Oh Christmas tree...(The Marysville Way)

Meet "Pablo" or "The guy who sells us our X-mas tree almost every year". He speaks little to no english and is the nicest guy. I wish I knew his real name, but Pablo will do.

I suppose when Morgan is older we will go to an actual Tree farm and wander around in rubber boots looking for the perfect tree for Steve to hack down lovingly with a saw, but for now tradition is tradition and ours happens to be to drive down State Ave. about 10 blocks to the local Mexican market. My Mom and I then agonize indecisively over picking out our tree from maybe a dozen they have in their pot hole filled parking lot while Pablo smiles and seems to try to tell us each tree we look at is the best one on the lot.

Pablo and my Mom. Aren't they cute?

Our Precious Tree we finally decided on getting ready for transport.

Morgan could have cared less about picking out a tree and really just wanted to run out into the busy road, hence the monkey leash. Once we had decided on a tree it was straight back into the car with him while Pablo and his friend tied the tree to my car. :)

Funny story about this picture, when the flash went off Pablo's friend freaked out and thought it was the cops coming and he acted really reallly reallllllly too worried which worried me of why he would be worrying if the cops were coming. I guess that is somethin to ponder about next year.

TA-DA!!!

The pictures are all scrambled, but you get the point of the story I am sure. I love the last picture of my Mom gleefully standing by while our lovely Mexican X-mas tree man ties our tree on top of our car for us, oh and of course the one of her with Pablo's arm around her. HAHAHAH. That made me laugh so hard when he did that I could barely take the picture. :)

And here is the tree up with lights in all its glory. Please don't mind the little white dog humping the big black dog. Thanks.

And this ends the story of how we got our tree. The tree which immediately started dying as soon as we got it into the house because it wouldn't drink any water. Oh well! It still looks great. :)

Happy Day after Thanksgiving!

Alright, yesterday was a lot of fun and I don't know where to start. I guess I should start by thanking my amazing husband for making Thanksgiving happen at all as well as my Mom, Fred, and Kathy. Due to my back injury I have had my pelvis/SI joint popped back into place twice this week(which is unbearably painful)by a therapist making it so I am unable to do barely any of the things I previously could like walking, Steve stepped up and took the lead in the kitchen though and did a great job. He also cleaned the whole house the night before and baked a Pumpkin Cheesecake as well as made some of the side dishes and appetizers ahead.

This year was a bit different for us; my Aunt and Uncles decided not to come. Steve and I love having Thanksgiving at our house and look forward to it every year so we invited Steve's Sister, her fiance Matt, Steve's Mom, and of course my Mom too. My brother, his wife, and my nephew came by in the evening and had dessert with us as well. It was a nice day filled with music, an adorable sleepy newborn, and a crazy energy filled toddling toddler toddling all over the house screaming, laughing, and talking everyones ear off, oh and occasionally throwing himself down on the ground banging his head in a fit. ;)

Our Thanksgiving dinner was ruled by vegetarians and the lactose intolerant this year which was awesome! My Mom still baked the traditional turkey and giblet stuffing for her and Steve's mom, but Steve's sister and fiance are vegetarian too which meant everything on the table was vegetarian and dairy-free except for my Mom's turkey and stuffing of course. And at the last minute Jamie and Tracie showed up with the infamous yummy Pistachio salad, so I guess there was one thing with dairy in it. It was a great meal and I am realizing perhaps next year we will make a more reasonalbe amount of food for the amount of guests. We could have easily fed twice the amount of people that were here and still had leftovers.

I started blogging for my friend's food blog called The Yum Diaries.com, so I took some pictures of our table setting and food, not as many as I had planned due to my back though, but enough to get the point across.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and now for the pictures...

Appetizers: Pickle Tray,Fig tapenade,Tofu dill Caper dip,Veggie Tray


My Table Setting


Our Dinner minus the sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, and the soup.


Aunt Fred, Morgan, Morwyn's Butt, and of course two Maltese and a Partridge in a Pear treeeeeee. :P


Aunt Fred and Lily








Tracie and Jaiden made these yummy Turkeys







Fred vs. The Pecan Pie




Family Cuddle :)





TV ZOMBIIEEESS!






Matt and Fred




Steve's Dairy-free Pumpkin Cheesecake
Keep checking back for more photos, I am still adding them...

Life

Steve went back to work last week and I have been getting help from my step-mom Diane during the day while Steve is gone. She has been doing all the chores and helping with Lily and Morgan as well. Morgan and Lily both love her and we decided they will call her Nana. Diane wasn't ready for the title of Grandma quite yet. ;)

It is unbelievably awesome that she is here to help. I really need it right now, unfortunately my back is still very bad. I am currently taking some serious meds for it as well as going to Physical Therapy twice a week. I am also seeing a spine specialist. Apparently I have several bulging and herniated discs and a small fracture in my lower back, but the Dr. doesn't think that is the entire problem. After reexamining me she has concluded the problem is my SI joint. This is pretty common during pregnancy for it to go awry and mine just happens to be pretty bad. I am going to start seeing a physical therapist that specializes in it. I am also getting lab work done to make sure there isn't arthritis in that joint. I am not supposed to pick up Morgan or Lily which is impossible, so I am learning how to do it correctly through PT and it's sort of like relearning how to live. I have to be super careful how I move and bend from now on. I actually started to notice a difference after a week, but then Saturday I decided that there was nothing wrong with me and did a bunch of bad stuff to my back and now I am regretting it. It did teach me a tough lesson that I am indeed living with a bad back and as such I must take care of it and ask for help which is really hard for me to do sometimes.

Aside from that annoyance life is good. Morgan is a busy busy little man and so incredibly adorable it kills me. It's virtually impossible to be in a bad mood around him he just fills me with happiness. He is into everything he can get his hands on and I mean everything. We finally took down the gate to the living room and he has full roam of the house now. Yesterday he ate dog food for the first time and played in the dog water bowl until almost all of the water was on the floor. It's amazing how fast this can all happen even if you are present and watching him. Necrobutcher is apparently having some dominance issues with him and actually mounted Morgan from the back and humped him yesterday too! Not sure what to do about that.

Morgan is starting to use words more and more. He says baby very clearly in regards to Lily. He also says Puppy, Doggy, Daddy and Dada, and Mama. He also will randomly repeat a word that you say which is sort of scary. Steve and I need to get our swearing under control immediately or we are going to regret it. He is also using a fork and spoon correctly. It's a huge mess but just within the past couple days he has picked it up.

Lily is doing well. We think she may have colic so the Pediatrician recommended adding rice cereal to her formula which seems to be helping a lot. She still has fits of crying, but nothing like before. Morgan is a doting brother. He loves to come up and bounce her seat. He gave her a binky the other morning when she was crying and then immediately took it back for himself, but it was the thought that counted, right? It really was the cutest thing ever. He also gently pets her head and he likes to make her hands clap. There is no jealousy or animosity at all. I wonder how long that will last? :)

Sunday Steve's mom came over so we could take pictures and it was quite the fiasco. Once Steve got everything set up, both kids bathed and dressed, and various other tasks done the crying set in. Lily let us all know very clearly that she was not going to put up with any picture taking. Meanwhile Morgan managed to corner Musashi in the hallway and Mu flipped out and bit Morgan's face. He actually drew a little blood and there were welts and a little puncture wound. Of course this happens right before he is about to get pictures done. UGh! For the rest of the evening he was pretty grumpy. He wouldn't cooperate for picture taking either so all the pictures are crazy. He has started throwing his binky at us when he gets mad and tries to hit us. He also throws himself on the ground and bangs his head on the floor while screaming. Honestly, it's kinda cute. We totally ignore the tantrums and wait for him to be done before giving him any kind of attention. The hitting gets a big scary "no" from us which he understands very well. I am hoping this is a short lived phase, but who knows. The funny thing is I am enjoying even the bad stuff. It is so fun to be around him and watch his personality grow and see him learn new things.

I will try and post more often, it's just been hard lately, but hopefully it will get easier as I feel better and find a routine.

Now for pictures...

This is an example of how Lily normally looks...





Here is where she decided to catch her breath...


This is the best out of the bunch I took...


The look on Kathy's face in this photo is priceless...

One month!

Wow, Lily is one month old today! How the heck did that happen?! I was going to do a photoshoot, but we didn't wind up having time so tomorrow hopefully I can squeeze one in. Steve figured out her theme song is, "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to!" Trust me it's quite fitting. She knows what she wants and if she doesn't get it she lets everyone know in no uncertain terms. She especially likes to be held. She won't sleep in her bassinet and spends most of her time either in our arms or in her boppy bouncy seat. I will make a more detailed post about Miss Lily after I take her one month photos and fill you in on all the details. :)

I will share this cute photo I took a couple weeks ago of Morgan holding Lily for now. He really does love her. He likes to bring her stuff, but sadly he doesn't get she could care less about blocks and random toys just yet. :) He also likes to help burp her by patting her on the back and he gives her hugs and kisses which is the cutest thing ever.

It's not the best photo, but it was taken with the coolpix in my defense. :)

Craven Farm

Click here to view these pictures larger

Picture Slideshow...

I think I was too out of it the weekend Jamie and Tracie came to visit to get any really outstanding shots so you get the infamous picture slideshow from Shutterfly. This way you actually get to see more photos though since I didn't edit any of them. :) We had a really great visit when they came and we even went to Jennings park for some play time.

Click here to view these pictures larger

Lily 25 days old...

Yesterday a friend of ours, who happens to be a fantastic child photographer, came by and took some photos of Lily. They turned out amazing and I wanted to share the link to her blog where they are posted. Go take a look it is worth it!

CLICK HERE FOR CUTE LILY PICTURES!

It's officially Fall around here...

Today we decided that before Steve raked up all the leaves we would take advantage of the potential fun and let Morgan run around in them. He loved it. We even have a mini rake he drug around and helped rake leaves with. Steve raked a giant leaf pile and then stuck him in the middle which took about 3 seconds before he flipped out! He started screaming his lungs out. I thought kids were supposed to like that?!

Anyway, here are a few shots...






(I have a back log of photos I need to edit and catch up with. I will post more soon!)

Before and After

The other night Steve and I decided to do a photoshoot of Lily in the bedroom and set up the studio lighting around the bed. This was supposed to make it easier for me since it's still hard for me to move, but this turned out to be a terrible idea for many reasons. The most important reason being the lighting was impossible to get right with a giant bed in the way. None of the pictures came out right and it was a big waste of energy and time. I decided to mess with one of my test shots and was actually pleasantly surprised by the end result with minimal editing in PS. I decided I would share the before and after so you can get an idea of how amazing PS really is. If I had not shot in RAW I highly doubt I could have saved this image.

Again, this was a test shot and Steve wasn't even supposed to be in the picture I was just trying to get my lighting and exposure correct which explains why he looks a little disheveled.

BEFORE




AFTER

Saturday evening at Kayak Point...

This evening we packed up the kids (I can't believe I can use the term "kids"--that's going to take a while to get used to) and headed out to Kayak Point so Morgan could run around and play. Also, so I could take some photos. I went for a long stretch without doing any photography and I need to catch up. It feels good to be shooting again. Anyway, we got a lot of great shots and it's going to take a bit to edit them all, but I really loved one in particular so I played around with it and wanted to share. Typically, this photo would have been in the trash can, but the mood the light gives the picture attracted me to it.

A little background on the shot...we took Morgan out on to the dock and as soon as we were over the water he looked down and saw the surf between the wood planks and he sat down and wouldn't walk. He acted very worried about the whole ordeal and it took a lot of coaxing to get him to finally walk down the dock. Steve had to hold his hand almost the whole time to get him to move. He kept looking down and almost acted a bit scared. It made me remember how I used to be scared to death of docks when I was a kid too. ;)

Sunset...



and I just finished this one which also gives off this old snapshot feel to it.

Miss Lilian...

Well, in her short 10 days of life she decidedly has major opinions about things. For instance, the second she wets her diaper there is a major outburst of crying until it's changed. Seriously, one drop of pee and it MUST be changed immediately! Steve and I were joking around today saying forget the college fund it's all going to be spent on diapers. She also prefers to be held. I can't complain about that because when we brought her home a week ago I held her constantly. So, it's probably my fault, but we are sort of in line with the attachment parenting philosophy as far as that goes anyway. She also doesn't like the pacifier and will not take it which is actually a blessing really because now we don't have to worry about that later.

The other night I was holding Lily in the living room and I told Morgan to give her kisses and he came up to her with his mouth wide open and slobbered all over her cheek, it was so cute! He did it several more times after that too. He is very interested in her, but right now she is mainly in the bedroom with me as I heal and he is out in the living room so not much contact has been established yet.

I mustered enough energy yesterday to attempt a photoshoot with her. It was a lot of work and pretty stressful. Shooting newborns is hard work. Steve and I are going to try again tonight, but with some new tricks up our sleeves. We will see how it goes. Luckily out of all the trouble Steve and I went through yesterday with the photoshoot I was able to get a few good ones. The last photo I posted of her I wasn't exactly happy about and I am re-editing it so you will probably see it pop up again. My favorite photo I shot yesterday I edited it in color and a sort of desaturated sepia tone, but can't decide which I like better so I am going to post both and let you decide.

Lily 9 days old...





Here is the re-edited photo I mentioned...

Lily 9 days old

Morgan 13 months

This was taken on the Friday before I had Lily at Kayak Point at sunset. There were a ton of people just off shore fishing and the fish were literally flying out of the water it was quite a scene.

Lily is now 8 days old. Things are going really well. There is nothing more peaceful in this world than holding a newborn. Luckily child birth is something I don't want to experience ever again or I could see myself having a whole litter of these things running around. ;) She is such a sweet baby. The only time she cries is when she is hungry or when her diaper is wet and she lets us know right when her diaper is wet. Apparently she doesn't like it at all and as such we are going through diapers at a record pace. Her cry is so soft too, I remember Morgan being really loud, but when she opens her mouth sometimes there is no sound at first and then a light soft crying follows. We are going to do a photo shoot tonight to get some newborn shots.


Steve and I are both exhausted of course for different reasons. Morgan is keeping Steve quite busy as he has now become fond of crawling up onto the couch and then onto the end table to escape past the baby gate. Steve literally cannot leave him for a second because he immediately tries to do this little stunt. We are not quite sure what to do about it. We are thinking about baby proofing the dining room and kitchen so he has more space to wander through, but we are not completely comfortable with that idea yet. I guess it has to happen sometime.

I am healing pretty well, my leg is luckily getting better from the whole spinal ordeal and my incision looks amazingly good. My back hurts pretty bad as does the incision, but I have to keep reminding myself it's only been a week and the healing time is 6 -8 weeks. Ice packs are my best friend right now.

On Tuesday we took Lily to her first doctor check-up and it went great! It was the first time we all went out as a family which was quite the production. Poor Steve! Anyway, we are now seeing a male doctor who has been with the Everett Clinic for 31 years. He is sort of a crotchety old man, but in a good way that makes me feel like Lily is getting really good care from a very experienced Pediatrician. He said she looked perfectly healthy and she even gained back all the weight newborns initially lose after being born which really is no surprise because she eats a full 2 oz bottle every 1.5-2 hours plus whatever small amount she is getting from the breast.

Yesterday, Steve took Morgan to his toddler class for the first time all by himself and apparently it went really well. All the moms were very accepting of him being there as well as several of the boy toddlers who decided to hang with him for a lot of the play time. Morgan was much more adventurous this time around and had a lot of fun.

Now for a bunch of random photos from the past week...