Mabel's birthday party

we celebrated miss Mabey's birthday over the weekend with a little party. my sister was a huge help (as always) with everything and even let me take over her house. we kept it really simple with a few of our dearest people and i think it turned out just right. 

Mae was so sweet with her cake. she looked around at all of us as if to ask, "so… am i allowed to touch this?" and then as soon as we gave her the go ahead, she had her way with it. i may be biased but i think she's the cutest one year-old there is.

disneyland!

a few weeks ago we were talking with some friends about how much they wanted to go to disneyland. i had never been and honestly have never felt like i was missing out (not generally a big fan of theme parks) but i let it slip that i would like to take Ruby and Mabel someday. disneyland is a bit of a rite of passage, right? anyway one thing led to another and less than a week later we were all on our way to california. last minute trips are kind of stressful with two small kids, but they can also be thrilling and somehow things kept falling in to place and working out in our favor. it seemed like it would've been stupid NOT to go after all was said and done. anyway we had a great time and i'm glad we decided to go for it.

i brought my big camera, fully prepared to "properly" document the experience, but that thing never left the bag (no regrets). that didn't stop me from taking a thousand cell phone photos though! here are some from my phone and some from our friends. 

in case you're wondering how popular the frozen characters are, here's what you have to do in order to meet them: 1. buy a three day park pass in order to get the "magic hour" pass (allows you to enter the park one hour before the general admissions). if you don't have the magic hour pass, there's no way there will be reservations left by the time you get in line. 2. get to the gates early so you're at the front of the turnstiles. 3. as soon as you get through the gates, run as fast as you can across the park to where there is another line. 4. wait in that line for over an hour so you can get a ticket. that ticket is your reservation for an assigned time to come back. 5. come back at your assigned time so you can wait in ANOTHER line for almost an hour to meet with elsa and anna (for less than 5 minutes). i don't know that i would do it again, to be honest, but at least we have that photo!

Mabel's favorite characters were chip and dale. she shared a special moment with chip during the character breakfast. 

Ruby still loves carousels and is just as particular as ever when picking out the perfect horse. 

 it was a great trip and i'm already looking forward to when we can go back. yay disneyland!
p.s. Ruby's favorite part of the trip:

Mabel's favorite part:

and Tyler and my favorite part:

Mabel is one!

it's hard to believe a year ago our sweet Mabey was born. this girl has made our lives nothing but good since the day we met her. she truly is the dreamiest of all the babies and i'm not sure what i ever did to deserve such a wonderful child. happy happy birthday, Miss Mae. We sure do love you!
p.s. how did that year fly by so fast?!

halloween

there was no question what Ruby was going to dress up as for halloween this year. she is obsessed with everything related to cowgirls and horses. i knew i wanted to have the girls wear corresponding costumes but i wasn't thrilled with the idea of dressing Mae like a horse. Ruby is actually the one who had the idea of making Mabel a cactus and i'm thinking she's a bit of a genius.
i've learned a few lessons this year, like a baby girl wearing army green will look like a boy, even with a cactus flower on her head. also, don't send 3 year-olds to preschool halloween parties wearing accessories that can be lost, and don't sew a costume for a baby 2 months in advance (thank goodness for stretchy jersey fabric!). lessons aside, these girls had fun and i'd say it was a successful halloween.

happy halloween! hopefully yours was full of more treats than tricks.

p.s. last halloween and the year before that! plus this is pretty dang cute if you ask me.

soccer

Ruby has been in soccer for the last few months and her season just recently came to an end.
Miss Roo is such a free spirit and is constantly surprising me and making me laugh. as far as sports are concerned, she's not the most competitive girl. she's a good little soccer player, but she doesn't love the aggressive side of sports and we pretty much spent the whole season trying to encourage her to "get in there!" and get the ball. she LOVES being with her friends and socializing and i swear i've never seen a more supportive friend on the sidelines. she would cheer everyone on as loud as she could and give high-fives after every goal. when it was her turn to play she would skip around the field, introduce herself to the kids on the other team, pick grass, chit chat with the coaches, sing songs, and tell jokes, all while the game was being played around her. as indifferent as she was to the game, she was always a good sport and happy to run on to the field whenever her name was called.
by the end of the season i could see some real improvement with her understanding of the game and even with her attitude and motivation on the field. she really makes me proud and i am so happy with how she grows every day.

Ruby's fan club

gardens with the girls

ever since our first visit to the gardens at thanksgiving point this spring, we've added it to the top of our favorite places. Ruby's favorite part is "the purple horse carousel garden." i'm a fan of the "secret garden" but i also think the waterfall is amazing. we never get tired of seeing what's in bloom and there's always something new to see (we've even spotted a bunny once or twice!). in fact, last time we went we found out it was "dog day" and Ruby just about died from excitement. as the warm weather starts to slip away we've been trying to enjoy this place as much as possible. if you're in the area, i would highly recommend a visit. and stop for some corn chowder at the tower deli on your way home!

farm part 2

i had to include this photo just so we can have proof that Mae has been in a grumpy mood once. she's the happiest baby ever, but remember that one time she didn't have a smile on her face? ha!