Two of a Kind...

Baby Shower & 9 Months

2012-01-27T00:08:00.000-08:00

I was so excited to help host a baby shower for my friend Jeannine last Saturday. Everything turned out great and it was very well attended. I provided my house and decorations, and her mother and sister's in law did the rest. They got lots of adorable baby girl items and much needed necessities. She is due the beginning of March, which seems to be coming up real fast, I can't wait!

Coleton turned 9 months old on the 20th, wow...really, where is the time going? He weighs 20.4 lbs and is 28.9'' long, both 75% for height and weight. He is all over the place and loves to crawl, stand up, and is starting to walk along furniture. His two top teeth are just cutting through, and the two on either side of those will be in soon. His tricks include clapping, soooo big, clicking his tongue, copying sounds, saying mama and dada, eating really really good, and self feeding. His favorite thing to play with are doors, he opens and closes them continually until he bonks his head or gets his fingers smashed, and then he gets really really mad. It is like a championship wrestling match to change his diaper and get him dressed, he will not be pinned! My excitement over him putting his pacifier back in his mouth was short lived, because now he throws it out of his crib in defiance of taking a nap...grrrr. Above all, he is too cute for words and happy happy happy!

Winter in SoCal

2012-01-14T15:05:00.000-08:00

We are pretty spoiled around here, some of the best weather at the beach is in winter. My friend Shauna was in town on a layover, she is a flight attendant, and Jeannine and I went and picked her up and spent the afternoon at the beach. It was gorgeous and we had so much fun! Shauna and I have been friends since we became neighbors at the age of 4, her and Jeannine where roommates in Utah for a while before Jeannine and Matt got married. It was so nice to spend the day together and catch up. The kids had a blast, Coleton kept trying to chase Seagulls, Clara always loves playing in the sand, and they both love getting outside.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

Our New Years Eve extravaganza was so much fun! While we were planning all these events, we had decided to not go to Big Bear and focus our attention on throwing a huge New Years/Taylor's 30th birthday party. Then somehow last minute we found a deal for Big Bear that we couldn't pass up, which meant that we were going to be having the craziest week of our lives. We left for Big Bear two days after Christmas, then returned on the 30th, and of course New Years is the 31st. It was all a bit crazy, but definitely worth it in the end. Our party had live music, bonfires, s'mores, games, chili, cornbread, cake, watching Indiana Jones on a giant outdoor screen, kettle corn, sparkling cider while watching the ball drop from 1981 into 1982 (30 years ago), a fireworks show to rival the 4th of July, and camping overnight with a pancake, sausage and egg breakfast in the morning! We had a great crowd and total overall we had about 75 people come, there were about 30-40 die hards who made it to midnight, and about 15-20 people who camped in tents, a motor home, or on hay bales around the fire. I think it was probably the best New Years I have ever had.

It was a family friendly event with lots of little kiddos running around!

Colteton getting spoiled rotten by cousins Nina & Cami...and Clara and her friend Lauren!

Making Smores...and sneaking marshmallows!

Ringing in the New Year!!

The morning after, including a yummy breakfast!

We have been having fun filled holidays, however, three words sum them up for me...death by chocolate! I have such a sweet tooth, and sweets are in abundance this time of year. I feel like the new year is a time to start fresh with eating better and exercising more. I am so over the flab, and I'm pretty sure 8 months is way past the mark where you can blame your belly on a baby! I remember having these grand plans of losing the baby weight immediately this time. I just overlooked one simple detail, that I was going to have two kids under two! Especially a newborn who doesn't sleep through the night, and still doesn't for that matter. And that it takes ALL your energy to keep them fed, napped, entertained, the house clean, laundry done, etc, etc. While 2011 was an amazing year, I feel like I ended it personally feeling a little blah. It's time to be renewed, and so my new years resolutions are to read the Bible every day and exercise more (definitely not going to say every day because that would be broken real quick!) I am excited for the new year and looking forward to what 2012 has in store for us!

Big Bear 2011

2011-12-30T23:08:00.000-08:00

We just got back from our annual Big Bear trip, we packed in lots of activities in our 4 days and 3 nights there. Here are some highlights...
Sledding with the kids...

Going out to eat for Holly's 25th Birthday!

Bowling...

Just Dance on the Wii, I'm pretty sure this is the funnest game ever, but I'm also sure that you look like a total dork while feeling like the coolest person on the planet ;)

And hanging out!

There always has to be a game of Settlers of Catan!

Singing songs with Clara!

It was lots of fun with too little of sleep (lets just say that I am so thankful that the kids are both tucked into bed in their SEPARATE rooms!) And lots of wonderful memories made! Now we are getting ready for our next big event...a New Years Eve and birthday bash for Taylor. We sure know how to keep things crazy, on the drive home we were all texting and calling each other with last minute things that we needed to pick up and accomplish before the big event tomorrow. It's going to be crazy, but also lots of fun. Happy New Years!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-26T14:22:00.000-08:00

We had a cozy Christmas this year. We stayed home and both of our families came to us! My family came over in the morning and had a huge breakfast and then did our gift exchange. My sister was back east visiting her in laws , so it was a small group. Later in the day Jordan's family came over, and we snacked for lunch, did our gift exchange, and then had a delicious dinner. We had a roast, cheesy potatoes, salad, and homemade bread. Our favorite Christmas presents this year were our wheat grinder from my grandma, and our new bread maker that we bought for ourselves. We are planning on buying our wheat whole (wheat berries) and grinding it to make flour and then baking our own bread. It is so delicious and so healthy! We sang Christmas carols, watched The Elf, and relaxed and enjoyed spending time together.

My family doing our gift exchange.

The kids LOVED opening presents!

Trying out the grinder...our grinder & bread maker...our first loaf!

My uncle's dog Jake...our delicious roast!

Singing Christmas Carols...Jingle Bells, Silent Night...

The young group, and our friend Shauna who stopped by to visit!

This was Coleton's first Christmas, and he was so much fun! He can entertain himself really well and loves to crawl and explore things. He loved playing with all the packaging of toys and presents, than the gifts themselves, of course. Clara loved celebrating Jesus' birthday and was so cute and excited with each present she opened. These times just get more and more fun with the kids, and I love that Clara is getting old enough to teach her the real meaning of Christmas! Now we are getting ready for our annual trip to Big Bear...so excited!

The Hotel Del

2011-12-23T21:33:00.000-08:00

Clara being goofy and not wanting to take a picture ;

I am a huge fan of Coronado, and especially the Hotel Del, it is a very nostalgic and romantic location. We had the opportunity of going on a date night a week ago to "An American Christmas" which is held in the ballroom of the Hotel, and if you can remember my experience last year where I developed a very nasty stomach bug on the way to the show, and couldn't enjoy it one bit! I definitely jumped at the chance to go and see our brother and sister-in-law, Jesse and Holly, perform. I enjoyed it immensely, the food was delicious, and they make you feel like warmly welcomed guests. There was a lady sitting at our table who was staying at the Hotel, and she offered us 4 tickets to "skating by the Sea" which I have always wanted to do. It is not cheap to skate at the Del and I was so excited to get them! We met Jesse and Holly at the rink which is right near the water, and skated away before they had to be at the show. It was very fun, Clara had a little trouble keeping upright at first, but she got the hang of it! It was an absolutely gorgeous day at the beach, and a perfect southern California Christmas activity!

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-10T23:02:00.001-08:00

I have never ever made a gingerbread house, and I decided that needed to change! We invited some friends over, and undertook the huge project of creating gingerbread houses. I wanted to make the gingerbread from scratch and I used this recipe here and it was spot on. Everything was perfect, from the consistency, stability, frosting, and it tasted delicious! The kids had waaaaay to much candy, but you can't blame them, you place bowls of candy in front of any toddler and they will attempt to shovel the candy in their mouths until you take it away. Clara and Lauren had a blast helping and they kept each other entertained until the adults put on the finishing touches.

I definitely see a new yearly tradition in the making!!

The Christmas Season...

2011-12-07T14:32:00.001-08:00

We have been busy lately, but mostly with little holiday activities. Last Sunday we went to a local Christmas tree farm to pick out our tree. They had a pony ride, a jumper, Santa Clause, crafts and cookie decorating. We went after church and Clara loved running all around and doing everything. She was pretty brave when it came to sitting on Santa's lamp, she walked up to him and said, "Merry Christmas!" Then when he asked her what she wanted, she said she wanted a Christmas Tree, too cute! Later that evening we had Grammy & Pappy over and decorated the tree. Now our house feels complete and Christmas can begin!

The kids just seem to be growing up so fast lately. Coleton is army crawling all over the place, and he just started trying to give kisses, they are big, open mouthed, slobbery kisses...but sweet none the less! He also has figured out how to put his pacifier back in his mouth, which is a wonderful accomplishment in my book! Clara is just so full of personality, one funny thing is that she was completely attached to the baby Jesus in my nativity set. She would carry it around everywhere with the manger, and put him to bed, or feed him a little bottle. One time I let her bring it into her crib with her for nap time, and a couple minutes after I leave her room I hear her yell, "mommy, baby Jesus needs a blankie!" So I went back in and put a small washcloth over baby Jesus ;) Uncle Taylor has been trying to teach her some Spanish, she can have a little conversation with you,"Hola, como estas? Bien...y tu?" Lately the kids have been waking up earlier than I would sometimes like, so I will bring her in bed with me. She'll sing "Jesus Loves Me" perfectly all the way through and it is so sweet, if I open my eyes to look at her, she stops singing, and bossily tells me, "no mommy, it's not time to wake up yet!" I'm pretty sure I have said that to her a million times, and it's funny when they start using your words against you! She also has a lot of her books memorized, she can sit there and read almost complete stories word for word all by herself, it amazes me. For example she has the house that Jack built memorized, and can say perfectly and from memory...This is the maiden all forlorn, that milked the cow with the crumpled horn, that tossed the dog, that worried the cat, that killed the rat, that ate the malt, that lay in the house that Jack built. She is one smart cookie!

Bits of Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T22:01:00.001-08:00

We had a busy couple of days for Thanksgiving this year, Jordan had to work, so the kids and I went down to visit him at the station. We could only stay for a couple hours because my next stop was my mom's. Other families stopped by as well, so it was a busy station, and unfortunately Jordan went on 2 calls while we where there. After that I headed straight to my mom's, she hosted Thanksgiving for our family and our dear friends the Carter's spent the day with us as well. It was perfect because both our groups were on the smaller size and we were both missing members of the family

The day after Thanksgiving we spent with Jordan's family. While the meal was being prepared we got pretty creative with entertainment for the kids. The rope lowering activity was rigged up by daddy and her mission was to collect a rock and a stick before she could be raised back up, she wanted to do it over and over of course. And who knew that sweeping a back porch could be so entertaining? Our holidays are definitely different these days, the kiddos provide lots of extra craziness, and I must admit that it wiped me out by then end of them. But they also provide so much joy and lots of fun. I am looking forward to jumping into Christmas festivities now, once I recuperate that is ;)

Mom's 50th Birthday Bash!

2011-11-12T18:56:00.001-08:00

My mom turned 50 on 11/11/11! How cool is that?! She wanted to do something big and special for her day, and she decided on a ladies night out to go to dinner downtown at Buca Di Beppo and see Mixtape at the Horton Grand Theater. The best part was that we were transported in a SUV limo.

We all had so much fun, we took a scenic route to get to downtown, stopping off in Seaport Village for a photo op, we grooved to some music, drank champagne, and toasted our favorite stories of my mom. We sat at the Pope table in Buca and it was such a fun room. Sitting at a large round table, no one feels excluded, and the acoustics are such that you can hear the person across from you clearly, even if they are speaking low. The last activity of the night was seeing the show Mixtape, which is a musical revue of the greatest hits of the 80's. It was hilarious and so entertaining. We were all laughing so hard as we remembered the silliness and crazy fashion trends of the 80's. It brought back many forgotten memories like mullets, crimped hair, Michael Jackson, Footloose, and when my mom, sister and I used to work out in silly spandex outfits to Jane Fonda videos. The night could not have gone ANY better, it was such a fun crowd and most importantly my mom had a blast. Happy Birthday Mom, I love you so much, you are the best!!!

Halloween

2011-11-09T20:12:00.000-08:00

This is a bit belated, but we had a very fun Halloween this year with the kids! In the morning we went over to Grammy's school. My mother-in-law is the Director of the Ramona Lutheran Preschool, and they were having a trunk or treat, she invited Clara to come along as a "perspective" student. Grammy announced to the class that she had something to share, and she took Clara up with her to the front and introduced her. Clara wasn't shy at all, it was really cute (she also introduced Coleton of course). We even stayed for a little of craft time. In the evening we took Clara out Trick-or-Treating with my sister and Jon and Ella. Grammy stayed behind with Coleton to pass out candy, we hear he was a hit with the trick-or-treaters in his pumpkin costume! We actually went pretty far, and Clara was such a trooper. She wanted to walk the whole way all by herself, and she wanted to carry her candy bucket all by herself. We would try to offer to hold it, especially when it got so heavy that it was dragging on the ground, and she would not have it! It was so cute, she will do anything for candy! We had one little miss hap along the way, when the adults weren't paying too much attention at one door, Clara was holding onto the handle, and when they opened their door, she flew inside, fell on the floor and her candy spilled everywhere. Ooops! I can just imaging how surprised they were to have a cupcake come crashing inside! She was a little upset until they offered her candy, and then she was all better ;) These sorts of holidays just get more and more fun when you have kids old enough to enjoy them!

My idea...

2011-11-06T20:22:00.000-08:00

...of a perfect day. First and foremost, is Jordan being home. He works 24 hour shifts (sometimes 48 and 72 hour shifts as well), but then he will be home for many full days. This last Saturday, Jordan got home just in time for some Whole wheat brown sugar banana bread pancakes (whew, mouthful?) sausage and scrambled eggs. Then he took Clara up to help him in the garden while I put Coleton down for a nap, then I...cleaned the kitchen, started the first of four loads of laundry, De-cluttered, swept, vacuumed, and cleaned up all the bedrooms. We hung out with the kids before putting them both down for naps, I showered and got ready for the day. Then we all got out to enjoy the beautiful fall air and went on a hike. We went to the Barnett Ranch Open Space Preserve, just 10 minutes from us, and it was gorgeous, and perfect for a family hike. We came home and I cooked Black Bean & Quinoa burritos (absolutely delicious) and had my mother in law over for dinner. Then she put the kids to bed while we headed out to see a movie. We saw Courageous, it was a great movie, with a great message, but also a tear-jerker! That movie will rip at your heart strings if you are a parent!! It doesn't get any better than that! (A huge thank you to the blog world for recipe inspirations!)

This & that...

2011-10-30T13:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some random pictures from the last couple of weeks. I am a huge fan of Instagram, it's a great way to spice up the pictures taken with your iphone and share them. It's also super handy to take quick pictures here and there when you don't have your camera.

Beach time with friends!!

Carving pumpkins, neither of our kids wanted anything to do with the goo...go figure!

Bacon & Egg toast cups, cutest breakfast ever...thanks to Pinterest & Martha Stewart!

One big event that has happened in the last 2 weeks is that we have potty trained Clara! It's funny because she was SO ready to be potty trained it was embarrassing, but I don't think I was ready for her to be potty trained. I don't like being at the mercy of her bladder, I liked being able to change her diaper when it was convenient for me, I know that seems lame, but with a baby to tend to, it was just easier. So we are both learning a new way of life, and thankfully she picked it up really quickly. I feel like you don't hear a lot about potty training, and I had no idea what to expect. We did a 3 day method, that called for constant attention to your child, teaching them to tell you when they need to go, and it was a cold turkey method (more on that later). It would have been pretty comical to watch Jordan and I get down on Clara's level, and act uber uber excited when we told her she was going to be wearing big girl panties and not diapers because she's a big girl. Or to have our voices drip with excitement when she made it to the potty. If we could only see us now!! We are still working on making it a new habit, because she will forget to tell us if she gets too preoccupied. Let me just say that I am not a fan of potty training though. Like I said, the method required a complete removal of diapers or anything resembling them. And night time hasn't always gone smoothly. She is a thirsty girl (she gets it from me) and I feel bad not allowing her to have water for hours before going to bed. Sometimes I check on her a couple times a night and ask her if she needs to go, which kinda works. But then as a result of this she hasn't been getting as good of sleep or taking as long of naps, which really affects her behavior. I'm debating using some pull ups at night if it doesn't improve. It's been frustrating at times, like when I am driving down Wild Cat and she says she has to go potty, the only option was the gas station. So holding Coleton in his carrier, and her hand, I make my way into the gas station bathroom and attempt to hold her over the toilet. Craziness, and I hate public restrooms! Well, I just had to vent and I know I am being a bit dramatic. What do you all think about potty training? Any words of advice or encouragement, because sometimes I feel like it has turned my world upside down.

Pumpkin Patch & 6 Months!

2011-10-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

We went to the Mountain Valley Ranch in Ramona, it is really cute and has lots to do for the kids. They supply wagons for the little ones to ride in, and to cart your pumpkins around. There is a huge corn maze, a corn shooter, and lots of animals. It was the perfect chilly fall day (our weather can't make up it's mind around here) and we had fun running around and exploring. This has definitely become one of our many fall family traditions!

Coleton also turned 6 months old on the 20th. He is really starting to get around, mostly by rolling, but he can get up on all fours and will probably be crawling soon. He is 19lbs 13.5 oz (90%) and 28" (95%) long. He had a random health concern this past month, he had a UTI, which is strange for a baby to have. It went away quickly with antibiotics, but they wanted to do further testing to make sure the urine wasn't flowing back up into his kidneys. We had the test today, and everything came back normal, thankfully! Other than that, he is extremely healthy and happy and growing so quickly! We have started rice cereal and other foods will not be long off. We just love this sweet little man to pieces!

Fall Festival!!

2011-10-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

Jeannine and I hosted our first annual fall festival yesterday!! It was a huge success and a fun time was had by all. We had homemade chili, cornbread, and root beer. The games included a leaf pile candy hunt, pumpkin popping, apple bobbing, donut eating contest, pin the face on the pumpkin, cake walk and pumpkin and face painting.

We even had a quick photo booth for our guests as they arrived!

It was so much fun, we definitely have to try to do it every year. If you weren't able to make it, we missed you and hopefully we'll see you next year, it'll be even better!

A great weekend...

2011-10-18T00:13:00.000-07:00

Jordan had four days off in a row, including all of the weekend. It was a perfect mixture of fun and productivity. We did some major, and extremely overdue, cleaning and organization around the house. It was so fun and felt so good to get things done like windows, blinds, baseboards, doors, re-arranging, etc. We also managed two beach trips, our recent cold weather came and went, and has been replaced with higher than average temperatures. It’s kinda a bummer to have such warm weather in fall, but at least we can head to the beach! The weekend was especially fun, it all started with a fall concert in the park. They had a band, games for the kids, a jumper, and food. This is the last concert for the year, and they are always a good time.

Sunday after church we headed down to the beach with our friends Chris and Michelle Withey, and their little girl Lauren. The weather was gloomy at first, but the sun came out eventually and we had a great time. Of course the girls didn't mind the weather, and they got right to business playing the sand. Coleton was mellow as usual and just loved being outside. We ended the day with dinner in Encinitas at an Asian Diner and it was delicious. I love great family time, and that is definitely what this weekend was!

As of late...

2011-10-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

...not much has been going on. Nothing especially blog worthy that is. We have hunkered down since our last trip has come and gone, and have been doing things locally. I have made two trips up to Julian recently. We went apple picking with family, then I went back up with my friend Jeannine for her birthday. Jordan actually ended up in Julian the very next day fighting a fire, he was gone a total of 4 days between his shifts and the fire, and that seems like a long time with 2 kids. I have started watching my niece Ella again, after a break while my sister was in between jobs. I watch her around 3 days a week, and although the days are busy, I enjoy having her around. I have them all on tight schedules, and when everything goes as planned, the day is smooth and goes by fast. Coleton is 5 months old and continues to grow, he already weighs 20 pounds. He sits up on his own, and loves to grasp anything in sight and bring it to his mouth. I love how babies are curious to a fault! I have started walking a lot more just around my neighborhood. I haven't done much in the way of exercising since Coleton was born, and it feels good to get out again. It is a perfect activity in the evenings when the kids are getting bored and fussy, I just load them up and they love being outside, and Clara loves pointing out everything she can see. I also love how it gives me more energy to do things after they have gone to bed, instead of just crashing on the couch like I usually do. Lately cold Fall type weather has hit us with a vengeance and I am loving every second of it. We have been having yummy hot beverages, which Clara says more like "hot britches," doing puzzles and just enjoying the change in the weather!

There's a short update on our lives, and some random pictures, sorry the blog has been neglected lately, I'll move it up the priority list!

Lake Powell

2011-09-22T21:44:00.000-07:00

All last week we were House-boating on Lake Powell with wonderful friends. It was 7 days on the water and a full day to get there and back. Thankfully the kids did really well on the 11 hour car drive. We planned it that we started out during nap time, then they were awake for a while, then both ways we stopped for dinner in Vegas and to burn off energy and stretch our legs for a bit, before hitting the road again, while the kids slept the remaining 5 or so hours. They are both excellent in the car, with little to no crying from either of them, both ways!! This was my first time house-boating, and it was so much fun, and so beautiful! The landscape is gorgeous, with stunning rock formations, and the water was a perfect temperature, in the mid-high seventies. Our plan was to find the perfect beach and anchor the boat, then take off on the motor boats and jet skis to explore and wake board. We found a good beach the first day, but then the second day an even better one became available, so we moved the boat one last time, and enjoyed our rad beach for the week. It was clean and sandy, with great coves and hiking all around. We settled in to boating, wake boarding, hiking, swimming, jet-skiing, eating delicious food, and hanging out. Clara loves having older kids to tag around with, she was so independent and big-kid like the whole trip! She really looks up to Kelly & Nolan's kids, Brenna and Brett, and they were so good with her. Of course Clara absolutely loves Matt & Jeannine, and can't get enough of them. Luckily Matt & Jeannine are fond of our kids as well, because we all six slept in very tight quarters. We had the lower room that had two full size beds, and just enough floor space for a pack n play and travel bassinet. Somehow by early morning we would all four end up in the small bed, and I don't think anyone was sleeping very well. Oh well, it was worth it!

We had lots of bonfires and Matt let off great firework shows.

One of our favorite activities was a hike we took way back in one of the canyons. It was along a very muddy riverbed. It was a sticky soft kind of mud too...and if you weren't careful it would suck you right down! At one point I got caught in some crazy quick sand/mud. I stepped and sunk down to my upper thighs, if I moved or tried to get out, I would just sink further. I was panicking a little bit, especially because it took everyone a couple minutes to get a free hand to help pull me out!

Just starting the hike!

Another fun adventure we went on, was a day of exploration around the lake in the smaller boats. Lake Powell is huge!! We were gone almost all day, and we still maybe saw about a 1/4 of the lake. While we were about an hour from our house boat, we got caught in a crazy thunderstorm! The clouds just kept getting darker and darker, and very ominous, then the lightening and rain started, and we all got drenched in a matter of seconds. We were trying to huddle under towels and blankets and Nolan was trying to steer us to a dock with a store so we could find shelter. When we docked we were passing off kids to whoever had a free hand and all ran as fast as we could into the store. Lots of other stranded boaters where waiting it out in the store too, so we ordered ice cream and hunkered down until the storm passed.

Overall it was such a fun trip and I am so glad we were able to go!

Clara's 2nd Birthday Party!

2011-09-06T20:19:00.000-07:00

We had Clara's birthday party last Saturday and it turned out really great! It was in our backyard and we had lots of fun activities for the little ones. We had a toddler jumper, bubbles, sprinklers, and a big and little pool. Clara has been anticipating this party for the past couple weeks, she has been so excited talking about cake, and balloons, and presents, and kids. She has been going on and on about it, and it's hard to explain to a two year old the concept of time, and that the party won't be for a week, or a few days, etc. She had a blast opening her presents, which we had her do throughout the day, blowing out her candles, and having happy birthday sang to her. We sang and let her do the candles twice because it made her so excited and it only comes around once a year! She loved all her presents, the theme this year seemed to be play kitchen and food toys and baby dolls. She absolutely loves both of those things. Our big present to her this year was a play kitchen, which is now in our kitchen, so she can cook while we do. Guests took home cute little pink cake pops, and treat bags filled with white chocolate candy popcorn. We barbecued hamburgers and hotdogs, and had family and friends over to help us celebrate our little girl turning two. It could not have gone any better!

2 Years Old!

2011-09-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

My sweet little baby girl turned 2 today and we threw her a smashing party. Pictures will come later, but I just wanted to write some thoughts. She is such a sweetheart, she loves her baby brother and she is so good with him. She is talking so much, putting together long sentences and having full on conversations with you. She loves to say mommy a lot which just melts my heart, "Mommy, where are you going mommy?" "What are you doing Mommy?" "I'm sorry mommy." It is just so cute in her little munchkin voice. She loves to sing in the car, she can sing almost perfectly the abc song, twinkle twinkle, baa baa black sheep, the happy birthday song, and probably more that I can't think of. She can count to 20 although she skips a couple numbers in between. She loves to play babies, kitchen, hide and go seek, and loves to watch Sesame Street and Shirley Temple. We love this little girl so so much, I can't even put it into words how much she means to us. She brightens our lives with her goofy and loving personality. Happy birthday sweet Clara Jane!!

Family Pictures

2011-08-31T22:58:00.000-07:00

I had been debating getting family pictures taken, now that we are a family of four. My favorite photographer friend was going to be in town for a couple weeks, and looking at my calendar there was only one day that would work for us to get together. I emailed her thinking it probably won't happen and I might be okay with that. Amazingly the one day worked for her, then onto the second obstacle...what should we all wear! Of course I wracked my brain, looked through our existing clothes, made a very quick mall run (it's hard to shop nowadays), and put together some outfits I thought looked good. Location was also a dilemma, finding a good central location to meet at, with good lighting, easy to get to, etc. Then came the question of, will the kids actually cooperate? I had family pictures on the brain for the week that led up to pictures, I can definitely stress myself out with worrying if we would get any good pictures. But then the day finally came...arrive early, dress the kids (definitely don't dress them ahead of time), feed the baby, snacks for the toddler, bribery to get toddler to smile, changes of clothes in case of spills, spit up, etc. Whew. But I have to say, it was totally worth it!!! My friend Kali Leenstra is an amazing family photographer, she was so patient and good with the kids. She spent so much time with us, changing up the poses if something wasn't working, focusing on one of the kids if the other wasn't cooperating. She posted some pictures on her website here, and recently I received the CD in the mail with all the pictures. So here are some of my favorites that didn't make it to her blog...

Love, love, love them, I will seriously treasure these pictures forever. I can't wait to make prints and hang them in our house. I don't think we will be doing family pictures again any time soon though, maybe when we become a family of five? If you haven't gotten family pictures taken in a while, do it! You will be glad you did :)

Gardening

2011-08-26T10:59:00.001-07:00

We are still pretty new at this, but are getting better every year! It is so fun to have fresh produce straight from your garden, especially when your kids think it's fun to eat things straight from the ground. We learn new things every time we plant, and when Jordan finishes building his last 3 planter boxes, it will be quite the operation. Here are some pics from our garden right now.Clara was helping me plant some pumpkins. Since a lot of our plants have already run their course, Jordan pulled them and is letting me plant my fall things. He thinks it is silly to plant pumpkins and gourds, but I think it is fun! I know it is a little late to be planting them anyways, but I don't care, even if I get some small things I will be happy!

4 Months

2011-08-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I am behind. Such is life. Coleton turned 4 months old on the 20th, and our little man isn't so little anymore. He is off the charts for height at 27 1/2 inches, and in the 95% for weight at 17 1/2 pounds. I think he is taking after my side of the family. Although I am short, most of my family is very tall. My "little" brother is 6'5", along with my uncle, and many other great-greats from my mom's side of the family. It's crazy the difference, because Clara was 18 pounds at one years old. He could very well be 30 pounds by a year, yikes! It makes me a little sad that my "baby" already wears 9 month clothes. The second time around feels like it is going by a lot faster than the first, and it probably has something to do with his size. But man, this little boy is cuddly! I could just kiss his chubby cheeks a million times a day, and he always gives the BEST smiles, and will giggle constantly at nothing much in particular. He is such a good baby and so much fun to be around. Unfortunately it is really hard to capture pictures of those smiles, because as soon as I break out my big black camera, he just stares in awe. I'll have to work on that a little more :)Coleton loves to play with his toes, roll over both ways, nap on mommy and daddy's bed and not in his crib (I will be breaking this habit immediately!), watch his big sis do just about anything, and smile, smile, smile. Speaking of big sis, she was ready to be potty trained, like yesterday, and I don't know where I am going to find the time for that. We bought all the necessary items for the job, now it's just about focusing and being determined and consistent. We will see!

Vacation #2: Idaho

2011-08-20T22:53:00.000-07:00

We got back Wednesday night after spending 8 days in Washington and Idaho. It is seriously beautiful up there, and we had a great time getting to know Holly's family better and seeing where she grew up. Holly is my new sister-in-law (in case you didn't know) and she grew up in Spokane but spent her summers on Hayden Lake in Idaho. Her parents now live on Hayden Lake permanently, and that is where we spent most of our time. After an eventful day of traveling...delayed flight by two hours...try to catch a different flight...miss that flight...get on a plane from San Diego to Seattle...then Seattle to Spokane...arriving at midnight...hour long drive to our rental house...only to find it wasn't cleaned from the previous renters...eeck. Our rental house was in the city of Coeur D'Alene, near Hayden Lake, and we settled into a routine of traveling to Holly's parents house and hanging out on their dock, boating, slalom skiing (my first time learning), sailing and just hanging out.

Jordan and Clara getting off the tram (the way to get from the house to the dock).
On the back deck, overlooking Hayden Lake.

The primary reason for the trip was that Holly and Jesse were having a second reception up in Idaho for family and friends that didn't get to travel to the wedding in San Diego. It was at the Coeur D'Alene resort which was very beautiful and right on Coeur D'Alene Lake.On one of the days Holly's dad took us to Lake Pend Oreille, we sailed for the day on his racing boat. I only took one picture...Taylor was taking pictures this day mostly.We had a girls night and went to see The Sound of Music in Coeur D'Alene. I loved it, the music and singing was amazing. It is one of my favorite shows by far. Jordan and the boys stayed behind to put the kids to bed and watched a movie. Then we met up for drinks downtown afterwards.Holly's sister Heather, her friends Jessica & Matt...and the rest of the Abeel Clan.

On one of the days they took us to Colfax, Washington, which is a cute farming town, to visit the grandparents. They lived on a cute farmstead and we spent the day visiting with them and exploring their 12 acres.Hanging out on Dock wasn't the easiest for Clara to run around freely and swim, so we took her to a beach on Coeur D'Alene and let her splash in the water and run around in the sand. The trip home was much less eventful...thankfully! The kids did pretty well on the plane, every flight was completely full, and two lap children make things kinda crazy. Coleton doesn't like being held for long, he especially isn't good about napping while being held. It would take him about 10-15 minutes of crying before he would settle down and fall asleep. It's kinda funny watching everyone around you squirm and glance back, wondering if your baby is going to be crying the entire time. I knew he wouldn't be though, so I just tried to ignore them ;) We spent some great quality time together in Idaho and Washington, and got to know Holly's family much better, they were excellent hosts. It is nice to be home though, and we have a pretty busy couple of weeks before we are off again!

Big Bear in Summer

2011-08-08T10:50:00.000-07:00

We always go to Big Bear every winter around New Years. I am used to seeing it covered in Snow, and the Lake frosted over. This was Jordan's first time going in the summer, and I hadn't been in the summer in a long time...and we didn't stay on the lake. Wow, let me just say that I was thoroughly impressed! It is beautiful in the summer time, the lake is gorgeous, and it certainly helped that we stayed in an adorable cabin with our own private dock. And it helped even more that we stayed with some wonderful families. Clara was in her element, she loved all the people and little kids running around that she could play with. We had excellent food, thanks to Zandra! Our daily activities included relaxing, kayaking, tubing, wake boarding, playing games, going in the hot tub, playing bocce ball, and more relaxing. We had such a great time, that I definitely think Big Bear in the summer should be an added tradition. We were sad to say good-bye to everyone and leave, but it helps to know that our string of vacations isn't over yet!

Clara's obsessed with blowing bubbles...
Lounging while the kids are napping.
So excited that these two have a bun in the oven...Sailor Cole................... Jeannine & her brother Lance Making smores on the BBQ!Serious game of Settlers of Catan!The Browns...Sweet little friends...The Sturgeons...It was such great family time and couldn't have gone any better!

It's finally here...

2011-08-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

After watching everyone else come and go on their lovely vacations, our time is finally here! We will be coming and going on different little trips for the next month, yipee! I am so excited and totally ready for a break from being home. First stop...Big Bear!

All packed and ready to go...

Okay, so I admit that we haven't been sitting twiddling our fingers this whole summer...yesterday we went to the Wave Waterpark with my cousin Monica and Juanito, Penelope, and Ashton. It was crazy crowded and not as conducive to toddlers and I was hoping for, but we had fun anyways!

Penelope likes to share...and Clara likes to steal her snacks ;)Sharing again...Our summer is finally here, let the vacations begin!!

Visiting Friends

2011-07-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

Many years ago Jordan went on a missions trip with the organization Youth With a Mission (YWAM). It began with a Discipleship Training School in New Zealand. Then they went on an outreach portion to Thailand and Cambodia, everything totaled about 6 months. (It was actually just after this trip that we began to date, after being friends for a couple years, and having known each other since elementary school.) He met and became friends with people from all over the world, the leaders of his outreach portion were an engaged couple from Germany, and they were on "holiday" in California and stopped by to stay with us for a couple days! Chris and Teresa are married now, and we loved having them over. We took them sailing yesterday around the San Diego Harbor, we docked in Coronado and had dinner at Miguel's. Then enjoyed the lights of the city as we made our way back. Uncle Taylor was our Captain, and some of his friends came along as well. I'm not gonna lie...it wasn't all sunbathing and relaxation for us! We definitely kept many watchful eyes and hands on Clara and took turns keeping her entertained and Coleton happy. It was a pretty long day for the kids, we got on the boat around 2:30 and didn't get back until around 10:00pm. Then we still had to unload and drive home. They did great though for how tiring of a day it was.It was so fun to have them, they reminisced about their YWAM days, and we had fun figuring out all the differences and similarities to living in our different countries. Maybe one day when the kids are older we can go visit them in Germany!

Swim Lessons & 3 Months

2011-07-21T19:55:00.000-07:00

Clara started swim lessons at the pool near our house. It is a parent/tot class, and it's really fun and I think she will learn some important things. We are doing a lot of water related activities this summer, so it's good for her to know about safety and begin to learn how to swim. They practice climbing out of the pool, waiting for an adult to be ready to catch before jumping in, paddling, kicking, holding their breath, and some fun singing and playing time. My sister and Ella are doing the class with us, and that makes it even more fun! She has had a couple lessons so far, and Uncle Jesse and Aunt Holly came up to Ramona to hang out and have a BBQ so they watched her first lesson and played in the pool with her while we were waiting to start.

Coleton also turned 3 months old yesterday!
He is getting very strong, and if you are holding him reclined he is constantly trying to sit up. He does this in his swing, bouncy seat, and his car seat. He ends up just getting frustrated sometimes because I have him strapped in, or if I have him propped up somewhere he just topples over. He is holding his head up really good, just a little bit of a bobble so I think he'll be ready for the bumbo soon, and I know he'll love it! He is just such a sweetheart, he smiles all the time and giggles. So much fun!

Rocking Horse Ranch

2011-07-08T23:08:00.000-07:00

My brother-in-law Taylor volunteers at Rocking Horse Ranch in El Cajon. It is a ranch that rescues and rehabilitates neglected or abused horses. He invited us to go for the evening and go on a ride. Even though I have grown up in Ramona, which is big into equestrian activities, I have never ridden a horse! I was really excited to go, and so was Clara, she loves all animals. It was up on a hill and absolutely gorgeous. First Taylor took us around to meet some of the horses, then showed us how to get a horse ready to ride. Brushing them, cleaning the hooves, saddling up, etc. Then we led the horse down to the arena. I was definitely a little intimidated by how massive the horses were, and I think they could tell I had no idea what I was doing, because the horse pretty much led me! It took me a while to feel comfortable enough to be in control. Taylor also gave us some riding lessons, and it was surprisingly easy and fun! We took turns excersizing the horse and giving Clara rides around the arena.In exchange for the horse lessons, I packed us all a picnic dinner. We had chickpea pita sandwiches with cucumber salad, and blondies for dessert. It was delicious and perfect for a hot day.It was such a beautiful location that we tried to snap some impromptu family shots. It's really hard with a toddler and a baby to get some good pictures, but we tried!Thanks Taylor! We had a lot of fun and maybe we can do it again someday!

Independance Day!

2011-07-05T11:48:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July was jam packed this year. Unfortunately, Jordan had to work (reoccurring theme here, huh?) We started the day at the park near our house, they have an adorable little parade. I don't think I had seen this parade since I was in it a very looong time ago. Our cul-de-sac made a float for the parade, we were George Washington and the cherry tree, the one little boy on our street was George Washington, and all the little girls were cherries, ah the good ol' days. Anyways, this parade brought back memories, and the kids really enjoyed it. Then the park opens up with food, games, jumpy things and entertainment on the stage. We stayed for a couple more hours and let Clara explore and wear herself out. The kids got a nap in the middle of the day, then we headed out to Auntie Alissa and Uncle Jon's for a BBQ. We had some delicious food and did a little more relaxing. Lastly we went to the field behind the high school to watch the fireworks. Everyone brings blankets and chairs and it was a great show this year. It's also fun to run into people you know in this small little community, and we always meet new people along the way. Our town has a lot to offer, and it's nice to just stay local and have so many activities to do!I have been lagging on the blog posts lately. For example, Coleton's 2 month post. I took the pictures, but never got it together. So...at his appointment he weighed 14 lbs 1 oz and was 26 inches long. He is a big dude! He is getting so fun, he coos and smiles all the time and giggles. He is a great baby and I finally have his napping and nighttime schedule under control, which feels great! Things are still very busy around here, some other things that don't seem to get done are dentist appointments and oil changes. Oh well, I guess another month and another thousand miles won't hurt things...hopefully :/

Summer Kick-Off

2011-06-24T20:46:00.000-07:00

We have a lot of fun things planned this summer, it all started with our staying down at Carlsbad beach for four days this past week. My mom had some time off for summer and it was her idea to get family together for a vacation. We always stay at the Carlsbad Inn, we crammed quite a few people into a one bedroom condo, but it worked out pretty well. On one of the more crowded nights, we had two rooms. The first night was kinda a train wreck, with the two kids sleeping in one room. My poor mom was in the room with me, because Jordan was working that night. We got NO sleep, between the two of them waking each other up it was just one big mess! The next night was much better, Jordan was there, and they were used to the new sleeping arrangements by then, thankfully! We spent a lot of time at the beach, and just hung around the premises. They have beautiful lounge areas, a pool, jacuzzi, and an activity center where we checked out bikes one morning. On the last day we went back to the San Diego County Fair, since Jordan didn't get to go the first time. It was a lot more crowded this day than before, but it was still lots of fun. Jordan got to see Clara ride the rides, she rode less this time so no throwing up! It was such a fun and relaxing mini vacation, a great time spent with family after Jordan's crazy busy last week. It was also wonderful to get out of the house for a while, let's just say that I feel like I'm cooped up here a lot sometimes. I am getting braver about going places, but it can be few and far between.
Another nice thing about hanging out with family, is lots of baby sitters! It was so relaxing because Jordan and I got to get out one night for coffee and dessert after the kids went to bed, we got to relax in the jacuzzi and on the beach while grandparents and uncles entertained the kids, it was lovely!

The Fair!

2011-06-17T20:19:00.000-07:00

I went to the San Diego County Fair yesterday with some family. Jordan was supposed to come as well, but he picked up an extra shift, so it ended up being a girl's day! I went with my mom, mother-in-law, sister, and grandma. It was a lot of fun, and really nice to get out because that extra shift Jordan worked put him up to 128 hours worked this week, geesh! We did a lot in the five hours we were there, looked at the animals, watched the pig races, looked at the plant exhibits, the shops, and rode some rides. Everything went really well, until the combination of fair food and rides took a turn for the worse with Clara. As soon as we got back to the car, and put her in her car seat, she threw up! Poor girl, she had so much fun riding the rides, but I think it was too much for her little tummy.
When we left we registered for the $2 return tickets, who knows, we may just hit it up again before it's gone!

One last hoorah...

2011-06-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

Our Disneyland passes are about to expire...sniff. We took one last trip up there last Thursday and Friday to live it up one last time. We went with our friends Matt & Jeannine and even stayed over night at the Grand California Hotel, thanks to a deal with hotels.com. It was sooo much fun and of course magical! We rode some rides, Clara's favorites were the Jungle Cruise and the Carousel. We watched their new parade which had all the classic Disney songs and characters with beautiful floats. I was grinning from ear to ear the whole time, I just loved it, we had to hold Clara back she wanted to join in on the fun. We also watched the fireworks, which are incredible. Can you tell that I LOVE Disneyland? I am a bit sad that our year of Disney is over, I will miss it incredibly. But we have decided that we probably shouldn't go back for a couple more years. To wait until the kids are better ages. The next day we hung out at the hotel, I have always wanted to stay at the California hotel, and it did not disappoint. It was very luxurious, with great service, and we even got upgraded to a room with a view (which was double in price from what we paid). They have 3 pools and 2 water slides and really nice lounge furniture. I could get used to that! We packed up and headed out around noon because we were planning on visiting Jordan's grandparents on the way home. They live in Orange and had never met Coleton, so it was nice to see them and they enjoyed seeing their great-grandchildren.

It was a wonderful trip, we even had 2 perfect little angels for the drive up and back. Clara has been better and better every time we go, she behaved really well and met lots of friends up there. She has never met a stranger and is super friendly to everyone, it can be pretty funny. Good times, good times! Farewell Disneyland, you will be missed!!!

Memorial Day

2011-05-30T23:23:00.000-07:00

Great people, good food, fun times...

I hope you all had a fun memorial day. Mine was perfect, except that Jordan had to work. We missed him! Thank you to all our service men and women, we have friends and family that have served our country and we are deeply indebted to them. Especially to those who have given their lives, our thoughts and prayers are with their families...love you Tiffany and Chloe!!

One Month

2011-05-20T16:58:00.000-07:00

The little man is one month old today! He is growing like a weed, and is getting more alert everyday. Things are still going smoothly, I am loving having two kids. Sometimes I feel like I have grown extra appendages though. I am pretty much always carrying one of them, it feels like they have grown onto me! I don't seem to get much done around the house, but honestly I didn't before either, so at least now I have an excuse ;) He is still a mellow and happy baby, he doesn't cry much at all, and likes to sleep a lot. He definitely likes to eat though, he doesn't go much longer than 3 hours without eating, even at night. So...today marks a month of sleep deprivation as well. I haven't gotten more than 3 hours of sleep at a time for about 30 days and I am definitely feeling it. Some days are better than others, and I always try to squeeze a nap in, but it just isn't the same. I will sleep again one day though! We absolutely love our little man so much and feel so immensely blessed every single day to have two amazing children!
By the way...we call him little man, because he looks like a little old man. He has a receding hair line and makes lots of funny faces and grunts a lot. Reminds us of an old man, a really cute old man ;)

Backyard Barbecue

2011-05-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

Jordan can never sit still. He always has one project or another that he's working on around the house. Sometimes it drives me crazy, a lot of women probably have the opposite complaint, so I guess I should be thankful. His latest projects have included a built in barbecue and a red wood picnic table. He started with the barbecue, we bought a normal barbecue and then he made it look built in with blocks that match our landscaping, it looks great and it was cheap. Then I wanted new patio furniture to go with the new barbecue so we can have lots of outdoor dinning this summer. However, looking around, it is expensive! So Jordan says, how about I build something? At first I said, no way, you do not have the time! But he won me over when I couldn't find anything I like for under $1000. So, he found plans online and built a table with benches, for around $450 similar to what you can buy online for over $2000! It turned out great, but I am glad he is done, because it was very time consuming. We kicked off the spring/summer with our first barbecue and had friends over last night. It was a lot of fun, and we are going to love spending lots of time in our backyard this year.
We had delicious surf n' turf and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Little Lauren got to show off her walking skills, and her and Clara got to play together. It was a fun beginning to barbecue season and we plan on having many of them this year. Now I just need to find some outdoor play toys for the kids and the backyard will be complete!

Back to reality...

2011-05-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

After almost 2 1/2 weeks off, Jordan went back to work. I was a little freaked out...am I ready for 24, 48, and 72 hour shifts all by myself with 2 kids under 2!?! I have definitely been eased back into it. Jordan's first 48 hour shift was last weekend, and I had a lot of family stop by to help, which was wonderful. Today was my actual first day home all by myself, and it wasn't too bad. It's definitely busy, and I find myself feeding one kid or the other pretty much constantly, and of course changing lots of diapers. But so far, so good. Clara is still handling the addition of her little brother very well, she hasn't gotten jealous or demanding if I am busy with Coleton. I haven't ventured out by myself yet, I still think that is a long ways off, but eventually I know I will go stir crazy enough to HAVE to get out of the house. Coleton is still a very mellow baby, he hardly ever cries, and pretty much just eats and sleeps, he is definitely packing on the pounds. He already has outgrown newborn clothes, and I am noticing chub developing on his cheeks, and the beginnings of rolls on his arms and legs...he is so cute! One little outing we went on was the Ramona Bluegrass Festival, which was a couple weekends ago, it was a fun time and nice to get out and enjoy the good weather. Clara had fun dancing to the music as well!

Clara turned 20 months on the 3rd, and it is amazing how much she is talking now! She is putting 3 and 4 words together to make sentences. She probably has hundreds of words in her vocabulary, and she also has extensive conversations with you mostly in gibberish. She seems so big now, especially compared to Coleton, and she is such a goof ball. Her favorite thing to do right now is go to the park and play hide-and-go seek in the house. She also loooves to help with everything, and that can make doing things tricky, because let's be honest, she's not very helpful, bless her heart! I am loving life with my two kids, I wouldn't mind getting a little more sleep, but I know that will come in time!

One Week

2011-04-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

Coleton is a week old today. It's been kinda a crazy week, we have definitely packed April full of events. He was born on the 20th, our anniversary is on the 23rd, Easter was on the 24th, and my birthday is on the 27th! But it has been a great week, and we love the addition of our little man. He is a very mellow baby, he pretty much just eats and sleeps. Clara still loves having her baby brother around and she can say his name really well, she proudly introduces him to people. For our anniversary we got out for a quick dinner and dessert, spent Easter with family, and for my birthday today we met some friends and family for breakfast this morning, shopped a little bit for clothes, and then had more family over for dinner. It's been a fun day, and I turned 27 on the 27th, my golden year!

One week old...

I said a little bit ago that I wasn't excited about having a newborn...well I've changed my mind! I love how small and squishy this little boy is. I love his squeeks, and little noises he makes. I love how cuddly and curled up he is (I am taking advantage of this because I remember how quickly they begin to squirm away from you!) He makes the cutest faces when he sleeps and he is just so precious. I also have changed my mind about boy clothes, I didn't think they were cute at first. But now I love them, I love how neutral and simple they are, and I love how cute they look on Coleton. He is such a blessing! Anyways, Jordan has a couple more days off before going back to work, and it's been awesome having him home. I think it'll be pretty manageable once he goes back...hopefully. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it!

Coleton Brian Abeel

2011-04-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

Our little boy arrived yesterday morning, April 20th at 7:20 a.m. He weighed 7lbs 14oz. and is 21 inches long. It was a smooth and easy labor, however, it was not a smooth and easy delivery! I began having contractions the afternoon of the 19th, and began timing them as they got more painful and consistent. We called my mom-in-law to come over and headed down to the hospital around 9:30pm. They checked me in and I was dilated to a 4, by the time the I.V. was in, the Dr. had seen me, and I had filled out all my paperwork, I was in a lot of pain and was ready for the epidural. Thankfully it came quicky and I was completely comfortable and relaxed shortly after midnight. At that point they said to just rest and they would check me every so often, the epidural had not slowed down labor at all, the contractions were still strong and close together, I just wasn't in pain...heavenly! So Jordan and I slept and rested for about the next five hours, while I went from about 6cm to 9cm dilated. They broke my water at 6:20am and that brought me to 10 immediately, and they said it was time to push. This is when the craziness began! In between pushing Coleton would show signs of stress, and they began to all look worried, and lots of people were rushing into the room to do things. They put an oxygen mask on me, and kept having me push. He wasn't really going anywhere though, barely even crowning after a while, and I was feeling a lot of pain. Because he was under so much stress, they said they needed to use the vacuum and get him out as soon as possible. So I kept pushing, and the Dr. was pulling with the vacuum as hard as he could, and ouchie it hurt really really bad. Even trusty Jordan, who is usually not afraid of being right in the action, being a paramedic and all, had to take a seat for a minute, we were both pretty worried about everything. Coleton was finally born at 7:20am, he was "sunny side up," which is face up instead of face down like they are supposed to be. The cord was also wrapped around his neck, and he had a MASSIVE bruise on his forehead from the pull of the vacuum. Sunny side up is not an ideal way to birth a child, it is a lot larger part of the head that comes out first, and normally with a vacuum extraction, there is a slight bruise/misshaping on the back part of the head, but because he was face up, the vacuum was sucking on his forehead. Poor little guy! It was definitely a traumatic way to enter the world. I can't say that I scraped through unharmed either, the Dr. did an episiotomy to get him out, and lets just say the post-partum recovery has NOT been a walk in the park. The recovery is also when I thank my lucky stars that Jordan is a Paramedic, and is not afraid of some squeamish things.

His bruising was so sad! Thankfully it is already MUCH better.

The amazing pictures below are thanks to Taylor...I love having a photographer in the family!

Thankfully Coleton is here safe and sound, and so far he has been such a sweetheart! He has been nursing wonderfully, and then pretty much sleeps the rest of the time. He is so cute, and Clara has been such a wonderful big sister so far. She has not been jealous at all, and really seems to love him. She can say his name really well too, which is cute. Anyways, we got home today a little after noon, they had to test him for jaundice first, which he hasn't developed, thankfully. They told us that due to the traumatic birth and severe bruising they would be really surprised if he didn't get it, but so far he hasn't! We are feeling so blessed to have him in our family now, and can't wait to watch him grow!

A couple pictures from our first day at home...it's nice to be back!

39 Weeks

2011-04-10T22:10:00.000-07:00

The end is near! When you first get pregnant, and pretty much all the way throughout, it kinda feels like you are going to be pregnant forever. It's crazy when you finally reach the end, and begin to let it sink in that you are almost done. It's also wierd how you feel like this ticking time bomb, and have no idea how much time is left of the clock. I am 39 weeks 1 day, and I feel really good. With Clara I was a week early, and I kinda thought that I would be early with this one, because I was early before. But I'm not so sure that is going to be the case. Unless my water breaks, like it did last time, I think I might make it to my due date. I've been having contractions, sometimes consistent ones, sometimes painful, but they don't end up amounting to much. We'll see! Hopefully my next post will be a baby announcement!

The nursery is pretty much done, the part that you can't see is still our office. A desk and filing cabinet are in the corner. It'll have to do for now, we will move the office stuff to our room eventually. I think the part that is done looks cute but probably needs some more things, I'll work on making it cuter when he actually moves into the nursery, which will probably be after a couple months in a bassinet. We are getting very excited to meet our little boy, I can't wait to see what he looks like!

Beach Camping

2011-04-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

This last week we went beach camping with our friends Matt & Jeannine. We went to South Carlsbad State Beach and we had such a fun time. We arrived Tuesday afternoon and stayed until Thursday afternoon. The weatherman lied, he said we would have sun all the days, however, it never appeared on Wednesday until late afternoon. We spent all day down at the beach covered up, waiting for the sun to come out. It would taunt us too, it would be so close to breaking through, and then it would get all dark again. That evening we went over to Carlsbad Village Inn, where Jordan's parents have a time share, and went in the warm pool, jacuzzi, showered and headed back. We had some excellent camp food while we were there, great breakfasts, and delicious BBQ'd dinners. We also always packed a lunch to take to the beach, and we had bonfires every night with smores for dessert. On our last day we got up, had breakfast, and packed up. We then headed back up to the beach in front of the Inn because they had sand, and the one in front of our camp had lots of rocks. It was kinda nice though, because the large barrier of rocks around us kept Clara contained, so she wasn't constantly heading towards the water. Clara was so good the entire time, she never tried to wander away from our camp ground, and we found a perfect place for her pack n' play in the trailer we borrowed from Matt's sister and brother-in-law. She slept great for being in a new place, and she adores Matt & Jeannine, and they are so good with her.

Making a yummy breakfast...blueberry pancakes, bacon, and eggs.

"Please mom, may I have some more?"

A morning ride with daddy...

A cold first day at the beach...but still fun!

The waves were great & Jordan caught some good ones!!

Warming up at the pool, finally some sun came through!

Lots of sunshine on this day...we probably all got way too much!

There were rumors of a beached whale spotting ;) at 38 weeks I can't say a bathing suit was my favorite option!

...Matt & Jeannine trying not to get too much sun...

Taking a break in the shade to read to daddy...she has such a huge vocabulary now, and she has her own gibberish language too, it's so cute!

It was a super relaxing three days, however, the unpacking and laundry wiped me out! I get a little panicked when the house is in shambles and there is so much to do and I could have this baby any minute! Thankfully everything is back in order, and that makes me feel better. We shall see, my baby countdown says 14 days, crazy!

Spring has Sprung!

2011-03-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

Spring is definitely here, we've been getting a good amount of rain, but in between we have great weather. This last week we have been out enjoying the season! Jordan was taking a class for work all last week, and one of the days he had a couple hours in between class and going back to work, so we met in Carlsbad and let Clara play at the beach. She loves the water and will not stop running towards it. We were feeding her yogurt, and she decided to make a lovely sand/yogurt concoction, we let her do it because it kept her out of the water for 10 minutes!

Today Clara and I went to the Carlsbad Flower Fields with my sister and Ella, and my cousin Monica and Penelope. I think we were a little ambitious though, and by the end of the day we were dragging the kids along behind us! First I had a doctor's appointment, I am 37 weeks and everything is looking great. I am down to once a week appointments, and it feels like I am always there, but at least they are quick! Then we headed to lunch at Ruby's, went to the Carter's Outlet store to get some cute kid clothes, and finally went to the Flower Fields. It was a lot of walking (mostly carrying the kids) and the flowers aren't completely in bloom yet. But we had fun for the most part. After a couple melt downs we were on our way home, with the kids passed out in the car. It's nice to get out though, and I still have in the back of my mind that I better take advantage of having 1 kid. Thanks for all the comments/advice on my last post, it's nice to know other moms out there in similar situations!

Busy, busy, busy...

Ella loves trying to "get" Clara...

I squatted down to get a picture of her, so she squatted too ;)

I probably carried her waaay to much, but she has a nice "seat" with my belly!

Such a cute picture, but it is way too hard to get kids this age to look at the camera!

The spring time fun is going to continue, we are going beach camping for a couple of days, and the weather is supposed to be fantastic, I can't wait!

Safari Park

2011-03-24T19:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my sister and I took the kiddos to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, otherwise known as the Wild Animal Park. It was a lot of fun, she pushed them around in our snazzy new double stroller and I waddled along behind trying to keep up. The weather was beautiful, and I think we managed to see quite a bit, it was just nice to get out and go somewhere! Before we headed down, we went out to breakfast. I was hoping to fill Clara up to the brim so maybe I wouldn't have to feed her so many snacks once we were there. She managed to eat...half a banana before we left the house, the rest of the banana mixed in with baby oatmeal at the restaurant, then two sausages, some scrambled egg, and half a pancake...once we got our food. Oh, and lots of whole milk. However, as soon as we got there, she began to fuss and smack her lips, which is how she tells me she's hungry. I couldn't believe it! Luckily I never leave the house without a million snacks, so I was just breaking them out as we went. This girl can eat, but I don't know where she puts it! She was in a great mood the whole day, and behaved really well, yay!

Riding the tram...

Eating some of her snacks...I would try to point out an animal and she would be more concerned about asking for more...is this normal? At least she says please!

You ask Clara to smile...and she says, "Cheese!" Then she gives you cheese, she is so goofy!

She loved the petting zoo...

...but wasn't too sure about sitting on a large rhino ;)

I am trying to take advantage of having only one kid at the moment. Even though simple tasks seem insurmountable with my large belly. But soon I will have two, and then I'm not sure I am going to leave the house! Any tips or advice from you mom's out there that have two or more? How do you manage to leave the house, in between two napping schedules, packing an endless amount of food for the older one, and nursing the younger. I'll let my mom friends of only one know my tricks once I learn them!

P.S. I do have to add that Clara isn't always the best eater, breakfast is her hungriest time. After that she can be very fickle, such as not liking something she loved the day before. She also loves to snack, and after breakfast I have a hard time getting her to eat other real meals. So don't worry, she is not the perfect eater, she is still your typical toddler!

Baby Sprinkle!

2011-03-22T22:54:00.000-07:00

We had my baby "sprinkle" last Sunday, and it turned out beautifully. We called it a sprinkle because I already have most of my baby necessities from our first, but I just needed a few extra boy things like clothes, blankets, burp cloths etc. We invited family and a few close friends and had a great time enjoying each others company. My mom and sister threw it for me at my sister's house and the decorations were beautiful, the food was yummy, and I especially loved the cake pops, which I actually helped my sister make. Those are not for the faint of heart! They were fun to make, but very time consuming and a little messy. But they turned out sooo cute and were absolutely delicious! Other fun things were an Ice Cream Sundae station, a college fund piggy bank game, and setting a timer while I was opening presents and whenever the timer went off whom ever's gift I was opening got a prize.

Family...

Some friends...

Clara and her friend Lauren...

My cousin Karina, due in May also having a boy...

Cousin Mindy with her nephew Ashton...

Clara helped me open presents, and got some of her own...

My sister, the wonderful host, and beautiful Ella...

The generations are expanding!

Trying to squirm away from mamma...

Jordan stopped by at the end to help pack things up...

It was so nice to get all the presents, and I definitely am feeling a little more prepared and ready for this little guy to arrive. I received all the things I needed to finish the nursery, like my bedding, changing pad and cover, laundry hamper and lots of clothes and blankets. Now I just need to get it all organized! I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who helped and came, I really feel so blessed, Thank you!!

Just in case you were wondering, I took some pictures of how to make Cake Pops...

You bake a simple box cake according to directions and allow to cool (we used a vanilla and chocolate cake), then crumble the cake into a bowl and mix with a can of cream cheese frosting (with your hands, it gets messy). Next you roll the mixture into quarter size balls and chill for a few hours. Add the Popsicle sticks, dip into melted chocolate, add sprinkles, and allow to dry upright. We stuck them into a Styrofoam board which my sister later decorated.

...Delicious and adorable!!

Preparations...

2011-03-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

Things have been pretty uneventful around here lately. I am just growing larger by the day and starting to feel uncomfortable. This time around the pain in my hips and back has been waaay worse! I feel like an old lady when I try to stand up, and it takes me a good while before I can straighten up and walk normal. Clara even has a walk she does that imitates mine, although I think she exaggerates a bit. We have it on camera, maybe I'll try to post a video of her making fun of me. Speaking of Clara, she has become the craziest goof ball lately. She is such a ham and has so many funny faces and things she does that make us laugh. In these pictures I had some storage boxes out working on organizing things, and she climbs up on them and starts posing and being cheesy for us, so I had to grab the camera. Organizing is pretty much what we have been doing lately. Clearing out Coleton's new room, which has been our office/guest room. Our baby furniture has been delivered, we bought a convertible crib (changes to a toddler bed), and a dresser that will also be used as a changing table. I had debated buying a second crib, thinking maybe Clara would be done with hers by the time Coleton needed it, but I have decided not to rush her. She looves her crib, she sleeps and naps great in it, and I could never imagine her trying to climb out. I could easily see her in it until she is 2 1/2, and that is a year away. So I figure there will be enough adjusting in the near future for her. Anyways, just thought I would make a little post so you don't think I have forgotten about the blog, just not much to post about! I am excited that my shower/sprinkle is this weekend, it will be nice to get more things to help get us ready for our baby, maybe that will help it all sink in more!

Family & Snow!!

2011-02-27T20:12:00.000-08:00

I love living near family. They have become our best friends and who we spend most of our time with. Unfortunately, we do not live near Jordan's sister and her family...thankfully we got to spend some time with them during the wedding festivities. We had them over for breakfast the morning after and it was so nice to relax and play with them in an informal setting. They have twin girls only 2 months older than Clara, along with 3 older kids, they are all adorable and so much fun. Clara seemed to hit it off really well with Sophia, she loves having playmates!

I was also able to have my cousin over to have Clara & Penelope play together, and to take pictures of her new baby boy Ashton. He is so cute and such a mellow baby. Coleton and him will be good friends, just like Clara & P.J. I think the pictures turned out pretty cute also!

We went up to the Julian with family last week, as we all know Clara loooves the snow and sledding. My mom was watching Ella that day, and they came along as well as Grammie & Pappy. Clara kept saying "Ella?" "Ella?" whenever we would talk about sledding, and when we got up there she had her heart set on sledding with Ella. We made it work, and if we tried to take Ella off the sled Clara would act like it was the end of the world. She loves her cousin!

Then the big news...it snowed in Ramona! It just doesn't do that around here, we have the occasional morning frost that covers the ground, and hail storms here and there...but nothing like this!! It was heavy snow coming down for a couple hours last night, that stuck and made it look like a winter wonderland this morning! I had my family over for breakfast, and to play in the backyard with Clara before church. We took turns pulling her around, she doesn't know when to stop though, and always asks for more. My brother was even home for a quick visit with his girlfriend, it has been a year since my dad passed away and we went and visited his earthly resting place after church. He would have loved to be here sharing in these moments with us, we miss him a lot!

Such fun times with family. I am so thankful for them!

J & H Wedding

2011-02-13T13:32:00.000-08:00

Jesse & Holly's wedding was yesterday and it could not have been a more beautiful day! The weather was gorgeous and everything went perfectly. The wedding was at the Abeel's property, the ceremony was in a little serene clearing, it had the feel of an outdoor chapel, with an altar and doorway. The reception was a little down a pathway from there, under oak trees and near a stream. We all had sooo much fun!

Cutest little flower girls...

The beautiful ceremony...

Mr. & Mrs. Abeel...

The reception...

He's quite the ladies man ;)

dancing away...

Then there were two...

2011-02-09T19:29:00.000-08:00

Don't worry, Coleton hasn't made his grand appearance yet! I am referring to my other new baby, my niece Ella. I started 3 weeks ago watching my sister's baby 3 days a week. Wow, it is crazy having 2 kids! I must also add that it's even trickier being 7 months pregnant. I have definitely gotten into a groove with the 2 of them, figuring out eating and napping schedules. It's still a bit tricky at times, like what should I do with Clara when I am trying to put Ella down for a nap, and how do I get them to not wake each other up when they are only in rooms across a hall from each other. Some days are definitely smoother than others, but I am getting it down. This week Jordan was gone for his annual work snowboarding trip in Mammoth for 4 days, and I had Ella 3 of those days. I am a little exhausted after it all, and going a little stir crazy. I haven't ventured out with the 2 girls yet, partially because the thought of it makes me tired, and because I can just imagine the looks and comments I would get like, "geeze lady can you stop having kids already?" Thankfully, I will be getting out a LOT more for the second half of this week because we have wedding craziness coming up. Jordan's younger brother Jesse is getting married this weekend and there is a lot of work to be done, and family to see that we haven't in a while. I'm very excited for it all, I love weddings!

Couldn't get a smile, but I think they like going for walks.

Happy girl...she loves auntie!!

Giving Ella a hug.

She is sweet...and sassy!

I have been very encouraged with Clara's response to Ella. She looooves Ella and looooves to "help." Clara has been such a sweetheart lately, she has been so good with other kids and babies, she is a good sharer and listens very well. She helps feed Ella "babas," helps me change her diaper, gives her a pacifier or blanket if she is crying, gives her lots of hugs and kisses, and is usually very gentle with her. I hope she will be like that with her baby brother! I'm sure it will be a little different because her brother won't go home in the evening, and will probably take even more of my time and attention in the beginning. But I know she is capable of handling it. I actually better take advantage of the time with "just" the 2 of them, because soon there will be 3! It will be crazy, and definitely take some adjusting, but I am confident that I will figure that out when the time comes!

Happy Birthday Jordan!

2011-01-24T19:31:00.001-08:00

Jordan turns the big 2-7 today, unfortunately he had to work, so I planned a surprise birthday bash for him yesterday! I gathered all the family together and some friends and decked the house out in fire engine garb. We surprised him as he was coming home from a men's bible study at church. I actually surprised him too, he had no idea! We had a lot of fun and Clara even got to hang out with her friend Lauren...

Waiting for daddy...

Surprise!!!

We know how to have fun!!

Lauren & Clara

Attempting to hug...

...good save dads!

Would you like some tea?

Yummy Birthday Brownies!

I can't believe we are turning 27 this year! I love you Jordan with all my heart, and I hope you have a wonderful birthday at work. You are the best husband and father anyone could ever ask for, and I am so blessed to have you in my life!

27 Weeks

2011-01-16T18:56:00.000-08:00

Since I haven't done a belly photo during this pregnancy, I decided to take one today, and document some thoughts on the new baby. Firstly we have made up our minds on the name, our little boy will be named Coleton Brian Abeel! That's exciting to have that determined, and we both love the name so much. But anyways, pregnancy, I think I am ready for a break from being pregnant. Since the two kiddos are going to be so close in age, I feel like I have been pregnant for a long time. Today at church during the meet & greet session a lady came up to me and said, "I feel like every time I see you, you are pregnant, how many kids do you have?" To which I replied, "This is our second, but I feel like I've been pregnant forever!" It was kinda funny. I have been feeling great, not super awkward yet. However, I'm a little scared at how much bigger I am this time around. I think that is why I haven't taken many photos of the belly. With Clara people felt the need to stop me and tell me how huge I was, this time around I can only imagine the comments I will be receiving. I am feeling excited about meeting our new little baby, but I am also not really looking forward to having a newborn. A lot of friends and acquaintances around us have been having babies lately, and whenever I see pictures it panics me a little. Newborns don't sleep! They are also squishy and awkward looking at first, can I just have like a 3 month old? I know I will fall in love immediately with the little bundle, but as of now, I am nervous. I have been making sure I relish each night, when in between 6:30 and 7:00pm I put Clara to bed and have 12 glorious hours before she awakens. (Sometimes I have to admit she wakes up and needs help finding her paci & blanki, but she goes right back to sleep.) Although there are some challenges about Clara's age that I am not so excited about. Lately I don't go anywhere with her, unless it is a kid friendly environment. She doesn't like being in a stroller, and I have a hard time carrying her a lot, and when I let her walk she is gone before I know it! I had so much fun yesterday because I actually got out and did something fun on a day Jordan was working. I shopped all day with Clara...and grammie...and gram gram...and "auntie" Kenna...and aunt Holly. Yes, it took a whole posse of people, but we had a great time! I got her some adorable spring outfits from Old Navy, one of which she is modeling in the pictures. I must say that girl is my favorite little accessory! But anyways, I am 27 weeks and counting, and things are going great so far!

New Year's in Big Bear

2011-01-02T20:51:00.001-08:00

We got back from our annual Big Bear trip a couple days ago, and it was so much fun, as usual. It was a smaller group this time, mostly family. We have all been so busy lately that it was nice to spend some good quality time together. The day we drove up they received around 6-8 inches of snow, we took the back way through Victorville and had an incredibly smooth drive. Then for the rest of our stay the sun came out and we enjoyed beautiful weather. The young (not pregnant) people snowboarded, and we all had a blast sledding with Clara. She loooved sledding, she is pretty fearless, and she could not get enough of it. New Years Eve was definitely on the mellow side, after celebrating Taylor's birthday with a yummy BBQ dinner on the lake, we stayed tucked away in the cabin and played games, then watched Indiana Jones until it was time to watch the ball drop. Clara did pretty well being up at the cabin, she stayed off the stairs and didn't mess with electrical outlets, and kitchen cabinets and such, which I was really surprised and thankful for. However, it took her one whole, very looong night to get accustomed to the new sleeping arrangement. We haven't gone anywhere overnight for a while, and she was definitely not used to it anymore. She fell asleep fine in her pack n' play, but then woke up inconsolable a couple hours later. She would not stop crying, and would fight me if I tried to lay her back down in it. So, I brought her into bed with us...however, she doesn't know how to sleep with us! This was never a habit I let her get into, and once she started crawling, she wanted nothing to do with laying in bed with us. She refused to be laid down in our bed. So she would sit in the middle of us, perfectly quiet with her paci and blanket, until she would pretty much just fall over asleep. Then she would maybe sleep an hour or so, wake up, sit up suddenly, cry a little, then sit in between us again, until she would tumble over asleep. Nobody in the cabin slept very well that night, especially us! Thankfully she was accustomed to the pack n' play after that, and took great naps and slept well the rest of the time.

I feel like 2010 has been a very crazy year. It was my first full year of motherhood, which has been awesome. However, in this past year, my dad passed away after a very long and painful battle with cancer. Jordan broke his leg, which was difficult for both of us, and after being home for almost five months, he worked on average 70-90 hours a week for almost five months more to catch up. Getting pregnant again, and scraping my way through 3 months of torturing nausea. Craziness! We have so much to be thankful for, and are immensely blessed in so many ways, and I am excited to see what 2011 has in store for us. Hopefully a healthy baby boy and many many wonderful memories to make. I am so very thankful to know that no matter what our lives are in God's hands and He will see us through no matter what, there is such security in that! Happy New Year!

Pictures for the grammas...

2010-12-26T13:56:00.000-08:00

I had a request from the grandmas and great-grandmas to print up some pictures of Clara for them. Since we have entered the digital age of facebook albums and blogging, I never print pictures anymore. I decided to do a quick little photo shoot of Clara at the park nearby, and printed up a variety of 4x6's, 5x7's, and 8x10's for family as a Christmas present. I even had my sister stop by with Ella so we could get some pictures of the cousins. It was a really quick attempt, and it didn't go so great. It is hard taking pictures of a wandering 15 month old! I left the park thinking it was a waste of time, until I got home and uploaded the pictures. Amazingly they turned out pretty cute! I love how you can see Clara's little personality in them, she has so many facial expressions and she is just so stinkin' cute. Her and Ella are so cute together also, she loves Ella, and I was glad I got some good ones of the two of them.
We had a really nice Christmas, it was a busy day, but we were able to spend good quality time with both sides of the family. Clara was spoiled rotten with all her new toys, and I am trying to figure out where to put them all. That little stomach bug definitely made the rounds, we were dropping like flies. I think EVERYONE in the family got it. Thankfully we are all on the mend, because we are leaving for Big Bear tomorrow to ring in the new year! I am very excited about that, it has been our yearly tradition for probably the last 10 years, and it is so much fun. I hope you've all had wonderful holidays, and see you next year!

Stomache bug :(

2010-12-22T09:34:00.000-08:00

I had been looking forward to Monday night for a long time. My mom, grandma, mother-in-law and I had tickets to an American Christmas at the Hotel Del Coronado. It is a spectacular show, in the ballroom of the Hotel Del, with a five course meal, and hours of entertainment, in the setting of 1910. Both my brother-in-law Jesse, and his fiance Holly were in it, and when it costs $120 a ticket, that was pretty much the main reason to splurge and go. However, on the drive down, on a very very rainy and stormy night, I began to not feel so well. At first I thought I had overdone it earlier in the day with cleaning the house and getting ready and not snacking enough, I thought it was just residual pregnancy nausea...I was so wrong. I was in the back seat with my mother-in-law Debbie, who had been kind enough to give me her coat as a pillow so I could rest, when I felt like I was going to throw up. I immediately notified them to pull over because I was going to throw up, it took them a while to figure out where was the safest place. I asked, "mom, do you have a grocery bag back here?" Sounding much more urgent this time. She said she had one in the trunk, and as they were deciding who was in the safest place to get the bag out of the trunk, it became too late. I spewed everywhere. On my mom's new car, on Debbie's coat, on myself. Then I opened the door and spewed multiple times on the road, hanging out of the car in the rain, I even managed to get it in my hair. It was mortifying, especially since I was on the side of traffic, that was slowly creeping by. At this point I thought it was still random pregnancy nausea, and that if I could just manage to clean myself up, I would be fine now. So we continued on, while I spent the remainder cleaning off as much as I could with baby wipes. When we got to the show, and I couldn't eat anything, and even the simple bread and soda I was sipping on wouldn't stay down, I knew it had to be something else. Unfortunately during the show, I had to run to the bathroom 3 times to throw up. And of course our table was the furthest from the bathroom. By the end of the night, I was wiped out. I made to the car and slept the ride home, throwing up one more time before crashing in bed and thankfully sleeping the night through. Needless to say, I missed out on the yummy food, and I was definitely not able to enjoy the show the it's fullest. I gave other people control of the camera, so I do have a couple pictures...
I was thinking in my head, thank the Lord, Jordan is home tomorrow, and I can just rest and he can watch Clara. No such luck. He developed the nausea overnight and was pretty much incapacitated the entire next day. I felt a little better that day and was able to keep Clara fed. She was an absolute angel for us, she took 2 loong naps, and played quietly all by herself, I think she knew something was wrong with us. You see, this all started with my sister, actually with a friend of my sister's who came to visit. It is some kind of nasty stomach bug that is very contagious, and we have all been passing it freely amongst ourselves. Thankfully this morning, both Jordan and I feel much better, and we are both showered and ready to go today. Unfortunately, my mom has it now, and spent last night throwing up, ugh! I am sure you all wanted to know all those grimy details, so I didn't spare you a bit, ha ha! I am just so thankful we are over this by Christmas! Oh, I forgot to mention that Clara had it as well, she spewed in the car on the way home from L.A., after Jordan's family Christmas party, and guess who was in the back seat with her? My sweet mom-in-law Debbie, who has now been puked on or around enough to get her through the rest of her life...sorry Debbie!

Recent Happenings...

2010-12-17T13:36:00.000-08:00

Jordan has been working on getting our garden all set up for the spring. He has built 4 planter boxes, and irrigated them, and he has plans to build 2 more. We decided to try them out with some winter crops, and here is our lettuce just sprouting! Clara loves going out and "working" with daddy, she gets all dirty and finds many little projects to keep her busy, like moving rocks, digging dirt and inspecting what Jordan is working on. It's pretty cute and I know Jordan loves having her out there with him...
Jordan's most recent Craig's list purchase is a new bike trailer. He loves to go bike riding and has a road and mountain bike, and now he can take Clara on some rides with him. It even has room for two kids, which will be perfect, and it turns into a double jogging stroller. We tested it out the other morning, and although Clara seemed to have more fun playing in a bucket while he was getting set up, I'm pretty sure she is going to love bike rides with her daddy...
I also had to capture Clara's early morning "look." She has a blankie and paci that she loooves, and she has them with her always in the morning. If I get her out of bed and then go about my business getting ready, she always has to go back and get them. She looks sooo cute walking around all sleepy looking, in her jammies with her favorite blankie and paci. She even pets the blankie and hugs it and she already has a preference with paci's, she'll only take the pink ones. I don't let her take them downstairs or anywhere else though, because I don't want it to be become an unhealthy attachment. They are only a naptime and bedtime thing, and she knows it...
Obsessed...addicted...? You would probably be correct with either assumption. Yes...we went to Disneyland...again! We have gone 4 times since June, and it has just become a really fun free afternoon and evening activity. We even know how to park for free and make it into the park really conveniently (if the monorail is open...which it wasn't this time and I was not happy about that!) We went with our friends Matt & Jeannine, and met our friends Chris & Michelle up there. We also left Clara home with family this time, which made it nice and relaxing! Of course, it was lots of fun and very very festive!

This last week I also went into a baking frenzy, every night after Clara would go to bed I would break out my mixer and bake away! I made a collection of my all time favorite Christmas cookies to give away to some friends, neighbors, and family. Clara helped us go around and deliver the cookies to our neighbors, she loved handing them out, but then she would want them right back, it was funny. It was nice to say hi and visit with our neighbors, we are blessed to have very nice people around us. One of the cookies I made is more of a rice krispy treat that we call Chocolate Scotcharoos, they are not very well known, but they are delicious and easy to make. Here is the recipe if anyone wants to try...
Chocolate Scotcharoos

1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups rice krispies
1/2 pkg choc. chips
1/2 pkg butterscotch chips

Boil sugar & corn syrup for 2 minutes. Stir in peanut butter and rice krispies. Press into greased pan.
Melt choc. chips and butterscotch chips and spread over.

The combination of Chocolate, butterscotch and peanut butter is absolutely delicious! We have been having a great December, this is definitely my favorite time of year!

Magical...

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

Going to Disneyland for the Holidays is a MUST for me, especially if you have season passes of course! Jordan, Clara and I headed up there for the afternoon a couple days ago. It was magical as usual, with everything decorated beautifully. We watched the parade and the fireworks and enjoyed the "snow" that comes a couple times a night and after the fireworks. Clara loved watching everything, she had moments of absolute adorableness...and moments of being an absolute terror! I think we have been ushered into the world of a having a toddler. Now that she is walking she wants to go where she wants, when she wants, and that isn't always appropriate. While we were waiting for the parade she wanted to explore everything, and we were totally fine being her shadow and letting her get some energy out. But then when the parade started, it was no longer appropriate to wander about aimlessly. She would sit on our laps and watch everything, until there would be a break in the parade, then she wanted down. We couldn't let her down and she was not happy. Thank goodness for snacks, we managed to keep her occupied until the next thing came by, and "phew" we made it through the parade. She also did not want to be in her stroller, she wanted either to be walking about uninhibited or have me hold her. The bigger I get, the less that will be possible too!
We had a lot of fun, but by the end of the night, we were exhausted! It's hard because you can't really reason with a 15 month old, I feel limited in the amount of "training" or "teaching" I can do at this age. I guess we need to start being more selective with the types of activities we take her to, and begin to teach her that throwing a tantrum does not accomplish anything. I'm pretty sure those things are going to keep us occupied and on our toes for years to come, ahhh the joys of parenthood!! (I also think we have definitely gotten our monies worth out of those season passes!)

Thanksgiving

2010-11-29T19:25:00.000-08:00

We had a really nice Thanksgiving here at our house. We had both of our families over and some friends, for a total of 16 people. Everyone brought something for the meal, so we were in charge of Turkey, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. The day was very nice and relaxing, we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and waited for guests to arrive. Before the meal, I was able to sneak out with my sister's little family and take some pictures for them for a Christmas Card.
It's amazing how crazy things get right before the meal is completely ready, the kitchen had been mellow and clean all day until it was time to do last minute preparations. The kitchen turned into 5-6 people flurrying around getting things ready to serve, and the kitchen looked like something blew up. But the meal was absolutely delicious, and Thanksgiving is one of my favorite meals ALL year. I am still eating leftovers and loving it! Unfortunately, I didn't take many other pictures of things, so here are a couple random ones from the day...

Clara & Pappy

Since the fall decorations have been put away, we have replaced them with Christmas ones! This last Sunday we went and got our tree, Clara got to sit on Santa's lap at the Christmas Tree farm (we had to bribe her with a candy cane). The tree and house have been decorated, I'm still waiting on Jordan getting a chance to put our outside lights up. We even managed to get out and take our family Christmas Card pictures, which was very interesting. I thought that if I could get my camera settings just right, then I could have anyone take the pictures. It didn't work out as well as I thought, the sun kept coming and going behind clouds and I kept having to interrupt things to reset the camera. We had both my mom and Jordan's mom come, one to take the pictures, and the other to jump up and down behind the camera to get Clara to look and smile. It was pretty funny but thankfully we managed to get some cute pictures. Here are some funny ones that didn't make it to the card...

Clara loved decorating the tree. I had helped my mom decorate her tree a little earlier, so Clara had a pretty good idea of how to do it. She would pick an ornament, then take it to Jordan to help her put it up, then she would go run grab another one. Grammy and Pappy came over to help us decorate and I made some yummy turkey soup for dinner.
I don't know if you can tell in the tree picture, but my 20 week belly is definitely growing. We had our formal ultrasound last week and they confirmed that it is a boy, so we are working on finalizing a name now. I think we have it pretty much picked out, but Jordan is in charge of the boy names, and he hasn't given me the go to publish it, he says he is still thinking. Christmas is just beginning and I am already having so much fun. I can't wait for our Christmas events and parties to begin, although I am not really looking forward to Christmas shopping (Clara is a terrible shopper, I'll have to teach her better ;). Sorry that I have been such a bad blogger, it'll just have to be random things right now, not much else going on!

Family Beach Day!

2010-11-15T09:28:00.000-08:00

This last weekend we had family visiting from Minnesota, and while they were getting a foot of snow back home, we took them to enjoy a San Diego fall beach day! The weather was perfect and we all had such a kick out of watching Clara charge the waves. We took Clara to the beach a couple months ago, and she wanted nothing to do with the waves and water, this time she was completely different! As soon as we set her down she was heading to the water, and she wanted to stop for nothing. Even after the cold water hit her, she wanted to keep going. We had to keep pulling her back, and she would just crawl back for more. She was having sooo much fun, squealing with delight the whole time. Clara would not stop playing in the water, so we eventually had to tear her away after she began to shiver with cold. Stripping her down and wrapping her up helped her to get warm again!

Jordan's Aunt Amber and cousins Elle and Emma loved watching Clara enjoying the water. The girls were such a good help with her the entire time they were here, I know Clara will miss them! While they were here we also went to see Jesse's Lambs Players show "The Glory Man." Which was excellent, and we just spent good quality time as a family! Clara is 14 months old, and she has been walking now since the beginning of the month. She still is a little wobbly, and when she wants to get somewhere in a hurry (like the ocean) she will crawl. It is so cute to watch her walk, and she has begun to say some more words. She can say shoe, teeth, hot, Ella, cookie, and gram gram (not perfectly by any means). We are having so much fun with her it's not even funny!

Happy Halloween...

2010-10-31T09:37:00.001-07:00

From our little pumpkin!!!

Fall Festivities!!!

2010-10-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

Now that I have my life back, we have jumped into fall feet first! We had a Halloween extravaganza on Thursday night with some friends. We started with a trip to the Mountain Valley Ranch in Ramona. They have a corn maze, a pumpkin patch, a super cute red barn filled with all kinds of pumpkins, a corn shooter, and a goat run. It was such a nice day, and they even have little wagons that you can pull kids around the ranch in. We had a lot of plans for the evening, so we didn't stay too long. For dinner we had chili, cornbread and IBC Rootbeer. We carved pumpkins, baked pumpkin seeds, made apple cider, and made candy apples. It was all soo much fun, and everything turned out great.
Today Clara and I went up to Julian to pick apples with my sister's family. Her in-law's have all come from Boston to visit the new baby Ella, and we went today with my sister, her husband, and mother and father-in-law. The rest of the family have already gone back. While they were all here, I took some pictures for them to use on a Christmas Card, they don't have the entire family together very often, so it was a perfect opportunity. Jonathan has two sisters, and one brother, and they all made it out here with their significant others/spouses. It was very fun to have them all here. Jon's older sister has a baby the same age as Clara and it was funny to see them together, Clara isn't always the most polite with other kids, so it was good practice for her.

The Gauvins

We went to the Raven Hill Orchard, and although it is late in the season, we still found some good apples.

We made a stop at Menghini Winery for them to do some wine tasting, it was right next to the orchard.
It has been such a fun couple of days. I am so glad that I am finally starting to feel better, but I also can't believe that I am already looking pregnant. It is happening so much faster this time around, yikes!! Now I am ready for Halloween, Clara and I probably won't go trick-or-treating, but we'll have fun passing out candy to all the kids. Happy Halloween and Fall!!

Oh BOY, oh BOY...

2010-10-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right...baby #2 is a boy!!! We did the "gender package" at a 3-D ultrasound facility today. I know, I know...I am so impatient when it comes to gender. The funny thing was that I was more willing to wait this time until our 20 week formal ultrasound to find out, but Jordan actually kept bringing up, "so if we wanted to, we could find out at 15 weeks?" To which I would tell him, stop getting my hopes up, if you keep talking about it, then I'm going to book it. Anyways, he made the appointment as a surprise to me, and then told me about it a couple days before. I was soo excited, I have pretty much been going through 9 weeks of torture, that I was ready for some good news. The ultrasound tech said she was about 100% sure, and she said she doesn't say that very often. From my view it definitely looked like a boy! Jordan is of course very excited, and we keep telling Clara that she is getting a little brother. It was so nice to see the baby, I have been pretty convinced that my body is such a hostile environment it is impossible that something could be living inside me. So, we enjoyed ourselves and loved seeing the baby move and suck his thumb. There has been such a girl dominance lately with our friends, that maybe we will be starting the boy train now, who knows?

October

2010-10-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

I have been terrible at blogging lately, pretty much because all I've felt like doing is crawling into a hole and not coming out 'til second trimester. I have been nauseous for 9 weeks now, and am finally starting to feel a teensy bit better...hallelujah. It was taking all my energy to keep Clara and myself fed. I had to constantly be snacking and my dilemma was always, "now what should I eat?" Nothing would sound good, and I wouldn't feel like making anything, but if I didn't manage to scrounge up something I would throw up, and undo all my hard work of eating up until then. Jordan had been very busy with work the first two weeks in October. He was also taking a class that was every day for 8 hours, in between his 24 hour shifts. Basically he was home every other night, and that was no fun. He is absolutely amazing though, he would come home, and in the couple hours he had before bed, he would clean the house and put it back in order, because it was always in shambles. But thankfully, we have all survived, and did manage to do a couple of fun things in the meantime.

I had a girls afternoon tea for Jeannine's birthday in the beginning of October. We went to the Aubrey Rose Tea Room in La Mesa. It was a lot of fun, and very relaxing, especially because I left Clara with my mom. I couldn't imagine trying to reign her in amongst all the fine china.
We also had planned a Disneyland trip for Jeannine's birthday, although it took until yesterday to actually go with all of our schedules. It was a wonderfully cold and cloudy day, and it POURED a couple of times. I didn't even know it rained that much in California, but I loved it, and I would take that any day over hot and sunny, especially in October.

We had soooo much fun, we hardly waited in any lines, and got to do everything we wanted. I don't know if I have ever expressed my love for Disneyland on this blog, but I think it is the most fantastic place on earth. Disneyland doesn't half-do anything, everything is done above and beyond. Every square inch of that place is accounted for, and plays the part perfectly. I love all the rides, but some of my favorites were the Toy Story 3-D ride which was my first time on it, and the Tower of Terror which we rode twice. I love that ride, you seriously go from screaming your head off, to laughing hysterically, and then back to screaming. We saw the new show "World of Color" at California, it was a great show, although I am not a fan of the seating arrangements. You have to get a fast pass in the morning to have a spot to watch the show, and there are barely any open viewing areas. We didn't know this, so we were left without a place to watch it, but we were determined to see it. Another thing about me though, is that I do not like breaking rules, I hate getting in trouble, and I don't have a rebellious bone in my body (hopefully our kids will take after me). There was plenty of room in the fast pass viewing areas, but the staff was adamant that they wouldn't let anybody in without a ticket. Jordan manages to sneak through somehow, and then of course, when I try to sneak through, I get caught! So embarrassing! "Excuse me ma'am, do you have a ticket?" Dang it! I had to leave the area, and now Matt & Jeannine had gone off to find a place, and I was not about to watch the show by myself. So after the lights dimmed, I zoomed past the guy again, my heart pounding, and found Jordan. The whole time I was just waiting for the guy to find me, tap me on the shoulder, and say, "are you kidding me lady, can't you follow directions?!" I liked the show, but I think I will go back to following the rules. We had the grandmas watch Clara for the day, which was a good move, I don't think she would have done so well in all the rain. The poor kids we saw looked kinda miserable.

I just realized that there are no pictures of Clara in this post! And looking through my pictures this month, I haven't really taken any of her! I only have one goofy picture of her from a trip we took up to Julian, but it's still cute, she is munching on some pie crust.
I promise that I will get better at taking pictures soon, and my next post will have her, because she seriously is the cutest thing ever, and I know she is the main reason you all read my blog!

My Niece!

2010-09-28T15:01:00.000-07:00

Just Born!

My beautiful niece Ella Reese Gauvin was born this morning at 6:15 a.m. weighing 8lbs 4oz and 20.5 inches long! She is absolutely adorable and we are all so excited that she is here. My sister and Ella are both doing very well and Jon couldn't be a more proud papa.
Sorry for the lack of blog posts lately, this is the first exciting thing to happen around here (and boy is it exciting)! I am going on 6 weeks being nauseous and I am soooo over it. I probably have a couple more weeks to go before I feel better, and then I will get back to normal, and actually feel like taking pictures again! So enjoy this cute little babe, I can't wait for them to come home so I can spend a lot more time with her!

Clara's 1st Birthday & Surprise!

2010-09-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

It's been way too long since I have posted, and things are piling up. I have my excuses for being so bad at blogging, but that will come later. First off, our little baby girl turned 1 on Friday, September 3rd, and we had a little birthday celebration for her on Saturday the 4th. She loved every minute of it, and you have never seen a more excited 1 year old. She was giddy when we put her presents in front of her, she laughed and squealed at each one of them. Her and her little friend Trevor splashed around in a little pool for a bit, we had some yummy BBQ food, then Clara dove into her smash cake. She was slow at first, and then when she realized how good it was, and that she was actually allowed to eat it, she went right to business making a big mess!

Our dessert...strawberry ice cream-brownie cupcakes!

The big surprise for our families came when we had my mother-in-law help Clara open a present from us. It was a card from baby #2 wishing Clara a happy birthday! Everyone was very surprised and excited. I am due April 16th, and feeling EXTREMELY nauseous. It's actually not as bad as the first time, but it's still pretty miserable. Just a constant icky feeling and more than occasionally throwing up, yuck!

Since I haven't posted in so long I will also include our recent trip to the Zoo, with Uncle Taylor, Blaine & Bethany Franger and there cute little baby Ellary, and Jeannine stopped by to hang out for a little bit. Jeannine has a season pass, and the rest of us had guest passes from other season pass holders. It was a fun day, nice cloudy weather, and lots of interesting animals for Clara to point at.

Hippo bottoms... A little present from Jeannine...

Lastly, we had Clara's 12 month check up this past week. She weighs 18lbs 7oz., and is 2'4.72" tall. She is a little peanut, only in 10% for weight and 35% for height. She eats like crazy so I don't know where it all goes! She just cut two little top teeth, one came in slightly before the other and she was a little snaggle tooth for a while. She is not quite walking on her own, she still prefers assistance, but I'm pretty sure that will be very soon. It's been a great year with Clara, so many changes and milestones, and now in this next year she will become a big sister, how exciting!

Lauren Paige

2010-08-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

I took some pictures for our friends Chris & Michelle of their absolutely beautiful baby girl Lauren Paige Withey. They needed some pictures to send out with announcements and I was happy to give it a try, and thankfully, I liked how they turned out! Here are some of my favorites...

Such a beautiful little family! In other news...we are all recuperated from the sailing trip finally! We counted it up and Jordan has worked 130 hours this past week, from Friday to Friday...are you kidding me!?! Sounds more like slave labor if you ask me. Whew, we are due for some family time, and Jordan has today off! Have a good weekend!

Sailing!!

2010-08-20T15:32:00.001-07:00

We just got back from sailing the Channel Islands, and it was nothing short of an adventure! Sailing is very unpredictable, between the boat and the weather and this time we added a baby into the mix! We had an amazing time and thankfully even though we had some rocky situations, everything went great! The journey began with our supposedly four hour crossing from Santa Barbara to the Channel Islands. I took Clara down below to take a nap, as it was the safest place for her to be while we were crossing, and it was amazing that she mostly slept through the raucous that was taking place above deck. I was awake, it was about 3 hours into it, and I began to hear a flurry of activity above, they killed the engine, and began clanking, banging, and tinkering on things. Then I heard Taylor get on the radio, "Santa Barbara Sailing Center, Santa Barbara Sailing Center, this is Cold Water, do you copy?" He kept repeating this over and over again, with no response, and I knew something was terribly wrong. Eventually Clara woke up and we went above deck to learn that our steering had given out. They had attempted to build a back up steering method, and that too was breaking. The song from Gilligan's Island began popping into our heads, "A three hour tour..." We were a wayward ship tossing relentlessly in the waves. Seasickness is a very present enemy when you are making the crossing, and as we tossed we all began to feel it. Jordan and Holly were taking turns losing their breakfast, and we all looked pretty pale. This was my mom's first sailing trip and I could tell she wasn't sure what she had gotten herself into. Thankfully, we slowly made our way to the anchorage, got through to the sailing center, and Taylor and Jordan worked the better part of that day to restore steering to the ship...crisis averted!

Ready to explore Painted Cave...

After the eventful crossing, we settled into our usual Channel Island activities. Every morning we would get up and move to a different anchorage, then spend the whole day kayaking, snorkeling, hiking, lounging, and hanging out. One of our favorite things is to explore sea caves on kayaks. There are tons of sea caves, some so narrow you can barely squeeze your kayak through them, and they go back really far. This was the first trip where Jordan and I went into "painted cave" which is one of the largest sea caves in the world. It get's so dark in there that you have to bring flash lights. We only had head lamps, and we could barely see anything. When you go into the cave, you come across another opening that turns right and continues on, and it's pitch black. There was the scariest noises coming out of the cave, it sounded to me like the monster on the Matter Horn. When we got back to the end, we could make out some Elephant Seals making very loud roaring noises, to warn us not to come any closer. It was very creepy.

The whole crew...

It was definitely different having a baby on board. We used the many extra cushions on the boat to create barriers for her. It was interesting trying to get her to take naps when they were constantly raising and lowering the sails, the anchors and taking kayaks and our dinghy on and off the boat. There are always noises coming from the boat, even at night, and then with the three of us sleeping in a small confined cabin, it made for interesting sleeping arrangements. She is very adaptable, thankfully, and we made it work. But, boy is it nice to be home in our normal bed, and her in a crib!

just thinkin'...

Another exiting thing that happened on the trip was that Jesse and Holly got engaged! That was a covert operation in and of itself. Jesse, Holly, Taylor, Jordan and I climbed into our dinghy...which I'm pretty sure exceeded the weight limit and probably looked pretty funny. We headed down the island a ways and towards shore to go on a sunset hike. Jesse stalled Holly and the remaining three of us booked it to the top to get everything set up. Jesse had planned in advance and brought a blanket, wine, chocolate, cheese and crackers, music and his Ukulele. By the time they got to the top everything was set up and we were in hiding taking pictures and video. It was the 5 year anniversary of the day they met, and Jesse had written a song for her that he played and then asked her to marry him...and she said yes! It was a beautiful evening, and so serene. They were on top of the world at their lookout point and now they are on cloud 9 planning for a wedding. By the time we got back to the dinghy and were making our way back, it was pretty much dark, and we had a couple hundred yards to go, with lots of seaweed in the way, and some of the air had deflated out of our already struggling dinghy. We made our way slowly, barely sitting out of the water. When Taylor had to make a quick turn, Jesse and I found ourselves half way in the water, we were so low. It was quite the adventure, and thankfully we made it back safely, and had a little candle lit celebration of their engagement.

It's funny to try to think of things from Clara's perspective. I wonder what she thought was going on? On the way back, I stayed down below in our tiny little forward cabin, and put up cushions on every inch of the area because we were rocking and rolling. There were strong winds and massive waves and it sounded like the boat was going to be smashed to pieces. She could barely crawl anywhere the boat was rocking so much. She actually seemed to be having fun though, and then when she got tired of being tossed about she just laid down and fell asleep. It must be a strange experience for a baby!
Overall it was an awesome trip. This was our third trip sailing to the Channel Islands, and I love it! It was a fun time hanging out with family, and everyone loved having the addition of Clara. She is such a happy baby with so many faces and such a big personality, she keeps everyone laughing. Now it's time to recuperate from the trip and get to laundry, and try to find my cell phone, it's missing at the moment grrr.

Baby Shower!

2010-08-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

Today was the baby shower for my soon to be niece Ella. It turned out beautifully, with our loving friends and family to help celebrate. We played some fun games, had delicious appetizers, and showered Ella and my sister with lots of baby necessities. I hosted it at my house with the help of my sister's long time friend Ashley, and we were happy with how everything turned out.

All set up and waiting for guests to arrive...somehow Clara turns up in every picture! (Meg & Clara)

Clara playing with her second cousin Sophia

Opening presents...

Time for some pictures!!!

The Abarca side...

My sister's college friends...

Grammie and Clara...

Four generations...

How's this for a quick post ;) What a fun day it turned out to be! Clara can't wait to meet her cousin, and I am ready for another baby to be around! Now I am off to pack for sailing, we leave tomorrow...bon voyage!