Sepulveda Blvd.

The Perfect Posy

2011-06-11T19:38:00.000-07:00

It's that time again! I'm making a post about a give away! My girlfriend Mary is an incredibly talented SAHM and this is her business. She's hosting a give away on her blog which is linked to her Facebook business page!

Blog link:
http://theperfectposyforyou.blogspot.com/2011/06/summer-giveaway-starts-today.html

Facebook link:
https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/ThePerfectPosy

New Business

2011-05-25T13:09:00.001-07:00

Hey y'all! After 5 years of licensure in the state of Idaho, I've decided to go into the business I went to college for. My business page on Facebook is call Sepulveda Cosmetology and I'm working on putting up a blog under the same name, so watch for the link! I'm super excited and have started the long process of paperwork to becomes officially licensed out here in California, so more than likely i should be licenced by the end of summer or start of fall this year!!

To spread the word as favor to me, please "like" my Facebook page in the upper corner of this blog, or post this URL into your status. Thanks! I'm looking forward to posting new photos as my business grows!

Give Away!

2011-04-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

If I didn't have to to repost this for more options on winning, It keeps the number down in the pot so there's less competition. Call me selfish. But I REALLY want to win this and you will too after going to this blog- http://www.infarrantlycreative.net/2011/04/the-original-scrapbox-sewing-box-giveaway.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+InfarrantlyCreative+%28infarrantly+creative%29 Seriously, any woman who has even tehremotest creativity in her wouldwant one of these things!!

Valentine...

2011-02-14T23:25:00.001-08:00

You're my best friend...

... my lover...

... together we create...

...and become so much more!

Happy Valentine's to the most amazing person I've ever known. You make me a better person just by being with me. I love you, Larry.

Bignormous Day!

2011-02-01T21:59:00.000-08:00

My wonderful husband took the day off work to catch up on some very important things for his continuing credential project to keep his job, and he took Jonnie to get his first haircut with his barber (when I'm crunched for time.. and my clippers finally died).

Dave (the barber) asked me how long I wanted it and I told him long enough to to a small fauxhawk. A FAUXhawk. NOT A REAL MOHAWK. Right as I realized that Dave completely didn't know what the heck I refered to, he took that initial chunk out right on the top edge and created a horrendous divot. My insides clutched and turned over. This guy was old school. I mean, who in the heck in the hair world doesn't know what a fauxhawk is??!

Before

During... (Notice my face... NOT happy!)

During...

Needless to say, Jonathan calmed down afterward and got a cute little certificate for his first haircut. I had to clean up some messy spots with my scissors once we got home, since it was so badly done and we actually ended up going and buying a really cheap set of clippers until I can get back home and buy a good set for wholesale with my Cos. license, but all in all, Dave offered me a JOB!

WHAT??!? Yeah, that's right. He has this sweet little set up in his back room for a single stylist and he's known Lars since long before we met (5 years ago next month) and knows that I'm a cos girl. I'm actually looking into it! So possibly coming soon~ Crazy Lady to work part-time on my lonesome and have my own hours and still have time to be with my babies!... but we'll see. Dave said he'd wait and see if I could figure out reciprocity and licensure and all that, so maybe it could happen. If it's booth rent, forget it. My cos girls, you know what that's all about. For me, it doesn't jive with my lifestyle.

After!

Avonlea slept like a baby (har, har) while Jonnie screamed and wailed through his haircut and woke up just in time to get to the mall for her special time of the day. Jonnie wanted to ride shotgun, which it was the very first time and he just put himself in there, and since Avonlea is just barely big enough to ride in back, I figured why not.

Hi from shotgun!

When we walked in, there's little satellite fudge shoppe called Kelly's and we let Jonnie pick out his own treat~ a fudge and rainbow sprinkle marshmallow stick for being such a trooper.

Lars had to keep Jonathan occupied while I held Avonlea for her piercing. She was such an angel. Cried a bit with the first ear, wailed and shrieked for a bit with the second, but was quickly diverted when we walked through Claire's to the register to pay for everything. She loved the shiny jewelery and reached for everything. She's such a girl!

Outside immediately afterward, happy as a clam.

Right ear

Left ear

I can't say I'm not super sad about her getting her ears pierced, but she looks sooooo beautiful! Very much like a traditional Latina baby. Her smiling little face with her perfect caramel skin and her black-brown eyes just fit perfectly in between her white gold studded ears! I am however super glad I waited until she was six months to do it!

Sometimes You Just Have To...

2011-01-28T23:16:00.000-08:00

... sleep on your face. X)

Passes

2011-01-25T10:46:00.001-08:00

WARNING: This is a double marathon post. For those of you who perfer to just "walk out to the car" or "run around the block", this post is not for you. Best take it in small bursts or a full out run cross country run with deep breathing techniques and fight past the initial lung bursting air deprival that stops most people on their feet.

Ready? Deep breath and... GO!

For those of you who actually read my blog and have been wondering where the heck I've been hiding myself, here's what I've been up to the last few weekends. We have season passes to Disneyland and this January just happened to be Disney Parks Character Appreciation month, so we packed up EVERYTHING and when I say everything, I mean it~ breakfast, lunch, dinner, four-a-day snacks, water bottles, a change of clothes for both babies, pjs and nighttime diapers, 12 diapers for both kids, three blankets (one for each child and one to put over the double stroller when they go down for naptime), jackets for the four of us, sunscreen, umbrellas for the parents, Moby wrap and diaper backpack for Mom, mini diaper bag for Dad, and just about anything else you could think of. When we hit Disney, we're serious.

So during the slow season, there's been tons of construction, but the opportunity to meet the characters has been thrilling for me! Seeing Jonathan's face light up as well as the meltdowns, it's all been wonderful! The first set of pictures with Lars and Jonnie are from last Saturday the 15th. I was nursing Avonlea and the boys were on Main Street when the original characters swarmed out of the backstage gates.

My husband, the goof.

I adore this one. Lars told me the Jonnie cuddled up to Dale. Jonnie loves anything soft, fluffy and warm.

With Chip.

Pinocchio!!

We've been trying since October to see Tinkerbell, but we were always too late or a myriad of other things that come up with kids. But this day I was determined to get Jonnie and Avonlea in to see her, especially since Jonathan totally LOVES her.

Right before entering the main maze of Pixie Hollow.

Jonathan couldn't stop starting at Terrance's wings. He just couldn't...stop... staring. X)

One more bend before meeting the Pixie herself!

The set up was beautiful. Jonathan is totally obsessed with flowers, but hasn't learned to say the word yet, so he points over and over again and jumps up and down clapping.

He learned what mushrooms were, "Moh moo." He'll get it eventually. =)

When we finally got up to Tinkerbell, Jonathan flipped out. He was crying and shrieking and just couldn't handle it. He was terrified of her. She was really sweet and tried to help calm him down, but that just got Jonnie more wound up. It was hard not to laugh. I guess he just hasn't figured out how to handle being around beautiful women yet...
We then went here to meet Mickey Mouse!!

Avonlea had passed out for a nap, so I took Jonathan to see Mickey. It was so wonderful. Jonathan was so sweet and cuddly while we waited in line. When we were the next up to get pictures, Jonathan could hardly contain himself, pulling on his arm to run to Mickey. I picked him up for our picture. I asked Jonnie if he loved Mickey and would give him a kiss. Ever so gently, Jonathan put both of his hands on either side of Mickey's face and planted a kiss right on the tip of Mickey's nose. Mickey gave him a big hug and I started to cry. *Even now I'm getting teary-eyed thinking about it.*

This cool little photo op car was on the way back to the sidewalk after visiting Mickey and Jonnie hopped right in. Cars and trains are Jonathan's latest obsession since he learned to say "choo choo" and "cah" after he got both for his birthday last year.

Jonathan wanted to go on Lily Bell the train. Dumbo and the trains are his favorite things to ride while at Disney. It was a special time for us. I got a chance to sit down other than to nurse the baby and also to be alone with Jonathan while Avonlea napped. Jonathan was so well-behaved and snuggly. He got really sleepy since it was after his naptime and when we came back around to Small World where Lars and baby were, I picked Jonathan's up, put him in the stroller and the minute the blanket his his lap, he was out.

Monsters Inc. is the other movie that gets abused daily in our house. We were able to catch Sully on the way into his ride yesrterday morning.

Yesterday Lars had the day off because his school district gives the following Monday after finals off. As we walked into the park after seeing Sully and hitting up Monsters Inc. at California Adventure, the main characters were spewing across Main Street for meet-and-greet.

Minnie!

We had just watched Pinocchio the night before, so Jonathan was trying to figure out where he's seen Geppeto before. Jonathan kept stroking Geppeto's hair and giving him a weird look. It was cracking me up!! You can see it on Lars' face as well!

Who could forget Pluto?

I didn't know that Jonathan and Lars had gotten a picture with Goofy the weekend before until we were already up to take this picture. So, here's one of me with both kids this time around. =)

While Avonlea ate, the boys took Lily Bell around the park. As I went to meet them, the Queen of Hearts and the White Rabbit came out. She is seriously one of the most frightening characters I've seen at the park. Since these guys are some of those rare characters that you don't see very often, I was psyched out and clamoring to get a picture. I just wish you could see the Queen's face better since she looks exactly like the cartoon.

This is one of those things that everyone sees, but never remembers to take a photo of while they're there since the road curves around it and most peolpe don't walk through this little garden that separates the different roads to the various parts of the park.. This time around because of construction, I remembered to pull out the camera and take a picture while we crossed to the castle.

So we arrived to the bane of our trip. We waited over an HOUR AND A HALF to met these guys. I was so beyond disappointed because we were told that the queue people were getting in wasn't a ride. WHAT??! You mean the Snow White ride was ripped out just for a character photo op??

Well anyway, the boys hopped on Dumbo while us girls waited and waited and waited and the Dumbo ride line was the longest I've EVER seen it. Then they came back over and we waited and waited and proceeded to wait even longer. Avonlea was starving and Jonathan was cranky. But can I just tell you it was sooo worth it? Both Flynn and Rapunzel were the nicest characters I've ever met. Boys never wait in line as long as we did to meet these two, so they were excited to see Jonathan and both of them asked about Avonlea and LOVED her name. *grins sheepishly* And would you believe that we haven't even seen the movie yet?? I must be crazy!!!

Anyhoo, again, the minute Jonathan was in the stroller and the blanket his his lap he was out. We rushed to the nursing station where Avonlea promptly fell asleep for her nap as well. So Lars and I wandered through the shops looking and lusting after things and then sat down at the fudge shop so I could indulge in a fudge s'more bar and enjoy the ragtime piano player on Main Street. I requested "When You Wish Upon a Star" since it's our song and we danced together while the kids slept. It was wonderful to spend that small moment together in what I refer to as "our personal Disney".

Then we walked all the way back to the garage and the kids woke up right as we were waiting to load on the elevator. Even though they napped until around a quarter after 7, they both went to sleep before 11pm.

It feels good to be busy. I have a hard time sitting down to the computer simply because I have no patience for it anymore. I love being an active mother. I've been reading more books and working on more hobbies and keeping house better, among many other things.

Something else too, is that you'll more than likely see more pictures of me up when I do post. I'm working very hard on allowing me to be me. I'm learning to be thankful for my body the way it is and not punish myself for looking how I do. It's a big process, but taking pictures of myself is a first step. I hope I haven't killed you all from such a long post! I just don't get on very often anymore, so there might be more posts like this one!

Growing

2010-10-18T23:43:00.000-07:00

Little Avonlea is three months today! Where on EARTH is time going??!?

Business

2010-10-12T15:03:00.000-07:00

I've come to the decision that I CAN do this. I'm good. I was dang good when I graduated four years ago.

I'm starting up my own home haircutting business. I have a few clients that I will be starting with this week and I'm psyched out of my mind. If you live in or around the area I live, leave me a message or call me to schedule an appointment and/or price listing.

Thanks!

2010-09-29T19:31:00.001-07:00

This free digital ecard personalized with Smilebox

Avonlea's Two Month Check-Up

2010-09-29T13:00:00.001-07:00

Avonlea had her first major well baby check-up today. Her doctor said she was perfect! She's doubled her weight from 6lbs. and 8.4 oz. at birth to 12 lbs. and 6.6 oz. today! Her head circumference, weight and length are all in the 75%. So proud of my growing girl!

She didn't cry hardly at all either! Screams and wails, but as soon as I picked her up and swaddled her into her car seat, she was silent and observing her surroundings. Very good baby!

So big!

Right before her shots. Love that baby check-up gown!

Ladies With Specs

2010-09-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

I saw this posted by a good friend of mine and gleaned what good photos I have of me in glasses. I LOVE them! But I need new ones again- it has been four years!

My girlfriend posted this link- http://thismamamakesstuff.com/2010/09/girls-with-glasses-i-need-your-help/

If you have specs, read it it's super cute!

Winter 2006 after getting married.

Thanksgiving 2006, my big brother Dan and I rockin' our specs.

Winter 2008- 18 days postpartum after my first baby

Summer 2008- 20 weeks along with my first child

Early fall 2008- my husband and I. We rocked the vote!

Baby Love

2010-09-18T21:22:00.001-07:00

Two Months Today!

Remember

2010-09-11T09:32:00.000-07:00

I remember this day 9 years ago. I had just finished early morning color guard practice after putting the equipment in the guard closet and sat down by the band room door to catch my breath. I grabbed my water bottle, pooring sweat and dizzy from exersion. It was about 45 minutes until the start of school so I was trying to figure out if I had enough time to run home to shower and be back in time for first hour.

Just then, one of my band buddies walked up to me and asked something like, "Is it true that one of the twin towers was just hit with an airplane??"

I looked at and laughed. "Haha! NO! Where's you hear a CRAZY idea like that?"

"Someone said something and I wasn't sure." I had no idea how wrong I would be.

Really though, I was thinking about it all morning and by 3rd hour, the entire school was buzzing and the teachers had turned on Channel One to watch new reports. I was in my third hour history class and everyone had turned their desk around to the back of the classroom to watch the tv, our big reports all but forgotten. As we all watched the first tower rolling with smoke and flames, we all watched in shock as another plane flew into the south tower. The bell rang and no one moved. The school was eerily quiet for getting out for lunch. The reporters were helpless as they reported the live footage. One of the female reporters starting crying.

Then all the sudden, the school sprang to life. People started to get up quickly, tripping over desks, some trying to make it to the next location with a tv to keep up with what was going on. I remember like everything was a teen movie, walking through the animated lockered hallways, in slow-mo with no sound.

After lunch, I heard reports that the Pentagon was under seige with a possible airplane hit. My grandfather and grandmother had moved back to DC to secure his retirement the year before. He worked in the Pentagon. My throat tightened and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

School FINALLY ended and I made it home. Later that evening, we found out that my grandfather had been scheduled to work on the opposite side of the Pentagon that was hit so he was safe. I was beyond relieved, but the full weight of everything hit me right then. All those people.

I was devistated. The people in the planes. The people in the buildings. Their families would would never see them again. The first terrorist attack on America since Pearl Harbor. The very first attack on the American Mainland. All the sudden life seemed more fagile, not so safe, even though I lived 3000 miles away from NYC.

********************

Last year after I put my son to sleep, I turned on the telly. My local news station was playing footage from that day. As I watched, transfixed, all the emotions from when I was a teenager flooded back. Tears started pouring down my face. My husband came into the room and sat down on the couch by me. Together, we relived all our feelings from 9/11. Then he held me as I cried, overwhelmed all over again by the horrendous loss of all those innocent American lives.

*********************

Let us not forget those who were left without family members of AA flight 11 and UA flight 175 and those in the towers. Let us not forget those lives from the Pentagon and those from AA flight 77. Let us remember those who bravely took over UA flight 93 to save the lives within the US Capitol Building. Let us remember September 11th and be stronger Americans for it.

My name is Rebekah and I will NEVER forget.

Changes

2010-09-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

Things are in constant motion. We all know this. We move from day to day doing what we all do from the mundane to the exciting. Day follows day which turn into weeks followed by months and then another year has passed. The world turns and the seasons come with rain, sun, snow and whatever other kind of weather Mother Nature puts forth in a particular climate.

We see these things happen as we shuffle through our daily tasks, but most of the time, I don't think we truly see them. With all of the things we heap on our plates, it's a miracle we even see anything.

A few weeks ago, as I sat on my couch watching my son play excitedly and holding my brand new baby girl, a thought quickly flooded my mind. It impressed upon me and everything all started to make sense. I felt as if I were disconnected with my children after the birth of my daughter, but it was more of an awakening. I felt more than heard this thought. I felt this- my children aren't mine. They are here to live and experience life.

I asked my husband, "Do you ever feel like these aren't our kids? Like, they're just these amazing little people who've come to spend time with us and teach us things?" I don't remember his response, but after I said those things aloud, it made more sense.

I truly feel that way. I don't feel possessive of my children anymore like the way I felt at first with my son. I truly believe that they are marvelous little people who've come to join my husband and I on our way to eternity. They are our teachers.

When I look at my oldest child, I see glimpses of his spirit. He is wise and knows so many things. There are times that I feel like he's looking right through me, as if he can see something I can't. I feel as if he's older than me spiritually. There are some who say he's an "old soul." And I agree.

Let us cherish these little people who've come to us. Let us take time to count to 10 before we react, speak calmly about things they can not understand, love unrestrained when we feel overwhelmed and pray for guidance when there is a moment to teach. Let us take the good from our parents and guardians and forget the bad. Let us take time to really truly see those precious things going around us and shut out the unnecissary. Let us simply take time.

Pretty in Polkadots

2010-08-23T20:53:00.001-07:00

One Month!

2010-08-18T17:39:00.000-07:00

One month older and wiser too! Happy Birthday.. to you!

Postpartum Aftermath

2010-08-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

NOTE: This post is not meant to be a complaint. I just want other women, including my friends to know that if this ever happens to you, I've been there and there are possibilities to help you through it.

I was released and came home from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon July 20th. Things were fine, other than the normal aching from stitches. My parents were going to be at our place around 8 that evening and would be here for an entire week. I was very much looking forward to it. I missed my dad so much I ached and my stepmom, Cherie, and I have been growing closer every time we see each other and I was excited to get to sit down with her and glean some much needed advice in person.

My belly was itchy as is normal as your skin stops stretching as starts to return to normal after childbirth. I wasn't too worried about it and didn't scratch because my skin was too tender to touch. The next 3 days it got mildy worse. And then it happened.

I became so, SO unimaginably itchy that there are no words to encompass how bad it felt. And that was just the beginning. Then as I went to sleep that night, I fought the urge to scratch. I woke up in the middle of the night on fire. I went to the bathroom as is my custom before I attend to the baby. I was stunned to see what I saw in the mirror. All over my body in HUGE patches were lobster red hives. I looked like a leper. The hives were so swollen that they puffed up and inch or more off the top of my skin that wasn't affected. An allergic reaction maybe? I have no idea but prayed in earnest that it would dissipate soon. I had Lars and my father give me a blessing.

I woke up the next morning and they were gone. But no sooner had I realized they were gone, they came back- with a vengeance. In different areas of my body this time. They were even on my face and in my scalp. For the rest of the time my parents were here, they would dissipate for 15-30 minutes and reappear in different areas of my body. I figured I could endure it for about 4 days if it didn't hit my groin area or affect my feet, my most sensitive areas. Every hour was an eternity.

I called Kaiser to talk to the advice nurse and he said to wait a bit. I asked if it could possibly be a delayed reaction to my allergy to the epidural, but he said that was impossible 4 days after coming home. He told me to come in the next morning if things got worst and to call first.

Then in the middle of the night 3 days before my parents left, I awoke again in the middle of the night to what can only be described as sheer torture. My feet, hands, and groin area were smattered with hives. I had them all over. I've never felt such agony.

I spent that day praying harder than I think I've ever prayed fr anything in my life. I didn't know what the Lord wanted me to learn by this trial, a new mom all over again with two children to care for. I just kept thinking, "What have I done wrong to deserve this kind of punishment?" I was so lost. But I did not go see the doctor. Somehow, because my parents said absolutely nothing about it, I felt like I should just tough it out, not complain. It felt like they didn't care. It made me feel distraught.

There was one particular time that i got in the shower and I just bawled. I cried and cried and cried until I had no strength left in me to stand. I'd never felt so weak and over-powered before. I couldn't fight this. My own body was working against me. If I left the house, it would still be with me. My parents asked if I wanted to get out and be at the park for a little bit to get some resh air, but I was too ashamed to leave the house. I didn't want people staring at my hideous hives I had no control over.

Cherie googled my symptoms online and read several blog entries and thing about it. There were over a million hits. And there was NOTHING to tell me what was the cause. So I continued to suffer. There were many times that I said that I was going to Urgent Care, but I couldn't make myself. I felt like my parents would look down on me for being weak. (which is completely ridiculous since they offered to watch Jonathan while Lars and I went with the baby). But emotionally and hormonally, I couldn't see past that.

The morning my parents left,took action. I scheduled an appointment with my chiropractor to set my hips so I could walk normally (my hips would slide out of place so bad as I slept that Lars nearly had to carry me to the bathroom each time) and we went to Urgent Care that night.

The doctor prescribed me a mild steroid. he said it might not work, but we had to see. If I didn't follow the directions to the T, it wouldn't work at all. I asked him if it would affect my breastmilk and if it would affect the baby. In a thick Asian accent, he said, "We have to treat you. The mother needs to be taken care of even more so than baby. If you're falling apart, the baby will get nothing out of you anyway." I took that as, "It's possible that it could have a negative effect, but there's nothing else to do." I was told to avoid being around people since the steroid would put my immune system down and he didn't want me to get sick. I also found out I had a UTI, again. I went home that night with two drugs I hoped at prayed would take care of my problems. I started them both during dinner.

I followed them the next few days. I started to feel a result on day 3. By the time I finished the steroids, the only thing I still had was mild itching, which lasted another 4 days. But after that, the hives and burning were gone. All I had left to deal with was the UTI.

I woke up again to feed the baby and it was hard to breathe. I could barely sit up to walk to the bathroom. Up under my ribcage, it hurt so bad I couldn't see straight. I drank a big glass of water I keep by the sink to stay hydrated. With each swallow, I felt my stomach go cold and expand. It felt like my insides would burst. I used the bathroom. Though I took the meds, my symptoms continued to get worse. I went in to UC again. This time I was prescribed something SUPER powerful for a kidney infection.

I finished those about a week ago and I'm still having problems. But such is life.

I just want all you mommies to know that you should take care of YOU first. If your baby has to wait and scream while you shower or use the bathroom or clean up a bit, so be it. Your natural inclination will be to ignore yourself and anything your feel could possibly be wrong with your body until it's too late. Don't ignore it. Take care of you. Your child will be just fine. Please love yourself as much as your child. No one can function if you're down and out.

Avonlea's Check-Up

2010-08-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

Avonlea went to her well baby check-up at Kaiser today. Birth stats were 6.84 lbs., 19 1/4 inches. Today she weighed exactly 8 lbs. and in now 21 inches! All that in just 3 weeks and two days! Good job, Tiny!

Limbering up

Prima Ballerina

After a long hard day of sleep, it's good to kick back and sleep...

I LOVE this! Same size as the keyboard...

Spaghetti Os Anyone?

2010-08-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

Dinner Tonight...

Birth Day

2010-07-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning, we all woke up around 7:30 am to get ready for church. I had this feeling inside that this would be the day humming low inside of me somewhere. I thought about staying home, but doing NOTHING while being that pregnant was too much to bear. I felt like I needed to go to church. So I got up and got ready and got Jonathan ready, too.

To spare some details, I was pretty sure that my water had started to leak, but I wasn't positive, since I was pretty much passed out from the epi on the table and at 8cm when I had Jonathan. It was 8 am exactly. I remember looking at the clock when I went to our bathroom to put my face on and clean up a bit. But once we started to go out the door, I think I knew I wouldn't make it through church and informed Lars we should go to the hospital instead.

It was just shy of 10:00 am when we drove over to my mother-in-law's to drop off Jonathan in his church clothes. We then headed over to the new Downey Kaiser Hospital on Imperial to check in. Lars was joking the entire way and we were laughing like crazy. After we got all checked in and they made me get into a horrendous hospital gown and hooked me up to the belly monitors, we sat down to wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. At least I was able to wait BY MYSELF!! Amazing feeling, no black women to listen to screaming while I tried to stay calm with each contraction.. sorry. >.>

Lars and I decided to play "I Spy" in the tiny claustraphobic room and he was SUCH a pill! Oh man. I was laughing SO hard. Seriously, I couldn't catch my breath. The nurse came in and asked me to get on the table to be checked since I was sitting on one of the chairs. I stood up and it was Niagra Falls all over the floor. The nurse quickly responded, "Well, no need to check you!" which made me laugh all the harder. Good thing Lars was there. I'm sure all that hard laughing broke my water!!! I'm glad I decided to go the the hospital because my water would've broken right in the middle of Relief Society!!!

The nurse came in to draw blood FROM MY HAND, which made me bawl because they tried to IV me in the SAME PLACE. I started to cry and cry. I would've rather been in labor with no drugs. No matter how hard I tried to breathe through the pain, I started to panic. My attending sent in another woman to IV me, since she didn't want any bad feelings between us since she was going to be with me my entire labor. Smart woman. I remembered I needed a blessing and asked the nurses to leave the room for a moment as a matter of personal religious circumstances. I felt much better afterword and knew I'd get through everything with the Lord's help.

Lars hadn't had breakfast that morning and he was all dressed to the Nines in his church things- tie and all. When he saw the blood residue smeared on my hands and watched the IV needle probe around under my skin, it made him get dizzy. He stood up to get me a cup of water since it felt like the Sahara Desert in my mouth with all that dry air in the hospital, but the nurse ended up getting HIM one while I waited for the wheelchair to take me to my L and D room. He took his tie off per the nurse's request and sat down outside the observation room with a cup of cold water until they had me all cleaned the blood off my skin and threw away anything with my blood on it. While they started me on a hydration drip, a midwife came to talk to us- Tom Morrison. I was thrown for a loop when a man walked in the door and introduced himself as The Midwife. I mean DUH, Rebekah! It was just such a stretch for me to think of a man being something I'd only ever associated with women. Hahahaha!! It still cracks me up!

They brought the wheelchair, took me to the room and hooked me all up to the machines and started me on Petocin for induction. I then had Lars go to his mom's house to check on Jonathan and to change out of his church clothes and hurry and get back to the hospital.

Now I'm sure you all know that I had a terrible allergic reaction to the epidural with Jonathan, so this entire time I was pregnant I didn't really have a problem with doing it naturally (since I was nearly a 7 when I got the epi the first time), up until the first night I had Braxton-Hicks (4 days before I delivered). All the sudden naturally didn't seem so ok. I tried to brush it off, but the contractions started coming faster than I antisipated, especially since I was waiting for the anestisiologist on call (turns out there were 4 on call that day). The anestisilogist wanted to call the other hospital to see if she could get my medical report about my reactions, since she couldn't really pinpoint what specifically caused my hives and burning in my veins.

As I was waiting, another anestisiologist came in and she was pretty assertive, but hard to understand in her thick Asian accent. But she was adamant that I get an epidural. She told me we'd figure it out as we went, but she wasn't going to let me do an induction without pain meds. And rightly so. The contractions were coming faster than I had antisipated, and after watching this lame channel on cable, I was wearing thin on laboring by myself. I kept calling Larry and there was no answer. Finally, he picked up. By the time Larry actually got to the hosptial, it felt like a year had passed and I was in serious pain. I had Lars rub my temples while I breathed through them and flipped on the tv that had a peaceful music channel). Lars was asked to leave for a half hour during the epidurl procedure (new hospital procedure due to a HORRIFIC accident that happened). It took 3 attempts in different locations for the dr. to put it in my spine without me yelping in pain. She was getting frustrated, and said "How odd. You feel that? Boy, you super sensitive lady!" She also put in an order for a dose of Benedryl to be injected into my IV every 4 hours, which I was grateful for.

Larry came back up to check on me and I sent him back to Gramma's to feed Jonathan and bring him back to our place to nap in his crib. (He doesn't sleep anywhere but in his bed or carseat.) I slept most of the time (minus waking a bit when I was contrating). It was pretty nice. But when the contractions started coming stronger, I called Larry to come back and be with me. I was getting freaked out being alone. So he dropped the Peanut off at Gramma's again and came to nap on the room's couch by me.

It was surreal. I was just sleeping, trying to remember to roll back and forth to keep the epidural spread through out my body. Pretty peaceful, especially because I finally had company. It was so much easier to be calm with his presence in the room.

Finally around 6 pm, my contractions were getting very, very strong and the epidural was starting to wear off a bit. I told the nurse in slurred speech that it was getting overly hard to try to sleep and I was feeling A LOT of pressure with each contraction. She made a call and another nurse came in they chatted for moment and called Tom. He came and checked me. "Wow, you've got another cemtimeter to go!" The nurses sprung into action and tables came out of nowhere and shiny intruments and bowls were prepped and set out on surgical cloths. I tried hard not to watch it all. Seeing all that stuff for a split second made my stomach turn over so I squeezed my eyes shut. Three more nurses came in to dress Tom in delivery garb and set up the baby table.

Once Tom was all dressed, he checked me again and I was ready. They pulled the table apart and I shifted down to the end of the bed. Lars held my hand and all I heard was, "When you feel a contraction, bear down hard. PUSH!" I could hear Lars ask if the nurse could see any hair. "Umm, no. But it's a little early to tell." With lots of encouragement and direction, Avonlea was out in 6 pushes. She officially arrived at 6:50 pm. When she came out, Tom asked Lars if he wanted to cut the cord. Lars looked at me and I asked him if he wanted to and said he didn't have to if he didn't want to. Relief flooded his face as he turned back to the doctor and said, "No. I'm good." She cried twice as she sucked in air to breathe for the first time and then was quiet and curious, just like her brother.

The cord was cut and the nurse placed her directly on my belly and told me to touch her and bond with her. Disoriented, I touched her tiny head with the edge of my right hand by my thumb. Tiny and blue, she was sticky. It grossed me out. I felt bad about thinking that, but I couldn't bring myself to touch her again. She was whisked to the table on the left side of the room and cleaned up, weighed and given to Lars, while I was put back together by the doctor. When I was able to hold her, she looked so foreign to me, a lot like Larry. It was diffecult to gasp the fact I'd just had a baby. A little over 10 hours start to finish. A piece of cake really, which i was ever so grateful for!

Lars spent the rest of the time holding her while I recovered from the numbness in my body before I was checked into the Postpartum Recovery Ward. He was capitvated by her. She was itty bitty and perfect.

The nurse who came to check us into the Recovery ward informed us that Avonlea was the ONLY baby born that evening. The rest had been born that morning and early afternoon and the other women who came in around the same time as me and just after me were still laboring. Now that's pretty cool.

Welcome to the world, Avonlea.

Introducing...

2010-07-24T18:03:00.000-07:00

Avonlea Cherie Sepulveda

Weight: 6.84 oz.

Length: 19 1/4 inches

Time: 6:50 pm

The Proud Parents

Our Little Cupcake

Diaper Cake Supreme

2010-07-11T17:16:00.001-07:00

Alrighty. I've been waiting a MONTH to make this post. But now that I've thrown the shower, I can dig out the photos and put them up for all to see!

To start, I saw an ad for a a diaper cake on Craigslist while searching for things while pregnant with my son. And Oh! I wanted one SO BAD!! I'd never heard of anything so awesome before! Needless to say, I didn't get one. (Boo hoo. I got over it.) I wanted to get one for my girlfriend's shower I was throwing and my sister Rae and I scoured the internet to find one that was affordable with shipping. Simply put, there wasn't one. So we set to work on trying to find tutorials.

That was SUPER hard, too! Finally, Rae found a really good one on youtube. I watched it over and over and over again. Then I decided to check out the other ones on there to see if I liked them better. Some were not how I liked it, but I did glean some fabulous ideas. *If you make one, don't watch the videos that are less than 6 minutes long. They're ads for selling diaper cakes.*

After rounding up the things I needed to make the diaper cake, I discovered that it was more expensive to make it myself than order one. But I couldn't go back. I was on a mission. And seriously, I was so hyped up about it, there was NO WAY I was going back and returning all that stuff. I can't even remember how may stores I had to go to to get supplies that worked for me. What can I say, I'm a perfectionist. (A.k.a. Picky little snot.)

I did make a step-by-step photo tutorial, but my camera died half way through, so what you see here are the finished product from all angles. It took 5 hours for me to make, what with a toddler running around and being extremely pregnant and not able to sit in a hard wooden chair for more than an hour at a time (even though I did).

Front view

Left side

Back right side

Left back side

Left side

I stuffed it full of goodies. I'm glad I'd picked these up, since I was short some diapers to make it full enough at the bottom, so it worked out. This is the bottom layer. I put lots of goodies in it, booties, teethers, baby bath products, and wash cloths to fill it out.

The second layer I rolled onesies to fill it out because once again I didn't have enough diapers. I had just enough to make sure it was all filled. The top layer was all diapers.

Now that I know how to make these, I'm seriously addicted. Since this was my first, it was a HUGE learning experience and now I know how to do them quicker, better, and less expensively. If you have any questions on how to make one or would like to order one, I'd be more than happy to let you know how much they cost (depending on what you want in them) and work out an order. I didn't know I could be crafty, but this is definitely something I love doing. But be aware that I'm 10 days away from a delivery myself, so I'll be taking a break from anything and everything for around 2 months. XD

July 10th, 2010

2010-07-11T16:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I threw a shower for this woman. Mary is my best friend out here and a phenomenal person. I wanted to make sure that her first shower for her first baby would be super special.

The delicious food that Janet and Jennie made.

The diaper cake I made and the big gifts that wouldn't fit on the gift table.

Gift table (more gifts were stacked on the floor).

I LOVE this expression. With the generosity of many of the women in our ward, I was able to order Mary's car seat and expedite it in time for the shower for her group gift. I caught the look right as she opened it!!

Kellie put together the little things we talked about and it was perfect. A guessing game...

Loving Advice to for the Mother-to-Be.

And my baby turned 20 whole months old. *sigh*

It was a GREAT day. Without the help of my good friends Janet, Jennie, and Kellie Larsen (and of course the wonderful women in my ward) this shower would not have happened. Thanks ladies! And congratulations to Mary on her upcoming arrival of her baby boy!!

Catch-Up

2010-07-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the camera has been unloaded and reloaded by me mostly and I need to blog about what's on there before it's emptied for the birth of the next child....

A couple weeks ago: Jonathan has finally gotten comfortable to sleep on Dad on his way into the apartment to the crib. He's been doing it like a pro the last month and a half or so.

Last week, Jonathan got ahold of a permanent marker... for the SECOND time in the last couple months. Only this time he turned himself into a canvas...

I just keep getting packages from the women in my ward who missed my shower. It boggles my mind how amazingly supportive our ward is. We may be small, but there's more than enough love shown and given. I love our ward!

Jonathan started to ONLY play with his toy container. Toys scatter and he's in and out of it all day long. SUCH a funny boy. I love his antics. I don't think there is a more wonderful child in the entire world!!

This one especially cracks me up!

So our bath caddy died the terrible death- soap spilled ALL OVER inside and even though it said it was water and soap proof, it wasn't. After running the faucet for over and hour and trying to remove the soap, I gave up because after I flipped it over to empty out the water, I discovered black mold growing on it. So I went to the 99 cent store and bought a giant salad bowl and a colander for the toys to drain into. I decided to give them to Jonathan to play with and they've been a BIG hit! Sometimes you have to pick your battles and in this case, plastic containers aren't worth it. XD

Last Thursday morning, Jonathan pulled out a box of one of his infant toys. I'd decided a couple days before that we should build it up again because it transitions into a rocker for toddlers. Since the boy pulled it out right after he had his morning diaper change, Lars set to work putting it together. Lars even let Jonathan have his Coleman for some supervised "help". I ran to grab the camera...

After the rocker was all put together and Jonathan had breakfast, we put in Blue's Clues. If only life could be this easy...

I have no idea why, but for the longest time Jonathan has carried around our clothes and his, deposting them everywhere except where they belong. Last Thursday or Friday, Lars and I finally made the brilliant decision to put ON the shirt that Jonathan was carrying around. I grabbed the camera just in case the shirt should fly off before I got a good shot. I was barely successful...

Ever since we took our short trip to Idaho in Mid-May, Jonathan has been practicing sitting up at the table at Gramma's when he eats and drinks. He learned by watching his cousin Jonas in Idaho (who's just seven months older than him). I was doing some cleaning in the kitchen when I turned around and Jonathan was half way up into his own booster. Lars gave him a banana in half, first time not cut up into pieces. And he ate it all, like a PRO! I couldn't believe how big my boy has become. Seriously, I Lars wasn't home, I doubt I would've even realized how ready Jonathan is to be a big brother. He's been capable for so long, but I've been keeping him a baby. *sigh* But OH! I'm SO proud of him!!

Monday this week, Lars set to work baby-proofing the rest of our place so we could take the kitchen gates down. Jonathan "helping" with Daddy's magnetic screwdriver (the head is removed and is squared-shaped so he wouldn't stab anything or get hurt).

And Tuesday, we got a visit from a very good friend of Lars (and now mine) from college, Christine. She made a sporadic trip here and we were thrilled to have her and her little girl here with us for nearly the entire afternoon. Seriously, this baby is the MOST adorable little girl EVER! I can't get enough of her!

Christine and I before she walked out the door. Please excuse that hideous black blob hugging the adorable woman on the left...

And there you have it. Whew! Four hours and a 30 minute break later, I'm done!

Master Bedroom Make-Over

2010-07-03T21:42:00.000-07:00

For those of you who follow, thanks for so patiently waiting for me. Lars and I just finished our bedroom tonight about an hour ago. It took a LONG time to get here- just SO MANY stupid things. GAH! I don't even want to talk about it!

I didn't even remember to take 'Before' pictures, but believe me, for the handful of people who HAD seen our bedroom before, this is a fairytale. I'm SUPER proud of thinking it up and for my amazing husband for dealing with my extremely moody, snappy, demanding, overly forgetful self as we worked on this project over the last four months, and especially the last week. BIG shout out to our friend Chris, who came over directly from work this past Monday who helped rearrange the furniture in there, otherwise, we'd still be waiting to get this done and with only 2 1/2 weeks until D-day, we needed to make room for the bassinet STAT!!

Now for your viewing pleasure: Our Master Bedroom.

PS. Once the bathroom gets deep-cleaned next week and the decos are put in the Nursery, I'll post about those, since they were started back in March!! (Gotta love keeping a balanced budget. =P)

Baby Girl Shower

2010-06-23T21:30:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, June 12th, my awesome Relief Society president threw me a baby shower at her house. There was a great brunch she and her daughter Jennie prepared and SO many of the women from my ward showed up, I was shocked! My mother-in-law and sister-in-law also came which was very important to me. I received soooo many wonderful things and felt overwhelmed by all the love a support from my ward, even though this was already my second baby.

I've posted just a few of the million photos my sister-in-law took.

One of the things my bff Mary and Karen Mathis (our ward organist and totally awesome woman) gave to me. This was off my registry! I was SUPER excited!!
Judy Massie, my former Primary President MADE this for my daughter in like, a week, since the invites didn't get mailed until around 5-7 days before my shower, even though it had been planned for nearly 2 months. (I dropped the ball on that one. =P)

And this was a Carter's set with a matching receiving blanket from my current Primary President, Lavona Langam. This one made me tear up. I love that woman!

A ballerina outfit from my good friends Monci and Alex Cuevas, mother and daughter.

Every one thought it was so cute that my girlfriend Kellie and I were wearing nearly the same color of dress (that ironically are both a little long for us) and we needed a picture. And we're both expecting!

It was a WONDERFUL shower and I received SO many things. So much so that I feel overly prepared for this little girl coming oh so soon!

Adorableness

2010-06-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

Adorable Things Today:

When Jonathan was over at Gramma's, my sister-in-law came out of her room and he clasped his hands behind his back like a little gentleman waiting to be noticed by her.

*forgot to mention* He lays down when he wants to be changed, even if he goes to get up the minute we sit down to do it.

Fell asleep in the car on the way home from Gramma's this afternoon even though we live only 3 blocks away, holding onto my water bottle

I didn't get him out of the crib after naptime immediately because he was very groggy, so he just laid in his crib dozing in and out of consciousness while I sat in my rocker watching him. (It was SO cute! Very much like Mommy and Daddy when we can't get up. lol)

Used a fork at dinner tonight for the first time and was pretty good. He still tries to use it mostly like a spoon, but he's starting to try to stab things with the spoon like a fork. He's figure them out eventually.

Said "Amen" after prayer tonight, sounds more like "Ah- Mah!", but you can tell he knows what he's trying to day. Lars said he started doing it yesterday, but I heard it tonight since it was my lap Jonathan was sitting in.

A Day in the Life...

2010-06-10T22:50:00.000-07:00

Adorable Things

2010-06-09T22:24:00.000-07:00

Adorable Things Today:

While eating his toddler cookies after naptime, Jonnie set them on the new couch, watching me very carefully (NO food or drink but water is allowed near my couch) and I'd say "Huh uh. No foodies on the couch!" and he's pick them back up and put them on the ottoman watching me the entire time

We used his kiddie leash we bought Monday night for the first time today to walk him around our little apartment complex (unfenced pool and no grassy area). I was dying laughing because he really was like a little puppy- straining against the leash and whimpering.

At the McD's by our local Target, we finally found a PlayPlace that doesn't freak us out and we can see inside at every angle. When coming back down the tower to go home, Jonathan held tight onto the front of Lars' shirt so he wouldn't fall.

For My Daughter

2010-06-09T09:34:00.000-07:00

Little one
so different from your brother
You knew I could
make room for
Another.

Your gentle movements
inside my belly
Give me peace
for Soon
Here you'll be.

June 9th, 2010 11:30 p.m.

Adorable Things

2010-06-03T20:48:00.000-07:00

Adorable Things Today:

Had a mini-meltdown about his Mega Blocks spilling out of the bag. (He likes to take them out one at a time and put them all back in very neatly, lol.)

Took ten minutes to eat his first piece of lettuce from my Ceasar salad and came back for more

We've been teaching him "soft" by taking his hands when he gets excited and hits us in the face or chest and stroking where he hit us- this afternoon, Jonnie climbed up into my lap and caressed my face and patted my neck and belly without being prompted. Sooo CUTE!

Helped Daddy unload the groceries by carrying his HUGE Costco-sized box of Wheat Goldfish all the way up our apartment stairs

Ate nearly ALL of Lars spicy baked beans AND mine during dinner. He must love them- he's never had them before!

Proceeded to open and half empty my new box of panty liners all over Daddy's lap while he slept

Is starting to understand that even if he's crazy during family scripture study, he likes to be quiet (most of the time) and watch me or Lars as we say family prayer

Not along list, but still. These are SO funny to Lars and me!

Adorable Things Today

2010-06-02T22:01:00.001-07:00

I've decided to keep a mini journal of things my son does for the day. He's so close to being two and does so many wonerful things each day, I don't want to forget anything, even though so much time has already lapsed. My camera is always up to something- lost, not with the memory card, computer won't download the files, etc. so I've come up with just this while my camera is waiting to be found so I can blog about our special vacay two weeks ago to Idaho.

Adorable Things Today:

Picked up most of his toys off the floor and actually left them in the container before we went to Gramma's

Spun around is circles with his eyes rolled back in his head (Need to video that. Flipping hilarious!)

Went to sleep for naptime ONLY after I sang him Christmas songs

Ate all his Gerber toddler lunch pack and topped it off with Cheerios. The kid can't get enough of them!

Actually played Patty-Cake with me for the first time- clapped my hands in his and gave me lots of high fives with squeals and giggles.

Came and crammed himself between the armrest and loved up to me on our new couch. (It's so much easier for him to come be with me because it's so low to the ground.)

Clapped for himself after bringing me my shoes so we could leave this afternoon.

Held still for Children's Book of Mormon scripture study tonight

Clasped his hands together for the first time on his own for family prayer on Daddy's lap

There's so many more things, but my brain is shutting down. These are the ones I could remember. I'm due next month. It's hard to phathom making room for another child when I love this quizzical wild child so dearly. Bring on the crying and neediness of this toddler- he'll be an only child for just a short time longer.

Growing

2010-06-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

There's nothing quite like getting to that last stretch of pregnancy. I've been getting nasty about certain things because I hate losing mobility and more of my independence. Having another little one to keep things going makes it interesting. But amongst all that, there's so much I forget to be grateful for.

I got a big smack reminder a few days ago. I have this amazing friend that has been having some serious problems with things of such a nature and she had a trip to the hospital recently and was told more than likely she'd have to get help to become pregnant. (For anonymity, I'll keep her name to myself.) I can only imagine how devastating that would feel, being so young, not being able to do something that only women can do.

I'm ever so thankful for her perspective on things. She has brought to light something my girlfriend Kellie did at the end of her first pregnancy last fall when she was overdue-you can read her post -http://brwrr.blogspot.com/2009/10/week-41.html.

Thanks ladies for giving my mind something to chew on while things with my body become ever more changed. My life-and those of my children- truly are the most amazing gift.

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-09T21:22:00.000-07:00

Today was a marvelous day! Jonathan was well-behaved in Sacrament, I didn't have to teach in Primary, I got to sit cuddled up next to my husband sans baby in Sunday School, attend Relief Society, and my son went to Nursery for the first time. We were told he was an angel- very well-behaved and quietly excited.

Then we came home, Lars made bbq ribs and baked potatoes, while Jonathan napped. He actually napped 3 hours so Lars and I were able to make dinner, call my relative mommies, eat and even get a nap ourselves!

Later we went to visit Gramma Lourdes. We gave her flowers to her yesterday, so coming over today was to let Jonathan get to have "Gramma Time". He just really loves her. =)

A couple hours later, we came home, Lars bathed Jonnie and got him prepped for bed. We had our first scripture read out of the children's Book of Mormon we bought from the Distribution yesterday and he sat so still and looked at the pictures instead of trying to destroy ours when we read. It may have only been for about 5 minutes, but it felt wonderful. I felt the love of our Father in Heaven letting me know that taking this step to teach our children at this level was the right thing.

It was bed time, and Lars volunteered to put the peanut to bed. I heard my husband's soft tenor voice coming through the nursery door and down our short hallway. I love to hear it. Jonathan was quite ready to go to bed, so no less than 10 minutes later, I heard crazy giggling coming from both of them. It warmed my heart. I love to hear my boys laughing with each other. I'm sure it makes the Lord smile when parents and children are happy together like that.

**********

My husband just came out of the nursery. I've been able to enjoy the Dove Promises that the mothers received today in church. It's been wonderful today. I hope you all had a wonderful day, too!

I took this this morning before we left for church. I needed a mommy's picture of my baby going to his first day of Nursery.

A Great Nothing

2010-04-29T14:09:00.000-07:00

I know I said I wanted to be positive, but I need a place to rest my ongoing thoughts. I'm exhausted feeling all these things and trying to keep up pretenses. My emotions are thin.

The last week and a half have been a huge rollercoaster of emotion for me and I don't quite know what to do about it. I'm doing everything I know that I should and yet, I feel so down, frustrated and very alone. It's been a very long time since I've felt like this and I nearly forgot how overpowering these feelings can be. I seem to cry about everything and it's all such a big deal. I have much going on in my personal life that I feel the weight crushing the breath right out of my lungs. I feel like part of me is dying and I have no idea where it all came from.

I worry about so many things, this one being the most recent- I need a break. If I were to put my son in daycare even for a couple hours a day to get things done, I could feel some relief. But then there's the overwhelming guilt that floods in a few seconds after- I'm a terrible mother for wanting things like that. Why don't you want to teach your child how to read? How to talk? How to eat? The list goes on. I love my child, but I'm not being a good mother. I don't know how. I just don't. He's nearly two, and most of my day is devoted to sitting in front of the tv watching preschool programs b/c I can't get outside and my son won't leave me alone, so I'm forced to ignore him. We live too far away to walk to the park, I'm not supposed to work out at the gym, our apartment doesn't have a safe padio to play on, and I still don't have a car (very long, painful story).

I have some very close friends and family that are making huge transitions in their lives and becoming these wonderful people that I've always known they could be and I'm there for them. But I wonder where I am in all this. I've been so happy, things have been going so well. How did this happen? Why do I feel like this all the time? Did I really live my life growing up being so full of emotions like this? How did I ever figure out how to get over it?

I'm at a loss. The bottom line is, I feel trapped. I feel so alone. Endless tears at the most random times when things should be normal and mostly good in life. Why am I so sad?

It's times like these that I really miss living around people I grew up with. I feel very alone out here in the great of southern California. Odd, since there's so many people here. But I changed after I got married. I'm not the social light everyone remembers me as. I'm a much more somber person and I keep to myself. I need people I feel comfortable with, I yearn for more company and more friends. I have so few out here.

Pictures!

2010-04-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

One of Jonathan's favorite games he likes to play is "Hat On, Hat Off". We wants SO bad to be able to put his hat on himself, but he hasn't quite figured it out yet, so we do it for him. The only thing is he HATES to have it on his head for longer than a few seconds unless we're playing this game. A couple weeks ago, I got some awesome shots. He was home sick along with Mommy and Daddy had gotten home and we kept tossing the camera back and forth as Jonathan ran around.

This one's my favorite. What a ham!

Happy for Daddy (because he wanted our bright red camera). Please excuse the runny nose. =P

Shy smile.

Ever since I introduced him to his belly button a couple months ago, it's his favorite body part.

All Done!

Bathroom Make-Over Sneak Peek

2010-04-10T00:21:00.001-07:00

Here's photo of Jonathan with his Easter basket that didn't get uploaded from the last post. He got a package of farm animals to teethe. He sure loves them.

Here's my helper with the shower hanger. For 3 days he carried it around the apartment while we finished up.

Lars took a few pictures of me getting creative.

I wouldn't call myself an artist by any stretch of the imagination, but I sure love interior design and decorating. I wish I would've known this before I went to college and graduated!

We redecorated the bathroom and the nursery on the same night. Poor little guy. His entire living space was turned upside down. Nothing in the apartment was remotely livable. We set up his old playpen in the middle of the living room surrounded by odd pieces of furniture. He went down very late from pure exhaustion. Thankfully, Gramma took him all day for 9 hours. He has so much fun, he only took a nap for a half hour, (normally he sleeps between 2 1/2 hours)!

I was still working on the bathroom when my brother got into Downey. The pace was a dive and I had to finish before we all went insane with furniture in the wrong rooms, so I didn't get to make Easter dinner. But it was great to see change in our place and to have Dan over none the less.

Easter

2010-04-09T23:55:00.001-07:00

Easter was awesome this year. My oldest brother Daniel came down over night to spend Sunday with us. Even though I didn't get to cook for him like I normally love to and vice versa, it was wonderful to experience such a wonderful conference with him.

I have a few pictures from the beginning of Spring Break/Conference weekend.

Thursday night, Jonathan went to sleep SUPER early- at 7 and I was sure that he'd wake up sometime around 9-11, but he never did. I put him down in his summer onesie and a full daytime diaper and was worried sick about him as i went to sleep. When Daddy went in to get him the next morning, he was soaking wet, freezing, and super smelly. Poor boy. Even though he wreaked, I had Lars strip him down, put him into a new diaper and put him in bed with me to warm him up since he was too upset for a bath at that time. Lars brought him his morning milk and we cuddled until he was warm and calm enough to take a bath. (For some reason, I can't get this photo to upload right, no matter how much I mess with it.)

Easter Sunday, he got a mini package of M&M's that came with his Easter basket. He's a big fan.

Right before my brother headed out the door to make good time back to Vegas, we took some photos. Forgive the sloppy p.j. look. I don't get dressed or dress my family during Conference unless it's demanded.

It's little blurry, since my son thinks he's "The Flash", but here are 'the boys'. I love them. =)

Can you tell we're related?

Ever SO Much More than I Can Say...

2010-03-19T11:55:00.000-07:00

This morning after talking briefly to a newly-found old friend, I had the opportunity to sit back, look at my son and really analyze him. He was tailor-maid by God just for me and my husband. I know it. He is THE perfect child- for us. I got offline and played with him before giving him a snack and putting him down to nap.

As I rocked him to sleep, I looked around his room now that it's been rearranged to make room for his new toddler bed. I like it better now and having the different perspective opened my mind to other areas of my life to be thankful for. I started to get down to the knitty-gritty things in life, all the things that people complain about and have so much trouble with (including myself). I have problems just like everyone else, but in the grand scheme of things, I really have nothing to complain about at all. I have very little bills and all my basic needs are covered. I have a husband who loves me dearly and supports my decision to stay at home and raise our family. I didn't have ot wait very long to have children after getting married, and so and and so forth. I thought through all this as I put my son down in his crib.

As is customary for me after baby goes down, I hop on the computer for a few minutes to catch up on all things bloggy and Facebooky. I found this poem on an old friend's blog. I've known her for years and have had the opportunity to watch her change and become such an amazing woman. I look up to her very much because I see so much of myself in her. She was one of my older sister's best friends all throughout high school and well into college, and even today. I'm blessed to still be a small part of her life, even though we live a thousand miles away.

Here is her post:

Lord, thank you for this sink of dirty dishes;

We have plenty of food to eat.

Thank you for this pile of dirty, stinky laundry;

We have plenty of nice clothes to wear.

And I would like to thank you, Lord, for those unmade beds;

They were so warm and comfortable last night.

I know that many have no bed.

My thanks to you, Lord, for this bathroom,

Complete with all the splattered mirrors, soggy, grimy towels and dirty lavatory;

They are so convenient.

Thank you for this finger-smudged refrigerator that needs defrosting so badly;

It has served us faithfully for many years.

It is full of cold drinks and enough leftovers for two or three meals.

Thank you, Lord, for this oven that absolutely must be cleaned today.

It has baked so many things over the years.

The whole family is grateful for that tall grass that needs mowing,

The lawn that needs raking;

We all enjoy the yard.

Thank you, Lord, even for that slamming screen door.

My kids are healthy and able to run and play.

Lord, the presence of all these chores awaiting me says

You have richly blessed my family.

I shall do them cheerfully and I shall do them gratefully.

May we all be thankful like the person who wrote this poem. Have wonderful weekend!

Communication Block?

2010-03-09T21:36:00.000-08:00

So, for the last year or so I've been trying to figure out how to communicate better. I mean, we all can, but I've been actively trying to gage myself trying to figure out where I'm failing.

I had the opportunity to have lunch with my two best friends out here in my ward and as women, we love to talk. I'm a people watcher by nature mostly, so as I watched my girlfriends talk, I tried to quiet the loud part of who I am and jump in to every part of the conversation I felt I had something pertinent to add.

One of them is expecting her first and the other has an adorable baby girl. It's interesting being the one who's a step ahead in life, at least in the children's department. Not that I feel I know any more than they do! But I sure never thought I would be. It makes me feel old. But moving on...

As I watched the expectant mother talk about how things in her life have brought her to where she is now, I found that I have so very much more in common with her in so very many different aspects of my life, which is probably why we love to get together and talk so much. But my other girlfriend sat there listening and laughing at the appropriate times. She was so gracious, great at listening. I used to be that way for so long.

It's like I've let the advice mother inside of me take over the listener I was. It was an eye opener. I had so many things I could've said, so many similar situations that have happened to me or people in my family when they talk and we get together. I find that for myself if I feel like I'm connecting, I have to find a story within my life that is similar because I feel like I don't have anything to add and I'm a boring person if I just sit and listen. But oh! I found people like that when I was growing up INSUFFERABLE!! How did I become someone whom I used to be so annoyed by??

So after watching them, I sat back and processed all this in the midst of our conversation. How did I get so old? How did I become such a know-it-all? I'm a pretty blunt person and my husband is always telling me to watch how I direct my speech at others because I don't sugar-coat. He says that I can even be mean at times. I'm soooo not mean. Am I?

This is going to take awhile to sort out. I mean, I like me. At least, I think I like me? I do, don't I? After today, I'm not so sure. Maybe I'm over analyzing everything because I'm pregnant. But I can't be too sure. I just want to be a nice person that people aren't afraid to talk to or have fear I'm going to tromp all over the things they have to share with me. Oh perfect. Why am I crying?? Deep breaths. Calm down.

I think it's time to shelve this one and hit the sack.

20 weeks

2010-03-08T11:45:00.000-08:00

That's right. Saturday marked week 20 in my pregnancy. And to celebrate, I bought a car! (Still no ability to upload pictures b/c of laptop problems.) No really. My husband and I got me a fabulous car. My girlfriend Kellie had sent me a link to one of her friends in a neighboring city who was selling her car, which wasn't exactly what we were looking for, but was in good shape, very little miles, and in our price range. So I emailed her and left her my number.

This woman left me an email saying that someone was coming to look at the car at 8am and she didn't know what time was too early to call. I was so angry and upset that I didn't tell her that anytime after 6am would be fine to call because of how early my son gets up and even more so because my husband and I felt very much that this was what we were supposed to do. We'd been feeling very apprehensive about getting a car from a dealer and spiritually that it was not what we were supposed to do.

The woman graciously emailed me back and let me know that her car had sold. Now I was super confused. Why would Lars and I both feel settled about something and not have it work out? Grousing to myself in my head, I pulled up Craigslist.com and started to scan through cars in the OC. I found one that looked right (a VW Jetta), similar the link I'd been sent by Kellie and made the call. Someone was already on their way to look at it. Brick wall.

I made another phone call. Sold. Brick wall.

I made another phone call, not enough information. Brick wall.

I found a great 2007 family Volvo for sale, made the call. As I calculated the insurance payment in my head on top of dropping every penny we had in our savings just for the car and not including money for car/repair/insurance, I quickly came to the conclusion that insuring and repairing a luxury car was so not going to happen. Brick wall.

I made a few other phone calls with more of the same thing. But now I was fueled by frustration and anger. I was on a mission. I knew I was supposed to buy a car this day. So I kept at it.

Then the woman I originally called about the first Jetta (because I'd found a few) told me that the person who was coming by had repeatedly kept calling and saying she was just around the corner, even though they lived in the same city. We were told we could come out and look at the car, since the car owner was tired of being jerked around. So we prayed, loaded up, and headed to Orange County.

When we got there, the car was gone. Actually, the person who had originally wanted to look at the car was behind us IN THE CAR. Now I was ticked. Holding my breath. They left, saying they wanted to think about it. WHAT?? Who does that?

We checked out the car ourselves and crossed our fingers. We paid for it and while Lars filled out the paperwork, the woman who was selling the car got out a kids drinkable yogurt and some Oreos to share with my son. She and her husband were so kind. I was just blown away that she would share something with us when she had two little girls of her own and was selling us her car.

Now after how nice this couple was, I'm really hoping there's nothing super wrong with this car. It'll go to the mechanic's this week sometime when Lars can take it because this momma is not putting herself or her child in that car until everything's put together. **Holding my breath**

And you'll be happy to know that for the first time EVER, I drove an entire 45 minutes on the freeway with my son in the backseat following my husband home. I've never driven on a California freeway for more than 15 minutes to get to work, so nearly and hour was a miracle. I'm not saying I'll be doing that anytime soon again, but now I know that I'm capable of it. Maybe I'll get a TomTom I won't be so freaked out about getting so hopelessly lost with no one to find me that I'll die of panic in the car....

Announcing...

2010-02-22T20:41:00.000-08:00

All the pictures are labeled, mostly at the bottom. Just scroll!

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Retro Thursday

2010-02-18T12:11:00.000-08:00

So my oldest sister Rachael has been going over to my grandparents 3 times a week to help them go through their slides and old microfilms to put onto disc format to finish their family history. My grandmother is a big family history buff and had her personal history finished about 15 years ago so she could just add to it as the rest of her life when on. My grandfather on the other hand is much like me and took until just last year to finish his and they're both in their early 80s.

Anyway, I asked Rae if there were any pictures of me and she emailed me a couple and I was completely shocked at how much I looked like Jonathan. I mean, our expressions and the shape of our faces- everything! I spent quite a bit of time last night talking to Rae about how my personality was when I was Jonnie's age and apparently I was just as serious and a big people watcher, only rambuncious and giggly around those I felt safest with. But I love these pictures and HAD to share them! (If you click on the images, you can seee up close how much we really do look alike.)

My Grandpa and Grandma Clawson with my siblings 25 years ago at my sister's baptism, January 1986. I was 18 months old.

My parents, my siblings and I, Rachael's baptism.

I just love old photos of when we were little. There are so few from before the divorce, so when we find them, it's like a little piece of treasure- a link to our past for our childrens geneology.

Week ???

2010-02-12T22:22:00.001-08:00

Week 18!

That's right! I'm 18 weeks and I'm just finding out I'm nearly half way through my pregnancy. I was only a week off of when I thought I was due. I still think I'm right until I get my blood work done in a couple weeks. (I was going to post photos, but my memory card isn't opening and I haven't been able to figure out what's wrong for a couple weeks, which is why there have been no photo entries as of the last month and a half.)

I met with an RN today to get all my paperwork set and go through my medical record- you know, all the necessary and boring stuff. The nurses were so nice. I was shocked to actually be treated like a person and not a number to be rushed in a pushed out the door for the next one in line to come in.

Here's the kicker, though: I've lost 15 pounds, which is nearly half of the weight I gained with Jonathan and never lost. I was shocked when I climbed on the scale and the nurse told me how much I weighed compared to when I last went to the doctor in December. I'm still sick in the mornings, but I can mostly control it if I take it slow and drink lots of water the moment I get out of bed. Something I never would've been able to figure out the first time around. It's amazing what you can figure out the second time around.

I have my first appointment with the doctor in 10 days, Monday the 22nd and it's an ultrasound. The most interesting thing is that I'll see my baby before I even hear her. I shouldn't say her, but I've gotten so used to the idea of having a girl, it just doesn't seem like it could possibly be anything else. But we'll see. I'm just so relieved not to be in between insurances and be fully covered to get these things taken care of. I've had a great day. Peace of mind is something you really don't know you've lost until you've worried yourself into an emotional stupor.

Time for CHANGE

2010-02-02T18:53:00.000-08:00

Alrighty. Enough. I've been using Blogger and my Facebook status as an outlet for frustration latey.

I need a change. I wanted to post all the pictures that went with all the great happenings in that last couple weeks, but the truth is, I don't have the time or patience to upload them and I need to talk about how awesome life really is. All out of order, here is my life from the last little while.

I was able to go with my girlfriend Mary and Jonathan to Olive Garden for lunch last week. We had their lunch special and I don't think I could cram in enough salad and breadsticks. I loved the soup, but really, the true love of my pregnancy life is Olive Garden salad. Then I had a sitter for baby later that day and was in and out of my new insurance office before I could even sit down, in either waiting area I was sent to. Then I got to come home to find my husband already home, which was great surprise.

Jonathan has been learning all sorts of adorable things: he's finally figured out how to talk into a cell phone correctly (many other little boys of my friends around his age figured this out a couple months ago), and now EVERYTHING goes to his shoulder- including dirty socks! He knows how to climb on just about everything if he wiggles enough, which can be interesting keeping him from pulling things down off the counters. He's also figured out how to get past most of his baby gates!! He's been learning to WALK up the stairs and not crawl, although most of the time, he still prefers the latter. He will eat just about anything I feed him now, as long as it's not too bitter, like peas, so I mix them with another vegetable and the amount he eats, unbelievable! He lets me know when he's ready to go outside almost like a little puppy- he brings me his jacket (when we forget to hang it up on the coat wrack), socks from his dirty laundry, and his shoes. It cracks me up! He's very good about going to bed, he runs on a good schedule and hates it when we mess with it. And I finally figured out that when he holds his arms out to me and grunts, "Uooo, Uooo!" he's been saying "Up!"

He also LOVES to play fetch with his little soft baseballs. For a long time, if he brought me a toy that I was tired of being shoved me face, I'd toss it across the room or into the hallway by his bedroom and sit back down at the table or couch to finish whatever it was I was doing and he'd ALWAYS bring it to me in the next ten minutes. Then we eventually though about it, found a ball, tossed it across the room and told him, "Go get it!" He was fast about it! We had a good laugh about it when we figured out Jonathan thought I'd been playing a game for the last few months.

I've been working on anger-management being a mother and I can tell you, it feels AMAZING! I don't yell anymore, even when I'm frustrated and it's wonderful not to carry around the guilt that inevitably follows. It helps SO much that Larry and I try to get on the same page in our parenting and discuss things that we're not sure about to ask the other parent's opinion. I'm also happier because of it. I enjoy my time with my son so much more than when I was trying to make him understand things he's simply just to little to grasp. He's my little angel and I only get to have him tiny for so long before time and the world force him to grow up.

So there anger! Take that to the bank. I'M HAPPY DANG IT! Life is wonderful and there is no more morning sickness. How much better can life be when you choose to be happy no matter what the situation?

On Days Like This

2010-01-26T16:17:00.000-08:00

I finally got a chance to go to set up a work out regimen at the YMCA on most of the machines there. I have to make another appointment to get set up on the rest. Stupid rain, flu and ants. And today, well let's just talk about today shall we?

It's raining again, which I didn't notice because of a screaming toddler. This morning he started wailing and I thought it was because he was hurting. After a lengthy prayer while rocking him to help soothe him and calm my nerves, he dropped off for nearly 3 hours, about 3 hours before his usual naptime. Instead of sleeping, I used the time to mess around on the computer since I so rarely get on for more than 5 minutes anymore. Stupid, but I'd been falling asleep nearly every time I sat down all morning and even though my head was buzzing, I thought that I should stay awake.

Then he woke up right as I caved and was going to sneak in a 20 minute nap. Not a problem, since it was my fault for not listening to my body in the first place. So I cheerfully went in to get him out of the crib and feed him his lunch. After he has a good long nap after a hard morning, afternoons are usually a piece of cake and he's a happy, giddy boy. He ate and was super good about eating almost everything I fed him, which I'm very pleased with, since we'd let him get into some nasty eating habits out of laziness and tiredness.

Then I spent about 10 minutes on the floor with him- all the time I can before my hips start to go out of place. I have back, hip and joint problems anyway, but pregnancy turns them to jello so I have to be uber careful how long I stay on the floor or in one position. He got upset and started to throw a tantrum, something he's gotten very good at when he can't have his way. But usually if I ignore his cries, he'll find something to do and entertain himself after about 10-12 minutes. Most of the time. But lately in this last month, he's really gotten spoiled and I have no idea why. No matter how much attention I give him or how long I have him on my lap or next to me on the couch, if I won't get on the floor with him, he refuses to stop wailing until I give in again. And this can go on for over two hours. Very draining.

And I also figured out why his clothes end up on the floor in his room. He's figured out how to pull open his dresser drawers and he loves clothes, so he drags them all out and dumps as many as he can get onto the floor. So today, after figuring this out, I folded them and put them away and had a row with Jonathan so he wouldn't keep opening the drawers. More wailing. I finally took him from the room when he immediately started to misbehave about something else, so I put him in his room for time out while I went to the restroom. When I came back in, he'd opened the bottom drawer, pulled out all his extra wipe and diaper packages along with his summer clothes he's waiting to grow into. I was NOT happy. I don't like to put him in the crib as punishment b/c I don't want him to associate bedtime and punishment as the same thing, but I was in a tight spot. I plunked him in the crib to sit for 10 minutes while I calmed down.

But it didn't stop there. As soon as I got him out again, he would NOT settle. He wanted to play on the floor and kept shoving things on my lap, which I hate. It's something that pushes my buttons, but I have no idea why. I just can't stand it when he's shoving hard toys in my face and hitting me for attention just to get on the floor. So I caved. I spent some time on the floor, again. And wouldn't you know, when I tried to stand up, my hip went out of place. I hobbled to the bathroom to sit on the lid of the toilet, which usually helps to set my hip back in place. Thankfully, it popped right back in, since I hadn't spent too long on the floor in one position.

My head was throbbing all morning and by this time around 2pm, everything was fuzzy. I was so tired that as soon as I sat in one of our upright chairs, I fell asleep. I was started by a loud clang, but still mostly asleep so I shifted and fell all the way under again. My body was shocked awake by the sound of quiet... I knew something was up. I got up quickly and looked for my son. He had figured out how to pull open the gate to the kitchen, and had pulled out my mixing bowl and a few snack packages out of the trash. That was it. I was done. Both cupboards that normally have locks on them in the kitchen were left unlatched by me earlier when I was cleaning and he had pulled them open. I was lucky he hadn't pulled out all the cleaning supplies under the sink he so desperately wants to get his hands on all the time. I was not only angry with him for being so naughty, but at myself for having been so irresponsible.

I picked him up and put him in his crib to wail, oh, about 45 minutes ago. And there he stays. I can't handle today anymore. And the worst part? The worst part is is that Larry won't be home until after 7 because his night classes started again yesterday, so I have no reprieve. Every mother has things to deal with and I'm tired of having to call the same women for help. They deal with their own stuff. I'm tired of feeling weak and caving and making those calls.

On days like this, I hate the idea of having another baby. On days like this I think, "What the hell was I thinking when I decided to have another child??" On days like this, I wonder why I was so stupid to think I could even have one child, let alone two. On days like this, I want to give up. On days like this I just really, really wish I had my mother. On days like this, I feel like there's nothing left to give. On days like this, well, on days like this I wish I could just get a hug and have someone to cry with and let it all out. Man, my head hurts...

**UPDATE** I let Jonathan scream for about 2 hours before he passed out. I didn't hear anything for about 15 minutes, so I opened his door cautiously. He was passed out on the far side of his crib sucking his two middle fingers on his left hand. It was precious. But he woke up about 10 minutes later and I got him out. Then ensued the same behavior. But Lars is home just a quarter to 8. I think it's time for some r and r.

Aaaaaaaannnndddd....

2010-01-13T17:19:00.000-08:00

After what seems like an eternity of waiting, I FINALLY got my results today. I AM pregnant!

I won't complain or rehash all the nasty little details of how long it took or what I had to go through to find out. I'll just be thankful and SUPER excited and very relieved to know that we are having a little one coming and I'm smart enough to know what my body has been telling me!

I'm SO THANKFUL!! I can't even begin to tell you how relieved I am!! I basically just said the same thing twice, but I don't care. I'm just so relieved, SO RELIEVED that nothing was going on causing the same symptoms. Nightmare over for now...

Babies

2009-12-11T12:12:00.000-08:00

My girlfriend Kellie was always so positive when she found something that was ailing her while she awaited the arrival of her daughter. In her blog, she would always post things to uplift her and those around her. I admire her for that.

I'm probably one of the most whiny, miserable pregnant women ever, and I'm sure my girlfriend Mary would chuckle and secretly agree with you, since she's the one who listens to me the most. **giggle** I get those little moments of "Here's something to help you be grateful for your pregnancy" moments, but I'm usually so sick and miserable, I don't take that time to really absorb it. As I type this, I'm listening to "The Forgotten Carols". The song Sarah sings "Mary Let Me Hold Her Baby" has always been one I loved very much.

Sarah's Song

Mary let me hold her baby

her newborn son.

Though I'd never be a mother

I felt like one.

Mary let me hold her baby

so she could rest,

and ever since that night I held him,

my life's been blessed.

Bridge:

Those like me who can't have children

still can be mothers.

Chorus:

Something in his eyes convinced me

I could serve so many others.

Mary let me hold her baby

so soft and warm.

Mary let me hold her baby

and I was reborn.

Interlude

Chorus:

Something in his eyes convinced me

I could serve so many others.

Mary let me hold her baby,

so soft and warm.

Mary let me hold her baby

and I was reborn.

The verse that opens the song is the one that always touches me the most: "Though I'd never be a mother, I felt like one."

There are so many women out there who would give anything to have a child. This is my second. How blessed am I with fertility? I don't have to go through weeks, months, years trying to discover why I can't conceive. I don't have to remortgage my house or refinance my vehicles to afford fertility treatments.

When these thoughts enter my mind, I realize how selfish I am. This song has a way of reminding me that regardless of how sick I am or how emotional I get, I need to be thankful for all of it. More than that, this song is special to me because it speaks of Mary and her sweet newborn son. I felt so close to Mary last year with the pending arrival of my own son's birth so close to Christmas time. On the calendar in my room, there was painting of Mary holding her new son, Jesus. I often reflected on how she felt and how tender a spirit Jesus would have been. Babies come with such a spiritual strength because they're so fresh from heaven. My own son had such an overwhelmingly strong spirit, I wept many times just holding and looking at him. I can only imagine how powerful the newborn Christ child's spirit would have been, even just being within proximity of him.

I know things will start to get me down as pregnancy sickness takes over, but today, right now, I feel the spirit and know that my heart is in the right place being grateful for the most precious gifts anyone can ever hope to receive: my children and my husband, for without him, I would not have them.

Seriously???

2009-12-07T23:36:00.000-08:00

Today was wild. I was supposed to hang out with my girlfriend Kellie today, but she was in her cleaning groove and was still doing so when I returned her call this afternoon. I laughed and joked about it with her, but when I hung up, I was so depressed. I was really looking forward to escaping the dungeon which was my apartment.

I was on Facebook later talking to a very dear friend of mine who I grew up with telling her about my pregnancy. I felt she could really get me since she has 3 children and her first two are more than likely the same age distance as mine will be. But as I talked to her, I just started to feel worse. That never happens when I talk to her. So I got off the net and had a quick thought pop into my head.

I called my girlfriend and visiting teacher Mary. When she answered the phone, I nearly lost it. I was at my rope's end. I asked her if she could come over to help me. She said "Of course. I have the missionaries over but I'll be over in 15 minutes."

I felt bad for calling her in the middle of having the elders over, but right after I hung up, I started to feel SO much better. I had a little burst of energy to bathe my son and get him ready for bed, which I rarely do without my husband.

In the time waiting for her, Lars came home for a few minutes to unload his baggage, pick up the computer and leave. Right as he was leaving, Mary called saying she was waiting at the gate. I was trying to find my shoes, but by the time I was able to find some that wouldn't leak rain water into them, someone had let her in and she met me at the bottom of my balcony stairs.

And we divided and conquered. She did my dishes. Can I just tell you how amazing it was to have someone do all those piles of dishes that were making me so sick I could barely walk into my kitchen? I was able to sort through the trash and toys on the front room floor and get it all picked up and vacuumed. She even helped me rearrange the tree and furniture. It was beyond crowded and the tree was sucking the light out of the room. Needless to say, it wasn't helping a very moody mother feel better about her position of staying inside all day because it's been raining. While she did the dishes, I was also able to scrub my tub and bathroom counter top and clear off my bar area to put up a nativity my step mom bought me last year.

Mary came over around 7 and didn't leave until after 10. Before she left, she actually thanked me for feeling comfortable enough to let her come over and help. Who does that?? Seriously?

I love Mary. I'm so grateful she came over. You're awesome! Can I just say I love you? Well, I love you.

The Big One

2009-12-05T23:45:00.000-08:00

Today is the one year anniversary of my son's life-saving surgery. At 10 in the morning he went in to be prepped and came out a couple hours sooner, shortly around 2pm. I dropped off in the waiting room as I'd been up for about 48 hours, sick with worry and a kidney and mastitis infection. I was beat. But when I heard my name called. I instantly woke up, walked my broken self over to the doctor who saved my son's life and he told me everything went very smoothly and I could go back to Jonathan's room and get some lunch and a nap. Wise words. I ran back up to the room and dropped off the minute I sat down. When I woke up, my son was back in that horrible hospital crib sleeping soundly.

To celebrate, I gave Jonathan his first ever major haircut. He's been trimmed around his ears and face, but his soft baby hair on top of his head had never before been cut.

Before Photo

I had a lot of help from Lars in strapping down the munchkin. I did his basic bath, but then decided his hair could NOT wait for his grandparents to see his long, adorable curls. He was getting a mullet and he was having a hard time hearing because it was so long over his ears. Out of control!

After Second Bath

I have a few pictures of his beautiful curls, but I couldn't find them to do a before and after shot.

Personally, I think I rocked his hair. I know of no other mother who would give a real haircut to their child this young. Everyone else just buzzes it all off. Not this mom. My child has a head of hair and I'm NOT about to chop it all off.

Five days short of his 13 month birthday, he gets real haircut. I'm sad to have to chop off the fine, soft ends of his baby hair, but I didn't really think too hard about it while in the process. It's like I'm ready to help him grow because I can feel the impending arrival of the next baby... most of the time.

There are those times that I'm just devastated how fast he's growing. Tonight I rocked him to sleep. I held him long after he'd dropped off. And then I cried.

How on earth do you figure out the balance between making room for the next baby and holding onto your firstborn's infancy? I suppose it just happens and you move with it, or go insane...

Jonathan's FIRST Visit with Santa!!

2009-12-04T22:33:00.000-08:00

Tonight at our ward Christmas party, Santa showed up! I was so happy, since last year Jonathan was too sick and had only been home from surgery for a few days. That and the party got cancelled due to the release of the entire Primary presidency (which consequently happened AGAIN last Sunday).

The food was amazing. It was the first real meal I've been able to eat in about a week. Funeral potatoes, bacon-soaked green beans, cinnamon glazed ham, seamed baby carrots Oh! It was good. Let's just say I looked more than my share of pregnant after I was done eating and I'm only around 7-9 weeks pregnant. =P

Here we are, all piled on Gary Langham, uh, I mean Santa Claus' lap. I had a picture taken with only Jonathan and I at first because Larry was helping clean up in the cultural hall. Gary wouldn't let me up off his lap until I told him what I wanted for Christmas and I said, "I want a nice, easy pregnancy." He chuckled and said, "Honey, I'm only Santa Claus. I can only do so much!" Silly Santa. But I was able to find Lars and we got a a family shot. Lars told Santa he wanted a new computer for Christmas. Yeah, right. Not with a new baby on the way.
Then Santa came through the cultural hall doors after the benediction. Our ward young women came in after him. So cute! Santa's reindeer. =)

Marley (the girl on the right) put her antlers on Jonathan. I was lucky to get a clear shot with how much he was moving. He was trying to figure out where the jingling was coming from. Hee, hee!

This was his little stocking for visiting Santa. Needless to say, his younger sibling ate it....

It was such a good night full of wonderful food and great entertainment. The Primary kids did their Nativity program. I had a shared solo singing with the children. They were so cute, I had a hard time choking back tears before the last number with my solo in it.

I can hardly wait until I can go home and do the Nativity with my own family on Christmas Eve like we did every year growing up!

Update on Jonathan

2009-12-02T11:27:00.000-08:00

Jonathan turned one entire year old on the tenth last month. I haven't posted anything about it because we've had LOTS of computer problems. **UGH** moving on....

Kellie took us to this great little place to do our Christmas photos, which coincided perfectly with Jonathan's one year, since we all know I do baby photos every 3-4 months. He is SO big!

All his skills he's learned in the last 3 months since living in our new apartment are crazy. I'll try to list them all in order: walking a couple days after we moved in in Sept. but he got uneasy so he kept cruising on furniture until Halloween when he took off across Gma's bedroom, he opens our doors and we ended up having to be doorknob covers months before I ever thought he'd be able to do that, he started to take PediaSure and water from a cup instead of wanting Mama for every second of everyday, he can clap his own hands together, he learned how to crawl up a small flight of stairs- the chapel stairs at our church, his first word other than "Mama" or "Dada" is "Nooooooo" when he touches the computer and he purses his lips **I used to do that to enforce what I meant. Oops**, when he needs a change he'll bring me a diaper from his bin without prompting, he's running, and now he cuddles with me in the morning after he wakes up and gives hugs most of the time. He's due for his 12 months shots on his 13 month birthday so he's behind, but there was a mix-up with a flier we got from his pediatrician. Long story short, he'll get his shots right before we go to Idaho, so he should be good. **sigh of relief**

Eternally Grateful

2009-11-24T12:17:00.000-08:00

There has been a church video circulating around about what people are thankful for. I haven't been able to see until a few minutes ago on a friend's blog because our computers have been having many issues.

I posted this as a comment on her blog and wanted to make sure I put it up on my blog as well.

"When I see videos done by the church like this, my heart wells up with so much gratefulness and I am humbled to realize everything, EVERYTHING in my life is designed just for me. I am a child of God. He loves me. He knows who I am. And I have the knowledge of the restored gospel. I have parents who bent over backwards to make sure I would follow the straight and narrow path and for their gift to me being members of the church, I will be forever grateful. I am thankful to be me."

I have people who love me, all of my crazy quirks, weird habits, you know- what makes me who I am. I have a mother, father, and stepmom who all love me very much. They gave me roots in the gospel- I didn't have to wander around through life trying to find it, I just had to figure out how to accept it. I have a husband who takes time to make my life easier, who loves me, who does everything in his power to make sure I can be a happy person. I have a beautiful son, who I think I practically willed into existance, who is very easy to raise (even when I don't want to be the grown-up), and fills everyday with smiles and giggles, and now hugs me back. I have the opportunity to bring another life into this world, when there are so many others who would give anything to have that opportunity. The older I get, the more I realize just how awesome it is to be me. I'm awesome! And I would NEVER want to be anyone else.

Most Thankful

2009-11-21T20:20:00.001-08:00

Alrighty, for those of you who's been following my weird status updates on Facebook, I'm outing myself.

Story: I took this test on Sunday last weekend, right after we got home from church- middle of the day, hormones not that high in the cup, if you get my drift. I was pretty sure I was, so I bought this last week on Friday.

My initial test didn't turn immediately like it had with Jonathan, so I yelled at Lars from the bathroom that it was negative and then decided to tell him how long it said to wait on the package. He yelled back to leave it and come have lunch and we'd check it afterward.

I forgot it was even in there, so as Lars was getting up to put his dishes in the sink, I remembered and asked him to get it. He yelled from the bathroom that he wasn't sure how to read it, so I told him to bring it out to me. Although not as strong as the first line, the second was definitely there. It looked identical to the time I took Jonathan's first test. I was relieved to see I was right and I wasn't late and queasy from some other reason. But I still couldn't really believe it. I left the test on the bathroom counter by the sink for the next 4 days, double checking to make sure I was right every time I went in the bathroom for whatever. I finally took a picture and threw it away.
This whole week, I told only a few people and felt like I was lying, since I'd taken 6 pregnancy tests to confirm with Jonathan and I was worrying myself into a stupor. I sent Lars out to get more tests from the store, but wouldn't you know, they were out of stock and wouldn't be rotating it until Saturday afternoon. I hate life when it gets in the way of my own sanity...

So tonight, while he was coming back from La Habra, I called and asked Lars to pick me up a couple more. Bless his heart, he bought four... he knows me. And these are the results:

So yep. I'm DEFINITELY preggers. And to top to it off, I'm not sick hardly at all! *knock on wood* Just queasy at times and a little dizzy when I forget to drink enough water. After seeing this little panel of tests, I was instantly feeling more calm. Willing to tell the blogging world in fact. So there you have it. 'll be taking polls on what we're having later. As for me, I'm voting girl.

I'm thankful for babies in November: Jonathan turning one, and finding out the same week his little sibling is on the way.

Thankful 4

2009-11-06T10:31:00.000-08:00

Stay-at-Home-Mom

Four little consecutive words, but how much they mean. I can not even tell you how seriously blessed I am to be able to stay home with my little boy. With how attached to me he has been this first year, especially the first 6 months, I just don't know how I could've ever gone back to work, even if we were overly desperate.

I'm sure part of me is lazy and hates working and would rather be at home than out slaving away for someone else, but really I do prefer to be at home watching my son grow, test my patience, spill things, eat paper and diaper wipes, throw up, run away from me, all those things that toddlers do. But amidst all that are the godlen moments- giggles, smiles, seeing him do everything for the first time, being there to cuddle and love him when he's hurt or lonely, able to put him to bed at night.

I am very thankful that I am able to be home to raise my son everyday.

Thankful 3 (yesterday's post, internet was down)

2009-11-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

WATER

I am SO thankful for fresh, clean running water. I don't have much of a view while looking out of my bay window in my living room, but what I do see I love am very thankul for- there is a well house with a HUGE pipe that extends from it about 5 feet sround and 12 feet long before it goes into the ground, enclosed behind chainlink and brick walls on either side. Our city is one of only 3-4 in the entire area of Soutern California that has its own natural clean water well that doesn't have to borrow and pay another city for its use of water. And I'm lucky enough to live right on top of it! I do enjoy great hot water and cold water, good pressure most days, too.

I've had to try to live without running water for a few days on more than one occation over at my mother-in-law's while the plumbing was on the fritz and I'll tell you, running to the grocery store around the corner every 10 minutes is not very condusive to a normal lifestyle. =P

All the normal things in life we do everyday take lots and lots of water- bathroom use, laundry, making baby formula/food, washing our hands, cooking, cleaning up baby, drinking, etc. You get the picture. How blessed are we to live in such a wonderful time that we have fresh water at the twist of a faucet knob?

Thankful 2

2009-11-03T22:50:00.000-08:00

Alrighty. This may sound reaaaaally shallow, but here it goes. Today I am thankful for cable. I've missed it, but have learned that I can function and DO much more if I just shut off the tv.

But today I got cable. I feel like I've really made it, as if I'm really a grown up because I now have to pay for my own cable. Weird? Maybe, but everyone has that moment in their lives when they feel like they've really matured and are fully into adulthood. It just so happens that today was my day.

I'm most thankful for it because on those long days-Monday, Tuesday, and any other day that he needs to fully consentrate without a wife and a toddler vying for attention- I can flip it on in the evenings around 5-6 and have an adult voice to keep me company. I get so lonely around that time of night. It just feels nice to be able to have "adult conversation" around me after the entire day full of baby babbling and squealing.

**NOTE** I tried to publish this last night, but the internet connection was in and out for around 2 hours.

Thankful November

2009-11-02T16:08:00.000-08:00

I'm stealing this from an old friend who also stole it from one of her old friends. I need more time to think about all the good things in my life and be grafeul for all of it. So even though I'm a couple days behind, I want to try to be diligent in doing a "thankful post" everyday for this month.

Today I am thankful for my mother. She has always been there for me, even during the time I was ackward and angry through my teenage years and early twenties- which by the way, I'm just getting over. She has such a giving heart and is the most thoughtful person I've ever known. She's given her life to others to try and make them more comfortable and happy, insomuch that she now has permanent health problems. She now has some time to take for herself to be more healthy and active and I'm so very glad of that.

I love her sweet voice and her emotions as she feels for me all the things I go through. She is a wonderful grandmother. She loves to listen to me talk and talk and talk about my son and never tires of it, even though I'm sure I repeat myself over and over and over.

I'm thankful that she always taught me not to hate, even though there were many times which I'm sure she would've been justified in hating many people for the things that they did. I hear her voice in my head saying, "Never hate, Rebekah. Hate the actions, but not the person. It poisons who you are if you can't forgive." I could never understand why she was so passionate about it when I'd scream and cry about how someone had hurt me or someone I cared about and I'd say, "I HATE THEM!!" She was very right. Hate does poison who we are.

I'm thankful for all the skills she passed to me. She instilled a desire to be a good wife and homemaker. Even though she never took the time to officially teach me how to do a lot of things, I was always watching her- sewing, baking, crocheting, floral arranging, running her business in our basement. If someone wanted something, she could create it with her own two hands.

And she still calls me, talks to me. I have no idea what could possess her to continue loving me after all those horrible years while I was trying to figure out who I was, but she did and still loves me when I get angry about silly things, even when I shouldn't. She has the sweetest, most tender spirit. I am blessed to have such a mother.

Mom, today I am thankful for you. I love you.

Fresh and New

2009-10-27T22:41:00.000-07:00

I got a chance to go over and see my girlfriend Kellie's brand new little girl. She is positively amazing. I wanted to hold her SO bad, but Jonathan got the sniffles yesterday and I'm just starting to get it myself, so there was NO WAY I was going to pass off those icky nasty germs to a *shiny* new baby that was kept in the NICU just for safety reasons.

I didn't stay too long. But what I can tell you is now more than ever, I want a new baby. Not because they're so wonderful, because we all know they are. No I want another one because it just feels right to have the desire to add to our family. This tender, sweet baby was a wonder to behold- her little mouth constantly suckling, eyes searching and studying, full of wiggles trying out her new-found freedom outside the womb. And her spirit. Her spirit was so incredibly strong. It was almost like I could feel her guardian angels encircling her.

And Kellie. Brave Kellie. Wonderful, tired, beautiful new mother. She kept asking for help with simple things, things I'd almost forgotten take so much time and energy when you're so fresh home with your first child. She asked me shortly after I got there how I ever left Jonathan in the hospital for so long, fresh tears glittering in her eyes. Speaking truthfully, I really don't know how I did it. I'm sure the Lord was holding my hand and walking me through it all. When my husband got home, I told him about what she had asked and it made me very emotional. I feel so much for her having to let other take care of her child, feeling helpless, not knowing what to do, being so tired needing a chance to heal.

Seeing someone else who is so close to me go through a similar situation is like looking through a pensive- memories, but not quite my own. Even so, I can't even imagine what it would be like to have my first brand new child whom I had waited 41 weeks to see being taken from me for her own precaution. Strong mother.

It's just such a huge relief for me to know my girlfriend is home safe with a healthy little girl. I love them so much.

Deep Thoughts Continued

2009-10-22T12:22:00.001-07:00

Continuing on from my last post, I have some things I've been thinking about for awhile, but very heavily in the recent weeks and days.

I'm ready to have another baby. I was ready to have one shortly after Jonnie was born. I loved him so, SO much that I wanted to have lots and lots all at once. Then things got hard. Really, really hard.

I started to change my mind the older Jonathan got and the more things he learned and the more he changed and the more things he got into... I could go on, but we all know how children grow. I didn't know if I'd ever be ready to have another baby. I loved Jonathan so much I couldn't see how I could make room in my heart and life for another child. Jonathan was my light in the dark. Our worlds revolved around each other. How could anyone possibly love a child as much as I love Jonathan and make room for more children?

Funny how our thoughts change. I thought for some odd reason that making the decision to have the next child would be less complicated, require less contemplatives, be easier on us as husband and wife. WRONG!! How was I able to fool myself into such a delusion?? If people knew I was thinking that, I'm sure they'd whisper behind they hands to each other and point at me saying,"There's that crazy lady. She thinks life gets less complicated with each baby."

But I am ready again. I'm filled with the same thoughts of excitement at the possibility of adding to our family, creating another life, talking to my belly, getting to know the life within me, nesting. I think quite possibly I might even be more excited about the next child than the first- more because I was yearning so hard to a have child I was almost depressed, and what woman hasn't been there?

I just have some very pressing concerns- 1) I'm even more out of shape now than I was when I got pregnant with Jonnie. I'm unsure what to do about that. But I feel I shouldn't wait too long and my sisters and mother lost the weight from their first baby after they had their second. Maybe that could happen with me, too. 2) How on EARTH am I going to ween Jonathan when he is so very ,VERY attached to nursing? My favorite times during the day are when I get a chance to sit down and rock my son and talk to him while he eats. How can I make him give that up when I don't want to give that up myself? And 3) I know I really shouldn't worry about this because the church specifically says not to be selfish in this way, but how on earth are we going to be able to afford a second child until 2011 when Lars gets his pay raise for paying his dues for getting his credential and working at the same place for more than a year?

I suppose I should leave these things in the Lord's hands, but my mind has always been meticulous in thinking things out waaaaaay farther into the future than I probably aught to. I really do want another baby, though. **sigh** Why do we always love to complicate things, us women?

Goings-On and Deep Thoughts

2009-10-22T11:43:00.000-07:00

Well, most of you follow me on Facebook, so you know that my life has been a roller coaster of sleepless nights and broken nerves. I've been teaching my baby to cry himself to sleep. You all know the circumstances of his surgery 3 weeks after his birth, which made it very easy to fall into the habit of soothing him to sleep in our bed. He was always sick and it was like a freezer in my mother-in-law's house since none of her doors or windows seal out the cold or heat properly and her central heating and cooling system broke shorty before we got married. It was just easier to keep him warm and safe in our bed.

My brother Jacob, the doctor, told me that when babies have turbulent beginnings, the parents tend to coddle them long after they're better and can handle things on their own. That made me so hopping mad. I thought, "How would he know?" But his oldest was diagnosed with the same problem at a year and he's the father of two boys- he knows a great deal more than I do about parenting. I was discouraged because I knew Jonathan was still too little to be left alone. He was terrified of the dark and I had so, SO much remorse for having to leave him in the hospital at night so I could get some semblance of sleep and let my milk let down so I could pump because when I heard him, my milk would lock up. Besides that, all those late nights in the ER caused me to get masitis (VERY painful) and I wasn't allowed to nurse him until 48 hours after his surgery. I had a lot of guilt.

As Jonathan got older and started to take up more space and become more mobile, it became apparent to me that he needed to learn to sleep in his own space, but that was diffecult seeing as he shared his room with his aunt. I didn't really have the option to let him cry to sleep for naps and nighttime. I was resigned to the fact that I was going to let him do it, even if that meant pure hell for the whole family. Then we found out we'd actually be able to move. I was willing to wait until we were settled for a couple weeks to try to let him cry to sleep. Moving and trying to teach something is too much for a baby to handle, too much for Mommy to handle!

I don't know what prompted me to do it, but Monday this week I put him in his crib to cry to sleep and didn't get up. Lars came home shortly after I did that and he heard our son wailing. Lars asked if he should go get him and I was very clear that Jonathan'd been in there awhile already and he needed to learn to sleep. It was that night that Jonathan threw up from crying so hard and Lars discovered Jonathan'd been rolling around in it in his sleep for around 8 hours. Poor kid.

That same morning after a bath and clean up, I felt so guilty and his room smelled so bad (even after nearly a bottle of Lysol and an open window), I put him to sleep next to me at 7 until around 10. Talk about mixed messages, Mom! When I woke up, I quickly realized my mistake and put him in his crib for nap time. That was even harder than the night before!!

I called my sister Rachael and even though I'm sure my minutes were up (we'll find out when we get the bill), I talked to her while Jonathan screamed and screamed until he finally plopped off to sleep. Then bath and nursing the same time as the night before for bed. I was going to let him cry then, but he was so tired he fell asleep before he was even done eating. It was nice and peaceful that night. Bed at 8, no screaming and time to be with my husband. No wake ups until 5 the next morning. (Why can't that happen every night??)

Jonathan does cry less and less with each time at night, but it's nap time that's the hardest. He needs dark curtains to block out the light because he thinks it's playtime and I'm sure he gets confused. I love my son and I can only imagine how hard it must be to learn to be alone after Mommy had ALWAYS held him and rocked him to sleep for his entire life so far. But I need my space so I can sleep. It's not fun to wake up to a twitching child sleeping horizontally 12 times a night kicking you in the bladder. I thought I was done with that AFTER he was born!

Which brings me to my deep thoughts. But this post is already grossly long, so I'll make another...

This Day in History

2009-10-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

On Friday October 13th, 2006, around 10:45 am (mountain standard time) Larry Sepulveda, Jr. and I were sealed together for time and all eternity in the Idaho Falls, Idaho Temple.

Walking out of the temple: The new Mr. and Mrs. Larry Sepulveda!

Thank-you for joining the church and being a worthy priesthood holder so we could be sealed together. I hope the rest of eternity will be as fun as these first few years with you by my side to walk the journey with. Happy third Anniversary, love. You are my bestest friend!

New Digs

2009-10-07T15:08:00.001-07:00

As you all know, Lars and I have moved into our new place and let me tell you- it's the hardest easiest, most wonderful, terrible thing ever.

Allow me to explain:

I thought having Lars go to work would be SO hard, but after a few days, we adjusted and I had help when I was desperate for a break during the day because of my wonderful sister-in-law and sometimes even my mother-in-law. Then we found out we could afford to move and to live on our own and believe me, I don't think anyone in the ENTIRE WORLD wanted to move more than I did. I won't complain about it because now that I'm not in the thick of living there anymore, I can truly appreciate how much of a sacrifice it was for all involved for us to live with my in-laws until we could afford to move.

After living here during the day with only the baby, I've started to discover why my girlfriend who used to live here would walk to the local strip mall all the time. With an active child and no play area in the complex and no cable, a person can go nuts trying to find things to do in a small 2nd story apartment.

I am incredibly grateful to live on our own, but I didn't really understand how tight things really can get, even though we were living on $400 a month for the first year and a half of our marriage (and living in California, that's no small feat). I have a greater appreciation for those women whom I love and am friends with for all the hard work they put into making a home for their families and all of the activities they provide for their children.

It's hard work being a stay-at-home-mom with no car in a big city. I have so many things I want to do and, if I'm honest, I'm desperate for some advice on how to make time for myself with a child in tow. I really need an outlet so my poor friends I have out here won't keep getting sick of me. So please, all of you mothers who know where I'm at in life, bestow upon me your wisdom on how you keep your sanity.

After all that, let me tell you I LOVE living here. I love being able to put things where I want to them and filling the fridge and organizing things the way I want to, and cooking the things I love the way I learned. Like I said to my friend who lives here, "Kellie, I feel so liberated! There's a well of delight and pride knowing that I can do things for myself and not have to worry about every little thing offending someone else. I really feel like a grown-up."

And Finally....

2009-09-12T17:20:00.000-07:00

To let all of you know. Larry and I are moving! We did get the apartment that we could afford and are STILL waiting to sign the contract **grumble, grumble** but we've been assured that it is ours and were given the tentative date on when we would be able to move in.

It will most likely be available this coming Saturday or Sunday. I started packing Thursday and believe it or not, I'm nearly finished. I'm dragging my feet about doing anything else, since the front room is almost bursting with boxes and I still have to pack our linens, our bedroom and wash all our laundry before I can pack it.

On a sad note, Lars and I will NOT be able to afford internet for the first 3 months after we move, so I might only be able to get on when we come over to my mother-in-law's on Saturdays to do our laundry. Life will be veeeerry different. No cable, no internet. But it should be good. It'll force me to get out and take walks now that it's almost cool enough to do so again, and now that I know where everything is, I can finish my high school scrapbook, start on our wedding scrapbook, and keep up on Jonathan's scrapbook. I just need to find a dining table to fit in our eating nook so I can lay all the stuff out. I'll also need to get a baby gate to keep the paper-eater away from all my goodies. =0

I'm not excited anymore. I got tired of waiting to hear back from the apartments, so the anticipation wore off before it even had a chance to begin. Since it's only a week away, it doesn't seem real. I've lived with my in-laws so long, I've almost forgotten what it feels like to be independent.

I think I'm just spoiled being able to flip on the tv whenever I want. I love being able to hand over the baby when he's tired of me and Lars isn't able to watch him due to making lesson plans. At college I never had cable or a computer with internet, but I had a big social life. Oy. My world revolves around a child who doesn't walk or talk. I have a feeling I'm very near losing my sanity thinking about all the empty sound I'll be living with...

I know this will be good, but now that it's actually happening, all I can think about are the things I have to leave behind. All of the sudden, living here doesn't seem so bad- until someone does something that makes me crazy, which is often....

A Canned Labor Day

2009-09-08T11:52:00.000-07:00

I had a very long day yesterday. It was full of errand running, sugar, and cranky baby noises.
First off, I got up and took care of the baby. Then I had a big bucket full of filthy jars that I was given from Sally English (who sold us our fruit and lent me her boiler to can) that I laid out on the lawn to hose down. I needed to pick up lids and rings to seal in the fruit, but I didn't have the cash to do so and had a couple returns I needed to take back to Ross so I could get the money. (Have I mentioned how much I hate moving and only because it makes wallets so blasted tight for a few months before and after?) So after feeding Jonathan again, we all hopped in the car and drove to Ross to return the goods and then drove to the super Walmart in Pico Rivera.

When we got to the canning section in Walmart, we realized that we didn't really know the size of lids we needed since there were so many different brands and a few different sizes. I could definitely tell it was that time of year again. The section was so picked over that there were no rings left and not enough of the size of lids we thought we'd need. Since Walmart sells that stuff so cheap, we bought two flats of quart jars that had lids and rings. I just needed to wash and sanitize them after I got home. (And they sell boilers for $18.98 so I'll definitely be able to afford that later. All the others I've seen have been upwards of $80. Talk about a bargain!)

We pulled up into our driveway, only to realize I forgot to remind Lars we needed to stop by Stater Bros. for a couple bags of ice to finish the blanching process, so we hopped in the car and he ran in to buy those.

When we got home again, Jonathan had been miserable right before we left Walmart, so we spent some time with him while I set up the kitchen and boiled the jars and lids. I fed the child again and put him down for a nap. I was beat because I haven't been sleeping very well the last week since Jonathan's been up late, even if he does sleep in. I crawled in my bed with the baby and flipped on the a/c for us both and closed my eyes. Lars came in to join us 10 minutes later, which was wonderful. I miss family naptime.

Around an hour later, we all got up, fed the baby again, and put him in the tv room to watch the Disney channel so Lars could do his lessons and I could start on the peaches. I called my stepmom to make sure I knew what to do and got to work. I made a giant batch of the syrup and put it in a bowl. Jonathan had a very hard time due to the fact that I had to get the peaches blanched, out of the boiling water and into the ice water and skinned before I could tend to him. Every time he had a meltdown, it would be right in the middle of one of those processes. If I tried to do it on a day while Lars was at school it would've been even harder, albeit, Lars was doing his lesson plans most of the time.

I forgot to lay Jonathan down for his evening nap in time since I was trying to hurry and finish the box of peaches and didn't end up putting him down until around 8:30. I thought for sure he would sleep through the night after crying all day from being lonely and bored, but my gut told me he would wake up in an hour or two, so I worked to finish the rest of the peaches. I was right. At a quarter to 10, Jonathan woke up and I discovered that some of the sealed lids had popped because someone touched them before they had a chance to cool over night. I was miffed. But I was going to be up for awhile, so I turned on the boiler again and waited another million years for the water to get to a rolling boil.

Around midnight, I knew Jonathan and I were both ready to sleep, even if he didn't realize it and the tired's hadn't hit me. I got Jonathan ready for bed (again), did my nighttime routine, and we had family prayer. I knew if we laid down together in a dark area he would settle. So I pulled out the scriptures and read to him. Before the end of the short chapter, he dropped off to sleep. It was very sweet. I don't get a chance to get him to fall asleep like that very often, so it made me feel successful as a mother. I had a hard time being away from my baby even thought I could still see and hear him. I don't know how working moms do it day in and day out.

Start with a box of peaches. (This is only a little over half the box since I forgot to take a picture before I started.)

Blanch 6-8 peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove and place in a bowl of ice water. Promptly slough off skin before ice melts and peaches are still warm. Cut in half, remove pit and place in a jar. Use melon baller to remove red walls of peach insides. Slice into pieces directly into jar. Shake jar to help pieces lay tightly together to get as much in as possible. Use a soup ladle to spoon syrup mixture in jar over peaches. Fill with syrup until there's about a quarter of an inch left before the neck of jar. (You need that room for the peaches to expand and not boil over.) Boil lid, dry and place on top of jar immediately while still warm to help seal better. Twist ring over top of lid tightly.

First two jars finished and waiting to go into the boiler. Put 2-6 jars (depending on size) into boiler and submerse for 25-30 minutes. Don't start the timer until jars are completely covered with water and lid to boiler is on. Promptly remove or peaches will start to cook.

25 pounds of peaches, 10 hours, and 15 jars later, I'm finished and waiting to do pears this weekend.

I'm really pleased with myself. I knew that it would be simple, but a long arduous process. I didn't realize how easy it would be to actually do it by myself, but also how hard it would be on me emotionally to leave my son to cry by himself all day long. They better be darn good peaches is all I'm saying!

Nine Month Check-up (Beware: IMG dump)

2009-08-31T13:38:00.000-07:00

Jonathan had his nine month check-up today. He did wonderfully. He was 29 1/4 inches long (90th percentile), weighed 27 1/2 lbs. (still off the charts), and according to the pediatrician, far exceeds the skill set for babies in his age bracket. Like I needed the doctor to tell me he's above average. ;)

We stopped at Kellie's to pick up his nine month photos from a couple weeks ago. I LOVE THEM! I've been trying (unsuccessfully) for the last six hours to upload the rest of the pictures but the site won't allow it on this post. The first five photos were taken on the 8th and the rest were taken on the 15th. I'll try in a couple days to upload the rest from the first day. They're all just too good to keep to myself!

Also, on the 21st and 24th, Jonathan FINALLY popped out his top two front teeth! YAY!

Our little sun dial. He keeps the time in our house.

Peek-a-boo!

I'm ready for my photos now...

Life can be so hard...

Little Angel

Kewpie Butt!

All by myself! Well, almost...

My big boy!

No stoppin' this train!

This one cracks me up!!

Max Factor "bedroom eyes"

Who me?

Last Night of Summer

2009-08-28T23:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the night I've been waiting for. I LOVE the Larsen's. They are an amazing and CRAZY family. We sit by them at church and Janet is our RS president. We went to a BBQ we've been planning to have for a little over a month. It was SO delish! We had this amazing specially seasoned chicken, rice, rolls, super red and sweet watermelon, and a FABulous fresh green salad my girlfriend Mary made with fresh cilantro.
We sat and talked and goofed around. It's SO wonderful to have so many people who can plug into your personality and understand your 'weird'. Everyone has a different 'weird', but all of us can connect on different facets of each other's 'weird', so it works out. It was the first time we've all gotten together outside of church things. We SO need to do it again!

Mary Puppe, me and Kellie Larsen- my bffs that I do everything with out here! I don't know what I'd do without them!

Then after dinner, we left the boys and baby. Kellie said good night before we left her mother-in-law's house to go to bed and rest her little pregnant body up for her shower tomorrow while Janet, Jennie, Mary and I all headed to downtown LA to this place...

It was yummy! All my girlfriends out here rave about it, so Janet treated us girls to a GNO. It was Mary's and my first time trying it. The girl who took our picture told us that Jake Gyllenhaal walked in and ordered earlier that day! WILD! Left to right: Janet, Jennie, Mary, and me.

Here's to more GNOs and more barbecues with these guys! Thanks for the foodies, Janet! Love ya'll! Mwah!

Apology

2009-08-28T10:10:00.000-07:00

Important Notice: For those of you who signed up on this particular post back in April (Rachael, Becca, Katie) I'm letting you know I haven't forgotten about you. I'm upping the the time to when I make these things for you until next year. There were things in life that have just happened that have not allowed me to spend the time or money on things of this sort this particular year. I will however pay my dues in the following year. Thanks ladies.

The first five people to leave a comment on this blog will receive something made by me.

However there are some limitations.

1. I make no guarantee that you will like what I make.

2. What I create will be just for you.

3. It will be done this year.

4. You have no clue what it is going to be, poetry, clothes, paper goods, or a little invention of my own. I may bake something and mail it you . Who knows? Not you that's for sure!

5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

Here's the catch, if you choose to do this. You must post this on your blog and be ready to make something for five people too. This will be fun! When you receive the fabulous item I make you, you must post a picture of it on your blog.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-08-24T17:39:00.000-07:00

First off, I'd just like to explain why my posts are always sooooo long. It just seems like the beginning and the very end of summer are the busiest. I've been on the internet looking for a place of our own to live and other furniture that we'd need when we move out. Also, Jonathan's been teething and more vocal about his needs, which may I say, can get very obnoxious. But I love him and I want to make sure his owies are taken care of.

Moving on, I want to take you back, oh, a week ago? Yeah, let's say that it was a week ago.

August 17th: Daddy and Jonathan enjoying one of the last naps in the middle of the day for who knows how long.

Last Thursday, we decided to go check out Downtown Disney. It was chilly and we forgot to bring Jonathan's jacket, so we put him in a burrito in his Nemo blankie. He had to have at least one limb outside to flop around. I love the lone foot sticking out.

Wednesday, August 19th: Our good friends the Jenks' invited us out to Bolsa Chica Beach for a bonfire. We got there right before sunset. It was Jonathan's second trip to the beach. He LOVED it and was impossible to keep him still. We ate s'mores and if I hadn't filled up on our turkey dogs, I would've eaten more than the amazing 3 I managed to stuff in my face!

Here's the whole group minus me: Lars and Jonnie with the Jenks and the Larsens. Both Tiffany and Kellie are expecting. I felt left out for a little bit, but Tiff is ready for delivery any day now and I remember that feeling.

Kellie looked SO funny and adorable all bundled up. Lame little me- I've only been to one other bonfire and it was two years ago, so I didn't bring a jacket or a another blanket or socks for either Jonathan or I. It only takes one mistake. I'm SO packing more warm stuffs for our ward bonfire tomorrow if we go. Lars was wonderful and gave me his leather jacket to wear and Jonathan was too wiggly to hold still, so I used his Nemo blankie on my feet. (Notice Brett's lovely foot also in the picture.)

On Friday night, it was the High Priests activity night. We did karaoke. Here's Lars and Chet Douglass singing "Rollin' On the River". It was a WILD night! There were only a few people there, so we got really loud and laughed until our sides hurt.

Lisa Mushet, Mary Puppe, and I singing, ummm, I can't remember. =}

Lars and I weren't going to go to karaoke, but we felt we needed to participate in ward activities since we've been so bad in the past. (I blame our memories and lack of cell phones with alarm reminders). After I got home (which BTW, was far too late to even think about starting this kind of thing), I washed and hand-dipped around 200 strawberries for Lars' cousin's baby shower the next morning. The chocolate turned out the perfect consistency and I was soooo worried about it. I'd never used that brand of dipping chocolate before. I was also a Nazi about how dry the strawberries had to be before I'd dip them. If water gets into your dipping chocolate, it makes it lumpy and it won't coat the berry correctly or even stick.

I double-dipped around 50 of them. Some were milk chocolate-over-white and the others were white-over-milk. The ones pictured tasted better, although the plain white chocolate ones tasted best. I was also worried about how the dried chocolate would taste because the raw chocolate was AWFUL and tasted like chalk. Most gourmet dipping chocolate tastes rich and sickeningly sweet, which is the only kind I've used. (But who has money for that?)

This was the cake. I've never seen anything like it before. The FROSTING had a pearlescent glaze to it, abso-friggen-lutely amazing. And the inside was even better- 3 layers of cake with a real fruit filling in the first layer and a vanilla pudding layer in the second. I would've eaten more, but I totally pigged out on guacamole and my strawberries! I love the little Mexican markets around here. They make the BEST cakes EVER!!

Larry Sr. with his favorite little person at the baby shower. I think they look alike a little bit.

The beautiful expectant mother, Yanela with her mother, Nellie.

One of the five 2 foot (in diameter) platters of strawberries we crammed into the fridge the night before.

Over-tired, but happy with Daddy. Jonathan's been going to sleep for a late afternoon nap and sleeping around 12 hours at night since the shower. He didn't take his early evening nap because there was far too many distractions. Finally, I fed him at 7 and he literally dropped to sleep. Nothing, not even a Harley motorcycle going down the street, could wake him, even though we tried repeatedly so he'd go to sleep later. (Which of course we didn't need to worry about.)

And there you have it a great little week of fun, friends, and sugar. =D

Yay, Question Mark

2009-08-18T01:03:00.000-07:00

After nearly 18 months of bliss, my body has returned mostly to a state of normalcy. My period has returned.

As a nursing mother, I was fortunate to be able to go this long without a monthly cycle, as many other women in my family and in my group of friends have not even gone the first 3 months after baby came. I know how lucky I am, but sometimes I wondered if I was healthy or not. I got worried that maybe my first pregnancy was some sort of freak accident and I might not have other children.

It's good to know that I'm back to normal, as much as I hate what 'normal' entails. Now I know why I've been soooo moody and why I've been feeling really funky lately. It means I can have more kids... like we'll ever be ready for more. >.>

Oh My GOSH!!

2009-08-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

Just a few minutes ago, Jonathan was laying down on his tummy reaching for the string that ties the sun shade into place on his pool floaty. He reached for it one last time and this is what happened....

He was laughing and and so was I, trying to get him to not roll over before I could grab the camera. I was laughing so hard I could barely get up off the floor and load the memory card into the camera! I love this kid. He's so full of silly antics!

The Mother of ALL Blogs

2009-08-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

WARNING: You are about to read the mother of all blogs. This entry contains within copious amounts of photos from the last 4 weeks or more, so if you can't handle that, then back up from the computer and walk away. I would suggest that you have plenty of time when you gaze upon this awesomeness.

On July 24th, we had our annual Relief Society game night. I did pretty well and won 3 candies out of 20 in the first game- more than anyone else!

Since the beginning of July, Lars has let Jonathan sit by HIMSELF on the piano bench. With his beefy little hands, he's sure to be the next Franz Liszt!! XDJonathan gave himself a booboo because Mommy couldn't find his nail clippers. He would scratch at it, so I finally put a Band Aid and some Neosprorin on it and he felt so much better! (As you can tell by his expression.)
I suppose you're not supposed to take pictures in church while it's Sunday and there's a speaker talking, but I hadn't gotten to take any pictures of Jonathan is his 4th of July outfit and he was so loud and happy. Besides, we were in the cry room- no note that prohibits pictures at the doorway in there!

On July 25th, one of Larry's and my bffs was in California for her baby shower and all of our other friends we never see came to it, too. Left to Right: Christine (her baby shower), me, Candy (who's also expecting), and Abby. And later that same day, Lars and I went to the Pioneer Day celebration for our church combined wards. I baked deep-dish apple pie and made my dad's special "missionary salad". Both were gone before we left (and we left an hour early). I participated with Wendy Miller, a good friend of mine in our ward and won the women's record for the pull-saw with 23 seconds! It was a crazy, busy, fun day!

July 29th (the day Larry had the interview that got him his job): It was SO STINKING FUNNY! I left Jonathan in the middle of the floor in FRONT of the couch to switch out the laundry and use the 'facilities', when I heard him whining in distress. When I went to check on him, I found he'd pushed himself in a circle BACKWARD and into the space BEHIND our couch!! I was laughing so hard and ran to get the camera. Jonnie didn't like being left alone while I left for a few seconds, but I HAD to have a picture!

That same night, I made low fat stuffed shells for the first time for dinner with the missionaries. We had a great time and a wonderful discussion on how to be a better husband and wife.

After the missionaries left, I had a hankering to go check out IKEA since I've never been there before. I've been spending all my time online lately planning furniture and all that stuff for when we have our own place. In the children's section, we found this cute little toddler bed (no we won't be spending money to get something he'll only use for a couple years at most) and we put Baby on it. He LOVED all the bright colors and kept grabbing the tags and trying to put them in his mouth.

July 31st: After we had Larry's extended family traditional Saturday breakfast, the little kids got to run around in Tia Yoli's back yard in the sprinkler. Here's Jonathan with his cousin Christopher who, after soaking his own skivvies, borrowed a pair of blue girls undies from his older cousin RaeLynn who's visiting.

Jonathan loves to sit and watch movies in our front room. We give him what we call "Naked Time" for 15-30 minutes two to three times weekly. It does his skin good because the skin in his folds is so very sensitive and fragile. We put him on all our old blankets and surround him with old pillows just in case he wets all over- which he has... several times. But it's all good. Everything gets washed.

In the last couple weeks Jonathan's been getting more steady. He figured out how to pull himself up and now he cruises in his play pen and on the coffee table, but only if he knows Daddy's behind him. He's had a couple falls that have made him a little insecure by himself. Here he is cruising the coffee table for the first time.

August 5th: I set Jonathan down in his crib after he woke up and changed him, so I could do the same for myself. I heard him grunting and singing to himself while I came out of the bathroom. When I saw him I nearly had a heart attack. He'd pulled himself up for the first time in the crib. If he'd figured out how to get his legs out from under him to stand, he would've launched himself out onto the floor!

When Lars got home that night, I had him lower the crib, but now the gate lowering mechanism doesn't work, so I have to heave Jonathan into bed every night, which he wakes up for. For the last 3 months he'd become a side sleeper, but every since the beginning for the month or so, he figured out how to flip himself over to sleep on his tummy so now that's how I put him down for the night. He rarely sleeps on his back now, unless he's sick and can't breathe well.

Sleeping with his bum in the air, just like Mommy at this age.

August 6th: Lars and I went to check out the Pico Rivera Walmart and found out it was a SUPER. I was on the phone with my sister and I started laughing uncontrollably. I had to have a picture. Does this remind anybody else of a certain feminine product brand? BWAHAHAHA!!

Same night- Mormon Night @ Dodgers Stadium: We had one heck of a time finding our way there. We overshot the off ramp by a half hour. And when we pulled off at Universal to call and ask how to get back, Jonathan had been screaming for 10 minutes. We parked so I could nurse and after he was done, all he did was scream more when we put him back into his carseat. We opened the windows to dissipate the sound and save our sanity. We got to the stadium during the third inning and almost didn't even go in. The stress had elevated our emotions and let's just say we'd had enough.

We DID decide to go in, but we kept getting sent further and further around the stadium to our seat and I really, REALLY had to go. We finally found a security guard who let us in on the lower level to use the bathroom and go up on the elevators. It was SO hard to figure out how to operate without a stroller. We each took turns holding Jonnie and eating. Half the stuff we brought we didn't need and we ended up needing to leave before the end of the game so we could make traffic in time for bedtime. We listened to the rest of the game on the radio and ended up missing Dodgers WINNING and at the bottom of the NINETH, 5-4 against the Atlanta Braves.

Manny Ramirez up to bat.

YAY! WE finally made it! It was my first time to the stadium in ten years!

Jonathan briefly happy before the cheers from the crowd made him upset and cry.

August 7th: More cousins from Larry's side visiting from Texas. Left to Right: RaeLynn, Hunter, and Jonathan. (The underwear Christopher was wearing was hers.)

August 10th: My baby boy turned NINE months old! **sigh** He's so big and learning to do SO much! I want his to slow down!

Phew! Now that that's done, there'll be room to post Jonathan's nine month photos soon to come! Hope you're not too exhausted from that little reading marathon!

Messin' Around

2009-08-12T16:40:00.000-07:00

So, today I saw one of my bffs (Mary) had put this up on her blog and I thought it was hilarious! I had to make a hero of my own, so I clicked on the link to the site and spent WAY too much time messing around. Much like Mary, I have an affinity for paper dolls and used to collect books of them when I was a child, so creating things like this and not having to clean up a mess afterward is a thrill for me. =P

Because I've always wondered what

I'd look like with short hair...

In honor of my husband being a school teacher, I thought I'd see

how he'd turn out in this little number...
If I was a black vamp...

I wanted to see how a hero would turn out without a shirt.

And if you feel like designing your own hero or making yourself into one-http://www.cpbintegrated.com/theherofactory/. Enjoy.

Giveaway!

2009-07-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

There is this fabulous blog that my girlfriend Chiemi follows (and now consequently so do I). The blog owner just found out she's having a boy, and to celebrate, she's offering a giveaway.

For details, go here: http://forevrandaday.blogspot.com.

New Stuff!

2009-07-17T19:42:00.000-07:00

Sooo, the bathfoamy that Jonathan's been using for around a month has stopped being very effective at bath time. He rolls and wiggles like crazy and ends up mostly off of it- not very safe.

Thursday, a few hours before Jonathan's bath, we went to Walmart to get a few things, (the main thing of which we went for, was out of stock- LAME). We picked up a purple hippo step stool for me to sit on to lean over the edge of the tub, a froggy faucet cover (because he's started to kick it and I don't want him getting hurt), and Disney Cars slip guard bathmat for Jonathan to sit on.

He has lots of fun being able to sit up for the first time in the bath, but he's much more grabby and I had to fight to keep my hands on his rinsing cup. Obviously, I gave up and let him have it.

Temple Trip!!!!!

2009-07-15T18:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Lars and I made a trip to the temple. It was Jonathan's first trip. (He was asleep in the car when we stopped by for a photo op at New Port when my brother and his family were here last month, but I don't think it counts.)

Jonathan loved being outside in the cool fresh air with the

hynms playing on the grounds.

It's impossible to get Jonathan to look at the camera at

the same time as an adult when he's in new surroundings.
A wide shot of us in front of the LA temple.

Lars and I had planned to do initiatories one at a time, taking turns watching Jonathan having me going first. After I came out Jonathan was ready to go home, so we packed up and ended up needing to stop at a Jack in the Box before we got on the freeway so he could nurse.

I had SUCH and amazing time! It was the first time I've been able to go since I was seven months pregnant when we did sealings with some very close friends. I wish I could've done a session, but really, the fact that I got to spend any time in the temple at all was incredibly special. Bless my sweet husband for giving me that time.

On our walk back to the car we met this adorable young woman named Amanda who'd just moved to Santa Monica from Utah to be a nanny for a year. We chatted for a bit then directed her to the baptistery. I hope someday to run into her again.

When we were talking on our way home, I insisted that Larry get to go to the temple today, since he didn't get go yesterday. I think since he isn't home after a couple hours, he decided to do a session instead of initiatories. I'm glad he's gotten a chance to go, too. I'm not sure when he'll be home, but at least the baby's napping. =)

This Week in Pictures

2009-07-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to upload and blog every night, but Lars and I've been working very hard to make and keep a normal night-time schedule. So to get the card empty and finish what I started, here's our week thus far.

Last Thursday, I was trying to make more room in the fridge so I emptied out the egg cartons and put the eggs in the door shelf. I gave Jonathan one of the cartons and he loved it!
On Friday morning while I was getting ready for the day, I took this shot. I've been meaning to take sleeping shots of Lars every month to compare and contrast Jonathan's growth, but every time I wanted to to do it, we were all so tired we couldn't think about where the camera was or even if the memory card was in it.

Sunday night was a break-through for our little boy. Normally he only falls asleep for the night nursing, but I took him off to see if I could start training him to fall asleep in my arms without the comfort of nursing. It took about 10 minutes for him to settle, but he did it.

Monday morning, Jonathan went up to a size 6 diaper. Yes, that's right. I said size 6. I know what you're all thinking, "I thought he just went up to a size 5 a couple weeks ago." You'd be spot on. The diaper is a little big in the bum and we have to put it up high in the back, but his waist needs the room and I wouldn't be surprised if he actually fits the whole diaper in a month or so. I really don't know what we're going to do because as far I know, diapers only go up to size 7. After that, it's all pull-ups and he's not even close to being ready to potty train!

Monday afternoon, we went grocery shopping instead of Tuesday like we planned because it was SO hot in our house. We needed some a/c. After we loaded up the groceries in the back seat (because Jonathan's stroller was in the trunk), we found he'd fallen asleep after we got home. We're very careful about the bags so he doesn't get his little hands on them because, like most babies, he loves the crinkly sound they make. I found a little piece in between his fat little fingers. After I took this, I promptly took it out.

Here's the full shot from the backseat window.

Now that's he's getting big, he's getting into lots more trouble. The kid can't even walk yet! =P

This 'n That

2009-07-10T23:12:00.000-07:00

Today was a happy/sad day. Jonathan turned 8 months old! This morning, we went to Tustin see off some of our very best friends before they leave tomorrow morning. We will miss the Dustin, Whitney, and their son Jason Hemsath very much. Dustin got a job in Arizona teaching Spanish at a brand new high school and Whit will finally be able to be a stay-at-home mom. We will miss you but are thrilled for this new chapter to start in your lives.

Later, we went with my mother-in-law to the Toys R Us in Bell Gardens. I loved the storybooks there because they come with both English and Spanish in the same book, which is SO important for Jonathan and our future kids to learn!

We also looked to see if we could find a car for him to push himself around in that was safe enough and would keep him strapped in, since he loves to scoot. This was one that worked. Unfortunately, all the ones that would've worked for him were far too much money for our college wallets. =P

As you can see, he LOVED it!

Don't you dare try to take me out, Mommy!
WHOA! The traffic is crazy today!

He's so big now that he can sit in the toddler chairs by himself.

After we came home, ate dinner, and bathed Jonnie, we put him in his play pen. He loves to stand up by himself. He's very good at it. The other day I left him to stand by himself while I washed some dishes and he stood for around 20 minutes!! (Don worry, the pad in the bottom of the pen is very soft and so are his toys if he falls and/or hits his head.)

Standing all by himself!

Bright eyes with ever-vigilant Daddy nearby to catch baby if he falls.

He's also mobile now. Before, he would only scoot on his bum a few inches before getting extremely frustrated. He's been working on it for around 2 1/2-3 weeks now, rolling around trying to figure out how to get from his back to his tum-tum. He's been doing that for about week, but the last couple days, he now log rolls to get around. I'm glad we've been giving him more tummy-time. He seems like he wants more of it now than when he was little. I'm pretty sure that he'll learn to crawl. He was just so stubborn for so long that I wasn't sure if he'd ever learn! But skill-wise, according to a few parenting books I flip through, he's right where he should be. Nonetheless, it makes me feel relieved that he's a bit more mobile, even in some tiny way. He's not so frustrated anymore, for now.

Mr. Sleepyface

2009-07-09T00:22:00.001-07:00

My sweet baby boy woke up from his nap this afternoon looking completely hung over. His hair was a mess and he was looking around deliriously. So funny and cute!

Wet Feet and Pruney Toes

2009-07-08T11:15:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday on the first, we went and had a pretend bbq at our friends' Brett and Kellie's. It was pretend because the gas line to their apartment's bbq was out and non-operational. But we did our meats on their Foreman, so it was all good. We also went for a swim in their pool and it was Jonnie's first time in a real pool- our backyard blowup doesn't count. =p

Jonnie's pruney feeties after a good swim. So cute!

And here's the size five diaper shot I took 4 days after he'd already started the first pack of size fives. For all I know he's bigger than when he wore his first size five diaper.Then on Monday, Larry was playing in the wet grass and I thought it would be so cute if he did footprints on the sidewalk with Jonnie.

I was getting jealous and wanted in on the fun.
I didn't know it, but Lars was playing with Jonnie in the sink yesterday and took this adorable photo! Jonathan really does look like his daddy.

I love my boys! They make life entertaining. =)

Independence Day

2009-07-07T21:40:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful day spent with Larry's family. First, we headed to his cousin Art's house in Mission Viejo to have some WONDERFUL BBQ Mexican hotdogs. Really, no one makes them like Art. He has a gift for Mexican food, especially bbq.

Then we along with Art and his wife Laura, headed to Laguna Niguel to swim with more of Larry's cousins, their spouses and children. When we got there, the view was incredible. At the edge of the parking lot, you can look down into the valley and see the ocean all misty. It looks like a giant bowl and you can see a silver of coast around the edge. Just breath taking.

Jonathan loved being in his little floaty around all his boy cousins. There's four rambuncious boys and one crazy little girl. I have a feeling he'll be getting in a lot of mischief with so many older boy cousins. We ate BBQ'd lobster, hung out around a couple hot tubs and splashed around in the big pool.

An hour before sunset, we got out and decided to drive the two hours back home since Jonathan fell asleep almost the moment we turned the car on and strapped him into his seat. I didn't want to drive a half hour back to Mission Viejo to watch fireworks when he was finally going to take a good nap. Even after we got home, he nursed and went right back to sleep. He woke up just in time to see the fireworks over by Warren High. Sitting on Larry's shoulders bouncing up and down giggling with delight, he loved it.

Soooo to make a long story short, we thought we'd charged our camcorder and had all the parts for our camera. It turned out that we'd left our memory card to the camera in the computer after dumping it the night before and something didn't work right because the red light on the camcorder never turned green after a full charge.

We did end up borrowing a relative's camera and took a few shots at the pool, but are still waiting for them to be emailed, so we'll see if I'm not too lazy to post them. =P

Musician in the Making

2009-06-30T22:27:00.000-07:00

Jonathan has been SO good lately! He's let me know he's ready to have a regular bedtime and it's been sooo nice! For the last few nights he's been going to bed before 9pm. He's ready to start eating solid foods more often and today he had 3 separate meals. He still likes to top it all off with a little nursing, but he sleeps so well now that he's eating solids. I can hardly believe my baby boy is only 10 days away from being 8 months old. It breaks my heart knowing time has passed so quickly, but at the same time I'm so proud of him.

Jonathan 7 weeks old, December 2008.

Tonight Jonathan actually participated in"playing" the piano with Daddy. He really is getting so big! He loves to play and interact with us now more than ever! I hope to have Lars start teaching him lessons when Jonathan's around 3 or 4 years old. He's our "Little Mozart"! =)

Super Sunday

2009-06-28T20:45:00.000-07:00

Today was a wonderful day. Larry and I had Share Time in Primary, but Jonathan ended up needing to be taken out, so Lars took over and did it all by himself. I felt bad, but Jonathan's getting so antsy now that he's almost ready to walk. Then, I was able to teach a lot of the lesson in Sunday school for the first time since I was 8 months pregnant. It was great. Lars took care of Jonathan for a bit, then he was able to hand him off to our Relief Society president (Janet Larsen) and come back in. Good thing, too. I was struggling without a lesson book and scriptures- I'm a little out of practice.

My good friend Mary gave a wonderful talk that I really enjoyed, but I can't remember what it was about because Jonathan was being so cute! (Sorry Mary!) He was sitting with Janet and her husband Hal in the bench in front of me and was happily bouncing up and down. Also, for the first time, he turned to grab the bench to stand up by himself! It made so so proud I almost cried. He's growing up so fast! (I do realize now I'll be fighting to get him to face forward for the next umpteen years, but I digress).

Then Larry gave a talk on going to the temple. He told a story about Elder Scott that made me cry. How appropriate considering I was out in the cry room nursing right before he got up to speak. I'm glad too, because I'm sure I looked atrocious after all those tears!

Jonathan had fallen asleep about ten minutes before the end of church, so I was reluctant to get up to do the benediction. But I did and I felt better about it rather than leaving it to someone else. After sacrament, the Bishop asked me to come to his office to talk for a minute and I was able to FINALLY get my young women's medallion after earning it last February right before I was released from my yw secretary/personal progress calling. (Ironic considering the woman who was called into that position after me was released and replaced today).

Today was full of wonderful feel goods and opportunities. And to top it all off, Jonathan went to sleep before 8pm for the second night in a row! I've had a Super Sunday! =D

Good Friends

2009-06-27T22:39:00.000-07:00

My goodness, I had a great day today. I spent the morning with Larry's family doing breakfast at Pieloon Restaurant where they've been going for the last 35 years. Then we headed over to Tia Yoli's house to chill on the back porch like always. I love being close to family.

Then before Jonathan could fall asleep completely, I took him back home hoping that he'd fall asleep before my girlfriend came over. I hadn't seen Jamie and her husband Marco since I don't even remember. I got on the computer hoping I'd catch her on Facebook and by a small miracle, I did. As fate would have it though, Jonathan didn't go down for a nap until about 10 minutes before they came. He was only down about 45 minutes. Not very long considering he takes a 20 minute in the mid morning and around a two hour in the early afternoon.

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Marco with Jamie when they showed up at my house. They really are such a sweet couple. I wanted to get a picture for this entry, but our memory card was full and I only know how to unload the computer onto the hard drive, not a disk. (I'm sure it's not different, but I didn't have time to figure it out as I was running around like a crazy woman trying to pick up and put things away.) They spent around four hours just talking.

They brought their beautiful little girl Eliana with them and I got to meet her for the first time. They are awesome parents. She is the perfect little girl- such an angel! They live in Santa Ana and Larry has applied for a job out there, so if he gets the job, we'll be near good friends.

I can't even tell you how good it was to hook up with other friends who are parents. It was refreshing and good to touch bases.

So Big!

2009-06-26T23:05:00.000-07:00

We took Jonathan to Furman Park by our house and waited forEVER to get a chance to swing Jonathan. I can't believe how big he is! He also upgraded to a size 5 diaper! (I usually get a picture of him in his first upsize diaper, but Lars didn't tell me that he'd put one on Jonathan until he was down for his nap. I'll have to get one of him tomorrow.)

Swinging with Daddy.

And later tonight, I thought his hair looked really cute so I

had Lars grab the camera.

But when I tried to get a few close-ups, he had already

grabbed his hair with his chubby wet hands.

I didn't have our video camera, so I took a little clip on our regular camera (which has no sound). Jonathan is happy, you can tell when he bounces up and down and kicks his legs, even if he isn't smiling. He's so chill most of the time it's hard to tell what's going on in that little head.

Weird

2009-06-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

So today was a tragic day for those in the celebrity world. Farrah Fawcett (Charlie's Angels original TV star), lost her approx. 10 year battle with anal cancer this morning. Then at 2:30 this afternoon, it was announced Michael Jackson had died from a complete cardiac arrest.

I was actually tired of hearing and watching Farrah's battle, mostly because there are so many other people who have to deal with things like that who aren't famous who suffer as much or more than she did. Mean? Maybe, but her suffering has ended.

I went to nap with Jonathan knowing Michael had had a heart attack, but woke up to find he had been dead about ten minutes after I fell asleep. I wasn't really sad until I sat down to watch the news reel on FOX. Then I started to feel weird. It wasn't a surprise, but a sudden shock of knowing it really happened. I hope that he's found peace and that his closest family and friends can find comfort. He really did know how to write amazing music and lyrics. I'm sure he'll continue to influence generations to come.

YMCA

2009-06-25T00:37:00.000-07:00

Soooo, Lars and I went to check out our local YMCA. It made me go crazy! I wanted to jump in and work out... who knew I'd be so motivated. It's rather expensive for a family membership, but it includes soooo much! I think the thing that kills us is the sign-up fee. Oi! It's sooo much money. We're trying to make sure to budget and sacrifice some things so we can promote a healthy lifestyle for our children (well, when we have more than just 'child'). I really want to make sure to be in shape to keep up with my family. Jonathan's also old enough and ready to be left alone with a sitter for a couple hours most days, so I'm climbing the walls!

I'm not one of those people who can just work out because I like it or I need to. I've always had some sort of dance or aerobics class to keep me in line. I need structure in my work outs. Thanks to my awesome sister-in-law, I've been bitten hard by the motivation bug and I want to spend my time getting fit, much like her. She's worked sooooo hard and it really shows. I'm very impressed by her dedication.

Here's hoping we can get in. If we can, then I'll most likely start a weight loss blog. YIKES!!

Bath Time

2009-06-23T00:17:00.000-07:00

We just started using this awesome little foam pad in our bathtub for Jonathan. His Auntie Becca bought it for him when she was here a couple weeks ago on vacation. He was getting too big for the sink and she said that she'd been using this pad for both my nephews since the beginning.

Jonathan loves it. He gets to splash around more and he's so long, he fills up more than half the tub... at seven months! He's 25 lbs. and 29 inches. He was just weighed last week at WIC and he grew 3 entire inches and 1 lb. in a month from his last doctor's visit ! What a healthy little boy!

A Birthday Father's Day

2009-06-21T20:34:00.001-07:00

Sooo, we celebrated more than just Father's Day today. (There's only a hand full of birthdays as a child that I can remember not celebrating my birthday with a cake that had a Father's Day theme.) Yesterday was my 25th birthday. I'm an entire quarter of a century old!! Weird. We had a great day on both days. Here are our exploits.

Lars and I worked to put together a nice little BBQ for the four of us: Larry, Jonathan, I and my sister-in-law Kristina. Larry and I had never made guacamole before, so he did the chopping and I did the mincing and blending. It turned out great even though we forgot cilantro. Lars grilled a Mexican marinaded chicken and I shucked fresh corn on the cob that got bbq'd and I made my old family traditional butter-fried crook-neck squash (in the purple bowl).

Our lovely meal. =)

Last night, I baked and frosted my first double layer cake. I knew I'd never have time to bake two cakes and frost and decorate while putting dinner on the table, too. I've never used the icing canisters before (only the homemade frosting you put into the paper tubes with the metal tips) and let me tell you, PRACTICE before you put it on the cake. The pressure is just like a can of squirt cheese, so it keeps coming out even after you're finished with your design! We put candles on it and they sang to me. I figured we didn't need two cakes, and since this was my special gift for Lars, we could share it.

I got a pink pastel opalescent beach cruiser for my birthday. I was going to get up and go on the Relief Society bike ride Early Saturday but I was still a bit sick from a food poisoning run from Thursday evening. The man we got it from was doing a pro-mo, so we got a $15 basket free...

And even it came with a "free gift"! ;)

It was a great weekend. Thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes! It made my day.

Sixth Month Photo Shoot!!

2009-06-04T22:55:00.000-07:00

I love my girlfriend Kellie. She's in my ward, she sits by us at church, she lives less than a block away, she's so much like me, and she loves my son! So, that means she has bonded well with him and she takes fabulous photos of the little angel. She always manages to me look great in pictures, even when I look like a hideous beast. Now that's talent!

Yeah, I know I'm cute...

Snooky face!!

Toesies and handsies!!

Tender
What's that? I wanna eat it!

For more, you can go check out http://thatssoyouphotography.blogspot.com/ or you can go to my facebook link at the bottom of the page on the right hand side (it should take you to my profile).

Getting Smarter

2009-06-03T19:06:00.000-07:00

Ugh, WHY???

2009-05-19T09:40:00.000-07:00

As a parent, you are extremely aware of your child's every action and sound. In the back of your mind you worry about teaching them things that aren't necessarily correct. But at least you know to stop doing it and to correct yourself. But really, you've forgotten this was another of your fears: leaving your child around another of the same age.

Have you ever had your child around another child and by the next day, they're behaving like them? Your nightmare is a reality. The other child, although not bad or doing anything wrong, had become a vehicle to your child by way of your own personal crazy train. Habits, noises, anything that's NOT like your child's normal behavior can make you bonkers.

I'm worried because Jonathan was starting to learn how to talk, and now he's throwing his toys and he's making sounds like a canary. I blame myself for allowing him out, but Larry just says not to think about it, that "Jonathan had to eventually discover his noises anyway." Hard to swallow when you're around your baby 24 hours a day with no breaks.

I feel like I'm beating my head against a brick wall. It's like I have a completely different child. And it's my fault for allowing it to happen. I'm sure those of you who know my son would notice very little change which I'm sure is true, but as his mother, it's starting to feel like the end of the world. All I can think of is what Larry said, "If you want him to grow up normally and well-rounded, you can't keep him in the house away from all other children...." Why not? Can't I? I don't want to be a psycho mother, but shoot. I might end up going that way if he picks up anymore things that grind on my nerves.

Birthday Boy

2009-05-18T22:17:00.001-07:00

HAPPY 28th BIRTHDAY, LARRY!!

Birthday Time!!

2009-05-18T15:12:00.001-07:00

Last Wednesday, we celebrated Larry's 28th birthday. I worked ALL day to get the house clean and believe me, it was a DIVE!!! I couldn't believe I had dinner cooking on the stove before Lars even got home. It was a day of small miracles. It was a good, clean day.

I had no car and no clue what to make for dinner, so I grabbed out what we had: asparagus, red peppers, small red potatoes, turkey meat and a couple packets of brown gravy mix. The veggies were steamed and turned out delish.

My sister-in-law called me from the movie store asking about what movies we had already and and we ultimately decided on WALL*E because I knew we could have a cake made to keep with the theme. (I'm so smart...)
Tres leches and whip cream frosting from Amapolas..... **drool**

The day after, I was eating another piece of the cake and Jonathan is always wanting everything of our plates, so I figured he could try some frosting........he loved it and stained his mouth and hands blue, as well as mine.

Giggle Face!!!!!!

2009-05-12T22:46:00.000-07:00

This morning's fun fest... Enjoy!!

Ode to Mothers

2009-05-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

My beautiful mother waiting outside

the temple on my wedding day.

"Everything that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."- Abraham Lincoln

"Yea, and they [strippling warriors] did obey every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they had said unto me that their mothers had taught them." Alma 57:21

"Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw therefore his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman behold thy son!" St John 19: 26 & 27

I am ever so grateful for mothers. For not, none of us would exist. My adore my mother. Her sacrifices are many for each of her 4 children. Even through her life of turmoil and far more challenges than most will ever endure, she has remained kind-hearted and extremely generous. She is my angel. I love her so very much and wouldn't be the woman I am today without her influence.

I also love my stepmother, Cherie. It took me very many hard years to appreciate the things she has done for me and how she has watched out for me because of the whisperings from my dear mother. (My mother taught me not to hate and punish people for things they had no control over- i.e. Cherie having no control over the divorce between my parents, and many other things like that.) My stepmother has helped my father to be a better man, far more understanding and open than I ever thought or hoped he could be.

I am also so very grateful to my mother-in-law. She has opened her home and her life to us and so willingly provided things for us without even being asked. She is a good woman and it's no surprise why my husband has such a kind heart. Without her help, I don't even know where we'd be. I doubt we'd be living here in California.

There are also many other mothers who have influenced my life:

Jeannie Douglass- a former co-worker of mine and a dear member of our ward (listening to me complain and being excited for me through my pregnancy and sharing her life happenings with me)
Vickie Brown- my former boss from Ensign Books (allowing me to vent my frustrations about work, even if it really didn't matter in the large scheme of things and then laughing about all of it by the end of the day)
Janet Larsen- for reaching out and MAKING me a part of the ward no matter how weird and out-of-touch it felt moving into my husband's home ward
My young women's leaders down through the years- mostly because of their extreme patience to say the same things that came out of my mother's mouth and help it sound different so it sank in and for welcoming me back to church after a period of inactivity of self-discovery
Chiemi Larsen- for giving me a much needed job to watch her oldest daughter when I was too scared to get to know my new surroundings and talking with me through the rough beginnings of marriage and constantly encouraging me it would get better (and it has)
And of course my dear sweet friend Kellie Larsen- I love you very much and I feel like I've found a kindred spirit in you, there are very few people I click with so well and who understand me on a level I personally feel is beyond a casual friendship. You will be a wonderful mother.

I cannot close without a special reverence for Mary the Mother of our Savior. What strength of heart, spirit, and mind she must have had, "the most choice above all women." And a very special note for our Heavenly Mother. Her name is so sacred Father in Heaven has preserved it from the world so it may stay hallowed. She must be the most amazing person. Great will be the day when we shall meet again.

To my other dear friends who are mothers, I love you all. I hope this was a special day for each of you.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!

2009-05-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, so a couple days ago we had a scare and brought Jonathan to the hospital. It was a quick trip and we were in and out in less than 3 hours. A MIRACLE!! Right before bath time at around 9pm (he usually bathes earlier but he was teething something fierce), he started to sneeze after Larry opened in the back door and put a fan out to draw the cool air in. I had Larry go change Jonathan and when he brought him back into the TV room, he was really having a fit. Sneeze after sneeze it just kept getting worse. I suggested we give him a warm bath to calm the sneezing with warm vapors from his special nighttime bubble bath, but it just went from bad to worse.

Once he was in the sink, his sneezes became painful and he was screaming. Then he started vomiting mucus, and I really mean it. There was TONS of it! Out his nose and especially out his mouth. My only thought was "Oh God, please help us through this... I don't know if I can handle leaving him in the hospital again." After about 7 minutes of ongoing sneezing and vomiting, I pulled him out of the sink when I thought he would stop for a minute so I could get him dried and dressed to go to the ER.

Jonathan was calm and staring blankly by the time we got him strapped into his seat and on the road. Like I said above, it was a quick wait, we were checked in and waiting our turn very quickly. The times we were in there before ranged from 5-11 hour waits from check-in to check-out. (Some emergency... you're dying but we have paperwork to do. LAME!)

Jonathan was laughing and happy by the time the ER pediatrician came in and had even caught a 20 minute nap. He checked his ears and said it looked like he could possibly have an ear infection and to keep an eye out for ear pulling, (which I always do because teething and ear infections can manifest the same way), then told us to make an appointment some time in the next few days with our normal pediatrician and to stop using Orajel. We were off home in no time at all. It was a blessed relief to have our normal little boy back and have the knowledge nothing was really wrong.

Then last night, after a LONG day of sleeping, sleeping and more sleeping, Jonathan was having a hard time going to sleep because his mouth was hurting so bad, we took him to Rite Aid around 10 pm to get some teething drops and more teething rings to put in the freezer. After that we were on the road to he could sleep. We were going to turn around shortly before Seal Beach, but the exit was closed for construction, so off to Seal Beach we went. Jonathan dropped off shortly before we got to the exit ramp.

When we got home there were a few cockroaches on our house by our white bench. They were so big you could see them from the street right before pulling in to the driveway. As I was walking up the sidewalk staring at the monsters on the house, something very quick and ugly caught my eye by my foot. One has skittered into our flower box. EEK!!!

We blocked the front door with a towel because it doesn't seal on the bottom and went to sleep. It was around 1 am. (Well, I did anyway. I have no idea when Larry came to bed. Talk about opposites. I'm always the one coming in late.)

Then, this morning when Larry was brushing his teeth in the kitchen sink (our bathroom sink is broken), he found a cockroach in the DRAIN!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! I've been picking up and putting things away, washing laundry and organizing drawers to make sure there's none hiding anywhere. AAAAAA! I just get the heebee jeebees thinking about it. I keep thinking I see something everywhere I turn. A mental image from the movie 'Alien' keeps coming to mind....

Cross your fingers that we don't have an infestation. I'm deathly afraid of bugs and spiders. I can't even kill a spider smaller than the size of a pencil eraser... unless I'm worried it will harm Jonathan. UGH! What else is going to happen this week? I'd take ER visits anytime over cockroaches......

Sepulveda Blvd.

The Perfect Posy

New Business

Give Away!

Valentine...

Bignormous Day!

Sometimes You Just Have To...

Passes

Growing

Business

Avonlea's Two Month Check-Up

Ladies With Specs

Baby Love

Remember

Changes

Pretty in Polkadots

One Month!

Postpartum Aftermath

Avonlea's Check-Up

Spaghetti Os Anyone?

Birth Day

Introducing...

Diaper Cake Supreme

July 10th, 2010

Catch-Up

Master Bedroom Make-Over

Baby Girl Shower

Adorableness

A Day in the Life...

Adorable Things

For My Daughter

Adorable Things

Adorable Things Today

Growing

Mother's Day 2010

A Great Nothing

Pictures!

Bathroom Make-Over Sneak Peek

Easter

Ever SO Much More than I Can Say...

Communication Block?

20 weeks

Announcing...

Retro Thursday

Week ???

Time for CHANGE

On Days Like This

Aaaaaaaannnndddd....

Babies

Seriously???

The Big One

Jonathan's **FIRST** Visit with Santa!!

**Update on Jonathan**

Eternally Grateful

Most Thankful

Thankful 4

Thankful 3 (yesterday's post, internet was down)

Thankful 2

Thankful November

Fresh and New

Deep Thoughts Continued

Goings-On and Deep Thoughts

This Day in History

New Digs

And Finally....

A Canned Labor Day

Nine Month Check-up (Beware: IMG dump)

Last Night of Summer

Apology

Busy, Busy, Busy

Yay, Question Mark

Oh My GOSH!!

The Mother of ALL Blogs

Messin' Around

Giveaway!

New Stuff!

Temple Trip!!!!!

This Week in Pictures

This 'n That

Mr. Sleepyface

Jonathan's FIRST Visit with Santa!!

Update on Jonathan