Green Thumb

I definitely do NOT have a green thumb. I think my issue is that I forget to water. I always have really good intentions, yet somehow after a few days, plants take a backseat and I end up accidentally neglecting them. My husband on the other hand is really good at keeping things alive. I guess I do take care of the most important things....keeping the children and Adam fed and caring for them as well as the house.....but it is nice to look at lovely green things. As of recently Adam made a self watering planter box (which I call the "hydro box") that is so cool! It has a platform that the dirt sits on and a couple inches of water in the bottom so it can suck up water all the time/whenever it needs it. He put two tomato plants in there, and within a couple of weeks (no joke) that went from being about 5 inches tall to massive! (pictures below!) They actually got so big within a couple of days that they completely fell over and Adam had to tie them to the posts! I want twenty gazillion of these amazing boxes so that we can grow all of our own organic produce!
For Ruby's birthday we bought her a betta fish who, since Ruby didn't name, now goes by "Betta Boy." I'm so glad that Adam remembers to feed the little guy. He's actually really into it which is funny! He looked up how to take care of and maintain a healthy betta fish and has been using some of the techniques and advise. He makes sure to feed him twice a day and cleans his water frequently. He would probably already be dead if he were solely in my care.

Yes, my child is wearing Christmas p'j's in July....she's obsessed with them because they are cousin Ahvie's!

Adam's vine that he's very proud of. It doesn't have anywhere to go!

My Precious Girls

My days are filled with crying, poopy diapers, running up and down the stairs taking my two year old potty, nursing, keeping the kiddos entertained, snack time, juice, washing tiny dirty clothes & blankets, giggling tickle time, hugs, kisses, LOTS of spit up, coloring, smiling and all around fun. Who couldn't love these precious little faces?! 

26?

Am I really twenty-six years old??? It doesn't seem like I should be. Somehow in my brain I'm frozen in time at twenty-two. Maybe it's because that's when I got married. Since then things have gone by a lot faster! The fact that I've been married for almost four years & have two children makes me re think the whole twenty-two thing. Just think, five years ago I was hanging out with my other single girlfriends dreaming of the day I'd be married. At that  time I had no idea that five years later I'd be sitting at home on my birthday watching "Milo & Otis," eating gluten free, vegan, soy free cupcakes, nursing my two month old and finding great joy in watching my two year old slurp the milk out of her cereal bowl. How things change! Although it would be really fun to be going out tonight, I'm completely fine with just being with my girls and enjoying this day with my family! PLUS, I still have my birthday money to spend so at some point this week I get to go shopping :) :) :)

Two Years Old

My sweet and precious little Ruby is TWO YEARS OLD! I'm literally in disbelief that she has grown up so quickly. I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. It seem so unreal how fast the time goes by and it makes me want to enjoy every day I have with my girls in every stage they are in! Ruby has brought us more joy and laughs than I could have ever thought possible. She has such a vibrant personality! Everyone who comes in contact with her adores her and she seems to always be the life of the party. She has an attitude to go along with that pretty little face and sometimes it's really difficult to tell her "no" instead of just laughing at her antics. Ruby Lee, Happy Birthday!!!!!

Allister

I feel kind of bad because since we've had kids, our little dog has gotten pushed to the back burner. I bet most people don't even know we have a dog! He was such a cute little puppy! I wish he could have stayed tiny forever! He's three years old now and thinks he's the prince of the castle. He lives a leisurely life and sleeps a lot. Highlights of his day include Ruby eating (or dropping food) and the mail man or UPS guy delivering things. He also has a love/hate relationship with Ginger, the cat next door.

This is Allister now at 3.

The Beast

I think my husband's truck deserves a post unto itself. It's quite a manly mode of transportation which I have named "The Beast." You can hear him coming from a mile away. Well, maybe not quite that far, but when he's about two blocks from our house up PCH (before he ever turns onto our street!) I can hear him. I've also mistaken him for the UPS guy & a school bus. You have to understand that this truck coming into our lives was actually a really huge fight. I know, you're probably thinking "yeah right! They're so nice looking, they NEVER fight." I know, It's hard to believe, but you're mistaken. At least in this case. I had this lovely little Toyota Camry that I adored. It was kind of a mom car, but it was my first really nice car! (It was only a 2002, but my 1st and only other car before that was a 1991, so I'm sure you feel me on this!) I loved the way it drove, the gas mileage it got....it was perfect. I had Ruby while we owned that car & it was a great size for her & me. When I got pregnant with Quin, Adam told me that he wanted to me drive our other car (4runner) instead of the Camry because it was more family practical. I agreed that wasn't a bad idea, and when he mentioned selling the Camry I said "let's think about it & maybe later we can do it, but I'd like to wait." Two days later.....ahem (I'll just nicely graze over this portion of the story so as not to talk badly about my better half) my car was gone before I even knew what happened. Hints the most major fight of our entire relationship. Seriously. Yes, my emotions were high being pregnant and all, and maybe that's why it all seemed so dramatic and awful to me at the time. Now that we had the money from the car & I had the 4runner to drive, Adam was on a mission to find the ultimate truck for himself. He has a sort of infatuation with cars, so I knew this would be a process. In the end it took him about four months to find the truck of his dreams. When he came home with "The Beast" all I could do was look at him and it with raised eyebrows. "REALLY?" I said. "That's what you traded my Camry for?" I haven't said anything else about it since then, and honestly this truck has made him so happy. He's completely obsessed with it, and so is Ruby. All I hear about day in and day out is "daddy's truck." There has been screaming fits of hysterics over that truck, and her favorite thing in the world is sitting in there with him. It's kind of their little thing they do together. We all went on an hour long car ride to visit my sister & her family when I was about nine months pregnant & it made me have contractions. I thought it would put me into early labor! I have since determined that it's not a truck for the feint of heart. Without further adieu, here it is.

Light Sleepers

Since Ruby was about six months old, it's been IMPOSSIBLE to do anything out if it's her nap/bedtime. She is the lightest little sleeper and will not fall asleep anywhere but her own bed and get's woken up by the tiniest noise. Most kids seem to be pretty good about that, but with her I literally have always had to plan to be home or else she just won't sleep! I could count the amount of times she has fallen asleep while we were holding her. I see friends pictures of their children falling asleep in all sorts of places in all sorts of positions and I laugh because Ruby would never do that! I thought maybe it was just because she is our first. I figured maybe we had been too quiet around her while she was a baby or something.....that is until we had Quin. She is quite possibly worse than Ruby! Let me tell you, it's definitely not quiet around here now with a two year old running around! Therefore, I guess we just produce light sleepers. Here is one rare picture of Ruby (who had not taken a nap that day) falling asleep in the living room while watching a movie.

Block Party

Yesterday was a blast! Ruby never stopped moving the entire time we were there and had the time of her life. She is old enough now that events are fun for her and it makes our time there so much more enjoyable! I really never wanted Ruby to grow up, but now I'm realizing how every stage is going to be super exiting. You should have seen her face when Aaron lit off little fireworks for the kids. I thought she would be so incredibly tired by the time we got in the car that she would crash out. We didn't get home until 9:30, put her to bed right away and she wouldn't go to sleep!!! I don't think she was out until 10:30. Must have had to much sugar and excitement. 

Happy 4th!

The fourth of July may just be my favorite Holiday, only second to Christmas. (No competing with Jesus!) I love the hot weather, the festivity, food, friends, family and fireworks. I always get a bit nostalgic on the fourth of July because it's a holiday that growing up I always spent at my grandma's house. It's been 10 years since she passed away, but I still remember how fun it was to go swimming all day at her pool and then going to the park by the Naval Base to watch the fireworks show. Magical! Another very memorable fourth included a friend lighting off a firework that didn't quite make it on the path it was intended to go. It shot off but immediately circled around only a couple feet off the ground and came RIGHT for me. I dove off my lawn chair and hit the ground face first. Oh, the taste of grass and dirt.
The past two years were extremely uneventful since in 2009 I was HUGE, pregnant and miserable and expecting to go into labor at any second. I didn't even leave my house except to take a walk and immediately regretted it when I realized how hot and crowded it was by the beach. Last year we hung out at my parent's house and Ruby was still a baby!  This year we're on the cusp of Ruby's second birthday & little Quin is just about two months old! We're excited to be going to our friend's gigantic block party down by the beach. A few of them have kids now, so it will be lots of fun! My best friend Gina has a little boy just a year and a half older than Ruby & a baby girl who is three weeks younger than Quin. So excited for Ruby to experience this wonderful holiday & to hang out with great friends. We're very thankful for our independence and so blessed to live somewhere that we are free!
I'll be posting picture of our festivities soon!

Quin Elizabeth

Quin Elizabeth is the newest addition to our family, and one who has been quite a presence in our lives! My pregnancy with her was so easy that I was CONVINCED it had to be a boy! When they told me SHE was a girl, I didn't believe it. I wanted Ruby to have a sister so badly, and I was very excited! I had this feeling that God gave me an easy pregnancy because the baby was going to be hard. I was definitely right! She is now 8 1/2 weeks old and we're finally starting to get the swing of things around here with her! She is a precious little thing and so incredibly beautiful, she's just had a rough few weeks with food sensitivity and acid reflux! I went on a special diet for her and have eliminated gluten, wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, coffee & nuts. Her tummy is doing much better. I can't wait to see what her little personality will be like as she grows. She is getting SO chunky and delicious and all I want to do is squeeze and kiss her. She is starting to smile at us when we talk to her, and I'm so in love. Ruby adores her beyond belief and it's been so fun watching Ruby love on her. I got the awesome privilege of having Quin in a birthing center. We had the most amazing experience there & I'm so happy that I got to have such a "relaxed" birth. I'm not a hippie or anything, I just wanted to have unmedicated births and go home right away after! I had Ruby in a hospital naturally, but still ended up having lots of things I didn't like happen and it all sort of ended up not being a good experience for me and Adam. After Quin's birth I told Adam I thought two kids was plenty.  Although I really don't want to be pregnant ever again, I've decided that I love my girls so much that I do indeed want more. Not to mention my husband desperately wants to have a boy. Do NOT in any way get me wrong, his girls are his WORLD. He wouldn't trade them for a million boys, but he does want to eventually have a boy! Someone to throw the football with. I laugh at him and tell him that even if we have a boy he'll probably end up wanting to be a scientist and have no interest in sports. Ruby will probably be his little surfer girl who plays catch with him. You can already tell that Quin is dramatic and sensitive. I'm a little afraid of her at two. And at sixteen. So for now I'll enjoy her sweet little baby self and love every second of it!