Christmas is over, already???

Well Christmas is officially over and I cannot believe the New Year is finally upon us! We had a great Christmas, busy as always, but it was great to see friends and family during the season. It's so easy to get caught up in all the commotion and festivities of the Christmas season that we forget the true meaning of Christmas-the birth of our Savior!

Ty ended up having Christmas Eve off so we were able to start making our rounds on Saturday instead of Monday like we thought we'd have to do. First we went to my Aunt and Uncle Smith's house and celebrated Christmas with my dad's side of the family. It was great to see everyone, I hadn't seen some of them since my cousin Britton's wedding (over a year ago). Santa always comes to visit and as I'm assure you can imagine Riley wasn't thrilled. We didn't make her sit on his lap but even when we got close she started screaming. Oh well...there's always next year. Even though Riley wouldn't go to Santa I was really impressed with how well she did with everyone. (If any of you have been around Riley in the past year you know that she rarely lets people hold her, even Grandma and Grandpa, and she especially doesn't do very well with strangers). She loved my brother and cousin, Britton. It was so funny because she had never even met Britton but she would have rather him hold than even me. We couldn't believe it, but were SO happy that she was finally starting to open up to others.

Opening gifts at my Dad's house, Sunday morning!

Okay, she doesn't let everyone hold her yet...still getting used to Papa and Nonnie.

We stayed the night at my dad's on Saturday and in the morning before church he made his famous, homemade donuts, which are a must on Christmas morning!! We opened gifts with them and McKenna and Reagan, hung out for a few hours and then headed to Ty's house to have Christmas there. We got to Ty's house and were so happy to see his Grandpa Arvon. He had a stroke 2 week prior and was finally able to come home after 2 weeks of rehab! We were so thankful that the Lord protected him and helped him recover during this hard time. We ate lunch, chatted with family, then opened gifts. Riley got a "Bounce and Spin Zebra" from Ty's Grandma which she LOVES and a ton of other goodies from his family.

Riley didn't want to open this present, she just wanted to hug it! It was so funny!!

Ty, Riley and Shannon (Ty's mom)!

After having to listen to how many of my friends dread going to see their in-laws over the Holidays I am so extremely thankful for mine. I love Ty's family, from the very beginning they welcomed me with open arms and I have never had to deal with the "meddling mother-in-law" which I appreciate more than she will ever know. Ty's Grandma has also done so much for us over the years, we don't know what we'd do without her help at times!! She always goes all out for Christmas and this year was no exception!! After opening gifts we were exhausted, especially Riley. We stayed at his house then went to my mom's at Gull Lake that early afternoon.

Christmas at my mom's is always eventful and never a dull moment, to say the least. Jori and Lily are always excited to see Riley and she loves playing with them as well. We ate a huge lunch that my mom had prepared and then went to Christmas Ever Service at their church. We came back, opened gifts and ate some more :)! It was fun that Riley is a little older and can kind of open her gifts now, to watch her face lite up is so much fun!! My mom and Jeff got her an American Girl bitty baby. She loves baby dolls right now, so that was probably her favorite gift of all! After all that we drove home so we could wake up in the morning at our own place! Ty and I decided that now that we've got kids we want to be at our house Christmas morning!

Riley and I at Gull Lake, opening gifts.

Riley and Aunt Jori :)!

Thankfully Riley doesn't quite understand yet about Christmas morning and all the presents because she woke up at her normal time (8:00am) instead of waking us up at 5 am, like many kids did to their parents (I'm sure). We opened gifts here and had a big breakfast. Then the rest of the day we made cookies and spent time together as a family, playing and enjoying each other's company. We are thankful for all the gifts we received but are most thankful for the gift of Jesus Christ.

Don't mind the bedhead and PJ's...Ty says that's how Christmas morning is suppose to be!

Daddy, Daughter opening presents.

Riley bouncing on her new Zebra!

Here comes Santa Clause...

A tradition that Ty always did as a child was going to see Santa just before Christmas, sit on his lap and get his picture taking with him. I had actually never done it before as a child (I guess because my mom was just too cheap :)!) but he wanted to start the same tradition with Riley. So this was her second year going to see Santa. Last year she was only 3 months old and was oblivious to what was going on. This year was a MUCH different story. We went to the Jackson Crossing Mall to see Santa and waited in line for 5 or 10 minutes. Then it was our turn. Riley loved looking at Santa...from a distance. As soon as it was our turn I walked slowly towards Santa to put Riley on his lap and the closer I got the more clingy she got. I was about 5 steps away and she started reaching behind me for Daddy, like he would rescue her or something. I placed Riley on Santa's lap and immediately she started screaming!! I felt really bad because she doesn't let many people hold her, let alone someone in a big red suit with a long white beard who smelled really bad. So I quickly grabbed her after one photo shot. It's not quite picture perfect, but will be so fun to look back on when Riley is old enough. Here is the final picture (the best one we could get).

I think she might be scarred for life :)!

A Family Tradition

Making Gingerbread houses is a tradition that my mom started with me and my brother and sisters...so I've been doing them for a long time. Ty and I decided to continue the tradition when we got married and when we had a family. So this is our third year doing them. It's fun to send a picture of the final product to the family and have them guess whose is whose. (Although with Ty and I it's almost impossible not to know who did which one).

We decided that maybe next year Riley could do one too but this year we put her to bed first because we thought she'd probably just make a mess of everything! :)

Anyways, here they are...

??? Whose is Whose ???

Riley the next morning posing with the Gingerbread Houses.

Half way there!!

Tomorrow I will be 20 weeks along, half way there already! I can't believe it has gone by so quickly...definitely much quicker when you're chasing a 1 year old around and have other things to do than lay on the couch and feel the baby move all day long. (Although when Riley goes to sleep that's pretty much what I do the rest of the night :)!



Here I am at 19 1/2 weeks:

Baby Paulk #2...coming this May!

We had the ultrasound for baby number #2 on Tuesday, as we like to refer to HIM as (at least until we come up with a name, which could be a while given our track record). Yes, I said HIM...we are having a baby BOY!! We are so blessed to be have one of each. God is so good. Here are a few of the many ultrasound pictures that were taken. God has blessed us with one very healthy baby and we pray that this little guy is just as healthy. So far the docs. say everything looks great, we'll have another ultrasound around 28 weeks because of where the placenta is located right now. It needs to move because it is blocking the cervix, but the ultrasound tech said that 9 of 1o times it will move...we pray that it does, because if it doesn't I will have to have a C-Section.

Time to Catch Up...

So to catch those of you up on our lives who don't know...Riley is now 14 months old, and growing like a weed. I can't believe how time flies. It seems like yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital and getting no sleep what-so-ever! Also, Ty and I are having another baby, due May 6th, 2008 (also my brother, Kolby's birthday). We found out this past Tuesday that we are having a little BOY!! We are both so thrilled and so excited to have a girl and a boy now!! Ty can't wait to dress him in baby Superman pajamas and play action figures with him and I think Riley will do great having a little brother. She loves babies! I'm not convinced that she quite knows exactly what's going on, but she definitely notices a change in my appearance. All day long she enjoys lifting my shirt to kiss "the baby" (I think she may think my belly button is the baby because when I say "are you going to kiss the baby?" she plants one on my belly button.) It is so cute, whether she understands or not.

As I said, Riley is 14 months now, she has 12 teeth and is such a blast to be with all day. I am so lucky to be able to stay home with her! She says a few words: Mama, Dada, all done, hi, hot, and chicken (kinda random, I know) but she does even more sign language which is so cute and helpful to us too. At her last check up (her 1 year apt.) she was 15 lbs. 14 oz. and 28 inches long. She's a tiny little thing. But, since then I think she's had a growth spurt, but we'll see because she has another appointment on Dec. 27th.

Staying home with Riley keeps me on my toes and very busy!! I don't get a ton of time to myself anymore, but I have enjoyed going to the Mother's Club at our church. It's nice being around others going thru the same things and I really wanted to get involved in a Bible Study. Other than that I spend my days changing diapers, making meals, running errands, reading books, playing with Riley and when I'm lucky taking a much needed nap.

Ty is still working at LaSalle Bank, he enjoys his co-workers but not necessarily the job. He is also going to school full-time to finish up his MBA (Masters in Business Administration). He is also a GREAT help with Riley, whether it is giving baths, feedings, or simply keeping her occupied so I can take a nap, I appreciate all he does for us. He is also making late-night runs to the grocery store for my pregnancy cravings, again. What a great husband I have, I am truly lucky!!

Riley loves hiding under things, we always find her reading too!

Blogging Attempts

Well, this is my attempt to capture the events going on in our life. I can't say I'm the greatest at writing things down and I suppose that is partially why I started this blog. So many times Riley has done something funny or accomplished something and I have meant to write it down, but I had simply forgotten or had gotten lazy. Hopefully this will help me to do a little better, with capturing the special moments with Riley and documenting my current pregnancy!! So many things have changed in our life and we have been so blessed that I want to be able to share it with others.