I love getting to do first’s with my kids. Ella really likes the movie and book, “Beauty and the Beast”. She likes us to read the book to her almost every night (it is a current fave). Well, recently I got an email regarding a 3-D showing of Beauty and the Beast!! I was SUPER excited and called my mom (Oma). They had tickets for when she was supposed to come down here to LA and visit. Well… the day of my oms flight Seattle is PUMMELED with snow! My mom calls me crying saying that there is no way she can get out of Seattle. I answer her, crying as well, telling her I understand. (really it was a HORRIBLE snow storm and flights were being canceled left and right – I am so sad our visit had to be postponed – but SO much happier that she stayed home, safe and can come down in a week). So, while I had gotten 3 tickets for us to have a special Oma, Mommy and Ella night out, it ended up just being me and Ella.

I got the tickets for The El Capitan Theater in Hollywood- on Hollywood Blvd. This is the theater right across the street from where all the big Hollywood awards shows are held – and as I discovered next door to the Jimmy Kimmel show. Ella was SO on board for this adventure!! We hit up the theater first to pick up our tickets from will-call, this is when she saw the big markee for the movie. Oh Ella got excited as only Ella can and started yelling BEAST AND BELL MOVIE!!!!!! All the passers-by laughed and commented on her excitement – at this point Ella was getting more attention than the dressed up characters on the Blvd.

Ella even took a moment to pose on the star walk.

From here we went and got hot dogs. DELISH! Then, it was time to get back to the theater and get out seats. This theater is SO AWESOME!! It is an old play theater converted into a movie theater – and has all the charm of old Hollywood. Ella was beyond happy when she saw Belle herself come out onto the stage and personally thank us for coming – when Belle said “Be our guest” there was a LOUD BOOM and the ceiling erupted in confetti! What an AWESOME first movie experience.

Ella did SO great throughout the movie. She got a little scared with the Beast and informed me that he was not her favorite. She ended up climbing onto my lap and spent the rest of the movie there… which I was personally 100% okay with. After the movie Ella and I walked back to our car and she was just so full of joy from the whole experience. She couldn’t stop talking about it the entire ride home and then once we were home she had to tell her daddy all about it as well. We didn’t get home till ~10pm, but she was too hyped to go to bed.

I am so glad I got to do this with my little lady. She is growing up so much and I love being able to grow our relationship in new ways. I love being friends with her. <3

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.

It is hard to even imagine that Ella is old enough to go to school… let alone breaking down the front door of our house to get there! haha She is SO ready! We have been talking about how she will go to school “in September” and September finally came!

Here she is all dressed and ready for school!

I had to have this shot of her in front of the front door. The thing is, this is the exact photo that my parents have of us kids growing up. <3

Ella LOVED school! She did SO well! Ella walked up to all the kids and said hello and asked them to play. She was her super confident social self and just won everyone over with how genuinely nice she is!

Here she is with her new teacher Mrs. Nita:

(btw, that is her super happy smile! haha)

I really am feeling great about the school. I have already met some mommies that I can tell I will get along with! I like that it is not too “hippy-dippy” lol. The school is really small and the same 2 teachers teach Ella’s class (The Darling Ducklings) and the older class (The Busy Bears). There are a lot of parents who are on their 2nd or 3rd child through the program as well. Ella kept talking about how much she liked school and all the activities she participated in. It was great how independent she was too.

This is also my introduction to being the “busy” mom. Tuesday’s and Thursday’s are our crazy days here… and I am sure as Ella gets older and Bastion starts to get into more activities it will just get crazier! Ella has her new gymnastics class T/Th as well. So, after getting home, having lunch, trying to nap waking up and having snack, we rush out the door for gymnastics. Luckily, Ella is LOVING it! She is doing SO well in her gymnastics class too, and I am so glad that it is 2 times a week. I can see how much she learns from week to week <3! Well, after we got home from gymnastics and made dinner (and I was realizing how much our family had really grown into this whole new family that talks and shares interests and WOW) we went on a family walk.

Ella, in true Ella fashion:

I am amazed at how much can change in 3 short years. By how much different one can feel. I have loved being a mom since the moment I found out I was pregnant… but there is something different about this stage of motherhood that I am just stepping into. I like it, it is different from anything I have ever felt. It is better than most any experience I have ever had…. I just cant quite put my finger on it, but I am SO happy to be going through these experiences with my family!

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:

At the ripe old age of 2 1/2, Miss Ella had her first slumber party! Ella’s really good friend Sophia came to spend the evening with us, and give her parents some much needed adult time! Sophia’s dad plays in a bunch of bands, and one had a show last night. You can check out the band here: http://thevioletlights.com/

This was a chance for Sophia’s mom to get to go to see her husband play and to know that she could stay for the entire show and that her little one was having a great time too! And oh boy did we have a great time! Ella and Sophia get along magically. They just adore each other. They are only about 3 1/2 months apart in age and really enjoy all the same activities. It was so fun to hear them run around the house laughing.

To start off the evening we stopped by Trader Joes to get the fixings for home made pizza pies!

To say Ella was excited would be an understatement!

SoSo was having a blast as well (okay, who am I kidding, I was digging this too!)

As the pizza’s were cooking the girls continued to play. They kept pushing Bastion out of Ella’s room saying that “we want girl time!” haha… poor kid, there will be much more of this I can see as they all grow older. The girls sat down for their dinner together and then it was time for reading books in bed. The girls didn’t fall asleep all too easily, but I didn’t expect them too. They were both SO happy to be in each others company, and for about 45 min I let them chat it up. (I wonder what 2/3 year olds chat about for 45 min… who knows!) After some more reading and more chatting, I snuggled with them to get them to both fall asleep.

The girls, getting ready for night-night.

Ella was a bit too happy to fall asleep at first, but after a good long snuggle both ladies were out till the ripe ole hour of 5:45 am.

In the morning they both POPPED out of bed and started running around the house. Since I was already up with a crying baby, I figured it was time for a big after slumber party breakfast. <3 The ladies got to sit at Ella's special little table and share the morning delight together.

I am SO happy that Ella got a chance to share such a fun and exciting first with her good friend Sophia. I am really grateful to have good friends, both for my kids, but for me as well. There are going to be SO many firsts in my kids life, and it is especially great to be able to share these firsts with our friends and their kids.

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!

Ella turned two on September 9th, 2010, but due to the fact that we were in Seattle for my brothers wedding reception we were not able to have a party till Oct. 3rd. Well.. IT WAS A BLAST!

We decided to wake Ella up to quite a surprise…BALLOONS!!

Here she is trying to figure out what in the world was going on!LOTSA BALLOONS!

After the morning of balloons, the bounce house arrived! Of course Bruce and I had to give it a little test bounce, then Ella got in to test it as well. It worked!! It was SO fun!! Ella loved it! Ella was really having a great time with all her friends, so much so that she wasn’t really into opening gifts. She opened about two gifts and then said, “all done” and ran off to play. I am really happy to see Ella growing with the same children. I also thought it was funny that Bastion was the only little boy at the party!

If you are wondering if Ella liked the bounce house or not… here is your answer:

I made ice cream cone cupcakes that all the kids loved as well. It was actually a really great way to serve cupcakes!

For her birthday gift we got her a new red trike! The first thing she did was get on it, and ride down the dirt ramp in our back yard from our porch remodel. Ella is not one to ever hold back. She went down that hill before anyone could even see her, and at the bottom, the trike and her were on their sides. I grabbed her, and with in a few min. she was ready for more action! Cant hold that little one down!

I can’t believe my baby is two! She talks in full sentences and has an understanding for others feelings. I love that she says “sorry” when she bumps into things, I love that she wants to cuddle all the time. I love how many ideas she has now. (like when I asked her if she knew how long forever was and she told me “all the way to the clouds”) Melting, I think my world right now involves me being blown away by my children and melting. The morning after her party Ella got up, business as usual and then ran to look out the back door saying, “bounce house?!?!” haha What a great great amazing and wonderful day we had. Happy birthday to the light in my sky.

That’s right world, MY BROTHER HAS TIED THE KNOT! HE DONE DID IT! lol. My brother met an amazing women that stole his heart, and he did the same to her. Now, my kids have another aunti! Her name is Beth and they are absolutely AMAZING together! This may have been the best ceremony I have ever seen, as a part of their vows they both sang to each-other. Did I cry? Me? Cry? OH YES I DID!! Also, they had asked that Ella be a flower girl. Now, she was almost 2 (she would turn 2 about a week after the wedding) and I just didnt know that a kid her age could stay focused long enough to do it. Color me WRONG! Ella did fantastic!! She looked beautiful in a hand made dress by her Iya. She walked down the isle before the bride, my new sister, her new aunti escorted by another flower girl (10 years old) and the ring barer (4 years old). Ella had a little thing for the ring barer. Well, Ella made sure to empty each and EVERY last pedal in her basket. She walked down PERFECTLY!! I am sure the jelly beans that were held by the 10 year old may have helped corral her! haha

This picture pretty much sums up their wedding. Full of music and fun and love!

Here, Ella made it to the end of the isle, and as you can see, was enjoying her jelly bean!

Bastion also got a special outfit made for him too:

I think another one of the best parts about the wedding was how great Beth’s family and our family got along. It was as if we had all always knew each other! The day was perfect, even the sun came out right for the ceremony!

We spent the first 4 days in Powers, OR. then Bruce had to fly home to go to work. I stayed with my family and the kids and my sister Gena also flew back to Holland to be with her family. The wedding was on a Saturday and on the next Monday we decided to stuff my parents car with an insane amount of items and head back the 8-9 hour drive to Seattle. I feared how this drive would go… 8 + hours in the car, oh MY! Again, to my amazement, it went SO SMOOTH!

Here are the kids getting ready to go!

(Ella just saw me typing this and said, “oh, Ella ride home!!”

After 8.5 hours we made it to Seattle and got ready to celebrate the union once again! In our family we really like two wedding celebrations! Just makes sense to be able to party with as many of your friends in different parts of the country (or world) as possible! So, one week later we all get dressed up and come together again. This time though, Ella decides she would like to sing, grabs the mic and starts to sing the ABC’s accompanied by the band!

She blows my mind!

Okay, onto making it home by myself with two kids. It worked! We made it! I gave myself plenty of time and thank goodness I did. My bag was 8 Lbs, over weight and so, not only was I trucking around Bastion in his car seat, my breast pump a back pack and a 2 year old, I was now also holding onto a plastic bag full of 8 lbs of clothes. What could I do but laugh, and I did! Strangers were so helpful and I feel confident that we can travel like this again… though next time I wont pack quiet so much! I also think I had enough snacks to feed the entire plane!

Yesterday at some point, potty training with Ella began. We had been talking about this step for a while, but had not picked a date to really start the training. Somehow, it became yesterday. Ella has been letting us know she was ready for a while now. Little signs like telling us she went poo-poo or walking with her legs spread far far apart when she had a pee-full diaper.

So, yesterday we slipped on some big girl panties and let her know; today is the day you start to pee in the potty!

10 pair of big girl panties later I think we both were ready to throw in the towel! Then… what… PEE!!! She did it! SHE PEE PEED ON THE POTTY!! Mommy and Daddy got up screaming and dancing and making fools out of ourselves, and Ella just beamed with pride.

We are putting her in diapers at night still for a few reasons. Mainly, that is a huge step. I don’t want her to be upset with herself if she doesn’t make it through the night yet. She is doing amazingly now and I feel that making it through the night will come.

So, today. Today we started out in the morning. We decided today, rather then go through so many pairs of undies, we would leave her bottom half off for the better part of the day. I went to the store and got a “Pee Pee Prize Bag” that we are using in conjunction with m&m’s (or as Ella calls them, num in num’s!). Ella has gotten GREAT at saying “PEE PEE!! PEEPEE!!” as the pee starts coming out. Not so great at letting us know before hand though. haha.

The first part of the day was tough, she was going often and seemed to say she had to pee, have us take her to the potty and then tell us she was done, walk away and pee somewhere else. Then, it seemed to click a little. She missed the potty by only an inch or so, and ws rushing to get there, so we gave her the m&m. The next time she had to pee she walked up to the m&m area and said “num in num!!” and I asked if she had to potty, and we sat her down… she peed and again with the parental singing and dancing and yes of course, she got her num in num!

By the end of today, she is not going potty nearly as often. She seems to have a better idea of when its coming and letting us know (even if only moments) before it comes. I think it also helps that we are using the timer. It started out every 10-15 min and then by the end of the day it was 20. (though I hope she doesnt hold it too long out of fear or anything like that!!)

I am super proud of my little lady! She is not even two yet and she is SO smart, SO confident and such a great little girl! She tried new things (like this potty training) and gives in her all. I feel that she has let us know she is ready, but I also feel like there is SO much going on in her life too. If she decides that she wants to hold off on this, we will. I want to watch dn read her cues as best I can, supporting and giving her a push in the right direction when that is what she needs of me, as well as stepping back and hugging her and letting her take it at her own pace.

She is such an amazing person for so many reasons and I feel so blessed to be her mommy. <3 Oops. I might cry.