All because two people fell in love...

Yes, I know it has been a year!

2011-02-03T14:32:00.000-08:00

I know it has been over a year since I have posted ANYTHING! Life has been wild and crazy and I just plain didn't feel like posting. Ha ha! I won't make any promises that I will be keeping up on the blog from now on, just a, "I will try." (It's not like anyone looks at my blog anyway.) A lot has happened this past year and there is NO way that I can play catchup. Maybe I will just put the girls' b day pics up or something.

2009-11-28T16:41:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

My lil' bro got married!

2009-08-23T23:14:00.001-07:00

My little brother (who is way taller than me) got married on Aug. 7th 2009 in the Mt. Timpanogus Temple! It was a very nice session and ALL of his sisters were bawling their eyes out! We are all very happy that he met such a great girl (Sarah) and we wish them the best. It's just so weird to stop and think about. Lance, MARRIED! A husband! But then again, I still find it shocking when I remember that I have been married for 5 years as of last week and have THREE KIDS!!! I'm not old enough for such things! And then I remember that I am 25!!! as of July! Time marches on. But for me it seems more like a sprint.

Sydnee Mae Gilsen~ 8lbs. 4oz.~ June 22, 2009

2009-07-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

Cousins at play!

2009-04-10T10:54:00.000-07:00

Out of the blue one day it was actually WARM enough to go to the park! The kids were so excited to get out of the house and so were the grownups too for that matter. So we packed everyone up and we all walked across the street to the park. Three 3yr olds, one almost 2yr old, a 16month'r, one newborn and five adults. A great time was had by all and everyone got a little rosy sunburn. And then the next day it snowed!!! The weather was so crazy the whole trip.

Swim, swim, swim!

2009-04-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

So, my niece Alexis has A LOT of swim caps, so one night the cousins (minus Aleesha's kids) decided to each put one on. They were laughing and giggling (except Bailee, I think I pulled her hair putting it on). So from Bailee going left we have: Bailee, Brayden, Kaylee, Cameron, Codee, Alexis, Sierra, McKay, and Shawn. We are missing: Hayden, Holland, LaKai, and baby Zoe.
WOW! Our family has grown!

Alexis and Sierra are excellent swimmers and are both on the swim team. They had a few swim meets while we were there so the girls, my sister Jenni, and I went to cheer them on! It was fun, but they couldn't even hear us cheering. They are the ones with the green caps on.

How our trip started...

2009-03-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

So...we had plans, and plane tickets, to go to Utah for the birth of my sister Aleesha's 4th child and first girl, baby Zoe Elizabeth Molino. Our flight was for Friday night, March 6th, and she was to be born by C-section on Monday morning the 9th of March. Well, Thursday morning Aleesha calls my mom and says that she is in bed and is not feeling very dandy. She said that it felt like she was having cramps that plague most women once a month, only much worse. I knew right away how she felt and what was going on. "That is exactly how my labor contractions feel Aleesha." I told her. My mom told her that she should probably go get things checked out to be safe, so she left the boys with Zack's sister who was visiting, and helping out at the time, and went to the hospital. They monitored her for a while, but she said that she wasn't feeling what she felt that morning. Well soon the same cramping came back and she told the nurse that this was what she was feeling and the nurse said that she was definitely having a contraction. The doctor was paged but he was in surgery and couldn't be reached at that moment. The nurse told Aleesha that he might just want to take the baby today since it was his surgery day anyway. Cue 'PANIC MODE' for Aleesha and US who might miss the birth by ONE DAY!!!

Yes, you guessed it, the Doctor said that he would take the baby at 3:30 and they took Aleesha's ice chips and water away, much to her disappointment because she hadn't eaten or drank anything that day just in case she had to have the baby.

AAHHHH!!!! We missed it by one lousy day! My mom was even more upset because the doctor had told Aleesha that my mom could be in the operating room for the delivery. She hasn't been there for any of Aleesha's deliveries because they have all been C-section.

Baby Zoe was here and healthy and VERY hungry! 6 lbs. 20in. She is the sweetest and cutest baby and she has lots of dark brown, curly hair. Her big brothers just adore her and are so cute and gentle with her. LaKai (turning 2, May 1st) is SO cute with her and talks to her all the time and we just think it's adorable the way he says, "Baby sister" and "Zoe" and swoons over her every chance he gets.

I was also very pleasantly surprised that Bailee was so good with the baby and gentle (in Bailee terms that is!) She tried really hard anyway.Codee thought she was just SO CUTE!!! And said so to everyone she met and told them about her cute new cousin Baby Zoe!

New Pictures!!!

2009-02-10T20:39:00.000-08:00

THE worst picture experience to date. Bailee was not having anything to do with sitting for pictures and Codee was done after the first 30 minutes. Before we got started I told the picture lady that my girls respond really well to silliness and they both have dimples that I would like to see in their pictures. She said that that was fine and that she was glad to know and that it would help. So, what does she do to be silly and get my girls' attention? Sits on the floor and taps her fingernails against the lens of the camera while she is calling Bailee's name. She did not move from that spot and she was definitely NOT silly, cuz I know silly when I see it and that was NOT silly! So I start trying to get Bailee and Codee to smile by doing some things that I know they like and they would smile at to try to maybe show the girls what to do, but did she try any of them...NO, so they would smile the first few times, but at me, not the camera, so that didn't do any good. Needless to say...I got really frustrated, really fast. I'm just glad that I didn't snap at the picture girl, cuz I wanted to, and I almost did. (My patience isn't what it used to be these days.)
I was amazed that we got such good pictures in the end, cuz I didn't think that there were going to be any of Bailee that I liked. It's just a good thing that it's almost impossible for my girls to look bad in a picture, or ever. We decided that we would always schedule our pictures for the weekend from now on because there will be two girls there to help instead of just one girl to do it all. Cuz, I guess I can't be TOO hard on her. It would be really hard to get two kids to look and smile and hold the camera and snap the picture, but I know that it is possible, so we will see about next time, probably when the baby comes we will need new family pictures and sister pictures!

"THE PHAAAANTOM OF THE OPERA IS HERE, INSIDE MY MIND!"

2009-02-10T19:09:00.000-08:00

So, for Christmas this year, my wonderful, hott, awesome, thoughtful, sweet, gem of a husband gave me a dream come true gift. Tickets to go see Phantom!!! Now, this might not seem like a huge deal to some, but it was a HUGE deal to me. I was emotional this Christmas to begin with (announcing that I was pregnant) so when I opened that present and saw those tickets, let's just say I totally lost it. I screamed and grabbed Nick and sobbed uncontrollably. No, seriously, bawled, into his shoulder with a death grip on him with no sign of me letting go for a while.

My parents saw Phantom when I was little and they bought the soundtrack and we listened to it ALL the time. So I have grown up loving the music and the story. I thought that you had to be rich or something to go to the opera. So it was something that I always wanted to see but never thought I would get the chance. So you can only imagine how I felt when I found out that 'I' was actually going!!!
The day finally came and I couldn't be more excited. Even with a bad cold trying to smash me down, I was sky high with excitement. I felt like a little girl, going to Disneyland for the first time. We got there a little early, which I was glad for because the line for the bathroom was ridiculous and I REALLY needed to go before the show. I was taking pictures of everything like I was a tourist that had never been to LA. The theater was beautiful and inside the hall was even cooler...yes, I said, cooler!

The orchestra started to play that familiar tune and I about jumped out of my seat. The auction started and when the chandelier went up I started bawling again. (I'm 5 months pregnant ok, give me a break!) Although, I think that I might have cried anyway with the way I feel about Phantom. Everything was VERY well done and the sets and costumes were amazing down to every detail. The singing was top notch and it just blew me away to be there listening to something so beautiful coming from actual people right in front of me.
I texted my mom when it was starting and she texted back and asked how it was..."A dream come true." And that just sums it up.

After, we went to Olive Garden for dinner and that was fun too. Mmm...the bread sticks! Nick and I don't get to go on many dates by ourselves anymore, so it was nice to have half a day to just be together and to actually be able to TALK to each other. It was lovely, but we still missed our girls, so we went home to them much to their excitement.

I just want to gush about my hubby for a minute:

I LOVE him SO much and he is the perfect man for me! I truly believe that he is the only one that could put up with me and my 'Rachel isms'. He is thoughtful and kind and shares most of my opinions, so we get along quite well.:) I love him, I love him, I love him.

Birthday # 2 and 3!

2009-01-20T14:53:00.000-08:00

Well, Codee's birthday celebrations happened a little differently than normal this year. Since her birthday fell on a Sunday we decided to do her 'party,' for lack of a better word, on Saturday and Monday. On Saturday we took her to Ontario Mills Mall, to Build-A-Bear to make a friend! Just a little background: My sister Jenni gave Bailee a B-A-Bear for Cmas and I could totally tell that Codee wanted one really badly. So it worked out perfectly that I wanted to take her there anyway.

When the stroller pulled up to the store and she had a blank stare I explained to her that she was going to make a Bear like Bailee's. Her face lit up instantly and I knew she understood. For a stuffed animal with about 3 sq. inches of clothes, they sure are expensive, so I wanted to tell Codee what her range of spending was. I gathered the 'less expensive' bears that she could choose from and of course she went straight to the more expensive ones. Once she understood that she was not going to get the expensive bear 'that should have been leafed in gold judging by it's price', she decided on a cute brown bear.

We waited in line and finally it was our turn to stuff our bear. Codee was sort-of in a daze, I don't think she quite knew why she was doing the things she was doing. Then she gave her bear an air bath and it was time to pick out her outfit. Well, wonderfully smart me forgot one small detail...you have to put the sound in the bear BEFORE they sew it up! I thought all was lost and we would have to buy a new bear, but I asked the worker if there was anything we could do and he acted like it wasn't a big deal. So he just did a little 'operation' on the bears arm and she was as good as new. Codee ended up choosing a Tinker Bell costume for her bear to match her bed set and it was perfect!!! She named her bear Heart, "cuz she loves her so much."

Then a bit more shopping and we were off to Rain forest Cafe for her special Bday dinner. It was the first time that Codee and I had been there so we were pretty excited. We sat by a wall that had water dripping from the ceiling and fog rising from it. Bailee said that it was hot. Every so often the animals that are all over the restaurant come to life and move and make sounds. Codee thought that was cool but was a little nervous and didn't want to touch them even when they were not moving.

When we were all done with our dinner the waiters came and brought Codee an ice cream sunday and sang to her. Bailee still thinks that we are singing to her every time we sing Happy Birthday. All in all it was a really fun day and Codee is SO in love with her Bear. She says she is going to get a little mermaid costume for her bear next time.

Mommy and Daddy gave their presents on her actual birthday and she loved them. Then we went to church and she wore a little badge that said, "Birthday Girl!"

Then on Monday night we had our family/friend cake and ice cream party. Codee's little friend Melody and her family were supposed to come to Build-A-Bear with us but her sister was really sick so they couldn't but they were able to come on Monday. And Jared, Amanda and Nathan Himle, Sheryl and James (Nick's aunt and cousin), Joe and Lindsey, Gr and Gr Miller and Gr and Gr Gilsen were all there! We ate pizza and cake and ice cream, opened MORE presents and visited and played. Codee loved having a three day Bday and thought that her Bday would go on forever. She is so proud to say that she is "Free" (three) and never messes up and says that she is two. She says, " I am free for my birthday! And Bailee is One for her birthday!" My sweet baby Codee is getting SO big and grown up. We love her SO much and she is a joy to be around. LOVE YOU COLIPOKI!

CODEE TURNS 3!!!

2009-01-18T10:39:00.000-08:00

Three years ago, on Jan. 11th, two nervous parents-to-be checked in to the hospital where they would welcome their new baby girl into the world. They hadn't slept a wink the night before but they were too excited to feel tired.

Twenty hours, with three hours of pushing, a failed epidural, several vomits, coming out sideways, having to use the vacuum and zero sleep later, when she (a whopping 9lb Codee) finally decided to come, you had better believe they were tired! There to witness our miracle where, Daddy and Mommy (of course) Grma Miller, and my sister Heather. They handed her to me and I could barely hold onto her (she was huge and I was exhausted) and I had to have Nick hold my head up so I could see her. All I could manage to say between sobs was, "She's big." And then they had to take her to get cleaned up and clean me up.

After they checked her out and gave her a good rub down, they handed her to me again and I just stared into her eyes and we got acquainted with each other. Until my body was going into shock and I was going to throw up again, then Nick had to take her quick. I wasn't really 'there' for a long time after that and I don't really remember a whole lot of what went on and I didn't even hold her until the next day when I tried to feed her for the first time. ( No we didn't just starve her, Nick gave her a little bit of a bottle).

She was, and is still, our little princess and we love her SO much. Love you Colipokie!

*(gross and gruesome details were left out to save the faint of heart from a very embarrassing reaction.)

December Happenings...

2009-01-07T13:25:00.000-08:00

Christmas,Catch up, really long post...

2009-01-02T13:13:00.000-08:00

Well! Where to start. Things have been SO crazy lately that there has been zero time to post anything. So here is a little bit of what we have been up to:

NICK- Work of course, Acing his classes and signing up for new ones, using his birthday present (chainsaw) pruning trees, being crazy, playing with his girls (who adore him) and enjoying some well deserved and needed time off.

Rachel- Being a mom (enough said).

Codee- She was so, so excited for Christmas to come and for two of my sisters, Jenni and Shannon, to come. Playing with and sometimes tormenting her little sister (more the later with the lack of sleep we have endured). Turning 3 in a week!!! Helping everyone with whatever she can. Singing, dancing, 'posing', and being crazy with Daddy.

Bailee- Turning ONE in Nov! Walking!!! Being so cute that we can't even stand it. Making the funniest faces and sounds. Learning to be crazy with Codee and Daddy. Taking care of her dolly (giving her a rock-a-by, giving her her binki). Learning new signs, words and concepts every day. Being VERY strong willed, ie tantrums, taking a swing or two at me, screaming (oh the screaming!). Loving her Daddy.

Christmas!!!
We spent it with family and just enjoyed being together!

Nick's presents- A NEW SUIT! A double stroller(kind of a family gift but he loved playing around with it). An external hard drive, New Blue tooth cuz our other ones don't work very well. A hoodie, movies and more.

Rachel's presents- TICKETS TO PHANTOM!!! I totally lost it when I opened that box. A cricut machine and stuff to go with it. Disney Scene it. Movies and more.

Codee's presents- A BIG GIRL BED!!! (finally) with silky Tinkerbell bedding set. A princess castle. A doll that she can change her clothes by herself. Clothes. Magic coloring books and a HUGE coloring book. Movies and more.

Bailee's presents- A cute pink and brown bedding set to go on her new crib that was passed down from Codee. A Noah's ark with animals. Twin dolls. Clothes. Huge coloring book. A teddy bear that sings her song to her when you squeeze it's paw (Aunt Jenni sings). Movies and more.

But, I would have to say that the best present this year was shirts for Codee and Bailee that said, "I'm going to be a BIG sister!" and...a BIG sister Again!"
Yes, we are expecting our THIRD baby in June. I have never been able to surprise Nick before (because the other babies were planned) and I just can't keep that a secret. So when I found out for sure I decided that I was going to try and wait until Christmas to tell him. OH MY GOODNESS THAT WAS HARD!!! I thought for sure he suspected, what with the moodiness, getting up in the night to go to the bathroom and the prenatal in the cabinet. But he was totally clueless!!! My mom and Lance new cuz they found the test, but everyone else was pleasantly surprised ( Due to the fact that the plan was to wait a little longer this time.)
All in all, we had a GREAT Christmas and an uneventful New Year. We just put the kids to bed and Nick and I watched a movie.
Hope you all had as good of a holiday as we did.
Love, The Gilsens!

Codee in HSM3

2008-12-24T13:19:00.001-08:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Early stages of Bailee learning to walk

2008-12-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

My Baby is getting SO big!!!

2008-11-19T10:50:00.000-08:00

Bailee is growing up so fast it makes me want to cry. I just want her to stay tiny! Well she has other plans on her mind. She just all of a sudden about 2 weeks ago decided she liked to walk. (She has refused in the past). Well one night she was really wired and was taking a lot of steps before she would lung for Nick or I. She got up to 6 steps. She is just way too hyper to slow down and concentrate on walking.

Also, the 17th was her FIRST BIRTHDAY!!! My baby is ONE! A whole year! We had a party for her on Sat. and she had so much fun. She wouldn't eat her cake though. She just looked at it and smiled. Then I showed her how to pick it up and she started to eat it, VERY slowly and lady like. I can't believe it has been a whole year since she came to our family. She was so eager and ready to come that she couldn't even wait till my mom got there. They broke my water then when I got to about a 5 they gave me my epidural and I called my mom and told her that she batter get down here. It seemed like just a few minutes untill they checked me and I was TOTALLY ready! And she was comming by herself! The nurse said, " Oh my, it's time! Lets start pushing!" "Ummm, my family is on there way, they will be here in less than 10 min. can't i just not push until they get here?" She said," She would come by herself anyway." "What? I've never heard such a thing. I had to push for three hours with my first." Nurse: " Well she is comming, like now." So they got me all ready as I called my mom and said HURRY! Nick and I were trying to decide how he was going to video and take pictures and help me. They told me ok push. So I did. Nurse: "STOP PUSHING! DOCTOR!!! YOU NEED TO GET IN HERE QUICK!" As she is litterally holding Bailee's head in so she can't come out. The Dr. comes jogging in and franticly tries to put on his gloves and assume his position. Two pushes and she was here. Totally perfect in every way. I called my mom and told her, " You missed it, she is here!" Mom: "What?! We are in the parking lot getting out of the car." Me:"Well, you missed it."

So, in the 10 min. it took for my Mom to drive to the hospital I had my cute little Bailee. And her personality fits her 'rushed' arrival to this world. She never stops going and she is always all over the place and wants to be big like her big sister Codee. She has brought such a warm and fun feeling to our family and we all can't stop kissing, hugging, smiling, and laughing at her. She makes the cutest faces, it helps that she has double dimples.

We LOVE you Bailee Boo!

Halloween, the CHAOS!

2008-11-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

Halloween was a crazy, stressful, fun night! I always have big plans for what I am going to do for Halloween and I ALWAYS run out of time! By the end of the night I am always vowing to: Be more prepared next year, make time for Nick and I to dress up, and not be so rushed! This year was no different. I carved my pumpkin while the girls were taking a nap. Nick tried to carve his but it was brick hard! He couldn't even shove a butcher knife into it! I don't know what the deal was with that pumpkin, but he gave up before he even got started and I dont blame him! Codee and Bailee never got to carve their pumpkins (NO TIME)! So Codee wakes up from her nap and I start right away to get her ready. Curling, poofing, spraying, pinning, licking, pretty much whatever it took to make her hair do what I wanted it to do. Then I put her makup on. Let me just tell you, it is REALLY hard to pu tmakeup on an almost 3 year old. She kept squeezing her eyes shut! Then I had to put her dress on and try to bobby pin it in the back so her little mosquito bits in front (if you know what I mean) dont show! And then came the crown! It is an adult crown so I had to try and pin it so it wouldn't fall off mid night.
Few! Then I jumped in the shower ( cuz all that preperation required persperation) and rush to the church getting there an hour late and only just in time for the costume parade. Bailee won an awesom costume award for her Nemo costume. Then it was rush outside for the trunk or treat! One time around and we were done.
Then we went to my Grandpa and Shirly's to show off the girls' costumes. After a quick visit, it was off to Nick's parents house. Another quike visit and we were off to the Scolieri's (I used to Nanny for them). Another quick visit and it was 11:00, time to go home and fall into bed! And that is exactly what we did, and stayed there for as long as possible. (until Bailee woke us up in the morning.)
So, next year, I want to have the pumpkins carved BEFORE Halloween, Have enough time for Nick and I to dress up, and get to the church on time for thr trunk or treat. Now let's see if it happens next year! :0)

2008-11-02T18:13:00.000-08:00

October 27th ~Mom's B DAY!~

2008-10-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

Codee's movie outfit! We didn't have the camera at the theater to video her dancing. Aw sad.

Monday was my mom's birthday! We won't mention how OLD she is...let's just say, it's old! :) She always ruins any surprises that I try to plan on her b day or mothers day. I planned to not say anything to her that day until i was to present my surprise, so she thought I forgot. Well at about noon she blurts out, "So do I have to ask you?" "Ask me what?" "Ask you to tell me Happy Birthday?" "MOM, YOU ALWAYS DO THAT! YOU ALWAYS JUST RUIN IT!" "Well! It's noon and you haven't said anything!"

A few days ago she had mentioned that High School Musical came out and that it would be fun to see it on 'the big screen'. So I researched the times and everything online, I also arranged for a babysitter for Bailee and checked to see if Codee would be free or if we would have to pay the kids price, ($7.50!!!) She is still free till she is three! So I called my Dad at work and told him that Mom wanted to see it and that we should go. He said, "OK, do you have some tickets?" "Yes." I replied. "It's all taken care of. I will make dinner and we will try to make it for the 7:10 showing."

Everything was going as planned, until, my mom said something about needing to hurry and do her errands so she can make it to the movie. "What movie?" I said. "High School Musical!" She said. "What are you talking about?" I said. "Dad just called and asked me if I wanted to go see it tonight." AHHHHHHH!!!! I didn't really scream. But I did inside! I told her, " What if I already had plans?" She said, "Well then you had better speak now or forever hold your peace!" So I go outside and call my Dad to tell him that he is a pathetic looser for ruining my surprise. He said, "You never said anything about it being a surprise!" "I thought it was understood! Hence all the sneaking and whispering and the thought of a 'BIRTHDAY SURPRISE'!" So he said, "Great, so now she will know that it wasn't my idea?" "Um ya!" Ruin my surprise and then try to take my credit!

So I went back into my mom's room and said, "That was my surprise plan!"

We didn't make it to the 7:10 but we were there early for the 7:40. We loved it and Codee had a blast! We always sneak in some candy and I think Codee had a little too much, cuz she was bouncing off the walls by the end of the movie! She is such a mini Sharpay Evens! She was dancing all over the place up and down the isle, there was only one other family in there so she had plenty of room. She loves to dance and sing and so she absolutely LOVES musicals! It was funny, at the end of one song Troy and Gabriella kiss, so Codee yells, "THEY'RE KISSING!!!" It was quite funny.

Princess (Codee) Anneliese!!!

2008-10-24T13:21:00.000-07:00

It's finally HERE!!! Codee (and Mommy) has been waiting for her costume for AGES! She would ask me every day if she could call Heather to ask how her costume was coming along. Heather thought it was just me calling to harass her, but it really was Codee. My sister Heather has slaved over a sewing machine for many hours because of me. When she was in her High School sewing class she would make all kinds of outfits for me and my little brother and we even modeled them at her fashion shows. Throughout my childhood she would make me various things and her talent got better and better. When I was engaged to be married there was no one else I would have trusted to make my wedding dress. Besides the fact that I couldn't find one single dress that I liked that didn't cost an arm and a leg. So my sister and I custom designed my wedding dress and it was absolutely GORGEOUS!!!
Then, when I found out I was going to have a little girl, who was the first person I thought of to make a blessing dress?....Heather! So with the left over fabric from my wedding dress, she made the cutest little dress for my Codee. And then she made one for Bailee too. She said I better stop having girls or there wont be enough fabric left.
So, this year Codee has really been into the Barbie Princess movies, so I asked Heather (months and months ago) if she would be willing to make Codee's costume, she said yes, but that we would have to wait till the fabric sales came. She has been having morning sickness lately so she got started a little late and she has been working on costumes for the past 2 weeks straight! Codee's, as well as her own 5 kids. They all turned out GREAT! Codee was told that her costume was coming in the mail and that she was going to get a package with HER name on it. She was So excited to day when she opened the door and saw it (after checking several times). She absolutely loves it and didn't want to take it off, EVER!
Thank you SO MUCH Heather for all of your hard work and long hours. We will take very good care of it.

The unwelcome guest!

2008-10-13T17:15:00.000-07:00

So Sandy our dog was barking like crazy the other day, so I went to go see what the big deal was and as I oppened the slidding glass door I looked down and saw this furry little friend. Yes, I freaked out, got the willies, and ran to get Nick. He is not a 'kill every virmin like a macho man' man. He said,"What do you want me to do about it?" "Catch it!" I said. "Take it far away from me! Squish it, whatever you want to do, just get rid of it."

Well he did catch it and he put it in a storage tote untill he could take it to a field in the morning. Well Codee wanted to see it really bad so we let her and she said," Mommy, I don't want to hold it." (I have had her hold 'nice' bugs before like rolly pollys and caterpillars) So I told her, " you dont have to hold it sweetie, It is gross hu?" "YES" she said.

All day Codee told everyone what Daddy had caught and the whole story about it. So when My brother Lance came home from work she told him and asked if he wanted to see it. He picked her up and they went out to take a look. He came back a minute later with a soaked shirt.......Codee had wet all over him when she saw the tarantula! I guess it caught her off guard or startled her or something! We all had a good laugh after that! You might not be able to tell, but his whole side is wet.

My little pumpkins! The best in the patch!

2008-10-11T17:58:00.000-07:00

So Codee was way tired because she refused to take a nap that day and fell asleep two minutes before we left for the pumpkin patch. She really did have fun and was talking all about it to everyone for days after. Most of her pictures do not show that she was having a fun time. Even ridding the pony (something that she has been talking about wanting to do for as long as she could talk) her face was straight. It was quite disappointing on my end, and for $6.00 a ride she was supposed to be hysterical with joy and excitement!
All in all, it was fun and Codee got to pick her own pumpkin by herself ( we were hoping she would want the little ones) she did pick a small one, but it was the really short green and orange ones, so she wont be able to carve it. We tried to talk her into an 'original' pumpkin that even had some green on it, but she had made up her mind and there was no changing it. She also thought that she could get as many as she wanted, so she started filling up the wagon. She disappointed when we told her that she could only have one.
Bailee's favorite part was chewing (gumming) the stem of her pumpkin. I don't know why, but this time I let her do it. Nick was shocked by this, but it made for a really cute picture. Bailee wore the same outfit that Codee wore on her first Halloween, so we tried to reenact the same picture, Bailee is a lot smaller than Codee was and we had a much bigger pumpkin, so Bailee looks tiny!
It was quite an interesting trip to the pumpkin patch to say the least.

Freezing At the beach!

2008-10-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

So we decided to go to the beach one more time before it got too cold, and then the temperature dropped a few days before our planed trip. I was so sad, and so was Codee. We went anyway and still had fun. Bailee was a little pop sickle but she was still smiling and happy (until she wasn't). Nick's mom and cousin Jody and her two kids went with us too. We didn't get in the water but we all had fun making sand castles and pictures in the sand. Even most of the surfers chickened out and decided it was too cold to get in the water. One guy stood on the beach in a full body wet suit for a really long time, stretching, checking out his board, checking out the waves, until I asked him if he was psyching himself out to get in. He said, "Yeah, I don't think I will." And he left.

A blast from the past!

2008-10-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

So, I just went through all of our memory sticks and put them on our computer so I could have them at my disposal. It was SO much fun looking at pictures that I haven't seen for a long time. These first few pictures are of Codee's 1st Halloween.

And these are of her 1st and 2nd Bday!

And when she was born! Yes, her head was very cone-like. And she was way swollen.

Bailee isn't quite old enough to have 'old' pictures!

Bailee Look-alike Meter

2008-09-29T16:18:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Codee Look-alike Meter

2008-09-29T15:59:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Roots - Family tree template

My little Zombie! Quite fitting for Halloween don't you think?

2008-09-29T12:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, that is drool! (Future black male material)

So, I think Codee is growing or something. She has been falling asleep all over the place. I guess it doesn't help that Bailee has been waking her up too early and that she has been sick, and that she is refusing to go to sleep unless someone lays by her at night and for her naps. This kid requires A LOT of sleep in order to be pleasant to be around. Like 12 hours or so at night, and at least a 2 hour nap, better if it's 3. Oh yea, and Bailee takes a 5-7 hour nap every day. I'm not exaggerating. I put her to bed at about 11:30 or 12 and I have to wake her up at around 5:30 or 6:30 so she will sleep at night when we want to sleep. We are definitely not morning people, and those of you who are and want to do things in (the crack of dawn, to us,)the morning know this. It's just not possible, well it IS possible, but it's not pleasant by any means. It's just one big crying fest on Sunday mornings especially. We have 9:00 church and we are almost never on time, forget early! We have to wake the girls up and try to force feed them enough food to last them through the 3 hour church. This does not go over well, Codee is usually in tears and ASKING to go back to bed, "Cuz I'm SO tired!" So the last few Sundays we didn't feed them breakfast at an attempt to get to church on time. We just stocked the diaper bag with snacks. No dice! They were the worst they have EVER been at church and when we were trying to get ready. I have pretty much given up. I don't know what else to do, more like try, cuz nothing works. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Oh and by the way, as I write this post, Codee just fell asleep on the floor in the living room.(the top 2 pictures) "YOUR KILLEN' ME SMALLS!

Park days!

2008-09-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

We have been going to the park a lot lately and the girls have been loving it! We have been going in the evening when it's not so hot and Mommy and Daddy can stand to stay longer than two minutes! Bailee loved the Huge Dinosaur and the swing. Codee was having so much fun with a new found friend (a girl that was at the park) that she didn't have time to tell me that she had to go to the bathroom...so she stopped running for a second to relieve her bladder. All down her legs and into her brand new shoes! That's what I get for buying a toddler white shoes! So the park trip came to an abrupt end. Luckily we had a pull up in the car.

Jesus loves you!

2008-09-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

My little Codee is the sweetest little girl. She loves to sing her primary songs and she has an understanding of Heaven and her Father in Heaven and savior Jesus Christ that is well beyond her years. She really listens to the words of songs and to her teacher in nursery and to us (when we can calm her down for a few seconds.) She knows that Jesus loves her and that she is special. We love her very much!

Bailee and her spoon!

2008-09-15T17:53:00.000-07:00

Bailee is growing up so fast these days. She wants to be big like her sister SO badly. She adores her big sister Codee and loves to laugh and play with her. She has experimented with a 'big girl spoon' and she likes it a lot better (you can fit more food on a bigger spoon!) She eats more than Codee now. It has to have chunks in it though or else she will protest. She wants to be able to chew something, No more of that mush we call baby food! Gimmy the good stuff! Her newest development is that she doesn't want to be fed anymore...she wants to feed herself! Just like I said before, she wants to be just like Codee, and Codee feeds herself. (except for when she has her moments where her hands are broken and she wants me to feed her!)

Rub a dub dub!

2008-08-30T11:08:00.000-07:00

Take me out to the ball game!

2008-08-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

We went to my sister Aleesha's softball game and had a lot of fun! She did really well and her team SHOULD HAVE WON! But the ump. was clueless and didn't call something really obvious so they lost by one run that should have been out. All the kids had fun and were very silly, until Hayden bit Holland on the back and made him cry so hard that he passed out! Other than that, it was fun.

Bailee's First Bath!

2008-08-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know that sounds terrible, like I have never bathed her or something. This is her first bath in an actual tub! She always takes a bath in the hug sink or just jumps in the shower with Mommy or Daddy. Besides the fact that the bathroom with the tub in it (which no longer has a tub) is under construction and the only thing that resembles a bathroom is a lone toilet! She loved it! She would splash the water and be surprised that it would hit her face. But she would just do it again! It was pretty funny. A video to follow.

Bailee get's her ears peirced! Crying time=15 sec.

2008-08-30T10:10:00.001-07:00

While we were in Utah, Bailee got her ears peirced at my uncle's jewelry shop. He had done Codee's when she was 6 months so Bailee was overdue. She started crying the second Blain (my uncle) came and kneeled in front of her. She was scared of him. The actual pain crying only lasted about 5 sec. until I could put her binki in her mouth. She got little tiny pearls and they are so cute!

Nick's turn!

2008-08-27T20:57:00.000-07:00

Your turn Alexis!

2008-08-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

Lance

2008-08-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

Miller Reunion @ Pine View!

2008-08-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

The Miller reunion was SO much fun! (even though I couldn't swim in the lake with my stapples). We all wished that it was longer and enjoyed catching up with those that we hadn't seen in a while. A couple storys:
-Codee thought that we were leaving her Daddy when the boat started going when he was water sking and she started bawling. Alexis and Lance tried sking for the first time and Alexis got up on her first try, but Lance didn't have as good of luck :). Videos to follow.
-Bailee didn't take a proper nap the entire time we were there. She was surprisingly happy most of the time.
-My cousin Brandon got his endowment out! We are proud of you Brandon!
-It was the first time Codee had been on a boat and on a lake. She was a little wary at first but she loved it!
-We were the last boat ride and we had waited ALL DAY to get on and once we finally did, we got out to the middle of the lake and RAN OUT OF GAS! We had to get a ride in and gas up and then we were on our way again.
-We didn't get home till 3 AM!!!
Great fun was had by all!

I LOVE hard narcodics! :)

2008-08-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

So, for those of you who didn't know, I have been very sick off and on ever since I had Bailee (9 months ago). For the first 6 or 7 months it was just a yucky, tired feeling that I thought was just my bodies way of deeling with just having a baby (out of shape). So I made a goal to get in shape and to feel better and I was doing pretty well...for about one week, then in the middle of the night I had the worst stomach pain in the middle of the night that I have ever had in my life! Worse than blowing my knee out in High school, worse than food poisoning, worse than LABOR!!! Yes it is true.
Well, it runs in my family that when you turn 30, you have to have your gal bladder taken out. No I am not 30, only 24, so I just wanted to be different I guess and need mine out at 24. But I am getting ahead of myself. I thought it was my gal bladder cuz I had all of the classic symptoms. Well, of course this problem had to wait untill we were inbetween insurances to decide to flair up. So I basically had to suffer for over two monthes with the night time attacks coming unexpectedly. % or 6 in two months, and it would totally wipe me out the next day.
After the attacks started, I worked frantically to get some insurance untill I finnaly did. Then my B-day rolled around and where did I want to go? Burger King! I know it's weird, but I love a good whopper and fries! (just about the only time I eat a fast food hamburger). Of course I have a 'whopper' of an attack that night and this time, it doesn't go away completely! It was like I was having an internal war going on in there and I was helpless! The next day I text Nick at work and tell him that I need to go to the ER, so we call Joe and Lindsey to see if they can babysit the girls, Oh yea, by the way, my parents and Nick's parents are both out of town at the same time! So when we get to the ER I am at the peek of my attack and I can herdly stand up and I am bawling, so Nick has to try and hold me up and fill out stupid papers and answer questions for me. THEY WERE SO STUPID!!! "Ok well have a seat and we will call you when it's your turn." I AM DIEING HERE! I NEED A BED!
So to make an already long story short, 8 hours, a CAT scan, numerouse proding with needles and a urin test later, they tell me that according to the tests, I don't have gal stones or a serious infection to worry about, so they tell me to go home and someone will call me in TWO WEEKS to schedule an ultrasound. It was 3 am so I was just wanting to go home at this point, so we said ok and went home.
The next day was not a good one. The emense pain was gone but my body was not working. I told Nick that I was not ok and I needed help, but that I was NOT going back to that same hospital, so he called and made sure that Redlands hospital took my insurance and they DID! So we got another babysitter and went to the ER again. TOTALLY different experience! They gave us a wheelchair right away and took us in in a matter of minutes! I was in a bed in less than 30 min. and hooked to an IV with DRUGS shortly therafter. Sweet nectar! And they gave me an ultrasound and I was told that I have SEVERAL stones, it was VERY infected and enlarged and that my gal bladder was basically a solid because of all of the sludge. I was able to rest semi-comfortably until they could get me a room to myself and a spot on the schedule for surgery.
I was SO scared though! I had never had any kind of surgery or been put under. Now I know these sort of things are done all the time, but that didn't make me feel any better. They came to give me more 'pain meds' (the knock out drugs)right before they wheeled me in. I was crying and saying goodbye to Nick (he had to pry me off of him) as they wheeled me through the doors and then BLACK.
Now this is the funny part (according to Nick). When I was starting to come to I was semi awake and I was hilusinating, not a fun feeling. I said to Nick, "Everything is clay, it's all clay". I remember this and I knew it wasn't real but it was terrifying. The whole world was melting and mushing around like clay whenever I closed my eyes, which was almost all the time since I wasn't able to open my eyes for quite some time. Yes Nick still laughs about it.
I just got the stapples out on monday (that hurt)so I now have 4 lovely scars on my belly and I feel great and can now try to get back to my life.
Good story hu? Sorry it was so long but I had to tell the whole story! :) Thanks to all of you who helped us get through this. Babysitters, dinner bringers, perscription picker-upers and those of you who prayed for us. Thanx!

Silly Poser! No pun intended. Bailee was loving Codee's muddy dance!

2008-08-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

I DIDN"T DIE OK!

2008-08-21T12:49:00.000-07:00

So, several people have told me that i need a new blog entry. I KNOW PEOPLE! I have been sick, in the hospital, bed ridden, out of town, recovering from our vacation and my Mom and brother have been hoarding the computers! So I was able to get on for a few minutes today to tell you all that I will be adding more posts soon because...WE ARE GETTING INTERNET ON OUR COMPUTER!!! I will be free to use my own comp. to blog till my hearts content!

Lance comes home!!!

2008-07-16T10:10:00.001-07:00

Cousins!!!

2008-07-08T15:21:00.001-07:00

Aleesha and her kids came to visit and Codee was SO excited to see them. It was a little hectic with four kids under the age of 3, but so much fun. They all loved swimming and playing together. Codee also had a little incident with the dog and that's why she looks like we beat her. It was actually the third injury in two weeks so it REALLY looked bad. But all in all, she had a wonderful time with her cousins and she was very sad to see them go.

Lowe Family Reunion!

2008-07-08T13:11:00.001-07:00

Nick's Mom organized a reunion for Grandma Lowe at The Reaginal Park. It was SO hot, but we had a nice spot of shade and a good time was had by all!

My baby is getting so BIG!!!

2008-06-30T13:49:00.001-07:00

So, Bailee has changed so much in the past month that I almost cry to think that my baby is growing up. She has: sat up unassisted, crawled, sat up from a crawl, pulled herself up to the couch, and her bed and swing and my leg and chairs and anything else that is taller than her. She also gave us quite a scare the other day.
I put her to bed early because she was just beside herself. She had also leared how to throw tantrums that day (yes my 7 month old baby throws full blown, thrash on the floor throw her head back, kicking and flailing tantrums). So she proceeded to throw a whopper when I put her to bed, and I told Nick to remind me to go check on her in about 30 minutes to make sure she was asleep. Well, I checked on her later and she was sound asleep! So I went back to watch the rest of our movie. When we went to bed, almost 3 hours later, we snuck into the room and Nick went to get onto the bed but he kicked something warm and soft and about jumped through the roof. When he realized what it was he scooped Bailee up in a panic and SHE about jumped through the roof cuz she was asleep. She had climbed out of her bed, across our bed and fell on the floor and halfway under our bed fell asleep. Who knows how long she was screaming!

Countdown

2008-06-24T09:07:00.001-07:00

Biker Chicks!!!

2008-06-19T17:43:00.001-07:00

Bailee Stands Up!

2008-06-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

This is what I saw this morning when I turned around to get Bailee. She is only 7 months and she can pull herself up in her bed! She is so cute and fun and we all enjoy watching her grow more every day! Those dimples just drive me crazy, in a good way! It just makes me sad how fast she is growing up. It seems like its twice as fast as Codee did. I guess I just have more going on to not notice how much time has past.

WE LOVE SUMMER!!!

2008-06-16T14:02:00.000-07:00

So Codee woke up from her nap one day and her Daddy had bought her the funnest present she had ever seen...her very own POOL!!! This isn't a video of the first time she swam in it cuz Bailee was asleep the first time. She has SO much fun in it every time and she wakes up each morning asking to go swim.

Knotts Berry Farm!!!

2008-06-03T14:52:00.001-07:00

We went to Knotts for Nick's Dad's company party again this year. It was so much fun and we could enjoy it more now that Codee is a little bigger. And I had more fun because I wasn't prego this time. Rides that she was just a little too small for last year were just right this year. She had a blast and can't stop talking about it to everyone. We hope we keep going back every year!

Silly performers!

2008-06-03T13:30:00.001-07:00

We were all laughing so hard that our sides and cheeks hurt! I just get a kick out of their random craziness.

Crazy bushman dance!

2008-06-02T11:42:00.000-07:00

This is the dance that the African bushman children do when they are playing together in the movie, "The gods must be crazy" and Nick and his brother and sister were being VERY silly one night and decided to do this dance. For all of you who don't believe me when I tell you that Nick is a goofball...here you go! They only stopped because Amy hit her elbow on the doorknob. Ouch!

Cute pictures!

2008-05-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

Silly Bailee

2008-05-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

Codee's ABC's

2008-04-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

These are a few of my favorite things...

2008-04-23T19:20:00.001-07:00

2008-04-02T09:28:00.000-07:00

Codee is such a good big sister. She loves to help Mommy with Bailee. She loves giving Bailee her binki the most. She sings all day long and loves to be crazy and make up her own silly dances. Her hair is getting so long and Mommy loves to do pretty things with it. She is such a girl and likes anything pink or shiny! Her favorite movies are BARBIE PRINCESS movies and BABY SIGNING TIME. She is a joy for all that meet her.

Bailee Jo Gilsen

2008-04-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

Bailee joined our family on Nov. 17, 2007 and we couldn't be more thrilled! She is so sweet and smily and we just can't stop kissing her.