Halloween

Each year we spend Halloween at my parent's house with cousins. This year was no exception. We started out with a big spaghetti dinner and as the sun went down it got more and more difficult to hold the kids back. Both Briana and William really got into trick or treating this year. Alyssa spent the night in the baby carrier and actually ended up falling asleep. When we got back to grandma and papa's, papa was all too happy to check the kid's candy and ended up taking a few almond joys during the process. What a great night! We can't wait till next year.

My big boy walked the whole time.

The kids were really good sports about me making them pose in the middle of their trick or treating time.




Back at grandma and Papa's House!

Look who decided to wake up.

Hanging out with Grandma and Papa.

Briana is getting Bifocals!

Yes, Bifocals. I always thought bifocals were just for aging people who always wore glasses and now needed further vision correction as they age. Nope, they give them to 4 year olds as well. One of Briana's vision problems is due to a lazy eye that tends to cross when she has to concentrate on items that are close. Her distance vision has apparently improved over the past year and now the opthamologist would like to fine tune her vision. Now overall, I really can't complain. Briana's vision is steadily improving.
The most difficult part of all of this for me is the fact that her vision is improving but she may never be without her glasses. When we started this process a year ago I noticed that her left eye would cross when she spoke. I kept thinking that it would go away. It did not. A few weeks later my dad mentioned the crossing and so i decided to pursue the problem with my family doctor who later gave us a referral for a pediatric opthamologist. I was actually surprised when she recommended eye glasses. I always thought Briana had good vision. I thought she was just going to recommend a patch or something to strengthen the weaker eye. Patching did come a few months later. Briana was required to wear an eye patch over her right eye in order to make her left eye work harder. This process has improved Briana's vision. She actually did very well wearing her patch 2-4 hours each day.
Now the patch is on hold and we have just ordered her bifocal lenses. Not only is there a risk of headaches as she learns to use them but now we have to teach her how to use them! I am so not looking forward to the bifocals coming in and having Briana wear them. Again, I want her vision to improve. I just didn't really realize how long this road was going to be when we first started last November. Now there is still no indication on where it will stop. At this point her vision is corrected to 20/25 with her glasses on. This basically tells me she will wear glasses permanently. Her opthamologist just wants to get rid of the crossing and work on getting her to 20/20 with the glasses on. So expnsive bifocals lenses, here we come!!

Alyssa is 5 Months!

Now she is really growing up way too fast! I can now put her in one of these little chairs and she can actually sit up by herself, for the most part. Alyssa is so adorable and is growing way too fast! 5 months already.

Silver Strand Beach!

This is by far one of my favorite camping spots so far. It doesn't look like a whole lot when you first arrive. It actually looks like a large parking lot, there are no hook ups and the RVs are very close to each other. It is close to the beach and at night there is a quiet rule and so you can hear the waves crashing all night. When we first arrived on Friday the kids could not wait to go play in the sand and so, I was able to get some cute pictures of them with the beautiful sunset in the background.

A Day at the Zoo!

We spent the weekend camping at Silver Strand Beach and decided to head over to the zoo for a few hours. We actually didn't end up staying very long because it was so crowded! So, we went back to the trailor and let the kids play on the beach then went to one our favorite restuarants. It was a incredibly busy and very fun day!

Milestones . . .

Alyssa is going through her milestones like gang busters! Sunday night she decided to roll over on her tummy while lying on the carpet. Once she was on her tummy, she didn't quite know what to do from there. So she struggled for a few minutes and then began to cry. I helped her roll back. :)

That night we moved her into her own room and crib for the first time. She woke up one time for a bottle but other than that selpt very well.

Monday night, just when we thought she had just accomplished so much she laughed for the first time! She followed in big brother's footsteps. William laughed for the very first time in the car while playing with Briana. Alyssa started laughing at William and couldn't stop. The rest of us tried to get to laugh and no go. She only thought William was funny.

Such a BIG girl!

10 Hours at Disneyland!

Alan decided to take a Wednesday off so we could go to Disneyland. At first I thought it was going to be a crowded day because so many people were arriving at the same time we were. The park opened at 10am on this particular day. Once we were inside the park we ended up spending the whole morning in tomorrowland and then decided to get some lunch in downtown Disney. We were just about to head over the California Adventure when we decided to give Disneyland another chance. We realized it wasn't as busy as we thought it was initially. Around 2pm we would have usually left the park so that we could avoid traffic and instead ended up staying in the park. Once we had stayed past 4 we decided that only 4 hours until closing and it was not really a big deal at that point to just go ahead and stay. And so we ended up staying until the park closed at 8pm. Of course Alyssa decides she needs a bottle just as we were leaving the park and ended up extended our stay until almost 9 and she ate not just one but two bottles in a row! We finally made it home by 10pm. Definitely our first full day since purchasing our annual passes almost a year ago. We had a great day but will definitely keep our all day visits to a limit. We were so worn out the next day!

Briana is so Beautiful!

I had read an issue of Parents magazine where a mom had bought a bathing suit and took pictures of her little girl in it every year to show how much she had grown. I latter heard a fellow mom describe how she wanted to do a picture each year but use her wedding dress instead. So, for about a year now I have wanted to do this with both Briana and Alyssa. My friend and brilliant photographer took these beautiful shots of Briana in my wedding dress. We did try Alyssa lying down on the dress but she didn't like the feel of the fabric on her head and would not sit still for the photos. I'll try her again in a few months.

Alyssa

We had another Doctor's appt for my baby girl. Following in her big sister's foot steps she wieghed in at 16lbs 6oz and is now 27 inches. William is currently 24lbs making him only 8 pounds heavier than his baby sister. I know she will outweigh him soon.

Alyssa is eating like a big girl now!

We tried solid food with Alyssa tonight for the very first time, rice cereal. She looked like she was going to gag as I put the first spoonful in her mouth. She managed to get through the bowl of cereal but seemed to suffer most of the time. I did expect her to do a little better because both Briana and William took to eating solids as if they had been eating them all along. This little girl is going to need some work!

Baking with Daddy!

Apple season is here and with it comes Alan's famous apple pies. This year Briana really wanted to help bake pies with daddy. She is very helpful in the kitchen and will often ask to help whenever someone is in the there.

California Adventure

My nephews are 6 and 8 this year and to celebrate we all went to California adventure. This was also Alyssa's very first visit to the magic kingdom. I don't think she even knew where she was. We spent a few hours at Disneyland before meeting the rest of the family over at California Adventure. It was nice to spend some time over there becuase we were able to experience some new rides. As always we had a great time!

I'm so behind . .

I just realized that I haven't posted a thing for September and the month is half way over. I do have a few things in draft form, however finding the time to blog is getting more difficult. Briana started school last week and surprisingly a small change like can be disruptive to your schedule. Now that Alyssa is three months old I decided to finally sign up for the gym and get into the shape I was before my three babies. :) Factor in our recent camping trip and the fact that I only have three more months to finish my 2008 digital family album it's no wonder I haven't been on the computer lately. I also signed up for a consignment sale on October 2nd and getting ready for it has been very time consuming!! Hopefully all will be back on track very soon.

Chick Hicks

he's mean!!! I have often written about my little boy's obsession with certain movies. (Toy Story, Cars, Bee Movie just to name a few) So, he has a small collection of cars from the movie Cars that he plays with frequently. I recently purchased the Dinoco Blue pack which features Lightning McQueen and Chick Hicks painted blue. So, anyway I often will hear William playing with his cars and talking for them. One of his favorite lines to say is, Chick Hicks, he's mean!! So the other day I was taking pictures of Alyssa when William insisted that I take one of Chick Hicks for him. So, since I already have the picture, I mine as well share the story behind it as well!

Camping in Lake Silverwood

We decided to venture out on our second camping trip since Alyssa's arrival in May. In order to stay close to home we ended up at Lake Silver Wood. The kids had so much fun splashing in the water and playing outdoors. Alyssa and I hung out on the sidelines. On a side note, when I was taking these pictures Briana splashed me with lake water. Not only was I upset about having lake water all over me, I later found out that she splashed the camera lens causing the photos we have taken since the trip to be blurry in one section.

Briana's 1st Day of School

Briana started her first day of preschool today. She will be attending on Tues/Thurs from 9-12 to give her a taste of what will come next year in Kinder. I was surprised to find that I had mixed feelings about her finally starting pre-K. Briana was the baby I use to leave at the Kindercare to go and work a full day. We did this for two years and so I thought letting her go to a part time pre-school would be like nothing. I didn't realize how much I have changed from my working mom days. As a working mom you justify why you leave your baby behind and you do everything in your power to silence the voice that tells you how fast they grow and you should really be at home. In addition you are so busy raising your child, managing your household and going to work that you have little time for anything else.

After William I did listen to my inner voice and stayed home with my children full time. Now fast forward two and a half years and Briana is setting off for her first real school experience and I find myself mourning her babyhood. It went by so fast. I have enjoyed the last two years and I have grown so close to my oldest daughter in the process. There are so many more experiences that I have enjoyed that I would have definitely missed as a working mom. Now that this change is in front of me I find myself struggling to embrace it. I know it's another big step for Briana. Even though I have been with her everyday these past few years it seemed to sneak up out of no where. I often times ponder the whole process of having a newborn baby who is so dependent on you for every little thing and how in 18 short years (or so) you have a completely independent adult who is leaving your home. I know from talking to moms of adults that it happens in a blink of an eye. To me this is a major step toward 18 year old Briana, a person I would love to meet and get to know some day . . . I just wish there was a way to slow down time and enjoy them just a little more just how they are today.

So here she is, so excited and so I too will be excited for her. I find having children allows you to re-live your own experiences but from a different prospective. I love you so much big girl!

My Nephews Turn 6 and 8!

It's so hard to believe that my nephews are already 6 and 8, as well as a first grader and a third grader. Labor Day weekend was also a time to celebrate both birthdays for the boys. We had presents, pizza, cake and lots of fun. It was after this particular party that William's love for dinosaurs grew. Now he asks for a dinosaur every time we go shopping and every time he sees one on TV.

My nephew, Joseph, also received a Darth Vader costume for his birthday and absolutely loved it. Both William and Briana could not stop talking about it. Add in the fact that the boys have the Lego Star Wars video game and all the kids love to watch the movie . . .we have a little Star Wars obsession going on!!