her first winter formal

all that planning and it went by in a blink of an eye! seems kira and her friends have been talking about dresses and make up and plans for months- then the day finally came! they got ready together at a friend's house and all us parents were there as well. the make up/hair part seemed to take the longest- and by the time the dress part came- they were just in time to be fashionably late! the daylight had gone and indoor light wasn't the best- so we are going to have to make her get all dolled up again so we can take photos! 🙂 getting ready with our good friend delilah- we couldn't have done this without her- she is a stylist and helped kira in so many ways- we are so incredibly thankful for her friendship!

last minute jitters, i think! kira went with her very best girlfriends- the best dates of course 🙂

we couldn't get over at how grown up she looked! i was so pleased as we had troubles finding things that were age appropriate. the plum color was a surprise addition to us and i think she was secretly thinking of her dad and his laker colors 🙂 and just when we think that she's all grown up, that this is the first of many dances, trying to forget that she was shooing us away as she was anxious to get out the door– i hear her in the other room, playing her little nintendo DS- something she hasn't touched in 6 months- and smile. 🙂 we love her!!

January 31, 2009 29

a night out

chris has some family visiting from australia so for a treat, we went to the magic castle! chris and i hadn't been there before and it was fun to get dressed up (they have a dress code- yes me and chris all dressed up is a rare thing!) and be with the family! before we left, we had kira snap this shot of us 🙂

and then i wanted pics of kira and i together- our girl is growing up right before our eyes! she has a winter formal next week that we are not ready for! can't believe that!

chris' uncle and aunt from australia with his parents. we loved seeing photos of all their beeeeeautiful grandchildren and long for the day when all our children can play together in australia! hopefully soon!!

and the fantastic magic castle, hollywood– which was built in 1909 and has featured some of the world's top magicians!

January 21, 2009 24

almost three

and chris and i are recalling that the terrible twos are not that terrible– that it's the year 3 that is more difficult!

we had some film that needed to be finished off the other day so we trekked around our town to some of our favorite spots to shoot. she was not having it.

me having to break it down for her 🙂

i think it's hilarious that she can go from one extreme to another so quickly.

finally we give up. and she's more than ready to move on with her day!

trying to just find the patience and take lots of deep breaths. she's not big on tantrums, it's the way she tries to reason with me that gets me. E: 'how come?….why?….i want kix.(i get kix) no i said cheerios…no i want eggs, i said eggs!.. (aaaaaah!!!) sometimes it makes me want to pull my hair out and other times i can't help but totally laugh. love her.

January 14, 2009 15

to market to market

to buy daddy some theraflu 🙂

we didn't quite make it as elsie was busy tending to her baby and i was busy taking pictures. before we knew it, we needed to pick up the big kids from school. she's just delightful! 🙂

January 8, 2009 11

pages

an about me page for 2peas.

and a challenge for KI memories:

I can't believe she was only 7 months old! this was her first cold!

and one of caleb from pics from a few years ago as well:

and since i am on this memory lane kick…i have this picture on my desktop right now. just because i found it in a random folder and i love it. i want to go back in time and love on her! she asks, mom why do you have that picture of that baby on there? i say, that's you, when you were a baby. she says, but i want to be this child. (meaning, i want to be a big girl- not a baby) lol child. ha! those rolls and that forehead!! 🙂

January 6, 2009 13

“it makes me happy to be here”

that’s what elsie said when we were bike riding along the santa barbara coast. and i agree. if you don’t already know, this is where chris went to college, and where we lived for our first year of marriage. such a beautiful place. perfect weather year round a couple hours away from los angeles- close enough for a day drive but far enough from the LA of LA:) here are some random pictures of our day. starting the trek:
asleep so soon:

little pit stop for lunch and instead of dragging the crew out to eat, we decided to eat on this little hill near the car since E was still sleeping 🙂

we spent over an hour at our quick little stop and took so many pics. those trees!! chris took this with his polaroid and i love it sooo much. me and my crew. i want to take the polaroid and frame it with a ridiculously large mat and frame. i adore it.

finally in santa barbara.

i can’t decide which of these are my favorite. they are so sweet i could cry!

and the little dude who is almost always down to take a photo for his daddy:

i know we are goobs but it’s tradition and we can’t help it 🙂

it’s sorta funny how you’ll see many other bike riders along the trail- the trail is right next to the water, it’s this peaceful little journey… until the waters get next to you and there is just chaos and mayham and craziness in our little bike. but sometime in between all the mayham, elsie told chris- “it makes me happy to be here” 🙂 that’s what it’s all about. 🙂

so long santa barbara! we looooove you!

January 2, 2009 22

christmas

christmas eve play at church, E and I were both angels 🙂
i need to get more pics from my SIL, as this was such a special play for us… our whole family participated. kira was mary and chris was one of the wise men and the boys were shepards.
christmas morning:

my handmade gift from my husband- so sweet 🙂

he and cam went all around town taking polaroid pics of trees. one of my favorite things.

then it was off to grammies and grampies across the street for christmas morning with them
kira and her cousin. my SIL and her family were here for the week. such a special time with them!

cam had such a cute little quirk this year while opening presents. he’d open then cover them up right away.

then back home for a little rest,then back to grammies for the whole family christmas together.
claiming to be camera shy:

but proving otherwise a bit later:

she got use to the present thing very quickly 🙂

then it was time for family entertainment 🙂

(k17 flashback auts and amihan!)

kk stoked to have the 5 golden rings part 🙂

next morning, the girls went out to see benjamin button and chris set up some pics. looooove these of these 2! they are 3 years apart but were total buds the whole trip.

and a few of my favorite things- my husband and ginko leaves 🙂

happy new year blog land! i cannot believe it will be 2009 tomorrow.

December 31, 2008 13

merry christmas from the waters

we didn’t send christmas cards out this year due to my low tolerance of stress levels, i did manage to whip this up in photoshop just now thanks to kira’s swift decision making skills. every single card WE received was just amazing. thank you so much for sharing your families with us. lovely. we wish you a merry christmas and a wonderful new year!

December 24, 2008 15

snip snip

chris got a little happy with the scissors, elsie didn’t seem to mind:)

December 20, 2008 9

making stuff

the kids and i got a bee in our bonnets last night and made 5 of these puppies! so fun, and so gratifying to use up all those ribbons 🙂

tonight, we tackle on the teacher presents! 🙂
and here are a few more from the dodger day… elsie waiting in the car before we got there 🙂

dad has hopes of her playing ball 🙂

and me with my favorite ball player 🙂

oh! also added my next 7 pages for my december daily book over here… just trying to condense blog space 🙂

December 18, 2008 10