Thursday, November 29, 2007

The "happiest place on earth"

Yesterday, our little family went on a day trip to the "happiest place on earth"! Nope, not Disneyland. The Apple Store! Unfortunately we don't have one here in Bakersfield so we had to drive 2 hours to Fresno just to go to the Apple Store. Wait, I know what our thinking and your wrong but not too far off. Andy and I are total mac fanatics but we normally wouldn't drive all that way, except that yesterday Andy had to pick up some software for his work. I don't even know where to begin to explain why I love the Apple store so much. It's just so wide open, with computers from wall to wall, all totally hands on. They even have a short table with computers just for the kids! Every time we go I see something that I didn't know even existed. And one of the best parts is their customer service. Its better than anywhere I have ever been. You don't even have to stand in line to checkout, they come to you. How great is that! They're such a great company that Preston's $1000 from his Grandpa Fitzgerald all went into Apple stock. Someday, it's going to make him a rich little kid. To prove how awesome mac is and how much I like it, I wrote this blog and shot all the pictures on this post with my IPhone.

On the way home we stopped at McDonald's and bought Evelyn her very first Happy Meal. Now, I'm not really one for buying kids fast food because of how unhealthy it is and I certainly don't plan on making a habit out of it but I just couldn't resist. Besides the fact that she barely ate any of her food she seemed to really like it. She definitely liked her little ginger bread toy. As you can see she actually cried when we took it away to see if she would eat some more of her food. Oh well, what's a trip without a few alligator tears. Don't worry though, she recovered quite quickly and did actually manage to eat a little more of her meal. It was so cute seeing my little girl with her very own little Happy Meal.

Before we left the store I decided that I wanted to get a picture of us. As usual, Andy was less than cooperative.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

The BIG question

5 Years ago last Sunday (Nov. 25, 2002) Andy proposed to me. At the time, I was going to my first semester of college at BC. Andy and I had been friends since a little bit after I moved down to Bakersfield in August but we had only been "officially dating" since October 4 so I certainly wasn't expecting a proposal. I was in the middle of getting ready for my morning class when Andy called me up and explained that a friend of ours needed a couple for a photo shoot. Feeling privileged that she had picked us over any other couple in the institute I quickly agreed and didn't think much of it since I knew that she was in fact in a photography class. Andy came over and I totally blew off my classes for the day. Looking back I'm quite surprised that I did so well in all of my classes because skipping class became kind of a frequent thing for me. Anyway, we headed off to the mall for a little shopping trip and Andy bought me an outfit to wear for the shoot. After that we went out to Hart Park where it was all going to take place and met up with our friend. We took all the usual engagement photo shots; behind the tree, on the swings, one with me looking dreamily into Andy's eyes and then, just for fun, the other way around. Near the end we made our way over to this romantic little bridge by the river. Our friend then told us that she wanted to get a little creative and try something different so she asked Andy to get into a kneeling position on the ground as if he was going to propose. At first Andy was a little reluctant and I (being totally oblivious to the whole situation) prodded him and kept telling him that it wasn't a big deal because it was just a picture. Little did I know that that the whole day was a set up and he actually was proposing. He knelt down on one knee as I was looking around, totally clueless, trying to figure out how to position myself for the picture. I looked down and there he was with the ring in his hands. For a split second I was totally confused thinking, "what's going on?, are we still doing the photo shoot or is this really happening?. And then Andy asked me to marry him and I was in total shock. The obvious answer would have been yes but the first thing that I could manage to get out was "I think I'm going to cry!". I finally said yes and Andy put the ring on my finger. And the rest is history! 5 years later we are still happily married and have two beautiful children to show for it.

I've been meaning to put together a montage of the pictures that were taken that day but I've been just a little bit busy so you guys will have to wait until it's done. But don't worry it WILL be coming soon.

Monday, November 26, 2007

So You Think You Can Dance Live Show

You're never going to believe where I was last Wednesday? Yep, that's right. The "So You Think You Can Dance" live show. Woooo! To be totally honest, before that night I had never even seen the show (crazy I know) but I absolutely loved it. Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! The day started out not so great though, At first it seemed like there was going to be no possible way that I was going to make it. It seemed like everything that could have happened to get me to NOT go happened. Looking back now it's actually kind of humorous. First off, I called Andy and unfortunately he wasn't going to be home in time to watch the kids~ So, no problem, I found a last minute babysitter. Then, I realized that Andy had taken the car with the car seats leaving me with no way to get the kids to the sitter. Lucky for me, my incredible SIL Molly was awesome enough to agree to come over and watch the kids until Andy got home. Next, as I'm walking out the door to put my stuff in the car I realized that I didn't even have keys to the car because Andy accidentally took them to work with him. So I thought, no problem I'll just borrow Molly's truck. Yeah, unlucky again! Molly's truck was having some problems so Scott needed to take it in to get it fixed but again I was saved and Scott agreed to give me a lift into town. If you think all this sounds bad, to top it all off we RAN OUT OF GAS! It seemed like nothing was going my way but that all ended when I got in Liz's car and we headed off to L.A. We had a fun time finding our parking garage but managed to find it in pretty good time. The show was fantastic! Even having never seen the show I thought it was incredible. As soon as I have an afternoon off I plan on sitting down and watching the entire season in one sitting. Sabra was definitely my favorite girl, it's no wonder she won the entire thing. She's amazing! I love the solo dance that she did that 's posted on my SIL, Amanda's, blog. My favorite guy from the live show was probably Hok, the "breaker". All the dancers were amazing though, I couldn't believe half the stuff they pulled off. It was incredible! Thanks Liz and Grandma Bailey for letting me tag along with you. You've made a fan out of me. And thanks Molly, Scott & Andy for giving me the night off and helping me get there.

Grandma Bailey & I standing in line to get in the show

Liz & Grandma Bailey standing in front of the huge "So You Think You Can Dance" sign

The huge Grand Finale of the show

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Fitzgerald's 2007 Thanksgiving

Sunday was a day full of Fun, Food & Family at the Fitzgerald's 2007 Thanksgiving. I had such a great time hanging out with all of my family.









Everyone made it to the party including a couple of extras. Thanks Uncle Danny & Aunt Lynn for joining us this year. My Grandma cooked a fantastic meal for everyone and others pitched in and made some great food too (including Lindsey's green bean casserole) YUM!

Evelyn made a new friend. My Grandma has had this doll for as long as I can remember (maybe even my entire life). Andy thinks he's scary but I love him.

The kids played in Grandma Nonnie's backyard. The cute little kid on the right is my cousin's son, Brody.

Joshua, Eliza, Brody & Evelyn

We tried to get the kids to hold hands but Evelyn wouldn't have it.

Evelyn & Joshua helping themselves to the leftovers.

We spent a good amount of time playing card games.

Evelyn and Eliza did a little card playing too.

Joshua was the first to fall asleep which to Evelyn meant he was fair game.

Preston & Grandma

Brother and Sister

You can't tell in the picture but they're both laughing at their daddy who's making funny faces at them.

This has become our morning routine & sadly probably Evelyn's favorite part of the day. We get up, eat breakfast & watch ONE episode of "street" (Sesame Street) before starting the day.

I've just started giving them baths together which they both actually get a kick out of. This is the two of them wrapped up in towels right after their bath.

Monday, November 19, 2007

A weeks worth of blogs in one

This past week I kept quite busy. Here are just a few of the highlights:

1. First of all I was privileged to attend the Officers Installation of the Order of the Eastern Star. Just FYI in cast you don't already know: the Order of the Eastern Star is a branch of the Freemasons. In some ways it's like the Relief Society of the LDS Church. In the Order there are 5 character building lessons that are taught through biblical inspired stories. The stories are of Adah, Ruth, Esther, Martha & Electa. At the Installation my Grandma was installed as Martha, Tiffany, my SIL, was appointed as Adah and my Grandpa was appointed as the Speaking Organist.

My mom and sister both came too so I got a good picture of all 5 of us.
From left to right it's Nichole, Grandma, Tiffany, Mom & Me

My Grandpa holding Preston

My Grandparents

My Little Brother Scott & his wife Tiffany

******************

2. For the first time in quite a while Andy and I went on a double date. We went to Uricho's with Nathalie and Richard. It was the first time EVER leaving Evelyn with a real babysitter (not counting close friends and family). We had a great time hanging out and even enjoyed a little peppermint icemilk from Dewar's to top it off.

3. After 2 weeks of wearing broken glasses and looking like a total nerd I FINALLY got my spiffy new glasses.

4. Nathalie, one of my best friends, is moving to Kentucky so we (Me, Jocelyn, Jane, Amber & Stephanie) had a Girls Night Out for her as our last little outing before she leaves next week. We went to BJ's and ate some very delicious food. The wait time was pretty long which normally is a bad thing but in this case it was great because it gave us plenty of time to talk about.... well... all the things girls talk about. Let's just say I learned a lot of interesting things at dinner. It was so much fun hanging out with everyone. I love girls night out! It's a ritual that should be done way more often. Nathalie is such a great friend and I'm sure going to miss her. On the plus side though Andy and I have always talked about traveling to the east coast so we're already planning our first trip out there to visit them.

5. Preston rolled over from front to back for the first time the other day and last night he actually slept through the night (well until 7 a.m.). I can't believe how fast he's growing up.


6. After several attempts and too many hours in the bathroom Evelyn has yet to go in the potty. I haven't given up though. I just know it's going to happen any day now.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Happy Birthday, Eliza!

I got to see my niece blow out the candles on her homemade birthday cake made by my very lovely and talented sister. My niece, Eliza, turned 2 on November 15th. Happy Birthday Sweetheart! Your Aunt Amber, Uncle Andy, Evelyn & Preston love you very much. We can't wait for your birthday party in a few weeks.

Eliza is such a cutie! She looks just like her momma did at her age. She is quite a character. As you can tell by the big cut under her eye she is a bit of a tomboy. With Joshua as a big brother though I'm sure that was unavoidable. She's also a little smarty pants. She's learning sign language and seems to know more and more words every time I see her. The way she says "Preston" is so sweet because she says it so clear. She is such a great cousin and friend to Evelyn and Preston and we all love her very much.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Potty Time!

I wasn't planning on potty training Evelyn for at least another six months but as with all kids she seems to have a mind of her own and she's decided she's ready to take the plunge. Of course I blame my sisters kids. It all started the other day when I watched my nieces and nephew for the day. My nephew is potty trained already and my niece who is only a few months older is already almost trained. Evelyn kept following her into the bathroom and somehow now thinks she's got it. I can't get her to keep her diaper on no matter how many layers of clothing I put on her and somehow she's already picked up the words pee pee, poo poo, potty, and my favorite, eew. Let's just say it's been fun. I've spent more time in the bathroom these last few days then I have probably in the last month. She keeps wanting to sit on the potty but then she just sits there. I figure if I can get her to go in the potty once then I can reward her and cheer her on but she still hasn't managed to go yet. I am totally not prepared for this but ready or not here it is. I've always heard that you will just know when your child is ready. I thought that was a joke but instead that YOU decide when they are ready but I guess I was wrong. Anyway, I went to wal-mart and bought her a potty chair. I'm crossing my fingers that she will like it and that it will work. I know a lot of the people reading my blog have already gone through this experience before so if anyone has any tips or suggestions please send them my way. I would love to hear what's worked for everyone and feel free to share any funny stories. It might make things a little more pleasant for me.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Movie cover lookalikes...OR not?



Apparently Andy and I have lookalikes. The other day Evelyn and I were hanging out in our movie room. I think I was playing a game or surfing the Internet or something and Evelyn was looking through our collection of movies. She happened to run across our wedding/engagement video and automatically picked us out as mommy and daddy. I was pretty impressed that she could recognize us from a photo that was taken almost 5 years ago. I clapped for her and told her she had done a good job finding mommy and daddy and she went right back to looking through the movies. At that point I was pretty confident that she knew what each of us looked like and could find us in other photos as well. A few minutes went by and she brought over the movie "Adventures in Babysitting" and identified me as the main character (I think her name is Elisabeth Shue). I laughed but didn't think too much about it until a few minutes went by and she brought over the movie "Billy Madison" and she kept saying daddy over and over pointing at Adam Sandler. So according to Evelyn these are our lookalikes. What do you think, is there ANY resemblance? Anyway, I got a kick out of it so I thought I'd share.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

50th Anniversary Celebration

One thing I never got to mention last week was that Andy's Mom, Dad, Little Sister and Scott, her now fiancé, danced at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Los Angeles temple. I was unable to attend it myself but Andy made it and he took some great pictures that I think some of you might be interested in seeing. Enjoy!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Why I Love Evelyn

I've been thinking a lot lately about my number one girl, Evelyn. She's been changing so much lately it's hard to even remember when she was a little baby. That's why I have decided to write a blog all about Evelyn; her favorite things, her latest accomplishments and just the cute little every day things that I love about her. I guess I could wait until her next birthday but my reasoning tells me that by then I'll probably have completely different things to write about her.

So to begin, like I said before, she is my number one girl. I love her so much! She is the happiest little girl and is the easiest person to make laugh. For the most part all I have to do is jump in the air (which by the way she still can't do) or dance around. She's also one of the best dancing partners EVER. Every time we watch a movie and it comes to the end we have this little tradition that we dance together during the credits. The fun part is that we have a projector so it feels like we have a spotlight on us as we dance and Evelyn likes to watch her shadow dance around on the screen. Sometimes when Andy's working late and it's just the two of us I'll bust out the tunes and we'll just have our own personal dance party. Evelyn's dancing style is quite unique to say the least. She just spins around and around and around and around until she just can't spin anymore. I don't know how she does it but it sure makes me dizzy just watching her.

If she could only eat one food for the rest of her life it would definitely be bananas. She wakes up every morning and the first thing out of her mouth is "nani too" which is her way of saying she wants a banana. During breakfast I usually start her off with one banana which she literally inhales and then immediately asks for a second. Her other favorite foods would have to be cheese & cookies of course. She's my little cookie monster.

Another thing she loves is her daddy. Andy is such a great dad to both our children. He loves to roughhouse with her and one thing he does is play this game with her where he swings her back and forth and says "One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready and four...to...GO!" and he throws her onto the bean bag chair.

Lately she's overcome two of her biggest fears;
Going down the slide & Laying back in the bathtub.

The thing she depends on the most for comfort is her baby doll. I would never even think about letter her go to bed without her baby. What's funny is that Andy and I promised ourselves that we would never let her get too attached to anything but I can't help myself, it's just so cute!

She's learning more and more each day. She's like a little sponge. At the moment we are currently working on animals (her favorite is the cat) and body parts. She knows hair, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, teeth, hands, tummy, belly button, hands, arms, feet & toes. Poor little Preston is usually her test subject so he's gotten his share of eye pokes.

She loves watching Sesame Street. When we're not doing anything else she'll lead me by the finger into our room, climb up on the bed and ask me to turn it on. The way she says Sesame street doesn't even closely resemble it so I won't even try to spell it out. At first I wasn't sure if she was learning anything from it but after watching an episode with a segment on cameras I went to take her picture and she actually said "cheese!". I couldn't believe it and she still does it almost every time I take her picture.

One of the things I love the MOST about Evelyn is that she is my little posse. Sometimes it's a little irritating having her bump into my legs every time I turn around but it makes me feel so special and important. Anytime I ever feel sad or like I'm failing in one aspect or another she is always there for me. Her big beautiful smile let's me know that I'm doing a good job.

I hope that I can always by the mother that she needs me to be and I hope that we continue to share the same tight bond that we have now. I could go on and on about Evelyn and all the things I love about her but I'd better end here and leave some for a later post.