Chocolate Cake

This is a video I made from Chase's chocolate cake eating incident tonight. Make sure you have your volume on for the music.

I love my little family!

I just love this picture. Derek looks like such a happy dad. Sure Maeley is being difficult and Chase isn't smiling but to get that "perfect picture" it's nearly impossible. I love being a wife and mother. They bring me so much joy.

Welcome home Tyler

Last Tuesday my brother Tyler came home from his mission. After Derek worked on Friday we drove up to spend the weekend with my family. Tyler has changed a lot since he left, most noticeably in his appearance. It was so good to see him. Derek has been motivated by him and is now waking up early to go running. I hope he sticks with it so after I have this baby he will help me get back into shape. (4weeks and 6 days, but who's counting)

Updates

A little update on what we've been up to:

Derek has been exceptionally busy recently at work. Which is always a good thing. Plus for him the day goes by really fast. Last Friday night he went to play Rock Band with some of his co-workers who apparently were suprised how well he did for a first timer. They even thought he would be a good lead singer of their little Rock Band group. I'm not surprised, Derek enjoys playing his guitar and singing his own version to nursey songs and making up his own. Maeley and Chase love it.

Maeley is becoming more and more helpful and learning so much. She is so excited about her baby sister and will even sing to her in my belly. It's pretty cute. Her favorite song is "All I Want to Do" by Sugarland. She has been watching Santa Clause 2 and Transformers a lot lately and even sings a little song about Transformers. It goes, "I love Transformers, yes yes yes!". Tinker Bell and Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) are her favorite Disney characters. She rarely calls her Sleeping Beauty but at first when we taught her Sleeping Beauty it sounded like "Stinky Booty". We had many good laughs over that.

Chase lately has been a little on the whinny side. I think there are a couple reasons. One, I think he is teething...again. He only has 7 teeth so theres a lot more to come still. Second, I think he senses something is going to change around our house. He moved into Maeley's room and now sleeps in a big kids bed. And his old room has been changed to get ready for his baby sister. He also has become more attached to me lately which is strange because up til now he has always been more attached to Derek. He is trying to say some works like "ball" and "apple". He does say "dada" and on occasion will say "mom".

Me- I'm about 34 weeks pregnant and I'm definitely ready for this baby to come out already. I swear this pregnancy has gone so slow! Last week I had another ultra sound and the lady said that she has chubby cheeks. I went to the doctor this morning and scheduled for my c-section. As of now its set for October 27th (the day before Maeley's 3rd birthday). This week has been exceptionally hard. The kids have been more needy recently and I'm exhausted trying to keep up with them. Oh well, I can only hope next week will be better.

Bunk Bed

Well it has come to that point in our lives when we found the need to buy a bunk bed of our kiddos. With a baby soon to come and only a 3 bedroom house Maeley and Chase have no choice but to share a room. Because the room in rather small it only made sense to buy a bunk bed. On Labor Day when Derek's parents came down to visit they brought the new bed and helped set it up. The first night Chase wanted nothing to do with it, but the next day he did fine sleeping in it. Maeley was so excited to get a bunk bed and get the top bunk because her Trejo cousins have bunk beds too (that's my sister Marie's kids). Over the first few days we found Chase on the floor, he kept falling off. With the purchase of a body pillow he now stays on the bed. You would think with a full size bed he would have plenty of room but this little one moves around so much in his sleep.

Yes, her shorts are on backwards.

Luckily I was able to find some cute bedding that coordinated. It was harder than I thought it was going to be.

Chase sometimes will try to climb the ladder, but we quickly stop him.

Flowers?

Derek brought home flowers for me tonight! Wahoo! The reason why you ask, 7 years ago we meet for the first time.

The story of how we met.

September 5th, 2001 I was online and received a request on my AOL IM to talk to someone I didn't know. I went ahead and agreed and he quickly introduced himself and that he was friends with Tyler Vowles (my friend Shannon's boyfriend at the time, now husband). We chatted and then the following Saturday the 8th we wanted to meet. It was in the afternoon and Shannon and I were shopping at Superstition Springs mall when I got a call from Derek. I was super excited. Without confirming with Shannon I had arranged for us to meet him at Subway where Tyler worked right away. I figured Shannon wouldn't be too upset to drop shopping when she would be seeing her boyfriend. I was wearing an orange polo from the Gap, Abercrombie jeans, and Dr. Marten sandals which was the norm for me at the time. Derek on the other hand was wearing old cutoff green corduroy shorts, a shirt with the Statue of Liberty on it that read "Made in America (with Italian parts)", old Vans, black argyle socks and a recently shaved head. I thought to myself 'we are very different, this should be interesting.' I didn't hold anything back, I was as natural as could be and being goofy like any 18 year old is. Derek was pretty quiet for the most part. Once we left I found myself wanting to meet up with him again that evening but didn't want to seem too eager. Luckily for me he called later and wanted to meet up and hang out with Tyler & Shannon. We ended up going to play laser tag and had a good time. As Shannon and I drove home I realized that there was just something about him, I was already falling for him.

We ended up dating for nearly 7 months before he left on his mission. I waited for him and he proposed 3 days after coming home. Then about 4 1/2 months later we married.

It's a good thing that I was able to look past those silly clothes he was wearing.

Dress up

Last night Maeley insisted on wearing her swimsuit, which isn't out of the norm as she often changes her clothes multiple times during the day. Below are some silly pictures of her.

Mt Lemmon Trip

So for Labor Day we decided we better start checking out things around here, in and around Tucson. Along with my parents who came down for the day, we decided to go up to Mt Lemmon. It is just northeast of Tucson and within an hour we ventured up to 8000 feet in elevation (starting from somewhere below 4000). Quite the quick transition in landscape. And temperature as well. When we returned in the afternoon it was in the 80's after leaving a cool 55 degrees at the top. On Mt Lemmon we visited Summerhaven (the town at the top) and the ski lift as well as driving down a few roads that end at trailheads. We also enjoyed a nice quiet picnic, which by the time we were finished, our tranquil picnic spot became very busy with other people. So, here are a few pictures from our adventure on Mt Lemmon (including some attempts to be artistic in my photography). Enjoy.

Saturday Morning Sprinkler Fun

A few weeks back I had to go to Phoenix for some training for work. It just happened to be on a Friday, so we stayed almost all day Saturday as well. Saturday morning Chase and Maeley were running around in the PJ's with cousin Parker who had spent the night. While running around the backyard, the sprinklers came on. And of course, Maeley had to run in the sprinklers in her pajamas. What a funny kid. Chase followed his big sister eventually and got wet as well. These are just some funny pictures of them from that morning.

Just try to not smile. See... you couldn't do it.

Chase

This week I finally got Chase into his new doctor for his 1 year checkup.

His current stats:

weight: 22lbs 8oz (25-50th percentile)

height: 30.5" (50-75th percentile)

head circumference: 45 (5th percentile)

Health wise he is doing really well. I'm actually surprised at how well he listens. He understands a lot of what you tell/ask of him. The doctor did give me a goal to have him completely off the bottle and pacifer by his next appointment which is at 15 months. So far he is doing fine without his bottle. I give him whole milk now at eating times instead of before his naps and bedtime. The pacifier is going to be tough, but I would really love if he stopped taking it before the baby is born (only 2 more months!).

Here are some of his pictures from 12months.

Isn't he so handsome?

The Great Bathroom Remodel

This was a project that while living in my parents basement we had wanted to do the entire time we were there. We finally got started right about the time I graduated. Then it wasn't too much longer before I got the job offer that moved us here to Tucson, so many a late night was spent trying to get as much done before we moved. My dad ended up having to finish the tile in the closet, the mirror, toilet, some of the vanity and all the towel racks and shower curtain. In the end it turned out really nice and we enjoy using it when we come up to visit. Enjoy the slideshow (a little long but shows most of the progress really well)

New car

We got a new car, well not new but new to us. It's a 2005 Ford Expedition. We sold our Kia Sorento a few weeks ago because there was not enough room for a third car seat in the back seat. We won't be out growing this anytime soon.

Maeley had a blast car shopping and is happy with this one.

Thank you Derek! I love my new car, not as much as I love you though!

My baking buddy

Maeley has been my baking buddy since she could sit up. I would sit her on the counter next to the mixer and she would watch me add each ingredient. She still loves it and has become such a big helper. This time after adding the flour she thought it was time for the dough to be mixed. Flour went everywhere because when she turned it on she put it on a high speed.

The next couple pictures are of Maeley washing her play dishes. She had so much fun.

Maeley & Chase

Chase: He may be too young to talk but he certainly tries to get his point across. He has his own language which includes grunts, groans and pointing. He actually does a pretty good job at letting us know what he wants. Last night while I was making dinner he stood pointing up at the stove. Apparently he likes the smell of sausage and wanted some right then. A couple weeks ago while I was at Target I found a toy drill. When I showed it to him he got so excited. It's his favorite toy. We decided it was time to convert his crib to a toddler bed. Chase joined his dad and had a great time. Everyone tells me that boys are for the moms and girls are for the dads. With our kids it's the exact opposite. Chase loves being with Derek and Maeley is attached to me.

Like father like son

His favorite toy

Maeley: Hooray she is finally potty trained. It's so nice having only one child's diapers to change. She's a silly girl. Almost everything she eats needs to go into the freezer to cool down. She hates hot food. She is now saying prayers and always includes her cousins in them. Her cousins are her friends as she tells me on a daily basis. Her birthday just isn't coming soon enough for her...or us for that matter. She has begun telling us what she wants for her birthday. One of which is a pink backpack. I think that stared from playing at her Trejo cousins house in St. David a few weeks ago. After spending a quick weekend in Gilbert, Maeley has had a hard time being at her new home and missing family. She is doing better now, but that's mainly because she gets to see cousins this weekend. She's ready for schoolTalking to Grandma Jones

DIY - Restore Those Foggy Headlights

So for those who really know me you know that I enjoy learning how to do new things, especially if it is something hands on. I have decided that when I can I will be trying to take pictures and writing a little "how to", just in case someone should happen upon this that could use the info for themselves. So that being said, I decided to attack the foggy headlights on the Tiburon that I drive. The tools I used were a bucket for water, rags to soak and rags to dry, 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper, 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper, orbital buffer (like for buffing cars), and rubbing compound (same stuff used for buffing cars, but it is used for filling in the small scratches that will be left from sanding. Trust me, it will look so much better).















To get you motivated, this is what we are trying to make them look like in the end.















And this poor speciman is before all the conditioning (I did the passenger side headlight before taking any pictures to make sure it would turn out)















Though it is hard to see here, this is a little side-by-side comparison of the before (right) and after (left).















This picture is after some sanding with 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper. For this job, I found it nice to have a rag that I would soak in water and squeeze out the water just above the headlight while sanding. This helps to continually move away the deposits left from sanding.
















Here is a little side-by-side after the 600 grit paper. You can see how much more hazy the headlight becomes. You may also worry that you have destroyed it even more at this point, but don't worry, you are doing fine.















This shows the light from the headlights. There is quite a difference as can be plainly seen.















Just a shot with the lights on (no flash on the camera)















This time I have the flash on so you can see the lights better. Clear versus fuzzy. ( I feel like I should be doing this in the voice of Ben Stein in one of the Clear Eyes eye drop commercials. )















At this point I have now sanded again, this time with 2000 grit. Then once I cleaned off the surface from that, I used an orbital buffer with rubbing compound and buffed the lights. Here you can see the light spots are the same.















With the lights on, you can see that our headlights are looking good.
















With the flash on the camera, you can see how much better and clear the lenses are. Hopefully you have enjoyed my little DIY here. The biggest key when sanding is making sure you really focus on the areas that form cloudy looking spots. Taking the time to wipe clean and dry the lense on occasion to check the status while sanding is important. Now you can attack your own yellow, foggy headlights and see better at night. Plus your headlights will be super smooth. (Just don't let anyone catch you rubbing your headlights, that may look a little weird. He he he)