The Witman Family Blog

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T12:10:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Witmans! The girls were able to see Santa while we were in Seattle for their Birthdays. Lily turned 4 and Layla turned 2 years old! They look so big on Santa's lap. Layla did very well with Santa, we weren't sure if she would cry or refuse to sit on his lap! Lily asked for several things this year, but the funniest one was she ask for a new Ken doll. Not like the one she plays with now that was Mommy's when I was little, with a leg that falls off!

Merry Christmas from San Diego...guess we will be in Seattle next year!

Lily at Gymnastics

2011-02-10T07:17:00.000-08:00

Lily has really been enjoying her gymnastics class. She walks on the beam, climbs the rock wall, jumps over the pumel horse and much more!

Lily's First Soccer Game

2011-02-10T03:28:00.000-08:00

Lily missed the team's first game because we were visiting Grandma and Grandpa Witman in Florida. So, our first game was The Kixie Chicks second game. Lily got to kick the opening ball. She had a great time warming-up with Daddy before the game started. She was a little scared this game and need Daddy to hold her hand for awhile.

Lily Mae at Soccer Practice

2011-02-10T03:11:00.000-08:00

Lily has joined a 3&4 year old soccer team! Her Daddy is now officially Coach Tom or Coach Daddy to Lily. There are 5 girls on her team, The Kixie Chicks. Here are some pictures from one of her first practices. Assistant Coach Mark ran the practice since Coach Tom was out of town.

Christmas in Oceanside

2010-12-31T13:44:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas at home this year. After presents we took a walk and tried out the new wagon, soccer balls, and electric car!

Vroom! Happy Holidays everybody!

Dad Life

2010-07-20T11:56:00.001-07:00

Yeah...it's the Dad Life, that's what it's all about!!!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2009

2010-07-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

Still getting caught up on old posts. I'm up to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2009. Layla was barely 3 weeks old and Lily had just turned 2 years old. We spent a very calm Christmas Eve at some friend's home, and Christmas Day at home and around Oceanside. I was still recovering from my C-Section and getting the hang of nursing Layla while still tending to Lily. Lily had recently gotten into watching Dora the Explorer show and Santa Claus brought several Dora presents to Lily Mae that year. Poor Layla really didn't understand Christmas or for that matter that she was even born! She was so little (wearing premie clothes) and quite that we still felt like we only had one kid that Christmas morning! Lily decided to take her time opening her gifts. She would sit and play with each one for quite some time. In fact, she opened her presents SO SLOW, that we had to take a break to eat breakfast. After several hours for unwrapping gifts, we headed down to the Oceanside Harbor so Tommy could do a little Christmas Day Surfing. We ended the day with Lily watching a new movie curled up on her new Dora couch/recliner.

Christmas Eve Angel

Behind again!

2010-07-07T16:00:00.000-07:00

Well I went and did it again...got ridiculously behing again in the blog! I owe it to the girls to add all the months I have missed. So believe it or not I am starting with Christmas!!
My Mom and Dad were here for the birth of Layla and spent an early Christmas with us.

Paw Paw and Lily

Little Elf

NeeNee and Layla

Did I just hear Santa on the roof?

Smells so good!

Snuggle Time!

Cocktail Hour!

Tired of waiting to open gifts!

Lily's Tree

Layla's First Christmas

My Christmas Present!!

Lovebirds!

4th of July Photo Page

2010-07-05T11:57:00.001-07:00

Check out the new photo page of our 4th of July hike: http://www.witman.net/microsites/july4th2010

Happy B-Day America!

Lily Mae in Georgia

2010-05-27T20:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of Lily Mae in Georgia at my sisters house.

New Shots of the Girls

2010-05-21T09:23:00.001-07:00

Lily on Easter

2010-04-04T22:31:00.000-07:00

Lily Collecting Easter Eggs in the Backyard!

Lily on a Date with LJ

2010-03-10T08:45:00.000-08:00

Lily was picked up by her boyfriend LJ and swept off on his cool bike!

Lily Sings Pavarotti

2010-03-08T08:13:00.000-08:00

Lily serenades us this morning to the tune of La Donna E Mobile by Pavarotti!

Layla and Daddy

2010-02-28T09:08:00.001-08:00

Lily Sings Her A-B-C's for the first time!

2010-02-27T08:55:00.000-08:00

Lily seems to be growing up faster and faster each day. Today she surprised us by singing her ABC song all by herself. She also tried to clean the doors with a towel and cleaned the floor! She's becoming a little girl!!!

Lily Reads to Layla

2010-02-26T07:33:00.000-08:00

Lily, Lambchop, and Loopy!

2010-02-26T07:20:00.001-08:00

Layla and Mommy Sleeping

2010-02-26T07:06:00.000-08:00

I took this video on my Mac while the girls were sleeping! Don't wake the baby!!!

Lily Rambles as She Eats!

2010-02-15T13:28:00.000-08:00

Lily has something to say, but I'm not sure what it is!

Lily's Pancake Birthday Breakfast

2010-02-09T15:35:00.000-08:00

Lily got to sit in a BIG Girl chair and eat pancakes for Breakfast for her Two Year Birthday. Unfortunately, Lily fell off the chair and landed chin first onto the kitchen floor! (Picture to come of the bruised chin ) Her and Daddy enjoyed the breakfast after the crying stopped. They even got to make a Birthday toast!

Layla's First Bath

2010-02-09T14:53:00.001-08:00

Staying with tradition, my Mom gave Layla her first bath just as she had with Lily. Since the first baths have to be 'sponge baths' until the cord falls off, we decided to set up the kitchen table for the event. At first Layla seemed to enjoy the bath, but soon she got a little frustrated when Mom turned her over to reveal her butt to the camera...Wouldn't you get bad if your bottom was up for all to see?

Layla's First Bath by NeeNee

Don't be Scared, I've got you!

I'm Cold!

So Cute!

For all to see!

Don't laugh at me NeeNee!

Super Clean!

Smell how clean I am Daddy!

Proud NeeNee!

Layla is worn out after the event!

Lily Mae Turned Two in December

2010-01-20T21:46:00.000-08:00

On December 8th Lily turned two! We had a very low key Birthday get-together for her, since Layla and I had only been home from the hospital for 24 hours. I can't believe how big she has gotten this past year. She has learned to walk, run, jump, sing, talk, use a fork and spoon, and tell us she loves us. It been a busy year for Lily! She became a big sister, moved into a new home, traveled to Rome and Venice, swam in her new pool all summer to name a few events. Here are some additional pictures of her party.

Barbara and Lily

Neenee and Layla

Tommy (Daddy)

Lily's Birthday Cake (made by "NeeNee")

Mo, Barbara, and Lily (our neighbors)

A little lunch before the cake

Daddy and Layla

Jenn, Rylee, Tommy and Lily enjoying the playroom

Alisia and Layla

Wow, is this cake for me?

Rylee, LJ and Lily

Daddy, help me blow out my candles!

Sugar Kisses

LJ

Rylee

Lily got a Hello Kitty tent and sleeping bag from Neenee and PawPaw

LJ and Lily chilling in her new tent

Layla all partied out!

Back to the Blog

2010-01-18T16:15:00.000-08:00

Okay, it's been 6 weeks since I've had Layla and I am in a groove finally and ready to get the blog caught up. Tommy has add pics of some events since December 1st, but I am going to take this week to add a lot more updates and pictures. I am also going to steer away from photo slide shows and post each picture individually. If we ever want to print the blog out in a book type format, we will need each picture to appear in the blog directly. I think it will be easier to enjoy each picture posted this way.

So, first and foremost, we had a Baby! Tommy posted the pictures of Layla Shae moments after delivery. Here are some of the photos from the rest of our hospital stay.

Our first family photo

Daddy's Newest Girl

Layla Shae - 6lbs 5oz

Tiny Feet

Daddy's first diaper change on Layla

She's already got Daddy kissing her feet!

In....

Love...

A very tired and swollen Mommy!

Girl Attitude!

Layla's hearing test

All bundled up and ready to go home.

Layla leaving the hospital .

Layla Shae: SATISFIED

2010-01-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

A huge smile after the 4am feeding! Sweet dreams Layla Shae!

CES Opening

2010-01-06T21:35:00.003-08:00

Lily Mae at Coronado Island

2010-01-03T18:25:00.000-08:00

Lily was enjoying the beach at Coronado Island

She ate ice cream at the Hotel Coronado

Rode on the beach with Layla

And saw islands and Mexico

New Years 2010

2010-01-01T19:04:00.000-08:00

This year we went to the 121st Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA for New Years. The weather was perfect at 71 degrees and sunny. It was Lily and Layla's first parade. Both girls enjoyed the floats, the bands, and the flowers. Happy New Year everyone!

Lily in Dana Point

2009-12-31T12:46:00.000-08:00

Lily Mae dressed up in her China Doll outfit and took a stroll in the harbor at Dana Point, CA

A Whole Lotta Lily!

2009-12-27T14:56:00.000-08:00

Here's a whole lotta Lily for ya! Pictures of Lily over the past two years.

Enjoy!!

Happy 70th Birthday Big Papa!

2009-12-27T14:16:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Papa! We love you and we miss you!!!

Merry Christmas Video

2009-12-25T16:30:00.001-08:00

2009-12-15T09:24:00.000-08:00

Belly Button - Lily or Layla?

Marcy

2009-12-15T08:52:00.000-08:00

Lily Mae Turns Two

2009-12-08T22:10:00.000-08:00

Lily and Daddy spend the day together at the Wild Animal Park in San Diego.

She rode a hot air balloon, saw California Condors, walked through a catus garden and met a Lion!

What a great day! We love you Princess!

Layla and Neenee

2009-12-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

Layla and Neenee before, during, and after Layla's first bath.

We are so happy that Neenee is here to spend time (and help!) with Layla and Lily.

You can tell how much they both love her!

Lily's 2nd Birthday!

2009-12-08T16:13:00.000-08:00

Nee Nee and Layla

2009-12-07T19:15:00.000-08:00

Nee Nee and Layla enjoy some snuggle time!

Cheers Lily! Potty Trained!!!

2009-12-07T18:30:00.000-08:00

The day before her second birthday, Lily decided to go potty in the toilet! Lily motioned to her bottom, said "Poopoo" and then walked to the bathroom with Daddy. After she sat down and showed me about a dozen times that she hadn't yet gone, she sat back down and said "bye" and made sure I left the room. She then ran out a few times and each time I checked, no poop. Then, the fourth time, she pooped! She was so excited and we all toasted to Lily achieving this major milestone! Cheers Lily Mae!!!

NeeNee's Message to Papa

2009-12-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

Hey Papa! NeeNee wanted to send you a video message since she misses you and can't wait to see you!

See you soon!

Good Morning Papa!

2009-12-07T08:30:00.000-08:00

Lily was playing around this morning and decided to talk to the camera.

Enjoy the brief video clip. Lily can't wait to see you!!

Good night sweetheart!

2009-12-05T23:37:00.000-08:00

> Layla's first night at home!

It's a GIRL!! - Welcome Layla Shae

2009-12-03T16:36:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Layla Shae Witman! This morning at 8:01AM PDT, Layla Shae came into the world at Mary Birch Hospital in San Diego, CA. Layla weighed in at 6lbs 5oz and is 18.5 inches long. With an APGAR score of 9, Layla came into this world happy, healthy, hungry, and BEAUTIFUL!

Marcy and the baby are both healthy. Marcy is so excited and in love with our new baby daughter.
Believe it or not, Marcy is already walking about and breast feeding Layla.

Layla on the SCALE!

Hello World! HIGH FIVE!!

I See You! Layla's first peak at the world.

Proud Grandma of 7 girls and 1 boy! Congratulations NeeNee! Mom was so happy to see Layla and didn't want to let her go. We are so grateful that she came out to visit with us and be here for this very special day.

Thanks everybody for all your support during this pregnancy! We love you all and can't wait to introduce you to our little baby girl!

Feeling a bit daring? Watch the C-Section here.

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO:

LARGE FILE

SMALL FILE

Even More Pictures Here:

Layla Shae

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-30T20:58:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving we were invited over to our friends Alisia and Blake's family get together at Blake's Mom's (Julie) house. They really made us feel like part of the family! We couldn't ask for better friends! Lily had a great time with their son LJ. They ate dinner together (the only two at the 'Kids Table'), shared a pumpkin pie, watched TV and took a bath together. She stayed up way passed her normal bedtime, but she was having too much fun to rush home just for that! We have a lot to be Thankful for this year, but hope next year will be even more fulfilling and rewarding as our family grows!

Vodka Infusions!

2009-11-29T20:03:00.000-08:00

Last month I decided I would try my hand at a new hobby...Vodka Infusions. It was sort of a weird time to start this new adventure. Since I was almost 8 months pregnant, I was unable to taste test or enjoy my creations. None the less, I had a very willing assistant (taste tester and drink creator), my Husband, Tommy. I decided to start off with 4 different drink creations, hoping that at least one would turn out to be enjoyable. To my surprise they all turned out delicious! My beginning four infusions were 1) Coffee Vodka 2) Cranberry-Blood Orange 3) Pear-Green Apple-Banana and 4) Pineapple. Below I will explain how I created each infusion and what drinks my assistance has created.

Coffee Vodka

I started off with 24 oz of Vodka and added 1/3 cup of slightly crushed dark espresso coffee beans. I placed the coffee beans on a cutting board and used the measuring cup to break open the beans to allow the flavor to develop quicker. I stirred the mixture and sealed it a glass jar. My jar isn't quite air tight, so I added some plastic wrap under the lid. I place the jar in a dark cabinet. Because I use such dark beans the coffee vodka infusion was ready in 48 hours. Tommy, my official taste tester, lets me know when my vodka infusions are ready for filtering and bottling. He also helps to create the best drink ideas for each flavor.
This infusion is one of his favorites and he has come up with a simple drink inspired by a White Russian.

Take a martini glass and swirl chocolate down the glass from top to bottom. Place it in the freezer for a few minutes, until chocolate freezes, to create a great design.
In a shaker add:
2oz Coffee Vodka
2 oz Cinnamon Vanilla Coffee Creamer (or any flavor you want)
Ice
Shake until chilled, pour into glass and ENJOY!

Cranberry-Blood Orange

I started off this infusion with a little more work than the others. I had to cook the cranberries in order for the vodka to infuse with in my lifetime. I added 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water to a frying pan. Then I heated the water on Med-High until the sugar was dissolved. Next I added a 1 lb bag of fresh cranberries to the sugar/water. I cooked the berries until all had cracked open and was slightly soft. The liquid will turn pink and taste like cranberries. I allowed the mixture to cool before adding the entire concoction of berries and juice to my glass jar. I then added to the jar two blood oranges that had been removed from the rind, seeded, and sliced into 8-10 pieces. I topped off the jar with approximately 34-36 oz of vodka and stirred. I placed the jar in a dark cabinet and my assistant tasted it 3 days later. We decided to let the infusion continue for another 2 days. We removed the fruit (freezing for later use with the drinks), filter thru a cheesecloth and bottled.
This is definitely Tommy's favorite infusion! I might have trouble keeping this one in stock in our liquor cabinet!
The drink he has created is a little dangerous, since it goes down so smooth, you tend to drink it quickly.
In a glass add:
Ice to the top
3 fingers of Cranberry-Blood Orange Vodka
Top with Tonic Water
Squeeze 1/4 lime into glass
Add a few frozen Cranberries and a slice of frozen blood orange to your drink for garnish (the fruit you saved from the infusion)
Enjoy slowly!

Pear-Green Apple-Banana

My third infusion started off as just pear-green apple. I added 2 pears and 2 green apples, sliced, into a glass jar with approximately 24 oz of vodka. I used plastic wrap on the top of this jar to ensure a better air tight fit. On the third day my assistant taste tested and again on the fifth day, at which time we decided to remove a small portion and try again in a two days. We decided this infusion was complete since the day five test sample and day seven test sample were of the same quality and taste. The fruit had nothing left to add to the infusion, but the vodka didn't seem completely adequate. I think the fruits I used just weren't rip enough to bring the natural sugars and flavors out in the infusion. Since this is all experimental anyways, we removed the pears and apples from the vodka and decided to add one sliced banana. After three additional days my assistant performed one finally test. He decided the mixture had a strong banana taste and if allowed to continue the banana flavor would overtake the pear and apple flavors. We removed the banana, filtered and bottle this infusion.
As far as a drink for this infusion it doesn't work with tonic water. This one works best as a straight up very chilled martini. I would garnish with a slice of fresh apple or pear.

Pineapple
My fourth infusion was a Pineapple creation! I removed the skin of the fruit and the core. Next I sliced up the very rip fresh in large 2x2 chunks. I placed the fruit and approximately 34-36 oz of vodka in an air tight glass jar. We allowed the vodka to infuse for five days. After the fruit was removed (kept and froze), I then filtered and bottled this very, very Pineapple tasting vodka.
This vodka can definitely be drunk as a very chilled straight up martini. You could also add a splash of cranberry juice (or any other fruit juice), club soda or sprite to this infusion for a sweeter tasting cocktail. I would garnish this drink with some of the frozen pinapple used during the infusion or frozen infused cranberries (saved from the cranberry-orange infusion) or fresh pineapple.

Lily Mae Video: Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-26T14:58:00.000-08:00

Lily had a great time playing in the backyard "beach" today. It was a warm, sunny, perfect day to enjoy at home. Lily says "two" instead of "more" and was asking to see herself in the video camera preview window. She loves to watch herself on camera! Enjoy this clip and have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

The Morrison Men come for a Visit

2009-11-25T06:15:00.000-08:00

Our dear friend Paul brought his two boys, Archie and Bertie, down to visit a few weekends ago. His lovely wife Sam was on a 10 day trip back in London visiting her family and friends. Paul needed a change of scenery and some Witman time, so he spent the night at our home. The next morning we all went to the San Diego Zoo. The boys had never been there and I thought they might really enjoy the new Elephant enclosure at the zoo. Lily was so different with the boys this visit; she has not seen them in two months. She was laughing and running around with them. With that came a little more roughhousing than she was use to. So, there was a lot of laughing and a lot of tears (some mine and Tommy's). It was so good for her to be exposed to that; she is very sheltered here most of the time as an ONLY kid (for now). When they are here she has to share and have patience, which aren't that easy for a 23 month old!! After we got back from the zoo, and they were all rejuvenated from naps, the kids started to wrestle and have pillow fights. Lily was laughing so hard it sound like squeals! Thanks for a great Visit boys, can't wait to see you next month!

Random Shots from November

2009-11-23T07:35:00.000-08:00

Here are some random shots of Lily this month, her last month as an only child!

Pregnant Belly

2009-11-22T15:26:00.000-08:00

I am not sure how much Lily really understands about me being pregnant. I thinks she thinks Mommy is just getting fatter everyday! When we asked her where the baby is she points to my belly and sometimes to her own belly. Lately, she has shown a lot more interest and even pulls Tommy's hand over to feel my belly. When we asked Lily what she thought Mommy is having, she informed us either a girl or a cow. She gives the belly kisses, but is usually over the affection quickly and pulls my shirt down to let me know she is done. I think she will be a great Big Sister, lets hope she learns a little more patience over the next two weeks!

Bates Nut Farm

2009-11-21T17:14:00.000-08:00

Mid October, Lily and I took a trip to the Bates Nut Farm with my friend Alisia, her son LJ, her Mother-in-Law Julie and Sister-in-Law Macy. LJ and Lily had a great time riding ponies, walking thru the pumpkin patch, finding their way thru the corn maze, and picking out their pumpkins to take home. LJ got a little frisky in the wheel barrel with a full-on hug that was very cute! They spent the morning walking around holding hands and making each other giggle. She really enjoys time with her Best Friend in Oceanside!

Miramar Air Show

2009-11-18T14:59:00.000-08:00

In October we took Lily to the Miramar Air Show at the Miramar Marine Corp Base in San Diego. We saw the Blue Angles perform, as well as featured military air crafts. Lily felt the need to be polite and say 'hello' to the air crafts as they flew by. Okay, she was yelling 'hello', it was really loud at times. It was truly amazing at how close the planes would get to each other in the air! Check out our day below...

Backyard Rainbow

2009-11-17T20:46:00.001-08:00

Some pictures of our backyard and a great rainbow (double rainbow if you squint). The best part about it was hearing Lily says "rainbow"! So cute the way they pronounce words at that age!

Children's Science Center in San Diego

2009-11-17T14:39:00.000-08:00

After a great morning at the zoo and a picnic we then headed off to the Children's Science Center in Balboa Park. I wasn't sure if the interactive displays would be "too big" for Lily. But, soon my worries were gone as her and Daddy started to explore the center! I was amazed at how much she watched Tommy and then wanted to try stuff on her own! She is getting SO BIG! We ended the day at the center's IMAX theater for a little 'under the sea' show. She was really taken by the giant screen and movie for about the first 30 minutes, but then last 30 minutes it was all about climbing in and out of the wonderful folding chair! She must have done it a 100 times! We went to the marine in Point Loma for sunset and ate the remaining bits of picnic we had for dinner. She didn't make it home before she fell asleep. It was a very long day for her and us as well (I was 28 weeks pregnant and exhausted from all the walking!).

San Diego Zoo

2009-11-16T15:47:00.000-08:00

In late September, we took a trip down to the San Diego Zoo to visit their brand new elephant section called Elephant Odyssey. It was a lot of fun for Lily since she loves elephants! Then we had a picnic lunch in Balboa Park in downtown SD.

Thanksgiving Art Work

2009-11-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

It was time to take down the Halloween fingerprint spiders and footprint ghosts and move on to the next holiday. We decided to get a jump on the Fall and Thanksgiving artwork and invited Alisia and LJ to come over and join in on the fun. We made turkey bread baskets, painted hand print turkeys and cutout hand print and shoe print turkeys! When they first arrived, Lily and LJ had some sharing issues over toys, but soon they were laughing, chasing each other around the room, and rolling around on the floor laughing out loud! They really seem to play better with each other every time they get together. They have become great friends! Thanks for coming over Alisia and LJ!

Hospital Tour: Mary Birch Hospital

2009-11-01T17:20:00.000-08:00

We are at the Mary Birch Hospital on the tour before the arrival of
the baby! Marcy is a bit nervous now and excited too. The hospital
is wonderful and they deliver a baby every hour, that's about 8,600
each year.

Then and Now

2009-10-31T22:14:00.000-07:00

Lily has changed so much over the past year! Check out these two Halloween photos of her from 2008 (10 months old) and 2009 (22 months old) in the same outfit. At least she has some hair now!

Halloween Duck!

2009-10-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

We started our Halloween Day carving our pumpkins. Lily sat in her highchair with her 3 stuffed pumpkins while we did all the hard work. I, of course, carved my pumpkin into a kitty cat (the animal of choice for Lily right now). She kisses any picture of a cat she sees, including clothes that have cats on them, and then screams, "Meow Meow, Kitty Kitty!"

We then went over to Julie's house, Alisia's Mother-in-Law, for a Halloween get together. We finally got to meet Alisia's husband, Blake, and the rest of their family and friends. We had a great time and they made us feel like part of the family! I am glad I have met such a great friend in our new town!

Lily the Duck had a great time playing with the other kids and then we all headed out for some trick-or-treating. We went to about 6 houses and were headed back to the party, but she was having so much fun we decided to continue. She probably went to about 15 houses, walked almost the entire way by herself, and would not let me help her carry her pumpkin. She actually had "a death grip" on her pumpkin and told me "No, Mama!" when I tried to relieve her of it!

We ended up back at the party for some great food (amazing caramel apples!), drink and conversation! Halloween 2009 was a great time in Oceanside with our family, new friends and the anticipation of next year's Halloween when we will be a family of 4!

Random Shots from October

2009-10-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

Lily really enjoyed the month of October. She visited the Bates Nut Farm with LJ, went to a All Hallow's Eve Carnival as a fairy, dressed up as a Duck for Halloween, went to Jullian, CA (Home of the Pie), made Halloween art, saw her first rainbow and her first airshow at Miramar. She is getting so big and is really starting to talk a lot more and repeats most of what we say. I guess we will really have to be careful of what comes out of our mouths! I know life will really change when Baby Noodle come in December. For now we are really trying to enjoy our only child and spoil her!

Lily Goes to a All Hallows Eve Carnival

2009-10-25T20:15:00.000-07:00

Across the street from our new subdivision is the First Presbyterian Church. One of my new friends here in Oceanside is Alisia and her Mother-in-Law Julie is the Director of the Preschool at the Church. She encouraged us to join in the fun at the All Hallows Eve Carnival last weekend. Lily was to be a Duck for Halloween, but the Carnival was between 4-6pm and it was still too light and too hot outside to wear the Duck costume. So, I dressed her up as a Fairy for the evening. We had fun watching Lily play games, eat Cotton Candy for the first time, play with her friend LJ (Alisia's son) and run around the playground! Thanks for the invite Julie and Alisia!

Lily the Duck!

2009-10-23T15:44:00.000-07:00

Lily's costume for Halloween this year!

Lily Art

2009-10-15T22:54:00.000-07:00

Random September Pictures

2009-09-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

September was a much slower month than August. No visitors and just one trip to the zoo (next blog entry). We did take our vacation to Yosemite, those pictures were already posted in September. I discovered this month that my child is not an Angel 100% of the time! She has decided that other kids are threats and could possible take any or all toys that she has. They aren't allowed to touch their own toys if she is around! Lily is having sharing issues that ususlly results In "Big Tears" and her very first "Time Out". I know it will take her sometime to learn to share. I have to not laugh at her when she starts saying, "NO NO" to the other kids (she is just so cute when she gets that mad!). Good thing we don't have to really punish her, just saying "No" to her is the end of the world and punishment enough! She has spent most of the month with as many necklaces and bracelets on her that would fit! She is really into taking all the toys out of her storage boxes and sitting in them. Then she piles all the toys back on top of her! She really makes us laugh! Check out her cute piggy tails in the below photos:

Lily at the SD Science Center

2009-09-28T09:42:00.000-07:00

Lily enjoyed learning about physics at the San Diego Science Center this weekend!
More to come...

Lily in Yosemite

2009-09-21T06:47:00.001-07:00

Lily made her way to another national park this past week, Yosemite!
She hiked and made new friends. Here is a picture. See more pictures
and details about the trip at: http://www.witman.net/yosemite

Cutest kid EVER

2009-09-03T19:24:00.000-07:00

Lily cried when the sunset today, afraid it was gone forever! Thank
goodness the moon came up!

Lily's Duck!

2009-09-02T13:55:00.001-07:00

Lily showing us her duck!

Random Pictures from August

2009-08-31T20:10:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of Lily from August. She spent a lot of time in the back yard with us while we finished the yard and beach. She also got to enjoy her completed playroom. She is growing up so fast and can do new things each day that surprises us...like water the flowers for us!

NeeNee's Visit to our new house in August

2009-08-31T15:45:00.000-07:00

At the end of August we had our last visitor, my Mom, Pat. She wanted to come out and get familiar with our new town and home, and also to see Lily. She will be here for my C-Section in December and it should make her stay easier already being here once before. She couldn't believe how much Lily's had changed and grown since February (the last time she saw her). Lily has decided that she isn't going to call her Gammy, but NeeNee. Lily had no trouble adjusting to Mom and was loving and kissing on her right away. It was a very laid back visit since it was very HOT and I was 5 months pregnant. We did manage to make it to the beach one morning to surf and play, to La Jolla for Brunch, and took time almost everyday to swim in our pool. Mom cooked me some good old fashion fried pork chops, mashed potatoes and green bean, and the last night she was here we had our "Family" Dish, Sour Meat and Noodles! It took her all day to make it, but it was worth the wait! We had a great dinner poolside in our backyard and lucky it cooled off enough to enjoy the evening! Thanks for coming to visit and we can't wait to spend 3 WEEKS with you in December!

Getting to see the Bremmers - First time in about 15 years!

2009-08-30T13:22:00.000-07:00

I got the opportunity to reconnect with my college roommate, band mate, sorority sister and fellow Hokie, Celeste! Her husband, Fred, and kids, Felicia and Calvin, were out here in beautiful Southern California for vacation, a wedding and to celebrate both of their kids birthdays. Fred is a dedicated Marine that is currently one year into a two year assignment overseas. We were lucky that he got to spend his vacation time here in the states with his family and that we got to see him as well! I am so proud of Celeste, or should I say Dr. Bremmer, for having such an amazing family and always remaining upbeat while her family is temporarily seperated! She was always the one through out college that had her life together and still does! Felicia and Calvin were great entertainment for Lily when we went out to dinner to a little restaurant in the harbor in downtown Oceanside. Felicia was so nice to Lily, even though Lily was stealing all Felicia's French Fries! It was a very short visit, but well overdue. I hope we can see eachother a lot sooner than another 15 years!

Morrison's Visit

2009-08-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of visitors in August at our house. The Morrison's (Paul, Sam, Bertie and Archie) were able to spending a few nights with us Mid-August. Lily was a little bit more active with the boys than she had been when she saw them just a month earlier. They are 2.5 and 1 years old than her, so she wasn't always sure what to make their of playing and rough-housing around. I don't know if it is the difference between boys and girls, the age differences or if she just hasn't quite gotten that active yet! Poor Bertie was stuck 60 miles from home without PJ's, so Lily lent him some...some PINK PJ's!! He didn't mind or even notice for that matter that he was wearing pink. We all had a good laugh at his expense, I'm glad he didn't realize it! It was all in good fun! Sam and I took the kids to the San Diego Wild Animal Park for one of the days, while Tommy and Paul enjoyed a morning of deep sea fishing. Unfortunately, they didn't catch dinner :{ It was a great visit! We truly treasure their friendship!

Spending sometime with the Reales

2009-08-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

In August a very close friend of mine from my college days at Virginia Tech, Cherish, came to San Diego for vacation. Her dear husband Rob (also a Hokie!) and their four children (Rebecca, Caleb, Noah and Levi) spent a week with Rob's brother and sister-in-law. I was really blessed to be able to spend two days with them. Lily and I joined them in Mission Beach for some beach time. Lily really took to Cherish! They got to come to our house to swim and relax another day and that evening we joined them at The Corvette Diner in San Diego for some games and grub. Tommy and Rob had peanut butter and bacon hamburgers!! Lily got her first balloon animal in the shape of a parrot, it didn't quite make it home in one piece! Reales, thanks for taking the time out of your vacation to see us!

Our very own Beach

2009-08-15T00:15:00.000-07:00

Tommy had a great idea to build a beach in our backyard. This was a seriously big project! After digging a hole 10ft x 20ft x 16 inches deep and moving all that earth by hand, Tommy could barely move! Then he started building the wall that surrounds the sand. We added slate, trees, stepping stones, flowers, gravel, and sand. The whole process took a month, but we ended up with a amazing backyard beach! Great job Tommy, Lily loves her Beach!

Random Photos from July

2009-07-31T14:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am back to updating past pictures onto the blog. This series will finish up July and then I will be onto August! Lily started to really enjoy her new home, room and pool. We love that we are only 2 miles off the water and can hit the beach whenever we want! Lily is a little bit of a picky eater, like her Mommy, but she started to try some new food this month. We setup our spare room downstairs as her playroom and she loves it! We pick a letter and number of the day off a huge foam mat we have hanging on the wall. She is really starting to get some hair and has finished cutting her 1st year molars. We met some new friends at the park, Alisia and her son LJ, that we hope to get to know better!

Legoland

2009-07-20T21:04:00.000-07:00

In late July our old neighbors, The Weaks, spent sometime with us at our new place. They decided to take their summer vacation in San Diego and spent three nights with us. One of the days we spent at Legoland, which is only about 5 miles from our new house. Lily seemed a little overwhelmed with the park and the giant lego sculptures, but always had a smile on her face. She got to enjoy a few rides, but unfortunately was too short for most. Don't worry Lily, by next year you can go on most of the rides! Tony, Jenn, Mason and Rylee had a great time and introduced Lily and I to our first apple french frys with cinnamon coolwhip dip! Wow, doesn't that just make you gain weight reading about it! Lily enjoyed the water park area the best, it was 90 degrees that day and the water felt great! Thanks Weaks for spending a few days with us!

Sandcastle Competition

2009-07-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

In July we decided to get to know our new area better and went to South San Diego County to the US Open Sandcastle Competition. We saw about a dozen different entries, I picked the Simpsons Vacation as my favorite by far! I don't know if Lily understood exactly what she was looking at, but seemed to really have a great time. She loves walking on the beach and sticking her toes in the sand. We had to cut the day short due to some round ligament pains I was having. It turned out to be a long drive for a short time on the beach, but worth the chance to see a real sandcastle competition!

The start of a New yard!

2009-07-15T20:30:00.000-07:00

When we moved into our new house we didn't have to much to do inside, but the yard was a whole other story. We started with new sod for the backyard, then flower beds, then a beach. It took Tommy a whole week to rip, cut, dig and haul out garbage cans full of top roots from the yard area. He also had to dig up all the automatic sprinklers to know where they were so the rototiller wouldn't destroy them. Then he had to refill the sprinkler trenches, add top soil and fertilizer, rototill, and flatten the dirt with a giant roller in one night! We finished the work around 1am and they delivered the sod by 9am. Then started a long 6 hours of hauling 4 rolls at a time in a wheel barrel from the driveway to the backyard. Each roll weighed at 50 lbs! As Tommy unrolled and placed the sod, I watered each with a hose and also kept Tommy misted down, it was after all 90+ degrees. Could we have picked a hotter day to do this?? It was a lot of back-breaking work that turned into a great yard! Thanks for all your hard work Tommy!!!

Lily loves the Pool

2009-07-15T00:09:00.000-07:00

Granted when we moved in the back yard wasn't all that enticing. The previous owners had let the yard go and it had become only weeds. We have done a lot to it since then, but the pool drew us out into our Southern CA yard before we had begun the yard overhaul! Lily loves the pool, especially with her Daddy. I can't spin her around and toss her in the air like Daddy can! The pictures are evidence of her love of water, just like her Mommy and Daddy. I hope she always enjoys it, so we can teach her surfing, sea kayaking, sailing, scuba diving and snorkeling in the years to come!

Angel's Game for Father's Day

2009-07-11T22:48:00.000-07:00

Lily gave her Daddy tickets to the LA Angels vs. NY Yankees for Father's Day this year. We went to a game on one of the hottest days in July, in the upper 90's! We got a little relief from the sun when it went behind a stadium sign, but unfortunately it was short-lived! Lily got to drink her first soda and had frozen lemonade! She was full of energy after that!! She loved the fireworks when the Angels would score a home run, tho at first it scared her some. She was the perfect Angels fan in her Angels Cheerleader outfit and was told how cute she was by many!
It was a great day for the Angels to beat the Yankees 14-8. We didn't want to leave, but we sure were glad when we reached the car and air conditioning!
Hope you enjoyed your Father's Day Gift Daddy!

Lily loves her room!

2009-07-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

Lily had no trouble at all adjusting to a new bedroom when we moved. Here are a few pictures from July of her enjoying some playtime in her new boudoir...

Old Town and San Diego Waterfront

2009-07-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

In early July, fed up with unpacking and yard clean-up, we took the day off and headed to San Diego for some local flavor. We spent the morning in Old Town San Diego which is considered the "birthplace" of California. San Diego is the site of the first permanent Spanish settlement in California. It was there in 1769, that Father Junipero Serra came to establish the very first mission in a chain of 21 missions that were to be the cornerstone of California’s colonization. Most of the building are from the 1800's, and Lily got to sit in her first school desk (with her Daddy) at the Mason Street School built in 1865. We took in the free dance show featuring the dance styles of different regions of Mexico. And of course ate Mexican food for lunch! We then went down to the San Diego Waterfront area and decide to take a Land and Water tour on a truck/boat. We drove around the area for 30 minutes and then drove right out into San Diego Bay for a tour of the local sites, harbors and waterfront buildings. Lily enjoyed the sea lions, pelicans, boats and water! She fell fast asleep on Daddy's shoulder by the time the tour was done. It was a great break from the endless task of moving!

Red-Tailed Hawks

2009-06-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

We have a male and a female Red-Tailed Hawks that live in our backyard pine trees. They like to sit on our backyard fence and watch for prey. This picture was taken one morning when the love birds were checking eachother out.

Baby Noodle

2009-06-09T13:10:00.000-07:00

I had my third ultrasound today and the baby is doing great. I started my second trimester yesterday and I am feeling alittle less tired and emotional! We have packed our scanner, so I can't add any pictures until next week, when we get the scanner unpacked I will show you how cute baby "Noodle" is!!

Getting Caught Up

2009-06-01T21:15:00.000-07:00

I have gotten really far behind with updating the blog with pictures from our summer. With moving to a new home and the laziness that comes with pregnancy I haven't kept up, so I will be adding pictures from June til now over the next few weeks. Here are two sets of pics from a visit we took to Chinatown and our Father's Day trip to the San Diego Wild Animal Park.
We went to Chinatown so that I could take pictures of the area. We left with a lot of great pictures and two really cute baby turtles (the size of 1/2 dollar coins).
The SD Wild Animal Park was a short day visit. We saw a large quantity of birds and the parks' Gorillas eating lettuce and frozen koolaid.

Good Morning!

2009-06-01T07:56:00.001-07:00

Mommy in China Town!

2009-05-31T12:28:00.001-07:00

Lily Mae in China Town

2009-05-31T12:26:00.001-07:00

Lily played with chopsticks at lunch!

NOODLE! Lily's Sibling! First Pictures

2009-05-30T21:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a first look at Lily's sibling.
We aren't going to find out the gender,
but we sure are excited!

Project Noodle is underway!!!

Lily and Mommy

2009-05-28T09:13:00.001-07:00

Lily and Mommy, taken with my iPhone!

Rome

2009-05-26T21:30:00.000-07:00

Okay I am really far behind in getting picture up from our trip to Italy. We spent 3 great days in Rome and then the following 3 days in Venice. The trip was amazing! Lily was so good and we squeezed in a tour at least everyday and walked til we dropped! We had pizza and gelato so much we could go without for the next 10 years! We spent the first two days seeing a Crypts and Catacombs Tour, the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, the Vatican and St. Peter's Square, Bernini Square, the Sistine Chapel and much more. The pictures below are from these 2 days. I will add more pictures and more stories in the next few days...stay tuned...

Happy Mothers Day!

2009-05-10T08:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers Day!

Lily was so excited for this day that she made a sign to show all the world how much she loves Mommy! Check out her video wishing Mommy a special day at: Witman.Net!

(http://www.witman.net)

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T09:49:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter Everybody! Lily met the Easter Bunny and at first was very excited to see him. When she realized he is a giant moving bunny, she wasn't so excited any more and just wanted to go back to Mommy! The Easter Bunny brought Lily some books and flash cards this year to help her learn her ABC's and play fun games. Happy Easter all!

Lily enjoys the beach in Malibu

2009-04-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

The Steele's, Doerr's and Witman's DO Hollywood

2009-03-10T14:43:00.001-07:00

Gammy, PawPaw, Aunt Karen, Uncle Joe and Cousins Haley, Macy, and Kennady came to Hollywood! We got lucky enough to spend a few days with them before and after their cruise to Mexico! We ate lunch at the famous Roosevelt Hotel, saw the Oscar preparations down on Hollywood Blvd, walked the famous "Star Walk" and went to the Chinese Garmin Theater to place our hands and feet in the Star's Concrete Legacies! We sure did have a great time!! The girls were so good to Lily and helped her walk around and kept her attention the whole time. We miss you guys already!

Lily and Elmo

2009-03-10T14:02:00.000-07:00

Lily went to her friend Lindsay's First Birthday Party and got to see Elmo!! She loves watching him on TV, but wasn't sure about him face to face! She couldn't take her eyes off him, but didn't want to be TOO close to him, HA HA!

Lily went to the Santa Barbara Zoo

2009-03-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

We decided to take off for Santa Barbara Zoo a few weekends ago and Lily had a ball! It was really the first time she reacted to the animals. She loved the monkeys and birds. Tommy and Lily slid down a play hill on a small piece of card board and rode on a turtle statue. She had her monkey friend with her that hung around her neck while she explored the zoo park.

Happy Birthday Gammy!

2009-03-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Gammy! I hope you enjoy your birthday song and video!
We all love you very much and we miss you dearly.

Have a great day!

Lily doing Art Work

2009-03-03T13:59:00.000-08:00

Okay, Lily isn't that great with her art supplies...what doesn't end up our her face or hands will end up in her mouth! I of course framed her lovely art and pictures of her creating her masterpieces...

Our little Valentine

2009-02-16T20:12:00.000-08:00

We love our little Valentine fairy so much...

Beach Comber - Lily Mae

2009-01-31T21:41:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we took Lily to the beach to explore the sands and practice her walking. She's been walking on her own, without any influence or help now for a grand total of two days. No more holding Mommy or Daddy's hand! She's all grows up!

Check her out as combs the beaches of Malibu!