 10.5 months, a little closer to the 11 month mark. He is a about a week shy of 11 months now, and can get a steady 4 steps down. Now, granted, that last step would end in an epic face plant if not for the attentive arms of mommy and daddy.

Along with figuring out how to walk, he decided he would also like to learn to climb. Just yesterday I found him climbing up on Ella’s trike.

At first he was like this:

and then the little cutie decided to take it to the next level:

WHAT!?! He is such a boy!!

When my girlfriends from high-school and I all turned about 25 years old we promised each other that the year we turned 30 we would all take a cruise together. In my mid twenties nothing seemed further away than 30… except perhaps 40 . Somehow 5 or so years FLEW BY! We had some kids, some of us got married and I still lived in Cali while they were all up in Seattle. One of us even had 3 kids and has spent the last 5 years moving all over the western US. Well, we made a promise, and we kept it!

On April 10th I left my beautiful children for a 7 day Mexican Rivera Cruise on Carnival Cruise lines! WOW! The two weeks leading up to this trip I was a complete mess. I cried at the drop of a pin, I cried at the thought of leaving them, I cried while feeding Bastion, I cried when Ella was going to sleep… I cried at ANYTHING!! I wasn’t crying because I was worried about how they would be taken care of or anything like that, I was simply crying because I love them so much and the thought of 7 days without them hurt me to my soul. Bruce was SUPER supportive, even Oma and Opa flew down to help him take care of the kids so that he could still go to work.

Leaving was tough, but having my best girlfriends here really made it a lot better. I started focusing on the great things that were going to happen. Ella and Bastion were going to be able to build an even tighter bond with my parents, one that they would not be able to build if I were here. I was going to get a chance to sleep through the night, to recoup, to remember what it was like to just be ME. Bruce was getting to do “cry it out” with Bastion and move him into his own room. There would be a lot of changes and great things to come from this trip, I just had to let go and let it all happen. So, off to Long Breach terminal we went to catch our boat!!

Here is Shannon and me all geared up to get on the boat:

and here is out state room:

and here we are all excited to be settling in!!

Breastfeeding has been something that was important for me to do with both kids. Luckily I am able to do so, and I didn’t want to have to stop due to this trip. This was another one of my big fears. Just so my kids know… even when I am not with them, I am doing my best to care for them,

case in point:

Pumping every chance I got!!

One of my favorite days on the cruise was the day we went to Puerto Vallarta. that morning Shannon and I got up really early and watched the sunrise from the front of the boat. It was AMAZING. I thought I would sleep a lot on the boat, but I was still in a waking every few hours schedule, so I had no problem getting up super early, putting on my robe and taking the elevator 11 stories up… YES, 11 stories, then up another flight of stairs! The boat was HUGE.

Here is my favorite shot I got that morning using Shannon’s camera:

I really had an amazing time. I missed my family SO much, but I knew they were doing great. It was almost better that we couldnt really communicate. I wanted so badly to get a text from them, but every time I did I would tear up. It was great to hear though, that everyone was happy, and to my pleasant surprise… SLEEPING!! We got home on a Sunday, dropped the girls off at the Long Beach airport and Bruce and I headed home with about 150 oz. or so of frozen milk . When we pulled up to the house there were kids toys out front, the sun was shinning and front door wide open. I ran in to Ella eating lunch at the kitchen table in her swim-soup (as she calls it) and Basi on the floor. Both my parents were here till the next day and it was SO great to walk in to a house full of love and to kiss my little poop-machines! <3

Now that I have taken this trip, I am really REALLY glad I did. It was hard to leave, but good to do. I really needed the time I got to spend with my friends, and I see how it has made me a better mother and wife. It has put a lot of things into perspective for me, which I really appreciate. I also feel SO very lucky to have had friends for so long that are SO great!! We decided for our 40th’s we are going to do the Caribbean! I just hope 40 doesnt come as fast as 30 did!! I hope one day that Ella is blessed with girlfriends like I have, because they really do make the world better.

That’s right! We took the kids to Disneyland finally!! (and I am finally posting about it, since it was about a month ago )

Ella had such an amazing time and got to meet Miss Tinkerbell!!

She was mesmerized!! When Ella met Tink her eyes glazed over and it was as if she left the entire park.

Ella’s first ride ever was a rocket-ship she went on with Daddy. Ella got to steer and Bruce said that she just wanted to go higher and higher. Ella continues to talk about this ride with her dad, saying “I want to ride the rocket-ship with daddy!!” Recently we went on a trip up to Seattle and once again Ella brought up the ride. She was excited to ride another rocket-ship! lol

I was amazed at how well both kids did on the trip. It was a long day and they both were such troopers! About halfway through the day they were both pooped and ready to crash out, luckily we had brought our trusty double stroller and they were able to take a quick and rejuvenating nap.

This is when mommy and daddy got to have some fun too! Our friends that we had gone with watched the kids while we got to ride adult rides!! WOOHOO! It has been a REALLY long time since either of us have gotten to ride a roller-coaster.

It was AWESOME!

All in all, WHAT A FUN DAY! I am so grateful that we got to have this experience with the kids. I LOVE THIS FAMILY!

Yep. This poor momma finally fell victim to her own inability to let herself rest! Just before Christmas our house flooded in what has been the wettest few weeks in Los Angeles history! We got more rain in 3 days than we would normally get in a year! Well, it all backed up in our back patio and decided to drain itself into the house. I was here and sweeping out the water with the help of our amazing neighbors and a roofer who just happened to show up right as the flood started. It was hours before I noticed I was still wet and freezing. I should have known then to take care of myself for the next few weeks… but I thought I was super momma!

Well, super momma got KNOCKED OUT!! The cold hit on my birthday and I was in bed all day, then for the next 2 weeks I would feel a little better, then a little worse. Finally, I was cooking dinner and it hit me… a fever of 104. Oh I felt so bad. This was on a Monday night. I thought I could fight it off myself… oh boy was a wrong. By Wednesday I thought I was going to die. I had never felt so horrible in all my life. Everything hurt, moving hurt, breathing hurt, BLINKING hurt!! Poor Ella was so confused as to why mommy as “sleeping” all the time, and Bas was just stuck. Bruce stayed home to help one day, and luckily we have amazing friends who also helped out with Ella. (since Bas is still breastfeeding, I couldn’t really leave him with anyone else). Finally on Thursday morning I went into the doctors and was told I had pneumonia and that if they did not see massive improvement by Saturday morning I was going to be admitted to the hospital! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I cannot give up that much control, I cannot be in the hospital!! My babies need me (read: I need my babies)!!

Bruce’s brother Will and his wife Ashley got in Thursday night and right away took on kid duty. It was awesome to have them here helping out with the kids and Ella took to them right away. (well, almost right away!) Bas smiled and loved all the extra attention and I was finally able to take the nap I so needed. Friday morning was SO rough, I contemplating just checking myself into the hospital. Though, as the day went on I felt better and better, by Sat. I knew I was not going to have to go in! WOOHOO!! I am still not 100%, but boy oh boy do I feel better. Luckily it seems that Bas and Ella both only have little colds and haven’t gotten my full blown sickness. Bruce on the other hand is in bed as I type this. Poor guy is now feeling like a puddle of poo.

I have never felt so ill and powerless. (or at least I cannot remember a time that I have felt so poorly). I thought a lot during the time I was sick about how lucky I am to feel so good usually and how much I honestly take it for granted. I think I will always feel healthy and vibrant, but something like this reminds me that is not always true. I feel re-inspired to take even better care of myself now. I never want to feel that poorly again, I never want to feel like I cannot take care of my own children. It is a horrible feeling. I never want to feel how much it hurt to just breath again. I feel like I have a new lease on life! I like that out of this horrible sickness I can feel rejuvenated!!

oh, also, Ella kepts patting me saying “feel better now mommy” man, it sure is fun when they can talk!

WOW! Another holiday season has come and gone!! I was so excited for this holiday season! I couldn’t wait for it to get here. It was going to be weird to spend the holiday in LA rather than with family in either the South of up in Seattle, but it was the first year we were going to do Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year as a family here in LA. I was SO looking forward to all of it… and its gone by SO FAST! How did that happen? How? OH, cause we were having SUCH A FUN TIME!

First, Bruce and Karen came down the week before Christmas and did an awesome early celebration. They stayed with us for the first time and I must say, it went SO GREAT! The kids really loved it, especially Ella. She loved having her Iya and Papa right there to play with every morning and to tuck her in at night. Iya even got into tucking her in at nap time! They cuddled and got extra grandparent love times, which is SO important! I think Ella milked it a bit so that Iya would stay longer and cuddle longer with her… how can I blame her, that is some good loving!!

Before Iya and Papa got here we tried to visit Santa again, hoping this year we would have better luck. Well, no such luck! haha Instead of one kid screaming, we had two kids screaming and a Santa who couldn’t even pretend to smile. Here are the shots we ended up with:

Luckily, we did get some good family photos in:

While Bruce look happy and healthy in this shot… the poor daddy was BEYOND sick. He was puking all that morning, puking while at the festival to meet santa, and had to shut his eyes and sleep the entire ride home Poor poor guy! But I was blown away by his determination to be there. He kept saying that he wasn’t going to miss this time with his kids, that he wasn’t going to miss then seeing Santa. <3 What a trooper!

Well, we did an early Christmas with Iya and Papa. It was SUPER fun! Ella really enjoyed it all and finally understood opening gifts! (last year she mainly used the gift packaging rather than the gift itself.

Ella got a new Bitty Baby American Doll from her Iya and Papa and took to that little baby like glue!

Iya also knitted hats! Oh they are SO RAD!!

Bruce and Papa Bruce got the same book:

After their early Christmas, we had another Christmas on the 25th. Ella blew me away. Rather than throw open every gift and run to get the next, she opened up each one and wanted to investigate it. She would ask to take whatever it was out of the packaging, then play with that toy for a long while. I think we were done opening gifts around 6 pm that night! What a fun day!!

When Santa came he left snowflakes from the North Pole:

Santa even used fancy cards…

Looking back at this time that I was so looking forward to, I have to say that I am so blessed and happy to have gotten a chance to experience this! I love the holidays, but I love them more now that I have little ones to share them with. I love the excitement, the anticipation and the togetherness I feel. I am so appreciative of these moment and memories. I am so grateful for my family!

We have two more rounds of visitors coming now too!! Soon, Bruce’s brother Will gets here with his wife Ashley and then my momma comes down! WOOHOO!!

For the first few weeks after we had Bastion I kept holding out till the 8 week mark. It was at 8 weeks that Ella started sleeping through the night and I had it in my head that at 8 weeks, this little man would too. HAHAHAHAHA! Bastion is now 1 day over 6 months and sleeping through the night just is not on his “to do” list. He has started to get good naps in, about 2 hour stretches! He is sleeping in his pack ‘n’ play in our room and goes to bed by himself wonderfully. Then, once 1/1:30am hits, this little man is up and hungry. He is up about every hour from that point on till the day starts. I think these moments are both special and exhausting. He loves to be held and cuddled, I think he would stay in our arms at all times if we let him He just loves to be close to us. He also LOVES to eat, especially in the middle of the night! I do think this has something to do with his reflux and needing to sooth his throat. Since he is now 6 months old, and still not sleeping through the night and STILL puking on us every chance he gets (even laughing after at times!) I think that we will start to look into some acid-reflux meds for him. I have held off cause I do not want to put medicine into his little body if it is not needed, but I think that he needs to sleep… and so does mommy!

Again, I am blown away by how different two kids can be. I am grateful for this, but blown away!