Summer 2015

It's been one heck of a summer. 

Went to Seaworld
Went to Disneyland
Traveled to Palm Springs for our annual family stay-cation.
Went to our annual family Angel's baseball game
Drove tractors (no really, drove tractors)
Had many beach days
Went to our annual trip to the Ravine Waterpark with my parents
.....and so many other fun things....blueberry picking, swimming pools, birthday parties, family visitors, a trip to Palm Springs with my best friend, weekends working on our new house, and maybe even 1 or 2 date nights with the hubby in there.

So many changes and rambling thoughts

Blogging has taken a backseat in the past year, wow my last post was in March (so sad!!).  I didn't stop blogging on purpose, but our life and family have had a lot of big changes and after Wes turned 2 1/2 most of my journaling for him was complete.  Long gone are the days of the monthly updates, and while I still want to continue to journal their growth, big accomplishments and milestones, there was just too many other things happening.  The most exciting thing happened when I peed on a stick in January.  A positive test result.  One night (pre-pregnancy test) Tim and I were on the couch, and I felt some cramping.  I turned to him and said, if I am pregnant the egg just implanted itself into the uterus. Tim rolled his eyes.  But I knew that feeling was very special.  We  had only done the deed one time, so if I was pregnant, it would be a miracle, but I had hope.  We had been on the fence about having baby #3 for so long, we both just didn't know how to make the decision.  It was like we were overthinking it, and all the negatives and the positives were always so convincing and confusing.  It was by far the hardest thing to talk about emotionally.  One day we would feel one way, and other days it would be all I could think about. We fought over it, we cried over it. It was this never ending roller coaster.  In January, on a whim we both just decided to go for it one night without worrying about protection, and literarly from that point on the decision was made for us.  It FELT right. It FELT like it was meant to be.  I felt happiness.  I felt peaceful, and I felt complete.

And then another big change hit our family.  Tim got a new JOB.  After 12 years at his current company, he took a leap of faith and landed an amazing job an hour away.  This meant, MOVING.  So lets recap here: new baby, new job and now a new town??!!!

I think we handled it very well considering ALL these big changes were the BIGGEST life changes that could almost be thrown at anyone.  It's easy to look back on now and say we made it, but there were a lot of tears that came with everything.  We had to sell our house, deal with relocating, finding a new home to buy, all while trying to host open houses (potential buyers), first trimester exhausation, two little cutie pie hellions and Tim starting a new position at a new company.

As I sit and type this, it's almost as if all of it was a blur.  I know it happened, because I am sitting in our new home right now, but it is not without deep relflection that 2015 has definitely been our most challenging year. I am happy to report we have settled into our new life with much ease (and $$ spent lol), but it's all been worth it.

I also can't forget to mention we are also a mini van family now so yes, you can add new car to that mix.  Never say never!

January 2015 - Quick Update

Life is really busy. I haven't had an update on the kiddos in while so lets get to this.

Jillian -

- We had a tea party themed 4th birthday. I let her invite 4 friends: Ellora, Ava, Riley and Haley. We had a face painter, balloon twister, crafts and some fancy tea time.
- You started school in September and also were invited to be on the company dance team called Rubber Duckies!
- You LOVE dress up.  All day every day.  And Frozen.  That pretty much sums it up!
- You can write your own name, you know your birthday, your street, your city, and best of all is you think you know EVERYTHING because "you are 4." Everything is "Because mom, I am 4."
- You sleep in our bed every night. Daddy got the boot to the couch (more on that later).
- When you are mad at Weston you say "Mom, can we throw him away?"
- When you are mad at me you say "Mom, I don't love you anymore"
- When you are needy you say "Mom, I just want to be with you" This means hold me or just snuggle me.
- You are such a great listener - truly. I never have to discipline you.  We reason and talk things out.  It works.
- You pick out your clothes every day. Mostly dresses and always long sleeves.  You are SO picky about what itches your skin and you STILL don't understand how to dress appropriately for the right weather.  Rain and cold does not mean sandals and tank top dresses.
- You rarely let me do your hair and brushing tangles out, forget about it. It's like torture.
- Amazing eater - you try it all, and eat SO healthy.  Like when we go out to dinner you will order a salad! Who are you??!!
- You love to dance, you bust moves all the time and your new favorite color is now pink. So long purple.
- Milo is still your favorite pet
- You are the BEST big sister - you play really well with Weston and you love to include him.

Weston
- You really like the word NO now.
- When you hear music (and are in the mood) you start to dance by moving your head.
- You even have a dance move called Sumo Legs....yep, Sumo Legs.
- You run, like full on run.  It's amazing to see how determined you always are.
- You are also picky when it comes to clothes. If you could, you'd be naked.  You resist the diaper, you can't stand pants, and you will only put on a shirt if it's Thomas the train or Disney's Cars.
- You talk ALL the time and repeat everything we say.
- When you get riled up and want to play with Jillian you go over to hear and start giving her little hits. Nothing agressive, just your way of physically telling her, come on lets wrestle or something!
- You haven't exactly gotten the hang of hide and seek yet (although you try)
- Singing and dancing, those things are your jam!
- Still a huge momma's boy and that thing called sleep is getting better.
- Nursing: yep, we call it "nee-nee" and you ask for it now.  Sometimes I can say no, but you are still heavily dependent on it.
- You aren't so much of a good listener....yet.  You throw tantrums, but we divert your attention when it happens.
- You call grandpa Bill "Bopa"


Life in General:
- We spent Christmas in Arizona with family and had an amazing time.
- You guys rocked the road trips to Arizona and to AG to to see Grandma and Bopa!
- Jillian went ice-skating with Grandma Marcia (first time and did awesome). As a special treat, Queen Elsa was there too!
- Went to disneyland with Lisa and Ava for a girls day.
- Got some family pictures done



And now for some pictures!

Weston's Newborn Photos

Weston was just 8 days new when my friend, Rachel, came over to take pictures.  He was a gem, and we got all sorts of good shots all under an hour.

Weston turns 8 weeks next week, and already I am missing him at this tiny precious size.  Slow down!!

The new family of 4 - an update on our lives

I would love to say we are settling into a routine as a family of 4, but we are still in the trenches.  I am referring it as this way, because it's always the hardest in the beginning. However, having gone through the newborn stage before, I know there is an end in sight, which has done wonders for my mood and my patience.

And patience is what you need as a mom of a toddler and 5 week old baby.

So our little Weston is a needy one.  He's a sensitive little guy, who just wants to be held 24/7.  He prefers my chest for naps, and will only nap elsewhere if I put him down in a deep slumber (well that, and he will sleep in the car/stroller rides). The moby wrap has been my salvation allowing me to still get time with Jillian to get things done around the house.

Weston is gassy.  His poor digestive system is just not developed all the way yet, which makes all the eating he is doing very hard on him.  His gas is the worst at night.  I can tell when the gas comes on, because he arches his back in pain, tightens his tummy and kicks his legs.  When it comes on while nursing he will fight with my nipple, de-latch and then relatch, and scream after he eats.  It breaks my heart.  And I can't always go to him when he needs me if I am doing something for Jillian such as putting her down for a nap.

Juggling the two on my own is hard.  It's the hardest job I have ever done, and with the lack of sleep and needy baby, I have had a few meltdowns with Tim this past week.  Tim has been a huge sounding board for my frustrated temperament and has also been a huge help in trying to figure out solutions to Weston's gas issues.

Our sleeping situation hasn't been resolved yet. Weston is still co-sleeping with me, and Tim is sleeping on a blow up mattress in Weston's room.  I don't see this ending until Weston can go longer than 4 hours sleeping. Right now he awakes every 2-3 hours to eat.

Even through all of this, I am adamant about getting the three of us out of the house daily.  We have a lot of play dates. We joined a new meetup group which has been fun.  We also spend a lot of time with Lisa, John and Ava.  We do play dates to the library, the Spectrum, and tons of parks.

I think there is an inner guilty feeling on my part if Jillian doesn't get out and socialize daily.  She had it made in daycare with all of her friends, and now that I have to focus a lot of my attention on Weston, she gets the short end of the stick sometimes. That being said, we are looking into pre-school for her twice a week in the mornings. We are also considering going back to her daycare for 1 day a week.  I think she misses the interaction with her friends and would love to see Amy and her family.

With that being said, we are definitely getting through this newborn time MUCH better than we did with Jillian.  While I am still emotional at a times, it's not the baby blues. Tim and I always gave this piece of advice to new parents with their first baby "just make it to 6 weeks and it ALL gets easier from there. "

Time to take our own advice!

Hawaii Vacation 2012

Hawaii was amazing.  We spent 9 beautiful days soaking up the sun, laying on the beach, and eating a ton of great food.

Half our trip included Tim's parents. It was so wonderful having them around to spend quality time with Jillian.  We ate dinner each night together, and spent the days relaxing on the beach.  They babysat twice - one evening so Tim and I could escape to a romantic dinner and one full day so we could take a day trip snorkeling.  In turn they got to know Jillian a lot more and Jillian got to know them.  By the end of the trip she was in love.  She just could not get enough of "Papa."  He would throw her around and toss her up in the air.  He would tickle her chest with his chin and tickle her until she was crying.  It was great to see everyone having such a peaceful, relaxing time.

Our entire goal for this trip was to pick a place that didn't require a lot of site seeing. Since Tim and I go to Maui at least every 3 years, we knew we weren't going to feel rushed to see the sites.  We stayed in our favorite area of Maui, Napili Bay.  Our hotel is right on the beach, so every single day we would venture out to the water and play in the sand.  Usually by the mid-morning we would try to go swimming, or go on a hunt for lizards and birdies.  Napili Bay also has tide pools close by, so we would climb the rocks in search of shells or fish, and sometimes spot a tutle.  Nap time was blissful...Jillian slept for 3 hours every single day, and while she would sleep, we would pull out a book and read on our balcony, or head to the pool to soak up some sun. Tim would sometimes snorkel.  When Jillian would wake up, we would have a quick snack and head back outside.  On some days we would drive to Kaanapali Beach and shop, or we would head into Lahaina and grab an early dinner. Most evenings we spent BBQ'ing and making dinner, and then after Jillian was fast asleep for the night, we would all stay up having more conversation and drinks.

It was probably the most perfect vacation I can remember. Having Jillian there made our lives feel so complete.  I know it's healthy to travel without your children, but in the next few years we plan to take a vacation every single year with our family.  The key is managing expectations.  We knew Maui was going to be easy going. Some days we didn't even get in our car.  We stayed at our resort and got to run around barefoot soaking up the beauty of our surroundings.

Tim and I both felt so re-charged when we returned home.  It was definitely a vacation that brought the three of us together.

I can't wait for next year!