Um...Catching up again....

Well looks like i'm playing catch up again with this darn blog. I really have every intention of updating it on a monthly basis, but time seems to get away from me these days. It is beyond busy with two little ones and Chris and I seem to jam pack plans into the summer months that make life even that much more crazy. I'm not complaining though - its all fun!

So...here is the gist on where we are all at:

BLAKE: He turned 3 on July 23rd. We had a little party for him on his actual birthday and his playgroup friends all attended. His party was a cowboy theme party because lets face it, the kid wants to be a cowboy. We even made him a John Wayne shirt for the day. Blake is also acting like a three year old in full force. He tried to negotiate about everything and bedtime has become an hour long task with him pulling out all the stops, "i'm thristy", "I have to go to the bathroom", "i'm cold", etc... etc... He is such a funny kid though and it is so fun to sit and have conversations with him everyday. Just the other night were were over hanging out by his swing set and he said, "mommmy, come over here and sit down. Let's talk" So we sat and he told me stories about riding horsies and getting in shoot outs with John Wayne. Best way to spend an evening in my opinion.

Here are the pictures from Blakes Party

GRAYSON: Grayson is 7 1/2 months now. CRAZY! How did that much time pass by. It's amazing how fast things go with the second one. He is crawling and just got his first tooth last week. He is such a sweet baby!

CHRIS: Chris is working hard and staying successful in real estate despite the troubled economy. He is also enjoying some time off hunting these months and is getting ready to go bow hunting with my brother next week. Chris and I have also joined our local crossfit gym and are really enjoying that. Chris will be competing in a competition this weekend with the gyms in the area.

ME, MYSELF and I: I have been staying home with the kiddos and I'm really enjoying it. I'm thankful to experience their early years with them. I have also started a mini business to give myself something else to do. I'm making and selling stationary products (notecards, invitations, birth announcements) and paper party supplies. I created a blog to showcase the items i have created. My blogsite is www.rachelspartyplace.blogpsot.com). I'm also training for a half marathon that I will be running in October. The half marathon is a fundraising event for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and myself along with a few of my friends will be running the race in honor of my brother and his fight against Lymphoma. If you would like to donate visit my fundraising page http://mch.nikewm2011.llsevent.org/runforbrandon

Here are links to our pictures from June and July. This is mucho info and pictures to jam pack into one post - i apologize. I will try to be better moving forward. :)

Catching Up!

Well its been awhile since i have posted an update or pictures on what has been happening with us. Shame on me! I guess life with two little ones is a bit busier than with one. or at least i will use that as my excuse.

April and May have been great months spending time with family. In April we took a trip to Red Bluff for the annual Round-Up. The trip never disappoints and my parents put on a fabulous party for everyone to enjoy. Chris's mom and step dad, Al came this year and it was great to see them and share the experience with part of Chris's side of the family.

We also spent some beautiful spring days at home with the boys during the month and Blake was able to watch our new driveway being put in. What a thrill that was for him to to see the tractors going and the cement being poured.

In May we spent some great days in the backyard with the boys, spending time with friends at the park and we even hit up a San Jose Giants game one evening as well as spending a gorgeous day in Santa Cruz with some friends at the beach.

And last but not least we spent Memorial Day Weekend camping with family and friends up north. It was a little on the cold side this year, but its always a good time and something we look forward to every year.

Grayson is 5 1/2 months now which blows my mind. He is rolling over from back to stomach and stomach to back. I will lay him down on a blanket, walk out of the room and when i come back he has rolled across the room. He is so much more active than Blake was at his age. Its fun and interesting to compare. At Graysons 4 month appointment he was 15 pounds, which is exactly the same weight Blake was at that age. Blake was shorter though and looked much chubbier.

Blake is definitely acting his almost 3 year old age. I thought it was going to be the terrible two's but I'm guessing 3 is going to be so much more challenging. He has learned the art of back talking and pushes his limits daily. And on the other hand Blake is also one of the sweetest and funniest little kids I have ever met. His favorite thing to say to me these days is, "mommy you are the best". That comes right after I have found a missing toy, get him a drink of water, or whatever other task he asks me to do. I think i can manage the more challenging days if he keeps telling me how great I am. ;)

Enjoy all the pics, because there are a lot of them! And I will be back in a couple of weeks to tell you about June....Hopefully!

March Happenings

Grayson turned 3 months old on the 20th of March. How time flies. He is already trying to roll over - which just makes me want to tell him to slow down on that growing up thing. It's already going by way too quick!

Blake is as crazy as ever. He is tons of fun to have around and we have the most interesting conversations everyday. He is also growing up WAY too fast!

Me and the boys took a trip to Red Bluff at teh beginning of March to visit my family. Grayson was able to meet more of his family and Blake, as always, had a blast riding all of the toys and feeding the horses. Never a dull moment for him, which was great!

Here are the pics from the month. Enjoy!

Grayson's First Giggles

Grayson laughed for the first time last night and we caught it on video!

Motorcyles, Horsies and Firetrucks...Oh my!

February brought lots of fun and some visitors.

We took a trip up to Red Bluff at the beginning of the month to see my parents and my brother and his family. We had a great time and the weather could not have been more inviting. We spent the days outside roaming around my parents property riding motorcycles, horses and tractors. Blake was in HEAVEN! We also got to introduce Grayson to many of his family members on my side of the family.

Later in the month Chris's sister Colby came to visit with her family. Blake had tons and tons of fun with his cousins. Blake and Rory were like tazmanian devils running through the house. They all got along so well and had a blast together. It was really fun to watch and see.

We also had some other outtings in the month that included going to the fire station with our playgroup friends and a family trip to Happy Hollow when Auntie Carrie was in town.

Grayson is getting bigger and bigger and has started smiling which is tons of fun. We had his 2 month appointment in February and he weighed 14 pounds and was 24 inches long. I was curious to see how he compared to Blake at the same age and so I looked back into Blake's baby book. They were exactly the same size! Grayson is a dream baby and sleeps so well. I only have to wake up one time a night to feed him and we get teh occassional night when he sleeps right on through. This is a godsend considering Blake just recently started sleeping through the night. ;)

Blake keeps us laughing with all of the crazy and cute things he says and does. He still is very into wearing Chris' boots as you can see from a couple of pictures. He likes to also ride his horse straight out of the bath butt naked with boots and his cowboy hat on. Crazy kid!

Here are all of our pictures for the month. Enjoy!

The "cowboy" and the 1 month old

First off I want to share the most recent shot we took of blake that I find hilarious! The picture was taken right after Blake saying, "mommy, I'm a cowboy". I would take a guess that Blake has a little redneck bred into him. ;)


So Grayson turned 1 month on the 20th. Hard to believe. Here is a shot we just took the other day. He is such a GREAT baby. I mean I think we hit the jackpot with this one. He sleeps wonderfully and doesn't cry about anything. I thought Blake was an easy baby - well this boy blows Blake out of the water. Just crossing my fingers that it continues.


We have had a great month enjoying the boys. The weather has been awesome lately so we have had a lot of outside time which we need. Melody and Al came to visit a week or so ago and we had a lot of fun with them while they were here. The next few weeks should be lots of fun also with visits from both of Chris's siters, auntie colby and auntie Carrie. We are also taking a road trip up north to visit family there.

Here are all of our pictures from the past 5 or so weeks!

Ho Ho Ho Merny Christmas!

Christmas was so much fun this year! Not only did we add to our family but Blake was so entertaining and really could get into the Christmas spirit...right down to leaving the milk and cookies out on Christmas Eve before bed. We have lots of pictures and a few videos that I had to share. Enjoy!

Blake playing his new guitar


Ho Ho Ho Merny Christmas