Merry Christmas to all...

This year's Christmas was so much fun with Andrea around and I can't wait for each Christmas as she grows! At least she is at an age where she can still get excited even if she doesn't understand all that is going on. We still waited to put our presents under the tree until Christmas eve, simply because we were worried she would open any present she found. It was fun playing Santa though, since we usually just throw presents under the tree as soon as they are wrapped. Christmas Eve also included our traditional PJs, which Ryan and I have always done anyway.


Christmas morning we started a fire and began opening the gifts. Andrea's stocking was full of baby treats and some new binkys while Ryan's had the traditional chocolate orange and Bob & Tom CD as well as other goodies and Jazz tickets. My stocking was stuffed with goodies that I probably shouldn't eat, and some pearl earrings from my favorite jewelry store, Shane Co. Let's not forget Tessy who, even though the Dr. told us not to, got her own special treat from Santa in her stocking.

Andrea really never got the hang of unwrapping the gifts, which shocked us all, but she was sure excited once the gift was open. She received some necessities, as well as a book, a bath toy, and a music table from Santa. Ryan spoiled me, as usual, with a DVD player for upstairs, a vest, levis, and DVDs. He received a new GPS, CDs, a Wii game, and a indoor/outdoor temperature gage thingy.

My favorite part about Christmas is that we live in the same city as both parents so it becomes a full day of celebrating. The Lees were so excited to spoil their newest grandchild and Andrea received a riding princess car as well as a rocking pony that sings and talks. She has got the rocking pony down pretty well these days and I know that in no time she will have fun driving that car around! Ryan and I were also spoiled, getting a lot of things which Linda considered "boring" but were very very much appreciated!

We discovered as we unwrapped the gifts at my parents that they had been very busy! Andrea received an adorable bank styled like an old money truck made by Grandpa Jim that was even personalized, it is being proudly displayed on the shelf in her room and will be filled in no time. Ryan and I received a beautiful Afghan which must have taken my mom more hours than I would ever have patience for. I've already used it and it definitely fulfills it's purpose.
Here are a few pictures of Andrea and her cousins, Brigitta and Roland. It's always fun to see them interact!

So as you can see this was a wonderful Christmas for us, and I think Andrea would agree that her first one was definitely memorable!

Ho Ho Ho

Well it was that time I'd been waiting for all season long. Time for Andrea to meet Santa! Each year the Army Depot holds a meet and greet with Santa that includes a lot of great giveaways. I had heard other employees talk about taking their kids or grandkids in the past so I was excited to go this year. I was a little worried about Andrea's reaction, but she did very well. She seemed very interested in Santa and Mrs. Clause (what is her first name anyway?) and was in no hurry to come back to Mama. With the weather being unpredictable lately I was worried that Ryan may not be able to come with us and miss out on her first Santa visit. But luckily the snow stayed away ,and he was there. I wanted to take a picture to prove that Daddy always likes to be a part of things. Not only did Andrea get the creepy stuffed Santa you see in the photo, she also received a bag full of toys and goodies. Plus Ryan and I grabbed some cookies before we left. So I would say it was a pretty successful milestone!

On another note, I've decided to quit my job (again). I finally decided that I have been selfish in my desire to work. Home is where I need to be. I really do love my job and co-workers, but things at the credit union will be changing anyway, so I figured it was a good time to break away. In a way I feel like I am giving up my last bit of independence, but I guess that is what motherhood is all about. However, I am looking forward to getting a set schedule going with Andrea and I think after a while I'll get used to this staying at home full time thing.

Halloween

Here are the photos that many of you have been asking for. I started sewing Andrea's Halloween costume the beginning of September and finished last week. The pattern wasn't too tough, but me being the picky person I am wanted to make it tri-colored, like a beagle would be. It was tough to figure out what colors were going to line up when I sewed them together. I am very pleased with how it turned out and maybe by next year I will have forgotten how time consuming it was.

Isn't she the cutest beagle ever! (No offense Tessy)

This was the closest I could get Tessy to come for a picture together.

Last Wednesday Ryan headed to Louiseville Kentucky for a landscape expo with his boss. I wasn't too thrilled about him not getting home until Halloween night but I guess I can't choose when the expo would be scheduled. While he was gone my days were filled up pretty quickly which is always good to pass the time.

Friday I took Andrea into the credit union to visit all of the departments. Another exciting year of creative themes! There were dead golfers, the H1N1 virus, Santa and elves, M&Ms, and more! My department dressed as Yankee fans, but since I normally don't work on Fridays it didn't matter much to me what they chose. I did go in for a few hours to work so one of them brought me a Yankee T-shirt. Andrea was distracted enough by the costumes that she didn't even mess with her doggy hood, any other time and she yanks it right off.

Friday night Kristi, Tara, and I decided it had been too long since our trip to Denver and it was time for some girl time. Linda and Gary actually suggested the idea and are always willing to give me a break. So we headed to Gardner village for some fun fall activities. We did a witch scavenger hunt with a reward of a chocolate chip cookie at the bakery for 25 cents (normally 90 cents, wahoo). We decided to get tickets for the "Witch-a-palooza" dinner show that night, I'm so glad we did because it was getting COLD outside! Now those of you who know me, know that I've seen a lot of plays, and been in quite a few too. I can honestly say that this was probably the funnest show I'd been to. My expectations were low, and maybe that helped, but I was blown away by the talent! Plus they involved the audience so much, we were all clapping and singing (well, except the young couple at our table who seemed "too cool" for that sort of thing). I would definately attend this show again! The food was good, the atmosphere was fun, the company was great, and the cast was adorable! So, to say the least, our girls night didn't dissapoint and we all agreed we need to get together again soon.

I think Kristi was in the middle of saying "Witchapalooza" when the picture was taken.

Once Halloween arrived it was time to take Andrea around to the family. I headed to my parents first, Ryan still hadn't landed. I always love seeing Eric and Amy's family costumes. This year they were "Little Red 'Hiding' Hood" (Brigitta), the woodsman (Roland), The Big Bad Wolf (Eric), and the Grandma (Amy). Amy chose not to wear her costume two nights in a row, which I don't blame her, but I think Eric always likes dressing up. Amy sewed all of the costumes and she does such a beautiful job!

Once Ryan landed he came to my parents to eat quickly before we went to pick up his parent's and head to his grandmas. Andrea got fun suprises from all of the family, we'll so did Ryan and I. It's good to have Ryan home and I really appreciate my family who helped while he was gone. Linda and Gary always made sure I had been fed and I know they are always there when I need them!

The House of Sorrow

Last Friday Ryan and I thought it would be fun to let Andrea try Grandma and Grandpa's hot tub. We turned the temperature down to a reasonable temp for a baby, put her in her floaty swim suit from Aunt Sandy, and hopped in. We were suprised that she didn't have much of a reaction at all. She didn't love it, didn't hate it. She acted real listless and sleepy. Afterwards I noticed she felt quite warm and her cheekies were a little red. When we got home and took her temperature it read 99.9. I thought this was due to the hot tub and gave her a luke warm bath and Tylenol hoping that would help. In the middle of the night during a fussy spell I took her temp again and it was 101.4. After a while of snuggling up against me my chest was covered in drool... "teething" was my first thought. After another day of fussiness and Saturday night a temperature of 101.7 I was worried! We headed to the doctor Sunday as soon as they opened and found out our little one had strep throat. The doctor said it's unusual for any child under 2. I'm sure it was so frustrating for her not to be able to tell us what's wrong, just the fact that our little girl was out of sorts should have been enough of a clue. During this fun weekend of sickness the dog had peed in the kitchen and Ryan said it was mostly blood. We called the vet Saturday but they had no openings until Monday. We figured it was just a bladder infection and some antibiotics would do the trick. Monday afternoon I got ready for yet another doctor trip, this time dropping off our sick Andrea, well-druged, at the in-laws while I took our other babe to the doctor. As the vet, who graduated with Ryan and I (makes me feel old that someone our age has been through that much schooling), felt around you could literally hear rocks clinking in Tessy's tummy. She explained that those were bladder stones and that surgery was needed. After seeing the x-ray for myself, my heart broke. This poor dog had grape-sized rocks in her bladder that had been forming for years. So on Wednesday Tess went in for surgery and came home that evening. Her initial recovery was scary! She had the shakes, wouldn't open her eyes, and seemed ill-tempered. After an hour or two of rest she popped right up seeming her old self again. Grandpa Gary was kind enough to babysit our patient on Thursday morning while I headed off to work. Today it's my turn, and she is doing quite well. She wants to do more than she should and I'm trying my best to stop her from licking her wounds so we don't have to use the lampshade collar. We actually had to use the baby gate already, not for Andrea, but to keep the dog from going down the stairs.

Andrea is doing so much better, now she is just frustrated that she can't crawl or walk. It's been a stressful week but I am so grateful for my mom who can babysit Andrea while I work and give her the medication she needs, instead of dealing with a daycare that wouldn't give her the love a Grandma would. My in-laws are also such a huge help always begging to take Andrea or the dog off our hands to give us a break. Although we have so many helping hands I'm glad that as the mother I can have most days home to create some stability for my baby and some comfort for the dog.

We are Family

It's finally time to catch up on my blogging. I tell ya... that Farm Town on Facebook really is a time eater!

More Family Pictures
First, family pictures. We've been meaning to take a big family shot of the Lee clan for a while now. Last month the timing and weather was just right to do it. Of course I asked my "go-to" photographer Sheri, but she had a last minute trip that changed her plans. She and I agreed that Kristi could do a fabulous job, if she was willing. After a little coaxing she agreed. We still used Sheri's farm while she was away and I think they turned out beautifully! Thank you so much Kristi, you don't realize how thrilled we all are with the photos and they will be displayed proudly! I think you'll agree that they are adorable, here is a sample, a large sample, but there are about 20 that I love!

Living Room
A lot of our summer was dedicated to remodeling Ryan's parents living room. We had been promising to help out with this project for a few years, so it felt good to get it done. It really was a family affair (I apologize for those who don't know the family ties of the following names)... Gary dad did most of the tear down of old paneling and patching of walls. Sandy and Fernlee made a special visit to help refinish the ceiling and get the project going. Rick helped install a window and Tyler helped texter the ceiling and walls. Then it was up to the Lee's to finish. Linda was always willing to babysit so I could lend a hand and that helped more than she realizes. They really were very patient in letting Ryan and I work on it when we could. Linda said she was hoping it would be done before school started and I think I was touching up the paint Sunday night before she started school on Monday, talk about cutting it close! I think it really turned out nice with the two tones. New carpet and furniture helped to finish it off. Now we just need to get the family pictures framed and up on the walls.

Linda may not appreciate me posting this one but I thought Gary playing on the floor with Andrea was cute.

Park City

This year for our 6th anniversary I told Ryan that the only present I wanted was a full night's sleep. So the in-laws were gracious enough to have a sleep over with Andrea, which they seemed to really enjoy. We chose to spend just one night in Park City, those church callings really cut into the weekend! You may remember that last year we chose the same destination, but I had the worst cold I had ever experienced and being pregnant I couldn't take much for it. So most of our time was spent in the condo watching movies, making hot cocoa for my throat, and trying to sleep. The sleep was interrupted by two fire alarms going off in the night and the fire truck lights flashing in the window. This year we thought we would give it another shot and I enjoyed every minute of it. My wish for a full night's sleep didn't quite happen, hotel beds are never as comfy as our own, but just knowing that it was possible was good enough. We walked Main Street (of course) had a delicious dinner and then soaked in the hot tub. The next morning after a yummy breakfast we realized that we got up before the shop keepers and headed back to the hotel for a quick nap. After check-out we headed back to Main Streeet for the mandatory Christmas ornaments and fudge. We made a quick visit to the outlets, but the crowds scared us away after picking up an outfit or two for Andrea. We took the long way home through Provo Canyon, stopped at South Towne Mall, and headed home. It wasn't a long trip but just what I needed after 7 months of restless nights.

Zoom, Zoom, ZOO!

I apologize for my slacking... but when I slack at posting that usually means I been busy with fun things to post!

Andrea had her first visit to the zoo last Thursday. She wasn't able to spot the animals yet but loved looking at the people. This little girl is so interested in the world around her. If I had to guess her future occupation it would be some kind of inventor or engineer. I thought maybe after riding in her stroller around the zoo she would eventually fall asleep, no way! Not when there are new things to see.

We rode the carousel which she loved! And the train was too quick for her to really focus on anything flying by but she enjoyed the ride. As soon as we were back in the car she was out for the count! We used the rest of the day to look at car dealerships, which leads me to my next update:

New car! We loved our Mazda 3, we bought it brand new after 1 year of marriage so we thought we were pretty hot stuff. Although I thought I had planned for the future with 4 doors and a back seat we soon realized that it was not a big enough back seat when we actually had to put a car seat in there.

We started looking at BMW X5s and Mazda CX-7s. Ryan was a little turned off that the CX-7s looked exactly like our 3 inside, what's the fun in that? So Ryan was using his BMW mechanic cousin to decide on a good X5. Thanks Rusty for all of your help! While we were at a dealer looking at the best X5 we had seen, we noticed an Acura MDX on the lot. We briefly checked out the Acura and told them we would be back the next morning. Ryan said since it would be my car, it was my choice. I knew right away I wanted the Acura. It was newer than the beemer and was in better shape. Ryan had to do all kinds of research that night but ultimately agreed with my decision. This makes our sixth car in six years of marriage, what can we say.... we get bored easily I guess.
As you can see Andrea's car seat sits properly now, instead of hitting the front seats. We also have third row seating or "Tessy storage" when folded down. We tell Andrea that we bought this car just for her, because honestly we did. Talk about a high maintenance kid, gets her own car at 6 months old!

The Best of Both Worlds

Why I love my days at home

All you have to do is watch the video to understand why I love my days at home.

I can honestly say that I cherish every moment with my little girl. It's never far from my mind what a miracle having a baby is. I've learned that every play time is a moment to teach her something new. Every fussy time is a chance to show her I'm here. Every content mood is an opportunity to teach her that quite time is good. Maybe it's the idea that she might be our one and only child, but I try to hang on to every milestone. She is already growing too big, too fast! This past week we put away her bassinet, baby bath tub, and baby carrier.

Why I love my days at work

These past few weeks at work our Marketing Department has encouraged employees to promote our "Take us on vacation with you" VISA push. Remember that if you use your HeritageWest VISA rewards card between now and the end of September you earn double points!

All employees were allowed to wear flip-flops and shorts on Fridays (which didn't include myself because I don't work Fridays) and wear "vacation" attire all week this week. Each department was also given $15 to decorate their area as some kind of vacation destination and the department with the most votes gets a free breakfast. Well, if you keep up on my blog you know how extreme the credit union gets for it's employee Halloween contest. So some department's really went all out. My department (Kathy and I) went with a camping/fishing theme.

The IS department decided to have a "BBQ" with hot dogs, root beer, and home made ice cream, yumm! Is it really that difficult to see why I love working there? Especially when they are okay with letting me work a day and 1/2 each week!

Photos, and Parade, and Fireworks. Oh my!

I'm so excited about our newest family pictures. One of my co-workers Sheri does some free lance photography and she took some for us a couple of years ago with Tessy. Now that Andrea is old enough to hold her head up and smile, I was anxious to update our photo above the mantle. Sheri lives on a farm and it was great located to get some pretty scenery. I recruited my friend Kristi along to help get Tessy and Andrea to look in the right direction. It was quite the adventure! Andrea was well-behaved, but a little overwhelmed, so she didn't smile on cue too often. Tessy was so excited about new smells that Ryan and I had to force her to be a part of the family. So here are some of my favorites, although I have about 30 favorites. Of course these are the raw pictures, they have not been touched up yet.

Andrea attended her first parade on the 4th. A few years ago the city changed the parade route and now it comes right down my parents street. Andrea was a little scared by the first police motorcycles, then she got hungry, then fell asleep, then quietly watched the rest of the parade. What a good girl! I had bought her a "Daddy's little firecracker" shirt about a month ago, before I realized that she would be wearing 18 month clothes at 5 months old. I still managed to squeeze her into the shirt because, after all, she'll only wear it the one day.Ryan's parents were babysitting Andrea when the big fireworks started. We were hoping to watch them with her on their porch but I guess Tooele city doesn't know how to tell time and started 10 minutes early. When we got there she was sleeping anyway. We found out she had another one of her "stomach situations". It seems like once a week Andrea has a 10-minute session of screaming while releasing a lot of gas, the poor girl. Ryan's parents have been so patient and have learned to deal with it well, just like we have. It still makes me feel bad as a mother that I wasn't there to rock her and sooth her. I'm looking forward to next year when she'll be old enough to enjoy a little more on the 4th of July.

Gratitude

It's been a while since I've thought about all the things I'm grateful for. So I thought I would make a gratitude post, it always helps me put things in perspective.

* A new roof.

* Baby monitors that light up, so I can shut both bedroom doors when I blow dry my hair.

* Grandparents who babysit Andrea so she doesn't have to go to daycare.

* A husband who ends every phone call with "love you".

* Grocery stores.

* Lunch dates with Kristi.

* A healthy baby.

* Healthy Choice microwave meals.

* Weekly walks around town when I get to see the train, Spiers farm, or the house with all the gnomes.

Isn't it great to think of all the things we have and take for granted!

Anywho, Andrea had her 4 month appointment last week and all is well. She now weighs 17 lbs 15 oz which puts her in the 98th percentile. Her height was 24 1/2 in. which is in the 75th percentile. We started some rice cereal, here is a video. And I added some squash today which she seemed to really like.

MacGyver Lee

Pop some popcorn and get yourself a drink, it's funny story time! Last Sunday was a stormy day and the power went out while we were at the in-laws. Although we don't live too far from Ryan's parents, it's usually a big enough distance that our power is never off at the same time as theirs. Well, this was not the case, when we came home we realized we couldn't get into our garage with the automatic opener because our power was also out. I have the keys to the screen door and front door on my key ring, but we had Ryan's keys. No big deal, we figured we would just go for a drive and the power would be on shortly. After about a half an hour of driving through some of the same old streets (we really need to get some new hot spots in town) the power was still out. Andrea was sleeping, luckily, and I wasn't too worried because both of our parents have formula and diapers at their houses but Ryan just really wanted to get inside. He did have the key to his shop (his workshop in the back of our house) on his key ring and he thought with the help of some tools he might be able to open the back door to our garage, he realized another option was our bedroom window which we had open all day. However, our bedroom window is on the second story. So while Andrea and I waited in the truck, images of Ryan falling off the ladder and lying on the ground unable to call for help were racing through my mind. So I occationally went outside to see if he was okay. When he finally returned from the backyard he casually went up to the front door and unlocked it with his keys, I was so confused! So after he opened the garage door manually, he explained how he got the keys, "Well, I was trying to get in our bedroom window but I was too scared because the ladder wasn't quite tall enough. Then I remembered that when I was cleaning the front room earlier I put my other set of keys in my hat and set them on the dresser. So I got our tree prunner from the shop and fished my hat across the bedroom with the keys in it." I was dying of laughter. I couldn't stop laughing while I pulled the truck into the garage. What a funny guy, I wish I could have seen him on his ladder slowly pulling his hat across the bedroom. Oh man! So long story short (too late) we got inside and luckily the power came back on before "Breaking Bad".

Now for some cuteness:
When Andrea was first born, and we would set her in her bouncer, Ryan mentioned what a milestone it would be when she could pull on the umbrella to make it play music. Well it happened this week (tear) and I got it on video the second time around. Now when I set her in it she pulls it two or three times, the little sweetheart.




She has also become quite the chunk. She no longer fits in 3-6 months clothes and she is not yet 4 months. I just had to take some shots of her "chillin" in the tub this morning.Here is one of her and the dog staring each other down. I'm sure Andrea was giving a look of love, but Tessy was giving the evil eye. One more of Daddy with his girls.

Cedar City

Last weekend Ryan and I decided we better get Andrea down to Cedar City to meet her great-grandma and grandpa. I love Ryan's grandparents and am so excited that they are still around to see our family grow. My grandparents had passed on many many years ago so I treasure the fact that Ryan still has his.

On the way to Cedar City I couldn't help but remember so many trips back and forth to college. One trip in particular when Sharol and I would sing along to musicals (we found out that the trip is pretty close length-wise to listening to Rent and Chess) in PJs, drinking Dr. Pepper, and pausing for the occational belch. I smiled as I spotted "my mountain" and then quickly looked to the left to find Sharol's mountain. I couldn't help but turn on some Chess on my ipod. This trip however I was sitting in the back seat with my baby, drinking diet Pepsi, and I couldn't help but turn on some Chess on my ipod. I'm sure one day I'll remember this trip and traveling with my little baby instead of my infant or teenager (yikes).

As I said before, our main purpose for our Cedar City trip was to see Ryan's grandparents but we spent a lot of our time with Ryan's brother and family. It's always fun to get a glimpse of what our life will be like in a few years. I love spending time with the kids and they were definately obsessed with "Baby Anya". I had a little 4 and 2 year old follow me wherever Andrea went, they wanted to watch me change her diaper, get her dressed, make her a bottle. Poor baby Andrea, I've noticed she talks a little louder now that were home, I think she got used to all the noise.

Ryan helped Matt put a roof on the kids play gym while Sara and I visited. I'm so glad to have a sister-in-law that I can talk to and her and I see eye-to-eye on a lot of things. We also visited Ryan's aunt Sandy and uncle Fernlee who were babysitting baby Cambria. So with 4 kids, 6 adults, and 4 dogs, it was quite the adventure! We then had lunch with the Grandparents at "Lucky Buffet" (which has become a tradition), they have excellent cream cheese wontons! Afterwards, Matt was nice enough to take some family photos. Ryan and I had already tried with the timer at home so we could get some with Tessy, but having a photographer means Andrea might actually look up. It was a really fun weekend but it's always nice to come home. Today I promised Ryan I would get everything put away and our house back in order but, as you see, I still found time to blog. Here are some family photos that Matt took for us and some with the timer.