Catching up again!

A lot has happened in the last month since I have posted last. We are getting really close to moving to our new house in Carnation. Just found out that the loan has been approved so we are waiting for the docs to come so we can sign them. Both kids have been growing like weeds and have been bounced around from house to house and have dealt with all of our craziness like champs! We spent 3 weeks at Grandma JoAnn's while she was out of town and my Mom stayed at our house. I was on maternity leave for most of that time and went back and forth every day with Bryce so that I could slowly pack things up in or apartment. We'll see if it was worth it when we have to do the actual big move.
Sierra has been keeping really busy with her swim classes on Sundays. She had been doing these with Erik for the last few months but now that I am past the 6 week mark, I am cleared to jump back in with her. I am super excited to be able to spend this quality time with her again. She has now moved up to the next level with her friend, Conner. It is at a later time which has been difficult for her to adjust because it is smack dab at her nap time but we're trying to deal with it.
On Tuesday mornings, Sierra gets her kicks on with Lil'Kicker class at the Arena. Her first session was a little rough because she was the youngest by far but now she is having a good time and absolutely LOVES the Inflatable slide we have there. The trick is trying to pull her off without total melt down. Again, a work in progress.
Her interactions with Bryce are getting better. She still sometimes is a little rough while trying to "help" but she means well. She likes helping with his blankets, binkie, and will go grab his diapers or burp cloth for me.
Here are some pics so you can see how she continues to grow up and be as cute as can be!
Here is a good example of Sierra helping Bryce out with his binkie.
She is just making sure it tastes OK.
I like to think that he is retaliating a little by pulling her hair but maybe that is just me!
As time went by you can see that she is putting more weight on him which is where he starts getting fussy.
Snuggling up with her friends.
She loves giving kisses to her little brother.
Trying to walk in Daddy's shoes.
Loves hanging out with me in the laundry room (in the basket) while I am working.
Sierra and I have a morning ritual where we share a bowl of Granola. She runs and grabs a spoon when she sees me pour it in the bowl. She loves it!
My thank-you kiss.
Putting on Daddy's Bronco hat.
Let's go Bronco's!
Play date with Conner. They had a good time making music and playing with all of Conner's cool toys.
Psycho hair!
After brushing her hair out one morning, she had a huge resemblance to the 80's hairstyle. Kind of looks angelic in this picture.

Adjustment time

The last week and a half have been tough on Sierra. Her schedule has completely changed because she now spends every day here at the apartment when she had become accustomed to going to grandma's almost every day during the week which has a lot more space. Here, I feel we are on top of each other. Bryce and I spend most of the time upstairs in our room and Sierra has been wanting to be with me most of the time. She will be all kisses and hugs to Bryce one second and then get aggressive the next. It has been a little difficult to predict and to know how to correct her. She also has been acting up with her bed time and won't go to sleep in her crib like she used to anymore. She will just scream so she has been falling asleep downstairs with Dad.
I really hope this stage doesn't last forever and we'll get our old Sierra back...
I have to say though it is so hard for me to stay frustrated at her for a long period of time because she will do something that is so wonderful or caring that makes my heart so warm. Like this morning, I was in the shower and realized we were out of soap so I yelled out saying I needed some soap. She came running in and knocked on the shower door and handed me her baby shampoo. It cracked me up. Or even yesterday, Erik was in the bathroom and I asked her where Dada was and she said, "going poo poo".
Well, here are a couple of photo's from the last week or so:Sierra helped us give Bryce his first bath. She loved helping bathe his feet!Sierra loves trying on my flip flop's!Sierra holding Dresden. He is a little more sturdy then Bryce.

Getting familiar with Bryce

Sierra's first time eating an ice cream bar.



Since Bryce has been home, we have tried keep things as much as normal as we can for Sierra but it has been difficult because I am spending a lot of time with Bryce and am not able to play with her like I used to. It has been especially hard not to pick her up. Erik has had to do all of her feedings which I did before. She has been coming up to the bedroom and hanging out with Bryce and I a lot and watching TV with us and even trying to help me with the feedings! She has now taken over my Boppy pillow (nursing pillow) and will wrap it around her like I do. If he drops his blanket or pacifier, she will pick it up just like she does for her cousin Dresden. If he is crying in his porta crib she will mimic him and call out to me. I am still a little worried about her accidentally being rough with him. I say accidentally because I can say that she knows she needs to be gentle but I can see her getting excited about something and he being in the way of her getting to something. It would not be intentional by any means, but if she is on a mission for something, watch out world!
Anyway, she is still being a wonderful sister and I could not be happier.
Sierra's first time eating an ice cream bar.
We were trying to get Sierra to hold Bryce but she was pretty scared and nicely weaseled her way out of the way. Oh well, it was worth the try!

Welcoming Bryce to the world

On Tuesday August 24th, 2010 Sierra got to welcome her baby brother into this crazy world. She stayed with her Grandma JoAnn while Erik and I were in the hospital for the 2 days recovering from the planned C-section. When she came into the hospital room, her other Grandma, Meredyth, was also visiting. Sierra was joined with her Aunt Kerstin, Uncle Ryan and Cousin Dresden too.
The meeting of brother and sister was wonderful! We asked her "Where is your brother?" assuming she would point to my stomach like she had been doing for my months but she surprised us all by pointing to her brother! She also gave him kisses and hugs and just seemed to be excited in general. Here are some pictures we took of our new family.

Preparing for the arrival of Sierra's brother

Wow! It has been a long time since I have posted anything! This second pregnancy has flew by. It has been so different than how it was with Sierra. Of course with it being my second rodeo, I am a lot more relaxed and not calling the doctor asking a million questions and wondering "is this normal?" I have a lot more energy which is a good thing because if I had the same feeling of utter exhaustion with a toddler to deal with on top of it, I would have had a melt down! No huge cravings or food aversions. Last time around, I was eating a ton of Pho and fruit and this time I would say I had more sweet things and Panda Express.
I have been telling Sierra that she has a brother coming and pointing to my stomach and she now points to it and gives it kisses. She even lifts my shirt if asked where her brother is (not embarrassing at all).

Here are a couple of pictures of her saying goodbye to her brother before we left her at Grandma's and went to the hospital. We also got a video.

Sierra saying Good Night to Beaker

Here is a video that I took of Sierra playing with my very tolerant bird, Beaker. The funny thing is that if Erik goes anywhere near his cage, Beaker tries to attack him but thankfully for me and Sierra, Beaker does not seem to mind Sierra trying desperately to befriend him. Every morning she uncovers his cage and always says Hi to him when she gets home. Recently, she has figured out how to climb up on top of the chair next to the table so she can be literally nose to nose with him. I just keep praising Beaker saying, thank-you for allowing this!!
She also kisses the fish tank. Imagine if she had a dog or cat...

April 2010 photo's and videos

Here are some pictures of Sierra easting her favorite food:

In this video, Sierra is saying hello to our pet bird Beaker and our fishies. She loves animals and every time she sees any she races to them.

Easter 2010 Egg Hunt

For Easter Grandma JoAnn bought Sierra some plastic eggs that we put some treats in and hid around the living room for her to find. She had a blast organizing the eggs into her basket and the decorative bowl on the table.


We joke about how fast it takes Sierra to taker her socks and shoes off once she gets them on. She just loves to be barefoot.

Photo's from March

We have a park near by that we have taken Sierra to to play on the swings and kick her ball around.


Our little Olympic swimmer in training is still in love with her bath time. all we have to do is say the word and she runs into the bathroom and patiently (SORT OF) waits for us.

Some old photo's that I have meant to post (Feb)

Here are some photo's from when we went to Conner's 1st birthday party in late February:


These photo's were taken by Erika's Dad and are just gorgeous of her: