Where We've Been

So I realize I haven't posted in a couple of months, but it's been crazy. After San Diego we had a couple of average weeks, then Bryan got sick. If you don't know Bryan, he rarely gets sick, and even when he's sick, he never misses work. Well, on more than one occasion he went in late and came home early. On his third doctor's visit within two weeks, he got tested for everything from swine flu to Valley Fever. Luckily, all of the tests came back negative. Everything pointed toward a virus, and after about 6 weeks, he got back to feeling like normal.

In the midst of that, Annie went from falling further down the growth chart at every well visit to loosing weight. Her doctor sent us back to the GI doctor, and we are currently trying to figure out what is going on. We are both currently off of all milk, dairy, egg and soy products because they think she may have an allergic condition in her esophogus and those are the most common allergens. Two weeks after her initial GI visit she has only gained 1 ounce, and we are eagerly awaiting her next visit to see what they are going to do. It's very unsettling, and I worry about it way more than I should, but we're going through the process and doing a lot of praying in the mean time.

Last week we did get to go on our annual vacation, a week in Newport Beach which was wonderful as usual. Pictures to come shortly :)

San Diego

When Ryan saw Bob, he ran right up and gave him a hug!

Getting ready to ride the train at Balboa Park

Ryan and Rachel playing soccer in the park

Miss Annie, being her sweet self

A couple of weeks ago we did our annual long weekend in San Diego. It was absolutely wonderful to get out of the 115 degree heat and enjoy some time outside! So here's the Cliff Notes version of our trip:

Drive to San Diego. Go to Legoland. Go to Sea Life. Go to Rockin' Baja Lobster. Go to bed. Do a session at the San Diego temple. Go to Balboa Park. Ride the train in Balboa Park. Watch Ryan and Rachel play soccer in Balboa Park. Relax at the hotel. Eat super delicious pasta at Bella Pizza. Buy San Diego t-shirts. Buy salt water taffy. Walk around Old Towne. Pack. Drive home.

Ryan is Two!

I can hardly believe it, but this past week Ryan turned two! We had a super fun day that started when Ryan woke up to a ceiling full of helium balloons. He loves balloons and just kept saying, "Wow! Wow!" That afternoon we went to McDonald's for lunch and he got to play in the Toddler Zone for over an hour until he brought me his shoes and was ready to go. That night we went to Amazing Jake's with Bryan's parents and Sabrina. We had dinner and cake, and Ryan and Bryan rode some rides and we all played some games. All in all it was a pretty perfect day, and if I were two, I think I would have been pretty happy.

Happy Birthday, Ryan. We love you so much, little buddy!

Crafty, Crafty

Anyone who knew me before I had kids knows I was domestically challenged. I think it's funny, though, how things can change. Sunday at church the people behind us had this cool little tote bag for their kids' coloring books and crayons. I decided to look online and see if I could find instructions to make something similar, and this is what I came up with. Ryan is currently obsessed with Cars, so I was excited to find this cute fabric. It's lined in bright yellow and I have to say I was pretty impressed with the final product. It just goes to show that you really can do anything you set out to.

So Cute!

So this picture may not seem worthy of a blog post, but I think the story is too cute. Annie was on the floor playing with her little stuffed cow (thanks, Aunt Sabrina) while Bryan and Ryan were watching TV. Next thing you know, she had gotten the cow under her head and was facing the TV, so it totally looked like she was completely comfy, watching whatever show was on at the time. And don't you just love that smile and those eyes? I'm so glad I have a little girl :)

Under Construction

So I've had a few people ask for pictures of the construction. I didn't think to take before pictures, but it was just a single car garage bay with a normal old garage door before.

Today we have the house painters here, and the wallboard for the interior is supposed to go up by this weekend. Last night we went and looked at carpet and paint colors, and we're pretty close on those things. The other big thing we're waiting on is our bid for the new A/C units and the accompanying work. Overall I'm really pleased with the progress and am very much looking forward to the extra space!

Looking at the new room from the front of the house.

Looking from the laundry room toward the window.

Looking from the window toward the laundry room (the laundry room door will be coming off, and there is a new entryway built that you can't see through the insulation. That's where the door to the garage will go.).

Update

Ryan loves his baby sister!

Apparently it's cool to wear sunglasses in the bathtub!

You can definitely tell they're related!

Trying out squash for the first time


I just realized that it's been a while since I've blogged, so I thought I'd post some new pics and let you know what we're up to. Annie turned 6 months last week, which I still can't believe. She is sleeping awesome and continues to be our little angel baby. She is so good natured and mellow, and such a calming presence in our home. I took her in for her shots on Thursday and even though she is continuing to grow, she is now only in the 5th percentile for her weight! We just tried out solid food for the first time yesterday, and she is pretty unsure about that at this point.

Ryan is doing great. While Annie is allowing us to have nice quiet nights, Ryan definitely is not. Hopefully it's just a stage, but he is up every single night, at least once and often more. It's tiring, but chalk it up to parenthood, right? He is talking like crazy and coming up with new words every day. It's so fun to watch, and he is quite entertaining.

We recently began converting part of our garage into another room. No, we're not having another baby, but we need more room! We have it framed out and the window has been installed and the stucco done on the outside. It will be nice to have some storage and a place to put my sewing maching and scrapbooking stuff so I don't have to pack it up everytime I use it. We're hoping to have it completely done in about a month or so.

That's about all that's new here. It's been crazy hot, and keeping Ryan entertained indoors is proving to be quite a challenge. It should be an interesting summer!

Ryan's First Trip to the Firehouse

A couple of weeks ago we went to Tehachapi for my step-sister's baby shower. While we were there, Ryan got to visit the fire station with Papa. He had a great time pushing all the buttons and checking out the lights. Thanks, Papa, for the fun time!

Happy Earth Day!

I've never been a big "Save the Planet" kind of girl--I drive a Suburban and am a registered Republican. However, since having kids, I have become more environmentally aware and try to do my part. I haven't adopted anything earthshattering--just the little things that if everyone does will combine to make a big difference. Our efforts include:

~Recycling everything we can

~Using canvas shopping bags

~Using cloth napkins instead of paper

~Switching to energy efficient lightbulbs

~Using Nalgene bottles for water instead of disposable water bottles

~Washing clothes in cold water and using the quick wash cycle when appropriate

~Getting our windows UV coated to keep it cooler (and use the A/C less)

I'd love to hear what others are doing to help save the planet!

Mad Skills

So I just started taking a cake decorating class, and this is the first cake I did. I'm definitely no Duff Goldman, but hopefully I'll be able to make cute cakes for my kid's birthdays. This whole domestic thing is turning out to be pretty fun...