I am sick of....

How much houses cost here!!!! To get into a house here you start with a town home that is about $300,000, but since we have a growing family we need a 3 bedroom, so that is about $350,000. Then houses that are not total fixer uppers start at $450,000.
In the next few years we want to have another baby but three bedroom apartments start at $1800, isn't that crazy! I just get so frustrated some times, it isn't like we are lazy bums, or are totally in debt. Just a loving little family looking for a place to live that has a washer and dryer, is not upstairs, and a little space outside to play in. I try to remind myself of my many blessings and to be patient to move to a place where cheaper housing is a blessing. I am indeed blessed, but just a little frustrated right now.

Sewing together

My little sewing team

We hope baby Clayton likes our burp cloths we made. The might have some crooked stitches, but they were made with love!

Ben and I are now an Aunt and an Uncle! Ben's sister Stephanie had a baby boy, so I wanted to sew some burp cloths for him. We are so excited to have little Clayton join our family! Thanks for adding to the family Justin and Stephanie! Austin just loves the sewing machine and will sit on my lap and stare in amazement while I sew away. It is really quite funny because that is not the only thing that I do that interests him. He loves make-up, lotion, combing his hair and brushing his teeth. He also likes shaving his face just like Daddy. He loves to imitate everything we do so he keeps us on our toes. I thought these pictures were fun, he is growing up way too fast!

Boots

So I told Ben the other day "I think rain boots for kids are kind of rediculous, what is the point of them...yadayadayada..." The next day I went to a department store that I had a gift certificate to and was looking in the shoe section and found these.

Austin just loved them!!! He laughed and and tried to put them on, and then didn't want to take them off. I've never seen him like that, and it was so fun. So guess what? I bought'em. Yep, even though I had just said the day earlier that I thought they were dumb. Ben thought that it was hilarious and poked fun at me, but he liked them so much! It wasn't just that he liked them but it was such a sweet innocent sort of joy that it gave him, I just had to give in.

We bought Austin a train table and train set for Christmas off Craigslist for $50, which isn't a bad deal. After reading some not so great reviews about the kind we bouhgt we took it out to try it and Austin loved it. He loves to say "tah, tah, tah, hoo-hoo" (like chugga, chugga, choo, choo). So cute. Sadly we put it away for Christmas (if we give everyting to him know what would have to look forward to at Christmas?) but he still likes to watch Thomas the train videos, and read his train books. He is such a fun, smart kid, he's a keeper.

Emma sat up all by her lonesome today! She still will not take a bottle. Here are some of the things I have tried: 1) Fresh pumped milk 2) Dr Brow and Avent bottles 3) Have Ben feed her, other people feed her, she refuses a bottle! If anyone has anyother tips I would welcome them!!!!

Here are our good friends Dan and Heather, sadly they are moving away. You will be missed!

Emma Loraine is sooo cute!

Happy Annervesary Honey! I love you, and can't wait to spend the rest of eternity with you, wait....today is a part of eternity....hmmm, I'll have to work on that : ) You are the best thing to ever happen to me, it's been a great 5 years!

Disneyland, Santa Monica Pier and other random things

We haven't posted for a while so I thought that we would update with some new pictures. Emma slept through the night for the first time last night!!! I am trying to follow some of the tips out of the book Babywise and after just one day I had my first real full night of sleep. It was wonderful. We have been up to a lot and hope that you enjoy the pictures.

Busy Bodies

Since I didn't need a flash I finally got a smile out of her (the flash scares her).

Austin had croup and rosiola at the same time! Poor buddy. Ben made this little cozy fort for him.

Austin had a ball playing in the water. I think that I need to invest in a kiddie pool.

My three most favorite people in the whole world.

We made cookies, Austin just had to wear an apron like Mom.

The Mariner's Season is upon us.



Go M's!

I love being her Mommy!

Smile!

Emma is very close to rolling over, this was taken a month ago! She still hasn't rolled over from her back to tummy, but she can roll from her tummy to back. I'm not complaining though, one mobile child is enough for now.

As we dive into this summer Austin and Emma are growing like weeds. We are enjoying watching them grow up. I now understand why people have such large families, having a baby around is so much fun (especially when you are not pregnant at the same time)!



For all stay at home Moms (SAHM) out there, I want to recommend a very uplifting and informative book by Dr. Laura called "In Praise of Stay at Home Moms". It really opened my eyes to the importance of my current occupation and emphasises how to keep your marriage strong, and you motivated to stay home and make the most of it. It made me realize something I had chosen to be a SAHM but I had not taken the step to actually enjoy it. That might sound strange but I really didn't know how to enjoy it, how to play with my kids, how to relax, and this book really helped me with that. With that said go out there and read it! It really is what the title is, you will feel like a super hero after reading it! I want to thank Ben's Mom for sending it to me, I will send it to you Steph pretty soon (when you have an address).

OPENING DAY!!!

Best day of the year for a baseball fan, and it could not have been better. 6-1 M's win!!! Griffey with a Home Run and King Felix goes 8 strong innings.

Go M's!