The Stoddarts

Christmas Morning...

2012-02-06T10:00:00.001-08:00

Christmas morning at my parent's house... Well.. actually afternoon... we went to my parent's ward for church... then finally around 2pm we started opening presents! Carter scored bigtime!

We got my parents season passes for Disneyland... So we can all go to the Happiest Place on Earth together ;)

Great Gma Wilson got Carter gift cards for McDonalds... (Carter LOVEs Nuggets).

Can't wait til next Christmas... I think Carter will start getting really excited for SANNNNTA!! ;)

Carter's 2nd Bday

2012-02-05T15:19:00.000-08:00

So I just realized I'm way behind on my blog... I mean... I even have another kid since my last blog ;) Carter's Bday was on the 21st of December... but Carter and I had been super sick the week leading up to it... and all my plans of throwing him a super duper cute CookieMonster party went the way of the buffalo. Oh well. We ended up just taking the presents we got him over to my parent's house and letting him have fun opening... I swear, next year I am NOT going to be sick OR knocked up and he's getting kick-a partay! But instead of the super cute cake... we grabbed a leftover cupcake from my brother's work party (they share the same bday) and stuck a few candles in it. (Which, if ya know me I'm all about attempting to be crafty and make an artsyfartsy cake, so you know I was WAY sick and 9 1/2 months preggo... or I wouldn't have done this!) My parents got him some fun books, a golf set (the boy LOVES golf, his dad is so proud... and claims he has a wicked follow thru...) Danny and I got him a big basketball hoop... (if there's one thing he loves more than golf, it's bakkeball!!) Oh... and to round out his list of favorite things at the time... We scored him some cute DC shoes... he loves shoes. What do ya do. It was way low-key and that's ok... Oh and I love this pic below... He kept doing this face every time he blew out the candles. Yes, everytime, since he kept saying "Again!"... so we would relight the candles and let him blow em out again. (Hey, if he doesn't get his own cake... he might as well blow out his candles as many times as he desires!). Happy Bday Carter-boy!

Gymnastics Time!

2011-12-02T22:30:00.001-08:00

My friend Sabrina and I heard that DC Gymnastics had an open gym for kids on Thursdays and Fridays for an hour... sounded like a fun idea... So we (and Danny;) took the kids over... today to check it out... WOW was it a HIT! Carter had SO much fun! We are taking him back next week for a free introductory class to see how he does. We keep talking about wanting to get all our kids to gymnastics to at least get basics down and develop good balance... we thought we wouldn't be able to start him in something til at least 3... but if he does well in the "class" we might get him signed up. He LOVED jumping into the pit from high... and running on the long trampoline that was 3/4 the length of the gym. Carter's just getting so dang fun the older he gets... and I just love it! Makes up for the tough days!

2011-11-10T18:14:00.001-08:00

If only I could bottle up all his enthusiasm for cleaning for 10 years from now. I have to use 2 brooms and or Swiffers, one for him and one for me... in order to get anything accomplished and avoid toddler mental breakdown. Ah well... he's cute ;)

Because it's Halloween...

2011-11-09T12:13:00.000-08:00

I must say I love this picture... Off my boys go on Carter's first Trick or Treat experience! It took him a few houses but then he was running from house to house going... "Or Treat?!" At least he was really good at saying "Thank you" after they gave him candy...

On Halloween we 1st went to my parents house and visited some of the families in their ward... Then we were off to the Orellanos and went with some of Carter's younger cousins and the Carrinos cute little boys...

Danielle and I are just a few weeks apart... both having girls! I want mine out early, she wants to keep hers cookin as long as possible... I'm gonna be so pissed if she goes into labor first! :)

Carter and Gma... having some fun...

Grandma and Grandpa Wilson... thier trunk for the treatin'...

The beginnings of a sugar high...

Yup... we are definitely getting closer...

HALLLLOWWEEEEEN IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! CANNNNDDDDDY!!!

Festival for Five...

2011-09-28T08:20:00.000-07:00

So... yesterday Carter didn't take a very long nap... and we were in between rainstorms... so on a whim the popes and us went out to this place called Waterman Farms that I've been wanting to go to... we were gonna save it for a morning... but it's been raining every morning lately... so dropped everything and went (everything... since our schedules are SOOO busy right now, with the dads working like crazy!)

Anyhew... we pull up... and there's no one really there... like... NO ONE. We thought it might be close so we asked in the "market"... and they said, just head on 'round back to the orange building and they can getcha goin'... (it took a while to find the orange building... it was a shack that said admissions in between some big awnings...

Well.. a teenage girl came out smiling and said they were open... just not the bounce houses due to the wind... and the pumpkin patches were muddy but we were welcome to it if we wanted.. It was $5 for us and free for the Carters... so we figured what the heck. It ended up being kinda fun... zero lines since we were... the ONLY ones there.

Some go-carts... Carter was too little to reach the pedals... but he could steer and beep the horn... what else do you really need at 22 months?

The boys for some reason got up on this haystack... and started shaking their tooshies... it was pretty funny...

There was this "combine slide" they had made... (it was about the slooowwwwest slide I've ever seen...) about 1/2way down Carter just wasn't sliding any more.. so I had to help him scooch down;)

Our little goat...

I'm basically putting this pic in to remember that 95% of the pictures I take these days are of the back of his head... he's always running... typically away from me ;)

The Carters...

Two roads diverged... which one has cookies at the end?

Me and my boy... Yes we got lost in the Corn Maze.

And then there's the infamous petting zoo.. I think we will all remember. Like I said.. we were the ONLY customers there... and they said not too many people had come today due to the weather so the animals were pretty hungry... they were NOT kidding. Carter loved these little guys...

He just wanted to feed them everything...

Until one latched onto his finger and started sucking... He was a little surprised... and freaked out ;)

But he got over it. good thing they don't have teeth!

These dudes got all up in our business... there were two in particular... I think they were alpacas that were taller... and they were annoying. finally the dudes in charge kinda kept them to the side... these goats were cute though...

And because every farm needs a.... Camel?... there was also a "miniature bison" they were very proud of... a baby calf that was super cute... a little pig... and some ponies (that we didn't ride).

Mr. Waterman himself came round and told "everyone" the last hayride of the day was taking off... for some reason Carter was excited about this and went running... right to the onramp.

Mr. Waterman himself.. you might see these other people on here thinking, well there were other people there... but I'm pretty sure that they were all people who worked there (at least 3 were) and friends of people that work there and they told em to jump on so we didn't feel awkward!

Carter tried to sneak back in to the petting zoo... He got in trouble.

This Camel was sweet... it just wanted something to eat... Carter P wasn't too impressed though. It fancied Cassi though... it kept whispering sweet nothings in her ear...

Carter was fascinated with the straw in the hayride...

The "spinning pumpkin"... Carter got about 5-6 spins in... and was done. (It was spun manually... so I wasn't too worried about it... he got out and went on the go-karts til the other boys were done ;)

The "strawbale maze"... This is about as far as Carter got. Thank goodness... cuz this preggo lady did NOT want to have to crawl in there looking for him.

One of the pumpkin patches... super muddy... we passed. They also had peppers, okra, berries, squash, zucchini, etc. Mr Waterman was very proud of the fact it was one of the only farms left inside the Indianapolis city limits. And very adamant about people not buying fruits/veggies from the market. Okeydoke.

Well... we were pretty wary at first... but it was worth the $5. We were able to run around and have fun and not be in the apartments! One week left! It started raining again right as we were leaving... so thank goodness we got there when we did!

Holiday Park

2011-09-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to find some places left in Indianapolis to explore before we leave next week... (plus i'm just SO tired of going stir crazy in this stinkin' apartment!)... Carter adores our friend Cassi and sh'es got two little boys... so they play together... we ran over to this place called Holiday Park in between rainstorms... and it was a fun park! There's about 5 different playgrounds that are all unique and made for different ages... there was even this HUGE one for "12 yr olds" (i'm guessing that's the last age before it's 'uncool' to climb on a playground). It was over 15 ft tall. They have this big sawdust pile the kids can climb up... roll down... whatev!

There's tons of different slides...

Carter loved this little ladder steps one of the playgrounds had...

He's really loving to climb... He got all the way up this.. but then couldn't figure out how to get up on the platform... slid down, cried, gave me a hug, and climbed right back up!

Climbing on the sawdust some more... the pope boys are scheeming up top ;)

We were trying to walk over to the statues... Carter didn't want to move. He did however.. want to throw rocks.

The park has these monuments and statues that they get from other parts of the country.. they would've been destroyed but instead they transplant them here... There was one from Washington DC from one of the original buildings from when the country was being formed.

The boys on top of a column...

Swinging... Carter is obsessed with swings.. like most kids I suppose.

One more of the sawdust hill... It's a pain in the rear to move this picture up by the rest... so here ya go... see it's huge!

These bars go up about 7 ft tall... Carter climbed the whole freakin thing... but he was about to the top and couldn't get on the platform... started freaking out... so I started freaking out since I didn't want to leave from under him and climb up to grab him in case he fell thru... Finally this dad there who couldn't speak a lick of English helped get him to the top. I told him thanks... hopefully he understood me ;)

It started to rain... but it was fun while we were there... minus Carter's little tantrums he throws when I don't let him do whatever I want him to... which is usually something dangerous! Score one for Indianapolis! If you're ever here.. I'd recommend going... it's a huge place!

Random Goodness with the Carter Boy...

2011-09-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

I was cleaning out space on my camera and these pics were just fun... and don't really need individual posts so I'll just post em all together... My little man is getting so big so fast!! Ahh!! He's starting to want to learn more words... I think he's still hard to understand to others but I can understand alot of em now... we are workin on it... hopefully it picks up here soon ;)

What, Mom? So I drew on myself with a pen I was not supposed to have but somehow got anyways... I think it looks good...

We have this wierd spice cabinet of sorts in this retardo summer apartment kitchen... But it serves a good purpose... Carter thinks it's a chair... and his personalized hiding space when he wants to play hide n seek... He'll shut the door so all you see is his legs dangling out... and lots of giggling when you say... "where's Carter??"

My chip man... probably not the smartest idea to give him cheetos right after a bath... since he'll just need another right away.. he'd just cut his lip open at the gym though... and so a bath and a bag o cheetos seemed to be the proper medicine...

He was being really quite one day... so I went and looked for him... he had gathered all his stuffed animals in the dog crate and shut the door... why the kids think this place is so great... I don't know... but whenever we have the kids over they like to play in here...

In case you can't tell... Carter is probably in need of another haircut... I just dread taking him somewhere and I need to find a clip that'll attach to our clippers at home so I can just buzz it without REALLY buzzing it off... If it didn't get so fluffy I'd let it grow more. Man I hope this baby girl in my belly has hair that grows as fast as Carter's. I've had to cut his hair so many times.

I gave Carter a can of peaches to eat while I was cleaning the kitchen... He decided it would be funner to eat the peaches out of the Mr. Potato head hat... I guess it did look pretty fun... and he ate them all... so I can't be mad... Peach juice washes off...

Carter found the snot sucker a few weeks ago... and suddenly it was the coooolest toy ever. He kept making me squish the bulb... when I got tired of doing it... he just kept trying to do it himself... silly dude.

I love this little guy to pieces... can't believe we are getting close to popping out another one!! Yikes! (Excited, though... can't wait to meet her!)

Indianapolis Zoo

2011-09-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Ok... so every Zoo says they are "voted #1" and blah blah but sometimes you go and your a little dissapointed... NOT with the Indy Zoo. It was so fun to go to! (At least for me!). It might have helped a bit that we went early in the morning... I guess the animals are more active then... but it was great. We were able to get right up close to many of the animals, and the exhibits that had glass between were very clean. They even had a pretty decent dolphin show!

They do an "Elephant Bath" where they give a big huge elephant a fun little scrubdown... shows us some of her tricks... and she's literally inches from ya. Then, after the show, they even let you come up and pet the elephant! How cool! Their skin is NOT soft.

This little beaut decided to pose for us... so I had to snap a pic...

The Popes came out to visit Papa Pope... so we all went together. We just love the Popes... we are excited to have them out here for the next month before we all head back home!

Carter was digging the cones in the road... "They were cones!!" (Movie reference).

Carter was pretty enamored with these heffers. And they liked to come right by the glass over and over... so we were here a while...

This tiger was feisty... he kept running back and forth right and front of the boys... they thought it was pretty cool and kept running after him.

They had this big tank filled with err... I forgot the type of shark... dogshark maybe? Anyhew... you got to touch them. They were SUPER silky and smooth... like a sting ray. Carter kept putting his hand in to touch em... but right as it got under his hand he'd pull it out... it was kinda funny. He totally dug it though. Over in the corner they have a "No Petting Zone" and one of the sharks was doing tricks... like a dolphin... he would go vertical, his head and half his body out of the water, and swim backwards. It was pretty funny. I didn't get a pic cuz I was holding C up and he was having too much fun with it.

OK THIS was the coolest part. You get to FEED GIRAFFES! My mom is so jealous. This was so cool... The giraffes come RIGHT UP to you. You just pay a $1 per chunk of sweet potato.. and the giraffe comes and gets it. It even took it out of Carters hand! Their tongues are like sandpaper. They are so stinking cute. I'm officially a real giraffe fan.

The hubsters... trying to act excited. I don't see how it could be such a bother to be at this Zoo... some can be a drag... but this one was awesome. (He enjoyed it... he just started getting hot).

Carter found this bridge super entertaining. It's one that shimmies a bit when you walk on it... so he kept jumping and running back and forth on it. He probably would've stayed here for a long time.

Yea it's a bird... But Carter thought it was pretty sweet so I took a pic.

Oh and this is the newest addition to the Zoo... this cute little Elephant!!! How cute is she!!

All in all... I had fun... Carter had fun... hopefully Danny had some fun.... I thought it was well worth it... and I'd highly recommend it if you happen to find yourself in Indianapolis!

Lil Bacon Lover...

2011-08-16T13:40:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned in previous posts... my child is a VERY picky eater. We found something new he loves though... BACON! I made him a whole plate full... and well... he ate the entire thing. I'm not even upset he ate that much bacon since he hardly EVER eats. He can use a little fat on his bones anyhew ;)

oh... and we did find something else he likes... protein shakes! Danny let him go to town on one the other day when he was being especially picky and I was freaking out about being a bad mother and can't get my kid to eat anything blah blah blah... well.. at least he got a full belly! He just guzzled it and it drooled all over. He looks a little crazy in the first picture.. I think he forgot what it felt like to be full. We switched to Carnation Instant Breakfast drinks since they take the same but a little less intense for mr. pint-size.

Hopefully he'll start realizing how great OTHER foods are soon. Like a sandwich. Who doesn't want a good ol PBJ every once in a while?!

2011-08-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

So the other day I was making Orange Rolls... and my uber-picky eater decided to climb up and see what I'd been doing.. (Don't worry, anyone who ate the rolls, his feet and hands and bum did not get in the dough... this is all after they are in the oven;)... anyhew... so my child who hardly eats ANYTHING decided he LOVES to eat.... FLOUR??? He just kept licking his fingers, wiping it up... and eating it. What a goober. I took a fwe pics and then had to try and clean it all up fast so he wouldn't have a belly full of flour. What a goober. As you can see... he had a lot of fun playing in the flour too.. Oye!

PS, I'm not sure if that's snot or a swipe of the orange roll filling... use your imagination... just don't let it ruin you from enjoying Orange Rolls :)

Trip back to CA to visit Gma n Gpa!

2011-08-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

At the end of July, Carter n I flew back home to see family... Carter got to do lots of fun things with Gma n Gpa... we went to the beach... (It was really overcast in the morning... but warmed up later).. He played frisbee and ball... it looks like he was eating sand.. but it was my fault trying to spray sunscreen on him after he'd already been playing for an hour... oops!

He wore himself out... and yes... he fell asleep with his hand inside the SunChips bag... it stayed there the whole way home...

Carter also got to "garden" with Gpa... my dad had to fix a sprinkler and Carter had alot of fun "helping"...

And Gpa found a worm... Super Cool!!

We also went to the Duck Pond... and fed Carter had lots of fun feeding them... (he did try to get in once...) There was a sweet duck with a mohawk... he was my favorite!

And this is us before Church... (He lasted about an hour and a half..) Ahhh California.. we will be back in less than 2 months and Danny won't have to work for a few months.. and we will be having a baby... Whew there's aLOT going on in the next few months!

It's a GIRL! Kestlee Marie Stoddart... Can't wait to meet ya!

2011-07-19T10:42:00.001-07:00

So..... we are having a GIRL!!!! I've had the name picked out since... well... like 7 yrs ago.. So if you don't like it I don't care... cuz as soon as I heard it I knew its what I wanted to name my girl if I had one... thankfully Danny (says he) likes it... so I finally get to use it!

I'm a little excited... I would have been happy with either obviously... it would have been cute to have Carter have a little bro close to his age... and I'm sure Danny would've had a blast... BUT... when I'm pregnant I'm miserable and don't even want to THINK about having another child after this... but of course if it was a boy I know I'd want to give it at least one more try ;) It's nice to have the pressure off me ;) I'm not one of those "Oh I love being pregnant!" people... I'm miserable for about 85% of the time.

Anyhew... I kept thinking it was gonna be a girl... this pregnancy has been SOOO different than with Carter. I've been even sicker... it's been much better lately... I only *think* about throwing up every few hours instead of actually doing the deed.

With Carter all I wanted was veggies with dip and fruit... and tons of ICE COLD, bottled water. I still crave the uber cold water... but this chick wants the fatty stuff like no one's business. Stuff I don't even like to eat a ton of. And SODA. She wants her soda. I had to drive to Chipotle today for lunch... (I normally do NOT like Chipotle... turns out this baby prefers Qdoba too... but she thought she wanted Chipotle...)

I never got much cravings with Carter at all that I just had to get right that second... maybe the mcdonalds ice cream cones... but I can't blame that solely on the baby.. I did that sometimes when I'm not pregnant. This girl wants something... she demands it.

I can't eat Chicken... any form. I hate the smell of it. I don't want to look at it. I have to make Carter Chicken nuggets since its one of the only meats he'll eat... but I hold my breath and sit far away til it's gone.

She's already kicking like CRAZY. She wouldn't stand still at the ultrasound. Danny thought I was hallucinating when a week or so ago I told him I could feel the baby kicking. The guy that did the ultrasound just laughed when he was trying to get a still pic... he was like... "Can you feel the kicking yet? Cuz this baby is MOVING like CRAAZY!" (in a brazillian accent... he was from Brazil but whiter than me... and being from Brazil he of course made a reference that I better start liking soccer).

Anyhew.. we are super excited and can't wait to meet our Kestlee Marie Stoddart!!

Horrible Haircut Day...

2011-07-05T12:22:00.000-07:00

Well... we had a VERY traumatic experience this morning... Danny needed to get a haircut... and Carter's been needing one too... his hairs getting so long and poofy and we thought it was time to get it actually cut.... He's always done well when I just do it here... so we didn't think it'd be a HUGE issue... BOY WERE WE WRONG!!

Imagine taking your kids to get shots... x's 10...

(about 15 seconds in...)

(VERY Unhappy boy... it's ok bud I don't look good in teal either...)

(We tried having him sit with Danny holding him... and his head.. since he was thrashing so much he now has a big gouge in the back of missing hair... and a few nics on the ears... so we had to forcibly hold his head in place while she tried as best she could to finish fast..)

We weren't above bribing.. suckers, his Dale stuffed animal, a Pinocchio book...

We finally took a break at this point... Danny got his hair cut and I walked around trying to get C to stop sobbing uncontrollably... we finally got most of the sniffles under control with an episode of Yo Gabba on my phone... But when I sat down with him at the chair while watching it... he didn't fall for our tricks and freaked again... (obviously pictures were not a priority at this point... getting the screaming, terrified kid OUT of that chair WAS!)...

Here's Carter pouting after he was done... I think he was sad he didn't have his beautiful mane of hair anymore ;) I hated the haircut by the way.

While Carter and Dadda got in the shower... I ran to Target and got him a few of his favorite things... popcorn, peanut butter M&M's, soda, and we put on some Yo Gabba Gabba and put Dale beside him... and Carter had his own little pity party...

About 1/2 a bag of peanut butter M&M's, ALOT of soda, and many handfuls of popcorn later life was getting better... coincidentally those were a few of Daddy's favorite things as well... so they chowed down together.

Needless to say, Carter won't be getting another "professional" haircut for quite a while... I'll stick to my makeshift haircuts for a while. He's now taking a long nap and hopefully doesn't have any nightmares over this!!

Just like Grandpa...

2011-07-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

When my Dad was little he always liked Dale from Chip N Dale... (He even has a Dale hat that he wears to Disneyland sometimes... Carter thinks it's cool)... Anyhew... I took Carter to the Disney Store at the mall here... and there were a couple Dale stuffed animals... Carter grabbed hold of one... and wouldn't let go.

It was too cute... He cried when I took it away for 2 seconds so they could scan the barcode...

After that he took it everywhere with him the rest of the day and just kept hugging Dale... it was SO stinkin cute!!

Looks like he likes Dale... just like Gpa!

They climbed the caterpillar...

flew in a rocket ship...

climbed thru the tunnel...

Pretty much everywhere Carter went the rest of the day... so did Dale. Too cute.

Destroying the Diaper Rash

2011-06-25T12:33:00.001-07:00

Hey if any of ya'll have dealt with your kids having Diaper Rash... you know it SUCKS! Carter kept getting flare ups and NOTHING helped. We tried EVERYTHING. The doc gave him a few topical prescriptions, tried all the remedies, changed diapers/wipe brands... nothing. It was so sad ;(

Then my mom mentioned making my own... I gave it a try and I don't know that I'll ever go back. He hasn't had a flare up in months now. Anyhew... You can google all the remedies... some of them are wierd and complicated.... but this is what I do and it's worked GREAT:

Buy BOUNTY papertowels (preferrably the choose your own size, they are they closest to normal wipe size). Not the Basic. One of the blogs stressed using Bounty and I scoffed, thinking it wouldn't matter, but... the blogger was RIGHT. In the battle of paper towels... Bounty is the best. (Though I ONLY buy the Bounty for the wipes... I'll use the cheaper ones for everyday use...It's only cuz you saturate the towels and they hold up better ;) OK enough of my Ode to Bounty...

Unroll the Bounty roll and just fold em so they are accordian style... once they're stacked cut them in half... so they'll fit in your wipes container.

Boil 2-3 cups water, and drop a few Tbsp of Baby Oil in. (You could add Tea Tree/Eucalyptus Oil if you REALLY want, but I don't... becuase I'm lazy and cheap).

Just pour it over the paper towels (that you've placed in your wipes container). You can put the lid on and flip it upside down for a bit to make sure the water get soaked in...

Thats pretty much it. They stay moist due to the Baby Oil... in case you are worried they will dry out. Cheaper than wipes... and less chance of a diaper rash... I'm in.

It takes like... 5-10 minutes. If that.

Just thought I'd share. I brewed some up last night and was thinking how glad I was I gave it a try ;)

Boo Boo Face! :(

2011-06-21T12:18:00.000-07:00

Boo Boo Time!

Well we had our first big faceplant today... fun way to commemorate being 18 months old! He was outside running around with Danny and the pups on the trail by our house... I guess he tripped on the asphalt by a curb or something and faceplanted... gotta put the arms out bud!!

I was out running errands when my phone rang and I heard "momma? buh bye??" in a very sobby sad voice... Danny told me what happened and said he'd been crying for like a 1/2 hr and he didn't know what to do... I told him to give him from fruit snacks and then throw him in the tub. (Ok, gently place him in the tub).... It seemed to work... Then I got home and helped him get him cleaned up and attempted to put some neosporin on his cuts... attempt... he wasn't a big fan of us going anywhere NEAR those cuts... so it started another crying episode... but he's seeming happier now and taking a nap so I think we will all survive! ;)

Poor pizza face. They aren't too deep of scratches so I think they'll probably heal pretty quick!

18 Months... the big year and a half!

2011-06-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

So my baby boy is 18 months!

We love him to bits and pieces...

He's getting so tall and growing up so fast!

He's starting to talk more.... here's a few of his favorite words: Ball, Poop, All Done, French Fries, Choo Choo, Eyes, Nose, NO!, MINE!, Bottle, Zeke (our dog), Dog, Apple, Snack, Gabba (for Yo GabbaGabba), Nite Nite, Yes, Feet, Dada, Mama, Papa (for grandpa/grandma), Cheese, Juice, Pool, Outside, Puppy....

We are working on more but those are ones he is pretty good at saying!

He's loving to run round everywhere... he's a pretty well-mannered kid so far... but he is starting to master the art of the temper tantrum! They are pretty short so far... and as soon as I say "Say you're sorry" he gives me a big hug and it's usually over.

He loves to dance... high five, hug, KISS... he gives BIG hugs, cuddle, take baths, swim... all the fun things boys do!

Anyhew... we are still having a hard time getting him to eat new things... although he DID eat bacon a few days ago... which was a big moment for us!

Cant wait to see him get even bigger!

BOOM! Baby #2 coming atcha Jan 2012!

2011-05-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

Well for those who missed the facebook post... we are having another kiddo!!! We are super excited! Carter will have just turned 2 when baby #2 comes a knockin... so it should be a party! I forgot just how much I HATE being pregnant! Don't me wrong... LOVE the outcome and the cute ittle bitty baby... but morning sickness has been even WORSE this time!!! BLEH! We found out SUPER early that we were expecting... so we kept it hush for a few weeks.. (well... we let it slip to a couple people... oops... it's exciting!)... and at first I was like... oh great I feel awesome!... then it hit me like a freight train. Hopefully it doesn't linger most of the pregnancy... like it did last time!

And before you ask which we are hoping for.... I don't think either of us have much of a preference! I mean... logically and long term I want another boy so Carter has a little buddy to play with that's close... but then I also really want a girl sometime! (And if this pregnancy is bad... it might be the last if this is a girl ;)

Either way..Jan 2012... can't wait!

hOPPY hOPpy EaStEr!!

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

The pics are all out of order but dumb blogger takes too long to organize... so here ya go! Carter with his new snake...

Carter and Kaycee like to run off together.., ALL THE TIME!!

Really happy about the Easter food...Running away again...

I'm not exaggerating when I say this kid LOVES water.

This was actually AFTER swimming... I had changed him and was getting him packed to go... and he decided to jump back in the pool we hadn't emptied... oops!

All the moms and thier babies...Carter and Eli going for the same egg!Football! Thanks gMA!Danny n Nate with the bebes...Ninjas! I bought these cheap $1 ninjas... he just LOVES them... he was playing with them all over the place... too cute.

I love how sweet Carter is... he's always sharing.. and one of his first words was please! Ball was his first... and "DONT!" which he yells at the dogs when they bark..

His loot... some from us... some from Gma n gpa...

All tuckered out and cuddling with his bunny... Hope you all had a great Easter!

Carter just LOVES playing with his Balls...

2011-04-16T12:19:00.001-07:00

One of Carter's faV things to do these days is play with his balls (get your mind out of the gutter, dirty birds!)... I find them all day long...

In the sink...

On the counter....

In the fridge...

On top of the stove... (good aim eh?!) It's also ended up IN pots that have food in them...

In the dishwasher...

Under the sink... (his blocks end up everywhere too... but the balls are his favorite)...

In the bathrooms...

Under the sofas...

There's many other places... but these are the ones that were loaded at the time... Off to clean up before the little monster wakes and finds new places to stick his balls!

(Sorry if you were hoping for naughty pics... he DOES like to play with those balls too... but I'll refrain from posting pics of that ;)

I guess his likes to sleep nekked...

2011-04-16T11:03:00.001-07:00

I went in to check on Carter during his nap...

This is what I found:

His nekked bum... Diaper discarded on the floor.

Thats what I get for not putting his pants back on.

Oh well... he's cute. That's not gonna be fun to clean up... good thing the washer is right next to his room ;)

Lock Up Your Daughters!

2011-03-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

So Carter was lookin pretty cute for Church today... so I took him outside while we were waiting for Danny... It's pretty hard to get a still picture of the guy these days... but I tried! At least a few of them weren't blurry!

American Idol...

2011-03-02T00:34:00.001-08:00

I promise I won't blog about every episode... I'm tired and can't sleep tonight so... here's my thoughts.

1. LOVE Paul McDonald. Fantastic. He sounded just like Rod Stewart... and that's not a bad thing! Loved everything about it. Won't win... but I think it was my favorite. Plus he's about the ONLY guy i've seen wear skinny jeans and I was like..."huh... those actually kinda look ok... he kinda pulls them off."

2. Scotty McCreary. Thought I was gonna dislike him. Thought wrong. You can't get any more country than this. Love it. That voice was made for Nashville. Won't win either... but I loved it.

3. Casey Abrams. Anyone else get the Will Ferrell vibe during his performance? I actually chuckled a little thinking it was a parody. I would have to close my eyes to try and judge it properly. I'm not sure if the singing was good... but if it was a parody of Will Ferrell he NAILED IT. I bet he smells of rich mohagany.

4. Luther Vandross Guy. BUTTER. His voice is BUTTER. Didn't think I'd like him either. Don't think he has a CHANCE to win just do to the nature of the show... but that voice is BUTTER. Butter is good.

5. James Durbin. Gotta hand it to him... he was pretty good. I don't get the comparisons to Adam Lambert though. Lambert sounded like a 40yr old gospel singer and he repulsed me at the very sight. I like this kid.

The rest all jumbled together for me. Nothing to fantastic.

OH WAIT> the fake Usher guy was a MASSIVE fail. As a friend of mine said "Fusher" That was tragically awful. Plus Jlo says "is that the kind of artist you want to be?" his response? Oh no, no no. then WHY would you sing it? that was a WTF moment. And no... WTF does NOT mean "Wow That's Fantastic." (I don't usually like the WTF thing... but a friend mentioned the "Wow Thats Fantastic!" the other day.... and I thought it was hillarious.)

Oh... and I think some of them were using AutoTuners. Either that or they were REALLY good for the 1st show.

OK... prob boring but I can't sleep. I'm gonna try again. STODDART, OUT!

Showering in Pajamas is Cool

2011-02-26T21:13:00.000-08:00

Well... my kiddo LOVES the shower... Even more than baths. He doesn't even bother waiting for us to get in before he jumps in. As soon as we turn it on to warm up the water... he beelines for it. One day he ripped off his diaper and jumped in before we could stop him. (i'll refrain from posting the pic from that day... he decided to take a poo in the shower too. YUCK!). Anyhew... TODAY he decided to just jump in with his clothes on... So I let him! I just LOVE him.

Computer Desk ReVamped!!

2011-02-17T17:09:00.000-08:00

I redid an old computer desk my mom gave us a while back... I've always liked the desk but wasn't a fan of the wood color... and once the seal peeled enough I didn't feel bad about re-doing it ;) Turns out I wished I'd done this ages ago cuz I just LOVE it now!!! I'll probably have to re-do the modge-podge'd pullout drawer sometime... but it'll work til I wanna deal with it! (you probably can't see it but there's some bubbles in the print... I got a little impatient! Oops!

Oh ps... this is the cleanest this desk will EVER be.

Surf's Up, Carter!

2011-02-05T13:32:00.000-08:00

(This is Danny's Fav... he say's it looks like he's getting ready to be barreled ;)

We went to Trestles yesterday... at first it was a bit chilly but it ended up being a perfect weather day! Not to make ya'll in Utah/Idaho/HellFrozenOver jealous... but really... it's times like these I remember why people pay more to live in Southern CA. It was about 70-75 and not a cloud in the sky. If only the water was a little warmer! Oh well! Carter had tons of fun and I've been wanting to take pics of Carter on on of Danny's surfboards FOREVER... so we did. I wish I could've gotten the shadows out of some (I like it in alot of em... but should've tried to get SOME without Carter's shadow)! Anyhew... here's a few!

Oh and we have an extra room if anyone needs to escape thier frozen tundras... and we are ALLWAYS down for a beach trip!

PennyPickles Museum

2011-01-17T15:23:00.000-08:00

We went to PennyPickles... the Children's Museum in Downtown Temecula last week... Carter's still a bit young for it... but he had fun anyways!! It's a really cool little place that Carter will just love more and more as he gets bigger... it's great to have a fun little place so close! He loved the music room the most... there's also a clock room, a black light room, a kitchen, a wierd bathroom/science experiment room... and they do little science experiments outside too!

Chicks love superheroes... and I love him! He's such a doll and he's getting so fun!! Love him to pieces!

Pet Peeves

2011-01-11T11:59:00.000-08:00

OK... so... here's some of my pet peeves.. just for kicks n giggles. Got any to share?!

*Fat, frumpy "trainers" at the gym. It's like a 50yr old man being your waitress at Hooters. It's just not right.
*Speaking of Hooters and the gym... the recent divorcee at the gym who got new triple E tata's and wears her tank top beyond the bounds of decency... seriously. I can see nipple. I get it, you are proud of your pricey new funbags and lookin for love... but I just don't want to see it.
*People who wear street clothes to the gym... as in... jeans or dockers. Really? You want to run a few miles in your levis? Doesn't that chaf?
*People who spend their ENTIRE time talking on their cell phones or reading a book at the gym. Put it down for a few... raise your heartrate a bit... make it worth it. You look like an idiot... if you pedaled that slow on a real bike you'd fall off.
(Sorry... I just got back from the gym!)
*Target cashiers constantly peddling their stupid RedCard Credit/Debit card on me EVERYTIME I go to Target. I DON'T WANT IT! It's worse when they try to make me feel like an idiot for NOT doing it. I'm getting to the point where I don't want to go to Target (GASP!) because I don't want to deal with it.
*Christmas lights left up all year round... but not lit. I mean... if you are going to leave them up... at least get good use out of them.
*Being in the presence of a friend and they spend the ENTIRE time on their cell phone. It's so annoying... and really... is the message that you just would rather us not be there? I get it.. you're cool.
*My nephew having to say LEEEEHGO every 20 minutes. (Love ya Ricky.. but it gets annoying... expecially now that Danny does it!!!)
*My husband/Nephew not being able to have a conversation without reference to BlackOps.
*Anything XBox related. I cringe.
*People abusing Craigslist. I am so annoyed when I post something for sale and I get emails for thier get rich quick schemes.
*When people take their sweet time crossing the street as you are wishing to make a right turn... I just want to put my car in neutral and rev the gas to scare them...
*People with junky cars driving like bats outta hell... They have no regard for other people's cars... probably don't have insurance... and probably won't stop if they do hit you. It's not that they have junky cars... I've had one... doesn't mean I'm on a mission to destroy all cars worth more than $500 dollars.
*The chirping of smoke detectors when the battery gets low... so many times w've changed the batteries out, or left the batteries out completely AND disconnecting from the ceiling wires.. and they still chirp... resorting us to chucking the thing inside our car at 3am so we can sleep.
*All the illiterate kids these days. Seriously... if you have many teenagers as friends on facebook... it's shocking how bad their spelling and grammer is. Yet they know EVERY word to Lil Wayne's "Gonorrhea" song. Love them to pieces... but it's sad.
*Lil Wayne. He's such an shining example of whats wrong with kids these days. He's disgusting... I'm afraid to look directly at him when he's on TV for fear that i'll get HepC just looking directly as his image. He can't even rhyme half the lyrics in his "songs" and it's not even really his voice most the time. At least Snoop and Eminem are talented... I can respect that...
*Dont even get me STARTED on Lady GaGa and Ke$ha. Just watch a recording of the New Years Eve performances and it should explain it all.
*Resort fees at hotels... have you booked a hotel in Vegas in the past few years? You have to be wary because they quote you one price for the hotel... then you get there and tack on another $20 MANDATORY per day for a "resort fee" to use the pool etc. Really? that's not included? I saw one that was $40.. and the hotel wasn't even ON the strip.
*Having to push 1 for english.
*Skinny Jeans. Maybe it's bc I have a huge behind... but too many people wear them that SHOULDN'T. Also that every store I look I can't find NORMAL bootcut jeans. Also that people wear skinny jeans and have muffin tops. If ya AINT SKINNY-- you probably shouldn't be WEARING SKINNY JEANS!!!
*BEES. I HATE bees. And wasps... and Hornets... and yellow jackets. Paranoid is probably more accurate.
*SMOKERS who leave their butts all over the ground. Really? Somehow your empty cigarette butt isn't littering? You think it's pretty to have these nasty butts all over the place? I want to sweep them all up and dump them on their doorsteps. Or onto their dinner plates.

OK there's more but i'll stop for now... got any fun ones to share? ;)

Good Ole Sis Hinckley...

2010-12-26T15:15:00.000-08:00

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully tailored clothes, my hair perfectly coifed and with long perfectly manicured fingernails.
I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from moving Sisters Schenks lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children.
I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with childrens sticky kisses on my cheeks and tears of a friend on my shoulder.
I want the Lord to know I was REALLY here and that I REALLY lived."

I spoke on Service today in Church and I used this quote in it... I loved it.. That sweet Sis. Hinckley... no wonder Gordi B loved her so much!

CarterBoy turns ONE!!

2010-12-22T00:57:00.001-08:00

Well

Well... my baby boy turned ONE today!!! I can't believe it! I made him a jungle cake.. and a mini jungle cake for Carter to enjoy all to himself! We had our families over for a little birthday fun.. Pizza... cake and ice cream! Carter enjoyed all his fun new toys! Anything involving Balls, Hats, and/or Cars makes him happy... and now dinosaurs it seems. He's a BOY. He wasn't too into devouring the cake... He doesn't really like to get dirty... so not too fun cake shots! We got him a blow up car/ball pin... and my parents got him this cool dino that crawls and growls! They also got him this ball popping toy that he loves but gets a little scared of sometimes! The Orellano's got him a big huge bag o balls to fill up the car... He's a happy guy!

A couple fun things about our 1 yr old...

*He's walking... sometimes! He was doing great.. then got stubborn... He does it when he thinks we aren't watching... silly guy!

*He LOVES music. He jams out to any music that's playing.. even just our cell phones ringing!

*Speaking of cell phones... he LOVES those too!! I've grabbed a few of my old ones for him to play with so he doesn't ruin our nice ones.

*He has 8 teeth!

*Favorite Foods: Popcorn... Goldfish... Fries... Applesauce... Cheese! He also LOVES ice cream but he doesn't get much of that ;)

*He's very tall and skinny... He wears 12 month pants but they are so big on the waist!

*His hair is still so LONG... but the good news is the rest of his head is catching up with the mohawk!

*He can play in the tub for a good long hour and not get bored... seriously... I just take my phone with me and surf the www while he's splashin' around

*I adore him and can't wait for the next year of this stud's life!

Our New Toy...

2010-12-10T23:14:00.000-08:00

So... I never thought I'd say this... but I LOVE OUR NEW TRUCK!! We were looking to buy an older 4runner... but then we ran into this beauty and never looked back... My back has been KILLING me, getting Carter's cute little butt out of the civic. I love every inch of this truck. I never thought I'd be converted... but I totally am.

Naked and Sickkko...

2010-12-10T22:51:00.000-08:00

Well.. we have been stuck in the house for about 2 weeks now... we've all been really sick and it just won't go away! On top of that... Carter has had this RIDICULOUS diaper rash that would NOT go away. WE tried every suggestion we received... We finally took him to Urgent Care and he got antibiotics and a creme for his rash that just made it worse! Finally I had enough... I ripped the diaper off, threw towels and blankets down, and let him "roam free..." for 2 days. Lo and Behold... it cleared it up. Yes... I agree that sound gross.. but desperate times call for desperate measures! The towels worked out great cuz I'd just pull em up when he'd have an accident and replace it with a new one!

Oh, the joys of Motherhood! Thankfully Carter's doing much better! I broke down and went to the doc myself today and got antibiotics... so hopefully we will be all healthy soon!

Cruisin...

2010-12-10T22:38:00.000-08:00

So I hardly took any pics on the Northstar Cruise... and the ones I did were with my Cell Phone... but we had a great, relaxing time! Well.. after the stinkin flight delays. BUT the airport ending up being interesting... Brendan Frasier was on our flight and he was SUPER nice... we ended up talking to him the whole flight delay.

We went to Key West for a day, and Cozumel. The weather was absolutely gorgeous... thank goodness. (usually we end up leaving great weather in CA and travel to worse weather... thankfully the weather cooperated!).

It was really hard to leave Carter for so long... but it was really nice to get away and relax after the long summer... Even better when the whole trip is free thanks to Northstar and Danny's hard work!

Pumpkin Patchin!

2010-10-26T11:18:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the millions of pictures with Pumpkins... but I love this kid and Pumpkins too! We went over the little pumpkin patch for FHE and Carter loved it! There was a little Petting Zoo too... which Carter loved of course... til the billygoat stepped on Carter's finger... then it was time to go home ;) Happy Fall!

Pardon the shadows... I tried to limit them as much as possible with my non-skills... but we went right at 5 and the shadows were vicious!

Playground Time...

2010-09-25T19:51:00.000-07:00

I mean really... he's too cute... He can move and groove like a pro now...

Loving the slide...

Just happy as can be!

The Children's Museum of Seattle!!!!

2010-09-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

Ashley and I took the babies to The Children's Museum in Seattle earlier this week... Babies get in free (under 1 yr)... oh boy did they have a BLAST! There was this little boat that Carter was just STOKED on... Seriously... look at those faces!

Kaycee was having a rough day... She actually DID have some fun... inbetween some breakdowns...

Climbing out a whale's butt... Another quick breakdown...

So proud he climbed up the stairs by himself... about to reward himself by going down the slide... the slide was awesome since it wasn't very slippery... so he could actually kind of go down it by himself...

This is in a big pit of soft, shape pillows... yeah... he's having fun... and loves the camera too...
Water, Boats, and Rocks... how can you go wrong?

Ummm.... AWESOME!

Just climbing up the stairs... he doesn't have any here so we didn't know if he could do it... he had no problem...

There was a little camping set-up... Yup, loved that too. Kaycee got bored and started climbing down the mountain... Carter probably could have stayed here all day. Well... until he remembered the Sailboat... Cookin some dinner. Ok... really just banging some pots. They aren't that imaginative yet :)

Just too much fun!! I love this place... it's so awesome they have spots made just for kids under 2... They just have too much fun... and kept them entertained the whole time... and then... of course... they took awesome naps which is ALWAYS a bonus!

Kaycee's 1st Bday Cake and Party!

2010-09-20T07:44:00.000-07:00

Carter's friend Kaycee had her 1st Birthday this past Sunday... so her parents threw her a parrrtay. My friend and I decided to make a cute cake for the Birthday Girl... Gotta love Zebra and polkadots! First time making Fondant... turned out pretty well! It had been a while since I've done any cake-decorating... but boy was it fun! I just might have to replenish my cake decorating supplies... cuz it was fun to do again! The party was at the Stead's place... they lucked out here in seattle... this is the back of their apartment! The slider goes right out to this little "backyard" of sorts... it's super fun and I've envied it the whole stay in Seattle! Anyhew... we roasted some wieners and let the kids run amuck...
I've already decided I'm heading back over to take more pics of him with a cuter outfit on... My little studmuffin!

Kinley, chillin like a villan.

The bigger kids... throwing rocks down the vents.

On the move!

Typical Kaycee...

Oh and one more of my cute little man! It was a fun day! Especially for the kids!

Pike's Market with Gma Wilson!

2010-09-19T23:17:00.000-07:00

So... another trip we took while my mom was out here... Pike's Place Market... and DUH we have to get a picture with the sign!

There were these MASSIVE avocados. This pic doesn't even do them justice. Ummm... doesn't your mouth WATER just looking at this picture?! We bought em. We also bought Salmon and Halibut cheeks to cook... YUM! And we bought a bunch of pastries from 3girls bakery... and I bought some gorgeous flowers for super cheap... There's random people singing all over...

There is this awesome mural in the shops below of "Carter the Great..." yeah... And ALL tuckered out after a long day. No, he didn't take the pills, he just was liking to shake them. Don't worry, super child proof and I was sitting back there watching ;) We also grabbed some yummy chowder at The Crab Pot, and got some CrabMelts and Salmon Quesadillas... ugh I probably gained 10 pounds this week and it was TOTALLY worth it.

Port Defiance Zoo with Gma

2010-09-19T22:54:00.001-07:00

Me and my handsome man... My mom came out to visit a few weeks ago and one of the places we went was Port Defiance Zoo...It was pretty awesome!

Just a baby polar bear (ok not even that big!). It was a cool exhibit... while we were in the underwater part of the Polar Bear exhibit, two HUGE PBs came right up against the window fighting... HUGE! They are HUGE! (That's what she said...) There was no way to take a picture to do them justice... but here's a wimpy seal... (in a different exhibit.. but whatevs!)

There were these adorable little snow tiger cubs that came right up... and momma started nursing them too while we were there! SO cute!

These billy goats in the "petting zoo" loved Carter... and the feeling was mutual! (OK the goats mainly loved Carter's veggie sticks and were climbing onto his stroller to get them! it was too cute! Yes I sanitized everything once he was finished...

Carter with Gma... chewing on his hand as always!

All in all, a fun trip!

Splish Splash Carter and Kaycee Taking a Bath...

2010-08-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

Carter and Kaycee... taking a bath... they had TONS of fun! We'll have to hold on to these photos to embarrass them when they get to high school! ;)

My 8 Month Old Stud Muffin

2010-08-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

So my sweet baby is now 8 months old... Yikes!! Here's a few of his updates:

*He's 18 1bs... 28 inches long... Tall and skinny like his mom used to be...

*I had to cut his hair at 7 1/2 months because it was 8 inches long... (gets that from his pops).

*He's got the biggest blue eyes that are gonna be melting hearts for decades to come...

*He crawls like crazy

*He is desperately determined to start walking. He pulls himself up on EVERYTHING and loves when you try to help him walk.

*He's throwing a fit at the moment so I've gotta go take care of him

*Crisis averted... poopy diaper changed!

*He has 3 teeth that have broken thru (2 bottom 1 fang uptop). He's got another on the top that's about to come thru... but it's not quite there yet.

*He's eating: well.. anything I give him. He's fine with any baby food now... he loves pretzels and veggiesticks! I love them to cuz he gets bored so I give him a few of those and they entertain

*He loves loves LOVES to talk. Well... he loves to go AHH!!!! all the time and sometimes makes what I beleive is Mama and Dada at times...

*He loves the computer. at the moment he has the laptop screen bent back and i'm typing without really being able to see the screen. He will NOT be allowed to crawl all over the new laptop that we should be getting (crossing fingers" once summer's over. Danny's work is having a competition right now and he just needs 3 more deals before Tuesday and he'll win an MacBookPro. (well that or one of the other prizes, but we desperatley need a new laptop... though we kinda want to resell the macbook and buy a pc... neither Danny or I are big fans of Apple GASP!)

*He's not sleeping NEARLY as well as he used to... I think it's mostly due to his teeth coming in and growth spurts. Hopefully it will go away once they pop in. He wakes up 2-3 times a night and wants to eat.

*He LOVES to swim. LOVES it. Alot of times I just fill up the tub so he can splash around in it a while and tire himself out.

*He LOVES balloons.

*He LOVES the vaccum. You'd think babies would run from it... Kaycee freaks out... Carter chases me and the vaccum all over the place while I vaccum. If it's sitting out, he tries to climb up on it.

* He loves the car... at least what he remembers of it. He passes out within 5 minutes of driving anywhere... which doesn't help his napping situation since he gets little pet naps in the car, then we get home and I want him to take a nap... he's not feelin it.

*He LOVES wires. any wires. In the car I give him my Car Charger to play with and he just loves it... well.. for about 5 minutes til he falls asleep!

*He still won't take a bottle. He'll drink out of sippy cups just fine.... but no go on the bottle. Which I wouldn't care but we are supposed to go on a 5 day cruise in October and he won't fall asleep without nursing... any suggestions on how to make the switch would be much appreciated ;)

*He's the best! OK... I'll stop writing boring stuff no one probably cares about!

No Bones About It!

2010-08-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

So... Ashley and I were walking around the "SuperMall" outlets a few days ago and they had these cute matching pj's at Carter's for "buy1get1free" and... well... next thing you know I'm at the register buying them... They look so stinkin cute in them! We are ready for Halloween I guess! Even better..THEY GLOW IN THE DARK! ;) And REALLY well too!

The First Cut Is The Deepest...

2010-08-18T14:39:00.001-07:00

Sooo... It was finally time to cut Carter's Hair... OK it was probably time a few months ago, but I finally gave in. It just wouldn't hold any sort of shape any more... So I snapped a few pics...

Ummm... What are you doing to my hair mom?!

Shhh mom... it'll be ok... It'll grow back!!

Just one fial broding shot... Rogue-ishly handsome. It should be a crime!

Oh how I love Seattle SO much more than Denver...

2010-08-18T14:12:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned how much more I LOVE Seattle than Denver? I know I shouldn't give Denver a bad rap since we weren't in a great part of Denver, and if we weren't there for Danny's work and the weather wasn't such a factor... maybe I'd have a better attitude towards it... BUT... I LOVE SEATTLE!! We are only here about 8 weeks til we are done and back in California... So hopefully we don't get too much of the ugly part of Seattle weather... The past few days have been AWESOME! I LOVE how there are huge trees everywhere... they take their nickname "The Evergreen State" seriously! It's so pretty! We are about 10 minutes from Lake Washington.. which is this HUGE lake... and about 15-20 from the beach. I prefer the lake since the Beaches in Seattle are nowhere near as cool as California's. Lake Washington is my favorite place here... It has a swim area where they have made diving boards about 100 yards out... there's sand volleyball pits, barbeque pits, tennis courts, botanical gardens, etc. We need to find some friends that have a boat or something! We just sat there watching everyone out on their boats and drooled!! :) The water was perfect temperature too... (The beach water was FREEZING.. seeing as it's alaskan/canadian water!). Danny can't wait til Carter can play volleyball...

Carter after a dip in the water...Well... this is when I decided to cut Carter's hair... we cut it the next day and that post should be next ;) It's getting way too nappy!!Well.. Danny's still got it! If ya'll knew Danny growing up, you know he could've been an acrobat... He did backflips and tripletwisty flips... On his first one, all the kids watching (about 20), all started screaming "OHHHHHHH!!!! It was so funny. Carter with a fistful of sand... of course.

Taking a dip..Our friends the Speakers...A group shot of some of the mom's and thier kids here with us in Washington...Carter and his friend Kaycee... He loves to share, she loves to take. It works well right now ;)Me and my sweet boy...and a pic of Emma playing with Carter... And a pic of us! All in all.. a great day!

My Dapper Dude...Flying to Seattle... Remington Love...

2010-08-18T13:55:00.001-07:00

So I put this cute sweater on Carter my mom bought him... (LOVE IT!) and I thought he looked so cute so I grabbed my camera... then all of a sudden he just let go of the couch and even took a step! Granted, I'm not expecting him to start running around the house... I just thought it was awesome! He just kept standing there for a long time! He LOVES standing.. Though it's through the help of something almost always still... but he is determined to start walking soon...

I got to fly home to California for a few days while we were making the move from Denver to Seattle... Remi got to see Carter and spent tons of time licking him... Carter loved EVERY single lick! On the plane to California... I snapped a few pics... he was so excited to have an extra seat! I even buckled him in and he sat there all thru take off... He loved it! While all the other babies were screaming during turbulence... Carter was squealing for joy! SO funny.

HomeRun Derby on the 4th!

2010-07-05T10:33:00.000-07:00

What's more American than a little baseball?! For the few hours that weren't hailing/raining/thunderstorming here in Colorado...the boys went and played a little Homerun Derby. They had some fun... and of course Danny dominated. I always wonder what would've happened if he could've been on real teams growing up and had real coaching... He's so naturally gifted sportswise. Maybe it will pass down to Carter... (Crossing fingers... I'm already thinking **Scholarship**)!! A mom can hope!

Anyhew... I took the opportunity to take some pics of Carter with a baseball... Oh and I figured since it's the holiday he could sport the mohawk for real... He's got a good 5 inches on his head now!

The boys had fun and it was nice to be out for a bit. I've been super sick and it was nice to get some fresh air!

We ended up spending the rest of the day at one of our friend Nate's sales earlier this summer, they are a really nice couple and invited us all to come over for some BBQ. Yarik is from Poland and he grilled some burgers and "Real Polish Sausages"... they were DELISH!! We played some games and I found a couch I might possibly like more than the one I have back home! I'm already planning on buying one like it in about a year and a half when we are DONE with summer sales and settled once again. Oh how I long for that!! Oh well... we will make the best of it and hopefully it will be worth it! Happy birthday America!!

Getting Creative with Making Carter eat!

2010-07-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

So I've been tryin to get Carter to eat some solid foods... (well... anything other than the boob)... It's not going so well... he did ok the first couple bites.. but then he caught on... It ended up going everywhere BUT the mouth... (see feet, belly, thighs, diaper, fingers, ears, hair). I've discovered that he is going to be REALLY good at dodge ball though!
He kept reaching for the bowl though... so eventually I decided to try another angle... I let him get it up to his mouth... and he began slurping it up! Funny huh?! Some still went on him but less than before...

And then Zeke wanted in on the action... so he was more than willing to help clean up! Carter LOVES when Zeke licks his face... A few Dog germs never hurt anybody ;) Well.. at least we tried!!

New Hooter Hider!

2010-07-03T14:28:00.000-07:00

So my hooter hider was getting a bit ratty... So I figured I'd try making one with some scraps I had lying around... I think it turned out pretty cute! Well... except I tried using it for the first time this morning and Carter was so enamoured by the colors and patterns he was having a hard time focusing on eating!

California!! Home Sweet Home~!

2010-06-28T17:04:00.000-07:00

So Carter and I flew home last week to surprise my dad for a belated Father's Day... WE had so much fun! Carter got to do one of his favorite things a bunch... SWIMMING!! My dad took him in their pool... and we took him to the beach... He LOVED the sand!!! he kept rubbing his toes in the sand... and of course tried ( and succeeded) to eat fistfuls of muddy sand!

We wish Danny could have been there but he's working super hard this summer... But we'll have plenty of beach time when we get back to California. ((I've got this grand idea that I want to rent out a beach house for a month or two when we get back... Hopefully we can work it out!)) I'm pretty sure we are doing the summer sales deal for one final summer... so I want Danny to relax for a while when we get back. Crossing Fingers! I just keep telling myself... ONE more summer... ONE more summer... then we can actually settle down again. It'll be worth it and we'll be thru with summer sales before Carter's old enough to remember it!! Plus it will be nice to have Danny all to ourselves for a few months once October comes and we can play, play, play!!

Carter's 1st Baseball Game!

2010-06-28T16:44:00.000-07:00

While down in California... I took Carter to his first baseball game! It was just for the Storm... It's the minor league team for the Padres... It's usually a fun time to go to... Turns out if you take 10 recyclable cans/bottles, they let you in free!! So we went with my parents and some people from their ward... Carter LOVED Thunder, their mascot... so it gives us hope for Disneyland when we get back home!!

I just love this kid.... and he did pretty darn good! He got a little hungry so I ended up getting into the nurses station to feed him.. then he got tired around 9 so we took off (Storm were winning;) Overall it was so fun and great to spend time with the fam!

Shenanigans from Colorado...

2010-06-16T18:34:00.000-07:00

So... I haven't posted in forever... I think only once since we've been in Colorado... Our laptop is on the fritz and we aren't buying a new one til the summer's over... in case Danny wins one ;). We've had our ups and downs so far... the downs mostly dealing with the crazy, often crappy weather here... Anyhew... here's a few pics of Carter for those who don't see the millions I post on facebook!

Here's naked Carter!!! We were getting ready to go swimming... (sunny day)! I was lotioning him up and I had to take a pic!This is Carters favorite thing at the moment... CHEWING. Chewing on EVERYTHING. Yes his hair is that long. I know I shouild cut it... but I just can't yet. It's like... 4 1/2 inches on top. I combed it all forward this day... I just LOVE it when he's smiling!! Caught a few pics turing a gigglefit... If you see Zeke's paw in the corner... he probably started laughing cuz Zeke was licking his face... He LOVES it. And he loves Zeke... Zeke is so good with him... he lets Carter crawl all over him!
This was one of the first times he sat up by himself... looking all handsome and such... I just LOVE this little man! Oh and he's sitting up all the time now! He's soooo close to crawling. He gets up on his knees and hands... and then face-plants... then slugs... and starts over.. So close. He'll get it really soon.

I just LOVE how fun he is with baths now... since he can sit up he splashes around the water... he loves to play with the water as it comes out the spout.... oh and eat the bubbles! Then when he gets out he's so happy and rolls all over the place all nekked... so cute... unless of course he poops... which he did earlier this week... all over the floor. Eh... that's what dogs and steam cleaners are for! ;)

Well, I'll post more soon now that I have a computer that will charge!

Playdate at the Park with the Speakers!

2010-04-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday after church here in Colorado, we went to Washington Park with the Speakers, Zeke and Bailee! It is such a big, fun park! You almost feel like you are in Mayberry... There's so many people at it riding bikes, walking their dogs, rollerblading... general merriment ;0)

Anyhew, it was Carter's FIRST swing ride! Kaycee is a pro... She does have 3 months on him...Carter was a little dazed the whole time. He had eaten right before we left, and so he was super sleepy... the whole time he was in the swing he stuck to one pose, his fist in his mouth and staring at Kaycee! It was super cute.

There were also ducks and a couple huge ponds... There's bar-b-que's too, so we might go next Sunday for a BBQ...

Oh and Zeke LOVED IT! If he'd had a dog collar like in "UP", he'd be yelling "SQUIRREL!!!!" about 1,ooo times a minute! Bailee wasn't as jazzed but there was tons to smell so she was ok ;)
Here's a few more pics...

Easter/Conference Weekend in Utah!

2010-04-18T20:56:00.000-07:00

Carter's first Easter Egg hunt... He was super good at it ;)

Almost the whole Wilson Clan was able to get together for Conference/Easter weekend! Except that dang Brett and Amy who had to have another stinkin' baby! She's adorable though ;)

I snuck this picture and I put it up here even though I don't know if any of the rest of my family is on here.. but I thought it was too cute.

Carter was happiest just trying to chew on this egg.

I found one mom!!

CrAzZy Carter is 3 months!

2010-03-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

So... Our Crazy Carter Boy is THREE months old!! Well, 3 months and 1 day! :)
I haven't posted any stats since he was born so here you go... along with some other fun tidbits!

He had a Dr appt. today... it was his first set of major shots and he was NOT happy! I've never seen him cry so much!!

His measurements:
Height: 24.5".... 75th percentile
Weight: 12.3 lbs ... 25th percentile
Head Circumference: 15.98"... no idea what "percentile" it is, doc just said he has a big head!

He's being so fun nowadays (besides the past 2 days, I ate brocolli and I guess he DID NOT like it!)!

His hair is outta control cute.. it's still this curly mohawk... or as the pic above shows... a big fuzzball! He had just woken up and was rolling all over so it made it all crazy! That's ALL dad cuz my hair is stick straight!

Yea... he can ROLL OVER!! AHHHH!! last week I was like... oh he's getting so close.. now... he's rolling everywhere!! And he'll prop himself up on his arms and it's super cute!

NO I really don't shave his head into a mohawk... I get asked almost everytime I go somewhere... it's been like that since birth!

His head is still super lopsided... cuz he's always favored laying to his right side.. must have been laying that way in my belly! Hopefully now that he's becoming mobile it'll reshape!

He farts all the time and laughs.. he laughs at everything and anything!

He gets the attack of the giggles and it's just the cutest thing... he'll be smiling at you.. then all of a sudden his whole body just shivers and he just laughs and laughs... I love it.

He fits into 6-9 month clothes lengthwise... but newborn and 0-3 month wiegthwise.

His feet are HUGE! Not fat... just long and skinny. The doc laughed at his feet... he was like... wow those are some lonnng feet! I tried putting on the cute tennis shoes my mom bought him and he's already grown out of em! That's the second pair of shoes he's grown out of. Oye!

He's starting to grab onto everything and trying to put it in his mouth... He sucks on his fist all the time...

Oh we took him to the beach last week for the first time... I'll post pics later... I think we are gonna go again this week once Danny stops working. We took some pics with Ashley's camera but Carter was hungry in em so he doesn't look too happy!!
We love him to pieces! OK that's all!

Happy Lover's Day!

2010-02-14T11:47:00.000-08:00

So... I'm not a huge fan of Valentines Day... but it sure was fun dressing this guy up! My mom had bought this fabric so I made him a little Valentines Day tie for church today... then I used some of the leftovers to make a cute onesie... I figure he can still wear both even when it's not Valentines day...

Anyhew.. Here's a little Valentine's Day Lovin' from us!

Milkdrunk

2010-02-10T17:36:00.001-08:00

So... my kids a messy drunk! Lately after he chows down... and makes a total mess of himself... he just starts smiling and laughing... well as much as a 7 week old baby can laugh! The camera happened to be nearby so I snapped a few pics... the last one was from a few weeks ago... he fell asleep eating and this big line of milk drooled out... it was classic :)

Carter's Blessing!

2010-02-10T17:19:00.000-08:00

So this past Sunday we were able to bless Carter.... it was spiritual and fun-filled day and we are so glad to have friends and family there! Great-Gma Wilson was even here from Utah, and Aunt Nancy and my cuzzin Eric flew in from Australia the night before so they were able to make it before they left to go back to Utah! It was such a fun day... my parents let us do a little luncheon at their house... it would have been chaos in our townhome... well.. more chaos :) Great way to start off Superbowl Sunday! The sun decided to come out a blazin' right when we started taking pics... thus all the squintage!

My "New" Rocking Chair...

2010-02-01T16:22:00.001-08:00

So... I refuse to pay full price for just about ANYTHING... call me a cheapskate... I don't even care... I wanted a rocking chair/glider thing... but they are all ugly and expensive... two things I dislike greatly...

So I've been scouring Craigslist for a good deal... I found one for $40... it was hardly even used and the guy kept telling me this... I guess he wanted me to offer more than the $60 he was asking. I offered $40 and that I could come get it tonight... he had OK... so I grabbed it...

Then I went to Joanns and bought some upholstery fabric to cover the nasty biege... and then I covered an old pillow with the leftover fabric to jazz it up some... I'm pretty darn proud of it! One of these days I'll actually get his room put together... Probably by the time he's walking...

Strikin a Pose

2010-01-30T17:14:00.001-08:00

Here's my little stud... Kristin Fuller took some cute pics of him... in his (MY) favorite blanket... He's just such a sweetie! He hardly ever cries... but I put one pic in so you know he does! He's been so great so far... he sleeps thru the night... so I always get a good 7 hours of sleep each night which I am VERY grateful for! And yes... I know he looks like his dad! I claim his eyes (even though danny and I both have blue eyes... I take what I can)! I also claim his feet... becuase they are long and skinny... which are just like mine... Not a glamorous thing to claim... but what do you do! His hair takes a mind of it's own.. Its funny, he's had this really long hair since he was born, but it's in a strip right down the middle and down the back! the sides are almost bare! So I swear I did not shave my kids hair into a mohawk... it just does it! I refuse to do a combover so he's gettin the fo-hawk look until the rest grows in!

Carter WIlson Stoddart - December 21st, 2009

2010-01-30T16:55:00.000-08:00

Well... it's taken me FOREVER to put anything up on the blog... but here I go... We had our sweet little boy on December 21st, 2009. I was due the 14th so he was exactly a week late. I was actually set to be induced at 10pm that night, but... at 3am that morning my water broke and we headed for the hospital... and at 11pm on the dot this cutie was born! He also now shares his birthday with his favorite uncle Brandon ;) Carter was 7lbs, 7oz and 21 inches long... so... long and skinny!! We were shocked he was so skinny since I was such a chub.. and everyone thought he was gonna be a 9-10 pounder... turns out I had a TON of amniotic fluid so it threw the doc off. (NOT complaining... I don't know HOW my mom had me at 19 inches and 10 pounds... and NO epidural).

SPEAKING of EPIDURAL... that is the best. I see NO reason to go au natural unless it's necessary. YOU CRAZY if you do! It made things MUCH easier. Though I don't know if it just is that painful, or my epidural just started to wear off since I got it 9 hours before he came out, but by the time I hit 9-10 cms, I was FEELIN that pain!! Thus the final picture... this was me relieved that that pain was instantly over...

It's such a crazy, indescribable feeling... but as soon as you hold that sweet little baby in your arms it's all worth it!!! So crazy.

I love him to bits... And we were SO glad to get out of the hospital the next day. It took alot of nagging but we were able to get out by nighttime on the 22nd.

I had Danny, my mom and Tif there most of the day and they were just great... (oh and Ricky too... he's a trooper.. he sat out in the lobby the whole day... I don't think he realized what he signed up for.)

The whole experience just made me realize even more how awesome my parents are... It was so good to have them there and meet the first grandbaby!

I've lost my brain til the baby comes out...

2009-12-04T15:59:00.000-08:00

So... I'm glad I live in Murrieta... otherwise I think I would be much much more broke. In the past few weeks I have:

*Left my keys at the bank
*Left my purse at the bank (seperate trip)
*Left my car doors wide open for hours
*Left my dog Bailee outside in the front (though that was partly my husbands fault ;)
*Left my wallet in the cart at BabysRus
*Left my credit card at Albertsons
*Left my groceries at Stater Brothers
*Left my bags at Walmart
*Left my purse in a cart at Joanns while I went off somewhere...
*Left my keys AND wallet at the Post Office

Yeah. Thankfully no one's ever stolen any of it, and usually, if they even notice I've left it there, they either chase after me to tell me or turn it in to a store so I can get it.

UPDATE... so... after writing all the things I've forgotten lately...

I go to leave the house, got my shoes on... my purse/wallet, cell phone, waterbottle, keys, turned off all the lights... open the door, then...

WHOOSH... cold air comes flowing in and I realize I FORGOT TO PUT ON PANTS! Whoops. Add that to the list. Good thing it was cold or I probably never would have realized it.

My Parents Are Awesome

2009-11-05T17:26:00.000-08:00

FYI.... in case you didn't know... I scored the Lotto on parents. Just thought I'd share that.

Lately I've seen some not so terrific examples of parents and it pisses me off.... slash makes me sad.

I'm not calling anyone out, but rather just making a generalization of an unfortunate trend I seem to be seeing.

Some "parents" are oblivious to the consequences of their actions. Some think that because they donate the genetic material required to make a child, that they are entitled to the title of parent. Other "parents" seem to be more child-like than thier kids. Some of the bad examples of parenting I get angry about, others just make me sad.

If you make the decision to have kids, and are blessed to be able to have them, you have to realize it's a life-long commitment. As I get closer to having this first kid (who by the way needs to hurry up and get here), I'm becoming more and more aware how every decision you make will affect their lives. Every decision I make does not just effect me, or me and Danny, but also our children, and one day our decisions will have an impact on their children. As soon-to-be parents we are already having to make decisions that will affect our kids... and it's hard to make decisions that might hurt those we love.

Granted, I was a brat sometimes growing up, but I secretly always knew, and have become more aware, how right my parents always were. They are awesome examples of how parents should be. They sacrificed more than I"ll probably ever know. I'm sure it would have been easier to be more of "the friend" parent instead of disciplining. My parents weren't afraid of being "a parent", they were concerned about making sure that they did all they could to help us know right from wrong, and tried their best to give me and my brother every oppourtunity possible to succeed.

They were and always are there for us. They've never made a promise they couldn't keep.

They've never dissapointed me or let me down. I've never been ashamed of anything they've done or said (even the crazy Kenny Loggins stalking).

They've welcomed my husband with open arms and treat him like one of their own, and I know he appreciates it.

So just to summarize, my parents ROCK.

Baby Dresser!

2009-10-25T10:32:00.000-07:00

So... I was gonna go garage shopping on Saturday to see if I could find a dresser that I could redo for the baby's room instead of buying a brand new one... but my mom said she had an old one sitting in the garage... and I could do whatever I want with it... ( I needed to make sure I could do whatever I wanted cuz it was an old antique and I knew if it had any value... it would probably be gone by the time I was done with it... but some of the drawers needed repair and it was old and some of the hinges had fallen apart... and there were water stains so it wasn't worth anything anyway...

Anyhew... so I sanded everything down and fixed the doors... and took of the old hinges... then went to town painting it... The most expensive part was just the knobs... had to spend 20 bucks since there were 20 holes... i guess i shoulda puttied half the wholes up before I painted it and only used 10 knobs... but oh well.

I got the little sample paint cans at Lowes for like... 2 bucks each... anyhew... so now I have this super funky dresser for the baby room ;) What do you do ;)

VEGAS baby...Barefoot AND pregnant most of the time...

2009-10-23T17:07:00.000-07:00

So I never posted our pics from Vegas... so heeeeeere you go! Granted, being uber-pregnant and going to Vegas wasn't quite as fun as Vegas normally is... but we still had fun ;) We went and saw BlueManGroup... which was great... Danny loved it more than I did but I thought it was pretty good. (I wanted to see LionKing... but i got the promise of "next time we'll go to Lion King for SURE....) uh huh. ;) Anyhew... This BlueMan was just DYING to take a picture with me... as you can tell by his face.

This tree was at the Bellagio Conservatory... He was kiiiinda creepy and kept whispering at us... I think he thought Danny was hot...

Classic Danny.... Doing something silly while I'm looking around to make sure there aren't any cops.

Danny was enamoured with this mini-bellagio... it was really cool... they made a miniature of the hotel but made it look really cottage-y... Danny took many shots till he got one with the fountains going off...

I think this is when we took a break from the pool and went to the ESPN zone to watch some of the football games... there was like.... at 2 1/2 hr wait for a table... but then we went upstairs and we got lucky finding a table open in the bar area... which ended up workin out great since we were surrounded by a ton of TVs. Some crazy pregnant lady bumped the pepper shaker with her belly and the thing shattered everywhere... silly pregnant ladies. I went and told the waitress "someone" knocked over a pepper shaker.... i don't think she bought it.

We ended up getting 4th row for BlueManGroup... they actually pulled us aside as we were coming in and asked if we wanted to be part of the show... at 1st we said yes but then realized it was this tiny bit part and they would have moved us out of our seats... to further back ones... so we were really glad we went back and told them no... cuz our seats were AWESOME. 4th row right in the middle.

Me alone with creepy tree...

Danny taking a Dumpty...pardon the pun.

More BlueMan... So my pictures aren't in order.... I'm too lazy to put the BlueMan Pics together...

I loved this tree... it was my favorite... he was like an old soul...

OH and for Serendipity the MOVIE... fans... they just opened Serendipity3 at Ceaser's Palace... I simply ADORE this movie... and have always wanted to eat at the Serendipity in NY... but seeing as I've never actually GONE to NY... I hadn't... So we went... I was hoping to sit outside.. but it was FAAAAREEEEEZING that nite. Some hints if you go there... the desserts loooook amazing. I say LOOK amazing... because I was so saddened to not actually EAT one of their delicious sundaes. We ordered some nachos and this chicken pizza... turns out their portions are HUUUUGE. we were STUFFED. I was literally upset that we bought food and couldn't eat a dessert... it was the main reason I was going... but we couldn't even finish our meals. The pizza was really good. (the nachos... not so much, i've made better at home). Anyhew... It was a cute little place but I still want to go to the NY one... And now I'm better prepared. I'll be going there with only BigHuge Sundae on the brain. (NO not the 1,000 dessert though they do serve it at this one...) Anyhew... there's Vegas.

Lion Pillow

2009-10-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

I like this pillow much better than the Monkey Pillow... But the Monkey Pillow was my first try... ;) This one was fun and it's about the same size... Now if I can keep the cats from thinking it's a bed and the dogs from thinking its a very large toy.....

Doggy Anxiety Attacks...

2009-10-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

Turns out my dogs are spoiled... and they get anxiety attacks when we leave them alone in the house... or outside for that matter... Only at our house... When we ARE home... they are on their best behavior... but we leave and they go SKITZO! We'd been leaving them in the house since it's been so friggin HOT outside... plus the nieghbor dogs are crazy and try to attack our dogs thru the fence... so then our dogs try to attack them... CHAOS. Anyhew... after I came home to THIS (which was the worst by far... usually they just chew some pens or run toiletpaper thru the house) we decided they have to stay outside when we aren't home... so we borrowed a metal dog gate thing that covers the entire fence on the neighbors side... HOPEfully that will stop the destruction! Oh by the way after I took the pictures we saw they had eaten the toggles off danny's xbox controllers as well... GRRRRRRRR. expensive treat!

Course... I try to yell at Zeke and I simply CANT DO IT!!!! He does this double paw thing and looks so scared becuase he knows he did something wrong but isnt sure quite what... so he starts shaking and sits and shakes with both his paws at the same time... I can't help but laugh... I literally had to bury my head and turn away cuz I was smiling and laughing!

crafty when I wanna be....

2009-09-26T23:23:00.001-07:00

So.... I got this idea to make this rug for the baby room while me and my mom were at JoAnns... Turns out I LOVE how it turned out! It's pretty big too! Then I still had lots of extra so I figured I'd keep experimenting... and tried making a monkey head pillow! It's pretty big too... It still needs to get the lumps worked out so it's a bit rounder... but for doing it from scratch and now pattern I think they both turned out pretty cute! And even better... both of em only cost like... 15 bucks total! (I'm a cheapskate... so I like when I save money... what of it?!) Course when you factor in all the time it took to make it I guess it aint so cheap... but it was fun ;) In case you couldn't tell we are going for a jungle! ;) Next up... I wanna try n make a Lion pillow!

They don't have a clue...

2009-09-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

These dogs don't have a CLUE whats gonna hit em in 3 months.... Cuz right now we spoil them like crazy... But how can I not!!! I frigggin love these guys!

PS... Zeke looks possessed in this last picture... such a contrast to his actual self... he wouldn't hurt a fly!

This Bird stole the Show...

2009-09-16T15:44:00.000-07:00

So I took my new camera to the beach to take pictures of Danny and Nate surfing... But of course there weren't any waves so... I ended up taking a few pics of this "white eagle" that was chomping on a mackerel... Now I'm taking the word of the old men googily-eyed and staring who say this was a cool thing to take a picture of... so I took a few. There ended up being a big crowd of people watching the bird annihilate this dead fish...

There wasn't any surf to watch so this baby took the show!Fig'd I'd share in case theres any bird lovers out there ;)

Or if you just like to see a fish getting gutted by an eagle... I'm just here to please ;)

Baby Names.... Any preference???

2009-09-04T18:17:00.001-07:00

So... we've been debating what we are going to call this baby... I've narrowed it down to 3... I told Danny to choose which... I know he's always wanted to name his 1st boy Carter... but then there was an issue for a bit but now I don't think it will be... but we'd looked at other names so I've got it down to 3...

Carter Wilson Stoddart (Then it gets both sides of the family covered ;)
Cash/Kash/Caash Stoddart (don't know what middle name).
Dane Carter or Dane Wilson Stoddart.

Any one prefer one to another??

there's a funny story with Carter... it's Danny's middle name... and when he had to move to Utah for school for a year he tried to change his name so everyone would call him Carter... but then he'd forget he told everyone his name was Carter... so he'd never turn around or respond when people would say Carter... so he had to just stick to Danny.

(that story wasn't the issue... I just thought it was funny).

Doctor's Appointment...

2009-07-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

DOCTOR: "So are you feeling the baby move much yet?"

(Doctor is using the little stomach stetheschop-thingy to try and find the heart beat).

BABY IN BELLY: "WHAM."

(Baby kicks right where the stomach-stetheschope thing is positioned).

ME: "Yep. Felt that one."

The Doc had a hard time hearing the heartbeat since the little guy was moving so stinkin much! Looks like he takes after his dad... already practicing his backflips!

Doc says everything looks great... everything's measuring perfect... yadda yadda... once she could get the heartbeat long enough without the baby's kicking sounds covering it up... she said all that was lookin' great too!

Click-Fart?

2009-07-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

"Click-fart."

"Huh?"

"Please click-fart."

(...awkward silence as I try to interpret...)

"OHHHH... Click START!"

No wonder it took TWO HOURS and TWENTY-FOUR minutes on the phone with HP "customer service" just to get my friggin expensive printer to start scanning again.

Oh... and there's no WAY that guy's name is Jimmy. Just cuz you pretend your name is a common english name in NO WAY means you suddenly speak fluent english. Or that you suddenly reside in the continental United States...

Gotta love corporate outsourcing.

I can't help myself...

2009-07-13T22:25:00.000-07:00

So what if I've still got 22 weeks until this little guy is finished baking... I couldn't resist. No it's not the 1st thing I bought either! The day we found out it was a boy I bought this cute little blue beanie with little bear ears on it...

So today I saw these at Target and couldn't help myself... the little striped one was only $1.98 and the other was only $4.... Pardon the clarity of the picture... I couldn't find my camera so I just took it with my phone but there was lots of shadow goin on. Anyhew... i thought they were cute!

Oh... on a side note... out of nowhere I was thinking of funny one-zy sayings and I thought a good one to sell in Vegas would be... "I'm what happens in Vegas." or "What happens in Vegas shows up 9 months later" Not that it's for MY child... but I thought it would be funny. I had seen some funny ones in Vegas when we were there a month ago. But niether of those. But I digress.

Houston...We have a Penis!

2009-07-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

**Did that offend anyone... whoops. Well who cares! We're havin a baby boy!! I'm super excited! Partly cuz I thought it was a boy... n it's cool to know I was right! Also cuz it will be a little less frightening for Danny! After seeing Taken he's petrified of having a girl! Plus he can teach him all his favorite things! We did the 3/D-4/D ultrasound thing... It was about a $100 and totally worth it... in my opinion. Especially since it's our first and I'm just so curious! And our first ultrasound was so lame since it was only 7wks.
**One of the first images we saw was of him waving at us! it was when they were doing the b/w 2D since that's how they do gender determination. She said it's definetly a little boy! He kept snuggling up next to the placenta like a blanket. Gross when you think about it... but it was cute to see! he also was moving all over the place! And drinking ALOT! it was crazy you could totally see him swallowing and everything! I totally recommend it!
**If any of you plan on doing this... make sure to start drinking lots of water about a week before you go... Ours were pretty clear for only being 16weeks. (if you don't drink alot of water, it makes the pictures really fuzzy. It increases the clarity of the amniotic fluid or something like that).
**Also... make sure you drink some juice about a half hour or so before you go... I put some in a container and even drank some when I was there... and the little guy was movin all over the place! It has more sugar in it so it get's em all hyped up and wakes em up! The best time to do it is around the 20-24th week if you're doin the 3d/4d stuff... the baby's a little bigger and fatter so it'll look more lifelike. But it's still so cool at 16 weeks! It made it so real! Plus it was fun to have my parents and danny's mom and our niece there since it wasn't thru the hospital! And they take their time and let us see all the fun stuff! Anyways... I digress... I'm just happy it's healthy and human;) And fun it's a boy!!

Human Fooseball

2009-06-03T21:16:00.000-07:00

So we all love fooseball... so why not human fooseball?!?! I figure I'd do my review since I know alot of you are in YM/YW... We had a GREAT combined activity tonite... (No we weren't in charge but I'm telling you anyway!) They mapped out the basketball court to be a big fooseball table... there was a net on each end... then split in two teams... (they marked the line with different colored duct tape). They had each teams line facing towards their goal... and bought soft soccer-size balls made out of soft bands so there was lots of air and they could bend esaily... NOT DODGE BALLS... (the kids will kick it hard N you don't want to have a bunch of bloody noses! I've seen other people set it up with big poles everyone holds onto... but if you want to save money and don't have a ton of PVC pipe laying around... our ward just hooked elbows... which ended up being really fun since they could move easier and slide from left to right... We used 3 balls so there was activity everywhere... they had the YM leaders as refs with whistles and would give out penalties if people moved too far off the line or used their hands...

Anyhew at first I was worried the kids might get bored of it and it wouldn't take up the whole time... but they LOVED it... everyone had a great time... even the leaders ;) Every 15 minutes or so we would change up the lines... move the people on defense to the middle or whatnot so everyone did different areas... I think it helped keep it interesting...

Anyhew... It would be pretty easy to set up... just find some nets and get some cheap balls (no pun intended;) You could prolly find em at Big Lots or whatnot.

Just thought I'd throw it out there if you haven't done it or ever need a joint activity!

Our other new baby!

2009-06-01T19:33:00.001-07:00

So this is our "other" new addition! (besides the debuting in December baby that's baking in my belly...) His name is Zeke and we adore him. We call him Zeke-a-Leak... cuz when we first got him he peed ALL the time. He's way better at it... but now when we take him out to pee he literally pees forever... today I swear it was over a minute and a half long.

He is THE sweetest little pup. Always smiling... or snoring if he's sleeping. This was on his first trip to the dogpark after getting all his shots... Him and bailee get along great...

As do him and Remi... and any other dog he meets;) Even better... Danny's sister Tifany ended up adopting his sister... so they are twinners and get to play all the time! They are so stinkin cute. He likes to think he is a big dog already... he's a newfoundland mix.... So supposedly he's going to get reall big. His dad looked like a bear... literally. The mom wasn't nearly as big though. Sad story his mom died a few weeks after we got Zekester. She hopped her fence and got hit by a car... twice... I don't think Zeke can jump that high ever... he's not nearly as graceful as Bailee is. We see Bailee sprint across the yard like a gazelle... then the big black blob follows behind... well.. a big black blob with a pink tongue dangling out... anyhew! We love him!

In case you hadn't heard....

2009-06-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

We're having a baby;) Most of you probably know since we told everyone ages ago... but... tadahhh! I've been supersick and haven't wanted to put clothes on let alone update the bloggityblog... so... better late than never! I'm too lazy to take a pic of the real one. We got the 1st ultrasounds... but it was just a tadpole then... and my stupid expensive heavyduty printer decided to stop scanning... grrr.) So i can't justscan that either... So use your imagination... hopefully i'll have it figured out by the next ultrasound!

The first appointment was interesting to say the least... but oh well! The doctor decided to spend forever trying to figure out if there we're two babies in there... he finally decided there wasn't... but we did get to see it and hear the heartbeat really early... so I can't complain!

We went to the doctor again today... supposedly we are around 13 weeks... we got to hear the heartbeat again! SOOO much fun... and reassuring. I've realized that i'm very impatient about this stuff. I want to be able to see the baby when ever I want.. and hear it whenever I want... but the doctors won't oblige. jerks. Hearing the heartbeat is just fantastic though... It beats so fast! I swear the kid is running laps in there!

To any husbands or future dads out there... be nice to your wives if they get the morning aka "all-day sickness". It can be a real beast. They aren't making it up. I can attest to that. I know it's totally worth it... but man it drags ALOT out of you during those first few weeks.

Anywa ys... I'm wishing for my tastebuds to return to me... everything tastes different, I always have a nasty taste lingering in my throat that makes me want to hurl... My body is warping in all different ways... I feel like I need a makeover... and yet I wouldn't give it up for anything... ;) So hopefully everything goes well... and in December we'll have a cute little kid poppin out!

Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup...

2009-04-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

So... This could be thes best and worst discovery all year. Best because I LOVE this soup... Worst because I kept tryin to tell myself it's not THAT unhealthy... but now I know the ingredients! I guess besides the Velvetta it's not too bad??

Anyhew... here's for the Enchilada soup lovers:

1 TBSP Vegetable Oil
1 Lb Chicken Breast
1/2 C Diced Onion
1 Clove Garlic, Minced
4 C Chicken Broth
1 C Masa Harina
3 C Water
1 C Enchilada sauce (I just used the whole can accidently but it turned out good;)
16 Oz Velvetta Cheese (ughhh we were doing so good on the ingredients!!)
1 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp salt

Add one tablespoon of oil to a lrg pot over med heat. Add chicken breasts to pot and brown 4-5 minutes per side. Set chicken aside. Add onions and garlic to pot and saute over medium heat for about 2 minutes or until onions begin to become translucent. Combine masa harina with 2 Cups of the water in a medium bowl and whisk until blended. Add masa harina to pot with onions, garlic, and chicken broth. Add remaining water, enchilada sauce, cheese, and spices to pot and bring mixture slowly to boil. Shred chicken into small bite-size pieces and add to the pot. Reduce heat and simmer soup for 30-40 minutes or until thick.

* The masa harina is a special mexican flour usually used to make corn tortillas. It'll either be in the flour/sugar aisle or the Ethnic aisle. It was only $2 for a bag.

It makes quite a bit... So use a decent size pot. then just sprinkle cheese and tortillas and devour;)

My $10 Eyeglasses!!

2009-03-31T15:22:00.000-07:00

So these are my first successful experience with buying online glasses... You may not consider it a success if you have a thing against orange/white glasses with swirls on the arms... and if so you are just wrong! I love em... Including shipping they cost me 14 dollars! Including the prescription lenses! next time i'll for sure put the anti-glare coating... but I figured i'd just do cheap n easy to see if they were gonna be real crappy quality.

Some hints if you're thinkin bout buying online:
1.ZenniOptical seems to have the best customer satisfaction. Just make sure your prescription is correct (the 1st time i ordered one of the -'s got left off a # and so it was all funky. Not their fault... it was mine).
2.Also make sure you get your pupillary distance from the optometrist if they didn't write it on your prescription. (only takes a sec and they should do it for free. DONT guess.)
3.Check the size of frames you are buying. Most glasses put the size on the arm of the glasses so you can just check yours... if it's rubbed off, just go try on some frames at Wallyworld or wherever and see how big/small of frames you need. (made this mistake with the 1st pair also... i didn't look at the size and they were WAAAY too wide for my head.)

That's it! It's really simple but doing the above saves you from the learning curve. I just bought an expensive pair of glasses at Costco the same day I bought my cheapo ones online... the online ones came sooner.. and i'll probably like em more!

ScripturePillows

2009-03-12T14:06:00.000-07:00

sooo... we are having a push to get the girls to read the scriptures more... finding ways to remember to read them each day... yaddayadda. One of our cute little girls on Sunday told us how she puts her scriptures under her pillow so if she forgets... her head it's em and tHEN she remembers... anyhew so I ended up making them these pillows with pockets to give em... we used em at mutual and played scripture taboo... whoever gets it first got 1st pick of pillowcase... Ended up being pretty fun.
They are pretty easy to make so it'd also be great for a activity if ya ever need one... (turns out making them all yourself takes a while!! especially when you gotta make 17 of em! ;)

young women's values...

2009-03-04T13:50:00.000-08:00

I ENDED UP POSTING EM ON FACEBOOK CUZ I THINK MOST OF YOU ARE ON THE FACE THAT MIGHT WANT EM... THEY ARE JUST IN A ALBUM IN MY PICTURES... ;)
So this is mostly for the girls... I know alot of you mentioned you were in YW... I made these a while back... we made em into posters... figured I'd post em on here in case anyone wants to use em... I have all of em but couldn't post all em at once so I just did 4 on here... If they don't copy well off the blog, just let me know and I can email all of em to you... they are in jpeg format

Parvo Survivor!

2009-03-04T13:36:00.001-08:00

I've never been so excited about Bailee Poop in my life! Let me explain...
So... the little pup I wrote about before is out of our lives :( Turns out the lady that we got it from was NOT a very good foster family... THe pup had parvo... and even though Bailee was supposedly up on her shots she managed to get it too!! It was a VERY traumatic experience... we LOVE our little baileegirl. Luckily we caught it early enough and Bailee is bigger so she had a better chance of survival! But it was still scary... and expensive! There's no guarantee of survival with the treatments... We were able to choose outpatient treatment so it made it a little better...
So i've been serving babyfood, pedialite, lamb, chicken, hamburger, cottage cheese, yogurt, scrambled eggs for a week... IN case you don't know much about Parvo its a disease that attacks their intestinal tract... they can't eat and throw up alot and get naasty diahrea... Puppies have like a 80/90% fatality rate. Bailee's over a year old and wieghs over 40 lbs so the odds were better... I've been montoring her 24/7... checkin her bowel movements and etc... anyways she hasn't thrown up in almost 5 days and her stinkies and getting more solid... and she's eating tonns of food and just wants to play ALL the time... so we are officially declaring VICTORY over PARVO! ;) I wish it on NO ONE. It's such a sad, sad thing. When you adopt make sure you have all the information from the agency and make sure it's VALID so you can turn them in if they sell you a dog that is infected. Our little guy had it when we bought him... They are legally supposed to check before they sell you one. I've turned em in to eerywhere I can find... hopefully they won't allow any more pups in that lady's house... Parvo's a VERY contagious disease (canine-specific) and lives for months, sometimes YEARS untreated. ANyhew... lots of information so i'll quit!

OH YEA... YOU CAN'T SEE IT... BUT HER SHIRT SAYS "ONLY CHILD..." SHE GETS HER WAY AGAIN CUZ WE WON'T BE ADOPTING ANOTHER PUP FOR AT LEAST 6-7 MONTHS (UNLESS WE MOVE;)

New Addition!

2009-02-21T13:13:00.001-08:00

Yes we are animal lovers... So this is our newest pup! He's one of 17 in the litter! We love him already... though Bailee hasn't quite made up her mind. I'm not sure she wants to share the attention. She's getting better though... I think she also is afraid to play with him since he's so tiny still. She gets in trouble when she chases the cats.. and Zeke is still smaller than Nixon and Taj. He's an Anitolian Shepard mix... so he won't be smaller than Bailee for long!

Tagged

2009-01-20T20:46:00.000-08:00

Alrighty Marcia... so explain the tag thing and then tag me... punk! ;)

What's this all about?

A-Z Tag

A--Attached or single: Attached... BTW 7 years Marcia? ridiculous! I've been married for just over 2... He's a keeper.
B--Best Friend: Danny... duh. You're husband should always be your best friend!
C--Cake or Pie: Niether? If I had to choose i'd say cake... cuz it could be ice cream cake! Ooh and I like my gma's strawberry cake thing... ooh and i love cheesecake! OK it's DEFINITELY CAKE!
D--Day of choice: Anyday off work... I actually enjoy Sundays lately cuz it's different than the rest of the days... and I love Church even though we have the dreaded 1:00 church... and most sundays we get together with family and/or friends to play games... and football games are on...
E--Essential Item: Computer. I seem to be at it non-stop lately!
F--Favorite Color: Bright pink and bright green... who knew. and yellow. and blue.
G--Greatest Accomplishments: Getting my degree.. even though I don't use it much.... I'll never forget the experiences I had and memories made at college!
H--Hometown: Moval... I've moved on!
I--Indulgences: Clearance Sales... Home stuff...
J--January or July: July! January is still too cold... and Christmas just ended so all the Christmas stuff leaves... Definetly July!
K--Kids: Just non-human ones... Taj, Nixon, and our favorite... Bailee... she's a dingo.
L--Life is complicated without: Contacts. I can't see anything anymore without em.
M--Marriage Date: November 17,2006
N--Number of Siblings: Just my older brother brandon...
O--Oranges or Apples: Oranges. definetly Oranges. My teeth are too sensitive with the apples... it gives me shivers sometimes when i bite into apples...
Q--Quotes: All of em. I love em. I should be doing what Marcia does... I look for good quotes all the time.... I think the one I put on my blog heading is super cute..
R--Reasons to Smile: My dog. My husby.
S--Singer/Songwriter: Everything that doesn't swear every other word. Last CDs I got were Taylor Swift, Jason Mraz, and Brushfire Holiday. I need to get some new music... it's been a while.
T--Tag 5 Friends: Uhhhh..... who know who reads this... I'll tag Pam, Jen, Shane(Hunter), Melissa ( this counts for 2 since there's 2 melissas on here!)
U--Unknown Fact About Me: I want to take a photography class. no one knew it cuz I jsut decided it.
V--Very Favorite Stores: Ones with clearance signs on em... I love the element store at the outlets. Homegoods. Target.Ikea.
W--Worst Habit: Procrastinating. Not doing laundry.
X--X-ray or Ultrasound: I always loved giving ultrasounds in the training room at school... so ultrasounds.
Y--Your Favorite Food: IceCream. particulary chocmaltedcrunch and cookiedough. Also anything with pepperochinis... except icecream with pepperochinis... that doesn't sound good.
Z--Zodiac: Virgo
**Did you learn anything new?**Will you play?**

New calling at Church!

2009-01-20T17:16:00.000-08:00

This Sunday I was released from my calling in Activities :( (I actually really enjoyed it for the few months I was in it!) and accepted 2 new callings.... I'm now an assistant with the Beehives in Young Women's(12-14yr olds)... as well as Assistant Ward Camp Leader! I'm a little overwhelmed but very excited to be able to work with the Young Women! We have a HUGE ward... and lots of Beehives... this last Sunday we had 14 Beehives! Yowza! Looks like we'll have our hands full! "Busy as a Bee".... you might even say! ;) I'm also excited to be able to get involved with Girls Camp! Sure is different than the A-frames we had!

BY THE WAY: Anyone working in Young Women's... if you are doing a googlesearch for images to use... don't type in "young women" and assume that google is going to know what you are looking for... I won't tell you WHAT showed up... but needless to say I'm pretty sure it wasn't anything related to faith, integrity, virtue... ecetera! ((Virtue is the newest YW value... I didn't know they added a new one! and they changed the theme a bit at the end!)

Bumbling Beginner Blogger....

2009-01-17T15:07:00.000-08:00

Soooooo.... Here's a funny story... Audrey kept mentioning how she couldn't ever see her comments on my blog... I kinda just didn't think about it... I don't really know what i'm doing anyway... So I figured I'd try to figure what she was talkin about... And I found all the comments from people since I started the blog! So instead of going through each post i'm just gonna reply to em all here:

So here we go...

Miss Lyndsee-- I'm so sad I didn't see this til now! I used to live in MoVal and I would have gladly rescued you! :) We don't live too far... it's about a half hour away or so... Is it your husband's family thats there? I grew up there... next time you come this way let me know.... My cells on my facebook so you can just call me up and i'll come running!

Melissa Silcock-- SO glad I found you! I think about ya all the time... Especially everytime I have a cheesecake! Littlebabyslickrock is just adorable... along with the rest of your wee ones! I'm gonna email you after this! And yes... my husband is a cutie... haha....

Marcia- Have you heard of California? You should move here. :) I hadn't said it in like... a week so I figure I should. Also... Thanks for defining tagging for me... If I ever tag someone.... You'll be it first... lucky girl!

Melissa Hyde- Little belated but we got that worked out... Your blog is so dang cute... I miss your craftiness to feed off of...

Di- We have 1 dog and 2 kitties... I can't believe you have 3! I'm going crazy with 2! I love em so it's not like I'd ever get rid of either of em... but my limit to indoor cats is one from now on... We have an automatic litterbox and it still drives me crazy how much those things poop!

PamelaKay- Never bounced a check... but overdrafted via checkcard;) I'm not THAT good! ((Up at Ricks when I was living off nothing.... we didn't even have cell phones remember! How Arcaic!))

Christian and Stephanie- Yes... Meteor Showers at Ricks! Also a few in Cali and Utah... But the Idaho ones were the best.... climbing up on some potato mills... or out in the sand dunes.... nothin like it...

Shannon- Happy belated B-day... now i'll never forget your birthday:) And thanks for the congrats!

Anyhew... So I'm learning! gimme a break!

Our only Christmas Pics!

2009-01-10T11:32:00.000-08:00

Sooo... we didn't take many pictures at Christmas I guess! This is all I have from Christmas... Just a "family portrait" with Bailee-gurl and then one from Christmas morning! We broke away from tradition this year and went out to Danny's sister Trish's house for Christmas Eve... we played games and had some grub... Chad and Dave taught... well... tried to teach us Dominoes. Turns out you don't just stack em up in long trails and then push one over... there's an actual game. Chad had all these funky sayings... that's Chad. Anyways on our way back we were able to still make it to the end of the Mattsen's Christmas thingy... but we missed the Mallow fight:( We spent Christmas Day at my parent's house.... they got their Christmas present early... they now have the largest TV of anyone I know. It's massive. We love it. Brandon gave em a Blu-Ray for Christmas so we basically zombied out on the TV all day! We had a great relaxing day!

I am... I want... I wonder....

2009-01-09T17:14:00.000-08:00

I am: watching the celtics/cavs game and looking at people blogs...
I want: to not have to pay any bills...
I have: the cutest little dog
I dislike: kids that feel they are entitled to everything
I miss: college life.... sometimes. i miss my friends:)
I fear: BEES.
I feel: frazzled.
I hear: Cleveland has an early lead. Anytime Boston looses is a good time.
I crave: the summer weather. and a LemonBerry Slushie from Sonic... too bad its far.
I usually: think i should be doing more.
I search: for good deals. Clearance is one of my favorite words
I wonder: if we'll ever grow up
I regret: not figuring out a way to work with my degree
I love: my family and friends.
I care: how people feel
I always: clean up after my husband, dog, and cats.... eat too much... wish I was on vacation...
I worry: about everything.... and nothing.
Iremember: Having something to do everynite
I believe: we could all be doing a little more
I sing: whether you like it or not
I try not to: stress about too much
I don't always: say the things I should.
I argue: over Xbox
I write: on post-its all the time.
I win: Tetris. I'm pretty good at it. And Scattergories. Domination.
I lose: money at texas holdem. blackjacks bettah.
I wish: teachers and nurses were paid more and sports celebrities were paid less.
I listen: to everything. But not to as much of the rap/hiphip anymore... alot of it has just gone way too far.
I don't understand: Why people get paid millions of dollars to take a picture of britney spears in her car.
I can usually be found: at the computer trying to "work"
I forget: everything.
I am happy: when I forget about all the things that I can't change.

SAAAAAANTA!!!

2008-12-20T00:21:00.000-08:00

Bear with the photos... we took em with our cellphones and it was dark! Just another reason I LOVE Murrieta... I never knew why there were these big white stars in the middle of streets all over the city... TILL SANTA CAME! Turns out every year Santa comes around on a big sleigh... WITH Rudolph.... and some carolers in the sled... pass out Candy Canes... Sing carols... Take pictures... and collect Canned goods for the needy. It was so much fun! So what if i'm 27... with no kids... and was so happy to see Santa:) We were over at my parents house and so we ran out with Bailee and snapped a few pics with Bailee... I mean... she's our baby girl:) We spoil her. She was SOOOO scared of Santa! It was so funny! She liked Rudolph much better. Anyhew... So glad I live here.

Who says there's no snow in Southern California???

2008-12-20T00:04:00.000-08:00

Who says it doesn't SNOW in CALIFORNIA!!!! We aren't being wimps by complaining that it's cold in California... Granted this is higher up... not in Murrieta... but we did have a decent amount of snow right in Wildomar... just like.... 2 exits from our house. This is up at Mt. High... not known for its amazing snow but rather for its location.... Usually it consists of a few feet of "real snow" and the rest ends up being manmade... This is ALLL real though... we had a BIG storm come through. Danny, Chase, and Beau ignored the warnings and tried to go snowboarding... The road was closed and the police officer warned them if they go up and get stuck no one is coming after them.... They somehow made it up there with the Xterra and it's glorious 4weel drive.... Only to get in 1 run... get stuck on the lift for 45 minutes... and then have them have to shut down the ramp. At least they got free tickets! I'm just glad they got home safe.... albeit verry late.

100 things

2008-12-02T19:46:00.001-08:00

A friend of mine did this & I thought it was time for a new blog post.You can copy & paste & bold the ones you have done.
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (rockband... does that count?)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (no but i sure have eaten my share... there's nothin THIN bout thinmints!!!!)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (only had 3 miles on it!!:)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (Whattup Rodney King!)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee-- UGH 1st day in Hawaii... I cried.
100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your ownhmmm. 56.... not too bad... I better start workin on the rest... Husby lets go on Vacation!

Things about my Husby...

2008-12-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

1.Where did you meet your husband? Well- technically we knew each other in like... elementary/middle school... but he just "little danny stoddart" until 2003... when I came home during the summer and saw him comin out of the ocean with his curly long head o' hair and wetsuit 1/2 on... surfboard in hand... bowchica wow wow. He wasn't little Danny Stoddart anymore;)

2.How long did you date before you got married? We dated for like... 3 1/2 months before he left on his mission... then he left and I did my thang... and then he came home and we dated off and on for about 2 years... and we got married in 2006.

3. How long have you been married? 2 years and 2 weeks.

4. What does he do that surprises you? Hes a lot smarter than his High School grades show. And he is pretty much good at everything. It's sickening.

5. What is your favorite feature of his?I miss his long curly hair;) love his blue eyes! Our kids are gonna have blue eyes... YESSIR!

6. What is his best quality? He's a stud. I know he'll do everything he can to give his future kids a better life.

7. Does he have a nickname for you?Lovebug... Most the time just babe though. You shout out lovebug in the middle of the grocery store and people will think he's gone fruity.

8. What is his favorite food?French Toast. It's impressive how much he can eat in one sitting. I think the only reason he ever stops eating it is because he's cleared his plate, my plate, and the leftovers from the table next to us.

9. What is his favorite sport?Surfing, Snowboarding, Basketball Pretty much anything. And he's pretty darn good at it all too :)

10. When and where did you first kiss?On the beach... late at night... or early morning. So romantic.. Just me, him, Demo and Heath.

11.What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? We LOVE to go on Vacations... We also love watching movies in the middle of the day.

12. Do you have any children? three. Bailee is a 1 yr old dingo.... taj is a 3 yr old tabby... and nixon is a 2 yr old fatass. oops I mean torti. As for human kids.... i'll get back to ya on that.

13. Does he have any hidden talents? He doesn't really hide much. Like i said he's good at everything. You should see him flip off buildings. He's kinda known for it. It's kinda a big deal. People know him.

14. How old is he?25 (yes... he's 2 years younger. robbin the cradle... ohhhh yea!)

15. Who said 'I love you' first? Him... obviously. I would never say it first. I thought he was kidding.

16. What is his favorite music? Mostly punk... or anything he can shake his booty to!

17. What do you admire most about him? That he's a lover not a fighter. And that he's a freakin Adonis.

18. What is his favorite color?Blue.

19. Will he read this?I seriously doubt it.

20. Who will you tag about this?I don't know what that even means. This is like... my 3rd post or something!

Babysittin' Bella

2008-11-25T22:05:00.000-08:00

We kidnapped my parents dog Bella last nite and brought her to our house... She was in heaven. (She's not too ladylike though... silly bella. She sprawled out on the couch or up in our bed all nite... Needless to say bailee got a little green with envy! Our nephew Ricky was stayin with us last nite too... so we ended up taking Bailee, my parents dogs Bella and Reggie, and my brother's dog Remi to the dog park... (that's a WHOLE lotta dog).

Bella had just gone to the groomer's the day before... got shaved and bathed... smellin all pretty and girlie-like! So OF COURSE within 5 minutes of the dogpark fun...

She was a mess. She found a HUGE mudpool to roll in! Sorry parents:) We took her back and gave her another bath... She wasn't too happy to have 2 baths in less than 24 hours... I'm pretty sure it was worth it though!

It's Our Anniversary...

2008-11-18T18:37:00.001-08:00

For our Anniversary... we didn't feel like taking another big trip right after Hawaii... So we decided to just stay local and play... We went to Old Town Temecula and walked around... And of course we took our baby Baillee!:) We went into this candy store and I found Mint Aerobars! Yum! We went to Bailee's favorite restaurant... Mad Madeline's... They are dog-friendly and even give em a cold bucket of water and free dog-patties! We went and got Danny's favorite... French Toast for breakfast... Ate lots of Candy... And just had fun! Two years... in the books. No big deal really... I think we got this marriage thing down. Love ya babe-- (he'll probably never read this...)

Hawaii

2008-11-13T20:55:00.001-08:00

Halloween in Maui!

2008-11-13T18:26:00.000-08:00

We flew out to Maui for Halloween this year.... We had a blast.... We met my best girlfriend from the good ol college days and we played! We found this cute little plantation style condo/house to rent that was very quirky... and fun. We had great weather! We went on the Lanai Dolphin Landing tour and saw a bunch of Spinner Dolphins.... super fun to see! We also went to a Luau and Amber and I got onstage and pretended to Hula.... I'm sure everyone thought we were drunk skunks.... but we were sober little bunnies like always... It was Danny's B-Day that day so we had him stand up and the whole place sang Happy Birthday to him! Time went way to fast.... Time to start planning another trip!