Tammypants

Happy Birthday Abe Lincoln

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 01:26:00 +0000

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 20:55:00 +0000

Christmastime!

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:36:00 +0000

Kate was officially 22-months as of December 1. She is geared up for the holidays and fully knows who Santa is. Everytime she seems him on TV or in a book she says, "Santa"! However that excitement quickly turns to horror when in person she realizes she has to sit on his lap. So far she hasn't cried uncontrollably but just has a general look of fear and betrayal on her tiny face. Here are some pictures to illustrate.

Kate and Gemma (13-months)

Kate with Disney Santa

Flashing gang signs (we start them early in OC)

My little family

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 07:59:00 +0000

Be sure to visit Tonya Joy Photography to see our 2009 family pictures. I can't express enough how lucky I am to have this amazing, talented woman in my life. Not only is she a great friend but her pictures aren't too shabby either!

Who's busy?

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:41:00 +0000

Wowie! We have been so busy lately. We just finished renovating our three bathrooms, getting all new windows and doing some major lighting changes. That on top of a very active toddler and a crazy work schedule has led me into a rut with updating this blog. I have sooo many pictures and stories. I will just post some fun ones for now and try to update more often!

Kate: 21-months

Getting ready for her first Halloween Trick-or-Treating!

She was a 50's girl with a poodle skirt

Fall photo in costume

At Tanaka Farms - a great working produce farm in Irvine

Tiny Dancer

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:38:00 +0000

Kate has been taking a dance class with some of her friends every Thursday. She gets to practice tap and ballet. At first she was shy and timid but now she is really warming up and having a lot of fun. I don't have high hopes for a future in dance given the coordination deficiencies of her parents but at least for now we can enjoy it. :)

Oh and Kate is now 20-months old! I can hardly believe that in 4-months my sweet baby will be a 2-year old!! I am off to Toronto next week and hopefully I won't need to travel again until February!

20-month old pictures in her chair!

Getting stickers at the end of dance class.

Holding hands with her friend Layla. Kate can say Layla too which is adorable.

Layla, Kate and Aerowyn. These kiddos have been in Gymboree together since around 3-months of age. We now get them together in our mom's group and also at dance and art class.

Layla and Kate. Kate is 2-months younger than Layla and Aerowyn. Looks like she is going to be tall!

Hooray for growing families!

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:10:00 +0000

My one and only brother-in-law Kyle just got engaged on Sunday! I am so excited to have his sweet and gorgeous girlfriend Stephani as an official part of the family. Not only is Stephani super smart (an engineer), and very pretty, she also is from Arcadia so of course she is utterly fantastic as well. How unique that two brothers from New Jersey, transplanted to Rancho Palos Verdes, ended up with two girls from Arcadia!

I am really looking forward to the holidays this year with Kate being able to better engage in the festivities and also the newly engaged couple looking forward to their life together.

Congratulations Kyle and welcome Stephani! I love you both!

Boston

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:52:00 +0000

So, I am in Boston right now. Really missing my babies, Kate and Brett. Poor Brett is home very sick and Kate is at my parents. She seems to not miss me at all, only giving a two-second, courtesy "mama" on the phone before handing it back and running off.

It is hard traveling for work and not feeling any love or camaraderie around you. It must be so much easier for men to do this. Work is so strict on costs these days that I can't have breakfast because there is nothing at the hotel that is within the approved cost for a morning meal.

I am glad that ultimately I really enjoy what I do. I like seeing the finished product and getting everything poised and ready for the sales team to come and do their business. Even though no one appreciates what my team does we still find satisfaction in doing it.

I have a view of the convention center and the flags are at half-mast for 9/11. Kind of hard not to feel a little down being away from my family and remembering that horrible day. I am grateful for the health and well-being of my family and my heart goes out to those that suffered such a tremendous loss 8 years ago.

Kate 19-months

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:33:00 +0000

Yesterday, Kate turned 19-months old. I almost let it pass by because it came so fast! Luckily I remembered and got a few snaps of her before my battery ran out of my point and shoot. The battery was dead in the slr.

Kate is crazy and sweet. She is very loving and always gives us big hugs and kisses or pats our cheek when giving her a bottle. The craziness comes out when she runs around nuts with her eyes closed and tries to bump into you.

The rest of her molars seems to be coming in so days have been a little tough lately. Hopefully we get past this quick! She loves playing with the kids next door and has a blast. I have a work trip next week to Boston for three nights and four days. I can hardly bear to think about it.

OC Fair Filmstrips

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:31:00 +0000

We decided to make it a tradition to get a family picture each year at the OC Fair in one of those film booths. I picked the wrong booth this year and the photo was very low quality and basically a digital picture printed via inkjet on photo paper. The one from last year is much better and seems to be an actual developed photo. Must find that one next year.

2008 - Kate is 5.5 or 6 months

2009 - Kate is 18-months

Kate 18-months

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 05:04:00 +0000

Height: 90%
Weight: 50%

Words: mama, dada, duck, ball, bubble, hi, bye, uh-oh, thank you, nana, wawa (water), baba (bottle), stacy (sometimes), coocoo (cookie). Oh, and NO.

Kate is still shy around strangers but gets pretty crazy when she is comfortable. She runs around and screams and climbs on top of everything. We are now taking art classes at Gymboree, which she really enjoys. Kate also gets to play with farm animals and ride ponies in a farm class we signed up for through the city.

Kate in her birthday chair pose - she is like Grandma Frances and doesn't like her picture taken.

Conan is so cute I couldn't resist putting him in here. :)

Pouting.
A rare smile picture.

Still no smile.

She refused to look at me.

4th of July

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:50:00 +0000

Kate didn't take a nap the entire day on the 4th and didn't go to bed until around 11:00 pm. Wow! She was just having too much fun with all the people over and playing in the pool with her pal Gemma.

Kate - July 4th, 2008

1962 Pin-ups - Kate Marie and Gemma Maureen

Been a long time

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:30:00 +0000

There has been a lot of craziness around here lately with the most recent being me getting sick and having to go the ER. I just got my x-ray info back on Wednesday and I actually have pneumonia! I am on an antibiotic and was told to rest. I asked how that was possible with a 17-month old and full time job. At least I have a great husband that tries to help. Also, I probably wouldn't have made it to this point if my parents hadn't come almost every day the week I was really ill. Thanks mom and dad!

So what have we been up to? Well, we had a family mini vacation in Palm Springs - just the three of us. The Brett's birthday, which we celebrated by staying at the Grand California and attending the Food and Wine Festival's "Taste" event at Disney's California Adventure. We had an amazing VIP room with a balcony right in the park - awesome.

Next, we drove to Santa Barbara for the graduations of Anthony and Cherise from UCSB. And somehow we thought it appropriate to drive the same day from SB to Oceanside to begin a 5-day family beach vacation. This was all topped-off by a graduation party for my brother at my parent's house. Maybe this is why I have pneumonia?

Oceanside was a lot of fun because Gramps lives there and we were able to spend a lot of time with him. Kate loved the sand and water immensely but it is really hard to get sand off of a baby butt. One night, Brett and I took Anthony and Cherise to the fanciest, most expensive restaurant any of us have ever been - and I've been to some top-notch establishments. It is highly rated restaurant in Del Mar called Addison's. I highly recommend it if you want a special evening. The service was beyond high-end and the food was French gourmet at its best.

The beach house we stayed in was so nice and comfy we took forever getting out of the house each day. Good memories. Below are some pics from the graduations and beach.

Oh and an OC Fair photo competition update - "Temple of the Dog" and "OC Glam" made it in! I am so excited since I have never done anything like this before. As far as I know I didn't win anything but my goal was to just get in the exhibit. There were 2800 entries and less than 800 made it in. So make sure you go to the fair July 9 - August 10 to check them out!

A diamond anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 05:34:00 +0000

My good friend Stacy and her mom Jan asked me to put together an invite for Nana and Papa's 60th anniversary. I was honored to contribute to this wonderful celebration for a very special couple and family.

Little Patch of Grass

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Mon, 25 May 2009 00:14:00 +0000

I have a little patch of grass that I call my own
it sits and grows behind my home

My little patch of green is where I lay
the cool grass between my toes on a summer's day

I chat with my neighbors from my little patch of grass
the day so lazy, it's a shame to see it pass

it may not be big, it may not be grand
but it's my little patch of grass, on my land

A new word!

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:24:00 +0000

Kate has learned a new word! And I know she actually understands what she is saying because I don't have to say it first anymore. I show her a duck, ask her what it is and she replies! Of course it currently sounds like "guck" but it is progress and I'll take it.

OC Fair Competition

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:21:00 +0000

I love taking landscape photos and over the past three years I have entered many of my pictures in the United Airlines "Hemispheres" magazine amateur photo contest. I've never had any success and understand why once I see the amazing photos that actually win. These artists are major amateur enthusiasts. I've had no training at all and can't even tell you one photography term. But that doesn't stop me from entering and still enjoying taking pictures.

I thought I would give it a go locally with the OC Fair competition. I had a few pics to choose from but could only submit three. Below are the ones submitted. Wish me luck!

"Temple of the Dog" - Athens stray lounging in front of the Temple of the Olympian Zeus (Athens, Greece)

"Mykonos at sunset" - peaceful image in the bustling Greek island Mykonos

"OC Glam" - You're never too young to be a diva! Kate and Cherise (my bro's gf) on Mother's Day.

Kate 15-months

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Thu, 07 May 2009 07:20:00 +0000

Kate had her 15-month check-up on Monday. She was extremely shy during the weighing and measuring phase and almost lost it. I hope this shyness passes soon. Sometimes around new people I can't even walk because she is hanging onto my leg for dear life. However, she had no problems with the doctor as he examined her. The main problem are those nasty nurses with the shots. Fortunately she only had one shot this time but definitely let us know she did not enjoy it!

Stats:
Weight - 22.7 lbs, 50th percentile
Height - 32", 90th percentile (wow!)

Hopefully she will be a supermodel. Possibly she could be a mute supermodel. Sorry, that seems a little mean but really, when is she going to use more words? She says a combo of hi and bye while waving and that is pretty much it. Sure she says "dada" and "mama" but I don't think she truly knows what they mean. At this point, everyone dear to her is dada. I am just waiting for that Helen Keller moment when she realizes it all and begins speaking. :)

This past weekend I was able to visit my friend Melanie who lives up in Oregon along with my good friend Stacy. While I had a great time, I missed Kate horribly and felt so guilty for being away from her. I am so lucky to have such an amazing husband that didn't even bat an eye over me leaving. He had absolutely no issues with watching Kate all by himself for the entire weekend. Literally, I do not even watch her 24/7. I either have the babysitter for part of the day on some days and Brett in the evening to help out. Seriously, how did I become so fortunate to have this great guy and clearly amazing father? Love you, babe.

Kate Potpourri

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:53:00 +0000

Eating pasta like a true Italian!

This is what happens when Daddy dresses you. Ouch.

Kate the climber

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:10:00 +0000

Kate has been trying to climb on everything. Last night she figured out how to get on the coffee table.

Torture with the Easter Bunny

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:54:00 +0000

I pretty much expected the reaction to be this way. Santa didn't fare so well either.

Kate and Gemma

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:14:00 +0000

Kate and I were recently lucky enough to have lunch and a shopping excursion with Brooke and Gemma. I have known Brooke all my life. We grew up on the same street and basically have been through anything you can imagine from pre-school to high school graduation. She is pretty much like a sister.

Brooke has an adorable, giggly and very squishable baby girl named Gemma Maureen. She is so much fun and Brooke has her dressed in the most fashionable togs.

Perhaps the most special significance is that Kate is the same age older than Gemma than Brooke is of me. Here are some pics we took after our outing.

So Cal Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 07:21:00 +0000

I guess that Spring is officially here on Friday. But, it sure felt like Summer today! Kate had a ton of fun screaming and squealing with her grandpa and the hose. I was cringing at the amount of water being wasted (and thinking "this is why people want to bomb us"). Ahhh, extravagance! Of course my dad couldn't resist applying a little baby torture to the mix. If she was holding the turned off hose near her face he would run to turn it on as fast as possible. I know, I know. Pretty horrible. However, I survived, if only mildly scarred.

Helping daddy fix the sprinklers.

The adorable St. Patty's Day outfit.

Just because this is the cutest baby.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:18:00 +0000

Wishing luck to you all! Here is a picture of Kate at about 7 weeks old last year. I will try to post some from today later since she looks adorable in the outfit Brittany put her in. I am pretty sure that I have zero Irish in my and am not sure about Kate. Patti do you know? I am having corn beef tonight anyway!

I also couldn't help but post this picture of sweet, little Gemma. She is the daughter of my lifelong friend, Brooke. Isn't she the cutest?!!

Fun at the Zoo

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:53:00 +0000

Kate had a fun time the other day with her playgroup pals at the Santa Ana Zoo. I had no idea this little place existed. It is quite small but has a carousel, train and lots of fun animals to observe. The zoo is known for its collection of monkeys and they have a bunch of different species. You should check it out!

I love our little playgroup. It was formed from a group of us that go to Gymboree. Most of this kids Kate has been playing with since she was three months old!

With her friend Aerowyn

With her friend Layla