Brandon & Rachel

A goal I can never keep

2012-02-15T20:21:00.001-08:00

As often as I tell myself I need to blog more often, it seems increasingly more difficult to be able to! Now that Brandon is doing online classes, I'm having to do more around the house to keep the place clean and entertain the kids so Brandon can get work done. He's been doing his orientation courses so his real classes don't start until the 20th.. that's when the hard work really begins. We've had several ups and downs over the past couple of months, most of which I'm not going to go into detail because I either 1. don't remember or 2. don't have time to do a terribly lengthy post. B is watching Dora the Explorer (which I actually despise), so I have about 20 minutes!

First of all, I'm 15 weeks pregnant! I found out the weekend of Arlen's birthday party. The night before Arlen's party, I came down with a terrible bug that kept me up all night with the runs and made me throw up for the first time since I was in elementary school. Thank goodness my visiting teacher called me that night and asked if she could help me with anything. With me feeling so awful, Brandon was stuck with finishing the cooking and decorating, which was a big job. So she came over early the next morning and helped Brandon with everything while I laid in bed. I was in bed for most of Arlen's party, so it didn't go how I had planned. I'm sure it was all fine, but I had this perfect picture in my head of how I wanted everything to look and what I wanted to do and I couldn't come to a reality. So I was pretty bummed about that.

We had a pretty special Christmas season this year. Funds were low, and up until the weekend before Christmas, we didn't have a Christmas tree. We were finally able to get one because some wonderfully thoughtful and generous person send us an anonymous card containing $80 cash. I teared up when I opened that card.. just days before I was telling Brandon how sad I was that we couldn't afford a Christmas tree to decorate with the kids. We don't know who sent it, but we said so many prayers in gratitude. Not only did that money pay for our Christmas tree, but it helped us get through the rest of that month for groceries.

Arlen started walking sometime mid-December, so it was fun to see her wander around Christmas morning at my parents' house. We spent the night up there and had a slow-moving morning and joined them at church, since it was Sunday. We then spend a few hours at the Dietz house before we went home. We might start doing Christmas at home, since it's turning out to be more exhausting than enjoyable with all the traveling we do to visit family.

Oh- our camera broke some time in December. Actually, it suddenly decided to stop working. So we'll unfortunately be picture-less until we buy a new camera.

We had a pretty big snow storm in January, and people were out of power all around western Washington. It was such a stressful week, but I'll try to recap without being too wordy. It had snowed on a Saturday night, so there were about 4 inches on the ground at our house on Sunday. Monday it started to snow pretty heavily and our power went out some time around 4:30 or 5. It was already getting dark out, so we had to scramble to get things together to go to Brandon's parents' house since we didn't have any alternative source of heat and if the snow got bad enough we wouldn't have been able to leave. There were 7 inches on the ground when we left the house, and the roads were pretty bad until we got to main streets. We were at the Dietz house Monday night and Tuesday, then Tuesday night I came down with another stomach bug that kept me up all night with the runs and vomiting. I was bed-ridden all of Wednesday, which was the day of the hardest snowfall. One of our neighbors measured about 30 inches of snow once it had stopped falling. Thursday I felt a little better but then the Dietz's power went out. We decided to retreat to my parents' house since they had a generator, hot water, and a little more space for us to sleep. Friday night I was sick again, but this time a bad stomach ache induced by stress. Saturday I came down with a strange sore throat that felt like there was a cough drop lodged in my esophagus, kind of at the dip where my collar bone meet. It drove me absolutely crazy. I felt like I was constantly gagging, and it lasted for days. Finally I recovered, and we were able to go back home on the following Thursday. We had been out of our house for 10, almost 11 days. When we got home, it was definitely NOT a relief. We had kept Lucas in the house with his litterbox and food so he wouldn't get too cold in the garage. So our house REEKED of cat pee, and the dishes that we didn't have time to wash before we evacuated the house smelled so badly. It took several days to try to get our house back in order, and free of stink. Everything in our fridge and freezer had gone bad since our power had been out for so long, so it all got thrown away. My mom so graciously gave us a big box of refrigerated food and milk to last us a couple days until I could go shopping.

That sucked. Next year we'll be more prepared. It wasn't until after the whole ordeal that I realized we should have just grabbed our 72-hour kits and left. We wouldn't have had to tear the house apart trying to make sure we had everything we needed.

On a happier note, Aly had a baby girl last month! Emerson Reinelle Hoyt. She's a doll! I'm so happy for my sister. Finally after four boys, she's blessed with a little girl! I'm glad Arlen's going to have a little buddy to play with on my side of the family!

Nothing really exciting has happened since then. The kids are growing up too fast.. B's birthday is in just a couple months! I know I say this every time I post, but I really do have the sweetest, most wonderful kids in the world! They keep me smiling and laughing every day.

B is getting much better at talking. He can say sentences; they may not be complete, but I always know what he's saying. He is very protective of Arlen, which is so wonderful to see at such a young age. While we were staying with my parents during the power-outage, Arlen took a little tumble down the stairs (I caught her halfway so she didn't get hurt) and after that, B would scream 'GET HER!" every time she started crawling up the stairs. He was so afraid that she was going to fall down and get hurt. He'd even explain to her "Arlen, no! Fall down!" At home he tries to keep her from getting into danger, like playing with the heater and electrical sockets. B still has his moments of being 2, but he's such an amazing little guy. He will occasionally push or do something without thinking, but he always says sorry when I ask him to. B is becoming more affectionate and loving as he gets older. He loves getting massages and foot rubs! It's so funny! I'll start to massage his back and if I stop, he wiggles and says "rub! rub!" and he'll rub my back in return if I ask him to.

B's favorite book right now is "Going on a Bear Hunt." He loves the part when the family finds the bear! His favorite show is still Shaun the Sheep, but he also likes to watch 'novie dogs' (101 Dalmations, Lucky's London Adventure), 'novie dohos' (dinosaur movie- Land before Time), and I got him watching "da da dreet" (sesame street) for a while. I feel kind of bad about how much screen time B got over the past two months, but being exhausted from pregnancy and having morning sickness, I really didn't have much energy to do anything. Thankfully B and Arlen are so wonderful, they made my job pretty easy. B also likes watching Dora the Explorer, but that show drives me nuts. As do most popular kids shows. B doesn't have an attachment to any specific toy right now, and he's finally able to go to bed without holding 6 or 7 random toys. He does tend to cycle through which toys he carries around every day. It's usually a little toy giraffe that he calls a chicken (because it's yellow with red bumps on its head), his motorcycle, a little 'guy' (either a playmobile person or cowboy from his lincoln logs set), an animal from his "Little People" Noah's ark set (usually a zebra or giraffe, and I think there are a few others I can't think of. I don't sit down and teach B the alphabet or counting, but he's picking up on it anyways. He knows the numbers up to 15, but he usually counts "1,3,5,6,8,9,10,12" It's quite adorable, actually. He can recognize some letters, but like I said, I'm not pushing him to learn. I'm amazed how much his little brain can absorb just by listening. He did learn his colors all on his own, and I would be surprised if he just picked up the alphabet and numbers.

B's favorite song is 'Fix You' by Coldplay, though he really likes the cover done by Secondhand Serenade. His favorite primary songs are 'Do as I'm doing' and 'I am a Child of God.'

Arlen is one bright little cookie. I can't believe how many words she can say and repeat. She can say baby, B, mommy, daddy, papa, bath, ball, hat, yay!, help, Abbie, Andy (B taught her how to say that today at lunch), Boo!, toy, yes and no (she'll answer me when I ask her a yes or no question), c'mon (she learned that from B), up and down, stop and go, thank you, bye, apple (she pronounces it 'appy'), nuckie, tickle... she can repeat nearly everything I ask her to say, but she says all those words on her own. She some animal sounds- moo, hiss, meow, woof woof, baa, peep peep, and she can make the sound of an elephant as she puts up one (or two) arms for the trunk. Arlen can understand almost everything I say to her. When I say it's time to eat a meal or snack, she walks over to the kitchen and waits by her high chair for me to put her in. If I say it's time for a bath or to brush teeth, she walks over to the bathroom. She'll put things in the garbage when I ask her to, or clean/wipe up something when she makes a mess (she'll intentionally spill her milk so she can wipe it up). She'll get her shoes when it's time to go outside, blow on her food when I tell her it's too hot. Arlen can even make some sounds of the words of the song 'Twinke Twinkle Little Star.' Her favorite part is "Up above the world so high"- she always says 'UP!' really loudly! There's a song we like called "Little Talks" and people say "hey!" in the chorus. Arlen loves that song and says "hey!" with the music. Arlen is very good at communicating what she wants. I almost always know what she wants. She'll point at whatever it is, and kind of guide me by gestures until I do or give her what she's asking for.

Arlen loves dogs and cats, but she gets frightened when dogs run up to her (even if they're friendly). Maybe it's because I don't have much experience with little girls, but I can't believe how strong Arlen's mothering instinct is. When we went to visit my sister's family for Shack's birthday and to see Emery for the first time, I was extremely surprised by Arlen's reaction to the baby. All Arlen wanted to do was hold and kiss and caress the baby. If someone was standing with the baby, she'd grab onto their legs and point at Emery and say "Baby!! Baby!!" Until the knelt down so Arlen could hold her. It was so sweet how Arlen would sit next to me and I'd help her hold the baby. She would hug her and cover her in kisses. I had a bag of hand-me-downs for her, and Arlen kept bringing Emery clothes, wanting to dress her. Arlen is very sweet and loving with her baby dolls, but it seemed like her love for babies multiplied by ten when she finally got to see and hold a real one. I can tell Arlen's going to be an amazing big sister. She'll be very helpful. She even wants to help me change B's diapers, but he'll have nothing of it, of course. For the past week or so, Arlen has been carrying her baby dolls around everywhere, muttering 'baby.. baby.. baby..' all day. She loves to push them in her toy stroller, pretend to feed them, put them to bed.. and once she gets older and more coordinated with her hands, I'll make some little cloth diapers she can learn to put on her babies.

Arlen LOVES giving and receiving kisses and hugs. I think one of her favorite times of the day is when she gets to give goodnight kisses and hugs to B and Daddy. Arlen takes a nap with me every day, and every day I wake up to her face in mine, puckered up for a wet baby kiss. It's the sweetest thing.

Anyways, I'm sure there's a lot more I can babble on about, but it's late and I'm ready to go to bed. Good night!

Arlen's almost 1!

2011-11-21T23:12:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Arlen's birthday is next week! The year has gone by way too fast. I really need to be better about blogging because I think back on the year and try to remember what happened, and I can only recall a few events. That's probably partially because of my lack of sleep, but a lot of memorable things happen in our family that I don't record. I went to a 'girl's night out' with some friends from church, and one gal said she blogged 3 times a week! I'm lucky if I get to blog 3 times a month! Or even a year! So she has inspired me to start blogging more often, and be better about keeping record of my children's growth and accomplishments, as well as my own.

I always make the excuse that I don't get anything done because I'm exhausted all the time from lack of sleep. But since I haven't slept 8 consecutive hours for over 2 and a half years, I think my excuse is pretty darn valid. Arlen was a perfect sleeper for about 3 months, and then suddenly started waking up all the time. (by the way, B was sleeping terribly during Arlen's great-sleeping period) Now I wake up at least 5 times every night for her. It's a good night when she only wakes up 2 or 3 times. I can't just let her cry herself back to sleep because 1. she shares a room with B, and the excessive crying will wake him up 2. she comes close to vomiting when she cries too hard (I did that when I was little) and 3. I just can't get myself to do it. I had B cry it out once when he was 9 months old, mostly because I was so exhausted from lack of sleep that I couldn't get up when I heard him cry. I woke up the next morning to check on him and his blanket was wrapped up in a tight knot around his leg from all his tossing and turning. He was still asleep, but he moaned while I carefully unwrapped it since the blood could finally rush down his leg, which happened to be discolored from lack of blood flow. Anyways, that's why I can't ever let my babies cry it out.

To get away from my rant, I'll do a quick update on the kiddos!

Arlen is SUCH a smart little baby! She LOVES books. She would sit on my lap and read books all day if I could. Her favorite books are a little farm animals board book that has photographs of various farm animals, and "Beautiful Babies," a touch-and-feel book with, again, pictures of animals. Arlen loves hearing the sounds I make for each animal, and tries her best to mimic them back. I love her sheep imitation. It sounds more like a forced laugh. As soon as we finish a book, she'll get down and crawl to the bookshelf to pick another; sometimes she doesn't even wait till the end of the book. If I have books within reach, I have to hide them so Arlen doesn't keep grabbing a one ever 30 seconds.

Arlen's new-found love is baby dolls! I got out the baby doll set I bought at a garage sale during the summer, and Arlen instantly became attached to them. For several days, she wouldn't put her baby down. I tried to put it off to the side when I put her in her high chair to eat, but she pointed at the baby, said "eh! eh!", and tried to squirm out to get her baby. So she ate holding her baby. I'll get the baby set up in her doll high chair next to the play table, along with a bowl and spoon, and Arlen LOVES to pretend to feed the baby! She kids her spoon in the bowl and puts the spoon to the baby's mouth and smacks her mouth to make baby-eating sounds. I love her.

She's getting really good at communicating what she wants. She points and looks at the object, then looks at me, and says "eh?" until I figure out what it is. Arlen can say quite a few words, usually I have to say it first so she'll repeat me. "Bath" is the only word she'll say on her own. She says "whoa" to everything; she can repeat "mama", "dada", "ball", "meow", "moo", "quack quack", "baaaaa" (that's a sheep), "mmmmm" (for 'yum'), and a few other simple-sound words.

Arlen loves getting kisses and hugs from B. She'll smile every time! She likes to try to do what B does, such as building blocks, coloring, jumping (it's pretty funny.. she'll stand up and try to bounce up and down, but loses her balance and falls on her bum), singing, and dancing.

Her favorite foods are pizza crust, penne pasta, oatmeal, cheese, and peas. Those are the only foods she'll eat a lot of. MAN it's hard to get that baby to eat. I also found out that she loves olives, which is fun because B loves them too! I guess that will be their Christmas gift this year. A can on olives.

I can't believe how much B has learned the past month. He's speaking really well, and he learned colors all on his own! Besides the few color books I read him occasionally, I never sat down with him and taught him colors. One day he told me what objects were blue, red, yellow, and green. Now he can also recognize white, purple, pink, brown, and black. B has an amazing memory. Brandon has been teaching him some Spanish words, and it's amazing how fast B picks up on it. Whenever we'd quiz him on words or colors, he'd pause for a moment as if searching the memory files in his brain, and then blurt out the answer!

B is such a great helper and protective brother. Whenever Arlen crawls towards the stairs he'll say "No, Ahnen! fall do hurt!" or if Arlen gets into the bathroom:"Mama! Ahnen trouble!" (which means, 'arlen is getting in trouble')

He has recently made buddies with a neighbor boy that's his age. One day B was pretending to talk to someone on my cell phone for a long time, and when I asked him who he was talking to he said "Erick!" Awe. We meet up for play dates at the park and those two boys sure have fun together. It's really nice to have friends in the neighborhood with a child B's age!

Right now B's song obsession is "firework" by Katy Perry. He'll belt that song out all day. I'm actually not a big fan on the song, but I've memorized it by listening to it over and over and over and over and over and over again. I really hope he keeps this passion for music. It's truly amazing how absorbed he gets when I turn on some tunes. I took a video of him dancing, and you can tell he really puts his little heart and soul into his moves. He becomes so serious and focused on his dancing, it's adorable!

There's one last thing I want to write about B. I could go on and on about how wonderful and special he is, but he always amazes me with his kind heart and sensitivity to others' feelings. There will be moments when B's age gets the best of him and he'll hit or push Arlen (not very hard, thankfully) and he immediately recognizes what he's done and tries to help her feel better. He'll even say "sorry" and give a hug if he accidentally bumps her or trip over her. If he's climbing behind me on the couch, he'll pet my head and say "nice", then come down next to me and press his face against my cheek and pat my arm. B has taught me so much about compassion and love. A few weeks ago, I had a complete mom melt down, due to a long day and a screaming 2 year old that refused to go to bed. I totally lost it and dragged him to his room, and yelled at him. I instantly dropped to my knees and cried from frustration and guilt. B got really quiet and walked over to me, gave me a big hug and patted my back. I told him I was so sorry, and I'd never do that again. After all the anger and frustration I let out on him that night, he was so quick to forgive.

It's Been A Long Time..

2011-10-17T22:12:00.000-07:00

I probably say this nearly every time I post but I really need to update our blog more often! With two toddlers that don't sleep through the night, I spend all of my free time sleeping. I never have energy to do anything I want to do! But I want to update on all the cute and adorable things the kiddos are doing!

B is seriously the sweetest little boy ever! In mid-September I spent the night at my parents' house with the kids so we could go to the Puyallup Fair the next day. We had such a fun time! Pop took the day off so the kids were able to spend the day with Grandma, Papa, and uncle Aaron. We were able to try out some instruments from around the world (B LOVED banging on the drum!E), B sat in a fire truck, we saw all the farm animals, had tacos for lunch and ice cream for dessert, visited uncle John at the ride he was manning, and saw so many fun and interesting things! B's favorite part of the day was seeing the pigs! He ran up to the pens and would say "peeg! peeg!" We took several trips back to the pigs so he could see them! Arlen really loved the llamas. When we walked into the building with llamas, Arlen pointed and and said "bah!" Of course they both loved all the animals. I had a hard time restraining Arlen from touching the bunnies and chickens. B had a blast in the petting zoo.. he loved the baby ducks they had in there. The next day we drove down to Olympia with Grandma and we did a little shopping trip at Costco and Fred Meyer. Grandma bought Arlen's halloween costume, an adorable ladybug outfit, and we had pizza for lunch! Then we walked over to Fred Meyer to pick up a few things. This whole time B was holding on to a little plastic whale he brought from Grandma's house. Somehow on our walk back to the car it got lost and we were afraid it was lost forever! Once the kids were in the car, my mom found it under the cart (somehow we didn't see it before).. it was a miracle! After that B was SO attached to that whale. He held that thing in his hand for over a month. He ALWAYS had to have the whale. As soon as he realized it wasn't in his hand, he would ask "whale? whale?" It was so cute how much he loved that little whale!

Since the beginning of summer B has been attaching himself to things. First it was a little toy wolf, then a car, then a little motercycle (he called hit a 'bike'), and then the whale. It's too bad they were all such small things because they constantly got lost! There were so many times we had to search the house high and low to find B's little attachment. One time B had lost his bike at the park and Brandon had to go back and look for it, and thankfully found it in the bushes! We've said a lot of prayers to find his little toys. Heavenly Father definitely listens to our little prayers with B. Whenever we'd say a prayer to find his toy, we'd always find it moments later. It was so sweet how much B loved those little toys. He couldn't fall asleep without them.

Recently B has had a great interest in dinosaurs and birthdays. The only episodes of Blues Clues he wants to watch is the dinosaur episode and the birthday episode. I love the way he says 'dinosaurs' and 'happy birthday!' He says "dohos" for dinosaurs and "happy day" for happy birthday! SO CUTE. We have a Play Hut tent set that we've had out for a couple of weeks. B loves to go in there and pretend there are dinosaurs outside. I'll sit in there with him and we'll make treats for the dinosaurs and place them outside the door. Then Brandon will pretend to be the dinosaur and eat the treat! B and Arlen have so much fun with the tent! He'll crawl in say and say " 'mon!" to Arlen ('come on'). Besides singing happy birthday and playing dinosaur, right now B loves the song 'twinke twinkle little star' (he says 'quinkle quinkle), the movie RIO, the music from RIO, learning colors and letters, playing pretend with his toys, and he LOVES it when Brandon and I make stuffed animals talk to him. He has a little stuffed duck with long arms and legs that he likes me to have talk to him. I found that B responds really well when I incorporate play with reality. Sometimes B gets really upset when Brandon leaves for work, and the only way I can help B feel better is if I take little finger puppets and pretend that one is the daddy and one is the baby and reinact the scenerio. "Daddy fish is leaving for work and baby fish is sad. How do we help baby fish feel better?" B will give the baby fish a hug and he'll be happy!

B is such a wonderful helper and a sweet brother to Arlen. He's always so good about cleaning up and helping me when I need to take care of Arlen. He usually does what he's asked without a fuss, and gets excited about everything! Whenever we go out walking in the stroller, whether it be downtown or around the mall, B says 'hi' to every person we pass. We've gone to the children's museum a few times and his favorite place to play is the water tub.

Some of the other cute things B says:

"Qweet" - Treat

"Cuuh Hoohs"(with teeth clenched together)- Blues Clues

"Wee-oh" - Rio

"Way-oh"- whale

"Ahln"- Arlen

"Ahkah"- Anika (the little neighbor girl)

"Waba"- water

"Ahpane" - airplane

"qwain/toot toot" -train

"Monton"- Martin

"Fy"-fly

"Bama"- Grandma

"noonohs"- noodles

"knock knock"- excuse me

I've noticed that whenever there's a 'tr' sound he uses 'qu' and the short 'i' sound (like in the word 'pig'), is always an 'ee' sound. 'Beeg! Peeg!" I love it. I wish he would never grow up.

B has such a passion for music. He's always singing or dancing.. I love that boy. He's my cuddly, sweet, loving little buggies. I want his to stay this age forever.

Arlen is such a happy and loving little girl! I can't believe she'll be turning 1 next month! She's crawling everywhere, and she's FAST! Turn your back on her for one second and she'll head for the stairs! She's wanting to walk so badly, and it will be nice when she learns how. She and B will be able to play a lot easier, and she'll be able to do so many more things! Arlen hasn't said any words yet, but she does like to have a conversation! She says "bah?" all the time and likes to point, and she has this high pitched screechy sound she likes to make! She is such a riot! Arlen really has a sense of humor.. she loves making people smile and laugh! She's always intent on making eye contact with people, and animals. She has such gorgeous and sweet little eyes, every time she looks at me I can see what a very special little person she is.

Arlen absolutely adores B. They have so much fun playing together! She's very attached to me (much more so than B ever was).. if Brandon is holding her and I enter the room, she starts to cry because she wants mama! She'll occasionally reach out for daddy, but the only other person she always reaches for is Grandma Dietz! Arlen always wants Grandma Dietz more than me! It's so sweet how she rests her head on grandma's shoulder and gives her hug after hug! She really has a soft spot for Grandma Dietz! Arlen loves being held, but she sometimes just wants to get down and play. She has recently developed a liking for playing on the bed! Once she gets on mom and dad's bed, she starts rolling around squealing with joy!
Some cute things about Arlen:

She sleeps with her little stuffed monkey every night.

If you catch her getting into mischief, she'll squeal and try to crawl away as fast as she can.

She has the most adorable little smile and giggle!

She loves standing on the window sill, and watch for daddy to come home.

When she starts nursing she sticks her leg straight up in the air and waves it around!

She learned how to wave a few months ago, and now whenever she hears the word 'bye' she'll start waving.

Arlen loves to play patty-cake, and her favorite part is when you roll it!

Arlen loves music just as much as B. She'll stand up at the edge of the couch and shake her little baby booty. Her favorite song is "hot wings" from the movie Rio!

It's impossible to get shoes on her feet- she's always curling her toes!

I love how Arlen looks right into your eyes. It's like she's trying to telepathically tell you what she's thinking.

She always says "bah?" in question form. Too cute.

Arlen is such a little model. I'm always getting comments from people how she should be a baby model. She has the most delicate little features and pretty eyes. Her hair is growing slowly, but she looks so feminine, no one ever mistakes her for a boy. She's my little doll!!

I probably say it too often, but I really have some very special children. I truely adore them and I love spending every moment with them. They are the most loving, caring, sweet little ones I've known. B is very sensitive to people's feelings, and won't hesitate to give you a hug. He's doing a great job learning how to be polite by saying 'please' and 'thank you' and if someone is in his way he says "knock knock" to say excuse me! It's the most darling thing! He even says 'bless you' when I sneeze! Arlen will nuzzle her nose into your neck, and give you a little head-bump when you ask her for a kiss. She'll look you right in the eyes and give you a great big smile. She's such a happy baby girl, and her little light shines wherever she goes.

I have the best kids in the world!

New Family Pictures!

2011-05-13T22:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the wonderful Christia Palizzi, we have some gorgeous updated family pictures. B and Arlen were so good during the session! B was just happy and smiled and chased bugs... and Arlen was her usual quiet and content self.

We went to the zoo a week from Tuesday with Grandma Dattilo, Aly, and her boys, and I'm kicking myself for not bringing my camera! It was Arlen's first time to the zoo. I think B's favorite part was seeing the Budgies. They're beautiful little brightly-colored birds they have in an enclosed netted space. He was squealing and jumping and pointing.. and I got a little stick with food on it so 5 or 6 birds would land on my arm and try to get the treat. B is so cute around animals. He gets so excited and tries to be so gentle! Towards the end of our trip, Aly figured out how to put Arlen front-facing in the Moby. I'd never seen Arlen so squirrelly and vocal! She was overjoyed to be looking out at everything! She was kicking her legs and waving her arms, and shouting baby babble as loud as she could!! Ha ha, I love her. Oh- also that day, B says a few first words: "shoe," "bye," and "mommy." All on his own! He's such a smart little nugget. I swear, ever since he's turned two, he just figures the words out. Today while we were sitting eating lunch, B found the letter "I" alphabet block and pointed to one of the pictures saying "igoo! igoo!" And there was a picture of an Igloo!!! I gave him a big hug, telling him how wonderful and smart he was, and he got this proud little grin on his face. I just love him!

Arlen also had her first Easter! She and B looked jaw-dropping ADORABLE. I took a picture of Arlen, but have yet to take one of B in his Easter suit. It's 2T and huge on him, so I'll get some pictures with them together eventually. But they were just so stinking cute!

The day before Easter, we went to Lattin's Cider Mill, hoping to have B be a part of their egg hunt, but there were hoards of people there so we didn't get to do it. But he had a good time seeing the animals, and we all shared some of their famous apple fritters. Martin and Andy were there with us, and we decided to head over to downtown Olympia for the Procession of the Species. On the drive over, B did the sweetest little thing. I was in the passenger seat, reaching behind and rubbing his leg when B reached down, grabbed my fingers and started pulling on them. So I let him take my hand and what did he do? He kissed my fingers! That moment just made my heart melt! My wonderful, sweet little B thought of that all by himself. I just love how he shows his affection! He's such a sweetheart! Anyways, we went on to spending time in the toy store downtown and watching the parade. The Procession has to be the coolest parade I've ever seen. All these people dress up as different creatures. Animals, plants, bugs.. it's amazing. One group put together a giant spider, which they held up with really long poles. They would make the spider bend forward and lean its face into the crowd, then the giant web following would over over them, as if to catch them all in the web. So creative!

So, just to update on a few of B's and Arlen's recent accomplishments: B is saying all sorts of words now. "Cocoa" (I swear he asks for it every day. It's just a little bit of Nesquick in milk), "truck" (he thinks every truck he sees is daddy's work van. one day while we were at the park, a truck drove by and he started chasing after it saying 'dada!! dada!!' It was so cute), "spider" "bug," "whale" (that's a big one. He has a stuffed shark he thinks is a whale. He likes to hold onto the tail, jump on his bed and whack it against the side of his bed for some reason.), "Nemo" (sounds more like 'memo.' FAVORITE MOVIE. That's all he wants to watch! He loves getting cozy on our bed and watching it in the portable dvd player.). On B's birthday, we moved Arlen into his room. So B's mattress is on the floor in the corner and Arlen is in his crib. It's a small room, but a cute set up with the rocking chair in one corner for a reading nook. So far it's been working out great! Arlen sleeps through the night no problem, but B still wakes up 5-8 times a night. I have no idea when that's going to change.

Arlen is such a good baby. Everywhere I go, she always gets these two comments "She's SO beautiful!" and "She's so quiet!" Arlen is just cool with everything. She loves being held, but she likes playing on the floor- grabbing her little toes and reaching for toys. She ADORES B. I think she loves B more than she loves me. She will laugh at anything he does! The other day I walked in to the living room, and B was laying next to her in her little baby play mat. I took a few pictures I'll have to post. They're quite the pair! Arlen is getting close to sitting up on her own. She's a little wobbly but she can do it if I hold her hand! She hasn't rolled over yet but she's getting awfully close.

Ok this post is getting kind of long, but I just want to share one last short story of how wonderful B is. So a couple weeks ago B and I were making chocolate-dipped pretzels and bananas in the kitchen while Arlen was sleeping. I was close to being done but decided to go check on her. B followed me and she had woken up. He climbed up into her crib with her and I said "B, will you stay here and keep Arlen happy while I finish up in the kitchen?" He said "yeah," so I returned to the kitchen. All I heard from their bedroom was B saying "Hiiiii!" and Arlen giggling. Once I had cleaned up, I went to check on them and B was still in her crib, and Arlen was laying down next to him as happy as can be.

I have the best kids in the world.

Happy Birthday, Buggers!!!

2011-04-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday my darling little B turned 2!! I can't believe it's already been two years since he was born. All week I reflected on the series of events leading to his birth: my water breaking while visiting with an elderly woman Brandon was working for, calling around trying to get my doctor's phone number, driving in rush-hour traffic to the hospital... It was crazy. Now that I've had a normal birth (Arlen), I realize how intense and insane B's delivery was. The moment my little 4 1/2 lb B came out, they rushed him to the little baby table, checked him out, and put a tube of oxygen up to his nose. Once they had him wrapped up, they let me hold him for a minute and whisked him away to run a bunch of tests. I didn't get to see him until later that night after my parents and Brandon's parents had went home, and Brandon had gone home to get some things for me. My dad, and Brandon's parents didn't even get to see him. They wheeled B into my room in an incubator, and I finally got a good look at him. His tiny little head was full of red hair, and he had the smallest little baby body I had ever seen. He was so peaceful sleeping in his little warm room. But they didn't let me hold him. He was hooked up to a bunch of monitors and they were about to transfer him to St. Joseph's hospital in Tacoma. I felt strange all night, knowing I had a baby but not with me. For three weeks I drove to St. Joseph's hospital every single day. There were some days it was so painful to put my little B back in little bed, and leave him there until the next day. There were so many things we had to do for him while he was in the NICU. Feed him through a tube, weigh diapers, dress and wrap him with a handful of cords coming off his foot, checking his monitor, timing his feedings and diaper changes, pumping and labeling cups of milk, and holding him close for as long as we possibly could. Every time we came to the hospital, we had to wash our hands/arms for 3 minutes, and show our hospital wristbands to get into the room. Visitors had to put in these big yellow gowns and gloves in order to enter.

Those three weeks were probably most impacting weeks of my life. I've never felt so strongly about any other event that has happened to me. Every time I look at all the pictures we took, my eyes water and my heart swells. B will always have a very special place in my heart. I think he does with everybody. He has become the most thoughtful, sweet, loving little boy I have ever known. B is so wonderful, and I make sure he knows that every day.

There are so many little things B does that make me smile. Just last Saturday, we were driving from Lattin's Cider Mill to downtown Olympia for the Procession of the Species, and I reached back and put my hand on B's leg while he was sitting in his car seat. He pulled at my fingers, so I gave him my hand... and he kissed my hand! He had never done anything like that before. I didn't ask him for a kiss, he just thought of it and did it all by himself. Every day he gives me hugs, he gives me kisses, and shows how much he appreciates the little things I do for him. Whenever we play, he will always pause for a moment and give me a big hug, thanking me for playing with him.

B also has the funniest personality! He has so many comical expressions, you can always tell what's on his mind. He'll put on a sly little smile and shift his eyes when he's doing something mischievious. His eyes get really big when he's excited, and he has the most adorable smile!

B is really into bugs right now. For a while he would say 'Buh' every time he saw a bug (or anything that resembled a bug.. like a piece of lint). But he recently added the 'g' to the word, but still calls every speck a 'bug.' He's so funny about bugs, too. He gets super excited when he sees one, but freaks out if it's on him. He learned that from me. B's also into trucks/cars right now. He says "cawk" for both 'truck' and 'car', and that's also how he said 'bird' for some reason. B is just learning how to phrase words together to make a statement. For example, B would say "Mama?"

Me:"Yes, baby?" B:" Dada. Bug. Cawk." Me:"Is daddy going to bring a bug home in his truck?" B:"Yeah!" It's so stinkin' cute!

B also has this very strong fascination with water. For a while, he would dump out every glass of water he found, and proceed to play with the giant puddle. Whenever we go to the park, he HAS to run in the ditch full of water, or at least throw rocks in it. There's a grassy path down the street that leads to the creek that runs behind the houses across from us. There's rocky area that B loves to go to so he can throw rocks in the water. That is his ultimate favorite thing to do now- throw rocks in water. He'll even bring a rock in from outside to have in his bath, so he can throw the rock in his bath water over and over.

B is one very special little guy. Both Brandon and I absolutely adore him!

So happy birthday, my little Bug. I love you soooooooooooooooooo much!

The little things I love about B

2011-02-25T11:38:00.000-08:00

How cute he looks sitting at the table all by himself, eating his snack (occasionally kicking his legs or standing up and dancing)

His "little B dance"

The way he says 'rah' instead of 'yeah'

How he puckers his little lips for a kiss.

He waves goodbye every night as he's walking to his bedroom.

He goes up and gives Arlen hugs and kisses without me asking him to.

He loves to help.

If he has something in his hand and I ask to have it, he always gives it to me.

If he does something wrong, he will always apologize/say he's sorry (give a hug) if I ask him to.

The way he says 'ball.' He always says 'baa' in the cutest little B voice.

B is so cuddly.

He watches his dad drive off to work every morning and waves goodbye.

When I ask for a kiss, he puts his forehead forward for me to kiss him.

His adorable, wobbly run.

Happy Early Valentine's Day!

2011-02-12T20:58:00.000-08:00

Brandon is going down to Naselle to work for a few days next week, so we celebrated our Valentine's day today. We went and got massages, got a new pair of shoes for both of us, and went out to dinner at Anthony's. For Valentine's day, B, Arlen, and I did a couple paintings for Brandon. B painted the background mostly by himself, and I painted the trunk once it was dry. The next day I held Arlen and used her toes to paint the leaves on one tree, and helped B use his toes to paint the leaves on another tree. B's is on the Left, Arlen's is on the right. They turned out really cute! I ended up giving Brandon his gift on Thursday because he accidentally saw the pictures of his gift on the camera! (He ALWAYS finds out what his gifts are!)

Arlen's Blessing pictures

2011-02-10T21:32:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday Arlen was blessed. Brandon gave her a beautiful blessing. He is such a

wonderful father. He sings to his children every night and does voices for characters

in the books he reads to B. He calls Arlen his little "Princess" and looks forward to special

time he gets to spend with her every night after B goes to bed. Arlen is going to grow up loving

her father, just like B. He absolutely adores Brandon. Every morning B follows his dad down

the stairs as he goes out the door to go to work. B stands at the window next to the door and

waves good-bye as he watches dad walk down the stairs, get into the car, and drive away.

He even keeps waving after Brandon is out of sight. And B knows it's party time when he comes

home! The moment he hears daddy's voice, he lights up and runs to go see him! I really believe

my two cuties have the best dad in the whole world.

Arlen's 2 months old!

2011-02-04T14:38:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how fast time goes. It feels like she was just born yesterday, but at the same time it seems like I've had Arlen forever. Arlen turned 2 months last Saturday, which was also Shack's 3rd birthday! Happy birthday, Shackleton! Grandma & Grandpa Dattilo, John, and Aaron came down for a little party. Spencer, Shack, and Micah got a yucky flu bug earlier that week, and Garrett had caught it from them so he was taking it easy while my family was here. We all had a good time, but unfortunately Brandon, John, and my dad all caught the virus. We didn't know Brandon was sick with it until he lost his dinner at Ethan's birthday party on Sunday. Then Fiona, Donnell, Ethan, Emily, and Joseph caught it. It was a really aggressive flu, and super contagious. Brandon was feeling fine all Sunday, and then suddenly after dinner he felt sick. It was like that for everyone. I called my mom that night asking if I could come stay with them a couple of days to avoid Arlen and B getting sick, and just after I hung up the phone with her, John started vomiting like crazy.. then my dad. It was a miracle that Aly, Caden, B, Arlen, my mom and I didn't get it, and I'm so thankful for it. But all that is finally over with. Brandon went back to work on Wednesday, so the virus didn't last very long and recovery was fast.

Anyways, back to happier things.. At Arlen's 2 month appointment, she weighed 10lbs 9 oz. I don't remember her height, but she's a short one. She's in the 45th percentile in weight, 3rd in height, and her head is in the 25th percentile. Arlen is my pint-sized chubb. I love her.

And B is so wonderful. He really impressed me two days ago. I had set Arlen on the couch, in between the cushions and her head wedged in the back so she wouldn't roll off. B was sitting right next to her and I went to the bathroom for something. Suddenly B ran up to me and pointed towards the living room looking very concerned and babbled something at me. I ran over to the couch and Arlen was almost face down in the cushion. When B slid off the couch, the cushion must have lowered a bit to make her roll. I went and picked her up and said,"Oh thank you, B!" And he said,"Yeah." I love that boy. He's such a good big brother. I''m so proud of him for recognizing something wrong and immediately came to me for help. B's always going to be Arlen's guardian angel.

My little loves.

Arlen's 5 week pictures

2011-02-03T18:35:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Arlen's Auntie Patty, she was able to get some gorgeous pictures taken of her. Arlen is such a beautiful baby.. I'm not saying that just because she's mine. She has such delicate and sweet features. Arlen definitely looks like a girl. She is such a sweet little baby. Just like B, she LOVES being held. While she was still a newborn (She's 2 months old now), she would just sleep in her bouncer all day while I took care of B, since he required a lot of attention with all the changes going on: getting used to our new house, going to nursery at church, Aly's family moving in, a new baby. Poor B was going through a lot, and Arlen just sat so peacefully in her chair and let me take care of B. But now she's really picky about being held. She doesn't like being put down for very long, and she only occasionally falls asleep on her own. So most of the time now, I'm having to carry her around with one arm and do everything else with my other.

Arlen ADORES her big brother, and he adores her. It's so cute. Arlen gets this big smile on her face when she sees B. Sometimes in the morning, I'll bring B into my bedroom and the three of us will hang out on my bed for a while. B will crawl up next to Arlen, stick his head in her face, and she'd put on the biggest, happiest grin. B is such a sweetheart... he's always giving Arlen kisses and hugs. He loves it when I involve Arlen in our playing. I'll carry her and we'll chase B around the house, make her do motions for B to imitate (like jump, dance, clap hands), and B always ends our playing with a big B hug and really wet kiss. These two really love each other, and I can see it in their eyes even at such a young age. I can't wait for them to be able to play together.

Christmas 2010

2011-02-03T17:53:00.000-08:00

Arlen's first Christmas! And boy was it a crazy one! We spent Christmas Eve with Brandon's family. Kristina and her family came to visit for the holidays, so B was able to spend some time with his cousin Lyla. Christmas Eve was fun.. the kids played together ('kids' also means Brandon and his brothers, as well as the small children), and we tried to get the little ones to act out the nativity story, but they were all really tired so it didn't work out so well. We had our own little Christmas morning together. B woke up and checked out all the neat things that Santa brought him and Arlen. Arlen mostly slept through everything. After we opened our gifts, we stopped by Brandon's parents' house for a little while. Ate some breakfast, opened a few gifts , hung out for a couple hours and then went to my family's house for the rest of the day. It was the first Christmas our entire family has been together in a really long time. Since Aly's family moved into a camper in front of our house, we've been able to spend a lot of time together.

Arlen Elizabeth

2011-01-24T21:56:00.000-08:00

Arlen Elizabeth Dietz was born November 29, 2010 8:41 a.m. She is such an angel.

Labor and delivery went very smoothly. I woke up around 4:40 in the morning with some strong abdominal pains, and figured it was labor. Once contractions were five minutes, I called my doctor and she gave me the 'ok' to go to the hospital. We woke up B, gathered everything we needed, and left. It was probably around 5:30 or 6 when we got to the hospital. The nurse checked to see how far dilated I was, and said I was about 5-6 cm already. She told me most women at that point are screaming for an epidural. The pain wasn't too intense, and didn't really phase me.. I was able to talk through my contractions fine. So I either have a high pain tolerance, or my contractions don't feel so intense that soon. They brought us to a delivery room and Brandon's parents and my mom soon met us there. A couple hours went by and my contractions were getting a little stronger, but my water hadn't broken yet. Dr. Souri finally came in and checked me and said I was dilated 6-7 cm, and that she was going to manually break my water to help things progress. Brandon's mom and dad took B out to walk around a bit while we got ready for delivery. As soon as my water broke, contractions got really strong. I had about 5 or 6 really intense contractions and Arlen was ready to make her appearance! A few good pushes got her out with no problems. They placed Arlen on my chest before they cut the cord.. I really loved having her so close to me. I didn't get to do that with B since they had to quickly make sure he was breathing and functioning ok. I loved feeling how warm she was.

I feel so blessed being a woman. Even though it's painful and hard, I love being able to give birth naturally. Each little life is such a miracle, I'm so thankful that I can experience every moment of bringing that life into the world.

B lit up the first time he saw Arlen. He's going to be such a wonderful big brother. He really loves his little sister. We had a relaxing day at the hospital- B spent most of the day at his grandma Dietz's house, and Brandon had to go pick up some things at home and run a couple errands, so Arlen and I were able to have a quiet afternoon. Patty, Emily, and Kate came to visit and see our baby girl. She's so beautiful. But Brandon had to stay at home with B that night, so Arlen and I had the night together too! I probably got about an hour of sleep.. it's hard to sleep in a hospital, especially with the excitement of having a baby girl sleeping next to me! Arlen didn't sleep well because her nose was still gunky from birth and couldn't breathe too well.

We were discharged the next day, and Brandon and I were able to take her home! It felt SO good bringing our baby home with us. With B, we had to wait 3 weeks before we could take him home from the hospital. Having a full-term baby is wonderful. She could eat on her own right away, I didn't have to pump (well, until my milk came in. I had to pump for a week-my body was making enough milk for 4 babies!!), feeding tubes or bottles, she didn't need any IV, no cords, no incubator... and I got to take care of her all by myself.

Adjusting to having two kids hasn't been too bad. Thankfully Arlen is a really good baby.. for the first month and a half she just slept the whole time I took care of B, and he was really clingy to me. She fusses only when she needs something: food, new diaper, to be burped, pass gas, or if she just wants to be held. She's almost 2 months old now, and she wants to be held all the time. Arlen has become awfully picky about being put down. So now I have 2 little ones that want to be held all the time!! It can get a little crazy, but I'm just glad Arlen isn't colicky or super fussy all the time.

I love her.

So long, 2010!

2011-01-12T15:49:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's almost been a year since I last posted. So it's time to reflect on 2010, but I''m going to post Arlen's birth and Christmas separately so this post isn't insanely long. 2010 was a good year, but near the end it was awfully tough. So in chronological order, here's what happened:

B celebrated his first birthday! We had two parties for him- with the Dietz family and Dattilo family. Unlike most 1 year olds, B didn't dig into his cake! He barely touched it.. He doesn't like getting his hands dirty.

A few weeks before B's birthday, I found out I was pregnant! Which was SUPER cool, because just severals weeks before me, Andy found out she was too!

In July, both Andy and I found out we were having girls.

In August we flew down to Utah for the Dietz Family Reunion. From Provo we drove up to Bear Lake. The weather was gorgeous, and the lake was beautiful. It was a little piece of paradise in the middle of nowhere!

Our little girls, friends before birth. Andy is 28 weeks, I'm 23 weeks.

After a few days at Bear Lake, we stayed in Provo for a week. Our family stayed at Shannon & Trevor's house.. it was so much fun! We loved waking up to Immi's little squeals upstairs. We were so sad to go back to Washington.

Shannon took some awesome family photos for everyone!

I love my little bugger.

All the grandkids!

Also in August, the Hoyt family came to visit from Kentucky for a couple weeks. B and I did all sorts of fun things with them! We went to the zoo, the beach, Northwest Trek, hiked the Naches Loop.. but I don't have the pictures from those trips.

Here's my preggo belly in September.

Brandon was called as the Elder's Quorum first counselor. So for the e.q. activity, the bishop took everyone sailing! Brandon and I went out with him- it was so cool! I just sat and enjoyed the ride and let the boys do all the work, but it seems like sailing takes a lot of effort and skill! I'm glad Brandon didn't tip us over. We almost did a few times.

I was put on bed rest in the beginning of October. At 30 weeks, my doctor had me take the Fetal Fibronectin test, which is supposed to detect the possibility of preterm labor. B and I were out to lunch with Grandma & Grandpa Dattilo, and Great G&G Dattilo. My doctor called me and said I needed to go on bed rest right away. So we went straight back to my parents' house, Brandon brought up all of our stuff, and there B and I stayed for the next 5 weeks. It was such a blessing that my family was willing to help us out. There was no way I was able to take care of B while bed-ridden. I was supposed to lay on my left side in a bed all day, only getting to go to the bathroom. I didn't do exactly what my doctor told me, but I got the rest I needed to keep our baby girl in there until she was full term.

While B and I were living with my parents, we bought our first house! Brandon moved out of our apartment and in with his parents for a couple weeks, until he got the keys to the house. But a couple days before he was going to move all our stuff into our new home, he got appendicitis!! As if our family didn't already have enough going on! So HE was bedridden for a week. Thankfully, we still moved into our home when scheduled, with the help of our families and our ward. It was quite a sad sight, Brandon and I in bed having everyone else take care of B.

B adapted amazingly well to all these changes. He LOVED living with Grandma and Grandpa Dattilo. He'd wake up every morning, have oatmeal with Grandma, help her around the house, and Uncle John or Alicia (the babysitter) would watch him in the afternoon while Grandma went to work. And every night Grandpa would put him to sleep. I'm glad B was able to spend all that time with my family.. he grew really close to them, and it was awfully sweet seeing how much he loved and depended on them. Even though I was excited to get back on my feet and move in our new house with Brandon, I was sad to leave my parents' house. It was also sad to see B taken away from the routine he got so used to.

Before Brandon got appendicitis, he had the chance to take B to the Tumwater Ward's halloween party! B dressed up in the bee costume my mom gave him, and Brandon went as a banana. Again. I was really disappointed I couldn't go (bedrest.), but they had a fun time. Grandma Dietz and Great Grandma Lee was there, along with little Martin and his family.

I still can't get over how unbelievably adorable B looks in that bee suit.

Brandon was still recovering from surgery on Halloween, so Grandpa Dattilo took B trick-or-treating around their neighborhood! I think Grandpa really liked showing off his adorable grandson :) Poor B didn't get a bite of any of the candy he earned with his cuteness.

His parents ate it, knowing that the sugar wouldn't do him any good.

Although the sugar didn't do them any good either.

FINALLY in early November, I got off bed rest and moved in our home! I LOVE our house! We live about 17 minutes from Brandon's parents' house, and it's a beautiful drive. Since we live farther away from the city, it's very wooded and secluded. We have 1/3 acre.. a big back yard! And our community has a private playground and lake, just a walk away.

Anyways, we had some heavy snow mid-November. We stayed at Brandon's parents' house for a few days in case I went into labor... we were a lot close to the hospital that way. Thankfully Arlen waited to make her appearance after it warmed up and melted.

Andy went into labor on November 8th, and Abbie Dietz was born just four hours later! Congratulations Martin and Andy! Abbie is a BEAUTIFUL baby!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T22:44:00.000-07:00

This year we celebrated Easter and Grandma and Grandpa Dattilo's house. B's first Easter! Since it was Conference weekend, B didn't get to wear his easter outfit to church, so we dressed him up for a couple pictures at Grandma's. B had so much fun hunting for eggs! He loves to pick them up and smack them together- because they make noise! Within the past couple weeks, B has found some new favorites. He LOVES easter eggs. He loves playing with them in the living room and in the bath. He LOVES baths! Sometimes I bring B in the bathroom with me when I need to do my hair or put my contacts in and he goes straight to the bathtub and wants to get in. If I pick him up and take him away, he gets really mad. B also loves walking! He can't walk by himself yet, but he has a couple of walking toys that he likes to hold onto and walk! He's getting pretty good at maneuvering them around the house. He smiles and screeches as he walks! I'm just waiting for the day he gets up and walks on his own! B LOVES mommy. He won't let me leave anywhere! If I walk five feet away from him, he starts to cry and crawl towards me. But I don't mind, except for when I have to go to the bathroom or to work.

Anyways, Happy Easter everyone!

Skirt #2

2010-03-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

I made this a while ago, actually. I just never got around to posting it. This is my first project EVER that I've done completely by myself. I'm so proud of me! I found this really awesome tutorial on how to make a wrap skirt, and it seemed simple enough. It WAS easy, but since I'm learning still, it did take me a little more time than advertised. I'm excited, though. I have a lot more projects I want to do, but I don't get much time to do them. How did I end up with such a busy life? I don't even know what I do every day.

@ the capitol

2010-03-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

Today was BEAUTIFUL! So we took advantage of the springtime sunshine and took some pictures at the state capitol building with Kamden and Dawn. We went on a little walk around the grounds. B's birthday is in less than a month, which means he's 11 months old! I can't believe it. John is now 18, which is just srong. I remember back in the day, I used to tease him so badly I would make him cry. So, Happy Birthday, little bro! I'm sorry I scarred you for life. B is so cute- he's always making raspberry noises and making fishy faces. Sometimes he puckers his lips (as if asking for a kiss- sometimes I'll give him one), but he really likes to make his fish face- especially when I'm trying to give him breakfast. He loves playing with his dad.. If Brandon starts growling, B will get really excited and start running (well, crawling) away. It's so cute and hilarious! I wonder what we're going to do when he can walk..

Lookie what I made!

2010-03-09T20:00:00.000-08:00

My mom came down today and we had a sewing date. Thankfully, Brandon didn't have to work today so he was able to watch B while we worked! Mommy Allan is so awesome, she gave me all her quilting scraps, and there's enough of some fabric to make skirts! I'm so excited to learn how to sew! Today's project went great. I learned how to use my new (well, technically it's ancient) sewing machine (thank goodness it actually works!), and I learned how to make a ruffle and make an elastic-waist. I have a couple more skirt projects lined up (thanks again for Mommy Allan for the fabric!), so hopefully I can start working on them and when my mom has a free day, she can help me finish them since I'm still not sewing-savvy. I could probably do it by myself but I really don't want to mess these up.

Anyways, B update- He has been doing SO WELL sleeping! I'm so proud of my little bug! He has set his own bedtime, too. When we didn't have a schedule for him, we'd put him to sleep when he was tired- usually around 10 or 11:00. So we decided to try putting him to bed at an earlier time around 9. Then 8:30. So somehow for the past few days or so, B's been tiring himself out by 6:30 or 7, and we start his bedtime routine. It's so cool how I can tell when he needs to go to bed. He gets a little fussy and REALLY clingy. Typically this happens soon after we eat dinner. I think it has really helped that we've been cooking our own meals and sitting him at his high chair to eat. It feels like we're really making progress keeping ourselves organized, and it fees WONDERFUL! I feel this whole new motivation and energy to do basic chores around the house. Unloading the dishwasher, doing laundry (and folding it!), picking up every night, organizing stuff.. good gravy, I'm becoming one of those .. what are they called? Homemakers? Sheesh. At least it makes me feel good about myself.

Next step: Food storage and Emergency Kit. We've already started on both, but I'll feel much more relaxed when they're complete. Today I went shopping and got a bunch of cans of spaghetti-o's and chili (it's only 89 cents at Fred Meyer! That makes me happy). Brandon and I already have our emergency kits, but I'm replacing the food and water, and getting one together for B. With all these earthquakes and stuff going on, I feel like it's super important that we get this done. So thank heaven for tax returns! We can afford it.

Here's pictures of my finished skirt! I'm so proud of myself!

After a long, sick week...

2010-03-07T18:40:00.000-08:00

For about a week and a half, I had a very yucky virus- used up 4 or 5 bags of cough drops, 3 tissue boxes (didn't have enough, actually), and yucky gunk was coming out my eyes, and mouth. But finally I'm better, with only a very mild cough! Thankfully, B didn't get really sick. Just a bit of a runny nose for a few days. So on Thursday, since it was absolutely gorgeous outside, we walked to the park and took some cute pictures! B is still such a mischievous little boy... he's figured out how to climb into his toy and book bins and get stuck. I'm surprised he still doesn't have any teeth! His friend Kamden is only 4 months old and already has 3 teeth! B keeps going through little phases of teething, but nothing ever pops out. His birthday is just little over a month away! We'll see if he has any by then!

* click click*

2010-02-18T17:02:00.001-08:00

Last night, Grandma Dietz taught B how to click his tongue! So guess what he's been doing all day? It's super cute! It's amazing how fast he's learning things now. B's favorite things to do now are: pulling himself up to stand along the TV stand, chase Lucas, bonk his head, get into things he's not supposed to. And he takes after his uncle John- he LOVES balls! Grandma Dietz is letting him use her blue rubber ball and he just has a blast hitting it and crawling after it! Man that boy can MOVE now! I'm just waiting for the day he decides to stand up and start walking! He's such a little goof. He is such a momma's boy, too! He's so funny. When dad comes home from work, he gets excited and happy; when mom comes home from work, he cries and wants to be held! It's so hard to get anything done around here because as soon as I leave the room, he cries and wants to be picked up. B loves cuddling. When he's tired, he'll crawl up to me and just lean his head on my tummy or my leg. What a little sweetie.

FINALLY

2010-01-28T22:42:00.001-08:00

We finally have functioning internet.. Comcast came and installed it for us this morning. Woo! So we returned from Florida on Monday, me with a super yucky cold and B suffering teething symptoms. Needless to say, the flight home wasn't easy. But we made it! B is just growing up so fast! He is so so close to crawling completely! He can wiggle his way forward now, and just the other day he grabbed onto the laundry basket, pulled himself up, and attempted to cruise! He reached for the couch and anything nearby to help him walk! He was awfully wobbly, but he got the idea. Man this kid is just growing like a weed. He developed so much just over the weekend, it's like B is a brand new little boy. He's babbling all sorts of cute words, has such good control with his hands, and he LOVES jumping up and down! He's going to be everywhere once he can crawl or walk! We'd better prepare ourselves.

I may have mentioned this before, but for the past month, we have had a long and difficult battle with sleeping habits with B. For a while he was waking up every hour at night; it was horrible. Brandon and I have been so sleep deprived and tried so many different methods of trying to get B to fall asleep on his own and stay asleep, we've decided to do what's best for B. We're going to continue to rock him to sleep as needed.. he will eventually be able to put himself to sleep and sleep through the night, but for now he needs that contact and comfort from us.

So here are some pictures from our trip!

Florida!

2010-01-22T19:57:00.000-08:00

Here we are in Florida! We arrived Wednesday night, late late late. Yesterday we spent the day resting and sleeping and had a big gathering with Great Grandma Pina's family. Everyone loved B! He was the life of the party! All the ladies fought over who was going to hold him next, and Gena and Mario loved making him laugh. Today was a beautiful day- we went to Blue Springs to see the Manatees! I think B has a new favorite animal. We walked along the boardwalk and the scenery was just beautiful! It was like a tropical paradise! The water was a perfectly clear turquoise blue. We came back to the house and spent a lovely evening with Great Grandpa and Grandma. Grandma Pina is such a wonderful and lovely woman, we love her so much! I wish we could see Pina and her family more often. She just loves and adores everyone, and only has good things to say about people. Moving here is awfully tempting! It's so beautiful! It's so strange seeing people walk around in shorts and t-shirts in the middle of winter. It's January! We're supposed to be wearing gloves, coats, and scarves!! It just seems wrong to be slathering on sunscreen.
Goodness I can't believe how fast B is growing. He's so close to crawling- he pushes himself backwards, turns in circles.. he just hasn't figured out how to move his arms so he can move forward. He has the funniest personality! He's so cute when he concentrates on things he's trying to learn, and it seems like he's learning something new every day. He's becoming a little individual. B's feelings get hurt if you take away what he was playing with- he knows what he wants! He's so sweet and so cute.. we relish every moment!

Ice Cold Fun!

2009-12-21T16:19:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago, we had a super freeze here in Washington. 32 degrees seemed like a heat wave! So one Saturday, my sister-in-law Patty took B and I to the park to take some pictures. They turned out beautiful! Although it was cold, it was a gorgeous day; perfect for pictures. I'll share some at the end of this post. Since then, we've had a couple of adventures- B projectile vomited for the first time (it sure wasn't fun.. it got EVERYWHERE!), and a week ago I found out I was pregnant but then miscarried on Saturday. It is disappointing, but I'm also relieved because I was worried about my milk drying up sooner than I wanted to ween B. I was also nervous about having children so close together- they would have been only 16 months apart! Ahhh! So we'll see what happens from here. B is just as cute and sweet as ever! He still loves walking around when I hold his hands and he's still not even close to crawling. He hates being on his tummy.. but I don't mind if it takes him a while. It will happen eventually! B has also become very vocal- not as much as other babies I've heard, but he likes to squeal and squeak and make all sorts of funny sounds when he's excited. He's so darling, we just love him so much! He has the sweetest personality.

Growing up!

2009-11-17T15:21:00.000-08:00

I need to be better at updating this.. So much has happened within just a few months! B's almost 7 months old now; he started eating baby food (He LOVES it! A born eater!), he loves to bounce up and down in his jumperoo, he's not quite rolling over yet- but he's getting close, he wiggles when we put him on the floor- although he's a long way from crawling. He DOES however, love to walk while I hold his hands. B's still really wobbly, but he'll put one foot in front of the other. I wouldn't be surprised if he went straight to walking. He just doesn't get this 'crawling' business. So since our last post,we've moved from Edgewood to Olympia, in with Brandon's parents and then finally into an apartment of our own! We couldn't be happier! B experienced his first move(s), his 6 month birthday, first halloween, ahd his Great Grandpa Lee passed away Oct 30th in Grandma Dietz's home. The funeral wast he following week, and quite the family reunion! We heard a lot of great stories about Great Grandpa, and I think we all had a good time, even though we all miss him so much.

So here's some highlights from the past two months!

Time for some Fall photos! B was a great model.

B's first pumpkin patching! Mine and Brandon's too. We had a blast!
B had a great time looking at all the pumpkins. It was difficult trying
to get him to look at the camera.

Carving pumpkins at Grandpa and Grandma's! B loves Grandpa Dattilo!

I made a Charlie Brown pumpkin.. but it ended up kind of looking like B!

Happy Halloween! Can you tell? We're all dressed as each other. I'm Brandon, Brandon is B, and B is me! By the way, Brandon is actually wearing one of B's beanies.. and using his nuk.
What a cute pair! B and MiniMart are going to be best friends!

4 Months

2009-08-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

B's 4 months now! Time for some updating...

Here's B after his Blessing:

Thank you Shannon for the gorgeous pictures!

B's first captured smile! What a cutie!

We did a lot of fun things on our vacation with Grandma and Grandpa Dattilo! Here we are at hurricane ridge. It was quite a chore pushing that stroller up the mountain, but we made it!

Daddy making B laugh!

Relaxing, enjoying the sunset with Grandma

B's holding a pinecone here.. doesn't seem to be too sure about it.

Family photo taken by John! We were at a park in Port Townsend. It was really hot out!

B, unintentionally waving hello! Such a cute hat!

Haha, B's good at making funny faces :D

Helping mom with laundry...

Spending an afternoon in the backyard..

Time for a funny face photoshoot!

Silly boy..

I love this.. my little 4 month old cutie pie!

Our family Photos

2009-07-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

We'll miss Great Grandpa

2009-07-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

B's Great-Grandpa Erskine died this morning around 8:00. My mom is taking it pretty hard. It's a little hard for me to comprehend, since we'd just seen him on Sunday; and up until Sunday, I had no idea that he'd been put in a nursing home and then a hospital due to health complications. I guess there were some chemical imbalances in his blood, kidney problems, and he had pneumonia. But what a blessing it was to see him on Sunday- our whole family was able to drive up to Seattle and see him. He wasn't in the right state for engaging in a conversation at all- he pretty much laid in bed and slept. Although, we did witness a little miracle. I guess that since B was born, his great grandpa would always talk about his newest great-grandbaby and how he wanted to see him; but up until this point, B was still to frail to take on such a long trip. So on Sunday, my mom's sister Bonnie had been with him the entire day, and said he had not been awake enough to talk all day. But as soon as we walked in with the little baby, he opened his eyes, said a word or two, and stared at B for quite some time. For the rest of the time we were there, he just slept- like he had all morning and afternoon. What a blessing it was for him to see the newest of his posterity before he passed on. I'm sad he's gone, and will always remember the sweet spirit he had, but I'm happy to know that he's with my grandma now- after so many years of being apart. He will definitely be missed.
On a more uplifting note, B is just growing like a weed. He was blessed July 5th in the Tumwater Ward by his dad, and we're so happy a lot of our beloved family and friends were able to come and participate. And conincidentally, B had his first smile the following Monday! He's still working on smiling all the time, but he sure is smiling every day- a happy little bug. If I keep him steady, he can also stand up on his feet on my lap- and he sure is getting bigger! I'm sure he's at least 9 pounds by now. Yesterday I was watching videos of when he was in the hopsital, and couldn't believe how tiny he was! I'm so glad I've been able to enjoy him as a newborn for a longer stage. He's so cuddly and loving, it's been great just holding him while he sleeps and looking at his beautiful face. I'm loving every moment of motherhood. Soon he'll be 3 months old- I can't believe it! It's almost difficult watching him get older, since I've gotten so used to him being just a tiny little thing. But I'm sure everything will just get more exciting with each stage he reaches.

2 Months!

2009-06-26T00:59:00.000-07:00

Wow, we can't believe B's already two months old! He's starting to hold his head up and wiggle around a lot more, and he's awake a few more hours during the day. June 10th was his presumed due date, so judging by that date, B's in the 75th percentile in height and weight. Big boy! But that doesn't necessarily mean that he was meant to be born that day. He had his 2-month doctor's visit yesterday and got 4 vaccines. Two on one leg, one on the other, and one orally. He did so well, I'm proud of him! He gulped down the first- he was hungry- and cried while the poking was being done, but as soon as I picked him up he stopped crying and I fed him until he was full. He fell asleep in the car and was asleep for several hours! The nurse said that most babies keep crying even after the procedure is done, but I'm a lucky mom. In a little over a week, B will receive his baby blessing! We're excited for everyone to come :)

An Unexpected Arrival!!!

2009-04-27T00:53:00.000-07:00

Monday morning April 20th, I woke up from a typical uncomfortable sleep, with back and pelvic pain. I ironically had a doctor's appointment that morning- they checked my blood pressure/pulse, pee, and we listened to the baby's heartbeat. Nothing abnormal. Several hours later around lunchtime, Brandon and I ate some sandwiches around 1:00 and played some Halo, and I noticed I was having some very mild abdominal cramping, but I figured it was just some extra pain felt from the pelvic pain I had from sleeping that night. It was all very normal. But Brandon had a couple jobs to go to that afternoon, one in Lakewood, another in Rochester (5 miles north of Chehalis, mind you). So I decided to ride along with him and visit Gene, the lovely old lady I've visited with every time Brandon had to go over there. She's just the sweetest lady, and I love sitting and talking with her! So once Brandon had finished doing what he needed to regarding the water damage at her house, he sat on the couch next to me and we started to chat away with Gene. She had to get up to answer her phone and I told Brandon my pelvis was doing this weird popping thing, and we started making jokes about my water breaking all over her couch.. but unfortunately we spoke a little too soon. Seconds later I felt a gush of liquid down my canal and I said "Oh my gosh Brandon, where's the bathroom????" Gene was still on the phone and he rushed me over to her bathroom and this clear liquid kept coming out in waves. I yelled from the bathroom, "BRANDON! I THINK MY WATER BROKE!!" So Gene got off the phone and Brandon came rushing in, and we frantically tried to find my doctor's phone number to call and ask what to do. We had to call my mom, who called my dad to look it up online and give it to us. We didn't waste much time me sitting on the toilet, we all had the feeling I needed to get out of there and to the hospital. Gene generously let us borrow a towel to use so I didn't get amniotic fluid all over Brandon's van. As soon as we hopped in the box van, my dad called with the doctor's phone number, so we called him and he said get to the hospital as soon as possible, and he'd meet us there. We were in Lakewood and luckily, even though it was during rush hour time, it only took us a half hour to get from Gene's to the hospital. Of course, the majority of the way there, I was calling my mom and Brandon's mom, trying to figure out what I needed to do, and trying not to freak out, while starting mild contractions- they just felt like uncomfortable menstrual cramps. We're extremely fortunate this happened while we were at Gene's, and NOT while we wre in Rochester, or on the way down that direction. So my water broke around 4:15 and we got to the hospital around 5:00. We went through the emergency entrance and quickly got admitted into the birthing center upstairs (let's not forget, I'm still occasionally gushing out fluid while accomplishing all this). My doctor was there, and several nurses came in to my room, rushed me into a gown, and started hooking me up to an IV and a bunch of other drugs, trying to slow down my labor- they want the baby in there as long as they can. But then they realized I had a slight fever and had to put me on antibiotics, and couldn't try to prolong anything because a fever most likely meant some sort of infection in my fluid, which would have made the membrane break. They gave me some drug to make my veins wider and blood pump more fluently- it made me REALLY hot and tired and dizzy, but luckily not nauseous as they predicted. At this point, the drug trying to prevent my labor was making me feel good, really easing the contractions down. My doctor came in and checked me and said I was 3 cm dialated (I'm guessing this was around 5:30 or so). At this point, everything was so up in the air. The nurses and doctor were trying to figure out what hospital to send me to, since St. Francis doesn't have the equipment ready for premature babies. They had to do some calling around, looking for a place for me either at St. Joseph's or Tacoma General. Around 6:00 they decided to send me to Tacoma General, as long as I didn't dialate too quickly. We had to wait for an ambulance to show up to take me over there, but the chances of me dialating that fast were slim. Contractions were getting more painful with each wave, so it was really nice having Brandon beside me, and my mom in the room. A little over an hour went by.. so it was probably about 7:15 or 7:20 when the ambulance showed up. The EMTs came into my room and it was at this point my nurse had to check to see how dialated I was, just to make sure I wasn't too dialated to risk having the baby either in the vehicle, or too soon after admittance to Tacoma Gen. So my nurse came in and checked me, didn't say a word, and left. Then another nurse came in, checked me, and said very quietly "yeah, she's definitely fully dialated." Everyone was pretty much freaking out by now, and I didn't have time to think about anything- I just was just trying to focus on getting through each contraction. I asked my nurse "is it too late to get an epidural?" "I'm afraid so, my dear." But I didn't have time to dwell on the thought of having to do it all without relief- everything was happening so fast. So at this point, everyone was crossing their fingers that the nurse practitioner would get over to St. Francis fast enough from Tacoma, before I had to start pushing. They wanted her there to take over the care of the baby when he was born. I would have to stay at St. Francis and they planned on transferring Little B over to either Tacoma Gen or St. Joe's after delivery. The whole thing was pretty scary, since from the beginning, nothing was set in stone. We all had to improvise every moment of the way. Contractions were getting pretty intense; they turned me on my side and I had to squeeze Brandon's hand every time one came. We were so unprepared- I didn't have any clothes, or any neccessary things for a hospital stay, and most importantly- we didn't have a camera. But we were blessed with yet another miracle- my nurse said she happened to have her camera on her from the day prior, she just never took it home. So it took a team of people trying to figure out how to get it to work, but we managed to take pictures of this miraculous moment. Then all of a sudden, I had to push. Badly. Both nurses were coaching me on how to control each push, and they turned me over onto my back. And I started pushingJust in time, the nurse practitioner showed up. It was 7:40. I gave one good push and everyone started gawking at the little hairy head that started to peek out. And with one more good shove and shout, Little B shot right out like a rocket- my mom said the doctor could barely hold on to him because of his small size and being slippery!

Brandon Lee Dietz Jr. was born 7:49pm April 20, 2009- 4 pounds 7 ounces, 18 inches long.

They immediately set him on my chest- but only for a brief moment. They immediately had to check him over. I wanted to cry with happiness but I was too exhausted to have any tears come out my eyes. So I just kept saying "Oh my gosh... Oh my gosh!" Little B was only in the room for a minute, then they whisked him away to the nursery to check his vitals and run a million tests. Brandon went with him, with the camera. I felt so relaxed and tired, getting the placenta pushed out and getting a few stitches felt like nothing. Soon after, my dad comes in and Brandon's parents show up. My body was shaking pretty badly in shock, though I wasn't cold. But my nurse came in and put a warm blanket on me which seemed to do the job. My labor was only 3 1/2 hours. My mom and dad went out to get Brandon and I some food, since the hospital cafeteria was closed. Brandon came back to check up on me, my parents brought us back food, and they moved us all to a good-sized recovery room with two beds (one for Brandon!). It was about 10:15 and my nurse pointed out that visiting hours were over at 8:30, so for the courtesy of the patients in the other rooms, parents were kindly asked to leave. So we gave heartly temporary good-byes, and Brandon went with my parents to drop off the van at the house, get our car instead, and grab all the things I was going to need for the night. So I had some quality time alone, to let everything sort of sink in. It still didn't feel like I had a baby. I was feeling amazing- I barely felt any after pain, though the nurse asked me to take some ibuprofen and something else just in case. Little B was still in the nursery at St. Francis this whole time, and right before there were going to wheel his little incubator into the ICU vehicle, the nurses brought him into my room so I could see him before he went to St. Joe's (which is where they decided he would be best placed). I couldn't believe my eyes! A tiny little gorgeous being, making the cutest cooing sounds I've ever heard. His eyes were wide open, observing everything around him. I was hoping to hold him, but he was so snug and comfortable and safe in his little warm box, and he was hooked up to a lot of wires. I felt so emotional seeing him there.. I just couldn't wait to hold him and tell him how much I love him. But I felt very comfortable and calm even when they had to take him away. They said everything looked great, he just needed some time for his lungs to mature. They estimate for him to be at the ICU for at least 2 weeks. Brandon showed up with all of our things after Little B left. We were so worn out, but couldn't sleep. My adrenaline was still running like mad, I still couldn't absorb everything that just happened. I just had a baby at 32 weeks. I stayed up until 3:30 in the morning, and then slept for 2 hours. I called my sister and grandparents to break the exciting and unexpected news. I also called St. Joe's to check up on Little B, and they said he was doing just great and that as soon as I was discharged from the hospital, I could go see him. Everything that happened at the hospital this morning wasn't of much importance. But we got to see Little B this afternoon, and I just can't get over how adorable he is! He looks so much like his dad. I got to change his poopy diaper and put in his little beanie, and I finally got to hold him for more than 60 seconds. I just love him so much! I kept getting choked up, having him in my arms. It will be really hard to have to leave him there every night until we can bring him home. But at least this gives us some time to get the last minute things we still need, and completely sanitize our apartment. When they first took B to the ICU, he had little tubes at the front of his nose giving him some extra oxygen. By Tuesday he was on normal air like us, but the little tubes helped him remember to breathe, but by Wednesday he was breathing on his own. On Thursday they stuck him under bili lights for jaundice. The hardest part was not being able to hold him for very long. We took him out to give him a good feeding (through a tube) once a day, and right back into the incubator he went.

Today, thankfully, B's off the lights and he was able to be held by everyone that came to visit. They also transitioned him to a normal bed since he's maintaining his temperature now, and weening him off the IV and lipids! So less wires to worry about, no more hands through the incubator holes... just more mommy and daddy time! We're so excited that he's progressing so quickly. The next thing that needs to be focused on is his feeding. He's still being fed through the tube in his nose, but we're hoping that he'll start breastfeeding eventually. Unfortunately he's pretty badly tongue-tied, which could seriously effect his ability to suck properly- not to mention his speech in the future. It will be up to the pediatritian whether to clip it or not, but that's not for a while.

So this past week has been quite an adventure! But there's absolutely no words to express how much we love our tiny little baby. Every squeak, every fuzzy dirty-blonde hair on his head, every little smile he makes... we could just watch him for hours. It's so hard leaving the hospital every night, but we know Heavenly Father is watching over us, and he's most definitely blessed us through this crazy series of events. We couldn't be more thankful to have a healthy progressing baby- things could have been much worse, considering his age. So thanks to our loving Father in heaven, we've been blessed with the cutest little addition to our family, earlier than we anticipated!

Valentine's Day!

2009-02-16T11:18:00.000-08:00

This year's Valentine's Day was a lot of fun! I decided to set up a scavenger hunt for Brandon, of all the places that were memorable to us the first week we met. So on Friday, Kate and John came with me to hide the clues. It's been really hard for me to do stuff lately, since my back has been causing me a lot of massive pain. We think it's from a nerve to the left of my spine, but we already asked the chiropractor and there's nothing that he can do about that since it's not anything that's being affected by my alignment. So by the time Kate, John, and I had finished most of my project, I was hurting pretty badly. But let me give the list of places we hid all the clues:

1. Tumwater Falls Park, where Brandon caught me my first crawdad, Freddie
2. The warming bench at the Capitol Building, where Brandon proposed to me (and had our first date)
3. The first place we held hands: Mommy Dietz's car
4. The first step to our old Apartment, our first home together!
5. Martin & Andrea's house- Andy was the first one to tell Brandon that I was the "one"
6. Mommy Dietz's kitchen: where we made our first meal together... chicken!
7, Emily's house- Where Lucas was born!
8. The Puyallup church building. The day we met in person, Brandon went to church with me and it was at the end of church when I saw him watching children run around, that I knew that I was going to be with him forever.
9. My parents' couch- the place we first kissed.

So Valentine's Day was on Saturday, and Brandon had NO idea what I had set up for him. At 5:30 in the morning, I woke up and set up all the hearts I had prepared on Thursday and heart-attacked our room while he was asleep. Each heart said something that I love about him. So he had a pleasant surprise when he woke up! But as for the rest of the day, all he knew was that I had an "activity" planned for us to do that afternoon. We had reservations at the Falls Terrace Restaurant- the restaurant that looks over Tumwater Falls. We got a gorgeous view of the waterfall and park, although there weren't many options on the menu. The food was delicious nonetheless, but my back started hurting and we had to finish eating fast so Brandon could go hunt down his first clue. Over the table I handed him an envelope with a card that hinted him towards the place we found the crawdad. So we walked down the park and it took Brandon a while to find the clue we hid under a rock (I had to tell him 'hot or cold'). By this time my back was really killing me, so we had to take a break and go to his parents' house to ice it. We watched an episode of Psych and then continued on with Brandon's hunt! It was really fun watching him try to find each clue! And with each one he would say something like "You sneaky little Babe!" But I think the best part was remembering all the things we did two years ago.. our first Valentine's day and the excitement of our first week together.

I don't know what I would do without Brandon in my life! He's the best husband anyone could ever ask for. Last night he went tot he store at 12:30 at night because I wasn't feeling well and the only thing I could eat was fruit, and we didn't have any. I told him I'd feel bad if he went to the store just for a couple of things and his response was "Well, you have the best husband in the world" and went out and bought me strawberries, melons, and grapes so I would feel better. And I did! I felt much better after eating some fruit. He's so good to me, sometimes I wonder how I could have possibly deserved him.. I must be the luckiest woman in the world! Brandon's been so great since my back has been hurting, too. I'll be sitting on the bed with a hot pad on my back, unable to move, and he'd clean the kitchen and wash the dishes and tell me not to worry about anything, and to just relax. I love him so much! I'm excited to have this little baby boy with him. And I'm sure that little B is going to be just as charming and wonderful as Brandon, and I'm excited to watch him grow up and be like his dad. His arrival is only several months away! I feel so unprepared! We don't have a crib or anything yet! Just some clothes and a few other necessities here and there that people have given me. Hopefully my back will feel better soon so I can really clear out our home to make room for B. Brandon's been working really hard and I don't want him to overdo it by working just as hard at home. I still can't believe how big I am. I wasn't expecting to show this much! It's weird seeing side views of me, because I always see my belly from the top, and from above it doesn't look so big. I'm 24 weeks now and during the month of January, I had gained 10 pounds!!! But the doctor said it was fine because I hadn't gained any weight throughout the entire pregnancy. It was time for me to gain some weight. But I'm hoping I don't gain that much every month... I'd be HUGE!

IT'S A BOY!

2009-01-14T09:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Mommy Dietz, Daddy Dietz, Kate, John, and Brandon all came to my ultrasound to find out the sex of our little baby! And IT'S A BOY!! We're so excited! It even seems more exciting because we were almost sure it was going to be a girl. Our Little Brandon Jr., named after his dad. Now we can't wait to move into a new apartment and get the nursery all set up for him to arrive! And we absolutely love the pictures they took of him. The first one you can see the front of his face- a little scary right now, because you can mainly see the skeletal frame. The second picture is of his tiny hands, giving us the "peace" sign. Isn't that cute? The third picture is of his profile, where I can already tell he looks like Brandon. He's definitely going to have the same shaped face, and the big lips! You can also see the two dots above his eyes- those are his fingers, covering his face.The last photo is of his foot, where you can see all his little toes and bones! It was so cool seeing all the parts of his body, and watching him move around like a little human. He kept putting his arms and hands over his eyes, as if he knew his picture was being taken and didn't want the photoshoot yet! We saw his spine, all angles of his arms and legs, his little heart beating, kidneys.. it was amazing. I'm glad the nurse pointed out every little detail to us, so we could understand what we were seeing. Otherwise it would be hard to depict what the pictures were of.
Gosh, we are just so thrilled! We couldn't be happier.

The Third Pea in our Pod

2008-11-27T11:55:00.000-08:00

Pictures dated on November 4th, at 8.5 weeks.
There's our little snowman baby!
Next appointment: December 9th

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2008-11-27T11:22:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving and belated birthday to me! My birthday was roughly about 14 days ago.. and it was quite enjoyable! I started not feeling well halfway through the day and took a nap. The highlight was going out to dinner with Brandon to the Olive Garden. I love their food. I had my usual: minestrone soup and salad. But this time I ordered a vanilla club soda.. which is VERY delicious and would reccommend it. Although my body's not allowing me to have sugar, so it didn't make me feel well. My birthday was extra special this year. Some people put some real time and effort into showing me how much they care and love me. Kate painted a beautiful picture of me, based off a photo taken back in high school. It's such a gorgeous painting!! I'm still amazed at how naturally talented she is at painting. And mama Allan gave me a beautifully amazing quilt she made by hand. The stitching is spectacular and I LOVE the colors!!! It's so pretty, and there's no way I could thank them enough for the thought and effort they put into their gifts. Brandon bought me tickets to Jingle Ball Bash- which is going to have Death Cab!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and The Killers, and Cold War Kids or something. But I'm excited!! I saw Death Cab years and years ago and absolutely LOVED the show! I'm so excited to see them again! Oh! And more in exciting news: I'm 12 weeks pregnant today! 3months! So next week I'll be into my 2nd trimester, which is exciting because 1. I get out of the danger of miscarrying (even though I kind of always knew it wasn't going to happen this time) 2. I hopefully get to eat a better variety of foods, and won't feel icky occassionally 3. I get to find out the sex of the baby in the 2nd trimester! So, things to look forward to. I'm a little sad today, because I wont' be able to eat any of the delicious pies or desserts that come with the Thanksgiving feast. As much as I crave ice cream and chocolate, I can't have any of it because my body feels sick when I consume sugar. Even juice makes me feel ill. So that creme soda I had on my birthday... didn't make me feel so well. I had one small piece of cake on my birthday, but the other birthday cakes/ ice cream following due to other celebrations, I couldn't touch. I'm living off fruits to satisfy my need for sweet things. But it doesn't bother me at all. I'm sure that having to eat healthy is really helping the non-morning-sickness type of pregnancy I'm having. Besides the progression of weeks, there hasn't been much change in how I feel or how I look. My belly pooches a little bit... noticably to me, and sometimes others when I eat. But I probably wont' see any significant body change for some time. In other updates, our vacation to Florida in October was really great! Extremely tiring and wearing on my body, but fun. I have some pictures posted here, and I'll get some pictures up from my birthday as soon as I get them from people. (Our cameras are unfortunately unusable. a.k.a. broken.) It's kind of funny... that as much as I loved vacationing, whenever I think back to it or look at the pictures, my stomach churns a little bit because it remembers not feeling well almost the entire time. We did a lot of great and memorable things, though. John came with us for the first 5 days. We drove down to Orlando and went to Disney World for a couple days! It was super awesome, but I couldn't go on any of the cool rides because I was pregnant. It probably would have been safe for the most part, but I didn't want to take any chances. Besides, if Pina found out, she would have had a fit! By the way, seeing Grandpa and Pina was great. I really miss them a lot. Pina is so loving and protective. We got to meet her family the day after John left. It was quite the party! She only has 5 kids, but they've multiplied and are loud and happy people. For the three days we had left of our vacation, Grandpa and Pina took us to a couple of different places near Ormond Beach. We went to Mount Dora and St. Augustine, which are both very beautiful places. St. Augustine is the oldest city in the U.S!