Terribly Excited for the Two's!

almost 1 month

1st birthday

2nd birthday

Our little Nicholas is not so little anymore... He is 2 years old!

We were told the time would pass by quickly, but I had no idea it would be this fast. Its amazing to think how much he has grown and learned in his first two years, and we couldn't love our demanding, bossy, busy little guy any more! I love how he nicknamed himself, bites his nails, and begs me for trips to Target. He is friendly to new people, and loves to go to nursery at church. He keeps us laughing with all of his huge personality and funny (unintentional) phrases;

."Oh no, Kiki!",

."Touchdown!"

."Kiki's turn"

."busy, busy, busy!"

.putting himself in timeout

.talking to his toys and introducing himself

."buy it!" (when he sees something he likes at the store)

."give!" (when I wont give him a toy, he talks to me like I'm a dog)

."No, no like it!"

."call me!"

.the entire song of Jingle Bells

{In church last week in AZ the primary children got up to sing a few Christmas songs. He was very excited because just the week before in LA our primary kids had sung his favorite song, Jingle Bells. Well, the kids here sang two songs (Away in a Manger, Stars Were Gleaming), then went to sit down. Nicholas got very upset and yelled with full vigor, "JINGLE BELLS! SING JINGLE BELLS!!"}

He loves grapes, Thomas the Train, reading "Where the Wild Things Are" before bedtime, wearing his Nike shoes, and calling people on the phone. He remembers all his friends' names, and talks about them often. He is good at sharing, but likes to sit on his brother's belly and say "Ride 'em, cowboy!"

We love our boy, and we can't imagine how boring our lives would be without him!!

Our Happy Place

Three guesses as to where we went yesterday...

Yesterday was our big boy's 2nd birthday party!

We had so much fun decorating, cooking, and getting the apartment ready for all of his friends. Kiki loved helping me make the snickerdoodles and rolling them in the sugar. He also took it upon himself to taste all the food to make sure it wasn't poisonous. Poor kid had to watch all the treats being made and wait for a few days to eat it!

The spread (minus the cake)... and zoomed below

The craft table was insane!

We decorated Christmas trees, played a snowman game, and sang jingle bells (his favorite song). The best moment for me was watching his sweet face light up singing the song, surrounded by all of his favorite friends. It was so cute I contemplated crying. The cake turned out so yummy (dark chocolate and peppermint ice cream cake), and the event went without a hitch. We pulled out his present from us (a ball pit) and let the kids run amok inside unsupervised.

As far as two-year-old parties go, I think this one rocked!!

Santa Babes

Our boys plus their cousin Dax make up the complete set of grandkids for Jared's parents. Naturally matching Christmas jammies ensued...

We also had our mini-Christmas with them while they were in town. Among the favorite gifts was Rykie's "Bumpo": a chair that supports babies so they can sit unassisted. After we discovered Ryker weighed a whopping 18 lbs (can you say 100th percentile?!) at his last doctor's appointment we decided it was time for him to learn to sit up.

doesn't his face just say, "feed me"?

On that note I must say the highlight of our last week (besides family visits, of course) was going to the boys' new pediatrician, Dr Kivitz. I absolutely loved him!! I was so disgusted and horrified by the state of their old doctor's office, not to mention put-out by the long wait, but I thought it was just an LA thing. I am so relieved that I took the initiative to try a new doctor! He is fantastic, works in a beautiful, clean setting, and he is very professional. He even gave me and Jared swine-flu shots, and told me I was an amazing mom seriously a million times. We ventured out to Beverly Hills, 90210 (I love LA), paid for parking (always fun), and watched all the Bentleys, and Mercedes roll by. I guarantee he has some celebrity clients. Sweeeet!

Our Lives, on Film

Nothing quite captures the essence of children like video clips!

Rykie is our smiley sweetheart, and Jared's trademark game with him is peek-a-boo

Nicholas is our chatterbox, who loves to reenact his favorite shows with his character toys.

That Other Holiday Before Christmas

This last weekend we ventured up to the frozen north to see G&G Cordon and meet our cousin and nephew, Dax! Oh yeah, and it was Thanksgiving. (I find that holiday so distracting from Christmas. At least you get to practice cooking for the real big day a few weeks after).

We ate, went shopping in the insanity of Black Friday (love it, so many sales this year), went on a date just me and Jared, ate some more, and attempted family photos in the icy gusts. It seemed like once we got a shot where my bangs weren't being blown straight up then Nicholas was picking his nose or Jared was making a face.

We're blowing these up wall-size for sure

One of the highlights of our trip was seeing our BFF's, Dyan and Lo-lo. We miss them so much. The boys got together and played like they hadn't been apart and me and Dyan did the same.

Buddies! (plus Jared holding them in place)

Rykie loved Dyan holding him

The best part of it all? The BYU win. I loved Max Hall's post-game remarks. Never truer words spoken, LOL ;)

Brothers

Having two little boys so close is going to be lots of fun...

Nicholas is already beginning to enjoy having a buddy. Up til recently Ryker just ate and slept. Poor Nicholas was dying just to get him to play with him. Now that he stays up longer Kiki is loving it. He loves to make him smile and sing "C is for Cookie". He tries to share toys with him, give him snacks, and even brush his teeth. He calls him "Ryker-friend", and he's the first person he asks for when he wakes up. He talks to him and tries to make him smile (and occasionally cry).

I can't help smiling when I see him give kisses and I think they will be best brother friends.

Customized: Cordon-style

We've finally left our permanent mark on the place, with the use of some paint!

With the colors we've chosen it has begun to feel like home to us.

We didn't paint the bathrooms or kitchen, but here's what we did do, 4 buckets of paint and 4 rolls of tape later....

The Absolutely Most Wonderful Time

Yes, its after Halloween, so therefore is officially Christmastime!!!

I am so so so excited.

I love Christmas.

Snow or no snow

I love the sight of the decorated pines, wreaths, poinsettias, gingerbread cookies, the glorious green and red combo we shun the rest of the year, sparkles, ornaments, and the lights. Oh, the lights! They have such a magical way of bringing beauty to no matter what they are on or near. You could put them up on a trash can to make it look inspiring.

I LOVE Christmas

I love how everyone seems to smile a little easier, finding children charming instead of irritating, becoming quicker to forgive, and feeling a sense of calm about daily life. It brings me back to the holidays of my youth that were so perfect and magical.

I love the feeling the music gives me. (Hence the playlist). I love the stillness of Bing Crosby's "White Christmas", and the power behind Mannheim Steamroller's, "Stille Nacht" which almost always moves me to tears (a feat in itself). What songs spell out Christmas to you? Any suggestions to add to the list?

Bah Humbug to all those who try to hold of the goodness of the season until after Thanksgiving. By the time the momentum builds, Christmas has come and gone. I prefer getting a start where I can allow the beauty to sink in and cheer my soul. Its at this time that I become what is lovingly termed by Jared as "Christmas Paige". I like Christmas Paige. You'd like her if you knew her too. She's perpetually blissful and carefree, spreading thoughts of goodwill to everyone. Unfortunately she abruptly departs each January 1st, leaving a tremendous void well into the month of March.

Regardless, Merry (pre-)Christmas to everyone!!

5 Things You May or May Not Know About Rykie

1. He loves to be held and will snuggle into you when you hold him. He even snuggles his blankets

2. He is a big time talker. He loves to jabber and giggle

3. He loves to grab onto everything and everyone, especially my hair. His favorite toy is a play gym he lays under where he can bat at the toys and try to grab them

4. He loves his hands. He tries to suck on all of his fingers and his fists, especially when he is hungry or cranky

5. He was the best "surprise" we could have ever asked for!!

If someone had told me a year ago that I would have a 3-month-old right now I think I would have been so overwhelmed and nervous about how I would handle it all. I found out about the pregnancy two days before we had a big Christmas party, a week before Nicholas turned one, during the rush of the holidays. I was nauseous while I traveled with Nicholas alone (Jared had to work for another week), and my mind was constantly filled with concern for how I would manage two babies so close. We knew Jared was going to do a master's program, but we weren't sure where, and I was aware that I would be on my own quite often.

I was at my grandparents for Christmas, and I was overwhelmed with anxiety and stress, and felt I couldn't share yet because it was so early. I eventually confessed to my parents so they would know I wasn't infecting everyone with the swine flu, but had my own non-contagious ailment. I was in a bit of shock, so I didn't really share the news for quite a while until I came to terms!

Its so funny to think I felt that way just over a year ago. Ryker has turned out to be such a wonderful addition to our family. He came at just the right time for our insurance, moving plans, and family schedules. Hs timing really was perfect. He is so happy and content most all of the time, and accomodates my busy schedule with his big brother's demands. He obviously wanted to come and be in our family, and I'm so glad each day that he did!!

I can't wait for our Christmas this year with two boys!!

I Need Better Hiding Places

Nicholas finds the strangest things to be fascinating toys...

The other day Jared walked in on this:

What is he holding, you might ask?

That would be the attachment to my breastpump.

He was holding it to his bare tummy, telling Daddy, "Kiki pumping".

And what are you supposed to say to that?

Daddy Day

Last weekend I took Nicholas to his first football game. He has been to a couple baseball games and would watch for about 2 minutes and then get bored. So I was a little worried I would spend to whole game trying to entertain the little guy. We went early and did some tailgating with my buddy from the Bay Area Ed. We drank juice and ate some cookies and hotdogs, just what a growing boy needs.

It was nice and hot (about 100) at the Rose Bowl so we tried to stay in the shade as much as possible before the game. Nicholas was the hit of all the tailgaters. He would throw the football and constantly yell "FUMBLE" "TOUCHDOWN" and refused to take off his glasses. We had about 10 different people come and say how cute he was. Then it was time to go in. We were on the far end of the end zone in the direct sun. Nicholas had sunscreen on but was bright red from the heat. I forced juice down him and kept dumping water on him but he was totally burning up. He was quiet the whole time and sat on my lap just watching the game. I couldn't tell if he was enjoying himself since he was so quiet. Well at halftime I figured he had enough since he was bright red and falling asleep. We said goodbye and started going through the tunnel. Then Nicholas starts to tear up and says "I want more football, I want more football." I have never been so happy to see my son cry. He loved the game and was so sad to be leaving. He has been asking me every day since then to go to a football game. I think I'm the happiest Dad in the world.

One of Many Unilateral Conversations....

As we speak, Kiki is taking my phone, holding it above his head and saying,

Say CHEESE!

Ok, one more time!

CHEEEEEESE! (at the top of his lungs)

Oh, good job, Kiki!

We may be suffering from a bit of overexposure here... and perhaps an excess of positive reinforcement?

2 Months of RJC

Our little guy is a whole two months old, as of monday. He is our litte cuddlebug. He loves to be held and snuggled, and will always reward you with a smile or two. He is a pretty happy baby as long as he is fed, cleaned, and given moderate amounts of attention and affection.
He is growing wary of his big brother and gets an adorable wide-eyed look of terror as he approaches.

Kiki loves him though... so much that he could just squeeze him!

I tried to do a Rykie photshoot, and ended up with dozens of these....

Gotta love these two... There is never a dull moment!

Day at the Promenade

The best part of living in LA is going to the fun new attractions. One of my new favorites is the 3rd Street Promenade.

On thursday Jared blew off studying for a few hours and we went down for a walk in the shops. We each got to pick something out, and we just enjoyed walking in the sunshine and sipping lemonade.

We stumbled apon a breakdancing group on our way out, and Kiki had to join in...

Nicholas loved having his daddy around, and I have to admit I enjoyed it too :)

Next week hopefully we can get to the beach, if the weather permits. Otherwise we'll find somewhere else to explore.

I Have a Nephew!

I am so happy to report that I am now an aunt!! Brittany had their little boy, Daxton, yesterday night! He was 7 lbs 6 oz, and 19 1/2 inches.

I can't wait to see him for myself next month!

Ryker at 6 weeks

Naturally as all really great parents do, we've already begun comparing our children to one another.

Last week was Ryker's 6 week check up. After waiting for 2 hours and begging Nicholas not to touch a thing in the filthy office (a doctor's office? really? come on guys, haven't we heard of germs?!) we discovered Ryker's stats:

12 lbs 13oz- 90%

23 in tall - 75%

16 cm hc- 60%

These stats are literally the exact same percentages as Kiki's were at 8 weeks. Crazy, huh?

We stumbled on some old photos and were looking for resemblances. I was actually surprised to see how different they look. Sometimes I think they are quite similar but depending on the photograph they appear to have few similarities. Of course, part of this could be due to having a crappy camera for Kik's and a better one now.

The New Place (pt. 1)

I finally got around to taking some pictures of the new place! Its a work-in-progress and we just found out we can paint too! I'm so excited. Picture yellow walls (I'm tenative on this one) in the living room/dining room, and blue in the bedroom. Also, I didn't put up pics of the boy's room yet because Kiki was sleeping and I want to finish something for one of the walls. Likewise I didn't put in pictures of the hallways and random corners yet because frankly they haven't been totally sorted yet.
The place has its quirks when it comes to design (no plugs in the hallway? a bathroom in a toddlers room?), but we like it overall and are happy to be living here for 2 years!

Here's the tour...
You walk in, to the left is the dining area



To the right is the kitchen

Walk ahead to the living room area


(additional views; Jared's fave is the new TV)
To the right is J's desk

Down the hall to the left is our bedroom

and finally our bathroom (which extends further to the right but it was hard to photograph!)

A few more to come... and potentially updated photos when I get around to painting in a month or two!

A Series of Unfortunate Events...

Well here we are, alive and well in LA. I'm even blogging again. Woohoo

It has been an insane couple of weeks, between the baby being born, packing up our stuff, then moving out here, and unpacking our stuff. With the two years we were at Jared's parent's we hardly touched about 50% of our things, so it made for some fun surprises.
(Who would've thought we'd have gotten by with a 6 piece set of silverware and 4 plastic plates for our dinnerware. Apparently we were slumming it in Provo all those years ago).
Anyways, just days before the move I was stricken with mastitis and a UTI. That's right, I was stricken like the pioneers were stricken with their ailments, because let's face it, I was very much like a pioneer recently. Likewise Nicholas, our beloved "Kiki", was hit with a nasty cold/flu rendering him fussy, irritable and flowing with overwhelming amounts of mucus. Well that put us back a few hours of work, but somehow we managed to pack everything on time and get going on our drive south.

A few hours later after (fortunately) little crying from both babies we arrived. The apartment was covered with a layer of dust, ants, and generally nasty things; I guess thats what you get for not seeing the place before you rent it. After freaking out for a few minutes ("I have to live in THIS with my babies?!"), we (Jared, his dad, mom, sister Brittany, and BIL Kelly) got to work unloading our junk into the junkyard, while simultaneously bleaching and vacuuming every square inch. I would have taken pictures, but honestly I do not want to remember what it was like.

By the third day, after dropping $500 at Target and $300 at BB&B, and nearly getting robbed at Walmart in Crenshaw (*shudder* I hate Walmart), we felt like we could breathe again. My ailments finally cleared up, Kiki showed improvement, and the baby only woke up twice at night. Now that we have been around for 11 days we are finally feeling like this is our place. The only significant element we are lacking is our couch, which has proven to be quite essential; it arrives friday.

All things considered I would say we like this place quite a bit. Even though we are still killing ants daily (yuck!), and we seem to have chosen the foreign language housing (more on this later-- at least they're quiet neighbors), we are becoming very comfortable here, and are settling in quite well. Kiki finally stopped asking to go "home", and has the way to the park and laundromat down pat. I think we'll do just fine here.

Wow that was a long entry... and it only took me four tries...

Our New Place

Here are some preview pics of our new place, pre-furniture and decorating. Completed photos to follow....



Front room- Dining area and living space

Kitchen

Our bedroom and bathroom

(The boys' room is similar, just a different layout)