Making Memories of Us

Little/Big Man

2011-10-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

I had the wierdest dream the other night. I was holding Tucker and his top two teeth were starting to come through. I turned away to grab my camera. As I turned back around the top two were completely grown in, along with the two bottom, an incisor and a molar. They weren't tiny baby teeth but larger, almost adult sized teeth. I woke up and stared at my baby's mouth making sure that there were no teeth.
I think that my brain is trying to process the fact that little man is getting big. The day before the dream, Tucker grabbed the side of the laundry basket and pulled himself to a standing position.I'm not quite ready to deal with this. Where is my baby? And who is this little person who is all over the place?

Sea World

2011-09-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

Last month (yep, I'm behind again) we went to San Antonio to visit the Breadys. While there we went to Sea World. I had never been before so I had no idea what to expect or that there was so much to it! It was so stinking hot. I think it was 106. Little man was not a fan. Luckily we found an air conditioned nursing room that we hung out in a few times that day.

We walked through the splash park a few times to cool off. The kids were not big on the idea until all the adults started doing it. We knew that was the only way to stay cool. That and spending some time in the air conditioned penguin house.

The dolphin show was very cool. The aerialist were awesome. I only saw the first half. As I said, little man was not happy. Every time the crowd cheered he cried.

The kids loved the dolphin tank. I was tempted to push them all in.

This is my cute niece, Whitney. I like her.

Summer Fun

2011-08-18T16:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy, but awesome summer.

Livy loves swimming. As long as she has on floaties and is inside her green floaty toy.

For the fourth of July my mom bought the girls sparklers. Yay! Burning hot sticks of death in a 2 and 4 year olds hands. Good call Grandma.

We went to LA and hit the Santa Monica Beach.

We took turns with my parents and brothers and sister in law doing sessions in the LA temple. We each had a turn inside and a turn with all 4 little ones. This is Connor in the "Danger Zone." Silly boy.

Tucker was blessed on the 24th. I was lucky enough to have all my brothers there. I was only missing my sisters family (tear).

We hit Disneyland again. This time we went early so Liv could meet all the princesses and fairies. She was a little shy at first. By the end of the day she was in heaven.

Lines were a new concept to Liv and she was not a fan (but really who is?)

We had a ward Pine Wood Derby. Rick and the scout master entered a car and were like children during the race. Luckily there car was pretty good because the certainly did a lot of trash talking, to children. They won first against the other auxiliary groups and second over all.

3 Months

2011-07-09T12:27:00.001-07:00

Little Tucker is 3 months. And little Tucker, is not so little. Last week at the doctors he was 13 lbs and 3 oz, 23 1/2 inches long. He's in the 58% percentile for weight, 50% for height and 75% for head.We had 3 shots, yuck. Tucker did really well. He was done crying within a few minutes.Some other things about Tucker. We have a pretty good scheule going. He goes to be at 10, gets up around 5 and 8 to eat and is up for good around 10. He naps at 11:30 and 6:00 for 30 minutes and at 2 for about 2 hours. He eats like a bulimic. Gorges until he projectile vomits. Awesome. I change his outfit at least 5 times a day and mine about 3. He is a sweet little boy that smiles and laughs often.We love our little guy.

Disneyland

2011-07-08T17:32:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we took the kids to Disneyland. Rick had meetings in Anaheim and I didn't want to single mother it for 4 days. So we met him down there and hung out at the hotel.As we were standing in line at Disneyland a girl came up to us and offered us a free ticket. Cool! Then a few minutes later another lady offered us another free ticket. AWESOME! We paid nothing. We got there just in time for the parade.Liv was not a fan at first. The music is loud, the crowds are overwhelming. But then she started recognizing characters. She was enamored with the princesses and so excited when Cinderella blew her a kiss. She loves Cee-yella. When the Tinkerbell float came by she couldn't have been more excited. We walked along side it so she could see Tink-bell for a while. She waved and yelled "hi Tinkbell" as we walked.We went on a few rides. I haven't been on its a small world since my nephews were tiny. It's kind of a creepy ride, but little ones love it. Liv was adorable, staring and pointing. Even Tucker seemed to like it as he stared with his big eyes.We let Liv drag us around Toon Town and toured the houses and treehouses. And of course she had to climb in all the cars.We met Mickey. She wasn't thrilled. She loves Neckey, when he's on tv or her toys. But the real thing freaked her out. We watched the fireworks, rode the Nemo ride and bought Liv an overpriced, but incredibly loved, princess nightgown. It was a really fun trip. We saw a new side of Disneyland, through the eyes of our little girl, and it made it one of my favorite trips ever.

She has grown!

2011-06-03T13:59:00.000-07:00

I look at my little girl and so often think she's as tiny as ever.Every now and the I get to see the comparison of how she's grown.

May 2009

May 2011

May 2009

May 2011

People keep asking...

2011-05-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

How is Livia doing with Tucker? The answer plus a few cute smiles is here.

3 Weeks

2011-04-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

Our little guy is three weeks old today. They've been a wonderful three weeks. This little guy is the most wonderful nighttime sleeper. Ever since we came home from the hospital he's slept at night. The most he's ever woken up in an 8 hour period is twice! It's been amazing to not be a total zombie and actually enjoy (and maybe even remember later on) this newborn phase.

I'm healing pretty well, considering. About a week after my c-section I noticed that my incision didn't look or feel quite right. I had Rick take me to urgent care when I developed a rash that starting spreading really fast. My stomach was a sight to behold. Three inches in all directions from my incision was puffy and reddish-purple and hot to the touch. From there I had a red splotchy rash on my stomach and upper thighs. Within 24 hours the rash spread to my entire trunk, upper arms, legs, ears, lips and the inside of my mouth. It freaked a few nurses out and sent them running to the MD's afraid that I was septic. I became a learning experience for the Kaiser RN's in the difference between allergic reaction and sepsis. Even on maternity leave, I am ever the teacher! Four doctors visits, 5 medications and a week later the incision is healing nicely and the rash is finally gone leaving only a lot of dry skin and a little itching.

My sweet Livia is a wonderful big sister.

She loves her Tucker. She will often pat his head and say "Don't cry baby brother." I have to remind her to back off sometimes when she's showing a little too much love. But it's so much better than dealing with jealousy. She got a bunch of new (to her) clothes this week. It was so much fun going through the clothes with her. She was so excited she decided to put on all the clothes, at once, and then not be able to take them off. I was laughing at her so hard it hurt my stomach.

On Wednesday we went to the doctor for a 2 1/2 week check-up. Tucker was 20 1/2 inches and 9 lbs 11 oz. That's 32 oz in 18 days. Tucker is the same size at 2 1/2 weeks that Livia was at 3 months. Yay for a baby that grows!

TUCKER JAMES WATSON

2011-04-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

And then there were four...

Tucker was FINALLY born on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at 3:45 pm. I say finally because it was a long, painful and sometimes scary process. My labor pains started on Monday, April 4th at 11:00 pm. Yeah, 113 hours of labor! They started about 9 minutes apart but within 12 hours were at a regular 5 minutes apart. We went to the hospital Tuesday night and got sent home. :( So frustrating.

I was only dilated one centimeter, they gave me some demerol for the pain and told me to come back when the contractions were a little closer together. Four days later they finally picked

up in intensity. It was a very long week with very little sleep and a lot of pain. Rick took me out for a lot of walking to try I went from 5-7 minutes apart to 2-3 minutes on Saturday morning. We went to San Joaquin Hospital and were admitted pretty quickly. I burst into tears when my nurse told me I was only 2 centimeters. Really, 4 1/2 days to get to two centimeters. She quickly got me something for the pain. It also made me a little loopy which stopped the crying. Over the next 3 hours the contractions continue and the pain got worse and the fentanyl stopped working as well and as long. I was begging for an epidural but they don't give them until you're a 4, and I was a three. At around 3 the baby's heart rate dropped and the nurses rushed in, threw me on my side and put oxygen on me. I was so frustrated and exhausted. We went through that several times with Livia, that's why she was born c-section. I was about to just ask them to take him c-section too. His heart rate was really slow coming back up, (Liv rebounded quickly each time) so Dr. Reddy came in and checked me and we found out that he had pooped. So when Dr. Reddy wanted to do a c-section I was ready. My first thought was, "Oh thank goodness that means I get the epidural now!" My second was, "This baby will finally be born."

We were wheeled into the operating room. Rick came and held my hand. At 3:45 Tucker was born. I heard a little squeak from him and kept expecting to hear more, the nurses or doctors telling me about him, inviting Rick over. Instead I heard them calling several times for help from the NICU. Luckily I was kept in the dark about his condition until after he was fine. The nurses worked on my grayish purple baby for a few minutes before he started to breath and got some color. After he was fine-ish, they brought him to me to let me see him.

After he was taken to recovery and I was being stitched up I heard the nurses saying that his one minute Apgar was a 4 and his five minute was a 9. I wasn't too concerned (blessed drugs and exhaustion) because I had seen him and knew he was fine by then. But my mom and Rick had both seen him blue and watched for a very long 2 minutes.Here is in in recovery, not happy about his bath. But a beautiful pink color!My little Livy came to meet brother in recovery. She was very sweet. She's been really good about mommy's owie tummy (I showed it to her, so gross) and brother being delicate. I think she's going to be a great big sister! She loves him but is so gentle the first two visits in the hospital she would only kiss the air around him or his blanket. We're so glad to be home! It's actually been a really great few days at home.

Catching Up

2011-03-14T19:40:00.001-07:00

Yikes it's been awhile. Here are the highlights of the last 4 1/2 months. Christmas was wonderful. Livia finally got the whole idea behind opening presents. Of course, she'd still rather play with the wrapping paper than the toys, but whatever.

We spent Christmas Eve in the mountains at Rick's grandparents. His family all gave her loud and obnoxious toys, gee thanks.

Christmas morning we did our own little Watson thing. There was one present Liv actually played with. She loves her Elmo. (Luckily she hasn't seemed to notice that mom left him at the doctor's office last month!)

This is Rick's shirt from my mom. She had a blast buying obnoxious t-shirts for the boys. It says "cleverly disguised as an adult". Seriously?! Who would fall for that disguise?

Christmas afternoon we spent with the Marsh's. Brian and family were there. I got to see my cute little nephew, Chunks. I love that kid. He's heavier than Liv and wears bigger diapers, I love it! Dave and Kim came in on Christmas day, it was so fun seeing them again too. My siblings have married so well, I have awesome siblings in law!

We attempted to go Disneyland three days after Christmas. We drove down to Anaheim and saw the sign in front of Disneyland that it was full. WHAT?! The parks had record high attendance and they weren't letting anyone in. So we chilled in Anaheim. I had a great time just hanging out with my fam at the hotel. The next the braver Marsh's went to Disneyland in pouring rain. I guess when you bring your daughter from South Dakota to see the princesses, you really have to go. Luckily, Liv didn't understand the concept of Disneyland, so we went home the next day instead. I went to my own little happy place, the outlets.

Livia turned 2 on January 4th. We had a little family party for her the night of her birthday. She was adorable. She actually ate and enjoyed her birthday cake. That made me very happy. I was afraid I'd be the only one in our family who liked cake. She got tons of presents from everyone else. Mom and Dad stuck to their guns and got her NOTHING! She still did very well!

The next weekend we had a friend party. I invited 4 other toddlers from her nursery class. I had a completely unstructured party. I put her inflatable pool in the living room, filled with balls, had her slide landing in it, and balls and balloons around the room. It was great. All but one of the little cuties showed up. They played so nicely, it was fun to watch. And I sat and chatted with the other moms for an hour. I completely forgot to take any pictures of the actual party, but I got some of Liv on the slide after the fact and the leftover Elmo cupcakes.

One of my Christmas presents was tickets to Texas. I hadn't seen my sissy in about a year and a half and was going crazy. I still hadn't met my newest niece who'll be one next month :( So We went in February and it was great. I didn't take pictures there either. Too busy having fun. I did get adorable bath pictures of our three girls in the tub. But I'm not sharing those on the internet. You'll just have to take my word they are three beautiful little girls. Kate and Livia got along so well. Although I have a bone to pick with that little Kate. Livia didn't know who the Disney princesses were before our trip. Now, she certainly does. We watch "Awiel" "Why" and "Rewa" three to four times a day now. (That's Little Mermaid, Snow White and Cinderella to those of you who don't speak Liv).

We have a few more great things coming up that I'm looking forward to. I have three days left of work. I told them I was going on indefinite maternity leave. Hopefully, I won't need to go back. With Rick's new position we should be fine financially without my income. As long as the job lasts and isn't miserable through his teaching credential process, I will probably get to be a stay at home mommy again!!!

Next weekend Rick and I are going on a babymoon. My parents are watching Livia and we're running away for a long weekend. We're driving up the coast stopping at a few places along the way. It was hard to plan something that my tired body and swollen feet would be up for. We're mostly chilling. We'll do a temple session (yay! it's been too long), walk the beach, take a tour of a vineyard, visit the Monterey aquarium and go to Hearst castle. We have a nice bed and breakfast booked on the beach. It'll be good to have a comfortable place to come home to nap at each day.

Three weeks from tomorrow, baby boy Watson is due. We'll see when he makes his actual appearance. We're attempting a VBAC. Fingers crossed everything goes well. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this. I've attempted to get on my knees and pray that things will go my way. But I've thought a lot about the situation with Livia's birth and how grateful I am that things were out of my hands. I got a healthy baby out of the deal, and that is what it is all about after all. I have made my request, but I'm leaving it in Heavenly Father's hands and trusting that things will happen the way they are supposed to. We have discussed names and maybe have one. I've been leaning towards a specific name for most of my pregnancy. Rick told me the other night that he doesn't care, I can choose a name. He likes all of my suggestions. So I'm just keeping quiet about it for now and in the hospital I'll give him one last chance to veto.

It's going to be a busy next few weeks, and an exhausting few months after that. But I keep telling myself I'll have an extra 20+ hours without my job so I should be much better about blogging, certainly can't get too much worse!

Halloween

2010-11-07T18:27:00.000-08:00

For Halloween this year we took Livia to our ward's Halloween Trunk or Treat Party. We had a great time. She was a stinker. She hated wearing her lion costume so mostly she ran around without it. Once she got into the trunk or treating and got to start eating the candy she was all excited.

Rick and I were bloody and shredded lion keepers. It was our chance to show in costume how we feel about parenting.

They had some dancing and while Liv danced around in her crazy and cute little way, Dada did too. He kept the ward entertained and earned a bag of candy and the award for best dancer.

Very fun Halloween weekend for the Watson family.

Itty Bitty #2

2010-11-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

We had an ultrasound two weeks. Baby was very modest. Kept its knees together and sat indian style the whole time. We're looking again in two weeks. I gotta know what color and theme to decorate a nursery in.

My Girl

2010-10-02T23:12:00.000-07:00

Being pregnant and having a new job has made me a very lazy blogger. So here's my attempt to be better. But really, I'm just gonna post pics of Liv.

For my birthday, Rick bought me the super chocolately 4 layer cake from costco. (He loves me) We left some out one night and Liv found it very quickly the next morning.

That's my girl!

I both love and hate this picture. She's so cute, and yet, she looks so big. Who gave her permission to grow up?!

She's decided to become an artist. Her new medium is film. Sometimes I'll find 50 new pictures of her thigh on my camera. These are some of her better shots.

My Super Fun Birthday

2010-08-10T22:23:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday, my 30th birthday. Wow, when did I get so old, and when did 30 become so young? To prove that I really am an adult this was my birthday:

5:45-6:45 - alarm clock goes off, roll very slowly out of bed and get ready for work

7:15 - start my first class, teach the endocrine system and CPR

12:05 - 1:00 finish my second class and go home to play with my babies!!

1:15 - 4 put Livy and then myself down for a nap

4-8 laundry, make food and vaccuming

8-9 back to work for a meeting

9-11 put Liv to bed and prep for tomorrow

Such a fun day! That was a little sarcastic, but true. I decided a few years ago that adult birthdays are overrated. Saturday Rick is taking me to the mall to spend my birthday money, that will be fun.

The reason I've been iffy about turning 30 is that I feel like I'm running out of time. I've always wanted a big family, I have 5-10 years left to finish my family. I don't like the idea of having my decisions made for me by outside forces. So I told myself that if I was pregnant by my birthday I'd be okay with turning 30. And well, as of 7 weeks ago, I'm okay with turning 30.

My New Job

2010-07-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

I started a new job recently. I am working part time at SJVC (San Joaquin Valley College) as a CAMA (Clinical Administrative and Medical Assisting) Instructor. I teach HTH 102, the second half of anatomy and physiology from 7:15 to 9:25. Then I assist in MCA 102, vitals, First Aid and CPR, from 9:50 to 12:05. I teach Monday thru Thursday and each class lasts for 5 weeks. I just finished my first week.As all my best/favorite jobs have, I didn't find it, it found me. Rick was on an appointment about a month ago and was talking about how he had been teaching solar and how I helped him format his class because I used to teach. The lady he was talking to asked if I had any medical background. She was the head of several departments at SJVC and was looking for a CAMA instructor. So I sent in my resume and application and heard back within 20 minutes. A week later, I was hired on. The next week, I started teaching.
I really like the job. I've missed teaching. I love coming up with new ways to share information, writing worksheets and quizzes (silly, I know). I love working with students and seeing them make connections and understand a new concept. I get to teach several of the classroom classes, and also the clinical classes. I'm more nervous about the clinical side. It has been 10 years since I've been a medical assistant and 8 since I've been a phlebotomist. But the prep work is so much simpler. I've prepped for this coming week and it only took a few hours (as opposed to 20 or more for the HTH classes).

I wasn't looking for a job, nor did I have any intention of working outside my home. I love my time with my baby girl. But the last three months have had us worried. Rick's been working 2 jobs and going to school full time. But even with 2 jobs, we hadn't had a paycheck in 3 months. We'd spent our savings and were down to our last little bit of money. I spent the last of it on tithing, not knowing how I would pay rent that week, buy groceries, or pay any of the other bills that were coming that month. But, I knew that we would be taken care of. We have paid our tithing faithfully and been blessed accordingly. When this job opportunity came it was almost too good to be true. It was in so many ways an answer to prayers. By working until noon, 4 days a week, I can cover almost all of our monthly bills alleviating the stress on Rick and letting him concentrate on school and finish faster. During the mornings Rick stays home with Liv, and daddy and daughter get a few hours of bonding time.

I really believe that I am supposed to have this job. It works out so perfectly with my skills and abilities, the timing is perfect. And yet...

I have spent so many years waiting for the day when I would be a mom. I always knew that life would change, that I would be home with my babies each day. I know that moms are supposed to be at home. I've spent the last 7 months preaching it to my sunday school class. And now, here I am, going back to work. I can justify it so many ways and times, but it still feels like justification. I hate leaving my little girl. I miss her so much and it breaks my heart that I feel like I'm missing things. She cut 2 teeth last week and I have no idea when they came in. I also feel guilty that I like my job. I enjoy the time that I get to be Mrs. Watson again, expert in all topics. I like speaking at an adult level and learning more. It's a challenge to balance life, to support my family and be a good mom. I don't know if I'm doing it right or doing enough. I guess I just have to hope and pray that in the end, it will all be as it should.

18 months

2010-07-10T11:29:00.000-07:00

My baby is 18 months old. I'm celebrating (love nursery!) and crying at the same time (my baby's growing up). We had a doctor's visit yesterday (6 shots, yuck). Here are her stats:

weight: 18 pounds, 9 ounces (she's still not on the percentage scale, but she remains the same amount below as when she was 6 months)

height: 33 inches

Here are some other things about our girl:

She knows eyes, ears, nose, mouth, head, hair, belly, and boobies (he he).

She loves coloring, playing on her slide, her noisy piggy bank and playing on her stroller.

She LOVES other kids, especially her cousin Keira.

She finally transitioned to one nap. She goes to bed (not necessarily to sleep) at 8:30 and gets up at 9:30. She naps from 1:30-4:00

She just started wearing size 3 diapers, size 3 shoes and 9-12 month clothes.

She loves to be naked. After a bath she runs away and hides (not well). She also does a nakey-dance.

She throws hilarious tantrums. She dances around and throws herself onto her bum. She also smacks her head on various surfaces. She's pretty smart though, she always checks how hard the surface is before she slams her head.

She LOVES being outside. She'll stand at the door and say go. When we walk to and from the car, she has this spot on the grass that she always sits down on.

She loves baby einstein, Backyardigans and all theme songs/ending credits. She'll stop what she's doing to dance at the credits and songs.

When she wants something I ask her to say please, she signs please while saying thank you.

She is a ridiculously picky eater. Mostly its cereal, quesadillas, mac and cheese, pancakes, muffins, string cheese, fruit snacks, pasta and crackers (notice a trend here?). I mix pureed fruit and protein powder into her milk and when she screams (literally screams) for soda I mix in baby vitamins.

She loves wearing shoes. I'll tell her to get her shoes and she'll run to her room, signing shoes (I didn't teach her that, she just does it!) and bring me a pair of shoes. She even brings me matching shoes. (Girl!)

She is the light of our lives and the greatest blessing we could ask for. Parenting is the hardest job we've ever had, but the pay of kisses and hugs (and naps) makes every day worthwhile.

Here are Livy's words and how she says them:

mom= ma-ma

dad= da-da

no= na na na

yes= yea

hi/bye= hi (always with a wave)

uh oh (when she purposely throws something)

all done= aw done

all gone= aw gawn

thank you= thay you

pretty= ditty

doggy= doddy

belly= deddy

nose= no

eyes= eye

mouth = mou

owie= oh-wee (when she's annoyed by what I'm doing to her)

o-tay= ok

he-di-go = here yo go

Our budding Artist

2010-06-27T14:09:00.002-07:00

Livia has discovered a love of art recently. She loves to color with her crayons.

We lay on the floor and color together. It's so fun to watch her daintily hold the crayon and make these faint little lines on the paper. We have remind her (constantly) to color on paper, not daddy's white shirt, the floor, the couch, the dishwasher or herself. She has also learned how to uncap and recap pens. This is what happens when she steals moms pens. So fun to clean up.

Best $7 spent, EVER!

2010-06-16T23:43:00.000-07:00

We bought Livia a little pool for our front porch. I think she likes it.

It took her about 20 minutes of standing and splashing before she sat down. Then she sat and splashed (and put her step stool in the pool) for another half and hour. When I finally made her come in for food and a nap she was NOT happy. I think I'll get my money's worth.

Why We Have Children

2010-06-08T21:40:00.000-07:00

We are finally reaching the point where children have a purpose.

May

2010-05-28T23:52:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile. Things have been nice and slow since the wedding. Here's what we've been up to:
In the last 5 weeks Livia has cut 6 teeth! She has eleven now. They came all out of order, it was pretty funny seeing her lopsided grin. One more tooth on the bottom and she'll be even.
We went to a party with a middle eastern, "Oasis", theme. Yeah those are camels and on elephant on a front lawn in Bakersfield. Livia liked the camels. The elephant she just stared at. I don't think she could take all of it in and realize what it was.She's also developed a love of video games. My little Rickita.Liv does this wierd thing with her fingers when ever they have slippery food on them. It's pretty funny and also pretty gangsta.I asked Rick to put two shoes and a pair of pants on her. Dork. I keep telling her not to laugh at him, it encourages him.Livia has several hiding places, for her and her toys. The latest one is in between the dirty laundry bags. When the get full and she can't get between them she gets really mad. I find myself doing laundry simply so she had a place to play.Livy loves bath time. Mostly. She always runs away when she hears the bath water running. She tries to hide behind her dad. She likes bubble baths. She watches in wonder as the bubbles form and tries to throw them. So cute. And check out that hair!On the 23rd was Rick's birthday. THE birthday. Yep, Rick is 30. I asked him what he wanted for dinner. He said southwest egg rolls, quesadillas, chips and dip. Basically, he wanted appetizers for dinner. So he got appetizers for dinner. It was actually really good.I think he's mostly okay with being 30. He hasn't mentioned it since Sunday. And he did spend most of the day playing video games so he's still retaining his youth. Not that we ever really worried about that.
That was May, I'll try to be better in June.

David and Kim Marsh

2010-05-05T17:13:00.000-07:00

My little brother got married last week. David and Kim were married on Thursday, April 29th in the Los Angeles temple. It was a beautiful ceremony. They were so adorable to watch as they looked at each other. It was neat to see my little brother so in love, and to see that love mirrored in his new bride.Kim chose black with accent colors and gerber daisies, it was a really cute combination. These are the little flower girls (it would have been even cuter if the other 2 were there). This is Kim and her bridesmaids.This is Jarom and his BM sash. It stands for best man. He wanted everyone to know that it didn't stand for brides maid. Yea...because that's what BM usually stands for.These are my cute parents, oh yeah, they're the parents of the groom too. This is me and my cute little brother, the groom.Mom and I had spent a lot of time getting ready for the reception. I sewed 11 tablecloths, 3 dresses and 2 sashes. We baked and decorated 12 cakes including the main wedding cake. We put together 8 boutonnieres, 4 corsages, and 5 bouquets. I did Kim's hair for the wedding. Rick and I created a playlist and video collage for the reception. Whew! It was so much fun, but stressful.
This is the wedding cake. It was so much fun to make, but also so stressful. The middle layer cracked and was uneven. Thank goodness for plenty of freezer space to let it set and frosting to cover my errors! Not too bad for my first wedding cake and my first time using fondant. David was not a gentleman when feeding Kim, luckily she got him back and shoved some frosting up his nose.My poor little girl was so ignored last week. She was passed from person to person as mom ran around crazy. Her eating and sleeping schedule were more than a little off. The day of the wedding she had one 30 minute nap (normal is two of 1-2 hours) and ate crap. (Not literally, she lets her cousin do that, she just ate junk food all day)She preferred the cream puffs and after what I put her through leading up to that day I just gave in. We've spent the past few days fighting to get back into a schedule and some normalcy. It's been nice.

Power Cooking Tuesday

2010-04-17T21:20:00.001-07:00

Recently Rick and I bought a deep freezer. We found it for cheap on Craigslist. The next job was to stock it. I don't really enjoy making dinner. I like baking, not cooking. So poor Rick rarely gets a nice hot dinner. I never think about dinner soon enough to make sure that we have the necessary ingredients and get it on the table. So I decided to simplify. Put together a bunch of freezer meals. I spent all day Tuesday cooking. Livia kind of helped. She tried to stick her hand in the mixer and stole my spatula. First I made English muffin bread, Lion House rolls, banana bread, pumpkin bread, zucchini bread and applesauce muffins. Then sugar and chocolate chip cookie dough. Then I made 9 different meals, 2-6 of each. I also marianated steaks and ribs. All of those I put in the freezer, labeled and ready to go. For each meal all I have to do is thaw and pop in the oven. I now have about 50 ready to go meals in the freezer!
It was exhausting and messy. But hopefully it'll all be worth it as I have less cooking to do and Rick has food to eat. It took two loads in the dishwasher and handwashing all the big stuff. These are the dishes for the second load (one was already in the rinse cycle).This is my freezer, completely full! This makes for one happy husband and for one tired, but happy me.

Whitney Ann Bready

2010-04-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

She's here! She weighs 7 lbs and 3 oz and is 20 inches long.
I want to hold her and smell her and pinch her little baby cheeks.

Connor James Marsh

2010-04-11T20:50:00.001-07:00

My 3rd nephew was born this morning at 10:04 in Memorial Hospital in Bakersfield. He weighed 8 pounds 11 oz (oink oink!) and is 20 inches long. He has a mop of black hair like big sister Keira did and big hands and feet.Both mom and Connor are doing good. I got to hold him and smell him for a few minutes today. Tomorrow my little niece will be born. I won't get to hold her for awhile. It makes me very sad.

Copy Cat

2010-04-08T21:32:00.000-07:00

Livia is becoming such a little copy cat. She copies all kinds of movements. Today she and I blinked at each other for several minutes. When I started winking she just stared. She learned to sign "please" and "all done" after only a few days.
But with all this mini-mimicry I was still shocked when she copied a few words. Two days ago she cried and reached up for me to put her on the couch. I said, "up" and she immediately copied. The next day she ran to the front door and banged on it to be let out. I said, "go" and she copied my word.
Tonight in the tub I said "hi" to her which she repeated. Not surprising it's her second favorite word (after dada). I then said, "I love you," which prompted her to say, "I wa wa."
Be still my heart.

First Easter Egg Hunt

2010-04-04T20:20:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we took Livia on her first Easter egg hunt. We went to a wonderful party at a friend's house. Livia was the youngest of the egg hunters so she got a 10 second head start. We could have used more time. Once she figured out the objective she grabbed three eggs. But then her hands were full and she was done. She didn't quite figure out the whole, putting the eggs in the basket thing. So she carried the eggs in one hand and the basket in the other. There were a ton of eggs in the backyard but even with a huge head start the bigger kids out hunted her and she ended up with just 6.Keira was a much better egg hunter. Smart kid found an egg with $5 inside!Of course when she had to give the eggs back and only got to keep the candy inside she was very disappointed. She wanted to play with the eggs. Papa took care of that for her. She was quite content in her egg bath.

Catalina Trip

2010-03-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

We went to Catalina Island with Rick's company last weekend. It was a lot of fun.

I hadn't met too many of the people he works with. They are really nice people and loved Livia. She was quite the little charmer. We went down on Friday (very early). We walked around the island enjoying the sun and spending the per diem on ice cream and unhealthy food. Yum!

Saturday was rainy so we walked when we could and spent the rest of the time in the hotel room. The rain coincided with Liv's nap time pretty well, so it worked out just fine. It rained on us on our way back to the room. Crazy big rain drops. The building shielded us pretty well until we had to go up this monstrous hill to get to our hotel. We were pretty soaked by the time we got there.

Sunday morning Livia

slept in until 9:30! It was great. Rick brought us breakfast so we wouldn't have to wake her. She had breakfast in bed, literally. Little Pill!

It was a nice, fairly relaxing weekend away. The best part was plenty of time with my two sweeties and not having to clean up after them.

The Wild Fun Center

2010-02-22T15:49:00.001-08:00

Last Thursday, Livia and I went out with some moms and kids from our ward. There's a place called the Wild with bounce houses, slides and tons of baby toys. Livia loved it!

I was nervous about getting her into the bounce house. There were bigger kids that I worried would be a little rough on her. But they weren't. When they bounced her, she giggles. When they landed in front of her she smiled and attacked them.

I'm looking at the girl in the mirror

2010-02-07T19:05:00.000-08:00

Dear Wii Fit

2010-01-26T17:09:00.000-08:00

What do you mean I'm not evenly balanced? As you can see all of my weight is on the left side like you told me to do. Why have you been having such a hard time today reading my weight and finding my center of gravity? I promise I'm staying still.

Sweet Baby Girl

2010-01-21T22:46:00.000-08:00

She looks like such a little person sitting like this. Where did my baby go?

And where did this lovely your lady come from? I keep telling her she turned 1, not 2. But she obviously doesn't listen.

What Liv's been up to

2010-01-15T23:05:00.000-08:00

Livia loves to run around naked after a bath. And since she gets ridiculously messy when she eats, there are a lot of baths in a day. I love her little bath towel that stays on as she runs away.When she got so many new toys for Christmas, I put away some of her other toys in her room. She never noticed the box in her shelf...until the other day. Since then every few hours she disappears in her room and comes wandering out with some toy that I've put away.
Just seconds before I took this picture she had pulled her shirt up over her head and screamed at it. I was a little late and missed the shot I wanted. But she still looks pretty darn cute.
I love her silly hair. It's so many lengths. The top is incredibly long as you can see in the pony tail. The sides are really short and the back is a mixture of two in between lengths.

Silly Girl Walking

2010-01-11T22:40:00.000-08:00

I had Livia's jacket laying out to put on her before we went out tonight. She grabbed it put it on her head and walked around the room giggling. I was giggling too, considering she couldn't see where she was going so she walked into stuff and fell a lot.

Oh yeah, have I mentioned that ever since her birthday she walks everywhere?! My baby is officially a toddler (sob)!

MY FIRST BIRTHDAY!

2010-01-04T22:50:00.001-08:00

Today is my 1st birthday!
It was a good day. This is how I spent my day:
Mom got me out of my crib this morning. I was happy to be up. I played with the tags on my new clothes from lasts nights party. I love the tags!Pancakes for breakfast! I ate a few pieces then I threw them on the floor!
I'm so happy that it's my birthday. Mommy spent all morning playing with me and letting me chew on my favorite comb.
I'm so big, I stand up all the time. Now that I'm one I can do all kinds of big girl things.
Lunch time. At least that's what dad thinks. I'm in camel mode. I'm not interesting in eating food today. It drives mom crazy.
I like my walker. It gets stuck on the carpet so I have to push it really hard. Then it moves faster than I do and I fall. But I stand back up and walk some more.
Mom, stop with the pictures, I just woke up!
It's play time with dad. He holds me up and then ....
I fall!
I like my car seat. Sometimes. I play with my feet to keep myself entertained.
Shopping at Target. It's our favorite store. Buy me toys mom.
What is this crap?! Mom keeps feeding me stuff I don't want. I only want chocolate on my birthday. Duh mom!
Bath time! It's my favorite time of the day. Mommy says that birthday girls get bubble baths. I'm not sure about the bubbles.
Mom won't let me eat the bubbles, so I'll throw my toys.I love my princess towel!It's Monday and that means FHE. I was cranky so I sat in my time out swing. By the end of the lesson I was happy again.Time to brush my teeth. Mommy always brushes them first and then I do a much better job.It's 8:15 and I'm tired and cranky so it's bedtime now. That was my first birthday!

Livia's Birthday Party

2010-01-04T11:15:00.000-08:00

We had Livia's birthday party a day before her birthday. It was wonderful, weeks of planning, hours of prep and within 2 hours it was over and all cleaned up.Livia loved the balloons. She crawled around for hours hitting the balloons.
Livia got lots of adorable outfits. I was super excited. She likes the tags.
She got a monkey from great grandma and grandpa Mann. She liked it. Until papa had her wear it that is.
Here's the party room. My mom laughed at me and the time I put into a 1 year olds party. I've been waiting for a while to get to throw little ones parties. I had fun.Here's the cake. Her room is ladybugs so I figured we'd keep the theme since she hasn't really become attached to any other themes.We let her at the cake. She sort of poked at it. Mostly she grabbed the little ladybugs and the eyes and popped them in her mouth.By the time she finished and we put her in her seat she was done with the cake.But we got her some punch which she poured down her chest in her attempt to drink from a cup. (We haven't worked on that skill too much)She had a blast yelling into her cup and having the attention of so many people.After cake and punch it was bath time, some play time and then bed time. It was a great day.

Family Pictures

2010-01-03T14:11:00.000-08:00

We took family pictures a few days ago. They turned out pretty good, Rick and Livy look good anyway. I will never like a picture of myself. However, the ones with my beautiful babies are great.
Livia cheesed it up pretty good for our family pictures. She was a stinker when we tried to get a few individual of her. So we let her crawl around while snapped a few of me and my sweetie.

Christmas

2009-12-31T22:49:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve Eve we went to see the holiday lights at CALM. It was chilly (38 degrees) but fun. We looked at the lights, got snowed on (by a snow machine), and rode the carousel.
Christmas Eve we went to Rick's grandparents house. We ate, hung out and unwrapped some presents. My hubby is good to me. Livia was bored by her presents and wanted to eat the cardboard.Christmas Eve evening we went to my parents house for prime rib, mmmm. We then had a nice Christmas program where everyone shared their favorite scripture about the Savior. It was a wonderful evening.
Christmas morning we opened our stockings at our house. Rick was very excited about his stocking. Livia took forever to open her stocking. We kept pulling things to the opening for her to pull out. Of course the stuffer she was most excited about was her toothpaste. Silly girl.
Christmas morning we went to my parents house for presents. Santa brought Keira a kitchen. I told her to get in the kitchen and make me some breakfast. She offered me a plastic piece of mashed potatoes and gravy that she called ice cream. Luckily dad was also in the kitchen making our traditional eggs benedict.

Livia met Santa

2009-12-23T09:26:00.000-08:00

Our ward had a Christmas party last Friday. I heard Santa would be there and insisted that we go. I wanted the classic "child screaming on Santa's lap photo." Well I got my photo, but it wasn't quite the expression I wanted, still cute though.Even though she seemed okay with Santa, she still hung on to dad pretty tight.

Hilarious Tantrum Face Print

2009-12-22T12:11:00.000-08:00

Livia was throwing a tantrum the other day. She was crying and throwing herself at the couch. After she did, she left this print on the couch. Perfect outline of her little sad crying face.

Super Silly Girl

2009-12-14T21:16:00.000-08:00

We went out for dinner on Friday night. Livia kept trying to stand up in her high chair. We sat her back down several times. After a few tries she got all the way around and happily sat that way the rest of the evening. She was sick of looking at mom and dad. She wanted to watch everyone else. She loves her bead necklaces. She's recently discovered how to put them on herself. Sometimes they get caught on her ears.
Livia "helped" me wrap Rick's presents. As I rolled out the paper she crawled on top and rolled all over it. Then she unwound the entire spool of ribbon and wrapped herself in that. Anyone want a Livy for Christmas?
That's an outlet plug in her mouth. She thinks that they are binkies. Or that they're better than binkies, she traded her binky for a plug this evening.
I sure do love this silly little girl.

Trip to Utah

2009-11-25T10:51:00.000-08:00

We still have some of our youthful spontaneity left. Wednesday, Rick turns to me and says, "want to go to Utah this weekend?" Five hours later we're in the car on our way. It was a LONG trip. Livia had to get out and wiggle, poor thing trapped in her car seat facing backwards the whole time. We stopped in Barstow and in Vegas. In Vegas we visited friends and Livy got to actually get down and crawl and play for real. We left Vegas way late, hoping that Livia would sleep all the way to northern Utah. She cried out every 30-60 minutes the next 6 hours of the drive. Not fun. But we finally got there at 6:30 in the morning. My sweet sister took Livia (she thought her crappy 8 hours in her car seat was sufficient) and let Rick and I get some sleep.
It was a nice weekend. We mostly just sat around and hung out. With a broken hand and four cases of the stomach flu we were all for just being lazy. Livia got some love from her cousins, from David at least. He is the sweetest little boy who would often giv Liv a pat on the head or a kiss as he walked by her.Kate was a little jealous. I spent a bit of time holding her, because I was first holding Livia, and she wanted on my lap. There were a few smashed fingers and being knocked over when Livia was where Kate didn't want her. Livy got her back though. After a nap, when Katelyn was all peaceful and quiet, Livia threw darts at Kate's forehead for about 15 minutes.

The Park

2009-11-13T11:24:00.000-08:00

We're exploring our new neighborhood and found a park less than a mile away. I took Livia there one day and we tried the swing. I didn't know how she'd react. She LOVED it! She smiled and jabbered on and on. Until I took her out to try something else. Then we had a mini-melt down and tantrum.

Seriously?! She's 10 months and we're having tantrums. What do we have to look forward to when she's 2?!

We finally got out of the swing and tried the see saw. It wasn't nearly as fun as the swing, but she still kind of liked it.We've been back a few times and had so much fun. We even got daddy to come with us on Wednesday for a picnic.

OREOS!

2009-11-07T11:07:00.000-08:00

I gave Livia an oreo the other day. I mostly just wanted the great pictures opportunity that I knew would follow.
First Bite -- not so sure.
Wait, this things pretty good!

There's an unhappy picture here because she dropped her cookie (or the tiny, slimy mess it had become). After the picture I gave her back the nasty little peice of oreo and she was happy again.

Of course she needed a bath when she was finished.

I'm Back

2009-11-01T15:12:00.001-08:00

After our recent move and a lot of irritation with AT&T we finally have internet again. So, I'm blogging again. (Your turn Beck) Here's the last few weeks of our lives:

We moved. New apartment on the other side of town. I miss our old ward a lot, but I'm so glad to be free from our old landlords. Livia was a super big helper, as long as I wanted things pulled out of boxes and thrown all over the room.We like our new apartment, it's nice and big. Livia likes her new room. Rick and I like that it's all the way across the house from ours. We don't know if she slept through the night the last three nights or not because we couldn't hear her. It was wonderful.Rick thought it would be easier to baby-proof the baby than the house. So he stuck the door knob saftey thingy on her hand. She was not amused. The rest of us were.We finally bought a high chair. It's helped a lot. She can be a slow eater so it's nice to have a safe place for her to sit for 30-40 minutes while she eats 3 bites.She likes her high chair. She lounges as far back as she can and kicks one of her feet up. She's always entertaining.

Now that Livia is allowed to crawl all over the house she's discovering all kinds of things for the first time. She loves the fridge.Livia burnt her wrist 2 1/2 weeks ago. It was so sad. Rick was fixing a tear in the console of his truck, Livy snuck up on him and grabbed for a hot tool he was using. He grabbed her right hand away and she reached in with the left. We took her to the doctor and got some great burn cream. It's healing really well. After the first day she didn't seem to feel any pain, and as long as she had long sleeves on she didn't pull at her bandage. Now that the blister has healed over, I just put some Vitamin E on it each day to keep it from scarring.

For Halloween, Livia was a monkey. I always wanted a monkey as a kid. I finally got one. This costume was such a pain to make. The material left fur all over the house, which of course ended up in Livy's mouth.

Here's my little monkey and Raggedy Ann at my parent's ward party. That's my cutie pie niece, Keira. Putting her picture on here is the only way to make sure that Becky can see her, since Keira's mommy is a terrible blogger. (Mira- I thought if I called you out on it you'd blog).

Dodger Game

2009-10-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

We scored free tickets to the first game in the play-offs last week. I figured since they were from a manufacturer, they'd be pretty good, they were awesome. We were on the front row. This is the view from our seats.

The dodger towel made a great hat for her cold little head.These were our seats.
Livia spent the 6th inning sleeping (it was an hour after bedtime). Unfortunately she spent the 7th, 8th, 9th and the hour getting out the parking lot awake.
Yay! Dodgers Win!!

Test Results

2009-10-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

Livia's doctor called Wednesday with her test results. Everything came back normal except her pre-albumin, a measurement of the last two weeks nutrition. It was a little low. She had a cold the week before which is probably why her results were low. I wasn't worried that there was anything wrong with her, but it's especially nice to know that when she grows slowly and stays little, it's just her going at her own pace.

Her poor little arm is still bruised. It's not a very good picture but there are two bruises on her arm where the sutck her. In spite of it all, she was a happy girl, after a few hours anyway.

An Ounce of Prevention

2009-09-28T15:54:00.000-07:00

We had a doctors visit today. It was supposed to be a weight check only, but unfortunately we weren' so lucky. First we had to do a flu shot. Livia weighs 13 lbs 11.7 oz and is 25 inches tall. Dr. Fan was concerned about her slow weight gain so we scheduled another check for 1 month and did some blood work.
When I was a phlebotomist at BYU, I always did the veni-punctures on the little ones. I was fairly callous about the whole process, but I certainly got a new view today. They had to stick her twice. It was not fun. She was so upset by the time it was over. I just felt horrible for my poor tiny, little baby girl.
I'm not terribly worried about her weight. Becky has little babies too, and thier perfectly healthy. I do appreciate Dr. Fan taking extra precautions and making sure there's nothing wrong with her. But it only makes it a tiny bit better when watching my baby being stuck three times.

Christmas in December

2009-09-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

For my baby shower I got a few Christmas type outfits Livia was due on Christmas Eve so they were appropriate. Of course, she was 11 days late and didn't fit into size 0-3 until March. This outfit, size 0-3, just started fitting (at 8 1/2 months). By Decemeber it won't fit anymore. So I put it on her and took pictures. Rick mocked me when he saw her, but I still think it's adorable.
She was quite cranky so these are the only good pictures she let me take.

Thoughts on Stake Conference

2009-09-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

WARNING: This is my personal reflection and reminiscing and may not be interesting. But since I haven't written in my journal in over a year, I'm using my blog to record my internal dialogue.
Yesterday was Stake Conference. It was a great meeting. The talks were wonderful. I actually got to listen because Livia sat on her grandparents laps the first half and napped in Rick's arms the second.
Pres. Larsen's talk struck me quite a bit. He was talking about having joy in the journey, rather than also anxiously awaiting the next phase in life. He cold have been describing most of my life. As a kid I couldn't wait to be older, to be out of elementary school and then out of primary. When I was in young women, I couldn't wait to be a mia maid and go to dances. When I was at the dances I couldn't wait until I could date. When I was in high school I couldn't wait to finish and go to college. I was always anxious about the next step, thinking as soon as I got there, life would be better. I would be happier. When I was a in college I couldn't wait to graduate and find a job. Things would be easier when I was completely on my own.
And then it was always, things will be better when I'm married. When I'm not playing the dating game I'll be happier (I stand by that thought!) After a particularly difficult break up I was talking to my mom. She was concerned about the way I was always looking to the future instead of living in the moment. I worked on it. I tried to enjoy my dating life, my job and my friends. When I was a newlywed, for the first time I understood and really felt joy where I was at.
But after a few months I got baby hungry and again felt that discontent. Life was mostly good. I had a great marriage, but my job sucked and I just kept thinking that if I had a baby, I could stay home and be happy. I had gotten pretty good at enjoying the journey and finding joy in my current situation. But over the next two years, I lost the battle. As I longed for a baby, I couldn't think of anything else. When I was finally pregnant, I had a lot of worries, some rational, some not. But one thing I worried about was enjoying my baby. I had always looked forward to the next phase and I worried I'd miss all the good times, waiting for the next milestone.
From the time that little angel was placed in my arms, I've thought about her future. But not in a bad way. I have enjoyed each milestone and phase without anxiously awaiting the next. And with the exception of the phase where she sleeps through the night, each one has come too soon, leaving me wishing she'd stay where she is a little bit longer. As this little monkey looks at me and is constantly yanking on my computer as she uses my legs to pull herself to a standing position, I feel that I've grown. It took a little girl growing up way too fast to make me appreciate the beauty of each day. Everyday I watch this little girl and thank my Father in Heaven for all that she has brought to my life. And I enjoyed a rare moment in stake conference where I felt good about progress I had made rather than just another area for improvement.

Crazy Hair

2009-09-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

Livia has some crazy hair. Rick calls it her reverse old man. The hair on the top is several inches long, but the hair on the bak and sides is an inch or less. She gets awesome morning hair

and it's so much fun to style out of the bath.

Sewing

2009-09-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

I recaught the sewing bug. I went through a few year phase where I didn't really sew anything. Then I found out I was having a girl. All the sudden, sewing is fun. Everything I get to make is little and cute. Here are a few of the little outfits I've made (on the cute little girl that I made)!When my sister and her babies came to visit last month we took our babies and did a cousin picture. I made the outfits for my sweetie, and my two nieces.

I guess it's time to baby-proof, sigh

2009-08-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

Livia loves her cousin Keira

2009-08-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I babysat my neice as her mommy went to school. Livia LOVES her cute cousin. They had quite a blast together. I ended up with a little bit of a headache. I wonder why.

P7X, we'll do the other 83 later

2009-08-24T20:10:00.000-07:00

Last week Rick and I started P90X. The workouts are great, incredibly intense, but diverse enough to keep you going. The diet plan makes me wanna cry. I'm a pasta, breads, and sweets kind of girl. A diet of protein and veggies, not my ideal. But we were doing it and were both really committed.

So, of course with 9 pounds of baby weight and 83 days to go, I was derailed. I was carrying Livia down the stairs and twisted my ankle on the last step. I heard a crack and my foot was really swollen within a few minutes. Rick took me to the urgent care. After looking at the x-rays the doctor found a stress fracture in my cuboid bone. He gave me a walking cast to wear for 6-8 weeks and told me to keep it upright and iced for a few days.

Not exactly the easiest thing for a stay at home mom with a young baby to do. I still can't really put any weight on my foot. I'm still using crutches (or crawling when I have to go downstairs). So Rick is staying home for a few days to carry Livia around and help me out.

Here is my gross bruised foot and my super cool velcro shoe.

My Attempt to be Artistic

2009-08-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

Livia was playing with her blanket the other day. Rolling around on the floor getting tangled up in it. I pulled out my camera, put it on black and white and sepia and Voila!

A Very Busy Week

2009-08-11T21:57:00.000-07:00

So much to blog about! Last week the Bready's came to visit! My sister, Becky and her three kids came to California for a week. The week went way too fast! We spent some time in the pool, playing water games at my ward's activity, going to the movies, enjoying naptime talking for hours on end, and a trip to the Long Beach aquarium. We also took all of the kids to JC Penney portraits studio. It was hilarious trying to get 5 little rascals to all look good in the same second. We got some very hilarious shots, and a few really great ones.

Monday the 10th was my 29th BIRTHDAY! We spent the day in Long Beach, mostly at the aquarium. It was a lot of fun. I had been with other teachers from my school in St. George 6 years ago. It was quite different this time. That time I was the kid. I ran from tank to tank, reading the signs, completely enthralled, losing track of time. I had so much fun petting the sharks I was soaked up to my armpit and my boss held onto my sweatshirt because he was afraid I was going to fall in. This time was all about the babies. I watched (and took pictures) as they acted the way I had last time I went. Although I missed enjoying the aquarium myself, I loved watching my baby, nieces, and nephews enjoy it. They were so adorable as you can see from the pictures.

Cute little Bready's (Alex, David and Katelyn) checking out the fishies.

Petting the manta rays. Livia and my favorite part fo the aquarium, the jellyfish!

My adorable nephews.

Kate lets Rick know that it's the fruit snacks, not the uncle that she likes (no words necessary).

Sweet David kept putting his nose up against the starfish.

I was very sad when my sister left Tuesday morning. She's one of my best friends and I love seeing her and never get to do it enough. She makes me want to move to Utah, in spite of all the yucky, yucky snow.

In Livy news, my munchkin is really getting ready to crawl. She started doing this all on her own last night. I grabbed my camera and cried on the inside.

My next scrapbook page pictures

2009-08-02T21:32:00.000-07:00

My next page in Livia's scrapbook is called: "Why my parents never buy me toys."

These are the things she prefers to playing with her toys:

plastic cups

wires

remote controls
tags

and of course, her feet

Look what Livy Learned

2009-07-23T10:49:00.000-07:00

Last night Rick and I were trying to get Livia to learn to clap. We both sat clapping at her (like retards) for several minutes while she laughed at us (with good reason).

I was so surprised this morning when she started doing this: We were watching the music videos at the end of Mulan and she just started clapping (in time with the beat, of course) to the music.

What can I say? My kid's a freaking genius!

I am so done with road trips!

2009-07-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

We had another weekend road trip. Last weekend Vegas, this weekend, St. George. It was well worth the drive. My friend, Brook got married this weekend. It was really neat. I've been waiting for her to find someone special who is good to her.

We drove to St. George Thursday night, had a really bad nights sleep (Livy woke up about 8 times in a 7 hour period). Friday morning at 10 Brook and Jordan were married at his parents house. We chatted with friends and family afterwards then headed back home.

Before I was married the drive from St. George to Bakersfield took me just over 5 hours. Now, with a baby, each direction was about 7-9 hours. We stopped several times, Barstow for food, at the State Line Outlets to walk, even in Baker (only cause Livia was very upset). On the way home we walked Vegas for a few hours. We were trying to spend most of Livia's awake time out of the car.

We were in the shops in Caesar's Palace and I remembered a friend talking about wanting to take her baby to FAO Schwartz. I thought it would be so fun to take Livia there. It was. She loved the stuffed animals and kept several shoppers entertained. We actually drew a little crowd as she excitedly tried to shove a stuffed animal 3-4 times her size in her mouth. By the end of the drive home Livia had had enough. So have Rick and I. We're not planning any more road trips for awhile. I'm even debating whether having milk for tomorrow is worth sticking her in the car again.

Weekend in Vegas: the Good, the Bad, and the Disgusting

2009-07-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

We went to Vegas this weekend. My brother in law lost $30,000 there last month so they love when he comes to town and always comp his stay. THE GOOD: We got in on the comping action this weekend. We ate at all the nice restaurants and good buffets and charged it to Nick's room. It was some big UFC fight (I couldn't care less) so we saw tons of famous people and fighters (nope, I was wrong, I care even less about the people than the event itself). We walked around some of the casinos, hung out at the Mandalay Bay pools and gorged on good food. Livia loved the bright lights of the strip. Each night she did a little better than the night before. THE BAD: For Rick and I, it was the opposite, each proceeding night we slept worse.

We drove home Sunday night. I wasn't thrilled about the idea. I didn't know how Livia would do. I wasn't thrilled that we had decided to carpool so our decisions were made for us by people who don't think about Livy before they decide what we are all doing. Luckily she slept the whole way home so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

We attempted to go to church on Sunday with some friends from Fresno. I really hope the Lord blesses you for noble attempts. We brought all our stuff to Rick's brothers room when we went to church. On our way down to the car I realized we forgot stuff so Rick went up to get it. Since we had checked out he had to wait for security to let him in. FORTY minutes later security showed up, he grabbed the stuff and we headed to church in time for sunday school. THE DISGUSTING: On the way Livia pooped. Oh did she poop! Her tights caught most of it, luckily. Still, I had to completely strip her down. She had poo from her toes to her chest. It was a 6 wipe diaper. Then I stuck her in the sink to wash the poo off the rest of her body and me. Yuck! I threw her tights away they were so disgusting and scrubbed at her clothes (she was wearing one of my favorite outfits or I probably would have just thrown it away also). That was how I spent Sunday School, cleaning poo. Everytime I thought I was done, I looked down and discovered a streak on her face, my arm, my shirt and back to bathroom I would go. I sat down for about 10 minutes of Relief Society before Livia decided she was hungry. We went off to the mother's room and then church ended and I had spent all of 2 minutes hearing anything gospel related. Ahh, the joys of parenthood.

4th of July for Captain Adorable

2009-07-07T15:46:00.000-07:00

Our 4th celebration started on the 3rd. Rick got a bunch of free tickets to see the Bakersfield Brigade. For those who don't live in Bakersfield, the Brigade is our soccer team. For those who do live in Bakersfield, the Brigade is our town's soccer team. After the game we enjoyed a fireworks show. Let's be honest, the fireworks and the free meal at the game were the only reason we went to the game. Livia liked the fireworks. She sat on our laps quite peacefully and enjoyed the show.

On the 4th Livy and I went to a party at the Faulkners. Rick worked on his paper for school (sucker) and then played x-box (nerd) with his friend Chris. We gorged ourselves on appetizers, dinner and desserts. Yummy! Livia met Sarah Bunting and they played very cutely together. They interacted as much as you'd expect from a 6 and 7 month old. Never really looking at each other only briefly interacting as they traded cups. The onesie she has on was picked out by her daddy. We were shopping and he comes up to me and asks me if he can buy it for her. I thought it was so sweet that he picked out a onesie for her. Rick nicknamed himself Captain and her onesie says "Captain Adorable." I didn't even care that it was a boys onesie and not on sale. I did however insist on a matching bow to make sure she still looked like a girl.

That evening they shot fireworks in front of the house. Livia had refused to nap in the last 5 hours so it wasn't surprising she didn't love the fireworks. She did like the bright lights but when the squealing fireworks went off, so did she.

6 Months with Our Little Angel

2009-07-02T11:44:00.000-07:00

Livia turns 6 months today. We've had 6 wonderful months with this precious baby girl. Six months of bad sleep, constant worrying, copious dirty diapers, spit up stains and more love than I could have ever imagined possible.

Here are a few things about our little angel:

Loves rice cereal mixed with formula or breast milk, but not with apple juice.
Loves pears, peas and peaches
Loves taking baths and splashing in the pool
Loves her ladybug mobile (she'll lay down quietly for a nap if the mobile is on.)
Thinks daddy is hilarious, even if he's ignoring her or telling a boring work story.
Doesn't love carrots, squash, applesauce or bananas (she's a wierdo)
Doesn't love having her diaper changedIs very jumpy to loud noises (or dad and mom's voices)
Will turn her head if her name is called.
Gets very mad when her large toys don't fit into her mouth.
Still wears size 0-3 months (but they're getting small!)
Likes to tease mom by sleeping 9 hours straight one night and then waking up every 3-4 hours the next.
Loves to be the center of attention! She'll be fussy in church until other people talk to her, then she's all smiles and giggles.
Hates having her face washed. She arches her back and throws a fit when I wipe her food off her face.
Has finally started to roll over on purpose.
Loves the camera, she'll stop whatever cute thing she's doing (the thing I was trying to get a picture of) and watch the camera with the same silly look on her face.
Is determined to grab the mobile on her swing, even if it means arching so hard she almost falls out of her swing and gives mom a heart attack.
Is the most beautiful, wonderful, happy little person in the whole world and a greater blessing than I could have ever imagined.

So Stinkin Hot!

2009-06-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

Our outside thermometer was reading 107 degrees today. Yikes! What are a couple of girls to cheap to run the AC cooler than 82 to do on a day like this?
Rick was at Sport Chalet looking for a gym bag and came home with this little floatie for Livia. She didn't really love it. She sits pretty low, darn small baby girl. We still played for about half and hour and loved the cool water.I had to swim to the deep end when her toys ran away and were getting sucked into the filter. So she shade bathed for a minute.

My Stupid Thought of the Day:

2009-06-23T15:44:00.000-07:00

Today I was feeding Livia peaches. She's a little bit messy. And by a little I mean a lot! So rather than washing her like a good mom would do, I chose to go white trash. We went swimming.It was early afternoon and I was worried about herskin burning so I brought the umbrella into the pool with us. She's splashing like crazy and I notice the back of the umbrella is in the water. and I think, oh no, I wonder if this umbrella is waterproof?!

Happy Anniversary!

2009-06-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, June 20, 2006, at 2:00 pm, Rick and Heather were married for time and all eternity in the San Diego LDS Temple.

We had our reception on June 24, 2006 in Bakersfield, CA.

The cake was so good. Thank you Brother Gutierrez! This is both of our families. From left to right, my grandma Bjerke, sister in law Miralda, brother Brian, friend Teniesha, brother David, sister Becky holding my nephew David, my mom and dad holding my nephew Alex, my grandma Marsh and brother Jeff. Rick's step mom Mary, brother Nick, father R.D., sister in law Kelly, Grandma and Grandpa Mann. And of course, we're the two in the front.

He has a cute bum!

My little brother, David played our song, "Making memories of us" on the guitar while we danced.Afterwards he broke into a rendition of "honky tonk, bedonk a donk." Rick thought it was hilarious. I was less amused.

It's been 3 wonderful years! Here's to many, many more!

Cute Pictures

2009-06-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

We took a walk the other day and Rick put Livia on his shoulders. She likes to grab him by the hair and ears when she's sitting up there. I was trying to get a cute picture of her and she turned her head. I wanted a cute smile picture, but this one turned out pretty well anyway.

Rick's grandma bought her a swimsuit the other day. She loves the pool. I think she liked the skinny dipping better. I however, prefer the suit, she has peed and pooped on my arm after a few swimming experiences.

She loves bath time. She's started getting so excited for bathtime. She kicks and squeals and splashes all over. I am usually as wet as she is at the end of bath time.

This is why she gets a bath every night after eating rice cereal. She's a little messy. I call this her "who you calling messy face picture." It reminds me of her Uncle David, this is a face he would make.

Which of the following made me a bad mom today...

2009-06-11T16:06:00.000-07:00

Today Livia had peas for the first time. Does it make me a bad mom that:

a. I fed her something that made me gag when I smelled it

b. I fed her something that made her make this face:

c. I laughed histerically and kept shoveling the bites in as she pulled faces and gagged.

Cast your votes, which made me the bad mom?

Mohawks Rule!

2009-06-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

Scuba Baby!

2009-06-08T14:32:00.000-07:00

Rick and I are officially scuba certified. We took our final test on Thursday night. We went to Catalina fo the weekend to do our open water ocean dives. During each dive we had to do several of our skills that we had learned the past 5 weeks in the pool. We had to flood and remove our masks and then clear them, ascend without inhaling, removing our gear and putting on again, etc. But in the ocean, 35 feet down, salt water, low visibility, swaying with every tide? Not so fun. After the first dive, I wasn't sure I wanted to be a scuba diver anymore. Each dive had less skill practice and more swimming. It got better each time. The last dive was so cool! We saw a black sea bass the size of a big dog, schools of fish and so many cool things. We brought bags of frozen peas and dumped them. The fish went crazy! I was laughing and screaming through my mask as they were attacking me for the peas. I'm so excited for our dive trip in July. No stupid skill tests, just diving. The only time I have to use the skills is if something goes wrong.

The weekend in Catalina was wonderful! Nick and April Winters were being certifed with us. It was nice to have friends go through the process with us. Nick and Kelly Watson came to Catalina too. It was great to have family there to watch Livy while we dove. I was a little worried about how she'd do, but she was awesome. A little fussy at times, but she did awesome. Livy did well too.

Livia wanted to be a scuba diver herself. But she's too little. I told her she can't scuba dive until she learns to sit up on her own. She took me very seriously and learned to sit up this weekend. Yikes my baby is getting so big!

5 Months and loving toys

2009-06-04T15:01:00.001-07:00

Our sweet Livia has been a part of our family for 5 months today. It seems like just yesterday I was begging her to get out of my belly, and at the same time, I have a hard time remembering life before her.

I was enthralled watching her play today. She's grows so quickly (mentally, not so much on the physical side). Less that a month ago she couldn't figure out what to do with her hands. Today she was all over, playing with everytoy and spinning around to follow mom around the room.

Of course, Livia does still need to taste all her toys. She seems quite fond of this one.

She also has a playmat that she really likes. One of the fish that hangs down plays a song when you push the button on its belly. She gets so excited when she makes it play. As soon as the music stops she's grabbing at it again to make it sing. She loves and hates this beach ball. It has a rattle in it that she loves. She rips the beach ball down from where it's velcroed (how do you spell that?) and tries to shove it in her mouth. But, since its the size of her head, she never gets a good bite on it. So she screams at it. Rick and I just laugh. She brings so much joy to our lives. Even when we're not laughing at the silly things she does.

4 Month Check Up

2009-05-27T22:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Livia's 4 month check-up. She is almost 5 months old, but the doctor was really booked up. I really like her pediatrician. I think he's worth waiting a few weeks for. She is still super tiny, 5% for weight 25% for length and 5% for head size.

She is 11 lbs 12 oz, 24 1/4 inches long and her head is 15 1/2 inches. She is doing fantastic! She is a few weeks ahead of schedule on her head control and a month ahead on her verbal skills. We had immunizations, same set as last time. The nurse was even better and faster this time, thank goodness. She was done crying in less than two minutes (mommy didn't cry, she was close though).

She and daddy have perfected a few more tricks. He has been balancing her on her bum for a month or more. I told Rick that I stood on my dad's hand at 5 months. So Rick decided to try it. And Livy is even more advanced than her mom. Watch of Barnum and Bailey. Here come Watson and Watson.

She not only loves watching daddy play video games, but she loves playing video games too. I'm so outnumbered here.

Of all her toys her current favorites are her appendages. Her fingers and toes are usually in her mouth. Except for when she lays in my arms, then her fingers are usually in my mouth. She likes to stick her fingers in her mouth first and then in my mouth (super gross and slobbery).

June Lake

2009-05-26T10:43:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the weekend o' Rick. His birthday was on Saturday, so from Thursday to Monday it was all about Rick. On Thursday we drove up to June Lake, past Bishop. We went camping for three days with Rick's brother and sister-in-law and their friends. Livia did well on the car ride, not so great with the whole sleeping thing. Unless going from 12 hours a night to 5 or 6 is good (it's not a good thing).

Friday we spent some of the day at the beach. It was a little chilly, which was nice since Livia can't be in the sun for long, it's easier to keep her covered. The lake was gorgeous! Rick enjoyed his fishing time. He caught twice as many fish as everyone else put together! (He caught two).

Saturday afternoon we headed back home. It's about a 4 hour drive. Livia slept most of the drive. Then again after half the sleep she normally gets the night before, it was a great thing that she slept so well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICK!

2009-05-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

Turn your volume up! This song is dedicated to my dear husband. Since we first started dating this has been my ring tone for him. I love this song! I love it even more now that it is his ringtone. It makes me want to dance and smile and run for the phone. I love you sweetie! Happy 29th Birthday!

Here are 29 of the many things that I love about you:

1. You work hard so that I can stay home with Livia.

2. You dance around the house. (and outside of the temple)

3. You make up silly songs and poems for me and Livy.

4. You take me out of my couch potato element and make me try new things.

5. You see the good in people and aren't judgemental.

6. You say "I love you" many times each day.

7. You always encourage me to buy something for myself and never tell me no.

8. You let me retain my independence.

9. You never let things get too serious.

10. You take care of me when I'm sick or ridiculously tired. (the past 5 months and more!)

11. You're a sweet and fun daddy.

12. You tell me I'm a good mom when I'm feeling inadequate.

13. You honor your priesthood and are worthy to give us blessings.

14. You always compliment my cooking.

15. You call me from work and let me know that you're thinking of me.

16. You make me feel beautiful, even in the morning, when I know I'm not.

17. You teach me new stuff. (look at how my knowledge of classic cars has grown!)

18. You have incredible patience.

19. You took me (and my brothers and Jarom) on the most memorable date ever!

20. You are incredibly silly, which lets me be silly too.

21. You watch chick flicks with me.

22. You are unselfishly giving.

23. You are a good example to your friends and family.

24. You helped make the most beautiful and wonderful baby.

25. You are completely honest with me and so trustworthy.

26. You are adorable in glasses.27. You have the most beautiful smile.

28. You are my best friend.

29. You have made me happier than I could have imagined.

Thank you for the past 4 wonderful years! Love you forever.

Swimming Take 3

2009-05-20T14:04:00.001-07:00

So after two fairly successful swimming expeditions, we decided to go for number three. I call the first two successful because in the two minutes we were in the pool there was no crying. Yesterday we went out to the pool again, only this time she loved it! Livia kicked and played and squeeled. After a few minutes she wasn't ready to leave, so I got the umbrella out and we stayed in the pool a little longer, but in the shade. It was so much fun to be in the pool with my little one. Sorry about the child nudity, but the smallest size of swimming diapers is 16-20 pounds and our little peanut is only 12 pounds.

A Fun, Full Day

2009-05-16T22:43:00.000-07:00

We had a busy Saturday. We spent the morning cleaning, not much fun. Then we headed over to Rick's dad's house for a barbeque. Rick's birthday is next Saturday, but his dad will be out of town, so we had an early birthday party.

Livia was very excited about daddy's birthday cake. She repeatedly grabbed at my cake. So dad let her have at his cake.

We took the kayaks out of the lake. It was a lot of fun and splashing around helped cool us off. Livia had a very long, very warm day. She didn't nap well or much, so when she finally fell asleep she was out.

She had her first sleep over today. This is Isaiah. He's less than half Livy's age, yet he looks about the same size. She's such a little peanut, sometimes I forget, even though the top she has on in the picture is newborn size.

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful for a day to think about mothers. The truth is, its not that different from every other day, but its a good time for reflection. So here is my tribute to 5 of my favorite mothers. Now I know that you may think that I'm biased since these women are all related to me. I'm not. I just have a family that is that awesome

1. My mom, Chris Marsh. She is of course, my favorite mom. I love her very much. She is the ultimate self-sacrificing mother. I remember growing up thinking, "why does my mom only own one pair of jeans?" Now I know its because her children had several pairs and used up the clothing money each month. She worked occasionally while I was growing up, but she worked crazy night shifts so that she could still be with us during the day. She put off her own college education for almost 20 years to put my dad through and to be a stay at home mom. She has always sacrificed for her children and I've never heard her complain or even bring her sacrifice to our attention. President Hinckley said: “It is never a sacrifice when you get back more than you give. It is an investment, … Its dividends are eternal and everlasting.” though he was talking about living the gospel I think it relates to mothers. From the outside we may see it as sacrifice. Some women may not even want children because the sacrifice that is necessary, but any good mother will see it as investing in her family.

2. My grandma, Jeanne Bjerke. My grandma has incredible strength. She has weathered many trials and has come out a shining example. If I had made as much improvement in my life, as she has in hers, I would have been translated by now. For a while she drug her young children to church alone determined to find something more for her family. Her example converted my grandpa and has left a beautiful legacy of temple marriage in her posterity.

3. My mother in law, Cindy Watson. My mother in laws memory sets a standard for me to try to attain. I've never met my mother in law. She passed away 6 1/2 years before I met Rick. I feel a great loss at not having known her. She gave life to the man who brings joy to my life. She raised him well. She found the gospel and encouraged Rick to join also. I credit her with the way he treats women. I know that she loved him very much and he was very close to her. I think of her often and hope that she approves of me as a companion for her son. I try to make her proud and treat her son well always.

(I need to get some pictures of her. This is what happens when a mother is gone, so are all the family photos)

4. My big sister, Becky Bready. I always think of Becky when they talk about a mother's heart. She had one long before she was a mother. We are less than two years apart, but that has never stopped her from taking care of me. When we were at college she would invite me over for dinner and send me home with leftovers, something I know that she does for David now. I've watched her since become a mom and I envy her mothering ability. She is supermom. She doesn't agree with me on that one, but she does it all, and does it well. She has three wonderful children, and although they came pretty wonderful, I think a big credit should go to their mom.

5. My sister in law, Miralda Marsh. Mira is one of the most patient people I know. First of all she's been married to my brother Brian for almost 4 years! I love to watch her with her little Keira. Mira plays with her and loves her and meets her needs in a way that you almost feel like you're intruding when you watch them. There is such a beautiful bond between mother and daughter. I hope that I have that with my Livia.Finally I must sing the praises of my little angel. She's not a mom, but she made me one. I asked my mom the other day if it was possible that she loved me the way I love my baby. When she told me she loved me more I had a hard time believing that was possible.

How I love being a mother! I think it gives me better insight into the gospel. Now that I understand the love of a parent I understand better the sacrifice of Elohim when he allowed His Only Begotten to suffer and die for us. How he must love us! I understand why Christ uses analogies of mothers and the Church. I think that if we truly understood the love that Christ has for use, that our Father in Heaven has for us, it would be easier to live better. I hope that as I continue to know what it means to be a mother I can be better, that I can impart these feelings to my daughter. That one day she'll understand also how much she is loved by all of her parents, and be a better person because of that knowledge. Thank heaven for mothers!

Rice Cereal Part I and II

2009-05-07T21:33:00.001-07:00

Livia turned 4 months on Tuesday which meant...RICE CEREAL!It was hilarious. Rick and I laughed so hard as that darn tongue pushed every bite back out of her mouth. I think she got maybe a bites worth in her mouth.So three days later we decided to try again. I mixed up a whole lot less cereal this time. It was much more successful venture, however...
She still got it all over. She even got cereal on the bottom of her foot. Okay, it was partly my fault. I was the one weilding the spoon. I have eaten from a spoon a few times and it was only her second time using a spoon, ever.

Kayaking

2009-05-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

My brother-in-law Nick, Rick's older brother, is so hilariously random. He wanted to buy 3 kayaks. Evidently it was the same price to buy 12 as a dealer as it was to buy 3 from a store. So he owns 12 kayaks. We took them to Hart Park today. Kelly and Starbuck enjoyed the water.

The canoes were quite fun. Rick enjoyed trying to tip the canoes. Luckily it was very difficult to tip the canoes.

Livy was SO stinkin' cute. I took so many pictures of her and her little poodle, Fee-fee.

The Growler Monkey

2009-04-30T11:42:00.000-07:00

The past few days Livia has begun to growl all the time. It's hilarious. If you growl back at her, she'll keep doing it. Her and her daddy like to have growling/giggling matches.

SCUBA

2009-04-29T18:16:00.000-07:00

For a while now, Rick and I have talked about becoming scuba certified. My parents and Rick's brother are both PADI certified and love diving. We thought it would be something we could enjoy together. This summer the Heliotek mid year company meetings and party are in Catalina. So we, along with our friends the Winters, are getting certified in preparation for our trip. Last night was our introduction night. It was supposed to be a quick scheduling, here are he expectations meeting. However, our instructor is, umm... interesting. Three hours and too many wierd stories later we have a schedule. Tonight is our first real class. We're meeting at the pool in one hour to do a fitness test of sorts. Two hundred meters (untimed) and a 10 minute tread. Easy peasy. The difficult part of the night will be getting into a swimsuit. Super YIKES! I started the morning feeling pretty good about myself. I broke out all my old pre-pregnancy (pre-mariage) jeans and they fit! I guess putting on a swimsuit tonight will keep me motivated to keep losing weight, or slit my wrists, one of the two.

I love days when people don't suck!

2009-04-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

The other day I was watching this tv show. A woman pretends to be pregnant because she misses how nice people were to her when she was pregnant. I watched it thinking, where does she live? People were'nt particularly nice when I was pregnant. I was once honked at by a truck when I didn't waddle through the crosswalk fast enough for him.
I didn't really expect things to be different with a baby in my arms as opposed to my belly. So I was pleasantly surprised when in the last two days two different people have gone out of thier way to open a door for me when I had my arms full of baby and baby junk. It's always a good day when people are nice just because. I love when people don't suck!

Elder Marsh

2009-04-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

My little brother, Jeff was set apart as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Saints on Wednesday. He was called to serve in the Nashville Tennessee mission and he reports next Wednesday the 29th. We gathered at the stake center and my dad, husband, and two other brothers got to participate in setting him apart. President Russell gave him a beautiful blessing reminding him the Lord called him to Tennessee for a reason and how wonderful it is to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ.Livia was pretty well behaved. She's been "sitting" for few weeks now. It's just her little belly that keeps her propped up. The shoes she's wearing are size 6 weeks to 3 months. She's 3 1/2 months, they're really big on her. But so darn cute she wanted to wear them anyway.

She loves her daddy.

After the setting apart we went to Rosemary's for ice cream. Awesome ice cream, terrible service. Miralda was sharing her ice cream with Keira, but I think Keira thought the ice cream was all hers.In other news, Livia learned two new things this week. I love every little stage she reaches, but I've been waiting for these two. First, she discovered her feet. She's been grabbing her little thighs for a week or so, but earlier this week she grabbed her feet for the first time. She's done it a lot ever since.

She also started grabbing things (other than my hair, that she's done for along time). Last Friday we went for a walk and she kept batting at her toy. A couple days later I held her rattle in front of her and she grabbed it. It was so cute. I gave it to her over and over just to watch her grab the toy. She stared at me funny as I laughed and cheered for her.

We did it!

2009-04-15T15:39:00.000-07:00

Well I finally got the guts to pierce Livia's ears. I've wanted to do it for some time. But after we cried when we got shots I lost my nerve. But today we did it. She did so good! She only cried for a minute. (Mom did good too, she didn't cry at all, just apologized all the way home)Now the real question is when will dad realize her ears are pierced. Any bets?!

The Wonderful Women of the Monica Ward

2009-04-14T20:45:00.000-07:00

Rick and I have been truly blessed by the good people in our ward. We've been in a lot of wards over the past few years. This is my 11th ward in the past 10 years. And each time we start a new ward I try to find my place and feel like I belong. It has been quite easy here in the Monica ward. From the week we showed up we have been welcomed and loved like never before. I've always been impressed with the women in my mom's ward. The women of the Monica ward are amazingly fantastic too! I never feel alone in Relief Society, which is quite different than how I usually feel. Since being in the ward I've been given baby gifts by tons of women, materity dresses, newborn diapers and baby clothes their daughters have grown out of, meals after Livia was born and a quilt, they even offered to throw me a baby shower. When I was at the doctor's with Livia when she contracted bronchiolitis I ran into a woman from my ward. Her daughter was being admitted to the hospital with a suspected appendicitis. She told me to call her if I needed anything. Her daughter was sicker than mine, yet she still reached out to me. I am constantly amazed by the women of the church. I look at the women in my ward and I see so many Christ-like attributes. I love the way the gospel of Jesus Christ makes more out of us than we could ever be on our own. I am so very grateful for the teachings of our Savior and the way I am surrounded by women who embrace those doctrines.

This cute outfit is from one of the women in the ward. She gave me a huge box full of clothes her baby had just grown out of that are so adorable!

6 Tag

2009-04-07T21:40:00.000-07:00

Rules:

1. go to the document/my pictures site on your computer
2. go to your sixth file

3. go to your sixth picture

4. blog about it

5. tag 6 people

6. there isn't another rule. I just thought since we were doing sixes....

Okay so Becky tagged me on the 6's a month ago. Well, I don't have six files on my computer (mine are much more OCDly arranged). So this is my 6th pic from my 6th file, in the 3rd file, the 3rd file in my pictures.

This is from last summer. My baby brother Jeff got his Eagle. This is from his court of honor. Those are my two brothers, Brian and David in the Eagle's nest. Brian is the one texting during the court of honor and David is the one throwing gang signs. That day I was proud of ALL my brothers!
I tag anyone who reads this blog post!

Warning... Hilarious Pictures to Follow

2009-04-05T19:03:00.000-07:00

Rick and Livia have certainly bonded. She thinks he's hilarious. They have quite the fun relationship. She flies like an airplane as he holds her up all over in the air. They've recently started practicing for their circus tryouts. Rick balances her while she sits on his hand. Pretty impressive considering she doesn't actually sit up.
So this morning after I fed Livia I handed her off to her dad. I turn my back and he starts mking grossed out noises. This is what happens when you shake up a just fed baby. Behold the barf beard:

And this is Livia's look of remorse. She feels bad, I'm sure. Hee hee. I laughed so incredibly hard. Rick loved that I grabbed the camera before I grabbed him a towel.

This weekend was the fishing derby at Lake Isabella. When you hear fishing, you automatically think of me. Oh no wait, I hate fishing, it smells like fish. But I love my hubby and he loves fish. So after conference on Saturday we headed to Lake Isabella. We sat around, got a little burnt on the left side of our faces and caught no fish. Isn't my hubby a cute little fisherman?! Rick has always been excited about teaching our kids to fish. But I think he may be a little premature with this one.

2009-03-25T19:12:00.000-07:00

My husband is a sweetheart! Every now and then I'm quite surprised by his thoughtfulness. I came home from my parent's house a week ago and Rick was home before me. He never gets home before me! I go upstairs and there is a path of rose petals leading to the bathroom where I find candles, roses and a bubble bath! Rick said he would put Livia to bed while I soaked in a fantastic bath. After I was very pruny I still heard my little angel. So I took a very long time getting dressed until I was sure that she was in bed.Livia is a terrible little napper. She naps about 5 times a day for 20-45 minutes each. Not nearly long enough to get anything done. She often plays in her crib or swing for a few minutes before she hollers to be picked up. I often now she's awake because I hear her. Her fingers are lip-smacking good! I know because I hear her chowing down on those little digits, through a closed door, down the hall. She really is that loud!

My babies are the cutest babies in the world! Here are the two sweetest sweeties cuddling.

Livia likes her time spent on her back. Not so much with the tummy time. She pushes up then gets a little craky till I roll her over. She lays on her back and talked away at the walls and ceiling. She loves to watch tv too. Uh oh. Her she is holding her nay-nee.

Rick is such a cute daddy. Livy loves playing with her daddy. They have all kinds of games that are not mom and baby games. We sing songs and do actions. They fly like an airplane, stomp around like a giant and punch and kick each other. Here is daddy and Livy playing.

A Hard Few Days For Mom

2009-03-15T14:47:00.000-07:00

We had a little bit of a hard week last week. Livia got her first round of immunizations. She got a total of 7 immunizations, one was oral the other were combined into 3 shots. She started to cry as the nurse pinned her legs down. The look on her face when that first needle went in was more than I could take. I buried my face in her chest and cried with her while the nurse finished. I was very grateful for a nurse who didn't waste time and let me pick her up as soon as she was done. Livy calmed down pretty quickly. She was asleep within a few minutes, but still making some crying noises. Of course, so was I.
Livia is now 9 lbs an 2 oz and 20 3/4 inches long. She's gained 3 pounds and grown 2 1/4 inches. She's staying right on track and growing well. She's in the 10% for weight and height, but the 25% for her head. Watch out Alex, she's catching up to you!
The next few days were a little tough. She was really fussy for a few days, at least every four hours when her tylenol was wearing off. I felt so bad for my little angel. The one bright spot in her days was bath time. She loves bath time. Even if she's upset and crying as soon as her bath starts, she'shappy. She loves getting her hair washed.

It's getting warmer and she still hasn't grown into her 0-3 month warm clothes. This is one of her cute little outfits with a hat and jacket. It's quite large on her, but it'll be 80 degrees before she gets big enough. So she wears it anyway.

Livia's Blessing

2009-03-07T23:03:00.001-08:00

This weekend was awesome! The Bready's and David came down from Utah. This was the last time the whole Marsh family will be together again until Jeff comes home from his mission in two years. We took family pictures. The last time we took nice family pictures there were only 9 of us, now there are 15. On Friday Jeff received his endowment in the Fresno Temple. It was amazing to be in the temple with all of my siblings, their spouses, my parents and grandma. A super sweet couple from my parents ward volunteered to watch all the grandkids while we were in the temple. It was the longest time I've ever left Livia for. It was also the first time I'd left her with anyone other than Rick or my mom. Afterwards we ate at Claim Jumper. It was a little crazy with 5 grandkids there. But so much fun and good food!

Sunday March 1st we blessed Livia. It was such a wonderful day! We had almost our entire families there. I thought it was so neat to see Rick's family there. They aren't members of the Church but still made time to come to something they don't understand the full importance of or get to participate in. Rick blessed Livia and my dad, brothers, brother in law and cousin got to help. It was a beautiful blessing. Rick was a little nervous, he almost forgot the baby. He was out of the row and a few steps away when I reminded him to take his daughter. I didn't think I said it very loudly but half the congregation laughed. After the blessing most of the testimonies made reference to the blessing. They all commented on different things that Rick had said and how beautiful it was to hear a father's love and hopes for his daughter's life.

After the blessing we had our families and friends over to our house for a barbeque. It was wonderful to have everyone all together.It was a little crazy the day of the blessing. So a few days lateher, I put Livy back in her dress and took these pictures of my beautiful little girl in her dress made by her grandma.

2009-02-22T20:29:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned how much I love my husband lately? I Love him! I Love him! I Love him! And he Loves me! He Loves me! He loves me!

It's Been A Crazy Few Weeks

2009-02-22T17:51:00.001-08:00

We went to Utah last week. It was a wonderful break from our current pace. Rick has been working untl 7 or 8 each night. He worked 10 days in a row before we ran away to Utah for a long weekend. We got to introduce our little Livy to the Bready family. I think her cousins liked her. Particularly little David, all weekend her was rubbing her head and giving her kisses. Livia got to meet Uncle David too. He was at Becky and Nate's for several days. Part of the reason we went to Utah was so Rick good take David snowboarding (it was his Christmas present). Of course David screwed it all up! Tuesday he went to the hospital with stomach pains. A few hours later he was in surgery for an appendicitis attack. He was at the Bready's recovering. I think she liked her Uncle David, they spent a lot of time cuddling.

It was a nice break from our daily crazy schedules. We spent time playing games (Mario Party 8 of course)! It was too short of a break. Except for at night. I missed my bed, and Livia's bed. Livia refused to sleep in the pack and play Becky set up. So she cuddled with mom all night. We came home late Sunday night and made it through the pass an hour before they closed it. We almost got stuck in LA for 2 days.

On Monday night Rick was being his amusing self. I looked over to see him taking pictures of Livia. He had made a sign for her and had her hold it. He thinks he's funny.Livia rolled over for the first time on Tuesday. I wish I had of seen it. I put her on her belly for some tummy time. She looked so cute I went to get my camera. I came back a few seconds later and she was on her back. I was so sad! I wanted to see if i could get her to do it again, but this week has been incredibly overwhelming. Tuesday morning Livia woke up with a cough. Her nose started running that afternoon. I set up a humidifier in her room, propped her mattress up at an incline and suctioned out a lot of snot. I figured we were in for along week of waiting out her cold. On Wednesday night Livia started eating less. Thursday I struggled all day getting her to eat. I tried bottle feeding her too and she cried after 5-6 swallows each time. I was getting very nervous. All day Thursday she only ate about 6 ounces. I even squirted some from a bottle down her throat as she cried at me. Friday morning I called the doctor to see if I should bring her in or not. We went in that afternoon and Livy was diagnosed with bronchiolitis. We did a breathing treatment and took x-rays to make sure se didn't have pneumonia. We spent Friday evening doing breathing treatments and doses of baby tylenol. After a few doses she started eating a little bit. We're still working back up to normal. We brought her back in on Saturday for a recheck. The pediatrician says she sounds much better, not as wheezy and her breathing isn't as labored. I think we're still in for another long week as she continues to heal. She still has a pathetic little cough and she spits up all her milk if she coughs too hard.

My baby brother is going on a mission!

2009-02-06T15:47:00.000-08:00

My baby brother got his mission call yesterday. We gathered the family and got the out-of-towners on the phone. He's serving in the Nashville, Tennesee mission. He goes into the MTC on April 29th. I'm so excited for him. This is going to be such a great and learning experience for him. I think he was a little disappointed when he saw he was going stateside, but it's the right place for him. I'm excited for his letters. As each of my brothers have left and written home, I've wondered who they had write their letters for them. Because it certainly wasn't charactersitic of my little brother to be so deep and grown up. I'm also excited to be able to mail a package for under $40 and not have to put Virgin Mary stickers all over to keep it from being stolen.

Men! hmmpf (eye roll)

2009-02-02T14:57:00.000-08:00

So Rick comes home from a Sunday morning church meeting and relays the following conversation he had. Rick was asked how things were going with the new baby. He said things were good but how tired we both are. Several people asked him why we don't keep Livia awake during the day so she sleeps at night. Knowing that all the people in this meeting are parents also I had to ask, who would say such a stupid thing. I've tried keeping this kiddo awake. She has her own schedule and we run around it. I've asked my mom and sister (both are supermoms) how to get newborns on a schedule. My mom said if I could figure that out, I'd be a millionaire. Rick told me that it was our bishop and the young mens president who asked why we don't keep her awake in the day. To which I replied, "Men, hmmpf (eye roll)." It's like getting marriage and child care advice from Oprah. I bet if either of thier wives heard that comment they'd agree with my assessment, "Men! hmmpf (eye roll)!"

How Time Flies

2009-01-31T12:42:00.000-08:00

My little one will be 4 weeks old tomorrow. I can't believe how fast time flies. I noticed it happening last night. Livy woke up at 6 to eat. I fed her and changed her and she was wide awake. I was not. So I started to rock her hoping that she would fall asleep. She fell asleep quickly but every time I moved she would wake up again. I kept telling myself that I was going to rock her for five minutes then put her down. I looked at the clock thinking it had been about 5 minutes and noticed that 15 minutes had passed. Where did the time go? It amazes me how the time flies when I'm staring at my daughter.

Survival Mode

2009-01-27T21:25:00.000-08:00

Livia is 3 weeks and 2 days old. She's gained over a pound and grown an inch. She's getting a better sleep schedule. She feeds less often, it's every three hours instead of every two. Which means I get a little more sleep at a time. She's also going to bed earlier, yay! She went to bed at midnight last night, slept till 4 and then again until 7. Mom and dad are getting used to this whole parenting thing. Yikes, it's frightening to realize the responsibility we have. We're currently on survival mode. Livia sleeps where ever she wants, whenever she wants. I know she should sleep in her bed, but where ever she sleeps is fine with me. She's slept in her swing the past two nights. I've tried to put her in her bed but the minute I lay her down, her eyes pop open. So the swing it is.
She finally loves bath time. She's so adorable when she bathes. She's always trying to lick the water as it drips on her face. She was quite modest for this picture.

This was the funniest. Livy was sleeping in her car seat. Some noise startled her and her hands shot up in the air. I took this several minutes after she was startled. This is why her hands are often cold when she sleeps.

This is kind of a goofy picture. She gave me her first real smile when she was 13 days old. I'd seen plenty of gas induced smiles, but this one I knew was real. Most mornings she'll smile at me a few times as I tickle her feet or kiss her. But as soon as I grab my camera to document this heart melting moment she stops smiling. I sort of caught a smile in his picture.

Keira turns 2

2009-01-19T15:09:00.000-08:00

Keira turned two on the 13th of January. Her parents celebrated her birthday a few days late. I think that they think if they didn't tell her she's two that she won't act like it. Not likely. We went to their new house on the 15th and had some cake and opened presents.

Mira made a cute cake (or two cakes rather) of flip flops. She used Brian's foot as a pattern for the shape and size. Keira had one flip all to her self, and the rest of us ate the flop. Super yummy!

Keira and Livy met for the second time. She likes the baby, but doesn't quite realize Livia's fragility. So we watch them very closely.

There's no story for this picture. But isn't she cute?

The Second Week at Home

2009-01-16T20:54:00.000-08:00

We've been doing a lot of sleeping this week. And by we, I mean Livia. Mom and dad have been getting less sleep than usual. Here is Livia's second week in pictures: Livia is a little shy. Actually she's just a very funny sleeper. She moves her arms all over when she sleeps. She also makes funny whimpering sounds and squeaks like a mouse.

We've been spending a few minutes on our tummies each day. And again by we, I mean Livia. Mommy temporarily forgot her stomach was recently cut open and laid on her tummy next to Livy. Ouch. She's hilarious on her tummy. She's a little top heavy. She tries to lift her head up. Mostly she ends up face planting as her whole bottom half lifts up instead. She is getting a pretty strong neck though.

Here is one of the rare moments where we're both sleeping. Ahh naps!

She's taken a few naps in her crib. Nightime sleeping is all still in mom and dad's room, but we're getting there. She looks so tiny and helpless in her crib. It's hard for me to put her down in there.

Keira came to meet her newest cousin on Sunday. She saw grandma holding the baby and burst into tears. I was a little afraid we'd have a repeat of when I was born and my big sister Becky tried to kill me, twice. Keira liked tickling Livy, but she wasn't a fan of being ignored or losing her spot on grandma's lap.

The first week

2009-01-10T13:12:00.000-08:00

We've been home for 4 days now and here's a little bit of what's been going on in the Watson household. Livia has spent a lot of time sleeping. Mostly during the daytime. She likes to be awake between midnight and 4 in the morning. Mom and dad are not big fans of this schedule. She likes to be held while she sleeps. When we put her down, she wakes up. The first few nights she slept with us in her daddy's arms. She stayed asleep for several hours this way. We actually got some decent sleep, at least 5 hours each night. Dad wakes up often worried about her (he's such a cute dad). I think he missed holding her last night. I had her in the other room

trying to get her to sleep. Instead I watched several episodes of Friends and she ate three times in 3 hours. Livia had her first bath a few days ago. As you can see, she loved it. She cried through the whole bath, until the very end when I washed her hair. She calmed right down and even let me give her a mohawk (dad's request). Of course as I was lotioning her after the bath she peed all over her changing table. At least she's a girl and didn't pee on us.

LIVIA NOELLE WATSON

2009-01-07T20:36:00.001-08:00

She's finally here. January 3rd we went to the hospital at 7:00 for our induction. I was put on some meds and we sat around waiting for things to happen. After 8 hours and 1 cm I was introduced to my new best friend, the epidural. Forget diamonds, those drugs are a girl's best friend. We had a few scares during labor. Several times when the contractions were really strong or long the babies heart rate would drop. Several nurses would run in and roll me to my side and put me on oxygen until her heart rate came back up. That was one of the most difficult experiences of my life, listening to that little heart beat and praying it would go back up. About 5:00 on Sunday after stabilizing her we decided we couldn't risk anymore and went into surgery. Rick held my hand during the c-section. I felt like two terrified kids, I was so grateful to have family around.At 6:00 pm on January 4, 2009, Livia Noelle was born. After I heard them say, "it's a girl." I heard this tiny little whimper and everything in life changed. Livia was 6 pounds 4 ounces and 19 inches. They brought her to see us and she was so beautiful! Rick got to go with her to the nursery to be bathed and checked out while I was wheeled into recovery. This is the first time I got to hold my daughter. I was pretty smitten from the start. But then again, look at her! How could I not be totally in love?

Her daddy loves her too! He is so cute with her. It amazes me how much more I love him, watching him love her. She's a fairly easy baby. She sleeps in the day and loves to be awake from about 1 until 5 in the morning. But other than that she is a dream baby. Best of all, she's a good sucker. She loves her fingers. Here she is sucking her thumb. She did that all on her own.
We were released on Tuesday after a way to eventful day. Rick spent an hour in the ER. He woke up and his eyes were burning. It got worse until he couldn't see and was in so much pain my nurse took him downstairs. He got two shots, two eye drops, and a prescription. We both had to leave the hospital in wheelchairs. We've been home for a full day now and both feel so much better. We've all gotten some sleep and we're adjusting to our new life pretty well.

She does the funniest thing with her tongue. From the time the pulled her from my uterus her tongue was sticking out, flicking out all over the place. It made breast feeding very difficult at first, but we've got it under control, so now the tongue thing is just cute!

The Last Pre-baby Post!

2009-01-03T12:47:00.000-08:00

31 days after being considered "full term" our little one still seems to be quite comfortable in my womb and there's no evidence she's ready to leave. So we've sent an eviction notice. Tonight we're inducing labor. Wahoo! By Sunday, we'll be parents. We're basically on a waiting list. They're supposed to call us by 5:00 to lest us know when we can come in. If there are emergency c-sections or women who are actually in labor, they come first. We're keeping our fingers crossed that Labor and Delivery is fairly empty today. Next time I post it will be with pictures of my little puffy-eyed cone head!