Baby Buckler and Baby Armeni first play date!

The other day I had lunch with my friend Melinda who is pregnant with one of Baby Buckler's instant friends :) For years we have talked about getting pregnant at the same time, but I never thought it would actually happen. Now we are due about 4 weeks apart and we are having so much fun getting together to share pregnancy experiences and looking forward to our children growing up together.

Happy Halloween... a little late

Happy Halloween!

Mahea's pumpkin on the left and Sarah's pumpkin on the right

Halloween decorations... crashing witch included :-)

Baby B Update

Baby Buckler's 20 week ultrasound! Baby is measuring right on schedule except for the femur which is measuring at 21 weeks... guess he/she will have daddy's legs!

My 20 week baby bump!

We have made it to 24 weeks... 16 weeks to go! With the holidays coming up February will be here before we know it!

How Does My Garden Grow...

... A lot like this!

Raspberries

Red Bell Pepper

(hopefully it will be red soon!)

Lettuce variety

Celebrity Tomatoes

I love having a garden to tend and to pick my veggies from!

Heather's Retirement Party

Two weekends ago my Father-in-law and Sister-in-law put together a surprise retirement party for my Mother-in-law, Heather. As part of the surprise Jade and I flew out to Colorado for the party without her knowing.

The first night we hung out with family down at Daisha and Greg's to keep the secret.

The next day was the party and we all had a great time... I think Heather was surprised!

Areese with her Great-grandma Doe.

Areese with Grandpa Harry and Uncle Jade.

Areese with Grandma Heather, who can't wait to take care of her in the fall when mom has to go back to work!

On Monday we got to spend a few more precious hours with Areese before flying back to California.

Laura's White Coat Ceremony

On May 23rd Laura had her White Coat Ceremony for her Physical Therapy degree. Although I'm not exactly sure what that means, I think it's a lot like our nursing pinning was... a ceremony to mark how far you have come, to take the oath of your profession, and to mark the beginning of your (hopefully) long and prosperous career... although, you still have classes left to take, internships left to do and you still don't yet have your degree!

In any case, we were all very proud to be there to share in the moment with her and to take pictures...
Just after being "white coated"... haha

With the girls... college roommate Ashley, friend Julie, Laura, Me and current roommate Jackie.

With the boys... Ashley's fiance Eli and Jade.

Proud of you Laura... you've work hard to get here and you're almost there! Love you!

Maryland Blue Crabs!

With the help of Melinda, Matt and Sam, I was able to surprise Sarah with her all time favorite... Maryland Blue Crabs! Sarah is always telling Jade and I about how the crabs you get here aren't the same and when you order crab cakes, "they're not real crab cakes." So when Melinda mentioned she found a place in San Diego that sells fresh, live Maryland Blue Crabs we came up with a plan to surprise her fellow Marylander ;-)
We covered the table in news paper and had a real crab cookout! It was delicious! Thanks Mel for making this all possible... we gotta do it again sometime!

Easter

I was able to spend a wonderful Easter with Matt and Sarah at their house (although we are actually standing in front of their neighbor's house prior to our all adult Easter egg hunt!)
We even dyed eggs... Sarah was getting pretty creative!

Matt and Sarah had their dueling Marine camo egg v. Navy camo egg...

I was more traditional...

We had a good time, but missed Jade who was training up in North Las Vegas at Nellis Air Force base.

Where to Begin

The last month or so has been crazy busy...

... Colorado to meet the neice... Colorado to play in the snow... Colorado to play with old friends... working a temp job... taking certification classes... preparing for certification classes... looking for permanent jobs... going hiking... taking care of the house while hubby is gone... taking care of the dog while hubby is gone... taking care of the yard and the garden... and trying to find time to workout, relax and enjoy it all.

Photo Shoot

Baby Areese has been under the flash since she was born, but yesterday I had my chance at a photo shoot with her and her parents. Here are some of my favorites!

Areese KellyAnn Agho

On March 1,2011 at 1:08am Areese KellyAnn Agho was born! Of course I was sad to have missed the birth, especially since it was by a day and a half, but I am fortunate to have been able to come back and meet her today. She's something pretty special... if I do say so myself.

She's had a pretty moderate case of jaundice, but is recovering well. The doctors sent a bilirubin light to the house and sent a nurse out to check her bilirubin levels every day for the first few days they were home. I was really amazed by this, I haven't heard of anyone doing that... pretty awesome!

We even got to go on our first walk! Areese loved it! She promptly fell asleep after this picture and stayed that way for some time.

I am looking forward to spending the next few days getting to know my niece!

Patience

People always say babies teach you patience. My niece has been teaching me a good lesson! I have been in Colorado staying with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law for the past week now waiting for the arrival of baby Areese. She keeps getting our hopes up showing signs of early labor, but there has been no progression. Today Daisha came home from work at lunch saying she was feeling weird and having more frequent contractions...

I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but keeping my fingers crossed at the same time. I have to leave on Sunday and am saving some hope that I will be able to meet my niece before I leave. But, if I don't at least I have gotten to spend time with Greg and Daish and have fun with the girls in Boulder tonight!

... But come on baby!!!

Lincoln Russell

Introducing Lincoln Russell Blauert...

On Wednesday January 5, 2011 I had the honor of being at the birth of Lincoln Russell Blauert. My good friend Lori was 38 weeks pregnant to the day. We were hoping Lincoln would hold off for one more week so his daddy could get home from Iraq, but of course baby had his own plans.

So although we all missed Russ, I was happy that I was able to be with Lori through her labor and our other friend Ashley was able to join us for the birth. We were able to keep Russ updated through text and IM (this is what I love about technology), so he could feel a part of the experience although he was a world away.

At 3:05 pm Lincoln made his appearance, weighing in at 7 lbs 4.4 ounces and 19 3/4 inches long. Lori did an amazing job and only pushed for about 45 minutes. The next day (less than 24 hours after birth) Mommy and Lincoln got to go home! Grandma and Grandpa flew in from the East Coast as soon as they heard baby Lincoln was on his way and were there to bring Lincoln home. Lincoln even got to meet his siblings right away. Tanner and Cali were both very curious, but also gentile with Lincoln. I think they will like having another playmate!

Lincoln and Lori are both doing well and waiting for their visit from daddy! Lincoln is just perfect and I am so in love with him. Thank you Lori for allowing me to be a part of such an amazing thing.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. It brings joy, love and time with the people we care about most. We had a wonderful Christmas hanging out with family and friends, enjoying our new house and our first holiday season as a married couple.

Chloe waiting for Christmas morning!
Christmas morning with the in-laws! We had a wonderful time spending the week with Harry and Heather... thanks for helping us set up the garage and add to the garden :)
Merry Christmas everyone!

After a morning of opening presents, it's time for Chloe's nap on my Christmas present!

We're ready to bring on the new year!