10 Months Old!

So, Emma is 10 months old now. I can't believe she is almost 1!! She has stayed so much smaller than Michael did, but she's still developing so much! She is crawling all over the place and getting into EVERYTHING! She is constantly finding things on the ground and putting them in her mouth! She is standing on her own and has even taken 2 steps! (It was a fluke thing, but you've gotta start somewhere, right?) Michael startd walking at 10 months, so we'll see if his sister does the same thing! Emma loves to dance whenever there's music. She LOVES to jump in her "Jumperoo" and she LOVES to laugh at her brother! They are sooo funny together! I love just watching the two of them interact with each other! I hope it lasts!

Happy 2nd Birthday Michael!!

Friday was Michael's 2nd birthday! I can't believe he's already 2! It's been a whirlwind! It was a week before my due date & I started having contractions at about 8pm. Ron got off work at 10pm and when he called I told him he'd better make sure he came home soon. He got there around 11pm and by 11:30, it was off to the hospital. We arrived at midnight, and was put in a room. After I got changed in my gown and sat on the bed, my water broke, and by 5:49am, Michael was born! It was so amazing! They laid him on my chest and he grabbed hold of my finger! We had his birthday party on Friday as well. Lots of friends and family were there. It was awesome! Everyone had a good time! Michael even got lots of gifts! Michael loves Mickey Mouse, so we had a Mickey Mouse party! My sister in law even made a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse birthday cake for him! It turned out SOOOO cute!

Some Pics of the party:

The Neighbors

The Grandma's

More Family

The Presents

Grandpa & Emma

Brody

More Family

More Presents

Blowing out the Candles (he was eating a Snickers)

We had a GREAT time and are thankful to all our friends and family that participated in this special day! We are so grateful to have such wonderful people in our lives and feel so blessed to be part of it. We are also so thankful to have Michael in our life. He is such an amazing kid! I couldn't have asked for a better son! It's hard to be his mom sometimes because he makes me laugh ALL the time! I'm so thankful to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to be his mother and I look forward to the many more birthday's we will have! I LOVE YOU, SON!

ELLEN!

So, my mom got tickets to go see Ellen, so me, my mom, Maribel (from my old job) and Kate (from church) all got up REALLY early and drove down to Burbank to watch a taping of Ellen! The taping didn't start until 6pm, but we were supposed to be there at 3:30pm. We decided to make a day of it and went earlier than that to go on a tour of the Paramount studios. It was like 2 hours long, but we saw all kinds of cool stuff! Lot's of movie/TV sets and memorabilia. We even saw Jerry from ER! He had just gotten his make-up and hair done and was just walking around. It was pretty cool! We also drove by the Ellen offices and noticed that Ellen's parking space was empty. We drove around the building and when we came back around, her car was there! we missed her by like 5 minutes! (She drives a white FJ Cruiser, by the way!) Anyway, after the tour we went to the famous Bob's Big Boy for some awesome hamburgers! Then off to see Ellen! It was lots of fun. When you first get in there, they immediately turn on music and you just dance practically the WHOLE time! We saw Ryan Secrest, Jon Leizak (the olympic swimmer that won the relay for US) and Brian Austin Green. She didn't give anything out, but it was still lots of fun. I'd like to go back again sometime. Thanks for a great time, girls!

Happy Birthday Bada!

This is me and my daddy!
Ryan and my dad.
Love the hair (everyone included!) And how 'bout them sleeves!
This is my dad & Michael. Michael was born just minutes before my dad had to head to work!
This is my dad and Emma!

Today is my dad's 51st birthday! We went to church this morning, then my brother and I and our families went to my parents for lunch/dinner. We had some chicken risoto (sp?) with a green salad and fruit. Amanda also made some brownies with a mint frosting. Then it was on to presents. My mom got him a new backpack & calculator (since he just started school), Ryan and Amanda got him movie tickets & we got him family pictures. Anyway, thanks dad for all that you do for me and my family. I feel so blessed to have you for my dad and am so thankful that Heavenly Father has placed me in your care. We love you so much! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Deja Vu!

So, I've noticed some similarities between the kids as Emma gets bigger. For the most part, they are different, but every now and then, Emma will do something and I think "Michael did that, too!" It probably helps that it wasn't that long ago Michael was her age, so I still remember some things that he did.

This is Michael last August (10 1/2 mths old)

This is Emma this morning (9 1/2 mths old)

The Five

10 years ago I:
1. Was just starting my Senior year of HS
2. Playing the flute in the Marching Band
3. Preparing to be a Camp Counselor for Camp KEEP
4. Attending Seminary
5. Preparing for my brother to leave on his mission

5 things on today's "to do" list: (I'll do tomorrow's list since it's 11pm)
1. Clean house
2. Laundry
3. Yard work
4. Pick up my check
5. Go to Costco

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Chips & Salsa
2. Chocolate Chip Cookies
3. Peanut Butter M&M's
4. Peanut M&M's
5. Snickers

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Pay off house
2. Make home improvements
3. Save money for college and retirement
4. Go on an awesome family vacation
5. Buy Ron a golf membership to a country club

5 places I have lived:
1. San Dimas St
2. Palmino Dr
3. Steelhead Dr
4. Auburn St
5. Sentori Ct

Five jobs I have had:
1. Lifeguard/Swim Instructor
2. Office Services Technician
3. Wife
4. Mommy
5. Jewelry Sales

I tag...
1. You
2. You
3. You
4. You
5. You

Rules:Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

Anniversary Celebration

Ron & I celebrated our anniversary on friday by going down to Valencia and having dinner at Claim Jumper's, Yum! And afterwards we went to the real grass mini golf course that we'd had so much fun on another occasion. To our surprise, it was only $5 this time (as opposed to the $14 last year). We thought it was odd, but didn't question it until we got on the course! They let this thing go to poo since last year! You couldn't find the hole, the grass was overgrown, and it was all puddled up with water! We tried to make the best of it by hitting at the same time and seeing who could get the ball in the hole first, not counting shots. It was pretty fun! We had just eaten, though, and started getting cramps 'cause our stomachs were really full and we were running! Afterwards was ice cream and then back home.

Happy 4th Anniversary!!

Ron and I celebrated our 4th anniversary! We didn't do much, but it was nice, none the less. My schedule changed at work and I'm not just working afternoons, I work 2 full days and one 1/2 day, so yesterday was my full day, and Ron had to be to work at 2, so I didn't see him much until he got home. He had already told me we weren't doing gifts, but I never listen to him. I always know that I'm not getting anything, but I insist on getting him something anyway! I got him a watch that you can clip on to your golf bag. Not much, but I think he liked it. I also went to the dollar store and got 4 heart balloons (for 4 years...ahhhh!) and a bag of Jolly Ranchers and after work, I drove to where he leaves his car for the van pool and put the balloons and candy in there. When he got home, I gave him his gift, and he handed me an envelope. It's a "U Save 'Em" envelope which is like an interoffice envelope for inmates to use to pass mail around the prison. (He thought it was pretty funny!) Anyway, he did write me a really sweet letter on it. I guess he finally realized that those are the best presents and the one's that I treasure the most! I have had a great time these last 4 years (and the 3 years prior to that!) and I'm so glad to have him in my life. Things haven't been perfect over the years, but that what makes life interesting. I love him so much and am so grateful for his hard work and sacrifices he makes for our family. He truly is my very best friend! I love you so much! AML AML FTAAE!!

Potty Time!

So, I've been dreading the day to start potty training Michael because I don't if I'm gonna start too soon and I don't want to get frustrated and I don't want him to get frustrated either! I just started talking to him about the potty and little things like that. There's been a couple of times he wanted to sit on the potty, but just because he thought it was cool to sit up there. The other day, he mentioned something about the potty, so I sat him on there and I think he was trying to poop, but just a little pee came out. I congratulated him and had him call everyone to tell them. So I went to Costco (not just for this) and got him a big bag of M&M's so that if he DID go to the potty, he could get 1 for pee & 2 for poop. Yesterday when we came home from church, he grabbed the bag and tried to open it. I told him that he could get on if he went potty on the toilet. He then ran to the bathroom, so I sat him on the toilet and he peed for real! YEA! THEN, today, he went poop twice! He insinuated both times about going to the bathroom and when I took him...TA-DA! I'm not going to get my hopes up, and I'm still going to take it slow, but it seems to be going in the right path! Wish me luck!