Happy Halloween!

I have a new appreciation for Halloween. I loved it as a kid, loved it when I was a teacher, but now I LOVE it because of Audrey. She is at the age where she is really starting to "get it". She loved dressing up, holding her pumpkin and although she liked looking at other costumes more than trick or treating at times, she loves eating her "teats" (treats).
We have had more than our fair share of candy, chocolate and partying:
It started last Friday morning when Jocelyn invited us to go trick or treating at her work (Gymboree Corporate Office). Each floor decorated and the winner gets a free day off work, so (obviously) these people go all out. We had a great time with Regan, Maggie and Jocelyn (Sorry, Reg. I can't put a link to your blog because I don't want my computer to crash and ruin this extremely long post). Thank you for starting off the sugar kick Jocelyn!
Friday night we went to my parent's ward Halloween party with Melissa, Luke and Savy (of which I have no pictures) and had a great time--the sugar fest continues! Saturday night was our ward Halloween party. It was so much fun. Halloween is my new second favorite holiday (second to Christmas, of course). Audrey got her face (and hands) painted and loved it. The lady who was painting said to me, "Ummm, she won't get out of my chair."
Audrey attempting to show us her ladybug painting on her hand (and face). I love this girl!
Instead of doing Trunk or Treat, all the kids knock on the doors around the church and people behind the doors give out candy. All the doors were decorated, and Audrey just wanted to stand at this one and look at all the princesses. I, however, had a different agenda and I wanted more kit-kats, so she had to continue trick or treating!
Eating treats!
A princess and Peter Pan (aka Max). I would LOVE if Audrey married Peter Pan some day! :)
A princess and a giraffe, friends for life.
Regan, my favorite cat ever.
I dressed up from the 50's and Dave came as himself. Next year we are going to have great costumes for all FOUR of us!

On actual Halloween a bunch of friends met up and went Trick or Treating down Chestnut St and all the shops handed out candy. We continued the sugar high, but at least Audrey was willing to share. I love how her mouth is open even though she is feeding Maggie (she gets that from her Dad!). Please excuse the ugly shirt under her dress...it was cold.
This is how Audrey spent most of the day...licking the sugar off her fingers!After trick or treating we went up to eat lunch with Dave at the school. Memor came and it was SO nice having an extra set of hands! Regan, I need that picture!
That night we went trick or treating down a really cute street. It was really cold so Audrey let me put on her jacket. Dave bought this jacket for Audrey when I pregnant with her because he loved it so much. The first time I put it on Audrey, she looked at it and said, "fireman jacket". Here is my little princess fireman!
Our Prince Charming.
Hope your Halloween was as candy-filled as ours!

Blast from the past (since they didn't have blogs when Audrey was a baby, here are some pictures from her first two Halloweens).
80's murder mystery party we went to (Halloween 2005).
Ward Halloween party (2005).
Nice.
Halloween 2006. Dave said he didn't have to wear a costume this year because he made up for it last year.
Can't wait until next year!

Hiccups

Baby Brother got the hiccups for the first time today. I thought he had them last week, but it was only three consecutive thump, thump thumps. Tonight it was thump, thump, thump that lasted about an hour. Could it be hiccups, or could it be all the insane, disgusting amounts of sugar I have been eating? I LOVE Halloween!

Catching Up

I swear I have at least four blog entries titled, "Catching Up" but that is the story of my life! :) Here are some pictures of what we have been up to the last two weeks...

Crazy Canadians
Those crazy Canadians celebrate their Thanksgiving at the beginning of October. Being the lucky soul that I am, I was invited to come and feast on a fabulous Thanksgiving meal...turkey, ham, rolls, candied yams, pumpkin and apple pie, mashed potatoes, and stuffing....oh the stuffing!

Almost a Pumpkin Patch
Dave and I had every intention of taking Audrey to the fabulous Pumpkin Patch in Half Moon Bay. About 15 minutes into the 45 minute drive we heard there was going to be terrible traffic. Just at that moment we saw a sign that said, "Mike's Pumpkin Patch! Turn left!" We looked at each other gave the mutual sign of agreement. Dave pulled into the left hand lane and three seconds later we were at Mike's Pumpkin Patch. While it wasn't up to par with the one in Half Moon Bay, it suited our purposes just fine...Audrey had fun! She was way more interested in the cartoon characters they had around hte pumpkins than the actual pumpkins themselves. When we asked her to pick out a pumpkin, she would look at them, look at us, and say either, "dirty" or "heavy". 100% two year old girl.
Audrey's favorite thing about the Pumpkin Patch
Our precious "Little Pumpkin"

Audrey's new uniform
It has been Halloween everyday in our house for the last three weeks. Audrey wants to wear her "Ella dess" every second of the day. Thank you Memor and Fafa for her dress. If I only knew how to wash it...

Nike Marathon Finisher!
I finished the Nike Marathon last weekend! Well, not really. Last year, Kelly and I ran the Nike San Francisco Half Marathon together. It was such a bonding experience training for it and running it together. Kelly has moved to Chicago since then, but she came back to run the race. I signed up the Nike Women's SF Marathon before I was pregnant. I wanted to sign up for the Half Marathon, but it sold out in hours. After I found out I was pregnant, I sold my bib. The girl who bought my bib emailed me the week before and told me she hurt herself and couldn't run the race. I told Kelly, and together we decided that we would cross the finish line together again this year! Kelly and her sister Brooke ran the 13 miles and I met up with them for the last .1 mile! My bib said, "Nike Marathon" on it, and I crossed that finish line 20 weeks pregnant without even breaking a sweat! :)
Kelly and Brooke this year Last year, 2006
Beach Day. I love when the weather is nice enough to go to the beach. Here is Audrey contemplating if she can handle the feat before her...

Here she is attempting to climb to the top of the sandy hill.
Victorious!

The look on her face says it all...
I am probably the only mother in the world who DOES NOT want her child potty trained. For me, diapers are way more convenient and what am I supposed to do if we are stuck in horrible city traffic and Audrey has to go NOW!!! Lately Audrey has been interested in the potty, and occasionally she goes in it. She is usually way more excited about it than she looks in this picture, but I thought this picture was perfect for describing the way I feel about potty training. Yuck.

All girl. I found her in the bathroom "dooen haaiir" (doing hair) wearing her "warwa" shoes (Princess Aurora shoes).


We have had a fun couple of weeks!

Our Little Blue Angel

I love surprising people. When we were scheduling the ultra sound apt to find out the gender, I knew exactly when I wanted it to be, and luckily it was available. Friday, October 5th, 8:30 am (none of this waiting around all day stuff). I knew that weekend was Fleet Week and also Conference, meaning we would for sure see both families and I wanted to surprise them in person with the news. We told everyone we were finding out the following Tues to throw everyone off. It totally worked. So on Friday morning, the dilemma presented itself...WHAT DO I WEAR??? If I wore pink, it would mean I wanted a girl, if I wore blue it meant I wanted a boy, and if I wore another color, it would mean I wasn't supporting our child. I know, I know, only I think this way and it drives Dave CRAZY! Being the good sport he is, he agreed to wear blue and I wore pink, that way whatever the gender, I felt like we were being good, supportive parents. Yikes, typing that out makes me realize how lame that sounds. Oh well. Here we are, the dorks that we are. Don't worry, we dressed this way when we found out with Audrey too.
October 5th, 18 weeksIt was a long day, hence the terrible picture of us.

On Saturday Dave's family came to San Francisco to watch Fleet Week. The best part of Fleet Week is when the Blue Angels fly. They are amazing to watch. They were SO loud, so smart Marianne brought ear phones for Audrey and Nathan. Where where those ear phones the three days before when Audrey couldn't nap because they were practicing and kept her awake? I can not believe how loud they are. Shake the glass in the windows, loud.Audrey was practicing her big sister skills by helping Fafa cover his ears.After the air show we came back to our apt and told our good news. We had Audrey bring a box to Marianne (Dave's mom)and we told her that Audrey had made her something. Inside the box a card saying, "Our Little Blue Angel" with a picture of our little baby boy's profile. At the bottom of the sign clever Dave wrote, "Waring: May contain explicit content" and the inside of the card was the, "It's a boy!" picture with all his little boy parts exposed. Under the card was a cute boy outfit we had bought at Baby Gap that morning. Bruce and Marianne were a little confused, and then very surprised. It was perfect! We went to dinner and then Audrey was spoiled by her grandparents and got a new jacket, shirt and "hat". Thank you!Yeah! It's a boy!
Sunday morning we woke up and went to my family's house for Conference, and to see my mom who had foot surgery. My two sisters and brother-in-laws were there, so the surprise was going to be perfect. I totally love this kind of stuff. So lame, I know. Anyway, after the morning session of Conference we had Audrey bring my mom a box and we did the same thing we did for Dave's family. Everyone was totally surprised, I LOVED it! I am sad we didn't get a picture of everyone together, but here is a picture of our little family with the card.I love our little blue angel, my big blue angel, and my spunky little pink angel.

Dear Audrey,

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
1) Whenever you are hurt, you think a kiss from Mom makes everything better
2) You are very expressive. You make the cutest facial expressions
3) You call your Daddy "Prince Charming" 60% of the time. When you wake up in the morning, you call from your crib, "Prince Charming!" He really is our Prince Charming
4) You know everyone’s name and who they are married to
5) When I ask you what you want for breakfast, every morning you say, "Um, waffles, cottage cheese, ogurt (yogurt) and syrup!"
6) You love to come to the Dr with me and listen to Brother's "heart beep"
7) You still love to cuddle
8) Every day you point to the heater in your room and say, "No push the buttons, only mommy and daddy"
9) You are very inquisitive. You want to know "what happen?", and you are always asking me, "Where is him?" or "Where is her?"
10) You are starting to outgrow this, but I love how you mix up pronouns. You used to say, "Audrey do it" then, "I do do". Or if you needed my help or wanted me to carry you, you would say, "Help you! Carry you!"
11) You sing, "I wuv you" to the tune of "This Old Man" and it melts my heart
12) This morning you saw a necklace I wore to Aunt Rachel's wedding and you asked if you could get married someday and I asked who you wanted to marry and you said, "Daddy!"
13) You say the words, "good, home" and "food" like they are two syllable words, "gooda, homea" and "fooda"
14) Your "L"'s sound like "H"'s so you are constantly pointing to things and saying, "Hook it!"
15) When I ask you a question, you used to say, "yeah" then it progressed to a "yeeepppp" and now you give a very definitive answer of "yes"
16) You will make a great big sister. Everyday we talk about Brother and you always say you want to help feed him, give him a tub tub, and take him to go see Santa
17) You are the joy of our lives and I love you more every day

It's the little things...

I love girls nights. I love the girls in my ward and the fun times we have together. I especially love when I get home late at night and my sweet husband (who has been asleep for HOURS) has laid out my pajamas for me so it's easy for me to hurry and climb into bed. He pulls out a variety for me to choose from...a long sleeve shirt, a short sleeve shirt, and my favorite pair of pants. He has done this twice in the last week and I appreciate so much the little things he does to make my life easier.

It's a...

B O Y!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't believe it! I am very, very excited, but I'm not going to lie...I'm a little in shock! I don't know what to do with boys! I have four sisters and one brother, and he is seven years younger than I am, and Dave has three sisters and no brothers so we come from lots of girls. I am very comfortable with girls, but I am a little nervous about having a boy. Here are a few pictures from our exciting day. For those who know me well, know that I LOVE to surprise people, so we actaully found out last Friday the good news and then surprised our families with the news of our little guy over the weekend. I'll post that story later, I just need to get this off before Audrey wakes up from her nap. We are thrilled about our healthy baby boy!

Before knowing the gender. What's it going to be????

My little man. He's going to be a momma's boy, I just know it.He is covering his face with his left hand, and showing us his right. Isn't he cute?

Boy or Girl?

We find out next Tuesday what we are having! I would have bet money that Audrey was a boy, and my "motherly insticts" were obviously way off, so I really don't have a feeling either way with this one. I think second kids are a win/win situation. If this baby is a boy, then we will have one of each, and if it is a girl, then Audrey will have a sister and we will have another daughter! We are very excited to find out. What is your guess?

More Catching Up...

I am determined to make my goal of catching up on my blogging! Unfortunately I brought my small camera to Utah when I went to drop off Jessica at college, and I can't find it! ARGGGG! I have lots of pics on that camera too, but for now I will finish up with the pictures I have from my other camera.
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Labor Day
Dave and I had a San Francisco "first". We took Audrey to ride the trolley cars! We have lived here for four years and have never ridden one! Audrey didn't like it as much as I thought she would. After about 8 blocks she kept saying, "All done, all done!" so we got off and walked back to Fisherman's Wharf. Audrey calls them "trolley trains" and loves to point them out whenever we see them.


Happy Birthday Cousin Nathan! Thank you for being so nice to me and sharing all your toys. I'm glad we live close so we can always be good friends.


Visitors! I LOVE having visitors come to visit. My cousin Jason and his fabulous wife Kristina came to visit. They came three and half years ago, and I wish they would come every weekend. They are such great guests. We ate at Mama's, Crepevine, Ghiradelli, Burma Superstar, went shopping and stayed up late watching The Office reruns. We waited an hour and a half to eat at Burma Superstar so we drove around and went to the Legion of Honor while we waited. I love this picture. COME AGAIN! :

I heard the girl behind us laughing and I didn't know why...until now. What a dork.


More visitors! Sara and Ben came to visit for Savy's baby blessing. Rachel and Ryan came up from Fremont for the day and we all went to Muir Woods. Unfortunately Audrey thought we were going to the zoo (I have no idea why) and she kept asking for the "am-nals". We showed her two banana slugs and one bird, but she wasn't very impressed. The rest of us were though. It was so beautiful and the air felt so clean and fresh.


After Muir Woods we were off to Mama's. All six of us ordered the Monte Cristo and Dave and I went to the day before to celebrate him being done with finals and ordered the same thing. So, so, so delicious.Audrey and Aunt Sawa

Savannah Diane's baby blessing. Luke did a great job with the blessing and an extra bonus was he performed a musical number during Sacrament meeting. Melissa fed us all a great brunch after which is always a great bonus to a baby blessing. :) It was a very special day and Savy is a lucky little girl to have such great parents.This is the blessing dress my Grandma Jeanette (Audrey's namesake) made thirty years ago. Every one of my sisters and I were blessed in it, Audrey was blessed in it and now sweet Savannah was blessed in it.


Almost done catching up... I just have to find my other camera!