Aquarium of the Pacific

Ryan had a REALLY good time at the aquarium last week (sarcasm), haha. I actually did think it was pretty cool though. Gwen hasn't yet disclosed her thoughts on the trip, we may have to wait a while for those.

New Art

Our one productive endeavor over break.

Merry Christmassssss

So far, Christmas has been pretty awesome. The highlight was this:

Ryan and I set a budget for each other for gifts this year. How does a Wii fit into a pretty small budget? We WON it at Ryan's work Christmas party apparently (we left early so we weren't around for the drawing of the prize winners). Ryan found out at the office the following Monday and decided to keep the secret for Christmas. What a lucky surprise - especially since pretty much everyone at the party put their names into the drawing for it.

The Dress

The story is that Liz Block mailed this dress to Gwen for Christmas. I showed it to Ryan but we had yet to put it on her. I dressed her for church this morning while Ryan was still asleep and then got in the shower with her in her crib for a short nap. While I was getting dressed I heard Ryan get her and exclaim in a high, squeaky voice "oooohhh, you look just like a princess!" haha. Then he proceeded to tell me that this is his favorite outfit and that Liz has the BEST taste. Honest.
I had to put up a bunch of photos because Gwen does the cheesiest smiles for the camera, and I think that they are hilarious.

Partaaaay

We don't get many dates lately, so I actually looked forward to Ryan's work party. It happened to be the same night as the ward Christmas dinner so our friends ended up taking Gwen to that without us. The next day in church we got some comments on how Gwen seems to be the communal baby for couples under 30 - totally fine with us. (Side note: the lighting in our apartment is kind of funny and night photos always seem/are blurry - don't know what to do about that.)

Christmas Parade

A couple of weekends ago was the Seal Beach Christmas Parade. I've never been to a night parade and we weren't disappointed. The kids running into the street to grab candy, "almost famous kazoo marching band" and billion girl scouts made the night especially memorable. We didn't think that Seal Beach could put together a full length parade, but it was waaaay longer than expected and so our friends with kids who could actually appreciate Santa at the end had to leave before he made his appearance. I would definitely recommend this to anyone next year. Good times, good times.

Stuff Doin' in KS

Gwen and I spent last week in Kansas with the Christensens (Ryan came in on Tues night). Ryan's mom kept me pretty busy with Body Pump and tennis lesson two-a-days. By the end of the week I could barely walk I was so sore - probably a good thing with all the eating that happened. Here are some pictures from the week - and please note the final photo (that was the best shot at the target and just happened to be MINE, and it was ALL SKILL of course). Oh, and if anyone wants to see a tear-jerker, go to Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Saddest movie ever, but very good so I would recommend it anyway.

Still a Baby

I feel like she is getting so big - but in these photos from last night she still looks babyish and that makes me happy.

Toys in the Hood

So, since Gwen's figured out where her toys are she has been more motivated to get around. We've been impressed with her tenacity. She can get herself into the toy trunk all by herself. She hasn't figured out how to escape yet, but why would she want to?

Happy Birthday Brookie!

For the Toones

When Jen and Gentry lived here, there were toothbrushes floating around everywhere, really, they were EVERYWHERE. Gwen loooves them. Swinging them around, chewing on them, whacking stuff with them...

Halloween

On Halloween (what, like 2 weeks ago?) we just hung out with our neighbors and friends and gave out candy to trick-or-treators. Is it weird that I'm posting about this now?

Saturday

On Saturday Gwen's bff Avery had her first birthday party (which was nice for me because I got to see my beloved Shellie:).
Later that night was our Ward Halloween Party, Gwen was a bunny.

Pa's Pumpkin Patch

About a week ago we visited the pumpkin patch with Gwen and some friends. Unfortunately, we got there around 7 (Gwen's bedtime) and so there are no pictures of her smiling. It was more for Ryan's entertainment anyway, he LOVES petting zoos and can't get enough mini-ponies.

Christensens

Ryan's parents visited this weekend. We did lots of eating and sleeping, so you could say it was the perfect vacation.

Something Missing

Jen and Gentry have spread their little wings and left the nest. It was a saaaad day. They have broken Gwen's heart. I don't think she really knew who her real mom and dad were - they've lived with her for 6 out of 9 months she's been alive.
They moved into their own apartment a few blocks away. The good news is that we still haven't gone a day without seeing them.
Soooo, now we need house guests. Must...fill...this...void...

Subject: Family

Our last photog assignment was of family. Of course I photographed G-Wen because she's basically the only one I take pictures of anyway. And I think she secretly likes it.

Unlucky Kitty

This cat ran into our house last week when me, Gwen and Jen got home from somewhere (can't remember where). It wouldn't come when we called it toward the door so eventually Jen picked it up and pretty much had to throw it out the door while I slammed it shut. It then sat on our deck meowing loudly every few seconds. Then it started climbing on our windows trying to get in. It was truly bizarre.

Daddy Day Care

So, last night I had a meeting and left Ryan at home to take care of Gwen and put her to bed. When I got back I asked how it went and he said that they had "gone though a lot of stuff." First, he took her for a walk in the stroller. Her blanket fell off her lap and he rolled over it and stepped on it before realizing what happened. Then, when he was giving her a bath he dropped her towel in the toilet. The second towel got peed on. I was seriously only gone for an hour.

Flower

We've been hosting a photography class at our place every other week. Our last assignment was flowers. Here's mine.

Japan America Kite Festival

From the pier we could watch synchronized kite flying, Japanese stick fighting, and surfing (unrelated to the festival, but the waves just happened to be super-good today).

Me and Jen hula-hooped for a free lunch box and drink sample. The Japanese LOVED us!

As if we needed another reason to love love love Seal Beach.

Weekend at Bernie's

Actually it was a weekend at Palm Springs followed by a visit to Ryan's great-aunt Bernie. We went for a retreat with Ryan's practice group at his firm. It was pretty relaxing, we mostly hung out by the pool because it was over 100 degrees and you couldn't do much else. Gwen was excited to be back in a pool and entertained the rest of the guests with her kicking and splashing (at breakfast on Sunday morning we passed some people we didn't know and they were like, "there's the little kicker" and started imitating her to their friends).

On the way home we stopped at Aunt Bernie's place in Yucca Valley. Bernie had Gwen laughing like I've never seen before; and I told her so. So now we know who Gwen loves the most.

Action Shots

Because Gwen pretty much was born jumping (actually, the very first ultrasound we ever saw of her at 9 weeks she was jumping, like the whole time), she LOVES this thing. She ricochets off the sides of the door squealing, jumping back and forth, occasionally lifting up both her feet to just free-swing. It is FUNNY.