2009 Recap

As 2009 comes to a close here's a look back at the highlights over the year.

February

• Finding out that we were going to have a healthy baby boy
• Cody's dog, Midnight, died after being sick for a long time.
  

April

• My Ellensburg Baby Shower. It's always nice to be reminded of the people that care for you.
• My friend, Mallorie, took my maternity pictures and they turned out amazing!!! Thank you so much!
  

May

• Our 1st Anniversary - we went to Chris's grandparents' cabin on Hood Canal for the weekend and it was so relaxing!
  
• My birthday :)
• My Gig Harbor Baby shower
• My first Mothers Day!

June

• Jake graduated from High School
  
• Carver's birth (obviously!)
• Chris's first Father's day - Carver was 1 day old!
• My friend, Jena's, wedding. We were there in spirit since Carver was only 1 day old

July

• Our friends, Josh and Emily, got married
• My friend, Amanda, had her baby girl (Adrienne)

August

• Cody came home after being gone all summer up at Malibu

September

• Chris, Cody and my dad's birthdays
• Friends, Tricia and Staci, gave birth to girls (Cora and Sadie, respectfully)
• My grandma's dog (Scruffy) died after not feeling well for a few months
  
• We found out that Kim, Holly and Ayami are pregnant!

October

• Carver's first Halloween - he was a monkey (duh!)
  

November

• Our 'niece' Alea turned 3 years old!
• Thanksgiving!

December

• We found out what Kim, Holly and Ayami were having! Kim & Holly are having boys and Ayami is having a girl!)
• Christmas! - we got to have 4 christmases this year. One with Mom & the boys, one with just the 3 of us (we're starting a new tradition), one with the Garland family, and then the last one last night with the Hanson family!

It has definitely been an eventful year and I have a feeling that next year will be the same! Happy New Year everyone!!!

Disasterously Good!

We started Carver on rice cereal last night and it was so hilarious! He got cereal everywhere! I got a recipe from wholesomebabyfoods.com and it has a whole bunch of recipes to make your own baby food. It saves a lot of money and I will be able to control what is in the food.

Here mom this is how you do it...



Tonight was a lot cleaner than last night... except Carver still managed to get cereal up his nose. haha

Christmas #3

Christmas #3 was Christmas night at Chris's parents' house.

Grandpa Garland


Family picture

Great grandma Garland

Christmas #2

Christmas #2 was the three of us at home Christmas morning. We let daddy sleep until 8am and then we made him get up. :)

His camo cowboy boot slippers. my mom got him the actual boots!



All tuckered out after opening presents

Playing in his new jumperoo. Thanks Santa!

Christmas #1

We did Christmas #1 with my mom and brothers. Here's Cerver in his reindeer outfit Nana got him. He's so cute!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Have a great day!

One Christmas down, three to go!

We had our Christmas with my mom and brothers last night. Chris wants Christmas morning to just be the three of us so we're heading home today. Carver had fun unwrapping his presents but I think he liked the bells Nana put on his presents better. :) I didn't take many pictures but the ones I did take, I'll upload on the 26th when the dust settles a little. Here's some highlights from last night.

• Carver got a monkey stuffed animal from his grandpa.
• Carver got come cowboy boots from Nana that he'll be able to wear when he starts walking ("these boots are made for walkin'...")
• Chris and I got a GPS for my car.
• Mom found the plate she made from when I was born and the Denbe (?) bowl I was given when I was a baby.
• We had Chicken Pot Pie for dinner (I've been craving it lately)
• We had a bunch of friends come out for dinner and games!

We're heading home early afternoon today after we stop into mom's work to sayy goodbye and maybe a little shopping if I can talk Chris into it. ;) Then tomorrow morning we're doing our Christmas and that night we'll go to Chris's parents for their family Christmas. Then on the 30th we're having a get-together with mom's side of the family. I love how everything is spread out so Christmas lasts longer!

Merry Christmas everyone! and Happy Birthday Jesus!

Carver's 6mo Dr Appt

It's so hard to believe that Carver is already six months old! (Well he turned 6 months on saturday but you get the idea). It seems like yesterday that he was kicking around inside me. :)

We had an appointment with the doctor yesterday and everything is looking good! He weighs 13lb 9oz which puts him in the 3-5th percentile (which he's been in since birth) and he's 27in long. He's getting so big! He got his 6mo shots and he didn't like that much. Next time I'm going to give him a little Tylenol before we go. He was miserable all day. :( I felt so bad!

The doctor said that he's definitely teething (as if we hadn't figured that out already) and that any day we could see a tooth pop through. I felt a little bump in there yesterday so I'm thinking it'll happen pretty soon.

All in all, it was a good appointment. The doctor gave me a little advice for when we start feeding Carver veggies and we talked about the swine flu shot.

Now, we're at Nana's house for Christmas and we've just tuckered out on mama's chest. :)

Carver and the tree

Carver is fascinated by the lights on the tree!!

Here's my Starbucks tree! :)

Christmas started early this year

Last week we got a package from Omaha Steaks. At first we thought it was a mistake but then we saw the card. My Grandma Axthelm gave it to us for Christmas! That was probably one of the coolest gifts we could get! Needless to say, we cracked into that box right away. :)

Yesterday we got our Christmas bonus from the business. We got a membership to the local YMCA. Chris wants to take Carver for swimming lessons. :) And I could probably find an excuse to go. haha

Raspberries!

We're pretty sure that Carver has started teething. He's gnawing on everything, had a slight fever this last week and has a copious amount of spit. He's slightly uncomfortable but it's usually when he's tired.

Right now, he's sitting on Chris's lap and blowing raspberries one after the other. He's getting slobber all over Chris and when he doesn't feel like he's getting the slobber out fast enough, he spits it out! It's so hilarious to watch!

5 Month Old Pictures

Here's some pictures from this month. I would've uploaded them sooner but Carver didn't feel good for a couple days (mild fever and feeling uncomfortable... possibly teething) and then yesterday and today I haven't felt good (migraine and general crappyness caused by that). So here's a bunch of pictures. Carver's feeling better now so it's time to get him back on his feeding schedule. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We were at Chris's parents house. Carver and I woke up the next morning at 3:45am for a feeding and then to pick up Auntie Kim to go shopping! We got a lot of good deals and a major dent in our christmas shopping... and maybe one or two things for me. :)



my toy!

Carver's name in blocks and daddy's old wagon

Toes!

Naked baby!

I like sucking my fingers...

... and his thumb

My cousin Hunter

Mary

Cody took this one

Petting Kenya

Thanksgiving Pictures

Here's a couple pictures from Thanksgiving!

homemade antibacterial wipes

I just saw this on The Doctors:

Take equal parts rubbing alcohol and baby lotion and mix together in a ziploc bag. Pour mixture in a sealable container. Then put dry wipes (i.e. paper towels) in the container. Yhe towels will soak up the liquid in about 30min.

Quick and safe to use around babies!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Happy thanksgiving everyone! I am so thankful for my husband and baby boy. They light up my life and I couldn't imagine my life without them. We're having Thanksgiving with Chris's family this year so we've been snuggling on the couch watching the Macy's Parade. Have a wonderful day!!!

26 Days of Thankfulness: Day 25

Day 25: I am thankful that I have a sister-in-law that does hair. I was sick of my hair this morning to I texted Kim to see if she was busy. She had a cancellation right then so I headed over to her salon. I got a cut and color for.... free! That's one of the perks of being a family member of a hair stylist! I just pay for the product that she uses on me and that's only about $5-$10. I would never get my hair done if I had to pay full price. I am so blessed!

P.S. I have to add that I haven't had anything done to my hair since September of LAST YEAR!!!!! So I definitely desired getting my hair done today. :)

26 Days of Thankfulness: Day 23

Day 23: I am thankful for sleeping through the night...3 nights in a row!!!! I woke up at 4am to pump and then at 645am when Carver woke up. Yea!!! My boy is growing up!

26 Days of Thankfulness: Day 22

Day 22: I am thankful that Carver slept through the night. He went 10.5hrs between feedings and slept for 8.5hrs! It was soooo good to sleep, uninterrupted, for more than 3-5hrs. I was majorly engorged when we got up but it was definitely worth it.

26 Days of Thankfulness: Days 19 & 20

I didn't get a chance to post yesterday since I was working on getting pictures updated on here. So here's yesterday's and today's posts.

Day 19: I am thankful for Chris. He has taken over the cooking ever since I got pregnant. Well last night he came and told me that dinner was ready. He'd set the table (we usually eat in front of the tv) with our salads and glasses of wine with our dinner warming in the oven. He doesn't make very complicated dinners (he had bagel bites and I had soup haha) but I really appreciate him willing to cook and that he actually enjoys it. Love you honey!

Day 20: I'm thankful for my Papa (my mom's dad). He's had a lot of health problems. Chris, Carver, Mom and I went down to take him some furniture last weekend. He called me this morning to thank us and let us know that he really appreciated seeing us. I'm thankful that he's around to see Carver and I hope he sticks around for Carver to remember him.

The two monkeys

I went in to check on Carver yesterday and this is what I found... he just had to hold onto his monkey!



P.S. Happy 5 month birthday Carver (as of yesterday)

Alea turned 3 years old!!!!

Here's some pictures from Alea's birthday weekend. Carver loved it!

Love this picture!

Too cute!

Alea wearing one of the princess dresses Carver picked out for her birthday

Snuggling with uncle Moktar

Hanging out with Amma at the party

I love "Aunt MaeMae"!

"Uncle Pops" loves holding me!

Alea's cake

Kisses from Aunt Jena

Alea opening her bike

Love it!

Cousins!

More 4mo old pictures

Here's a few more pictures from month 4!!

Figuring out how to move his legs... he'll be crawling before we know it!


Naked baby!

26 Days of Thankfulness: Day 18

Day 18: I'm thankful for Kim! I wasn't really wanting anything that we have for dinner tonight and Kim texted asking if we wanted to come over for dinner! Perfect! Thanks Kim!!!

26 Days of Thankfulness: Day 17

Day 17: Today I am thankful that we went grocery shopping... and we got a whole bunch of stuff for not a lot of money! I wasn't able to use coupons this time but we still managed to get a lot of food for under $100! And that includes dog food! I love that we are getting more smart about grocery shopping.

26 Days of Thankfulness: Day 16

Day 16: I am thankful that I am slowly accumulating Christmas presents instead of waiting until the last moment like I usually do. A few months ago, I figured out what I was going to give everyone on our list and I've been getting one or two things with every paycheck so that we aren't putting everything on our credit card. Now I'm just waiting for Black Friday to get the rest since they will be on sale. I'm so proud of myself. :)

26 Days of Thankfulness: Day 15

Day 15: I am thankful that we've finally found a church here in Gig Harbor that we like. and as a bonus, Kim and Greg started going there when we did and they like it too! It's a younger congregation with lots of young families and babies so it's perfect for us. A couple things that we wanted in a church were that they were transparent about their budget, they did communion on a regular basis and the sermons were more of a teaching sermon. I was amazed that there were churches that didn't do some of these things. Believers Fellowship, the church we go to now, does all of these! I'm so excited for Carver to grow up in this church and make friends that, hopefully, will last a long time.

26 Days of Thankfulness: Day 13

Day 13: I am thankful that every 4 weeks Chris watches Carver while I get to go get my nails done. I hate leaving Carver but it's so relaxing to be pampered for an hour and a half. It means that I'm away for two and a half hours (my nail lady is 25min away... yes I know) and I'm totally ready to come home once I'm done. Thanks honey!!

26 Days of Thankfulness: Day 12

Day 12: I'm thankful that I was able to lose all the weight that I gained while I was pregnant. It was also really easy for me. I didn't have to exercise... just nurse. I lost 22 of 26 pounds gained within 5 weeks of delivery. I'm just grateful because I HATE to exercise! Ok, enough gloating. :)

26 Days of Thankfulness: Day 11

Day 11: I am thankful for all the men and women serving the country. We're reminded even more this year because of what happened at Fort Hood last week. Thank you to everyone that has served and all those who are serving now.

26 Days of Thankfulness: Day 10

Day 10: I am thankful for everything Chris does. He knew that I haven't been getting much sleep lately so when his alarm went off this morning he went in and got Carver out of his crib (see post below) and changed his diaper and played with him until he got hungry. Its the little things like that that make me love him more. I love you honey!

"Finally" as Chris would say

Chris finally talked me into letting Carver sleep in his crib all night. I really didn't want to do it but it worked out ok. He got up a couple times (2am and 515am) but that was it. He was pretty awake after the second feeding but once he fell asleep he stayed that way after I put him in his crib. Chris even got up with him after his alarm went off and let me sleep. Yea!!! My baby's growing up so fast!

26 Days of Thankfulness: Day 9

Day 9: I'm thankful that Carver loves to cuddle! we're just sitting on the couch watching tv and he's just snuggled up to me. Its a great way to start the day!

Whirlwind of a weekend

So on we3dnesday Chris called and said that we could leave that night for Ellensburg. We were planning on leaving after he got off work on thursday so it was a pleasant surprise to get to go a day early. On thursday we went out to our longtime friends, the Lundy's, house. Alisa and her family were in town for a few days and we wanted to have a playdate with her 3mo old daughter, Jane. It was really good to see everyone. We definitely need to do that more often!

On friday, we left for Cheney when we got up. We ended up stopping in Ritzville to feed Carver. So I fed and changed him then handed him off to Chris so I could run into McDonalds to use the bathroom. When I came out I took Carver and set him in his seat to get buckled in. As soon as I set him down he pooped. So I took him in to the bathroom and changed him. No big deal. I go to get him in his carseat and as soon as I set him down, he poops again! So I changed him in the car... I didn't want to go back into McD's. haha Needless to say, out 30-45min stop turned into 1hr 15min. But we made it to Jena and Moktar's house.

Friday night we went to Olive Garden... its become a tradition for us to go there when we're together! Saturday was al about Alea's 3rd birthday party. After the party we went out to Jena's parent's house for dinner. Carver wasn't spoiled at all... ;) We had to leave this morning when we got up. Carver did great in the car. We, of course, stopped in Ellensburg for about an hour to feed Carver and have Campus-U-totem. yum! Hard to believe, but Chris had never had Campus before today. We've been together 5.5yrs and we'd never eaten there together!

Then we left and came home. There was actually snow on the pass! It was so much fun to see!

Ok, enough rambling. Carver's done eating his dinner so I'm going to hit the sack. Night!

26 Days of Thankfulness: Day 8

Day 8: I'm thankful that I live in a state that gets four distinct seasons. There is officially snow on Snoqualmie Pass and it makes it feel like Christmas!

26 Days of Thankfulness: Days 6 & 7

So I just realized that I was a day off. oops! So I'm playing catch up today.

Day 5: I'm thankful for Alea. She's one of my best friend's daughter. She turns 3 years old tomorrow and is a joy to be around. She loves her friend Carver and was so excited for us to come see her for her birthday! Its been fun to watch her grow the last three years!

Day 6: I'm thankful for Carver. I'm still amazed that Chris and I created this being. He's perfect! I thank God for him every day and couldn't imagine my life without him! He has changed our life for the better.

26 Days of Thankfulness: Days 5

Even though it's technically Saturday, I'm saying this is for Friday...

Day 5: I'm thankful for friends. Whether they're near or far, I have some pretty awesome friends. They have stuck by me. I feel really blessed that I have them. Thanks guys!!!

26 Days of Thankfulness: Days 3 & 4

I didn't get a chance to post yesterday because Chris was able to take today off work as well as friday so we got to come to my mom's house a day early! So here's two things I'm thankful for.

Day 3:
I'm thankful that we get to go to Ellensburg at least once a month. It's great to get away for a few days and I tend to miss it if we go too long between trips. Ellensburg will always be 'home' to me.

Day 4:
I'm thankful for my brothers. They are amazing men and I look up to them so much. I love how close we've become in the last few years. Its so fun to watch them interact with Carver. They're both going to be awesome dads some day. :)

The Doctors TV: Uncommon Cures and Home Remedies

I was watching The Doctors and they were talking about using household remedies. Here are a few...

• Coffee: Reduces muscle pain after exercising by blocking the pain receptors. Women who drank 2 cups of coffee before a 30min bike run reduced their muscle pain in half.
• Duct Tape: To get a splinter out.
• Pencil: Place between teeth (without biting down) to relieve a tension headache
• Bandana/Cloth: Tie around your head tightly to relieve a migraine.
• Reduce Nausea: Almonds, accupuncture, accupressure, ginger
• Baby Shampoo & Water: 1 part shampoo to 10 parts water to clean crusty eyes from pink eye. The warm water loosens the crust and the shampoo cleans the eyelashes.
• Blisters: If you have to pop them, put hemmerhoid cream to reduce itching and mouth wash will dry the blister out.
• Chamomile Tea bags: Soak and place on face to reduce acne. It has a natural anti-inflammatory in it. Hold on pimple for 15min.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Drink a capful to relieve hiccups; May help with heartburn; put on cotton ball to reduce bruise or minor burn; clears pores - helps with acne; can be used as a disinfectant (cleans shower)**Make sure its not distilled**
  
• Aspirin: Smash 2 aspirin and make paste with water and put on pimple
• Banana peel: place on minor burn to relieve pain
• Lemon Juice and Grapefruit Juice: equal parts as an energy boost
• Vegetable shortening: use as a moisturizer
• Avocado: Place on skin to reduce wrinkles
• Papaya/Oatmeal: Antiaging facial; Strawberries could be used instead of papaya; leave on for 15min then wipe off with warm cloth
  
• Vodka: Footbath of vodka to get rid of smelly feet; soak for 10min; can also use rubbing alcohol
• Reduce sweating: Make a bath with 2cups lemon juice, apple cider vinager, baking soda, 2 cups tomato juice; 30min soak

Hope you found these as interesting as I did.

z26 Days of Thankfulness: Day 2

Day 2:
I'm thankful that I am able to stay home with Carver. I am on salary with our business but I am able to work from home. I am so grateful that I have the best of both worlds - I work so I feel like I am contributing to the family (even though all the money comes from the same place haha) and I'm able to stay at home with Carver and watch him grow up. I don't think I could put him in daycare... I'd miss so much of his life!

So... I'm thankful for our business since it successful enough for me to stay home.

Happy Halloween Carver!!!

Our lil monkey!!! I put the costume on him in the morning to see if it would fit and he had the biggest grin on his face!




This was after trick-or-treating in the harbor with uncle josh. He slept the whole time!