l o s - b a k e r

up and up

2012-01-28T14:27:00.000-08:00

yes, yes...it's true. things are finally looking up! now that i've written that, i realize it's only been 3 1/2 weeks since i had surgery. yes, i had surgery. i had something evil taken out of my body. feels like it's been much, much longer but really it's not been that long. time drags when you're confined to miserable-ness in your bed. what made that whole experience (which i will expound more upon next time, okay?) so difficult, besides what it actually was, was the not-being-allowed-to-hold-my-5-month-old-baby rule. i hated that rule. i understand, but i hated it.

so, here i am. it's saturday and i'm happy for that. my baby, who was running a lovely fever all day yesterday among other things, is fever-less today. this makes today even better. i was expecting to have quite the miserable weekend with a very congested, feverish baby...but i've been blessed yet again.

sienna got her birthday bike today. very exciting! we wanted her to pick it out so we opted to take her today. the choices were dismal at toys 'r' us, as expected. nothing but character bikes and hideous colors. we chose (when i say "we", you know what i'm saying, right? yes, of course you do) the least of the evil bikes. it's an eighteen incher, so sienna will still be able to grow into it some more too. it still has some color combos that are not kosher in my book, but what can you do? (yes, spray paint did cross my mind)

okay then, off to enjoy more saturday!

2012-01-24T19:55:00.000-08:00

sienna, our little fighter...

...that little girl has always been a determined one. here is her early story, as well as chloe's abbreviated birth story. here is wyatt's. i share this as i reflect on her premature experience and on how the march of dimes is trying to help others avoid these, and other kinds of birth experiences.

please visit my march of dimes link and donate something if you can...even if it's $1 it will help. and come walk with me on saturday, april 14th in oceanside, ca. if you are local at all. i'd love to have friends to walk with!

thank you friends!

the earnshaws

2012-01-13T22:55:00.000-08:00

our buddies, the earnshaws, went and moved far, far away a few years ago. since then our game-playing lives have not been the same. nor have our party-planning days ever been the same. we love them dearly and miss them even more. they were cool enough to rent a beach house over the holidays and we jumped on the chance to see them. it would've been even better had there not been a scheduling conflict with my family's annual benihana dinner tradition. even so, it was a blast hanging out, eating "turkey sandwiches" that my girls made for us to eat. the malan family also made it that night. so glad! we got to see their adorable new baby boy.

cute reese. such a sweet and fun little girl.

all three guys got their flannel on that night. it was just too perfect.

and the sunset made the night even more charming. it was beautiful!

wyatt and abe FINALLY meet! yay! haley and i used to talk about what it might be like to have babies at the same time and how cool it would be. then she had a baby! but she lives way too far. at last abe and wyatt got to roll around on the floor together and avoid poking each others' eyes out. very entertaining! they even held hands a few times.

the girls had a blast in the front room spying on cars outside and chatting it up.

sweet baby john. if you ask me, he looks so much like his mama. we shall see how he evolves.

although haley is attempting to feed ravenous abe, i kept it clean. i just love haley's expression here. miss her.

come back earnshaws, come back!!!

bleep

2012-01-13T22:30:00.001-08:00

hi.

just a little bleep to prove that i am indeed alive. over the past few months i was seriously considering dumping the blog. i love blogging, but was longing for more privacy and for more time to spend doing other things. i'm still considering this.

for now....bleep.

kathy scharbarth

2011-11-25T17:43:00.000-08:00

hi all. sorry to be posting on a sad note, but this is important!

sienna's kindergarten teacher, melissa scharbarth, has a sister who went missing yesterday. her ex-boyfriend, micheal robles, has been arrested on kidnapping and 1st degree murder charges. if you have seen kathleen (melissa's sister) or know of anything that might help, please call the police and notify the family!

here is the Facebook page set up regarding her: https://www.facebook.com/help.find.kathleen

thank you for any help you can give.

gratitude

2011-11-23T23:20:00.000-08:00

once again, i see that my gratitude may seem a little bit lacking in my lack of actually telling you what they are, but i assure you (and myself) that i am so grateful that i am too busy to tell the blogging world about it. nonetheless, i find myself the only one awake in my apartment at the moment. i'm waiting for my apple pie to come out of the oven, so i'll go ahead and tell you more. this time it will much more abbreviated so as to encourage me to actually write them down:

day 8 - blankets...i love to cuddle up in a blanket and watch a movie, read a book. i love to picnic on them. i love to sew and make them. i love handmade ones by my mom and my grandmother.

day 9 - movies...especially when i am sick and have to just lay in bed all day long. movies sure come in handy at those moments. i love to see them in the theater, where the volume is loud and the screen is big and you're surrounded by other movie-goers. i love how they can make you happy, sad, mad, uplifted and/or inspired.

day 10 - water...that might sound silly, heck...you think everyone might be grateful for that. but i know a few who don't like it (well, more particularly to drink it i guess). i LOVE water!! i love to drink it, swim in it, take a shower in it (especially when a little extra filthy). i love the water in the ocean, in beautiful lakes, rivers and streams. i even love it in rain form.

day 11 - nail polish...trite and silly, perhaps. yet i find that i like to look at my feet a lot more when they are painted with a nice color!

day 12 - springtime...it's the only time when san diego is actually green! it doesn't last long, so you really have to make sure and bask in it and enjoy it fully. so i do! i picnic in it, i plant things during it, i take pictures of it, i try to smell it wherever i go.

okie dokie...bed time for me. more tomorrow? i say no...i'll be too busy baking and eating and (hopefully) napping. maybe friday i'll do a post-thanksgiving gratitude wrap up.

sound good?

bien.

2011-11-20T20:01:00.001-08:00

happy sunday from me and wy!

more catch ups

2011-11-11T07:26:00.001-08:00

so i know this doesn't seem very thankful when i'm having to catch up on my thankfuls, but i truly am grateful for all i have. a little swamped with life, but grateful. so here we go!

day six

san diego.

i just love this amazing city that i live in. the weather, though sometimes boring, is optimal for living life year round. the beaches are awesome and are really the reason to be here. beaches = surfing, sun-bathing, sandcastle building, bodysurfing, watching old ladies strut around la jolla shores with thong bikini bottoms on (ahem!). this city has so many fun things to do, we are close to los angeles (but no too close, phew!), close to mexico (almost too close, really), one hour from snow, one hour from desert, minutes from the beach, etc. one of my favorite views of the city is from shelter island looking out across the bay at the downtown skyline. it's not a big skyline, but it's nice! i have lived here all my life and there's not much to complain about. (but if i were to ask for one thing in san diego, it would be more greenery, which ultimately comes from more rainfall, which...let's face it, isn't going to happen. except for tomorrow.)

day seven

cute shoes.

i know this seems a little bit shallow, but really...shoes can make or break an outfit. i recently witnessed someone's very organized and fully stocked closet full of really cute shoes. it made me look forward to the day that i will be able to have more than just what i need. i'm constantly ogling over shoes that i see, but i try to be good. i am a bit picky, so we'll see how that works out.

loving these and these and these and these.

days eight and nine to come!

day four & five

2011-11-05T21:18:00.000-07:00

yes, i already fell behind. so today i play catch up....

day four

food.

surely this is something no one can live without, but it is also something that absolutely can change my mood. it's amazing. maybe it's a woman thing, i don't know. i do know that food, and even more so if it is amazingly yummy food, can change me from night to day, grumpy to happy, crazy to normal. you know that i'm hungry if i'm irritable. my husband can verify this. when i discover something new and delicious at a restaurant i go back to that restaurant often to eat whatever that thing may be. if i discover a new recipe that yumm-o i really do relish it.

favorites:

bronx pizza (hillcrest)...love me their white pizza and the classic cheese.
benihana (san diego/carlsbad/elsewhere)...specifically the fried rice, but everything is divine.
lettuce wraps from pei wei/pf chang
any creme filled cupcake from crumbs
the barbecue chopped salad and the pazookie at bj's
pupusas anywhere you can find them (so far the best we've found in san diego is at the el salvador pupuseria south of the 8)
stuffed french toast at the cottage
anything breakfast at the hash house
chick-fil-a has the most amazing milkshakes! my all-time favorite is the chocolate.

that's just me getting started. wanna go with me sometime?

i am so grateful for food.

day five

the piano.

i started playing the piano at age six. it was a rocky road off and on depending on my age and attitude. my poor mom started me out. she probably handled way longer than i could have done, and then i bounced around from teacher to teacher until i quit formal lessons around middle school. in mid-high school i decided that i wanted to take lessons again and began taking from a student of my mom (wendy reed). i loved it. after i was done taking from her i ended up just playing whatever here and there. i played the piano a lot at church, took classes at palomar college and so on. at ricks i also took private lessons. it was there that i really progressed a lot. i was much more dedicated and really took pride in what i was doing.

i started teaching piano when i was fresh out of high school at age 18. i had four or five students, who i charged $6/lesson (not to mention that i went to their homes for the lesson..what a deal!). i loved it and still do. i've taught piano ever since, up until the last year. i stopped teaching about a year ago when we moved. then i got pregnant, had a baby and am in school so i just haven't started back up again. i do love teaching piano. it's so fun!

the piano has just been such a blessing in my life because it has really taught me to appreciate music. and not just a few genres of music, but all of it. the piano itself it such a beautiful instrument and has such capabilities. i love watching a professional pianist play. it just baffles me at the amazing talents there are out there.

i am grateful that my mother started me playing the piano. i am grateful that i kept with it over the years. i am grateful for the opportunity i will have to teach my children as well.

day three

2011-11-03T11:41:00.000-07:00

day three

i am so grateful to have a testimony of the gospel of jesus christ.

there is nothing else i can think of that has shaped and molded me in my life more than the example and love of my savior. i try to keep him in my thoughts at all times and in all places. i try to strengthen my testimony of him all the time. without the knowledge and testimony that i have of him i don't know where i would be. to think of the life he led while on earth and to think that he died for me, as well as for every other person, is overwhelming to think of. the hymn, "how great thou art", rings true for me in every way. i am humbled and feel so blessed to be a member of the true church of jesus christ. i only pray i can do my best to be able to feel even a tad deserving of such a blessing.

if you would like to learn more about the church that i belong to, visit www.mormon.org...www.lds.org. if you have questions you'd like to ask, please feel free! =)

day two

2011-11-02T20:45:00.000-07:00

day two - my kiddos

what can i say? i have the most awesome and the cutest kids? yeah, all parents think that, but mine really are. see? first of all, i am beyond grateful that they were all born healthy and without any problems. i am grateful that they have continued to be as healthy throughout their lives, especially when you consider that sienna was a premie baby. she has thrived from day one. i am grateful that the girls play so well together and that they love to help take care of their little brother. i love that they know that when it's bedtime, it's bedtime. they know not to fight it. it makes it that much nicer. i am grateful that they love healthy foods in addition to all the other bad-for-you foods out there. i am grateful that i am their mother, for they teach me daily, they try me daily and they make a better person constantly. i love smooching them, biting their cheeks, tickling them 'til they can't breathe, playing hide-and-seek with them, playing games with them, teaching them how to do new things...i love watching them interact with their daddy, i love how they look when they sleep.

i am truly blessed!

30 days of thankful

2011-11-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

i have always wanted to do this, and so i shall!

i often feel as though i'm not as thankful as i should be for the many, many blessings i have in my life. so i will carry out this wonderful month sharing one thing each day that i am grateful for, and why. there's no better way to lead into the thanksgiving holiday, i think. then i can reflect on the things i am most grateful for.

here goes...

day one - my husband

he is probably one of the most selfless people i know. he is always engaged in a good work, which most of the time benefits me directly. he is so hands on with our children in every way possible. the kids love their daddy a heck of a lot. he is dedicated to doing his best at all times. he hasn't stopped taking classes or working as an intern for seven years straight, and got great grades the whole time...despite having a family to take care of and a loving but needy wife. he massages my swollen feet every night at the end of my pregnancies. he honors his priesthood and blesses members of our family and others when in need. he loves me despite my sometimes grumpiness. he makes the yummiest breakfasts! he understands when i need a break from the kiddos and takes over, sending me out the door for a breather.

obviously i could go on and on. i really don't want this to sound like a brag-fest, cause that's not what this is. i'm just truly grateful that he is who he is and that he still loves me. i'm a lucky girl.

"when i grow up..."

2011-10-26T13:45:00.001-07:00

chloe

"...i want to be a fabric cutter."

"why, chloe?" (me)

"because i love to do it. i love to cut."

there you have it! kind of random, but whatever.

sienna

"...i want to help grandpa makes houses."

"why, sienna?" (me)

"because it's fun."

"how do you know it's fun?" (me)

"because i have been on nana and papa's house before with grandpa."

ah-ha! it all makes sense now.

first tooth!

2011-10-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

that's right my friends! sienna finally lost her first tooth! as you might remember we discovered that she had a new tooth growing in and from that moment on we got down to business. we wiggled and wiggled that little tooth. it took way longer than i thought it would to get it out.

so the other night sienna goes in to the bathroom to show stephen how loose her tooth was (he was helping chloe brush her teeth...good daddy). he said how cool it was and told her to come show me...so she does. it was literally hanging. i was so excited and knew that this could be it if she would let it. for the past week or so i kept telling her to just pull it out. she was insistent on waiting for it to come out "by itself." ha! so when she showed up that night how loose it was i strongly, and very excitedly, urged her to pull it out herself. she looked worried at that thought, but put her fingers on her tooth, wiggled it a bit and within a few seconds she had pulled it out!!! i wish you all could've been there to see her extreme ecstatic-ness! she was beyond happy and proud of herself!! she jumped up and down a few times squealing with joy. so much fun!

chloe hugging her sister, so proud of her.

the tooth fairy surely came and left a whopping $2 and a small bag of cookies (stephen's idea). isn't that kind of an oxy moronic action? cookies from a tooth fairy? oh well! she was stoked. can't wait for the tooth next door to leave! what a cute smile she'll have with two missing teeth!

wyatt

2011-10-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

here is our little guy. well, he doesn't look so little, does he?

last week at an appointment we had he weighed in at fifteen pounds. what the? aren't you only two months old wyatt? ok, well...he continues to keep us dazzled by his super-human cuteness. the cheeks that i can't resist smooching every thirty seconds, the goos and gahs and squawks that come out of his cute little mouth. he is so super smiley after waking up from a nap. even more smiley if i feed him and change his royal poopy-ness following a nap.

he loves to watch us walk by him. he loves me to hover over him and talk to him while smiling. that's definitely my favorite and is when he's most talkative. he tells me all about heaven.

his eyes are lightening more and more as well. reminds me of chloe.

nina said today that he reminds her of stephen. i love it! i think he is a really good mix of sienna and chloe, who are both a really good mix of me and stephen. so he must be an amazingly even mix of all of us. awesome!

things i need to remember:

how he sighs when he sleeps
how well he sleeps in his carseat (our girls were so not like that)
how he sleeps the whole night through, every night (good boy, good boy)
how he sleeps best when swaddled
he doesn't mind tummy time at all
how he occasionally like to spit up everything i just fed him (sometimes it stays on the burp cloth, but most of the time, not)
he hates it when i pick his boogies from his nose. guess i don't blame him.
how he flaps his arms and legs excitedly when i talk to him on the floor

love my wy.

vaccination

2011-10-18T15:57:00.000-07:00

clearly this is a very important subject. after all, what's more important than our children? most have an opinion regarding vaccinations and some of those opinions are very strong. i'm very grateful to those who made comments and shared information. especially my sister-in-law robin! i always knew that she hadn't vaccinated her sons, but didn't ever really ask her about it. i always knew i had wanted to vaccinate my children, simply because it was "just what happens."

i worked in a pediatric office for a few years and saw kids coming and going every day getting shots. it didn't seem like too big of a deal. of course, that was before i had children or was married. even after i had my first child, i automatically knew i wanted to vaccinate her. part of my reasoning being that she was premature (seven weeks early) and needed to be kept as safe as possible, and to me that meant shots for anything. i really never questioned vaccines because i assumed that a hospital wouldn't be giving something to my baby that wasn't safe, or that doctors would either. thus, vaccines were fine.

even now, i tend to lean towards getting them. is that habit? is that because it's what i grew up with? getting vaccines was normal to me. but like many others have pointed out, and like i saw on "the vaccine war", our children today get so many more vaccines than we did as children. there was an interview done for that same website with dr. sears. it proves to be very interesting.

then of course there is generation rescue, which is mentioned in the vaccine war documentary. this is an organization that jenny mccarthy happened to encounter after having her son diagnosed with autism. she found that several other parents were there having the same issue she was having. on the site i found a link to "ask 8", which consists of eight questions that every parent should ask themselves before vaccinating their child. they are indeed good questions to consider, but it doesn't quite cover it all i would say.

something that my pediatrician told me the day of the chew out was that the thimerosal in the vaccines contains a kind of mercury that is not toxic to the body. people were thinking it was the kind of mercury that we all hear about, also the kind that is in thermometers. he said that that was not the kind of mercury used in thimerosal.

not the most official source, but still helpful is the following i found under thimerosal on wikipedia. i believe that this is what he was talking about:

"Risk assessment for effects on the nervous system have been made by extrapolating from dose-response relationships formethylmercury.^[11] Methylmercury and ethylmercury distributes to all body tissues, crossing the blood-brain barrier and the placental barrier, and ethylmercury also moves freely throughout the body.^[12] Concerns based on extrapolations from methylmercury caused thiomersal to be removed from U.S. childhood vaccines, starting in 1999. Since then, it has been found that ethylmercury is eliminated from the body and the brain significantly faster than methylmercury, so the late-1990s risk assessments turned out to be overly conservative.^[11] "

"Thiomersal is very toxic by inhalation, ingestion, and in contact with skin (EC hazard symbol T+), with a danger of cumulative effects. It is also very toxic to aquatic organisms and may cause long-term adverse effects in aquatic environments (EC hazard symbol N).^[9] In the body, it is metabolized or degraded to ethylmercury (C₂H₅Hg⁺) and thiosalicylate.^[3]"

^and

"Few studies of the toxicity of thiomersal in humans have been performed."

so if this compound is so toxic outside of the body, just because our bodies metabolize it...does that make is safe? safe enough to have in our bodies? apparently it does, and i tend to believe scientists. they are no dummies. then the problem is that the studies are paid for by the pharmaceutical companies themselves. yes, that is a biased study. why is it that if this is such a big issue that no one else can perform some kind of study regarding the matter? why can't we have some other studies to confirm?

i had written a message to a friend who is quite knowledgable on the topic, asking her her experience and all. one of her children suffers from autism as far as i know. here was her reply:

So, here is the disclaimer...I'm not a doctor...I'm only giving information based on our experience There is a lot of information out there, but you have to know where to look. Please feel free to ask any questions.

*There are some basics prior to vaccinating.*
1. Choosing which shots are the most important for you/your child (there are many that are not necessary like Hep B, unless you or an immediate family
member is infected. This is a sexually transmitted disease, and the chance
of infection is almost nil until teenagehood or later....chix pox, flu)

2. Be sure the immune system is supported...check out this link for
supplements you can give pre/post to boost the immune system:http://www.tacanow.org/family-resources/dan-vaccination-protocols/
*Give RDA (Recommended Daily Allowances) of Vitamin C *before and after
vaccines (general immune booster)

*Give a natural form of Vitamin A *( cod liver oil ) to keep the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) at level at all times for the age. (Vitamin A protects
our body against Viruses)

I would start these several days before the shot is given...and continue for
1 week after.

3. NEVER gives shots within 8 weeks of being ill, having diaper rash, yeast infections, flu, cold, ear infections, ANTIBIOTICS, or any other immune compromising responses like Eczema.

4. If you have an appt, and your child comes down with
something...reschedule.

5. Be careful if the child has colic, reflux or other tummy problems...this
is a sign that the gut (where 70% of the immune system is located) is having
a hard time. It is best to wait until things calm down.

***Never give tylenol pre or post vaccine it suppresses the immune system
(drops glutathione levels) for up to 21 days...ALWAYS use Motrin and always
use dye free.

*When you get shots.*
***Never give tylenol pre or post vaccine it suppresses the immune system

i will be following up with her regarding a lot of this. perhaps an interview of sorts can be done.

on the glaxo smith kline website i found the following, found it interesting:

"Vaccines R&D

We are active in the fields of vaccine research, development and

production and have a portfolio of over 30 vaccines approved for

marketing. We have over 1,600 scientists devoted to discovering

innovative vaccines that contribute to the health and well-being

of people of all generations around the world. The discovery and

development of a new vaccine is a complex process requiring longterm

investment and, with more than 20 vaccines in development,

we have one of the strongest vaccine pipelines in the industry.

Traditionally vaccines have been used to ward off illness; our

vaccine division is working now to develop immunotherapeutics

aimed at educating the patient’s immune system to identify and

attack cancer cells in a highly specific manner.

Vaccine discovery involves many collaborations with academia and

the biotech industry to identify new vaccine antigens which are

then expressed in yeast, bacteria or mammalian cells and purified

to a very high level. This is followed by formulation of the clinical

lots of the vaccine. This may involve mixing antigens with selected

GSK novel proprietary adjuvant systems, which are combinations of

selected adjuvants designed to elicit the most appropriate immune

response to a specific antigen. The right combination of antigen

and adjuvant system can help the body mobilise the most effective

immunological pathway, which is designed to provide maximum

protection against specific diseases in targeted populations.

Once formulated, the candidate vaccine is evaluated from a safety

and efficacy perspective through the different phases of preclinical

testing, then through the clinical trials involving healthy individuals.

These will range from safety analysis in a small group of volunteers

in phase I, dose adjustment and proof of concept in phase II, to

large-scale safety and efficacy analysis in phase III. The results

obtained during clinical trials and data regarding the development

of a quality and large-scale production process and facilities are then

combined into a regulatory file which is submitted to the authorities

in the countries where the vaccine will be made available."

links:

dr. ten penny
glaxo smith kline
age of autism
1983 vaccination schedule
"use friendly vaccination schedule" - read the article too...very interesting. scroll down for imm. recommendation.
smartvax

more later...baby calling me to eat.

hot topics

2011-10-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

okay, so i'm going to be talking about some rather controversial topics over the next week. i don't want to offend anyone, but would love to hear your two-cents/sense. this is partially because i am feeling rather ignorant when it comes to many topics, and partly because i am taking an analytical moral reasoning class and it is causing me to really think more deeply in my life.

so...i would seriously love to hear what anyone has to say, but ask only that if you reply or respond to someone else's comment (or even what i say on the blog) that you do so with respect, regardless of your own opinion. everyone has the right to believe what they want, and we should respect that. we don't have to agree with it, but it is good to listen, consider, do our homework and then see what we can add.

some of the topics may not be super controversial necessarily, but may raise emotions for some as well. i welcome it! people who are passionate about something usually have a reason.

i would also appreciate if you quote something or share something from a website that you've read "somewhere" that you do the courtesy of sharing said link, book or whatever it might be. i might also be sharing something you say in the comments area, but will ask your permission first if i have a way to contact you.

if you have the time, go ahead and start researching now so you can contribute to topics. this first topic is particularly controversial and is one that i'm struggling with myself right now.

topic for this week:

vaccinations

here are some questions that i've had so far:

who does the studies for the vaccinations that says that they are safe? that there are no links to SIDS or autism, etc? are these studies biased? if so, by whom? is there proof?
if the medical community claimed (and still claims) that thimerosal was not a safety hazard in vaccines, why did they end up taking it out of vaccines overall?
which vaccines are truly necessary? which ones are not? (example: i had chicken pox as a child and remember it being kind of a rite of passage of childhood. why is there a vaccine for it now? is that necessary? isn't it okay to have the chicken pox?)
there are loads of stories all over the internet of parents sharing stories of their babies dying of SIDS (supposedly linked to DTaP? proof? do we need proof?), of parents who say that their children have autism because of some reaction to vaccines, etc. although i don't know what to believe, their stories still frighten me a bit. should i not believe them just because they aren't scientifically proven? do they need to be?
why did my pediatrician chew me out for me asking about the safety of vaccines? he didn't even want to consider why i was asking. he was clearly mad.

okay, so there's just a few things for now.

ready, set, go and learn and share!

musica

2011-10-08T20:51:00.000-07:00

thanks for your crib bumper advice/two-cents my friends. it's always good to ask friends.

finally successful...wyatt passed out. now i am free to salute you, my blog buddies, before putting myself to sleep at a very welcomed early bedtime (9pm). time to catch up on some zzz's.

speaking of said boy, wyatt. he is so sweet. i love my little boy. he weighed in yesterday at 14lbs 9oz., 24 inches. he's a big boy. 97% - weight, 85% - height, 80% - head circ. wowsers!

so i just bought the new feist album. i'm pretty excited about it! it's pretty chill music, so it'll be nice to have it on while blogging (totally listening right now) or while pretending to do homework.

ran into my friend anne at my brother's wedding reception last night. gosh do i love that girl! it just reminded me how good it is to have amazing friends in my life. i have so many, after all...i'm truly blessed. another incredible friend was snapping photos left and right last night. not quite sure what i would do without her. how do i get so lucky?

xoxo my friends.

crib bumper or no crib bumper?

2011-10-04T22:54:00.000-07:00

so that is my question.

i keep seeing articles about how bumpers increase the risk of SIDS in infants. is there substance to this? i'm going to do more research, but i thought i'd throw this into the blogging abyss. anyone know?

share your thoughts, knowledge, facts, etc. and make sure to label them as such.

me

tooth be gone!

2011-10-03T11:36:00.000-07:00

the other day i'm talking with sienna and as she opens her mouth pretty wide, i notice an extra white spot at the bottom of her mouth. i quickly tell her to come closer and open her mouth. she did and i bursted out in excitement!

"sienna! you have a new big tooth growing in!"

"i know mom."

seriously? since when are not that excited about losing a tooth? it's all she asks about lately. her cousin london lost a bunch of teeth recently and she likes to watch superwhy's tooth fairy episode over and over. plus, she's always asking when she'll lose a tooth. of course i told her i had no idea. so when i get genuinely excited about her losing one soon, she's super nonchalant about it. ha!

"what do you mean, 'i know'."

"i showed daddy this morning," she says.

stephen didn't even say a word to me about it all day. gee whiz people! this is a rite of passage. anyway, sienna really is excited about it now. her little tooth is pretty wiggly but needs some help. i keep telling her to wiggle it all the time with her hand at home, and her tongue at school. not sure she's doing either. and then...a few days later i notice another little part of the tooth next door creeping up too! so exciting! so i made her a cute little tooth fairy bag based on what i found here.

here's mine. of course, it's not finished yet. i still need to bind the seams and add the strings to be able to close the top, but i love it! took me all of ten minutes to make last night. we're almost ready miss tooth fairy!!

london is six!

2011-10-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

we recently attended my cousin's daughter's birthday tea party, and boy was it cute! my cousin and her friend did a wonderful job making a cute little set up for the kiddos. london turned six! hard to believe. i remember when she was born! anyway, here are just random pics i snapped while at the party. too cute not to take pictures of it.

this last picture really doesn't show how much fun they had at the party, but they did! i swear! birthday girl is in the middle giving us a nice birthday tongue. my girls are pretty darn stoic in this picture. they're usually so good at posing, but they were both pretty shy at the party. grr...

two yummies

2011-10-02T08:57:00.000-07:00

so i finally made these chocolate mustaches with chloe the other day. i'd bought the molds for them two months ago and forgot about them until i cleaned out a certain kitchen drawer the other day. so we went for it. it was a little tricky, as wyatt woke up mid-way through the process and needed to be held. so, i may have overcooked the chocolate a bit. or i may have had the temperature too high, as it seemed like the chocolate never got to the melted stage it needed to be at. any pointers for the inexperienced one (me)? i tapped the molds, but because the chocolate was still too thick, i couldn't get the bubbles out. plus, the chocolate had that filmy-ness about it. it tasted fine though, and the girls enjoyed playing with the mustaches and eating them.

cute sleeping boy. he really is such a good baby. i will never complain. he sleeps the night through almost every night, very few exceptions. he eats pretty darn good and is so responsive lately. last week he started smiling back at me in a big way. he also started coo-ing and talking back to me. it seriously makes me so happy. melts my heart.

below is what happens when you have a big sister around. wyatt was having some nice blankie time on the floor one morning. i was cleaning the kitchen and chloe comes over and says, "silly wyatt...he's wearing my headband!"...as if wyatt was the one who put it on. haha...oh, chloe! she put his burp cloth on for a blanket and put her headband on him. she's already starting to dress him up! he has quite the future ahead of him.

full load

2011-09-26T14:47:00.000-07:00

can you tell school started, as i have not posted in quite a while? yikes! i only post now because i am promptly ignoring any schoolwork i should be getting down right now.

having a seven week old newborn and starting three online classes is a little much. what was i thinking? oh, well i probably wasn't thinking. i am nursing after all. losing IQ each time i feed wyatt. at least, that's my theory. my brain isn't what it was, who knows if it will ever get back there? but i can at least try! thus my attempt to finish my degree!

so a few weeks ago we got the girls out of the apartment down to the pool for some much needed "out" time. we were all sick of being cooped up in the pad. so we mosied on down to the pool and stephen swam in the very cold water while wyatt and i watched and hung out. it was nice!

sienna is a little dare devil! she has no fear, that child. she's also become quite the little swimmer! she swam the entire length (yes, length...not width) of the pool all by herself. i was so impressed!

chloe's not quite there yet in her swimming capabilities, but she's getting closer. she's getting a little big for stephen to throw her, don't you think? i can't believe that's my little baby chloe. not a baby anymore!

seaside women's health

2011-09-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

i just need to let it be known how wonderful these two men are! these are my OBGYN's that i had for my last two children. they are both very caring, thoughtful and take their jobs very seriously. after having sienna seven weeks early i was from then on a high-risk patient. so when i found out i was pregnant with chloe i knew i needed extra care, just in case. i was pointed in dr. robert biter's direction. my friend, sarah white, had told me about her wonderful experience with him so i made an appointment. immediately i was comfortable with him (how can you not be with a guy who calls you "buddy" at every appointment?) and was excited to have the support i needed. during labor and delivery he was extremely supportive and helpful and took good care of me.

fast forward four years later. pregnant again! this time i was being seen by both dr. biter and his co-worker in the office, dr. damon cobb. throughout our appointments they were both awesome. dr. cobb ended up delivering me, which was such a great experience. during my labor he was right there with me and stephen the whole time. he is a very dedicated doctor!

though neither of those birth experiences ended the way i had hoped, these two doctors did all they could to help me in my efforts towards my desired birth experience. i'm grateful for them and for their expertise.

family walk

2011-09-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

this was one of those days where you (the mom) really needed to get out of the house because you'd been there all day and were totally done! yep, that was this day. stephen got home and we took off for a nice walk on the beach. we opted to go south of where we usually go, so we ended up here...at pipes. we ended up walking south to cardiff beach. the higher tide didn't deter us one bit. you even get a nice little workout walking down and up from the beach. my butt was so proud of me coming back up!

a seagull had been there before us...

wyatt enjoyed a nice push in his new ride (yay for bobs!) and chloe kept busy drawing non-stop pictures in the sand.

the girls helped me collect rocks on our walk too. little did they know that i have plans for said rocks. it'll be a fun christmas present for them!

our lovely walked was interrupted by an emergency of sorts on chloe's part. no bathrooms in sight called for a potty break near the cliffs. stephen acted as a reverse toilet...he must love being a dad at moments like this! we love him, we do.

aside from that lovely note that i've ended on our outing was successful. wyatt stayed asleep the whole time, i got some much needed exercise, the girls got lots of energy out running up and down the beach, and we had a lovely outing as a family. oh, how i love living so close to the beach!

2011-09-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

sienna is quite the little artist. she looooves to draw, color, paint, cut, etc. every day she comes home from school and gets right to drawing. previously she had been drawing a lot of flowers, hearts, the family members and her name. lately it has morphed into other things like, for example...churches? awesome! she also recently was drawing aliens too. it's funny to think about what kinds of things she must have going through her mind when she decides to draw an alien.

she is also loving kindergarten. last week i had the gall to take her out of class thirty minutes early for a doctor's appointment. as we sit in the car, and with a slightly whining tint to it, she says, "i didn't want to go early mom." sorry bub, sorry! i was honestly surprised that she was upset about it. i guess that would be because i was never like that. i was always the kid faking sick to go home early. true story! ask my mom if you don't believe me.

pappy's birthday

2011-09-07T09:32:00.000-07:00

my dad had a birthday yesterday so we celebrated! wish i'd taken pictures of our dinner set up and the dessert. i asked dad if he already had plans for dinner, and lucky for all of us, he didn't yet. so after texting back and forth a bit dad revealed his birthday desire for grilled cheese and tomato bisque (not soup...don't you dare call is soup. i made that mistake.). so we made his wish come true. we whipped up some gourmet grilled cheese, some with jack cheese and cheddar, some with gruyere and cheddar (mine!) and plenty more. then we dished up some bisque and soup. for dessert? homemade german frosting on chocolate cupcakes. can i say that although my frosting tasted good, i'm not sure how to get the consistency i wanted. better luck next time! but that is dad's favorite, so i thought it was worth a try.

ian, derek and courtney joined in the festivities. the only one missing was owie. darn you, utah! give him back!

wyatt got some much needed grandpa time and the so did the girls. they went swimming with him just before dinner. thank goodness, because the heat and humidity yesterday was disgusting! later, the girls bonded with uncle ian watching short cartoon clips on youtube. my girls like watching things, can you tell? they sure zone out. it can be quite the blessing sometimes, like when i need a break or when i have some homework that needs to be done when they are being needy. other times i'm sad that they like to watch movies so much. especially chloe. if i let her, it's literally all she would do all day.

anyway,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPPY!!!!!

we love you lots and are grateful to have you in our lives.

loving wyatt

2011-09-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

wyatt had his first month appointment yesterday. it was not our favorite day after walking through humidity to and from the doctors, waiting for over an hour past our appointment time to be seen and then trying to get back before extreme baby hunger set in. it was not our favorite at all.

but...wyatt continues to prove that he is no lightweight. my goodness! this boy means business. stats for wyatt at one month:

12 lbs 2 oz. (at birth...8lbs 15oz) - 95%

23 inches (22 inches at birth) - 90%

he's a hunk o' chunk o' baby love.

hanging out with daddy and sisters outside one night on the patio.

meeting kiersten and hanging out with grandpa mike!

(see the red tints in his hair? he gets that from daddy)

tuning the piano

2011-09-05T10:55:00.000-07:00

i feel much guilt regarding this topic, to be honest. i am a pianist, after all, and i totally let my piano fall to the way-side. i should've tuned it a while back when we were still in la jolla. then we moved it into my sister-in-law's place while we lived in escondido. then we moved it again here to encinitas. i played it after we moved and was so embarrassed. i didn't even want to play it, it sounded so bad. luckily my mom had mercy on me. she was having josef come tune her piano and so she sent him my way. thanks ma!

this is sienna "helping" josef. she was enthralled with him and his work. josef is the best piano tuner i know, and is sooo down-to-earth. we love him! he has been tuning my piano for at least five years now. i wouldn't use anyone else!

after he worked his magic my piano sounded like a new piano altogether. i'm so glad he came! if there is anyone in the san diego area or st. george area who needs a good piano tuner, call josef (pronounced joe-SEF).

soccer season!

2011-08-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

i love soccer season! i love driving by random fields on saturdays and seeing kids running around chasing soccer balls. i love the feel of it all. reminds me of the days when i played ayso soccer as well. good memories! and it's even more exciting now that i have a child old enough to be involved with it.

sienna had her first soccer game on saturday, and the verdict? she loooooved it!

this year the teams are having the younger kids split their teams in half and are playing three on three players. this gives the kids a better chance to handle the ball and feel more involved in the game process. sienna started out as a sub and then had her chance to get in there and play. she's such a timid thing when it comes to new people and places and things that i was praying that she would feel comfortable and just get in there. and she really did!

and how cute are the ribbons in all the girls' hair? the awesome team moms whipped those up for all the girls to match their team color. our team is extremely organized and the coaches are fabulous. i'm just so happy that she is having such a great first experience with all of it.

cute girl even scored a goal! go nenna!! she was much more aggressive than at practice, according to one of the assistant coaches. i think hearing us (our family and my mom and mike) cheer for her really got her going. she seemed to just eat it up. what cracks us all up is her jumping. whenever she gets excited or nervous she jumps. example....ball is coming towards her from the opposing team. she stops it and before she kicks it, she jumps. sometimes it just killed us. we were yelling, "kick the ball sienna! kick it!" and she was there making sure to jump a few times. then she kicked it and jumped some more. must be a nervous habit she has developed. maybe next game i'll actually count how many times she jumps during the game. sure would be entertaining to know.

sienna got some nice positive encouragement at half time from daddy. she was pretty proud of her goal!

our cute little soccer nenna. go california girls!!

holding wyatt

2011-08-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

we've had quite the group of visitors over the last few weeks to see mr. wyatt. it's been fun! so here's just a few random photos of those holding him. unfortunately i didn't snap a photo of amanda packer, katie sabin or maren thacker holding him. i'm lame. i love my friends and family!

sienna is showing the camera the tattoo she got at school that day....fyi.

yummy baby boy.

scott and mike sabin dropped by and caught wyatt with his eyes open! lucky them. so glad they were able to come by for a visit.

auntie cari, though not blood related, is like family. she pretty much made my night coming to see us. i miss her so very much! she's a very dedicated employee and works her tail off. so glad she was able to drop by and hang out for a few hours!

and of course...grandma ev, who has pretty much lived at our apartment for the last few weeks, holding the little man. we are forever grateful for all my mom has done for us. she's so giving and so thoughtful. we are lucky to have her.

cute big sisters playing together.

wyatt's birth story

2011-08-21T14:04:00.000-07:00

After waiting an extra two weeks past my supposed due date (July 23rd), I woke up Thursday morning (August 4th) around 3:30am to a semi-strong contraction. I had a feeling that this could be it, but was going to wait until I felt a few more to get out of bed. Those precious zzz's were needed, after all. I woke up again around 4am to a few more of the same strength contractions and decided to get up and go to the bathroom. I waddled over to the computer and browsed around on Pinterest, just waiting to see if the contractions were going to get stronger or closer together. At 4am the contractions were semi-strong and about 9 minutes apart. Over the next 30 minutes they progressively got closer together- about 4 minutes apart. They lasted at least a minute, sometimes longer.

After realizing that this was probably it I finally woke Stephen up around 4:30am and told him to prepare himself....this was it! I had him call my mom to tell her to come over after another ten minutes. It took Mom and Mike about 30-40 minutes to get to our apartment and by that time I was having to breathe through contractions and sway my hips back and forth in an 8 pattern. As soon as they arrived we pretty much said hello and goodbye and hopped in the car to drive to Pomerado Hospital in Poway.

Unfortunately my contractions were strong enough at that point that I could not sit down properly in the car. SO uncomfortable!! So I put myself in the back seat, where there was a tad more space. I knelt on the floor of the car, facing the back of it. I rested my arms and head on the seat and swayed back and forth when a contraction came. Stephen was probably going 80-85mph the whole way there, thank goodness. Though not safe, I just wanted to get there. I was in pain.

Upon arriving at the hospital we parked and walked on up to the fifth floor to labor and delivery. I was admitted and sent to triage where the nurse informed me that I was a 9! YIPEE!! I was almost there! She said how impressed she was...made me feel good.

I was sent to room 5/8 (?) where the room was being uber prepared for the very soon arrival of Mr. Wyatt. I continued laboring in the room, where at this point I needed Stephen a lot more in coaching me. The only position that eased my pain at all was standing and swaying while hanging on Stephen's arms and resting my face on his chest. I literally put all of my weight on his arms and swayed my hips back and forth while doing stomach breathing. My out breaths were very long and steady....that breathing saved me! Occasionally Dr. Cobb or the nurse (Anne) would gently massage my lower back which significantly helped with the back labor I was experiencing as well. (Needless to say Stephen's upper back and shoulders were very sore after 6+ hours of supporting my weight every 30 seconds)

We had arrived at the hospital around 6am. Every hour or longer Dr. Cobb would check me and we would all be a tad disappointed that I was still just a 9 and -1 station. Wyatt was not dropping like he was supposed to. After six hours of having transition contractions every 30-60 seconds I was exhausted. At one point I started pushing while standing to try and put more pressure on the cervix, but still no progress...still a 9 and -1 station. Something just wasn't right. After each contraction his heart rate would dip down a little bit too, which concerned Dr. Cobb a little bit.

So around 12pm I caved and asked for an epidural. I was just so tired. It took the anesthesiologist about twenty minutes to get in my room and another fifteen or so to administer the epidural. Apparently the first time he did it he entered a vein instead of the cavity where he was supposed to, resulting in only my left side being numb. My right side was still feeling everything. So he took it out and started again. The second time worked great and I was finally numb. I rested for about an hour and then Dr. Cobb checked me again. Still no change. He also let me know that my left lip of the cervix was still thicker than it should be. We opted to start pushing, hoping that pushing the baby's head into my cervix would help it thin out more and get this moving more. No such luck. After two hours of pushing (standing up, squatting, on my side, etc....at this point I had stopped the epidural to push better so I could move around completely) there was no change to the baby's position nor my cervix. We talked ideas and options.

It was like deja-vu...just like with Chloe. Couldn't get that baby out! Stephen gave me a priesthood blessing and we both prayed to know what our next step should be. After doing so and after thinking for a while, we decided that I would rest for another hour or so and then push again for another hour and if nothing had progressed by then that we would opt for the c-section. So that's what we did. After following our plan of action and after absolutely no change, we gave the okay for the c-section. To be honest, although it was clearly not what I wanted, I just had a feeling that this was the best route for us at this point. I wasn't disappointed in my efforts at all, I felt like I had done all that I could. I really do feel that way still. I was not wanting to have to have a baby via surgery...again. The recovery is hardly satisfactory, especially after laboring for ten hours in transition and pushing. Despite all of that I really just wanted to be safe for the baby's sake and mine. Stephen and I both felt that it was the correct decision.

So around 6:10pm I was wheeled into the sterile OR (operating room) and at 6:26pm Wyatt Thomas Baker entered our lives!! As soon as I heard him out and crying I started crying. I was just so happy to hear his voice and to know that he was finally here and that he was okay. After checking his vitals, cleaning him up a bit and weighing him they brought Wyatt over for me to hold. I held him right at my face for at least ten minutes while Dr. Cobb started to finish up the surgery. He was mad and crying when the nurse brought him over, and I remember thinking how much he looked like Chloe. His lips were poofing out while crying, which also reminded me of Chloe. Mr. Wyatt weighed in at 8lbs 15oz, was 22 inches long and had a 14 inch head (phew!). He was and is a big boy!

It took Dr. Cobb a while to finish up the surgery because he (or the other doctor who assisted) nicked my bladder at some point. They were making sure that they had fixed it up properly. A day or two later I was wheeled down to Radiology for about 30 minutes for them to scan my bladder and make sure there was no blood there. Luckily there wasn't!

Wyatt is a dream of a baby and immediately started nursing like a champ! He's my best nurser yet! He has brown hair with tints of red in it. He seems to have Sienna's nose, my hair line, and Stephen's lips, feet, ears and hands. We love, love, love our little guy and are so happy that he and I are healthy and that all has gone so well.

(more pictures to come)

good morning!

2011-08-14T11:07:00.001-07:00

just the two of us

2011-08-13T00:07:00.001-07:00

I know, I have a lot of explaining to do. Birth story...all that jazz. For now let the pic of my sleeping babe suffice.

Meet Wyatt.

soccer season!

2011-08-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

so a little over a month ago i signed sienna up for soccer through ayso, as mentioned in another post. well, her first practice finally came around! she was so excited. she even had her cleat, socks and shin guards on over an hour before practice started. chloe made sure the shin guards worked some more by repeatedly kicking her sister's shins. very good chloe, very good.

the girls started out with warm-ups. sienna was very shy for the first five minutes or so. she was barely able to introduce herself to coach victor. after that five minutes she was perfectly fine and had a blast! it was very entertaining watching her do things with all the other kids. and about every five minutes or so the coaches sent the kids in for a water break. i think in their one hour slot of practice they had about twenty water breaks. it was funny. but really, coach victor and the two assistant coaches were great. very organized and made it fun for the girls. sienna's team is a mix of five and six year-olds, so some of them have played soccer previously. luckily a lot of them are beginners like sienna.

sienna is a very good little kicker and her stops are great too! we are so proud of our nenna.

above is how we kept miss chloe busy. stephen took her to the playground for a bit and then came back just in time to see the girls' first team scrimmage. hilarious! stephen calls it a little amoeba, for obvious reasons. it was so cute and funny to watch all the girls stay right with the ball. sienna even made a goal on her own team! go nenna! =)

it's gonna be a great season! we heart soccer!

wind in your hair

2011-08-02T13:37:00.000-07:00

we stopped by my in-law's house saturday to say hi...they've been gone for a week in beaver for a baker reunion (soooooo bummed to miss it. we thought we would have had a baby by then....or at least during it) and we just haven't gone over to the house since we moved out anyway! we were sad to miss nana as she was out and about, but we got to see papa! we pulled up just as he was working on this beauty. they bought this cute little motorcycle since the quad had broken down up in beaver. he had just fixed it upon us arriving too...just our luck! stephen was stoked and took it out for a spin around the cul-de-sac. sienna was immediately asking to ride with daddy, of course...little thrill seeker. i guess that's inevitable with our gene pools.

so daddy came around picked her up. first a lesson on where to place our hands. after her ride, stephen was saying how she kept trying to steer it instead of him. eek! good thing stephen is stronger.

the cute little motorcycle was still warming up so every once in a while stephen would hop off and re-start it and keep it going for sienna.

i kept asking chloe if she wanted a ride after sienna. her reply was "no thank you" with a nervous voice. she's always a little bit chicken at first with stuff like this. once we make her/convince her, she's fine. so we tell her that it's her turn and she hesitantly gets on.

didn't take long for the cutie pie to fall in love with it. (ahem- do you see stephen's concentration in the lower picture? loving his mouth right there)

random products

2011-08-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

on my random drop-by's to marshalls, tjmaxx and ross i've been finding some awesome things. sometimes you sure do have to look, but it's fun. it's even more fun without kids with you, but since that happens rarely, you've just got to make the best of it. on my most recent visit to marshalls in mira mesa i found nellie's laundry soda, selling for $5 (normally around $10). i also found some fabulously fun cups...go ahead and "pick your nose" with these cups. the girls and i had fun with those. they also have some with real noses that are large-ish, small-ish or with mustaches. totally hilarious!

hello there!

2011-08-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

well...the weekend has come and gone and i sit here before my computer with a still growing belly! it's amazing to me that this little guy isn't ready yet. but alas, he's not...and that's okay. july has come and gone (i was due july 23rd) and our family welcomes in the month of august. there are very few birthdays in august on either side of our families, so i'm thinking that this is great! (i think it's great til my hormones force an emotional break down each day)

in other news...sienna starts soccer practice today! how cute will that be? i'm so excited for her. she has been looking forward to wearing her cleats, shin guards and "long socks" for a while. i think she's going to do great! makes me want to play too. soon enough i will be with her! she also starts kindergarten two weeks from today. that is so crazy for me to think about. that i have a child starting the beginning of twelve years of schooling in a few short weeks. she is definitely ready. and i can't deny, that i am too...though i really will miss her here a lot and so will chloe.

oooo, a contraction! how fun.

on a side note, i, like the rest of the creative world, am addicted to pinterest. i just love that there is a site that i can catalog ideas and awesome things that i find on the internet. especially with my lack of doing too much (for my ankles' sake) lately, i am finding myself loving that site even more. if you're not on pinterest yet, you might want to check it out. it's just fun!

and i've been looking for the perfect clock for our living room. i finally found what i want, only to discover that it's only sold from france for a hefty price (42 pounds/roughly $90). ouch. so i'm wondering if anyone else finds a clock like this in the US (and cheaper please!) if you could advise me immediately! if you're rummaging around at a yard sale or antique store or thrift store and you see this clock or something similar, be a pal and send me a picture! i'd love it!

mermaid hair

2011-07-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

miss chloe loves having mermaid hair, as we call it in our home. the curly/wavy hair that results from her previously braided hair. after taking out kim's tight braids from the other day, this was the result!

so pretty. believe it or not the only thing i added to this outfit that day was the clip in her hair. she put on the dress, leggings and shoes. my sweet bug loves to wear dresses. i think i even let her wear it to bed that night. aren't i a nice mom? anyway, she's full of spunk and silliness, that one.

i still can't believe how looong her hair is either. it grows like a weed! she is only barely four and has better hair than most adults i know. so ridiculous. the best part is that she doesn't cut it off like her sister! she lets her mama bask in its glory. some. day. i might have to let her cut it off if she wants, but that's not til she's like twenty-one, right?

and then there's sienna....she's so dang photogenic. she really doesn't take a bad picture....ever. those cute little dimples and the coloring of her hair and eyes together are amazing. her lip color baffles me too. i have no color to my lips. if i don't wear something on them i look close to death. true story! but not sienna. she's blessed with amazing skin color, lip color, eye color and hair color. geez girl!

and then of course, chloe got the hair gene. she should model little girl hair barrettes or something.

sisters

i love my girls. they are so good together and love to play together. let it always be that way!

instead of giving birth...

2011-07-27T23:01:00.000-07:00

...i sewed. =)

i know, i know...i need to stop talking about the fact that i've not had a baby yet. you just don't understand what it's like for my brain to wrap itself around that fact. my first baby came two months early, my second baby came two days early, my third.....? well, we shall see. at my doctor's appointment yesterday doctor cobb said i'm still a 3 and 70% effaced, which i have been for at least three weeks now. i was a little disappointed, especially after monday's ALL DAY contractions. i thought for sure i'd at least be a four...ha! wyatt is showing me. so i had dr. cobb strip my membranes which resulted in lots of cramping the rest of the day, but nothing else. there's my update for the night.

anyway, i spent my night doing two things that i've been meaning to do for some time. i finally made myself a new camera strap. i've been meaning to for over a year. pathetic, huh? i really like it. i really liked my old one, but it was time. kiersten had made me a cute one too, but it is too short for my current strap taste. or maybe it's that my bust is too big so if i shortened my strap it really wouldn't fit around me at all. oh the issues big busts give you. that's a whole other post though. anyway, i think i have an idea of how to use the one kierst made now! i'll let you know how it works out.

the other thing i'm working on is the crib bumper for mr. wyatt. what's more appropriate than a western theme for him? penny pinching (and time pinching) leaned me in ikea's direction where i bought a plain white bumper for $10 and i'm sewing on strips of fabric. super easy, inexpensive and personalized...i love it. now if only my dang sewing machine would cooperate! we ended the night at odds with one another. i think i need a new one. sad day.

over on the other side of the room from me was cute hubby applying for real-life jobs. what!? yes, he's almost a graduate-graduate (masters in electrical engineering...mr. smartie pants), so he's been applying for jobs here and there. and yes...i am looking through the kitchen to where he is. awesome, huh? oh apartments, i'm sure i will miss you eventually.

here's what kept me going tonight as i battled it out with my sewing machine....1) the three amigos, and 2) peanut m&m's. what would i have done without those? shout-out to derek for the birthday movie! i love it!

anyone else been crafting lately?

four days late

2011-07-27T09:18:00.000-07:00

i am in awe that my body can be so tricky...honestly. i never imagined, after my first two babies, that i would ever reach or pass my due date in a pregnancy. shows you just never can tell! i'm feeling great though! i'm just anxious for his arrival. can't wait to meet wyatt! the girls are anxious too...they keep saying how naughty he is that he didn't come out at my birthday. we had told him that that was when he was coming so they were confused why he was still in my belly days later. i have a doctor's appointment in about an hour, so hopefully i will have something to report next post, about a baby being born! we'll see if we decide to strip my membranes today. at my last appointment my amniotic fluid levels were still okay...so we'll see if those have gone down at all too.

i tried eating most of a pineapple yesterday. we'll see if that helped at all. i opted out of taking shots of balsamic vinegar, taking castor oil and other such "tasty" tasks to get him out. i just can't bring myself to do that. plus, if he's not ready, he's not ready. i'd rather him come when he is ready in hopes that my labor and delivery goes more smoothly. i was thinking that other day how i totally willed chloe out of me. i wanted her out so bad that i practically put myself in labor. that labor was long and the delivery wasn't ideal at all, so i'm hoping that my patience will be rewarded this time in just hanging in there.

not the best pictures, i realize....but the girls both had haircuts yesterday.

chloe mainly needed a trim. i'm really not sure i could ever bring myself to cut it short....ever! even if she were to get lice or something i would probably just spend the next weeks of my life dedicating myself to removal of said bugs.

~before~

~after~

sienna, on the other hand, has needed more intervention. she's had quite the mullet since her last self-inflicted haircut. since i couldn't handle it i'd been putting her hair up every day, including her bangs. so when kim said she could make it cute and fix it i was ecstatic!

~before~

~after~

kim did a great job! sienna looks adorable with short hair and it will be perfect for the rest of the summer heat. yay for new hair-dos!

b e a c h

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

let me tell you...we are loving being so close to the beach! stephen got home early-ish last night (only because he rocks and goes to work super early so we can seem him early in the evening) so we headed off to moonlight to cool off and have some fun. secretly (or not so secretly) i was hoping to get these contractions going even stronger. it didn't exactly work, but at least i was able to get my ankles to stop swelling up like a balloon.

clearly the girls had a blast jumping and running around in the water. the first thing they do upon arriving at the beach is kick off their flip-flops and run straight through the water for at least twenty minutes.

then as daddy finishes an awesome "pool" they migrate over that way. what a nice daddy they have!

love that my girls are buddies...

...and gosh i love her toe-sies (as i call them). i just painted her toenails today...too bad the sand and water just rubbed a lot of it away. now i'll have to paint them again sooner than i'd like. these girls ask every other day to paint their nails lately. it's no easy task for mommy to do so right now....adding to that patience in telling them to hold still.

even at 4:30pm the beach was quite full of people, as you can see...

sienna's cute little scrunched up face.

and who knew chloe would love sandcrabs so much? the girl probably sent a few to sandcrab heaven, but only out of her great love for them. she doesn't know her own strength i guess! so cute.

soccer

2011-07-25T09:45:00.000-07:00

so recently we signed sienna up for ayso soccer. practices start in just over a week and she is so excited! i think she started to become more excited after we went and bought her cleats, shin guards, "big long socks" and ball. then she was so proud, wanting to show them all off to everyone who came over. she especially liked the fact that everything has pink in it. okay, maybe her soccer socks don't but everything else has some in it.

so friday night we headed over to the park after stephen got home and they all played around on the grass for a while. i took pictures. sienna has this shy pose down, with her arms wrapping around each other in front, shoulder usually raised. silly girl. sienna is really quite physically coordinated. she isn't scared of much either (if you excuse most mean disney characters from movies). she really attacks the ball and does a pretty good job kicking the ball. she even made some goals on daddy!

chloe joined right in, but wearing a cute green skirt will hold you back a little in your game.....just in case you didn't know that. she had fun chasing sienna and the ball.

stephen had some awesome saves against sienna's shots, as you can see. he doesn't hold back for much, if anything. he was pretty sweaty and wet after just a minute of playing.

chloe took a few shots against daddy too. pretty grueling when you consider the stance and face her daddy put on as she approached. she successfully kicked it straight to him. :) oh, little bug!

fyi: still no sign of wyatt. he is truly helping his mommy experience patience.

baby

2011-07-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

if you're wondering (and you may not be)...no baby yet. he's making no sudden movements, but i will keep you updated!

i had a wonderful birthday yesterday, so thanks to all involved!! i can't believe i'm not even just thirty now. thirty-one feels no different really, but it's one step further from immaturity hopefully...right? sometimes i think i'm so mature and then something will happen (usually of my own accord) to make me dumb and young again. not that i don't want to feel or be young, it's just that sometimes i feel like i haven't learned much. but i am learning. and growing.

i had a wonderful breakfast to start the day out yesterday at pipes cafe in cardiff with nina. she's the coolest, really. never eaten there? neither had i, and it sure didn't disappoint. yum! i ate a breakfast burrito with green peppers, ham, onions and pica sauce. it was delicious....and HUGE! the girls split french toast, which i'll admit i ate a bit of because it was pretty yummy. nina had some yummy looking potatoes and eggs...i really wasn't paying attention to what she was eating cause i was so into my burrito. it was all delicious though, and a wonderful way to start out my birthday day.

my kids were driving me a little crazy so we opted to head over to cottonwood creek park, a local park that we have quickly come to love. we let the kids run around and get some energy out, giving us time to chat and catch up. we don't see each other every day anymore and we mustn't let it take it's toll.

after that? a nice trip to target. the encinitas target finally finished it's food area re-model, so now i can semi-grocery shop there now. love that...especially with all the great coupons they offer on their website.

the rest of the day was pretty normal. but dinner was delicious with my mom, mike, my dad, derek and my little family at bucca di beppo. their food hasn't disappointed yet...yum, yum! my mom surprised me, ordering a bag that i was admiring on etsy (from france!). i had NO expectation of getting it at all. i expected to admire it from (very) afar for the remainder of my life, but mom really treated me...and she got it! i'm in love! (pics to come). after dinner we came back and ate some yummy pound cake with caramel icing and vanilla bean ice cream (unfortunately no pics of that...i was so proud of my creation).

anyway...it was a great birthday. between all stated here and facebook, one feels very loved!

loves to all!

oh wednesday!

2011-07-20T17:38:00.000-07:00

my sweet chloe. she loves to draw her mommy pictures. after forgetting to scan it all day, i finally do and then ask her who it is in my picture that she drew especially for me.

"it's london. for you mommy!"

london is my cousin kiersten's daughter. she doesn't have red, pink or magenta hair, but i guess there is a likeness. london, you must have a green dress somewhere in your closet, right? ;)

happy monday!

2011-07-18T14:57:00.000-07:00

i'm very glad to see monday this week! i had a great and relaxing weekend! how about you?

i was thinking to myself earlier how ridiculous gas prices are. i recently filled up my gas tank for around $70 (18 gallon tank). that's a lot of money! then i was thinking about how i had also recently signed up sienna to play soccer through ayso for only $50. doesn't it all seem a little bit backwards? gas, that will last me about a week if i'm lucky, is costing me more than a full season of soccer for my child. something has to change!

my future sister-in-law, miss courtney, celebrated a big birthday this year. according to the girl herself, it would've been a very miserable birthday had derek not proposed. you see...she was hitting one of those landmark birthdays, i won't say which one. she was quite sad and bummed about it up until there was this really pretty *bling* on her finger all of a sudden! yay! so we held a little birthday party for her at mom and mike's place the day after the big event. her only request? an oreo cookie ice cream cake from baskin robbins...yum! we are so happy to be getting courtney as a part of our family. she is wonderful!

isn't her ring just beautiful? derek did good. ~pat on my brother's back~

h a p p y b i r t h d a y c o u r t n e y !!

aaaaaaand......everyone will find this hard to believe, but it's the truth. i finally pulled out my sewing machine and made something! yes, i know. pathetic that i'm proud of this, especially when you consider what i made took me hardly any time and wasn't difficult. but i'm proud of myself! it's been a busy few months with moving and unpacking and being as pregnant as i am (i'm 39 1/2 weeks now!). the last thing i felt like i had time for was crafting. but i did it, and it felt goood.

so i now have some lovely little boy burp cloths that wyatt will surely soak quickly. my sister-in-law robin had made me some awesome burp cloths just like these, only with girly fabrics sewn on. they were very quickly my favorite burp cloths ever. she made me a ton and it was a god-send. so i knew i had to have some more for when little man arrives. i've only made about twelve so far, which won't be enough....but i'm already making more. yipee!

the sewing machine lives!

i'm still here

2011-07-15T10:13:00.000-07:00

no baby yet!

honestly? i'm shocked. i don't know why exactly. i guess i was starting to feel entitled to having all my kids come early, but that's not exactly what i want, nor is it what i deserve i guess. so here i am, 39 weeks and gettin' large. large and in charge! my poor feet and ankles are having swelling issues. in the last week they've not swelled up maybe once. and i honestly can't contribute that one-day success to anything inparticular. yikes. it's weird to see the flip-flop imprints on top of my feet. i'm like a putty ball.....for real. stephen pushed his thumb into the top of my foot last night and after five seconds of pressure i had a thumb in the top of my foot for minutes. i remember that happening with chloe too, but it's like a whole new experience this time. it's not, but you truly do forget. pregnancy is funny.

question: to those of you who have, currently use or have previously used a moby wrap, i'd like to hear the good and bad things about it (if there are any bad things). i'd like to get one, but before i spend that kind of money on a wrap, i'd like to know that they're really that great. i found some on amazon for $40-45. should i buy?

following are a few more pictures from our sunday dinner with my grandma, who was visiting her friend marv, who has been recovering from a broken femur (OUCH). it's always fun to see grandma and to catch up. unfortunately the only pictures i'd taken of grandma her eyes were closed...thus i won't embarrass her by posting them. your welcome grandma!

oh, the faces of sienna!

engaged!!

2011-07-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

i love this picture of them with my girls. derek's look says all.

that's right folks! derek proposed to courtney yesterday and she said yes! it's been torture keeping this secret from courtney this past month or so. she has been sooo patient! her birthday finally came and she got the best birthday present ever...an engagement ring! i have yet to see the ring on her finger (but i should see it in a few minutes), but i went with derek when he got it so i already know how beautiful it is! the girls are so excited to have courtney as their auntie. they already cling to her every time she's near. so magnetic!

welcome to the family courtney! hang on to your boots!

happy mid-week!

2011-07-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

isn't it always nice to reach a middle ground when you're employed outside the home? well, i still find that i like that point in the week being at home with my kids. it's one step closer to stephen being home with us during the weekend. time to spend together as a family and just relax a little. especially now that summer is here.

so i had a doctor's appointment today! dr. biter is still out of town due to a family emergency, so i was lucky to get in with dr. cobb. he's just so nice! i'm really looking forward to this birth with both doctors. as it happens, i am currently dilated to (almost) a three and am effaced 70%. woo-hoo! mr. wyatt has felt so low lately that i figured something must be going on down there. and you add on the pelvic pressure and the extreme waddling and it's all coming together. we'll see how long it'll take for wyatt to make his entrance to the world. i'm taking guesses, by the way! leave a comment and guess:

what day he'll come
how much he'll weigh
how long he'll be
what color hair he'll have (sienna came out with red, chloe with brown...yes!)

i give the winner a little surprise! it'll make it all more fun.

time to go lift my swollen feet. ta-ta!

swollen

2011-07-05T15:58:00.000-07:00

my poor toes, ankles and fingers. when it's bad, it's bad. i'll survive though. true story!

i liked this blurry photo of chloe getting ready for church on sunday. not sure why that includes toilet paper, we'll have to ask her about that.

have you ever noticed how much music affects you? maybe it doesn't affect you like it does me. it can really cheer me up when down, bored, unmotivated, etc. i find that it can make a world of difference. likewise, some music can make me depressed. i always think of the the cure in the wedding singer and it's effects on robby. haha...the 80's were awesome. i love pandora, speaking of music. not a fan of the ad pictures they have on there now, but it's still a great resource to hear new bands and enjoy music of certain genres.

anyway...here's some of my favorite artists lately...some older, some newer:

joy williams

keane

regina spektor

cake

two door cinema club

the kooks

on another note, all this nesting that's been taking over my life you'd think that i'd have crafted. no, unfortunately...no. unpacking and organizing has taken it's place. i had all these plans to have a baby quilt ready for little man when he arrives, as well as some burp cloths and some other cute baby boy things. no such thing has happened.....yet. there's still time right? right! so hopefully tonight i can bust something out. wish me luck!

a few things this friday

2011-07-01T15:25:00.000-07:00

welcome weekend! i welcome you with gusto!

first off...i'd like to thank my wonderful mother and stepfather mike. they are exactly what i needed today. they came and picked up my kids about twenty minutes ago to take them to a movie and keep them until we meet them for my brother's birthday dinner tonight. HALLELUJAH! it is exactly what i needed today. it's times like that when i break down crying with gratitude (for real, i did). very grateful.

another thing. we are truly blessed. it's the little things, isn't it? well...we won $50 off our rent next month by correctly guessing how many skittles were in a jar. i never win anything! and we could use saving money anywhere right now.

there are no plans this weekend. i repeat...no plans. this is a very rare thing. i'm very excited to just do nothing or do whatever feels good at the moment. and? it's the fourth of july weekend! i love july for many reasons. a. celebration of our country's independence, b. my birthday is in the third week of july, c. my son is due in the third week of july, d. there is usually summer weather to be had finally (and indeed it is here!). j u l y = beautiful.

something no so fun, but that is a nice sign of a baby preparing to enter the world. pelvic pressure during pregnancy. i'm sure most of you women reading this have experienced this; maybe not though. when your baby is finally putting serious pressure on your lower pelvic area it feels like the bones in your pelvis are gonna break. they hurt! that plus your ligaments and such down there, are being stretched and relaxed from hormones preparing for the upcoming birth of mr. baby. thus have i been experiencing since early last night (and off and on over the past weeks). all night long i slept horribly because every time i tried to turn over or move at all it was a serious ordeal. OUCH. i figured it would feel better after resting all night. wrong. same old. that and..."resting all night" was not restful. i seriously woke up at least five times for a potty break and then woke up at least two or three other times just because. you truly do block these things from your mind after having the baby. that way you're willing to engage in future pregnancies. let me express to future self....pain. not that reading this later will really stop me from getting pregnant again, if that is truly my desire in the future. funny how it works, doesn't it? anyway...if you see a penguin waddling around san diego, be careful...it could be me. me, prego brooke trying to make it til mr. wyatt decides to make his debut.

flashback friday: five years ago today, sienna was a chub-a-wub. considering she was born two months early at four pounds, it's amazing that at this point (at six months old) she weighed twenty pounds. chub! sometimes i forget about all the amazing rolls she had going on on her arms and legs. that cute round little face is still sienna, but she sure has transformed now.

she was such a sweet little baby. she played scrabble many a time with us.

any-hoo...hope your weekend is dandy!

planning ahead!

2011-06-30T07:58:00.000-07:00

do you live in san diego?

wondering where to go see the fireworks this fourth of july?

star 94.1 has a great list of all the displays that will be taking place on monday (the 4th!). i'm still not sure which location we'll be going to, but i'm looking forward to just hanging out this year and watching the fireworks. last year we were driving from one location to another in utah. we saw a bunch from a distance on the freeway...not very patriotic. especially for someone like me that really likes to celebrate holidays and such.

on another note, i need a shelf like this. only i need one that isn't expensive...preferably one that is old that i can refurbish myself. my kitchen is in dire need of shelving space as our cabinets really limit what we can put away. if you have one or see one or know of one...pass along the happy information! gracias!

(excuse the blurry stolen picture. i think it was from pottery barn kids from a few years ago)

happy birthday little brother!

2011-06-29T18:47:00.000-07:00

meet derek. derek porter. born in 1982, making him 29 today. yep, it's derek's birthday and i'm here to talk all about him! (insert very evil laugh) since derek and i were only two years apart growing up we both loved and despised each other, depending on our stage in life.

derek was always really into sharks. actually that's an understatement. he was completely infatuated with them. from the age of three up all he drew were sharks and things to do with sharks. i remember every year when shark week came on whatever channel that was, cause the tv then belonged to him. nothing else was allowed to be watched. he knew all the facts about the fish and was sure to also make sure we watched jaws more than a few times.

derek has also been an artist from the beginning. as far as i can remember he was always drawing. during church on sundays he would draw the most awesome caricatures of the bishopric or of the speakers. he and i also loved playing the "dot game" aside from drawing. anyway, his drawing obviously served him well as he is now a very talented graphic designer. he's got skills.

did you know that derek was born with six fingers on one hand? yes, very princess bride-ish of him, wasn't it? he actually had two thumbs where any other person had one. when he was one it was removed surgically. this was on his right hand, the very same hand his artistry came from. awesome, huh?

story
derek is the reason i ever started cussing. not that i still cuss, cause i don't. but yes, it's true...my first cuss word was "b*t*h". yes, i called my brother that. but hey...hold on there. let me explain. we were in elementary school and were both very into legos. almost every day we would turn on our beach boys record (record machines rock) and bust out the legos and create away. one day, derek wanted a piece that i happened to be using. this was unacceptable to him, so he took it...completely destroying my lego house. it ticked me off so bad, that i screamed from the very top of my lungs (our parents weren't home at the moment or i probably wouldn't have said it at all from fear of my father's swift hand) the infamous word. i distinctly remember derek's eyes getting very big and staring at me. i then remember what followed. months of blackmail (yes, he's always been devious and smart). i was his faithful servant. if not, dad found out what i said and i'd be in for it. it was truly pitiful folks. i did everything he wanted. i got him a drink, i moved off the couch if he wanted to sit there. this went on for quite some time. one day i'd had it. i was playing with a friend and derek wanted me to do something or go somewhere and i said "forget it". he threatened. i said "go ahead". and he did. and you know what my dad said? "she's an idiot to call you that, only girls can be that." hahahahaha....my dad never said a word to me. that was the extent of my punshiment. boy, did i get lucky! (and for the record dad, you're wrong...men can very much be that word)

derek and i served missions for our church at the same time as well. it was a wonderful time. we weren't fabulous about writing back and forth, but we did do it. it was fun hearing about his journey in guatemala and i hope he liked hearing about my experiences in uruguay.

derek has his bachelor's degree from byu-idaho.

derek is a cancer.

derek likes art.

derek has a girlfriend (sorry ladies)...and she rocks.

h a p p y b i r t h d a y d e r e k ! ! !

more memories

2011-06-28T08:50:00.000-07:00

as i'm trying to figure out where all this "stuff" is going to fit in our new apartment it has been fun going through bins of memories from my youth. a lot of what i'm finding is from high school and college. love notes, regular notes, letters back and forth, random pictures, etc. it's cracking me up! above, i filled out this questionairre when i was almost nine years old. i'm loving the fashion statements that show the period (#4), the wonderful relationship i had with derek at the time (#9) and the clear understanding of what money can buy (#13). awesome!

kelly hart was one of my best friends in high school. i have some really great memories with her! she was one of the sweetest people you'd ever met, but also so fun. we were common thrift store buddies and had numerous sleepovers. this is us snowboarding in lake tahoe during our ski club's snowboarding trip during senior year. her boyfriend was a trooper and stuck with us quite a bit, even despite the fact that he was a seasoned snowboarder. we were just starting and weren't very good. we had so much fun though!

miss lauren and i grew up going to middle school and high school together but really didn't even get to know each other until half way through our senior year. all that time wasted without knowing each other better! anyway...above is proof that ditching school was worth it for us...a quick ten minute drive to the beach from school. too perfect! we were quick ditching buddies. the beach and power surge cafe were our mainstays, though i've no doubt there were other such wonderful places we ventured to. she also introduced me to they might be giants, who we saw in concert at street scene in 1998. i've since seen t.m.b.g. two more times....love them and their music! below is said concert in 98' with lauren. ("ugly dog" to come lauren!)

more memories are sure to come with all these bins full of fun things to share!

boots, babies and barbecue!

2011-06-27T13:53:00.000-07:00

my amazingly awesome bff threw me a honky-tonkin' baby shower a few weekends ago, and i loved it! unfortunately i don't have many pictures of it either. i'm so grateful for so many wonderful friends who came to celebrate little wyatt's upcoming birth and arrival! four weeks to go, possibly less. we'll see!

my sister (step, but still...i always wanted sisters, and now i have kari and shawna, yay!), kari, came and hung out for a while. aren't we cute in our pregnant-ness? kari is a few months behind me, due with little cali later in the summer. i don't know how she works as hard as she does plus being prego. she is a professional chef and has her hands full. rest kari!

nina is so dang creative! where do i even start? wish i'd taken pictures of the food tables and such...she is amazing. we ate homemade pulled-pork sandwiches (yum nina!), homemade cole slaw and baked beans (thanks lucynthia!...seriously, your beans ROCK) and my family's potato salad (gracias mom!). nina also had my favorite, and constant craving...chewy chips ahoy. so bad. i could eat a whole bag in a day. easy. there was also old-fashioned coke in glass bottles, lemonade, strawberries with the dip from heaven and the DELICIOUS chocolate and oreo moose mason jarred dessert. i'm still dreaming of just the food.

there were also quilts laying about on the grass for us all to sit on, not to mention the cute gift holder and awesome "wyatt" sign. oh! and then the peonies, roses and hydrangeas! my faves.

nina...seriously? i heart you way too much, for obvious reasons. and also for the not-so-obvious reasons.

now wyatt is much more ready to come!

friday randoms

2011-06-24T06:57:00.000-07:00

as we have just moved it has brought me to this deep-cleaning, re-organization state. not to mention i'm nesting, which has turned out to be a huge blessing with the move as i have plenty to do in that aspect. i have been going through tons of plastic bins of things i'd been keeping, through three-ring-binders full of random papers, and so forth. i can't remember where i got the paper above, but i'm pretty sure i was in high school. i found it funny then, not quite as much now....still....funny enough that i wanted to share it. it's not great quality and i considered re-typing it up for you, but changed my mind. see if you can do that math!

stephen found this last night while going through one of his random bins of things. he wrote this on 9/17/1995 during third period at school. awesome, huh? i think my personal favorite is the last entry...which is yours?

then some recent artwork by the girls. both of them love to draw and create, especially sienna. it seems like she is always coloring something. now that our patio is more cleared out i need to get them painting again. one of my favorite things about these drawings (aside from the cute manner in which they each wrote their names) is the color schemes. sienna has been using all kinds of really great color combos which i'm really digging. sometimes they also write a bunch of random letters in a row on the page. i'll ask them what it says, and most of the time they say they don't know. occasionally it'll be a made up word that they come up with. love my creative little girls!

a small little sidenote: yesterday while chloe is coloring some alphabet pages that we bought them, she decides to add eyelashes to a character. she says, "i'm going to add some eye-blinks." haha....love my bug.

the fair

2011-06-23T17:06:00.000-07:00

just a few kangaroos hangin' around at the fair that i ran into. we bought some battered potatoes from them...YUM! nina introduced me to them last year and i was so excited to get some more this year. i actually didn't anticipate going to the fair at all this year to save money and to avoid pregnancy woes from walking around for hours, but we decided to introduce my step-sister, shawna, to the fair. glad we did! we had a lot of fun with her!

AAA

2011-06-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

are you a triple-a (AAA) member? if you are, and you're only using it for emergency roadside assistance, think again! i just did! maybe i'm a bit slow...it's possible i'm the only one not using it for all it's worth. i finally went on their website and looked up all the discounts available for dining, entertainment, etc. and was excited to see that there are some pretty good ones.

some that i wrote down for my personal future use:

Regal Entertainment Group

Save up to 40 percent on movie tickets and gift packs, good at Regal Cinemas, United Artists Theatres or Edwards Theatres nationwide. Regal Entertainment Group discount movie tickets are available at Auto Club branches only. Members may purchase a Premiere Super Saver Movie Ticket (unrestricted) for $8.00, a VIP Super Saver Movie Ticket (restricted) for $7.00, or a Regal Ultimate Premiere Movie Gift Pack which includes two Premiere movie tickets and a $10 Regal gift card for $28.00. No expiration dates. Must purchase a minimum of 4 tickets.

Amtrak

Save 10 percent on Amtrak’s lowest available rail fare at time of booking. Three-day advance reservation required. For reservations, call 1-800-USA-RAIL (872-7245) or go online.

Catalina Express

Save $7.50 on Adult and $2.50 on Child round trip boat transportation to Catalina. To download coupon, click here. Coupon required.

Location Count: 4 | Distance: 30 miles

Courtyard by Marriott

Save 5 percent on the best available rate at the time of booking. Satisfaction guaranteed.

Hampton Inn

Save up to 10 percent on the best available rate at Hampton Inn and Hampton Inn & Suites at the time of booking. Satisfaction guaranteed. For reservations, call 1-866-AAA-SAVE (222-7283) or go online.

Hertz Car Rental

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all of this, not to mention these:

10% off at the Getty Museum stores, cafe's, etc.
15% off Hornblower Cruises
30% off Knottsberry Farm admission
$1 off entry to the Maritime Museum
cheap movie tickets for Regal Cinemas
10% off your meal at the Chart House, El Torito, Hard Rock Cafe, Mimi's Cafe and Wetzel's Pretzels
a free chocolate fondue at the Melting Pot when you buy at least one entree

pretty awesome, huh?

so go start saving people!

today

2011-06-22T08:53:00.000-07:00

on the agenda today we will be seeing nanny mcphee returns for a dollar with grandma. regal theaters offer movies for a dollar all summer for kids, which we fully took advantage of also for the last two years (only it was free then). we absolutely love the first nanny mcphee movie and were so excited to see that the second one was first up on the movie list this year. so we'll join the throngs of cheap-movie-goers and enjoy a cheap flick this morning.

then?

more of what we've been doing for the last week or so....organizing. most of the main unpacking is done. what really needs to be done is more organizing and figuring out where to put things...or to get rid of them. we already have a growing pile of things we are getting rid of. just no room! keep in mind that i'm having to leave some room for a baby and all of his things that will soon be taking over. yay!

also today?

i've been promising the girls that we would paint their nails today, so that is a must. i don't mean to keep putting it off, but things keep coming up. i think things are finally slowing down enough for us to actually do it.

tomorrow?

i need to just DO it. i've been meaning to trim chloe's hair. yes. her ends are raggedy and needing a trim, so i will be attempting that fun feat tomorrow. wish me luck!

let's do some math

2011-06-15T08:37:00.000-07:00

moving + pregnant = a very tired mama-cita with swollen feet and ankles and a sore lower back.

the remedy?

help! what's a good remedy? i'm drinking extra water to help with the swollen part, but i still have so much to unpack that it seems like my back is destined for misery. luckily the girls are extra self-occupied the first few hours of the morning so i can get stuff done. then they start bickering just after lunch and drive me crazy until bedtime. it's a good thing they're so cute.

the girls' last swim lesson is today...boo-hoo! we loved having swim lessons at murray callan. i love their teaching method and i love how much the girls loved it. their teacher, miss delaney, was very patient and so sweet too. sienna is practically swimming now, though she still needs to learn a lot. she's okay if she can touch the bottom to push herself up after swimming around. if she didn't have that, she might just drown. she still has to work on her "digs" (first swimming strokes), which then leads to other things. chloe too. they're basically at the same point in their progression. hopefully today delaney can give me some pointers as to what to help them with this summer!

have a great mid-week day!

girlies

2011-06-14T08:24:00.000-07:00

let's do some updates on the kiddos shall we?

good.

miss chloe

me- chloe, you need to learn to blow your nose.
chloe- (very matter-of-factly) when i grow up i will

chloe- isn't this funny mommy? my hair is going for a little ride (as she runs about watching her hair swish back and forth)

chloe- mommy, you're a goopy (run-off from the little mermaid calling flounder a "guppy")

photos by:
blackbird ink photography

chloe is in the 97th percentile still for her weight...not shocking. her height is in the 75th percentile. love my big, growing girl. she loves to sing and memorizes the words to songs quickly and easily. she is almost always singing one disney song or another. every where we go she begs to listen to the tangled songs, she knows every word...it's so cute. she is a very good and obedient girl, though occasionally rather dramatic. she is still very much obsessed with stuffed animals as well. for whatever reason she hates to go to the bathroom, and i basically have to demand that she goes, or she waits til the last second and runs in there just barely making it. she also bats her eyes when asking for something she wants from you. huh? where did you learn that child?

miss sienna

still quite obsesses with tank tops and shorts, she'd wear them continually if i let her. she now knows the rules...if it's warm outside that day, she wear them...so she swears every day it's going to be really hot. good one sienna...you're not far off...just be patient. june gloom will end some time soon. this girl also loves salad (hold the dressing...say what? yes). never expected that one! she has a decibel range in her voice that exceeds that of a soprano. while driving in the car i can rarely hear anything but sienna. she is quite loud. she loves to draw and color and her drawings are becoming quite colorful and elaborate lately. i love the designs she makes! i should scan a few of her latest that she made for me and post them. she is also quite in love with slurpee's. i made the mistake of letting them have their first during that really hot week in february or march. ever since then she's constantly asking for one, especially after swim lessons. being that their last swim lesson is this week, grandma generously offered to pay for their last slurpee. no wonder sienna loves her grandma!

where i've been

2011-06-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

in case you have been wondering, i've been...

organizing

packing

cleaning

registering for fall classes

taking kids to swim lessons

going to pre-natal doctor's appointments

packing more boxes

reading jane eyre (which i finished two nights ago!)

editing photos

trying to rest somewhere inbetween

and packing more boxes

i forget what an ordeal it is to move, and half of my stuff is already in boxes in storage. i'm very happy about that. unfortunately, being prego (and having pre-term labor history) makes it difficult to be uber productive...not to mention that i'm due in 5 weeks. i've had to force myself to rest and lay down occasionally to keep from over doing it. when i over do it i tend to contract and get lower back pains. lately i've been a little nauseous too, i so thought that was over. boo.

we move into our new apartment tomorrow morning, and i'm so excited! a new chapter in our lives will be exciting. it's too bad that chapter doesn't include a three-bedroom apartment instead of a two-bedroom (with two, almost three kids), but i'm really not that concerned. i can totally make this work. i always think of a family in la jolla that we lived near who had four kids in a two-bedroom for years. i've no doubt it was crazy, but they made it work. so can i!

off i go to hopefully be productive. but first...i should brush my children's hair or something silly like that. ha!

a memorial swim

2011-06-02T16:23:00.000-07:00

luckily for san diego memorial day turned out to be a rather nice day! we enjoyed it with family (as we live with some) and were able to dip in the pool. well, they did, not me. during said time sienna was able to practice her "digs" in the pool with daddy. the girls have been taking swimming lessons at murray callan in san marcos and have been doing great. i love m.c. because they teach the kids to have confidence in themselves in the water right away. both of the girls aren't afraid to put their faces in the water anymore and are taking great strides towards become real swimmers. it's fun to watch.

sienna swimming to daddy, doing her "digs" (long arm strokes).

stephen guiding her back towards the steps in the pool.

stephen also took this opportunity to get his children used to the surfboard. he's been claiming for a few summers now, that he's going to teach them to surf. i have no doubt he will now that they're learning to swim finally. sienna had fun on the surfboard, as she is pretty fearless (except if you're talking about splash mountain or the matter horn at disneyland...weird). she even stood up a few times before falling into the water.

chloe, our not-so-fearless child takes a casual ride around the pool, begging to get off most of the time. silly girl. daddy claims he will conquer that obstacle.

sienna also demonstrates her awesome front flip into the pool from the diving board. i love that she can do it! i don't even do it, but she does...and easily! see....

and last but not least, stephen provides a real-life ocean for the kiddos in the pool. it was crazy big swells in the baker pool that day. i'm glad sienna didn't stress about it!

tough mudder 2011 (part 2)

2011-06-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

if you haven't seen part one yet, see here.

after exiting the boa constrictor, all three guys decided they were sick of wearing their shirts. oh, boys! stephen had no sunscreen under his shirt, so it really doesn't need to be said, but i'll say it...he got toasted! in fact, he's still suffering the consequences of his action. his shoulders blistered and everything. yuck, and pain.

this guy (above) both grossed me out and cracked me up. he ran the whole thing in....a speedo? yup. he did. at the end of the race it was pretty funny cause he was scared to run through the electro-shock area...gee, i wonder why. a little exposed, i would say.

nina took the sequence of shots of stephen's flip and i managed to catch this one shot of him upside-down during his flip. the guys just in front (in blue) blocked the rest of my shots unfortunately.

i'm sure it was an accident (riiiight honey?), but as stephen climbed out of the ice bath (obstacle 4) he mooned everyone watching. quite entertaining really. poor tyler probably got the best shot as he was waiting behind stephen to climb out of the icy water. here stephen is correcting the oops.

then up the nice steep climb...

electro-shock! yay!!!! so as the runners come running towards their last obstacle they are sprayed by a fire hose. isn't that nice of the volunteers? they cared just that much to make sure the runners got shocked. i loved the black sign off to the left that you see as you're coming towards the shock wires, "do not pee on electric fence." now that's some good advice!

post-race...and talking about the race and all the craziness.

me and prego belly very happy to have husband be done (after three hours and forty minutes!). i needed to sit down, and not on dirt.

the siebert clan!

thanks nina for finding the tough mudder and inspiring our crazy husbands to partake. you rock!

tough mudder 2011!!

2011-06-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

i married one "tough mudder", for sure. i mean, come on...look at that facial hair. it now cannot be denied. and those aviator glasses? are you still trying to deny it? i didn't think so.

stephen participated in the tough mudder up at snow valley, near big bear lake on saturday with friends, tyler and cory siebert. nina found it online and thought immediately of stephen. it's no wonder considering his teenage backround and considering he's still crazy. so he, tyler and cory signed up and started training about six months ago.

the tough mudder is a ten-mile run, up and down an 8,000 feet elevation change throughout the course. there are 24 obstacles throughout the course, most of which are pretty crazy! i only got to see about three of the obstacles due to my ever-growing belly. i contracted just walking up to the start of the race, so i figured i shouldn't hike up through the mountain. good idea self, good idea.

my favorite obstacle to watch (by far) was the electro-shock wires (below). this is pre-anyone-ready-to-run-through-them. it is also the last obstacle of the race....just fifty feet yonder from this one is the finish line.

there are some wires that will shock you up to 10,000 volts. while nina and i watched this part, we kept thinking people were tripping at the end of it and falling flat on their faces. no. no, no, no. we were wrong. those people were being shocked so violently that it knocked them to the ground. yes. it was insane. it was at this point that i decided i had no desire to do the tough mudder with stephen next year.

after doing a flip into the gauntlet (obstacle 3), stephen and the guys climbed up into these black ice pools of death, as i call them. the have to swim down under into the water under a wooden middle section and then climb out. see all the ice those volunteers are dumping in? yeah. that water was arctic cold!

some of the most fabulous race costumes were at the tough mudder. i enjoyed the sexy chorizos costume, luchador style.

walking up to the start of the race.

this was obstacle number 2, the boa constrictor. these tube tunnels are seriously small. i hated crawling through tunnels like these in the mud run because they cut up your knees really bad, but these tunnels were way smaller and more constricted...ha! the line (in the picture above) is for those waiting to go through it.

i even pretended to go through it, belly and all! haha....riiiight. see how muddy i am? uh huh.

the boys just leaving the boa constrictor, getting ready for the "kiss of mud".

more to come...

that time of year

2011-05-31T15:51:00.000-07:00

we tried going earlier in the season to pick strawberries but were a little too early this year. so due to normal busy life we didn't get around to it til this last week, which happened to be almost later than what is better. especially if you want to get good pickings. we met grandma ev there and got to work!

but before grandma actually arrived (we got there a little early, as always...i hate being late, so we usually have the opposite problem, way too early), daddy decided to spark up a race down through the strawberry field. it was a great idea....

....until chloe fell behind due to unforeseen mud in her aisle. she was completely hysterical! though i couldn't help laughing i don't blame her hysteria...that stuff was thick and very, very smelly! and if you know chloe at all, she hates getting dirty. she was beyond upset and it made her pretty weary during the actual strawberry picking. any time she thought she saw mud (whether it was there or not) she instantly started whimpering. oh, little girl! we went to the car, got her cleaned up and bribed her sister to trade her shoes since chloe absolutely refused to put the nasty shoes back on. sienna did it only because we offered her a coveted ring pop. those have become quite popular with our girls for some reason. i'm not a fan of them eating them, but it sure kept the peace that day!

we sure scored some really delicious strawberries! we had to head to the far aisle of the field and walk pretty far down, but we definitely found some winners! these strawberries make the absolute best strawberry freezer jam that i'll openly admit my addiction to. we've gone through loads of the stuff already this year. it's scrumptious on toast!

stephen demonstrates proper strawberry picking technique...making sure to test the product. we tested many a strawberry and were not disappointed.

mom showing off her fruity loot! she will have two nice sized tupperware jars of strawberry freezer jam waiting for her when she looks in her freezer next! yipee!

a morning in seaport

2011-05-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

nina at blackbird ink photography was snapping away at sienna's five year photo shoot last week...so chloe, lia and i wandered around keeping ourselves busy. i brought my camera for kicks, so here are some randoms we took. it was a pretty cloudy day which makes for decent lighting a lot of the time. the wind was also around, but that was fun too. we eventually gave ourselves the boot from seaport village when it started to rain. good call, i say. good call.

my sweet, strange child. getting a normal smile out of her is like pulling teeth these days.

i like to call this bottom picture, "little stinker", cause really...she is one. but such a cute little stinker!

okay, so i didn't take as many photos as i thought, but it was a fun morning!

and the winner is....

2011-05-26T12:20:00.000-07:00

...........cassie!...who said: "i love chocolate chip cookie dough! so yummy!"

congratulations cassie! i will be emailing you here in just a moment to make sure you know you won! your options of fabric are presented here (and will be emailed to you), and you have your choice of dried lavendar or dried chamomile to be put inside for scent! you will also have your choice of size. the one pictured in the giveaway was 6 x 12 inches (which i realize now i never mentioned). so, yes that is a big one. i could make it smaller if you like, more oblong or whatever. you pick!

thank you to all who entered!!! i might just have to make this a regular thing, it's just too fun! in fact...just for fun, i think i'll give a mini rice bag away right now to another one of those who entered in this contest!

that lucky winner is........mamaTAVE, who said: "chocolate malted crunch from thifty's...yum!"

and i must say mamatave, that is my favorite too!!! although here in san diego, it's not thrifty's anymore, it's rite-aid, but it will always be a thrifty's ice cream in my heart too!

these winners were picked randomly and completely fairly, i promise!

thank you all!

2011-05-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

my giveaway has ended folks!

i will announce the winner tomorrow, so be ready! thank you to all who came and tried their chances at winning. i loved seeing all of the different ice cream flavors that are loved out there! i will email the winner (assuming i have their email...there were quite a few who didn't leave it, so i'm hoping i can still get ahold of you with a simple "reply" click) tomorrow with the choices of outer fabric for their rice bag as well as the scent that will go inside.

i just might have to do more of these giveaways, requiring random answers to questions. i really enjoyed this!

may giveaway day!!!

2011-05-23T21:08:00.000-07:00

it's been a ridiculous few weeks/month and i completely forgot to post anything about may giveaway day, which happens to be TODAY!! this is a day when sewmamasew hosts loads of crafty giveaways by tons of bloggers all over the world. i signed up and then promptly forgot about it. one of the punishments for such actions is sewmamasew takes you off their list of giveaway blogs. eek! boo-hoo for me! i'm so lame. (revision: i was added back on, hooray!)

soooooo....short story trying to get shorter, i'm still going to give away something (what i originally planned on giving away in the first place). you (yes, you) have a better chance at winning because 100+ people already visited here yesterday before i posted the giveaway, and couldn't enter obviously because of my lameness.

i will be making a homemade rice heat bag made of muslin, which comes with an outer covering (with a decorative fabric) which you can wash. you will have your option of chamomile or lavendar inside for scent as well. yes, this means that i will custom make it just for you! yipee!!!!!! just give me a few days to make it and then to ship it off!

the picture below is of another rice bag that i've made. i will make one just like it, only different fabric, which the winner will later choose from a variety i have here (just as cute as the one pictured!)(ps, sorry for the bad quality pictures...i just snapped these real quick...it's dark and there's no great lighting at the moment).

how to win said rice bag? just leave a comment on this here blog telling me your favorite ice cream flavor. easy, right? oh- and leave your email so i can contact you if you are the lucky winner! if you want to give yourself a better chance, become a follower of the blog (and let me know in a comment!).

giveaway ends 9pm (pst) on may 25th!

ready, set......go!!!

eek! two weeks!

2011-05-23T14:19:00.000-07:00

two weeks since my last post...naughty, naughty, naughty! but honestly? so many other things to be doing.

still, i love the blog (in a strange, distant sort of way)...and so i will still post.

a few weeks back sienna and stephen were able to do a speedboat tour in the san diego bay. it had been my mom and mike's birthday present to stephen back in march. due to the tsunami warning one particular day, we had to cancel our original speedboat tour and re-schedule it for later. so we scheduled it for may, but i wasn't thinking too much about my growing belly. so i opted out of this particular adventure and let sienna take my place. they had so much fun!

waiting to get on the boat.

sienna getting her vest on. she was so exited!

chloe and i had a nice little two-hour date that morning in pt. loma while we waited for their tour to come back. we got hot chocolate, cupcakes and mosied around trader joes. it was a lovely saturday! chloe found a sea lion standing around and showed him some love.

chloe and i also tried to spot them at the end of the tour...and we did! it took a little while, but eventually we saw a group of little speedboats whiz by and we were able to wave to stephen and sienna. it was a very cloudy and chilly day for san diego, but the water conditions were awesome.

you can barely see sienna in the boat in this...she's waving. can you spot her?

thanks for the birthday gift mom and mike! they loved it!

we love preschool!

2011-05-09T08:49:00.000-07:00

aren't these kids so adorable? this was chloe's preschool class up until thursday. we will be moving soon, so to save a little money we took the girls out a few weeks early. it was sad because they really love their friends and teachers at school. they looked forward to going each day that they went.

it just so happens that their last day was also the mother's day celebration, so i got to be there and snap a few pictures of the girls with their friends and teachers. the pictures aren't fabulous, but at least we'll have something to remember them all with. each class got up and sang songs to the moms and presented them with snacks to eat and artwork to receive. it was really cute.

above is what chloe believed was true about me...how sweet. she sure is right about "the pizza place", meaning the bronx pizza. i sure do love it! she knows this because every time we're in the near vicinity at all, we stop by for a slice of pie and a soda.

me and my sweet little girls

the girls with their teachers (sienna with kathy & chloe with joy)

we will miss all of them very much and are grateful for the months we were able to get to know them all and have fun with them.

looking back...

2011-05-06T16:55:00.000-07:00

malerie was asking about my history of pre-term labor, so i thought i'd backtrack and review said accounts a little bit. it's crazy to think they ever happened. the first experience (in 2006) was the only serious one, and even then things turned out rather well. in this first picture i am 33 weeks along. this was my second visit to tri-city hospital, my first being two weeks before. i had previously been admitted to the hospital by my doctor, gerald white, md. due to early spotting. he sent me to the hospital to be monitored to see if i was contracting. i happened to be contracting quite a bit so i was given terbutaline pills and the lovely betamethasone shot (in my rear). the pills are to stop contractions and the shot to help develop the baby's lungs, should they be born early.

after being in the hospital for about five to six days the hospital/my doctor decided to send me home, still on strict bedrest.

so i went home, staying down for about three days. then one morning i got up to use the restroom. after doing so i returned to my doomed futon/bed/seat/couch/bedrest area. upon sitting down, i felt a small pop. i stood up slightly and a little bit of water came out. the more i tried to walk or do anything more came out. luckily my mom was there and stephen was only a minute away (at school). we called him to come home, cause i needed to go back to the hospital. off we went!

after being re-admitted to the hospital i was hooked up to an iv with antibiotics (to try and keep infection away). i was at the hospital three days after my water broke, and then...around ten or eleven at night the contractions were starting to get consistent and stronger. i was in labor!

roughly six hours later sienna jo baker was born, weighing in at 4lbs, 1oz and was 16 inches long. she was breathing pretty well on her own, amazingly. this bottom picture is me just an hour after birth. i remember feeling completely at peace and so relieved that all that drama was over. i was remember that apple juice they gave me to drink tasted like the most expensive and delicious thing in the world.

sienna was whisked away to the nicu where she stayed for three weeks. she was just a small little thing that needed to gain some weight and needed to learn how to eat, breathe and suck at the same time. once she completed those things, she got to come home.

i pumped those three long weeks and was lucky enough to get two bad breast infections. those are miserable!!

~fast forward thirteen months~

i was pregnant with our second daughter. i had spotting (yet again) at 28 weeks and was sent to scripps encinitas by my awesome obg, robert biter, md to be monitored (considering my history). i was contracting, but not much. hours later i was sent home on strict bedrest. after a week i was put on partial bedrest (which honestly really freaked me out considering what happened with sienna, but i did it anyway). every time i contracted i would lay down.

~fast forward three more months~

i was sure looked out for in many ways, because little miss chloe wasn't born until three days before her due date, coming all on her own. after eighteen hours of grueling natural (bradley method) labor i finally arrived at a ten! i pushed for three hours (without having a real urge to push...which i knew was not right) and had no progress. at this point i was completely exhausted and apparently my heart rate was a little too high. so i consented to have an epidural (after all that!). right as they're in the middle of giving me the epidural did i have the urge to push....ugh.

after resting for about thirty minutes dr. biter came in and had me push some more, this time with him helping guide chloe down the canal. every time i pushed she would descend and he would guide her down the middle (for some reason she was staying on the right side of my belly). inbetween pushes she'd go right back up there. lack of progress for sure. i pushed for another hour and we were all tired and not sure what to do.

after some serious consideration and prayer, stephen and i decided that it would be best at this point to do a cesarean (boo). definitely not my first choice, but i'm grateful that both chloe and i were healthy and safe and doing well.

the cute little stinker, miss chloe eve baker was born weighing in at 8lbs 6oz and 21 inches long. more than double sienna's size! she came out with thick, dark brown hair...later growing in totally blonde.

look at that conehead! i love that she already has rolls on her arms too.

chloe with dr. biter.

this third time around things have been going so smoothly. i'm so grateful that i'm healthier in this pregnancy than ever. i actually eat healthy food (as opposed to my other pregnancies, i ate whatever). i also exercise a little bit, mainly walking fast. i'm also sure to do my kegel exercises and to do yoga whenever possible.

feelin' good!

so there it is...a little long-winded.

bump - 28 weeks (and five days)

2011-05-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

i've almost made it to 29 weeks! this is a momentous occasion as i have still not had any pre-term labor...yipee!!!! i couldn't be happier. in case you would like to compare the growth from a few weeks ago, see here (i did). so, let's see...let's go over our current pregnant symptoms:

pregnant brain (forgetting things almost instantly)
horrible heartburn, almost every night
when heartburn is bad, reflux is most likely to occur (woke up with throw up in my mouth the other night. not my proudest moment. that's what i get for eating a piece of pie at nine o'clock at night). honestly...what would i do without tums?
itchy belly
my feet and legs have started to swell up just a little, making it uncomfortable to sit or stand for too long at a time

so the funny thing is, everyone keeps telling me how small i am. it's sure flattering, but they're really not taking into consideration that fact that i've got a large bust. it sure makes me seem like i've got a smaller tummy. speaking of....i despise them. i must not be a normal woman to not like being "well endowed". in fact, i can't wait for the day when i might get a reduction (if after losing weight i'm still not a comfortable size). my neck, shoulders and upper back could sure use some peace and quiet...thanks to "the girls" they're almost always so tense.

other fun prego facts right now for me at 28 weeks...

...baby boy baker's name will be: wyatt (yes, that will be his name!). no, we're not obsessed

with mr. earpp. in fact, stephen can't stand country music.

....also, mr. wyatt is the size of a head of cauliflower, weighing

in around 2.5 pounds at the moment.

things are going quite well indeed. happy to be pregnant most the time, especially when i weigh out the fact that i'll have a sweet little boy in my arms in a few months!

mormon helping hands 2011

2011-05-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

i was asked to take pictures during mormon helping hands on saturday of certain events...so glad! i'm not sure if i can share any of those photos, so i'll share the few that i took for myself, and myself only. they mostly (well, completely) consist of my brother and his girlfriend, courtney. aren't they dolls?

such personality...

...and then some!

not only does derek enjoy raking away dead debree near creeks with lots of bugs, but he also is a graphic designer. look at the sweet sign he designed for the helping hands project regarding the upcoming mormon night at the padres. pretty nice!

a morning work out

2011-04-28T09:57:00.000-07:00

the girls and i are being supportive of our daddy while he prepares himself physically for the tough mudder, which will be taking place next month. so last saturday we all headed to miramar lake together. stephen ran a nice five-miler while the girls and i walked a nice quick two miler. the day was perfect and no pre-term labor occurred...yipee!

we fed the ducks afterwards...

stephen and sienna sitting on the dock.

first easter party of the year

2011-04-27T21:28:00.000-07:00

stephen's aunt peggy is just so awesome and threw her second annual kiddie easter egg hunt at her house again. last year was a blast so the girls were really looking forward to this years. we almost didn't make it due to scheduling issues, but luckily things panned out. just look at peggy...she's so fun! singing songs to get things started...

wendy's cute girls observing the invaders....

...us.

and the hunt begins. there were tons of eggs and goodie bags filled with goodies all over the backyard. the kids had a blast searching. i loved the creativity in hiding places.

even some very taboo places where the kids had no chance of getting the candy (aka...on a pool toy).

peggy helps chloe out in tossing some high-riser candy down into her basket...nice shot!

hope my mother-in-law doesn't kill me, but i loved this photo of her. very animated and awesome. she's hilarious!

the kids also had a blast making big bubbles with peggy's cool bubble toys. the kids made some pretty big bubbles quite a few times, especially gwen!

peggy also has this awesome tortoise. isn't otis the cutest? the kids loved watching him eat an apple and a cucumber. some were willing to have their picture taken (sienna, david), others...not so much (ethan and chloe).

it was such a fun easter egg hunt! thanks peggy!

a typical walk

2011-04-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

occasionally i'll muster up the energy to join stephen and the girls for a walk to felicita park. we live just a block away, so it's nice to meander on down there. usually stephen will run, but when the slow prego lady joins him he's nice enough to slow his pace and just walk fast. it's fun. i wish the girls liked sitting in a double jogging stroller when they were smaller. i used to take them to miramar lake often and try to exercise my baby fat off, but around mile two (of five) they would start fighting or whining or crying or...whatever it was. now they just sit there and talk and love it, but now they weigh a lot more.

loving stephen's glasses? me too.

excuse the butt shot, but i wanted to show you a steep little incline we walk up in the park. gets me winded and gets our booties working.

once we reach a destination of sorts in the park (usually the "red and green playground", only this day the "yellow and blue playground"...in little girl lingo) we let the bubbles loose and play. i think this is part of what makes the ride worth it in their eyes...they know there is usually playtime at the park somewhere in there.

daddy joins in on the fun. yes, i pushed the three of them on it. no, not for very long.

chloe pushing her sister on the swing. they really do get along so well...just one more blessing to add to the list. it's getting longer and longer.

a morning in the life of chloe

2011-04-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

1. brush (painfully) long blonde hair....check!

2. mix genres in clothing...check!

3. put shoes on wrong feet....check!

4. bring out 1/50th of your stuffed animals into the kitchen...check!

5. set up chairs alongside the counter to effectively play with animals on counter....check!

6. look proud of your work....check!

7. give mom dirty looks as she photo-journals your escapade...CHECK!

oh chloe and her love of stuffed animals. until this little girl arrived sienna could've cared less about the stuffed animals grandparents had bought her. for chloe it has always been somewhat of an infatuation. i have to admit that i love that she loves them. sometimes i wish i could get rid of some of them...we have sooo many. but chloe actually plays with them all, a lot. even sienna does now, thanks to chloe's influence. they have concerts for their animals/dolls, they play house and mommy and babysitter, they put them in time-out, they dress them up. there's really no end to their imaginations with their animals.

haircut number two

2011-04-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

our lovely five-year-old has this impulsiveness about her that seriously worries me sometimes. she does things, as if she is in some subconscious state while she's doing them, later getting into trouble for whatever it is. when she was three and a half we had a similar occurrence, though much more tragic because of the loss of irreplaceable curls. here's one more post about the subsequent fix. luckily she ended up looking pretty dang cute after her haircut that time. this time? it was a little harder to fix surprisingly. for some reason her new bangs just aren't cooperating or something. she just looks like a ragamuffin. i'll have to post a pic of that later. i don't think i have one on hand yet.

the sad/funny thing about this time, is that her father was sitting at the same table as her while it happened. they were both sitting at the kitchen table together, stephen reading his scriptures and sienna cutting out pictures from a primary paper she'd received that day. lee, stephen's mom noticed it first and quietly pointed it out to stephen. i was taking a nap at the time...good thing. i woke up nice and calm and happy, ready to take on anything...even sienna's new hair-do.

tears were shed on her part, only because i was confused as to why she did it.

"sienna, do you want to look like a boy? is that why you cute your hair?" (nice, sensitive mom..that's me)

(instant hysteric tears) "noooooo!!"

"then why did you cut your hair?"

"i don't know"

oh my. at least have a good reason child. the hair was in your face, there was food in your hair that wouldn't come out, you really do want to look like a boy, you were getting even with me for something i didn't let you do...something!

a trip to julian

2011-04-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

a few weekends ago we decided to get out of dodge...so we drove up a few hills and mountains and landed ourselves in the wonderful gold-mining city of julian! yipee! i do love living so close to it right now. i had been craving their apple-boysenberry crumb pie. stephen finally agreed that i must have some, so off we went! we got there just in time to wait in a nice loooong line. so i snapped a few photos of things i saw in line.

mom's pies are my favorite in julian and for good reason. they are nothing short of heavenly. we usually also get a soup of some kind to eat before, or with, our pie. unfortunately they had italian wedding soup which isn't my cup of tea, so we opted for the chicken pot pie. delicious! we had our slice of pie heated up and threw an ice cream scoop on it...oilla!

me and the hubby in line.

a cute little bug contemplating her next bite of ice cream. she tried the pie...again...but with not much luck of liking it yet. we'll keep trying!

the drive up was so pretty. with how much recent rain we'd had everything was blooming and green and colorful! there was even some snow up in julian. we stopped alongside a road and let the girls play in some.

stephen even made a cute miniature snowman. i especially liked the grass hair. i know some people with hair like that.

i love the above of chloe hoping not to get hit by a snowball as she just stands there.

a fun action shot of daddy and sienna pegging each other.

2011-04-18T07:34:00.000-07:00

yay for a cute maternity top!

as i am now getting bigger around the mid-section i'm having to wear maternity stuff finally. luckily for me my shade shirts are still wearable, i practically live in them. but i really liked this top that i found on duematernity.com. surprisingly i'm not wearing any maternity pants yet. i'm still able to stretch on my express jeans and just put a hair elastic around where the button should button (but doesn't). i had also bought two pairs of incredibly cute pants at anthro for cheap (what you don't believe me? $40!) that i use as quasi-maternity pants. they are SO comfortable and have a maternity-like waistband.

wanna know something shocking? i won our ward's chili contest for "best chili - 1st place" on saturday! that's my second time winning it, in two separate wards! i was totally shocked. out of around thirty people i won? i couldn't believe it, but it was fun. in our old ward the relief society had a chili cook-off once a year for pioneer day, so i've been slowly morphing it over the last four years. i'm glad people like it!

i'd better get ready to go strip wallpaper and clean. my mom is gone for a few weeks so her hubby has taken advantage of this time to de-popcorn the dining room ceiling and to strip the wallpaper. the girls and i are there to "help" today (a pregnant lady and a four and five year-old, yeah...we're super helpful). should be fun!

bump - 26

2011-04-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

yes, that's right people, my so-called weekly bump updates have fallen to the wayside. i'm apologizing mostly to myself because i truly wanted to be better this time around. let's blame it on pregnant brain, yes, that's it! please ignore that i'm wearing the same shirt as the last time i did this. i honestly haven't worn it in at least a week, i swear!

so i am now 26 weeks. things are going smoothly. no signs of pre-term labor thus far, so that's a huge plus! stay in there boy. got it? he sure is an active critter (did i just call him a critter?), constantly kicking and doing somersaults. it should be an interesting exit in july! i'm feeling good though aside from heartburn at night if i eat anything after 8pm or anything with sugar after 6pm. yup, that pretty much rules out me never having heartburn, because we all know that i can't handle that.

in other news...the girls have no school next week. so instead of whining about it and instead of thinking about how crazy they're gonna drive me, we're planning a full week. let's keep busy! zoo, wild animal park (i refuse to call it the new name. no, i won't even mention it here), strawberry picking, beach (if the weather affords it), swim lessons (new on our agenda!), stripping wallpaper possibly...it's gonna be a great week!

i'm hungry....off i go.