June 2009

Fun with Caleb

I have had so much fun with Caleb this month. He is at such a fun age. We have conversations with each other, he knows what he wants and can tell me, and he is so sweet. I love this little boy. I just can't believe that in August he will be 2 yrs. old. This has been an amazing time of my life.

Topeka has an amazing library. They do all these fun events and activities that are free to the public. We were able to go see birds from the rain forest, a juggling act, and this week we are going to Dino dancing. There is a park in town that has a train ride, a public swimming pool, the zoo, and a park with tons of fun toys. Caleb loves the train and is terrified of the zoo. The zoo was not like the zoo in his Curious George movie :) He is so fun and I enjoy seeing how excited he gets over everything. Children are so easy to make happy... all they need is your love and attention.

Keith Urban & Taylor Swift Concert

I would like to start out by saying thank you to Katie and Randy!

Randy, Ricky's twin, was supposed to go with his wife Katie to the concert but due to a new job he was unable to attend and so I went in his place.

I had so much fun. This was my first concert and I loved spending time with Katie. This past weekend I was able to get to know my sister in law better and it made me wish we lived closer to one another. Katie is fun, funny, sweet, and is just an amazing woman! Thank you Katie for a fun weekend and all the girl talk!

I was not able to get very many shots of Taylor swift, she was all over the place.

My sister in law Katie, she is such a blast!

So excited!

31 Weeks and counting....

We have about 2 months left before our sweet little girl makes her debut!

June has been a crazy but fun month for us. Topeka is a great place to raise a family and there is lots to do. We are making new friends, learning the town, and enjoying our time together in our new home.

Spiders

I hate Spiders! I can't even post a picture of one due to the fact that I squirm in my seat every time I see one. They are everywhere in Kansas.

We have, listing the top 5 here in Topeka;

Brown Recluse ( a ton- huge- dangerous- gross)
Hobo ( not as many as the BR)
Wolfe Spider
Yellow Sac ( the bug guy said we didn't have any of these, which is good because I heard they are bad)
Black Widow ( bug guy said he hasn't seen very many in the last year)

What does this mean? It means that bug guy came to spray our duplex and I haven't seen that many this last week. However, every time I start to feel a little better a huge recluse comes out of nowhere! (the bigger they are the more poisonous the bite) I then call for my husband who takes care of Mr. Spidey.

I get so worried that I am going to be sitting on my couch, which is brown and here will come Mr. Spidey to scare the living life out of me! So what is one to do? I will tell you what has to be done to control these spiders.....

get rid of all cardboard boxes ( this means I have to go buy plastic bins and go through the boxes with possible spider infestations)

keep all things clutter free

don't leave clothes on the floor (what? that is impossible)

try to be brave!

Even though bug guy came my dear husband gets to spray the downstairs again and possibly even bug bomb the house!

Is this all crazy and a little extreme? Possibly yes! I may be over reacting, after all they are just spiders and I did grow up with them in Idaho and they never bothered me. In my own defense, they are worse in Kansas, I am a mom with a small child who plays on the floor, sticks his small hands into unknown places, who doesn't know they are dangerous and you can't chase them. I also have another baby on the way and if I were to leave said baby on the floor for a few minutes while I went pee or do something I would like to know that Mr. Spidey isn't going to come along and crawl on or maybe even bite said baby. So maybe a little over dramatic but a mother has to do what a mother has to do!

Today

Today I feel so many things;

Tired
Alone
Bored
Scared ... I keep having braxton hicks, i didn't have them with Caleb, is this normal?
Isolated
Home sick

I am sure that all of these feelings are normal when you move to a new place. I am sure once I get used to our new town and hopefully make some friends things will be better. How does one go about making new friends? I have never been great in this area of my life, I am known as the sweet girl don't ever change. How do I get past that and actually make friends that would like to go to hang out and watch movies, go shopping, go out to lunch, and all the things that friends stand for?

If anything I always have Ricky, he gets to come home for lunch so that always helps me through the day. I also have me sweet little boy Caleb, who is a better friend than him.

Topeka

We made it! We have been here in Topeka for about 3 weeks now. Ricky loves his job and I am adjusting. I think that I am going to like it here it will just take some getting used to. We are in a family ward , there are lots of spiders in Topeka, it is hot, and there are lots of garage sales on the weekend.

We were lucky enough to find a duplex to rent and when I get it all organized I will post some of our new home. In the meantime here are some pictures of the last few weeks.

Me at 28 weeks
We had a chance to travel to Salina,KS to visit my dad, Caleb loves his Grandpa Briggs.
Caleb loves the pool and we love having a deck and a back yard!
Caleb and I making cookies for the first time in our new home.
Caleb's sleep schedule has been crazy and that huge thing in his crib with him is big dog, and big dog goes everywhere we go.
This is downtown by the library.
Our first day in town waiting for friends to come help us unload.

Moving = Chaos

This would be me in the morning before I am all put together. (Scary I know)

Okay so I know this is not the most attractive picture ever to look at but this is the best way I could describe with a picture how moving makes me feel, like a complete and total WRECK! I can see the finish line, it feels like it is all in arms reach but not yet quite there.

I want to thank all that have helped me (you know who you are), THANK YOU!
I could not have done this without the help of all my wonderful friends and the sisters in RS willing to serve my family. The one person that I want to thank publicly is my amazing husband, he goes to work, comes home and helps me pack, makes time to play with Caleb, and at 11:30 at night he goes to Wal-Mart to collect boxes for packing. He has yet to complain and I am so grateful for his love and support and all he does for our family!

Best of luck to all of you in your endeavors. I have enjoyed living in Iowa City and getting to know all you wonderful ladies!

So Little Time

It is final, Ricky got offered a job in Topeka, Kansas! We are so excited to be moving on to this new chapter of our lives. There is so much that I wish we could still do just one more time in Iowa but Ricky starts on the 25th of May. We will be moving on the 21st.... 2 weeks away. I know that I am not the first person to move in so little of notice and to be pregnant also but I can't help but feel scatterbrained.

I have so much going through this head of mine, my emotions are all over the place, I am excited, happy, nervous, and scared all at the same time and I have a hard time sleeping at night and then when I do get up I feel exhausted and I haven't even done anything. Things are starting to fall into place, I think I found a good OB in Topeka and we are going on Monday and Tuesday to find a place to live! If anybody has advice I am all for it.

I am going to miss all of my friends and family. We will of course be back to visit . The one thing that I find comforting is the foundation of the gospel. No matter where you go the church is true and it will always be your family away from home. Kansas here we come!

Caleb and I were gone for some of April visiting family in Idaho so here are some pictures of the trip and then some of what we have been up to these past few weeks. Picture overload but they are all so good. Enjoy!

Funny face :)

Bedtime Stories

Giving the cat loves

All Smiles

23 weeks

I just love this guy!

Family night and popcorn

So handsome!

Fun at the park

Church makes him tired I guess :)

Friends

My grandma

Infatuated with his new truck

Happily Married for 3 Years and Counting

Here is my wife, Samantha (the owner of this blog), and me. We have been happily married for 3 year 4 months and 21 days, but who's counting. Sam decided to leave me for two weeks to visit with her family in Idaho Falls.

I decided to keep myself busy today by making backups of all of our family photos that we've taken over the past 3 years (sounds exciting doesn't it?) Nonetheless, my heart was fill with joy from looking back on the amazing time we have had together. During our time together we have been blessed with a beautiful child nameb Caleb. He has a little bit of both of us in him, which makes him a well rounded person. He probably can thank his father for most of his amazing talents like being able to eat his foot...

wear his pants on his head...

artistic talent...

and being a sound sleeper...

While his more practical talents would come from his mother such as cooking...

his love of the paper shredder...

and probably the most interesting one of all, his extreme carefulness over every detail. Just look at how straight those cars are and believe me when I say that he had no help from his parents. Amazing!!!

I love my family and I miss them already!!!

Teed Baby # 2 is....

Okay, I know that I have been a terrible blogger. To get back on track Ricky and I thought we would share the gender of Teed baby 2... So the results are in and we are having a...Girl!

All is well with baby and everything is as it should be. The baby measures at 20 weeks and 2 days so the due date would be August 27. The original date is September 1... it doesn't matter since the baby will come when she is good and ready! We are excited for this addition to our family and for now are enjoying spending time with Caleb and getting him ready to be a big brother :)

Pajama and Movie Day!

Wednesday we had a pajama and movie day :) We needed a day to veg and do nothing after our road trip.... being in the car for to long and not a good nap can make for a crabby child. So we stayed in our pajamas all day, read books, played with toys, watched a couple of movies, and ate popcorn!
I read my book while Caleb watched Homeward Bound on his new cars sleeping bag in his new car pajamas! He loves cars!

Chef Boy

I love this picture of Caleb! He loves to help me cook.... he is my little chef!

Grandpa Briggs

On Tuesday we took a family road trip to Nebraska to visit my dad! We picked him up from the airport that morning and spent the entire day with "grampa" as Caleb says. I love my dad, he is the best!

Here are a few reasons why my dad is Mr. Wonderful:
1. Although I am 22 I still feel like daddy's little princess!
2. If the shirt on his back was all he had he would give it to you.
3. He can be so silly and makes me laugh :)
4. He puts his family first.
5. He always has and to this day still holds the door for the 2 gals in his life when we are out and about.
6. He makes me want to be a good person.

Caleb had so much fun with grandpa as did Rick and I.... here are lots of pics to enjoy.
I hated saying goodbye.... why are they so sad? I did not mean to cry but I couldn't help myself (extra emotions). I love my dad.... he is the best!