Hawaii and 3 months!

Holy Moly so much has been going on and I have been a terrible blogger of course what else is new! To start us off today I am remembering what has happened in this whirlwind of events. First off Elleanor and I jet set off to Hawaii! I know what you are thinking weren't we just in Las Vegas? I know poor Paul he is always left behind. Ella and I went to Hawaii for my Mom and Nana's annual pilgrimage to Maui! It was an amazing trip to be invited too! Ashley was there too which was so awesome. We did so many fun and exciting things, LIKE whale watching where we actually saw whales come right up to our boat so close that Ashley could have touched a whale if she reached over the side. Valentines day was awesome although we did miss daddy, we had an outfit on that dad picked out.We spent that day running around Lahina and enjoying the sun as well as a much needed beach day haha. Later in the week Mom, Ashley and I went paddle boarding which was so awesome! We had a turn Hawaiian as our teacher and he was so amazing we were able to see a real in the wild Sea Turtle he swam right between us and if I had laid down on my board I could have been friends with him. There was a lot of walking all over Hawaii which my dear sweet baby adored she was either in just a onesie or her adorable swimsuit!

She loved the sun and the warm weather almost as much as I did. Her Mimi spoiled her rotten she got her pearls and had her try amazing things such as snowcones and sugar cane cola! She loved both.
There was a lot of bonding going on during our girls only trip. Elleanor was able to get very close to her GREAT GRANDMOTHER. Which was really cool because how many people get to do that. We got to spend time at the beach every day which was much needed to see the sun! And we even had a cute mama whale with her baby whale right out in front of our hotel teaching the sweet baby how to JUMP OUT OF THE WATER!!! It was really cool! Because my mom and nana go there every year we were able to go to so many cool places including the north shore to watch awesome surfers and wind surfers it was pretty awesome! We got to go to an authentic lula which was beyond cool little Elleanor loved the dancing and the music it was really cool and the food was the bomb! Ella had the cutest outfit ever she was in a little green romper! to die for! Ashley and I loved the Lula because they had all these awesome drinks that they made in nonalcoholic forms so we could have all the fun drink without any of the silliness!

We had such and amazing trip between the sunsets and the shorts it was awesome! The best part was having the 4 generations together.




Elleanor was an awesome flyer and she was the happiest little bug the whole time on the flight she was smily and happy the whole time and she didn't cry at all! All the people on the plane were so sweet and couldn't believe that she did so well on the plane! I know my baby is amazing!


We had a great trip and it was so much fun to be with auntie and my mama......I never realized how much I missed/needed my MOMMY until I became one! It was so nice to be with everyone every day in the SUN haha! ohh the sun how I miss it! After 8 sun filled days we had to head back to rainy Seattle...but we both really missed daddy so it was a bitter sweet thing. Ella rocked it out on the plane again she is a stellar flyer she loves to travel already! After Hawaii tings got back to normal and we feel into our regular schedule. Elleanor is an awesome baby this is where I brag: She sleeps through the night, loves to ride in the car, has the best time in her bath, loves to shop, and does nothing wrong EVER! HAHA I hope she stays this way forever lol! Although I doubt things will stay this awesome!

Elleanor LOOOOOVES Dexter, and boy does Dexter love Elleanor. Not only does he love to kiss her and smell her, he checks on her when she is napping. It is the cutest little thing ever. He goes into her room when she is napping hops up and puts his feet on her crib so he can look in to make sure she is ok! I love it I think its so sweet that he knows she is a little baby and needs extra love!


My sweet baby is 3 months old and I have no idea where the time has gone. I swear just yesterday I was taking her home from the hospital and I was so scared because I had no idea what to do with her. Now she is holding herself up....her whole body not just the head! She rolled over, or so I think she was on her back when I put her down, I looked away for one second looked back at her and she was on her tummy! It is still unconfirmed if she did it on her own or if Dexter pushed her onto her stomach.



She is so beautiful and I can't believe how much I love this little girl she IS the light of my life and I can't believe how lucky I am that I was trusted with her.I love being a mom it has been the best job that I have ever had. Even though most of my days are filled with doing laundry, washing dishes, and vaccuming the house I have never been more happy because when that little girl looks up at me and smiles when she wakes up from her nap I know I would rather be here then anywhere else. Yep I am sappy and I became one of those people, and I am more ok with it then I ever thought possible. I am a mother.

Elleanor's Blessing

My sweet little lady got blessed this last Sunday. It was such a beautiful weekend. It was so nice because my parents came up and we got to spend time with them which is one of my favorite things in the whole wide world. They brought up my grandparents as well which was fun to see them. There was a lot of prep work that had to happen before I could have all of Paul's family over to our house. It took a grip of people to finally whip it into shape! Shout out to mom dad and my sweet sister in law McKenzie! I will have to take pictures of the finally product of the house! We finally have furniture and things are put away and it feels like a home. Any way so we had a great weekend with my family. We took Elleanor to the Zoo! It was a beautiful day in Tacoma the sun was out and it wasn't too chilly! Elleanor slept through the whole Zoo and woke up when we put her into the car which just cracked me up because who doesn't want to be awake at the zoo! I was ok with it though because we got to see everything without a melt down haha! The weekend flew by and before I knew it we were getting Elleanor into her Blessing dress. Her dress pulls at my heart strings because it was made out of my wedding dress material. My Aunt Jen made my wedding dress 3 years ago when Paul and I got married and my sweet Aunt kept the material. When I got pregnant and we found out it was a girl my Aunt Jen made the most beautiful wedding dress out of the left over material. It was so special to see my little girl in something so beautiful for such a huge day in her life, that reminded me of one of the best days of my life. Church was early and all of Paul's family came to support us. Paul gave the most beautiful blessing and I know from it that Heavenly Father blessed me with a sweet spirit with a mission. I am so Thankful for the gospel and that she was able to get these great blessing and promises. I am so thankful for family and all the support that Paul and I have near and far. I never realized how blessed I was until we had our sweet baby.

3 Days to 3 Weeks

I started my New Year in Las Vegas so I could see my older sister Ashley get married to the love of her life Cameron. Ella and I fly down to Vegas the day before to surprise the whole family! We were only planing on staying for the weekend, because I thought I had to get home. The wedding was awesome, the sun was great, and my family was AMAZING! Saturday rolled around way to fast and flew by with the wedding and the reception.

The next thing I knew it was late on Saturday night and I was talking to my mom about leaving. She said "now Rachel why would you leave after just 3 days ask Paul if you can stay longer!' She was right because I was there and I didn't have a job to go home too. I called Paul and asked him if I could stay a little longer. He said that was a great idea because he would be working swing sifts as well as night while we took down a huge freeway in Washington. PERFECTION! Elleanor and I were going to stay longer and my parents couldn't have been more thrilled!
My parents soaked up every minute having Elleanor with them. It was so great to see them with her because she is the 1st grand baby and she is pretty friggen awesome. We had a great time during the week sleeping and playing with all of my friends, and of course enjoying the sun. I had started calling Ella the Vampire Baby because they first time she saw the SUN was when we walked off the plane in Las Vegas! Haha insane I know but we do live in Seattle. Ella and I were able to go to wedding receptions of girls I used to babysit which made me feel REALLY old and think they were way to young to be getting married when it turns out they were actually my age when I got married! Insane! Elleanor got to go every where and where ever we went people stopped me to just look at her. Which is awesome to have people tell you how beautiful your child is haha makes me feel great.

I mean look at that face!! Anyway every Saturday for 3 weeks Paul told me he was working another week of nights and to stay in Vegas a little longer....which we more then happy to do. Just to stay in the sun a little longer.

We loved Vegas but we knew we had to come back. It was a great trip but Elleanor and I had been gone to long, and finslly made it back 23 days later haha!

One Month Mommy

My sweet baby turned a month old on Friday and I am yet again shocked at how fast time has gone. My sweet baby is changing so much every day all I want to do is tell her to slow down so I can enjoy every possible moment. Our New Year started off pretty eventful. My older sister Ashley was getting married to her sweet husband Cameron New Years Eve and I wasn't planning on being there. Paul and I had, had tickets but we weren't sure how Elleanor would do and I wasn't convinced I could fly with her. Any way 2 days before Ashley's wedding after I had put Elleanor to bed I knew I wanted to be there. So Paul being the sweetest husband ever let me buy a ticket and leave for Vegas the next morning. I have no idea what I was afraid of Elleanor was a better flyer then I was she passed right out in her carseat! I even gave her the window seat! Landed safely in Vegas, Cam and his dad came and picked me up so we could keep it a surprise for my family that I had come down for the wedding. I walked in the door and everyone flipped out it was so fun to be home again! The wedding was fantastic Ashley was beautiful and it was so nice to see her with someone she truly loved and truly made her happy! I was planning on going back that Sunday, but my parents were like hey you are down here why would you leave??? UHH good question it's not like there was a whole lot going on at home. Paul is on a big job with the company tearing down a highway and working nights and well into the morning. He told me to stay because he wouldn't be much help anyway and that way I could spend more time with my family! It was a great idea, my little baby had never seen the sun before because since her birth there hasn't been any sun in Washington. I needed to show my little vampire what the sun was. She isn't a fan! Haha, any way its been a great two weeks enjoying family, friends, and fun!
Back to what my post was orientally about. I have been a mother now for over a month and I couldn't be in awe and how much better my life is with my sweet little girl. I have learned so much! Some of those things include
*poop IS AWESOME
*sleep is overrated
*little hands and feet are the best thing ever
*i am ok being used for food
*nursing is my favorite time of the day and I am so happy it happens so many times a day
*bath time is more fun then ever
*i dont' mind diaper duty
*i can spend hours just watching a single person
*i am the happiest i have ever been
*i love my husband more then ever
I thought I would never be one of those mothers who only talked about her baby and how great she was, but boy was I wrong. My life could not be better in any sort of way. I am totally and completely in love!

Christmas Time

Ah there is a nip in the air, which meant this year Christmas was here. I can’t believe that it has come and gone already, and what a year it has been. I wasn’t even prepared this year and poor Paul suffered from it. I swear he will get some presents soon. Christmas this year was different of course, we had our beautiful baby Elleanor there which was awesome. She had a great time haha well at least I think she did. We dressed her up in a little reindeer outfit she was adorable. Christmas Eve was spent at my sister-in-laws house and it was a great time being with Paul’s family. We ate great finger food and played some Harry Potter Uno. Uno is friggen awesome, and the way the Thatcher’s play is pretty intense. Any ways played Harry Potter Uno for a while and then my sweet baby had a melt down because she was exhausted, so we went home. After the little one was in bed Paul and I enjoyed some time together after he did his last minute Christmas shopping for our niece and nephew I told you we were terrible this year. Christmas morning came bright and early because the little kids could not wait to open their presents from Santa.






It’s great to watch Christmas through little kids eyes. They were so excited and it was so fun to watch them open their presents and be so excited that they had been good enough for Santa to drop by. Paul hooked up out nephew with a gatlan battery powered nerf gun that shoots 25 bullets at you. I think it was a bigger hit with all of the adults then it was with the kids. The morning was great, but yet again we had a fussy baby. (she is going through a growth spurt) Later that night we headed over to Paul’s parents house to have a nice Christmas dinner of Mexican food! Haha which was great because I love it. Elleanor was able to meet her Great Grandparents who just adored her. It was a great night and we were able to enjoy the whole family which was great. I love being around family its nice to have the extra help and support that they all offer. It was a nice quite Christmas and I can’t believe another one has passed. I am especially thankful for the best gift I could have ever received my sweet daughter. She has been such a blessing in my life and I can’t believe that she chose me to be her mother. I never thought I could be this happy, this tired, and this in love with someone. I am thankful for the Christmas season and her birthday so close to it to make me remember what Christmas really is all about.

Elegant Elleanor

Holy Lanta I am a Mommy! I know its been months and I am a terrible person but I am finally updating haha if I even have anyone who reads! Haha Any way so the store of our sweet babies arrival begins on the evening of the 5th of December. I guess I was going into labor but I was convinced it was gas or my back was just aching from taking Dexter on a killer long walk earlier that night. Anyway, about ten that night I am having some pretty intense "back pain" that seems to be coming about every 2-3 minutes. I called my mom and dad and talked on the phone with them while Paul sat on the floor and timed the contractions. I lapped around the downstairs as I tired to convince myself that nah it couldn't be time although she was a week overdue! Paul and I got into bed around 11:30 and tried to sleep. Wait let me rephrase that. I tried to sleep Paul straight passed out haha! Lucky man that sleep came in handy later. I am sure I got some sleep but I was awake at 1 and about ready to DIE or so I thought. I tried to walk through those contractions and was reduced to tears. I thought I was tough but I have never felt anything like that before. Finally at 2 I woke up Paul when I couldn't handle it any more. Paul got up in a flash and was dressed before I finished yet another contraction. I ask Paul if he had gotten the car seat in the car and before I knew it he was out of the room and outside. By now I just wanted my mom so I called her and woke her up telling her she better be on a plane in the morning because I was in labor. My mom talked me through some of the contractions as Paul ran around the house getting things ready for us to leave. Poor Dexter was so confused he had been following me around trying to figure out what was going on with his Mommy. Paul threw our poor disoriented sleepy puppy into the crate and we were out the door. Paul drove really fast I even had to have him slow down because the curves we take to get down to the highway were making the contractions even worst haha! We made it to the hospital in record time and walked into the ER and it was empty which was great because I was ready to get thing moving. We got all checked in and then we wait and waited and waited like half an hour in the waiting rooms which SUCKED because I was IN PAIN! Finally a nurse came down to take us up to our room! I walked the whole way to try and walk through the pain haha! We got up to our room which was one the 14th floor and had an amazing view of Tacoma but I didn't really check it out. One of the night nurses came in and she was amazing! She did deliver shocking new to us though! I was only ONE YES I REPEAT ONE centimeter dilated! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!! She told us that we had to walk around for a while and if I didn't progress they would send me home with some pain meds and tell me to come back later. I wasn't about to let that happen so Paul and I walked around in circles for what felt like forever but I only lasted like 20 minutes. I went and laid down and waited for the nurse to come back in and tell me I had to go home. Lucky I was dilated to a 3 and ready to start this process. She asked me if I wanted some pain killers to help with the contractions. Um hello yes! I got some drugs and then she drew me a bath . Crazy right? Uh no it was amazing I sat in the bath for like 2 hours and it was ten times better in there. By seven in the morning they asked if I was ready for the epidural? Um yes I thought I could go natural turns out I am not as he woman as I thought. I got the epidural and it wasn’t scary at all. My lady just talked through the whole thing and I didn’t feel it at all. After I got that I felt amazing and passed out till like 9:30. Nurse came in told me I was getting a does of pitocen to help move things along and I am not even joking you 3 hours later I was fully dialted which shocked everyone! I asked if we could wait for my mom she should be landing any minute but it didn’t work out Elleanor was ready to come. Luckily I had Paul and my amazing sister in law McKenzie there to help me through the process. Birth was awesome I had an amazing experience. I am not going to lie for me birth was super easy I only pushed for 30 minutes and Ms Elleanor showed up all by herself. They placed her right on my chest and I was instantly in love. She is so beautiful and she is all mine. The feeling of love was so over whelming of course I was reduced to tears. She was yelling so loud when she came out and when they placed her on my chest and I spoke her name she stopped crying. She knew me and it was amazing. Needless to say she has been a dream and I am beyond in love with my little one.