The Wood Family Blog

Happy Birthday, Carter!

2012-02-11T07:19:00.000-08:00

Four years ago today this little cutie was born:

It's hard to believe it's already been four years, but we've loved every minute of it! Carter is becoming such a big boy. Our little baby has grown up so fast! He's gone from being an adorable little baby to this handsome guy:

Happy Birthday, Carter! We love you!

P.S. Special thanks to his Auntie LoLo for the awesome photo shoot. :)

Annual Newsletter

2011-12-22T23:22:00.001-08:00

Dear Family and Friends,

This has been another very exciting and busy year for our family!

Connor will be two in March and has become an expert climber. He’s very active and enjoys playing with other kids at daycare. His vocabulary is increasing constantly; some of his favorite words/phrases are “mama,” “daddy,” “CaCa” (Carter,) and “oh man.”

Carter will be four years old in February and is a great a big brother. He’s full of energy and loves playing outside. He attends the pre-K class at the daycare where Connor goes, and enjoys learning how to write the alphabet and numbers, learning sign language and playing with the “big kids.”

Ryan is still working as a Model Designer for Legoland and has been very busy designing models for Legolands Florida and Malaysia. He was also able to go on a research trip to Atlanta and has designed and built models for a Legoland Discovery Center opening there in the spring. Ryan still enjoys building in his free time, and had a great time at Seattle’s Brickcon in October. He was recently called to be the 2nd Counselor in the Elder’s Quorum at church and enjoys it.

Katie left the law office in Los Angeles in June and began working full time as a paralegal for a business litigation attorney in Del Mar. She was sad to leave the office she had been working at for five years, but she really enjoys her new office and the commute is much better. She and Ryan were released from their calling in the nursery, but Katie still teaches in Relief Society once a month.

We added a new member to the family in July. After five years of mostly faithful service, Ryan’s first car gave up the ghost and we made the plunge into new car ownership with a 2011 Toyota Sienna that has already proven useful for vacations and hauling stuff around.

Ryan and Katie were able to go on another cruise to Mexico in May and had a great time, even though the weather didn’t cooperate. The whole family is looking forward to spending the week between Christmas and New Year’s in Orlando with Katie’s family to celebrate her dad’s 60th birthday.

We hope you enjoy this Christmas season as we remember the birth of our Savior. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love,
Ryan, Katie, Carter and Connor Wood

Welcome to the Family!

2011-07-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

We're the proud new owners of this beauty:

Looks like everyone is happy with the new addition

After finding out that our 2004 Hyundai Accent would need over $3,000 in repairs, including a new transmission, we decided to go ahead and spend that money (and more) on a new minivan. We test drove a few models, did a lot of research, and decided on the 2011 Toyota Sienna. The whole negotiating process was somewhat stressful, but as soon as we headed out the door (without purchasing the van) things really turned around and we ended up with a great deal. We're looking forward to MANY years with the new member of our family!

Ryan's (Late) Birthday

2011-06-04T17:43:00.000-07:00

Ryan turned 27 on Friday, May 13th. We were leaving for our cruise the following Monday, so we decided not to do a party or anything. I still wanted to do something special for his birthday and worked with one of his co-workers to arrange for the boys and I to surprise him by bringing a birthday cake to the office.

Surprise! Ryan and a group of co-workers were out playing hackey sack on their break and thanks to Jolene I was able to sneak in the back with the boys and the cake. Needless to say, Ryan was very surprised to see us and a birthday cake waiting at his desk.

The cake.

Making a wish.

Connor and Jolene enjoying the cake.

Co-workers enjoying the cake.

After Ryan got home from work, the boys and I gave him his presents. A couple of co-workers offered to babysit the kids as a birthday gift, so we got to go out on a romantic date to see Thor.

Opening his presents. The boys gave him a bag of his own Lego with money inside for him to spend on new Lego, and I gave him more money for Lego and this shirt that he's been wanting forever.

Star Wars Miniland

2011-04-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

We took the boys to see the new Star Wars Miniland at Legoland earlier this month. I think Carter maybe loved it more than his daddy, which I never would have thought possible. I'm sure it helped that there were buttons to push because that's Carter's favorite part of all Miniland. Here are some pictures of our fun day:

Family picture with Darth Vader

Darth Vader

The boys in front of the Lego Star Wars sand sculptures (no, they aren't made out of Lego)

Carter finding buttons

Geonosis

Endor

Naboo

Tatooine

Kashyyyk

Ryan approves

Connor's Party

2011-03-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are pictures from Connor's birthday party (yes, I'm actually posting about it within 4 DAYS!):

Eating his birthday lunch

Friends eating birthday lunch

Friends and family eating birthday lunch

Carter eating birthday lunch

Connor with his grandparents (minus Grandpa Wood...we wish you could have been there!)

Carter "helping" Connor open his bunny from Great Papa.

Awesome clothes from Grandma and Grandpa Wood

Eating his Elmo card from Mommy and Daddy

Such a cute birthday boy!

Connor with his new car seat from Grandma and Grandpa Bradley

BIG thank you to Andy for keeping Carter entertained!

Close up of the cake

Connor drooling over the cake as we sing happy birthday to him.

Trying to figure out what we gave him

Digging in

Big bite

Sharing

Playing with the cake

All done!

Connor and his future bride, Leia :)

Thank you to everyone who was able to come celebrate with us!

Happy 1st Birthday, Connor Glen!

2011-03-14T09:28:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe, but our little baby turned 1 today! It seems like his first year flew by even faster than it did with Carter, which I didn't think was possible. Connor has been such a great addition to our family and we love him so much! Happy Birthday, pi baby! Here are just a few pictures of our first year with our little guy:

March 14, 2010

First Disneyland trip

First Easter

First beach trip

One of my all time favorite pictures (thanks LoLo!)

Connor working hard

First Halloween

Starting to stand

Connor and Mommy at Legoland

First Christmas

Handsome boys all dressed up for church

First teeth

First birthday! (stay tuned for more pictures from his party)

Connor's First Tooth (Teeth)

2011-02-25T11:05:00.000-08:00

Connor finally got his first two teeth on February 7th. He'd been teething for quite a while, but I guess he had some stubborn teeth! Here are some pictures of his cute toothy grin:

Happy Birthday, Carter!

2011-02-13T13:49:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe, but Carter turned 3 on Friday. We knew Ryan would be heading to New York on Carter's birthday, so we had his birthday party the weekend before his birthday. We decided to do a zoo themed party because Carter loves zoo animals and because we got passes to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park for his present. Thank you to everyone that was able to be at the party...we had a great time!

Ryan connected the laptop to the tv and had a slideshow running of Carter's pictures.

Playing "Pin the Nose on the Lion".

Present time!

Singing "Happy Birthday"

Blowing out his candle...I still can't believe he's 3!

A close up of the cake. Carter loves elephants, so I decided to make him an elephant cake for his birthday.

Ryan and his buddies inflating one of Carter's presents.

The finished product.

Happy Birthday, little man! We love you!!!

Rain Gutter Bookshelves

2011-02-13T08:06:00.000-08:00

I saw a blog where someone had made bookshelves out of rain gutters for their kids' room and fell in love with them. We bought all the necessary materials last summer and just never got around to putting them up. We finally managed to finish the project and I love them even more and Carter was so excited.

Carter can only reach the bottom shelf, so I was able to put other kid books on the other two shelves that I can read to the boys but don't have to worry about them ripping the pages.

Carter loves having this shelf by his bed so he can just sit there and read his books.

The Saddest Sound in the World

2011-01-19T15:09:00.001-08:00

The Saddest Sound in the World
Originally uploaded by lights

Poor little Connor has pneumonia. He woke up Monday morning having a hard time breathing, so I called the nurse advice line (it was too early for the doctor's office to be open) and they told me to go ahead and take him to the ER. The nurses thought it sounded like croup and the doctor thought it was asthma, but after doing a chest x-ray it turns out he has pneumonia. After a breathing treatment and a shot of antibiotics in the ER, Connor's breathing had improved a little and he seemed much happier. He'll be on antibiotics for 10 days and he also has a medication to help with his breathing, which has helped a lot. Aside from his wheezing, he's already back to his normal self.

Early Christmas

2010-12-17T09:12:00.000-08:00

We had an early Christmas with Grandma and Papa Bradley and Great Papa because they'll all be out of town for Christmas. The boys had a great time opening presents and Connor was smiling the whole time. Here are some pictures from our fun night:

Connor is very excited about his first present

Carter loves his Curious George books

The boys' new table

My awesome new pots and pans

Papa Bradley and Great Papa

Grandma Bradley with the scrapbook I made for her. (Big thank you to my sister and sister-in-laws for the pictures!)

Happy boys

The whole gang (minus Ryan because he's taking the picture).

Brudders

2010-12-06T14:06:00.001-08:00

Brudders
Originally uploaded by lights.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my little guys. Can they be any cuter?! Maybe I need to put this picture beside my bed to make me feel better when they wake up at all hours of the night...

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-12-06T09:22:00.001-08:00

Turkeys
Originally uploaded by lights.

We hosted our first Thanksgiving this year and thanks to some assistance from Mom and Dad Bradley everything turned out great! When Papa Bradley showed Carter the uncooked turkey, he was confused and asked where his head went. I think he was happy with how it turned out!

Halloween Cookies

2010-12-01T01:18:00.000-08:00

As a family we decorated a bunch of Halloween cookies.. they didn't last long!

See more here

Cruise Pictures (Part 2)

2010-10-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

Day 3:

The huge Mexico flag at the port in Ensenada. Ryan finally made it out of the United States!

During our stay in Ensenada, we spent most of the day at an awesome resort. We swam in the pool, enjoyed the perfect weather and views of the ocean, and had a delicious buffet lunch. It was such a nice, relaxing day!

Estero Beach Resort

The museum at the resort.

View of the ocean.

Enjoying our buffet lunch. The food was so good and we had a great view of the ocean.

We had such a great time!

Another towel animal that we haven't been able to identify.

Leaving Ensenada.

Day 4:

We have very few pictures from our last day because most of it was spent sleeping. Our last day was our only "at sea" day and we had plans to hang out by the pool, but it was really crowded so we decided to go back to our room and then try again later. Well, we both fell asleep and woke up at 5:30. Dinner is at 6, so we just barely had enough time to get ready and get to dinner. Here are the few pictures we do have from that day:

The final towel animal. I thought it was a gorilla, but Ryan thought it was a frog...any other ideas?

Waiting for the final show

Bingo...our favorite game in the world! We weren't going to play this time because we had lost the night before with only one space left, but we were just sitting there waiting for he show to start so we went ahead and joined in the fun. We were not doing very well at all and the people at the table next to us only needed 2 spaces to win so we knew we were going to lose. Somehow they suddenly started calling all the numbers we needed and we actually ended up winning. The prize was a cruise for 2 and we were so excited (we still are)! We've never won anything before, so this makes up for all those other raffles/games where we never won anything! We haven't booked our cruise yet, but we're planning on taking another trip to Mexico next May. It was the perfect ending to an awesome trip!

Cruise Pictures

2010-10-15T06:51:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are pictures of our awesome cruise to Catalina and Ensenada. We have a ton of pictures, so here are the first two days.

Day 1:

Our first of MANY meals

Our room with a view of the port in Long Beach

Our room

Leaving Long Beach

Every night while we were at dinner, the housekeeping staff would come in and clean the room and leave us a towel animal. This was the first night and we're 99% sure it's a walrus. The rest of them are not as easy to figure out.

Day 2:

On our way to Catalina. The cruise ship isn't able to dock at Catalina, so they drop the anchor a little ways out and tender boats pull up to the cruise ship to take people to and from Catalina.

My restaurant :)

We took a bus tour of Avalon while we were at Catalina. It was a lot of fun and we were able to see and learn way more than we could have on our own. We also got to go to the museum on Avalon. Here are some pictures from our tour and the museum:

Fire Station

Golf course. You can't see it, but the first hole is on a hill on the other side of the street, so you tee off and hope your ball makes it to the other side.

The lone grocery store in Avalon

At one point this was a bird aviary, but was later turned into a daycare center (for children, not birds).

Just for Lauren :)

For Karen. Apparently the Chicago Cubs used to have their spring training at Avalon when Wrigley owned Catalina.

For Dad B. and Papa

The wait staff was very entertaining at dinner. This time they were serenading everyone with "That's Amore".

Night 2 towel animal. Any guesses? I think it's a dog, but Dad W. said moose and I can kind of see that, too. Carter said bunny.

Stay tuned for pictures of the rest of the trip!

Paradise!

2010-10-09T08:30:00.001-07:00

Originally uploaded by lights.

We went on a 4-day cruise to Mexico the end of September on the Carnival Paradise. We had such a great time and can't wait to go on another cruise! A special thank you to my parents and the Baker family for watching our boys. More pictures coming soon!

Oreo Cupcakes

2010-09-20T23:29:00.001-07:00

Oreo Cupcakes
Originally uploaded by lights.

My current coworkers and former classmates have come to learn that when I get stressed, bored, or sometimes for no reason at all, I bake. Tonight was loneliness while Katie and the boys are in Los Angeles.

Lego Dreams

2010-08-27T08:41:00.001-07:00

Lego Dreams
Originally uploaded by lights.

Carter loves his Lego! My mom went up to check on him during his quiet time and when she found him sleeping like this she had to get the camera out. What a silly boy!

La-Z-Boy

2010-08-26T10:28:00.001-07:00

La-Z-Boy
Originally uploaded by lights.

Our little couch potato. We're training him young!

4 Months

2010-08-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

Connor turned four months a couple weeks ago and he's doing great. At his check-up he weighed 14lbs 6oz and was 25 inches. Here are a couple of pictures of our adorable, growing boy:

Connor and Dada at the beach

Connor and Jolene

Pictures, Pictures, and More Pictures!

2010-06-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

I've been taking tons of pictures of the boys lately, so I thought it was about time I posted some. I can't get over how cute they are or how fast they're growing! Connor is three months old today and it just doesn't seem possible. He isn't quite sleeping through the night, but he has been going about 7 hours between feedings at night so I can't complain too much.

Smiles

Look at those chubby cheeks!

Enjoying tummy time

Brothers

More smiles

Kisses

More kisses

Happy boy

Fist pump?

He's getting so big!

Silly Carter

Connor started rolling over really early, but I just recently managed to get a video of it.

New Do

2010-06-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

I have an awesome husband who loves me enough to stay at home with both boys while I went to get my hair done. I decided it was time for a change, so I bit the bullet and not only cut off several inches but also got it colored. It took longer than I expected and I felt bad for leaving Ryan with the boys for so long, but I enjoyed the experience and fortunately the boys were very well behaved.

Before

After

Carter's First Campout

2010-06-03T08:03:00.000-07:00

Our church had a campout for fathers and sons last month, so Ryan got to take Carter camping for the first time. A family in our ward has a large lot a couple miles from our house, which made it the perfect first camping trip since they were close enough to come home if Carter didn't like it. But that wasn't a problem because Carter had a blast!

Yummy hot dogs

Meeting the horse

Meeting the cow

Meeting the chickens

Playing with kids

Saying goodnight to mommy

Good morning!

Not a morning person

Playing baseball

This kid loves playing in the dirt

Connor Update

2010-05-18T16:28:00.000-07:00

Connor had his two month check-up yesterday and here are his stats:

Weight at birth: 7lbs 15oz
Weight at 2 months: 10lbs 15oz
Height at birth: 20 inches
Height at 2 months: 22.2 inches

Our little guy is definitely growing. I need to look back and compare his stats with his big brother's because Connor is definitely taller. I recently found a picture of Carter at 3 months wearing an outfit that is too short for Connor at 2 months. We still feel so blessed to have Connor in our family and love seeing him grow! Here are some pictures of the handsome guy from a couple weeks ago (he was about 7 weeks old):

In line at Disneyland

On It's a Small World

Hanging out at the beach. Don't worry, he was only in the sun long enough to take this picture.

Taking a nap with Grandma Wood

Connor's blessing day

One of our favorite pictures (thanks Auntie LoLo!)

Happy Birthday, Ryan Glen!

2010-05-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

Ryan turned the big 26 last Thursday, so we had some friends over Saturday night for some pizza, cheesecake and games.

Ryan liked his chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake birthday cake from last year so much that he requested it again.

Blowing out the candles

Ryan Glen and Connor Glen

Playing Guitar Hero

Apparently the music wasn't exciting enough for Connor

The best game EVER if you're just a spectator! Our friend, Gary, picked up this game at the Jelly Belly Factory where there are several pairs of jelly beans that look the same but one is a good flavor and the other is an awful flavor. This time Ryan had to pick a jelly bean and the good flavor was buttered popcorn and the bad flavor was rotten egg. Ryan and Gary had the worst luck and had to eat things like skunk spray, moldy cheese, boogers and barf. I'm not sure what they were thinking when they came up with this game, but it was hilarious to watch!

Smile!

2010-04-27T13:40:00.000-07:00

Connor has been giving us the cutest smiles for the past week or so, but he would stop smiling whenever we had the camera. Ryan was finally able to catch him in the act!

Happy boy

Catching Up

2010-04-26T10:36:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe that Connor's already been with us for six weeks. We seemed to adjust pretty well to having two kids, and Connor has made it easy on us by being a good sleeper like his big brother. Most nights Connor will sleep around five hours, which has been such a blessing. It definitely helped that my mom was able to come stay with us for several days after Connor was born (I'll have to get pictures from my mom because for some reason I didn't manage to take any). Carter loves his baby brother and constantly wants to hold him and give him kisses. Here are a bunch of pictures from the past six weeks:

Carter and Connor's first meeting.

Holding my boys.

Connor's St. Patrick's Day hat.

Connor taking a nap with Daddy.

Gary came by with a gift for Connor...a Lego duck! The duck with flowers on the table was a gift from Ryan's model shop, so it's pretty funny that Gary's model shop gave Connor a Lego duck that looks very similar without knowing anything about it.

Carter was very excited about the Easter presents.

Happy Easter!

Carter hanging out in his tent with Auntie LoLo and Uncle Garin.

Connor loves his aunties.

Carter in his big boy bed! Nap time hasn't been pleasant since we moved Carter out of his crib, but he does great at bedtime.

We're looking forward to having a bunch of family here over the weekend for Connor's blessing at church. Hopefully it won't take me so long to post those pictures!

Beach Trip

2010-04-16T13:12:00.001-07:00

I thought I would be better about blogging since I haven't been going up to LA for work, but somehow time just keeps slipping away. I don't have time to do a big update right now, so I thought I'd just share pictures from our beach trip. Some of Ryan's family were able to come down for a visit to meet Connor and we had great beach weather.

First family photo

Connor spent most of the time sleeping

Carter and LoLo

Carter loved the beach. Last summer he hated the water, but this time he kept getting in the water even though Ryan and I thought it was freezing.

Cute Carter

Carter and Dada

Getting some much needed sun!

Stay tuned for many more pictures of the past month!

Connor's Debut

2010-03-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

For those of you that are interested, here's the story of Connor's appearance into the world:
Saturday morning around 11 I started getting contractions that were about 4 minutes apart, but they weren't very strong so we decided to do some shopping and see what happened. Our hospital is in Irvine, which is about 45 minutes north of us, so we drove up to an Ikea close to the hospital and brought our bags with us just in case we ended up going to the hospital while we were up there. After doing a bunch of shopping my contractions were still 4 minutes apart and were getting stronger, so we called Ryan's sister to take Carter and we headed over to the hospital around 5pm.
I was hooked up to the monitors and the contractions were between 3 and 4 minutes apart. The doctor came in and checked me and said I was at a 4, so they were going to admit me. (Ryan and I were both so relieved that this baby was actually going to be born with only one visit to the hospital!) After a couple hours the contractions started getting further apart, so we walked the halls for a while.
A few hours later the contractions still weren't as close together, so they started me on Pitocin and the doctor came in and broke my water just after midnight to help things along. Things started progressing very quickly after that. It didn't take long for me to request an epidural. The nurse kept assuring me that the lady would be there soon to give me the epidural, but she lied. :( Before I knew it I felt like I needed to push. The nurses were all rushing to finish getting things ready and the doctor got there as I started to push. (The epidural lady showed up about this time as well and was told it was too late.) After just a few pushes, our little guy was here and we were so happy to finally get to meet him!

Just waiting

He's here!

Daddy cutting the cord

Our "little" guy weighed in at 7 lbs. 15 oz...half a pound lighter than his big brother.

Connor Glen Wood

2010-03-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

Born at 3:12 am on 3-14-2010, weighs 7 lbs 15 oz and is 20 inches long.

See the full gallery here!
I think I'll save the labor story for Katie to tell. She's the superhero who did all the hard work.

Cute Carter

2010-03-05T09:55:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent videos of Carter. He just keeps getting cuter and cuter! We're constantly being entertained by him.

Carter and his new monkey that he named "Booty".

Carter talking with his Auntie LoLo

Pregnancy Update

2010-02-17T10:55:00.000-08:00

I realized I haven't been doing a very good job keeping people up to date with this pregnancy. This poor little guy is definitely getting the second child treatment! I'm currently 35 weeks along, so we're in the home stretch. Everything is going really well and we haven't had to make any trips to the hospital. I think we'd already been to the hospital 3 times with Carter at this point, so we're very happy that we haven't set foot in a hospital yet!

I had a doctor's appointment today and they did an ultrasound to check on the baby's position. He's head down and the doctor said he'll remain that way at this point. Just 5 more weeks and we'll have another little boy to love!

Here are some pictures taken a couple weeks ago when I was at 33 weeks:

Carter's Birthday Party

2010-02-17T10:19:00.000-08:00

We went to Disneyland for my birthday in December and Carter fell in love with Buzz Lightyear, so we decided to have a Buzz Lightyear party for his birthday. Carter loved it and still talks about it all the time!

Big kids watching Toy Story

Being entertained by the birthday boy

Mommy reading the card

Opening his present from Ace...an awesome bike that Ace and Daddy later put together for him.

Carter and his great grandpa with his new cd player

Mommy ended up scaring Carter with his new dinosaur

Lots of great people and presents!

The cake. Someone put it a little too close to Carter, so he was able to take a little frosting.

Digging in

I think he liked it!

Happy Birthday, Carter!

2010-02-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it, but our little baby boy turned 2 years old today! He has been such a blessing in our lives and we love watching him learn and grow. We love you, buddy!

Carter Harrison Wood was born February 11, 2008 at 12:20am.
He weighed 8lbs 8oz and was 19 inches long.

Carter's first trip to Legoland.

Hanging out at the beach.

Learning to stand up in his crib.

Our adorable little pumpkin.

Carter's first birthday.

Standing on his own.

The ladies man.

First trip to Disneyland.

Carter LOVES tomatoes!

Yoda Carter

Playing the drums

Our superhero

He sure loves Lego!

Birthday boy!

Stay tuned for a birthday party-specific post!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2010-01-30T15:20:00.000-08:00

I decided it was finally time to update our blog, so why not make a post about my awesome birthday to get back in the swing of things? For 2009, Disneyland was giving free admission on your birthday and we decided to take advantage of it. It was unusually cold that day and the park was extremely crowded (one of the many disadvantages of having a birthday just 3 days before Christmas), but we had such a great time.

Family picture with Chip (or maybe it was Dale...)

In front of Small World. This was Ryan's first time seeing Disneyland decorated for Christmas.

Carter on the Teacups...this was definitely not his favorite ride.

In front of the castle.

Carter's favorite ride. Carter discovered his love for Buzz and was crying for Buzz when it was time to leave the ride.

Carter and Daddy on Autopia. We got stuck behind a little girl that didn't know how to hold the gas pedal down, so I had plenty of time to take pictures.

On our way out after a very fun day!

Lost in 2 Months

2009-12-28T12:20:00.000-08:00

On February 2nd, 2010 the sixth and final season of Lost airs on ABC. On December 6th, Katie and I decided we would attempt to watch all 5 previous seasons on DVD before the new season begins.

As of December 27th, we're two seasons down, three to go. To recap, it took us 3 weeks to get through 49 hour-long episodes, averaging about 2 episodes a day. In reality, with Katie in LA a couple days a week and other distractions, we haven't watched episodes every day, and we've really done a lot of catching up over Christmas break and on weekends. In fact, we've watched so much lately that we killed our 6-year-old DVD/VHS player, and since we got rid of all our VHS tapes not long ago, the death of the player wasn't too hard on us. A quick trip to WalMart to get a replacement player and we were back on track.

How does this bode for the remainder of our marathon? We've got 54 episodes to go in 5 weeks. We only need to watch an average of an episode and a half per night to make our goal. Barring any emergency hospital trips from false labor, another DVD player death, or any other cataclysmic event... I think we'll be fine :)

3rd Wedding Anniversary (and our 200th post!)

2009-12-28T00:50:00.000-08:00

Katie and I were married in the LDS San Diego Temple
on December 28th, 2006.

We honeymooned along the California coast.

We had a handsome baby boy named Carter Harrison
on February 11th, 2008.

He'll be 2 in a couple short months, and he's our rambunctious little superhero.

We're expecting another adorable son in March 2010.

We've moved 3 times, experienced all the joys and troubles of home, work, school, and child-rearing, and had tons of laughs.

I've known Katie for almost seven incredible years, and I look forward to being with her forever. Happy anniversary, honey!

The LONG Drive Home

2009-12-16T11:41:00.000-08:00

I know this is a few weeks old now, but I wanted to finish blogging about our Thanksgiving trip to Utah. Ryan had to get back to work the Monday after Thanksgiving, so we decided we would leave fairly early Sunday morning to give us plenty of time in case there was traffic. Everything started out just fine and we were making really good time.

We saw some snow outside Cedar City.

Carter was having fun entertaining himself.

We stopped in St. George for a very brief visit with a friend and then continued on to Vegas where we had lunch. There hadn't been any traffic and we were really happy that we were over half-way home. Then we got on the other side of Vegas and everything came to a complete stop and we were stuck in major traffic almost the rest of the way home. We had complained about the traffic on the way to Utah, but we soon realized that was nothing compared to the 9 hours it took us to get home from Vegas. And that is why we will NEVER travel the Sunday after Thanksgiving again!

On the bright side, once it got dark the lights from the brake lights ahead of us and the headlights from the cars in the opposite direction reminded us of a big candy cane.

And by some miracle Carter was either happy

or sleeping the whole time.

Early Christmas

2009-12-04T09:58:00.001-08:00

Since we were driving to Utah for Thanksgiving, we decided to bring our Christmas presents for the Woods and Tolmans with us. We even convinced them to open their presents early because we wanted to see the joy on their faces when they opened them. :) We also brought Ryan's dad's birthday present with us since we would be going home just a few days before his special day.

What could it be?

An awesome Legoland hat to remember his awesome son's awesome job! :)

Ryan's mom loves lighthouses

...and seashells

It's easy to find "personalized" gifts for Lauren at Christmas :)

It's hard to see, but the candle holder says Joy

Brett loves The Simpsons, so we made him a Bart mosaic.

Another awesome Legoland hat!

From the Tolmans. Somehow we didn't know this book existed, even though we're the Battlestar fans!

It's pretty scary how well they know us! :)

Someone woke up cranky from his nap

Showing off his cool book

A lion from Grandma and Grandpa Wood. (They let him have one of his presents early and he'll get the rest on Christmas.) He loves making it say "roar".

Thanksgiving in Utah

2009-12-03T09:46:00.001-08:00

We decided to spend Thanksgiving with Ryan's family in Utah, so we hit the road Wednesday afternoon when Ryan got out of work and eventually made our way to his parents' house around 4:30am. Fortunately, we were able to get some much needed rest before the Thanksgiving festivities began. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with tons of great food and lots of family.

Carter meeting his adorable cousin, whom he later hugged/tackled.

Yummy food!

Carter's not so sure about something

Carter playing with his food.

Lots of family

The Tolmans

Carter entertaining everyone

That's a full belly!

Giving Auntie LoLo "beeps"

Playing peek-a-boo

Ready for some football

Carter having a blast on the trampoline

Caged In

2009-11-17T11:18:00.000-08:00

Carter and Daddy in the cage...I think Carter is winning

Carter is the champion! (Poor Daddy)

He must not realize he's trapped

We were at Babies R Us the other night and happened to see this baby gate/cage and decided it would be perfect for protecting our Christmas tree from Carter. Since we haven't put up the Christmas tree yet, we decided to let Carter play in the cage. He's not a very big fan of it unless someone is in there playing with him, but that's ok because it looks like the tree will be going up this week. :)

Trick or Treat!

2009-11-09T12:05:00.001-08:00

I know this is a little late, but I wanted everyone to see our cute little Yoda. This was Carter's first year trick or treating and he did pretty well and seemed to enjoy himself for the most part. Ryan or I would take him up to the door and we would tell him to say trick or treat, but he would just stare at the person. He's never been shy, so it was really funny watching him just stand there. If the person put the bowl of candy out for him, he would quickly reach out, take a piece of candy and drop it in his bucket. We kept trying to get him to say thank you, but it never happened. By the end of the night he was saying "bye bye" and that's it. We did have one problem to deal with...if a house was dark we wouldn't go up to it, which Carter didn't understand. He quickly picked up on the fact that each house he went to he got candy, so I guess he didn't want to skip any opportunities to get more.

With dada

Carter with mama and sharing candy

It's a....

2009-11-04T13:36:00.000-08:00

BOY!!!

We're so excited to be welcoming another little boy into our family! Now comes the hard part...figuring out what to name the little guy (suggestions are always welcome!). Here are a couple more pictures of our handsome boy:

Saying hi to everyone

Our little alien

Ryan and I made a cake the night before the ultrasound and frosted half of it pink and half blue, then he took it to work and put the baby he built on the blue side. (By the time he realized he hadn't taken a picture, this was all that was left.)

P.S. For those of you who guessed correctly, there will be prizes coming your way.

POOP

2009-11-02T23:08:00.000-08:00

Place Your Bets!

2009-10-28T11:48:00.000-07:00

Well, the big reveal is almost here! I have an ultrasound scheduled for Monday morning, so as long as the baby cooperates we'll find out if we're having a boy or a girl in just a few more days. Here's your chance to guess what you think it will be. Leave a comment with your prediction and there just might be prizes for those who get it right!

Halloween Preview

2009-10-20T12:05:00.000-07:00

We took Carter to Legoland on Saturday in his Halloween costume and he was so adorable. They have an area called the "Brick or Treat Trail", where kids can go and get little goodies. Carter seemed pretty confused about the whole thing, but he had fun.

Our little Yoda

Walking with Daddy

I'm not sure what he was doing, but it looks like he's trying to copy what the minifig is doing.

So cute!

Looking at the magazine he got in his bag.

Brick or Treat goodies, minus the magazine that he wouldn't put down.

Yoda decided to stop and build a sand castle at Sea Life.

He loves to push that button!

I'm sure there will be many more pictures of Carter in his costume since we'll be going back to Legoland on Saturday for Brick or Treat Party Nights and we have a church Halloween party next week. Hopefully he doesn't get tired of wearing it!

HUGE Update

2009-10-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

Wow, where has the time gone?! I keep meaning to update our blog, but for some reason it just hasn't happened. My morning sickness seemed to vanish overnight right before we left for our trip to Seattle, which I'm VERY grateful for. We have an ultrasound in a couple weeks, so hopefully the baby will cooperate and we'll be able to find out what we're having. Carter continues to be a very energetic and happy kid, and we're so excited for him to be a big brother.

And now, TONS of pictures to overwhelm you with, starting with BrickCon 2009:

Ryan rebuilding...a BrickCon tradition.

The awesome set I won.

Ryan participating in the Exoforce Build...he always looks very serious when he builds.

The finished product.

Hanging out with friends

More friends

And more friends

Mark + Ry = <3

Lauren and Brett's visit to Legoland and Sea Life:

On the Coast Cruise

Ryan and I LOVE this ride, but Lauren and Brett weren't big fans. :(

Lauren and Brett on Fairy Tale Brook.

Family picture (kind of) on Fairy Tale Brook.

Lauren and Brett at Sea Life.

Carter and I at Sea Life.

Carter found a friend.

My first belly pictures this pregnancy:

18 weeks

Vacaaaaaatiiiiiiioooooooonnnnnnn!!!!!!

2009-09-29T00:05:00.001-07:00

Our England trip may have been aborted. The Mexican cruise may have been taken away from us. But Seattle... Seattle seems to be the one bastion of relaxation that fate can't seem to touch.

For the third year in a row since we've been married (and the fifth time for me!) we're headed off to Seattle Washington this week for the fan-run BrickCon Lego convention.

Last year's event was the best by far, and although we're not putting on anything close to scope of the massive Battlestar display, we're still planning to have a ton of fun with our ridiculously amazing friends (who let us crash at their pads for free!) and enjoy a respite from the hot California weather that's been toasting us lately (I hear water falls from the sky in Washington, and it's not from fire-fighting planes...)

Congrats, Dad!

2009-09-15T00:13:00.000-07:00

My dad was inducted into the Los Angeles Harbor College Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday September 11, 2009. We're all super proud of him, and were excited to be there for the (long!) ceremony.

I Know A Happy Girl

2009-09-07T22:01:00.000-07:00

...who just got her all-access pass to Legoland California today :)

Not only did we go to the park to get Katie all signed up for her pass (photo and all) but we also found out she has free parking and personal use of all the same food and retail discounts I do.

Do I even need to say at this point how much I love my job and all its perks? I'm turning into a broken record.

Mark Your Calendars!

2009-08-26T12:43:00.000-07:00

We'll be welcoming a new member into our family around March 22nd! We're so excited and can't wait to meet our baby boy or girl! Carter is going to be such a great big brother! Here's our little baby's first picture:

Isn't he or she adorable? ;)

We apologize for not updating our blog more often lately, but with Ryan working full time and my morning sickness (that lasts all day) we just haven't found the time. The second trimester is right around the corner, so hopefully I'll start feeling better soon!

I Just Wanted to Say

2009-08-22T10:37:00.000-07:00

I'm *really* looking forward to having insurance again. I just got enrolled in the benefits program for work, and am very excited about it. Health, dental, vision: ohhhhhh I missed you.

Family budget wise, this is going to be amazing for us. Right now Katie and Carter pay $400 a month for insurance, while I've had nothing since I left my last job.
With my insurance program through Legoland, all 3 of us will be covered for $120 a month.

SWEET!

Dear Auntie LoLo

2009-08-09T23:31:00.000-07:00

I hear you like tomatoes. I do too!

New Home!

2009-07-16T00:37:00.000-07:00

We move on Saturday, but here are some pics we took today of the new pad, or click here to see the full set of photos.

Front of the house!

Living room from entryway

Dining room

Kitchen and dining room from the patio

The 3 bedrooms and a bathroom are connected to this hallway leading to the living room

We can't wait to move in and get settled. Come help us on Saturday!

4th of July

2009-07-13T15:21:00.000-07:00

My sister and her family flew in from North Carolina on the 4th and things have pretty much been nonstop between spending time with them and getting ready for our move. We went to the playground before dinner to let the kids run off some of their energy and later that night we watched the fireworks from my parents' driveway.

Daddy making Carter laugh on the swing

Carter swinging

Callan swinging

Chase swinging

Carter and Callan on the slide

Carter and Daddy on the slide

Carter and Mommy on the slide

So much fun!

We Got It!

2009-07-08T23:30:00.000-07:00

We got word Tuesday afternoon that we'd been approved for the place we'd sent in rental applications for. SWEET! We met with the property manager that evening to pay our deposit and sign the paperwork, and set an appointment to meet back with him next week at the place to do a walkthrough inspection and get the keys.

Are we excited? YES.

Our new home is part of a 4-plex, but its kind of an unusual place. It's more like someone built a house, then decided to drop a three-unit 2-bedroom/2bath apartment building behind it.

We went there to see the house last Friday, also checked out the apartments behind it just for kicks, and later put the house at the top of the list after we went through all the pros and cons of every place we visited that day.

It's a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1 story house with a yard in front and a side porch area. The front door opens into the large living room which is open to the dining room and large kitchen. A hallway goes to the 3 bedrooms and a bathroom, while the 2nd bathroom is in the master bedroom. Behind the building is our 2-car garage.

We really liked the layout of the home, which is very open and amenable to hosting friends. The front yard is all fenced, so Carter can play out on the grass and not wander into the street. The street (with plenty of parking) is a cul-de-sac in a nicer part of town (which was important: we rejected a couple places outright based on the areas we drove into.) This is all a stark contrast to our current 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment in a not-so-great part of town with limited street parking.

Katie and I are beyond excited for this, and can't wait to get pictures up for people to see. We'll snap some photos next Wednesday when we walk through and start taking stuff down there.

The big moving day is Saturday the 18th, if anyone wants to help ;)

Having Fun with the Kid

2009-07-02T19:08:00.001-07:00

On the Hunt

2009-07-02T09:50:00.000-07:00

Heading down to the San Diego area *early* tomorrow morning to start checking out some potential apartments/condos/houses. Katie's lined up a dozen or so appointments to view places across Friday and Saturday, so it's going to be quite a full couple of days.

We're looking to upgrade! Our ideal is a 3 bedroom pad, even if it costs a few hundred more than we're paying now. We're starting to feel cramped in our 2 bedroom, and with an extra room Carter could have his own bedroom while all the office stuff and Lego could go in the other. Right now the Lego is in the living room and it's eating up a fair amount of space in there.

We are also thinking about getting rid of some furniture. Katie's had a couple sofas she got from Ikea years ago, and we may be looking to possibly sell them to someone here instead of moving them with us. Same thing for the entertainment center, though depending on the size of the new place we may find a place for it yet.

Oh, speaking of things we want in the new place, we really want washer/dryer hookups. Moving away from Mom and Dad Bradley means no more free laundry (thank you, guys!) Doing laundry in our own home would be a dream come true. Oh and a dishwasher, too. <3

Lego on the Brain?

2009-06-29T06:47:00.001-07:00

Finished the new blog design while up with Carter since 2 this morning. I was worried Katie would find it too Lego-centric. Turns out she likes it.

Do you?

Well, I Got It

2009-06-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

Most have heard by now: I was one of 5 new Model Builders offered jobs to work for Legoland California. One newspaper article quoted me as saying my acceptance of the position depended on the salary offer: immediately after talking with that reporter we were ushered into secret quarters and given our official offer letters. I was stoked beyond words, and signed the paperwork right then and there.

What does this mean for the family? Well, I report to work in a month. That gives us 30 days to find a new place to live, or I crash with friends or family down there so I can start working while Katie continues the search from home. We're hopeful we'll find a new home, though.

Katie's job was a huge concern for us. She earns more than me, and her boss relies on her a great deal. After she broke the news to him about my job offer, their discussion rather positively turned to talks of Katie working from our new home and driving up to the office to work a day or two every week (and stay with her parents while there!) If this pans out, not only will we still have two incomes, but we can scratch "Find Daycare for Carter" off our To-Do list!

For me this is a nearly $4/hr jump in pay, and working full-time means more hours than I ever had while I've been in school the last several years.

But wait, there's more! Full benefits include:
2 weeks paid vacation from the start!
Health, dental, vision, and life insurance a month after starting
401k six months after starting

Other awesome perks include:
30% discount on park shopping and food
Twice a year there are 50% off days on Lego. SWEET.
4 free passes to the park every quarter
Family Pass to the park Katie and Carter get in FREE anytime they want! Katie about jumped out of her seat with excitement when I told her this, she was so giddy.

There's more, but I don't remember all of it right now. Needless to say, we're super super excited, and we're looking forward to all the big changes, despite all the work and headaches it means to reshuffle our entire life.

Pardon the Dust

2009-06-22T11:04:00.001-07:00

While working on updating my portfolio for the Legoland thing on Wednesday, I started messing around with the blog. Don't be surprised if things look different every time you come back, as we try to settle on a look we both like!

Job Prospects

2009-06-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

40 resumes sent out and applications filled, and just one response back from a prospective employer.

Any ideas who that one response is from? (Hint: See last post)

Yep, Legoland! After hearing from friends who work in the park about the open position(s), I submitted my application and waited. Last Thursday, I got a call from the park and had a phone interview that lasted about 25 minutes. On Saturday I got an email confirmation that I was being invited to the park on Wednesday and Thursday of this week to participate/compete in a set of building challenges that, if I perform well in, will lead to another interview and hopefully landing the job.

Am I excited? You bet I am. Although it's not the kind of work I thought I'd be doing after graduation (TV jobs are not only hard to find, but don't seem interested in me), at least its work doing something I enjoy doing. The word is that because the model building workshop is expanding so much in anticipation of Legoland Malaysia, more positions will open up within the next 9 months, and those who already have jobs can look forward to promotions if they're good enough.

Getting this job would mean uprooting the whole family and moving down to the San Diego area, Katie would have to find a new job, and we'd likely have to find daycare for Carter. None of these things is fun even by themselves, and all of them at the same time is going to be a special kind of nightmare.

We'll keep everyone as updated as we can throughout the week. I head down to Carlsbad on Wednesday morning!

Star Wars Days at Legoland

2009-06-18T16:17:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we went to Legoland for the annual Star Wars Days. On Friday we drove down to San Diego and spent some time with Papa and stayed overnight at his place (thanks again, Papa!) We were at Legoland to help with the SandLug (San Diego Lego User Group) booth, but we also had time to walk around and go on some rides. It was a very fun day, especially once it stopped raining and the sun came out.

Carter quickly made friends with Bob the Builder.

Part of the SandLug display.

More of the SandLug display (the neon green pod racer is Ryan's).

Ryan's Sand Trooper.

Andy is victorious...Ryan is sad. (Chess set built by Brandon)

On the boat ride.

Ryan and Carter in Vegas.

Family picture with R2D2 and 3CPO...not sure why Carter looks so serious.

Nathan and I on Knight's Tournament. Ryan was on baby duty and we never made it back for him to have a turn...sorry honey :(

Carter on Thomas the Train.

ATTENTION EVERYONE

2009-06-07T09:02:00.000-07:00

WE FOUND THE PUMP.

Another Haircut

2009-06-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

Carter's hair was getting rather long, but I kept putting off giving him a haircut. Last night we decided to go ahead and cut his hair and make it a little shorter than last time. Here's our handsome little guy.

So adorable

Side view

Thanks again to Gary and Fradel for the balloon. The stick it was on ended up becoming more of a weapon, so we got rid of it. Carter doesn't seem to mind.

Check out that molar! Carter only has two teeth on the bottom, but that molar decided it was next. We discovered it when he was in the hospital, which explains the fever and possibly the ear infection.

Carter's Hospital Stay

2009-05-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, Carter was taken to the hospital Friday evening because he was having seizures. In the ER they drew blood, put in an IV (this ended up being a major ordeal because they had a very hard time finding his veins), inserted a catheter to get a urine sample, did a CT scan, and did a spinal tap to check for meningitis. They also had to intubate him because he was having problems breathing during the seizures. Later that evening he was taken up to the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) where he was sedated overnight. They were able to take the breathing tube out Saturday morning and he spent most of Saturday sleeping because his body was recovering from the seizures and the medication, but when he was awake he was not a happy kid. By Sunday he was doing much better and was able to go home. The doctors still don't know why he had these seizures, other than the fact that he had a fever. Here are some pictures of his hospital stay.

Our poor baby in his cage. I know he was in there for his own protection, but it was still a sad sight.

He was not excited about his cage either.

Eating jello.

Sleepy baby. Carter has not been a fan of cuddling since the time he learned to crawl, but he wanted to be held constantly at the hospital. He's one heavy kid!

"Is this gonna last forever?"

Gary and Fradel brought Carter a stuffed bear and this balloon. Thanks guys...it really did cheer him up, even though he doesn't look very happy in the picture.

My Hubby is a College Graduate!

2009-05-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

Ryan graduated from Cal State Dominguez Hills last week Friday. Carter and I are so proud of him! Thank you to everyone who supported him along the way and all of you who were able to be here to celebrate with him. And a special thanks to my mom who was kind enough to watch Carter so I didn't have to worry about keeping him entertained during the 3 1/2 hour ceremony. Here are some pictures from his special day.

The graduates walking into the stadium.

In line to get his diploma.

Receiving his diploma.

The whole group.

The proud parents.

Proud wife.

Ryan's favorite part of the day...his party! I think he was excited for his party, but his friends made it a thousand times better when they gave him Lego and insisted he build the sets right then. :)

Happy 25th Birthday, Ryan!

2009-05-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my amazing hubby and Carter's awesome dada! We love you and hope you have a great birthday! I'm sure it will be your best birthday ever since you get to watch the LOST season finale on your special day! :)

Baby Ry Ry

All grown up with his Blackbird

:(

2009-05-04T16:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Carnival Guest:

We will cancel the scheduled call in Ensenada for all Carnival Paradise 4 day sailings departing May 18 through June 15, 2009. Guests will be provided a $50 per person onboard credit as a refund of the Ensenada government fees and taxes.

We know you will enjoy your cruise aboard the beautiful Carnival Paradise. However, if this itinerary change is not acceptable to you, we will provide a future cruise credit in the amount you paid for this cruise and you can sail with us anytime prior to December 31, 2010. In order to be eligible for the future cruise credit, you must contact Carnival no later than Thursday, May 7, 2009 to advise cancellation of the current cruise. Please understand that refunds will not be provided.

Most importantly, we are looking forward to welcoming you aboard the Carnival Paradise. The Captain, officers, staff and crew are dedicated to providing you with a fun and memorable vacation.

Sigh.

2009-04-21T22:39:00.000-07:00

This week Carter decided he likes his mother more than he likes me.

My Smart Hubby

2009-04-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

We attended the "Honors Convocation" at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday night where Ryan was given a medal for graduating "cum laude", which means he has a cumulative GPA between 3.4 and 3.6. I'm so proud of him for doing so well in school. I know it hasn't always been easy to juggle school, work, church callings and family, but he's done such a great job and in less than 5 weeks he'll be a college graduate!

His fancy medal. (front)

His fancy medal. (back)

Happy Easter!

2009-04-21T10:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, we're *finally* posting our Easter pictures. We really didn't do much this year, but Carter had fun playing with eggs and we had a nice dinner with my parents.

Carter thinks it's all for him.

Carter's basket.

Carter was happy with his gifts.

Carter figured out one way to open the eggs.

And the more conventional way.

Denise's Birthday and First Meetings

2009-04-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

Carter got to meet more of his extended family a couple weekends ago when we went to my aunt and uncle's home in San Clemente to celebrate my older sister's birthday. Denise and her family were there, as well as my cousin Jake and his wife Jen. Even Mom was in town!

Meeting Auntie Jill and cousin Jen

Meeting cousin Jake

And finally, meeting the dawgies

Singing Happy Birthday to Denise. From her expression, we must be terrible.

Aiming for the sky with Uncle Derek

Playing wif the pups. They really *really* liked Carter, but at first he wasn't so sure about them.

Vacation and Dieting Don't Mix!

2009-04-03T16:30:00.001-07:00

Our trip to Utah was wonderful, but part of what we love about vacation is food. We told ourselves we were going to try to be good, which never seems to work. So, here are our embarrassing weights for the week.

Ryan's starting weight: 172
Ryan's current weight: 168
Ryan's goal weight: 155
Pounds GAINED this week: 1
Pounds lost to date: 4
Pounds to lose before June 1st: 13

Katie's starting weight: 140
Katie's current weight: 137
Katie's goal weight: 123
Pounds GAINED this week: 3
Pounds lost to date: 3
Pounds to lose before June 1st: 14

Can someone please explain to me how I gained 3 pounds and Ryan only gained 1? I know he didn't eat any healthier than I did!

Spring Break in Utah

2009-04-01T16:44:00.000-07:00

Ryan has this week off from school for spring break, so we decided to take a road trip to Utah. We left Thursday night after Ryan's class and got into Utah early Friday morning. Carter did such a great job with the drive...he slept most of the time and when he was awake he was happy. We had a great time with family and wish we could have stayed longer!

Mommy and Carter playing on the trampoline.

Daddy and Carter playing on the trampoline.

Carter made Mommy tired!

Crazy hair!

Carter helping Auntie Lo Lo with her camera.

Carter on his way to take Grandpa's remote.

We woke up to snow on Monday morning. This picture was taken after the snow on the street had already melted.

We didn't play on the trampoline that day.

Carter and Daddy.

Carter's excited because he thinks Auntie Lo Lo is going to share with him.

They didn't want to say goodbye.

Carter loved climbing the stairs.

Carter learned to play the recorder.

Early Weigh In

2009-03-26T12:54:00.001-07:00

We're getting ready to drive to Utah tonight to visit family, so we figured it would be a good idea to weigh in today. Hopefully we won't do too badly with our weight loss on our vacation!

Ryan's starting weight: 172
Ryan's current weight: 167
Ryan's goal weight: 155
Pounds lost this week: 1
Pounds lost to date: 5
Pounds to lose before June 1st: 12

Katie's starting weight: 140
Katie's current weight: 134
Katie's goal weight: 123
Pounds lost this week: 2
Pounds lost to date: 6
Pounds to lose before June 1st: 11

Biggest Loser...Again

2009-03-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

Well, we've decided it's time to jump back on the Biggest Loser bandwagon. We want to look amazing in our bathing suits on our cruise to Mexico, which starts June 1st. That gives us just over 2 months to lose some much needed weight, so a couple weeks ago we started trying to focus on eating better and exercising. Now we've decided to give ourselves more motivation by tracking our progress here for everyone to see. Keep checking back for our weekly updates and feel free to give us advice and encouragement!

Here are our very embarrassing beginning pictures:

Ryan's starting weight: 172
Ryan's current weight: 168
Ryan's goal weight: 155
Pounds lost to date: 4
Pounds to lose before June 1st: 13

Katie's starting weight: 140
Katie's current weight: 136
Katie's goal weight: 123 (still trying to get to my pre-pregnancy weight)
Pounds lost to date: 4
Pounds to lose before June 1st: 13

Teefs, Hurrcut and Walkins

2009-03-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

Carter's up to six teeth now (4 up top, 2 below) and he enjoys having them brushed.

He also got his second haircut today, and this time Katie did it with clippers. Buzz buzz! He was a bit better behaved than the first time Grandpa Bradley came at him with scissors, but he still wasn't a happy camper.

Also, his walking has improved quite a bit these last two weeks. It's frightening what he can get into now. And his latest trick is climbing onto the couch.
Here's a new video of me and the boy playing around in the living room.
I'm trying a different video embed this time because my mom couldn't see the most recent videos of Carter.

Look at Him Go!

2009-03-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

Carter decided it was time for him to start walking on Friday. Ryan was at my parents' house doing laundry and watching Carter while I was at work, so I was pretty sad when Ryan called to tell me Carter was walking around my parents' family room. What made me even more sad was that Ryan didn't have the camera with him. We managed to get some video of Carter walking at a Lego meeting on Saturday, so here's our little walking machine.

3-17-09 updated with another video:

RIP TTC

2009-03-12T23:20:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day of work at the job I've been at for nearly 3 years. When I started at Technology Training Corporation, Katie and I had just gotten engaged. I got my first car right after starting, and was married a few months later. Carter was born and aged a year since I've been there.

I don't have plans right now for what to do next, graduation is kind of the hazy threat looming on the horizon, but I'm sad to leave TTC, and I understand that sometimes these things just happen. I wasn't fired; they just needed someone and I couldn't fulfill the hour requirements any more because of school and internships.

Some coworkers treated me to lunch today and we had a nice time. I got some good leads on potential jobs down the line, so I won't be completely severing my ties with the company yet!

Carter Update

2009-03-06T09:58:00.000-08:00

Carter wearing his new towel made by Auntie Karen (Bradley)

Our little boy standing on his own. He's not quite walking yet, but we're expecting it to be soon!

Paradise Here We Come!

2009-03-02T15:34:00.000-08:00

We just booked our first cruise over the weekend and we're so excited! We'll be boarding the Carnival Paradise on June 1st for a 4-night Mexico cruise.

Carter vs. The Cake

2009-02-23T10:32:00.000-08:00

I'm sure the suspense has been killing you, so here's the play by play of the matchup between Carter and The Cake:

The innocent Elmo cake; hereinafter referred to as "The Cake"

Helping Carter blow out the candle as he thinks about stepping on "The Cake"

Carter goes straight for the frosting

Carter obviously loves the frosting

Carter then realizes there's cake under the frosting. (The wonderful blue smiley face was added by Uncle Derek, as well as the big blue spot on his nose.)

"The Cake" has been destroyed!

We took away the tray, but Carter managed to find some frosting he had left on the arm rest...I guess he was saving it for later.

We had so much fun watching Carter eat his cake. I figured he would eat a little of it and then play with it, but I was very wrong. He definitely made a mess all over himself, but the majority of it made it in his mouth.

Birthday Teaser

2009-02-18T12:45:00.000-08:00

We haven't finished uploading the millions of pictures from Carter's birthday party yet, so I thought we'd give you a little "taste" of what's in store.

So dainty...is that really our child?

Stay tuned for more birthday pictures and to find out how the Carter vs. The Cake match turned out.

Happy 1st Birthday!

2009-02-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

It's so hard to believe that it was one year ago today Carter joined our family. We feel so blessed to have him in our lives and we're looking forward to many more fun years with him. Happy Birthday Carter! We love you!!!

Here's a look back at Carter's first year:

Carter Harrison Wood was born at 12:20am, weighed 8lbs 8oz, and was 19 inches.

So peaceful

Welcome home!

First bath

First trip to Legoland

First smiles

First video game

First Easter

Baby blessing...first time meeting a lot of family.

First time at the beach

First Dodger game

First Utah trip...first movie...first time meeting more family

First night in his crib

First Legos

First solid foods

First trip to the zoo...first time meeting more family

First turtle

First time in the pool

First time standing in his crib

First Halloween

First french fry

First Thanksgiving

First tooth

First time meeting Santa

First trip to Temple Square...first time in snow

First Christmas

First time meeting more family

First haircut

Carter's 1st Haircut

2009-02-05T17:20:00.001-08:00

Carter's hair was getting way too long, so I started calling around to see how much it would cost to take him in for a haircut. I really didn't want to pay $20 for his haircut, but I didn't feel comfortable doing it myself. Fortunately, my dad still had his scissors from when we were kids and was willing to do the honors.

Before:

He's not sure what's going on, but he's not excited about it.

The back.

During:

Grandpa, what are you going to do with those?

This is not fun!

Carter was happy because Grandpa took a break.

After:

Such a handsome boy.

No more mullet!

Carter did not enjoy getting his haircut and was very happy when it was over. He doesn't look like a little baby anymore, but he's as handsome as ever and hasn't been called a girl since. A special thank you to my dad for putting up with unhappy Carter and to my mom for keeping him as still as possible.

Interviews

2009-02-02T16:56:00.000-08:00

This post is mainly for my mom who seems to be disgruntled when she hears our news after everyone else.

I have two interviews this week for internships; one tomorrow, and one Thursday. Both seem like good prospects. The downside to the Thursday one is that I'm required to have an Apple laptop for the work I'll be doing, so we've got our eye on some cheaper refurbished Mac laptops just in case.

Also, next Monday I have an interview at KROQ, the big rock radio station here in southern California, and I'm really excited about it. I don't know if it'll pan out or anything, I'm not even sure they're offering any internships right now, but a friend of mine knows people working there, and he put in a good word for me, and they asked me to come in. Hurray for networking!

From Fail to Win

2009-01-27T01:12:00.000-08:00

My day started off with the start of a new semester at school. My final semester! I had one morning class, and then I'd be off to a second interview in Universal City for an internship with Law and Order.
The first interview had gone really well, so I was looking forward to going back and hopefully hitting it off again with the next person in the line, and securing the internship.

As the title and attitude of this post might foretell, it wasn't meant to be. This interview just didn't feel good at all, and I struggle now to see where it went wrong. I wasn't getting positive vibes the way I was the last time, and the interviewer all but told me to have fun looking elsewhere. He did have some useful things to say about the industry and internships in general, but overall it was just not feeling like a win.

Sure enough, later that day I got a call saying the choice had been tough, but they'd gon with someone else for the internship. I was crushed. My prospects right now are nil, and here we are with the semester already started. I need this to graduate. Looks like I've got some work ahead of me.

As the title belies, there's a happy ending to this post. But not in the internship department...

Back in October we blogged about Brickcon, and our part in coordinating the big Lego Battlestar Galactica display there.

The Battlestar Galactica display at Brickcon got some major attention today, and it's all due to the Brothers Brick.

Click to see the fullsize image!
That's our Lego display on the bottom left!
The Battlestar page on SciFi.com (the SciFi Channel homepage) links to a post on geek site dvice about the display, which links to an article Gizmodo, another geeky/tech blog who got the original story from Brothers-Brick, a well-known and respected blog followed by fans of Lego around the world.

This was the most awesome way to end my supremely crushing day. I'm prouder than ever of everyone in the band of friends who helped make the Battlestar display shine, and Katie for not only putting up with a 7-foot hangar in our living room, and Lego all over the house, but for her mosaic contribution. Thanks honey! You are awesome!

Phantom

2009-01-27T00:44:00.000-08:00

When I was growing up, my family would periodically do this thing for Family Home Evening or other occasions where we make/bake.buy some goodies for a family, leave it on their doorstep, and then ring the doorbell before taking off running, then speeding away in the getaway car. We called it Phantom, I'm sure other people call it something else, but you get the general concept. It's "Ding-Dong-Ditch," but with treats for the victim instead of just annoying them.

So anyways, we were driving home this past Saturday night from a day spent in San Diego, and I felt like we had to do something for my sister Denise and her family, who have been in the midst of a frenzied effort to clean up and make their house ready for sale. We got some treats at a store near their place, and when we got to their neighborhood I couldn't decide if we should leave it and run, or drop in to say hi and see how things were going. We drove back and forth past their house no less than 4 times before I finally decided to go in. Mind you, it's about 9:30 at night, and I wasn't sure if kids would be up, if Denise would be up, or if we'd be welcome.

There were lights on in the house as Katie and I took the cookies up to the door, knocked, and covered the peephole. After a minute or two of silence, we debated ringing the doorbell or knocking again. Someone must be home, right? There were lights on...

We finally decided to go with the original ding-dong-ditch plan, so I jumped back into the car while Katie got ready to hit the doorbell. She set the cookies down, hit the bell, and started leaping for the car. As we barely started to pull away from the driveway a car was flashing its light at us as it came down the street, and as I looked in the rearview mirror Katie exclaimed that it was Denise and Derek!

We were laughing so hard as we pulled over, caught red-handed, as Derek and Denise came up and their daughters came out of the front door wondering who had been covering their peephole.

It was a riot, and proved how terrible Katie and I are at this game. Maybe we'll have to practice a little bit more.

Awesome Vacation Day 7: Happy New Year!

2009-01-19T17:17:00.000-08:00

Spending the holidays with my family was a blessing I really appreciated. If only it hadn't gone by so fast! I enjoyed getting to spend quality time with my parents and siblings, and especially for Carter to have a chance to be with all of them.

Ringing in the new year was one of the highlights of the trip, and here we have plenty of pics of the fun!

My beautiful wife (of 2 years!)

Carter and Auntie Lolo having fun together. Okay, maybe Lauren isn't having fun after all...

Playing Guitar Hero

Fetti fun!

Garin making confetti angels on the floor.

Happy Anniversary!

2009-01-12T18:11:00.000-08:00

Ryan and I celebrated our second anniversary while we were in Utah. His parents are so nice that they agreed to watch Carter for us so we could enjoy a night out. We had dinner at a great steakhouse called Goodwood, saw the movie Bedtime Stories, got shakes and fries (with fry sauce of course) at Iceberg, and stayed at Somewhere Inn Time, a wonderful bed and breakfast in Orem. It was an awesome anniversary!

Our room at Somewhere Inn Time.

Our room with the hot tub.

Thank you for an amazing two years, honey! You're such a wonderful husband and father, and I'm so blessed to have you in my life. I love you!!!

More Awesome Vacation

2009-01-09T12:37:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas we had family pictures taken since all of Ryan's family was together. Carter was pretty sick with a cold, but the photographer did a great job with him and he was a happy baby. We can't wait to see how the pictures turned out!
That Saturday the Baker family headed back home, which made things pretty quiet. We did some after Christmas shopping and went to Lauren and Brett's for dinner and a movie.
Sunday we went to church and then drove to Syracuse, UT to see my brother, Kevin, and his family. They had flown in from England to spend Christmas with Jen's (my sister-in-law) family and attend her sister's wedding. We're so glad that we were able to see them and that Carter was able to meet more cousins. We hope they get sent back to the States soon!

Our families. From left to right: Jacob, Jen, Bryan, Kevin, Katie, Carter, Ryan

Pacifier cousins. Carter is only 3 months older than Jacob, so they had fun together.

Carter and Jacob

Jacob is soooo cute!

Jacob and his daddy.

My brother and I with Carter and Jacob.

Bryan had fun with Carter, too.

Bryan was having so much fun with his grandpa that Carter decided to join them.

Our Early Christmas

2009-01-07T16:03:00.000-08:00

Since we were heading to Utah on Christmas Eve, we opened our Christmas presents to each other before we left. It's probably a good thing Carter is too young to remember this Christmas experience, otherwise he'd be expecting several days of opening presents.

Presintz!

Carter opening his first present.

It's a walker!

The assembled walker.

Carter was excited about the ball popper from Uncle Kenny and Aunt Karen.

An activity table from Papa. Carter decided he didn't need to finish unwrapping it.

The assembled activity table.

My pretty boys

Birthdays and Christmas with the Bradleys

2009-01-07T16:02:00.000-08:00

My parents decided to take a two week cruise to Mexico for Christmas, so we celebrated my Dad's birthday (12/21), my birthday (12/22), and Christmas the Friday before Christmas.

My dad opening his birthday present from Kevin and Jen.

Carter playing with my dad's birthday present from Kevin and Jen. He was really just trying to get inside since he saw it had food.

Carter playing with my dad's birthday present from us. It plays music and the animals dance, so he loved it.

My awesome birthday present from my parents. This is the newest book by the author of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. I have all of the books and I didn't even know there was a new one, so I was very surprised.

Carter's excited for his presents!

He got distracted by the shiny bow.

Carter loves his "Baby's First Christmas" ornament because it's Precious Moments!

Carter decided to play with the bag instead of checking out all of his nice new clothes.

Carter's new stroller. He doesn't seem that excited, but we sure are because it's easy to get in the trunk and still have room!

The tradition continues! Lost is always on Ryan's Christmas list and my parents have gotten it for him the past three Christmases, but I still try to trick him and so did my mom...the gold box to the right is what she put it in.

Awesome Vacation Day Two: Christmas!

2009-01-07T15:13:00.000-08:00

After the reenactment of the birth of Christ from the night before, we woke up Thursday morning to a snow-covered world. This was my (and Carter's!) first white Christmas, and it was wonderful.

Carter was excited to open his presents!

He got this dancing monster named Brobee (from "Yo Gabba Gabba," a kids TV show) from the Bakers. It sings and dances. A lot:

Lauren and Brett with the SpongeBob mosaic we built for them.

Our nephew Luke with the wizard wand my little bro Garin handmade for him.

We got Wall-E! Yay!

It was a blast being together with my entire family for Christmas. That hasn't happened in over a decade, and there weren't many of the little kids around then. We made my mom cry at least once. ;)

Awesome Vacation: Day 1

2009-01-05T10:57:00.000-08:00

We flew to Utah the morning of Christmas Eve. It was Carter's first plane ride and he did great. He slept for a little while and was happy during the whole flight. He was very excited to see grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
We went to Temple Square to see the lights and it was so beautiful, but we are definitely not used to such cold weather! I'm very glad we were able to go because I didn't get a chance to see Temple Square at Christmas time during my mission since I was serving in Arizona at the time.

Outside Assembly Hall. Carter looked so cute in his snowsuit that Grandma Wood got him and he seemed to be much warmer than the rest of us!

Pretty lights.

We all went inside the Joseph Smith building to get warm with some hot chocolate.

Carter being silly.

Kisses for Carter!

We're Back!

2009-01-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

We spent the past 10 days in Utah visiting Ryan's family for Christmas and we were very sad to leave. We have tons of pictures and will try to get them up as quickly as possible, so keep checking back!

#1 Cowboy Fan

2008-12-16T17:03:00.000-08:00

As everyone should already know, I'm a HUGE Cowboys fan. Shortly after Carter was born, my parents had a layover in Dallas and bought Carter some Cowboy warm ups for him to grow into. I put the jacket on him yesterday because it was cold and rainy and he looked so cute!

Such a happy fan!

And here's a closeup shot to show off Carter's first tooth.