Treasures from the Sea

Our Year

2011-12-24T13:00:00.000-08:00

So far 2011 has been a very productive year for us and we are excited to share some of it with you!! We wish you all a VERY MERRY Christmas!

Ethan's Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

2011-10-27T14:59:00.000-07:00

Miss Rosalie telling the kids to stay out of the corn field because people can get lost in there.
Yes, my child posed for me!!! :)
Ethan and his buddies I love this pose!! He is such a stud!

Ali's Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

2011-10-23T17:31:00.000-07:00

Ali had her first field trip for preschool. They went to a pumpkin patch out past Dodson Rd. She loved it, but wasn't happy about all the pumpkins having "dirt" on them. We literally walked the whole pumpkin patch until she picked one. And the one pictured isn't even the one she chose. After we took pictures with this one she was convinced she needed another one so dropped this one and headed out to look for a new one. She is a stinker!!! So happy she finally found one that was "perfect".

Ethan + Soccer = Proud Mom

2011-10-20T09:03:00.001-07:00

We decided this was the year to sign Ethan up for soccer. And part of it was that I always missed the deadline, but I am getting things on the calendar now to make sure I don't miss out on these opportunities for my kids!!! He loved soccer!! Moses Lake has the 4-6 year olds play together and I believe he was the youngest on the team so it was challenging for him at times but the last game I think he finally got it. He did score 2 goals the first game, but the second and third games he was just running and watching us. I feel blessed to have Ethan as my son. However, I am learning that I might be a little too competitive at times. Yes, I just want to win...Imagine that.
Ethan and the coach's son Giovanni. They are buds now.
My stud!
Get it E!!

My mom calls this the Sports Illustrated cover shot! Love it!
This is what he did best...watch us!!! At McDonald's after their last game with their trophies!!! (Before Ali broke her finger. :()

FaMiLy

2011-10-09T20:58:00.000-07:00

I wanted to write this huge long post about how much each of my siblings and parents mean to me, but all I could think of was

"I LOVE YOU!"

And I can't wait to spend eternity with you all!! What an extraordinary blessing we all have to be in each other's lives. Last night was fun and I can't wait to have more nights like that...

Preschool

2011-10-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

Did you know my kids started preschool? Wow I feel old. And I can't believe Benjamin will be two in a couple months...no more babies :(.

I was still working my part time job when they started school so I missed their first day. Which definitely broke my heart. But Roger stepped up and did a fabulous job getting them to and from school. Nana helped get Ali's hair done and took these cute pictures of them before they went to school. She said they posed themselves. I guess that's what happens when all they see is pictures.. Ethan tells me every now and then that he doesn't want me to have anymore clients because he doesn't like to hear about them and how we have to keep things clean. LOL

Ethan is going to a bilingual preschool that focuses on academics and he does a little hip hop. He loves to learn about letters and tells me their sounds and he is already practicing writing them. He can write his name really well even though it's all in CAPS it still looks good. Funny story..since he's learning Spanish he said to my aunt "como estas?" and she spoke back to him with a long string of sentences about how she saw his teacher the other day in Spanish and he replied with, "No, you are supposed to say Bien!" We were all laughing so hard!!!

Ali is going to a dance and academic preschool. She gets to have show and tell once a month and this month she took Little Mermaid and she told her class she took it "because it has red hair like my mom!" Love her!!! She is trying to keep up with Ethan and his letter learning because it drives her crazy he is learning more than her. Doesn't bug me one bit! I like to see my kids excited about learning now!!

Lots to come...

2011-09-19T15:28:00.001-07:00

I have quit my other part time job....so I am going to make SURE to blog...I can't believe it's been 3 months....SO MUCH has happened!!! Hopefully I can get everyone up to date on things...

I WILL BE BACK SOON!!

2011-06-04T22:35:00.000-07:00

I must say that I think my photography skills are getting better...although I wish Ali wasn't so shaded by Ethan....

And for all of you who want to know where I've been...well let's just say we are super busy with work and I have no time to blog!! But we are almost caught up and I have made a goal to stay on top of this BLOG....so if you see a whole bunch of new posts this week it's because I want you all to know what's been going on!! And my brother is finally married so no more of that wedding stress...

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T12:32:00.000-08:00

Ethan's 4th Birthday

2011-01-14T14:13:00.001-08:00

I know it's Ben's first birthday today, but I need to blog about Ethan's birthday on November 7, 2010. I have tried a few different times to post this but blogger hasn't allowed me to upload the pictures! :(

Ethan's birthday was so fun! One night we had immediate family over and did pizza and the next night we had everyone else over for dessert. He was extremely lucky because Uncle Ben was in town to get something very important so he got to spend his birthday with him too which he really enjoyed since he has missed him ever since he went away to school. I cannot believe I have a four year old!! And now my baby is 1!!!!! Where did the past year go???

Halloween

2010-11-15T20:33:00.000-08:00

I feel like no one reads my blog posts anymore because I post on Facebook enough as it is...maybe it's more just business stuff...man have we been overloaded with so much business this year but it's all been extremely amazing blessings for us all! We love what we do!

This year we went to my Aunt's pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins but still failed at carving pumpkins with the kids again this year! It was cute to see them pick out their own pumpkins though!! They loved it and Ethan wanted to keep his in his room!! Ali did not want to look at me for pictures!

I know it's been quite a while since we had Halloween but I thought I might do a quick little post. This year we got to take pictures of the preschoolers and their costumes and other people at AIM gymnastics. This meant pretty much that I didn't get any pictures of my kids (nor did I take them trick-or-treating) that are really remotely professional besides these few goofy pics of Ethan that we snapped at the preschool's Halloween party! Roger did take my kids to the trunk-or-treat at the Rose St. Chapel but that's it! They did score on some really good candy so thank you awesome parents who had your trunks all set up for my kids!! Ali really wasn't wanting to wear her snow white costume that night so we really had to bribe her. She is definitely one opinionated little girl!! Benjamin was a cute little lion!! Man he is growing up way too fast!! Not enjoying it!!

Ethan wanted to pose...Can you tell?

UpDaTeS

2010-09-29T14:11:00.001-07:00

We have been so busy!!

I watch my nephews every day before school and after! So our whole family dynamics has changed. Alec & Owen are fun to watch! I hope that they think of me as the "fun" aunt! I have done a couple quick mini sessions with them after school and they love it!

We wake up around 6:30-7am every morning and get the kids in bed by 7:30-8pm every night. I have always loved sleeping in but am now finding that I love being up early because I get a lot more done in the mornings. (MOSTLY WORK)

The business has been so busy crazy lately. I'm working long hours...so for those of you who think our work is easy you have it all wrong!! I would rather be shooting than editing any day, but we definitely have more editing than shooting as always editing takes quite a bit more time, especially weddings. In the last three months we have done 5 weddings!! This is unusual for us because we like to only do 1 wedding a month, but all of our weddings were fun and we really enjoyed getting to know the brides and grooms even more! We even got to do a "trash the dress" session for one couple!! :) I LOVE my job!!

Which is why... I don't think I mentioned this previously but we moved back to Moses Lake with my parents until Roger is done at Eastern. We thought we'd be done in two quarters and then hopefully be into a PA school somewhere but it looks like it'll be a full year for him and then maybe PA school in June. We are applying to a school in AZ and they accept more students than other schools so we are hoping our chances are better!

And hooray for me because I officially am done with my BA!!! I hadn't been in school for a year because my school had messed up on my loans so we had to come up with $1,500 for my senior class before I could finish and when we did I got to it again and finished. My degree is in Business Management! I will apply for my diploma shortly which costs another $150 and it will take 10-12 weeks to get here! Man alive I don't know why I did the whole online thing because it costs way more than we thought we were paying, but I guess it helped while I was having babies like crazy!! HAHA I have been talking about how I would love to be in the medical field as an office manager, but don't know when that'll happen while I have little ones at home. I'm also thinking about going back to go to nursing school once the kids are in school. Who knows though...I really enjoy photography and will eventually take over the business!

Ethan says the darnest things lately!! The other night we were walking in the mall and Roger was saying how he needed more cologne and I said, "Where's your girlfriend when you need her?" because when you are dating someone that's always a gift you give..so anyways who knew Ethan was listening until the next day he asked me who daddy's girlfriend was. Haha..I laughed and asked where he heard that and he said in the mall I told daddy he had a girlfriend. Too funny so I explained to him that I was daddy's wife and that he didn't have a girlfriend I was just joking. He then told me how he wanted a girlfriend so he could kiss her!! What happened to my 3 year old? I guess he will be 4 soon! It's crazy to think that much time has passed!!

Aliana is such a little diva!! She loves her shoes and accessories. We painted the bedrooms upstairs and hers is a green..my mom bought a pretty chandelier to go in there and some cute shabby chic twin beds with a dresser! Once we get the quilts made we will have to post pictures! She loves her room! I went to hobby lobby last week because they just opened one in Spokane and fell in love with so much stuff so we are going to figure out what other things we want to use to decorate as well!!

Benjamin crawls and pulls himself up all the time! He is a crazy little monkey! We get him to say mama and dada every once in a while!! He is a perfect little baby besides his pinching. I had to quit breastfeeding because I wasn't putting out enough with the diet I was on!

Oh yeah...I have been doing the Ideal Protein diet for almost 11 weeks! In the first 6 weeks I lost 30 pounds and have continued to lose a little and manage my weight. I am in phase 3 now and feel great. The best thing about this diet is you don't lose your muscle mass just your fat!! I have already lost more than my original goal (weighing less than what I did when we got married) so now I am setting new goals. If you want to know more about it I am thinking of doing a blog post on it! I am going to start doing P90x I think here soon.

We managed to grab a quick family picture the other night! Benjamin's face cracks me up every time!! Can't wait to get some more done!! I love this little family of mine!! :)

What do you think?

2010-09-12T14:25:00.001-07:00

The picture above is of Ethan at 8 months! Benjamin will be 8 months on Tuesday and the four images below are ones I took today of him real quick to compare. Do they look a lot alike?? The first picture of Benjamin is the real color...can you believe how red that hair is? I can't!! You can see it better if you click on the image.. He is too cute with those two teeth poking out!!!

This was a picture I took of Benjamin a couple weeks ago that I love...but you can barely see his teeth coming up..

Website Updates!!

2010-08-24T23:13:00.001-07:00

We finally got our website updated with more recent pictures that we have taken!! We are so busy it's been hard to find time to do it, but finally sat down to get it done!! Check it out!!

JULIEWAITESPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

Saturday

2010-06-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

was a day we all wish we could have lived without!!!

We had been invited to Alexys Sanchez's birthday party and we were really excited to go since their family (Michael has been his best friend for years and was also his best man) has been such a big part of Roger's life and because just the night before her movie "Grown-Ups" was released so we also wanted to congratulate her on that. When we got there we noticed they had an above ground pool and we told Ethan since he didn't have his water wings he couldn't go in the big pool but just the small kiddie one. He was fine with that and played in the kiddie pool for a good 30 minutes. Then he decided he was done and came over to switch back into his regular clothes. Well about 10 minutes later he wanted to swim again and again went to the kiddie pool. Then we walked around a bit and the adults decided we were going to play some volleyball so while they were getting the teams set up I decided I better make a quick trip to the bathroom so I wouldn't have to miss out during the game to run in. Well when I cam back outside I did not see Ethan or Ali...there were between 70-80 people there so it was hard to see everyone anyways but I told Roger I didn't see them and asked if he knew where they were....that concerned him a little so we headed toward the pool and toy area and all of a sudden I see Roger book it in a hard sprint to the pool pull Ethan up out of the water and on to the ground. I really can't remember if I fell to my knees then and cried before making it to Ethan but that's what I think happened. I got to him quickly and he started to cough and foam at the mouth a little. We kept him on his side and Kyleigh, Michael's wife, and another gal who is also a nurse were right there coaching me on what we needed to do to get the water out. Since some water was coming up we didn't do CPR....He was purple but the color was starting to come back slowly...we raced him inside after someone had called 911, which let me tell you I did not hear sirens coming when they finally arrived. I don't know if it's because of what the person who finally got ahold of 911 said to them or what, but it was not a quick response. The grant county sheriff was there before the EMTs were. Once we were inside I told Roger we needed someone to help him give him a blessing asap and he grabbed Eloy Sr. to help him do that. Things got better after that...more water came out and we moved him outside when the sheriffs got there and he threw up more water. I held him this whole time crying because I didn't know what was going to happen and I didn't know how much water was still in his lungs. Once we got him in the ambulance they took his oxygen levels and his heartbeat and said his levels were good and normal so they drove normal speed to the ER all the while I'm worried it could get ugly and time because he kept gurgling up water and swallowing it. My dad later informed me the swallowing was ok because it would go into his stomach and be out of his lungs. Once I got in the ambulance I finally got a chance to text someone in my family (Brandi, my sister-in-law, because she was the last person who had texted me) and just said Ethan fell in the pool. Call my dad. Get to the ER. In the ambulance. Roger had tried to call my dad once he pulled Ethan out of the pool and searched for the phone to call 911 and then my dad but since he couldn't find his phone he had called my grandpa because he was the only Waites phone number in the phone book and then my dad. I could tell Roger felt awful about the whole thing because he kept telling me he was "sorry" over and over again while crying and he had to keep his distance because he just couldn't take it.
While I was in the ambulance I just kept fighting with Ethan to stay awake with me and I had to hold an oxygen mask close to his face. I did not want him to fall asleep because I knew we needed him awake and going to make sure he would get it all out. Roger was supposed to be following behind but I was so worried because I knew he wouldn't be in a good enough state to do it...We are so grateful for the wonderful friends we have that were there with us. Michael drove Roger to the hospital with Ali and Brooke Caldwell stayed with Benjamin at the party until someone could go get him. Roger said he wasn't able to drive because he was too much in shock.
Once we got to the hospital my whole family was there...somehow they all beat us because the ambulance was slow...The Dr. and nurses were ready for us and asked questions right away and got an x-ray really quick. His arms and legs were still a little purple but by this time he actually could respond and tell us what our names were. This made me smile. There was still a little bit of fluid in one lung so the Dr. said since my dad was a PA that she felt comfortable with him going home with us as long as we watched for a cough or fever because it could be pneumonia forming or get worse. We were so lucky he got most of the fluid out and was becoming more responsive. We had decided in the hospital we needed to go back to the party and say hi and let everyone know he was okay so we did so and while we were there he threw up some more with food this time. That was the last time he threw up that day and has been doing really well since. However, my husband and I are still freaked!! Roger more than I because he was the one to see him blue and pull him out when unresponsive. He really didn't think he was going to make it. He has been sleeping (well attempting to sleep because he really can't) with Ethan since and ended up taking the rest of the week off after trying to go back to work yesterday.

Later we found out that Ethan had thrown a ball in the water and started to climb up the ladder when an adult took him down and told him not to go up there again and gave him the ball back. Well she turned away and he threw it again and went in after it and the other kids thought he was swimming supposedly when Josh Jesse Jr. (only 10 years old) noticed he was under and not coming back up and pulled him up as much as possible which was when Roger booked it and pulled him out. Thank goodness that Josh went to the party that day when he was supposed to be at a softball tournament with the rest of his family. We owe him a lot for knowing what to do and how to help someone..

The lesson we have learned is to always keep floatation devices for your children if they will be around water...And watch them closely...yes there were lots of people watching but it only takes a split second for them to fall or jump in without someone seeing..

Thanks to everyone who has prayed and is still praying for our family. We won't be swimming for a while...but sooner than later... You can't keep these kids out of water forever when they love it. When he was in the hospital bed he told me he wanted to go swimming at Brandi's pool because he didn't get "sick" there. If he only thinks he got sick I think it's the best. I hope he doesn't remember the feeling of the fluid filling his lungs. I can only imagine how scared and alone he felt at that time and it makes me hurt. I love my children and I'm so grateful for the wonderful gospel we have in our lives and that my husband is a worthy priesthood holder so that he can administer blessings when necessary.

Too LONG!!

2010-06-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

I have been a big slacker when it comes to posting....and there has been a ton going on so I will just name a few...

Ben is 5 months!! Wow I can't believe he is that old already!!
He loves to grab everything and anything..found him with a cookie in hand gnawing at it today.. (Ali set it down by him)
He is trying to crawl...and loves his belly!!
My Brother Ben gets home from his mission on Tuesday!!! WAHOO!!
Roger finished another year of school...wahoo... sad though that there is still more to go...
He is working hard to support the family and trying to find a job in Moses Lake for the summer..
Which leads to the next news...YES we are moving back in with my parents!! Just makes the most sense right now...more details later...
My mom's business is doing really well...which is good for me to keep working...We have I think 6 weddings left to do for this summer...
Ethan is picking up on lots of "adult" words/sayings...and uses them in the right context!!! For example he was telling me "oh my gosh mom....." the other night and I couldn't believe he knew all of that together! I try not to use that saying around him too much because I don't want him to accidentally say the Lord's name in vain once like most other people say now days.
Ali loves to just jump off things...no matter how high above ground it is!! (scary)

SUMMER HAS BEGUN AND WE LOVE THE SUN!! Hope to spend some days at the Surf 'N Slide with the kids so they can get their skin a little tan!! :)

I hope to post more this week after my brother gets back with pictures of everything!!

Benjamin will be..

2010-05-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

4 months tomorrow!! What happened to my newborn? I think it may be time to have another one..LOL

My sweet sister got them these outfits. The boy's shirts say Ladies Man on them...so true! Do you see my redhead?? It makes me laugh that I got my "white" boy!

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T14:37:00.001-07:00

I am so proud to be a mom! I am constantly reminded why I love what I do. It was about two years ago when I told Roger that I loved my kiddos and wouldn't have it any other way as we drove twelve hours to Utah. Who would've thought I would be happy with being a mom when a trip like that can go disasterous at any point? Luckily it never was, but today I had that same over flowing love for my children. Yes, there are times when I want to pull my hair out, but most of the time I enjoy having my kids and playing with them and hearing them talk and they teach me things every day that are so fulfilling! I love when they come up to me and say "Momma, I love you!" That constantly reassures me that I am doing an "okay" job with them!

I personally need a break from having kids so my body can recover from them all so close together but my mind keeps telling me I have a lot more to come. It makes me excited and all over exhausted to think about it! Having three right now hasn't been as bad as many people have made it sound, but I think it's because Benjamin couldn't be any more perfect. He is always smiling, laughing, and talking and to me there couldn't be anything better!!

I have two moms that have been such wonderful examples to me. I got a chance to go get a pedicure that my Grandma got me for Mother's day last year with my mom yesterday and it was so fun to do something that we could just sit back and enjoy. Too often we are busy getting work all caught up and don't have time to just enjoy each other's company. My mom and I think a lot alike. She has been a wonderful example of a strong and determined woman as she has dealt with her life experiences. Last night we went to Roger's parents and I got the chance to enjoy talking with his wonderful Mother who is so caring and kind. She loves the kids so much and loves, loves, loves to have them over. She would keep the kids for a week if I would let her...but I'd miss them too much! I am so happy she raised such a wonderful man so that I could have such an awesome companion. He learned a lot from his mom and loves her so much. She is a strong woman. I hope that her ankle gets completely cured sooner than later! Happy Mother's Day! Love you!

My grandmother is definitely one woman I need to mention! She has truly sacrificed a lot to be where she is today! She always knows how to put a smile on my face! I know that whenever I am down I have always relied on her advice. Even when they were on their mission I remember calling her crying a couple times because I just needed to hear reassurance from her that I was making the right choices (I was in high school). She has truly inspired me to be a good person and overcome any obstacles I need to in order to choose the right way and live without regret. When I look at the way her and my grandpa are together I only hope that Roger and I can be just like them! -Grandma Happy Mother's Day! I love you!

To all you wonderful Mother's - Happy Mother's Day!! I hope it is a good day for you all filled with happy moments!

Well my brother is on the phone from Argentina so I better go so I can talk to him!

A lot has happened

2010-05-04T15:15:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that I haven't posted in a month!! Anyways I know I need to get a post up! My kids are growing too fast and I can't believe it. Ethan is potty trained and has been for a while but I don't think I've talked about it. He still wears a pull up at night just in case he has an accident. Ali goes poop in the toilet almost everyday but still doesn't have the peeing in the toilet down yet. Benjamin is grabbing things now! I got out the exersaucer the other day and he enjoys it a lot! I do not have a newborn anymore and it's sad!!

Roger is enjoying his classes this quarter. We have figured that after this quarter he may still have two quarters left to get his degree, but then we should be ready for graduate school. We will try and apply to some schools in the fall if we can for next fall. He needs to take the GRE still too. We are happy that with all of the stuff he has gone through to get where we are that it is almost coming to a close. We wish that all of the work he did at SVU would've paid off but instead put us further behind. We live and learn right?

Since my last "stressing" post I decided I needed to change the way I ate and lose this "weight" that has been taking over my life since I had Ethan. I am down 7 lbs. so far and have probably 20-25 more I would love to lose! I started a page on facebook called "let's lose it" if any of you are interested in joining it. I post pictures of healthy meals I have been making and also tips and websites I have found helpful! Check it out if you want to know more! It is today that we need to start eating healthier so that in the future we can enjoy our family more!

Brady and Natalie Coulston had their baby and I was lucky enough to get some pictures of him! They named him Nathan Brady. He is a cute!!

When I was doing his pictures I got to take a few of my kids while he was eating!! I love these kids...Ethan and Benjamin will be good buds! You can really see his red hair in this one compared to the other two's. He is also a lot whiter.

Ethan at the park...

Roger and Benjamin chillin' on the blanket!! Love 'em!

Stressing..

2010-04-04T22:09:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it's because I'm still postpartum, but my world has been completely stressful lately. I'd like to just be able to relax more and enjoy my time. Instead I find myself arguing or being defensive about the stupidest things. I think it's because sometimes I feel like everyone is out to get me.. I wish there was a chill pill I could take everyday!!

Things I don't feel I have enough time for:

Blogging

Working Out

School Work (Statistics is really time consuming when you have to teach yourself everything!)

Teaching the Kids new things

And most of all..

SOME ME TIME!!!

If I do find time for any of these things something else suffers. I just wish there were more hours in the day!!

It drives me insane that I can't get any alone time most weeks because Roger and my schedules don't allow it. We used to try and find time to do something together every night after the kids went to sleep but it's just not happening. I keep trying to tell myself that someday it will be different and Roger and I will have more time together, but it just seems to far in the future!! I feel like we don't even know when he'll be done with all his schooling (he's hoping to be done by December with his bachelor's finally if he gets all of his credit problems solved, yes still fighting for credits and then once he gets into a PA school another 2 years)...and with the new health care plan I almost hope he rethinks going into health care. I'm so ready to feel like we are in our careers and thriving instead of being poor!!! I guess it wouldn't be so bad if we didn't already have three kids!! Haha...

I love my kids! Benjamin is keeping me going with his smiles and giggles...while the other two are big handfuls...

Onto a better topic...I love my job... I never thought that I would become just as interested in photography as my mom is but here I am just following in her footsteps. They are big shoes to fill but I hope I can do it. I have done a couple things over the winter for a few friends here in Cheney and have really enjoyed doing stuff on my own.. It makes me realize just how much my mom loves her job!! I know that being a second shooter/helper isn't always as fun as being the one interacting the whole time capturing the images. So I just wanted to share my favorite picture that I took for a woman in our stake of her newborn who had had RSV and had been hospitalized. She knew she wouldn't be able to get to a studio for pictures (the hospital orders told her to stay home until the end of RSV season) and her friend told her about me! It was so fun to take pictures of someone else's child! She has now become a friend since I had to call her with questions about RSV this week!! I'm so grateful for her advice! What a sweet woman!

Having..

2010-04-03T21:53:00.000-07:00

three kids has been a challenge. I would say I have handled it quite well but I do get frustrated when the older two decide to misbehave while I am doing anything for the baby. This week however has been a completely different story!!

(My three sickies and Kaitlin (who is now sick because of my kids))
On the 26th Ethan started getting sick with a cough and it was weird because he actually crashed on the couch for a good 3 hour nap that day when two weeks prior he had just quit napping all together. I enjoyed it at the time because I was working on my statistics class which I still have not finished due to these crazy kids..haha. But when Monday morning came around and all of the kids had a cough and Ethan started getting fevers I was not too happy! I especially did not want Ben to get sick! Yes he is over two months but still...babies are so delicate when it comes to sickness and they can't get much! Tuesday morning when Ethan woke up with 102 temp. Rog decided to take him in and get him checked out while I stayed at home praying for good news.. Well the good news didn't come. The news I heard was "Ethan has RSV!" And to think they weren't going to check him for anything until my husband decided he should say that he had a two month at home and he needed to know what to expect. I thought to myself "CRAP!!!" I called my mom completely freaked because that meant that Ben and Ali probably already had it since they started to get the cough too! My mom cancelled her shoots for the rest of the week! (Which I am so thankful for!) And came to help us! Once she got here we rushed Ethan and Benjamin to Sacred Heart. We were originally just going to take Benjamin because we noticed his cough had gotten a lot worse that afternoon, but when Ethan's hands turned blue and purple and were freezing to the touch we worried his oxygen levels were decreasing and fast. When we got to the ER the nurse hadn't ever heard of the blue and purple thing on Ethan so I got more concerned. The doctor that saw the kids was the same doctor who helped us when the kids got swine flu and he remembered us. They had a resident come in and check them out first and she relayed messages to the doctor before he came in to check on them. He explained a lot of stuff to her in front of us because he wanted her to understand why he did certain things. A lot of doctors don't like to diagnose more than a virus because they don't like to put kids on antibiotics so they don't always test for everything. The doctor told us he wanted to get the boys both x-rayed and then he'd come tell us what he thought. Ethan did such a good job!! I cannot believe how old he is! He is NOT my LITTLE boy anymore! Benjamin actually laughed the whole time and the techs loved him!! Once we got back to the room they brought Ethan a popsicle. I love Sacred Heart because of their Peds unit!! The doctor came in and said Ethan actually had pneumonia (I wasn't too happy that they hadn't x-rayed him at the clinic but I guess when they got the swab test back saying it was positive for RSV they just didn't think it was anything more). And he said that Ben's lungs looked good but that he did have RSV because of the way he was breathing. They didn't want to swab him to make him go through that. They put Ethan on antibiotics and Ben on a medicine to help with the swelling/breathing. That night Ali started getting really bad fevers and they continued and are still present today!! We took her and Ben back into the clinic on Thursday where they did swab them for RSV and both were positive. They put Benjamin on inhaler treatments because his breathing had gotten work. So far they have helped him a lot!! I just hate that Ali is so stinkin' sick!! She just lays still all day with sleepy eyes and drifts in and out of sleep!! My mom left today, but I was so happy she was here to help with everything since Roger just started his spring quarter this week and is figuring out his schedule with work and classes has been hectic.

Benjamin is growing like crazy. He had his two week appt. almost two weeks ago and was 12 lbs. 5 ounces, but on Thursday when I took him to the doctor for being sick he was already 13 lbs!! I am so proud of this kid! He was actually only 59% for weight and 24 inches long which was 78% for height!! And of course his head is tiny and was only in the 25%. He has such a fun little personality! He is always smiling at me!! And giggling like crazy!! I don't remember the other two being happy all the time like he is!! I just hope he gets over the cough soon! We want to celebrate Easter but decided to wait until next weekend when we can actually go to Moses Lake and be with family!!

Elle Cee's Cake Boutique

2010-04-02T12:23:00.001-07:00

My friend Lydia started a cake business in CA and she makes all kinds of yummy treats as well!! She is doing an awesome giveaway!! Check out her site by clicking on her button or going to Elle Cee's Cake Boutique!!

Blessing Day 3/7/2010

2010-03-31T00:07:00.000-07:00

Benjamin was blessed on March 7, 2010. It was a beautiful sunny day which we were lucky enough to have because we invited the family up to Cheney to do the blessing and have a bbq afterwards since we live in an apartment and knew some people would be in and out (mostly the kids). Shauna made the cutest blessing outfit for him and Viki made him the beautiful knitted blanket Roger has him wrapped up in. Roger gave the prettiest blessing. I am so thankful that my husband holds the priesthood and can bless our babies. It is an amazing feeling to know I can have him by my side through thick and thin.

We never seem to get a picture of all the men who stood in the circle and we were the last ones to change out of our Sunday clothes so we tried to get a quick picture before my camera died and this was the best! Lol... And you can tell once again that Ali hates getting pictures taken. Why does it have to be at this age when I want pictures of her and her little brother the most so I can show her someday how much she loved her baby brother?

Thanks to everyone that made it! I thought it was a huge success as it was my first time having the "whole" gang over!! I love you all!!

Park & Picture Day

2010-03-16T18:22:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we went to the park...but I had planned on taking pictures of the kids in their shirts that Heather Walker made them!! You can see her cute craft blog at Lulu's Tiles. She has been my best friend since I lived in VA. She sent these to us shortly after I had Benjamin. She is so talented and I feel lucky to have her as a friend!!

Ali did not want to do a picture of all three of them...in fact she was not wanting to take pictures at all so the pictures I did get were because of pure luck of clicking away the whole time!!

However, I love that I got pictures of my boys together!!

See what I mean...she was on the move!! I seriously cannot believe she isn't my baby anymore..she is growing so fast and talks constantly..although we still can't quite understand every word that comes out of her mouth!

I was trying to pose Ethan and Ali came around the tree so I captured these!!

This is the only one of them three that is even close to cute....I love how Ali knows she isn't being good so she is looking up at Nana..

Ethan was actually pretty excited about taking pictures...although he is quite the photographer himself, but that's a post for another day! He really has been an awesome big brother. He always wants to hold him and it's cute to see him just stare at Benjamin!!

Here she is running again...got love the energy she has!!

Ethan saw a squirrel climb up the tree!

My BIG kids!!

Getting ready for the park before pictures...

Loved her pez' and was upset they were all gone!!

Playing after pictures...yay!!!

Ethan loved the swing!

7 weeks

2010-03-04T21:47:00.000-08:00

Benjamin is 7 weeks old today and last Thursday at the WIC appointment he was 11 lbs. 7 oz. My boy is getting plumpy. I wouldn't say chunky because he doesn't have rolls but he is getting a nice round belly!! And man does he look big!

I wish today would've been sunnier!! Maybe Saturday..the weather report says it'll be 57 degrees!! Wahoo! I can't wait until it's warmer and we can play outside all day!!

I still managed to take a few pictures of the kids. Let me say that they are all at difficult ages to photograph!! I love how Ethan had to stick his tongue out in the first one. It is so him!! Everytime I want to take a picture or video he does that! Ali has a funny little smirk on her face, but that is so her too!! If you know her you know she gets that smirk when she is getting doted on. She is a cutie! Benjamin doesn't have many faces but this one and a smile!! He is starting to smile and have a little giggle now and I am loving it!!

We are blessing Benjamin this weekend so I am hoping to get even more pictures of them in matching outfits thanks to Heather Walker!! Wahoo! And in their new dress clothes..

The brothers...yes you can tell that Benjamin is still a little jaundice..but trying to get the levels down still..

Since Ethan had his baby Ali had to have hers!! Lol... Someday she will have a little sister... just not anytime soon!

I am still having a hard time believing that I have three kids...but I guess it's difficult to think it's so crazy when they are pretty good most of the time... if I keep them occupied. We are learning letters, numbers, colors, songs, and all about Jesus! I love these kids!!

Lulu's Tiles Giveaway

2010-03-01T14:40:00.000-08:00

My friend Heather Walker started a craft blog and is doing a great giveaway! She is so talented and I love all of her crafts!! I wish I had all the time she does to do all the fun crafts, but since I don't I entered in this great giveaway! Head over to her blog and check out her stuff!! I love it all!!

lulustiles.blogspot.com

Flour Power

2010-02-24T12:27:00.000-08:00

I'm beginning to think that I can't do work while the kids are awake lately. Before this happened Ethan used dry erase crayon on our tv!! Today has been like a Monday...but when I saw this I could not help but laugh. I only felt bad because Ethan was getting good at getting Ali right in the face!! I am so happy that these two have become such good buddies...just worried about how much trouble they will get in together. Ali had cute french braids before this happened to her hair!!

It was piling high on the carpet.

I had to get my real camera out to capture these because I know I've been a slacked on blogging so I knew I needed to capture this and get back in the game!!! I hope this makes everyone smile!! These two are too cute!!

One Month

2010-02-14T17:24:00.000-08:00

Benjamin is one month old today..and what an awesome day to celebrate it on...besides the fact that it's Valentine's Day, it is also Roger's Dad's Birthday and my brother Robbie's birthday!! So happy birthday to them and Happy Valentine's to everyone else!! Oh and this day 5 years ago Roger proposed to me!! Yep it's been a long time!! We have known each other for nine years!! And I just found out that my cousin got engaged today as well!! Congrats to her!

I think it's about time I tell Benjamin's birth story..

I went in for a Dr.'s appt. on the 13th hoping that she would say she could induce me, but of course because Samaritan has laid off so many people she had told me the week before that there would be a chance they would tell her they were too busy and that I couldn't go in. She first checked me and I was dilated to a one...big whoopie is what I thought..so I was sure she wouldn't want to induce me because I wasn't doing much either. But I was determined...she asked me what I wanted and I said I wanted to be induced..and since I was 3 days away from being 40 weeks she agreed, but said she needed to check with hospital first. She called the hospital and they said for me to call up there at 3pm to make sure it was still okay for me to go in and then be in by 4pm so she could induce me at 5pm when she got off. I was ecstatic!!! Of course I called Roger and he said he wanted to wait to come up to Moses until I knew for sure that I could get in to the hospital. I called at 3pm and they said for me to still plan on being there at 4pm. I got to the hospital shortly after 4 since I was busy trying to say goodbye to my kids for atleast two days...atleast that's what I thought. My grandma was awesome and said she could watch them and my kids love her so that helped a lot too. She said they could stay over night and Brandi went and helped later that night. I'm so lucky to have such an awesome Grandma and Grandpa that love us so much. Brandi helped so much too...and I know they loved that. Brandi took them to a couple stores and even made Ali a birthday cake on her birthday!!

Once I got hooked up to the monitors at the hospital Sherry was there and ready to place the cervidel. Then it was the wait game. I knew that by the following morning I had Ali so I was thinking it would go that fast for this one. I had no idea that since I chose not to take Ambien (it made me throw up all night the night I was induced with Ali) was going to mean that since I wasn't as active the medicine wouldn't work as fast. I think I only slept 4 hours that night because I couldn't sleep well and Roger got more sleep, but by 6am I was thinking heck I want to get this thing started already. The took the cervidel out at 6am and started me on petocin at 7am. Around 8am my new nurse got me to a labor room quickly because during the night lots of women had shown up to have babies that same day and she wanted to ensure I would get one. She said I was dilated to a 4 at that I could get an epidural if I wanted one. I said yes because I knew it would go faster if I got one. He came in to give me an epidural and he messed up and poked through a vein the first time. I then began to have a break down...all these feelings of disappointment came back from when they messed up twice with Ethan's birth and caused me to get a spinal headache and I still ended up giving birth naturally so when he said he was going to try again I wanted him to because natural labor sucks (although I was told I did a good job at it), but at the same time I was shaking and crying incredibly hard. He told me I had to stay really still so it would work. I tried to stop crying and Roger (who of course wanted to watch this time since he uses needles everyday) kept looking at me like I was ridiculous and I just wanted to shout at them all how they had no idea what it feels like to have any of the crap done to them that I have had to get done! After he finally got the epidural in they put a catheter in. Atleast I had the epidural so I didn't have to feel that part because I know those are no fun!! My epidural wasn't going up very high though so they had the doctor come back in and put more medicine in so it went up over my belly instead of just waist down and then I was happy happy happy! The nurse checked me and said I was at a good 7cm dilated but that she could feel a water pocket in front of his head but she couldn't pop it so she would just wait until Sherry got there on her lunch break.

Sherry came in at 12:50pm and said he was still high but that she could feel the water bulge but didn't want to pop it because he was still high. While she was saying that the water popped and went everywhere!! She said it would still be a while since he was high and was about to leave when I kept insisting to her that he was coming or else she needed to let me go to the bathroom because I felt like I need to push. I told her to check me again...(I remembered this all too similar to Ali's birth) and when she checked I was a 9 and that baby was coming fast. I told her I knew it and she said hold your pushes I have to get changed. She ran and got scrubs on and I waited but was in pain and once she came back and the nurses were ready I started to push. I gave two small pushes a big one for his head and body followed after because she basically pulled him out. He was blue and she was a little nervous saying "come on baby come on" and wiggling him. Finally he cried! Yay!! Life!! I guess when she was checking me his heart rate was dropping a little and she checked to make sure there was no umbilical cord around his head area. She had one of the nurses come in with an internal monitor in case we needed it with the heart rate dropping but since everything went so fast it wasn't necessary and he was blue but only for a minute and was fine after with an APGAR of an 8. Roger and I were in tears to see another one. Roger told me that when he was born the love just flowed the same for him as it did for the other kids. He said he never understood how it happened but it did and he loves him so much!!

Roger also decided his name would be "Benjamin Reid" at the last second. He had told me the day before he was born that he was thinking of changing his middle name and that he would know if his middle name should be changed when he was born, but wouldn't tell me to what. So while they were checking him and wrapping him up he looked at me with tears and said his name is "Benjamin Reid". I thought to myself how awesome is that for him!! Reid Baker, known as President Baker in Moses Lake's stake, was a big role model for Roger while he was investigating the church in the spanish branch. He also baptized him, took him to the MTC, and supported him on his mission. Roger has always looked up to him and admired him for being such an awesome friend, example, hard worker, and priesthood holder. We are both happy that we have a child that has two great names after two inspirational people in both our lives. Before my brother left on his mission we knew we would name our next boy after him... He was awesome with the kids and loved to hang out with us. We all got really close and it felt good to have that bond with him. He has turned into an amazing young man and I am very proud of him and his accomplishments. Ben has always been the studious one in our family so I just hope that my Benjamin will be the same way. They are both third in the family so we will see how many similarities they have. Benjamin doesn't have a blue butt like my other kids did (asian and hispanic descent have what is called "mongolian butt", so the kids have blue pigment on parts of their behinds...it does start to go away as they get older and disappears around the age 5) so I call him the white boy! Lol...His eyes are even a lot lighter and his hair has lots of red patches!! I think that's as close to a redhead that my mom will get from me!!

I am so blessed to have such an amazing little family and now I feel like it's big because there are five instead of four so we are out numbered but I know that we are loving it!!

Pictures

2010-02-04T20:45:00.000-08:00

Benjamin is three weeks old today so I figured I should post these awesome pictures taken by Heather Grigg of HeatherLynn Photography. I have become really good friends with her and we actually both took pictures of Benjamin at her studio...but I'm pretty sure all of these were taken by her. She specializes in newborns and has a million props and backgrounds just for them. We refer a lot of clients to her for newborns. She is expecting this month and I can't wait to take pictures of our babies together, because she is actually dating Roger's cousin so our boys are third cousins since Roger and her boyfriend are second cousins. It's exciting to have newborns around and watch them grow. I have forgotten so much of what it is like to have a newborn. I am loving it all over again. Although I'd have to say it's hard having toddlers that are super jealous and throw fits because their mom can't hold them every second! Lol...
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this one!! I already ordered an 8x8 for my wall... This was a tough shot to get but we did it!!

I love all hanging shots... Look how long he already is... He kept flopping his legs over the edge.

Heather is so good at maneuvering the babies to pose them for their pictures. I love this pose!!
Next week I hope to post the birth experience.... It was quite an interesting one to say the least!! I am just happy he is here!!

Benjamin Reid Mar

2010-01-21T21:11:00.000-08:00

Benjamin Reid Mar was born on January 14, 2010! He is now a week old!

He weighed 8 lbs. 10 oz. and measured at 20 inches long.

We are so happy to have him as a part of our family!

He has been a bundle of joy!

All I want for Christmas...

2009-12-17T14:07:00.000-08:00

Is a newborn baby!!! My goodness I know I'm asking for a lot since I'm not due until January 16, but I've been miserable, been on bedrest and now decided I'm just going to try and stay positive and push my body to get things done. This baby is ready to come as far as I can tell. I had an appointment yesterday and he has dropped and is doing well still..which means he is huge and still in my ribs for being dropped and likes to move all the time...way more active than the other two were. If I'm still pregnant at Christmas of course you'll get a picture of how big I've gotten. So far I have kept off twenty excessive pounds that I gained with Ali's pregnancy but I'm guessing that's because I haven't been hooked up to IV's at all like I was with her for a few days during the pregnancy. Those things made me bloat like crazy...oh yeah and no swelling in the feet or legs so far!! Yay...just strong contractions that hurt from my back to front...and sciatic pain...but life keeps going..

Finally...

2009-11-08T19:36:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago when I was in Moses Lake my friend Heather and I went out and took some pictures of our kids. She got a cute one of my kids together looking at her, but I didn't have as much luck...oh well!! I still think the pictures turned out cute... I know her diaper is showing but she is just so stinkin' cute in this pic!! I love it!!

She definitely had more smiles for me than Ethan did!!

He kept doing cheesy faces...

I think this is my favorite of Ethan...He is becoming such a big boy!!

This picture has sun flare but oh well...love it! Yes Ethan loves to show off for everyone!!

Here is Ali playing in the leaves afterwards!!! She wouldn't look at me by this point though!!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T10:33:00.001-08:00

This year we stayed in Cheney and decided to head into the mall in Spokane because we couldn't figure out when or where the trunk-or-treat was!! Maybe we just missed it while we were gone. I don't know, but we had fun walking around the mall with the kids. It was nice to be indoors, but it was packed this year compared to last! After my camera came back from the shop I took pictures of the kids and left it in Moses Lake so these pictures are just from my Iphone but atleast I have some for right now! I hope to get some better ones soon!!
Ali was a bee fairy!! We painted her cheeks yellow and her nose black!! She could even say "trick-or-treat", but got really shy...Ethan was a ninja turtle!! He had a blue eye cover too but it was off by the time we got home. His face paint faded quite a bit too!! Everyone said he was the only ninja turtle they had seen!! Here Ethan is just being silly posing for me!

And this is Ali at church yesterday in her pretty dress my mom got her a while ago but finally fits her skinny body!! This cheesy face was what I got when I told her to say "cheese"!

Ali's 18 month WCC

2009-10-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

Ali had her well child check yesterday. Yes she is almost 21 months but her doctor was on maternity leave and then it took forever to get her an appt. once she got back. She got 5 shots and cried but didn't scream. She's such a sweetie. She weighed in at 20 lbs even which puts her in the 1% for her age. I am a little concerned...so I'm going to try and fatten her up a little bit with milkshakes. She is just a tiny girl. Her height was 33.5 inches which put her in the 79% for her age and her head size was average. She just needs to work on the weight thing.

Karissa took this picture while we were at her appt. with her cell phone. I am really missing my camera since it is still in the shop getting fixed. I hope once I get it back I will be able to take lots of pictures to catch up on what I've been missing out on...

Ali has been saying so many words and she loves to point to all of the body parts and name them off. She even says her name now and it's so cute!! She isn't a baby anymore, but a toddler!! I am looking forward to having a newborn around soon!

sWiNe FlU

2009-10-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

It seems like this whole year I've only written about how sick our family is...and once again I am writing about it...

Last Friday I had already had a cough for a couple days and Ethan was coughing with a Fever..as I posted earlier that week Ali had an ear infection so she had had fevers and cough as well...When I got back to Cheney Roger said we were going to the Dr. because they've been talking about swine flu so much at work he wanted to make sure we were all ok and that I wouldn't have to worry about the baby....well of course Ethan tested positive for swine flu..they tested me and I was negative but they said they didn't believe the results since I had all the symptoms but fever..let me tell you that body aches when you are pregnant is like a hundred times worse then when you aren't..my tailbone was even hurting. Ali didn't get tested because she was already on antibiotics for her ear and they figured she either had it or would get it so they just put her on tamiflu as well...since Roger didn't have any symptoms then they didn't put him on anything. While the rest of us were feeling like crap all conference weekend Roger was fine, but then Monday night he got a fever and a headache and went in and the doctor just put him on tamiflu because they didn't want him to get tested since it is pretty painful (they stick this nasty q-tip type thing up your nose until it hurts and move it around to get the gunk) and since I was pregnant they just wanted to prevent any more swine flu coming into the home. By Tuesday the three of us were done with the five day dose of tamiflu but my kids were still exhausted...you can get nausea and vomitting from the tamiflu and I was lucky to get it since I didn't have an appetite and it was supposed to be taken with food. I felt bad for Roger because the fever was bad and his chest hurt really bad. He always seems to get the worst of the symptoms no matter what kind of sickness he gets.

We are all doing a lot better...still a little cough..but feeling happy that the swine flu is gone..

On a happy note...my mom and I got to photograph Ellie O'Neill and Tyler Fredericksen's wedding and reception this weekend. She looked beautfiul....

My mom wanted to snap a picture of me pregnant since I don't have any from this pregnancy yet and supposedly I looked good last night so she got this while we were at the reception...THANKS MOM...

Although you can't see the outline of my belly I think you get the idea of how big I am...26 weeks..hopefully only 12 more if I get my way!! LOL

I hope the next post will be more uplifting!!!

Sick again...oh no Ali

2009-09-30T16:30:00.000-07:00

Okay so Ali is sick again..She has had this awful cough for the past two weeks..started when I was sick, but on Saturday she started getting diarrhea and then Monday night started getting fevers!! I'm so sick of this little girl who is so tiny getting sick!! We have been alternating tylenol and motrin every three hours and it is keeping it down to sometime 99.9, but won't go down any further and won't stay down. She got her ears checked by my dad last night and has an ear infection but the antibiotics aren't helping with the fever either so once again we are headed to the ER as soon as my mom gets home (other clinics suggested I just go there with her symptoms in case of swine flu, but I'm guessing it's another UTI) to help me in case they want to do x-rays because I can't go back there when I'm pregnant. I was supposed to go back to Cheney after my maternity appointment earlier, but am thinking I might want to stay here until she's feeling completely up to it. She's been shaking with chills and her eyes are watery and she won't eat or drink much...saddest ever!!

While I was at my appt. Rob took this picture of her cuddled up asleep with Blaze. She doesn't normally fall asleep anywhere besides her crib. We haven't taken her in yet in hopes the second dose of antibiotics will help. If not we'll head to the ER in the morning.

YAY!!! It's a

2009-09-02T17:34:00.000-07:00

BOY!!!

I was so right and it feels good to know that I was right...so everyone that guessed boy needs to leave a comment with their address so I can send them a gift!! Yay!! Roger and I are so excited and can't wait to welcome Benjamin Cache, who will go by "Cache" into the world in January!!

Today is the day...

2009-09-02T08:49:00.000-07:00

that I find out if I am having a

BOY or GIRL!!!

I have tallied 4 votes for boy and 7 votes for a girl!!! At 1pm I will be finding out!!! Yay!

Guessing Game

2009-08-25T10:50:00.001-07:00

Okay so we have people that are completely split in our family about whether they think it's a boy or a girl...so I think we'll do a poll and whoever is right will get a prize...so you better guess!!!

8 days until we find out!!!

Roger and I are convinced it's a boy....but because Ethan tells us it's a baby girl we don't know what to think. He does call it "baby Cache" (because if it is a boy our plans are to name him Benjamin Cache and call him Cache.) but when we ask if it's a boy or girl...everytime he says baby girl. My mom thinks it's a girl...and so does my sister...and I heard that all of my girl cousins are hoping for another girl...typical girls right? So...

Boy or Girl?

Waites Family Reunion=Saturday at Roylance Pond outside Othello

2009-08-12T15:20:00.001-07:00

I'm not one to say I like all of the pictures of me because I'm starting to show...most of you might just think I look fat..you could say that too I guess..HAHA...I think the pictures of Roger are funny. And I LOVE the pictures of my kids...and everyone else in the family just looks perfect!! It was a fun day!! Oh I forgot to mention..the dress up pictures are because we played a getting to know you game and if we guessed wrong someone had to put something on us. I of course had to wear a ton of stuff.

Waites Family Reunion

2009-08-07T16:06:00.000-07:00

So far we've had fun....more details to come, but let's just say that the slip-n-slide will be a must every time. Too bad I was pregnant and Roger couldn't be there sooner.

Last week...

2009-07-05T15:33:00.001-07:00

We had a lot of fun hanging out with our family in Moses Lake. Last Sunday our family headed to Quincy to see Roger's sister who was up from California. We had a lot of fun with them. The kids still don't really know her all that well but warmed up to her and her fiance really fast. I stayed in Moses while Roger went back for his second week of work at PAML.

PAML is a well known lab in the area and Roger just got hired there (locations all over Spokane). He loves working as a phlebotomist. It really lets him experience working with different patients and their needs. He does not like to hear "I'm hard to poke" though. He always gets them....LOL. He has a learned a lot about how PAML runs their draws though. He says it's definitely different than what he did at Rockwood Clinic. I am happy he is doing something he likes. And it helps to reassure him that he does still want to continue in the medical field. He didn't have to work Friday though since it is a paid holiday because of the 4th so he headed back to Moses to be with us Thursday night.

I had babysat Natalie Monday and Tuesday and we had lots of fun. We played outside in the water a lot since it wore the kids out and allowed them to all get naps about the same time. I loved that my kids like to play with other kids. Natalie loved the water as well as my little fish...Wednesday we went to a park with the Riner Family out on the base that they built last year. It's super cute. Thursday we went to the pool and it was nice because Robbie and Brandi were there to play with my kids and even got cute pictures while I sat in the shade with Amber's baby...yes it's making me think that it would've been weird to have another right now when Ali is stilll young but a little older than Ethan was when she was born. I'm happy these next two will be two years apart. Brandi posted pictures of my kids here. Thursday night we played games with Robbie, Brandi, Amber, Dane, Sierra, and Chris after Roger had got into town. Friday we had a bbq and invited the Riners and Barneys over. I should've taken pictures but I wasn't feeling so well. I got a bladder infection, atleast that's what we think is going on. Saturday night we had Grandma and Poppy over and we bbq'd steaks and sat out on the back lawn and watched fireworks across the lake going off on Pelican Point before the city fireworks went off. It was so cute because Ethan sat with my Grandma most of the fireworks and every time they would go off he'd blow at them and Grandma thought it was so cute she kept telling him to blow. She really enjoyed him cuddling with her. He eventually climbed up with Nana and fell asleep (I think the reclining chair she was sitting in had something to do with it). Ali liked the fireworks but wasn't as impressed. She sat with me for a long time but eventually decided Roger was more comfy and climbed on his lap and fell asleep. I think they are both getting colds because they started having runny noses and coughs and being really cranky. Most of the time my kids are pretty good, but I knew they didn't feel good today when we were at church and they just kept wanting to go back and forth between me and Roger. Robbie had to work today so he couldn't teach his lesson so asked my mom if they could be joined with hers. Since Roger was there and it was on priesthood mom asked Roger to teach the lesson. He laughed because he couldn't find his white shirt before he headed here the other night so he had a striped shirt and no tie so he said he was a perfect example of "what not to wear" when you have the priesthood. I was happy she asked him because I know he loves teaching and he does a good job so he went and taught 13-15 year olds. Mom stayed with me and helped with my cranky kids. And during priesthood/relief society Ethan had to keep going from Roger and I. It was a little crazy. I need to figure out what toys I can bring just on Sundays to keep the kids busy when they don't feel well. 1st ward doesn't like them to be in Nursery when they have runny noses because they've had kids get super sick from it so I didn't want to even try putting them in there. Only 10 more days and Ali is eligible to go in Nursery!! Yay..I'm hoping it helps Ethan be more interested in staying in there if his sister is in there. Roger is headed back to Cheney tonight. I decided to stay again this week since I have a doctor's appt. here and if I need help with the kids (since I'm sick, hopefully we won't have any trips to the hospital (I hate throwing up and having stomach pain from my bladder!!!)).

Park time!!

2009-06-23T17:00:00.001-07:00

Well since today I have been feeling better than the last week I decided to try and get out with the kids...so we went to the park and took some pictures!!! Karissa was my model so the kids loved posing with her!! LOL..it was fun!

Ali just had to grab Karissa's face for some reason!!

Now I just have to work on a four page paper...BORING!!!

Finally some EXCITING NEWS!!!

2009-06-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

We are expecting our third child!! Wahooo!!

No it wasn't expected, but we have decided it will always be a blessing to have another beautiful baby enter our lives. And no I wasn't trying to be pregnant with all of you out there that are pregnant as well. We thought we were going to wait another year. LOL.

This baby is due one day after Ali's second birthday which would be January 16, 2010. This puts me at 9 weeks tomorrow. I am hoping I won't have to wait that long, but who knows.

I have been extremely sick (some of you may have noticed my posts on facebook about not feeling well) and have resorted to just laying on the couch somedays trying to tend to the children as much as possible. I throw up just about every morning and some evenings. I constantly feel nauseous and cannot eat that much at one sitting.

It has been extremely difficult to not just scream it out to the world. Especially when I found out the week before Memorial Day weekend when we saw everyone at Spring Fest that we don't see that often. But Roger and I decided we would wait until after my first appt. to make sure everything was going well because I did have a CT scan in the first couple weeks of being pregnant (because I had no clue) and I read about how those can cause miscarriages so I have been extremely worried.

We had our ultrasound today (and I don't have a scanner that works so I couldn't post it, but there isn't much to see but a peanut shape) and the baby is tiny, only a little over 2cms. It made me really excited but a litte nervous at the same time. Each pregnancy has been completely different, but I do remember the pain of the contractions I had all the time with Ali and I'm not looking forward to that. I got all of my blood drawn today too and wasn't faint afterwords so that was nice. We do have a name picked out for a boy, but girl's names are the hardest for us!!

The last High School Graduate

2009-06-07T23:37:00.001-07:00

Kaitlin graduated Friday!! It is crazy to think that the youngest of our family is graduated high school. She's attending Eastern Washington University in the fall and we are so excited to have her closer to us!! She will be graduating from Big Bend Community College as well Friday, June 12. She has enjoyed high school, but is looking forward to starting a new chapter in her life. This year they got to choose who they could walk with since they were doing it on the new turf field so Kait asked Kale Daniels-Brown. We are all so proud of Kaitlin and her accomplishments. She's worked so hard and gotten awesome grades. Way to go!!

Kait and her mini me!!

All of the kids who could make it. Ben is still on his mission in Argentina and Rog was working. :(

The PROUD parents!!

Some of the Sanchez family with Kait.

Kale and Kait.

Sisters!!

My angel looking for her "Kay Kay".

Dancing

2009-05-29T17:23:00.000-07:00

Ethan and Ali love to dance so when we're in the car they keep it on up while we're driving. Look at this!! Karissa took it with her phone so it's not that clear but so stinkin' cute!!! I love these two!!

Results...

2009-05-27T08:53:00.000-07:00

This morning the doctor called to let me know the results from Ali's VCUG yesterday. She said the ultrasound went perfect and Ali doesn't have reflux. She did however say that just because that didn't show we still might have problems with her getting UTI's so to keep a watch on her and her fevers for sure because if it happens again it'll probably be within the next six months. We still have to take her in sometime this week to get her blood drawn again because that was a little funky but hopefully just from the infection. We are super relieved and hope that things stay normal for her. I just can't imagine if things get worse and that tiny little girl has to have surgery. It would not be fun!

My blood tests came back normal so that was awesome because I have been worried about it. I am still having pain but just trying to cope with it. The doctor knows I'm tender so she's a little concerned. If I continue to have the pain I might ask about getting my gallbladder checked because other people have told me they have had different symptoms than the normal ones (for gallbladder) and it was their gallbladder.

We had a great memorial day weekend with the family in Moses Lake and I'll hopefully get some video up from it.

Me, Ali, and what's to come.

2009-05-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

Almost two weeks ago I went in again for more pain in my stomach. They couldn't find anything with the CT scan this time and the doctor told me I should just wait for the pain to worsen and it'll probably be my appendix that they take out. So...I'm just waiting. My mom said her appendix hurt all summer long before she got an attack so I don't know if it'll be the same for me but I wish it would just get it over with. I have two kids I need to take care of... I had a follow up with my doctor Friday and everything on my right side was still super tender. She said she was also concerned because my blood work was a little wacky so she had another blood test done to check stuff. Hopefully I'll hear back on those soon.

Now to the sad part. Last Saturday we took Ali into the ER because she had a fever of 102 and it wasn't breaking with Tylenol so we were worried that it could be strep or something. Well she saw a PA and he said she sounded good so it might be a virus and asked if I would mind her getting a urine catheter to see if it might be a UTI. Well it was definitely a UTI. He told me since she had a fever it was most likely a kidney infection now and not just a bladder infection. She got shots of antibiotics and a prescription and we were on our way. Sunday she seemed to act a little better but by Monday she wasn't eating or drinking anything and I had only changed her diaper twice but only to find that she was dry so since it had been 48 hours by Monday night we decided to take her back in since she still had a fever as well. The doctor we saw at Deaconess was super nice but concerned. He told us she was going to have to be hooked up to IV's and she'd be transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart since they didn't have a Pediatric department at Deaconess anymore. The first nurse couldn't get an IV in her so she made another nurse do it who had worked with kids before so she got it in on the first try. Ali was super strong and fought them the whole time, but she was a lot happier once it was finally in. She cried the whole time we were at Deaconess. It was sad to see her so upset, but once we got to Sacred Heart she had gotten a little bit brighter and I think just happier to be in a new place. It was about 2AM by the time Roger left us there and went back to help Karissa with Ethan. It's been a blessing to have Karissa living with us the last couple weeks because we've needed her help with all of us going into the ER. Ali and I didn't get much sleep that night with the nurse coming in to check on her every two hours. And I was just so concerned and worried for her...to be honest I haven't slept well since I was in the hospital the first time unless I take pain killers. Tuesday morning she was still so exhausted she slept most of the day and was not acting like herself at all. She wouldn't give kisses, smile, or even walk. She just wanted to cuddle and lay there and if any of you know her you know she is independent and wants to be left alone to do things on her own. And always has a smile on her face. I called my mom crying because I was super concerned and knew that they would be doing an ultrasound on her kidneys which I was afraid wouldn't be good. My mom has been so busy with photo shoots and proofing sessions she couldn't make it up to be with us so she called my dad and asked him to come and help as well as give Ali a blessing with Roger. Kaitlin also showed up and surprised us. We were happy to have family there to lighten the mood. Ali loves her grandpa and laid with him for a good hour and a half. Every time the nurse came in she would sink down and hide from them on the side of my dad. It was cute. She did not want to be poked at any longer. The IV kept getting bent in her arm so the pump was constantly beeping. The doctor informed us Tuesday that she would have to stay another night to make sure she kept her fever down and to watch what she was eating/drinking. Wednesday the doctor came in and woke us up that morning...which was actually at 10:30AM but she came a lot later Tuesday so we weren't expecting her there so soon. Ali had woke up at 4AM and was awake with me for an hour and a half so she was still tired. The doctor told me that there was some dilation at the openings of her kidneys so we would have to do a different ultrasound called a VCUG. It is a test where they light up the kidneys and tubes to the bladder and see if there is reflex back up to the kidneys when she is urinating. It won't be fun for her to have to get another catheter, but I want to make sure she isn't going to keep having these UTI's. We had a follow up with her doctor Thursday and she seemed good so she wasn't worried but did schedule the VCUG for the 26th so we'll see what happens. She is pretty much back to her normal happy self. The funniest thing she's been doing lately is when we ask her where her mouth is she opens it super wide. I hope we can find out camcorder's charger so we can get a video of it because it's so CUTE!!

I thought that April but was a bad month but I think it was just preparing me for what was to come with my little girl. All in all this has been scary but I'm grateful to know that she's doing better and happier. She has to take the antibiotics for another 5 days. Thanks for all of the family that has been praying for her. It really has helped. Oh and I feel like I don't know anything that's been going on with everyone else...it's going to take me a while to get caught up...

Our 4th Anniversary and Roger's Phlebotomy Graduation Party

2009-05-01T23:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, April 30, was Roger and my 4th Anniversary. We had a fun day! He surprised me when he came home from his first class with roses and gerber daisies ((pictured below.) I love how the temple where we were sealed is right behind it). I was excited and then while he was in his next class Karissa helped me with the kids and we went to Walmart and got him the Call of Duty game for his xbox 360. He loved it. I guess it wasn't the exact one that he wanted but it is the same one that his friends have so he can at least play people he knows online with it. He was super surprised because he had no clue. He had a lab for his A&P class that night so we waited until he got home to head out to town. We went to Twigs for dinner. We hadn't been there before so we decided to try it out. He got a chicken teriyaki pita and I got a oriental chicken salad but we traded half way through because we both liked the others as well. It was a yummy place. They have three restaurants in the Spokane area so if you are in Spokane and want a new place to try you should go there. We were done eating at 10pm and we had two hours until the new X-men Origins movie came out so we decided to camp out in the theater and wait since nothing else was open. It was funny because so many people were in there the whole time and talking about the comic book club they have and how we all knew what they were talking about because we were all NERDS. Lol...too funny because I've never read a comic in my life! I love the movies though!! It was cool. About an hour before the movie started people had blown up beach balls throwing them all around. Roger was fun to watch during that because he had his arms out trying to block them the whole time so I wouldn't get smashed in the face! He's so sweet! I could defend myself pretty well though. I think he was impressed by my quick reflexes. Karissa watched our kids and we were so happy to get to enjoy such a cool day together. It's funny cause the day we got married we went to Spokane, to stay in the Davenport hotel (fabulous, gorgeous hotel) since we only had like two night before Roger had to be back to class at Big Bend, and ate downtown and went to a movie in that same theater. (We wouldn't have endeavored out of our room if I hadn't been on my monthly. Yes women I started my monthly the morning we got married. I was in tears quite a bit that day about it) Roger finished his Phlebotomy classes and the last day they had a party to celebrate. This is our family together at the party. My mom, sister, Karissa, Chris, and Antonio came to support him. My dad couldn't make it because he had a work meeting in Tri-Cities. We are all so proud of him. It was a tough ten weeks, but we made it through and it'll help him in the long run. He loves the medical field. It was cool because his instructor said they were the best class he's ever taught. They all finished with A's and none of them had any complaints from their clinical setting jobs which was impressive. Roger got an awesome letter of recommendation from the lady who taught him things at the Rockwood lab in Cheney. She said she doesn't give out letters of recommendation to anyone, but was insistant on giving one to Roger because she was so impressed with his work. Good job babe!! You are the best!

Man my babies are getting big....

Potty Training

2009-04-23T11:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I started potty training Ethan. Hopefully we can get through this before he gets a spout of diarrhea again. He doesn't tell me he pees until afterwards so I'm having a hard time getting him to tell me. I constantly take him to the toilet but he never goes when he's on it. What do I do? I need some advice from some moms who have done this and can tell me what I'm doing wrong. I know he can control when he goes but he won't. He gets on the toilet and just begs for candy because he knows if he goes he will get rewarded. After he poops in his diaper, yes luckily he was wearing a diaper at that time because I was sick of peepee underwears, he comes to me right away and lays down and says poopy. So HE KNOWS!!! Please any advice would be greatly appreciated. I've read a book about it and how to put them on before every main thing during the day but it isn't helping...maybe I'm just being too inpatient..

Me...in the hospital?

2009-04-19T10:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, I was in the hospital Thursday from 3pm until yesterday at 10:40am.

Thursday morning I woke up and did some editing work on Breanna Haddican's Miss Teen pictures. (Which are gorgeous by the way. If you have my mom on your facebook you can see them there.) My mom was having a client over at 1pm to have a consultation and so I had decided to help get things cleaned up while she was in the shower. I swept, cleaned the kitchen, picked up the toys, straightened up the pillows on all the couches, put misplaced papers away, etc. While I was cleaning I felt nauseous and I thought it was because I hadn't eaten anything yet that day. So I ate some toast with raspberry jam. I still didn't feel ok. I decided I should go lay down and since it was Ethan's nap time I figured I could probably get him to lay down with me. Ali was already down for her morning nap. He would not lay still but I did NOT have the energy to go chasing after him and my RIGHT side was killing me. My stomach and back were aching me so bad on the right side and I wanted to throw up. I kept running to the bathroom. I felt like I couldn't move or the pain would increase. I was even crawling on the floor from the toilet to the bed. I couldn't get anything up at first than I threw up. It was not fun. I talked to my dad over the phone and explained my symptoms. He said maybe my appendix or kidney stones, but said kidney stones aren't as common in people my age. I was scared if it was my appendix but also knew I did NOT want the pain anymore. I laid in bed for a while and decided I better take a shower in case I decided it was time to go to the ER. I took a shower and made it to my room where I immediately ran to the bathroom throwing up. It was then that I decided I better go. My mom had a doctor's appointment to get adjusted because her jaw was bugging her and my sister had to take her so I had Karissa help me get the kids in the yukon and had her drop me off at the ER. I didn't want to be alone, but also knew I couldn't deal with the pain or the throwing up on my own. They got me back right away. They did a urine test (and because I was on my monthly it showed blood) so they made me get a urine catheter to make it a clean sample. That was not fun. A PA named Chad saw me and explained that he thought it was kidney stones or appendix too. He said they would do a CT scan to help rule things out.

It took an hour to get the CT results back and they said I had a partial bowel obstruction. My thought immediately went to a family friend we have that had a complete bowel obstruction and had heard of the awful pain she went through. They said in order for it to be fine again I would need an NG tube down my nose into my stomach to relieve the pressure. The tube would suck everything out of my stomach and let the bowels be loosened. If it didn't work and if it were to get more serious I would have to have surgery. The sound of the tube just made me want to crawl into a ball, but I knew it was that or probably get worse so they put the tube in..is it fair to say it hurt worse than labor? Because it so did!! I was screaming and yelled and said "NO". Not fun!!! It takes a lot of me to say it hurt worse than labor since I had Ethan natural and he weighed 9lbs. I am telling you that hurt...but this was excruciating pain in my nose!! No one should have to feel pain like that!! At least not when they are awake!! I felt bad because I knew the nursing student who was helping the RN put the tube in and she did not want to do that to me. I knew it was her job though and was not mad at them...just mad at my body for doing this to me. I felt like a truck had hit me in the stomach...

The tube was in so it was time for me to get moved out of the ER because they had a lot more emergent patients that needed the area I was in. My mom had gotten to the hospital after I got the CT scan and my dad arrived just before they put the NG tube in so they got to witness me so mad and hurting. My mom was relieved my dad was there because he just talked me through it all. He kept telling me to take deep breaths and then when it was time to swallow the tube down coached me through that. I'm sure the nurses would've been louder about it if he hadn't been there but he'd done it to so many people all I could hear was his comforting voice. I felt like a baby!! After the tube was in I just cried. I was so happy Roger wasn't there to witness it all. He would not have been happy to see me like that. We told him to stay in Spokane because he had a test and a paper due the next day so we didn't want him to be here until we knew what was going to happen for sure.

That night Dr. Carter came in and saw me. She thought I didn't really need the tube but as long as I had it in I wasn't taking it out in fear that they'd have to put it back down again. My dad and my Poppy gave me an incredible blessing and I was feeling relieved, but still in pain. They kept me on some good drugs for the pain and gave me Zofran (which was my best friend during Ethan's pregnancy) for the nausea. The next morning Dr. Carter came in at 6:55am and I had already had my blood drawn by then, but no x-ray so they sent me down for an x-ray. Let me just say Moses Lake is so small....I knew the x-ray tech too....yay I get to see tons of people with this tube stickin' out of my nose like an elephant!! The nurse told me that the doctor would be back in at lunch to tell me the plans....lunch came and went...no doctor...no results...around 4pm the nurse said if she hadn't heard from the doctor she would call her and ask what the plan was...so she couldn't get a hold of her at 5pm so she got a hold of another on call doctor. He said he would be taking over and told her to take the tube out and if I could keep food down the next morning I could probably go home since the x-ray didn't show anything so they assumed everything is fine.

Friday night I had liquids and kept them down and then Saturday morning I ate some eggs and kept them down. I really didn't want to stay there any longer if it just meant I would just keep getting pain meds and nausea medicine because I could do that at home. Roger had made it there Friday afternoon and wasn't expecting to see me like that. He thought it was different. It was gross to see the food I had eaten coming out of my nose in liquid form and into a bucket.

They think I just had a virus and it caused my bowel to get obstructed when I got the CT scan because I've never had any surgeries in there anywhere. I still have crazy pain and am constantly nauseous so I don't know what is going to happen but for now I have medicine to help. Most importantly I got migraine medicine. It has helped quite a bit. The first night I was in the hospital I could NOT sleep. I was up all night staring at the wall hoping it would be morning for results...which never happened anyways. My migraine was pounding for three days.

I am happy to be home, but sad that my husband can't stay here in Moses Lake with me because he has to get back to school. I'm lucky that his job was understanding and let him off this weekend to come be with me.

I thought I better get this up because people keep asking me what happened so I thought it'd be easier to get written down to read. Thanks for all of the love.

ER visit

2009-04-14T17:25:00.000-07:00

So yesterday my babies were both having lots of watery diarrhea. We have gotten them to keep down bread, crackers, applesauce, cheese, and yogurt so we're hoping the throwing up has completely subsided. I am still being picky as to what I feed them though in fear they will get sick again since Ali did throw up Sunday night and hadn't since Thursday. After talking with my dad a lot and then talking with Roger, we decided they needed to be seen again to make sure it wasn't something serious. I mean three weeks of diarrhea is NOT normal.

I stayed in Moses Lake since I'd rather have them be sick in my mom's house, because she has hardwood floors downstairs and they are easier to clean than the cheap carpet in my apartment, my only option was to take them to the ER for insurance purposes. I had talked to the doctor's office in Cheney and they had reassured me that his stool sample results came back negative/normal. But this go around (the past week) it looks completely different and the consistancy was different as well. (Sorry if this is TMI but I want people who have wondered what's happening to know.)

My mom and I made our way to the hospital this morning. The nurse that checked us in tried to get me to stop them from drinking right away when I said the symptoms. I said "no my doctor told me to keep them hydrated" and she said"well the diarrhea will of course be more watery with the fluids". How come it wasn't watery to begin with then lady because he's been drinking fluids from the beginning!!! Then we went back and saw a nurse practitioner. She looked at them said she thought it was the rotavirus, went out of the room for five minutes, came back and said "It's a virus. You need to keep doing what you are doing because they are staying plenty hydrated. I can give you another stool cup if you WANT." What is the WANT part about? I had just told her my boy has had diarrhea for three weeks!!! My gosh I would think they'd want to do another stool test. I told her I wanted another stool test just so I could be at peace and make sure that was all it was and nothing more serious. She was a little shocked...but I wasn't going to take another virus answer if it's going to keep on going and going for another three weeks. He's losing weight and not to mention so is his sister who has no weight to lose. The nurse came back in with instructions and acted like I didn't know what I was doing and told me everything I should be doing again...which is WHAT I HAD BEEN DOING for THREE WEEKS!!! I guess the most frustrating part is just sitting by and waiting for things to go away because it feels like they aren't.

I am happy to say that neither one has thrown up since Sunday. And they both have only had one diarrhea diaper today. I am supposed to go to the Beauty and the Beast play with them tonight and I'm thinking they'll be just fine. I have a stool sample ready for Ethan again. I'm just waiting for Ali. Viruses are no fun.... but there is no way they are contagious anymore since they've had it for a week. Yay for that good news!!

And it continues on...

2009-04-12T10:08:00.001-07:00

Ethan is still sick...Diarrhea was hard when it was up to five times a day but now he's added in throwing up. I took a stool sample in Wednesday, but have yet to hear the results. Since we are in Moses for Easter my dad has seen him and says he thinks he might have Rotavirus, but we'll have to see. He said that most of the time with Rotavirus they feel crummier than Ethan is acting so he's just saying we'll have to see what the results say. He had me call the on call doctor at the Rockwood Clinic where Ethan has been seen to tell them what's been going on and to see if they'd find out the stool sample results but she told me it took DAYS. My dad said only usually 48 hours so I think she just didn't want to call because it sounded like she was busy cleaning her house or something when I was on the phone with her. She told me to just keep doing what we're doing. BLAH BLAH BLAH.... I think what I hate the most about babies being sick (or even viruses in general) is that you can't do anything but wait it out when all you want to do is give them something to make them feel better. I think we might get some phenergen suppositories and see if it helps him to just keep things down. With the diarrhea and throwing up he's gotten super skinny and looks so pale.

We are supposed to be at church with everyone right now, but last night he threw up after not throwing up for like 18 hours and then this morning when he woke up he just kept throwing up. Roger hasn't seen him throw up because he didn't get here until late last night, but he's been a SUPER dad and helped him to the toilet to throw up. E's begging for crackers because he's so hungry. I was super excited for the kids to get dressed up in their Easter outfits, but I guess we'll just have to take pictures another day. I am just thankful that I have my babies to hold onto. They are both incredibly strong and fight back so I'm sure we'll be through this sooner than later. (I'll keep my fingers crossed anyways.)

HAPPY EASTER to EVERYONE! I hope your day is filled with plenty of blessings and always remember Christ during this holiday. I know I do. It's incredible to me to think of what he went through for us. How wonderful is that? All of our lives are eternally blessed for being here on Earth.

My shoe stealer...and my sick one

2009-04-03T23:11:00.000-07:00

I went in their room and found them together like this. I didn't even know Ali could climb in there, but I was wrong because she can. She can climb just about anything or at least tries. She's definitely brave! As you can tell Ali is not comfortable at all!!

Ethan has had the crud (diarrhea) for the last 10 days and I took him in Thursday to the doctor because I had tried the BRAT diet because dairy isn't good on the tummy and it wasn't getting better so I was told by many people to take him to get checked out. Well the doctor told me they don't get really concerned unless it had been going on for a couple weeks. It concerns me though because my kid doesn't poop that often. I mean usually once a day but not multiple times (2-5) and not diarrhea that much so I was concerned and his bum was getting really irritated and he's always been lucky to not get diaper rash because he has the olive toned skin. So she told me to wait a few more days and if it doesn't get better to then do the stool kit they gave me to test everything and make sure he is okay. If he has it again I'm going to do the kit. Poor boy...while we were waiting for them to put the kit together by the lab, the lady was talking to him and he lifted up his shirt and pointed at his tummy and said "ouchy"! It hurts my heart to see him like that.

Ali is definitely a shoe stealer! She carries around everyone's shoes all the time. While we were in the mall the other day this little boy was getting his shoes on and Ali went right over and took his shoe. I had to go and give it back and tell her to stop stealing shoes. She's so cute!

When will the snow ever end?

2009-03-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

These are my kids today..."What the heck mom it snowed again! When will we ever be able to play outside? How come it can be sunny in Moses Lake but snowing in Cheney?" Okay so maybe it's me complaining more than them, but everyone else has sunny days but us! I hate it and yes that is still a snow pile next to that car....It's seriously gotten ridiculous. We have changed our diets in this house...well I guess I should just say we are eating healthier although this weather makes me want to cuddle up and dive into some chocolate..I resist. (with an occasional sneaky bite) And I know that in order for me to lose these baby pounds I have to exercise and I am just not down with running in the cold...I hope I can just suck it up this week and start because I know I have to start somewhere...but my dang hip is killing me..in fact so much that it kept us home from church today. While I was in the shower it was killing me to just stand straight that I started crying. I have no idea what I did but it's not good. My dad says I probably just slept on it wrong, but than why does it kill me? Yes I am complaining again..LOL I think I might try to call a D.O. this week and see if I can get some adjustments to see if it'll help my whole body feel better. I had a doctor's apointment last week to get bloodwork and things came back normal so I guess I'm just a run down mom that has no motivation...I put the kids in Ali's crib because I thought it'd be easier to get a picture of them if they were a little more confined...I actually think it was tougher! I love her little grin!

You can see Ethan's Lighting McQueen bed in the back. He wouldn't give me a good smile...this'll do.

Ali always cheeses it up for me!

He had to climb in the window....that's my boy!

Roger had his spring break last week, but didn't get a real break since he is still doing his phlebotomy course. He had clinical hours this week too at the local Rockwood clinic. He is really enjoying being in the medical field already. As for me we did sports pictures the week before so I'm working hard trying to get them edited. Life couldn't be busier....well maybe just a little. I think if I can't find time for Roger to watch the kids since I don't really have any clue how this next quarter will go I'm going to look into buying a jogging stroller. Anyone have any suggestions on a double jogging stroller?

6th Place

2009-03-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

is awesome!! We won the first two games and lost the last two!! The girls played really well the first two nights and the third night just couldn't sink anything. The last game Carly Noyes got kicked in the ankle so was out of most of the game. We still managed to keep it close until the end and everyone was proud of the girls for not giving up once they knew Carly would be out the rest of the game.

Kaitlin with the kids after their second game! They'd get so excited to see their aunt KK

Kait got some air! She played tough...with some great steals, rebounds, points, and swats.

They wore their pink shoelaces the rest of the season after breast cancer awareness day for luck.

Waiting for the ball to come down...

Their last game was for 3rd or 6th place and we still can't quite figure out why they do the brackets that way instead of 3rd and 4th place.

Grandma and Poppy Waites made it up for the game Friday night and stayed for the game Saturday as well. We were all happy to see them. They have always been big supporters of our sports events!! We love them so much!! Alyssa was a great help with the kids and I'm grateful she could come!!

All in all it was a good state tournament for Moses Lake....but we're sad that this will be the end of the Bill Waites Jr. family sports careers at MLHS. Kaitlin graduates in June!!! Yay!

Looking forward to the next generations to come...

Ali just loves Kaitlin. Good thing she's planning on attending Eastern in the fall!! :)

We are headed to State Basketball in Seattle!!

2009-03-04T04:55:00.000-08:00

Kaitlin's team made it to state this year and we couldn't be more excited for her. I am looking forward to going and supporting her all the way! I hope they win!! It's been a great season and we are all way proud! So I am off with my parents and my cousin Alyssa (to help me control my kiddos) to Seattle for state. We are going to miss Roger, but he has a lot of school stuff going on. You can see pictures of their team here - http://juliewaitesphotography.com/blog.

I stayed up all night making these shirts for the kids to wear. I didn't know about Kait going to state for sure until they won their game Friday so I'd been thinking in my mind of all these ideas. I finally had a chance to work on them once I got to Moses and got some fabric paint! I'm not sure which is my favorite. It was fun designing something like this. All I needed was some freezer paper, fabric paint, a few iron-ons, and blank t-shirts!! I really like how I put the basketball going into the pocket on Ethan's black shirt..I wanted to make it look a little more manly since it had gold letters. The first ones are the same with the go chiefs on the front and the 34 is on the back. I love the internet because it's how I found out about freezer paper!! Wahoo!!

What I loved in February...

2009-03-02T16:20:00.001-08:00

I previously wrote about my mom watching the kids for me. Well the last full weekend in February she offered to watch them again so I could give my bedroom (and laundry) some much needed attention. It also gave Roger and I a chance to go out after work one night to see Taken. That was really all we had time for so we didn't get to enjoy a nice meal out together. :( I had spent most of that previous week in Moses Lake going to my sister's basketball game and watching Natalie so Roger hadn't seen the kids for a week. The picture above is what they did with him after they got a little of attention playing on the floor with him the night we got home. They just all cuddled up and watch Wall-E, Ethan's most recent favorite movie. My mom got him the Wall-E pillow. I love that my kids adore their dad so much. Ali has recently become really attached to him and would rather be with him than me.

This is our clean bedroom. There are some people I haven't allowed to go in here because of the dreaded laundry everywhere. To be honest we just have way too many clothing items to just fit in this dresser and our closet. Roger has almost his whole wardrobe in the kid's closet and I have some of mine in ours. We have a lot of work out type clothes though that need a place since our dresser is full so we will have to find something!! We got this bedroom set shortly before Ethan was born because my mom suggested us to have a headboard since I would be nursing at night and it has been a life saver. I am so happy we made this purchase early on in our marriage! I know I need some cute bedding to go along with it but I just can't find the right duvet cover for our down comforter. Oh and yes our walls are bare. I am working on that because we have beautiful wedding canvas' to hang. I also love that I got to have a clean room in February. A lot of you might think I'm a slacker, but since I don't spend anytime in our room but to sleep it is the last room on my agenda to be cleaned...everything else has my complete attention first!

I'd have to say we are ready for Spring at our place!!!

2009-02-27T11:46:00.000-08:00

Besides the fact that I can't wait to put the kids in their spring clothes....

I just want to be able to go outside and play with the kids.... I feel like this about it....
As you can tell Ali is sick of being cooped up as well!

So who is with me? This 30 degree weather needs to go!!

Babysitting!!

2009-02-26T15:59:00.001-08:00

Last week Camery texted me and asked if I would be in town Wednesday and Thursday of that week because she was looking for a babysitter to fill in for her regular babysitter. I was so excited, because not only had Roger just started his phlebotomy class (which means I don't really see him from 9am to 9pm so I knew he wouldn't miss me terribly), but because Natalie is such a fun little girl and I knew it would be fun for my kids to get to play with someone else!!

I have known Camery since I was a little girl, but our friendship didn't really start until I worked with her when I was in high school at Dr. Earl's office. She has always been such a good friend to me and an even better example. She was always there to give me advice when I needed it and let me tell you she had some awesome advice!! I am happy our friendship has continued over the years even though I moved across the country and back! She probably doesn't realize how much fun I have every time we get together! I look forward to continue to enjoy her company and getting to play with her little girl as she grows! Camery is such a great mom and while I was watching Natalie I really got to see how great she has been at teaching Natalie things. Natalie was super independent which made it even easier on my part.

The first day I enjoyed getting to know Natalie and her personality. The second day we danced, sang, ate popcorn, and watched movies!

She liked to switch the lights "on" and "off" which she learned from Ethan. LOL. Ali loves Blaze!! Remember when Ethan did this same thing? And even still does!!
Natalie wouldn't look at the camera for me, but I sure tried!!

They all loved the popcorn.

Soon after these pictures the popcorn was spilled everywhere! My mom put them on blankets and drug them all around the hard wood floors and they laughed so hard!! I think my mom enjoyed it as much as I did because it reminded her of her babysitting days when all the kids on the block would be at our house.

Thanks Camery for asking me to babysit. We really had tons of fun and I hope you don't hesitate to ask next time you need someone. It's always fun to see some familiar and fun faces!!

Crazy Silly Boy

2009-02-15T09:58:00.001-08:00

I was going through pictures the other day and noticed that I hardly had any recent photos of Ethan. It is because he hates the camera, but I was determined to get some pictures. It was crazy because it took me over half an hour to get these four pictures. When he actually smiled for me a couple times my card was full so I'd have to delete pictures to try and get it. I know that is a no no, but I didn't want to take the time to replace it with another card. I just wanted to get the pictures!! Again you will notice Lightning McQueen in his pictures. I don't know when this phase is going to end, but I have a feeling it will go on for a while. He has to have his car constantly and even when he goes to bed at night!

My mom watched our kids for us last weekend and we were so thankful, because we needed to spend some quality time dejunking our apartment. You can't tell much right now because our stupid dishwasher broke for the third time! Argh I'm so sick of hand washing dishes because it hurts my back so bad to lean over the sink. And our water doesn't stay hot that long so I can only do a few at a time. Roger told me that the manager called Friday afternoon and they will be replacing the dishwasher! Wahoo! I don't want them to try and replace the motor again and have it burn out AGAIN.

Can you tell he is telling me, "NO!"?
Ethan and Ali had so much fun at Nana's house. My mom said that Ethan only woke up screaming for me in the middle of the night and thought that Kaitlin was me so he went back to sleep, but other than that they never cried for us. My mom really enjoyed having them and we've talked about doing it once a month so Roger and I can spend some time together and clean the things I can't clean when the kids are here. Roger is so busy with everything I hardly see him!

Shots = Sick Baby

2009-02-13T10:03:00.000-08:00

Ali hasn't done good since she got her six shots. You can read about hers and Ethan's well child visits below. She was fine for most of the day yesterday, but last night her fever got high and this morning she was clinging to me and only wanted to cuddle. That is so unlike my little munchkin, but she's feeling a little better. I took these pictures when she was sitting on the couch eating her munchies and she never just sits so you know she feels sick. She loves the camera so even though she didn't feel good she had to pull some smiles for me! I have definitely enjoyed her cuddles!!
They love the backyardigans!

The snacks ended up all over the couch after I took these pictures. And no Ethan hadn't had a bath yet, because he fights me every time and since Ali needed me I decided I'd wait and have him get in the shower with me when she goes down for her nap!

1 Year and 2 Year Well Child Visits

2009-02-12T13:46:00.000-08:00

Aliana and Ethan got caught up on their well child checks today. I don't know what I was thinking scheduling them during Roger's class. For some reason I thought I could do it by myself. At the last minute he decided he would just go to the later class so that he could help me. I was so thankful because man were the little pills. I couldn't believe how crazy they were acting. They do like to explore new places so I guess maybe that was just what they wanted to do.

Aliana got checked out first. She weighed in at a whopping 17.5 pounds! Oh my goodness I knew she was light, but she is just not gaining weight. The weird thing is is that she can put away food like no other and as soon as she is hungry she lets me know it. For weight she was in the 2%, but for height she was 81% at 30.5 inches. Her head measured at 16.5 inches, but didn't get the percentile on that. I'm guessing it's just under average because she's never had a big head. Everything else checked out good for her. She was still for the doctor and let her check her over good, but as soon as she was back in my arms we just wrestled around the whole time. She wanted down. There was no way I was putting her naked body on that exam room floor. She got six shots so she could get caught up on her shots. One was the flu shot. They said that a lot of their cases last year were diagnosed in February and March and their first two cases this year were last week so we decided to get them flu shots even though I thought it might be a little late in the season already.

Ethan got checked last and man did he hate it! He weighed 29 lbs. so he was 51% for weight and 53% for height at 35.1 inches. His head was 19 inches in size and was 31%. All in all I call him my average kid. When he was born and for the first 6-9 months he was a big boy, but he's evened out. It's crazy how kids in the same family can be so completely different. I'm sure that they are opposite sexes has something to do with as well. He was not too happy with the doctor. I had to get right in his face for him to lay down while they looked over him and tried to bribe him with chocolate. He doesn't have to go back until he's 3 so I'm hoping he'll be a little better, but I've been reading that 3 is worse than 2 so who knows!! Ethan got a flu shot and his second hepatitis A shot. He was not happy about that. He got his shots before Ali and so when I took him out and she went in to get hers he knew right away and kept crying for "Ali". It was so sad! He did not like having band aids on his legs either. He wanted them off right away! I told the doctor about Ethan's sleep walking spells. I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but since he's been going to bed in his bed he will wake up 2-4 hours after he falls asleep and come into our room and just stand there in Roger's face staring at him. He doesn't cry or say anything so Roger will put him in bed with us and he just lies there his eyes wide open. I try to comfort him and talk to him and make facial expressions at him and he just stares blankly. It's really kind of freaky so hopefully he can move on from it. The doctor thought he was young to have started doing it already, but not unheard of. I guess we're just lucky he hasn't hurt himself doing it.

My ARTIST!

2009-02-04T18:14:00.000-08:00

I'm convinced Ethan will be an incredible artist just like his father!! LOL. I know that he is just learning, but it's like he goes out of his way to look for pens or markers!! I'm constantly chasing after him when he finds one. I've decided that I've waited too long to buy him some crayons so hopefully tonight or tomorrow I will be making a trip to the store to get him some. Walmart is about 15 minutes away so I just have to find time to go!! I gave him coloring book pages printed from the internet to color with a pen and once he got bored of them his body was the only other thing he could think of to color while he was locked in his high chair! Atleast when he has crayons he can't color on himself or his clothes!! Don't you think his tattoo work is beautiful? Notice it under his chin as well??

I'm feeling...

2009-02-03T17:49:00.000-08:00

like today is a good day. I registered this morning for my last two quarters of classes!! WAHOO!! Now I'm guessing many of you didn't know that after I had Ethan I continued to pursue my degree. After going to one full semester at Southern Virginia University and then not finishing full time the second semester because of morning sickness (mind you I had biology at 7am so that was definitely not going to happen with a lab that had rotten milk in it) I felt a little discouraged, but wasn't too hurt because I wanted to be a mom!! I am getting my bachelor's degree in Business Management!! After this quarter I only have 5 more classes so they are dividing it so that I have 3 classes next quarter and then my last quarter I will have my senior project and an elective of my choice! I can't believe it's finally coming to a close. It feels like it's taken forever. When I started back to school again my school only requires 2 classes a quarter to be full time because most students are parents or have full time jobs as well so it works out great. It is based on the east coast and since that was where we were originally I just felt safe going with it, but it's worked out great here in Washington as well. If any of you are interested in completing your degree because you are so close you should think about it. It's called Strayer University Online and there isn't different tuition for being out of state.

So the debate is whether or not I should continue on and get my Master's Degree. I have been thinking about it since Roger will still be in school. I haven't gotten any information on it yet, but if I could do it than why not right? I eventually would love to have a couple different businesses and I'm not just talking about the stuff I'm already doing, but much more...

I have learned so much about how a business should be run and where your money should be invested in order to succeed with these classes and I love it. I am definitely happy my family and Roger talked me into continuing on to get my degree. I was so close after high school with already having my associate's and all I wanted to be was a mom, but I feel good about knowing if I have to support my family someday it is completely possible!! Today has been a good day...although I have a stinkin' headache...but that's what my days consist of anyways...

It's Ethan time!!

2009-01-29T13:22:00.000-08:00

Ethan has been doing some funny things lately so I'd thought I'd post them so I could remember them in the future. Two weeks ago I was in Moses Lake helping out with sports photos and my aunt Angie babysat the kids for me. It was Ali's birthday and we had gotten tons of pictures of her, but Ethan wouldn't look at the camera for the world. So I was shocked when I came home and Angie showed me this cute picture that he posed for for her. She took it with her iPhone. She told him to say "cheese" and he did and held it for her!! Isn't he just a cutie? And yes you can see little Ali in the background clutching her bear.
* While I was there one night I was taking Ethan to bed and told him to tell my parents "love you" and he totally said it. Of course it sounded a lot like "wub you", but hey it's a start!! I was so excited I kept making him say it over and over. Than I realized I probably shouldn't or else he'll get burned out from it and not want to say it for me much more.

* That following week I had set my alarm for 5AM so I could get up and do some work on the computer before the kids woke up. Well my alarm went off and immediately Ethan's eyes came open so I just laid there and tried to pretend like I went back to bed. Well I was peeking a little and he started to pull the covers over his face a little and then he popped out and said "BOO". It was too cute I couldn't stop laughing. I mean at 5AM there isn't anything like your little kid being hilarious when you're dead exhausted. Roger rolled over and said "honey it's early and I need sleep". Since I couldn't stop laughing Ethan said, "boo" and few more times pulling the blanket up and down each time and then I quickly got him back to sleep.

* He has been saying a lot more words. Some of my family members said it was normal for one of their boys to not talk until they were closer to three so I was beginning to accept it until my dad got his new job and he does a lot of well child checks and said Ethan should be saying atleast 30 words by now. Well he attempts 30 words but can't quite finish the ends of all words. The past couple weeks however he has been trying to say almost everything!! I love it!! And I've been trying to teach him colors so he's been saying those as well. I love when he says "lellow" for yellow. It's so cute!!

* Ethan has been so attached to me. You would think that I leave him all the time or something, but no I'm with him too much perhaps!! I don't think we'll ever be able to leave him alone in nursery. It's really hard because Roger and I really want to be able to stay in class and listen, but either one of us is either in there with Ethan or out in the hall with our on-the-go Ali.

* He loves the movie Wall-E now. It's so cute because he says Wall-E all robotic like Wall-E says it in the movie. We didn't know he knew how to do it until we were in Costco one day and walked by a TV that was playing it and he said it and Roger and I just busted up laughing. I guess my cousin Karissa taught him how to say it that way. Too funny.

* For some reason he's been fighting bath time the last couples weeks. He used to love it before so I'm not sure what his deal is. I almost wonder if it's because Ali hogs the faucet the whole time and that's where he used to play.

* He hit mom's nose with the hamper the other night and she has a bruise from it. I feel so bad for her. He's crazy though!! Such a boy! He also likes to call her "mom" for some reason!!

* He hates when things get on his hands such as food, play dough, etc that don't come off just by clapping them together so he's constantly holding his hands out sayings "hands" so I can wipe them for him.

I love this crazy little guy...and I can't get enough of him...I think I need another boy....:)

New Photography Site...

2009-01-24T22:09:00.000-08:00

My mom and I have been working on getting up her new website...and we finally finished...well almost..I still have to add a part in about Mar Edits and Designs, but we are up and running for Julie Waites Photography and that is what matters the most. You can check it out at juliewaitesphotography.com My mom is an amazing photographer and if you know of anyone in the area that needs some done please don't be afraid to shout out her name!!!

*If you are having problems loading the website either there is an ActiveX download bar in yellow at the top of the page you need to allow or you need to download the flash player, but other than that the website should work on your computer. It might take a second to load because there are a lot of pictures on there for the computer to read.

Aliana's Birthday Party

2009-01-23T19:44:00.001-08:00

Sunday we celebrated Ali's birthday. My parents, my grandparents, and my sister came up from Moses Lake. I made chicken enchiladas for lunch and might I add that they turned out delicious!! Aliana opened presents first. We had to wake her up from her nap so her hair is a little crazy in these pictures but she was so excited!!
Ethan couldn't help but help!!

My mom got her a couple dresses and she was so excited!!

She also got her a Belle doll.

She's getting so big!

This was her first reaction when she saw the cake!

My mom ordered a German chocolate cake and a little cake for Ali at Griffin's Bakery in Moses Lake. As you can see Ethan got to it and poked at the bottom layer and the frosting started to melt so the flowers were sliding down, but it still tasted good!

She's interested in that candle. We let Ethan blow it out for her.

At first she wasn't too sure about just diving in.....

And then she was looking around to see if everyone was watching...

And dove in...of course Ethan was upset it wasn't his so we had to let him get up and help!

That green frosting was everywhere!!

I told Ethan to say "cheese" and got this!!

But then I caught this as well!!

Wow look at that face full of cake!

Both of them stuffing their faces at the same time!

What E?

Sneaky Sneaky...trying to take it when she's not looking..

Can you tell that the men are watching the football game in the background? For some reason they weren't into watching Ali and Ethan demolish the cake!! Grandma and Poppy gave her some money to get a gift and we're still looking forward to getting her something...I was thinking about some more 14 kt. gold earrings...one fell out and we can't find it anywhere!!

Sorry if this was a picture overload but it was so hard for me to narrow it down from all the others I had!! These two make me smile all day...well almost all day! :)

He got accepted!!

2009-01-23T17:37:00.000-08:00

Man I'm so happy there was a good outcome!! Yesterday after Roger's interview he wasn't feeling good about it at all because as soon as they asked if he was going to school as well as trying to take this course he said it's like the interview went in a completely different direction. She started telling him he should look into other places to take the course because it was really hard to go to school and do the course because of the time changes once they switch to their clinical work schedule and that he would need to be completely committed and that others in the past have tried it and it hasn't worked. So he came out totally bummed and thought for sure he didn't get in. (One secret I do know about my husband is that he always predicts the worst so then if it comes out bad it's not as bad to deal with, but outcomes almost always come out in his favor. Especially lately!!) We celebrated anyways and went to Olive Garden cause we figured maybe it just wasn't meant to be and dang it's been a long time since we went out!!

Well today about 3:45PM he gets a call and they say, "We're really excited for you, because you got in to the Phlebotomy course!!" Man was he so relieved!! I told him it was just an answer to my prayers!! So Monday he has to go fill out some more paper work for financial aid and he'll start the course on February 16th!! Wahooooo!!! Good Job BABE!!

Roger has an interview...

2009-01-21T18:41:00.000-08:00

This fall we found out about the Phlebotomy course you can take through one of the community colleges here in Spokane so we checked into it for Roger so that he could have a good opportunity working in the medical field before he applies to PA school after this year. It is only offered twice a year and they have anywhere from 75-100 people sign up for the orientation. From those people they only have spots for 20 so he went to the orientation two weeks ago and today he got a call from them telling him he has an interview tomorrow to see if he gets in. While he was at the orientation they had him fill out an application and it asked him a lot of questions about himself and how he has come to be a hard worker. He said he wrote down the most important things he has learned from working at many different places and while serving his mission in Texas. He feels that what he wrote is what got him an interview, because he thought that a lot of people asked random weird questions not even pertaining to the course while at the orientation so it didn't seem like they were all too interested in what the course had in store for them. This week has been a good one for him and I'm hoping he gets accepted. If he gets in he will start the course the second full week of February and the first four weeks are intense with 4 hour classes M-Th from 5-9pm. On top of this course he is taking a full load with two government classes for his major and the second quarter of A&P. He is an extremely hard worker and puts a lot of work into providing for this family. I'm so proud of him....I love you Rog. Keep up the hard work!!

Basketball Pictures

2009-01-20T20:48:00.000-08:00

Last week my mom and I did the boys basketball and girls basketball for Moses Lake High School. Kaitlin is on the girls varsity team and so we took the kids with us in the stroller since we didn't have a sitter. They did so good for all of the girls' teams except for the varsity which worked out fine because the girls loved the kids. Ali walked over to Kaitlin while she was getting her individual take and my mom capture this. Doesn't Ali look so small compared to Kait? That's my little girl!!

Happy Birthday...

2009-01-15T23:19:00.001-08:00

to Aliana!! Yes she is a year old and I am having a hard time believing it. This year has gone by too fast. The following still images were taken today by my mom in five minutes while I worked on our new website that will soon be completed so stay tuned. We wanted to capture her on her special day and I finally figured out that she can have back side pigtails. I have done them in the front and even a little braid, but never in the back. She looks so grown up. I can't believe my BABY is one!!! You can tell by these pictures that she is one busy girl. She went from the living room to the window, from the window to the stairs, from the stairs to the couch, from the couch to the window again, and then to play with blaze. I love her beautiful smile!!!

Sorry that the video quality is so low. If you want to see the high quality version you can go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLSWmBwYpT4&feature=channel_page and underneath the video click on watch in high quality. Some of the pictures cut off on the side too, but I can't change it...

My Ham

2009-01-09T20:40:00.000-08:00

Aliana is my ham!! Oh my heck she smiles all the time...The funniest was when I wanted to take these pictures because she hasn't done this before, but as soon as she noticed I was taking pictures of her she smiled. The first picture below is when she started to realize I was taking a picture and then the next two were what followed. She loves the camera now and I'm lucky, because Ethan is not liking it anymore!! He refuses to look in my direction if he knows I'm holding it.
Cheesy!!!

Ali has been getting into more now that she walks everywhere. And she climbs up anything. She climbed up her crib rails tonight and into Ethan's toddler bed and she will just somersault to get out. It's too funny. I didn't know she could get down from the couch either but she turned right around and slid off. It amazes me at how once these little babies reach a certain age they just go and go!! And they get so determined to do something and they'll finally accomplish it. Over the Christmas break she started really walking just about everywhere and now she's really trying to run because her brother just attacks her all the time so she grabs things and takes off as fast as she can so he can't get her. I love seeing her in a dress at church now because you can actually see it when she walks around and she hated getting all caught up in it when she would crawl. It drove her crazy!! Sunday at church while she was walking around she kept holding her dress up like she was about to curtsy.

Whenever I catch her in something or if she sees me coming (because sometimes I don't realize she's even done anything wrong) and she's getting into something it's like she knows she's going to be in trouble so she babbles and whines at me like, "please mom I'm really not trying to be bad" and than she'll proceed to move away, but as soon as I turn my back she's back into it and just waiting for my return. She gets into way more stuff than Ethan did and he always adds to her mischief. I just caught her getting into the plastic forks and the dish towel drawers. She knew she was caught too!! Earlier she got into Ethan's drawers and pulled out all of his clothes.

Two days ago I was telling Ethan to give me a kiss and he ignored me, but Aliana walked right over to me and kissed me. It was so dang cute! She started giving kisses when we would say "muah" but now kisses when asked for a kiss or beso.

When she walks around she makes this "zzz" sound. It's so cute!! She also holds out her pointing finger like she's pointing at something. Her first word was last week (besides "mama" and "dada") was "car". If she didn't have an older brother obsessed with cars who knows what it would've been. It's so funny because she'll steal the cars from Ethan and book it so he can't get them from her.

My little ham is so fun and cute. She is such a bright little girl already and I can't wait to see the new things she is going to do this next month!! Her birthday is Thursday! Wow I can't believe she'll be a year!!

My Cuddle Bug

2009-01-03T09:19:00.000-08:00

Ethan is definitely my cuddle bug. I have been in Moses Lake for the last three weeks and wishing I could get home to help get my son used to his own bed and room. (Spokane and Cheney have been getting really bad snow storms for those of you who haven't heard so my husband pretty forbid me from coming back for a while until it was cleared up more and now I know why. Our apartment complex's parking lot has piles of snow ten feet tall from them attempting to clear some out and our neon is covered in three feet of snow.) Since we were all previously in one room he would go to bed in his own bed but wake up in the middle of the night crying and I think part of it was because we were in there and he knew it. He would always end up in bed with us. He loves to cuddle and grab hold of my hair when he's tired. This has been going on since he was born and is really starting to annoy me just because he does it at weird times. For instance, while we're watching a movie he'll just stand up on the couch next to me and put his hand in my hair and turn it around his fingers. He is so cute though that I tolerate it for a while but eventually tell him to stop and sit still.

Well last night I got him all ready for bed and read him a book a couple times and turned off the light. He whined a little but soon fell asleep. Instead of putting his hand in my hair which he kept trying to do but just couldn't quite reach it he decided to hold my hand and if he let go to cover himself more with the blanket he would immediately say, "hand" so that I would give him my hand back to hold. While I was doing this Roger came home from work and a friend stopped by so when I slid out of the room he heard them talking and immediately woke up. So Roger said he would help get him back to sleep. One of our New Year's Resolutions was to read scriptures and pray together as a family. I know that this might not work with all of us because Ali goes to bed usually before Roger gets home, but we will try our best. I read a couple of scriptures to Ethan and then we went back to his room again and Roger and I knelt by his bed. He wasn't too sure about that and stayed on his couch. I told him to fold his arms and close his eyes so we could pray. He did so and I started the prayer. Halfway through the prayer he decided he wanted to be by us so he came and knelt down right next to Roger. It was so dang cute. After the prayer we put him back in bed and this time it wasn't just my hand he had to hold it was both of ours. You probably can't imagine this but Roger and I were both cuddled together as close as we could to the bed just so he could hold our hands. This time he fell asleep even faster. I think it was because he had already done it so it wasn't a big deal. I was so proud of him because he didn't cry or throw a fit he just layed there. It was so awesome to have him in his own room and bed. Now I do have to admit that at about 5 AM he ended up back in our bed because he woke up crying, but went calmly back to sleep. Roger and I atleast got to sleep together for a little bit well not really because Ali woke up soon after we went to bed and would not go back to sleep!! Atleast we're working on it!!

I love these two kids and although I'm extremely exhausted at the end of the day I smile when I see their faces! I am so thankful that there is a plan for all of us and having children is part of that plan because without these kids I wouldn't be as happy. They really make me who I am!

Christmas

2008-12-27T16:23:00.000-08:00

We are so lucky to have two wonderful families!! Roger's parents came over (to my parents) for a little while on Christmas Eve to give us gifts and the kids enjoyed seeing them. Ethan loved opening presents and that night is when we learned he said, "cool" when he opens presents. It was so dang cute!! He continued all day on Christmas as well with the, "cool" thing. They got Ethan a little robot which he just loves and they got each of the kids an outfit and they look so adorable in them!! We wished they could've stayed for dinner but since the weather has been bad and they live in Quincy so they wanted to make it back before it got too late amd dark and the roads would've been even more slick. Mom made an awesome Prime Rib dinner for Christmas Eve and Grandma and Poppy joined us all as well. We all got to open our Christmas Pajamas from Mom and Dad. The kids' were so cute. Ali looked adorable in the night gown. We didn't get any pictures on Christmas Eve but my lovely sister-in-law, Brandi, got some and you can see those here. They just got a blog!!! YAY! Mom did a good job getting pictures of Christmas day...we had all just woke up though so please don't criticize us for our droopy eyes because we went to bed at 2 am. We all had fun staying up and talking. Our family..before Santa came...

Then Santa came and left a Lightning McQueen Walking Talking Car for Ethan and a Cabbage Patch Kid for Aliana. He came in and out so fast that this was the only picture we could get!! However, we have a clear video of his quick trip in and out. Can you say hilarious? :) (THANKS DAD) As soon as he left the room Ethan yelled, "CAR!" and ran over and picked it up!! Too cute!
It's a little Mexican cabbage patch kid! Her hair even glows in the dark!

Ethan loved his car and played with it all day. He doesn't really like it to go on the floor though. He'd much rather just hold it.

She loves her baby!

Again with his car. Ethan and Aliana played with the gifts from Santa for a while before we all started opening presents.

Nana and Grandpa got this blanket and frog for Ali.

They also got these car slippers for Ethan

Aliana for this book with bear set.

Kaitlin and Karissa. Karissa flew in from New Mexico Tuesday night and Roger picked her from the airport in Spokane after he got off work and drove straight to Moses. We are so happy to have her here for the holidays but we know the rest of her family misses her a lot.

Ethan got a bear book too.

I'd like to call this the many faces of Ali, because we got tons of cute faces that she makes!

We had biscuits and gravy for breakfast and finally Ben called. We had been waiting for him all morning, but they arrived to the church late so they didn't call when we had expected. We were just relieved to hear him and know that he was safe. He told us some scary stories of the area he's in, but he's been very blessed to be so safe. They haven't been robbed yet and most people have been robbed multiple times by now. He has a little bit of an accent which is cute. I guess I thought that since he's only been out six months he would probably still sound like a white boy but he's sounding latino!! He spoke beautiful spanish...well Rob says he sings but that's how they speak in Argentina. We all got stuff together to go out to Grandma's for our big family dinner and headed that way. We had an amazing dinner around 4:30 and then decided to pick up stuff and sing some Christmas songs as a family. It was wonderful to be around everyone with smiles on their faces as we sang together before we opened gifts!

The Newlyweds

The Beautiful Grandparents who have been married for 51 glorious years! We are all so grateful that they have done so much for all of our families by converting to the church when my father was only 5 years old. Their decision has impacted all of our lives and we can never express enough gratitude towards them.

Aliana loves to sing...can't you tell?

Alyssa (Andrew and Lori's oldest)

Kaitlin and Alyssa

Reece (Dan and Angie's middle child)

Dan and Angie

Chris

Viki and Ali get along really well. I think it's because Viki was right outside the delivery room when I had Aliana.

She helped Aliana open up her cabbage patch kid that Grandma Waites got her. This one was white. Nana said that's good that she has both! LOL

I love this little munchkin...just wish he wasn't so shy of the camera now..we followed him everywhere and he just wouldn't look at the camera! Grandma and Poppy got him this little police car.

Webb playing with Muffin.

Viki made Ethan and Ali sweater and hat sets. We couldn't get Ethan to put his on but Ali was really cooperative. She looks so cozy!

Kissing her baby! I caught her doing it before and I wanted to get a picture of it!

Roger got some leather gloves from Grandma and Poppy and I got an awesome scrapbooking kit from Costco...couldn't have asked for a better gift!

Aliana and her dolly again.

Roger was so worn out! I love that he always looks so peaceful while he's sleeping.

Nana and Aliana.

One of Ali's favorite things to do is to touch foreheads together. It's so dang cute!!!

After we opened presents we all sat around and talked with each other. It's always nice to catch up on what other families are doing since we don't do family dinners every Sunday anymore. Roger had been talking about going to see Valkyrie so my parents took the kids home and put them to bed for us while Roger, Kaitlin, Karissa, Chris, Dan, Conner, Reece, Seth, Antonio, and I went to the late movie. It was pretty good. I definitely thought it was a history movie so it wasn't as intense as I thought it might be. All in all our Christmas turned out amazing...we got lots of presents including: Dance Dance Revolution 3 (man I didn't know stepping forward, right, left, and back could be so dang difficult if you don't watch closely), a Blu-Ray players with Blu-Ray movies Ironman, Mamma Mia, and I am Legend, a pizza stone and paddle, clothes, shoes, and more. I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas as well...It was so fun to be with the family and enjoy love from each other. What a wonderful holiday for the family.

We are so grateful for Christ and all that he has done for us. His birth truly was a wonderful gift in itself. It amazes me how fast some of us can forget about the true meaning on Christmas. We always need to remember him and keep him in our hearts.

Argentina

2008-12-23T10:42:00.000-08:00

Ben has been on his mission for six months!! He sent an e-mail today with some recent pictures. We hadn't seen any yet so we were all so excited to see how he's really doing! He looks great and it made us all miss him even more. These pictures are in the order he sent them. He didn't have any captions with them so we can only assume some people. They have made some good progress in their area and he will be there for another six weeks before he gets transfered. We love this missionary so much and are extremely proud of him!

Can you see him? What a monkey!

Him burning his tie on his six month mark!! It was on the 18th.

Can you say WOW!! What happened to this ambulance?

I think it's so cute that he poses for all of his pictures!!

Addresses

2008-12-17T17:13:00.000-08:00

Hey I put up a thing on Facebook about needing addresses for Christmas cards and then I realized that not everyone that blogs has facebook! So please leave me your address so I can send everyone a Christmas card.

Check out My Blog!

2008-12-10T17:39:00.000-08:00

I posted new prices that may be more affordable! Don't think it's too late if you still haven't ordered your Christmas cards!!
Check out my templates here or send me an e-mail at mareditsanddesigns@hotmail.com to have one custom made.

trouble

2008-12-09T23:01:00.000-08:00

Ethan loves to get in the fridge...especially when he's so tired at night before bed. We found him like this a few weeks ago!! What a trouble maker!!

You can't be mad at that sweet smile!!Ethan always plays peek-a-boo with Ali with their easter buckets and she's figured it out so she's thinks it's hilarious to do it herself. She will put it on and then all of a sudden pull it off really fast and laugh!! It's so cute!!
Right after she pulled it off!

Please excuse the messy floor!! I clean it every day but yet it always ends up spread everywhere again. Once they have their own room...(NEXT WEEK!! YAHOO!!) I'm hoping these toys won't be all over our family room!

THANK YOU HEATHER!!

2008-12-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

Roger checked the mail today on his way to work and called me and told me we got a package from Cam and Heather!! I was so excited because I knew it was our Christmas present but I also knew that I could open it earlier than Christmas!!! I was so excited when I opened it and found this: Heather is an awesome person and I just love how creative she is!! I saw these on her blog and I thought they were so fun! Each day until Christmas has something to do together as a family on it or a scripture to read!! I tried to do close-ups so you can see just how crafty and cute this thing really is.
I know she put a lot of work into it, but I really love it and can't wait to hang it up!! Thanks Cam, Heather, & Aleksa for such a fun and thoughtful Christmas present!! We miss you guys!

Coming to a close

2008-12-07T22:32:00.000-08:00

I will be drawing a winner in about 2 hours so don't forget to enter...There are more options available now...and there is a lot more that can be made up if people enter!!! Hurry and get your entries in...

Christmas Cards

2008-12-04T17:04:00.000-08:00

I am starting my own business. Right now I am doing a drawing for Christmas cards...in the future I will have baby announcements, senior announcements, and even valentines..check out the cards I have so far..and enter the drawing if you'd like..I will be posting more templates within the next couple hours so keep checking back!! I know it's cutting it close to Christmas, but I thought some people probably haven't thought about it since this year has gone by so fast...I can get them back within two days of when I order them... Enjoy!! Also the cards that have pictures and names on them does not mean they have been used. I thought it would be nice to have some pictures on the cards to show examples of what they could look like. mareditsanddesigns.blogspot.com

Mar Edits and Designsgreat free widgetsWidgetbox

Ethan's Birthday Party

2008-12-03T11:35:00.001-08:00

I know it's been a long time since I posted anything, but Ethan's birthday was November 7. Since we were having family come into town for Rob's wedding we decided to do his birthday party the day after his wedding. We had a good turn out. We want to thank all of the friends and family that came and celebrated with us! Ethan had a lot of fun and was so pooped at the end of the day. My mom did an amazing job on her new pizza recipe! She flips it up in the air and everything. We don't ever like to order pizza anymore because this is just as good or better than most places. Roger wants my mom to start a pizza place! Man she is so talented at so many different things! I guess I'm lucky she's my mom!! I couldn't believe she was okay with making ten pizzas for the party the day after the wedding. Her good friend Lori Jones helped her out a lot and we are also grateful for that. I tried to keep the kids busy with the dancing cam my mom got for Ethan. You can hook it up to the TV and see the kids on the screen dancing. We had lots of balloons and I even got treat bags...lots of crazy fun!! Ethan got Play-Doh from the Webb Waites family.
He also got Mater and Lightning McQueen from the Jones family.

Roger did a good job helping open again this year!

He got these cute cars from the Michael Sanchez family.

You can see his Lighting McQueen and Mater are tightly gripped in his hand.

I originally wanted to make him his own cake, but there just wasn't time. I wish I could've been more creative...there is always next year when we don't have tons of wedding stuff to do! (Atleast I hope Kait isn't planning on getting married then!)

I was definitely trying to show him how to blow the candle out, but he didn't need my help!

He did it all on his own!

My grandpa Bennett and his wife Annie. They made the drive up from California..it was good to see them again.

Roger helping cut the pizza for the kids!

Annette and Ed came up from New Mexico for the wedding and it was nice to have them around the family again! We love them and miss them!

I got cupcakes for the kids and thought that that would be enough for them. After they ate the cupcakes they asked for cake!! The little piggies..LOL Good thing I had homemade cheesecake for the adults!

I love that blue face!

I know it wasn't Ali's birthday but she did get a few presents as well!! She got Minnie Mouse from my Grandpa Bennett and Annie, and a book from Annette and Ed.

She was so happy!

I love her crazy hair!!

She likes to read!

Ethan all pooped out at the end of the day. He wanted to play with his cars, but was too tired to stand up or sit down so he had to lay there! We love him so much and we can't believe he's 2!!!

Congrats..

2008-11-18T21:24:00.001-08:00

To Mr. and Mrs. William Robert Waites! Robbie and Brandi got married on Friday and it was an awesome sealing. Hugh Baker was the sealer and it was so calming and reassuring. It was neat that someone from our stake got to seal Robbie and Brandi. I know they'll always remember that and keep a soft spot for him in their hearts. I was so proud of my little brother. (I had to put the LITTLE in there because people still think he's older than me! I guess I should take as a compliment..but I really think having two babies has aged me now to definitely look older than him!) He has made a really big decision and has picked a wonderful person to share eternity with. I'm so happy Brandi will be part of the Waites family now! We all love her so much! She looked so beautiful on her wedding day! I'm happy that they will be able to share eternity together and that our family has expanded and opened our arms to a make my brother complete. I hope they always remember their covenants and cherish each other forever. Congratulations!

Roger wasn't able to be at the wedding because of his professor that decided to make a test that day and said that no reason was good enough to take it earlier! It was really hard for me to be there alone, but I survived and remembered that the day wasn't about me but about Robbie and Brandi. I just hope he will be there for my other two sibling's weddings. He did make it to the reception...which made my day!! I love my husband and there isn't anything like being with the one you love on such an important day!

I can't forget to mention that my mom was amazing!! She did such an awesome job helping with decorations, taking pictures, and being a mom! It was a lot of hard work but she relaxed and enjoyed the day. I will never forget how awesome she was about taking care of my wedding, but now to have done two it's been a big thing for her. And how could she expect someone else to do the pictures and hope they turn out as well? She's an amazing person and I love her dearly!! I know she's already thinking of things to do differently with the next wedding in the family.

More pictures to follow of the reception..

Family Pictures

2008-11-09T19:03:00.001-08:00

So we finally got some family pictures!! It was a little difficult to get two little ones still at the same time, but I think we pulled it off!! I really need help deciding which ones are the best. I hope a lot of you vote including my mom, dad, and sister who always read my blog but don't leave comments! Bare with me on the Mar family picture adventure... Which one of Ethan's pictures is the best? 1 or 2

Do you like Ali's pictures? She was so happy!! 1, 2, or 3?

Please don't get sick of us yet!! We need help choosing which picture will hang in my mom's house and my grandma's...and maybe go on our Christmas cards! (If we get some sent out this year!!) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6??

I like this pose...

but I think this is my favorite just because we're all smiling and not looking into the sun as much as the others.
I couldn't post without posting the goofy shots of the day!

Doesn't she look so funny?Ethan loves to throw the leaves!

We enjoy kissing the little ones!

Taking a laugh while Ali looks confused!

Roger and Ali were cooperative..so this was them the whole time while I chased Ethan down!
My dad was throwing leaves at us at first!

Uh OH! Mommy loves!

Tag-5 weirdest things!

2008-11-09T18:08:00.001-08:00

I think I've been tagged a couple times so here goes.

1. I like to have warm fuzzies on the bottoms of my feet. I don't necessarily like slippers, but nice fuzzy soft socks are good.

2. When I buy clothes for my kids I like to buy the same amount for each of them. If Ali gets a shirt I have to get Ethan a shirt and usually I try to match them so they look a little alike.

3. I like the eat the chocolate off of a snickers candy bar and then eat the middle. I don't do it every time, but I'd prefer it that way.

4. I pick at my face if I'm not wearing any make-up. I hate putting it on, but my face feels so much better when it's on.

5. I have to be touching something when I'm sleeping. If I sleep alone I have to touch either the bed post or the wall. It doesn't have to be my hand touching it just as long as a part of my body is. When I sleep with Roger I prefer to cuddle to make sure he's there...and it's more comforting.

5.5. I too am always thinking of ways I can improve on things...especially when it comes to organizing my apartment. It just doesn't feel the way I want it to, but it's probably because we are in a tiny little apartment with tons of baby stuff!!

I tag....whoever wants to share five crazy weird things about themselves..

Ethan is 2 today!

2008-11-07T23:32:00.000-08:00

I think this face screams yay! And I say yay for 2 year olds! I love that he's more and more independent. These last two years have gone by so fast and I'm hoping the next 16+ go by slower. He has been such an amazing kid and I love him so much!

Since Ethan gets into trouble a lot more now-a-days I am constantly telling him, "No!" This is his no face! I know he gets the pointing from me, but I only got it from my mom. I am trying to stop pointing when I say no to him, but it's hard. He makes my heart melt even when he's screaming, "No!" to me because he's too darn cute to be mad at! About the only thing that frustrates me is when he knocks his sister over. He takes the initiative to punish her himself...not good.

Ethan loves to dance. The doctor that told us his sex when I was pregnant with him said while we were watching him move around a bunch that he was a break dancer. I thought this was completely hilarious because Roger was a break dancer in high school and the doctor had no clue. I truly think he will always love to dance. He loves cars..any type of car, but most of all Lightning McQueen. He also likes to stick his cars in the smallest places like: our air conditioning unit, under the stove (which he pulls the bottom drawer out himself now to get it out), and even under the sliding door in my mom's kitchen when it's pushed into the wall (thanks dad for getting it out for him). He likes to examine things so he can figure out how they work. He's a lot like me in that sense. He is trying so hard to talk. We work on different things everyday, but his favorites are "neigh" and "car" right now. He will point out a horse a mile away! It's crazy because I didn't realize how many horses are on things. He likes to repeat himself until someone listens. He will take things to the garbage if you tell him to and sometimes you don't have to because he just knows. For instance, I was changing Ali's diaper the other day and I heard the cupboard shut and I look around for the diaper and he had already taken it and thrown it away. I really haven't asked him to throw away diapers so I was in shock. He freaks out if Roger and I leave him anywhere. Roger got in the car the other day and drove away and was coming right back to us, but he screamed bloody murder. He loves his daddy so much. If we're in Moses he will talk to him forever on the phone until he falls asleep. He just says all the words he knows over and over again. He brings me all his toys and tries to say each thing. He protects his sister even though he beats up on her. We were at the mall today and I let the kids play in the play area and this kid came up and was hitting Ali and he got mad and pointed at him saying, "No!" Ethan also shows Ali off when we're around new people. He will get really close to her and say, "Ali" over and over again. He knows if he's hurt Ali to kiss her better right away if she starts crying. Ethan loves to cuddle with mommy and daddy. His favorite drink is gatorade. Ethan's starting to eat more foods, but definitely wants to be more independent and feed himself more. I love this little guy and I'm so happy he was my first kid because he's been so much fun! We love you Ethan!

P.S. Since we have family coming into town for Rob's wedding next weekend we decided to throw him a birthday party the next day. Saturday Nov. 15 we will have a cars themed birthday party for him so if any of you are in Moses Lake and want to come by for some fun..it's at 4pm at my parent's place. Hope to see you there!

Flower and Tiger

2008-11-05T21:14:00.000-08:00

The day before Halloween I was in Moses Lake because I had a dentist appointment on Wednesday. My mom had told me there was a stake carnival for halloween on Thursday that we should go to and then Friday we could head to Cheney and see Roger. The carnival was fun, but more for a little bit older kids. Ethan was scared to go in the bouncy house because he fell asleep in the car on the way to the church and so he wasn't all the way awake when we were in there. I know he would've loved it though if he would've been fully awake and aware of his surroundings. Ali looked so cute as a flower! The hat piece kept falling down over her eyes, but she never complained.

Friday when we got back to Cheney we dressed the kids up and took them to the mall to see their daddy at Mustard Seed and then we walked around the mall trick-or-treating. Ethan was having fun getting candy. He kept reaching in the bag and taking candy out and eating it. After trick-or-treating we went back and ate at Mustard Seed. Since we did Kaitlin's senior pictures the next day my Mom, Kaitlin, and my Dad were with us. It was nice to have family there to share the day with the kids. They were so fun!

When we were taking pictures Ethan wasn't down with it. He wanted his car so we eventually gave in so we could get just a couple shots. He cried a lot so that was mostly how it went. He was so tired and ready for a nap..which he took as soon as we got in the car and drove off.

This was the only picture that turned out cute of both of them. Ethan would not sit still.

I tried to comfort him and we got this picture. Yes, he's still screaming and NO I'm not wearing any make-up. LOL

This is too cute to pass up. There is even a tear. I felt so bad for him. He did not want the tiger on his head!

I love Ali's smile!

This is the only decent shot we got of him! He's so cute..car in hand again.

There is proof of those six teeth I was talking about! She's growing so fast!

Kaitlin

2008-11-02T22:35:00.001-08:00

My mom took some shots of Kaitlin lookin' hot in downtown Spokane! (I did do a few that are in the middle of the slideshow) You can see my mom's favorites here. This is my youngest sibling by the way and I can't believe that after this year we will all be out of my parents house and they'll be empty nesters until ben gets back from his mission in Argentina.

Poop! In the TUB!!! GROSS!!

2008-10-26T18:38:00.000-07:00

I swear he always has a car in his hand!! Even in the bathtub!

So I've read almost all of my friend's who have kids that are toddlers stories of poop. While I was reading these stories of their kids taking their poopy diapers off and rubbing them all over the wall I was thinking, "I'm so lucky that my child keeps his diaper on!!" Well now I have a poop story! The thing is...Ethan loves bathtime and I can't get him out I just have to let him decide when he's done because I hate it when he throws a fit about it..and he didn't get to go to the pool but once this summer so I feel like a bad mom and let him enjoy bathtime. I usually bathe him and Ali together unless he wakes up when she's taking her nap so I immediately bathe him so he's all ready for the day. Well today was one of those bathtimes alone. He didn't wake up until 11am, which was probably due to him going to bed at 1:30am, and that was definitely Ali's naptime so I get her down for a nap and get Ethan in the bath. While he is bathing I come in and out. Since we live in an apartment everything is right next to the bathroom so I'm really only gone but about a minute each time and I can always hear him splashing around. I'm usually getting his clothes together with a diaper and picking up a little while he's in there so things are done when he gets out. Maybe I shouldn't do this anymore because when I came back once today (I was trying to get my internet to work while he was in there) I found him standing there with a big long turd in hand holding it out to me like,"Here mom I know you want this!" HECK NO!! was my first reaction and then I look in the tub to find more. Oh MAN! Yep my son has a poop story now. He kept trying to grab all the pieces. I honestly felt bad for him though! Maybe I should start to try potty training..but since he's not saying much I'm not sure. He did tell me the other day he was poopy so if that keeps up I might have to start trying! It would save so much on diapers!! Roger was not happy that I left him unattended for any length of time...but I'm sorry I just have things to do and sitting in the bathroom for half an hour can get boring and it feels like a waste of time. Maybe I should resort to putting them in, washing them, and taking them out! I didn't get any pictures because being a witness was hard enough, but I do have pictures of the kids in the bath together from a couple weeks ago and there wasn't any poop involved! Thank GoodNESS!

Her nerdy smile! It's so funny! She has six teeth in there now if you can't see them!

Ethan wasn't fond of the camera this day!

Ali got her ears pierced!

2008-10-25T01:14:00.000-07:00

The day after my birthday (yes I know I'm a little behind on blogging since that was Sept. 20) my mom, sister, the kids, and I went into Spokane to go school clothes shopping for my sister and my mom asked if I wanted to get Ali's ears pierced. Of course I said yes. This is something I've always wanted to do but everytime I think about doing it Roger is around and he didn't want to be there when it happened. She got cute little pink flowers. I tried to get a couple shots of them but she is way to wiggly. She did so good when they punched them through though. Just a couple tears and she was done. I thought it would last longer since she was 8 months old then, but I was wrong. She is such a champ. I think it's because she takes so much bullying from her older brother. Did I mention it took Roger three days to notice? He wasn't around for one of the days, but still. He didn't mind it just thought it would've been nice for me to tell him we did it!

I couldn't get one good picture of these two together. I'm thinking of letting Ethan's hair grow out for winter, but I'm not sure!
Unlike Ethan she puts everything in her mouth!! Yuck! This is her moving away from me.Yes, she saw the cat and just had to get him!

Here is my princess. I just love her personality so much. She's so different from Ethan. Since Ethan was the first I was a little more attached to him and wanted to hold him all the time so he's been the little cuddle bug, but with Aliana since I had to take care of Ethan I always had to set her down which makes her want to always wiggle out of my arms and onto the ground to explore. As soon as she gets the walking down I know I'll be in for something. She's already trying hard. I think she's got a touch of the flu right now so I'm hoping she'll sleep better and be back to her normal self soon! I didn't get any sleep last night so I'm a little irritable. :(

Tagged!!

2008-10-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

Jenny tagged me so here goes...

You have to give five answers to each of the questions and pass it on. To pass it on, you name them on your blog and you leave a comment notifying them on their blog.

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Talking on ICQ
2. Being crazy about boys!
3. Going to Moses Lake Middle School since they were remodeling Chief Moses.
4. Dancing for Hirz Dance Company.
5. Moving across town with my family.

5 things on my to-do list today:
1. Finish Work
2. Do laundry
3. Clean kitchen floor
4. Do some homework..ARGH hate it!!
5. Edit pictures of kids for blog.

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Ice Cream
2. Anything with chocolate and peanut butter together.
3. Caramel Corn Quakers
4. Yogurt
5. String cheese

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Pay off all debt..including stinky school loans!!
2. Move to Tri-Cities
3. Build our dream home
4. Go to Mexico..always wanted to go..
5. Go to Hawaii..that was where I really wanted to go on a honeymoon.

5 places I have lived:
1. Moses Lake, WA
2. Avondale, AZ
3. Moses Lake, WA
4. Buena Vista, VA (five different places in Buena Vista in two years! Pretty impressive huh? We just didn't find a perfect apartment until the last year we lived there!!)
5. Moses Lake,WA and then Cheney, WA

5 jobs I have had:
1. David T. Earl, MD-Receptionist
2. Sun Health-Receptionist
3. Ruby Tuesday-Server
4. Campbell Construction & Development-Bookkeeper
5. Moses Lake Community Health-Human Resource Assistant

5 people I tag:
1. Emily
2. Heather
3. Kristen
4. Josie
5. Brynne

The Rest of Kaitlin's Pictures

2008-10-24T10:34:00.001-07:00

I know it's been a while since I posted the last couple of Kaitlin, but now I have a desktop here in Cheney that I can do my work on so I'm excited and wanted to get these posted before my mom goes and does her pictures and they put mine to shame! You can find some recent senior pictures my mom has taken here. I noticed when I was loading these that I have her put her arm up a lot...Oh well she looks gorgeous. I can't believe my little sister is all grown up and a senior in high school. It's weird, but enjoyable. We can have adult conversations, which I love and she's thinking about going to Eastern next year and would love having her closer. The kids just love her and wish she was here more!

YAY Kait! We are so proud of you! Ethan typed that! He wants to look at your pictures all day.

Robbie and Brandi are getting MARRIED!

2008-10-16T13:53:00.000-07:00

I don't believe I have posted anything yet on the exciting news! My brother, who returned from his mission in San Diego in April is getting married on November 14 in the Columbia River Temple to Brandi Kisler from Warden. We all love her so much and can't wait to have her as part of our family. Here are a couple of their engagement pictures I loved.

So You Think You Can Dance Tour

2008-10-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a few weeks, but I wanted to post a few pictures of us and the Winders. Roger and I had decided we wanted to go see the So You Think You Can Dance Tour before the season was over and since it was close to my birthday I figured it was a just present! I was so excited and it was everything I expected! I had so much fun seeing all of my favorite dances live including: the door dance with Twitch and Katee and the bed dance with Twitch and Kerrington. Twitch was my favorite dancer! I love his personality too. Roger took these pictures with his iPhone so they aren't that good, but oh well. I really didn't want to carry around my professional camera the whole time! Plus they wouldn't have allowed it in there because I would have to have a big flash for it! I wish we could've gotten some shots of them dancing but it didn't coming out good.

I wish Roger would smile more in pictures!

The Winders sat a few rows in front of us. It was so fun to go with them to Portland. We hadn't ever been around town so it was nice to see everything they had. It's a lot like Seattle.

NeW tHiNgS

2008-09-29T09:59:00.000-07:00

Aliana as you know has been pulling herself up on things since the day she learned how to sit up. She has now taught herself how to stand up in the middle of the room without anything around her. I cannot believe this. She is growing too fast. She sticks her butt in the air and one leg up and then the other...and pulls her body up. She tries to walk after she stands up and she's gotten down one step but tumbles as soon as she tries to walk more.

Funny story about her is that the other night I put her and Ethan in the bathtub while I was getting together some laundry and the bathroom is right there so I can see them quite a bit while I'm doing it. When I'd look at her she'd get all excited and clap and fall back into the water. Well I went around the corner to get something and all of a sudden I hear her talking and it's getting closer and closer and I look up and there she is crawling on the carpet naked! She got herself out of the bathtub!! I did not think any of my kids at 8 months would be so active but she is! It's starting to scare me because I know they will both be big handfulls once they are walking everywhere together. Let me mention that our bathtub in the apartment is pretty low so it's not that hard to get in and out of just didn't think she'd do it!

I know I have complained about my kid not talking in the past but I think I was too soon to speak because he's really trying now and he's doing animal sounds! I just love it because it's so cute! Everytime I look at Ethan I get a little sad because I remember him when he was just a little baby! He's such a good brother ...most of the time..when he's not pulling Ali around by her arm.

Also I got Ethan to fall asleep in his bed. I was so happy. It was a little sad to have him cry so much but he did such a good job and kept laying down everytime I told him to. I knew he was extremely tired too because he didn't take a nap yesterday and I know he did a lot of playing in nursery. I love that when he wants something he gives me kisses and says please in sign language.

Soccer Season

2008-09-23T11:31:00.001-07:00

Soccer season has begun so we took some of the little teams' pictures last week. We took the kids with us and just had my sister watch them at the fields so they could be outside playing. Aliana loves the grass. She was so cute with the soccer ball! I love this first picture because she looks like a diva, little miss priss with her hand out. Her smile makes me melt. She's got one dimple just like her momma.

Ethan would not look at the camera. He was too focused on everyone else around him.
Ethan loves to go down the slides but he has to climb up them first in order to go down.

My mom wanted to take a picture of me and the kids. I was so not feeling it...but I let her.
Me and my cuties!

Kaitlin

2008-09-19T00:18:00.000-07:00

I have been a second "shooter" with my mom for weddings for over a year and I love to take pictures of my kids so I talked my sister into being my guinea pig today and letting me get some photos of her. I'm sure she'll love the pictures my mom takes of her more for her senior pictures but these are a few I have edited so far. I hope you all enjoy.

Fair

2008-09-17T16:12:00.002-07:00

I know the fair was over a month ago, but I had to post these cute pictures of Ethan. He had so much fun on the carousel with Roger.

The whole time he was on the carousel he kept reaching out to try to give my dad high five. It was super cute and he'd get really excited.

My mom suggested Ethan go on the slide and so she took him down for his first time and he loved it and wanted to go again so Roger took him again. It was so fun to see my own kid enjoy something so much when once long ago I enjoyed the same things. I love E so much. He makes me smile all day long...even when he's making a mess.

Our Apartment

2008-09-17T16:12:00.001-07:00

Okay so my grandma has been asking to see pictures of my apartment for a while now and I took some back in July but haven't had time to get them posted!
This is our living room. You can see my kids in these pictures. Ethan was sleeping on the couch and Ali was crawling/rolling around. These were taken right before I was headed back to Moses to work for my mom.

I love it that we have a bar even though we don't eat at it since it's so high, but it's nice to look into the living room and watch the kids while I'm cleaning/cooking.

Don't we all wish our kitchens were clean all of the time.

I want to post pictures of our bedrooms, but will wait until they are completely decorated.

Treasures from the Sea

Our Year

Ethan's Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Ali's Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Ethan + Soccer = Proud Mom

FaMiLy

Preschool

Lots to come...

I WILL BE BACK SOON!!

Happy Valentine's Day

Ethan's 4th Birthday

Halloween

UpDaTeS

What do you think?

Website Updates!!

Saturday

Too LONG!!

Benjamin will be..

Mother's Day

A lot has happened

Stressing..

Having..

Elle Cee's Cake Boutique

Blessing Day 3/7/2010

Park & Picture Day

***7 weeks***

Lulu's Tiles Giveaway

Flour Power

One Month

Pictures

Benjamin Reid Mar

All I want for Christmas...

Finally...

Halloween 2009

Ali's 18 month WCC

*sWiNe FlU*

Sick again...oh no Ali

YAY!!! It's a

Today is the day...

Guessing Game

Waites Family Reunion=Saturday at Roylance Pond outside Othello

Waites Family Reunion

Last week...

Park time!!

Finally some EXCITING NEWS!!!

The last High School Graduate

Dancing

Results...

Me, Ali, and what's to come.

Our 4th Anniversary and Roger's Phlebotomy Graduation Party

Potty Training

Me...in the hospital?

ER visit

And it continues on...

My shoe stealer...and my sick one

When will the snow ever end?

6th Place

We are headed to State Basketball in Seattle!!

What I loved in February...

I'd have to say we are ready for Spring at our place!!!

Babysitting!!

Crazy Silly Boy

Shots = Sick Baby

1 Year and 2 Year Well Child Visits

My ARTIST!

I'm feeling...

It's Ethan time!!

New Photography Site...

Aliana's Birthday Party

He got accepted!!

Roger has an interview...

Basketball Pictures

Happy Birthday...

My Ham

My Cuddle Bug

Christmas

Argentina

Addresses

Check out My Blog!

*trouble*

7 weeks

sWiNe FlU

trouble