Lately

For some reason I've been too busy to update, so I figured I'd show you some pics from the last week so you know what we've been up to!

I've put in a lot of hours of work (I'm selling cruises again...have I said that on here already?) and it's been good but frustrating at the same time. It's just tough when I put in a ton of work for one client and then they end up going and booking elsewhere because it's convenient. Because I'm commission based only, that means I get nothing. And I hate it that I've spent hours trying to distract Natalie with toys and Dora in order to help these people, and then nothing. But I have made some money the last week, so in all it kinda evens out.

Here is Natalie copying Mommy on the phone...notice she's using a calculator as her phone. =)

On Monday we had a MASSIVE monsoon/storm. It was thundering and lightning, and pouring!

Natalie is finally big enough to wear her white converse she got from friends for her 2nd birthday...and look, they match Daddy's!

Monday we headed to a buffet dinner at the Green Valley Resort & Casino. Buffet's are T-R-O-U-B-L-E for counting calories. I can't believe I'm still smiling in this picture. =)

Natalie decided Landon would be her baby doll and took him for a ride. He looks like such a big boy in there!

Such a cute, sweet boy.

Shaun's parents came out Saturday to Wednesday because they're on vacation this week. The kids (and us too!) had fun spending time with them.

Natalie wanted to play with Landon in his crib. I obliged...it kept them contained and occupied for a few minutes!And finally...a cute video clip of Natalie playing in our closet. I realized I ask Shaun "Does this look funny?" a lot when (fishing for compliments) asking if my outfit looks okay.

Cinderella...

Shaun's Uncle Jeff & Aunt Diane brought Natalie this ADORABLE (authentic) Disney Cinderella dress...it is so cute. The funny thing is that Natalie is terrified of the sparkles that fall off the dress, so whenever we put it on her the only thing she is concerned about is getting the sparkles off. Funny girl!

and my favorite...

just because he's SO cute...

Good thing...

...I was born when I was.

Seriously, this is one of the funniest websites ever. I literally was laughing out loud the whole time. Here are my favorites...

Grad 1952
Grad 1962
Grad 1966
Grad 1976Grad 1978
Grad 1980...this one didn't crop as well but I had to post it because I think my Mom had this exact haircut and thus I think I look just like her!
Grad 1984
Grad 1986
Grad 1992 (Seriously, this one makes me want to vomit!)
Grad 1994
and finally...Grad 1998...the REAL year I graduated.
...and LAST but not least, my super hot sexy husband, Grad 1990.
Hooray for laughing so hard that I was crying...

Chatty Natty...

This little lady has just been talking up a storm lately. It is SO cute. Here are a couple of my favorite moments:

- This morning Landon was in his swing in our room and I was still in bed. Natalie came in and was trying to entertain Landon. She found my People magazine on the floor and was showing him pictures in it, saying "Baby, this is Jesus...this is Jesus."
- Her new favorite show is Dora. Swiper the Fox always tries to swipe different items and then somehow he gets deferred by Dora and her friends. Then Swiper always says, "Oh man!"...so now Natalie goes around the house saying "Oh man!"
- She has learned that her Daddy's name is Shaun. Last night we were at a Pampered Chef party and Shaun was at a church meeting. Natalie was sitting in my lap and said, "Where'd Shaun go?" Uh, that's Daddy to you Natalie!
- Last night when Shaun got home from the meeting, she ran into his arms and said, "Daddy, yuv (love) you so much!" It was the first time she'd said that and I got all teary eyed. So precious.

Visits from California...

This weekend we had some of Shaun's family come out from Northern California--his Uncle Jeff, Aunt Diane, and two of their sons, Ryan and Jason. They came in on Friday and just left this morning. We hadn't seen them since when I was pregnant with Natalie, so it was SO great to be able to introduce them to our kids. Natalie warmed up to Jeff within about the first 5 minutes, and the rest of them by the end of the weekend. Shaun's parents also came out from Southern California from Friday night until Sunday...it was so fun to have family time with Shaun's side.

Some of the highlights included:
- Natalie getting car seat roller coaster rides from Uncle Jeff
- hanging out around the house...playing games, eating together, and watching the Olympics (specifically Michael Phelps!)
- going to the Town Square to shop (at H&M!!!) and eat at ClaimJumper
- showing them our new church
- going down to the Strip to see some sights
- checking out the CRAZY people who are cult-like in their love for Star Trek at the Las Vegas Hilton
- having a tasty breakfast & buffet dinner at South Point (the hotel down the street where they stayed)

More ride please!!!

Jason...he's heading to Simpson College in Redding in a couple of weeks.

Getting hello kisses from Gramma...Natalie kept saying "SO EXCITED!" and jumping up and down whenever we talked about Gramma & Grumpa coming!

Shaun & Ryan with these crazy hats from H&M. Ryan is 21 and training to be a helicopter pilot.

Eating a tasty lunch at ClaimJumper.

Jeff & Diane...it was Jeff's birthday on the 16th so we celebrated while at ClaimJumper.

Natalie LOVED hanging out with Uncle Jeff.

Eating dinner at the buffet...

Natalie enjoyed the spaghetti & watermelon at the buffet.

It was a great weekend...and hard for us to get back to reality today! =)

Landon - 5 months old!!!

Little Man is growing SO fast...he turned 5 months old on the 17th! I weighed him on the 17th and he was exactly 15 lbs, according to my scale. That means he has more than doubled his birth weight (which was 7 lbs). He is just so precious and smiley. Seriously...he will smile at ANYONE...I just love that.

I recently took him to the doctor (maybe 2 1/2 weeks ago) to find out about the red bumps that were appearing anytime I tried to give him the rice cereal mixed with formula. The doctor recommended trying a soy based formula, which I did, and no bumps appear. It's weird though because the doctor doesn't think he is lactose intolerant, because if he was then he'd have an intolerance to my breastmilk since it has lactose in it. But he doesn't. And the regular formula doesn't seem to upset his stomach at all, so I'm not sure what it is. Either way, I'm happy the red bumps are gone.

About breastfeeding...we're still going strong. I have tried the bottle a few times but he will NOT take it. I'm okay with that, for now. I was worried that I wasn't producing enough milk because he always seems SO hungry and can't seem to go more then 4 hours at a time (specifically at night). This is one of the number one reasons that I wanted to try formula cause I assumed that he'd get what he needs and *maybe* start sleeping through the night. However, since he won't take a bottle...not gonna be able to try that one! I heard that drinking dark beer can increase your milk, so I decided to try it, just a bit for a few nights before bed. I really noticed a change in my supply...crazy how that works. I also have been making more of an effort to let him tell me when he's full. Instead of me pulling him off after a certain amount of time I have been letting him be done when he's done. Landon does seem to be more satisfied and generally more content throughout the day. So we're doing good.

Sleeping has gotten a bit better the last couple of nights. It might be because he's actually eating his rice cereal now and finishing the whole bowl! Lately I've been feeding him around 6:30 or 7pm, then giving him rice cereal before bed (around 8 or 8:30pm) and then I'll feed him when we go to bed. Then he's going until around 5:30am or 6am.

Like I said before, Landon is SO smiley. He'll pretty much let anyone hold him...he just loves attention! Recently he found his feet and they are often found in his mouth. And if he doesn't have his foot in his mouth, usually one hand is jammed in there. I'm not sure if he's teething or not, but he is constantly drooling and putting his hand or my finger in his mouth.

Landon LOVES Natalie. Seriously, he shrieks with delight anytime he sees her. She loves to make him laugh and jumps up and down and throws her baby in the air to get a chuckle out of him. It is just so precious. I just told Shaun yesterday that it just fills my heart with so much joy when I see my kids making each other smile. =)

Mom's B-day...

Just wanted to wish my Mom a Happy (belated) Birthday...
her birthday was on Sunday (the 17th).

Just thinking about your fun party we had last year for your milestone birthday. It was such a fun day. And boy, the past year has been filled with blessings. We pray this next year is even better.

We love you!

birthday boy...

Happy 4th Birthday

to my FAVORITE nephew...Paeton Ben!!!

another special day...

Happy 35th Anniversary to Shaun's parents!!!

Most of you probably don't know this, but Paul & Kathy weren't believers when they first got married--Paul was an athiest and Kathy a Catholic. Kathy became a Christian when Shaun was little, and it was through her love and Christ-like example that Paul came to know Christ in the late nineties. It is so awesome to have parents that love each other, love God, and who have stuck through the hard times in marriage. What an awesome example to us! We love you guys!!!

Another reason why today is a special day...today, 6 years ago, I became an Auntie. =)

Happy 6th Birthday, Tehya Bean. We love you SO much!

8.8.8

I had to post today...just because of the cool date. =)

The last couple of days have been entirely uneventful...I've been stuck home with the kids (no car) and Shaun was at work until 9:30 last night and today he's been gone since 7:30am and should be home soon. He is enjoying his job so much which makes me happy...I am just going a bit stir crazy!!! I am SO excited it's the weekend. Shaun has every Saturday, 1/2 of Sunday, and all of Monday off. Since we go to church with him on Sunday morning it's almost like a long weekend every weekend. Woo hoo! I'm singing with Shaun this weekend (all 3 services) so we'll see how that goes with the kids being around church all morning.

I've officially begun (again) counting calories to get this baby weight off (plus first few years of marriage weight!)...with the move, getting settled, etc. I didn't care at all what I ate and it started to show. =( Yesterday I was motivated to finally begin, after seeing a video clip of myself...ewwww (and no, I will not embarrass myself by posting the video)! I don't even know how much I need to lose since our scale battery is dead. Maybe it's better that way. I'll just eat super duper healthy until I look good in the mirror and I'm in the size I'd like to be...and it's going to take a LOT of days of counting calories to get where I need to be. And that's okay...I actually feel better about myself when I'm eating well. I guess the goal would be to eat super healthy forever...so I don't run into this problem again!

Guess who he's smiling at in this picture? (hint: it's not me)Such a little lady. It's funny how she watches what I do so closely and tries to imitate it.
Sunglasses...check.
Shoes...check.
Purse...check.
Keys...check.
Notice the felt pen (aka. marker for all you Americans) stains ALL over her. Thank goodness they are the washable kind! It's even under her nose and on her lips. Yes, she tried to use the red one as lipstick.
My pretty girl.