My Favorite Shots from the Pumpkin Patch

Bishop's Pumpkin Farm Photo Mash-Up

Make a Smilebox slideshow

My Favorite Place in the World

Last weekend we went to my favorite place and the family from LA were able to join us, making it even better. We've been going to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm in Wheatland for the last few years as a sort of family tradition to kick off the fall/winter season and I'm so thrilled my LA family made the trip to come with us this year. It was a large family affair, with the four of us, my parents and my sister, Grandpa John and Auntie NeNe, her boyfriend Anthony and his two kids Molina & Noah, my aunt Annie, Uncle Craig, Summer, and Aunt Jeannie all there for the pumpkin farm festivities. It was a long day of hay rides, picking out the perfect pumpkins, playing on all of the different activities and TONS of picture taking!



There is nothing better than family, pumpkins and photos!

My Birthday....

I almost forgot about my own birthday.... Sad huh?!

Good thing my hubby reminded me and the only reason I'm really excited about it is we are going to my favorite place in the whole world Sat: Bishop's Pumpkin Farm in Wheatland. We've gone every year since Luke was born and it really is just a blast to wander the fields and pick out the perfect pumpkins. Some of my favorite photos I've taken over the years have been taken there and I can't wait to break out the new Rebel there this weekend. Oh, and did I mention that my amazing family from LA is driving out here to go to the pumpkin patch with us????? How awesome is that? I love them so much and wish they lived closer, but I'm so grateful that they come up to visit so often.

Can't wait to see you there!!!

9 month doctor's visit

Brooklyn had her 9 month well baby visit yesterday. She is 16lbs. 10oz. (30% percentile), 27 inches long (50% percentile), and has a 45.5 cm head circumference (90% percentile). They gave her the mandatory 9 month vaccines that she took like a champ and then did a blood draw to check for anemia as she is a breastfed baby and I guess anemia is quite common for breastfed babies. The blood draw came back negative for anemia and then we headed off to have her hips X-rayed to check for any issues related to her frank breech positioning while in the womb. Her hips checked out just fine which means we have a happy, healthy growing girl!

Yesterday also marked the end of our breastfeeding. I was getting to a point where I wasn't really producing much during my 3 pump sessions at work during the day and it was really starting to wear on me. Though I LOVED breastfeeding her and she made it ever so easy, we decided to start weening a few weeks ago and she had her last taste last night and it made me a little sad. It really is quite an amazing thing and it is incredibly empowering and I am quite proud of myself for making it so long. We kept on going through growth spurts and 3 outbreaks of excruciatingly painful thrush, and I am sure that it is the main reason she hasn't had anything but 1 cold in her first 9 months of life. Cheers to Boobies!

I Heart my Pup

9 Months Old

I say this everytime but wow, 9 months have gone by already?

Luke's Birthday Party

First off, Mom, Dad and Mel, You rock! Thank you for all of your help before during and after the Duke's party!

Aside from the bounce house delivery guys getting stuck in traffic and showing up a little late, the party was awesome and I'm so happy it went off without any real hitches. All of the little ones had a blast and Lukey Duke made out like a total bandit! I'm not joking, it looks like Toys*R*Us threw up all over my toy room. We have Tech Decks, and army guys, and Transformers, and race cars, and, and, and! Thinking that Luke would be exhausted from the party I mistakenly assumed that he'd crash in the car and take a little nap after the days shenanigans, but boy was I wrong. Not only did he not take a nap, but he stayed up until 10:30pm taking dudes and trucks out of boxes and racing them around the toy room.

The cake was awesome (and free I might add! Cashier error, oops!), the skull and crossbones pinata was a big hit and everyone raved about the burgers. Thank God for my fam and their help with keeping the thank you list, refilling food as it got empty and supervising kiddos as they attempted to smash the pinata. Without them it would have been absolute hell.


And an extra huge THANK YOU to my sister for being the paparrazi! You took some killer pictures!!! Luv Ya!

Oct 9th, 2005

Right about this time, 4 years ago, I was pushing and about to welcome my baby to the world. I remember my doc saying that it would probably be a while before I was at 10 and ready to push as she headed out the door so we could wait it out. About 5 minutes later I remember looking up at my mom and telling her "I NEED to push NOW." She hurried out the door to find my doc and as she and the nurses rushed back in to break down the bed and get ready for my impending delivery, I pushed 3 or 4 times and he was out right as my doc finished snapping on her gloves. My mom was ready to push her out of the way and catch Luke herself. The sound of him crying was both scary and thrilling all at the same time. They wiped him up quickly and laid him on my chest and I remember just starring at him in pure amazement that I just pushed this beautiful little thing out and now he was finally mine to hold.

I remember Matt telling me how proud of me he was and both of us hugging and crying all over each other. It still amazes me that we walked into that hospital as a couple and left the next day as a family.

Happy birthday my beautiful boy. You are everything I ever wanted. I never really knew life until the day you were born.I love you Bug!!!!!

Oct 7th, 2005

Right about this time 4 years ago I was laid up on my couch on mandatory be rest hating life and praying to go into labor. The day before I'd had what would become my last prenatal appointment with my doc, over 2 cm dilated and nearing 100% effaced, having gained another 5 pounds of water weight in 7 days, my BP resting well over 165, and my ankles swollen so badly that my doc was afraid that the skin would split, she sent me home with the phrase, "well, if you happen to go into labor this weekend I'm on call so I'll be the one to deliver you." As luck would have it, I did just that. That pregnancy pretty much sucked the entire time but it was SO worth it and we were so lucky to have a healthy baby after the pregnancy induced hypertension and pre-eclampsia. It was so rough to be terrified at every doctor's appointment, wondering if this would be my last day up and walking around and worried that I'd be put onto bed rest in the hospital.

Crazy that it's already been 4 years... It flies by so damn fast...

(picture is of my last day at work... About 2 weeks before he was born... Check out my ankles! I had to wear flip-flops to work for more than half of my pregnancy from my feet being so swollen!)

Party Prep

Done:

Buy party supplies
Buy/Wrap/Hide Presents
Write out invites
Order Cake
Order Bounce House
Reserve park space
clean BBQ
Buy pirate gear for Fam

To Do:

Buy/Prep Food
Un-hide presents
Pick-up Cake
Decorate Park Space
Set up Games
Stuff pinata
BREATHE

Sick Babes....

What is it with having the kiddos get sick that makes my heart hurt so damn much? Maybe it's the OCD control-freak in me, but I HATE not being able to make things "all better" for them when they feel icky... What's really funny is that both of them have been sick for over a week but I doubt anyone would know from their outward appearance. They both seem to keep going a million miles an hour, even with sour tummies and fevers. Is it wrong that I don't handcuff them to their bed and FORCE them to sleep it off? How am I supposed to be nursing them back to health when they are running and jumping and climbing all over everything like they aren't even sick? And on top of it all, I'm trying to ration my PTO time so if/when they get REALLY sick, I can stay home for a few days without having to worry about not getting paid. Being a mom is fun & stress, all rolled into one...

When Luke was a baby it seemed like he had croup at least once a month for over a year. It would start with a stuffy nose and a slight cough and turn into a wet, scratchy seal-bark of a cough that would stick with him for over a week. I can't tell you how many times I would go into his room, late at night, bundle him up into my arms, throw the shower on as hot as it would go, and rock him while sitting on he toilet seat, hoping that the warm, moist air might miraculously open up his lungs and allow him at least a little sleep. It was so painful to have to sit there, with my hand on his chest feeling the rattling and rasping effort that it took just for him to take in a breath. His pediatrician later identified him as a "trigger asthmatic," but his trigger wasn't dust or dander, it was a cold or any other bug that decided to settle into his chest for the long haul. He was given Prednisone a few times to clear his lungs to keep him from getting bronchitis or pneumonia, and oral Albuterol , which did help him breath better, but left him a jittery, wired mess for 3 or 4 hours after taking it.

He's since gotten to the point where we don't even notice anything asthma-like is his day to day doings, but every once in awhile he starts barking again and it reminds me of how rough it must be on the little guy to have a cough for 3 weeks at a time. It makes me sad to have him ask me everyday when his cough will go away and he'll be all better. Cross your fingers that he won't sound like a seal for his 4th birthday in 8 days!