Giving Thanks: My Parents

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“We never know the love of our parents for us until we have become parents”
~Henry Ward Beecher~

Our relationships with our parents change through out life. As young children they are our world, our protectors and friends. As teens and young adults they are a nuisance, someone to butt into your “private life” and embarrass you at every turn. By your mid twenties things change again and by the time you are married and have children of your own, you really start to understand. You begin to see why they did what they did.

Now that I am older and have a family of my own, I am even more thankful for my parents. Thankful for all of the love and guidance they gave me. Thankful they were able to show me how to be a kind person and generous human being. Thankful that they gave me the knowledge to be the best parent possible but also allowing me to learn plenty on my own. Thankful that they are still a part of my life and the lives of our children. I am thankful and blessed to have the parents that I do.

Giving Thanks: My Cupcake Eleanor

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Ellie, our happy-go-lucky baby, I am so thankful for you and everything about you. There is a lot we still have to learn about you but over the last few months your personality has really begun to show. You are our tester and our curious one who cannot let a single button go unpressed or a drawer or cabinet unopened. You love your sister and watch her every move, trying to to do whatever she does. At the same time you are independent and strong. At six weeks old we found ourselves in a tough spot as parents, worrying that we might lose you. What I am most thankful for is that 15 months later, we are watching you grow. I am so thankful that we have been able to enjoy so many milestones with so many more to come. You reminded us to be thankful for every moment we have and we are.

Giving Thanks: My Pumpkin Abigail

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Even though you are screaming at daddy from your room about how you don’t want to go to bed, I am thankful and love everything about you my little Abby. From the first day I held you in my arms I knew my life was about to change. I knew that you would give me a run for my money but would bring so much joy to my life. I am thankful for your smiles, your tears, your drama, and your laughs. I am thankful for your brave and tough exterior and your sensitive and loving interior. I am thankful for the small moments in life, like driving along in the car listening to you sing in the back seat and the joy that comes across your face when you see your favorite Disney characters. No matter what I will always be thankful for the blessing that is you. I love you pumpkin.

Giving Thanks: My Wonderful Husband

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I am very thankful for my wonderful husband. Every day I feel blessed that he came into my life. Shaun is an amazing person; my best friend and the man I want to spend forever with. I am thankful that he is patient and understanding of the person I am. The hormonal, emotional, wears her heart on her sleeve but completely stubborn person that I am. He has seen me at my worst, whether its recovering from two C-Sections or mourning the loss of a loved one. He has seen me at my best; the moments in life that I will cherish forever, such as our wedding day and the birth of our beautiful girls. Shaun is loving, kind, generous, patient and selfless. My life changed the day we met and I will forever be thankful for that.

Happy 16 Months Ellie!

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Ellie is 16 months today! Its hard to believe that its been 4 months already since she turned a year old, but time marches on. We didn’t have a doctors appointment this month but I can tell she has grown since the last. Boy is she getting tall!

Ellie has been learning to much. She watches Abby like a hawk and tries to do everything that she does. Most of the time Abby seems to enjoy it, but like most sisters it does cause some trouble. Ellie is our little spitfire though and has no problem causing trouble on her own. She has to test out everything she sees, from drawers and cabinets to every button she can push. She tests everything and has developed some adorable yet stubborn looks. Her vocbulary has also expanded, she can now say the following…

Mama
Dada
Shoes
Down
Dog
Jack
She can Meow like a kitty
Nana (like the fruit and like Nana Fiona)
Cheese
Up
Drink
Bye, Bye
Hi
Moon
Coco (which we think means color)

So much has changed in a month, I cant wait to see what lies in store for us in the next month. Cant wait and because this time of year seems to blow by fast, Im sure next month will come in no time. Until the next!

This is Halloween!

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“This is Halloween, This is Halloween!”

Well its that time of year again when the pumpkins come out and the costumes are put on. This is the first year we decided to go trick or treating and of course it was a hit! After we took pictures in costumes, we headed on over to my friend Jen’s house to visit with them, see the twins all dressed up and to walk their neighborhood which was pretty busy. But busy neighborhoods mean good candy and lots of it. That was the truth too! Lots of candy for the girls (well enough to last them a while) and we only had to walk half of the block. Abby got the hang of things pretty quick and Ellie just stuck her basket out and because she is so cute people put lots of candy in her bucket. The only thing we had to do was remind Abby to say Trick or Treat after someone opened the door.

Picture attempt #1…

Picture attempt #2…

Picture attempt #3… Not once could I get both of them looking at the camera and smiling at the same time.

“Why am I in this bunny costume? Now I know how Ralphie must have felt.”

After visiting with Jen, Rod, Bixby and Felicity we grabbed some dinner and took a drive to look at all of the Halloween lights and decorations. This always makes Abby happy. After a few stops we went home and the girls passed out for the night. Having fun can be tough sometimes.

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving

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Tonight was pumpkin carving time! Despite everyone starting to come down with a bit of the sniffles, we had a great time. I remember carving pumpkins with my family as a kid and it was something I always looked forward to at Halloween time. My hope is that in the future Abby and Ellie will look forward to these things as well. I also hope we can start a few Halloween family traditions of our own now that Abby is really learning what these holidays are. Now I cant wait until Ellie is old enough too. But lets not rush it.

Abby has her pumpkin and she is ready to start creating. She has been learning on a Disney Preschool show called “Special Agent Oso” about all the steps needed to create a Jack O’ Lantern.

The face has been drawn and now its time to cut the top off and scoop out all of the “pumpkin guts”.
The pumpkin tops are off and not its time to scoop out the “guts”. Ellie had a lot of fun doing this, even if it was a teaspoon at a time.
Having lots of fun!

Abby’s pumpkin is all done. Thank you daddy for helping create a wonderful Jack O’ Lantern face!

Ellie is done too! Mommy helped to make the face for Ellie’s Jack O’ Lantern, with two little buck teeth and all. Just like Ellie!

Disneyland… A Repeat Story But with a Few Tweaks

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Yup I know it, its another trip to Disneyland! But I love it and so did Abby and Ellie. This time it was just mommy, Abby and Ellie. Ok well it wasn’t just us but Daddy definitely didn’t get to come with us being that it was a work day and all. This time we met up with Judith, Diane, Auntie Kelli and Char for a day of fun. It was a gloomy day, but that didn’t stop us. If anything it made the the park a little less crowded and quite a bit more enjoyable.

Ellie made a new best friend out of Oscar, the chef at the Carnation restaurant. He was smitten with her and she with him.

Abby was so excited to meet Ariel!
Just taking a break a break in front of King Arthur’s Carousel.

For Ellie this is just a break to cause more trouble! Although I am sure it felt good to stretch those legs.
Trying to pull the sword from the stone.

Catching a ride with Kelli. These two look incredibly happy to be at Disneyland.

Ellie is giving poor ghost Mickey a little bit of “Mouth to Mouse Resuscitation”

We were able to snag some great seats for the parade. Abby had the chance to see Mary Poppins up close. She even waved at Abby!

A beautiful evening at the happiest place on Earth!

The day spent with friends was wonderful. Because of the kindness and generosity of Judith and friends I even had the chance to get on a few grown up rides like Matterhorn and Space Mountain. Disneyland closed early that night to prepare for Mickey’s Halloween but it gave us the chance to jump on to a few rides over at California Adventure and then stop for dinner before heading home. You could tell Abby had more fun then she even knew what to do with. She fell asleep on Judith’s arm as we were eating dinner. Once again it was a great day at the Magic Kingdom.

Pumpkin Patch 2011

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Yesterday we headed over to the Pumpkin Patch. Unfortunately I was not thinking and did not charge the battery for my good camera. So I was forced to use our smaller Kodak. While I love this camera, it doesn’t take the best pictures in low light and the flash always washes faces out. Oh, well. That is life. The girls still had a blast and that’s what truly matters.

The girls had a lot of fun playing in the pumpkins. Daddy even took Abby into the petting zoo to see the goats, sheep, pigs and chickens. One of the little goats was young and jumping everywhere, which made Abby and Ellie giggle quite a bit. After poking around and taking a ride in the wagon, both of the girls found the perfect pumpkins to take home. Cant wait to see them all carved!




Boo at the Zoo… Or Something Like That

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Shaun and had planned to take the girl to Boo at the Zoo at the Santa Barbara Zoo, but did not do something crucial… Buy the tickets. We called the Santa Barbara Zoo and they told us that we could buy tickets at the gate, but they sell fast and there were a limited amount. So instead of rushing to get there, Shaun suggested we do something else. And what is the next best place to Boo at the Zoo… DISNEYLAND!

This time, however, we decided to surprise the girls. And by surprising the girls I mean we decided to surprise Abby. So when they woke up from their nap, we got them dressed and ready to go, but we told them we just needed to head to Target instead. Thank goodness Abby does not have a sense of time yet because she bought it, even when we passed by about 4 on the way. As we approached the off ramp, we finally fessed up as to where we were really going. Abby, as always, was excited but you couldn’t tell. She always stays as cool as a cucumber.

The evening at Disneyland was pretty casual. We rode the train around the entire park, which Abby had a great time doing. We also had the chance to catch the Fireworks and Fantasmic which thrilled Abby to no end. Ellie loved Fantasmic the most because she could see Mickey, whom she is a major fan of. We walked around and enjoyed all of the Halloween sights and then as the night got late we headed home. I have to say, we are very blessed to be able to enjoy such a wonderful place when we want to and to share it with our little girls. I don’t think I will ever take it for granted.

Ellie worked on some of her pilates and yoga from her stroller as we waited in line to get in.

As you can see, Abby is very excited to be on the train!

Ellie was having lots of fun too!

Even though Tinkerbell had “gone to bed” for the night, we still took a picture in front of her teapot house.

Not the best picture in the world, but no matter how old I am I still love the castle at night.

St. George and Back in Two and a Half Days

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I have never actually run a marathon, not even close, but we are no strangers to marathon road trips. This road trip was to St. George and back, leaving Friday night after Shaun came home from work and heading back on Sunday afternoon. It was a marathon, but I am not complaining. It gave us the chance to see some of my family and spend a bit of time with them, even if it was short. Most importantly, it allowed us to spend time with my Grandma Taylor (Great Grandma Tutu to the girls). She has had some health issues as of late so even though it was a shirt trip, we felt it was an important one to help cheer her up.

The drive in was uneventful, getting us in at nearly 2AM mountain time. Not too bad considering we didnt leave the San Fernando Valley until after 5:30PM. The following day was pretty mellow. We spent time at Grandma’s house, visiting with my parents and sister as well as my Uncle David, Uncle Kevin and Aunt Carolyn. Everyone had decided to have a BBQ over at my Uncles David’s house, so Shaun and I made a run to Costco with my dad which gave us time to talk and catch up as well. The BBQ was very casual and gave everyone more time to talk and visit with one another. We had some yummy food with pumpkin pie for desert and then we all say down to watch Rango together, which was a very nice close to the evening.

The following morning we got up and packed the car. Its hard to leave so soon. Had this not been one of the busiest times for Shaun, we probably would have stayed a little longer but such is life. We met with my parents and sister for brunch at Cracker Barrel, yum! After a very yummy and slightly filling breakfast we headed over to Tonaquint Cemetery to say a quick hello to Grandpa Taylor. I miss him very much but it always makes me feel better when we can stop in a say “hello”. After the visit with Grandpa we headed back to Grandma’s house to say goodbye to everyone. We stayed for about an hour and let the girls play. Grandma was in wonderful spirits although I could tell she was sad to see us go too. Its always hard to leave family, but we finally had to pack up the car and say goodbye. Aside from some traffic outside of Baker and Barstow the ride home was pretty smooth. Until next time St. George!

Ellie and Auntie Jillian have a snuggle as we wait for dinner.

A few snuggles and some play time with Grandpa Taylor. I’m sure grandpa cant resist those baby blues!

Sometimes a girl just needs to sit in the closet and eat her snacks before breakfast. That, or Ellie just did not want to leave. Can’t say I blame her.

Abby is trying to be like her Auntie Jillian and play with the golf tee game at Cracker Barrel. She kind of had the hang of it.
Ellie is showing off her Rockette moves to Grandpa Taylor.

That’s a big game of checkers!

Saying “hello” to Grandpa Taylor. Miss you very much!

Jillian finally helped me find Grandpa’s name on the memorial wall. Thanks!

Oh those teary baby blues! Ellie didn’t like the fact that Grandpa wanted to rest his arms, she wanted to keep flying up in the air instead!
Like this!

Smiles with Grandma Taylor. I can see where those blues might have come from.

Chewee, such a sweet old boy. Sixteen years old and still going strong. One can only wish for a happy, loving and faithful dog like this.

Road trip snacks made it not just to her mouth but all over her face!

Ellie is loving her pretzels and showing off her cute little feet all at once. These girls are so easy going in the car. Boy are we blessed!

Disneyland Birthday

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So what do the Wharton’s love? OK, well there are a lot of things but Disneyland is one of them! Now that Abby is a bit older she has favorites characters, loves all things Disney and gets very excited when the word Disneyland is mentioned. She even loves watching a short movie about the Disneyland Parks on Netflix. (Yes, it is possible that she is more obsessive about Disneyland then I am.)

So as a birthday treat and on a whim, we decided to take Abby to Disneyland. Ellie did not come with us on this trip and while we missed her I know Abby enjoyed having some time with just mommy and daddy. To start the day we rode the tram in. I don’t think Abby could have been more excited, especially when she saw the Halloween scenes with Mickey, Minnie and the gang on the way in.

Its fun to be a kid. Even sitting with mommy on the tram is considered a ride!

Excited and happy smiles from Abby and Daddy after hopping off the tram. Disneyland here we come!

We started out day over in California Adventure. Shaun and I wanted to get on some of Abby’s favorite rides there before they became super busy. While we were there we rode The Little Mermaid, Toy Story Midway Mania, King Triton’s Carousel, and even snapped a picture with Duffy the Bear and the one and only Mickey Mouse! We did a lot in a short amount of time! Once we finished we left and headed over to Disneyland for the rest of our day. We had plenty to do still!

Abby talks to Duffy the Bear. She had to tell him just how much she loved his pumpkin costume.

Before smiling for the camera, Abby and Mickey “hugged it out” for a few minutes. As always, she was in awe of Mickey. Before we left she gave him a big kiss on the nose.

Abby and Daddy on King Triton’s Carousel. This was the first time she rode all by herself! (With daddy standing right next to her of course.)

Such a pretty girl. We love seeing her have so much fun.


After our ride on the carousel, we headed to Disneyland for the remainder of the day. We stopped for lunch and then hit the rides again. I had hoped for Abby to get her picture taken with Rapunzel, but unfortunately the line to see her was nearly two hours long. SO instead we headed over to ride Dumbo. This was Abby’s first time on Dumbo and she loved every second of it.

Mommy and Abby had a blast on Dumbo. It was Abby’s first time!

From there we headed over to Toon Town and Abby was in heaven. She had the chance to meet Pluto, Minnie and of course Mickey Mouse. She also had the chance to play in Minnie and Mickey’s house as well as Donald’s and Goofy’s. She really loves that Donald’s house is a giant boat and that she even had the chance to sound off the horn.

Abby and Pluto sneak a picture and a few hugs. She was so excited to meet him.

Abby was extremely excited to meet Minnie and give her big hugs… Can you tell?

Its all smiles for her picture with Minnie

We also got to see Mickey! It was a bit of a surprise so Abby was a bit overwhelmed but she did love it! Gave Mickey more kisses on the nose! But it was nice to get a picture of all of us!

After our trip to Toon Town, we left hoping that Abby would fall asleep in her stroller. But on our way we saw that the line for Small World was very short, so we hopped on! From there Abby was energized again, so we got on a few more rides. Abby really wanted to ride the Tea Cups, so Mommy took her. Daddy is not a fan even though we didn’t go fast. Abby loved it and just squealed and giggled as mommy turned the cup faster. I am sure we will be going on this again soon!

Abby loved the tea cups! She even loved how she was pushed back into her seat as made the tea cup spin faster and faster.

After the tea cups, we went Alice and Wonderland for Auntie Jillian. Abby loved it too and just as we were about to come to the end of the ride.. it broke! I joked with Abby that we broke it but she didn’t really like that too much. We had to wait until Disney Cast Members let us off, that was a first for me on that ride and I have been many times! From there, the little girl who insisted on walking most of the day, finally crawled into the stroller and passed out. Shaun and I took the time to walk the park a bit and then sit down at Carnation Plaza for some dinner.

When Abby woke up, we got her changed and then headed for one last ride, Nemo. She loves the Nemo Submarines and we promised her one more ride before we headed home. In line she made a new little friend, Lily, who was visiting her grandparents with her mommy. They came all the way from South Carolina. When the ride was over and we had to part ways Abby and Lily gave each other a hug. It was very cute. As we left we walked through the castle on our way to Main Street and said goodbye to Disneyland. Abby had a wonderful time and before we had even left the park was asking when would we be back again. Very soon I’m sure!