The Big Day!

Well the big day we waited so long for was finally here on Friday! Although it didn't go quite as planned. Actually it didn't go as planned at all!!! We woke up early and at this point hadn't slept more than about 3-4 hours a night for a couple nights. We headed to the Navy base early, got there about 5:30 am. He was scheduled to fly in on the helicopter at 7 am. Since he works in aviation (and I don't know the Navy terms here) he wasn't going to come in on the boat, he was going to fly in on the helicopters he works on. SWEET! So we were all very excited to see that. So we waited awhile and ate donuts that they brought us. Then we got news that they were delayed until about 9 am. We were really bummed about that. So we waited some more. Then they kept giving us "updates", which we came to dread. It got pushed back to 10:30, then 11, then until further notice. Apparently the weather decided to turn on us and get extremely foggy. It wasn't foggy at all when we drove in that morning but now it was really bad. So we kept getting updates and before we knew it it was 11:20 and they were ordering us lunch. We had now been there 6 hours and were really tired of sitting in the freezing cold hanger with NOTHING to do but stare at the wall. We weren't prepared for hours of waiting so we had no books, no games, nothing! So we ate the pizza they bought and were told that the aviation guys would just come in with the boat at 11:30, only now the boat was also delayed, until about 1. So we waited and were bummed we wouldn't see the helicopters but excited to see the giant boat coming in with all the Navy guys in their uniforms standing on the deck as it came in. Then we continued getting "updates" and the boat now couldn't come in due to the fog. So we waited and waited and waited some more. They kept telling us that if the fog cleared they'd send the helicopters. So the fog would clear, they'd start up the helicopters and then a few minutes later the fog would return and they'd shut them down. This happened at least 4 times I'd say. So now it's about 5 pm and we've been there almost 12 hours. It got so boring they actually pulled out a roll of bubble wrapped and taped it to the floor for the kids (and eventually some adults) to walk and jump on it for entertainment! Now they're telling us the boat is on it's way to the pier and the aviation boys are on it. Instead of heading out to the pier in the now pouring rain with the other at least 3,000 people waiting (we were at least lucky in that we got to wait with a much smaller group inside the cold, but dry hanger), they decided they'd send over some vans to pick up the aviation guys off the boat and drive them back to the hanger. That's right folks, instead of seeing Brandon get out of the helicopter, or even off the boat, we traveled across the country to watch him climb out of a van. So I'm sorry to say that by the end of it all we had waited over 13 hours for Brandon to come home and I only have pictures of him climbing out of a van to show for it!!

Killing time with nothing to do but sit and waitCadon waving to the helicopters
Cami, Cadon, P and I by one of the helicopters
Some of the "birds" outside the hanger

Waiting to meet Uncle B
Killing time during our LONG day
The cool pilots walking in through the fog
Paiton and I waiting
Waiting for the vans to pull up

Here is the vans that dropped them off. Don't worry though, they did some sweet manuvers and some killer formations to the Star Wars theme song. It was much better than watching the boat or helicopters could have ever been.

Here is Brandon with open arms running to Cadon


Holding Cadon for the first time in a looon g time!
Us four kids and our kids :)
Brandon and Grandma
B's family
Brandon, Cadon, and the babies
Mom, Brandon, Cadon, Dad
Brandon seeing Paiton for the first time!

Brandon getting his award for being out to see and doing a great job!
Uncle B holding Paiton for the first time!

Unce B, Pai, and me!


I have a bunch more pictures from the rest of our trip, but I'm really tired of uploading right now. So I'll post those when I get home. Just thought everyone in California might want to see these.
Check back the end of the week to see more!!

T minus 9 hours

9 hours until we take off for Virginia!
Please think of us and think about our safety on the way there. Hopefully Paiton will be a good, quiet girl on the flights (all 6! :\) and we will have a successful trip. I will take lots of pictures and post them when we get back. Unfortunately I have a screaming, teething baby to deal with right now. This does not bode well for tomorrow.
Pai discovered her precious toes!
Tummy time on daddy
Think he loves her!?

Sslkjsdfielakdf!

That is the sound Paiton makes when she does her new trick! She has learned to make a funny noise by blowing her lips together. I don't know how to explain it. It's like a raspberry minus the tongue. It's too too cute!
We also had successful tummy time today! We got in five solid minutes of good tummy playing without any screaming!! Yay!
Now, I need some help! Paiton ONLY takes naps if I'm holding her. If I try to lay her down she immediately wakes up and doesn't go back to sleep. She just stays awake. If I lay her down tired but awake she screams bloody murder until I pick her up. NO, she doesn't cry herself to sleep. She makes herself sweaty and horse from screaming but doesn't stop. I have tried everything!
I need to know how to get her to take naps in her crib without me so that I can work, do housework, be sane! If you have any advice, I'll take it. I've even tried laying in bed with her until she's out, then sneaking out but she knows! She's too smart and NOTHING works! Please help!
On a good note my friend Christine has an 8 month old baby and they got passes to Roaring Springs this summer! We are excited for the babies to play together. I think we're going to hit up the park when we get back from Virginia! P is too little to do anything but she likes to be outside so it should be fun!!
Countdown to VA: 5 days! Eek, better get packing!

We have carpet!

Yay! We have carpet that is not 100 years old and stained and disease infested! HOORAY! Ok, I don't know if any of those things are true but they easily could be. :) And yes, I have pictures!
Let's see what I have to update from the last time....we spent the weekend at my parents house while they installed the carpet and painted the ground. Matt and Spencer then celebrated a new Xbox game that came out by hanging out at our house, drinking energy drinks, and making middle of the night Taco Bell runs! Love my boys! They're too funny.
Here is a picture of Pai being oh so big! She is really good at standing (with help of course, no we're not trying to have a circus baby here) and she loves to show off, as seen in this goofy grin! Her Papa loves to play with her and make her do funny tricks! And boy does she love her Papa!
I am really bummed because she won't roll over anymore :( She did once to show her daddy and once to show Nana and Papa, but that's it! No more since then! She screams bloody murder during her tummy time. The doc wants 30 minutes of tummy time a day. I get about 2 before the screaming starts and about 4 minutes of screaming before I decide that I don't care if she ever rolls or crawls and I pick her up!
Ok folks here it is! Our carpet before new carpet!!
And after!!!!!!!
You can't tell but it's amazing. Trust me! The house looks and smells brand new. We seriously feel like we're living in a brand new house. It is just so fun. We decorated the room down there differently and put all of P's toys in it. She can lay and play and I can sit on the floor by her without worrying about what it is we're sitting on. It is great and I am so thrilled and happy with it!
Here is a picture I meant to post last time of Paiton doing tummy time. What a doll face.

Today Paiton and I got bored sitting at home and I needed to go to my work to pick something up. So we invited Grandma Riggs and made it a trip to the mall as well! It was good times. We are so happy that Grandma and Grandpa moved here and are always around to play with. I think it's great P gets to see them and we get to go there and hang out with them when we're bored, which is a lot! So thanks Gma and Gpa, for letting us hang out at your house, for letting Paiton poop all over (Whoops, sorry Grandpa's sleeve!), and for loving Paiton and loving to play with her. We love you!
Matt has started coaching tennis and he is loving it. He has the A team because he is the best! Their first match is in a couple weeks, which we will sadly miss because we will be in Virginia. We leave a week from Wednesday, crazy. I can't believe it's time to go! We are excited but I am FREAKING out about the flights, so please think of us and hopefully we'll all make it there and back safe and sound.
Paiton is continuing to teethe as evidenced by her screaming fits, taking out her binky, turning it sideways and chewing on the hard part, and chewing on me while I'm nursing her. It's good times.
I think that's about it for now. Sorry I have been slacking on the updates. We are just crazy and trying to keep up!

Roller Baby!

HAPPY 4 MONTH BIRTHDAY PAITON!
Paiton had her 4 month doctor's appointment yesterday and it went really well! She now weighs 14 pounds and 2 ounces. She is 24 inches long - two feet tall!! The doctor was asking me all sorts of questions and she asked me if Paiton can roll. I said no, that she had done it a couple times on the bed but I think it was more the bed swallowing her than anything. She put Paiton on her tummy and BOOM! She rolled right over! It was awesome. Dr. Zieba said "I love it when they do that!" I almost cried!
Then it was time for two shots and one oral vaccine. P didn't cry during the first shot but she did for the second. Then she was fine once I picked her up! She did good the rest of the day.
Here are a couple pictures of P doing tummy time before we left for the doctor:


We also spent a few hours last night moving EVERYTHING from downstairs (all of our furniture and everything out of the closets - ugh!) to the upstairs and laundry room so that they could tear out our old carpet today. Here's what my upstairs looks like now:

Not to mention that my laundry room is full as well!
Here are just some cute pictures of P:




Well I also have exciting news! Mom bought me and Cami tickets to the Taylor Swift concert today! Woohoo!! We are going to enter the T Shirt contest, and get there on time this time! Can't wait to hang with my sis!!

Matt loves Phil Collins

I have been a bad blogger. Bad bad. We have been busy. (P.S. The title of this blog is true. 100%. We had to sit in the car in the garage tonight when we got home and listen to "I can feel it, comign in the air tonight." Haha. I love my Matty. He makes me laugh.)
This weekend Matt and his dad spent lots of time painting our downstairs! It looks GORGEOUS. It looks so so nice and I can't wait until our carpet gets put in THIS WEEKEND and it looks brand new! Woohoo! So exciting.
So here are some pictures of the nastiness pre-paint:

And here are some post paint!:
Now that I posted it I'm not sure you can see the difference...but trust me, it's huge!

I also tried to capture a picture of Paiton's wet hair to show that it's curly! You can't really tell but she has beautiful curly hair. That she'll hate!

We spent the night at my parent's house Saturday night so we wouldn't have to breathe the fumes. Then Sunday night we came home, but I, shortly after arriving home, re-packed all our stuff and took Pai back to my parents for fear that she would breathe in the fumes and die in her sleep. Yes, I spent an hours online researching paint fumes. No, I did not find a suitable answer to my worries. Yes, I am paranoid and would have spent all night staring at her to ensure that she remained breathing. Yes, I probably still will anyway. It's how I roll. ;)

Paiton is getting so big. She will be four months, FOUR MONTHS, on Friday. That's one third of a year. I can't believe it. It's true when they say time flies after you have kids. I can't believe it's been that long since we brought our angel baby home from the hospital. Here's a cute post-bath picture of her. We love her so much and it is impossible to recount to you the joy this little lady has brought into our life.
Today I made cookies as Matt requested. I put Paiton in her seat to watch me and she did really good! However shortly after taking this picture I began bartering with her to quit screaming. "P, if you stop crying Mommy will eat lots of cookies before I feed you next! Mmmm!!"
She has also learned to make funny noises with her mouth. It's so cute. I'll try to get a video of it.

Finger lickin good

Time for new pictures! Our little angel is going to be 4 months old next Friday! Holy cow!
I don't know if I have posted this before, but instead of sucking her thumb Paiton sucks her index finger. It's pretty cute. Sometimes it's her index and middle finger together. Although she majorly prefers her binky the fingers work too :)
I took some pictures of it to put in her baby book...




Also yesterday Paiton was just fascinated with her outfit. She kept holding her arms out and looking at the pattern on the sleeve. It was just too cute and I finally got a picture of her doing it!
This weekend we are staying at my mom and dad's while Matt and his dad paint our entire downstairs before carpet next weekend! Wow, it's coming up! Woohoo! Thanks guys!

Ugh!

I have one word for today - ugh! Last night P woke up wide awake at 2am. She laid and talked until sometime close to 7am. That is five hours we were up! Ugh! She fell asleep around 7 and slept until 10. That is after I took her sleep sack away and put her back in her swaddle blanket. She has figured out how to take her binky out of her mouth and can only put it back in sometimes. So when she can't get it back in she cries. So I figured what else to do but tie up my kids arms! Then she has been really fussy all day. We are talking hyperventilating screaming complete with tears and sweat. Not to mention what Paiton was doing! But seriously, not sure if this is all teething or what but nothing seems to help! Any ideas would be appreciated. And thanks to my mom for spending her lunch break listening to us both cry and making me feel better. :) You rock Mom!
Tonight has been much better. We went to watch Matt ref some boys basketball games at school. Turns out it was some sort of Jamboree and it was madness so we didn't stay long. Then we had pizza for dinner, surprise surprise, because I never have time to A) clean the kitchen and B) find or make food. It's hard to figure out how to do things all while carrying a small screaming child.
Paiton is doing everything in her power to ensure she stays an only child. I am listening Paiton, I hear ya! :)
Well, now that she is quiet and ASLEEP I am going to go snuggly my precious baby. The one who won't sleep in her own bed and who pushes me off the edge of mine so that by morning she is laying completely sideways and my head is resting on the edge of her crib next to me instead of on my bed. Not kidding. Ask Matt.
Good night :)

Pai Diddle Diddle

Another weekend has come and gone and now it's March! I can't even believe it! We are going to Virginia this month to see Brandon come home from his 9 (I think...) months out on the Navy ship! Yay!! We can't wait for B to meet baby P! So exciting!!
Matt starts coaching tennis next Monday and he is really excited about it. Maybe the weather will stop being crappy so Paiton and I can go watch his matches! We have to get this girl ready for tennis since Matt is convinced she'll be a tennis champion!
This weekend we didn't do too much. Friday Matt was off work which was nice! We went to lunch with my parents and grandparents and it was a lot of fun! We hung out the rest of the day and didn't do too much. Then we took Spencer home with us for our visitation time ;) and the boys played all weekend. I spent Saturday night at my Mom's with Pai while the boys played Xbox at our house. I think Nana likes having P around to snuggle with :) She is so good to her, Paiton just lights up every time she sees her! Not that Papa or Titi minded having her here. There is never a shortage of love for that baby! She is being so big and holding herself up like a little kid! She got her first diaper rash this weekend :( It was very sad. Hopefully it goes away quickly!
This weekend Matt and his dad are painting our whole downstairs so it can be nice and ready for carpet on the 13th! Hallelujah! We are sooo ready for this to happen! Yippeee!!!! So Paiton and I will be staying at my parent's again so that P doesn't have to breathe in the fumes. Keilah and Kotah love going there and playing with their best friend, Maya! Good times for all!
Here is how cute Paiton looked for our lunch date on Friday:
Love the pants!! What a cutie! Matt and I say that she took all the cuteness from all the other babies born that day so that she could have it all to herself.
Paiton is also too big now to sleep in her snuggle blanket. At least, she thinks she is. She likes to move her hands a lot so it was beginning to annoy her being all swaddled up. But the downside is that now she moves her hands all night long, which means neither of us gets much sleep because she is constantly waking herself up! But if I put her in her swaddle blanket she throws a major temper tantrum! So here is how she is sleeping now:

We don't have many pictures of the three of us together, so here's a new one!

Paiton is such a big girl now. She was helping Nana give her a bottle while I was at work!

She also played with a little rattle toy for the first time while Titi was holding her. She actually loves this toy! It's so cute to watch her play with it and sometimes accidentally bonk herself on the head with it. Hehe.
Countdown to new carpet: 11 days
Countdown to Virginia and B: 23 days