cutest kids ever

of course i'm naturally biased when i say i have the cutest kids in the world... but really! they are amazing. lately they just look at each other and laugh and laugh. they love each other. annabelle can be crying her head off and take one look at jakey and just stop. he can be whining about one thing or another and see her start to get upset and all of a sudden all of his focus is on cheering her up. in his highest pitch voice he says, "baby girl!!! it's your brother here!!!" it's so sweet. they sit in the backseat of the car and just crack up at each other. it is to die for! just had to share. every mother thinks her kids are the cutest/best/sweetest... but i know mine are :)

heehee

A Day with Belles

Today my fabulous mother-in-law picked up Jakey and took him to her house to play with her and grandpa. He had such a blast with them, as always. I got to stay home with Annabelle. For once we didn't have any plans, nowhere to be, no one to see... it was a little strange but also really nice. Annabelle still sleeps a lot, so when we're home with Jake I feel like I get to spend a lot of time with him. But for the most part when she is awake, so is he, so I don't get very much alone time with her. Even when he's at preschool she is usually napping. Karen has taken Jake a few times and it always amazes me how EASY it is to be at home with just one kid. Now, I never would have said this before having two kids. You just can't appreciate it before you have more than one. And anyone out there with more than two kids wants to slap me right now and tell me I have it so easy with two! Regardless, Annabelle and I had a great time just hanging out at home and laughing at each other. She's such a doll - so happy and smiley and laughing all the time. She lets everyone know the minute she's had enough. If you get her in the right window she just goes right to sleep so easily. She's such a good baby, but the girl knows what she wants. I think that's a good thing.

We took this photo today on my cell phone (hence the lovely quality) for Jamie. Jamie and I went to see Marley & Me yesterday and we were both a MESS. I decided to send Jamie a picture of my purple baby girl to cheer her up, so here it is. Doesn't quiet capture the laughing and cooing she was doing up until the moment I pulled out the phone, but it is still Annabelle in all her glory.

the dentist

so jakey finally had his first dental visit! i know, i know, i'm a bad mom, waiting so long. most of my friends' kids have already been several times. i guess i was afraid of being scolded for the fact that he still sucks his thumb and his teeth are moving all over the place as a result. luckily for me, dr. rimi was really sweet about it. she gave us some tips to help him transition out of the thumb-sucking, and we're working toward that slowly but surely! i was surprised to hear that we should be taking belles in for her first dental visit when she turns one. that seems pretty early to me, but what do i know? knowing me and my procrastination, we'll see if we can get her in before her 3rd birthday! :)

Happy New Year!

Wow, 2009 already. And January is almost over! We had such a great time over the holidays, having our Big/Little Bidwell Christmas celebration up here then heading down south to visit the Little Vosovics, the Greens, Turley-Boultons, Mom & Prasad, Auntie Barb & Bill, Dad & Nonnie and Ben's grandma Mary for her birthday. We got to stay with my long-time friend Hallie in Laguna for a couple of nights which was great. Her sister, Meg, was kind enough to put us up in her in-law unit. We also got to meet up with Megs K. for coffee for a bit one day. I wish we had been able to see some other people (Kara O, Annette, the Shostac Clan) but, as usual, the time just went by way too quickly. We headed back up north to celebrate New Year's Eve with some good friends, and have just been trying to readapt to life back in the bay.
The kids are doing so well. Jake is mastering his new bicycle (with trainers) and still loving preschool. He was so happy to go back after the break. He loves all the little girls in his class (ladies' man already?!) and loves the off days when he gets to see his buddies Tyler and Joey.

Annabelle is learning to roll over and make use of her lungs. She really has learned how to get everyone's attention. She is laughing up a storm and will probably be sitting up in a month or so. She's a pretty sturdy little gal. She is absolutely in love with her brother. No one can make her laugh like he does with his zerberts. (click on Zerberts for a video)

goodbye november

i can't believe november is already behind us. where has this year gone?

annabelle is over 3 months old already. 14 weeks yesterday! she's getting so big. she's full of smiles and even laughs from time to time. she adores her big brother. she can be screaming her head off and he'll walk up to her and she'll just stop. it's so sweet. she's still in a cradle in our room but our pediatrician says - get her out! she's also pretty reliant on the pacifier for sleeping and pediatrician also says - get that out! so we have some big transitions coming up with her. i'm not looking forward to either of them! she's such a good baby i hate to mess with anything, but i know we can't keep her crammed in the cradle forever. i guess now's as good a time as any to make some changes. it feels a little sad, though, because who knows if we'll ever have another peanut in that cradle in our room again. the end of another chapter, but that does mean the beginning of a new one, and it's always fun seeing what comes next.

jakey is 3 1/2 and walks around the house reciting thomas the tank engine stories all the time. he has also started walking around the house singing songs for his christmas program at preschool. it's so cute to hear him walking around singing, "peace on earth... peace on earth..." he is still obsessed with his trains but also likes to build with legos and tinkertoys. his brain is just like ben's: plan, build, perfect. he is the sweetest boy ever. he tells me, "you're the best mama i have never played with" or "daddy's the funnest daddy i've never known!" (we're working on the difference between ever and never... we love to hear it his way, though!) he is so loving and sweet, but has his moments of being a total stinker, so we know he can hold his own.



we had a busy and fun month, celebrating thanksgiving and my birthday. ben has been working a normal schedule so he's had lots of time with the kids, which is awesome.


anyway, at the moment ben's hard at work and i'm procrastinating - I have to get christmas cards AND baby announcements out at some point. let's hope both will happen before christmas actually comes this year! I'll be sending new photos through kodak gallery soon - keep an eye out for them.

Trick or Treat!

We had a very fun Halloween this year!

It all started with our non-pumpkin-carving-pumpkin-carving-party. We had our good friends Sage, Scarlett, Joey, Elliott, Khiara, Tyler and Julianna over to carve pumpkins. Instead we played. It was actually a lot of fun, even if no carving happened.

Then we had perhaps the most chaotic visit to JC Penney for portraits. Good Lord that was an episode. The kids went in their costumes - Jake was Eeyore and Annabelle was Tigger - and we met up with Joey the dragon, Tyler as Handy Manny, Julianna the chili pepper, and Elliott the firefighter ("fire-fire"). We had the slowest photographer on the planet and I'm pretty sure her experience with kids was, well, none. Then it took her 40 minutes to upload our pictures for viewing (we were told 10-15) and when we finally looked at the photos, none of us could find one we loved. Of course she left us with about 10 to choose from (Total!!!) and none were that great. Oh well, it was the experience that counts. We had fun together all in all and the kids did look really cute.

After that madness Jake got to go with his friend Joey to a Halloween Festival at his (Joey's) school! He had a great time. Again the boys got to dress up and this time Jake got to see what Joey's preschool is all about. He loved it!

Finally we went trick-or-treating with grandma, grandpa, and our neighbors, Jonna, Gui and Khiara. The kids were so cute! It was raining so we didn't stay out long, but no one seemed to mind too much. It ended up being a very mellow night and Jacob scored way too much candy. Guess who else benefits from that?

We love Halloween!

(**this post is dedicated to joyce**)

And We're Back!

Wow, only 2 months after the fact and I'm finally introducing our new little girl, little miss Annabelle Millie Bidwell! The last 2 months have already flown by so fast. She was born on September 4, 2008, weighing in at 6 lbs. 15 oz and 20 inches long. At her 2 month appointment she was 11 lbs 4 oz and 23 1/2 inches long. She is growing quickly! Jacob is an amazing big brother. He loves her and always has kisses for her. He loves to get right in her face and say, "Are you talking? Tell me more!" in a high pitched voice. (wonder where he got that). It's so cute. They are both so amazing and we are so lucky to have two healthy, happy, beautiful children.

Also, a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped us out. My sisters, my mom and my in-laws were absolutely amazing. I could not have gotten through those weeks (the "dark days") without all their help. My in-laws are still getting us through these not-so-dark days! My friends that came by and constantly checked in with phone calls, visits and emails are more appreciated than you know. Also, so many people brought us dinner and little gifts, I just can't begin to thank you all. It made the first 6 weeks fly by and made them much easier than they otherwise would have been. Merci mille fois!! Thank you a thousand times. We are so blessed and lucky!