The Holidays are Here!

I can't believe Christmas is THIS Saturday.  Where does the time go really?  Every year I say I am going to do all my shopping in October, then every year the week of Christmas is here before I even know it, and I still have almost all of my shopping to do.....crazy.  However, even though gifts are a fun part of Christmas, it is important for us to remember the true meaning of Christmas.  Especially with Lizzie getting older,  now is the time to instill those values by setting the right example.  We must keep the focus on Christ, and even though she is young, I am finding it easier than I had anticipated. 

I have a couple of nativity scenes around our home (both given to us by my Grandma Wittmer, thanks G.G.), which was sort of our starting point.  She is very into birthday parties, so I basically tried to explain that His birth was the most important one of all time.  Because she has much experience with a baby born recently (her little bro) she was quick to understand that part.  It was fun for her to think of Jesus as a baby, because that had never occurred to her before.  Besides bdays, she is also VERY into princesses, so my next point was to focus on the fact that He is the King.  She thought that was really cool.

While snowmen, gingerbread houses and Christmas trees are beautiful and fun as well, most little kids tend to think of presents when they think of Christmas.  When I told Lizzie the story of Christ's birth, I explained to her that many gifts were brought to Him.  The way we give gifts today is a symbol of those gifts given to Christ.  (obviously He didn't get a My Little Pony, but it's all relative) Anyway, I just thought I would share this in case anyone who reads my blog is in the same boat :) 

I love Christmas and the whole season of Christmas.  Everyone is in a better mood than usual.  There are beautiful light displays all over the place.  Plus, you are usually with the people you love the most, celebrating the One who loves us ALL!  I am so grateful for Christ's birth and for his righteous example.  I know that as we strive to remember Him in all that we do (not only at Christmas time) we will receive blessings beyond measure.  Merry Christmas!!!!!

Misfortune Turned Favorable

I was absolutely in love with my Brocade Bordeaux Boxy Backpack by Petunia Pickle Bottom.  It was the exact colors I wanted and even matched with the nursing cover my friend made for me.  (Totally by chance I might add)  They're pretty pricey, but having a good, dependable, functional diaper bag is pretty crucial in my opinion.  My wonderful mom bought it for me before Max was born.  A couple months after I started using it, the zipper broke.  It wasn't impossible to keep using, so I kept on using it.  After a couple more months it started to be an annoying hassle.  I decided to contact Petunia Pickle Bottom because I had heard they are very good about repairing their products.  However, I am not the most efficient person, so I let a few more months go by.  I FINALLY e-mailed them a couple weeks ago and I have to say they were AMAZING!  Customer service is very important to me but never have I dealt with such a wonderful company before.  They had me send in my bag and after showing it to their seamstress, they determined it could not be repaired, but that they would be happy to send me a new bag.  WOW!  I thought that was super awesome, until I read the next line.  "Unfortunately, we no longer carry that style diaper bag."  Boo....But then it went on.  "However, please take a look at our current line to find the bag that is just right for you and we will be happy to send you a brand new bag."  That's pretty awesome, but there is no way I will find one I liked as much as mine, right?  WRONG! 

Found a GORGEOUS one and was so excited to receive it in the mail just a few days later.  This company really goes above and beyond.  I highly reccommend PPB to everyone I know :) Yes, they are expensive, but from this experience I believe even more now that they are totally worth it! 

Being Sick is NO FUN!

This post is coming much later than planned, but I just had to document some of the events that took place a few weeks ago.  It was the day after Thanksgiving.  We had gone to my grandma's for a wonderful German dinner.  Max's appetite was noticeably smaller, but I just figured he was too distracted to eat by all the people there.  (Getting kids to eat when other kids are running around and playing is next to impossible, but that's a whole separate post)  We got home and went to bed as normal.  He woke up around 2 for a feeding, again very normal.  Then, as I went to lay him down he started to cry a cry that I have never heard before.  Tired and confused, I handed him to Todd for a minute.  Within seconds he puked up violently all over our bed!! While I tore all the bedding off of our bed, Todd gave him a bath.  The rest of the night continued in this way.  Todd and I took turns holding him out in the living room with a towel.  At around 4am, Todd went to get pedialyte.  Max sucked it down fast, which was a mistake because within 5 minutes it all came up.  The next few days & nights were miserable, especially for poor Max.  We took him to the doctor's on Sunday and again on Wednesday and they really couldn't tell us much except for a few tips to keep him hydrated. 

I was amazed Lizzie hadn't gotten sick.  However, something else happened to her which, can only be described as hilarious in my opinion.  It is SUPER stressful to have a baby throwing up at any given time without ANY warning.  One of these times in particular was when I was holding him in the kitchen, trying to get a quick peek at my e-mails.  He threw up all over the kitchen floor as I struggled to get him to the sink.  He continued to vomit.  Lizzie was playing in her room, so I asked her to stay in there and warned her not to come out because Max had puked.  Lizzie replied, "OK Mom?"  I told her again, but at this point she must have been curious.  She came running into the kitchen only to slip and fall right over the barfy mess.  She sat there stunned for a minute as I hurried to clean Max up and put him down for a nap.  She looked down at her hands which were covered with barf and started to gag immediately.  I told her to calmly walk to my bathroom so she could have a bath.  I could have let that incident really put me over the top of my stress level, but instead I just had to laugh. 

She did end up getting sick almost the day Max got better, but luckily when Lizzie gets sick it never lasts more than 2 days.  Poor Max on the other hand, was very ill for about a week.  (that week felt like a month)  The nice thing about older kids being sick, is they kinda know when the vomit is coming.  She would cover her mouth with her hand exactly 3 seconds before it came up EVERY time.  That was nice.  There was less mess that way.  She also remains is great spirits when she's sick, so that's kinda nice too.

Here are a few things I learned and found to be very helpful for kids with the flu:

1.  Chicken or beef broth is better than pedialyte because salt is lost when they are dehydrated (it stayed down better too)
2.  Coconut water (from Trader Joe's)  tastes gross, so is hard for them to drink, but has less sugar than gatorade or pedialyte, and is still filled with electrolytes
3.  Peppermint oils, rubbed on the feet and also smelled from my hands helps with the nausea and vomiting
4.  Big bowls are great to keep close at hand (learned that one from my mama)
5.  Finally, though we don't promote children under 2 watching tv/movies, "Finding Nemo" seems to do the trick for lulling a sick child back to sleep in the middle of the night.  It worked for Lizzie and now Max too!

Good luck to anyone who has a sick child at some point.  It is inevitable and will inevitably happen a dozen more times.  The best thing to do is keep your sense of humor around, because with all the gross, stressful and not-fun things you have to deal with, you may as well have a few laughs along the way. :)

We Love Yosemite!

Last month we took the kids to Yosemite for the first time.  I have a great uncle and aunt who live in Sonora.  We visit them often and they don't live too far from Yosemite, so this last visit we decided to take a day trip to the gorgeous sites of Yosemite.  I hadn't been since I was about 12, but the memories from my childhood trips were fresh in my mind that day.  I fell in love with that place all over again.  What's not to love?  It's absolutely beautiful!!

Lizzie did great and hiked most of the way on the Vernal Falls trail.  We had to stop at the bridge because that was as far as a stroller could go.  Next time we HAVE to remember our backpack carrier.  The weather was perfect, not too cold or hot and the Fall colors were amazing.  Todd wants to go again in the Winter, so we may get to see yet another season of Yosemite.  I always went in the summer as a kid.  No matter when you go, there is something so magnificent about the place I imagine that even the worst weather conditions couldn't keep it from being an amazing vacation spot.

Football Fun

Last night the Huskies finished the regular season with a sad loss to James Logan High.  We still had a great season with a 5-1 record and will for sure go on to the playoffs.  It has been fun with all the family in the stands, especially all the little kids!  They have been such troopers sitting through all kinds of weather, some very long games and some very loud games.  With the help of some snacks on hand, they made it through.  Their reward?  After every game, the kids would get to run (or crawl in some cases) all over the football field, chasing and even tackling one another.  It has been a blast to watch them!  Here a just a couple of pictures I got of Lizzie, Ashlyn and Madison, all wearing their Daddys' old numbers from when they were Husky football players years ago :) 

(Tiff, if you read this, would you mind sending me more? Thanks :)  You got the BEST pics of ALL the kids)

"Pretty School" as Lizzie calls it

Lizzie's First Day of Preschool

She absolutely loves going to preschool and I love how much she is learning!  It's so fun to see her recognize letters and numbers on store signs or street signs or wherever we go.  It's awesome to see her interact with other children too.  The conversations that go on between 3 & 4 year olds is absolutely priceless!  I'm so glad she enjoys it and hope her love for school will carry on throughout the years.  Next school year she will be enrolled in preschool, but which preschool has yet to be determined.  If anyone can recommend any, we're open to suggestions :)

Busy Busy Busy!!

We sure have been busy these last couple weeks.  I wish I could say it will slow down soon, but no chance of that. This is literally the 3rd time I have started this post!  Max started crawling a couple weeks ago and made me realize that while my home is child-proof it isn't very baby-proof.  He also got his first tooth!

We have been busy re-organizing our place yet again!  Both kids have grown out of many of the clothes in their drawers so it was time to put them into storage to make room for their current size clothing.  Whew!  What a job that was. 

Lizzie started preschool.  It's two other moms and myself on a rotation of teaching lessons twice a week.  She loves it but she think it's called "pretty school" :). 

I recently applied to a teaching credential program and have been busy gathering the necessary documents for that, plus substitute teaching about twice a week.  I even have a couple of jewelry shows lined up for the end of this month!  As much as I would have loved it, I am glad I decided to turn down the offer to help coach cross-country this season. 

Todd's football team started league so we are in the middle of football season, which is ALWAYS a busy time for the whole family.  We are 2-0 for regular season so far (a lot better than our pre-season record of 0-4)  Everyday before football he has stayed steadily busy with work at the apartments too.  Oh and he applied to Chabot to take a full load during the Spring semester.

I'm sure I am forgetting a few more things that have added to the chaos that is our lives, but we love it all.  I am just grateful for family and for the fact that we are able to do most of these activities together!!  We have managed to squeeze in some fun family outings which I will be posting shortly!

GLEE!!!

The new season of Glee begins exactly one week from today!!!

I don't even know where to start.  Our family is OBSESSED with the Fox tv show, "Glee".  I think it is the best thing on tv in a LONG time.  For those of you who haven't yet seen an episode, you are seriously missing out.  It is so fun to watch and even though I am a horrible singer, we absolutely LOVE singing along to all the songs from the last few seasons at home and in the car.  We each have our favorite songs.  Yes they are all cover songs, but just listen for yourself and you'll agree the Glee version sounds so much better for the most part. 

They have had guest appearances from Kristin Chenoweth & Idina Menzel of the original "Wicked" cast, who are absolutely amazing! The new season will have even more guest appearances by other talented singers as well. The lead actress Lea Michele, who plays Rachel on Glee is incredibly talented.  To quote my sister-in-law Jana, "I would kill to have her voice, not literally, but you know what I mean." The whole cast comes together really beautifully.  I was updating my playlist (see below) and found that they had a ton of glee songs which I now added.  So please, enjoy!!

FINALLY!

After nearly a year we finally have Internet!  I know I could have posted on my blog from other people's computers but I either would forget my camera to add pictures or alright alright no more excuses.....I will try to be a better blogger now.  Before, I just felt pathetic for having a blog that I never posted on, but after reuniting with many relatives who live very far away, a new feeling emerged.  GUILT! 

After my sister's wedding we had a big family BBQ.  The subject of blogs came up (not from me of course, I'm not that stupid).  All of sudden it was mentioned by one of my favorite people that it makes her sad that I never post anything because she never knows what we're up to/how we're doing/what my kids look like these days.  Everyone at the table chimed in with similar sentiments and I felt my cheeks getting hot. 

If keeping up with my blog for myself isn't motivation enough, then I will consider all of my friends & family members who actually care and even look forward to seeing my blog (and are immediately disappointed when they view it and see I haven't posted anything since February...it's September)

My goal will be to post something at least once or twice a week, depending on how cool our lives are at the moment.  I will also take special requests from anyone (within reason) in order to keep things flowing.  A special thank you to those who continue to check my blog every month or so in hopes I finally posted something.  It gives me hope for myself : )

Love you all!

The Flower Girl

My sister is getting married in July and Lizzie is going to be the flower girl.  This was taken a few months back when we went dress shopping.  She was so funny. She kept doing all these poses in the mirror (no one told her to either) and the funniest part was we could not get the dress off of her.  She refused to take it off and ran from anyone who dared to try.  Only 2 years old and already a diva?  Boy do I have my work cut out for me!

Our Baby is Here!!!

Maximus Jacob Beck arrived January 31, 2010 at 1:16pm. He weighed in at 8lb 14oz, 20 in long. I have to thank all who prayed I'd have a smooth delivery because I totally did!  I had been having contractions since Thursday night, but the real hard ones started coming Saturday night while I was at a crab feed.  I knew he was finally on his way.  I tried to labor at home as much as possible and while Todd and Lizzie slept, my contractions were getting stronger and stronger!  I didn't sleep a wink all night and we leftfor the hospital at 8 in the morning.  Dropped Liz off at the Becks' and were checked in at the hospital by 8:30am.  I was already at a 5, but the contractions weren't getting any closer.  We waited and waited, I was at a 9 to 10 around 12:30.  The nurses were awesome and held off on having me push for as long as possible so I wouldn't have to push very long. They gave me pitocin and FINALLY they were coming every 2-3 minutes.  10 minutes of pushing and he was here!! There were 2 knots in the umbilical cord and he was all blue.  We had no clue, but it was a good thing we moved it along because if they had gotten any tighter, he would have been cut off from oxygen. All the nurses kept calling him "miracle baby".  We are all doing well and now I am just getting used to having a boy!! Very different.  Liz is LOVING the big sister gig and is doing awesome with the whole adjustment.  Here are some pictures we took at the hospital...more recent ones to come!

My Baby Shower (#1)

I feel so blessed to have married into such a wonderful family.  They have always made me feel so welcome and not only that, but when I am with them I really feel like a PART of their family.  I could literally go on and on about how awesome they all are, but today I just want to say how grateful I am for my sister-in-law, Kristin.  I am so happy to have her in my life, she has been there for me so many times and in so many ways.  For those of you who don't know her, she is an amazing and talented woman.  She never ceases to amaze me with the amount of creativity that seems to just flow out from her.  She threw me a baby shower on Jan. 9th and it was awesome.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to get all the pictures we wanted, but it looked great.  We did get some pictures of the cake, which Kristin made.  She actually makes the most beautiful and delicious cakes ever.  It was a lot of fun to have so many friends and family members in the same room!  9 days left until this baby is due (unless he comes sooner) and Kristin is going to be there when I deliver.  I will be very grateful to have her there. Thank you so much Kristin for all that you do for me!!  I love you! 

Here are some pics from the shower:

A House of Order : )

So I finally got hit with the "nesting" instinct. I was really starting to think it wasn't going to come this pregnancy.  I am so glad it did because our place was in need of some serious organization.  I now feel comfortable enough to leave ALL doors open when we have company haha.  (usually I'm hiding the messier parts of our home) 

I highly reccommend doing this for anyone who feels like they are cluttered.  It might sound funny but it has made me such a happier person.  There is a place for everything and now I just have to keep up with it!  I'm not writing this to brag about my little acccomplishment, but just thought I'd share something that has brought me a really good feeling of happiness and peace.  It's amazing how much more stressed and negative I was when my home was out of order.  Very therapeutic stuff here : )

Lizzie's Friend Sophie

This is Lizzie's friend Sophie.  Whenever I ask her about nursery, she ALWAYS mentions Sophie.  If anyone asks about her friends, she ALWAYS names Sophie. When I had a shower for Tenille at my house last week, Lizzie was SO happy that Sophie was coming with her mommy, Natalie.  Yay!  They played so well together, we definitely need to have some playdates with Sophie. At the end of the evening, Lizzie asked for a movie and they totally cuddled up on the bed with blankets and it was so cute I just had to take some pictures!! Love it : )

Why I decided against a haircut....

So I was totally going to have Tenille cut Lizzie's hair into an A-line bob like mine. I thought it would be cute to match, plus once the baby comes I figured I might not have time for hair-dos anymore.  But, then she just looked so cute with a french braid, and Aunt Kristin does the cutest ponytails that I totally changed my mind!  I'll just have to MAKE the time for cute hair-dos while she lets me do them : )

Late Christmas Pictures

We had a nice Christmas this year.  The 23rd is always spent at my grandma on my mom's side.  Then, we go to my parents' house in Livermore on Christmas Eve and have a sleepover.  This year my mom gave all the girls matching pj's. We decided to make it a tradition from now on.

My dad was sweet enough to dress up as Santa for his one and only (for now) grandchild.  She knew it was him, but still hesitated to approach him without Mom. 

The one thing Lizzie actually asked for was "fishies."  A few weeks before Christmas, Todd and I searched craigslist, drove around everywhereand cleaned and assembled a fish tank just in time for Christmas.  We have 2 black mollys and 2 snails for now.  Liz loves her fish!

Quilt Update

Okay so it has been awhile.....between pregnancy pains and sewing machine glitches, I'm nowhere near where I want to be with the progress of my quilt.  However, I have 18 of my 30 blocks completed.  Goal before the baby comes: to finish my blocks!  Here's what they generally look like: