The Zoo

We have been trying to go to the zoo for a couple of days now and today was finally the day it worked out (well, kinda.) Of course today was the most gloomy of all days and even though it only had a 20% chance of rain it still rained (Friday was a 50% chance and guess what it didn't rain.) Oh the irony.

Anyway, I packed the lunches while Kiel packed the diaper bag (remember that for later, Melissa packed lunches, Kiel, diaper bag. Got it? Ok!) and we were out the door as soon as Bruce woke up from his morning nap.

I know Bruce is at the age where he will never remember this event but he is also at the age where his surroundings excite him. Anything new must be explored, observed and enjoyed. And even if he doesn't remember the zoo tomorrow, he had a great day today. Plus, he's a free admission ;)

For us as parents, taking our son to the zoo for the first time was more fun than when we were kids and went for the first time. I became overwhelmed with excitement when I watched Bruce become overly excited over a lizard or prairie dog. And to know that I made his day different, more interesting and gave him a new experience is by far the best day I will ever have.

When we arrived we started at the exhibits of rehabilitation. Below are animals that have been injured in someway and are now in rehab:

In the prairie dog field you can stick your head in a bubble to get a closer look:
Bruce enjoyed the animals and had his most inquisitive look on at ALL times:

I figured I fit in mostly with the cows so I might as well take a picture by cow artwork. Baby Rhyan helped me gain 9 lbs this month so the bump is significantly larger than last month.
After a brief hour of animal sightings we stopped at the picnic tables for lunch.
Bruce is really getting the hang of eating real food. He's been eating a lot actually. For lunch he had apple sauce, half a banana, and turkey. Once we were all done we decided to head to the real part of the zoo to see the elephants, giraffes, etc. but we ended up going no where.

I went to tip Bruce back in his stroller so he could drink his bottle and this foul odor wafted right up to Kiel's nostrils.

"Aw, man he totally pooped" Kiel said.
"Great" I replied, "It's going to be a big one because he didn't go yesterday."
"Oh, yeah it's all over him." Kiel observed some more. "Dude, it's up to his belly."
"Ok, did you pack a spare outfit?" Stupid question, of course he did. He ALWAYS does.
"Nope"

So I raced down to the gift shop while Kiel sat with Mr. poopy pants to see if I could find sweat outfit or pants of some sort. They had tons of t-shirts, sweat shirts and a cute zoo-keeper costume but no pants, sweats, or bottoms of any sort. Our zoo trip was over.

We went to the family bathroom because this was definitely a mess for two to clean up and wiped him down. I rinsed out his shorts in the sink and then realized we would have to stroll Bruce out in just his diaper and t-shirt. Mind you it was a cold day. All children under three had jackets and 50 blankets on top of them. I couldn't be one of the judged parents. I just pictured strolling Bruce out of the bathroom in just a diaper and all of the moms pointing with their jaws dropped open. "How dare she" they would say, "Her baby is going to get pneumonia." No way, no how was I going to be one of those. So we decided on plan B.

Bruce would wear his jacket as pants and Kiel would run as fast as he could to the parking lot before anyone would notice:
And it worked! So next time I will pack lunches and remind Kiel of all the things we need to pack while he's packing the diaper bag.

Sounds like a plan!

I Love it when my husband does this:

Almost there baby cakes! You'll get it next time for sure :)

Aquarium of the Pacific

We went to the Aquarium on Friday and had a blast! It's not as big as the Monterey Bay Aquarium but it's still really neat and only twenty minutes away. We got a season pass so we can go often. Bruce loved it so far. We didn't get to see everything because Bruce can only take so much before he becomes over-stimulated but here are some pics of us. The full album is posted on facebook.

The jellyfish were his favorite, I feel sorry for the janitors that have to clean the glass in that place...

They had a lot of touch pools, I got to pet a sting ray and we let Bruce watch...he's so funny when he has his serious face on. He is just trying to figure everything out! Such a cutie.

This Friday we are going to the zoo, we'll let you know how that goes too!

Baby Girl

Yep, baby # 2 is a girly girl! I went shopping at Khol's today for baby girl stuff. Ps. if you need to shop for clothes Khol's has an awesome sale going on this weekend. You can get a fancy Easter dress for just $10 bucks. Everything I bought was 50% off plus you get an additional 15% off your entire purchase at checkout just mention "family and friends" discount. PLUS you get $10 bucks to spend on your next shopping trip, no purchase necessary.

I bought, lots of summer dresses, a cute little swim suit and Bruce got a few things too. Sooo adorable!

I know I openly announced we were hoping for a b-o-y, but that was only because i thought it would be fun for two brothers to be so close in age. We are super excited for a little girl and if I have one boy and two girls that would be fine with me. And now I can still call Bruce my baby boy, because let's face it he will still be just a baby.

Oh and yes we have a name all picked out. Rhian Janelle or Rhyan Janelle or Rhiann or Rhyann but not Ryan...obviously I still need help with the spelling. I think I'm leaning towards Rhyan...thoughts?

Little Rye is 11 ounces and a healthy little baby. All tests have come back with great results. And just yesterday I felt her little jabs and kicks. My favorite part of the pregnancy by far. It comforts me to feel movement and know that she's still there.

We crave lots of healthy foods (tomatoes, garlic, avocado, beans) and then slurpees, lots of red dye anyone? And of course red dye gives me heart burn...grrr.

I carry high and wider than I did with B.

I am always hot, and can't stand wearing layers (a major problem for us mormons) so I bought some Bermuda shorts and crew neck tees to help me wear as minimal layers as possible. So far so good. Although crew neck has never been a flattering cut for me.

I still get nauseous from time to time...raw chicken anyone? GAG, my stomach turned just by typing that.

So far I think my weight gain is less than around this time with B but we shall find out on Friday. I feel lighter anyway :)

I can't believe it's half way over!

10 Months

B is 10 months today! This means my photo sessions are getting a lot more difficult. I doubt the hat will make it in next month it barely made it this time

I'm so mad this photo below is blurry. I've been trying to teach him to blow kisses and today he finally did it! But when I remove the flash from my camera any movement blurrs the picture, you can still tell what he's doing though. So cute!

Instead of listing all of the things he does, like a usually do I'm just going to announce my favorite things that he does.

• Whenever he's excited he pants like a dog
• He dances to all types of music. His favorite is hip hop and least favorite is heavy metal (thank goodness. Mommy hates that music too.)
• He now hates wearing a shirt and pulls on it and cries until I take it off. (This won't be cute for very long, but it is now.)
• He entertains himself and makes himself laugh all the time
• Montana is his best friend
• He's my traveling man! So easy to travel with, i love it.
• When he wants more food he flaps his arms up and down
• Whenever he hears the bath water or a vacuum he races to get to the source
• Whenever he sees a stranger, he stares them down and turns his head all the way around as we walk by so he wins the staring contest

I will say these few things though: He is much better at eating solid foods and he's starting to cruise all things by standing and walking around them.

Here's a few pictures I took a long time ago but never posted them. You can tell this is when we didn't have his eczema diagnosed yet:

He was falling asleep in the swing so he wouldn't look up!

And this is him when I left for two days, he looks so much more grown up. I can't believe it~

Girl trip!

Cambria and Katie in matching rompers

Palm springs is the perfect place for a girls trip! It's only an hour and half away, at least twenty degrees warmer and a perfect place to relax.

I'm lucky to be surrounded by friends that have more money than me, so I can enjoy there perks without paying the bill:) Four of us girls from my church stayed at Cambrias' parents condo in Palm Springs for the weekend.

We lounged by the pool:

Here I am stuffing my face

We ate wonderful food:As you can see baby # 2 is developing wonderfully. You might or might not recognize our friend at the end. If you are a fan of the show Criminal Minds, than you'll know AJ Cook or if you've seen Kiel's favorite movie Out Cold you would recognize her as well. Notice, I try and stay as far away from that beauty as possible but it still doesn't make a difference. She still out shines me from far away. They pretty much all do, don't I have gorgeous friends?

And of course it wouldn't be a girls weekend if we didn't shop at the outlets! Gap, J Crew, Levis, Saks, oh it was so nice!

Bruce and Kiel stayed at home enjoying the weekend without me around. Kiel let Bruce run around with out a shirt on the whole time, so now Bruce hates shirts (great.)

This was test to see if we could leave Bruce for a week next month and Bruce passed with flying colors. And I have to say, if you are a mom and have never done a girls weekend, it feels like you just got the best 2 hour massage of your life. I came back so relaxed and ready to tackle my mom duties than I ever have before. I highly recommend it.

Thanks hubbie, for holding down the fort and letting me spend some time and money on just me:) You are the best!

First haircut

This is a torturous video to watch, but it's the only thing I have that documents his first haircut. I love how Kiel says "just hold him down" it's easier said than done, obviously.

And here are some after photos. As you can see the shag behind his ears is all gone and he has no more baby mullet.

Isn't he cute?

Utah trip

We went to Utah to visit Kiel's sister Brigitte and her family. Their newest addition was getting blessed that weekend so that was the special occasion. B and I flew there and Kiel met us there a couple days later. Here we are at Utah airport. I have to praise how good my little traveler is, he's been traveling once a month since he was 6 weeks old and he is a joy to travel with. He mostly flirted with the ladies sitting behind us and slept. Here is Omi with Bruce and Sidney. Bruce and Sidney are really cute together. The older they get the closer in age they get, if that makes sense.

Here we are after the blessing. The mountains blend with the sky in the picture, but they were absolutely beautiful in real life. Kiel had to fly back for work and me and the baby road tripped it with Omi, Sidney and Brittany. It was a crowded car to say the least but we all survived and the babies were great considering the circumstances. We stopped in St. George to visit Kiel's aunt and to stay the night. She has a beautiful home and it was nice to finally meet her in person.

From St. George we went to my house, but included a pitt stop at Shelleys (thanks for the dinner it was yum.) Just like that we went from winter weather to beach weather:

And Bruce and Sidney had fun playing at my house too:

We're back from Utah

More about the trip and pictures to post later!