The Aquarium of the Pacific

We joined Kent's cousins, Dennis and Patty, for a fun-filled day in Long Beach. We toured the Aquarium of the Pacific and had lunch outdoors with a great view of the water.

More Aquarium Pictures

An Autumn Evening

During the evening game, Maddie and I met our friends at the park. It was a perfect evening for bike riding . . .
climbing,
and feeding ducks.

Hell's Kitchen

Madeline and I baked cookies this morning during the football game. We made both oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip. It turns out, Sophie likes cookies as much as the rest of us.

Just Singing in the Rain . . .

Who would have thought that Maddie would have just as much fun on a rainy day as she does on a sunny one?

Almost 1 (plus 20)

Now that I am almost one, I'm leaving all that baby stuff behind (baby food, baby bottles, etc.) and moving on to bigger and better things. I have 6 teeth now to prove my age, and I can say bye-bye, too.



Maddie thinks she's so big. She better watch out, because I'm catching up really fast.

Game Day

We've got spirit, yes we do-

We've got spirit, what about you?

Cooler Weather!

We are finally starting to get some relief from the 100+ degree days! Yesterday, I took the girls for a morning stroll (notice the long pants and sweaters!) while the house cleaners (why did it take me so long to hire someone to clean my house?) were here. Although it did get quite warm in the afternoon, the morning was fall-tastic!

4 Year Appointment

Maddie had her 4 year check-up yesterday. She is 42 inches tall which puts her height in the 90th percentile, and she weighs 39 pounds which puts her weight in the 78th percentile. She also got 4 shots and a finger prick, ouch!! I took her shopping afterwards at Toys R Us, and Maddie selected some paint supplies as a treat. In the picture above, she squeezes in a quick workout in order to help maintain her health.

What? I don't get it . . .

I can't figure out why Mommy keeps laughing? What could possibly be so funny about macaroni and cheese?



Silly Mommy! Every time she looks at me, she get the giggles all over again!

"Pretty Mantis"

Saturday evening Maddie found what she called a "Pretty Mantis." I corrected her several times, but she insisted that is was a pretty mantis, not a praying one.

Magic Moments

Some moments from last weekend:

Sugar and Spice!

It's A Girl!!! Eddy arrived today at 4:58 pm, eastern time! She weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces and is 19 3/4 long. Congratulations Dawn and Tim! We couldn't be happier!!! Thanks Auntie Jen for those quick pics!

Eleven Months

Look who's eleven months old already!!! Time sure does fly. It seems in the wink of an eye, almost a year has gone by, and my little baby has grown so big. She loves to wave bye-bye, scoffs at baby food (she wants to eat what everyone else is eating, especially her big sister), and she calls me "Mama"(ALL-THE-TIME)!

A Casualty

Well, we lost Karzam our little catfish. He survived 3 days, so I am not sure what the cause of his demise was. Maddie took it pretty well. Here she is fishing him out with her net.Kent had a difficult time getting him and his whiskers out of the net. After a few shakes and some tapping of the net against the back door, Karzam fell right out.

New Teeth

Sad baby:

Happy baby:

New teeth on top baby:

Snack Time

Emmet, Jessie, and Adam joined us this weekend. Jessie and I decided to try some teething biscuits out on the kids.

Emmet gives his cracker two thumbs up!

Karzam and Zereal

Aunt Dawn and Uncle Tim got Maddie a fish aquarium for her birthday. We set it up earlier this week, and we bought 2 fish for starters yesterday. Maddie has two fish: a catfish she named Karzam and a sucker fish she named Zereal.
She loves bed time since that is when she gets to feed her fish. Last night at 7:00, she said, "I'm tired. Can I go to bed now?"