Kansas!

Hi Everyone!
It's been so very long since I have been on here. Our lives have been crazy since we decided to move to Kansas.
We have been hear 5 months now but we have been through so much that it feels like years. I don't even know where to start.
First of all, I never wanted to raise Taylor in California. But at the same time, being forced to move isn't the best situation. The California economy hit us hard and we knew we had to move soon. It was a hard decision but we decided on Kansas to be close to Todd's family. Portland was our second choice but family help would have been 2.5 hours away! :o(
We arrived in the dead of winter and were told on a daily basis that is was the "worst winter in 20 years". Lucky us!
Todd and I lived with his parents for the first few months and job hunted like crazy. He has been working at a bar in Kansas City, MO and I landed a position at a medical device company about 10 min away. We have been in our new apartment for about a month now and Taylor and Bella have adjusted nicely.
We absolutely love our apartment and the location. I'm really loving Kansas. I was never a fan of California. It has some GREAT things that I'm missing, mainly healthy restaurants, but everything is so green here and the neighborhoods are amazing. Very family friendly. We live next to a pasture with cows! So instead of sitting in traffic for hours on end, Taylor gets to see baby calves. :o) Much better!
I travel almost every week for my job so that has been tough on everyone. It was really hard for me to go back to work full time after being able to spend so much time with Taylor. I'm still struggling with it but Todd and I are determined to make a better life for all of us here.
I competed in my first competition on May 15th so I'm still hitting the weights and attempting to keep my fitness career alive. I'm up at 3:50 every morning to go to the gym before work. I placed 3rd in the tall class and got a giant sword to show for it! Ha, we have no idea what to do with it!
Taylor had her first trip to the ER on Monday. She had a bad heat rash that got infected. Poor Todd had to take her to the ER by himself while I headed to Austin, TX on business. I felt horrible. She is on antibiotics now and the blisters are almost gone! Thank goodness. Poor thing!
I will do my best to keep up with this and add some pictures soon!

Happy Halloween!

READY, SET, PUMPKIN PATCH!
The glow of a day at the pumpkin patch!

A few days before Halloween (Oct 28) we headed off to the pumpkin patch so Taylor could pick out her pumpkin this year. Unfortunately by the time we made it to the pumpkin patch that afternoon the wind really started to pick up and blow under the tents where the pumpkins were and none of us were dressed appropriately.

That didn't stop us from having a little fun though. Taylor was really into all the pumpkins and scooting around in the hay. She just loves being out and exploring the unknown. And as you can see, part of exploring means that she put everything in her mouth!

She picked out a pumpkin that was just her size!

They had a petting zoo there but as we walked over the wind really picked up and she was not having fun at all. We didn't think it would be a good idea to throw her in with a bunch of animals when she wasn't happy in the first place.

For Halloween Taylor and I spent the night at home just relaxing and reading books while Todd was at work. We don't live in a very kid friendly area so there really wasn't anything for us to do. We don't even get trick or treaters. :o( So no costume this year. I'm already looking forward to next year when we will live in a little neighborhood for her to go door to door. It may be a little colder in Olathe, Kansas but she is going to have so much more fun!

Here is a short little video from the pumpkin patch. She is wearing the cute little outfit that her Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Amy got for her! The little socks are from her Auntie Vanessa!

Grandma & Grandpa and Auntie Amy Visit!!! July 20, 2009

Grandpa and Taylor

We are having so much fun. Today Todd went and played golf with his dad and his sister and mom and Taylor and I went out and ran fun errands. We started off at Toys R Us and bought Taylor the cutest little car that she can sit on and use her feet to push around and then you flip it up and she can stand and push it around like a lawn mower looking thing. Very cute! We also got her a ne w book and some Baby Einstein videos that she watched tonight. Treats from under my hood! Then we went to CPK for lunch. We started off with some warm honey wheat pita bread and hummus. Taylor loved the pita bread! Then we walked over to Macy's to look at their perfume. I was trying to find the se three different kinds of perfume that smelled like my Escada that has been discontinued. They didn't have any of them and apparently they are hard to find. Great! So we went to a perfume store that was in the same mall and asked them. They didn't have them either. BUT they did have this one scent that I smelled a few weeks ago called Pink Sugar. Very warm and vanilla-ee and sweet. I really, really liked it. We smelled a million other ones first though. I told them that I loved warm, vanilla scents so they were pulling all of them. I still liked the Pink Sugar the best and Todd's mom bought me the big bottle for an early bday present. Soooo nice!! I love it! There was a See's candy shop in there and I said 'hey lets go get a sample of See's'. The girls didn't believe me about the magical free sample but when you're talking to a girl that just finished a competition and has an open diet, you must trust the wise dieting fitness model. If there is free chocolate I will find it!! :o) We ended up buying a few for the boys. Then we were off to Ikea so they could find some jars that they use to fill and decorate and make presents with. After that we were off to Yummy Cupcakes. This place is soooo amazing! Every kind of cupcake you can think of. They had a peanut butter and jelly cupcake!! I got the Smores, Todd got a Reeses Peanut butter and his mom got chocolate on chocolate and we got his dad chocolate with cream frosting. Aunt Amy is a tad bit crazy and doesn't like frosting!! Yup, we thought about cutting her out of the family but Taylor loves her too much! ;o) At breakfast with Grandpa! Todd cooked an amazing magnolian beef dish for dinner! After I cleaned up I dished out everyone's cupcakes. They were AMAZING! I only ate half mine and put the other half in the fridge for later. I did help Todd finish his though! There was an actual glob of real peanut butter in the middle. Mmmmm.... Auntie Amy & Taylor at Good Earth The next morning we went to one of our favorite breakfast spots. It's called Good Earth and it's actually the place I ate the day I was in labor. I was having labor pains while eating my egg white omelet! Ha! Taylor had fun drinking out of straws and trying new foods and getting spoiled going from lap to lap! Taylor & Grammy Smith at Breakfast Next we headed to Bank of America where Todd's parents set up an account for Taylor that they are going to contribute to! In fact, anyone can contribute so Todd and I are going to do our best to put as much money away for her as possible. It's tough these days but we are fine going without a few things if that means she doesn't have to struggle with debt in her future! After that we headed to our favorite little Tuesday Farmers Market. We loaded up on our favorite cookies from a few vendors as well as some toffee and a bunch of fruit. We did have one big scare while everyone was here for a visit! I gave Taylor a frozen banana to nibble on and when it got down to a dangerous size I reached to grab it away from her and as I'm going for it it slipped right down into her throat. I just grabbed her out of her booster seat and yelled 'she's choking' and flipped her over and started to hit her on the back. Todd ran over and grabbed her and gave her a good pound and it popped right out. She was soooo scared and cried for a little bit afterwards and then about 10 min later she was fine. I was very teary eyed. The next morning we relaxed and took pictures and tried to spend as much time together before they flew out in the early afternoon. We were very sad to see them go! :o( It is really hard not having family around for so many reasons. Hopefully we can all be together soon!

Aunt Wendy's Visit

About a month ago my sister Wendy came down from Oregon and met Taylor for the first time! They just adored each other from the start.

Taylor joined my sister and I on a weekend of beauty. I took her to Anastasia's Salon in Beverly Hills where I go to get my browns done before big competitions or photo shoots. They are AMAZING! I was so excited to take her there. Taylor was ohhh so very popular amongst the staff there (all female of course). And my brow lady Anita has a set of twins that are turning one soon so her and I have been through some pretty major changes since I started seeing her over 3 years ago.

After the brows were beautiful we went on a little walk around Beverly Hills and popped into some card shops and clothing stores for ourselves and Taylor. We mostly window shopped until we got to Sprinkles! Sprinkles is a very famous cupcake shop in the area. Wendy bought a couple of cupcakes for Todd since he was the one who made the trip happen in the first place!!!

The next day all four of us headed to Pasadena to get our hair cut. I've been getting my hair done at this amazing salon for a few years now and I knew that they would be able to give Wendy a new look that she was wanting. I was so excited for her. I was just getting a trim and a blow out. Since we were both going to be getting our hair done at the same time Todd joined us on this little outing and walked around with Taylor while we had a little sister time. My sisters hair turned out AMAZING!!!! It looked so good and she was so happy!

We braved heading to Mastros to see Todd one evening but unfortunately it turned out to be a disaster! Taylor was up way past her bedtime and was already a bit cranky before we left. Then we got upstairs to the lounge and the music is just so incredibly loud that Taylor was just in tears. We ended up moving downstairs and eating in a closed of section of the restaurant where Taylor eventually fell asleep and I was able to grab a bite to eat for the first time in hours!!

Here we are pre- Mastor's adventure!

We had a much more enjoyable trip to PF Changs where the baby girl has a few fans and it was in a nice bright quiet restaurant so she was happy! And so were mommy and daddy. It was amazing how much stress was lifting off of our shoulders from having an extra hand there to help us. Everyone was in such a good mood all weekend and Taylor was just all smiles. It makes Todd and I very sad that we are so far away from family!

We were all very sad to put my sister on the plane after such a fun trip. :o( The good news is her and my mom have already booked their flights to come and visit for Taylor's first birthday. I am so very excited! We are going to be doing a get together probably at the golf course that I work at. I'm planning on making her cake as well. I'm looking into a few cake decorating classes and I'm going to attempt a three layer cake with fondant. Eeeek!

Todd and I are both sad that his family won't be here for the big day BUUUTT the are going to be here in 21 days for a visit!!! None of us can wait! Coincidentally, they are flying in on the same day as my next competition! I am thrilled that they are going to see me compete. Todd is really excited as well because he'll have some helping hands so he can actually watch the show and take pictures.

I'll end this blog with a few more of my favorites from my sisters trip!

Almost 8 Months!!!

Our little tiger is going to be 8 months in just a few days! I can't believe it!! 

So far we've had three ear infections, two eye infections, a few bumps on the head, one fall off the couch, two teeth popping in and more diaper rashes then we care to count. It's been a busy month and a half! :o) 

She still isn't sleeping through the night so sleep is rare and amazing when gotten in more then two hour splits.  Every other mom I talk to tells me how great it is that their baby is sleeping for 7, 8 and sometimes 9 hours a night. Ummm, ya, I don't talk to those moms anymore. I would really like to pull their hair out.  

We are almost strictly formula and solids now so maybe that will help her sleep longer.  Since I've been dieting down for competition my milk supply has dwindled down to only a few ounces a day.  I was really hoping to breast feed for a year so hopefully after my next competition in a few weeks I'll be able to put on a few pounds and increase my milk supply until at least August which is when my next competition is. We'll see. 

 

Speaking of competitions, my first competition was this past Saturday, the Fitness America Pageant, Orange County. It was a blast! I weighed in at 121 pounds with an 8.8% body fat and competed in both the Bikini America division and the Fitness Modeling division.  I didn't place as high as I wanted to but I was very happy with my performance! There are a few things that I'm going to change for next time but not too many just yet. I really need to see the side to side comparisons before I really know what needs to be done. 

Todd and Taylor went with me and Todd put more points on his daddy of the year card! We were away from home for over 12 hours that day and he did amazing with her!  The music was way too loud in the theater so he had to take her out and then peek in or bring her in really quick while I was on stage. At one point he came down close to the stage and I looked over and blew kisses and waved and the crowd all turned and looked at my adorable little family and loved it!! Unfortunately, we didn't get any family pictures.  It was such a hectic day!  Here is the two shots that we captured of Taylor and I after the competition out at BJ's for a rewarding dinner of pizza! Mmmmm!! 

My next competition is on Muscle Beach in Venice on May 25.  I'm so excited. It's going to be outdoors on the beach and open free to the public. Since it's so close I should have some fans that will be able to make it.  I'll only be competing in the bikini round so it should be a pretty relaxing fun day! 

One other piece of pretty big news is that I'm going to be opening up my own day care in the next couple of months.  Sooner rather then later hopefully.  I have mandatory orientation tomorrow and then from there Todd and I have to go through background checks and fingerprinting.  After that we are going to baby proof the entire house and then we should be ready for inspections.  After that hopefully we'll have our license and I'll start advertising!!! It's going to be night time care focusing on parents in the service industry like Todd and I. I am really looking forward to this transition!! 

 

As far as milestones go we are working on them! Taylor is still trying to crawl but only manages to get her booty in the air and work her way backwards for a bit until she gets frustrated and

 starts hollering! Ha! She is all about lifting herself up to stand though! She loves to stand up and is so in

credibly strong!! It's amazing! I'm sure it's because of her little tree trunk thighs! So cute! I've decided to start charging people when they want to pinch, grab and nibble on my chunky monkey.  I think a dollar a squeeze should  be about right! 

Fun Videos!!! 

Grammy Smiths Valentine's Day Visit!!

We had the most amazing Valentine's Day!! Todd's sister Amy is going to be heading back to Kansas in a few days because her work here in Semi Valley is all done. We are very, very sad! :o(   This prompted an earlier visit by Grammy Smith.  Todd's Mom flew in on Thursday night and joined us Friday morning with Amy before I headed off to work. 

Taylor has grown so much since she last saw her! She is over 20 pounds right now. 20.6 to be exact.  We are buying 9-12 month clothing for her and I'm constantly moving things into the 'can't wear' pile in the closet.  Of course Grammy came with Valentine's Day gifts for little Taylor and yummy treats for Todd and I. 

So I was off to work and Todd and all of his girls spent the day together.  After Todd left for work Grammy and Aunt Amy were on their own until I got home! They had so much fun.  Taylor has so much personality these days and is really becoming animated and VOCAL to say the least.  We often wonder if we brought home a loud bird from the hospital.  It's ear piercing sometimes. 

  

The entire weekend was so much fun! Todd and his mom were able to spend some time together and Grammy and Aunt Amy had so much fun baby sitting.  I didn't want them to leave! :o) Here is a fun video of Taylor and Grammy! 

 

We have also started to feed the little tiger some rice cereal.  The theory that it keeps them fuller longer and helps them sleep through the night is, to me, just a theory.  She has yet to sleep longer then four hours and is up every two to three hours after midnight.  And she's had a pretty bad cold the past few days so with the congestion she's up every hour.  I'm exhausted to say the least.  

Here are a few images of one of our first successful meals: 

 

Four Months and a Photoshoot

Last Tuesday our little princess had her four month check up.  She hadn't had a check up since her first month because of insurance issues so we had a ton of questions! Before going into the office I had some of my friends try to guess her weight. My mom was the closest with 20 pounds. Taylor is 18 pounds 12 oz.  The doctor said that is average.........for a 7 month old! :o) Hilarious! She said that there was no need to worry since Todd and I are so tall.  Todd wanted some sort of magic cream for her patchy hair but apparently they don't make anything like that for babies! She'll have to sport that mullet for a while longer. 

The next day I had my first post pregnancy photoshoot.  A photographer from New York contacted me and we set up a shoot in Malibu. I wore two dresses for the first half and then two bikini's for the second half. The bikinis that I chose were adjustable so I was able to make them bigger around these child bearing hips that I haven't quite lost yet. I am very nervous to see how the images came out. I saw a few in the tiny camera screen that I was happy with BUT that was a tiny camera screen! I'll have the disk next Thursday and might post some images. 

How adorable is this picture?! 

While I was at the shoot poor Taylor and Todd were having a rough time.  She has been having some separation problems since I started going back to work and leaving her for any longer then 4 hours. After hour four without me she will just cry and cry. Todd does everything possible to soothe her but nothing was working.  On this day she was really bad and it took me almost two hours to get from Malibu to Studio City.  Candy came over to try to help but Taylor was inconsolable.  It was one of the worst nights for poor Todd.  

So when I received the call on Thursday about working background on a Coors Light commercial I was very hesitant to take it since I would be on set anywhere from 12-16 hours.  The money was too good to pass up though.  I was up and gone by  6:30 am and didn't get home until 10:30 pm.  Auntie Amy baby-sat Taylor from 5pm until I got home and thankfully no one had to experience the hours of hysterical crying.  It looks as though she is over her separation issues. Thank goodness!! 

Christmas Video

Here is our little princess and daddy on Christmas.  Note the outfit and the Christmas socks.  She was having a tough tummy day and we had to change her outfit a few times and the only thing that survived were the socks!! 

Christmas!

Taylor's first Christmas was amazing! What a little doll she was for all of these hectic holiday events.  First she was just an angel for Santa and then would not stop talking and laughing all through Christmas Eve and then enjoyed all of her toys on Christmas morning....at least for a few minutes at a time. 

        

We had a Christmas Eve outfit for her and a Christmas outfit for her. She is going to hate us in about 15 years I'm sure! :o) But how cute!! 

        

Christmas Eve we spent with one of our best friends, Candy, and had a great dinner and dessert and opened stockings that Todd snuck out and put together for us a few days prior.  Taylor was having a great time as you can see from the video I posted in our last blog. 

What a Christmas her Grammy and Grandpa Smith and Auntie Amy gave our new little family!!!! My goodness, Todd is losing more and more closet space every day.  She has toys, books, clothes, shoes, headbands, piggy banks, savings accounts....it was absolutely incredible.  And there is no better gift for a new mommy than an amazing camera to take pictures and videos with.  I was blown away! 

I made Guilt Free Wheat Pancakes with fresh fruit and whip cream and some egg whites for breakfast and Todd made a sweet and sour dish for dinner that was soooo good.  Then we had low calorie pumpkin cheesecake for dessert that took me all day to make and had to sit in the fridge for 4 hours! We ate it around 11pm.  It's actually really fast and easy to make, I just had a ton of interruptions and Todd had to make a run to the store for a missing ingredient. 

What an amazing day!!