Expecting

I suppose now would be a good time to officially announce we are expecting our second baby! I am due July 1, 2011. So far everything has been going great, with a little morning sickness that peaked at just mild nausea, that has now tapered off into my memories only. There really isn't much else to say. We are thrilled, of course (so you need not ask). I have told Scott on a number of occasions that he is going to be a big brother, but of course, that means absolutely nothing to him, so I guess it will just be a big surprise one day when we bring home a baby. :)

Thanksgiving weekend

It's the most wonderful time of the year! I love the cold weather, the joy that the holidays bring, and spending time with family. This year we had two Thanksgiving dinners. First we went to Camarillo to have dinner with some of my family. We were lucky enough to avoid any and all traffic!

The next day we drove out to Big Bear to spend the weekend, and another Thanksgiving dinner with Matt's family. We had a nice layer of snow on the ground to play in. Scott enjoyed walking around in the snow, until he fell down and felt how cold it was! It wouldn't have been so bad if he didn't refuse to wear his mittens, oh well, maybe next year? Mittens or no mittens, we had fun, especially as we went sledding in the front yard. Scott even went all by himself on the sled.

So now, we move on to the next big fun celebration in December...Scott's birthday! Soon our little man will be two years old...and he acts like it! He is just so active. He loves to climb and run and he will occasionally let his momentum get the best of him and have a tumble or two.

Halloween 2010

We just LOVE Halloween! This year was no different. We fully embraced our inner spookies by decorating the house for the first time in years. We stayed simple, but it was fun. I figured we can probably do a little more each year and then it will develop into something marvelous! Growing up we always had paper bats and ghosts hanging from the ceiling, so I thought it would be fitting to start there (Scott's personalized bat was also added to the swarm), plus a few cobwebs. Next, we prepare for our annual church Halloween party. Our costume decision this year was Popeye, Olive Oyl, and Swee' Pea. We spent quite a bit of time researching our characters, and I got to work on making our costumes. I know a lot of people like the simplicity of just buying a costume, and I have to admit the store bought ones are getting better...but in my opinion, homemade is just better. It is my mom's fault. She is the one that made all of our costumes every year. I think the final result was a winner!Matt wore his dad's Navy dungarees, and I just altered a black polo shirt. Believe it or not, he actually already had the corn cob pipe from an old Disney souvenir. His arms were just nylon stockings and pillow batting. We were a little disappointed that you could see the white stuffing so easily through the stockings (even though we used a dark pair). Maybe we should have doubled up? (They look a little lumpy in this picture because this was at the end of the night after holding Scott).
My outfit was completely made up of thrift store clothes that I enhanced with the ruffles and yellow stripe. The shoes were my favorite find: thrift store for $8 and they fit me perfectly!
Scott's pajamas were Christmas themed, until Matt picked out all the embroidery off the front. I then added the collar and sailor flap. I didn't have time to cover the green cuffs on his sleeves, and unfortunately Scott did not want to wear his sailor hat. But as long as he stayed with Popeye, I think everyone got the idea of who he was supposed to be.

Pumpkin Patch 2010

The weather is cooling down, Halloween is just around the corner, and that means it is time to go to the pumpkin patch! This year, we took the recommendation from our good friend, Kristen, and went to Tanaka Farms in Irvine. We started our family fun adventure by sending Scott through the hay-maze. It was just his size and he had a lot of fun running back and forth in it.Next, we went to go pick our own vegetables! We skipped over the radishes and went straight for the carrots, onions, and green beans. Scott helped pick some carrots, it was a fun way to teach him all about how vegetables grow.

Now that we had our bag full of veggies, it was time to go hunting for a pumpkin! During the search, Scott managed to do what boys do best, get dirty! It is a good thing I packed an extra change of clothes for him for the car ride home.

Scott had a great time amongst the pumpkins, which he called "balls." We picked out a nice big family pumpkin, and one smaller one just for Scott.

Last of all we walked over to the petting "zoo." It wasn't much, just some sheep and goats in a fenced-in area, but hey, to a 22-month old, what more do you need? Scott did a terrific job with the animals. He was very gentle when he pet them.Next time, I think I will have Scott wear some galoshes instead of tennis shoes. That way he can run in the mud and I can just hose off the boots later. Either way, It was a great morning, and a fun family outing. I can't wait to carve our pumpkin for Halloween!

BEEEEE!

Is it attack of the bees in the Worley home?!?
Not quite.
It is Scott trying to say "please," which usually comes out as "BEEEEE!" He actually says it quite often, whenever he wants something in fact. He will come up to us, and and say "BEEEE" as he drags us into the kitchen for a snack or a drink. He will say "BEEEE" as he brings me a crayon when he wants us to color together. He will say it as he brings me something he needs help with, like opening his snack, or even reading a book to him.
The best part is the volume he uses when he says it. Nice and loud! I had to take Scott to an event at church, and as we sat down for dinner, he got the whole table of ladies to stop and look up at him as he said "BEEEE" for a drink of water.
I am so happy that he has learned to use at least one of his "magic words." I guess it is time to start working on "thank you!"

Oh yeah, I have a blog!

I don't think there is any way for me to completely"catch up" on what has been happening in the Wonderful Worley World, so I suppose I will post some pictures from the past few months, then try to move forward! Here is a quick update:
Matt has been working hard this summer. He usually travels quite a bit during the summer for work. This year he has gone to Michigan, Texas, New York, and coming up at the end of September he will be going to North Carolina. He has been trying to get his own web series "Mouthbreathers" up and running, in addition to several other projects with his co-founded business The Juniper Sequence. In addition to work, he is a fantastic dad and a wonderful husband. He loves to play with Scott and he takes on a lot of responsibilities when he is at home.
Katie is mostly staying at home with Scott! I absolutely LOVE being a stay-at-home-mom. For the time being, I am finding it necessary to work a few hours during the week. By no means is it full time. I work 2 half days a week, and soon I will be working one additional full day every other week.
Scott is awesome! He will be 21 months old this month. Some of his favorite things to do are to swim, play with trains and cars, watch Toy Story, climb, run, and grab mommy & daddy's hands to take them places. Hardly an all inclusive list, he is a toddler, and he acts like one! We love him dearly and we are just so proud to be Scott's parents!
Please enjoy some pictures from the past several months, and we will try to keep you updated on a more regular basis!

Smoochie Scotty

Scotty had his first kiss today! At church today I was letting Scott wander around a bit. There was a little girl only 2 months older than him playing near him. They both wanted to play together, but they are both still learning how to be gentle! She pushed him down and when I helped him up I asked her to give him a hug. She was so darling, she gave me a hug...then she went for it! She walked up to Scott and just planted one on him, right on the lips! I just about died! Of course I can't say that I blame her, I can see that my son is quite a catch!

Scott's 12-month update

Scott is one year old! In addition to being an extremely happy boy, he is full of energy. He loves to walk around the house and explore. Most of our cabinets are locked at this point, except for the one under our bathroom sink. He loves to pull out all the bottles and carry them around (I am always watching him closely when he does this). He loves to open and close doors, pull the DVDs off the shelf, pull magnets off the fridge, and play the piano; and don't ever leave your cell phone around...because he won't want to give it back!

He is a bit attached to his mommy, especially when he is tired. He will waddle down the hall after me mumbling "ma ma ma ma ma" when he wants me, and when he wants his daddy, he usually does one big "DA!" I think this kid knows what strings to pull!

He still absolutely loves the water. When it is bathtime he stands next to the tub and tries to climb in. He splashes in the water, and even puts his face down in the water to either blow bubbles, or take a drink. He cracks me up! I can't wait for summer to come around so we can get him in the pool!

I could go on and on with all of his skills and delightful characteristics, but I suppose that can all come out naturally with my future posts. Until then, please enjoy these pictures...literally taken just a day or two before Kiddie Kandids closed their doors. Boy, I sure did get lucky!

Finalizing 2009 and moving on!

Happy New Year! I realize it has been quite some time since I have updated our family blog, so I will try to give a brief update; but, 2010 is all about looking and moving forward, so hopefully I can keep that energy and momentum and push forward!

October was a pretty good month. Scott made significant progress with his mobility. He started standing on his own and cruising along the furniture. One thing is for sure, he loves to explore and he is constantly on the move! When Halloween rolled around we dressed up at Star Wars characters. I managed to sew Matt's and my costumes, and we purchased Scott's. It was a lot of fun and we did take Scott trick-or-treating with a fun group of friends. Our good friend Kristen even took the initiative to have the babies trick-or-treat for UNICEF. I wasn't even aware that this was done, but my apparently my mother used to do this. Basically, you just ask for donations and then you send the money to UNICEF. What a great idea!

Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, and of course, Yoda.

In my most previous post Scott was sick, but it was nothing compared to what came around in November. Scott got sick again, mostly with a fever this time. He didn't really have any congestion, but he was extremely lethargic. In fact, I couldn't put him down for about 2 weeks. He refused to be put down, which of course slowed down the progress he was making on walking. He stopped eating solid foods and just reverted to breastfeeding, and even during bath time he would just sit still while I washed him, no splashing or any kind of bath time fun. After multiple phone calls, visits to the pediatrician, an urgent care visit, and an emergency room visit following a febrile seizure, it was determined that he had the roseola virus. Nothing really to do but wait it out.

Just as we started to see some improvement in his overall demeanor we saw a bit of swelling on his left eyelid. We thought maybe he had just rubbed his eye a bit much. The next morning he looked like this:I realize it is hard to see 3-D here, but it was so swollen that he couldn't even open his eye. It was a weekend so I called the nurse advice line, she sent me to urgent care (again), and they sent us to the emergency room (again). He was able to even his first ride in an ambulance as they transferred him to the children's hospital. This is how they attach an infant carseat to a gurney.
(You may think I am a strange mom for taking pictures of my son in such a condition...but all I can say is that this is part of his life, and you never can tell what purpose it will serve one day).
Long story short, we stayed in the hospital 3 days. He had a periorbital cellulitis, which is just the scientific way of saying he had a bacterial infection around his eye. The main concern was the possibility of an abscess forming, which could move into his sinus space, and go to his brain. Clearly, the hospital was the best place for him to be. We were lucky enough that Matt and I were both able to stay with him in the hospital at all times. By the time we left the hospital, he was back to his usual happy self! This is us the day we took him home, I have enough pictures of the whole experience to fill a whole album!December was business as usual! Scott really started walking confidently, and pretty much stopped crawling altogether. During the time that he was sick he didn't really eat much, and then add extra calorie burning, and all of a sudden my big boy is only in the 25th percentile for his weight. The pediatrician isn't concerned. He is still a healthy baby, with no signs of starving whatsoever!

Our holidays were spent with both sides of the family. We managed to get to Camarillo, Big Bear, and Utah. Scott was able to experience snow for the first time.

Of course the most exciting thing was celebrating Scott's 1st birthday! My idea of having a small, intimate party went right out the door as I invited a bunch of family and friends. We had a great time, and although Scott didn't really devour his cake, he still enjoyed making a bit of a mess.

And so we move onto 2010. This year our focus is to move forward. We have so many great friends and loved ones that we want to share our time with. We want to continue living our lives and enjoying all the moments and opportunities that come our way.