the sweetpeas

Blessings

2010-04-25T03:19:00.003-04:00

Every since CPea was born, we wanted to baptize her. It seemed like a lovely ritual to share with loved ones and a new baby. But, along with my plan to make homemade baby food, decisions were put off for so long we ended up with a second baby that we also wanted to baptize.

So fast forward to Easter weekend this year. We found a great way to baptize the children just the way we wanted to, Huntington Beach style, complete with wetsuits. It was a happy celebration for all of us and Scott and I loved the opportunity to share our love for our beautiful daughters aloud.

CPea, post baptism. It was cold in the water but she really enjoyed it!

Scott and the girls in Huntington Harbor, and yes, those are pastors in those wetsuits!

LilPea got her nails done for the event. Its no long white christening gown, but she loved it. There's not much we won't do to see our babies smile.

Performance Art

2010-03-03T20:54:00.002-05:00

Well, Hi! Its been a while, but better late than never I think. Its been a busy winter for us, and I use the word winter lightly, but you know-it did rain here a few times and closed some things down so we'll call that a weather disaster.

In the meantime, we've kept ourselves busy with activities. Scott's triathalon training continues, he really loves it. We spent Valentine's Day weekend in Palm Springs where he did the Tour de Palm Springs. It was 50 miles or so. The sweetpeas and I cheered him at the end and spent the rest of the time by the pool with drinks. My favorite kind of getaway.

CPea and LilPea celebrated many days of Valentines of course between home, school, and neighborhood activities. Any holiday where candy is a focal points tends to be big with LilPea especially.

CPea at our neighbor's birthday party. A step and repeat may seem excessive to some but when you are five, a red carpet and mamaratazzi is really the bee's knees.

CPea and I are starting to go on a few 'big girl' dates together. We don't really get to spend too much time just the two of us so when I can, I love to have time with just her. She's growing up so fast, I want to be sure to take note of these times in between driving around to all our activities. This is her at the park with her class bear she had for the weekend.

LilPea hasn't met a spotlight she didn't like. And when you don't have an acutal stage, she just makes one of her own. I believe this was part of her performance of the Chipmunks Squeakquel soundtrack. 'All the Single Ladies' remains her favorite song, with 'Bringing home my Baby Bumblebee' a very close second.

New Year, New Pics.

2010-01-01T17:24:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year to All! Closing out the new year with a few pics from the holiday season.

Fright Night

2009-11-01T22:21:00.004-05:00

Oh how we love fall in California...sunscreen, shorts, running through the sprinklers...seriously. It is so hot here, I don't know how one can have a credible fall party. If we bobbed for apples the kids would get their swimsuits on. But you do what you can-in our case we threw a mashed potato martini halloween party with a bunch of our neighbors. CPea declared this was the year of the Tooth Fairy, since she's lost three teeth, I think she had teeth on the brain. At any rate, it called for some of my much mocked crafting skills to create her costume. It may interest you to know as well that the Tooth Fairy traditionally wears purple-according to CPea.

LilPea was a Buzz Buzz Bumblebee. She took great delight in wishing all a Happy Halloween, I think she can sense candy even when its behind closed doors.

LilPea's preschool had a trunk or treat party. Parents decorated their car trunks and passed out treats.

The Bumblebee shoes.

The kids trying to convince the adults to put down their drinks and go out trick or treating already-to go cups to the rescue!

Who could resist?

CPea's Preppie K class got to parade around the school

CPea's class...yes my child is almost as tall as the teacher.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy halloween!

Sweetpea Summer Fun

2009-08-28T18:06:00.002-04:00

This end of summer feels like an uphill sprint to me these days. We are leaving for DC on Sunday so its been a whirlwind of preparing for back to school when we return and planning and packing for our trip and Amy's wedding.

Still, we managed some summer fun. We went up to Ventura to see Scott compete in the Strawberry Hills Triathalon. This is us in a peddle car.
Both girls went to Vacation Bible School which they really enjoyed.

CPea lost her second (!) tooth.

And LilPea is obsessed with pulling people in the wagon. It rarely gets very far.

And as LilPea gets older, she is getting to be more and more girly. She likes to travel with a purse.

I'll get LilPea's birthday pictures up when we return!

A Camping we will go....

2009-07-26T22:01:00.004-04:00

Being the military family that we are, we move around. Scott and I do our best to try new adventures in our new enviroment. Here in Huntington Beach, we have a lovely state park with a campground. Even though its a mile from our house, for the 4th of July, we rented an RV and got a camping spot right next to our friends to help our new town celebrate their bicentennial.

Little did we know that the HB parade is the biggest 4th of July parade west of the Mississippi. Because of that, my neighbor and I woke up very early on the 3rd of July to stake out the perfect parade viewing spot.
CPea and LilPea and their friend Macy, all in matching dresses to watch the parade.

The edgier side to 4th of July...

Ahhhhh s'mores, the world's most perfect food!

Lauren, demostrating the greatness of the "princess bed!"

Very happy, very dirty campers!

We also were lucky enough to have the wandering seals wander our way while we were camping. Unfortunately, we were all a little out of sorts having arrived at camping late the night before, but we loved our visit with the seal pups!

A Tisket, A Tasket

2009-07-07T02:01:00.003-04:00

CPea's first ballet recital was last week. The Tales of Mother Goose, and her class performed to 'A Tisket, A Tasket.' Needless to say, it was a big production, and that was just in our house. LilPea got her chance to be center stage before the show began. How darling are these costumes? All of the dancers had to have their hair in a 'ballet bun' and wear make up.

A good luck kiss from Daddy who was first in line and got us front row seats!

Since we left that night for our camping trip, we opted for a stuffy instead of flowers for our beautiful girl.

CPea's ballet class.

The diva emerges

I am just so proud of her in her first performance!

All the Single Ladies, All the Single Ladies

2009-06-06T22:54:00.006-04:00

So my plan while Scott is across the country at training is to keep the girls as busy as possible. The plan is working so far but it is becoming more and more clear that they will outlast me. Here are a few snaps of our weekend adventures. This is a game called "Couch, Fly, Dive" invented by CPea. As you see, they mostly just fall off the couch all the while being angels and mermaid. If you need more details, CPea will be happy to draw a treasure map to explain it all.

I thought it would be a great surprise to take the girls to see Sesame Street Live, LilPea is very much in love with Elmo at the moment and CPea is still young enough to not be totally annoyed by oversized monsters singing and dancing to a potted fake plant named 'Sunny.'

During Elmopaloozza, Elmo left the stage a few times. LilPea was not happy at all.

Luckily during the intermission, we lifted her spirits with spun blue sugar. Wholesome, no? I am confident the sugar was organic, it is Sesame Street afterall.

Lest you think it all fun and games, CPea is still in summer school. Last week, they celebrated sports week. The grand finale of the week was a big bouncy waterslide (hey, if driving around in circles is a sport-surely sliding down an inflatable slide is too) CPea was so excited about this special day at school, it required a brand new swimsuit-and sunglasses.

Ever helpful, LilPea did not shirk her Little Assistant Responsibilities. She packed and carried the swim bag very carefully and after hearing me remind Caroline we needed to bring money for her lunch, LilPea headed straight for the change jar and emptied quite a few coins into her pockets and the swim bag. Holding up her little hands full of change she said "Nine, Nine, money!" And then proceeded to hand out pennies and nickles all day to CPea.

Spending time in the clubhouse. I think this day CPea and LilPea battled Rocket the Pirate Dog. Occasionally he is also cast as a mermaid sister, evil stepdog or someone in the circus.

Finally, LilPea and I went to a thank you party for the volunteers that help with childcare for our MOPS group at church. These wonderful ladies give the mothers two blissful hours to meet and talk every other week. In the beginning, LilPea really didn't like getting dropped off, but they were so patient with her and so loving now she is happy to go. Here she is scaling the new and huge playground set!

The Graduate

2009-06-05T00:30:00.003-04:00

CPea is finished with preschool! We celebrated this happy event with a lunch at her school followed by playground time.

Scott made a heroic effort to make to school for the lunch on his last day of work before jetting off to the east coast for training.CPea and some her classmates. They look like an ambitious bunch, no?

Our happy little girl! She is going to stay at school for summertime day camps and we'll be doing some kindergarten prep work at home in between trips to the beach!

At this point in time, I feel like her going to kindergarten in the fall is the biggest milestone in her life. But I'm sure this going to be the first of many happy heartbreaks for me as she continues to grow, learn and challenge herself.

For now, I am coping by deciding to keep LilPea in her crib until she's 10-that's right, I said 10. She seems to have agreed to that, provided I let her pursue her dream of being a fashion forward firefighter.

Say my name, say my name...

2009-06-01T18:17:00.002-04:00

LilPea is talking all the time these days but I was having a hard time getting her to say her name, until five hours after her dad left town for a month.

Spring Singing

2009-05-24T21:14:00.002-04:00

The birds aren't the only ones bursting into song this spring. CPea's preschool hosted their annual Spring Sing. As you will see, CPea takes singing VERY seriously and often composes her own tunes that sound something like Alanis Morrisette in her nursery school days.

The theme this year for her class was "Fishers of Men." Evidently in the biblical interpretation, visors and tie dye shirts played a big part in fishing industry. The whole class loved performing and CPea is very much looking forward to her next stage appearance.

LilPea is teaching Rocket to use a crayon.

CPea's class saying grace before the dinner.

Discovering Science

2009-04-14T14:07:00.002-04:00

I am by all counts, the least sciencey person I know. However, CPea had Good Friday off from school and it was a cloudy day so the girls and I headed off to the Discovery Science Museum in Santa Ana. It was a pretty good time due in no small part to the Bubblefest show that ended with the audience being bombarded with bubbles. LilPea took no time to add 'bubble' to her ever expanding vocabulary.

CPea and LilPea posing in the cube.

And despite the economic state of the nation, CPea found to hire a personal assistant. LilPea takes her duties very seriously, always carrying the lunchbox, handing CPea her toothbrush and making sure all the door in the house are closed at all time. For her part, CPea is trying to make Snow White's headband a little more hip.

We also took a neighborhood trip to Disneyland. Here are the neighborhood girls on a break from A Bugs Life.

Spring Fling

2009-03-29T12:22:00.002-04:00

The sweetpea extended family got a great addition in February, a boy! So we'll have to think of a manly little nickname for him. But in the meantime, the girls were so glad to finally meet him after a series of winter colds kept them home for a few weeks. He is, as CPea says, "So cute!" Here are the girls and the Uncle with him in San Diego. CPea had her ballet recital for the winter session. She really has learned so much over the year, it was such change from her fall recital.

LilPea embarked on the very frusterating "I can do it myself" phase of toddlering. She is remarkably capable of doing quite a bit, like gettting childproof caps off, and serving herself pirate booty by the bag.

With the arrival of the new cousin came Grandma and Grandpa. The girls had such a great time with them. CPea in particular loved having a new audience and trapped them into many 'projects.'

LilPea was happy to take Grandpa to her favorite burger spot, In N Out!

From Balls to Bugs

2009-03-22T17:14:00.002-04:00

I suppose if I thought about it, I would have realized that the Oscars are on in the late afternoon here on the west coast. But once we did figure it out, it seemed only natural to have an Oscar dress up party for the girls and their friends. It was quite the glamourous event.
LilPea could hardly believe her good luck at being allowed to wear the coveted Cinderella gown to the ball. The down side to the party for the adults was not really being able to watch the actual show, but being the parent of two little princess, I only saw one of the five films nominated. Oh well.Changing gears from movie stars, we heralded the arrival of spring with a renewed interest in bugs. Armed with bug catchers and a very patient Dee Dee and dog, we headed to the nature center to see what we could 'dig up.' Rolly Pollies became CPea's newest pets and she shed many tears letting them go. Rocket practiced being supportive, but I think he was secretly relieved no more pets came home. He has a hard enough time with just the cat.

LilPea prefers roaming to digging with her trusty poodle. The two of them just ran and ran, until they could run no more.

All Heart

2009-03-19T16:36:00.005-04:00

In February, Scott competed in his first triathalon in Los Alamitos, CA. He did just great and is planning on doing several more this year. Doesn't he look so sporty? I got to do the 5K that day, so I wasn't completely out of the swim. But Scott ruled the day! Next up for us, a 10 K and then celebrating our five year anniversary in May with a half marathon. Yes, I know it would make more sense just to go out to dinner, but we like to live on the edge :)

Here are a couple of snaps of the little peas on their valentine's day scavenger hunt!

The New Old Testament

2009-02-25T02:33:00.003-05:00

CPea's preschool is attached to a church and part of the curriculum is religion. Now, believe it or not, I attended an Episcopal school for seven years of my life and went to chapel every morning. I also taught CCD while in college. So I like to think I know a thing or two about religious education and children.

Not so, evidently. They moved past coloring Joseph's coat and singing "This little light of mine." The following are just a few of the questions and comments that our four year old comes home with. Religion is no joke, but we just can't help but laugh.

Standing on the couch talking to LilPea on the floor. "I am God and you, baby Moses, will obey me!"

"How many minutes did God put Adam and Eve in time out for?

"How did Jesus call the disciples? Did he have a cell phone?"

"Well, when Jesus goes from dark white to bright white, that's called transfiguration. Didn't you know that?"

Blast Off

2009-02-02T22:37:00.003-05:00

Last weekend, we added one more sweetpea to the mix. Our new dog, Rocket. We got him from a rescue group in Long Beach, CA. He is about 3 years old and is some kind of poodle mix. Scott would prefer I say he is part German Shepard, its a more manly sounding dog. But, as you can plainly see, he's pretty much poodle. We're still pretty surprised we have a dog. After all, neither Scott nor I have ever had a dog and CPea is deathly afraid of them. Nonetheless, little Rocket is an unexpected delight. He is so loving a patient, we all love him.

The girls are taking very good care of Rocket, he is getting walked about as much as his little legs can take. LilPea cries when we have to leave him at home. As you may recall, I promised her a dog when she started walking.

She's really putting those walking skills to the test. Rocket (named for LilPea's love of Little Einsteins) is very patient with all the hugs and kisses from the girls.

Who knew a dog could be so much fun?

Knock Knock

2009-01-13T15:21:00.003-05:00

Well, we've been celebrating the end of winter with 80 degree temperatures this week. And what better way to celebrate than with a new (to us) playhouse? We were able to find this house for free and it has quickly become LilPea's favorite pastime. She loves to come in and out of the house, fitting since her favorite words are 'hi' and 'bye'

CPea decided to host her first "slumber party" We invited two little girls from the neighborhood to come over in their jammies and bring sleeping bags for dinner and to watch a movie, CPea's pick? "Alvin and the Chipmunks" It was quite a production, CPea was very excited to have her 'guests' over and was quite the hostess.

We made tutus for the girls and their stuffies. Lots of fun, who knew I could be crafty?

This is a random shot showing off LilPea's new talent, taking her clothes off, she likes to do that at the completion of dinner at night.

CPea begged to get her hair cut, much to my dismay. But I gave in and to our delight, the little kids salon gave her a princess hairdo, she loved her curls!

Out with the Old

2008-12-31T18:34:00.003-05:00

So its been a great year here in sweetpea land. We manage to survive a cross country move and are thriving here in Southern California. Scott and I could not be more proud of our daughters as they continue to grow and get funnier every day.

Caroline is doing so well in preschool. She takes learning very seriously and her teachers say that she adjusted very well to all the changes of the last six months. At age four she is very busy setting up elaborate imaginative play scenarios for all her stuffies, ponies and dolls.

Lauren, our little daredevil, continues to surprise us. She started taking some steps, but since her crawling is faster than her walking, she defaults to crawling most of the time. Lauren has a voracious sweet tooth and will climb just about anything to get to a treat. Baby dolls and animals are her main focus with play, she is a very nurturing little soul.

Scott and I are both well. We've taken to the more active CA lifestyle. For Christmas we got each other bikes. Scott is planning to compete in his first triathlon in mid-february, I say first because he has many more planned. I am continuing to try new sports (being the non sporty gal that I am) and hope to take up surfing this summer.

We do miss our friends and family, you are never far from our thoughts.

So on this new year's eve, we wish everyone health and happiness in the new year and hope to see everyone in 2009! Happy New Year! the peas

Baby Steps

2008-12-19T17:24:00.002-05:00

Talking Turkey

2008-11-28T20:18:00.005-05:00

Well, the holiday season is upon us, and I didn't even have time to catch the blog up with our November activities. So here they are in fast forward, before another icicle light gets hung.

CPea and I kicked off the Christmas season early, with a Nutcracker Ballet Sugar Plum Fairy Tea.
LilPea has discovered her inner artist. She is particularly fond of decorating herself, which somewhat explains why she is so flirty with the Trader Joe's checkout guys, the more tattoos they have, the more flirty she gets.

CPea finished her ballet class with a great recital and certificate. She really seemed to enjoy herself with ballet, so we'll start again in January.

LilPea has also taken a great liking to Little People playsets, especially the farm!

CPea's Preschool class visited an actual farm, but the highlight for her was sitting in a box with her friend. Afterwards the whole class went to Wendy's for lunch. As a note for the future, Wendy's + a preschool class does not = fun.

Scott got another year older and celebrated his old age with 'the funnest ipod ever.'

For Veteran's Day, we were invited to Knott's Berry Farm. CPea LOVED it, especially the Woodstock ride.

Scott enjoyed driving a car smaller than he is. Next up-clown school.

And, riding the Woodstock ride again.

Last, but not least. Rounding out the harvest month is Thanksgiving. This year as part of our healthy lifestyle agenda, we began the day by running in the Long Beach Turkey Trot 5K. Below is the Sweetpea Double Stroller Team that finished the race in a very respectable time. The girls really "stepped up" to help with the cooking.

Hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday. We've hung our Christmas lights, in shorts and flip flops no less, and are ready for a festive month!

When I Grow Up!

2008-11-06T12:57:00.003-05:00

We recently took a family trip to Sea World in San Diego with Grandma and Grandpa, and Aunt Robin and Uncle Dave. Of course, we took in the Shamu Show, during which LilPea sang and clapped for the entire performance. She was so taken by Shamu that Scott and I think she may be Killer Whale trainer one day.

Rock the vote

2008-11-04T16:47:00.002-05:00

Well today's the day. Not only is it election day, but it is also the 10th anniversary of my first election night as a lowly intern on Bob Etheridge's congressional campaign.

The girls and I headed to the polls today here in sunny, conservative southern california to vote.

It was an exciting campaign season and I am hopeful that our country will be headed in a new a postive direction. Or at least a more positive outcome than the miserable election night I spent in central Florida in 2000.

Please take the time to cast your vote. Otherwise, I will send this child to your house!
Trust me, you don't want to anger her!

Under the Sea

2008-11-02T21:38:00.006-05:00

It was a happy halloween here in Huntington Beach. Princess Ariel and her beloved companion Sebastian took in truckloads of candy and had a marvelous time. This is Sebastian before she knew candy was involved.

Supermodel mermaid

The girls celebrating Halloweentime at Disneyland.

Cuddled up with Dad on the couch.

We did a little neighborhood pumpkin painting party at our house, this is Caroline and Lily, waiting for the fun to begin.

Trick or treating by the witch

Scott's parents were kind enough to stay at our house and pass out candy so we could all trick or treat together.
CPea in her Halloween jammies.

Some of the neighborhood gang roaming the streets in search of candy.

LilPea loved the whole experience. She would not let go of her trick or treat pumpkin for anything, even when it got heavy. Also, she figured out how to unwrap and eat a lollipop, while driving, pretty smart for a crab. I fear trips around the block will never be the same for her.

After the candy.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy halloween!

Please vote tomorrow!

A Day in the Life

2008-10-29T16:38:00.003-04:00

Well to be honest, I don't know what I have been doing with my time. Not updating the blog, obviously. Here are a few snaps of life in CA. Halloween should provide a more concrete structure and theme to my next post! Pulling her sister's hair is LilPea's FAVORITE pasttime.

That is, when she is not eating at Wahoo's Fish Tacos.

Or, making funny faces while waiting to CPea to finish with her ballet class.

And actually, her most favorite thing of all time is spending time in the tub, or any body of water she can fling herself into.

CPea, ready for Cap Day at Preschool. She looks excited, no?

Fantastic Four

2008-09-29T13:32:00.008-04:00

CPea turned four yesterday. And, as tradition dictates, it was a multi-part celebration. For me, I just can't believe she's four, If you had told me four years ago as I was lying in the hospital room wondering what life with a baby would be like, I would never have guess that I'd be taking her around Disneyland and talking princess dresses and mickey hats. These are things they don't tell you, probably just as well since its hard to see past the age they are. One day, I'm sure CPea will look very young in these pictures, but to me, today, she looks so grown up.

This year CPea selected Cinderella as her theme and since we knew we would probably still be getting settled, we opted for a family Disneyland trip rather than a party.

My FOUR year old!
LilPea will go along with just about anything if there is a juice box involved

CPea's birthday celebration began on Friday when we brought a special snack to preschool. Since they are learning the letter "B" we brought blueberry muffins, bubbles and bubble gum.

She had a great time with her little class and came home with the first of many birthday crowns.
Next up, Saturday afternoon picnic at the park with her favorite treat, "Sub-A-Way"
We surprised CPea with her big birthday present, a bike! She was thrilled and did pretty well riding it.

After dinner at the resturant of her choosing (Red Robin) we came home for presents and cake.
And the next day, her ACTUAL birthday (in all caps because she emphasized that word all day) we headed to Disneyland, about 15 minutes from our house.

Disneyland for birthday kids is awesome, CPea had a button on her dress with her name and all day, everyone wished her a happy birthday. And when you are four, that just seems magical.
Here we all are.
First up, CPea's favorite ride, the teacups!
From there, the Dumbo Ride, where CPea spent some line waiting time to work on her curtsey

After Dumbo, we went on the Zoo train and CPea picked the monkey cage to sit in.
True to form and her love of enclosed spaces, LilPea loved being behind bars. Of course if she someday goes to jail, this will no longer be funny.
The Disney staff then escorted the birthday girl to the ride of her choice without waiting in line. CPea chose the Merry go Round and she got to ride on "Jingles" the very special horse that was recently dedicated to Julie Andrews and is decorated to look like the horse in Mary Poppins.
LilPea's horse was not as famous, be she just loved it anyway.

The birthday princess spent some time at storytelling with Snow White and then headed straight to Mickey's house, to have a chat with the mouse himself.
LilPea wasted no time making herself comforatable in the mouse house.
The dorky family photo with Mickey.
After Mickey's house, we headed to the California Adventure Park and to another Carousel. King Triton picked CPea to the Princess of the Swim, complete with crown and they annouced her on the loudspeaker and everyone clapped, I don't think she could have been more pleased.

Then there was dinner with the princesses

Including her favorite, Cinderella
After all that celebrating, she was ready for break and just sat down on the sidewalk.
At last the tram ride to the car, always a highlight.
So the royal celebration is over. I know now why so few princesses have mothers, its exhausting!

First Days

2008-09-13T20:17:00.003-04:00

Lots of new experiences for out here in the wild west, and some have been captured on film. Take a look... LilPea has been crawling for a little more than a month now, but now she is gaining speed. Clearly, she is on her way to mischief here.

CPea's first encounter with an antelope at San Diego's Wild Animal Park.
The highlight of the visit for LilPea, getting as wet as possible at the water park there.
CPea, post water park, pre ice-cream.
And then on to the Merry-Go-Round, its really all we do here, go round and round at various locations. This is LilPea willing her horse to go faster.
And our very patriotic daughter riding the 'American Eagle' her choice.

CPea on her first day of preschool, so far she likes it. They moved her into the pre-k room after a few days so she basically started twice, but is adjusting well.After the first day, oh what a difference a crayon crown can make.
CPea's first trip to play at the pond at Fashion Island, I have very fond memories of playing here as a kid and CPea just loved it too!

Sometimes LilPea's insistance on feeding herself makes her too messy to even get to the bathtub, so we drop her in the kitchen sink. She couldn't love it more, my little water baby!
LilPea has also taken to trapping herself under furniture. I hope this is not a precursor to a career as a creepy magician.

CPea, all dolled up for preschool picture day!

And last, the first day of ballet lessons!

Back to Reality

2008-09-02T14:32:00.003-04:00

In many ways, I feel like that CEO who decided he just had too many emails in his account and shut the whole thing down and started over. Its been a busy few weeks, complicated by our ongoing camera drama. We just can't seem to get one that works. So here are a few pics of what we have been doing and then tomorrow I start fresh. New camera, new resolve to update more often. Scott and CP at the Coast Guard Day picnic. As you can gather from CP's mouth, it was a very patriotic cake they were serving!
This is what we do here in SOCAL, chill in the driveway. CPea has taken to it very well.
LilPea enjoys it as long as there are things to put her mouth and messes to make.
We've also been taking some trips down memory lane. I grew up in Mission Viejo which is about 40 minutes south of here. So I've taken the girls to see some of my old haunts. LilPea especially enjoys the ones with water.
And a delightful discovery. There are many many carousels in SOCAL and as CPea puts it, "I just LOVE merry-go-rounds." So here she is in full delighted mode, and practicing her pageant wave.

Revenge of the boxes

2008-08-17T23:20:00.004-04:00

Its been awhile since our last update. There's been a lot of boxes between then and now and our finish line is not quite in sight. The finish line being of course being able to walk in our garage. I don't think we quite realized how much downsizing we were going to have to do in the new house. So the fun continues, but in the meantime, we've had some visitors so here are a few snaps and I'll hopefully get around to more posting soon!

LilPea has taken to crawling all around the house and she is my very important 'list assistant' she takes is very seriously.
Here she is modeling her sister's baseball cap.
LilPea also celebrated her birthday in NC, here she just before putting her face and feet in her cake.
CPea and I have been going to storytime at the library a lot this summer. This is us at the summer concert celebrating the "Catch the Reading Bug!"
Our most recent highlight was the visit of Dee, Uncle Mark and Andrea. We went to see the Angels play the Yankees. We had so much fun with our guests-and next time, we may even be able to drive to In-N-Out without the GPS!

One-derful!

2008-07-29T02:10:00.003-04:00

For anyone considering moving across the country two days before their child's first birthday-I'd advise against it. There are a host of reasons for this caution, not the least of which being that it is difficult to bake a cake when you do not know how to use your own oven. That just precedes the realization that you don't know where to buy toys, find the baby's pants, much less make friends to invite to a celebration. You see where I am going with this. Luckily, we pulled together a little celebration for LilPea out here in sunny Huntington Beach. Rightfully so, LilPea was a little skeptical about the party. And the kayak in the middle of the patio.
But she warmed up when she heard there would be cake. I have never seen a baby attack a baked good like this little girl.

Something about an apple not falling far from the tree comes to mind with this photo.
LilPea's ship has finally come in, her very own toy! A birthday gift from her sister who wanted to give her a baby doll. So she would stop playing with CPea's dolls.

We've promised our sweet baby that next year will be big. Bring on the bouncy!

Oh and for those kind souls that have asked, we have a phone number and address. Unfortunately I cannot remember either one so I'll do my best to get it out to all soon.

Roadies

2008-07-16T22:47:00.002-04:00

Our life has taken the high road these last few weeks. Well not so much high, but long. Scott is in our new home in Huntington Beach, unpacking 208 boxes while the girls and I are in Chapel Hill. We've come to the conclusion that there is no easy way to move two little girls across the country. So its more of a divide and conquer kind of move.in

Here's a few snaps of the girls on our trip. First, a stop in DC to visit some friends. Erin came to see us, but left baby Brooke behind due to our mysterious runny noses.

LilPea is doing well all things considers, but she screams every time I move more than a foot away from her. Needless to say, its a little tiring for me. But here she is with her current expressions.

LilPea has also adjusted to life on the water on her Poppy's boat.
LilPea has also been hanging poolside with her friend Maggie. And CPea is happy to share her floatie with Poppy.

CPea has taken to the pool like a little fish. Before now, she's had swimming lessons and liked them, but lately she is jumping in, going under and having a ball. Its been so very fun to watch.
Fun with Dee Dee!
And my little baby, who tucks her toes to her nose when she sleeps.
We're in NC until next Tuesday and then we will all be together again and living in SoCal. I just can't wait!

Over and Out

2008-07-05T23:50:00.002-04:00

So tomorrow begins the great journey of 2008. No, we're not headed to China to compete in the Olympics, this is a long distance marathon scheduled to last more than 8 days. The girls and I are headed to DC to visit friends and then on to Chapel Hill for an extended stay while our worldly belongs travel to California. If all goes well, we should be settled in Huntington Beach by the end of the month.

But first, a fond farewell to New England. Now I am not one for goodbyes and luckily for me, I have no time for a protracted exit. But a few words are in order.

New London has been a lovely place to call home for the past four years. Scott and I have brought home both our baby girls to the cape cod house on glenwood, been lucky enough to work at the Coast Guard Academy, and made the kind of friends that we think of as family.

We were able to capture a couple of shots from the girls last day at 'school.' They have both loved being there and their teachers have become so important to us, that is was very hard to say goodbye.

CPea and her last day crown.

LilPea and her teacher, Miss Crystal. Below, CPea and Miss Colleen.
And, as our final goodbye to New England, we celebrated the 4th of July at Tanglewood in the Berkshires at the James Taylor concert.
Until next time Connecticut, the peas.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

2008-07-01T22:26:00.003-04:00

So things are getting busy here at peapod central. Our move to California starts Sunday-so we spent last week finding a place to live in Southern California. Twenty or so houses, some with microwaves the size of a Kia Rio, color schemes that make Miami Vice look bland. And best of all, two kids in matching jammies.After finding a lovely home in Huntington Beach, we celebrating by visiting the Museum of the Pacific.

LilPea liked shaking the chains the best.
CPea got a chance to realize her dream of being a rock star, currently limited by the fact her only instrument is a xylophone.
She and Scott also played with a little bird friend.

So the girls and I going to spend some time in NC while Scott drives Mary Walnut across america in a minivan-ha. In the meantime, we are sorting and packing for our big move. Good Times.

Wish They All Could Be California Girls

2008-06-12T20:30:00.003-04:00

People keep asking me how CPea is taking the news of our impending move to California. I think this probably sums it up.

Think Pink

2008-06-08T09:12:00.002-04:00

CPea and I ran the Race for the Cure in Hartford, CT on Saturday. It was a good time for both of us. They had a 5K for adults and then a kids' fun run so we both got to participate. Scott and LilPea cheered us on!
CPea really loved all the merchandise from the vendors. Especially her pink cape.
This is CPea in the middle of her race. You'll note she wore her cape and bandana-that's my girl!
I'm happy to report with both ran our races with respectable times. Clearly CPea won the award for style. But we were both excited to participate in such a great event for a wonderful cause.

A Liking for the Sea and its Lore

2008-06-05T21:00:00.004-04:00

At the Coast Guard Academy one of the qualities they instill in their future officers is a liking for the sea and its lore. And where better to learn about the lore of the sea than the Mystic Seaport? When all is said and done, Scott and I are procrastinators of the first order, so we are cramming in all that we have not done in the past four years to the next three weeks.

The first order of business was the above mentioned museum of America's Sea. LilPea really enjoyed herself, but mostly because we sat her in the grass. Doesn't really bode well for for her getting her sea-legs, but that's fine by me.

CPea also was slightly more interested in the boat on land rather than sea. But she quickly discovered that rowing on concrete is not the fastest way to get anywhere.
So being the resourceful gal that she is, she tried her hand at whaling...not a great success

LilPea decided the best way for her to learn was to dive right into classic ocean literature. Look out Ernest Hemingway!

And true to her love of the spotlight. CPea eventually discovered her true calling. To be the star of an epic love story at sea.

Anchors Away!

2008-05-25T19:12:00.002-04:00

After four years at the Coast Guard Academy, I finally made it to a graduation ceremony. As luck would have it, this year's speaker was none other than Howdy-Doody. Otherwise know as VP Cheney (in my defense, he wore the outfit to suit the moniker-google it.) It was very gratifying to see the cadets that began as 4/c when we arrived to New London get their commissions. Upon receiving their officer commission, tradition mandates they rid themselves of all cadet garb-so CPea was happy to add the cadet cover to her extensive collection of dress up. Though I prefer the blue uniforms, I do think the whites add a certain something.

CPea Coast Guard Academy Class of 2026. I may live to regret typing these words in jest.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-10T21:31:00.002-04:00

Wishing all of you a very happy mother's day! Here are a few snaps of me and my little sweetpeas. A special wish to all of my friends celebrating their very first mother's day-breakfast in bed for everyone!

Better than a birthstone necklace

2008-05-02T11:10:00.005-04:00

"Mom, What day is St. Mother's Day? Is it everyday?"
My darling CPea, age 3 1/2

Bloom Where You Are Planted

2008-04-25T17:52:00.004-04:00

LilPea's nine month birthday happily coincided with the warmest spring we've had so far. With the daffodils in full bloom, it seemed high time to introduce the baby to the childhood wonder of the backyard. She just loved it!

Rub a Dub Dub

2008-04-11T22:43:00.003-04:00

Two kids in the tub. Our new favorite pastime is bathtime. Now that Ariel the mermaid and LilPea can join CPea in the tub, it has taken on a whole new world of fun.

We're not sure, but it seems the idea of moving is starting to sink in to CPea and she is having a lot of trouble going to sleep these days. The other night I found her fast asleep outside our door, poor thing.
Lastly, here she is showing off what I brought back from my trip to The White House. Sure, he's not my favorite President, but one can hardly turn down presidential M&Ms. That crazy outfit, by the way, is what happens when preschoolers insist on dressing themselves. She likes to wear anywhere from 2-4 shirts at any given time.

Hello Gorgeous

2008-04-05T19:43:00.003-04:00

I happened to have my camera out just after Scott gave Lilpea a hairdo that rivals Gary Busey on his best day, gave her a carrot, and wrapped her in a beach towel. Why? I couldn't really say. Here are what I like to call 'chubby baby pictures.'

This baby could give Dionysus a run for his money, no?
LilPea's first attempt to steal the spotlight from her sister.

March Madness

2008-03-25T22:36:00.008-04:00

From Easter Bunnies to Dust Bunnies its been a busy end of the month for us here at the Pea Place. Starting with a celebration of St. Patricks, we (egg) rolled right into Easter. All the while, working on our house to get ready to sell. We were lucky enough to have Scott's sister the beloved Aunt Robin come up and entertain our little ones while we tackled the basement and other thankless tasks. Photo hightlights of the last few weeks are below!

We're not Irish, but who can resist green?

Aunt Robin!

LilPea's First Easter
Easter Egg Hunt!

Bibbity Bobbity Boo!

2008-03-16T18:01:00.012-04:00

Its called the happiest place on earth. And for the most part its true, though being happy comes with a lot of tears. Luckily, a polyester dress and a ton of glitter can lift the spirts of the sleepiest preschooler. LilPea was happy to be along for the ride and ride she did all over three theme parks, two airports and countless monorails. Scott and I are still recovering. Still it was a great time and I am sure we'll treasure these memories. Especially the part where CPea declared, "Rides are DISTGUSTING, Mama!" I'm not sure how that will affect my campaign to be Parent of the Year. Luckily its only March and with a cross country move in my future, the judges will surely take pity on me.

The girls and I at Epcot

On our first day, CPea was invited to drive the Monorail-how great was that! She did a fine job!
CPea and her friend Kylie-shortly before we discovered that CPea hates rides.
LilPea trying to charm anyone whose eye she could catch

Ready for a day of fun
This looks fun, no?
Learning about gorillas
Selecting her salon package for the Bibbity Boppity Bootique

All ready for breakfast with the Princesses
Princesses wear crocs don't they?
For those of you with sons, congratulations. You have just saved yourself quite a bit of money by opting out of the Disney princess empire.

The Princess on her second favorite ride.
No one said being royal was easy.
CPea preparing for her Cinderella makeover
I don't think I had this much attention getting ready for my wedding!
Look how pretty!

The royal family
Who needs a coach and four when you have a stroller and a mom?
What happens after midnight. Though I am sure Cinderella did not have to scrub glitter and glue out of her hair!
The best thing about Florida was the swimming!
LilPea was a natural water baby if ever there was

My napping beauties
CPea on her favorite ride, we rode them six times. It was the only thing she wanted to do in the whole magic kingdon. Mickey will need to up his game next time. That or the Disney staff can stop annoucing what may scare children while in line. As soon as she heard that there was darkness, CPea refused to go. Scott and I now have a greater appreciation of the cocktail concession stands.

And, my first attempt to add a video.

After a long day of being a princess, CPea had this to say on our way back to the hotel room. My heart breaks a little every time I see it.

I Love LA!

2008-03-15T13:50:00.002-04:00

We've just returned from a week in Florida with Mickey Mouse. While gone, we heard that the Coast Guard is sending us to Long Beach, CA!

HOORAY!

Disney photos will be coming soon.

What Not to Wear

2008-03-04T20:01:00.006-05:00

Just the other day, CPea started dressing herself. Head to toe. Below you will find two variations of her latest ensemble.

"Mom, this outfit is so, so stylish!"

"This is my lobster and tutu outfit. It looks great!"
I'm a big believer in letting kids experiment with their own style and abilities, so I have no problem with CPea looking like the best crustacean ballerina this side of the Mississippi.

But what would Stacy and Clinton say?

There's No Business like Snow Business

2008-02-29T12:37:00.004-05:00

This has been a very warm winter for us. Fine by me, but CPea has been itching to get out in the snow with her snow pants and boots. So last weekend, we got a lovely amount of snow for playing and sunshine in the subsequent days which made for perfect snow fun.

The process of getting a preschooler dressed for the snow is complicated at best. You can see that purple is still the color of choice for CPea...What could be more fun that snow angels?
Snow on the beach! The novelty of such a sight amazed us all.

And, what's better than snow on the beach? Sledding on the snow on the beach.

Or is it pulling Daddy and LilPea along? LilPea enjoyed her first real adventure in the snow.
Nothing is better than taking off wet boots and kicking back in the car!

Like all good New Englanders, we are heading to Florida for vacation next week. In preparation for this trip, CPea acts out what she will do while there. Ride the rides at Disney, eat oranges, and swim. She has taken sun protection to heart and insists that she and LilPea try out all their sunhats when playing "Florida."

Any Day That Ends in 'Y'

2008-02-18T20:44:00.004-05:00

There seems to trend in blogs to add in some kind of recipe or craft on a certain day of the week. I've got a great collection of talented friends who invent granola bars, make pies with cheese, fashion santa cookies out of hearts, you name it-they could probably glue gun it together.

I was thinking that perhaps I would add a 'drink of the week' to this blog. But as the mother of two, I fear the recipe would not change from week to week. Find the biggest glass you can, fill with wine, enjoy.

While I can't really provide you with the best method for how to make a potholder out of old socks. What I can do, is share some of my most infamous mistakes. This weekend's disaster:

Spaghetti Squash

In the interest of making healthy food for my family, I jumped at the chance to substitute high carb pasta for squash. Right, don't do it. Despite the fun way it looks like spaghetti, I assure you, it is no kind of substitute. CPea said it best, "What is that weird smell, dinner?"

And, in case you are curious, I tried few different recipes and they were all uniquely horrid.

So this week's tip:

Don't serve spaghetti squash on any day that ends in 'y.'

H-E-A-R-T

2008-02-14T20:50:00.005-05:00

Valentine's Day.

One of my favorite holidays-Chocolate, Flowers, Jewlery...Crazy pants and graphic tees for my girls.

What's not to like?

Sisterly love

And what happens when you tell your kids to blow you a kiss!

Its been a great day. You what they say, the best way to celebrate a holiday is to move several kitchen appliances into your kitchen. That way, when you need a drink, you can save yourself a couple of steps. Our new kitchen floor was installed today so things are a little topsy turvey. Still nothing could dampen our spirits-CPea provided the soundtrack. The song is to the tune of the B-I-N-G-O song, but we can't really find out the words since they change all the time but the end is H-E-A-R-T and it pumps the blood around-O!

Super Tuesday!

2008-02-05T19:18:00.000-05:00

As is my tradition, I took CPea with me to vote today in Connecticut's presidential primary. LilPea joined us for her first voting experience. CPea delighted in wearing her sticker all day at preschool and that she, and the the candidate of our choice both start with 'C'!

A Winter Holiday

2008-02-03T16:52:00.000-05:00

My birthday has always been on the same day, the first of February. However, having spent most of my life in warm climates, I never realized what a miserable time of year my birthday was actually in.

But, you know what they say, misery loves company. So I am lucky that my mother's birthday falls on the day before mine. We like to celebrate together, when we can. And, here in New England, we'll use any excuse to party this time of year (for example, the insane enthusiasm over those 'Pats')

Here at sweetpea central, we stretched the celebration out into a whole week which was great! Below are some of the highlights.

For a proper party, you always need to make sure you've got monkeys and plenty of bandanas.

Like I said, we're a little hard up for activities. The local Children's Museum brought Daisy, the pot bellied pig that reads-we lined up at the door!LilPea used our time at the museum to work on her musical talent.

The girls and I were also happy to have a visit from our neighborhood's most eligible batchlor. Though just shy of his second birthday, this aspiring locomotive engineer from New London, CT has a way with the ladies. In lieu of flowers, CPea selected this as the centerpiece of my birthday celebration.
And then, we were off to New York City for a birthday celebration and visit.
CPea loved everything about the City, especially the bagels.
LilPea never misses an opportunity to pull anything within reach.

Or suck on her fingers...

While visiting the big apple, we visited the Museum of Taxidermy, er, Natural History.

CPea loved every minute of it...from the life like shore...

Its like being at the beach

To the heaps of Dinosaur bones...

LilPea found the museum the best place in the city to take a three hour nap. She closed her eyes the moment we walked in and opened them on our way out. I supposed we will have to make another trip to the museum for her to gather the full effect of a giant blue whale and a flying squirrel frozen in action for all time.

Nothing completes a day in the city as a night on the train with a bucket of tiny dinosaurs.

Baby, Its Cold Outside!

2008-01-25T21:19:00.000-05:00

Thursday marked LilPea's six month birthday. I hardly know where the time went, but on it marches.

Don't worry, we didn't punch her in the eye. LilPea has clogged tear ducts and sometimes her eyes get red at the end of the day.

I'm not going to lie, there's not a lot to do in pleasant southeastern CT in the dead of winter so we've been inventing activities to amuse. Most of these involve watching CPea playing dress up and creating elaborate imaginative scenarios.

This is the catapillar/seat belt scarf game. And below is the slumber party game, Nemo sleeping bag is mandatory.

This is LilPea manning her control center-her favorite place in the world.

"Oh the Places You'll Go!"

2008-01-13T11:29:00.000-05:00

"I don't need to pick a card, I already know where I am going."

-CPea, age 3, on the rules of Candyland

Oh Baby!

2008-01-10T20:24:00.000-05:00

I love the new year. Its a chance to start fresh and put the past in the past. With all the changes scheduled for later this year, we are trying to do our best to live in the present and enjoy each day.

LilPea is speeding through babyhood. She has teeth, loves to eat cereal and veggies and is almost six months. So I thought I would share some pictures of my little baby from our recent trip down to North Carolina.

LilPea and her new best friend Maggie Louise.
Can you find the baby in this photo?
You know the classic drunken pirate baby shot
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Babes in Toyland

2008-01-05T17:25:00.000-05:00

It was a cheerful Christmas morning in our house. Despite some of Santa's elves staying up until around 2:30 (really-must there be 300 pieces per toy?) We had a delightful Christmas scene.
CPea was especially thrilled to see her living room covered in toys and presents.
I couldn't resist getting her the newer version of underoos.

That plan later backfired when she insisted on spend the whole day in them. Note for the future.

LilPea also enjoyed her first Christmas. Santa brought some lovely socks that tasted just right. She spent the rest of the day trying to eat the wrapping paper.
CPea asked Santa for two things: a kitchen and scisssor.
Its never too early to start on literature. Um, or books you can eat.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

2007-12-24T21:03:00.000-05:00

merry christmas!

Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

2007-12-19T23:06:00.000-05:00

Especially if you are the kind of person that wraps up their Christmas shopping sometime in mid July.

Of course, that is not me. So much not me, that while I was at the Post Office on Monday, foolishly trying to buy Christmas stamps there was a local news crew there interviewing people who were stupid enough to come to the post office on the busiest mailing day of the year. Well how was I to know-I don't even watch the local news? And, after seeing the hard hitting news crew in action-I don't think I'm missing much. So if you haven't gone to buy stamps for your cards yet, brace yourself. They are going to try to convince you that mickey mouse is the new santa.

Still, the merry making is full speed ahead with CPea at the helm. Tomorrow we are making a snowman villiage entirely out of marshmallows. I'll be sure to post some photos of my latest holiday folly. That's folly, not holly.

LilP continues to be indifferent to the endless shopping trips and wrapping deliberations. Her main objective these days seems to be figuring out how to get herself out of the bumbo seat. I think she hates that seat almost as much as I hate the people who try to use five coupons on a three dollar item and then write a check to pay for it.

I've resolved to conclude this holiday frenzy by Friday so my next post should be filled with the peace that is so often wished during this MOST wonderful time of year.

All I want for Christmas

2007-12-16T13:58:00.000-05:00

Is my two front teeth...

Or in LilP's case her front four teeth. And I don't actually think she wants them judging from the screaming that has been the soundtrack to our life for the past week.

Upon hearing the Santa may not deliver gifts if there is no tree. CPea got straight to work decorating during our snow day afternoon on Thursday. Actually, it was a family affair, CPea and Scott would give me the ornament and I put the ornament hook on the tree. Teamwork is a big part of preschool, so CPea assigned us all roles and titles-Declaring, "Mom is the Hooker!"

We also attended the Academy's children's party on Friday. CPea until now was too shy to meet Santa. However, with the help of her friend Haley from preschool, they had a great meet and greet.

LilP was invited to join them as long as she stopped screaming. Which she happily did for almost a minute. A Christmas miracle of the first order.

Its beginning to look a lot like...

2007-12-08T16:22:00.000-05:00

Christmas!

So we've been starting to celebrate. First things first, of course. Last weekend we went out to tag our tree. Given the 20 degree temperature, we made a speedy selection and did not spend much time with the photo-ops.

As with most things, tree chopping is better with friends. CPea and Co. had a great time racing around trying to find the best Charlie Brown tree.

After selecting our tree, we all piled in the car and drove to Maine. I know what you are thinking, if its 20 degrees in CT, isn't it colder in Maine? Well, yes, but Santa was making a special stop up there via helicopter and we didn't want to miss it.

LPea seen charming her dad into putting a good word in to Santa for her.

CPea saying hello to the big man.

LPea buttering him up herself.

And the first gift of the season has already been handed out! LPea has started sleeping through the night. That's right, she falls asleep around 9 in my arms and wakes up at 6:30 am. I can't ask for very much more.

Honorable mention this week goes to the great town of Apex, NC. Citizens of Apex, the peak of good living, are lucky enough to welcome three brand new citizens in the past month. Twins John and Spencer and Baby Maggie-are all unreasonably adorable-have made mothers of my two great friends from college. Me and my pea-ple cannot wait to meet these new babies!

Happiness is...

2007-11-26T21:52:00.000-05:00

Well, its no secret that Thanksgiving does not rank among my favorite holidays. No offense to the well meaning passengers of the Mayflower, I whole-heartedly appreciate their efforts. Of course, they did travel in the time before travel climates were assigned colors. I ask you, what's a little scurvy if you can bypass security lines?

Still, now that I am a mom, I can no longer escape the harvestfest with macaroni and cheese and beer. So I in the past few years, I have been working to re-frame the holiday in terms of thanks and happiness rather than tense dinners and a root vegetable soup.

This year, my very smart husband suggested we escape to our favorite vacation spot in the Berkshires where we spent a week doing our best to relax. Turns out, there is no real relaxation for parents of two, but we did our best. To our delight, my younger brothers and mother joined us as well so CPea was in the kind of heaven that one can only get to when one is adored by "Uncles."

So in the spirit of happiness-I present to you my happy thanksgiving.

happiness is...

finding magic in a sofabed

a play in the first snow of winter with daddy

love from the uncles

one on one with Uncle Mark

being ready to ski-just as soon as she stops swinging

coooing with Dee Dee

standing at the foot of a mountain

playing with my girls (and dressing them alike)

reading with a very attentive audience

super family fun time

brothers on a winter adventure

happiness is being thankful for what I have, and being grateful for all of you.

thankful

2007-11-17T23:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

from our little turkeys...

to yours!

All Aboard! Trains and Training

2007-11-07T09:23:00.000-05:00

We spent last Sunday at Day Out with Thomas at the Essex Steam Train Station. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time wallowing in the blatant commericalism that is this little blue train phenom. Luckily, not a lead painted train in sight.

CPea was especially enthralled with everything Thomas, riding the train..

LPea was pleased to become a train conductor, now she wants to drive our cars!

Love is, an inflatable Percy

Standing in front of the cultural icon that is Thomas

CPea also rode in her first ride all by herself! And had her face painted!

And we went on the merry-go-round, CPea did not want to ride on a horse

A blissful day for a three year old.

And, for those interested parties, I am happy to report that CPea is officially potty trained! This is a significant milestone in parenting and a lovely relief from being that woman buying two sizes of diapers. It is satisfaction at its best.

A Ghostly Halloween

2007-11-03T20:16:00.000-04:00

Ever since last Halloween, CPea planned to be a Scary Ghost, with purple. Mind you, this is not the kind of costume that can be found in stores. So it fell to me, the mother, to create this costume. Which I did, with the help of my friend Amanda.

Here's the highlights of our Halloween extraganza, which consisted of two parades, one contest, and many bags of candy!

Never one to be left out of the loop, LPea did her best to be a little ghost

Everyone knows you can't be a preppy ghost without a monogram...

At the Halloween Parade in Niantic

CPea's costume contest debut...

CPea and I at the Academy's halloween parade

LPea found all of the Halloween preparations just a little exhausting

But once she had her cozy tiger suit on...she perked right up!

Trick or treat...ready to roll!

All and all, a great time for all us!

More photos are on our flikr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8140485@N08/sets/72157602846371024/

Poppy and Parades

2007-10-22T22:36:00.000-04:00

LPea had a visit by her Poppy and Suzanne last weekend. It was a weekend filled with football and fun as we participated in the Academy's Parents Weekend.

LPea gets a big hug!

And matching outfit again!

The colors on parade by the cadets drilling

CPea posing with Poppy and Suzanne

Outside playing catch with Poppy wearing her Carolina jacket. The Tarheels are going to have a good team this year!

I'd call this a meeting of the minds, wouldn't you?

And get ready for Halloween my friends, CPea CANNOT wait for it!

Vacationland

2007-10-09T10:55:00.000-04:00

The other day, LPea casually mentioned in conversation that she had not been out of the state of Connecticut since she was born. So we thought, what better place to go than Maine.

Actually, we thought we had to go to a waterpolo tournament last weekend in Maine.

Our first trip with LPea was a resounding sucess. I think I actually slept better in the hotel than I have at home. And you know you can't put a price on good sleep. You can see how well she took to her pack and play.

CPea had a great time getting to know the locals in Portland.

And playing in the near Bowdoin College. The leaves were just starting to turn.

And of course, the obligatory lighthouse trip. The Portland Head light is beautiful!

Whose taller? The Lighthouse or the CPea tower?

We also go to visit our good friends... Caroline and Mia are great playmates and love to see each other. And I love the Kittery outlets...

The Third Time is Charming

2007-10-04T10:33:00.000-04:00

So CPea turned THREE last Friday, the end of a week of celebrations starting with the long awaiting NEMO party. As some of you know, Caroline starting planning this party minutes after the end of her Elmo party last year. She picked the balloon colors, cake design, party favors (bubbles) the whole nine yards. It was a beautiful fall day and we all had a great time.

LPea was a little confused as to what was going on, but was happy to help her sister dig into the cake. Note: no candles this year as CPea is still no fan of flame.

The celebration continued with a party in her preschool class. I had forgotten the grand tradition of construction paper crowns for classroom parties.

As you can see, it was quite a celebration. Dance party and all!

Of course, no birthday is complete without gifts and CPea was thrilled with all of hers, and the wrapping paper!

We had to leave the night of her birthday to go up to Maine for a waterpolo tournament so on the way out of town, we had dinner at Chili's. You know how they do a little song for birthdays-well we asked our server to do it for CPea. They brought over a dessert and starting singing and as they were doing it, I thought it was a really loud song for three people to sing. It turned out that there were several table of cadets that realized it was Scott's daughter's birthday and so they heartily joining in singing Happy Birthday to her. Needless to say, Caroline was so delighted that the 'Cadets who live at Chili's sang her Birthday song."

Being three and starting preschool has brought out a whole new dimension of Caroline. She is loving her class and is learning a lot. Last we she tasked me with finding coincidences. Apparently, she is looking for them and, "Mom, if you see a coincidence, let me know."

I'm still looking.

Its hard to be a baby

2007-09-25T11:27:00.000-04:00

LPea will be the first to tell you, being a baby is not always a cakewalk. Our household is a little topsy-turvey these days. I returned to work this week, which has gone well considering that sleep is not always part of my day or night. The Academy has a child development center on campus that CPea has gone to for the past few years, its wonderful. Unfortunately, they still do not have space for my little baby, so she is going to be with a babysitter three days a week and the other two days I will work from home.

LPea has mixed feelings about this. As a general rule, she prefers that I not work on the computer while I am at home. Instead, we like to bounce constantly and take long drives to nowhere. Scott calls the above outfit her baby inmate uniform. He's funny, that guy.

CPea is doing her best to help her little sister stay comfortable. This is her testing out the Bumbo seat. It looks like its going to be a big help-once LPea can hold her head up.

Meanwhile, we are in the midst of CPea's third birthday celebration. The big day is actually Friday but the festivities have already begun. I will get photos up soon.

Survivor: New London

2007-09-17T14:52:00.001-04:00

Forget racing around the world or dancing with celebrities. Here's an idea, one parent, one preschooler, one infant, one weekend: GO!

SPea headed to Colby in Maine this weekend to coach the Academy's waterpolo team, leaving me for the first time with All My Children.

First, I am pleased to report that all of us survived. We even managed a regular feeding schedule and baths for everyone. Quite an accomplishment if you ask me. Since CPea and I have not had a great amount of quality time since her sister arrived, I wanted to be sure that she had a great time so I was a little ambitious with our activities.

Highlights of the weekend include:

CPea's first screening of Cinderella. She loved it and talked about it all weekend, I have been permanently been assigned the roles of Jack and Gus (the mice.) I must sing the Cinderellie song on demand at any time. Which, anyone can tell you, singing like a mouse is not as easy as it looks.

LPea's first trip to the Mystic Aquarium. CPea declared that she liked the penguins the best. If you ask me, the jury is still out on that one since she slept through the whole visit.

While in the car on the way to the mall, CPea asked if I was thirsty... So to play along, I said yes. My answer was, "Great, would you like some beer? My wife loves to drink beer!" I've no idea where this sentence came from (Note: review the lesson plans at preschool a tad more carefully) but upon seeing my astonishment and asking her not to bring up beer anymore-CPea happily marched into Sears chanting "Beer, beer, beer!"

Parent of the Year!

And where are the pictures you say? Are you kidding? Two hands, two kids-no time for amateur photography. Who would stop CPea from running into traffic? Alas, the memories of this week were only captured in my memory. A reminder that the time with these little ones goes so fast-and the memories of the day to day struggles fade away but I'm hoping to remember Caroline inviting Lauren and I to snuggle in her bed on the first chilly night of fall-forever.

Let's just hope CPea's memory of the weekend does not end up on some Psychiatrist's visit notes in 10-15 years!

Things I Never Thought...

2007-09-12T20:08:00.001-04:00

I swore that I would never dress my little girls alike... Well, life is short and so we'd thought we give it a shot.

I also did not realize in my twenties, how much fun could be had watching two people play hide-n-seek in the skull of a triceratops.

CPea had so much fun, she tried to take this dude home as a pet. Luckily for us, his cement body made it impossible to fit in our trunk. Still, I am sure he appreciated the snack.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I am not sure that is where CPea was going when she dressed up like me and got her baby ready to go.

Perhaps she was hoping to have a more sophisticated look now that she is a preschooler. Preschool is going great, CPea insists that every night we play 'school.' Last night she told me I was the teacher and had to give her a lesson about buses. I think if I had some time to prepare, I could have come up with more than "Buses have wheels and horns." Citing the Wheels on the Bus song as an educational reference is never a good sign.

LPea has a number of concerns these days, not the least of which being that her nightgowns never stay down!

we interupt this blog!

2007-09-10T11:57:00.000-04:00

We are having a technical difficulty with our camera. We are working on the problem and will resume regular posting soon!

The Laundress

2007-08-31T21:35:00.000-04:00

My mother has a special gift with laundry. I know, you are thinking-how does one get this? Well, she has many talents. Not the least of which being that clothes actually speak to her.

During her extended stay at my home, she washed everything she could get her hands on. On top of that, she gave laundering advice to my youngest brother over the phone. I overheard her telling him that for dark clothes you want to have a higher water level than you do with whites.

How does she know this?

Did a pair of dark wash jeans call her one day to say they would like a little more room to swim?

I am totally in the dark (no pun intended) on this one.

We are still very grateful for her stay and happily are still wearing washed and pressed clothing.

CPea especially loved having her Dee Dee visit-she wrote a thank you card to her but refused to mail it. She said, 'Mom let's keep it here so Dee Dee will have to come and get it from us and visit again.' I am so proud of my little manipulator!

My mom is great with both the girls-take a look!

Playing with Dora's house. It speaks in Spanish-I am waiting for the batteries to die.

This is CPea and Dee making their scary faces. CPea is very interested in being as scary as possible. Though, if you ask me, nothing is scarier than that Dora the Explorer. I mean, I don't think any of the great explorers had heads shaped like a football.

I was told one of the fringe benefits to grandmothering is getting to do things you would never do as a parent. Exhibit A seen above-drawing all over a kid. CPea was beyond thrilled at this treat. How long until she corrupts my other kid...

Only time will tell!

Visits and Visitors

2007-08-26T16:31:00.000-04:00

We've been keeping ourselves busy these past few weeks...

Caroline had a visit from her friend Cason. Cason is the daughter of SPea's good friend Tim from high school, they are only six weeks apart in age. Cason is going to be a big sister in December so the two of them had a lot to catch up on!

LPea and I were lucky enough to have a visit from my good friend Sarah who drove up for the afternoon to meet the littlest Pea and spend a little time. My apologies to her for this photo, I did not capture her mom to be glow very well. Nonetheless, it was so great to see her!

LPea and I have both been making the rounds at doctor's appointments. We have both recovered pretty well from our week apart. Its true what they say, anyone looks better once they are out of a hospital gown-and LPea is very happy to not smell like soy formula anymore!

CPea is doing great and getting ready to start preschool. SPea and I keep joking about having 'all of these kids.' Doubling the number of girls we have has taken some getting used to, but I could not be happier with my little ladies.

Still the grim reality that Labor Day is next week has taken me slightly by surprise. I had all of these great ideas that August would be such a relaxing family time. That plan has fallen through to say the least-so I am cramming all my summer fun in the next seven days. LPea has not taken this lost summer fun lightly, so we are going to do our best to make it up to her!

Grandparents are great!

2007-08-19T16:05:00.000-04:00

While I was in the hospital, we had a lot of help with the girls from our family. SPea's parents had planned a nice quiet visit to meet the baby and play with CPea. While en route, they got a call saying things had changed a little bit and did they remember how to make bottles.

They rose to the challenge beautifully and LPea was in very good hands.

My mother has also been with us for the past few weeks, more on her to come.

We are slowly easing back in to our normal routine. I am feeling better, but still cannot drive or do very much which is frustrating, but I am sure will not last forever.

In the meantime, thank you for all the well wishes, they go a long way!

Alison's Anatomy

2007-08-15T11:44:00.001-04:00

Its been a while since I have posted...and why is that? Well, there is no computer access in the hospital.

I have spent the last week-or a full third of LPea's life in the hospital with gall stone pancreatitis. What that is, I still can't say for sure, despite the numerous explanations given to me by medical professionals.

What I do know is this, you have a gall bladder. It serves no purpose but can cause a lot of pain in very unlucky people-myself being one of them. So I no longer have one of these troublesome organs.

When you leave the hospital after having a baby, you are just relieved to be going home. It does not even enter your thoughts that you could come back in two week for something much less special and, remarkably, more painful.

Needless to say, I am so thrilled to be back home with my little family.

A special thank you to all the family and friends that have given us so much support during this very difficult time.

I am very pleased to be closing the door on this miserable experience and look forward to my regular routine of posting cute pictures of my daughters and enjoying this time at home with LPea.

More to come!

Water Babies

2007-08-03T14:26:00.000-04:00

While CPea has been handling the arrival of her sister in true toddler fashion-that is to say, one mood swing at a time-she has also been busy with her swimming lessons. Her dad is hoping this is the first phase of a promising waterpolo career.

Not to be left out, LPea has been doing some waterwork of her own. The first bath. It went pretty well, all things considered given the long rivalry of children vs. soap.

All dressed and ready to go. You'll note this outfit (it says mommy's little sweetie) is part of my campaign to become the favorite parent for LPea. CPea has long been her father's number one fan, so this is my chance to even up the teams. We'll see how it goes.

Getting to Know You

2007-07-30T18:27:00.001-04:00

With LPea's one week birthday tomorrow, I thought I would share a few of the things we have learned about our littlest daughter.

1. She is a very good sleeper, in fact she sleeps all day.

2. She is a very good eater, in fact she eats all night.

3. We are working on changing this pattern.

4. She thinks her sister is a very big deal!

5. Her sister is a very big deal, we are so proud of CPea's behavior towards her sister.

6. Getting a newborn dressed is a task that can only be likened to trying to put pants on a rubber band.

7. And the moment SPea has been waiting for since the minute we knew we were expecting...the inaugural trip in the baby bjorn. He used with CPea until she outgrew it and has been biding his time to break it out again. LPea loved the trip...she slept through it.

Baby Pea!

2007-07-26T20:22:00.000-04:00

She's Here!

Lauren Marie

born July 24 at 9:55 AM

8lbs 6oz

21 inches

We are so happy to have our little babypea home at last! Lauren and I arrived home from the hospital today. Everything is fine, she is eating well and her big sister CPea is very excited and has been super helpful so far.

As it turns out, all my daughters are born on Tuesday mornings. CPea weighted one ounce less than her sister and they were both the same length and were both born between 9:30-10:00.

More photos to come soon!

What we've got growing

2007-07-20T14:45:00.000-04:00

SPea is following in his parents' footsteps and becoming quite the gardener. So I thought I would post a shot of his garden and our very pretty hydrangeas.

And of course, no post would be complete without a photo of CPea. Here she is working on her 'garden.' We are not too sure what she is intending to grow from grass clippings in a bucket, but it seems to going fine for her.

And, I am reluctantly pictured here since I, or BabyPea, continues to grow with no indication of her arrival date. So we are just waiting, some of us more patiently than others... Mary Walnut insited that she be in the photo with me, since she has yet to be featured in on the blog.

Glamour Girl

2007-07-17T09:58:00.001-04:00

Its no secret that Connecticut falls a little short when it comes to glamour. This is, after all, a state that proudly identifies itself as the "Nutmeg State." Nutmeg is probably the least glamorous of all the spices-there is not even a song about it. And to make matters worse, in the three years I have lived, I've seen no evidence of nutmeg anywhere.

So, needless to say, when CPea's very cool grandmother sent an outfit that is every bit razzle dazzle, CPea jumped at the suggestion of having a fashion show/photo shoot. Look out America's Next Top Model!
She is seen holding her princess cell phone case, one of her most prized possessions. We thought it completed the look!

This is CPea blowing kisses to her fans-that would be her proud parents!

What's in a Name?

2007-07-14T09:55:00.001-04:00

Its a lot of pressure to name a person. I know, I know, they can always change it when they are older. But I think there is merit in finding a name that suits and will not tarnish all their childhood memories.

That said, I am less than two weeks away from my due date and Baby Pea is still nameless. Not for lack of thought or consideration, but we just haven't found the right name.

CPea does have a name for her sister, George. That is what she has been calling this baby since we mentioned that babies need names. In fact, all of her little classmates at school ask when George is coming. George is a fine name, in fact, one of my favorites. But when taking into account that it is somewhat gender specific and was based on CPea's love of the Curious George. It doesn't stand out at the best of choices for our baby girl.

My darling husband seems very unconcerned about this, for reasons that escape me. Perhaps it is because when push comes to shove (literally) there is only one of us who is going to have enought wits about them to fill out all that naming paperwork-and that person won't be me.

So with his trump card in mind, the pressure is on for me to find a name. Otherwise I may end up with a daughter named Eunice Optimus.

I think we can all agree that is not a best case scenario. Its not even a good cocktail party story. Should any name suggestions come in to your head in the next few days, please send them my way!

A Little Friend...

2007-07-11T22:08:00.000-04:00

Its a lot of work getting ready to be a big sister, as Cpea well knows. We've tried to prepare her for the upcoming event, but being almost three, she has a limited attention span. As the nursery comes together, I thought I'd share a one of the special things we've found for Baby Pea.

As we have been getting ready for the baby, CPea has not has much to say. Except for this, she said her baby sister was going to want an alligator that doesn't wear a bathing suit. Luckily, we found this little fellow that seemed to fit the part.

With all the preparation, we've been trying to fit in a little bit of summer fun. Here is a picture of our darling girl in her favorite beach ensemble.

Tumbling Tot

2007-07-09T17:18:00.000-04:00

Cpea spends her Saturday mornings at tumbling class. Her favorite part of the class is shown here: jumping, jumping! At home she likes to demonstrate her flexability whenever possible.

Cpea would also like sweetpea blog readers to note that the sandals featured in the above picture are her favorite and contrary to her mother's opinion-they do go with EVERYTHING!

You've Got Questions...

2007-07-05T18:51:00.000-04:00

I realized that my last post would lead to some questions about our pending arrival. Each and every day, I am forced to answer questions about the baby from perfect strangers. After living in DC for a number of years, I have a habit of ignoring people talking to me that I do not know. Here in SE CT, you can't really get away with that kind of thing, especially when you are 10 months pregnant. So here is my standard list of answers I have at the ready in the grocery store line:

Perfect Stranger: "Oh, when are you due?"

Me: "At the end of the month."

P.S.: "Wow! You don't look like you that pregnant."

Me: 'fake smile'

P.S.: "Do you know what you are having?"

Me: "A little girl."

P.S.: "Really, I think you look like you are having a boy."

Me: "Yes, well, modern medicine begs to differ."

P.S.: "Do you have a name picked out?"

Me: "No, not yet. We are thinking it would be better to tell the baby what her name is before announcing it to random strangers." (Note: this is what I actually want to say, but don't.)

So there's the basic info. I will post pictures of the new nursery soon!

Waiting for Baby

2007-07-04T11:25:00.000-04:00

Our newest arrival to the peapod is scheduled to arrive in the 'next few weeks.' This vague timeline has only exacerbated the fine quality of procratination that both dpea and I posess. Luckily, I have good friends who were kind enough to throw a lovely strawberry shower to welcome baby pea! Cpea is pretty excited about being a big sister, which she demostrated by helping me open all of the baby's gifts. She has since reccomended that we move the baby's room to the shed, but we are are just overlooking that suggestion for now.

Welcome!

2006-02-06T12:29:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our blog! I am creating this in the hopes of doing a better job of keeping in touch with our friends and family.