My mom left tonight from being with us since Sept. 3! She has been a tremendous help with the baby and Fallon. Fallon and Lola became best friends and it was a sad farewell. The dogs even miss her since the next morning, they ran into the guest room sniffing around for her. We will all miss her! Thank you for everything. We love you Lola!
Fallon's pumpkin painting for cousin Michael.
A quick stop at the pumpkin patch for a photo of the kids. Aspen was not happy.
Shay "Anakin Skywalker" and Fallon.
Aspen is doing well with everything so far - laughing, looking at us, lifitng her head, responding to noise, following with her eyes and eating like a champ! We've had a few discrepancies on her height: at birth, she was measured at 17 3/4 inches. At 1 week, she was measured at 19 inches. At 2 weeks: 19.75", at 5 weeks: 20.5". Her Dr. said that they definitely measured her wrong at birth and was probably over 19 inches then. Fallon was 19 1/2". Aspen has been cluster feeding (nursing every 90 minutes) which leaves no time for much else. Her schedule is opposite ours which we are trying to reverse to get more sleep. So far, she is similar to Fallon - aware of her surroundings, already enjoying baby Einstein videos and smiling. Fallon is very helpful and understanding with her and continues to be a proud big sister, especially when I come to pick Fallon up from school.
Scott Bissell (Jon's best friend and Fallon's godfather) was in town for an Orthopedic Medical convention. He came over to meet Aspen and play with Fallon for a bit. Scott also bought a ticket to see Gwen Stefani with us. It was great to see him. Fallon especially loves him because he plays so well with her.
I finally got to see Gwen Stefani solo in concert (I've seen her with No Doubt)! Love her! Jon got me tickets for my birthday. Mom babysat while Jon and I ran out with Scott Bissell to catch the show at Pearl in the Palms hotel. Awesome venue - I will definitely go back there to see more concerts. Her performance was incredible and her stage was not overdone. And as always, fun outfits. You can really see how she is influenced by Japanese culture. We had great seats and I was so bummed that I did not bring my camera! I had my phone which wasn't so bad. At one point during the concert, she parted the standing room only section, ran through them and climbed up on the sound mixers box which happened to be right in front of us! Other highlight: the breakdancing.
Merryhill School got to wear costumes instead of their uniforms today. Fallon was Snow White. We helped with their Halloween party and took a ton of pictures - as most parents would, right? This last photo is with her teacher, Mrs. Ghanimian and her "crush" Jordan, donning the Thomas Train costume. He is the funny man in class and has a sarcastic personality which Fallon adores and understands.
We had our first show of the season this weekend and we are exhausted! Two days and lots of wind. We lost our tent Saturday night. The winds were so bad, it shattered our frame and broke, so we ended up moving to the other side on Sunday - where the traffic was much better. The Green ended up being lame. I think I did pretty good and friends came to show support: Tina and Thanya Chinakarn (Lee) and her new baby stoppped by. The Almontes, Cora Hanley, friends and neighbors came. Mom and Fallon were there both days having fun. Next show: Boston and Connecticut area!
Today, one of my favorite cousins (and Fallon's Godmother), Raquel Villanueva, married Tom Porter in Chicago, Illinois. We could not be there since travelling would be very difficult with the brand new baby. We are so sad we could not be there to celebrate, but we were there in spirit. The wedding was beautiful and it was the most memorable time of their lives. We are so happy to welcome Tom into the family and we Congratulate you both on a wonderful life together! (They are a very good-looking couple, don't you agree?) Hope to see you soon!
Jonathan began round 1 of the flu bug. Mom and dad caught it and then Fallon got it and ended up getting so dehydrated again with constant vomitting. We were so worried, Jonathan took her to the hospital. She was so brave - not even afraid of the i.v. or the hospital (my dad hopes it is an early sign to carry on his legacy of becoming a doctor). They came home in 4 hours and she was chattering like normal. It was nice to have her home from school this week even though I was juggling kids and blankets. She had to use the nebulizer this week - Dad was afraid she might have asthma or be allergic to our dogs! Oh no! Anyway, she got to keep her cute hospital gown!
This weekend of October 20-21, Ashley and I are teamed up again at an Arts Festival in Henderson. I've been working day and night the past few weeks to prepare. It's been challenging with 2 kids now, but I'm excited to start the season. We'll be located on The Green between Whole Foods and West Elm (my 2 favorite spots).
We drove up to Mt. Charleston to catch the last of the Aspens before they lost their leaves. We missed their golden peaks, but we were able to locate a few. It was soo cold, it made it difficult to snap some photos, but here are a couple.
Fallon picked up on my nursing habit...guess it's never too early to learn.
I can't believe we are celebrating our 5th anniversary! Jonathan got the night off (miracle!) and we went to Bartolotta at Wynn Hotel. I've been dying to go. We sat outside in a cabana with a view of the mirror balls in the lake. We were amazed at how excellent the food and service were - right down to their bread. Fresh seafood is flown in directly from European fish markets to this restaurant. We had rabbit, gnocchi, ravioli and the Occhiona fish. The almond flour chocolate cake was amazing. I could not get over the meal - you just have to go!
