Operation Relocation

So we have this huge problem with stray cats in our yard constantly. There is a crazy cat lady across the alley from us and her minions wander everywhere like they own the place. Thad likes to shoot them with his pellet gun. A couple of weeks ago we discovered kittens over by our shed and I think that was the last straw for Thad because he has now begun operation relocation. Being Thad he of course has a "varmint trap" for catching all sorts of critters. He picked it up from his parents house last night and put it in the backyard with some cat food in it. The plan was to check the cage in the morning and if there was a cat in it, toss the cage in the back of the truck and let the cat go in the middle of nowhere off the I-5 where he drives everyday to work. That way we aren't exactly killing the cats, just giving the coyotes out there an easy snack. Anyway, he set the trap and within 20 minutes had one in the cage. So now of course he is trying to find more cages so he can catch a couple each night and clear out the alley even quicker ;)


I know it's only April, and in some parts of the country there is still snow, but it was wicked hot this weekend and time for a dip in the pool. I was very happy to find that Andi's rash guard and shorts still fit this summer. There is so much less to sun block when she wears that.


As I started working on this post I noticed Andi got really quiet, which for those of you who know her, means she's up to something she is not supposed to be and trying to hide it by being quiet. So I jumped up to go find her and I was pleasantly surprised. . . more like amazed to find this.


She was just sitting in the rocking chair reading! I know this is pretty normal for some kids, but this is the first time Andi has sat quietly without being restrained of her own doing. Today is going to be a good day.

Weekend Update. . . or week and a half. . .

Okay so I still haven't gotten those easter pics from the grandparents because I'm forgetful and a blog slacker, which makes a bad combination. At this point I think it is too late for an easter post anyway. But I do have other cute pictures and good news to report so here ya go.
First off we found out last week that Thad is getting transfered to a Bakersfield job at the beginning of May. No more 3 hours of commuting every day, YAY!!!!!! We are very excited about this because he will now have more normal work hours and we will see him more ;)
In other bigger news, I am pregnant. 2 months to be exact, I had an ultrasound today and they tell me my due date is November 7th. We are very excited about this too, and of course Thad is already saying "him". What can I say, he's optimistic. I am one of the lucky few who don't get sick so I don't have much to complain about other than being very very very tired. I really don't remember being this tired with Andi, but if I don't get a nap every day I'm a zombie by 4:00. Other than that the only difference is that I feel like I'm starting to show already. Really it's only in my dance clothes that I can see the difference, and I have been layering up so no one else would notice, but I have a feeling I'm gonna have to tell the dance people soon, otherwise they'll think I'm just getting fat, and we cannot have that!
On the Andi scene, I made the mistake of showing her pictures from last years beach trip, and for the last week all I hear is "Andi go to the beach" "Andi wear soup". Soup=suit, meaning her bathing suit that she brings me on a daily basis demanding to wear. I get that the weather is nice and all her in So Cal, but it really isn't swimming weather just yet. A couple more weeks maybe, but not right now. Anyway here are a few pictures of her playing in her bathing suit and her dress up shoes. Ignore the hair, she really hates having it done these days.

Big Girl Bed

So we decided last week that it was time for Andi to make the transition from crib to bed. My parents had given us my old twin bed and dresser and I was very excited to finally get them out of the storage shed and into her room. Plus I finally finished that quilt so I was antsy to put it on a bed ;) The first night was a little rough and it took about an hour to get her to sleep, but she's been doing better every night and getting comfortable in her new digs. She has only fallen asleep on the floor once, and only last night figured out how to open the door by herself. Luckily she doesn't come out, just cracks the door, sticks her mouth in the crack, and calls for me to come read books or lay down. Here are some pics of her new big girl furniture.


And of course playing under the bed with daddy


Jumping on the bed
And falling asleep on the floor.


I promise we did celebrate easter, and as soon as I get the pictures from the grandparents there will be an easter post to follow.

Construction Zone

So we really made a mess this weekend. We managed to move our fence up and chop the yard in half so Thad could have free reign with the track hoe. We tore out a bunch of tree stumps, old wood retaining wall sections, footings, and random stuff. And I really do mean we because while Thad was on the big toy I was the one throwing all the junk into the trailer and truck. Long long day. Here are some pictures of the damage.
This first one is the view from the patio to the temporary fence and the section we left open to go through all day. And the second is through the gap, and yes, That is Andi sitting on Thads lap. She sat there most of the morning and thought it was the greatest ride ever.


























A close up of Andi and Thad on the Tractor, and our massive pile of dirt. Or at least half of it because I couldn't get the whole width in the shot.

























Right about now is when I just have to keep telling myself that in the end it will all be worth it!

Funny Faces

So we play the making faces game with Andi and she is actually getting pretty good. Here are examples of her happy face, sad face, fishy face,and sticking out her tongue.







































I finally got Andi's hair into something other than the fraggle ponytail at the top of her head the other day. It wasn't easy because she definitely did not want me doing it, but I took a couple of pictures as proof.




















Potty training is still going really well, but I think it will be a while before she's ready to ditch the diapers at night.
As for me and Thad, he took the scouts on their first "real" camp out last weekend. Meaning they didn't just drive up to a spot and set up camp outside the car. He made them pack in, and it went really well. It was an eye opener for the boys, but I think they enjoyed it once the actual hiking was over.
I have been bitten by the project bug lately. I started re-finishing the table and chairs on the patio, decided I need to re-upholster my dinning room chairs, and found a cute bed for Andi, well it will be cute when I re-finish it ;)
Other than that we are starting our first big push for our yard extension this weekend. And by we I mean Thad will be out on a back hoe tearing out stumps and hauling them away and making room for the massive dirt pile that will be back there until the retaining wall gets done. sounds fun huh?

Success!

Okay, so we started back at potty training a couple weeks ago, and I was so sick of Andi saying, "no potty, diaper on" and "I can't do it" I was ready to give up. I could tell she knew what I wanted her to do she just didn't want to because it was more convenient to go in her diaper and not have to stop what she was doing. So at Thads suggestion I hid her diapers and told her there were no more and she had to wear panties. After peeing on herself twice she started catching herself, so she'd start to go but stop and yell for me and she'd go on the potty. The first day we went through 6 pairs of panties. But the 2nd day we only had one accident, and she started telling me before that she had to go and even took a nap without a diaper and woke up dry! It's been 5 days since we started the no diapers and she woke up this morning totally dry and told me a few minutes later she had to go. It's amazing how quickly she caught on. Like I said, I think she understood before, just didn't want to. But not having the diaper option forced her to do it. Yay for FINALLY mastering the potty!

The Great Outdoors

The weather here has been fabulous lately, and we have been spending as much time playing outside as we can. Andi has actually had 3 park play dates since Thursday and loves loves loves the park. Thursday we went with Grandma B & Paige, Friday we went with "Nick!" and Caidence and Tarin, and Today we went with Aunt Stefi and little Walter. Luckily she was distracted enough by friends and toys that I was able to get some pictures.






































Oh, and I started making Andi a quilt for her big girl bed about a year and a half ago. . . and I finally finished it today! I took long breaks from working on it mind you, but I'm glad I started it that early, because she will soon be making the switch to her big girl bed. That is if we ever have any luck with the potty training. Anyway, here is a picture of the quilt as proof that it is done. Doneen you should be proud, several times I was on the verge of mailing it to you to finish because I was ready to give up. But it's finally done!

Daddy's Girl

Almost every morning the first thing Andi says to me is "where daddy go?" when I say he's at work she says "Daddy all gone". She loves the weekends when I say Daddy's sleeping instead of at work and has decided it is her job to wake him up. I swear I don't put her up to it. Sunday for example she got up from her nap and was playing quietly in her room so I went to the front to do who knows what and all of a sudden I hear "Daddy wake up, play toys!" She had gone into our room, turned off the floor fan, and was standing by Thad's head pushing her toys in his face. And it's these times he's not so happy about her being a daddy's girl ;)
Andi is also trying to be a little too grown up these days and has begun deciding when she will and won't take naps. Yesterday I put her down and went out back to work in the yard. I came in 45 minutes later and she was yelling "Momma, momma stuck!" So I'm thinking great, she's got an appendage stuck between the crib bars again and has been yelling for me all this time. But I open the door and she's standing up and says "I stuck in bed. . . no sleep." I hope this doesn't become a regular occurrence. I really like Andi's nap time.
I have tried this last week to get some pictures of Andi but if she sees either camera(video or still) she wants to "see Andi". We made the mistake of showing her the pictures of her while they were still on the camera and the little narcissist can't get enough of it. So I haven't been quick enough yet to snap a shot before she runs to hold the camera, again, I'll work on it.
other than that we are taking another stab at potty training this week, so far it's not going over too well. Any of you who have done this potty training thing and have advice/tips I would greatly appreciate them.

Leo!

So Andi has been watching a lot of Little Einstein lately, which means so have Thad and I. One of the late nights we had with Andi this week we noticed something really funny. We think that the creators of the show modeled Leo after our friend Paul. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation, but it sure looks like a match to us. What do you think?

V-day & recovery

Well, this week has not been the traumatic one I expected. Monday was bad. . . really bad. Probably the worst day of both of our lives. Andi of course was in all kinds of pain and wouldn't swallow anything, including her own spit, and she put up a huge fight every time it came to giving her medicine. I think I ended up wearing more than she took. It was the most exhausting day, and night. But Tuesday came and she was a new person. I would say like 85% back to normal. She was still not wanting to drink too much, but she wanted to eat. And not any of the mushy stuff I bought for her. She wanted Daddy's cookie crisp cereal for breakfast, and it wasn't even soggy! She had a couple of good days until I guess the scabs come off and then Thursday was not so fun for her, and Thursday night was not so fun for me ;) But Friday morning she seems to be back to normal, eating and drinking regularly and everything. But the poor thing totally has cabin fever and I need to get her out to play today, all day yesterday she kept saying "paige, walter, paige, walter, nick!".
Valentines day was as uneventful as always. That's not a complaint I swear, we just don't put much stock into the holiday I guess. Thad does get me flowers every year, and he jokingly complains every year that he never gets flowers. So this year I bought him flowers ;) not a bouquet or anything, cos it had to be semi-manly. I bought some potted calla lilies at Lowes, and being bulbs we can plant them in the yard once we do the extension and flower boxes. They are very pretty, but I bought them at his favorite store, and he will have to plant them later so I felt like it wasn't that girly.
I apologize for the lack of pictures lately. I'll work on that.

No turning back

I thought I would post now and excuse myself from blogging for the next week or so. Andi's surgery is scheduled for 6:20 Monday morning. Why on earth they think it needs to be done so early is beyond me, but I'm sure they have their reasons. Anyway, I'm sure it's going to be a very rough week, and I won't be blogging. But I did go buy some new DVD's for Andi, more for my benefit than hers I think because I was not looking forward to watching the same ones she's been watching over and over and over again next week. Gotta mix it up a bit. I've also made my Costco, Albertsons, and Target runs to stock up on everything so I won't have to try to get to the store next week. So I think I'm all set, but I'm still dreading it.
Thad and I are going to the temple tonight with our stake. Actually I am hitching a ride with my parents who have to go work an earlier shift and will be dropping me off a little over halfway there, where Thad is supposed to meet me and we are going to dinner before the session. So here is hoping he gets off on time and is actually there to meet me on time and I'm not left hanging out in a jack in the box waiting for him ;)
I'll be back after Andi is back to normal.

Round 2

So last week Andi had her 2nd ear infection in a month. Wait, didn't she have tubes put in a year ago? Why, yes she did. . . thing is they only last about a year and then they fall out. The hope is that at the end of that year the kids ears will start functioning as they should and the problem will be solved. Not for Andi. Here is a picture of her sitting patiently while I clean the gunk out of her ears so we can put her drops in.


So back to the ENT we went on Tuesday and he said the next step is another round of tubes and taking the adenoids out, but the added problem is that her tonsils are huge, like if she opens her mouth wide enough you can see them across the room huge. And if they take the adenoids out her tonsils will get bigger, and then they will have to come out too. So hey, let's do it all in one shot! That's right, at 2 Andi is going in for her second surgery, and it's gonna be a doozy. But after that her ear and throat problems should be resolved for good.
Anyway, on a fun note, her new favorite toy is Thad's RC Car. Here she is with Daddy taking George for a spin.

2 Years Old

I'm a little behind. Andi turned two on the 13th of January. We had all the family over for cake and Ice cream that night and filled her room up with balloons. She loved the balloons and couldn't wait for her cake. She was with me when I picked it up at Costco and asked for it constantly for a day and a half. She loves cake. Here are a few pictures of the festivities.


I don't know if anyone has heard about all the rain California has been getting the last few days/week. But it has been great. The snow closed the grapevine for 2 days which meant that Thad couldn't get to work and got to stay in Bakersfield! He did have to go into the office here in town but was done by noon. So it's been a nice couple of days. But yet again, it has taken a natural disaster of sorts to get Thad some time at home. This weekend we blew insulation in our attic and it seems to have made an immediate difference. Our heater hardly kicked on at all yesterday and the house stayed nice and warm. That's about all we've been up to. Exciting, I know.

Wheres Waldo ?!

This post is for the enjoyment of all my old King Henry friends. Thad was sitting in Elders Quorum on Sunday flipping through the new manual when Bunting pointed out a picture in the back, pg 514 to be exact. He was pointing out the guy in the front row making the goofy face, and Thad was surprised to see he knew that goofy face well.

Way to strut Elder Castaneda! Too bad he didn't know he was having his picture taken, or that it would end up in the priesthood manual when they decided to make a 2 year manual. We don't really know where Carter is or what he is up to these days, but if any of you are still in contact with him pass on a "ha ha!"(in the voice of Nelson Munse) to him from Thad and I.

Going out with a bang!

It has definitely been an eventful couple of weeks. Thad and I went to Santa Barbara for our Anniversary the weekend before Christmas. It was just an overnight trip but it was really nice. We stayed in this resort right on the beach, walked around to the shops downtown, had dinner, watched a movie. . . just relaxed! Unfortunately we woke up Saturday morning and both of us were sick! Thank you Andi the carrier monkey. Saturday morning we went for a walk on the pier then did a little more shopping and headed home. Here is a picture from the pier Saturday morning, it was 70 degree by the way on December 22nd. Yay for a California Christmas!


Christmas Eve was spent at G&G Richards with all the traditional food and festivities, but one huge change. Grandpa announced that this would be the last Christmas Eve at their house and passed the torch on to Thad's dad who had to sit in Grandpas chair and conduct the activities. By this time Thad and I were both getting really sick and had to leave earlier than everyone else due to the Nyquil induced stupor.
Christmas morning we got Andi up at 6:30 to open her present here. At first she just rolled around in the crib saying "no, no, go away" but the minute she saw what was under the tree she woke right up ;) This first one is her walking to the tree.


And this is the bike she would not get off of. We did manage to get her to open her other presents and then she rode the bike down to my parents house for Christmas morning with them at 7.
Thad spent most of the morning asleep in the toy room with a fever. When it broke we went over to his parents house to have Christmas with them and share our germs. We were both so sick that neither of us even picked up the camera the rest of the day! Luckily we have camera happy family members on both sides and will have a plethora of pictures once we remember to get them off their computers ;) Then we came home and had another nap and had dinner at my parents that night.
Amidst the Christmas holidays and being sick we were also car shopping. And on the 31st we finally got the 4runner I've been wanting forever. Here is a picture of it on the lot. I love it!

Could not resist

So this post is solely for the purpose of the picture. Andi has been sick since last night and coughing up a storm, so she's been really fussy and miserable. But for a few moments tonight Thad had her distracted and happy as they ran around playing hide and go seek with all the lights in the house off and their head lights on. I had to turn the light on to take this, but I also got some fun video of the two lights running round giggling. Yes, Thad was wearing one too ;)

Merry Christmas!

okay, so here is the picture of the dinning room with the table and stuff back in it.


And here is Andi all bundled up for caroling Monday night. We went with my parents and Walter & Stef, and Tara &Jacob and the gang, and Renee & her kids. Quite a few of us, but we sounded fabulous and the kids had a great time. And Andi really likes her hat and gloves. She has also gotten in to Frosty the moonan lately. Yes, moonan is how she says it. I love that she'll watch all the old videos from my childhood, it's so fun to sit and watch them with her.

I am just about done with my shopping already. I just have a couple small things left to get for Thad but that will be done by today. I have been finished with everyone but Thad for a couple of weeks now, but he's so difficult! And its a good thing too b/c it's about to get crazy around here. We are having Christmas with my moms side of the family this weekend and it keeps going from there. Should be fun. If I don't blog before, have a wonderful Christmas!

Tagged

6 things you probably don't know about me

1. I don't have either of my useless organs (tonsils, appendicts)
2. One of my favorite parts about teaching 10 year olds jazz is that I have a legitimate excuse to listen to cheesy teenybopper music. We rock Hannah Montana on a weekly basis ;)
3. I have a bizarre stomach twitch, literally. Quite often actually my abs contract over and over like I'm doing crunches, but I'm just sitting on the couch, and I can't make it stop. My theory is I have a sub-conscious obsession with having a flat stomach and somehow my sub-conscious can control my ab muscles.
4. I could eat cold cereal every meal of every day.
5. I can become overly involved in a good book. If it's really good nothing else happens (cooking included) until the book is done. Luckily for Thad and Andi I'm a fast reader and the books don't last long ;)
6. My ultimate dream career is to be on Broadway. Phantom, Les Mis, Wicked, I don't care, I would love to be in a fabulous show and perform night after night.

Now I Tag Kels(though I don't think there are 6 things I don't know about her), Tarin, and Callie.

Yay, the tile is done! Thad and Sam started working on it Friday and finished the grouting last night. It looks really nice. I'm not allowed to put the table or anything back in there till Thad gets home tonight so I just took pictures of the floor itself. I'll post new pics when the room is actually put back together. The first one is obviously just the floor, and the second is our little transition because the tile for the dinning room wasn't the exact tile in the kitchen, but it is close.

And this one is just a picture to show off the very cute new bows I just ordered for Andi. I love them! My friend Mandi makes the "Lovely lady bug bows" and they are fabulous! The picture is not all that cute because Andi all of a sudden hates the camera. This was the only clear shot I could get because the rest of the time she was shaking her head and yelling "huh-uh, no!" and here she is right before she throws herself face first on the ground and rolls around.

I got the Christmas bug this weekend and we put up all of our decorations. Lights, the tree, everything! I love it! It seems like Christmas never comes fast enough, and goes by all too fast.

phew!

I love "vacations" but they are always so tiring! This weekend we went down to Rialto for an early Thanksgiving with my moms side of the family. So Friday afternoon Andi and I drove up to meet Thad in Fillmore, and then we stopped in to see Sean and Ashley on the way. We have missed you guys! It was really fun to see them even though we were only able to stay for a few hours. Bedtime calls for Andi. Anyway, I am bugged that I forgot to bring the camera in and take a picture with them but we'll get that next time ;)
Saturday morning, too early for my liking, we got up to take Andi and Walter to see Thomas. They have this Thomas day at the train museum down there, and they charge people too much money to go ride a life size Thomas train. But the kids loved it and even though we didn't stay very long it was a fun little adventure.

And this is the kids in the hay maze. It was the perfect size for them and they chased each other around for a while. Yes, they are actually running in this picture, looks speedy huh ?!After our Thomas excursion we went back to my Aunts to have Thanksgiving dinner with the whole family. Thad was very happy to realize that we actually get 3 thanksgiving dinners this year. Tis the season to gorge.
Sunday after church and a pot luck luncheon, we headed back home. Thad's parents came to hang out for a while and then we all crashed very early.
Since it is almost Thanksgiving I would like to say I am very thankful that Thad only has 3 days of work this week and that we will be tiling the dinning room this weekend! And by "we" I don't mean me, but I'll post pictures when it's done.

Trick or Treat

So I was really not in the Halloween spirit this year. I had no plans of dressing up, wasn't taking Andi trick-or-treating, nothing. But a few days ago Thad found out my Dad and the Young Men were putting on a spook alley at the ward party. That was the end of my plans. So I dug through the dance costume box with my mom and found an outfit that Andi could actually wear, which was very surprising as Kelsie and I both started dance at age 4. Andi is not even 2, and the fairy dust costume is a little baggy, but it stayed on her and she loved her "pretties".


I went as the blue fairy from Pinocchio. Originally I was going for Merryweather, you know the feisty blue fairy in Sleeping Beauty, but the hat I attempted to transform just didn't turn out as I had planned. Thad of course was planning on wearing that awful mask, but luckily you are not allowed to wear masks at the church party, so he settled for painting his face and carrying the mask around as a severed head, acting as the tour guide through the spook alley.


oh, and I would like to say thank you to everyone who recommended the twilight series. I started twilight last Thursday and finished Eclipse this afternoon. I can't believe I have to wait an entire year before the next book comes out!

Well I know most people in So Cal have been worried/cursing the fires this last week, but me, I was cheering them on. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't hoping peoples homes would burn down or anything, but the fires closed the road to Fillmore which meant Thad got 2 days off this week! yay! And he couldn't seem to sit still so we got a couple of projects done in those two days as well. We put new lighting in the kitchen. The first pic is proof that I was actually helping to cut drywall, and pull wires and all that, plus it is a before of the awful light fixture that was in there before.



And here is the after with the fabulous recessed lighting.



We also managed to sell that wood burning stove in the front room, yay! So we took a trip to lowes last night and got the electric fireplace that we have been looking at.



We had Bulkeley Fam dinner at our house this last Sunday and here is a cute Pic Tara took of the munchkins.