More to come...

Here are some darn cute pictures of last weekend with Rae and little CamCam cozied up in the big chair making silly faces. I thought it was so cute, while I was taking these pictures...and as you will notice...Cami was checking Raegan out and saw her making a crusty face (1st pic), so she decided to give it a shot but failed miserably (2nd pic). She's too stinkin' cute for a crusty. Anyway, the last one is my favorite...two little munchkins making funny faces. They were fun to watch play together once Rae warmed up after her nap...it only took her like 2 hours:) I will be putting more up of our fun, family-filled weekend soon!

To: Dad...

Happy Valentine's Day!
We Love YOU!!!

From "Special"...

to Beautiful! She finally figured out how to give us her real smile when we ask for it. I think I miss her "special" pose though. I'll have to find a pic with her fabulous ol' smile...keep tuning in...

GROSS...

but HAPPY!

SO SWEET...

This bright face keeps me smiling all day long. There is something about this little boy that is so special...when he smiles...we all smile! He really keeps life joyful when it feels so out of control sometimes. He is a true angel sent from above! A random note, I know, but what a precious face.

OFFICIALLY POTTY TRAINED!

Well, I guess I can call it official, but who knows. I'm sure I have a few more accidents to deal with, but for the most part....DONE...and soooooo relieved. I do have to say that was AWFUL, and I'm not looking forward to ever doing it again (I think I will just hire Laci to do it for me:)!!!!! Really...it was so exhausting and it really was not the most enjoyable thing I've done as a mom. I'd have to say that the only pleasure in this whole experience was on the fourth day when she finally started to catch on and was actually excited about it. I thought I was going to bawl...ok...maybe I did a little. That was hard, and props to all who have kids like mine. What I mean is I called my mom on the fourth day of it all, not to talk about this in particular, and of course this was brought up and she proceeds to tell me that her boys never once had accidents, I taught myself, Rachel did great except for wetting the bed, Becca taught herself, and the other two she can't really remember (must not have been that bad). So, at that point I pretty much wanted to give up thinking it was impossible, when just then, I look over at Rae squatting on the toilet all by herself asking to tell grandma that she is going poo-poo on the big girl potty, AND, sure enough, SHE WAS!!!!!!! I think I scared her with my over...way over the top...excitement! Anyway, in the midst of all the downfalls of this past week, there were a few things that kept me smiling...laughing. Raegan created an audience for herself. It all started with one doll, then two, up to however many are there. She brought each one down, covered each with its own blanket (all the while making sure their feet were completely covered, and for anyone that knows Rae knows what that means:), and even sat one doll on the other doll's lap cause "she was crying." I had to run a quick errand and as I was walking out the door, I turned around to hurry Raegan along and found her kissing each one on the forehead. I really laughed out loud. Anyway, I am so proud of Raegan. She has been such a sport through all of this despite all of her own difficulties, challenges, and discomforts. Gotta love the Chub!

Extreme Sledding

Not really...but fun nevertheless. We took Raegan over to Grayson's house because they have a traffic-free hill basically in their backyard. We new everywhere else would be super crowded only because it was BEAUTIFUL outside. The sun was out and I actually started sweating. It was fun though. Rae loved it until the smart one (that would be me) decided to take her off a jump. It ended up a very bad idea. Not only cause Rae wasn't havin' it anymore, but because I think I cracked my own tail bone. She eventually went again after a few tears and observation, she got right back on. Fun ride!

A few more

Here are a few more random pictures from the holidays...from spending some quality time with grandma, to seeing Bug at Cabela's, to Raegan discovering her favorite kind of make-up....markers...lovely!

HO! HO! HO!

K…so its been a while and all I can say is life has been busy…being sick, playing catch-up with work (seems every minute I get Im on the computer trying to get work done...gay), and just the normal everyday run around…pathetic I know. Anyhow…here goes some more catch up (though it may take a while, keep tuning in)! Christmas…what more can you ask for than the beautiful weather we got in Carp...although I don't think we got to enjoy it as much as I wished. We all got pretty sick with pink eye and a nasty cold, so none of us really felt up to doing much more than what we did....movies, lots of eating in and out...and in-n-out, bike-rides and the beach with aunties Heder and Cole, walks on the beach, a little shopping with some nice discounts from our friend Carlina (a few FREE discounts thanks to grandma:), a kid-free day of horseback riding...beautiful!, lots of play with lots of cousins, and much much more. No order of any sort with the pictures…but here is Christmas 2007 in Carpinteria! P.S. THANKS GRANDMA AND GRANDPA FOR SHARING YOU'RE HOME WITH ALL OF US AND BEING SUCH GREAT COMPANY...ALWAYS!!!!!!

Joy to the World...

MERRY CHRISTMAS...

My Precious Girl!

So, for those of you who know Rae know that she has been quite the challenge. Once she hit 18 months, she was just preparing us for her terrible two's! But, I have to say, as difficult as she has been, I get emotional just writing this, she is the sweetest, most loving, tender little girl. I have such a battle within when it comes to disciplining this child because she is sooooo dang sensitive. It scares her when I'm serious...as weird as that may sound...and it hurts her tender little feelings when I'm stern with her. So, I really have a hard time, but as with all children, she needs to know her boundaries. So, as you can see in this picture, we found a new spot for time-out. Its the only thing that works, shutting her in this cupboard for a couple minutes. She hates the dark, and when doors are shut...game over! So, this was perfect...something to scare her enough to learn her lesson. She just screams and screams, but she gets the point. When her time is up, the buzzer in the kitchen goes off and she helps herself out and gives her apologies. I know this sounds so cruel to some of you...cause IT IS! ARE YOU CRAZY...And for any of you who believe me...you're so dumb! I'm totally kidding! How dare you think that I would really do that! No, this is her new hiding spot when we play hide-and-seek...her new favorite...especially with dad. They will go hide up in our bed covers and yell for me to come find them. So, I will sneak up the stairs and crawl around the bed for when they lift the covers I jump up and scare em'. I only do it to scare Shawn. He tries to peek so he can know where Im going to jump from, but I don't play if he does, cause he jumps and screams louder than Rae...Its pretty hilarious. Anyway, just thought this was a cute pic of Rae in her new spot!

From Tummy 2 Toosh

Well, Evan is growing so fast...as most babies do! Its amazing to watch and I enjoy every new thing he learns. Like to sit up is WONDERFUL! Now, I swear, HE is so much happier having that little bit of freedom...and when he crawls...oh how great that will be. I look at him sometimes and he looks like he wants to get up and run already, frustrated sitting in one spot. I have to move the kid from station to station all day long if we are at home. If not, he is perfect. He loves to be out, all the stimulation from moving. Bottom line...I know Im in for a busy one...he already is! So different from Rae! I would hand Rae the best toy with lights, music, color, you name it, and she would just stare. I had to play with it for her. Evan gets to it. Anyways, just fun to see the similarities and differences. I posted some pics of some of his "firsts": sitting up, high chair, and big kid tub:) Oh, and how could I forget...his first new HAIR-CUT! While Heather was here over the weekend, she wasn't diggin' the comb-over due (neither was I), so I got rid of it...just for you Heath!

Im so fat!

I have never eaten more in my life than I did this last weekend! WOW! Pretty great food though, how can you pass it up. I think I filled up enough to now hibernate all winter long...homemaid pies, sweet potatoes (my fave), stuffing, jell-o, turkey and cranberries, and much much more. As for Rae, she loved the museum, taking walks and wrestling with grandpa (and I think she won and left her marks as usual:), playing dolls with grandma, spending time with great grandpa and ma, playing with Brookie here and there, and the highlight of the vacation...having dad around! We had him for 41/2 solid days, it was great! Evans just happy to be there, though he got pretty good at sitting up over the weekend. I still can't believe how fast they learn and grow...so fun to watch! He is quite the happy guy too, apparently an Olmstead trait. If you just walk in the room and he spots you, he smiles. He's such a sweet little goober. Anyway, thank you to all who made our vacation so great! I love Thanksgiving...now onto Christmas! Happy Holidays!

Guess who?

While we were at the museum we ran into a movie star, well more a famous criminal? Take a good look in the picture. There is a guy in the background who is staring directly at me with a little top hat and glasses on, and I knew he was so I quickly snapped the pic and ran. For those of you who are familiar with the polygamist named Tom Green, well, thats him and his 500 wives and kids. Pretty crazy huh. Trudy and I could not get enough of it. We were so fascinated and just wanted to stare. That sounds pathetic, but seriously, it was pretty entertaining. He sat with one wife at each side, and I think it was the young blonde's day cause she was hanging all over, rubbing his back, hand on his leg, hugging him, etc., as the others just watched or had little contact compared to her. He pretty much slept through everything...having 7 wives must get pretty tiring:) But really, he was sleeping the whole time, just snoozin' away. We were laughing at ourselves cause I wanted a good picture, anyway, we were pretty obvious we should have just rounded 'em all up and asked for a great big family picture. Pretty funny stuff!