The Psillos Family

Mmmm Meat

2012-02-10T14:15:00.000-08:00

I thought Zeke maybe didn't like meat, because every time I fed him food with meat in it, he would just take a few bites and then start spitting it out and not want any more. But turns out he just didn't like that nasty pureed baby food meat. I don't blame him, the smell of it made me gag.

He wanted real mans meat!

He loved the pulled pork Grandma brought up when she came to visit. Thanks Grandma!

(I love how he has meat hanging from his mouth like an animal, and his bib says "King of the Jungle". So fitting, haha)

Eleven Months

2012-02-02T20:40:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Zeke is just one month away from being ONE!!! Seems so crazy! You'd think that over the course of 11 months my obsession for the kid would have died down a bit by now, but it hasn't. I still can't get enough of my little Zekie boy! He is just the raddest kid ever! He makes me laugh all day long and he is so ridiculously cute! I am in love with him! He is very intuitive too. He seems to sense the days I could use a little pick-me-up and is extra charming and lovable on those days. We couldn't have asked for a better first child!

Zeke at 11 Months:

- biggest achievement this month is walking! It was a few weeks of progression. First he'd take a few steps, then fall to his bum. Then he was taking like 4-5 steps but he'd get so excited to get to us that his top half would go faster then his legs could keep up with and he'd face plant. Then we'd get so excited that he was taking steps, which made him super excited so then he just wanted to jump in excitement and couldn't keep his legs straight enough to walk on. It was pretty hilarious. Then one day he just started walking across the entire room. And now he is all over the place.

He loves walking toward Dad

And towards Mom (I was behind the camera)

-He is still a little busy body and never stops moving. He's always getting into things and loves crawling over, under or behind anything he can. He will find his way into any crevice or space

-He loves getting up onto this bouncy seat and bouncing himself on it while on his hands and feet. And then doing handstand flips off of it

-He always gets into the fridge anytime it's opened when he's near. And he likes to reorganize it for us also

-He loves playing with the kitchen trash can. (It's ok, I keep it clean) He loves to open and close the lid

And gets up on his tippy toes to see what's inside

-He loves opening and closing doors

- We always try to keep the bathroom door closed but sometimes we forget and he gets in there and likes to play. Pulling the toilet paper out, cleaning out the cabinets and he even goes for the toilet water, but I usually get to him before he can make contact with it

-He loves to be outside. I usually take him out with me to check the mail and when I walk back inside he cries. He loves playing ball with Dad with the neighbor kids

-We took him to a dog park one day and he loved riding on Dad's shoulders taking in all the sights

And checking out all the doggies

-He is a very good eater and eats a wide variety of food. Like potstickers

and Quesadilla

-And he loves feeding himself with a fork now too. He's actually really good at it. He goes fast towards his face, but when he gets close he slows down and gently puts it in his mouth, then gives the fork back to you to get him his next bite

It is really cute!

-He puts his hand to his mouth a lot whenever he's eating or laughing. Like he's covering his mouth so you can't see the food in there

And he loves walking around chewing on his pineapple spears.

-One trait this kid definitely got from me is that he LOVES water. I don't put juice in his sippy cup because he drank the water just fine so I figured why add the sugar, and he loves it. He downs that water like he just ran 10 miles. He likes to double fist it with his water cups

He loves tipping his head way back when he drinks and chugs it. He will be choking on it and coughing it up where it's spilling down his face and getting his shirt soaked, but he won't stopped chugging it. It is seriously hilarious!

-He loves getting his teeth brushed and is very cooperative

-He has started clapping this month. I've been trying to get him to clap for months now, but he never seemed interested in it. But his month something changed and now he loves to clap

-He met my sister's Korean foreign exchange students and loved them

And they loved him too!

-He is such a smart boy! He knows all the right buttons to push on things to make them work. He knows how to work all his toys to make the lights and sounds go off. He picks up the remote and looks at the TV. And he even picks up our cell phones and puts them to his ear and starts talking

-He sleeps 12-15 hours a night!

-He follows me around the house all day long, and I love it

-He does this funny new thing where he grabs his head, like he has a headache, but he gives a coy little smile when he does because he knows we think it's cute

-He loves playing with keys

-If he gets food in his hand he likes to squeeze it really hard, like to the point of shaking. Just showing that food who's boss I guess

-He likes playing ball and rolling the ball back and forth or catching it

-He likes to bite, but we are trying to teach him not to. We may have been sending him bad signals by play biting him all the time, and now he always bites us, pretty hard sometimes. So we are trying to back track and teach him not to bite. Parenting slip up

-He's a tough little cookie. Bumps his head a lot because he is all over the place, but a lot of times I'll notice a new bruise or bump, but never heard him cry about it.

-He is such a ham in public. He flirts with all the ladies around us, but also let's them know who his main lady is by grabbing my face and giving me big open mouth kisses! The women just eat it up!

-He is a happy happy boy!

-He is just the funniest kid and has the best facial expressions and mannerisms.

This little man seriously brings so much joy and happiness to our lives! He never stops making us laugh or smile! We couldn't imagine our life without this little boy!

Happy 11 Months Zeke! We love you little buddy!!

Zeke's walking!

2012-01-29T20:24:00.001-08:00

The little guy is walking! He's actually been walking for about a week now, but in just the last few days he has really taken off and can go across the room now! It started with just a few steps and then he'd face plant, then a few more steps, and now he is all over the place!

Good job little buddy!! We are so proud of you!!

J Blue

2012-01-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

Our friend Jared came up to visit us a few weekends ago. He is one of Richie's childhood friends from New York. They grew up right across the street from each other. He is listed as "J Blue" in Richie's phone, but I'm not sure why? He's in the Marines and stationed out at Camp Pendleton for a few months before he heads out to Afghanistan. It was a lot of fun to have him come visit. My Mom came out that night also, so we had a full house. We had Sunday dinner together

And then Zeke showed Grandma and Jared all his new tricks

The next day we headed down to Santa Monica. Zeke had been holding onto a cough since New York and he was still congested, poor kid. He was still his usual happy self, but he did not like when he sneezed and blew snot all over his face! And he especially didn't like it when Mom and Dad laughed at him and took a picture of it before wiping it off him, haha! I'm pretty sure Jared was judging us as parents at that moment.

The boys

Richie made me try the rope climb, but I'm so weak these days I didn't get very far. I probably could've gone further, but I didn't really care to

Then Richie had to show me up

Zeke was just dying to put his feet in the sand. He kept staring down at it and was trying to get out of our arms. So we took his socks off and let him stand in it for a bit. He was a happy boy

This kid was born to be a beach boy. He's always so happy there

Then Dad made Zeke try the rope climb too

He wasn't too into the feel of the rope though

Santa Monica Pier

Love these two boys!!

He headed up to the Pier and walked around for a little bit. We walked through an arcade so Zeke got to ride the train. But he was more intrigued with the Trapeze School that was right next door

Then Dad taught him how to shoot a gun

From there we headed over to 3rd Street Promenade and found a little New York restaurant for dinner.

It was a good time with Jared and we are so glad he came up to hang out with us!

Besties

2012-01-14T19:27:00.000-08:00

So I somehow forgot to publish this post three months ago after we went to Green Bay. I uploaded the pics back then, and then forgot about it, until I just recently noticed the orange draft sign in my post list.

Anywho, it was such a fun trip and I am so grateful for the time I got to spend with my best friends! I love these girls so much and it makes me sad that we rarely get to see each other anymore, so I cherish the time we do get to be together. And it's been so fun with the babies too, they have a built in playmate!

Zeke and Fia were so cute playing together

Since we were with the all-knowledgeable esthetician Chantony, we did some face masks one night. Chant whipped this mask up out a few ingredients from the kitchen

I have the most beautiful best friends!

I always knew Ashley would have made a great cheerleader! Look at that form on the top of the pyramid!

Always a good time with these girls

The babes playing again

Zeke got a little too playful (he just couldn't resist that bare shoulder)

So Fia got him back

These kids were too funny together

I love these girls to the moon and back!

And I love making Ash uncomfortable with the touchy affection! (haha, I just noticed little Zekers peeking through the legs)

Thanks for a great trip Best Friends!! I love you girls, I love spending time with you!! Can we just live near each other already!!

Beach Hair

2012-01-12T13:00:00.000-08:00

Zeke loves going to the beach with Dad.

He loves when Dad surfs all the way till dark, then comes into the car freezing cold and cranks up the heat, sweating Zeke and Mom out

Giving Zeke crazy hair as if he had just come in from a surf sesh too

Gma/Gpa's House

2012-01-10T11:53:00.000-08:00

Once again, Zeke had a great time out at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We went out for Sunday dinner and then stayed the night when Richie went to Hawaii last month. Oh yeah, Richie went to Hawaii for a few days, but no pictures of course.

Cheryl and Kyle tag teamed Zeke to get him dressed for bed. He was pretty tired at this point and a little hysterical, but they handled it like pros

The next day Zeke and I had fun hanging out while everyone else went to work. Zeke liked to crawl over to the gate and then turn around and wave hi to me

He "reorganized" the DVD cabinet

And then decided the book shelf needed some reorganizing as well

Zeke is getting to be quite the helper these days, pulling everything off of shelves or out of cabinets for you

He had a stare down with Dash, and I think won

And then decided he didn't like how Mom put the DVD's back, so he would reorganize them again

He ate some dinner

And then had a second dinner too

But he ended up mostly playing with it and giving it to the dogs to eat. Notice the noodles on Dash's back that Zeke flung there

But no matter what he's doing, Zeke is usually a very happy boy at Grandma and Grandpa's house. He loves spending time with him and they are both so good to him always. They get so excited to see him and play with him when they come home.

And Zeke loves it!

Dinner with Uncle Matt

2012-01-08T16:47:00.000-08:00

The Sunday before Christmas, Matt came up to our house to hang out and have dinner. It was the perfect Sunday to come for dinner because I was making my favorite meal, roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas and raspberry pretzel jello. Surprisingly this was my first time making this meal on my own. Usually my Mom makes it for me when we go out to their house for dinner. Happy to report that everything turned out delicious, with one exception. The gravy. Which is kind of the most important part. I would always ask my Mom when she made this meal, "Did you make the good gravy?" The good gravy meant she got a lot of drippings from the roast, so the flavor of it was delicious. If not, she had to supplement with a packet, which made it not nearly as good. Well I was beyond excited when I saw that my roast produced a lot of drippings. So Matt helped me pour all the drippings out into a pan, as I explained to him that it was going to be really good gravy because of all the drippings.

When I talked to my Mom on the phone earlier about making this meal she told me about adding cornstarch and some of the potato water to make the gravy and then went on to something else. I didn't ask for more directions, thinking that was all I had to do. So I had the piping hot drippings in the pan, and then just started pouring in the cornstarch and mixing. Well it started turning clumpy, so I added some water, but that didn't help. I was so upset my gravy was ruined.

Matt tried to save it by turning up the heat thinking he could melt it thin again, but it just got worse. Nothing we did helped, it was ruined, and I was devastated. I know that seems a bit extreme, but this is my all time favorite meal and the gravy is my all time favorite part! I was so excited for it, and then to watch it be ruined by my stupid mistake, I was not happy about that.

Luckily I had bought a packet mix just in case I didn't get many drippings. So we had to use the packet gravy on our mashed potatoes. I kept watching Matt try to save the gravy, but I knew it was a lost cause. I was pretty ticked off at myself

But it was still a good meal and we had a good time visiting with Matt.

I bought this head scratcher thing thinking Richie would like it because he loves having his head scratched. But he hated it and wigged out every time I put it on his head. He said it gave him goosebumps and felt weird. Zeke didn't seem to like it either. He would drop his head and try to pull it off every time I tried it on him too.

But he loved playing with Uncle Matt. He followed him around everywhere and crawled all over him.

He even waited right outside the door for him when Matt went to the bathroom. He loves his Uncle Matty

So ruined gravy aside, it was a great night and we had fun spending time with Matt. We always have a good time with Matt!

Christmas in New York

2012-01-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

We took the red eye flight Christmas Eve and got into New York early Christmas morning. The flight went pretty well. I thought Zeke would sleep the entire flight. He slept in till 9:40 that morning (he has never slept that late) so he only took one nap during the day. I tried putting him down for a second nap, but he wasn't having it. I think it's because Dad was home and he wanted to play more with him. So anyways I thought he'd be exhausted by flight time. He slept on the drive down to the airport, so that little cat nap must have given him his second wind because he was wired the first half of the flight. We got to bring his car seat on board so I put him in there to sleep. I had to hold him down and every time I peeked in to see if he was sleeping he'd try to sit up and get out. So I stopped peeking in. After about 10 minutes of him not moving, I figured he had fallen asleep. So I let go and leaned over to Richie to try to fall asleep myself. I looked back 1 minute later and Zeke was practically doing a headstand in his car seat. He had twisted himself out and got up to his hands and knees across his car seat and was looking at us with a huge smile on his face like he was ready to party. Richie and I were cracking up. He clearly wasn't tired, so we got him out and he just hung out with us, and flirted with the flight attendants, for the next 2 hours. So besides not getting much sleep, the flight went well.

We all went down for a nap when we got home around 7 am, and planned on going to church at 9:30. But Zeke was completely knocked out and was not waking up, so we three stayed home to sleep while everyone else went to church. The kids got to open one present before church and Rachel and Olivia were pretty excited with their ponies that they opened, and then we were all pretty jealous of Hannah's iPad that she opened.

This is the before shot of the family room

After everyone got home from church and we all woke up it was time for family Christmas. We all gathered in the family room and then things got a little chaotic. Gifts were flying across the room, wrapping paper was being ripped to shreds and squeals of delight were heard by all the kids (and some adults). Zeke was pretty excited for all his gifts too

There wasn't really any order to gift opening. You just opened whatever present had your name on it, awed over it for about 2 seconds, then found another gift of yours you could open

Danny was enjoying all the commotion. And I'm not sure what kind of face Zeke was making at Ellie, but she obviously wasn't liking it

So remember earlier when I said Hannah got an iPad and we were all pretty jealous? Well Mom handed all the couples gifts to open and guess what we all got too?? Yep, we all got iPads!! I was beyond stoked and this is the time some squeals of delight were heard by adults (me). It was completely unexpected and totally awesome! Thanks Mom and Dad!!

And this is the after shot of the family room

Zeke got this toy from Grammy and Poppy which is one of the best toys ever, and he loves it!

I love pictures of Zeke where I can imagine what he's saying. Like in this picture, "Hey guys! I found some more presents!!"

So he got himself out of there so they could dig into the new round of gifts. It really was amazing, just when we thought it was over, Mom would come down the stairs with another basket of presents

"Grammy, Grammy! Look what we got you!!"

Poppy and Grammy with all the kids

Zeke wanted to play with Uncle Danny...

...but Dan wasn't feelin him and made a quick getaway

Playing with Photobooth on Hannah's iPad. Seriously was cracking me up! Those pictures look so funny!

Our cute reindeer. Grandma Ede got these for Zeke and Ellie

reading one of his new books with Grammy

All the Christmas day festivities were just too much for Eric

The next morning Zeke tried playing with Uncle Dan again. It went a little better this time with Dad there too. Danny loves Richie!

For breakfast Zeke enjoyed some fresh New York bagels

Then the day was filled with playing with all the new toys

The whole group. We thought to take this pictures of everyone just before bed time, but Ellie was already in bed. Jess got her back up and she was all smiles for the picture, even though she wasn't feeling great, such a good girl!

That night we also had the gift exchange. It wasn't quite as entertaining as the gift exchange we had two years ago, but it was still a lot of fun. All the kids were still awake this time, so they got to help each person open their gifts. Some highlight gifts were Dad getting Beano to go

And Charlie getting Enema Extra

And of course there were more lotto tickets in the pile and this year Charlie and Michelle did walk away with them and I think won $50 again.

Josh got a huge nerf gun in the gift exchange so things got a little crazy after that. He was shooting all the kids and they loved it

And Danny thought it was hilarious and had a great time watching all the kids getting hit

We pretty much just hung around the house most of the time and played a few rounds of Sequence and Rook. It was nice to just spend some time together. Zeke liked it too, especially when Poppy would share his ice cream with him

Danny loved having everyone home. Especially his brothers. Danny sure loves these guys!

As Richie and I were getting our things packed on the last day, Poppy was playing with the two babies. All I heard was laughter and giggles coming from the kitchen. I told Richie that I wish Dad could retire already and just play with the kids all day because he's so good at it and loves it so much. He's a very special Poppy!

Last picture in New York in the JetBlue terminal.

It was a great trip, just way way too short! Thanks Mom and Dad for all our gifts and for all you do for us all every time we are home! We always have a great time with everyone and wish we could get together more often!

Christmas Eve Eve

2012-01-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

On the eve of Christmas Eve we headed out to my parents house for dinner with the family. Zeke got to open a few gifts before dinner

He got this cool shirt from Auntie Cheryl and Uncle Kyle. They are so good to him and always get him cool little gifts from their outings

Then all the guests arrived so we put presents on hold and Zeke got to hang out with his Great Grandpa Hall

It was so nice to see Grandma and Grandpa Hall and spend some time with them. They were down visiting from Idaho for Christmas

We dined on some delicious prime rib, twice baked potatoes, carrots and salad. Thanks Mom for a delicious meal, as always! Then we rested in the family room and visited and opened a few more gifts

Zeke had too many presents to open at Grandma and Grandpa's house so we brought them home and he opened them the next morning. He wasn't really into opening the gifts, but he liked playing in the wrapping paper afterwards. Typical guy.

Thanks Mom and Dad for a wonderful evening and for all our gifts! We love you guys!

Ten Months

2012-01-02T14:30:00.000-08:00

Our baby Zeke is 10 months old today! He has grown a lot this month and is really starting to seem a lot older to me. Everyday I can see some new development in his abilities. He is very quick and very agile. He seems to understand a lot of what I'm saying to him and he just gets funnier and funnier everyday.

Zeke at 10 Months:

-he's very close to walking. He free stands all the time and can even get up to his feet without holding on to anything. He's very agile on his feet. He can turn his body to look all around and will squat down, then stand back up again, numerous times, while on his feet free standing. He walks along everything and has even taken 2 little steps by himself.

-Zeke is always on the go. He never stops moving and is all over the place, very quickly. He can get anywhere and to any thing that he wants to. He's just a little ball of energy and some days he really wears me out!

-This kid has the healthiest and most regular bowel system of anyone I know. He poops about 3 times a day, on average, somedays up to 6 times! I think he's a small guy because he never stops moving and because he poops so often.

-he loves to dance and nod his head

-even though he's a little guy, he has cankles

-he still looks back at me every time he goes to the stairs to make sure I'm coming

-he has 8 teeth! Four on top, four on bottom

-he's great at biting things, like your finger or your nose! And it hurts! But he's also good at taking bites of food and mashing down big bites of food with his teeth and back gums

-he seems to be very aware of his surroundings. If he's standing right next to a table and then goes to sit down, he'll do it so he doesn't hit his head on the table.

-But he also hits his head a lot because he is always crawling over, under and through things

-he doesn't like things on his head, like hats or his hood. He always tries to pull it off

-He loves to be covered by blankets and then find his way out to see you again. It cracks him up

-I've really had to step up my game of always keeping my eye on him and also keeping things totally out of his reach because he's so quick. Things that used to be fine, he can now get to somehow. He is very creative in his movements. If he wants something, he'll find a way to get to it.

-we can't leave any small object on the ground or he'll find it and put it in his mouth

-we can't ever leave the toilet seat up or he'll play in the toilet water (gag)

-he is figuring out new movements with his mouth and new sounds he can make. He talks a lot and yells a lot and sometimes spits his food out. Not because he doesn't like it, just because he has learned how to and he thinks it's funny

-sometimes he does a fake laugh or a fake cry

-he does not like having his face wiped after eating

-he loves to play his new game of throwing everything he can off his high chair, or out of the tub or over his bed railing.

-I see more and more of Richie in him everyday. Not just in looks but in mannerisms and traits. He is a hot body, just like his Dad. He loves cheese like Dad, and he is an excellent sleeper like Dad. One day I had to wake him up from a nap to go somewhere and I was shaking his crib and calling his name and he still wouldn't wake up. It really is adorable though how much this son is like his father.

He loves crawling and playing under the coffee table

He tried crawling behind the couch, but then got stuck and called for help

He always crawls over and under and through the chairs in the dining room

He likes to play underneath his Exersaucer now too

He loves being in the kitchen, especially if I'm in there. If I put him down in the living room then go to the kitchen, he'll be right behind me in about 5 seconds

He's usually a pretty good little helper in there

Sometimes too good. He loves to play in this cabinet and almost pulled the glass pans out one day. I caught him just in time, told him "No" then set him down by another cabinet, and within literally 3 seconds he was back over to that cabinet and had pulled the glass pans out and broke one. Luckily he didn't get hurt at all. It didn't even seem to phase him

And sometimes he just likes hanging out in the fridge. He loves food

He loves pulling all the stuff out of these shelves

Oh and his favorite new face/noise to make is scrunching up his nose, burrowing his brows and snorting really fast in and out through his nose

It's pretty hilarious

He loves when Dad gives him special little treats

He's great at feeding himself

Caught with the chocolate

He LOVES playing with Dad and cracks up at everything he does

And this kid is a dare devil. He loves being tossed, swung and thrown around. I know some adults don't like seeing this, so sorry. But Zeke really does love it

Sometimes he escapes during diaper changes and likes to play in the buff

And he loves watching surf videos

Just give him a string cheese, put on a good surf movie, and he's a happy camper

He's become quite the avid reader and loves his little book wall

So to sum up Zeke at 10 months..... he's a handful!! He's always on the move and getting in to everything. But we love him that way! He is so much fun and always making us laugh. We just watch in amazement all the new things he can do and his funny little personality.

Happy Ten Months Zeke! We love you!

Richie's Birthday

2012-01-01T14:21:00.000-08:00

Richie had to work on his birthday so I woke up at 5:30am to make cinnamon rolls to send in with him to work. I told him he had to tell his co-workers that I made them for his birthday, but he said he wouldn't. So I, ever so slyly, taped a sign to his back that said "Today is my Birthday" and then just in case he took his sweatshirt off when he got to work I put one under the tinfoil that said "It's Richie's Birthday".

While Dad was gone at work Zeke and I decorated the house. Zeke loved playing with the balloons

And Dad did too when he got home

My family drove out for his birthday dinner. Richie loves gnocchi and I had just seen a recipe for it on our friends blog so I decided to make it for him. We made regular and sweet potato gnocchi with a pesto sauce and a roasted pepper cream sauce. It turned out pretty good, but it took a while to make. During dinner I made everyone say something nice about Richie, and then I told some stories from his childhood that I knew. Everyone rested for a bit after dinner

Then we played Trivial Pursuit. Cheryl and Kyle took an early lead, but me and the Birthday Boy pulled off a win!

Then it was time to sing to Richie and have some cake. I made his favorite cake, which is just whipped cream and chocolate wafers.

Zeke sat with Dad because he knew he'd get some cake

After cake I brought out Richie's present. A new surfboard! That's actually one of his old boards, but he gets to pick out a new one. I wanted to get him one for his birthday, but realized it'd probably be safer if he picked it out himself.

We took a few pics. I told everyone to wear red in honor of Richie since it's his favorite color. I set the timer on the camera and it took 4 quick pictures, so we did the first one smiling

The second one is an "Earl" picture

Third was supposed to be a serious face, but Richie, Dad and Kyle didn't open their eyes and Cheryl and Brian jumped the gun on the next picture

Then the last was supposed to be a silly face. The camera goes so quick it was hard to change your face before the next picture went off. But we had a good time

Saying goodbye to Grandpa

and Grandma

Then after everyone left Zeke helped Dad open a few more gifts

and play in all the streamers and decorations.

It was a fun night to celebrate Richie and his birth!

Richard

2011-12-30T09:58:00.000-08:00

Today is my darling husbands 28th birthday! Just had to do a post all about him and how awesome he is! I am so grateful to have Richie in my life and couldn't imagine it without him. He is my best friend and I love him to the moon and back! He is a great husband and does so much to make me happy. He is the best father Zeke could ever hope for. He is so adorable with Zeke and I love seeing them together. And Zeke absolutely adores his Dad!! He always wants to hang out with Dad and lights up whenever he sees him. He has a great personality and makes every situation more fun. Richie has such a big heart and is such a caring man. He always gives money or something to people on the streets in need. He helps out whenever he can and does so many little acts of service for people. He is humble and modest and doesn't ask for recognition for doing good. He's got a good head on his shoulders, he's a family man and he is a great example to me, and so many others, in so many ways. He is just a genuinely good man and I feel like the luckiest girl alive that he is mine! He is very knowledgable, in many areas but especially in the gospel, and has an admirable testimony. He is an easy guy to get along with and everyone likes him. He's a wonderful husband, an incredible father, a loyal friend, and a loving son and brother. He's just an all around stud, and he's got a hot bod to boot!!

Happy 28th Birthday Richard!! I LOVE YOU!!!!

Some pictures of Richie for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

Christmas Travels

2011-12-24T17:00:00.000-08:00

We're off to New York for Christmas!! Zeke wanted to get in the spirit.

We're hoping for a white Christmas so Zeke can have some fun in the snow for the first time!

Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!!

Dear Santa

2011-12-23T08:28:00.000-08:00

All I want for Christmas is for my family to be happy and healthy! Oh....and maybe a travel size version of Mommy's boob to have with me at all times. Thanks!

xoxo, Zeke

Family Christmas Pictures

2011-12-21T23:14:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday we all matched for church with some Christmas red. No it was not a coincidence. Much to Richie's dismay, I planned our outfits to match. He's not really into being matchy matchy, but I like it every now and then, especially for church, and more especially for Holidays. We didn't get a Christmas tree this year since we won't be home for Christmas, so in place I just threw up some lights around the living room. So we were going to go over to my friends house to borrow her tree for pictures, but Zeke was ready for a nap before she got home so we just snapped a few shots at home.

My two ridiculously handsome boys

Not sure what's up with the lighting here and why Zeke's face is shadowed, but I love my happy boy

This was from last Sunday, but I had to throw it in because Zeke looks so handsome in his Christmas sweater

Love this little family of mine

Looking forward to many more Christmas seasons to celebrate with these two!

Christmas Lights

2011-12-20T22:55:00.000-08:00

Zeke has loved looking at all the Christmas lights during his first Christmas season. Whenever we go out to my parent's house, Grandpa takes Zeke outside to look at the lights.

Checking out the neighbors lights

Then by the next time we were out there, the lights were up on my parents house. So Zeke went out with Grandpa to inspect them

Then on Monday we went to look at lights for FHE. I looked it up online and there was a map of all the good streets that would be brightly lit in Santa Clarita. Well that map must have been out of date, because those streets were nothing special. After driving through a few neighborhoods looking for something good, we gave up and decided to head home. But then on our way we drove by a cul de sac that looked awesome, so I flipped a U and we turned in. It wasn't as much as I've seen in pictures or on TV, but it was pretty good.

Zeke loved looking at all the lights

This house had the manger scene so I was explaining to Zeke who everyone was

Zeke was mesmerized by this big blown up Santa Claus on a rocking horse

They even had a Christmas tree in the middle of the street

It was a great night of family time and enjoying the Christmas lights!

C Street

2011-12-19T20:13:00.000-08:00

A few Monday's ago we headed down to Ventura to C Street. It's a well known surf spot and the waves were supposed to be good. Richie headed straight for the water so Zeke and I went for a run when we got there. There's a nice trail along the beach. We went one direction and passed this cool train track and old bridge

And then headed the other way and ran all the way down to the pier where there was a little playground.

Happy as can be on the swings

When we got back to where Richie was we grabbed the camera and headed out to the sand to watch Dad surf. But Zeke was more interested in the sand

He'd watch Dad for a few seconds

but then was off to play again

He raked through the sand to find anything he could put in his mouth

He was completely covered in sand by the time we left, but was a happy boy in it. This kid was made to grow up on the beach

Well the waves weren't nearly as big as they were forecasted to be, which was disappointing, but Richie still got a few decent ones

We actually met up with our friend Dave Neville this day, so he surfed with Richie for a while, then came in and played with Zeke and I on the beach for a bit. It was a fun day. He even treated us to In-N-Out afterwards too! Thanks Dave!

Umm...Not a good sign

2011-12-18T16:02:00.000-08:00

Should I be worried that Zeke sometimes likes to hold his pretzel sticks like this? This can't be a good sign.

Facetime

2011-12-16T08:41:00.000-08:00

Zeke loves doing facetime with Grandpa. Whenever Zeke is doing something funny or entertaining, I usually call my Dad on facetime so he can see it. He is usually always somewhere that has wifi, so I know he can answer and video chat. Zeke loves it and puts on a good show for Grandpa. My Dad loves it too and lights up seeing Zeke. It is really sweet.

A Day at the Park

2011-12-12T13:20:00.000-08:00

Zeke loves going to the local park

He loves the swings and squeals in delight

He tried lots of new things this trip to the park

He had fun crawling through the tunnels

He enjoyed the slide with Dad, but was ready to try it on his own

Such a big boy

Mom did the slide with him a few times

But he liked doing it by himself best

He even swung from the monkey bars

And one last ride on the swing with Dad, for good measure

Beachin' it with the Boys

2011-12-10T14:27:00.000-08:00

A little while ago we headed down to Huntington Beach for a beach day with our friends Matt and Bret. These two guys are like family to us, and honorary Uncles to Zeke. They drove all the way up to Lancaster the night Zeke was born to meet him. And they haven't stopped loving him since, and Zeke adores them both as well.

Dad and Uncle Bret went surfing so Zeke hung out with Uncle Matty. They both stripped off their shirts and enjoyed the warm California sun the last day in October.

And the water wasn't even that chilly for it being so late in the year

Matt is so good with Zeke. A natural

Dad and Bret came in from surfing, so Zeke got some more practice on the board. These 3 will have Zeke surfing in no time

Zeke loves beachin' it with his boys.

I'm sure he'll see many beaches around the world with his Dad, Uncle Matt and Uncle Bret

A Poopy Night

2011-12-09T11:30:00.000-08:00

Literally, not emotionally. It was actually quite an entertaining night. I was making dinner last night and asked Rich to go change Zeke's diaper. He took him to the usual diaper changing spot in the living room and started. There was a little poop in there, but not much. Richie said, "that's it Zeke?" I came over to check things out and wasn't surprised that there wasn't much because Zeke had done 3 big poops the day before. We just figured he didn't have much left in him. Zeke is a very regular pooper, which we are very grateful for. Sounds weird to be grateful for poop, but you don't realize the blessing of it until they stop doing it and your freaking out wondering why.

So anyways Rich decided to leave his diaper off for a bit and give him some air time, as he loves to do. So Zeke took of crawling and headed for his area of toys.

After about 2 or 3 minutes I said, "You better put a diaper on him before he pees all over the place and you have to clean it up!"

Richie just scoffed and said, "let him get some air".

Well I thought he had had enough air and didn't want him urinating all over his toys so I went to pick him up and put his diaper on and as I bend down to get him I notice a big pile of poop just to the side of him. I started cracking up and told Richie, "Well congratulations! You've got yourself a fun mess to clean up!" Then we noticed another little area of poop 3 feet away. Zeke took off crawling more and kept sitting down creating more little spots of poop. It was awesome. I sat Zeke down on a diaper, but he kept wanting to crawl, so I was fighting to hold him down and wipe his bum as he's trying to get away. We were all cracking up, including Zeke. He thought he was pretty darn funny.

We realized we didn't have any cleaners that don't have bleach in them, so Richie took off to the store to get some carpet cleaner and a scrub brush. And the best part is that it wasn't one of his solid poops that could be picked up easily. It was mushy.

It was a pretty entertaining night, to be topped off with me crying at a stupid Hallmark commercial of a Dad, who was a solider away from home, getting a package from his kid with a book that recorded his voice. I started crying and said, "that's so sad!" Richie just looked at me with wide eyes and said, "What is happening??"

It was a good night! Ha

(Didn't think I'd ever write a post about poop, but alas, here it is!)

Mall Santa

2011-12-08T10:24:00.000-08:00

Last week we took Zeke to the mall to get pictures taken with Santa. We thought we'd be waiting in line for a while, but we walked right up, no line. Weird.

Zeke was happy when Mom and Dad were sitting on either side of him

But wasn't so sure about the old guy once Mom and Dad walked away.

We were trying to make him smile and laugh, but he wasn't having it, which is really unusual for Zeke. Santa asked me if he was maybe tired or hungry. He did cut his afternoon nap short that day, and then I realized I didn't feed him after he got up, so he was probably starving. Poor kid. But I still think this picture is really cute with that little pouty face.

I've heard that if you don't have a Santa pic with the kid crying or unhappy, then you don't have a Santa pic, haha. So I guess we have an official Santa pic.

Happy Holidays!!

Principal of the Year

2011-12-06T21:55:00.000-08:00

Monday night my Mom was honored with "Principal of the Year" for her district. It was a much deserved award. My Mom has got to be one of the coolest principals around. She has done so much good at her school, for their education ratings and for their school spirit. Sky Country was named a California Distinguished School this year, under my Mom's direction. And she does so many fun things for the students, including dressing up and putting on special performances for the kids. They all love her!

Zeke and I drove out to be there for my Mom's award. Zeke was so proud of his Grandma, he made her this sign

Accepting her award from the Board of Education

She got a very loud applause from the audience and even a standing ovation from her some of staff that showed up to support her

Zeke thought he was pretty special being the Principal of the Year's grandson

Congratulations Mom!! We are so proud of you! You are very deserving of this award and do so much good at your school! We love you Principal Lauritzen!!

Neighborhood Watch

2011-12-05T07:48:00.000-08:00

Better not do anything suspicious in our neighborhood. Zeke is watching!

Nine Months

2011-12-02T20:51:00.000-08:00

It's crazy to think that Zeke has now been out in my arms as long as he was in my belly. It was an enjoyable 9 months of carrying him around inside of me, but so awesome having him out to play with and make us laugh. And he makes us laugh every.single.day!!

Zeke at 9 Months:

-this kid is very active, he never stops. He had his 9 month well-baby doctor visit today and he only weighs 16 3/4 lbs, which is only the 5-10th percentile, so he's pretty small. But he eats plenty, a lot actually. It's just because he's constantly moving and on the go.

(Reading a book with Dad waiting for Doctor to come in. How cute is this picture?!)

-He still loves to nurse and is so funny when he does. I seriously wish I could post a video of him nursing because it is hilarious. He will nose dive and lunge for my boobs as soon as he sees them. Or he grabs them and tries to bring them to his mouth rather than bring his mouth to them. Seriously cracks us up!

-He's doing great with eating baby food and will eat everything we give him for the most part. But he loves to eat whatever we are eating. He's great at feeding himself too. He even knows how to cough up a piece of food if he starts choking on it (nothing serious, don't worry). His current favorite snacks are pretzel sticks and string cheese. He gets so excited if he sees me pull a string cheese out of the fridge

(Eating Dad's soup)

-He's pretty helpful while getting dressed, instead of just a limp body. He'll push his arms through his sleeves and kick his legs through his pants. Makes it a lot easier

-he's pretty reasonable. He doesn't cry for no reason, and also I feel like I can reason with him sometimes about doing things I want him to do, like he is understanding what I'm saying and the reason behind it

-He is crawling very quickly and pulling up on everything. He takes a few steps along things and free stands for a few seconds before he goes down to his bum. Whenever he's on his feet though he likes to dance and bounce so I think that prevents him from taking many steps

-He still loves doing the stairs

-he thinks he is just so funny sometimes, he cracks himself up. If he's supposed to be taking a nap, but wants to play instead, he'll just be silly in his bed and look at us laughing. Or when he starts climbing the stairs, he always looks back at me and laughs because he knows he's not supposed to be doing it. He loves when I crawl toward him growling too, he gets spastic and cracks up

-He must have music playing in his head because he is always singing, bobbing his head and dancing. It is really funny. He bounces his knees to dance and sings in a high pitched squeal.

-if he's eating something he really likes he smacks his lips and goes, "Mmmm mmm mmmm" He does it just with his paci in his mouth too

-he's getting very good at mimicking sounds we make

-His new thing is snorting through his nose. Not a loud snort, more like loud breathing. But it's so funny, he scrunches his nose up and snorts in and out really fast like he's laughing

-plays with his ear when he's getting tired

-he loves biting our noses, or fingers, or anything he can get in his mouth. And it hurts too because he has 6 teeth now that seem to be very sharp

-he likes to chew on tables too (look familiar Cass?)

-He usually just plays by himself in his bed for a little bit in the mornings when he wakes up. I usually hear him talking and playing when I get up to go to the bathroom and when I walk into his room to get him he has the biggest smile on his face and is so excited to see me

-he uses his whisper voice in the mornings, it sounds so sweet

-he has started waving to people, so cute!

-he likes to pick things up with his mouth, hands free. Sometimes he'll crawl over to his paci then dip his face down to it and pick it up with his mouth instead of grabbing it and putting it in. He does it with food on his tray too sometimes

-he likes to throw things off his highchair tray: food, sippy cup, snacks, whatever he can make me pick up

-he smiles at everyone! He's so friendly!

-he sometimes sleeps with his knees pulled up under him and his butt in the air. My younger brother used to sleep this way and my niece Reagan does too. It's really cute

-because he likes to feed himself now, and because he is all over the place getting into everything, he usually needs a bath every night now. I haven't been a "bath every night" type of Mom, because he didn't need it, he never got that dirty, but now he needs it. It's ok though, he still LOVES the bath

-he is all over the place in the tub too, crawling around, pulling up on anything he can. He loves playing with the little knob, pulling it up and down

-He has to touch and feel everything and figure everything out. He's very into exploring things

-Has played in 2 mall play areas and had a great time. I, on the other hand, think they are kind of gross and I'm sure covered in germs, but oh well.

-I know this is random, and maybe mean of me to say, but sometimes he reminds me of Sponge Bob Square Pants. Haha. It's just those big eyes with his long lashes and that big open mouth smile with his two top teeth showing and his square-ish shaped face. When I looked at this picture that is what I thought. Don't know why that's what came to my head, but doesn't he kind of look like him? lol but in a cute way of course

-Oh, he can do the splits too

I've been noticing that Zeke has quite a few traits like his Dad. I know there are more than this but some I can think of right now are:

-he pulls his hair out. Richie is always pulling hair out, his chest hair, arm hair, eye brows, eye lashes. Zeke has started grabbing his hair when he nurses and yanking it out.

-lint. Richie has lint in his belly button everyday, without fail. Zeke is also a lint collector like Dad, but he stores it between his toes

-old man toenails, where they have a slight curve to them

-sweaty. Zeke sweats very easily, just like his Dad.

But to sum it up in a picture, this is Zeke:

happy, joyful and full of life! He makes us smile and laugh a hundred times a day! I think I kiss him and tell him how much I love him about 1000 times a day. He just never gets old.

Happy 9 Months Zeke! We love you!

The Dunes

2011-11-29T21:11:00.000-08:00

The day before Thanksgiving my sister invited us out to Dumont Dunes. She married into a family that goes to the Dunes a lot and has since taken up the sport of quad riding and RV-ing. They spent the whole week there, but we just went up for the day. Richie had to work, so Zeke and I met up with my Mom, Dad and brother and we all headed out to the dunes together.

My Mom and Dad brought Zeke's little red car for him to ride around in, which he loves.

My Mom offered to stay back at camp with Zeke so the rest of us could go on a ride. Cheryl and Kyle had quads for all of us to ride so we got geared up. I said good-bye to my Zekie boy

Uncle Brian, Zeke, and Momma

Zeke and his gang.

He was so enthralled with the quads and the loud noises

That's Kyle and Brian going up that huge hill. I've ridden quads before, back in high school. I was a lot more gutsy then, and would try anything. I used to be such a dare devil. Not as much anymore. Having a child has made me more cautious, I guess knowing that a life depends on me. So I didn't attempt the big hill 10 minutes into our ride

But I got more and more comfortable riding as the time passed

We rode out to the "North Pole" of Dumont Dunes

There was even a mailbox that kids could put letters in for Santa

On our ride back we found a good little spot to practice jumping. Brian was getting some good air

My Dad was too, a little too much sometimes, almost flipped backwards, but he landed safely. My Dad really had a ball out there riding, it was fun to see him having so much fun

I even got in on the jumping action

and Brian gave their friend's dirtbike a go

We rode for about 2 hours then headed back to camp to see Grandma and Zeke. Zeke was so excited we were back and it was his time to go for a ride

He loved it

Grandpa's turn

Love these two

Zeke adores his Grandpa and loves hanging out with him doing fun stuff

He just thought it was the coolest riding around with Grandpa

playtime with Auntie Cheryl

My family is all so great with Zeke. I love seeing how much they all love and adore him. And he sure loves them too!

Then we loaded Zeke into his car seat, strapped him into the Rhino and took a ride over to vendor's row

He even got to drive!

But then his climbing instincts kicked in and he was climbing onto the steering wheel

He just needed a better view

Racerman Zeke in the driver's seat

watching all the loud cars go by

just waiting for everyone to get back from looking at the "shops"

Ninja style

those blue eyes just melt my heart!

It was a fun day! My arms and legs were sore the next few days, and so was my right hand from pushing the throttle. Thanks for inviting us up Cheryl and Kyle!!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T21:21:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving out at my parents house and it was a great day. My Mom and I spent the morning cooking and baking while Zeke got to play out back with Grandpa. My Dad was so cute with Zeke the few days we were there and would take him out back with him and put him in his little red car and push him around and play with him. They have an adorable little bond.

Later that day we headed down to Irvine to my Aunt and Uncles house for dinner. Zeke was having a ball playing with Uncle Brian. Babies in this family learn to love being thrown around real quick

And Zeke definitely learned that. He's all smiles and giggles while being tossed about

Then Dad got there and Zeke just lit up. It is really sweet seeing Zeke's reactions every time he sees his Dad. We thought Richie had to work that day, but Wednesday night he got told that he was taking Thanksgiving off. So he gladly obliged and took the opportunity to surf. He surfed that morning then met us at my family's house for dinner

Zeke's first Thanksgiving. Words can't express how incredibly thankful we are for this little boy!!

Dinner was delicious! Zeke ate everything we did, and loved it all! We were all stuffed afterwards and the tryptophan hit the boys quick. It may have also been because Brian snowboarded that day, and Richie surfed, but they went down to the floor quickly and didn't move much for a little while

Zeke seemed like he was getting tired so I put his jammies on and took him upstairs to put him to sleep, but he just couldn't get to sleep knowing everyone was still hanging out downstairs, so back down he came

to play with Grandma!! He was yawning and rubbing his eyes just 20 minutes before this, but he comes to life when playing with Grandma and Grandpa

And I'm sure he was really glad he stayed up when he got some pumpkin pie from Grandma too! This kid has already broken all my rules!!

It was a great Thanksgiving Day! We are thankful for so many things but most importantly for each other and for our sweet Zeke! We are thankful for our families and of course for the gospel! Hope everyone had a wonderful and delicious Thanksgiving!

Liz's Wedding Weekend

2011-11-22T12:00:00.000-08:00

Two weekends ago we headed up to Northern California for cousin Liz's wedding. It was only a five hour drive and was not bad at all. We took off thursday after work and got up to Grandma Rathgeber's house around 8:30pm. Zeke did great in the car, but he was definitely ready to get out and move around. We had fun playing and eating with Grandma (GG) for a bit before bedtime.

Grammy flew in later that night so we saw her the next morning. Zeke remembered his Grammy and was ready to play and even got to go out on a golf cart ride around GG Rath's neighborhood

Later that day the girls went to Liz's bridal shower

While the boys stayed home and played. Zeke had a ball playing with Uncle Jimmy on the stairs

And he had fun with cousin Addie too! These two became good pals

That night GG and Grammy watched Zeke while Richie and I went to the dinner. We had a great time at the dinner visiting with everyone and it was nice to eat a dinner without Zeke yelling at us to feed him our food, haha. And I think Zeke had a great time at home too. Grammy brought him a cool book that her and Poppy and Aunt Hannah recorded their voices on. So now he can hear them whenever he wants. It is very special!

But then he saw GG's glasses...and he loves glasses

The next morning we headed to the Oakland Temple for the sealing. (Thanks Rachel, and friend, for watching Zeke for us!!) There was this gorgeous view behind the Visitor's Center, the view of the city wasn't too bad either, haha....my boy's are so stinkin handsome!

And the view of the temple. I love being at the temple with Zeke and Richie!

Our little forever family

The gang, waiting outside the temple for the bride and groom to come out

And here they are....Mr. and Mrs. Sanders!

After all the hugs and kisses we headed over to the other side of the temple for pictures. Zeke saw the water fountain and started reaching for it like he wanted to go in, even though it was chilly out, he just loves the water and always wants to be in it. So Dad let him get a little feel

Siblings and cousins of the bride pic

Liz wanted a pic with Zeke

But it was way past his nap time and he was getting pretty tired at this point, so it didn't last long

He just needed the comfort of Dad's arms

We needed a pic with Alli and Julie. Love how the boys are in their own little world here, so cute

there we go, now everyone's looking at the camera

Me and my handsome boys

Grammy wanted in on the pics and snuggling Mr. Zeke too. Love these pictures, so adorable

We had a short little rest at home, then it was time to party at the reception. It was held at the clubhouse in GG Rath's community so it was about a 1 minute walk for us, which was very nice

Zeke and Addie had fun playing together again

Our table

Now that Zeke was rested and fed, he was happy as could be to take some pics with Liz. These two sure are cute together. Liz was great with Zeke this last summer at the reunion and they developed a cute little kinship.

Then it was time to hit the dance floor

We had a great time dancing with Zeke sandwiched between us

Zeke was having a ball at the reception. Dancing, eating good food, crawling around, playing with all his cousins. He was a happy boy, as usual

And his favorite playmate of all is of course Dad. These two crack each other up

We each got one more dance in with our boy before the bride and groom took off and the party was over

The next day we just took it easy, relaxing around the house, doing a puzzle, reading Grandma's old journals and going for a walk outside to enjoy the beautiful weather

Zeke got the royal treatment, riding on Dad's shoulder while getting fed bread from Grammy. What a life!

We found a little bridge, perfect size for Zeke

Then Grammy's turn to give Zeke a ride

Smiles all around

Enjoying the sunset with Grammy

Later that evening Uncle John, Aunt Barbara and cousin Mark came over for dinner. Zeke was entertained by Uncle John

and Mark. This was also our first time seeing Mark since he got home from his mission a month ago. It was great to see him and hang out again

We took off Monday morning to drive home. One last picture with GG. Thank you so much Grandma for letting us stay at your house and for feeding us and being such a great host! We really appreciated it and sure do love you!

This time we decided to drive down the coast instead of taking the interstate. It took us 3 hours longer to get home, but it was worth it. We got to stop at a little beach

and see some really gorgeous views of the coastline. This was at Big Sur

This is what our drive was like for about 5 hours. Right on the side of the mountain overlooking the ocean. It was beautiful!

In classic Zeke fashion, he was happy as could be! He just loves being with Mom and Dad, and we sure love being with him too!! It was a good day of just the 3 of us on the open road!

It was such a fun little trip and we are so happy we could be there to support Liz! Congrats Liz and Mark! We are so happy for you guys!!

We loved being able to spend time with family that we don't usually get to hang out with outside the summer reunions. Thanks for everyone's generosity and Grammy-thanks for Zeke's presents, he loves them!!

Indian Wells

2011-11-16T15:35:00.000-08:00

A little over a week ago my Mom had a 2 day conference out at Indian Wells Resort. My Grandma Hall was down visiting from Idaho and was going with her. Some of my Mom's teachers were attending the conference as well and turned out that one of her teachers ended up not needing her room. So my Mom asked if Zeke and I wanted to go with them and use the extra room instead of canceling it. Ummm....hang out with my Mom and Grandma at a fancy resort....yes please! We had a great time and it was so nice to be able to spend some quality time with Grandma Hall. I'm ashamed to admit I didn't end up taking a single picture with my Grandma in it. How I let that happen I do not know. Pretty pathetic! But we did enjoy her company, immensely.

The first day we were there the weather was beautiful so we decided to spend some time by the pool. They had a sand area that led right into the water on a gradual incline, so it was perfect for Zeke to crawl around in, and he loved it

We had fun playing in the water and all the teachers walking by looked pretty jealous that they had to go back into a boring conference while we were enjoying the sun and water

Grandma came out to see us on her lunch break. Zeke got pretty excited to see her

Then we kicked back with a refreshing lemonade and let the sun kiss our skin

But not too long for this white boy. Time to cover up and take a snooze poolside on momma's chest

It was a great little nap, but then some kids came and started playing. Zeke loves watching little kids so he popped right up and wanting to see what was going on. Love the sleep lines on his face and tummy

We had a lot of fun and Zeke loved being with his Grandma and Great-Grandma. He sure loves my Mom. He would crawl to her wherever she was and just sit at her feet while she got ready. It was really cute.

The second day we did some shopping with Grandma Hall and then my Mom cut out at lunchtime and we went to lunch and then drove home. It was a fun 2 days. Thanks for inviting us Mom! Let us know when you have another one of these things! We'd love to give you some company again!

Swim Class

2011-11-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

When Zeke was 6 months we signed him up for a swim class. 6 months was the age limit, and we figured why not start him as soon as we could. He loves the water and we want him to be comfortable in it, so we thought it was a good idea. And it turned out to be a great idea! Zeke absolutely loved it and it was fun for us too! It was every Tuesday and Thursday for 4 weeks. It was just Zeke and I on Tuesdays when Richie had to work the nightshift, and then Dad joined us on Thursdays.

Zeke loved splashing around

It was pretty funny, Zeke was by far the youngest kid in the class and a lot of the kids the first class were scared and didn't want to get in the water. But there was Zeke happy as could be splashing around and loving it. I heard a few of the parents saying to their kids, "Look at the baby. Do it like the baby". haha, way to be an example Zeke!

He would paddle his arms, kick his legs and even went under water and came up smiling still

He liked being on his stomach, but when we practiced the back float he kind of just laid there with a confused look on his face like he didn't know what to do

He liked laying on his tummy on the kick board too. That's a good sign for Dad, early signs of a surfer!!

He already learned how to paddle around on the board, he's ready for Pipe!

haha, love this picture. "Get out of my shot Dad!"

And he worked on jumping off the side of the pool into the water too

This boy and the water are going to be best buds. By the last few sessions he was putting his face in the water himself when I would hold him on his tummy to kick around

We missed the last class when we were in Utah, but Zeke passed and got his certificate!

It was a great experience for us all! We will probably enroll him again in the next session.

Eight Months

2011-11-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a fun and exciting eighth month for our little Zeker man. He's grown a lot this month and learned some more tricks. I still can't get over how awesome Zeke is and how much joy he brings us every single day! Yesterday Richie was playing with Zeke for like an hour and the two of them were laughing the whole time! Zeke's laugh is like music to my ears, it is the cutest thing! He loves to smile and laugh and be happy all the time! We are completely in love with our little boy!

Zeke at 8 Months:

-He is crawling! He's been army crawling and scooting all over the place for a while, but this month he got up on his hands and knees and has really taken off! He's quick too! Sunday at church I set him down on the floor for a second while I got something from my bag and he took off. I couldn't even grab him and by the time I told the girl in front of us to grab him he was out of her reach too. Richie had to get up and walk 4 pews up to get him! And he just had the biggest smile on his face as Richie was carrying him back. He thinks he's pretty funny!

-he can go from sitting to crawling and back to sitting again.

-he's pulling up on everything to get to his feet and will walk along things, although kind of shaky and wobbly, but he's taking steps. Sometimes he'll just pull up to his knees and then let go and take a few steps on his knees, it's kind of funny.

He's all over the place now and even going up the stairs!

-He always turns around to look at me with this mischievous look on his face, like he knows he's doing something he shouldn't be doing

-He is so quick too. I had him over between the couch and coffee table across the room and ran upstairs to start the bath. I was up there for maybe 30 seconds and when I came to walk back downstairs, Zeke was already up those first 2 steps and turning to head up the main section of the stairs. Big trouble!

We need to get a gate, but for now I just let him practice on the stairs while I sit behind him so he can learn how to go up and down them safely. He's getting pretty darn good, in just a few days of work. And today he went up the entire staircase all by himself! I sat behind him the whole time but didn't help him at all and he went all the way to the top! He had a few setbacks and got himself into a few awkward and difficult positions, but he just kept going upward, determined to get to the top, and he made it, 15 steps!

-He has also gotten into yoga. His favorite position is downward dog

and he also attempts side plank

-I had to go somewhere with my Mom one Sunday, so Zeke got to go to church with Grandpa all by himself and loved it.

Grandpa loved it too! He loved having his little buddy there with him and showing him off

Grandpa even let him drive there, haha

-he plays with his ear when he's getting tired and nursing

-he has started to put his thumb in the hole of his pacifier when he's sucking (this was his first time falling asleep in his high chair)

-he got his first 4 teeth this month! 2 top and 2 bottom middle. We've had a few rough nights of teething pain, but otherwise he is handling it very well

-he had his first real sickness of croup. It was what delayed us on our trip to Chicago and Wisconsin. I think he caught it in Utah because our last night there was when he was all stuffed up and congested (when I self suctioned his nose out) and then the next night at home was a bad one where he sounded like a barking dying seal, and he had a hard time breathing. It was so sad! But we got in to the doctor first thing in the morning and got him some medicine and he made a very quick turnaround. It was a sad 2 nights though.

-he likes to talk a lot and even grunts and yells sometimes too. And he still has an adorable little raspy voice.

-he loves being around other babies and little kids

-he kicks his legs when he likes what he's eating. His current favorites are peaches and yogurt. He's not too into any vegetables right now, and it's driving me nuts because I do not want a picky eater, but Richie keeps reminding me to just give him time and he'll come back around to them. I sure hope so because I love veggies and will be making lots of them for dinners.

But he sure loves Peaches!

And he's very interested in whatever we are eating, like this pickle that was on my plate. So I let him have it and he seemed to like it

-I think he still loves nursing most though, and I do too. I absolutely love nursing Zeke and love the bonding time it gives us.

-and he has started using a sippy cup, but he doesn't fully understand it yet. He usually just bites on it. It's a work in progress

-he flew his first plane! On our flight home from Wisconsin, Richie flew in the cockpit (a program through work) and as Zeke and I were boarding we popped in to say hi and the pilot let us come in and sit in his seat and let Zeke push some buttons. He loved it!

-he loves playing with remotes and paper and oddly loves having things thrown at his face

-he loves playing peek-a-boo

-he has such a funny little personality and already has a great sense of humor.

It's only been 8 months but I seriously can't imagine my life without this kid. He is just so much fun and makes Richie and I so happy everyday!

Happy 8 Months Zeker Baby! We love you!

A Very A.D. Halloween

2011-10-31T22:21:00.000-07:00

We had a fun Halloween this year and had three different nights to get dressed up and celebrate the holiday. I had been trying to think of a funny costume for Zeke for a while. I wanted to do something current and funny, but my brain doesn't work too well these days and I was coming up blank. Well I wandered through a Halloween store one day and saw a banana suit, and my thoughts immediately went to Arrested Development. So Zeke was a Bluth Banana for Halloween. I thought it was perfect seeing that Arrested Development is our favorite show of all time. And plus, he looked really stinkin adorable in it anyways!

Friday night we went to our ward party. We had a fun time visiting with all our church friends and Zeke even got to trunk-or-treat for his first time.

My friend Kiah and her little girl Presley came with us too

We put Zeke on the floor and it was pretty funny to watch him try to crawl around in his banana suit

Then on Saturday night we headed down to Huntington Beach for Matt's party. I made Banana Stand aprons for Rich and I to wear to be George Michael and Maeby

"I'm Mr. Manager!" haha, if you don't get this, please go watch Arrested Development!

Matt was Aron Ralston/James Franco from the movie 127 Hours. If you haven't seen the movie or heard of the story, he was hiking by himself and a big rock fell on his arm and he was stuck for 127 hours until he finally cut his arm off with his swiss army knife

Kevin was a vampire and tried scaring Zeke into crying, but Zeke wouldn't crack. He was just in awe

Zeke was the hit of the party and had all the adults smiling and entertaining him all night

The two banana's of the night, haha

Then Zeke's 2nd costume of the night was a skeleton.

It was really just his pj's, but he looked so cute in them

Some of the party goers. Oh yes, Zeke partied till 11pm this night, and didn't even get fussy. He's a party animal!

It's always fun to hang out with Charlie and Michelle. We love when we get to see them!

Sunday we went out to my parents house for the weekly dinner and games. And these are Zeke's other Halloween jammies (my personal favorite ;)). Thanks Grandma!

And then on Monday we went over to my Mom's friend's house. They all just sit outside around a bonfire and pass out candy.

Maeby Funke, a Bluth Banana and Mr. Manager George Michael

Zeke hung out with Grandma and helped pass out candy

Until he realized instead of passing it out, he should be collecting it! So we put him in his car and went out to do some trick-or-treating

We forgot to bring a bag for him, so he just stored his candy in his car front trunk

This was the set-up. Each adult had their own bowl of candy to pass out, so the trick-or-treaters just made their way around the circle and I'm sure LOVED this house. It was the jackpot!

Then Zeke started getting tired, so he made his costume change again and just snuggled with Dad for the rest of the night

And these two were so adorable. They are one of my Mom's teachers twins and they were Alfalfa and Darla from Little Rascal's. I just bought that movie and Zeke and I have been watching it lately so I loved it! They looked so cute!

It was a fun Halloween weekend for us! Holidays are a lot more fun when you have a kid to celebrate and get in the spirit with! Hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween as well!!

Cheesehead Nation

2011-10-30T15:30:00.000-07:00

It was great to be in Wisconsin amongst all the "Cheeseheads". On Monday, Vic had this TV interview thing to do and we all got to go along. They sent a limo to pick us up from the stadium, so while we were waiting for it, Chant and I went in to the Pro Shop to look around and we had some fun in the hat section.

As we were walking over to the limo, Vic got asked for some autographs from the fans waiting outside the stadium. Packer fans are very nice!

Zeke's first limo ride

It was an hour and half ride to where we went, but we had fun playing Scramble. It's like scrabble on the iPhone. Vic and Ashley are annoyingly good at it and always killed us all!

The interview was at a bowling alley. We got dropped off at the back door and Vic had to sign some gear. Zeke had fun playing in the helmets

There were Packer fans there and a little stage set up where Vic was interviewed. They had a table up front for us, but we asked to sit in the back so we could let the babies crawl around and stuff our faces with this giant pretzel

After the interview fans got to go up and have Vic sign their stuff

Packer fans love Vic already. It was cool to see and hear what they had to say about him and how excited they are to have him on the team.

The whole Packer program is great. Seems to be very family oriented and good people. So happy for the So'oto's to be part of such a great team.

Tuesday was our last day there, so we headed over to the Pro Shop again for a little more shopping for some Green Bay gear. It was Zeke's turn to have fun in the hat section and he loved it, as you can see

Mr. Cheesehead himself. He was the cutest little cheesehead I'd ever seen!

The whole gang

And a few last pictures outside the stadium

As you can see, Zeke was thrilled to be at the famous Lambeau Field.

Thanks for having us So'oto's!! Hopefully we can make it out next year too!

Go Pack Go!

2011-10-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

It's been an exciting few months for my best friend Ashley, and her husband Vic. Back in July when the NFL Lockout was lifted, Vic signed with the Green Bay Packers. He had a grueling few weeks of training and memorizing the playbook, which most rookies would have had all summer to do. He worked hard and gave it his all. He had some awesome pre-season games, including an interception and return for a Touchdown (which gave him the opportunity to do his first Lambeau Leap), and secured his spot on the 53 man roster. We were so excited and happy for them that we knew we had to go out to Green Bay for a visit and a game. My other bf Chant had the same thought so we decided to go on the same weekend so we could all be together.

After meeting up and spending a few days in Chicago, we headed up to Green Bay, and then Richie flew in Saturday night. The game was Sunday afternoon against the St. Louis Rams.

Standing in line to get in

The Packers were wearing their throwback jersey's that game and not the traditional green and gold. Most of the fans still had the green and gold on though, while a few splurged for new throwback outfits

Zeke's first pro football game, at 7 months old

He was so enthralled by all the sights and sounds. He was great at the game and even took a little nap

He loved cheering along with the crowd

Me and Chant. The sun went behind the clouds and it got a little chilly

We had such a great time at the game. Green Bay fans are awesome, and the Packers played a great game

Towards the end of the game Ash and I took the babies to a room for the wives and kids of players, so they could warm up. Then after the game we all got to go down to this big room where all the players and their friends and families can eat.

It was such a fun experience and we are so glad we got to go. Thanks Vic and Ash for getting us tickets! We hope you guys have many more years in Green Bay and much success with the Packers!! Go Pack Go!!!!

"Shish Kabob...Shawshank Redemption....

2011-10-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

......CHICAGO!!

.....You're out! Go on, get outta here!"

(100 points if you can name the movie quote)

Last week Zeke and I flew to Chicago to meet up with my two best friends. Our trip almost got canceled because Zeke got sick the day before we were supposed to fly out, but he made a quick turnaround and we only got delayed a day. I'm so glad Zeke got better and the trip didn't get canceled because we had such a great time.

We got picked up from the airport and then got stuck right in rush hour traffic. Man I thought LA traffic was bad, but I think Chicago traffic might be worse! We made it to the hotel right in downtown Chicago just off Michigan Avenue. The babies played on the floor for a bit, crawling around and getting re-aquainted with each other

Then we bundled up and headed out to see the city and find some famous Chicago style pizza

Vic told us about this place that he ate at with the team when they played the Bears a few weeks earlier, so we decided to try it out

We put our pizza order in before we even got a table because it takes so long to cook.

Chicago deep dish is good, but I think I still like New York pizza better

When we got back to the hotel, it was more playtime for the kids

The next day we went out to explore the city a bit.

And do some shopping on the Miracle Mile

We definitely understood why Chicago is called "the windy city"

Love these girls, Chant and Ashley! So glad we got to spend the weekend together

These two were great troopers, being good little babies while the Mom's and Auntie's shopped

After leaving the city we headed north about twenty minutes to see one of Chant's friends and on the way we passed some beautiful Lake Michigan water. If I just saw this picture I'd never guess that it was taken in Chicago

Before getting on the road for the drive up to Wisconsin, we stopped by the Chicago Temple

It is a different looking temple, but beautiful nonetheless.

I love being with Zeke on temple grounds

A Day at Grandma and Grandpa's

2011-10-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

Zeke loves going to his Grandma and Grandpa's house. He loves spending time with them and lights up every time he sees either one of them. A recent day with G & G went as follows:

Early morning newspaper reading in bed with Grandma

Visiting Grandma at work for a school party. My Mom has got to be the best principal ever!

As you can see, Zeke was thrilled to be there with Grandma

Then coming home to play with Grandpa

These two sure do love spending time together

It's so nice living close to my parent's and being able to see them so often. I love that Zeke has Grandparents around to love on him and adore him like they do. They are always so helpful when we are there, holding him, feeding him, changing his diapers and playing with him. And Zeke couldn't be happier than when he's playing with Grandma and Grandpa!

Good Friends, Good Times

2011-10-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

This post has been sitting as a draft of pictures for about 3 months now, so I figured I better finally put some words to it and publish it.

We had some good times with friends over the last couple of months that I wanted to record.

Back in July we had a Moms and Babies get together with Ashley, baby Fia, Brittany, baby Brix, and me and baby Zeke. We met up down in Carlsbad and got a hotel for the night right by the beach. It was a fun little reunion. We went to the beach for a few hours on friday, and we all realized that our beach days are just not what they used to be. These are two of my best friends that I lived with in Hawaii and had countless beach days with. Back then a beach day consisted of loading up on snacks from Foodland then basking in the sun all day long. Now it consists of sitting in the shade under umbrella's while nursing, playing with or trying to rock to sleep 3 babies, and only for a few hours. It used to be just a single beach bag filled with said snacks and a towel, where now it's Brit's stroller piled 5 feet high with baby gear, umbrella's, chairs, blankets, car seats, etc. Still a fun day at the beach together, just not the same.

We hung out at the hotel pool and grabbed some dinner then just relaxed in our room catching up and reminiscing on old times. It worked out perfectly for me too because my cousin Ray's wedding was the next day at the San Diego Temple, so Ash and Brit watched Zeke for me so I could attend the sealing. I showed them where his diapers were and left them with a bottle, then headed out the door. We had planned another trip to the beach when I got back, but the beaches were so packed we couldn't find any parking spots so we all just said goodbye and headed home. Once I got to my parents house and went to change Zeke's diaper I was confused as to what I was holding, until I realized that they had put a burp cloth on him instead of a diaper. Yes cloth diapers are burp cloths, but the burp cloths I have are super thin, so it was completely saturated in pee. It was pretty funny when I realized what they did. I should have known to explain his diapers more in depth. I texted them about it and they both were cracking up at the mistake. Good times. Anyways, we managed not to take a single picture of our weekend together, but it was fun nonetheless. Thanks girls!

My cousins reception was that night and fun to hang and visit with family.

We had dinner at the Lohrman's house one evening. They are friends we made in Oklahoma. Josh was the one other guy in Richie's training class that was coming out to the LA Center. It was a fun night of dinner and games and watching the kids play. Violet was very into Zeke's face and grabbing it. He had a few battle wounds at the end of the night, but nothing he couldn't take. First time getting beat up by a girl, ha.

Brit and I met up in LA to have dinner with our college friend AJ. It was fun to catch up with him and see him with the babies

He was great with them and had fun playing Uncle for the night

makes me miss college days

Some girls from the ward, who are my visiting teachers, decided that for my July visit, they would take me out to lunch for my birthday. It was so sweet of them and we had a great time. Zeke and I with my birthday pizooki dessert

Eudelia and Natalie, best Visiting Teachers I've ever had!

Then later that night Eudelia and her husband had a box suite at the local ballpark and invited us to the game. It was a fun night. The guys and kids watched the game while the girls chatted and visited.

When Zeke and I flew into Long Beach Airport back in August, Richie picked us up and we headed over to Bret's house. We went to dinner at a fancy new resort along the coast in Palos Verdes. It was a great night of food and catching up with Bret.

We are very grateful to have the friends that we do!

Beach Boy

2011-10-17T22:45:00.000-07:00

There's no question about it.....Zeke LOVES the beach. He definitely is our child!

He loves playing in the sand, dry:

or wet:

And making a big mess with it. Richie tried to stop him here,

but he insisted on giving himself a Hitler mustache. The kid's got a sense of humor

my two beach boys

And Zeke absolutely loves the water too.

Back to playing in the sand

I told Richie to step to the side so his legs weren't in the picture

And that's exactly when Zeke decided to fall over, face planting right into the wet sand. He didn't seem to mind though

Zeke is right at home in the sand and water

Can't wait for many more family beach days!

Labor Day

2011-10-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

We headed out to Santa Barbara for Labor Day to hang out with our friends Danny and Kaity DeMartini. It was a fun little day trip and great to spend time with Danny, Kaity and the kids. It was their first time meeting our Zeke. They have a Zeke too. The kids had a great time together and (our) Zeke loved being around all the children and watching all the action.

We went over to the beach for a few hours where big Zeke practiced his boogie boarding with his Dad

Zeke got to test out the water, but it was too cold for Mom's liking so that didn't last long

He preferred playing in the sand anyways

Danny and the boys dug a hole and Lili enjoyed playing in it

It was a beautiful beach day, and Lili is a super cute little beach girl

While we were all down by the water hanging out, the seagulls helped themselves to our snacks. Pesty birds!

Then Dad gave Zeke a little snack and he was in heaven

Sand and licorice....mmm mmmm

He couldn't get enough of it

I tried wiping the sand off, but it was pretty stuck on his moist face. We had to throw him in the bath when we got back to their house

Richie played computer games with the boys while Danny, Kaity and I prepared some dinner

And then we had a delicious BBQ in their backyard with some of their friends from the neighborhood

Thanks for having us out DeMartini's! We'll have to do it again soon!

Alli's Wedding Weekend

2011-10-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Zeke and I headed up to Utah for Richie's cousin, Alli's, wedding. Unfortunately Richie couldn't come, so we were the family reps. It turned out to be a girls weekend anyways though. All the girls came out for it while the husbands stayed home to work or watch kids. It was a great weekend and I couldn't be happier for Alli and Derek! They make quite the pair!

Thursday was a nice dinner at a fancy steakhouse up in SLC. It was just the Rathgeber Family and the Nielson Family, but somehow Zeke and I snuck in there too. Thanks for letting us tag-a-long guys! It was a great dinner and fun to get acquainted with Derek's siblings. We all went around and said something about the bride or groom. There were endearing moments, funny stories, laughs and tears.

Zeke and Luke had fun playing in the corner in front of the mirror during dinner

These two boys are just too cute! They are both such good babies and had a lot of fun playing together all weekend.

The sealing was friday afternoon in the Salt Lake Temple. It was a wonderful ceremony and the Sealer did such a good job. While we were waiting for the bride and groom to come out I ran over to the Relief Society Building to say hi to my cousin, Anne Marie, who is the General Relief Society Presidency's Secretary. It was so fun to see her and where she works. What an awesome job she has!! I snapped a pic in front of the Young Women's corner to show my girls back at church.

The bride and groom: Alli and Derek Nielson!

These two were just radiating with love and happiness all day long! It was really special to watch them. Thanks for letting me be a part of your day!

The Girls. Love all these women!!

The reception that night was held at a beautiful place called Heritage Gardens. It was the perfect reception spot.

And the food was delicious, so I heard. I didn't get a chance to eat until towards the end when there was only some cold veggies left.

Mr. Zeke looked handsome as ever

And was pretty happy most of the night until he got tired and just wanted to sleep

Julie was such a doll and offered to hold Zeke so I could eat

And she even got him to sleep. What a natural!

The bride and her maids. The whole wedding turned out very classy. Nice color choices and a very nice evening. Congratulations Alli and Derek!!

We took a few Cafe Rio trips while we were there. And by a few, I mean 4 times in 2 days! Katie was a happy girl!

Zeke ate black beans every time we went, and loved them. Yesterday he had black poop, and I was wondering why, until I remembered all the beans he ate

Zeke loves his mexican food

It was nice to hang out with all the cousins and babies. We had a great time just talking at Cassie's house, going shopping, Cafe Rio, sitting in the hot tub and enjoying each other's company.

On Sunday Zeke and I went to see Grandma Lauritzen. We sure do love this lady! It was wonderful to visit with her and stay the night with her. Zeke loved playing with Great-Grandma Lauritzen!

We headed upstairs that night for dinner with the Toone's. Boy do we love this family!! Every time I am around them, I get a renewed sense to try to be a better person. They are amazing people.

James and Anny were so cute with all the babies and are going to make great parents one day

That night Zeke got sick and was so congested he could hardly breathe out of his nose. He woke up every two hours and was full of snot. I was rummaging through Grandma's bathroom at 2am trying to find a suction bulb, but no luck. So I did what any mom would do. I sucked it out with my mouth. (did you just throw up a little in your mouth?) It was pretty disgusting and made me gag, but the poor kid could hardly breathe, I had to do it. It was a rough night, but despite being sick and not sleeping well, Zeke was amazing on our early flight home the next morning. Didn't cry once and was in a great mood, smiling at all around us. Love that kid!!

It was a fun weekend, but we sure were glad to see Richie again! We missed him!

Encore (Part Two)

2011-10-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

Here's the rest of our trip to Lake Travis, Texas.

We had lots of fun on the boat and even Hannah joined in on the fun. She got up on the wakeboard with Josh, just standing between his legs

She was pretty excited about it

Josh was getting tired so I jumped in to take over, but I could not get us both up. I'm pretty weak right now, so Hannah got back on the boat and I did a little wakeboarding by myself.

I've only wakeboarded a handful of times but I wanted to try jumping the wake. I had no idea what I was doing, but just decided to go for it. I threw myself into the wake, but ended up doing a nice hard face plant. My feet flew out of the boots, my bottoms came down to my knees and I had an instant pounding headache. It was awesome

What I should have done was watch Katie do some jumps first to see the technique, but I only thought of that after. She's pretty amazing

We went out to the "beach" one day and Josh Hannah and I rode the tube on the way

Once we got to the beach we untied the tube from the boat and Zeke got to take a ride on it

Eric pulled the tube while the kids, and Richie, enjoyed the ride

Then Zeke had fun just playing in the sand

The beach on the lake

Time for chicken fights

Colt was busy chasing the duckies trying to play with them

Zeke loved being in his birthday suit

Our little family

Love the smiles on these two boys!

On our way back from the beach we decided to do a girls session on the tube

While Zeke hung out with his favorite Poppy on the boat

We were having some fun

and getting a little crazy

We dropped the kids off and then told Eric to give us a real ride. It got a little wild after that

Poor Katie was always on the side that was getting wiped but she hung on like a champ

She was falling off the tube here but hung for quite a while until she had to let go because her bottoms were around her ankles and she didn't want to lose them

Love all the hair flying in this one

Love these 3 girls! Love having sister-in-laws that are fun and up for some craziness

Jessi's flailing legs crack me up in this picture

This whip was a good one. It took Jessi down....

...then Katie...

...then Hannah...

but Eric couldn't get me off. haha

Eric did some more wakeboarding and worked on his jumps

then Josh showed us all how it was done, and made it look effortless

Then little Miss Brave Hannie took another turn and even got some air

She was in heaven. Next time we'll get her a wakeboard her own size and she'll be a pro

It was a beautiful sunset that night

I want to go back again already! We love going to the lake and always have such a good time

The whole group

Me and my boys. I think we all could have used a few more days there. We all loved it there

Thanks Mom and Dad Psillos for a great weekend get-together!! We had such a blast and love being all together with the family! And thanks Williams for letting us use your lake house yet again! You guys are the best!

Zeke was so funny on the plane ride home. He just kept wanting to stand up and look at the guy behind us. Luckily the guy was nice and was playing with Zeke and didn't get annoyed. I looked back and the entire back of the plane was staring and smiling at Zeke. Such a crowd pleaser I tell you!

Seven Months

2011-10-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

Seven months today, and becoming more of a little boy and less of a little baby. He's growing up and learning so much, and becoming so smart. It is so fun to watch. Just when I think he can't get any better, he shows me more awesomeness. I love it!

Zeke at 7 Months:

-He loves going to the beach and also now loves eating the sand, by the handfuls

-This kid is a crowd pleaser and such a people person. He can get any person to smile. It's fun to watch all the heads turn and smile at him when we are out in public. Zeke knows he's cute too. He'll smile at you and lean his head to the side, just hamming it up

-He looks so adorable in his Sunday best to go to church

This was my favorite outfit to date

He looked so stinking cute!

-He loves checking new things out and feeling everything around him

-Still loves bath time and is so funny in there

-Likes drinking out of big boy cups and playing with them

-Had a playdate with his friend Presley, who will be playing with us on fridays now while her mom goes to work

-Has the best little personality

-I was getting the bath ready the other night and when I came into the bedroom to get him I found him like this.

He was so intrigued with his new friend he found in the mirror

-loves the California sunset

-And still loves playing with Dad and cracking up at him

-He likes to play on the computer

-He's actually really good on it and does things that I have no idea how to do. I try to watch what he's pushing to learn all the shortcuts he's doing, but he's just too fast

And if he can't get to the computer itself, he likes playing with the cord and getting wrapped up in it

-He's getting really close to crawling. He pushes up to his hands and feet like this

Then tucks one leg under, like this, then lunges forward and belly flops

-His new things is spitting. Well not really spitting, but making noises with his lips and pushing his droll out. He even does it in his sleep sometimes.

-He sleeps on his stomach a lot now. I put him down on his back, but he will usually roll over

-He shakes when he gets excited, like when he sees me coming to take him out of his carseat

-He is very good at putting his paci in his mouth all by himself now

-He's very ticklish on his hip bones, his ribs and his thighs. His belly laugh melts my heart!

-He sleeps usually from 8:30pm to 8/8:30am

-Says "mamamama" all day long. He makes other noises too, but that is his favorite

-For some odd reason, he loves when I say "Precious" in the voice of Smiegel. He just cracks up

-He's getting more hair

-He's pretty smart. I tricked him a few times with food and now he knows to check it before he eats it. He wouldn't eat squash for some reason (he ate it fine before), but wanted the yogurt I was eating so I'd give him a bite or two, then next time he opened his mouth I'd give him the squash. He'd make a nasty face and look at me like, "what the heck Mom?" So when I went to give him a bite of yogurt again, he pulled his head back to look at the spoon and make sure it was the stuff he wanted. He tested a little bit with his tongue, and then would take the bite once he knew it was the good stuff. And if he doesn't want any more food, he's learned to laugh or cry with his mouth closed because he knows if he opens his mouth I'll shove another bite in. He's getting too smart too early.

-He is such a good traveler. People on the plane love him

-We have been going to a swim class for a few weeks now and he absolutely loves it

-He makes me want more kids!

Happy 7 Months Zeke!! We love you to the moon and back!

Encore (Part One)

2011-09-29T21:45:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun at the Lake House for the Psillos Family Vacation in May, that we decided to have a little encore get-together out there again. Sadly Charlie and Michelle couldn't make it this time because of Charlie's new job, but everyone else was able to come. We all flew in friday night and headed home tuesday afternoon, so we had 3 solid days of fun! We had such a good time with everyone, as always, and it was a perfect weekend together. We had so much fun that I have to split it up into 2 posts (hence the 'Part One') because we took so many pictures. Trust me, this is narrowed down from the amount of pictures we actually took.

Our first boat ride and Rachel was right there by Richie's side, as usual. It's cute the way she loves her Uncle Richie. If Richie's doing it, Rachel wants to do it, but if he's not, no thank you from Rachel. These 2 girls are becoming quite grown up and a lot of fun!

Livy even took a turn driving the boat and actually did great

Again, Zeke loved the boat and enjoyed some time snuggling with Grammy and playing with Colt

Colt is always so helpful with getting Zeke's paci back into his mouth, whether he wants it or not

Then Rae wanted a turn playing with Zeke too

Eric's parents (who own the lake house) were there the first day and were so nice and made us lunch! A delicious spread of hamburgers, hot dogs, bar-b-que chicken, sausage, and all the fixin's (I had to throw that word in since we were in Texas). They are so generous and we love them for letting us use their lake house and all their toys!

After lunch we enjoyed some time on the front lawn. This lake house is seriously the perfect vacation place for a family. They have swings for kids, and a blow up water slide thingy, toys, etc. and all the fun adult toys too like boat, jet skies, tubes, wakeboards, etc.

Zeke enjoyed the swing

and then just chilled with us on the grass for a while, watching the kids play in the blow up water slide

He ate his lunch so well that he got dessert....two even, double fisting it

but then dropped them both on the floor so decided he'd try to steal Dad's right out of his mouth

and Dad was nice enough to share

After lunch it was playtime again, what else? The kids love to dog pile on top of Poppy

then Livy wanted a turn being on the bottom

Zeke worked on his walking skills

I've said this before, but Zeke absolutely LOVES the water!! He is all smiles in there. He loved being in the lake splashing around. Richie would just put on a life jacket and float around with him

See how happy he is in the water?!

He is, as my sister said, "nakie in the lakie", and loving it

Richie is definitely going to have a water loving little buddy with Zeke

Then he got to get wrapped up and cuddle with Mom on the dock

love those blue eyes....

Love this face!! I can't get over how incredible this little boy is and how lucky I feel that he is mine!

Love this picture too! Such a cute one of the girls and Eric

just another cute picture of my boy

Zeke chowed down on some carrots for dinner

Then it was time to play with his Poppy

Guess who he saw?

Dad! This is Zeke's face every time he see's Richie, it is so sweet!

Zeke loves his Dad....and Dad sure loves his Zeke

I have a feeling these two are going to have a special relationship. Pop Pop always comes to play or sit with Zeke and spends lots of quality time with him, and Zeke loves it. Thanks Poppy!

Rachel happy in the arms of her main man

More time with Poppy on the dock

Ellie and Zeke, only 3 months apart. These two are both awesome babies and were so fun to have around. Both so happy and content

Zeke is getting close to crawling so Poppy was helping him get the hang of it. He's the crawling bootcamp chief! I remember him doing the same thing with Colt.

Ok work is over, now time to sit and rest.

Come back soon for the rest of the trip.....

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

2011-09-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

A few months ago we went to some baseball games. Our friends had a suite at the local ballpark for the triple A team in our town and invited us to go. It was a fun night hanging out with our friends from our ward. The girls had fun shootin the gib and Richie had fun watching the game with the kids

Zeke liked watching the game and all the action going on outside the window

And then a few days later we went to a Dodger's game. It was Zeke's first Dodger game so I had to get him a Dodger t-shirt to wear. We thought he could wear his hat too, but it was still just a little too big on him.

We had some extra tickets so our friends Bret and Jared came too and they each brought a friend as well. Bret had fun playing with Zeke

And so did Jared

We were way out in the Pavilion, so we didn't have great seats, but it was ok, we spent most the night talking and playing with Zeke rather than actually watching the game

Our seat neighbors had a foam finger so Zeke wanted to try it on, and thought it was just so funny

#1 Dodger fan right here

It was a fun night with friends and we had a great time!

Parkour!

2011-09-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

"This is Parkour. Internet sensation of 2004, and it was in one of the Bond films. Pretty impressive. The goal is to get from point A to point B as creatively as possible. So technically they are doing Parkour, as long as point A is delusion and point B is the hospital."

-Jim Halpert, The Office

After the beach and dinner we headed over to Northridge to go to Tempest Freerunning Academy. Back when we lived in New York, Ralph, Richie and their other friend Larry used to get together to go freerunning, or parkouring, I'm not sure which they claimed to be doing. They are apparently different in certain ways, but they seem pretty much like the same thing. So of course Ralph did some research before they came out here, and he found this gym which had an open session for him and Richie partake in. The boys were stoked.

At the beginning of the night, getting ready to go have some fun.

They worked on jumping off of things

Swinging from bars

The trampoline

And jumping over things

I think they mostly did a lot of watching because there were some pretty good guys there doing some pretty cool tricks. I was taking pictures and trying to figure out the settings to take the best action shots so it wasn't blurry. After having my brother walk me through it on the phone, I thought I had finally figured it out. The boys were done at this point, so Richie said he'd go back out and do one more thing so I could take a picture and see if the settings were good.

He did a superman jump forward to clear both of these boxes, touching his hands only on each box as he passed over it. Well the second box was further out then it was when he was doing this jump before, so he didn't get his feet back under him to land, and instead landed on his hands. He rolled out of it, but something popped in his shoulder.

I knew he was hurt as soon as he stood up. I could see it on his face and he was holding his arm. He couldn't move it and a bump was starting to form on the top of his shoulder. Of course it had to happen on the last trick! He had made it all night without getting hurt and then when he went back out to do one more thing, just so I could check my camera settings, he gets hurt! Where was the Adjustment Bureau on that one?? So that happened around 10:30pm. And instead of ending on a good note and heading home to bed, we headed to the ER.

We waited in the ER for about 2 hours before they called him back. He got X-rays done and found out he had separated his shoulder. They gave him a sling and told him to take it easy. He was thrilled, HA! Notice the clock: 2:10 AM!!

It was a fun night until the end. We were beyond tired and got home at 3:30am, and still needed to shower from a long day at the beach and then sweating at the gym. At least Zeke slept through it all.

I wouldn't say Point A for the boys was delusion, but Point B did end up being the hospital for Richie. Hopefully next time goes better.....oh yes, Richie is already talking about going back to that place! A little shoulder separation isn't going stop him!