Three Holidays

HALLOWEEN
We went the easiest possible route for Halloween this year. We used a hand-me-down costume from some friends in the ward for Jonah. He was the big, bad wolf and Brooke would have been Little Red, but I just didn't have it in me to finish it, especially since we weren't taking her to our ward party. So here's our lone wolf. He and Daddy had fun at the ward party, and we all went trick-or-treating with some friends on Halloween.




11-11-11

Ryan turned 30 on the coolest date EVER! And he was in New Orleans! He got to have a birthday dinner with a bunch of his buddies from school and the AMA. Here is a picture of a few of them and their memorable waiter.


Here was Jonah's birthday tribute to Daddy while he was away:



Ryan's folks and Becky and Janna came up the weekend after Ryan got home to celebrate his birthday. Janna made another excellent cake and we enjoyed the time to visit.




And on the Monday after his birthday we had some friend's over to play games and to eat triple bypass pie. I am so grateful for my husband and can't wait to see what we can accomplish together over the next 30 years.


THANKSGIVING

We were able to spend Wednesday night-Sunday night in the bay area with family for Thanksgiving which was such a nice break! We celebrated with the Ribeira's on Thursday and with the Millers on Friday.










Did you notice the hair bow Aunt Kim made for her daughter, ahem, doggie, Becka? And Brooke really took to her Great Grandma Ardie. Before she fell asleep she was smiling and talking up a storm with her! We are so thankful for both sides of our families and that we get to spend the holidays together. Of course we miss our siblings who are far away but Christmas is right around the corner and we will ALL be together then!

Brooke Up Close

I hate posting pictures without editing them in Photoshop first but to save time I'm just going to put these up. You should be proud of me.

Brooke Elsie Ribeira

Brooke Elsie Ribeira was born at the UC Davis hospital on Friday, September 30, 2011, weighing 6 lbs. 15.5 oz, and 19.5 inches long. Here are some pictures of Brooke and our family during her first three weeks, beginning with her arrival home:


Jonah's first time seeing her at home:


Joey and Elise were the first non-family friends to hold her. They drove up Sunday afternoon when we were released from the hospital.


First night in the cradle at home:


Probably my favorite picture of our kids so far:


Giving Daddy a kiss:


Brooke trying to tell me to put down the camera and feed her!


Merilee and Ashilene meeting Brooke for the first time:




My Dad holding Brooke for the first time:


Our Super Baby:


Our Super Stretcher:


My Mom holding Brooke:


First bath:




So much love for our newest addition:






Liz meeting Brooke for the first time:


Kathy holding Brooke for the first time:


Maren and Kaili were so excited to hold their cousin!


And to lay beside her:


We just love her and can't imagine our family without her!

Jonah at the Easel

I honestly don't think art is Jonah's passion. When he is given things to color at nursery, he uses one crayon, makes a quick scratch mark or two, and is done. Painting, however, seems to be an activity he really enjoys so we do a lot of it. What kid doesn't like smearing paint around? I hang up his abstract paintings in his room because I love them, but he seems to find great pleasure in tearing them down. I may need to make a collage of my favorites and frame it so he can't destroy all of them! Anyway, here's a short video of some of his moments at the easel, starting with his very first time using the paintbrush.

Father's Day Videos

I had hoped to link these three short videos into one seamless video, but I ran into sound issues and couldn't figure out how to keep the music that I wanted for each clip using only the You Tube video editor. I will have to pick the brains of all my talented family members who know so much more about video editing soon! But in the meantime, here are three fun, short videos starring my favorite boys. Father's Day 1 highlights fun moments from our first year with Jonah while Father's Day 2 & 3 are more recent videos. Enjoy!

Palm Springs

I am so late posting this but better late than never, right? In May I headed to Palm Springs for a reunion with my freshman college roommates! Jonah stayed with the Ribeiras and did fine without Mommy and Daddy. Ryan had mandatory meetings and classes and such so it was very nice of the Ribeiras to help out. I hadn't seen one of my roommates in ten years and others for five or six years, so it was a true blast from the past! Liz I see regularly since she's pretty close to us but it was crazy how we were all able to pick up right where we left off. I love these girls!

Most of the weekend was spent eating...



relaxing at the villa...



and chilling by the pool.


We did get a spa day too which was very rejuvenating, but I'm not allowed to post pictures of it. :) Here's some more fun shots of our time together:




It was a wonderful and much needed vacation! This is a tradition that we plan to continue. And we don't want to wait ten years until the next!