Some of the princess clan

Some of the princess clan, originally uploaded by mdwinell.

Lily had a blast at the FSA Halloween party. What fun to reunite with her little friends and trick or treat room to room. She really loved it! There were like 400 princesses at school that day! How humbling to be in the company of royalty!

Pumpkin Farm Obsession

DSC01107, originally uploaded by mdwinell.

Some might say I am rather obsessed with going to a REAL pumpkin farm to buy my pumpkin. Something doesn't seem right about buying a pumpkin at the local mall parking lot or old abandoned gas station.

Growing up in Pennsylvania, I have the absolute best memories of fall. The color of the leaves, the crisp air and most of all going to the pumpkin patch. We always went to a pumpkin farm with an old "haunted" barn and a hay maze. Usually this was followed by handmade hot apple cider and a tractor pulled hayride.

This year I was determined to have the experience so I dragged the kids and my Mother-in-Law to Orange County to Tanaka Farms. I am sure it is a nice place and all, but it was just before Halloween and I was horrified at how crowded and chaotic and expensive it all was. I ended up leaving pumpkinless after the kids flipped out from the stress and chaos, and Gail and I went home needing a glass of wine. It was THAT kind of day.

I got a super deal on my pumpkins at Target btw. No stress!

Father's Day 2009

DSC01096, originally uploaded by mdwinell.

We had a really nice (kicked back!) Father's Day this year. We made Daddy his favorite (easy) Breakfast - Everything Bagel w/ cream cheese, lox, onions & capers. Then we visited the South Coast Botanic Garden. We had a little picnic, but were a little disappointed to learn that the designated picnic space is in an area adjacent to (noisy) Crenshaw and the entrance to the park. Boo! Owen kept creeping & wandering rather close to the driveway/entrance which took away from out picnic enjoyment. Oh well! Gail had told me how wonderful it was to have a picnic inside the park, but they no longer apparently allow that. The kids really liked the Children's Garden and I was really impressed with the place. How great to have a treasure like that so close to us!

After the garden visit, we quickly realized the kids were exhausted so we decided to make a stop at Grandma's & Grandpa's to nap them. Originally we had planned on just napping Owen and taking Lily to see her first movie, but we did some research and realized that UP probably would not be appropriate. So Grandpa Renny and Dar ended up going to see Star Trek. They really liked it!

We met them up at the Promenade Marmalade's and had a lovely Mojito - infused dinner. A great day for Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa & kids alike! And NO DISHES or mess! I think maybe we should use this day as a model for Mother's day as well next time. HINT HINT!

Naomi's 4th Bday Party

Magic, originally uploaded by mdwinell.

Lily's friend Naomi had her 4th Birthday at Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach. This was a great party! Owen stayed home with Daddy to take a nap so it was nice to not have to worry that he was going to lose it at any moment.

Lily really enjoyed the treasure hunt and magician. She loves spending time with her school friends! And it was great for me as well to share a bit conversation with some adult friends ;-)

look papa i can play golf too!

look papa i can play golf too!, originally uploaded by mdwinell.

Lily has a new-found love of golf. I took her and Owen to Alondra to practice. She really gets into it! Until Owen steals the "hole" and runs away with it. Then it turns into a wrestling match instead. Oy!

The Visual ABCs...

I finally have made a breakthrough in what Lily responds to in learning the alphabet. She needs a visual reference to make the connection. There are a few we are struggling on coming up with good visuals for though...

If you can think of anything let me know!

A- this one she gets because it is the first letter of the alphabet. It stands for Alligator and Apple.

B - This one looks like a beehive, so we go BBBBBZZZZ into one of the holes of the letter. She gets this usually, but sometimes says Z instead of B because of the buzzzzzzzzzzzing sound.

C- We make the shape C with our hands like goggles & then she says I seeeeeee you! Letter C! She always get this one right now, as it was one of the first we came up with a visual for.

D - She gets this one right because it is Daddy Darren's favorite letter!

E - This one is tough sometimes for her. The best I could come up with is that it has 2 tusks and a trunk...she gets Elephant from that, But the "E" in elephant isnt a strong E sound, so sometimes it is a stretch for her to get E from elephant

F - She was getting this confused with E in the beginning, so we came up that it was missing a FOOT. She gets F for foot.

G - This one was getting confused with Q, O, and C at first...the back of the Eric Carle alphabet cards have a giraffe, so for some reason saying "It has a looooooong neck like a giraffe" helps her to get G from it. She still says "It has a loooooooong neck, G!"

H - We struggle with this one right now. When I can't think of a visual I try and attach it to a name. This is her friends Hana and Henry's FAVORITE letter. That doesn't work as well though. Daddy says maybe we could do it looks like a HEADBOARD. So far that isn't sticking though. Any suggestions?!

I - This one is in her name, but she is having a hard time with it, especially when they show it without the cross line at the top and bottom. Any suggestions?!

J - We haven't gotten to this one yet. Any suggestions?!

K - This is another K is for cousin Kailie. Looking for a better reference...Any suggestions?!

L - She knew this one all ready from being in her name

M - This is Mommy's favorite letter for Mommy and Miriam. She always gets this one right.

N - This is Nana and Natalie's favorite letter. She is starting to get this one right.

O - O looks like Owen's BIG round head. LOL. She never got this wrong again after that reference.

P - She knew this one...P is for Peacock!

Q - Still struggles with this sometimes. Q is for Queen! (like her Learning Tee - thanks ANG! She loves it!) and also Q-bert which I showed her on Google images. Before her time, but I explained that it was Daddy & Mommy's favorite game. She wants us to buy Q-bert for PS3 now. Hahah :-P

R - Need suggestions...Right now all I have is R is for Rabbit, which she gets sometimes.

S - It looks like what??? A snake!! A snake goes SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Sometimes she says Z instead of S though.

T - This one looks like a table. What do we drink on the table? TEA! She always gets this...she still says "It's a T Table!!"

U - Need suggestions...We haven't gotten to this one yet. Looks like umbrella maybe?

V - I make the peacesign and sometimes she just knows that is a V, but sometimes she doesn't get it

W - She knows this from repetition.

X - X marks the spot says the pirate!

Y - Hands up like YMCA. Disco style! She usually gets it, since it is in her name.

Z - It looks like a zipper. ZIP ZIP ZIP. She gets this one, although confuses with S on occasion.

One strange thing is that she spelled her name right when she was younger, but then once she started getting introduced to learning the alphabet she began saying LYLY or LYLI. I think she was just overwhelmed by all of the letters. She writes it out of order now too. I am hoping that once she learns all of her letters and feels confident in them, she will start realizing they need to be written in the proper order...

Last night we went over how to spell LILY again. She knows it is L - something - L - something. So she would say L, and then I would point to my eye (I), then she knew it was L again, and then I would shrug and say gesture "Why?" (Y). She said it over and over and now she seems to be spelling it right.

It is amazing to me (as a non-teacher) how being a little creative with the learning can go a long way! Just though I'd share what has finally been working for us...

All of the teachers out are probably snickering at me in my new-found discovery. Well DUH! Just zip it Mom and Nat because I snicker and cringe a little when you choose Brush Script or Comic Sans to caption your Ceiva photos. So there!!! :-) LOL.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY PAPA/DAD!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Stink eye!

Stink eye!, originally uploaded by mdwinell.

If looks could kill...Lily has mastered the 2 year old bratty-brat routine. Here I caught one of her evil glances on Easter Day. She loves to say, "Mama, you're being MEAN!" "Beeee nice!!!" when scolded. We are in trouble!

Happy Birthday, Nana!

The PV Farmer's Market

I've got snowcones in my Tummy...so yummy, so yummy!, originally uploaded by mdwinell.

Taking advantage of the fact that we had a sleepover night this past weekend, Gail and I decided to take the girls...and Owen...to the Farmer's Market up at Penninsula Center. We bought some lovely asparagus, cauliflower, and strawberries. There also was a stand with fantastic Greek stuff. We bought some dolmas, baklava, spanakopita, hummus, and pita. It was fabulous! I think Greek food (minus the tomatoes) is my favorite food ever.

Here is a photo of Kailie, Lily and Taylor enjoying their Rainbow Sno-cones. At the very end we had a Pinkberry. Yes, pinkberry AND sno-cones. Oh so good!

Lily swings...

Santa Claus...

It is amazing what kids remember. I just started thinking about this yesterday when I bravely decided to take Lily (after-daycare, sans-nap) AND Owen to Del Amo Mall. In desperation for what I imagined was to come, I told Lily that if she was good the entire time at the mall, I would let her have ice cream. She actually was quite good the whole time, but we ran out of time to get some at the mall. So we drove all the way home and as we pulled up to the house she says, "Where's Daddy...is he getting me my ice cream???"

Also, through the holidays there were 2 billboards on our normal route home from Grandma and Grandpa's. They were Coca-Cola billboards with the iconic Santa drinking a Coca-Cola bottle.

Lily loved these billboards. Every time we would drive by she'd say something like, "SANTA!!! He's drinking his juice!!!" or "Be careful Santa, don't spill it!!!". The day they took those billboards down was a sad one for her. She STILL says "Where's SANTA?!??!" every time we drive by those exact billboards.

Hot 'n Tot Field Trip...

We met Grandma and Renny at the Hot 'n Tot in Lomita...


I have driven past it a zillion times and the cool retro sign caught my attention. Gail says her mom used to go there years ago. Renny had never been and Darren is always down for a good breakfast. We were impressed!

The coffee was quite good, and the hashbrowns were great. The portions were huge. Lily especially liked the yellow lollipop that came with her french toast. She was also very excited that her "school" was right across the street.

Lily is a trip...

Just got this IM from Darren:

Darren says:
Lily was hilarious this morning...we smelled a skunk that got hit by a car by Harbor Park and she kept saying "Eeewww....stinky skunk...that's gross" and then she told Alicia (her teacher) when we walked into class.

She really is starting to say some hilarious stuff.

Lily's Sun Dance...

This one is for you Nana & Papa...

Owen in his saucer...

Supadupabowl

Today was the superbowl. I couldn't quite tell you what happened during the game...except that Lily played dress-up, Owen spit up about 5 times, and our guests were well-fed. To me, that's a good party! I think the Giants won. LOL.

Anyhow, we had a fun time. Thanks Gail and Renny for hanging with us. Lily was oh-so-excited to have a party. When we were at Ralphs, she stopped each passerby and announced that we were having a party. On a serious sidenote, the carts at Ralphs are way too small. It's quite annoying to put an infant in the actual cart and a toddler in the front and barely be able to fit a pack of gum in the friggin cart. I had to take the bagger up on the "help" that they offer to get to the car, or else I'd be pushing with one hand and dragging a 24 pack of Diet Pepsi behind me. Oy!

Lily is just cracking me up daily at this point. She is so into DORA, and the Reindeer song, and Target. She also is getting great at brushing her teeth and she loves her "lipstick" which is actually chapstick. Today she danced and danced with me when I put Abbey Road on the stereo. She absolutely was obsessed with "Here Comes The Sun". She also dug the Beach Boys and Harry Belafonte.

2 year olds get a bad rap. What a fun age this is. It has its highs and lows for sure, but this age can sure be alot of fun!

Our dramatic arrival in Ohio...

Mama and Lily, originally uploaded by mdwinell.

Making it to Ohio was quite the accomplishment after it seemed that everything that could possibly go wrong - did! Most of our travel woes started once we arrived in Dallas to switch flights. The original connecting flight was cancelled just before boarding due to mechanical issues. We were told to wait in line for rebooking and Lily was just hanging on by a thread. She was on antibiotics and lets just say I had to change her diaper every 30 minutes or so. She was also exhausted but unable to take a nap. So she decided to entertain herself by rolling on the carpet in the pathway of masses of people trying to hurry to their terminal with giant suitcases on wheels. When I attempted to pick her up to stop her from tripping people, she completely lost it and threw a tantrum, smacking me clear across the face. Yes, in front of all of the people in line waiting for a flight reassignment. After the stress of flight #1 (the highlight being Lily spilling a full cup of apple juice in the lap of my neighbor - who was not amused) I cracked. Blame it on pregnancy hormones or just plain embarassment and frustration. I don't know. But there we stood, the two of us crying. At some point 2 American Airline employees whisked us away to reassign our tickets privately. And a kind older woman offered me a tissue and entertained Lily. Thank you to you wherever you are!

We waited at yet another terminal for the new flight, as we watched the cops escort some guy who ran onto a flight without a ticket and entered the cockpit. Just more drama to add to the already dramatic day. We stood in line to board at last and just as they were about to call the first section, they announced that all runways were closed due to the inclement weather. I just couldn't believe it.

I decided we needed to sit and regroup and relax at Chili's before I had a nervous breakdown. I ordered us lunch and we watched the empty runway. I counted my inventory of diapers and I was down to 2 from the 9 I had packed that morning. At this point I also started accepting the fact that I might be spending the night in Dallas. I was not in a happy place. Just as we were finishing lunch I noticed 2 planes taking off. I paid the check quickly and returned to the gate. The gate had been reassigned once again, so I ran to the end of the corridor to check the departures screen dragging Lily behind me. My flight had been moved to the complete opposite side of the airport and was scheduled to leave at 6:30. I looked at the clock and it read 6:34. I thought I had better make a go of it just in case the departure was delayed, so I sprinted to the tram and hopped on with Lily and my 2 giant carryons in tow. Just as the tram came to my terminal, the strap to my bag snapped and it went flying. The automatic doors started to shut before I could get to them and I yelled, "HOLD THE DOOOOOOOOOOR!" It was like something from a movie.

I dragged the bag on the floor behind me and picked Lily up to go down the elevator. I arrived at the gate, which had a long line and a screen that still read Cincinnati. Ahh, I thought...I've made it! A woman who had been waiting with me at the other gate must have recognized me and she approached me to ask, "Are you trying to make the flight to Cincinnati!?" and I said yes. She told me that the flight was just about to take off and I had better get up to the front of the line. So I charged ahead, and in desperation yelled "I NEED TO MAKE THAT FLIGHT!" The man said there was ONE seat left but no carry-on bags could go on at this point. I told the guy, whatever it takes to get me to Ohio tonight, I'll do it. I wasn't really thinking about the fact that all of Lily's diapers, food, toys, etc. were in those bags, but whatever! Let them all suffer.

We made it on and somehow Lily instantly fell asleep and stayed that way most of the flight. I also had the good grace of being seated next to a very nice Air Force gentleman who educated me the entire way to Ohio on his training and joining the military. I needed that so bad, because the 2 hour flight went by so fast that I could hardly believe we had made it so quickly. My mom felt mercy on me and met me in the baggage claim at 11 pm at night. We grabbed my luggage and went to catch the Enterprise shuttle, when I suddenly realized that I was missing the carseat I had checked at the gate. I ran back into check again, but there was no carseat to be found anywhere. When I told the Enterprise shuttle driver that I would need to get off to wait in line at baggage claim, he told me that the Car Rental office was about to close. So we ended up renting our car and then returning to the Baggage Claim. Still no seat! The guy there looked it up, but it was not listed in the computer. He referred me to the 1-800 number.

The only thing I could think of was to run to a 24-hour WAL-MART to buy Lily a new carseat. I asked the guy for directions and my Mom and I ended up roaming the Kentucky hillsides looking for the WAL-MART cursing out the guy for his less-than-fabulous directions. Lily sat in the back in a lap-belt with Nana by her side. This made me very nervous. We finally got through to my Aunt Jan who gave us accurate directions and we pulled up to WAL-MART at about 12:30 in the morning. We walked out with the new carseat that we now had to figure out how to assemble. My brain was fried, but somehow with the help of my mom(who had just driven 11 hours from Pennsylvania and was also fried) we got that thing put together and anchored. We arrived at Aunt Jan and Uncle Lee's around 1 am where she served us a lovely dinner - or breakfast i spose! We still had to check into the hotel and all, so we didn't get to bed until about 3 or 3:30.

And all I can say is that was an extra good night's sleep!

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th!, originally uploaded by mdwinell.

We had a great time at Cousin Todd's and Michelle's BBQ celebrating 4th of July. Lily sported a matching patriotic outfit to her dolly friend. It was wonderful being reunited with family and Lily met many of my side of the family for the first time. She really enjoyed the backyard swingset and blowing bubbles with the kids.

See more of our July 4th photos here: Flickr Album

Lily hangs with Maam-maw

Lily hangs with Maam-maw, originally uploaded by mdwinell.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Lily with Grandma Gail taken in King's Canyon.