The Llewellyn Family

Caribbean Cruise Part 2 (Roatan)

2012-01-26T13:41:00.001-08:00

The next stop was Roatan and I was most excited to go there. Wes served his mission in Honduras so I was excited to see even a small part of the country that Wes loves so much. It was so beautiful there and We decided to go find a beach and do some snorkeling. We hired a truck to take us all there and we had a guide with us named Caesar. He was an adorable, 10 year old native that stuck with us all day and told us about what we saw and pretty much just talked our ears off the whole day. He was so cute that no one minded and we all enjoyed his company.

We just hung out on the beach all day and enjoyed the beautiful water. We snorkeled all day and of course, Wes and Taylor were the last ones out of the water! The water was so clear and beautiful and we had a blast. That is definitely on the list to visit again in the future!

Caribbean Cruise Part 1 (Grand Cayman)

2012-01-21T08:39:00.001-08:00

Wes and I love to cruise and have both been on a bunch. When we heard that both of our families were going on another one we decided to get in on the action. We love the Caribbean but have never been there together so it seemed like the perfect time. We wanted to bring some friends with us so we would have a full cabin so we invited one of our favorite couple friends, Taylor and Mari. We have known them for a long time so it seemed fitting that they came with us. The cruise started in Ft. Lauderdale and went to Grand Cayman, Roatan, Belize City, and Cozumel. First stop, Grand Cayman!

The first day was a day at sea and so we enjoyed ourselves by sitting by the pool, swimming and eating like crazy. It was great to just relax before all the fun began. The second night on the ship was our first formal night so we got all dressed up and enjoyed some amazing food.

The next day we got to Grand Cayman which is one of my favorite places. Wes had never been there so I really wanted to take him to see the sting rays. I knew he would love it but before we went on our excursion we had a little bit of time to kill so we walked around and took some fun pictures.

After we got on our boat to see the sting rays it took about a half an hour to drive out to the middle of the ocean where this sand bar is. We got out and you can stand up to you waist. It is crazy that this exists and is a little weird standing up and walking around when you are really far away from the shore. When you step onto the sand you are immediately taken over by all the sting rays at your feet. They have no fear of people and will swim right up to you and usually through your legs. It is crazy and a little scary until you get your bearings. Wes LOVED it and couldn’t get enough of looking at all the animals. I really like it too and it was even better than the time I did it before cause I got to share it with him. Wes is s fish and loves to swim to he was in his element. We got to hold them and give them a kiss. It was truly spectacular!

After we got done with the sting rays we were taken to a spot to do some snorkeling and then we went to the beach. It is so beautiful there and the water is just so clear. Mari and I had to drag Wes and Taylor out of the water so we could go back to the ship in time to sail for Roatan. We had an amazing day in Grand Cayman and we were excited for more to come!

18 Months

2011-12-14T16:30:00.001-08:00

So Reid made it to the year and a half mark. I can’t believe that it is Christmas again and my little boy is getting so big. He is definitely not a baby anymore and is all boy. He loves to wrestle with his dad and his cousins. He is so active and all over the place which keeps me on my toes. He seems to be talking more and more and he pretty much says a new word everyday. He is great at trying to say all the words that I repeat to him. I know he will be talking in no time. He does have his own language that he will talk to me for hours in.

His favorite things right now are coloring, cars, motorcycles, wrestling, helping mom, the park, and Gymboree. He loves to be active and must be doing something at all times. He is getting much more independent and will make new friends wherever we go and I don’t have to be right next to him anymore. He loves to help and has to carry his own grocery bags in the house. He doesn’t like me to carry him but has to walk on his own. I don’t even take the stroller very many places anymore because he just wants to walk like a big boy. He is my snuggle baby and loves to snuggle, especially when he is tired. He is great at giving kisses and hugs and I will often find myself being attacked while doing dishes or cleaning the house with a big hug and kiss. I love him more and more everyday (which seems crazy!). Best year and a half ever!

He loves it when I take pictures and has to say cheese which makes for some awkward faces but I love it!

Style

2011-11-11T11:05:00.001-08:00

So Reid is already developing his personal style. He loves, LOVES to put socks on his hands and sometimes will refuse to leave the house without them on. The other day was one of those days and I was planning on a walk over to Whole Foods. I tried all kinds of things to get him to take them off but with no success. (You would think gloves would be a good compromise, but they are no good.) I finally gave in and then he insisted he have me tie a string around his head which he also refused to take off. (For someone who doesn’t talk yet, he gets his point across!)

My little boy just has his own style and knows what he wants. I guess I should just embrace everything and let him be himself. He did make a few people laugh on our walk and so I guess it’s not too bad!

Halloween

2011-11-05T11:46:00.001-07:00

We had a great Halloween this year. Reid understood what was going on a lot more and had a blast. We had two parties and he got to perfect his trick or treating skills before the big day. My sister had a fireman’s costume so we thought that we be perfect for Reid. I decided to dress up as fire to go along. Wes had to work for most of the parties so he was lame and didn’t dress up. Reid was so cute and got lots of candy which I, of course, ate.

Reid had a blast with his cousins. He followed them around and figured out what to do. On the actual day we got to go trick or treating with everyone so Reid was even more thrilled to have all all 6 of his cousins around. It was a blast.

Brian came home for one of the parties so it was so fun to have him there and the kids loved it.

Wes decided to forgo the pumpkin carving and go with just coloring the pumpkin. I think that was a good choice and Reid got to participate a lot more than he would have if we carved it.

Cutest Fireman ever!

Gogur

2011-10-24T16:45:00.001-07:00

So Reid’s favorite food lately in yogurt. He loves it and is constantly asking for it. He’ll go to the fridge and bang on the door yelling “Gogur, Gogur, Gogur” over and over again while also doing the sign for please. The kid will eat up to 4 or 5 yogurts a day if I let him.

He has discovered that he can do it all by himself which is a little messy but fun. After a 20 minute tantrum over him wanting to eat the yogurt by himself walking around the house instead of in his chair this is what we get. He finally gave in and sat in his high chair but he had to be extra goofy to make up for him losing.

Birthday Play Mats

2011-10-05T18:17:00.001-07:00

So while I was perusing the internet one day I stumbled on some adorable play mats. I marveled at how intricate and well made they were. I wished that I could make something like that but I don’t sew. As I read a little bit I noticed that she did it all with a glue gun. I was intrigued but put it out of my mind for a while. Later, as I was thinking of what to get my niece and nephew for their birthdays these popped back in my mind. I thought that I would be bold and just do it. I ended up making one for my nephew, Roy, who turned 3. It was the first on that I made and I was pretty impressed with how it turned out so I decided to make two more for Bridget and Ethan who recently turned 4.

They turned out so good and I was so excited for them to open them. I think they really like them and I hope that they get lots of play value out of them. I felt so creative and in touch with my womanhood but I think I’m good for a while. At least until Christmas when I make one for Reid.

Lots of cuddles

2011-09-20T10:53:00.001-07:00

Reid loves, LOVES to cuddle and I was finally able to snap a picture because usually he is on my lap but Wes wasn’t really feeling good so Reid got to snuggle up to him and watch some cartoons before bed time. I swear I have the most lovey boy ever. He is constantly climbing on my lap and giving me tons of kisses without me even asking now. It is so cute and makes my day every time he does it.

My heart gives a little squeeze every time I see this picture.

Crazy Faces

2011-09-14T19:34:00.001-07:00

Just thought I would share some of the crazy faces that he gives me when I ask him to smile for the camera. I love them all!

Beach Days

2011-09-02T19:33:00.001-07:00

As everyone, I’m sure, already knows is that we love Carpinteria Beach. We go all year long and we recently went up and camped a few days two weeks in a row. Reid is loving it more and more and he especially loves to hang out with his cousins. We brought his walker the first time that you can ride as well so he would feel like he was riding a bike like everyone else. Well, the next time we went my mom didn’t think that was good enough so she bought him his own bike. He was so excited and pretty much stayed on it the whole time. He got really good at going backwards and really fast. He still hasn’t master going forwards but I’m sure that will come soon. Wes also go to come up one of the times so the green, hooded person in the pictures is Wes. It was a little cold.

13, 14, 15 Month Update

2011-08-24T15:57:00.001-07:00

So I have been so bad at blogging lately and realized that almost three months have gone by without an update on Reid. He is changing so much that I really need to stay on top of things to document everything that he is doing. The past few months have gone by so fast and we have done so much that it’s hard to remember everything. I can’t believe that he will be 15 months in about a week and a half. Here are some of the things that he as been doing.

He is getting so good with his walking and even though he isn’t quite there he can make it across the room without any trouble. He just looks like a little drunken baby when he does walk so it should be in the next few weeks that he really gets it down. He loves to walk and takes every opportunity to practice. It takes us about 200 times longer to do everything because he has to hold your hand and walk to wherever we go until he is huffing and puffing and pink cheeked and then he will let me pick him up.
He is getting more and more independent everyday. He had to always have an eye on me and most of the time he had to be physically touching me in whatever I was doing. He now goes throughout our house and does what he wants without needing me there by his side which is really nice cause I now get a lot more stuff done.
He is still an amazing sleeper and sleeps 12 to 13 hours at night and is still taking two 2 hour naps which I love and hopefully he will stay on that schedule until he goes to college!
He is talking more and more and is doing so good on his signing. He can say please, more, all done, and dog in sign language and can put two signs together like “more, please”. He can of course say mama and dada, but now he can kind of say shoes, this, done, and a few others that I can’t think of now.
He LOVES to eat! I swear I spend all day in the kitchen getting him snacks and then meals. If he is awake he is usually eating something.
He is obsessed with motorcycles and bicycles. If there is a picture of one he will want to stare at it forever and Wes and him love to watch motorcycle videos on the internet. He loves to go on rides with Dad and Grandma just bought him is own bike that he loves and is hard to get him off of it. Wes is already trying to talk me into letting him get his own dirt bike. Oh, dear!
He also loves cars and with play with his cars all over the house making the car noises. So cute!

All in all he is doing great and such a happy little boy. We go in for his 15 month check up in a few weeks and I’ll post how big he is getting.

Vroom Vroom

2011-07-28T13:17:00.001-07:00

Reid’s new favorite thing is riding on the motorcycle with Wes. Whenever he goes into the garage either at our house or Wes’ parents house he goes nuts, squealing in delight. He thinks that when he goes in there he is going to be able to get a ride. It is so funny to watch him on it and Wes is so great with him. I never get too nervous cause Wes is always super careful and never goes above 2nd gear. Reid just leans back and enjoys the ride. We did, however, get him his own helmet so he doesn’t have to wear my snowboarding helmet anymore. He is so cute and always crawls over and get’s his helmet before going for a ride. He is so safe and responsible already!!

Reid is 1!!!!

2011-06-14T12:14:00.001-07:00

How is it possible that my little boy is one already?! I was seriously in denial that this day would actually happen. It really does seem like yesterday when we were on our way to the hospital and the next thing we know we are meeting our son. He is perfect in every way from his orange hair to his giant cheesy smile. He melts our hearts in every way possible and it has been a joy to watch him grow this past year. He has transformed my life completely and I am so glad that I could be his mom. I wouldn’t change one thing about the past year, just that maybe it would have gone a little slower. Well, enough reminiscing and on to the celebration!

I didn’t want to do anything too big for his first birthday so we decided to have just a family party. It was hard to coordinate schedules since so much seems to be happening in the month of June but everyone seemed to be free on his exact birthday so even though it was a Tuesday it worked out perfectly. We invited both sides over to my in-laws house to have pizza and cake. When I wanted just a family party I failed to realize just how many people that would be! Reid has 6 cousins, 4 and under, plus all the aunts, uncles and grandparents, we were a full house. I’m glad that we didn’t end up inviting other friends or it would have been a zoo! The only bummer part of the day was that Reid was sick. He had a 101.3 degree fever that day and wasn’t at his best. He was feeling a little better later on but if he looks grumpy in the pictures that is why. I think that he still had a good time and loved the cupcakes that I made for him. Since he never had any kind of cake before he was in heaven. I made him confetti yellow cupcakes with marshmallow frosting. They were delicious! For the adults I made a cookies and cream cake and that went over well also. We had lots of pizza and LOTS of presents. It ended up to be a great day and I am so excited for the next year and all the fun we will be having as he continues to grow!

The next day we had Reid’s 12 month check-up and so here are his stats: weight- 21 lbs (since he was so sick the three days before he lost a bit of weight so he was in like the 25th percentile. The doctor said not to be too concerned and that he would put that back on super fast.) Length – 30 in. (He has been consistent on this measurement and was in the 59th percentile.) Head – 18 3/4 in. (He was in like the 80 something percentile. Can’t remember the exact number).

The doctor was pleased with his growth and development. He isn’t really interested in walking yet and hasn’t mastered standing or anything. The doctor said not to worry and that he would do it on his own time. I’m really not concerned and I don’t know what I’m going to do when he starts walking cause he is already a handful with crawling! He does love to wave and give lots of kisses. If you ask him for a kiss, chances are you will get a wet open mouth kiss. He also loves to help mom with whatever it is I do. His favorite is when I clean out the dishwasher. He loves to pull himself up and pull everything he can out that he can reach. Needless to say I have to hurry up and put away all the knives and stuff before he can get a hold of them!

He loves to talk and is constantly talking in his own language around the house. He has so much to say and I swear every now and then I hear a real word pop out but I think it’s just my imagination. Wes is still his favorite person of all and if he is in the room no one else seems to matter including me! I know they are going to have so much fun together when I leave for Europe and it settles my mind a little bit just knowing that.

Reid loves to eat and pretty much eats everything I give him which is really nice. Some days are better than others but for the most part he is pretty good. He also loves to sleep and will let you know when he is ready to lay down. I am probably forgetting a lot but all in all he is just so great and we love him so much!

The End of an Era

2011-06-14T10:47:00.001-07:00

So I know this is weird but I just had to do a post on breastfeeding. My initial goal was to do it for 6 months but since it was going so well I decided to keep on going for the whole year. During the first six months it was hard because I was the only one feeding him and it became a little daunting. I had to be within an arms reach of him at all times or use the cow milker (aka pump) to get enough food for him to do a few errands. But by the time he reached 6 months he was so good at it and I really couldn’t change even if I wanted to because he then refused to take a bottle. He started eating solid foods which meant that I had to do it less and less. Over the next six months it really became enjoyable as it was my one on one time with him to snuggle.

He just recently stopped just a few days before he turned a year. I was surprised at how sad I was that I was no longer going to have that time with him. There is definitely a bond there when you have all their attention and they are just so happy to be snuggled up so close. By the end it was hard to get him to sit still even for a few minutes so I knew that it was time to move on. I’m going to miss my little baby but I’m glad that I stuck with it and I had that special time with him. It really was worth it.

Peru Part 3

2011-06-04T14:23:00.001-07:00

The next part of the trip was really traveling to Machu Picchu. It about an hour bus ride plus an hour and a half taxi ride and then a two hour train ride. On the way there we decided to stop along the way and see the sites. It was really nice because it broke the trip up and we got to see some really fun things. After the bus ride we ended up in a town called Chinchero. It was a cute little town but they had an amazing market that they put on every Sunday. We just happened to be there on a Sunday so it worked out perfectly. There were so many vendors and it was cool to see all the handmade items. I’m not a big souvenir person so I mostly enjoyed just looking. I did however love all the baby carriers that they had there and really wanted someone to put Reid in one. We found a cute lady and she agreed to show me how to wrap him up. After she was so nice we bought one from her. It is beautiful and had become our new park blanket.

Reid didn’t really know what was going on but he wasn’t too thrilled. I love his little scowl though and he looks like a real Peruvian baby just way WAY whiter!

After going to the market we decided to stop for lunch so we found a great spot of grass and whipped together some food. Reid fell in love with the bananas there and couldn’t get enough. They are smaller than the bananas that we have here and I’m told that they are much sweeter. (I hate bananas so I didn’t try any) They call them apple bananas and we bought them by the bushel for Reid to eat along the way.

After lunch Reid was exhausted to we broke out his tent and set it up right at the ruins in Chinchero. Seriously, he was the best baby in the world. Just napping everywhere and anywhere. I have to say it again, Love the Peapod!

After doing her exploring my mother-in-law, Donna came and relieved me so I could go look around. It is just fun to see the different locations of everything and it is just beautiful everywhere we went.

After Reid woke up we grabbed a taxi and headed off the the next location. Reid loved not being in a car seat and getting to sit with Mom or Dad whenever we drove anywhere. Next stop on the list was Ollantaytambo. It was the city right where we picked up the train to Aguas Calientes which is where Machu Picchu is.

The coolest thing about Ollantaytambo was the running water. They had the coolest fountains throughout the ruins that brought fresh water everywhere. All the ruins that we saw had these but this site had the most ornate ones with baths and fountains. Pretty spectacular!

Reid was such a hit here and we got so many requests to take pictures of him. I think people were more interested in him than the actual ruins!

We had a great but very long day here and it was even longer when we got on the train. It was pretty late by that point but Reid was great and fell asleep as soon as the train started up. I just couldn’t wait to see Machu Picchu and I knew that nothing would compare to what was in store!

Peru Part 2

2011-06-02T14:07:00.001-07:00

We were so happy to get to Cusco after our time in Lima. I was thrilled to get there and see all the culture that still exists today. The only downside that I found was the altitude. I got so sick when we got there and I didn’t think that I would ever recover. It was a long day anyway with all the flying and the 5 hour delay so I think it was a culmination of both that just sent me over the edge. I did get to see some really fun things before it completely set in. The Incan woman were so cool and I thought it was amazing that they still dress the way that they do. They all wear there hair in either one or two braids with a hat on top. They also all were skirts with a sweater. Their shoes are all made out of tires and they were sandals. Just in town they were waking around with their llamas. It was really a site to see.

After we walked around for a little bit we went to a museum/church. When the Spanish came and conquered Peru they built a lot of their own buildings on top of the Incan architecture that already existed. In a lot of churches there is a mixture of Incan and Catholic styles that are melded together. It is nice to see the Incan walls that still exist because they are simply breathtaking. This is where the sickness overtook me so I didn’t get to see as much as everyone else because I had my head between my knees the whole time. They did have a cure and we went and got it as soon as we left here. I was able to feel so much better and didn’t get sick the rest of the time there.

The next day we got up nice and early to go to go see some ruins. We took a bus to the sacred valley and there we went up to Pisaq. It was such a beautiful day and the valley was amazing. Since these were really the first set of ruins that we saw I was so excited to take it all in. I couldn’t believe the workmanship on everything and it baffled me how they got all the stones in place. They even had running water!

We took a taxi up to the ruins but decided to walk down to see all the sites. It was a great hike and we saw some beautiful things on the way down. I was definitely happy that we walked down instead of up though!

The only souvenir that I had my heart set on before coming was a hat for Reid. I was thrilled when we found one in a little market after we made it down from the ruins. He was so cute in it and definitely a show stopper.

Reid fell asleep on the way back but we decided to get off and see some of the ruins along the way. As I was walking to them I found myself in the middle of some llamas. I was a little intimidated but Wes assured me that they wouldn’t attack or anything.

Reid was such a good boy and just slept whenever he could. He didn’t fuss too much and it just made the trip so enjoyable.

The next stop of the day was to Sacsayhuaman. They were among my favorites of the trip. They had slides there that Wes just had to take Reid on. I was excited to see Cuscotopia just like in the “Emperors New Groove.”

I couldn’t believe that they actually moved these stones and then fit them perfectly to other ones. It is crazy!

It was such a fun day and jammed pack with so many fun things to see.

Peru Part 1

2011-05-26T18:50:00.001-07:00

We had been looking forward to our trip to Peru for so long that it didn’t seem real when the time actually came to leave. We were so excited and nervous at the same time because we were bringing Reid with us and didn’t really know how he was going to react to all the traveling. We left on Wednesday and took the red eye which I was happy about because I hoped that Reid would sleep the whole time. I got a little worried when we were at the airport because he was having a bit of a hard time falling asleep which is when we broke out the eye mask. He calmed right down and while he didn’t fall asleep he was content just laying there and relaxing until we got on the plane.

Apparently on international flights they have bassinets for babies that hook into the wall and since this was my first international flight I didn’t know this. I checked the baggage requirements the day before we left and saw that they offer this. We were on the phone so fast and managed to reserve one. This totally saved our lives and I would recommend this to anyone traveling internationally with an infant. He fell asleep before take off and then we had to wake him up when we landed in Lima. It was so amazing and he got a good night sleep even though we were traveling.

We got to Lima the next day and didn’t waste any time. We got out and went sightseeing as soon as we got settled in our hotel. We were only in Lima for the day and so we had a lot to fit in while we were there. We started out at a beautiful church and took a tour of it. We couldn’t take any pictures inside but it was amazing. There were the coolest catacombs and lots of beautiful artwork.

After taking a tour of the church we braved the insane traffic and headed to one of the malls there. It was a beautiful mall and we walked around and took in everything around us. We were all getting really tired by this point having traveled all night so we decided to just take it easy. We came to Peru with Wes’ parents and his brother so it was great to have other people around enjoying everything with us.

The next day we had to get up super early to make our flight to Cusco but when we got to the airport we realized that our flight was delayed 5 hours. I was so tired by this point and knew that Reid was going to melt down if he didn’t take a nap so I pulled out his bed and he was able to take a nap in the airport. I have never been so happy of any purchase before than I was of his peapod. Best money spent EVER!

We finally were able to make it on the plane and were off to Cusco to really start our trip.

Reid is 11 Months

2011-05-11T14:43:00.001-07:00

I can’t believe that in only a few weeks my little boy Its going to be one! This year has gone by so fast but I am determined to enjoy this last month before his birthday. He has changed so much this past month and is turning into a little boy before my eyes. He is less and less my little baby and more his own person ready to explore everything around him. He is even losing his chunk and thinning out.

He still loves to get into everything and gets into things even more. He thinks he is hilarious and is always trying to make us laugh. He gets the goofiest smile on his face when he succeeds. It amazes me how aware his is about everything that is going on around him and wants to be included. He has discovered that he can wave and now loves to wave at everyone that walks by. When we were in Peru he was constantly waving at at all the people. He is becoming more and more social and just flourishes when he is surrounded by those he loves. He still loves to be outside and we try to go to the park everyday especially since it is spring now and it is so beautiful outside.

He loves to crawl and is very happy that he can get around. He doesn’t seem too interested in walking but I know that he will be ready when the time is right just like crawling. He does however, love to pull himself up on anything and everything. He hasn’t master standing on his own but it amazes me what he can pull up on to stand. He has six teeth now and uses them to his full advantage. He eats pretty much everything except dairy and wheat but anything else is fair game and he’ll find a way to chow down on it. Wes is still his absolute favorite and I just love to see them together. They are two peas in a pod and it is just so sweet. He is the best little boy and I just love him so much!

Easter

2011-05-11T14:16:00.001-07:00

We had a great Easter this year because of our own little Easter Bunny. He was really sick that weekend with a stomach bug so he wasn’t as happy as he normally is. We had to stay home from church but enjoyed the relaxing day at home. We went over to Wes’ parents house and then to my parent’s house in the evening so we still had lots of Easter festivities.

The Easter bunny brought Reid some toy keys and an Easter duck. He was also good to Wes and I and we got to eat all the candy that Reid couldn’t! We had an egg hunt at Wes’ parents house which was fun and Reid found his one egg and then was done. He just enjoyed watching his cousins fight each other for the rest. After that we went to my parents and enjoyed a dinner of crab. It is my absolute favorite and we were also celebrating my birthday with them so it was an Easter party and my birthday party all rolled into one. It was a great weekend but I do wish that Reid had felt better. I guess we have lots more years to get it right!

Happy Birthday to…..ME!

2011-05-10T09:57:00.001-07:00

This past month I was able to celebrate my 27th birthday. It was everything that I could have hoped for and so much more. My birthday landed on a Friday but Wes ended up having to work. My friends and family decided it would be the perfect time for them to take me out so we all went out to dinner. My wonderful mother-in-law watched Reid so I could have some fun. We went to my favorite restaurant, Outback, which I haven’t been able to go to in a while since we’ve had Reid. It was so fun just hanging with the girls and it was a much needed escape.

When Wes had his next days off we went out together to lunch at BJ’s, saw a movie and then went out to dinner. My amazing sister, Jessica, happily took Reid so we could enjoy the whole day together. We had such a great time. It was a great birthday weekend with lots of friends and family not to mention all the great stuff I got!

The best birthday present of all! Spending time with my little boy!

Fun with Cousins

2011-05-10T09:47:00.001-07:00

I love that my sister lives only a few minutes from us and we try to get together as much as possible whether it’s just a fun day at her house, the gym, the park or anything else we can think of to do. Her twins, Bridget and Ethan, are in love with Reid and I think that Reid is even more in love with them. He gets so excited when he sees them which makes me want to be around them even that much more. They are such great kids and I can’t wait for when Reid is able to play more and is running after them.

Tried taking a picture of Bridget but she wouldn’t take the juice box out of her mouth

Always happy to be outside

Ethan’s monster face

We told them to make some silly faces

Snip Snip

2011-04-23T18:02:00.001-07:00

Reid’s hair was starting to get a little long around the ears and I was constantly having to tuck it behind them so I asked my wonderful, talented sister, Jessica, to give Reid his first hair cut. All she did was trim it a little around his ears because the back was still the perfect length. It proved a little bit tricky because he wanted to see what was happening and did not want to sit still for very long. Since Jessica is a professional she figured things out and had him sit on her lap. If I was doing it he would probably be missing an ear so I was very grateful that she agreed. After, he looked so handsome and now I don’t have to keep messing with it to get it to stay put. Thanks Auntie Jessica!!!

The Neosporin worked for a little bit as a distraction

Then we had to move on to the hair clips which got him through to the end.

Fun with Friends

2011-04-21T15:04:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we had some friends come to visit us and we had a blast! My good friends Kristine and Meghan came up to have a play date with their adorable kids. Nathan is only a couple weeks younger than Reid and Makenzie is about 6 months. We started out in the park and the kids were loving it and fascinated with each other and all the new toys. Once it started to rain on us we ran back to my house and let the kids play some more. It was great to get together with some other moms and it was fun to see the kids play together. Can’t wait for more fun!

Getting into Mischief

2011-04-20T17:30:00.000-07:00

Reid is now all about the mischief and gets into anything and everything he can. He loves the toy basket that we have in the living room and thinks it's even better when he tips it over so he can get all the toys out. When he does, he is so proud of himself and has to show me his accomplishments. Another favorite of his is magazines. He LOVES magazines and we have a magazine basket where I keep all of them and he loves to get into them and pull them all out. I moved the basket to a spot where I thought that he wouldn't really find them since he never goes over there but he did. He was determined to find them and he did. It is really funny and he is just so proud of himself when he gets into things. He is so determined and he won't stop until he's got what he wants. He is definitely keeping me on my toes!

Eat More Sand

2011-04-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

Last week we were able to go up to Carpinteria for a few days and we had a blast. The first attempt didn't go so well and we ended up leaving in the middle of the night. Reid woke up and refused to go back to sleep so a very frustrated mom threw him in the car and drove home. Thankfully it's only about an hour away so it wasn't really that big of a deal. After a few days to recover we tried again. This time Wes could come up with us and the second time went flawless. It was much warmer and the sun was out so we could actually go to the beach. Reid loved Loved LOVED the sand and couldn't get enough. He was so fast that it was hard to keep him from eating the sand but I guess it's not going to kill him so big deal if he eats a little, right?!

He couldn't get enough and then Wes brought him down to the water. My little water baby was in heaven and even though it was cold he didn't care in the least. He sat down by the water until Mom had to make the call that it was too cold and his limbs might fall off. He had so much fun especially having his dad's full attention. They are just two peas in a pod and when Wes is around Reid is just stuck to him like glue. It is really sweet to see and it actually gave me a break for a while! There will be lots more fun trips to Carp in the future and way more camping trips I am sure of it. We really had a blast.

Reid is 10 Months

2011-04-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that my baby is in the double digits already, well in months that is! This month has been full of big milestones. Reid decided that he was ready to crawl so one day he just did it. I thought that he would start by scooting more or maybe army crawling but he decided that he was too good for that stuff. He is now crawling all over the house and I don't know why on earth I wanted him to learn to crawl. He is now getting into everything and I can't go to the bathroom without him getting into some sort of mischief. It is a lot of fun to see him explore his world more and he just loves that he can get around by himself now. Another good thing is that he wears himself out more now that he is mobile. He is taking great naps and that makes me one happy mom!

Some other things that he is doing is that he says Mama and Dada all the time and he is actually talking about Wes and I. It is so cute to hear him say them and I can't wait for him to start saying more words. His love for food is just continuing to grow. He eats so much that I now have to make him his own dish of food for dinner because he was eating too much of mine! He now has four teeth with two more coming in on top. He is such a ham now. He not only has his father's looks but his personality as well. He thinks his carseat is his stage and loves to put on a show. We have a mirror so we can see him when we drive and he knows it. He loves to act super goofy just to make us laugh. He also loves the camera and is always ready to put on a smile when I pull it out. It is just too funny and I can't believe that he knows what is going on. It is amazing to see him grow and develop and I am so proud that he is doing so well. He makes my day so fun and he is just so full of life and energy. I just love him to pieces!

Hanging with Dad

2011-03-31T09:19:00.000-07:00

Reid's favorite person is his dad and he loves to spend time with him even if it's just sitting on the couch and watching Dad play with the computer. It is so sweet to see them together because they both just love each other so much. The other day Reid was being kind of fussy because he's cutting another tooth so Wes just grabbed him and started watching some music videos. Reid immediately settled down and snuggled into his arm. He was so happy and content that he ended up falling asleep. I was so jealous because he does not do this with me!! When he gets tired he just gets fussy around me so it was extra cute to see him asleep in his dad's arms. Just one of those great moments!

When I took the picture it woke him up and he was not too happy

Reid is 9 Months

2011-03-07T17:35:00.000-08:00

Today my little monkey is 9 months! I can't believe that we are only 3 months away from him turning 1. It doesn't seem like enough time has passed for this to be happening! I guess I am in denial about my little boy growing up so fast. This past month has been really fun and he has grown so much. He is all over the place now with his rolling and some scooting. He hasn't mastered the crawling yet and would really like to be able to but he manages to get around to where he wants to be. I am still getting used to having a mobile baby and I realize how nice it was when he stayed in one place and I didn't have to worry about him getting into mischief.

He has been able to pull himself up to standing while holding onto something and he can go from the crawling position to sitting. He rocks back and forth on his knees and can scoot backwards. He has mastered putting things in and taking them out. He loves doing this over and over again and is so proud of himself every time he does it.

I swear he is a genius in the eating department. He LOVES to eat and it seems like he is eating all the time. He has 3 teeth now and uses them as best he can. He can pick up cereal like his puffs or Kix with his thumb and forefinger with complete ease and can bite them in half. It is so funny to seem him eat them because he bites everything in half and then shows the other half to you. He has also discovered feeding other people and thinks it's just the best. He could sit there forever and feed me his puffs which are quite good so I don't mind. I started making his baby food this month because he was eating so much and we couldn't keep up with him. He loves the homemade stuff and now I think he's spoiled. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be so I guess I'll keep it up. He is eating more real food so I probably won't have to do it very much longer. He loves any cooked veggies that I give him and can eat rice, and meats with ease.

Today we went in to his 9 month check up and were pleased to see that he was growing quite well. He weighed in at 20 lbs, and 28 1/2 in long. He is in the 40-45th percentile and perfectly healthy. The doctor was very happy with his growth and development. I truly can't believe how big my boy is getting and he is so fun. He loves to give kisses and is becoming such a ham. He loves people and the more people that are paying attention to him the better. Can't wait for more fun to come!

Mammoth

2011-03-04T19:53:00.000-08:00

At the end of January we got to go to Mammoth to go snowboarding to celebrate my brother's 18th birthday. He said that all he wanted to do was go snowboarding and being the loving sister that I am I totally invited myself and the rest of my family! My dad was able to get a condo to fit all of us and it was set. Wes just happened to have the days off so he was able to come as well. I wasn't able to go last year since I was pregnant so I was extra excited.

Wes had only been a couple of times before this trip so he was looking forward to being able to practice more. My parents got him a lesson and he picked it up so quickly. I was so shocked how good he was doing and was cruising down the hill in no time. My mom was nice enough to watch Reid in the morning for us every day that so that Wes and I could go together for half the day. Then in the afternoon one of us would go back and take care of the little man.

Reid did amazing and even though the condo was pretty small there was a walk-in closet so he got his own room! It was just big enough to fit his pack-in-play in so we were all happy that we didn't have to share a room. He loved the snow and looking at everything. I took him out on a couple of walks and he was so cute. He kept his gloves and his hat on the whole time and enjoyed the scenery. He made the whole trip so enjoyable because he was such a good boy. I can't wait until he is big enough to learn himself!

Our friends Vera and her son Dylan came up for a couple of days to ski with us. It is always fun to have them around.

My goofy helmet

He was amazing!

Reid is 8 Months

2011-02-22T16:04:00.000-08:00

So I'm super late in getting the post up because he is practically 9 months already but I've been busy! It seems like this month has just flown by and with the new year it seems like we have just been bombarded with everything happening at once. Reid sprouted his first two teeth which I was super happy when they decided to make their debut because he started sleeping through the night again. He was up like every 3 hours when he was cutting them and it was beginning to get a little old. He loves his new chompers and tries them out on anything he can get a hold of including mommy. He has gotten a little better though but we are still working on that one. He isn't really all that interested in crawling yet. He just loves to sit quietly and play with his toys. I do make him practice everyday and he gets very angry at me. Although he doesn't really have any interest in becoming mobile he is however very interested in food. He definitely gets that from his dad! He loves to eat and since we buy the organic baby food it is getting quite pricey. He loves all his veggies and especially loves his fruit. Soon he is going to be eating all his food and then going to move on to mine but I guess that is what you get when you have a boy!

Reid is 7 months

2011-01-07T20:16:00.000-08:00

Today my baby is 7 months! I can't how big he is getting and he seems to do something new everyday. He did finally roll over from back to tummy just yesterday so we can count it as he rolled over at 6 months. I was so happy and so relieved that he did it that I started to cry. The doctor kept reassuring me that there was nothing to worry about and that every baby does things on their own time but I am now thrilled that we can check that milestone off. He also now sits up with no trouble at all and I can leave him to go do something and I don't have to worry that he might fall over. He loves to just sit there and play with his toys. I don't know if I am looking forward to when he becomes mobile because he plays so nicely in one place right now. I don't have to worry about him getting into anything but I guess it has to happen sometime!

If it is at all possible he just keeps getting happier. He has been sick a lot the past month and has gotten his first colds. He was so good during them and tried so hard but it is hard to sleep when you can't breathe very well. He had a lot of trouble sleeping due to his colds and I think he was going through a bit of a growth spurt so it was kind of a hard time. He was waking up about 1 to 4 times a night. He was always really good and fell right back to sleep after he ate or we would put him in his swing so he could breathe better. He is starting to get over them now but just has a bit of a runny nose. Even so he is constantly in good spirits and loves to be around people. He loves to look at everyone, especially little kids. He loves to watch his cousins run around and especially gets a kick out of when they pay attention to him. We just can't wait to see what he will do next and we are excited for more to come!

he loves mirrors and is always trying to kiss himself

Christmas Day Part 2

2011-01-06T20:42:00.000-08:00

For the second part of our wonderful Christmas Day was spent at my parents house. We got there around mid morning and had another great morning of family and lots of presents. Reid was so tired by this point that he was begging to take a nap so during most of this time he was sleeping but he woke up a the end just in time to open his presents and play with his cousins. My mom made a great breakfast and we stuffed our faces. It had already been such a fun day but more was yet to come! My Aunt Lori and all her family was able to come for Christmas dinner. We got to see and spend time with everyone which was a blast. We played a really fun game with dice and lots of candy! My mom is such an amazing cook and made such a yummy dinner. We were stuffed to the brim with food, candy and all kinds of desserts. It was such a wonderful Christmas and made even better with our little Reid!

My wonderful Dad

Weird brother, Brian

stuffed!

so much yummy candy and such a fun game!

Christmas Day Part 1

2011-01-06T10:24:00.000-08:00

On the big day we got up nice and early, thanks to Reid, and enjoyed a nice Christmas morning with just the three of us. We opened our presents and watched Reid try and eat all of his. It was so fun to have Reid with us and even though he really doesn't know what is going on yet it was still so much fun. He got a few books and some baby food in his stocking from Santa, some bath toys and Toy Story 3. We didn't go crazy this year and a few presents go a long way for a 6 month old, in my opinion. Wes and I then opened our presents from each other. I got Wes a blue-ray player and Wes got me the Miranda Lambert CD, he refinished our dresser and night stands, and made me a recipe board. I know, I am one lucky girl! After that we were off. We went over to the in-law's to open presents over there with everybody. We got so much stuff over there and had just the best time. After that we headed off to my parents house (so nice to have the parents 5 min away from each other!) for part 2 of our Christmas day.

This picture makes me laugh every time I see it! He is making the funniest face and looks as if he hates his present. Too funny!

Wes' dad, Liz (sister), and Steve (brother-in-law)

John and Katie (Wes' sister and new brother-in-law)

Christmas Eve

2011-01-06T10:03:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve started out with a marathon of baking. I got up in the morning and baked until I couldn't stand anymore. I ended up making sugar cookies, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, an apple pie, a berry pie and cinnamon rolls. I was exhausted but it was only the start of the day. We went over to my in-law's house and spent Christmas Eve with them. It was great because everyone was there and we had so much fun. We shared some Christmas stories and ate until we couldn't eat anymore. We didn't stay too late because we had our own traditions that we do every year with just our family. When we got home we all got in our jammies and snuggled in bed and then we read the Christmas story from the Bible so we could all think about what Christmas is all about before the big day. After Reid went to bed Santa went to work. Wes and I then fell into bed to tried to get as much sleep as we could before the long and exciting day ahead of us.

The Christmas Season

2011-01-06T09:50:00.000-08:00

This Christmas season was a great one with lots and family and friends. About a week before Christmas our good friends Jen, Steve and Olivia came to visit. We made sure to get back from our Utah/Idaho trip in time to see them. Olivia is getting so big and is so cute! Reid loved her and they had so much fun together. We always love it when they come to visit and we were sure sad to see them go. It made Christmas even more special though to have them and we can't wait to see them again!

Beautiful little girl

My mom was getting ready for Christmas and so she decided to do some baking. All the grandkids were over so like the amazing grandma that she is she involved all the kids. Bridget and Ethan loved making rolls and were Grandma's little shadow the whole day. They wanted to make everything and my mom is so patient that she will just let them. They wanted to get Reid involved so they got him a spoon and put him to work. It was so cute to see them all helping Grandma in the kitchen.

Utah/Idaho Trip Part 3

2011-01-04T10:47:00.000-08:00

After leaving Draper we started the trek up to Boise, ID. On the way up there we were able to stop in Ogden to visit with one of Wes' mission companions. It was so fun to see them and they have a 1 year-old that we hadn't seen yet so it was good to catch up. After saying goodbye to them we got back on the road and headed up to Idaho. It wasn't as far this time but we still drove through the night so Reid could sleep the whole way. The trip went great and and we arrived at Wes' grandparent's house in the very early morning. They live in Kuna which is right next to Boise.

A lot of Wes' family lives in Idaho so we got to see a lot of people while we were there. His grandparent's house is beautiful and on a bunch of land. It wasn't that cold outside on the day we got there and Reid had been inside for so long that after we got some sleep we took Reid out on a little walk to check out the property. Reid loved being outside and looking at everything. He got to see some horses and he could not stop staring at them and they could not stop staring at him. It was too funny!

Later that night his Aunt Virgina and her family came over to visit and have Sunday dinner. We got to see some of Wes' cousins and their kids. It was great to see them and their kids fell in love with Reid. They were all so cute and so good with him. He loved to just stare at them as they ran around the house and when they stopped to play with him, he could not have been happier.

Over the next few days we got to see the Gillians, who were a family from our old ward and who actually lived on my street growing up. They moved up to Boise a few years ago so it was super fun to see them and to catch up. We also got to see the Meachams which are a family that is super close to Wes' family. It is always fun to see them and show Reid off to everyone. Two of Wes' uncles also live up there so we visited with them as well. It was a very busy few days and we were exhausted. It might have had something to do with the fact that Reid came down with a cold while we were there and had a really hard time sleeping. It was so sad because he just couldn't breathe laying down and he would wake himself up by crying in order to get a breath. Wes and I took turns being up with him and eventually had him sleep in his carseat because it was the only way he could breathe. He was such a trooper and went along with everything. He was such a good boy and adapted so well to us being all over and in so many different places. By the end we were ready to go home. We had a 13 hour drive ahead of us and we drove through the night again. Reid was truly amazing and only woke up twice in the whole 13 hours. I was shocked at how good he was the whole trip. It was super fun to go up there and see everyone but I don't know if we will be doing that long of a trip for a while. I am tired just thinking about it!

His cousins definitely love him!

Wes, Reid and Grandpa Krack

Can't forget Grandma!

Utah/Idaho Trip Part 2

2011-01-03T09:37:00.000-08:00

The second part of our adventure was to Provo and Draper. We decided to only stay for about a day and a half so we had to cram a lot into that short time. We stayed up in Draper with one of my old college roommates, Emilee. We are still really close so I was thrilled that we were able to stay with her so we could fully catch up on everything. While we were there we made a short trip to Provo to visit some friends down there for a little bit. We got to visit our friend Eric and his wife Kendra who is on bed rest during her last few months of pregnancy. It was so fun to see them and she is so cute pregnant. I wish I would have taken some pictures but I forgot the camera. Well, it was super fun catching up with them and then we visited a few more friends while we were there. It didn't seem like we had enough time during this part so we might have to make another trip up there soon.

All is all we had a great time with Emilee and her family. I really miss having her around to talk to all the time and it doesn't seem like we see each other nearly enough so I really enjoyed the short time that we had to visit. Reid loved meeting her and was sad to go. She gave him a couple of presents that he loved and are so cute. Her family are big Oregon fans so she gave him so cute shoes so he could fit right in. We had a great time but we needed to get back on the road for the next phase of the trip.

Utah/Idaho Trip Part 1

2010-12-23T17:51:00.000-08:00

Wes has been bugging me to go on a trip to Utah and Idaho since before we got married. Most of his family lives in either Utah or Idaho and he really wanted to introduce Reid to them. I kept putting him off but he put his foot down this December because he ended up getting the whole month off for his vacation and decided the time had come. I was pretty skeptical especially traveling with a 6 month old but I thought I should be a good sport and gave the OK. We decided that it would be best if we broke the trip up into three parts so we wouldn't have to do so much driving at once and we could see the most people. The first part of the trip was to Spring City, UT where his paternal grandparents live. It is a really small town by Manti and Ephraim if anyone was wondering.

As we were getting ready to go I was shocked at the amount of stuff that we were bringing. I had no idea that one little person would require so much stuff! It was a bit ridiculous but we ended up fitting everything into the car. We decided to drive at night so that Reid could sleep and we wouldn't have to stop as much to feed him. It ended up being a great plan because we only had to stop to feed him twice in 10 hours and he slept beautifully the rest of the time. The only problem was that when we got there Wes and I hadn't slept all night and Reid was ready to play.

We spent two days in Spring City and did some fun things. Wes' grandpa has a side by side four wheeler and so we took that out for a spin. Reid loved it! He just couldn't stop looking at everything and we got to see sheep and deer. It was also the first time that he got to see snow. I didn't really want him to touch it because he is still little and I didn't want him to get too cold but he did get to see a lot of it! Everytime we took it out he ended up falling fast asleep because it was just too much fun. The only problem that we ended up having was a small trip to the ER due to a UTI that I got on the trip. It was pretty painful but once I got some anitbiotics I felt all better. All in all it was a great start to our trip and it is always fun to see the grandparents and watch them fall in love with Reid.

Reid is 6 Months

2010-12-07T14:10:00.000-08:00

How has half a year gone by already?! I can't believe that Reid is 6 months today. I am so happy that he is doing so well and is such a happy little boy but I am in denial a little bit because it doesn't seem possible for time to have gone by this fast. Each and every day is such a joy with Reid and I love being a mom more and more. This past month has been pretty exciting because he got his first taste of rice cereal and just about a week ago we gave him his first taste of food. I have only given him vegetables (sweet potatoes, carrots and peas) because I am afraid that he won't eat any veggies after I give him a taste for fruit. It's a bit ridiculous but he's my first! We went to the doctor yesterday for his 6 month check-up and the doctor was super happy with his growth and development. He weighed in at 17 lbs and 8 oz (50th percentile), 27 in (75th percentile), and head 17 3/8 in (55th percentile). He is being consistent with his growth which I am thrilled about. I can't believe that he is only in the 50th percentile for weight because he is so heavy! I can't believe there are kids his same age that weigh way more. Those poor parents! Anyways, he is hitting all his milestones and doing great except that he still hasn't rolled over. I was really late in doing everything so he will probably be the same way so I'm not too worried and the doctor wasn't worried at all so it did make me feel a little better. I can't complain though because he really is such a happy baby and is just all smiles. He sleeps so well and rarely cries anymore, only a little whine every now and then to let me know when he's hungry or tired. We really couldn't be more blessed or have a better little boy. We just love him so much!

He loves walks and being outside

He's a messy eater especially when Dad is feeding him

I love those blue eyes!

Deck the Halls

2010-12-06T21:24:00.000-08:00

I love to decorate for every holiday and Christmas is by far my favorite. Since we have such a small house a few decorations go a long way and it doesn't take too long to make it festive. I wanted to include Reid in the decorating especially when it came to the tree. I know that he really doesn't know what is going on yet so it was mostly for me to just have some fun with him. He stayed interested for about two or three ornaments and then he was ready for the jumpy but it was still nice to include him and start new traditions with our family!

Putting on the star

See, he looks like he is having fun!

I love him!

Love Shutterfly

2010-11-22T22:32:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking a lot of the upcoming holidays and all the fun things that I am going to do now that we are blessed with our little boy. This is going to be the first year that I will be sending out Christmas cards because Reid is just too cute to not share with everyone. I have been exploring different sites and the best one that I have found is Shutterfly. They are such a great, user friendly site with so many great options to choose from.

These are just two of my favorites and they have so many more to choose from. They really are the best place for Christmas cards , Invitations, ornaments and so much more. I also love the photo albums because they make the perfect gift for loved ones, especially those that live far away. They are so convenient and easy to use. I highly recommend to go and visit their website and become as big of a fan as I have become!

http://www.Shutterfly.com

First Taste of Rice Cereal

2010-11-12T22:06:00.000-08:00

So I have been wrestling with whether or not to start Reid on solids and give him some rice cereal. He has been eating so much lately that I haven't been able to keep up with him. Thank goodness I had a large supply of milk built up in the freezer because he has been going through it so fast. After eating about 12 ounces at one feeding I decided that it was time. I really wanted to wait until he was 6 months old but he was ready so I had to give in a little. Well, he loved it! He scarfed down everything that I had prepared for him and was looking for more. He did great with the spoon for the first time and has gotten better everyday. I am so proud of my little boy but it did make me a little sad because I can't believe how fast he is growing. Well, OK i'll admit it, I totally cried after he ate and freaked out a little bit. After getting my mind back I realized that it was definitely the best decision. I never thought that I would stress this much over rice cereal but here I am. I just love him so much and want to do everything perfect. He is just such an amazing little boy and I'm excited for what comes next!

first bite

hmmm...not so sure yet

Still thinking....

Love it!

Reid is 5 Months!

2010-11-09T11:27:00.000-08:00

Reid is 5 months!! He has been doing so good and developing so well. He still has not managed to master the rolling over yet but I expect he will soon enough. He looks like he is going to roll over but he can't manage to get his little bum around. I'm sure he will do it when he is good and ready. He is getting so much better with using his hands. He can reach out and grab things now and shove them in his mouth. The drool has not stopped and I don't know how one baby can have so much spit! He has spiked a little bit of a fever a few times due to his teething. I know that it is pretty normal but it still makes me sad when he is in so much pain. The doctor told me to use the Hyland's teething tablets and they work great but sometimes I have to give him some Tylenol when he's in a lot of pain. His new favorite thing is sucking on the bottom of his lip. It is so cute and he gives his little Cabbage Patch face as my sister likes to call it! Everyday is something new and exciting!

The Cabbage Patch face

Shakira Shakira

2010-11-03T10:14:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we were lucky enough to get free tickets to the Shakira concert at the Staples Center. My sister and brother-in-law were in Hawaii for a conference and they were offered tickets by one of his clients. They obviously couldn't go so they called us and offered them up. We gladly jumped at the chance to get out of the house for a little bit especially with just the two of us. We left Reid with Wes' parents and headed out for the night. We had such a great time and she was so fun to see in concert. Wes loved all the songs in Spanish but he didn't like me bugging him to get him to translate everything that she said!

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-01T18:05:00.000-07:00

We had a great Halloween this year especially since it was Reid's first one. My sister found an adorable pumpkin costume and we decided that he would make the cutest pumpkin ever! We had a very busy Halloween that started on Friday with trunk or treat at our ward. It was so fun and I loved showing Reid off to everyone. Then on Saturday we went to my sister's ward. It was fun celebrating with them at their party and Bridget and Ethan love when their Baby Reid is around. On actual Halloween my brother-in-law got all the tickets to a suite at the Staples Center to see the Clippers play so the whole family (not including Wes who had to work) went to the game. It was so fun especially since we had the whole suite to ourselves. We finished off the weekend by doing some trick-or-treating around my parents house. It was so fun and I look forward to next year!

Watching the Clippers play

He loves trunk or treating

With his cousins, Ethan and Bridget

The Christmas Stocking

2010-10-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to make my kids Christmas stockings since I was a little girl. My mom made ours and I always loved and cherished that she spent so much time to make them for all of us. I am a novice when it comes to the sewing department so when we decided to start trying to have a baby I thought that I would get a jump on things and start the stocking before I got pregnant. Well, I started on it but didn't get much done until after Reid was born. I wanted him to have it for this Christmas so I jumped it into gear and got serious. It took up my entire dining room table for a whole month. I was afraid that if I put it away every time I was finished for the day that I wouldn't get it back out again so there it stayed. I worked on it during every nap time and when Reid would go down for the night. All my hard work paid off because I actually finished it! I'm so happy with it and I hope that he likes it as he gets older. It is definitely not perfect but it is made with love and he is pretty much the only person I would do this much work for!

The finished product

What it's suppose to look like...pretty close!

Reid Meets his Great Great Grandma

2010-10-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

About a week ago Granny came down to visit for the weekend and since she had never met Reid we made it a point to go and see her while she was here. Wes was off hunting so he missed her visit but Reid made up for it. Granny is Reid's Great Great Grandma. She is so amazing and I was so happy that we could see her. She just loved Reid and he just sat on her lap and stared at her for a good while. She should be coming down next month for Katie's wedding so we should be seeing her again soon!

Reid is 4 Months

2010-10-07T19:17:00.000-07:00

Today my little boy is 4 months old! With every month that goes by I am amazed by how fast the time has gone by. Reid is so amazing and such a great joy for us. This month has been so fun. We have seen him grow even more and he is not my lttle newborn anymore. He is getting so big and is a little bit more than 14 1/2 pounds. He is smiling so much and recognizes us as soon as we walk in the room. My favorite time of the day is when I go and get him in the morning. When he sees me he gets the biggest smile on his face and he just goes crazy. He had his first laugh during this month and it just melted my heart. He is continuing to roll over from tummy to back but hasn't quite mastered the back to tummy rolilng yet. He is so aware of everything that is going on around him and wants to be apart of it. I can't talk anymore when I am nursing him because he just wants to play and be apart of what is going on. Reid is starting to be able to grab things and put them in his mouth. He wants to grab everything that he can get his hands on. Sometimes he will grab my face and tries to bite me! I like to think of it like he is giving me kisses. He is the best little boy and gets more and more fun everyday.

Such a smiley boy!

He's so big he can even hold his own bottle

He is getting so much better at tummy time

He has found his thumb! He loves his thumb and fingers and likes to suck on them to put himself to sleep

Wes turns 27

2010-10-06T14:47:00.000-07:00

On September 22nd Wes turned 27. I decided to do something with just the two of us so we had my mom and dad watch Reid and we got out and had some fun. His birthday fell on a Wednesday so it was perfect because he had the day off. We decided to go see a movie and chose, The Town which turned out to be awesome. Then we went out to dinner at Wes' favorite place, Red Robin. We ate tons and then went and picked Reid up. We came home and had some cake that I made for him. It was a great birthday and it's always crazy to me how the years go by so fast. The next day we celebrated with his family. He got lots of soda and food to go camping. That weekend he went camping with his friends and went off roading. He is one lucky boy!

Wes and Reid have to dress the same. It's too cute!

He got lots of stuff for his camping trip

First Camping Trip to Carpinteria

2010-10-05T16:15:00.000-07:00

As you probably already know we love Carpinteria State beach. We seem to go there every month because it's only an hour away and we love everything about it. It has a great beach, great camping and a great town walking distance from the campsite. It has everything that we need so we just load up the trailer whenever my mom can get a spot and head up there. I decided that it was time to try spending the night since Reid has been sleeping through the night for about 2 months now. It worked out great because the last night that my mom had the spot my sister and her adorable twins had to go home. We went up and spent the day with them but then they had to go home for school the next day so they couldn't spend the night. I wanted to try and stay over without any kids there to see how Reid would do. I was afraid that he would wake up in the middle of the night and wake the kids up if they were there. Well, I don't think I need to worry about that. He did great! He slept so good and we had so much fun. We are planning another trip up there in a couple weeks and we are going to try sleeping with everyone in the trailer. Hopefully it goes just as good!

All smiles after a great night

Worn out from so much fun!

So is this the cutest picture ever?! Bridget and Ethan had a friend come up and they were so happy. Bella came to play with them and they just loved her. They were all holding hands and playing in the water.

Ethan is such a stud already!

Blessing

2010-09-30T07:35:00.000-07:00

On September 5th we finally had Reid blessed. Wes had to work every other Sunday so when we found out that he had that Sunday off we jumped and knew it was the day. It was so sweet and touching to watch Wes give his little boy such a great blessing. A lot of our friends and family were able to be there to celebrate with us. After the blessing we went over to the Llewellyn's house and had a great lunch. It was so fun to get together and celebrate what an amazing little gift Reid really is. I am so grateful for him each and every day. He is such a great addition to our family and it makes us feel more complete.

I didn't want to dress him in all white so I got him an adorable little church outfit to be blessed in. He looked so big and I could not believe that this is my little boy! He just could not look cuter on his special day.

Reid is 3 months

2010-09-07T15:35:00.001-07:00

Today Reid turned 3 months! I'm amazed every day by how much bigger he gets and I want to slow it down so I can have him this small for a little longer. He's been doing so well this past month. He is getting so big and is now about 13 1/2 pounds. He has such a cute little belly and lots of little fat rolls. He is so much more smiley and he loves to look around at everything around him. We have gone to the beach a few times and everytime we go he just loves it more and more. He loves to be around me or Wes and always looks for us if we leave the room. He sleeps so good and sleeps through the night now. He will sleep anywhere between 8-10 hours at night and hasn't woken up during the night in about 3 weeks.

He discovered the jumpy and he actually fits in it and can acutally do some jumping

Such a good sleeper

He is such a fun little boy and we just love to see how him grow and develop every day!

Carpinteria and Ventura Fair

2010-09-06T08:31:00.000-07:00

My parents got a spot at Carpinteria State Beach, in the middle of August, which is only about an hour away so we decided to go up during the day to check out the beach and to see how Reid would do. He did great and loved being outside. One of the days we decided to go up there and go to the Ventura County Fair. We didn't know this but it ended up being dollar day and so it was super crowded. We fought through the crowds and ended up having a great day. It was also great because Wes was able to come and spend the day with us. I know that Reid is just going to fall more in love with the beach as he gets bigger and soon I'm not going to be able to pry him out of the sand.

So tired after a long day
love the cows

SO CUTE!!

Reid with his cute cousin, Bridget

Bath Time

2010-08-17T19:19:00.000-07:00

Reid loves bath time and it always puts him in a good mood. Anytime that he is a little bit grumpy or having a hard time we just give him a bath and he becomes the happy baby that we all love right away. He is so cute and just so much fun!

Reid is 2 months

2010-08-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

Reid is 2 months! I can't believe that 2 months have already gone by. He is changing so much and seems to be getting bigger every day. He has been such a joy to have and is such a good baby. He is hitting all his milestones and is doing so well. He is getting more and more alert. He is so curious and loves to look around at everything around him. At 6 1/2 weeks he rolled over. I couldn't believe it since he is a bit early. He doesn't like tummy time very much but we get him to do it at least once a day and is getting so strong. He can hold his head up most of the time now but it does slump over a little bit when he gets tired. He is so expressive and loves to smile but I haven't been able to catch it on camera yet. He recognizes Wes and I more and more and follows our voices when we talk. We have been going out more now that he is a little bit older. He is sleeping so good now and is only waking up about once a night which is so much nicer. I know that we are just going to have more and more fun with him as he continues to grow and develop. We love to see him change and we enjoy his little personality.

He is the cutest thing that I have ever seen!
8 weeks

He loves his swing and sometimes I think he prefers it to us holding him. He always gets in the funniest positions so I fix him but he manages to slide back.

7 1/2 weeks

6 1/2 weeks

6 weeks

4 weeks and the first time he is doing tummy time

It is amazing how much he is grown and how fat he is getting!

Family and Newborn Pictures

2010-07-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

We recently went and got some pictures taken because I really wanted newborn pictures taken of Reid and I blinked and he was a month old already. I finally made an appointment and we got them done. Reid was 5 1/2 weeks old at the time and he did great! He was alert the whole time and was so good. He only cried once and I think that he loved all the attention. It was really enjoyable and I was so happy with how they turned out.

Our first family picture and everytime I look at it I want to cry a little. I am seriously the luckiest girl alive. I could not be any happier!
He was holding his head up. I have no idea how he was doing it but it makes for the cutest picture!

These pics with his dad just melt my heart

Nursing

2010-07-13T13:51:00.000-07:00

This whole nursing thing has probably been the hardest thing that I have ever done (besides giving birth). I didn't expect it to be nearly this difficult and frustrating. I thought it would be natural and the baby would know what to do. SO WRONG!! I know that I have already talked about Reid's problems with nursing but I just had to write about again because it has taken over my life and tha'ts pretty much all I think about now. Reid has had such a hard time latching on, mainly due to his being so early. We have been continuing to work with Terry (the lactation consultant) and after much fighting we got him to latch on a few days ago. I was so happy but also physically and emotionally exhausted from fighting with my 1 month old. Even though it was really hard and frustrating I kept trying and a few days later all my hard work paid off. He has been latching on with no problem now and I haven't had to use the nipple sheild once. I am so grateful that I kept going and didn't give up. He is so worth it and I could not be happier. Now what's next to worry about?!

4th of July

2010-07-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

This 4th of July was a little different than previous ones because we have Reid with us now. Since he was only 4 weeks old we didn't want to go anywhere so we went over to my parents house to hang out with just the family. My sister and her kids came over and my mom was still in town. My mom made some dinner and we did some swimming. Later, we went up on my parents balcony and watched the fireworks. It was the perfect way to spend the holiday without having to go anywhere.

I actually got to go swimming for a little bit because my mom watched Reid for me.

We took Reid in the slightly warm spa but he didn't like it very much. I think that it was still a bit cold for him. He loves his baths so I think we will just stick with those for a while.

Wes can't wait for hime to get bigger and go swimming for real.

Reid is 1 month

2010-07-07T12:48:00.000-07:00

Reid is 1 month old today! I can't believe it has already been a month. It is weird because it feels like it has been the longest and shortest month of my life. It is hard to even remember life without him but it also feels like yesterday when we brought him home. He has been such a joy to have. He is such a good baby that only cries when he is hungry. We had a bit of a hard time after we brought him home. He was jaundice and it peaked around day 7. At that time he stopped eating. It was really scary and I didn't know what to do. I called Terry, the lactation consultant that I met in the hospital, in a panic. She told me to feed him with a dropper and then to just go with a bottle. I had to start pumping around the clock and try to get as much milk in him as possible. He wouldn't really eat a lot so we had to try and feed him every 1 to 2 hours. The doctor was pretty concerned because he wasn't gaining weight and lost 11 oz from when he was born. We continued to do our best and met with both the doctor and Terry a few times a week. Eventually he gained .5 oz and I was thrilled. After a few more days he started gaining weight and hasn't stopped. He is now 8lbs 2oz. I could not be a happier mom!

He is starting to be way more active and alert. He loves to look around and just stares at us when we are holding him. He actually fixes his gaze on us and follows our face when we move around.
He loves to sleep with his hands in his face.

He is so cute!!!!!

Reid is still working on nursing. I am trying to nurse him as much as possible but he still gets frustrated and will only nurse with the nipple sheild. We see Terry at least a few times a week still to work on him but I see improvement everyday. I'm hoping that he will be nursing exclusively by the time he is 3 months. I am very grateful that I have tons of milk so that I haven't had to give him any formula. Wes has been home the past few weeks so it has really helped. I actually get some sleep because he takes over a few times during the night. I am so blessed and so happy.

Reid Wesley Llewellyn

2010-06-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

Early on Monday, June 7th, at 1:00 am my water broke. I was having some back pain earlier that day but nothing that I even remotely thought would be labor. I was laying on the couch and got up to go to bed so I was brushing my teeth when there was a big gush. Thankfully Wes was not working that night and he was there to help. It shocked me because my due date was not until July 2nd. Contractions started right after that and Wes timed them and they were about a minute apart. Knowing that we started to move faster and since I had not packed for the hospital yet we ran through the house and threw stuff in a bag. Wes grabbed the car seat and then we went to the hospital. We got there about 2:00 am and they told me I was dialated to 3 cm. They moved me into labor and delivery where I waited a couple of miserable hours in lots of pain and then they gave me the epidural. It was AMAZING!!! I was so happy to get that and then they also told me that I was now dialated to 4 cm. After that I got a little bit of rest and then they came back in a couple more hours and they told me I was now dialated to 10 cm. I progressed really fast. We were then taken to the delivery room and had me push. After about an hour and a half of pushing he came! It was 10:46 am and I was so excited that he was finally here. I could not believe how amazing he was and that he was mine. Also another big surprise was that he had red hair. I love red heads and was so excited to see that he had it.

Right after delivery and they measured him at 6 lbs, 11 oz, and 20 in. Pretty big for being 4 weeks early. He also had no trouble breathing which was a big worry for me when we went to the hospital so I was thrilled when he let off a big strong cry.

I couldn't take my eyes off him.

He looks just like his dad.

The most precious picture ever!!! After he was born we went to recovery where we had to stay for 48 hours because he was early and he was having trouble regulating his blood sugar. That was a little bit scary because all he wanted to do was sleep and eating was not something he was even remotely interested in. We had to use an eye dropper to get some food into him and force him to eat. Finally after a few times of doing this his blood sugar regulated. The rest of the time he still had trouble latching on but right before we were discharged he kind of got the hang of it and my milk came in which made it a little easier. It is something we are still working on but he gets better every day.

We finally got to come home!!!!! He was so cute in his car seat. The outfit that I brought for him was so big but he's still so cute.

The next day we had a doctor's appointment right away because he was early and because he was a little bit jaundice. The hospital told me to get an appt. right away to have it checked out. It turned out that he was fine and it is starting to flush out.

After the doctor's appointment we decided to go on a walk with him so he could get a little sun to help that jaundice. He loved it and it is now a daily ritual to get out of the house for a little bit. Wes and I could not be any happier with our little boy. He is truly amazing and I am stunned that he is mine! We have been enjoying every minute with him. I can't wait to a lifetime of him and watching him grow.

Sequoia National Park

2010-05-31T21:32:00.000-07:00

Wes and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary on May 5th. To celebrate we decided to take a trip and go camping at Sequoia National Park. I have never been there and Wes had only been there once which was a really long time ago so it was pretty much a new adventure for both of us. My parents got a new tent trailor so we brought that with us so we would be more comfortable. We ended up having a blast and along with seeing everything we spent a lot of time relaxing. It was a great couple of days and would totally go back again.

When we first got there we decided to go and see General Sherman which is the largest living organism on Earth. It was so big and really amazing. I can't believe that a tree can get that big!

The next day we we took a hike down to a little waterfall and river. It was pretty warm outside so we were ready to go swimming but it was freezing!!! We could barely stand to put our feet in the water for more than a few seconds but it was beautiful and we spent a lot of time just soaking up the sun and the view.

His GQ pose. He's so hot!

Beautiful trees. We were amazed everytime we were up close to one.

This is beetle rock and so cool. We were the only ones there so it made it even more fun.

We did the hike around Round Meadow even though there was a lot of snow. It was beautiful and I can only imagine what it looks like in the Summer. The one good thing about having so much snow on the ground is that there weren't very many people there so every where we went we were pretty much by ourselves.

I still can't believe how big the trees were!

I could even fit inside one and when you do that you apparently need to make a really stupid face!

Happy Birthday to ME!!

2010-04-20T18:45:00.000-07:00

So this past week I got to celebrate my 26th birthday. It was on April 15th which was a Thursday and is my day off so I didn't even have to work. They only stinky part was that Wes was working and so was my mom so I pretty much spent the day by myself. It was ok though, it was nice to get some alone time and just think about myself. I started the day by sleeping in and then getting up and stuffing my face with whatever I could find (that happens everyday though and not just on my birthday!). I then lounged around for a while and then got ready for the day. I decided to go and get my nails done because it is always nice to pamper yourself and I hadn't gotten them done in forever. I was great and so relaxing. After I got home I got ready and went to my first prenatal yoga class with my friend Brittany. It was the perfect way to spend the day but it didn't end there. Over the next few days I was taken out to dinner by some friends and then Wes took me out. In my family we celebrate all birthdays on Sunday so my parents made my favorite dinner that night, CRAB! I was so excited and ate every last bite. My mom made me a gluten free angel food cake which was to die for. The next day I got to celebrate with my in laws. All in all it was a great birthday and I got so many great presents but most important I got to spend it with the people I love. This next year is going to be a big change from the last and I can't wait!

28 weeks and the beginning of 3rd trimester

2010-04-14T16:54:00.000-07:00

So I finally made it into my third trimester! I can't believe that I only have about 2 1/2 months left. It seems like this pregnancy has gone by pretty fast but on the other hand I am not so excited to get bigger. I know that means getting more uncomfortable and bigger!! I guess I will take it though because I know my little boy is going to be so cute. I can't wait to see him and hold him.
Well, we celebrated entering into my 3rd trimester by going to Carpinteria. I love the beach so I was so excited to go. My parents just bought a tent trailor so it made camping a lot easier. I had a comfortable bed so it wasn't difficult to spend 9 days there. We had such beautiful weather and I was even able to try out my new maternity swimsuit.

These past couple of weeks have been ok. I feel like I am getting bigger everyday but I guess I'm ok with that because that means he is getting bigger as well. His kicks have been getting more intense and have made me flinch a few times. Wes is addicted to feeling him move which I love. I just don't love when he kicks me in the ribs. It is not a pleasant feeling and I could do without that. I cannot wait until he is here and I am so excited to be in the last trimester because that means he will be here soon!!

Wes wanted to show off his baby bump as well!

24 weeks

2010-03-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

I finally made it to this monumental week! I was so excited to hit 24 weeks because the baby becomes viable. If he was born now he would have a 50/50 chance of surviving which isn't great odds but it makes me so much more comfortable. Having had my sister deliver at 29 weeks it makes it even more important to me to hit every week. I don't believe that I will have the same problem that she did but seeing her go through that it still makes me nervous.

This week has been great because I'm finally showing. I had to switch over to maternity clothes because my pants just weren't as comfortable and I thought that I might be cutting off the circulation to the baby. Now that I got some pants and some shirts I am much more comfortable and I think they make me look even more pregnant. I have actually had people come up to me and ask me when I am due. So exciting!

I thought that I would throw this picture in here for Wes. It's like pulling teeth to get him to take pictures of me and sometimes I get a little crazy.

I also went to a consignment sale and got so much great baby stuff. I went with my wonderful mom and sister who helped me so much. They set out and snagged all the good stuff there. I wouldn't have gotten anything if I had just gone by myself. I was able to get two strollers, a Peg Perego regular stroller and a jogger. We got a bassinet, a bouncy seat, and a Kelty baby backpack for Wes. I could not believe how well that we did and now we are pretty much set on the big stuff. We got a crib from my sister that Wes is refinishing as well as a swing and a jumpy. His room is starting to look like a baby's room and once I have my shower I know that I will be set.

Painting the baby's room

2010-03-15T11:11:00.001-07:00

I decided that I wanted to paint the baby's room and so after much thought I decided to do it an olive green. We are going to go with a camo theme so I thought it would be a good idea to just bring it all together. My mother-in-law, Donna, is great with painting and so I had her show me how to do a texture on the wall. It's called ragging and you mix the paint with glaze. After you brush it on you take a rag and wipe it off. It creates a really neat look and it turned out even better than I thought it was going to. I was so grateful to both Donna and Wes for painting the room. I know the baby will one day really love it.

22 weeks

2010-02-28T21:31:00.000-08:00

How far along?: 22 weeks
Total weight gain: 3 lbs so far
How big is the baby?: a Papaya (8 in, 1.2lbs)
Maternity clothes: I can still fit into a lot of my clothes but I do wear maternity shirts and dresses, I can still button my pants so I haven't gotten any maternity pants.
Stretch marks: Nope
Sleep: I have been sleeping good so far thanks to my amazing pregnancy pillow!
Best moment so far: Wes got to feel him move and I seem to have popped out a bit
Movement: Still have a crazy maniac in my belly who loves to do gymnastics
Food cravings: Fruit mostly but I did crave skittles a few days ago
Gender: still a boy
Labor signs: Just some Braxton Hicks contractions
Belly button: still the same but Wes is hoping to finally see the end of my belly button by the end of my pregnancy
What I am looking forward to: Getting his room done. We are in the process of painting and getting it all set up for him.

This weeks has been great because people are actually noticing that I am pregnant. I feel huge but when I took a picture I didn't look as big as I think I do in my head. I am scared to get any bigger, I think I could stay this size and be just fine!

20 Weeks

2010-02-24T16:26:00.000-08:00

After looking at the ultrasound pictures from when I was 16 weeks, the doctor decided he wasn't satisfied with the pictures and wanted me to go in for another one. I was not going to complain because ultrasounds are my favorite and I look forward to the next time I can see my little boy. I was super excited that I didn't have to wait very long to see his squirmy little body. I decided to invite my mom to this visit because she is such a huge supporter and I knew that she was dying to see him for herself. She was super excited and it just made it even more special. He looked great and the and was measuring at about 12 oz which is on the big side. I know that I am the mom but I just love him so much and can't wait to meet him!

Not much has happened in the past couple of weeks. He has been moving a lot more and Wes was finally able to feel him for himself. He was really excited but I think that he thought it would be stronger than it was. He'll continue to get stronger as time goes on which scares me because I'm not looking forward to getting punched in the ribs but his dad is eager to feel him more. I have popped out a bit more and I now feel huge except everyone keeps telling me that I'm still small. I'll have to post pictures so I can get other feedback! We are also trying to get everything ready for his arrival which is a bit harder than I thought. Wes did clean out the garage for me which was awesome and I cleaned out the closet in the babies room to get ready for the mountains of stuff we are going to get. It is no where near to getting done but at least we made a little headway. I'm sure we'll have it done by the time he gets here, at least that's what I hope!

18 Weeks

2010-02-01T18:13:00.000-08:00

I decided to do my first pregnancy survey just to track everything that is going on and I'm stealing the one my friend Alex is using because she is so cute and only one week ahead of me so here it goes...

How far along? 18 weeks
Total weight gain: none so far because I lost 4 pounds in my first trimester so I'm now almost back to where I started
How big is the baby?: The size of a mango (6in, .5 lbs)
Maternity clothes?: Not really even though I would really like to be
Stretch marks?: No!!!
Sleep: I sleep ok and all the time but since I am in bed so much I'm actually getting really sore!
Best moment so far: Feeling the baby kick and finding out he is a BOY!
Movement?: Tons, I don't think he ever stops moving
Food cravings?: Fruit, mostly pineapple and oranges
Gender: BOY
Labor signs?: Not yet, just some ligament pain
Belly Button?: Still the same as before
What I'm looking forward to: I want Wes to be able to feel him kick
Milestone: I actually bought my first maternity dress today which is my first purchase for any maternity clothes. I don't really need it yet but it was so cute and I am anxious to start looking pregnant so I figure if I buy some maternity clothes maybe that will happen!

Last week we had a bit of a scare when we were sent to the ER because I was having some pain. I had been having it for about a week before I said anything. I mentioned it to my mom who told me that everything was probably fine but that we sould probably just call the doctor. I started to get a little scared but decided to call him just to make sure everything was ok. When I called he told me that I needed to go to the ER just to make sure that nothing was happening. I went and spent about 5 hours there before we found out that it was just some round ligament pain. I had never even heard of that before but it is when your ligaments are so tight that when they are stretching they give sharp pains around your belly. I was so happy to know that everything was ok and now the pain doesn't bother me as much. I hope that was the only time I will have to be there because it was awful and scary!

It's a Boy!!

2010-02-01T17:21:00.001-08:00

It's a BOY!!! On January 14th we got our second ultrasound and I was almost 16 weeks along. It was the most amazing thing in the world to see our little baby on that screen. The first ultrasound didn't really look like a baby but this time he looked like the cutest little boy I have ever seen!! The technician was great and took a lot of time with us so we could see every inch of his amazing little body. He was measuring at about 5 ounces which is the big end of normal. Everything else was in the normal range so Wes and I could breathe a sigh of relief just knowing that everything is progressing great. While the technician was checking everything we found out it is going to be a BOY! I thought it was a boy the since I got pregnant but Wes was set that it was going to be a girl. I love being right!! We are both so thrilled and Wes cannot stop thinking about all that he is going to do with our little man.

Wes says that I am sticking my belly our which is probably true because I am just so ready to be showing.

All ten fingers and toes!

I love this one where he is standing on his head!

Our first ultrasound was at what I thought 7 weeks. We were given a due dat of June 26th but when we saw him he was a little bit smaller than he should have been so they measured him at 6 weeks. They put us back a week which I was not too happy about but everything looked good so I wasn't complaining. My due date was pushed to July 2nd and we are now counting down the days!

6 weeks

Our New Jeep

2010-01-15T11:52:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of December Wes got a Jeep. He bought it from a good friend and I have never seen him more excited. He was looking forward to buying it for a while now and he was finally able to bring it home. He has had so much fun with it and goes off roading as much as possible. I have enjoyed it to some extent. I am not able to do a lot of offroading because I am pregnant so we have found other ways to have fun.

Wes made me do this stupid pose

Wes and I decided to take the Jeep out on a ride up the mountain and have a picnic. It was super fun because it was just us and it was a good way to get away and see our valley from a different height. I hope that we can do that more before the baby comes because it was so nice to get away.

A few nights later we decided to go and have a fire up Bouquet Canyon. Wes's brother Greg and his family came with us so it made it even better. It was pretty cold up there but after Wes started the fire it was great. We made some dinner and roasted marshmallows. It was a great night and the kids were so good. They loved the fire and especially the marshmallows!

Anne

Jamie enjoying some dinner

Wes's older brother Greg

Christmas 2009

2010-01-14T21:30:00.000-08:00

Wes and I had a great Christmas this year and it was our last year spending it with just the two of us. It is exciting to think that we will have another addition to our family next year. We got to spend this year with both of our families. We spent Christmas Eve with the Llewellyns and Christmas with my family. Wes had to work on Christmas day so we only got to see him later on in the day but it was still great. We walked away with so many presents, we didn't even know what to do with them all. I got a beautiful dry erase calender from Jessica that she made for me which I LOVE! Wes also gave me a new sleeping bag and some mittens for snowboarding. I also got a new bedspread as well as so much more. Wes got a GPS which he loves, especially when he goes offroading in his Jeep. We had such a great Christmas and I know next year will be even better!

I was so happy that Jen, Steve and Olivia came down for Christmas!

Wes made Joseph and Jessica a headboard for their bed. It was so beautiful and they were so excited because they did not expect to get one.

Miss Olivia came to visit us on Christmas day. She is the cutest!

I stuffed tangerines in Bridget's shirt to give her boobies and then she gave us her Chandler smile. So funny!

We got Ethan some new airplanes. He LOVES airplanes!

Bridget makes the weirdest faces when you ask her to take a picture. I wanted to take a picture of her with the Barbie that we got her but this is the best that we got.

Wes got more camo gear from his Dad

All the girls in the Llewellyn family got coats so we all had to pose with them. I'm so glad that I look like a giant next to all of them. I got lots of great stuff including a few different maternity shirts that were super cute!

Our Bundle of Joy

2009-12-28T12:26:00.000-08:00

Wes and I are so happy to finally announce that we are expecting our first baby at the beginning of July. We wanted to wait until I was into my 2nd trimester before we officially announced it so we could make sure that everything was going well. I got an ultrasound when I was 6 weeks and we were able to see the heartbeat and what looked like a lima bean. At my 12 week doctor's appointment we were able to hear the heartbeat for the first time. It was music to my ears and I tried so hard to not burst into tears. I am so excited to finally be into my 2nd trimester now for many reasons because hopefully we will find out the sex in a few weeks and I am feeling about a milion times better. I was a bit sick during those first weeks so I am thrilled to feel like a human again!

13 weeks on Christmas Day

Halloween

2009-11-02T20:11:00.000-08:00

Wes and I started the Halloween season with Trunk or Treating and the Chili cookoff at church. Wes made YUMMY chili to be entered. It was amazing!! I don't even like chili and I wanted to eat the whole thing myself.

We dressed up for the event, I was Little Red Riding Hood and Wes was a cowboy. He bought a mustache and it was amazing. He looked so good right down to his spurs. People didn't even recognize him!

After we were nice and full we went outside and did our trunk or treating. Bridget and Ethan were so cute and took to it right away. They figured out if they said the magic words "trick or treat" someone would put candy in their bag. It was so fun that they were able to come to our ward's halloween party and they looked so cute! Bridget was a ladybug and Ethan was a firefighter.

A week after our Ward's Halloween party we went to another party given by a few people in our ward. We got all dressed up again and had so much fun hanging out with people and dancing. Our friends Taylor and Mari came up and joined us for the evening. After that party was over we ended up at two other parties but none of them could compare to the first one. It ended up being such a fun and eventful night.

Taylor and Mari...We love them.

Wyatt and Kip

On the actual date I went over to my parents house and hung out with the family because Wes had to work. After we ate the kids got dressed up in their costumes and went trick or treating. They knew the drill so they did pretty good. They only lasted a few houses but their mom and dad did not mind.

When Wes got home from work we headed over to his parents house to see everyone else dressed up. We went trick or treating with them for a little bit and then came back to the house. Katie was down visiting for the weekend so it was extra special to have her there. All the kids looked so cute. Issac was a bee and Liz made the most amazing costume for him.

Roy was Tigger but was not very exicted to be wearing the furry costume

Anne was a skunk and the cutest one I have ever seen.

Rebekah was a butterfly.

Halloween seemed to last for three weeks but it was super fun. We got as much out of the holiday as we could and was able to celebrate with everyone.

Rainy Days

2009-10-17T18:39:00.000-07:00

This past week we had a couple of rainy days. We haven't had rain in such a long time that my two year old niece and nephew really didn't remember it too much. They came over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to play and we let them go out in the rain. My mom and I went and got them some rain coats that afternoon so they were set. It was so cute to see them play in the rain. They were so exicted and wanted to just stand in the gutter as the water flowed over them. When they got too cold we brought them inside and put them in a warm bath. Everything was soaking wet but it was so worth it. It is so fun to see things through a two year old's eyes. It makes puddle jumping seem so much more fun!

Bridget had her stick and was playing with it in the water
Ethan needed some help stepping down into the gutter

"Hi, I am so cute"

He stood like that for some time

Olivia Jane Clegg

2009-10-12T16:11:00.000-07:00

On Monday, October 5th Miss Olivia Jane Clegg was born. I was able to go up to Roseville and visit the new parents, Jen and Steve, that weekend. Olivia was even more beautiful than I could have hoped for. She looks a lot like her dad but has her mom in her a well. She is such a good baby too. She only cries if she is hungry and is such a good sleeper. I thought that I would go up there and expect to not get any sleep but amazingly she only woke up only one time a night. I had such a great time hanging out with them and Jen and Steve are such great parents. It is so awesome to see how much they love her. I love her so much and can't wait to make another trip to see my new niece.

San Francisco

2009-10-05T14:07:00.000-07:00

At the end of September I was able to go up to Roseville and visit Jen. She was having her baby shower and I wanted to be there and to come and hang out one last time before Miss Olivia came. This was my first trip up North so I was so excited. I hadn't seen Jen since she was first pregnant so I had to come see her with her belly. Jen and Steve live in Roseville which is outside of Sacramento. They have the cutest house and it will be perfect for Olivia to come home to. We had fun getting some last minute things done for the nursery. I have never been to San Francisco before so we also spent the day there. Jen had only gone once before at night so we were basically exploring the city for the first time together. We did an amazing job for really never being there. We navigated the city and got to see everything that we wanted to.

We started our adventure at Fisherman's Warf. We went to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch which was really expensive and not very good but still fun. After walking around and doing a little shopping we saw Alcatraz and some smelling sea lions.

My new husband...Wes has been replaced.

After Pier 31 we hopped on a cable car and went to Union Square. The cable car experience was interesting. Two crazy people got on and started yelling at the driver. Public transporation at its best.

After Union Square we walked through Chinatown and saw some interesting things. Jen was amazing and I had to keep up with her. The fact that she was 8 1/2 months pregnant did not stop her one bit. We walked so much and she didn't even break a sweat.

Next stop was Lombard St. It was so cool to see. We didn't end up driving down it because all the other streets were scary enough.

Full House houses. They were a bit anticlimatic.

The Golden Gate Bridge was so cool and we got a pretty good view of it. I love that it is covered in fog even when there are blue skies everywhere else.

Our last stop was Castro St. which was so cool and I wish we actually ended up getting out. We went there at the end of the day and we were so tired. We just drove down the street and headed towards the freeway. All in all the trip was amazing and there is no one I would have rather had the experience with. I know Jen is going to be an amazing mom and it was so good to be able to have one last trip where it could be just us. I am so exicited to be able to finally meet Olivia!

Alaska Cruise

2009-08-27T15:23:00.000-07:00

On August 1st we left for an Alaska cruise on Princess Cruises. We boarded the Golden Princess in Seattle. Wes found out that he was able to go only a couple of weeks before and I was so excited. We had pretty much given up hope of him going because he is still on probation but his training officer was amazing and got the time off for him. He had to find a flight last minute and so the whole time we were traveling I kept worrying that he wasn't going to make it. I finally calmed down once he walked on the ship. The fun could finally begin. We knew so many people on that ship. We counted and found out that we knew over 60 people. It was great knowing so many people and always seeing a friendly face wherever you went. The ports of call were amazing and I am so glad that we got a taste of Alaska.

Juneau, AK was the first port and we decided to go sea kayaking. I have never been before so I thought that Alaska would be the perfect place to try it. They were double kayaks so Wes and I were paired up. I was a little nervous but once we were on the water it was ok. The water was super could but we were pretty protected so we didn't get too wet. We got to see some bald eagles and a lot of fish. At the end of our tour we got to see some seals. I can't believe anything can live in that water, I don't think I have ever felt anything so cold! It was an amazing experience and I think that I might try it again.

on the bus ride to go kayaking

the beautiful Golden Princess

Skagway, AK was great and what it is famous for is the White Pass which is the route that old travelers and explorers took. It was so pretty and we got to see some mountain goats on the way up and the way back. We then got to walk around town which reminded me of an old western town. The salmon were running there and it was so cool to see all of the fish swimming up the river. We were there for the perfect time to see them. There were so many fish in the stream you could just reach in and grab one.

White Pass

During the cruise there was one day where we sailed through Tracy Arm Fjord. It was scenic cruising and it was beautiful. We had to wake up pretty early and it was cold outside but we had a balcony in our room so it was nice to just wake up and go outside. We got to see a lot of amazing this such as icebergs and glaciers. It was awesome and we really felt like we were seeing Alaska.

you can see where the sea water and the glacier water meet

my niece Bridget

a glacier

One of our favorite things to do onboard the ship is play BINGO. I am not a gambler but there are plenty of people that we were with that do and they always need an extra stamper so that's where I come in. No one won the big pot this time but maybe next time.

Ketchikan, AK was the next stop and it was my favorite town in Alaska. I loved Creek St. were the buildings are built right on the stream. They had such cool little shops but we were only there a half a day so we just walked around the town and saw some of the sights. In the stream on Creek St the salmon were running there and we were able to see a bald eagle catch a fish and fly away with it. So Cool! We got a lot of shopping done there and it is a place that we definitely want to go back some day.

a bald eagle catching a fish

Creek St.

Our last port of the trip was Victoria, BC. We were only there for a couple of hours so we had to pick what we really wanted to see. I heard that the Buchart Gardens were amazing and something that we had to see while we were there so we jumped off the ship into a taxi and headed over there. It was getting dark so we had to run through the gardens in order to see everthing but it was worth it. It was completely amazing and totally worth it. The flowers were so pretty, I just wish that we can go back one day to really get the full experience.

All in all the cruise was amazing. We had so much fun with all of our friends and family. It was a great end to the summer and we were so lucky for the amazing weather that we had. I would definilty plan a trip to go back one day and would recommend the trip to anyone.