Halloween, Preschool Style

You can't help but smile when you see so many adorable little children singing "5 Little Jack-O-Lanterns". Luca's preschool party was today and boy did he have fun. Everyone dressed up and went trick or treating at Redlands Adult School. The kids got a ton of candy, which Luca will never get to eat (mean mommy). He already knows it's going to be given away and he seems to be a-okay with it. The nurses at the school gave the kids a bunch of little toys and Luca is having a blast playing with them.
Acacia got to participate in the costume parade at the school. She's a little lamb, but the kids all thought she was a bunny. Either way, she's the cutest little thing EVER!!

Luca is Buzz Lightyear--Again. He wanted to be Buzz again and I was more than happy not to have to buy him another costume. So, the pants and sleeves are a bit short, but he pulls it off well and loves his costume.

Can you believe she actually kept the little paws on? She chewed on them a lot, but she never pulled them off. I never thought I'd have a little lamb, but I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world.

I love my two fabulous children. Thanks for such a fun day!

. . .AND, SHE'S OFF!

She's doing it! She's starting to walk. She's wobbly and likes to dive forward a lot, but she's finally getting the hang of it. YEAH!! Unlike most, I'm grateful for the walking stage. It means a little bit more freedom for the both of us. She's been trying for a while now to walk, but it has definitely been a slow process. Luca took off running when he learned, but she' taking her time. I'm hoping that means she'll be in less of a hurry to grow up.

Pumpkin & Spider Heads

Making Cute Faces Even Cuter

Fun preschool projects make for happy, giddy and excited children!

Even Boys Play Dress Up

We went to a special birthday/Halloween party for our friend Mike. We had a lot of fun and we even dressed up. Unfortunately Acacia was sick and stayed home with Grandma Tina, but the rest of us had a blast. Aren't my boys cute?

The First Birthday, for the Second Time

Grandma Tina came to town, giving us a reason to celebrate Acacia's first birthday all over again. Yea!

This little girl really knows how to tear through the wrapping paper. She absolutely loves her new xylophone--and so does Luca. We hear it playing at least a few hours a day. Thanks Grandma!

Acacia had her own cupcake with a single candle in it. I taught her how to blow a few weeks ago, and she even blew out her own candle. That's impressive for a one year old. It was super cute.

Luca was happy to watch Acacia dig into her own cupcake. This is her first cupcake ever. She loved it and begs for it now every time she sees one.

It's All Done! There's cake everywhere and Acacia sure is a happy girl. Yippee for birthdays and Hallelujah for cake!

An Apple A Day. . .

Field Trips are SO MUCH FUN!

Luca's preschool class went on a field trip to a local apple orchard in Oak Glen. It was an amazing experience for the children. I remember going to the apple orchards when I was a little girl, so I was excited for Luca to experience where apples come from. We learned about a lot of things.

The children were told not to pick anything up off the ground because wild animals come onto the apple farm and eat the fruit and poop on it. Sneaky Luca found an apple and wanted to have it, so after he picked it up, he hid it behind his back so nobody could see it.

Luca learned the difference between apple cider and apple juice (juice from cooked apples). He actually got to help make apple cider (juice from whole raw apples) by grinding the apples into little chunks using this archaic apparatus and his big strong muscles.

A few of the children were lucky enough to get to hold a "bushel and a peck". Did you ever know how big a bushel and a peck are? We do--now!!

Acacia had a fabulous time putting the apple on her head. What a cutie pa-tootie!

Acacia couldn't get to the apple fast enough. She would have climbed right in the box if I would have let her.

It Belongs On My Head

Acacia thinks she is ever so cute when she puts things on her head.

Sometimes she's a beauty.

Sometimes she's an all star.

Sometimes she's just silly.

Sometimes she's even got a hard head.

Sometimes she's simply adorable.

And sometimes she's "all that".

Rough Around The Edges

He's the MAN! He's Tony. He's the Dad. And, he's

my husband--Lucky man:) or not!

Poor guy is recovering from his second shoulder surgery in 18 months, but I guess that's what you get when you ride motorcycles (crotch rockets) on SoCal freeways in rush hour traffic!

He's doing great, but it's going to be a long and painful recovery. Luca and Acacia miss their fun daddy because now all he does is sit in his recliner. He adores his children and his children adore him, but we are all anxious for him to recover and get back to being a little rough around the edges!

Sleepless Nights. . .and Days

It's 3am, I must be TEETHING!

Yup, that's right. As much as we adore our sweet darling, she is THE WORST TEETHER IN THE WORLD!! We cuddle with her, feed her, rock her, soothe her, we even get her dressed for 3am strolls around the neighborhood--and nothing helps! Any ideas? She only has six teeth--there are a lot more to go. I'm thinkin' she can do without the rest of her teeth and chew with the few she's got. This happens every time she teethes and it takes a week to cut a single tooth. At this rate, it is going to be a very LOOOOOOONG year.

STINKER BUG

Yes, it's true this cute little boy is just that. . .a STINKER BUG! He's amazing, crazy, rambunctious, energetic, loving, aggressive, fun and even loves to cuddle. Luca is 4 years old, but often thinks of himself as a sufficient adult. He tries to negotiate and argue about everything he hears. If you tell him the sky is blue, he'll argue about how it's yellow, purple or green. He's a quick learner and is very coordinated. He learned to ride his two-wheeled bike just after his fourth birthday and even learned how to tie his own shoes a few months ago. His favorite thing in the world is his dad, but his baby sister comes in a very close second. Luca definitely keeps us on our toes and has already taught us a great deal about patience, love and perseverance. What a joy it is to have him in our family.

Acacia's Big Day

. . .AND THEN SHE WAS ONE. . .
(October 9, 2008)

Our precious darling celebrated her first birthday with lots of fun presents, good food and a great barn cake thanks to our dear friend Cheryl. It's hard to believe that a year has passed since she began blessing our lives. She has six teeth (4 on top, 2 on bottom), weighs about 18 pounds and says a lot of cute little words like: poo poo, bye-bye, night night, more, fish, cat, mamma, dad, Luca (sounds like dada), banana and this. She even signs "more", "thank-you" and "all done". She absolutely loves to dance and we often find her kicking her feet and moving her body when she hears a fun song. If she's not wearing pink most people call her a "him" due to her lack of hair. She loves to eat eat eat--thank goodness for the Varga metabolism that keeps her tiny. She is her brother's biggest fan and lights up whenever he walks into the room. She is so fortunate to have such a loving brother who takes care of her and teaches her how to be very "tough". She is an absolute angel and we are blessed every moment we are with her.

Her First White Dress

Although Acacia's blessing was
4 weeks ago, we are now only
getting around to taking
pictures. On her blessing
day, I had a meeting right
after church and by the time
I got home, Tony had already
changed her. Come on Daddy,
don't you know we're supposed
to take pictures??? This dress
is a very special dress. I made
it all by myself!! This is the first
time I've ever sewn anything
expect a baby blanket in about
17 years. And, I did it without
the help of anybody. I didn't
completely understand all the
directions, so I had to
improvise a bit and just do what
seemed right. I guess it "kind of"
turned out to be okay. I'll
interpret that by saying, it looks
really good from afar, but for
those of you seamstresses out
there, if you looked at it you
would cringe. For those of you
wondering why I would choose
to tackle such a project, I did it
because I'm crazy. Well, not
really, I did it because I want
something that Acacia can pass
down to her daughters and
bless them in. Who knows if
that will ever happen, but a
few generations down the line,
it would be pretty awesome
if my great granddaughter got
to wear something I made.
(Very wishful thinking!)
Acacia was blessed the Sunday
before Christmas, so that most
my family could be there. We
were particularly waiting for
Kirk to get back from Iraq, so
that he could participate. It was
pretty awesome having him s
tand in the circle as my little
angel was blessed. The dress
makes her look like she has
wings, so a lot of people
approached me at church and
told me she looked a lot like an
angel because of her wings. I
thought that was pretty special.
What a wonderful day!
Thanks Acacia for giving
Mommy such a special day.

Bath Time Bliss

This is Acacia and Luca's first bath together. The first of many, I presume.


It was not as easy as I'd hoped, but Luca did a good job helping his sister stay above the water. It was a lot of work for him, but he's a great helper. Acacia loves playing in the water. She already splashes around like a fish. Bath time is always a joy!

Craftsman. . .Luca

Luca hit the jackpot when Grandma Jo & Grandpa Gary's
Christmas present arrived. Luca got his own set of big boy tools. He loves to work with them. It is very important that you understand he does not "play" with them, he "works"! You can often find him in the garage working on his "piece of wood" hammering away. He loves to use his screwdrivers to help us unscrew anything, especially when it comes to changing batteries in toys that require tools to open the battery compartment. What a blessed little boy. I'm sure his future wife will love him for it too, because he'll learn how to fix everything--just like his Daddy!