Beautiful Ordinary Days

MAUI - 9 year anniversary trip!

2017-11-17T19:29:00.001-08:00

Steve and I took a week long trip to Maui (kid-free!) back in September. The last time we had been to Hawaii we had Ella with us, and while that was a special and fun trip - there is nothing like having alone time. We really didn't do a whole lot on the island - Road to Hana, paddle boarding, but besides that we just enjoyed eating out (such a treat with no kiddos!), read by the pool, took NAPS, or layed on the beach. It was AMAZING.

Always our first stop after the airport - Geste shrimp truck! THE best shrimp on planet earth and the crab mac salad is amazing as well. We went another time on our trip too! My mouth is watering just looking at the picture.

First rainbow of the trip - so beautiful! I love all the hammocks around the resorts.

Shortly after checking in we were unpacking and we saw that the girls had packed a ton of stuff in our luggage including this HUGE pumpkin decoration. We could not stop laughing!

SO green and SO blue!

We hiked up to a blowhole and this heart shaped rock. SO cute!!

A large portion of our trip was spent right here, with a book and diet coke. Heaven!

These pictures are way out of order, this was at my favorite black sand beach during our Road to Hana trip.

I'm not very original with poses.

Our first three nights we stayed at the Westin, which was so nice. But we didn't know what nice was until we checked into the Ritz Carlton for our last three nights! Holy smokes, that place treats you like royalty! And their private beach is the best.

I thought I wasn't going to be able to do it but it wasn't too hard at all!

Our first time eating at the famous Mama's Fish House - AMAZING!

Ian State Park - so lush and green!

We went on a hike by the resort right on the water - so beautiful.

Steve insisted on taking this "Ariel" picture for the girls.

Free cabanas at the Ritz!

It's not a Hawaii trip without hula pie.

That's it! We had such a blast getting spend lots of time together with zero little girl distractions - but you can bet we ran home and squeezed those girls the second we could. Ella was asleep when we got home but I got her out of bed anyways. I swear she looked and acted older!

Til next time, Maui!

the girls.

2017-09-25T21:01:00.001-07:00

It's been way too long since I've updated. That makes me so sad but I figured I better do an update before I forget all the cute things the girls do lately!

I'll start with the little one..

Oh Ella. This past year has been such an adventure with her!

First off, her eyes have almost completely changed to green since last year. It's crazy! I've always loved green eyes (probably because her daddy has them) so I'm excited one of my babies got them.

Ella is so, so mischievous. Probably my naughtiest toddler out of the three girls.

I have found her eating a whole packet of BBQ sauce, drawing all over all sorts of walls and furniture, (magic erasers are our best friend) dipping tea cups into the toilet and drinking it, sitting on top of the kitchen island chugging diet coke, and so, so many other tales.

She was the easiest baby I've ever met and barely ever cried, slept great, & barely even had dirty diapers. (The doctors said we got lucky and some babies only poop once a week!) so we totally deserved a harder toddler this time around. Haha!

Ella reminds us to say prayers every night before dinner by folding her arms and yelling at us "Mama!" and pointing to our arms. She's super judgmental if we don't fold our arms during prayer, too.

She is obsessed with boats and constantly talks about them since our trip to Monterey. I debated throwing her a BOAT birthday party but couldn't find any cute ideas.

She was my latest kid to talk but now she chats it up all day. My favorite things she says are "Hold you!" when she wants me to hold her, "Shoo!" when she wants us to go away (although rude lol) and "1,2,3,9!!"

When Kate was sick the other week, she wouldn't leave her side and kept snuggling her and giving her hugs and saying, "Kate, ok?" They are becoming such little playmates lately and I love it.

For some reason Ella always loves this army hat in our dress up stash and is constantly wearing it and making us laugh.

Her new favorite thing is taking off her diaper and running away from us naked and laughing.

She LOVES Mother Goose Club and finally will sit and watch something on tv! She has had zero interest in watching cartoons (which I'm glad for) but she loves these cheesy songs so much. Before bed when I rock her she makes me sing them all "Row row, Boat, Mama!" "Mista Sun!"

At night before bed, she says "Bye clock! Bye show! (if the tv is on) Bye food! Bye friends!" etc. Sometimes if we lay her in bed but she doesn't fall right to sleep, we let her hang out a little longer and she will just lay and snuggle on us as long as we let her. I love it.

She loves to climb up on the top bunk bed and give us heart attacks.

She loves books, blocks, and JUST started liking her letter puzzles. Aubrey and Kate knew all their letters, numbers, and colors by the age she is, and Ella only knows about 5 -6 letters. Third child much?

She recently switched from calling me "Mama" to "Mommy".

Anytime she sees a baby, or even a car seat or stroller she will yell "Aww, baby! Cute!!"

She LOVES bugs and anytime anyone comes over she leads them by the hand and shows and tells them where she has seen bugs before in the house.

Ella loved watching Kate at dance class every week and would watch the video of her recital on my phone all the time. She nearly memorized all the moves to Kate's dance from the recital and once performed it for us almost perfectly. It was hilarious!

Anytime she gives us a kiss, she will raise her arms up after and yell, "WOOHOO!"

Then there is Kate..

Kate is still the cute, sassy, hilarious girl she's been since day one.

She started a kindergarten readiness class last month and it's her very favorite day of the week. It's a little easy for her, but enjoys the social part of it and all the crafts they do. I can't believe she'll be in kindergarten next year!

I took Kate on a date one day last month and we had our nails painted, got slushies at Sonic, and then I let her choose a toy at Toys R Us. (Her birthday is right next to Christmas so I try to surprise her with treats every once in a while to spread out the fun!) She knew she wanted a water baby doll and chose a little black baby and named her Lucy. She LOVES it so much and always gives it baths, takes it on walks, to the park, etc. I asked why she chose that one and she said, "Babies with brown skin are just so much cuter!"

She mentioned recently, "When you die, Mommy, I'm gonna marry Daddy!"

Kate requests lullabies every single night before bed. She always wants "Blackbird" by the Beatles and her back tickled. I will be so sad the day she doesn't want lullabies anymore!

Kate is always my right hand girl when it comes to baking. We are always making brownies, or cake, or cookies lately and she is the best helper. I call her my little "Katie Crocker"

Right when Ella goes down for her nap each day, Kate and I play games. She loves her counting puzzle, her Ice Cream game, and Go Fish best.

At the nail salon, she started talking to the (vietnamese) lady in Spanish and said "Hola! I speak Spanish too!" I had to have a talk with her about how there's a looot more languages out there than Spanish and English.

Kate makes friends so easily. She doesn't have a shy bone in her body. I wish I was just like her!

She is so kind and patient with Ella, and is my saving grace in keeping her entertained. I constantly find them running around together laughing and playing.

And at last, Aubrey

Aubrey started first grade this year and as always, she just loves school! She can read so well now - it's so cool watching your kid be able to read books.

She did have her first "mean girl" experience at the beginning of the school year - heartbreaking to hear someone not be nice to your child, especially when she is so sweet and sensitive. But, she's a brave girl and all is well now.

Aubrey is still our girly tomboy - loves everything girly, but at the same time loves sports, Star Wars, and basically anything Steve shows her. We joke that Steve doesn't need a boy because she shows interest in anything he'd ever want to do with a son. Her and her dad sure have a special thing.

Anytime a slow or sentimental song comes on Aubrey will beg us to turn it off, "Please change the song! This makes me cry!"

Aubrey's friend's mom got engaged and was showing her her ring and Aubrey was SO confused that she wasn't married already but had a kid. She kept saying "I don't get it!" Oh, the innocence of children. (Obviously we had a talk with her that not everyone gets married before having children)

Aubrey has a diary that she writes in often.

At school she had an assignment to bring three things in a bag that she liked as a "get to know you" game. One thing she brought was a superhero doll since she loves superheroes. She was telling us that it was her turn to show her bag to everyone and she had the doll "fly" up out of the bag with one arm up and said, "Super Giiirrrl!" Then she told us, "No one laughed when I did that. But hey, I thought it was pretty funny!" We couldn't stop laughing when she told us this. If only I were a fly on the wall!

I know I'm probably missing about a thousand things I'll want to remember, but I guess this is better than nothing! Love watching these girls grow and develop their amazing little personalities.

BIG catch up post!

2017-09-09T21:30:00.003-07:00

I haven't blogged all Summer so I'm going to just do one big post to catch up! I know I'd be so sad at the end of the year when I print out this book if I didn't talk about all the fun we had this Summer. This was our first Summer with a kid in school, so we really got to enjoy having "all the kids home" and I loved every second. I now see how incredibly fast summers can fly by, which is a tad depressing so we made sure to make lots of memories.

We started off our 4th of July by going to a local parade - the girls danced and waved their flags in their cute festive get ups - they loved it! During the day we spent time swimming & eating with Steve's family, and then ended our day with more swimming, BBQ and fireworks at my parents house. Busy, fun day! I remember fourth of July being the absolute best as a kid - lots of swimming, yummy food, and getting to stay up late watching fireworks. The BEST!

Ella became obsessed with boats this Summer. Everything is still "Boat! Boat!" about anything that even slightly resembles a boat.

Kate was a little braver this year and actually held a sparkler!

Ella wasn't so sure..

This was also our first Summer with a pool and it did not disappoint. I was a little hesitant to get a pool at first because I knew they were a lot of work. But who was I kidding? Steve has done everything to take care of the pool! :) We also planned on getting a jacuzzi, but ended up getting a slide instead and it's been so fun!! Ella and Aubrey love it, (Aubrey learned to swim by herself this year!) Kate has yet to brave it by herself but went down once on Steve's lap. Hopefully next Summer!

Early in July we took the oldest girls to Safari West in Santa Rosa. It was on our their "summer bucket list" to go camping, and since we are not exactly a camping family, we thought this would be close enough for them! We got to go on a safari tour and got up close and personal with all sorts of animals. I'm not a huge animal person but I thought it was SO cool! The girls loved it too. Kate got to sit right next to the tour guide in front and talked his ear off. I was in the back and could NOT stop laughing. She's such a nut! We stayed the night in one of their canvas tents (which came with a shower and toilet - so it was definitely more GLAMping than camping). We did s'mores, played games on the deck, and had such a great time with our big girls! Ella had fun at home with Grammy and Papa.

Since the girls were off dance for the Summer, we decided to put them in a little soccer program for the month of July. They basically just do drills and do practice games - not a real team. The girls liked it okay, but it was pretty hot out there and they were very ready for it to end by the time it was done. Guess I don't get to be a soccer mom after all! Ella was a good soccer sister always holding their water bottles for water breaks. :)

Steve and I got to get away for an evening in Berkley to see Jack Johnson in concert. He was INCREDIBLE. He's been one of our favorites for years and it was fun to see him live.

At the end of July we went to Monterey with Steve's family, but first made a stop at the Santa Cruz boardwalk. The girls just went on a few rides - Ella LOVED this car ride.

17 mile drive stop!

Monterey Aquarium - the best!

Best picture ever. When we first arrived to the beach Ella hated her life. She was NOT feeling the sand, sand toys, water, all of it!

But if you give Ella a boat - she's the happiest girl in the world!

Popsicles help you forget about sand too..

Welp - there's our summer in a nutshell! I feel like I'm missing so much on here and know we did other things like the state fair, saw the Beauty and the Beast at the Music Circus, had lots of friends come swim, Steve and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary (we saw a movie and had a dinner date at Cattlemens) lots of lazy days at home, swimming multiple times a day until our hair turned green, I was busy with photography sessions (it was the summer of newborn baby boys!), etc. etc. etc! It went by in a flash, and I'll admit I cried a river the week before school started. I HATE sharing Aubrey with school. She really does love it though and I love seeing her grow.

We are now getting back to school life, and although I miss those summer days something fierce, there is beauty in routine. In fact, I thrive on it!

disneyland 2017

2017-07-01T21:12:00.000-07:00

We went to Disney the week before Aubrey got out of school (we're terrible parents and have no issue taking her out for Disney!) with Steve's parents and brother. Surprisingly it wasn't too busy and lines weren't bad. I figured the girls only have so many more visits where they think princess dresses are fun to wear at Disney, so I got them these super comfy princess dresses. It will be one sad day when they are too cool for dressing up!

It was this little miss's first trip as a "big girl" and not a baby! She got to meet Minnie, which she was pretty...cautious about. She loved all the rides she got to go on and was such a good girl the whole trip.

Leave it to this girl to choose the full face face paint option. (Some guardians of the galaxy character?)

Kate is still a bit traumatized from some or our past trips' rides she went on (Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain, etc.) and hasn't braved them again. She's cool with kids rides for now!

The night before going home we stopped at the beach. It was a little windy for Ella but the big girls LOVED every second. I'm such a nervous nelly watching them go out even ankle deep in the ocean, I'm always afraid they'll get washed away to sea!

Dance Spectacular 2017

2017-06-28T09:12:00.001-07:00

The girls had their annual summer dance show earlier this month, which is easily one of my favorite days of the year! They both did awesome and looked SO cute. This year Aubrey was in Magical Ballet and grew bored of it throughout the year. She dreaded going most weeks so we told her she could quit after the season was over. After watching Kate's show (their performances were on separate nights) she LOVED watching all the tap performances. The songs are more upbeat and the dances are a little more fun so I could totally see why she preferred it. I asked if she wanted to do tap next year and she said yes! I'll admit I've never been a huge tap fan but can honestly say the dances really are more fun to watch. Kate and Aubrey will be able to take the same class next year which will be REALLY nice to only have to drive to/pick up from one class, only go to one performance, etc. I can't wait to watch them tap their little hearts out next year!

Here are some pictures I took of the girls on the day of their performances. I never got a chance to do Aubrey's studio shots, but she's not a fan of doing pictures anyways so she doesn't mind one bit. Kate however... she's all about it.

Kate danced a tap number to "Walking on Sunshine" and Aubrey danced ballet to some classical song that I don't know the name of.

Easter 2017

2017-05-22T09:52:00.001-07:00

April was the month of SICK for our family - after coming home from Utah we all got a cold that went on forever and ever and then eventually turned into allergies. SO we were a little under the weather for Easter, but still managed to do our egg dying and had our own egg hunt.

Aunt Nicole's Wedding in UTAH!

2017-05-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

The first week of April we made the long journey to Utah for Steve's sister's wedding! Since we weren't too keen on the idea of driving 12 hours with three kids in tow, we decided to fly. Aubrey and Kate were so excited to fly for their first time (as least the first time where they will be able to remember). The wedding was beautiful, and although the weather was a bit crummy, we managed to have some fun family time.

Airports and airplane rides mean lots of waiting and boredom, but these two were so excited they didn't care one bit!

Ella... could have done better. She did pretty good on our flight there, but on the way back she had a fever, missed a nap, and was just starting to get sick and was just plain miserable pretty much the whole time! Thankfully we were in the very back row so we were out of most people's earshot.

The beautiful couple! So happy for Nicole and Blake. They are so sweet together!! Pretty sure Nicole was Steve's 5 year old sister just the other week, but apparently she's a grown woman now!

The girls were thrilled to be flower girls for her wedding - they looked so cute!

Oh my, so much chasing with this one...

But how can I resist her? She is so dang precious!

My birthday happened to fall on Nicole's wedding day (I was happy to share ;) ) so one of my late gifts was a photo session with my absolute favorite photographer of all time, Skye Johansen. She just happens to live about an hour from where we were staying, so Steve let me do the session as a birthday present. I followed her photography for years on Facebook and was always so amazed by her beautiful photos, and I can honestly thank her for getting me into photography. She was so wonderful with the kids and I'm still (not so patiently) waiting to get their pictures back. I know it will be worth the wait and they will be beautiful though!

We headed to the gorgeous Salt Lake City temple before leaving to go home. So beautiful! We LOVE Utah and I would even consider living there if it weren't for the super freezing winters -- we just can't do the cold!!

steve and kate's 15 minutes of fame.

2017-04-14T10:08:00.002-07:00

The girls were so excited to see the new live action "Beauty and the Beast" movie so we decided to take them as a surprise one day after Aubrey got home from school. Kate of course dressed up as Belle (any chance to dress up like a princess, she's all about it), and Aubrey didn't want to dress up - too cool.

Kate told Steve she needed a prince to take her to the movies, and we all thought that was cute. I jokingly reminded Steve he does have a prince charming costume up in the closet from a couple Halloweens ago, which Kate was so excited about. "Will you please wear it Daddy? Please?! I really want to sit by a prince at the movies." Well, Steve, being completely wrapped around his daughters' finger, decided he would wear it for her.

Anyone that knows Steve knows he is NOT one to like to bring a lot of attention to himself, but Kate's happiness meant more than his ego. It really was the cutest scene ever at the movies - people kept taking pictures of them.

I posted the above photos on my Facebook and Instagram and they ended up going viral, which is quite hilarious because he barely let me post them in the first place. He even said "You can post them but don't tag me." Lol. Oops! Only 41,000+ people saw it. No big.

I had reporters emailing me for a couple of days asking to use the story/pictures for articles for their websites. (including Today Show and Ellen Nation!) His 15 minutes of fame is over now, and he is currently in therapy now having to be a regular folk like the rest of us. ;)

But seriously - I picked a keeper!!

18 months!

2017-04-11T11:58:00.004-07:00

Ella turned 18 months last week. This age has got to be one of the most challenging, naughtiest, yet adorable ages of them all.

Ella loves music and dancing, dogs, going outside, books, baby dolls and cuddles. She's still a great eater, napper, and sleeps through the night still. Hooray! (We also stopped nursing right at 15 months. We were both ready!)

This sweet innocent face also is a hitter! She started hitting this month and has yet to stop. I remember this phase with her sisters and I can't wait for it to end! Such a little bully ;)

She is starting to talk more and more and seems to say a new word each day. She's our slowest speaker for sure, but I guess that's what happens with kid number three! My favorite words she says: "Dall Done!" "DeeDee!" (baby) and of course "Tick tick" for back tickles.A

Ella is definitely in the thick of the "getting into everything" phase and some days I swear I am growing grey hair because of it, but her affection towards me makes up for it by a long shot. She is obsessed with her mama and I just eat it up. Sometimes Steve or a stranger will wave or try to hug her, and she will just run and hug me and look at them and give them a dirty look! Every morning she cuddles with me before we start our day and it's just what I need to face all the naughty things she comes up with. :)

Love this feisty, beautiful girl of ours so much!

aubrey is SIX!

2017-03-08T19:09:00.000-08:00

Aubrey turned six last weekend - a little mind boggling, but I have to admit this is the least emotional I've ever been about one of my kids getting older. She it turning out to be such an amazing little girl, and I'm only excited for whats to come.

Aubrey is incredibly sweet & kind. She lost her very first tooth last Friday (!!!) and when the tooth fairy brought her three whole dollars, she was so excited to share a dollar with each of her sisters. I mean, who is this kid?!

Aubrey is doing great at school and is so smart! Her teacher says she is a friend to everyone and loves to help people. She absolutely loves school but I miss her a lot still. I know some parents feel a relief when they drop their kid off for school, but honestly it's a relief picking her up! Her presence in our home makes things feel complete.

Words can't even describe how much I love this girl. I can remember so well blogging about her monthly baby milestones and its hard to believe I'm here six years later. Aubrey's sensitive, caring, and adorable personality makes me proud every single day!

valentines!

2017-02-13T20:23:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Valentine's Day on Saturday since the real day (tomorrow) is filled up with volunteering in Aubrey's kindergarten class, dance class, dance class again, & of course a date with my 14th year in a row Valentine. ;) We had our own little "Galentine's party" with a heart shaped breakfast, cookie baking and decorating, and putting together class Valentines. We had so much fun and even Ella got in on the baking - I just loved it. I hope my girls remember these fun memories - these years of them being little are slipping away so fast!!

My dad built this awesome shiplap wall in my studio and did such a great job. I love it so much!

quick monterey getaway for steve's 30th

2017-02-07T18:52:00.002-08:00

Back in the beginning of January Steve and I took our first sans-Ella trip together alone. It was mainly to celebrate Steve turning 30 (which he did on the 10th) but also it had just been a while since we took a solo trip, at least for us. Ella finished nursing just in time for us to go. It rained nearly the whole trip, minus Saturday, but we still had the best time.

On Friday we went to dinner and to the Warriors game. Steve's boss is a season ticket holder and generously let us use his 5th row tickets. Steve was in heaven, and I was in heaven watching him being heaven. :) The game was SO fun - we sat right on the side of the tunnel and got to high five players coming out of it. So cool!

The next day we walked the pier and rented a cart and rode along the beach. It stayed sunny most of Saturday thankfully so we could enjoy Monterey's beauty!

Our last day we got massages, visited Pebble Beach golf course, and came home that night. We were anxious (ok, I was anxious) to see our babies! We had a great trip and loved getting away together.

aubrey the baller

2017-01-20T11:18:00.001-08:00

Aubrey had her first basketball game of the season last week. This year has been a stark contrast to last year where she cried every game and begged not to play! Now she gets excited for every practice and game and is doing great. Steve's dreams are coming true... he gets to coach his little baller!

Aubrey and her basketball buddy, Paige.

Cheering for her teammates :)

Kate gets to sit on the player's bench - coach's daughter perks!

She did a great job on defense - she hasn't made a basket quite yet but is determined!

Good game! It was so fun watching her play, and I know Steve is in heaven too.

four years with kate brielle.

2017-01-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

Today our sweet Kater Tot turns four years old! She is so much fun. Truly the "life of the party" always - we are so lucky she is ours!! The past few days whenever we have told her no about anything she will say, "But I'm the birthday gull!" She has seriously won herself some extra pieces of candy because of that line.

Some things about Kate at age four: Hilarious. Cutest little voice. Bossy. Cute and she knows it. As girly as they come. Constantly in a princess dress. If she's not in a dress and she gets to choose, she always puts on her donut tank top with random black and white polka dot pants. I always ask "Does that match Kate?" and she says "Yep! They both have white on them!"

She thinks the biggest insult you can give a person is saying, "Your favorite color is BROWN! HAHAHA!" She constantly tells this to Steve.

Kate loves play doh, coloring, makeup, dressing up, the Just Dance video game, playing with her sisters, picking up Aubrey from school, baking with mom, chewy bars, going anywhere there are kids, and all things "fancy". I can get her to do almost anything if I talk it up like it's real fancy "Kate! Did you know Princess Aurora keeps her playroom clean?? Put on your crown and put those stuffed animals away!" Whatever works.

Aubrey was a total daddy's girl at this age, but Kate is all about mom. We are together 24/7 and I honestly love it. She's the best helper, and loves to play with my hair and rub my feet with lotion. What more could I want in a sidekick? ;)

Kate walks into a park and immediately best friends with all the kids there. She is inclusive of everyone. She might boss them around a bit - but she won't leave one person out of the fun!

She looks up to her big sis and adores her little sis. She is such a good middle child. It's not always easy for her watching Aubrey get to do all these fun, new things in kindergarten, go to birthday parties she's not invited to, etc. but she takes it all pretty well.

Last night at the mall we walked by a large man with long curly black hair and Kate whispered (not so quietly) to Aubrey, "He looks like Moana!" and they giggled and giggled. I felt I should discipline her somehow, but she was kind of right... and at least she tried to whisper! I used one of my favorite parenting methods of pretending you didn't hear in awkward situations. Works like a charm!

Still the pickiest eater in all the land. If you ever wondered if kids can survive only on cereal, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, chicken nuggets, quesadillas, and fruit - no worries. They totally can! (I promise we sneak veggies in her sometimes, Mom..) I remember my smug pre children days when I swore I would have kids that ate organic meals with vegetables galore and they would just LOVE every bite. Oh you silly fool, pre children Lisa. You also thought your kids would never watch tv. Lololol. I have white-flour cracker eating, Disney movie watching girls and I'm pretty sure they are happier because of it. ;)

Kate can brighten just about anyone's day. She truly has the best sense of humor and it's nearly impossible to be in a bad mood around her. She fills up our home with sunshine and has since the day she was born. We just LOVE her!

I had to post at least one outtake. Heaven knows there's about 100 more of these kind of shots in the mix!

Happy birthday, beautiful girl. You sure make our world a fun, happy place!

Mama

one big christmas post!

2016-12-30T19:58:00.001-08:00

I won't lie, I may have overdone it this year on Christmas activities. This year the girls are at especially magical ages - they believe in Santa, understand all that's going on, and I know this stage is so short! So yeah, I planned about 23843984 activities. I asked Aubrey out of everything we did in December - Disneyland, Polar Express, Nutcracker, etc, etc. what her favorite thing was. She thought about it for a minute and said, "making gingerbread houses with my cousins at our house!" I loved how out of everything we did, a simple family activity was her favorite. Even though our schedule was overfilled, we still had lots of fun! But will definitely plan less for next year. :)

The girls had their Winter dance show a few days after we got back from Disneyland. This year it was the "Grinch" and Kate was a Christmas tree and Aubrey was a stocking. They both did wonderful and were darling in it. As usual, we aren't allowed to take pictures in their costumes for the Winter show since they rent the costumes and put them on backstage. (I'm still bitter about no pictures after all these years of recitals...) I did snap a quick shot before we left.

The morning of their dance show, we went to "Breakfast with Santa" at Aubrey's school. Needless to say it was a busy day! Aubrey met Santa and told him what she wanted. Kate was too scared, but Aubrey let Santa know what she wanted for her. (Makeup) I thought that was so sweet!

Our next Christmas festivity was the Polar Express. We had never been but knew it would be good since it sells out so early each year. I bought the tickets so far in advance we didn't realize Steve had somewhere important to be for work that night. You can't reschedule or get a refund - gulp! We went with my family so I didn't brave it alone! We missed Steve (and the $55.00 we ate for his ticket) but the girls loved it. There was cookies, hot cocoa, the North Pole, and Santa, what more could a kid want? Here are some grainy phone pics from the train ride.

First taste of cocoa!

That Saturday we did one of our favorite traditions - saw the Nutcracker Ballet with Grammy! We skipped last year to wait until Kate was old enough to enjoy it. She did think it was a bit long, but still loved watching the beautiful ballerinas dance. We all decided we want to be ballerinas when we grow up! :)

These girls! So beautiful, inside and out.

Kate conked out in the last act.

Next was Aubrey's favorite - gingerbread houses! We made our family dinner one Sunday and took family pictures in my studio with everyone, (thanks to my dad's tripod!) and afterwards decorated gingerbread houses.

More fun pictures from our month:

On Christmas Eve eve we always do our own little family's tradition: sibling gift exchange, new jammies, hot cocoa, new ornaments, and Christmas movie marathon. During the gift exchange, Kate had gotten Aubrey a Star Wars play doh set that she loved. Before we had the girls open the gifts, we told them no matter what it is to say thank you, give their sister a big hug, and act very excited about it no matter what the gift is. Well, once it was Kate's turn to open Aubrey's gift, I think that advice was a little too much pressure for her because as soon as she unwrapped the gift and saw a plain cardboard box, she burst into tears! It was hilarious (she didn't know what the gift was and thought it was just a box - in the box was an easel which she ended up loving.) Anyway it was too funny!

Christmas Eve was spent at Steves parents and Christmas day was spent at my parents, as usual. Lots of fun and memories made! Here are a few phone snaps from Christmas morning. Christmas fell on a Sunday this year so we had to wake the girls to open presents (they slept past 7:30!!) so they would have some time to play before church. I have no idea how we got there on time with all of us ready - a true Christmas miracle!!

Christmas morning - best mess ever!! This year's favorite gifts for the girls were a makeup/vanity set for Kate, and a Just Dance video game for Aubrey. Ella was happy just playing with wrapping paper of course. :) We got her her own little piano since she loves our big one so much.

That was our Christmas season in a (long) nutshell! We had lots on our plate, but had so much fun making memories and being together lots.

family photos + christmas cards

2016-12-15T11:15:00.001-08:00

We had our annual family photos taken early this month by the amazing Fara Smith Photography. She did such a great job capturing our family and especially each of the girls' personalities. I was so excited to choose photos for our Christmas card, and loved how they all came together thanks to Tiny Prints. Their designs are simply the best! I'll be busy today addressing envelopes while Kate does my stuffing and stamp pressing. :)

Here are my favorites of our family photos - I love them all!

disney dec 2016

2016-12-09T08:47:00.000-08:00

The hotel we stay at has this awesome water park and we usually never have time to have the girls play in it - but this trip we made sure it was our first stop!

This trip was extra special for the girls because my side of the family came along so they got to experience Disneyland with their cousins & very best friends. So fun!

As usual, Ella was an angel.

We found out Aubrey was just an inch too short to go on the Indiana Jones ride (Steve and my favorite!) so we stuffed some folded diapers in those boots and she passed the height requirement with flying colors! She LOVED the ride! She is one brave girl and will go on any and every ride!

Best family picture we could do with all those kids - the sun was too bright!

My 5K & a real Mommy moment.

2016-12-09T08:28:00.000-08:00

About 7 weeks before Thanksgiving I decided on a whim I wanted to run the 5k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. I borrowed my mom's treadmill and trained three times a week. I used the "Couch to 5K" training program and am a TOTAL believer in it. It starts you off with very minimal running and then slowly progresses so you never feel overwhelmed. I felt so proud after every single workout. I've NEVER been one to love exercising. I'm definitely the girl that walked the mile run in high school. But running felt good, and gave me a natural high that I hadn't experienced before - I finally knew what those endorphins were that I always heard people talk about. On nice days, Steve and I would take the girls to the park and run on the paved walkway around it with Ella in the jogging stroller. I LOVED running with Steve and having him there to motivate me.

The day of the race came and my goal was just to run at whatever pace, as long as I didn't walk. I finished with a better time than I ever had and was so proud! My mom made this cute sign for the girls to hold for me as I crossed the finish line. I won't lie - it may have only been 3.2 miles (which is like a baby race to some) but I almost cried running through it.

I couldn't have done it without my little girls coming into my room and cheering me on while I ran on the treadmill all those weeks. ;)

My dad sent me this photo he took from before the race (he always takes a ton of candid shots and other pictures no one else would think to take, and I'm so thankful for that!) of Kate having a hard time. I had no idea he took it and I loved seeing such a REAL snapshot of motherhood. I have so many pretty pictures of happy little moments of the kids, but this right here - happens way more often than you'd think. ;)

I've taken a little break from running but am planning to start back up soon and train for a 10K this time!

5 things i love

2016-11-26T20:46:00.003-08:00

5 things I love about each of my girls.

1) She is a friend to everyone. We had a parent teacher conference the other week for Aubrey and her teacher had nothing but wonderful things to say. But my most favorite is that she said Aubrey is a friend to everyone. So proud!

2) She loves so many different things. Star Wars, Superheroes, and just recently Harry Potter. Steve gets her into all these movies and it's kind of "their thing" to watch them and get excited about them together.

3) Her facial expressions - she's so animated and cracks us up daily. Hearing her tell me stories of things that happen at school is the best!

4) She is smart as a whip and learning SO much! She loves Kindergarten like crazy. I love getting all the work she brings home and seeing her progress.

5) She's just an all around good girl! We couldn't have asked for a better behaved, sweeter little girl to lead her pack of sisters. :)

1) Oh Katester! Well first off, she has been such a champ ever since Aubrey started school in August. She loves all the new mommy alone time she gets with her gone all day, but as soon as its Kindergarten pick up time - I'm as good as gone. We do miss Aubs, but it really is nice getting to spend so much time with her with no distractions - well, besides baby sister.

2) I know I have mentioned how much Kate loves Ella on here. But it's just the sweetest thing to not mention again! She constantly plays with her, loves to help me out feeding/"babysitting" her, and is just the best big sis.

3) Kate loves coloring, and sometimes when Ella takes her nap I'll get her jumbo size coloring book out and color with her for a long time. She's really good at staying in the lines. She is our little artist and I love when I'm lucky enough to get one of her sought after drawings. :)

4) She has taught herself so much. I feel guilty sometimes because I worked with Aubrey a lot more with "preschool" stuff, but with a baby and school aged kid, it's hard to find the time that I had before. I've never once taught Kate how to write a letter, and somehow she has taught herself several! Her handwriting isn't bad, either. I'll never forget one night we were at dinner and she had crayons and a kid menu, we look over and she writes her name perfectly. We never taught her and still have no idea how she learned.

5) Kate is so fun. She goes to a park and instantly makes friends. She is the life of the party always and constantly makes us laugh with her cute, hilarious personality!

1) Baby Ella. Sweet, sweet, sweet! There is just no better word to describe her. She spends her days smothering us all in kisses, hugs, and just being a doll baby.

2) She LOVES being on the bed/couches. She turns into this whole new baby and and falls backwards, crawls all over and is a little daredevil. It's kind of pain to watch her on there so she doesn't fall off but she's just so happy and cute it's worth it!

3) Whenever she is doing something she knows is naughty (like go in the bathrooms or play with the shutters), she stops and waves her finger saying, "No no no no!" with a big smile. Except is sounds like "Dough dough dough dough!"

4) She's a mama's girl. Sure, it may be because I naturally provide her favorite snack (yeeep still a dairy cow over here) but I love being her sidekick. I know we only have weeks left of nursing most likely (more like months if we're being realistic) and I'll miss it one day.

5) She is such a piggy. She still to this day has eaten everything that has ever been put in front of her. So unlike Aubrey and Kate were! I have no idea how she isn't my chunkiest kid. Her love for food is real!

Feeling so grateful lately for my healthy, beautiful growing girls. I love them so much and each of their unique personalities. Being a mom doest come without challenges, but I know I'll look back on these days as the best of my life.

ella's first steps!

2016-11-14T18:46:00.001-08:00

After lots and lots of practice, Ella finally took her first few steps the other day! (November 7th). I've been in the "she can take as long as she wants!" club her whole first year, but now that she's heavier to carry, I'm very ready for her to be walking.

She's still crawling all the time and only walks a step or two from the couch sometimes or if we are practicing, but I think she will be a full time walker soon!

flower girls!

2016-11-01T19:27:00.001-07:00

Last Friday my best friend from high school got married! Aubrey and Kate were lucky enough to be flower girls in the wedding party, they were so excited and honored. Everything was perfect, and not even a little rain could ruin a thing on their big day. I really didn't take too many pictures - it was pretty dim lit in the venue and I didn't have a flash - but I did snap a few of the girls before all the wedding fun started!

They were so done with taking pictures at this point - I just told them to do what they wanted for this one! Haha!

Seriously the most gorgeous bride!!

They did a great job with their flower girl duties - even though during the ceremony Kate decided to keep kissing Aubrey and then tried catching raindrops with her tongue. It was pretty hilarious - but here's to hoping no one noticed but me!

(Darkest, grainiest picture ever but glad we took one anyway!)

So happy for my beautiful friend! Nikki and I have been in such different stages of life since high school - I was popping out babies every couple years and stayed busy raising them while she went to nursing school and became an amazing nurse. So thankful we have kept in touch and stayed friends throughout the past decade. She is truly one of a kind and I'm so happy she found her Prince Charming!!

halloween 2016

2016-11-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

This Halloween was one for the books. We had lots of festive fun jam packed into the last few days - so much fun, but I won't pretend I'm a little relieved it's all over! The girls wanted to be superheroes this year, so Steve and I jumped in on the theme (although Catwoman is a villain apparently) ;)

They aren't always this cooperative for pictures, but when I tell them to do "SUPER HERO POSES!" they are all about it!

I told her to look fierce and strong! And she nailed it here. :)

And then immediately turned back into her goofball self. Love her!

Kate nailed her "fierce" look too!

Work it, Katester girl!

Catwoman and her kitty!

She's made me a cat person. I could die from her cuteness!

On Saturday night our neighborhood had a block party thanks to some awesome neighbors that organized it - the girls had fun running and playing with lots of friends - old and new!

Yesterday Aubrey had her costume parade at school - Kate joined right in at the end! I don't think any teachers even noticed. Ha! (I have no pictures from it, just videos I took.)

Before I had kids I had no idea how much work Halloween is for moms. The girls had four separate Halloween parties/events that they got ready for! Getting kids ready into their costumes with all the bazillion accessories, and makeup, and hair, and headbands, and tights, and shoes, and nails painted, and etc. etc. etc. is exhausting! But after all the work of making all the behind the scenes magic happen....their magic happens. When they trick or treat the night away running from house to house giggling along the way, playing with their cousins, letting them have just one more piece of candy, and watching them sort out all their candy like I used to do as a kid. Watching all this and suddenly all the hustle and bustle is worth it, because their magic = my magic.

Photo a Day Challenge (August)

2016-10-29T08:53:00.006-07:00

In August I participated in a Photo a Day challenge. I didn't post them on here but I want to have them for when I get my blog book printed at the end of the year. I loved taking pictures with my actual camera each day instead of my iPhone for once. It really didn't take that much time like I thought it would. I'm excited to do it again in December! I didn't do a picture every single day (Aubrey started school which rocked our world a bit that month) but here are the ones that I did do.

bishops.

2016-10-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

Just like every year, we made our traditional visit to Bishop's pumpkin patch. Last year we came with Ella when she was a couple of weeks old and it was our first big outing as a family of five. This year felt much more natural leaving the house with all three kiddos in tow. The kids had lots of fun! And mama was happy because we got a big ol' bucket of cookies from Babe's - the most delicious, warm, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies ever.

People kept asking me if I made these dresses. I wish I had this kind of talent!

ella's rose party.

2016-10-09T20:45:00.001-07:00

I kind of dropped the ball on throwing Ella a "big" party for her first birthday, but I managed to throw together a small family one in the knick of time. She got to eat another cake so she didn't mind too much about it being small. ;). I did a rose theme - yes I'm in love with her middle name, okay? - mostly with last minute decor ordered from Amazon Prime. All together I think it turned out pretty cute, and she was surrounded by all the people that love her most on her special day. We love that baby so so much!

Baby girl's one year deets!

Those flower pictures were time consuming, but I'm glad I stuck it through to the end. I plan on hanging this in Ella's room (well, I plan on having STEVE hang it up in Ella's room.)

We just ordered some pizzas, made a big ol salad and had lemonade for the party. Aren't those floral straws darling? Amazon Prime is the best.

Those cute plates are paper! I almost wanted to wash and re-use them they were so pretty. And those scallop napkins! Love em'!

Last minute grocery store cakes. Not the most beautiful in the world, but tasted great!

So my mom is amazingly crafty and can make just about anything (sadly I did not inherit this from her). She whipped this floral swag up for me and it turned out so beautiful! I plan on hanging it in Ella's room somewhere. Pictures don't even do it justice.

The birthday girl!!

Love this sweet, snuggly girl.

She has a special place in her heart for Papa. He just so happens to have a special place in his heart for her, too! Love this picture of them.

Spoiled! Lots of new books and toys.

Loved celebrating our baby girl!!