The Bettino Family: Where Wings Take Dream

I'm back..?

2010-10-05T14:21:00.000-07:00

Hi friends! Are you still there? Maybe not...I guess not posting for 3 months would kind of make you think I'd stopped but I've missed you. Plus I still haven't posted house pictures. Our July was the most insane month of our lives. Work...come home...change into work clothes...drop Luke off at mom/sister's house...eat dinner on our way to the new house...become construction workers...clean up around 9:30pm...go pick up Luke...take a shower....watch YouTube videos in bed to figure out how to do the next project...wake up...go to work...change into work clothes...everyday. Then we moved into the house at the beginning of August and continued but this time we didn't have to go anywhere, and we waited until Luke was sleeping, and THEN we became construction workers. It's still not all done, but nothing we can't live with until we feel like picking up a tool again.

Here are some pictures...which don't really explain how weird the floor plan was and how much better it is now, but you still get an idea of how much was done in 6 weeks.

First though, a quick shout out to my dad/general contractor/architect/developer/negotiator/babysitter/cheerleader. He made it happen and was working 12 hours at the house when we were working our day jobs. He also somehow envisioned all we did in about 5 minutes when we first saw the house!! Here he is in work mode:

The whole thing seriously could not have been done without very generous friends who helped us on their own weekends...but I can't let you think we did all this work without the the Gordons. I think they might have earned some equity. Or our second born child. Michelle primed practically the whole house (and provided moral support when I thought we'd lost our minds) and Jeremy sanded entire rooms with a hand sander. He probably could sue us for workmans comp for back problems for the rest of his life. AND they would bring us beer regularly. The Gordons everyone:

Okay so here are some pics!

The Living Room before:

The Living/Dining Room after:

Entrance to middle bedroom before (directly off living room):

Now the entrance to a new hallway that leads to the other 2 bedrooms, and we sacrificed that bedroom and made a laundry room and bathroom (are you confused yet?...it is even in person!):

Here is the old kitchen (yes that's carpet)...

that Adam then demolished with some friends. It looked like this in July (from the other direction):

Now it's the hallway and looks like this. Hoping to put in hall cabinets in the near future on the right...if only they were free!

The Dining Room before:

Is the Kitchen now:

The Family Room before:

The Family Room after:

*It looks shorter because it is...there's a bar between the kitchen and family room now...which might be my favorite part of the house!

Luke's room is done but he's sleeping and there's no way I'm going in there to take a picture. Our room isn't done...but Adam has plans for it this weekend, while I'm gone.

I'm going to Germany tomorrow to celebrate the life of my sweet, precious Oma who passed away on Friday. She was sick but it was still a shock. Even though she lived in Germany, she spent lots of time with us growing up and stayed with my parents for months at a time. I hope to be half the mother and Oma she was.

Oma with her grandchildren and great grandchildren in May (the ones in the U.S. at least):

XOXO

A Little R&R&R (Reflooring & Repainting & Reorganizing)

2010-07-06T14:28:00.000-07:00

Hello friends- it's been a while! I can safely say that the past 3 weeks have been the BUSIEST 3 weeks of my life! Remember last year when I would sort of allude to how we wanted to buy a house? Well we finally did it on June 15th! Hallelujah! After 18 months of looking and bidding on 12 houses, I'm excited to say that part of the process is over! The last house we bid on was in December, and then we dealt with the real estate market's most difficult (I'll stay nice...) listing agent and waited patiently (? patiently is probably not appropriate here...waited frustratedly, hopelessly and then hopefully and then hopelessly again) for the banks to approve the short sale. Thankfully in the meantime we rented a really really awesome house in the same neighborhood that made waiting WAY easier.

I also turned 30 and we celebrated our 7 year anniversary!

We haven't moved yet though, because we're rearranging the house first :) Back in December this was the kitchen:

Don't worry, they left us that trash can, that can of Febreze, and the clock, along when many other fine treasures throughout the house.

Today, that space looks like this:

In December, this was the dining room.

Now it's the kitchen!

In December, this was a bedroom (with an extremely low and dangerous ceiling fan).

And now it's a hallway, laundry room, and bathroom.

So we've been busy :) We're so thankful it worked out and thankful for all the lessons we learned while *trying* to be patient. I'll definitely be back with more before and after pictures!

I'll leave you with a newer dancing video of DJ LB. He has some new moves! Keep in mind the ceiling fan was on so he was a little distracted...

Road Trip

2010-06-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

My lack of blogging even though I had fun pictures is largely due to 1) the ability to get lost in my Facebook newsfeed instead of doing something worthwhile and 2) my addiction to our current book club selection (The Help by Kathryn Stockett- so good!).

Veena and Josh got married and it was so fun! We got to spend the weekend in the Bay Area with so many of our favorite people, and the 3 of us had our first road trip that was longer than 2 hours.

Before we were even on the freeway Luke was enjoying some time with his trusty truck book.

But 5 hours later in the same car seat was apparently not his idea of a good time?

You may be wondering what the heck is on Luke's face? A week before this a pit bull thought he was so sweet he wanted a taste...we spent the night in the ER...got 6 stitches...it was scary but he's definitely okay! A picture from the ER: (taken by Kate, a friend we grew up with who happens to work in that ER and was working that night!)

The night we arrived up north, I dropped off the boys and went to the henna party at Veena's house. It was so fun to see everyone, enjoy YUMMY Indian food, and get tattoo'd!

The next morning Michelle and JP planned a trip to a petting zoo in Berkeley! Abraham was pretty excited about all the animals...so sweet.

Luke seemed only mildly interested, and most definitely scared of the cows. Since a dog his size had just tried to bite his face off, I can't really blame him!

He actually got down from Adam's arms to look at the rabbits though :)

Back at the house Luke and Abraham got to hang out and check out each others snack trap. I wish we could see each other all the time!

And of course, the whole reason we went, for Veena and Josh's wedding! SO BEAUTIFUL!

(classic moment at dinner captured by Maysha here)

I'm also happy to report that Luke tried McDonald's for the first time on our road trip- he is NOT a fan. He liked the fries, but after inspecting his chicken McNuggets, decided he was not interested. Such great news! It probably won't last forever, but still.

We're Officially Gonna Become Islanders

2010-05-10T20:56:00.000-07:00

So between the last post and last night, Adam and I spent 5 fabulous days in Turks and Caicos. It was days filled with life's most exhausting decisions...do I sit under the umbrella or a cabana?? Do I get a pina colada or stick with beer? Should I swim in the ocean or the pool? Do I wear spf 50 or risk it with 30? It was rough, but we made it. Neither of us had ever been anywhere so beautiful, with such lovely people everywhere. The people who live there might just be the nicest, most laid back people ever. I guess if I lived in tropical paradise I would be too?

But actually, the reason we went was to see our dear friends, JP and Michelle, get married on the beach. We all cried through the whole thing.

The wedding was at this very small villa they rented for the week. It, also, was lovely.

We had so much fun catching up with old friends.

And it was so good for us to spend time with each other...but we were dying to see Luke by the end.

Little did we know, he was having his own time of relaxation and rejuvenation at the Hui Hotel. Every morning my dad (and it appears now my Oma) does his "exercises" to start the day (it appears in his pajamas). Luke was there early enough to partake last week. Enjoy:

Veena's Day

2010-05-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

May is the season of love over here in the Bettino world! Tomorrow night we leave for Turks and Caicos to see JP and Michelle get married, and in 3 weeks we go up North to see Veena and Josh tie the knot!!

Yesterday was the most fabulous day ever. To celebrate Veena's end of being single we spent the whole day doing what any girl would love to do. We ate a yummy lunch...

Got manicures and pedicures...

Decorated penis cupcakes...

**I'd like to point out that it doesn't matter how old or mature you may be- decorating something penis shaped is always going to be funny.

And decorated tote bags with transfer paper and stencils! It was so fun.

Now I'm off to pack my bathing suit and a book for our Caribbean vacation! (I never thought I'd get to say that!) Luke is staying here and will have a vacation of his own with both sets of grandparents. I don't think he'll miss us much. :)

P.S.

2010-04-21T22:12:00.001-07:00

I was right. I don't miss the cats :)

2010-04-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! It's been a while...who knew moving could be so time consuming. Yes, pretty much all of you. Adam and I have officially moved 5 times in 7 years of marriage. That's a lot of potential fighting, but we just don't move any furniture together, and we still love each other at the end of the day!

Anyway, we love our new home. And so does Luke. He loves to hang on the porch and watch the train go by...literally in the front yard. He officially has a new word: "choo choo".

He is starting to have full on conversations with you, hand gestures, facial expressions and all. I have no idea what he's saying, but I love it.

He's also OBSESSED with this truck book. There is a nature vs. nurture experiment right here in my living room- I promise out of his 100 books he chose to be bonkers for tractors and trailers.

OH- and I completed my first half marathon a couple weeks ago! My faithful running friends and I trained every Saturday morning for months and it was so fun to all cross the finish line together. However, we are not so smart and bought little matching tank tops to run in, and then we got to Santa Cruz and realized not everywhere is as warm as Southern California at 8am in April. Thankfully we had visors for a rain shield? It actually was WAY better than forecasted, and only rained the last few miles.

I have to admit, I've been enjoying my Saturday morning pancakes since then, but I could be convinced to do another...

Walking and Moving

2010-03-29T22:16:00.000-07:00

We have a little walker on our hands! This video is actually 2 weeks old now, so he's gotten much more stable since then! Even though he can do a little zombie walk across the room if he wants to, he still prefers a good crawl when he wants to get somewhere quickly.

So today I was packing our kitchen, and realized I love my counter space and cabinets galore and I'm sad to leave it. And then I came home with groceries and climbed to the top of the stairs and there was cat puke on the landing. This I will not miss. And so I bring to you:

Things I Will Miss About Our Apartment

1. The Rent. Perhaps never again will our housing cost this little. Goodbye cheap rent, I will miss you monthly.

2. The counter space and lots of kitchen cabinets. The cabinets are so deep you can't even reach in with your arm and touch the back. Open two little doors and you have a dutch oven, a crock pot, a cupcake carrier, 2 cookie sheets, and a full set of pots and pans. Seriously!

3. The natural lighting.

4. Luke standing on the couch to watch the cars go by.

5. It's character.

Things I Will Not Miss About Our Apartment

1. The neighbor's cats. The cat puke on the landing, the fleas, the hair, the smell.

2. The lack of washer and dryer and dishwasher.

3. The heat in the summer.

4. The flight of stairs up to it (although it's a good forced workout, especially carrying Luke).

5. Our refrigerator. It sucks.

I'm curious what I'll add to these lists AFTER the move. I'm making assumptions- maybe I'll really miss the cats?

Weekend Update without Seth Meyers

2010-03-22T22:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we thought it would be a fun idea to go to the Long Beach Antique Flea Market and Swap Meet to find a Member's Only jacket for Adam, and thought Luke would enjoy being out. Luke was not fooled by this fancy name, nor did he care about getting a Member's only jacket. He could tell in about 5 minutes that everything was extremely old and used, and totally not cheap at all. It was also hot and there were people everywhere. We also wouldn't let him crawl on the hot dirty asphalt, and he was really not cool with that. Thankfully Erica and Alec met us there and we got to grab lunch after, which was fun for everyone!

Here's a happy Luke: at home, in just a diaper, cruising.

Or post-nap hanging out in his crib. He just wants to be in there lately, even if he has no intention of going to sleep.

He likes to introduce you to all his stuffed animals, especially his favorite monkey.

If you couldn't guess he's also extremely content while eating :)

And has learned to get seconds from his bib.

On Saturday we got to hang out with cousin Jack! I swear they had fun.

Jack is getting so big and is such a cutie!

We're also moving in 2 weeks (just down the street into something bigger), and this is how far we've gotten on the packing. Baby steps... (and yes I'm that much of a slob :/ )

Hope you had a good weekend! xo

The Developmental Milestone Game

2010-03-10T22:26:00.001-08:00

People are always asking about the motor milestones. Is he sitting up yet? Is he rolling over yet? Is he crawling yet? Is he walking yet? I don't know what's next. Is he riding a bike yet? Can he slam dunk yet? Can he get up on one ski yet? Can he pitch at 90 mph yet?

Anytime someone asks how old Luke is (check-out lady at Vons...a co-worker I see only occasionally), my answer somehow automatically triggers a motor milestone question. And my answer is pretty much always "nope! almost!" Unfortunately I never get to answer "yes" to the motor milestone question because people are asking about the next one by the time he's rolled over, crawling, etc.

But nobody ever asks about the language milestones. I don't think anyone in the grocery store has ever asked me if Luke is making CV (consonant-vowel) sounds, if he's making bilabial sounds, imitating sounds, said his first word, understands simple commands, etc. I think I could probably answer "yes!" to most of those questions, but nobody ever cares about that.

Just a thought, which may be more interesting to me because I like language development. I'm sure I could find a sociological theory on cultural values and how it explains this focus on motor development (or something...) but I should go to bed and stop thinking about this.

So for any of you wondering if Luke is walking yet, the answer is "nope! almost!" and here is a little video we took last week with his push toy. It's his new favorite activity and he's so proud of himself. This is how we take walks around the block together now- it's way better than the stroller for both of us!

2010-02-22T20:02:00.000-08:00

A Luke update is overdue! We haven't been up to anything too crazy. My days off of work consist of reading books, tossing the ball, going to Trader Joe's, going to the park, seeing friends, doing laundry, sweeping the kitchen, doing dishes, keeping Luke's grubby hands out of my purse, going to Costco, making animal noises, new dance moves, and hopefully an afternoon nap.

I love this picture because of the matching cleft chins while watching Saturday morning ESPN updates. Aren't they so pronounced in this picture?

So have I mentioned that Luke is a TANK? He weighs close to 30 pounds. My 4 year old nephew weighs only slightly more. If I'm carrying him and have to pick up something off the floor, it's a HUGE bummer. My favorite comment from a passerby at Target this week was "Well he definitely hasn't skipped a meal". He's a good little eater this one.

Last week he got his first haircut ever!! I was sad to see the curls go, but I'm hoping they grow back. I was prepared for tears and he couldn't have cared less.

He's also going through nap changes (all you mom's with annoyingly robotic sleepers won't understand) but for the past month I've been trying to figure out how to make this kid sleep during the day! I've finally come to accept that he only takes one nap now, and it's usually about 1 1/2 hours. Today was a heaven sent 2.5 hour nap which we WOKE HIM UP FROM because we had to be somewhere. oh glorious sleep...I hope he remembers how amazing it felt tomorrow so that he does it again!

(immediately post nap)

(Immediately post eyes open)

XOXO

Doppelgängers

2010-01-31T16:05:00.000-08:00

It's Doppelganger week on Facebook, and it's been really funny to see who everyone's celebrity look-alike is.

Adam has been told he looks like Dan Haren of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

I definitely think he could pass for the 4th Bettino brother.

And I've been told I look like Ann Curry.

We even have the same haircut right now!

Who is your Doppelganger?

The Dancing Pooper

2010-01-22T21:49:00.000-08:00

I don't know if this is funny because we're Luke's parents, but Adam and I were dying. Luke is becoming quite the DJ/dancer, and here are some of his newer moves:

I also finally made a scented sachet that Darby posted about months ago. It really was fast, and now that Luke is eating big people food his room was really needing something to help it out with the stink. (I suppose we could also take out his trash more...) I also love that I can just refill it instead of throwing it away!

Hope you have a great weekend!

oh and if anyone wants to give me books for Ali, I'll probably send them soon :)

(oh! and I did not give photo credit: all bday party pics are from Josh and Naomi except the last one- I love them)

Luke turned 1...a week ago!

2010-01-14T20:01:00.000-08:00

I know...you'd think of all the days to blog it would be on Luke's first birthday, but it fell on a Friday which meant I was at work all day and then we had a super busy weekend! People keep asking me if the first year went by SO fast- which it has, but then life without him feels like so long ago.

1 day old

1 Month Old

1 Year Old

On Saturday we got to have a little birthday party. We are so thankful for all of our family and friends who care about Luke and were excited to celebrate his first year with us!

He cried all the way through singing Happy Birthday...I think it was something about the way we put on his birthday hat that set him off. However, it may have been worth it in exchange for this amazing picture Josh took.

He was weary of the cupcake. I had to take the first bite to assure him it was edible.

oh YUM!

He got so many fun books and shoes and clothes and toys.

It wasn't the easiest year for me, I'll be honest, but we made it! and we can't imagine life without him, and thank God for him everyday!

New Year, New Home?

2010-01-05T16:10:00.000-08:00

I don't blog when I'm grumpy. I vacuum or put away clutter or spend an hour on the internet trying to find something random (this week it was blue and white giant gum balls for decorating at Luke's birthday party, but not 1,000 of them, just like 100 or so. This is harder than you'd think!) But at least I don't have to talk to anybody and my hands are busy and I can have a pity party in my head while doing something somewhat productive. My grumpiness generally stems from our inability to buy a house, which we've been so earnestly trying to do for the past year. So GOODBYE 2009 HOUSING MARKET AND ALL YOU PEOPLE WITH WAY TOO MUCH CASH!! And HELLO 2010 which will hopefully be the year we start being house poor, but at least have a dishwasher, garage, washer and dryer, backyard, and a place to call our own :)

(**I don't mean to complain- I just know blogs can be annoyingly positive/happy/life is only good. So I'm just being honest and saying that today was mostly a grumpy day. But I still have some cute pictures to leave you with.)

With the holidays came a visit from our friend Abraham!!

Abraham is the sweetest.

And this here is a Nicki vs. Luke battle of strength and determination. I just wanted Luke to keep on his new hat from Uncle Matt and Aunt Leslie for 10 seconds so I could take a picture. He said ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Can you see the tendons in my wrist? I'm really trying hard here, really using some muscle. This kid is seriously strong.

I won!! You will lose!! I am stronger!!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-28T10:39:00.000-08:00

Well Luke's first Christmas was a little bit sad- he felt so terrible! Starting Christmas Eve he started to sound really congested, and by Christmas day he had red watery eyes, a green snot fountain out of his nose, and didn't even smile in the bathtub. We went to Adam's parents house for dinner and hopefully didn't infect everyone there. It was so nice to see everyone and relax for the afternoon though! On Saturday Luke started wheezing, so I took him to the Dr and spent 3 hours in the waiting room (with an appointment). It's impossible to expect a kid to sit in your lap for 3 hours straight, so eventually I gave in and let him play on the ground with all the other kids who were sick enough to be waiting for hours at the doctor on a holiday weekend. I watched Elf twice, which is actually not a bad choice if you have to watch something back to back! I almost got up and left 3 times, but I'm glad we stayed because it turns out Luke has an ear infection and bronchiolitis. So sad! He's feeling MUCH better though and had so much energy yesterday it was almost weird.

Christmas morning, opening presents:

Starting to feel worse...

24 hours later things are much better!

...and we're back!

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!! Btw, thank you all for the Christmas cards, I really love getting them but never play. Next year for sure. I'm ready.

Book Project

2009-12-15T21:06:00.001-08:00

Update: I'll plan on sending my books at the end of January- so if you want me to ship yours give them (or it) to me by Jan 31st. okie dokie?

My friend Ali from grad school is living in the Virgin Islands and working as a speech therapist. I just received this email from her, asking people to donate books to the children she works with. I think it's such a great idea! (I did a whole project on the negative effects of low socioeconomic status on language development and literacy- and parents reading out loud to their kids is definitely one of the solutions!) If you want to, you can give me your books and I'll ship them in one big box...

The Book Project

Books to Encourage Language Learning

CALLING ALL BOOKS!! Do you or does someone you know have extra children's books lying around the house? I am currently working in the US Virgin Islands, a place where over 50% of children are born to teen mothers, 30% of children live in poverty, and 75% of 4th graders scored below the basic reading level on standardized assessments.

As a professional, I have witnessed:
• Four-year-old children who are not able to hold a book with appropriate orientation
• Children who are language delayed simply due to a lack of stimulation
• Children who spend numerous hours watching television because little/no other toys or books are present in their environments

My goal is twofold:

1. Bring books into the house of every child who lives on St. Thomas, regardless of their socioeconomic status.
2. Educate parents and caregivers regarding ways to use books to encourage language development.

To accomplish this goal, once I have collected enough books to distribute to over 100 families, I will be holding a parent seminar (free of charge) entitled "Using Books to Stimulate Language Development." At the conclusion of the seminar, parents and children will select books to take home- books that have been generously donated by people across the United States. That's where you all come in. As St. Thomas is an island, it is both extremely difficult and extremely expensive to get resources down here. These factors further prevent merchandise such as developmentally appropriate toys and books from reaching the children and families who desperately need them. The US Postal Service has a shipping rate called Media Mail which is quite economical and can be used for shipping books. As St. Thomas is a US Territory, international shipping rates do not apply. In conclusion, I'm asking anyone who is able to please help me give books and bring language to disadvantaged children. Mail your new, gently used, thrift store, and/or garage sale-found children's books to:

Ali Steers
PO Box 307585
St. Thomas, VI 00803

On the inside cover of each book, feel free to enclose a personal message, your name, and/or the location from which the book(s) is/are coming. Although the parent seminars will be geared towards infants/preschoolers, books for older children are welcomed as well. Please share this information with your friends/family/coworkers. Even if everyone sends only one or two books, together we can make a difference!! Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity.

Ali Steers, Speech-Language Pathologist
St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

Christmas Time!

2009-12-14T21:53:00.000-08:00

Instead of a tree this year, we have a Christmas bookshelf. I know what you're thinking- you have to get a tree!! It's Luke's first Christmas! That's all fine and good, except you don't live in an apartment that already has too much stuff in it- with nowhere to put the table/basket you moved to put a tree there. We also thought we were moving at the end of the month (but we're not...terrible story). And I also didn't want to spend any money.

So I made a wreath instead, and it was a fun cheap project that I'll definitely do again next year! I actually paid $3.50 for the scraps of tree (even though they would have been free at Lowe's) but I happily did because they are from one of those family tree lots and I kinda felt bad for them...I mean does anyone go to those? How do those tree lots survive? Is that what they're depending on all year for income? (I started hating big corporate America, and then I asked them how much a 1.5 ft tree would cost and it was $25! Which is why everyone goes to Lowe's!)

All my favorite ornaments are on it. It makes me happy!

We also went to Erica and Alec's 3rd annual Ugly Christmas sweater party.

Highlight of Luke's night: sitting on Alec's Harley.

10 things I can't live without

2009-12-09T19:54:00.000-08:00

I always enjoy reading other people's lists so I thought I'd participate for once:

10 things I can't live without (or just wouldn't want to really...)

Clorox Wipes. Spit up on the floor: not a problem. Sink has toothpaste all over it but I don't want to get out the comet: I'm on it. Sorry environmentalists, close your eyes. I know, I feel bad about the disposable part...

Trader Joe's, the whole thing. Dark chocolate covered peppermint Joe-Joes, turkey pesto parmesan burgers, sweet potato fries, rice pudding, Bay Blend coffee, cheddar cheese sticks, Honey Wheat pretzels, Gorgonzola baked crackers, Orange cranberry scones...I could go on.

Crawling baby + hardwood floors = I love dry swiffers. Again environmentalists close your eyes. I promise I try to use one to swiff our whole apartment.

Lotta Jansdotter sticky pads: One of my christmas presents from Adam last year. It's 8 sticky pads in one little book. This means I can keep 8 different categories of lists going at the same time, and if one category is completed I just get rid of that one and the rest of my lists are still there! And they're the cutest sticky pads ever!

Target "Uggs": So warm, so comfy, and so much cheaper than the real thing.

Aden and Anais blankets: because Luke can't sleep without them which means I can't live without them. They're very soft.

Neosporin: I put it on everything. I keep it in my purse like lip gloss or a pen.

Coffee-Mate Creamer: It's so fake, so sugary, so chemically, so yummy :)

Kamill hand lotion- hand delivered from Germany (even though I just found out I can buy it on Amazon, like right now because I was looking for a picture)

Down Time: preferably involving a couch, a blanket, sweats, a sleeping Luke, a sleeping Adam, the internets or brainless TV.

What can't you live without? What's your favorite thing at Trader Joe's?

He goes forward!

2009-11-23T15:14:00.000-08:00

I'm pleased to announce the Luke has figured out how to crawl forward! He's been in reverse for the past 2 months and it was getting frustrating for all parties. His legs were constantly jammed under furniture, between table legs, and up against walls, and people and toys he wanted just got further and further away.

He is so happy about seeing where he's going and actually getting to his destination.

I find I don't take nearly as many pictures as I used to, I think because he doesn't stop moving and they all end up looking like this:

(they're all blurry, unless I use the flash, but I hate the flash...)

But then when he stops moving for a second and I get a good one I remember that I should keep trying...I don't want to forget that face.

I just noticed my socks on the table. dang it! (now you know I'm a slob and our cheap furniture is jacked up from moving 3x and we have a lot of cords back there.)

Das Puppenhaus

2009-11-09T08:45:00.000-08:00

Luke and I were reading this German book this morning, and I stumbled across a page that made me so close to shipping the entire book to Becka Marston in Boise, Idaho.

Becka spent many days and nights at the Hui home growing up, so she was always hearing German from my mom and Oma. We never parted with our Cabbage Patch Kids, so naturally words like "doll"and "dollhouse" came up. When Becka found out that "dollhouse" was "Puppenhaus" in German, she pretty much thought that was the most amazing thing she'd ever heard, and used it whenever possible. Becka, here are some other "puppen" words for you to teach your little Ellie :)

Speaking of German: my Oma's neighbor gave Luke these crawling knee socks. Sticky bumps for some traction, which is perfect for our slippery floors. So praktisch!

Here are finally some pictures from Halloween! Luke was a green monster for all of 5 minutes. It was a little snug (*size 12-18 months. He's 10.), and it was way past nap time, so he was a very angry monster. But it was so fun to get some pictures with cousins Tinkerbell and Spiderman too!

Monica

2009-10-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

Can we talk about how talented my sister Monica is? I don't think there's a room in our place that doesn't have a little piece of her in it. For example:

She makes cards from her paintings and sends them for thank you's, birthdays, etc. Just last week she sent that one with the pink heart. It's fabric on fabric but printed on a card (? I don't know how she does it, crazy computers). I love it! Her cards sell at the Whole Foods in San Diego like hot cakes! I love that too.

This was a painting we commissioned her to do. Our only request was a tree of some sort. It's in our kitchen.

She became friends with this man in Italy and then took his picture. It's in our hallway.

This is a print of possibly her most popular painting. A sushi bar in San Francisco. It's in our bathroom.

This is a handmade stuffed elephant she made for Luke. It lives in his room :)

These sculptures were our wedding present. I've been told I remind people of a koala bear. Adam gives big gorilla hugs (and ya know...the hair). So this is us!

Monica made this in high school. I was one of those little girls who was OBSESSED with horses. Horse posters, horse coloring books, read my horse encyclopedia at night before going to bed, read horse novels in the corner at social gatherings. It's in our living room.

Adam and I got to go down to San Diego for another wedding and stay with her and Andy. She took some pictures of Luke, and I love them! These aren't even edited, just straight onto Picasa and downloaded from there. She's amazing. And he loves, loves her.

Yay it's October!

2009-10-06T20:06:00.000-07:00

Luke and I are feeling much better this week, so we finally got to venture down to Orange County to hang out with baby jack.

Cousins cuddling on the couch:

I just really want to know what Luke is thinking in this picture- fear that we're gonna break jack's neck? Shock that we would use him to prop up a 2 week old?

And since fall weather is finally here (hallelujah!) we went to the pumpkin patch to celebrate. Jack slept through the whole thing. Seriously. He sat on some hay, sat on some straw horses, sat on a pumpkin, and didn't open his eyes the whole time. Gotta love newborns.

This picture makes me want to die a little bit on the inside. So cute.

Yesterday we got to see Abraham! Remember him? He has gotten so big! He checked out Luke's exersaucer and I think he's a fan.

*yes, Luke is wearing the same shirt in these pictures. Please do not judge, grandma is doing some laundry tomorrow :)

babies and weddings

2009-09-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

Baby Jack is here! He is one week old today, and so stinkin cute. We got to meet him on Sunday and I FORGOT MY CAMERA. I know, very bad Auntie already, and then I was hoping to go visit again today and thought I'd for sure get some pictures then, but Luke and I are both sick so we didn't get to go. So I stole some pictures from Leslie's sister (because really, that's what you care about).

Big Boy! 9 lbs 12 oz!

We also got to go to San Diego and Luke and I spent the weekend with our dear friends the Zellers while Adam practiced how to be in a wedding and played golf and had a sleepover with all the groomsmen. It made me miss our friends and our old neighborhood. I know LA has food galore and events all the time, but you have to drive in traffic to get there and parking is a headache and it's just such an effort sometimes. But San Diego has good food and fun things to do in a much smaller radius, so it just seems less overwhelming. If I could move our families and jobs there, I'd move back in a heartbeat. (Sister Monica is already there, so that's just 16 more people to move and an entire county system to work for). Yay for weekend trips there.

Our friend's son, Jack, was born right before we moved. He and Luke got to hang out in their PJs and go to the Adams Avenue street fair together.

The wedding was also really beautiful and I wish I could show you, but I forgot my camera...

Hope you had a good weekend!

randomness

2009-09-21T10:18:00.000-07:00

I finally finished a sewing project! I so need deadlines. Just like school- I just can't physically sit down and do it unless I have a due date. So thankfully I had a due date for this tote bag - it's for a silent auction our church is having. I donated one last year too, but this is a slight upgrade: inner lining with inside pockets! I wish someone would give me a deadline to make myself one. But seriously though it would need to be for an event on a certain day or something or it'll never get done.

I hope the person who buys this realizes I HAND SEWED that bird and I might need new glasses because it was very straining on the eyes and took a really long time. And our church needs money :)

So Adam started calling Luke "Munch". It started a while ago, and I honestly don't think it's related to how much he likes his food! You know how it is, affectionate names just start coming out and he just looks and acts like a "Munch" to us. And he also happens to really like munching on food, so it works out to be appropriate. I didn't realize how much we used it until yesterday when Angela asked, "so who's watching Munch today?" But I mean look at this picture- isn't he such a Munch?

(You can't see his hands because he's clapping. It was very cute until he fell backwards and hit his head on the TV stand behind him and I couldn't stop him because I was taking pictures. Very sad.)

The Munch also likes to hang out with his pacifier like this. It cracks me up- he knows how to put it in the right way but sometimes he prefers upside down pacifier too.

I also love the smile through the pacifier. My personal fav.

And this is the CUTEST fabric I just got. It's not for a tote bag for me, it's for a wedding present and I'm so excited about it :) Hopefully they'll like it too (but really who doesn't like pears on stuff? That was my logic...)

It's been a while...

2009-09-09T22:25:00.000-07:00

and I'm pretty sure it's because it's been so hot, that all I can do is think about how NOT to be hot anymore.

Thankfully I have a very gracious sister who lets me come over just so I can sit in her insulated house and put Luke in a baby pool so that he's not a sweaty grumpy mess (*My whole pregnancy, Adam's mom would refer to Adam as a "sweaty baby". Never did I think there was a "sweaty baby" gene that could get passed down, but oh my goodness, Luke is seriously sweaty.) Hopefully this heat wave is on it's way out because I don't know how much more I can take.

Also, we had FLEAS. We don't even have a pet, but our neighbors do, and in a matter of days they were EVERYWHERE. I said a lot of bad words, vacuumed daily, tried not to poison the neighbor's cats, and tried not to get divorced over it.

95 degree temperature + uninsulated apt on the 2nd floor + 10 flea bites on each ankle + a grumpy sweaty baby= a very grumpy Nicki

Thankfully Adam is very gracious too and knows to let me feel sorry for myself for a minute and I'll get over it.

Over Labor Day weekend, JP and Meesh came to visit! On Saturday we hung out all day by the pool and played some Bocci ball.

Supposedly another Bettino trait is a long butt crack (*see picture above). Luke has inherited so many fine qualities :)

We attempted to get a family picture. This is just funny. Why is it so hard for 3 people to look at the camera at the same time with their eyes open?

Yay we did it!

Hope you had a good long weekend!

The Beach

2009-08-24T13:10:00.001-07:00

So, we finally went to the beach this summer. I'm ashamed to say this was Luke's first time actually going to the beach with trunks and a towel...we've been there a bunch for walks, but the weather has been weird plus it just always sounds like so much work. It kind of was a lot of work, but since summer's almost over we just needed to do it! It was fun...there's something about being outside in the sun that's so therapeutic.

(In the middle of our photo op he became very intrigued by the string on his shorts)

I also finally got some of Adam's baby pictures. Definitely some similarities between him and LB:

Adam

Luke

And here I am in all my obese glory. It is NO exaggeration to say that I was a fat baby. It looks like I'm going to have a heart attack. I'm surprised I ever sat that body up!

7 months

2009-08-08T09:23:00.000-07:00

Luke is 7 months old and time is going by faster than ever! Here are some new fun activities:

Eating puffs:

Learning cause and effect. He looks like he's so hard at work sometimes.

Drinking juice from a sippy cup:

And today he started crying 10 minutes after going to bed. I found him on his stomach, unable to roll back over. So I guess he can go from back to front now? Sometimes I wish we had a video monitor just to see what he does in there when we think he's sleeping...

And here's what I've been up to. I made Veena's OATstanding granola recipe. It was so yummy, and even converted Adam into a Greek yogurt fan (which by the way has 24 grams of protein per cup! And is also really good in a smoothie). Impressive.

He eats dogs.

2009-07-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

funnest wedding entrance ever

2009-07-24T07:06:00.000-07:00

My dad sent this to me yesterday and it made me happy. I bet their reception was super fun!

We love Maysha and Big Sur

2009-07-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

so it was very fitting that Maysha got married there this past weekend! Adam and I had the luxury of making it a weekend getaway for the 2 of us while Luke hung out with his Auntie Kirsten and my parents. Maysha was so beautiful, and both Sam and Maysha wrote really some of the most eloquent, touching, but somehow really not cheesy or cliche wedding vows I've ever heard. It made Adam and I regret not writing our own. But then Adam reminded me that we can when we renew our vows at our future 80's themed wedding.

Maysha being sprinkled with sugar to symbolize sweetness in their marriage. Isn't she pretty?

Sam waiting for Maysha

Maysha with her parents

The cake Amy made! It was peach cake with buttercream served with peach jam. I'm not usually a fruity cake kind of person, but it was GOOD. I had 2 pieces.

Adam and Maysha monitoring the pinata demolition

This was one of the guests from Geneva! This poodle lives 6 months of the year in Geneva, 6 months in Malibu. Must be rough.

The next day we hung out on the beach with Amy and friends.

We love Big Sur.

We did not love our ~~parking lot~~ campsite however, so we ended up driving to Cambria and stayed at a bed and breakfast on our way home. It ended up being really cute and we got to see the sunset from there, so it worked out!

Hope you all had a good weekend :)

6 months

2009-07-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

LB is 6 months old! I can't believe it! Some pics:

Ha

2009-06-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

Well just as I'm raving about this great stage we're in with Luke, he decides to go on a sleep strike! Last night was possibly the worst night we've ever had (including the early days...at least then we just fed him and that did the trick). It's a good thing he's cute because I was not a happy person from 2-5am. I guess I got my wish of sleeping in until 7:00am from him finally going back to sleep? To my parents and Kirsten who just generously committed to watching him overnight in a couple weeks, I'm hoping this is a short stage :/

Here he is at 6am on a morning after he actually slept all night. I'm never ready to start the day this early but it's hard to be mad at this face:

I can't believe it will be July tomorrow!

I am always saying:

2009-06-23T14:42:00.000-07:00

"I can't wait until Luke does ___", or "That will be fun when we live in a house with a yard", or "it will be nice when I feel confident with vent patients at work". Basically looking forward to things in the future and not appreciating things about now. But I have to say that lately I have been constantly saying "Luke is in such a great stage". Who knows, maybe we're just out of the newborn stage and it will get better and better from here on out. But he's a happy little guy, and now summer is here so we get to do fun stuff! Today we went swimming for the first time with a bunch of other moms and their babies. I don't know if he loved it, but he didn't cry! Hopefully next time we'll get a smile or something.

First attempt at swimming but it was a little cold.

He's been trying out rice cereal in the mornings. My guess is that he swallows about 1/2 tsp, and that might be generous of me. I think he still has a good time though!

Abraham (3 weeks here) and Luke. Luke thought this photo op of them in their carseats was just the coolest. And it looks like Abraham is throwing up gang signs of some sort.

"Uncle Allen" babysitting

Okay and can we just laugh at Uncle Allen for a minute? I was searching through folders to upload pictures, and stumbled upon these gems. It wasn't surprising, because he is always downloading the most random stuff. But it occurred to me that other people probably don't have multiple Balki and Michael Landon pictures saved on their computers. He's funny.

Chocolate

2009-06-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

Okay so brownie pudding it is! I don't know, maybe the chocolate option would always win. That probably wasn't fair to the cake and cobbler...

Dessert Survey

2009-06-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

Ok so this weekend my cousin from Germany and her friend will be in town, and we are having dinner on Saturday night. I'm responsible for bringing dessert, and I would like to take a survey on what you would be most excited to eat!

Option 1:

Ina Garten's Brownie Pudding. It's been described as "chocolate gooey ecstasy". Kind of like a chocolate lava cake...gooey in the middle...crunchy brownie on the outside. Served warm with good vanilla ice cream.

Option 2:

Strawberry Cream Cake. It's basically yellow cake with strawberries and a whipped cream cheese frosting (yum) in the middle (and on top).

Option 3:

Berry cobbler. Gooey fruit with a crunchy top. Served hot with cold vanilla ice cream.

I think I like hot with cold and gooey with crunchy...that's the message I'm getting as I write this. and....go (vote)!

Frosted Banana Bars

2009-06-13T13:28:00.001-07:00

So I made Darby's Frosted Banana Bars (no, she still doesn't know who I am) and I can confirm that they are indeed yummy. I used a 9x13 glass baking dish because I didn't have a jelly roll pan, and they're just a little fatter that the recipe (but I don't really see that as a bad thing). Here's the recipe if you want to try.

Luke's Head

2009-06-11T20:52:00.000-07:00

We finally heard the results of the CT this morning, and Luke doesn't need surgery!! His plates have not fused prematurely, his brain looks fine, and it appears he just has prominent sutures that cause the bump on his forehead. We are SO RELIEVED. Words cannot express it. Thank you so much for all your prayers, emails, phone calls, and text messages asking about how he was doing. We felt so cared for and we know Luke is a very loved little man!

5 months

2009-06-08T13:33:00.001-07:00

Luke is 5 months old today! Last week he had a check up and he is officially a big boy: 95th percentile for weight and his head is not too far behind at 85th percentile. The bummer is, the doctor is concerned about the shape of his head. He thinks his front plates might be fusing early (metopic craniosynostosis), which can lead to intracranial pressure (and a funky head shape), which is obviously not a good thing! So this morning Luke had his first (of hopefully not many) CT scans of the skull to check it out. He was so brave and sucked really hard on his pacifier and before he could even think about getting fussy it was over. The technicians were so quick and great with him. So hopefully we will hear results on Wednesday sometime. If his plates have fused early, the treatment is generally surgery to separate them to allow his brain adequate room to grow. I kind of want to barf thinking about it, but as many have been telling me, it's going to be more traumatic for us than it will be for Luke. So if you pray, we would love for you to say a prayer for Luke this week.

Remember this? What a bald old man he was. I wanted to get a comparison picture but Luke wanted to attack the sock monster and my face instead.

And just to keep it real, this is what happens when Luke doesn't take a nap:

Adam and I were laughing when I took this picture and I only felt a little bit bad.

Be back soon with updates on his head...

cutest couple ever

2009-05-28T21:33:00.000-07:00

They've been married for 62 years. So cute!

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-27T21:24:00.000-07:00

had more activities than 3 typical weekends put together! On Friday night we went to a birthday party (usually Friday night = get take out and watch Thursday night TV we never watched). On Saturday our FAVORITE people came from Indiana and spent the night. Luke got to meet them for the first time and it made us SOO excited for when they move back to sunny CA. Sadly I have no pictures of Brooke because I was too busy talking her ear off, but here are Luke and Rob hanging out:

Then on Sunday morning I flew to San Jose to see Veena in her solo Odissi Dance performance. She was AMAZING. She literally danced for 2 hours on stage by herself except for one with her mom, and it was all really beautiful.

Veena's dance show also reunited me with Maysha for an afternoon, who I never get to hang out with but is so refreshing and fun. I also got to meet their mutual friend, Amy, who they've both been raving about for years. The three of us had a little photo session in the rose garden while Veena was busy saying hi to all her guests.

So after the dance show I caught a ride to San Francisco to hang out with my old college roommate, Laura! We walked by the bridge, took the bus into Union Square, ate frozen yogurt, watched the Bachelorette. I love San Francisco.

Meanwhile, back in L.A. my good friend Karina is having a freaking baby! Seriously, it's not over! So I fly back on Tuesday morning and go straight to the hospital with my wonderful friend Naomi who's visiting from Cambodia! I know! I mean really I think I saw anyone I love but barely ever get to see in a 4 day period. Baby Abraham was born early Monday morning and is so precious. I can't believe Luke was a pound SMALLER 4.5 months ago.

Just look at the chubster now...

what is up

2009-05-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

with all the earthquakes! No me gusta. Last night's earthquake definitely got both of us off the couch, straight to luke's crib. By then it was over, but it was super scary! I hate how you never know how bad they're going to be. Today Luke and I were doing this (literally took this picture and then dropped my camera because an earthquake was happening)::

But it was short and so we went back to doing this a couple minutes later. After I checked my new favorite post earthquake website.

I really hope the earth isn't getting ready for the "Big One" I've been hearing about since 4th grade. All those drills and threats of it coming soon and that was 1989. I will actually welcome more 4.0's if it means a smaller "Big One". Either way, no me gusta.

Totally different topic: Luke is obsessed with standing! He's very good at it since he practices any chance he gets. (Thank you chip and kelly for the ridiculously cute cowprint boardshorts!)

This is his new favorite activity, possibly because he's kind of standing.

If any of you have pets who are acting funny call me so I can get under a table :)

Bettino Boys

2009-05-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

The Bettinos are a very male dominated family. Adam is 1 of 3 boys and a girl, and his brother Jon has 3 boys. I am 1 of 4 Hui girls and feel a little bit intimidated by all this boy-ness (like seriously I'll need to be shown how a jock strap works), but I think it will be fun. Especially because there's ANOTHER boy on the way! Matt and Leslie are expecting baby Jack due in September! I'm excited to meet the little guy. Here are some of the Bettino boys hanging out for Mother's Day today:

Luke and his cousin Ethan

Zach, Christian, Ethan, Adam, and Luke

Zach and Jon

4 months!

2009-05-08T20:18:00.001-07:00

Luke is 4 months old today! He's getting more and more fun everyday...he wakes up smiling in the morning, loves being talked to, loves playing in the exersaucer, loves rubbing his muslin swaddle on his face, loves the jogger, falls asleep on his own (most of the time), screams when he gets his hair washed, and panics when you try to burp him in the middle of a feeding. I love him :)

Sophia

2009-05-04T16:24:00.001-07:00

Today Luke and I had lunch with my co-worker, Amy, and her daughter, Sophia. Amy and I were prego buddies at work, and it was so fun to laugh about the weird things your body does and complain about hospital odors together. Our due dates were only 2 weeks apart, but our babies ended up being born on the same day! So here they are finally meeting. I had a glimpse of what it would be like to have twins, and although they were very sweet together, I was happy to leave the mall with just one :)

yay it's friday!

2009-05-01T22:13:00.000-07:00

So if you couldn't tell from the delinquent blogging, I started working again! I'm back 3 days a week, and Luke gets to spend 2 days with Grandma Bettino and the other day with Grandma Hui. He is very happy about this!

So for the past 2 weekends, the 3 of us have been heading over to my sister Rebecca's house on Saturday morning. They got a super fun large build-it-yourself-you-only-have-to-drill-some-of-the-holes-and-fish-through-thousands-of-screws-to find-the-right-size play set! So in exchange for Adam's manual labor and moral support, Rebecca would make us yummy breakfast (and then lunch 4 hours later...). My very important job was to make sure I ate the yummy breakfast and...then move my lawn chair into the shade as the sun moved...and take pictures of our kids. So here are a few:

Nicholas turned 3 on Thursday! Happy Birthday buddy! We love you!

And I just thought he looked like such a big boy in his hoodie.

It's in the genes.

2009-04-20T18:35:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of me and my dad when I was 3 months old.

I have some confessions to make.

2009-04-16T11:27:00.000-07:00

The first one being: I have a blog crush. I kind of feel like a stalker actually. I don't even know this person (but Taylor does, which is how I found the blog...) She has good sewing and cooking ideas, she's funny, and posts cute pictures of her kids. What's a little comforting is I'm obviously not the only person who feels this way. You should see her comment section! She has literally hundreds of people following her blog. So if you want a cyber friend, I highly recommend reading about Darby's family at: Fly Through My Window.

I've also been wearing the same "lounging" sweatshirt for a while now, and it's had Luke saliva and snot and spit up on it for a while, and I just keep putting it back on, because instead of getting frustrated with saliva/snot on my clothes, I don't worry about it because it's dirty anyway!

Also, it's 11:30am and I've had 2 breakfasts this morning. The first was oatmeal (cooked with milk not water, yum) with ground up flax seed and brown sugar. It was alright. The second was about an hour ago and it was a toasted english muffin with Trader Joe's peanut butter and raspberry jam, with a glass of milk. Really yummy.

Thirdly, I watch The Hills. I record it, and get excited about it. It's a good thing Adam already married me because he really hates this.

Fourthly(? I think I'm making up words), on Tuesday I used a $5 off coupon at Babies R Us, and the girl accidentally used it twice somehow and gave me $10 off. My total was less than I thought it would be, but when I got home and realized I didn't go back or anything. I didn't even feel bad about it. (My mom would be disappointed; I think she would have felt bad, and gone back. She's very German.) I'm also planning on using another one of these coupons today.

And lastly, yesterday I washed Luke's hair and didn't end up getting all the shampoo out because he was getting really fussy. So this morning it was kind of hard and clumpy in his hair and I brushed it out (if that's possible).

oh and this isn't a confession but I'm glad you all liked the Easter picture as much as I do :)

i heart exersaucers

2009-04-15T21:07:00.000-07:00

I know it doesn't look like he's enjoying himself, but seriously, he can sit in this thing for a while. Like 20 minutes at a time, which means I can change laundry, clean up clutter, and check facebook while he sits there very contentedly. Hopefully he'll figure out that he's surrounded by toys that light up and sing songs some time soon...

2009-04-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

happy easter!!

It's a big month for the Hui's

2009-04-08T22:49:00.001-07:00

It's Barbara's birthday tomorrow!

It was Rebecca's last week!

And Samantha (my exceptionally cute niece) turned 1 yesterday!

happy birthday everyone!

Winter seems to be officially over...

2009-04-06T14:41:00.000-07:00

So Adam and Luke would like to start the season by saying GO DODGERS.

This morning I was changing the sheets on our bed and Luke was having so much fun watching me. He thought the wind from me shaking out the duvet was the funniest thing. I think this is him saying what's up to all you blog readers out there.

It's been so nice and sunny, but our apartment gets SO hot as the day goes on. This is the coolest spot in our place, right under the breezy window. It was the only place Luke could get comfortable enough to sleep this afternoon! I'm starting to think he'll sleep anywhere but his crib during the day...

I saw what I saw on Holly's blog.

2009-03-31T21:31:00.000-07:00

So right now Adam and I are looking for a house that we can call our own, and for those of you who live in California, you know that for a lot of money you get not a lot of house. So this process has been a little frustrating, and to be honest, has brought out some ugly things in me. In the past couple months I've felt bitter, jealous, discontent, ungrateful, maybe a little angry, entitled, and inpatient (not necessarily all at the same time...but still). Every once in a while I can take a step back and snap out of it, but tonight I was grateful to stumble upon this video on Holly's blog. International Justice Mission is an organization that does human rights work, and I just so happen to have 2 great friends (Holly and Naomi) who are really passionate about it. Hearing about what they do is good for perspective, and helps remind me that although I do believe God cares about the little things in my life (such as owning a house), he really cares about justice being restored to all people.

Jumbo & Meesh

2009-03-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

JP and Michelle came to stay with us this weekend, it was so fun! They drove all the way down from San Francisco for Adam's birthday. We ate yummy food (including these stuffed bell peppers that are so easy and good!), drank good beer, played some wii, baked a birthday cake, and even stimulated the economy with some shopping. I'm so glad they came!

I cut the top of his finger off.

2009-03-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

I was getting a little too confident in my nail cutting skills and took a chunk off the top of his thumb. I cried, he cried, it was a good time had by all.

On a happier note, Adam is finally starting his new job!! He was offered a position with LA county 5 months ago and the paperwork was finally approved yesterday. We are so excited for a change and new opportunities for him. I think it's gonna be an interesting transition...conventional hours, no more surfing everyday, no more quick trips to the bakery in the morning, no more afternoon walks on the beach on nice days. And I've been spoiled too...he'll go to Costco and Trader Joe's on a weekday morning, take the morning shift so I can sleep in, start dinner before I get home from work, do the laundry during down time. It's true, Adam has pretty much done all household duties for the past 6 years. But I think it's my turn now! I'm hoping he really enjoys the change. Oh, AND it's his birthday tomorrow! It's a good week (minus the finger cutting).

Very Squishable

2009-03-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

He loves them

2009-03-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

Here's a video of Luke watching his bears go round...it's his favorite thing right now and you can see him smile!

3 weeks

2009-03-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

Our friend Casey came by to take pictures of Luke when he was 3 weeks old. We got them in the mail today! Here are some of my favorites:

Oma

2009-03-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

Oma went back to Germany on Wednesday after being here for 4 months. It was harder than usual to say goodbye, I think because I know it's getting harder for her to travel. She's the sweetest, wittiest, most huggable baker/sewer/embroiderer I know. I'm gonna miss her, but hopefully she'll be back in the fall!

so stinkin cute.

2009-03-08T11:45:00.001-07:00

Pancakes

2009-03-01T08:56:00.000-08:00

If you happen to have sour cream and bananas, I highly recommend these pancakes by Ina Garten. So yummy! And even better with a little spoon of peanut butter on the side...

7 weeks

2009-02-25T20:46:00.001-08:00

1 day old

7 weeks old

Luke will be 7 weeks old tomorrow, I can't believe it! In that time he has lost some hair but gained lots of cheek. He's also started to smile, but I never seem to have the camera ready when it happens. I have to say it's nice to get some sort of response when I talk to him, instead of just blank stares (although it's still mostly just blank stares).

What A Meathead

2009-02-20T12:52:00.001-08:00

I'm officially on a search...

2009-02-13T19:51:00.000-08:00

for this gelato. Our church does this really great thing when someone has a baby. People volunteer to bring you dinner every other night for like 5 weeks! Everyone has been so generous and thoughtful and we are so thankful that people have done this for us. One night Jamie and Christian brought us super yummy Talenti raspberry sorbet. The packaging alone is so aesthetically pleasing! So I had to go on their website to see what other flavors they have, and among many really amazing looking flavors, one is chocolate hazelnut (aka Nutella) which happens to be the Bettino all time favorite spread/condiment/food stuff. So now I must have this, but don't want to pay $9 for it online. So if any of you know where I can find it, do tell!

it's cold here...

2009-02-11T07:55:00.000-08:00

and as you can see, Luke really likes his bear suit from Kyle. Just in case I wasn't sure how he felt about it, he also spit up all over it just to drive home the point.

Best Friends

2009-02-06T11:26:00.000-08:00

Luke with his sock monster that my good friend Brooke made for him :)

some pictures...

2009-02-05T17:42:00.000-08:00

We think Luke really looks like Adam's dad in this picture. He actually looks more like Adam's dad than either of us I think!

This picture was taken after a major freak out session. He got so hot from crying that I took off his clothes. He immediately stopped fussing and seemed deep in thought about being (almost) naked.

Sleeping babies are always cute :)

Attempting tummy time. I don't think he's doing much for his neck muscles here.

Bad start to the day

2009-01-27T09:08:00.000-08:00

So this morning Adam went to do a load of laundry, and came back with the same dirty load of laundry 3 minutes later, because SOMEONE STOLE ALL OF OUR DETERGENT. Seriously? Who does that? I mean we use Target brand baby detergent and Kirkland fake tide. I'm glad these people approve of our choices, but give me a break. Reason #5,078 to buy a house.

Good People

2009-01-26T19:46:00.000-08:00

Today we got to spend time with some of our favorite people, Kyu-Ho and Tara. Adam and I will talk about qualities we really admire in people, or how we hope to be as parents, or how certain people just make you want to do good things with your life, and it usually ends with "ya know, like Kyu-Ho and Tara". So it was a treat to see them and have them meet Luke. This is their youngest daughter, who spent the morning gently patting Luke's head while he slept.

First Bath

2009-01-22T17:11:00.001-08:00

Today Omi (Nicki's mom) and Oma (Nicki's grandma) came over to give Luke his first bath. He didn't cry at all! He seemed to really like it actually, it was super cute. Hopefully when I do it myself next time I'll have the same touch.

2009-01-20T16:43:00.000-08:00

This is the outfit Adam went home from the hospital in! A Norwegian family friend made it for him, and his mom has been saving it all these years. What intrigues me is the speedo style bottoms- even though it comes with a hat, booties, and a sweater seemingly for cold weather? Good thing we live in California where it's 80 degrees in January.

Hi!

2009-01-18T09:45:00.000-08:00

We're starting a blog! I have really loved looking at other people's blogs for a while now, and since I have to have somewhere to update you all on the ever increasing cuteness of Luke, now seems like a good time for the Bettinos to start one too. He is now 11 days old, and is a fabulous eater and sleeper. Adam and I are getting super spoiled.