Birthday and Christmas

Alexis is turning 4 on November 19th, and we're having her party this Saturday, I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

It's been hard having so many birthdays in October and November when Christmas is just around the corner. Especially with Cameron not working due to school, and with the little amount I make at Target....lets just say the dollars are in the red.

But this is a happy post!
Today I stumbled upon the CUTEST bicycle I have ever seen in my life, and my mom is considering getting it for Alexis for Christmas. Cameron and I would, but we already have in motion what we will be getting for her.

Voila, the cutest bike EVER.

Right? It has a seat for her dollies (she asked for a specific one from Santa this year), and a basket for all her little treasures she likes to collect. It even has giant polka dots on the basket and giant buttons on the training wheels! I can't get over the cuteness.

And since Alexis loves pink...it's just perfect.

Had to post!
As I said, birthday pics will come as soon as I've got some.

Baby Names!

Talon, Everley, Brynnley, Luna....the list goes on! We can't decide. Help us out!

Boys



Girls



These are for first names only. Once we decide on 1-3 names for boys or girls, we will look at middle names also. Help us choose, which ones do you like?

Baby No. 2

Can you believe it? I can't believe it! Baby No. 2 is moving along. :) Little baby Talon, Blake, Liam, or Evelyn, Luna, Evangeline? Not too long til we know!

100 by 30

You may or may not have noticed the new page over to the right labeled "100 by 30". This is a goal list I've given myself of 100 things to do before I turn 30.
I need this...I've never been a very exciting person. Even when I do something exciting, people get bored hearing about it because I can't even explain things in an exciting way. Like bungee jumping. Pretty exciting thing to do, but if I told you about it you'd probably end up saying "Oh, uh-huh? Is that right. How interesting".
But in my heart I am a VERY exciting person. I don't know if it's all the reading I did as a child, or just the nature of my childhood, but I just have this wildness inside of me that wants to get out. Wants to travel the world, create things, enjoy the wonders of life and also endure the struggle of survival.
So in order to sate the wildness inside, I've made a list. Haha! That sounds too funny.
There are a few things I may never get to do, all of the traveling, for instance, is a bit much altogether.
And then there are other things, like getting my license, that are really a necessity. Something I must do.
But nevertheless they are all goals I've set, and I would LOVE to have them all by the time I'm 30!
That gives me 7 years from this August.
And I think, I hope, I can get most or all of these in the next 7 years. We'll see!
Wish me luck!

Summer rolls around again

A lot has changed since my last post!
Cameron has only 2 more quarters to go, and Alexis and I will only be living here in auburn for one more quarter of it. Hurray! I can't describe how much I am looking forward to no longer working in fast food!
This is good news for more than that of course. Cameron will no longer be worrying over tests and homework, I will finally be able to preschool Alexis at home, we can start trying for another baby, we can be closer to our families...the list goes on.
More things have changed, Alexis is 3 now, Cameron and I got a membership at the gym (I've lost almost all the baby weight!), my younger sister is 14 weeks pregnant, my brother-in-law got married, and my whole family is together again all living in Longview! I'm so glad to have all my sisters together again.
Pinterest has taken over my life, and I've grown an interest in knitting and crocheting. I've also been reading more, and I've found that I love spending time in Pikes Place Market. That's one of the things I will miss about living near Seattle.
I'll add some pictures illustrating some of these things at the bottom. I love having an iPhone!

Lexi Love

My daughter is the funniest.
My daughter is the smartest.
My daughter is the brightest.
My daughter is the friendliest.
The smiley-est.
The orneriest.
The strongest.
The silliest.
My daughter is the most independent.
The most defiant.
The most confidant and care-free.

Lexi is 2 ½, and she is already all these things.
To me anyway. To us. To our family.

She is so beautiful from the inside out.
And not because she’s obedient, or attractive, or doll-like.
Not because she is “girly”, or feminine, or quiet.
She is some of those things, and she is not some of those things.
But she is beautiful because she is purely her.
Just Lexi.

Her defiance can be exasperating, but also entertaining, and her daddy and I will laugh quietly to each other once she’s in time out and can’t see us.
Her silliness is sometimes incomprehensible, but beautiful to watch, and often the meaning or reason for it comes later, and show us her intelligence.
Her confidence and inner strength is so fantastic. I can’t imagine having it myself. I hope she holds onto that forever.
Her intelligence is beyond her years. Literally. Her speech, motor-skills, dexterity, all are beyond her age group. And she uses them to simply.have.fun.

Yes she is smart. Extra smart.
She can formulate full paragraphs, tell stories, explain to you why she is upset and how she thinks you should fix it. She can tell you she’s sorry and why she’s sorry.
She can count to 13, point out the letters O, C, W, S, and E in any random word or sentence, and she’s learning more all the time. Here at home with us.
So despite all of this, I have no intention of putting her in some fast-moving advanced-placement program as early as possible.
I want her to enjoy her childhood by just enjoying it.

Her smiley, scrunchy, angry, wide-eyed face brings more joy to my life than I’d ever thought that there would be.
And I love her.
For every smile, every scowl, every expression of false-surprise. For every tear, tantrum, and laugh. For every moment of joy or frustration she brings to us.
For the good and the bad.

A child will change your life forever.
I love mine.

Load, Move, Unload…in 2 days

It took us roughly 1 week to pack up our house. About 6 days. Which was mostly out of our unwillingness to stay active at it for more than a few hours at a time. We just didn’t want to say goodbye to our house. 
Or to our home town, our family, our friends, the places we grew up, the people of our childhood…and the sooner the house was empty the sooner that would all be a reality. 
So we took our sweet time.
We packed books & movies the first night.
We took the second night off because we couldn’t figure out what to pack next.
Went and bought more boxes on the third day, and packed up anything hanging on the walls from pictures to shelves to sconces.
Started getting rid of stuff we didn’t need on the fourth day. Like Lexi’s baby-sized Halloween costumes, which I set aside for a friend, and gifts reluctantly accepted and never used, which went to the goodwill.
On the fifth day we started getting serious. We set aside clothes and bathroom necessities for a night at my mother’s house, and got down to business. 
We packed up our room. All of our clothes, and everything that had been sitting on our dresser, nightstands, or shelves went into boxes.
We packed up the kitchen, all pots and pans, all silverware but the plastic, all plates but the paper, all our portable appliances like the coffee maker, the toaster, the blender. The bake ware, the glassware, etc. etc.
We packed up everything but Lexi’s room, because she can only sleep if everything in her room is where it should be.
On the sixth day we took a break. We watched movies. We had dinner at my mom’s (where they gifted us with money, out of the awesomeness of their hearts). And we went to a movie with friends (the Hangover 2, which was pretty funny, even though it followed the same pattern as the first one).


And then the real work started!
The truck came on the 7th day. And we filled it with boxes, our couches, our tables…And we realized we weren’t quite as packed up as we’d thought we were. Which was an unpleasant realization!)
We still had all of lexis room, her toys, clothes, wardrobe, bed, and bedding. We had our TV, our xbox360, our internet router. Our bed and bedding. We had to disassemble the dining room table to load it. The list goes on, and it was a mess.
Lucky for us (!) Cameron’s family paid their housekeeper to come clean our house for us instead of their own. I’ve never had someone else clean my house before! It was fantastic. She did a great job. And it took 3 hours of cleaning off of my to-do list that day.
They also paid a family friend to come mow our lawn for us, which was awesome.
And my mom and step-dad decided to surprise me with a new cell-phone.
Have I mentioned our families are super awesome??


Once the truck was loaded we took it to my parent’s house where we spent the night.
The next day we drove the 2 ½ hours here, unloaded the truck, and my family stayed to help unpack for a while before leaving to go home.


So now here we are. In a new town, with new people. In an apartment, soon to be with a room mate. With 1,100$ in bills, and currently no job.
Life is scary, and new, and exciting. Stay tuned!