Bedah!

Apparently for Alyssa this means TV. A few months ago we purchased a new television set that makes a small sound each time you turn it on. Whenever Alyssa hears the sound she will yell, "bedah!". If you say "bedah" to her she will automatically point to the tv. Of course William loves this and will also yell "bedah" each time the tv is turned on. Briana will ask Alyssa, where is the "bedha"?

In addition to this particular word, she does say a few real ones like; mama, dada, ball, choo-choo, kitty, cheese, nice, and night-night. I'm looking forward to hearing her vocabulary grow during the up and coming months.

Alyssa and the Choo-Choo

For the past 4-5 years we have set up a train under our Christmas tree. The kids love playing with the train and wait impatiently each year for Christmas to come around again so we can set it up. This year Alyssa fell in love with the train. We let her use the controls and she would sit and watch for up to an hour at a time. Then one Sunday while the kids and I attended church, Alan cleaned up all of the Christmas decorations in the house. Alyssa walked into the front room and said, "choo-choo, choo-choo?" I had to tell her that choo-choo went bye-bye. She didn't quite understand and has asked me a few more times where her choo-choo has gone. :-(

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning the kids ran downstairs to find the cookies had been eaten and the milk was all gone. Under the tree they found their gifts from Santa. Briana and William were so excited as they ripped the paper away and found the gifts they had asked for. Briana had a fur real kitty. William asked for Bumble Bee. Alyssa is not really a morning baby and slept while the other kids discovered their gifts from Santa.




Later that morning all three waited patiently as we loaded up the car to head to grandma and papa's for more present opening and merriment. The kids spent the rest of their morning with their cousins Michael, Joey and Lexi.



Alyssa did eventually get to open her new stroller from Santa with a little help from big sister and big cousin. Michael.


Briana helping Papa open gifts.


William and grandma


Our family picture on Christmas morning.

Daisy Troop Meeting

Briana really enjoys her girl scout meetings. Tonight's meeting centered around wind. The girls made wind socks, paper helicopters and had balloon races.

The Christmas Tree

Each year Alan and the kids get together to decorate the Christmas tree. Alyssa happened to be napping so, I was able to get a few pictures of the kids hard at work. They love looking at all of the decorations we have and placing them on the tree. We even have a Christmas spider decoration and the first to find it on the tree gets to open the first gift. This year William was able to spot the spider first. :-)

Redland's Christmas Parade

Briana's Daisy Girl Scout Troop marched in the Redland's Christmas Parade this year. It was very cold outside and the walk proved to be a little long for Briana by the end. It was also a first for me. We would look into the crowd to try and see familiar faces but it was very difficult to do as you march along. I think it was a great experience for Briana and we look forward to next year.


Bundled up to watch big sissy in the parade. They actually fell asleep which worked out great for Alan since the wait was a little long.


Briana with some of her fellow Daisies.




All dressed up and ready to march.


Me and Briana


The parade is finished at last!

Callie Bear - The Class Pet

Briana was able to host another fun-filled night with the class bear, Callie. Briana had many plans for the bear as the evening began. During our last visit there wasn't much time for bike riding and she wanted to take Callie bear for a spin. Briana had never taken her bike down this particular hill near our house and unfortunately fell off the bike. :-( She soon recovered in order to go to Lowe's for a planting project daddy had planned that night. William, Alyssa and I had visited Lowes with our mommy group a few weeks prior where they had given us seeds to plant. Our plants had been doing so well, we actually have to transfer them to a bigger pot. Alyssa really got into the project and wanted to help. Finally toward the end of the night Briana was tired and headed off to bed with the class Callie bear and her own personal Callie bear!

Another Day at Disney 10/25

Just one of our many trips to Disneyland. This trip is the first since we renewed our passes for the THIRD time! We almost skipped it this year but we have become so accustomed to our trips to the magic kingdom. It's so nice to spend a few hours on Sunday morning enjoying the park before the major crowds catch up to us. We decided to do another year since the kids really enjoy themselves and now Alyssa is finally old enough to really know what's going on - she has been going to Disney since she was 4 months old. We go so often that we don't always take the time to snap a few pictures. Every once in a while we remember to take the camera along . . . :-)

William's First Day of School 8/25

I have decided to send William to school twice a week for a few hours a day. He is watching Briana take a big step into Kindergarten and feels left out. In fact, he keeps asking me, when does he get to go to Kindergarten? Since he is really not ready for that just yet, I have decided to let him take his first baby step out into the big world away from my side. Good Luck Big Boy!! :-)

Second Tooth gone!

Second baby tooth is gone! Of course Briana is excited to get her big girl tooth and of course for the tooth fairy to make a visit! :-)

Our New Cat: Surri

Meet the newest addition to the family, Surri. A few months back William began asking for a kitty. He likes the dogs ok but, like me, he's not much of a dog person. I was very hesitant about getting a cat at first because I developed an allergy to them at 16. The last cat I touched made me break out in hives. After talking to a friend who has cats and an allergic husband, I decided to give cat ownership a try. So far, so good - no major allergy attacks. And William absolutely LOVES his kitty!

Scary Hair!

So, after a few years of going with my natural hair color, I decided to get highlights again. I have missed having blond hair and was ready to commit to the up-keep. So, I get my hair done in the morning while Alan and the kids head down to the Wild Animal Park. The kids came back home around 4 and can't wait to give me a big hug after being away for so long. So, I bend down to give William a big hug only to have him pull away with a worried look on his face. He stood there silently for several minutes with such a serious stare. Finally he told me to "change it back!" "Change it back to black!" Which was his way of telling me to change my hair back to the way it was. He then continued by saying, "Your hair is scary mommy!" He ran into the playroom and refused to get near me for a few hours. I pointed out sometime that afternoon that my hair was more like his now. So by bedtime he was far less frightened and came up to me with a big hug and said, "your hair is like mine!"
Scary hair really wasn't the "look" I was going for. But I think my little guy is starting to come around. :-)

Alyssa's Doctor Visit

Weight: 23lbs and 4 ounces (She is in the 95th percentile)
Height: 29 inches

Alyssa did very well for her Dr.'s appointment today. She received one shot today and didn't even cry. She is very healthy and has already tripled her birth weight. I suspect she'll be close to 25lbs by the time her first birthday rolls around.

William is 27 lbs and is still 4 pounds heavier than his baby sister. I suspect that she will catch up to him very soon!!

I Believe

I read this today and thought it was worth sharing:


A Birth Certificate shows that we were born

A Death Certificate shows that we died

Pictures show that we lived!

Have a seat . Relax . . . And read this slowly..



I Believe...
Just because two people argue,
it doesn't mean they don't love each other.
And just because they don't argue,
it doesn't mean they do love each other.

I Believe...
We don't have to change friends if
we understand that friends change.

I Believe..
No matter how good a friend is,
they're going to hurt you every once in a while and
you must forgive them for that.

I Believe...
True friendship continues to grow, even over
the longest distance..
The same goes for true love.

I Believe..
You can do something in an instant
that will give you heartache for life.

I Believe...
That it's taking me a long time
to become the person I want to be.

I Believe...
You should always leave loved ones with loving words.
It may be the last time you see them.

I Believe...
You can keep going long after you think you can't.

I Believe...
We are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I Believe...
Either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I Believe...
Money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I Believe...
My best friend and I, can do anything, or
nothing and have the best time.

I Believe...
Sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down,
will be the ones to help you get back up.

I Believe...
Maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had
and what you've learned from them and
less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I Believe..
It isn't always enough, to be forgiven by others.
sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I Believe...
No matter how bad your heart is broken
the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I Believe...
Our background and circumstances may have
influenced who we are, but.
we are responsible for who we become.

I Believe...
Two people can look at the same
thing and see something totally different.

I Believe...
Your life can be changed in a matter of
hours by people who don't even know you.

I Believe...
Even when you think you have no more to give,
when a friend cries out to you -
you will find the strength to help.

I Believe...
Credentials on the wall do not make you a
decent human being.

I Believe...
You should send this to all the people
you believe in, I just did.

'The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything.

Joshua Tree

We decided to go on a family hike last weekend. This was Alyssa first official time in the baby backpack. William freaked out and insisted that we also put him inside of a backpack. Luckily for him, we do have two. It took quite a bit of convincing but he finally did get down and walk for a while. Briana was obsessed with climbing up on the rocks. She did very well with all of the hiking and only got stuck a few times.

Family Shot

Look who is ready to go!


I had a difficult time climbing with Alyssa on my back. It wasn't so much the extra weight as it was the feeling of being off-balance. I didn't really want to chance a fall and opted to stay on level ground. So, this was the best shot I could get!

Posing for the camera

Yes,it is uncomfortable having her on my back, but holding her would have been far more difficult!