Pumpkin Patch!!

Ian's mother was in town for the weekend, and on Saturday afternoon we all took a trip to a local pumpkin farm, just a few miles north of Santa Cruz on Highway 1. We had a blast... Cami was shouting out 'pumpkins!' and was so happy to be there, Dahlia was a smiling little doll, and we ended up finding a great round pumpkin that we will probably carve tomorrow morning. Here are some delightful pictures from our outing, the ocean breeze was wonderful and the evening sun made the time pretty perfect. Enjoy...

The rain has come

We have rain!!! YAY for Autumn/Winter: puddles, crock pot soup/stew, baking fresh bread, cozy cuddles with cuddly babies and spouses, etc.

Cami went out to play in the rain with Ian for a bit this morning.

Then Ian drove his motorcycle up to work in the rain:



While the girls napped I made some cupcakes that I food-colored orange, and topped with chocolate frosting and yellow sprinkles... very fall themed. Bible study tonight, and the first rainy day of the season is a success. I hope you are all enjoying the changing seasons and the weather they bring.

Baby D has teeth!!

...Our baby Blue eyes. She's 4.5 months old, and has her two bottom teeth...

that's all.

CAMI IS 2!!!!!!

Yes, We have a two year old in our household now... She is awesome! On May 30th, 2007  at 5:15 in the morning, our beautiful Camelia Mae  was brought out of my body and into this world. We have been blessed SO ABUNDANTLY since we have added her to our family, and are in love with who God is forming her to be...

Here are a few memorable events from her first two years with us....

Day of Birth! 

She was 8lbs 4.5oz 

a pretty big and seemingly healthy baby...

Our happy 3 month old

so skinny and we had no idea...

We went to the cardiologist to see if there was a reason she was not gaining weight

We drove to the hospital right away

They admitted us and that was our new home for a the next month

Our four month old just had open heart surgery

She was in the CVICU for ten days

it felt like a lifetime...

Two months later she was celebrating her first Christmas

So thankful for our beautiful gift of a daughter....

She likes to make funny faces at us,

She likes riding on daddy's back,

and flying through the air.

We celebrated our first Mother's day together...

and her first birthday!!

Our lives since them could be summed up with...

Swimming in water

Drinking water

Bathing in water

playing with things that help you see under water

talking on the play phone

talking in the real phone

hiking with mom and dad

cheering on our team

swinging

eating

making funny faces in the water

watching animals who live in the water

poking sister

holding and helping sister

washing dishes in the water

splashing in puddles of water

swimming with daddy in water

walking in the water....

and being wonderful through it all.

We love our beautiful blessing of a daughter.

She could have been taken away from us, and has overcome so much. She is growing into a beautiful little girl, and we are so blessed by who she is. We pray that she will come to know and love her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

My Hair

Ok, so I braided my hair at the beginning of May..... and really want to document this amazingness.... enjoy.

Before...


After...

I LOVED it! They were super easy to take care of and yes, I could wash my hair. But, you know how you lose hair every day... yea, well, that still happened, and by the end of the month I could see how many of the braids that made up my hair were overrun with detached hairs that were still woven into the braids. 

It was pretty cool, but I figured that I would let my hair breathe, and I decided to unbraid my hair..... not the best result ensued. All of the detached hairs formed many dreadlocks and before I knew it, I was trying to remove these dreadlocked 'weeds' from my healthy hair.... Let's just say I ended up with VERY tired arms, an empty bottle of conditioner, and a ziploc bag completely PACKED full of hair (yes I threw it away, I just wanted to see how much I lost.)

I got a new hair cut and color when I was down South visiting family... It was the first time I have had my hair cut since September of 2007.... Before Cami's surgery that October. I think having two tiny kids really attributed to that fact, and I also think my hair deserved some kind treatment. Ahhh, so that's my story.

Gizdich Ranch

The girls and I went down to meet some friends, pick strawberries and have a picnic at Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville... 

It was a perfectly beautiful day! The Monterey Bay Marine layer burned off when we got there, the sun shone through and a cool breeze blew, making the day ideal for an outing. Cami really didn't know that we were there to pick berries, she just liked walking down the berry lane looking at the bees on the flowers. Dahlia was in the front carrier with me. Good times were had by all. Here are some pictures from the morning. Enjoy...

Memorial Day Weekend Fun!!!!

The weekend is over and we had a BLAST!!! Ian's mom came into town and was able to help us with home stuff, the babies, and having a great time.

Our Saturday was a great restful day. Ian and I were guests on the Mount Hermon Redwood Canopy Tour: http://mounthermon.org/other-programs/canopy-tours

We had a very wonderful time. Ian is a canopy tour guide during the summer, so the tour was nothing really new for him. I on the other hand was pregnant throughout the tour being built, and all of Ian's work on it. I was SO excited to FINALLY get a turn on the tour. It was WONDERFUL!!!! It was so peaceful to zip through and above the beautiful redwood forest we call home. We didn't bring our camera but here is a shot of Ian from last summer. Hopefully I can get up in the trees a few more times this year.




Sunday was filled with Church, a baby shower, naps, and lots of laundry.

Memorial day we went down to play with our friends The Folkerts and more. They set up a huge slip-n-slide down the side of the hill on the property. Cami borrowed a wetsuit from The Bartletts and here are some pictures from this wonderfully fun day!!