motha from another family

Kathryn posted this on Instagram and I thought it was super sweet and quite adorable.  The best part?  She texted me to make sure it was OK that she posted it... so considerate, Kat.

Keeping to herself while she peacefully sleeps.  Check out the spots on her rear-- they're getting outrageous.  They've moved from the back of her legs and her butt to her back and behind her ears.

It'd like to give a special Happy Birthday to Denise -- Meagan and Alyssa's mother who I have known my entire life and who treats me like on of her own (which can sometimes be good, sometimes be bad) jk jk.  Anyways, she's a special lady and I thought she deserved a little post.  This is the picture I put on her fb wall, letting her know that I'll always have her back.  #truth

Cali currently weighs in at 25 pounds --- pretty much half of what Fenway's weight is.  The girl is going to be a beast.

Both girlies had a great visit to the vet and were cleared for flight on Saturday! 

who runs the world?

I can't get the picture.. bummer.  Anyways, B jokes on me for my brief period where I was obsessed with Beyonce's song, "Who Run the World?"  Therefore, when I was at the doctor's office and opened my magazine up to this page I immediately smiled and sent a picture to Mike.  ...it's the little things in life...

Mike pulled a little teaser after work -- stopping in to say HI to his familia before heading to get his hair cut.  Cali fought sleep, but Fenway was back and forth between starring at the TV and the door, waiting for Mike to come back.

One intense picture of B's first hair cut in years!  He usually cuts his own, but since he no longer is keeping it short, he decided to have it done by a professional.  You should have heard how nervous he was before he went... super cute.  He wasn't sure how the whole hair cut scenario played out, when you tip them, how much, etc.  And he was sweet enough to let me take this picture of him when he got home (he came out of the bedroom mid-change so I could get it).

keeping it classy

Warning: the picture is highly inappropriate, yet something I have to deal with on a daily basis.

Yup, that's my girl-- keeping it classy.  Sometimes I get to roll over in the morning and wake up to this kaslop in my face.

My mom sent me a picture of these two studs matching (by mistake, or so my dad claims).

I've added to the Christmas color collage on our wall... see if you can spot the new additions.

Every day I open the advent calendar and take out the "disgusting chocolate" -- direct quote from Mike.  Today's made me smile-- 'Make a gift for your teacher.'  Aside from $25 gift cards, home made gifts were by far my favorite.

Post-dinner preggers pic for 18 weeks.  A trend of leggings is starting to take place.. they're by far the most comfortable piece of clothing when lounging around the house, Sundays, and the occasional public appearance. 

Sisterly love... even when they sleep they have to touch.

christmas cookies extravaganza

A little role reversal.  Two of our favorite quilts are filled with stuffing and for some reason both girls love trying to get to it.  We learned our lesson with Fenway and put it away whenever we left the house.  However, there have been too many times when we forgetfully put it on Cali's crate and come home to parts of it in her crate while she chewed on it.  I've sewn them both more times then I can count, so I've given up (we're buying a whole new set when we move back home); however, Mike was tired of seeing stuffing floating around the house, so he took matters into his own hands.

Thanks to Pinterest I found these beauts to make.  Mike and I had a little assembly line going to accomplish the task.  I must say, they turned out very true to what the picture looked like.

Jessie Skyped me during the Redskins v. Ravens game and James was a total character.  Aside from babbling on for awhile to me, he finally went and got his Lightning McQueen car to ride around on.  As you see, he stopped to take a few breathers along the way.  I do have to say that he is not this large in person (clearly it'd love a fatty nugget) but I thought in this particular picture he looked quite large with squinty eyes, which made me laugh even more.

The finished product.

These were Mike's cookies... also delicious.  It goes without saying that we each ate some and then I had him bring the rest to work -- I don't need that temptation hanging around the house.  Plus, I'm going to get my hands on Smalls Christmas cookies soon enough. 

kayaking's aftermath

Uncle Paul and Aunt Lidia invited us to go kayaking in the bay.  What we weren't told is that it would be a three-hour event (kayaking alone).  We didn't bring a camera in the water, but we did take in some pretty scenery and wildlife.

10:45 : leave the house to meet them at the kayaking spot
11-2: Kayak
...we're about to leave for the restaurant to grab lunch when Paul realizes he left the key to his club on his steering wheel at home, so we drove them to get the key.
...after getting the key we headed to the restaurant, only to stop by the cleaner's so Mike could drop off a laundry bag full of dry cleaning to have ready by the time we leave for DC.
...spend about an hour eating Mexican food (yum!)
~4:00 / 4:30 : drop them back off at their car
...head to Ralph's to pick up baking supplies and random foods for the week (although we promised we'd eat everything in the house before buying more food, since we're leaving on Saturday).
5:30ish finally get back to the girls who behaved so well the whole time we were gone.

We had big plans for the rest of the night, but instead the two of us were completely wiped out-- me, pregnant and Mike, sick.  We set up the air mattress so we could both lay down and watch a movie.  I know you can't see Fen's face, but she's there.  Cali, on the other hand, is doing what she does best-- snuggling with her family (aka sitting on some body part - usually the face).

balboa park - december nights

Our San Diego friends suggested we all go to Balboa Park's December Nights -- a two night event where tents are set up with various vendors and there's Christmas music, decorated trees and streets, etc.    We walked around for an hour or so before heading to Cucina Urbana.  I wish I would had taken pictures inside because the restaurant itself was the cutest thing -- every detail of decorations was given thought, even down to the French vintage chairs.

This part of the lights display was dedicated to the Grinch.  And since no one in our group wanted to go and get their picture taken with him, I figured it'd take one regardless.  Little did I know I would get this classic.

The carolers performing here weren't the best, per say, but the backdrop was pretty.

Again, the Grinch's tree.

Mike had a half day today at work, so we got to finish some Christmas errands -- including FINALLY sending a end-of-semester package to his sister in college.  

our girls

We received our first Christmas card of the year--- precious Smalls has it together!  :)

This is what my precious Fennels looks like when she's sleeping peacefully on the couch...

...and this is what The Joker looks like.  I kid, I kid, I love her... even if she sounds demonic during playtime with her sister.

winning

I was on my way to Target and came across this image that I thought was funny --- it was about 4:30 and the man was just now hanging a sign letting people know the store he works at was having 50% off -- notice how it says 'Today Only!"  A little late it'd say.

I'm not one to brag, but I'm doing prettyyy good in my Yahoo Pick'ems.  It'd like to thank the Redskins for pulling one over on the Giants-- I'm sure that has a little something to do with it.

Mike and I are making a care package to send to Katy before she comes home for Christmas.  One of the items on the list I had to no joke google.  It's not that I've never seen them before, I just wasn't aware of their official name.  I will say she has a kick-ass package headed her way, though. 

sleep trained

The girls and I are officially in a routine (fingers crossed).  Mike wakes them up early and lets them play before work, then puts them back into bed before leaving.  I quiet them down, put on some tunes, and back to bed we go.  Its been working out pretty nicely, and the fact that I'm able to sleep "in" (on and off) until around 10 is always a bonus.  Lord knows soon those days will be gone.

This is how the morning usually starts-- Cali trying to get at her sister any way she can.

And poor Fen puts up with it.  Look how sneaky that face is... she's definitely the evil of the two.  Instigator is one of her more common names I like to call her.

work, work, work all day long

Remember all those clothes Mike and I piled up to donate to the homeless shelter?  Well, I contacted them and found out where the "drop off" spots were.  However, Leticia (our maid) was here this morning and since I won't see her again until when we return in January, she gave me a hug and we wished each other a happy holiday.

Side note - she's a single mom with a son in college.

Therefore, when she saw all the bags I felt obligated to tell her that she was free to take anything she wanted, no obligations.  Well... she took it - all of it.  She asked for trash bags, filled them up to the brim, and left with a smile on her face.  It made me smile to know that someone was actually going to use the clothes.  She did tell me that anything she didn't use she would take to Tijuana and give to people there.  Such a sweetheart she is.

Poor babe... always working.  At least we get to catch up on some 'Homeland' and 'Revenge' while he's doing it.  And yes, we both cannot wait for the winter break / Christmas time with the familia.

Just obsessed with Christmas. Period.

we can palm our baby at 17 weeks

In between having fun and relaxing, we actually accomplished a lot this weekend.

Driving home from Christmas shopping (and getting our monthly anthro candle) I couldn't help but laugh at the normalcy that is our life -- getting in the car Mike puts the air condition on Lo and I put the heat on High.  Thank the Lord for separate air conditioning systems for the passenger and driver.

We finally went through our closest's and got rid of clothes / accessories we no longer need/want.  Our homeless friends of San Diego are going to have a merry little Christmas.

More donations.

Casey, Jess and James are at DisneyWorld (his first trip) and Casey sent me this gem at the end of the day... they had been there for 10 + hours and he loved every second of it -- he was a little hesitant about Tigger but embraced Pooh right away.

Today's update at 17 weeks-- our baby fits in the palm of our hand!!  I'll admit, I got a little emotional when I read this one because up until now our little one was only compared to a fruit or vegetable -- now shit's getting real.

Oh so excited to be at Jiffy Lube... at least he had Red Zone to watch on his phone.

Not the most attractive picture, but you get the point of the growing belly... and next to the tree, I thought it was festive.  Truth be told, my bif Kristen sent us a picture of her posing next to their Christmas tree and since it looked so precious, I decided to borrow her idea.  Thanks, girl.

a dead battery

Today Mike spent most of the day working from home (they file next week) so the girls and I just lounged around the house, walked to World Market and enjoyed a lazy Saturday afternoon.

My car was beyond filthy - I mean, it had sand in the seats from taking Fenway to the beach back in the summer (gross, I know).  SO Mike and I vacuumed our cars and took them through the car wash.  Well, I was able to take mine through the car wash... while Mike's battery died.  He didn't understand why keeping all doors propped open while cleaning his car caused it to happen, but I knew better.  ;)

My little lady couldn't handle the drying aspect of the car wash (it was literally shaking my car and I thought it was going to dent it) so I had to rush through drying it.

Once we got Mike's car fixed and everything was working well again (minus Mike's radio and XM - which was a whole other story) we picked up a few bottles of wined and headed to my aunt and uncle's for dinner and some tree decorations.  I forgot to take any pictures, but I was cracking up when Mike took out an ornament that was battery operated and attached to the battery was a small sticky note that said... BATTERY (turn it over) IS DEAD.  Seriously?

end of 16, going on 17

Getting ready for the gym has become prime time for taking baby bump pictures.  Here I am at 16 weeks, on the verge of 17.

Mike and I had originally planned on going ice skating at Del Coronado; however, the rain canceled those plans.  And because we decided to have an indoors date night, the girlies also played along and took a little siesta before the movie started.

all you need is love

Our wall of inspiration is growing -- Thanksgiving is past and we're moving onto Christmas!  Obviously I'm beyond excited.

My dad sent me this gorgeous sunset from the road.

Our Christmas cards came in the mail - and they took over an hour to address / get ready to ship them out.  This is our first Christmas card we're sending out and after the success of how these turned out, I foresee many more in the years to come.

hives... seriously?

Today Cali had to go for her third round of shots.  The vet asked if I wanted to do something extra, which I of course forget the name, but it's something that if contracted by the dog, humans can get.  Since I'm pregnant, I didn't think twice and immediately said YES.  While I don't regret having Cali get the shot, I do regret the outcome...

After sleeping for about 3 hours, I noticed she had a red lump at one of the injection sites.  I called the vet and they told me the doctor wasn't worried and to just clean it with hydrogen peroxide and put ice on it.  Well, the ice pack last about 3 minutes before she kept trying to bite the bag.  

However, her personality was still in tact and she seemed fine, so I put her in her crate and went to the gym. When I got back, took both dogs out, and settled down for a snack the two started to play in their usual ways.  However, I noticed something wasn't right... Cali had bumps on her and the more I stared the more they appeared.  I immediately called the vet and they said to bring her in right away-- she was having an allergic reaction to her vaccinations.  An hour and a half after arriving at the vets, she was released after two shots and being monitored.  Through it all she never once gave any indication that something was wrong.. such a sweetie.

Luckily, she was 95% hive free and ready to watch 'Christmas at Rockefeller Center' (hence the reflection in her right eye) with the entire fam.  Such a trooper.