See me run

If you were a Kelley growing up, you are very familiar with the "Watch Me Sing" kids music series. Well my mom recently purchased them all on cd and gave copies to all the kids+grandkids. The best part is, that we all still remember those songs, even the parts of the songs that were damaged and would repeat. I half expect them to skip in all the same places listening to them now:) Anyways I got Ollie and Ami their very own cd player for their room and I've discovered that it does miraculous things. I can put in "Watch Me Sing" or "Yo Gabba Gabba" and this magical thing happens. They are totally content and happy to play in their room and listen to music. It's priceless.

And honestly, Oliver is so happy to have a friend in there to play with, even if she is a pint sized 6 month old. It just feels like a regular party to him. I also got the greatest mix of classical music. It puts Ollie into this sort of trance, he loves it so much. So I just had to snap a shot of them playing in their room. Which by the way, is awesome.

Oliver slept so horrible at my parents and Ryan's parents house. Since we've moved and he has his own bed, he has slept all night in it, only a few times venturing out. Amazing. Ami is however not sleeping so great. We might have to move Ollie out of there for a few nights and do some sleep training (ie: crying) because that little girl needs to work it out.

Also, I've recently been trying to introduce a bottle to Ami. Like occasionally it would be awesome if she took a bottle so we could go out for more than 2 hours at a time. I've never heard that girl scream so much, she was so mad at me. Over the last few days though she has finally learned to drink water from a bottle so maybe that's a step towards progress. I feel for the kid and all but honestly nursing is a little annoying. I so envy the small chested ladies who nurse and it's wonderful. It's just not the same for the rest of us who get huge. Plus I don't feel like I get my body back until I stop. I don't know, I want to and I don't. We'll see.

Anyways, Ryan's job is nuts. I can honestly say that he is not enjoying this particular project and is counting down the days to be transferred. It's just a total mess. By the time he gets home around 8:00 we are both exhausted. The weekend is too short. I miss my husband and he misses us.

The awesome part is that we live in this great place. I am falling more in love with Aliso each day. Our ward here is awesome. There are parks on every corner. People everywhere are so nice. I can walk almost anywhere. I've been in love with the stormy weather we've been having lately. Hearing the wind through the palm trees and seeing the sheets of rain come up over the bright green hills is pretty magical. And even if for just an hour at night Ryan and I get to cuddle by the fire before bed, it's heavenly. Ps, that picture of Ami at the top looks just like Ryan when he was little, just like him. Daddy's girl.

It's late...

Sometimes, like now, when it's really late at night and I have no idea why I'm still awake, other than just to have a moment to myself, I get on nienie's blog and just read all about her life. Usually I just sit either laughing or crying, but either way, I feel healed in a way after reading. If you haven't yet, you most definetely need to go to her blog and read about her story. She always reminds me to be grateful. She fills her life with so much love and joy and fun, I really am grateful to know her, if only through blogs.

New Tradition

We thought it was only appropriate to start a new tradition of a sunday night stroll on the beach. The ocean is heavenly. It is therapy for the soul and reminds me of why I'm here. It really does have a way of humbling you and testifiying that there are far bigger things at work in this life. It's a great rejuvenation for a new week to begin and new goals to be made. Here are a few pics from our stroll on Sunday. As you can see, Amelie has discovered the art of eating sand, and Oliver has mastered the art of being a real character.

Our little slice of heaven

So this is the place, it's still a work in progress and is messy, but we love it! Some of my favorite things about it are: a very high ceiling that makes the place feel big, tons of windows to let light in (in fact I don't turn a single light on all day), a seperate laundry room, a backyard with a little patch of grass and our very own palm tree (I LOVE the palm tree because it catches all the sea breezes from Laguna), only one attached wall in the living room so it really feel like a seperate home, it's a private housing development so there is no through traffic and the whole place feels like one big cul-de-sac which is great for kids, I do not have to get on a freeway to get to the beach, a two car garage (having garage door openers is just the most exciting thing ever). The list could probably go on but anyways we are just loving it. The move itself was a little naightmarish but hopefully it will all get sorted out (think u-haul being towed and huge sum of money to get it out). So it is only 2 bedrooms but we are expecting plenty of visitors, seriously. You'll have the whole downstairs to yourself:) That is probably what we're most excited about. Just having a place to share with all the people we love. That's what feels like home.

Just because

First Train Ride!

Last month Ryan had a meeting in Irvine and so Ollie, Ami, and I decided we would take the train down to meet him and do some house hunting. This was both Amelie and Oliver's first real train ride. It was all very exciting until the train decided to stop at the union station in LA and sit for about an hour. With two small kids I got lots of looks of sympathy and even a helping hand or two. Once it started going again, it was pretty cool. I LOVE traveling without worrying about screaming kids in car seats. We might be doing more of this in the future. And this was actually the day we found our place! Such a great day.

We're Moving!

So it's been a crazy couple of weeks. Basically we thought we were moving here and here and things kept not working out, or we were just too undecided to know what to do. We had planned a move to Orange County after Ryan's job in Burbank ended, then he ended up getting transferred to Santa Monica on a "sprint" job that only goes until August. Actually he was requested for the job, a clear sign of how amazing he is doing at his job. Maybe a little too amazing considering he is at work A LOT. So for a while we had been thinking of a temporary place closer to Santa Monica until the job ends. Instead we decided to cut to the chase and find something in Orange County cause that's where we wanted to be anyways. The drive for the next 4 months for Ry will be a nightmare but we'll be in a sweet spot that we'll love. So our new place of residence...Aliso Viejo. We are SO excited. Official residents tomorrow baby! I do have a few pictures to put up of the past week but I'm on the wrong computer. I'll get those up soon cause who knows when we'll have internet at our new place. And Happy Easter and Conference!!! I love to think about our Savior's ressurection and what it means to me.