park playdate party

cake pop ball birthday cake

  

In lieu of a big birthday party for her second birthday  (we weren't about to have our friends and fam drive out on memorial day for a two-year-old birthday party), we celebrated low-key with Jayme's immediate friends at our favorite park in Brea... maybe next year we'll do up legitimate party (I just can't help myself from party planning already!)

birthday girl having a blast on the big slides (priceless face)

 

happy Jax

all the mom's (and dad) were kept plenty busy

friends and cake pops (sad I only got pics of them eating...)

bye-bye baby...

Last week we converted Jayme's crib into a toddler bed (a- so she would stop getting hurt trying to climb out, and b- so she would be able to use the potty at night when we start potty training soon)... I think we mentally prepared as much as we physically prepared her room! Much to our surprise, she LOVES her big girl bed! We baby gated her doorway so she can't get herself into trouble at night, and I spent all of March baby-proofing her room completely (i.e. moved the office stuff out of her room and finding a home for everything that was piled up in her room). The first night we went to put her to bed she was so excited as she ran up to her bed and said, "beh?! beh?!"... she didn't even want to be cuddled by her daddy that first night, she was anxious to climb into her big girl bed all by herself and put herself to sleep- I thought this was just lucky night one, for sure she would cry or get up several times and play, etc... but much to our surprise she LOVES her bed and STAYS in it! There have been a handful of times she has gotten up at night, but I didn't notice until the morning when I noticed toys out, or her babies tucked in with pacifiers she had dug out of her drawer for them in the middle of the night. My favorite part about her big girl bed is that she will wake up and chat with her babies or read a book in bed before calling me in to get her (she doesn't get out of bed until I come get her! LOVE IT!)
So now that we have had 2 weeks of toddler bed success, we are on to potty training. I am anxious to get her trained because a- diapers are ridiculous expensive, and b- her diaper rashes will go away and STAY away (I assume)... however, as excited as we are to get her potty trained, I can't help but think this is just one more transition of our baby girl turning into a little girl. I am clinging to those last little baby phases as she is simultaneously pushing her limits and trying to be a big girl :she sits at the table without her high chair now, diapers and soothes her baby dolls, carries on full conversations with us- even though we understand about 1/4 of it- tries to dress and undress herself, hates having a diaper on if she can help it, says "noooo- good-byEEE!" when she is trying to focus on something and doesn't want help (coloring, when she goes number 2 and needs privacy, brushing her teeth, getting into mommy's makeup drawer...) she is getting so big so fast, it makes me sad and proud all at once. Its precious to watch her and her girlfriends develop actual playmate friendships and I love how she will rehash/gab about her playdates with her daddy after work and for the next day or two she begs to go play with "Au-rey" or "lie-ly"... I wish we didn't live so far away from her friends, but Lord willing we will find a house and a location that meets all of our needs soon enough.

Daddy teaching her how to roll down the hill (she couldn't get enough, and I couldn't get enough of watching his joy in being a hands on daddy)

lovin' on baby Jax with her mommy (she is such a mommy's girl- "my mommy!")

big girls eating lunch at their big girl table (seems like yesterday they had baby food and high chairs!)

loves her big girl swing at Grampa's house

"Au-rey" and "Mae-me" are independent little divas... we are gonna be in trouble with these two!

full on conversating in their own language

my favorite picture. (what you don't see is lil' miss independent wanting to hold Age's bag and walk- no being held by mommy in public!)

February & March wrap up...

29 came and went way. too. fast! i can't believe its already going on mid-April and i STILL haven't written a post about turning 30... (not that anything is drastically different) I think there is this notion that we will wake up a different or radically changed person on these milestone birthdays... but alas, I am officially 30 (and then some) and nothing has changed other than my mindset to live this decade out with a greater appreciation for life and a passion to live it to my fullest potential (check back often as I am sure there will be days I will need to remind myself of this "new-and-improved mindset")
I took the month of March to do some major spring cleaning purging and limit my crafting until I have created a sense of order and necessity within our home (and weirdest thing- cleaning house has made me feel rejuvenated as well! I'm kinda addicted to this feeling and March has now carried into April)... Other than being a homebody (with occasional play-dates and tutoring for mine and Jayme's sanity sake), we really didn't do a whole lot this past month. Rather than write a novel on what's been happening (or not happening) within the past 2 months, I'm just gonna go the picture route (enter the phrase- "picture worth a thousand words" )

keeping me distracted from surprise party shenanigans (food being prepped, jayme resting up on nana's rug, random walk, mission inn date night)

late night preparations for the big day

she had as much fun as i did!

surprise!

 30th Brithday Video Montage (made by Stacey)

B.F.F.'s

Easter (egg hunt, drama queen, precious moments....and jelly beans)

 more to come....

pumpkin patch round 2....

 This time we went to Irvine Regional Park with our girlfriends Kristi and Riley and new girlfriends (and 3 new baby boyfriends)... after a looooonnnnng weekend of being strapped into a seat, carrier, stroller, or being held, Jayme thoroughly enjoyed being able to run around with the girls.

her face is priceless... enter caption here"....."

greeting her friend Kyren (we <3 her boots!)

Jayme coaching Riley as she attempts to lift a giant pumpkin

"you can dooooooo it Kyren!!!"

the girls exploring the pumpkin pile

the boys strapped onto their mamas

measuring up

double checking

Jaymestein

clearly she's not having any fun...

if only we knew what they were talking about

"what do you mean 'no'?!?!"

train ride

she was super excited to be riding the train

pumpkin patch play date...

100 degree weather in California calls for a beach day (even if it is the middle of October)... our beach play date quickly turned into a pumpkin patch and Panera Bread lunch play date when we realized the Seal Beach PD had a good portion of accessible routes closed down (figures we'd pick the one time when the quiet community of Seal Beach is full of media and police after a mass murder @ a local hair salon took place the day before)... we joined all the other stroller pushing mommy-and-me goers at the local Pa's Pumpkin Patch and the girls didn't seem to mind. Things we learned/experienced/realized- a) you can never apply too much sunblock; b) mamarazzi will stop at nothing (including making obscene noises gestures) to get their lil' ones' attention for the perfect pumpkin backdrop photo opp; 3) ALWAYS wear close-toed shoes when trekking through a petting zoo... and while I'm at it- always have wipes/hand sanitizer ready; z) if you buy the bulk ticket package to save a buck, you won't use them all, on the other hand if you only buy a few pricier tickets you'll wish you splurged on the money-saver ticket pack; and 5) pumpkins are way cheaper at the grocery store. 

After our pumpkin patch venture, we headed to Panera where the girls looked like a couple of old-lady birds enjoying an afternoon of catching up on important life happenings such as who had what for breakfast, whose headband stayed on longer, and which book they are going to fight over on the car ride home... all in all it was a fantastic day with good girlfriends!

"I'll take this one! $50 isn't too much right mom?"

of course I had the wrong angle when they finally both looked at a camera simultaneously!

my lil' bug liked chasing the animals... and trying to grab their tails

just a few of the million shots when one or both weren't looking... action shots are all the rage anyway (so I keep telling myself)

people thought they were twins/sisters/cousins

broccoli cheese soup... tasty annnnd  messy- fantastic!

can't decide which is better... hand or spoon... either way she polished off her soup and asked for more

long over due play dates...

I love where we live, but I miss being closer to friends... especially friends with kids! I feel like Jayme is missing out on valuable socialization and playmates every week. If I could I would drive multiple times a week for playtime (and much needed face time with friends), but that ended when we realized we were spending almost $900/month on gas (obviously the man of the house has to earn a living, so his gas was necessary... which meant by default I needed to make cuts in the mileage). The last couple weeks Ryan's boss compensated his gas for the daily drive to San Diego (thank God!), which meant Jayme and I were able to catch up on some much needed and long over-due play dates (over 3 months!)

Highlights from our visit with Kaycie and Aubrielle-
-playing with someone else's toys might be just as good as going to Disneyland
-Jayme loves Max... we are realizing just how much she loves dogs (the bigger the better... the smaller ones are just too much)
-when in Riverside in triple digit temps, rear-facing car-seats in weak air-conditioning = overheated and screaming child.... thanks to Kaycie, Jayme now enjoys the view air flow facing forward
-El Torito, nap time, Starbucks, and an afternoon dip in the kiddie pool (complete with sticky-shimmery lip gloss) completed our afternoon

Highlights from our visit (and first meeting of baby Jax) with Kristi and Riley-
-We brought Kristi some belated-birthday treats (my version of a cake pop)
-Even after 3 months of not seeing each other (which in toddler time is f-o-r-e-v-e-r) Riley and Jayme enjoyed some much needed playtime
-Meanwhile I made my go-to lunch classic  (tomato basil pizza) while us mommy's played catch-up
-Finally got to hold the newest addition to the Brown Family... Jax is all things cuddly, sweet, and beautiful newborn (best part was that Jayme didn't get jealous... until I held Riley ;-)


Hoping to get out and about a little more often... just not often enough to cost us more in gas than our rent!

weekend wrap-up...

a look back at some of the highlights from last Thursday through Sunday....

Thursday... 90 degree weather in early April makes for a great day to go to the park! Rockin her Longhorn gear (thanks Aunt Tay!) we lathered up the SPF 50 and let it soak in for a few minutes before heading off on our walk to the park... of course we had to start off on the swings, since little bug squeals with delight as we neared the playground... after 5 minutes of pure excitement on the swings, we made our way to a shady spot on the grass to share a snack and have some play time (note- her favorite "toy" was the lid to her snacks- cheap thrills!)... I even let her play on the grass for the first time (her sensitive skin paid the price later with rashes, but i think she'd agree it was worth it... it was as if she was visiting Disneyland for the first time as she was in awe for about 30 uninterrupted minutes!)

Friday.... PERFECT day for Seal Beach with Kristi and Riley. Days like this make me truly appreciate my hubby making it possible for me to stay home so I can enjoy middle of the week days soaking up the beautiful Southern California weather with friends (not gonna lie, I feel a tad bit guilty at the same time). Some highlights include brunch @ Blackboard Bistro where the girls made friends with fellow diners... playground time with their favorite swings... some playtime in the shade (where my little lady decided to bully her older friend Riley- we are gonna work on friendly manners :-) ...ice tea break for the mommies while the two little ladies kick back in their strollers... and finally passing out on the car ride home

Saturday... A typical family weekend kinda day complete with family breakfast followed by dad working on mom's car, while mom cleaned house and gardened and little bug played, played, and played... and took a 2 hour mid day nap! After we cleaned up the house and ourselves, we headed over to the Pessa house for Charlie's famous fish tacos and some playtime for the little ladies Audrey and Jayme. Mommy is realizing that perhaps Jayme needs to have more friend interaction as she is a tad bit excited/aggressive with her little friends (I think she thinks they are like her baby-doll that she can knock around)

Sunday.... To top off our weekend, we headed out early to the Rose Bowl to walk in support of our cousin Jillian (over 6,000 people turned out to walk for a cure for MS!) Karen made sure the entire White family (i.e. Jayme included with matching hair accessory!) had team Jillian gear... opening ceremonies included a flash mob, tributes, and the start of a nap for Jayme... we didn't even cross the finish line courtesy of one of those "baby moments" (apparently when the child wakes up and wants to eat, the child wants to eat!) so we went to the car instead of the finish line... we finished the day off with lunch @ Panchos, a quick hug & hello to Auntie Age, and a 2.5 hour family nap!

when the boys are away, the girls will play!

since 2 of the 3 hubby's were out of town on work, we decided to have a girls day... and since jayme looooves the swings so much, we decided to hit the park again with her girlfriends (i think we are definitely gonna have to invest in a swing set!)

jayme wanted to show audrey how to play with her toys

audrey's first time on the swings (jayme loves to buddy-swing)

playtime (before the gopher appeared)

"where's jayme?" (she actually knew to point to jayme!)

peek-a-boo!

love this picture! riley and her future baby brother

ready to roll!

mom's get exercise while babies get nap time (well they were supposed to nap, they had other plans)

annnnnd passed out before she could finish her dinner

not even 7 pm and they are wiped out (as were we!)