Pismo Beach

In the beginning of October we met up with Ryan's mom, sister and her husband in Pismo Beach. It was a packed trip. I went to Natalie Barker's baby shower and Ryan and his mom competed in Ryan's first Triathalon.
We got to meet Aly's husband Eddie for the first time. He was so great with the girls. They took to him immediately. Welcome to the fam Uncle Eddie!
It was so great to get some time with Aly and Eddie. They live up North so we don't get to see them very often. We hope to get more time with you two again soon!

Here's Noelle and Grandma Julie (above) and Grandma and the girls (below.

Dance Class!

Noelle started dance class a month or so ago. Last week was observation week where we could actually watch from inside the studio and not through the window. Sooo cute. The class is great because they're are only a few other girls and all pretty much the same age.

From day 1 she marched right in there and worked hard at learning what the teacher was doing. She has always shown signs of being a little independent. I saw it starting dance and I see it in little ways in lots of things we do. I saw it when she was a baby and didn't want to be held but wanted down to play/go or when we're with other kids and she's not so interested in what they're doing and is fine doing her own thing.

She's a funny girl. Her little demeanor has always been really sweet, mostly sensitive, sometimes stubborn and now in the midst of being '2', very up and down as tantrums are a much more frequent occurance. She's so bright and remembers all sorts of things that surprise us. She still is a little sponge, picking up on everything. Tonight Ryan said, "what are you doing Noelle?" as she walked up to where we were sitting and she said, "Just hanging out." :) She always makes us smile!

September

I am lacking creativity at the moment so I am posting some pictures of September without any comments or organization. Still cute pics though :).

A day in the life...

I keep taking video clips with the thought that I'll post it but I never get exactly what they had just been doing and so I end up not posting it. I caught this one of Natalie that I wanted to post and so I'll throw these two up of Noelle just so that you out of towners can see her in action.

Last night I'm in the kitchen and I hear a belly laugh from Natalie and then one from Ryan. It brought such a smile to my heart as I headed back to see what the laughter was about. She laughed even harder the first few times. Pardon the leopard sheets, our normal ones are in the wash and so the bargain sheets from college go on. Think what you want :)



Somehow we found this song and we put some dance moves to it. It's so funny when she sings this song. I must've said something about what number it was on the CD because she was trying to tell me a number instead of the name. Enjoy.

BELLY BOU'

Two of my dearest friends from college have opened a maternity store called "Belly Bou'" in Roseville, CA. I got to visit it a few weeks ago, me and Natalie. These girls are so creative and their store is amazing!

Here's a picture of Erica and Natalie (modeling a headband) at the counter. And below that is a picture of Natalie with Katie's two kids, Carter and Macy. I also took a little video clip that some of you friends who haven't gotten to visit might enjoy. Sorry it's a little choppy.

Great job girls! I love the store. You can go to their blog from my links.

Recipes

After a long restricted pregnancy and life with a newborn, I have some renewed vigor. I am beginning to try out some new recipes from my Cooking Light Magazine. Thought I would share two of the favorites! Carly- Here's to Recipe Monday!

p.s. The renewed vigor has lasted over a month but I fear it might be slipping away :) - HOLD ON!

Open-Faced Chicken and Muenster Sandwiches with Apricot-Dijon Spread

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 sandwich)
Ingredients
4 teaspoons apricot preserves
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 (2-ounce) slices country bread
Cooking spray
1 cup thinly sliced peeled Ambrosia or Fuji apple (about 1/3 pound)
1/4 cup prechopped onion
2 1/2 cups bagged prewashed spinach
2 cups shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast (about 12 ounces)
4 (1-ounce) Muenster cheese slices
Preparation
1. Preheat broiler.
2. Combine preserves and mustard in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Spread 1 side of each bread slice with 2 teaspoons mustard mixture. Place bread slices, mustard mixture side up, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add apple and onion to pan; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add spinach; cook 1 minute or until spinach begins to wilt. Layer each of 4 bread slices with 1/4 cup spinach mixture, 1/2 cup chicken, and 1 cheese slice. Place sandwiches on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; broil 1 1/2 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Remove from heat, and serve immediately.

Hoisin Glazed Beef Kebabs

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 kebab)
Ingredients
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon chile paste with garlic
1 pound beef tenderloin filets, cut into 16 cubes
16 (2-inch) pieces green onions (about 4 onions)
16 grape tomatoes
Cooking spray
Preparation
1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add beef to bowl; toss well to coat. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes.
3. Thread 4 beef cubes, 4 onion pieces, and 4 tomatoes alternately onto each of 4 (12-inch) skewers. Place kebabs on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.

Growing...

Pictures of Natalie's first four months. Month four she is wearing my baby dress. So sweet.

It's funny because in all these rounds of pictures, Noelle has climbed up into the chair at some point and I only get a few chances to get Natalie by herself. I'll include some just for fun...

DISNEYLAND

Thank you Shannon!

A friend of mine from the dancing years works at Disneyland, dancing as different characters in the parade. She got us into Disneyland for free (2x)! The best part about that was that with a baby and a toddler we really can't last very long so it was so great not to have the pressure of spending all the money and not packing it all in. We are so grateful!

Noelle really loved the Playhouse Disney show and bugs life area at California Adventure. She loves getting wet and the bug's area got her soaked! Natalie even went on her first ride there. She was so cute with the princesses. Mulan gave her a jewel and she thought that was really special. Mickey was the first character she met and she hugged him and then came running back to me super fast. We all enjoyed the parade!

Beijing 2008

A Nod to the Olympics. Grandma brought these back from China last summer. She even visited the Bird's Nest. Noelle is a "kai"nese dancer. So beautiful. Doesn't the darker picture really look like a Chinese dance move?

Also a Congratulations to Stephanie Brown, a teammate of mine from Cal Poly and in Ryan's major who was the first US woman in 35 years to win the Discus. That was exciting! Way to go Stephanie!

The girls having fun this summer...

The Shack

With school over and life continuing forward I am beginning to desire more opportunities to discuss what I'm learning and specifically what I'm reading. I will begin with a noteworthy book that currently has a lot of buzz around it in Christian circles and beyond.

This is a fiction book that seeks to confront the reader with a picture of God that may be very contrary to the God they grew up with and to address the question so many have, "Where is God in the midst of tragedy and pain?"

For this very reason, I think it is a worthy read. We need our heads shaken up a bit, well a lot! We come to God with such specific ideas of what it means to be in relationship, what He desires of us and what He offers us. I appreciate a reminder that God exists outside of any box I might create.

This book does carry a pulse of what I think you could call a movement of God amongst this generation. It speaks to God's calling His people into relationship and redeeming all things in His time.

The author is bold in "speaking" for God through his God-characters in the book. I feel a little hesitant about that, knowing that Young's thoughts may not be God's, but in the end, I say, read it, wrestle with the possibilies that God might respond differently than you assume and may be calling us to some new ways of living and loving. I think it is powerful to entertain these dialogues that stand in opposition to many of the pictures painted for us throughout our life in regards to God and following Christ.

If you've read it, What do you think? Did you like this one? Did the relational interactions between the three God characters get you thinking like they did me?

*If you want to read it, y ou can buy it at Costco ($8), Target, bookstores, etc. I got a used copy off amazon.com - http://www.amazon.com/Shack-William-P-Young/dp/0964729237/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218239698&sr=8-2

Grandpa Brad visiting to meet Natalie

Grandpa Brad (Kuklinski) came to visit from Maryland. He got to soak up fun with the girls and see some sights around town. Thank you for coming to visit Grandpa Brad! We really loved our time with you.

Sister Bonding

This is in "hotel" in San Diego. Noelle referred to it as "hotel" as if it was the only one , a place called Hotel.

Earthquake

I thought I would write a quick little post for those of you family members who will hear on the news that So. California had a big earthquake. It definitely shook me up, being here with both girls and Natalie back in her bedroom. It's over so quick though and then you realize that it's not TOO big and going to hurt us. Natalie woke up though and started screaming. I just realized why when I was changing her diaper and saw this shelf on the ground. Crazy. Of course we did not put a shelf like that near her bed but it shows that this one really moved us.

So you all know - We are okay!!

SEA WORLD!

We did it! I was having some reservations (as I always do) about staying overnight with the girls in a hotel. I was up for Sea World but not so sure how the rest would go. We had such a fun weekend though and the hotel worked out just perfectly! I'm really glad that Ryan didn't bend to my hesitation and we went for it. (Maybe I shouldn't write that - he's going to hold me to it with every other reservation and some are actually valid.)
Sea World was great for so many reasons and I'm just too tired to name them. Here are some pics.
This seemed like a good idea but I was lifting up Noelle with my knee and trying to stick Natalie's head out at the same time :)
Noelle loves the tide pools, so this was perfect. She loved the aquariums because she could run around from window to window. She sure likes her freedom.
Here's an action shot on the way to the Shamu "Believe" show. Pretty amazing show.
I love this picture! Everyone in the crowd is supposed to do the sign for jump (or something, now I forget) and they chanted "Shamu, Shamu". Here's Noelle and Ryan joining in. This was our last activity of the day and you can see the tiredness in Noelle's eyes.
I was holding way too many things in my hands and we were surrounded by people leaving the Shamu show, but Ryan wanted to get this background. This was the best I could do.

Natalie or Noelle?

Can you tell?

1

2

Natalie 2mos

For those of you who haven't met Natalie yet, I thought I'd put this little video up. Here's our little cutie.