More Easter Fun

We had a family BBQ to celebrate Easter with everyone. We got to use the little park near my parents house and it was a beautiful spot to eat lunch and let the kids play. We did another little egg hunt for the kids too.

The boys- Caleb, Noah, Evan, and Devin

Family and food!
Jodi and Caleb

Silly Stephanie

Evan and his basket

Evan sneaking in on the girl's picture. Evan, Briana, Sydney, and Mikayla

Our Family :)

Evan excited about his Easter basket at home

The Big 3-0

Yep, 30 weeks pregnant today. Where has the time gone? So much is going on and the time is flying by. Still feeling great and looking forward to a doctor's appointment on Tuesday and a 3-D ultrasound on Wednesday so I'll let you all know how it goes.

Eggs and Fun

We went to Aunt Stacey's house for some pre-Easter fun. All of the cousins came over to eat lunch together, dye eggs, egg hunt, and then have a bunny cookie. It was a fun day. The kids all had a good time dyeing eggs (and their hands). The weather was perfect for a family-filled day outside.

Butterfly sandwiches and cheetos!

Eating lunch together

Dyeing eggs for the first time

Evan's goodies

The kids after egg hunting

Evan decorating his cookie

Evan then proceeded to lick all of the frosting off and eat the rest of the cookie :)

Bowling

Evan recently discovered the sport of bowling and has developed quite the liking for it. From computer games, it progressed to Wii bowling, and then we finally took him "real bowling" at Boardwalk Bowl in Santa Cruz. He had a blast, although the ball weighed 6 lbs, his shoes were a size too big, and he took one slip down the lane. It was very entertaining for us all. He is now settling for playing his plastic bowling set at the house again.

A Spare!

So proud to have his own shoes and ready to go "real bowling".

A little help from Daddy.

Such a big ball for a little guy.

Evan's excitement when he hits the pins...

And Evan's disappointment when he missed the pins...

The Greats

Evan got to visit his great-grandparents while in Santa Cruz. First we visited Grandma Maley on her 86th birthday. Evan sang to her and enjoyed playing with her birthday balloon.

Later that afternoon, we headed to see GG and Gramps Reich at their house. Evan got to build with the legos with Gramps. It was nice visiting them all.

Life's A Beach

We decided to head to Santa Cruz for 3 days, so we took Evan to the beach on the only sunny day we had. He had a blast building castles, walking in the freezing cold water, finding shells and sticks, etc. It was a fun afternoon.

In With The New

We've gotten a few more wonderful gifts this past week, and I also surprised Bryan with another one last night when he returned home from working a weekend away.

The first gifts are from our parents. Bryan's parents bought us a new double stroller and my parent's bought us the matching infant car seat. Evan was very excited about these things, as he knows he and Kaylee get to both ride in the stroller together. He's taken a spin or two around the house and even pushed it around himself a few times. He's an excited big brother.

The big surprise of the weekend was not planned at all. The nursery had been a very pale blue before (too pale for my taste)and I think it needed a change. My best friend came to hang out this weekend and agreed, so we were off to Home Depot and painting before we knew it. Here's what Bryan came home to (and loved it by the way).

So... what do you think???

Appointment and New Posts

I had my 28-week appointment today. Tomorrow I will be entering the world of the third and final trimester. It is so weird to think that this pregnancy has reached the point of bi-weekly appointments, baby showers, and final preparations. Only 11 weeks left for me according to my doctor and her outlook for my c-section.

Good news is that I only gained 2 pounds at this visit. I am still down 14 pounds from where I started. I'm aiming for gaining the "pound a week" from here on out that most doctors strive for. If I gain that (and only that, pleeeease) then I will be 3 pounds less on delivery day than where I was in early October. That would be quite an accomplishment as my weight worried me from the day I found out I was pregnant again.

Other than that, Kaylee's heartbeat was strong and I am feeling great. Loving all of the kicks and hiccups.

ALSO... there are a bunch of new posts so be sure to check them out also!

Kaylee's Room

As a special gift, Bryan's family pitched in and bought Kaylee's bedding and nursery decor. It was such an exciting thing when the shipment arrived this evening. Bryan and Evan put the crib up, Nancy did some pressing, and we starting putting a few things together. We are still waiting to put the dresser back in the nursery and then we will hang all of the wall art, etc. But here's a sneak peak of what the bedding and decor looks like. I love how "girly" it is.

THANK YOU to all who pitched in for this wonderful gift!! WE LOVE YOU!

Evan Turns 3!

Evan turned 3 on Saturday! The weekend was full of excitement for our little guy. Nana Reich came to visit on Friday, bringing Evan a ukulele from Hawaii that he absolutely loves. Nana and Evan played "Happy Birthday" on it Saturday morning.

After singing, Evan got a special treat for breakfast... a birthday donut with three candles!

Later in the day, we opened a few presents before picking up sandwiches and heading to watch Daddy work a baseball game. Evan had a good time cheering for all of the guys, telling them to "hit the ball" and "Go Tigers!" It was quite cute.

For dinner, we headed to John's Incredible Pizza in Fresno. We ate, got ice cream with sprinkles, then headed out to play games. Evan was having a blast!!! It was so much fun to watch him try all of the games. He still asks if we can go back, insisting that he has money so we can go.

Evan, Daddy, and Nana... tired from a long day of fun.

Sunday, we headed out to church with Nana and James (James drove down late Saturday night to spend time with the birthday boy). Evan spent his first Sunday in the 3-year-old class at church and seemed to adjust well. Mommy thought he seemed too small to be in there :(

After church we picked up Evan's birthday cake and lunch before we headed home to celebrate some more. The whole family, and a few friends, came over for cake and ice cream. It was a fun little party and Evan seemed to be having a great time. Here's a few photos of our silly kid.

Rose Garden

Two weekends ago we finally got to working on our front yard. We hated the sago palms that hid the house and grew in the walkway, so we were finally ready to do away with them. With the help of a family friend, Bryan was able to make some changes to the gardens. Evan was in the middle of it all too. We chose to plant a rose garden for more color and lay some wood bark down to help with the weed problem. Here's a few photos of it in the middle of the transformation and the finished product.
We have switched computers lately so I can't easily pull up photos of "before", but if you look back in December of 2007, you can probably catch a glimpse in the blog from when we purchased the home. I'm not so savvy with the links. LOL.

My Hobby

Many of you know that I love to scrapbook. I have more stuff than any one person probably needs, but it's such a fun thing for me to do. I think preserving memories is a great hobby. Recently a few friends asked to see some of my work so I'm including just a few pages from Evan's 1st year album and my wedding album. Enjoy!

Please excuse some of the bad cropping. I was trying to avoid getting a glare on the pages.

Compliments For Mommy

I had to share some of the sweet things Evan said to me today while he sat beside me and watched me check email, etc. online...

"Mommy, you're cute."

"You're sweet, Mommy."

And my all-time favorite that caught me by surprise...

"Mommy, you're perfect".

Aren't children just the best? I'm know I'm a bit partial, but I think Evan could brighten anyone's day. He is the sweetest, most loving child I have ever known. I love hearing him say "I love you" about 30 times a day. His kisses on my nose, his cuddles, all the help he gives me around the house. He's one of a kind! He loves to play with my wet hair after I shower, telling me "I love your hair". And the other day he told me "Mommy, you're soft" as he rubbed my arm. I just love my little guy to pieces!

With that said, a funny from last night... as I said, "Ouch" over a sudden pain in my chest, Evan perked up and said, "Oh, did Kaylee kick you in the face?" LOL. Bryan and I about lost it and had to explain that Kaylee had nothing to do with it. Funny boy!