Hear the news people!

Yep, so it happened once again. I am officially pregnant. I am currently over 8 1/2 weeks preggo! Jesse and I could not be happier. We are very excited that Riah will soon be a BIG brother!! I have been feeling tired, nauseous, bloated, MOODY...all that good early pregnancy stuff. I had an ultrasound when I was 5 1/2 weeks and heard the little ones heartbeat. Crazy how something so tiny already has a beating heart! Below is a photo from the ultrasound. (will add soon) :)

Riah's Latest FIlm

Need I say more.

Sneak Peek

For the past month or so, I have been working on illustrations for a childrens book. I did not write the book, I actually answered an ad which I found on craigslist, for a lady looking for an illustrator. After submitting some of my ideas, she picked me! And after a few weeks and some intense hours of work, I finished.




I do not want to give away too much about the book, but I can tell you I have submitted my final illustrations, and now it is onto the publisher and up to the world to find enough interest in it to buy it. :-) The drawings on the right are my original sketches. Not the finished work but enough to give you an idea of what I have been so busy with lately.


The book is called "Dr. Shawn and his Magic Needle". Maybe you'll see it around someday! And yes, it is in color!

Time with Grandpa.

My dad took Riah out in the yard one day to see the river and the ducks. It was soo cold, Riah just kinda froze not knowing what to do. It wasn't long before they were back inside where it was a little warmer! Riah also enjoyed his time with his cousin Gavin who is almost 4...and especially with all his toys. Thanks for sharing Gavin! :)
It was great that we were able to spend some time with my Dad and Cathy in my old hometown!

Some of my favorite moments from Chicago....

Here Comes the bad weather!

So we have been in Wisconsin now for 6 days. Tommorow morning, we will be leaving to head for Chicago. Well, Barrington to be exact...my hometown. I am quickly becomming homesick at this point, but I know it will be great to spend some time with my dad and his wife Cathy. Riah is going to have a great time playing with his cousin Gavin who is 3 and all of his toys! My dad also just got a new BIG puppy who Riah will automatically fall in love with. I am also super excited to spend sometime with my good friends from high school! So it should be a great visit. One more week and then back home. I am sure I will have many new stories and pictures to share by then. I am hoping we get a crazy big blizzard! I miss those!

Our Trip to the Zoo...

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Get your own

Today we went to the Zoo with my mom and Aunt Dana. It was Riah's first experience and he just loved it!! Out of all the animals, we spent the most time in the primate house and with the polar bears which were so cool! We packed a lunch and ate there. It was really the greatest little adventure for him, and it was free too! It was fun to watch him explore, and rome around. My mom had a good time to. And yes, it was yet another gorgeous day here.

Another beautiful day at the park...

WHERE'S RIAH?!!



Today, Riah and I spent the morning in the little town of Lodi where we visited Suzie the Duck. Afterwards, we walked with my mom to the park where Riah had a great time showing off how great he can now climb and go down the slides all by himself! He becomming so self sufficient, I almost don't know where my place is anymore.
He loves to say "hi" to everyone who walks by. He just loves people all around. He calls my mom "poppa" sometimes, but will easily point her out as Grandma Lou if asked.
Aunt Dana or "Neigh Na" is Riah's favorite person here. He has a ton of fun with her and will call for her around the house while she is at work. He is definitely going to miss her when we leave.
Still can't beat this 70 degree weather!! I think the rain AND SNOW are comming though. :(

Farm Fun

We spent some time outside yesterday in the beautiful 70 degree weather. Riah got to see a tractor cutting the corn stalks down. It was very exciting for him, although a little scary when it came close. He ran close to me to watch it. :)

Fun with Grandma

Yesterday we went to our great Grandma's birthday party.



Today, my mom taught Riah how to play cards. They both cheat. :)



See, that's a cheating face!

Grandma Lou

My mom reading to Riah his favorite book, "Mr. Brown Goes Moo" and the ABC Word Book. Priceless moment.

Riah Experiences Take Off

Here's just a short video of Riah during our take off flying to Madison from Denver. As you can see, he is more than interested. :) It was definitely hard keeping him entertained during our 2 flights. He slept a total of 30 mintues out of a 6 hour trip. I guess he was just way to excited to sleep, but I can assure you, he was very tired! The biggest hit was the Cow-Pig movie, and his color wonder markers! Benedryl did not seem to work. Although both flights, I was lucky enough to have the seat next to me open. A total blessing!




After a long first flight in Denver. Not tired at all! :)

Off to Chicago!

4:30 Tommorow morning, Riah and I will be leaving for Chicago for 2 whole weeks! It is a long overdue trip to visit my parents who have not seen Riah since he was 5 months old. He is now almost 22 months. Our bags are packed, I have gone to many measures to make sure I have everything I think Riah should need on an airplane. We could not go without his favorite book "Mr Brown can Moo", and his favorite movie "Barnyard" a.k.a. "Cow-Pig". A few other thigs added to my list include: some color wonder markers, fruit gummy snacks and various other goodies he never gets to eat, toy airplanes, a sticker book, and of course his Monkey. Alot of the things I am bringing are new to him and he has never seen, so it should be fun for him to explore some new territory and hopefully keep him busy. Busy is good, busy is happy! Many searches through the wonderful world of the internet led me to some great ideas for plane activities. And yes, benedryl will be close at hand if needed. :)

Motivation for another moment like that.

The other day I came across an old journal of mine and saw an entry about Riah when he was begining to crawl, and growing out of his Baby bathtub. At the time, we did not have a real bath tub, just a shower. So we put Riah in a baby tub placed in our shower. He was quickly outgrowing it, and I prayed in my journal that God would provide us a house with a bathtub for him. Boy, did he ever! But the thing about that entry made me realize how much I wish I would have entered more about Riah and the things he was up to on a daily basis. Hence, i am starting this blog. So whoever may come across, enjoy!

Good Bye Mae

So, after spending about 9 months watching Mae.  She will be leaving us this week to venture on to Daycare!  Riah and Mae have become the best of friends, and she will be greatly missed.

A stuffed up nose. Literally

Yesterday, we had a little incident with Riah and his nose! Turns out he stuck something up there without my notice, and got it stuck.  We were not able to tell what it was exactly but it measured about an inch long and 4 centimeters wide.  Thanks to a doc friend who made a quick house call to remove the foreign object, we were able to skip a visit to the E.R. To me it looked like a clove of garlic.  Poor Guy!