Our Family

Happy Birthday Kyle!

2009-03-05T13:26:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday Kyle. You are an awesome husband and father. Another year just makes you better.

Surgery Update

2009-02-25T12:27:00.000-08:00

Jacob had his surgery this morning. Of course the doctor was running late so we had to wait longer than we had hoped but that seems about typical. The surgery went very well and only took about 15 minutes. Then they had us come back to be with him while he came around. He was really out of it and confused but he came around. Once we got home he rested for a bit and then decided he wanted to eat. After he had food in his system he was back to himself. By 11:30 am he was playing and laughing. Now he is taking his afternoon nap. The doctor said that his adenoids were huge. So hopefully once the swelling goes down from the surgery he will be able to breathe better. We are just glad that it went well and he seems like he will be better for it.

Jacob

2009-02-19T12:50:00.000-08:00

Well Jacob is finally scheduled to have his adenoids removed. Hopefully that will help all this congestion he has been dealing with his whole life. The surgery is scheduled for Feb. 25. Yup next week. Unfortunately he has been home sick this whole week. I am hoping to take him back to daycare tomorrow. As of now the surgery is still on. But he has an appointment with his pediatrician on Monday just to make sure he is good to go. He pretty much has a bad cold. But then Kyle took him to the Dr. yesterday and he has a mild double ear infection. Hopefully the antibiotics will kick it and we can proceed. If not, then we will postpone. Gotta do whatever is safest for him.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T17:24:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. We hope that all our loved ones are enjoying this special holiday. We had a great one. The boys were spoiled to pieces but who's gonna complain. We love our family and are so grateful to have each other.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T00:11:00.000-08:00

Papa & Andrew in their new matching shirts. Andrew idolizes Papa and was thrilled that they had the same shirt.

Riding together.

Always looking to Papa for what to do next.

Teaching Moment.

One of my favorite things is listening to my dad play the guitar.

Obviously it was for the boys too.

Jacob loves the horses too. It won't be long until him and Andrew are both Papa's little shadows.

Andrew was so good at holding onto Jacob.

My little cowboy!

Andrew & Jacob with great grandpa LeRoy.

For Thanksgiving we headed north to be with my family. My brother and his family also came down from Utah. It is always great when we can all get together. Unfortunately I was so stinking sick that I wasn't up for much. Thanks to Kyle and my entire family for taking good care of me and the boys. So we didn't do a whole lot. But of course the was much horse riding going on. It was cold and wet but as soon as we got there Andrew started working Papa. He was a broken record asking to ride. Papa kept saying tom. when the weather would be nicer but a 3 year old does not get nor care about that statement. It didn't take long before Papa gave in and they were out on the horses. Both boys have a great time around the horses and I am so glad they are not scared of them. If we lived closer to my parents Andrew would probably move in them. The look he has in his eyes when he looks at my dad is amazing to me. You can just see the admiration there. He will just follow Papa around and mimick exactly everything he does. Even though I was crashed out everyone seemed to have a good time and it was great to see everyone. Hopefully next time I will be able to enjoy it too.

Family Pictures in the park.

2008-11-24T12:07:00.000-08:00

The idea here was sunglasses for all. Jake threw his off.

I like this one, even though it is strange to see Kyle with no glasses. That is Andrew "cheese" smile.

Andrew the tree hugger.

Even though Jake can walk he still likes to be silly.

Great father son pic.

Fun with grandma.

Doesn't get much cuter than this.

Another great one of Kyle & Jake.

There is my walking man.

Halloween

2008-10-31T23:59:00.000-07:00

The boys with the pumpkin daddy carved for them.

Andrew as Stitch (from Lilo & Stitch)

Jacob as Squirt the turtle (from Finding Nemo)

Well here are some pictures from Halloween. The boys sure were cute all dressed up and had a blast trick or treating. We went to Riverside to hang out with family. They set up a fire pit in the driveway and have tons of yummy food. Then we take the kids around the neighborhood. It really is more fun with all the extra people. Thank Kevin & Amber for having us.

NewJob

2008-10-24T00:49:00.000-07:00

Kyle got a job. Yay! He is back with the company that we actually moved for. So hopefully things go well and he can move up quickly. We are just so thankful that he has found work.

One Cool Dude!

2008-10-19T23:55:00.000-07:00

I really felt this picture deserved a post all of its own. Jacob truly is one cool dude. Thanks uncle Kevin for letting him play with your glasses at the beach house.

Birthday Pictures

2008-10-18T23:38:00.000-07:00

Here is Andrew trying out his new camera. The boys loves to take pictures. Thanks grandma & grandpa.

Opening some presents.

Blowing out the candles. Can you see the spit stream coming out of his mouth? Yeah, the cake was extra yummy!!!

Climbing at the beach.

Making sand castles.

Jake did not like the beach so much.

Everyone checking out the ocean as Jake runs for his life. The loud crashing ways scared him.

Happy 3rd Birthday Andrew!!!

2008-10-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday my dear sweet son. I can not believe that 3 years ago I got to see you come into this world and you have been then center of it ever since. 3 years, so hard for me to believe. You are an amazing boy. So full of life and energy. Very inquisitive and brilliant (I am not bias at all). You are a lefty, we were unsure for so long but it is obvious now. Now that your binky has been gone for a few months now you talk like crazy and I love to hear the way you pronounce so many words. Soooooo adorable. You are wearing a size 5T and 10 in shoes. Such a big boy. Also you are incredibly coordinated and love sports. Baseball & football are your favorites. I love you so much and feel incredibly blessed to be your mother. Thank you for being my son and

I will post again later when I download pictures and give details of all the birthday fun.

Park Fun

2008-10-07T19:47:00.001-07:00

Warning!!! Lots of cute pictures of my boys. We went to the park on Saturday. It has finally cooled off enough that we can do that. October and some days we are still hitting triple digits but last weekend cooled down to the 80's. It was so nice. Anyway, the boys had a blast running and playing. As you can see Jacob is able to hold his own at the park now too. It takes Kyle and I both to keep up with the 2 kids. So enjoy the pictures.

Hair Cuts

2008-09-13T20:08:00.001-07:00

The boys got hair cuts today. Aren't they just handsome? It sure takes a lot of work to get them to let us cut their hair but I love it when it is done. There is a lot of tears & bribery involved. The joys of parenthood.

J-E-T-S

2008-09-13T16:30:00.000-07:00

Jets! Jets! Jets! Well football season is here and we are loving it. The Jets have Brett Favre as QB - how cool is that? It is hard to be fans of a NY team when you live on the west coast. We don't get to see many games. But now that we have Brett they might show a few more. Here are a few pictures of cute Jets boys. Also BYU is awesome so far this year. Let's hope they continue winning and we can make burst a BCS bubble. I loved how they destroyed UCLA today 59 - 0. Yup that score is right. Here is to a great football season.

Andrew Update

2008-08-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

Well Andrew is doing much better. He fought the fever for a couple of days but it is gone and he is back to his normal wild self. We are so happy for this. The pediatrician said it was probably a virus that caused the fever and pretty much told us the same stuff as the ER doc. We will be watching and treating fevers much more aggressively now but other than that life continues on.

But of course now Jacob is sick. He has a pretty good cold. His fever got up over 101 today and we were right on it. Poor kid is so stuffed up and snotty. Hopefully it will pass quickly and they can both head back to day care on Tuesday.

Febrile Seizure

2008-08-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

So we had a scare of a lifetime last night. After daycare Andrew seemed tired and clingy but we just thought he was tired from starting back to day care full time. Then about 8:30 pm he was burning up. We took his temp and it was 102.3. So Kyle headed to the other room to get some medicine and I finished getting him ready for bed. Which took about a minute and then he started having a seizure. I freaked out and started yelling for Kyle to call 911 because this had never happened before and I was scared to death. Luckily the police dept. & fire dept. are right around the corner and were here so fast. They said it was a febrile seizure. That is a seizure that is caused by a fever spiking really high really fast. I rode in the ambulance down to the hospital while Kyle found someone to come stay with Jake (thanks Maude) and then came down with us. Kyle parents also drove the hour and a half to be here. They came to see Andrew first and then headed to the house to take over for Maude and stayed with Jake until we got home. The doctor thought Andrew had an infection that cause the fever which caused the seizure but they never found an infection. Poor kid had chest x-rays, 2 rectal temps. taken, suppository Tylenol, and a catheter. Let's just say he was not a happy camper but he was a trooper. We finally got sent home about 1:00 am with the instructions to alternate Tylenol and Motrin every 4 hours. Of course we were paranoid about him sleeping and didn't really get much sleep because we just wanted to monitor him to make sure it didn't happen again. Kyle has been with him all day and his temp. has been up and down with the medicine. Tomorrow we have an appointment with his pediatrician and we'll see what he has to say.

Apparently these febrile seizures are common and normal in children 6 months to 6 years old. Well I can tell you there is nothing common or normal about watching your child go through this. I am still scared to death to take my eyes off him. I just pray it never happens again but if it does at least I will be a little more prepared. I am sure just as scared but more prepared.

Funny Story

2008-08-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

I have to post this because it is hilarious and so worth remembering. We went to an engagement party last night for Kyle's cousin Jennifer and her fiance Kwasi. The house had a waterfall fountain out front and on the deck an in ground hot tub that they had open with little duckies floating around. From the deck you can look out over a lake. Early in the party it was mentioned that we could take all the kids on a walk around the lake to get out lots of energy and I asked how we were going to keep the kids out of the lake. Well the walk never happened. However later I hear Andrew crying and went to see what was going on and the boy was soaking wet. Apparently he was trying to play with the ducks in the hot tub and fell in. Of course he was pulled right out, no harm done. Once we got him dry and in new clothes all was fine. I just thought of course it would be my kid to fall in. Quite comical. Next time I won't joke about falling in the lake.

Kyle Update

2008-08-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

Well I know many of you are wondering what is going on with Kyle and his work situation. We appreciate everyone's concern and love for our family. He still has not found a job but has had a couple of good interviews. Hopefully something will come through soon. It has been nice having him around the last few weeks. We have had a lot of good family time. The boys have really enjoyed the extra daddy time too. Next week back to the grind. I head back to work, the boys head back to day care, and Kyle hits the job hunt even harder. I will let you all know when something comes up.

Andrew-ism's

2008-08-21T21:42:00.000-07:00

So I thought I should document some of the cute things that Andrew says so we can always remember them.

Opipics = Olympics
awful = waffle
no no = oatmeal
beisball = baseball
emonade = lemonade
dapple juice = used to describe all juice other than lemonade
acop = Jacob
lub you = love you
nope (self explanatory)

I am sure there are more but this all I can come up with at the moment. Of course he has his own little accent on most words. But he has really been getting better speech since he has stopped using the binky.

Ridiculous!

2008-07-30T15:07:00.001-07:00

OK, I am so ANGRY right now. Kyle just called and said he had been let go from his job. Last I posted about this situation things had been going so much better. I really thought everything was going to be ok. But apparently not. This whole thing has been a joke. He was hired into a small company which merged to a corporation about a month after he started. Ever since then it has been a joke. It is an assisted living facility. Kyle got into it because he cares about people but the corp. only cares about money and the bottom line. There is so much I could say about this but I can't get it all out. AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! I am so frustrated.

Bye Bye Binky

2008-07-30T11:21:00.000-07:00

Well we finally made the leap to say bye bye to the binky. I borrowed an idea from Meredith because I thought it was really cute. We spent this weekend at Disneyland. There is a Build A Bear on the Disney Walk. So at the end of the trip we made one last stop. We took Andrew to Build a Bear. We had been talking about how he was too big for a binky and that we were going to make a binky bear and put his binky in the bears tummy. He had seemed excited about it and would even tell people he what he was going to do. Well we knew that even though he was willing to do it didn't mean it was going to be easy once the binky was gone. Here is a photo walk of the experience.
In the car enjoy the end of the binky.

Andrew is stepping on the pedal to stuff his bear.

Putting the binky in his bears tummy.

Hugging his new bear.

Carrying the bear back to the car. He really liked that box.

Looks great doesn't it. So smooth and a happy toddler. Ha Ha Ha. We wish. The first breakdown happened while we were in line paying for this bear. But we got him calmed down and headed out. It is 1 1/2 hours to drive back to our house from Disneyland. He cried, screamed, threw a fit, and was thrashing around in his car seat for about 50 minutes of that before he finally wore himself out and went to sleep. It was awful. I even cried with him some and of course questioned if what we were doing was the right thing and if I was being a terrible mother.

He slept the rest of the way home and transferred inside to finish his nap. When he woke up the "fun" began again. Big time fit. We finally got him calmed down and distracted doing something else. He did well the rest of the day. Then bed time. It was a rough night. He cried for his binky for a long time before finally going to sleep. Then he woke up 2 different times just bawling for his binky and was really hard to console. He went to day care yesterday and other than being tired did great. Let me follow up by saying he never uses a binky at day care, not even for naps. He was really only using at home to sleep. That is why the nights are the worst.

Well last night (night 2) was a little better. He only woke up once crying for his binky. Luckily he has not tried to rip open the bear. He has asked us to get the binky out but we keep saying we can't it all gone. So things are getting better. Hopefully they will keep going in the right direction. This was something we had to do before I head back to work. We know he is capable of being binky free but it is also his only security object. Why does parenthood have to be so difficult?

Home Sweet Home

2008-07-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

Well after the kids and I being away from home 3 of the last 4 weeks we are finally back. That was way to much traveling to do all at once. We were all so exhausted and cranky. It is good to be back with Kyle and in familiar surroundings for the kids. We have decided to stay put. Kyle's job all of a sudden likes him again, we'll see how long that lasts, and moving so quickly would be a pain. Plus who wants to keep paying for a great house that they aren't living in while trying to live with others. Just doesn't make sense right now. I will post pictures and give more details about all our trips when I have more time.

Finally

2008-07-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

Well the air was finally fixed on Saturday. Unbelievable! But at least it is finally working again and we can function.

In other news life is insane and full of twists and turns. Things are not going so great at Kyle's job and he probably won't have it much longer. Long story. Anyway, we are just trying to figure out if we should even stay in this awful desert that we both hate or just bail and head north back to my family. It is very tempting but it is so hard to leave a school when I just got tenure. Plus we would have to find someone to live with because there is no way we would be able to sell our house. So we would still be paying for it. It is hard to give up your own living space and change everything. So who knows what will happen. We are both applying for jobs up north and Kyle is looking for work here too. So only time will tell. Hopefully we will figure it out soon. It is no fun having your whole world turned upside down and not knowing what is coming next. AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! That pretty much sums up how I am feeling right now.

Air Conditioner

2008-06-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

Still no fix. They are hoping the compressor comes in Monday. Yesterday it was 120. Why do things like this happen when it is hotter than hell outside? Actually bailed and headed down to San Diego on Wednesday with the kids. National PTA conference. Kyle's mom is the National PTA President. Poor Kyle had to stay to work. But he was finally able to join us tonight. We will be here through Monday. Then I am taking the kids to Escondido for the rest of next week. Hopefully the air will get fixed Tuesday.

Stats Update

2008-06-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

Well Jacob had his one year check up today. Here are the stats.

weight 20 lbs 8 oz = 25%
height 29 1/2 in = 50%
head circ. 18 1/2 = 50%

So that is our little guy. He is doing great. Still not walking without holding on to something yet but getting closer. Talks constantly. Tough as nails, always wrestling with Andrew.

Other news, our air conditioner went out on Sat. We finally managed to get someone out a little after 7 pm on Monday. Now they have to order the part that should take 5 days to get. Oh yeah, did I mention that it is 114 outside. Can we say not fun. We went and stayed the weekend in Orange County with Kyle parents. Then had to come back Monday because I had to be there for the last day of school. Kyle headed back to work today. Wow, I would never have made it as a pioneer.

Birthday Party

2008-06-09T19:31:00.001-07:00

We also had Jacob's first birthday party on Sat. It was so much fun. Family and friends gathered to celebrate with us. Thank you to everyone for all your help in making everything go so smoothly. It was definitely a busy busy day. Below you will find the birthday cake progression. He devoured his whole little cake. What a guy. Happy Birthday again my dear sweet son.

Temple Sealing

2008-06-09T19:16:00.001-07:00

On Sat. June 7 we went to the Redlands temple and Jacob sealed to us. It was such an amazing and spiritual experience. The boys were both so good in the temple. During the sealing Andrew sat nicely on Nona's lap and Jacob was so cooperative and quiet during the ordinance. It was like they both just knew this was a special place and they needed to be reverent. After the sealing we also gave Jacob his baby baby blessing. Thank you to all of you that sacrificed your time, effort to be there. It meant so much to our family. Those of you that weren't there we missed you and knew you were there in spirit. What a blessing it is to have the gospel in our lives.

Happy 1st Birthday Jacob!

2008-06-05T19:29:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that Jacob is already one. Happy Birthday my baby. He is such a big boy. He has always been thin and now he is getting tall. And oh so active. He gets around and into anything he wants. Jake also loves to climb. Still not walking but getting closer every day. I just couldn't let this day come and go without acknowledging the event. I can't imagine life without him.

Jackass Mail Run

2008-04-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

I was able to take the boys up to visit my family for 5 days. It was a lot of fun. The big even was the Jackass Mail Run. This was the 47th annual run and my mom was wagon master. She makes the fourth one in our family. We are so proud. She even managed to get the mail, the wagon's and all the horses to Springville from Porterville. Andrew loved being around all the horses and cowboys. He sure had a great time. Here are a few, of the hundreds (seriously), of pictures that were taken on the trip.

Finalization

2008-04-15T20:13:00.000-07:00

We had court today to finalize Jacob's adoption. Everything was smooth sailing and he is now forever legally ours. We are so thrilled to have this part done. Not that it changes how we feel about him it just solidifies the whole thing and there are no more what ifs hanging around. Jake, you are amazing and we love you very much. Thank you Great Grandma Rae in joining in this special day of our lives.

Thanks Judge Cox!

Updates Finally!

2008-04-13T14:47:00.001-07:00

Well I finally put up some new posts. If you go to Feb. there is one about Jake's first hair cut. I have gotten a little behind.

New things happening around here that we finally have a court date to finalize Jacob's adoption. It is on Tuesday, April 15. Yay. Then we are planning the temple sealing and baby blessing for June 7th. We are so excited to have this all coming together.

Both of our boys are amazing. They are full of personality and silliness. It is adorable to see them play together. We are so blessed to be their parents.

Easter

2008-03-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a few pictures from Easter. We went to church in the morning and then spent the afternoon at Great Grandma Rae's. We had a great time visiting with family and sharing this special day with them. And the kids had a blast running around and playing together.

Cool dude ready for church.Gotta get those eggs.
Cute family.
Grandma, Grandpa, & Great Grandma trying to get a picture with all the kids. (It's like herding cats)

Swing Set

2008-03-16T14:33:00.000-07:00

Here is the adventure of putting together the new swing set. It sure was a lot of work but the boys love it. Thanks Grandpa for coming out to help put it together.

Outdoor Fun

2008-03-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

So here is what the boys were up to while Dad and Grandpa put together their new swing set.

Airplane!
Soccer Pro
Wow, what's this?
Playing in the grass.

First ER Trip

2008-03-11T19:33:00.000-07:00

Well we survived our first trip to the ER as parents. On Sunday evening Andrew cut his finger. Luckily it ended up not being that bad but man do fingers bleed. I was also surprised that we were only at the ER about an hour. They ended up putting Dermabond (glue) on it to hold it together so it can heal from the inside out. Andrew was a trooper and bouncing off the walls by the time we got home. I hope we don't need to many of the trips but with active little boys you never know.

Happy Birthday Kyle!

2008-03-05T22:58:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to say a great big Happy Birthday to my sweetheart. Kyle is such an incredible man, wonderful husband, and awesome father. I am lucky to be his wife.

On a side note, we got a call from our social worker saying we had been chosen for another baby that is due May 17. Turns out that one of the other LDSFS agencies that we had sent our
profile to over a year ago held on to it and showed it to a potential birth mother along with others and she chose us. The worker did tell the b-mom that she did not know our status and would find out so hopefully she won't be too upset that we have to decline at this time. I can't believe I have to say no to a baby. I never thought we would be matched thru LDSFS and here it happens when we are not even ready for it. I so wish we could say yes but we are not even close to being able to afford a 3rd child. And I don't know if our sanity could handle another baby so soon.

So goes the craziness of our life.

Jake's First Hair Cut

2008-02-22T14:19:00.000-08:00

We were going to wait until he was one but it just didn't happen. His hair is not growing on the sides at all and the mohawk was just getting bigger. Plus it is so fine and always looked crazy. So we decided to even things out. It took awhile to get used to the new do but we like it.

Before

During

After

Our Valentine

2008-02-18T19:15:00.001-08:00

Here is the Valentine card that Andrew made for us at day care. I thought it was so sweet. It is the first handmade thing I have received as a mother. I know there will be many to come over the years but it was so special to get this first one. Thank you my love, Andrew. You are a sweet boy.

Guitar Hero

2008-02-18T19:10:00.001-08:00

So my awesome husband bought me Guitar Hero III for our Wii. I absolutely love it and can waste way too much time playing. But Andrewis also a big fan. He wants it on all the time. He comes up to you and starts bobbing around, pointing to the guitar and saying dancing, dancing. It is really cute. However it does get old pretty quickly when that is all he wants to do. Here are a few shots of my little guitar hero. Sometimes I let him sit on my lap and he helps me play. Let's just say that it adds a whole new difficulty level to the game.

Standing Man

2008-02-18T19:05:00.000-08:00

Yup, it's true, Jacob is now a self standing little man. He pulls himself up on anything and is even cruising around. He so wants to walk but just doesn't have the balance for it yet. Keep working on it little dude, you'll get there.

Tooth #2

2008-01-16T21:38:00.000-08:00

That's right, Jake has managed to get a second tooth. Popped through today. Poor kid is in teething pain but has 2 teeth to show for it. What a trooper!

Amazing

2008-01-12T20:23:00.000-08:00

It is amazing. Jacob pulled himself up today. That is right, pulled himself up to standing. We could not believe it. He was so proud of himself and smiling. Of course we are so proud of him too. Then we went to lower the mattress on the crib. The last thing we need is for him to pull himself up and go over the side. We are predicting he will be walking in the next few months. It is just unbelievable. Our little guy is growing up so fast.

7 month update

2008-01-04T21:06:00.000-08:00

Jake had his 7 month check up today. It wasn't the best news in the world. We got a double ear infection diagnosis. But at least it explains the fever he has had for 2 days and we now have medicine to treat it. Poor kid has been through a lot the past few day. The ear infections and he is getting teeth. The first one popped through on Thursday morning and the one next to it is trying to break through. The bottom teeth that is.

Stats:
Length - 26 inches and the 25th percentile
Weight - 16 pounds and the 10th percentile

He is definitely our little man. His big accomplishment this last month is crawling. Jake is all over the place. It is so cute to watch him take off.

Visit

2008-01-03T21:14:00.001-08:00

The day after Christmas I took the boys up to visit my family. We stayed for 5 days. While there my dad took the boys riding. This was Jacob's first time on a horse as last time we were there he was barely a month old and I wasn't ready to let him ride. However this time he got on and seemed to enjoy it. This is my dad and Jacob, how sweet.

As for Andrew he is a seasoned pro. This time around my dad was teaching him how to control the horse himself. My little guy is growing up. Next time he might even ride without papa. This time around he refused to stay on the horse when papa got off.

I just thought this was a sweet picture of the boys. I was trying to get them up and going for church but they were so worn out from all the fun of the week that it was quite a challenge.

It was great to go for an extended visit. Love you guys.

Christmas 2007

2008-01-03T20:54:00.000-08:00

The 2 weekends before Christmas were filled with extended family get togethers. It was fun and wonderful to spend the holidays with family. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we were able to spend it at home. Being able to have that time together was amazing. It was our first Christmas as a family of 4. We have been truly blessed this past year. Here is a picture of Kyle attempting to read The Night Before Christmas to the boys on Christmas Eve. This is a tradition from his child hood that he is trying to pass on. Well at first Andrew would not sit in his lap so he just started to read. Then we finally got Andrew to sit and Jacob started to cry. Needless to say we never made it through the entire story but we will try again next year.

Here is the boys on Christmas Eve in their cute pj's.

Andrew is helping Jacob to open presents. So helpful.

Christmas morning the aftermath. And this doesn't ever really show the half of it.

Christmas was great. The boys were spoiled beyond belief but we all have so much fun doing it. Santa brought a toddler size table and chairs and a Tickle Me Elmo Extreme. Other than that they got tons of toys and clothes. We are getting ready to open our own toy store. Now comes the challenge of organizing everything. What a tough problem to have. We are so grateful for all that we have been blessed with. Most of all wonderful family and friends who support and love us. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Pizza Delivery

2008-01-03T18:46:00.000-08:00

We ended up with a puppy. Just what we needed right? Well we love her and are so glad to have her. I took the boys up to visit my folks after Christmas while Kyle stayed home to work. They had 3 pups and we instantly fell in love with one. At one point my mom told me that Andrew named her pizza and it stuck for the trip. Kyle and I went back and forth multiple times about whether I should bring her home or not. We ended up on not and I came home. Of course thinking of pizza the whole time. We then considered driving the 5 hours back to get her. Then I remembered my awesome friends (Ong & Merc) were up visiting family in the area and I called to see if they were still there. They were packing up to leave but said they would deliver the puppy for us. Now they have a 7 lb. dog and asked if the puppy was small. I of course said yes because to me she is. I of course was forgetting just how small their dog was and that our concepts of small were so very different. Anyway, they agreed to deliver our "giant" puppy for us. We are so grateful they did. If you wish to read about their adventure getting her here check out the blog link below. It is entertaining and I do apologize for the inconvenience. Oh, by the way, her new official name is Izzy.

http://www.adearone.net/2008/01/delivering-pizza.htm

So Handsome!

2007-12-22T06:44:00.001-08:00

I just had to share this picture of Jacob. He is so handsome. His eyes sparkle and that sweet smile just melts your heart.

Called Out

2007-12-18T20:28:00.000-08:00

Ok friends, I have been called out by many of you for not keeping up with my blog. I apologize and will try to do better. However, I would like to see you keep up working full time and raising 2 young children. Things are a little crazy around here. I wouldn't want it any other way but I am just a bit on the slow size. It does make me feel good though to know that people do read our blog and are interested in our family. It gives me incentive to be a little more efficient. I will try my best. Love to you all. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Holiday Lights

2007-12-18T20:21:00.001-08:00

Our local zoo has an incredible light display. Actually lots of light displays. We went with Kyle's parents a couple of weekends ago and it was so fun. There is also lots of trains running thru little cities and villages. Andrew would have stayed all night if we let him. It was a good time and memories that will last forever.

"Well I guess if you are going to give me candy you can't be that bad." Andrew is not the biggest fan of Santa. Well at least not the meeting him in person part.

Fun light displays. Andrew, Timberly & Jacob

Andrew was fascinated with the trains.

Jake checking out the trains and lights.

Cute family!

Jacob 5 & 6 months

2007-12-18T20:08:00.001-08:00

Here are a few updated pictures of Jacob. He is already 6 months old. My how time flies. He is rolling all over the place and crawling now. We have hit mobility. It is so cute and fun to watch him getting around. And he is drooling like crazy, there must be a tooth or two on the way. He is also eating solids now. My how he likes to eat. He really wants whatever the rest of us are eating and sweet big brother Andrew loves to share. While I am not so happy about it Andrew has tried to share marshmallows and pickles and probably lots of things I haven't caught. Good thing kids are resilient.

Jacob 6 months old

Jacob 5 months old

Jacob 5 months old

Jacob 5 months old

Thanksgiving

2007-12-18T20:02:00.001-08:00

Here it is. A few pictures from Thanksgiving. We stayed home and had some close friends over for a marvelous meal. Great to be married to a chef. Unfortunately we spent the rest of the long weekend all taking turns with the stomach flu. What are you going to do?

Heather & Mikey

E.V. & Andrew

Kyle & Jacob

Chef Andrew checking the turkey.

Halloween 2007

2007-11-04T13:42:00.001-08:00

Well we just made it thru Halloween. It was a great time. We spent it with family. Andrew got to go trick-or-treating with his cousins. We had a bonfire, lots of yummy food and just hanging out. Jacob was a Tootsie Roll. However he got sleepy quickly and was only in costume for a short time. Andrew had fun. In fact instead of knocking he would just try to open the front doors of peoples houses and walk in. He is quite the forward little guy. He was so cute dressed up in his Angels baseball uniform. He didn't want to keep his hat on though. Andrew was having such a good time that he was upset when it was time to head home. But he crashed quickly and slept very well that night. Enjoy our cute boys. We sure do.

Disneyland

2007-10-21T11:55:00.001-07:00

OK, I could probably post pictures all day but I will stop with what I have. We took Andrew to Disneyland the day before we had his birthday party. Jacob stayed home with grandma in the morning and we ran around. We went on Peter Pan, the carousal, and the Story Book boats. Then we spent a lot of time in Toon Town. There were lots of things for Andrew to climb on and play with. He loved it. We also got to meet Pluto, Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse, and Goofy. We went home around noon for naps. That evening we took both boys back for fireworks. Jacob's eyes just got big and he stared at them. It was a great show. We wanted to stay a little longer but it started to sprinkle so we decided to head home. All in all it was a great trip and so much fun. We sure wish we still lived close enough to go more often.

Andrew, Kyle, Jacob, & Timberly. If you look close you can see the castle in the background.

Goofy, Andrew, & Kyle.

Timberly, Mickey, Andrew, & Kyle.

Andrew cruising.

Andrew loves music. It was neat because the piano played music when he pressed the keys. But he did get annoyed that he couldn't turn the pages for the music. Apparently he wanted different options. I am going to have to foster this love for music.

Now this is a pumpkin.

Kyle & Pluto, they must have been up to no good to land themselves in jail.

Andrew & me in line for Peter Pan.

Fun with Friends

2007-10-21T11:49:00.001-07:00

We had some friends visiting from Arizona a couple of weeks ago. I am finally getting a chance to share. My friend Britany I met thru an online adoption group. We have met in person before and have become good friends thru e-mail. She was in our area so we got to visit a couple of nights. She has 2 little ones like we do, Maya and Kenyon. If was great getting to finally meet Kenyon and show off Jacob. We enjoyed chatting and catching up while Andrew and Maya ran around playing. Here are a few pictures from the visit. Aren't they all just so cute together?

Hug, Maya & Andrew

Not sure what Andrew and Maya are doing here but it is pretty funny.

Jacob & Kenyon.

Timberly, Jacob, Andrew, Maya, Kenyon, & Britany.

4 month & 2 year Check ups

2007-10-18T21:23:00.000-07:00

Today both boys had check ups. Jacob had his 4 month. He is 24 inches and 14 1/2 pounds. He is in the 25th percentile for both. Andrew is 35 3/4 inches and 30 1/2 pounds. He is in the 75th percentile for both. They are both healthy little guys. I did find it interesting that Jacob is the same size as Andrew was when he was 2 months old. They are definately growing at different rates. But I guess that is what kids do.

Happy Birthday!

2007-10-17T20:11:00.001-07:00

Wow, today is Andrew's 2nd birthday. I can't believe that he is already 2. I have been quite emotional today as I have been thinking about the past 2 years. Especially the day I witnessed his birth and met my son. It still feels like yesterday. What a precious gift he is. I am truly blessed to be his mother. And I can't express enough the gratitude and love I have for his birthmother. She truly is an amazing woman.

This weekend we held birthday festivities. Friday we took Andrew to Disneyland. We all had a blast. He loved running around the park. I will post again later about the day and share some fun pictures from that adventure. On Saturday we had his party at grandma and grandpa's house, THANKS! It was a blast. There lots of family there and a few friends. Andrew's highlight was probably the cupcakes. He devoured his first and then went diving in for more. Presents were fun. He was better at opening this year than last but still had more fun running around. I think Kyle ended up opening most of them. However, Andrew is really enjoying playing with them all. It was a great time.

On his way to becoming a sports star. Thanks grandma and grandpa.

Here is one of Andrew's favorite things to do. Close his eyes while doing anything. It is the funniest thing to watch him wandering around without sight.

YUMMY!!!

Andrew's new ride.

2007-10-01T19:45:00.001-07:00

Alright here is an update. It has been quite awhile since I posted. So goes life. I started teaching again this month and time just seems to get away from me. Anyway, the boys are doing great. Andrew continues to be an awesome big brother. He loves Jake so much and always wants to be with him. Sometimes it is rougher than we would like but Jake is tough. Andrew still wants Jake to do everything with him. Like ride his bouncy zebra, dance, jump, roll around. You name it and Andrew thinks brother can do it. We are enjoying being parents to 2 little guys. They are the light of our lives and we love everything about them. We are so grateful to be a family. Here are some pictures that we have taken recently.

California Adventure

2007-08-22T12:57:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures from when we took Andrew to California Adventure. Jacob stayed with grandma and grandpa for the day so Andrew got some individual time. We had a blast. Our friends Christopher and Andrea also went with us. It was a lot fun.

Little Flirts

2007-08-22T12:54:00.000-07:00

Here are our Little Flirts. Aren't they cute?

2 months

2007-08-22T12:43:00.000-07:00

Jacob is 2 months old now. He is growing so much and getting so active. He loves to smile and "talk" to you. He is also getting more mobile. He uses his leg to push himself around. Jake doesn't get real far but he sure tries. At his check up he weighed in at 10 lbs. 12 oz. and was 22 inches long. He is only in the 25th percentile for both weight and height. We are not used to such a small little guy. He will take off one of these days though. He sure is eating more. Jacob loves to watch Andrew. You can just see him thinking, "wow I can't wait until I can do all that fun stuff with my big brother". It is so cute. Andrew wants him to play now. Andrew tries to get Jacob to dance and jump with him. It is really fun to watch. Well I just wanted to give a little update.

Jacob

2007-08-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

Well I just had to post some recent pictures of Jacob too. He is getting so big and he is so strong. He has really good head control and can lift himself up to look around for long periods of time. And most exciting, I finally captured his smile on camera. That is quite the feat. But just look at it. Soooooo cute. Big dimples. I could just eat him up. He is such a good baby. Jake seems to finally have figured out how we work around here and is adjusting very well. Sleeping much better, not as fussy. His favorite thing to do though is watch Andrew. What is big brother doing? And I have to keep a closer eye on them because Andrew tried to pick Jake up and carry him over to me the other day. That was scary. Luckily no drops and all was fine. Enjoy my handsome little guy. I sure do.

The Fair

2007-08-06T10:31:00.001-07:00

We went to the fair the last weekend in July. That shows you how long it takes me to get things done around here. We had a great time. Of course we got to eat lots of great fair food. Grandpa decided that Andrew needed his picture taken with a snake. I wasn't there when the decision was made and walked up about the time it was their turn I was not happy but let them do it anyway. Andrew on the other hand was fascinated with the snake and just kept petting it and trying to get it's head. Not such a fun moment for mom but since I have boys I should get used to them liking things that I don't such as snakes. Then we found the picture op on the surf board. He was way more interested on running around up there than actually posing but we got a great shot anyway. They also had a little farm with animals. Andrew just wanted to get in the stalls and play with all the animals. He is so fascinated with them. I am glad though, I would hate for him to be scared of animals. It is just teaching him when it is appropriate to pet them and when it is not. Well we had a great time. Grandpa got to spend the day with us and that is always fun too. Thanks for hanging out with us. However we all did go to dinner that night. Andrew was being a monster. Not sure that grandpa will ever want to go out to eat with us again.

Grandpa & Andrew with a huge snake.

Surf's Up!

What a Cutie!

Fun on the Ranch

2007-07-24T19:29:00.001-07:00

We went to visit my grandparents this weekend. I wanted them to meet Jacob and see how big Andrew had gotten. It was a great visit and everyone enjoyed themselves. Especially Andrew. Uncle David became his new best friend. He would follow his uncle around and lift up his arms because he wanted to be able to pet the horses. They also went for a ride and while Andrew seemed unsure at first he sure did not want to get off. They also have a baby horse and puppies. There were a couple of cows and the neighbors have goats. So all in all there was a lot to discover. Andrew just wanted to run around the whole time. He also found the cover wagon and the whip. He thought it was so fun to swing it around. It was a blast. Here are some pictures from our adventure.

Andrew & Jacob with great grandpa & great grandma

Kyle & Jacob with Trixy

Andrew playing with the whip on the wagon.

Andrew riding.

Uncle David & Andrew riding

Uncle David & Andrew petting baby Kelly.

Rolling Over!

2007-07-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

Today Jacob is 7 weeks old. My how time flies. The big news however is that yesterday he figured out how to roll over. Yup, that's right, roll over. He can make it from his tummy to his back. I can't believe he figured it out so soon. It amazes me. Anyway, it is bad news for him because he hates to be on his back. Loves his tummy, but hates to lay on his back. So now he rolls over and then gets insanely upset that he has found himself in the one position he does not want to be in. Ah, the joys of life.

Andrew the Water Boy

2007-07-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

We got Andrew a pool for the summer. Well here it is pretty much summer all year round. Anyway, he has always been a water baby. It is just about impossible to get him out of a pool or the tub. So I thought I would put some pictures of him loving the water.

Enjoying the new pool.

The water feature at San Diego Wild Animal Park.

One month old.

2007-07-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it. Jacob is already one month old. He has adjusted so well to being home and we are all getting in the groove of being a family of 4. He is also starting to sleep a little longer between feedings at night. I am really appreciating that. Andrew is also doing pretty good. He hasn't quite figured out that sometimes he has to wait and expects me to instantly cater to his needs. But slowly Drew is learning that sometimes mommy is busy with Jake and he has to wait a minute. Kyle is so good with the boys too and has been such a huge help. Us being apart for those 2 weeks just reinforced that we are so much stronger together. Well I just wanted to post some new pictures. Here they are.

Our new son.

2007-06-30T23:20:00.000-07:00

I Can't believe it. We have a new addition to the family. Jacob Edward was born on June 5, 2007. It was quite a crazy adoption but we finally have him home. He is so precious and a wonderful addition to our family. Andrew is so sweet with him. Lots of hugs and kisses. Here are a few pictures.

I've Joined

2007-06-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

Well I have decided to join the world of blogging. It seems like most of my friends have a blog and I enjoy visiting their sites frequently to see what is new. So I thought I should do the same in case anyone happens to be interested.

Andrew is 19 months old now and just a little spitfire. He has been nicknamed hurricane Andrew due to the fact that he has become quite skilled at destroying anything in his path. Maybe not so much destroying as displacing but whatever you call it, there is always much clean up involved.

I only have 7 more days until school is out for the summer and can't wait. I am looking forward to the much needed break. Kindergarten really wears a person out. Kyle has been at his new sales job since January and is doing well. His client base seems to grow daily and we are looking forward to hitting commissions someday soon. Who can't use a little extra cash?

On the adoption front we are currently searching for our next little one to join our family. We have put ourselves out there all over the place. We have also experienced many heart aches this time around but are optimistic about the amazing end results. So if you know of or hear of someone thinking about placing a child adoption please feel free to pass along our information. Here are the links to our online profiles.
www.kyleandtimberly.hopetoadopt.com
http://www.parentprofiles.com/profiles/db20046.html