The Rabbit Died

Not exactly Immaculate Conception, nor a Christmas miracle, but let's just say God surprised us with an early Christmas present. Hard to believe we'll be the parents of 3 next June!!

PETA disclaimer: No rabbits were actually harmed in the confirmation of this pregnancy.

It Gets Even Better

I am one of those ridiculous people that breaks out the Christmas CD's the day after Thanksgiving. I began decorating my own room for Christmas around the age of 8. I yearned to go to Midnight Mass every year, convincing my parents to at least stay up and attend the 8:00 service as it seemed more romantic and I wanted to go to a candlelight service. I began sending my own Christmas cards before I was out of high school and I love playing Secret Santa and picking out fun little surprises for someone.

I'm a self-professed Christmas junkie (and our attic full of decorations proves it, much to my husband's chagrin).

And now that I have kids, the magic of the season and all it's activities is just multiplied times ten. Besides the fact that some days I look a bit strung out with all I'm hoping to accomplish, I'm just plain giddy inside that Christmas is coming...

"Constructing gingerbread houses" at preschool, which is a nice way of saying, "we gorged on candy and sent them home on a sugar high."

Livy joined me in deciding that picking out and decorating the tree is her favorite part of Christmas. We'll see if her answer changes after she sees the stash of presents on Christmas morning...

One thinks Santa is an evil man, the other was more than happy to sit on his lap and tell him about the bike horn and streamers she wants him to bring.

Liv's first holiday ballet performance and our little ballerina said she liked it and wants to perform on stage again. Wow! And doesn't she look so old??

The first of our Christmas crafts...we actually have 3 ways we're counting down the days 'till Christmas.

Nah, we're not excited or anything.

Thankful for Cousins

Girl babies abound in both of our families, so Livy is thrilled whenever she hears we are getting together with the cousins. The girl's cousins up North, Lexi and Brooke, are 7 and 4, while the cousins down South, Marin and Brooke are 4 and 3. Umm...we get together with the cousins and don't see the whites of Olivia's eyes until bedtime (when she's amped up on cousin adrenaline) and she's already asking if she'll get to see her cousins in the morning. Malia loves the attention she gets from the cousins, but doesn't yet grasp the nirvana of being born into this family of XX chromosomes.

Cousin pictures at Grammy's house

The temptation proved too great.

Upon arrival back in Ventura, we were back in cousin mode with the Southern cousins in town. Does life get any better?

Parade watching and candy gathering at the S.P. Christmas Parade

Is this not just incredibly sweet?

Upon returning to preschool last week, Liv was asked to add to her Book of Feelings, which gives the kids a prompt (I am excited when..., I am sad when...). Olivia's (completely unprompted) response that day:

"I am grateful for going to my cousin's house."

I Pity the Fool!

Halloween 2.0

Once upon a time on a clear and crisp Halloween eve, family and friends gathered at the Mowad house to mark a night of spooky fun, with dirt-y treats for kids and frost-brewed treats for the adults. I think many agreed that the sequel was just as good, if not better than the O.G., with the kids really getting into the trick-or-treating spirit this year.

The troops gathered to plan their strategy.

The posse arriving at the first house.

Livy's cousins, Marin and Brooke (ladybug and Tigger), and their cousins Kaylyn and Keira (geisha and butterfly), all in town for Uncle Matt's fantastic Navy promotion party the following day. (Commander Matt Mowad, woohoo!)

The Dad's made a nice showing (aren't Beauty and her Beast just amazing??)

And the Princess (along with the Bee, Beekeeper and Gypsy) lived happily ever after.

* Thanks to Tracy D. for some of these photos!

The Bike Gang

We are developing quite a little bike gang around here these days, with biking going on nearly every day along the sidewalks of our street. With Olivia's promotion to a "big girl bike", Malia has chosen to upgrade from her little plastic buggy to Livy's old tricycle. With my face and body in a nearly constant cringe, I watch my daughters "ride" their bikes.

Liv has taken to her new bike so quickly and is now zooming back and forth along the sidewalk and gaining confidence (and speed) by the day. I love getting on my bike and riding along with her, it reminds me of all the bike riding I did as a kid and is there truly a better memory from childhood?

Malia is also gaining confidence, however it is not built upon her ability to ride the tricycle, but in my ability to steer her around and catch her if she decides to let go of the handlebars. Needless to say, bike riding is exercise for all of us.

Livy's Book Club

Last month was my turn to host book club, with eight friends from my mom's group coming over to discuss the epistolary novel, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I had mentioned the book club throughout the day, mostly in forms such as "Please don't take out every single game" and with reminders that we would only play outside for a little while as we had to eat early due to book club. So Olivia was fairly inundated with the idea of "book club" throughout her day.

After dinner I began setting up a few snacks and refreshments, as well as moving some of our dining room chairs around to accomodate all the book club attendees. After putting Malia to bed, I came out of her room to find an extra chair placed amongst the dining chairs; it was one of the chairs from Livy's little table. She had decided that she was going to join us for book club and would need her own chair. Within the first half hour of book club, Liv came in to join us twice, both times shyly entering the room and hiding on my lap. Needless to say, she did not remain a book clubber long as the crowd was a bit bigger than she imagined.

However, the following day was filled with questions and comments about book club. Her first question upon waking was, "Are your book club friends still here?" Throughout the day she discussed how "noisy" my book club was and that we were "shouting" at each other. (Hmm...not exactly a controversial book, nor an argumentative group, but when you gather a bunch of moms, add good conversation and some wine, we get pretty loud apparently.) That night when Grandma came over for her weekly visit, she was asked to participate in Liv's book club and was handed a book to read and discuss.

Livy wouldn't allow me to photograph her during our book club; she takes this very seriously.

We've had book clubs numerous times over the past weeks, and every time Liv drags her chair in along with a number of books of which her "friends" (her stuffed animals) and I must read and discuss. She's also held a book club with the little girl across the street which she held in the front yard and included a fantastic retelling of Pinkalicious. I love that she's latched on to such an adult concept and made it her own and I'd love to help her create her own book club in the coming years. Looks like I'll be needing some more little chairs...

Her Daddy's Fashion Sense

Given that she wears this dress as soon as it's made it through the wash, we have the same conversation multiple times a week.

"Mommy, could you unbutton my button?"

"Liv, I think you mean 'button my button', and are you sure you want it buttoned all the way up? Mommy and Daddy leave the top button open."

"No, I want it closed and I can't get it! Unbutton it PLEASE!"


Sigh. Someday she'll be telling me that I dress uncool, so I guess that'll be my payback.

Malia's "happy place"

Malia knows a good thing when she sees it...so when she saw the Ergo (backpack) sitting in the family room during her pre-dinner fussy period, she knew exactly what to do. She picked it up and carried it into the kitchen where I was prepping dinner and talking with Livy, and proceeded to hand it to me. Once she had handed it over, she thrust her arms up at me and whined until I put the pack on my front and put her inside. And then? She snuggled up, all became blissfully quiet and I think we both sighed contentedly. Honestly, I think a cozy baby pressed against you must lower one's blood pressure...or maybe my blood pressure drops because there's one less person whining and fussing at me...

I adore the Ergo: I love wearing my babies, it has made life with two kids undeniably easier, and obviously Malia takes comfort in being close to me. Think I can wrap her up close to me when she's thirteen and mad because I won't let her attend a boy-girl party? I need to find the Moby/Ergo for teenagers I think...

Can It Be Summer All Year Long?

There is nothing like having a kid to remind you how fun it is to be a kid. This summer has been insanely fun; we've been outside for hours each day spending lots of time in the yard, at the beach, walking downtown, eating Sunday dinners down at Surfer's Point...I'm not sure who enjoyed summer more, me or my kids. And yes, my husband is incredibly jealous and I am incredibly lucky to be able to do all this fun stuff with my kids any day of the week. It's not fair, and I totally agree.

Boogie board time...even more fun at the beach than on the grass at home...

Anyone else see trouble in the making with four girl cousins within four years of each other?

The chalk 'stache...all the rage this summer.

Also the rage: the exfoliating sand scrub featured at only the most chic salons. Please note: requires one long, cold rinse in the ocean which might result in one very angry, screaming preschooler. Results may vary and include such side effects as multiple hair washings, knots in hair and sand spread throughout home, carseat and bed.

Rowdy pool days at the Seay's. Watch out for the one in the purple shoulder pads.

Indoctrinating the girls into our annual fair ritual (which began with both girls in utero).

Destructor (a.k.a. Malia) taking apart my beach set-up as swiftly as she destroys the Tubberware cabinet at home, albeit with a lot less clean up on my part.

Attack of the Tutu

As if having a child obsessed with all things ballet isn't enough ("Mom, do first position. Okay, now curtsy. MOMMY! CURTSY NOW!") we have a wild tutu running about the house. It attacks when least expected, and attacks everyone except Olivia, strangely enough.

Such a bizarre phenomenon.

Thankfully those that are attacked don't seem any worse for the wear (beyond looking downright silly) and actually appear quite happy, as these pictures can attest to.

These fabulous tutus were created by a friend for her daughter's birthday party last year and although at times it is worn as a tutu, it also lends itself to the most creative of play (Grandma is such a good sport).

Go Away!

Will these allergies/intolerances/sensitivities or whatever damn thing it could possibly be, please just go away?

Malia had a delicious turkey meatball from TJ's last night for dinner. She ate about 6 or 7 bites, maybe half of the meatball. I got her to sleep at 7:30 p.m.

She subsequently cried(well, screamed is more like it) and then nursed at:
8:00 p.m.
10:45 p.m.
1:05 a.m.
3:20 a.m. (from here she wouldn't fall back to sleep until 5:00 a.m.)

This is the child that either sleeps through the night, or wakes ONCE to be nursed and go back to sleep. She almost never wakes more than once a night unless something is very wrong.

What was wrong last night, you ask? The meatball had soy in it, and it was her first soy in months. By this age, Olivia, who had similar food issues, was able to eat soy and was just starting to eat dairy. So I got my hopes up and tried Malia on soy. Bad bad bad idea! Poor girl was a disaster during the night and although we're all a bit of a cranky mess today, Miss M took the brunt of it. She's got nasty diapers, eczema dots on her chin and cheeks and she won't let me leave her sight without throwing a fit. And yes, this from 6 bites of a *&$@ meatball.

And I feel like the world's worst mother for giving her the dang soy in the first place and making her feel terrible. The worst part is, I don't even know how/where it hurts and it's not like I can dose her with Motrin and think it'll bring her any relief.

Ugh! I hate you dairy/soy/citrus...how you make life so difficult! All my little girl wants is to enjoy those yummy goldfish her sister gets to eat.

And I have a new respect for all you food-allergy moms that brave the birthday parties with peanut/dairy allergic kids...how do you do it when I struggle just keeping goldfish out of my baby's reach?

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

As I sing along with the Go-Gos, I recall the fabulous week we spent at the beach house up in Solimar thanks to our friends, the McCalisters. Liv and Malia lived like true beach bums, waking up to the sound of the waves crashing and heading straight out for the water. The weather was less than ideal; fog every morning and wind in the afternoons, but it didn't keep our water girls out of the ocean. Plenty of goose bumps but the laughs and shrieks assured us they weren't ready to get out just yet.

We stared out at the ocean as we ate breakfast, lunch and dinner and the kids loved playing on the deck, hopping in and out of the warm kiddie pool and standing on the "stage" to perform ballet dances. During our daily beach walks, Liv collected hundreds of shells and spent her days washing and sorting through her shell collection. She found lobster tails, lots of sea snail shells and even a completely closed clam or oyster shell, with the animal still inside. And Malia did her best to win the sand-eating contest, of which she earned top prize, every time.

And although it's hard to believe, we were able to grudgingly convince some friends to join us for a few hours at the shore. Candice and the boys came out for dinner along with Grandma Yolie and Sandy; Livy loved sharing her temporary beach home with Luke and Jake, and it looks like the Imbler boys enjoyed their time as well http://mytwoblondeboys.blogspot.com/


Uncle Jon joined us for a few games of horseshoes and some kayaking, and later that afternoon our happy-hour friends Amy and Tracy and their husbands and kids came out for a happy hour bbq. Liv had a blast with Kate and Hayley and the girls ran wild, eating junk food and heading into the ocean fully clothed after dinner.

A perfect ending to a perfect beach retreat...

Daddy's Day

I have two sleeping children so I find my fingers itching to get on here and catch up on topics I've been meaning to blog about for weeks. I've got Pandora playing one of my favorite Grateful Dead songs and I'm soaking up the silence of the house...I live for these breaks nowadays.

Paul woke up to coffee, donuts (the breakfast of champions) and the first artistic thing I've accomplished for him in quite awhile...possibly since our dating days?? I had so much fun snapping pictures of the girls and watching them be playful with and imitate one another...I probably enjoyed making this banner more than Daddy enjoyed getting it. It is still hanging above our kitchen counter as I don't have the heart to take it down. Maybe it'll happen when Christmas decorations go up, which would be about now if I lived in a department store.

And Daddy's LOVE-ly girls...

Parade people

Well, my youngest daughter and my husband are evidently parade people. When Amgen gave Paul and his coworkers the week of the Fourth of July off, I'd imagine this is exactly what they expected their workers to be accomplishing.

Not only did Paul get into the Fourth of July spirit by preparing this Tall Ship masterpiece, but the girls were equally enthused to be celebrating and parading about town. Well, at least one of the girls was thrilled; the other was not so excited to receive so much attention in her red, white and blue galleon on parade day. Olivia was far more interested in helping Daddy get the float ready, while Malia was more than happy to oblige parade viewers with her smiles, shrieks and giddy bouncing off of her seat. The girl ate up the attention and keeping her in her seat and off the ship's mast, (please refrain from pole dancing commentary, it has been duly noted), was Olivia's main objective. With swimming at Uncle Scott and Auntie Kellie's pool in the afternoon and some fireworks at a spectacular viewpoint from Candice's house, the Mowads celebrated the Fourth thoroughly.

And as you'd imagine, Paul's brain has already begun to work through plans for an even greater Push 'Em-Pull 'Em parade "float" for next year...

Summer Lovin'

We've been enjoying the bounty of summer fruit. We've been blueberry picking in Somis and hitting up the local Farmer's Markets in Ventura and Oxnard and getting the most sweet, juicy peaches, pluots and apricots (not to mention some addictively yummy homemade hummus). My girls are in fruit heaven...as is my fruit-lovin' husband.

Here's Liv giving blueberry picking some serious contemplation and attention.

And here is what Liv enjoyed doing after we brought home our delicious round of summer fruit from Farmer's Market. Note the lid to the hummus which was disappearing rapidly as Livy arranged her fruit masterpiece.