We're here!

Okay, so its taken me a week and a half to get to these California posts but in my defense the interet wasn't working for half of that time. and SOOOO many things have happened!

Belize on her new bed - thank you Nana and Grandpa. She calls the bottom the "trungle bed". And it only took her a couple nights of falling off the bed to figure out how to stay on. One night she was screaming "Mommy, Mommy!" I went in and she was in the middle of the floor, she said. ," Mom, I fell out of bed and I got lost." Belize is especially loving her own room and our bigger floor plan to run around.
This picture has special meaning - right after getting all of his family members naked in a matter of 2 minutes. Belize and I had been swimming and she said she needed to go "Ca ca", THANK GOODNESS!! We made it upstairs (1 naked person) when Brannon came running in the bathroom, holding Rio at arms length, "HELP ME!" Poop was POURING down Rio's pant leg, it was all down Brannon's arm and his shirt. "Rio blew out in the car seat and on the front porch!" I took Rio into the shower (plus 2 naked people) while Brannon changed his clothes (plus one more). That equals four naked Ortons, the 2 older ones laughing hysterically for 45 minutes while extensively cleaning the carseat, the front porch, bathroom floor, toilet seat, shower, Brannon and Rio's clothes. That's right he now owns all of those things, the rule is you poop on it - it's YOURS!
We waited a few days to show Belize the said pool. And just as we suspected, it is her favorite thing about living in Los Angeles. Everyday she asks to swim in the pool, i'm not sure however how this is going to ever happen now that Brannon is working and Rio is past the weight limits and looks a little unsafe as well in his floaty tube. i'm sure we'll figure it out, I need to observe other moms but Californians refer to this weather as June gloom, even though its been in the mid-60s to 70s and sunny everyday. Unbelievable.
Abuelo is telling a rivoting bedtime story over the phone. We don't feel like we're very far away from grandparents as we set up our webcam this weekend. When Belize is upset in the car she does say she wants to go to "wello's house."
We decided to see the sights of Redondo Beach before Brannon started orientation and went to this seaside lagoon. Pretty much its a pool of salt water in a giant sand hole. Its pretty disgusting to think about how many germs are in it but Belize was giddy the whole time.
I only put Rio in the sand for 2 seconds before it went in his mouth and that was the end of it.
I got this used Body Glove swimsuit for a few dollars at the nearby consignment shop, Belize calls it her "Body Gwub".
This is right before we all went to our new ward's movie night. We are really impressed with how friendly every one is.
Belize's happy face
Sad face - look how she gets her whole body into it, she must practice!
This was her mad face.
My californian babes! Now for the updates:

Belize: For the past month or 2, Belize has been in full blown meltdown mode and it is FINALLY starting to get better. Now that she's finally been getting into a familiar routine, the tantrums are shorter and farther in between. Although after almost every nap she still crys for 30-60 minutes, but I blame that on heavy sleeping. Hopefully she'll grow out of it. We've been working really hard on minding quickly and its starting to pay off, she's finally seeing that we get to do fun things and everyone is a lot happier when she minds. She told me the other day that I shouldn't hit, shouldn't make a mess, shouldn't yell, shouldn't spit up and don't cross the street unless she's holding my hand. The "spit up" one cracked me up. Also, this WHINE entered our household and is determined to stay! Ahhhhhhh!

She's also eating a lot more, not so much new foods or even at mealtimes but lots and lots of snacks. I try to make her eat at meals and limit her snacks but its kindof a cranky disaster, any suggestions? She picks up on everything Brannon and I do and is constantly using phrases that we use in her daily conversation. She is so funny and likes to show off for people she loves, namely Aunt Sarah and Tia Carissa especially. Belize gets quite shy for 2 minutes or so when she first meets someone but then its over and you'll be asked to see her room and go with her to the bathroom. Her new favorite game is playing doctor and wants me to sit on her "bizam" table (flipped over laundry basket) to "check" me out. Her favorite symphony is still Peter and the Wolf and will listen to it in her room for up to an hour (with her ballerina dress on of course!)

Rio: He's 8 months old now! He is such a social little being and smiles for everyone. He's been going through some separation anxiety from me recently which partly drives me crazy (when I need to get something done in the other room) and partly makes me melt (when his little face lights when I back into the room). He FINALLY crawled a few steps? a couple days ago and today he started clapping his little hands, he was so proud of himself! He's still enamored with Belize, loves to go on walks, loves the wind, will watch anyone play with any kind of ball and is eating almost any kind of solid food. He also really knows what he wants and will whine/thrust his body toward whatever he desires.

Brannon: He's sad to see his vacation go but we did find out that he'll be getting 5 weeks of vacation instead of the supposed 2, so he's very excited for that! He is ACLS certified as of this weekend (he can respond to a CODE aka heart stopped/stopped breathing) and he started his orientation today. His first call night is Friday. He has gotten a lot of exercising biking to the hospital, swimming with Belize in the pool and body bashing in the waves on the beach (seriously how does that appeal to anyone?) He's been super Dad this vacation and I will SORELY miss his helping hands.

Me: I'm turning a new leaf and am slowly becoming a coupon queen. No, I haven't actually USED a coupon yet but I went to 3 grocery stores last week to get the sales, Keri will be so proud! :) Our budget is tighter than ever before so the vacuum cleaner, double stroller, laundry cart (laundry is in the basment of our complex) , KITCHEN TABLE (we're using Belize's tea party table, its quite comical and I need to take a picture) and that oh so cute swimsuit from DownEastBasics that I want SOOOOO bad (don't worry, its on the very bottom of the list). The white walls of our apartment are more than enough to drive a person INSANE so I'm amist researching cheap decorating ideas that are apartment friendly.

We are all healthy and happy and excited to explore this new area. We still need friends and a babysitter but all in good time.

Tikka tikka Part 1

Tikka tikka Part 2