Presents: a child's favorite gift

We are finally getting around to posting Adella's first Christmas.  For never before opening presents, Adella did exceptionally well- she only stopped because she was already so interested in her new toys.  She was deffinately blessed this year to recieve so much!  It's been fun to see her play with her interactive toys, pick out a specific and favorite book, and wear her new clothes.  Santa was kind in bringing Adella her own piano so that she isn't as interested in her mommy's.  When everything was unwarpped, Adella even had fun checking out what her mom and daddy got.  But perhaps the best gift she got (for mom) was her very first tooth.  And even though Christmas was under a week ago, she already has her second!  Woohoo for chewing food! 

Christmas Eve Placements

 

 

 

Vacation: A trip where- if one doesn't tavel by air- the majority of time is spend driving.

Thanksgiving this year was a real experience.  We took Delli out to see her great grandmother Anne, a 16 hour drive (yes, of course we know we're crazy).  This trip has been in the works for a very long time, and anticipation was not the friendliest of daily companions.  But finally we made it.

Tuesday morning started out early, with a planned 9 hour drive to Reno.  But, due to the weather, we were about an hour behind schedule and a bit more up-tight about safety.  What a blessing it was to find our way through such snowy weather.

Wednesday didn't start out with the looming weather.  Instead we hopped into the cars for the remaining 6 hours of the journey knowing it'd be more enjoyable.  The weather was gorgeous- but the mountain roads were quite nasty, slowing us down a bit again.  Wednesday was also the day Zane was looking forward to the most.  He has quite a fetish and fascination with Sasquatch and was looking forward to the museum near Grandma's house.  Unfortunately, it closed for the winter in October.  He did, however, get a picture with his beast friend.



When we finally got to grandma's, Adella did something she had never done before... she wouldn't go to her.  She acted shy and clung to me... this is not a very reassuring sign.  But Adella quickly warmed up to Sammie, the dog. 

Thanksgiving day started with Uncle Scott taking some people crabbing.  Zane was lucky enough to get to go and was only slightly seasick.  Thanksgiving was also the first time, that I can remember anyway, my dad's entire family getting together.  It was really great to see my dad's brothers and their families.  We were even able to eat some of the crabs Scott had pulled up.  And of course, since this was quite an event, we got a family picture.

The rest of the trip was great too!  I was able to show Zane a bit of the area.  We went to Big Tree, Fern Canyon, and the beach.  Each spot is fun to visit because Northern California is so unique.  The redwoods are amazing, the area is lush, and the beach freezing.  Of course this trip was special for Delli also because it was her first time to the beach. 

Big Tree




At the Beach



Tracie, my cousin, also brought her little girl Claire to Grandma's house so that the three great granddaughters could play together.  We also made sure to get Christmas dresses and snap a picture of them together. 



Adella, Claire, & Anna



Four Generations
Olivia, Grandma Anne, Kevin (Dad), & Delli

The ride home was also enjoyable, but we were all grateful to get home so we could have some space.  Delli did great on all four days of the ride.  She also learned three new things: clapping her hands, clicking her tongue, and playing peek-a-boo with her blanket.

 Olivia

Doors: a gateway between the inner and outer worlds

It's been a long and exhausting journey for my father, but an everlasting wait for us.  When we moved into our current house, we were assured to have a door leading directly to the basement put in.  This would allow for Zane and I to only have six downward steps instead of the ten up and approximately thirteen down to travel.  But the wait is finally over!  We've had the stairs and door for a little while now, but the railing is the newest instalment.  It has been a blessing and we can't express how grateful we are to have such a little way to get Adella and groceries into the house!  Thanks dad!



Of course no I have to make a curtain



... and clean the stairs...


Olivia

Growing: Adella's only job

Adella is now 6 months old! 

For being alive for only half of a year, it seems like she has always been here!  As we reach this milestone it's fun to see how far Delli has already come.  She has:

learned to army crawl

sit up on her own

eat baby food and puffs

drink from a regular cup

get her hands on everything she shouldn't

talk and use her voice

say mom (even if it only comes out when she is mad and upset)

It is also fun to see how she responds to certain people.  She absolutely loves her daddy!  When she hears him she will look around the room until she finds him or the phone if he is on speakerphone.  She finds other little people so much fun to scream and talk to.  She adores Anna and babies in our ward are all becoming her friends. 

All in all - 6 months of baby have been great!  We love you Adella!

Birthday: Breading ground of illnesses

My birthday was celebrated on Sunday this year.  My family thought it would be fun to have a BBQ, so we did!  Zane made a delicious one of a kind cake: cream cheese, yellow cake, and strawberry gram-cracker icing!  Fabulous! 

The only downside to this whole thing, the flu ran rampant through the entire family the following week.

Boxes: cheap suitcases to live out of

This week, Adella and I, stayed at my parents' house to help mom go through some old boxes in preparation for a yard sale (maybe).  Just like everyone else, my family has accumulated a lot of junk and memorabilia.  It was fun finding things that have been put away for years.  Rifling through some of my mom's old craft stuff, we found my old ballet shoes.  I never took ballet... but did take dancing lessons and used these worn slippers for that.  I was also excited to find my wood chess set.  It was one of the few things I have been trying to find.  The other is a box of Barbies.  I haven't seen my Barbies in years and suspect someone might have disposed of them.  I wanted to have them for my kids, and now that I have a girl, they would be nice to have on hand.  Oh well...  instead of bringing back Barbies, however, I brought back four boxes of fabric.  I look forward to making things for Delli! 

Water Fight: What happens when two people want the same water.

Speaking of Adella's favorite sneak attacks, here is another:

Zane

Blowing Raspberries: Adella's Favorite Sneak Attack

Raising a child can be difficult at times; hilarious, but difficult. For evidence, I present to you exhibit A:

Zane

Villians: people Olivia finds common ground with

 Friday afternoon, I was getting Adella some food ready by warming up her milk.  To do this I microwave a cup of water and place the bag of milk into it.  As I did this, the cold milk in the overly heated water exploded all over my right eye.  It took a moment, but the burn eventually began to sting. 

This was soon after I had gotten the water on my face.

After the burn began to hurt, I had to have something cold on my face constantly.  Because Zane and I have been watching Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon I felt quite like the villain Zuko who has a burn scar across his left eye.  Luckily, it was not a bad enough burn to leave a scar.  I only had some slight swelling the went down after I left a cold rag on my face all day. 

This is at bed time that night.  See... something like Zuko... 

Currently, I look like I have a black eye, but that is just fine with me!

July: a very busy month with birthdays, events, holidays, etc.

I haven't been very faithful in posting here, but I can surely catch up!  A lot of fun stuff has happened, so enjoy the pictures!

Zane turned 26 years old!

Adella has grown and has a lot of fun, cute summer clothes!

Anna and Adella play together... well they're learning!

Adella ate her first Rice Cereal on the 19th of July!

Yum!

Precious: something dear to the possessor

My wedding ring has a very interesting history.  I never wanted a gaudy or elaborate ring.  I just wanted one simple princess cut stone in a floating setting.  Sounds simple enough, right?  Well it wasn't.

We actually purchased the diamond separate of the setting.  The perfect stone was easy enough to find, but the setting was a bit more difficult.  With monstrous jewelers and limited options in a setting, I was doubtful I'd get a ring at the proposal.  But Zane was persistent, wanting everything to be perfect so, he bought a makeshift ring (which I also love), proposed, and continued looking.

I was surprised one afternoon at work when Zane gave me a ring box.  I was also very stunned to find the perfectly chosen ring.  It was only with a lot of hesitation on my part that Zane returned the ring to have the jeweler patch up and fix the poor placement of the diamond.  However, the jeweler was very wretched to Zane and after a couple attempts to perfect the ring, we accepted the craftsmanship.

It was almost devastating to have my fingers swell during pregnancy.  I loved wearing my ring.  So a week after Delli was born I put the ring on and wore it a couple of times.  It was still hard to wear because my fingers were not themselves. 

One day my ring went missing and I figured it would turn up soon.  When it didn't, I was hopeful that when we moved, we would find it hidden behind or underneath a piece of furniture.  That hope proved useless.  But still I didn't give up hope of finding my ring.  So I made sure to carefully unpack each box, and look through the rest of the boxes that would be put into storage.  When the ring didn't turn up, I was devastated.  I never wanted to think that my ring could be lost forever. 

Zane's love was clearly evident in making sure that this ring was perfect.  That was what hurt me so much about losing it.  I felt that my negligence was a terrible way of thanking him for such a wonderful gift.  Zane was very sweet about it, and even suggested I look in certain places. 

The other night, Zane took me aside to look at something he had found on the Internet.  He pulled up a web page with a ring that was almost identical to mine.  I was really saddened because we were actually looking at buying a different ring, when all I wanted was to find the ring Zane worked for. 

That night as we were preparing for bed, I was just thumbing through some places I had already checked for my ring (jewelry box, fingernail polish bag, scripture bag, clothes, etc.).  As I did so I looked into my closet and caught sight of a jacket I hadn't checked.  I thumbed through the pockets only to find lint.  I pushed some more clothes away and saw a different jacket I had already looked through.  Just for good measure, I decided to look again.  The first pocket was empty and I laughed at myself as I reached for the second pocket.  I knew that it wasn't going to be in there because I had already checked.  So when my fingers snatched up a little round piece I instantly knew. My wedding ring had been hidden in a very obvious spot. 

Who knew I would have so much in common with Gollum wanting to find a precious ring?! 

Celebrating the 4th on the 5th

We got to celebrate Independence Day with Zane's family.  Our plans for the day began with introducing Adella to parades.  We met up with a few of Zane's friends and their babies.  Delli was quite alert - that could be why she was terrified of the fire engines and other loud vehicles.  See was awake for the majority of the festivities, but she gave in to sleep. 

Delli at her first parade!

Delli and Dani

The crew!

 After chatting with friends, we met up again at Zane's parent's house for a family BBQ!  We had a scrumptious meal and good company.  Delli was even laughing at her cousins who were being silly!

Delli and Daddy

Delli and Mommy

Family Pictures

Mavanie Stanley, Olivia's bff, took our family photos this year.  We had a fun time and have quite a few pictures that turned out.  These are some of our favorites!  Enjoy!

Giving Adella a smooshed smooch!

Adella is a happy baby!

Adella was watching Mavanie closely.

Zane loves his baby!

Olivia loves her baby!

  

These are Adella's modeling lips! 

Even bricks have hearts.

Zane still attempts this move even though he has already had the "spit-up" accident.

We love this picture!

Zane & Olivia

Moving Forward

This past week has been packed with boxes and unpacking.  I have finally gotten the house to feel like it is livable, even though there are numerous flattened boxes, piles of random things, and un-hung pictures.  Unpacking has been more difficult with a baby (first time to move with the baby).  I am so distracted with her and get most of my work finished after I get her down to bed.  I can't help picking her up when she is smiley and playing with her when she is active.  It's also hard to do too much when I have to feed her every three hours still.  But, that's what makes being a mom a mom.  So, since we have quite a bit done I spent the evening last night playing with my sweet Delli.  I like to make funny noises that catch her attention and one in particular has always caught her fancy.  Check this video out! 

Olivia

Motherhood

It had always been my desire to be a mom one day, but I seriously did not consider the amount of time I would have to give to this job. Adella needs CONSTANT attention... and if she doesn't get it - I know all about what a terrible mother I am by Adella herself.

Seriously, though, I have never been happier. I'm woken every morning to the grunts and groans of her waking up and stretching. I then lean over her crib just to get a wide-mouthed smile. She is so patient with me - probably more so than I am with her. Her achievements are huge, and I have to call whoever I can just to tell them about what she has done. She learns so quickly and seems to be growing faster than is possible. Within two months, my baby was holding her head up quite well, chattering a bit, smiling at everyone and everything, and beginning to role over. Her binky skills are atrocious because she can't keep the thing in, but she can suck on any other surface be it a hand, an arm, or a stinky burp rag.

No matter how frustrating this job can get, Adella is always doing something adorable to bring a smile to my face. Whether it's a cute sleepy sigh, screaming at the t.v, or looking beside me where she is sleeping to find her craning her neck to see me, I feel loved. She has been quite content with everything and rarely complains. I have been so blessed to have her for my first baby and wish it could always be like this. However, I am so stoked to see Adella grow into herself.

I have learned so much in these past months: patience, love, responsibility for another, the importance of example, to play again, to sleep at weird times, etc. However, the number one thing I have discovered is that I LOVE being a mother and would give up almost everything for myself to be one!

Olivia

Ears

For my eighth birthday my parents gave me a sheet of paper that said it was worth one free ear piercing. I had always wanted to get my ears pierced, but that sheet of paper represented freedom of choice for me. It took me thirteen years of countless clip-on-earrings and contemplation to make the decision. On May 10, 2010 I finally chose to have my ears pierced. Having been told all my life that it doesn't really hurt was a cruel thing, because it hurt a ton more than I was expecting! I could actually feel the earring going through and it was NOTHING like getting a shot. But even though it was just a bit painful, I am really glad I have finally done it! I have always loved earrings - now I can wear them!

Olivia

Among the Graduates

There is nothing better than feeling accomplished, and SUU's commencement ceremonies this weekend did just that for me. As I sat among the 1,817 graduates I couldn't help but reflect on the past four years of my life and can feel accomplished in many respects.
I began college with a pretty simple class schedule (all except for the Introduction to Critical Theory class) which left me plenty of time to discover the ways of a college lifestyle. I had roommates that quickly became some of my best friends, and some that I have seen very rarely since. Alex, Cara, Caroline, and Kim are forever in my heart as the craziest, loudest, most creative, truest, and most addicted to Pride & Prejudice - no matter what form or genre - roommates. We spent our time learning to deal with a messy, old house, capable of hiding spilt cereal for months by its brown decorative kitchen carpet and discovered not only that the house's amazing chandelier housed the friendliest of ghosts, but held secrets captive in the basement living room seats.
I returned from my parent's home for my Sophomore year. It was here I lived with the most girls in one house. With a total of 10 women and two bathrooms, there couldn't have been a more harmonious situation. In addition to living with Cara and Kim again I made new roommate friends with Natalie and Mikayla. We were an outgoing group and played volleyball constantly and enjoyed late night talks about life. The comfortable couches and mostly freezing living room was always an inviting arena to host game nights and watch American Idol's David Archuleta and David Cook. It was also at this home that I first started "crushing" on a young man named Zane. School was important, as always, and I constantly found I was being spread too thin, but I wouldn't have changed a moment of it.
Because of my increasing feelings for Zane, I did everything that I could to stay in Cedar that summer. I was then hired on at a mortuary where I learned quite a lot of interesting things (period to that statement).
The next school year was the most memorable and included more great friendships - in another new house. Heather was my roommate and partner in creative things! I also had the opportunity of really getting to know Adrianne and Audrey. Although school was important still, Zane finally stole the top importance and proposed to me on December 8th at the local library. The spring semester was bright, but the busiest I have ever been and will ever allow (right - like I can control the busy factor now). In addition to writing three news articles a week for the school paper and taking four other homework infested classes, I married Zane right smack-dab in the middle of the semester, during spring break.
My final semester at SUU was filled with many emotional tears (just ask Zane), because my emotional balance was no longer a part of my life. Pregnant and stressed about passing the last four classes of my bachelors degree did not mix well (especially Advanced Critical Theory as a final class choice - what was I thinking? I didn't even like the introduction). However, I passed and left a gateway to graduation day.
Two months later I gave birth to our first baby, Adella. Time since then has flown by and Adella, Zane, and I are looking forward with great anticipation and excitement, because if life is anything like the last four years, it couldn't be any better!
As I sat among the sea of black-robed and multicolored tassel wearing graduates, I realized four years of education was worth it! Not only do I feel accomplished with a degree, but I feel some small accomplishment with my life. I have so many friends and memories that are forever important to me.
Thanks to everyone who helped me through difficult times, and played along through the fun! A very special thanks to my parents who pushed me harder than anyone else would dare - it was truly rewarding; and thanks to my sweet husband who will eternally put up with my emotions - I love you; thanks to Delli for being my best friend too.

Blessed and Slumbered

Adella's blessing day was a rowdy experience which she managed to sleep through (which has left her wide awake for days!). It started with Grandma Creps coming Thursday and included a shopping trip to St. George where we found her some white booties to go with her dress. Saturday was a day of visits and visiting; Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Woodcox stopped by for a visit while Adella once again managed to sleep practically the entire time. Just before they left Riley, Tressa, Anna, and Grandpa Creps arrived to spend the night. Adella remained quiet and sleepy throughout the evening even though the house was packed for the night. The next morning all of Zane's siblings and the remainder of mine with the addition of two friends showed up at the church to share this special moment. The event was particularly special to me because Delli fit perfectly into my blessing dress I wore over 21 years ago. Then, as she slept peacefully in her father's arms, she was given the name of Adella Lyn Felix with a beautiful blessing!

After sacrament meeting the thirty one of us joined at Grandma and Grandpa Felix's house for a luncheon. It was a great time for all of us to spend conversing, where Adella, once again, slept.

Olivia

A Beautiful Baby Girl

After months of waiting, our baby was born on Monday, March 1st at 7:27 PM. She weighed in at a whopping 9 pounds and 4 ounces and was 21 inches in length. We decided to name her Adella Lyn Felix.

The birth went really well. Olivia's water broke around 4:30 AM on Monday and we got to the hospital a little after 5:00 AM. Olivia was in labor pretty much the whole day. The nurses that would come in an check on Olivia were having a blast, because she would joke around with them and was really good natured in between contractions. Around 6:30 they had Olivia start pushing and roughly an hour later I laid eyes on one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen.

Both my parents and Olivia's parents were out in the waiting area and later got to come in a see Adella. We stayed the night in the hospital expecting to go home the next day, but we found out that Adella had a little bit of jaundice, so we decided it would be best to stay another night.

We got to go home on Wednesday and they sent us a small plastic rectangle with blue lights on it called a bili blanket to put on Adella to help her with the jaundice. She is continually improving and is almost well enough to be off the bili blanket (though it wasn't extremely serious to begin with).

We both couldn't be happier. She has already provided us with immeasurable joy.

Zane

Baby News

The due date is approaching faster and faster, but I am sure that is only because I am so ready to have this baby. Zane and I have rearranged the baby's room and feel prepared for her to come at any moment. Although things have been fairly easy for us during the entire pregnancy, we were surprised yesterday with high blood pressure. Of course I was put on the regular routine of check-ups and have given more blood and urine, had my blood pressures monitored, and have more assurance that our baby is a girl through another ultrasound. After a few hours at the hospital - which Zane and I enjoyed due to the excitement it caused - I have been sent home on bed-rest. The doctor feels that although I have checked out I might still have preeclampsia and should "lay low" until this baby comes. There is nothing enjoyable about having to lay around when one is already limited to certain physical activities, so I look anxiously forward to the moment my body decides to work with my baby who seems to be making more progress than I am. Besides, I think Zane is ready to hold his little baby because he seemed to enjoy all of the commotion at the hospital.

Olivia

Sasquatch in love!

So, I was thinking how you always see pictures of various animals (eg. squirrels, turtles, birds) in love around Valentine's Day. One creature you never see in love, however, is the Sasquatch. So, I decided to make my own picture. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: "Sasquatch in Love".

Zane