6 years? Seriously?

I was going through our bedroom yesterday, trying to do some cleaning after all the Christmas/Birthday insanity. I really think I'm demented, I enjoy cleaning. Sometimes my house/areas of my house become disasters and they stay that way because I don't really know how to "start" my cleaning, but once I get going.... I can't stop.

Anyways.... I found a picture of Kenny and I when we first started dating and I was meeting his parents for the first time - back in 2004.



I think it was the next year at some point when this next picture was taken, Easter or some occasion like that. Kenny looks like a pot-smoker and I look like a weirdo wanna-be-punk kid. haha!


This next one was taken in December 2007. We'd been married 1/2 a year and life was good. I can't believe how much we've changed in all this time. I can't believe it's been as long as it has been.


It really doesn't feel like it's been 6 years we've been together!! Seriously!? How did the time go that quickly!? Really, 6 years? I remember so much of it so clearly - the time right before we started dating - I made him ask me a few times to be his girlfriend, I didn't want to be a rebound and I didn't want to "jump in" to a relationship with the first guy to ask me.

We didn't know then, at 16, where things would lead and end up. I knew, though, that if I was going into a relationship - it was going to be "serious" because I didn't want to get emotionally involved with a guy just to be dating and testing the waters. He knew that then too, because I made sure he understood that about me.

July 3rd, 2006 Kenny proposed to me - right after I got off of work at Subway (that had NO Air Conditioning, and it was the hottest summer we had in awhile.) he took me downtown and proposed under a new water feature/fountain the city just put in and finally opened up.

3 days short of a year later we got married.

2 and a 1/2 years later and a beautiful little girl - I still can't believe that it's been as long as it has been. It's been great, it's been crazy, it's been REALLY insane! Really really great, though.

Turning over a new chapter in our life. We are quite happily married, have discovered that we can make it, though barely, on just Kenny's income alone, have our one Beautiful Adorably Cute Daughter, and are actually a little unsettled in our current status.

We want a house, Having just gotten the paperwork in the mail from a mortgage company we've been working with - it turns out there are a lot more expenses to buying a house than we had anticipated - oh well. After discussion it we decided we'd rather be more financially secure than jump in over our head for a tax credit that will, in the end, not be helpful at all.

We made it through Rylee's first year, now I'd like another baby. Yes, For Real. I'd like to have Rylee have a sibling - I've wanted 2 kids, only two, but for sure 2. I've been working on Kenny a little bit and I think he'll come around to the idea soon. Heehee.

It's not going to happen (in our plans), until we're better secure financially, and probably have our own house. So, probably another year before we start "planning," if that's even a reality by then. We'll see! God is great and mighty and can do many awesome things. I'm excited to see what's going to happen this next year.

My brother is going to have a baby boy, my best friend is getting married VERY soon, AND my little Sister (in law) is getting married! It's only the beginning but this year is already awesome!

Rylee's 1st Birthday Adventure!!

Other than the day she was born, of course. That in and of itself was quite an adventure. I won't write much other than it was a very fun day. She did VERY well with all the present opening, got a little overwhelmed with so many people in our little apartment - but it was a good day.

So, now I'll just let the pictures commence!

Birthday Cake and Other things!

She really did very well with opening presents

She never did finish unwrapping it herself, the first thing she saw and pulled out was the phone. We might be in trouble.

She still loves it!

My little Christmas Elf.

It's a VERY special day for a VERY special little Girl!!!!!!!!!

Oh my! It's been a busy couple of weeks!!! I've been working more again, lots of planning/gift & card making and alllll sorts of other craziness! Today is a special day, though, here's why:

One year ago today my Baby Girl graced us with her presence in the world.

As we come full circle in the year I cannot believe how quickly the time has flown by. I told myself I was going to take this year slow, that I was going to enjoy every bit of Rylee's infantile state and every new stage as she grew. That I did, but it has just gone too quickly!

Last year I was doing just about anything to no longer be pregnant from December 1st on. I was miserable, had heartburn from everything- Tums, Chocolate Milk and a Hot Pad were my best friends. Sleeping was no longer an option and I finally stopped working the first of December also.

Heartburn keeping me up all night, causing some serious reflux and trips to the bathroom to throw-up yet again. I didn't have morning sickness at all, for which I was very thankful, buuuut it came back to bite me

Because I'm Type 1 Diabetic the last 2 months I was going into the Doctor 3-4 times a week. Non-Stress-Tests (to make sure the baby is active/reactive enough and not under any stress that could be caused by a number of things) every other day. Biophysical Profiles (BPP's), to make sure the baby is practicing breathing, there is enough amniotic fluid and several other things, 2 times a week. Aaaand one "normal" appointment.

Baby Girl was measuring 9 pounds the week before she was born based on every one of the many ultrasounds I was also receiving. She felt like 9 pounds too, every time I rolled over she would just "FLOP" hard! It was so funny, yet so painful. Silly kick boxer she was - she had broken my two bottom ribs on either side as well.

Suffice it to say: I was DONE being pregnant and very disappointed my doctor was going to let me go to my due date!

Much to my joy she decided to make her very speedy arrival on December 17th, she let me know in the wee hours of the morning. I was determined to have no "false alarms" so I waited the hour of seriously painful-can't-talk-or-walk-through-these contractions before beating Kenny over the head and telling him to get in the car finally at 4am. 4:15 we made it to the hospital and the nurses didn't believe me until they hooked me up to those wonderful machines you can't move around with.

An hour later I did what I was really hoping not to - I got the epidural. The on-call doctors that came into my room thought I was being induced and told the nurses to turn down the machines that were only pumping saline. Silly Girl was ready to be born and was giving me NO break between those darn contractions. The epidural didn't really take either, it lasted a little more than an hour - which was enough. 9 hours from start till she was born screaming her little head off.

In between it all it started snowing, then kept snowing and snowing and snowing. Only to become our biggest snow fall in the history of Spokane, with 17 inches in 24 hours and 4 more just a couple hours after that putting us over 20 inches in a day and 59.7 inches for the month. It was a day to remember for sure!

Our families stuck at the Hospital until traffic was no longer at a complete stand still and had cleared up enough to even try and get home. Nurses and Doctors didn't get to rotate because no one new could come in to relieve them and they had to stay on duty, sleeping there at the hospital themselves when they got the chance.

It took more work than ever controlling my blood sugar and taking more insulin that I ever have, watching my food like crazy - but - Our Winter Baby was the best Christmas Present ever to be had, bringing in the most epic snowfall in the history of our silly little town. ,

I still cannot believe that it has been a year since I had a newborn in my arms. I cannot believe how much she is learning these days. I cannot believe how every day is a new day of adventures. Every day she grows to a new level of cute, even in the frustrating times.

I Thank my Savior so much for allowing me such a wonderful little miracle!

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary...

I can't even believe how busy life becomes this time of the year. Why did I have to complicate matters more and give birth to my daughter mid December as well?

My daughter is causing me to be a crazy person these days.

She just finally figured out walking! I thought for sure she'd be walking back in September, then October then at the latest November 1st. Nope, it took until this week to figure it out. She has been holding onto furniture and running around the house that way - then would let go and take several steps before falling, standing back up and trying again - finally giving up and crawling the rest of the way.

A couple days ago well, November 25th, she finally decided that walking was quicker - so she'd take a few step, fall, stand back up, a few more, fall, stand back up.... until she was just done and would then crawl again. She is now full on Toddling around! She isn't the most stable thing yet, but she tries and it's so darn cute! She was carrying Kenny's Steel-toed work boot around the apartment tonight. Much to big for her, She rocks our world!

She's also decided to almost completely wean herself from breastfeeding. I never thought I would be upset about that, but I am. I knew before I ever got pregnant that I would want to breastfeed my kid some day. When she was born (Kenny still thinks it was hilarious) I was seriously weirded out by the whole thing. It took a couple days for her to figure the whole thing out and I ended up needing to use a nipple shield until she was 5 and a half months old before she would nurse without it. It was a serious pain, but worth it to me. She wanted to nurse alllllllll day long, as well.

So, now, the last couple weeks, she's gone almost cold turkey. Maybe it had something to do with us getting her to sleep through the night. Whatever the case, she seriously has no interest in it anymore and I'm really a bit upset about it! Ha! With how much she wanted it and would pull my shirt down for it not even a month ago it's really culture shock for me and I don't like dealing with it. It's too many emotions and too many changes and too many THINGS to deal with in the last 2.5 years!

Marrying my love, Finding out I'm pregnant, Oh wait! just kidding, I had already miscarried with our dream of Twins. Finding out I'm, yet again, pregnant a month away from what would have been the due date of the twins (Did I mention that neither of these were even supposed to happen!?). Moving 7 months pregnant is never a good thing - don't do it (I also don't recommend growing a 9 pound baby!). Going from working full time to full time mom was an enormous adjustment. The financial ups and downs. All that and More. Sometimes I just want to snap. I'm better than that, or so I think.

Also, we want to buy a house! I can't believe I didn't check into the finer details of buying a house before it was even a feasible option for us. I can't believe we are even able to do it now, for the most part. Of course the down payment is the major issue for us right now, but hopefully we'll be able to get that squared away prior to finding "the house." God will provide both for us.

My baby is almost a year old. I have tried to savor every single moment of her life thus far. She has only been "babysat" once when Kenny and I went to a much awaited concert just last month. This last year has gone by too quickly for me. I don't like it. She's changed so much. Also finally has one of those dang teeth poking through her gums! The second soon to follow! Just poking through, though, not OUT. As is her way of doing things, I anticipate that it'll be at least 2 more weeks before they actually finish their way out of hiding.

Okay, excuse me while I go continue to have my happy yet sad pity party.