Loves Being a Big Sister

Adelaide is adjusting well to having a new sibling. When Maverick sneezes she exclaims "bless you baby Maverick!" and she kisses and holds him all the time. Sometimes she doesn't like him using "her" blankets (even though usually they aren't hers) and she can get a little jealous of him nursing... I nursed Adelaide for a long time and I explained to her that once the baby came she couldn't nurse anymore. She understands it pretty well now but one day she saw me nursing and wanted to nurse too. I said "no, nursing is for babies and you are a big girl." She thought she could outsmart me and pointed to the side Maverick was on and said "Maverick's milk," and pointed to the other side and said, "my milk." I explained all the milk is for the baby and we've been pretty good ever since. That funny girl makes me laugh.

Here are a few pictures from the day after Maverick was born:

Fourth of July

We had such a great time on the Fourth of July spending time with Rick's family at Flathead Lake in Montana. It was so beautiful and we enjoyed going out on the boat, relaxing, playing polish rummy, yummy food, amazing fireworks, volleyball, surfing behind the boat, going down the waterslide, and watching all the boys shave their heads (except for Rick, luckily). We hope we can make it again next summer!

Adelaide woke up with a little attitude on the Fourth.

Adelaide on the boat.

Our little fam.

The whole gang.

Tahoe!

A few weeks ago Adelaide and I were able to spend a week in Tahoe with my family. We missed Rick and Steven & Jamie's fam, but it was a great time full of crawdad fishing, swimming, eating way too much food, Eric teaching Adelaide to play video games, Adelaide x2 bonding, organizing our Aussie sea shells, a lot of talk about gambling (next trip for reals!), a drive around the lake, the discovery that the amusement part on south shore is sadly closed, good times at the sun club, potato bombs, John Denver & Kenny Chesney, Grandpa teaching Adelaide what a scorpion says ("gotcha"), exploring emerald bay, almost hiking Mt. Rose (can't believe there is still snow), PIT games and just relaxing. I have such fond childhood memories of Tahoe and it still never disappoints.... there is nothing better than spending time with family in the beautiful California sunshine.

Eric caught one!

Grandpa and Adelaide

Eric and Adelaide are so talented.... eating their toes.

What a view.

Sisters.

Our little crawdad friend.

Adelaide loved the cold water.

So proud.

Me and Jess.

Mimi, Adelaide and Grandpa.

Me and Adelaide.

Adelaide Rose & Adelaide Hannah.

Cute girl.

Blurry Family Photos

We don't really take family photos very often, but my Mom specifically wanted one from each of her kids and their respective families for Mother's Day this year. I forgot about it until the sun was down that day but asked my neighbor to snap a couple shots anyway to fulfill my mother's Mother's Day wish. I think we will probably end up redoing it (since they came out a little blurry and our family is about to grow soon) but I thought they are still nice to have to document our little family of three for now:)

20 Weeks

I can't believe I am already half way through this pregnancy! I seriously feel like time is flying by but I'm enjoying every minute of it. From the kicks I can already tell that this baby is a little gentler than Adelaide. She would kick in spurts really aggressively while this baby gives more gentle kicks all throughout the day. We just had the 20 week ultrasound and it was so fun to watch the baby give us a little show. He kept bringing his hands up to his mouth and kicking and punching and at one point he even did a slow little back flip trick causing the ultrasound technician to call him "yoga baby." I know I just referred to the baby as a he, but that is just because saying "it" over and over gets a little annoying. We still don't know the baby's gender, when they were checking out down there they had Rick and I look away and chat. We have brainstormed a few names though; for a boy we like Cash (it is a family name on Rick's side of the family) or Bentley, and for a girl we like Caroline or Clementine. Any thoughts?

The profile shot.

The yoga pose.

Sorry these are a little blurry, they are taken from our phones... I really should learn how to use our scanner.

Here are a couple belly pictures of me at 20 weeks. I have the best husband ever who kept Adelaide for five days while I went back to San Diego for my sister's graduation and to spend time with family. It was a great trip made up of multiple breakfast burritos, lots of giggle fests, a relaxing bed and breakfast stay, planking sessions and trips to the beach.

My belly's getting pretty big :)

From the front I think I just look like I ate a few too many donuts.

My sister and I planking in La Jolla while Eric watches us in disgust.

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving in Arizona with Rick's family and it just so happened that my Australian family (that I lived with while studying abroad) happened to be there at the same time to celebrate this American holiday with us:) It was such a nice time to reflect on our blessings of health, family & friends.

Nicole and Gerry hosted over 40 people in their home and this was our table.

Gerry, Nicole, Rick, Emily, Aimee, Carrie, Andrew, Adelaide and Kiera.

My first time Black Friday Shopping.

Garret & Tonia's Wedding

On Sept 18th, 2010 (I know, that was a long time ago... I'm really behind but am trying to catch up) we headed out to Midway, Utah to celebrate Garrett (Rick's step brother) & Tonia's wedding. We had a great time and are so excited for the happy newlyweds! :)

Beautiful couple.

The whole fam. How cute are the flower girls?

Two peas in a pod. Rick and Nathan had a fun time at the reception dancing the night away and snapping some photos.

Baby Update

People that are near and dear to me seem to be having babies lately!

On December 13th, my brother Steve and his beautiful wife Jamie had a big handsome baby boy named Charlie who weighed in at 10 lbs 1 oz and was 22 inches long. This is a large baby by any standards, but Jamie is only 4'10" with a petite frame and so I am especially impressed. I wish we lived closer... I am dying to meet Charlie!

My brother Kevin and his gorgeous wife Rachel had a sweet little girl also named Adelaide (we love that name in our family... one half of the cousins have it!) Adelaide was born October 15th and was 8 lbs. 10 oz and 21 inches long. Rachel's labor was really long- she is so incredible! I got to meet Adelaide a couple weeks ago and will see her again this Christmas... so excited!

My good friend Shelley and her husband Mike recently had a precious baby boy named Liam. This is Shelley's sixth child, yet she still remains so relaxed and easy going- she is amazing! I met him for the first time today and I am in love!

Missing my Grandparents

Two nights ago I woke up at 4:00 in the morning from a dream about my grandpa. I was in a large room with tons of people and I heard my grandpa laughing and looked over to see my dad and some other people talking with him. By the time I made it over to them my grandpa had left and then I woke up. So now I can't stop thinking about my grandpa and how much I miss him... He is one of my greatest role models and I was always impressed with how kind, wise, charitable, loving and adventurous he was. Sometimes before I make a decision I think to myself "What would Grandpa do?" and I find that always helps me take the better path. I especially think of him and my grandma around the holidays because I have so many fond memories with them during this season. The day after Christmas we would go up to the Santa Cruz mountains and chop down our Christmas trees and then head back to their house to put up their massive tree and eat Thanksgiving leftovers. On the drive down the mountain the grandkids would sit in the back of his truck alongside the tree and sing Christmas carols. We would go up to their cabin in Tahoe most winters and go sledding, eat Grandma's snow ice cream, and play games. I miss those days and I miss my Grandparents but just thinking about all this brings a smile to my face.

Me Grandpa & baby Jessica

The Unicorn Book

My Dad is very creative and made Adelaide this custom "Unicorn Book" as a gift. He illustrated the whole thing and also recorded this accompanying song:

Now Adelaide will never wonder where all the unicorns went.

Thanks Grandpa!