LaRance Family

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. Everything is going well at the LaRance home. Hayden started preschool this year (she will be going 2 years) She loves it and is having fun making new friends. Landon is getting so big! He is talking alot and cracking us up with his attempts at sentences. For those of you who don't know we are expecting number three. I'm pretty excited/nervous. I am due March 16th.

An attempt at a group shot.

Hayden and Eli

We were all struggling by this point.

She looks scared by she really loved riding the pony.

Strawberry Picking

2010-07-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

Last month we went strawberry picking for family home evening. It was a lot of fun and I forgot how good fresh Oregon berries are.We picked 16 pounds!

Hayden was actually a really good helped we had her preped so she wouldn't pick any green ones.

Landon kept himself busy by covering himself in dirt.But took time for a little snack.

I can't get over that cheesy smile and those teeth!

Niki and Josh's Wedding

2010-07-19T14:09:00.000-07:00

My sister Niki got married last month! Everything turned out really nice. I made a million cupcakes... ok more like 250 but it seemed like a million. Even though there was a last minute frosting mishap they ended up turning out.

Hayden and her cousin Riley hugging. I think she was forcing him to be her prince.

Me and Gene. I was so happy he made it home from Haiti a day before the wedding.

Somehow I only got one picture of the couple. The wedding cake.

Family pic.

Cutest/sassiest flower girl ever!

I took some bridal picture a few weeks earlier that turned out really good.

My favorite.

Eli and Hayden

2010-06-04T16:33:00.000-07:00

It has been raining like crazy here but we just got some dry days so Hayden wanted her cousin Eli to come over and play. They has so much fun but Hayden started to get alittle sassy towards the end of the day.

This is her telling me to talk to the hand. This happens often.

Still mad at me.

This was the only face Eli would give when I asked him to smile.

She decided she wasn't mad anymore. I seriously love this girl!

This was my favorite part of the day. Hayden found a "poofy head" and wanted to make a wish before they blew it. Hayden said, " I wish I had a pink house and grandma had a purple house."

The past few months...

2010-05-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

My motivation for getting some pictures up here is that Gene has been gone for a few weeks and is sure missing the kiddos. We talk to him on the web cam and they love it. Every time I'm on the computer Landon comes over and says "daddy." Gene was in Hawaii for 3 weeks in April then he came back home for 2 weeks and now is in Haiti for 3 weeks. I was hoping I would never say this but I'm getting use to him being gone... but that doesn't mean I like it. We miss him very much and are ready for him to be home. He has taken alot of pictures of Haiti and the after math of the earthquake. I'll post them when he gets home. His descriptions make me very grateful for all that I have.

Landon got a short hair cut. So cute but I miss those curls. This was a few months ago and they are coming back now. :) Helping unplant the flowers.

Hayden help me plant some flowers.

They are really starting to love playing together. It is so fun to watch.
This is Landon doing his elephant sound.

My little model. After every picture she would ask to see it, then get a huge grin on her face.

Fun at grandma and grandpa's house.

Mother's Day. It was so nice that Gene go to be here. He even made me breakfast. There is a first time for everything;)

Gene and I decided to make our own edible arrangements for our moms on mother's day. They may not have turned out as good as the ones you can buy but we had fun making them. Four wheeling at my parents.

Landon is in love with babies. Mostly real ones but he does love Hayden's dolls too. This is how I found him during his nap.

Hayden was so sweet and thought he was so cute. She kept rubbing his head saying, in a very high pitch voice "wake up Landon"

Putting together the play set.

This is the face Landon gets right before he throws something, which he does often.

Playing with his cousin Grayson. They are going to be trouble.Gene off to Haiti.

My sister's bridal shower invitation.

Desserts from the shower. I'm not going to lie, they were pretty good. :)

Her favorite present. Haha! I laughed pretty hard when she pulled out this night gown.

Hayden's new model pose. The hat is Landon's but she loves wearing it.

She is in love with lady bugs and was pretty excited to find this one.

Landon welcome to the rest of your life.

2010-04-27T17:24:00.000-07:00

I was laughing so hard when I turned the corner to see Hayden draging Landon out of her room. He was fighting with all his might to get away.

Landon's first hair cut

2010-02-28T14:35:00.001-08:00

So a few weeks ago Landon got his first, very over due hair cut. My sister is a hair stylist so we went in to the salon she works at. I was glad that Gene and I didn't have to try to do it ourselves. We probably would have just ended up shaving it.BeforeTin foil for distraction. It actually worked really well.

After. He looks so good, like a little man.

Landon's Birthday/ Random

2010-02-26T14:55:00.001-08:00

Landon's Birthday. I can't seriously can't believe he is already one! I was bummed because Gene wasn't gong to make it back from the Philippines in time for Landon's birthday but he surprised me with a phone call at 12:30am that morning asking if I could pick him up. His 10 day trip turned into 7 weeks! We are so glad he is back. Hayden would make sure she knew where he was at all times. Opening presents. (P.S. I do wear glasses now....sometimes. I'm still getting use to it) Oh course daddy had to get him a Cowboys football.

Landon wanted nothing to do with his cupcake. I guess we shouldn't have waited so long. He was ready for bed.

Still recovering from the cupcake incident. I don't know what made his so mad. Hayden did the same thing on her first birthday, burst into tears when we gave her her cake.Family shot. When I saw this picture I got a flash forward of Hayden as a teenager making the same annoyed look in all our family pictures.Love these girls! I was so happy to get to spend some time with my old roommates and best friends. Emily came down from Washington and Rebecca came from Utah to visit her family...and me:) I really can't describe how fun it was to hang out with them again. I wished Sarah and Michelle where there too.Hayden and Emily's son Lincoln. She was dancing with her prince.So cute. Emily I'll save this picture for their wedding album : )We have had some really nice weather for Oregon. Sunshine and not too much rain. The kids have been enjoying our backyard.A surprising smile from Hayden. She struggles when it comes to smiling for the camera.Bubba eating rocks.Yelling at Hayden before church.My sister is getting married in June. I've been taking some engagement pictures whenever the weather is nice. This is one of my favs.

Camo man

2010-01-23T15:03:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to do a little photo shoot of Landon in these camo clothes we bought before he was even born. I kept putting it off for some reason but I knew I had to do it or it wouldn't happen because he has almost grown out of the shirt.

Hayden wanted to join in the fun too.

I love this one!

My favorite.

Hayden- "Is this camo?" Me- "yes" Hayden- "Bubba likes camo, but I don't." Me- "Why not?" Hayden- "Because it will spit on me!" I seriously love her!!!

I'm back

2010-01-10T17:06:00.000-08:00

I really do want to be better at this. We haven't had the Internet for a few months so that along with just being lazy are my excuses. Life is good here. We have settled into our new home and love it. Gene is still traveling alot. He left the day after Christmas to the Philippians and is not sure when he will return. We miss him a lot. Landon aka Bubba is growing and we are really starting to see his personality. He is so sweet. He LOVES dancing. Every time there is music his hips start shaking and he actually has some rhythm. Hayden is still sassy pants LaRance. Most times she has a very funny cute way of going about it so it's hard to stay frustrated with her. She will also say the sweetest things to me too. Like " I know you really miss daddy. He'll come back soon." as she rubs my check with her hand. Love her! I'm so grateful to have her around when Gene is gone. Here are a few random pictures from the last few weeks.Landon with his cute curly hair! It's usually curlier.Enjoying the sun for a few minutes. We don't see it very often this time of year.Classic Bubba smile. I seriously LOVE him!Hayden was so excited to make bird feeders.

We found the outfit last year when I was pregnant on the clearance rack for a few bucks. We couldn't resist.
Santa's first costumer. Decorating the tree.Two Santa's and a Hayden.Gene's family on Christmas eve.Christmas morning. Landon didn't want to sit still.Bubba on Christmas morning.This may be the happiest I have ever seen her. She has wanted that Strawberry shortcake house for months. And it keeps her busy for along time.

Landon just being cute.Landon and daddy. Hmm... I wonder where Landon gets his good looks :)

Basketball buddies. Landon with his cousin Jude. Jude is six weeks older.

Hawaii

2009-10-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

Gene was gone for the past two weeks and without sending him home, work decided to send him to Hawaii for three more weeks. He was staying all by himself in a condo that was already paid for. I couldn't pass up this opportunity so I packed up the kids (the flight was not too fun) and we will be here for the next two weeks! Notice how curly Landon's hair gets when its wet. More pictures to come...

It's about time!

2009-10-04T15:17:00.000-07:00

I realize it has been a while... so a quick recap of the last few months. We bought a house at the end of July, it needed some work but we are so excited to finally have our own place. Hayden loves her new house and especially her room which of course had to be pink (note to self next time remember the color will be much brighter than expected.) She is doing really well she may be the funniest person I know. I'm not sure where she comes up with the things she says...(ex. "you know it girlfriend!" Ok so it's possible she heard that from me.) She wants it to be her birthday everyday so it's nice that its coming up so soon. I can't believe she is going to be three! Moving on ...Landon is so so much fun! He is crawling and getting into everything and has recently started this awful growling thing, which sounds like he is going to permanently destroy his throat. I really love having a little boy. Gene has been traveling alot with work he is here working for 12 days then goes down to California to work for 12 days. So that has taken some getting use to. The company he works for has a contract with the forestry industry down in California so he will continue to do that until fire season is over. I'm so glad to have my little kiddos around to keep me company while he's away. Family Reunion camping in Astoria. We could only stay a few days but it was so good to see everyone.
Fort StevensOregon beach, it was actually really good weather.

I have so many pictures of our house but its not finished yet so I will wait to post them but here is a little preview of what we are dealing with.

You don't want to know what's all over the carpet. Luckily the work was mostly cosmetic and ALOT of cleaning.The helicopter Gene works on in Cali.These are from about two months ago. Pretty cute!And there is "sassy pants LaRance" telling me who's boss.Most recent family photo shoot, from a few weeks ago.Seriously!Family pic

4th of July and summer fun

2009-07-06T07:36:00.000-07:00

Gene has been in Alaska the last few weeks and has missed out on the amazing weather we have been having. Hopefully he will be home by the end of the week. We had a fun 4th of July. We skipped the fireworks this year. I wasn't going to try that with 2 kids by myself.It was Hayden's idea to hold hands.

Seriously could they be any cuter!

My big boy!Hayden LOVES the pool. I think she spent about 5 hours in it the first day.

Popsicles with the cousins.

Mini photo shoot with Hayden. She so cute but getting her to smile and look at the camera, takes time and treats!

Random

2009-06-05T09:46:00.000-07:00

My little stud

Best Friends

Fun at the park.

Landon and his newest cousin, Gracin.

Happy boy!

Our first family camping trip. We stayed at the beach. It was freezing!

Hayden sad that we were leaving.

It was to cold outside to roast marshmallows so we just stuffed our faces with them in the tent.

We wont be camping again until the weather warms up.

We only lasted about 10 minutes on the beach. I miss California!

Well...

2009-04-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

Everything has been going great around here. Alittle busy but that's the way we like it. Gene got a job a little over a month ago working as a helicopter mechanic at a really good company. We are so happy and so grateful. He has already been sent away to Alaska a few times, which is fun for him but not so much for me. He was only gone 2 weeks and I miss him so much I don't know how I lasted 11 months when he was in the marines. Anyway we are surviving just fine with help from my parents.

We have had some really nice days here. And Hayden's new favorite thing to do is have a picnic. Landon enjoys then too!

Hayden loves her little brother so much. She is tells me "today I'm mommy and you are Hayden" then she helps me change his diaper until she sees the poo, then says "it's your turn."

He is getting so big! He's almost 3 months and weighs 14 pounds.

He is such a good boy. He is almost always happy and loves to smile!

Some old pictures of Hayden dying Easter eggs. She thought it was pretty cool.

Easter outfit. What a little man. I love it!

Easter Sunday.

Our attempt at Easter photos.

My little thumb suckers! It's true Landon has joined his sister in the thumb sucking tradition. They both started when they were about 6 weeks old.

The newest addition to the Cooper family. Annabelle born on March 25th. Landon is a beast next to her. And yes his head really is that big :)

Blessing Day

2009-04-01T15:47:00.001-07:00

Family picture. It was a beautiful day, very cold but sunny. Gene gave a beautiful blessing. I'm so grateful to have him as the father of my children. After church we had a big get together with lots of family. We love being back in Oregon so close to family.

Mini photo shoot before church.

Random

2009-04-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

Landon and Aunt Kiki. She came to visit for the week. It's always so fun to get to hang out with her again. Miss you Niki! Hayden and grandpa before church.

My cubby boy smiling.

Hayden was so happy to get to hold all the balloons at Gene's brother and girlfriends baby shower. She was so sad when everyone started popping them. She also had to help them open all the presents.

Just being cute.

More cute pics of the little boy.

Cute kids!

2009-03-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

He's getting so big!

Brother and sister photo shoot!

Big smiles.

3 weeks!

2009-03-05T14:51:00.000-08:00

Landon is already 3 weeks, I can't believe it. So far everything has been going pretty good. Landon is quite the eater and gained a pound in just 2 weeks. He is a good sleeper and give me a good 4 hour block at night. I have recovered really fast and am feeling great, well besides getting mastitis twice! That was awful but gratefully it seems to be getting better now.

Hayden is still in love with Landon and always talks to him in a very high pitch voice. I'm pretty sure he's scared of her.

Our cute little guy.

Tight squeeze.

Big cheese.

Ryan, Riley and Hayden braking grandpa's back.

I love sleeping baby pictures.

Like father, like daughter. This has got to be one of my favs.

Our baby boy is here!

2009-02-16T16:22:00.000-08:00

Here I am on my due date. So yes I went over again! This time I was grateful to be induced 2 days later. Hayden was so excited when we went outside and it was snowing, in February!So I was suppose to go in on February 11th but I got bumped because the hospital was too full. I was pretty bummed but it was nice to have one more day to get prepared. So I went in on the 12th at 8 in the morning. The doctor started me on the pitocin around 9:30. It took awhile to get everything going but around 3pm my contractions were getting pretty strong. I was at about 4 cm and my doctor broke my water to get things moving along. I decided I needed an epidural by then and after almost passing out for the 2nd time (I don't do well with needles) I was feeling alot better. At about 6pm I was at 6 cm. Gene needed to take his little sister home and since nothing was moving too fast he thought it would be fine. Well I went from 6 to 10 in 30 minutes and was ready too push. Gene drove as fast as he could back to the hospital and made it before anything too exciting happened. I pushed for about 40 minutes and then baby Landon was born at 7:30.The delivery went very well. Everything was so calm and my doctor did such a good job. Baby Landon weighed 8 lbs 4 oz and was 21 inches long. We were so shocked to see that he had blond hair.

Proud papa!

So glad to be done.Hayden loves her little brother. She wouldn't stop kissing and hugging him.

Wide awake!
With grandma.

More kisses for Landon.

And hugs!

Update

2009-01-20T15:57:00.000-08:00

I'm still alive and have not had the baby yet. I've just been busy and lazy, probably a little more lazy than busy. Everything has been going great here. We feel like we have settled in and we are having fun and trying to relax while we have the chance. Hayden loves being around family and has adjusted quite well.

Gene has been enjoying all the free time he has and has been going fishing alot. He brought home some pretty nice fish.

The next day he told me he only caught some little ones. Then he pulled out this beast.

Hayden loves that we actually have a yard to play in. She loves getting all bundled up to run around outside.

And Gene loves that he can just step outside and shoot hoops anytime he wants.

I just couldn't get over how cute she looked asleep with all her animals.

Hayden's only girl cousin, Aryana. Hayden loves playing with another girl. They were running around screaming while we were bowling.

A quick pic with daddy.

This is my latest project. JoAnn's had a really good sale, just about everything was 50% off. So I decided before the baby comes I would like to make Hayden another dress. It wasn't too hard to make and I love the way it turned out.

I just love her so much I can't believe how is she is getting.

I'm getting bigger by the day. I can't believe that I only have two weeks! I'm getting pretty excited but alittle nervous too. Gratefully my doctor has said she wont let me go two weeks over like I did with Hayden. She is leaving on vacation on the 14th so if I don't have the baby on my own by my due date (10th) then she will try and get me delivered before she leaves. Either way I'm just so really not to be pregnant any more and I can't wait to meet little Landon.

My sister in law Kristen is pregnant too. She is having a girl. (she already has two boys) So my mom through us a baby shower this past weekend. It was so much fun and so good to see people that I haven't seen in forever.We both got so many really cute blankets.I can not wait until he gets to wear this cute little outfit. Thanks mom!

I'll try to be better about updating and once the babe is here I'll get pictures up as soon as I can.

Happy Anniversary

2008-12-30T13:02:00.000-08:00

Today is our third anniversary! It's feels like longer because we dated for 3 1/2 years before that. I love being married to Gene. He is such a good husband and father. I could have never imagined that the little guy I started dating as a junior in high school could have turned out to be the person he is now. I am so proud of him and so grateful for all he does for our family. I love you SO much Gene!

Senior Prom 2003

Our Wedding 2005

Christmas 2008

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-30T11:32:00.000-08:00

Before we left California Gene had a work Christmas party. It was pretty fun. Hayden loved it of course because she got to see Santa again.

Family picture in the helicopter.

Santa flew in, in a helicopter! It was pretty awesome. All the kids loved it. Hayden had to sneak her way though the crowd to give Santa a hug.

A picture with Santa and the elf .(nice tights)

I had been busy packing up for a few weeks but somehow we had a ton of stuff to do last minute. We were frantically trying to get everything packed and in to the truck so we could leave on time. There was a huge snow storm going on in Oregon (very uncommon) so we wanted to miss as much of it during our driving as we could. We made it before the worst of it hit. It was a long drive, not one I want to do again soon, but we were very greatful to make it there safe. During the Christmas week it snowed about a foot and a half of snow. It broke a bunch of records. We had fun but since my parents live on a hill it limited what we could do. It was worth it to have a white Christmas.

Hayden loved the snow. Our snow man.

She got stuck so many times trying to walk though the snow but she insisted on walking.

She loved sledding! I thought she would be scared but she wanted to go over and over again.

Christmas morning.

Hayden was so happy to finally get to open all her presents.

Only a few weeks out of the marines and he is already growing out the facial hair.

We love being back home. It was so nice to get to spent Christmas with our family. With all the moving and Christmas I was so preoccupied that I didn't realize I only have 6 weeks left in my pregnancy! My body is so really to have the baby but mentally I need 6 more weeks. There is alot I want to do before Landon gets here so I better get started!

Christmas card photo shoot

2008-12-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

It has been a while so I thought I'd better give an update. As most of you know we have officially decided to move to Oregon. So I have been busy trying to get everything worked out and packed up. We are going to be leaving around the 19th of this month. We are really sad to leave Oceanside, we have met so many great people and really feel comfortable here. It seems to me that it takes us about a year to really get to know people and feel like we belong, unfortunately we have only ever lived in one place for a year. Anyway we are so sad to leave the beautiful weather, the convenient location(we are moivng to a tiny town) and the awesome people but we are also SO excited to be moving so close to our families. And so excited that we get to be there before Christmas. I really love this time of year and being with family just makes it so much better.

This weekend we took Hayden's Christmas card pictures. It was so fun and she cooperated pretty well. She loved being on the beach and especially wearing her "princess dress."

I love this one.

And this one even more.

My belly is getting bigger by the minute.

Oh how I love this girl!!

The big TWO!!!!

2008-11-11T13:05:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how fast Hayden is growing up. She turned 2 on November 1st. It seemed to take forever for her to finally get here (she was 2 weeks late) and now she wont stop growing. I really love the stage she is at right now. She is so funny and so sweet. She says the most random things, Gene and I just die laughing. But I'm also starting to understand the saying "terrible twos." She definitely likes to whine ALOT and knows just how to push my buttons. I've spent the last few days looking though old pictures and remembering how fun each stage is. It's making me very excited for Landon to be here. Only three months to go!

Just a few days after we got home form the hospital. I remember Gene and I were so paranoid about her getting too cold that we wore a hat on her inside. It's so funny some of the things first time parents do.

One of my favorites.

I loved it when she was chubby. Another fav.
Hayden's first birthday.

The birthday girl! My parents were in town and Hayden was loving having them here. We didn't do a big party just some family fun. Family shot. She has been obsessed with her new toys the last few weeks.

I made apple pie cheesecake for the grown ups. It was the first time I made it and it was pretty good.

Happy Halloween!!

2008-10-26T16:32:00.000-07:00

I know I'm early but we celebrated Halloween this passed weekend. Next weekend my parents are going to be here and it's Hayden's birthday! And since everything we wanted to do landed on the 25th why not. We started the day off at the Wild Animal Park. They had a pumpkins in the park day which I'm not sure who was more excited about me or Hayden. She got to wear her princess costume and any chance she gets to see animals she takes. Here are some pictures outside our apartment. They had crafts for the kids. Hayden making her bat bracelet.Showing off her bracelet and candy basket!
Yummy cookie!
And of course she had to get a picture in the hay.For some reason Hayden loves sponge bob and had to give him hugs and kisses before we left. We didn't stay too long because it was so hot! I'm still not use to summer lasting so long!

Next was the Trunk or Treat. I tried to get some more pictures before we left but Hayden kept saying "no more say cheese." (She had just woke up from her nap.)

Getting ready for the trick or treaters!

Cute princesses. Hayden and her friend Ella.

Sara and I with our princesses. (Note to self: Never let Gene take pictures. Sorry if yours didn't turn out Sara.)

It was a successful day. Hayden loved wearing her princess dress and especially eating all the candy. We had trouble getting her to bed last night and we are still seeing the effects of all the candy!

Cute Hayden

2008-10-26T16:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a little video of Hayden. I could watch this over and over. I just love her so much. She has the cutest little voice.

First timer

2008-10-14T22:52:00.000-07:00

So this is my first tag and the instructions were to find the forth picture on my computer. Honestly I didn't really know what picture is considered fourth because I have so many pictures and folders all over the place. But I found this one, which is one of my favs. This was from last summer. Gene was stationed in Japan for a year. He got to come home for about two weeks which was so awesome but the fun thing was that he told me he was coming a month later and surprised me! I went over to his mom's and I was there with his sisters and brothers for what I thought was a pool party or something and about a half hour after I got there he walked in. It was so surprising that I honestly didn't think it was him. I was in shock! This picture was after I had calmed down a little. I just love it because it was just a good family moment. I'm pretty sure I didn't leave his side the whole time. I wanted to make sure I wasn't imagining that he was there.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we made a trip to the pumpkin patch. I LOVE fall and especially Halloween so I have been wanting to go since September. Hayden is also in love with pumpkins and was in heaven surrounded by so many of them. But her all time favorites are scarecrows. I don't know why but she gets so happy every time she sees one. I must say there were a few surprises about a California pumpkin patch. First of all there was no patch it was just a bunch of pumpkins in a field. But the funniest thing to me was that there was an ice cream truck! Where is the hot chocolate and apple cider!? It was alot of fun but I did miss the chill in the air and mud on my shoes. It was also so bright and I couldn't tell that there was something wrong with my camera. I tried to fix the pictures but i couldn't fix them completely so that is why Hayden looks like she is glowing in all the pictures.

Hayden loved the petting zoo. She made a special connection with this goat. I didn't let her kiss me the rest of the day. Haha!

I thought she was going to be too scared to ride the pony but she loved her horse Copper. It was so cute to see her little pig tails bouncing up and down.

Fishing

2008-09-29T17:36:00.000-07:00

So Gene latest hobby is fishing. He has spent a lot of time on various lakes around where we live. He hasn't caught anything worth bragging about but he has fun. Hayden and I decided we wanted to go with daddy and see what was so cool about fishing.

Of course, Hayden needed her own fishing pole which she has been poking everything in our house with for the last week.

We only let her hold it for a second because we were scared she would drop it in.

It only took us a few minutes of being there to catch our first fish.Well ok Gene caught it but we told Hayden she did. And of course Hayden had to try and give it a kiss.

One of my favorite picture of the day.

Mommy helping Hayden. (I know you can barely tell but notice the belly.)

Ewe worms, which by the way I just found out have been in the back of our refrigerator for weeks!

My other favorite picture of the day. They did not plan this- dressing alike or looking over the edge at the same time:)

Gene and his little fish! All in all it was a good day. It was fun to get to see him doing something he enjoys.

P.S. We woke up to pouring down rain today so we knew it was going to be a good day:) We miss Oregon and today almost felt like we were back there.

My latest project

2008-09-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

I was so sick of all of Hayden's tiny bibs. So I decided to make some of my own. It was really easy and Hayden loves it!

Cute Hayden

2008-09-21T23:40:00.000-07:00

These are just some of my recent favorites.

It's a....

2008-09-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

Our biggest news of the weekend is finding out what our little baby is going to be. On our way up to Disneyland we made a stop to get an ultrasound. We made a few to many wrong turns and were 15 minutes late for our appointment. I was sure that we missed but she said she could check real quick just to see if it was a boy or girl. Everyone I have asked has thought it was going to be another little girl. They were all........

WRONG! Here is our little boy!!

We are so so excited. I wish I could have captured the look on Gene's face:) I really would have been happy with a boy or a girl but this pregnancy has been so much different than my last so I kind of thought it might be a boy.

Here is our cute little Landon sucking his thumb! (At least it looks like it to me)

Weekend at Disneyland!

2008-09-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

We decided it was time to take Hayden to Disneyland. We were really excited for her and she loved it! She loved all the rides. Her eyes were open wide the whole time trying to take everything in. It was pretty busy because of the holiday weekend but nothing we didn't expect. We were at the park all day Saturday! We were so worn out by the end of the day. I don't remember the last time my body was that sore but it was worth it. Now that we know how much Hayden liked it we may have to make a few more trips this fall.

Hayden loved the Dumbo ride! She was yelling to everyone "I'm flying in Dumbo!"
We watched the princess show, which Hayden also loved.

Hayden and her princess crown.Hayden really liked all the rides but there were a few that she looked pretty scared on. After we would ask if she liked it and she always wanted to do it again so it must not have been that bad.
Pluto, one of the only two characters we met.

Pluto kisses!

They're so cute!

We stood in line forever to see Mickey!

Hayden and her horse, Buddy.

I think her favorite thing about the day was the purse she got. She takes it everywhere we go!

Legoland!

2008-08-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

We recently found out that legoland is free for the the last hour! We've never been there before so we thought why not try it for free. I was pretty excited about it, so much that I think Gene was embarrassed to be seen with me. There were three different rides that Hayden could go on and she loved them all.

This was her favorite. For the rest of the night she kept saying "train ride again."

She was pretty scared of all the Lego people. This was the closest she would get.

Update!

2008-08-07T10:51:00.000-07:00

We haven't had a whole lot going on here but I'll give a little update. As far as my pregnancy goes it has been pretty good. I haven't been nearly as sick as I was last time, I have just been ridiculously tired. I went to my first appointment a few days ago and everything is looking good. I got to see the baby so that was pretty exciting because I didn't get to this early with Hayden. It was also the first time I heard the heart beat. It actually made me feel like I really am pregnant. Oh, I 'm getting so excited!!

A few weeks ago my sister came to visit. While she was here we went to a concert...please no one silently judge us but we are in love with Josh Gracin (he's a country singer.) This was our third time seeing him together. We were so excited but knew that a few other people were singing before him. We figured they would each sing a few songs then it would be mostly him. Wrong! The three people before him played an hour each! We got there at 4:30 and the concert wasn't over til 10:45. We didn't move the entire time because we had really good spots and didn't want to loose them. My feet and back have never hurt so bad and we were SO tired. But it was definitely worth it. We had so much fun. We screamed like we were 13 year old girls at an nsync concert, danced off beat and sang completely off key but it was a blast!

Niki had also never been on a pier before. So we took her to beach and made the long trip down the pier. It took us at least three times as long with Hayden and me being so scared that some how she was going to fall off. I am so so afraid of heights!

Hayden spent most of her time looking for fish through the cracks.

We spent last weekend at the beach the weather wasn't that nice but it's been awhile since we've been there because I spend most of my free time sleeping. Now that I'm not as tired we try and get out more.

Hayden loved it... could she be any cuter!

Her new favorite beach activity is building sand castles. We are grateful, it keeps us out of the water for a little while.

Family Pictures

2008-07-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

While we were visiting Oregon we had some family pictures taken. It's not too often that we are all together so we take the opportunity when we can.

The whole family!
The siblings. Josh, Steve, me and Niki. Sisters
Laughing..of course.
Grandparents and grand kids. Cute cousins.

Oregon Vacation

2008-07-14T12:23:00.000-07:00

We spent the last two and a half weeks in Oregon visiting family. The time went by way to fast but we has so much fun.

After our last trip I wondered how Hayden would act towards Eli. Last time she cried if he came near her. Well her fear finally passed, in fact she is still talking about her best friend Lee-lie. It was so fun to see them run around and play together.

Thanks to her cousin Aryana, Hayden has a new tricycle, which she is in love with.

Super Cheese! Hayden and Ryan
Hayden with Uncle Josh
4th of July! We had a huge family reunion. It was so good to see and catch up with everyone.
Gene and his brother Justin and my brothers spent most of the time at the ping pong table. Trampoline time with the cousins
Cute boys!All the kids loved the little fireworks show.Hayden and I stayed away from the smoke.Hayden found a new obsession while we were in Oregon...popcorn. Everyday that's all she wanted.Everyone joined in the popcorn fun.

We had such a great time in Oregon. We can't wait to get back!

Sew...

2008-05-31T20:42:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting a sewing machine for a long time. A few months ago Gene surprised me with one. Well I wouldn't exactly say surprised. I told him the exact one I wanted and a few days later what do you know there it was. Either way I am so happy to have one. This dress was my first project. I'm some what familiar with sewing but it was actually alot harder than I thought it would be. I think I redid the armholes about 3 times. Oh well i finished and I'm pretty proud of myself.

Weekend in Salt Lake

2008-05-29T17:28:00.000-07:00

For the memorial day weekend all the siblings decided to meet in Salt Lake. The drive was very long but it was worth it. We had so much fun and it was so good to see everyone.

Getting a group shot of the cousins is always a challenge.

Hayden is only two and a half months older than Eli. We thought they would have fun playing together but for some reason Hayden was so scared of Eli. Every time he would touch her she would start crying. By the last day she was starting getting better.

Josh was Hayden's best friend. Since we've been back she still has been saying his name.

Salt Lake zoo.

My brother Steve, Lindsay and Eli.

My brother Josh, Kristen and their boys Ryan and Riley.

Riley and GeneHayden showing a little belly. She only wanted Kiki while we were at the zoo.Eli was getting a kick out of the animals running around in the cage. I think they were meerkats, but I can't remember. Josh and Ryan at the elephants.While I was in Salt Lake I got to visit with my old roommates. They are very best friends and it was so good to see them again. Sadly we couldn't get the fab four back together all at the same time.Rebecca, Emily and I. I loved seeing her cute pregnant belly. I'm so excited for her.Sarah stopped y later that day with her cute new baby Jackson.

I forgot how squirmy little babies are. It was fun to have a little, little one around for alittle while, even though he probably weighs about the same as Hayden. All in all we had a great weekend. We love to catch up with friends and get to spend time with family. We really have the best family and can't wait to see them and all the rest of our family in July.

Weekend with the parents

2008-05-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

My parents came for a visit and the weather was so nice. We tried to spend most our time outside except when I wimped out (I don't do very well in hot weather.)

Cheesin' it up at the beach!

I'm pretty sure my white legs blinded everyone at the beach.
Hayden with her grandparents.Now that Hayden has discovered the sand we have a few minutes where we can sit and enjoy the sun, then its back in the water!
Ha ha, I don't think she expected that.Pool time!!

Hayden was hesitant again but after a few minutes decided it wasn't so bad. Random picture...but cute. We recently got Hayden this baby stroller. She is obsessed with it. She makes sure and takes very good care of her babies. It's so cute to see how much she copies everything I do.

I'm so glad when daddy comes home!

2008-04-27T16:10:00.000-07:00

It is the highlight of Hayden's day when daddy gets home from work. He always knocks when he gets here and Hayden sprints over to the door. First she needs a hug and then she says "tiss tiss!" and must have her kiss. Then she has to point out daddy's boots and then socks. She then follows him into the bathroom to wash his hands and pretty much everywhere he goes the rest of the night.

The Flower Fields

2008-04-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

I have been begging Gene to take me to the flower fields for a few weeks. Yesterday he finally gave in and actually thought it was pretty cool. It was so hot yesterday so we decided to go early to beat the heat and the crowd. We were somewhat successful. This was our first time going and I was really excited about it. The flowers were SO pretty. I love taking pictures of Hayden and she loves flowers so I thought we could get some really good shots. I was wrong, Hayden is in that stage where if you can finally get her to look at the camera she wont be smiling. Then both of our camera batteries died. Anyway we still got some pretty good pictures and we had fun and didn't get sun burnt.

We took about 75 pictures and this is the ONLY smile we captured.
Our camera battery was dying and there was no one around so we tried to take a few family pictures while we had the chance. As you can see Hayden cooperated very well :)

Aunt Kiki

2008-04-16T15:08:00.000-07:00

My sister Niki came to visit this past week. When our nephew was first learning to say her name it sounded like Kiki and it stuck. When Hayden says it, it sounds more like Chee. We had so much fun having her here. It was nice to have someone to hand out with all day. And an extra person to entertain Hayden.
Niki came on the perfect weekend it was 90 degrees on Saturday. She is going to school in Idaho so she was loving the hot weather. That is until she fried herself at the park and pool. After that we tried to stay indoors.

Hayden was a little unsure about the pool. She would sit at the side but didn't like being all the way in the water. Which was a shock to us because she is obsessed with the ocean.

She didn't want to sit by Gene and I at dinner, she had to sit by Chee!

At the beach Hayden couldn't get enough of the water.
I think she would live here if she could.

She was shivering by the time we were going to leave but she still wanted to go back for more.

We miss Niki already! When we dropped her off at the airport. Hayden kept saying Chee, Chee! When I told her she went bye bye, she got so sad.

Hayden's new bed

2008-04-16T12:22:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago we finally decided Hayden needed a bed. We've had her sleeping in a pack and play since she was born so we thought it was time. There have been a few nights that Hayden climbed or maybe fell out of the pack and play so we decided that we would try a big girl bed. We went to Ikea and found a really cute bed. We have a jetta which is small to begin with and I forgot to take the stroller out of the truck. To say the least we had to get creative when it came to packing up the car.

Hayden sat on her potty while we set up the bed so she would be surprised. I think we were having more fun with it than she was.

That is until she saw it. She was so excited and so happy. I was showing her how to lay down on it.

We're pretty excited about this bed because it expands so she will be able to have it for a long time. As for how she adjusted to her new bed. It took two nights of struggling and then she was good. Hayden has been a good sleeper for a long time so I was a little afraid that a new bed would mess everything up, gratefully I was wrong. Now when she wakes up in the morning she knocks on the door until I come and get her. Haha! it cracked me up the first time she did it.

A trip down memory lane

2008-04-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

Gene and I pulled out our old yearbooks yesterday. We found some pretty funny pictures. We weren't really good friends until high school so it was so funny to see pictures of us together in middle school. These pictures are from seventh and eight grade. I wonder what I would have said if in middle school, someone had told me I was going to marry Gene. I probably would have just laughed.

This was a journalism group shot. We laughed at the thought of Gene in journalism. He doesn't remember being in the class, maybe he just hopped in a random picture. Please ignore my awkwardness, and just see how stinkin cute Gene is. He looks like he's 10. He was trying to convince me that he was standing on the step below me but I'm pretty sure he doesn't remember how short he was.

I also have no recollection sitting in front of him in our science class...I wish I did.

Poor Baby!

2008-04-06T16:47:00.000-07:00

Ever since Hayden could walk we have noticed that she is quite the klutz. She will can thank me for that and I will thank my dad. Anyway, she is constantly falling, tripping, walking into walks, you name it. She is usually pretty tough though. She gets up and brushes herself off and continues with what she is doing. Well this time was a bit different. Her screams told me that it wasn't a simple fall. She tripped and hit her head on the door frame. I did surprisingly well. I'm not to good with injuries. The whole time i was holding Hayden I felt like I was going to throw up so I tried not to look at the bump. At least there was no bleeding cus then I probably would have been passed out on the floor. Anyway, she recovered quickly. With in 10 minutes she was back to her old self.

Ready...Set, Go

2008-04-04T12:50:00.000-07:00

Everytime I do laundy, Hayden climes in and we have to play her favorite game.

Just cute pictures!

2008-04-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

Hayden is in love with smoothies. She cries when it's all gone. She also loves grapes...well most any fruit.
Super cheese!
Walking around in my shoes has become one of her favorite things...mine too!
We used our free passes into Sea World. We went with our friends Steve and Breanne and their cute little boy, that I somehow didn't get any pictures of : ( We had a lot of fun. It sure out does the aquarium that we go to in Oregon.

Hayden's tar, as she would say (she has a hard time with words that start with st)

Easter Sunday

2008-03-23T22:24:00.000-07:00

Today was a good day. Church was really good. We love to learn more about Jesus Christ and to celebrate his resurrection. There was a special Spirit in our ward today. After church we were invited over to some friends of ours for dinner, which was so nice. It was fun to spend time and get to know some new families. And all their kids were SO cute!

Hayden stopped to say cheese on our way to church.

She also stopped to smell a flower. I love her little scrunched nose.

Daddy and Haydes!

Me and baby!

Hayden started the Easter egg hunt before she even got outside. She found a basket ball that she just had to have.

She could only fit about three eggs in her basket but she didn't care as long as she still had the basket ball.Then she realized there was something in the eggs.

"Don't even think about taking my egg away from me!"

Group shot! I love Ella's mouth open wide. She was that way in just about every picture. And I love the chubby boys on the left.

The secret life of a chopper mechanic

2008-03-23T21:58:00.000-07:00

My dad came to visit last weekend. It was so nice to see him. We miss living close to our families so when anyone gets the chance to visit we are so excited. My dad had mentioned wanting to see Gene's work. Since I had also never been we decided to go. Sometimes I feel like Gene has a second secret life. Not one that he is trying to keep from me, just one I don't understand and have never really been a part of. I don't really think it's being a helicopter mechanic, but being in the military that I feel clueless about. Every morning he goes off to a work that I have never been too, to a job I don't really understand. He comes home and tells me about his days and some of what he does there but he really like to keep his military life and home life separate. I think I like it this way. Don't get me wrong I am interested in what he does but I think I know enough. The military is a crazy place, with crazy people. Gene has tried his best to keep me informed with out too many details. I really appreciate that. I think he is such a strong person to withstand all the temptations that the military has. Anyway, blah, blah, blah my point is that I was still curious to see were he goes off to everyday, so off we went. It was nothing like I had pictured. Everything was much bigger that I had imagined. I also realized how cool Gene is, I mean first of all he works on helicopters which is pretty cool but also he know everything about them. Anyway we had fun and learned alittle more about Gene's "secret life."

Hayden wearing Gene's helmet...excuse me, I mean cranial. Gene corrected me everythime I said it.

2008-03-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of what's been going on at our house.

Monday was Gene's birthday...the big 2-3. I made him a lemon cake. I was pretty proud of myself. It was completly homemade even the filling which was lemon curd. If you don't know what that is it sounds gross but it's really good and really easy to make. We didn't really do anything special. He had a long stressful day at work so he was just happy to be home with his family and relax.
Hayden has figured out how to put on my shoes and walk around in them, well sort of. It was so cute I could barely stand it. I still can't believe how big she is getting!

We went to the beach, again. We have figured out that Hayden doesn't like the sand on her hands. It was pretty funny watching her try and get it off.
After we got back from the beach I was looking through all the pictures Gene took. When I saw this one I almost peed my pants. I just love him so much!

Here are some pictures of Hayden's Marine photo shoot. It all started with those little shorts. We decided we had to have them when we turned them over and the back said "duty calls."

Dance like there's no tomorrow!

2008-03-07T16:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a little video of Hayden and yes it is Paula Abdul playing in the background.

wild animal park

2008-03-07T15:26:00.001-08:00

Gene had the day off yesterday so we decided to take advatage of the beautiful weather and headed over to the wild animal park. Since there weren't very many people, we let Hayden run around. She loved it. Her knees were skinned and her feet were covered in dirt by the end of the day but she didn't care. I realized how out of shape I am, my whole body hurt when I got home. We didn't even cover the whole park and it was quite the work out.

She was obsessed with feeding the ducks.

Hayden wasn't sure about the cotton candy at first.

Then she loved it. We had to cut her off.

Cotton candy kisses!

She tried to kiss all the deer in the petting zoo.

yogart lover

2008-03-07T15:11:00.000-08:00

Hayden decided she wanted to feed herself. I'm not sure if she got any in her mouth but atleast she was intertained for awhile.

A Day at the Park!

2008-02-25T15:32:00.000-08:00

We visited the park near our house for the first time last week and Hayden loved it. It took her a few times to be brave but then she ended up going down the slide all by herself and then she wanted to go over and over and over again.

Beach

2008-02-19T14:04:00.000-08:00

We like to take walks on the beach on Sunday afternoons. We went a little later than usual and when we got there it was alot colder than we thought so we only lasted about 10 minutes. It was so pretty though so I had to get some pictures in before we left.

BFF

2008-02-19T13:58:00.000-08:00

One of my very best friends, Rebecca aka Red was in San Diego this past weekend. She came down on a road trip with a couple of friends. We didn't get to hang out to much but it was so good to see her. I miss getting to see her everyday. Also notice the beautiful temple in the background.

San Diego Zoo

2008-02-19T13:21:00.000-08:00

When we first got here I bought a year pass that gets me into the San Diego zoo and the Wild Amimal Park. Gene gets in free because he's in the military. That is one thing I love about being in the military, the discounts. I love free or discounted things so I definatly try to take advantage of anything the military is willing to offer. Anyway, I've been trying to get Gene to take me...I mean Hayden to the zoo. Ok so mostly I wanted to go but I knew Hayden would love it too. She is obsessed with animals.This past weekend my mom was visiting so we decided to go. Hayden had so much fun. She would get so mad at us everytime we put her back in her stroller.

I think the petting zoo was her favorite part.
Later I found out that when Gene had taken Hayden to get a better look at the gorillas she was pointing a saying mama...that can't be good.Hayden and guh guh (what Hayden calls grandma)

My mom says it was sap from a tree but I am certain that something pooped on my nose. Haydes after a long day at the zoo.

Pretty Girl

2008-02-19T12:42:00.000-08:00

So I have already discovered that Hayden is going to be a girly girl, which I am perfectly fine with. Hayden is usually pretty independent so I have no trouble getting ready in the morning but sometimes it's quite a task. I decided to let her sit on the counter to watch me, hoping that would distract her. She had a different idea. A few seconds after she was up there she was into all my jewelery. She kept looking in the mirror and saying preey (that's how she says pretty.) It was so cute.