Almost Halloween

This weekend was just what the doctor ordered. Patty got off early on Friday, so we a little date night just the three of us. We went out to dinner and walked around 2nd street (like State street, just smaller). It was so awesome to just have a moment to catch up with each other. Patrick has been working such long hours, that we cherish anytime we can.

Saturday we drove up to Santa Barbara for our nephew's (Auggie-dawg) birthday. It was soooo nice to see my family, even if it was a short visit. They always have such positive energy and make you feel good. That night we had a Halloween party to attend. As you can see by the picture we went as a Trojan warrior and Helen of Troy. Man I love dressing up (I'm sure everyone is so sick of my Halloween Spirit. I just can't help it. If it involves costumes, wigs and candy I go crazy!!). It was so fun to see our friends and hangout even though we were dying on the inside because it was so past our bedtime :) Right before we left, my friend Melissa pulled me on to the trampoline. Let me tell you I was one jump away from wetting my pants. You just can't help but laugh on those things. So the lesson of the days is...if you are feeling blue, find a trampoline quick!!

Palm Springs

This weekend Pat was in a good friend's wedding in Palm Springs.  So we packed everything (including my sister and her husband) but the kitchen sink and headed out there.  Pat looked super handsome in his tux, Noe loved hanging at the pool and she loved hanging with Auntie Kim and Uncle Craig.  They watched her while we were at the wedding.  They took her to listen to some live music and she absolutely loved it!  I guess she was crawling around with all the kids and having a blast.  When we got home her outfit was filthy, but she was happy as a clam.

Amidst all the wedding chaos, Auntie Kim still found time to teach Noe all about the importance of lipgloss.

Noe got a ton of hand-me-downs from her cousin Mandy.  So I couldn't resist putting her in this outfit with some funny socks.

My good friend Cary was down from SF a couple of weeks ago and we finally got to hang out for a bit.  We visited the Kettle and chowed with Noe and Cary's boyfriend.  There's nothing better than the Kettle and good friends.

Can you tell that Noe loves Halloween as much as her Mama does??

I just wanna dance!

Okay...I had my first performance since last April, and it was soooooooo fun!! I was so nervous and a little shaky in the beginning, but overall I had a blast. This is our company MYO. Lexi, the one hanging from the stairs, performed on the fabric above us and was amazing! You forget how much you love something when you've been away for awhile, but man does it feel good when you return.
Thank goodness for Patty. He had Noe all night (with the help of Lolo). Poor little thing really didn't nap at all that day and was up when I got home at 11. Yikes!!

Lolo and morning rituals

Noe loves her visits from Lolo. It's great now that he has retired, because we get to see him so much more. He comes over on the weekends and sometimes we make "surprise" visits to his house during the week. I think you can see where she gets her cheeks and hairline. :)

Boy are we in trouble. She already loves Daddy's wallet. Help!!

Today Noe started to use her spoon by herself. I'd dip her spoon in her oatmeal, and then she would take it and put it in her mouth. It seems like our little booger is doing something new everyday. Check out the still of her at the end of the video. It cracks me up!

Enjoy every moment!!

Noelani is all growns up!

So when you have kids everyone tells you time flies by, but you never really understand how fast it will fly by. I swear it was just yesterday that Noe was just a little swaddled peanut. Now she is crawling around, investigating everything. She's pulling herself up on things and grabbing at anything she can get her hands on. We find her at 3 am standing in her crib yelling, "dat, dat" (her version of dad) and "mama". It just warms your heart so much that you forget it's 3 am. :)

We've started the brainwashing early..."you must like surfing ~ you must like surfing". :) Watch her love to play chess and never want to step foot on the sand. Oh well, we'll just have to learn how to play chess!














So I picked Noe up early today from daycare and decided it was finally time for some good old fashioned swinging! She had a great time and we even went down the slide. You forget how much fun the park is for kids. You can tell she's related to Grandma Sue ~ she's always closing her eyes during pictures.
This is her mad dog look. She breaks this out when someone tries to take her swing!!

My wish for you is to have a WONDERFUL, relaxing weekend. Laugh a lot and don't sweat the small stuff!!

A teething kind of weekend

It was my Dad's birthday this weekend, so we headed up to Lompoc to help him celebrate. On the way up, Patrick stopped off at Patagonia for a possible freelance opportunity. His meeting went well, and we are all crossing our fingers and our toes for him. He would love to work for a company like Patagonia, and I would love to move closer to the fam. So it's sort of a win/win.

Anyway, poor Noe had a heck of a weekend. She's still teething like a mad woman and wouldn't sleep at all. So I have to say thank you to my family for just rolling with the punches. They've been through this already and weren't even phased by all the tears. Patrick and I on the other hand are total first time parents. Sweating, rocking her, holding her non-stop, you know the deal. So a big "I love you" to all of the family. Thanks for helping us out!!

happy birthday Papa Ray!
Sorry for all the chaos Dad, but as Marshall pointed out, "you helped
create all this chaos!"

We thought Noe would look awesome as a peacock. She wasn't too sure about
this costume, and it was really too heavy for her to hold up.
So here's her "almost" first Halloween costume. Poor little thing was totally sweating. Bad mama.

And this is why we have children...for this beautiful innocence.
We are so blessed.