Paige at 22 Months

Let me start this off with a funny story from today. My mom calls me at work to tell me that my daughter is definitely a lot like me. She had shoved red playdoh up her nose. I used to shove peas. I asked her what we should do, did I need to come and take her to the hospital? My mom said she would sneeze it out and she would be ok. Eventually her nose naturally helped it out and was dripping red for a while. But she is pretty much playdoh free.

At 22 Months old, she is really a toddler.

She has a mind of her own. She will tell you no. She can pick out what books she wants to read, what cup she would like, whether she wants milk or water. She is testing the waters. She has had to be taken home from the park several times recently because she tries to step off the play structure where she could get hurt. I tell her no two times and then tell her that if she does it again, we are going home. She almost always smiles and does it again. And I get to take her home screaming "PARK".

She says more words every day. She has a lot of two word phrases and is starting to put some 3-4 word sentences together. "Mommy do it", "Cloe's here", "Mickey Mouse Please or Tigger/Pooh Please". She loves to play with her toys, and she still loves reading books. She reacts with an enthusiastic "Oh No" when something is wrong like she dropped something.

You have to watch her closely because if she finds a pen, she will use it. She loves to color, and some days that has not been such a good thing.

One day, we were watching a show called Bounce. The theme was emotions. We were singing a song about being sad and she started crying. And she wouldn't stop. There was nothing wrong, I tried to comfort her but she just kept crying. Finally, I said to her" Paige, it is OK to cry, but if you are going to keep crying, please go to your room and cry". She actually got up and went to her room. Unfortunately, that doesn't work every time. She loves to fake cry too.

It is so hard to believe that our little girl will be 2 in 2 months. Time really does fly.

A fan in the Making

Monday was the first official football game of the season. Ok, maybe not the official start of the NFL season, but the official start of my Season. The Patriots were playing at 4PM our time and I was going to watch the game. Of course, I only 1/2 watched the first 2-3 quarters because I had to make dinner, etc. We paused the game to eat, and then started watching more focused. However, I have an adorable almost two year old. She walked up to me, remote in hand, and said "Mickey Mouse please- PLEASE- PLEEEEEESE". I almost gave in, but I said, "No hunny, Mommy is watching football. After a little while she started paying a little attention the game. She crawled up on the couch, and was yelling "RUN, RUN, RUN" at the TV. I had to explain her that we were telling the Patriots to stop the run, but she is not even two yet so I can't complain. She started saying whatever I was yelling at the TV. And she would say, HI Tom when Tom Brady was on the TV. She was awfully cute in her Patriots Cheerleader outfit cheering on her team. Here are some pics of us in our matching gear (Thanks for the cheerleader outfit, Grandpa & Doris).

Justin's 30th Birthday

Justin turned 30 on Sept 4th. He was not looking forward to this birthday and told me he did not really even want to Celebrate. We keep it low key on his actual birthday and I just made a nice dinner at home. We had my family over for dinner on Sunday. I made corned beef & cabbage (His favorite meal) and a wonderful cake. My parents gave him a telescope for his birthday. It could be the most perfect present for him ever (Besides the Colts Game I took him to the 2nd year we were married). I have lost him to the stars.

Freecycle and more

This year has not exactly been an easy one for us. Lets just say money has been "tight". We have cut back expenses where possible, and keep trying to earn some extra money. Business is starting to pick-up, but who knows what next week brings. So I have been cutting coupons, and finding new ways to save money. I have been checking craigslist, freecycle and other similar places where people give stuff for free or sell them for less. People have been so generous. We were able to get a gas powered lawn mower (Which actually cuts our grass unlike our push mower). Someone also gave us this great playstructure for our backyard and a plastic red wagon. These have been great gifts. We were able to give some things away too which helped temporarily cut back on clutter in the garage. I am so Thankfull that there are these ways to help us get some things we need for Paige, without having to spend money we shouldn't be spending. Here are some pics of the new playstructure (The nice lady who gave it to us said it was faded, but I can't even tell the difference).

Oh- August- Where did you go

I realized that I had not posted in a month. I am always waiting for other peoples blog updates, so I am so sorry that you had to wait for mine. Funny thing is that I am having a hard time remembering what August was all about for the Huffman Family. But let me give it a shot.

We started out the month in celebration (Or at least I did). I made it through another fiscal year end with Sun-Maid and it was a good one. We put in a lot of hard work in July, but we closed the year in great shape. The first week of August, I went to Kingsburg for a retirement dinner for one of our salesmen who I had grown close to over the years. A few of us from Pleasanton had the priviledge of being able to attend and stayed overnight.

After returning to my normal life, we were able to go to Santa Cruz to celebrate our good friends' daughter, Maelee, 1st birthday. It was a beautful day and it was so much fun. Mikaila joined us for the day which is always so helpful when it comes to mingling. We were also able to see another friends baby, Landon, for the 2nd time. He is such a cutie too.

My Mom & Dad finally went to Spain after a horrible last minute ordeal that caused my mom to have to stay home last time. They had a great time, but keep forgetting to show me pictures. During that time, Mikaila took her first trip to Boston all by herself. It was fun being the one to take her to the airport & pick her up. She is really starting to grow up a little.

Chelsie moved to San Diego a little over a week ago. She started at a new college, Point Loma. This was a very emotional transition for all of us. It was hard last year, moving her into Bethany which was an hour away and she came home every weekend. I was not able to go with the family to move her in and have only seen a few pictures of her dorm. Mostly she has showed off the amazing sunset ocean views from her room. I know she is going to do great, but it is hard to know that I will only see her a few times a year. I just hope she comes back after college, I don't think I want to do this long term. We are already planning on going for a visit in about 3 weeks. we are planning on visiting my Aunt Cheryl & her family also. It will be exciting. I can't wait.

During the weekend Chelsie was moving into college, we stole our nephews Joseph & Tyler for the weekend. We were taking them shopping for school clothes (Thanks to their wonderful Grandma!). We had a great time. While I was shopping with the boys, Justin & Paige were at the Good Guys car show. I think a fun weekend was had by all. Here are the few pictures we took in August to share.

Joseph & Tyler with all of their school stuff (We made a fun Thank-you card for Grandma using this pic)

San Fran with the Nana's

I was able to take 1/2 days from work for most of the week my nana was visiting, which was great. I was able to accomplish some work and still spend a lot of time with my nana who I love and wish I could see her more often. One of the days we went to San Fran. It was supposed to be cool but sunny. The weather man was wrong. It was cold and cloudy. But we had a great time anyways. We went to the Japanese Tea Gardens for tea. We also went to Bakers beach to get a family picture, but the bridge is not seen well because of the clouds. We topped the day off with dinner at the Olive Garden (A tradition of sorts when Nana comes to visit). It was a lot of fun. I was not too thrilled about going to the beach after seeing this sign, but at least it was too cold to consider wading.
Paige and her Papa

Three nana's and their grandchildren

The Pidgeon clan

Paige and her KK

The fun I missed

When I went to work on Tuesday, most of the family went to Kline Wineries in Sonora. They had a great time. I know Justin loved the Olive Oil tasting more than the wine tasting. He also discovered the wine he likes, Shiraz.

Celebrating Birthdays at the Beach

Nana & my Aunt Kathy came to visit just in time for the shared birthdays of Nana & Chelsie. Together they turned 100 this year so we took them to their favorite spot, the beach, for a fun day and a bonfire at night. Paige did great! And she loved the beach. I did not think we were going to get her to leave. We had a long day of hanging out, had some great dinner and a fire. The roudy teenagers next to us got kicked out for drinking which was quite entertaining. Overall it was a fun day.

Family Bike Rides

We decided to spend some of the money we have left from our wedding and buy a bike & bike trailer so we can have something to do when we don't want to spend money. And it is good excercise too. Sorry- no pics of the trailer- but isn't my bike pretty.

Our new pool

On one of the really hot days we had a couple of weeks ago I went to set-up the froggy kiddie pool. It was really dirty and the shade cover did not work so well anymore. Plus it is kind of boring. So I ran to Wal-Mart and bought a new kiddie pool. This one has two pools, a slide and a pink dolphin that squirts at you. We are moving up in the world.

5 Years and counting

Today (7/18) is our 5 year wedding anniversary. One one hand it feels like time has flown by and it is hard to believe we have been married this long. On the other hand I feel like we have been married for way longer. We have been friends for over 15 years now and have been together as a couple for almost 8 years. I can say that it isn't always easy, but I am glad that we are together. I see some of my single friends and know that I am glad that I have found someone who loves me for who I am. We are such opposites that sometimes it is hard to believe that we are together, but we manage to make it work.

Originally for our 5 year we were going to go away for a week (in May so I wouldn't be gone at fiscal year end again). We had looked at St. Lucia, Antigua and Punta Cana. We were going to leave Paige with my parents and sit on a beach somewhere (Me with my book and Justin snorkeling). It was going to be amazing and much needed rest. But late last year we began to realize that dream was unrealistic this year. The economy has changed our lives recently.

So instead, I started looking for things that would be closer and less expensive. And we decided that going on a zip line would be it. Turning 30 has made me realize I need to get out there and enjoy life a little more. Just because I am a mom and a wife doesn't mean I should be secluded in my house every day. I was nervous, having never experienced anything like this, but I figured it would be safer than skydiving or bungee jumping and I knew Justin would love it.

Paige stayed the night at my mom's last night and we ended up bombing our house for fleas so it was not that romantic. We got to sleep in until 7am and were out the door by 8:30. It took us about 2 hours to get to Moaning Caverns near Angels Camp. It was a nice drive with no traffic. Justin put on a movie and I listened while we drove. We paid our money for our first zip deciding that we would try it once before buying more trips. We had to wait about 15 minutes before gear was ready. The put on all of the safety gear and a jeep drove us up to the tower. It was around 11am and already very hot outside.

When we got up to the tower we had to walk across a not so safe looking bridge to the tower that was a little shaky as well. This is when I started getting a little nervous. We watched the first pair go and that was not too bad. Then the next people came up and one of the girls was petrified and could not do it. I was just hoping I would not chicken out when they hooked me to the line. She did not go, but her two friends loved it.

So, now it was our turn. The guy hooked me to the line and the tension was so tight I could barely reach the ground. I thought I was going to go before I was ready. Luckily they have a safety line that stops you. The tested the equipment and I am literally shaking at this point. But I was determined to do it. They took the safety line off and told me to lift my legs up on the count of three. I was not sure I was going to make it to then because my legs were shaking and I could barely touch the ground. They counted and we went. Justin thinks I hesitated, and maybe I did- but I don't remember.

The ride itself was almost peaceful. You go down a 1500 line, but the feeling is not like I expected. I expected the stomach feeling you get on a rollercoaster But it was just free. It almost didn't even feel exciting at that point. Once they got us off the line a van picked us up and took us back to the visitor center. The wait was at 1 1/2 hours to zip again so we ate lunch. Then we went and walked around Angels Camp for a little while. Then we decided to head home. On the way we stopped at Sonic. It was an enjoyable day. I am glad I tried it. Now I am ready to go pick-up my little girl.

Paige's 18 Month Pics

Now that I have finally mailed the pictures out to family and friends, I feel I can finally post these. In the past, I have posted them the day of, but I think that takes away from some of the fun of getting the letter and seeing the pics for the first time. It took a long time to get these ones done, but we made it through and she did pretty good. It is getting harder to get her to stay still, but they do a good job at sears. Pretty soon she will be posing.

Family Time in Auburn

We went to Auburn last week to visit his family from Utah that was visiting. It was really hot but we set-up some water toys and the kids had a great time. Justin is always the best riding toy.

They had a picnic lunch on the patio. It was so cute watching Paige eat with the big kids.

Justins cousin Chris threw the kids down the slip N slide. They had a great time.