happy halloween

It was a long week for us...Jack is still not 100% but

he felt better to go out for a few houses...

Molly and I were inspired by her favorite thing,
Blue's Clues. I even brought my notebook!

(Now, I thought this was clever, until I read

Ruby's blog...I can't compete with her!)

(Happy 1st Halloween Molly!)

I made Jack graph his M&M's before he could eat them
(I am kidding, he does this stuff on his own all the time...)Happy Halloween!

sick baby

Having a sick baby is really hard.

Even harder when the "baby" is

your 5 year old...

and you have to explain he

can't go trick or treating...

(they are on their way BACK

to urgent care...

think good thoughts)

Home Sweet Home

After 94 days in the NICU,

Baby Talan is finally home with his family...

and he weighs 6 lbs. now!

(Remember, this little guy was born

@25 weeks, 1 lb. 12 oz.)

Welcome Home, baby.

star

Jack's note to Daddy...

First Field Trip

Thankfully, I have a very capable student teacher and was able to sneak away and get this picture of Jack as he and his class

left on their first field trip of the year... They went to the Fullerton Arboretum.

On the way to school this morning, Jack wanted to know,

"Mom, do they have a gift shop there?"

He was disappointed to learn that, no, unlike his last

field trip to the Discovery Science Center,

they do not have a gift shop.

I was there when they got off the bus as well. I greeted him with

an enthusiastic smile, "How was your field trip?"

"Not good. All we did was walk around and look.

We didn't DO anything..."

Later, I asked him, "Did you have fun eating lunch by the pond?"

"Yes. I was enjoying that part, but that's it"

Tough crowd...

Playdate & Pumpkins

Despite the heat, the Richman Babies met up again today at the Irvine Park Pumpkin Patch. We missed Taylor and Salvatore, but we had a good time with the pumpkins and each other. The babies are changing so much, it's so much fun to see them change from month to month.

Molly & Milan

Molly & Mia are good friends!

BOO at the Zoo

We had another fun time at the Santa Ana Zoo's Halloween Night.

This year we went with Wolverine (Nicolas) and his mom.

Molly wore her "duck" costume...

Jack was a true Jedi...

Jack was thrilled to win a prize for finding

the pumpkin with a star on the bottom.

we are doomed...

Molly has a new trick....
she's figured out how to STAND UP in her bathtub seat.
Yikes.

Halloween 2007

So, remember what we did LAST Halloween?

Happy Birthday!

We spent the afternoon in L.A. on Ken's birthday.

We (Jack and I )had tickets to see

The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D at the El Capitan.So, we had lunch first..

and then took our seats (and a self portrait!)

and then our little Jedi fought the Dark Side...

a busy day...

Today, we...
1- watched a Star Wars movie
2- went to the grocery store
3- had lunch at home
4- took a nap (Molly only)
5- tried a new soup recipe, made a big pot!
6- met friends at the park for an almost 3 hour playdate
7- ate dinner
8- took a bath (x2)
9- watched a bit more of Star Wars
10- loaded the dishwasher
11- and the washing machine
12- made sure both kids are in bed (one of them convinced me to let him sleep with me tonight!)
12- made 4 dozen pumpkin cookies
13- updated the blog
and eventually, I hope...
15- went to bed
What a day we have had...

Pumpkins

30 seconds...

is all it takes for Molly to completely empty

her toy & book basket...

AND...

do this. What you can't see in the picture is:

1- the lid to the fish bowl in her hand and

2- the look of sweet satisfaction.Next job at our house.

Baby gates out of storage.

(I am beginning to stress about

having a Christmas Tree!)

NKOTB

So, yes. I went to the concert ( with Kelly!).
Yes, we had fun.
Yes, I admit, we sang the songs.
Heck, I even got a t-shirt...
but, we were surprised...the "old" kids can still dance!

The Ultimate Fighter update!

I was so lucky to stop by CHOC yesterday to catch up with baby Talan and his mom. Isn't he the cutest little guy? I am so happy for the Smith family...the best news ever is that Talan is well over 4 pounds now (let me remind you, he weighed 1 lb 12 oz at birth @ 25 weeks) and there is a chance he is home by Halloween! There are a few milestones he needs to reach, but if any baby can do it, he's the one! Grow strong baby boy! I want to kiss those cheeks!

9 months...

I can't believe how little she was 9 months ago!
Happy 9 Months!
To celebrate, here are 9 things about Molly :) and some new pictures from the week...

1- no one makes her laugh and smile as much as her big brother

2- her crying in the car phase is almost over, now she likes to sing and talk, and look out the window.

3- she loves Cheerios

4- she will immediately take a hat off, but with a distraction, she will forget it's on...

5- she loves her playdates and her awesome baby friends

6-she crawled to the t.v. today...just to get a closer look at her favorite tv host, Steve (from Blue's Clues)

7- she'd much rather stand up than sit or crawl

8- she tried some "real" food today- steak and baked potatoes
9- she is still NOT sleeping through the night...maybe that will be #10!

oh, crap.

Can I say crap on a blog?
Here was my morning. And for obvious reasons, there are no pictures in this post (you will be thankful for this after you read...trust me).
Jack's teacher celebrated her birthday today...and well, since she has to deal with Jack all day, I decided to make a stop to get some sweet tea at Chik-Fil-A for her (she loves it!)...so...
-left the house a few minutes early
-got the tea
-Molly fell asleep on the way to the sitter (this NEVER happens)
-when we got to the sitter, I gingerly lifted her from her seat (hoping to keep her sleeping)
-the "gingerly" hold didn't last long, as I discovered we had a diaper, let's say "incident"...and let's say a "huge diaper incident"
-Molly is awake now, because I realize there is poop everywhere, including up my arms ...
-I walk to the door, with Molly as far from my body as I can hold and knock with my foot
-Gloria greets me with a smile...and then it fades...she grabs a towel and scoops up the poopy and screaming baby
-I scrub up like a surgeon in the sitter's kitchen while she deals with the diaper mess (she REALLY is a saint)
-Molly is screaming still
-Now, I leave and go to shut the van door (because I had left it open with all the excitement)...and I realize...
-it's really everywhere...the carseat is, well, not so clean anymore.
-I finally get to work, feeling so gross....and I do my best to clean the seat with the disinfectant wipes from my classroom
-I call Gloria to make sure everyone had "recovered"...and Gloria tells me that Molly seems "relieved"
-I think to myself "she better be!"

(Happy Birthday, Miss Joo :) )

Ten Years Ago...

Ken and I went on our first date!

To celebrate we went to our favorite place, Koki's!

We love going there as a family!

Molly was not impressed with the dinner "show".

Instead she focused on getting the tiny pieces of sticky rice in her mouth!