...It was a White Christmas

We made our 3rd annual trek to Big Bear for a Christmas celebration with our families and had a blast sledding and building snow men. Bundling up in sweaters and mittens seems the most fitting way to enjoy winter. Here are some pix.... Jayden's maiden voyage on the innertube. Well, kinda. There was an incident last year that involved Marty, Jayden, a dog and a tree. It's a miracle I let him try this again! But she loved it and eventually did a solo run.

Jayden and her Cousin's Blake and Ilana on Christmas morning.

Cousin Sarah met Zachary for the 1st time.

Mima and Papa with their prized Grandchildren.Taking a brisk stroll. Penny, the kitty goes everywhere -- she was a gift from Aunt Kelly.

Zachary with some of his loot.
Me and Jayden next to the first, and failed, attempt at a snowman. It was more like a snow mound.

Jayden followed Blake around everywhere. She affectionately calls him "Bake"

Zachary and Grandma.

...we made it.

Wow! It has been a rough month filled with stomach flus, colds, coughs, ear infections, migranes, and neck pains . Marty has created a cult religion based on the promises of a tiny fizzing tablet called Airborne. He swears by it's power to ward of nasty little germs, and to his credit he has been the healthiest of us all. The rest of us, however, just keep passing the little bugs around, and yet this morning as the sun burst through the rain clouds a glimmer of healthful hope arose in our house. Zachary has a drippy nose, but otherwise I believe we've weathered the winter illnesses just in time for our Big Bear Christmas.

....Zachary is AMAZING

Zachary has been profoundly physical since his birth. So much so that the nurse who assisted with his circumcision made a huge point to tell us that she could barely hold him down for the surgery and repeated again and again that he was the strongest newborn she's ever seen. The truth of that statement can never be empirically challenged yet has seemed to set a foundation for his development up to this point. Mind you I can only compare his physical prowess to how sister Jayden was as a baby and to his baby friends.

Crawling around at baby Taryn's house

He has been able to scoot around the house for some time now --- probably close to 2 months -- and last week he discovered that he could climb our stairs. 2 weeks ago he mastered the art of standing in his crib and I imagine it's only a matter of time before he figures out how to climb out of it.

He is soooo fast and strong and determined -- I can barely keep up. Just last night Marty was watching Zachary motate in the living room and speculated on the number of times we will be in the emergency room to treat broken bones etc.
We are excited to see how God will bless and use his physical abilities.

Climbing into the toy box at baby Ryan's house.

...We had a happy Halloween

I absolutely love this time of year. The warm fragrance of Autumn's cool, dark evenings is my second favorite of God's creations -- the first being His majestic clouds. Halloween, however, is quite a yucky holiday and we only celebrate it in order to meet and mingle with our neighbors (and eat candy of course.)

This year was particularly enjoyable because Jayden was ecstatic to participate in wishing everyone a "Happy Birthday" and give them a "Turkey Treat".

...Jayden turned 2!

On October 10th Jayden Malia turned 2 years old. Mima came up on the train and we had a celebratory lunch at Corner Bakery The following weekend we headed to Mima and Papa's house in Encinitas for a party with our family. Cousins Blake and Ilana were the star guests -- they had a blast swinging and making art with sidewalk chalk. Uncle Andrew entertained us with marvelous music. Jayden requested Mary Had a Little Lamb, again and again.
Jayden was determined that everyone wear a hat to her party, so Grandma and Grandpa showed up in style with Cowboy hats.

Jayden and Zachary were overjoyed to see Aunt Kelly and Uncle John.

....I've been up since 3 am and I'm still smilin'

By 6 AM Saturday morning Jayden, Zachary and I were packed in the SUV and sitting in the Starbucks drive-through. The Tall drip in a Grande cup with 2 equals and Breve enabled me to safely navigate the Los Angeles freeways and arrive in Encinitas in a mere 2 hours.
click here to visit the Starbucks Oracle and see what my coffee says about me http://www.buttafly.com/starbucks/index.php )

This weekend adventure with Papa and Mima was planned so that Marty could study (and watch the baseball game, and go to the driving range) in peace and quiet. Something that I know little about; being that in the past 2 years I have spent only 2 nights without at least 1 child nearby. We had a super fantastic time!! Here's the runndown....

Mom, Mona Healy, and I sipped coffee as we discussed an Anne Graham Lotts Bible Study -- the best way to start any day is in The Word...plus coffee.

Zachary took a nap and Jayden went with Papa to the bank and the pet store/vet .She hasn't stopped talking about it : "doggy sick, go hospial".
I finally got to meet 8 week old Isaac Alfred Montgomery and spent a wonderful 2 1/2 hours with him and his Mama, Annie. He has the most amazing blue eyes and a delicious smell. He has developed some awesome leg rolls and so they call him Chunk; I couldn't help but recall that Zachary was his size at birth. This picture paints a thousand words. Jayden will be 2 on the 10th and is often mistaken for a 3 or 4 year old and still Zachary seems to dwarf her --he's 19 pounds, only 5.5 months and I have no clue how tall he is. Whoa.

That evening we attended the Mount of Olives church service so we could witness my brother Andrew (AJ), CPO and the band lead worship. Jayden clapped with joy and praised God throughtout each song and when the worship had ended she exclaimed "Good job Uncle, yea, we did it."
Sunday was our day of leisure -- I think I took a nap, but can't be sure. At 3 am Monday I was up re-packing the car and the 3 of us were home by 6. Just in time to wake Marty up and send him off to work.

...We spent the weekend in San Diego

On Thursday I dropped Granny and Jayden off at the Moorpark train station to catch the 3:20 p.m. Surfliner to Solana Beach. Jayden gets so excited for the 4 hour adventure because she knows that PaPa will be there to pick her up and take her to Granny's house. It''s a wonderful treat to have one on one time with Zach, and a quiet house in the evening when Marty and I are ready to unwind from the day. But we were up early Saturday to pack the car and head to San Diego to retrieve the toddler and celebrate a birthday with our friend Tracy.

Mrs. Tracy Miller turned the big 3-0 last week and Saturday night her parents threw her a fabulous Karaoke Rock-n-Roll party.

Marty and I donned costumes from the 80's and had an absolute blast dancing and singin' on the stage. Marty was a hit with his Solo act -- he gave a mighty Twisted Sister impersonation and belted out "We're Not Gonna Take It". I practically had to beg him to perform, but once everyone was giving him high-fives and props he couldn't wait to do another song-- I think he's gonna be a Karaoke addict.

(Tracy, Patrick, Adrienne, Marty --Superstars)

We made it to church the next morning and then got to spend some time with Marty's sister, Susie, and her fam. Jayden adores her cousins, Ilana and Blake. What a great weekend.

...The Fair is in Town

(2006 Fair visit -- 1, One year old child
and 1 stroller)

Marty grew up in Claremont just a stone's throw from the annual L.A County fair. And subsequently he has fond memories of hanging out there with mischievous friends and slingin' burgers in one of the hundreds of grease stands. So last summer he convinced me that going to the fair would be a fun family outing. Minus the 100 degree heat and my pregnancy induced nausea he was right and we had a great time with Jayden.

This year we made the hour drive again to witness our daughter's excitement over all things farm animals, and to spend a day with Uncle Mike. The weather was perfectly warm with an occasional cool breeze allowing us to delightfully inch our way through the mass of families and strollers to peer at every cow, horse, pig, bunny and chicken with glee.

(2007 Fair visit -one 23 month old, one 5 month old, 1 double stroller, 1 backpack, 1 Bjorn)

And of course part of the enjoyment of any Fair is indulging in a bit of gluttony. I managed to enact some self-control and shared an ear of corn with Jayden (it had been dipped in a vat of liquid butter however), while Marty and Mike ate some kind of BBQ sandwich monstrosity. Three hours later we were full and fun-ed-out. We definitely need 365 days before the mood to feast at the fair will strike again.

(Swarms of people lining up for a little Deep Fried Sin.)

....We went on a walk with Shelby and Baby Charlotte

Any day spent with Shelby is a great day. And today was particularly fab because we walked from her house to It's A Grind for some caffeine therapy. Jayden LOVES playing with her 3 kids (Abby 6 , Nate 4, Charlotte 6mos) and their dog Hezzie. So much so that her role playing at home often involves calling Shelby on her toy phone and chatting with Nate and Abby.
Shelby is an awesome encouragement to me spiritually and physically -- lately she's been kickin' my butt with her Plyometrics and Core workouts (she is a personal trainer and teaches Pilates at a few local gyms). After our killer walk we hung out a bit at her house so that Zachary and Charlotte could spend some time hangin' out. Zachary absolutely lights up at the sight of her - it is going to be such fun watching the 2 of them develop a sweet friendship.

...We went to Kids Club

Every Thursday morning at the Thousand Oaks mall dozens of women and their pint-sized tots gather for an hour of sing-song mayhem. Today we met up with our friends Lisa, Luke and Ryan to participate in the entertainment. Jayden and Luke were both tentative at first to join in the song and dance, but soon enough they were meandering through the crowd and stomping their feet. Lisa and I laughed at our toddlers while chating and holding our squirmy babies. Then we headed to La Salsa for lunch. Jayden and Luke ran with glee to the resteraunt, yards ahead of our strollers. We managed to scarf down our food before Luke slipped on some water, hitting his little head and unleashing the typical toddler melt-down. We always enjoy our times together no matter the amount of time, the number of giggles or tantrums. Next week we will try the park though.