Lost Havasu Pictures!

I totally forgot that we took two cameras to Havasu. These are a couple of pictures that were on the other camera. Thanks grandma for reminding me that I had them. Enjoy!

Evelyn with both Great Grandpa Fred and Great Grandma Yvonne.

Evelyn and Great Grandma Yvonne
Evelyn and Great Grandpa Fred

Taking a nap on the boat. Don't we look comfy?
Having fun cruising on the boat.
Look at me in my life jacket. Aren't I cute?

More Pics!

Evelyn and Grandma Lavon
She loves hugs!
Curling up with Sandy.
Pillows are so soft.
Where did it go?

Happy Father's Day!

I know I am a day late, but I was focused on the father of my children yesterday. I hope that everyone had a great Father's Day. We did.

I made Richard pancakes with fresh strawberries and blueberries, bacon and fresh fruit for breakfast. We kept it low key. I bought a new CD and filters for the camera, also a remote for the camera so he doesn't have to set the timer. I think he enjoyed it.

We went to REI so he could get some backpacking stuff for his upcoming trip (this coming weekend). They were have a used gear sale, so we checked it out. We got awesome deals on a Zero-gravity chair. It was missing a bolt and was marked down about 67%. (Richard being handy already had a bolt and the chair is fixed and ready to use.) The other item we got, which I almost got him for Father's Day (although not as nice of one), was trailer for his bicycle so he can take Evelyn and some day the next baby on bike rides. We got it for 75% off becuase it was missing a SNAP. Since Richard is again so handy it is already fixed and ready to use. It was a good day.
Later, we had Lavon over for dinner. We tried a new recipe. We had chicken, spaghetti with garlic and olive oil (this was new), and garlic bread. It was a great dinner with great company. Evelyn was excellent and enjoyed spending the day with her daddy.

Here are some pictures that were taken before bed time. We were so busy, we didn't take any during the day. Enjoy!

Formula = Sleeping Through the Night

Evelyn has started drinking formula since I am trying to quit nursing her. She has been doing ok but taking in very much. A few nights ago we tried the bottle instead of the sippy cup to see if she would drink better from it. She did. I know some say not to use the bottle now but if it is the only way she will drink formula than I am going to do it. Anyways, she slept from 8:30 until about 7 and only woke for a few minutes before going back to sleep. I thought maybe it was a fluke thing. The next night we gave her formula again and she slept all night. Last night we gave her 6 oz all of which she drank. She slept from 8:45 until 6:30 then went back to sleep until 8:30. I cannot begin to tell you how WONDERFUL it is to sleep all night long and not have to get out of bed.

I know this may not last but I can be hopeful. Here's hoping.

Yummy Dinner!!!

Evelyn is pretty much eating only table foods these days and is really enjoying it. Here are some pictures from dinner last night. We had pasta if you couldn't tell.

What's Happening?

Many things have been happening lately and we have been really busy. I am in the process of planning three parties that all happen this summer and since I am a planner I started early so I won't get as stressed.

One of the parties is Evelyn's 1st Birthday in August. I cannot believe she is going to be 1! The time has flown by and too fast I might add. I am looking forward to it as we get to see a lot of family and friends. Hopefully it will be a good time. Look for invites to come.

I had another doctor's appt and ultrasound. The baby looks great and is growing well. At my appt. yesterday the dr. said, "good news is that hearbeat is strong. The bad news is that means it is a girl." We shall see if he is right. I always thought I heard fast heartrate meant boy, who really knows?

Evelyn's doing well, although is more fussy lately due to teething. We are enjoying her at this age. She is so much fun to interact with and make laugh. She has a new trick that we have to be careful about; she can climb up onto the couch by herself and has done so multiple times. Luckily, she still seems uninterested in walking and I am perfectly OK with that. I have no need to have her walking just yet. She is a fast crawler and I am having a hard time keeping up with her.

Other than that not much has changed. We are always busy around the house and trying to stay in contact with friends. Some whom we never seem to be able to get together with. We do miss you all and hopefully someday soon we will be able to all meet up.

Hope all is well with you and your families. Have a great Father's Day to all you wonderful dads out there.

Vacation Pics!

Grandpa, Grandma, and Evelyn.


Aunt Nicole, Uncle Scott and Evelyn

The whole gang!

Mommy, Daddy and Evelyn!

Evelyn's 1st trip to Schat's.

Evelyn in the wagon with Grandpa and Madison.

Isn't she cute?

Evelyn with grandma.

Sunset over the lake.

Another beautiful sunset on the lake.

Evelyn also turns 10 months old today. Can you believe it?

Family Vacation!

Memorial day weekend is a weekend we usually spend with my parents and family in Lake Havasu. This year was no different except that we had Evelyn with us. We drove down to Bakerfield Friday night and stayed. Evelyn did pretty good sleeping in the pack n play. The next morning we got up, packed the car and drove the rest of the way to Havasu. It was a good drive considering how long it was. Evelyn was a trooper and we could not have been prouder of how well she did in the car.

Once we got there my dad immediately took Evelyn for a ride in the wagon, which she LOVED. She would just lean back and enjoy the ride. She went on many wagon rides this week and she enjoyed every since one of them.

We went on the boat many times throughout the week. Evelyn did great on the boat and wearing her lifejacket. The only time she didn't like it was when the boat was going slow. I held her most of the time and she almost always fell asleep while driving. She is just like her mom in the respect.

Unfortunately, the water was too cold to let her really go in, although we did try. She was prefectly happy playing in the shade with toys and family members.

We got to see my parents. brothers, soon to be sister in law, my grandparents and friends we had not seen in a while. It was great trip.

We left Havasu on Thursday and drove up to Las Vegas to my grandmother. We stayed the night there and let Evelyn crawl around and get to know her great grandmother. We had a great time visiting and it was a nice stop on the way home with a long journey ahead of us. Thank you for letting us stay.

Friday morning we drove to Mammoth, CA. But before we got to Mammoth, we stopped in Bishaop to go to Schat's Bakery, the best bakery in the world. It was a place I grew up going to when we went caming in Bishop as a family. We bought Gingerbread cookies, bread and turnovers. All of which were fantastic. Evelyn has now become a part of family tradition and we hope to continue.


Mammoth was beautiful and was great time to go. We drove around while Evelyn took a nap and saw a few of the lakes up there that are absolutely beautiful. We had a good dinner, until Evelyn threw all of hers up. I think she over ate. I kept feeding because she kept eating. I think she got preoccupied with everything going on around her she didn't realize how full she was because usually she tells me when she is done.

Saturday we drove home and got our beloved Sandy. It was a wonderful trip I would love to do again. Evelyn was great minus not sleeping well at night (come to find out she now has a new tooth).

I will add pictures when I get the chance. Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to share.

Update on Twins!

We had an ultrasound yesterday and they only found one baby. They said that the baby looks great and should have no problems going to full term. They think the other was absorbed by my body and it is fairly common early on with twins. We are very sad and I took the news VERY hard. We are trying to stay positive and focus on the life still growing inside me. Please send thoughts and prayers our way for our remaining baby.

Thank you.

Twins!

By now most of you know that I am pregnant and expecting twins in December. We are very excited but also nervous about adding two more to the family.

Here's how we found out... I tested on Richard's birthday to see if I was pregnant before going on our wine weekend. I was trying to be responsible. I took the test at 4:45 am and it was positive, we could not believe it. We had been trying since Evelyn was born and was just letting nature take it course. We were very excited and what a great birthday present for Richard.

I was not sure of my due date so I went to see my General Practitioner so he could get me an ultrasound. I scheduled one for the next morning. Richard came with me and helped watch Evelyn. The technician took forever. I was in there for over an hour. Richard had to take Evelyn outside since she was fussy. The technician said that she wanted to have the doctor come in and look at something. My heart dropped and I was expecting the worse. The doctor came in and continued the ultrasound. He said there is the first membrane and then had the tech. look at the other side. He paused looked at me and said, "Congratulations. it's twins!" I put my hands over my face and started laughing and crying at the same time. Richard came back in and we just laughed together and were in disbelief.

We are very happy and would not want it any other way. We could use all the prayers and well wishes you have for us as this is going to be a hard transition for all of us.

As of now they are due December 8th. Wish us luck.

100 Year Old Cradle!

Here are a couple of pictures of a cradle that belonged to Evelyn's great great great grandfather. It is about a 100 years old. She did not sleep in it but we put it together to see what it was like and let her sit in it. She liked it. It was pretty sturdy and went together easily.

Enjoy!

Wine Weekend Revisited!

Wine weekend was fun. I was designated driver while everyone else drank. I don't mind driving becuase I like to shop more than drink, plus I still had to take care of Evelyn at night. Everyone had a good time and enjoyed trying the different wines. Richard bought a few wines for us to try so I will at least be able to taste some of the ones he liked.

Evelyn did great with Grandma and Grandpa. They went on walks, to the park, visited Old Sacramento. They had a great time getting to know each other better. She did good being away from us all day. She did not eat much while we were gone but did when I got home. She slept pretty good both nights only waking once or twice which is within the normal range for her. I am glad that my parents got to spend some time with her by themselves.

Here are some pictures my mom took this weekend. I will post some of ours once I upload them.

Evelyn chillin in her stroller in Old Sac.
Grandma and Evelyn at Tower Bridge.
Grandpa and Evelyn at Tower Bridge.

Wine Weekend!

We have our wine weekend this coming weekend. It is in El Dorado County and we visit about 20 wineries throughout the weekend. I am going to be a designated driver becuase I do not want to be drunk and have to take care of Evelyn at night while hungover. This is the longest I am leaving her with someone else. She will be in great hands with my parents but it will still be hard. Hopefully she will take a bottle and eat her food for them. I have a feeling she will be VERY clingy to me when I get home and our nights might not be the best. Here's hoping she will be good and continue to sleep well.

For the last week or so she has only been waking once a night or not at all. It has been heaven for me as I am much more rested for the next day. Hopefully it keeps up. I know they have phases but I hoping this last a while (or forever).

Happy Tuesday!

1st Tooth

Evelyn has her first tooth (I'm pretty sure). I cannot tell if it has broken through yet as she won't let me look at it but you can definetly see the tooth there. She has done pretty good with it all. It showed up Monday morning and that was after sleeping for 8 hours and then 3 hours. She usually wakes up 3 or 4 times that night it was only once. Maybe she will be a good teether and just sleep. Wishful thinking, I know.

She has been sleeping better the last few nights only waking to eat once. I am thinking it is becuase she is eating more solids and we put up curtains in her room so know it is really dark in there. I wonder if when she woke before it was bright enough to really wake her up so she couldn't go back to sleep on her own. Well here's hoping it last.

Here is picture we got of her tooth. It is definetly there.

Easter

We had a nice Easter with Richard's family. Evelyn was good and enjoyed spending time with her cousins. She went on a mini hunt for some stuff the "Easter Bunny" brought. She crawled around Lavon's living room finding things. It was very cute. Here a couple of pictures from the day. Enjoy.


Evelyn's Easte Basket at our house. She spotted it and took off towards it. Bunny from Great Grandma Yvonne and Great Grandpa Fred. They gave me my first one also.
Me as a flower and Evelyn as a bunny.
Family portrait. Aren't we cute?

We had a nice Easter with Richard's family. Evelyn was good and enjoyed spending time with her cousins. She went on a mini hunt for some stuff the "Easter Bunny" brought. She crawled around Lavon's living room finding things. It was very cute. Here a couple of pictures from the day. Enjoy.

babababababa...

Evelyn can babble. I hear babababa all day long. It is the cutest thing ever. I laugh and smile every time she does it. I can't wait for her to talk, or can I? If she starts talking then I will have someone to compete with for attention. Just kidding. That is for all my family out there who thinks I love attention. Ok, maybe I do but I still can't wait to hear what she is going to sound like.

I want to hear the words, "I love you, mom." That will be a special moment in my life.

I hope that everyone has a great weekend and Easter. Enjoy your family and celebrate what Jesus did for us this Sunday. I love you all.

Funk is gone...

I am over it. I got some MUCH needed sleep last night, woke up and took a shower and am feeling much better. I am not sure why Evelyn wasn't sleeping good. We started peas a couple of days ago and that was when the bad sleeping started, so I didn't give her any yesterday and she slept better. Coincidence, not sure but it was nice sleeping more than an hour stretch at a time. I hope it stays around.

I'm in a funk...

I hate it but don't really want to get out of it at the momemt. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

I miss my sleeper

Evelyn was sleeping really well. Some nights she would go 4 hours some she would go 8. The last two nights I am lucky if I get two. Often times it is every hour. I am exhausted. I would let her cry for a bit to try to go to sleep on her own but now that she is crawling and can get to a sit position on her own when she wakes up she sits and cries. She doesn't know how to lay back down so I have to go in and feed her to get her to go back down. I know that feeding her to sleep is my fault but I am not sure what else to do.

Then I get mad at Richard for not helping, even though he can't really. Ugh. I am just tired and needed to complain.

Looking forward to the days I can sleep all night again.

Capital Air Show

We went to a park with Mark and Cheryl to watch the Air Show from there. We had a good time and the planes and jets flew right over head. It was an amazing site. These are a few of the hundred pictures we took. We had a good time and look forward to going again. These are pictures of the Blue Angles. They were not the only show but definetly the coolest.

For Uncle Tyler

Evelyn can be a "baller" too. Do you think she has what it takes?

Favorite Pictures from the weekend.

Nothing like fresh toes for a snack.
Her new trick, carrying one toy in mouth playing with another.

Swinging happily at the park.
My favorite of her and her daddy.
Another good one.

Ahhhh A Clean House...

It is amazing what a clean house can do for the soul. We cleaned inside and out this weekend and I must say just walking around feels better. We walk into a room and it just "feels" clean. I feel so uplifted and happy now that the house is clean, laundry and dishes down, lawn mowed and "to-do's" taken care of.

It is sometimes hard to clean with a baby, but I refuse to let that be my excuse for not getting anything done. I can't handle a dirty house. Heck, I can't handle dishes in the sink after dinner. When the hosue is dirty my mood reflects it. Not everyone enjoys cleaning but I do. I could vacuum twice a day and still want to do it more. It is also nice to know that Evelyn is crawling on cleaner floors and living in a less dust free environment. Let's be real with a dog it will NEVER be dust free. Plus, Richard works HARD all week, why should he come home to a dirty and messy house? I can find an hour or two throughout the week to clean a little.

Cleaning was not the only thing we did. We also went to the park and Evelyn swung for a while. She LOVES being outside. Today we put her in her playpen while we cleaned up outside. She had a blast playing and watching all of us.

I hope that everyone had a great weekend and was able to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Video: crawling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq9CbE4ehO8

We have a crawler!!

These aren't the best pictures but you get the idea. She started yesterday and crawled across the living room today We are in trouble. She is just over 7 months.

Am I really THAT fat?

Yesterday I went to a baby shower for a dear friend. While I was there I ran into someone I went to school with in the past. We were talking about Evelyn (whom I was holding) and she asked me if I was expecting again! I could not believe it. I just stood there and then finally said not that I know of. I probably should have something more like " am I that fat that I look pregnant?" I was blown away partly because I weigh less than I did before I got pregnant with Evelyn. I was feeling good about myself until that comment. Know I feel like a huge fat lady who people think is pregnant again.

Ughh, I guess I need to lose more weight.

Note to everyone:

Unless you know for 100% that someone is pregnant do not assume anything. It tends to lead to hurt feelings and low self-esteem.

7 Months Old!

Evelyn is 7 months old today. Here are some pictures we have taken recently. Enjoy!

7 months old!

What was that mommy?

Sweet Potatoes mmmmmm

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad. Today you have been married for 34 years. You guys are a wonderful couple and have been a great role model for relationships. I wish you another happy 34 years.