happy harvest!


we took a trip to the pumpkin patch. last year when we went he was just a little tiny baby. can't believe it's been a year. this trip was much different. we mainly followed him around and watched him..... discover a huge fuzzy caterpillar, pick a large green gourd instead of a pumpkin & slightly manhandle the farm animals. it was fun and hot but mostly just amazing to watch this fearless guy go.

leading the way....


the 1st pumpkin he picked had a big caterpillar hiding on it.


strolling to his next pick


a green gourd?


playing with daddy on the hay and pumpkin hill.


pondering the patch


"please take me into the petting zoo"


"seeee..... they like me"


goaty face?


let the manhandling begin! look who grabbed an ear!!!


huddle with the sheeps


teaching him how to pet gently


happy and satisfied! :)

BlackBerry Face...........


he smeared blackberries all over his face and in his hair. it was very tribal. these pictures don't even capture the rich color that he actually painted himself, he was about 10 shades brighter purple.

oh the good ol days....... 15 years ago!

my old friend came to town last week. i have not seen her since high school. wow! we had a really good time reuniting. the 1st picture below is all of 15 years ago....... and then all of us last week (in the same order) good times! we got to meet her husband and kids for the 1st time.


such a cute family!

Happy Birthday Ada & Calvin............

it's hard to believe Ada is already 4 years old & Calvin is 2!!!!! oh my goodness it doesn't seem like it could have been that many years..... yet it seems like they've always been here too! i can't even remember christina without a babe on her hip now!

we had a really good time at their joint bday party. farmer theme with tons of fun little activity stations.


poor lorin took allergy medicine before the party and it knocked him out entirely........ he slept under a tree the whole time. :( basically the 1st picture is how lorin was the whole time...... kinda funny! somehow, lorin being passed out attracted milo to him even more. ha ha ha!


cute little farmer picture painted by joey's sister


uncle jesse and woobie :)

10 days with no paci :)

he's all grows up! 10 days ago we stopped giving him his paci and bottles. the paci was not a problem at all......... we decided to continue with the bottles for a little while longer. mainly because he's teething his molars and it's very very painful and also because taking 2 comforts away at the same time is kinda evil. i'm just so happy to say the penguin paci is long forgotten. So Long Old Friend!

we had a great weekend! it was full of bday parties and bbq's. milo particularly enjoyed himself in this little pool shaped like a boat.

somehow being sick has energized this little man. this week has turned into operation get better woobie. i decided to practice my skills with our new camera. does this look like a sick child to you?

i added milo's 12 month picture to the slideshow on the right. that was the best picture i could get. he refuses to sit still next to curious george. :)

bye bye auntie lala!

milo was so lucky to have auntie lala play with him once a week since he was 6 months old. it was a huge help for me and a pure delight for milo. the day that he'd spend with lala was always a day that he would take really good long naps and play at home. we already miss her but feel lucky that she was able to spend all those precious days with him in his first year.


luckily milo is now getting to spend 2 fun filled days a week with his auntie christina and his cousins ada & calvin. he's already learning so much and loving playing with his cousins. when i pick him up at the end of the day he's so happy to see me and so happy to show me how he likes to play with all of their toys. also today christina told me that calvin has started saying Milo! it's the cutest thing to hear him say it...... it kinda pops out of his mouth.....miLO!


how lucky are we? although today we are home because milo has a wee little cold and i'm hoping he can rest it off quick!

Happy 1st Birthday MILO!

it has come and gone in the blink of an eye! milo turned 1 and time just got a little faster. we celebrated his actual bday like this.......

bear shaped waffles for breakfast


a long stroll around the neighborhood


homemade pizza bday dinner


opened lots and lots of presents


with some help from bling bling


ate a yummy cupcake


and shared a little too!



i'll be updating with pictures from his party this weekend! :)

once upon a time there was a wedding (3 years ago today). this couple exchanged vows and made promises to stick together through good times and bad. all of their closest friends and family gathered around and they transformed into husband and wife.



3 years later.........


happy anniversary to us! yay!

special visit from great grandma :)

nana and great grandma stopped by the office for a visit. milo gave great grandma a love slap and then ran over her toes with his walker. he was just so happy to see her. :)

fun at the fair...... or should i say turkey legs and lemonade!

we had a great time at the OC fair. we went in the evening with some friends. milo really liked all the lights on the rides once the sun went down. just good ol down home fun...... ha ha ha!

Christopher Laurie: Husband, Father, Son, Friend


Once again I find myself at a loss for words. It's one of those things where I don't really know what to say but it is in my heart to just say something. Last week an old friend of Lorin's was taken from this world in a horrible car accident. Although we are finding comfort knowing that he has gone home to be with God, there is still a lot of sorrow thinking about the ones he left behind. His wife Brittany, Daughter Stella and Baby on the way are the focus of my prayers right now. Milo and Stella are Bday twins (one year apart) I think we all marveled together how each of our lives changed on July 28th when our babies came into this world and transformed us into parents. Both professional Graphic Designers and Avid ocean loving surfers...... this loss is so close to home for Lorin. I'm always impressed by Lorins broad range of friends...... how they come together to celebrate and now how they come together to mourn and give support.

This is such an awakening on how important it is to live each day to the fullest. Christopher had way too many plans and too much life in him to be gone this soon.... but these things are not in our hands. We never know when we will be called home. I will not be taking my simple life with my family for granted. Each and everyday is a gift and we must cherish every moment with our loved ones.

wipe out!

today was milo's 1st birthday party. this is the only picture i took all day. i can't wait to see all the photos everyone took and see the pictures our photographer took. WOW! what an amazing day and what an amazing group of family and friends. this little man was completely wiped out and so is this mama. one year ago today this little spirit joined our world......... and life has never been the same! :)

yay..... for vakay!

it doesn't matter that we were only gone for the weekend. we had a great time in palm springs and the vacation was very much needed and appreciated. milo had an equally wonderful time with his moppa and jim and came home with too many early bday presents!

on our way to the pool @ the resort


thumbs up to mommy and daddy's vakay!

he started walking walking on saturday july 5, but it didn't really sink in and become official to me until i saw him at playgroup. he was all over the place walking here and there. i watched him with a tiny lump in my throat. i could tell lorin had the same lump when i called to tell him about what a big boy milo was at playgroup.

one word for ya........

toddler

that's what this little guy is!

walkin woobie............

the 4th of July..........

we had a great weekend. here are a few pictures from our holiday. milo love's to be thrown in the air...... over and over and over again! we spent the morning at the beach and the afternoon at the pool. when it got dark we did fireworks with our neighborhood......... i love our neighbors! :) (most of them) milo kinda liked the fireworks....... he really just wanted to go to bed cause it was past his bedtime.

today was milo's 2nd day of our new playgroup. of course he had a great time. he loves the other babies and is totally into the toys...... although he does head for the door because i think he'd rather being playing outside. he also really appreciated that i didn't lock him in the car this time after class like i did last week on the hottest day ever! thank god for firemen and cell phones!

happy 1st fathers day!
we had an action packed weekend. this picture was taken at the wavehouse in san diego....... it's AWESOME! i'm going to post more pictures so you can really get the vibe.

but back to fathers day....... dear mooney...... happy 1st fathers day. you really are an amazing dad and you just keep getting better. i'm watching your love for milo grow everyday and it's the most beautiful thing i have ever seen. i love that your favorite thing to do (besides surfing........ but how can we compete) is just chillax with me, pip & woobie! when you're playing guitar and milo is hanging off your knee and bling bling is in her puppy cave... my life feels complete. i love you...... even though and because! he he! thanks for taking care of us!

ooooh yeah....... and we got a new camera :)

the thing about blogs that you might not realize is......... when you start to fall behind you can get very overwhelmed and not really know where and when to start up again. since i dropped the ball a few weeks ago we've done a million things and since i can't do a million posts (or can i) i'm just starting with this.

the last few weekends have been action packed. we made a lovely trip to la to see bubby perform in fiddler on the roof. it was sooooo fun to see her and spend the day with family. after the play we went to her boyfriends 94th bday party....... and that's where we saw the BEAR( from my post below). it was right in the backyard of the bday party. the house where the party was at is in a very beautiful part of la...... it's next to some hills and apparently bears are super common. we had great time and lorin and milo did a little swimming.

the next week milo and i hitched a ride with pop and glamma to see papa and diana before they headed north for the summer. we had another great day with milo playing in the pool with pop and me getting to spend some time with my papa. i even worked for my meals on this trip by helping pop clear the grapefruit trees....... the lovely picture of the grapefruit juice was picked by yours truly...... or assistant picker. i've decided that fruit pickers should make more money cause that's some seriously hard work.

milo has been a constant beam of sunshine..... of course! he's been taking steps here and there and still getting into everything. this morning when i went to pick him up for breakfast i walked into his room and there he was sitting in his crib with 3 books (they were not there when daddy put him to bed) he somehow sticky fingered off his book table and into his crib. he looked so darn proud! :) he loves books so much. it makes me laugh thinking about what he was thinking as he was reaching for his books and working them through the crib rails. he is such a little smarty pants. another super adorable thing that he's been doing at the office is right before moppa comes in i sit him in his stroller with the door open so he can catch some breeze and watch the trucks and cars drive by (which he loves) then when moppa walks up to the door he gets sooooooo happy and smiles behind his pacifier. i just love how much love he has around him....... he soaks it all in and sends it back out times a thousand.

i promise an update soon! right now it seems like time is on fast forward. i just got back from the grocery store........ it 10pm..... i'm so tired. milo is sound asleep and i will be too in about 3 minutes. peace out


story to follow...........