Sunshine Saturday Night

3D

2011-12-01T21:17:00.000-08:00

We watched the first 5 minutes of the 3D pirate movie at Sea World a couple weeks ago. We made it past the floating map (which amazed the Gweener) and all the way until the cannon shot us in the face - Logan then screamed in terror and wouldn't stop crying. Worth it.

Halloween

2011-12-01T20:44:00.000-08:00

2011-12-01T19:57:00.001-08:00

So when Owen was born we had all sorts of help - our friends the Proctors watched Gwen and Logi so Ry could come to the hospital

Jen arrived the night he was born and helped a ton with dinners and the kids, and kept me company after I got home (oh and she celebrated her birthday with us too - probably the most low key 30th party ever)

Then my mom flew out for some quality time and more help. I had things prettttty good for a while there...

Fire Open House

2011-10-26T14:19:00.001-07:00

I love our fire department. Their open house was awesome - the kids got to climb all over their firetrucks and ambulances, go for a ride in a small firetruck, see a helicopter land like 20 feet in front of them, run through a smoking house obstacle course and spray fire hoses at targets.

...and there was a bunny too. Did I mention the free hotdogs?

A firefighter asked Gwen what she should do if she found matches. Her answer - "play with them." Apparently safety isn't a big focus in our house.

Owen

2011-10-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

Owen Lee Christensen

5 lbs 11 oz

September 14, 2011

Owen was born 4 weeks early and still managed to be the largest baby we've had yet. It was a pretty good feeling when my due date rolled around and instead of anticipating a visit to the hospital, I had a month old baby. It's a good thing too, because if my butt had gotten any bigger I would have had to buy even more stretchy pants (in addition to the stretchy pants I already had to purchase after outgrowing the ones I'd worn with the other two).

After I got home from the hospital Ryan told me that he was glad Owen came early because "we'd both gotten pretty tired of me being pregnant." Haha, I hadn't realized it had been so rough on him...

Ryan's Work Fair

2011-10-26T13:57:00.001-07:00

The highlight of this fair for the kids was the face painting, for us (or maybe just me) it was the all-you-can-eat barbecue lunch...

Montana

2011-10-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

Pics to Embarrass Logan

2011-10-25T14:07:00.000-07:00

I've created a file in our photo library with the above title. Here is a peek...

He really can't help himself - he looks up to Gwen way too much.

2011-09-09T14:14:00.000-07:00

Goodbye

Hello

oh, and Happy Independence Day

2011-08-04T15:55:00.001-07:00

We had a really great 4th of July. Ryan's parents were here, so you know we ate well (we had barbecue twice that weekend; you know, for the troops, haha). Also, Coronado throws a nice 50's style celebration with a parade, concerts in the park and fireworks at night over the bay set to music. Made for quite the festive atmosphere around here.

Lots of pictures were taken, but I think that there was a fingerprint on my camera lens or something because they all have a weird, blurry glow.

We watched the parade in true white trash form: on our sheet-covered couch, parked at the curb.

Gwen found some cool big girls to hang around with who taught her to yell (somewhat obnoxiously) "honk your horn!" at every car and truck that passed by.
The fireworks didn't start until nine, which may as well be 2 in the morning for our kids who normally go to sleep at 7:30. Gwen looooved them.
Logan was able to enjoy them more after Ryan figured out that he needed his ears covered. If the hands were taken off the ears, Logi's little hands would find his and place them back over said ears. It was a cute enough gesture to make up for his general bad attitude that evening.

Back to the River

2011-06-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

Ryan took Friday off a couple weeks ago so we could spend a long weekend at Lindsay and Randall's river house. This is the third summer in a row we have spent time there and it is soooooo fun.
The kids had lots to do like checking out the water,

and throwing rocks (probably the most popular kid activity).
Ryan and the big people (except for big, fat, pregnant me) spent a lot of time wake-boarding and wake-surfing.
We also got to ride around on pretty much every kind of recreational vehicle imaginable.
Ryan took the kids out one at a time on a jetski. He even let Gwen drive and said they were going like 60mph the whole time because she didn't know how to let off the gas.

Presents

2011-06-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

Lately, Gwen's been really into gift giving. This was her present for me the other day when I got out of the shower. I especially loved the crinkled roll of wrapping paper that got thrown in the trash after I got to see my present. But it's the thought that counts, and Gwen's certainly very thoughtful.

SeaWorld

2011-06-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

We dropped in and got SeaWorld passes - it's just 15 minutes from where we live. The kids actually really love it. Gwen loves the dolphin show, but not for the dolphins doing triple backflips; the highlight for her is the girl who wears the pink dress that turns into a pink wetsuit. She spends the entire half hour on the lookout for her.
Of course, we like Shamu too, but there's no pink dress girl so he's not as big of an attraction.

Unknown to me when we got our passes, SeaWorld has some pretty fun rides; and an entire kids' play area which is great as long as it's not too crowded.

The End.

Nutrients

2011-06-15T08:43:00.001-07:00

I finally found prenatal vitamins that don't make me want to puke. Why didn't anyone ever tell me these were available in candy form? huh?

Yes, for those of you who I haven't told (which includes pretty much everyone), I am pregnant again. It's a boy.

Tiny Dancer

2011-05-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

We experienced a bit of a cuteness overload when it came time for the Gweener's first dance recital.
Afterwards, we carried on the famous Corson tradition of "ice cream after performance." Since our favorite ice cream happens to come from McDonald's, that's where we headed. Don't worry, there were plenty of french fries on the ground for Logan to scavenge.
If you want to watch our movie of it click HERE. Warning - do not watch if you are prone to motion sickness. We did the best we could with the technology we had available; and the lighting was horrible, our seats weren't good, Ryan's arm really started to hurt early on, and there are plenty more excuses where those came from... (Gwen is the adorable one with the bouncy pony tail.)

(My friend just forwarded me the link to his video of that night - better quality than ours. Here's the link.)

Grandma Talley's 91st

2011-04-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

For Grandma Talley's 91st birthday she took a couple rooms at The Del for a week - she probably got some of the best rooms they had, judging by her view (and the rooms themselves).
For us, it was a week of opulence - fancy dinners,

hours of swimming in the pool,
the (partial) eating of giant hot dogs,
unprecedented attention for Logi,
the finest Easter our kids have ever experienced,

finished off by a pig sighting
Favorite Gma Talley quotes:

"Now you know how the other half lives"

"If anyone asks me what I did on Easter, I'm going to tell them I watched the obesity parade"

How Many Episodes of Battlestar Galactica Can a Person Watch Before Becoming a "Nerd"?

2011-04-04T11:58:00.001-07:00

The answer to this question is probably just one (because at that point you'll still think it's pretty stupid) - but Ryan and I have just completed the entire series - yes, we watched EVERY episode. Ask me a question about Cylons or FTL drives.

Dog Show

2011-03-07T13:49:00.001-08:00

One of the more hilarious things we've done lately is attend the dog show in Del Mar. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so the only pictures we have are from Ryan's trusty phone.
It was so funny seeing people whip out the hair dryers, hairspray, teeny scissors and brushes to make their dogs beautiful; and, we were impressed with how the entire place didn't smell like pee (but it was just the first day).
If your dog was looking especially good you could take them to get their photograph professionally taken and blown up into a giant, awkward picture to hang on your wall.
Ryan, of course, loved the small dogs.
Logan found his best friend in one of the larger breeds - Pyrenees. The one below was especially fond of him after having his eye and nose poked for 5 minutes (the owner was loving it, seriously).

Gwen managed to find something to dress up in, so that basically made this a perfect afternoon.

Gold Diggers

2011-03-07T10:01:00.001-08:00

Ryan's been on a quest to find every free activity in San Diego. A couple weeks ago we visited the Mormon Battalion. At the end of the tour there were some fun activities for kids like panning for gold, pretend brick making, and pumping water.

So Gwen Turned 3 Over a Month Ago

2011-02-24T15:19:00.000-08:00

We were in Montana for Gwen's birthday, which worked out well because I think she had a certain image in her little mind of what her birthday party was going to be like (tons of little princessy girls all there to give her princessy presents), but that wasn't going to happen at our place since we recently moved and don't know very many people yet.
She loved having her great-grandmother, grandparents, aunts and uncles all showering her with attention. She got a special birthday dress, jewelry, tiara, makeup and nail polish which she basically wore the remainder of our stay.
There were also some big birthday balloons which had to be pried out of her sweaty fingers 2 hours after she went to bed because she didn't want to let them go.

A Little Montana Vacay

2011-02-13T18:30:00.000-08:00

We spent the first week of 2011 in Montana. There were plenty of adventures to be had.
snowmobiling...
a magical family sleigh ride through the woods...

and, perhaps the highlight (at least for me), a delicious feast of fresh seafood shipped straight from Alaska and prepared by Trent - all you could eat giant crab legs, crab cakes made from scratch, and halibut.

Logan really loves crab. Now we know.

How Old?

2010-12-29T11:12:00.000-08:00

one

Christmassy Stuff - Christmas

2010-12-29T10:59:00.000-08:00

Wonderful Christmas surprises for EVERYONE!!! Oh my...

And then Gwen spent almost the entire day watching dvd's at the table. She ate almost an entire box of peppermint bark.
Then we decorated cookies, because I guess she likes that.

Christmassy Stuff - Christmas Eve

2010-12-29T10:53:00.000-08:00

We've started a new Christmas Eve tradition. Cozy family bonfire. Logan hates this tradition.

Christmassy Stuff - Santa and Parade

2010-12-29T10:40:00.001-08:00

Coronado has put on some nice events for Christmas. They created a small snow-mountain (which we didn't do because the big kids seemed a little rough for the Gwenner), cookie decorating and meet Santa at the Ferry Landing. We don't give Gwen many cookies so she was especially excited that she got to decorate and then eat as many cookies as she wanted.
Gwen was too afraid of Santa to get out of the stroller and talk to him (and this was repeated at later Santa meetings as well, even though she kept saying she was "ok with Santa because he gives [her] candy canes.")
Some of the highlights of the parade: Ronald McDonald, Joseph and Mary on segways.

Christmassy Stuff - Fireworks

2010-12-29T10:33:00.001-08:00

The hotel put on fireworks and free games for kids at the beginning of December. Here are some pics.

Where a Princess Goes

2010-12-03T15:38:00.001-08:00

I think that when Gwen gets married, this picture needs to be prominently displayed...like everywhere.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-03T14:48:00.001-08:00

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday in New Jersey. It was a looooong flight, but it definitely could have been worse. Worth it.
We got to experience some real fall/winter weather.
The kids got to see the Corson homestead. Logan got a chance to talk with "someone who really gets him" (and that would be Grandpa Ken, apparently).
We took the kids on their first train ride, a whole 4 minutes to the next stop on the line (and then home again after lunch). Gwen was a little confused when she didn't once hear the conductor yell "all aboard."

We made a stop at the Blocks' where Gwen was given loads of wonderful jewelry (among other things) and had a photo-shoot in the bathtub (among other places).
Logan was there too (he got a sweet, sweet leather jacket).
And Logan spent the week annoying Uncle Sam by touching his walker, taking his toys, and messing up his perfectly made bed. He can be kind of a bully sometimes.
ps - I know it's hard to believe, but my 10 year high school reunion was also that weekend. I went and it was fun. Everyone looks great and is great.

Oh, and yes, we've moved

2010-11-05T08:32:00.001-07:00

Coronado's very beautiful.
And, we aren't sure, but we think we might be able to see Mexico, our friendly neighbor to the South, from the beach.

Halloween

2010-11-05T07:51:00.001-07:00

Halloween started a few days early with trick or treating at Ryan's office.
Then on Halloween we headed to Coronado's downtown trick or treat with some neighbors (and Ryan's mom).

Then trick or treating around the neighborhood - Gwen got scared a couple times by monsters in people's yards and neighbors who like to startle children, but took it pretty well.
(Check out the stickers on the kids' heads, the "treats" from our local surf shop. Also, don't worry, Logan didn't eat any candy, just empty boxes, yes, lots of those.)

whyyyyyyyyyyyyy

2010-10-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

Summertime in the Fall

2010-10-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

After the coldest summer I have ever had in my life, we FINALLY had a few record-breaking, hot days. Thank you very much.

We've decided, as a family, that we love lemurs

2010-09-01T19:35:00.000-07:00

Presents

2010-08-30T19:39:00.001-07:00

Lately Gwen's been the happy recipient of various random gifts. My girlfriend from high school - Liz - mailed her this special, hand-selected tutu (which she refuses to wear leggings under so she twirls around showing off her "big girl undies"), and her nursery teacher at church got her a pair of tap shoes (because she knows Gwen loves to dance). So nice, so kind.

Flugtag

2010-08-30T19:31:00.001-07:00

Me and Ryan took a magical scooter ride into Long Beach to check out Redbull's Flugtag. It was a wonderful, sweaty experience.

Ryan's Montana Video

2010-07-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

You better sit down if you decide to watch this - it's a very deep and thoughtful 8 minutes. Watch it here

Montana Trip

2010-07-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

We spent almost 2 weeks in Montana with Ryan's family (so there are tons of pictures). Some of the trip highlights were:
Gwen riding horses as often as she could

Hours of tennis (resulting in hundreds of various bug bites)
Hike to Boulder Falls

Fourth of July fireworks

Lots of fishing

Hike to Baker Lake

and hanging out around the ranch

Oh, and Gwen got to spend some time in the cockpit of our plane on the way home.

Tower of Nuggets

2010-06-27T14:03:00.001-07:00

All of Ryan's dreams came true a couple weeks ago when we finally ordered Chick-fil-A's 200 nugget "tower." He'd been talking about doing this for months and the appropriate evening arrived during NBA Finals week when we had a bunch of friends over to watch the game. Not all the nuggets you can eat, but probably all the nuggets you would want to eat.

Here's What Logan Looks Like Now

2010-06-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

In case anyone was wondering.

Quality Time

2010-06-12T17:34:00.000-07:00

The past couple of months we've gotten to spend a lot more time with Ryan. I'm not gonna lie, it's been awesome.

Colorado River Party

2010-06-10T09:04:00.000-07:00

We went to the River over Memorial Weekend with a bunch of friends (thanks Randal and Lindsey for inviting us). Our friends are awesome for including us on their adventures even though we are the only ones with kids. Our friends are actually Gwen's best friends and she is constantly asking for them when we're at home.
We wake-surfed.

Gwen rode the jet-ski.

(I had to throw in the above pic because I'm pretty sure it's the only photo with all four of us in existence - I was hiding Logan from the burning hot sun, but he's in there too under the hat and towel)

Kite

2010-05-12T16:07:00.000-07:00

Gwen was pretty certain that she could fly her kite all by herself, so she ran around in circles dragging it on the ground until it broke. Awesome job Gwenner.
ps - like her outfit? She sure did :)

Adjustment

2010-05-11T16:53:00.001-07:00

I took this picture a couple months ago and just found it. I caught Gwen "sleeping" in Logan's bed sucking on his pacifier (she's been off that thing for a year) and I couldn't stop laughing (she kept telling me how crazy she was afterwords). Other than that she's adjusted really well to having a baby in the house, haha.

90th Birthday Party

2010-05-11T16:14:00.000-07:00

We drove to Salt Lake to celebrate Ryan's grandma's 90th birthday. The drive was surprisingly awesome even with the 2 kids - made me love them more for how well they behaved in the car for over 20 hours ha ha.
We saw almost Ryan's whole family (on his mom's side).
Also, while we were there we saw my sister's baby for the first time (she's 9 months) and my brother's wife, also for the first time (how pathetic are we). No pictures though since I didn't take out my camera once the whole trip - I had to steal the above photos from Facebook - ooooops.

Hope Everyone's Easter was.......hoppy...mwaaaaaaahahaha

2010-04-08T15:06:00.001-07:00

Gwen got her nails done. Then our awesome downstairs neighbor did an Easter Egg Hunt and had a little picnic for Gwen and her granddaughters.

Ry's Birthday

2010-04-07T15:01:00.001-07:00

Ryan's birthday must never have happened since I never blogged about it.

Is This What They Mean by Nappy Hair?

2010-03-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

oo-ooo-ooo I found Gwen's Sippy-Cup

2010-03-19T14:09:00.000-07:00

It was in the broiler OF COURSE

Mini-Me

2010-03-17T16:48:00.001-07:00

Lately I've noticed Gwen trying to be like me - and who can blame her right? Riiiiiight?

Dad's Visit

2010-03-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

My dad and Ryan's parents came out for Logan's blessing.
Gwen was a little shy of my dad and kept calling him "scary grandpa" (which I think might be because she heard him snoring - which is scaaaary).
They spent lots of quality time together watching Dora and at the park (below is Dad looking very interested in what Swiper is swiping).

Mani-Pedi

2010-03-11T21:14:00.000-08:00

Grandma Jill loves to spoil Gwen - who happens to take beauty very seriously.

Happy Birthday to Me

2010-03-08T12:51:00.001-08:00

I woke up to breakfast in bed from the Gweener (she ended up eating most of my Kix). Then at night there was a wiiiiild par-tay at our place with cake. It was very exciting and awesome. Thanks Sunshine you're a wonderful husband.

Big Sister

2010-03-08T12:41:00.001-08:00

Gwen loves being a big sister...for now.

mmmmm Cheese

2010-03-08T12:36:00.000-08:00

I busted Gwen gnawing on a block of cheese and told her that she needed to ask me to cut her a piece instead of chewing on the block.
The next day I caught her chewing on BUTTER and she looked up and me and said "mmmmm cheese." NASTY - I obviously haven't brainwashed her enough on how evil butter is.

Second Child Syndrome

2010-02-24T20:19:00.001-08:00

As I've been hurrying to update this blog, I realize that Logan doesn't appear too often. There are reasons for this - #1 all he does is eat and sleep (I'm not complaining, I like how uncomplicated he is); and #2 he's the second and I guess it's true that parents don't go as picture crazy the second time around. Sorry little guy, we'll try to do better...

Brrrrrr.....rrrrrr.....r

2010-02-24T20:10:00.000-08:00

I hate the winter.
Miss the summer.
Love me and Gwen's matching hand-knitted scarves from Liz Block. (If the Gweener's lucky, maybe I'll dress us alike for the rest of our lives, hahahahaha)

Irvine Park

2010-02-24T19:55:00.000-08:00

Saturday we went to Irvine Park and it was totally awesome. You pay to park (cheap) and the zoo is only $2 if you're over 3 - so our whole ginormous family got in for 4 bucks! Yiiiikes - you KNOW Ryan was loving that, haha.
Gwen loved the peacocks roaming around everywhere - but really REALLY loved this waterfall and kept telling us how beautiful it is.
Ryan loved feeding the animals and found a quarter in the food machine. If you know Ryan, you know how stoked that made him (on top of the cheap zoo).

My favorite part was brushing the tiny goats.
Logan slept the whole time.
The end.

Thank you for being a...

2010-02-01T11:34:00.000-08:00

I seriously love when these two get to hang out - you've never seen a happier Gwen than when she's around Avery.

Low-Balled (hahahaha get it? I'm so clever)

2010-02-01T10:54:00.000-08:00

So I guess Logan's been secretly visiting my dad's hair stylist.

And here's a pic of us for good measure.

Feliz Dos Anos

2010-01-14T11:13:00.001-08:00

Gwen turned two last week and it was by far her best birthday yet.
Best friend/future BYUH college roomie Avery came for a visit.

Little girl, big cake
The stroller with diaper bag
Not one, but TWO electric toothbrushes, annnnd her own chap-stick (thanks Jen/Gentry and Ben/Alex)
Pinwheel from Grandma Corson
The Sock Monkey in a Box (think Jack in the Box). Here, she was enjoying the beautiful music
Here - very, very frightened...and she still is. If we bring this out she tells us "all done, scary" and grabs it to put it away.

Logan

2010-01-10T15:35:00.000-08:00

Logan Leon Christensen arrived on Monday, December 28th 11:19am. 5lbs 9oz. 18.25in long.
He wasn't born covered in poop and spit-up, but has done his best ensuring that the first two weeks of his life have been spent that way.
And here are a couple more photos:

We need to send a special thank-you to Chris and Danielle who answered our 4am phone call to come over and watch the Gweener while we went to the hospital. Heros.

So Fresh and So Messy

2010-01-10T15:27:00.000-08:00

This is the first time I've ever been out in public with more kids than adults. Not as bad as I'd previously imagined, but still pretty craaaazy.

Christmas Eve Festivities

2009-12-25T21:09:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve included strolling the Naples Canal Christmas light extravaganza, Chinese take-out, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. You could say it put us in the proper Christmas spirit. Yes, you could say that...

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-25T20:08:00.000-08:00

We have had a wonderful Christmas. So wonderful that Ryan was inspired to create this short movie (on our much needed, brand-new computer!). yay!

Christmas Parade '09

2009-12-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

Last Friday was the annual Seal Beach Christmas Parade. It's a funny marker for us because it feels like we JUST went to this, but I guess it was a year ago. They advertised it as the largest parade they'd put on yet, and it was looooooong (but didn't feel as long as last year's, which must have had at least 10,000 Boy and Girl Scouts).
We've been kind of sick at our house, no Swine Flu or anything like that, but Ryan stayed home from work that day because they poisoned him the night before with their "dinner;" and Gwen's had a cold, and gave herself a little black eye on our ottoman. (I'm trying to explain why my family looks a little off in these pictures, haha.)

The parade was complete with elves playing baritones, the Volunteer Clowns of Orange County, Kazoo Marching Band, firetrucks, Navy boats, dog walkers, dogs who read, the Sunset Assisted Living Community short-bus...you name it, we saw it and clapped for them.

And I wanted to note that this is the first time that I've ever gone out early in the day to set out chairs and claim a spot - people mocked me, but nobody was complaining when we had AWESOME seats for EVERYONE thanks to me (and Gwen who helped move them out of the garage, into the wagon, and drop them off that morning).

Need a Shower

2009-12-08T20:21:00.000-08:00

Jen and Alex threw me a sweet, sweet baby shower to get us geared up. Thanks Bizzles - you're fo' rizzle:)
Too bad we didn't take any pics together...

More Montana Thanksgiving

2009-12-02T14:56:00.000-08:00

Lots of playing in the snow. Tubing with Grandma Jill and Grandpa Max.
I decided it was okay to risk the baby and also did a few runs. This is me and "Aunt Buckey."

Ryan and Max's snow bear attacking a human on the golf course.

Eating snow. "mmmmmmm" (a Gweener quote).

Four-wheeling.
Walks to the big house.
Air hockey.

First Sledding

2009-12-02T14:13:00.001-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving in Montana with Ryan's family. We took Gwen out tubing on at a nearby ski resort that hadn't opened yet for the winter. There was still lots of snow, but we had the mountain to ourselves which was pretty nice, as you can probably imagine.
So, Ryan took her down in a tube and the first picture is of the snowball that you could see coming down the mountain (I think he put his feet down in an effort to slow them down so she wouldn't be scared?). The next two pics are at the bottom. It was HI-larious. She got over it pretty quick and had fun on the rest of her runs (which started out much lower on the hill).

Free Pic

2009-11-18T14:17:00.001-08:00

Me and Gwen were at Babies R' Us for like 2 hours yesterday trying to figure out which double stroller we're going to graduate to (still haven't decided - I neeeed a big basket for groceries, but all those strollers are HUGE). During that time Gwen got a free glamor shot (they were giving away a 5x7), good thing she decided to accessorize that day. Since I'm too cheap to buy anything, I'm just scanning it into my computer and will print it at my leisure. Screw the man, mwaaa-hahahahahahaha (evil laugh).

*Oh, and don't worry, I've had a double jogger for months (Ryan found an awesome deal at a garage sale, of course) in anticipation of the burn that's going to occur after this baby comes. I'm sweating just thinking about it, but I sweat pretty easily.

Halloweenie

2009-11-03T10:37:00.001-08:00

Gwen was a flower for Halloween. I was having a really hard time getting her to wear her costume. Every time I put it on she would pull off the hat and then tug at the outfit saying "off." So, a week before official Halloween, we had an activity at our church where the kids could wear their costumes, play games and trunk-or-treat from people's cars in the parking lot. I think when she saw the other kids in their costumes she became more cooperative, and theeeen, when people started putting candy in her bucket she was stoooooooked.

Then, on Halloween day, the shops in Seal Beach were giving out candy to trick-or-treators all afternoon. Some more good practice because we've been trying to teach Gwen to say "Trick or Treat" for like a month (but it was hard because at the time those words had no meaning for her).

Then, Halloween night turned into one of the highlights of her short life. It was us with 2 other couples without kids (so 6 adults and 1 child).

Here's the loot (now hidden from her greedy hands).
So, she figured out trick-or-treat and then on Sunday had a little meltdown because she wanted to go again. So she trick or treated our house a couple times and then we took her out for a walk in the wagon, during which she kept saying "trick or treat" randomly and getting sad because we weren't stopping anywhere.

Thanks

2009-11-02T13:19:00.001-08:00

Liz Block made and sent these to Gwen and her little brother for no apparent reason. A couple of my girlfriends noticed them on Gwen's wall and spent like 10 minutes complimenting them - super cute. We thank you in this month of thanks :)

15 Dolla

2009-10-26T13:49:00.001-07:00

Me and Jen took a field trip to Little Saigon to investigate the rumors we've heard of hour massages for $15. The rumors turned out to be...TRUE!!! Unbelievable. Full body massage from a little Vietnamese man with super-strong hands smelling mildly of cigarettes. Hands so strong that I worried for my safety a couple of times - he almost broke my neck and then later I honestly thought my arm was going to be ripped out of its socket. Definitely worth it.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Our second annual visit to Pa's.
I put Gweener on this car ride - but since it was pretty deserted the night we went I hadn't seen it actually moving. I saw other kids who looked like they were just a little bit older than her and the ride guy didn't blink when I went to put her in, so I thought it would be fine. Theeeen...when it started up it kept going faster and faster, and every revolution I could see Gwen's face changing from kinda bored to terrified. She started crying and they stopped the ride so I could take her off. I felt like an awesome mom, haha.

She liked some of animals at the petting zoo, like the chicks and bunnies, pretty much anything tiny and in a cage.
She was pretty nervous around the sheep and goats that were roaming around, I had to do some heavy convincing to get her to pet anything.

Feeding the Birds

2009-10-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

Anyone can watch these, but they may be kinda boring. I figured they were something more for the grandparents who think everything Gwen does is cute and interesting ;) And maybe keep the sound down/off because I HATE my voice on tape, haha.

Guess Who's a Broker

2009-10-23T16:09:00.001-07:00

(Here's a hint, it's one of the people in this photo.)
If anyone's planning on buying a house in Cali, call this guy - he'd looooove to help.

La Semana de los Dos Madres

2009-10-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

This week we had visits from both me and Ryan's moms - my mom was here Sunday and left Tuesday; and Ryan's mom (and her mom) got in on Wednesday and left Friday.
Above is a pic of Gwen racing my mom to the park (funny that on Monday it was FREEZING and we all dressed in sweaters, and today, Friday, is like 90 degrees).
Thursday was Jill's birthday so we went out for a fancy dinner (so fancy that we got appetizers AND desserts) at a place called Parker's Lighthouse. It was recommended to me by a friend and was sooooo good and right on the water in beautiful Long Beach.

Potty

2009-10-10T19:37:00.000-07:00

Gwen used her potty for the FIRST time!!! I'd been putting the little seat on our toilet (someone had told me that it's better that way for some reason, can't remember what it was) and she would never go, but I moved it to the little potty and put her on right before her bath and, miracle, she went. I'm so excited that I had to blog about it right away - this just happened like an hour ago. I don't think she's on her way to being potty trained, she still thinks it's hilarious to pee on me and the floor after her bath, but I'm just glad she's figuring out what to do with the thing.

I'm feeling Bjorn Again

2009-10-05T14:22:00.001-07:00

Ryan's firm gave him some tickets to see this ABBA tribute band on Saturday night. He figured it might be more of a girl thing so he gave them up for me and my friends. We were happily surprised that our seats were in the very center of the front row. We were so close that the keyboard player "Benny" gave Alex a high-five and the guitar player "Bjorn" announced that he was enjoying her kicks (she was by far the most excited person in the audience).
(Alex, Sally, me and Jen)

Shark Friday Night

2009-10-05T14:09:00.001-07:00

The aquarium has free shark nights on Fridays, when they open up the shark lagoon area and petting zoo (which consists of a variety of little sharks and stingrays), and have live music. Gwen was appropriately frightened of the animals and was mostly interested in the band and little play area.
A family photo (just imagine my face on Jen's body).

Angels Game

2009-09-04T15:26:00.000-07:00

Ryan's work gave us Angels tickets to last Saturday's game so we forwent G's bedtime and decided to go for a few hours (she got kicked out of the church's nursery the next day as a result, she was too sad to be with the other kids). What a difference from a Dodger's game - all of the "excuse me's" and "thank you's" contributed to a considerably friendly and safe-feeling atmosphere (as opposed to the gang fights and stabbings at LA games, haha). I was worried that the Gweener would get a little out of control having to stay in a seat for a long time, but the random music, cheering and applause actually kept her quite busy and she had a really good time.

Max's Birthday

2009-09-04T15:19:00.001-07:00

Ryan's dad was here for his birthday, which was last Sunday - so we threw him an awesome party and invited all of OUR friends, haha. I even sweated in the kitchen to bake him a delicious gourmet cake.

Beach Polariod

2009-09-04T10:26:00.000-07:00

Some girl took this Polaroid of the Gweener the other day at the beach and we love it because it looks so vintage - so I'm putting it on the ol' blog.

CSI Miami

2009-09-04T10:03:00.000-07:00

CSI filmed at the house across the street from us a couple of weeks ago - my neighbor gave me some of the pictures from his camera and I scanned them (which is why the not-so-good quality I suppose). This David Caruso guy was soooo nice and wanted to hold Gwen but, for some reason she sometimes picks somebody to be terrified of in a crowd and it happened to be him (might have been the makeup or the sunglasses, which he removed for her but it was too late). She was totally fine with the rest of the crew who were also super-friendly. This was taken at 7 in the morning and the other girl is my downstairs neighbor - she wears cute pajamas and I don't, haha.

Yes, It's True

2009-08-23T21:40:00.001-07:00

We're having a baaaaby, and it's a boy. Due January 13. More eyes for Gwen to poke.

Wiener Nationals, This is Serious

2009-07-28T16:54:00.001-07:00

We made our second annual pilgrimage to the Wiener Nationals race. This year Gwen got in on some of the action.
Made her picks.
Placed her bets. Cheered on her choices.
They never even found the finish line. (Hard to tell, but believe me, you have not see this kind of chaos on a racetrack before. I mean, come on, a man dressed like a hot dog?) But the crowd still went nuts.

She was ticked and me and her, and Whitney and Tanner, had to leave early.
My face mysteriously turned purple that Saturday. Not to worry, all better now.

Candrians

2009-07-28T16:44:00.000-07:00

Rob and Lorena and Mr. C (who's hiding) came to sleep in the sauna that is our guest bedroom. I didn't realize this, but Lorena was saying this is like the 4th time they've come in a year, it doesn't seem like we see them enough though - DC is too far, and Sweden is even further. Hopefully we will be seeing them there next year and they can return the many, many hospitalities we have granted them, because we've earned it, of course.

Cookies

2009-07-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

While in Kansas Gweener experienced several firsts in her short life. She fell down the stairs for the first (and second, and third) time; rode a go-kart, wore goggles...but most importantly, had her first cookie (well, I think, I'm not sure what Jen does when my back is turned, and I don't totally trust her:).
She found the cookie drawer at her grandparents' house and every afternoon you would hear the pitter-patter of her feet running into the kitchen, a drawer sliding open, the crinkling of a plastic bag, drawer sliding shut, and little feet running away (repeating every couple of minutes). I'm pretty sure that drawer has changed her life, since she has a Nazi of a mom who doesn't give her treats like that at home. I guess that's just one more reason for her to love getting out of town.

Go-Karts Are Fun...

2009-07-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

Or ARE they?

Where the Buffalo Roam

2009-07-28T15:40:00.000-07:00

(Ryan likes to make sure I'm aware that the state song of Kansas is "Home on the Range." So he'll probably appreciate me informing anyone who reads this blog of that little known fact.)

(ps - I took the above photo from the Christensen's driveway.)
We spent a week in Kansas over the 4th. It was awesome. Gwen got to see some of her cousins and she was actually old enough to play with them - and they were very, very kind and patient with her shenanigans.

She got into the usual "toys."

We did tons of swimming, which led to epic afternoon naps on her part, so I also spent quite a lot of time in the pool laying out, which was verrrrry nice.

Ryan enjoyed throwing those gun powder poppers at Gwen's feet to sharpen her reflexes, he's an excellent father.

But, she's easy and was deliriously happy the whole week. And apparently Ryan was really tired?

Tiny Helper

2009-06-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

Gwen gets a kick out of unsorting my laundry and unfolding piles of stacked t-shirts and towels. But she's the best laundry helper I've ever had, sorry Sunshine.

Mom Visit

2009-06-30T10:04:00.000-07:00

My mom came for a visit last week, giving me and Ryan some much needed freedom to do whatever we wanted...which turned out to be staying at home almost all of those nights, reading and going to bed early, haha. She took Gwenifred to the pier park, on walks in town, to the beach to chase her ball while getting blasted in a sandstorm, and various other adventures. Also on her vacation, she got to cook me dinner and do most of the grocery shopping. She claims to have had a wonderful time, maybe her trip to see my sister after her baby in July will be more relaxing.
Before we left to take her to the airport I realized that I hadn't taken any pictures so we sat on the porch for a photo shoot in which Gwen could not sit still. So, here are the results - these photos may not be blog-worthy, but they're all I ended up with.

Memorial Weekend

2009-06-09T09:52:00.000-07:00

We went back to the river for the long weekend.

(I think that Gwen's not afraid of anyone because she's spent so much time with scary Uncle Gentry.)

P-Dine fo Rizzle

2009-06-09T09:39:00.000-07:00

In May, the McDonalds stopped by our place. Shellie and I took the babes to the beach while the boys surfed. I only have pics of their bath, but they really liked the beach too.

Avery took over to get the sand off of Gwen.

Then that evening there was Pepperdine reunion, of sorts.

Theee Reeeever

2009-05-18T09:39:00.000-07:00

We spent Mother's Day weekend at the Colorado River. Now, ONE ... of my favorite places, thanks to Randall and Lindsay for inviting us to their sweet sweet casa.
We tubed (this is Ryan and Gentry)...
Ryan tried wake-surfing...

I wake-boarded for the first time...
Gwen had her first boat ride...

This is Ryan catching some air...

It was awesome!!! weeeeeeeee

The Huntington Library (not in Huntington)

2009-05-11T16:32:00.000-07:00

Whitney hooked us up with some free tickets to this huge gardeny place. I didn't take any pics of the garden or of any adults (unless you look very closely at the bottom pic, at the end of the tunnel Whitney is waiting for Gweener), just my baby because I can't resist. There was a fun water fountainy play area for kids which she loved, probably because it was like 100 degrees outside (notice the sweaty red face).

the latest trends

2009-05-04T14:59:00.001-07:00

Lately she's been getting into my drawers and pulling out my swimsuits and running stuff and wearing it around her neck. I was especially impressed today that her selections perfectly matched each other AND the outfit she was already wearing. She knows things.

Trent

2009-05-04T13:19:00.000-07:00

Ryan's brother Trent visited us a couple weekends ago - he's never met Gwen because he's been in South Africa...forever, working. I didn't get a good photo of the two of them on my camera, but he has some on his, so if I ever get them, they will be posted.
It was also the Classic Car Show that weekend, so that's what these are from.
(In the bottom pic Gwen was trying to escape the stuffed rat.)

Retreat!!!!!

2009-04-19T09:57:00.001-07:00

Work retreat.
Due to the bad economy, Ryan's firm was able to get into an awesome hotel for their retreat this weekend. Gwen and I went up Saturday to swim in the pool and enjoy the beauty that is Pasadena (and no sarcasm, I was honestly surprised with how nice this area was, kind of reminded us of NJ - big shady trees and quiet neighborhood). After Ryan was treated to a relaxing massage at one of the top 10 spas in the nation, he took over Gweener duty and listened to her cry in the room for an hour (undoing all that pampering, don't want him to get too spoiled) before she finally took a nap for another hour and a half. This gave me the chance to get my burn on poolside. Not only did he make a happy wife, but impressed his boss who now thinks he deserves the father/husband of the year award. Oh honey...

Time Well Spent

2009-04-08T21:41:00.001-07:00

Through laughter and tears, good times and bad; we'd like to thank everyone who has contributed. R-Dawg has driven his victory lap and the world is good again.

Kites and Beach

2009-04-06T09:06:00.000-07:00

Perfect weekend here. Took Ben's kite-boarding kite out on the beach, fuuuuuun.
Gentry caught some sweet air (see what you miss Jen, when you leave).
Ryan worked on his "tan"
and Gwen chased birds. Baby walking on beach is soooo much better than baby crawling on beach; probably times a thousand.