MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!

Anxiety, Baby sitting, and Pregnancy oh my!

Anxiety, the wonderful genetically passed on chemical imbalance in the brain. (which haunts me on a daily basis) Baby sitting, the world which intensifies and highly aggravates my Anxiety. Oh and don't forget Pregnancy, the one that has contributed to large bulging sensitive veins, back problems, fun girl infections and lack of Energy. All these ingredients put together has made me one hell of a Madusa. My poor family. By the end of this year I'm sure they'll be asking Santa for a new mom and wife. :p

Don't get me wrong, I know my family loves me. The kids I baby sit I love dearly. But enough is enough. Taking care of others children is harder than it seems. The eating of boogers, sharing of germs, the demands, the melt downs, the separation anxiety etc. After a day of battle, I feel like my energy and emotional well has been taped dry. By the time they leave, Riley has attached himself to my leg like dentures to gums with a newly applied strip of poly-grip. (not that I would even know, I still have all of my teeth in-tacked). :p But I realized that since I got pregnant, caring for other kids has become more stressful, and has been affecting my whole family as well. That's when I realized that maybe making a little more extra money may not be worth it. My husband makes enough to put a roof over our heads and food on the table. We are blessed and I shouldn't feel guilty for putting my family first. So I have decided that the end of December is the final cut off for my services. I want to be able to enjoy the rest of my pregnancy and family without added stress. Sorry, for this little tangent. Sometimes you just have to throw things out there.

On a positive note, I have a wonderful husband and sweet little boy. I have been given so much and love my life. My point to all of this is "do we really need to add garbage to our truck that doesn't need to be there?" Sometimes, I think we as people in the society that we live in, think we need to do things we really don't need to do.

Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving! This year it was so much fun! Riley actually got to participate! :) It was so much fun watching the wheels turn in is head. He loved pulling out the pumpkin guts and got very mad when he had to go take a bath! :p He obviously belongs to the right family.

 Pumpkins from left to right, Brandon, Riley, and Brandi

Trunk or Treat night started off a little rough. Riley wasn't too excited about wearing a costume. He threw a little bit of a tantrum before we left. The pictures below were the best I could get. :p If you couldn't tell, Riley and I were the Monkeys while Brandon was our safari tamer. :p

 

Brandon could not keep his eyes open. He said the flash was too bright. :p

Riley's favorite thing of the night was the gigantic pixie stick. :p

Pumpkin patch at Chatfield Park! :)

Pictures of our fun adventure at the pumpkin patch! Thank Heavens it didn't snow this year. The pumpkins were all alive and their was plenty of them! ;)

Our attempt for a quick family photo!

Riley LOVED the dirt clods more than the pumpkins. :p

During Lunch Riley and Brandon got to meet the Chick-fil-A Cow!

A Sneak Peek at Lexi!!!!!!

Okay, I realize this post is a little overdue, but here she is! :)
(side note: Lexi is her official name. It is not shortened from anything. It also may change if she doesn't look like it in person.)

As you can see from the picture below, there is no mistake that she is a girl.
(sorry if this is too graphic for some of you. )

Givin' Those Sweet Country Blues

We decided it was family picture time! Soon we will have a new little one and realized that we needed some family pictures with Riley at the age of one. So we scraped up what little means we have to make this fun event happen. Lets just say one year olds are not easy to work with. Amy, bless her heart, was patient and magically found these PRECIOUS moments. (Believe me they are few and far-between) The sweet little monster you see did not want to cooperate. In the end it all payed off and we wanted to share the fun with the rest of you! :)

I'm pregnant!

Okay, so for those of you who have not heard I am pregnant! I am due February 27th which is two days after Riley's Birthday! Lets just hope this little guy doesn't show up on the 25th. We won't know the gender until October, but I have a feeling it will be another boy! The picture above shows me at 2 months. I can't believe how much faster you show the second time around. I'm pretty sure by the third kid I look baby belugas mom. :p

Tiny Town!

Tiny Town? What is Tiny Town? We didn't even know Tiny Town existed until a friend here in Denver shared it with us. All I can say about is that WE LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!! It is a small town of houses the size of little kids. It all started in 1915 when a man named Goerge Turner built it for the amusement of his daughter. Since 1920 it has been opened to the public and we are glad it is! Riley had so much fun. We spent two whole hours riding their child size locomotives, and exploring tiny town to it's fullest.

Brandon Riley and I waiting for the train to pull out!

The incredibly cute train

Riley loved to wedge himself in between buildings.

Actually using a sidewalk without being asked to!

One of my favorite buildings

Brandon and Riley in our future home

Riley sliding by himself for the first time

Unfortunately our adventure had to come to an end, and like every end to our adventure we walked out with a screaming baby. At least we know he enjoys going places and being outdoors.

Riley's Memorial Day Weekend Adventures!

Our Memorial Day weekend flew by so fast. Brandon ended up having to go into work for a half day on Friday, but as soon as he was done Riley and I were there in a heart beat to pick him up. We spent the rest of the day splashing away in the fountains at Civic Green Park. Riley was a little hesitant and need some coaxing from Brandon and I, but he loved it!

  Saturday we ventured downtown to the art festival! I found out last year that it is held every year on memorial day weekend. It is now one of things I look forward to every year. I relish in the gift the artists have been given and enjoy finding unique things. One of those unique things is glass ornaments. Ever since Brandon and I went to the Glass Museum in Seattle on our Honey moon, it has been a goal of mine to collect a new glass ornament every year. After lots of searching and stopping to talk to many artists we found our ornament. Of course by this time Riley did not enjoy being confined to his stroller and eventually we had to rap our adventure up.
  The rest of the weekend was spent with Riley exploring my flowers on the porch, helping dad fix a vacuum, controlling the tv remote, more time at the fountains, and playing in the tub with yet again more water. Over all we had a fun laid back weekend. It was nice to come and go as we wished. The best part was how fast Riley would fall asleep after each day. Here are some more random pictures from our weekend.

A Two Year Farewell!!!!

My brother is on a mission in Knoxville Tennessee!!!!!!!! I can't believe I forgot to post this exciting event. :p I'm very excited and proud of him. Lots of family was able to join us. Two sets of aunts and uncles of my fathers side were able to attend as well as Gram! It was a very short visit to Portland, but it was well worth it in my case! :) Below are a few photos, and when I say a few I mean a few. Most of the pictures I took ended up on my moms camera. I wish I had a copy of the whole group.

Riley's 1st Birthday!!!!!!!!

Wow Time goes by so incredibly fast! Who would have guessed that my baby is already 1!?!?! I was so excited and ended up going overboard with birthday planning. Not only did I make blueprints for the design of his cake, but I also went all out on the decorations. :p The most exciting part about his birthday was the Surprise gift that came to our door Wednesday morning. Grandma Kelly came for his big day! (Sorry I didn't have a better picture mom) :p

Riley was full of smiles and entertainment after that! Plus I was able to get the cake done! I couldn't have done it without my mom.

Below is what I called Riley's Birthday room! The balloons in this picture come with a story... :p When we got Riley and the balloons in the car he wigged out. My mom had to ride in the back of the car to make him feel better. Who knew a balloon as tall as him would be that scary.

That night we had a blast on the 25th watching Riley open his gifts, eat cake, and party with a few guests who dropped by for some fun!

He didn't get into ripping his gifts much, but he loved talking to the box and playing with all the ribbon.

Riley and Maron having some fun before cake.

Happy Birthday to a sweet little boy! We even got some photo clips soon to come your way! PS: he loved the cake and was not afraid to tare it apart. :p