2 1/2

My T turns 2 1/2 today. He's getting so big! Since this has basically become my journal, here are some things I want to record about what he is doing now:

• Talks up a storm. We've been having conversations in full sentences for months. The other day, I stopped to count and he was saying 12-word sentences. He picks up on things so quickly and it's so fun to see him absorb and learn.
• Loves Spanish. He's always saying "What's ______ in Spanish?" And then he remembers it and will start calling the object/animal/number, etc in both English and Spanish.
• He has been going through a MAJOR temper tantrum stage. If he doesn't get what he wants at the second he wants it .... TANTRUM! However, I am please to report (knock on wood) that the tantrums do seem to be decreasing in number as of late. When I say that, he still has them daily, but it seems like it's only a few times a day instead of ALL DAY LONG!
• Still naps for about 2 hours every day from ~12:30 -2:30 (Thank heavens!)
• He loves his sister, Lacey. They play together every day.
• Loves trucks, airplanes, and trains
• Wakes up in the middle of the night almost every night and wants to sleep in our bed with us or have us go in his bed and sleep with him (looking forward to this habit breaking at some point!)
• Wakes up for good between 6-6:30am most mornings and the first words out of his mouth are "I want a show."
• His favorite shows: Dora and Diego
• Favorite drink: Apple juice (which I heavily dilute)
• Still addicted to his binkies (which he refers to as babies). We now only allow him to have them at bed time, so now whenever we go down for nap or bed time, we say "Books and Babies" and he happily marches up to bed, excited to get his babies.

Tanner, you are my high-energy, non-stop, all-boy little guy. You thoroughly exhaust me, but I LOVE YOU. Just thinking about you brings a big smile to my face. I love your blue eyes, I love it when you put your hands on my cheeks. I love it when you say, "I love my mama!" I love just standing back and watching you play with your toys or with Lacey and listening to what you have to say. I love hearing you sing your "Big rig 18-wheeler coming down the road a ee" song. It's really "... coming down the road at me" but it sounds like "a ee", so that is what you say and it makes me laugh. I love you a hundred billion 2 1/2 year old!

Riley's Photo Shoot

Well, before I get to the "photo shoot" pictures, I wanted to document a picture of Riley on her 1 month birthday, which was two days ago. I can't believe it's already been a month! I just want time to freeze and for her to stay tiny, but I fear she is getting bigger every day!

I have no idea what I did to make this (and the following picture) so small, but I'm not sure how to fix it, so oh well! Anyway, my dear friend Brittany came over to our house a week or so ago and did a newborn photo shoot with our little Riley Jane. This was one of my very favorites.

I wanted this pose because I have the exact same pose with Tanner when he was a baby.

Riley with Mom and Dad

Brittany thought of this, putting our wedding rings on her toes. I thought it turned out really cute.

We couldn't get her binky out without her crying, but I still love this picture even with the binky!

I'm so happy Lacey has a sister! And (so far), so is she!

Thank you, Brittany for taking so many pictures and being so patient with us!

D.C. Temple Lights

Every year, the grounds of the Washington D.C. Temple are beautifully decorated. Along with the grounds being decorated with lights and a Nativity, the Visitors Center is open with an exhibit of nativities from around the world and nightly Christmas concerts. We've made it a tradition to go every year.

This was the first time seeing the lights for both Tanner (who we left at home the last 2 years) and Riley. And we also brought our niece, Becky.

Lacey making herself a part of the Nativity.

And my little Mr. T.

And the other man in my life :)

The Christmas Season, now feels official!

First Family Outing

T and L at Bob the Builder's Architect Station

Grocery shopping!

We got brave and ventured out for the first time last Friday night to downtown Baltimore. Why the city of all places? Because I can't pass up a great deal! Port Discovery is listed as one of the top 5 children's Museums in the Country. It is only 25 minutes from our house, but we have never been. Why? Well, one reason is the price. It is $13 (well, $12.95) per person ages 2 and over, so it would cost us over $50 to go, which seems a bit steep for the kids to play for a couple ours when the park down the street is free! But, last Friday, Target sponsored a "Family Fun Night" making the tickets only $2. I couldn't pass it up! The kids absolutely loved it and Riley was totally content being carried around in her Bjorn all night.

On a side note.... Thank you for all your supportive comments on my last post. It's been a good week so far because Dave took the week off. Next week may be a whole other story! But I'm taking one day at a time. Riley had her 2 week check-up today. She was 8# 11 ounces and 21 1/2 inches. She is so sweet and we're all in love with her!

Thanks, Mom!

My mom flew in the night before I had Riley. Perfect Timing! She left yesterday and I cried. As I hugged her goodbye, all of a sudden, I felt this overwhelming "Oh my gosh, I have to handle 3 kids under the age of 4 all by myself now!" feeling. One of the major helps of my mom was simply to hold little Riley while I juggled Lacey and Tanner.

As you can imagine, for the most part, we just stayed close to home and took care of kids. But we did go on one outing while she was here -- Fort McHenry. My mother-in-law was nice enough to watch L and T while my mom and I took Riley to Fort McHenry, the sight where the original Star Spangled Banner (now in the Smithsonian) flew after the Americans defended Baltimore in the War of 1812. Francis Scott Key saw the flag still waving after the battle was over and knew that America had withstood the British invasion. It was then that he wrote the "Star Spangled Banner" later set to music.

My little T has been really needing some Mom attention. So, my mom stayed with Riley and Lacey while I went outside and spent some time with my T.

And here's an updated photo of the little lady. She's changing every day! And I just want her to stay little!

So, how am I adjusting to life with 3 and no additional help from my mom? Well, I'm alive. And I even showered today. But I'm exhausted. I was up nursing Riley until 11pm last night. She was up again at 2am and nursed for over an hour. Then, Tanner got up at 4am. Dave was able to get him back down, but then Riley woke up again wanting to eat and then Tanner was up for good by 7 (which was awesome because he usually doesn't sleep past 6). So, I'm getting about 4-5 hours of sleep when all is said and done. And I find that I'm starting the day "on edge" with not as much patience as I wish I had. I wish I could explain to my kids that I get frustrated easily because I'm sleep deprived and not because I don't realize they are just doing normal toddler things (like asking me "Why?" 10 times in a row, throwing blueberries all over the family room, climbing on my lap EVERY time I sit down to nurse and practically crushing the baby, etc., etc.). I know many of you reading this have 3 or more kids and handle it just fine. How do you do it? I hope I get the hang of it. I just feel pulled in 3 different directions all day long and then, between T and Riley, I don't get a break at night. It just keeps on going. Well, I didn't really mean to write all of that. I don't mean for any of this to sound like I'm complaining. I always wanted to be a mother and I am truly grateful that I have three healthy children. It's just hard. And it should be because, as my mother would say, "Anything in this life worth having is hard work!" Isn't that the truth!

It's a........

GIRL!!!!! Riley Jane Strom was born on Sunday, November 7th at 4:07pm weighing 8# even and 19 1/2 inches.

Holding my baby girl.

Dave holding Riley for the first time.

The following day, Dave brought the kids to the hospital to meet their baby sister. It was so cute; he had them in cute outfits (Tanner was wearing a "Big Brother" t-shirt even though you can't tell) and each holding a long-stem red rose for me. I wanted to get Tanner's shirt and the roses in the picture, but alas, this is the one and only family shot we were able to get and it was all I could do to keep Tanner on the bed for a second, much less worry about posing the kids and roses! He is a 2-year old boy through and through! I just came home from the hospital today and am so happy to be back home with my family. Life is crazy with three kinds under the age of 4, but we feel so blessed and are grateful to have the help from my mom as well as Dave's parents that live close by. Welcome to the world, Riley Jane!

Happy Halloween!

Ole!

As many of you know, Dave lived in Spain for 2 years while serving an LDS mission. Several years later, we met in Spain and then went back for an Anniversary trip last year. We love Spain! So what more appropriate costumes for our kids than a Flamenco dancer.....

And a Matador?

Tanner showing off his bull (which is actually from Spain)

L and T with their cousins at the Ward Trunk-or-Treat

Lacey with her Preschool class.

We had a fun Halloween weekend! On another note..... Per Ultrasound, I am due TODAY! But so far.... nothing. My doctor is ready to induce me, but I'm hoping to go on my own. I worked today, but told work that I was going to make today be my last day. I'm being optimistic! My mom arrives on Saturday and I'm really hoping to have the baby by the time she gets here because I want to maximize her time here in helping me with the baby. My doctor (who I saw yesterday) said he'll give me one more week, but he's going to induce me if I don't have the baby this week. So, keep your fingers crossed for me!

Cousin Reunion!

I have one female cousin my age and her name is Brynne. We both lived in Huntington Beach at the same time and we made it a point to get together on a weekly basis to go running. I would push Taylor (now 12 standing in the middle) in a stroller and she would push Jake (now almost 9 on the right and Drew, not pictured) in a double stroller. It was so nice to catch up on life on a weekly basis even though we were at totally different stages of life - she was married with three kids and I was single. But here we are 5 1/2 years after I moved to Maryland. I'm now pregnant with Baby #3 and she now has 5 kids. I was thrilled when she called and said that she and her mom (my Aunt Susie) and 3 of her 5 kids wanted to come out East to see all the US History sights in the area.

We took them downtown Annapolis and went to the Capitol, where General George Washington resigned his commission. This picture cracks me up because it looks like Lacey is introducing her friend, George.

And we also took them to the Naval Academy. Here are the second cousins together.

The cousin reunion!

On our way to church, we stopped at the World War 2 Monument in Annapolis and got a family picture. It's weird to think that the next time we have a family picture, there will be another little person in the picture! I'm 37 weeks today.....

26.2 on 10-10-10

So 10-10-10 was the date to motivate. Or so said the organizers of the Chicago Marathon. This year, I, Dave was persuaded to run my first ever marathon in Chicago with some other family members. So off I went to the windy city to run my marathon. The first thing I did when I got into town was to continue to carbo-load on some red velvet pancakes at the Bongo Room with my sister in law, Maret. These pancakes (and everything else we ordered) were out of this world!

Maret and I had some time to kill before the rest of the crew showed up, so she took me to the Institute of Art. Do these next couple of pictures remind you of any famous movie?

And we also had to go see the Bean!

Once Seth, Wes & Lindsey showed up, we went to the Expo and had to commemorate our run with this art work. Not only was it my first marathon, but it was also Wes and Lindsey's first one as well.

And here we are after the race. We were all very happy to be done. The weather forecast dramatically kept changing as the day of the race got closer and wouldn't you know it - it was 89 degrees when we were running. A sharp departure from a year ago when it was in the 40s. Needless to say it was more than we were expecting. Also, an injury I got 2 weeks ago flared up again on me around mile 10. I didn't run the race I expected to and so it was a little more disappointing than exhilarating when I crossed the finish line. Nevertheless, I did finish.

Afterwards, we all went to Naperville and met up with the rest of the family for a BBQ and a good 'ole time. We were all sore and tired, but here we are again - all 5 of us, showered and relieved to be done with running for awhile.

Will I ever do another one? That remains to be seen. I can honestly say that running a half-marathon sounds fun to me now. I wonder if that officially makes me a runner?

Fall Festival

On Friday evening, Lacey's Pre-school held it's annual Fall Festival. Lacey kept calling it "my party" (Yes, Lacey, this is all just for you!) and Tanner was thrilled that he was finally involved instead of just dropping off Lacey and going home like usual!

The moon bounce was a definite hit!

And a festival isn't complete without a little junk food! Good thing I took them to the dentist for the first time last week!

And we're loving this Fall weather! High 60's and sunny. Love it!

4 Generations

Last year, some of you may remember that I flew to Oregon with Tanner to visit my only living grandparent. I hadn't seen her since my wedding day 4 years earlier and she can no longer travel. I really wanted to get a picture of my kids with their only living great-grandparent. The trip was hard - REALLY hard. Because my grandma lives in southern Oregon, the trip required us to fly from Maryland to San Francisco (with layovers), then drive from San Francisco to Medford, Oregon (6 1/2 hour drive) and then do the whole thing in reverse 2 days later. Tanner was a TERRIBLE traveler and it just about killed me to get through the weekend of travel, but in the end, I was thrilled I had introduced him to Grandma and had pictures for him to have after she is gone. I brought Tanner because we couldn't afford for all of us to go, and Tanner was free, so it only meant one plane ticket. But a year later (now), I began feeling like I really wanted Lacey to meet her too. Thus, Round 2 of the Oregon trip! Luckily, Lacey at 3 1/2 is a MUCH better traveler than T was at a week shy of his first birthday, so it was much easier on me. Here is Lacey very excited to get on the airplane!

We arrived in San Francisco on Friday night where we met up with my dad (who flew in from Chicago) and my sister, Maret (who lives there). The next morning, we drove up to Oregon and got there in time for a nice dinner. Lacey dressed up for dinner and to meet her Great-Grandma.

My dad has one sibling, who also lives in southern Oregon. My Uncle Jim is married with two kids, Tom and Jackson. I have only seen them once in the last 20 years. Maret hasn't seen them at all in 20 years. My aunt was pregnant with Jackson, now 20 years old, at our last family get-together, so this was a wonderful reunion for all of us.

The following day, we drove to Jacksonville, a charming town celebrating it's 100 year anniversary. It was a rainy day, but we made the most of it wandering into little shops and soaking in the atmosphere of this great little town.

Lacey with her Aunt Maret.

My dad with his mom.

After leaving Jacksonville, we drove to the Medford LDS Temple. It was beautiful.

It's challenging to find activities that suit the age range of 3 - 90. We decided on Crater Lake. It's a 4 hour round-trip drive from Medford, but Lacey's a pretty good traveler, it didn't require my grandma to walk and it allowed us to all be together and visit while we drove. Crater Lake is BEAUTIFUL!!! It also happens to be in my "1000 Places to See Before You Die" book, so I got to check off my 100th thing :) Only 900 to go!

I'm sure it would have been even more scenic on a nice, sunny day, but it was still a breathtaking view.

We ended the day by going back to my Grandma's and made sure to get a 4-Generation picture.

And the purpose of the trip..... to get a great picture of Lacey with her Great-Grandma!

And another - the trip is a success!

It was such a quick trip, but totally worth it. Monday morning, we headed back to San Francisco. Here I am saying good-bye to my grandma just before we left.

We got back to San Francisco around 3:30 and it was an absolutely gorgeous day. After being cooped up in cars and airplanes/airports for the past 4 days, we decided to walk around Stanford's campus and enjoy the beautiful weather and campus. And now, at 33 weeks pregnant, I'm going to stay home and wait for this baby to come!