{no baby yet...but we did have a visit to the doctor!!}

Well...there is STILL no baby!! I'm surprised that she has gone all week without having the baby, but I guess that's the way that it goes when you are at the end of your pregnancy...you never know when it will end! This is so hard for me because I am truely the most IMPATIENT person I know!! And to sit around waiting for the phone call is difficult, but then I think of her and what she is going through...at least I am not the pregnant, uncomfortable one!! So we are "patiently" waiting for her arrival!! In the meantime, we have been doing last minute "preparedness" things to make sure we are really ready!! My mom is here and it is a good thing...I let her go to town on decorating the nursery!! It looks DARLING so far and seriously reminds me of a little princess room!! I can't wait to post pictures...the bedding is supposed to arrive on Monday!! As soon as it is all ready, I will post pics!

Ayden has been a handful the last couple days! He has been a grumpy little boy asking for his "mimi" (his binky) ALL DAY LONG!!! We have been only giving it to him at naps and bedtime, but we have caved the past few days since he has been such a grump! I'm not sure if he senses something going on or what...with all the work we are doing in the baby's room!! Or maybe it is that he is just not feeling well! A couple days ago, he had a cold...a bad cough that turned into him wheezing and not breathing very well! It scared me enough to take him right to the doctor...the first thing the doc said to me was "you were smart to bring him in"! Wow...that's usually NOT what I hear when I go to the doctor. Usually, it is more like "it just a virus...you're gonna have to wait it out for a couple weeks...antibiotics won't help!! Anyway, he ended up having a double ear infection and a respiratory tract infection!! Poor little guy...no wonder he has been grumpy!! We had to give him two breathing treatments in the office and they also sent us home with a nebulizer to give him treatments at home!

He was so brave and I was so surprised that he sat there for 5 minutes at a time breathing in medicine!! Jeremiah also pretended to be taking the medicine too...which amused Ayden and helped him keep going!

He is doing much better now, but has been on 3 medications the last couple days! I'm glad he is almost back to normal...I was afraid the baby would come and he would still be sick!! So now that he is well, she can come any minute!! =)

It's also nice to have my mom here to help with decorating and entertaining Ayden! She babysat for us last night so we could go on one last date night (hopefully) before the baby is here!! =) It's nice to have someone else around to help out with the everyday things!

{baby update!!}

Today I got to meet up with the birth mom to chat! It is so different this time around because when we were waiting for Ayden to be born, we didn't get to do much meeting face to face...even though we chatted a bunch on email with his birth mom! It's been so fun this time to be able to see the birth mom every week or so and watch her tummy grow! We love getting together with her!

She had a doctor appointment today and she is already 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced!! I know some people are dilated for a while before they have the baby, but I am really hoping this means the baby is coming soon! We are so ready and anxious to meet her!! She is almost 37 weeks, so I guess it could be a couple more weeks, but we are crossing our fingers that it happens sooner!! When I heard about her appointment today, it was the first time that it really hit me that this baby is coming soon...and I had to think "are we ready for this???" We are so ready for her to join our family, but we need to get out and get some newborn diapers and pacifiers and things like that! Oh and that bedding that I have that is on backorder really better show up soon!! All in all, we are prepared and couldn't be happier about her arrival! Anyway, cross your fingers for us that she will come sooner than later!!

{hApPy EaStEr!!!}

Yesterday we went to our ward's Easter egg hunt in the park. It was a cold morning and that is why I hate that Easter was so early this year...I remember last year Ayden wore shorts to the Easter egg hunt! But it was fun and this year Ayden actually got to participate. At first, he couldn't understand why all the kids were running after the eggs, but as soon as I opened one and showed him there was candy inside, he got it!! All he wanted was the candy...he didn't want to waste his time with the eggs! He was running around the park looking for candy on the grass...I guess he didn't realize that the candy was INSIDE the eggs!

(Just looking at these pics make me so sick of this mucky brown grass!!! I guess I should look on the bright side...at least we can see it and it's not COVERED with snow, but still....the brown has just GOT TO GO!!!)

Here is Ayden taking a break to eat a tootsie roll!! He was fine with just one piece of candy and didn't need to go on for more! He is so funny!

Last night was fun for Jeremiah and I as we were getting ready for Ayden's Easter treasure hunt this morning! Our tradition is that the Easter bunny leaves a clue with your Easter basket (which was left on Ayden's night stand) that sent him to a toy and another clue!

This is a tradition that I have had in my family for as long as I can remember! We started this tradition with Ayden last year which is so funny because he was only 9 months old and had NO CLUE what we were telling him when we read the clues! But this year was actually really fun!!

We asked him to go look where he keeps his vacuum, where his shoes are kept in his room, to look in his riding firetruck toy and where his baby sister is going to sleep! I was impressed that he was able to find all the toys! It did take forever to do the hunt because he just wanted to play with every toy FOREVER...he didn't care that there was another one waiting at the next spot!! This was when we realized that we went way overboard and we should've just gotten him one thing and he would've been fine!! We will have to remember that for next year! I think his all time favorite was the baseball glove...it amazes me that someone so young can be as into sports as Ayden is! I love it! And I don't know where he learned to throw a baseball, but he already has an arm on him!!

After church, we had to go outside so Ayden could test out his new airplane!

And I finished off the day with a picture of Ayden and his cute girlfriend Emma! It was tough to get this picture...Ayden wanted nothing to do with it. All he wanted was to get back to his airplane! Hmmm....I know where Ayden gets that...it sounds familiar in our house!

{...SAN DIEGO...}

And here is the end of our trip...we made it to San Diego to see Ayden's newest cousin! This is Crew Landon and he was born on March 2nd! It will be so fun to have cousins so close in age when our little girl is born next month! It took Ayden a few days to warm up to the baby, but then he wanted to give him kisses on his head. I realized that I need to start practicing chasing Ayden around while I'm holding another baby! That is for sure going to keep me on my toes!!

Ayden has been in heaven with all the "big boy" toys his cousins have! A couple times I have caught him playing with the Nintendo DS! He's so funny!! Here are all the boys!!

Ayden loved jumping on the trampoline and was on it almost every minute...makes me really want to get one for our house!!

{...ORANGE COUNTY...}

I am finally getting a chance to continue the happenings of our trip! We made a quick trip to the OC for little James' 1st birthday party! Ayden had a blast playing with all his little friends!

And here is a picture of some of my girlfriends from high school even though we are missing a few girls and a couple kids! It's always fun to go back and catch up with everyone for a minute!

{...REDONDO BEACH...}

Ayden did a great job on the airplane this time! We flew Southwest and since there are no seat assignments, I spread all my stuff out on an entire row and encouraged Ayden to act as rambunctious as possible!! He of course succeeded at this and luckily we had no one sit next to us...we had an entire row to ourselves! Ayden was really good until he had a choking attack that about gave me a heart attack and visions of us landing the plane in the middle of nowhere to help my choking child! It was probably my fault...I was stuffing his face with snacks to keep him entertained and he started coughing like something went down the wrong pipe. After I realized he was ok, I was pretty embaressed about the whole thing...especially when everyone around me was handing me barf bags in case he threw up!! Ahhh!!

Ayden had so much fun walking around outside and "discovering" what was around!! He kept looking for fish in this pond that didn't have fish and was chasing squirrels and watching the birds! He loves to be outdoors!!

I love this picture I got of Ayden peering through the trees! He loved all the water around and was looking everywhere to find some fish!

He also loved climbing up in these big trees and I just loved these pictures because of all the pretty spring colors! Everything was so green and the flowers were so pretty!!

And here are my favorite...the beach pictures!! I took about 200 pics at the beach, so it was hard to narrow them down, but these are some of my favorites! It was so much fun and I just love seeing Ayden be so happy and having the time of his life! Can't wait to come back and play some more! Even though we don't live here, I love that Ayden will always have a fun place to come visit when we come to visit our families! And I'm sure he will appreciate the beach more than I did when I was growing up right next to it!

{OuR tRiP tO cAli}

This is going to be too long of a post and pretty much just for journal purposes...so feel free to skip this boring write up of our vacation and check out the fun pics!

We have had a great trip in Cali so far! We could've done nothing and the weather alone would've made it a great trip! When I'm here sitting in the sun...enjoying the warm weather, I wonder why we ever moved away! It doesn't take long to remind me about how expensive it is here and how if we lived here, I would have to work to help pay our million dollar mortgage for a house half the size of ours! But the weather itself has been gorgeous and this trip couldn't have come at a better time since its March and we are so ready for Spring in Utah!!!

We spent our first couple days at my parents in Redondo Beach. Ayden had a blast going to the beach and once he realized it was warm enough to be outside, that is all he wanted to do!! He cried every time we had to come inside! It took him a few minutes to warm up to the idea of being in the sand with bare feet. He wanted to be holding my hand or his Grammy's hand the entire time! But once he warmed up to the idea, he was on the loose and running all over the beach! It was so cute! We also did some shopping and walked to Ruby's Diner on the beach two days in a row...just for chocolate shakes!! Ummm...that might explain why I feel like I've gained 5 lbs so far this week! =)

After being there for a few days, we were off to Orange County to meet Ayden's other Grandma for breakfast! Ayden got to stay with her and have Baskin Robbins while I went shopping! Then we went to my friend Angela's little boy James' 1st birthday party! Ayden had a fun time playing with all the little kids...I wish we still lived here so we could see them all more often! There was a pool at the house where the party was and it was a full time job keeping Ayden out of it! It made me excited for our swimming lessons that are coming up in April!

After the party, we came down to San Diego so I could finally meet my new 1 week old nephew, Crew Landon! It's so fun to be around a newborn again and it makes me really excited to have another one! Ayden loves being around his cousins and its so cute to see how much they all love each other! The older boys can't keep their hands off Ayden and they want to carry him all over the place. And Ayden follows them around like a little puppy dog! They have pretty much been attached to the trampoline in the backyard or playing basketball in the front yard every minute! It's given me a nice break though having someone else that Ayden wants to be clung to!!

We have really had a fun time, but we are missing Daddy and look forward to going back home to him on Wednesday! When we are away like this it makes me appreciate having Jeremiah's help...espeically at bedtime! Jeremiah is usually the one that handles bedtime in our house, but luckily we have managed for a few days without him! I know Ayden looks forward to getting back to his own bed and hanging out with Daddy again! It will be fun to come back in May when Daddy can come with us!

{Tagged Again...by Shelly}

A. The rules of this game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the question about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, and then leaves a comment on their blog letting them know they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog to get the directions.

Questions:
10 yrs ago: I was 20 years old and a junior in college! Wow, that was a long time ago! I was dating a guy I thought I was going to marry...ha, good thing that didn't happen! =) And I wasn't even a member yet...I joined the church when I was 21!

5 Things on my list of things to do today: I will answer this for tomorrow since it is already the end of the day...
1. Exercise...walk outside in the FREEZING cold weather we have been having because I HATE my treadmill!
2. Pack for our trip to Cali...woohoo...we leave on Thursday morning!
3. Brave the cold and let Ayden play outside so he doesn't drive me crazy inside all day long!
4. Babysitting Co-op...my turn to babysit
5. Go to Primary meeting

Things I would do if I was suddenly a Billionaire: I would pay off our house and all our debt and move back to Cali! We would buy a million dollar house and live SO close to all of our family!! We would also go on a trip back to Maui where we went on our honeymoon! I would also go on a shopping spree for myself and Ayden and our new baby girl...this would actually be one of the first things I do! Lets be honest though...I'm not going to suddenly become a billionaire, so it is just depressing to "pretend"!! =)

3 of my bad habits:
1. Biting my fingernails...this is why I always have to have fake nails! I have been a nail biter since I was a little kid! It's disgusting and I usually bite the nail and the cuticles until they bleed!
2. I am a SUGAR ADDICT....but I don't really love ALL chocolate!! I pretty much am a M&M addict (only peanut M&M's) and an ice cream addict! I seriously eat sugar all day every day and it is a chore for me to hold off until after noon! It is an inner battle I have with myself...I know it is bad for me, but I don't care!! =) It's a good thing this is the worst thing I am addicted too!!
3. I am a total NEAT FREAK...not sure if that is a bad habit, but I'm trying to think of things that annoy Jeremiah! To me this is a good thing, but I think I am pretty obsessive about it, so it bothers Jeremiah sometimes! I really CANNOT handle it when my house is cluttered or messy or dirty! My hugest pet peeve is when I clean the house or mop the floor and Jeremiah walks in with his shoes on! All I ask is just 12 hours for my house to stay clean so I can enjoy my hard work!

Places I have lived: Utah, Cali...Yorba Linda (for most of my life), Fullerton, Orange (in college) and Corona (for 6 months after we got married), Illinois (I was born there)....that's all!!

Jobs I have had: Lamppost Pizza (pizza maker...woohoo!!), Macaroni Grill (hostess), snack bar at college soccer games, Credit Analyst (I got my degree in Business and had this job before I decided to go back to school to be a teacher), 8th grade, 7th grade, 6th grade and 3rd grade teacher, tutor...I've been pretty lucky and haven't had too many cheesy jobs...I didn't really have to start working until college since I played basketball in high school and that was pretty much my full time job! Any job that I had in high school, I had to beg my parents to get and I only wanted the jobs since my friends worked there!

Things most people don't know about me:I can't really think of anything that people don't know about me that anyone would care about! I played basketball in high school and college! I'm a convert...I only have one brother and we are both members! I am a serious baker...I don't love to cook, but I love to BAKE desserts and stuff!! I notice that I do this a lot when I am stressed or in a bad mood...like I said before...sugar makes it all better!! =) I seriously can't think of anything interesting...guess I have a boring life...or am I just an open book that everyone knows everything about me?!?!?

I tag....Holly, Amy, Lindsay N. (welcome to blogging), and Marci (so you update your blog again).

{sKaTeR bOy!!}

The nice weather that we had last week was great! Unfortunately, Ayden got in the routine of going outside and playing every day! Today was so freezing, but he threw a fit until we went out! He insisted that I get his helmet down from the top shelf of the hall closet while I was getting his coat! It's funny that he even knew what it was for...he got the helmet and a scooter for Christmas, but we haven't been able to use it outside yet! As soon as I put the helmet on, he got his scooter and took it outside to ride around the neighborhood....he thought he was HOT STUFF!! The helmet is still a little bit too big so it kept falling in his eyes! But he didn't want to take it off...he kept pushing it up and trekking along! It was so funny! We all can't wait until it gets a little warmer so we can be outside doing this every day!!

{mY TWO liTTle BoYs!!!}

Tonight after I cleaned up from dinner, I went upstairs to see what Ayden and Jeremiah were doing! I found my two little boys laying on our bed watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! Ayden was already in his pj's and they were sitting there so in tuned to their show that they hardly even noticed me taking pictures of them!

Ayden loves his Daddy so much and he has become such a Daddy's boy these past couple weeks! It's so funny that he follows Jeremiah around everywhere and wants to be involved in everything he is doing! When Jeremiah is at work, Ayden walks around the house and points to all the pictures of him and says "Daddy"! It's so cute! Jeremiah is such a kid at heart and sometimes when Ayden's bored of watching his shows and has moved on to something else, I have to remind Jeremiah that these shows are for children...not adults! I do love that he is such a kid himself because it makes him such a good dad and I know that when Ayden gets older, he will have so much fun hanging out with his daddy!