The Waldron's Abroad: 2010

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Merry Christmas!

This last year of 2010 was one of the fullest we have known!

Crew Boy!

learned how to walk and immediately began RUNNING and JUMPING!!!
words so far:

mama

daddeeeee!

Dee Dee (Kadie)

Nay Nee (Laney)

Mineeeeey! (Mine)

no no no! (while pointing his finger and smiling)

awe (putting his head to the side when something is cute)

joo (juice)

ha dah (hotdog)

Crew also knows to fold his arms in prayer and he dances to all kinds of music
He gives the sweetest little kisses, and he has a baby doll.
He is a monkey and climbs on EVERYTHING, and breaks most things he throws.
Crew stole the title of Messiest from Laney, and probably also owns the title of best tantrum thrower. We will continue watching him closely in 2011. :)

Laney

Learned to write her first name as well as f-o-x, c-a-t, l-o-v-e, n-o, y-e-s, t-o, and m-o-m and d-a-d. She leaves notes everywhere in the house.
She is always right at my feet when I am upset about something telling me she loves me.
Laney LOVES flash cards. Any and all kinds!
Laney discovered the world of girly toys and things this year. She still has a special love of dinosaurs, but she and Kadie play all sorts of princess and fairy games.
Laney has also started "crafting" with her sister after school.
Laney still owns the title of Most Curious child, but Crew is a close match!

Kadie

Kadie became a big kid in my eyes this year which really makes me happy and sad at the same time. :) :( But mostly happy. :)
Kadie was baptized this year, she pays tithing, and she reminds me now of family prayer, scripture study and family home evening. I even put her in charge of one lesson and she is a natural at teaching!
Kadie's favorite thing in the world is NATURE. Anything and everything about it.
Kadie changes her brothers diaper sometimes, she even offers to vacuum on occasion.
Kadie is a WIZ at math and loves it almost as much as her Daddy. She rarely comes home missing more than one problem on her math or spelling tests.
Kadie has even dabbled in jewelry design this year, and wears one of her most recent bracelets almost every day.
She wants to be a mom when she grows up, and I think she will be such a patient mother.
Kadie still wins the award for Most Dramatic in our family, and she can add a touch of Sassy to the mix most days.

Josh and Leisa

Leisa started a few new hobbies this year including party throwing and her Sassy Pepper blog. She discovered a new obsession with organizing, which doesn't last long with an 8, 4 and 1 year old. Instead of trying to be the perfect mom this year, she tried being more fun, and the kids voted to keep the fun. :) Leisa is also in the Primary Presidency as an intern... I mean, counselor. She now knows the secret to making it all work at church is just that...a SECRET that she hasn't discovered yet! :) Leisa wins title of Most Crazy, but a good crazy, not "crazy" crazy,

at least not yet.

Josh was so blessed to be given the opportunity to go back to what he loves again for a career. Josh is now an Audit manager with a full staff at PWC and absolutely loves it. His engagements include Twitter and Zip Realty! Somehow, he still finds time to play the Wii with Kadie, bake cookies with Laney and wrestle with Crew. We are back to our old schedule of working hard in the week and playing twice as hard on the weekend! I think Josh deserves the award of Most Thoughtful because although he is overworked and underpaid...he does anything I ask, even without the asking.

This upcoming May will mark 10 years in our marriage! And we plan on celebrating in style.

We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope that your year to come is full of joy and happiness. We also are so thankful for all of you, and most of all our Savior.

With Love,

Josh, Leisa, Kadie (8), Laney (4.75), and Crew (1.5)

Friday, December 10, 2010

Every Day

Every Day...

actually several times a day, when I open this fingerprint decorated garbage can,

I find a surprise inside!

Crew's pants!

Whenever I see he has taken off his pants, I check in the trash and sure enough...

Other items included in this search (but are not limited to);

Bottles, sippy cups, silverware, school books, stuffed animals and DVDs.

Another Everyday Occurrence...

Crew's Clubhouse as I like to call it.

Also know as my shower.

When he finds things he likes, he takes them and hides them in my shower.

Similar to how a dog hides a bone.

Crew is the "new" puppy.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Goodbye...Hello!

Last Christmas the girls were so excited to get their little leopard gecko's from Santa.

Sassy really had a special little love for Laney.

As our first "real" pets other than fish, Santa told us that gecko's are very low maintenance and easy to keep alive. So even Josh and I were excited. They really were cute.

About 2 months ago, Laney's lizard dropped it's tail, and it was all downhill from there. Both gecko's were lethargic and wouldn't eat a thing for the last month. So we decided to give them up to a shelter that would nurse them back to health and then find good owners for them.

We saw and heard many many tears this last weekend.

Josh and I felt bad for the girls and for their gecko's.

What we weren't planning on was meeting some teeny tiny turtles at the shelter that need a new home! Kadie tried to talk me into a snake, but with all of the fiasco's with crickets this last year, I could only imagine mice and gold fish being worse. So we agreed on turtles.

Meet Freckles and Cuddle!

Now the girls are smiling again!

Let's hope that these little things stay healthy.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Lost Photo's

I just found these from August.

They are so funny! I can't believe I forgot about them!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

What happened in Dallas...

What happened in Dallas didn't stay in Dallas.

My Josh came home a Cowboy. He finally found his perfect Cowboy hat.

After being gone almost two weeks in a row, I am so glad he is home! It was a long couple of weeks. And one very very VERY long Sunday to start it off with. We did come home from church to find little notes all over the house with messages from Dad. The girls loved it.

I'll take the real Josh over his notes any day. Glad you are home shnookums!

{Green} Halloween

The night of the trunk or treat for our church, I decided last minute to go as the wicked witch of the East, which meant I would have to be green.

Laney followed suit. She even requested a gross fake mole.

Crew was originally the tin man, but his costume was too small and showed too much diaper.

He became a last minute "Toto" with one of our older costumes from when Kadie was a wee one.

By the end of the night, being green didn't seem to excite Laney as much.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

"From Dad"

Conversation between Laney and I while Laney was creating a card for her Dad.

Laney: "How do I write from Dad?"

Leisa: "You mean to Dad or for Dad?"

Laney: "No... one Dad,"

Leisa: "Is the card for Dad or to Dad?"

Laney: "I made the card for my Dad, Mom."

Leisa: "Do you want it to say To Dad or For Dad, Laney?"

Laney Starting to Cry: "It is only one Dad. (sniff) Just my Dad!"

Leisa: "Oh ONE Dad, I'm sorry now I get it. It's okay Laney, don't cry. Let's just write for my Dad."

Laney with tears: "No ONE Dad mama, ONE Dad, my Dad!"

Leisa: "Okay, let's just write My Dad. Is that okay?"

Laney: (sniff sniff) "OK mama, How do I write my Dad?"

Leisa: "M-Y and then D-A-D. My Dad."

Laney with a giant grin: "Thanks mama!"

The End.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Hole in the Fence

Having a backyard is one of the best things about the house we live in.

The kids can go play care-free, and I can get dinner made while they do it!

Even though we have a fence, and there really is no way my kids would escape I still check in on them. I have to make sure no one ate something they shouldn't or is climbing on something they shouldn't, or sometimes it is just plain quiet which is not often a good thing.

When I peaked out the window while making dinner the other day, I didn't see Crew. When I walked outside, I still didn't see Crew. So I casually asked the girls where he was.

Kadie answered, "He's over there mama..." pointing to the side of the house. But when I walked over, still acting casual but starting to get a little nervous, I just said "No. He's not". So Laney yelled "Crew boy!" and we heard a little man yell back "Mam!" which is what he calls me now.

It was coming from the other side of the house, so we ventured quickly over there. Still no where in sight, we all started yelling "Crew!" and he would yell back "Mam!"

It went on for a few times...

"Crew!"

"Mam!"

"Crew!"

"Mam, MAM, Mam!"

Then Kadie started laughing and pointing at the fence. Looking through some loose boards was a smiling little boy with a strangely acquired southern accent. "Mam!" I quickly ran over and snatched him from our neighbors yard. We were all laughing, and I am pretty sure our neighbors were spying on us through their window.

I love when people ask if we have a dog, and I can honestly say Crew is the next closest thing.

Like Father Like Son...

Just like his Daddy, Crew loves electronics.

And now you are asking... "Does Josh surf the web commando?"

I will leave that question open.

Pumpkin Patch Number Two...

Windmill Farms. It is one of those places that I take for granted, but if we ever moved I would really miss it. A little outdoor market of fresh produce from local farmers.

Every year they have a low-key pumpkin patch. But this year...they stepped it up a notch!

I am still sad we only went once. :(

Crew was in love!

We actually found pumpkins! And we got busy carving right when we got home.

And here are our pumpkins. All carved and in their happy scary Halloween glory!

Can you guess who's is who's?

Pumpkin Patch Number One...

I decided that next year, we will be treating the pumpkin patch like a park. I was so sad that we waited until just a few days before Halloween to go to the pumpkin patch this year because the kids LOVED it. Crew acted like he was at Disneyland, trying to pick every pumpkin up and running all over the patch like a mad man.

Laney put the first pumpkin she touched into our wagon.

After 15 minutes of not finding the perfect pumpkin, Kadie found a ladybug.

Crew found his M & Ms...

Laney tried to help Kadie find a pumpkin because she was taking FOREVER to decide.

Kadie always wants every moment and item in her life to be absolutely perfect.

Then we found the CORN PIT.

I wish I had one in my backyard.

The kids played and played and played!

Crew attempted the tunnel with success!

Crew also tried climbing on a fence for the first time and succeeded at that as well.

What a go-getter!

And the slide was the end to our show.

Sadly we didn't even end up with pumpkins from pumpkin patch number one.

It was on to the next!

Costume Day

I am a little behind posting these, but school costume day was my favorite this year. There was just something really fun about sending my second grade Dorothy and her little witch sister off to school with their lunches and backpacks.

Kadie loved the parade, and was looking kind of grim and worried (scanning the by-standers for any sign of mom) until she heard me yell "KADIE!". She was all smiles after that!

Kadie and her little tin man.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Job Number Three

Remember this post? It was such a sad day. 6 years at Grant Thornton. I cried that night and I think Josh thought I was crazy because leaving GT was going to be so good for our family! Leaving meant that there would be more time for us to spend time together. It felt like saying goodbye to an old friend. Although moving on was so great for our family the last 15 months, it is time again to make a change. And so we are saying goodbye to GROCO.

What I will miss the most: The short lived experience of Josh working in Danville and we were able to have lunch together sometimes - it felt like we were in a movie. The kids have seen or talked to him on the phone every single day since he began at Groco.

I also love the different ways Josh grew personally in the last year+. Josh is a Rotarian, which is actually really cool. He has become very involved in the community and always helping in service projects. Josh also became the Treasurer for Oakland Parks and Rec, and I think if anything, it made him love Northern California even more. And so the decision has been made to stay here in San Ramon! Working for Groco enabled Josh to become more than just a CPA, and learning to love life is something we will never regret.

So...what is the new job?

Josh Waldron. Experienced Assurance Manager for Price Waterhouse Coopers.

I have always known that Josh will be successful at anything he sets his mind to. He is driven, and that is something I love about him. I can brag about him because this is my blog.

I am so excited to see where PwC leads us. ( Even more excited for amazing medical benefits!)

Third time's a charm right?!?

Love you Joshy!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Crickets

This is not the first time, and probably not the last time this story will be told.

Crew likes bugs.

He likes to chase and eat them.

I spend 30 minutes this morning chasing crickets. Catching them with two small cups. Catching them off of walls, behind doors, scanning the carpet which happens to be the same color as crickets.

I found 29 out of the 30 I got from Petco. 2 were decapitated and one was bitten in half.

I can't think of anything scarier than a 1 1/2 year old shaking me out of my "cage" and then loudly chasing, jumping and laughing after me only to pull off my legs and eat my head.

Poor crickets.

I think that makes for a good Halloween movie.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Kadie's Baptism weekend

Lots and lots of pictures from Kadie's baptism weekend.

Family, friends, babies, crazy kidlets, aunts, uncles, grandma's, grandpa's, GREAT- grandma's, food eating, hog-tying, story reading, silly laughing, picture taking...

Great times!