Happy New Year!

So tonight we went to a Stake church activity and we got there super late in our normal Haas style (since we can never get anywhere on time).

Part of it wasn't our fault though.  As soon as we were about to head out the door, I found Blakeley looking like this:

Apparently she actually wanted to be the Joker for Halloween and this was payback for dressing her as a cute little garden gnome.  I had given her my mascara to hold while I finished getting ready and we are now aware that she has great eye-hand coordination and can twist the top off of little tubes!

So after we cleaned her up, we were on our way to the activity.  We were not there very long but it was fun.  We ate hamburgers and hot dogs and there was a DJ and people were dancing.  We let Blakeley run around for a little while.  There were bouncy jump houses outside for the kids but it was freezing so we just stayed in the cultural hall.  After that we went to BJ's and got pazookies with Rob and Rachael and then we went back to our house and watched the NYE coverage on TV.  We were all excited to "watch the ball drop."

So we'd been watching stuff for awhile and Rob says, "What time is it?"  I checked & it was 12:04am!  We totally missed the countdown and all the excitement!  ha ha.  (In case you're wondering how on earth that could happen...we had been switching back and forth between two different channels and I think we had rewound a part).  So at about 12:10am we rewound the countdown with our sparkling cider in hand & celebrated New Years!  Oh well, it's funny and makes a good story.

P.S. I've always wondered if "rewound" was an actual word and I just checked dictionary.com and it is!  In case you always thought it sounded weird too...

Happy New Year!

2011...

2011 sounds so futuristic...like it's out of an episode of The Jetsons.  Don't you think?

I can't believe this year is almost over!

I remember getting the newspaper off my porch on January 1, 2000.  I still have that paper too as a keepsake for the new century.  That feels like it was 2 years ago...not 11 years ago!  It blows my mind. 

I feel like the older you get, the faster time goes.  It reminds me of the quote, "Enjoy the little moments, for someday you may look back and realize they were the big moments."

Sometimes the daily grind is monotonous but we need to remember to enjoy everyday!

Project Blakeley's Room

I started painting Blakeley's new room today!  I will have it finished by tomorrow night.

And the plan for her room is completely different than what I posted a few days ago.  ha ha...I found bedding for her that I liked better and based everything around that. 

I painted the walls a color similar to this:

With an accent wall similar to the color in the picture below.

And her new bedding is actually going to look like this:

With this light fixture:

Should be pretty cute.  I'm excited for the finished product.

I love interior design & decorating!

Blakeley Looks Like Charlie!

So awhile back someone told me that Blakeley looks like the little girl, Charlie on the Disney Show "Good Luck Charlie."  I finally watched part of an episode and she does resemble Charlie quite a bit!  Check it out!

This is Charlie:

And here's Blakeley:

Not twins but they have similar features.  I'm not sure those pictures of Blakeley show how much they do look alike but in person B really does look like Charlie.

*Update: Adding this note on 12/31/10...so I was at Home Depot today and a little boy who was probably about 6 or 7 told his Mom, "She looks like Charlie!"  I said, "Charlie from Good Luck Charlie?" and they said yes.  So...there you have it, folks...

Girls' Rooms

So I was trying to figure out for the longest time, what to do with the room situation with the upcoming arrival of another baby.  Should I have them share since they're both girls or have separate rooms?  I was always leaning towards having separate rooms just because it seemed easier in case they were not on the same sleep schedule and I was worried they would wake each other up.  I kept thinking if I did separate rooms, I would want Blakeley to move into the bigger room.  I guess just since she's older and it will matter sooner and since she's the first born, it just seemed like the right thing to do. 

The room she's in now is significantly smaller than the other room.  And then we have one other room but it's an office and I knew I was not going to put either of them in there since there's no closet (oh how I wish that room had a closet!)  For some reason though, I was thinking that if I moved Blakeley into the bigger room, I would have to move everything out of her current room and repaint both rooms (so that her new room looked the same and had the same wall color and so I could redecorate that smaller room for the new baby).  And that would all be a hassle.

Well after thinking about it over the course of the last few months, I finally figured out what I'm going to do.  I don't know why I didn't think of it before but it dawned on me the other day that I could just have Skylar "adopt" Blakeley's existing room and then paint and re-decorate the bigger room for Blakeley.  Of course I'll move some of Blakeley's special belongings and toys to her new room and I will have to redo the wall decal that I had specially made for her that says, "You are my sunshine" since I'll want that in her new room.  I'll have a special wall decal made for Skylar too.

I'm going to get new bedding for both girls since the original bedding I got for Blakeley I didn't totally love but it was the best thing I could find for what I had in mind at the time.  I really wanted pink and turquoise bedding but those colors apparently were not in season.  Now of course I'm finding bedding that I like better. 

Here is the bedding I'm going to get for Skylar.  I saw this before Blakeley was born and I've always liked it but I really wanted pink & turquoise for Blakeley which is why I didn't get it for her.  It's inexpensive and by getting new bedding for Skylar, it will change up her "adopted" room and it will still be special for her. (The walls are light pink)

I'm going to hang pom poms over the crib and I'm trying to figure out what colors to do but I will probably do something like this:

or a combo of these:

Here's the bedding I'm going to get for Blakeley:

Instead of the lime green sheet, I'm going to have fuschia or pink.

Blakeley's crib turns into a toddler bed and she can use this bedding even after she transitions into the bed so it will last a long time.  I'm going to just get the exact same convertible crib and changing table/dresser for Blakeley's new room because I love them and I think white furniture is perfect for girls.

Here is the crib:

Here is the changing table (for Blakeley we will just use it for a dresser):

I'm thinking of painting the walls these colors:

And then I'm going to do pom poms or wall flowers in these colors.  It will be a mix of turquoise, pinks, and greens.

I'm excited to start preparing the rooms for the changes and although Skylar will sleep in our room in a bassinet for at least a few months, I'll most likely have everything set up just because I'm impatient like that.  I love decorating so it will be a fun project for me.  I wouldn't be surprised if I paint Blakeley's new room in the next couple weeks.

I guess we'll have to just wait and see what the final products look like!  Pics will follow when I have everything finished!

A Wonderful Christmas Day...

It's been a great day!  This is the first Christmas where I haven't felt at least a tinge of homesickness.  Normally on holidays, at least for a moment, I feel like the day would be better if we were home in Cali with family.  And don't get me wrong, that would be great but since we aren't there, it's nice to not have that moment of sadness that puts a damper on my day. 

Blakeley is almost a year and a half and while she still doesn't quite understand Christmas, it was really fun to have her open presents (which she could basically do by herself) and see the happiness on her face when she played with the toys.  She really liked the blow up Disney castle that had balls in it and her Winnie the Pooh little sit and roll car.  She recently started saying "ball" all the time and really likes to play with balls.  Sometimes she even kicks one around the house so maybe we have a future soccer player in our midst?

I know that next year will be even better because she will understand a lot more & we'll start implementing more traditions such as leaving out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.  I also want to start buying Christmas pajamas every year and having the kids open them on Christmas eve.  So I know it will only get better from here which is exciting.

I'm grateful that today has been so nice though...we opened presents and played with Blakeley for awhile, ate breakfast, relaxed and watched the Disney parade on TV, took naps, and then went to The Rodriguez's house for dinner.  They are in our ward and were nice enough to invite us over. 

Last night was fun too...we went to Austin & had dinner with Ty & Crystal & then drove around to look at Christmas lights.  It was nice to see Cade again who is almost two weeks old now and just hang out with them.  San Antonio and Austin definitely don't have Christmas lights like the Sacramento area though...we miss Dove Court and the Stanford Ranch neighborhood that puts up amazing lights every year.

But it's been a great day!  Merry Christmas everyone! xoxo

P.S. I can't believe I'm starting my 6th month of pregnancy...it's going fast! 

Shout Out for Erica Savage Photography

If anyone in the Sacramento area needs a FANTASTIC photographer, have I got the one for you!

Check out ericasavagephotography.com and look at her gallery of photos.  She is AMAZING!!!

If I was in Cali, I would have her take our pics.  Next time we're there, we're going to!  I can't wait.

She edited a few photos for me and it makes our eyes stand out so much.  Check them out!

Book a session with her...like now!

The True Meaning of Christmas

Tyson emailed this to me and I think Zig Ziglar sums up the true meaning of Christmas very well.

Why I Believe in Christmas
By Zig Ziglar

It’s the first Christmas I can remember. It arrived just seven weeks after the deaths of my father and baby sister. To make matters worse, it was in the heart of the Great Depression. Things were tough. All of us children who were older made what income contributions we could, but the truth was my mother had eight of her eleven remaining children still living at home, and six were too young to work. Understandably, the Ziglar kids were concerned about what kind of Christmas it would be!

The good news is that though our grief was fresh, we still celebrated Christmas. We received no toys that year, but much to my delight in my gift box I found three English walnuts and something I had never tasted before—raisins! They were absolutely delicious. Mama prepared her wonderful molasses candy and we had a small cedar tree. And my mother read the Christmas story, like she always did.

My sixth Christmas will always have great meaning to me. We celebrated the birth of Christ even in hard times because we believed in Christmas.

A CHANGE IN CELEBRATING THE SEASON

Unfortunately, over the years things have changed. The cheerful “Merry Christmas” of yesteryear has been replaced by the politically correct “Happy Holidays!” In the minds of many people we celebrate “holidays.” Not only is Christ not at the center of the celebration, he isn’t even considered to be the reason for the season!

If I seem upset about the changes that I see taking place in regard to Christmas, it is because I am! It’s not because an old tradition is being changed. No, I’m upset that the event that made it possible for me to have a life I could never have imagined is being hidden from view with decorations, wrapping paper, parties and political correctness!

CHRISTMAS! A REASON TO CELEBRATE

You see, I believe it’s worth celebrating that Jesus came to earth—His birth signaled hope for all mankind. I believe that as he lived out a perfect life before God and mankind, he showed that he truly was God’s Son. And I believe that by giving his life up on a cross, he completely paid the penalty that my sins—and yours—deserve before a holy God. And it was made possible because of that first Christmas.

How could I not believe in Christmas? Because Christ was born as a baby in a manger that’s more than enough reason to celebrate Christmas for what it is—a joyful occasion. I’ve experienced forgiveness of my sins and have the assurance of eternity in Heaven!

If you don’t know Jesus Christ, let me say that He tells us in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” How do you do that? First, understand that I’m talking about a relationship, not a religion. All the world’s major religions emphasize that you qualify for heaven by your good works—the things that you do. Such “religion” is spelled “d-o.” Christianity is spelled “d-o-n-e.” Christ already paid for our sins when He died on the cross. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). And he rose from the grave proving that the punishment for our sins was fully paid.

Nothing we could ever “do” could qualify us for God’s forgiveness and reserve our place in heaven. That’s why Christ himself said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him who he has sent” (John 6:29).

CELEBRATE LIKE NEVER BEFORE!

God forgives us, saves us from our sins, and gives us eternal life based on our belief in what Jesus did for us. Why? Because God is gracious beyond measure! The Bible says that it is “…by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works…” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Though “the wages of sin is death” [eternal separation from God], the greatest Christmas gift we could ever have is “the free gift of God…eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

With gift-giving like that from God, I don’t want to lose the significance of Christmas. I believe in Christmas!  Join me this year in celebrating Christmas like you’ve never celebrated it before!

Merry Christmas,
Zig

Quote

Different ages see the same thing in different ways. To a child Christmas is wondrous because it is new; to his grandfather Christmas is wondrous because it is old. ~Zig Ziglar

More Family Christmas Photos

And a couple more belly pics...

Christmas 2010 Photo Shoot

I am so blessed to have these two angels in my life!

Belly Pics - 22 weeks

I haven't taken any belly pics yet so it's about time.  I'm 22 weeks today!