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Photo Shoot!

Wed, 6 Jan 2010 12:06:47 -0800

We hired a photographer to celebrate Linnea turning two. I wish we would have had professional photos taken for her first birthday! At least she still has some of her baby features I adore. I posted a ton of pics on our album page.

Happy Birthday Linnea!

Tue, 5 Jan 2010 13:29:35 -0800

On December 21st our little baby turned 2! Happy Birthday to our dear sweet daughter, it’s been a fun year with you! We love you so very much!

I posted some pictures from her party on our photo albums page. :)

5 years and counting...

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 11:37:38 -0800

On October 16th Joel and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary! Our celebration pretty much consisted of putting Linnea to bed and having a nice take-out dinner by candlelight. Hey, at least we lit some candles!

Each year around our anniversary I reflect on our engagement, the planning, the wedding day, the drama, the excitement, the expectations, the list goes on...

Above everything else I like to think about the things I enjoyed most on our special day... I loved wearing my fancy gown, feeling surreal during the ceremony, strutting down the aisle with Joel afterwards, being introduced into the reception hall, dancing all night, spending time with friends and family, throwing my bouquet from the staircase, and having our lovely guests see us off as we rode away in a vintage Rolls Royce. Joel and I had a wonderful day together.

Although I have to admit, the whole getting married process was quite emotional for me and I was overwhelmed at times. Among other reasons, I just didn’t handle the stress of planning a wedding too well. I found it difficult to navigate through my own as well as everyone else’s emotions, wants, needs, feelings, ideas, etc.. For the most part I kept it together but I did have a few meltdowns over some little things along the way, which I guess isn’t too bad, considering how I was feeling.
I suppose the mixture of wanting everything to be perfect and being a little afraid of “marriage” itself added to the pressure. I had some issues I needed to work out! Don’t get me wrong, I had some great days during that time too. Thank you to my family and friends who were supportive and understanding. You know I love you!

As a side effect once in awhile I still find myself wishing I could have handled things better or planned certain details of the wedding differently. For example, I start fantasizing about another venue or more elaborate favors... I guess I am thinking about the issues I worried about back then. The should have, could have syndrome. After I dwell for awhile I snap myself out of it and think, why am I doing this? There are so many other important things I could be thinking about! ;) Please tell me I am not the only one who has done this?!

What I have gained from this experience and other events in my life is that it’s healthier to focus on the positive memories, the present, the future... to grow, to take with you what you have learned, and to move forward! I’m trying, I promise! So here I am hoping for another happy year. I wonder what’s in store for us???

Thank you for taking the time to read my super long post! I must be in the mood to share my feelings today which really is not like me. I may regret it later and delete this post! ha ha

Ps I love you Joey!

Halloween!

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 11:21:10 -0800

We had fun this year exploring pumpkin patches, carving jack-o-lanterns, and dressing Linnea up in a cute 50’s outfit. We figure this is the last year we will be able to pick out her costume. I am thinking next year she will want to be a fairy, ballerina, princess, or combination of all three. This seems to be the trend with the 3 year old girls we know. I will share more pics in our photo album section soon! Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

Happy Anniversary

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Joel and I met 10 years ago at my cousin’s wedding in Del Mar. Here is a picture of us on our first vacation together in New Orleans. We had been dating for almost 6 months. I can’t believe it’s been 10 years!

Happy 4th of July!

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 18:51:56 -0700

We spent the day in Sierra Madre at the Memorial Park. As you can see Linnea was quite intent on marching with her flag. We also had fun dancing to some ol’ time Jazz. Check out the video on the next page!

Daddy-O!

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:46:45 -0700

Happy Father’s Day to all the fab Dad’s out there! Joel’s father’s day was full of pancakes, painting, and playing at the park! Linnea just happens to love all these things too. Here is an excerpt from the letter she gave to her Daddy today. Of course mommy helped out a bit.

Dear Da-Da-Da-Da,
I love splashing in the puddles with you in our backyard.
I love when you read my favorite books to me.
I love when we play the piano together.
You are a great Daddy!
P.S. I am one and a half years old today!

Choo-Choo!

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 19:19:38 -0700

Today we took a little trip to Travel Town at Griffith Park. Grandma Yolande, Aunt Heather, and cousins Austin & Dakotah met us there. We had a fun time exploring the old locomotives and riding a miniature train around the park. It was Linnea’s first time on a ride! She seemed a little unsure at first but then started to point at everything she saw along the way. We all had a great day!

Linnea’s week of fun

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:54:04 -0700

We had a busy week! I thought it would be fun to get messy with some finger paints. A mess we made indeed! Linnea is pretty serious about her art, by the way. She started out by dipping just one finger into the paint and making some nice squiggles, but by the end she was really in to it and her hands were covered. The color green was definitely the winner of the day. She also took her first gymnastics class. I think her favorite part was doing a little flip around the bar (with help of course). I have to say for a skinny mini she sure is strong. The teacher should be sending me a few pics soon. A couple of days later we took an “Outside of the Box” class which is a really fun course designed to encourage brain development through multi-sensory learning and play. A few of the activities included singing songs in Spanish, playing with colorful feathers, and dancing in hundreds of bubbles. What fun!!

Venti Bros

Sun, 31 May 2009 19:15:26 -0700

Nick and Chris came up to check out our new digs and have fun with their sweet little niece. They stayed for lunch and a trip to the Farmer’s Market. Do you think she loves her uncles or what?!