Catching Up: Spring Break

For Matt's spring break this year we headed to Alaska to visit my family. We hadn't seen each other since September and 7 months was just too long to not make the trek home! Time in AK consists of catching up with one another, playing with aunties and uncles and Nana and Poppy (of course), great food, rest, hanging out with just my parents when children go to bed, being at Wasilla Bible Church and seeing dear friends, a midwifery appointment, celebrating a best friend's birthday and Matt having lots of time to run, workout and do all things boy with my brothers! :) Here's a few pictures from our visit.

The joy of being with Poppy...a whole apple all to myself!

Meeting Daisy

This chair is kinda special...before Reese, I had it as a girl
and before me it was my mom's!

Playing kitchen with Aunt Elise

Reese and daddy

Happy girl and her spaghetti!

Attending the Easter Tea with Elise and mom

Visiting the Iditarod museum as a family...
I felt like a tourist! :)

Easter 2011

Trying to figure out what to do with these colorful things!

The plane ride home...a much nicer experience than going to AK.
Good job, Reese!

God is so kind to give us memories that we can look back on and cherish. This trip was one of those times. It was hard to say goodbye but so much easier knowing we'd be back in only a few short weeks. And that's right around the corner now! 8 more days and we'll get on a plane to wait for Allie to arrive. :)

Thinking of you, Mom!

Because you like pink rosebuds, I had to take this picture for you. Caught Reese in a happy mood amidst 2 molars coming in! It's been some hard, painful days in our house but whenever I see this smile, it makes me melt. This one's for you, Mama!

What a Surprise!

For my birthday I received a card from my sister-in-laws that said..."Sister night on us: Dinner, Dessert and a Chick-flick." They chose Friday night to take me out and just enjoy time for us to be girls, sisters and friends. I decided Wolf Creek would be our dinner spot, Monika said she was making a chocolate and raspberry cake and we'd figure out the movie.

Dinner was amazing! I'd forgotten how much I liked this place...it just kind of fell off my radar. We chose the balcony and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Great food. Wonderful company. We had the best time.

Once dinner was eaten we headed over to Monika's to enjoy THIS. I'd been dreaming about this cake ever since Monika had sent me the link of what she'd decided to make for dessert. 

I had no suspicion of what was to come. The girls were so normal. We walked into the house just like any other time and the only thing that seemed strange when we got inside was that all 3 of them were looking at me and then looking to the corner of the room. I followed their gaze to find 3 of my sweet friends huddled in the corner who at that moment let out "Surprise!" I really was! I had thought I was there to take off my shoes, kick back and enjoy the movie. How much more fun to have a party instead!

Monika, Courtney and Mollie thought of everything. Pink carnations, yummy taffy from Trader Joe's, gum drops, chocolate truffles, a mommy quiz, a beautiful sign that said, "Welcome Allie", pink lemonade, water and beautiful sunflowers to take home as a party favor! It was a sweet, intimate time of catching up with my friends, talking about being mommies and just enjoying one another's fellowship. I'm so thankful for the evening! Since we're having another girl, we're pretty much ready for everything Allie will need except for diapers. So...the gals were kind enough to have a diaper shower! Such a blessing to us!

And here are two pictures of that amazing cake...there aren't words to describe how good this was! Thanks, Moni, for letting me take home TWO pieces. Needless to say, it's already gone but I did have a lot of help!

Thank you to my sisters who spoiled me like crazy! I had such a wonderful time and was truly surprised...you caught me completely off guard! :) Thank you to the gals who came and showered us with wonderful gifts! You are a blessing to our family and I'm thankful we could spend that time together.

A few of my favorite things

I love it when my friends post about things they love. It gives me ideas and things to look out for when someone asks me..."so what do you want for your birthday or Christmas?" Being that this month is May and Mother's Day and my birthday just happen to fall in the same month, I have a few things I've recently been enjoying.

I'm in love with this perfume! I've always been a Miracle and Happy Heart kind a girl and this third scent is a perfect addition to those two. Matt surprised me with this pretty bottle in the mail a few days after Mother's Day and it really makes my day feel a little brighter when I wear it.

These amazing glasses are my birthday gift from Matt! Having a gift card for half of what they cost made them all the more affordable for us and I really love them. We decided to go with the polaroid pair. I'm glad we did. They are oh so comfortable and a mix between sporty and stylish.

Next is what I believe will become my favorite pair of shoes...and yes they are bold red! My sister in laws Mollie and Monika bought me these and I couldn't stop thanking them. I've wanted a pair of Toms ever since I saw them on Mollie for the first time. And while I didn't tell them what color I wanted, I was really hoping they'd choose red. These will be a great alternative to flip flops this summer with all the mosquitos Alaska boasts of! Speaking of flip flops...

Whether you live in a warm climate or not, if you don't own a pair of rainbow flip flops, drop everything right now and run to the store. They will pay for themselves over and over again and are worth every penny! If you live in SoCal...go to the Rainbow outlet store in San Clemente. Seriously...these things last FOREVER and are the most comfortable flip flop there is (*Disclaimer*: once you've broken them in). They mold to your feet and almost become a customized shoe that fits just to you. I love these things and wish I had a pair in every color. They're amazing! And while they weren't a birthday gift, they've been the gift that keeps on giving.

This is making my home smell so good right now!

Though not a bday gift, these beautiful roses have been smiling at me the last few mornings thanks to my friend Doreen. I love flowers and especially roses!

Hanging out with my girl is definitely one of my favorites!

Lastly, eating Menchie's! Anytime. Anywhere. With anyone but especially my little family! Reese had her first introduction to "ice cream" tonight and it's safe to say it was a hit. The picture of the 3 of us captured her not so happy that there was a temporary pause to take a picture. Yikes! Hope you enjoyed a few of my favorites!

Catching up...

I am so behind in the blogging world. I'm the kind of person that once something seems daunting or overwhelming, I freeze and feel like I can't catch up. The fact that I haven't blogged since April 7th is sad...but I'll bring the blog up to speed in the next week or so. We've been busy with a trip to Alaska for Matt's spring break, celebrating Easter with my family, attending Matt's formal event at school, Mother's Day, watching our brother-in-law Jeremiah graduate from Seminary and celebrating May birthdays! Lots of fun things that have kept me away from the computer. Some of these events will get their own post but until then I'll fill this one with some of my recent favorites.

All dressed and ready to go
to the Gala...30 weeks pregnant!

Reese and the Talcott boys just by coincidence
wearing their Auburn gear on the same day.

Out to dinner at Gladstone's for Jeremiah's graduation...the shiny
thing in front of me is a tin foil elephant holding my leftovers. :)

Celebrating Mollie turning 21!

Baby Allie is doing really well! I had an ultrasound two weeks ago to check fluid levels, growth, position and everything was great! Allie is even head-down which is something that's pretty important when you're birthing with midwives. What a relief to hear she had turned since my previous visit she was still head-up. I really can't believe there's only about 7 1/2 weeks to go. This pregnancy has flown compared to Reese. Up until about 2 weeks ago, I forgot many times that I was pregnant. It wasn't until she'd kick or I'd look down that I'd remember. Reese has kept me on my toes and for that distraction I'm thankful. I've now entered the "I want my body back" stage and feel that I'm close to being ready for this birth to happen. 

Baby Allie at 32 weeks

These next two pictures are of the 6 of us taking Mollie to dinner to celebrate her turning 21! Those that could had drinks in her honor. :) We dined at Cafe Fiore in Ventura...about an hour north of Santa Clarita and the consensus was that the food and atmosphere were amazing, the service not so much. We had a great time as the 7 of us siblings enjoying one another for the evening and a special thanks goes to the parents (Matt's) for watching Reese. 

The favoritest picture of all...my cutie, sweetie girl who is now 14 months! Her hair is long enough to get into a tiny little ponytail on top her head and I love it! Can't wait until I can start braiding. 

Reese is:

~working on teeth numbers 11 and 12

~barely walking...only does it when she must

~is saying so many words: apple, bird, car, hi, bye, bear, Papa, dada, mama, "pa" for paci

~sleeping like a champ

~finally hit the clingy stage and cries every time someone takes her from Matt or I and especially when we leave her ~ the blessing is it doesn't last but a minute and she's back to her happy self

~can't get enough of outside, walks in the stroller and seeing every kind of animal there is

-for the first time, she pointed to mama's tummy when we asked where baby is!! she's learning!

What a guy...

Matt asked me to write a post about our new pillows. To put it mildly they were way overdue to be replaced. Like last year overdue. So we made a special trip to our favorite everything store, Bed Bath and Beyond and with their 20% coupon in hand bought new pillows.

Matt's reason for wanting me to post is the type of pillow we chose. He said its the absolute best because of the two names on it...His mother-in-law's and his wife's. He even wanted me to take this picture to prove his point. Matt continues to make me laugh and enjoy even the simple things like getting pillows on a Sunday afternoon. Love Him.

Life Lately...

I love spring in California...because really it's a lot more like summer in other states. The past 3 days we've been enjoying temps in the high 80s to low 90s. It's been glorious. I even have my first sunburn of the season. That part isn't so great...and the older I get the more I realize how important sunscreen is! But to have a little color on my cheeks sure is nice. The windows are open, the birds have hatched in their nest above our apartment and I even pulled out my spring decorations.

Reese and I got to enjoy some of spring's littlest blessings with daddy the other day...

Reese watching Daddy grill outside...they love having fun together!

And a little 25 week update on baby Allie:

From the update on babycenter.com it says Allie should be about 13.5 inches and a pound and a half! She's a little mover and especially loves to get active right when it's time for me to sleep. So funny how that happens. I still forget I'm pregnant. My tummy isn't really in mine or Reese's way (until I remember I can't squeeze through tight spaces anymore) and sleeping isn't to that uncomfortable stage yet. However, only 3 more weeks till the 3rd trimester! I'm enjoying every moment of having energy and not feeling overly huge!