Happy Birthday Samantha Brianne!

Happy Birthday to Samantha Brianne! I cant believe it has been a year already! We didnt do much along the lines of celebrating today, we wanted to wait until Corey was home. Instead, poor Samantha spent the morning getting poked full of holes at the pediatritian's office. 4 shots and a blood draw. Yikes! She got through it like a champ though. Here is a picture of her at the doctor's office. It was taken on my cell phone, so sorry for the lack of crispness. Her cuteness shines through regardless. Dont you love the bow!

I will post more pictures after her real birthday celebration!

Samantha Brianne

Current Stats:

19 Pounds 11 Ounces

(Just shy of 20 pounds...so she wont get to turn her car seat around. Thats like failing your drivers test on your 16th birthday!)

29 Inches Long

I got a job!.... sort of!

Hello Everyone! Now this isnt going to be my typical post. Sorry, no new pictures of the girls. This post is going to be about little ol' me.

So I have just signed on to start selling Scentsy candles. For those of you who dont know what Scentsy candles are...allow me to give you the run down.

Scentsy candles are wickless, flameless candles. They are similar to your standard tart burners however these plug in so they are much safer. No smoke, no soot, no lead. They melt wax at very low temperatures so if any pets or kids happened to knock one over, there would be no serious incident of burns, ruined furniture and the like.

The bricks of wax that Scentsy manufactures are AMAZING. Now, I have typically been a huge fan of Yankee Candle Co. Until now, I truly believed that they had the strongest, most long-lasting scents. Thats no longer the case. These little bricks are amazing. Because they melt at such low temperatures, they have much higher levels of fragrances then your regular candles and tarts. The fragrances fill the room as soon as the warmer is plugged in and they last forever! (Ok. 60-80 hours)

So thats what Im up to these days! I swear! Emily has only been in school for two weeks and I have already decided that I needed something to fill up my time! So much for taking a break.

I have included a link on my side bar so that you can go directly to my site. If you click the "Place an Order" tab, you can check out what Scentsy has available. I know that you will love it if you try it! My website is still under construction so bear with me while I work out the kinks. I am really excited about this new little adventure of mine.

If any of you would like to host a Scentsy party, let me know and I would love to schedule a date that works with your schedule. Corey should be home through the holidays so I have a lot more flexibility with my time.
An alternative to the Scentsy party in your home, I can also provide you with a Scentsy basket filled with catalogs, a warmer, sample scents and all the order forms you would need if you wanted to do something at work or privately in your home. All hostesses earn free gifts, discounts and half-priced items depending on the amounts of sales done for your event.

Or...you can always just log on to my website and order directly from me.

Thanks for listening! Check out my site!

www.scentsy.com/sandiego

Preschool or Bust!

Hip Hip Hooray! Emily started Preschool this week! What a big day for our little girl! I cant believe how big she is already. She has been asking us about preschool since the day we took our tour. That was two months ago. Well, the big day finally arrived. Emily, of course, was ready for the challenge. We arrived at school a bit early on Wednesday morning, just to be sure that Emily had time to adjust to her new surroundings. It turns out, it was more for our benefit then hers. Emily walked into her new classroom as though she had been going there her whole life. We practically had to hold her down just to get a hug and kiss goodbye.

Sigh! What happened to our precious baby! I used to think this day would never come. Now that it's here, well, lets just say I wish I could turn back the clock a bit. Since the day Emily came into this world, her and I have been partners in crime. Attached at the hip, so to speak. She has been my daily inspiration to be a better person and to embrace the world around me, even with all its faults. She has taught me more about life and happiness then I ever thought possible. She has been my test and my accomplishment. Its amazing how much our children teach us. Here we arrogantly think that our children are here for us to shape and mold, that they are a direct reflection of us. It turns out that we are a direct reflection of them, if we choose. If we allow ourselves to embrace them and take the time to look through their eyes, see all the possibilities and wonder that they see. It can truly be an awakening experience.

Now that Emily has finished this chapter with me, I know that its time for me to let her go, as scary as that may be sometimes. I treasure every moment that she has shared with me. I look forward to watching her grow and change, and to see what she decides to mold and shape for herself.

Our little girl on her very big day!

Me and my Emily

Best Friends...She always does exactly as her Daddy does.

I really love this photograph.

It was a big day of sorts for Samantha too! Out and about with Mommy and Daddy... All by herself!

Its Official!!!

Samantha has started walking! Just barely a week shy of the 11 month anniversary of her birth, Samantha is up and running. She must have woken up this morning and decided that today was the day. I swear she wasnt doing this yesterday! Kids are funny like that I guess. Everything in thier own time. Im just sorry that Corey wasnt here to see it. He made me promise to put a book on her head until he came home! Oops!

Im just going to note this down... Im sure, some years into my future, that time will come when I get asked the question... Who did what first and when?

For the record:

Emily Crawling: 5 months (Crazy! I know!)

Emily Walking: 11 months 1 week (The only reason I know the exact week is because we had just put up our Christmas tree at the time. I am vigilant about getting it up the day after Thanksgiving.

Samantha Crawling: 7 months

Samantha Walking: 10 months 3 weeks

So, I guess that means they are even!

Thanks for sharing in my excitement!

Until next time,

Cheers!

Yes...I know its sideways! Sorry! Will try to fix later!

A trip to the Salon!

I told you all it was coming! Emily's precious locks HAD to be cut! We thought it was a good idea to give her a fresh new "do" to start the school year off with a bang! Emily has only had one haircut in her whole 2 1/2 years of existence. It was time.

I took her to her "stylist" and good friend Jennifer. She was a little hesitant to sit in the chair at first. She said she did not want "cut hair". One hug and a dumb-dumb sucker later, she was up on the chair and ready to be pampered! It was a great experience for everyone! We love our Jennifer and she did an amazing job on our little girls CRAZY head of hair!

Before the first cut! Jennifer and Emily with her long and luxurious locks!

Samantha...keeping herself distracted on the floor.

Happy with her sucker!

Getting her hair sectioned off...she wasn't too sure about this part!

The first cut was definitely the hardest...for Mommy!

Shot from the side!

Finished and ready to be dried! Emily LOVED this part!

Giggles with Jennifer!

Almost done! Emily could not stop looking at herself!

Viewing the final product! I love this picture!

TA-DA!

Ready for my close-up! What a beautiful little Lady!

...and of course, hugs for Samantha! (who was very fond of the spinning chair!)

July has come and gone...

and I am just now coming up for air. To those of you that have gotten on me about updating this blog, I thank you. Everyone needs a fire once in awhile you know?!

So the month started out with a visit from the Sitzmanns. Our far away, and very much loved and missed friends from Omaha. They came out for the fourth of July and we had loads of fun with the kids and running around San Diego. Our visits with them are far too infrequent. Here are just a few photos from their visit. These are the only ones I could load large enough to be viewed by the human eye. I will post more from this visit later...

The Monkey Bunch on the 4th!

Ty and Samantha enjoying some tub time and a couple fo-hawks.

Corey and Emily taking Ty for the ride of his life!

Husbands and Children piled on very sturdy trampoline!

After our visit with the Sitzmanns, Morgan came out for a couple weeks. Morgan is 9 1/2 now! I cant believe how grown up she is! We have missed her so much since Rochelle and the fam moved out to Texas. We stayed very busy those two weeks. Lots of trips to the beach, park...and yes, Build a Bear. We loved having her around. She has only been gone a few days and I miss her so much already. Emily loved spending time with her cousin...apparently, she is much more fun to play with then Mommy. Go figure!

Mo and Emily building sand castles.




Tiny Dancer!




Striking a pose!

Emily, about to throw handfuls of sand. Her fav beach activity!

(Insert eye roll)

Wait! Whats this...Yes! A picture of Corey and I DOES exist! Thanks Mo!

Getting sand out of the eye! Daddy's specialty!

So thats it, my trip down memory lane for the month of July. Here are a few pics I took of the girls finger painting today. They both had lots of fun... Sam says red tastes better then yellow. I will have to take her word for it.

P.S. A few updates on the girls... I know, I know, this post keeps getting longer and longer. Thats what happens when time gets away from you.

Sam has started walking! She is up to three steps at a time! She is now into EVERYTHING! No magazine or cup is sacred!

Emily is starting Preschool in a month...SIGH! Where has the time gone! She is so thrilled to be starting school. Every day she askes me if its time to go yet. Lets just say she is more ready then Mommy.

Thanks for all of your patience!
Till next time!
Cheers!

MIA

Yes, I know, it has been awhile. We have not fallen off the face of the earth, we have just been extremely busy. I just wanted you all to know that we are all doing fine and well. I will post current photos this week...pinky swear! So keep checking in!
Cheers!
Allison