2 years old?!

My baby is officially not a baby anymore! I can't believe it. Though I do believe that the terrible twos are REAL and a force to be reckoned with. Here's what Fal's been up to lately...

-She loves to draw circles (though she refers to them as o's) on absolutely everything- balls, books, cabinets, windows. We've had a lot of cleaning up to do, as far as that goes...
-Yo Gabba Gabba is still at the top of her list. Fallon loves to sing the songs from YGG and dance and dance, with her Toodee and Brobee dolls of course.
-Will encourages Fal to draw on herself- he thinks it's funny. I, on the other hand, do not feel that way...because I am the clean-up crew! Her arms and legs are always covered in marker or pen and she loves to show off her creations.
-Nursery is a breeze these days. Fallon runs right in yelling "Toys! Toys!". She loves it!
-She counts everything! Though, anything beyond 3 is usually extremely inaccurate, it's neat to see her beginning to understand numbers.
-Fallon can climb out of anything. She's been climbing out of her crib for a while now, and has just recently learned how to climb out of a pack-n-play. The other day she crawled out of the shopping cart, and today she climbed out of her highchair. Why did my daughter have to be an escape artist?

My cousin Jordan took some gorgeous pics of Fallon yesterday, for her birthday. It was 60 degrees, sunny and lovely. Today it has rained nonstop. Oh, Washington and its silly weather.
Anyway, Jordan did an amazing job- I can't get over some of these pics!

Cruel Summer

The Howes have been pretty elusive this summer, my apologies to all of our dear friends. It's just been a jam-packed past few months. We've been able to spend alot of time with family, which has been nice. Buuuut, driving from the Mexican border to the Canadian border was not so nice. And now our poor car is definitely feeling the burn (2 break-downs in the last month!).

Anyway, we have finally settled down for the rest of 2009. I'm going back to school to finish my degree- yay! Since having Fallon, there hasn't really been a time where I've felt like returning to school was an option, really. It's hard work being a mom. But right now, Heavenly Father has blessed me with the opportunity to just do it- there's a college 3 blocks from my house and Fallon is finally done nursing. So, I have NO excuse!

Pictures from our most recent trip to my family's mini-reunion.






Our venture to Utah to see my brother off on his mission to Macon, GA. We miss you, Joe!




Our crazy friends, The Brownsteins, spent a weekend in San Diego and we joined them at the SD Zoo. Poor Rebecca was really pregnant, and the zoo is pretty dang big, so she opted for a wheelchair- despite its extremely embarrassing backing-up beeping (you know what I'm talking about...BEEP...BEEP...BEEP-like a garbage truck or something). I think it was a wise move, except I still can't believe that they charge you for it!
Here she is in all her wheelchair glory...work it out!
Will took it for a spin...
Where else can you see a cheetah going for a walk?

On the Fallon front, she has recently befriended her shadow. They sing and play together and have a grand old time. Maybe it's time to find a playgroup...

Also, Fallon has learned how to climb in and out of her crib. Nap time can be a little tricky, since she likes to climb out, grab some toys, throw them in her crib, and then climb back in. Repeat an infinite amount of times.
But I must say, I love that she can run into our room in the morning all by herself. The first thing I hear is: "Mom! Mom! Mom!"
I love it.

Fear-mongering...

...has led me to this cute and useful site:

Food Storage Made Easy

It has great lists and advice that make food storage and emergency preparedness very approachable. I usually get so overwhelmed with all the different options and the urgency of food storage, that I never really follow through with creating a viable food supply. Anyway, I made a promise to myself that this time will be different!

PS This is what reading The Road does to you.

The Road

Have any of you guys that have read The Road watched the movie trailer for it? The movie official release date isn't until Oct. 16, but I've been obsessing over it.
In college, I was NOT a Cormac McCarthy fan. I had/have great respect for his talent and ideals, but just didn't float my boat. The Road is the exception. Amazing. Beautiful. Horrifying. Read it!!
Anyway, here's a link to the trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbLgszfXTAY

What do you think? Will it do the book justice? (Of course not...) Will you see it? (Hello? Viggo Mortensen! Yes, you will!)

We've been....

abusing our membership to here...




eating these....


relaxing here...



addicted to this...
(I am, at least. Unless Will's been digi scrapbooking behind my back.)

I wish you could have stayed San Diegan...

Best Independence Day ever.
We seriously had such a blast taking full advantage of the "patriotic" spirit of San Diego.

We started our Fourth by hitting up the Coronado parade.

We adore Coronado. It's a lovely peninsula that people refer to as The Island, since you have to take a bridge to get there. The beaches are gorgeous and they have a super cute downtown. There's also a naval base, so it reminds me a little bit of growing up and living "on base".

Fallon emphatically waved to each parade participant.
"Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi!" over and over...it was sweet.

Pretty sure this horse has extensions...

All that waving is exhausting...time for a break!

Coolest part of the parade- bagpipe band!

After the parade, we ate some delicious mall Mexican food (it wasn't really delicious...). What business does Chipotle have closing up shop...ever? Has the government decided to commandeer the Mexican food industry already? Maybe we should ask the fast food czar- I'm assuming one has been appointed...

Anway, after stuffing our faces, we headed to La Jolla Shores- right down the street from the previously posted La Jolla Cove. Probably my favorite beach in the San Diego area. Very kid friendly and you don't have to walk a mile in the sand like other beaches (ahem, Coronado, I'm talking about YOU).


Wait, there's more!!
We finally solidified our San Diegan status and bought memberships to the zoo. Yay for us! Today we stopped by for a quick visit, which wasn't really quick at all. Have you ever seen Labyrinth? Ya, pretty sure the SD Zoo planning committee was watching Bowie in all his spandex glory while constructing the lay out..."Oooh! Good idea, Jareth! Create an unsolvable maze. Hmmm..."
Love it anyways.
(Because I dropped a dime on those passes, for heaven's sake.)

Apparently, this bird doesn't mind being chased.

Shh...sleeping Panda.
Look, even their awkward sleeping positions are cute!

Daddy-daughter love

The rumors are true!!

Cafe Rio opens first CA restaurant

Exploring

Last night we decided to push the limits of Fallon's bed time and stayed out till 9:30. Whoaaa, I know. Crazy, huh.
After a stop at the nearest Joann's super store (total disappointment, btw), we headed to La Jolla cove.
Oh my goodness, it was love at first sight. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous beach.
It has an underwater park- which apparently is a marine refuge where they've placed artificial reefs to attract marine life.
You don't see that everyday in SoCal.
If you're ever in the San Diego area, check it out.

This is what it looked like last night...stunning!!

Reunited at last!

With my sewing machine, that is. After a two month hiatus, we've decided to rekindle our love.
Luckily, Fallon has grown out of all her 12-18 mos clothes and is finally entering the world of size 18-24 mos. She gained 3lbs in the last month alone! (I suppose that's what happens when you substitute breast milk with string cheese.) Anyway, the point is she is in desperate need of a new wardrobe, so I've been having a fun time creating one for her.
Here's the lastest:



This one's for me...

On a sidenote, I fiiiiinally organized my craft/sewing area. I use the word organized loosely...as you can see.

Why does it take so much gosh darn time to find a place for everything?

Photo Sesh

Looong overdue...I bring you these pictures from Will's wonderful Mother's Day gift: a photo shoot with the AMAZING Abbey Kyhl.
Really, she was fabulous. Thanks Abbey for being so patient with my whiny, finicky baby!