Adventures in Mommyhood

Hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 04:40:00 +0000

Well faithful followers, I'm sure you've noticed I have not blogged in awhile. :( Almost 9 months to be exact. I sure wanted to, but a nice blend of laziness and busyness has made blogging not happen. I think another big factor was when I got my iPhone, I started doing EVERYTHING with it. Taking pictures. Checking facebook. Posting said pictures immediately to facebook. I've always thought it was really redundant to post pictures here and FB, pretty much everyone who follows me here is a friend on FB too. So poor AiM (Adventures in Mommyhood) got put on the back burner. I'd love to start up again, but I seem to have many other things to do than sit and blog, and I can't commit to making it a priority. MANY other things are more important.....and I'm already putting less important things ahead of them. :)

Like I said, I think all my readers are on FB too, but for any that are not and want a family update, here goes:

Dec is 3 and feisty. Our friend Jake described him like this: "Declan is like lightening in a bottle, if the lightening blew up the bottle and then drank Red Bull made from Double Red Bull." It's so true. His body must manufacture sugar in the raw and then pump it through his veins. Though it can be crazy and frustrating at times, it's better than a boring, docile kid right? :) He's taking some fun little classes through the city this fall, and I can't wait! I was hoping to start him in Preschool, but I was a bit slow in getting that going. However, I think these classes will be a wonderful start for him and a good indication if he's actually ready for Preschool. We totally should have been doing these kind of classes for awhile now.........well, better late than never! :) His first one is actually one for him and Abby, it's more like just a fun messy time playing with crafty sticky stuff. I can't wait to do this with both of them! By then end of Fall, I'm hoping to get him in a couple of mini-Preschool classes. We're pretty much slowly easing into the whole school thing.....

Dec will also be doing sports classes with Dad on Saturdays!! The first set is an introduction to a bunch of different sports, but the second set........HALF PINT SOCCER!!! I could not be more excited for this. And if I'm excited, imagine what Trevor is feeling! :) Dec seems to be right hand dominant, but when he kicks it's ALWAYS with his left foot. I'm excited to see if that continues when he plays with other kids. Fun times!

Abby, at 14.5 months, is growing like a weed. It took her a little longer to start walking (than D) but once she was confident on her feet, she practically started running!! Just the other day it occurred to me that she was toddling. Which means she is a full on toddler!! My little baby girl. They do grow up so fast! She has TWELVE teeth, including four molars! She is a MUCH better eater than Dec, even compared to him now. She is always coming up to us while we're eating, with her mouth wide open and saying "AHHHH", hoping we'll give her some of what we have. Even if she's just finished eating her whole meal. I'm so not used to this after having super picky D, but it's certainly nice to have a better eater for a change!

This girl can DANCE! Any music comes on, even Declan singing to himself, and her shoulders start shrugging, her hips start swaying, and her arms go up in the air! It's hilarious! I wanted to sign her up for a ballet class that was 14 months and up, but she's probably not ready for that just yet. Trevor convinced me it would be a really expensive picture taking opportunity and that's about it. He's totally right! But come spring, I'll for sure sign her up!!

Abs is SUPER friendly too! She will wave and say hi to A N Y O N E she sees. Just like her brother before her (and even still for him) she is the Grand Marshall of her own parade! "Hi" was one of the first words she said clearly, followed by "thank you". Not much is cuter than a little one year old saying thank you! I love that she is smiling so much now. When she was a baby, we were always getting comments like "why does she frown so much??" My answer would vary depending on how well I knew the person who was asking. ;) Anyway, she's a big smiler now, and that's what matters! :)

The two of them still really love each other! Sure there are squabbles over toys, and he likes to sit on her from time to time, but mostly they are thrilled with each others presence! To hear them laughing together is one of life's biggest joys! My prayer is that they remain close.....forever!

Trevor's work is going really well. He was promoted to manager at the end of last year, and now he's busier than ever. But it's all for the love of his family and I couldn't be more proud of the successful man he continues to be! His hard work allows me to be home with the kids and that means the world to me. I'm lucky to have such a smart and patient husband! (Aww, mushy mushy)

Up until June, Trevor played on an indoor soccer league, and he loved it.....until.....he sprained his ankle R E A L L Y bad. :( It's not been the same since, but we're hoping for full healing so he can get back on the team and play again! I'm hoping I can convince him to run a half marathon with me next year.....

A half marathon you say?? Yes, it's time this mommy got back in shape! I kinda feel like I've been on the verge of letting myself go, and I CANNOT let that happen! With many friends and family who also run, I have this crazy goal of running FOUR half marathons next year. Each one I will have a running buddy.....except for one. I'm hoping Trevor will step up and fill that missing buddy spot! :) Though I've said many times "training starts tomorrow!!" I've yet to actually live up to those words. I know, I'm all talk. ;) I finally registered for the first one (Surf City, Feb. 5th) the other day, so here's hoping I'll actually follow through with starting.....one of these days.... I'll keep you posted. ;)

Sewing is another love for me these days. That and crafting. My big problem is follow through though. (I'm sensing a pattern here.....) Thank goodness the majority of my projects are meant to be gifts, so they eventually get done......even if it's not really on time for their birthday, baby shower, what have you. One of these days, I'll post pictures of all the things I've made the last couple of years I've been at this. Burp cloths, blankets and bags are my forte, but I have made a skirt, and it was very well received! :)

What I should be spending the majority of my time on is my wedding hair business. I've done a handful of weddings this year, but I'm always hoping for more. I've got a great network of wedding vendors, especially photographers, and they have been HUGE in getting me work this year. I am certainly thankful! When I finally get that website up and running, I'll let you all know! :)

Well peeps, that was a lot more than I intended on typing, but I'm not surprised. I'm good with the word vomit. I have high hopes for the life of this blog, but I'm hoping for bigger and better. I'd love to get a domain name or two and spice this joint up a bit. Though that will mean a move away from blogger......sorry Google. :) In all honestly, I doubt I'll blog again anytime soon, but my hope is in the new year, it will be different. It's probably a little early for resolutions, but that will certainly be one of mine, for sure!

Because 9 months of pictures would be crazy to upload, let me just suggest, if you're not on facebook already, get on there, friend me, and then you can see my beautiful babes. Let's face it, theirs are the faces you really want to see! ;) To hold you off, here are a couple of photo shoots we had this year with two of my favorite photographers, Jake and Melissa:

Valentines Day pics with Jake (and here's Halloween from 2010, cause it's just too cute!)

Abby's one year, Dec's 3 year, and family pics with Melissa. I know some of the most talented people in the world!!! :)

Until next time......see you on FB. :)

Cookies, Peppers, and Ice Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 08:25:00 +0000

No, I'm not pregnant.............just to clarify!

One random night, Trevor decided to make chocolate chip cookies. He then had the BRILLIANT idea to have Declan help him. Seriously, I don't know why we waited so long to experience this. Not that it was amazingly spectacular, but it was fun and good for Declan to help out and interact with us in the kitchen. We did this once a long time ago, but he was too young then to really do anything. This time he really got involved in almost every step. He's getting so big it's crazy!

P.S. The faces Declan makes in this post actually are amazingly spectacular!!!

So excited for cookies!!

Trying to help me with the eggs....hmm, not that easy!

Mmmmmm, chocolate chips.......

Stir.....

Stirring....

Stir crazy!

Abby's here too!

Sitting in the big girl chair!

Sadly, I did not get any pictures of him enjoying the cookies. Fail. But they were thoroughly enjoyed, I can assure you! :)

Then, a couple nights ago, while we were preparing dinner, Trevor thought he'd include Dec again. Onions and peppers needed to be chopped....don't worry, Trev did not subject Dec to chopping onions. :)

Declan is not always the best eater. Bribery is often used, and that night it was ice cream. I seriously love the chocolate on his mouth. It's very Spaniard/pirate looking!

You can almost hear in your head what it looks like he's saying:

"Heh heh....heh...."

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

Months 4 and 5

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 05:16:00 +0000

Ok, really? This girl is 5 months old already? When did that happen?! I'm buying 6-9 month clothes for her already! This is just crazy. She is really getting big and her personality is totally starting to shine through. I have been saying her whole life that she is Declan 2.0. She has been working to change that. :) Declan was super smiley and friendly to every and anyone who held him. Abigail is wary and reserved whenever she meets new people. However, whenever I mentioned to Trev that maybe she's just not as happy a baby as D was, it was like she wanted to prove me wrong and would smile and flirt with whoever was in front of her. I have noticed that she is doing things a little later than Declan (sitting up, rolling over back to front) but I also think that's typical of a second baby, they just don't get the one on one focus the first/only baby gets. I really try not to compare them developing-wise, but it's kinda hard not to.

At her 4 month check up she was 14 lbs 2 oz. She is 50th percentile across the board. Fine with me, I don't need an overachiever. :) She also did something very different from Declan: she did not react well to the vaccines. Not a terrible reaction that will keep us from giving them to her, but definitely not something we were used to. Dec was always fine. Of course he would cry, but no fever and was chipper and happy the days after. Abby fevered for a couple days, had a red bump at one of the injection sites, and she just wasn't herself for about 4 days. It was weird, and I was not a fan. With D, we gave him Tylenol before his shots, but the nurse at this new (and now old) doc said the Tylenol would dilute the vaccines if we used it....or something like that. So we didn't. Hmm.....me thinks we'll go back to the Tylenol for her 6 month shots. My bro, the nurse, said not using Tylenol is dumb. I trust my brother thankyouverymuch. Ugh doctors.

Why is the doc now old, you may ask? We have not had much luck with pediatricians. Nothing life threatening, but we've never felt 100% comfortable with any of them. There was the first one that D had that would just talk and talk and talk and talk, and you really couldn't get a word in. Then we switched to the doc D had for the next 2 years. Who never said his name right. She wasn't so bad so we dealt with the lack of connection, but when Abs came along, I just felt it was time to find another doc. I blindly switched to a new doc, who we saw at 4 months, and who basically called me a liar. Well, that's a bit dramatic, but close. I told her D teethed for 2 months before anything showed up. She said "that doesn't make sense" and proceeded to tell me why that "couldn't have happened." Hmm. Needless to say we did not bond with this doctor. I then asked friends for their pediatrician's names. 3 friends LOVED their docs. Those 3 docs were all full, not accepting new patients. Boo. Finally, another friend suggested hers, and she was available. To be continued on how that goes.....I am hopeful!

She's still sleeping good, with only the rare early morning wake-ups. We finally weaned out of the Miracle Blanket....which is good, it's only sized for up to 4 months! I've tried rice cereal with her a couple times, but she just doesn't seem into it. She's closing in on 6 months so hopefully she'll be more open to it soon....

Declan LOVES his little sister! And she loves him right back! I used to say no one could make her laugh like her daddy can, but now it's her brother that she finds the funniest! And her basic laugh is kind of a squeal so it's really cute when the deep belly laugh comes out and you know she finds something REALLY funny! Seriously though, Declan has pretty much shown no jealousy. He sometimes wants to be held when we're holding her, but generally he shares us really well. I'm so proud of my big boy for loving his sister so much!

Our Summer sicklies have stuck with us into Fall a bit, and Abby seems to like the sound of her voice all croaky and crackly. If she's a singer, she may have one of those raspy voices. I'm ok with that too as long as it's Norah Jones style and not Macy Gray!

So I didn't take many pictures with my smaller camera this time, apparently only 5. But I've taken A LOT with my fancy camera. Those need to be edited, so a fancy camera blog should be coming in the future. For now, this is what you get! :)

Another D vs Abs difference: the swing was MAGIC with D. It was the go-to place for him to calm down, and usually sleep. With Abs....not so much. But here she is, sitting patiently in the swing. Sweet girl.

Computer time with Daddy.

Most mom's understand this: Abby comes to the bathroom with me. A: I can't leave her alone out front with Dec. B. She's not happy when I'm not in the room to entertain her. This time, I was showering. I could see that she was getting fussy, but I hadn't strapped her in because she didn't move much yet. I was ready to jump out and get her before she wriggled out of the chair, but she fell asleep before it really became a problem. This is the final position she got to. And yes, after this, she gets buckled in EVERY TIME.

Daddy with his babies.

See not much.....believe you me though, I got LOTS of fancy camera pics!

Brother

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 05:46:00 +0000

You've caught glimpses of him in recent posting, but I thought it was time to give Declan a post of his very own!

This kid....is two. :) We love him dearly, but he and God are working together to test and stretch our patience. To. It's. Limits. Despite the fact that he's two (which we have to remind ourselves of when we find ourselves asking "why would you do that?!") he is still a wonderful and darling child! We can go from pulling our hair out to complete wonderment at how smart and funny he is. He is REALLY picking up phrases and words, when we don't even know it too. He's a serious parrot. Here's a list of his current "sayings".

"Oh my gosh!"
"Awe, c'mon Abs! What's wrong?" (Something we said A LOT in the beginning when she would be crying and we were soooooooooooo exhausted!)
"Did you hear that? Do you hear it?!"
"No! I go in time out....NOW!" (I think he means to say he doesn't want to go in time out.)
"Never! Never! Never!"
"Where'd it go?" (You can substitute "it" for Thomas, Abby, car, fire truck, any of his cousins or friends, etc.)
"Oh, Der it is!!!!"

One of our favorite things he says, and we know we'll be devastated when he grows out of it: "I eeyou." That would be "I love you." Heart melter.

He also LOVES to sing. We sing with him every night. He'll sing praise songs and then ask for Backyardigans or Super Why. He'll even sing just while he's playing. And he makes up songs too....well he strings words together like mommy, daddy, Abby, Declan and says them in a sing song voice. It's really very sweet.

I love my kid, and it's still makes me sad sometimes that it's not just the two of us anymore (during the day that is) so tonight we took a trip to Target, just the two of us. It was nice just having Dec there and letting him run around....until he broke the glass jar of salsa.....but having time with just him was really nice. Hopefully we can have more "dates" in the future!

Picture time!

This is his "special train". We were given the advice to get a special toy that he could play with while I was feeding Abby, so he didn't feel left out and kept busy. That didn't last long. Apparently cartoons are a good (or rather NOT good) way to keep busy, too.....anyway, this toy was from his Godmama Bri. He loves his Special Train!

Oh yeah, he's cool.

You'll see a lot of sleeping pictures. He's just so darn funny when he sleeps! I let him go to nap with a book, and this is how he fell asleep.

I love this....."I wonder where my sticker went....."

"Oh! Der it is!!!"

Towel around the waist....like a big boy! :)

Again, funny sleeper.

So.....I started trusting Declan a little bit. Too much it seemed. I had fallen asleep on the couch with Abby, (for just a few minutes....I was just "resting my eyes".....) and when I woke up, Dec wasn't in the room with us anymore. After a quick check around the house, I found him in the closet. He had gotten into his "big trains" (box of tracks and THOUSANDS of train engines.) He had laid out tracks and was getting the engines out when I found him. Sneaky little devil.

We pile some stuff on the box to keep it "hidden"....guess we didn't "hide" it well.

He's asking me "help me get some more out!"

Cars. His second favorite movie.....currently.

This kid loves trains. And he loves making "trains" out of anything! Like his books:

Sometimes, he has a hard time going down for nap. When I can, I'll lay down with him for a bit, but a lot of the time, I have to feed Abby. Here, he had been calling for me and he fell asleep with his head practically against the gate. Kinda creeped me out, seeing his head peeking out from under the curtain....

I don't remember if I moved him, or if he did this himself. Check out his right hand. That's standard these days.

He did move between the last picture and this one, he curled up actually. But somehow came back to this. Funny thing, I came across this post tonight and realized how true it still is.

He LOVES his cousins. Here he is with Gemma.

FINALLY starting to climb. Like really climb, on playgrounds and stuff. Still a bit wussy about it, but getting there! ;)

Seriously cool.

Oh joy. He can take his diapers off now. Great.

Yeah, I don't know why he likes to chew on them....

Disclaimer: this is NOT a used diaper! I repeat, NOT USED!!

Again with the silly sleeping....

I love my BOY!

Somone ELSE is getting frisky!!

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 06:32:00 +0000

First, go back and look at this post. Looks like Abby is following in brothers' footsteps. I was cuddling her, rocking her to sleep and I heard her sucking. I knew she wasn't using the pacifier, as it was sitting next to me, so I figured she was sucking on her hands, which was a common activity for her at the time. However when I actually looked, she had been sucking on her arm and had given herself the world's LARGEST hickey!! Check it out:

close up:

That sucker lasted for almost a week. It faded of course, but it stuck around for a good long time. What suckers my kids are! ;)

Months Two and Three

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 17:38:00 +0000

Ok folks, are you ready for this? Abigail is 3 months old already! WHAT?! Yeah, that's right. In fact she is older than 3 months.....closing in on 3 point FIVE months! I can't believe it. While there are moments and days where it seems time is inching by, and I sit and daydream about being out of said moments and days, looking back I really can't believe that time has passed already. But isn't that always how it is? When you're in the moment and it's rough, it feels like eternity. But then all of a sudden, your little girl who Speedy Gonzales'd her way into this world has kept up her pace and is a 3 month old! (yeah, that's right, I turned a cartoon character into a verb.)

So here we are. I meant (as I always do) to blog at 2 months and give you the stats from her 2 month check up. We actually had the appt when she was 6 weeks old. For those who don't know, there's been a Pertussis outbreak/pandemic/epidemic (what have you) in So Cal, and because of this getting the pertussis vaccine asap is highly recommended. I got mine in the hospital. Dec has been getting his at all of his check ups so he was good. Trevor and Abby got theirs together. :) The......governing authority who decides when your kids are ok to get vaccines....declared that the 2 month vaccine could actually be given as early as 6 weeks. Hence. Really this pertussis thing is a big deal. There's even this RE-diculous commercial about getting the vaccine. But, I'll do what I can to protect my child.

The downside to this (because I'm crazy) is that I can't compare my kids growth........as easily......for this one period of time. I know it's soooo not a big deal, but......I'm crazy. :) I like to do that. It's not gonna make me worry or think either one is better, I just like the comparing. Whatever....I'm sure I'll survive! :) (I also like to make fun of myself. I think it's one of my more admirable attributes. ;) )

It's funny, when I look back at my posts for Dec, I've got all the stats: height, weight, head measurement, and the corresponding percentiles for D's numbers. I really only remember Abby's weight. Not even the percentile. Huh, my poor second child. Her blog posts are few and with less interesting info. Just random babble from mom. Two kids people. I've got TWO KIDS.

Anyway.......at 6 weeks old, Abby weighed 8lbs 8oz. She had such slow growth in her first month it was good to see a higher weight. Then at about 12 weeks, I had another lactation appt, and she weighed in at 11lbs exactly! WOOT! Big girl! Our next appt isn't for another month, but I'm excited to see where she's at. Perhaps I'll pay more attention and get more info for you. :)

Well, currently we are blessed again with a good sleeper.....mostly. She has been sleeping through the night (10 to at least 5 or 6) for a month now. And then when she wakes up, she can usually be rocked back to sleep for another hour or two. Or I'll cuddle her in bed.....which I used to be REALLY against. I still wish I didn't do it, for safety's sake. But some mornings I just can't handle standing and rocking when I know she'll fall asleep in our bed. I'm weak.

We attribute a lot of this good night sleeping to our use of Babywise and the Miracle Blanket. What's funny to me is that using the blanket goes against one of the "teachings" of Babywise (the use of a sleep prop). But that's what parenting is about: getting advice and finding a method that works, and using your judgement to determine what's best for your baby. While I'd like to wean the miracle blanket sooner rather than later, attempts to do so have brought on earlier wake times and grumpy parents. Not good.

Although the pics don't show it, this girl is a SMILER!!! Just last night, when she had her middle of the night wake-up, I started changing her diaper and she gave me the biggest smile. When I couldn't get her back to sleep and Trevor went to put her in the miracle blanket, she just beamed up at him and wiggled around in glee at seeing her daddy! As much as we loved it, we were also annoyed. A happy baby does not go back to sleep. :)

She is also a talker. From my memory, Declan was really quiet. But this girl likes to hear her voice! Perhaps she just wants to be heard over her VERY LOUD brother. Interestingly enough though, she is more reserved than Declan was. D was very sociable, would go to anyone really. But Abs isn't always on board with meeting people. I fear I will have a clingy one on my hands this time around. I'll try to enjoy it while I can before it gets to be too much! ;)

OK, on to what everyone cares most about....pictures! These start right from where we left off with the last post....

Is she not the most adorable thing you've ever seen?!?!?! The baby, not the mom. Definitely NOT the mom.

SERIOUSLY, Declan's doppelganger!!

We had a bit of a sickie summer. At some point we all were sick, some of us (ME), several times. Here, the three of us had been napping on the couch. I had that little space behind Abby. My sweet sick children!

You know how newborns (and dads) are, they just sleep all the time! :)

Tummy time. Declan likes to join in.

Then mommy feels left out so she joins in the fun.

Abby's a diva, she wants the camera to herself.

She sits! Or rather....she props up!!

Can we say precious! This is SO going in her wedding video!

Abby turned 2 months on my cousin Claire's wedding day. Don't we all look pretty!

Just like daddy...

Bumbo time!

"Sup?"

Oh the life of siblings.....

When Declan was 3 months old exactly, I took him to get his hand a feet ceramic'd:

And now it's tradition! :)

Being a 3 month old is tiring!!

I guess I didn't get a lot of pictures in her 3rd month. I also have the pictures from my fancy camera, but those get photo shopped, and who knows when I'll do that.....

P.S. Yes we still have Declan, as evidenced from his cameos in some pictures. I do have some pictures of just him that I'd like to post. Stay tuned for those as well. :)

Month One

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 21:39:00 +0000

Our little girl is a month old......well, she's older than that now, but she was a month old when I started this post! It sure has been an adjustment, having two kids. There are days we really feel sorry for Declan, his world has changed so drastically, and he had no idea it would. But he has actually been pretty good considering. He may get in trouble more these days, but that's more his age than Abby's presence. Really the only difference is that he gets away with more, as I am pinned to the couch several times a day. :) He REALLY loves his sister. He wants to be as close to her as humanly possible whenever we let him......and even when we don't! He has only gotten jealous a few times, mostly when he's already cranky, and he just wants to be held instead of Abby. And pretty much anytime my dad holds her, he says "No, my Grandpa!!" To which we explain that he's her Grandpa too! I know this may not last, his love for her that is, but I'll enjoy it while I can!

Breastfeeding: not as easy the second time as I thought it would. But, I had practically weekly Lactation appointments in her first month, so that already made it easier! She was born at 7lbs 5oz, but was 7lbs 3 days later, and did go down to 6lbs 9oz. If she had lost any less, they would have been quite worried. But, ever so slowly, her weight went up. The lac lady said that Abs was a poky eater, so she wouldn't try hard enough and not take as much milk from me. Basically, she's lazy. Which isn't a big shocker, she is my daughter you know! :) Hopefully, this gets better....it already has a little.

As for sleeping......well at a month, she was still going to bed late and getting up early. But it has been a bit easier to handle this time. I do let Trevor sleep more, he does have to go to work, but also so that he has more energy to help with BOTH kids. Goodness, you never realize how easy one kid is until you have two!! I think what made it "easier" was that I kinda knew what to expect. Oh I was (am) still exhausted, but I was (am) able to cope better.

Well, I'll let the pictures tell you more how the month went. And since I'm posting this after she has turned two months old, you can expect "Month Two"......in another month! :)

2 Days old:

Arriving home

And your life as a pack mule begins......

He loves her. He really really does.

Uncle Chris and Abs

My dad was trying to capture a sweet moment of my bro and sis-in-law loving on Abby while I gazed sweetly in the background. I was having fun. :)

Dec "holding" Abby for the first time.

"What happens if I poke her?"

She hits back! :)

We put on Backyardigans so that he would be slightly distracted and not try too hard to poke her eyes.

Abs with Auntie Lala

Abs and Nana

First bath at home. She loves them now.

"Save me Daddy!!!"

"What. Did you just put me through?!"

3 days old:

Meeting Quincy

Possible suitor? :)

5 days old:

Great Grandma Spice and Abs

(In the beginning, I was too wary to cut her fingernails, so I would put socks on her hands. I was going to get mittens, but the practical side of me thought "socks work just as good and I don't have to buy those now!")

Kisses from Brother

Daddy feeding Abs for the first time

6 days old:

Side sleeper like her brother

9 days old:

Someone LOOOOOVES to cuddle! Seriously, the closer the better.

Ok.....I can't believe I'm posting this next picture. Not just because the hat part looks so dorky, but my face is just.....hmm. Anyway, let me explain. (For those who don't want to hear about breastfeeding or my boobs, feel free to skip this.) In the beginning, I had a hard time with breastfeeding. Both my kids struggled, but this time, I got in to see a lactation consultant almost immediately. Things are way better now, but it took a good month (or more really) to get things going well. Part of the problem is that, like I said, she is a reeeeeeeeeeeallllllllyyy ssssssllllllooooooooooooooooowwwwww eater. She wasn't gaining weight fast enough, so they wanted me to supplement with pumped milk or formula. However there was a process to supplementing that included a small tube and medical tape. If you really care to hear what the whole set-up was, leave a comment...I'll e-mail you. Basically because of physics and my daughter.....I looked like this every 3 hours:

20 days old:

Sucking her two fingers just like her mama did.

3 weeks old:

Super sad face.

Our future model: I saw a post on facebook that a friend of a friend who is a talent agent for kids was looking for newborns under 9 pounds for a role on a soap opera. Abby was still 7lbs at the time, so I thought "Why not! She's 3 weeks old, she needs to pull her own weight in this family." :) I sent an e-mail to the agent, and received a phone call within 20 min! All I needed to do was get a work permit for her and head to LA for the "audition". However, to get the permit, I needed her dr. to sign off that she was healthy enough. Well, because of her weight gain issues, the doc wouldn't sign. And to this day she still won't sign. And the talent agent called again asking for Abby. I may need to find a new doctor! :) These are the quick pictures I took to send to the agent. Of course, Mel's pictures are WAAAAAAAAY better, but I didn't have them in my possession at the time so my measly pictures had to do.

She has such a serious face sometimes. Just another feature similar to her brother's.

More cuddle time

Apparently she's a bit possessive...

"My daddy!"

4 weeks old:

"Do you think this is funny?"

1 month!

Precious girl....

Strong girl!!

Birth Story - the Abby Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 05:03:00 +0000

Before I start, let's get one thing straight: I'm no hero. For those of you who didn't hear (and I can't imagine there are that many people who didn't, I've let EVERYONE know), I had Abby without an epidural. Please know that this was in no way my intention! They say second babies come faster.....um, yes, this is true.

This pregnancy, I had A LOT of Braxton Hicks contractions. And I felt them really early on. I was told that's also normal for second pregnancies, so I didn't worry......much. :) As we got closer to my due date, they kept getting longer and more frequent. In fact, the last two weeks leading up to my due date, I kinda felt like I was in labor, just with practically painless contractions. On Fathers Day, during the 1 hour church service, I had about 6 or 7 contractions.....but completely pain free. Oh sure, I FELT them, and sometimes they took my breath away, but they really didn't hurt. That day at lunch, I was getting kinda nervous about it, so I called labor and delivery, told them what was going on: minute long contractions, about 5-7 minutes apart, no pain. "Sorry, nope, stay home and call us when they're painful." Grr, fine, I'll get a pedicure then! It's tradition apparently, I got one the day before I had Declan. (Also....check out that flip flop tan!)

5 am, Monday morning, June 21st: my due date. I woke to contractions, not too bad, but definitely the real thing! I started timing them and they were like they had been, lasting longer than a minute, 5-7 minutes apart. I took a shower, ate a poptart, and asked Trevor to call the hospital. He had been up (thank you World Cup) and had been slowly getting our stuff ready, taking care of me, and watching the Portugal v North Korea game. After the call to the hospital, where we were told to do the things we'd already done (eat and shower), we called Trevor's dad, who would be watching D, and my mom, who would be in the room with us. Originally, the plan was to take Declan down to Gary, who lives in Fountain Valley, but when I realized how close my contractions were, I asked if Gary could meet us at the hospital instead. Boy am I glad he could!!

My contractions were strong, but I was handling it pretty well. Until 7. They started getting really intense. REALLY. Intense. Declan was awake by then and wandering around the house, while Trevor was still getting things together. As the contractions got stronger, I was looking for new ways to cope. I got on our bed, on all fours, and all of a sudden, the contraction was so strong, I felt like pushing. So I said, quite loudly, "I need to push!!" Declan was in the room and his response: "Hee hee, funny mommy!" This was great, I'd much prefer he be entertained then scared.

By the way.....yes, you read that right: I was at home, feeling like I needed to push. Oh crap. So getting ready calmly went right out the door, and the scramble commenced. Poor Trevor was torn between getting everything, including Declan, into the car, and taking care of me. All I could do is scream in pain. Really, I wasn't made to labor without pain meds. At this point I was starting to worry that I wasn't going to make it in time for an epidural.

Finally, we were ready and Trevor helped me down to the car. I did my best not to scream from our back door to the car, I was feeling insecure about my screaming as it was, I didn't need to wake the whole complex. Thankfully, the walk was almost contraction free, one started just as I got to the car, strong muttering took the place of screaming at that point. From Trevor's memory, we left at 7:38. I couldn't tell you many details like time, all I could concentrate on was NOT pushing.

On our way, things got even MORE intense, and after passing the freeway on-ramp that was backed up causing us to take surface streets....I decided I would have the baby in the car. :) Seriously, I felt I couldn't hold it anymore, and I said to Trevor, "I need you to pull over, I HAVE TO PUSH!" Apparently Trevor was not on board with that idea, probably cause our car was only two weeks old at that point. He grabbed the phone (sans bluetooth....the rebel!) and called the hospital. "Hi, my wife is in labor, we're on our way in, but she's telling me she needs to push......." "Oh! Ok......hold on........ok, we can send an EMT to you, where are you?" Heh. Trevor assured them we would make it to the hospital as fast as the EMT would get to us, so we continued. Throughout all this, I'm still screaming and yelling "I HAVE TO PUSH!!!" I was very Hollywood about it. :) And Declan was behind me saying "Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy?" "Yes Declan?" "TREE!!" Again, better to not be freaked by mommy.

I really can't describe to you how freaked out I was. As each contraction ended, I would pray and pray that the next one wouldn't come till we were at the hospital. All I really wanted was to lay down, I did not want to be sitting anymore, and of course, I wanted to PUSH! Obviously that prayer was only answered once, and it was unanswered many, MANY times.

Trevor was told to go to the ER. (When you have a baby at Kaiser, throughout all classes and appointments pre-baby, they tell you that when you're in labor, DO NOT go to the ER; go to Labor and Delivery. L&D is on the 3rd floor of the hospital. At the end of a REALLY long hallway.) We thought this was odd, but they assured us that was where we should go and they would have a team ready for us. Yes! "A team", which to me meant "a gurney"! When we arrived, Trevor pulled into the drop off area, and I noticed there was no team. Mmmm.... Trevor ran into the ER and after a minute, he came out with a nurse and a wheel chair. No team. Sad face. And apparently the nurse tried to turn Trevor away. T: "Hi, my wife is in labor and I was told to come to the ER." Nurse: "Oh no, you need to go to Labor and Delivery." T: "No! I was told to come to the ER. I am here, I'm not leaving!" Go Trevor!

When I saw the chair, I was really disappointed. Let me try one more time to impress upon you how freaked-out-in-pain-screaming-like-a-crazy-person I was. I was freaked out. In pain. Screaminglikeacrazyperson!!!! I begrudgingly got into the wheelchair and continued my crazy person screaming. Trevor grabed Dec from the car....oh yeah, we still had him. And we had no idea where or even if Gary was there. We were seconds away from either handing Declan off to a stranger/nurse or Trevor not coming with me when through one tiny window, Trevor saw my mom! Out of all the entrances to the hospital, my mom just happened to choose the one right next to the ER, thank you God!! Seriously devine planning there. Trevor yelled for her, and she ran over. We basically threw Declan and the car keys into her arms and took off.

Now I'm telling you all this as though I remember it. I do....vaguely. Trevor filled in the gaps for me a bit, mostly what I remember is trying to lay as flat as I could in the wheel chair....and screaming. I'll never forget the screaming.

It turns out, the ER has a shortcut to L&D. And it was the fastest elevator ride I've ever been on! Perhaps it was the lady in scrubs who was in there, too, saying brightly: "Hi! I'm an OB! Hi!" I swear that's all she said over and over, as if to make me feel better. I later learned she was slightly worried I would have the baby in the elevator. Rad.

The elevator opened, and the chippy OB asked if there was a room ready for me. I was immediately taken into a delivery room, and Trevor was held back by the receptionist asking for my Kaiser card, name, social security number, favorite movie, hobbies.....seriously, she kept asking questions that Trevor, in his worried state, could not answer. He had left EVERYTHING in the car, the two most important things to remove were me and D and he had taken care of that! :) In the room, I pretty much leapt onto the bed, and as soon as I was in a gown (2 seconds later) I was pushing! Nurse: "Wai-wai-wait! I need to check you!!" Grr, fine, DO IT! "Yup, 10 cm, fully effaced, you're ready to go." Trevor had escaped the receptionist's trap and made it into the room for that bit of news.

T, to the midwife: "I would be remiss in my husbandly duties if I did not ask this: is it too late for an epidural?" Heh heh, yeah. Cue the tears.

Trevor had been asked on the phone if my water had broke, and since I had taken a shower that morning, we didn't know. I've not felt that feeling ever, they broke my water with Dec. I've been told that I would surely know, but still, this time I wasn't sure. Low and behold, my water had not broken, and it was virtually the only thing holding Abby in. So they broke it. And I pushed. And to make a long story short (too late) we arrived at the hospital at 8am and Abby was born at 8:19am. Fastest. Labor. Ever. Ok, not really, but for me it was! :)

It was definitely a whirlwind birth! It all happened so fast it was just crazy. I do believe she was born before a chart had been made for me. My mom and Gary (who had gotten to the hospital before us) were still getting Declan's carseat switched over from our van when Trevor called them to tell them she was here. Sad for my mom, she was supposed to be in the room. :( It was such a different experience from Declan's birth. An event that took all day, pushing for two hours, and feeling nothing (as in no pain) vs. an event that took less than 3 and a half hours!

So what do I think about the whole experience? Well, there is a little pride that I did it naturally, but women have done that FOREVER, so, like I said, I'm no hero. Some people have felt a stronger connection to their baby because of the lack of pain meds, but I have to say I did not. With D, I could totally focus on him because I didn't feel anything, there was nothing to distract me from his presence. With Abs, I had a hard time with being excited because I was in so much pain. And to answer your question, yes. I am the biggest wuss in the world. Am I happy that the pain of birthing made me less thrilled with her arrival? Heck no! Do I wish I was a stronger person? Of course. But that's not me. And I'm ok with that. I am currently, and forever will be completely thrilled by her presence in my life. And she's got a great story of how she entered this world.

Trevor, on the other hand, preferred this experience waaaaay more than the last. Nice and quick. Way more stressful and scary of course, but over fast enough to get past the worry. And I did seem to recover faster this time around. I could walk sooner. We left the hospital sooner. Trevor only missed one world cup game. :) Seriously, we watched the early game while laboring, and we were in the recovery room by the time the last game started. Another bonus for Trev. :)

So there is her story. Crazy huh? I almost had her in the car! What if Trevor had taken Dec to Gary's? I would have given birth at home....ALONE! The midwife wasn't called into the delivery room, she heard my screaming and came running. :) I was talking to the nurse taking care of me later in the day, telling her how I didn't have an epidural (I was telling everyone), and she said "Yeah, I know, I heard you." Talk about embarrassing! What. A. Day.

She's now a month old, and we are starting to see a new normal. I still have yet to cook dinner or do much cleaning, but I've (sorta) been doing laundry. Once breastfeeding gets easier, I'll be better.....I hope. That's my goal anyway.

Here's a few pics from the day:

This may look like her being born, but she's just getting her first hospital bath. :)

"Enjoying" bath time.

I didn't have a chance to blow dry my hair that morning. I think my hair looks like the wig Norman Bates keeps on his mother.

Grandpa with Abs...

Grandma with Abs.

Leaving the hospital, waiting for my dad to bring the car up.

Our nurse Chris who took care of us the majority of the time we were there.

"How do we do this again?"

"Um, you sure they know what they're doing?!?"

When I said few, I meant few! I plan on posting more soon, but you know me and my blogging intentions! :)

She's here!

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 22:20:00 +0000

Abigail Joy joined us last Monday, June 21st, at 8:19 am. She was 7lbs 5oz and 18.5 inches long. It was a wild morning, and I plan to tell you all about it, as well as post more pictures......soon. As I'm sure you can imagine, adjusting to 2 children instead of just one can be quite time consuming! :) Though I'm sure you've seen these on Facebook, they are two of my favorite pictures from the day she was born, so I share them again! Here you are, our first "family of Four" picture!

P.S. Declan is HUGE!! I swear he grew so much in the two days he was with grandparents. And not just in size, he's smarter too! Knows many more words....it's crazy, but I love it!

Declan - 2 Years

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 14 May 2010 05:49:00 +0000

This is Declan on his 2nd birthday. I cannot believe that I am the mother of a 2 year old!! (Nevermind the fact that I will be a mother of TWO kids in about a month....but this post is about D!) I know all parents feel this way, and I remember all of them telling me this when D was a newborn, but when I look at Dec's itty bitty baby pictures, it's crazy to me that this is the same kid we brought home from the hospital two years ago. He talks to us. He climbs stairs on his own. He feeds himself (most of the time). He sleeps in a big boy bed. He "reads" to us (or rather recites what he remembers us reading to him from one book in particular...) He LOVE LOVE LOVES his baby sister, even though he has not met her yet....or really gets what's gonna happen when she actually gets here. He knows countless signs (as in sign language), and it has not affected his speech at all. He stresses me out more than anything ever has. He teaches me patience on a daily basis. I know that two is a hard year, and that three isn't much better, but when he's good, he's GOOD and that makes it all worth it! Trevor and I keep saying "if this is as bad as it gets, we can totally handle it!" As long as we keep saying that each time things are a little worse, we'll never be disappointed! :) Our son is growing up and it's amazing and sad all at the same time. I love this boy so much it brings me to tears....and not just because I'm pregnant...thought the tears do come easier these days. :) Declan, you are the best little boy in the whole world. I can't wait to see you grow, become a big brother, and discover all that this world has to offer you! You are one of the BEST blessings in my life, and I PRAISE GOD for giving me you! Happy 2nd Birthday Declan James!

9 Years

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 05:37:00 +0000

9 years in, and we're already starting to look alike. Yikes! :)

Smile

*If you click on the title, you can hear the song and watch the video.....it kinda needs to be heard to be as effective....even if it is by Uncle Kracker :)

You're better then the best

I'm lucky just to linger in your light

Cooler then he flip side of my pillow, that's right

Completely unaware

Nothing can compare to where you send me,

Lets me know that it's ok, yeah it's ok

And the moments where my good times start to fade

You make me smile like the sun

Fall out of bed, sing like a bird

Dizzy in my heard, spin like a record

Crazy on a Sunday night

You make me dance like a fool

Forget how to breathe

Shine like gold, buzz like a bee

Just the thought of you can drive me wild

Ohh, you make me smile

Even when you're gone

Somehow you come along

Just like a flower poking the sidewalk crack and just like that

You steal away the rain and just like that

You make me smile like the sun

Fall out of bed, sing like bird

Dizzy in my head, spin like a record

Crazy on a Sunday night

You make me dance like a fool

Forget how to breathe

Shine like gold, buzz like a bee

Just the thought of you can drive me wild

Ohh, you make me smile

Don't know how I lived without you

Cuz everytime that I get around you

I see the best of me inside your eyes

You make me smile

You make me dance like a fool

Forget how to breathe

Shine like gold, buzz like a bee

Just the thought of you can drive me wild

You make me smile like the sun

Fall out of bed, sing like a bird

Dizzy in my head, spin like a record

Crazy on a Sunday night

You make me dance like a fool

Forget how to breathe

Shine like gold, buzz like a bee

Just the thought of you can drive me wild

Ohh, you make me smile

9 years ago today, Trevor and I got married! What a crazy 9 years it's been. We had some great, amazing, fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. We also had some horrible, awful, down-right-depressing times. We changed addresses 4 times, lived in 4 cities and 2 countries. We collectively worked almost 25 jobs (only 3 for Trevor.....you can ask me what my 22 were, if you're curious. :) We stood by our friends and family as they entered married life, and celebrated with them as they became parents. We were given an AMAZING child, and are preparing for another. We have one more year before the milestone 10 years, but that doesn't make this year any less special. I wouldn't have wanted to spend the last 9 years with anyone else, let a lone raise my children with anyone else. I am so thankful that God brought us together, and has helped us through all these years. I love you Trevor Gill.

*The song....well it's a romantic song for sure, but it also makes me think of my children. I had always thought of it as a cute song but the other night I really listened to the lyrics and I realized how much it works for a parent/child relationship. I thought about how I make the buzzing bee sound when I read Hello Bee Hello Me to Declan. I thought about how Declan and I will dance crazy-like every now and then just for fun. I thought about how just thinking of Declan makes me smile like the sun and shine like gold. Tears were immediately in my eyes. Then tonight, I heard the song again, and it made me think of my whole little family: Trevor, Declan, and Abby. They all make me smile like the sun, and just the thought of them drives me wild. Again....I just cried. A good cry of course. :) I love my family!!!

What's For Dinner?

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:50:00 +0000

This is a question that plagues me almost every day. Some days are better than others, either I have something planned, or an idea magically appears in my head. Most days I scramble, and usually come up with something weak: mac n cheese, cereal, ordering pizza, or, my favorite, eating out. It's not that I'm a bad cook, or at least I'd like to think I'm not. Give me a recipe, and I can follow it pretty good. Heck, I've got my share of cook books that I can choose from, and yet I still stress. The thing is, I don't prepare well. And I, personally, am an annoyingly picky eater, so a lot of the ingredients in those cook books are not something I would like to eat.

Before Declan, this wasn't as big an issue. Oh, an issue it still was, but not as glaring. Now, it's not only myself and Trevor that I have to take care of, it's my child, soon to be children, that I need to think of as well. And as much as Declan would probably love to have applesauce at every meal, I am DETERMINED to not let him get as picky as I am. I want him to have a taste for everything! Of course I know there is only so much I can do, but I don't want to let him get away with the excuses I use: "I don't like ______" about 75% of the time really means "I've never tried ______, and I don't think I'll like it." (Trevor, and other people who know me well, 75% is based on the fact that I think I've gotten a lot better in the last few years. Had I wrote this in 2004, it would be 95%.) I want him to TRY things! This is hard to do at his age, I should have been more "aggressive" (for lack of a better term) when he was little and just learning to eat.

Speaking of Dec when he was little and just starting to eat solids.....I have to pat myself on the back for a minute and say that I did something I really never thought I'd do: I made Dec's baby food. That may not be a big feat for some, but again, as most of you who know me well would agree, that is HUGE for me! It's really not that hard to do, which is probably why I was successful, but it is time consuming and definitely needs preparation. But I have to say that I think I did make a boo boo.

I was very careful to start with veggies, and with each new veggie, I gave him 2 or 3 days to observe for a reaction before moving on to the next new veggie. My boo boo is that I only did this for a month before I started fruit. And sweet potatoes were the first. I believe this gave Dec a sweet tooth a little too early, and he started rejecting veggies a bit early on for my liking. With Abby, she probably won't get fruit for a least a couple months after solids start, and sweet potatoes will probably not be high on the list of veggies. Well, I've got SEVERAL months before I have to worry about that.........

So what's my point? I know what I'm doing when it comes to cooking and preparing dinner, but I'm lazy and picky. However in the last year, I have tried two (pretty basic) entrees, even one that I "didn't like", and have now found that I love them and they are pretty stinking easy(-ish) to make. A year ago, Dawn and fam were in town and Jason made us Chicken Enchilada's. I had tried enchiladas before and wasn't too big a fan, but, in an effort to be a big girl, I gave them a try and seriously fell in love! It's really the sauce that makes them so yummy, but whatever, I like them! :) We asked for the recipe and have since made them for my entire family, two sets of new parents, and ourselves on several occasions. The other recipe I got last fall, Chicken Parmesan with home-made marinara. My friend Adrieanna had mentioned it was her husbands favorite, so I asked her to share it with me. It's pretty stinking fantastic! I've even made it for friends, who then asked for the recipe themselves!

Really, this is the point I'm actually trying to make: I need recipes. I know I said I have books, but they always have a huge list of ingredients, and it overwhelms me. Having gotten those two recipes last year, just as recommendations from friends and family, made me realize that YOU, my family, friends, followers, facebook people who didn't know what they were getting into when they clicked on my blog link, random people who visit from other blogs....YOU are who I need to get recipes from. Easy, minimal ingredient recipes! Here's what I make so far:

Chicken Enchiladas
Chicken Parmesan
Meatloaf (thank you Danny)
Spaghetti (thank you boiling water)
Quesadillas

I seriously can't think of any more, besides maybe grilled cheese sandwiches and popcorn! (No, I have never given Declan popcorn for dinner.) So if you've got something you think I may like, PLEASE tell me! I need more ideas before I get sick of these recipes! Here are somethings we're not too big on:

Fish (Both Trevor and I have tried salmon a couple times, and it's just not something we like.)
Herbs (That would be Becky, unless it's very finely chopped, I'm not a big fan, especially basil)

Other than that, I think we're up to trying things. If you have simple meal ideas for Declan too, I'd love to hear that.

I REALLY want to be a better housewife, and getting this dinner making thing under control would definitely boost me up! Thanks for the reading this and for those who respond. Be sure to check back and look for recipes that others have left. You may find something you'd like too! :)

Sleeping

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:12:00 +0000

Confession time: I'm obsessed with a sleeping Declan. He's just so sweet and cute and funny! Well, the funny has come later in life for him, but he's always been sweet and cute! :) My favorite part of him are his palms. They're warm and soft....I love it!!! I'm also constantly checking on him at night after he goes to bed, just looking at him, making sure he's breathing. And if I hear the slightest noise that sounds off, I'm up and running to him....like he's still a newborn! I know I'm not alone with this, right Trevor?! Right! :)

So about this funny business.....Dec really gets into some silly positions when he's asleep. Well, I think they're silly! :) And I end up taking a thousand pictures and posting them here....um, I mean 37 pictures. (Yes, there are that many here. Is that too many? Not for me! I love pictures!!) Here is my catalogue of Sleeping Declan Pictures! I'll start with the classic ones from his younger days.

One day old!

2 weeks old....

This one makes me think of Gizmo, the Mogwai. It's like Dec's saying "Bright light, bright light!"

3 weeks old
"I'm too sexy for my crib"

4 weeks
This is what I was talking about: so sweet and cute!

almost 6 weeks old
This is his Great Grandma Spice look! :)

6 weeks old

7 weeks old
Put your hands where I can see them!

Snuggle time with Daddy

almost 11 weeks old
And he's found his thumb!

4 months old
There goes the Mogwai thing again...

5 months old
This was the first time Jake let me borrow his nice, fancy camera, and these were in that first shoot I did.....which I haven't blogged....yet. :)

still 5 months old

Oh, you know it!

He looks like he's doing a jig, or clicking his heels like a Leprechaun.

7 months old

He started rolling onto his stomach about this time....really freaked me out! I have video of it too, we tried turning him onto his back, but to no avail....he would just flip back. It was actually really funny!

10 1/2 months old

I just thought his body position looked so funny here....

And when I looked away to see the last picture on the camera, and then looked back at him, he looked like this:

15 months old

This really scared me and made me laugh at the same time! How ridiculous is this kid!

I did move him, so he wouldn't break his leg trying to turn in his sleep, but a couple weeks later, it happened again...

And this is what happened when I moved him...back to the safety position!

After that, he just liked sticking his feet out of the crib....I couldn't stop him!

After lunch one day, he asked to watch Signing Times before going down for a nap. I obliged, sat him down in his chair, and went about cleaning up after lunch. When I went to get him for his nap, I found him like this. Poor guy was tuckered out!

Here is a series with his bear. Bear ends up in the oddest of places! Awesome!

As a pillow...

As a blanket...

As a shield...

As a body pillow...

As just something to cuddle...

And as an airbag.

This was on the way home from Disneyland for my birthday. How adorable is this kid!

He made this pose a lot in his ultrasound pictures, which was quite fitting: his name means "Man of Prayer"

On the plane ride to Texas in November....a blog you will see hopefully soon!

So thanks for sticking through all those pictures. I hope you enjoyed them as I much as I do!! Thank you and Goodnight! :)

Then and Now: Boppy Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:08:00 +0000

5 weeks and 3 days old

1 year, 5 weeks and 3 days old!

Yup! These pictures were taken a year apart exactly! I didn't realize it until I was putting this post together today. Fun stuff! :) What a HUGE difference a year makes!

June 20th, 2008

June 20th, 2009

I'm pretty sure there won't be a repeat this year....unless it's of Abby. But she'll probably still be sitting comfortably with me.....who won't be sitting comfortably.....

Christmas 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:10:00 +0000

I love this picture. It's not at all in focus, but I just think it's so precious!!

So I know this is over a month late, but.....

Anyway, we stuck to our normal Christmas traditions this year: Christmas Eve with the Gill Family, Christmas morning with our little family, and Christmas night with the Allan Family. I always love seeing Declan play with his cousins, he LOVES them all so much. And I'm always saying "he needs to see them more!" Perhaps that can be a New Years resolution....what? It's February? Ok, it can be a New Month resolution! :)

Ethan and Bella tearing into their gifts.

Such a beautiful girl!

Helping Dec open presents. Trev, thanks for telling me to look up. The ones where I'm looking down.....not so pretty! :)

Cheeseball!

So Ethan got a "Thomas the Tank Engine" book. Declan caught a glimpse of it, and then none of his presents mattered. All he wanted was the "choo choo".....I had no idea he had gotten so attached to Thomas.....uh....hmmm.....

Declan's first Elmo. An Original Tickle Me Elmo!

Our annual Cracker Crown picture.

What cute pj'd cousins!!!

After a rearrange, Ethan took Declan's hand! So sweet!

And Dec put his arm around Bella...

Um....and began choking her....?

And finished with a good tackle. Or steam roller. Did I say he loves his cousins? :)

Christmas morning. We got D a computer since he was always trying to use ours. He started playing with it right away, and it was SOOOO adorable!!

Now I bet you're wondering why I put a picture of Danny and Grace (yes, that's Grace with the monkey head on) dressed up as the Man in the Yellow Hat and Curious George. Well, the answer is three-fold:

1. Danny has always loved Curious George. He was sick a lot as a kid, even went into the hospital several times, and George was integral in getting him through that time. So what better way to pay tribute than to dress up as the two main characters for Halloween! (2005, by the way....that's pre-kids.)

2. To show you how awesome and dedicated my brother and sister-in-law are when it comes to Halloween costumes!! During their lives together they have been El Nino and La Nina (grey sweats with cotton balls attached, sombreros, a mustache for Danny, and squirt bottles to "rain" on people), Daisy's (green sweats with GIANT flowers head pieces. Danny got an award at work called the Daisy award....thus...the costumes.), Penguins, and Chickens. Grace is so amazingly creative and has made the costumes each year, including the paper mache George head you see her sporting in this photo. Seriously. Dedication!

3. (The reason that ties this all in, and yet shows what a very random tangent this is) Hopie put a "Man in the Yellow Hat" hat on at Christmas. Yup. That's it. :)

The kids and Danny playing the Ladybug Game.

Uncle Danny! Did you turn it into a drinking game?!?! :)

WOOO! Declan wins!!

Ok, I put this picture in because I was so amazed at how my son ate that night. I'm thinking this is after his first serving, but his plate looked the same after a SECOND piece of lasagna! That is a true miracle for Declan. Seriously Randy, it goes against nature...it is from God! :)

Sadly, that's all I got from the night. Once dinner was over and we started on presents, I wasn't real "on" with the camera. I was opening a lot of D's presents, so I didn't have time to take pictures. I assure you though, fun times were had!

Thank you Families for all the gifts! It is fun to see Declan play with his new toys, read his new books, and cuddle his big Frog! Yeah, Dec got a big frog stuffed animal that is "life size"....for him. He wasn't as big a fan when it came out of the bag, but now he LOVES it! And so do Trevor and I! Seriously, that thing is great to cuddle! :)

I leave you with our Christmas Card display. We totally felt the love this year, and I want to say thank you to everyone who sent us a card! Yours was (and still is) lovingly displayed! :) If yours seems a little buried.......then send it later next year! I learned the later you send a card, the more prime spot it gets! :)

(Yes, that is our card in there too.....and a picture of Jack Allan.....and a picture of me, Chantel, Bri and Megan from 1998.)

Our First ER Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:25:00 +0000

Oh what a day! As you can see by the title of this post, we went to the ER today. :( And here's why...

Yesterday, Declan had a fever. It started about 11 am, and was high and low throughout the day. He wasn't very keen on eating for most of the day, but had a little bit of applesauce at dinner. We gave him a quick bath, got him a dose of Tylenol, and sent him to bed in footie pajamas and his blanket.

This morning he woke up crying, and all he wanted was to be held and to cuddle....which of course I LOVED, but at the same time, I'd much rather he not have the fever. I checked his temp and it was low grade, so I didn't worry too much and didn't give him Tylenol. I'm a believer in the "if the fever is low and the kid is in good spirits, let the fever burn off on it's own" theory. He wasn't his normal self, but he wasn't as bad as he had been either. He ate two Gogurts, and had some water, so he was taking in some food.

Then at about 11:30, I took his temp (in the armpit) and it was 104.3! Ooh, kinda scary. Time for Tylenol FOR SURE! I figured at this point, it wouldn't hurt to call and ask the advice nurse what I should do, if I should do anything. I've called before and they suggested to take him in to Urgent Care, but that's all. No "go to the ER" freak-me-out kinda advice. Until today. Me: "Really? The ER? Not even Urgent Care?" Nurse: "With a temp that high, it's kind of concerning." Oh dear.

I called Trevor to let him know, and D and I took off to the Kaiser ER in Irvine. Trevor met us there, and we checked in right away. They took us into triage pretty quickly, and his temp was already down to 99.6, also in the armpit. However the nurse told us that armpit temp is about 1 degree less than the real temp...so make that 100.6. Still, that's WAAAAY better than 104.3, or rather 105.3 if the armpit temp thing is real. Sooooo, going to the ER was probably a really good idea.

The whole triage experience REALLY upset Declan: getting the hospital bracelet, having a strange wire taped to his finger to take his pulse and BP, having his temp taken. And then we were told his PJ's should come off, they were keeping the heat in and not helping with his temp. While we were taking his PJ's off, he got so worked up, he started gagging, and finally, threw-up his Gogurts....all onto daddy. :( Yeah, it was really quite gross. Poor kid!

A few minutes later, we were called back. And then it wasn't long until the doc came in. The Doctor. Hmm. He was really nice....but boy did he like to talk! (I know-I'm not one to judge.) He just talked about random things....I really can't explain well, but let me just tell you one thing he said: "It's like a fart in a windstorm." I really can't even remember the context. Weird guy. But good doctor.

He checked Declan out, and that was one of the worst things I've gone through as a parent. Declan's feeling like crap and here's this guy, putting some cold thing on his back and chest, getting mom and dad to pin him down and having something poking in his ear and then some stick stuck down his throat, practically gagging him. It took two tries to get a good look down his throat, second time around with the doc laying on top of him. He got so worked up, he almost threw up again. It was really difficult to watch it all and know I could do nothing to stop it, and had to actually help it happen.

But his ears were clear, his throat was good, and his chest and stomach sounded fine. So. That left the blood and urine to check. Dang. This leads me to THE actual worst thing I have gone through as a parent. More pinning down, but with needles involved. :( Thankfully the doctor didn't believe in making him go through the experience of getting a catheter put in, and just had a bag taped around his diddle to collect pee. (TMI? Oh well!) He needed a couple blood tests and a urine test to rule out other infections. Those tests took about an hour and a half to run, so that's where most of the time was spent. Dec mostly laid on dad and dozed a little, but he was still really miserable. During the bag-attachment process, his temp was taken again, rectally (DEFINITELY TMI!) and it was back up to 102.5. :(

This was the only picture I took today. That's the IV taped to his hand. What you can't see is the flat board taped to the underside of his wrist to keep it straight. What you can see is Declan not having a good time. :(

All tests came back positive....or um, negative....what I mean is there were no infections found! So then what's with the fever? Well, there are two more tests being run, blood cultures, which take 48 hours, so we're still waiting for those results. Until then, he could still have an infection, so the doc recommended we give him some antibiotics, through a drip, using the IV that was put in his hand during the blood draw. And while we're at it, let's give him some IV fluids, just to be safe. Ok, you're the doc, you know what's best.

Oy, another hour and a half. Me to the nurse: "You guys don't happen to have a TV we could watch?" Nurse: "Actually we do." He leaves and a minute later comes back with a TV, a VCR/DVD player, and a PILE of Disney movies!! Fantastic! The Lion King got us all the way through until we were discharged! Weeee! And while the movie was on, Dec totally perked up. Even ate some Cheerios, Animal Crackers, and drank some water! After he finished his meds, they checked his temp again and he was at 99 or 100. Not bad and he's in GREAT spirits!

So home we went, with the instructions to give him Tylenol every 4-6 hours, and have a follow up with a pediatrician tomorrow. The doc is about 90% sure that it is Roseola which is a high fever, followed by a non-itchy rash. It's not really dangerous, unless the fever gets REALLY high, and it's treatable at home. So, now we're just waiting for the fever to completely go away, and we're on the lookout for the rash. He's already gotten a few weird spots on his legs, but they've gone away, and the rash usually hangs on for several days. We'll see I guess.

Since being home Dec has gone from being miserable and not wanting to eat, to VERY sleepy, to bed, to wanting to be held, to being in the bath, back to wanting to be held, to laying on dad and then getting up and walking to his bed to go to sleep, to being woken by the fire alarm (apparently my shower steam got to the alarms), to wanting to eat crackers and drink milk, to playing and laughing and dancing around, and finally back to bed! Crazy!

I had a hard time when we first got home and he was not doing good. The nurse told us to keep him as uncovered as possible, for him to be just in his diaper. If he got the chills, still keep him from being bundled. The more you bundle the harder it is for the fever to drop. Makes sense. But I really can't watch my son shiver and shake and be COVERED in goosebumps. We put a onesie on him, and he still was shaking like crazy! He was laying on me, face down, with all his limbs tucked in and my arms around him and he was still shivering. I couldn't handle it and I put a blanket on him when I laid him down. I got the thinnest blanket we had, trying to not break the rules too much. :) After his bath, he was doing a lot better, temp wise, so we just put him in some loose pants, and he's been fine ever since.

We'll see how tomorrow goes. His fluctuation tonight doesn't make me feel too great, but we were also told that if his fever spikes again to take him back to the ER. Great. Hopefully that won't happen and I won't have ER Trip #2 to write.....I don't know if I have the stamina to write another saga! :) But, I will keep you posted!

Belly Book Reveal

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:27:00 +0000

When I was pregnant with Declan, I was lucky enough to have 3 maternity photo shoots with 2 VERY talented photographers. For one it's a hobby, and the other, an experience to build her portfolio. Both are dear friends of mine, and I was more than happy to help them out. ;) Now, just a mere two years later, I finally compiled my favorite shots into a book! I did my best to recreate a few of the pages for the blog, picking my favorites of my favorites. The pictures here are a little small, so hopefully you can click on them to get better view.

Dawn was very helpful with the title page, and I LOVE it!

Park and "Studio" shots taken by Jake Reinig

Beach shots taken by Jessica Brown

Outtakes-yes... we are very goofy people. :)

And the last page said this -

"Coming Summer 2010"

Yes, that means what you think it means.....we're having a GIRL!!! Our sweet little Abby will be joining us this summer and we are SOOOOOOO excited. I cannot believe it still. We had the ultrasound to find out two weeks ago, and a normal appointment today where we double checked, and up, it's still a girl! :)

So why Abby? Yes, I know she will be Abigail Gill. Or Abby Gill. And for some, that's a little odd. But here's the story that goes with it:

Back on the first day Trevor and I were officially boyfriend and girlfriend (which was 10 1/2 years ago), our friend Jessica (not the photographer) was hanging out with us, and teasing us about our "officialness." She asked us what we would name our kids, and after sharing some boy names we liked, the girl name was discussed. I said "I've always wanted to name my daughter Abigail Joy. I LOVE the name Abigail, and Joy is after my mom, Joyce." Trevor then chuckled and said "That's interesting. I've always wanted to name my daughter with the initials AJ because those were my mom's initials." At the time, it was a sweet coincidence. Now I know it was God and He was doing a little "nudge, nudge, wink, wink". :)

So no matter how awkward her name may be now, the story behind it makes it all better! And of course, she'll get married some day and that will take care of it! :)

Mundane Musings

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:19:00 +0000

I had a bunch of random thoughts and facts going through my head today, stuff that I thought would make good Facebook updates, but I couldn't choose one. Actually, I did choose one but whatever. Anyway, I thought I'd post them all here too. They all pretty much have to do with mommyhood, so it fits. :)

*When I originally planned to write this blog today, I thought "I'll call it Monday Musings, cause it's Monday!" Right....it's Tuesday. Thank you pregnancy brain.

*Why am I just as tired after getting 9 hours of sleep, as I was after 4 hours? (Yes, this one made FB, the lucky winner.)

*I need to remember that I am pregnant and eating until I am more than full will make me VERY uncomfortable! Which leads me to.....

*A message from Debbie Downer: "Hey all you first time preggers out there! Enjoy this pregnancy!! It turns out that being pregnant a 2nd time (and I assume 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and so on) is LESS comfortable than being pregnant the first time. Live it up ladies!"

*I'm going to say it's been a successful attempt at weaning Dec off the pacifier. He has not cried for it since day one. It has been a little over a week, and though he asked for it the first couple of days, he doesn't even mention it anymore. I can't say we used any tricks, no "broken pacifier", no "sending it off with a balloon for another baby to use", just stopped giving it to him at night. I did try to show him at first that he could use his thumb if he wanted to suck, but he didn't really care for that. I know it's only been a week, but I feel good that he's over it. (Cue him waking up right now and crying for hours until I give up the location of the pacifier.) The downside to all this though? He wakes up earlier. He use to be able to nap for about 3 hours....now we are lucky if it's 2. He used to sleep until 8am or later.....it's been about 7-7:15-ish for the last few days. Trevor actually said to me this morning "Wanna give it back to him?" I asked him if he was serious, and he said, "Kinda." Oh what stellar parents we are! :)

Um, I think that's it. There might have been more, but I can't remember. I blame the pregnancy. Speaking of, I am 19 weeks along, as of yesterday. We have an appointment to find out what we are having soon, and hopefully he/she will cooperate! I'll let you know when we know.....and have told all our family! :)

Since those musings were a little on the whiny side, I thought I'd leave you with a happy thought and story.

*When I was pregnant with D, I had the great fortune to have 3 maternity photo shoots! (It helped that I didn't have to pay for them!) I'll get into it a little more in another post, but I finally got around to making a photo book of the pictures. Here's a peek at the cover page, designed by my super talented sister-in-law Dawn:

*Speaking of pregnancy brain and forgetting things, here's a funny story from my first pregnancy:

A very thoughtful friend and co-worker of Trevor's, Jamie, asked me one day what I had been craving. I really didn't have a lot of cravings, but I was really wanting yellow cake with chocolate frosting, like Duncan Hines box cake yellow cake! A couple days later, Trevor brings home a 9x13 inch Pyrex cake pan, filled with cupcakes that were.....you guessed it, yellow cake with chocolate frosting, from Jamie! I don't know if it was Duncan Hines cake, but whatever, it was perfect!! I ate 3 that night, a couple the next day, and the next night, and then a few more the next day. But that night, there were 6 left, and I really felt bad for keeping the cake pan for so long, but couldn't eat 6 cupcakes in one sitting. 3, I could totally do, but that left 3 more. Where could I put the other 3 so I could give the pan back? I stood in the kitchen for about 5 minutes thinking, "what could I put these in that has a lid" and then CLICK! I believe I even raised a finger in the air as I said "A pot!"

As I placed the last cupcake in the pot, I looked at them and said out loud, "Or Tupperware would have worked."

Handmade Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 04:24:00 +0000

Last year for Christmas I got a sewing machine. I had been wanting one for years, even though it had been about 17 years since 7th grade Home Ec....the last time I had really used a sewing machine. But I was being inspired to sew from Grace and my friend Adrieanna, and a machine was needed to do so. Thankfully my parents had one that had been bought with the best of intentions, but rarely used. So I would become the new lucky owner!

Since then I have done 2 big projects that require their own blog post each, and MANY little projects. Sadly, I have yet to do anything for me really, but that's ok, I love seeing my stuff being enjoyed by others. Which leads me to Christmas...

Adrieanna, my quilting mentor, introduced me to a book that has become my sewing bible. It's called Denyse Schmidt Quilts and it's by, surprisingly, Denyse Schmidt. :) (The link is just to her website, the book is on there somewhere.) In it there are 20 small-ish projects and 10 quilts. From those 20 projects, I was inspired....to make Christmas presents! I was able to pick projects for all the females (sans Mom, I want to make her something big and I'll need LOTS more time. Oh don't be surprised mom, you know it's coming....eventually!), the brothers and baby Jack on the Allan side. Ethan, Jack Lindley, and Luke got big boy presents. :)

So here is what I made, pictures and all. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of some....I didn't quite finish them all in time, in fact I still have a couple yet to complete. When I am COMPLETELY done, and have all the rest photographed, I will update and let you know. Because I know you are DYING to see it all. ;)

For Bella: A purse and coin purse

Zigzag Bag and Zigzag Zip

It's named after the original design which I changed up a bit, along with adding lining to both bags.

For Jack Allan: flannel blocks

This project doesn't have a name because it didn't come from the book, I kinda did it on my own (by peeking at another one of Adrieanna's sewing books!)

For Gemma, Hope, and Ruby: stuffed animal cats

Three Faces of Steve

I actually made 3 of these, for all 3 girls of course, but with different fabrics. Poor Ruby got the wonky looking one, but I figured she wouldn't mind as much! :) I only have a picture of this one, which doesn't even have the tail attached, but you get the idea!

For Grace: an apron

Shimmy, Shake, and Bake Apron

I felt kinda bad making an apron for Grace. I didn't want to seem like I was saying "get in the kitchen, woman!" But I felt that she would really appreciate it, and she did! She said it's what she's been needing! You can see in the second pic, the front pattern is actually a pocket.

The un-photographed:

For Avery: a scarf and a muff

Scrap Wrap and A Muff is A Muff

I didn't think about it when I was making it, but the pattern is meant for making an adult size scarf and muff. So they turned out a little big....but they are still really cute! (You'll see!)

For Dawn: a closet sachet

Closet Case Sachet

Do you know how hard it is to find cedar chips?! Ridiculously. So when I couldn't find them, I adjusted the pattern and added Velcro. Now Dawn can choose the scents she likes and replace them at her leisure. I'd say that worked out for the best! :)

For Jason, Hugo, Chris, and Danny: juggling blocks

Cares in the Air Juggling Blocks

Dried lentils were A LOT easier to find! :) I know my brothers juggle, but I don't know about Jason and Hugo. If they have ever wanted to learn....here's their chance!

For Danica: an eye pillow

Eye Will Revive Eye Pillow

Danica suffers from migraines more often than she, or anyone, should. I figured this would be perfect for her. Now I just need to find Buckwheat hulls.....

For Larissa: a scarf

Scrap Wrap

The first time I saw the picture of this scarf project I thought of her. And I was thrilled to be able to pick out the fabric, hoping to find patterns that she would love. And I hope she does....cause I do! :)

Early in December, I was telling Grace and Larissa about all my handmade Christmas presents, and we all decided that we would all make handmade gifts. I was totally on board cause I had everything planned out. (By the way...planning it all out doesn't matter as much if you don't follow through with the plan. You would think after almost 30 years on this earth I would know this by now.) But I was nervous for the girls cause they both have 2 kids, and waaaaay less time than me to make something. Well, I shouldn't have been because they both pulled through....FANTASTICALLY! Larissa gave a pre-mixed soup of fresh ingredients (just needs to be cooked and enjoyed!), burned CD's, hand written Bible Verse flash cards, crafted photo-magnet frames, and for us ladies, she went to a place where you pick the scents and they make a perfume. And Grace made a photobook, one for each family, of the cousins in 2009. I am IN LOVE with that photobook! Both girls, in their own way, handmade the Christmas presents! Such creative girls! :)

Christmas Cousins

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:07:00 +0000

April 20th, 2007, brought us Gemma Rose. July 13th of that same year, Hope Elizabeth was born. These were the first 2 grandchildren on the Allan side, and Declan's 4th and 6th cousin. (Isabella Rose, #5, from the Gill side was born in May of that year.) That Christmas, Larissa and Grace started a tradition that has grown in popularity and difficulty, but most definitely is most cherished among all the gifts Grandma and Grandpa get at Christmas: The Cousin Picture.

Here is year one, Gemma - 8 months, and Hope - 5 months.

As you perhaps noticed, both girls were pretty stationary at the time. You put them somewhere, they stayed. So taking the pictures at Sear's wasn't so bad! However, the next year....not so easy! Declan of course, being only 7 months, was super easy. But VERY mobile girls, with agendas of their own....yikes. This was the best shot we got of all three of them. Hope is probably reaching for goldfish, or Pablo (a Backyardigan doll).

Year 2, Gemma - 20 months, Hope - 17 months, Declan - 7 months

After that Sears session, we vowed to do something different the next year. Enter Mel. Stay with me for a moment while I go on a tangent about my wonderful friend Melissa.

This beautiful girl started out this past year (2009) in terrible, terrible back pain. Pain that had plagued her for years. Pain that kept her from working or going to school. But, did that keep her from pursuing her passions? Heck no! This TRUE artist did what she could to make a living, she painted, and she created BEAUTIFUL jewelry. She also discovered a love (and amazing talent) for photography! (Ahh, my tangent makes sense!) Thankfully she was able to have surgery early in the year, and has recovered VERY well! So well that she has gone back to school! And her photography business has grown, and continues to grow! I love seeing all her posts and watching her abilities blossom. This is going to be an amazing year for Mel, mostly because in August she will marry the man of her dreams, Branden, who shares her love for photography. I am so excited for their wedding, I can't wait to beautify her locks! :) And it's in Big Bear, so you know it's going to be GORGEOUS!! Ok, my tangent is growing....all this to say, my dear friend and her fiance helped us tremendously this year for our Cousin picture:

Year 3

What an amazing shot, huh?! All FIVE kids, looking in the same direction! Bear in mind, the mommies were jumping and singing and doing silly dances behind the photographers, but whatever, it worked! :)

Jack - 6 months

Ruby - 8 months

Declan - 19 months

Hope - 2 1/2

Gemma - 2 1/2

One final shot, a tiny little sample of what the other group shots resembled. :)

As you can tell, the number of babies have grown over the years, and of course there will be at least one more next year. Us mommies have decided the dad's will come help out next year, one parents to each child...that should help with the wrangling! :) Until next year, Merry Christmas from the Allan Grandkids!

A New Little Adventurer

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:25:00 +0000

Introducing Baby Gill #2

Due June 2010

Wish us luck!! :)

Vintage Declan Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:46:00 +0000

Round two: These were taken during Declan's 14th month...

Safety Locks

Dec gets taller by the minute! And smarter too! He has figured out our door handles, and though, of course, I love it when he joins me in the bathroom (snort), we thought it would be better if we could keep him out. As you can see, D was very interested in the process. :)

Don't Turn Around

Grandma was oh-so-generous to buy Declan some new clothes, and as soon as we got home, he couldn't WAIT to see them. I set them on the office chair and continued walking into the kitchen.

I must have been REALLY into the dishes I was washing because I turn around and see this:

It's like he's saying "What did I get?!?"

And then he ran from he scene

Double Fisting

Swimming with Daddy

The matching was not on purpose....I just got lucky! :)

This floatie thing was awesome, but we should have gotten it sooner. We probably only used it 4 times I think, and then we just started carrying D in the pool so he could learn to swim and dunk and such.

Dec LOVES to splash....and here Trev models our opinion on the matter.

Such a sweet moment....I almost didn't catch it!

Big Boy Car Seat

The Evil Vacuum

Declan REALLY does not like the vacuum. In fact he hides from it.

and gives me dirty looks for using it!

Vintage Declan Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:02:00 +0000

So here I am, catching up! I had so many little things to blog about, I thought I would mash it all up into a couple big blogs, rather than a ton of little blogs. All these pictures were taken between 10 and 11 months, which would be March.

Fun with GG Spice

Hamper Time!

Declan loves it when I pull him around in the hamper, or any laundry basket. This time I just let him chill....and he still had a pretty good time! :)

Fun Time with Great Grandpa Sugar

3 Generations

Big Duck Bath

D LOVES bath time! It's so cute to watch his little naked butt run to the bath. When he was littler, we had a blow up duck for him to sit in, something to help him transition from his baby bathtub to the big bath. See, look how happy he is!

Hmmm, yummy washcloth and soap water!

Uh...what's in that soap water??

No Blog November

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:46:00 +0000

I'm apparently not as good at this blogging thing as I'd like to be. Someday, there will be technology where I could just think of what I want the blog to say or how it would look, and BAM, it will be there. Unfortunately, I'll probably be long gone before then....so maybe my grandchildren will be better bloggers! :)

I do have SO MUCH stuff to post, pictures mostly, but stories and events too. I never even posted Easter pictures! :( I still plan on posting almost everything that I've been meaning to....oh yes, even Easter. But I'm just not feeling it right now. What my problem is is that I put to much effort into one post, with MILLIONS of pictures.....but that's me. I LOVE pictures, especially ones of my son. So, like I keep promising, I will post soon, a real post, with pics and everything. For now I will do a quick update.

Declan is 18 months, almost 19. At his appointment in Nov. he was 25lbs (50th percentile. FINALLY!), 33.25 inches tall. He can say some words clearly (Mama, Daddy, Papa, shoe) and a lot of words kinda clearly (water, truck, baby, more, bear, Cheerios, potty....and more, I can't think of them right now.) He can sign over 50 words, but probably only knows what half of them are. For example, he knows when he's signing "more" but I'm sure he doesn't know what "imagination" is. :) Sometimes I worry that he knows too much signing and will take awhile to talk, like when I ask him to "say" something, he'll sign it. But then I hear him babbling on in his little Declan-speak and I realize he's ok, he IS talking, so he will talk more....eventually.

My amazingly talented friend Mel took Dec's 18 month pictures! She blogged about the shoot, so you can check them out here. I'll "probably" post more when I get the full set. I can't believe how incredibly good looking Declan is. He's set a pretty high standard for any other kids we may have. Poor future child/children!

Today he bit me for the first time. It wasn't malicious or in anger of any kind, more like an experiment. We were cuddling, and he had his mouth open on my shoulder. All of a sudden I felt this sharp pain and I yelled out. (We were in a restaurant, so that wasn't cool.) I stopped him and took his face firmly in my hand and said "No biting!" very sternly. But then his face was so funny, he kept shifting his eyes back and forth, so I had to turn my head so I wouldn't laugh and give him ANY indication that biting was funny. Oi, I hope this doesn't start any new trend for him. I was told I should bite him back.....but I don't really think that will work for him....it wouldn't work for me.

So that's it for now. Like I always say, stay tuned for more.....but don't hold your breath. I don't want to be responsible for any light-headedness! :)

Achievements

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 06:40:00 +0000

1. This my 100th blog. Woot!

2. Remember my resolution from earlier this year? Well the results are in, and I've lost about 18 pounds, give or take a pound or two based on time of day and what I'm currently wearing. :) How did I do it you ask? Well that leads me to....

3. I ran a Half Marathon! Yes, really, I did! And I did a heck of a lot better than I thought I would. This was something I had been thinking about doing for awhile. My brothers ran a full marathon a couple years ago, and I took them to the start at 5:30 in the morning, watched them run by at about the 11th mile, and was amongst the crowd of runners, family, friends, and supporters at the finish line, not to mention the whole day. I remember the feeling of accomplishment in the air all around me, and I thought: "wow that would be cool to run a marathon!", immediately followed another thought: "HA! I could never do that!" Well, it turns out I was half right! :)

Earlier this year, I was talking with my dear friend Sandra. We were talking about wanting to lose weight, and what we would have to do to get there. Turns out we both had the same idea: running. (Oh, and eating healthy, blah blah blah. ;) And we both felt the same way about it, too: yuck. But with a bit of motivation, and some accountability, we bravely set about training. I had difficulties at first because I was still breastfeeding, and exercise decreased my production, so I wasn't able to really get moving till about June. That still gave me 13 weeks to train for the race I had my heart set on: The Disneyland Half Marathon. It was always appealing to me, not just because you run through Disneyland, but because the route is entirely in Anaheim, which included running through Angel Stadium! Running a route that I would be familiar with was very encouraging for me. (The price tag was less than encouraging unfortunately.)

Training didn't always go according to the schedule, and there were a few times I was really discouraged and didn't think I'd be able to pull it off. But the last few weeks got really good! Sandra and I ran together when we could during the week, but we always did our "long runs" together on Saturdays. The most we ever ran pre-race was 10 miles, which we did twice. The second 10 mile run, we ran to the beach! It was beautiful, and a fun way to see part of Orange County that I had never seen. And then for some reason, the next week we ran 9 miles...RUNNING THE WHOLE WAY!! Crazy, I know! If you'd like to read about our training, we blogged about it: Sandra and Becky Go Running.

So that leads me to race day. Sandra picked me up at 4-freakin-30 in the morning! The race started at 6, and we wanted to be sure we had time to get where we were going. When we signed up for the race, we had to put an estimate finish time, and we both said 3 hours......mainly because we didn't want to think that it might take any longer than that! That put us in the 5th group to start, specifically Corral E. There was F and G after us, so we were relieved we weren't the last ones to start. :) Each corral was HUGE! I would try to explain how big, but I really don't know how! I'll just say, the race started at 6 am, but we didn't officially start until about 6:15!!

My memory of the race at this point was that it wasn't so hard. :) Oh, it wasn't easy, I was DEAD tired, and wasn't able to run the whole way, but I didn't struggle as much as I thought I would. There were times when it felt like it was going by real quick. At a couple of mile markers I would think "Really? Already?" We did walk through the last 5 or 6 water stations, and a couple other times as well, but short walks, just enough to give us a break. During the run, I saw my dad twice (once in Disneyland, once in California Adventure, he works there and was on the clock at the time, but the race kinda kept him from being able to do his work) and my mom, but unfortunately missed Trevor and Declan inside the stadium. We seriously just missed seeing each other, I saw Colin (Sandra's husband) but he was at the opposite end from my boys, and they didn't see me go by. :( It was a bummer, but knowing that they were there for me (and not off in the bathroom or something, thinking I wasn't coming by for awhile) made me feel a little better.

Near the end, Sandra and I started talking about how we wanted to finish, holding hands a la Thelma and Louise? Um, no. Sprinting? Maybe. Our finish ended up being similar to our first race, a 5K (3 miles), that we ran in June. That race was the first time we had run 3 miles without walking. We had decided not to sprint at the finish, but once we were in sight of it and the clock, we realized we could finish under 40 min! So sprint we did.....which was unnecessary. You see at that race, we had also not started right at the gunfire, but about a minute after. So our race time ended being about 38:4something. No sprinting needed. At the half, we rounded the corner, with the end in sight, and the announcer says "We're about to hit 3 hours, so if you want to come in before then, you better hurry!" Now I don't know if this is how it really happened, but for dramatic effect: when we heard that, Sandra and I looked at each other, and silently each said "Let's do it!" with our eyes, and we went for it! Sprint sprint sprint sprint sprint....which isn't easy to do through a crowd of other sprinters! And then we were done.

What a feeling! Kinda didn't seem real at first, and....well, still doesn't. :) But when I do think about it, I am pretty stinkin' proud of myself! My official time was 2:43:02. Our goal was to finish in 3 hours or less, so this time far surpassed what we had hoped for! I didn't get too terribly sore after the race either. I was sore, no doubt, but never debilitating, like I thought I would be. And, at this point it's been long enough, I will admit that I see myself running another one in the future....half marathon, of course. I don't really have any desire to do a full. 13.1 miles is enough for me! But perhaps I'll go for the Coast to Coast Medal, something you get for running the Disneyland Half and either the half or full at Disneyworld in the same calendar year. But that will after another baby. (No, that's not an announcement.) Seriously, running is a pretty good way to lose weight! Just look back at achievement #2 in this post! :)

And now....the photos! :) (Some of these are the official race ones, that I copied from their site, so they aren't as big....you'll survive, right?)

This was the night before, after our carb load dinner at the Spaghetti Factory! My favorite!

Our early morning "before" picture.

In front of the Carousel, just before running through the castle.

Rivers of America, with Mark Twain and Thunder Mountain behind us. Shortly after this we decided to use the Disneyland bathrooms rather than the port-a-potties along the route. SOOOO nice! We didn't have to wait in line, and we even got to wash our hands!! :)

Running through the stadium, Colin caught these shots. It was really fun to see someone you knew who was there to see you! The encouragement from the cheerleaders (yes, there were actual cheerleaders along the route) and other random spectators was cool, but it's great to see your own supporters!

This was when I was like "Where's Trevor and D?" This picture made Trevor really sad. :(

Near the end, running through California Adventure.

The next two are when we were crossing the finish line...can you find me? :)

Just after the race, with our Medals!

After our 5K, when we saw all the official photos, we noticed that we gave a lot...no, too many thumbs up. This race, we went with the Superman pose. Well, I did mostly, Sandra went with Jazz hands. :)

Crazy face....and a silly thumb snuck in there, too.

The day before the race we went to a birthday party for Declan's friend (and my friend Chantel's son) Colton's birthday, which was actually on the 6th, the race day. There were tattoos at the party, so I took one and wore it to honor Colton and his big day.

A tired momma and her boy.

One of my best friends and Declan's Godmother, Brianne, was out for Colton's party, and met me for the after-race meal at IHOP. When I was getting pictures for this blog, I realized that I didn't get any pictures with her. :( Thanks Bri for meeting up with us and celebrating me! :)

Ooh, another race story! So, again at our 5K, we were so proud that we ran the whole way. However, there was this lady in front of us the whole time....WALKING! So as excited as we were at our amazingness, there she was WALKING and still going faster than us. Fast forward to 0.5 miles into the half, and who do we see?! The WALKING lady! We immediately run faster and pass her, but all throughout running in the parks, we kept seeing her pass us! What the heck! And then, when we used the bathroom, we thought, this is it, we won't see her again. Then, somewhere around the 6th mile, we spotted her. After passing her then...we never saw her again! We never noticed her bib number, so we didn't know what her time was, but Detecive Sandra did some sleuth work and found this. We was 10 minutes faster! NICE! Take that WALKER! :)

Now, unfortunately I have not been very disciplined since the race. In fact, I believe I basically have scoffed in the face of discipline. I have not run once. I've wanted to.....but apparently I've wanted to sleep more. And because of that, achievement #2 has become kinda null. :( I guess I need a race to keep me motivated....here's to the next race....whenever that is. :)