A New Chair for Miles

How fabulous is this chair!!!! We were lucky enough to find it at Ross the other day and I have been wanting to get Miles a chair for a while, but they tend to be so expensive. Lucky for us, this was right in our price range.

Miles loves it and is a little possessive as you can see in the next few shots.....

...quickly, almost immediately removing his Lion from the chair....

....carelessly tossing his lion to the side....

....reclaiming what is rightfully his. :)

Addi's Cake

 
I haven't been working at the bakery at all since wedding season has been over, so you can imagine how thrilled I was when my friend Kathy asked me to make a cake for her daughter's 4th birthday. Kathy did a fancy tea party (as Addi requested) for all of the girls and so we came up with this for her cake. I am so grateful that she asked me since it was so much fun for me to do. I hope it was a success!

Are you jealous?

 
Yep, we made these babies at home. I can't even believe I finished mine, and I did finish before James in case anyone was wondering.

Family Photos

I am once again grateful for my talented friend Danica who took some great family photos of us a few weeks ago. It was so easy to smile at someone that is your friend and is really making you laugh :)

Miles loves Danica and she can always get a good grin out of him.

Miles and Dad.

Miles and Mom.

The whole fam.....we did the photo shoot at the park that we always go to. The trees were so beautiful, and we got a lovely warm day just out of the blue, perfect. Thank you so much Danica for helping us capture these memories.

A Texas Thanksgiving.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday we headed out to Texas to visit James' family. We didn't tell anyone but Christi that we were coming and James surprised the rest of his family on Sunday morning. It was so fun to give them such a happy surprise.

Here Miles is with Grandpa and Grandma Dayley. He had a lot of fun with them while we were there. I wish we had taken more pictures of everyone else in the family. Miles had so much fun with his cousins. Especially Natalie who was such a great help while we were there. He loves his Aunt Christi and the fact that she let him jump on her bed whenever he wanted (and fed him marshmallows) :)

OK, so we finally got to see some baby pictures of James during this trip, and its been confirmed that he looks a lot like James.......BUT he also must look like me because there were some definite differences......so Hooray! I am in there somewhere.

Miles had a fantastic time staying at Christi's house. She has two dogs and two cats. Nicole has a dog that she would bring over and Grandma has a dog that she would bring over, so you can only imagine how excited Miles was the whole time with all the animals running around.

By the end you can see that he got a little too comfortable with the animals.....poor Percy. He got his tail pulled more times than I would like to admit. And yes, what you see there is a hot pink Christmas tree. We got to help decorate Christi's tree the day after Thanksgiving. It has been almost 7 years since I helped decorate for Christmas (I am usually traveling home and it is done before I get there) so it was really fun to get to do that with them. Not your traditional tree, but it is pretty fabulous.

Thanksgiving!

Since I am not home with my family today to share thanks, I figured I would use my blog to express what I am thankful for this year. I am so thankful today for my family. For James and the love that he continues to show me, his patience, sense of humor, and faith. I am so grateful for Miles and the joy and laughter that he brings into my life everyday. I am grateful for my brothers and sisters who inspire me in all different ways. Joey is so laid back and finds humor in everything. Christopher is secure with himself and always the peacemaker. Amanda is able to find magic in everything, and is so adventurous and genuine. Jen is incredibly generous and independent. Amy shows patience in all things, is meticulous, and authentic. I am so grateful for my parents. They continue to be great examples of love in my life. I strive to become the person they hope I can be. I love my family so much, and feel so blessed to have each of them in my life.

Art Project.

 
I know that this looks terrible. All this paint and my beautiful wood floors....two things that you wouldn't think went together very well. :) But James and I really love to paint. We are both pretty awful at it....as you can see. But it's something that we have done since we were first dating. And you can always paint over old projects ;)

Bambuzzbe

That is what Miles calls his new bumblebee.....bambuzzbe. Its so funny. He loves it! He was chasing me around with it tonight and every once in a while he would run through my legs with it. It is so fun for him to control, and it wears him out....which is great for me :)He loves it, he even tried to bring it up the stairs tonight for bedtime. A great big "thank you" goes out to my parents for the fabulous early Christmas present. We love you and wish you were here to watch him enjoy his gift. oxoxox

Please Touch Museum

Today James took the day off of school, and we spent our rainy Friday afternoon at the Please Touch Museum. Miles had so much fun exploring, climbing on, and touching EVERYTHING.

Here he his training to be an astronaut. He is obviously an excellent candidate.

The area we spent the most time in was the car pit stop. He was hopping in and out of the trucks and cars, getting on the bus, trying to change tires, and saying his version of the word CAR over and over again.

Our little speed racer.

We rode the carousel since our package included some free rides. Miles was not in love with the ride and wouldn't sit still, so we got no pictures of his smiling....we are in this pic if you look really close in the left lower corner. :)

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Today is my Mom's birthday. And if any of you know her, I am fully aware of how jealous you are that she is my mom and not yours. She is incredible. She is so generous, thoughtful, nurturing, supportive, faithful, and loving. I feel so blessed to have her in my life. She has forgiven me for my faults, encouraged me through my trails, and comforted me through my heartbreaks. She encompasses so many of the qualities that I strive to have. Most people work to be the kind of person that she is naturally, effortlessly. I admire her so very much and wish that she was able to know the great and positive affect that she has had on my life and the others around her. I am so grateful to her for the sacrifices that she has made in honor of me, for the love that she has freely given, and for the support she continues to be in my life. I love you Mom. Happy Birthday

Getting to know you!

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your Friends. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!


1. What time did you get up this morning?
5:30 Miles is an early riser.... just like his mama :)


2. Diamonds or pearls?
absolutely diamonds. I wore my grandma's pearls to my wedding though.


3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Batman. that's how long its been

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Mad Men (but it would be Arrested Development if it were still on)

5. What do you usually have for breakfast?
I am really into steal cut oatmeal, (which I had to buy in TX) but have to admit that I don't love eating breakfast.

6. What is your middle name?
Ann.


7. What food do you dislike?
Brussels sprouts. But I do love cabbage, isn't that strange.

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
Duffy

9. What kind of car do you drive?
Subaru forester

10. Favorite sandwich?
Pressed panini's with Gruyere or goat cheese...yum

11. What characteristic do you despise?
making fun of others (I was made fun of a lot in High School, it kind of ruined me)

12. Favorite item of clothing?
My new cozy Uggs!!!

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
Thailand

14. Favorite brand of clothing?
Seven jeans, nothing else fits like they do.


15. Where would you retire to?
Santa Barbara!!!

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday?
My 21st. not that I remember a lot of it, not the proudest time of my life. But it was the last time I celebrated my birthday.

17. Favorite sport to watch?
Gymnastics


18. When is your birthday?
April 23, 1981

19. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Morning for sure.

20. What is your shoe size?
from 7 -8.5 I swear it depends on the brand.


21. Pets?
Nope

22. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us?
Nope

23. What did you want to be when you were little?
a psychiatrist

24. How are you today?
A little under the weather.


25. What is your favorite candy?
Right now its hot tamales.

26. What is your favorite flower?
Cymbidium Orchids, and Calla lilies

27. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?
Tomorrow. James has the day off.


28. What is your full name?
Elizabeth Ann Checchio. (yep no Dayley)

29. What are you listening to right now?
The ocean from Miles' sound machine as he naps.


30. What was the last thing you ate?
Homemade buttermilk biscuits. Last night with dinner.

31. Do you wish on stars?
Absolutely


32. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Aqua

33. How is the weather right now?
About to rain, in the 40's...yuck

34. The first person you spoke to on the phone today?
No one yet, its only 830 am

35. Favorite soft drink?
Diet coke

36. Favorite restaurant?
Chad's in Santa Barbara


37. Real hair color?
Dark dark brown (not black) with streaks of gray

38. What was your favorite toy as a child?
Rollerskates: I had navy blue PacMan ones. They were awesome!

39. Summer or winter?
Summer!!!

40. Hugs or kisses?
Both

41. Chocolate or Vanilla?
chocolate


42. Coffee or tea?
neither

43.When was the last time you cried?
The other day at church. It was the primary program where all the kids sing the songs they had learned throughout the year. It is so sweet, and gets me every time.

44. What is under your bed?
Built in storage with extra bedding and some photo albums


45. What are you afraid of ?
Being left behind.

46. Salty or sweet?
Both, but maybe sweet right now.

47. How many keys on your key ring?
4: house, car, bakery, mail


48.How many years at your current job?
3 years

49.Favorite day of the week?
Saturday


50. How many towns have you lived in?
5- Novato, SLC, Santa Barbara, Siena, Philadelphia

51. Do you make friends easily?
I do, but not GREAT friends. Those are rare.


Ok, so if you learned something new about me, than maybe you should do this too, so I can learn something new about you!

Dance Party!

Miles' new favorite thing is having dance parties. We have our Ipod docked up in the kitchen and Miles demands almost every morning that we turn it on and have a dance party. Because of his new love of dancing, and his plethora of jump suits, we thought a perfect costume for him would be a break dancer. Unfortunately Miles had a doctors appointment the day of Halloween, and had to get shots, so he wasn't up for the Halloween festivities. So instead of seeing pictures of Miles in costume, you get to enjoy a very bumpy video clip of one of his dance parties! Hope it doesn't make you sick.

Sorry it took so long...

So here are our pumpkins carved. We did it the night before Halloween, and had a lot of fun. I did the one with the big eyes, and the little guy, and James made the one with the teeth. :)

I know I look awful in this pic with no makeup and unwashed hair, but I think James looks so cute, so I couldn't resist showing of my man.

Our Pumpkins....

These are the pumpkins that we picked last weekend. Aren't they great! Stay tuned for what they become....if we have time :)

The Pumpkin Patch

We finally jumped on that band wagon and took Miles to Linvilla Orchard. We are so glad that we went last Friday and didn't wait, since it has been raining since.

Miles of course loved the giant pumpkins. These ones were my favorite. There were called Fantasy pumpkins. Aren't they so cool. I wanted to buy a ton of them and fill up my planter out front, but sadly I am not insanely rich. :)

Miles was not into the camera, he was so annoyed that we kept having him stop to take pictures...can you tell?

James and Miles enjoying the hay bales. We were letting Miles climb all over the place and have a blast, but as we were leaving I heard someone that worked there telling all the other kids to get off....Ooops!

And here is the last shot since my camera died within 5 minutes of us getting there! Lame, I know. We also got to see chickens, ducks, pigs, and horses. Miles LOVED the ducks, and was trying so hard to get into the pond with them, but when we took him over to the pig he started crying almost instantly. Ducks-yes, pigs-no. He wanted to give the horse a kiss...man I wish my camera didn't die!

High Fructose Corn Syrup...

So I am hating this commercials that they have right now for high fructose corn syrup. Some idiot person is eating something totally sugary with HFCS and some other idiot comes up and says that he shouldn't eat that stuff. The first idiot says "Why, HFCS is made from corn and tastes just like sugar" And the second idiot is lik..."Great! Lets all just eat a ton of it then!"
First of all...sugar is not the greatest thing for you in the first place, especially for developing children. And secondly HFCS doesn't get broken down in your body like sugar does. It stays in its bonds, therefore not releasing insulin into the blood stream. That insulin is what tells your brain that you are full. Soooo....if you are eating and eating all this yummy cereal or whatever and it has HFCS in it, you won't feel full, will eat more, and then it will get stored directly as fat!
I am hating these commercials! Definitely try and stay away from the stuff, especially if its in the top 5 of the ingredient list.
OK, I said my piece, I feel better.

Baby Shower!

Clar, Jen and I threw a baby shower over the weekend for Danica and Genevieve. It was so much fun to get together with people that i don't get to see very often. The pregnant women looked fabulous, and we all enjoyed delicious food, and a lot of laughs (courtesy of their husbands)
I got to make the cake, and since I was holding a precious six month old during the present opening, I didn't bust out my camera until the end. Everyone was so stuffed that we couldn't even think of eating cake, but I made the girls slice into it. It ended up looking like a wedding photo which is hysterical!

Here's the cake. I actually did it all at home...a first for me. It was stressful not having my bakery to fall back on, and interesting trying to fit it into Miles' nap time, but overall it turned out fine.

My favorite part was making the diaper bags. I obsess about cakes, and have seen people do things like this before, but never have had someone order it, so this was a great opportunity to try something new.

Each bag had all the essentials....a blanket, bottle, diapers, pacifier, and stuffed animal.

5 Things...

I was tagged by Amanda....so here goes!

5 Shows I watch
1. Heroes
2. Desperate Housewives
3. Biggest Loser
4. Project Runway
5. Mad Men

5 Restaurants
1. Chipotle
2. Mika (Sushi)
3. Chad's
4. Ray's
5. Training Table....gotta love cheese fries.

5 Thing that happened yesterday
1. I completed my Pay it Forward
2. I found out Clar and Chris are having a boy!!!
3. I made a lasagna from scratch...noodles and all, Yummy!
4. I found out my family is foregoing gifts this year in order to adopt a refugee family.
5. I took Miles to the dollar store to replace a truck that got destroyed the first time we took it to the park. I guess I can't expect much more from a truck that cost $1.

5 Things to look forward to
1. Leaving Philly...not my friends here, just Philadelphia.
2. Nov 1. Family pictures with Danica!!!
3. Christmas. I can't wait to see my family.
4. Every morning with Miles.
5. Every evening with James.

5 Things I love about fall
1. The colors
2. Sweaters
3. Thanksgiving
4. Pumpkin cheesecake
5. The primary program

5 Thing on my wish list
1. To be stationed in a nice place next year.
2. James to get into the Ortho program
3. For my family and friends to be healthy and happy.
4. To be willing and aware when I can serve others.
5. To always be grateful for the life I have.

5 Things important to me
1. James and Miles
2. My Family
3. Friends
4. Being productive
5. Food

5 People I tag
Anyone who needs a new post :)

Aren't we all a little jealous.

Miles has a red valour track suit....

And he rocks it!

And the Winners are....

Kelsey, Preethi, and Riliegh.
Congratulations ladies! You are the three that commented first and therefore are my winners for Pay it Forward. I love that my winners are spread throughout the country. Kelsey from SLC, Preethi for Philly, and Riliegh in Santa Barbara.
Please leave me your addresses and I will get you your gifts!

Fall

We are loving our last warm days. Fall is so beautiful around here. I love the trees and smells, the tiny nip in the air that makes it perfect for wearing sweaters and eating soup with hot cheese on bread (you fellow Checchio's know what I am talking about) I took the Fall scenery as a good excuse to bring my camera to the park today.

Miles is so stinking cute holding his leaf. Notice how his feet are blurry. He likes to sit and swing his feet now. I think its so adorable.

Check him out!

Our Car....again!

I know its blurry, but the reflection was making it really hard to get a good shot.....this is a picture of the hood of my car! Can you believe that people do this kind of thing for fun. I walked up to the car and noticed these large scratches first. Then noticed all the little messages. These girls....yeah, you heard me right. Girls! I don't know why but I just expect vandals to be boys, but these were clearly girls. They had written "Lena was here" "Georgia was here" and then quickly tried to key it out when they realized how stupid it was to write your name on some one's car! I mean, I even get annoyed when someone writes "wash me" in the grime left on my car, let alone this. It perplexes me as to why people decide to do things like this.
O yeah, and yesterday someone broke into it again! Come on!!! At least they never take the carseat, and there isn't ever ANYTHING in it....not even change, But I guess they have figured it out and want to do it whenever they can. Soooo frustrating!!!