Spoiled Rotten 2nd Birthday

We're now starting to recover from Griffin's 2nd Birthday party yesterday. :) Can you believe he's 2 already?
We celebrated by having a pizza party at Bruno's with several family and friends. It was pretty mellow for the most part and the only "tragedy" was Griffin giving himself a bloody lip when he fell on one of the benches (although he only cried for maybe 1 minute and I don't think anyone but myself really noticed).
Morgan was funny to watch all day long. I sensed a bit of jealosy. She talked about what she was going to do for her next birthday all day long, and pouted come present opening time. It was funny, cute, and pathetic all at the same time.
Griffin receive soooo many gifts, with the common theme being McQueen and trucks, his favorites. His cake was a hit. I made it earlier that day. The kids helped me make the batter, but I didn't decorate it until they went down for a nap. I wanted it to be a surprise. Sure enough Griffin was super excited about his "Keen" cake. Every time someone new would arrive at the party, he just had to show them the cake. My goal was accomplished!
Here's some pics...more pics in the album:

The Cake:


The Birthday Boy:

Andrea's "30" for my next 30

Ok, so most people that know me, know that I'm having a very difficult time turning 30 (in just a few days). And I can't pinpoint any particular reason why this is hitting me so hard. I mean really, I have a great life. I'm happily married, have 2 great kids, own a house, have a decent job, etc. etc. In fact I made a list back in college of all my goals that I'd like to accomplish in the next several years and I'm pretty sure that if I dug that list up again, most of them would have a check next to them. Perhaps it's because I've done so much in my life so far and I keep asking myself, "ok, so now what?" Or maybe it's just because 30 seemed so old back in the day. I suppose it's just the fear of the unknown.
On a completely different note however, I'm actually starting to get a little excited about getting older. Everybody keeps telling me "30 is the new 20", or "you'll love your 30s because that's when you start to truely know yourself". And I guess I'm starting to believe them. Afterall, I think I'm the most comfortable I've ever been in my own skin. I look at a people I know that are a few years younger and think "wow, I really didn't know jack-sh**". Plus, I'm only 30. This sense of clarity will only get better as time goes on.
So, with all of this tumbling through my mind the past couple months, I decided to do 2 things. First, I'm going to celebrate my birthday with a big party this Saturday night with friends and family (no kiddos). Second, being one of those "list people", I decided to make a list of 30 things I want to do, accomplish, whatever in my next 30 years (ok, so there are actually 31 things, but I couldn't leave 1 of them out). This was so fun to make and think about, and I tried to make these things about me, not the kids or my hubby which consume 99% of my life.
So, here 'tis in no particular order:

1. Raise healthy and happy kids
2. Coach a team
3. Teach a class of some sort
4. Become actively involved with a charitable organization
5. Buy a kiln and take up pottery again
6. Paint a picture and hang it up in the house!
7. Make a quilt
8. Lose 15 more lbs and maintain
9. Get a pool
10. Grow a garden
11. Get a tattoo
12. Get out of major debt
13. Buy a boat and/or jet skis
14. Continue to work for self, build high profit business while kids are young
15. Figure out what I want to be when I grow up/do something I genuinely love (job-wise)
16. Retire early
17. Swim with dolphins
18. Parasail
19. Go up in a hot air balloon
20. Learn to ski
21. Catch a fish at Pike’s Place Market
22. Girl’s trip to NY, go to a Broadway show
23. Mardi Gras in New Orleans
24. R&R on a warm beach and have drinks brought to me (Mexico, Hawaii)
25. Find true paradise in far off tropical place (Virgin Islands, Fiji, wherever)
26. Go on Honeymoon we didn’t go on/Romantic vacation with hubby
27. Vegas trip with friends
28. Disneyland with kids
29. Italy/European tour
30. Go on warm and cold (Alaska) cruise
31. Grow a backbone, learn that it’s ok to be confident

Happy Birthdayzzzz

It's Birthday Madness!!! So many birthdays in such short time! Happy Birthday to everyone below (and those I may have missed):
Tanner - Dec. 11th
Dad/Bob - Dec. 14th
Dad/Bill - Dec. 15th
Mom/Sharon - Dec. 21st
Shane H. - Dec. 22nd
Josh - Dec. 22nd
JR - Dec. 27th
Ryan - Dec. 28th
Kerri - Dec. 28th
Karl - Jan. 1st
Me - Jan. 2nd

OFFICIAL Christmas Newsletter

Okay, so I'm such a slacker this year! Normally I send out a Christmas Newsletter along with my Christmas cards, but this year I dreaded printing out, folding and stuffing well over 75 pieces of paper. So, I decided to post my newsletter here this year (although I'd be curious how many people actually read my silly blog entries).

This year has been an amazing year for our little family of 4. Griffin is no longer a baby and has blossomed into a rambunctious, yet sweet toddler. He's a spitting image of Ryan, both physically and emotionally. He's stubborn and mischievous, yet a big cuddly teddy bear at heart. He's lost much of his baby fat, only gaining a few pounds this year, but is super tall for his age and solid. His hands and feet are officially bigger than Morgan's....a true James. His vocabulary has really bloomed over the past couple months. He literally went from saying only a few words, to full-blown toddler talk over night. It's certainly bitter-sweet watching my baby growing so quickly!

Morgan is also growing up way too fast. She thinks she is 3 going on 13, and is 100% pure sass. But oh, what a great kid! She's super smart, funny as heck, and so kind. This year was the big potty training year for all of us. We finally got the task done, and as a reward we enrolled Morgan in a dance class. She is loving every minute of it. Morgan is into anything girly, princess, or fairy, so it's very fitting for her.

Ryan continues to work at Les Schwab. I believe this is going on his 9th year there. Although it's a great job, it very wearing on his body. And, believe it or not, he's actually brainstorming possible opportunities that he may pursue in the next couple years. His ideal situation would be to be his own boss. The wheels are starting to turn, and we wish he could follow through sooner rather than later, but as we all know it's not the best economy to be trying to start your own business. :)

As for me, a big wish came true this past year. I'm finally working from home! I have my own online marketing biz, and do contract work for a great company out of CA. The situation couldn't be better. It allows me to spend more time with the kids, which has been my priority since Morgan was born. I also enjoy being able to work in my jammies. Needless to say, I probably won't be going back to a corporate office job ever again. I'm too spoiled.

We hope that everyone has a great Christmas and New Year, and please stay in touch! We love to hear from family and friends from afar.
Love always,
Andrea, Ryan, Morgan & Griffin James

WhoooHooo, She Did It!

Yesterday (Saturday 12/6), Morgan had her first dance recital, held at the Festival of Trees at the Medford Armory. She did so great! I was very nervous about the whole thing. The last 2 weeks of dance class Morgan was very shy and didn't want to participate. Her exact words were, "I don't want to do dance class anymore...it's too cold and boring". I'm really not sure where that came from, all though come to think about it, perhaps she was nervous about the recital b/c she didn't know exactly what it was. All she knew was that something big was going to happen (typical Morgan).
Anyway, before we went to the Armory, I made a deal with her. I told her I would buy her a strawberry smoothie with whip cream on top, and a set of markers (which she has been asking for lately b/c all we have here at the house are crayons and those are "for babies"). That got her a little excited. Then once we got there, we went up front toward the stage and she was completely enthralled with the other dancers. When it came time for her to perform, she didn't even seem to care that there were literally hundreds of people in the audience. She got up there like a trooper and did her routine. She even threw in a few moves of her own. You'll see in the video that as all the girl's were lining up on stage Morgan held her arms in a circle in front of her, just like a ballerina would do. Two seconds before the end of the performance, Morgan looked down and realized her ribbon came undone, so she ran off the stage to find me (typical Morgan). I quickly tucked it back in her leotard and told her to go back out there to take her bow. After the performance Morgan was disappointed because she wanted to go back out there and do more. I think she got the "bug". Watch out Taylor Swift!
She did so great, and I was so proud of her. Talk about cuteness. Here's the video and some pictures. In case you can't tell, the songs they sang were, "I'm a Little Teapot", "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", and "Rudolph the Red Nose Raindeer":

Traditions

Yesterday was the start of a tradition that I plan on carrying out for a long time. We packed the kids in and drove into the mountains to find our own Christmas tree. Both kids loved being outside, as usual, and surprisingly so, it was warm up passed the fog line. I think the only thing we'll do different next go around is bring a chili or hot dog lunch to eat while we're up there. After naptime the kids and I decorated the tree. Well, Griffin mostly made a mess, but Morgan and I actually put the ornaments on the tree. She even got to put the star on.
What a great day!
Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/redneckfamily

The Girl's Got Talent

As a mother, I really can't talk enough about how great my kids are. It just comes natural. Call me biased, but I really do think that my Morgan is crazy smart and ultra talented. She's not even 3 1/2 yet and everyday she does something that makes me think "is she really only 3?"

First of all, I don't know exactly what age kids are supposed to be able to draw, so perhaps she really is "right on track". My only frame of reference is what I see other kids her age doing.

Anyway, the other night, Morgan was drawing on her Magna-Doodle. Lately she's been into drawing fish, and people with really large heads. But this time she came up with something different. Her exact words were, "Mommy look, I drew a Rhino for you!". Granted it's missing ears and two legs, but hey, a 3 year old drew it.

Here's her masterpiece, you be the judge: