Halloween, a Birthday and a trip up the coast

We have been busy, very busy. Halloween was great this year. Kennedy loved trick-or-treating and is now an expert. She turned two on November 3rd and we celebrated my taking her to a kids museum in Temecula. We were the only ones there and it was a little over her head, so it was kind of disappointing. She had a monster-themed birthday party that turned out great! It was a lot of fun. Then, last weekend my family took a trip to Solvang. It was a cute little place, but there wasn't much to do there. My favorite part of the trip was the drive there. I have never seen these parts of California and it was so pretty. First it was all farmland, then the coast, then a drive through the mountains. I made me kind of like California again. Kind of.

Homesick

First, let me start off by saying it's a huge blessing to be able to own a home, especially after only being married for three years and on our income. Yesterday was a rough day. I feel like I sort of broke down at church. It hit me- I really miss Corona. Is it lame to miss a city...probably. I don't care. I miss it. I miss knowing my way around a place so well I swear I could drive with my eyes closed. I miss knowing the back ways and side streets and all of the short cuts. I miss not having to look up directions whenever I want to go some place new. I miss driving home and it not taking 30 minutes and feeling like Im on a road trip. I miss the green hills, the slightly cooler temperatures, and that smell by my parents house that reminds me of being a kid and playing in the ditch behind our house. I miss having friends. Real friends. Friends that I know them and they know me. And my kids. I miss being able to go next door and hang out and vent. I miss our old neighbors. I miss going to church on Sunday and knowing almost everyone there and being the one to welcome new people in, not being the new one. I miss my family coming over. I miss being able to walk to the park without being afraid. I just feel a little down I guess.

BUT-

It's not about me. It's about my kids. Now I get a chance to help them make memories and create a place that they will miss when we leave.

Maybe I am bummed out because I was told Elsinore was the armpit of the Inland Empire. Who wants to live in an armpit? I have never been to a new place (yes Corona is only right down the freeway but I can't just drive there whenever...that's weird) so I think that is why this is so difficult. I know it takes time to adjust, to make friends, to make a house a home...so I will wait and enjoy it. I will try to at least.

so much has happened...

GVL- three Years!

Since I last posted, a lot has gone on. Jordan turned 25. I attempted to throw him a surprise party, but it didn't work. Jordan and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary on August 9th. We went out to dinner and took Harley with us, since she tends to get a little upset without her mommy. We spent a fun day in Green Valley Lake, where we got engaged. We went to the beach. We moved in with my parents for a month while we closed escrow on our house. That was a pretty good experience. The girls were able to become a lot closer to my parents and we had a good time. I'm so thankful they let us stay there. Then after signing tons of papers, and waiting, then signing even more papers...and more...we became homeowners!! We moved in a couple weeks ago and it's so exciting to know we own it. While we still don't have hot water at this point and I have no idea how to get around in this city, it's been fun and we have been so busy trying to make this house our home. As always, family has been a huge help moving us in and helping with the girls. I have to say, it has been a little rough to leave our ward and Corona, and all of out friends. I keep telling myself that we're not that far, but I feel really alone out here. We went to our ward this last Sunday for the first time- It was a very welcoming ward, but I still feel homesick! It takes time, I know. Plus it was my birthday and somehow that made me more sad. I haven't had my camera charger so I don't really have any pictures of this month... but here are some updates on the girls.

Harley: She just turned 7 months old!

She started to crawl a couple of weeks ago.

She loves to eat Cheerios- in fact, she has mastered picking them up and feeding herself.

She is so skinny. Looking back at old videos of Kennedy at this age, I think Kennedy was double the weight Harley is. Haha!

She is always smiling, we often get compliments when we go out on how happy she is.

She is babbling a lot. she's said mama (that was her first word, not that it matters...) and dada and lots of other cute baby sounds.

She puts up with a lot from Kennedy but despite being bullied everyday, she is a very happy baby.

Kennedy: she will me two in two months...she is kind of terrible already! Actually, she is very much a toddler. Her favorite words are no and mine. She also like to say "It's Kennedy's turn" or "My turn" for anything she wants

She now will go to nursery by herself ( we love this)

She is still obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba.

She can the say the alphabet all the way through- she says it over and over again randomly throughout the day

she can count to 15, but usually goes up to 12 or 13.

She does something new everyday, it is crazy!

It is time

After paying rent for three years and moving to a bigger a apartment every time our lease is up, we decided maybe we should look into buying! It is exciting but it is a HUGE pain in the butt. We started this whole process back in March thinking it would be easy to find something. Something in our ward. Something in Corona. Good thing we started looking when we did because this has taken forever. After realizing that Corona is too expensive for our budget and doesn't have homes/condos in our price range that are FHA approved, we looked into the idea of Lake Elsinore. So here we are on July 1st. Our lease is up in 39 days, and we will not be signing another one or paying waaaay too much to live here month to month. Where are we going , you ask? That is a great question! We don't know as of right now. We have an offer in on one house that we feel pretty good about, but who knows how long it will take if our offer is accepted to actually get into the house. Faith is a wonderful thing. Right now, we have a lot of it that everything will work out. Although it is smart to have some kind of idea where we'll live in case the timing is off- which is very likely. So I guess it's time to try to figure that out.

Anyway. Things are great. The girls are cuter than ever. On a side note: why did I ever want Harley to be a boy?! I LOVE the thought of her and Kennedy being so close. This is going to be so much fun and I know they wouldn't have the same relationship if she was a boy. Plus, matching outfits are so much fun! So this is our life right now. It's pretty awesome.

Harley is 2 months old!

I can't believe our little Harley -Bean is already 2 months old. She is such a good baby! She already sleeps better than Kennedy does and she is very calm and patient. I love her so much. Sorry if these pictures all look the same, but I couldn't decide and they look different to me...but then again, I am her mommy.



There is no denying she has blue eyes. And who would have thought I'd get two redheaded little beauties? I LOVE it!

Today she had her 2 month check up- her stats:

12.0 lbs. 80%

23.0 in. 80%

She still is having problems with acid reflux, but it has gotten a lot better with medication. She is doing great at holding her own head up and she even likes tummy time. This poor girl gets beat up by Kennedy a lot, but she'll get her back one day I'm sure. I can't say its been easy have two under two years old, in fact most days are difficult since Kennedy is constantly insane. I like to think a year from now, it will be a lot of fun. Until I get pregnant again (not that we are thinking about it just yet!)

A little about Kennedy:

We love her to death but she hit her terrible twos a year early. She is so smart, but extremely stubborn. She loves Yo Gabba Gabba and playing with other kids. She'll be going to nursery in a few weeks! She knows tons of words, most of her body parts, and she is learning to count to 5 and say her ABCs. She thinks the ipod touch is hers, and knows how to work it and delete all of Jordan's progress on his games(multiple times)!She loves to be outside, color, play with her baby dolls, including Harley, and drive us crazy. Really, she loves to do that!

We are so blessed to have each other and our two girls!

Bath time!

Just thought I'd share some cute pictures...

Meet Harley

Our little Harley joined us (via induction) on Sunday February 13th and 6:21pm She weighed 7lbs 13oz and was 19in long. It was a very easy labor, although I finally felt some real contractions with her (ouch!). She was out in 5 pushes. Life with two under two has been a little crazy. We have been able to transition very well though. I am surprised that Kennedy seems to be ok with having a little sister. She can be very affectionate and give Harley kisses then turns on her and hits her. She's still young and learning how to be "soft". I honestly thought it would be a lot worse, so I consider us blessed. Lack of sleep seems to be the biggest thing to get used to. Harley is awake a lot at night, and when she finally falls asleep, Kennedy is waking up for the day! We are healthy and happy and loving our sweet little girls. We so appreciate the help from our family and friends.

Harley is such a sweet baby. She has been so easy and calm. She makes adorable faces and has such a cute smile-even if it's just her pushing out gas. I have such tender feelings as I hold her. I'm so excited to watch her grow. I feel so blessed as I look at my little family. We really have it all.

Totally a blog worthy moment

Today was the last day that I will venture out on my own (with Kennedy) for a very long time. All I wanted to do was drop off brownies to a family in our ward that just had a baby, and go buy some milk for tomorrow. I had the feeling I should skip the grocery store since Kennedy doesn't like to be strapped in a cart and I can't carry her. I ignored it though. I was already out. The shopping itself was fine. Once we got out to the car the trouble started. She wouldn't sit down in her car seat, so I handed her the keys to play with. Something I always do. Not anymore. I handed to cart to a worker walking by so I wouldn't put it where it didn't go ( big pet peeve when people don't put their cart back) and as I did, I shut her door! I instantly heard the horn beep and knew she just locked her self in. Boy, am I glad that there are nice people in the world. After a few minutes of talking to her through the window, trying to get her to unlock the doors, a man came up and asked me if I was ok. So I start to cry (can't control that anymore either) and told him I locked my baby in the car. He tells me he has AAA and we give them a call. As I dial the last number of his card account - she unlocks the car!! Thank goodness! So I thanked him and we are now home and she is throwing her dinner all over the floor. That about sums up my life for the last few months. I really can't control my hormones and feel crazy all the time. That's life I guess. This milk better be amazing!