2littlethomases

Happy Halloween from the 50s

2011-10-30T15:34:00.000-07:00

Oh gosh --- enter pride and bragging....

These little gals are so cute and I just have to post these photos of them in their costumes. I made this skirt for Mary last year for a Sock Hop and was pretty excited to have her wear it again this year for Halloween.

We took these photos before we went to a Harvest Festival in the evening where we played games, ate and got lots of candy.

Learning to write our name

2011-09-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

I am watching Sally writing her name on all of her papers and in her journal now on a daily basis. I was just remembering when Mary started to do the same thing and she wanted to write her name on every thing - all over the whole house.

She carved her name in our leather ottoman!

When I found it and pointed it out to her I will never forget the denial: "I didn't do that Mom! It wasn't me!". Even then it was really funny that she would try to deny that. Ha!!

First Day of Pre-K for Miss Sally

2011-09-13T06:06:00.000-07:00

Sally with the director of the school

This is Sally with Brady - he is one of her best

boy pals (she knows him from church too) and he is sweet as pie!

Sally and her new teacher Ms. Marilyn

Proud Mommy and Daddy dropping off our big girl for her Pre K class

These are the pink ladies: Allie, Sally and Kendal

Kendal is Sally's best friend and they were in class last year. They absolutely adore each other and it is so cute to see them together. They are truly best pals!

Mary C. Thomas 1st grader extraordinaire

2011-09-08T14:56:00.000-07:00

This past Tuesday Mary started 1st grade and her new teacher is Mrs. R*a*mos. It was super hot/humid and rainy that morning (most unusual out here that time of year... or ever really), but we all managed to walk up with only a little bit of complaining. Can you guess who did the complaining???

Sally was the most unhappy member of the Thomas family during this photo.

I swear I brushed her hair that day.

She is bummed that Mary is getting all the attention and that she does not go to school today too.

So far Mary's class only has 20 kids. Not too bad since last year there were 25

End of summer fun - Labor Day

2011-09-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed Labor Day and saying goodbye to summer at Seaport Village on Monday

on the San Diego Harbor. It was rather humid and then started to rain, but we had a fun time

dining, playing and hanging out with the Skains before they left for Texas the next day.

Coronado Bridge behind us

It was a rather girly day with 5 little ladies all hanging out together!! :)

Happy 4th Birthday to Miss Sally!

2011-08-29T19:31:00.000-07:00

Yet another gymnastics party at the LJ YMCA, this time celebrating

Sally's 4th birthday on August 21st.

Hello Kitty was the theme and I made chocolate and banana cupcakes! :)

Here she is - weighing in at her heaviest -- 30 whopping pounds!! - Happy 4th to our sweet gal Sally :)

How I made my ladybug cupcakes for Mary's 6th b-day

2011-07-18T14:55:00.000-07:00

Trader Joes box mix = YUM!

Everything shown here was either purchased at Michaels, "Do it with icing" in

Clairemont, and Party City (M&M's)

This is the red that you want to use and use it with butter cream frosting (do not use any of the stuff that comes in a tub from the grocery store).

Add just enough so that it is not too crazy red -the color will brighten up after some time.

You can either use an Oreo cakester (left) for the head or a blob of black

icing from the can (right). Licorice whip for the line on the body.

I used the black icing to glue on my eyes

The aphids were just the black M&M's and black icing.

The one on the bottom right corner has black licorice pieces.

Mary's 6th birthday party - ladybug theme!

2011-07-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

July 10th at the La Jolla YMCA concluded all of the celebrating of the 6th year of joy that little Mary has brought to us so far. Our ladybug shindig was great and the party was enjoyed by all! The day consisted mainly of LOTS of 5 and 6 year old girls!!

The birthday girl felt really shy when everyone was singing to her

Here are my ladybug cupcakes and the aphids on the lower tier :)

Above - silly bucket that I turned into a ladybug

Below - goodie bags for all the girls that contained candy and

a ladybug necklace or bracelet and the bag is tied off with a felt flower hair accessory that I made.

Happy 4th of July 2011

2011-07-10T20:19:00.000-07:00

On the way back home from LA we stopped along the way in La Mirada, CA (my original hometown) and I took the girls to a park that I remember going to summer camp at. We found lots of good and silly photo opportunities there.

My first house until I was about 8 years old (near Biola University)

July 1st Birthday Celebration (and July 3rd celebration with The Rowes)

2011-07-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

On July 1st Mary turned 6 years old! We celebrated by taking her out to dinner at The Corvette Diner. We had lots of fun and the celebration continued that weekend as we drove up to Manhattan Beach to celebrate the 4th with our family.

Love this photo of the two of them!

Here we are for round 2 of celebrating the birth

of Miss Mary in Rolling Hills with The Rowes.

The girls absolutely adore Molly and Addie and always

have a good time at the house.


Mary and her Great Aunt Barbara Miller

Happy snuggle time with Auntie Carole

The last weeks of school and other adventures in June

2011-07-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

The final weeks of Kindergarten were wrapped up with a week of wackiness - everything from Pajama Day to wacky hair day to backwards dress day. Mary was super excited for wacky hair day and she picked out the blue spray.

This is Mary with one of her best friends Joanna Lee

Some of her very best girlfriends from her K class

Another K recital in the auditorium with lots of fun songs and a

cake reception after to celebrate their graduation to 1st grade

The photos below are how Mary's Daisy Troop

(jokingly "Troop Beverly Hills") celebrated the end of the school year

with their cookie sales earnings. They got a princess jumpy house and did

an ice cream party at Mission Bay and because our troop leader's brother works at

the Aquatics Center we got to take out sail boats for free!! :)

On a sail boat for the first time!!

My brave girl Mary!

Mary's very last day on June 13th with her most favorite teacher!

Mrs. A is 6 or so months along in this photo due in August with a baby girl

Miss Sally goes to the dentist for the first time

2011-07-10T17:37:00.000-07:00

This was a big deal for Sally. She only likes the dentist because they have a treasure box of amazingly cheap toys that are pretty much a dream come true for the Thomas girls. After about a half hour of bribing her with the luxury of picking out not one, but TWO toys, she finally let the lady get inside and clean those pearly whites.

Teddy Bear tea with Daisy Girls

2011-06-25T17:54:00.000-07:00

Each girl brought a teddy bear to donate

Mary has matured so much since the very first

Daisy meeting/play date back in October.

Below: this is a photo of the troop, but only 7 of the 12 were

able to attend this day. All of the girls in her troop are from her same school

and they are all in the same grade.

This was their last official function and then in June they celebrated the earnings from the

cookie sales with a Princess jumpy, ice cream and sailing on the Mission Bay (they all decide together

how to spend the money and part of it was donated to an non-profit Animal shelter). Some

would call us "Troop Beverly Hills"... photos on that coming soon!

Last soccer game of the season

2011-06-25T17:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of Mary's very last game - they won! Her good friend from Kindergarten was on the opposing team, but there was always good sportsmanship between them. Coincidentally, this game was right after Mother's Day brunch - it was a very busy weekend.

This is how Sally acted during every game: WILD

Peyton and Mary - opposite teams and same number :)

Mother's Day May 2011 - Thank you to my little chickies

2011-06-20T07:32:00.000-07:00

This year Mary and Sally were both in school which led to both of them having the opportunity to make me "Mother's Day crafts"!

Mary was the one that brought it up first about the alien card. :D

For Mother's Day brunch we went to the Brigantine in Pt. Loma - a little tradition now.

Fiesta de Mayo at Mary's school

2011-06-18T08:58:00.000-07:00

Mary had a big fundraiser in May at her school and it was so great! They raised lots of money by the PTA and the art auction project that I was in charge of for her class was ultimately purchased by the Principal of the school :)

The chair was based on Lois Elhert's book - Eating the Alphabet and each child in the class colored a traced image from the book and I used mod podge to adhere it to the donated Adirondack :)

Happy Easter!!!

2011-05-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

Here we are on Easter morning at church!

They brought these baskets to church for the egg hunt

that our church puts on for all the kids.

After church we headed over to the Zoo!

We must go on the "High Trolley" (sky tram) as Sally calls it, everytime

we go to the zoo. It is just the best!

And both teeth are gone now!

Is she a cute little vampire??

The man in the background is horrified and I think

he might be calling security.

Go Green Alligators!

2011-05-07T07:36:00.000-07:00

Mary's soccer team with Mesa Soccer is called the "Green Alligators" and

they practice every Wednesday from 5-6 and play every Sunday around noon.

Mary is only one of two girls on the team of some really great players and having

a fun time! We love watching her play and she has decided to not do dance anymore because

she tells me that "soccer is better exercise because I am running around a lot Mom". :)

Bend it like Mary

2011-03-23T20:50:00.000-07:00

She lost this tooth (her fifth one so far) earlier today before practice

My beautiful little Hillbilly

Really excited to practice soccer with her team for the very

first time tonight at Hickman Fields -- co-ed team that plays on Sundays

This is most of her team that will be playing their first game this Sunday at noon

Sally strongly considering soccer playing...

Kicking the ball around with Daddy and doing a great job!

Spring Luau at Spreckels

2011-03-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

Mary was excited to perform some traditional Hawaiian dances at her school's Spring Luau.

Sally was excited to wear a pretty dress. :)

You can see Mary's teacher Mrs. Ashlock has about a 18 week

baby bump! The whole class is very excited and cant wait to find out if she is having

a boy or girl! Mrs. Ashlock is such a great teacher and Mary adores her!!

Not a great photo, but a funny one of Mary showing some attitude :)

You did WHAT with a Sharpie??????????

2011-03-10T21:39:00.000-08:00

This is the only photo I got of her after I caught her all marked up with a pink Sharpie.

Long story short:

She is a climber. She wanted to "look like Barbie". She took the pen to both of her forearms and her face. I threw her in the tub. Called Jason in hysterics. He laughed and told me to take a photo and post it on Facebook. I did. Then by the grace of God the marker came right off her face.

It lingered on her arms for days, but that's what long sleeves are for.

The End.

Happy Valentine's Day from the little cuties

2011-03-10T21:34:00.000-08:00

Photos from dance class

2011-03-10T21:32:00.000-08:00

These are not the best photos (or the best quality), but I took them when I was able to sneak into the class.... because they kick all the parents out and shut the door and dont let us watch them while they practice for the recital in June.

The girls stick together the whole class. It is really cute to watch.... from the bent slat on the mini blinds that are usually closed very tightly.

TIME TO GET YOUR GIRLSCOUT Cookies!!

2011-01-30T10:13:00.000-08:00

Mary is selling cookies starting today for the whole month of Feb. You can buy them from me and get instant gratification as I have them on hand. If there is something I dont have you can order it -- or just email me now and I will make sure to have it the next time we meet up.

Sure - bikini season is just around the corner, but go ahead and put on a few lbs. while it is still sweater season.

You can dance, you can jive...

2011-01-24T14:13:00.000-08:00

So far they really are having the time of their lives in their pre-ballet class that they get to take together on Thursday afternoons. They are just so cute together and they love dressing up for class!!

Happy New Year!! .... and Happy 5.5 years to Mary

2011-01-01T18:35:00.000-08:00

This morning I told Mary it was January 1st and that today she is officially 5 and 1/2... so she asked for a cake and because I am in the running for Mother of the Year, I made one from scratch. I am that good.

Opening Christmas presents

2010-12-31T17:15:00.000-08:00

Nothing like starting the morning with the cookies that "Santa" forgot to finish.

We sort of did the Santa thing, but really we did not get into it too much.

We are just going to let it become what it is - tradition, but not really lie to them too much. HA!

I think that every child this year got a Pillow Pet for Christmas

Daddy got her these trains and the track and she LOVES it!!

Keepin' it real with undies for Christmas. This will be

a tradition from now on

-- see last year's blog---

In this big box was a doll house that is super awesome

and the girls are playing with it A LOT!!

Merry Christmas from The Thomas Family!

2010-12-27T15:40:00.000-08:00

Spreckels Holiday Performance - photos and videos

2010-12-24T11:28:00.000-08:00

Mary Thomas!! Student of the month at Spreckels Elementary School!!

2010-12-24T11:17:00.000-08:00

Our Kindergartner girl Mary received a "Super Star Certificate"

for being a great little student in her Kindergarten class!

There was an assembly for the kids with milk and cookies

after to honor their excellence.

We are proud of her academic accomplishments thus far as

she is excelling in her math and writing and reading!!

2010-12-17T11:42:00.000-08:00

I traveled around quite a bit recently meeting some new babies!

In the first 3 photos: I traveled up to Redondo Beach to meet Amelie Shirman.

She is very smiley and wrapped up in her new little quilt that I made for her!

Amelie is my friend Monica's 1st baby and it was a pleasure to spend time with that little ray of sunshine!

In the last 2 photos: I traveled to Henderson, NV to meet Hadley Chenin.

She is super content and I think she really melted my heart. She is my cousin's

2nd baby and I enjoyed finally getting to meet her...and she is tricking me into wanting to have another baby (she does not cry much).

2010-12-17T11:32:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving every year UCUC Preschool has a "Stone Soup" party based on the book.

Sally made her hat and the turkey centerpiece for the party and we all gathered

together to enjoy the delicious soup that everyone helped make. I was the lucky one

that actually had the stone in my soup! All the little ones thought that was cool.

And yes, I do think that Sally is just the cutest girl in these photos!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-12-17T11:26:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was spent here in San Diego this year on a gloriously sunny and warm day! We are so lucky here in Southern California to have such awesome weather!!

I am 72% sure this was a good idea

2010-11-24T06:13:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I went to the San Diego Zoo with Mary's Kindergarten class.

There are 26 students and there were 5 other parent volunteers and Mrs. Ashlock to corral them.
It was so easy!

(come on... not really, but it was fun and I slept well that night)

Newbreak Sock Hop

2010-11-23T08:42:00.000-08:00

Sock Hop for K-5 at our church.

I volunteered that night!

This is Mary with her friend Megan

in the air guitar competition!

I made her poodle skirt :)

It got a little loud for Mary that night!

Our little Daisy!

2010-11-23T08:25:00.000-08:00

Here is our little Daisy Scout on her first

official day to earn a badge at the "Brownie/Daisy

Art to Wear" play day. They made some wearable art and sang songs

and socialized with the older 2nd and 3rd grader girls! Next up will be the Nutcracker

ballet with her troop and then.... COOKIES!!!!

Just kidding - I don't really know when the cookie sales begin (Spring?) but she is

only allowed to sell them to her family and friends.

Happy Halloween

2010-11-07T20:24:00.000-08:00

Mary and Sally went as bumble bees this year - we went as their bee keepers :)

Just kidding... we didnt have time to think about a costume this year as it was the day before our Freedom Fest 2010 trip (AKA: Kauai Nov. 1st - 5th)

Every year we go to Hallapolooza at Newbreak and we have the best time

playing the games, listening to live music, eating pizza, getting our faces painted, and winning candy!

The event was all over the local news as it is truly stellar in the community and is a completely free event that thousands attend every year on Halloween night.

I made these costumes and treat bags myself!

Listening to the awesome music from the live band and

enjoying some pizza

Elated to have her face painted!

The squeals of delight can be heard every week at church

as we run into "Miss Rachel", as she is Mary's most favorite teacher at Newbreak!!

Sally having fun at ski ball

Sally goes to the Pumpkin Patch in Del Mar... a fake one

2010-10-27T17:09:00.000-07:00

October has just gone by so quickly and we have been busy with school and life and getting ready for our trip to Kauai* so on a Tuesday last week I took Miss Sally to the "Pumpkin Station" in Del Mar for some fun.

* the trip will be just for the 2 little Thomases Mommy and Daddy as Grandpa Maier is coming to watch the girls for a week!!!

Fun in Palomar Mountain with the Phelps Gang

2010-10-27T17:04:00.000-07:00

About 2 weeks ago we drove a couple hours up to the local
mountain (Palomar) to hang out with Nathan Phelps and his family.

On the property is a small apple orchard so the first thing we did upon

arrival was cook up some apple sauce a la Bonnie Phelps!

Then is was up to the "Round House" property (right above

the "Square House" land; another story) to meet Buddy the horse.

Sally was a little unsure but we did feed him some apples and he did not bite us...

Buddy, not Nathan

Picture perfect Sunday

After some fun at the Round House property we went over

to a neighbor up the way that has her own mini farm that consists of

chickens, sheep and goats. She sells her eggs and goat milk products and sheers her

sheep and makes her own yarn. What a trip eh???

Truthfully I was not a fan of holding this dirty little sheep at first

Mary and Sally sitting patiently waiting for the chicken to

take its egg back. They really thought they could give the egg

back to the chicken. They waited, and waited and waited....

Click on this photo of Sally to enlarge it so that you can

get a good look at that heart shaped face and those stunning blue eyes.

What a little cutie!!

2010-10-21T15:27:00.000-07:00

Mary was very excited for her first day of Kindergarten

Since we live so close she wanted to ride her bike on the first day

My big girl was very excited and went

right in without any hesitation!

Her new teacher is Mrs. Emily Ashlock, Rm 14

at Spreckels Elementary School

Mrs. Ashlock was passing out little kleenex packets with

this sweet note attached to it... the tissues were for any parents

that cried as they watched their baby go

off to school (I was not the mom that was crying, but rather the mom

that was dreaming of a mid week pedicure without having to pay a babysitter!!)

Mary goes to school M T Th and Friday 9:00- 3:30 and Wed 9am - 12:30

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sally goes to Univesity City Preschool

Here she is walking in with Daddy and holding her

very own lunch bag! Sally attends school M W and Friday 8:30-12:30

For her first day of school Sally insisted

on her very favorite bright pink socks.

The school has a rule that the first thing you do

when you enter is head straight on over to the hand washing

station. This is pretty much the number 1 reason why she goes to this particular school. :)

Mrs. Fraizer is her teacher and Sally

did not hesitate once on her first day and

continues to go in every time without tears or hesitation

Happy 3rd Birthday to Sally Chrin Thomas - August 21st, 2010

2010-10-14T18:02:00.000-07:00

Disney's "Cars" themed birthday party for Sally's 3rd

birthday celebration on August 21st at La Jolla Shores

The blue Porsche in the movie is named "Sally" too, yet another reason that she loves this movie!

Kaden Kivett was so excited to give

Sally a motorcycle that he picked out - he

just could not wait for her to open it!!

Mary was not quite sure why Sally would want any

of these "boy" toys

Finally time to eat the cake!! Hooray!

Mary and Sally photo shoot - thank you Joel Thomas Photography!

2010-10-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

...coming soon...

2010-10-07T06:50:00.000-07:00

photos from Sally's 3rd birthday and first day of Kindergarten (mary) and Preschool (sally).... and at this rate Halloween.

stay tuned!

Vacation Bible School at the First Baptist Church of San Diego - last day BBQ for the families

2010-09-08T14:56:00.000-07:00

McKenna, Ava and Mary

These were Mary's best friends in preschool.

Unfortunately Claire (purple shirt) goes to a different school

and McKenna is moving to Oregon. So sad!

Now, remember Pinocchio: be a good boy (or girl). And always let your conscience be your guide.

2010-09-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

Mary told me that she will officially be my

theater pal. This is a good thing because after

taking Jason to see Hello Dolly, I thought he talked

too much and would not sit still.....

...... ha.

The Blue Fairy was the best and

we were super happy to get her autograph.

Such a gorgeous theater in Balboa Park

Mary's 5th Birthday July 1st

2010-09-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

Mary's Stats: Weight - 42lbs 68% Height - 65% BMI 73%

Sally, Aubrey, Joanna, Adalyn, Haley

We did a craft and decorated tiaras for the girls and

crowns for the boys. We also decorated

our own goodie bags for the Ariel pinata

that Mary really wanted to have at her party.

Stevie, Me, Anya, Mary

"Make a wish"

Claire is the cutie in the foreground from UCUC preschool

Time for presents!

Thanks to everyone that helped celebrate with us at the park!!

Day 2 and on with Nana Alice and Uncle Paul in PA!

2010-09-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

This is the continuation of our June trip

I am just now in SEPTEMBER! finding time to publish these photos...

oops!

This is where Sally Chrin Thomas comes from :)

My (Julie) Grandpa has a brother Charles Chrin that is a

hardworking man around the town of Easton, PA

Checking out the sights of downtown Easton, PA.

This little town neighbors the Jersey border and is where

my Mom was born and raised!

Night out at the circus at the Charles Chrin Community Center

The best part of the circus was when Daddy got up and

volunteered; it was really funny!

We visited Hershey, PA and went to Chocolate World

and

the Chocolate Museum.

After the free tour you exit directly into the GIANT

shop-o-rama

Mary's FAVORITE thing about the town were the

street lamps shaped like Hershey Kisses.

Really tired after our morning excursion, now on our way to

Lancaster (Amish Country)

We have no pictures of the Amish tour, but we took

an informative 2.5 hour tour with our very own private guide.

Julie's Great Grandmother's house on

Warren Street in downtown Easton.

I remember going here in the summers and thinking

that ghosts lived upstairs.

Meeting Aunt Stella Chrin

(she is one of the 10 Chrin kids)

Uncle Paul and Sally bond over "Cars" on the iPad

Celebrating Mary's 5th birthday early at the

Texas Roadhouse

Tradition is that you get to sit on the saddle while

the servers sing to you. Mary loved that part!

The fun continues with a cupcake party back at

Nana Alice's house

On our way to Philly so we can catch our plane the next

morning bright and early. We are elated to have rigged up the

iPad for the 2 hour drive... only to have it fall off moments after

we shot this picture.

I pretty much only wanted to hang out in Downtown Philly

so that I could take a picture in front of the LOVE art piece.

Goodbye east coast, now we are back to San Diego for the

rest of the summer.... and then to celebrate Mary's 5th birthday on

July 1st.... stay tuned!!

First time meeting Great Grandmother Nana Alice - Day 1

2010-07-21T13:45:00.000-07:00

All in one day we went to the Crayola Factory, met new friends,

ate great food and had some fun in Nana's garden

~ ~ ~ ~

Crayola Factory

Easton, PA

Learning how the crayons and markers are made

Great-Grandmother Nana Alice

Uncle Paul

Getting markers out of the machine with

tokens that you receive when you are there

(Maryanne is Nana Alice's best friend)

After you get all your stuff you get to go into the lab area and

test it all out! We all had so much fun!!

After Crayola Factory we go to Mary's

favorite place -- and she meets a new friend!

Next stop: meeting Josie

She is one of Nana Alice's friends that is very funny

and has lots of candy at her house :)

Out to dinner for Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches when

little Sally wakes up from her nap

After dinner playing at Nana's house

Mary and Sally go to Conner Prairie in Indiana

2010-07-19T07:34:00.000-07:00

Mary and Sally had a great time at Conner Prairie an interactive

Historical Park in Indiana. There were lots of fun things to do in the

Discovery Barn and the actors at the park were

very fun and friendly to the girls.

This was about as close as we could get Sally to

any of the farm animals

This is the baby calf that turned around and licked

the bottom of my shorts. I thought he nearly bit me until Jason

explained that they have rough tongues like sand paper.

Right! ... I knew that....

Mary was not sure why the pigs were not pink

Helping to brush a steer

Helping to make the molasses bread

Sally finds a basket of wool

Yes - she does windows too!

She would get close to the giant plastic cow for milking,

but wanted nothing to do with the live animals.

The girls made me this delicious supper!

~~~~~~~~

We came back the next week for some more fun!

Beautifully made dress-up clothes lined the walls of the

parlor and other indoor-play areas

Mary in the General Store....

Swapping out the gown for her work apron!!

Indiana Trip - Part III - Family time!

2010-07-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

Meeting Aunt Laura (Grandma's sister)

Thomas Cousins

Jared Thomas, Heather Thomas, Joel Thomas, Jason Thomas

Julie Thomas, Amy (Thomas) Kramer, Jill Thomas

(unfortunately there are many other Thomases that were missing from our

Thomas night out)

Mary and Sally take Indiana: la deuxième partie

2010-07-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

Fun at a local Splash Park

~~~~

The 2 gorgeous ladies that my children resemble most

Happy Father's Day at Bravo in Indy

~~~~~~

Fun with cousin Lily!

~~~~

Downtown Nobelsville had a strawberry festival - with

some free face painting!!

The negotiator:
"Free means free lady ~ so don't stop at my face" :)

~~~~~~~

Now... only in the Midwest would your promise your kid an ice-cream

after dinner, only to get stuck in your car during yet another "severe thunderstorm"... which

then leads you to no other choice than to hit the McDonald's drive-thru ( I know, I know) and

because you are in a rental car, give your almost 3 year old a sundae in the back seat and some how

still seem surprised that it is very sticky back there:

It was all worth it to get this nice little smile!

Mary and Sally take Indiana - part I - Friends, Food and Festivities

2010-07-14T13:06:00.000-07:00

The 2 Little Thomases discovered how beautiful and

quaint the town of Zionsville, IN is. The Kivett Family

was in Indy for the weekend so we met up a couple times and here we are enjoying Serenity cafe.

We joked that this is what dining in Heaven will be like someday.

The experience was that fun!

This was the "kid's meal".

All meals for adults and kids alike

were served with Serenity's signature scone.

The empty space to the left of the fruit cup is where the free toy that comes

with every meal was sitting....

.... and Mary was quick to entertain us all with it.

Kaden got one too!

I am not sure where to begin with our strange coffee house

experience at this place, but none the less here is a cute family photo:

~~~~~~~~~

Party time at the Kivett Family home in Carmel, IN

High school and Purdue friends

Just like the good old days of college parties, there

is always some blond girl crying for attention.... poor little kitty!

Here is Jill Landers giving to the whole story on how

Sam Landers is going to marry Mary Thomas someday.

He wrote her a note that says, "I LOVE YOU.

WILL YOU MARRY ME?"

Of course I kept this note!

We love our little Sally and her "nigh-nigh" blankie

Everyone went outside on the deck to enjoy the rapidly

chilling weather and watch the storm roll in. I believe it

went from 90 something to 60 something in minutes.

Awesome!

At this point in our trip this is probably the gazillion'th

"severe thunderstorm" that I have seen and been warned of thanks

to some alarms sounding and the local weather forecaster.

Note to self: Midwest weather is no bueno for Julie Thomas

And now presenting - the Tooth Fairy!!! Drum roll please!!

2010-07-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

Mary lost her first tooth in the middle of our Pizza dinner in

Downtown Indianapolis - HOORAY!!

Yes, there is another tooth already behind it, and since this happened

in early June she has already cut 4 molars and has another lose tooth on the bottom.

Here she is showing her little baby tooth to the camera.

Come to think of it - this was probably her very first tooth that she

cut at about 16 weeks of age.

Everyone around our table was excited and this Mother with a

grown daughter next to us nearly cried! Sally was just

being her silly self for the camera.

Pretty girl Sally

2010-05-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

Sally had Daddy take her photo - never mind that you cant see the pretty braid that Mommy put in her hair - the main reason why she is so smitten and wanted her photo taken.... none the less this gal is super cute.

She is a keeper!

Mary's first play! Annie!!!

2010-05-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

We had a great time going to Annie at the Lyceum Theater

in Downtown SD!We took along one of our favorite babysitters

(you can see her taking our photo)

and Mary really enjoyed the show. She loves the movie and

watches it all the time and loves singing all the songs. Mary was really cute during the performance ("is it over yet?") and did very well for the whole 2 1/2 hours!

Happy Mother's Day!! This one goes out to all the 100lb Moms that are 8 ft tall!

2010-05-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

Mary's Preschool Photos!

2010-05-03T14:25:00.000-07:00

This is Mary's very first school photo and group photo of her whole class.

She is such a beautiful little 4 1/2 year old and I am so proud of

her accomplishments this year with writing her name,

beginning reading, letter and number identification and socialization skills.

She has truly blossomed and we are excited for her future this

September in Kindergarten!

PS. Will is the blonde boy to the right of her.

They are no longer engaged, but remain friends.

Mary reads to Sally

2010-04-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

Mary loves books and really wanted to read one to Sally!

Sally's First Haircut and then a shoe fashion show!!

2010-04-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

Here she is in the chair for her first official hair cut!

All done - it was easy and she did well.

She was pretty much in it for the lollipop....

.... and of course the chocolate milk from Starbucks

located right next door.

She is the luckiest girl in the world - she is

so happy to have all of this sugar!!! :)

After the haircut we did some errands up in

Encinitas and hit up the grand old TJ Maxx!

Me: Do you want to go look at shoes?

Sally: Yes!! Can I try some on?

Me: Of course!!

Uh, oh. Fashion or Comfort?

Decisions, decisions.... she really is my daughter.

(she picked out both pairs all on her own)

Happy Easter!

2010-04-09T15:20:00.000-07:00

Easter morning we woke up and went to

church as a family at Newbreak

Sally and Mimi!!

The beautiful Maiers and the lovely Thomases!

Anza Borrego Desert Trip - March

2010-04-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

Here we are on our first family trip for some hiking and nature time in Anza Borrego

March was a great time to get out for a nice drive and check out all the beautiful wild flowers

that grew over the winter thanks to all of our awesome rain!

Natural Beauty!

Mommy and Sally

My 2little cuties!

About a split second after this photo was taken, Sally kicked her leg back
and this little cactus stuck into my thigh and stung like heck!
This was my first experience with a cactus poking me. OUCH!

Another natural beauty!

Sisters in the wild flowers

It was so bright that we gave them our glasses to wear for this photo!

Our tired little nature-loving gals fell asleep on the trip back home!

Time to duck and cover!!

2010-04-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

The earthquake that hit in Mexicali on Easter Sunday was not felt by Mary or Sally as they were napping... however lots of preschoolers at Mary's school felt it and were shaken up (pun intended) by it. This week the teachers are talking with the children and addressing their fears and going over earthquake preparedness drills; i.e. duck and cover.

As you may recall this is what Mary protested in the beginning of the school year and it really through her teacher for a loop (all of the other children in THE WHOLE SCHOOL hit the ground for the duck and cover drill, except Miss Mary).

On Tuesday none of the other kids in her class remembered what to do in an earthquake except for Mary who graciously demonstrated her protection defense proudly in front of the whole class. Her teacher sent me an email this morning informing me of her awesomeness.

Hooray!!

Will you Mary me?

2010-03-23T16:52:00.000-07:00

Today I met Will. Mary told me that he is her boyfriend and that she is going to marry him. Mary's teacher at preschool told me that he is crazy for her and is always putting his arm around her and wants to be by her side all the time. She told me that they keep them separated during learning time so that they are not distracted.

At first I tried to tell Mary that Will is a friend that is a boy that is her friend- not her boyfriend. She said yes this is true, but that she loves him and is going to marry him and that he said he wants to marry her and that she is his girlfriend.

Yes - I am a little nervous for having a 4 year old that already has a boy chasing after her.

Below is a photo of me and my boyfriend - too bad I did not meet him in preschool!

Pucker Up!

2010-03-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

December 2009

Summer 2009

December 2009

Mary Picasso

2010-03-01T07:00:00.001-08:00

This is our family -Sally is the smallest one in the photo.
Mommy and Daddy are hugging because they love each other.

Proud littlemommies and their stroller babies!

2010-02-12T08:14:00.001-08:00

Here are my little Mommy gals posing with their stuffed
animals and strollers on a sunny Winter day! :)

The girls and their new pals in 2009/2010

2010-02-08T08:07:00.000-08:00

A little late in posting some photos - but over Christmas and New Years break we met up with some of my dearest friends and their little one (s) and took some photos with whomever would actually sit still/show up/smile! :)

Jack (1) Jen's baby boy!!
Belated 1st Birthday gift giving!

Hey there Mary (officially now 4 1/2)!!

Hugging!

Logan (5), Emma (2) and Sally (2)
Anitra's kids

Emma and Sally hit it off!

Sally was ridiculously excited here!!

Truthfully, our cuddle bug was mostly excited to be
touching her little tootsie with someone else while playing this game!!

Thank you GOD for Mary...

2010-02-04T20:59:00.001-08:00

.... and for fitting into smaller jeans.

Today was a great day and I am so thankful for my girl Mary. I am always especially thankful for her exceptional behavior... in public.

Nothing in my closet really fits me right now. It is either too big or too small. I needed to get over to the mall and get some jeans that fit. The girls were ecstatic about going there as they get to play with the "squishy toys" --- rubberized toys on rubberized playground.

Before going into Banana Republic and Gap, I strapped Sally into the stroller and handed her the nigh-nigh (2 seconds later thumb is inserted into mouth and quiet time ensues). Then I bent down to Mary's level and told her to stay by my side, not to run into the clothing racks and to NOT DO ANYTHING TO EMBARRASS ME!

Seriously.

If all went accordingly, fun at the squishy-climby-rubberized-playground area would be had by all, followed up with a chocolate chip cookie.

Operation " new jeans for mom so that she can stop wearing a belt and tugging at her pants all day long" equaled success.

My great night was followed up by my little Mary arriving at home to enter the house and follow bedtime procedure to the letter so that I could blog about her awesomeness.

She is truly rad.

COMPLETELY potty trained!!

2010-02-02T17:39:00.000-08:00

We do have a video of Sally receiving her reward that we will post soon --- but she is officially out of diapers!! This month she turns 2.5 and it was just around that time that we trained Mary too. Such a milestone!

Sea World Photo Booth pictures

2010-01-21T13:26:00.000-08:00

These photos were so much fun to take and we were
all laughing so much. We were basically pretending we
were inside a photo booth.

Our pass expired on December 31st, so we got a couple of last days in before the end of the month. We had the most fun at the Christmas Shamu show and enjoying the holiday decorations at the park.

Probably the second most fun we had was taking these goofy photos during the Shamu show....

Opening Christmas Gifts

2010-01-09T14:00:00.001-08:00

Dolls or cars - Sally likes everything equally so
we encourage both!

When she saw her gifts she just wanted to hug them
for a while instead of opening them.

Keepin' it real with underwear as a stocking stuffer...
My girl was not thrilled with that gift.

She got this nightgown for one of her gifts and put it on right away! So cute!

Here we are - Christmas morning 2009. This is the beginning of the many fun years to come - from here on out Mary is fully aware of the true meaning of Christmas: PRESENTS!! ha, ha.

We had a "Happy Birthday" banner up and she knows that the true meaning of Christmas is Jesus... but for now she is 4 years old and was really excited to see what was going to be in her stocking this year from Santa.

Unfortunately Mommy kind of forgot (due to lack of experience) to talk up the whole Santa Clause tradition and I just threw some presents under the tree and said "Wow! Merry Christmas!!"

Fast forward two days later...

Mary: Why didn't Santa bring us any gifts Mom?

Me: What??!! You got lots of nice gifts this year!

Mary: Those gifts are from you Mom. I know this because you used the same wrapping paper that you used for Daddy's gifts. When is Santa coming?

Long story short - I proceed to tell her that Santa did come and that he brought us nice gifts. She continues to ask about Santa and Jason skips ahead about 4 years and tells her that he is not real.

Can you picture the red face with steam coming out of my ears???

Fortunately within hours she let it go and the next day and days to come we were back to talking about how much fun Santa is and how he will come again next year and that he lives in our hearts and it is really fun, fun, fun.

Mani/Pedi with nail tech. Mommy

2009-12-31T18:30:00.000-08:00

The girls really wanted polish on their fingers and toes.

And they really wanted a picture taken of them

And Sally wanted me to take multiple photos of her toes...
Look at those little baby toes! I still want to eat them up
every chance I get! :)

Happy New Year from the 2littlethomases! Tomorrow Mary will
be officially 4 1/2 years old!!

Merry Christmas from the Thomas Family!

2009-12-22T16:22:00.001-08:00

Our pretty girls Mary and Sally in their Christmas outfits!

The girls are dancing instead of posing! :)

This is exactly why I love living in San Diego!

Here are my ladies walking along the cliffs on
a beautiful day in December!

On Saturday we took some pictures over at the Pt. Loma Nazarene University campus. We were posing for the annual Christmas
card photo and had a great time!
The weather was gorgeous that day and actually pretty hot at the coast.
Christmas in Southern California never looked so good!

A Mom and her Dog

2009-12-20T08:32:00.000-08:00

This post is dedicated to my first born - Clifford.
Clifford is officially 6 1/2 years old and still an important part of the family.
We took him out for family day yesterday in Point Loma and he had a great time
on the playground with the teeter totter.

Well - OK. Maybe it was not his favorite part of the day - but he did enjoy
being off the leash and roaming around the park. He has matured so much that he
just lounges around, sniffs stuff and rolls in the grass. Except for those 2 kids in the back
we had this park all to ourselves. It was great!

We love our dog Clifford!!

Little Thomases baking Christmas cookies!

2009-12-20T08:17:00.000-08:00

We are starting a new Christmas tradition here in the
Thomas house. Every Christmas we will make and decorate
sugar cookies with the girls. I told them it was a "cookie decorating party", so
they got really excited and dressed up in their best princess attire.

The dog bone shaped cookies are in honor of Clifford

The girls were so happy and proud to be making cookies!

DONT TOUCH THE TREE! please....

2009-12-17T18:29:00.000-08:00

Hands behind your back --- and please
stop touching my ornaments!
(Yes, those are her training pants -- we are
having so much fun using the potty)

Seriously - Christmas is next week? Oops... so much for the Christmas cards going out anytime soon. Maybe we will just be sending Happy New Years cards....

At least we have a tree up and decorated!

The girls were really excited to go and pick out the tree. It was my idea to let Mary pick out the tree and it was Sally's job to look cute in the shopping cart at Target while we take the big box to the register.

Saying "big box" is an exaggeration as we got a smaller artificial tree for about 50 bucks. Artificial is the way to go for me because this pretty little housewife doesn't want to be vacuuming up any pine needles for weeks to come. Sheesh!

Thank you - we are so blessed!

2009-12-04T17:43:00.000-08:00

This is a special thank you blog to our friends up in the East Bay from Clayton Community Church. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and treats recently received. If I had my camera I would take a photo of the girls with their new purses. They are so happy right now. (I left my camera at my Dad's house)

The past month has been difficult for us, but if it were not for the support and prayers from our friends we would not have been able to experience any peace over the loss.

We are doing better each week and while there are still some bumps in the road emotionally, physically I am well and we are taking great delight in our 2littlethomases that are both beautiful and very healthy!!

For now we are the 2littlethomases with great hope for another addition someday in the future.

With much love --- xoxo

Happy Thanksgiving 2009!!

2009-11-29T07:03:00.000-08:00

This year we spent Thanksgiving with the Rowe Family in
Rolling Hills, Palos Verdes.
Below are the photos from this year's smaller gathering.
The Grandparents of Mary and Sally were in Nevada this holiday, but we
will see them for Christmas down in San Diego!

Addie home from her freshman year at USC, Donnie home from
Jr. Year at Oxidental College,
Molly is still living at home and attends Chadwick High

Cute little turkeys!

This was the kid table for 2littlethomases!

Both of the girls just LOVED having their own
little dinner table that night!

Sally was tickled over seeing her own name card

This was the best part of their evening - dessert!
Mary and Sally really enjoyed licking the whipping cream off
the beater and spoon! Who needs the pie??

Little Sally is growing up

2009-11-25T16:29:00.000-08:00

When I look at this photo I see a big girl that is learning to toilet train! Watch out public toilets!! HERE WE COME!!

Thanksgiving Celebration at Mary's Preschool

2009-11-25T16:16:00.000-08:00

Mary's Preschool had a Thanksgiving celebration with some "Stone Soup" based on the book and dinner rolls from scratch. The kids all helped prepare the meal and parents and siblings were invited. Mary made the place mats for us and the festive hat. Sally had a great time too being at school (she wants to go badly) and we met Mary's best friend McKenna.

Happy Hallopalozza!

2009-11-01T13:39:00.001-08:00

Every year our church does a Halloween carnival and it is a totally free event for the community with pizza, music, games, candy, jumpy houses, petting zoo, etc. It is a blast and the girls had a great time! Last year Sally was still uncertain about Halloween, but this year she was really excited to get candy. No one could touch her candy bag and she was super excited to play the carnival games and get her face painted. Mary was happy to see all her friends and to ride on the llama and eat the candy!!
Sally was a Butterfly Fairy and Mary was a Forest Fairy

This game was called "Milk the Cow" and they both did it together.
Really pretty cute - especially considering this is the closest they
will ever get to actually milking anything in their young lives.

Oh, that girl Mary...

2009-10-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

Every time I pick up Mary from Preschool now I have to brace myself the latest edition of "What Mary did/said today at school" today from either the teacher, teacher's aid or the Director. They are almost all funny and the women relaying the "Mary stories" are always laughing while telling them.

The first one was when Mary was supposed to get her silhouette drawn (you know the black ones that parents like to frame and hang on the wall) and I sent her to school and gave the money to the teacher. When it came time to sit down for the sketch, Mary said "Oh no!! My Mom does not want me to do this". I feel like whenever I look at the picture I can see her little pouty profile.

The second one was last week during "National Earthquake safety drill day" - all the schools around here participated. The teacher talked about earthquakes and the fact that they were going to simulate an earthquake by shaking the candy jar. Once the candy jar was shaking they were to duck and cover. Everyone in the class did it -- but Mary. She looked at the teacher, crossed her arms and 'hmmphpd' loudly saying "I am not doing that". Even later that day when the Director of the preschool administered the real drill EVERYONE (everyone!!) on the playground saw the candy jar shaking and dropped to the ground; ducking and covering. Not Mary. Once again that little stinker crossed her arms, made a stink face and then went back to playing.

The third one was today. Mrs. Foster (her teacher) came up to inform me that Mary asked her if she knew who Jesus was. The teacher said yes, but another little girl said that she did not know who Jesus was. Mary proceeded to tell them that Jesus is the guy that "tells us to clean up". The teacher chuckled (to herself) and asked her what else she knew about Jesus. Mary shared that "Jesus died on the cross for Easter".. .but that it was "OK, because he came back to life". During clean up time Mrs. Foster told Mary to clean up because Jesus wants her to. So... she did.

Apparently our girl Mary has some issues with compliance, but not when it comes to Jesus telling her to clean up.

Mary was a flower girl this weekend!

2009-09-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

There was a slight snafu the night of the rehearsal and Sally ended
up becoming Mary's understudy for the role of "The Flower Girl", but after
much bribery of Barbie paraphernalia if she were to walk down the aisle
and do her job, all went well and in the 11th hour Mary decided that she
wanted to walk all by herself... sort of. I sat midway down the aisle and she
had the option of taking my hand so that I could assist her to the alter.
We walked together and Jason took her out of the sanctuary and to the gardens until the ceremony was over.

Here we are - the proud parents of "The Flower Girl"
We had Molly babysit for us that night as we hit the reception
up in LA - sans bebes is the way to go to a wedding if you want
to actually enjoy your evening... no offense girlies.

Our latest stats for Mary and Sally

2009-09-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

At Mary's 4 year well baby check up she weighed in at 38 lbs (75%) and 40.5 inches (75%)

At Sally's 2 year well baby check up she weighed in at 22 lbs (-3%) and 32 3/4 inches (25%)

oh.... and side note - today is my birthday!! I am 32 years old!!

Look who's talking NOW!!!

2009-09-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

Ok - so admittedly I thought she would always be our quiet little Sally Thomas. Following in the shadows of her big sister the chatter box. Well - those thoughts are in the past. Maybe it is because I am sick with a head cold and needed some extra rest and she could tell, but today was the day that she decided to get really vocal. All. Day. Long. Starting at 7am.

After breakfast and before our shower I asked her why she was so silly and she told me "because I am naked mama". Exact words. I was laying out an outfit to put her in when we got out of the shower and I wanted to give her a choice so I asked her what she wanted to wear, "clothes, mama".

She really likes to say the funniest things now and she loves to answer me with "because" and she is starting to follow me around the house and ask me "why, mama?" and "what are you doing, mama?". Everything ends in mama.

Sally the tattoo artist

2009-09-06T20:33:00.001-07:00

Sally got a little creative one morning while we were coloring
with washable markers in the kitchen.
She is not too young for her tat sleeves yet is she?
I would not want to be the one to hinder her artistic mind.

Sally's 2nd Birthday celebration - her second one!

2009-09-06T20:07:00.000-07:00

A little late in posting these, but my Mom came to San Diego and we took Sally out for dinner and a "Messy Sundae" at Sammy's Woodfired Pizza in Pt. Loma. She really liked it and had fun eating her messy ice cream treat!!

Mary and Sally posing so pretty by the fountain after our dessert ~
what a beautiful 2 year old girl with her wonderful 4 year old big sister!

Where do raccoons come from?

2009-08-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

This is our conversation in the car tonight on the way home from dinner

Mary: Mom, do raccoons grow on trees?

Me (Julie): What? Raccoons? No... Mary, a raccoon is an animal

Mary: No, Mom. Raccoons. Do they grow on trees?... they are like this (holding up her hand making a small shape)

Me: Are you talking about an acorn?

Mary: No...OH!! Mom! A pine corn.

Pine corn = Pine Cone

Happy 2nd Birthday to Sally!!

2009-08-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

Today is Sally's 2nd birthday! We are so excited and will be celebrating with my Dad this weekend. He is driving down from Manhattan Beach and will be going out to dinner
with us and helping Sally eat her cupcakes.

Jason and I cant believe that it was only 2 years ago that we were up in Clayton having pizza with friends at Skips and I was in labor. I went home to relax only to time my contractions that were all over the place. Next thing we knew little Sally made her way into the world at John Muir hospital in Walnut Creek and Mary became a big sister!

Yesterday Sally and I went through the box of 2T clothes that used to be
Mary's and she found the boots and this hat and really wanted to
dress up and be silly.

(that is some peanut butter on her face from her breakfast)

Reading her birthday card from Grandma and Grandpa Thomas

Having fun in our new train that Daddy made for the girls

out of the diaper and wipes boxes from Costco

A conversation with Mary

2009-08-13T08:17:00.000-07:00

Last night on the way home from VBS I asked Mary what the snack was that she had and she told me "taters tots" (with that extra "s"). Knowing that she despises potatoes and barely eats french fries I proceeded to have her tell me more about the snack.

"They are small like chicken nuggets and just like the playground Mom".

Taters Tots = Teeter Totter --- of course.

I asked her if she liked them and she said yes. I told her that they are sort of made with potato and then she told me that they were disgusting.

Aunt Amy comes for a visit! July 31st - August 4th

2009-08-11T16:36:00.000-07:00

Amy came from Indianapolis, IN to visit us in San Diego and we planned for a mini family
reunion at the Bay that weekend.

The San Diego Search and Rescue dive team looking
for the body of a man that jumped into the bay at midnight and did
not make it to shore. Of all the places in the bay to set up our camp for
the day we chose this one only to see the dive team, and coast guard arrive
30 minutes later and proceed to do this from 11am until 4pm.

Oh... and here is cute little Sally building a sand castle.

******************

Sally, Juliette (10), Sohpia (7) and Mary

Aunt Amy is to my right (me in the hot bikini, careful to cover up my
*not so hot* squishy tummy). Jason's cousin on his Mom's side is Michael and his
wife is Lisa. They live in Temecula. Across the table are Aunt Virginia and Uncle David (Jason's Aunt and Uncle) and the cousins.

Aunt Amy's last day in town ~ we visited Coronado

Amy has a soft spot for little Sally - what is hard not to love about a cute and
cuddly little 23 month old baby girl??!!!

--- she is almost 2?? Ah!!!!!!!!!!

... And the Mother of The Year award goes to.....

2009-08-06T14:47:00.000-07:00

ME!!

Today was one of those days when I felt like I was an employed person getting an annual evaluation from a boss and my report came back with a bonus check and a 100% salary increase!!

Today at Trader Joes, while Mary was in school, Sally shopped with me and could hardly contain herself while I put some veggies in the cart. She was trying to tear open the bag of edamame and yelling "jschoop mama! jschoop!". That is our yiddish for the soy beans. This all started with Mary when we tried to show her how fun it was to eat edamame because you can pop them out of the pod and they go "jschoop" and land on your plate or in your mouth....

After T.J.'s shopping we picked up Mary and proceeded to the local library to return some books and turn in our reading program card for some prizes. Upon entering the library, the girls were SQUEALING with delight to be there and kept saying "Yay Mommy! The library!! Books!!".

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the American Academy of Pediatrics for recommending that I feed my kids daily servings of fruits and veggies.... and for the hot summer in San Diego without air conditioning that has forced me to find cool environments for my little ones that have turned them into book worms.

Why I LOVE LOVE LOVE having little girls

2009-08-06T14:43:00.001-07:00

Lets just say that if this is a little glimpse into the future of living with my tidy little ladies - I am a happy Mama.

So far, they have both surpassed Jason's (did you know that he was a full grown adult, age 33?) ability to clean up after themselves! Yep -- that's correct.

Not only does Sally like to take off her dirty diapers and put them in the trash (the TRASH), but Mary has now taken to clearing her place at the table, putting any scraps in the trash can, and her bowl up on the counter to be washed. When she is using plastic dinnerware she will "wash" it in the sink in her bathroom and put it up on the counter to be put away.

Cute huh?? :) I love my girls!!!

A cool little chicky

2009-07-24T16:33:00.001-07:00

Like Mother like daughter this cool lady has her shades on and her purse ready to go.

Those strings hanging out go to Mary's fairy wings ...
... because when you are on the go, you never know when you might need some wings.

Getting ready to read!

2009-07-23T12:08:00.001-07:00

I was making lunch and then suddenly... it was quiet.

Too quiet.

I instantly wondered what kind of trouble they were getting into now.

Then I remembered the library books that I had just put out on the coffee table for them.

This is what I found!!

2 sweet little thomases sitting quietly while reading library books!

Sally and Mary both love books so much. It is a pleasure to take them to the library and to give them books as gifts because it is just the best thing - better than TV!

Its HOT in San Diego!

2009-07-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

The dog days of summer are just beginning to hit us here in beautiful San Diego -- we feel it so much (although about 3 miles from the coast) due to not having air conditioning.

To stay nice and cool we are enjoying some water play in our backyard with our "shamu" pool ~ really just a whale pool that Mary has named shamu ~ and our fun sprinkler hook up toy.

I am doing lots of bathing suit laundry around here and lathering up of sunscreen like you would not believe! Today I was so desperate for a clean suit for Mary that I actually (NO REALLY!) got out a needle and thread and repaired a suit while my highly impressed girls looked on. I was a super hero to Mary when the straps on her top were fastened back on and we were ready to take on shamu.

When the evening rolls around and the house is too hot to enjoy (after sweaty naps) we hang out in our backyard once again for some hammock time!

(You can see our veggie garden in the back ground. We are growing: carrots, arugula, brussels sprouts, artichokes, tomatoes, corn, basil, rosemary, thyme... and a few other herbs)

Happy 4th of July 2009!!

2009-07-21T18:00:00.000-07:00

This year to celebrate the 4th of July we headed up to Manhattan Beach to house-sit for Mimi and Popi while they were in Genoa.

We had fun walking to get our coffee in the morning and going to the beach for a little bit each day to play in the sand.

We also had a BLAST at Auntie Monica's house for her big party!!

Here are the girls walking up to the party at Monica's in their festive new outfits (from Nana for their birthdays)

Here is Sally getting toasty in Monica's turtle neck sweater before we head to the roof top patio at her home for a 360 view of the beautiful fireworks along coastal LA County!!

The girls were both seeing fireworks for the first time ~ ever!! Normally they have been too young and asleep by the time it is dark... but not this year! Miss Mary being 4 years old wanted to stay up for the fun!

Happy 4th Birthday to Mary!

2009-06-30T15:02:00.000-07:00

July 1st 2005 our baby girl Mary was born in San Diego at Sharp Grossmont Hospital at approximately 8:50pm. All went well and there were no complications during the pregnancy, labor or delivery. Clifford was a little jealous at first - and he never got over it.

This week she is attending "Garden Camp" through the La Jolla YMCA - a program for 3-5 year old children. She thought that she was going to Kindergarten ("kinder-garden!") and was really excited, but I had to break it to her that she has another year. Little Miss Independent would be the type of kid that would never want to be part of any homeschool program.... especially since she has informed me several times that she is going to be a "bride when she is 18 and have a baby in her tummy that wants to be born... [and that she] is going to marry Pablo".

Over this past weekend on Saturday (after her day of Kayaking) we went to the Corvette Diner with my Mom to celebrate her 4th a little early. It moved from Hillcrest to one of the first buildings at the former Naval Training Center in Pt. Loma. Click here if you want to read a little press release about the restaurant - it is awesome and we had a blast!

Mary goes Kayaking for the first time!

2009-06-30T14:46:00.001-07:00

Mary and her Dad went out on the Mission Bay in San Diego for her first time on a kayak! She was really excited to be out in the middle of the bay and picked some kelp out of the water. The weather was perfect that day and even little Sally had a good time getting her toes wet.