Livin' it up in the Burgh

We're home.

2012-01-28T17:31:00.000-08:00

Home.
We came home yesterday afternoon. I was so happy for Lincoln. The past 11 days have been filled with one traumatizing experience after another and every day he asked to go home. It feels good to be back, but it's also scary being away from the medical staff. I'm so glad my parents are still here. It's making the transition much easier with all their help and support.

How he's Feeling.
At times Lincoln seems like he feels okay, but most of the past 24 hours he's been pretty lethargic and very clingy to me. I want to hold and carry him if that's what makes him happy but it's also so exhausting. Sometimes he winces and says "feel sick". It's so frustrating not knowing exactly what symptoms he's experiencing.

His Prognosis So Far.
I felt like we had a huge set back yesterday. Medically and emotionally...but mostly emotionally. He had a bone marrow biopsy yesterday morning before we left the hospital. They were hoping to find less than 5% cancerous white blood cells in his bone marrow. If that was the case he wouldn't have to have another biopsy and spinal tap for two weeks. It would have meant his body was responding quickly to the chemotherapy. The quicker your body responds in the first month the more likely the patient is to achieve complete remission. It would have been such wonderful news. Instead the doctor called and told us he still has 56% cancerous white blood cells. The new hit me hard and I had panicked and had meltdown. The doctor said it doesn't change any plans for treatment yet, it just means we have to do another spinal tap and bone biopsy next Friday and then again in two weeks and if it isn't under 5% at that point treatment will become much more aggressive...and his chances of complete remission go down. So now we wait. It's going to be so hard to relax and not think about it for the next two weeks.

The nasty Meds - steroids in specific
This morning we got his steroid medication in pill form and instead of crushing it we split it into three pieces. Then we put it in a lump of mashed potatoes. He swallowed the whole thing in one bite. I don't think he could taste it at all. We did the same thing tonight. I am so grateful it worked and we had one less battle. So very grateful. The other meds he still has to take in liquid form and we still battle and force them down him. But they are less crucial so when he spits them out it's not such a big deal.

Another note on the steroids.
The main side effects of the steroids are increased appetite, irritability and mood swings. We are definitely seeing these in Lincoln. Last night he woke up in the middle of the night and ate two huge bowls of cereal. He's probably eating three times what he used to. And he's cranky.

Sawyer.
My little Sawyer has been such a trooper through all this. He's adjusted so well to being watched by my parents. I really miss him and am glad to be home and seeing him more often. He just makes me smile all the time. I should do a whole separate post just on him and how fun he is right now.

Teaching at the Gym
Currently I teach six classes a week at four different gyms. I haven't given any of them up yet because I just don't know what my life is going to be like and don't want to make any rash decisions. I taught a dance class last Tuesday and a yoga class this morning. It felt weird both times. It was nice to break away, but I felt guilty being gone. I'm pretty sure I'll have to give some classes up. And that's okay. It's sad though. Lincoln loved going to the gym child care.

Gifts, cards and Notes.
Thank you all so much. I can't say it enough. I mentioned this before, but texts, emails, cards and gifts seem to arrive at just the right times. I am overcome by your love. Yesterday during my melt down after I talked to the doctor I received a bracelet in the mail from a dear friend in Virgina. Inscribed on it are the words "Brave Girl". It made me cry really hard because I was so touched by the gift but also because I realized that was exactly the opposite of how I feel. I'm terrified. But it helps to think she already thinks of me as brave. So from now on "Brave girl" is who I will try to be.

Pictures from the Hospital

2012-01-28T15:25:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures from our eleven day stay at UPMC children’s hospital. Best hospital on earth if you ask me. They are in no particular order. Note the beauty that is Lincoln’s hair. It better come back exactly the same!!!! The two random boys are Garrison and Stevie. Garrison is the little black boy. He was released and is doing well. Stevie is wearing the mask and was very sick when we left Friday and will be there for a long time. Love those two boys. Pray from them too…especially Stevie.

Day Eight in the Hospital - Meds by mouth

2012-01-24T20:34:00.000-08:00

Wow. The word Battle doesn't even begin to express what we just experienced. I feel defeated.

Chemotherapy is chemical therapy that consists of a cocktail of several drugs given at different times throughout treatment. They all have side effects. So far almost everything has been given to him through his port directly into his body. When we go home I will have to continue to give him drugs by mouth. One of which is steroid called Decadron. Because I have to give it to him at home they started having us practice giving it to him by mouth here. We started last night. We crushed the pill and put it in a spoonful of pudding. He took it great and we were thrilled. This morning Ryan gave it to him and I wasn't here but he said he only fought it for about a minute but was easily bribed. Tonight was a different story.

He has caught on to the fact that the pill makes the pudding disgusting. We started trying at 8. We bribed him with candy. We tried reasoning with him. We pleaded with him. He absolutely refused to eat it and screamed and cried at the suggestion. We took away his blanket. We took away his pacifier. We wouldn't give him his drink. I threatened to leave and then I left. That was devastating for him. I sat outside the hospital room and listening to him cry and beg for mommy to come back. Finally, at 10 pm after two hours of exhaustion for all three of us, Ryan physically forced it down Lincoln's mouth and throat. That drug is administered twice a day for the next 3 weeks. It's not fair that we have to be so mean to him and make him eat awful, horrible pills. I can't believe we have to do that again in ten hours. I hate it. But he is quick to forgive. So quick to forgive.

Ryan is amazing. This whole time he has been so strong and level headed. He has been at Lincoln's side as much as I have. He has been so patient. He has been so loving, so encouraging. I don't know what I would have done without him tonight. I really don't. I'm so glad we're in this together.

Thougths from Day Seven at the Hospital

2012-01-23T12:39:00.000-08:00

We are slowly being to wrap our brains around how all of this will be changing our lives and it's a bit to take in. We just met with one of the nurses for about an hour who went over the first section of a big binder about Lincoln's future care. One day at a time. I just keep telling myself that.

Feeling the weight of all of it.
When I was first told that for Lincoln it would be a total of about a 3 year process before it was completely over that was a lot. Then I accepted it and told myself that would be it and we would get through it and we would be done forever. Then yesterday afternoon we were visiting with Lauren's grandma. Lauren is a sweet little girl who's been here for a while. I assumed it was her first time around but learned from her grandma that Lauren was initially diagnosed as a baby at 17 months. She'd been in remission for 5 years....but now, at nine years old they are back. She had a relapse. Her hair is gone again. That hit me like a ton of bricks. Maybe this won't be gone forever after three years. Maybe this will haunt us forever. When I think about that it's hard to breath.

Lincoln's First Steps
The first few days Lincoln was really sore and had some legitimate pain from his bone marrow biopsy and spinal tap. It hurt to walk and stand so we carried and held him for a couple days. On the 5th night however I knew he was feeling better and could walk. He was crawling all around and kicking his legs when we'd change his diaper but every time we tried to stand him up on his feet he tucked his knees to his chest and refused. He'd completely reverted physiologically and was convinced it hurt to walk. Eventually we got him to try and I don't think I'll ever forget his little face. It was like he was walking for the first time. He started out slowly shuffling along but with in minutes he picked up speed and his shaky little legs remembered what to do and his face beamed with pride and excitement. He spent the next half hour walking up and down the hallway in his diaper and T-shirt, IV pole rolling along beside him - happy as could be.

Gifts at exactly the right time
Everyone has been so incredible and we have felt so loved and supported this week. Several people have sent or dropped off little gifts and they seem to arrive at exactly the right time. Lincoln hates it when I leave the hospital but sometimes I have to come home and shower and see Sawyer and have a tiny, little break. Today he had a rough morning. They introduced a new drug as a part of the chemo therapy. He couldn't leave his room for a couple hours and they had to take his vital signs every 15 minutes so he was particularly grumpy and clingy. I needed to leave but was feeling extra nervous about it. Before I left the primary president arrived with some gifts. Lincoln got engaged in making the little puppets she dropped off and I was able to slip away without him even noticing. Those little tender mercies mean so much to me.

Family and Friend Fast
Yesterday so many friends and family and my entire ward fasted for Lincoln and our family. Through out the day I stopped multiple times to think about all the people who were thinking of us, praying for us, and fasting for us and felt overwhelmingly loved. Thank you.

Thoughts on Day Four in the Hospital

2012-01-21T06:24:00.000-08:00

It's hard to decide what to write. I feel like I should focus on all the wonderful, positive things about our situation, all the tender mercies, all the amazing people....but I also just want to complain and vent. So, I will just be honest and try and let these posts be theraputic, whatever that may bring.

Last night he slept through most the night. Although for the 3rd night in a row he didn't fall asleep until after 11 - so late for him. He's still asleep now. He woke up once while they were taking his vitals and was in pain. His little body tensed up and I could tell it hurt when I moved him. He asked to "give mommy hugs" which means to hold him chest to chest bear hug style, but when I picked him up he was so rigid and stiff and couldn't relax. I called for more pain meds. I asked him where it hurt and all he said was "mommy kiss it better". He's said that a lot the past few days. That has been the hardest part for me.

Radom Thoughts.

The Port -
I hate it and I love it. I hate it because I hate that there is this permanant (three years seems permanent to me) forgien thing in his body that will be a site of possible of infection and soreness and a reminder of his illness. I love it because it's helping him get better. It's an amazing blessing of modern medicine. I haven't even really seen it yet. It's covered with mounds of bandaging.

The IV pole - Hate it
I wish they would just let me silece it when it beeps so loudly so often especially in the night. It makes my blood boil. Espicially when it wakes up my baby. I have silenced it a few times but it just goes off again after a few minutes until I can track down a nurse. Also, it's so annoying dragging it around with him and constantly making sure he's not getting wrapped up in it or that it's pulling at is chest. And I just hate the idea that he's hooked up to a machine 24/7....but again, love it because I know it's helping him.

The staff - Awesome.

The social workers - Awesome. Especially the one who found me when I was folded up outside Lincoln's room on the floor sobbing uncontrolably two mornings ago when I couldn't let him eat. I and needed a break and finally turned Lincoln over to Ryan after 12 hours of holding him. She kindly took me in a room and listened to me cry and vent. It's funny doing that to a complete stranger. But I knew that's what she was there for and I was grateful.

The dogs that come visit the patients - Awesome. Especially the ones with painted toesnails who wear sunglasses.

The other patients - Not even a word for how awesome they are. Especially Stevie and Garrison. They are 9 and 10 and have taken a liking to Lincoln. They hang out in our room a lot and answer all my questions about what it's like to have Luekemia and remind me that kids with cancer can still be happy.

My parents. - Best in the world. Drove 30 plus hours practically non-stop to be here.

He just woke up. More later.

Lincoln has Lukemia. Did I really just type that.

2012-01-19T09:11:00.000-08:00

Our lives have turned upside down since Tuesday morning. One minute I was getting the boys ready to go to the gym and the next minute I was dropping everything and rushing to the ER. Now here we are, 2 days later and I feel like I am still in a dream...or nightmare rather.

Lincoln has ALL. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. I don't know too much about the disease other than it is changing our world drastically and it's breaking my heart. The good news is that 85 to 90 percent of kids survive and he is in excellent hands. The bad news is that he is in for a whole lot of pain, discomfort and suffering over the next 2 to 3 years.

Right now he's not doing so well. He's suffering from pain from bone marrow biopsy and Lumbar puncture. At the moment we're waiting for him to go down and get a port inserted into his chest that he'll receive treatment through instead of the IV from now on. He's so hungry and thirsty and keeps asking me for food and milk but he can't eat until after the procedure and it kills me that I can't give him anything. They are taking forever!!!! Try distracting your 2 year old from food and drink for 7 hours after waking up. And after not haven eaten since the morning before.

Last night was bad too. He was in obvious pain and couldn't get comfortable and just wanted to be held. I'm trying to stay strong for him but it's close to impossible to hold my tears in when his are flowing so regularly. He's just so perfect and sweet and innocent and I hate that he has to go through this and I can't explain to him why.

All that sob story being said...we have a lot we are grateful for including a close, wonderful hospital filled with wonderful doctors and nurses, and an amazing support system of incredible friends and family. Thank you all for the many emails and well wishes and offers to help. My parents are driving from Utah now to stay with us indefinitely which we're so grateful for. We definitely recognize these blessings but the fact of the matter is that all those things help Ryan and I and don't take anything away from Lincoln's suffering which is the only thing I want to fix.

Thank you so much for you're continued thoughts and prayers. I'll try and keep people posted on his progress.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-05T19:06:00.001-08:00

2011 ended pretty darn well for us this year. We had a really fun December. Here’s a little re-cap with lots of pictures. The boys loved having our Christmas tree up. Lincoln cried when I took it down.We went and saw ten million lights at Hartwood Acrs. This started out great and ended back. It was a long time in the car and a long, tearful ride home. Note to self….don’t let your boys sit in the front seat of the car with you for the lights and then expect them to happily go back to their car seats for the drive home.We trekked down to DC to spend Christmas weekend with Wendy and company and had a jolly good time. We checked out some awesome toy trains.Wendy and I got our bake on. Lincoln opened some sweet Christmas Pajamas from Grammy. “He Thinks I’m Sleeping” :)

Saywer opened some sweet Christmas jammers from Grammy.“Define Naughty”….couldn’t be more appropriate for this little troublemaker. Anderson and Max got Jammys too.We made cookies and set out Carrots for Santa and the reindeer. But the naughtys at the carrots….I know weird that they didn’t touch the cookies.

We ate a delicious traditional Weiler Christmas breakfast of sausage egg casserole, grapefruit and cinnamon rolls that helped Wendy and I not feel so homesick.We loved watching the boys open there fun gifts. Anders was thrilled about his remote control car.Wendy was trilled about her bowl.I was surprised with a swanky, high-tech, dermatologist recommended face washer and Ryan was stoked about his popcorn kit.Finally we met up with some wonderful longtime friends the Mudricks for a quick catch up over lunch.Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Ryan’s 30th.

2011-12-17T18:13:00.001-08:00

Ryan turned the big 3-0 earlier this month. I of course made his beloved, high maintenance red velvet cake and we had a few friends over to help us eat it. Four day’s earlier my friend’s husband threw her an huge, unbelievable surprise over the hill 30th Birthday party you can check out here. I felt a little bad that I didn’t do more in comparison. But I know he didn’t care. As long as he gets his cake he’s a happy Birthday boy.

Christmas Baby!

2011-12-04T12:34:00.001-08:00

My good friend Heather had her first baby three weeks ago and asked if I would take some pictures of him. I was happy to do it but am completely un-qualified. After her reassurances that there was no pressure and it was just for fun I agreed. It forced me to finally start to learn a little bit about our new camera which has been a daunting task that I’ve been procrastinating. There a re a lot of things I would change looking at these. For example I would have put the tree against a bigger wider wall or at least moved the fire truck and picture frames in the back ground. I would have also had Heather wear all black on top and had her not sit on my floor against the couch. Those were totally impromptu while she was trying to soothe him but I think they turned out so cute I wish those things could be changed. She assured me her husband is a photo shop wiz so hopefully he will be able to fix a few and they are able to get something they like. But one thing is for sure, baby Weston and his mom are both beauties and he is just as sweet as can be.

Family Photos

2011-11-29T18:23:00.001-08:00

A couple months ago two of my fabulous girlfriends Jessica and Akasha took our family pictures and I love them. I’m so grateful for all my incredible photographer friends and their willingness to share their time and talents.

Trick or Treating–Waukee, Ia verses Pittsburgh, Pa

2011-11-03T11:23:00.001-07:00

A couple weeks ago my awesome friend Sara told me she had an elephant and Frog costume in my boys sizes I could borrow for Halloween. (well, the elephant was a little short but it worked) We took them home and Lincoln tried on the Elephant and loved it. Check him checking himself out.

Fast forward to Halloween weekend. We zipped up to Detroit to spend it with Ryan’s sister Shannon and family. It was good times all around. We hit up their ward trunk or treat Friday night which was fun – although I wish we could have gone to ours. Can’t have it all.

Are these built in car seats not genius? I thought so.Cousins Mya (Alice in wonderland) and Cysa (vampire) Uncle Miguel. Ryan’s sister ShannonAll the cousins :)

Saturday Ryan and his Brother Kevin who flew in from Texas went to a University of Michigan Football game. That was actually why the whole trip originated. Not the hottest pictures of the pair but it’s all I got. They took it with their phone.

More cousin love.

Then we drove home in time to go trick or treating in our Neighborhood in Pittsburgh on Monday night. We didn’t go out long but the half hour we were out was some quality candy collecting. Growing up in Iowa we actually had to do a trick or tell a joke in order to get a treat. I remember kids would work on their trick or joke for weeks leading up to Halloween. Then you rang the door bell and did your thing. Often times people would invite you in first. It was quite the process especially because the houses were so far apart. You could fit about 6 houses from my current hood between two houses in my hood growing up.

Here not only do you not have to do a trick or tell a joke, you don’t even have to ring the doorbell. If your house is participating in trick or treating you stand out on your front porch for three hours handing out the candy. And you may as well because there is a STEADY stream of or kiddos marches down the streets. Lincoln didn’t even have to say the words before the candy was in his bucket and it was off to the next porch.

And the houses here go ALL OUT! Walking up to some of them I felt like I was in a haunted house. Lights and sound effects - goblins, ghosts, and skeletons that came to life…you name it and these houses had it. This part about Halloween I love.

It was really fun. I’m undecided on which way I prefer – the Iowa way or the Pittsburgh way. I’m sure as a child I’d probably like the way they to it here. It is much more efficient for candy collecting. But as an adult I found myself wishing we could slow down a bit and enjoy getting to know our neighbors with a little joke or trick. Plus, isn’t that why they call it TRICK or treating? And the Iowa teaches kids you don’t get something for nothing. Just some food for thought.

Happy Halloween from a cute little Elephant and Frog :)

A week with 4 boys 3 and under.

2011-11-02T12:27:00.001-07:00

When my wonderful sister Wendy’s babysitters fell through for an anniversary trip she had planned she was hugely disappointed. I jumped at the chance to watch my nephews for the 5 days they’d be gone. It was definitely busy and crazy, but we had lots of fun too. Her boys are really very good and they all kind of entertained each other for the most part. Love me some cousin love :)

A few more of the Twins. These two are only two months apart.

And a couple videos of the madness that ensued for 5 days. Come back soon little monsters!

A Night with Girlfriends

2011-10-31T11:02:00.001-07:00

I need way more of these in my life. It’s hard to justify the money and leaving my kids and husband (not that I mind the time away – I just feel bad not being there to help with bedtime and dinner routine) but the occasional times I do go out with girlfriends it’s SO NICE and I really have a great time. So I was thrilled to have an excuse to do just that when my friend Karly came back into town after having moved at the beginning of the summer. We went and had a delicious meal and then came back to my house and stayed up way to late (3 am) talking, talking and talking some more. Love my Pittsburgh girlfriends :)

A Taste of Philly.

2011-10-28T05:45:00.001-07:00

A couple weeks ago Ryan had a work conference in Philly. The boys and I decided to tag along. Was it worth it? Was I glad I went? Yes. Was it a fabulous, relaxing weekend? Anything but. It was pretty much exhausting especially since I was riding solo most the weekend with the two little munchkins. We weren’t able to do a whole lot since the babies kind of cramped our touring style, but I don’t think I would have ever seen Philly otherwise, so for that reason, it was worth it. I’ll take of taste of a new city when I can get it over nothing at all…even if it’s just a sample.

They put us up in a swanky Marriot hotel right in the middle of downtown which was helpful. The first day the boys and I hit the town and didn’t last long window shopping before I realized I’d better find a park. So that’s where we spent most of the morning.

We came back to the hotel for naps and then spent the afternoon exploring the hotel. We rode the elevator and escalator countless times, discoved the various lobbies and conference rooms, and examined (tried to play with) the house keeping supplies.

That night we went swimming. Always a crowd pleaser with the Harris boys.

The sleeping situation was the worst part. Lincoln ended up in the bed with us both nights. They both woke up multiple times coughing and crying. It wasn’t good.

Sunday we were able to get out all four of us and see some sights for a few hours. We saw the Liberty Bell.

We toured Independence Hall (The room where our founding fathers wrote and signed the constitution and declaration of Independence)

We went through Betsy Ross’s house. She’s the lady who sewed the first American Flag –the one in the dress holding the flag. :)

And a couple random pics of Sawyer in between tours. He makes the most expressive faces.

Wish I could have seen and done more but it was good to get a taste. Cool city. Lots of History. Check it out if you get the chance. :)

New Camera–Pictures in the Park

2011-10-24T11:38:00.001-07:00

We got a new camera and tested it out at the park. This is what we got :)

Boating in October

2011-10-11T12:10:00.001-07:00

Our friends the Jensen’s took us boating last weekend. That’s right, October 9th and we’re out boating. Hope this warm weather lasts! We went on the river 5 minutes from our house. We only went for a couple hours because it was late and I didn’t know how long the boys would last. But they did great. They were mostly just quite and still….just taking it all in. There were a lot of new sounds and sights to observe being on a boat for the first time :) The Christensen’s came too. They are some of LIncoln’s favorite people. Emily & Ty are his nursery leaders and Emily works at the daycare at the gym. Now they’re his boating buddies too!Lincoln’s jacket was just a hair too big. Not the safest, but dang cute. It was all we had. He was great about keeping it on though!Ryan hadn’t been wakeboarding in three years. But he got up and did great. I went earlier this summer with the Jensen’s but before that it had been three years for me too. Way too long.Captain Chase and his Dad Chad. This little guy has been boating since he was an infant. He’s a natural.Ty’s turn. He and Chad are super good wake boarders.At one point towards the end we hit a wave and the four of us got soaked up in the front, especially Sawyer. The water was really cold so we stripped him down, borrowed one of Chase’s hoodies and wrapped him in a towel. That’s why he’s not wearing his life jacket. I know…not the wisest, but it was cold and he was freezing and we were almost done.Good times with great friends. Summer went by way too fast but I must say this was an excellent way to end it :)

Walk for Psoriasis

2011-10-01T19:29:00.001-07:00

This morning Ryan and I participated in a “Walk for Psoriasis” fund raiser. It was put on by the Dermatology department that Ryan works for. It was great expect that it was pretty cold and started raining at the end. Boo for winter and cold days already hitting.

Another random thought. It’s been a particularly good “friend” week. I’ve talked on the phone with 5 different girlfriends who I haven’t talked to in a long time. It’s been so good. Some are doing really well and others are really struggling. I’m so grateful for lasting friendships and the ability to pick up the phone and reconnect with these girls like we haven’t missed a beat. Sometimes it seems so hard to make the effort to stay in touch, especially as you get older and move around and meet more and more people and make more and more friends. It can get overwhelming. But when you do it’s so worth it. At least it has been for me.

Lincoln’s Surgery

2011-09-26T16:19:00.001-07:00

It’s over and he’s back and everything went great! I knew he would be fine and I stayed pretty calm about the whole thing but it is a little scary and nerve racking to send your barely two year old into surgery. But he did awesome. I feel like I took the easy way out a little bit because I wasn’t even there. I dropped Ryan and Lincoln off at 7:15 this morning, took Sawyer to the gym with me while I taught my class, came home and then picked them up at noon. It was nice to be distracted. I only thought about him one time during the hour I was teaching. But as Ryan carried him into the hospital I couldn’t help tear up a little bit knowing what was ahead. He looked so small and helpless. I guess I should mention what the surgery was. Ever since he was only a few months he’s had a hydrocele in his left scrotum. They are fairly common in baby boys but often go away on there own. Since it hadn’t and he’s two now they needed to remove it. It’s been pretty funny actually. Sometimes in the bath tub Lincoln will exam himself and say “Big Ball, Little Ball” because his left side is at least twice as big as his right. We started prepping him for the surgery a couple weeks ago telling him he’d have “Two little balls. No more big ball”. This is captured in the video below.

On our way to the Hospital - You’ll notice Lincoln is holding an egg in most of the pictures. It’s this weird obsession he’s had lately. I often make him eggs and he always wants to hold one, and doesn’t want to give it back. First thing in the morning now he asks to “hold egg?” We hard boiled one and the past few days he’s been carrying it around most the day with him. His new nick name here is “Horton” from Dr. Seuss’s book “Horton Hatches the Egg”. So random. So funny.

Before the surgery. We literally took him straight from his crib to the car, which is why he’s in pajamas.

Waking up after the surgery. He looks a bit groggy. Ryan said he did so awesome when they put him under. They let Ryan hold him as they used a gas mask to put him to sleep. He said he was very calm and Ryan was asking him to spell different words (spelling calms him down – weird, I know). Anyway, he asked him to spell “moon” and Lincoln said “M, O, O, O, O, O, O, N” slowing down with every O and then fell asleep. I kind of wish I was there for that.

Apparently he was not so happy to be waking up after surgery.^{Leaving the Hospital.}

Then, a couple hours later, we went to the zoo. I threw this in because check out the Sawyer’s finger pulling my lip down! This is my life.He’s doing great! Thanks goodness for awesome Doctors and modern medicine.

Party Time!

2011-09-26T11:17:00.001-07:00

My sweet, dear friend Heather is pregnant! After trying to get pregnant for over 3 years and being told they had fertility complications they decided to foster to adopt. They were mid way through that process when Heather went in for an examination relating to fertility complications when she was told she was in fact pregnant! It was a shock to say the least. We are all so thrilled for her. I had the honor of hosting her shower on Saturday. It was so much fun!

I wanted to keep the food semi light because only a few hours later we had a Relief Society Café Rio dinner, so we served salad, Chicken Pepper Broccoli Braid (my most favorite dish ever), home-made lemonade, and a few not so light desserts :)

We ate, planned games, opened presents and discussed all things baby. She will be such a great mom. As a family therapist she has helped so many other families and children and I am so happy for her to soon have her own.

My sister gave me the genius idea to gift a children’s story book you love and have everyone sign the inside as guest sign in book. When I found this book and read it I started crying in the store. It was perfect. Love you Heather!

Half Marathon

2011-09-10T13:01:00.001-07:00

Well, I can check that off my bucket list. The funny thing is it hasn’t actually ever been on my bucket list, and I’ve never really wanted to run one. I mean, don’t get me wrong - If you know me you know I love to workout, but I’m more into the group fitness thing and not so much the running thing. But then a couple months ago some of my girlfriends invited me to run this race with them and I thought, what the heck. I’m not pregnant and have time to train and I have awesome girls to train with. Thus, this is how I spent my morning.

It was GREAT! I was actually really surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The weather was Perfection, the course was awesome, (down hill at the beginning and then mostly flat the rest of the way) and I had fabulous friends with me. My only regret is that I wish I would have pushed myself a little harder the last 3 miles. I really wanted to finish in under 2 hours and so when I had run 10 miles in 1 hour and 28 minutes I thought, “I have 32 minutes to run three miles” and so I slowed down a ton. Stupid – I know. According to my watch I finished at 1 hour 56 minutes and 30 something seconds. I’m still waiting for my official chip time. Here’s a wonderful picture of the girl who finished about 2 seconds before me. Poor Ryan, he felt so bad he didn’t get me…I don’t really care.

They both started screaming there brains out when they saw me run through the finish. They would only stop when I was holding them. This is Jessica C, or as my sisters and mom know her, “Jessica Twins”. I use that name to differentiate my two Jessica friends to them because no big deal this girl had twins not even a year ago. She was my training partner and I had so much fun training with her and going on long runs and chatting the whole time. I could NOT have done it without her. We ended up not staying together during the race but we should have because our times only ended up being about 3 or 4 minutes apart. I love her. She started crying she was so happy to finish under two hours. Here’s the rest of the group. Jessica, Amanda, Jessica, me. I’m so proud of us. The biggest bummer about the whole thing is that poor Amanda pulled her groin muscle half way through the race and was in tons of pain and had to walk a bunch – but amazingly she still managed to finish with a respectable time.Apparently I didn’t get the memo that we were all wearing our just past the knee workout pants.Ryan was super supportive every time I went on long runs and was a good motivator. He was always giving me goals and tips. Sometimes it was annoying but he’d just say, “I just want you to be all you can be”. Why do I get the feeling he’s going to push our boys a lot physically. Good thing I can be there to balance him out and remind them it’s just for fun and we’re proud of them no matter what. Anyway, Ryan said he’d clean the whole house by himself multiple times if I finished in under two hours. I don’t think he thought I could do it. Looks like I have a break from house cleaning for a while!One other downfall…my second toes took a beating. That’s not purple nail polish.But the rest of me feels great! Had to take some muscle pics after feeling so invincible :)

More Birthday Fun

2011-09-07T12:11:00.001-07:00

When Ryan got home from work we had cake and ice cream and opened a few gifts with a few friends.

We have a smaller version of the magna doodle and Sawyer thinks it’s awesome. He loves to scribble all over it. I thought I’d get him a bigger more legit upgraded version. That was about the only gift that I actually wrapped and didn’t end up bustin’ out before his actual Birthday.

Back tracking a bit before Sawyer’s Birthday, these next few pics were actually a couple weeks ago. My friend Bethany’s little guy turned two and had a dinosaur party that was so fun. You can check it out here. Anyway, Here’s Lincoln with some of his best buds.

Okay, now we can fast forward back to this past weekend again. We decided to take a trip to the DC temple and visit my sister and her family. It was great! The boys got along much better than last time and slept through the nights all three nights. What more can you ask for? We went to Great Falls on Sunday and just hung out and enjoyed the weekend. We also had another little family party with Sawyer with more gifts and cake. Bust Bud cousins. That’s what they are.

Back to the Birthday boy. I love him so much. A few things to remember about Sawyer at one year old. He is very independent and easy going. He self entertains and does so many things by himself like getting on and off the fire truck, drinking from his sippy cup, and feeding himself. He’s tough. Lincoln sometimes pushes him around but he rarely cries when he falls down or gets hurt. He’s a great, flexible sleeper. He’s a great eater and by that I mean he’s not too picky – except when it comes to milk…he’s not a fan. He loves to jump and climb on the bed and couch. I love him to pieces and can’t imagine my life without him.

Birthday Boy and his Lady Friends

2011-09-06T12:10:00.001-07:00

Wow. He’s already one. Where did the year go? Look at this guy, does he not just scream “ladies baby”? I thought so too. So for his birthday I decided to invite all of his lady friends over. He has girlfriends who where born with-in three months of him who all live in our neighborhood. We kicked the Birthday celebration off with a little photo shoot of him with his girls.

At first they weren’t too impressed with our “make the babies smile” efforts. They were a hard bunch to crack! A few gals took turns letting the birthday boy hold them.Check him out! Hot Stuff.Darcy’s making the moves :)

Stay tuned – more Birthday fun & holiday weekend to come!

Lincoln Reading & Sawyer Standing Up Sumo Style

2011-08-09T11:14:00.001-07:00

But before we get to all of that, some pictures of there favorite past time – strollin’. They love it. Lincoln loves to push the stroller and ride. Sawyer just loves to ride. This double decker has been great.

Sawyer took 12 steps in a row at 11 months and 4 days old. He’s been walking all by himself a little everyday since. I haven’t got that on video yet, but I did get him practicing standing up all by himself. He spreads his legs super wide and it reminds me of a sumo wrestle. He’s getting pretty good at it!

Here’s a clip of Sawyer doing the Sumo Stand and Lincoln reading his words.

Sawyer – Eleven Months old

My little Jungle Monkey

2011-07-21T13:22:00.001-07:00

He’s ten months old and into everything! Sawyer is so much more climby than Lincoln was and I’m just not used to it. It seems like every time I turn around he’s trying to climb up into something. Every time I open the refrigerator he be-lines for it like he’s just been waiting around all day for his chance to explore. Same thing with the dishwasher. While it’s annoying and a nuisance it’s totally adorable. I love how curious and adventurous he is. He a pretty tough little guy. Many times he’s fallen trying to climb up on something and I brace myself for a monsoon of tears and surprisingly it barely phases him.

He and Lincoln have started to play together a little bit more and sometimes I’ll catch them cracking each other up. Nothing is better.

Other times they are each others worst enemies. Lately Sawyer has been practicing walking while pushing the fire truck all around the house. When Lincoln hops on he pushes Lincoln. It’s all fine and dandy until Linc decides he wants to go in reverse and plows Sawyer down which always happens eventually. And yes….I know my kids are half dressed at least half the time….it’s just how we roll. Call me lazy.

Gosh he melts my heart. Love this little Jungle Monkey!!

Great Grandma and Grandpa Visit

2011-07-15T13:52:00.001-07:00

My grandma and grandpa Weiler are two of the coolest people I know. I want to be just like them when I grow up. At 80 years old they are still traveling the world with incredible energy. It was such a treat to have them visit and get some quality time with them and my little family. They are fabulous and such good examples to me. Love you GG and GQ! Come back soon!

Pittsburgh Girlfriends

2011-07-15T11:40:00.001-07:00

We work out together.

We discuss books together.

We make stuff together.

We have playgroup together.

We most certainly watch “The Bachelor” together. Unfortunately no pics of that weekly party.

They are my sisters in a big city far from home and I don’t know what I’d do without them.

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

2011-07-15T10:53:00.001-07:00

It’s been such a fun summer and the fourth of July was no exception. We kicked it off by going camping with about ten other families from church. We are so lucky to have such good friends out here. I was nervous about it with the boys, but I had no excuse because all of my friends were bringing their babies including a friends with twins Sawyers age. We had a blast and they both even went down well. Sawyer fell asleep when we put him in the pack’n play and Lincoln fell asleep in my arms sitting by the camp fire. Then, just as I knew it would, the night took a turn for the worse. Lincoln woke up at 3:00 am and freaked out. He woke up Sawyer. We spent the next hour and a half trying to get them both to fall back asleep and not wake up the entire campsite. Ryan took Lincoln outside the tent and they watched movies on his little dvd player and I tried to bounce Sawyer back to sleep but every time I laid Sawyer down he would cry and wake up Lincoln who had just drifted off while watching his movies. It was highly frustrating. Anyway, at 4:30 we packed up and left. We were disappointed not to be able to spend the next day at the lake with everyone else but at least we had fun the night before.

On the 4th of July we had a jam packed day beginning with a neighborhood parade. The boys love riding around on the bike trailer.

Then it was off to the Pirates Baseball game downtown. It was hot, but fun.

That night all our friends were planning on meeting at the park for BBQ and street fireworks for the kids. We tried, but it rained and then stopped and then rained again. When it started raining the second time we realized the park wasn’t going to work. Although my house is by no means huge, it’s probably the biggest out of our friends so we all ended up at our house. We had over 40 people through out the night! The kids went downstairs and played and hit a piñata while we ate and socialized upstairs. Then it did eventually stop raining so we were able to go outside and watch an great fireworks street show. Those things have gotten good over the years. I was impressed and the kids had a ball. God Bless America!!

Happy Birthday Lincoln – 2 years old!

2011-07-15T08:04:00.001-07:00

Two years ago my life changed forever in the most wonderful way when I became a mom. It’s been such a joy to watch my little baby transform into the toddler he is today. It breaks my heart and thrills me all at the same time.

Lincoln helped me make his cake because helping me stir stuff up is one of his favorite activities.

Then when it was time to put the candles in he wanted more than just two…it was his cake so I figured I’d let him do with it what he wanted.

Then he got his gifts. A basketball hoop and a water squirting toy. He loved both. We played with the water toy early that day outside for over an hour and he loved it and these pictures speak for themselves as far as how he felt about the basketball hoop.

We ate cake and then went to the park.

Lincoln kind of gets stressed out when a lot of kids come over so instead of having a big party we just had his nursery leaders over who he loves and who are our good friends. Ty and Emily are great with my boys. I love them. Wish his other nursery leaders Jena and Brent would have been in town to celebrate with us because he loves them just as much.

It was a great day that could have only been better if our family was around. We love you so much Lincoln. You are such a smart, sweet little boy and I love you over the moon and back again.

Alaskan Cruise Video 2nd attempt

2011-07-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

The video didn't work the first time...and I don't want to take the time to figure it out, so if you want to see more Alaska Pictures choreographed to some rockin' tunes go to my other sister Ali's blog by clicking here. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Alaskan Cruise

2011-06-22T15:15:00.000-07:00

It was so Great. We made this video as a "thank you" for our parents. Between this video and my sister's blog post on our trip I think that about covers it. Good times. Awesome Family.

Brothers or Twins?

2011-06-01T07:22:00.001-07:00

We took the boys to watch Ryan play baseball on Monday and dressed Sawyer up in Lincoln’s old cubs onesie and it oddly felt familiar. I took some pics of Sawyer and then came home and found some pics of Lincoln from last year and I couldn’t believe how similar they looked! Lincoln is 9.5 months in these Pictures and Sawyer is 9 months exactly. Can you tell them apart? Who’s holding the ball?

Girl’s Trip

2011-05-23T08:49:00.001-07:00

Oh what a wonderful weekend. I feel like a new woman. Totally rejuvenated and recharged to enter back into mommy land. For three days I carried a purse instead of a diaper bag. I ate meals while they were hot with no interruptions, I had adult conversations with adults, and most importantly I bonded with some of my favorite girls on the planet. I met up with six of my friends from Charlottesville in DC for a weekend of shopping, eating out, movies, pedicures and late night laughs. WE started the girls trip tradition last year with the same group minus Stephanie who was in China plus Desiree and Danielle. This year Danielle is pregnant in California and Desiree couldn’t find babysitters in Florida.

Goodtimes in the dressing rooms.

I must say the pedi’s were my favorite activity of the weekend.

Dinner was incredible. Eating at nine pm after 10 hours of shopping. Tasted good.

Lusted over lots of shoes at Nordi’s but at the end of the day only have pictures to show for it. Darn that logical, frugal side of me!

At the end of the night we had show and tell to see each others purchases. LOVED Angie’s new church outfit from Anthro.

Can’t remember the last time I saw a movie in a real movie theater.

So the weekend was beyond wonderful and then, to top it off, I came home to my amazing husband who had not only done a great job watching the boys, kept the house in much better condition than I excepted he would, and done it all with a good attitude……HE GOT LINCOLN OFF THE BOTTLE!!!! I was and am still flabbergasted. I don’t know how he did it and am not sure I want to find out. If it were up to me he’d probably have it until kindergarten. I’ve tried and failed and can’t deal with the crying. I am thrilled. Now I just have to go on a few more trips and let Ryan take care of the pacifier and blanket addiction and we’ll have ourselves a grown boy….which actually kind of saddens me. Thanks girls and husband for a fabulous weekend! Can’t wait till next year!

Music to my Ears

2011-05-09T17:03:00.001-07:00

Is there anything Better? I think not.

Sawyer Laughing

If only all stars gave performances like this…..

2011-04-26T13:39:00.001-07:00

I Love this. I love this because she sings it SO amazingly well. I love it because it’s already one of my favorite songs. I love it because it’s a super star singing an uplifting, spiritual song to a room full of other super stars. That had to have taken courage. Go Carrie. It gives me chills when everyone starts standing up in the second verse and you can see the audience members tearing up. I’m sure there was such a strong spirit. Oh, if only all stars sang these kind of songs with this kind of performance every now and again….what a world it would be. Rihanna, Brittney, Pink….take a lesson.

My Monkey Babies

2011-04-05T11:13:00.001-07:00

Soy Bean’s Seven months already! Shesh, where does the time go? He’s a super happy, active, curious little guy who just loves exploring all the new things life has to offer. He melts my heart.

So I tried to do a photo shoot of both of them and this is what most of the pictures looked like.

But then I busted out the blocks and piggy bank and we built towers and put money in the slot and got a few better pics. Still none with both smiling looking at the camera, but better. I love taking pictures with the monkey. Probably because my boys remind me of little monkeys. We call them monkeys all the time. Between all their thick, wavy hair and their cute little primate-like bodies I can’t think of a more suitable nick-name.

Lincoln’s signing for “more” coins. What would we do without our signs?

Love me some “boys in their diapers” pictures. And yes, they are wearing diapers although in the first picture it appears questionable.

I live for these two boys. They are my full time job. My life. My World. As much work as it is I wouldn’t have it any. other. way.

Embrace the Chaos!

2011-03-25T11:54:00.001-07:00

So every Friday the girls in the ward get together and hang out with our kids. When it’s warm outside we meet at to different parks, but when it’s cold we meet at the mall or church or anyone’s house who’s willing to host. I often volunteer because believe it or not, my house is one of the biggest. I absolutely LOVE the girls in my life in Pittsburgh! And I love their kids and when they come over on Fridays it’s one, big, fun, crazy, chaotic house. Today I snapped some pics to document. There were 15 kids four and under! And that was only with 5 of my girlfriends over. (Two of them have twins:) ) Such a fun stage of life. Gotta love it!!

Yay for Visitors!

2011-03-23T15:10:00.001-07:00

I’ve been so lucky to have three visitors in the past month. I love having visitors. Anyone’s welcome anytime! The past few days my aunt and uncle and their four adorable kids came to visit from St. Louis. They are awesome, and it was so fun to have them. Their kids were so good and cute with my boys. My aunt took most the pictures and I forgot to get them from her, but I did snap a few at the Children’s Museum which was totally fun by the way. I’d recommend it for adults too :)

We loved the fun house mirrors! How awesome is this pic?

Lincoln’s favorite exhibit was, of course, the water floor.

A couple weeks ago my brother Tom came from DC for a weekend. We had a great time with him too and he was also fabulously helpful with the boys.

Lincoln going to Nursery…only about the second or third time in our ward. He’s getting better and better every week.

My Girlfriend Jessica from Virginia came and visited last week with her two girls and it was so good to see her. Failed to take any pictures…so here’s one from way back in day…in my dark days of 2008.

And a random one of the Bean….because he’s adorable.

Good times. Great people. Ya’all come back soon! And actually I think Tom is coming back this weekend. Let the good times roll.

Letters, Letters Everywhere! And my Passion for Fashion.

2011-03-17T11:38:00.001-07:00

It all started three or four months ago. Lincoln has loved his little Shapes Ball toy ever since he got it when he turned one. He knew all of his shapes in no time. He loved it when Ryan and I would draw shapes on the magnadoodle and ask him to identify them. Soon I realized, if he can identify shapes, why wouldn’t he be able to identify letters. So I started teaching him letters….and HE LOVES LETTERS! He is constantly bringing me the white board and marker to practice them with him. While I haven’t pushed this on him at all, I must say I’m pretty proud of the little guy. He can identify every letter in the alphabet and he’s only 19 months. Lets hope his love of learning lasts!

In other news… I found THIS FASHION BLOG and I love it. I’ve been trying to copy some of her looks. I love the way she ties her scarfs and belts and does her hair. I don’t know that if I pull it off quite like she does, but it’s fun trying :)

Utah Febcation

2011-03-04T14:41:00.001-08:00

We didn’t go home for Christmas this year and my mom was sad. So she decided to fly me and my boys and Wendy and her boys home in February as a birthday present to herself. Since Ryan has been so busy lately I decided to stay a while…I stayed most of February and had a wonderful “Febcation”. The following are some visuals and highlights in no particular order.

Valentines Day with the babies and Great Grandma’s amazing, delicious food and dinner party.

Super fun girlfriends weekend including shopping, photo shoot (enter “girlfriends”), cupcakes and sleepover.

Jamberry Nails with Wendy. Love them.

Played in the snow.

Worked out.

Went to Church.

Threw my parents a surprise Birthday party including grandbaby hand printed apron and T-shirt gifts, personalized game of Pictionary, and a yummy dinner.

Took a walk down memory Lane spending a day in P-town at the BYU visiting Lisa for lunch at the Wilk.

Went Swimming!

Visited Boise to see Grandma and Grandpa Harris and Aunt Alesha and Kaylyn. So fun to see them especially Alesha who is pregnant and on bed rest with Triplets! Unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures of the mama to be :(

One other highlight and probably my favorite day of the trip was the day I went skiing and snowboarding with my sisters and Dad. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!! It was my job to bring my camera because it is the smallest and easiest to ski with…and I did…but the battery was dead. It’s too bad too because it was the most gorgeous day and we had such a blast.

Such great times in Utah, shout out and thank you to mom for bringing us out there, but now it’s back to livin’ it up in the burgh. It’s good to be home with Ryan again :)

Diaper Days

2011-01-26T11:38:00.001-08:00

I can’t believe how fast they are growing up. It’s so weird that I have two boys, and that they are already this big. I feel like I blinked and Sawyer is almost 5 months. My pregnancy with him and now his life is going by so fast. I barely even remember being pregnant with him. If feels like I never was. I am so grateful for them. I am so lucky.

My Sweet Little Bean – 4 Months

2011-01-10T10:50:00.001-08:00

My sweet little Soy bean turned for months on the first and wanted to document where he’s at in his little life. He’s such a laid back, easy going baby and I always wonder if he really is that much easier than Lincoln was…or if I was just that much more paranoid and nutty with Lincoln that I remember Lincoln as hard. Probably a little of both. Sawyer has really started smiling and laughing a lot, and I can’t get enough of it. He grunts when he laughs and it comes from someplace way back in his throat.

He’s a great sleeper and a great eater. He loves watching Lincoln, playing under his play mat, and looking in the mirror at himself…just like his brother, and taking baths…just like his brother.

I wish I were a better photographer but it’s better than nothing. Here he is on his 4 month Birthday.

FYI..He’s actually only 3 months and a couple days in this video.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-30T07:33:00.001-08:00

We made the trek up to Detroit for Christmas this year to visit Ryan’s Shannon and her family. The boys were amazingly good in the car, the weather was great, the Chino’s are always a great time. It was so much fun…except for the fact that Lincoln was throwing up 3 of the 5 days we were there. He was just sick over Thanksgiving! The poor guy. I felt so bad for him and so grateful for Shannon’s washer and dryer that we used every night to wash blankets and pajamas. Luckily no one else got sick.

Here are Shannon’s adorable kids on Christmas morning waiting to go downstairs to see what Santa brought.

And here’s Lincoln Christmas morning after being sick all night with his very tired mama.

Here we all are. Lincoln got a ball popper toy and fire truck riding toy. Sawyer got…nothing, but it’s cool. He’s not too upset about it. I wish I would have gotten a close up picture of him on his first Christmas. My parents gave us a cruise to Alaska! Yay! My whole family minus the 5 grandbabies will be going in June. Anybody want to volunteer to babysit? It’s so fun to have something to look forward to.

Here’s the whole gang except me. We really enjoyed the Chinos. They are such a fun family and my nieces and nephew couldn’t be cuter. And they were so sweet with my boys.

Maya is 4 years old and all she wanted for Christmas was a hockey stick and puck. Too funny. Glad Santa was able to find her one.

We also went swimming at the Chino’s amazing gym pool, went to the temple, made doughnuts, played games, watched movies, painted our nails…good times.

Merry Christmas!

Family of Four Pictures

2010-12-12T17:47:00.001-08:00

Our awesome friend McCall took some family pictures a couple weeks ago, and I think they turned out great! Here are a few of my favorites.

I realized I never blogged Sawyer’s birth pictures…so these are really outdated, but better late than never. They are from when he was one week old, so they’re 3 months old now. My awesome friend Haley took them. Aren’t I so lucky to have so many awesome friends who are equally awesome photographers?

P.S. If anyone can tell me how to get the white bar under all of my pictures to disappear It’d be much appreciated.

Cousin Bonding

2010-11-15T19:23:00.001-08:00

I spent the past two weeks in DC with my fabulous sister and brother-in-law Wendy and Harley and their two kiddos Anderson and Max. I went because Ryan’s schedule was such that he wasn’t going to be home much at all, and so while the parent to kid ratio wasn’t any better, at least Wendy and I could enjoy the madness that was four babies together.

Max and Sawyer were able to bond and have multiple sleepovers.

And Lincoln and Anderson had a wonderful time playing together…..when they weren’t crying. Although Anderson never maliciously hurt Lincoln, Lincoln did get knocked down many times resulting in him bawling and Anderson in time-out. But for the most part, or at lest the part we choose to document and remember, it was smiles and happiness.

Thanks so much Wendy for putting up with us for so long and for being so much help. Can’t wait until next time!

Awful, terrible no good day.

2010-11-15T18:40:00.001-08:00

Just look at this face. Does it not break your heart?

At 2 months and 2 days old he had a fever of 102.3. I was in DC and called my pediatrician. He told me what I didn’t want to hear – take him to the ER so they can run a bunch of tests to make sure it’s not bacterial or something deadly. We knew it was most likely viral and just had to run it’s course, but for babies under 3 months the standard is if their temp is 100.4 or higher they need to go to the ER. I went through this with Lincoln last summer. His temp was 106. We went to the ER, they poked and prodded him and it was horribly traumatic for both of us. At the end of the day we went home with instructions to wait it out. This time with Sawyer it was the exact same thing – a miserable day of tests to be sent home with no diagnosis. Don’t get me wrong….I’m grateful that both times there was nothing life threatening discovered as the cause of the fevers, but it just stinks that they have to go through so many painful procedures when they already feel awful to reach that verdict. I can think of few things that are worse. I’m so glad Wendy was able to be there with me the whole day and Harley took the day off to watch Lincoln. Such an amazing family I have. Now please…no more trips to the ER.

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-12T12:18:00.001-08:00

Ryan and I were on a Safari with our Lion and Monkey. We threw our costumes together last minute so they weren’t great but better than nothing right? Great ward party. Too bad Lincoln was super tired and cranky the whole time and we could only stay for a half hour. We’ve got to get that boys bed time moved back.We took the costumes to DC and dressed them all up for cousin pictures. We didn’t plan to have Lincoln, Max and Sawyer all in the same color scheme… Anderson kind of sticks out.

Lit bit of this, little bit of that

2010-10-25T08:31:00.001-07:00

How cute are warm, footed, onesie pajamas? I want him to stay little enough to wear these and be cute in them always.

We heard that the Andy Warhol museum was free last weekend as a part of Pittsburgh’s Radical Days so we went and checked it out. It was cool…not cool enough to spend $30.00 though so we were glad we went on a free day. However, I’d recommend skipping the top floor….lots of racy photos of Marilyn Monroe. Lincoln

Then we walked one of the bridges downtown. Pittsburgh is really pretty at night.

Backtracking a bit…I turned 28 on the 14th. It was a non-eventful day except for the fact that Ryan’s sister, husband and kids came to visit that night from Detroit. It was so great to see them! They are such cute kids and it had been way to long.

Last time I saw Maya she was Lincoln's age. Such a doll.

Still haven’t been able to bring myself to cut Lincoln’s hair. It’s getting pretty crazy.

To cut or not to Cut

2010-10-15T15:45:00.001-07:00

It’s hard to imagine Lincoln without his auburn, flowing locks. It’s kind of his trademark. While I love that mop of hair, lately it’s been a little too unruly. Sometimes it’s really cute.

Other times, like when he’s mad and sweaty…which happens at least once a day, it looks pretty bad.

Ideally I would just trim it…but I’m pretty sure he’s not going to sit still for me and if by some miracle he did I don’t think he’d let me do every couple weeks which is what trimming would require. Last time I cut it I took a good bit off, and he did sit still but I’m doubtful he’ll be that good again. So what do you think? Go all or nothing? Try and Trim? Let it grow and flow? I’m torn.

Super Mom

2010-10-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

Today I feel like Super mom and am quite proud of myself. This is the beginning of week two being home alone with both baby boys, and how did we spend the morning? At the zoo. That's right....me, Lincoln and Sawyer went to the zoo. I was wondering if I was crazy the whole drive there and thinking about how potentially disastrous it could be, but I just had to get out of the house. Mostly because Lincoln drives me crazy! When we don't have outings he gets so whiny, and he clings to my legs, and he's so bored, and I can't handle it. The zoo is only about a mile away and we have season passes so I decided to try it on my own. Result = success!

I had Sawyer in the Bjorn and Lincoln in the stroller. I had to time it right and make sure Sawyer was feed and sleepy otherwise it never would have worked. Can you imagine me trying to nurse Sawyer at the zoo excepting Lincoln to just chill in his stroller and wait patiently for us to finish? Ya right. I timed it right and Sawyer slept the whole time. He is such an angel baby. We kept a fast pace and walked the whole zoo in an hour. I let Lincoln out of the stroller twice. One time he went back in without too much of a fight and the other time two random ladies had to help me wrestle him back in while he screamed his head off. But like I said, overall it was a success, and I just may do it again. I got a kick butt workout, we got out of the house, and we saw a bear throwing his food at the wall. Who could ask for anything more?

This picture was not taken today but this is how I spend a good chunk of my days. It was right after I finished working out...thus the outfit. Thank Heavens for the Bjorn...Sawyer lives in it. I'm glad I'm getting the hang of things with two babies. Maybe in a couple years I'll think about adding a third!

Sawyer’s Nursery and Blessing Day

2010-10-01T10:03:00.001-07:00

The day my amazing mother left was the day my amazing mother-in-law arrived. I have been so lucky to have so much help since Sawyer was born. Sylvia was awesome. She was so helpful in so many ways. The woman is so self-less. She cooked, cleaned, let me sleep….she even recalked my bathroom! Lincoln had a great time with her and we all miss her so much.

Sylvia brought these cute little outfits for the boys.

While Sylvia was here we finished Sawyer’s nursery. My mom helped me plan it all out and get everything started and Sylvia and I finished it up. I love it! I wasn’t planning on doing any kind of nursery at all for Sawyer because I didn’t want to spend the money, but after a few great finds on Craigslist and a few gifts from my mom one thing lead to another and now he has a room worth documenting! Thanks mom and Sylvia!

My mom had the idea to spray painted this towel rack red and use it in the room.

She found this great wall art and curtains online and we got the pack-in-play on craigslist.

The rug is one of my favorite parts!

We found the dresser on craigslist too. It was all white but my mom painted it and replaced all the knobs and it looks a thousand times better. We also got a new lamp shade to match.

Sylvia and I made this coat rack and hand and foot print plaques.My mom and I made these letters and the glider is another craigslist gem.

This is as much of the whole room I could get in one shot. Love it. Thanks mom and Sylvia!

Last Sunday Ryan blessed Sawyer at church. It was a really sweet blessing. The part that I remember most and loved was that Sawyer and Lincoln would be good friends through out life. These pics are from the blessing day.

Surprise visit from my sisters and Dad

2010-09-29T11:12:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I had such a fun surprise. My sisters and dad and their 3 babies showed up at my door from Utah and D.C. and stayed with me for a week! It was so fun! 5 babies under two and a half. I was kind of exhausted by the end but wouldn't have it any other way. I'm a little too tired and busy to blog the whole thing and my sister Ali already did it so I'm just going to tell you to click here to read about and see pictures of all our family fun.

Lincoln Walks and Grammy Rocks!

2010-09-10T07:55:00.001-07:00

We think with all the changes going on in our house and the new addition taking attention away from Lincoln, he decided he needed to do something to get it back. This week, he made major progress walking!! Everyday he gets more and more confident and it’s so fun to watch and be a part of. It kind of terrifies me but it’s exciting too.

My mom arrived on Monday and has been SO MUCH HELP! Oh how I love her. She cooks, cleans, plays with Lincoln, lets me sleep,….she is awesome. Oh and did I mention she’s taken on the project of decorating a nursery for Sawyer? We can’t wait for our JC penny shipment to arrive. Currently she’s in painting a dresser red for Sawyer as I type. She’s pretty much amazing. I want to be her when I grow up :)

This freaked me out, but Ryan let Lincoln hold Sawyer yesterday. It went better than I thought it would but I definitely still don’t trust Lincoln around him.

Welcome Sawyer Michael Harris

2010-09-07T12:20:00.001-07:00

He’s here! Sawyer Michael arrived on Wednesday, September 1st at 3:58am. He’s six days old now and is such a sweet little angel. So here’s how it all went down. Warning …long and detailed…feel free to skip to the pics :)

My due date was September 3rd, which is also when I was scheduled to be induced, but at about 8 pm on Tuesday night I started having really regular contractions five minutes apart but not very painful. Since the books all say your not really in labor until they’re 5 or less minutes apart, painful, and at least a minute long I wasn’t sure if this was the real thing. The last thing I wanted was to call a neighbor over late at night for a wasted trip to the hospital due to false labor. So I laid down to see if that would make the contractions slow down or go away. From 9 to 10 pm they slowed down to about 7 or 8 minutes apart but became more intense and painful. I called the doctor hoping she’d help me know if it was the real thing. I was on the phone during one of the contractions and at this point they were bad enough that I couldn’t really talk through it. She told me to come in.

I called Emily, a friend I just made this month, and she and her husband came over to spend the night with LIncoln. They were so great. They just moved in and don’t have any kids and Emily’s not working yet, so they were the perfect babysitters. It was about 11:15 at this point and we’re trying to get out the door when low and behold…Lincoln wakes up. The boy has been sleeping through the night since he was 5 months! It’s like he knew we were leaving. This was my worst fear…that Lincoln would be difficult for whoever was watching him. I knew I would be a stress case if I left with him crying so I went in to rock him; uterus contracting all the whole time.

Luckily he feel asleep after about ten minutes and we were off. When we got to the hospital it was really busy. I let the girl who arrived with me go back first and later regretted it. They finally got me back to triage around midnight. I was dilated to a five. I requested an epidural. TWO HOURS LATER I got one. Those two hours were some of the scariest of my life. I kept thinking I was dilating too quickly and they weren’t going to have time to give me the epidural and I would have to birth this baby drug free. I was not mentally prepared for that. I wasn’t mentally prepared to be contracting so long without one either. With Lincoln I’d had the epidural way earlier and just expected to have the same experience. It was crazy…I started hyperventilating and my face went numb because I was breathing so hard. I wish I knew how far dilated I was when they gave me the epidural because I feel like I was at a ten.

The epidural kicked in and I was able to relax a little bit. About a half hour after the epidural my water broke which totally startled me, and was so much more than I expected. They broke it for me with Lincoln. Then I felt like I was ready to push. When I told the nurses they asked me if I could “hold it” because the doctor was doing an emergency C-section. So, I “held it” for about another hour.

The doc. finally arrived and I started pushing at 3:51am. Two contractions and seven minutes later Sawyer was born! It was super fast…but super painful. I was screaming the whole time. I asked the doctor how it could hurt so much more than it did with Lincoln when Sawyer was 2 pounds lighter. She said the faster you deliver the more painful it is because your not slowly stretching out. And the other reason was my epidural hadn’t been in long enought to fully take effect.

The next two days were great. I love the hospital stay! Ryan left at about 9 am to go relieve the babysitter and watch Lincoln, and Sawyer and I were able to relax and have some nice one on one time. He is so sweet. I’m so happy he is in our family. I feel so lucky, blessed and privileged to be his mom.

Lincoln and Ryan came and visited both days and Lincoln which was kind of exhausting. Lincoln was semi-interested in Sawyer but mostly just into everything and wanting lots of attention. It’s good to be home now. I’m really, really tired…nursing around the clock. Which I must say is going better so far but is still a challenge to say the least. He has however put on a whole pound since we left the hospital 3 days ago so I must be doing something right!

Meeting Sawyer minutes after the birth. 7lbs 6oz. 21inches.

Sawyer at one day old.

Meeting Big Brother.

Leaving the Hospital as a family of four.

I definitely think Sawyer and Lincoln look like brothers and sometimes I think they look really similar. The first picture is Lincoln at four days old and the second is Sawyer at four days old.

This next one is Ryan as an infant. I think Sawyer looks a lot like him.

I love these two pics. Top is Lincoln at ten days old. Bottom Sawyer six days old. They are so sweet and change so fast. I really need to remember to try and savor every moment.

The frustrations of cup stacking

2010-08-21T18:03:00.001-07:00

Aunt Ali gave Lincoln stacking cups for his First Birthday. He loves them. They’re one of his favorite toys and can keep him occupied for impressive time-spans. However lately I’ve started building towers for him and while he loves the final product he hates it when they fall over or when he can’t balance the top cup on top. He gets really frustrated and the following is the result. It kinda freaked me out the first time…but now I just think it’s pretty cute.

Focused, concentrating, building the tower.

So happy and proud of himself when it’s complete.

But when the tower falls….watch out. Lincoln gets very upset.

Lake Erie

2010-08-17T11:41:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday several families from the ward were headed up to Lake Erie for the day and so we decided to join them. It was a long drive but Lincoln did awesome in the car (slept the whole way up and watched movies of himself the whole way back) and we had a good time with everyone once we got there. We’ve already meet so many cool, fun people and feel really lucky.

And he’s just cute in this picture.

Water Baby

2010-08-12T12:51:00.001-07:00

The Boy loves to swim. Maybe he’ll be a swimmer. I so miss having easy access to nice pools. We’ve been checking out the local public pools to try and combat the heat and because it’s one of Lincoln’s favorite things to do. Yesterday we found one that was alright. I guess I’ve been spoiled in the past. I’m not used to having to pay every time, sit on on the cement (no lawn chairs) and feel afraid to use the bathrooms. It was so fun in C-ville to have a nice pool right outside our apartment.

What else occupies our time? Practicing walking and throwing balls.

Yikes, Less than a month!

2010-08-02T14:08:00.001-07:00

Wow…the final days are approaching before baby Harris #2 arrives. Words cannot express how completely different things have been this time around. Lincoln’s pregnancy dragged and seemed like an eternity. I had a count-down started on my calendar over a hundred days before my due date. This one has come and gone in the blink of an eye - understandably so given the two opposite pregnancy circumstances. With Lincoln I’d been trying to get pregnant and stay pregnant for years. This time it was a surprise after having a baby 3 months earlier and still recovering and adjusting to that. Since then I’ve had Lincoln occupying me this whole pregnancy, so I’ve hardly given Baby 2 a second thought. Do I feel guilty about this? Yes. Although I feel like this is normal. Baby 2 is getting the short end of the stick in a lot of ways. He’ll be in a pack and play rather than a lush crib like Lincoln. His room’s smaller and not nearly as decorated. He’ll have to share my attention with Lincoln. The list goes on and on. However, I am the second child in my family, but I still feel loved and think I turned out alright, so I’m not too worried about it. I know I’ll love him just as much and he’ll have a big brother to entertain him everyday. That’s something Lincoln hasn’t had this year.

Do I feel ready? Materials wise…yes, just need to buy diapers and get out the newborn clothes. Mentally, physically, emotionally? Not-so-much. I’m pretty nervous about the whole thing. Lincoln’s quite demanding – he doesn’t even walk yet and won’t hold his own bottle - and Ryan’s very busy. I was pretty much a stress case the first few months with Lincoln and was at home with the help of my mom and family until he was 3 months old. I’m petrified of nursing and of getting mastitis from hell again. I don’t even really want to try it but feel like I should. These are my feelings. Do I feel guilty for not being over the moon excited like I was with Lincoln? Yes. Am I grateful that I at least I am having another successful pregnancy because for the longest time that’s all I wished and prayed for? Yes.

Another example of the differences in pregnancies…documentation. With Lincoln I had my sister take a ton of maternity pictures of me about half way through my pregnancy and then my good friend Emily take

these more professional pictures the week of my delivery. And I had monthly pics my husband would snap of my growing belly. This pregnancy…..zero pictures! I’m really fine with it and over the whole pregnant picture thing, but for those of you who have been asking for it and in an attempt to be somewhat fair to baby #2 (not that I really think he’ll care. Do any of you care if you do or don’t have pictures of your mom when she was pregnant with you?) here I am….37 weeks along.

Holy Heat!

2010-07-27T11:41:00.001-07:00

I honestly don’t know how the pioneers did it. I’m about to complain about the insane heat wave that took over Pittsburgh and how awful it’s been making life, yet I have a semi-adequate window unit air conditioner, and I don’t have to wear dresses and petty-coats all day. I would have died. I would have wished death upon myself. I’m so glad I live now and not then.

It’s been hot. Really hot. Back in the day in high school and college this would have been fine. I would have loved going to the pool and lake all day everyday. But when your nine months pregnant, have a one-year old who you constantly worry is becoming dehydrated and sunburned, and have no pool it’s just pretty much miserable .

For this reason we haven’t gone out much during the day, however the other day we did attempt a walk with a new friend down-town on the boardwalk by the river. It was a beautiful walk, but oh the heat. Poor Lincoln. I felt like an abusive parent. I kept squirting him with water and making him drink, yet by the end of the walk this was the result….hot, sweaty, tired and adorable.

I know I’ll be kicking myself when winter comes and wish it was summer. I just want a happy medium. 70 degrees would be nice for a little while. At least I’m not a pioneer.

Lincoln’s Favorite Things

2010-07-25T19:15:00.001-07:00

If only we could all find such joy in the things that Lincoln does. What would life be like if all you had to do to be blissfully happy was….

Take baths

Practice walking

Throw Balls

Swing

And of course, watch movies of yourself…which I don’t have a picture of but is probably the thing that brings him the most joy in life. These are the things that make him blissfully happy. He is the thing that makes me blissfully happy.

2010-07-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little baby is one year old! Man has the past year flown by. Is this how they will all be? Over before I know it? It has been so fun watching him transform before my eyes the past 12 months. Good thing I get to start all over with a new little baby boy in six weeks! (I'm actually petrified for the new baby to come...Lincoln can't even walk yet!)

Lincoln had two little celebrations for his birthday. The first one was in Utah 3 days before his birthday with a whole lot of his cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and great-grandparents....but unfortunately not his Dad. His second party was yesterday on his actual Birthday with Ryan, me, and Wendy, grandma and Anderson via web cam.

Pittsburgh Party

He got "scout" the talking dog from Aunt Wendy, and sports center from me and Ryan.

I think he is a little afraid of Fire. He didn't quit know what to think.

Utah Party

Lincoln's great grandma Jean shares a birthday with him and turns 80 this year! She is awesome and you'd never guess that was her age. She acts and seems more like 50 or 60. We made her a 80 cake too.

A bunch of Lincoln's cousins on the Harris side made it to the celebration!

It was great to see some of my sister-in-laws Liz and Cherie. We rarely see them so it was really fun that they were there.

The Birthday boy with his beloved Balls. The kid loves nothing more. Okay maybe he loves Baths and watching movies of himself just as much. I love you Birthday Boy!!

The other highlight of my trip to Utah was meeting this little lady!

She's my new niece Hannah! Ali had her back in May and it was so fun to hold and love her in person. Yay Ali, she's so perfect!

Just some Lincoln Video

2010-06-21T18:10:00.000-07:00

Just a little Lincoln video because he's so darn cute. I'm kind of obsessed with him. Just a warning, it's a little long but I know Grandma and aunts will appreciate it :)

Good times at Golds

2010-06-17T19:24:00.001-07:00

The past four years I have had so much fun teaching at working out at Gold’s Gym Charlottesville. I’ve been in Pittsburgh two weeks now and haven’t worked out once and am kind of going crazy. I am learning more and more how much l love and need group fitness in my life. Jogging and doing work out videos just isn’t the same. Oh how I’ll miss my gym friends and fellow instructors. Here’s a little trip down Gold’s gym memory lane.

Hey Soul Sista

2010-06-11T07:48:00.001-07:00

Oh how I’ll miss my Charlottesville girlfriends. They were my sisters when my real sisters were states away. I learned so much from each of them and they have all touched my life and heart in very special ways. Here are a few of the wonderful girls I was blessed to know in Charlottesville.

And here’s the bug….can’t seem to post with-out sneaking a few in of his happy, chubby little face. Love you BUG!!!

Livin' in the Burgh.

2010-06-10T16:17:00.000-07:00

Here she be. Our new Pittsburgh Residence. Pretty ugly on the outside...but so much bigger than anything we've ever rented and not so bad on the inside now that I've got all my stuff set up and hung. It's amazing what a difference putting all your things up makes for a place!

We debated and debated about what to do with our computer. Didn't want it in the den because come the end of August that's where the new baby will be, and our room and the kitchen didn't have room for it, so it's in the living room which has worked out pretty well thus far.

This wall still needs some major work. I think I might actually be okay with Ryan getting a new flat screen TV which he's wanted forever simply because I hate how messy this looks currently. If we get a big screen we'll put it up in front of the mirror, move the old TV downstairs (yay for aerobics space) and clear up all that space in the corner. I'm also planning on rearranging all the selves. I want to get a bunch of tall vases and decorative things for this area. I'm tired of my frames.

Love the Kitchen. It's huge!

The rest you can see on the video. Lincoln's room is exactly the same as it was in Charlottesville...which you can see here if you so desire. Our room, the den and the bathroom are nothing special, and the basement is ugly, but BIG!!

It feels great to be moved in and mostly settled. There's still a few things to get (new kitchen rug, glider for Lincoln's room, Big screen TV) but for the most part we're settled. I'm nervous for Ryan to start work next week leaving me with Lincoln all day but it's inevitable. The ward here was great and a ton of young family's live in the neighborhood so I'm sure we'll do fine....at least until the end of the summer when Baby number 2 arrives.

COME VISIT US!!! WE HAVE SPACE FOR YOU!

Doctor Ryan Harris in the House!

2010-05-27T08:49:00.000-07:00

After four long years - actually they kind of flew by in a lot of ways - Ryan has completed Medical school and is officially a doctor! Weird I know! He doesn't feel like one. It was such a fun day and I am so proud of him. I can't believe this wonderful chapter of our lives has come to an end. I have LOVED living in Charlottesville. We've had such a great experience living out here and have grown so much. Way to go Ryan! I love you and am very proud of you!

Ryan's parents were able to fly out for the big day. It was so great to see them and show them around our lovely little town.

Cancun, Mexico

2010-05-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

Two years ago when Ryan and Scott were half way done with medical school we went to Playa Del Carmen and had a blast. By the end of the trip we promised we'd come back to Mexico two years later when they graduated. So, last month we spent a week at the Gran Caribe Real in Cancun. It was a fabulous all-inclusive resort. We spent the week eating obscene amounts of food, sipping endless supplies of margaritas and pina coladas on the beach, and relaxing and reading by the pool. We also snuck in a trip to Chichen Itza one day which was cool. Anyway we had a great time and I can't believe this four year chapter of our lives is coming to an end. It has been wonderful. So here are some pictures from the trip. I wasn't to camera happy this trip being 5 months pregnant in a swimming suit and all, but here are a few anyway.