Out of the fog...

I've always been somewhat of a procrastinator (okay, okay... a major procrastinator!) and this blog is no exception. So many fun things have happened since I last updated that it's hard to know where to start. In May we went on an amazing Hawaiian vacation with my parents and Emily, Ben and Oceanne. In June we bought a house. In July we went to North Carolina. In August we moved!

Instead of trying to recap each moment of our crazy summer I'm just going to stick with what's current - the house! After searching for months we finally found what is, for us, the perfect home in Larkspur, California. It's about 10 minutes further north on hwy 101 from our old house and about 10 degrees warmer on average. It's "charming" as they say in real estate but the girls have their own bedrooms and we have our own bathroom so in many ways it feels like a bigger house. The best part about it is that it backs up to a neighborhood park and we can walk pretty much anywhere.

Our list of projects grows longer each day but we're enjoying the work and so thrilled to finally own our first home. We painted and put in new carpet. We pulled about two truckloads of ivy and other overgrown shrubs from the yard and now Todd is cleaning and refinishing the shingles. It's a work in progress but we love it!

I need to take some new shots of the inside of the house but for now here are a few from when we first got the house.

Morning at the park with Edie

I love the one-on-one time I have with Edie while Anna is at school. I know she doesn't know the difference, but sometimes I feel guilty that she's never had our undivided attention the way that Anna did as a baby. Yesterday I took Edie on her first bike ride up to our neighborhood park. She loved it! I wish I got a shot of her in her helmet. There's nothing cuter than baby helmet-head!

A Four Year-Old and a Toddler

What? How did this happen!? All of a sudden we have a very grown up little four year-old and a toddler walking around our house. It's been busy around here the last few months. So busy that I can't seem to find the time to update our blog -- at least that's the excuse I'm rolling with!

Ok, where to start...

Edie: Our baby turned 15 months a few days ago and is now officially toddling around. The shift from mostly crawling to mostly walking happened sometime last week and she's very proud of herself. We have a check-up this week so I will post again with her new stats. January and February were kind of rough months for Edie between teething, croup, and other illnesses. She's still a very early riser (usually between 5-6 am) and naps twice a day. Her favorite things to do are play with blocks & magna tiles, pull books off the shelf and flip through them, play with fridge magnets, pull Anna's hair, go outside, and take a bath. She's still not a big eater, preferring things like yogurt, cheese, pasta, and crackers. Fruits and vegetables - not so much! Some of the things she's saying: Mama, Dada, Anna, Ohm (her lion lovey), and night-night (which sounds more like na-nigh).

Anna: Anna turned four last Sunday. Four!!! She's such a little girl now. She's very interested in reading and writing and loves to string together letters and ask us what word she created (something I remember doing as a kid too!). She's super creative and loves to draw and sing and dance. Her friends are becoming more and more important to her and we've started doing the "drop-off playdate" which makes her seem very grown-up to me. She got a two-wheel bicycle for her birthday but even though it has some heavy duty training wheels she still prefers the comfort of her tricycle. Very typical of our cautious Anna!

Here are some recent pics of the kiddos.

Anna may have been more excited about her birthday this year than Christmas!

Grandma J made her annual birthday visit!

Yogurt face.

Purple and sparkly - Anna's perfect combination.