Moms Night Out

We went to San Diego this past weekend and had a great time visiting with friends.  On Saturday night I had the pleasure of going out with some wonderful ladies for a girls night out.  I packed the pump and my overnight bag and was off to go have some fun girl time with my friends.  Our day started around 2pm at a salon in Rancho Santa Fe where we got our hair & makeup done and I also squeezed in a pedicure.  It was so wonderful to be pampered.  We then headed downtown and checked into the Manchester Grand Hyatt.  We got an amazing discount on a two room suite because Cynthia's husband, Ryan, works in the financial dept. at the hotel.  Score!  Dinner was next at a wonderful local restaurant called J6.  I'm definitely taking Cory there next time we're in town.  The food was fresh and so flavorful.  Then it was up to the rooftop bar for some after dinner cocktails, another bar after that for some dancing, and then last stop was the bar at Hard Rock Hotel.  We were all so proud of ourselves for staying up past 11pm!  We had breakfast the next morning at Seaport Village and then headed back to reality.  Cory did great with all 3 kids and took them fishing at Lake Henshaw.  He's super Dad.  I love him for taking our kids for over 24 hours so I can spend time with wonderful women and know that everyone is so well cared for.  It makes it that much easier to enjoy an awesome day!

Sleepover

My mom had the girls over for a sleepover.  Papa was out of town so it was just the 3 of them.  Here are the photos and details from Mimi:

We had a special time when R & R spent the night.  We swam, played dress-up (then we go into the entry hall and I announce them before they strut and perform), did puzzles, etc.  It was after they dressed up that they took their clothes off and we were suddenly in the front yard where they were climbing a tree like a couple of monkeys.  Cory said it looked like Woodstock!

When we were swimming, we found a tiny gecko in the pool.  They were so glad we were able to get him up on a rock 'so he can be with his mommy and daddy'!  We went out one more time during the night to check on him before we went to bed and he was still there - but he was alive.  It was so sweet because the first thing Reese said when she woke up the next morning was, "Mimi, I think the baby gecko found his mommy and daddy!", so we went out and he was gone.  We were in the kitchen and Ry was still in bed. When she woke up a half hour later, those were the exact words out of her mouth and Reese said, "He did, RyRy; come and I'll show you!"  They must have both been having sweet dreams about the gecko family getting reunited.

Oh and when Reese and I were walking down the hall I asked her, "Did I snore, Reesie?".  "Yes you did."  "Did it bother you?"  "No it didn't Mimi!", like she was pleasantly surprised.  Well, you asked what things they said during the sleepover and those are just a few morsels. :-)

 Woodstock girls

Princess dress up in Mimi's clothes

Fashionista

Ryan is like our little mini diva without the diva attitude.  She LOVES dressing up, wearing jewelry, and anything that is fancy.  She is so complimentary when I get dressed up for work or put on a bit more makeup than usual.  She'll say things like, "I love your beautiful dress, Mom" or "Your lip gloss is so pretty."  She notices every aesthetic detail and it's so sweet to hear her say these words.  She always give me a good laugh about the things she notices.

I had a really good laugh the other day when I picked up the girls from preschool.  It was only their 2nd day of school so I was thinking that they would have so much to tell me about their day.  We loaded up in the car and I asked how their day was and this is my conversation with Ryan. 

“Hey girls, how was your first day of preschool?”
“Um, good, but I don't like my teacher's outfit.....I want Miss Nancy to wear a dress.”
“Ryan, she needs to dress casual for school.  I thought she looked pretty today.”
“I just wish she would wear a pretty dress.”
“You can wish for that but don't tell her that you feel that way.”

I was driving down the street laughing so hard about this funny conversation.  I wanted to hear about what songs they sang or crafts that they did, but all I got was Ryan's fashion analysis of her teacher's wardrobe.  I think we are in for it with this little girl.  I really thought she would be more of a bruiser with the name Ryan, but she proves me wrong every day.

7 months

I think this might be my favorite baby age.  Ryder has developed such a personality and every day we are seeing more of who he is going to be as a person.  He is so lovable, full of smiles, and LOTS of energy.  He weighs 17 lbs., is sitting up really well, can grab things like Cheerios & puff with the pincher grab.  (He seems very dexterous as I don't remember R&R grabbing tiny pieces of food at this age).  He is loving food and is eating a variety of baby food but seems most interested in what we're eating.  He is sleeping through the night, going to bed around 8:30pm and sleeping until 7am.  He has four teeth right now but I just saw two more this morning that are coming through.  So that will be two top teeth and four on the bottom.  No wonder he is a drool machine!  Mr. R is getting really good at crawling around the house, still kind of the army crawl where he drags his body but he is getting fast.  He's curious about everything and loves to get into our cabinets (if we forget to close them) and empty out the contents.  The favorite so far is the tupperware cabinets & my bathroom cabinet. 

I love this little man so much.  I can't enough of him and his little snugglebug personality.  Here are some photos I shot today for his 7 month birthday:

What a little stinker.  Look at that face!

HI!!!!!!!!

 Those blue eyes melt my heart. 

This is classic Ryder.

Grateful

I have so many things to be grateful for but today I am feeling especially grateful to have a wonderful family photo of the 5 of us recently taken by my BFF's husband, Scott Berchman.  He is starting his own photography business and took some amazing photos of our kids & the 5 of us together.  It makes me so happy that Dana, Scott & Mason moved back here from NYC and we get to see them all the time.  Check out Scott's photography website here

Preschool

Little besties before the first day of class

Ree looking a bit tentative

Ryan is excited about school

We are really happy with the girls' new preschool this year.  There are only 9 kids in their class so they are going to get lots of attention with the teacher and aide.  They have already been doing some cute crafts and came home the other day singing bible songs.  I'm really happy and can't wait to see what kind of progress they make this year.