Disneyland

 

Last week we had a very fun trip with Leslie's family at Disneyland (3 days) and Knott's Berry Farm (1 day).  It was a blast.  I think Brooke really enjoyed the trip.  She had her moments but for the most part she enjoyed it.  We enjoyed having the family together.

Great family!

Tower of Terror!  I think this was Brian's first time.

Cousin bonding time!

Brooke's not quite sure if she likes Minnie, but Leslie sure is cute!

Sisters with the Mad Hatter.

Isn't she adorable?

Sorry to Mark for covering his face with my hand.

Brooke's favorite ride was "It's a Small World".  We had to go on it twice because she loved it so much!  Here are some pics of us waiting in line and going on the ride.

A big thanks goes out to Leslie's parents, who made the trip possible and to Julie, who is a Disney fanatic and did most of the planning so that we could all make the most of our time there.

Projects!!

Since we moved into our new place we have been working on a lot of little fix it projects.  Once the place was re-carpeted and painted it looked really nice.  The only major project left has been to refinish the cabinets (bathrooms and kitchen).  So over the past couple of weeks I've been working on the cabinets in one of the bathrooms.  Leslie's cousin David and his wife Kira had done it to their cabinets and we decided to copy them.  Here are some pics . . .

Before

After

Update on Brooke

It is so fun being a parent! We LOVE having Brooke in our lives. She makes life very exciting and fun. And she keeps us on our toes.

• She is sitting up on her own now
• She just learned to roll 2 weeks ago. We were all very excited!
• She is a big talker. She is always making noises. She's becoming an expert on ma, da, and na sounds.
• She loves mashed bananas, carrots, and sweet potatoes. Well, and any other kind of fruit, really. She's actually a pretty good eater. One of Daniel's favorite things is that she grunts when we are feeding her solids. It is pretty funny.
• She thinks swinging on park swings is the most delightful thing.
• She enjoys being outside.
• She loves when Dadda tosses her around and "flies" her all over the house.
• She likes playing by herself, but she gets mad if Mumma wanders too far. 
• She is more understanding and curious and aware.
• She is almost constantly moving her toes. It's really adorable.

 And so, for some pictures:

Saying "good-bye" to our Burbank Apartment

Pictures of the House

Living Room -- Before and After

Dining Room -- Before and After

Kitchen -- Before and After

Powder Room -- Before and After

Staircase and awkward nook

Loft -- Before and After

Master Bedroom -- Before and After

Yes. We painted the whole house the same color. 

We'll probably choose to paint some of the rooms different colors later. We went for simplicity for now. Plus, I kind of like how bright this creamy color makes the house look. 

The cabinets in the bathrooms and kitchen will be quite different soon. We are re-staining them, because they are looking pretty beat up. That is the last big project we are doing on the house for a while. We are tired and out of money. :)

New House!

We are all moved into our new house!! And we love it!

We moved all our things into the garage for a few weeks while the painters did their thing and the carpet guys did their thing. And Brooke and I escaped for a week and a half to Oregon while all that was going on, thankfully.

She and I had a great time visiting with our family. It was none too eventful, just relaxing and mostly calm. I got a great chance to bond with my youngest brother, Scott, who I have never really been able to spend one-on-one time with. I don't know how he felt about it, but I really enjoyed getting to know him better and spend so much time with him. Out of nowhere, he grew up to be a funny, kind, smart, fun kid! I really love him!

When Brooke and I came home, we had new carpet and an almost newly-painted house. It was very exciting!

I then spent the next 3 weeks moving things into the house from the garage and deep cleaning the house and unpacking everything and getting rid of some stuff, while Daniel finished up with busy season. Boy, were we both so glad when tax season was over! April 15th. Our new favorite day of the year.

Pictures forthcoming...

Moving ... Again

Yes. We are moving again. It seems like we have had several blog posts about the moving process. We have done it several times since we've been married.

But this time, it's a different, very exciting move, and, hopefully, more permanent than our past living situations have been.

We bought a townhouse. 

YAY!

We have been working on closing the deal on our house for the past month or so, and it will likely close at the beginning of this coming week. So, we are moving again, on Saturday.

We are very excited about the new house. It is much bigger than any other place that we lived (unless you count my parent's house, which we lived in for a summer; and Grampa's house, which we lived in for 3 months).

• 2 stories
• 3 bedrooms
• 2 1/2 bathrooms
• 1 loft
• a garage and laundry room (which I'm fairly excited about. No more shared laundry rooms or laundromats? Alright, then!)
• 1790 sq. feet

We definitely have room to grow. And grow we surely will! We have some work to do on the house; re-carpet and paint all the walls. But we won't have time to do it before we have to move in. So, Brooke and I are escaping to Oregon for a week and a half while Daniel works like a madman to get the house ready. 

Which we appreciate. Very much. 

It seems kind of unfair that we get to go play with Gramma and Grampa, Aunt Mary and Uncle Scott, while he works and fixes up the house. But before you go thinking how insensitive and mean I am as a wife, it was his idea. Probably he just wants us out of the way for a while. 

And for some pictures. 

Keep in mind. It will look super-much better after we paint and re-carpet. 

We are pretty excited!

I love, Love, LOVE being a MOTHER!

I had a little outing with a friend of mine, and we were having a fun and insightful conversation about motherhood. She is the mother of an adorable and energetic 4 year old boy, who keeps her really busy. She was telling me about all of the wonderful and hard things that she has learned being his mother, and how it'd the best thing she's done.

And I've been thinking a lot about how I've changed and the things I've learned in the few short months that I have been a mother. I think, after my decision to marry Daniel, it's the best decision I have made.

I think about all the women in the world who choose not to have children, for whatever reasons, or who postpone motherhood. And I feel sorry for them. They tend to think that a career is the most important work they will do, that they will find fulfillment in their jobs, and that their personal growth and development will be furthered by all of their education, traveling, etc. I don't think they could be more wrong. And I know they are missing out.

I LOVE being a mom! I don't have much experience under my belt, but the little that I have had has been challenging, hard, wonderful, and joyful. I am so in love with my baby! Who wouldn't love to wake up everyday to play and take care of this sweet thing?

 Who wouldn't love to walk into baby's room, first thing in the morning, to see a huge smile on her face, just because you came into the room? Who wouldn't love to sing and give baths and go on walks and read books, because baby loves doing those things? Who wouldn't love to look into the eyes of a sweet baby and see such adoration there?

It isn't easy. And heaven knows Brooke and I have had rough things to deal with already. But ... it's amazing! I've never known such joys or anxieties. Thrills or sorrows. Delights or worries. I just love to snuggle her, fall asleep with her, play with her, read to her. And what's more, I just have the hardest time not eating her everyday!

On this Valentine's Day, I feel ever so blessed to have 2 wonderful Valentines: the most wonderful husband and father, and the most beautiful, fun and special baby girl.

PS: Happy Valentine's Day to all my loved ones! I'm blessed to have you in my life!