Disneyland & Grease

Scott, William, & I went to Disneyland on Wednesday & Thursday of last week to spend time with Scott's family:
Day 1:
In the airport: getting ready for our first flight with William:Happy baby: until the plane takes off, of course. He cried or fussed for a good portion of the flight.Arriving at Disneyland: William's tired from crying so much on the plane. I love his long eyelashes, pouty lip, & everything else about him.Happy again after getting some shuteye:Saying "hello" to Grandma - I love his somber face:Preparing to fight the "Evil Emperor Zurg" - Will's psyched:Wanting to get in on the action: Will started crying about halfway through the ride because it was so loud & there was too much to look at - sensory overload:Going to dinner at an all-you-can-eat buffet. The soft-serve ice-cream was SO good.

William w/ Aunt Karen & cousin Kayla: After we finished dinner, we took William back to the hotel to stay with Grandma & some more of the younger cousins while the rest of us went back to Disneyland. Dennis, Karen, Kayla, Scott, & I spent most of the time on Thunder Mountain. It was so much fun zooming around on the roller coaster at night - it was even better when the fireworks show started & they lit up the sky in front of us as we climbed the hill of the roller coaster - it was such a happy experience.
Day 2:

Scott & I got to the park early, so we could get pictures of William with the characters.

Really excited to meet Goofy - Will looks like he can barely contain himself ;)PlutoFlying w/ Dumbo:Going through a tunnel on Dumbo's Circus Train: William's eyes got so big - I think this was his favorite ride - it wasn't scary like Snow White & Pinocchio.Taking a break from "The Happiest Place on Earth" to get some grub at Denny's - Scott & I were craving biscuits & gravy. William had his first taste of gravy & didn't seem all that impressed:My handsome boys: I never knew I could love anyone as much as I love them (I know that might sound cheesy, but it's true).Grandma & Grandpa got William a Mickey firefighter pin - as a matter of fact, they bought pretty much everything for everyone this trip: Disneyland tickets, food, gifts - thanks Dennis & Gail!Ben & Jessie tried 3 or 4 times to get in the Jedi Training show until they were finally picked: it made their day.

Ben (in the Fantasia hat) & Jessie (in the pirate hat):Abbygail, Josh, Ben, Noelle (in the background), Gail, Scott w/ Will, Michelle w/ Barbie, & Kyle w/ Nicki (even though you can't see her):Racing to get food:Nicki, Ben, Barbie, Abbygail, Jessie (behind Barbie), & Kyle sitting pretty at Cheesecake Factory: Will loves his bottle - he starts to cry/laugh when he sees it & reaches for it with his mouth wide open: We finally got a picture with Mickey - we went back to the park after dinner w/ our only mission being to find him. Will was so tired, but he toughed it out to meet his destined-to-be-best-friend:Out like a light: You may notice the white stuff around his hairline: the suntan lotion from the previous day wouldn't rub all the way in & wouldn't wash off either (it's still there today as well, 4 days later):Well rested & happy - William was such a good boy at Disneyland, especially for being 5 1/2 months old. It's going to be so much fun to take him back when he's older & he will actually be excited to be there: When we arrived back in the bay area on Friday, we left William w/ my Aunt Bev while Scott & I went w/ my mom & dad, Steven & Amy, & Brad & Rachel (Steven & Brad are my brothers) to San Francisco. My parents bought us tickets for Christmas to see "Grease" on Broadway. We went into the city on Bart & ate at Taylor's Refresher - they have amazing burgers, fish tacos, sweet potato fries, & milkshakes. After dinner, we enjoyed "Grease" as a family - the cast did an awesome job, & we even got to see Taylor Hicks perform as Teen Angel (the "Beauty School Dropout" guy) - he was such a dork, but really good & so fun to watch.

Man, we've had a busy & amazing week!

Baby Boy Cousins

This last weekend, I went down to my parents' to visit with cousins who came into town.
William & Carter (Will was born exactly 1 week after Carter)

William, Carter, & Max (Max is 2 1/2 months)Max & Will in coordinating outfits: we didn't even plan it this way.Dani & I basically grew up as sisters. It was so fun to meet her little boy for the first time & to see what a loving mom Dani is. We had a great time together w/ our babies & our moms: Almost all of us fell asleep while watching Twilight the night before (we stayed up way too late), & then the next day, we drove to St. Helena to eat at Taylor's Refresher & to window shop.

Rice Cereal, Sod, & Golf

William tried out rice cereal for the first time last Monday (I know I'm a little late posting this). I stripped him down to his diaper, sat him in his Bumbo, & shoveled cereal in his mouth. He hardly swallowed anything - he just automatically stuck his tongue out, & after a few forced spoonfuls, I determined he needed a break. Since that first attempt, he has gotten better at swallowing the cereal, but still hates it. My mom & I also tried him on carrots this week, & he ate a surprisingly good amount. I love watching William go through these different experiences. It is so much fun to see him learn or try new things (on that note, Will rolled over on his own for the first time on Wednesday - once from back to front & then once from front to back. I think it was more a fluke than anything, but I'm so proud of him). Oh yea - William is also 5-months-old now. Wow - I really need to get better about updating this blog in a timely fashion.

Eating rice cereal for the first time - March 9
After doing so much in the backyard, Scott finally decided to hire someone to put in the sprinklers & lay the sod. So last Friday, our friend, Andrew, helped Scott carry the sod to the backyard, & then we all watched as Victor & the other worker rolled out our grass & made our backyard look so much more complete. Scott, Andrew, & our neighbor, Aaron, tried to help roll the grass out, but decided that they would be of greater assistance by staying out of the way. I'll post updated pictures of the yard later this week?

Last Saturday, we went mini golfing with our friends Jonathan & Jillian. It was such a beautiful day & we wanted to get our money's worth, so we decided to play both courses.

Scott swinging at Jonathan:Jillian (prego w/ baby Claire) & me - William was asleep (or supposed to be asleep) in the stroller.

It felt so good to go to the gym today. I worked out with my personal trainer, Adam, & I really feel like I'm getting stronger. I don't want to look back on my life & regret not taking care of my body (of course I say this as I'm thinking about going downstairs & grabbing a homemade chocolate chip cookie - yummm - it's so hard to resist).
I've had such a hard time getting myself to work out. My motivation has been practically zero over the last 5 months. This last week, however, I'm really starting to get more motivated - maybe because we're getting closer to going to Mexico, & I want to be ready to wear my new swimsuit - it's a one piece with cutouts on the sides, showing off my "trouble" areas. I really need to slim those down before I head to the beach.
Scott & I are trying to change our habits. We want to create a home & family with healthy habits - physical, spiritual, emotional. We have a long way to go, but I know we can make positive changes in our home a few simple changes at a time. We're trying to be more consistent about going to the gym (it's convenient because they take babies in their childcare starting at 3-months-old, so we've been able to leave William in there while we work out). We're also trying to be more consistent with our family scripture study - 15 minutes a day is our new goal.
There are so many things I need to improve on. I need to be better about cleaning the house - it's so easy to let things get out of control. I also need to make meal plans & follow through with preparing homemade meals - they are so much healthier & the cost is a lot lower than eating out.

My day with William

Scott worked a trade today while I stayed home with William. He was kind of grumpy today, but I did my best to make him happy & enjoy our time together - life is too short to do otherwise. Will woke up this morning in such a happy mood. I went to get him out of his crib, & he just lay there smiling & squealing at me. I love when I lift him from his crib, & he cocks his head to the side, so he can stare at the pictures hanging on the wall above his bed - transportation pictures that I painted for him. He loves staring at them, especially the one of the bike (probably because it's a different color than the others - orange rather than blue).
After feeding William his bottle at lunch, he still acted hungry. I decided this might be a good time to try out the rice cereal. I stripped him down to his diaper, sat him in his Bumbo & tried feeding him the cereal. He was quite disinterested - he kept turning his head to the side, staring at who knows what. When I did get the cereal in his mouth, he automatically pushed it out with his tongue - it's not that he didn't like it, it's just a different texture & thickness from what he's used to. After he made a big enough mess with the cereal, I took him upstairs to give him a bath. He sat in his mesh bathtub for about 20 minutes. He loved playing with his washcloth & sucking the water out of it while lounging in the water. He is such a cute boy, & he makes me so unbelievably happy.
We also went for a walk today - I had to sing to him while pushing the stroller, so he wouldn't fall asleep. So there I was walking around the neighborhood, constantly adjusting his canopy to block the sun, singing songs that had hand motions to go along with them while trying to push the stroller. It was a successful walk, & I managed to keep him awake the whole time, even though he fought it hard - his eyes kept closing & then popping open. He'd see me do a hand motion to the song & he'd start laughing & then his eyes would start to close again. This repeated until we got home.
Overall, today has been a good day. William has been fussy quite a bit today, but after reflecting on what we've done, I realize he had a lot of happy times today as well. I love my baby boy.

Stream of Conciousness

I love my life. I have been so completely blessed. I sit here listening to my son through the wall. His nursery is just on the other side of the study. He raises & then slams his legs down while sleeping in his crib - Restless Leg Syndrome? - he is such a joy, & he makes me so happy.

It's crazy to think how long Scott & I waited for this child to come into our lives - just over 3 years when we were finally able to hold our sweet angel in our arms.

Last night, I was talking to Scott about the miscarriage - oh the pain. It's weird to think that we could have a child that is almost 3 years old. I miss what could have been, but I also know that our life would be very different than it is now if we did have that child (not that I wouldn't want him or her if it were possible) - Scott & I probably wouldn't appreciate each other or William as much as we do if our first child had survived.

I wonder if that child would have been a boy or a girl - it's not like we got pregnant quickly after that miscarriage, making it so if we had that child, we wouldn't have William. We would have had both of them. If that child had been a girl, her name would have been Grace, & if a boy, he would have been named William. That child did not live long in the womb though, so it has no name. I don't even know if the baby had formed enough to even truly be considered our baby - will that child be waiting for us in Heaven, or did he not have enough time to exist for us to have a claim. Only God knows. But I like to think we have another child, if not several more waiting for us on the other side of the veil.

I pray to God, thanking him for all that we have. William is a greater blessing in our lives than we could have imagined. What a miracle life is - going through experiences like death & a miscarriage really show you that.

I'm grateful for my life - for my husband, for William, my home, my family, my health, the Gospel, the Plan of Salvation. I have been truly blessed.

Nienie

I've been reading the blog: Nienie. It is such an inspiration - Stephanie (nienie) & Christian (Mr. Nielson) were burned in a private plane crash & almost died. Nienie writes about her life w/ her family, starting her blog BC (before crash) & continuing it AC (after crash). She is a faithful woman with a great testimony of our Savior. She tries to stay positive with the changes that have happened in her life. She is just grateful to be alive & finally out of her coma. She loves her family & the Gospel.

Stanford, Here We Come

Yesterday, I (Scott) was at work & received a phone call from an unknown number. I luckily answered it, & it turned out to be Stanford's Admissions Committee Head offering a spot in their PA program. I was yelling & so excited - the guy on the other line just started laughing. He went on to tell me of the things that needed to be done by the end of the month & told me a letter would be coming explaining all that he'd said. I told him, "Good because the only thing I got out of the conversation was that I got in the program" (the other stuff was lost in the crazy news). The guy just started laughing & told me Congratulations.
I made it & we're off to Stanford for 4 months starting in September. We're so excited for this, & Liz can't wait to buy William all his Stanford gear. (We're not moving out of our house, just taking a small break from our home here - Liz & William will come back to visit, & I'll join them every once in a while.)