Atkinson Clan

And so it begins...

2011-08-24T16:50:00.003-05:00

I can't believe we have a 'school age' kid! He's looking so grown up and has practically changed over night. I know it's just gonna get worse from here on out. There were a few more tears than I expected--from Mom, not Wesley--especially since I felt like we went through this last year with preschool. But I just couldn't help but have that feeling of 'this is it'...he's no longer my baby. He even asked me why I call him 'buddy' the other day--I think he was feeling like it was babyish. I asked him if it was okay that I still call him that and he just sighed and said, "I guess so." Here's to the start of a new phase. Happy 1st day of Kindergarten Wes!

A Girl After My Own Heart

2011-08-21T01:07:00.002-05:00

I think my favorite part is when she realizes Dad is going to take it away again and she's trying to figure out an escape route.

Crossing My Fingers!

2011-08-20T11:06:00.001-05:00

By posting this from one of my favorite craft blogs I could...

win a Silhouette SD digital cutting tool!!! @CraftaholicAnon enter here: http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/2011/08/giveaway-7-a-silhouette-sd.html

i NEED to win a Silhouette SD tool! enter to win one http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/2011/08/giveaway-7-a-silhouette-sd.html from @CraftaholicAnon

...and so could you!!

Lately...

2011-08-11T00:36:00.004-05:00

Lately I haven't been sharing photos from my photo sessions just because I feel like many of you wouldn't like to see so many pictures of strangers, but sometimes...

I just can't help it!!

Doesn't he just make you want another one?!

CRAZY!!

2011-08-10T01:06:00.003-05:00

Our Summer So Far...

2011-06-30T21:22:00.014-05:00

The Packer Family Reunion:We went to San Francisco where we did all the touristy things...
Here we all are at Bubba Gumps (all 21 of us!)

It was a little cold The California Academy of Sciences

This would be our wonderful family photo we only get every 2 years if I wouldn't have made the dumbest mistake ever and deleted it, but we're just not going to talk about it!What do you do when you're out of Ragu? Make your very own--completely from scratch (except for the canned tomatoes)--spaghetti sauce. I've never attempted this before, so I must say I am pretty proud of myself and I think Ragu's spaghetti sauce will be disappearing from our pantry from now on!

Just another day at the pool--we're working on making those floaties disappear, too, thanks to Grandma taking Wes to swim lessons.

Love her swim suit!

Santa Cruz Camping:
New Brighton Beach is highly recommended!

That's Wesley's and Daddy's masterpiece in the foreground. Complete with feather and all.We had to try out the infamous Pizza My Heart

The Santa Cruz Boardwalk log ride:Notice he starts out with a hat..."I lost my hat! Haha!"There it is--on the stairs. You lucky dog!

The camping baby buddies (notice the sweet ladies man in the middle):
All 9 families--silly:Serious:

Needless to say we've had a lot of fun!
And we just can't get enough of her!

Well that completes our summer update and we're only 3 weeks into it...can we say CRAZY!

Just a Short Picture Update...

2011-05-07T22:26:00.002-05:00

She Got Skill!

2011-04-29T13:12:00.002-05:00

Megan turned 8 months yesterday! This was taken a couple of days ago--her first official crawl! She's been a great roller so far and gets herself wherever she needs to go, but she finally realized she can go forward instead of sideways. I never thought I'd have an army crawler!!

6 Months!!

2011-03-08T11:51:00.001-06:00

Little Miss is now officially 6 months old! We still think she is adorable, but maybe we're just biased (I had to look it up)...
Megan is 12 lbs and almost 25 inches

Some of her favorites:
Big Brother Wesley
Rolling and rolling to get to the sliding glass door -or- Daddy's laptop whichever is closer.
Sweet Potatoes
Sleeping--she still takes 3 naps throughout the day, begs to go to bed by 7 and doesn't wake up until 6 or 7 (sometimes with a 2 am feeding, but not always). She still loves to be swaddled to bed, but only gets rocked because we make her cuddle with us for a few minutes. If we just put her in her crib and turn on her mobile she'll be out before the 30 second long song ends.

Some of her not so favorites:
Getting dressed
...and that's about it. She is such an easy going little girl!

We love her to pieces!!

What I'll Miss Most

2011-01-12T13:17:00.004-06:00

I know it's kind of silly but the thing I'll miss most about Christmas is listening to the Veggie Tales Incredible Singing Christmas Tree, especially this song:

I never thought you'd be able to feel the spirit while listening to a singing asparagus.

FYI: You can still download the whole CD from Amazon for FREE! Wesley and I really enjoyed it this season!

Photos

2010-12-20T11:54:00.008-06:00

I'm so lucky to have a great photographer as a friend so that we can swap every year...Thanks Crystal! You're the best!!

Our Sweet Baby Girl

2010-11-17T11:18:00.003-06:00

At 2 1/2 months she is about 9 1/2 lbs of cuteness. We love her so much!!SO BIG!!! Eating breakfast with the fam!

Can you find the Megan?

2010-11-17T11:17:00.000-06:00

Taking A Break

2010-11-02T17:46:00.002-05:00

I needed a break from editing everyone else's photos to take a look at my sweet baby girl!

Finally...The Arrival of Little Miss

2010-10-31T23:59:00.010-05:00

Okay, so Megan is 2 months and a couple of days old, I figured it's about time I got on here and posted her birth story. Poor thing--already experiencing 2nd child syndrome. I haven't yet due to time and I really wanted to do this right. I feel like the birth story tells a lot about the child, and what we went through with Megan just describes her to a T. Even my midwife figured this birth would go as quickly as Wesley's. She said she wanted me on her doorstep the minute I thought I was in labor. The day I had him I had my shower and then a the ward chili cook-off--there's no way I would have thought I was having him. And then he appeared in less than 4 hours. Megan was determined to let me know that she isn't anything like Wesley. She has her own personality, her own will, and that's just the way it's going to be. So here it is...

Thursday, August 26th I went into the midwife. The week prior I had only been dilated to a 1. I was determined to not rush this and I hadn't really felt a whole lot going on, but my midwife was curious, so she checked me. I was a little bit effaced and now dilated to a 2. Progress, but not much, okay, that's fine. But before I left I was really starting to feel some contractions and getting very uncomfortable. This continued all of Friday as well. I just didn't feel right and kept having tons of braxton hicks. I was starting to get exhausted by Friday afternoon. Saturday morning, August 28th, came along and still more contractions. It was about 9 am and I was due for work at 12, but I didn't think I would make it. Adam was helping someone move and I was having stronger contractions coming about every 5 minutes. When he came home I called my work and let them know I wouldn't be coming in. The contractions continued like this for a few hours. Adam turned on Father of the Bride Part II (one of my favorites) and I started to work on a craft to keep me distracted. I even went so far as posting on the blog to help distract me (remember that "great deal" post! That was a good one!). We went on lots of walks around our apartment building and even made the most amazing hot fudge sundae. I thought this was never really going to happen. I was really getting exhausted. Contractions had turned into every 2-3 minutes, but they weren't getting any stronger. We finally called the midwife at about 3 in the afternoon and asked her what we should be looking for. I expected my water to break like it did with Wes, so I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out. She told us to have me get in the tub and see if the contractions would get stronger, if not, the bath would maybe relieve them a little bit. I stayed in for about 30 minutes with no changes. I got bored, so I got out and then they got stronger... and stronger... and stronger. We met with the midwife at about 5 pm, she checked me, but I was only dilated at a 4, WHAT, A 4!!! I was so upset. I thought for sure I would be way more further along with all this work, but no. This girl wanted to show me! So more walking, more contractions, more waiting, more contractions. At about 8 pm my midwife checked me again. This time I was 6-7. I could only think, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!! THAT'S IT!!!" She suggested I lay on my right side. My cervix was still mostly intact on my right and she thought laying on my side could help with that. I laid down for about an hour, even though it was so excruciating. She checked me again at about 10:30 and I was finally at an 8. She offered to break my water to get things moving. I gave in and she broke my water. Wow! I thought the contractions were intense before... Then it was time to get her out. Doing this after hours and hours of labor--not a good mix! It was so tough (that's truly an understatement). This time around I wondered why I do this without an epidural. I thought it was supposed to be easier the 2nd time around. Again, that's just Miss Megan letting us know that she has her own time table and we can't ever forget that! We finally got to meet our Little Miss at 11:26pm! Our sweet little girl came and all those hours of labor and hard work were forgotten for a few sweet moments as I looked into my daughters eyes and knew she was just perfect! We love you Little Miss!!

Happy Birthday, Birthday Boy

2010-10-22T15:18:00.010-05:00

He was kind of a wrinkly little guy, I realized.

Of course, this song just had to be playing on my way home from dropping Wes off at preschool today. And of course, the tears started to flow. He is growing up way too fast! Happy birthday Wesley!! We love you!

To start out the morning he got to open one gift:To keep him busy while I made his favorite breakfast: Ball Pancakes (Aebelskivers)
Then we made his treats for his preschool class:
About a month ago Wes found these in a recipe book and has been begging for them. We decided it'd be the perfect birthday treat for his class. We finally made them this morning. He tried one and come to find out--he doesn't like them! That is so Wesley! :)

My Little Missionary

2010-09-14T14:49:00.002-05:00

My Mother in-law went to pick Wesley up at preschool last week and she found him sitting in front of the teacher with a bunch of the other kids and the teacher was singing a song. When she was finished all of the other kids scattered and it was just Wesley. He went up to the teacher and said, "Teacher, I have a song for you." He then started to sing Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam. I guess he was very serious about it--no jumping around on this one. He must have known what an important message he was sharing! I'm so grateful for Wesley's example in missionary work and just hope I can be as good as he is one day. :)

Bribery

2010-09-13T15:03:00.003-05:00

Wesley asked me if he could play Playstation the minute Adam left for work. I said no and then this was his response...

"I'll give you a cookie if you let me play."

Hmmm...I wonder where he learned about bribery. He must have some really awesome parents!! :)

Megan's Shower

2010-09-09T15:07:00.002-05:00

My friends threw me an amazing shower for Megan on July 29th. My mom had all the pictures on her camera, so it's taken me awhile to post this. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family that would do this for us! Megan got tons of cute clothes that I can't wait to see on her! So much fun!! Thanks everyone for all your love!!

So Many Outfits...So Little Time...

2010-09-03T11:50:00.003-05:00

Day 4:

Day 5:

Day 6:

She's Here!!

2010-08-29T10:52:00.000-05:00

10 perfect fingers and 10 perfect toes! Megan Sue Atkinson was born 8/28/2010 at 11:26pm. She's 6 lbs 8 oz and 19.5 inches long and I just can't stop staring at her!!
Don't worry, more pics and story to come!

6.03 + 1.73 =

2010-08-28T12:44:00.003-05:00

All this...
I paid $1.73 at Rite Aid for the diapers because I used a $3 +up reward that I had from a previous purchase on top of $5 in coupons and I even got another $2 +up reward back for my next purchase. I am lovin' Rite Aid right now almost as much as Target. Which is where I paid $6.03 for everything else! Coupons are seriously amazing!!
FYI: I'm typing this during some pretty crazy contractions, so I hope this makes sense. I'm just trying to distract myself--not sure if it's working or not.

Wesley's First Day!

2010-08-24T17:40:00.003-05:00

Wesley was so excited for his first day of preschool! We had orientation day yesterday, so they showed us around and told us all the rules. One of them was that they had to wipe their own bum. We've been working on this one, but he just was not motivated to do it himself. But when we got home we talked about it some more and later that afternoon he did it!! He was so proud of himself! And we are so proud of our preschooler!!

Today was his first official day (without Mom). There were tears, but just not his. I was way more nervous than he was since he'll be gone for 3 hours, every single day! He did so great though. He was ready to kiss me good bye and he just had the biggest grin the whole time! The teachers even told me how much he smiled the whole time! He showed me everything, again, as soon as I got there to pick him up and was so disappointed when I said it was time to go. The whole ride home was non-stop talk about how much fun he had!
Yay for many more first days of school to come!!

Megan's Room - The Reveal!

2010-07-23T12:32:00.003-05:00

I know you've just been dying to see the final product (I know I have)! So here it is...
Now we just need this baby girl to grace us with her presence! :)

Tahoe!!

2010-07-19T18:02:00.004-05:00

My first trip to Tahoe was a success! We went with Adam's family on a day trip and we had so much fun! Just look at the gorgeous scenery! We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day!

And here's a shot of the 31--now 33--week pregnant lady. I can't believe I have just over a month left!! Crazy!

Have you seen this one yet?

2010-07-19T17:50:00.006-05:00

It's so good--totally worth the short 5 minutes of your time! There truly are so many "good things to come!!"

COME-D-I-AN EXTRAORDINAIRE

2010-06-30T12:59:00.007-05:00

Wesley's Joke from Hillary Atkinson on Vimeo.

I Did It!

2010-06-30T12:38:00.003-05:00

We went camping at Gerle Creek for 2 nights. It turned out to be really fun and gorgeous, of course. I slept better than I thought I would, but sorry Adam, I don't think I'll be willing to brave it again this year! So enjoy these pics while you can!

That Little Stinker!

2010-06-30T12:32:00.004-05:00

Through the eyes of Mr. Wesley...

I was going through the pictures to do some blog posts and here are a few random ones that I found. My little mini-photographer must have found the camera, again.

More Craftiness

2010-06-30T12:27:00.006-05:00

Go ahead, just bask in my craftiness! :)

I can't wait to see these on Megan!

I also got even more crafty and made a little taggie blankie. I always wanted one for Wes, but never got courageous enough to try it. It turned out to be oh, so easy and oh, so adorable!!

Making a Room For Megan--The Teaser

2010-06-05T19:54:00.003-05:00

The crib came on Tuesday, so I worked furiously to rearrange the room for it. All that mess you see is cleared out now, but I don't want to post anymore pictures until it's complete. I'm so excited!!

Took Him 2 Years to Graduate...

2010-06-05T19:52:00.003-05:00

...but he finally made it! Now on to a preschool that Mommy doesn't teach! Yay!

Can You Guess What My Favorite Color Is?

2010-06-05T19:49:00.002-05:00

Adam let Wesley dress himself today while I was at work and this is what I came home to. Love it!!

A Little Craftiness

2010-05-22T11:10:00.004-05:00

So that website with the adorable baby hats that I wanted to win really got my brain pumping some crafty ideas and this is what came out...

Yarn for the hat: $2

Button: $1
Diapers: Free (I can explain if you would really like me to)
Incredibly cute baby gift for incredibly cheap: PRICELESS

Now I'm off to make Megan the pink version!!

This Is What I've Been Aspiring To Lately!

2010-05-18T17:20:00.001-05:00

I Really Want to Win!

2010-05-12T10:01:00.006-05:00

So I was looking for cute hat ideas for my little Megan and I found this site with an awesome giveaway to an adorable Etsy shop! Click on the sweet baby with the oh so sweet hat--you'll fall in love, too!

Happy Mother's Day!!

2010-05-07T15:49:00.000-05:00

Here's a few shots of my baby that we took just before our vacation in the California Poppies! And of course I had to add one of the updated belly (baby Megan)!

I hope everyone enjoys there Mother's Day as much as I know I will. What a joy it is to be a mother!!

What I know you've all been waiting for...

2010-05-05T14:55:00.009-05:00

I am very disappointed in our picture taking on our 2010 family vacation, but alas here is the play by play. We left early Saturday, dropped off Wes with my parents at my brothers house in Corona, then headed to our hotel.These pictures seriously do not do this place justice!! It was the nicest hotel we have ever stayed in! I know that's not saying much, but still... The bed was so comfy and the free breakfast in the morning was not the normal "make your own waffle" type and it was in their fancy little restaurant. We loved every minute of it! We went to the beach It was very cold and windy. We also advise to stay away from Venice Beach, unless you are one that likes medicinal marijuana and then it is the place for you. We still had fun and I even got a nap in! Love those vacation naps! Then on the way back to my brothers we decided to go through Hollywood. We happened upon this beautiful site without even knowing where we were going!It's amazing how you can completely feel away from the city just by looking at the amazing Moroni. We hit a littleAnd viewed the million dollar homesThis one was approx. 9 1/2 mil!

Well, that pretty much wraps up our babymoon!! So fun!!

Now for the best part...DISNEYLAND!!
Wesley loved the Go-Go Gadget roller coaster and the Matterhorn, but he still says his favorites were
The Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story Rides.
The late afternoon nap
And here's a little video. You pretty much have to just watch the first few seconds! I couldn't believe his reaction to the characters.

I thought for sure he'd be scared since he hated the mouse so much at Chuck E Cheese. He loved Pluto, swooned over Woody and waved with pure joy and excitement at Sulley!
It was truly magical to be able to see your children's love of Disney. I know that sounds so commercial, but truly, it's all their dreams come true and you can just see it in their eyes!!

As you can see we did not get any family pictures, even though we had several capable people around us to do so. We are such poor excuses for not taking better pictures! I blame it on the fact that I didn't bring my baby (the Nikon) for fear of losing a source of our income, but it's not a good enough excuse, so I apologize. I have promised myself to do better next time--for there will most definitely be a next time!

My Latest Session

2010-05-01T00:07:00.002-05:00

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten to share our amazing vacation with you, but I just had to share a few from my latest photo session--this little girl was so stinkin' cute! It got me so excited to meet my sweet little girl! I can't believe I'm over halfway there! There's a few more of this sweet girl on my photo blog, just click here

I < 3 Target

2010-04-22T20:52:00.001-05:00

I seriously love Target. I was one of the lucky ones that snatched the $5 off any Merona hand bag (no exclusions) and then headed to the clearance section and found the cutest bag for free--did you hear that FREE!!
I'm sorry to gloat since the coupon is no longer available, but I am just too excited not to share!

Yes, you will be jealous!

2010-04-21T14:21:00.005-05:00

While I was uploading some pics from my last photo shoot I thought I would share some gorgeous pictures of this amazing hotel!Who are the lucky people that get to stay there for 1 blissful night sans kid, you might ask? Oh, that would be us!! I am so excited!! Can you tell?
Here's the link if you're jealous and want to see more. :)

Funny, funny...

2010-04-12T00:09:00.001-05:00

So you may remember this post where I won a prize for having a dirty house. Well this is what Wesley said the minute we walked through the door after church today...
"Why is this mess still here?!"
Yeah, tell me about it!

!!!!

2010-04-07T15:22:00.003-05:00

I know you've been waiting by your computer all morning, just dying to hear the big news! ;) While I was getting ready this morning, I was preparing my speech to tell all of those out there that knew we were having a girl just how wrong they were, but instead....I get to tell you how right you are and Grandma Atkinson will be so happy that she predicted yet another great grandchild! We are so excited!
We were disappointed with our ultrasound tech. The pictures were terrible and she didn't even capture a profile pic of her. :( These were probably the best ones, but aren't they so sweet--such tiny fingers and toes!! It made it all so real! We can't wait to meet you little Megan!!

Easter!

2010-04-05T12:46:00.004-05:00

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! We did! Saturday night, we got a pizza--yes, I ate pizza for the first time since being sick and I actually liked it! So, anyway, we ate pizza and then died our eggs. Kids make these traditions so much more fun!Then Sunday started out with Wesley finding his basket in the living room and then hunting for eggs. Which we did not take pictures of. (Unfortunately we had a lot of clouds and rain all day, so I think it kind of bummed me out with the picture taking.) Then we went to my parents house for brunch--we had my favorite egg quiches and banana chocolate chip muffins! There was another egg hunt, but still no pictures! Then we made our way to the Atkinson's house where we ate a yummy roast dinner and had another egg hunt. Wesley even went on a special clue hunt where he found a new Tonka Truck filled with more candy, but still not a single picture of all these fun events! Thanks family for making such a special day for our son! We really enjoyed it, too!

Oh, Boy!

2010-04-05T12:32:00.003-05:00

Are we in for it! (Sorry for the teasing title--we won't know til Wednesday, remember--don't forget to vote!)

It was our turn for co-op on Friday and we had a lot of fun with all of those 8 wonderful kids, but we need to keep on eye on these 2!This is Haylee, Wesley's bestest friend. She's such a cutie and Wesley just follows her around and does whatever she tells him to do and this night she decided it was time to hold hands! Hopefully that's as far as it gets for the next 13 more years!FYI: In case you don't know what co-op is, it is the most amazing invention of all time! Adam and I watch 8 kids one weekend and then we get to go out the next 3 weekends! Adam and I have not ever had a regular dating schedule and this has been so wonderful to have some adult time on a regular basis. Thanks guys for including us in this great co-op group!

We Are So Excited!

2010-04-05T12:26:00.002-05:00

We're going to...We're so excited we had to make a countdown chain--only 21 more days! We took advantage of that Give a Day, Get a Day promo that Disney was doing. We thought it would be fun to take Wesley before the baby comes and we can't go again for awhile. Plus all the rides Wesley can ride I can ride too (he's still a little short for most).

What's "It" Gonna Be?

2010-04-01T14:17:00.003-05:00

I am now 18 weeks and I scheduled my ultrasound for Wednesday. We are so excited to find out what we're having and I'm so ready to start shopping! We would be excited to have a boy or a girl, but I'm a little nervous to have a girl and have to worry about doing her hair and making her all cute. I know it would be so fun, but seriously, what do you do with a girl?! What do you think we're having? You have until Wednesday to vote and I will make the announcement!
Update: It has been a tough 2nd pregnancy with being so sick. With Wesley I was sick up until my 2nd trimester and then the rest of the pregnancy was pretty much smooth sailing. I was counting down the days to the 2nd trimester this time just waiting for the vomiting and nauseousness to stop, but it never did. I was teased a few times by going a few days feeling great, but then it would come right back again. I took the throw up medicine the ER Doc gave me once and it stopped the vomiting, but I slept the whole day and I was winded just making Wesley some lunch. After that I went about a week and then it came back again for a day. And now I am on day 9 of freedom. I'm not going to say it's over because I jinx myself every time, so I have just been taking it a day at a time and today is a good day! :)

Funny story: At my appointment with the midwife yesterday, she was trying to find the heartbeat and she found it pretty quickly, but "he" ran away, so she searched again and found it again, but then "he" ran away again. This happened at least 3 more times. The whole while I would laugh cause I could feel "him" about to move. She finally got a faint enough heart beat for the amount of time she needed to. After she was done counting she said, "whew, you better watch out for this one!"

I did a partial photo shoot of this guy this morning and now I'm even more excited to meet our precious little one.

Spring and Lovin' It!

2010-03-22T11:18:00.005-05:00

The weather has been perfect for walking and bike riding lately, so we've been on the look out for new wheels for Wesley.

These just aren't cutting it anymore.
(Jan 2009)(April 2009)

I can't believe how big Wesley is getting. We no longer have a toddler on our hands--he's a full blown kid!!

Our Day of Green

2010-03-18T10:51:00.004-05:00

I got really sick again on Monday and Tuesday, so we didn't make it to our preschool St. Patrick's Day party. I felt bad for Wesley. He was such a good sport for me during the 2 days of being shut in. I thought we needed a special day together. Thanks to my good friend I got a bunch of ideas to make for a fun day with Wes.

We had fun turning our German Pancakes green until it was time to eat them...Wesley was so excited while we were making them, I even re-explained how we made them, but yet he still wouldn't touch them. German Pancakes are usually his favorite and he even put the green drops in, yet this is how the plate sat until lunch time when I finally gave in and made him a sandwich. The joys of parenthood!We made a sack to put our green things in. When we got to the park we searched for all the green things we could find. I realized I should have taken a picture of the treasures because we had everything from clovers to the outside of a tennis ball. Amazing what you can find at the park!We also found a red ladybug that we had fun playing with for the longest time.

We hope you had as much fun as we did!

The Old Timer

2010-03-15T14:34:00.003-05:00

Adam turned 30! Look at all those amazing candles! Happy Birthday Adam! We love you!!

An Update and a Turning Point

2010-02-14T11:56:00.005-06:00

It's been awhile since I've had a real post, but I wanted to finally document what has been going on since we found out about baby #2. This will be one of those posts that Adam hates (mostly words, not as many pictures), so if you hate that kind of blog post as well, feel free to move on to another, more picture exciting, blog, because I'm doing this for me, not you. I know that sentence has way too many commas, but I'm too exhausted to worry about fixing it!
Anywho, here's the happs:
Found out about baby #2--wahoo--so excited!Started feeling sick!
Started feeling sicker!
Started feeling sickest!
Found out there's a name for this awful sickness I get with every pregnancy. Hypermesis gravidarum. Click if you want to know more. I am one of the 2% of women that get this extreme ~~morning~~ all day sickness and of those 2% this time I am the 1% that needs IV re-hydration.
So we go to the hospital--I get my first IV.
I feel better for a few days, but then it almost starts all over again.
I don't have to go to the hospital again, but I feel sick!
Sicker!
Start to feel better, then sick!
Sicker!
Then I have my first appointment at the only freestanding birth center in the Sacramento area. I have been so nervous that I wouldn't like this birth center or the midwife that practices there, but I believe, and hopefully am not jinxing myself, but this might have been my turning point. I love The Birth Center and I have been so excited thinking about delivering there! We didn't get to hear the heartbeat yet. The appointment was just a consult, but I still finally felt like this was happening! I have a baby growing inside me! Oh my, oh my! Bursting heart with so much love for this tiny grape!
Wesley has been the greatest throughout all this. He hasn't once complained about all the TV he's had to watch! Notice the hint of sarcasm! He's brought me my throw up bucket! At random times when I don't really need it. But the sweetest of all is every prayer when he asks to "please bless the new baby and bless Mommy that she will feel better." And last night he said, "thank you that the new baby will be here soon." Poor guy doesn't realize how long he really has to wait, but he is so excited to be a big brother! He likes to see my belly and tell me how big it's getting and just the other day he started talking to the baby! I love this kid!
I have felt so much outpouring of love between my Mom getting me Quizno's anytime I want, Adam taking care of the house work when I can't, and wonderful friends that bring our family dinner! We are so blessed!!
And to quote one of my favorite bloggers, "I can do hard things!"

Thank You Slickdeals.net and Babies R Us!

2010-01-28T13:59:00.002-06:00

Free Money is always a slick deal! Here's the link to become a fan on Facebook and get your free $5 at Babies R Us! http://www.facebook.com/babiesrus?v=app_111895501427&ref=nf
Yay--a new teething ring for the new baby!! :)

What's Worse?

2010-01-20T13:20:00.004-06:00

What's Worse? Feeling so nauseous the only thing you want to do is throw up, or actually throwing up? I haven't decided yet...any thoughts?

Now the reason for this question...

(Are we sure we know what we're getting ourselves into?)

Busy, busy, busy...

2009-12-18T01:35:00.006-06:00

A lot of this
plus this

times thisminus thisand this squaredequals a messy house and definitely no blogging time!
*Don't worry Wesley hasn't shrunk these are just some pics from this year that I never got around to posting! They grow so fast (sniff, sniff)!

Oh, Christmas Tree

2009-12-06T13:03:00.006-06:00

A few fun facts about our tree and us...There are some ornaments that date back to 1980--the year Adam was born.

It's our tradition to get one new ornament a year that has significant meaning. Our first was purchased in Disneyland while on our Honeymoon. This years was from our family vacation to Redondo Beach. So fun!!

I am so in love with our $10 Christmas Tree--thanks to Wise Buys! I don't think they realize how much more special they have made our Christmas. It's also our first Christmas to celebrate together as a family in our own home! 6 years together--Can you believe it? Time just flies by and it feels like we're just getting started!!

Happy Anniversary Sweetheart!!

2009-12-06T12:47:00.003-06:00

If you're not in the mood for mushy and gushy...don't watch!! :)

Slick Deal!

2009-11-13T10:00:00.006-06:00

I thought I should share this slick deal because I enjoyed it so much. Due to our Christmas budget this year we are basking in the deals!
Go to coupons.com to print a $5 off coupon for this

Then go to Target where they are $5.99 in their Christmas section. So you will pay $0.99 in the end! Slick!!

And last but not least...

2009-11-05T17:26:00.006-06:00

...A little Halloween!
We really enjoyed all the festivities this year! Wesley really got into it and has decided he does like candy.

Happy Birthday to Us!

2009-11-05T16:45:00.009-06:00

I'll keep this simple and sweet...Birthday Cake:

Birthday Presents:

Birthday Buzz:Birthday Bliss:

A Small(er) Town Celebration

2009-11-05T16:30:00.004-06:00

At the beginning of the month my sister's city of Lincoln, CA celebrated their 150th year. We thought it would be something to do, so we went to this celebration and had a really great time. I got to experiment with firework photography and thought some of them turned out pretty good.

These grandparentsbought Wesley a sword and Analise a wand!

And I couldn't resist sharing the coolest techno picture of the year!

Pumpkin Carving

2009-11-05T16:16:00.009-06:00

Okay, another post to catch up on all of our October fun! This was our first pumpkin that Adam and I carved together in all our almost 6 years of marriage! It was such a blast and Wesley loved putting the eyes in his pumpkin. Wes and Adam also carved a smaller pumpkin, but I had to work, so I wasn't there to document it.

BeforeAfterThe Dynamic Duo!

A Little Pumpkin Patch

2009-11-03T21:54:00.003-06:00

I really am trying to catch up, so here is a few pics from our trip to the pumpkin patch. We actually went twice this year, but we forgot the camera the 2nd time. These are from our trip with our preschool.I don't know if it's because the camera has become my profession or what, but I can't seem to get Wesley to look at me with the camera anymore--silly kid!His favorite part was the petting zoo. He wanted so desperately for them to eat his carrots.We <3 the pumpkin patch!!

I Won!

2009-11-02T23:00:00.004-06:00

I won, I won, I can't believe I won!
I won these...from this amazing gal...
for this...
http://weedsseeds.blogspot.com/2009/09/real-life-house-hunters.html

Now you need to order Christmas presents from here...
http://weedsbeads.blogspot.com/

Thank you Miss B! I love, love, love the earrings!!

So behind!

2009-11-02T17:56:00.002-06:00

I am so behind on my blog posts! We've had a lot going on at the Atkinson household, so hopefully I can update you on all of our wonderful goings ons.
I took my sisters portraits at the end of September and am now just getting to the editing--Sorry Sis! But here are a few of my favorites + the one on my mini session card...

I'm in love!

2009-10-21T01:48:00.006-05:00

A fellow photographer asked me to create an announcement for one of her clients. I hope she doesn't mind that I'm sharing it before she even sees it. I'm just so in love I couldn't contain myself! I also love the name they chose for their sweet baby boy! :)

A Contest!

2009-10-12T16:57:00.001-05:00

I want to win this...
If you want to try to win a great new camera strap, click here.

3

2009-10-09T17:21:00.003-05:00

I'm supposed to be working on my talk for church on Sunday...oops! I couldn't help but post this picture. Can you believe this little guy will be 3 in less than 2 weeks!

Now Offering Mini Sessions!

2009-10-05T01:59:00.004-05:00

See my photography site for more info.

oh, baby!

2009-10-02T11:28:00.003-05:00

Adam turned his first baby!! We are so excited! The mommy called Adam because she found him on the ICPA website. She had been seeing a chiropractor throughout her pregnancy, but at 37 weeks found out that her baby was breech. Her OB threatened a C-Section if she didn't turn by 39 weeks. When she talked to her chiropractor about it he recommended looking for a Webster certified chiropractor (Adam). I'm so proud of Adam! The mommy came in the office today and announced that the baby turned!! Hip, hip, hooray! I ♥ Chiropractors!

Relief Society

2009-10-02T09:41:00.002-05:00

So, I just went to the best Relief Society activity ever! I know I have a lot of friends that are always looking for ideas for RS activities and I really enjoyed this one. It was perfect for those of us that don't have much time at home with our families, but would still like to get to know the sisters in the ward. It started at 6:30pm and ended at 7:00pm, or you could have gone from 7:15pm to 7:45pm. I was still able to make it home in time to read stories and sing songs with Wes--which I haven't done for the past 2 nights due to working so much. I was able to get to know a few more ladies in our ward and even bring home these...So cute!!

A Little Creativity

2009-09-14T13:56:00.004-05:00

I am so proud of my new wall. Thanks to my friend Kiri for the quote and thanks to DecoLetters for creating it for me. Also a special thanks to Thai Pan for the amazing hooks at $1.97 each! So fun!

Never trust a quiet 2, almost 3, year old!

2009-09-09T11:08:00.000-05:00

Oh My Goodness...

2009-09-02T13:34:00.008-05:00

Craziness is all I can think of when I think of this past month!

It started out with this...and a little bit of this...Adam had a seminar in Redondo Beach, CA, so Wes and I joined him. We had a really great weekend thanks to my brother and his family for letting us stay with them in Corona! Wesley had a blast with his cousins, especially Elias--they are best buds now! We also stopped in Downtown Disney where we ate at Rainforest Cafe and let Wesley pick out one thing at the Disney store since he was so sad he couldn't go inside Disneyland and see Mickey Mouse.

We also did some of this...thanks to our new apartment pool! Yay for cool pools in the hot summer!!

Unfortunately my Grandma Smith passed away on the 23rd, so Wesley and I made a trip to Utah for the funeral. We love you Grandma and you will be missed, but we are so glad you are back with Grandpa and "Together Again"!While we were there though we got to visit with lots of these...

and see this...my cousins oh so gorgeous wedding!

We are so grateful for family!! What would we do without them?!Adam's office was busy--our August special was a hit! So between that and my normal 3+ jobs and all the other goings on it's been just crazy! But a very good crazy!! :)
I hope you enjoyed the tour of the month! Visit us next time for another grand adventure!!

Update on the Chiropractor

2009-07-30T11:12:00.003-05:00

I've had a few people ask about the business, so I guess it's time to update you. Things have been going as good as a new business can in this economy. We've been able to cover our overhead every month, so that makes us happy--luckily we've gotten away with very low overhead here in Cali. A few months ago, Adam started working for another doctor on the side to bring in some extra dough for our apartment. Unfortunately it only lasted a few months. The doctor didn't keep up with what they had originally negotiated, so they both agreed it just wasn't going to work. And even though the money was helpful it wasn't enough for the time Adam was wasting on him when it could be used to build his own practice. Which brings us back to this. We are hitting it hard with an awesome August promotion, so if you know anyone that needs a chiropractor in the Sacramento area the time to let them know is now. I had a lot of fun creating this flyer--I can add Marketing Manager to my resume now! :) We have this posted on our door and we printed up 5x7 cards that we've been taking around to all the local businesses and such. We really hope this will give us a good foundation to go on since the summers are slow for chiropractors anyway. We look forward to a good month and many, many more to come! Even though times feel tough and making ends meet is hard, we know this is what we should be doing and we are loving every minute of it!

You Would Not Believe It!

2009-07-22T16:55:00.005-05:00

If any of you ever watch Little Einsteins you would be hearing Leo's voice while reading the title to this post just like I am! :)
Yup, that's me. I ran a 5K! Should I say it again? You would not believe it! I almost didn't! I'm sure my gym teacher was laughing her head off somewhere. I am not a runner! I did everything I could to get out of running the mile in high school. I was even lucky enough to get in a minor car accident and I milked that for at least 3 weeks! My sister's the one that started it. She's been training with a friend of hers for quite awhile--their next step is a half-marathon. No, you will not be seeing any pictures of me doing that! So, anyway, she signed up for this thing on the 4th of July and my Dad decided it would be kind of fun, so he signed up too. The charity that was hosting the run accidentally charged my Dad twice and they didn't call him back to fix it, so he asked if I wanted to do it. Mind you, this was 3 days before the big day--I said, "sure, why not, sounds fun." Adam and I ran Friday morning for about 20 minutes. I felt pretty good, thought this would be a piece of cake! I finished in 36 mins 48 secs. To all those real runners out there, I know that stinks! But for me, I was so proud of myself. I ran the whole way, except for the few seconds when my ribs were about to collapse on me after I downed a cup of water they were handing out! See. I'm not a runner--everyone knows you don't drink that water! Wowsers! It was very exhilirating! My favorite part was seeing my family waiting for me at the end when I knew I actually did it! I didn't give up! You might even see me doing it again next year! :)

This is a little late...

2009-07-09T23:13:00.004-05:00

But I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! I know we did. More to come--I promise!!

Summer Portrait Special!

2009-06-30T01:19:00.001-05:00

Finally...the apartment!

2009-06-27T10:10:00.002-05:00

This took me forever because I had to do a different room everyday to move the mess around! I still didn't have any of our office--that one may take awhile to clear out.
Our neighbors above us moved in last week. We didn't realize how spoiled we've been not having upstairs neighbors, but we weren't about to be on the 3rd floor. Our carpet isn't really carpet. Because we wanted the bottom floor the only one that was left was a handicap. They told us the only difference would be the bars in the bathroom, but they failed to mention we wouldn't have any pad or nice plush carpet. It feels like we're living in office space sometimes and poor Wesley is trying not to fall too often on. It doesn't make for a soft landing.
All in all, though, we are happy with our new place. I really do love having all my stuff back. It felt like Christmas opening up all those boxes. We've especially enjoyed having family time--just the 3 of us. We've really appreciated our parents for helping us out, but I'm sure they'll agree that it was time for us to be our own family again!

Button, Button, Who's Got the Button!

2009-06-27T09:46:00.004-05:00

While I was fixing Wesley's drapes he found my buttons in the sewing basket! He got all excited and said, "Mommy, mommy, look'it!"

A Conversation

2009-06-26T13:13:00.002-05:00

A conversation with Wes and Adam this morning:

Adam: Wesley, did you know Mommy and I saw a mouse last night on the porch? A ratatouille was on the porch! It ran up the screen door and scared mommy really bad!
Wes: A ratatouille?! I saw a ratatouille last week!
Adam: You did? Last week, huh? Where did you see a ratatouille?
Wes: In the forest.
Adam: The forest? What forest.
Wes: The McQueen Forest! (says McQueen with slow emphasis)
Adam: Are you making this up?
Wes: ha, ha, ha, no I not! :)

Father's Day Cards...Check!

2009-06-19T11:21:00.003-05:00

With Wesley's help, I think we succeeded in making these wonderful cards!
And in case you're wondering--that is our so called "carpet". I will post more on this later...

Father's Day

2009-06-17T00:23:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I've been racking my brain trying to decide what to do about a Father's Day card for my 2 Dad's. Lately I do the digiscrap style, but I don't have a recent picture of my dad or my father in-law. I decided to Google Father's Day Cards and this is what I found...
So incredibly cute I just had to share! Here's the link to the blog--there's a video that makes it so easy to do!! Thank you Susanna Boyd! Now I just have to get my scrapbook stuff moved into our apartment...hmmm.
P.S. Jenny and Holly, I know you look at my blog, so you are not allowed to copy!! :) Love ya anyways, though!
P.P.S. Pictures of our apartment are on their way. Don't necessarily hold your breath--I still have picture hanging and tons of organizing to do before I attempt to document for the public eye!

Happy Father's Day to all the Father's out there!!

Perfect!

2009-05-31T23:53:00.002-05:00

This is perfect for this week! Friday is the big day. Wish us luck! :)

Family Date Night

2009-05-13T16:58:00.002-05:00

Due to the absolute craziness of our life lately we don't get to spend much time as a family--just the 3 of us. When we told Wesley our plans for the evening he said, in confusion, "just Mommy & Wesley?" To which I replied, "no." "Oh, Mommy, Daddy & Wesley!" through an excited grin. We had a lot of fun perusing the classic cars at Downtown Tuesday Nights and then eating the best pizza pie at our favorite Mountain Mikes Pizza.
18 more days until we're just "Mommy, Daddy & Wesley" all the time!

When it rains...it pours!

2009-05-05T11:13:00.007-05:00

Yes, it's been raining a lot here in Cali, but that's not what I'm referring to. :) I have had 3 photo shoots in the last 2 weeks and I have 1 more in the process of being scheduled!! Heaven!!
Here are a few of my favorite shoot--Rylie. I took her photos before she came out of momma's belly, after she came out, and now she is 6 months old! I can't believe it! And she is such a doll! If you want to see more of the other photo shoots and more of Rylie click here. Otherwise, enjoy!

We are moving here...

2009-04-26T23:35:00.003-05:00

Oh my goodness! We're finally doing it...we're moving out on our own again. Wesley keeps saying "just mommy, daddy and Wessey?" It will be a rough transition for him I think, but oh so worth it! I'm not sure how well you can see the picture, but the person on the bottom right will be me pushing the stroller back to our very own apartment!! As long as everything goes well we should be moving in about mid June, so wish us luck!! Or I guess I should say "wish us money" we'll be needing it!! :)

Finally...A Post About the Office

2009-04-22T10:55:00.007-05:00

We decided on a logo. Thanks so much for all of your votes. It was a blast to see so many take time to vote. Here are the results...

This is the back of the business card! I love it, so I had to share it with all!!

This was the best shot I got of the banner I created. In love with that, too!

The View from the Street. If you click on the picture you'll see our name on the board! So exciting!

The Boardwalk--as we so lovingly call it

The waiting area--my personal favorite

The awesome reception desk we found on Craigslist!

The rest are kind of self-explanatory and interest Adam more than myself! :)

Last but not least...Our Bowen Therapist's Area. Adam met Peter from a BNI group. He's a fantastic addition to Adam's office.

We hope you enjoyed this little tour! Things have been finally picking up and we are getting really excited. His office is great and we keep adding a few additions here and there. We've had quite a few moms lately, so we bought a new kids table from Ikea to help keep the kids busy. It's Wesley's favorite part now.

Happy Belated Easter!

2009-04-22T10:25:00.005-05:00

Potty Training

2009-04-13T01:03:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I announced a long time ago that we started potty training. Well, we've been working on it off and on for all this time and then I decided we would spend all of General Conference weekend working on it since we wouldn't really be going anywhere or doing anything. It worked! Wesley was going to the potty! He kept his pants dry all day! We put his diaper on for bedtime, but then we put his underwears back on in the morning. But then we had errands to do last week, so we put the diapers back on for just a few days. Then me and my mom went to buy Pull-ups. Wesley was so excited and he did perfectly for another few days! But then Easter weekend came. We had a crazy, busy, out and about day. We had the Pull-ups on, but he was doing very well holding it. We had a few more issues that night, but still doing rather well. He stayed dry through nursery today, but as soon as we got home we rushed to the potty and didn't make it! He was sad at first, but he must have figured out that the Pull-ups work like diapers, because after that he had accident, after accident. We tried putting the underwear on while we were at Grandma A's, but still more accidents! Ugh! I thought we had this...easy, breezy. But now I don't know what to do. Spring break is over and it's back to our normal, craziness--cleaning my parents house tomorrow? okay, we can do that. Preschool Tuesday? uh, I don't think so! Any advice? We know how to do this at home, but how do we continue it when we have to leave the house? Please help!! I appreciate any and all advice!!!! Pee-pee on the potty dance

Poppies, Poppies, Everywhere

2009-04-13T00:49:00.004-05:00

I LOVE California Poppies! When my family first moved to Cali that is the first thing I fell in love with. They are scattered all over the freeways, byways, highways, you name it. This year there is a plethora of Poppies just down the street from where we live, so of course, photo op! Forgive me for I have not done any editing. I haven't had the time lately and I'd rather just share these than spend hours on making our personal pictures perfect. But I hope you enjoy these gorgeous wild flowers as much as I do!On another spring note...We had a dove make a nest in the backyard. I had the opportunity to watch her gathering the sticks and create this magnificent home. Then my mom watched, not even a week later, as a blue bird swooped down and snatched an egg right out of that nest. I ran over to see as the poor mother dove was frantically searching everywhere for her missing egg. I felt so bad for this amazing bird. I could not imagine losing a child as she had. My heart reached out to her and to all mothers that have had to endure such a heart ache. I feel so blessed to have my Wesley!

Update Overload

2009-04-13T00:40:00.003-05:00

It's been a little while since I've uploaded pictures off of my Nikon, so bear with me as I share what's been going on in our life!

Adam's Birthday:

Adam turned 29 in March! I think this is the big one because that means next year Adam will officially be old!! Here are my favorite pics from that day!

Breakfast in Bed

The Birthday Boy

Candle Monster!

The Fam

All About the 8's

2009-04-09T11:07:00.003-05:00

8 TV Shows I watch

The Office

American Idol

Lost

Heroes

The Biggest Loser

Survivor

What Not To Wear

and I plan on watching Parks and Recreation this week!

8 Things I Did Yesterday

Showered in the morning (amazing!!)

Took Wesley to Wacky Tacky

Worked at Adam’s office

Drove around while Wesley slept in the car

Watched The Biggest Loser

Ran to the grocery store

Made a fruit tray for Adam’s meeting in the morning

Baked Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with a Demarle pan!

8 Favorite Restaurants

Outback

Mimi’s Café

Red Robin

In & Out

The Spaghetti Factory

Saltgrass Steakhouse—I still dream of those Texas Ribs!

Olive Garden

Mountain Mikes Pizza

8 Things I Am Looking Forward to

Our weekend trip to Tahoe without the kid in June

Making money

Paying off debt

Getting a house

Heck, getting an apartment would do

Having more babies

Watching the Office tonight

Easter Sunday

8 Things on My Wish List

The whole Demarle at Home catalog

A Bosch mixer

Vitamix

A house

A scrapbook room

Kirby vacuum

A Cricut die-cut machine

A new bedroom set

8 Things on My To Do List

Call client to set up time for photo shoot

Make flyers for Complete Care Chiropractic

Read lesson for Young Women’s on Sunday

Work on next week’s preschool lessons

Update blog with office pics and such

Finish potty training Wesley

Pick up stuff on hold at the library

Send in this video to Funniest Home Videos…

8 People I Tag

Kiri

Amanda

Tiffany

Holly

Lisa

Kim

Stacey

Braelynn

Hilarious!

2009-03-29T23:23:00.002-05:00

My ward's Relief Society now has a blog! I went to check it out today and the above cartoon was at the bottom of it. I couldn't stop laughing for like 5 minutes!!

P.S. I have tons of stuff to post, but no time to do it. So keep a look out!! :)

Sacramento, CA Temple

2009-03-17T17:36:00.001-05:00

I took some photos of the Sacramento Temple in November 2008 to give to my family as gifts. I've decided to sell them on my website...

$8 for 8x10; $12 for 11x14

$15 for 8x10; $20 for 11x14

These prints are unmounted and the "Families are Forever" version is actually customizable. I can change the words to your family name, a favorite scripture, favorite quote, or anything else that your heart desires. If you need them shipped, a shipping fee will apply. Thanks for your interest!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!

2009-03-06T15:19:00.004-06:00

Thanks for all that you do!! We love you and hope you have a wonderful day!!

Love,

Hillary and Wesley

My Budding Photographer

2009-03-06T15:02:00.006-06:00

It was a gorgeous day today, so before lunch we decided to get outside and take some pictures of all the beautiful blossoms. We had some great weather and lots of rain lately which has caused the flowers to blossom a little earlier than normal. I let Wesley take control of our old Canon and he was such a pro. Here are some of Wesley's...And a few of Mommy's...

TIME TO VOTE ON A LOGO

2009-02-25T12:19:00.003-06:00

Below are the 3 logos that Adam and I have come up with. We love different things about each one, so please help us choose. The poll will be up for a few days on the sidebar! Thanks for your support!! :)

Logo #1
Logo #2

Logo #3

FYI: This logo will be on business cards, as well as the main focus on our window that people will see from the street. Hope that helps with your decision!

A Few Photo Shoots

2009-02-16T15:49:00.005-06:00

Some of my favorites of the new family! Jaran is so sweet!

Paige was the easiest to photograph, I think. I love one year olds! They're natural models!

Dr. Justin Woodside, DC. He needed some professional pictures taken. I hope they're professional enough for him. I did Adam's, but otherwise I have no experience in this. I personally think it's quite boring to take these kind! :) Justin was a good sport though.

Thanks for the practice guys! It was a lot of fun and you all looked so cute--yes, even you, Justin! :)

A Family Reunion

2009-02-16T15:32:00.005-06:00

We had a ton of fun on our road trip to Arizona. It was a very long drive, but so worth it to meet this little guy...

Jaran Woodside.

We started our trip in Gilbert, Arizona. Where we stayed with Adam's Aunt and Uncle. Then we headed up to Snowflake/Taylor, Arizona. We stayed at Justin and Kiri's for 3 nights and then trekked back home in the snow for another 13 hours. Wesley did so great on the long drive--we were really proud of him. We had a lot of fun being with the Goodman's and the Woodside's again. And it was really interesting experiencing small town living. I don't believe I could ever live more than 10 minutes from a Target! That's just craziness! We ate some very yummy food (thanks Kiri & Justin!), watched movies, and just caught up on a lot of chatting! :) We can't wait to see you all next year guys! Love ya lots!!

Wesley's showing you the snow! Taylor had a crazy snow storm the day we had to leave.
Best Buds!!

Happy V-Day!

2009-02-14T09:43:00.002-06:00