Anna's Baby Shower!

I have really wanted to put these pictures up earlier, but when the baby was born 3 weeks early I thought those pictures were cuter! So I want to share these now.

My baby shower was so much fun!!!! Brenda and Erica did such a good job at making it so special. Anna is so spoiled already! One of the fun things for me at the shower was how many babies were there and how many pregnant ladies. It is definitely baby season in my neck of the woods!

From left to right the babies are Jackson, Wesley, Jason, Emily and Emmerie. Jackson and Emily are cousins to Anna. Wesley and Jason are second cousins and Emmerie is a friend. Neil and I graduated with Emmerie's Daddy, Jonathan Estes. Oh my word, that was 10 years ago!

Here is a picture of all the pregnant girls! Jennifer is due in December, LaRynn just had her baby on Sunday. A cute baby girl, Leila Mae (you can see her picture on the Mercy Website). And Ginni is due in April I think. But I could be way off on that one.

And this is a picture of the Prize Corner. They all sat together and they all won a prize (and Jessica didn't even want to play!) That is Wesley in the middle. Doesn't he look happy to be at an all girl party!

Thank you every one for coming to my party and for the super cute presents! We really appreciate your eagerness to spoil Anna.

This is for you Katie!

When Emily was born in March, her Auntie Katie bought her this cute outfit. Which she quickly grew out of! That girl knows how to grow!

Since Anna is so small and she LOVES to be warm, she has gotten to wear it a couple of times. And I got this cute picture of her today. So I thought I would share.

We had out first doctors appt yesterday. Anna is already growing so much! She weighed 6 lbs 10 oz when we left the hospital on Saturday and yesterday, 12 days later, she weighed in at 7 lbs 8 1/2 oz. She has gained almost a whole pound! And she grew almost an inch. But she is still so small and I still love to hold her little self!

Who do you think?

Well, here is a picture of Neil and I when we are only a few days old. I thought it might be fun to see who everyone thinks Anna looks like?

I think she looks just like her daddy, but has my hair and complextion. All I know is she is so adorable and fun to watch. Although she is starting to look just like Anna to me and not so much like a mixer of Neil and I.

Let me know if you want to come visit and hold her yourself! It is a blast!

She Has Gotten Cuter!

I know, how can it be? But it is true! She is cuter! I can't believe how blessed Neil and I are! It just blows my mind to see how God put this little life together and said, "Here, take real good care of her!" All I got to say is it freaks me out a little bit! Okay ! It freaks me out ALOT!!!! I just have to remember that God won't give me anything I can not handle with His help. So together the 3 of us (God, Neil and I) I guess we will figure it out! She is just so sweet and fun to hold. I don't ever want to put her down.

Have you ever seen a cuter yawn!?!

Introducing Anna Kathleen

Our Sweet Baby Girl is here! Which is actually a bit surprising since she isn't due for 3 more weeks. I guess my mom was right when she said I was going early.

She was born on Friday at 7:18 am. Neil and I got to the hospital at 5:10 and the nurse said I was already at an 8 or a 9. The whole experience was just so strange, and incredible! I didn't know I would use so many muscles giving birth. But today even my elbows hurt.

She weighs 6 lbs 14 1/2 oz and is 19 1/2 inches long! She is so little. And she has a full head of hair!

And I must say the older she gets, the cuter she is getting!

The first picture is just a few minutes after she was born in the Labor room and the second one is a few hours later.

The last picture is just about an hour ago. She was having some daddy time and when I looked at my camera this is what I found! Daddy is already smitten!

Well, check back for updates, but the baby just started fussing, so I guess that is my alarm clock now!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Here are some real cute pics from my birthday bowling party. Notice why they are real cute? Yep! Baby Emily is just so stinking lovable!

I will put a picture on here soon of me so that you all can see my really big profile!

Trailer Trash!

Yep, Neil and I and Baby will be living in a travel trailer! What an adventure!

We are going to sign papers today on our property. Here is a picture of our dirt! And at 4:30 it will be ours! I am really excited about starting from scratch like this. It will be so neat to see all the different layers of a house.

But in the mean time we will be in a 27 foot 1995 Wildwood Trailer. With Neil you just never know where you will be living! I can't believe how much I love this man! He is just so amazing! He is so good at everything he tries!

For now we will be parked in front of a very nice green house on Lori Lane, known to most as Neil's parents house!

Dirt?

Yep! Neil and I bought dirt. A pretty good amount of it too. We bought a city lot off of East Bonneyview. Well, we are in the process of buying right now. We should know in about 15 days if it will really be ours or not.
Once it is ours, we will start building. Neil has been wiring a house off of Twin View that we both like a lot. So I think we will try and biuld that one.
Had another doctors appt today. And yep I am getting fatter. WaHoo! I just realized I forgot to ask what the baby's heartbeat was. Bummer. I can tell you though this kid is active! I hope she is wearing herslef out now, so that when she is born ahe will want to sleep alot! Wishful thinking I know!
Only about 6 more weeks. I think with our current living conditions and the crazyness we are in, I wouldn't mind if it took her a little longer to get here. But I really would like to have the use of my normal stomach muscles back. Do you know how hard it is to round over when your center of gravity is off so much. Not fun!!!!

Hello In There!

Well, in case you haven't guessed Neil and I are no longer at the lake! In fact we have been quite a few places since then! But I guess the most interesting news, is that I am now homeless, pregnant, and now unemployeed! WaHoo! Yeah it is actually a little daunting!
Neil and I are looking for a place to rent right now. And man is that a pain! After living and owning your own home for 6 years, it is surprising how hard it is to get people to believe that you are not white trash and you do not plan on destroying their property!
On a brighter note, we started our birthing classes! I am actually enjoying it and feel like I am not so freaked out now. Neil may not be as pleased with the whole process, we had to watch our first births last week and let me tell you, it is not pretty! I don't care if it is a miracle, it is just not pretty!
Well, thanks for still checking my blog even though it has been months. I am off to another rental company!

At the Lake

Neil, Gauge and I went to the Lake last weekend. The water was so cold, but with Redding temps already getting warm, it was nice to feel the water (up to my ankles). I took a bunch of pics of Gauge fetching . I put my camera on a rapid shutter speed and got all these pictures of him charging into the water. It was neat to see how much he can stretch out and how quickly he can cover alot of ground. We also "tried" to take some family pictures but Gauge just wanted to lick the camera or completely ignore it.

May 8, 2007 Gauge had his Second Birthday. I can not believe we have had him for 2 years. Crazy! And before you say something about how pathetic it is I remember his birthday, I would just like to say that he is papered by AKC and he came with a birth certificate. Yeah I think it's funny too.

I thought it might be fun to see how much he has grown. He was sooooo little when we got him and now . . . Well, now he is not little! But he is still cute!

Bernard

I took this picture last week and I just love it because you can see how blue his eyes are. He is such a handsom kitty!

And in case you don't know yet, Noah now has a blog and Faither's even updated hers! WaHoo!

99% Sure!

That we are having . . . a girl! Yeah we are a little surprised. But the doctor did say not to paint anything and not to take the tags off stuff when we buy it, but she is pretty sure. So we will be having another sonogram in 10 weeks and we will be able to check again then. The heart beat was at 143 and the baby weighs about 13 oz. But I must say it looks a lot bigger than that! The baby was sucking her little thumb again. That was fun to watch. We got to watch the sonogram for about 20 minutes, but the baby wasn't moving around that much this time. She had her little feet tucked up and her little fists stuffed in her face.
Well, Emily Elizabeth you better look out, there is some competition on the way!

Baby Room Idea

I hope you can see the detail in this picture because it is so cute! And yes it is on the girly side of life. But I was thinking to just add more blue than pick. I just love the pattern of the quilt. The diamond shapes and all. And the skirt is so cute too with the candy strip at the bottom. Anyway, just thought I would share what my hours of hunting on line has come up with. You can see it better on www. landofnod .com under baby bedding. The pattern is called "Diamonds are a girls best friend". But if it is a boy we won't tell him that.
Tomorrow is the big day! As long as little baby is not shy we will know what color clothes to start making. I have a huge desire to start sewing all of the sudden. I am sure that will go away in a couple of days though. Just about the time I could start.
I did feel the baby move on the outside of my tummy this morning when I had my hand on my belly. I can't wait for Neil to get to feel, I think it will totally freak him out.

Red Door For Sale!

Really cute red door for sale! Even comes with 4 bedroom house.
I am so happy we painted our front door. I think it is so cute. And boy does it pop! I even painted the house numbers on the post red. You can't see them in the picture, but trust me they are cute!
Our realtor put a virtual tour of our house on line. If you go to www.realestatenow.org and click the "Search MLS" link, you can type in our street name (which is Red Bluff) and then you can click on our house and watch the virtual tour. It is really nice and my really cute cat is in the tour too. I can never get links to work right, so you might have to type that address into your tool bar. Sorry.
In other news! I had my next check up today. My blood preasure was 122 over 60 and the baby's heartbeat was 150. And those are the only new things I learned. A pretty boring visit.
But on my next visit the doctor will do another sonogram and we MIGHT be able to tell the baby's sex. The appt. is set for May 22 at 2:45. So cross your fingers!

Ladies, You Will NOT Believe This!!!

Well, my wonderful darling husband, who is ALWAYS so thoughtful, actually told me last week (now pay attention) that he thinks that he would handle this whole pregnancy thing better than I am!
Yep! He said it out loud. And he meant it!
I am complaining so much about not feeling good and always being hungry and he said that when he is just a little bit sick like that he just ignores it. So he thinks he would handle it better, but just the sick part.
Yeah, whatever!
And so I said it's funny how God doesn't even give you the chance to find out.
I just thought you might enjoy hearing that little story.

I'm Sorry, What's That Blur?

It's our baby!!! Have you ever seen a baby any cuter than this one? That was a rhetorical question because of course you haven't!
The Doctor said that whatever I had for lunch today the baby was loving because it was moving all around and kicking it's little feet. So stinkin cute! The pictures that we got are very blurry because of that though.
(Sorry kid you are going to have to learn to sit still for the camera if you are going to be my child!)

The heartbeat was right on 140 beats per minute, and it is 6 1/2 inches long. Or rather 58.86 mm.

I don't know if I had more fun watching Neil or the Baby!

My next appt. is April 24. But I will only be at 16 weeks then so we probably won't find out the sex of the baby until the following appt. in May.
Well, just thought you might like to see our adorable bundle of bouncing joy!

I'm an Auntie Again!

Here is a picture of 3 of my neices. Hope, Faith and new baby Emily, with new mommy and Grandma looking on!
Emily Elizabeth is a little over an hour old in this picture.
The nurse came into Brenda's room at 8:30 and said they were going to start trying to push so Brenda told me to wait in the hallway. And thinking we still had a ways to go and that I would get to go back in the room again, I did. Well, Brenda did amazing, or so I heard the nurse say, because everything strated happening really fast. And Neil and I were still standing in the hallway waiting when we got to hear Emily cry for the very first time. That has got to be one of the coolest sounds I have ever heard.
I didn't get to see her first though. Brenda said something about Grandparents getting that right. WHATEVER! Anyway Neil and I went into the waiting room, were everyone looked really anxious, and told them they could go in and see their new grandbaby. Man did that room clear out fast!
Congratulation Brenda and Zachary! You guys are going to be great parents!!! We love you and your new little Emily so much already!

Snow Day at Auntie's

Last week I took my first pregnancy sick day and when I opened my windows I was so glad I had! The prettiest snow flakes were drifting down, and there was about an inch on the ground.

I called Jennifer to tell her if she wanted to bundle up the girls she could come on over. (Seeing as even if I was contagious, she already has what I got!)

We made two snow men, complete with carrot nose. (Dixie was really the expert in that one, she can roll up snow like you wouldn't believe.) We also tried our hands (and feet) at snow angels, but seeing as we kind of used most of the snow for the men, it was hard to make in impression you could see.

Isabella loved to watch the snow activities, but when we set her down I think her bottom got cold to fast. Her nose got the cutest color pink!

And according to Jed tradition, Tessa finished the day at Auntie's with a cup of Hot Chocolate.

I had so much fun playing with the girls. It was nice to see all the snow! That is one thing I am going to miss when we move. We have gotten snow three or four times in Shasta Lake when Redding didn't get any. But I don't know that that is a good enough reason to stay up here!

Thanks girls for coming up and playing with me in the snow. You were so CUTE!

Is It To Soon To Buy Elastic Pants?

I can not believe how much my stomach already hurts from my jeans and work pants. So I don't know if I am jumping the gun or am right in line, but I went shopping this weekend for some pants with elastic waist bands. Pathetic, I know! But I did get some killer deals. I got 8 items of clothing at Sears for $25.00. And I got a super cute pair of black pants with white pin-stripes and a red shirt at JCPenny for $8.97 for both. I love sales.

Another One Bites the Dust!

Well, I know this post will come with MUCH disbelief, but I do in fact have a doctor's note to prove it. Neil is in fact going to be a daddy. Which means that Alicia is going to be a mommy! AHHHHHHHHH!
Although it wasn't a complete surprise I must say I am still a little speachless. So far the general response is, "No Way!" But Lord willing, there will be two babies in our family this Christmas. (On both sides of the family actually) My sister is due in about 10 days, and Neil's sister is due in August. Craziness!
The doctor has givin me an ETA of October 9th. Our first sonogram is March 12th. So we should be about to hear the heartbeat then. I think that will really make everything kick in for Neil. He is still a little in ShellShock mode.
Zachary's first response when I told him was,"Have you told Neil yet?" I told him I was trying to gain support from my family first. But Neil was obviously the first one I told, and he was really excited actually. But like I said I don't think it has really clicked for him yet.
So if you think about us, please pray. A special request is that I don't have a pregnancy like Brenda's!!!!

The Mountains

Disneyland and California Adventure both have a mountain that is very distinct. We got pictures of both of them this trip. Matterhorn is in Disneyland and Grizzley Peak is in California Adventure. Can you guess which one is which?

Two of My Favorite

I had a blast with my camera this trip. It was fun to take all the artsie pictures I am always afraid to waste film on. This time no film to worry about. The top one is "It's a Small World" at night still decorated in Christmas lights. And the bottom is the teacups just spinning. It was dusk when I took this picture so the lanterns were on. The Teacups and Alice in Wonderland are my two favorite Fantasyland rides just because of the colors the rides are decorated in. Lots of brights! Hope you enjoy these two pictures.

So Very Close to the End!

Well today is a big day for me. I'm on my way to the orthodontist
to get my bottom retainer in. I guess they are going to put a permanant one on the bottom. Put it will be on the inside of my mouth so you can't see it. Then I will get fitted for my top retainer. I am very close to getting my braces off. I can hardly believe it is here already. I have had them on since August 2004. Crazy, that went so fast!

Dreams do come true

11 people in 2 rooms isn't that bad. The hotel we stayed in had an awesome hot tub and they had a great breakfast every morning. Which was nice to fill up on before heading to the park.

We really and truly did get to meet Lightning McQueen. He was so incredible! He drove up and parked and then sat there with his engine running while kids got to take pictures with him. And when I say kids I mean me!

Tow Mater was so much fun too! He had a hidden Mickey on him, which Neil pointed out to me! That was neat! We even hooked Noah up to his crane and tried to haul him off. I think meeting the charaters is still one of the funnest things for me! We saw the Mad Hatter playing musical chairs and a riddle game with a bunch of kids.
Noah was all about the big rides this time. He wanted to bad to go on the Tower of Terror. He didn't think any building was as big as that hotel!

We really got into trading pins this time. It was a first for us and I think we really enjoyed it. Some of us more than others (see Zachary's Blog). Neil traded one of his for a tinker bell. He was proud of himself.

My new camera was so much fun!!!!!! I was so happy to have it on this trip. I could post a pic a day and it would take me about a year to show them all to you.
Well, I miss the place already. I wonder if it is too soon to plan my next trip? Brenda also has some pictures on her blog so be sure to read her point of view. Check back later for more pics from Disneyland. I haven't even shown you my favorite one yet!

Nikon D80

I can tell you there will be a lot of picture taking in Disnayland this year. Alicia has a digital!
Neil spoiled me ROTTEN this weekend! I got a Nikon D80. What does that mean? I have no idea, but I am reading my manual, and I have learned some stuff already, and I will get a lot of practice this next weekend at Disneyland. It's gonna be fun!

Lightening McQueen

Would it get any cooler than watching the real Lightening McQueen drive by in a parade? Yeah, getting to ride in him! Yeah, that would be cooler. Well, it is the "Year of a Million Dreams", so I guess it could happen.

Merry CHRISTmas!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. I can not believe that January 2007 is here already. It seems like I always forget that a new year comes after Christmas, it always seems to surprise me anyway.
Only 3 more days until Zachary's Birthday! How excited are we! And only 10 more days until Disneyland. Yeah I'm a little more excited about the second one!
Christmas was nice and we got another family picture. Next year will be adding one more (from Brenda! Not me!!)



This year's tree is our favorite. It is was just this cute little thing and fit on the 3 foot wall we needed it to fit on perfectly. It was the only spot in the living room it could go. Brenda saw the cutest this on two peas and since our star was to big for this tree I stole the idea and put my Christmas Mickey Ears on the top of our tree this year. I thought it worked because we are going to Disneyland so soon.


Our ornament for this year was a Rainbow Trout. We got it in Montana on our vacation.We each caught a pretty good size fish while there, and it was my first trout.


Well, we go back to work tomorrow. Sometimes I really miss that 3 week vacation I used to get while in school. 3 days just isn't the same.
Happy New Year! Can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for this coming year. But don't forget to take the time to look back on last year and see all the ways God showed you He loves you!

All the Other Aunta Lesha's Out There Better Look Out!!

So Thursday Night I show up at Bunco and in Jamie's entry way there is a rather large pile of pink travel bags. You see Tessa was coming over to Auntie's house for a sleep over. So after Bunco we lug ourselves to the car and get strapped in for the drive. When we left Jamie's driveway Tessa says,"Know what Aunta Lesha? You're the coolest Aunta Lesha ever!" Yeah I thought that was pretty cool!
Well, we made it to the corner, before a large bowl of water that Jennifer assured me wouldn't spill, spelt. So back to Jamie's house we go! After using half a roll of paper towels we are back on the road. This time when we pull out of Jamie's driveway Tessa exclaims," Hey! I forgot to say goodbye to Emily!" "Oh, Tessa she is already in bed" I say. So Tesssa whispers," Goodnight Emily." Then she whispered a bunch of stuff I couldn't hear. But then she goes, with a big sign! "I miss her!"
The drive home was good, I never had to turn my radio on! And Tessa decided that when we see Unle Neil we should yell SURPRISE!
When we got home we got our bath (because Emily and Tessa tried to tickle some fish eatlier in the eveing and got all wet with fishy water). We got all settled in for a movie when we heard Uncle Neil pull in. Out go the lights and we hide! Neil opens the door and out pop Tessa and I. Neil looked a little shocked and says with a big smile on his face," I forgot she was going to be here!"
After that the night was pretty calm. Neil got worn out just listening to Tessa talk. It was so adorable!

And in the morning we had cookies for breakfast! And sang Christmas songs all the way back into town. Thanks for coming over Tessa! I had a great time.

The Guy's Rules

Please note: these are all #1 on purpose!

1. Men are not mind readers.
1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.
1. Sunday sports. It's like a full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.
1. Shopping is not a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way.
1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.
1. Christopher Columbus did not need directions and neither do we.
1. All men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.
1. If it itches, it will be scratched!
1. If we ask what is wrong and you say nothing, we will act like nothing is wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.
1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear.
1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine . . . Really.
1. Don't ask us what we are thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball, the shotgun formation, or golf!
1. I am in shape. Round is a shape.
1. Crying is blackmail.
1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one. Subtle hints do not work, strong hints don't work, obvious hints do not work! Just say it!
1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.
1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.
1. A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.
1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and viod after 7 days.
1. If you won't dress like Victoria's Secret girls, don't expect us to act like soap opera guys.
1. If something we said can be interpreted 2 ways and one of the ways makes you sad and angry we meant the other one.
1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both.
1. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the coach tonight. But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.

Junk Mail in your Bills?

Okay, does anyone else get junk mail in their bills? Of course! Does anyone I know read it? Probably not!! Is it annoying? YES!
So I was talking to Tabitha Ann tonight and she told me something that I thought was rather entertaining. Want to know what she does? She returns it. When she is filling out her check and puts it in the provided envolope, she also puts in all the junk that company sent her. Cracks ME UP! She said she read it in a Reader's Digest. And it cuts down on the garbage she has to throw away.
I think I'm gonna start mailing junk back. I've often wondered if you can mark junk mail "Return to Sender"?

Can a Dog Break It's Tail?

Well, apparently a dog can in fact break a tail. I always thought that a tail was made of cartilage, but it is a bunch of little bones with cartilage between them. We think that Gauge fell off the deck and landed on it, but he is such a hyper dog that really it could be anything!
Sunday night when Neil went to feed him, Gauge just didn't seem as excited about life as he normally does. Then Neil noticed his tail. Normally it is going Mach 2. He has given me a welt on my leg before from his tail. It hurts! But now . . . well . . . it just hangs. He looks so funny. His rump is still wigglin, but the tail, not so much.
Gauge is now on Meds for the swelling. The vet said that it is getting good blood flow, and that it should straighten out over time. But he will baby it for a while. (Yeah, apparently it can really tire a person out trying to get an X-ray of a hyper dog's tail. Neil said the lady looked worn out when she came back in the room.) But for now I guess no whip, which isn't all that bad for Neil and I. I'm sure Buddy is kind of relieved too.