March 1st is always a hard day for me. Today, 7 years ago, I lost my wonderful & amazing mother. I usually try to fill this day with activites to keep my mind off it. Of course, I think about her everyday but today is even harder.  We went to the zoo last year & I didn't even realize what the day was until that evening. That's when we decided we'd go every year. We aren't able to go today so I've been trying to keep busy around the house & with the kids.

I was 19 almost 20 when she passed so I remember her very well. I can still see her gorgeous smile, hear her calling me "Debbie" & hear her laugh. I have so many wonderful memories of her! She taught me how to scrapbook & we used to scrapbook together for hours. We would watch our favorite show 'Diagnosis Murder' every night with a bowl of popcorn & Pepsi. She would take me to Dahlia & Daffodil fields. One of my favorites was that she & I would go to Christmas boutiques every Christmas. I did that for the 1st time with my daughter this past Christmas. I found myself crying as we were walking up to the boutique because I was so happy to be doing that with my little girl but couldn't help but wish how much I wanted my Mom walking with us. There are so many more memories that I can't wait to share with Rya.

I always thought that her being gone would get easier as time went on. I also thought that after Rya was born, it would get easier. Neither of those are true. I'm afraid that as time goes on, I'll forget things about her. While I'm so grateful for my own daughter (& son) it kills me that she'll never know her Grandma Viveiros. She will only know so much from stories & pictures. I will make sure that both my babies know what an amazing, strong & loving person their Grandma was! I love it that I have a little girl of my own to do things with that I remember doing with my Mom. What hurts is how much I wish my Mom was here to enjoy doing the things with her grandaughter that she used to do with her daughter.

I'm very thankful for Garyn & how wonderful he is on days like this. I remember shortly after we got engaged, we were talking about what we pictured the person we'd marry would be like & one thing he said was that he never thought he'd marry someone who had lost a parent.He is so caring & understanding when I'm really missing my best friend.  He is so wonderful with all the traditions that I've brought into our family that I got from my Mom. He's also doing a great job helping me keep her memory alive in our house from the gorgeous 8X10 picture I have of her (which is in storage, sadly) to naming our daughter after her! When we were discussing baby girl names in June 2008, I told him that our daughter's middle name is Michele & he had the same idea. I'm so thankful that the Lord has blessed me with a husband who is so loving & caring!

I know my Mom is in the best place ever & is no longer in pain. It puts a smile on face knowing that I'll see her again someday & will be with her forever! I look at my gorgeous Rya Michele & see a little bit of my Mom in her. I'm always so flattered when people say how much I look like my mother. It now brings a tear to my eye to see Rya, my little mini me. I just hope that I'm 1/2 the mom my Mother was. She was the most amazing person! She never yelled, lost her temper or got angry. She was always so happy, smiling & just amazing! She was truly the best & most amazing Mom ever! I remember towards the end, I never saw her cry, never heard her complain. She never said "Why me?" but instead said "Why not me?"

I'm very blessed with my family, my wonderful husband & 2 gorgeous babies. I wish she was here to meet her son-in-law & 2 grandchildren but know she's in Heaven, watching me. She already knows my family. I've always felt over the last 7 years that she's been watching over me & now over my family. No one will ever take her place & I'm very thankful that people understand how amazing she was to me & no one has even ever tried to take her place. That means alot to me. I love my stepmom dearly & am very thankful my Dad found happiness again. I adore my mother-in-law & am thanful Garyn doesn't know the pain of losing a parent. I adore being a mother & my Mom always told me that that is what I was born to do!

*I love you so much, Mom. You're with me today & always! I miss you so much & always will. I'll never forget you! I have my husband, Dad & your Mom to help me through this day. I love you!*

Good Bye Binkie!!

On Wednesday, I decided that it was defintely time to get Rya off her binkie. We were hoping to have her off it by her 2nd birthday but that didn't happen. We tried a few things like cutting the tip off & giving that to her. We also tried explaining that binkie's are for babies & she's a big girl but that didn't work either. Everyone said to just take it from her. She'd probably cry for it & have a few temper tantrums but that would only last a few days. I really didn't want to do it that way. I felt terrible at just the thought of taking her binkie from her especially when her doctor told me that it's her comfort.

I still thought that she's too old to have it so it's time to say good bye to the binkie! When she woke up on Wednesday, I gave her breakfast & when she wasn't looking, I took her binkie & hid it along with the extras. When she finally noticed it was gone, I told her that binkie is all gone. She cried a little for it but I told her that binkie went bye-bye. She forgot about it for awhile but later wanted it again. I finally told her that her binkie went home. That she understood! She knows the all gone means there isn't anymore. She knows that bye bye means something or someone is leaving & went home means it's gone for good. She was so great after I told that. She kept saying, "Binkie, home! Binkie, home"  She never had a temper tantrum for it or ever really wanted it. She would ask for it but then say "home" so I knew that she understood that it was gone!

Today is now day 4 without the binkie & she's still doing so great! She doesn't even ask for it @ nap time or bed time. It really took a day to get her off her binkie! If I had known it was going to be that easy, I would have done it months ago. I'm so happy she isn't using it anymore! Also because she always had it in her mouth so she always had a rash around her mouth. No more binkie = no more rash!! She now calls herself a 'Big Ga' (big girl).

I realized that as a stay at home mom, I have alot of time on my hands which is partly why I started a blog. I don't blog very often so I'm really going to try to do so more often. So this blog is all about my babies! I don't think I've been keeping up on how well they're doing!

My precious little Rya is now 27months old! I can't believe she'll be 3 in November! She's the sweetest & smartest little girl. Everytime Garyn or I leave, she says bye & gives a kiss & a hug. She loves to cuddle with me (which I love!) & she is so attentive to Hayden. If he cries, she pats his head & tells him it's okay. If someone gets hurt, she asks "what happen?".

She's so incredibly smart too! She knows 7 colors (black, blue, purple, orange, green, pink & yellow). I was reading an article that said the average kid between the ages of 24months & 36months knows 1 color! She also knows 10 body parts (hair, nose, mouth, ear, chest, belly, butt, toes, foot & fingers). We can't believe how smart she is! I never believe in Preschool, I felt that it was not necessary, there was no reason to put a 3 year old in school so you might as well put the child in daycare. It's funny how your opinions change when you get older & have kids. We're thinking about putting Rya in preschool next year since she already knows so much!

I love when she talks! She repeats everything she hears. She knows her name (has for awhile) but it comes out 'Wy-wy' or 'Wya'. My favorite words she says is "Kepish" (ketchup), "Manch" (ranch) & "Puppa Dog" (puppy dog).
She's so tiny too! She still fits into 18month onesies. She can wear a 2T but most of those sizes are a bit too big. I'm having a hard time with jeans for her though. Her 18month jeans fit her around her waist but are like high waters. Her 24month jeans are long enough but literally fall off. We're going to try to find her a belt so that will solve the problem. At her 2 year doctor's appointment, she was 27lbs & 37" tall! We can't believe how tall she is! She is just the sweetest, most beautiful little girl & we're so thankful for her!

Our handsome son Hayden is doing great! He'll be 9months old in 10days! He is such a sweet & funny little boy. He makes the funnist faces & noices.

I was a little worried about his milestones because of the extra fluid in his head but he's doing great! He's been sitting with any help for weeks. He love to sit on the floor & play. He can scoot around on the floor on his tummy. He's very strong so we think he'll be crawling soon.

He loves to play in his saucer all the time! He has been eating baby food since he was 6months but we just recently started him on the baby snacks. His favorites are the Mum Mum cookies & the Yogurt Drops.

He's a big boy too! He's already in 9month clothes which we expected. At his last doctor's appointment, he was 19lbs & 28". Growing like a weed! He has his 9month appointment on the 28th & I'm so anxious to see how big he is.

He was a huge surprise but we're so thankful for him.

We're so very blessed to have these 2 little angels in our lives. I love watching them grow & discover new things everyday! Being a Mom is by far the greatest job & having kids is the best gift ever!

I love garage sales!

Yesterday morning I got up at 6:30am to go hit up some garage sales. Getting up at 6:30am is early for me since I get up with the kids & they don't wake up until at least 9am. It was kind of hard for me to get up that early especially since Hayden still wakes up at least 4 times a night! But I haven't been garage saling in a long time & I really enjoy it now! I'd been looking forward to it all week! I was on craigslist everyday trying to find the good ones that I wanted to go to & making sure I knew how to get to each one. My wonderful husband not only was just as excited as I was about it, but he even said he'd take care of the kids while I was gone!

I never really cared for going to garage sales until we moved to Arizona back in March 2009. I went to a few with my mother-in-law & then Garyn & I went to some & found some awesome deals including an authentic Coach purse! I was hooked! I've gone out once or twice by myself but never found anything.

My main goal for going to garage sales is to find clothes for the kids. They grow so fast (especially Hayden) so I think it's pointless to always buy their clothes at Children's place, Target or even Ross. I'll still pick up outfits for them if I find a cute one on sale but I won't spend too much money at the stores for their clothes. I did recently find a store down the street from us called Once Upon a Child. They take gently used children's clothes & give store credit in return. I have 2 bags full of clothes I need to take in! So I was really hoping to find alot of new outfits for the kids. Most of the garage sales I found on craigslist advertised that they had plenty of kid clothes.

I started out to at 6:45am & the 1st two garage sales on my list weren't even there! On my way to the 3rd one, I decided to stop at one I was just passing by. I got out since I saw a bunch of kids clothes. As I'm walking up, I see a white Louis Vuitton purse! I couldn't pass it up! It looked authentic (even if it wasn't, it looked like it) so I snatched it up right away.

I was then very happy with my find! I continued for about another hour & a half. Almost every garage sale I went to had toddler or baby clothes. The problem was that I was looking for 2T girls & 9month boys & each garage sale had 2T boy & 9month girls! I finally gave up & went home so excited to show Garyn my awesome new purse! He & the kids were up by the time I got home. He was proud of my find. I did go online to see if my purse was real or not. It didn't really matter because I liked but I was curious. I found a website that described the difference between a real & a fake & mine is definitely real! I'm the proud owner of a Louis Vuitton purse thanks to a garage sale. I was disappointed I didn't find any kids clothes but I'll be going to Once Upon a Child this week & will hopefully get some store credit so the babies will get a few new outfits! But another successful garage sale day!

A weekend well spent

This past weekend my Dad & Kim came to visit. It was so nice to see them especially since I haven't seen Kim in over a year & she hasn't met Hayden yet. They arrived on the 6th & were here until the 8th. We all went out to a nice dinner at Chili's on Thursday night. Rya & Hayden were angels! Rya was so cute pulling all the sugar packets out of the container & putting them back. She did all the colors she knows (orange, purple, green, blue & black) for Papa & Nama. It was a great dinner! We really enjoyed catching up with them & it was wonderful for them to see Rya & Hayden!

The next day, they met the kids & I at home. We ran to the grocery store to grab some lunch & then off to the park for a picnic & some play time! It was a beautiful day so we were able to enjoy a nice lunch. Rya was very eager to get to the playground so we all moved over there & had a blast playing with the kids. Rya loved going down the slide with Mommy. Hayden had a great time on the swing (his 1st time!) Rya was so adorable running around with Nama, playing in the leaves with Papa & climbing around with Mommy.

Saturday was a fun day! We all met up at Kim's (Garyn's mom) house to head over to the Phoenix Zoo. This would be Hayden's 1st zoo trip! We thought wisely & brought the double stroller (thanks, battle!) Rya loves to walk but we knew she'd get tired so we thought it best to bring it along.

Rya had such a fantastic time! We took her to the zoo in March 2010 & everything was a dog or a duck. This time she was actually able to identify some animals on her own & knew what something was after we told her. Her favorite animal was the prairie dogs. She stood & watched them with her cousin, Mason & she kept laughing at them & really enjoyed them!

What was really nice for us was that alot of the animals were out & they weren't out when we went last year. We were able to get a great view of the bobcat, lions & tiger (just to name a few). It was unfortunate that we all forgot about Zoolights that evening so the zoo closed early but we all had a fantastic time! It was such a great end to a great weekend with my Dad & Kim. Just hoping it won't be over a year before we get to see them again!





Such a Merry Christmas!

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year! I still can't believe how great it was! Rya deserved an amazing Christmas more than anyone! We've struggled for awhile so we're very thankful that we were able to give our kids the Christmas they deserved!

Christmas Eve was very nice! We were invited to Kim's house. It was a nice afternoon of just hanging out with Garyn's family & Rya playing with her cousins. After lunch & some play time outside, it was present time! Hayden passed out in his high chair right after eating though. Rya was so precious! We asked her if she wanted to open presents & she kept saying 'Opey, opey!' She would sit down & wait patiently for someone to hand her a gift.

Hayden finally woke up & was very interested in everything being opened & all the excitment! He was so cute, kept grabbing things & laughing! Both Rya & Hayden got alot of great stuff from Grandma & Grandpa Holmes! Hayden needed clothes & he got a few great outfits. Rya loved her new baby dolls & giant coloring book. Rya had such a blast opening all her gifts! Time to open the biggest gift! Rya tore right into it with the help of Daddy. It was the Disney Princess quad. When she saw it, she jumped back & yelled "Bikey!!" It was so funny & precious! Hayden was very interested in his big gift. He got an amazing Baby Einstein saucer. Grandpa Greg put it together right away & Hayden loved it!

As soon as we got home, Rya wanted all her new toys opened so we set to work on that. Cleaning the house that evening was a chore! We let Rya open 1 gift before bed (another family tradition). Her gift that night was a new pair of PJ's we've been wanting to get her ever since she was born. They're adorable Alpinestars Ashley Fiolek PJ's. They looked so cute on Rya! As soon as Rya & Hayden were asleep, we set to work finishing wrapping gifts & putting everything under the tree. It looked great! Our babies are so spoiled!

We did our tradition of watching a Christmas movie with 3-way popcorn. We always watch 'White Christmas' which we own but it is in storage in WA. I went to Blockbuster to rent it, but they didn't have it so we got 'Nativity Story' instead. We didn't even make it through the entire movie. It's really tiring playing Santa. :)

We were so beyond excited for Christmas morning this year. Since Rya's 2 years old this year, she now knows what a present is & can open them herself & gets excited when she sees the gift. We didn't put any gifts under the tree before Christmas Eve night because we knew Rya wouldn't leave them alone & we didn't want her to open anything early. Garyn & I actually woke up before the kids. We waited about 45min but they were still sleeping! I went in & woke up Rya. She came out & as soon as she saw all the gifts, she got the biggest smile on her face! I remember my Dad once telling me that one of the best things about being a parent, is seeing your child's expression when they come out Christmas morning & see that Santa came. He was so right!

I wanted to change Rya's diaper & put her PJ pants back on then have her go through her stocking 1st & then open gifts. She had a different plan. She came out & right away opened the biggest gift! It was the Tinkerbell table & chair set from Mommy & Daddy. She had such a great time opening her gifts! By the time she was done, Hayden woke up. We helped him open his. While he couldn't open his gifts on his own, he was very interested in what he got! Our favorite gift for him this morning was the Lil Zoomers Spinning Sounds Speedway from my Dad.

Christmas afternoon was then filled with opening all their new toys again & cleaning up the house. Rya got 2 teasets for Christmas, 1 from Garyn's mom & stepdad & 1 from my Dad. So we got her table & chairs set up with the teasets so she could have a little tea party. I was busy with Hayden when I heard Garyn & Rya in her play room & I peak in & Garyn's having a tea party with Rya. It was so adorable! I've been waiting to see that ever since we found out we were having a baby girl back in June 2008!

Around 8pm we left to go do our newest family Christmas tradition. We started it last year & it's defintely going to stick! We go bowling on Christmas night! It's alot of fun! Rya was so good & had such a great time watching everyone & helping Mommy & Daddy for a few frames. Hayden was a perfect angel! He just chilled in his carseat the entire time, watching the lights & laughing at Mommy & Daddy.

We has such a wonderful Christmas! I still can't believe how great it was! I'm so beyond happy that Hayden's 1st Christmas went so well & even happier that Rya had such a spectacular Christmas. This holiday was very hard for us last year so it was extra important that we make it up this year. Hopefully Christmas 2009 will be the last tough Christmas we ever have to go through! We got to spend some time with Garyn's family. Rya always loves seeing them & playing with her cousins. She even says 'Mason' now! Hayden was showered with love. They got some awesome gifts - lots of new toys & clothes! While Garyn & I didn't get much for each other alot this year (it was all about Rya & Hayden) we did get a few small gifts for each other & adore them! We were very happy that we were finally able to afford gifts for everyone else as well! While we both dislike the 70 degree weather on Christmas & I really miss having a cold & rainy Christmas, nothing could have ruined Christmas this year! I really wish my family could have come down for the holiday for a few reasons 1) Hayden's 1st Christmas & 2) I haven't spent a Christmas with my family since 2007. There's always next year! We are so very thankful for such a wonderful Christmas & hope this is the start to things going right for us!

Hayden's 1st Christmas Tree

We went out on Sunday & got our Christmas tree. It's our tradition to get it on the 15th or close to it but had some issues because of our stupid car! Can't wait to get a new one! We went down to this tree lot & found a nice 6' tree for a great price. The tree is even from Oregon! As if we didn't miss home enough, now we have a tree from the PNW sitting in our family room.

We had to run to Target & get lights & ornaments. We have all we need to decorate a tree but it's all in storage in WA. We got the tree home & in the stand. I started putting lights on & realized I didn't have enough! I really didn't feel like going back to Target again. Thankfully, our neighbor buys lights the day after Christmas so he had ALOT & just gave me some extra. We always make decorating the tree a family event. Hayden was watching in his swing, Rya was just underfoot & laughing but we were able to get most of it done that night.

We change the color scheme of the ornaments every year. It was something my Mom started doing & we prefer it over a bunch of ornaments that don't match. This year, we chose silver, gold & blue. The blue is in honor of Hayden's 1st Christmas. (Christmas of 2008, we did silver & purple. The purple was in honor of Rya's 1st Christmas). I can never have just ornaments on the tree so I bought some silver tinsel too. I love the extra glitter that it adds. It actually took 2 days to complete the entire tree because Rya was so curious.

I love the tree topper! I have a gorgeous angel tree topper that my grandmother gave me years ago. The angel has been the top since our 1st Christmas in 2007, but she is in storage. We found this star topper at Big Lots for $5! The center blinks & it's so pretty!

I'm so excited for Christmas this year! We've had such a tough year & I'm so happy the kids are going to have an amazing Christmas! I love this entire month! The Christmas music, decorations, baking & so many more things. My favorite thing is all our family traditions. Almost all of them I got from my Mom & carried on into my family. We've also added some new ones of our own over the 3 1/2 years we've been married. We have cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas morning & bowling on Christmas night. I'm excited for Christmas Eve so we can do my favorite tradition - watch White Christmas with a tin of 3 way popcorn. I'm also excited because we started something new & it's really starting this year. Ever since Rya was born, we've bought her a new ornament each Christmas, now her new ornament will be in her stocking. I love this & hope Rya will cherish all these ornaments. We'll do the same thing for Hayden starting next year. This year we buy him a Baby's 1st Christmas ornament. I'm really upset because I can't really find any. We've got more Christmas shopping to do so hopefully I'll find his ornament then!

4 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS!!