Happy belated Christmas.

I meant to share these around Christmas.

We took these pictures when we were decorating our first tree:) 

Also, these photos are the closest we've gotten to family pictures.

Hopefully we'll get some taken soon!

&

our Christmas corner:

Hello 2011.

One of the best moments from 2010. When Riley met Beck.
When Riley met Beck from Margaret Jacobsen on Vimeo.    &the kids now! Best friends:)  Looking forward to this new year with them. 

Kids playing together from Margaret Jacobsen on Vimeo.

November

    October was not my month. November, on the other hand, is! I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to wake up on Monday knowing it was November 1st. I was relieved and ready for some change. I know it seems odd that I would be that anxious to change months, but its made the biggest difference! My attitude is different and things are going much more smoothly. Granted, it is only the first week of November but I have a wonderful feeling about this month!

   I'm also really excited that its November because that means my baby girl will be celebrating her 2nd birthday on Thanksgiving! Eek! I think we're going to throw her a birthday party here in Monterey and in L.A. I'm excited:) She keeps saying "Happy Birthday Riley!" It always blows my mind that I'm Riley's mom. That two years ago she was still in my tummy and Leif and I would talk about what we thought she'd be like. Its weird that there was a time when she wasn't here, wasn't part of our family. I can't imagine life without her. She's the perfect mix of Leif and I.  She's loud like me, but cautious like Leif. She observes a lot like Leif and loves people the way I do. She's very nurturing, wanting to take care of everyone. When someone hurts she hurts as well, ready to comfort. While shes caring she's independent and likes to do her own thing. She'll watch something you do once and repeat it perfectly. Many times she wants nothing to do with other kids but would rather sit with the adults "talking" and doing what they do. She would rather hang out with Beck though... Anytime she sits anywhere, eats anything, takes a bath, etc she asks for Beck or to share with Beck. I hope this continues!

  Leif and I are in constant amazement of Riley. She picks things up fast and puts so many sentences together but we have no idea that she knew half of the words she says. I love watching her personality develop as she gets older. Its weird because its like she was always like this. From the beginning. Its just much more obvious now. So amazing!

23 months old!

      
    Today dear girl you turn 23 months old! Daddy and I couldn't believe it when we realized the date. Only a few more weeks until you are a 2 year old! AH! I love asking you how old you're going to be because you always say "TWO!".  I hope that I pull my self together to plan out your birthday party. I think you deserve to be celebrated.

   Thank you for waking us up every morning with a "Hi daddy! Hi mommy!". It makes getting up so much more pleasant:) Thank you for doing everything and saying everything with such joy and enthusiasm. I definitely have two of the happiest children. Thank you for that. Thank you for sharing your snacks with your brother and taking such good care of Charlie. You are such a caring and gentle soul. You take it upon yourself to make sure everyone is taken care of. I love that about you. I also love that you are a mini version of your father. Lately you've been reading his art books and getting so excited over the paintings. You flip through, and tell me how pretty the paintings are.

  Somedays I get bummed because your grandparents, aunts and uncles aren't here to watch you grow. You've been changing so much and I hate that they have to miss out on it. I want them to see you wash dishes with me, and listen to you put sentences together. I want them to know how much you love baby Beck and love cuddling with daddy. I think theres only so much a photo and some words can translate. Know that you are so loved, and not just by family. But our friends as well. So many people love you and care so much about you!

  I wish you weren't napping (kind of) so I could give you a hug and kiss, and tell you how much I love you. My favorite is when you say "I love you too!" Or when you hear daddy come home and you rush to the door shouting "Daddy! Daddy!". I know it makes his day:) I think its cute that ever since you were a baby you have looked forward to daddy coming home from work. I hope you always will. He loves it. And he loves you so much.

  We all do. Beck thinks you're the best sister in the world and admires you so much. If he could he'd cuddle with you all day, and share snacks with you. Thank you for being such a great example to him already. I'm happy that he has you to look up to for the rest of his life!

  When you wake up we'll celebrate this day with cookies and apple juice. &lots of hugs and kisses!

    

Whoa!

Riley is sorry. from Margaret Jacobsen on Vimeo.

So its been forever since I last posted. Things have been hectic!

I do miss blogging and my mom keeps asking why she hasn't gotten any new photos :)

Well here's a cute video of Riley 

and a video of Beck crawling.

Beck's about to hit 8 months and Riley is going to be turning 23 months...

Which means Leif and I will be celebrating her 2nd birthday soon.

We're really shocked at how fast it came but we're excited to celebrate!

Crawling Beck. from Margaret Jacobsen on Vimeo.

21 Months!

        Riley girl!  How did we get here so fast?! Please tell me why you'll be turning two in just 3 months? You blow our minds!  Daddy and I don't know how you catch on to things so fast, constantly doing new things we had no idea you were capable of doing. You're too funny, and you know this. You make Beck laugh constantly, and you take such good care of him. Thank you baby girl:)  I'm impressed by your counting abilities and abc's reciting abilities. Everyday you make me play your letters dvd so you can go over them. You can point out some letters and its cute because you believe you're reading to us. I think one of the cutest things you do is say "I sawwwy" after you've been in time out or when you know you've done something wrong. Its hard for us to stay mad at you, especially when you follow it with a kiss and hug. You are always making us proud and theres nothing better than coming home from working and having you run to the door shouting "Mama mama!" or "Daddy!Daddy!". Thank you for always making all of us feel loved, for telling us all the time how you love us, for giving out lots of kisses and hugs. You mean the world to us! 

       Lately I've been really amazed at the fact that I am a mother of two wonderful children.  I keep thinking over and over: I am so blessed!  Having children and being a mommy is not something I take for granted. I am so grateful that God has given me children to love and raise.  I go back and forth between putting Riley and Beck in daycare of some sort. Somedays, when I have a lot on my plate I wish I had taken the opportunity to sign them up for at least hourly care! But most days I love having them home with me. I love making lunch for Riley and eating it with her on the floor. I love making Beck laugh by making silly noises. I love that I haven't missed out on any of Rileys milestones. There will come a time eventually, when my kids will have to go off to school and leave me, but until then I am going to enjoy every minute they're at home. Even the trying momentes:) 

Happy 6 Months to Beck!

   Beck is 6 months old! These pictures were taken of him yesterday:) Riley decided to feed him for me. He was so happy when she started to feed him! He kept laughing and smiling, and the food kept falling out of his mouth cause he was so excited.  I can't believe how big he's getting! Sitting up, rolling around,  getting around slowly. He's definitely been trying to keep up with Riley and has been getting frustrated because its not really happening, haha. Its cute though the way he admires her. And she'd do anything to make him happy.

   Little man, I can't believe its already been 6 months! Time has flown!  Everyday you become a bit more independent. Thankfully not as fast as your sister. You still let me rock you, snuggle with you, hold you.  Thank you.  Thank you for being my baby, you're so sweet and I never get tired of hearing you coo and giggle. It makes my heart so happy! I believe it when they saw that moms and sons have a special  relationship. Its so true.  I cried the other day when I was at a wedding and I watched the son dancing with his mother. I can't believe you'll ever be that big! Until then though, we'll keep snuggling and laughing together.  You're such a good boy, thank you.  I've never met such a laid back baby who simply laughs when his sister sits on him or when you get poked in the eye. When Riley got her shots, I never cried because she never cried. You on the other hand break my heart when you get your shots... I dread taking you because the look you give me after kills me!  You're so sensitive sometimes and its hard for me to handle because you have the most pitiful saddest cry.  Yet even then you try so hard to smile at us.  You are by far one of the most joyful people I know. Thank you for that, everyday. I love you so much mr.!

   Although this post is mostly for Beck I had to include two cute pictures of Riley washing her dishes:)

The kids in photos.

   I haven't really taken pictures of the kids as often as I'd like. I took so many of Riley but now that I'm taking pictures of so many other people pictures of the kids kind of come last. I hate that and so I'm attempting to snap a few each day. Here are some I took yesterday:

     My room seems to have the best lighting so the kids and I just hung around on the bed while I snapped a few photos.  Look how beautiful my children are! Definitely gifts from God. I wish that Leif had been home so I could have gotten him in a few photos. I'm trying to take more pictures of him as well.... and myself. These moments as a young family are fleeting and I'd like to document as much of it as possible.  Nothing fancy, just us in the everyday. I'm learning more about myself and learning that those types of photos are my favorite. The photos of people living life. How wonderful and perfect! 

Another life update.

Life lately has been good. I think its been more than good, its been wonderful, perfect and an adventure. How it should be right? Despite not having any sun around here for awhile, I feel as if our spirits are still pretty high:) Today it got to me a bit but I chose not to dwell on those feelings, rather be greatful for the company that I got to spend time with today.

I recently had to say goodbye to my best friend Summer this past weekend. It wasn't the goodbye I would have liked to end our time in Monterey on. I think its because we both assumed we'd be seeing each other the next morning but things didn't work out so the sucky goodbye had to do. In a way it was good because it was like our other goodbyes... like an "Okay I'll see you tomorrow" kind of goodbye. I know I'm going to see her again, hopefully next summer, but either way, we'll see each other again!

Besides seeing another friend go (oh I must write a post about the military life here...), I've been growing. I think Leif has been too. We've learned to be grateful where we are, to embrace what life has to offer us here. It's good for us and we might almost be back to the outlook we originally had when we first moved here. We'll see... For now we're taking it a day at a time, enjoying what God's blessed us with and looking forward.

The kids are also growing. Literally of course. Our baby girl is not really a baby any longer. Her talking is blowing us away, counting and saying abc's. She is mostly potty trained. She caught on really fast and has adjusted well to it. We haven't tried using the potty at night yet, so we'll see how that goes. I do know that I love only having to change one child's diapers! We started giving Riley time outs when she disobeys, just a minute in the corner and that's worked out. She understands it and always comes to us after and says "I sawwwy. I loveeee you" Of course you feel terrible for putting such a perfect child in timeout ;) For awhile Riley was fighting bedtimes but has gone back to her wonderful old ways. And the cutest part about her going to bed is, she'll grab a book and read it in her bed before she lays down and falls asleep. I think it's so adorable! Sometimes she comes to our room early in the morning to sleep with us, but you can get her back into her bed which is a relief to me... Beck is still sleeping part of the night with us so the bed gets crowded!

Beck, my sweet little boy, I could snuggle with you all day! Look how adorable my son is! And he just gets cuter everyday. Beck really is such a sweet baby. He falls in love with everyone and will make you think you're the center of his world. He has tons of smiles to offer and he is so happy just being surrounded by people. Just recently he started rolling around and somehow moving towards things. He takes his time and just enjoys everything. He is in no rush. We started him on solids and he is loving it. He cries when Riley has food and can't give it to him. The other day I walked into the living room and caught Riley feeding Beck her yogurt. He was in heaven. I think my favorite thing is when they sleep next to each other in our bed and cuddle. Oh, and when they "talk" to each other in the car. I love my babies together! Beck is still an excellent sleeper. Finally figured out his schedule and it works out that him and Riley take their afternoon nap together. 2 hours of me time! Thank you children!

All in all things are going well. We haven't really seen the sun around these parts in awhile, but we're hoping that summer will finally start sometime soon here in Monterey!

Life is good.

  I'm sitting here watching my children interact with each other and I'm in total awe.  What is this life I find myself leading? A very blessed one I think.  One that is never short of adventures and always has snacks included.  I watch my daughter read to Beck and point things out to him.  He beams of course because Riley is his favorite person and shes spending time with him.  I listen to her tell him all about the animals in her book and he laughs and babbles along with her.  Its one of the cutest things I've ever seen.

  Its hard to remember life before babies.  I miss it from time to time but not enough to wish that life back.  Three years ago we were talking about marriage and babies.  Talking about how we couldn't wait to be forever roommates and raise children together.  Now we find ourselves about to celebrate our 3rd year of marriage, with two adorable children, and living in our second home together. We've learned that life doesn't wait on you, it just seems to happen. So many times we've mapped out plans for ourselves, for our family and over and over again we've watched those plans fall apart or change.  We never mind though because God seems to always have something better waiting for us. Both my children were these better plans that were given to us.

  I am so grateful for the eloping, the surprise pregnancies, the job losses, the moving, 

the really good times and the really bad.

Without those experiences we wouldn't be here today

with these sweet babies who just so happen to be the 

perfect mix of Leif & I

I love my little family.

All Grown Up.

Riley is now in a big girl bed.

When did this happen?!

I am proud of my little girl. She's adjusted well to her new bed. She didn't even notice the change. She did realize her new-found freedom though :) She's gotten up a couple times in the middle of the night to get herself milk or to turn on the tv. It's so cute telling her its time for bed, and then watching her climb into her bed. Every time she lays down she has the biggest smile on her face. Cutest thing ever.

Blessings:

    

Sweetest Words.

This adorable little girl just told me she loved me for the first time.
I can't even begin to describe the feeling I got when she said it.
I wanted that moment to last forever. 

I'm so blessed.

I want to remember.

Tonight is a wonderful night.

  

17 Months!

This little lady just turned 17 months.

Yes, I still celebrate the monthly birthdays:)

  

Discipline & Toddlers

Leif turned to me in the car yesterday and asked me: "How do we want to handle this?" and by this he meant Riley's tantrums. When she first turned 1, she was throwing them here and there but by 14 months she had stopped. Now they've started up again and a simple "Please stop that" no longer works. I didn't realize just how strong willed my daughter was and I didn't realize how soon we would have to discuss discipline. She can go from happy to upset in seconds and then back again. I'm pretty sure this is normal for children her age, haha. But throwing herself on the ground isn't the best way of expressing her frustration. The question is: How do we discipline her while teaching her a better way to handle these situations?

I'm a firm believer in being a parent first, and a friend second. My child doesn't run things, Leif and I do. I don't care how hard you cry, kick and roll, no means no in this house. But whats the right approach to helping my daughter learn this? What will work best for her? I called my mom this morning and she gave me some advice on how to approach dealing with tantrums and getting Riley to listen. First she suggested Dr. Dobsons The Strong-Willed Child and then she shared her own personal thoughts on parenting. My mom and I butt heads a lot but we share the same views on parenting for the most part.

A lot of the things she suggested Leif has already started to do. Something I've noticed is that Riley tends to listen to Leif more. She doesn't seem to take me as seriously as she does him. I think its because I'm not the best at following through. Especially since Becks been born I've been letting her get away with a lot more and not addressing certain things. I'm learning that follow through and consistency are really important when it comes to discipline. Those two things are important when it comes to a lot of things:)

So, what is your approach to disciplining your toddler? And what advice have you been given that you'd like to share or advice you yourself have come up with? I'm all ears!

I love waking up to this:

Every morning.

This is love

Riley is so in love with her baby brother.
She was on top of the world when I sat Beck next to her.
When she got to hold Beck she couldn't stop smiling.
She kept kissing him and wiping his mouth with a burp cloth, haha.

Cutest thing ever.

In no order at all

Some pictures from the last few weeks. They're mostly of Riley since I've been posting pictures of Beck.

::Also I'm starting to update my photoblog again so check it out::