Lexie eating solid foods

Here is a picture of my cute baby eating solids when I am not giving it to her fast enough she grabs the spoon and shovels it in.

My baby girl is getting so big. She is 6 1/2 months old now. We sure love her. She always has a big smile on her face. Since she is finally better and over her cold and fever we decided it was time to try feeding her solids again. We started them a few weeks ago and she was kind of cranky with being sick and the whole moving thing just kind of ruined her routine. Now we are settled somewhat so we tried giving her some rice cereal which so loved. We always add apple juice to it instead of water to give it more flavor. We also started her on peaches today. She just absolutely loves them. We couldn't get each spoonful to her mouth fast enough. She would grunt or grab the spoon from me when I wasn't going fast enough, it was really cute!!

Riley's fear of flies

So yesterday I was watching something on TV and Riley was playing on the floor with Mr. Potatoe head. There was a paper close by and a fly started to crawl on the paper and he started watching it. Then it started flying around and Riley started freaking out, I meaning literally freaking out. He was running all around screaming ducking down as the fly flew around, layed on the ground and was kicking and screaming for me to get the fly. Then he wanted me to kill the fly and of course I can't find the fly swatter. Finally it landed and I was able to pick it up and I just threw it outside. Anyways for the rest of the day he was just terrified, even if he saw a piece of black fuzz he thought it was a fly and he would start his screaming terrifying fit again. I had to show him that it was fuzz and that there were not any flies. It was ridiculous, it got to the point where he was too afraid to walk on the carpet (cuz that is where the fly was when he first saw it). Our kichen has half tile floor and half carpet (I know, that sucks) and he would stay on the tile, he would want one of us to carry him across the carpet if he needed to go there and once he was at the couch he thought he was safe. We also have this rug that is colorful and we put it under his chair when he eats because where out table is has carpet. The rug has some black in it and he thought the black spots were flies and he was screaming wanting me to kill the flies and he wanted the carpet moved and oh my goodness it was frustrating but hilarious at the same time. This went on for about 8 hours (that was too long). So finally I had a talk with him and told him that flies are nice, that they are our friends lol! I told him he can say hi to the flies and they won't hurt him. I told him they like to fly around like birds or butterflies and those don't hurt us either. Anyways today, as I am busy doing some housework he starts thinking he sees flies again and is screaming and crying "Mommy kill the flies!" I kind of ignored him then I heard him say, "Hi fly!" "Happy Fly." "Nice fly." "Follow the prophet fly!" LOL, not sure why he told the fly to follow the prophet but it was funny. Then he starts singing ABC's, Follow the Prophet, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star etc. I don't know if he actually saw any flies at all but I thought this was cute and funny. Yes he is still afraid of flies when he sees one or if he sees fluff or fuzz that is black. You think he would be afraid of bees or wasps cuz they could actually sting you but no he is afraid of flies. I hope he gets over this quick otherwise we will not be going out much all summer. Jesse was going to take him to a basketball game tonight but we thought maybe Riley should stay home, I am sure Jesse would be quite embarassed if Riley started a screaming fit if he saw a fly. Anyways just thought you would all like to hear about this funny fear of his as it is fun to keep record of these funny things before I forget them.

The second move!!

So for those of you that don't know we have moved again. This is our second move in 5 1/2 months. We moved from Sherwood Park to Stirling (hoping we could live there for longer than 4 1/2 months) and then we moved from Stirling to Lethbridge. We moved January 29. It was a rough week because both of my kids were sick with fevers and colds. Poor Lexie had such a bad cold and wasn't wanting to eat anything. She also didn't ever want to be put down, she wanted me to hold her every second. She would just cry and cry which made it hard to get everything packed. We managed with the help of some ward members and family. My mom took the kids Fri-Sun. Jesse and I with the help of his parents were able to get the whole house packed up in a day and a half. They packed the whole kitchen which I was dreading (that is always the worst thing to pack and unpack). Jesse went to the house in Lethbridge with the truck full of our stuff and I stayed to clean everything with some relief society sisters. When Jesse came back everything as out of the house we just did one final walk thru to make sure we had everything. We packed up the cleaning stuff and as he backed the van out it started leaking transmission fluid AGAIN!! (this is the 3rd time in two months). So we couldn't go anywhere!!! We were stranded in Stirling in an empty house!! I was soooo not impressed!!! I was already not impressed that it was -30 degrees and snowing on and off and to have this happen on top of that just made me angry. We were finally able to reach my dad to came and took us to Lethbridge. That night we went out to Earls to eat, and enjoyed a nice night out without kids which we don't get that often and I think that was the first time getting out without either kid since before Lexie was born (I know sad considering she is 6 1/2 months). We are happy to be in Lethbridge instead of Stirling, it is more convenient and now we will save money on gas. Jesse is so happy to not have to do that drive on the highway in bad weather and I feel better knowing that he doesn't have to. Hopefully we will live in this house longer than a year (Riley has celebrated his birth and each of his birthday's in a different house), unless we magically have enough money to buy a house before then which would be nice but I doubt it. Thanks for reading my rambling, hope you enjoy!

Happy New Year!!!!!

I know this is a bit late but better late than never. I always like to do a recap of the year around Christmas and New Years just to let all my friends and family that I don't see very often to know how we are doing and what is going on in our lives.

This was kind of a crazy year for us. It was busy with Jesse being in school for his last semester, me being pregnant and having lots of doctors appointments, me having gestational diabetes, being blessed with the birth of Lexie, Riley becoming a big brother, and having to deal with him not having all the attention all the time, Jesse getting a new job, moving to Stirling, and then hearing that we have to move again after only living there for 4 1/2 months. There was lots and lots of stress this year so we are very glad to have this year over and to see what exciting things 2011 has in store for us.

Jesse finished his last semester of school at Nait in the Landscape Architecture program. He graduated in May. He worked for Classic Landscapes at the tree farm during the spring and summer while trying to find a job. He wanted to find a job in Edmonton or Sherwood Park because we had just moved to Sherwood Park in the summer of 2009 and we really really loved it there, but things don't always go as planned. Jesse had done a work week in Lethbridge for school in the fall of 2009 at Stantec. Well, the boss there contacted Jesse in June and asked if he was still looking for a job. Jesse went for an interview at Stantec in Lethbridge in July. They offered him a job during the interview. It had full benefits and paid more than any job in his field in Edmonton or Calgary. He took the job and we ended up moving to Stirling in September. We lived with Tammy and Craig for 3 weeks until we found a place since we weren't able to find something earlier (I was very pregnant and ready to have Lexie anyday). We moved into a beautiful house in Stirling only to learn 2 months later that they sold the house and now we have to be out the end of January:( So we are busy now preparing for yet another move. Good thing it is only to Lethbridge and we were able to find a place very quickly. Jesse is happy to be closer to work and not have to make the 25 minute drive or more (in winter) anymore.

I spent half of the year pregnant. It was a good pregnancy. I wasn't sick this time around at all. Riley kept me on my toes!! I had gestational diabetes again but managed it well and had a very good labor and delivery. I had been worried all year about being huge in the hot summer and how uncomfortable that would be but wasn't even really hot all summer. It was probably the coldest summer I can remember with lots of rain. We did do some fun things with Riley before Lexie was born like going to spray parks, taking him swimming, taking him to WestEd on the rides, and to the Edmonton Zoo. On July 26 we were blessed with the birth of our beautiful baby girl Lexie Kaye. We love her sooo much. She is such a good baby!!

Riley has grown us so much this last year. He has had kind of a hard year, becoming a big brother for the first time, moving (and we will be moving again this month). He enjoys playing at the park, swimming, playing with trains, going to Stay and Play and playing with other kids, helping me cook and prepare food, going for walks (he misses our old house for that, there were so many trails around to go for walks and he loved walking around our townhouse complex), reading stories, eating treats, singing songs, giving Lexie hugs and kisses, doing puzzles, and playing Baseball on the Wii! When Lexie was born he was really upset for a few months, having numerous tantrums, and trying to get us to get rid of Lexie (he kept taking her diapers, blankets and carrier seat by the front door). Then we moved so it got even worse. He didn't get to see any of his little friends anymore, or go to any of his favorite places. He is doing MUCH better now and really really loves his little sister. He likes to play with her and make her laugh. He is always giving her kisses and likes to help me pick out her socks and shoes everyday. One awesome thing that has happened at the end of 2010 to Riley is he finally started talking!!! Wahoo!! He said nothing except 'mommy' and 'daddy' until Lexie was born and then he started saying 'baby." He made a few animal sounds when he would see certain animals at the zoo but he never said anything ever until then. I was kind of worried. Then around the middle of October just before Halloween he started saying a few words. Then in November he was saying more and more words and telling us what shapes and colors things were (don't remember teaching him those), then in December he started counting to 10, telling us the name of animals what color they were and what sound they made, as well as naming cars, trucks, etc. So he is doing really well, so I can stop worrying lol!! It makes life a lot easier when he can tell me what he wants to eat and drink and what things are etc.

Lexie is such a sweet little baby. We love her. She has changed so much already in such a short time. She is 5 months old now. She now sleeps 10-12 hours at night. She smiles like crazy and loves to watch her big brother play. He comes and lays beside her while she lays and plays on her playmat, it's so sweet. She takes a bottle no problem which makes life a lot easier (Riley wouldn't take a bottle at all until he was 9 months old). She is just starting to laugh and grab toys to play with and of course everything she grabs goes in the mouth.

We had a good Christmas, we went to my parents house for a yummy steak dinner on Christmas Eve. We spent Christmas at our house with our kids and nobody else. For the first time since we have been married, we haven't had to pack up the van full of Christmas gifts and other luggage. Riley was really excited for Santa to come. He had been asking for about 10 days everyday if Santa was coming that night!! He got a kitchen from Santa and he was also very excited about his train set!! He loves trains and was so exited when he open it. He had a big smile on his face and was jumping up and down. Lexie got a few baby toys, teething rings, baby food (time to start solids soon), and a play table with lots of fun toys on it.

We spent the rest of Christmas at Jesse's sister Tammy's house for Christmas dinner and then headed to Bow Island to see his parents who just got home from their mission (Vancouver Canada Mission). They reported their mission on the 26th and so we went to hear them speak. We also had a little dinner at the church after and they had a little fireside with just the family to tell us all experiences from their mission. It was fun for the whole family (48 of us now) to all get together. It doesn't happen very often. We had a good time and then that night 32 of us stayed at his parents house. It was a little crazy but we all had fun playing games and visiting. We went home to Stirling and then to my parents house for New Years. That pretty much sums up our year!!

Thanks for reading!! Sorry it was soooooo long winded!! It is more for me so I can have it for a record. All the best to you all in 2011!!!!

Here are some fun photos of the year!!

Finally got this boy to eat cheese - January 2010
20 months old

Playing in the pantry - February 2010

Playing in the snow - February 2010


March 2010

Riley's 2nd birthday

He loved this necklace, wouldn't take it off for a few days - May 2010

Riley pretending to make something in the pot - June 2010

Riley playing on the slide - July 2010

Riley and Lexie at the hospital the day after Lexie was born

Lexie 1 week old - August 2010

Lexie on her blessing day Sept 5, 2010

Riley holding his baby sister!

Riley riding his bike at aunt Tammy's house - Sept 2010

Riley and Lexie in their matching skeleton pjs!! Riley loved how they glow in the dark!! Notice hsi mis matched socks?

My cute little ballerina!

My cute little horse!

Riley 2 1/2 years wearing his favorite basketball jersey and his classic non matching socks!!

Lexie almost 4 months old

Lexie 4 months old

My cuties in matching colors!!

Riley with Jon and Becky Christmas eve 2010

Lexie's Blessing Day

Lexie was blessed in Cardston on September 5 in my parents ward. It was a good day and lots of family came. My parents were there as well as my sister Becky and brother Jon. Jesse's brother Doug and family were there as well as Tammy, Leon, Nancy and their families. We didn't have a big dinner with the family to celebrate which I still feel bad for but we couldn't because we just moved down here from Sherwood Park and didn't have a place of our own yet (we are living with Tammy) and couldn't really afford to feed that many people or have a place to feed that many people. We wanted to wait until we found a house and knew what ward we were in before we blessed her but we didn't know how long that would be. We also needed to get it done so that her dress would still fit her as it would only fit as big as 10lbs.

It was a wonderful day and Jesse gave her a beautiful blessing! Thanks to all who came and supported Lexie on her special day!!

Here are a few pictures of Lexie on her special day! She is 6 weeks old!

We found her dress at the Bargain Barn and it had never even been worn!

Marrianne Taylor from my parents ward made her cute little shoes to go with the dress

Mommy and Lexie

Proud Daddy with his little girl!!

Riley and Lexie with Uncle Jon

Me with Riley and Lexie before church

Lexie's crazy hair!

Lexie at 6 weeks old

Summer and Moving

I am so behind on EVERYTHING lately it seems. We moved almost a month ago and so many things happened all summer long before and after Lexie was born and I just haven't had the time or energy due to lack of sleep to keep writing frequent updates. So here is the update of the month.
Way back in July on the 12th, Jesse had a job interview in Lethbridge at Stantec. He did his work week there for school last year. Anyways he went and I was freaking out the whole time in my mind thinking "oh no, now we are going to have to move." I had that feeling over and over in my head before he even had his interview that we were going to have to move and if we did I was hoping it would be in the new future like November or sometime next year like April. Well my feelings were right about him getting offered the job and us eventally moving. I was wrong about when we would move. So Jesse calls me up from Lethbridge and tells me that he was offered the job and that they wanted him to start on August 3. So I was kind freaking out because our baby was due on July 30 and at that point we didn't know what day we would have her. Anyways they sent him the offer and they wanted him to reply and accept the offer my Thurs, they gave him the offer on Monday. Of course my stress level went way up, I was relieved that he would have a job and that we would be closer to family but at the same time I was upset because I didn't want to move and leave all my good friends and community of Sherwood Park, also I didn't want to move that soon after having a baby. Jesse took the job and because of our situation with the baby, they were willing to move his start date back to Sept 7. We were so grateful for that. We really miss our neighborhood and friends in Sherwood Park but are happy to finally have the move over with.
Moving day was great!!! We had lots and lots of people from our ward help load all the stuff into a trailer and a truck (ya we have lots of crap). People also helped us clean, which I am so grateful for, I was wondering how I would get everything done being that I just had Lexie and was still feeding her every 1-2 hours.
Also for those of you that don't know, the move gets even more interesting in that when we gave our notice to move out in Sherwood Park, we didn't know where we were moving to (which house or what area of Lethbridge). We couldn't even go down and look because I was due to have Lexie soon. So we moved all our stuff down and stored some of it in an empty house my my aunt Wendy Nish's house. We stayed with Tammy (Jesse's sister and her family) while we looked for something. There was nothing in Lethbridge. Everything was soooo small, or run down, had no yard, was soooo expensive or was in a scary neighborhood. We didn't know what we were going to do and were getting so annoyed of not having all of our stuff and all 4 of us being squished in one room. We finally found someone renting out their new house in Stirling. At first Jesse and I did not want to be in Stirling. Let me tell you, it is a slower pace of life as compared to the city. I am having a hard time with the change and I am not sure why, maybe just because I lived in Edmonton for 7 years and just appreciated all the conveniences of living in the city, and there is more stuff to do. I also miss my mom and tots group I went to and all the kids for Riley to play with. With time I am sure I will eventually like it out here.

Here are some pictures of our summer before Lexie was born. Time has gone by soo fast!!

Riley and I the day before Lexie was born!

Trying to get a picture of Riley and I at the Spray Park in St. Albert. This was 2 days before Lexie was born. There was FINALLY a nice hot day to do something fun as a family before all the chaos (new baby and moving).

He finally went in the water!

Almost half falling asleep in the swing. It was around 9:30pm here. We were waiting for the fireworks to start!

Happy going down the slide!

We FINALLY found a vegetable Riley likes. He only will eat it on the cob though lol! Here is proof that we have got him to eat one vegetable (he hates all vegetables).

Riley helping make a Salad

He won't eat vegetables but he loves to help cut them lol!

I love his concentrated look while he is helping cut the vegetables.

Lexie Kaye Atwood

I know I am 3 1/2 weeks late with this post but its better late than never. We have just been so busy preparing to move and adjusting to having 2 kids. I have just been sooo busy I haven't gotten around to blogging.

Lexie Kaye Atwood joined our little family on July 26, 2010 at 8:50pm. She was 7lbs 6oz and 21.5 inches. She is such a beautiful little girl with wild hair. We love her soo much!

The delivery went really really good. I wasn't as big this time. I was induced again because I once again had gestational diabetes.

My parents came up to stay with Riley. I was induced at 8:30am that day with a cervidil insert. After about 45 minutes I started feeling cramps which they called tightenings. They got stronger by the time my two hours were up (I had to stay at the hospital for 2 hours after they put the cervidil in so they could monitor me). The nurses told me to go to the mall and walk around for awhile to see if the cramps would feel better and by walking that would help my contractions to start. Also we needed to go to the pharmacy so I could get a new insulin pen which was kind of a waste because I only needed it for one more meal. So Jesse and I walked around the Millwoods Mall. My butt started hurting so bad. I felt this cramping in my right butt cheek which was weird! I never felt that kind of pain when I was having Riley. I didn't feel any contractions or anything so after we got my insulin pen and had lunch we went home at around 1pm. From about 1-3pm I felt contractions on and off but they weren't regular. I wasn't even sure if they were contractions or not because last time my labor pain was all in my back but the pain got strong enough that we finally decided to time my contractions. They were coming every 2-3 minutes. That was closer together than last time so I was a little worried. We headed back to the hospital around 3:30pm. I was only 3cm dilated when we got there so I just had to lay on a bed and wait for things to get moving. A few hours later I had dilated to 4cm and I got my epidural (blessed invention). I actually had a little nap this time and so did Jesse I was still only 4cm even a few hours later. I woke up at around 8:30 pm and I had a strong pain in my butt cheeks. It hurt sooooooooo bad. Then it felt like I peed my pants which the nurse checked and told me my water broke. She wasn't sure why I was in so much pain so Dr. McCubbin came and checked me and said it was because I was 10cm and ready to push. It went crazy fast. Jesse and I couldn't believe it. We both just woke up and then 15 minutes later Lexie was born. I felt more of it this time and it hurt way worse than last time but I was happy to experience it and it was totally worth it.

I named Riley so Jesse had said he wanted to name her. We both didn't know what to name her when she was born. When the nurse handed her to Jesse she said he thought we should name her Malea. I kept asking him if he was sure that he wanted that to be her name and he said he thought so. When they moved us into another room and after she was cleaned off, Jesse looked at her a little more and decided she looked more like a Lexie. To make it even more special is that Lexie is my Grandma McMurray's name. Her middle name is Kaye which is my mom's middle name and Jesse had a lady from his ward that was like a Grandma to him and her name was Kay as well.

Right before I was induced

Lexie minutes after she was born! She wouldn't hardly cry. The nurses kept flicking her feet to try and get her to cry so they could clean out her mouth.

Lexie and Mommy 5 minutes after she was born

Our family minus Riley

Lexie and Daddy

Lexie's first bath

Riley meeting his sister, he wasn't too interested in looking at her as your can see!

Riley checking our his new baby sister

Riley happy to be a big brother, this is a fake smile, he only did it so he could get down. He was pushing her away a few seconds after!

Sweet little Lexie

Mommy and Lexie

Riley enjoying his new toy from Lexie

More interested in his toy than in smiling at the camera or looking at his sister

Riley trying to grab Jesse's hand. He didn't want him to hold Lexie!

Daddy and Lexie getting ready to go home from the hospital

Mommy and Lexie ready to leave the hospital

Lexie ready to go home from the hospital

Riley and his new little sister Lexie

Riley finally decided that he likes Lexie, now he always wants to give her hugs and kisses, he isn't always gentle but at least he loves her now.