First and Fourth

Just sitting here sipping a Sangria and reflecting on the kids' birthday party today.

First off, it was a success, but the morning started off with a bit of a snag. There are two gazebo pavilions you can rent at the park. I had reserved Gazebo A from 10-2. And apparently two other parties were double-booked for Gazebo B for the full day. A very crabby lady in gray-sweatpants (who will be referred to as Gray-Sweatpants from here on) approached me to ask for my paperwork, proving that I had the rights to Gazebo A.

Yeah, I had them... at home, on my desk.

So Ryan had to drive back home and get them. And meanwhile Gray-Sweatpants informed me she was calling the police to see how they wanted to divide up the 2 gazebos between all 3 groups...

Talk about stress just as our party was starting.

Later we noticed that her 'party' wasn't going to start till HOURS later. All she wanted that space for was to 'set up' - and Tinkerbell style for a toddler's party no-less. Come on people! 4 hours to setup a party?!)

Thankfully it turned out so we kept our original reserved spot and they duked out the details between themselves. I had a party to get started.

And partying we did. It was a patriotic-themed party (inspired by the fact that the 4th of July is exactly halfway between the kids' birthdays - with Addie's on the first and Dylan's on the 7th of July).
Dylan had a blast with his friends, running around with water guns decorated up with 'Cars' stickers (per his request), throwing water balloons (provided for the kids to toss at their daddys, courtesy of Kathy), drinking juice boxes, eating lots of fruit snacks and hotdogs.







Addie had fun... eating. She enjoyed strawberries, goldfish, and... her first chocolate cupcake! (Seperate post to follow with pictures of her first cake experience)


She also enjoyed the swings and watching her big brother run around with his buddies. Here she is with Christy, just after the water balloon fight.



At the end of the party, Addie was wiped out, shirtless and sticky from cupcake icing, and overdue for her afternoon nap.

Meanwhile, Dylan somehow had energy to spare. So when we got home, he unwrapped their gifts, took his bath, came along with Kathy and I to get my Saturday Flowers, the grocery store, Panera for dinner take-out (all while Addie napped), and continued to play non-stop until nearly 8pm!


That, my friends, is why this mama is drinking a Sangria at 11:05pm. ;)

Harnessing my inner 'white trash'

Last night was Thursday Night Thunder at the Irwindale Speedway. The drag races went from 5-10pm and we were there for about 2 hours of it. At first I felt pretty embarrassed by the fact that my baby was barefoot and without a coat of her own (wearing an extra of her brother's and wrapped up in my coat). Then I thought a bit about the noise. Was I doing unrecoverable damage to my children's ears? Then I saw the kid with a mullet, the King Taco stand, the VW bug racing, the Uhaul truck racing, the funnel cakes... and I felt better.
The engines roared, the folks around us could care less if my kids were dressed properly, there were M&Ms, I had my diet Dr. Pepper, and the cars raced on!
By the end of the evening, Dylan and his buddy Joshua were running in the parking lot between our cars and the King Taco stand, pretending to be cars in the Piston Cup Championship. It was a good night. And we ALL had fun (Addie included!)

In the Buff

Kathy posted something over on her blog with some pretty cute pictures of the kids on there. Go check it out here. I think the second to last picture is probably my favorite one. It just cracks me up!

And while Kathy has lost her hair, she certainly has not lost her great sense of humor and wit. I think the way she has handled Dylan's curiosity has been neat to watch.

In fact, something interesting is that the one time (on Easter Sunday) that he saw her with her wig on, he didn't even notice a difference between hair and no hair to comment on it. It's a testimony that he sees Kathy as KATHY and not her hair or what she wears or whatever.

Prayerful Thoughts

This picture was taken back in June, at Dylan's birthday party, the day before I went into labor with Addie. It's one of my favorite pictures because this was a really special day for our family and I loved that Kathy was a part of it with us. Our family was on the cusp of so much change and she was there for us. She always has been.

Tomorrow this dear friend of ours starts chemo treatment. The past couple weeks I haven't written here because I didn't know how to put into words what has been going on. She's such a special part of our lives. When I got the call that she was in the ER, in pain, I panicked. I couldn't fix it for her. And when she had surgery the next morning, I worried and agonized over the pending pathology reports till I felt sick. But I knew that my role was to be her friend, love her and pray for her. And then when the results finally came back, we learned that the cancer hadn't spread any further. And while I know she has a lot ahead of her, I want to remind myself daily that my role in this is to be her friend. To encourage her. To love her. To pray for her. And to trust.
And that is what I plan to do.

A Golfing We Will Go

On Sunday evening, we went with some friends and took the kids miniature golfing (first golf experience for Dylan and his friend, Nolan). The dad's were about as excited as the kids. The course had 9 holes and the boys probably could have played longer.
Then we went to a tasty little local Mexican restaurant for dinner together and I think I had the best burrito of my life.
The kids were tired and a little squirrely, but it turned out to be a very fun evening.
I'm already itching to go again.



(Notice how much Dylan and Addie adore each other? I love how she studies him while he goofs around, snuggling and singing to her).

Our Holidays at a Glance

Dylan and Addie enjoyed the holidays this year.
They met Santa at the Americana Mall, which was pretty impressive.



We spent two days at Disneyland with Ryan's family, complete with the Pixar Parade that knocked Dylan's socks off!



Then we went down to San Diego up through Christmas Day.
Dylan had fun waking everyone up on Christmas morning, opening presents, and giving Addie a present he made and wrapped by himself:



On the day after Christmas, we headed up to Lompoc to spend a week up at Briana's sister's house, where Dylan soaked up some time with his cousins and Addie popped out her second tooth.

Here's some footage of the cousins helping bring the presents into the livingroom for opening:

Halloween Party

Last weekend we went to a halloween birthday party for Rowan (3) and Lila (1). There were about 90 people there and we had a lot of fun! Even Ariel came (hired by Ana and Thom for their daughters... what a treat!)

Thom, Anamara, and the birthday girls all dressed up as mermaids. Thom made a pretty good King Tritan!

Dylan (dalmation puppy) brought his girlfriend, Rowan, some daisies for her birthday.

I went as a bunny. I searched high and low all over town for a pink grass hula skirt to complete my ensemble. But there were none to be found. Next year I'm going as 'hula bunny' - so watch out world!

Ryan went as 'Joe Sixpack' which was just hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing on our way to the party in the car. Dylan just thought Ryan was going as a 'hairy man' with the mullet wig, which cracked me up.

Keira and Jacob were just too cute for words.

And here is Addie's nanny, Bonnie. She's from Alaska. Went as Sarah Palin with her husband as her 'moose'.

Picture of the Day

Kathy requested a texted picture of the day while we were up in Oregon. Here are some of the ones I sent her. My favorite is the one of Addie snuggled into a plastic bin (we needed a cozy place to lay her down in the shade while we sat out in the sun on the boat dock - and this turned out pretty good)!

Buddy Boys

Dylan and his buddies enjoyed the summer weather at the Huntington Gardens. They ran through the big lawn sprinklers, barefoot and giggling with delight.
Here he is with some of his best buds, Nolan and Rocco, sharing some fruit snacks. Does life get any better than this?

Toddler Trauma

On Sunday we went down to Anaheim to visit our friend who is staying down there for a conference.

We had a lovely lunch and dinner out together. And Julie and I had lots of time to catch up on things while Dylan and Ryan enjoyed the pool at her hotel for a couple hours (*story to follow).

Plus we had a lot of excitement...
For starters, after Dylan's nearly 2 hour play event in the pool and spa (while Julie and I held baby Addie and chatted), we returned to Julie's room to change for dinner. When Dylan peeled off his diaper, we discovered what Julie accurately called a gigantic "poo-splosion" (OH.MY.GOODNESS.) that had clearly occured much, much earlier, turning into a disintegrated dripping mess all over her bathroom when he pulled off his diaper! Ryan and Dylan took a shower and cleaned up. I called housekeeping and did damage control so Julie wouldn't gag for the next couple days. Thankfully this all happened with Julie, a fellow understanding mom and dear friend, who helped us see the humor in it all and laugh our way through!

We then decided to head out for a change in scenery (and smell) for dinner, so we headed out to our car in the hotel parking garage. Julie and Dylan ran ahead, giggling and playing (p.s. Dylan ADORED her!)...
and next thing we knew, Dylan had stuck his head through the railing and got his little head STUCK!
He panicked.
He cried.
Ryan pulled.
Dylan cried some more.
And FINALLY his head came lose.
Poor Dylan. He was traumatized, shaking, and scared.

And after dinner, walking back to the car, Julie and I commented that Dylan had one rough day and was being very good considering all that he'd been through on top of no nap... when suddenly (probably because he was so tired) he fell down outside the restaurant and skinned his knees.
More tears.

There was no shortage of excitement to our visit. There never is when we get together....

It was like not a day had passed since our last visit two years ago. And despite all the boo-boos, it truly was a great visit!



The day ended. We dropped Julie back off at her hotel, exchanged sorrowful hugs, and headed back home.
Dylan was asleep before we got to the freeway.

(Big) Fortune Cookie

A package came in the mail the other day. With a note saying it was for Dylan, from Addie. Ok. So I began wondering who could have sent this clever little gift...
Kathy. Of course. She's always got the most clever gifts up her sleeves and this time was no exception. And she knows Dylan's favorite color (GREEN sprinkles!) - adorned with pictures of him and his sister, and complete with a big fortune inside...
He was in heaven!

Baby Shower #2

Today my dear friend Kathy and some of my coworkers put together a baby shower at work to honor this little boxer-girl who has set up camp right under my ribs (yikes she's kicking a lot tonight, it seems!). They had about 5 different kinds of pizza and a full ice cream sundae station set up, lots of thoughtful gifts, and Kathy took lots of pictures. Since she already posted her pictures from the event, I'll send you there to see them. About 20+ people were there, which was a pretty awesome turnout for a baby shower. Maybe it was the pizza and ice cream luring them in, but I'd like to think they came at least in part to see me (and perhaps sneak a peek at how big I've gotten in the past 2 1/2 months)...

It was a fun afternoon and I feel blessed to have such sweet and supportive coworkers.

Thanks Kathy for all you did in making us feel special today (me and baby)!

Baby Shower

Back in St. Louis I remember when people had their second (or third) babies, it wasn't customary to have another baby shower. But here in Southern California, things are different. "Every baby deserves to be celebrated", as a friend of mine says.
And our baby girl was VERY celebrated today.

My friends (Anamara, Christy, Karissa, Genese, and Lisa) hosted the most awesome and carefully thought out baby shower for our family (yes, husbands and kiddos were invited as well). There were numerous games, a delicious cake (Portos!), sangria (no, I didn't have any), balloons, tons of food including fajitas, a towering diaper cake, toddler pool and sand table under a big awning for the kids, tiki torches, party favors (including a personalized cd of tunes in honor of our baby girl and bags of homemade cookies for everyone who came), and lots of VERY generous gifts.

One gift in particular was from the whole group: a new stroller!

And games? Let's see, there was the 'how big is briana's belly' game (actual size was 10 squares around), where Ryan nearly came in second to last with estimating my tummy as GIGANTIC! (Cagdas, thanks for guessing my girth to be a few toilet paper squares larger than Ryan - you saved him!)
There was another game where you guessed how many jelly beans, pretzels, and goldfish were in various baby bottles.
And the gold standard: Guess what kind of candy (smashed up in diapers, only to be guessed by smelling one by one).

And a beer drinking game for the dads. That was a sight!
Imagine 7-8 grown men, lined up in a row, fiersly drinking beer from baby bottles...

And the kids decided they needed to play too, so here they are chugging their bottles alongside the daddies. (don't worry, theirs didn't have beer!)

I am still spinning with excitement from today. I'm in awe of how much effort, careful planning, and generosity these women put into making this such a special celebration for our family. A labor of love, for sure.

Thank you so much, my dear friends!

Butterflies & 4,000 kids, oh my!

I was going to do my own post on this experience last week, but I think Kathy did it more justice on her blog. See here.
If you do, you can see a full (nearly 2-minute) video of me ranting (doesn't take much to get a 34 week pregnant woman to complain at length, it seems) about 'the bathroom incident' - which I'm sure you ALL want to hear about, don't you?
And while I do agree that Kathy got a pretty good picture of the butterflies, I got one too.
Now I just have to find some time for Ryan to upload it here for me. But if not, just take my word for it, it's AWESOME.

Busy Saturday

This past Saturday was a busy one for our family. It started with Dylan's last sports class (9-945am) with Coach Andy and the plethora of other aspiring confused toddlers.

Then we headed across town for Ricky's 3rd birthday party (10-noon), which I must say was a hit all the way around. I think the dads had as much fun as the kids with fooseball tables, air hockey, and basketball games. I was content sitting with my friends over by the food area with all the pizza, sodas, chips, and cake! (Hey, I'm supposed to be off my feet, right?)

Then we came home for naptime (which despite the past couple weeks of NO NAPS FOR DYLAN, we were blessed with one!)

Then we headed out again for a dinner get-together with Ryan's lab at his boss's house for a few hours (430-730pm).
Dylan and his friend, Adal, played together nicely with some cars/dumptrucks for a couple hours on the side of the house while the adults visited and I ate some more yummy food. (come on, I'm eating for two, remember?!?)

Then the boys finished off the evening with some refreshing sippy cups with 'cozies' like the adults. Cheers!

Best Friends

Dylan likes to list off his best friends. At the top of the list is always Rocco. This week while on bed-rest, Dylan had a couple days where my friends picked him up for the day and let him hang out with them until Ryan could come home. Thursday he was with his friend Ricky. Then on Friday he was with his BESTEST friend EVER! Rocco. This kid is the THE KID that all the kids want around. He's funny, playful, sweet, and plays nicely with the other kids. This was taken a couple months ago, but it shows how great these two boys get along. They often are found hand-in-hand or giggling together over some piece of food as they pass it back and forth in their strollers, leaning over to reach eachother.
Thank goodness for good friends. He is a sweet boy and I'm thankful for him in my son's life. Thanks Genese for helping me out this past week!

Cupcake Cowboys!

Dylan went to his good friend Joshua's 2nd birthday party yesterday at the park. Since my friend Christy and her husband are Texans, they did it up as a Cowboy themed party. Very cute, indeed.

The cupcakes and cake were the hit of the party. Seriously, all you need at these toddler parties are some balloons and some icing and the kids act like they are at Disneyland!

And now that the kids are all getting the hang of "parties" and "blowing out the candles," they all smile when we sing the birthday song like it's their own special day and then practically dive into the party cake to help blow out the candles. One kid actually crawled across the table to get to the candle! (his birthday party was just a couple weekends ago actually, and he was all about the candles then too!)

Another attraction was a firetruck that stopped by (no connection to the party, but just as awesome for the kids) for a few minutes and let the kids take turns sitting up in the big front seat. We got a couple pictures before the firemen got a call and had to rush off. Dylan and his buddy Joshua were actually sitting in the truck when the call came and they had to go. What timing!

Off to the Premiere!

My friend Serena's husband, Doug, has his short film premiere tonight and we have been cordially invited. I'm so excited about going and supporting them and meeting the cast and crew of this awesome film. The film is about journey within a journey into the main character's dark past and to the crossroads of a life-changing decision.
Now what to wear!?!?!

Weekend in Pictures

Dylan woke up Sunday morning feeling crummy and with an upset stomach (yeah, his first throw-up incident - which broke my heart). So we stayed home from church and decided to take the day at a slower pace, heading off to our favorite family weekend spot for a walk. Yup, it was another glorious afternoon at the Huntington Gardens!

Blooming cacti (photo by Ryan)
Fall colors in the desert garden section! (photo by Briana)
Pausing to take in the beauty-ful-ness around us.
Learning to throw his 'bouncy ball'
Later we went over to have dinner with our friends Cassi and Josh that we knew back in St. Louis (and who have recently moved back to California, living only about 10 minutes from us again!) What a treat!
After an evening with Dylan (quite a change from our pre-child visits years ago), we teased them that we may not hear from them for a while, as they'll need to recover from the blur of a two year old in their home, bouncing off the walls and feeding off the energy of their very energetic dog! We've missed them and are glad to live in the same city again!

Chocolate Mice?

For Ryan's birthday, our friend Kathy sent him a gift - something "perishable" and overnighted to our door. We wondered what it could be, but never would have guessed.
She's probably the most creative gift-giver I know.
Check it out:
Yeah, it's a box of handmade chocolate mice, complete with silk tails, and shipped from New Hampshire.
And for those of you wondering why she sent him chocolate mice, it's actually quite simple and sweet. Ryan's research involves genetically engineered mice in a study related to nicotine addiction. And when I asked her how she found the idea for his gift, she replied, "the internet has everything!" - I guess she's right!