We finally made it over to Fashion Island to see all the beautiful decorations. And of course, a ride on the up and down was necessary. 
We met up with Loriann and Shauna's sister Caty (taking the picture), so much fun.
And then it was over to the huge tree! Tatum thought we should get one that size for our house next year. We'll work on that. :)
We went for our annual tree hunting at the lot near my mom, to find her the perfect tree. What a tough job, so many pretty trees!
Shauna came along to help and taught Tatum how to lean into the tree to smell it and say "Pine", so cute. You can see by her expression that tree hunting was very exciting. :)
Here's the winner!
Before heading to story time at the library, Tatum let me take this picture of her. I couldn't believe she sat still long enough!
Then tree shopping, so much fun!
Poor Garrett had to unwrap about three trees before we found the perfect one.
The next day we went to the Viejas outlets and did some Christmas shopping. The mall has lots of metal animal scenes throughout and Tatum found a fawn which she decided was her baby. 
After giving it lots of hugs and pets, she decided her fawn would be good for riding too, so funny.
Another fun Thanksgiving! This year we spent it down in San Diego and had lots of friends join us. Erica brought over this cute Turkey hat and everyone took turns trying it on.
Mattie and her parents came down and this made Tatum so happy, she loves her BFF Mattie!
And I had two of my BFFs as well, Jenny and Erica. 
We also had one of Garrett's BFFs Todd and his girlfriend Heather over for dinner too, what a group! Hope we can have such a wonderful "family" gathering next year too. :)
My birthday getaway kicked off with a present from Tatum which she helped me open. A pair of Uggs, yeah!
Then my sweet husband took me on a wine tasting tour through Temecula, so fun!
We tried lots of delicious wine and the scenery was beautiful and relaxing. He had also made us a hotel reservation at South Coast Winery which was awesome (minus the large, hairy spider in our closet which Garrett had to cover with a glass, ewww!) And if that weren't enough, he booked us a couples massage in their amazing Grapeseed Spa. So wonderful, we didn't want to leave. I think this was by far my most mellow birthday. Gone are the drunk days at the bar but that's ok, a different stage of life. I'll take a massage over a martini any day! :)
Tatum decided she wanted to "pee pee on potty" the other day so after trying to discourage her, I reluctantly brought the potty in from the garage, set it up in the bathroom and Tatum decided it was time to drop her pants and sit on the potty. 
After about 10 minutes and a few books, she went pee! We were both so excited, we danced around the bathroom and even lifted the potty lid a few times to make sure it was still there. Of course, I still have no interest in potty training this early, I think we'll wait till after 2 at least, but she did a wonderful job at her first potty sit. :)
Tatum is growing up so fast. She's a very energetic, independent little girl and she amazes me every day. Here are a few of her favorite activities: Reading to her dolls and babies...(she really reads to them, it's so cute. Of course, the words aren't always right but she relays the story pretty well)
Holding babies... (this is her BFF Isaac whom she adores and couldn't wait to hold. She gave him hugs and kisses too)
Cooking with Grandma... (we're still working on the concept of not licking our cooking utensils or fingers while cooking)
And sliding down big slides on her own. This one I've been waiting for and so glad the time is here. Not that everyone couldn't use a fun trip down a slide but after many play grounds and slides, I'm glad to now be able to stand back and watch Tatum in action. Again, they grow up so fast...
Tatum had her first trip to the Long Beach Aquarium on Friday and couldn't have had more fun. She loves animals and was very intrigued by the birds, sharks, sting rays and fish.
Mattie has a pass to the aquarium so she's a frequent visitor and was able to show Tatum around. Here Mattie explains the wonders of a boat and the trickiness of steering one. No need to see over the steering wheel, it's all by feeling. :)
This was a hilarious moment. The girls were on the boat and a boy made one of the nearby sea creatures spray them with water. This was Tatum's reaction. Jenny and I just stood aside and laughed, we're such mean mommies but it was so funny. Tatum started to cry and I asked her what was wrong and she said, "Mean boy!" and pointed toward the boy next to the creature. Oh Tatum, it's only water.
All in all, we had a fabulous first visit to the aquarium and will definitely have to return. Thanks Mattie and Jenny for a fun day!
Juan Carlos was a member of our family for three months and we enjoyed every minute of it. My girlfriend Julie, the owner of Juan, was going through a move so during the process, Juan came to live with us. Tatum loved Carlos, he was skittish at first but grew to trust Tatum and even let her pet him. Our cat Cali wasn't too excited about his visit but they learned to tolerate each other and got along fairly well.
Julie moved into her new house and has now taken Juan Carlos home. We miss him immensely but know we can visit him anytime. See you soon Juan!!
Jen, Erica, Nicole and I made tank tops for the Madonna concert, how cute are we?!
And Erica and I had a shot for old times.
Dana joined us too, what a fun night with my girls! Mommy's need that every once in a while.
Here's the almost 50 year old rocking out like she's 25, she looked hot! Of course, a few of us were a bit disappointed that she turned her concert into an Obama pep rally but prior to that, hearing Vogue and Borderline made the night!
Tatum enjoyed going trick or treating with her favorite dog. The two made a great team and got lots of compliments on their costumes (and how well they both kept them on). I didn't get any pics of Tatum trick or treating but she loved it. She was a little frightened at the first two houses but when she realized she would receive candy if she said "Trick or treat", she was throwing up her hands and yelling it by the third house. 
Last year Tatum was a bit too young for pumpkin carving but this year she and Grandma worked as a team to come up with a scary jack-o-lantern face.
She wasn't too sure about the pumpkin guts, kind of yucky!
We had a contest to see who could come up with the most interesting pumpkin. Daddy definitely won with his throwing up pumpkin face.
Mommy went with a jolly, winking pumpkin. I think the face on Mommy is the scariest part! :)
Tatum and Grandma made a scary little pumpkin with big eye brows (Tatum designed those herself) Grandma does a great job imitating the pumpkin, so scary Tatum is a little frightened! Hopefully our scary pumpkins don't scare off the trick-or-treaters!
Sunday Tatum and I went to a Halloween party at the house of a friend through the play group I'm in. It's a group I joined a few months back and we've only been to a couple activities so far but can't wait to go to many more. Here's Tatum enjoying the school house in the backyard.
She also loved playing in he sand with some princesses she met.
Tatum was a bit overwhelmed by the number of kids and adults that attended, but she loved the kitchen and plastic food to play with!
As you can see, Tatum was a "Meow Cat" as she says it and kept her ears on the whole time. She enjoyed have a bit of yummy Halloween cupcake and some cookie too, bring on the sweets!!
I can't believe I'm posting this but Julie and I hosted Halloween Bunco for our mom's group last night at Julie's new house and it was a blast. This was my first experience playing Bunco, better referred to as Drunko, and it was great! A lot going on, or at least to me, but that doesn't say much since I get overwhelmed playing Bingo at Viejas, go figure. 
Everyone had to come in costume and if they didn't, we had costumes waiting for them at the door. Here's my devil costume getting good use by Stephanie.
All in all, we had a great night. Who says 30 year olds can't wear Halloween costumes!! :)
