Scarlett's 1st Birthday

We celebrated Scarlett's 1st Birthday a week early at Irvine Park Railroad on October 7. It was so much fun and I think she really enjoyed her day. It was a lot of work, but I think all the details really showed.

The birthday girl...in her Elmo dress grandma made her with her Dorothy hair clip.

Scarlett's very own Sesame Street sign.

Photos we took of her every month from 1-12.

Sesame Street stoop :) She loved the Elmo cutout I painted. She saw him sitting outside drying on our patio and kept saying "hi-yah, hi-yah!" She now can say "melmo"...one week too late.

Some of the details...

Her awesome cake!

And just a few more pics of the birthday girl :)

Happy first birthday, my sweet girl.

Someone is turning one soon!

...in just 12 short days, she'll be one. Can't even believe it.

Check out these amazing photos we had done by the awesome Erin Tukua. 

I'm in love with these pics!!

9 Month Old Photos

Looks like I missed posting these! Ooops!

Scarlett's Favorite Things - 10 Months

This post is about two weeks late :/ We've been so busy lately and last month we were sick, now Scarlett's sick. Something definitely going around and probably has something to do with this weird weather...please no more earthquakes :( 

This post isn't as fun as the 8 month favorite things. We really haven't bought her any new toys lately just because we know she's going to get tons for her first birthday and we have a teeny house...but here it is!

1. Brown Bear, Brown Bear. She is loving books. It's a good thing because her bookshelf is full of them! Paper page books on the top where she can't reach and board books on the bottom for her to go to town on. This one is one of her favorites. She loves turning the page to the sheep and she says "baaaa!" or the duck page and says "quack! quack! quack!" She's trying to figure out the others...most of them end up being "baaa's" :)

2. Playskool Poppin' Park Elefun Busy Ball Popper. Let me clarify on this toy. She doesn't mind when the toy is turned off. Once it's turned on she freaks out. Hates it. She LOVES the balls it came with. Carries them around wherever she goes. Crawls around with one ball in her hand. And she loves saying "ball!"

3. Mini Board Books. We picked a few of these up when we were in Portland at Powell's books (wow that store is amazing, especially the kids section...wish I lived closer!) These are just her size and she loves turning the pages over and over. Such a life saver when she's in her car seat and it's just her and I. They entertain her for a good half hour.

4. Aden + Anais Swaddle Blankets. Haha, no we def don't swaddle her anymore. I was really hesitant on getting these blankets before she was born just because they are so expensive. I think you can actually get them at Babies R Us and Target now for cheaper. I did actually find them at a Toys R Us for half price...so happy I picked them up. She loves to hand it to me and I put it on my shoulder and she snuggles on it. I guess they're considered her lovies? We use them to cover her when she sleeps so her piggies don't get cold and I love knowing if it gets on her face she can still breathe through it. These blankets are awesome. And they get super soft after you wash them a bunch.

5. The Original Rollercoaster. I can't believe this brand is actually still around. This toy was actually my sister's when we were younger. My dad cleaned it all up for Scarlett to play with. She's still trying to figure out how to move them all along the track but she does love pushing the beads around. This one is really nice, the bottom is made of solid wood and it's made in the USA :)

6. Tommee Tippee Explora Straw Cup. Not really a toy but she is loving these cups! They've taught her how to sip through a straw and they keep her water nice and cool. Perfect for summer!

7. B. Parum Pum Pum Drum. She loves to bang on the drum with the drumsticks and shake the little maraca eggs. This toy comes with a lot of cute little instruments!

Stink Face

Apparently a lot of babies do this, so i've been noticing. Scarlett has it perfected.

Harper Collins Book Giveaway - The Hillbilly Chicks

Was going through my blogs that I follow today and came across this giveaway. I loved these books when I was younger! 

Hop on over to the Hillbilly Chicks blog today and leave a comment for your chance to win 5 of them! :)

Scarlett's Favorite Things - 8 Months

Scarlett definitely favors some toys over others. Most of the time she just wants to play with my iPhone, our dvd cases or the TV remote, but she does have some favorite toys of hers. Here's what she's into lately...

1. The Cloud B Twilight Ladybug. It's supposed to be a night light, but she loves seeing the different colored lit up stars. The cat goes nuts over this one.

2. The Little Mommy Hide & Peek doll. This doll is kinda creepy. It has a switch in the back where you can turn her on and off. I always forget to turn it off, switch on the light and she says something like "i love you mommy". Scares the crap out of me. She loves it. Smiles ear to ear whenever I turn the swich on. 

3. The Raz-Berry Teether. We have a teething 8 month old with still no teeth :( This helps some.

4. Stacking Cups. We got these stacking cups at Toys R Us one day on clearance. I think they were $3. She loves it when we stack them like a tower so she can knock it down.

5. This girl loves her some Elmo.

6. The Vtech Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker. The front piece comes off from the walker, that's what stage we're at right now. She loves opening and closing the creaky barn door and pulling the phone off. This actually broke on Monday so Grandma's taking it back to Target to get her a new one.

7. TY Beanie Ballz - Dots the Ladybug. She loooooves this thing. Her favorite thing is pulling at it's little antennae poof balls.

Memorial Day 2012

It's been a while where Jeff and I had an extra day off together so we decided to spend the day at the Richard Nixon Library since it was free to get in and it's only about 10 minutes from our house.

Some photos of our trip:

Outside of the library, on the way inside.

Pat and Richard Nixon's Gravesite.

The house that Nixon was actually born in. I guess there was a really bad storm in Yorba Linda that year and they urged everyone to stay inside their homes so they had a doctor sent to the house and he was born in one of the rooms inside.

Backside of the house.

Scarlett bein' a ham.

Jeff and the Marine One Helicopter. We got to go inside and see where the President and First Lady sat.

You aren't allowed to take pics inside, but I found one off of google:

 A piece of the Berlin Wall.

The President's Limo.

And some campaign buttons and stickers.

Super fun day and it was nice to finally see whats just around the corner from our house. You can also have your wedding here...I bet it costs some $$$!