The Beginning of our Holiday Season!

We started our holiday season by going to the tree lighting ceremony at the Scottsdale Princess Resort on Nov. 30th. It was absolutely beautiful! They had the Phoenix Boys Choir there and Scott McIntyre (season 8 finalist from American Idol) singing Christmas songs. This was the first year the resort has done it and we will definitely start our holiday season off every year by going to this event. It was actually cold here in the desert....thirty degrees so it really did feel like Christmas!

A little girl who has her daddy wrapped around her finger.

Jamie never gets cookies at home so he was inhaling the free ones at the event.

Our pumpkin pie....she was walking all over, waving hi to everyone, and trying to find cookies crumbs on the ground!

Halloween!

We had a great Halloween this year! It started with Jamie's preschool who hosted a Fall Festival. We also went to Schnepf Farms, Trunk or Treat in Queen Creek, and went trick or treating in our neighborhood. Busy...busy...but lot's of fun memories.

Nani and Jamie at Trunk or Treat. The kids were pirates this year.


Her onesie say's "Arrrh...matey, kiss my booty!"

Our big boy at the pumpkin patch. He had so much fun this night!

My baby girl...trying to eat a pumpkin. This picture captures Jordan's personality....determined and cute!

Jordan and I on the carousel.

State Fair!

I'm finally catching up with our blog! We went to the State Fair in Oct. and had the best time! Jamie surprised us all this year and wanted to go on a lot more "scarier" rides than what he has gone on in the past. Jeremy can't wait until he's a little bit bigger and can start going on the "real" rides with him!

Jamie and Nani are in the second to the last row. As you can see, Jeremy was enjoying this ride too!


Going on the big swings by himself.

I couldn't believe it....he wanted to go on the scariest ride to me....the open giant ferris wheel. I like the enclosed basket ferris wheels but Jamie saw this one and wanted to ride it. It was huge and went very high but he loved it! I'm nervous I have a daredevil on my hands.....

Jamie and I having a blast on the roller coaster!

Nani, Jeremy, and Jamie going on the spinning dragons. Jeremy doesn't do spinning rides but he managed to go on this and not get sick....the things we do for our children. :)

She's One! (sniff..sniff)

We also celebrated Jordan's first birthday in the Bay Area. I really wanted Grandma Vi to be a part of the celebration and this trip happened to fall right on Jordan's first birthday. Melanie, Jason and Katie were able to stay for awhile and celebrate too. My aunt and uncle made a wonderful steak dinner and we topped the night off with a delicious ice cream cake.

I must admit it was bittersweet to be celebrating her first birthday because she is no longer a baby and is growing up so quickly. I never thought I would enjoy having a girl as much as I have. Jordan has been such a blessing to our family. She is so sweet but yet so assertive and is always talking away. She has a huge personality already so it should be fun to see how she blossoms as she gets older. She just started taking a few steps and is ready to explore more now that she can see things on a different level. This next year should be a lot of fun!

This is my favorite picture from the whole trip. They are playing in the backyard at my aunt's and uncle's house and were having so much fun!

Big brother wanted to help Jordan blow out her candle. He was very excited to do this.

Grandma Vi and Jordan.

The birthday girl.....we love her so much!

Happy birthday, baby girl (aka sweet pea, pumpkin pie and squirmy wormy)!

San Francisco Part Two

We were only in the Bay Area for about four days but we managed to squeeze a lot into those days. We went down to Pier 39 and saw the sea lions which was a lot of fun. We love coming down to Pier 39. All of the shops and activity is a lot of fun. Jamie was pretty tired at this point of the trip so we stayed for a few hours and then headed back up to Petaluma to my aunt and uncle's house. It was a great trip!

The famous sea lions on the pier.


We were all fascinated with them.

Jeremy wanted to get a picture of me since this was the day after my Domaine Carneros/birthday celebration. Yes...I did have a bit of a headache! :)

Uncle Jason and Jamie. These two always have so much fun together!

Our San Francisco Trip - Part One

While in San Francisco we also had a little celebration for my 30th birthday. We went to my favorite place in the world (besides Kauai) Domaine Carneros. This is a champagne house that we try to visit every time we make it up the Bay area. It was wonderful to celebrate with my aunt, uncle, cousin, and siblings. I definitely enjoyed myself! :)

Melanie was being a great big sister and taking care of Jordan while I enjoyed a few glasses of champagne. Doesn't she look great?!


The family enjoying time together.

Our attempt to get a picture of the family. At this point both kids were done for day and wanted naps.

Of course Jamie behaved for this shot since Uncle Jay was in it. :)

My baby girl....one day I'm sure she'll enjoy Domaine Carneros just like her mama.

Melanie's Baby Shower

On October 9th Melanie had her baby shower in the San Francisco area. She is having a baby girl who will make her debut January 2nd, 2011 and I am so excited to finally become an auntie! Melanie had a great turnout and all of our aunts were able to make it which made it so special. It was a wonderful afternoon and Melanie got a lot of great gifts for the baby too.

Yummy....these were the best red velvet cupcakes I've ever had!


Grandma Vi and my soon to be sister in law...Katie

The proud soon to be mama. She looks absolutely amazing for being in her third trimester!

The whole gang....lots of love in the room for Mel and baby!

Our boy!

Jamie is growing up so fast too and is so much fun! He is going to a new preschool (very long story....bottom line mama and Jamie weren't happy with the other one) and really enjoys it. He's still goes to tumbling class once a week and sports class once a week. Jamie is such a sweet little boy and is such a great big brother to Jordan. He's always watching out for her and let's me know if she's getting into something she shouldn't be or if she is not sharing with him. He doesn't quite understand that an 11 month old doesn't know how to share....they just know how to grab things. :) We have fun throughout the day but his favorite part of the day is when daddy comes home and they wrestle. The kids are so blessed to have such a wonderful father. It doesn't matter if he's had a long day at work and is exhausted, he'll still come home and play with the kids for hours. He's awesome!

Jordan's 11 months old!

In about three weeks, Jordan will be celebrating her 1st birthday! I can't believe how fast this year has gone. It's been so much fun and I'm excited that she's turning one and will soon be walking but also a little sad since she's outgrowing the "baby" stage. She's cruising around (holding onto furniture) and is standing by herself for a few seconds so I'm sure in another month or so she'll take her first steps....so exciting! She recently learned how to clap and claps throughout the day and expects a response right away. So, most of the day I'm stopping every ten mins. or so to say, "Yay" whenever she claps but it's worth it because the smile she gives me back is priceless. :)


Our happy little girl.


Here's the classic baby pool picture.....I think she's a bit upset with the pool temperature.

At eleven months she won't hold the teddy bear at all. She prefers to choke it instead.

Cruising on Jamie's truck. The poor girl....she has no baby girl toys. All day she plays with trucks and cars. I'm thinking it's time to get her a baby doll for her 1st birthday. :)

If you have ever wondered what we are doing in the evenings here it is. This picture captures what a typical evening is like at the Dahl household. Both kids attacking daddy, Joey (he's in the lower right hand corner) running for his life, and I'm taking pictures or enjoying a glass of wine.

Best Buds

Jamie and Poppi have been having so much fun lately! They've been to a baseball game, had lunch at a local airport where they could watch the planes land and take off and went to lunch where they had a huge indoor aquarium. Of course in between these events they have spent lots of time in Poppi's backyard, exploring, throwing rocks, and sharing Gatorade together. They are definitely two peas in a pod and have lots of fun together! :)


Jamie trying to get the shark to come over and say hi to him.

At the airport. Jamie couldn't take his eyes off the planes.

Watching the Padres and Diamondbacks game.

She's 10 months old!

Jordan's is now ten months old and is so much fun! She is super busy and is always crawling around and exploring. I have to vacuum every other day to make sure she's not putting random things into her mouth....she's my little carpet sweeper. Any furniture she comes across she will pull herself up automatically. Yesterday she let go of the furniture and stood for about 2 seconds on her own and then fell down. She's sleeping a lot better and eating up a storm. Her favorite activity is to wrestle with daddy and Jamie. Our evenings in the house are very loud with screaming and laughing as everyone is on the floor rolling around and I wouldn't trade it for anything! :)

Trying to get a picture of her is very hard right now. Every time she sees the camera she tries pulls herself up onto my leg and wants to touch it.


The only shot I got of her with her teddy and sitting still. It's a bit blurry but I'm thankful I got one! ;)

Wrestling with the family.....my crazy girl!

Tackling Jamie. As you can see from his expression he loves it too.

"I love my daddy!"

First Day of Preschool

The day has finally arrived.....Jamie had his first day of preschool today. I definitely think I had a much harder time dealing with this transition than he did. I was up all night last night worrying about whether or not he'd find the bathroom okay, if the other kids would be friendly, ,etc. At one point I told Jeremy that I didn't think he was ready and wanted to keep him home for one more year! But, in my heart I do know he's ready and that he'll be just fine.

He's going to preschool two days a week from 8am - 11am. He's going to Harmony Farms. Here's the description, "A place like no other where your child will interact with animals, tend to a flourishing garden, and play in a mini town created just for them. " The preschool has a huge outdoor play area with lots of area for the kids to run, miniature farm animals that the kids will help take care of and a huge garden where they will participate in a Fall and Spring harvest. I visited several preschools last spring and when I walked into this one I knew this was the one for my busy little boy.

Jamie checking out the rocks before we head into school. What a typical boy!


A picture of him after he got home from school. This is his new Thomas the Train backpack which he loves.

This is in front of the school. You can tell by his expression he's not too sure about it yet.

In the classroom and he's showing me a bunch of different toys.

So, his first day went well. He was a little bit sad when I left but when I went to pick him up he was fine. I arrived early and peeked inside and they were having story time. Jamie was right in the front and was just memorized by the teacher reading the story. He reminded me so much of myself in this moment! He was very tired when I brought him home and is taking a long nap as I post this.

I know this is the first of many milestones my kids will go through and I'm very happy for them but I must admit my heart ached all morning without my bubbas near me! I will always do what's best for them and let them grow even though I want to hang onto them tight and protect them forever. This parenting thing can be SO tough sometimes! ;)

Having Fun with Nani and Poppi

Today Nani and Poppi took us to The Children's Museum in Mesa. Jamie and Jordan had a lot of fun exploring and playing with Nani and Poppi. Jamie loved the big blocks and Jordan liked watching all of the kids around her. Thanks for the great day! :)

Nani showing Jordan a very cool toy.


Jamie playing a song for Jordan with the kong.

Jamie and Poppi playing with the big blocks.

Nani showing Jordan some more toys.

Poppi, Jordan, and Nani in the little theater. I tried to get Jamie in the picture but he kept running up and down the steps before I could get him! ;)