Mission: Accomplished

This past week Joe had some candy that infatuated him. Our sister-in-law Emily sent Paula some of these Brachs soda candy for her birthday. She had some in her purse and to appease Blake (and apparantly Joe) she gave them some. Joe could not forget these candies and subsequently went to five grocery stores in the area trying to find them. He even got so desperate that he looked them up online to buy. Luckily it did not come to that. After consulting our other sister-in-law, Krinn, Joe found them today at a local grocery store. We are now enjoying these candies, especially Joe and Blake. Joe is very proud of himself and now I can stop hearing about how good these candies are and we can stop looking and stopping in EVERY SINGLE grocery store. 

*Update: We just received some of these candies in the mail from our wonderful sister-in-law Emily- Thanks a bunch!*

Blake's Day of Celebration

Blake's birthday was a lot of fun for us. Blake was so happy all day, doing the happy dance and just laughing all day. He woke up to our living room full of balloons. These were a huge hit, he was so happy to play with them. They have now lasted a couple days and they still make him so happy. I then made pancakes and chocolate chip muffins, which he kinda ate. Later in the morning Blake finger painted. He enjoyed himself but he wasn't too fond of getting his whole hand in the paint, just his fingers. Towards nap time, Blake picked out a movie to watch and got to eat his favorite: popcorn and chocolate kisses. I think he was wondering why he was getting so much of everything that he loves. After his nap time we played until grandma Norby and great grandma Skinner came over. Joe came home soon after and Blake got to open his presents. Small note, I now know how to torture my 2 year old, not let him open his presents for a long period of time. 

We went to Red Robbin for dinner because Blake loves french fries. It was a good dinner, he actually ate quite a few fries. We then came home and just played with all his new cars that grandma bought him. We had such a fun day and Blake can't get enough of his new toys. 

Blake with his balloons. Who knew that something so simple could bring so much joy to a little boy.  Blake finger painting. You can tell from this picture he only used his fingers.  Opening up all his cars from grandma. He LOVES cars and balls, so this was a huge hit with Blake. He now will not go anywhere without some of his cars.  Giving grandma a kiss.  Eating his beloved fries. He also received his own soda which made him so happy. 

This was Blake's last birthday as an only child, we tried very hard to make it special for him. From now on it may not only be all about him. It was fun to let Blake do all that he loves and to make him so happy. I hope I can do this every year with each of our children. 

Holy Moly..Blake is TWO

Blake turns two today. Not to be sentimental or anything but it is exciting to look back and see all that Blake has accomplished since he was born two years ago. We love him so much (couldn't that go without saying). Here is a short (only 39 pictures, I could have put so many more pictures up) of his last two years. We have a lot planned for his birthday, we will update as we go. Joe and I are celebrating with Blake today and then with family on Saturday. Pictures will follow. Enjoy!

Our baby girl

I hadn't posted yet about the sex of our little baby because I wanted confirmation. Our doctor in Reno did a favor for us and did an ultrasound to find out the sex. The entire time he was with us, he kept telling us this was really early blah blah blah (I was 17 weeks, not that early). We went in and saw the doctor here in Phoenix on Monday. I LOVE her. I didn't think I would like her as much as Dr. Farringer, but I think I like her more. She's awesome. I asked her if I could get another ultrasound to make sure our baby is really a girl. She agreed but said we would have to make an excuse so she said that she is measuring big. We got in today and the technician was not too happy with Kalli. She was breach last time and nothing changed this time. She is firmly planted in her position and would not move at all. The technician even made a comment that she may not move from being breach because she was so comfortable. She also stated that this one was a hard one and told us good luck with her. Anyway, we are so excited that she is "still" a girl. Good thing too because I have been making her blankets and didn't want to start over for a boy. Here are some pictures from the Reno ultrasound. Not great, but they will do. 

Here is her profile. This is all the technician today could get also. Her head is wedged right under my ribs, I had wondered why it hurt to sit down sometimes. Also this explains why I am so high, her head is up top.  An arm and a little bit of a leg.  This picture points out her girl parts but it's not a good picture. The new one we got today was better but not great. Her butt is down and at an angle that was extremely hard to get. We think she is already pretty stubborn and the technician said that she will most likely be giving her brother a run for his money. Someone needs too. 

Husband Tag

1. What is his name? Joseph, Joe- Don't call him Joey, I learned that when we first started dating

2. Who eats more? Joe. He can eat so much. But he also starves himself all day long so when he gets home at night, he is ravenous. 

3. Who said I love you first? Joe did...I don't really remember the circumstances or where we were or anything. 

4. Who is taller? Joe

5. Who is smarter? Joe is certainly a smarty pants. He is amazing at what he does (engineering duh!) and math. But when it comes to grammar and such I take that one. But surprisingly, Joe is great at word games like text twist and other of that sort. 

6. Who is more sensitive? Me, although I tell Joe he is the crier of the family (I think like some of his brothers). He shed tears at our wedding while I didn't, I find that sad on my part. 

7. Who does the laundry? Me. He has gotten in trouble before when I have asked him to put away the laundry and the ones he puts away are his clothes...seriously. He told me it was because he didn't know exactly where I wanted all my clothes put. Sure. 

8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? This changes whenever we move. I always have Joe sleep closer to the window, I'm not quite sure why. It might have to do with "They're watching us" =)

9. Who pays the bills? I write the checks  with the money Joe so wonderfully earns. 

10. Who cooks more? Me, always me! This is because we found out early that Joe cannot cook. He burned bacon once and that was the end of that. Although occasionally I will get him to make scrambled eggs. 

11. Who is more stubborn? I think that is me. Joe is pretty easy going. 

12. Who is the first to admit they are wrong? I don't think we admit who was wrong but just make up and get over what was wrong. 

13. Who is more clean? When I met Joe, he was super clean freak. I think I broke him of that habit. Joe is wonderful at helping me clean the apartment on Saturday mornings. 

14. Who has more siblings? Joe- 5 Me-2

15. Who wears the pants in the relationship? Both. We trade off. 

16. What do you like to do together? Anything that sounds fun. We mostly hang out with our two year old which is actually pretty fun. We love watching tv, movies, going swimming, going to the park, going to baseball games...pretty much anything we do together. Right before we moved our WONDERFUL friend Linda wanted to watch Blake for us so we decided to go out and buy a new camera. We has SO much fun just being together, even doing the mundane job of researching a camera. It was exciting to be together alone and remember how much fun we really do have together. 

17.Who eats more sweets? Joe, Joe and Joe. I am not really a sweet tooth. Funny story: the first time I went with Joe to his parent's house they had a candy plate that they filled up with Reeses pieces. I watched his family and every time someone would walk by they would take a handful of candy from the plate. Needless to say, that plate of candy didn't last long. Joe also has the cavities to prove his addiction to sweets. 

18. Guilty pleasures? a whole bag of twizzlers in one sitting 

19. How did you meet? At the institute- his mother's tamales. 

20. Who proposed? Joe

21. What is his best feature? His eyes and his smile. 

22. What is his greatest quality? There are so many great things that I love about Joe. One of them being that he is the nicest person. He is easy to talk with and get along with. He seems to make friends wherever he goes. Another that I absolutely love about him is that he takes pride in what I accomplish. I love to quilt and every time I make one, Joe makes sure he shows it off to everybody that comes by. It always makes me feel great! He also loves his time with Blake. Everyone who knows Blake knows how much Blake adores his dad. It's because Joe is so great with him and loves him so much. I could go on forever about him, but I will let you go. 

I tag: Jenny, Jamie, Paula, Summer, Kerstin and Kelli.

Also, Joe if you want to get me back, you are welcome to do this about me =)

IPOD Killer...

If you wash an Ipod in your washing machine, it will cost you $130. Don't do it. Lesson learned. Class dismissed. 

Take me out to the ball game...

On Monday night, Joe and I went to a Diamondbacks game. Joe's mother so kindly watched Blake so we could go alone. They didn't open the top so it was technically inside, but it was still over 100 degrees. We loved every minute though! We had pretty good seats, neither of us would complain. The team also won which is always fun! Here are some of our pictures to document our rare night out together. 

This is a picture from our seat. I don't you can get an idea of how well you can see everything. These seats were pretty good. If you look at the left of the picture, the guys head with a yellow shirt- he caught a foul ball. Exactly two people ahead of us. Joe was bummed.  A rare picture of Joe and I childless! It was so exciting. Did I say we had fun? Because we really did. It's nice to keep reminding yourself how much you have fun with your spouse without the stress of children.  I love this picture! This guys was carrying around a keg on his back. Love it! I really wanted to ask for a glass of alcohol just to see if they would turn me down because I was pregnant. I guess I just wanted to conduct a social experiment, but alas I did not.  What's better than a hotdog and a baseball game I ask you?  Joe has been a Diamondback fan for ages, even through all the rough, rocky seasons. He was so excited when we won. He was quite bummed that they lost the next two nights but they pulled it through in the 4th game in the 9th inning. If you haven't heard about that game, it was pretty great. 

We have some plans to go to more games. So much fun. We will make this deal, if you come see us in Phoenix, we will take you to a Diamondbacks game. If that's not incentive enough, I don't know what else is. 

Pool Time!

On Friday we decided to check out the community pool that is down the street from us. It is quite a steal: 50 cents for children 17 and younger and $2 for adults. It was great. It had the beach front pool for the children which Blake loves. He hates being sprayed by water so he stayed away from the water attractions. It was quite an adventurous night as one little kid almost drowned (his parents weren't even in the pool with him and he was like 4) and another kid gashed his eye and needed stitches. Both times we had to get out of the pool for a few minutes. We will certainly be going back to this pool in the future. Sadly enough, it was 107 outside but we were all a little cold and Blake was even shivering. I guess it hasn't taken us long to acclimate to our new weather. 

Blake running to get in the pool. He was SO excited.  It was a bit colder than our pools at the apartment complex. Blake took a little longer to get in. But once he did, he loved it! Blake had just run towards the slides in the background. Joe went down these slides a dozen or so times and Blake thought it was great to watch him go down. Unfortunately, he thought he could go down them too. He had a fit when we wouldn't let him. What bad parents we are for not letting our child drown. Really. 

Sliding Fun

After we left the pool, we went outside and went to the park where Blake could actually go on the slides. Blake is obsessed with this park. They have a ton of slides, most especially big slides. Lately Blake loves to go down slides so this park is made just for him! He has now learned to walk up the slides and he doesn't walk up the small ones, no it has to be the really tall ones. Here are some pictures of his sliding fun!

On his way down. This slide is pretty cool. Blake has mastered going up the side ones but the the middle slide he is currently sliding down.  One of the slides Blake loves to go up and down. It's pretty fun watching him. He has to be barefoot to walk up them, but he is usually barefoot at this park because they also have a little water spray area. The parks in Phoenix are so great! After getting up, one must come down. 

This is a video of Blake going up the slide and then down. It's fun to document these times in their lives. It will be fun for Blake to look back and watch himself when he was such a little guy.