Friday, May 21, 2010

Celebrations Coming Out Our Ears!!!

We've spent the this last week recovering from last weekend! Don't get me wrong, it was actually a really fun weekend filled with all sorts of celebrations - there were just A LOT of them, and a few were totally unplanned too!

We will start with last friday night. Adam and I joined a Bible study at our church. First time we have ever done that before and it's going good! Where are three couples in the study (the leaders Kevin and Linda, us and Bill and Bonnie) and it's nice, I like it. Anyways, as we are in the middle of Bible study I start getting text messages from my friend Nicolle. Nicolle is pregnant and due on May 31st. I just went to her shower a couple weeks ago:

So I'm realizing she is going to the hospital and am totally not paying attention to Bible study. I tell her where I am and what I'm doing, she says they are still driving (from La Quinta to Fallbrook, that crazy woman!) so I tell her to call if she can't get a hold of anyone to watch Olivia (Olivia is her two year old you see in the pictures above) and I honestly thought she would find someone. The Bible study prayed for Nicolle and the baby and we went on.  After Bible study Adam and I stop at White Lime and spend a big $4 on soft serve! As we are enjoying our frozen treat, Nicolle calls. No one can come get Olivia. So, we get in the car, praying Bennett will fall asleep and we are off to Fallbrook Hospital!

I get Olivia and her things and leave the Hospital about 10pm - Nicolle has the baby at 11:09pm!! She was chit chatting and talking through contractions when I left. That woman is blessed from the Lord! I was shocked! Anyways, we had a long night, poor Olivia kept crying for her daddy but lucky for me, Nicolle had said that she likes her back rubbed and to sing Jesus loves me. I had to do that for over an hour (from 3-4 am) but it worked, and we all ended up getting a little sleep.

Adam was up and out of the house at 7am to go work saturday school (Yay for $75!) so I was single mom with a one year old and a two year old! Apart from one closing the bedroom door in some fingers there was really no big issue, they got along really well!

After breakfast I dropped Bennett off at my mom's and headed back to Fallbrook with Olivia. I arrived at 10am. (Twice in 12 hours - I've never been to Fallbrook twice in 12 hours!) Anyways, we got to meet Ezra Daniel and hug and snuggle his sweet little 7 lb, 18 inch self!

  Congratulations Abe and Nicolle and Olivia!

Upon returning to pick up Bennett I got to spend a few minutes seeing my Aunt Maggie and my cousins Ellie and Jake! Jake is just two months old so this was the first time I got to see him. I must say, he's beautiful! Such a sweet little face! Anyways, we were all in a hurry, Maggie and the kids were leaving and I had to get back home to get to my next thing, a baby shower, so we snapped this "cousin" picture quick and all headed out the door!
(Ellie 7, Bennett 15 months, Jake 2 months)

No pictures from the baby shower I went to. Bennett was kind of a terror! He took chips of peoples plates and then would throw a fit when I wouldn't give him more chips. He wanted the little bowls of Jelly Bellys that were EVERYWHERE and then to top it all off, he grabbed a big handful of carrot cake off the Grandma-to-be's plate and proceeded to throw another fit to get more cake! It was a lovely shower but I was ready to leave! BUT... I was really glad I got to be apart of celebrating Nicole and Baby Kate! (Yes, my two Nicole friends had a baby and a baby shower with in 16 hours of each other)

After a quick nap and a little dinner we were all together again and out the door to go to the 40th wedding anniversary vow renewal of our Pastor, Gary and his wife Marty. We love them. It was so nice and refreshing to hear health spoken out about marriage, there were perfectly honest about struggles but they were also perfectly transparent with how much they love each other now! I am so glad we went. Adam and I left hopeful and excited for our future together!
Aren't they just the cutest?!

Next morning, we were late to church! That never happens to us! We were both kind of surprised I think. We walked in as people were saying hello and snagged a seat right up front to hear one of our 3 Bishops, Bishop Matt, speak. He was great and it was really cool to hear his heart and think about the ways God uses people when they are out of there area of comfort. Really encouraging and challenging! 

After church we had tickets for the Storm Game (Bennett's first ever baseball game) because my old boss, Lori, had a BBQ and tickets given to her for advertising at the stadium - rad! We had a great time, we were in the shade and had room for Bennett to run around and play, it was perfect!

I wanted to get a picture of our table, we were sitting with our good friends, the Fowlers. This random Storm employee was kind enough to climb up on the wall behind us and take this picture for us.

Then Judy Kentish took this more "normal" picture


Bennett continues to love playing with his dad's hat
He did that himself - we had a good laugh!
Speaking of good laughs, Bennett has become so expressive lately and you can tell exactly what he is thinking when he does something new:
TAAA DAAA!!!! 

Rad weekend. 
Great people to celebrate. 
But holy moly we were tired!
But I think we are back among the living now :)

Monday, May 10, 2010

Toddler-hood...

So our crib got recalled!
The crib we specifically picked out, the crib we matched all the wood in Bennett's room to, the crib that I hand stitched bedding for... yep that crib!
 However, having someone buy those bite marks back for full price wasn't half bad... but still, I was sad to see it go!

So, what to do? Buy a new crib, right? Well as Adam and I were milling our possibilities over I ended up out front watching my next door neighbor change a flat tire (nice that I was just standing there watching huh?!) and talked with her about the recalled crib. She commented that her daughters toddler bed was still in the garage and that if we wanted to use it they would be more than happy to let us because they really had no use for it.

It's crazy to move a 14 month old into a toddler bed
Right? 
Well, we did it anyways!

Bennett had a great time "helping" with his new bed

Shortly after putting the bed together it was nap time.. dun, dun, dun!
Well, he went down as normal...
And at no point did I hear a big crash or thump! The first noise we heard about an hour later was Bennett calling for Adam and I. We both hurried in to hopefully catch him before he fell off the bed and he was just sitting up looking around (he seemed a little scared to move, poor guy!)
(look how cute and sleepy and big he is!)
Adam worked with him for a few minutes, showing him how to get on and off the bed and things have been going great ever since... Well... except for the fact that any part of my imagination that still considered Bennett a baby has now been officially crushed! Babies don't sleep in toddler beds! sniff, sniff...

Friday, May 7, 2010

Newest Blessing!

The Lord continues to bless our family in so many ways!
(We didn't move, we just took this picture in my mom & dad's driveway)
Adam's Mom got a new car and we got her old one! 
It's a 2000 Acura TL and it's great! Adam got his baby back (the Subaru) and Bennett and I have a sporty new ride to take us on all our adventures! 
Isn't it great when God gives you gifts you weren't expecting at all?!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Becky Time

Bennett and I were lucky enough to be able to go on a coffee (and shopping) date with Becky last week!

We went to the always wonderful Flour Fusion in Lake Elsinore (you may have seen me mention it here, or here, or here - I kind of love it!) I had the raspberry white chocolate scone for the first time ... Oh.My.Goodness it was amazing! Anyways, back to Becky, we had a very relaxing time of talking and sipping (and playing with Bennett) and then headed off to the mall to get Bennett a new outfit!

You see at my baby shower (back in January 2009) Becky didn't get me a gift because she wanted to buy clothes but couldn't since we didn't know what sex "baby Elwer" was. She recently reminded me of that and said she wanted to fulfill her gift to "Baby Elwer". We ended up in Macy's getting some very cute plaid shorts and blue shirt. He will be so handsome in them!

Lovely day with a lovely lady, Thanks Becky!

Monday, May 3, 2010

Video Cuteness

Last week Bennett and I were outside playing and I took this video of him walking. (Also, notice the Aresnio Hall impersonation, pretty funny!)

Don't worry, I went and got him right after the video stopped
(I actually cut the video short so you couldn't hear me yelling at him to stop and not walk were I can't see him)

This next one cracks me up! He is so funny with this toy!
Don't you just love how he hits the ball a couple times, can't do it, and then sticks it in the side hole?! He really is a genius! :)

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Celebrating #3

Last Wednesday, as you might have gathered from the previous blog, was our third wedding anniversary! Adam took a "personal day" from work and we had a fabulous day!

We started out by dropping Bennett off at my parents and going to breakfast at South Coast Winery! We had heard great things about their breakfasts - and let me tell you, it was just as good as we heard!

Pictured you will find Adam's biscuits and gravy with sausage and scrambled eggs in the background, to the right is the banana fosters pancake (unbelievable!!!) and in the front is my eggs benedict over prime rib hash. Don't get me wrong, we still love Ramos House for special breakfasts, but this place is closer and cheaper!

After a stroll around the grounds (neither one of us had ever been there before) we headed back to my mom and dad's to pick up Bennett and head down into San Diego! First stop, Babies in Bloom, my favorite baby store ever! We needed to get a swim diaper for B and since we were down there I figured better get it now then pay shipping and handling later! Next, Harbor Freight, Adam needed a rotary tool that was on crazy sale for $7! (Bennett slept through all of this!)

Next stop:

We got there about 1:30'ish and got to park right up front... wonderful! We decided to do and see things we missed the last time we were there.

There were amazing flowers in the "Native to this Area" plant house

We thought this one had an appropriate name for the day

Walking up to Condor Ridge - gorgeous view!


The baby elephant with it's Mommy was just about the cutest thing I have seen in a long time!

Here's my "Baby Elephant" walking with his Daddy

We took the "Journey into Africa" (I kind of missed the monorail, the WAP has changed a lot since I was a kid)






Bennett was asleep when we went to the petting zoo last time but he loved it this time! He giggled and laughed as he was touching the animals


He was also really into watching the other kids

And of course, he walked around with his hands behind his back like he always does...
... I can't imagine where he gets it from:

We snapped this family picture just as we were leaving
For dinner we headed over to San Marcos to the Old Spaghetti Factory for some Mizithra Cheese and Spumoni!
It was such a great day! 

It's crazy to think that in just three years we went from this:
to this:

But we love it and wouldn't change anything for the world!
Here's to 60+ more years of fun!