Thanksgiving

The last four years Leith and I haven't had the most holiday friendly schedules, so this year we are thrilled to enjoy all holidays off! Leith gets weekends and holidays off and I am rocking the stay at home mom status (so I guess I never get a day off unless Isaiah says so). This year we spent Thanksgiving at my parents' house with a few family members and friends. It wasn't the usual Londono Family gathering with all my siblings and cousins but it was still a good turn out. There were almost 20 people there which sounds scary when I say that was a small gathering for us. My mom and I baked the night before and prepped the turkey and then spent most of thursday in the kitchen. It was so much fun to spend time together but it was definitely exhausting due to the baby girl I am carrying around with me lately. Leith spent the day with our nephews watching football and playing zombie games on his ipad....they had a blast! All in all it was a great day and we were so thankful to be surrounded by those we love. As I reflect on the past year I find it impossible to choose one thing to be thankful for. This year has brought on so many life changes and exciting events in our life as a family. We are so thankful for our new house and for God's provision in allowing us to purchase it. We are also thankful for Leith's job and what a great blessing it has been to be able to rely on his income so I can stay home and raise our son. We are beyong thankful for Isaiah and the joy he has brought to our lives and the lives of our friend and family. We are also thankful to have found a great church in orange county that has already blessed us in many ways. We are also thankful for each and every one of you who has supported us in some way through your friendship. I could go on and on, but I will leave the list as is and now allow you to enjoy some pictures from our thanksgiving celebration...

Isaiah and grandpa

Isaiah and daddy...eager to start eating!

delicious meal

Isaiah enjoying his first thanksgiving meal (last year he was only breastfeeding :))

kids table

grandma let isaiah get his hands on the turkey leg...he loved it!

thankful for grandma and grandpa

Isaiah and cousin Natalia

that's all folks!

and the verdict is...

Its a GIRL!!!!!

bring on the frilly dresses, bows, and ribbons...we are thrilled to be expecting a little girl into the States' family! 

meeska mooska mickey mouse!

If you haven't already heard or noticed, Isaiah has become quite a fan of mickey mouse. Actually, he loves anything Disney! Yes Leith and I have memorized all the mickey mouse clubhouse songs and find ourselves singing them throughout the day even when Isaiah is not watching the show. So when trying to decide what Isaiah would be for halloween this year it wasn't very difficult. We were torn between Woody from Toy Story and Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse won mostly because it was an easier costume for me to make. Isaiah already had red shorts and a black shirt so I got him some black tights (he's very confident with his manhood), sewed white felt circles on his shorts, and made yellow covers for his shoes. My friend Sara helped me alot with the shoe covers since I'm new to the art of sewing. Thanks Sara! We topped it off with mickey ears and some eyeliner for a nose and Isaiah turned out to be the cutest Mickey ever! He passed out candy for a couple hours and was so excited every time the doorbell rang. Minnie Mouse showed up at one point and he made sure to give her a hug :) Our friends the Girards came over for dinner which made for a fun and relaxing evening. All in all it was a Happy Halloween!

i love his expression here

if you cant tell, he's hugging his mickey doll

mommy and mickey!

mickey and his jack o lantern waiting for trick or treaters

pumpkin patch

Last weekend we went to a pumpkin patch in Irvine called Tanaka Farms with our best friends the Girards and the Bodziaks. I had no idea there was a huge farm in the middle of Irvine...who knew! We were only there for an hour or so because it was so HOT! Only in California do you wear shorts and a tank top to a pumpkin patch in October :)
The farm offered a huge variety of pumpkins to choose from as well as a trailor ride around the farm, corn maze, and animal petting zoo. We only partook in the pumpkin picking due to the ridiculous heat. Isaiah and Morgan (the Bodziaks 11 month old daugher) stumbled around the pumpkins somewhat confused about what was going on. We chose our pumpkins and called it a day. It was a nice way to start of the holiday season! Check out some pics from the day below....

isaiah and morgan on the pile of pumkins (don't they look confused!)

isaiah with auntie jess and uncle brett

isaiah and daddy carved the pumpkin with mickey mouse's face

the finished product!

coming soon...

Premiering April 18, 2011

four years

Leith and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary in August. We both can't believe how fast the past 4 years have gone by. This last year has been the most eventful of all I must say. We had originally planned on going on a Mexican cruise but with the recent house purchase and Leith's new job we decided to do something a little more low key. So after doing some research we chose to spend a weekend in Temecula at the Churon Winery. It took us a little over an hour to get there and since our room wasn't ready for check in we decided to start the wine tasting. The receptionist at our hotel suggested we try a small family owned winery at the far end of the road so we took her advice and headed over there. The name of the winery was Doffo...named after the Doffo family that owns it. The owner was born and raised in Argentina. He moved from orange county to temecula with plans to retire and started a small vineyard as a hobby. Before he knew it word spread of his delicious wine and now they have a large vineyard with tasting room  in the back of their home. We had such a great time talking with the owners son that we decided to join their wine club! After Doffo we headed to the famous South Coast winery and did another tasting. By that time we were both hungry and tired so we got some lunch and headed to our room to rest before dinner. Dinner was in Old Town Temecula. We were served a delicious five course meal...my last course was a creme brule that was AMAZING! We had planned on staying to do some dancing but were so stuffed from dinner we went back to the hotel and went to bed. After 4 years we like to live it up! haha...not really. The next day we enjoyed some breakfast and headed back home. It was such a great weekend to be alone together and we were so blessed that my parents stayed with Isaiah. Here's to the next 50 years!!!!

tasting at South Coast

south coast

view from our room

out to dinner

our hotel

Leith enjoyed a root bear float at the original rootbeer company before heading home

summer 2011

so...since our blog is finally in functioning order again I can update you all on the States family activities this past summer. I won't bore you all with a million different posts filled with details so ill just list the summer highlights breifly and share some photos. This summer has gone by faster than any other yet. I still feel like we are in july! Before I know it I will have to start christmas shopping! Sit back, relax, and enjoy....

here we are at leith's internship graduation. two days before moving to orange county

Leith's cousin Linda came to visit from the east coast. we had a family bbq

Isaiah loves his new back yard although it doesnt have grass yet. He's learning how to go up the steps and down the slide...so far he's got it backwards :)

Leith gave Isaiah his first haircut

went to the orange county fair...and ate way too much!

we explored the lake down the street from our new house

grilled at the beach for dinner with our dear friend Sara and her family

went to work with daddy day! it was fun climbing on everything

spent a day at the beach club down the street from our house

but mostly Isaiah spent a whole lot of time in his diaper cuz it was way too hot outside! check out that tan!

its been a while

hello friends and family that have remained faithful to the States' blog. I apologize for not keeping you all updated in a while. It has been quite a busy past couple of months for us but now that we are somewhat settled I think I will have more time to get back into the world of blogging. Just so you all have a little update to quench your appetites (Im sure you all have better things to do than wait for me to blog :))...this is what we've been up to. We moved to our new house at the end of June once Leith finished internship. We were very sad to leave all the great friends we made in san diego but we felt that God was calling us to be closer to family. So far the house is great and we are very happy with the neighborhood and the neighbors. Leith loves his new job! He has better hours during the week now...no more 90 hr work weeks; and he gets weekends off! Its been very nice having him home more. I am a stay at home mom full time now and I must say its more exhausting than 12 hr shifts as a nurse. I miss working but its also such a blessing to be home with isaiah all the time instead of someone else watching him. Isaiah is doing great! He is almost 15 months now and he's super active. He loves playing in his backyard on his little bike and slide. He's also taken up dancing quite a bit which is always entertaining.

For some of you who may or may not know...Leith is away on a short deployment to India. His marines were sent there for some training so he is there to make sure they all come back without scrapes and bruises. Isaiah and I miss him terribly but we are grateful that he has this opportunity and we pray for his safe and quick return. Please pray for him while he is gone and pray for me while im here at home. We love you all. Stay tuned for more updates on what we have been up to this summer!

Happy Birthday!

Last week we celebrated Isaiah's first birthday! Leith had to work so Isaiah and I made plans to hang out with our dear friend Sara. The day started out gloomy and though we saw some glimmer of hope that sunshine would come our way we were sadly left with mostly clouds. This didnt stop us from heading to the beach for a little picnic. We went to whole foods and picked up some sandwiches, fruit, and cookies and headed to La Jolla Shores. We were there for a couple hours enjoying ur lunch and watching Isaiah have a great time. He chased a beach ball around for a while and then enjoyed some time on the swings at the park. Although he won't remember this day I am still convinced he had a blast...I know I did! Here are some pics from the day...

one year

Isaiah has made it through his first year of life and I think about it with tears of joy and a little sadness. I will explain the sadness first so you all dont think i am crazy. I feel like the year has gone so fast and although growing up comes with new stages and accomplishments, I will greatly miss the baby things. I miss when he would fall asleep on my chest for hours and when I could wear him around in my moby carrier. So many things I will miss about his baby stage but i look upon the future with joy and excitement.
Now for the exciting part...Isaiah is at the point of taking his first steps any day now! He has been cruising since he was 10 months old and each day he seems to get more and more comfortable with the idea of taking a step without holding mommy or daddy's hand. He stand independently quite well and is very proud of himself which he always makes sure to demonstrate with cheering and clapping. He has begun to climb on anything and everything and he also discovered where mom keeps the pots and pans. One of his favorite pass times recently is playing hide and seek with daddy. When Leith finds him he screams and crawls away as fast as his little arms and legs will allow. It's seriously the cutest thing I have ever seen. He made sure to top off the year by saying "mama" to me yesterday as he stood at my feet pulling on my pant leg. It was so amazing!!!! I love that little guy!
I have experienced more changes in the past year than ever in my life. It has not all been easy but man it's been interesting and fun! My life completely changed when Isaiah entered it. He has brought me more joy that I could have ever imagined. He has taught me to appreciate the little things in life. His smile melts my heart and his laugh is contagious! We can't wait to see what God has in store for our little man. Our hope and prayer is that He will grow up to be a man after God's heart and that we can raise him in the manner that God wants us to. Isaiah we love you more than you will ever know!

the first time we looked into each other's eyes

Happy Birthday!