Nate & Erin

Brad Paisley!

2012-01-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to the Brad Paisley concert!

I can't imagine a concert I would be more excited about attending.

I like country music and I LOVE Brad Paisley the most of any artist.

Luckily the only person more enthusiastic than me about attending a Brad Paisley concert is my sister-in-law Emily.

She is a member to his "fan club" and got us awesome tickets!

What would a country music concert be without going to Texas Road House first?

I have to admit Texas Road House was not at the top of my list (or anywhere near) of places I'd like to eat.

But I do love good barbeque and have been sold on their ribs and rolls with cinnamon butter.

I still don't love it nearly as much as Nate. He is a man who appreciates such things.

Emily and Graden!

Picking up the tickets!

Being a member of his "fan club", Emily got to go on a backstage tour before the show.

She got to touch his guitars and learn cool things like that Brad helped build part of the set for the show.

I've never been so close for a concert! Our seats were literally right there.

Scotty McCreery and The Band Perry opened.

So awesome!

As if we weren't crazed fans enough, we went and stood along the stage before Brad Paisley came on.

Nobody made us move. And it's always better to ask for forgiveness than permission right?

It turns out Brad Paisley only high fives guys and touches little kids heads.

So I can't say the hands that are typing this post touched Brad Paisley's hand.

But it was still cool being so close!

Loved loved loved the show! He played all his best songs.

And can I also add how great it is to have a date night without Scott? Always a treasure.

Such a perfect Friday night!

This Morning...

2012-01-22T08:21:00.000-08:00

I sent these boys off to church! I am home relaxing because I got my wisdom teeth out on Friday.

Yesterday I crocheted Scott a bow tie using this tutorial. It was a great beginners project!

I think he looks oh so dapper with it on.

But what can I say? It's always a good hair day when you're Scott...

I love my sweet boys!

Hopefully Nate survives church alone!

New Food Blog

2012-01-18T12:30:00.000-08:00

My best friend Jessica and I started a food blog together!

Because we both share the same love for fresh basil, throwing parties, diet coke, and pasta.

It's nice to have a creative outlet for my greatest passion - cooking!
And it may be my secret ploy to get recipes out of Jess, because she is a fabulous chef.

Check it out:

http://twokitchenpromenade.blogspot.com/

Right There!

2012-01-16T18:40:00.000-08:00

Scott has been trying to say a new word lately.

He has a series of books where there is a mouse on each page.

Lately he has been pointing to the mouse and trying to say "right there!"

I love his little funny voice!

A Date and First Steps

2012-01-13T07:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday this lovely lady watched Scott so we could go see the Young Ambassadors!
Nate got me tickets for Christmas.
I'm glad he supports my obsession with all things music/dance/theater related.

These days a night to get away is extra special.

Where we can talk at dinner without being interrupted by a cute, but demonstrative 10 month old.

Seriously the lightest gnocchi I've ever had at Gloria's Little Italy!

The show was fantastic! I literally laughed and cried....

In other news, Scott took his FIRST STEPS!

watch here!

I'm so proud of my big boy!

Realistic Goals

2012-01-11T20:34:00.000-08:00

Last year I set 2 very realistic fitness New Year's Resolutions for myself.

1. Survive childbirth. (I was 32 weeks pregnant and seriously doubting my ability to give birth/in shock that I would actually have to do so.)

2. Loose the baby weight!

I am happy to say that I accomplished both. The baby weight thanks to this. And childbirth thanks to an epidural. Even with an epidural, I am still proud of myself! I HATE medical things (seriously - I was traumatized by the "Body Wars" ride at Disney world as a child, threw up getting my kindergarten shots even before they did anything because I was freaking out so much, passed out in 7th grade health class in front of everyone, felt quesy during our lamaze classes, and yesterday I got lightheaded at a consultation appointment to get my wisdom teeth out because they made me watch some movie about the procedure -the list could go on). Even despite my unusual level of anxiety about medical things, giving birth is no walk in the park! So go me! I did it.

This year I set a few fitness goals for myself again:

1. Run another half marathon in June. (I'm signed up and ready to go!)

2. Exercise 4 times a week.

3. Eat only 1 treat a day.

I was feeling pretty good about these goals. They were realistic and wouldn't require changing too much of what I was already doing. I really enjoy running so doing another half marathon would be fun. I was already going to the gym regularly (because of my awesome gym buddy EMILY) but just needed a more concrete schedule. Nate and I like eating healthy and I've tried not to keep treats in the house. Because I lack self-control to not eat them when they are in site.

Then my sister-in-law, Emily, said she wasn't eating sugar until Valentine's day and that I should do it with her. I instantly agreed too. Because I am a joiner, and I love being part of things. The "no-sugar" thing would start on January 7th and go to Valentine's day. "Sugar" was defined as any treat-like product, i.e. ice cream, cookies, cake, cupcakes, candy, etc. The days leading up to January 7th I was a mess. I felt like I needed to eat all the sugar in site to compensate for not being able to for over a month. I made cookies, bought cupcakes, and ate random candy from Christmas I don't even like.

January 7th came and I woke up not able to stop thinking sugar. It consumed me. I felt like life was being unfair. In a world where I was going to the gym 4 days a week and running long runs on Saturdays, surely I should be allowed to eat sugar? And them I realized I was right. Not eating sugar is a totally unrealistic goal from me. In normal life I don't obsess about eating cupcakes (acutally I do...). The goal was counterproductive. So needless to say, I switched back to my original goal. Maybe one day I will do something lofty like not eat sugar for a month or run a full marathon (those are equal in difficulty magnitude). But for now I happy with my easily achievable or "realistic" goals.

This Weekend...

2012-01-08T21:12:00.000-08:00

This weekend I...

caught up with old friends...

made butternut squash soup...

went running and to breakfast with my best friend...

ran errands with this boy...

had a mancala tournament/hot chocolate/netflix date night...

went to church...

and had Sunday dinner with family!

An Experiment

2012-01-06T10:14:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I did an experiment.

Usually when Scott starts to make a mess or get into something he shouldn't, I quickly redirect his attention to something else.

Yesterday I let him do whatever he wanted for 15 minutes.

Just to see what he would do.

Within that 15 minutes he...

pulled 1/2 the roll of toliet paper down and ruffled up the rug...

ripped the toys off his shelf...

threw diapers from his changing table on the ground...

and attempted to break the printer...

It was a very productive 15 minutes for Scott.

Oh the joys of busy baby boys!

10 Months Old!

2012-01-05T10:59:00.000-08:00

Happy 10 Months Scott! My how the time flies...

Poor Scott has basically spent his 10th month of life sick!

He was sick during our whole holiday trip and yesterday had a fever of 102 again.

He tries so hard to be a good boy and to be happy when he's sick.

Is there anything more sad than a sick baby?

Right before New Year's Scott had his 2nd trip to the ER. He woke up sounding like he couldn't breath and wouldn't stop crying/gasping for air. We took him into the ER and sure enough he had Croup. Croup is fairly common, but it's good we took him in because they gave him some medicine to stop the swelling in his throat so he could breath easier.

Poor little guy passed out in Daddy's arms after they gave him the medicine.

Consequently I have been sick for the past month as well.

It seems impossible to not get sick when your baby is sick because you are constantly touching their drool and cleaning up their noses.

Other than be sick Scott is still one happy guy.

He calls everyTHING an "A-Da" these days and LOVES to point at things he finds interesting.

He calls everyONE a Da-Da - including the Nate, me, and the cashier at the grocery store.

I'm hoping for a MaMa one of these days.

But DaDas are still very cute.

Top 10 Photos of 2011

2012-01-02T19:11:00.000-08:00

Last year we got a nice DSLR camera for Christmas. And let me tell you, it's been worth every penny!

We've captured so many awesome moments with Scott. I am not an experienced photographer by any means, but this camera has aided greatly.

If you read my blog you've most likely seen these in various posts already.

Here are my top 10 favorite photos of 2011!

#10

I love everything about this moment.

What Scott was really excited about in this photo was all the happy people watching him and encouraging him to rip the paper.

He is so lucky to have Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles who love him.

#9
Perfect fall pumpkin picture of little Scott.
And you guessed it, just seconds later he partially ate that piece of hay.

I love this because it captures one of Scott's most frequent facial expressions.

Ahhh this picture just makes me want to pinch those little cheeks and squeeze those little thighs!

Quintessential chubby baby cuteness.

This was the photo we picked for Scott's birth announcement. I think he looks so handsome!
At my old job I used to work with a lot of people from China. My old coworker sent this photo to some of the people I worked with and forwarded me one of the Chinese lady's responses.

"you know what I
show my sister
the baby photo ( bcs we went to shop the gift for baby last time ) and
she sets it as desktop
background. She says she feels so comfortable looking at him …see how
wonderful and magic
Scott brings up."

Sometimes I wonder if a random lady in China still has Scottt's photo as her desktop background.
There you have it. Such is the wonder and magic Scott brings up.

#5
This just captures so much of his personality!

Swinging = Pure Joy for Scott. Can you tell?

This is Scott with his Great Grandmother a few days after he was born.

Such a beautiful and special shot.

We love Grandma Bea!

My favorite picture of my boy and I. So sweet.

This is my favorite photo of 2011. I know his pants aren't buttoned and there is nothing particularly impressive about the lighting or framing. But its all about the two boys I love most loving each other. Scott was only 3 weeks old in this picture and was so excited to see his Daddy.

They are in love. They love me. And I am in love with them.

And that is what pretty much sums up 2011 for me - Nate and I falling head over heel in love with our little boy. We are so blessed!

Happy New Year!

Winter Wedding

2012-01-01T10:33:00.000-08:00

On Thursday I went to my good friend Ellen's wedding in LA!

She looked stunning and the whole day was wonderful.

Congratulations Ellen! Wishing you and Gregg a forever of happiness!

Christmas in DC Means...

2011-12-31T10:24:00.000-08:00

decorating my Mom's sugar cookies... one of my favorite childhood traditions

being with my whole family!

matching Christmas shirts!

making creme brulee and playing games...

going to church in Christmas morning then enjoying Christmas brunch, featuring the BEST quiche Lorraine, pumpkin bread and fruit...

lots of love from everyone for this Christmas boy...

presents that weren't quite as exciting as the wrapping...

Wade's specialty holiday punch.. he has made it every year since he was 6

roast beef Christmas dinner with my favorite roasted beet salad? (can you tell where I get my love of cooking from?)

visiting the national Christmas tree!

always so magical! Scott wouldn't take his eyes off the trains in front of the tree for a picture...

I hope your holiday was wonderful too! Happy New Year!

Lately

2011-12-18T22:09:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know we moved to Utah a month or so ago. We moved up there for Nate's job and will probably be in Provo for a few years - then hopefully somewhere else (like Virginia or back to San Diego). The move all happened really quick. We had the idea of moving up to Provo for a number of reasons but originally ruled it out because we loved our life in San Diego! But more and more if felt like the right decision. It worked out great to move when we did because our current lease was up and we were able to move before Nate had a big conference in November.

We had a hard time finding a place in Provo mid-semester... We found a place on craigslist that looked ok, but when we got up there it was not ok. We decided to live out of suitcases until we found a better place and sold the contract we got. Luckily we were able to do both of those things in about 2 weeks. Now we love the apartment we found and are all settled!

We miss our San Diego friends, the weather and the beach but have been loving living in Provo. Mostly because lots of people we love live here! I've been reunited with some of my best college girlfriends. I got to throw a surprise party for my BFF Jessica earlier this month (read about it here!). It's also been great hanging out with Nate's brother and sister who are in Provo. How lucky am I that one of my best friends is also my sister-in-law? I've loved being reunited with her because of our shared love for shellac nails, spin class, and spontaneous late night outings to Target.

Mike, Emily, Nate, Scott & I at Thanksgiving

Celebrating Mike's Birthday

Scott's first CougarEat Experience

Scott now loves his puffy snow suit!

Right now we are in San Diego! Since we didn't know we'd be moving to Provo we got our tickets to see my family for Christmas out of San Diego months ago. It actually worked out well because Nate's siblings are in town and Scotty got to see his cousins! The night before we left my friend Kasee flew into Salt Lake to visit her Mom. My girlfriends and I drove up to pick her up from the airport and hung out after. It was so good to see her!

Love these girls!

In San Diego we've been able to see some of our old friends. Nate's friend from high school Julia came to visit us with her husband Brian.

I also got to visit with my best friend from work Erica. I missed her!

We've had a great time with Nate's family!

Sarah is 3 weeks younger than Scott and is the sweetest baby!

Scott loves his cousins!

John and Vanessa came from Long Beach and brought presents for all the kids!

We are off to Virginia in the morning. Scott has had an ear infection so wish us luck. We had to see his doctor here in San Diego after the drive and got some medicine/ I hope he has been on it long enough to be feeling better. Flights with infants are NOT fun. But definitely worth it to go home from Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Boy

2011-12-17T19:38:00.000-08:00

We are at Nate's parents in San Diego hanging out with his family that's in town before flying to Virginia on Monday.

Today we took Scott to meet Santa!

No tears for him.

Santa and him are equally plump and jolly!

9 Months Old!

2011-12-12T15:14:00.000-08:00

Besides Scott turning 9 months much has happened since my last post!

I'll start with an update on Scott. And do another post about life things later.

Luckily I make notes in a Google Document that is kind of like a journal (just a line or two every few days), so I have record of what he did at 9 months.

Because he will be 10 months in less than a week!

Currently Scott is:

- Crawling all over the place! He started officially crawling at 8 1/2 months. Now he is really fast and can get anywhere he wants. If you go into the next room over and call his name he will come crawling as fast as he can to find you! We've given him the nick name puppy because he really does seem like a dog, panting and happy to follow you.

- He can pull up to stand on anything. He is "furniture cruising", which is not limited to furniture. He will try and stand and move along anything he can reach. It results in multiple daily falls which I hope will end soon when he is able to stand on his own. Scott already thinks he can stand on his own. Sometimes he will just let go of whatever he is holding on too expecting to stand. At least he is not lacking in self confidence!

- I can tell he is starting to understand words. He knows what the ceiling fan is and if you say "Scott where's the fan" he will look up at it. He has even pointed at it a few times!

- He LOVES reading books now. It is the only time he will be completely still and cuddle with us. He loves seeing the pictures and looks carefully at the things you point out on the page.

- He is trying to say words. He keeps saying Mama and Dada but I'm still not 100% sure if he is intentionally saying that to me and Nate. I think it might still be part of his babbling. But I'm excited for real first words to start soon!

And look at all those teeth! He is really into that cheesy crooked smile these days. And I love it!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T10:39:00.000-07:00

Little shark!

And we wore Lifeguard t-shirts... slightly low effort on our part.

But Scott looked cute! And that's what matters, right?

Happy Halloween!

8 Months Old!

2011-10-30T18:49:00.000-07:00

Scott thinks it's great to be 8 months!

Right now he is...

Army crawling in his own way,

and crawling backwards the classical way.

He can also get himself into sitting position from his stomach.

He loves to stand holding onto things.
But can't get up on his on yet!

He also babbles constantly!

Particularly around large groups of people.

He thinks he is part of the conversation.

At church he thinks all the hymns we sing are especially for him, and goes crazy trying to "sing" along with them.

Scott is very social. On the airplane ride back from Virginia he would stare at the people the row behind us waiting for them to look at him, then give them a huge smile.

While he prefers his Mom and Dad, he has no problem happily greeting anyone from nice old ladies at Costco to sketchy-looking-gangster men in the elevator.

At the grocery store he will stare at someone way down the aisle waiting for them to approach, then kick his feet and go crazy smiling.

Such a funny boy.

Happy 8 Months Scott!

October in Virginia

2011-10-29T23:05:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went to Virginia!
We were supposed to go to the beach in North Carolina with my family in August, but Hurricane Irene hit the week we were supposed to go.
We rescheduled our flights for October.

I was NOT happy about it in August.
But of course I changed my mind when October rolled around!

October is my favorite month in Virginia by far and I'm glad Nate and Scott got to experience it.

On this trip...

Scott LOVED hanging out with his Grandpa and Grandma.

I think they loved it even more.

And I think I loved it the most.

Scott played silly games with Grandpa.

And went to watch his Uncle Wade swim.

And was a trooper when my Mom and I dragged him to the outlet malls.

My Mom and I sewed a beautiful dress for me (skills I don't have). And made washcloth elephants like my Grandma used to make.

We played games like Ticket to Ride and cards.

And my Mom made delicious food a desserts for everyone.

We went to Georgetown.

And Nate went to DC with my little brother.

I caught up with old friends in the area.

We also went to Busch Gardens which is an upscale theme park that goes all out for Halloween!
It was such a fun day but all the pictures we took were on Nate's phone and his SD card broke.

We ate at a few of my favorite places back home - the Bagel Cafe and Thai by Thai.

Scott got to meet his Uncle Sam who came up from Charlottesville for the day.
They are kindred spirits.
You know Scott's adorable dimple?
Well he doesn't get it from me or Nate - but Sam has the exact same one!
Instant bonding.

It was a great trip. We love family and Virginia.

We did not, however, love the 6 hour flights with an 8 month old.

He was a good boy overall. But when is traveling with an infant ever fun?

Luckily as always, the journey was well worth it!

Little Friend

2011-10-23T22:00:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-10T21:15:00.000-07:00

Farmer's Market and Yarn Wreath

2011-10-08T14:58:00.000-07:00

Nate and I recently signed up to get a basket of fresh, local produce from our farmer's market each week. The farmer's market comes about 2 blocks up the street every Thursday. And let me tell you - now each Thursday is like Christmas, waiting to see what produce Santa will bring me. Growing up every December my parents would pick up a few crates of the most delicious grapefruits from a group of old, local war veterans who sold them. My parents or should I say, Santa, used to put a grapefruit in each of their stockings for Christmas morning - probably as an afterthought. I remember feeling sorry for my parents. And having a deep suspicion Santa either had an in with the old veterans or forgot about my parents and took those grapefruits from our pantry. I guess now it would not be a stretch to say I might be really excited to get a grapefruit in my stocking.

Anyway this is what our basket contained this week:

From left to right: Two kinds of fresh basil, local almonds and honey, yellow squash, green beans, apples, green onions, figs, roma tomatoes, GRAPEFRUIT, a weird weed looking plant, amazing strawberries, a lime, and some more green squash.

After getting our produce, it's like a game seeing how to use everything in different meals throughout the week.

Can't you see how exciting my life is?!

Back to that weird looking plant, I actually asked the guy who runs the CSA baskets what it was. He nonchalantly told it was Er-a-mra-thh (something?), the only living plant to contain omega-3 fatty acids!... and proceeded to rip off a stem and eat it - like he was so in touch with nature he could hang out with Katniss Everdeen and make a salad out of the shrubbery growing along La Jolla Shores. He told me to taste it, and despite my reservations about it looking poisonous and more importantly not being washed, I ripped off a stem and ate it too. It was a little too organic for me. Needless to say I won't be making a salad out of it anytime soon.

This week I also made a yarn wreath.

Wrapping yarn around a piece of styrofoam totally seemed within my realm crafting.

Except now I'm scared to hang it on our door because I think someone might steal it.

Last week somebody sprayed pepper-spray in the air ducts of our building and we all had to evacuate.

I told Nate I'm worried the same hoodlums might steal my wreath. He told me yarn wreaths might appeal to a different demographic.
But maybe I'll find a place to hang it inside instead.

Scott Clapping!

2011-10-06T11:55:00.000-07:00

In Love

2011-10-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

Today I saw this commerical...

And you know what? I teared up a little!
I got the urge to go into Scott's room and scoop him up.
I get that urge a lot while he is sleeping. I strangely miss him!

Having a baby really must have changed everything if I'm crying about a commercial...

But it's so true. I am SO in love with my bald little guy. I can't even believe it!

Personality Test

2011-10-03T22:39:00.000-07:00

You can tell a lot about a person at a self-serve frozen yogurt place.

I LOVE self-serve frozen yogurt places.

Lucky for me they are in great abundance here in San Diego.

Nate and I are frequent visitors of Tutti Frutti, which I dare say is better than both Golden Spoon and Yogurt Land.

If you have never been to a self-serve yogurt place (I don't believe they've hit the East Coast) it is pretty much exactly what you would envision - a place to pick up a serving container, followed by a row of 8-10 self-serve flavors, and a topping bar.

You fill the serving bowl yourself with whatever you want and the cashier weighs your container to determine the price.

Here is a breakdown of Nate and I's typical experience at Tutti Frutti...

We walk in... I ask for as many sample cups as is socially acceptable.

Nate immediately grabs a serving container.

I ration my sample cups out to taste the flavors I am most curious about.

Nate impulsively fills his bowl with any flavor that sounds remotely good.

I spend 5 minutes trying to decide if I like the mango or peach better.

Nate tops his yogurt with everything from rainbow sprinkles to gummy bears.

I carefully fill up my bowl with original tart (I get it EVERY time) and some other fruit flavor. Usually mango. Something else if I'm feeling a little daring.

Nate waits at the cashier.

I top my yogurt with my one and only favorite topping - yogurt chips - making sure the ratio of topping to yogurt is accurate.

Nate continues to wait at the cashier.

We check out and I think about Nate has the yogurt taste of a 5-year old girl.

Here are the results:

Nate's Yogurt: A mess. Dulce de leche swirled up nicely against watermelon sorbet circled by red velvet and chocolate creeping up from the bottom. The white kind? Who knows. Could be vanilla, but is most likely something like birthday cake. And this picture was taken after most of the gummy bears and rainbow sprinkles were eaten.

My yogurt: Beautiful. Though partially consumed in this photo, was a originally a nice ratio of original tart to mango. Topped with color coordinating yogurt chips.

Nate and I are indeed opposites when it comes to yogurt-ordering.
I am almost convinced how we order yogurt is a reflection of our basic personalities.

But if opposites are supposed to attract. We are a perfect match.

7 Months Old

2011-09-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

Happy 7 Months Scotty!

It was particularly hard to get a good photo this month because he decided getting the camera strap, trying to roll off the bed, and eating the elephant was WAY cooler than posing for a photo.

Here is the evidence:

Scott is currently:

Sleeping 12 hours at night (waking up once to eat around 4-4:30am).

Taking 2 90(ish) minute naps each day.

Eating solid food twice a day.

Scott also:

Loves to sleep with his doggie blanket these days.

He is holding it, covered by it, or laying on top of it every time he sleeps now!

He has also learned how to clap!

Can take pictures of himself with the camera.

Frequently goes on "adventures" rolling across the room to discover new wonders.

Such as the bottom of the swing, blanket basket, TV stand drawers, and computer.

(I feel baby-proofing coming up!)

Loves to swing at the park!

Loves his Daddy and Mommy...

And is trying to crawl!

I'm guessing we are a few weeks away from real crawling...

Our little friend also got sick for the first time this past month.

So sad when babies are sick! But it was a great excuse to actually cuddle with Mommy.

He is usually way too busy for such things ;)

Glad you're feeling better little buddy!

Thoughts on Blogging in General

2011-09-18T20:05:00.001-07:00

I’d say every 6 months or so I blog about my feelings… So I think I’m due for a post that doesn’t feature Scott wearing a white onesie next to a grey elephant. And I’ve also been thinking about this a lot today. I have a love hate relationship with blogging. I love blogging because I love seeing what my friends and family are up too. I also love sharing what Scott is doing and what we’ve been up too with my avid readers (i.e. my Mom and Mother-in-law).

At the same time I hate blogging because I don’t think just because Nate and I go on a fun date I need to write about it. And I don’t like feeling guilty when I don’t blog about getting ice cream at the beach on a whim. Or other fun parts of life like staying up late catching up on funny TV on hulu after Scott goes to bed. And just because I do a fun craft, cook a good meal, or wear a cute outfit doesn’t mean I have to share how crafty and clever I am with all of you. Does that mean I never blog about things like this? No way! If I feel like it I will. And I don’t think negatively about blogs that do share things like this. I love seeing other people’s crafts, food, projects, homes, clothes, and ideas. The key is just not to get caught up in comparisons. Something I can happily say I’ve gotten a lot better at over the years. Because there will ALWAYS be someone more crafty, stylish, athletic, or smart than you if you look hard enough - in the real world or the blogging world.

As I scrolled through my recent posts I realize I blog about 2 main things. Important/fun events and my baby. That really is pretty much it. That’s because I typically only have my camera at important or fun events and I like documenting things about Scott’s life for my own family history purposes. Does that mean I am intentionally trying to deceive people by only showing the highlights of my life to make it look like we have a perfect life? No. But why blog about the fact my family vacation to the beach got canceled due to hurricane Irene, I locked my keys in the car, and Scott fell off the bed for the first all in one day?

Overall I do like blogging. Obviously. I’m doing it right now. I’ve learned it’s important to live life and blog, not live life to blog. I go through phases where I blog more often and times where I don’t feel like blogging at all. And I’m not going to feel guilty about it. Because that’s what works for me. I know there are people out there who genuinely, truly like blogging about everything in their life and it enhances their life. And that’s what works for them! And great for them. There really is no right or wrong. So if I want to blog about a craft I’ve made, I will. If I don’t, I won’t. Because the measure of my life isn’t determined by how great I make it look on my blog.

6 Months Old

2011-09-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Half Birthday to Scott!

I realize he will be 7 months next week but this is post is better late than never right?

Here's what Scott's been up too in month 6...

He loves solid food of all kinds.

I am yet to find something he won't eat.

He loves sweet potatoes, rice cereal, banana-cado (banana mixed with avocado), squash, apples, blueberries, apricots, peas, and more!

In fact he loves his food so much, he lunges forward with a wide open mouth for each bite - like I can't dish it out fast enough for him.

Scott is also...

Sitting up on his own.

Loves to babble - just started saying BA BA BA...

Rolls both directions like crazy.

Tries to get any toy or object within reaching distance always.

He can now sit up in the tub.

Grandma got him some bath toys and he loves them!

Scott also had a blast with his cousins who were here this month.
I didn't get many pictures of him with all the cousins,

but here he is with his cousin Sarah who is just 3 weeks younger.

A few weeks ago I was at the beach with some friends and Scott rolled off the towel resulting in a sand face plant.
Luckily my friends thought to take a picture before I freaked out and cleaned him off!

He didn't even cry or care he was covered in sand.

Oh how I love this little boy!

Half Marathon - Check!

2011-09-11T22:17:00.000-07:00

This Saturday my friend Kate and I ran the Camp Pendleton Heartbreak Ridge Half Marathon!

It was a first half marathon for both of us.

We've been training for about 8 weeks now with short runs on Tuesday/Thursday and long runs on Saturday.

Considering the extreme-out-of-shape condition of my postpartum body (like I decided exercise was completely optional my entire pregnancy), I still kind of can't believe I pulled it off.

It was my goal just to RUN the whole time and we did it!

Our time was 2 hours 14 minutes (about 10 minute miles) and I will totally take that.

Carbo-loading the night before!

Getting ready on race morning! Jolly Ranchers and energy GU totally saved my race.

Can I just say Kate is the best running partner EVER. Seriously! I couldn't have done it without her...

Our friend Brett also ran! Here's the team pre-race.

Heading to the start...

Go!

It was the perfect running weather. Slightly overcast and not too hot. The course was very hilly to say the least. It was an out and back course and on the way back it totally made sense to me why the race is called heartbreak ridge...

Running to the finish!

I also couldn't have done it without Nate who was SO supportive and also went on runs with me during the week.

Krystle came to cheer for everyone! Brett ran the race with her Dad. How fun!

Post-race! Woo hoo!

If you look closely my mouth is slightly blue in all these pictures from the Jolly Ranchers.

Finishing the race totally made all the training worth it.

Until next time Camp Pendleton!

Couldn't Love Him More...

2011-08-14T21:25:00.000-07:00

Those bright happy eyes.

That cute bald head.

Those happy squeals of delight.

His smile that lights up the room.

Those big chubby cheeks.

And deep irresistible dimples.

I could go on forever.

I'm head over heels for this little guy!

As a Mom should be :)

Rice Cereal

2011-08-10T16:23:00.000-07:00

There comes a point in every babies life...
When they sit up big in the high chair for the first time,
Dad ques the video-camera,
They sport a spanking new bib,
and eat solids for the first time!

We started off with good ole' traditional rice cereal...

Can you see his excitement? I'd like to think he knew what was coming...

The verdict? It was quite a messy. Scott still doesn't know how he feels about solids.

We're going to try avocado next!

Please Mom, can I have some more?

Birthdays

2011-08-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

So far August has been filled with lots of birthday celebrations!

3 of the 6 ladies below have August Birthdays...

And I love any excuse to go out and celebrate!

Here are some scenes from Krystle's Birthday lunch yesterday...

the birthday girl!

5 Months Old!

2011-08-02T22:35:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little guy is 5 months old now!

Can you even believe it? Why is it time starts hyper-accelerating as soon as you become a parent?

At the same time it feels like FOREVER ago that we actually had Scott.

And I sure can't imagine life without these irresitable cheeks to kiss...

He is still long - 96th percentile at his last visit and wearing 9 month old clothes!

But I don't think he still qualifies as skinny. He has turned into a little chunk!

It's all relative, but he is rocking a great double chin these days.

Especially compared the skinny frog-man he was the first couple months.

These days besides loving the Jump-and-Go, swimming, swinging, and laughing at Mommy

Scotty can be found accompanying us on runs in the morning...

Here is the close up of his expression in this picture...

He actually does in fact love the jogging stroller.

He is also quite the roller. Always on the go and trying to get things.

I had to move everything in our living room over and lay out the biggest blanket we had for him to roll.

I put him in the middle and somehow he still ends up in places like this.

Gone are the days when I could leave the room and be assured he would be in the same place when I came back.

I love this little guy SO much. I can't even explain.

He is such a light and joy in our lives. I love being his Mom!

Swimming and Swinging

2011-07-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we took Scott swimming for the first time!
Earlier last week I took him to the kiddie pool with some of my friends.

I put him in the water for the first time.... and he loved it! No crying for this kid.

He was so excited and started splashing his arms and smiling. He also loved listening to the other kids talk and laugh!

This weekend we took him over to Nate's parents to go in the big pool...

He was so excited and loved it just as much!

Nate played peek-a-boo (Scott's new favorite game) by going under the water and making a big splash on the way up. He thought it was hilarious. His little baby giggles make me so happy!

He also went in the swing for the first time and thought it was great.

It is so fun as a parent to experience all these "firsts" with him. I think it's almost more fun for me than it is for him!

Here is a video of Scott playing his new favorite game with Mommy!

So Lucky...

2011-07-20T20:37:00.000-07:00

To have such awesome girlfriends down here in San Diego!

I must say, girls nights are good for the soul...

It makes living far away from my family so much easier!

We get together once a month for a "recipe night". Each time is a new food-centered theme and we all take turns hosting. Last night my lovely friend Rachel hosted. I knew Rachel and I were meant to be friends because the first time I met her she brought homemade rice pudding made with real vanilla beans to a BBQ. Right up my ally...

People brought ingredients for a couple delicious pizzas...

Rachel provided the crust, sauce, AND Italian sodas...

Who would have ever thought to make them at home? So fantastic!

Kate made this very adorable and very necessary banner for the night...

I contributed a fruit pizza...

I'm always most useful when it comes to dessert.

Love these ladies! Thanks for a great night!

Johnny Jumper

2011-07-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

He LOVES it!!

The Ranch Trip

2011-07-13T17:03:00.000-07:00

Nate, Scott and I just got back from a 3 week vacation! Well it was a 3-week vacation for me anyway. We started off by driving up to Escalante, Utah for a trip with Nate's family. After a week at the ranch, we drove up to Salt Lake and I left on a plan for Virginia for a week and a half while Nate stayed in Utah for a business trip. Scott was a great traveler to my relief... I'll start by posting about the Ranch Trip!

Nate's family used to own a ranch in Escalante, Utah.

The whole time I've known Nate he has talked about how much he loved going there as a kid.

Nate's parents friends now own the ranch now and turned it into a bed and breakfast.
The Collins family took over the whole thing for a week and it was a blast!

The drive through the dessert!

I love hanging out with my in-laws... seriously!

Nate has the awesome siblings and we had lots of fun day trips and excursions...

Hiking to Upper Calf Creek which turned out to be A LOT bigger of a hike than we anticipated...

Water Fall at Calf Creek

Getting lost on the hike out...

Scotty and I at dinner one night!

How cute are my nephews?

Hiking at Devil's Garden

Lower Calf Creek

Being typical parents who assume their baby will love having his feet dipped in ice cold water..

Baking, watching movies, and playing games at night...

Scott LOVED all the attention he got the whole trip

Angela, Alice and I at Calf Creek

Riding ATVs!

Our guided hike through Slot Canyon

Claustrophobic much? This wasn't even the tightest part..

Hanging out at dinner

Sarah is 3 weeks younger than Scott and such a sweetie! She got blessed that Sunday at the Ranch

ATVing to town

It was a great trip! Thanks Collins family!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-18T22:16:00.000-07:00

One day I'll be big like you Dad!

Thanks for always changing my diapers...

And holding me during dinner, so I can be up at the table with you and Mom...

I get really excited when you come home so we can rough house...

And I'm glad we get to share our birthdays together from now on...

Thanks for putting me to bed every night with a book and bath...


And coming in my play gym with me, even though we both barely fit... I love it when you play guitar so I can dance...

You're the best Dad ever! We love you!

Rouxbe School

2011-06-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know me well, know that I love food and I love to cook.
Though my quarter-annual posts on my food blog are a poor representation, it is by far my greatest passion.

In college for my senior capstone, I got to develop a product for a company called Lehi Roller Mills. I also worked on several other product development teams for competitions as well as a group that developed some of the church welfare products. I loved it so much that when we moved to San Diego 2 years ago, I seriously looked into going to culinary school. Culinary school paired with my degree in food science is what many people do who go on to develop recipes for large companies, magazines, etc. My dream job! I toured the school and had a start day picked out until I found a job where I thought I would get to use my food science skills from college. My job (described here) turned out to be a lot more operations that developing recipes - but I did get to work on food related things!

The other day my sister-in-law sent me a link for the most amazing groupon for the Rouxbe Cooking School. If you don't know what the Rouxbe School is check it out here. Watch the instructional video on pan frying and you will see why I'm totally obsessed. I love the scientific angle they take on explaining everything. Right up my food science ally. I got a year subscription for $100 for Mother's Day. Best gift ever! Gift to myself? Absolutely. Don't worry Nate also got me a new Chef's knife...

I think I might go to culinary school one day, but for now I can learn like I'm in cooking school - without having to fork out $20,000 for admissions ;)

I Present to You...

2011-06-06T15:16:00.000-07:00

The Roll Over!

He totally surprised me during tummy time today!

One of the best moments of being a Mom so far.

I'm so happy I was there, on the ground with him when it happened.

I love his persistance.

Way to go Scotty!

Nothing Better Than...

2011-06-02T16:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Gummy Smiles and Giggles!

Memorial Day Beach Day!

2011-05-31T19:57:00.000-07:00

Loving the Bumbo!

Haha! London LOVES Krystle so much she gets jealous if she holds other babies...

This Weekend...

2011-05-29T21:31:00.000-07:00

It's been a fabulous weekend so far! The best part is that as I'm writing this I don't have that "back to school" feeling Sunday night always brings, because tomorrow is a holiday! (That feeling still happens being Mom, maybe even moreso! Now because Nate has to go back to work...) Nate took off work Friday and we spent the day at his parent's sailboat which they anchored at Point Loma. It's so relaxing being on the water. My favorite part was taking the small boat (a small powerboat-like dingy) and cruising around the bay with Nate!
We drove up close to the seals on the Naval Base and looked at all the docked expensive yachts. So fun!

On Saturday morning Caroline and Aaron, some of my best friends from college, came to visit.
I'm so happy they got to see Scott! It's always good catching up with people you love :)

Aaron was a natural!

I Love Leeny!

Later that day we went to Daxton's birthday party!
Our friends in San Diego are always looking for any excuse for a costume party. That's why we love them.
It was cops and robbers themed and everything was awesome!

We went as robbers - mostly because Scott already had those jailbird PJs :)

Wanted signs for all the kids - SO CUTE!

The Birthday Boy!

"Ham-burglars" were amongst the refreshments...

"Fingerprint Station" for the kids. Note Kate's costume which was amazing!

Scott put on his best burglar face for this picture

After the party we went back down to the boat to grill steaks and hang out with Nate's parents.

We would've spent the night on the boat with them but I'm pretty sure that would have equaled no sleep for the 3 of us.

Love my boys!

Sunset, good food, and great conversation

Alert as always

How could you not be in love with San Diego?

Yay for long weekends!

3 Months Old!

2011-05-26T20:30:00.000-07:00

Scott is 3 Months Old! And currently loving:

The sound of his own voice! He spends his days blowing bubbles and making gurggling noises. He loves to lay on the ground and "talk". He has quite the repertoire of noises! Here he is "complaining" after a long session of tummy time.

Smiling at Mommy and Daddy! He watches us everywhere we go in the room just waiting to shoot us a huge smile as soon as we look over.

His hands.. He found them a few weeks ago and is a little obsessed. I catch him intently starring at them all the time. They also make a nice alternative to the pacifier..

Hehe :)

Kicking his feet! He is still extremely active. Here he is kicking away in his crib.

Going on outings. Scott loves to look around at the big wide world in his stroller. He is mesmerized by everything! The sounds outside, the colorful things on shelves at the grocery store, etc. If I had to describe him in one word it would be alert. He is always wide-eyed and taking everything in. He actually gets nervous around people he doesn't know now because he is so intently trying to process things. (And because he is starting to be attached to his Mommy... :) - sweet but sometimes annoying)

This is the first photo shoot where he tried to eat the elephant

He has started laughing which is so fun! It's still hard to get a good laugh out of him because he is new at it. He likes it when we tickle under his arms and blow on his tummy. He also loves new noises. He gets bored of the noises his toys make really quick - but when he hears something new he gets a huge smile!

So handsome!

Recently...

2011-05-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

We were lucky to have a fun visitors the past month or so!

After Scott's baby blessing my best friend Jessica came to visit and see baby Scott for the first time!

Naturally we were coincidentally wearing matching outfits when I picked her up from the airport. Striped shirts, blazers, jeans, and flats all on accident? I think so...

It was also the first time I've seen her new pixie cut! How cute right?

We had too much fun while she was here! Beach, vintage shopping, seeing Jane Eyre, Sprinkles cupcakes, cooking together, and of course endless girl talk...

Diet Coke is why we understand each other...

Scotty and I miss you Jess! Thanks for coming :)

After Jess left (literally later the same day) Nate's best friend Ryan, his wife Kaylee, and their little girl Avery came to San Diego! Ryan came on business and the girls tagged along. Kaylee and I got to hang out all day while the boys were at work! Being a Mom is totally the best job ever ;)

My sea-faring man...

Scott and Avery hanging out!

We've also been having fun with our friends in San Diego...

Tea Party to watch the Royal Wedding? Absolutely!

And my friend Kate threw the MOST adorable birthday party for her 1 year-old London!

Can you even believe how cute?

We love our friends here!

What has Scott been up too you might ask?

Falling asleep while waiting to ask questions...

Successfully escaping from each swaddle before settling down at nap time...

I bought a clue and stopped swaddling him. Now he's graduated to those weird looking sleep sacks.

Playing guitar with Daddy!

He has also moved up to his 3-6 month clothes! I guess that makes sense because he is 3 months old now.

But I was a kind of sad packing away his tiny pajamas and onesies.

Don't grow up little Scott!

Now he is also a lot more interested in toys and has starting loving his play gym.

It's so fun to see how curious he is!

Here is Scott in his church clothes this past Sunday! He is such a sweet boy. I know understand what it means to have a mother's love. Being a Mom is the best thing thats ever happened to me! That and marrying Nate of course. Sometimes I still can't believe he is ours :)

2 Months Old!

2011-04-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

Don't mind the drool...

We went to Scott’s 2 month checkup yesterday and he clocked in with some pretty impressive stats..

Head Size: 99th percentile

Height: 99th percentile

Weight: 49th percentile

He is LONG and skinny!

Yesterday Scott also got his shots which was probably more traumatizing for me than it was for him. It was so sad to see his perfectly happy face whither up into the saddest look of betrayal... That was followed by a 10 second silent scream until the loudest cry I’ve ever heard came out. The nurse even said “breath, breath” because he took so long for the cry to come out. He got a slight fever and spent the day very still and gazing off with a glazed look in his eyes. That is very unlike him because he is usually really active and constantly on the go!

Scott loves to look around and still has his “stroller eyes” anywhere public.
A few days ago the cashier at Trader-Joes even commented on what an intense face he had.

He loves the song itsy-bitsy spider and is mesmerized at the hand motions.

He loves being around other kids.
He gets really quiet and opens his eyes really wide just listening to everything going on around him.

He is a GREAT sleeper and usually goes down around 7-8pm and sleeps till 4-5am.
Then he is only up for 20 minutes to eat and back up again around 7. Lucky us!

He makes all kinds of cooing noises and will even squeal with delight sometimes!
I can’t wait till we can really make him laugh.

He lost all his birth hair but last week started getting some new hair!
It's coming in dark brown. Perfect for his olive skin.

Sleeping babies are too sweet!

I never posted a picture of his baby blessing outfit. Here it is! It's actually the same one Nate wore for his blessing!

Trying to hold up his head!

Happy 2 Months Scott!

Bouncing

2011-04-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

Baby Blessing

2011-04-12T10:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had family in town for Scott's baby blessing.

He screamed through the whole blessing :)

But it was still special and we LOVE seeing family of course!

Is this picture not hilarious?

Great-Grandparents!

I Love...

2011-04-07T19:31:00.000-07:00

sleepy little baby burritos!

Just Because I Know...

2011-04-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

you all want to watch more videos of my baby... right?

I may or may not stay up watching videos of Scott every night after he's gone to bed.

Nate says I'm obsessed and I agree. Here are some gems from today.

Sorry they are always on his changing table... it's where we keep the camera these days.

He is constantly on the go - kicking/running all day!

I'll admit I'm a little worried for when he becomes mobile.

Little cheeser..

2011-04-04T20:16:00.000-07:00

Beach Date

2011-04-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

Nothing like a picnic at the beach on Friday night to kick off conference weekend...

Scott's So Glad...

2011-04-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

when Daddy comes home!

almost as happy as Mommy ;)

Learning...

2011-03-28T22:24:00.000-07:00

As a new Mom I have learned a lot of lessons in the past month.

For example, before leaving for one of Scott's doctors appointments - I was prepared. I had the diaper bag packed, the car seat ready to go, something besides pajamas on, and left the house within minutes of Scott eating. Before leaving I had a little voice in my head tell me to bring the pumped milk in the fridge and a bottle just in case... I ignored the thought because I had just fed him and assumed he certainly wouldn't get hungry within the hour it would take to go to the doctor. We arrived at the doctor's office, got checked in, and had his weight check with the nurse. Within minutes of the nurse leaving Scott started his pre-hunger antics - which consist of Scott frantically panting and kicking his feet. Ironically these antics can easily be mistake for Scott being really happy and active. So from experience, I knew he would be spiraling downward into a hysterical fit of hunger within minutes. Would it be awkward if I started feeding him and the doctor came in? Probably. So instead I just sat hoping the doctor would come in soon and just think Scott was a happily active baby. Not so of course. Scott screamed like a mad man for the entire visit and while I'm sure it happens all the time - I felt like that completely unprepared Mom who brought a hungry baby to the doctor. I even missed what the doctor said Scott's height percentile was because I was too distracted from his crying...All the nurses gave me those kind of disapproving/while sympathetic half smiles as I left the office with my screaming baby.
Lesson Learned: Pack bottles. And probably more importantly don't ignore that little voice.

I also quickly learned that when people say a baby eats every 2-3 hours in the beginning - they count the 2-3 hour intervals from the BEGINNING of the last feeding. And in the beginning babies take a long time to eat (45 minutes+ for us..) My visions of 3-hour chunks of sleep were shattered as my life became a series of hour chunks in between feedings. Luckily he started eating better and outgrew that pretty quickly..

Sleep when they sleep = better in theory then actuality. Especially if your baby is a fan of cat naps.
I try to focus on other neglected essentials. Like going to the bathroom and eating food.

I've also learned great things - like if you give your baby a pacifier it will NOT completely derail breastfeeding like all the doctors/lactation consultants said.

And swaddling your baby (while they hate the actual swaddling process) will help them sleep longer.

In addition, the white noise machine is our new best friend.

Aside from Mom lessons, I've also relearned general things about life...

Like if you leave clothes in the washer too long, they will mildew.

Or when it looks like this outside, it will rain if you go on a walk.

And if you leave a pot of water boiling on the stove too long, it will evaporate, thus melting the pacifiers.

Other lessons?

I'm sure there are tons. It's been a crazy month! I know it sounds cliche but being a Mom honestly gets better everyday. Probably because we're figuring a lot of these things out.

And this little face...

makes it all worth it.

Talking

2011-03-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

He is quite the talker! :)

Stroller Eyes

2011-03-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

This is the face Scott makes when we go on walks... Nate and I call it stroller eyes.

He opens up his eyes SO wide like he can't even believe how exciting the world passing by is.

So exciting that he doesn't even notice when his pacifier falls out.

Some kids fall asleep on walks... but not Scott.

That would require sleeping during the day, which we're still working on.

1 Month Old

2011-03-22T15:03:00.000-07:00

Our happy little guy is 1 month old!

I'm taking pictures of him with his elephant every month for scale.

What a crazy month its been!

From constant chaos of the first week and the zoombie-like fatigue of the following weeks,

I am beginning to emerge as a functioning person again.

Scott has a great temperament and is a surprisingly social for such a young age.

He loves to smile more each day and makes a LOT of noise.

He loves being part of the action and fights day-time sleep like you wouldn't believe.

He has been sleeping more at night (a 5 hour stretch last night!), but I'm excited for a real schedule and real bedtime to develop.

He is a tall skinny guy, but putting on more weight!

Happy 1 Month Scott!

Hanging Out on Sunday

2011-03-20T16:39:00.000-07:00

All I Want is the Pacifer...

2011-03-18T22:53:00.000-07:00

I took this video about a week ago and found it in my iphotos...

I don't know why but I think it's really funny.
Maybe it's bad I think his impatient facial expressions are hilarious.
Or maybe I just think it's funny because I'm his Mom.

Several disclaimers...

- Don't judge me for being a cheesy Mom.

- I have no idea what the music in the background... it's the Mozart Pandora station..

Lots of Firsts!

2011-03-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

Scott is 3 1/2 weeks! And he has had lots of firsts...

First bath time!

First time hanging out with Grandma!

We also had first beach trips but I forgot my camera...

And best of all....

First SMILES!!

Milky Tongue!

His sweet little smiles make me SO happy! I just love him!

Too Cute Not to Share

2011-03-07T18:07:00.000-08:00


(Click to Enlarge)

Here are some pictures from the first 2 weeks of Scott's life!

I'm totally becoming that Mom who turns her blog into a shrine of her first-born child.

But I kind of love Moms like that. And he's too cute not to share!

Fun facts about baby Scott:

- He loves his little arms and hands! So much that he fought his way out of the nurses swaddles at the hospital. He hates being swaddled because it constricts his arms and hands - which he loves to have right near his face.

- He loves classical music on Pandora.

- He loves Nate's truck - the motion and the loud noise of the engine. (This makes his Dad happy :) )

- We call him our frog man because of his long skinny arms and legs.

- According to the lactation consultant we saw, he can eat 3.8 ounces in 15 minutes...

- He is a pretty easy-going guy - except if he's hungry or you're trying to put a shirt on him. Once again he doesn't like people messing with his arms.

- His cry is more a yell. I heard another baby cry in CVS on Saturday and it sounded so baby-like compared to Scott's mad little yell.

(Click to Enlarge)

Scott's Birth Story

2011-03-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

As you all know now Scott was born on February 19, 2011 at 8:35pm! Since I was an avid stalker of people's birth stories during pregnancy I thought I would contribute mine to the blogging world.

Note: I wrote this story in my journal (which is a Google document) and tried to edit it down for the blog.. but it's still incredibly long.

The baby’s due date was February 16, 2011. Nate and I had been looking forward to that day the whole pregnancy but it came and went just like any other day! We went for walks everyday the week leading up to due date. My dad was coming out that Thursday (the 17th) and I was starting to get worried the baby wouldn’t come while he was here!

On Friday morning we had a non-stress test scheduled at the hospital to check the baby. I had been having contractions and when they hooked me up to the monitor they noticed my contractions were pretty regular (like every 5-8 minutes) but not long or strong. After the appointment Nate dropped me off at the apartment. He went to work and Dad came to pick me up to get breakfast at the Original Pancake House. After breakfast we went to La Jolla Shores and went for a walk on the beach. It was so great to spend time talking and hanging out with Dad. I was having more contractions and it was the prefect distraction! Nate came home a little early that afternoon and we all hung out that evening. My contractions were there and definitely more regular but not necessarily that painful. I thought for sure they were on their way to getting more painful because they were coming every 3-5 minutes and lasting for 40-50 seconds. Dad left around 9 that night and I was sure we would be headed into the hospital shortly. Nate and I decided to go to try and go to sleep and thought my contractions would wake me up as the got more painful. I tried to go to sleep but for the life of me could not! My contractions were still regular but not painful so I decided to try and watch TV.

I ended up falling asleep for a few minutes then woke up with more contractions and a bad headache. My blood pressure had been a lot higher earlier that week and my doctor wanted to keep an eye on it. I woke up Nate and we decided to take my blood pressure with a home machine his Mom lent us because of the headache. It was really high (146/102)! So we called over to the hospital and asked what we should do. They said to come in right away.

So around 12:30pm we packed up the remaining things in our hospital bag and went to go check into the hospital. It was so exciting! For some reason I didn’t really think we would be admitted to the hospital because my contractions were still not very painful. I just thought they would check my blood pressure and send us home. The nurses and everyone in the labor and delivery unit were so cheerful and nice as we checked in. They took my blood pressure which was indeed high and did some blood work. I got hooked up to the monitors to chart my contractions and the midwife on call said that she wanted to admit us. Since I was past my due date, my blood pressure was high and I was having regular contractions on my own, the midwife suggested I have some pitocin to augment my labor along.

For some reason I was really thrown off by being admitted to the hospital and hadn’t yet wrapped my mind around the fact we were having actually going to have the baby! Nate and I thought about it and agreed with would probably be better to have the baby out sooner rather than later since he was measuring large at the ultrasound we had earlier that week. I got hooked up to pitocin around 4am and at that time was dilated to 3cm. Then came the waiting game! I tried to go to sleep because I knew we had a long couple hours ahead but couldn’t sleep because I was so excited/nervous. Instead Nate and I played mancala and watched random late night shows/infomericals.

Around 6:45am my water broke on its own. This was a good sign but the water contained meconium. This is common with overdue babies and the nurse told me this just meant they would have two level 2 NICU nurses at the deliver to suck the baby’s lungs out right after birth to prevent him from inhaling the meconium. At 7am the nurses had a shift change and we were assigned a new nurse. I loved her! She immediately came in and fixed all the pilows perfectly on the bed to make me comfortable. Around 7:30 we called my Dad and to tell him no baby yet but asked if he could come over a relieve Nate for a bit so Nate could run home and take a shower/get some food. We only live 5 minutes away from the hospital so it was nice Nate was able to run home. Right before Nate left they checked me and I was still at 3cm. Around 8:30 when my Dad was there my contractions started getting a lot more painful! My nurse said it would probably be better to hold off on the epidural because I wasn’t dilated very much and I agreed because I wasn’t ready to have to lay there all afternoon. Instead they gave me a dose of a narcotic to take the edge off the contractions. It made me so sleepy! I would fall asleep in between each contraction but woke up every 5 minutes or so when the contractions came. Nate came back and I hardly remember my Dad leaving because I was so out of it.

After an hour the narcotic wore off and I started feeling the contractions in full force! I stood up and rocked back and forth with Nate during each one because I knew once I got the epidural it would be in the bed for the rest of labor! The nurse told me the anesthesiologist had just gone in to help with a c-section and would be back in an hour or so - so she offered another dose of the narcotic to hold me over which I glady accepted. I know it’s totally a personal thing but after feeling how painful contractions are I have no idea why someone would want to do a natural birth! They are so much worse than I thought they would be! Maybe because the pitocin made them stronger than normal. Or maybe because I'm a wimp. The second time the narcotic didn’t work as well because my contractions were stronger. But the anesthesiologist came in after about 45 more minutes and I got the epidural around 11am. It was instant relief! I feel asleep for a few hours until they came to check me again.

Around 3pm I was still dilated only to 3cm which was very discouraging. I knew that more than anything I didn’t want a c-section! The nurse/midwife said they had hoped I would have made more progress by then and while they wouldn’t rush it, having a c-section would be a possibility if things didn’t progress over that afternoon/night. This was mostly because my water had broken early that morning and they don’t like baby’s to be in there longer than 24 hours after the water breaking to prevent infection. I was so sad at the possibility of having a c-section! Nate and I said a prayer hoping things would move along faster. I had been on the phone with my Mom all morning and was talking to her about my worries right before they came to check me again at 5pm. I was dilated to a 6! Nate, the midwife, and nurses were all happy and hopeful I had finally started to make progress. I called my Mom back right away to tell her the good news!

2 hours later I was dilated to a 9 ½! I was so surprised and relieved! The nurse said it would be time to start pushing within the hour. They were worried about the baby being very large and I was concerned I might now be able to push him out. I was nervous about pushing and couldn’t believe the time had actually come! I started pushing around 7:45pmand after 50 minutes he was born. That sounds like a long time but they thought it would take at least 2 hours for a first time Mom of my size to push out a 9 pounder so I was glad!

The moment he was born I was overcome with so many emotions. I started bawling because I was so overwhelmed! Both by intense love and intense relief! The first thing I noticed were his little dimples! Neither Nate nor I have dimples so I don't know where he got them. The nurses almost immediately took him over to suck out his lungs and so I didn’t get to hold him right away. Between me getting stitched up (so glad I had the epidural for that part...) and him getting taken care of it felt like so long before he was in my arms again. Luckily Nate got to be with him.

He is a perfect baby! Perfectly healthy and perfectly handsome! I'm pretty sure we've spent the majority of the past 2 weeks just starring at him. Adjusting to being a new Mom is definitely hard. I have less of that "really freaked out" feeling as each day passes. He is wonderful and we love him so much!

Photo Shoot

2011-03-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

Scott and I had a little photo shoot the other day!
We got a nice Nikon camera for Christmas and it is already worth the investment.
I can't get enough of our sweet little guy!

Hey little guy!

I love his little feet!

So serious...

Looking up at Mommy!

I'm biased... but could he be any cuter?

I will post the birth story soon!
In the mean time I am trying to get sleep and soak up every moment with our little newborn...

Welcome Scott William Collins!

2011-02-26T18:19:00.000-08:00

Scott William Collins was born on February 19, 2011 at 8:35pm!

He weighed 8 pounds 15 ounces and measured 21.5 inches long.

He has beautiful olive skin, his Mom's almond shaped eyes, and the sweetest heart-shaped lips.

We love him so much!

He loves his little hands!

First family photo!

So sweet :)

Ready to go home!

The proud Dad!

I look not so great in this picture.. but it was great to have my Dad there!

Going home! I had to sit next to him!

Welcome baby Scott! I can't believe he is ours.

He is such a sweetie and we are adjusting to being new parents.
Luckily he's made it easy on us by being a wonderful baby!

40 Weeks!

2011-02-16T22:42:00.000-08:00

Today is February 16th! The day I have been anticipating for the past 9 months...

Waking up today and having it be the baby's due date was very anti-climatic.

All day today I've felt like I've been waiting for Christmas or big party - but February 16th has come and gone like any other day in pregnancy...

Here I am looking large and in charge at 40 weeks...

I hope this is my last pregnancy post because I am more than ready to have this baby!
I can't wait to snuggle with our little guy and kiss his tiny cheeks.

I am also completely over being pregnant and having nothing in my closet fit me, giant puffy feet with toes that resemble sausages, and horrible nights sleeping.

I guess the horrible nights sleep won't get much better.. but at least that will be because our baby is here.

Come on baby! You uncomfortable mommy and handsome daddy are more than ready to meet you!

Stay at Home Mom

2011-02-03T13:08:00.000-08:00

The past 4 days have been my first days as a stay-at-home Mom... Without the Mom part...

So far today I've:

- Deep cleaned the kitchen

- Washed and folded 3 loads of laundry

- Ironed my baby's receiving blankets (necessary?)

- Prepared a Powerpoint about basic nutrition for women for a workshop I'm teaching

- Baked a cake (who am I to advise people on nutrition?)

- Pre-made dinner

- Vacuumed

- Made a hair appointment

And it's only 1:30...

I should probably do something unproductive now like watch TV or eat some of the cake I made...

Or maybe I'll go for another long walk to encourage this little guy to make his debut...
Something tells me he is very comfortable in there and won't be showing up anytime this week.
Who knows though! It's all part of the waiting game...

Nursery Reveal

2011-02-01T13:51:00.000-08:00

The nursery is finally complete! This weekend Nate and I finished all the shopping and gathering of things needed for baby. And yesterday I had the whole day to finish getting things organized and set up in the nursery. I definitely had a lot of fun "nesting". I've been working on various crafts and projects for his room over the past couple months and its fun to see how it all came together!

Back in October I began searching for nursery inspiration and had a hard time finding anything I really liked. Instead of buying a crib skirt and nursery decor, I decided I'd be happier finding fabric and making everything. This was a lofty goal considering I had never worked a sewing machine (without my Mom's help) prior to undertaking these projects. Luckily, I kept the sewing endeavors very basic so I was able to finish everything I planned.
Just don't look too closely at the seams...

I found this tutorial and knew right away I wanted to make one! The little birds are hand-sewn and stuffed. While time-consuming, they were actually really fun to make. Nate and I collected the sticks on a walk outside and the hardest part was getting the mobile to balance correctly. With some experimenting we got it to balance!
I decided to hang it above the changing table for the baby's viewing pleasure during diaper changes.

I love this fabric! It was my inspiration fabric for the whole nursery and I used other complementary patterns throughout. I made the crib skirt based on this tutorial. Except thanks to my limited sewing abilities I used twice as much Velcro as she did to make it hang straight.

I bought this lamp from Ikea and for $10 and covered it with some of the fabric using spray adhesive.
My lovely friend Jessica gave me this vintage-inspired Giraffe poster. I love it!

Speaking of Jessica, she also made me this adorable "It's A Boy!" banner for my baby shower in Utah. She made it using felt and fabric and it's even cuter in person!

I made the two throw pillow covers in the crib using this tutorial.
Note: I know the pillows are completely unnecessary for the crib and might pose a safety hazard - so I'll take them out when he's sleeping...
I'll admit looking cute is generally trumps practicality in my book...

The wall above the crib looked a little bare so I found these picture frames for $4 each at Ikea and framed some of the fabric.

His toy shelf! Yet to be filled...

I also made this pillow for the glider...

Clothes washed, folded and ready to go...

I'm so happy to have a closet to organize his things! Especially considering our last apartment had absolutely no closets. I'm also really excited to use the jogging stroller in this picture to get in SHAPE after he is born!

We are ready for our little papoose to arrive! Lots of long walks on the itinerary for me this week...

37 Weeks!

2011-01-25T20:45:00.000-08:00

Full Term!

And with quite the bump to show for it...

Getting more excited!

(And more uncomfortable...)

The doctor thinks it will still be a few weeks...

But in the mean time I'm excited about my LAST day of 9-5 work on Friday!

Let the full-on nesting begin!

My Top 5 Pregnancy Must-Haves

2011-01-12T10:14:00.000-08:00

#5 - Mama Bee's Belly Butter - This is #5 because I think I like the idea of this Belly Butter more than it being an actual necessity... It smells so good and I love rubbing it on my growing belly at night!

#4 - Comfy Slippers - I never knew it was possible to have feet that hurt so much until I got pregnant. Since I make a conscious choice to inflict further pain on myself by periodically wearing flats that provide no support for my swollen feet, slippers are a must. After a long day of standing nothing feels better than putting on comfy socks and fluffy slippers. I actually hate being bare foot around the house while I've been pregnant so these are a lifesaver!

#3 - Cereal of All Kinds - I have always been a cereal girl, but even more so during pregnancy! I consistently have a bowl of cereal a few hours after dinner every night. Favorites? Special K, Frosted Mini-Wheats, and Cheerios.. I also have a huge weakness for sugar cereal like Cocoa Dyno-Bites, Oh's, and Captain Crunch.. I have to avoid buying these kinds of cereal because if they are in my house its a guarantee I'll eat the whole box within 2 days..

#2 - Husband's Tee Shirts - I have always aspired to be, yet never been someone who wears cute matching lounge clothes or pajamas around the house. It's always been sweat pants (yes I still wear some from high school sports) and tee shirts from various swim meets and 5Ks for me... A few weeks ago even the largest of my tee shirts stopped fitting. Luckily Nate has a full collection of shirts that are now the perfect size...

#1 - LEGGINGS! - Leggings and strectchy pants are totally my #1 pregnancy item. I love them. It's like wearing pajamas all day while still being socially acceptable. In my opinion the realm of what's socially acceptable greatly expands when you're pregnant. (Ex. wearing UGGs to work, never doing my hair, etc.) Or I'd like to think it does... I may or my not have even bought a pair of jeggings...

Ingredients for a Perfect December

2011-01-11T11:20:00.000-08:00

A "Babymoon" trip to LA...

A Gingerbread Chalet class with tons of old ladies at the local community college...

Seeing best friends and going to Caroline's wedding...

Making traditional Christmas Candy...

Hanging out with Nate's family in San Diego...

Making delicious food...

Playing with our cute niece and nephews...

Holiday Light Walk...

Cute baby shower thrown by my sister and mother-law...

New Year's Eve Party and minute to win it games with friends...

Welcome 2011! Good luck beating 2010 :)

34 Weeks

2011-01-06T20:50:00.000-08:00

Wow! I am so behind on blogging. We've been non-stop busy since we got back from Thanksgiving with moving, working, a wedding, getting sick, Nate's family in town, Christmas, baby showers, childbirth prep classes, getting ready for the baby and more!

But I have the feeling my blogging audience is interested in the most important thing developing in our life!

Here I am with my bump before a New Year's Eve party! I was very happy to find a sparkly New Year's shirt in my closet that still (barely) fit.

How am I feeling? Throughout the pregnancy my response to this FAQ has been great! Overall I really have had an easy pregnancy. However, the past couple weeks I have started to feel like I am indeed very pregnant.

It seems like my stomach is HUGE and I am increasingly immobile. Nate has to help me get up from the couch because I get stuck and I have to roll to the edge of my bed to get out. I have a really short torso, so I carry the baby really high. My OBG-YN actually makes a comment about how high up he is every time I go in. As I've gotten further along, carrying high has meant a lot of uncomfortable things - like heartburn, acid reflux, and generally feeling like I can't breath because everything is so smooshed up there. Most nights I sleep propped up by a least 4 pillows. I'm looking forward to when the baby "drops" closer to my due date.

He still moves a ton which I love! One of his favorite things to do is wedge his little feet under my ribs. I now have new perspective on how annoying it must be when I try and wedge my feet under Nate's legs at night.

He is a very healthy baby and I'm blessed to have no complications. I am slightly nervous about the actual delivery part of this all and keep skipping over it in my mind. I only really think about being pregnant and then having the baby at home. I guess it's good not to dwell on it and freak myself out though. We are currently gathering all the final things needed for the baby and finishing up the nursery! Nate and I are also enjoying our last few weeks as just us two. We're sure that in a good way, life will never been the same after our little papoose arrives...

Thanksgiving at the Beach

2010-12-07T07:49:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving Nate and I met up with my family at a beach house in Topsail, North Carolina. Growing up we used to go to a beach house in North Carolina every summer for a week with my cousins. My Dad thought it would be fun to have a change of pace for the holidays this year, and have everyone meet at the beach for Thanksgiving instead of in August. I know I currently reside 10 minutes away from the beach on the other side of the country, but we've recently turned into those lame people who live next to something awesome and never go. So we were excited about a week at the beach, and even more so a week with family!

Being OCD, I always book flights months in advance for the holidays to make sure we get a good price. It is not cheap having to make a transcontinental trek at the peak of the travel season every year. We booked a red-eye flight for the Saturday before Thanksgiving back in May (before we were aware of the fact I would be 7 months pregnant for the trip). I had visions of having to go to the bathroom or needing to get up and stretch out my puffy feet while being trapped in the window seat by a sleeping fellow passenger. Luckily it turned out ok and I passed out the whole flight out of exhaustion from packing up our apartment that day.

We arrived in Raleigh the next day, rented a car, and drove 2 hours to the beach!

The first part of the trip was great because just my Mom, Dad, and brother Wade were there with us, and we all got to hang out and catch up before the crowd arrived on Wednesday. The beach house was amazing! Nate and I got one of the first picks of 10 bedrooms and it even had an elevator. My favorite part was the kitchen.

Wouldn't you just love to stare at the ocean while doing the dishes everyday?

Hello Ocean

Topsail island is usually pretty remote, but there was hardly a soul at the beach the first part of the week.

Sometimes I think I look obese... Then I remember I'm pregnant.

The weather was awesome the whole week. We had a great time flying kites, playing
Frisbee, going to Wilmington, going to the movies, playing games, and walking on the beach.

My Dad insisted that he take his "California Son-Law" to experience some real Carolina BBQ. We usually stop at this hole-in-the-wall called Wilbur's BBQ on the drive down from Virginia. But since we were already at the beach we looked up some places on yelp and found one with a bunch of good reviews. After driving to the middle of nowhere near Jacksonville, NC we pulled into what literally was somone's house.

They turned the side of their house into a BBQ restaurant? My Dad fairly anti-chain restaurant and always says there's no way to eat but local on trips. This was a new extreme.

I'm sure it would have been awesome according the yelp reviews, but unfortunately they are only open Thursday-Sunday... So with a change of plans we decided to go to "Thigs" down the road.

How could we go wrong with a restaurant with dancing pigs on the sign?

Sadly, Thigs wasn't that good. The hush puppies and fried okra were great, but the usual tangy shredded Carolina barbecue was more like a pile of mush.

Note the slightly pained expressions on everyone's faces.

On Wednesday everyone else arrived! It was fun to have a full house and visit with everyone...

Crazy boys swimming in the cold ocean.

My new best friend Hallee! Cutest little girl ever...

My husband rolls with the 16 year-olds...

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious granted my family is full of awesome chefs like my Dad and Aunt Tracy! Everyone was jealous of my stretchy pants after dinner...

Assembling the pies...

Overall it was a great trip! We loved the big group games of Catch Phrase and Balderdash, delicious food, gorgeous beach, and time with family. That was the last time I'll see everyone before our little mister arrives.

But only 2 more months till that happens!

Goodbye Ocean! See you on the other side...

Observations

2010-11-18T12:56:00.000-08:00

I look a lot like a plump stuffed turkey in my maternity shirts these days.

My baby loves jamba juice - it sends him on a dancing/kicking spree for several hours.

I love stretchy pants and maternity pants. How am I ever going to go back to wearing regular pants? All pants should be maternity pants.

A few months ago Nate and I decided to commit to him starting his own company. We feel great about that decision and like the Lord has really been guiding him. Nate is always a hard worker (much of our dating life was spent in the library), but he has been working especially hard these past few weeks. We're talking up till 1am programming, sleeping for 5 hours, then up again at 6am. Him and his friend Lee are both computer programmers and have been designing a client management system for life insurance. After over a year of hardcore working on this project, they are weeks away from finishing it, which is exciting.

Does it bother me he has to work a lot? Not at all! Because I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that I come first. And he is doing all of this for the future of our family and our baby. He always cares most if I'm happy and sets aside time just for us each day. I think it is important to be a supportive wife rather than a complainer about him having to work. I am so proud of him and grateful for his efforts!

I am excited to see all my family next week at Thanksgiving. And I have been drooling over Thanksgiving food on blogs and the Food Network. I can't wait for pumpkin pie, turkey, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce.

I am extra excited about the Christmas season this year. Not that my baby is coming anytime around Christmas (let's hope not..). I just think it's really enchanted to be 8 months pregnant around Christmas. Like I have the greatest present of all inside of me.

It really bothers me that it never gets cold in San Diego. People always talk about that like it's a positive thing, but I love seasons! As excited as I am for Christmas, it is just not as festive without the cold.

Nate looks handsome in his new glasses. I like it when he wears them.

I am excited and nervous about being a new Mom. There is nothing else I would rather do with my life right now, but I can't help feeling a little nervous sometimes. I used to feel kind of bad for being nervous. But then I thought about how my old cross country couch used to tell us that if we weren't nervous before a race, it meant we weren't taking it seriously enough. At the same time he would say it isn't good to be overwrought with nervousness to the point of not functioning - but a little nervous energy can be a good thing.

It's definitely just moments I feel nervous. Not constantly. I don't think you have to be nervous to be taking it seriously, but I personally feel nervous sometimes because of what an important responsibility it is to be a Mom.

I am in love with our baby. I can't wait to meet him. I keep his ultrasound pictures by my bed and look at them before I go to sleep a lot. I already think he is the cutest baby in the world. Probably because I think he has similar facial features as his Dad!

Moving and Nesting Mode

2010-11-17T12:12:00.001-08:00

Many of you probably already know - but Nate and I decided to move to a bigger apartment before we have the baby! We love where we live now and there were many pros and cons (beyond the obvious need for more space) that came with deciding to move. But overall we think it is the best decision for our family! We searched and searched for about a month for 2 bedroom apartments in San Diego. Everything is so expensive! But we actually ended up finding a great deal at a fairly new apartment complex in the La Jolla/UTC area. Its in a great area, has lots of places to walk, is next to a new park/library, and much closer to the beach than where we're at now! We are moving November 29th and I can't wait to get everything set up for the baby.

Now that we're moving I keep having to control my urge to redecorate. I have all my projects in order for the nursery and have been making progress on those. But I keep dreaming of redecorating our living room. Probably another product of being in nesting mode. I love blog stalking design blogs like high street market and stephmodo and these pictures have totally inspired me!

I have been doing lots of craigslist hunting and thrift store browsing to bring in some of these ideas at our new place. It's fun to see what you can do on a budget and what deals you can find! More to come later!