Paul & Melissa

Playing Catch Up

2012-01-26T15:17:00.000-08:00

I took a break from blogging and it was so nice that I didnt want to start up again! But today I tried to get caught up and posted 5-6 times!

All mom's say this, but I really am the luckiest mom around. My boys are so sweet- Leatham is growing up way too quickly. He turns 3 in just a couple months, which is so crazy to me. Where does the time go? Leath is still such a little snuggler, he loves to give me hugs, and sit on my lap. He is also really sweet with Weston- and I love watching them play together. This morning they were making me food (with their play kitchen), and it was fun to just sit and watch as they were playing. Weston is almost 1 and is really close to walking. He is a speedy little crawler, but has started walking around furniture more and more and sometimes attempts to let go of the couch and take a couple steps on his own. Weston also likes to jabber talk- and I love listening to all the noises he makes. One day they will all make sense!

Leatham modeling his new shorts that Grandma Peterson made for him. He loves them!!!!

We had a family dinner to celebrate Paul's birthday-- It is nice that we have family so close. Leatham loved helping daddy unwrap his presents

We got to go to Seattle Children's Museum one Saturday through Paul's work. It was fun to spend a few hours there and watch the kids go crazy with all the new things to look at and play with.

Fun days

2011-12-29T10:27:00.000-08:00

Leatham and I made some homemade ornaments for our tree- He had so much fun helping to cut them out and decorate them.

Weston is usually a happy little guy! I love his little smile and how excited he gets over the littlest things. Reminds me to be grateful for the little things in life

Daddy gave our boys a bath in the laundry room sink- they loved it!

Paul got to take some time off around Christmas, and the boys loved having daddy home more!

Leatham with his kitchen.... Story behind the kitchen, a lady in my ward was selling it and I had been wanting to find a kitchen for a while. So I offered to buy it from her eventhough it was pink and purple and a little girly looking. I thought I could man it up a bit for the boys. So I bought some spray paint and spent and absurd amount of time taping off the different things I wanted to spray. In the end it was worth it, the boys love playing with the kitchen and the toy food.

Sooooooooo Excited for his new BYU sweatshirt!

Weston showing off his front teeth! Love his smile!

Opening presents at Grandma B and Barts house

New Cowboy Boots from Grandma B and Bart! Leatham loves to wear them- its funny to listen to him clunk around the house in them

The boys.... going for a little horse ride

Megan made her and Leath some matching spray painted t-shirts----- she is so awesome!

Paul's brothers came up to Winthrop for a few days over the Christmas break, and they did a little horse-riding

The rest of the pictures are from our sleeding trip. The boys had a blast sledding, until Leathams feet got too cold. We need to invest in some snow boots :) Check out the awesome dragon sculpture someone made at the sledding hill!

Poor weston didnt understand what was going on :)

Some Hard Stuff

2011-12-26T10:41:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure why I feel inclined to write this post- I normally don't share these experiences, but maybe somewhere out there, someone else is in pain and suffering from this as well......In early November we found out that I was pregnant, at that time I was about 6 weeks along. When I found out about the pregnancy I was initially not very excited, and felt very anxious and un-prepared to handle a 3rd baby, especially being so close in age to Weston. I spent a good week or so having those feelings of "Really? Why? and Why right now?" I kept taking pregnancy tests to "make sure" it wasn't a fluke. And it wasn't- 4 pregnancy tests later and they were still positive. It took me some time before I got excited, but eventually that time came. I started to get really excited, thinking with how close my boys would be- they would be best friends. A few weeks went by and the excitement built up. In the excitement, I even bought myself some trendy new maternity clothes (http://www.milanmaternity.com/ if you need any). I felt the need to celebrate, I had passed the typical 7-8 week milemarker when I would normally miscarry, and I felt happier and more assured that I was supposed to bring another baby into the world.

At the beginning of December I started feeling nausues all the time and having morning sickness. Then, mid-December I had some brown discharge that lasted for about a day. I called my doctor and they told me that since it was brown it meant it was old blood, but they wanted to have an ultrasound anyway. At that time I was 10 weeks. The next afternoon, Paul and I went to the ultrasound, and 100% of me thought that everything was going to be okay, I definitely felt pregnant. I even thought they were going to tell me I was pregnant with twins. But as the ultrasound began I instantly knew everything was not okay. In fact it was all wrong. There was no heartbeat. No flicker on the screen... nothing. My heart sunk I was beyond hurt and upste, I hated the ultrasound tech for not finding anything. I hated that they made us sit in a room for 15 minutes while they reviewed the results and had my doctor call me with the bad news....the baby stopped growing at 6.5 weeks and my body wasnt processing the miscarriage like it should. My doctor told me I could either wait it out and try to pass it at home, or undergo a D&C surgery to remove everything. I was in denial- I couldn't beleive that I was going through yet another miscarriage. I didnt understand....why me? why? why?

A few days later I went to the doctor to do the D&C prep- I was still in denial- I asked for another ultrasound so that I would know for certainty that there was nothing living inside me.... I held on to every last bit of hope I had. I prayed that there would be a flicker of a heartbeat on the monitor... but there wasnt.

They scheduled me for a D&C on December 19th- My parents took the boys for a few days so that I could get my rest. Which I am so glad they did, because I was really out of it- emotionally I was shut off and in pain, and physically I was exhausted.

I was, and still am, heartbroken at the loss of another baby. This was my 7th miscarriage, and one of the hardest for me to go through. I know that one day I will understand why, but not today.

National Finals Rodeo

2011-12-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

We kicked off December with a kid-free vacation to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas! We went with my parents, Parker, Shell & Mike. My parents bought us all tickets to go to the rodeo on opening night. It was so cool to see the different events in person. Those cowboys are pretty amazing!

During the daytime we got to shop around at the different convention centers- which sold everything from cowboy boots, and jewelry, to appliances and RV's. At one of the conventions we got to practice knife throwing- and Parker got a lesson on cracking his whip. We also spent some time checking out the night life in Vegas.

It was nice to get away and enjoy some time without the kiddos, but we missed them a lot!

November Photo Update

2011-11-29T14:07:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of November, we had to take Weston to Seattle Children's for surgery. Weston had to have an Orchiopexy surgery and hernia repair. We had to give him a special bath the night before and then he had to fast for 8 hours before the surgery. We were scheduled for a 10am surgery, but the Operating Room was running behind so we didn't get in until 11:45. So as you can imagine, Weston was pretty ticked off while we waited. He was hungry and I couldn't do anything to help him. Paul and I took turns rocking him, and when that wasn't working I took him out and we walked the halls and we just kept walking and walking until he finally fell asleep. The waiting part was awful! By the time he woke up from surgery he was starving and scarfed down a few bottles of sugar water. Then we drove home- and after that he did fine. He never really acted like he was in pain from the surgery, and he wanted to continue with his normal activities right away, which made it hard for Paul and I because we werent supposed to let him crawl or do anything for 48 hours after the surgery.

We drove up to Vancouver BC with my parents and Parker for Thanksgiving- On our way to Canada we stopped in Blaine, WA and ate a delicious Thanskgiving buffet at the Semiahmoo Resort. I had never been there before, but that resort is gorgeous! It's located right on the ocean and the view was amazing. Then we continued northward, through border crossing, and up to the Sandman Signature hotel.... complete with a 225 ft waterslide, which was pretty awesome, especially for Leatham.

The kids love hanging out with Grandma B

All over the place

2011-10-04T09:53:00.000-07:00

Weston started army crawling about a month ago (@ 6M), and he is literally all over the place! He is crawling up the stairs, pulling himself up to a standing position using whatever he can as leverage...sometimes his leverage isn't the sturdiest of things and they both tumble to the floor... but I am amazed at how quickly babies go from being totally immobile to zooming across the floor! I really cannot take my eyes off him otherwise this happens:

This morning he climbed up into the toy box and was crying because he couldn't get back down. This was right after he crawled up the stairs....

First two teeth came in @ 7M--- happened within two weeks of each other....

I painted the big box our bathtub came in, cut out some windows/door and Leatham has been using it as his fort for the past few months. He slept in in every night and for naps for quite a while, but he is back up in his bed now.

My sweet little boys! Leatham 2.5y & Weston 8m

Wedding Bells

2011-10-04T07:17:00.000-07:00

My little sister Madison got married a week ago- The wedding ceremony was beautiful, and it was so nice that the whole family could be together in the Salt Lake Temple to support them. Madison and Spencer make a great couple and I am excited for them to start their journey together.

They had two receptions, one in Utah and one in Washington and both were absolutely beautiful!

Long Time No Post

2011-09-30T10:31:00.000-07:00

Man, I hate it when I get so far behind on our blog. I don't have the energy to do separate posts, so this will be mostly pictures

Weston is following in Leatham's footsteps and can balance himself perfectly in Paul's hand for quite a while. He started doing this trick when he was almost 5 months

We went camping at Ocean Shores toward the end of July with the Dunn Family. The kids loved making smores, playing in the sand, searching for seashells on the seashore (say that out loud 5 times). It was Weston's first camping excursion and he did great. Paul got to go fishing with Mike and a friend who had a fishing boat- they each caught a King Salmon!

I took Megan, Johan and the kids to the Kangaroo Farm and it was pretty cool

Then the sad day arrived when my sister moved out...she was my summer fling :) when she left I felt like I was breaking up with a high school boyfriend all over again. She was so much fun to have around- I love Megan's sense of humor! It was nice to have some adult conversations during the day- not to mention how awesome she was with the kids. She was always doing crafts with Leath, or reading him books, or playing blocks. We miss her a lot!

Mid-August we drove to Utah and got to spend some time with my family down there. We stayed a couple nights with my grandpa in Ogden, UT- Leatham and his cousin Damian had a blast playing in his yard and checking out the bunnies/chickens. Then we drove down to Cedar Hills and spent a few nights with my sister Sarah. The boys loved playing with her kids and still talk about going back to Grace and Claire's house.

Paul and Johan made me (+17 others) dinner on my birthday. They took care of everything including clean up, which was awesome! Paul spoiled me and got me an iPad which I am loving! The problem is he loves it too :) but I don't mind sharing!

We went to my parents house over Labor Day- Got a few family pictures taken by my sister which was nice! We hiked up Falls Creek with the boys- Leatham loved listening to the waterfall.

With Grandma B!

We got to do a little boating while we were there- Leatham mostly loved to play on the beach.

Weston @ 7 months

We flew to Utah in September for my little sisters wedding- After the flight the boys got to sit in the cockpit with the pilot- sweet! They were good little travelers, but I am so glad my mom flew with us to help me- It was hard to deal with the two boys, two car seats, bags, stroller..... Yikes!

Ladies and Gentlemen this is your Captain speaking......

Family Reunion--- Day 5

2011-07-08T20:36:00.000-07:00

Dad took us on an awesome horse ride behind our house. I usually avoid going on the rides, but this year I decided to go and I'm glad I did. We even galloped a few times and it wasn't as bad as I remember it. I don't know why horses scare me so much, when I was younger we went on family horse rides all the time, and as a teenager I got bucked off a few times and ever since then I have avoided them.

Leatham and Claire took a ride together. SO cute!

My handsome hubby

Our two adorable kids!

After the horse rides we divided into three teams and did a photo scavenger hunt around town. It was SO fun! my parents did an awesome job of making the list. Some of the things we had to do were- get a picture of a tourist doing a cartwheel across the bridge...picture shaking hands with police officer... picture of a man with his shirt off..... someone trying on shoes at mountainsports.....there were like 35 of them and it was a blast!

we caught this guy off-guard!

While all the adults went on the scavenger hunt my parents treated all the grand-kids to treats at Sherri's Sweet Shop. Leatham loves his treats! One of my favorite things about the reunion was watching Leatham play with his cousins. They all got along so well together and had so much fun playing.

And of course we set off some fireworks that night to celebrate Independence Day!

Family Reunion--- Day 4

2011-07-08T20:14:00.000-07:00

Well today was Sunday so we woke up and went to church. I love going to church in the branch I grew up in. It is funny how even though people move in and move out, it always feels like home. We got a family pic right before church.... and everyone managed to look at the same time! :)

After church we went home, relaxed and played croquet.

Family Reunion---Day 3

2011-07-05T22:39:00.000-07:00

We spent the day boating on Pearrygin Lake and playing on the beach. The kids had a blast on the beach building sand castles and throwing rocks in the lake.

We tried to get Leatham to test out the kneeboard, but as you will see he isn't a fan of it yet.....

Family Reunion---Day 2

2011-07-05T22:06:00.000-07:00

Friday morning the guys went golfing while the girls did some wedding planning (Mads is getting married!!!!!) Then we drove up to our favorite campsite- We used to go there all the time as a family and I still remember making little fishing poles and fishing in the stream with my sisters. We took a bunch of games and had a picnic up there. The kids loved playing in the dirt and running around collecting wild flowers. My parents set up a "Family Olympics" with all sorts of challenges- ball toss, tennis, hula hoop, we divided into two teams had fun racing each other

My parents are so much fun! I love how much energy they have and how they make such a big effort to plan fun activities for the whole family.

Family Reunion---Day 1

2011-07-05T21:43:00.000-07:00

We woke up early Thursday morning and drove to the Chelan Waterslides where we met up with the rest of the family. We spent the day there and it brought back so many memories of going there as a child. We set up our spot at our usual place up on the hill and the kids went wild. Leatham loved going down the slides- as soon as he got to the bottom he ran back up to go again. It was fun to watch him splash in the water and just to be there with our whole family.

Thanks mom and dad for treating everyone to a fun day at the waterslides!!

Four months goes by way too quickly

2011-06-26T21:26:00.000-07:00

I cant believe my little guy is already four months old. Isn't it weird how some days the time just flies by and other days it stands still.... I wish it would stand still a little more often! Weston is growing so much- We had his four month check up and these are the stats: 14lb 11 oz (42nd percentile), 25.37 inches long (64th percentile) and his head is 43.4 cm (76th percentile). He is getting more vocal and is jabbers a lot.

Leatham is a great older brother- he is very interested and protective of Weston. Whenever Weston cries Leatham runs to get him a blanket, or a bear, or a beep (binkie). He also loves to hold him and lay down next to him.

Leatham seems like he is growing up too fast as well. He talks as well as a 1st grader- which is good sometimes, but not so much when he decides to talk back :) Once I told him to stop whining and he yelled back "No you stop whining" I have to admit I laughed out loud when he did that. But he is a sweet little boy and will always ask me to hold him and say I love you, or "you are the best" It's fun to listen to him- even if he doesn't understand everything he says!

We're growing

2011-06-15T23:42:00.000-07:00

We are happy to announce that since the beginning of May our family has grown :) No, I'm not pregnant, but we have 2 more adults living in our house. Paul's brother Johan graduated from BYU and wanted to move up to Washington, so he moved into our guest room and my sister Megan who is also attending BYU wanted to find a summer job in the Seattle area so she is sharing a room with Leatham.

Johan has been doing a lot of projects around our house like re-vamping our flower beds and demolishing our master bathroom for us. and Megan has been helping out a lot with the kids and inside chores. It's nice to have extra help around the house and I think for the most part the kids like having a little extra attention. I don't know how I got by when it was just me home with the kids. Ever since Megan got here, she has been helping out so much!

Weston @ 4 months. He is so smiley- gotta love this kid!

I love this face! Leath gives some ridiculously cute looks sometimes!

Bathroom Project

2011-06-13T08:27:00.000-07:00

When we bought our house the master bathroom was carpeted- Yuck! We had to re-carpet the whole house but opted not to put re-carpet there, so it has just been floorboard since we moved in. In my opinion the bathroom was really poorly designed- There was a tile platform for the garden tub and shower and the step up to the shower was awkward. Many of the tiles were cracked and chipped when we moved in and water was leaking through the cracks. We also had a swarm of carpenter ants emerging from the cracked tiles last summer which ended up being the straw that broke the camels back. We decided to start ripping out the tiles to see what was going on underneath.... Here is our progress so far

We took out this first layer of tiles back in October. Eventhough at this point everything was still usable, we started using the other upstairs bathroom and this one just sat like this until May.

Paul's brother is living with us this summer and so he has done most of the work up here- It is so nice to be making progress! Now that almost everything is ripped out, I am trying to see if another configuration will work or if we need to have the shower/tub in the same spots The area isnt very big so that is whats limiting me. We are also going to rip out the vanity/huge mirror and replace those while we're at it.

If any of you have done similar projects and have any pointers or ideas please let me know!!!

In my abundant spare time...... :)

2011-05-10T08:19:00.000-07:00

I always like to have a project or two in the mix.....they help me keep my sanity :) Here are a few that I did this month

Spring and Easter Blocks! Super fun, easy and cheap! I bought some 2x4's at Lowes and had them cut them for me. Then I painted the blocks, modge podged paper to them and then applied some vinyl letters and put a layer of modge podge to seal them. They are reversible (Spring on one side, Easter on the other)

Bulliten Board for Leatham- I had an old bulliten board that I had made using a peice of partical board, two layers of batting, and covering with fabric. Anyway, I took off the old fabric and used some extra brown I had. Leatham loves having the pictures on his wall. He gets so excited and tells me who everyone is.

Menu Planner- I got this idea here. I love the color it adds to my fridge and I also love that I can move menus around based on sales/or how I am feeling that night- without scratching them off a calendar- Rachelle cut the white vinyl grid for me, and I used Photoshop and digital scrapbook papers to make the menu cards. Then I printed them at Costco, cut and laminated them and stuck magnets to the back sides. The menu is for 3 weeks and then I have a bunch of extra meals at the bottom and a few blank ones that I can write on with a dry erase marker when I want to add a new recipe to the mix.

Safeway is having a sale on the large containers of strawberries, so I made 4 batches of Strawberry jam. It's a staple in our house!

Quilt- When my grandma Ila passed away 4 years ago she left behind a ton of quilt tops that she had made. I got to pick one out for myself and I finally bought and sewed together a backing for it. I just took it Jenny to have it professionally quilted for me so I dont have a picture, but I am excited to see it when it's done!

Weston's Baby Blessing

2011-05-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

It was so nice to have so much of our family in town for Weston's baby blessing. We had family come from Minnesota, Utah, Idaho, and Washington and it was so nice to see everybody and spend time together. Paul gave Weston a beautiful blessing in our home on Easter Sunday. Here are all the wonderful men who participated (sans our Bishop)

Louis, Dean, Paul Sr., Johan, Paul &Weston, Barry, Bart, Terry, Albert, Michael

Weston with daddy and grandads

Easter morning before church

Leath loves his rainboots- he wears them everywhere! He had other shoes on for church :)

Weston 2 1/2 months old

Thank you to everyone who came and shared the special day with us!

Updates

2011-05-07T10:40:00.000-07:00

Leatham is such a sweet older brother. I have been feeling so lucky that he likes to help out and take care of Weston when he can. Dont get me wrong, there have been times where he has been a little stinker and bit him or tried to rough-house with him, but ninety percent of the time he is really good with him.

One of Leathams favorite games is to play tickle. For some reason, he decided that in order to play tickle he has to get the oven mits.... so everynight when Paul gets home from work Leatham darts to the kitchen to get the mits and play. It is pretty cute! When Paul's parents were in town they even got to play too!

Weston is getting so big! He is the happiest little baby ever (as long as he is being held). He seriously smiles ALL the time. However, as soon as you set him down... even when he is sound asleep..... he immediately wakes up and screams until you pick him up again. He is a little cuddle bug!

Leatham and Weston had their 2 year and 2 month check ups last week.

Leatham is 28 lbs (59th percentile). He is 34.5 inches tall (51st percentile) and his head is 50cm (80th percentile).

Weston is 11 lbs 11 oz (30th percentile). He is 23 inches tall (36th percentile) and his head is 41cm (60th percentile).

Feeding the Horses

2011-05-07T10:25:00.000-07:00

We got to go to Winthrop for two weeks because Paul was on a job over there. Leatham loved going outside with my dad each morning and night to feed the horses. Some mornings he got his boots and coat on and just waited for my dad to come downstairs and say its time to go feed the horses :) He is such a big helper!

Paul and my dad took Leath and Damian on a horseride around the house. Leatham loved going all by himself!

We even got Weston up with him! (Leatham 2 years old, Weston 2 months)

He loved riding his trike across the new bridge by my dad's office- He got going pretty fast!

Weston loved all the extra attention!

Thanks mom, dad and Parker for taking care of us while we were there!

Grapefruit

2011-04-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

Is it weird that Leatham loves grapefruit? That he prefers it to other breakfast choices? I don't even put sugar on it and he usually finishes his before I even get done peeling mine!

Cousins

2011-04-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

Leath, Weston and I spent a couple days in Tacoma earlier this month. It was nice to see his cousins, but I spent more time pulling him off of them than anything. He was kinda being a bully (pushing, pulling hair, taking toys...) even with his older cousins. Hopefully he will grow out of that quickly because it is not fun!

Porter, Parley, Finn, Leath holding Weston, and Calvin

Lovin the sunshine

2011-03-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

Whats that? Your 23mo. old doesn't weed & feed your lawn for you? Huh.

Leatham loves to be outside and will bolt for the front door anytime he can. The other day my neighbor came over to bring us dinner and as soon as I opened the door he was half way across our lawn in nothing but a diaper. It was sunny out, can you blame him?

Damian turned 4 this month. His party was at Skyhigh and I think all the kids had the time of their life. Leath keeps asking to go back to the "jump place"

We are surviving.....barely

2011-03-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

Just kidding. We are doing pretty good. The biggest downside to having a baby in February is that it is Paul's busy season and he literally usually leaves the house around 6:30am and gets home around 7-8pm. AND he has to work Saturdays.... So it's been rough, but we are doing fine :) Luckily my mom has come and stayed with me a couple times and my niece Johanna spent a few days with us. Only another month or so of busy season- I think I can make it!! :)

My Boys (check out weston's smile!)

Weston is growing like crazy, well it seems like he is. At 5 weeks old he finally graudated out of Newborn size clothing :) Leath was always too big for NB sizes, so those might just be the only *New* clothes Weston ever wears! j/k

Weston loves to be held. He is such a little snuggler. He is an easy going baby, and really only cries when he is hungry.

Leatham is the sweetest big brother ever. He loves to get diapers for me, and throw them away. Lately, whenever weston cries, he lifts up his shirt and says "Are you gonna feed the baby?" it is hilarious. Leath has carried Weston across the room 2 or 3 times without me knowing it. The scariest one was when he apparently lifted Weston out of his swing and carried him to a kitchen chair and laid him on the seat.... I dont know how he managed to perfectly position him so that he didnt fall off- I was in the kitchen making dinner and had my back turned for maybe a minute and when I turned back around, weston was just laying on a kitchen chair sound asleep. yikes.

Before weston was born I was pretty nervous at how Leatham would handle it- I was scared he would be really jealous, but he has been great with the baby. He is always asking if he can hold weston or if he can help change his diaper.

Paul Weston

2011-02-18T13:47:00.000-08:00

Paul and I wanted another natural delivery- We invited my mom, my sister Rachelle, and Paul's sister Sarah to be in the delivery room with us and help me work through the contractions-My mom and Rachelle were there for Leatham's delivery as well and they were a big help to us.

Thursday February 10th

I started having contractions around 3pm. They were pretty mild, and were about 15-30 minutes apart. They lasted all day. My friend Paige threw a big dinner party for me and throughout dinner my friend Amber was timing my contractions- They were 8-15 minutes apart, somewhat painful, but not unbearable. The contractions continued like this through the night- so no sleep for me!

Friday February 11th

Paul had to leave for work at 6am, and he told me I should either call someone to come up for the day to help me out, or he would stay home. I didn't want to call anyone that early, but I also didn't think he needed to stay home- so I told him to leave and I would call someone later- he kept bugging me, so I texted my sister Rachelle and of course she dropped her plans for the day and headed my direction. I told Paul I would let him know if they started getting closer together- He left, and I called my mom and let her know what was going on and she decided it was time to start the 4 hour drive. Paul's sister Sarah also dropped her plans and headed up. Sarah and Rachelle arrived within a half hour of each other- about 9:30am. Sarah is in her 3rd year of midwifery school, and brought all her supplies with her. From 8:30-10am the contractions ranged from 5-12 minutes apart and were lasting 30 seconds.

We sat around talking for a bit- Sarah pulled out her doppler and we listened to the baby- Around 10am I took a bath to help ease the pain of the contractions, which were still inconsistent. Paul surprised me and came home from work at 12:30 and my mom arrived about 1pm. At this time contractions were ranging from 4-12 minutes apart and lasting about a minute. I tried several different positions during the contractions, sitting on a birthing ball, laying on the couch, leaning against the wall, etc. Everyone took turns putting pressure on my lower back and breathing with me. The contractions were getting a little more painful, but I was still making conversation and walking around between them.

Around 2:45 we decided it was time to get ready to go to the hospital. At that time I was worried that we were going to get there and they would send us home because my contractions had not been consistently 5 min apart for an hour like they say. At the most, my contractions were 5 min apart for 25 minutes and then I would have a 10 min break and then have some more that were 5 min apart.

I called Paige who had offered to watch Leatham, and told her that we would be heading over- I wanted to take him myself before going to the hospital because I wanted to make sure he was comfortable and situated- At the time, Leatham was my #1 concern- I didn't think baby #2 would arrive anytime soon. As we were getting ready to leave Rachelle said she would take Leatham so that the rest of us could go straight to the hospital. I kinda fought the idea, still wanting Paul and I to take him, but Rachelle said she would stay with Leatham and make sure he was okay before coming to the hospital to meet us. Right before she left she said "Wait for me!" I smiled and told her I would- I was mentally preparing for us to go to the hospital and still have another 8 hours of labor

The Drive ---3:15 pm

With Paul and my mom in the front seat, and Sarah and I in the back seat, we pulled out of the garage. We had a 30 minute drive to get to the hospital. Sarah was prepared with towels and hospital pads (Chucks?)- which she put underneath me, and we were on our way. My water broke before we even got on the freeway!! I still thought we would make it in time because with Leatham's birth the doctor broke my water, and he wasnt born for another 2 hours.... I had a few hard contractions while on the freeway, and as we got on the off ramp (still 10 min from hospital) I started feeling the urge to push. I could no longer sit on the seat through the contractions, so I stood up the best I could (in a car). Paul was trying so hard to get us there safely and quickly- He was honking his horn, passing around cars, going through red-light intersections :) He was amazing! I would have crashed for sure!

I had 1 or 2 contractions really close together, and then I screamed "I think he is coming!" Sarah pulled my pants down and said he was crowning. I was yelling (both to get through the contractions and also out of the fear of delivering in the car) and Sarah calmly said "Heavenly Father knows what he is doing. If we make it, great. If we don't, it will be okay." I must have just concentrated on the beginning of that, because I remember thinking to myself, okay she is right, we are going to make it to the hospital and I IMMEDIATELY felt calm. We were 2 lights away from the hospital, when the next contraction came, and the baby's head came out. Sarah told me to push with the next contraction, which I did, and the baby was born while we were stopped in the left turning lane to the street leading into the hospital. Sarah immediately placed the baby on my chest and he let out a little cry- so cute!

Emergency Room

When we pulled up to the hospital my mom jumped out of the car and ran into the ER- She told them we had just had a baby in the car and about 10 people rushed out to our car. One of the ER workers started to open the back door and Sarah motioned for him to stop because they didn't even have the stretcher or blankets or anything to keep the baby warm (Sarah was on top of it! I didn't even think about that). So once they got the stretcher and some blankets they lifted me out of the car and wheeled me into the ER where I delivered the placenta and they cut the umbilical cord.

This was when they were pushing like crazy on my stomach to make my uterus contract-- This hurts way more than ANY labor pain in my opinion!

Paul Weston

Born at 3:47 pm

Weight: 7 lb 1 oz

Length: 18.75 inches

Then we were wheeled up to our recovery room. It was over before I knew it!

Paul, Rachelle, Sarah and my mom were amazing through it all- They were so calm and helped me stay collected. I am so glad each of them made the decision to come to our house when they did because I don't think I would have called any of them until we were on our way to the hospital, and by then it would have been way too late!

Leatham is 22 months and has been really sweet with Weston. He loves to give him kisses and has been very gentle. Check out the matching hospital baby hats :) Can you tell how much Leatham loved this?

We left the hospital the next day- 24 hours after checking in!

Here is Grandma, Leatham and Weston at one day old

Can you see the similarities?

Here is baby Weston- a couple hours old

Here is baby Leatham- a couple hours old. Leatham was 2 pounds heavier at birth (9lbs)

Pregnancy Pictures- Baby Boy #2

2011-02-07T21:24:00.000-08:00

We are almost there!!! So excited to meet the little guy!

I usually like suprises......

2011-02-07T17:30:00.000-08:00

On Friday I had to go in for an ultrasound to check my fluid levels and make sure the baby was OK (I am 39 weeks)- Apparently I have been measuring quite a bit smaller than I should and so they thought either my fluid levels were low or the baby had dropped down quite a bit. So I went in and the ultrasound tech started taking all the normal pictures and measurements- Then she looked at the babies heart, and spent a VERY unusual amount of time looking at his heart, I'm talking 20 minutes! Then she excused herself and said she needed to consult with a doctor, which totally freaked me out and it didn't help that she left me in there alone for 15 minutes. When she came back into the room I asked her what she saw that caused concern and of course she was very vague and just said, "All I can really say is that we are going to need to run tests on the baby once he is born." Comforting, no?

So I left, basically in tears thinking there is something very wrong- I called my SIL Sarah who is studying to be a midwife and she told me I should call my doctor right away and have my doctor find out what the reviewing doctor had seen- So I did, and my doctor called me back about 20 minutes later and said not to worry that everything looked good to her- She said the ultrasound tech noticed that the muscle was thicker in one spot or something, but that it wasn't concerning because the heart was beating at a regular pace. She said we could chat more about it at my next appointment (which was today)

So today I went in and my doctor wasn't there because she had the flu- so I saw someone else who checked the babies heart and she said the heartbeat was pretty low so I needed to go in for a "non stress test"- UGGHH!!!! Of course Leatham was with me- he goes with me to pretty much every appointment, so he and I headed over to the hospital for the test. And once again, apparently everything looked normal..... so two scares right in a row- can we be done now?

At least I got a picture out of the whole ordeal!

3-2-1 Bounce

2011-02-06T21:12:00.000-08:00

Leatham was invited to a birthday party at 3-2-1 Bounce this weekend and he absolutely loved that place! I am so glad Paul came with us because it would have been impossible for me to take Leatham through the inflatable toys- it was even a workout for Paul :) So I took pictures and the boys had a blast!

Family is Awesome!

2011-02-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

I love being surrounded by people who genuinely want me to succeed and be happy with life, which is why my family is so awesome! Not only was I raised in an incredible family, but I also married into an awesome family! Baby # 2 will be arriving soon and I feel so blessed with all the love and support I have- Although I am getting nervous about the actual delivery and definite pain I am about to go through, I know there will be family there to help me.

When Leatham was born my mom and sister Rachelle were in the delivery room with Paul and I and I had an amazing natural birth experience. I am crossing my fingers that this delivery will go as well as my first!

I wasn't able to breastfeed Leatham because my milk never came in. I'm not sure if it was caused by the same hormonal imbalance that makes it difficult for me to keep pregnancies- For the first few months, I tried everything I could think of, pumping every 2 hours, tube-assist, herbal remedies, prescriptions, and had no success... It was pretty devastating at the time because I just assumed it was something that every mom could do if they wanted to- Anyway, I don't know if anything will be different this time around but my sweet sister in law put together some store tea blends as well as some herbs to make my own tea which will hopefully help stimulate milk production. I just love how thoughtful it was for her to do this for me- Thanks Sarah!

Silly Boy

2011-02-04T18:16:00.000-08:00

So yesterday Leatham was running around slamming his little cart into the wall and into the fridge- I asked him to be soft with it a few times and then finally told him if he kept doing it I was going to have to put his cart in the closet for a time out.... well he did it again, so his cart went in the closet for a few minutes-

Today, he was pushing his cart and ran it into the stove, and then he looked up at me and said "it needs a time out" and then he took it to the closet and put it in!!

Leatham's Bedroom

2011-01-16T10:09:00.000-08:00

My sister, Rachelle and I put up the vinyl in Leatham's bedroom over the weekend and I love it!!!!

We also put up some vinyl in our kitchen...

....And on my canisters

Thanks shell! I love it all!
If you need vinyl, check out her website www.vinylwallflowers.com

Projects

2011-01-07T19:25:00.000-08:00

I was able to get a lot of projects done while we were home for Christmas. I made 3 stockings, put the binding on 2 quilts, made a couple Happy Birthday Banners, and made a small quilt top with all my leftover fabrics. It feels so good to get these off my "to-do list"

Christmas Stockings- Love these! I was so excited to make our stockings this year!

Christmas Quilt I made for my mom- This picture was taken before I did the binding.

Happy Birthday Banner- I made a bunch of these last year, but ended up selling them and didn't keep one for myself. So now I have one for our family!

Baby Quilt made with scrap fabrics- still need to make a back for it and get it quilted.

December so far

2010-12-17T10:25:00.000-08:00

Leatham and I had some downtime waiting for Paul to get off work last week, so even though it was a little chilly outside, we had fun at the playground- Leath loved going down the slide, and was pretty upset when it was time to go.

Not only are they cousins, but also best buddies- Damian and Leatham. They are 2 years apart and love to play together despite the fact that Leatham usually ends up pulling Damian's hair numerous times throughout the day...Dames is too sweet to retaliate and usually ends up giving Leath a soft pinch on the cheek- then they hug and start playing again.

Moss Adams threw a Christmas party for the kids at a place called 3-2-1 Bounce- It is full of inflatable toys for kids to run, climb, slide, and bounce on. We practically had to pry Leatham off when it was time to go-

Santa Claus also made an appearance, and as you can see, Leatham was thrilled to be on his lap!

Quilt

2010-11-20T10:37:00.000-08:00

I finished the top side of the king size quilt I made for my mom- Well, I should clarify that before anyone gets any wild ideas :) I told my mom I would sew a quilt for her if she bought the fabric- I figure this will be my last major sewing project before the baby comes- the rest will be smaller ones!

I started it a week before Halloween, and am happy to have completed the top in less than a month!

Once we pick out the backing, I am taking it to my friend Jenny to have it quilted- I am so excited to see it when that's done because the quilting makes a huge difference!!

On my mind......

2010-11-15T18:25:00.000-08:00

Baby Names- People keep asking me if we have any baby names picked out yet.... To be honest, we have avoided this conversation completely! We didn't name Leatham until he was 9 days old- it was SO hard to pick out names and then to AGREE on names was a whole different battle.... and for some reason boy names are especially hard! I have a few names that I am tossing around in my mind, but I haven't brought them up to Paul yet. Hopefully we will get started on a list here soon-
Sewing Projects- There are a lot of projects I want to do before baby #2 comes. I have a closet full of fabric- most of it was purchased with a specific project in mind, so each time I see the shelves of fabric I think of all the quilts/clothes/crafts I have yet to do. I am almost done with the king size quilt I am making for my mom- once that is done I will move on to the smaller projects that are hanging over my head!
Scrapbook- I pretty much gave up on a family scrapbook- I think I did our wedding day and our first year of married life- which I am so glad I did- there are so many memories that I probably would forget about without the photos to remind me.... I have done good with Leatham's Baby Book- I started digital scrapbooking, which has made a huge difference. I am only a few months behind on his book-
Potty Training- I think Leatham is ready to start potty training, but for some reason I am holding back- Maybe its the convenience when I am in the car and I hear him say "poopy" I dont have to panic and rush to the nearest bathroom and hoping to make it in time.... I would really love to get him potty trained before baby #2, but I am nervous to start.... Diapers can be so convenient!

On a different note- Leatham knows how to call me a hippopotamus- it is pretty cute to hear his version of that word!

The Hunt

2010-11-10T21:05:00.000-08:00

I am not ashamed of hunting. I grew up hunting with my dad, helping him drag/clean deer, getting excited when we spotted and killed coyotes that got too close to the house, etc. So, if you are against hunting you better skip this post!

We drove home to for the annual deer hunt, which has been unsuccessful the last 3 years. However, this year both Mike and Paul got deer! It was pretty exciting for the whole family- (it really turns into a family event!) My dad, Parker, Mike and Paul woke up before daylight on opening day and hiked around to find their "spots." They were in the right place this year because within about a minute of each other both Mike and Paul had gotten a deer. In the mean time, us girls were back at home peeling and slicing up apples to put in the dehydrator..... My dad walked in the door and held up his bloody hands and we all cheered! He had come back to the house to get a horse to help drag the deer home- so while he rounded up one of the horses, I got bundled up with a couple of the kids and hiked back with him to document the excitement.

Paul with his deer- what a stud!

The Goods

The Hunters

The Gatherers- after hiking back to the kill zone to find Paul's knife.

And then the fun was over, my dad spent the next day teaching us how to clean and butcher our deer. Thanks dad!

So, now we have about 80 lbs of deer meat.... who's hungry?

Sneak Peak

2010-10-20T10:32:00.000-07:00

I am not done with my vinyl projects, but I couldnt wait to post a few pictures from my recent order. They turned out AWESOME!

Here is Leatham's little play area. I bought the rug and bookshelf from Ikea, and the ordered the train and quote from Vinyl Wallflowers. Leatham loves it! He points at all the colors of the train and tells me what color it is, I am excited to start teaching him the alphabet!

Recent happenings

2010-09-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

Leatham (16 months) and cousin Calvin (15 months)- So fun to see them grow up together!!

This is the second time Leatham has climbed up the pantry shelves in the last 3 days, the first time he did it Paul and I were in the living room and Leatham kept calling out "mama, mama, mama" Paul went in to see what he was up to and this is what he found...... Leath was determined to get to a bag of croutons on the top shelf. He is so strong it makes me nervous what he will figure out next. Anyway, looks like it's time to fix the pantry door!!! (17 months)

Leatham and I headed to Port Angeles today to stay with Paul while he is on a job out here. I was pleasantly suprised to find this little number inside the bathroom stall on the ferry..... I wish all bathrooms had one of these! As I walked in I was thinking to myself, "Oh great, I took Leath's shoes off when we were playing on shore and now we are in a gross bathroom- There is no way I am going to let him stand on the floor barefoot..." This contraption made my day!

Leatham and I on the ferry--- I love this little guy! He was so excited to be on the boat, see the birds, and feel the wind. He was laughing the whole time- it was a fun ride!

Pike Street Market

2010-09-14T21:35:00.000-07:00

Leatham's first trip to Pike Street Market

Dear Paul,

2010-09-09T20:10:00.000-07:00

I thought you should be the first to know.....

And our Baby is due Feb 15th!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm a terrible blogger

2010-08-12T23:47:00.000-07:00

Maybe someday I will learn that Leatham isn't the only person I can blog about! :) But he is just so much fun- Okay, sooooo..... whats new with us?

Paul passed the CPA exam a couple months ago and he is officially a Certified Public Accountant! I am so proud of you babe!

Ha ha! Joking! Paul travels around doing audits for different companies, and I am sure its not quite this bad, but I still thought it was funny

I started sewing another quilt- this one is for the guest bedroom. I am almost finished with it (well the top of it) AND I LOVE IT!

Leatham is learning so much right now- He is 16 months old and says about 20 words. (momma, dadda, hi, bye, ball, mail, keys, book, drink, more, bite, light, truck, NO, tickle tickle, shoes, poopy, nama (banana), up, all done, bubbles, back, time out, nu-night, eyes, juice, mine..... Leath is constantly jabbering and goofing around-- it is so fun to watch him learn & entertain himself.

We went to a family reunion in Idaho and had a blast! We spent the first day just with my fam at a fun center in Spokane, and then we spent the next couple days with my mom's extended family, playing at Silverwood and the resort- it was so fun to catch up with my cousins and family! Too bad my camera battery was dead after day 1. Thanks so much mom and dad!

Two New Posts!

2010-06-09T13:57:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here in a quiet house realizing the last time the house was this quiet was before our sweet little boy Leatham came into our lives.... He is spending a few days at my parents house and the house just feels so empty without him! I keep listening for him to wake up from a nap or to come running into my office to play. I miss my guy! It is nice to be able to do whatever I want to do all day, but there is a definite emptiness to it all.

Last week we started to "level" our yard- it is quite the process! We got 8 yards of free fill dirt from Craigslist, and once that was delivered we realized what we had gotten ourselves into... We actually needed to get about 50 more yards of dirt, plus 15 yards of top soil!!! Luckily we had two of Paul's brothers in town to help us out- Albert is quite an amazing bob-cat driver, and was able to keep up with all the loads of dirt that were brought in.... AND, this only happened once:

We're not done yet, but we made some definite headway. :)

Paul and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary on Monday! I cant believe I have been married to such a wonderful man for the past five years. Time flies when you're having fun! Don't get me wrong, we have our ups and downs, but its fun to go through the hills and valleys with such a great companion at my side. Love you babe!

Finally some photos of the house!

2010-06-09T13:49:00.000-07:00

Here is the inside of the house before we moved in- We ended up re-carpeting and cleaning/painting all the walls. You can kinda see the soot marks on the walls where the soot and dirt had accumulated over the years. Aparently the people who were living here either didnt notice or didnt care what they were breathing everyday.

FORMAL LIVING ROOM- BEFORE

LIVING ROOM- BEFORE

There are alot of vaulted ceilings so we had to climb up 20 ft tall ladders to get the walls and ceilings.... See how gross it is?!?!?!? This is what happens when you dont change your furnace filter in 20 years. YUCK

KITCHEN- BEFORE

One of the really nice things about the house is that it is surrounded on 2 sides by a protected growth area, so that means we will never have neighbors behind or to the right of us!

KITCHEN- AFTER

Paul made our kitchen table in High School!

FORMAL LIVING ROOM/DINING-AFTER

LIVING ROOM- AFTER

Master Bath

Also, here is the quilt I made for our Bed! I love it!

Leatham's Room

Guest Bedroom (Quilt I made in High School)

Upstairs Bathroom

I still want to buy some rugs and some other furniture to dress it up a bit, but for now, here is what our new home looks like!

1 year!

2010-04-18T14:48:00.000-07:00

This year flew by, and I am still trying to figure out how it went so quickly. I cannot believe Leatham is already 1 year old. It just doesn't seem right- the year went by WAY too fast! He is such a sweet little boy, we couldn't have asked for a happier little guy. We have so much fun with him- and we cannot imagine our lives without him. Leatham gets really excited when he hears Paul's key in the door- he drops his toys and makes a Bee-Line for the door. Paul is always teaching him new tricks and roughing him up and it's fun to watch them wrestle together. Leatham loves to growl and "tackle" people, but he also likes to give kisses and hugs. I love spending my days with him and am so glad I get to see him grown and learn so much. Here are some photos of the last year

Days after birth

One Month Old

Two Months Old

Three Months old

Four Months Old

Six Months Old

Seven Months Old

Eight Months Old

Nine Months Old

11 Months Old

1 Year

1 Year!

Thanks for making our lives so happy! We love you Leath!!!!

Good Days

2010-04-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

We got to spend some time with the fam last week and Leatham had a blast! The weather was great and he loved playing outside. My dad made an Easter egg hunt for him, which he didn't understand at all, but he had fun playing in the grass and taking the eggs OUT of his basket and throwing them.

We took him for walks in the wagon, jumped on the trampoline, and his favorite was the swingset- you should have seen his smile!

We celebrated Leatham's first birthday, which I will blog more about later, but I wanted to say thanks for the gifts mom and dad! My mom made a delicious cake, and Leatham quickly devoured his piece.

Mom and I also worked on a couple fun projects, we finished the binding on my quilt, attended a sewing class, embroidered a couple towels and spray painted some light fixtures...It was a nice get-away and most importantly Leatham got to get to know his grandparents better!

Catching Up!

2010-03-17T21:52:00.000-07:00

Oh man, I am so behind! Where to begin?

Leatham fell down while taking a bath a few weeks ago and his front tooth split the tip of his tongue open. Imagine sticking your tongue out, and then using scissors to snip the tip in two, thats what it looked like! It was was a bloody bloody mess and of course I was freaking out because he was screaming...but it looks like it is healing up just fine. He is also getting 4 teeth in right now, so he is no longer the one-tooth-wonder, and I'm glad that they dont seem to bother him too much.

Leath is getting so big! I cant believe he is 11 months old! Wow, this year has flown by! He took 10 steps a few weeks ago and then for a couple weeks, he refused to walk. Everytime we tried he did the limp noodle and wouldnt even stand up, but now he is back on his feet. His favorite new toy is my guitar. He loves to whack it and pull on the strings.

We bought a house and spent most of February cleaning and getting it ready so we could move in. It was pretty dirty inside and we had to do a lot of cleaning/repairs, but once we get all our boxes unpacked I think it will feel like home. One of my favorite aspects of our home is that it has an office on the main floor, so I no longer feel like Leatham and I are cooped up in an upstairs bedroom anymore. Its nice that he can crawl around and play in the living room and I can see him from the office. Also, the neighborhood is really nice, there are quite a few walking trails and a cute little duck pond across the street.

We went to the zoo with Rachelle and her kids and had fun walking around with them. We had a few REALLY nice days, so it was fun to get out and enjoy the sun!

We also went to Spokane for the High School State Basketball tournament a few weekends ago. My sister did awesome in all her games, it was so fun to see her play. The kids had fun splashing around at the hotel pool too!

We went to the Seattle Childrens Museum the other day with a friend of mine and her kids. It was so much fun! I had never been there before, but it was an awesome hands-on museum.

New Friends

2010-03-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

Here is Leatham hanging out with his new friend Malia! They were so cute together and it was good to visit with James and Amelia, Natalia and Banyon, Randi and Gary!!

Christmas

2009-12-25T19:27:00.000-08:00

So I wanted to post this earlier, but I had to wait until Christmas Day so that i didnt ruin any Christmas suprises.....We did christmas a little different this year---My parents drove over to see us on the 23rd and had an early christmas with us since it was our year to be with Paul's side-- And I just want to say I have the most awesome family ever (on both sides)! My mom is literally the sweetest person I know- This year for christmas she had the most awesome idea- she picked out lots of cool family books, christmas books, bedtime stories, etc. AND then she sewed each of us a Christmas blanket so that we could snuggle up as families and read stories together- I think that is the greatest idea and I am so excited to start a tradition snuggling up by the fireplace, with our new blanket, hot cocoa, and have storytime!!!

I love the blanket mom! You are the best!

On Christmas Eve, we had Paul's sisters and their families come stay the night with us- We had 14 people stay the night in our little place- 8 kids and 6 adults in a 2 bedroom apartment (well 3 bedroom, but technically my office doesnt count as a bedroom!) It was fun to be crammed together, but I guess I still got to sleep in my own bed, so maybe for the rest it was a different story! We made a delicious Christmas Eve feast, read Christmas stories, played games, sewed stockings, and stayed up late! This morning we made a big breakfast before passing out the gifts- It was fun to take it slow this year and not be done by 7am.

Our sweet little guy- 8 months

Leath with Bart and Grandma B

Cousins: Parley, Finn, Calvin, Leatham

Leathams favorite thing was to play in the tree water! He got all the presents wet!

Hey Calvy you got something in your nose! j/k

Leatham (8months) and Calvin (7 months)

Also big thanks to Ida for the wooden spoon and knitting the dish towel, Sarah for the sweet socks and toy chest for Leatham, Paul for the awesome bathrobe, boots and banangram game, Rachelle for the cookbook, hat, & necklace, Megan for the cocoa cup and hat, mom and dad for the blanket, books, toys and $

Milk Momma

2009-12-25T19:26:00.000-08:00

I hope the title doesn't sound bad- because really this is a post to say THANK YOU to my sister in law Sarah, who for the past 6 months has been pumping milk for us to give Leatham. She is amazing and I can't thank her enough!

I was pretty devestated when we found out I wouldnt be able to nurse Leatham like I had hoped to. I thought I was doing good until his 10 day checkup when we were immediately re-admitted to the hopsital because he had lost so much weight since his birth, basically he was starving and I didnt know.... Its so hard as a first time mom, in the hospital they tell you that its normal for newborns to sleep a lot, and that you should feed them every 2 hours for atleast 15 min on each side or until they dont want anymore, etc. I was on top of everything: feeding on the 2 hour mark, nursing until he wanted to stop....when we were re-admitted to the hospital and they made me feel like I should have known that he was starving- They said hte reason he was sleeping so much was because he had no energy because he was too hungry to do anything else... Anyway, to say the least I was very sad and felt terrible- We tried everything we could to see if my milk production would increase- I visited lactation consultants, used sns (supplemental nursing systems- tube assist), pumped every 2 hours before and after each "feeding", tried lots of different herbal remedies/teas, and even was given a prescription drug.... nothing helped- I literally was only getting 10 ml in a 30 min session of pumping- which is basically nothing, its less than a quarter ounce. I was sad, felt let down, felt like I let Leatham down, any mom who has had trouble with breastfeeding knows what I am talking about- you just feel like it should be the most natural, normal, easy thing to do, and when you cant do it, or cant do it to the extent you would like to, its hard to accept.

Sarah had a baby a month after we did, and she is a milk mama, and when I say milk mama, I mean MILK MAMA! She is loaded and it is incredible the amount she was able to pump in addition to feeding her baby. This picture is one of the loads she gave us- Multiply this by 6 and thats about what we got! I am so glad that Leatham was able to get the benefits of breastmilk even if it wasnt my own! He is so healthy and strong and I know that what Sarah did for us was a big contributer!

Simmons Boys

2009-12-25T17:04:00.000-08:00

We went down to Tacoma last weekend for Kohls baptism and Aldus' Priesthood Ordination. It was so nice to be a part of each of their special days, and to see them take these steps in their lives-- (sorry Im not an english major so that was probably poorly worded). Paul's dad, drove from Minnesota to be here for the events, and two of Paul's brothers Louis and Albert came up from Utah. I wish I had gotten some pictures on my camera but I think they were all taken on someone elses..... Anyway, fun weekend and good to see you guys! Thanks for having us!

Ugly Christmas Sweaters

2009-12-20T20:23:00.000-08:00

Madison and Danielle flew in from Utah and got to spend a couple days with us- On Friday, Rachelle threw an "ugly christmas sweater" party at her place-- I searched all over for an ugly sweater for each of us, but no luck.....Goodwill and Value Village you really let me down!!! So I ended up buying a couple sweat shirts at Walmart and used my nifty embroidery machine to sew designs..... For the final touch I sewed bells and puff balls all over them- they were fun but I definitely spent WAY too much time on them!!!

Dani and I got some christmas shopping done, and Madison babysat Leatham while I had a very long overdue dentist appointment :) We also dyed our hair!!! The only thing I have ever done to my hair in the past was blonde highlights- Madison wanted to dye her hair a dark brownish red, and while she was buying her dye, I decided I should give it a whirl as well :)

Making Ginger Bread Houses :)

Our cutie!

Winter Wonderland

2009-12-20T20:11:00.000-08:00

We spent a week at my parents house while Paul was on a job in Omak (an hour away). He drove back and forth every day, leaving at 5:30am and getting home around at 7pm- which I am sure was not fun for him, but I'm glad he did! We had fun in Winthrop- Leatham got to play with my parent's new puppy (Arrow). Arrow liked to run up to leatham and lick his face, usually knocking him over in the process-I was suprised because Leatham didnt freak out or cry! My mom had some cute santa hats and we had fun taking pics of leath-- but he didnt last very long!

We also took a drive up into the mountains and got our christmas tree! Took a while to get it tied up to our car for the trip home, but Paul managed! About an 20 minutes after leaving Winthrop we hit some heavy snow, and had to go EXTREMELY slow because our car doesnt have good snow tires. We ended up staying the night with some friends in Wenatchee and finishing the trek home the next day.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T20:23:00.000-08:00

We had Thanksgiving at Rachelles house this year- It was fun to see everyone and make yummy food together. Paul and Parker played football that morning and came home covered in mud and dirt!

Firsts

2009-11-24T11:46:00.000-08:00

Leatham is just over 7 months old- and is doing fantastic! He had his first haircut on Monday- I dont think he liked the sound of the clippers too much. He was extremely still the whole time, and had a look of "am I going to live through this?" on his face! It was pretty cute.

Yesterday Leatham woke up from his nap, crying, and sometimes he will fall back asleep so I waited for a few minutes and he stopped crying....I had a feeling I should go in and check on him, and its a good thing I did! When I went in, he was STANDING UP leaning over the side of his crib! I about had a heart attack! I cant believe he pulled himself up. My guess is, he quieted down so he could plot his escabe from the crib!!

When I went in he was leaning over the top rail, head and arms reaching toward the floor......

After lowering the mattress, he can still see over the rail, but I dont think he will be able to climb out for a while..... I hope!

Latest Adventures

2009-11-24T11:45:00.000-08:00

These are kind of "old" adventures, but i am just now getting around to posting them! The first pictures are from a hike Paul went on with his buddy Soren. They hiked up Enchantment Lakes (trail head is near Leavenworth), stayed the night up in the mountains (freezing!), and hiked back down the next day. I read a little about it online and it is a pretty steep hike in some parts, and you climb about 5400 feet. Paul was sore for a couple days afterward, but after seeing all the beautiful pictures from this hike I really want to go with him sometime.....when its a little warmer......and if we can hike slow!

Paul also went on a hunting trip with his dad in Minnesota/North Dakota. It was a quick trip, he flew out on Friday night, and was home Sunday night. They went on a private game reserve with a small group of people to hunt buffalo. Paul said they had to army crawl through the brush in order to get close enough to sneak up on the herd. Paul was able to sneak up on them and take a shot. The result: one shot, one kill!! He took down a younger buffalo, so the meat should be delicious!! There is a blood and guts version, but if you want to hear that you will have to ask Paul. :) He said it was awesome and wants to go again

Lastly is Halloween. We dressed up as a Romans- Paul was a gladiator, I was an empress and Leatham was our exotic pet tiger. Leathams favorite part of his costume was the attached mittens. He loved chewing on them. We had a lot of fun at a couples Halloween Party a friend threw, and then Leatham and I also got to go "trick or treating" at Paul's work with him. I had my camera at both places but didn't take any pictures, so these are some I got from others.

6 months

2009-10-22T21:19:00.000-07:00

I love bragging about our little boy! Leatham is 6 months old now and we have so much fun hanging out everyday-- He is so happy, lots of smiles, laughs, coos... what more could a mom want?

He started army crawling a few weeks ago, and he is really fast. Its funny to watch him crawl back and forth across the room as different things catch his eye that he wants to play with. His favorite "toy" right now is the door stopper! He loves swatting at it- it makes a lot of noise, but he loves it!!We had some 6 month pictures taken at Kiddie Kandids- they turned out great! We also had his check-up and he is 18lbs 9oz (67th percentile) and is 27.5 inches tall (88th percentile). We have a future football star on our hands :)

He has such a great smile! I love this boy!!!

Utah Trip

2009-10-09T17:43:00.001-07:00

Here is Leatham with his great grandpa Robert (92). We got to visit him for a few hours while we were in Utah a few weeks ago. I'm so glad my grandpa could meet Leatham and that I could capture a few photos for his scrapbook.
We had a fun trip and got to see a lot of family and friends while we were there.

Not sure how I feel about this

2009-10-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

Leatham has been feeding himself for a few weeks now.... He used to reach out and grab the bottle from me, so I started letting him feed himself. At first he could only hold it for a few seconds, but now he is feeding himself the entire bottle!!! I'm sad my little boy is growing up so fast, but I admit it is nice to be able to load the dishes while he feeds himself!!!

Leatham is 5 1/2 months.

Vacation

2009-09-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

Buck up Cowboy, this is going to be a long post! We got home from our trip on Sunday.....I am still recovering from all the walking, and walking in the rain, and more walking :) BUT we got to see a lot of really cool places and historical sites, so it was worth it! It all started Friday morning when we flew out of Seattle. We got to the airport only to find that Paul had forgotten his wallet. So my dear sweet sister Rachelle had to drive back to her house to find it- she found it and literally made it back to the airport in the nick of time! I left Paul at the gate so that Leatham and I could start going through security, (which took FOREVER and was really annoying with a stroller, a car seat, our carry-ons and a sleeping baby--- by myself!!) And Paul seriously made it to our gate with a minute to spare. We were the last ones on the plane, but at least we made it.

Paul and I sat across the aisle from each other, which was nice so we could hand Leatham back and forth.... I was the lucky one who got to sit next to one of the sleaziest men on the planet.... he literally pulled a pack of condoms from his bag and put it in the seat pocket in front of him as I sat down....creep….. and he and the guy next to him were talking about extremely inappropriate stories for most of the trip..... Luckily, I was tired and so was Leatham so we slept a lot on the plane and didn’t have to listen to them!! Leatham was a trooper, on our first flight he only cried for about 5 minutes- which was a miracle, I was nervous he would cry the whole way and that everyone on the plane would be giving me the stink eye!

We started in DC and spent 4 full days there. On our first day there we came back to the hotel early to see the BYU vs. Oklahoma game (of course), and after BYU won, Paul decided it was already the best vacation ever! Anyway, in DC we got to see a lot of the monuments, and memorials. There is so much to do and see there, that we could have spent a few more days visiting the museums. We did get to go in quite a few museums (Natural History, Air and Space, Holocaust, National Archives..) but Leatham always knew when we were entering buildings that we were supposed to be quiet in! We could usually tour for about a half hour or so before he would start yelling and singing- I think he liked the echo of the big rooms! Also, while in DC, we got to meet up with one of Paul's mission companions, who helped us plan our trip east.

We spent a day at Mt Vernon, (George Washington’s estate) thanks to a very sweet couple (Paul and Beverly) we met at dinner one night. They gave us free tickets and an umbrella!

We spent half a day in Gettysburg and did an audio tour of the battlefields, which was really amazing. I had no idea it was so spread out, I always pictured one field like the size of a football field……but its miles and miles….with tons of monuments. On our way from Gettysburg to Philly, we got to stop by and see some friends from college, Jake and Sarah and spend a couple hours with them. It’s always fun to see friends that you haven’t seen in a while--- We went to Philly, and did a tour of Independence Hall (where the Declaration of Independence was signed), we also saw the Liberty Bell. Paul was talking to one of the security guys at the Liberty Bell and asked if he ever had to tackle anyone trying to touch it and the guys said that someone actually hit it with a hammer a couple years back and he was quickly taken down! Who does that?? Seriously.

The last part of our trip was spent in New York- We didn’t do a whole lot of sightseeing there because the weather was pretty windy and rainy and it was hard to keep Leatham dry and warm. We did walk out on the Brooklyn Bridge, saw a Broadway (Wicked), toured Ellis Island, got to climb up to the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, went shopping with Kristen and Katie while Paul watched a BYU football game :) Also, Leatham had his very first sleepover while we were in New York!!!! Kristen and Tim babysat Leatham while we went to our Broadway show, and kept him from 7:oo Friday night, to 2:oo Saturday so that Paul and I could do some sightseeing. I have to admit it felt a little weird walking around without our sweet baby, but it was also very nice!

We had an awesome time together! It was fun to get away! Thanks Paul for doing such a great job planning it all!

Feely Photography

2009-08-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

Jessica took some maternity pictures for me when I was about 39 weeks preggo with Leath. Last week she took Leatham's 4 month photos and they turned out so good! I am hoping to book a family session with her in the future so that we can get some with Paul too. If you wanna see them all, or book your own session, check out her blog: www.feelyphotography.com/blog

Fun in the Sun

2009-08-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

We had a fun family reunion in Winthrop this year. Everyone was home and it was so nice to spend time together. Thanks mom and dad!Leatham's first trip to the waterslides....and he loved them!!

So this slide is no biggie right?

Well, it doesnt look like it goes very fast, but when your holding a squirmy, slippery baby it makes it a little more tricky....

Luckily Paul used his ninja-quick skills to move Leatham into his other arm and keep him above water.... It still scared Leath, but once he finished crying he was a good sport and went down a few more times... This time we knew what to expect!

Leath with Grandma B, Bailey, Madison and Megan

Our Spray painted shirts- These are so much fun to make!!! I did an airplane for Leatham, and then couldnt think of a good idea for myself so I recycled the first airplane and added mountains and a sun. Paul did a yellow and purple design
Family Pic

Couer D' Alene

2009-08-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

We had a mini reunion with Paul's family in Idaho- It was so much fun to spend time with Fran, Emalee, Ida, Sarah and their families. The best parts were getting to spend some quality girl time with Paul's mom and sisters, and also getting to meet a few nieces and nephews!

Cousin Boys LtoR: Finn holding Calvin, Jacob holding Drew, Kohl holding Leatham, Caleb and Parley

I also had a an awesome opportunity to take a few Carden classes with Paul's sisters- Carden is a curriculum used in private schools all over the U.S. and is also used by homeschooling families. The classes were a lot of fun and I learned a ton! I haven't decided if I am going to home school or if I will possibly start a preschool in the future, but it was definitely a beneficial course and I learned a lot.

Lake, Snacks, Sandy Beach, Toys....what more could you want?

2009-07-25T16:07:00.000-07:00

Sydney and Dames came and stayed with us for the weekend and we had a blast watching them!!! We got to go to a lake party hosted by one of the Moss Adams partners. There was yummy food, sand toys, paddle boats, kayaks, jet skis, ski boat, trampoline, etc. We had so much fun! Leatham was a good sport and even though we had to take turns keeping him in the shade- he did get to play in the water for a little bit...

The kids were really good for us and no trouble at all.

Cousins Reunion

2009-07-20T16:12:00.000-07:00

So my mom organized a cousins reunion at their house over the weekend--- Paul and I had so much fun!! There were about 32 of us there total, so we had a good turnout and it was so fun to visit and get to know each other better. I am bummed I didn't take more pictures- it seems like my hands were always full (with Leatham) and so I was never carrying around my camera.... bummer!

I did get a few pics though of the kiddies riding horses- it was so cute to see them riding together. My dad saddled up 3 horses and the kids took turns being led around the property. Saturday morning Mom, Jacob, Annette, Terry, Paul, Mike, Parker and Skyler went on a 32 mile bike ride!! I don't think anyone was expecting to go that far- and when they got home they were pretty tired and thirsty! Here is a pic of PART of the biking group.We floated the river on Saturday afternoon and that felt SOOOO good--it was stinkin hot out. The kids played on the slip and slide, and some of the adults went to a rope swing too. We also decorated plates, which is a fun tradition. I did a plate with Leathams 3 month foot and hand print. I cant wait to see it finished! Here is the website for the kits (www.makit.com).

My favorite picture that I got was when we were leaving Sunday at 6am (I don't recommend it in the future because we were all super tired from being up late). Anyway, this is how Paul multitasks while bringing the luggage & Leatham downstairs....

Mom, Thank you so much for organizing this for everyone and being such a great hostess! We all had a blast!!!

my guys

2009-07-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Paul and I celebrated our 4th anniversary last month and so this post is dedicated to my two favorite guys! Paul is such a good husband and father. I love the way he is with Leatham and I love to see Leatham get a big ol grin on his face when he sees his daddy. Those are the best moments!Paul and Leatham (at 2 months).... This pic was taken in Tacoma while we were down there for Leatham's cousin Calvin's baby blessing. They are going to have so much fun together as they grow up!

Some people say Leatham looks like me and some people say he looks a lot like Paul.... What do you think???

Taking a nap with daddy

Boating over 4th of July. I loved his swim shorts and shirt- he looked so cute in them!

Leathams first horse ride!!! (2.5 months) Well actually he just sat on the horse for a few minutes and then Paul went for a ride with my fam- but Leatham had fun while it lasted!

Hanging out after baby blessing

2009-06-20T11:39:00.001-07:00

Parley, Ida Parker, Damian, Hannah, Johan

Mom, Shell, Sarah, Fran, Calvin

Megan, Dad, Mads, Dani, Johanna

Mom playing with Leatham- she's a pro at making him smile!

Fran and grandkids Leatham and Calvin

Cousins: Calvin and Leatham. One month apart

Leatham wanted all the spotlight!

love this boy!

2009-06-15T20:14:00.000-07:00

Wow! 2 months already??? Crazy how fast he grows! Leathams 2 month check-up was quite the experience! It started out just fine, the usual measuring and weighing, etc. Leatham decided to pee on me JUST before I could get his diaper back on after the weighing.... but hey, I'm used to that- I get peed on and vomited on quite often these days! Anyway, Pau and I are doing an alternative vaccination schedule and we had some questions for our pediatrician about the different vaccines- She blew a gasket on Paul when he asked her about aluminum in some of the vaccines... she was extremely unprofessional and rude.... We are definitely changing pediatricians after that appointment. Leatham checked out fantastic. His 2 month stats are:

12 pounds 5 ounces (71st percentile)
23 inches long (59th percentile)
head circumference 15.94" (67th percentile)

Leatham is growing and changing everyday. Its fun to watch him learn new things. He is starting to reach for objects in front of him- when I hold him on my shoulder he pulls back to look at me and reaches up to touch my face :) Its excited to see him learning to control his movements. He still loves bath time!!! Actually, he is happy anytime he gets to be naked, which is why he has "naked time" for at least a half hour every morning. I usually just lay him on a bath towel and he has a blast kicking his legs- Leatham always pees at least once during naked time- but I just fold the towel up and put it back in the closet for company.... just kidding! Back to bath time- It's so fun watching him thrash around in the water, especially when he splashes himself and it startles him! As soon as I take him out he screams at me!!! I had some video of these great moments but Paul wont let me post them.

Leatham has a killer smile!

Baby Blessing

2009-06-14T20:57:00.000-07:00

We blessed Leatham in church on Sunday- It was so nice to have so much of our family in town to join in. Paul gave him a beautiful and sincere blessing.

Mike, Johan, Bart, Leatham, Paul, and Paul sr. (Dean had to leave early)Leatham was so handsome in his blessing outfit (thanks mom!)

Photo Update

2009-06-09T21:45:00.000-07:00

Big stretch!

Leatham with Dr Chinn- This is at my 6 week check up. She didnt deliver him, but she was my OB.

Paul, Leatham and I visiting my mom and dad's house

Cousins- Carter and Leatham

Sleeping peacefully! He is so cute when he sleeps!

Another photo from our visit to Winthrop

2009-06-05T10:08:00.000-07:00

I have had quite a few people ask me where we came up with Leatham's name, so here you go!

Paul and I were having a really hard time deciding/agreeing on a name. While we were in the hospital Paul was going through the Baby Name Book and came across the name Latham-(how it was spelled in the book) when he said the name out loud I was surprised to hear the name because Leatham is a family name on my side- My great grandfathers name was Robert Leatham Bradshaw. Paul had the idea to have both great grandfathers names involved (my side and his), which is where Lauritz came from. Lauritz also happens to be Paul's middle name. We added Lauritz Leatham to our list of possible names for our new baby and about a week after leaving the hospital we decided that was what he should be named!

We could have made it easier on Leatham if we would have spelled his name the way its pronounced (Laythum), but we thought he would really get a kick out of correcting people his whole life- Seriously, who doesn't love that?!?!? :)

Heather Lake..... but not really

2009-05-18T20:35:00.000-07:00

The Dunn's spent the weekend at our house and we had a blast with them!! We took the kids to the park, played videogames and real games, worked on my baby announcements, tried to order Taco Bell to go over the phone... :) actually Shell thought she had called a Thai place but after a very confused Taco Bell employee tried to tell her it was not their policy to take phone orders we realized our mistake!!

Saturday we went for a little hike--- we were hoping to hike Mt. Pilchuck, but apparently there was 5ft of snow at the trail head so everything was closed off .... we settled on Heather Lake which was 2 miles each way. Well, we didn't quite make it to the lake because I was wearing my Chacos and about a half mile from the destination the trail got pretty snowy and so we turned back- BUT it was a beautiful day and it was fun to get some fresh air/exercise!!

No, Paul is not strangling Leatham!
Shell, Mike, Carter, Sydney and Damian

1 month

2009-05-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can’t believe how quickly this month has gone by! I think it helped that we have had so many visitors and family in town. Leatham is the sweetest little baby ever! Being a parent is so awesome and exciting- I love being his mommy and I love seeing Paul in his new role as well!! We are definitely learning a lot right now-

It is amazing how much Leatham has grown and changed since he was born. We had his one month check up on Friday and his stats are:

9 lbs 15 oz.-----54^th percentile
21.5 inches long---- 49^th percentile
15” head circumference---- 48^th percentile

So..... he is pretty well proportioned!!!

Leatham is generally a pretty calm little boy, and doesn’t fuss too much. He loves being held and swaddled. He

also loves being naked! As soon as his diaper is off he starts cooing and smiling. He also does this in the bath. I love seeing him smile! He also makes the cutest little faces when he’s sleeping- I could watch him for hours!!! But my favorite thing is when Paul gets home from work because he is always so excited to hold Leatham- they usually cuddle on the couch while I make dinner. Leatham is so good for Paul- if he is crying, as soon as Paul holds him he calms down. Paul's got the magic touch....

Update on our sweet little boy

2009-04-27T19:37:00.000-07:00

At our week check-up we found out Leatham had lost quite a bit of weight. He was down to 7 lbs 12 oz, which meant he had lost 14% of his birth weight. Our pediatrician had us re-admitted to the hospital to try and get his weight back on track. We found out it was because my milk production was really low- not near what he needed. So, we are now on formula while I try different things to boost production.Here is Leatham at the hospital- no one was happy to be back there, but it was all for the better, and now he is back on track to a healthy weight. I was lucky to have my little sisters Madison and Megan visiting me during that time- It was an emotional dr appointment, and they were a big help while we were in the hospital--- they cleaned, cooked, and kept us company. Thanks you guys!

Back at home- sleeping peacefully in a blanket made by grandma b!

Leatham with his grandma B and Bart (my dad doesnt want to be called the g-word!)

My sister Sarah visited from Utah the day after Leatham was born- and when we got home from the hospital she busted out her camera and took some really sweet pictures. Im glad she did, because with all the commotion, I really havent had a chance to. We are starting him young as a football star!

We have been so lucky to have so many friends and family visit and help us out. I have gotten to see my whole family in the past two weeks- thanks to school getting out, and Sarah and Danielle flying up from Utah and my mom and dad making several trips over to visit.... Pauls sisters, Sarah and Ida have made quite a few trips up as well supplying us with all sorts of things. And we cant wait for Leatham to meet his grandma and grandpa Peterson in June!

We really appreciate all the love and support we have received the past 2 weeks. Thank you everyone!

Lauritz Leatham

2009-04-22T19:10:00.000-07:00

So, I am over a week late in announcing the news, but life is so much busier now!! I don't have time to shower, I forget to eat, and am trying to get used to sleeping for 1.5 hours at a time. BUT, we are so lucky to have such a sweet little boy.

Leatham (pronounced Laythumb) was born at 12:25pm on Wednesday, April 15th. Perfect day for his accountant father! If you want the details you can keep reading, otherwise, just enjoy the pictures!!!

I wasn't too worried when my due date of April 5th came and went, however, Paul had scheduled to take that week off work, and when the baby didn't come, he ended up taking the next week off too. I started to feel anxious because I didn't want him to take 2 weeks off for nothing- especially when he needed the hours. I was scheduled to be induced on Thursday the 16th if the baby hadn't come by then- Our goal was to have a completely natural birth and I had heard that having Pitocin increased the chances of a cesarean so we started looking into ways to naturally induce labor. We tried lots of things that didnt seem to work, so I went in for acupuncture on Tuesday morning and 15 hours later at 12:30 am I had my first contraction! I decided to take a bath and shave to pass time- by 2:30 am contractions were about 5 minutes apart so we started getting ready for the hospital. We called my mom and my sister Rachelle because I had asked them to be in the delivery room with us and help me through the contractions.

We were admitted into the hospital at 4 am, and at that time I was dilated to a 4-5. They moved us into our birthing suite- which was really awesome! It was the largest room they had and was full of windows (dont worry we were on the 7th floor!)- It was sooooo nice to not feel boxed in. Paul, mom and Rachelle were amazing- I can honestly say I wouldnt have been able to reach my goal of a natural birth without them. They talked me through the contractions, held my hand, blew cold air, put chapstick on me, pushed on my lower back, etc. At 10am the doctor checked me and I was dilated to an 9- she broke my water. We continued to work through the contractions- and one thing that was really helpful was being able to see the computer screen and have Paul, Shell and mom work me through each contraction and tell me when they peaked or when the next one should be coming....

Around noon Dr. Carder came in and said "well, whenever you're ready you can have the baby!" I didn't believe that it was already time- I think I even asked her if she was serious! She was, and after 25 minutes, Leatham was born!!! I really cant picture the labor/delivery going any better than it did. I had a really good doctor, great nurses, awesome labor coaches and an amazing husband by my side.Leatham was 9 lbs and 21 inches long. One nurse commented that he was "way cuter than the other baby born that morning!" That made me feel pretty proud as a mama! He is adorable- perfect in every way.

I know this isnt a great picture of Leatham, but I love this picture of Paul

Getting ready to go home!

2009-04-14T16:53:00.001-07:00

No our baby is not a week old like the thing says he is!!!

We are still waiting for him- I am scheduled to be induced Thursday morning if he hasnt come by then.

:)

Week of Fun!

2009-04-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

My mom and my sister Rachelle, threw me a baby shower on Saturday and it was sooooooo much fun! They did an awesome job planning and decorating and getting everything ready. The games were fun, the food was delicious and the turnout was way more than expected. I honestly thought it would be very simple and small because we are new in the area, but my mom said there were 26 people! Most of the women were from our ward in Everett, and then I had a few friends in the area, some of my fam, and two of Pauls sisters came up from Tacoma. It was fun to visit with everyone and get to know the ladies in my ward. We received a lot of really nice, useful gifts, so thank you to everyone!!!! Most the pictures were taken with my sisters camera so I will post those once i get them :) But here are a few we took before everyone showed up.Since we hardly ever get pictures taken together anymore I had to take advantage of having people around- Here is Paul and I before he had to leave for work- He should be done working Saturdays soon!!!! yay!

My mom, Bailey and Parker were over here for a week because it was their spring break- they spent a few days with Rachelle and a few with us. Monday was Parkers 15th birthday so we had a little celebration at Rachelles house... he got some laser tag guns which everyone had fun playing with! Of course it was wet and muddy outside so everyone got pretty dirty!

Wednesday I had a doctors appointment and my doctor said I was dilated a 1+ and 60% effaced. She said I could have the baby any day now. My actual due date is this Sunday (April 5th) so it sounds like he will come right on schedule! My mom made me 2 hospital gowns to wear- one for the labor and one for afterwards. I'm really excited for them! I have been wanting to make them for a while, but the one I made a few months ago didnt turn out, so mom got busy sewing this week while she was here- She did an awesome job on them, and I'm really excited to not have to wear the "butt exposing" ones that hospitals provide! ........Bailey really liked this toy octopus-

Last but not least, we got the nursery set up and decorated! It really makes everything feel more "real" to me! Rachelle did a lot of work with her vinyl machine- she made the blue "BOY" blocks, the height chart, and the tree with the monkey hanging down.... everything turned out so good! I sewed the bumper in the crib using an Amy Butler pattern- took me forever but I like the way it turned out.

Anyway- We had a fun week with everyone- wish we got to see you guys more often! Thanks for all your help!

Maternity Photos- 39 weeks

2009-03-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

I got to have some maternity photos taken a few days ago by Feely Photography- We finally had a nice day without rain!!! It was so much fun and Jessica is an awesome photographer. I love her style! Here are some of my favs!

Pregnancy Update: I have been really blessed with this pregnancy, it has been very easy and enjoyable. Even with less than a week before my due date, I feel like I could stay at this stage for another month! (granted my stomach doesn't expand any more). Paul has been very supportive and helpful throughout- he always makes me laugh, and tells me I look beautiful or "plumpy" or "oh baby your huge!" The little guy moves around a lot and seems to be very strong, sometimes it looks like he is going to kick or punch his way out! We are really excited to meet him :)

"To Do" list

2009-03-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

I am definitely going through a phase where I constantly want to be busy... the busier I am the better! The problem is that no matter how busy I am each day, I am not making much progress on my "to do" list. So I figure if I post my list, maybe miraculously it will be easier for me to finish some of the things on it!! Update: I decided to give myself a gold star once each one is completed! And a half a star if I started it..... this is just a little boost for myself so I feel like im doing something!

1. set up nursery. I have been wanting to do this for months now- but I feel like if I do it too soon, I will be in the "waiting for baby" stage longer...

2. finish getting things for food storage/72 hour kits. Paul and I have been trying to make sure we have emergency supplies on hand and in our car- of course with his work schedule, I am in charge of the supplies.... still need a couple 5 gallon collapsible water containers, bucket, filters for water purifier, knife sharpener, MRE's and water purification tablets.

3. sell desks (we have 2 desks that we have been storing for a few months now, and now that I am so huge (literally) its really hard for me squeeze through the garage door because the only place for them is where they half block the door... it is especially difficult if I have bags or groceries! I have tried posting them on craigslist dozens of times but no one wants them!

4. clean out all the closets and organize. I am constantly cleaning out closets! Every single storage area of our house is filled

5. Make birthday cards for family and for ward- I am in charge of making birthday cards for the women in the ward, plus with Paul and I coming from large families that makes for a lot of cards (which I love making, i just dont always get them done on time!)

6. Make a hospital packet for Paul, my mom and my sister- One of my biggest fears is that I will go into labor and no one will be at the hospital with me! Paul is out of town a lot for work and so I definitely want to make sure he knows where to find me!

7. Update blog- this has been on the list for over a month now! I dont know if I can consider this post as an update!

8. Finish sewing projects- well I finished the crib bumper, but i still have a crib skirt, burp cloths, delivery/nursing gown (to wear in the hospital), and a few other things on the sewing list

9. Baby book- I need to start making blank scrapbooking layouts for the baby book so that once we have pictures I wont get behind so quickly!

10. Get our wedding pictures--- yes we still do not have our wedding pictures! I am pretty sure I am the only one who has strong feelings about this- it must be a girl thing! But seriously, almost 4 years!!! (yes im venting)

11. pack for hospital/put carseat in car- i guess with 1.5 weeks left I should start being more prepared

12. clean house- deep clean!

Pregnancy Photos

2009-02-09T20:27:00.000-08:00

My own Handmade Diaper bags!

2009-02-07T21:48:00.000-08:00

So here are the diaper bags Rachelle and I made last weekend- Rachelle was so nice to completely make the brown and orange one for me, and then the next day I started on the blue one and she helped me every step of the way!!! I am soooo excited for these gems!

First Embroidery Project!!!

2009-01-23T16:09:00.000-08:00

My first project on my new sewing machine was to make a hospital delivery gown so that when I deliver, I can be wearing something that fits me, and has a cute pattern... you know, something to boost my spirits and make me feel a little bit pretty during labor :) Well I found a free pattern online (http://www.lazygirldesigns.com/hospitalgown.php), bought some fabric and attempted to whip one out.... 2 separate "i need help" trips to the place we bought the machine, and 8 hours later I finally had it 85% completed. It turned out decent, but its definitely a trial version! If I am feeling crazy i will have Paul take a picture of me wearing it, but i might just wait until I have a better one made! My mom is going to help me re-make one next time she is over here. It was good to do a trial version though because now I know what I want to do differently on the next one (which definitely includes making it about 5 inches longer!!!)

Yesterday, I attempted to use the embroidery attachment and ended up having to go back to the store to get help.... Normally I like trying to figure things out on my own, but I would rather not screw up my brand new machine, so I packed everything up and went back to the store to get help. Every time I have gone there it has been a simple problem like not having it threaded correctly!!! oh well. I am sure I will get the hang of it! Today I embroidered 2 onesies for the baby- I think they turned out pretty cute! The first one is a sailboat and the second one is a set of Easter eggs. (You can click on the picture to get a closer look)

Bellingham Trip

2009-01-21T11:53:00.000-08:00

So I have been catching up reading everyone's new posts and realized what a slacker I have been!!

Monday, I drove up to Bellingham and spent the day with a few of my girlfriends- Randi, Amelia and Amanda. We had a lot of fun hanging out and walking around the bay. I haven't gotten that much exercise in a long time! But it was a lot of fun, and the weather was perfect! It's nice to live close to them, and we realized we need to get together more often! I love you guys!!

Lots of kicking

2009-01-15T12:10:00.000-08:00

I wish I could video my stomach moving- well I could, but I will spare you the view..... Anyway, the baby has been kicking a lot lately and its so cool to see/feel my stomach move back and forth.

We cant wait to meet the little guy~

Christmas Break

2008-12-28T18:46:00.000-08:00

We left for Winthrop on Saturday, just barely in time to beat the winter storm that hit Seattle area! The drive wasn't bad considering we don't have 4-wheel drive or snow tires.... with the road and weather conditions it only took us 7 hours to get home instead of the usual 4 :) And the best part is, I only had to "back seat drive" once!!!

We had so much fun at my parents house! It was nice to see everyone who was able to make it home this year. My sisters had fun feeling my tummy and waiting for Bentley to kick (Bentley is what I am calling our baby, Paul isn't sold on the name yet, but I am working on it :) I finished crocheting the edges of 2 baby blankets, still haven't decided if I will keep them both or give one away- I should be more giving, but they were time consuming projects :) I am so glad my mom taught me how to do it though, because I think it is a good skill and kind of a "lost art" these days.
My family continued our tradition of Christmas caroling to various friends in the valley- so we spent most the day on Monday baking bread, cookies, and other delicious treats. Tuesday there was a church Christmas party- with a fun white elephant gift exchange, Paul's # was drawn close to the end so we was able to "steal" a really nice wooden statue for me, of Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus. What a sweet husband I have! There was also a great rendition of the Nativity with Sydney starring as Mary, Carter as Joseph and Damian as a sheep. They were really cute!
Christmas Eve, my mom read us Polar Express, my dad read the Christmas Story found in Luke, we opened one gift from our secret sibling (thank you Dani for the sweet Rain Boots she got me and thank you Mike for the gun holster he got Paul). And then we all slept on the living room floor (another tradition in my family) we moved the couches and layed out a bunch of mattresses. I was a little cranky Christmas morning (sorry family)! We had gone to bed at like 1 am and I had woken up every hour to go to the bathroom, and then my sisters woke everyone up at 4:30 for Santa's presents...... Yes, I was not a happy camper during the Santa gifts but around 6 when we sat around the Christmas tree to open regular gifts I started to cheer up. Brag time: Paul got me an AWESOME sewing/embroidery machine for Christmas, I am so excited to use it! My mom and dad got me a North face Coat which I love, and some baby clothes/maternity clothes. They got Paul a pair of North face Snow Pants which are really nice-they also got him a nice work shirt. I got Paul a knife and a shoulder holster for his pistol- he really wanted the shoulder holster but I told him it was back ordered because I didn't want him to be expecting it... tricky I know!Friday I met up with two of my best friends, Randi and Amelia. It was so nice to hang out with them for a few hours and catch up-love you guys!The boys went on a horse ride and went to the gun range- fun man activities!

Friday night my family went to the High School to play basketball- we had a blast, except for when Shell twisted her ankle! Saturday we shot clay pigeons, well most people did, I was 0 for 6 which was surprising, usually I am a fairly good shot, but not this year! Paul was 4 for 6. Yes, I know the earmuffs are not on my ears, I have to put them on this way to cover my eye since I cant close it on my own!
Anyway, fun fun fun week! We are sad we had to leave, wish we could still be home enjoying everyones company! Thanks everyone for all the fun memories!!!!

I love my family!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad

2008-12-17T08:29:00.000-08:00

Today is my parents 32nd wedding anniversary and I just wanted to share a few reasons why I think they are the best parents in the world....

It is so fun to watch them interact- they are very playful and flirtatious together, but you can also tell that they respect one another. When my dad comes home the first thing he does is come and kiss my mom and they both get big grins on their faces and you can just tell they are happy to see one another. I have never questioned their love or loyalty to one another- which is a huge blessing considering all the drama and divorce in the world. It is a feeling of security that nothing compares to.

My parents are very active and like to get out and play with us- my mom likes to bike ride, hike, snow shoe, run, go to the water slides, play games etc. and my dad takes us all boating, horseback riding, on scenic drives, vacations... the list goes on. If someone has an idea to go somewhere or an activity to do, they are always up to have fun

They always make special occasions SPECIAL! My parents have always been good at making sure birthdays and holidays and events/accomplishments are celebrated- They put a lot of effort into birthday parties, making sure the day was special for us by making our favorite dinner and cake- We have a lot of holiday traditions that make certain times of the year very special in our home- and they always attended our sporting events and other activities. They are always on the sidelines or up in the stands cheering us on!

Love you mom and dad!!!! (sweet pictures to come later this week)

Cascadia Concert

2008-12-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

Last week I spent the whole week at my parents house! My dad spent the weekend in Seattle area for some CPA classes he was taking and I decided to catch a ride with him and surprise my mom! It was a good thing too because my dad was soooo tired from his " car accident" at Rachelle's house the night before (read her blog) that I ended up driving half the way home while he slept..... :)

Anyway, the main reason for the trip was to surprise my mom and go to her Methow Valley Cascadia Concert- She has wanted to be in the choir for like 20 years (since my parents moved to the Valley) and this was her first year doing it. The group has been meeting for a few months now to practice songs, and last week they had their concert. It was really REALLY good!!! The songs were beautiful and my mom was especially beautiful up on the stand. Rachelle also surprised her and showed up at the concert- when my mom walked onto the stage and saw all of us sitting in our row, you could see her eyes tear up and a big smile on her face. It was special to see how excited and happy she was to have us home.

During the week, my mom taught me how to crochet, and I have been working on a little baby blanket. Hopefully I will finish it today or tomorrow! I am pretty slow right now, but I think I am getting the hang of it. I will post pictures once its done!

Weekend Fun

2008-12-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

Friday night we went to a Holiday Gala hosted by the company Paul works for. It was really fun to meet Paul's co-workers and get to know a few of the other new hires. There was dinner, gambling, and prizes. Each person started off with $10,000 in chips and after 2 hours of playing at different tables you turned in what you had left for tickets- which were used for the raffle drawings. Paul and I did pretty decent at the Texas Hold 'Em table--

Saturday night we went down to Rachelle and Mike's house for couples date night- there were quite a few other couples there, and we did a white elephant gift exchange, munched on DELICIOUS food, and played games. It's nice living so close to them- they are really fun to hang out with, and good at planning fun activities!!!

Madison Tagged Me!

2008-12-01T12:46:00.000-08:00

Here are the rules:
1 - List the person(s) who tagged you
2 - Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
3 - Tag fellow 5 bloggers

Quirk #1: I don't like being told what to do--- so if you want me to do something, you gotta phrase it in a way so I don't think I am being bossed around:)

Quirk #2: I like to organize.... but not in a good way- I organize, re-organize and re-organize... always moving around the same things because I never get it in the right place the first time.

Quirk #3: I am really attached to my slippers- I wear them everywhere! Around the house, to the grocery store, out to dinner.... you name it!

Quirk #4: I try to be an "energy saver" but I am not good at all... I leave lights on everywhere because I don't like dark corners... I leave the faucet on while I brush my teeth because I like the sound... I have a recycle bin but the only thing I really sort out is paper and pop cans because they are easy to do

Quirk #5: I keep things way too long- I have clothes from high school that will never fit me, nor will they be in style ever again! I hang on to random trinkets that have been given to me over the years because I don't want to hurt any ones feelings by throwing them out (I have boxes of things that will never see the light of day, but who knows if the giver will randomly ask me: "Hey do you still have such and such I gave you 10 years ago?") Maybe this is where the recycle bin would come in handy?

Quirk #6: I am really bad at following through with service ideas. Example, my neighbor had knee surgery last Tuesday (I had known she was going to have it for like 3 weeks so I could have prepared ahead of time) anyway, on Tuesday I thought it would be nice of me to take her some cookies or something... well i didn't.. then Wednesday while I was shopping for Thanksgiving items I thought about going home and making her cookies and I didn't...here we are a week later, and my thoughtful idea has gone without any action. Maybe I should quit wasting time on my email and ordering Christmas gifts online and go make some dang cookies!

Now I tag: Sharlene Hatch, Sarah Simmons, Ida Simmons, Lindsey Scott, Megan Daley

Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T12:14:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful thanksgiving with Paul's family this year. His brother, Johan and wife Megan, and Louis drove up from Utah to spend the holiday with us and with Paul's sisters Sarah and Ida. We had a great time playing games, eating, and hanging out with family- Then Megan, Louis and I took advantage of some great shopping deals on Black Friday!

Louis, Ida (holding Parley), Paul, Sarah, Johan