Sweatin' to the Oldies: A beginner yoga class with Faye

First, you must have the proper attire & gear. Leggings, sweat band, mirror, yoga mat. Two, give your self a pep talk. Say "I am beautiful, I will have a good work-out today."

Three, don't forget to stretch. Let's start with some sun-salutations.

Warrior three.

Happy baby pose.
Half lotus pose.
And let's end with a nice easy relaxing Corpse pose.
Thanks, Everyone! Come back next time!

5 months!!!

holy cow you are 5 months old!
you are wearing 6-9 month size clothes- your poor 3-6 month size only fit for, i think, 3 weeks. maybe 2? you are growing so fast! the only thing that ISN'T, tho', are your feet! you FINALLY grew out of your tiny newborn shoes last week. sad. day. they were so tiny & teeny. you got daddy's short fat feet.

you can now arch your back so strongly you get out of the bumbo. also sad day. sitting happily (with help) may be a thing of the past! you don't seem to like to sit- you'd rather stand. all. the. time. you think you are so big. i secretly LOVE putting you in your high chair bc it makes you look so small. :)

you stand on your own if we lean you up against the ottoman. your johhny jumper & exosaucer are your BFF. if you think you are standing on your own & jumping around you are happy as can be. i left you in the saucer the other day for... like and hour & 15 min... oops! but you were playing so nicely & so happy & looking at the cute baby in mirror! i got so much done! :)

you are eating food like a champ- rice cereal is apparently very delicious & filling. you definitely know what food & bowls & spoons & drinks are. anytime we are eating or drinking (especially out of a bottle, bowl or spoon) you reeeeach your hands out looking for a taste!!

you roll-roll-roll all night long- every time i go to check on you, you are in another crazy position. you turn 180 degrees in the crib & turn half your body & roll halfway. sometimes you even put one leg up on the side of the crib. looks like you got daddy's inability to sleep still. uh oh!

basically you are still a happy little person. calm, observant. you don't put on a show for anyone. with a special familiar few you will talk-talk-talk & smile & play, but for everyone else you just like to sit & watch. you will giggle and laugh but only for mom & dad.
we love you so!what a joy is it to have your calm happy little spirit in our home!

feet are delicious!

one thing that sustains us through is how much we absolutely LOVE our baby. what's not to love about 15 pounds of pure wiggly, smiley, perfect little girl!? her sweet attitude & calm nature is such a blessing- she just likes to chill and take in everything around her. i hope she stays such a sweet little person!! our Father in Heaven is so good to us. :)

my best friend Dad

does your dad lay on your play mat and play with you? welp, mine does!

conclusion: she loved it

Happy 4th of July!!

this 4th was one of the best by FAR. we met friends at the parade, played at the beach, rested, relaxed, ate more than was good for us, rode bikes, walked the stroller, and watched amazing fireworks. THANK YOU to the araves and dinsbachs- it was SO WONDERFUL!! one of the best holidays we've had!

cousins!!

aksel (aka the aks-man!) and faye are 10 days apart. faye was supposed to come first but apparently lost the arm wrestle on the other side- he beat her by 10 days!
i love them. they are so cute. he was born less than 5 pounds, but is quickly catching up! she is using her height to her advantage- she was eating his shirt, knocking him over- i'm sure he'll pay her back when they are 15. and as if eating her own hands wasn't entertainment enough- she tried his! delicious!

leggo of my hand!

few things i learned today

1. there were at least 3 emergencies requiring the fire station near our house to be put into action this afternoon.
2. faye is terrified of the sound of sirens waking her up. ter. ri. fied.
3. but mama can make it all better with an afternoon snack- she loves cherries!

4 month stats

once there was a baby, baby, baby
once there was a baby small, small, small.
she grew like a weed, weed, weed
she grew like a weed, tall, tall, tall!26.5 inches long- 98% i wasn't kidding when i keep telling people she's really tall!
14 lbs exactly- 54%
16.75 inch head circumference- 87%

welp. big head, long legs, skinny belly! I'm pretty sure the fat rolls that were starting at 1 month old got stretched out- ne'er to be seen again! it's nice to know i wasn't imagining all her dresses looking MIGHTY short! tall & skinny- watch out when she's 15! eek!

with brad's new job he works basically in the afternoons & evenings. sometimes he comes home in time to see her before she goes to bed... but i put her to bed at 8:30 and most days he will miss her... poor daddy. he's always so sad when he comes home and she's already out! so every morning he gets her out of bed. always. he jumps up and runs to get her as soon as its 6:30 and she starts to squeek! it's so cute. he spends his mornings with her & i spend nights. she is lucky to have such a great dad who can't wait to hold her.

we went to see midnight in paris on friday with friends (btw totally PG and wonderful!!) & we got her all ready for bed & ready to sleep (usually she'll fall asleep in her seat if she's tired) but NOPE! she sat quietly on my lap the WHOLE MOVIE. sitting up & attentive. watching the movie. she had to know what was going on! she was so entertained she didn't even cry or fuss or anything. how does it get better than that??

anyway, i love her. we really count our blessings because i know she is a dream- our next kid will probably be a holy terror! :)

4 months!

my little Faye is 4 months old!! you are such a sweet, little thing. most of the time you are MELLOW YELLOW. you will sit in your bumbo for half an hour just hanging out watching- you just want to be in the know! you smile easily for old men, your parents and people you know, but if you don't know them, you have to warm up. that's okay, because you are pretty friendly and like to observe. you wake up happy and smile SO BIG at us- it's my favorite time of day!

you like to lay on your play mat- you've gotten pretty good at hitting the toys with your arms and legs. legs especially- it's weird, you seem to reach for everything with your feet first. in fact, if anything is anywhere even remotely near your feet you KICK it. hard. including your parents!

you haven't quite rolled over yet, but you sure spin around, wiggle wiggle and turn your whole body like a snake. you manage to move around the floor already, not sure how you get from here to there!
you are already too tall for some of your 3-6 month size clothes- how did THAT happen? i swear one week a dress is at your ankles and the next it's above your knees! growing growing all day long!
you make us so happy and it's such a pleasure to be your mama! your babysitter can't get enough of you and your family and many "aunties and uncles" can't either! its because you are so good and calm & happy. we love you! I can't believe you are so big!

Happy Father's Day, Brad!!!

Exactly one year ago today we found out Faye was coming to our home. June 19th, 2010. What a CRAZY, happy, scary, joyous, momentous day that was!! We laughed and cried. And couldn't stop smiling and saying "WE'RE GOING TO BE PARENTS!!" Insanity. How we love this little girl- we are so glad she came to be with our family!

Brad is such a sweet daddy. He loves her SOO much. They are best buddies. I hope they always will be. He is tender and caring and happy and so concerned for her welfare- I couldn't wish for anything better!! For Father's Day last year I gave him a stick I peed on- SURPRISE! This year it was a dark Chocolate Peanut Butter cup. Which is better? haha

Happy Father's Day Brad, you wonderful man, you! We love you!! :)She's so happy with her daddy. Love it.

nakedness

Gotta teach 'em young!

reading with daddy, helping him prepare his lesson for church. so cute. hilarious.

Ruby's!

A couple Saturdays ago we went to Ruby's on the Balboa pier for breakfast! It was a beautiful overcast morning, not too cold. We sat inside and watched the fishermen off the pier. Ate cinnamon roll french toast & omelets. DELICIOUS! Love that place. There is one within walking distance of our house, but we wanted to wanted the pier & enjoy the ocean. :)

3 Months

Hello! I am Faye & three months old! I am a happy, hilarious little person! I like to jabjabjab all day long. Seriously my parents think they are in big trouble- I may not stop talking for the rest of FOREVER. I like to hold my hands and sit in my bumbo.
I talk and smile at that cute baby in the mirror(she has the cutest smile & fat cheeks!) and I like to hit the hanging toys with my hands (most of the time its a lovely accident!) and like to stare and smile at my mommy & daddy. I definitely know who they are because I sometimes cry at strangers and try to avoid looking at them.My face lights up SO BIG when mommy & daddy come get me in the mornings or after my naps. Sometimes I just lay in my bed when I wake up & start to talk at my bedding. I weigh in at almost 14 pounds but I don't think I'm getting fatter- just loooong. (Why do they call babies long? We're tall!)
I LOVE to stand up and sit and look around. I hate being cuddled or faced to someone's shoulder when there is stuff going on. I wanna be in the know. :)Mamma's note: Please excuse my terrible picture taking... sigh. Seriously tho this baby is sooo sweet. She is the best ever. We love her so much!

happy easter!

family pictures from easter.

the awesomeness of faye's expressions in each picture makes me giggle.

if this is how they turn out NOW... imagine when she is 13!

i think she is thinking "HMPF. MORE pictures?"

now she is thinking " Wait, i forgot what i'm doing.. i'm bored. or suprised.. i can't decide."

fun with photobooth: mommy & faye

something delicious

i don't cook very well.. thus i don't cook very often. i tend to stick with the ten things i know and just go with that.
BUT i deep inside like to try new things and every once and a while i get up the courage (and the desire to go to the grocery store) and the outcome usually looks like THIS:
Grilled Eggplant with Ricotta & Tomato Basil Relish

i have no idea if i've ever eaten eggplant before- but i'm definitely a fan now!i loved the grilled tomatoes- but i used regular tomatoes off the vine & they were a bit too liquidy. i added a simple green salad with balsamic vinegar. it felt super healthy and was SO GOOD. and easy.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/grilled-eggplant-with-fresh-ricotta-and-grilled-tomato-basil-relish-recipe/index.html