Utah. Hawaii. AND ........

Finally.  The Hawaii post.  The unfortunate part of me blogging about this 3 months after the fact is that I can only remember the things we did that I took a picture of.  But don't worry, I took plenty of pictures.  In fact this will probably be the longest post of your life.  Are you ready?

I flew home with Trey a week early so I could get him a little adjusted to my family and to his surroundings before I just took off to Hawaii.  Plus I got an extra week out of my vacation.  :)

Our week was spent:

Celebrating Easter with both sides of the fam...

Easter Egg Hunt at the Falslevs

And dinner at Grammy's with the whole Anderson/Western/Watts clan.

I went back over to the Falslevs later that night to get my nails painted all cute by these girls...

And to get my trash kicked in a game of 3-13 by Ang and Shane.

You're going down next time!!!

Hanging out with my besties...

Going to lunch and Discovery Gateway in Salt Lake...

Visiting family in Centerville...  

And getting to meet Jani's darling baby boy Beckham for the first time.

{We tried sitting Beckham on Trey's lap, and Trey was NOT a fan! haha}

That's better.

Man, Trey looks HUGE!!

And spending lots of lunches at Grammy's.

She makes the best soups!

All in all we had a great week!

Now off to Hawaii!!!!

I left somewhat early Friday morning and had a tearful goodbye with my sweet little boy whom I had never left for more than an evening away.  It tore at my heartstrings, but I survived and the trip was well worth it.  (Even if I did have to call my family 10 times a day to check up on him. :))

A big thanks to my family for being willing to watch Trey.

We spent a total of 9 days in Hawaii at a beautiful resort called Ko' Olina. We went to Hawaii a few years ago as well with Jeff's parents and that is when we did most of our sight-seeing.  So this time we mostly just relaxed and hung by the beach.  What more can you ask for?

We were welcomed by this beautiful sunset the first day we got there.

(A picture Jeff took while on a walk)  He's proud of it.  :)

They were having a Spam festival over at Waikiki that Jeff and I thought we would check out.  Plus he had a mission friend who he was planning to meet up with at the festival.

Those Hawaiians sure love their Spam.

Here is a nice little view from the balcony of our condo.

It really is a beautiful place.  I'm so glad Tony and Kathie have been so kind to take us not once, but TWICE to Hawaii.  We can't thank them enough.

Our vacation wouldn't be complete unless we were treated to a few fancy restaurants.

Lucky for us we got to celebrate our Anniversary a few times.

We drove practically around the whole island (we missed the exit) during the middle of an incredible lightning storm, to meet up with some good friends of the Wegener's.  We had dinner at a beautiful golf course on Turtle Bay.

Some poolside shots.

They have some pretty sweet pools if you ask me.

We got to enjoy a pineapple float from the Pineapple Plantation.

Check out the rainbow!

Got some hamburgers up at the Northshore and looked for crabs.

Waiting for the bus to pick us up.

Jeff and I got to go on a dolphin excursion for going to one of those stupid time-share presentations (that we vowed we'd never do again)... but this time it payed off.

 We saw lots of dolphins and even snorkeled really close to some of them.

Took some pictures on our walk to dinner.

Dinner at the JW Marriot.

Once again, pictures from the balcony.

 

Jeff and I spent a day at the Northshore playing in the waves, checking out the turtles, eating lunch, and my personal favorite... getting a snow cone at Matsumotos.

Check out these videos.  The waves are out of control!


Jeff got caught in the waves and you could see the panic on his face trying to get back to shore. That is why I don't go out there.  I'd probably drown!



Jeff also spent many of his mornings driving into Waikiki with his dad to go surfing.  I bummed out this year and only went in once to watch... and shop of course. :)  We also spent some time at the beach snorkeling and playing in the water.

Our last dinner down by the pool.  Jeff LOVED their fish tacos and couldn't stop talking about them the whole trip.

Our last pic before we took off to the airport.

We flew home on the red eye flight and got home Sunday morning which happened to be Mother's Day.
It was a nice little Mother's Day treat to get home and see my little boy.

And while we were livin it up in Hawaii...
my mom and sisters were taking care of this little munchkin.

Thank You SO Much!!!

The day after I left, Trey got a horrible cold and ended up being sick all week... what are the chances.  I felt really bad they had to take care of a sick baby, but they said he did great despite the nasty cold.  I'm glad they were able to get some bonding time in.

I couldn't have asked for a better reunion with Trey.  I went in to get him up from his nap and he just stared at me like, "is it really you, where have you been??"  Then I picked him up and the first thing he did was lay his head down on my shoulder.  It was so sweet.  He continued to give me a hug for a good 5 min and refused to go to anyone else.  It was a perfect Mother's Day gift.  I just love my little boy.

Before we headed back to the 'Burgh, we got one last lunch in with some of Jeff's buddies and their kids.

And also spent some time with the fam.

What a fun and memorable trip.  I hope we can do it again sometime!!! ;)


AND... 


I AM PREGNANT!!


Due January 13, 2012.


15 weeks today.

if you actually made it through this post to hear the news I am impressed.

We found out I was pregnant on Mother's Day which was another great surprise!  We couldn't be happier!!

Mexican Feast

Jeff recently found a show on the food network called, "Mexican Made Easy."  And for those of you who know Jeff, you know he loves himself some good ol' authentic Mexican food.  And since there is hardly any to be found here in Pittsburgh, he decided to put his skills to the test and cook us up some real hearty Mexican food.  I'm not a huge Mexican fan (unfortunately for Jeff), so I have to admit I was a bit leery.  Good thing he proved me wrong.  It was delicious.  For all the time and effort he put into this meal, I think he deserves a good pat on the back.  The result of his efforts:

On the Menu:

Carne Asada Tacos

Poblano Cream Cheese Empanadas

Mexican rice

refried beans

homemade red salsa

homemade green salsa

We had some friends over to try some of Jeff's "experimental Mexican food."  I think they enjoyed it as much as I did.  Good work Jeff.

16 Months

I had every intention of doing a 15 month post for Trey but that just didn't happen... so a 16 month post it is.

Trey sure is a bundle of fun lately.  I'm starting to see more and more of his cute little personality come out and I love it.  Every day he does something new that cracks me up.  Like this dance to the intro of Barney...  every time this song comes on his face just lights up and he gets so excited.



This is mostly just the first 20 seconds or so.


Of course the best dances I never capture on video, but this gives you an idea.
{And yes, I really despise Barney, but it sure makes this little guy happy}

At Trey's 15 month appt.
He weighed: 26lb 8oz (75th percentile)
His height: 32.25" (85th percentile)

He's definitely slowing down and starting to even out a little.  I wasn't sure that was ever going to happen!

I attempted a few pictures when he was 15 months and this was the only half decent one I got.  He would NOT sit still on that chair, let alone smile.

(Oh and his hair, ha, I tried spiking it and he just doesn't have enough hair yet to do that.  Darn.)

He is getting smarter and smarter lately.  I think he is starting to understand more and more what I say.  Not to mention he's becoming quite helpful.  If I tell him to throw something away, he will do it.  If I ask him to go get me something (usually the remote or my phone) he will do it.  Gosh, that makes me sound lazy.  But who wouldn't like their own little sidekick to do little tasks for them.  If I ask him to help me clean up his room and put his books and toys away, he does it.  And he not only does it, but he WANTS to do it.  He's always so proud of himself when he does little favors for me or Jeff.  Lately he wants to be the one to throw his diaper away, he gets mad if I don't let him.

Trey is becoming more and more independent.  He's not my little baby anymore and it kind of makes me sad.  He wants to do things on his own and often acts like he's the one in charge.  Like at church, he wanders around like he's knows right where everything is and just where he wants to go.  It's becoming quite the challenge keeping him away from the gym (where the balls are) and the drinking fountain.

 Trey STILL loves all balls and loves to be held while Jeff plays basketball.  I think he could do that all day.  He's really into books lately and often demands that I give him his books in his crib when he wakes up from his naps.  I love to watch him sit and turn the pages.

Trey will try and say things but none of it makes any sense. When he wants something he will point and say "uh."  I think it's gonna be a while before he learns how to talk.  One thing he does know is all of his animal sounds.  He's got those pretty much mastered.  We've taught him how to sign a few things which makes communicating a little easier.

Our little guy is a good little sleeper.  He really likes me to rock him and sing to him before he goes to bed and I can't resist the 5-10 min of cuddle time. We are still juggling between the 1-2 naps, I can't decide which one I like better.  He has gotten to be quite the picky eater which is so frustrating... and I'm afraid it's only gonna get worse.  He loves to be outside and loves when we take him on walks.

Basically we just love this little guy.  I could eat him right up!

Random Photos

These are just some random pictures that I've taken over the past few months, of mostly Trey, that I think are worthy of a post.  He's just that cute.

 Going on a walk.  His face cracks me up.

I had forgotten about this picture until I started looking back through our photos.  Jeff occasionally struggled putting Trey's pants on.  Pretty funny.

Notice Trey's panicked face.

We had brought the car seat inside to fix the straps and discovered that it was quite convenient to have in the house.  We just buckled him right in and gave him some balls and he was happy... for a little while anyway.

Mommy and Trey relaxing on the couch.  He'll find whatever spot he can get comfy in.

 Daddy and Trey sitting on the porch.  This picture was not staged.

Trey was misbehaving at church one day {gasp!} so Jeff took him in one of the Sunday school rooms.  Apparently he is ready for Sunbeams.

Trey got his 1st haircut.  He finally had enough hair for us to cut.  We mostly just trimmed up the back and took it all a little shorter.  He's still struggling to get more hair on the sides.

 The Before:

 After:

 This is our next door neighbors dog.  Trey absolutely loves this dog.  Every time we go outside, we have to look next door to see if this dog is sitting on the porch.  Sadly, the dog is dying from cancer and won't be around much longer.  We had to get a picture of him and Trey together.

 I love the serious face from both of them.

Here's a little better one.

 Trey will just snuggle right up whenever Sesame Street is on.  It's his favorite show lately.

The other day we were on our way to the store and I looked back and this is how Trey was sitting.

What a crack up.

And my personal favorite... we have recently taught Trey how to fold his arms.  He is so good about doing it every time we tell him it's time to fold his arms.  He'll even occasionally try and close his eyes during a prayer.

This kid makes me happy.

Recap of our Summer

In case you've been wondering what we've been up to the last couple of months... here is a quick-ish recap.

Way back in March... can you remember back that far??  Well Jeff of course played church ball again this year and Trey and I did our best to attend all of the games that we could.  Unfortunately the one game we missed ended up being a crazy triple overtime thriller in the tournament.

Here's a picture of Jeff and most of his team.

We went to Hawaii the first week in May and had a fabulous time.  But Hawaii deserves a post of it's own so I will get to that in a later post.  Hopefully soon.

Jeff and I celebrated our fourth Anniversary on May 12th.  I can't believe it's already been 4 years.  These past 4 years have really flown by.  And just to think in another year Jeff will be graduating and we will be moving on to the next adventure of our life.  It makes me sad to even think about leaving all the memories and friends we have made here.

We enjoyed a nice romantic dinner at Thai Foon.

Oh wait.  We had to bring this little guy along.

It wasn't quite so romantic after all....  Oh well.

Speaking of leaving... we had to say goodbye to all of our friends who graduated this year.  We are happy for them and excited to see them move on to bigger and better things, but it sure doesn't make the goodbyes any easier.  We sure miss you guys!

 This was one of the last nights with one of the many great friends we've made here.  Unfortunately only the babies are pictured.  They're cuter anyway.

We had a going away party at the church for all those who are leaving and failed to get a picture.  We also had the Orientation BBQ for all the new students coming in.  Unfortunately there is only 1 LDS guy coming in this year.  I'm not sure what happened from our year {18 LDS students} to now, but I hope we aren't the ones to blame.  :)

Trey and I have had lots of play dates lately.  It sure is nice to get out of the house and have some friends to hang out with!

We've gone to splash parks...

Spent many a days at the park...

Went and hung with some friends for the night up at Raccoon Creek Park.  They were adventurous enough to actually camp and stay over, we just joined them for the evening.  

We made tin-foil dinners and got to enjoy some Cherry cobbler.  Doesn't get much better than that.

Had a few outings to the Pittsburgh Zoo.

Visited Jeff and some of his classmates at the Dental School.  Jeff took him over to the Pediatric department to say hi.  Hopefully we'll get to go back when Trey is a little older to get an exam by his very own Daddy.

Some more splash park...

And a trip to the Children's Museum.

He got to try on Mister Rogers' shoes from "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."
[And in case you didn't know, Mister Rogers' is from Pittsburgh.  We've even driven by his house.]

Well we've sure enjoyed our summer so far.  Hopefully the rest of the summer will be just as eventful.

What we did for the 4th

Hello blog world.  I'm back.  For now.  I am feeling overwhelmed at the amount of things I need to catch up on so why not start with what we did for the 4th of July weekend.

I love the 4th.  It's right up there at the top of my list of favorite holidays.  I love every excuse to have a bbq, getting together with friends and family, the parades, fireworks, and just the fact that we get to celebrate our independence.  We are so blessed to live in America and have the freedoms that we do.  I'm glad we have a holiday to celebrate all those who fought for our freedom and continue to do so.

I especially like that the 4th was on a Monday this year, we got an extra long weekend to celebrate!  Wahoo!  To start off our weekend, we had some friends over last minute for dinner.  Then we put the babe to bed and Jeff and I relaxed and watched a movie.
Saturday we were able to get a bunch of work done outside, or I guess I should say Jeff was able to get a lot of work done outside while Trey and I watched.  :)  Then some friends of ours watched Trey while Jeff and I went to the movie Super 8.  We enjoyed it.  We followed up the movie with a BBQ with some friends and let me tell you... we had LOTS of delicious food.  Thanks guys.

Sunday was pretty low key.  We went to church and then that evening did some sparklers and poppers with Trey.  The poppers were a hit.



Jeff's brother Andy flew in late Sunday night.  He is a pilot and coincidentally had an overnight in Pittsburgh. I went to bed, but he and Jeff stayed up until all hours of the night playing computer games.  Not my kind of fun, but whatever makes them happy.

Monday morning we had a 4th of July breakfast with the 4th years at a nearby park.  We don't seem to get together as often as we used to, but when we do we always have a great time.

 Trey and his Uncle Andy

Jeff took Andy out to the lookout point over Mt. Washington.  Can't let him leave without getting at least one picture there.

Andy had to leave around 2 that afternoon, so it was definitely a short trip but we enjoyed what little time we got to spend with him.
After he left, we headed down to the point to the 3 Rivers Regatta where they have a bunch of vendors selling all kinds of yummy food, boat races on the river, bikers showing off their skills, and this amazing sand sculpture.

We were able to watch one of the boat races but the one we waited forever to watch wasn't all that exciting.  Oh well.

That evening we went over to our Bishops for a ward barbecue.  He has a HUGE backyard with a perfect view of the fireworks.  Seriously, I don't know if the view could get much better than that. 

Trey loved the fireworks and was a champ all night considering we kept him up way past his bedtime.  By the end of the night we were all exhausted and went straight home to bed.  What a good day.

I was sad to miss out on the annual Lewiston parade this year as well as watching the Stadium fireworks with my family out by the Lee's parking lot, but this was definitely a close second.  I will take it.

Happy belated 4th everyone!!