Can I just get 1 picture?!

Drew's first day of school was a couple of weeks ago, but Cam's was this week-so.....technically I'm not really late in getting this post up ;)

Drew's first day of school was just one week after Eli was born...and the school he goes to decided to do their back to school night on the first day of school. I left Eli at home with TJ, while my sister and I, Cam and Drew headed off for school and back to school morning.

I only had a few seconds to snap a picture of Drew before the flag ceremony, because we were running late, of course, and this is the face I get:

Really?

After some prodding, begging, kicking, screaming and yelling ;) I finally got a picture I was happy with:

What a handsome boy!!

Here he is waiting in line with the other kids in his class. He made me stand next to him, insisted on holding my hand and that I stay with him until the very last second. When that last second came, I gave him a hug and was about to go in for a kiss and he swooped and ran. Well, now I know what to do to get him to move quickly...

Fast forward a couple of weeks, Drew's well into his school routine and Cam's ready to start his second year of pre-school! He gets to go three days a week now (yay for mom!!!!) and is SOOO excited. His first day of school, was actually an orientation. He was less than thrilled that his first day would be so short. I snapped a picture of him and Drew right before Drew took off for school.

Then I took him over for his own, first day of school photo shoot. Even though it was completely overcast outside, it was too bright for this little boy to open his eyes. I told him to close them until I counted to three then to hurry and open them, and I got quite the forced smile. However, the tight-lipped-emphasized-chumple (chin dimple) is pretty standard Cam smile these days. The smile in the photo above is as about as good as it gets ;)

I tried to get some more natural looking shots, but just got a bunch of squinchy eye shots!

The next day-his ACTUAL first day of school- I took this picture, in hopes of getting one with his eyes open, with a natural-ish looking smile. I think I got a pretty good one....don't ya think?

I did all the "right" things to get a good shot of my two school boys. I took pictures in the shade to avoid bright spots, I took pictures out in the open on an overcast day for great skintones. These pictures were going to be works of art!! At the end of the day, I got pictures that tell a story about my kids and I'll remember them for that, not for how perfect the smiles were, or how well I set up the shot. Squinchy eyes and all, I'm happy with what I got!

Not to be outdone by his two older brothers, this little guy let's me take all kinds of pictures ;) He's definitely a keeper!

Baby Eli!

It's been over a year since I've updated this blog. With a new baby in our family, I figured a new post was in order ;)

Our little Eli was born on Monday, August 15th. But I have to go back some to start this story...

TJ and I wanted to expand our family, but it didn't happen quite as easily as it had with the other two. It took close to a year and finally, with some help from some medication we found out we were preggo! We were so excited! I was thrilled, especially because I was starting to doubt whether or not we'd be able to have more children.

My due date with Eli was August 17th. Out of fear of having another Drew (9 lbs!), the doctor agreed to induce me a week early- the 10th. A week before I was supposed to have Eli, the hospital where I was to deliver called to tell us that the price for delivery had quadrupled. Having no insurance, we had to know exactly all costs and the hospital changed everything! So we had to change our hospital, which in turn changed our induction date-to the 15th, just two days before my actual due date.

The night before I went into the hospital, there was a crazy thunderstorm. It definitely mirrored my feelings, I was nervous. My previous two births were not easy, they were pretty tough!

We showed up at the hospital at 7 am, after calling before 6 to see if there was room for us. After signing a bunch of paper work and answering a bunch of questions, they finally started the pitocin around 8:30 am. The nurse told me that the doctor most likely would be in to break my water during his lunch break. By surprise, he showed up at 8:45, at that point I was dilated to a 3! I knew I was going to get an epidural, and at 10 am I decided I was ready. At 10:30, the epidural was in and I was able to get comfortable and get some rest-at this point I was dilated to a 4. At 11:30, TJ left to go get lunch for him and my mom. The nurse kept increasing my dose of pitocin, but my contractions were getting farther apart. Also, the baby seemed to be in a bit of distress, so she then lowered the pitocin. I figured I wasn't progressing at all because of all of this, but around 12:45, the nurse checked me again and I was almost an 8. They started bringing in all the gear to deliver a baby and the doctor showed up at about 1:20 to see how I was, and I was at a 10. I couldn't believe it happened so fast-thank GOODNESS for epidurals!! After about 10 minutes of pushing Eli was born at 1:40 pm. I was able to relax and sleep during the labor process, and because of that I was more aware of what was happening than with the other two birth experiences. When I saw him for the first time, I couldn't believe it. I was so happy and it was such an emotional moment. I was so happy to finally see and meet him. Right after he was born, they did all the standard newborn stuff. They weighed him, measured his length, etc. and then gave him to TJ. I didn't get to hold my little baby for about 20 minutes!! Whatever happened to mom first! It was worth the wait though, he was beautiful! Later that day, after his bath, they brought him back to me and his hair looked red. All day long, I couldn't stop staring at him. Drew and Cam came to visit with TJ's mom around 2:30. They loved him instantly-but couldn't understand why he didn't want to play with the toys they'd brought him. My brother and mom came up later that night to visit. I was grateful for their love and support. We are so happy to have Eli in our family, he's such a good baby. He's so sweet, he sleeps really well and is absolutely adorable!

Family Videos

This recital was back in May. Sorry it took so long to share. This was Drew's first solo recital playing Andantino. His favorite part is spinning his cello during the rest.



This is a small clip of Cam's singing class recital. I love watching his facial expressions and movements.


Drew did 40 min Cello recital on June 12. He played 23 songs with an intermission. His teacher Brittany accompanied him. We are so proud of how hard he has worked. He practices every day and has come so far in just a year.

Peyton Manning Dances on SNL

I first saw this show a couple of years ago, and it is one of the funniest things I've ever seen!!! You gotta watch it! Just click on the link to go to the site with the video :)

Will Forte & Peyton Manning Dancing on SNL

Start Spreadin' the News.....

I'm leaving today
I want to be a part of it
New York, New York
Last week Ivory Homes took TJ and I, along with some other folks to NEW YORK! We found out about this trip last fall, and I have been SO excited ever since. TJ and I went there for our 5th anniversary two years ago and LOVED it, so we were thrilled to be able to go again. New York is such an amazing place, the food is incredible, I love the energy, the history, the sights, the entertainment, the shopping ;) The arts there are 1st class, it's the place to be for anybody and everybody in that line of work. Last time we went TJ and I went to see the NY Philharmonic, a world class symphony. This time we decided to see some museums and more shows.

Okay, so the one bad thing about New York (for me) is getting there. I don't love to fly. I can't handle sitting in a little tube for hours with no choice of getting out, and I just don't love turbulence. I don't want my fear of flying to keep me from having some really great experiences, so I just bucked it up and faced my fears. Actually, I took some zanax and it made both flights a joy to be on. I slept for half of both of them (yay!) But I was awake long enough to read, watch friends on my ipod and take these:







After we got checked into our hotel, we rushed over to a food festival just two blocks from where we were staying. It was highly rated, and by the time we got there, we had just 45 minutes until it was over. So, we rushed around trying everything! We had gyros, sweet potato fries, funnel cakes, fried oreos, chocolate covered strawberries, ice-cream.... It was so fun, there was quite the diversity of people-but it was cool to see all of the different people. I feel like we got to see New Yorkers in their real environment.



After the food festival, we went over to times square to look around. Times square is crowded and crazy, but so cool! There is some awesome shopping, and I just love the energy! There are crazies, people trying to sell you stuff, and it's hard to get anywhere, but it's TImes Square!







After Times Square we went to a place that we found two years ago by accident. It's a rice pudding place, and it's so yummy! It's kind of like Cold Stone, there's a bunch of flavors of pudding and mix ins and toppings. TJ went there FOUR times while we were there, and has plans to open one here in Utah ;)


The next morning we got up and had breakfast at a local deli across the street from our hotel. Going to the deli's are such a great way to have an authentic New York experience! After breakfast we met up with the rest of the ivory group and went on a bike ride through central park. I didn't get that many photos, I wish I would have gotten more... but I did get this funny one of TJ trying to find a helmet that would fit ;)


I loved the design on this stone pillar.


There were some cool musicians to listen to:




We went to Katz deli (a famous and authentic deli) for pastrami sandwiches. The food was good, the quantities were HUGE and I'm not a meat lover, so it wasn't my favorite, but it was fun try something new!


After lunch, TJ and I went on our own to go shopping. I had a list of places that I wanted to go to that I can't go to here in Utah. One of the stores we went to was in the Flatiron building:


One of the absolute highlights of the trip was going to the Yankees game. Last time we were in NY, we got tickets but the game was rained out and TJ was devastated!! This time was a completely different experience. We sat in great seats, had authentic NY baseball food...it was awesome. The game started out awesome, the first 2 innings were great...we were ahead and then the Boston Red Sox came up from behind to lead in the 8th. At the last minute, we won the game and the excitement was so invigorating! It was late and I was tired and dizzy, and we almost left because it looked like we were going to loose the game, but we won!!! I'm so glad we stayed :)









The next day the weather was awful, and thank goodness we planned to go to a couple of museums and to go to a show that night. We went to the Museum of Natural history first...and I really like seeing the dinosaur bones, but other than that I wasn't too impressed. I've been to the Natural History museum in Chicago 5 times and to the Smithonian, so I felt like I'd already seen what there was to see:







For lunch TJ and I and Jill and Kerry went to the Shake Shack in Madison Square. We'd heard about it from a few people and it was worth having to stand out in the rain underneath umbrellas while being attacked by hungry squirrels and birds for the food.
TJ and I went to the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art). We both loved it and wished we'd had more time to spend there. Here are some of the highlights for me :)







That night we went to Wicked, and LOVED it! We had made plans for an authentic italian restaurant and while we were there, we happened to look at the tickets and noticed that the show was supposed to start an hour earlier than we had planned! We rushed through dinner (it was amazing!!) and rushed to get to the show on time. Our seats were much better than last time and the music and singing was incredible! It was another one of the highlights of the trip for sure!!

On Wednesday, we got up and went to the donut plant (SOO good!!) Then we went to chinatown and to little italy. We got in some good shopping and we got some cute name paintings for the boys. I love the photo I got of the artist doing his thing :)

After China town and Little Italy, we went to Lombardi's for lunch (the FIRST pizza place in the country!!) and then to Mary Poppins. The show was pretty good, not my favorite...I loved the actor who played Mary Poppins, she was incredible!!

A funny guy we saw in union square!


For dinner we went to a place called Chocolate by the Bald Man. Another recommendation that was amazing!! The plating was gorgeous, the food was delicious, but the dessert...mmmm, the dessert was incredible!!





After dinner, TJ and I walked down 5th avenue and I got some photos of rockefeller center and St. Patricks Cathedral.




Of course, I had a to get a photo of one of my most favorite places to shop! ;)



On our last day, TJ got up early to go to the today show. It was really close to our hotel, but I didn't want to get up so early, I was really tired.


Later, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge with Jill and Kerry. It was one of my favorite parts of NY last time we went and this time as well. I loved seeing the amazing skyline, the statue of liberty, the other bridges, the water, and the architecture of the bridge is incredible. I love the lines and and the brick. I'm pretty happy with the photos I got :)






After the bridge, TJ took off to go get some Rice to Riches one last time and Jill, Kerry and I headed over to the Shake Shack for a quick lunch before we had to go to the airport. SO GOOD!!!




We had SO much fun with Kerry and Jill. I'm so glad we were able to go and spend time with them. They were a blast to hang out with!!




I'm SO grateful that we were able to go on this trip! I love New York, I love the diversity, the crazies, the subway-I love that we could go anywhere, and FAST! I loved the architecture, the beauty and history in central park. I loved the energy, the fact that the city was still busy at midnight! I loved going to the deli every morning for breakfast, I loved all the amazing food and that we tried new things instead of going to some lame chain places. I loved the shows, the baseball game, walking around until my feet hurt SOOO bad, but still doing more so I didn't have any regrets. I loved the shopping and totally unique places. I miss it already and hope I can go to New York again soon! Thanks to Ivory for this AMAZING trip :)