Transition

We are almost completely settled in our new home in Bakersfield. There are only a few pictures left to be hung and one room that is waiting to be painted (Della's room). So far, we have been enjoying our time here although I am getting a little tired of this hot weather. The next week is projected to have highs in the upper nineties. I am ready for some cooler nights, that is for sure. We'll be able to use the pool for a while longer though! One unique thing about this area, is that we are able to plant fall vegetable gardens so I have been planning mine out. I am hoping to do broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, peas, lettuces, radishes, and beets. September is the time to plant but I still need to get the garden beds tilled with the added compost and fertilizer. We'll see if it gets done before the baby arrives. Della is quite excited to welcome her baby sister into the world. Every morning she wants to "see" her baby sister and give her a hug and a kiss. As you can see at the very end of the video, she knows that her sister is coming on her birthday and everyone knows that chocolate cake comes with birthdays. Ever since Della was born, Derek has been putting all his pocket change into her piggy bank and every so often there is paper money included. Della loves to help in this process and it has made an impact! We recently withdrew some money to have on hand for an emergency fund and I had placed it in my bible for temporary safe keeping. Della found it and Derek found her with the money laid out on the table in front of her but the amount was $100 short... We looked high and low and eventually asked Della where it was. She told us it was in her piggy bank so we checked, and sure enough, she had figured out how to get paper money in her piggy bank! She's bound to be a saver! Since we have been home more, Della and Dutch have become the best of friends. There is a definite hierarchy in the family with Dad and Mom on top, then Della, and finally Dutch. Della drags Dutch around the house by his collar and loves to chase him around her room or our room with her stroller and thinks it is so funny when he jumps up on the bed to escape her. There have been a few times when she gets a little too bossy with him and we have been working with her on being kind and gentle. He is such a good sport and I think he actually enjoys playing with her. He loves laying by her bed during story time and normally in the evenings will lay by her door before we get into bed. Her vocabulary continues to grow and now she is gaining very adult sounding voice inflections and compassion and concern too. This morning I sneezed in my bedroom before getting her out of her room and when she heard me sneeze, she said "bless you, honey". Very sweet. Another time, I had just taken some cold medicine and Della came up to me and asked "Mommy, do you feel better?" Derek's job has been keeping him very busy and on the road a lot. I think he has been enjoying it though. I started attending a women's bible study at a nearby church last week and met a few young moms. Della really looks forward to nursery there (even though she says it is too hot in the video). The downside of nursery (as was with daycare) kids are exposed to lots of fun viruses so the whole family is currently sick with a cold... bummer. I have been staying busy being a stay at home mom/wife. There are definitely some days where my patience runs low at the end but mostly I like it. I have been learning about growing flowers in an area this hot and baking and cooking quite a bit. I did interview for a couple jobs to start during tax season. I was offered a position at both firms but the one I accepted with allow me to work as much as I want from home. I am hoping to do 2-3 days per week during tax season and then 2 days per week during the off-season. The great thing about this job, is that the 2-3 days are not set so I can work 2 days while the girls are in preschool/daycare and then the third day I can piece together during the evening or on weekend when Derek is home. I really am excited about this opportunity. It will also give Della the chance to start a preschool here. We are hoping to find a daycare that is transitional into a preschool so the baby and Della can go to the same place. I am making it a goal to post a blog at least 2 times per month to keep everyone updated! It has been a while!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRP8OEkg5y4

The Latest

Once again, Della continues to grow and learn faster than we thought was possible. Her personality is really starting to shine through and she is wrapping us tighter and tighter around her fingers. She can count to 10 and is starting to sing snipets of songs. The bad news about her counting, though, is when we count to three to put her in time out, we'll say, one.... two.... and then she'll continue for us (fee, fo, five, sick, sefen, eight, nine, ten). It's hard to remain firm and upset when she is so cute but we try our best. She always wants to know where everyone is at (where Pake at? wanna see Beppe! where Dutchie go?) and she loves to take care of her babies and dollies by feeding them, changing their diapers (with at least 10 wipes), and reading them books. Della continues to love to be outside which is great as the weather has been so nice lately. It truly is hard to believe she is going to be 2 in just a few days. We have talked to her a little bit about her new baby sister on the way (which we still are calling Spud). Each day she wants to say Hello to Spud and give hugs and kisses to Spud (Hug, Spud, Me!) Here are some pictures from some our latest adventures: Daddy's 30th birthday, outside in the little pool, visits from Pake, Beppe and Julia, and a trip to the Monterey Aquarium with Louis' family.

Well, Della has been busy growing up when no one was looking. Her vocabulary grows each day! Her favorite words are milk (nook), sorry (saw-see!), Go to the trees Dutchie! (Tees Dutchie!), Elmo (who she recently discovered and LOVES), outide (ow-side), boots, socks, Mama and Daddy, Dutchie, No Dutchie, Hello Dutchie, Bye Dutchie, food (foof), candy (canny), baby, nigh-nigh, bye bye, Shh Shh - baby sleeping (which is what she tells her babies when she puts the to bed), Nose (nosth), apple, Poppell (PAW PULL), Della, boots, books, uh oh broke, choo-choo, and lots more.
Her favorite activities are putting her babies to sleep by carrying them around the house and saying "shh shh" and wrapping them in a blanket. She will sometimes pull out a bread pan and use it as a cradle for her smaller babies. The dining room table is now a fort and secret hiding spot for Della. She sometimes even invites Mommy, Daddy and even Dutchies to come in. Lately, she has been pretending to be a puppy and will go around the house on all fours and will pant and say "woof woof". Last week, she had her first haircut ever performed by Mommy. We didn't cut much off, just enough to even out the lenght. It now curls under right at her chin. Della loves to be outside and play. She is very adventurous at parks and goes down the big slides and climbs all over the jungle gyms. She loves it when we blow bubbles for her and thinks it is so funny when Dutchie tries to eat them. She likes to roughhouse with Mommy and Daddy. She plays with Dutch but I think he views it more as tormenting. She has to tell Dutchie sorry many times for pulling his ears or stepping on his to get up on the couch. Very sweet when she does it.
Thank is what is going on lately though!

Christmas, New Year's and beyond

Weekend with Auntie Julia

This past weekend, Auntie Julia came to stay with us and hang out with Della. Needless to say, we were busy having fun :) On Thursday night, we hosted our couples small group Thanksgiving dinner and Julia made her infamous pumpkin roll- this time with walnuts and it was her best yet! Friday night we laid low and stayed home and watched a couple movies. It was wonderful. Saturday night we finished her stay off with a murder myster dinner where her character was Snow White, mine was Schehereazade from 1001 Arabian Nights and Derek was Sherlock Holmes. It was a lot of fun and everyone who came had great costumes (my friend's album is on Facebook and I am tagged in it).

Della is learning more and more each day and continues to amaze us at how fast she keeps developing! She responds to instructions and loves to help clean up her toys when we are done playing. This afternoon, we were playing fetch with Dutch and I would throw his toy for him to get which she thinks is great. I told her to throw the toy for Dutch and as she could not throw very far, she walked the toy clear across the lawn to where I was throwing and waited for him to come get it. Now that is a creative solution!

Tomorrow Saxon arrives and will be here on Thanksgiving. Joy and Charles will also come up from Santa Maria on Thursday. I am really looking forward to family coming into town, especially as well have family to share our Thanksgiving with!!

Here are some photos and videos from recent weeks and adventures.

http://youtu.be/xK6WlwaEwnM

Lately

So here is what has been going on lately...
Della is still busy running around, climbing onto things, playing outside, and jabbering all the time. Every day, Della and I go to get the mail which is a little ways down the road and along the way, she picks up "treasures" which are rocks, pinecones etc. She normally grabs at least 3 and will put a lot of effort into carrying them all at once. She will stop a few times along the way to put them down and rearrange them in her arms. It turns into quite the ordeal and she is never very happy when I make her put them back along the way (as they belong to the neighbors). She has been making new animal noises too. She can tell you what a snake says (sssssth), a lion (rawr), an owl (whooo whoo), a cow (Boooo), a kitty cat (whyy whyyy) and a doggy (fwoof fwoof). Her favorite words are Dutchie, Daddy, Mama, No no, and shoe shoe. She has started repeating what we say and tries to make an attempt.

She has started developing a personality and is very quick to laugh. This weekend, we got Della some sidewalk chalk so she has been coloring our patio. She likes to color with her crayons and markers when they make it to the paper rather than her mouth.

Even though every warned us it would fly by, both Derek and I are having a hard time believing how big she is getting and how each day she looks a little taller and learns a little more. It's going FAST!