Time to go!

The other day, I was heading out the door and was yelling for Solana to come downstairs and get into the car. She slowly comes walking out of our bedroom, all ready to go! 

 Let's see what she has:

Moms running shoes, check!

A suitcase, check!

A baby, check!

Cell phone, check!

Well really what else does a girl need?

I really could not stop laughing at all this girl was trying to take with her, and actually how right on she was with what you need. I'm glad I caught this on camera. 

18 months means.....

NURSERY!!!!
So in our church, when your child turns 18 months, they get to go to the nursery class! It's 2 hours of playtime, singing, learning about Jesus, and snacks. Sounds like my kind of class :)
We weren't really nervous about leaving her in a room full of other kids or missing us, since she is pretty independent and social. But we were more worried about her recent rage when other children take a toy that she sees in the opposite side of the room (yeah she gets mad even when it's not in her hands). Plus we didn't want to just drop her off and be "those" parents that assume their child is easy. So we stayed for a while and she didn't even know when we left. I kissed her goodbye and she acted like we didn't exist. (A very good thing.)
Then Adam and I got really excited when we realized that from here on out we will be "empty nesters" at church, it felt really good to just sit and enjoy the classes. So after the first hour we decided to go check on her. And as we approach the door I can hear her crying and assumed I would walk into a toy battle, but instead I found her in the arms of the sweet nursery teacher who said she just started crying. She said "this is usually the time when they start to freak out cause they realize they don't know who all these people are or where they are." So we came in at the perfect time. Then after a minute she was fine, and went back to playing. Adam said he would stay with her to make sure she did okay—he is so sweet.
So all in all we were very surprised that it went so well. No battles, only tears of confusion, and a very happy, but tired girl by the end of church. We were pretty excited it went so well, and we are excited to be able to fully enjoy church again!  And we still can't believe we have a child old enough to go to class. So crazy.

"I made a turkey in class, and Daddy named him Phil" 

(I still have no idea why Adams likes to name things)

"Can you see me?"

All she wants to do is play hiding games, and get surprised. Oh and climbing is a big one on her to do list. 

Happy Thanksgiving, and happy 18 months everyone!!!

Open for business!

I am elated to finally have my interior design blog public! Please welcome the newest member of our family:

But before you click the link above, I want to thank everyone who has helped me get to this point. I feel so grateful to finally be able to own my very own business! (Warning.....this may sound like I just won an Oscar.) This has been a long process, and I still can't believe we got it finished. And now it's time to get some clients and publish all my design secrets to the world..... :)

My friend Sarah did an incredible job designing my logo, and I had another great graphic designer, Jackie,  that designed my website. They knew my style and we worked so well together. Thanks ladies!

And of course, Adam had been my biggest support! Whenever I thought it was a waste of time, he was there giving me a pep talk about my dreams. And he was a big part if the designing process. I really couldn't have done it without him. (Now the music has started, that's my cue to end my speech)

I hope you all enjoy following my design blog, and please know that I'm always happy to help my friends and family. So email me design questions and I would love to assist you. Also if you have any topics you would like me to post about, please let me know.  I'm always happy to post some great information that will help with all your design needs.

I guess you could say I just cut the ribbon and opened my doors. Welcome!

Thanks for all your love and support. Happy reading!

October schmober

I actually forgot that Halloween was just last week. October flew by!!! We have been so busy that we can hardly keep with the date and our own schedule. Once I upload the pictures, I remember that we  actually did live through the month. But I honestly have no idea what we did the other days that I didn't take any photos. So here are two great days we remember.

Pumpkinville!

It's been fun exploring such a small town, like going to real pumpkin patches, where you wander into a field and find the perfect one. Solana thought it was a giant yard full of balls and picked them up and threw them. It took a lot of effort to teach her they were not for throwing. 

Yeah she has high hopes, I try not to discourage the impossible. :)

So I was soooo excited to take a hay ride with a tractor pulling us! How classic and country of us! But Solana held tight to me the whole time and wouldn't even crack a smile. I think that is the longest I have ever seen her hold still. She was so scared. Maybe it was the whole noisy, open vehicle thing.  Poor little pumpkin picker.

What a surprise, she was a giraffe!!!

Last year she was a lovable lion and this year Cecily the giraffe.(We love that book.) Yeah, we decided to make her be our favorite animals until she can decide for herself. Plus she LOVED the costume. Didn't want to take it off, and man it was funny to watch her run in this thing. 

Love this sweet giraffe girl

haaaahhhhaaa. I love it!

Yeah it was fun halloween. It was fun to watch her run up the doors and try to fill her trick her treat bag with lots of candy. She was NOT shy about wanting more. And she probably would have kept at it all night if we let her. It definitely got bumped to one of our favorite holidays after this year. 

Well I know it won't slow down this month, but if I want to remember it, I better take more pictures. 

Monkey see....

Monkey Do!  And monkey she does and then makes her own stuff up too.....lol.


Sundays have been the highlight of our week ever since we moved here. It's our one day together, so we try to get out and soak it up as a family. A couple of weeks ago we headed down to good ol' Colonial 'Burg to walk around. And Solana was the highlight of the party. She has become a copier, and a bad one too. Like you don't realize that you do something until you see her mimic you, then you think "Oh great what else has she seen?" I guess I should have known for awhile when she started to always pretend she was cooking in the kitchen and always follows me around when I clean the house. Hmmm...where did she come up with that?  Here is just a little afternoon where we realized what a monkey we have on our hands.

"Oh I want to do what daddy is doing?"

(I'm pretty sure back in the Colonial days, they didn't think the stocks were as cool as Solana does...)

 hahahahhhhhaaaaaa!! Solana loved sticking her head in the stocks.  She thought it was like a big jungle gym, and when she stuck her head through, there was a large group of Asian tourists who thought she was very funny.  Adam could barely pry her away.

Her new "Oh No!" face just cracks us up, not sure where she got it from......

Not sure why everything her height is a seat to her. Must be a sad world with no where to sit, lol.

(Adam was pretty proud of this picture, which took him quite a bit of effort to get.)

"Special" mom moment # 103,045,489......

Calling myself "Special" is a nice why to describe my "what was I thinking?!" moments as a mother. I wish I could capture all of these moments, but so far this one just made me laugh like no other. 


The logical thoughts usually run through my head such as: "No, she won't be able to reach that." As I'm folding the laundry, then she comes over and tears is apart like it's a black friday sale. Or "No, she can't break it," as she plays with a bowl on the carpet, and magically breaks it. Or "She can't reach the pantry door," then I find her later scaling the pantry wall for some food to feed her dolls. And "She knows she not suppose to do that," as she digs through my purse, and decides to give herself and her dolly a lipgloss makeover. My favorite was when she put all the small glass bowls in the trash can, and me not realizing it till later when they were all missing and the trash had already been picked up. (I thought she was just helping me in the kitchen.)


So today I was again not surprised by my daughter outsmarting me. She loves to help me clean, and after I am done, I let her follow me around with the windex and a paper towel, and she usually pretends to spray the floor (since she can't squeeze the handle) and then pretends to wipe it up. It's pretty cute. 
Well today while I was doing laundry and spraying the clothes, she wanted to help. So I found a little spray bottle and filled it up with water. She grabbed a towel and walked off pretending to spray the clothes. Then I walked into the following:

Well surprise surprise she figured out how to use it!

Then got a little closer to make sure she was working it right.

Then was all confused how she got all wet .

All I have to say....at least I put water in it! 

It's fun to be first

Gigi came to town!! And she was our first visitor! And it was her first time to Virginia, so lots of firsts.
Let me bore you for a minute and give you some random facts about historic Williamsburg and Virginia (Adam and I didn't know very much before we moved here.)

Did you know?

• Williamsburg is the home of America's first theater.
• The first Thanksgiving in North America was held in Virginia in 1619.
• The Historic Triangle (Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown) gave birth to the United States, and a huge nation grew from a tiny place in Virginia. In that same tiny place, Europeans, American Indians, and Africans first lived together and became the seed of the American people. (Think Pocahontas and John Smith)
• Jamestown was the first English settlement in the U.S. It was also the first capital of Virginia.
• Virginia is known as "the birthplace of the nation".
• Eight United States Presidents were born in Virginia: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson.
• The major cash crop of Virginia is tobacco and many of the people who live here earn their living from the tobacco industry.
• The first peanuts grown in the United States were grown in Virginia.
• President Thomas Jefferson designed his own home and called it Monticello. (My favorite fact)
• Williamsburg became the capital of the American colonies in 1699.
• The College of William and Mary is the nation's second oldest university, founded in 1693. The College also educated four U.S. Presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and John Tyler.

With all that said, here are some highlights of the trip. 

So these are the locals, not kidding. We are still getting used to seeing the actors in the grocery store and driving around. Makes it fun I guess. A lot of jobs here in town are tourism related, so there are lots of history buffs here.

Running around with Gigi in the hot summer sun.

             Hiding behind trees is a favorite activity.

Thanks to my mom having the gift of gab, she found out from a the best local beach in Virginia Beach. It was perfect. The beaches were pretty different from what we are used to, but still beautiful, and very relaxing. We could have stayed there all day. It made us both miss California.

 Good thing these two love the water so much. Because that is all Solana wanted to do, was SWIM!! And she gets pretty hard to hold when she uses all her strength to get away from your and get further into the water.

The last of the trip we all headed up to DC. WE LOVE DC!!!! And do you know something cool we just learned about DC?

Parenting magazine named DC the number one choice for families! 2nd was Austin, TX, and 3rd was Boston, MA! And it just so happens those are the top picks for places we want to live after law school:) Well Adam also wants to go to southern California, but my vote is out on that one for now. (It's sooooo expensive to live!) But I do know it's great for families too :)

http://www.parenting.com/gallery/2011-best-cities-to-live?pnid=381614

 Now to Adam's favorite part of the trip. Walking up the steps of the Supreme Courthouse with Solana. And she climbed them all! Then when she got to the top, she ran around like she owned the place (probably typical of most toddlers) but still, Adam had so much fun. And it was a Saturday, so no one was there. 

The capital building was so gorgeous. I just can't enough of the beautiful architecture. 

 "Hey guys, come catch me. I know the sun is blazing and your all too tired to come chase me, so I will run wild around the government's legislative headquarters!"  

But the face she is making just cracks me up. It's kind of a strut-her-stuff kind of face, but she is too young for that :)

 Have I mentioned how hot it was that day. Lots of drinks, lots of walking.

This picture says it all. This was how the whole day was. Actually this is how our life is. Usually, I'm the one chasing, but if Grandma comes to town she can take over for awhile :)

This was our second trip, so we took another picture in the same spot. I think we have already changed a little. I think my legs look better than last time I visited :) Ya know cause I care about my legs so much, lol.

A classic picture, so cute!

 Anyone need a babysitter? Yeah we came back from taking pictures and find Adam had fallen asleep while he was supposed to be watching her. I guess he put his hand on the stroller so that he would wake up if someone tried to steal her? And he used the bag as a pillow to no one would take that either? I'm sure that was his logical way of thinking. 

The day ended at the Obama residence :)

All in all, it was great time with the mama. We miss her so much! and we are still adjusting the time change, especially calling my family in California! But more visits and more skyping is good for any relationship. 

Thanks for reading all our random information. I got on a history kick.

The latest

"So what have you guys been up to?" Well let me fill you in the latest.
 Adam does his usual 12 hours of studying at school for almost 6 days straight. Then on Sunday he takes the day off and its family time! So we are pretty lazy around here, like hang out, take naps, and take walks or drives to the beach. Solana usually takes a 3 hour nap in the afternoon and that adds a little "peace" of heaven to our day. But when it's not a lazy Sunday afternoon,  and Adam is back to studying, I am working on my business. I am so excited to have my website designed and up and running. Well it's not public yet......but soon! Here are some other things we have been up to.

This is my second daughter dolly, she goes everywhere with us, and Solana takes care of her. Whatever I do for Solana, Solana does for dolly. I give a bottle to Solana, she gives it to dolly.  It's really pretty funny. Yesterday Solana went a grabbed A LOT of toilet paper to wipe off her dolly's nose (Solana has had a cold) and she was so good to make sure her dolly didn't get a runny nose too. So when Solana lays down, so does her sidekick. You get the point. The things I never knew I would do as a parent... :)

Having fun with danger girl. The faster, higher, and more dangerous the task (stairs, slides, running), Solana is the happiest. 

Do you like??? The turquoise dining room was my latest project, until I hung up the pictures! I am really enjoying the little genealogy wall I did. 

Guess who just turned 16 months!! I cannot believe how fast she is growing. She is becoming such a girly girl, one who loves her shoes, jewelry, headbands, and lots of other accessories on her all the time. She loves to play games and read books ALL DAY LONG! She is talking more and more, but we are still trying to translate. But out favorite is when she sings, it's the sweetest most perfect sound in the world—then she squeals and screams in high pitched sound and the sweet moment is over. :)

She keeps us the busiest, but also the happiest. Life is pretty dang good around here. Now all we need is some fall weather, and for my business to take off. Then we can actually make some money, which is always a plus :)

Hurricane "Storm" Irene

You probably all remember all the talk on TV about big ol' Hurricane Irene. Well it was all we talked about for a week before it was due to hit us. So we took the smarter route and loaded up on water, dry food, checked batteries and flashlights, and filled up the car's gas tank. We had never been through a hurricane and had no idea what to expect. 

In the security of our home, unaware of any real danger, it was a pretty nice time, hiding out from the torrential rain.  But as Adam's new saying goes, "A hurricane is all good and fun until someone loses power for a week."  So we were feeling pretty good about it all until we lost power, then the complaining started. Seriously what do you do without power!? We lost power on Saturday night, and it returned Monday night. But in small Williamsburg you really don't have a lot of options. So after sitting around our no-AC-85-degree-household, we decided to go hang out with friends, so that we could enjoy our non AC together. Then we would drive around and charge phones and watch movies on our laptops.  I know we were one of the lucky ones to have no damage to our place and to have not gone a week without power like some of our friends. So it was a great learning experience. And now a good story. So here are some pictures of the "big" hurricane. 

 She LOVES the rain. She could have played out there all day, and it was warm, so it was like a shower. eww!

 Seriously, how does a giant tree split down the middle like that?!

We were just amazed at how beautiful it was the next day. (This is not flooding, there is always a river there, the James river to be exact).

We drove around the next morning to assess the damage and we were pretty surprised by all the fallen trees. But other than that, it was a beautiful day!

Onward and upward!

We made it!!!!

And life has never been better. 

Let's start from the beginning.

The original plan was to have me fly out to Virginia with Solana and meet up with Adam, but a driving partner for Adam fell through.  So we packed up the family, put the carseat in the middle and drove the uhaul pulling our car. And it worked out perfectly! We, like most rational people would be, were practically terrified of pulling a 30 hour road trip with a very energetic, loud, active toddler, but Solana was so much better than we had anticipated. Actually, it was one of the best times we've had as a family. We sang lots of song, listened to lots of music, took lots of videos, and talked a ton.  For Solana, it was a whole new world of sitting in the front seat, comfortably nestled between mommy and daddy, who were constantly, inescapably within arm's reach. Adam was super husband on the trip and drove that big rig the whole way. I kept offering, but he insisted. (I think he was more scared of me driving the uhaul than him being exhausted, which was probably a good thing because it was a 26ft. truck pulling our Volvo on a trailer.)

So we said goodbye to Texas and took off on our adventure! And the closer we got to Virginia the happier we became.  Last year wasn't the easiest, but we had 2 great people that helped us through it all.  

 I think everyone needs a Matt and Heather in their lives. They are your best friends who love you no matter what. You tell them what's in your brain and they don't judge you, they understand you. You have them over for your first time making sushi and they are brave enough to try it. And a 100 more stories like that. You get the point, they are incredible! We were sad to leave them, and we miss them a lot.

Please pay attention to how excited Solana is in all the these pictures. She was so happy to be using her legs again.

"land!"

 Our favorite place we stopped was Asheville North Carolina, do you see how beautiful it is??! We fell in love with it. Years ago, my company sent me out here for a furniture trip, and we visited the incredible Biltmore Estate. I fell in love with North Carolina at that time and have been so excited to finally take Adam. We we arrived too late to actually see the Biltmore Castle, but we parked Big Bertha (yes we named the Uhaul) and walked around.

Okay so we were all a LITTLE excited to out of the truck and we were only a day away from Virginia.

Us and our stuff....and we have too much for 3 people folks. I know I am going to look at this photo in 4 years and think that we had nothing, cause I'm sure I can double what we have in that amount of time.

We didn't take a lot of pictures, just lots of video. After about 2 days of driving you don't really want to just pull over for a photo. But when we arrived on day 4 I wish I had, oh well. 

It really was one of our best family experiences, driving across the country, the three of us squished together across Big Bertha's front bench, through rainstorms, getting lost in Atlanta, and slowly grinding our way up and over the Appalachians.  It was a wonderful journey and we're so happy we made it!