Finally...

It's been a LONG while since we've posted an update. So here are a few pics of a day at the park:)

Settling In and Saying Goodbye

We recently moved into a house in a new city a few miles away from our former home. And while it was hard to leave the familiar surroundings, it has been so easy to enjoy our new space. The kids have a yard to play in. We have our own walls. There are no worries about how loud Willow screams, except for our ears, or the kids running around and jumping inside. There is no coin op washer that may or may not be being used for 6 hours straight and I don't have to lug baskets of laundry up and down a rickety set of stairs. But there is no courtyard here. There is no next door neighbor to keep an eye on your kid while you run to the store real quick or from whom to borrow some organic milk and eggs. It is an adjustment going from such intimate and intense community, where everyone knows your comings and goings, helps parent your children, can tell just by your facial expressions if you're having a good day or a bad one to a more private and quiet life within your own walls. We have definitely been grateful for the years of community that have taught us how to be better neighbors, friends, believers and human beings. But we are equally grateful for a respite of sorts. Some time to be reclusive. Some time to not answer questions or deal with other people's kids. Time for our kids to play outside, just the two of them. Time for us to listen to music as loud as we want. Time to come home and just relax together as a family. Yet, the quiet can be eery. The kids get bored. We get bored. So there are play dates, and trips to the park and walks around our nice, new little town. All things to help fill that need for community that is missing when you live "alone". It has definitely been an adjustment for all of us. The kids miss their friends. We miss our friends too. Saying goodbye to those whom we have grown to care about so deeply, is hard no matter if the move is down the road or hundreds or miles away. Because no matter what, distance means more work, more intentionality. But the relationships that have been developed in our community experience are not ones that will quickly fade. They are relationships that changed us, challenged us and made us better people. So we will be intentional. But it doesn't make saying good bye any easier. And no matter how many times we have had to do this over the last 7 years here, it never gets any easier.

But for now we are slowing getting used to this new set up, finding a balance between family and community, alone and together, reclusive and hospitable. I imagine by the time we really discover how to achieve that balance, it will be time to move on to something else. But I guess it's more about the journey, learning along the way. And I hope that we will all come away better and wiser than when we arrived.

2 is the new 4

And boy does our newly branded 2 year old think so! Our days are filled with "I do it", "No", "That way", "Mine" and many repeated attempts to redirect her from taking toys from Mason, using toys as weapons against Mason, throwing toys at Mason. In between all of this are moments of laughter, smiles, and silliness that make all the rest bearable of course. But our 2 year old definitely thinks thinks that she is 4, or older! She insists on picking out her clothes and dressing herself and doing just about everything else by herself as well.

So it was only fitting that for her second birthday she pick out the cake and theme of the party. Her world right now revolves around her brother, Elmo and Dora the Explorer. It was a toss up but I put my money on Elmo. I lost. She chose Dora! So on June 6th, a few days after her birthday Willow had a birthday party complete with her Dora cake and Dora party supplies. I still don't think that she got that the party was for her. But she had fun playing with her friends and eating her yummy cake and opening her presents.

On her actual birthday we celebrated at DisneyLand. We visited her favorite places and rides. Then we had a special birthday party with Mickey and Minnie where she got to decorate her own cake and take pictures with Mickey and Minnie after they sang to her. We all had a fun day celebrating her birthday at the happiest place on earth.

The Big 3-0

I guess a little late is better than not at all, right? So here is a tribute to Dave's big day and only about 2 months tardy! Dave joined the ranks of the rest of us cool people in March when he turned 30. After the great birthday surprise Dave pulled off for me on my 30th, I felt a lot of pressure to do something grand and memorable and unexpected. This was not an easy task. After several ideas and attempts at planning adventures, I finally settled on a plan. Since Dave loves outdoors, good food and scotch I figured a day of skiing at one our local mountains would be fun. We haven't been skiing at any SoCal mountains since we moved here- unbelievable, right? I knew he would love that. And once we finished a day on the slopes I made reservations for us at a local restaurant with an extensive selection of single malt scotches, Dave's drink of choice. So early Saturday morning we dropped the kids off at a friend's house and took off for the day to enjoy our child-free adventures!

On his actual birthday the kids wanted to surprise him with a birthday party. So while Dave was at work, Mason and I made him a chocolate chip cookie cake, picked out some balloons and set up the house for a party. When Dave walked in the door he was greeted by Mason yelling "Happy Birthday Daddy. We made you a surprise, it's a big cookie!" He still hasn't gotten the whole surprise thing down yet. We're working on it:) Here are a few pics from that party!



Here is the big balloon that Mason and Willow picked out for their dada.


The cookie cake before it was devoured.


Mason's chocolate hands after helping Dave eat his cake.


Dave enjoying some cookie with a nice big glass of RAW milk:)


Willow's green frosting goatee.

Easter vacation

Since it had been about a year and a half since we'd been back to the Midwest to visit our family, we thought Easter would be a good time to get back and say hello. To be honest, it mostly had to do with the fact that Dave had Spring Break and Willow would still be free to fly (it's expensive to fly with 2 kids now). We were able to spend a week in Michigan visiting both sides of the family briefly followed by a week in Wisconsin with my folks. All in all it was a great trip visiting with and meeting new cousins (nieces/nephews) and catching up with grandparents and siblings. Here are just a few pictures from our trip.


Mason and Willow with great grandma Martin.


The kids with their cousins on Easter day opening their baskets from Grandma and Grandpa Baughman.


The kids opening their basket Easter morning with us.


Mason warmed up quickly to my former roommate Kate and her youngest daughter after a much too quick breakfast.


Mason with his cousins after a fun morning at the park and local ice cream parlor, though I forgot to get pics with Aunt Karla who joined us for the fun times. Willow was feeling a little camera shy!


The kids playing at the lake with Grandma in Wisconsin.


Mason flying a cool Nasa space shuttle kite with Papa.

Fun with the Phone

Dave and I both got iPhones for each other for Christmas. Well, actually a few days before Christmas but who's counting? We've had a lot of fun playing with them, figuring out all the features and downloading new aps. You can definitely tell which parent is the one who stays home with the kids. I'll give you a hint. It is the one whose phone has an equal amount of apps for children as apps for adults. So now the kids are getting used to using the iPhone. But I have to say that my favorite feature is the nice camera. Our old phones had cameras but they were not as good. So, it has really come in handy in numerous situations. For example:



When you're so excited that it is your last day somewhere that you think you should capture a moment that has happened a million times before. Or...




On your Nth trip to an amusement park and forgot your camera, AGAIN. Or....



When you're at your neighbor's home for a children's Valentine's tea party and you're too lazy to run up the stairs to get your camera. Or....



When you're somewhere with your kids and you see someone famous but you don't want to look so obvious when trying to photograph them (Jennifer Garner with her daughter Violet). Or.....



You just want to document how much your significant other actually uses their iPhone!

Valentine's Day

Dave had a nice 4 day weekend and I had no births. It was a great way to spend Valentine's Day- together as a family. We're not usually into this holiday because it is so commercial and contrived in so many ways. But I think Dave and I were just both excited to go out on a date- without the kids as well as to have some down time to just do whatever we felt like doing. So we went out one night and celebrated a friend's birthday with her and her family and friends. And the rest of the weekend we had fun as a family. We made it down to the beach since it was about 85 degrees out this weekend. We let the kids play in the sand, walk the pier and then ate dinner at the end of the pier. They had so much fun. And so did we! On a side note, I am very excited that Mason seems to love the beach as much as I do. So now I have a beach buddy and Dave can't say no to both of us:)

Mason's first day of preschool

Today is Mason's first day of preschool. I can't believe the time has come. He has been wanting to go for months now and we weren't getting anywhere on the waiting lists. But we finally found a school where he could start immediately and that we liked. So we got all his school supplies and his uniform and he went today for the first day. He got all ready this morning and we drove over. As soon as we got in the door, he took off and started playing right away. He didn't even look back! I on the other hand balled as soon as we hit the door and all the way home. It may sound silly but he's my baby and has never spent a whole day away from me like this before. I was definitely more nervous than him! Willow and I stayed for about 15 minutes to watch him and talk with his teacher before kissing him goodbye. He hugged us and said see you later. He was fine! So we'll see him later this afternoon and see how it all went! He are a couple picks of him in his uniform and playing at school.

The Secret of Raw Milk

Last night I listened to a presentation by local organic farmer entitled "The secret of raw milk". And it is literally a secret because the FDA won't let him and don't want him to share this information. Did you know that numerous research studies have been done (one by Yale U that will be coming out soon) showing that raw milk is better for you than pasteurized milk?

Here's a tidbit: the current autism rate in the US is 1 in 90. That number was 1 in 2,500 just 18 years ago. And for the Amish in our midst, the current rate is 1 in 15,000. Maybe they know something we don't about the importance of living close to the land, minimizing chemicals, and trying to breathe smog free air?

It was an amazing description of the process of pasteurization and how it actually strips away or nullifies all of the good nutrients, immunities, etc that are in the milk. If you think about all the reasons that breast milk is the best thing for a baby and how artificial milk just can't quite meet up with what nature has created- it's kind of the same for cow's milk. Here are all these really good things in the milk in its natural state but we get rid of it all during pasteurization process. I have got some great info if anyone else is interested. I can email it to you as it's too long to put here. But something to think about....why mess with what God has created?

The Holiday Season

I guess that we have been so preoccupied with all the holiday festivities this season that we forgot to post anything new in a couple months. So I will just give a synopsis of what things looked like around here for the holidays. I promise to try to keep it short and sweet.

For Thanksgiving, we spent the day at our good friends, The Pace's. Another couple with kids around the same ages as ours joined us as well. WIth each of us bringing a few dishes to share, it made the cooking light for each family. We were all very thankful that we could eat an nice meal together outside in the sunshine.

Christmas Eve was spent with good friends as well. Our friends, the Pace's, were staying at a beautiful home in Altadena. With an amazing kitchen to cook in, I was happy to pitch in for the evening feast. With two other couples joining us, we decided that potluck was the way to go. However, with a beautiful professional kitchen, I was happy to come early and help cook. We enjoyed a nice spread of food, drinks and dessert. We also enjoyed fellowship with good friends.



In keeping with tradition, we let each kid pick out one present from under the tree to open up Christmas Eve. Mason chose a gift from Aunt Nichole and Uncle Aaron. Willow chose a gift from Gramma and Papa. Mason was excited to open his ornament and hang it on the tree. He really got into the whole decorating the tree this year. He is definitely my christmas spirit child. Willow opened up an owl pillow for her bed. She was quite excited and carried it around with her for quite a while that evening.







Christmas day was busy to say the least. We spent the morning opening gifts with the kids, which of course was their favorite part. They both really got into it. After opening each item, Mason would yell the name of the gift. "Wow, it a book!!!" or "Look Dad, it's a shirt!" He was very excited. Willow, unlike most 1 year olds, was also very excited about all her gifts. SHe would open them, with a little help from her big brother, and say "Ohhhhhh". I have to say that I think she got the most excited about her new shoes. Man, that girl loves her some shoes! Thanks AUnt Krysta- you got a "Ohhhhhh, shooooooooes!!!!"

We have spent a number of Christmas' now with our great friends and former neighbors and that was the plan again this year. They were bringing some turkey, carrots and dessert. Dave was going to grill a good sized, organic beef tenderloin and I was going to make green bean casserole, twice baked potatoes and salad. Well, after all the excitement of gift opening and eating a big breakfast, we all took a little nap. I was woken up by a message on my phone. It was the mother of one of my clients telling me that she was at the hospital and in labor- nearly 4 weeks early! I don't think any of us were prepared for a Christmas Day birth. So I rushed out the door to the hospital, leaving the kids and Christmas dinner in Dave's hands. Fortunately, Grandma Beatriz and the fam came over early for back up! The birth went well and really fast. Dinner was made- not quite like how I would have done it- but it was done and delicious. I actually made it home in time to eat dinner with everyone! I couldn't believe it. After stuffing ourselves with yummy food and cheesecake, we called it a night. The kids crashed and Dave and I cleaned up a bit. Overall, it was a pretty crazy day! We had a lot of fun though- and I didn't have to do any cooking:)


Opening gifts with Krystle.


Opening the stockings.


Willow trying out the new bongos.


Mason and Willow checking out the new kitchen from Grandma & Grandpa B.