4th day of Christmas . . .

4th day of Christmas . . .

Giving Back

This has been a crazy year. You know that list that they show you in psycholgy class that shows certain life events and how stressful they are supposed to be? Well, I think we went through about 6 of the large events. In the last 15 months we have remodeled our house, moved out of state, sold our house, tried to buy a new house (this one is ongoing, argh!!), I have changed jobs, Gary is doing the same job in a new state, become pregnant and had a baby. Throughout all of these changes the reoccuring theme for me is SERVICE. It seems that this is a really importnt lesson that I need to be taught, learning to care for my friends and neighbors. I thought I was pretty good at it, but this year the service that has been given to me has blown me away!

I've learned that every extra set of willing hands is a huge help, no matter how big or small the project. I've learned that instead of saying, "If you need anything, just call me.", you should say, "I'll be right over!" and give of yourself for an hour or two. Seemingly simple service, like doing the dishes, folding laundry, or vacuuming can mean the world to someone. And lastly, really listening and trying to understand what people really need can go really far in making someone feel welcomed and loved.

It sounds simple, but it is a fine art worth perfecting over a lifetime

Second & Third days of Christmas . . .

Of course I made a big commitment to do a 12 Days of Christmas blog and I forget to follow through on the SECOND day!

Second Day of Christmas Post . . .

Advent

I went to the library last night and found The Encyclopedia of Christmas. It wasn't hard to find since the librarians had a large display of Christmas books set up for everyone to see. In it are all kinds of interesting Christmas facts, like how Christmas is celebrated in Greece to the significance of Greenery to Christmas. There is even an interesting section on the English holiday Boxing Day, which, until now, I had never quite understood. But for my post today I want to concentrate on the first entry in the Encyclopedia, which is Advent.

I don't have many Advent memories from childhood Christmases. Mostly the Advent calendars that I remember belonged to other families. Don't get me wrong, my family has plenty of other fantastic Christmas traditions (look for these in future posts), but the Advent calendar is not among them.

According to the Encyclopedia, the Advent was started by Christian churches as a way to prepare for the spiritual significance of the holiday. Ever since Gary and I got married, and especially since Riley was born I have been thinking about what Christmas traditions I would like to carry on in my own family. I wanted to be able to enjoy the excitement of Santa and gifts, while also emphasizing service and the real reason for the season, Christ's birth. Looking back I think that almost all of the Advent calendars that I remember were more of a count down to Christmas, rather than a preparation or teaching of the day's significance. I think that I would like to find or create an Advent calender that teaches scriptures, presents opportunities to give service within the home or for the community, and endeavors to help you reflect on the true meaning of Christmas in the days leading up to it.

Does anyone have memories of an Advent calendar that they would like to share, or examples of family traditions that could lend themselves to this idea of Advent?

Third day of December post . . .

Neighbor Gifts

I have not settled on an idea for Neighbor Gifts for this year. Two years ago we gave everyone little jars of honey from our beehive and a container of our favorite spice rub that we use on Salmon along with the recipe. The year before that I made 5 or 6 different cookies and combined them into tins. That was pretty fun, but making all those cookies was pretty ridiculous! I have been thinking about doing cookies again this year, but maybe I don't have to go so crazy, just do 2 or 3 different kinds instead. Other ideas (most of which have been inspired by the latest Trader Joe's ad) are Pumpkin bread, a collection of a few of our favorite family recipes, Eggnog cake, or Yule Log cake. Yule Log cake might be fun, since I have never had it before (and the TJ's ad makes it sound SO yummy) and I could include a little note describing the story of this holiday tradition, which I can find in my helpful library book Encyclopedia of Christmas!

What are your good ideas for Neighbor Gifts, and what gifts have you given out or seen in the past?

First day of Christmas . . .

I was inspired by an email newsletter that I get to do a Twelve Days of Christmas post starting today, December 1st. Especially since my last post was on November 4th. Apparently I have been very busy! I don't have any new pictures to post today, but since I am going to be doing 12 posts I guess I will have plenty of time to post them later.

Tonight we are going to the library. Gary, Riley and I love the library! I just went onto the library's website and put 18 books on hold. 18! I guess everything I looked at today just seemed really interesting. What was I thinking? How much time do I think I am going to have in the few weeks before Christmas to sit and peruse all those books anyway? We shall see. I guess I could always renew them to enjoy in January.

Last night we slept on our new 800 thread count sheets, bought from Kohl's during the last hour of their Black Friday sale. I usually don't participate in Black Friday, but we needed new sheets and these were $50 off! I am starting to see why people get so excited about it.

Well this post had nothing to do with Christmas, but better to have something than no post at all. Until tomorrow . . .

Cute outfit . . .

I loved the outfit that I dressed Riley in today and thought I would share it . . .

So cute!!

I can't get enough of that little boy!

I am pretty convinced that he is teething now because this morning he had a little stuffy nose. That is a sign of teething, right?

Riley update . . .

It has been a long time between posts, and babies change so quickly so here is a big long update on our sweet Riley. (Sorry that some of the pictures are fuzzy, my camera isn't quite quick enough to grab lightening fast baby movements without a little blur)

He is almost 4 months old already! I will try to remember to have Gary help me weigh him tonight, but he is getting so big! He and I walk to the grocery store almost every day (me walking, him along for the ride in the Baby Bjorn) and I can definitely tell that he is getting bigger. By the time we get home my shoulders and back are starting to complain.

He is getting so strong too! He likes to stand up, with a little assistance of course. He also spends a lot of time on his tummy, just hanging out.

He loves to play in his Exersaucer. He discovers new things to play with on it all the time.

His daddy makes him giggle a lot. It is so cute!

He has started to talk in his loud voice. It sounds like he is yelling, but he is just talking really loud.

When he is laying on his back he loves to stick his little chunky legs in the air. Doing that all the time has made his little abs a lot stronger, maybe I should do it with him!

He likes to sit up straight, but he is still working on being able to do it on his own. Sometimes he just falls forward or backward, but he is getting better.

We help him out by propping him up with the Boppy.

I think he might be teething. However, my opinion on this changes almost everyday. He drools all the time, he likes to gum my fingers, and he has been a bit cranky as of late.

He has kind of rolled over a couple of times. Usually it is more of an accident than anything, but it sort of counts. Here is a little video for you to see.

He used to say "oh" all the time and it was so cute because he would make his little mouth into a perfect tiny circle and his face would have a very serious concentrated expression on it. Unfortunately he doesn't do it much anymore, but here is a little video clip of it. (The video isn't really awesome, but you can still see him do it. Every time I would put the camera in front of his face to film he would stop doing it and just stare at the camera. What a stinker!)

He is also working on grabbing things and putting them in his mouth. It is cute! What usually ends up in his mouth is the back of his hand and not the toy, but you can tell that he is trying to work it out.

So that is my Riley update. Can't wait to bring him to Salt Lake for Thanksgiving so everyone can see him, but until then this will have to do.

1st Halloween . . .

Riley was a frog for his first Halloween. We didn't do a lot of trick or treating, but we did go to our wards Truck or Treat. Here are a few pictures

Yes, Gary and I are lame and we didn't have costumes this year. I'm not sure why, but we will try harder next year.

Our cute munchkin! He currently holds the title of the "King of Drool".

Some photos . . .

Hanging out (or napping) with Auntie Sunnie and Uncle Sam

Hanging out (napping again) with Uncle Matt

At the luncheon after Riley's blessing

Showing off Riley's tux tails

Cutie Riley in his white blessing tux that we borrowed from Vicki. It fit him perfectly!

Chatting with his cousin Anya. She is so cute!

Sitting up like a big boy in the Bumbo!

Hanging out with Daddy!

On the plane with Daddy. Riley was wonderful, made hardly a peep. What a relief!

New Happenings . . .

For some reason I haven't been feeling really motivated to post, sorry! We have been doing stuff and Riley is getting bigger every day, so I thought I would take a moment to tell you a bit about what we have been up to.

Riley's baby blessing was wonderful. It was fun to fly instead of drive into town! Riley was great on the plane and hardly made a noise. What a relief! We were able to catch up with a bunch of our friends and show off our cutie baby. The actual blessing was so sweet! Gary did a terrific job even though I know he was a bit nervous. Good job sweetheart! And thanks to all those friends and family who participated. The pot luck afterwards was nice too, we just wish we had more time to visit with everyone. Luckily we will be coming back for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so it gives us more of a chance to chat with everyone.

Last weekend we went to a Baby Swap meet. It was awesome! Thanks to Kaci Bronson for telling us about it. We picked up an Exersaucer, a mini swing, a couple of outfits, a little Fisher-Price singing tool bag, a ball with shapes cut out, and one of those toys that you lay the baby on the floor and they kick at it and it sings and lights up. All this for less than $75! What a steal! The next one is in April and we can't wait!

I attended the first meeting of our new Book Club! Our first book is Hunger Games and our next meeting is November 10th. It is going to be great!

I will try to post some pictures this weekend, so check back again soon!

3 Months. . .

Riley is 3 months old today. It is funny to think that he has only been with us for such a short time. It feels like he has always been in our lives.

Love you Riley-guy!

Baby Blessing . . .

For anyone who hasn't yet heard here are the final plans for our trip into town this weekend and for Riley's baby blessing on Sunday.

We are flying into town on Friday. Riley's baby blessing is scheduled for Sunday, September 27th. The meeting starts at 12:50 and is at Gary's parents' ward. The address is 3650 W. Dimrall (about 5600 South). After the meeting we are having a potluck get together at the Stake Rec Property, which is located at 4040 West 5215 South. If anyone plans on coming to the potluck please bring either a dessert or salad (enough to serve 12). Our flight back to San Diego leaves on Monday morning at 10:00 am.

We love you all and are looking forward to seeing you!

Night on the Town . . .

The person who enjoyed a night on the town in this post was me! It was the first time Riley was left with a non-relative baby sitter, Woohoo! Gary went on an overnight camp out with the Young Men, and some friends of mine invited me out for a "Girls Night" movie. I called our Relief Society President, Delma, to see if she could come over and hang out with the munchkin for a few hours. She was more than happy to help out. She has been asking if she could baby sit since he was born. She is one of those people that can't get enough of newborns and babies! My friends and I went to see Julie & Julia, which was a really sweet movie. Riley was pretty good for Delma, but she said that he seemed to be a bit concerned at times that he had been left with a stranger, and she said that she will have to watch him a lot more so that he gets more familiar with her. I think we will be able to work that out!

Well, I survived being without him and the best part was that I didn't feel like I needed to call and check in while I was out. Probably because I knew I had left him in very capable hands! I would say it was a very successful First Night Out.

More Baby Pics . . .

Here are some pics of Gary and Riley enjoying a book and some bonding time together. It is fun to see Riley concentrate on the different pictures. He gets really quiet and just looks and looks . . . I love it!

Here are some pictures of Jack and Riley playing with Jack's rooster squeaky toy. Jack is learning to like Riley more and more. He always runs to him when Riley starts to cry and whenever we come home Jack check on Riley in his car seat and sometimes gives him some little kisses. It is so sweet!

Here are some more pictures of Riley. In these ones you can see his cute little Michelin-Man rolls. He has discovered the joys of sucking on his little fists so his hands are often in his mouth and he makes little sucking sounds.

Some cute pics of my boys sleeping. I love these little striped footie jammies!

Happy 30th Gary . . .

So Gary turned the big 3-0 on the 15th!! We had a little get together with some friends, had a yummy barbeque, and played Guitar Hero World Tour. He got GH for his birthday and it was fun to have enough people to play all the parts. I created a cute little cake made entirely of homemade oreos (these are sinfully delicious and entirely too easy to make, I have posted the recipe below . . . make sure you ramp up your workout routine after you make your first back because you will be hooked!!). Here are a few pictures, unfortunately the red eye was turned off on the camera, but you can still see that everyone was having a blast!

Happy Birthday sweetheart! I hope that your birthday wishes all come true!

Homemade Oreos

Ingredients:

1 cake mix of any flavor (for Oreo-type cookies, Devil's Food is best)

2 eggs

1/2 c. oil

frosting

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Mix cake mix, eggs, and oil

drop onto cookie sheet and cook in pre-heated oven for 8-10 minutes

let cookies cool for 10 minutes

take two cookies, load some frosting onto one cookie and place the other cookie on top, making a sandwich

try NOT to eat all of them yourself!!

Bottle Time . . .

Gary just got Riley to take a bottle!

Riley has been resisting the bottle for a few days now and I have been racking my brain for ways to talk him into it, but to no avail. This morning I left Gary home with the sleeping baby so I could go and pick up some things from Target. While I was there Gary called me to let me know that the baby had woken up (which usually means that he is hungry), so I rushed home. When I got there he told me that Riley had finally taken the bottle, like it was no big deal! Gary must just have that "Daddy Magic"!

Here they are bonding together. Isn't this a sweet picture?

This makes me feel so relieved. I am officially starting work tomorrow and was concerned that Gary would have to deal with a hungry, screaming baby until I got home (I am working from 7 am -9 am, Mon - Fri at Waste Management again), but now I don't have to worry. This is going to be so great! Bottle feeding opens up so many possibilities, like not missing Sunday School every week and not being the only one who can quiet the screaming baby. Hallelujah!

2 Months Old

Yesterday was Riley's 2 month birthday! Yeah!

Riley can now . . .

hold his head up on his own

smile, giggle, and flirt with strangers

follow you around the room with his eyes

converse in baby talk

occasionally sleep for a whole 5 hours

intensely study pages of baby books

grasp objects that get close to his hands

(I am going to ask Gary to get our scale from storage so I can report on his height and weight, so look for that to come later.)

All that in just a couple of months! It blows me away! He is getting bigger and coming into his own personality more everyday. I think we have come a long way in learning to be parents, and we are looking forward to Riley reaching more milestones.

My parents came in to town to visit for a few days. Here is a picture of them with their favorite grandson!

This out fit that he is wearing is so cute! It has a monkey on the back of the pants! I love it!

Riley doesn't like to take a pacifier, but he will suck on my finger. Not very comfortable to hold my hand like that, but better than hearing him cry! (I love how he is holding onto my hand with his tiny hand, so cute!)

Bonfires . . .

We went to a bonfire at the beach last night to say goodbye to our friend Brett who is leaving for college tomorrow (Good Luck Brett!!). We saw some seals (or sea lions, I'm not sure which) out in the harbor while we were there. I wasn't fast enough with the camera to catch a picute of them, but I did take these funny picutes of Riley hanging out in a camp chair with his Dad. I think they are hilarious, hope you like 'em!!

P.S. Riley slept for 5 1/2 hours straight last night (normally he sleeps for three to four hours at a time)! His mom is feeling very rested!

Sunday night . . .

Just won the bedtime battle . . .

No he is not in his p.j.'s, and no he isn't even in his own bed, but he is asleep, and what more could you ask for??

Oh, no! I spoke too soon. He is awake again!

Gloria . . .

Gloria left today after spending two fun weeks with us. She will be missed! She was a great help with many things while she was here. I love that she had a chance to get to know Riley and spend some quality time with him. She also spent some quality time with Jack; she was nice enough to walk him everyday. Sometimes she felt like she was the one being taken on the walk! He was in puppy heaven! Thanks Gloria!

It has been so nice to have so much company come in to town and help us with the baby. My mom was here for three weeks, then Sunnie came for a week, followed by Ivy, Anya, and Cozy for a week, and finally Gloria was here for two weeks. It's been a great way to ease ourselves into parenthood. The only bad thing is that it has made us miss home all the more. Luckily we are going to see everyone again soon; we are going to be in Salt Lake the last weekend in September for Riley's blessing! More info to follow . . .

New Look . . .

So you probably noticed that I changed the look of our blog. I was looking for a template that gave me three columns instead of the 2 columns, which is the Blogger standard. I found TONS on http://btemplates.com/blogger-templates/3-columns/ . I kind of like how it turned out, but I might continue to play around with it. My only complaint so far is that it doesn't have a lot of color. I tried to mess with it, but it didn't seem to want to let me. We shall see. There are lots and lots of templates out there!

Another Riley Post . . .

Since becoming a mom I am now obsessed with my cute baby, so I post about him a lot. I think this is to be expected, so just know that I am going to keep doing posts like this all the time!

That said, here are some pictures I took of my cutie boy hanging out in his diaper. I love his chunky thighs and the baby rolls on his arms! Needless to say he is a super good eater and is now pleasantly plump.

Here he is hanging out in the boppie and gazing out of the window and the beautiful day. He looks so mellow and peaceful . . .

I also included a picture of me pinching his cheek because they are so sweet and fat that I know some of you wish you could do it too, so I did it for you. I hope that will help satisfy you until you can do it yourself!

Love you all!