"Trick-or-Treat"

It should be no surprise that Ryan and Charlie wanted to dress up as Disney Princesses this year. A little ordinary I know- Mommy didn't get to be as creative as she would have liked but I made sure that they were the best darn princesses on the block! Charlie was Cinderella and Ryan was Sleeping Beauty.

Here are the girls ready to go with their personalized trick-or-treat bags (compliments of Aunt Casey!)

Charlie was afraid at most houses- even the seemingly harmless houses like this one. It didn't help that the very first two houses we went to had dogs that ran to the door as soon as it was opened. That freaked both our girls out as you can imagine.

Again... look at Charlie. New house. Same old face.

However, Charlie did cheer up when she got to dig through loot. This picture reminds me of my brother and me when we were young.

After we were done trick-or-treating we handed out candy to the kids that came to our house. We would watch out the window until someone came and then run screaming with excitement to the door. Unfortunately, it was a slow night and the girls got pretty bored pretty fast.

We hope everyone had a safe night!

The Fairest One of All, Of Course!!

This is Little Miss Ryan's second year participating in the Teddy Bear Preschool Halloween Parade. This year she got to the LEAD the whole parade!! Good job Ry! Ryan is Princess Aurora (aka Sleeping Beauty) this year and boy did she sparkle in the sunlight. Her friend Azia (behind Ryan) sparkled too as Cinderella! They sang lots of fun Halloween songs and paraded around for all the parents to "oo" and "ahhh" at them.

The Second Annual Pumpkin Patch Trip

Here are two pictures in the exact same spot at the same pumpkin patch... just one year apart. Look how much has changed in a year. In last year's picture, poor Ryan was trying to get her little baby sister to stay still for a picture. That never happened because this was the best one we got. And this year, they are both perfectly poised on their individual pumpkins. Life is good- what a difference a year makes!!

A few fun moments from this year's trip included mommy getting to ride the train AGAIN with the girls because daddy kept insisting that men are too big for all the kiddie rides.

Ha! I'll show him... who's on the ride now Big Guy? Huh? Huh? Huh?

My favorite part of the afternoon though was when Charlie honest to God thought that she could carry this pumpkin to the car. This picture doesn't do the moment justice because she really gave a good ol' college try! Afterward, we moved on to a more manageable size for little Char Char!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!

"We Met Cinderella! Really, we did!!!"

We spent the day at Disneyland (actually... most of the day was at California Adventure because Disneyland was packed!) with Aunt Nancy and Cousin Katie. The hardest part is that now Charlie is getting old enough to know what is going on. She was very sad when I told her it was just a "Mommy and Ryan" day. But she quickly cheered up when I told her that next time at Disneyland we will have just a "Mommy and Charlie" day. I told her that we could go with Carson and Michelle and she hasn't stopped talking about it since.

Anyway, Autopia was the only ride we went on at Disneyland before we realized that we chose to go on one of the few days that Disneyland is sold out. Good move mom!!

We headed over to California Adventure and had a little bit better luck. The girls loved this Merry Go Round because it was Little Mermaid themed!

And I don't have to tell you how truly excited Ryan was to meet Cinderella. This was the highlight of the day.

First Rainy Day Play of the Season

I sure am behind in my blogging! Sorry everyone. Remember way back when it rained a few weeks ago? Well, here are a few pics of the girls enjoying a little time in the rain...

Charlie in her new raincoat she got from Aunt Marzie for her birthday!

Ryan trying to catch some raindrops with her tongue

What could be more fun than just standing in the rain? Hmmmm... I can think of a lot of things but I guess for toddlers, this is heaven!!

Mad About Plaid

Charlie had her 2nd birthday party last weekend. We had a great time with family and friends. Everyone was a trooper and wore plaid to really help "bring home" the theme. Thank you to everyone for coming. It means the world to us to have you all here with us to celebrate. Here are a few pictures of the fun day...

Some of the little ones in the bounce house... Ryan, Sophia (old neighbor), Charlie, and Carson

Charlie, Ryan, and Carson just lookin' cute!

Here is the birthday girl!!!


Ryan and Scottie even sported a tad of plaid. Thanks guys!!

Two old friends of mine joined us for the festivities- Jen and Genny.

Two new mommies- Michelle and Claudia

Our First Family Photo Shoot

Last week, we ventured down to the beach with photographer, Doug Miranda to get some pictures taken of our little princesses at this perfect toddler age. We wanted to capture there unique personalities at this age on film to be frozen in time. We found Doug through our friends Anna and Aaron Davis and Jenn and Trey Fletcher, who have both used his services in the past. He was so professional and great with the girls. They both warmed up to him in no time (which you all know is unheard for our girls).
Here are few of the pictures but you can click on this link to see the slide show (set to music) on Doug's blog... http://www.dougmiranda.com/blog/

Charlie's First Haircut

Poor Charlie... she is going to be two years old next week and she has NEVER had a real haircut. We finally decided it was time. Even though she doesn't have much hair to work with, it sure was great straggly in the areas that grew faster than others (and I don't think my little homegrown trims helped out much).

She wasn't scared one bit.

Maybe because big sister was sitting right next to her showing her the ropes...

She looks like the Princess and the Pea, doesn't she?

Smile Charlie! You're all done. (Look closely, the gal managed to put a tiny french braid in Charlie's hair. Amazing!)

S.B. Ink

There have been several new tattoo reality shows on T.V. these days with names like "Miami Ink" and "L.A. Ink." So this is my own version... S.B. Ink. Set the scene: Ryan is the eccentric tattoo artist and Charlie is her blank canvas. The artist closed the bedroom door (so mommy didn't see- she knew she was doing something wrong) and went to work. In a matter of minutes this is the final product. When I walked in, she was even attempting a rose design on the back of Charlie's shoulder. Oh wow... was it a sight! These pictures don't even do it justice.

Teddy Bear School is Back in Session!

Ryan had her first day back at preschool today.

This year she is in Room 2. Peter and Kealoha go to Renee's daycare too but they will be in Room 1. Ryan expressed great pride that she would be in room 2 "which is bigger than room 1" (these were her exact words). Well, then she was quickly humbled when she found out some of her friends that were in her room last year will be in room 3 and some in room 4. This information caused just a bit of a meltdown. She got over it quickly when she noticed that both her good friends Azia and Cole will be with her in room 2 this year.
I mean, seriously... is this really happening??? Isn't my daughter only 3??? Crying over friends not being in your classroom doesn't happen this young, does it????

One of Ryan's new teachers. Her exact words to me were, "Oh, you are the produce people, aren't you?" I think her wheels were spinning at how she was going to use dipped strawberries to her advantage this year!

Awwwww... what a star. That's my little girl... still perfectly pressed after a day at school. haha. Seriously though, I may biased... but she is a cute kid!!

The Big, Big Girl Bed

So... we used to call Ryan's toddler bed her "big girl bed." We had to come up with something new to call her new bed so that she would be excited. Now, now... don't flatter me with my creativity over this but we decided to go with the name "big, big girl bed"!!! Impressive, I know. Lol!! Anyway, Ryan and Charlie's new beds finally arrived and I am thrilled. Charlie's is still in shrink wrap in the garage until she is ready for it but little Miss Ryan is sitting pretty (or lying pretty) on her new bed.

This picture shows her first reaction to her new digs...

Then she wanted to get in the covers to "test it out"...

Uh oh... she must have fallen asleep. (Shhhhh... don't tell her I told you, but I think she is faking.)

Oh, and she is awake now... Good morning YaYa!

Charlie's First Trip to Disneyland

Yesterday we took the family to Disneyland for Charlie's first trip. I can definitely say that Ryan was much more excited to show her little sister all her favorite things than Charlie was to go. I think because Charlie had no idea what this adventure was all about.

Here we are on the tram on the way over. Charlie thought this was a ride. Just wait Charlie, just wait! There is so much more to come...


Daddy and Charlie on waiting in line for Autopia. Driving the cars was her very first ride and she loved it. She did try to climb out of the car several times but nonetheless, loving every minute of it.

We visited the princess castle and participated in the show. Charlie was not shy at all to dance along with her favorite princesses. She danced with "ula" (Mulan), "Belle", and "Rora" (Aurora).

The difference between our children: Ryan is standing there (in the pink plaid dress) very intent on learning the correct dance steps. Charlie is making up her own.

The girls standing in line for the Alice in Wonderland ride. Charlie was completed overwhelmed with every ride. The look on her face was priceless. She didn't quite know what to think but she knew she loved it.

The tram ride on the way back to the parking structure was quiet. The girls were very tired and hardly could keep there eyes open once we got in the car. Fun day Graces!