October seems to be the busiest month for children's activites.  There are so many halloween parties and harvest festivals there is no way we could fit them all in.  This past Sunday MOMS club had their Halloween party at our house.  I did learn that I will never again be able to host a Halloween party if I plan on making the girls costumes.  I was so stressed out and busy forthe past 2 weeks.  Now that it is over I feel liberated.  Ahhhhh.  This morning I too the girls in costume to the Americana where there was a kids band plaing and there were some halloween activities.  We have come home and both girls are zonked out.  I love sitting here listiening to them sleep.  I can also hear the wind blowing outside for the first time this year.  I love fall it is my favorite time of the year.  I hope that it contiinues to cool down in the next few weeks. 

The Halloween party was a success. I think it was the most people that we have ever had in our house at the same time.  Joe was a super great husband and picked up three straw bails for a photo opp in our back yard.  This is my favorite picture of the day.

I realized about a week ago that I was not going to be able to make Olivia a bunny costume as I had planned.  I found this winnie the pooh costume at the disney store last week on sale.  I think it was perfect!

Joe was a super dad at the party and took care of the girls so I could help run the party.  Olivia was pretty good but Audrey was not so happy sharing all of her toys with so many children.  She had several time outs over the course of the party.  There were many tears shed and she was sad snow white that day. 

Audrey was a very pretty Snow White.  She loved her costume, the moment she put it on, I was so pleased.  My hard work had paid off and she looked perfect!

 Ryan dressed up as a fire truck!

Margaret was a cute little monkey

Grace Dyer was the perfect little Bo Peep!

Amelie in her Sleeping Beauty princess dress

Lilly was a bumble bee

Grace Haskin was a pretty lady bug

Tenny was also a very cute bumble bee.  Popular costume idea!

Bella went as Dorthy with her dog Toto!

Ashley as Abby Cadabby!

And ...Jack!

na ne na ne na ne...

Time keeps flying by so quickly.  Olivia will be turning one year old before I know it.  My little girl, my baby!  She has discovered her tongue in the past few days.  Sticking it out at mommy, daddy, Audrey and anyone else who will pay attention.  Last night I realized that she is going to be on the move very soon.  Ahhhhhhhh, I am not ready for 2 mobile girls.  What am I going to do??  Somehow she mustered up the strength to wiggle over to some coloring books that Audrey left on the floor. Yikes I can see trouble ahead already!

6 months already!

Yesterday we celebrated Olivia's 6-month birthday! Time has flown by so quickly. Our baby is getting bigger. She is sitting up for a few minutes before she topples over. She loves to play with her toys and her favorite seems to be a pink monkey on a ring decorated like a candy cane with red and white stripes. We received this money toy from Nicole and Kevin for Audrey's first Christmas. Audrey never really played with the toys like Olivia does.

Olivia is all about discovering the world around her. She loves anything that is put in front of her. Some of her favorites include, paper, books, crinkly sounding toys, balls, and anything that she can get away from her sister. Olivia is learning to be alert and on her toes, trying to fend off her sister. Overall Olivia is very tolerant of her sister. Audrey loves to tuck her in with blankets, but will also pull them over her head. The two girls are so cute together when they are hanging out on the floor both lying on their tummies.

It just warms my heart that Olivia will always have the lover of her older sister. Audrey wants to play with Olivia so badly. She is so patient at times but quickly forgets my warning and is too rough with Olivia. I do feel bad taking her away and giving her a time out just because she hugged her little sister with too much enthusiasm.

At 6 months Olivia is such a big girl.  I can put her on a blanket and she plays with all of her toys and moves around the floor for over an hour.  She loves it!

Audrey's friend Ryan came over for a visit last week and gave Olivia her first wagon ride.   It was so precious!

Cute thoughts for the day

We woke up today to the first rain of the season. I am excited to put on Audrey's rain coat. Joe dressed Audrey in a long sleeved shirt and jeans.  I cut  her hair last night, it is a cute little bob.  I am trying to help it grow out nicely, giving definition between her bangs and the length of her hair.  I guess you can say it was her first real hair cut.
Audrey has become facinated with trash trucks.  It was super cute watching her run from the front door to the window of her bedroom screaming for her dad to come and watch the truck with her. As I am typing she is sitting next to me having a bowl of cereal, slurping from her spoon.  I love her!
Olivia my other darling has also stepped up and is demanding new attention.  She is not yet crawling but the girl can move across a floor.  It is just a matter of time.  She is kicking her legs and beginning to pull them under herself ready to push up.  Oh Olivia you are growing up so quickly.  While I was feeding you last night at 2am I realized how long your body has become.  My little baby is not as little as she used to be.  I will miss it when she no longer can lay across my lap.  I am sure she would tell you differently.  Olivia has now discovered her voice and has been screeching for the last 24 hours.  It is crazy, her smile is still toothless, but not for long as her first tooth has cut through and you can see the puffiness in her gum from the second bottom tooth that will appear any day. She is loving her solid food. We give her 1 solid meal a day and feed her at the table with the family.  She loves butternut squash, and for the past two nights I have mixed in some plum that I made over the summer just for her! She loved it and was sad when it was gone. She is so different that her sister was at this time.  She is so curious, active and exploring everything!

First Tooth

Olivia's first tooth is starting to poke through.  My baby is getting her teeth!  She does not seem to be too fussy except for when I touch it.  She is still loving the solid foods.  She gobbles up butternut squash, and the other night I gave her peaches for the first time.  Yummy!

Wedding Memories

Fours years ago today I was now officially Mrs. David Joseph Ward.  We had a brunch to attend in the morning and I remember my face hurting from smiling the night before.  Wow it was a fantastic night!  After brunch we drove to my parents house where we hung out all day getting ready for our flight to Belieze.

Joe and I watched our wedding viedo last night for the first time.  There were several events at our wedding that were painful to think about, I could not look at the video until now.  I have to say I wish I had.  We paid so much money to have it made and it was terrible!  Those people called themselves videographers??  It was a joke,  they even screwed up the ending title capitioned with 2 mispelled words,  yes 2!  "Wonderfull Life Beggan". The good news about the video is that it was so much fun to watch and relive that special day. 
Now back to my story. 

 The flowers at the wedding were beautiful.  After a tought negotiation we got the green hydrangas that I wanted.  Bob Gail did a faboulous job! I could not have been happier!

Getting ready for the ceremony was so much fun. Joe had sweet talked the Hilton into giving us the presidential suite for our stay.  The morning of the wedding all of my closest friends and family joined me as I got ready.  It was a bit hectic, my wedding planner was a nightmare.  Right as this picture was being taken she burst into my room asking us if she looked fat!!! Yes she did but why was that our problem! I was really lucky that Marisa stood up to her for me.  That is a great friend!

 

It was a beautiful sight as I walked down the aisle!  I was so nervous.  Do you see the umbrella to the right in the photo above?  Well out violinist requested one and our fab wedding planner called Joe to ask him for one. He was  about to toast with his best men.  WTF!!  I hired some one to relieve stress, not create it!  I am so glad I left my phone in the hotel.

We had to ride on golf carts down to get down to picture site after the ceremony.  It was a mess, and my wedding planner was not to be seen???  Once we had everyone shuttled to the location we then had to wait for the photographer to go back  up to the ceremony site and get her sweater??  At least the pictures did turn out beautiful.

We got married at the Breamar County Club in Tarzana California.  They were understaffed that day and did not have a proper bartender on duty.  They stuck a "random guy" behind the bar who had a VERY heavy hand when we was there.  Their glassware was not stocked,  hence the photos of me sipping champagne from a rocks glass.  This photo is of my brother in law Peter having fun behind the bar.  Hey, we wanted a drink but there was no one to help him. I think he also made one for Nicole and Dave.

The cake was amazing.  It was tasty and beautiful. My inspiration was a monogramed "W"  that I fell in love with.  Where is the "W" you ask??  Well it was facing the wall!!!!! We also paid for a  cart to roll the cake out on...not sure what ever happened to that.

To Be Continued...

Our first picture day

Today was Audrey's first picture day.  It was very exciting. Last night Joe and I picked out her outfit.  Getting her dressed today was so much fun.  She looked so cute in her boots, jeans and tunic top.  I will post her picture here when I get it back from the school.   Since she usually does not go to school on Thursdays Olivia and I also went to school and hung out in room #1.  Teacher Carmen and Teacher Jose are her main care takers on M,W& F.  I enjoyed sitting in the room and observing all of the activities while we were waiting.  Audrey was the first student to go.  At first she gave us the blank stare , but the photographer was able to coax her into a smug little smile.  Last week Joe and I were talking about picture day and were laughing our heads off.  We decided that Audrey would give the photographer 1 of 3 different faces: 1) the joker cry 2) the blank stare or 3) the cheese face.  I am happy to say that we were wrong and Audrey was much more corporative than we had thought.

Solid Foods & New Boots

The past two days have been very exciting.  Many things have happened!
While getting ready to go out tonight and I got Audrey dressed up in some fall items.  The weather has begun cooling off and Autumn is around the corner.  Audrey is sporting her first pair of boots, paired with dark bootleg jeans and a blue and lavender peasant top. I looked at her in awe!  My little girl looks so cute and fashionable...very bohemian chic !  I not realize that I have more fun dressing her than I do myself!

Yesterday Olivia had her first bite of solid foods. She has been sitting in her high chair at the dinner table with us now for over a month.  She smacks her lips asking for a bite for the past few weeks.  I decided to bake her a butternut squash last night for dinner, and she LOVED it!

Long before Audrey & Olivia

Joe and I went to Belize on our honeymoon.   I wanted to go to Hawaii and hang out on the beach but Joe wanted more of an experience.  I am so glad that he won.  We flew out the day after our wedding on the red eye and arrived at the Coppola Resort, the Turtle Inn located in Placentia.  Turtle Inn is on the white sandy beach and Joe spoiled me with a seafront villa.  It was amazing.  This picture was taken right outside our cabana at sunset.  I can still remember the sound of the ocean while I was waking up in the morning.  It was the most beautiful location that I have ever vacationed.

I really wanted a beach getaway to relax and unwind after the wedding.  The stress leading up to the wedding was unbearable and I really wanted some peace and quiet.  Joe on the other hand wanted an adventure in Belieze.   So we made a comprimise...4 days at the beach and 5 days in the mountains where we could see Tecal the old Mayan ruins.

The view at Tecal in Guatemala was amazing and almost as breath taking as the beach in Belieze.

But before we went into the mountians we had a ton of fun on the coast.  We took a boat ride into Monkey River and had lunch in a local resturant.  They had the tastiest chicken and rice that I have had to date.  Joe snapped this photo before we boarded the boat in the morning.  It was beautiful weather but full of mosquitos so long sleeves and pants were needed.

Joe and I enjoyed many cocktails while lounging and swimming in this beautiful pool.  It was a perfect way to spend the afternoon.  It has almost been four years since this trip, but looking back at this photo I can remember it like it was yesterday!  What a perfect honeymoon!!!!

Joe and I also took a boat out to a very small island and went snorkling.  It was so pretty... the coral looked like a magnificent quilt made of very bright viberant colors and many different textures. It was an artists dream.  I will never forget it.  Unfortunately I would like to forget how sea sick I got floating around the island.  I had to get out of the water and lay down after 20 miniutes.  I took this photo after lunch when everyone was still swimming out in the ocean.

 

We were so happy,  recently married and thousands of miles away from everything.

Our ocean front cabana was awesome.  No television, radio or phone, just my husband and I.   This is a picture of our private backward that has a shower!

I love this photo.  We had nothing to worry about except hiding from the couple who sold bat shit.

After we left the Turtle Inn we traveled to the Chaa Creek Inn.  They set up a priviate tour for us in Guatemala at Tical.  It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen.

After we walked the dead city all morning we had a tasty lunch and the best beer ever.  "Gallo" Joe and I talked about this beer the other day.  We don't know if it was the fact that we were hot and tired or if the Beliziean beer Belkin was so terrible that made the beer taste so good.

Chaa Creek in as not as beautiful as the Turtle Inn, but we still has fun.  Here we are inside an old Mayan cave.  It was scary and I got really closterphobic.  We also were filthy!

After nine days in Belieze I was ready to come home and sleep for a few days.  I had another week before I began my new job at Juicy Couture as an assistant patternmaker.  It was a very exciting time in my life!