Cajon Pass . . .

So after enjoying a wonderful Christmas vacation in Salt Lake we headed back to San Diego at about 10:00 am (Salt Lake time) on Sunday morning.  The sun was shining, but it was still freezing as we made our way south.  We kept our eyes on the in-dash temp gauge and enjoyed seeing the numbers creep up as each hour passed.  We had decided to make the whole trip in one day again and the munchkin and puppy were being pretty agreeable.  We hit a bit of slow traffic around Vegas, which we knew was going to happen, but it wasn't the worst Vegas traffic we had seen.
About 11:00 pm (California time) my mom called to see where we were at.  I informed her that we were about 2 1/2 hours away and that things were going pretty smoothly.  About a half an hour later we were sitting in stand still traffic watching as people were pulling off to the side of the road to play in a small dusting of snow that had begun to fall.
Now, seeing as how we were now in Southern California, a small smattering of snow is kind of a novelty.  And yes, perhaps people there are a bit freaked out about driving with a bit of powdery whiteness on the road.  But that was no reason to bring traffic to an absolute stand still.  We moved about 3 miles during the next 45 minutes.  Luckily the boy was sleeping peacefully in his car seat, for now.  We started using our blessed internet-connected phones to try to map out an alternate route.  We got off of the freeway and headed up the frontage road, which was still very slow, but moving faster than the freeway.  Still too slow for us, we hit up some side roads to try to skip ahead.  This worked rather well, but we were in a smallish town, so it really wasn't getting us much further ahead. 
By now we had discovered that because of the "snow" (2 inches, tops) they had closed Cajon Pass down to one lane.  And keep in mind that this is the Sunday after New Years, so traffic is kind of heavy, since this is the main access to San Diego and LA from Vegas.
Finally we decided to go a bit further west and hit up a small highway and avoid the main thoroughfares all together.  It took us a while to get out there, and yes, the small back road was a bit slippery, but nothing a couple of Utahns couldn't easily handle.  After all, a few days earlier we had braved the roads after a snowstorm left 6 inches overnight.  No big deal!!  When we finally got to the top of the highway, right before it started into the "canyon" we ran into a police blockade who were turning everyone back who didn't have chains on their tires.  CHAINS!!  Are you kidding me?!  There was literally 2 inches on the road!!  2 INCHES!  It was ridiculous!  So we had no choice but to head back to the freeway and the frontage road.
By now traffic was at a dead standstill.  We sit on the frontage road for over an hour in the same spot.  I don't believe we moved more than a few feet.  During this time Riley wakes up and starts to fuss.  He is done being in his car seat.  I completely understand what he is feeling, because everyone is done being in the car by now.  I get Riley out of his seat and we pass some of the time watching Toy Story on the DVD player (thank heaven for that!).  At about 4:00 am we decide that we should try to maneuver out of this mass of traffic, head north a little ways, and find a place to sleep until morning.  We tried 5 different hotels/motels, all full of people who long ago gave up on the wait.  Finally, way back in Barstow (about 30 minutes north of where we were when my mom called at 11:00) we find a place to stay.  We don't know if they allow dogs or not, but we don't even ask and we sneak Jack in with us.  We are thankfully able to finally lay our heads down at 5:30 am.
Our trusty alarm clock, Riley, even after a rough night, wakes us up bright and early at 7:00.  He is ready to explore our temporary new digs.  We turned on the TV to try to get an update on the traffic situation, which was still bad, but at least had started moving.  We get breakfast at Burger King and head back to the room to eat and relax for another hour.
We pack up again at about 9:30 and head out.  We might as well get going.  We run into pockets of stand-still, but nothing that lasts too long.  When we finally reach the top of Cajon Pass we are stopped for a moment to let two huge snow plows go ahead to clear the "snow" off of each shoulder.  They go about 35-40 miles an hour all the way down the pass.  It felt like it took forever, but after that it was clear sailing the rest of the way home.  It took us about 3 1/2 hours to make it home that morning, but we finally made it!!

Seeing Red . . .



Making his "silly face" while wearing his "snowsuit" pants

 So Riley is a pretty healthy kid.  The only sickness he has ever really suffered from is a small handful of colds.  They last longer than they would in an older kid or normal adult because he has not yet learned to blow his nose, so he has clogged-mucus-head for longer than most other people do.  (Any suggestions on how to teach a kid to blow their nose would be very helpful.)  He inevitably gets sick every time we go to Salt Lake.  I'm sure it is because when we are there he is exposed to LOTS more people than he is ever exposed to here in San Diego.  Everyone wants to kiss his pudgy cheeks and sweet little mouth, and, let's face it, he is a really lovey kid and likes to give kisses too!  This Christmas was no exception. This time he added a hacking cough to the routine.  Wonderful.  You know you have to be at least 4 years old to take any kind of real cough medicine, so little kids are left to suffer most of the time.  My sister, Ivy, gave me some cough medicine made mostly with honey and homeopathic ingredients that had worked really well for Anya.  The weird thing was that each time I gave it to Riley he would cough more.  I though that perhaps it was just thinning the mucus and it would help him get over the cold more quickly. 
This went on for a few days, until . . .
We were going to my mom's cousin's daughter's wedding reception.  (I know it sounds a little far removed, but we love these guys, and like I have said in early posts, we are really close to our families, no matter how distant.  Plus, everyone else would be there too, another family-reunion-type party, yeah!!)  We got all dressed up, like you do for receptions, gave Riley some medicine to help him feel a bit better, and headed out to Bountiful.  On the way there Riley was hacking away, but also jabbering happily from the backseat.  We went inside, congratulated the bride and groom, and made our way into the party.  The reception was at the groom's parent's house, which had a basketball court in the basement.  That is where the tables and food were set up.  In the middle of the room there was a big, tiered, cupcake holder full of beautiful red velvet cupcakes.  I needed a sugar rush, so I grabbed one and we grabbed a seat at the table that my parents were sitting at.  Riley was sitting on my lap and eagerly eating any cupcake bites that I would give him.  However, almost immediately after the cupcake was finished he started coughing . . . a lot.  Then the coughs turned in to hacking and then he started throwing up . .  a lot!  He has never thrown up in his entire life!  He hardly ever spit up as a baby.  And remember, he had just eaten a good portion of red velvet cupcake, so of course, it is red.  Very red.  Gary said that he was really concerned when he first looked over, thinking that Riley had thrown up blood!  It got all over the little guy's pants and sweater vest and a little bit on his shirt collar.  I came away fairly unscathed, considering he was sitting on my lap, and only got a little on my skirt. 
Well, of course this would happen when I am completely unprepared!  I have no other clothes to change him into.  What a blessing that we weren't somewhere on our own, but surrounded by family who immediately rushed to our aid.  After cleaning up what we could at the table we gathered in the bathroom to see what we could do.  Of course, just like a little kid, he is jabbering away again, like nothing happened.  I'm sure he was feeling much better.  We ended up rinsing his pants and vest and putting them in a plastic bag to take home in the hopes of washing out all that red.  (It actually all came out, if you can believe it!)  We rinsed his shirt collar too and put is shirt back on him.  Luckily he is little, and cute, and has scrumptiously pudgy legs, so no one minded too much that he was now attending the reception in just his shirt, socks, and diaper.  We stayed and visited for another half and hour or so.  When it was time to head home we couldn't put him in that freezing cold car with his bare legs hanging out so we put his coat sleeves around his legs and zipped it up around his body as much as we could, and made sure he had his hat on tight around his ears.  In the picture it looks like he is wearing a snowsuit.

Christmas Time . . .

We went to Salt Lake for Christmas. Gary and I were both able to take about two and a half weeks off of work, so we got to spend a lot of time in Utah. We left early in the morning on Friday, December 17th and decided we would try driving straight through. I was a bit nervous about it, but I figured we could always stop if we really needed to, so we went for it. We used to always drive straight through when it was just me, and Gary and the dog, but since Riley has been around things have been different. The few times that we have driven up after Riley was born we broke it up into two smaller trips, starting our trip late in the afternoon and stopping in St. George or Mesquite around midnight, and then starting off again the next morning. It seemed easier, and Riley would sleep during most of the first day (bedtime) and half of the next day (morning naptime). Sleeping baby during a road trip = more peaceful time for everyone. Our straight-through drive went better than I had expected, in part because Riley is starting to really get into movies and we had some of his favorites ready to play in the DVD player. Plus, we really took our time and made a bunch of stops along the way so that everyone could stretch their legs and use up some of that excess energy. It ended up taking about 15 hours, instead of the usual 12. But it is worth it to know that you don’t have to spend money on a hotel or inconvenience someone by invading their space for the night, and also to know that you don’t have to pack everything up again the next morning and drive and drive for half the day.


Once we were in Salt Lake we were busy, busy, busy. Lots of family parties and get-togethers. And of course we have to hit up some of our Utah favorites (Café Rio’s yummy salads, Taco Time’s crunchy tacos, Arctic Circle’s shakes).

We stayed at my sister Ivy's house. She has a daughter, Anya, who is about 14 months older than Riley, and it was fun to see them play together. Riley's first word in the morning was always "Anya" and he would run upstairs to find her as soon as he could. Here is a little video of them playing together at my parents’ house:

It was wonderful to spend so much time with family! We have really missed everyone. I was amazed to see how big all the cousins were getting. We took a picture of all of the cousins at Gary’s parents’ house.

The afternoon of Christmas Eve was spent with my family playing “Minute to Win It”, where you have one minute to complete different tasks. Tices declared themselves to be the winners, but everyone had a really good time. Here are some pictures:

Had to stack 8 nuts on top of each other using only a candy cane

It was really hard!

had to slide three nuts down the sticks and then balance ping pong balls on top



Sam trying to move the cookie from his forehead to his mouth


We also opened all of our presents, fun fun fun!!

That evening was spent at Gary’s Aunt Pam’s house. We had dinner (yummy soups), and cake (for baby Jesus’ birthday), and then we gathered around the piano.  The kids dressed up and acted out the Nativity and then we all sang lots and lots of Christmas carols. It is such a fun tradition and really puts you in the right spirit for Christmas.

Christmas morning we headed over to Gary's parents' house to open presents and visit with family and then we went to my parents' house for more family time.  We love and miss our families a lot and it was such a treat to be able to spend so much time with them!

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!!

That's right everyone, it's a boy!!  Woohoo! 

We are so excited to welcome another sweet little boy into our family!
We went in for our first ultrasound at XDI Ultrasounds on Monday.  Everything looks fantastic and we are right on track for a late April/early May delivery.  Ivy is due right about that same time with a boy too, and we can't wait to meet him!
We haven't started discussing names yet, but even if we do we probably won't settle on one until after the baby is born.  We like to have the chance to try the names on the baby first.
We're going for another home birth and are using the same midwife that we used for Riley's birth, Karly Nuttall.
We are heading into Salt Lake for Christmas and can't wait to see everyone!!

Santa Claus is Coming...

We gave Riley his first Christmas present on Saturday morning.  We bought him a bike and helmet and it is too big to take with us to Salt Lake, plus we were really excited about giving it to him, so it was decided that Saturday would be the day. 

Gary put it together on Friday night.

Here it is all assembled and sitting by the tree.  He has a little red "Cars" helmet that you can see above the seat.  There is also a little "Cars" bike bell attached to the handle.  You can also see our Christmas tree ornaments have all been moved to the upper half of the tree.  It looks a little silly, but it is working out perfectly.

Here is Gary wrapping up the bike.

 

Here is Riley on the bike in his monkey jammies.  He is ringing the little bike bell, so cute!!

We went to our ward Christmas party on Saturday night.  There Riley met Santa for the first time.  He seemed pretty good right up until the kid in front of up threw a big crying fit while sitting on Santa's lap.  Then Riley started to get really nervous and clingy.

Here is our first experience with Santa. He instantly burst into tears the second I put him on Santa's lap!

This is round two.  A little bit better, but only because Santa gave him a candy cane!

Hopefully next year won't be so traumatic!

It was Jack's 5th birthday on Sunday.  We gave him a special bone, which he promptly took to hide.  He ended up burying it in the sandbox, which is why his face is so sandy.  He also got some special "Chicken Stew" dinner and everyone (well, Gary and I) sang Happy Birthday to him throughout the day.

Gary added some more lights to our porch.  I love it!  It is so bright and festive out there!!

Oh, Christmas Tree . . .

I have been so excited for the holidays this year!  I had a goal to get all of my Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving.  I got about 90% done.  I still have to find something for Gary and find a couple more stocking gifts for Riley (and let's face it, I probably won't stop buying Christmas gifts for that little munchkin until all the after-holiday sales are over in January!  He is only going to be a single-child for one year and I am taking advantage of the opportunity to super-spoil him, even though he won't remember.) 

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we lugged out some of our Christmas boxes and started decorating.  With Christmas music playing in the background we set up our tree and put some pretty lights up on our porch. (thanks honey, they look beautiful!!) 

My only problem now is that I have a VERY curious toddler to contend with.  About 30 million times a day I remind him that the tree and it's ornaments are just for looking at with his eyes and not for touching.  He will stand very close to the tree and look at it with beautiful awe-struck eyes and then, like lightning he will snatch an ornament off while at the same time saying "No, no no!"  (Interestingly enough, he is also doing this while lifting the toilet seat and attempting to splash in the water.  I believe we are entering a new phase in baby obstinance.  Heaven help me!)  He then holds the little ornament in his tiny chubby hands and gazes at it like he has just found the greatest treasure in the world!  What is a mommy to do?!?  I need advice here, people!!  I have a few ideas, but I'm just not sure which direction to go.  Here is what I have come up with . . .

1. We can pack up all the ornaments and just enjoy the twinkly lights this year. 
2. We can move all the ornaments out of reach, leaving our tree bare on the bottom half and crammed with ornaments on the top half. 
3. We can just continue the current battle of reminding him that ornaments are just for looking at with his eyes and not for touching (could this actually pay off in the end?  It certainly doesn't feel like it right now). 
4. Finally, we could just let him have one ornament to hold and take off and put on the tree and move the rest out of reach (or put them away entirely) in the hopes that it will help get it out of his system.  After all, my mom always used to use the phrase, "What you resist persists and gains energy" meaning that if I keep holding him back from what he wants he will just want it more and more, or I can give a little and hope he loses interest.  While this one seems like the most workable to me, it could end up being one of those things where "you give them an inch and they take you for all your worth".

Any other ideas or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated, because this is driving me crazy!!

Besides the ornament struggle, we are really enjoying this Christmas season.  We have our ward Christmas party this weekend and I am so curious what Riley's reaction will be to meeting Santa for the first time.  He knows what Santa looks like and what he says, but he has never seen him in person, let alone sat on his lap.  I hope it is a fun experience for him.  Look forward to some pictures next week.

We also pulled out our Fisher-Price Nativity set and talk about it and play with it every day.  He still doesn't grasp the concept of Jesus being a baby and always points out shepherds or wise men as Jesus in pictures of the Nativity, but we are getting there.

Giving Thanks . . .

This year was the first time that we had Thanksgiving as just our family.  It was fun to be able to plan the whole menu and cook everything that we wanted.  We made a TON of food, but everything turned out great and we were able to get it all finished and on the table at the same time.  Here are some pictures of our day and our Thanksgiving feast!

Gary basting the turkey.  I found a recipe in Food Magazine for a buttered herb rub, which turned out pretty tasty (but really , who can go wrong with a bunch of butter?)

Rising rolls, yum!

While Gary and I did some prep work, Riley entertained himself out on the porch in his sandbox.  I has been raining off and on lately and after taking a closer look at this picture I think he is actually trying to drink rain water out of this shovel, or eating sand.  Crazy kid!

While the turkey was cooking (it takes FOREVER!  Only a 5 lb. turkey breast and it cooked for 3 hours!!) we went to the park.  We were going to try to hit up a new dog park, but it was closed because it was too wet.  So instead we ended up looking for a GeoCache, playing on the playground, and walking around the park.  The baby and the puppy were pretty worn out when we got home and promptly took a long nap.

This next series of pictures was taken with a cool camera feature, where you can press the shutter button and it takes 30 pictures a second.  I just picked out a few, but it is fun to scroll through the whole series and watch Gary toss Riley into the air in slow motion.

Here is our Thanksgiving feast just before diving in.  We gave ourselves an A+ because everything turned out really great AND we were able to get it all on the table with everything toasty warm. 

We made our Butter Herbed Turkey, rolls, sweet potatoes with candied pecans (I meant to order yams, but must have selected sweet potatoes instead.  They were super yellow instead of yam-orange, but still very tasty!), green bean casserole with fried onions, mushroom-sage stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry sauce.  We also had sparkling cider and egg nog.  

Here is our pretty turkey!

This was Gary's first time carving the turkey.  He did an expert job!

All dished up!

I made Pumpkin Chiffon pie for dessert. It was my first time making it myself and it turned out tasty, but I need more practice. When my mom makes it it ends up being super fluffy and mounded about 4" above the pie plate. Mine was flat and smooth across the top. Gary was sweet and said that he preferred how it turned out. What a nice guy!

Riley sampled all of his Thanksgiving food.  When he ate his cranberry sauce he made a hilarious scrunched-up tart-face, but the cranberry sauce was the first thing to disappear from his plate.

I have to say I am so thankful for my wonderful husband.  He is always willing to jump in and help out.  He helped cut up vegis the night before, kept the munchkin out of the kitchen and entertained, and helped figure out when everything needed to go into the over to be completed at the same time.  I know I couldn't have been successful (or sane) in putting this feast together without him!!

I am also thankful for the opportunity to be a mom and to have such an amazing little person in my life.  Riley is the most incredible thing that has ever happened to me and I love that I have the chance to spend so much time with him!  I am definitely looking forward to baby #2!

 Happy Thanksgiving!