Oliver and Company

31 Weeks and Counting...

2012-02-14T12:05:00.003-07:00

Well, I'm 31 weeks pregnant with this second baby and I'm definitely feeling it. I didn't realize how much harder this second pregnancy was going to be. I had morning sickness so bad at the beginning of this pregnancy and I didn't have any with Oliver. I have also had a lot of back pain, which I also didn't have with Oliver. I have been super sore and having stabbing pains when I walk for about a month now, and I didn't get those with Oliver until much later his pregnancy. I think part of the reason this pregnancy has been so much harder is because I have a very busy one-year-old to take care of, and I didn't have that before. I also think that I was in better shape before I got pregnant with Oliver and I didn't have that much time to recover from his pregnancy before I got pregnant with this second one. However, even though there has been some bad, there is also so much good! This baby is 10 times more active than Oliver was and it has been so much fun to feel him going crazy and moving around. At times it gets old, but for the most part I love it! We are getting so excited for this baby to come. I am super excited to have another little newborn. It has been fun to see Oliver growing and learning, but I'm excited to have another new little baby to cuddle and to see grow and learn. I'm also excited to see how Oliver will interact with his new little brother and I hope they will be best friends. Only 9 weeks to go!! :)

31 Weeks

29 Weeks

27 Weeks

Oliver at 13 Months!!

2012-02-13T18:35:00.002-07:00

Oliver is growing like a weed and has been learning so many new things lately! It seems like all of a sudden he learns things so fast and we can't even keep up with him! It really is so much fun to see him learn and grow and every time he learns something new, I'm amazed at how quickly he picks things up. He loves to walk all over the place now, which makes church a little difficult because he doesn't want to stay in one spot, and I can't really chase him around with my big belly. He is also learning the sounds of some animals. He knows the kitty (which is his favorite to say), lion, pig, monkey, and cow. He'll bring us the stuffed animal and then make the sound, and then he wants us to make the sound too. It's super cute! And he has started walking around on his tippy-toes lately and it is really funny to watch.

Eric also taught him to use a fork! I was at work when Eric taught him this, but I think it's pretty funny! He isn't great at it, but he is practicing on some foods and getting better at it.

He has this gear toy that my parents got him for Christmas/his birthday and he LOVES it! He has figured out where the gears go and that they have to be next to the big gear so that they will turn. He loves pushing the button and watching it light up.

We have also taught him to say 'please' in sign language (as well as a 13-month-old can, anyway). He really likes to say 'please' and gives us a huge smile and is so proud of himself when he does. Then he runs away with whatever food you've given him. We're also trying to teach him to say 'more', but I don't think he understands the difference between that and 'please'. Either way, he gets what he wants.

He also loves the rocking horse my parents got him. He knows how to rock all by himself and he has so much fun on it. He doesn't know how to get on it by himself yet, but he knows that when he's done, he just slides off.

He loves to read books (which makes his mommy very happy)! He will bring them to us to read to him, and sometimes he'll just sit down with a book by himself and "read" (babble). It is so cute to watch him when he reads to himself!

He also really likes to go to the park with his daddy and swing on the swings. He thinks it's so fun and that it's the funniest thing in the world. He recently started going down the small slides and he really enjoys that too.

We are just so proud of our little boy and we love him to death! We can't imagine life without him and we love watching him learn and grow. He truly is the love of our lives!

Speed Street and New Year's

2012-01-04T20:46:00.006-07:00

This year we spent New Year's Eve with my family and we played lots of games and had fun hanging out together. Eric and my dad went to Speed Street to go go-kart racing during the day and Ollie had a fun time watching them through the window! Then later that night, we all started getting really tired before it even turned midnight, and I thought at one point that my mom was going to fall asleep before it was even New Year's! But we all hung in there!

A few seconds before midnight and we were watching the ball drop in Times Square on TV.

My dad

My dad was number 6 and Eric was number 12.

Eric

Dad

Eric passed number 3.

Ollie was fascinated and loved watching them through the window. It was so cute!

Here they are driving. Unfortunately, there were reflections in the window so I could only really get one portion of the track to look okay in pictures and in the video, and even then some were blurry.

Oliver's First Birthday!!

2012-01-04T20:07:00.003-07:00

Ollie had his first birthday on Christmas day!! I can't believe that my little baby is a year old. The last year flew by so fast and I can't imagine how this year will fly when we have two little boys running around! It has been a great year and we love Oliver so much! It is so fun to watch him learn new things and see how happy he gets when he knows he's done something good. He is walking all over the place and rarely crawls anymore. He loves playing with his toys and getting into things he's never seen before. He babbles like crazy and I always love to wonder exactly what he thinks he's saying, because it's so cute! We love our little one year old and we are so proud to be his parents!

He loved the rocking horse Grammy and Papa Bill gave him!

Getting ready to have his very first birthday cake!

Eating some ice cream. Yum!

He opened so many presents from family and he was so spoiled! He loves every one and we are so grateful for our wonderful, generous family!

Happy Birthday Oliver!! He got sung to and had his very first birthday cake. I don't think he care's for the frosting too much just yet. Maybe in a few months he'll feel differently! :) WE LOVE YOU OLIVER!!

Christmas!!

2012-01-04T16:19:00.006-07:00

We had such a fantastic Christmas and it was SO nice to be in Utah with family!! We were so spoiled and of course, so was Oliver. I would say that it was technically his first Christmas since he was born on Christmas last year and wasn't old enough to realize what was going on. Ollie had a lot of fun playing with the boxes, wrapping paper, and his new toys.

Playing in a big Amazon box on Christmas morning. It think this was his favorite... :)

The best present! :)

Christmas morning mess.

Ollie and Grammy Holly

Ollie's Christmas/Birthday Presents

Carly and her stuffed peas in a pod.

Cody and his cool new watch.

My family, before church.

Ollie liked opening his presents, even though he wasn't quite sure how and what the purpose was.

He loved the poppin' park bouncer we got him. He loves to bounce!!

Playing with new toys is so fun!

Opening his piggie from Auntie Carly.

Opening his turtle from Auntie Jess.

Ollie loved his bouncer.

Opening presents at Eric's parents' house.

Yes, my husband and his sister were sucking helium. And it was pretty funny.

We are so grateful for our wonderful family!! They are so great and we were so lucky to be able to spend the holidays with them!

Hughes Family Christmas Eve

2012-01-03T20:23:00.004-07:00

We went to Eric's grandparents on his mom's side of the family for Christmas Eve this year. They have dinner, and little program that everyone participates in, and presents. It was fun to see this side of the family too.

Eric had to play the Kindle.

Getting ready for the program.

Ollie was zonked out and Papa Moo was happy to cuddle him! :)

Eric's sister Shellie (back middle) and their cousins singing a song they made up for the program.

Eric's cousin Jake playing Christmas songs on his harmonica.

Cody's Temple Endowment Day

2012-01-03T20:02:00.005-07:00

My younger brother went through the temple while we were in Utah and I am so glad that we were able to be there for it. He is leaving for his mission to the Philippines in less than a month and we are so proud of him! It was such a great experience to be able to go through the temple with my first sibling to go through, other than myself. It was a little strange to see him in there though, because I don't feel like he's old enough for that yet. :)

The soon-to-be missionary!

My cute parents!

Cody was being silly and feeling the baby in my belly! :)

My and my little bro! Love him!

Sugar Cookies

2012-01-03T19:35:00.004-07:00

Every Christmas my family makes and decorates sugar cookies. We always have so much fun cutting them out and decorating, and this year was no different. Unfortunately, this year was mostly just the girls participating, but Eric and Cody both decorated one. They all turned out really cute and it was fun to do with my family.

I love my family!! :)

Nield Family Christmas Party!

2012-01-03T18:09:00.008-07:00

We had the Nield family Christmas party the weekend before Christmas and I was so glad that we were able to be there! We had so much fun seeing everyone since we don't get to very often. We had a delicious lunch that everyone helped prepare, then we had the white elephant gift game, Grandma Nield gave out her presents to the grand kids, and then we went bowling. It was a lot of fun doing all of those things with our family. Later that night some of us played Settlers of Catan, which is always a ton of fun! The next morning, there was a "nice" family feud with one of the white elephant gifts (which is normal for our family). My uncle Lamont won a ridiculously terrible smelling perfume during the white elephant game, and it was one my mom had re-gifted from the year before. So my uncle tried to sneak the perfume in one of my dad's totes with our bags in it and my dad found it. My dad then proceeded to spray the perfume in my Aunt and Uncle's car. It smelled terrible for a long time. My uncle had to roll down the windows in his car for a while before they left to let it air out. And even then the smell wasn't totally gone. It always seems that the stinky perfumes smell for so long and the good smelling ones don't smell for very long. Needless to say, it was a very amusing morning. :) I love my family!

Our white elephant gift pile.

Everyone waiting for the game to start.

My cousin Chelsie won these adorable, shiny, zebra print panties... :)

Grandma handing out her gifts to the grand kids.

My Aunt Tiff and her sweet baby Seth.

Chelsie with her panties and socks from grandma.

My dad got draped in panties... :) Ha ha!

Dad's got his A-game on for bowling!

Oliver with Great-Grandma Nield.

This was my record best bowling game ever!!

Dad

Carly

Bear

Ollie and Aunt Jo

My cousin Brylee was so cute playing pat-a-cake with Oliver.

Family Christmas Pictures

2012-01-03T17:35:00.007-07:00

One of our good friends here in Arizona, Mandy Snider, took our family pictures for Christmas at the Mesa temple. She did an amazing job (as always) and we really appreciate her doing them for us. They turned out SO cute!! :)

YW/YM Mesa Tempe Lights Excursion

2012-01-03T16:51:00.005-07:00

A couple of weeks before Christmas, our young women and young men to a trip to the Mesa temple to see the Christmas lights. Needless to say, it was pretty chilly for Phoenix weather and we were all wearing coats and scarves, but it was a very beautiful and enjoyable time for everyone. We even had hot chocolate afterward!

They were having a little concert in front of the visitor's center right in front of the statue of Christ. It was a beautiful setup.

The 3 wisemen.

The manger scene. The star above it was so gorgeous!! It was hanging from a palm tree, but you couldn't see the wire so it looked like it really was hanging in mid-air.

Part of our group.

Our whole group!!

Our young women. There aren't very many of us, but they are all so cute and wonderful!

Ollie is Walking!!

2012-01-03T16:38:00.002-07:00

Around mid-November Oliver took his first steps. Now he is walking like a champ and is cruising everywhere! He very rarely crawls anymore because he would rather be walking. It has been harder keeping him in one place when we go to church or the doctor's office, but I am glad he is walking and can get around on his own. He is learning so many new things and is starting to understand when we point or say things to him. He is growing way too fast and we love our little Ollie Wog!!

Black Friday Adventures...

2011-11-28T13:27:00.002-07:00

I love Black Friday shopping! It is so much fun and we always have a lot of fun going with Eric's family. But I never usually want the big thing that everyone lines up for hours before the doors even open. This year, the girls decided it would be fun to go to Target at midnight and see if we could find anything good, while the boys stayed home and slept (I didn't want to take Ollie with us that late at night). Usually the movies are the thing we go for and sometimes we'll pick up some other good deals. This year, we got there at 12:15pm (cause we're not the fanatics) and the line was wrapped all the way around the marketplace. We could see people standing by the doors waiting for the line to come to an end (which it didn't for a long time), and other people were making their way to the end of the line. We decided to run (at least as well as a pregnant woman can run) through the parking lot to get in line ahead of all the people who were walking over. As we were running between the cars, we heard a guy whooping and hollering and cheering us on. Eric's mom yelled, "And she's even pregnant!" The guy was impressed and we kept on running. It was very amusing.

As we were standing in line Leslie said, "Darn. I wanted to see a fight!" So of course, Shellie pushed her out of line. Leslie said, "I wanted to see a fight Shellie. Not be in one!" Everyone around us laughed. We were the entertainment as we stood in the never-ending line of people. We finally got in, got our stuff, and got out. We got home at 2am and crashed. At 7:45am Eric woke me up and wanted me to go shopping with him at some sports stores. I had only 5 hours of sleep and was exhausted the rest of the day.

Later on in the day, and this is where it gets really good, we all went to Best Buy. As the girls were searching for the boys, we walked up to where they were standing, with Brian pushing Ollie in the stroller. There was a woman who was trying to walk around Brian and of course when that happens you both usually end up going the same way a couple of times before you get around each other. Well this woman was getting mad and we all thought she was playing this game with him. So of course, Brian, being the funny guy that he is, started playfully chasing her around with the stroller. At first we thought the woman was playing the game with him. But after a minute, we weren't sure. Then, she got around him and just started freaking out! She proceeded to call him a bast*rd and shouted, "You are the worst human being I have ever met!" and then she stormed off. Everyone around us was looking at her like she was crazy and when she left, we all started laughing. What a crazy! Later, we saw her at the customer service desk yelling at them about something and demanding that she be able to return something. I felt bad for her because I think she may have had something mentally wrong with her. But it sure did make for a funny story! We had a very successful and amusing Black Friday, and we are definitely going to do it again next year!

Thanksgiving!!

2011-11-28T12:04:00.011-07:00

We had so much fun the week of Thanksgiving! Eric's family came down to Arizona to celebrate and we always have so much fun when they are here. The first day they were here we went to the driving range for Eric because he loves to take everyone there. Plus, it was a gorgeous day, so who could pass up the chance to be outside?

Our friend Derek joined us at the driving range also. Derek, Daniel, and Eric.

Brian just had to do some business on the golf course. Isn't that what it's for...? :)

Oliver loved crawling around on the grass and he loved having grandma follow him around.

What a goof. This is the family I married into... :)

Ollie wanted to join in the fun so he played with the golf ball basket.

Papa Moo loved to give him things to eat and drink and Ollie loved it!

Thanksgiving dinner! There weren't a ton of us, so we didn't make a ton of food. But it was perfect and so yummy! Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the pies.

Ollie's first Thanksgiving!! He loved all of the food!

Daniel, Leslie, Brian, Shellie

Brian, Shellie, Ollie, Eric

One day, Leslie decided she wanted to go read outside. So she went and sat on the bus bench in the front of our apartment. We were all laughing so hard! And she made friends with the guy next to her. It was pretty funny!

Brian decided to join her later so she wasn't out there by herself.

Ollie also wanted to join in the fun.

On Saturday, we went to Golfland and we played mini-golf, laser tag, and go-karts. This is Eric and Daniel driving their go-karts.

Eric had a slow car so he got bored toward the end... :)

Daniel and Eric posing for the camera.

Me and Shellie. Shellie is the goofy one...

All tuckered out from having too much fun.

The proud grandpa got him to sleep.

Eric won mini-golf every time we played.

Brian setting up.

Daniel hitting the ball.

Grandma and Ollie having so much fun!

Leslie getting ready to smack the ball.

Good putt Shell!

I guess I was reading the green here. That's what Eric taught me to do... :)

We had such a great time with Eric's family and we were so sad to see them leave. But we are so happy that we only have less than 3 weeks til we get to go up to Utah for Christmas. We also missed Eric's brother Mike, and his wife Kenz, and Ollie's cousin Kaleb. They stayed in Utah for Thanksgiving, but we are excited to see them for Christmas! Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

It's...

2011-11-27T17:13:00.004-07:00

It's...another BOY!! Well, we are excited to announce that we are having another boy! We went into the ultrasound and I was SURE I was having a girl this time around. I have been much sicker with this pregnancy and things are different with this pregnancy than they were with Ollie. However, Eric knew that we were having a boy and has been calling him "him" for weeks now. I was just a teeny bit disappointed that we aren't having a girl because I really want to have a girl and I'm afraid that those Beus genes won't ever let me have one. But I am so glad we are having a boy because he and Ollie will be so close in age that it will be great for them to be little buddies. Also, we already have clothes for a boy and I already know how to take care of a boy! We are so grateful that he is healthy in there and doing well. The doctor says everything looks great, and that's the best thing we could ask for! Here is the cute little guy...

Cute little legs.

Teeny feet.

An arm.

He so cute already and we already love him to pieces!

Halloween

2011-11-27T16:53:00.004-07:00

This is a very late post, but for Halloween this year, we didn't do much. We went to our ward's trunk or treat and then we went to a pumpkin patch with our friends, Derek and Mandy. Oliver was a pig for his first Halloween. We thought it was appropriate, what with his grandpa being a pig farmer and all... :) A lot of people thought he was a girl because he was wearing pink, but that's what color a pig is! While we were at the pumpkin patch, our friend Mandy took these adorable pictures of Ollie in his piggie outfit. They are SO cute! (Eric and I just went as a witch and a devil, but we didn't wear our costumes to the pumpkin patch.)

On Halloween night, we had some friends come over (Derek and Mandy, and Jex and Aubrey). Mandy works at Costco so she brought us some yummy pizza for dinner and we talked and hung out. It was so good hanging out with friends on Halloween, even though we weren't too festive. :)

Surprises!!

2011-10-14T21:22:00.003-07:00

Well, this is our newest news! We are having another baby! It was quite a surprise to us. We were not trying and I was on birth control. Granted, it was a low dosage because I was taking it when I was nursing Oliver, but apparently it didn't work. So here we are. I am 13 weeks and we are excited about it. I have been a lot sicker this time around, so I thought maybe that would mean it was a girl. But knowing those Beus genes, it might be another boy. We will find out on November 16th! We are excited that our family is growing!

This ultrasound was at 8 weeks.

11 week ultrasound

13 week ultrasound

I've been having multiple ultrasounds because I had some implantation bleeding that stayed and became a little blood clot. They have been checking on it and it seemed to be going away and at my last ultrasound, they didn't see it at all! So hopefully I won't have to worry about that anymore, but they said it was pretty common anyway.

Mission Call!!

2011-10-14T21:19:00.002-07:00

I have to say congrats to my younger brother, Cody, who got his mission call to the Philippines, Angeles mission!!! We love you Cody and we are so proud of you! You will be a fantastic missionary!!

The Park and Diwali!

2011-10-14T19:49:00.005-07:00

We took a little family walk at a local park on Saturday and Ollie had so much fun!

He loved watching the ducks on the pond.

He likes to play in the grass, but he doesn't like to crawl in it. He ended up down the hill a little though because he fell over and rolled down it.

They were having a little Indian Diwali Festival at the park so we went and checked it out. It was pretty cool and Eric almost bought me an outfit!

These were some Indian dancers and it was pretty fun to watch them.

Some Indian clothing.

Eric and Ollie at the Diwali Festival

All in all, fun day at the park!

Spontaneous Trip to Utah

2011-10-14T17:09:00.008-07:00

In September Ollie and I had the chance to go back to Utah for a week. We were so glad to be able to go and get out of this ridiculous Phoenix heat! Thanks to my cousin Katie for driving us up! It was good to be able to see everyone while we were there. Especially since Ollie is growing up so fast and learning so many new things.

On Grandma Leslie's front porch.

The beautiful Beus pumkins!

Grandma Leslie to Ollie and Kaleb out to look at the pumpkins.

Kaleb LOVES Ollie! :)

Ollie's cousin Kaleb was pushing him around on a little truck and Ollie loved it!

Ollie's new Sunday outfit from Grandma Leslie! SO cute!

Saying hi to Grammy Holly!

Playing with toys in the living room. The apple to the left was mine when I was a baby so it's cool to see Ollie play with it too!

Playing in Grammy Holly's front yard.

Playing with Papa Moo.

Clapping!

Eric's parents have this rubbery frog that they bought for the kids and Ollie loved chewing it and pulling it out of his mouth. It was so funny!

Playing with the baby piggies!

The baby piggies loved Ollie and came right up to him and were nibbling at his fingers and toes.

Mama Pig

Playing with Ty the dog.

Oliver had so much fun playing on the tractor with Papa Moo.

I have never seen Ollie do this before, but it was so funny! He was "swimming" in the air.

My Mom's Birthday

2011-10-14T15:12:00.005-07:00

My mom's birthday was in September and I was so lucky to be able to be there for her birthday. It was so fun. My dad gave her an ipad for her birthday and she cried. I got it all on video, but I knew she would be mad at me if I posted it on here. It was awesome though! My dad asked me to wrap her presents and handed me an ipad cover. I said, "She doesn't have an ipad. Dad, did you get her an ipad?!" He then turned around with a huge smile and handed me the ipad! It was so funny! And my mom loved it! Needless to say, after she opened it and got games, everyone wanted to play with it all the time. :) It was pretty fun!

Mom had delicious Shishkabobs for her birthday dinner, and boy were they yummy!

Cody arranged Mom's birthday plate. :)

All of Mom's presents, and dad even got all of the kids a piece of See's Candy. Yummy!

Good old Barrett.

Carly with Ollie and his Ikea friend, Leo.

Cody and Mom

Mom and Dad! :) Love them!

Mom's beautiful birthday cakes (which she made herself).

Singing Happy Birthday!

Ever since Carly was a baby she has always given the famous "sock present". She finds random items around the house and "wraps them/stuffs them" in a sock. This year, she gave mom some Metamucil, without really knowing what it was. She thought it was a packet of lemonade. It was quite hilarious! :) Happy Birthday Mom!! We love you!

Eric's Birthday

2011-10-14T14:45:00.003-07:00

I feel terrible. Eric's birthday was almost 2 months ago and I'm just now posting about it. And unfortunately I didn't get many pictures. But my sweetie turned 26!! He's getting so old... :) The night before his birthday we went out to Olive Garden for dinner with some friends and then to the driving range. We did some things the day before his birthday because he had school stuff on his actual birthday. Then on his birthday we went out to lunch with a friend, Randi, and went to visit her husband at work.

Randi and Ollie

With the birthday boy.

With me.

This is our other friend, Randi's husband Charlie. He's a graphic designer at a printing company.

And there was a cardboard cutout of a woman so of course Eric had to go stand by her to see if she looked like a real person in a picture...only my husband! :) I love you honey and happy birthday!

Ollie's Tricks...

2011-10-14T12:50:00.002-07:00

Oliver is doing and learning so many fun things these days that I have to video him any chance I get. He is so cute and such a fast learner. I just love this boy to pieces!! :)

He always watches us snap and he tries to do it himself. It's so cute to see him try!

Eating his first lime... :)

He's crawling!! This is one of the first videos we took of him learning to crawl.

Ollie decided it would be fun to try and eat his way out of his playpen. It was pretty cute!

Oliver has also started blowing with his bottom lip, which is really funny, clapping, and giving hi-fives. Eric taught him how to give hi-fives and Ollie loves it and gets so proud of himself. :)

Ollie also likes to play "I'm gonna get you..."!

Updates

2011-10-08T20:56:00.003-07:00

Well, I have a lot of updating I need to do. Pretty much everything from the last 2 months. And trust me, a lot has happened! It will take me a couple of days, but I'll get to it.

Clapping!!

2011-08-07T19:19:00.002-07:00

Ollie is now clapping! It is the cutest thing ever! The first time I just looked over at him and he was clapping. It must have been from all those times I've clapped at him or played pat-a-cake. So cute!

Ollie likes to "ooo" now too and it's really funny.

Daddy and Me!

2011-08-07T18:01:00.005-07:00

I have two crazy boys, and I love them both SSSOOOO much!!

Lava Hot Springs!

2011-08-07T11:30:00.004-07:00

While we were in Utah for the second time, we went to Lava Hot Springs for a couple of days with Eric's family. We had such a blast and I wish we could go more often. Ollie loves to swim and play in the water. I think he could stay in there all day if he didn't get tired and hungry so quick.

My little sweetheart! I just love him to pieces!!

Ollie was making some of the funniest faces and he was being so cute!!

Eric's cousin Riley.

My husband takes weird pictures. I wish I could get him to give me a real smile.

Eric's cousin Josh

Eric's crazy Aunt Laney! :P

Eric's maternal grandparent's hangin' out and havin' fun!

Eric's cousins Josh and Jake, playing with Ollie.

Everyone waiting to jump of the platforms. I jumped off the 1st platform twice the day before, but it kind of hurt the second time so I decided I wasn't jumping off them anymore.

Eric's mom and sister went off the 3rd platform together. I would never go off of it because that is WAY too high, but they didn't even hesitate!

Eric's Aunt Laney is very afraid of heights, but we convinced her to go off the 1st platform. It took a couple of tries before she actually jumped off. :)

Eric and his cousin Jake went off the 2nd platform, and he was even a little scared!

Carly's Birthday

2011-08-06T21:58:00.004-07:00

Happy Birthday to Carly!! She turned 12 on July 17th and is officially in Young Women's and in Jr. High!! My mom no longer has any kids in primary or Elementary school. That is such a weird thing to think about. We went to the cabin on her birthday weekend and had a blast and then celebrated on Sunday.

Ollie is very ticklish on his back.

The famous, delicious log cake!

She got some very cool presents.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARLY!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!

Cabin July 2011

2011-08-06T11:54:00.008-07:00

We went to my parent's cabin again in July. We always have a great time when we go up. This time we roasted marshmallows and had s'mores, jumped on the trampoline, and shot the bow and arrow. Ollie loves being up there and being outside, especially with his Papa! Unfortunately, Eric didn't get to go this time because he had a class to teach the next morning online. :( But he stayed with his family and had some fun bonding time with them.

Carly made a fort out of the beds.

Mom and Dad and Jess went on a hike, and there was even some snow still at the top!

Roasting marshmallows!

Jess decided it would be a good idea to balance her s'more on her stick for a minute while she did something else. Not such a good idea... :)

S'mores!!

Barrett (the stinker) didn't want his picture taken, so he made this sign. Oh geez...

All the kids (except for Eric :( ).

Hanging out on the trampoline.

My archery board. I was pretty proud of it. I think if something happens in this world, I'll be the one to find the food! :P

On our way home, we went to visit my cousin Justin and his wife Tiffany, who had just had a baby! His name is Justin Seth Nield and he is SO cute! It's weird to think that he's my cousin and my son is older than him... :)

Nield Family Pictures!

2011-08-05T16:59:00.017-07:00

Thanks to my wonderful Aunt Karen for taking our family pictures! She did a fantastic job (as always)! :)

Aw! Look at my cute parents!

Precious! Daddy and Ollie. :)

Ollie loves his Papa!

Beus Family Pictures!

2011-08-04T22:03:00.006-07:00

We did these in June and they were so much fun!!

4th of July

2011-07-07T08:57:00.007-07:00

We had such a fun 4th of July. I was a little sad we weren't with our families, but we did a lot of fun stuff with our friend, Mandy, here in Tempe. Her husband is gone for the summer so we were really glad we could keep her company! Mandy came over and we talked for a long time, then we watched a movie, and then we got VIP passes (thanks to my friend Jolyn) for the Tempe Beach Park 4th of July festivities. We rode the light rail to the beach park and there were so many people there! Because we had VIP passes, we got to sit in the VIP gardens with tables and chairs and there was so much room, so we got great seats for the fireworks. We also got free food and beverages. It was a lot of fun and despite the heat, we were glad we went.

Our friend Mandy. We were waiting for the light rail.

Ollie was very festive. I even grabbed this blanket to sit on, not even thinking about what the pattern was. I guess it was meant to be!

In the VIP area watching the concert.

The fireworks were amazing and went for a whole hour! Definitely some of the best I've seen. And they shot them off the bridge which was really cool.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!

My Parent's Cabin

2011-07-06T17:49:00.010-07:00

We were able to go up to my parent's cabin in Paris Canyon, ID a couple of weekends ago. I always love going up there because it is so beautiful and there are so many fun things to do. It is a beautiful area and our cabin is so cozy. My dad built the cabin mostly by himself. We helped a little and so did his siblings. He also made most of the wooden furniture in it and it is all amazing!

The flowers were blooming beautifully.

The drive up to the cabin.

The boys just chillin' after we got there.

I took a bunch of pictures of the cabin to have in case my parent's ever sold it (which they better not). This is the kitchen.

The master bedroom.

The upstairs left part of the loft.

The upstairs right part of the loft.

The upstairs bathroom.

The stairs leading to the loft (this is from upstairs looking down).

The back entrance.

The fireplace in the living room.

Some of the many cute decorations.

We have two rabbits that like to hang around our place. They will let you get really close to them and they are so cute.

Ollie loved the cabin too!

My brother Cody shooting the bow and arrow.

Bear playing the video games we have up there. We have an old Sega Genesis with a bunch of games we used to play. We also like to watch movies before bed while we're up there.

The puzzle we are currently doing.

Putting the trampoline up. We have a net we put up around it to keep the bugs out.

My bull's eye!

Shooting the 22 rifle.

Eric

Dad

Ollie's First Time at the Pool!

2011-07-06T15:54:00.006-07:00

While in Utah, we went to the pool a few times and it was so much fun! Ollie swam in the pool for the first time and loved it! He loves taking baths too, but I was a little nervous the water would be too cold. But he didn't mind it at all.

My mom bought him this adorable swim outfit from Old Navy and I love that he has a swim shirt to prevent him from getting burnt.

Beus Family Bear Lake Trip

2011-07-06T14:24:00.009-07:00

June 6th through the 9th we went with Eric's family to their cabin on the east shore of Bear Lake. Although the weather didn't cooperate too much, we still had a fantastic time. We hung out in the cabin and played games, went on a bike ride, and went to the beach the one day the weather was decent for about 3 hours.

Kaleb wanted to wear the snorkeling goggles.

Daddy and Ollie cuddling. Sweet!

With great-grandma Nield.

He is such a sweetheart and I just love him to pieces!!

Shellie, Avrie, and Kendall being nutty.

Eric's mom, Leslie, his cousin, Riley, Eric, and I went on a bike ride that was approximately 10 miles on a road with a lot of hills. I thought I was going to die before we got back, but I made it. It was hard! And Leslie had me wear her biking clothes, which looked lovely on me (not).

At the beach. It was too cold for Ollie to get in the water, but he loved putting his feet in the sand.

Kaleb and Kenz

Shellie, Riley, and Eric wanted to walk out into the lake a ways and from the way they were standing, it looked pretty cold.

Kaleb looks like a bug, but a very cute one!

Just chillin' out!

Eric and I stayed at Kensie's family's cabin with her and Kaleb because there wasn't anyone there to keep the babies awake.

We went to Merlin's on our way home for lunch. Unfortunately it had rained that morning and everyone else was soaked because they had to put the bikes back on the rack in the rain. They were all freezing. And of course we forgot jackets. :( But it was a fun trip!

New Posts!!

2011-06-04T17:45:00.000-07:00

There are FIVE new posts on here so be sure to see them all!

Our Little Bear!

2011-06-04T17:31:00.004-07:00

This is our sweet little bear!! :) We love him to pieces and he makes us smile every day!! What a sweetheart. We love you little tater!! ;D

Cody's High School Graduation

2011-06-04T16:13:00.008-07:00

My brother Cody's graduation was a week and a half ago and it was so fun to see him graduate. I can't believe he's already graduated and will be going on a mission soon! Time flies so fast, but we are so proud of him!

Dad, Ollie, Mom, and Carly

Grandma Nield, Bear, Dad, and Ollie

Ollie with grandma and grandpa Nield

Carly and Jess

Eric is having such a good time. :)

Papa and Ollie

Eric waving at Cody. What a goof! :)

Cody walking in.

The graduates. Boys are in black, girls are in red.

Getting his name called. We yelled pretty loud for him. :)

Mom and Dad were amused about something... :}

Eric never got bored...

After they all received their diplomas.

The fam, minus mom and grandma cause they were taking the pictures and Bear cause he refused to have his picture taken so he went to the car. Stinker.

The fam, minus dad cause this time he was taking the picture.

The kids, minus Bear.

Ollie wanted to graduate too. :)

We are so proud of you Cody and we love you!!!

The Farm Part 1

2011-06-04T14:44:00.008-07:00

Eric, his brothers, and his dad have been working to re-do the pens in the sow's barn where the baby pigs are born. They have been working really hard and it's almost done!

Brian and his tractor.

The boys are working hard!

After they laid some wet cement, we decided we wanted to put our handprints in, even though after all the pens are put in you won't even be able to see them.

Ollie putting his hand in!

Shellie's hand.

Kaleb's foot.

Ollie's foot.

Kenz's hand.

My hand.

Ollie had fun putting his hand in cement!

Grandpa with his grandsons! :)

Beautiful Hooper, Utah!

The final product of our hands. Eric put his in later when we weren't out there, so I wasn't able to get a picture of him. But I think he would prefer it that way. (Oh, and Pete is Shellie. That is what Kaleb calls her because he can't say her name. That might be her new permanent name because I'm sure Ollie will probably call her that too.)

The Farm Part 2

2011-06-04T13:15:00.014-07:00

We went out to the farm to take pictures of Ollie and his cousin Kaleb. We got some really cute pictures and it was so fun to spend some time outside where it's not 100 degrees! I really love it on the farm. It is such a fun place and I really hope that my kids will get to experience being on the farm and being around the animals.

For your pleasure, some tongue shots. :) I couldn't believe how long it was (and gross)!

Eric's cousin Capri was surrounded by the pigs. They loved her!

Cute little calves.

Having fun on the tractor!

Kaleb and Grandma looking at the baby piggies.

Sweet babies! Ollie wasn't too much bigger than they were.

My two adorably handsome boys!! Love them!! ;D

Kaleb feeding Ty the dog a bone.

Me and my sister-in-law Kenz with our two cute boys.

Such a momma's boy!

Just chillin' on the tractor.

Going for a ride.

Kaleb was learning how to lift and lower the loader.

Flowers

2011-06-04T09:35:00.016-07:00

My in-laws are very much into gardening and they do such a fantastic job on their yard every year! It always looks so gorgeous with all of the brightly colored flowers and the big trees in their yard. Here are some pictures of their beautiful yard...

To the Zoo

2011-05-31T17:53:00.016-07:00

The Saturday after we got to Utah we went to the Hogle Zoo with some of Eric's family. We had a really good time and it had been a while since I had been to that zoo. I had forgotten how much I liked it!

After seeing these monkeys, I decided that I want one. :)

Ollie and Daddy in front of the monkeys.

There was a baby elephant that was SO cute!! I love baby animals.

Even if Ollie can't fully appreciate the animals yet, he sure does love to be outside in the fresh air!

Ollie, Me, my sis-in-law Kenz, and my nephew Kaleb.

Kaleb is able to fully appreciate the animals and it is so cute to see how excited he gets and how he knows all the animals.

When he doesn't know the animal or isn't sure about something, he does this with his hands.

Ollie was zonkered. We wore him out!

I wanted to get a picture of him on the rhino so bad, but he fell asleep on it instead! :) Silly boy!

Trip to Utah

2011-05-20T13:09:00.006-07:00

We made the long 12 hour drive to Utah with a 4 1/2 month old baby!! We got here on the 11th and the drive wasn't too bad. Ollie did very well and only fussed a couple of times. I was extremely happy about it since I was nervous about how he would do on such a long car ride. Our car was packed full and it was nice because I got to do some reading, which I haven't been able to do for a while.

Ollie helped me do some laundry at my Grandma's house before we left.

Scooter wanted to help too.

Ollie was a happy boy on the trip!

Eric drove the whole time while I sat in the back and took care of Ollie. What a trooper.

First Rice Cereal!

2011-05-19T11:49:00.006-07:00

Oliver had his 4-month doctors appointment on Monday, May 2nd. He weighed 15lbs 4oz (50th percentile) and was 25 1/2 inches (70th percentile). At his appointment, his doctor said it looked like he was ready to start trying some solids! So after his appointment, I went and got him some rice cereal. He really liked it and towards the end he realized that he needed to open his mouth for the spoon. It was pretty cute!!

Unfortunately, I don't think his digestive system was quite ready for it because he became really constipated for a week afterwards and it was not pleasant. So even though he's already had a couple of tastes of it, he'll probably have to wait for a couple more weeks before we try again.

Easter!!

2011-04-27T16:53:00.013-07:00

We had such a fun Easter! We all got our baskets in the morning, we went to church, then we had some friends, Derek and Amanda Snider, come over for dinner and coloring eggs. This year, Eric hid my basket in the oven. And of course, I looked through the entire house without thinking to look inside any of the kitchen appliances. Duh! He finally narrowed the rooms down for me and I figured it out. It was a way nicer hiding place for me than last year's candy in the air vent! I hid Eric's basket really well this year and I was so proud!! He was stumped! So finally I narrowed it down to Ollie's room and he found it hiding underneath Ollie's dresser (it is very low to the ground). Ollie's basket was sitting on the couch for him to "find" in the morning. It had a couple of toys since he can't eat candy yet (although Eric would say otherwise).

The night before, we had attempted to go to the Easter pageant at the Mesa Temple. Good idea, bad execution. It was the last night it was playing, and we got there a little late. We had to park six blocks away and by the time we got there, there was barely a spot on the grass to sit and it was so far away we couldn't really see. Lesson learned. Next year we'll go the day it starts and get there a little early.

These pictures were taken in the car on the way to the Easter pageant. I can't get over what a sweet and adorable boy he is! He is such a cheeseball! :)

For Easter dinner, I found a recipe online for Cafe Rio's barbacoa and tomatillo ranch dressing. I was a little nervous that it wouldn't turn out, but it did and it tasted amazing!!

All of our colors for our Easter eggs. I ran out of vinegar so I had to use lemon juice for some of them. But it gave us a bigger variety of colors.

Ollie loves Easter!

I have a dorky husband! :) But I love him!

Mandy and I taking pictures of each other.

Eric, Derek, and Mandy getting ready to color eggs.

Coloring eggs.

Eric's very first egg of the night.

Happy Easter everyone!

Derek is having so much fun! :)

Ollie loves to play with Mandy.

All of our lovely eggs.

Ollie was impressed.

Yummy! I want one!

Eric's egg, "Egg".

And in Spanish. :)

Derek's happy face-sad face egg. Probably one of my favorites!

Mandy works at Costco and brought us this delicious truffle cake!

Adorable boys! Ollie loves his daddy!

Our Easter baskets.

Ollie with his Easter basket. You can see how excited he is.

Eric with his basket.

Me with my basket.

All in all, a wonderful Easter!!

Oliver Updates!

2011-04-21T21:20:00.008-07:00

Our baby boy will be four months old on Monday!! How did that happen?! I blinked once and all of a sudden he is four months old. It feels like yesterday that I was complaining about being pregnant and wanting him out of me. These past four months have been the best of my life. I love this sweet boy so much and he brings so much joy into our lives. It is so fun watching him grow and learn new things. I can't believe how fast he is growing up! I wish he would slow down a little! And I love watching Eric with him. He is such a good dad and he loves Ollie so much! I can't wait until they can play sports together. We sure do love this boy so much!!

He hates having his face wiped. He squirms and gets mad if you try and wipe spit-up or drool off of his face.

He loves to cuddle with mommy. (Or I really love to cuddle with him! :))

He loves to sit up. We usually hold his hands while he is sitting and he loves to see what's going on around him. I think he wishes he could sit up all by himself. When we try to lay him back down, he resists and tries so hard to keep himself in a sitting position.

He's starting to giggle. It's only happened twice, but it is so cute when he does! We are hoping that he will start doing it more often. A lot of times you can see that he wants to, he just hasn't fully figured it out yet.

He sure is a daddy's boy and it is so cute!

He likes to watch TV with daddy.

He has the sweetest face ever!

He is actually starting to really like tummy time. He likes it for about 5-10 minutes, but then he gets tired and doesn't like it so much anymore. While he's on his tummy, he will kick his legs like he wants to scoot so bad, but he just doesn't have the upper body strength yet.

He loves attention! If you are not giving him attention even for a minute, he will start screaming at you until you look at him, and then he will give you a huge smile! He hates when people aren't paying attention to him. :)

Ollie and his friend Tristan.

He hates going to sleep. He doesn't want to miss anything. So when I try to put him down for a nap or for bedtime, he will squirm and cry for about 5 minutes before he is too tired to do it anymore, and then he'll fall right to sleep. He also likes being sung to sleep. I sing him primary songs and he loves them.

He loves to be naked, but what little boy doesn't? :) If he is being a little fussy, I'll take his clothes off and he is so happy.

He loves taking baths too! He will kick and splash in the water so much.

Ollie had his first haircut on Monday, April 11th. He was losing so much on top and on the sides, and then there were patches in the back. So we decided it would look better to just buzz it and start from scratch. Now his hair is growing back nicely, but it is so blonde you can hardly see it unless you are close to him. Unfortunately I forgot to take a before picture. :(

He has started sucking on his bottom lip and he does it all the time! He loves to suck on it and it is so funny to watch! And he has also started talking with his tongue. He loves to play with his tongue and now that he's found it, he rarely talks without sticking it out. With his tongue out, it is more of grunting rather than actual talking.

All tuckered out!

No more pictures!! :)

Ollie and Daddy

He is also learning to grab things. If things are close enough to him in his crib, he'll grab them. And whenever we put his rattle or his binky in front of his face, he'll stare at it for a second and then try and reach for it. And we've noticed that he always reaches with his left hand. Future lefty?

He's started this new thing when he's eating, where he likes to flirt with and tease me! He will suck a couple of times and then look up at me and smile. Then he'll suck a couple more times, and look up at me and smile. We can never have a regular eating session again, but it is so cute!! However, he has also started biting me with his gums, and then pulling. It hurts so bad, but then he smiles at me and it takes everything I have not to smile back at that sweet little face! He is such a funny boy!

We have been teaching him to roll over. He isn't there just yet though. He gets on his side, but he can't figure out how to move his arm and get all the way over. So we sort of do it for him and push him over so he can figure it out.

Blow out!

He truly is the sweetest and cutest baby!! We love him so much and can't wait for what else is in store for us with our little sweetheart!