The Evans

Holidays 2011...Thanksgiving and Christmas

2012-01-27T20:45:00.000-08:00

Again, I have gotten really busy with our lives and on day 7 of vacation before I finally got to blogging on Thanksgiving and Christmas. And then it only took me another month to actually put pictures it and push the post button.

We celebrated thanksgiving this year with my family and Chris's family combined at his parents house. What a great idea that was and not sure why we hadn't done that before but it was all around easier for everyone since we all brought parts of the meal and then both of us and Alex got to see all of our family at once. The food was amazing and like usual at the Evans there was so much that we were able to enjoy yummy leftovers for days. Alex liked the stuffing the best.

One of his new favorite things...pretending to drive our cars. Smart keys make it super fun because he can push all sorts of buttons and things light up for him.

Chris & Gigi

We decorated the house for xmas that night after Alex went to bed. I was so excited for his reaction to the tree. When he came down, he danced in front of the tree and pointed and then didn't really touch it for at least a week and then started pulling off these plastic glittery snowflakes and breaking them. I bought a whole new set of shatterproof ornaments just for him so I didn't care too much. My nice stuff is stored away until we are past the little kid stage. He ended up really loving the tree and every morning when he would come down he would sign "please" for the tree to be turned on, then the fireplace and then the music of course so that he could dance.

There was a laser light show to music which Alex was in aww of

Wasn't really feeling santa this year...poor baby

Santa was ok when he gave him a little gift though..Alex even signed "thank you"

We went to the Streets of Tanasbourne Tree Lighting on the Friday night of Thanksgiving weekend. The laser light show with music and fake snow was awesome. I think it is the best event like this in the area. We definitely plan to go again next year. Alex was very into it. Santa on the other hand he wasn't so into this year. We put him on Santa's lap and typical for this age, arched his back and screamed in terror of Santa. He got a chance to see Santa again at a co-worker's home and was happy to take a little gift from santa and even signed "thank you" but again wasn't having sitting on Santa's lap...maybe in 1-2 years.

On a side note, we also ended up having Alex's 15 month check up and still long and lean. 31.5 inches and 22.1 lbs. I thought for sure he would weigh a few more pounds. He felt like he was getting really heavy carrying around lately but I guess it is just me. He was perfectly healthy. We are lucky to have kept him so healthy since last winter/spring. Funny thing is, a few kids at daycare got Hand Foot Mouth disease and Alex was spared it, but Chris came down with it and was horribly ill. He got a fever, sore throat and then sores in his mouth, hands and feet.

Christmas popped up so quick as usual where you barely feel like you have the time to do everything you want to. We did xmas eve with Chris's family and Christmas day with my family as usual. Alex really enjoyed himself. Too little to really know what it is going on but he enjoyed the gifts he got and I think we did a fairly good job making sure he didn't get too overwhelmed.

We had some sad news in our family over the holidays with Patty being diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer. She will be undergoing a series of chemo treatments between now and April. Any of your reading this post, please pray for her. We hope she continues to feel well and that her treatments go well.

Alex's daycare shuts down for the whole week after Christmas and Chris had just switched jobs and didn't have the PTO so I ended up taking the week off. Being home to bond with Alex was so much fun.

He is starting to try and talk which is just so cute. He has been saying "bye" a lot and maybe says it a little too early. Poor grandma was babysitting him and as soon we got home from our date she told her bye. We will have to work on that a little..hehe. It seems he is learning several words a week. He now says..."bye", "hi", "ni night", "Ball", "bear", "eat", "door", "all done", "hide", "mil" (milk), "moooo" (more), "_at" (cat), "up", "down"...it's crazy how fast they learn words. I swear last week he only said a few. He still just loves music so much and asks for music to be turned on immediately upon arrival to school. We have a family trip planned to Disneyland at the end of February and think Alex will love all the music there a lot.

Pumpkin Patch, Halloween and Dancing with cousin Jordyn

2011-11-13T13:45:00.000-08:00

Alex and uncle Jackson

Our little dinosaur

Alex Dancing

Alex and Jordyn

Alex giving auntie Katie a love

Alex and Jordyn

Alex and Jordyn Dancing

I finally made it onto the computer to blog a little..yay! We have just been having too much fun with our little family to stop and record these things and I must admit I have been a little behind on the baby book too..oops. Alex is getting to be such a fun little guy. Almost always happy, clapping and dancing..shaking his little hips. It's too cute. The video of him and Jordyn is so funny. Well, the truth is, he dances like that all the time and sometimes there isn't even any music or it is just static on his radio in his room and he thinks it is something to dance to.

He is starting to communicate more through baby sign language. Which Chris and I think is the most awesome thing ever. I really think it has cut down on him fussing because he is able to let us know what he needs. He signs "more," "please," "eat," and he has done "thank you" two times now..hopefully that one keeps a coming. "More" has multiple meanings.."more" and "milk" but it is usually really easy to tell which one it is. Sometimes like if he is really tired he will start combining them meaning he is really very hungry and tired and wants to go to bed asap. It is so precious how he tries to say "More" except it sounds more like "Mooooooo." Hel is also saying "uh oh" whenever he drops something.

Alex enjoyed himself at the pumpkin patch. We picked up 3 pumpkins from Plumper Farm. Cute little private farm. We got way too busy and never ended up carving our pumpkins. At school he got to do pumpkins and get his hands in all the stringy gooey stuff so I don't think he missed much. On Halloween day, they had a fall parade at Alex's school so we sent him in his dinosaur costume which he loved and apparently he was growling. I had to work Halloween night, but Chris took Alex over to my mom's and he got to go to a few houses with his cousin Jordyn. When I finally got home from work that night, Alex was still in costume, the hood and all and running around patting his fat belly. It really surprised me how much he liked being in that costume.

We started swimming lessons with Alex back in September. I think he doesn't mind the water too much as long as he is not on his back. It's funny, he doesn't seem to mind if his face gets wet, but the back of his head and he freaks out.

Weekend in Reno to visit the Carman's

2011-10-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

Baby Grant

Stacy & Grant, Me & Alex

Alex eating steak for the first time..he loved it

I had a great time visiting Stacy, Greg and meeting baby Grant for the very first time. Stacy is my good friend from PT school. We both had baby boys this past year and since we now have our hands full it had been a little while since we had seen each other...just over a year. We got to see their beautiful new house and the weather was great. I really enjoyed just relaxing at their house and sitting on their patio. Alex loved the little water fountain on the patio too...got himself soaked every time he went out there. Sure beats a tupperware with water in it at home..that is what he usually gets to play with. Baby Grant is just such an angel baby. Greg and Stacy are so lucky. He is so sweet and mild tempered. I just couldn't get over how he could sit on the floor by himself while Stacy did things around the house. Made me realize how high need Alex is. We had a great time, but also very exhausted by the time we got home. Traveling with a little one is tough. I don't know how these parents with two kids at the airport do it. I think the next time we fly with Alex, we will get him his own seat though. On the way home, we put him in a empty seat while the seat belt sign was off and he was so much better behaved than sitting on our laps.

Alex turns 1! and labor day weekend trip to Spokane

2011-09-05T20:16:00.000-07:00

Fireman's hat and truck from Romen

Some of the goodies from the party

The ice cream cake..strawberry and vanilla ice cream with graham cracker bottom and middle with caramel

He loves it!

Alex and uncle Tom Bez at Pig Out in the Park

Alex pigging out on while chocolate covered strawberry at Pig Out in the Park

Nana got him glasses and he loves them...they even helped to get him to walk 4 steps to mommy because he wants to put them on mommy and daddy and take them off and on again

Playing with water on Tom and Cindi's deck in spokane

Alex is 1! We had such a fun time celebrating on Friday September 2nd with family. It was perfect. All his grandparents, great grandma...aka "gigi", auntie Katie and cousin Jordyn were all there to celebrate. We had a truck themed party, had some of Alex's favorites...pizza and ice cream cake and of course a birthday movie of pictures and video clips of Alex's first year. The birthday boy really enjoyed the party, the food, the cake, his visit with family and gifts. I had so much fun making the ice cream cake which I had planned for for some time knowing that Alex didn't like regular cake yet and his tummy didn't seem to agree with chocolate yet. I ended up doing strawberry and vanilla with a graham cracker crust bottom and middle including caramel. The truck decoration on the top is a frozen buttercream transfer.

I had decorated the house the night before so when Alex came downstairs the next morning he was so excited and pointing at all the directions. His excitement made it all worth the time..hours..I spent making the birthday banners from cardstock.

Alex got lots of really nice gifts including a firetruck and fireman's hat, an activity table, book and probably enough clothes to get us through the better part of next year.

The next morning we got up really early to catch a 7am flight to visit Tom and Cindi Bez in Spokane. There is a festival up there every year called Pig Out in the Park where there are 40 some food vendors. Alex looked like a little chipmunk while he was eating his white chocolate covered strawberry. Poor Alex did not have such a good time while we were there because he was cutting a tooth. Although, the way he was acting, it almost seemed like an ear infection because he would cry whenever he tried to lie him down. I realized it was a tooth when I put together the pieces that he was nursing very briefly but frequent, biting and drooling and had what seemed like a tooth that was trying to poke through for a few weeks. Once the tooth cut through late Sunday, and a couple doses of tylenol, he was back to his old self...yay! I sure hope the next one doesn't bother him like this one.

Alex is not walking yet but very very close and today he took 4 steps to me while trying to put his sun glasses back on me. I think we are any day now from him walking all over the place. His balance is very good, but he is very timid. In the food department, he still doesn't eat more than a few bites of most foods, but still has more interest in foods that are spicy and flavorful. This weekend, the things he liked most were spinach, chicken and artichoke crepe and yakisoba noodles with spicy asian ginger dressing. He is so funny. Such a foodie already. He really is not into the regular kid stuff like mac and cheese. He is now into all cupboards and drawers so the real baby proofing has begun. He absolutely loves to drum everything and I think we are all convinced he will be a drummer. The other new thing is a little big of attitude and tantrum coming out if he doesn't get his way. Hard to believe that this is starting. He says "dada" A LOT...almost all the time. "Mama" use to be said a lot but now not as much. Lots of babbling of sounds but not really any other words at this time.

Now that Alex is going to bed so early now...by 7pm, Chris and I finally have more time both for each other and ourselves which makes a world of difference. Alex is really funny about the bed time. He pretty much falls to pieces if you don't keep to the schedule. His internal clock is ridiculous...I guess sort of like me though.

4th of July

2011-07-04T18:52:00.000-07:00

Just sitting and waiting for the parade to start.

First picture that you can see the top two teeth in..soooo cute.

My dad's band

Dad is the farthest gentleman with the clarinet

We had a very nice quiet holiday weekend and for the 4th went to the Hillsboro 4th of July Parade. We all enjoyed it. Alex seemed to be most interested in the big trucks or tractors that went by. My dad's band was also in it and there are some pics of him above.

Grant's visit home, first picnic in the park and 10 months old!

2011-07-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

eating avacado

10 months old chair pic

Alex at the park

Jordyn

Auntie Katie and Alex

Alex and mommy in the water fountains

Alex in the water fountains...he loved them so much we went two days in a row

The kids and grandkids..Katie, me, Grant, Jackson, Alex and Jordyn

Alex and uncle Grant

Uncle Grant and Alex

Don and Chris...I thought this picture was funny to show how strikingly similar they look. Even the same outfit on.

Alex and Uncle Grant

Alex having chocolate pudding for the first time and not for a while...we think he might be sensitive to chocolate like uncle Grant was. He was spitting up and upset tummy for two days afterwards. I'm sure glad I am not allergic to chocolate,,, that would be horrible.

Jordyn and Uncle Jackson on the awesome swings at the park

The Cousins

Hard to believe that today is the 4th of July and for the first time in several years we actually have nice summer weather in Portland on the 4th. We ended up going to the park near our house twice this weekend and you can see some of the pictures above of the picnic we had with Katie, Jordyn, Jackson and my mom and Eric. Alex really enjoyed the park and it was just the perfect place for a family get together with the water fountains, sand box, and playground. I was really quite surprised how much he was able to enjoy the park already.

Over the last two weeks, Grant was home to visit and this was his first visit since Alex was a week old. I think this was the best visit we had had in a while. Usually when he comes to visit he is in town for 1 week and trying to get all his visits in with friends and family and so we are lucky to see him a few times and this visit was awesome getting to see him so much more. He even dropped by my work a couple times for surprise visits which was really nice and we got to go to breakfast together a couple times before work. Alex seemed to really like his Uncle Grant. Cross our fingers he gets to come visit again soon. He is trying to get leave in July to help coach Jackson's basketball camp.

I don't mention work too much on my blog but I did have some exciting news to share that I passed my big exam I took in March and am now a Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist. I am super excited about this accomplishment and congrats to my colleague Kevin Hanson who also passed...yay! It was definitely not easy preparing for this exam with a little baby who isn't a good napper and during our floor remodel project of our house. So now I have some loose ends to finish up my residency...hopefully by October.

Alex is 10 months now! We had his 9 month appointment and he is 19lbs (30th percentile), 29.5 inches (70th percentile) and 90th percentile for his noggin. He continues to be such a joy to be with and more personality coming out. He is just starting to have a little more interest in food other than breastmilk, greek yogurt and sweet potato fries. He is just such a picky little thing. Turns out he really likes chicken tortilla soup. Yeah..who would have thought with all those spices...even his teacher was really surprised knowing how picky he is. He is now down to about 7-8 nursing feedings a day which feels like such a break for me. I know that probably sounds like a lot to most for a 10 month old baby but this is amazing considering he was still at 12 feedings just 2 months ago and he is consistently waking up 1 time which feels great for me to finally be getting some sleep. Alex is now moving around a lot, going from butt scooting to crawling to standing and a little bit of furniture walking. We made the mistake of giving him a bit of chocolate pudding which ended in a sick tummy for 2 days. Now I am very afraid to give him chocolate for a while..maybe over a year...especially knowing how horribly allergic to chocolate my brother Grant was as a baby.

Also...just because I thought this was funny. Look above at the picture of Don and Chris. Isn't that crazy how strikingly similar they look. They are even wearing the same outfit...not on purpose. Just because they really do look a lot alike.

2011-06-11T14:34:00.000-07:00

Look how much he's changed...it is truly amazing just how fast it goes. We are so in love with this new stage. But scooting, pulling to stand, clapping, waving, wet kisses, lots of "ma mas" and he really enjoys having you pat his mouth to make "wa wa wa" noises. So much personality coming out.

I can't believe how long since I last posted. I am just so busy these days. The month of May flew by as usual. We started the month off with a weekend in Seattle for a continuing education class I attended. Alex loved downtown Seattle with so much to look at and we ate at the Crab Pot Restaurant which was so neat. Chris's parents came up for a couple of the days with us. You order this bowl of mixed seafood..crablegs, clams, muscles, sausage, shrimp, corn and potatoes and they just dump it on the table and you eat up. Very yummy especially when you like seafood but don't get to eat it very often.

Then there was Jordyn's 3rd birthday and my 29th birthday, then Chris and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary in Las Vegas and memorial day weekend...whew! Our trip to Las Vegas was the first time we had gone away from Alex overnight. He did great and we missed him of course and came home a little earlier. Traveling away from baby when you are still breastfeeding is not so simple. Planning our schedule of our day around what we can do around the pumping and then there was hauling the stuff with us and figuring out where I could do it. I'm used to pumping at work, but this was can I saw awkward...pumping at the airport and pumping at Caesar's Palace in just one of the regular bathrooms. Oh and I almost forgot, there was the problem with the hotel telling us they couldn't freeze our cooler ice packs so we could bring the milk back home with us due to health code. Seemed kind of ridiculous. So we ended up being able to get them cold enough by filling up lots of plastic bags of ice and putting them all in the cooler overnight before we left. Yes...I could have just dumped it all, but it is hard to be ok with doing that knowing how much time you spent out of your day producing this stuff and how good it is for Alex. The best parts of our trip were eating at Bobby Flay's restaurant called Mesa Grill at Caesar's Palace. The sauces were amazing to say the least. I need to find some copy cat recipes online. The other great part were the shows. We went to the improv comedy show at Harrahs and Mystere, a Cirque du Soleil show which I had never been to before. The things those people do with their bodies is absolutely amazing.

Weekend in Seattle May 7th

Alex and Daddy at Tree to Tree...a ropes course place at Hagg Lake over Memorial Day Weekend

He loves loves loves anything we do with cleaning..vacuuming, laundry and dishes..he but scoots so quick when the dishwasher opens to get to it.

First nice sunny day that Alex got to enjoy some time in the kiddy pool. He loved it and played for a couple hours.

For those of you who have never seen a butt scooting...this is in the early times of his scooting so he wasn't so efficient but it works. Now he can scoot way faster than crawling..he interchanges between the two.

Easter & 7.5 months old

2011-04-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

Easter weekend - on the patio at Grandpa Higham's

First Easter Basket from Nana Evans

Checking himself out...well sort of. There is a little mirror but he also loves to stare at the pictures of animals around the mirror.

Chilling outside...he is a total outside baby

Eating his mum mum...a flavorless piece of cardboard rice cracker that Alex and other babies at his school absolutely love

We had a nice Easter Weekend. Alex and I had Friday off school and work and just really enjoyed the day together...just the two of us. I think we needed that. And the weather was so nice and sunny and warm so we mostly stayed outside for those two nice days. Alex loves outside and in fact, I have figured out that if he is wired and hyper it is a quick way to settle him down. Saturday we had dinner with my Dad and Patty and then Sunday with Chris's Mom, sister and Vanessa. Don had to stay in China longer so we will do another Easter dinner next weekend when he is home.

As you can see, Alex is growing up so quickly. He is still a very fair haired baby. Quite different than either of us would have expected but I imagine his hair will get darker in time. He is just the sweetest little thing. Talking more and has now included "na, na" to his repertoire. He is also scooting more and turning around more quickly in addition to going from sitting to hands and knees. I think crawling is right around the corner. He goes backwards on his belly and gets very frustrated about that because he really means to go forwards.

Our house project with the wood floors is almost done. Just some finishing touches with trim, paint, caulking and vents left. It really looks so nice and is a lot easier to clean. I am really pleased now that it is almost done. Now we are off to start the next project...the backyard but this time we will be getting a little help. We just don't have as much free time for projects like these anymore. I will have to post pics of the floor project when it is completed.

7 months old!

2011-04-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

Alex is 7 months old and now I think it is really fun to look at the progression. Funny how last month he got the sheep and now he is grabbing the sheep and the blanket. He is so much fun and like I said in the last post, this is our favorite age so far. He has really gotten into talking and says "ba ba", "da da" and "ma ma." He was really talking a lot tonight. It was so cute.

With Auntie Chels and Vanessa...he was so excited by what Chels had to say.

Funny story about this picture is that right after I took the picture, Alex stood up and leaped for me falling on his face. He seemed to think he could just fly to mama. He didn't cry or anything and was happy as could be to sit back up on the chair. He just look so cute and old sitting in it.

2011-03-20T16:42:00.000-07:00

At School

Riding on his rocking frog from Tom and Cyndi Bez

Right after a bath...our little monkey

I wish I was that flexible

Enjoying Uncle Jackson's basketball game with Grandpa Higham and Grandma Patty

6 month picture

Visit with Great Grandma Evans...Wilma Evans...he was teething and biting on her finger the whole time...she just loved it

It has been forever since I did a real blog post. We have all been so busy over the last couple months. January and February seemed to fly by at the blink of an eye. I have now been back to work for almost 4 months and Alex has been going to daycare now for nearly 3 months. Alex has really enjoyed his school but the downside is getting exposed to new bugs. In fact, Alex has already had 3 ear infections in a matter of 7 weeks! This last one went away all on its own..yay! And the coolest part is we just gave him tylenol and drops of warm olive oil in his ear. It worked incredibly well to give him pain relief. He also got 2 teeth this week...his front bottom ones. I can't believe it. Teething took months...much longer than I would have thought. Alex also had his 6 month check-up this week and is 16lbs 4oz (50th percentile) and 28 inches long (90th percentile) and head circumference of 17.5inches (90th percentile). So he has stayed long and lean. He is a strong little guy and ready to be on the move before we know it. I was at my mom's today and he kept darting at fluffy the cat and practically leaping out of my arms. He does that on the change table too which makes us nervous. I am starting to change him on the floor since he seems to be in a very dare devilish mood. I really don't think it will be that much longer before he starts crawling. He is getting onto hands and knees but can't stay there for very long. 6 months is such an awesome age...I think my favorite so far. He is all smiles and just a really happy little guy...when he is not sick of course. He enjoys playing with his toys but only if someone else is playing or talking to him...He always wants to be wherever the action is. And at school his favorite thing has been the art projects...they are super cute. The other great part about this stage is getting better and more consistent sleep at night...for all of us. We are getting more consistent sleep with Alex waking no more than 2x/night and we even just had the last week with him only waking 1x and getting a 7.5 hour stretch. It feels so good to be more rested.

I think another reason why the last couple months have felt so busy is that on top of being a new mom, returning back to work and our wood floor project, I have been studying for the physical therapy orthopedic board specialist exam. I just took the exam las week.Yay! It is such a huge weight off my shoulders to have finished that and now I wait a whole 3 months to find out how I did. I actually felt pretty good about the exam which is great considering my very limited time I had to study. It feels so good to now have some real weekends back free of studying.

The wood floor project which started right after Christmas has kind of come to a little pause. The house is live able as we now have the kitchen, living room and our bedroom back which is partly why there hasn't been as much motivation to get it done. Chris and Don would have put in a long day to get it done last sunday but with Alex sick we decided it was best to take it easy and focus on taking care of him. So Chris was able to get back he to the project today and get some wood into the dining room and entry way...we are almost there.

I have attached a bunch of pictures...Alex over the last month and a funny video of Jordyn reading to Alex with her scary voice. She is such a hoot. So much energy and personality...she is so much like Katie.

5 month now! Look how I've grown!

2011-02-11T07:51:00.000-08:00

The house project continues......

2011-02-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

No dishwasher

Down to the subfloor

putting down the underlayment so the trim around the doors would still fit

The first bit of hardwood went down...yay!

A little bit of normalcy...we got to sit on the couch and enjoy the living room sort of for a couple weeks

A leak...turned out we couldn't use the left side of the sink for 1 whole week

We went stove and ovenless for 3 weeks!!!

The fridge was moved out to the hallway for 3 weeks

Fridge in the hallway

Now as we work towards finishing the rest of the downstairs...it is starting to look like chaos again.

Chris has been working really hard to re-do the floors in the downstairs of our house and it has ended up being a lot more than he had invisioned. The original plan was to be done by the end of January but now it will probably be the end of February if we are lucky. There were so many unplanned or unforseen things that would come up with each day of working on the project. We are quite thrilled to hopefully be getting our bedroom back this weekend...cross our fingers and getting our living room back. It was sure nice to get a working kitchen back. We did a lot of eating out and although fun at first gets really old really quick. I think the floors look really nice and I know we will be really glad we did it once it is all done.

4 months old...look how I've grown

2011-01-02T17:11:00.000-08:00

Alex is 4 months old today...it's hard to believe. I have been taking a picture of him in the same spot each month which I think will be lots of fun to watch over the course of the year. Although looking at the pictures all next to each other there isn't too much difference between 3 and 4 months but he definitely looks older than the 2 month picture.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-02T14:04:00.000-08:00

It was Alex's first Christmas with little santa hat and all which I thought was just so cute. Now that he is just starting to enjoy grabbing things, he was able to grab a corner of the paper and help pull some of the paper off. The grandparents got him some really fun toys which he absolutely loves including this little mailbox, an exersaucer and fishtank light that looks like real fish are swimming. Funny thing about the fishtank light is it is a way to get him to do tummy time for longer since he loves to look at it. It's pretty neat how much he is changing and able to play and interact more and more each day.

We spent Christmas Eve with the Evans family and Christmas day with my side of the family at my mom's place. We had a great time spending the holidays with both families and above are some pictures from those celebrations. Jordyn and Jackson are so cute. Jordyn really got into the Christmas spirit this year and was so much fun to watch. Apparently, she asked santa to bring her candy which I thought was pretty funny.

Christmas felt a lot different this year...seemed like it sort of flew past without much time to get into the holiday spirit. I returned to work just a few weeks before and since then have been super busy. So I didn't have the time for baking I usually do or a gingerbread house. I did manage to make two small ones for Jordyn and Jackson though. I thought I had no time when I was home with Alex on maternity leave, but now I really have no time. At least when you are home with the baby, you kind of get breaks when they nap, but now I don't even get those breaks...just go go go. I know it will get easier and easier especially as Alex's need to be breastfed lessens. I had no idea how hard it would be to work and breastfeed/pump especially with a job like mine where I am on such a tight schedule.

For Christmas, Chris and I got new hardwood floors to replace both the existing hardwood and carpet throughout the whole downstairs of our house. So the day after Christmas, Chris began demo with his sister Chelsey and Vanessa....it is a huge mess. Then Eric came over the next day and helped pull up all the floor boards sitting on top of the sub floor and the existing hardwoods. It is so hard to see your house messy and dusty and only partially useable. Luckily, Chris is super motivated and planning to start installation maybe even as soon as next week. The original plan was to have it done by the end of January....but that is a very long time to have your house torn up. Turns out we will be oven/stove less for a week...yikes.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-01T17:27:00.000-08:00

The turkey...I should have taken a picture of the whole thing before we cut it...it was really pretty if I may say so myself

Our Thanksgiving feast...there was a lot of food as usual at the Evans house

Auntie Chels, Alex and Tata

Alex wasn't feeling so photogenic..hehe

Alex with Great Grandma Evans

Our poor little teething baby...if only that little tooth could hurry itself up

kissing daddy

Nana and Alex

We celebrated a real home Thanksgiving this year with Chris's family. The home cooked food was absolutely delicious. I made the turkey for the first time with a recipe out of my Bon Appetite magazine and it tasted great. It was a Salt Roasted Turkey with Lemon and Oregano. It was a little on the dry side and we will say it is Chris's fault since he didn't take the turkey out of the oven when I told him he should. But he made up for it with a really perfect gravy. We really enjoyed the time with family and of course are most thankful this year for our little Alex.

He is so precious to me. He just started trying to give kisses back. It is mostly slobber, but cute anyway. If you try and give him a kiss, then he opens his mouth...hehe. Just as I was getting the hang of the mom thing and it is getting a lot easier for me, it is now time to go back to work. Hard for me to believe that I will be a working lady again in just 5 days. I didn't think I would be sad, but I am. I feel like I won't see him anymore since I get home from work so late. Alex's first week will be with daddy and I'm excited for Chris to get some of that special time with him because he is only this little for a short time. The rest of the month, Chris's family will be watching Alex and then he will be off to daycare. Boy how time flies.

10 weeks old!

2010-11-15T15:12:00.000-08:00

Little Alex is not so little anymore. He is 10 weeks old now and growing like a weed. He gets heavier and heavier and although he is a long and skinny guy, he is starting to get a little belly and small rolls on his thighs. We had his 2 month well check with the pediatrician and he is developmentally like a 4 month old, length is 90%, weight is 60% and head circumference is 50%. He gets more and more interactive each day and surprising us with new tricks which is so exciting as parents. Last week at 9.5 weeks old, Alex caught us off guard by rolling from his belly to his back. Then right at 11 weeks old rolled both directions. Now that we know he can roll, we have to be extra careful about where we place him. His other new trick is giggling. Only daddy is able to get him to giggle and it is so cute. Alex loves to coo and babble and will go back and forth with you like a conversation. He always has a lot to say. I wonder if he will still talk that much when he learns to say words. His muscles are getting so strong too. He is able to hold his head up really well and loves to stand up. If you hold his hands when he is sitting, he leans forward and pushes off with his legs to stand up and then he likes to do his little squats.

It is hard to believe how quick time has gone and that it is already almost time for me to return to work in a few weeks. I feel really ready to have some adult interaction and some sort of predictable schedule about my day. I love being a mommy, but know I really need a balance between my work as a PT which I love and being a mommy.

I am ready, but only if we could get Alex to be a little more ready to part with me. Not only does he have major separation anxiety (notices immediately when I am gone and fusses), but he also won't take a bottle and we have been working on that for 7 weeks now! I am doubting that this bottle thing is ever going to happen. He is very determined when it comes to what he wants and is willing to hold out for mommy. Four different people (Nana, Grandpa, Chris and Katie) have now attempted the bottle with him and we have tried almost every bottle and nipple combination sold at Babiesrus. At the 2 month appointment, the pediatrician said we will have to go cold turkey with the bottle, but we both feel like denying him breastfeeding is so cruel and I'm just not sure that we can stomach doing this to him.

In the picture above, he was so excited to sit up in the big chair all by himself and actually got upset with me when I had to take him out of it.

Halloween

2010-11-01T10:52:00.001-07:00

Grandma and Alex

Auntie Katie and Alex

Bones, eyeballs and broomstick celery

A Halloween feast

Mummy pizzas

Greg, Katie, Alex, Chris, Fluffy, Chris and Jordyn

The centerpiece...so creepy!

fingers in the dip

Alex as a pea in the pod...Jordyn's costume from when she was a baby

Jordyn and Jackson

Jordyn in her bumblebee costume...soooo cute!

Our little sailor

It's hard to believe that Halloween has just passed and it is already November. Before we know it will be Thanksgiving and then Christmas. We had a great time celebrating Halloween yesterday at my mom's with Katie, Jordyn, Jackson, Eric, and Greg. The weather turned out great, not too cold and no rain, and in fact, we even sat out front of her house around the fire pit and gave out candy there drinking hot cider.

Mom went way above and beyond with a cute Halloween feast. So much detail into all the things we ate. We had bone bread sticks, mummy pizzas, broomstick celery, eyeballs out of carrots and olives, veggies and dips...the dip even had fingers coming out of it. I still can't get over the centerpiece which was very creepy. When I first got to her house, the mice coming out of it looked so real that it kind of freaked me out for a moment.

Alex wore two costumes. First we tried on the pea in the pod, but he got a little claustrophobic and crying so we took him out and dressed him as a sailor which I thought was so cute. There was a hat too but I didn't get a picture of that. Kind of funny that there is a picture of Uncle Grant in his uniform right behind my mom and Alex.

I absolutely loved Jordyn's costume as a bumblebee. It was so Jordyn. She of course, loved her costume so much I don't think she was going to be taking it off for a while. She was so excited for Halloween and got lots and lots of candy which filled up her honey pot. Katie said that went to people's doors she would say "candy" instead of "trick or treat"...so cute. At the end of the night, she was handing out candy at the door to all the kids.

My mom gets so many kids in her neighborhood that she went through 3 bowls of candy and then Jackson had to give out some of his candy that he didn't like since kids were still coming to the door. I don't get any kids at my house since I live down a long driveway and on a street with older neighbors so there aren't a lot of kids. I didn't even get a pumpkin this year. Bad me I know. I will do one next year.

6 weeks old

2010-10-19T16:00:00.001-07:00

it's the "sad lip"

Alex is 6 weeks old! Time is flying by so quick. He isn't that little newborn baby anymore. So sad. I look at his newborn clothes and think it is crazy to think he was once so tiny to fit in them. Babies grow so quick. I swear he gets noticeably heavier everyday and probably most noted in the middle of the night when we are trying to pass him around in bed while we are half asleep.

Alex is beginning to interact more and more and it is so special to get some reciprocation of all that special love and affection we have been giving him. He coos and makes little talking noises, and very alert and stares at faces while he is talking to you. He is so expressive in his face and most of the time we get smiles but at times we get the "sad lip" which I think is so dramatic and sad...it just kills me when he throws that out. He doesn't like car rides and gave me the "sad lip" the whole way to the beach...it made me really sad too. He just started batting at his play gym toys while cooing and smiling at them which I thought was so cute. Alex is now holding his head up really well and I can carry him around without having to support his head now.

In preparation for me to return to work, we started introducing a bottle 2 weeks ago, but Alex has yet to accept it. Bottle training on a breastfed baby is really tough. Babies are way too smart and definitely know the difference. He spits it out and will sometimes begin to suck on it, but spits out what milk he gets. Chris has been giving him the bottles and says he is getting better each time which is great. I guess it will just be one of those things that will take time. I don't want to force it...I really want him to just nicely accept it.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

We went to the pumpkin patch today with April and Zealand. It was such a gorgeous and warm fall day. I thought this farm was so cute with the perfect little farmhouse, barn and gardens. We had fun walking around the farm and looking at the pumpkins. I didn't end up coming home with a pumpkin though. The pumpkins were all fairly big and I had my hands full with Alex...so we will pick one up for the house when we go to the pumpkin patch with Nana and Grandpa Evans in a few weeks. It was fun to see Zealand enjoying himself on the tractor and haystack...I can't wait for Alex to be walking around enjoying the pumpkin patch too....it won't be long...probably next fall.

First Smile

2010-09-30T13:39:00.001-07:00

smiling...he was moving so much it was hard to take a picture

more smiles

At exactly 3 weeks, Alex smiled for the first time. Although it took me a whole week to actually get a picture of his smile. He gets so distracted by the camera and stops smiling and looking all serious when he sees the camera. Luckily, he is super happy when he first gets up in the morning when I change him that I was able to catch it right then. I just love his little smile. I can't wait for giggles to start in the next month.

It's hard to believe that Alex is already 4 weeks old today. Time is flying by so quick and he is already growing so much. He is now out of all his newborn size clothes and wearing 0-3 month size. His skinny little belly is just starting to get a little bigger, but he still has really skinny legs.

1st week just me and Alex

2010-09-17T14:19:00.001-07:00

We take our afternoon nap together

Alex is getting little curls on the top of his head...so cute! Maybe he will have curly or wavy hair...we will have to see

The first week just Alex and me went by so quick. I can't believe he is now 2 weeks old! I love him so much and still can't believe he is ours. Becoming a mom has been the most awesome thing. I know he won't stay this small for long so I try to enjoy these days right now where he can sleep on my chest or cuddle all curled up in a little ball.

His face is filling out a little and he is definitely gaining weight. He had his two week appointment today and gained 9 ounces in 6 days and now weighing in at 8lbs 6oz.

Alex is such a good baby. He doesn't cry or fuss much and usually we are able to calm him fairly quickly. He eats so much and so frequently that sometimes I feel strapped to the couch feeding. Poor Chris gets home from work and all Alex wants to do is eat for several hours straight. I'm glad he eats so well and is so healthy though. Breastfeeding is such an investment of your time but it seems like it is getting better and better as each day goes by. Alex is already getting into a little bit of a schedule and letting us sleep for 3 hours at a time at night which is great because that means we only get up 2 times! Auntie Katie's tips on a dark room and music really helped Alex sleep longer.

Alex loves his little play mat and just looking up at the hanging toys. He is always so alert and looking around when awake and so I got him a mobile for his bassinet which I hope will help him stay in there a little longer. Right now he seems to sleep best in the infant seat or one of our chests.

Some cute pics I had to share

2010-09-12T20:10:00.001-07:00

Sleeping with daddy

1st Bath

Perched up and staring at daddy

Happy to be wrapped up after the bath was over...the bath was not his favorite thing

Grant's surprise visit home

2010-09-12T20:02:00.002-07:00

All of the siblings (Jackson, Grant, Katie, Me), Chris and Jordyn & little Alex

Uncle Grant with little Alex

We had the most awesome surprise visit this Saturday from Grant. He is stationed in San Diego on the USS Carl Vinson and doesn't get much time off work. Chris and I hadn't seen him since April when he came to visit last. It was so nice that he got to see his new nephew when he is still little. We hope Grant graces us with more surprise visits since he is now only a short plane flight away.

Belly Bandit Review

2010-09-10T08:51:00.001-07:00

1 week post partum

So I normally would not be showing pictures of my belly as I am pretty conservative, however, I am so amazed with the results I have gotten from using the Belly Bandit ( http://www.bellybandit.com/ ) that I just had to share. I am almost in disbelief that it is actually working since I was expecting to look pregnant for weeks to months. I am now 1 week post partum and my stomach is already flat and firm. I would definitely recommend this to anyone post partum. It supports your back so nicely in that first week. Chris even tried it on and thought it felt really good and wished he had something like that on since his back is getting a little sore from leaning over to care for Alex. It does get a little wrinkle in it that doesn't come out if you are short waisted like myself, but it doesn't change the effectiveness. I did exercise and ate really healthy the entire pregnancy and think that the belly bandit just sped up the recovery. So probably not a substitution for good diet and exercise in my opinion.

1 week old

2010-09-09T13:47:00.001-07:00

Alex is 1 week old today. We think he is pretty cute and already showing lots of personality with all his funny facial expressions. We can't believe how fast the past week has gone. He is doing so well and the pediatrician says he is an over-achiever. He is already almost back to birth weight and lost his cord as of 5 days old. Pediatrician asked if we had a natural birth because she could tell by how well he was doing and his alertness which I thought was crazy. He loves to eat and it seems like I am feeding him every hour which is making me so hungry...more than when I was pregnant. But the crazy part is that my body is getting smaller and smaller by the minute...much faster than I had anticipated. We have had several rough nights but every day are learning new tricks to make the night go better. I think we may have had a total of 7 hours of sleep last night broken up and we both even had dreams which was awesome. I hope he can do that tonight.

Alex is here!

2010-09-05T12:07:00.001-07:00

Immediately after he was born, Alex was put on my chest

He weighed 7lbs 15.2 ounces and is 21 inches long

With Nana Evans

With Grandpa Evans

First kiss from Daddy

With Grandpa Higham

With Auntie Chelsey

Cuddling with Grandma Northcott

Me and Alex

Our first family photo

With Auntie Katie

Sleeping with Daddy after a long night

Sleeping in the bassinet…for a cat nap

His favorite place to be…cuddled up against daddy’s chest

With uncle Jackson

Alex was born on September 2nd 2010 at 8:16am. He was 7lbs 15.2 oz and 21" at birth and absolutely perfect. We are so in love with our little guy and can't believe we are parents now. Just when you thought you couldn't have more love in your life, then this little person comes into your life and it's just such an awesome feeling.

The birth story.....

I started to go into labor around 9pm ish on September 1st after getting off the phone with my mom and thinking everything was fine and definitely not that I would be going into labor in minutes. In fact, Chris and I had gone for a 3 mile walk that night. I had been showing signs of being in early labor over the previous couple days and my doctor thought I would go into labor the 1st or 2nd...well she was right.

My contractions started up right away at 4 mins apart lasting for 1 minute and I was able to manage them just fine with the hypnosis techniques I had been practicing. By 10pm, Chris could tell this was different than contractions before and called the oncall doctor who said to come in to the hospital. Chris packed the car while I tried to stay focused in hypnosis. Chris called our parents on our way to the hospital and my mom, Chris's mom and Chelsey met us there. We got to the hospital triage at 11:45ish where I was checked and sure enough I was in labor and already 5cm dilated. I was admitted and quickly my contractions were picking up. I used the jacuzzi tub, my birthing ball and different hypnosis cues and scripts. The most effective for me was "release" with pressure on my forehead and everything else seem to not matter. By 3am, I was 8cm dilated. By 5am I was 10cm but a little lip of cervix still there. That is when I knew I was in transition and the contractions were on top of one another with no break. It was at that point that I felt like I couldn't do it anymore and I was simply moving forward knowing that there was an end in sight and that this horrible pain I was feeling would end with a baby. My mom and Chris were by my side during that whole time and I couldn't do it without them there. Chris's mom made sure I had cold clothes which helped a ton in making me feel more comfortable. I thought I would have wanted to move in various positions, but while in transition for about 2.5 hours, I didn't want any part of my body to move due to the pain. At 7:30ish, we started to push, which was scary because I had no urge and I was in so much pain that I could not tell when I was having a contraction or not. Chris and mom helped me so much through the pushing stage and at 8:16am we had our beautiful baby boy on our chest. He was alert with eyes wide open looking up at both of us and nursed right away. That was one of the most awesome things about having a natural child birth just for that moment.

The hypnosis was different than I had expected in helping me to manage my labor, but it seemed very effective up until I got into transition and I just couldn't focus anymore.

He is so perfect and we can't believe he is ours. I just love his little facial expressions. A little too early to tell who he looks like but some similarities in the eyes and nose to mommy when she was a baby.

2010-09-01T16:57:00.000-07:00

As my due date approaches tomorrow, I have been getting more and more excited to meet this little Alex. I keep wondering what he will look like...like daddy or mommy or maybe neither of us. I am now on my 3rd week off work which is hard to believe. Time is flying by so quickly. Normally, if I had been off work this long, I would have been bored out of my mind and going crazy, but I think I was so tired that this has really been a much needed break and I am glad I did it so that I could be fully refreshed and ready for Alex when he arrives. It is not like my job is physical easy to do.

Chris's dad, Don, gets home tomorrow and my mom is now starting to feel better from being sick so I think it is perfect time for Alex to think about coming.

Overall, I have been feeling good considering I am 40 weeks pregnant. I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and my doctor was practically ready to induce me if I had agreed to it. I think it is crazy. I have been planning for a natural birth experience using child birth hypnosis and spent many hours practicing for this. My doctor says she will let me go until 41 weeks and 6 days but doubted I would go much past tomorrow. I think she just jinxed us from having Alex more sooner than later by that comment. Maybe she knows what she is talking about though. My body is definitely acting like it is getting ready and Dr. Bird said I am in early labor. Cross our fingers he comes soon.

Surprise Baby Shower!

2010-08-17T14:25:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous cake that matched the nursery theme perfectly and delicious too.

super cute shoes from Emily

socks that look like sneakers from Katie and Jordyn

Beaba Baby Cook from Melissa Angeli and Mom

Gorgeous hand knit blanket from Mom

Best friend Stacy who also was in on the surprise

Great Grandma Evans

Marina Leathers and her mom Ana who guessed my belly size perfectly with the TP

Uncle Jackson...one of the winners of the TP game

side belly shot...we're almost there

Mom, Marina, Debby and Barb

On Sunday August 15th, I thought I was going for pedicures with Barb and Chelsey only to walk into there house where my mom and Barb were hosting a surprise baby shower in honor of Alex. It was amazing that the secret had been kept so well including my best friend Stacy who flew up for the party and she is not one for keeping secrets either. It was a really special day to have friends and family together especially when I was not expecting it.

There was tons of food of course, but I think a combination of the excitement and Alex taking up more room, that I didn't actually eat too much. The cake was absolutely delicious and I can't get over how perfectly it matched the nursery theme. Just amazing.

In attendance were Mom and Jackson, Barb, Chelsey and Grandma Evans, Marina Leathers and her mom Ana, Meagin Thayn, Emily Higham, Stacy Carman, Rachel Wingeier, Dana Staskherz, Debby Wohlmut, Sheryl Lindenberg and Marlene Staugler.

We played a couple games including guessing my belly size with toilet paper and guessing what kind of baby food is in the baby jars. Jackson was one of the winners of the toilet paper game which I find funny since he won that game at the last baby shower he went to. He was so excited to win, but then quickly a little disappointed when he realized his prize was lotion. Barb says she will make it up to him with a different prize...hehe.

There were so many wonderful gifts received for Alex. He is already so spoiled and loved by so many friends and family. I still just can't wait for him to arrive and getting more excited by the minute.

Nursery completed

2010-08-15T12:33:00.001-07:00

Crib that Don and Chris made...absolutely gorgeous

Today Don and Chris put the Crib together in the house and it looks absolutely gorgeous. They did such a nice job and the picture really doesn't do it justice for how beautiful it is. That was such a nice gift and will be enjoyed for many years (converts to an adult bed). It's nice to finally have the room come together and feel a little more organized an ready. Chris set up the bassinet today too. I'm 37.5 weeks now, so we are getting close and really it could be anytime now that Alex might arrive. Friday was my last day of work and so now I can relax and worry about me before Alex gets here. Work had gotten physically too difficult for me which was a bummer because I only have 11 week left until I need to be back at work due to going on reduced hours. So even more reason I hope Alex comes more sooner than later. Overall, I have been feeling good. A lot more braxton hicks, pelvic discomfort and fatigue, but other than that pretty normal I guess and I'm ready for Alex when he is ready.

Dad and Patty’s Wedding

2010-08-08T09:48:00.001-07:00

Patty's family

Uncle Chris and Jordyn

Hayden (Patty’s grandson) and Jordyn

Carter (Patty’s Grandson)

Jackson and Macy (Patty’s eldest granddaughter)

We are happy to officially welcome Patty to the family and wish my dad and Patty many years of happiness. Patty had spoken so much about her daughters and 5 grandchildren over the last 3 years and it was great to meet them all. All the grand kids including Jordyn and then Jackson (I know he is not a grandchild) were in the wedding. There was so many little ones, it seems I took a lot of pictures of the little ones. Jordyn did such a good job walking down the isle...I was very impressed. We took a video of it, but it is rather large, so I will not attempt to post. I didn't get a lot of pictures of our side of the family, as we were all in them, but the photographer got lots of pictures and looking forwards to seeing some of those soon.

4th of July

2010-07-07T21:48:00.001-07:00

Beach at the Coble's cabin

Chris and Matt Kayaking

Raking for Clams

Matt and Katie Coble

We celebrated the 4th with Matt and Katie Coble up at Matt's family cabin on the Hood Canal in Washington. It was so beautiful and relaxing and super nice that they invited us up to spend the weekend with them. We really enjoyed sitting on the beach with the camp fire, making s'mores and watching all the fireworks going off all along the beach.

10 more weeks to go!

2010-06-27T16:48:00.001-07:00

Me and Alex are growing so much!

The Crib in progress

Custom artwork that will be above the crib

The Nursery in progress..crib will go between the two windows

Well stocked closet...I think Alex is set on clothes for a little while

Time has flown by so quickly that I can hardly believe I am already 30 weeks and that Alex will be home with us in just a couple months. Now that I am starting to get uncomfortable, I really hope this last 8-12 weeks goes by quickly too. It is getting really awkward to move and get comfortable to sleep the night through now. I feel so huge now, and I can't believe he still has about 10 more weeks of growing left. I hope he comes more early than late, but doesn't everyone think that when they are pregnant in the last few weeks and months.

Don and Chris are still working on the crib, but it is much more complete then the picture I posted. Hopefully, they will be done with it in the next month. They just have finish work left. I think it is going to look so nice in the room when done. It is really neat that it converts to a toddler bed and adult bed too.

I was really motivated working on the nursery over the last couple months, but haven't done too much lately as I am getting more tired (almost feels like I have hit first trimester again). The walls are still a little bare. I have yet to finish some custom number print outs with the bedding pattern that Chris and I are making and decide on how we will put up the alphabet cards Barb gave us. I really love the custom prints I ordered online with his name in the center which I think will look even nicer when the crib is in the room. And the green drapes we got are so awesome...blackout...that we both wish we had some in our room. The glider chair, was such a great craigslist find for $60. It needed a lot of cleaning, but after that I thought it looked great in the room. Overall, it is looking cozy and comfortable.

Baby Shower

2010-06-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

Patty, Chelsey and Barb from Jordyn's view

Cutest and yummiest cupcakes ever!

Jordyn and Barb

Emily and Patty

Emily, Patty, and Granny

The cousins (Emily, Marilyn, Katie, Me) and granny

My aunt Joan hosted a beautiful shower to celebrate baby Alex coming soon. It was so nice to see all my family....Alex is so loved already! My Aunt Joan is such a wonderful hostess. Everything was so pretty and delicious right down to the cutest cupcakes shown above that have little pea pods piped onto them.

Chris and I can't wait for him to get here. Time has gone by quickly and hopefully these last 11 weeks will fly by as well. Overall, I am feeling good, I just get very tired and don't have the same energy I did 2 weeks ago....I am even getting short of breath.

Matt and Katie Coble's Wedding

2010-06-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

A pic of us in Bob Coble's backyard...he has a gorgeous view

Matt (groom) and Chris (best man)

Katie, Matt, Chris and Me

Matt and Katie Coble...so cute!

Matt and Katie were married up in Olympia, WA on June 5th and Chris got the honors of being Matt's best man. Matt is a friend of Chris's since 5th grade when he first moved up from Arizona and I have known Matt since high school. Chris and Matt even roomed in college for 2 years when we all went to OSU. They had a beautiful wedding and we had such a great time visiting with their friends and family over that weekend. Matt and Katie make such a cute couple and we are so happy they invited us to share their special day/weekend with them. We can't wait to head up to Washington over the 4th of July weekend to visit them again at their cabin in hood canal. It was so beautiful up there as you can see by the first picture of me and Chris taken in Bob Coble's (Matt's dad) backyard.

2nd Anniversary

2010-05-26T09:25:00.001-07:00

The view from our room

We had a wonderful relaxing weekend at Salishan to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. The resort was so quiet and weather was actually quite nice. It rained hard on the day we went home, but most of the time it wasn't too bad as you can see from the pictures. It was much nicer to celebrate on a non holiday weekend so I think we will plan to do that again.

We relaxed all day Sunday and went for a nice little walk to the beach which is where we took most of the pictures. The resort has a nice pool so we went there everyday and I couldn't believe how good being in a pool felt to me. I will need to take advantage of the pool at my gym.

On Monday, Chris went golfing and I had one of the best massages I have ever had. It was a prenatal massage so they have a special table with a hole in it so you can lie on your stomach. it was great. It will be a while again before I get to do that again.

We also went to the outlet stores a few times and stocked up on clothes for Alex. A lot of really cute an inexpensive things. Baby Gap had a few items we got for just $2 and then pretty much every item at children's place was $3 each. We can't wait for him to arrive. Time has gone by pretty quick so far and now it feels like we are on the home stretch. Next week will be the beginning of the 3rd trimester.

What Alex might look like?

2010-05-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

There is this funny website I came across called www.MorphThing.com. It is actually quite entertaining. So I took a picture of Chris and a picture of me and this is what it thinks little Alex will look like. The shape of the face, the nose and eyes seem like they could be right, but the light hair is the funny part since both of us are dark. It is a fun thing to do online and you can morph a bunch of celebrities as well.

Jordyn's Birthday Party

2010-05-03T09:15:00.001-07:00

Our niece Jordyn celebrated her 2nd birthday yesterday. So above a few pictures I took from the party. The party girl really loved the high heels she got from grandma. I made the cupcakes and little cookies of course which I thought turned out cute and very yummy.

2010-05-01T15:20:00.000-07:00

I meant to take pictures every month but somehow I got so busy and realized I hadn't taken a belly pic since 16 weeks. I don't feel like I have changed that much lately but when I look at the 16 week pic, there sure is a big difference. I had another ultrasound due to some bleeding and my doctor felt that everything was normal and just told me to take it easy for a couple weeks. Alex was perfect and keeps growing. At the ultrasound on Monday, he was 1lb 3 ounces and measuring 2 weeks ahead. He has been active and very predictable at that. The funniest thing was that Shakira music made him move the other night while watching American Idol and just to be sure we turned it off and then turned it back on again. He has been getting up real early. In fact, he started moving around Friday morning at 6:30am. I wonder if he will be a morning person like me.

Mom is now Fifty and Fabulous

2010-04-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

On April 21st mom turned 50! It is hard to believe because she still seems so young to all of us. Grant came into town on Friday and we treated mom to dinner at El Gaucho. Afterwards we had some cake at our house.

It's a Boy!

2010-04-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

We are excited to announce that we are expecting a little boy! The mother's intuition in me was right. We plan to name him Alex Michael Evans. He was measuring in at 14 ounces and 21 weeks gestation with a heart rate of 138bpm. His little hands and feet are so precious. We can't wait for him to arrive.

2010-04-11T07:57:00.000-07:00

Picture of the bedding and curtains we bought for the nursery.

It's called Cottontail Friends from PBkids. I think it is so cute

Closet dividers I made to match bedding or organize the baby clothes by size

Picture frame that I am making for the nursery to match the bedding

Crib side dry fitted before it was sanded

Jordyn on Easter

Family pic on Easter

Us at the wedding in Nogales

It's been forever since I last posted. Seems like the last month just flew by. During spring break time, we went to Arizona for a cousin's wedding down in Nogales and visited the Bez's and Tia Mona (Clem) and Ron in the Phoenix area. The wedding was one of the more festive weddings I have ever been to with a band similar to the one on Sabado Gigante and for a moment I didn't even think we were at a wedding.

Then we had Easter last Sunday with a yummy brunch at my mom's. Jackson and Jordyn were really into the jzu jzu pets they got. I had never heard of them before. They are like the new Furby I guess but a gerble and smaller and they roll on the ground. Jordyn is becoming more a little girl. She is so big and can get into and on everything.

Lastly, we have been trying to get ready for baby. Just 2 more days until the ultrasound and we find out the gender. My gut says it is a boy because I always think of the baby as a boy and when I refer to the baby, I want to call it a "he." My mom and most of the people at work think girl. Chris's whole family thinks boy and Chelsey even bought a little boy outfit she was so sure. I was measuring 1 week ahead at my last appointment which I wasn't surprised. I feel like I am growing so quickly.

The highlight of this week was feeling the baby kick from the outside for the first time on Monday...15 times in a row! The baby only kicks between 8am-10am in the morning and very consistent about that. I think it might be a morning person.

We got our crib bedding and curtains and they are so cute. The crib is still in progress as you can see from the picture, so I don't have a picture of it all set up yet so here is a picture of the bedding and curtains off the web. I also made closet dividers to match the bedding to organize the baby clothes by size and started working on artwork for the wall. The frame will have a picture of baby in the center of it.

2010-03-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

The guys have been working hard on the crib project and yesterday they pinned up some of the pieces so we could see what the end of the crib will look like. It is going to be so pretty when they are done with it.

And some belly pics of what I look like now. I feel like I am growing so quick. I am completely out of regular clothes and all maternity now. Overall feeling pretty good minus some ligament pain. I took a few days off exercising and feeling so much better now. I must have overdone it.

I am now anxiously awaiting feeling the baby move. I have felt some weird sensations like flutters and rolling type feeling but not sure if that is the baby or not. The heart rate is still strong and fast 160-170ish bpm. Hopefully we find out the sex in 2 weeks. We are both dying to know.

Dad's Birthday

2010-03-07T20:46:00.000-08:00

Jordyn dancing with grandpa

Me and my dad

Me and Jackson

The cake looks so cool all lit up with candles...it was pretty funny when my dad blew out all 57 candles because there was quite a bit of smoke from it.

The cake...it was so yummy. A new cake out of the Hershey recipe book I got for Christmas

Dad thought we were just coming over today to help him with his TV and computer, but instead we surprised him for his birthday. His real birthday is on Tuesday March 9th. He was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the cake and visit from all of us. Jordyn was pretty cute too dancing with her grandpa.

2010-03-01T19:46:00.000-08:00

Here's the very last minute birthday cake I made for Chris. I had been feeling kind of crummy all week with bad stomach pain so I ended up throwing this together last minute on Saturday morning. It ended up being one of my better tasting cakes but I wasn't really happy with the look. I did his favorite poppyseed and all frosted and decorated in a cream cheese frosting. Here is the link to this most delicious cream cheese frosting. I will definitely use it again. http://www.easy-cake-ideas.com/cream-cheese-frosting-recipe.html.

We ended up going to Corvallis with Don and Barb and went to Dinner with Chelsey and Lauren to celebrate Chris's birthday. And after dinner, Chris, Chelsey and Lauren played in an indoor soccer game. Unfortunately, Chris got his birthday present very early so he didn't have anything from me to open.

2010-02-22T09:13:00.000-08:00

We went to one of Jackson's basketball games on Saturday. He played really well and had such an awesome shot that I didn't catch in time with the camera, but here is a little video of him. My camera really doesn't take sport shots well, so I can only get video or still photos. The skill level now as compared to 2 years ago is crazy and the kids actually pass to each other and work as a team. Jackson looks like he really enjoys it when he is on the court and he definitely tries hard to get the ball as you can see from the video. We're looking forward to watching more of his games.

Belly pics

2010-02-16T10:09:00.000-08:00

12 weeks

I had my first stranger at work ask me when I am due which threw me off guard because I thought I just looked fat. You can see in the pictures that I have just a little belly, but quite a bit different then my usual flat tummy. No weight gain yet but the baby is definitely growing. I have been feeling great and have more energy. Still running and doing whatever exercise I feel like doing.

A couple days ago, Katie lent us a fetal home doppler to listen to the baby's heart beat. It was neat. It took us about 10 mins, but we found it. It sounded like a little choo choo train and was beating at 162-174 bpm. It seems so much more real to hear the heart beat.

11 week Ultrasound

2010-02-09T09:52:00.000-08:00

Today we had our first prenatal appointment with my actual doctor. Normally you are supposed to get to hear the heartbeat, but our little one was playing hard to find, so my doctor ended up having to do an ultrasound instead where I could see the heart beating. The baby looks more like a baby now than a blob/line seen in the last ultrasound. It is amazing just how much has changed in 5 weeks. I am definitely noticing the changes now that few of my pants fit. Although when I got weighed at the doctor today I had not gained a pound surprisingly. And our due date got changed back to September 2, 2010 after my doctor looked at the 6 week ultrasound. Jackson or Grant may be sharing a birthday with their niece or nephew.

Our Visit to Greg and Stacy's

2010-02-01T09:11:00.000-08:00

We went to Reno this past weekend and had a great time visiting our friends Greg and Stacy. On Saturday, Stacy took us up to Lake Tahoe and we drove around the whole lake. It was beautiful as you can see in the pictures. We were trying to find a trail to go down to the water, but instead found a short trail off the side of the road with a nice waterfall and view of Emerald Bay which is where we took some of the pictures. That night we went out to a Basque Restaurant where we had an enormous amount of food. It is crazy. First there is bread, then soup, then salad, then beef stew...then you order your main entree...which for me was steak. Then came the main entree with pinto beans and a huge plate of fries, then there was ice cream to top it off. Everything was really good. Chris was so stuffed though, he just had to go for a walk. Then on Sunday, we went up to Virginia City, an old turn of the century mining town and went on a tour of one of the mines and walked the shops. It was a busy and fun weekend. Stacy is the sweetest host and I felt bad I had moments of just utter fatigue by the time Sunday afternoon came around.

Crib Project...practice pieces

2010-01-25T09:07:00.001-08:00

Don and Chris...inspecting their practice cuts...they weren't very happy with them.

One of the legs for the Sleigh Crib

This is the end of the crib

So Don and Chris have started working on making a Sleigh style baby crib. The plans are very difficult, so yesterday they practiced making some of the pieces before they buy the good wood. The curves to the Sleigh look were really hard for them to cut and turns out they need to get a different blade to be able to do it.

This is a picture of what the final product will be like except it will be dark cherry.

On a positive note, I have actually been feeling kind of normal again. I have even been able to go running a few days a week, clean my house again and help with cooking dinner without getting sick. I hope it stays this way and the nausea doesn't come back later.

First Ultrasound

2010-01-08T12:33:00.000-08:00

I had a little scare and worried there was something wrong with the pregnancy so I got an early ultrasound and everything turned out to be just fine. The ultrasound dated the baby as 6 weeks and 3 days which gives us a due date of August 31st, 2010. We saw the heart beat at 117 bpm. It seems even more real seeing the little heart even though in this picture it doesn't look like much. This week I have definitely started to feel more pregnant with nausea, heart burn and fatigue. I have been sipping on lots of ginger ale and snacking on saltines. Hopefully this passes in the coming weeks.

Christmas!

2009-12-25T23:15:00.000-08:00

Jackson and his new nutcracker for his growing collection

Uncle Chris and Jordyn with her new cell phone

Mom got a new computer

When we told our family that we are expecting

A mandolin from Grant...now I can make perfectly cut veggies

Jordyn in her new car

Jackson got DJ Hero

Jordyn with the nerf gun that is about as big as her

Katie and Jordyn

Don and Chris got knives

Barb...excited new grandmother to be..this might be an understatement...her reaction was pretty funny

Chris and Chelsey

It was definitely a Christmas to remember and of course the best present of all being the news that we are expecting. We had a great time spending Christmas Eve with Don, Barb, Chelsey and Grandma and then Christmas Day with my family. I got so many neat baking things including a bunch of extra silpats, a beater blade, new measuring spoons and cups, a silicone rolling pin and commercial grade icing gel colors. I think everyone knows now how much I love baking and as you can tell from my blog that I tend to blog about it a lot.

Because this gift was rather humorous...I had to put a video in. Here is Jordyn in her little mini cooper. Her face is so funny.

And here is a video of Jordyn dancing to DJ hero

The highlight of Jackson's Christmas was the 4 remote control helicopters he got. They were actually really hard to fly, but he got better with practice.

We're having a baby!

2009-12-25T22:59:00.000-08:00

We were blessed this week with the best Christmas present ever!!! We are expecting our 1st baby. To tell my family I made these cute little onesie cookies. It came as a big surprise considering we thought the fertility drugs I was on did not work and were being referred to see a specialist on January 4th. I was so happy to cancel that appointment. It truly is a wonderful Christmas gift. I can't wait for our first doctor's appointment and to find out our official due date...right now I am guessing around September 2nd, 2010.

Poor Chris

2009-12-18T07:45:00.000-08:00

Last night Chris got elbowed in the face at soccer and ended up with a broken nose, 2 broken walls of his left sinus and injury to his infraorbital nerve making the left side of his face below his eye and his left front upper teeth numb. Poor thing. He will have a consult with a plastic surgeon to determine if he needs surgery or not. It makes me so mad that some people have such bad sportsmanship and that the refs let someone like this play. He didn't even get a red card for this.

Gingerbread House 2009

2009-12-06T14:43:00.001-08:00

It's finally done! So I ended up doing the same house as last year but with a few nice additions. Santa peeping down the chimney, the sleigh and reindeer. I was pleased with how it turned out.
I have entered a few competitions online..and there is one that you can help vote for me. Here is the link:

http://yourviews.contracostatimes.com/mycapture/photos/Album.aspx?EventID=890061&CategoryID=26655

Update on the gingerbread contests...I won a $25 gift card to Amazon.com from the RecipeZaar contest. Woo hoo!!!! 1st gingerbread house contest winning. Maybe I will get lucky and win one of the other contests I entered.

Babysitting

2009-12-06T07:15:00.000-08:00

I got the pleasure of babysitting Jordyn on Friday night and she was so precious. And as you can see from the picture. She was into everything including Uncle Chris's Cocoa Pebbles which she dumped all over the floor. Good thing I think she is too cute so I wasn't upset. She also really liked the Christmas tree and kept wanting to put a vice grip on the glass ornaments. She is such a sweetie and so much fun to play with. It will be fun to watch her open her gifts on Christmas morning. She seemed to be quite interested in the presents under our tree and did attempt to tear open the paper on 2 of them.

Thanksgiving in Disneyland

2009-12-06T06:59:00.001-08:00

We went to Disneyland with Don, Barb and Chelsey for Thanksgiving and had a blast. It is so pretty all decorated for the holidays. I highly recommend going this time of year especially since it is not too hot. It was 80 deg 2 of the days we were there but got cold at night. We enjoyed it so much last year and this year that we plan on making a tradition of it.

Halloween

2009-11-01T07:29:00.001-08:00

Fierce Beaver Pumpkin

Me with our pumpkin

It was a good day for both the Beavers and the Ducks yesterday so fitting I made my team's pumpkin for halloween. I thought it turned out well and was actually not too difficult to do. I got the pattern from http://jasonprotheroblog.blogspot.com/2005/10/beavers-pumpkin-stencil-for-halloween.html. My neighbors did a UCLA pumpkin and now I wish I would have gotten a picture of our pumpkins together since OSU and UCLA played against each other yesterday.

Since we don't get any kids except for one neighbor girl, we went to Don and Barb's this year to watch the UOvs.USC game. That was such an awesome game. I love seeing USC lose huge. I guess USC had never lost by more than 11 points in the past 8 years that Pete Carroll has been the coach. So the ducks did awesome.

Cake Pops

2009-10-27T20:24:00.001-07:00

Again, terrible photography on my part...need to take a class. Any how, I made these cake pops pumpkin shaped that turned out alright. First time making them from www.bakerella.com. Oh course hers are way cuter. My candy melts would not get a as smooth as a consistency as I wanted, so next time, I am only using the product sold at the Decorette Shop. Also, I got the Wilton edible fine point pens and those didn't work so great so I would maybe use a different brand of pens for doing the face in the future. Tasty though. I still think the Oreo Truffles were better and will definitely make them again.

Football Oreo Truffles!

2009-10-23T20:29:00.001-07:00

My photography skills aren't great so the picture above doesn't really do them service. I made these cute little truffles for Jackson's football team end of season party. I will definitely make these again since they taste so delicious. I made one batch of mint oreo (my favorite) and one of regular oreo.

The recipe was taken from http://www.bakerella.com/super-bowl-funday/

I absolutely love www.bakerella.com and there is really great step by step instructions. I am dying to try making the cake pops that she is so famous for.

I hope Jackson and his team mates enjoy these fun little treats as much as I do.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

Jackson

Jackson and Jordyn

Me and Chris

Uncle Chris and Jordyn

Katie and Jordyn

Mom

Jordyn

Jackson

We went to the pumpkin patch yesterday with Mom and Jackson and Katie and Jordyn. The pictures were so cute I just had to share. Jackson of course picked out a giant one he could hardly pick up..hehe. It was fun watching Jordyn play with the pumpkins. Hopefully we get lucky this month and will have our own little pumpkin on the way. Once Jordyn realized she could just throw the little pumpkins that was kind of funny hence Jackson is holding the pumpkin far away from her.

Well I will have to come up with a neat design to carve this year. I was thinking maybe something related to OSU. Chris will be out of town the week of Halloween so that will give me something fun to do.

Cupcakes!

2009-09-10T09:03:00.000-07:00

A week had gone by without baking anything, so I just had to bake something on monday to share with work just because. These are chocolate fudge cake with chocolate italian meringue buttercream icing. They got rave reviews from my coworkers and one of them even asked if I could bake for her next party at her house...hehe. Very easy and very simple design, but delicious.

I am so excited with fall coming and planning of this year's gingerbread house. I haven't found a competition in town yet, but if I do it will be my first. I keep going back and forth whether I should do a building from Disneyland or repeat last year's house with extra's like Santa and reindeer on the roof (that will be a good challenge).

First OSU game of 2009!

2009-09-06T18:13:00.000-07:00

Elvis was there! It was kind of funny because people kept coming up to him and getting their picture taken with him.

We went to the first OSU game on Saturday vs. the PSU Vikings. OSU of course killed them it was 40 something to 7 final score. We had a great time and the weather held up well. It made me realize how much I miss that campus and town. It is so cute and quaint and the grounds so pretty. My dad played with the OSU Alumni Band and they sounded great.

belated post on Grant's visit home

2009-08-30T16:09:00.001-07:00

The boys are so cute. Jackson all fancy and Grant in his uniform.

This is a very belated post. I meant to post in July..oops! Grant came home from Norfolk, VA to visit July 1st-12th and it was the first time we had seen him since September of last year. It was awesome to him and every time we see him we of course forgot how tall he is. He is like a giant. Katie is tall and he towers over her.

On his last night, we went to a nice dinner to celebrate both Katie and Grant's birthdays since Grant would not be home for his birthday this year.

We all miss Grant a lot, but we are excited because he will now be an a air craft carrier that will soon be stationed in San Diego...just a couple hour plane flight away.

Jackson's 9th Birthday Party

2009-08-30T15:52:00.001-07:00

The kids scrambled to get the candy from the pinata

Jackson's friends

Jackson in his cool pinata hat

Jackson taking a swat at the pinata

Today was Jackson's birthday party and these are some of the pictures from the party. We had a good time and it was fun to meet some of Jackson's friends from school and the neighborhood. The pinata was a huge hit. I guess I forgot how much kids like pinatas. I will have to remember that. The cake was as good as I thought it would be. I made a mistake of taking it outside and it started to melt, so I had to rush it inside and put it into the fridge...oops. I guess I learned my cakes are not meant for outside.

Jackson's Birthday Cake

2009-08-29T18:20:00.001-07:00

My first frozon buttercream transfer (FBCT). I thought this came out cute. The picture isn't so great, but it looks much better in person. The birthday boy requested chocolate cake with chocolate icing..hehe. I hope he likes it. He just started playing football as shown in the previous post so hence the theme of the cake and I put his jersey number on it too.

Jackson's First Football Game

2009-08-29T18:16:00.001-07:00

Today was my little brother Jackson's 9th birthday and his first football game. It was so cute to watch him. I didn't realize what a big deal football is. It was just like going to high school games with the announcer and everything. He looks especially cute in his uniform I think. It will be fun to watch the rest of his games this season.

Visit to Stacy's in Reno

2009-08-25T09:11:00.001-07:00

A wild stallion...right off the side of the road!

Stacy's Backyard...look at that view!

The Chollar Mine Tour

Dinner at the Basque Restaurant

City of Stateline right at the Gondola

The Beach at Lake Tahoe

I visited by best friend, Stacy, at her new place in Minden, NV right near Tahoe and Reno. I had such a good time visiting with her. We went up to the beach at lake Tahoe, went to Stateline at the border of Nevada and California and walked the shops and got pedicures, ate a Basque Restaurant and then went to Virginia City, a old mining town that is like you have stepped back in time. I can't wait to visit her again.

Chelsey's Birthday

2009-08-16T19:38:00.001-07:00

Today was Chelsey's 24th Birthday. We went to Typhoon for dinner with Val, Lauren and Barb and then had cake at Barb's afterwards. Poor Chelsey was not feeling well. We hope she feels better soon :)

First Soccer Ball Cake

2009-08-16T07:29:00.001-07:00

This is my first soccer ball cake and thought it turned out well. It is for Chelsey's 24th Birthday today. I think she will like it. Inside is chocolate fudge cake filled with raspberry italian buttercream and cake is decorated with vanilla italian buttercream. The black icing was a new recipe taken from www.cakecentral.com. and it is called Delicious Dark Black Chocolate Buttercream Icing. Black is a very hard color to make, so I was happy the color came out well and it tasted good too.

I am excited for Jackson's birthday coming up in two weeks...I have a very special cake in store for him.

Barb's Birthday Cake!

2009-08-09T07:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I have made a cake and I finally got to make a belated birthday cake for Chris's Mom. I really am pleased with the design and how smooth I was able to get the icing with this one. The cake is a chocolate fudge, filled with raspberry italian meringue buttercream and then the outside is italian meringue buttercream flavored with khalua and creme de cocao liquors. I think it will complement the chocolate perfectly. I think it is funny that my hand writing looks better on cakes then it does on paper..hehe.

1st Wedding Anniversary!

2009-05-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

Dinner at the Salish Lodge..Look at that chocolate!

This is the view from our room

The Salish Lodge and Snoqualmie Falls

On a bike ride

Flowers Chris had in the room when we got there...just like our wedding flowers!

On a bike ride again

In Seattle on Saturday May 23rd

Chris and I celebrated our very first wedding anniversary on May 25th with a weekend up to the Salish Lodge at Snoqualmie Falls just 30 mins east of Seattle. It was beautiful weather and we had a great time on the trails right near the hotel with a 10mile hike one day and then about 20 or so mile bike ride the next day. The food was great...look at the chocolate creation.. and overall a very relaxing weekend. Chris had flowers like the ones from our weddding in the room when we got there, we had hot stone massages (which were wonderful), chocolate covered strawberries sent to our room and dinner at the nice restaurant at the hotel.

And on a side note, we went to downtown Seattle on our way up on Saturday and just happen to run into Jon Ransom and his wife Mel that I work with...it is such a small world. They were eating lunch at the same place as us...which is crazy because Seattle is such a big place and there were tons of people.

New Car!

2009-05-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

For the past 2 1/2 years we have been making it with a single car. This weekend we finally got our second car! We got an SC 430 (pictures below). We are really excited for the weather to warm up and be able to drive around with the top down. We have both really wanted this car for a long time. I (Chris) have wanted one ever since my dad had one back in 2002. It will be fun to drive it up to Seattle for our anniversary that is coming up.

Jordyn's 1st Birthday

2009-05-04T08:38:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Jordyn's 1st Birthday yesterday (her real b-day is May 5th). Little girls are so cute and sweet. We had a really good time watching her excitement as she openned her gifts and had some birthday cake. She is such a cutey. Jordyn is our favorite and only niece so she is sure to be spoiled by us for a while.

I made the cake for the party which I thought turned out cute. It was my very first two tiered cake. It is really such a fun hobby and I continue to learn each time. This time I learned I need to measure my dowels for the tiers better. But oh well, the cake tasted great.

Built-in project complete!

2009-04-20T07:57:00.001-07:00

The built-in cabinets are finally completed! (or almost, just a little carpet repair left). It is neat to see the transformation from the unpainted to painted with hardware. We are really happy with how they turned out and Chris and I can't stop starring at them. They look like they have always been there.

Mom's Birthday

2009-04-19T20:46:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated mom's birthday (which is really on April 21st) with Katie, Jackson and Jordyn. It was a really warm day today and as you can see Katie got a little sun. I made the cake which I thought turned out cute. It is becoming a fun hobby.

Built-in Installation

2009-03-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

Chris and Don installed the cabinets last night. They really look awesome even without the trim and paint. It is really going to look nice when complete. More pictures to come!

Built-in project update

2009-03-08T08:49:00.000-07:00

The built-in project is getting closer to installation and if we are lucky, next week. Yesterday we did tons of filling and sanding and making the shelves, drawers and doors look perfect for painting. Look at how perfect this joint looks. Super smooth.

Jordyn Crawling

2009-03-08T08:39:00.000-07:00

Jordyn started to crawl for the first time last night while at our house celebrating Dad's birthday. She starts off with a few steps and then goes back to an army crawl. Hard to believe that she is 10 months already and before we know it she will be walking.

Dad's Birthday

2009-03-08T08:31:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Dad's 56th birthday last night with Katie and Jordyn, Patty, Jackson and Neil and had a great time. Jordyn took her first few real crawls which we caught on video...to be posted soon. She loved the chocolate cake and was trying to grab it off Katie's plate.

Chris's 27th Birthday

2009-03-01T08:29:00.001-08:00

We went to El Gaucho for dinner to celebrate Chris's 27th birthday on Friday night with Don, Barb and Chelsey. The food and service were outstanding and we will definitely go back. We were so stuffed from the delicious food that we didn't have cake until the next morning. I just had to show a picture of the inside of it...it was amazing how well it cut. I am getting better with each cake I make.

Chris's Birthday Cake

2009-02-26T22:14:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is Chris's 27th birthday, so it was a good excuse for me to make a cake. It was my first time trying to do a chocolate bow which came out alright, but I think I will do better next time. It looks best from far away. Inside is Chris's favorite poppyseed cake and then I made three different layers of flavored italian meringue buttercreams: vanilla, lemon curd and raspberry. Yum! Can't wait to try this cake tomorrow. I hope Chris likes it.

Built-in Project update

2009-02-20T07:44:00.000-08:00

The built-in cabinets are really coming along. Look at the cool pull-out drawers. There are more drawers completed now, but just haven't gotten over to Don and Barb's to take a picture of it yet. Really is looking good and can't wait for it to be completed. The pull-outs are to put the electronic equipment on so the wiring will be easier.

Superbowl Sunday

2009-02-01T20:13:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of Jackson (my little brother) and Jordyn (our niece) while they were visiting our house this afternoon for the game. Gotta love the way she poses for the camera with her hand on her chin. She is just so cute!

Built-in project

2009-01-20T09:30:00.000-08:00

Chris and Don have been working hard on a built-in shelving unit for either side of our fireplace. It is really coming along and can't wait to see the final product. This is the cabinet for the right side of the fireplace and it will hold the electronics in the bottom cabinets. The drawer slots above have been made to perfectly fit a DVD or video game. It will definitely add a lot of much needed storage without taking up space in our family room. I will post more pics as the project progresses.

Gingerbread House

2009-01-09T21:24:00.000-08:00

Pics of this year's fabulous gingerbread house. What a shame I have to get rid of it soon. It was so much work and will be very difficult to throw away in the garbage. Chris and I both had fun making this creation and helping Jackson to make his little house too. I think the picture of the house at night looks so cool and then of course just looks ridiculously huge in the picture with Jackson.

Storm Trooper

2009-01-09T21:07:00.000-08:00

So, I was at my mom's place last weekend and this is a video of a neighbor kid that I thought was just hilarious and had to share. He had been walking around like that for about 30 minutes before I took this video. And gotta love the Buzz Lightyear he is carrying around as well.