life In Truckee and our one year anniversary

I really wish I was better at staying on top of this blogging thing...I'm always a month or 2 or 3 behind. Ohhhh well. We have so much to look forward to in the next few months and I'm hoping to stay on top of it. Being behind is fine with me just as long as I take a night to get all caught up... not to mention I write this blog mainly to remember what we were up to. Does anyone even read this? haha Thanks sister for always keeping me on it. Your family blog inspires me to do the same for my little family. We moved to Truckee January 3rd and have been here for the past 6 weeks. A much needed change after having Liv in her first 6 months in the city in a not so quiet neighborhood. The older I get the more I desire to be away from the busyness of life. This has been a perfect get away for our family and a good chance for Pete and Liv to connect in a deeper way with one another. And Oh my how she loves her daddy. Also a good opportunity for Pete to get the work done needed for him to take off with this meat company in the foothills. I kid with him saying if I would have known 3 years ago that you were going to buy a business in the foothills and take me back near my home town, I would have ran away...and fast. Funny how mindsets change and how Yuba doesn't seem at all bad while growing a little family. Hello!! Friends and family all around! What could be better?! It's mostly been the 3 of us up here with a few weekends full of fun with friends and family. In 2 weeks we leave for Europe, mostly Italy and will be gone for 6 weeks!! Are you kidding me!?! This has been a dream of mine for the longest time and now we are actually going! No better to go then with my little family and with a husband who is way easy going but an experienced traveler... I think Liv is the perfect age for traveling too, and she is a pretty easy go with the flow baby herself. The one thing i'm a little worried about is the long plane ride, but i'm pretty sure we'll get through it with little to no hitch. More about the Europia trip soon. I hope to take my computer and blog while we are there!! In the meantime, I want to post a few pictures from the past 6 weeks of being in the barely any snow winter in Truckee. It's been such a good time for Liv to flourish. As I write this she is 8 and a half months old and learning so much everyday. I tend to consider her a little on the smarter side....haha is that because I'm her mommy? Maybe that has a little to do with it but she has been pretty "with it" since day one. Now for her timeline... she was sitting up on her own at 6 months, rocking on all fours soon after, and shortly after, crawling, and having it mastered by 7.5 months. She started to pull herself up to standing position at the end of 7 months and soon it was all she was doing and all she wanted to do. Practice makes perfect. She would stand over and over and over again in her crib and found it a fun game to let herself fall backwards. Her balance and coordination amazes me everyday. She's a really cautious baby yet totally adventurous. She's my little explorer. Recently she has taken on her own dance moves every time a song comes on, she loves music. She makes faces that mimic what I'm doing and she's learning what she needs to do to make me laugh. Doesn't take much. Just in the past week she has started standing on her own, in the middle of the room with nothing to hang onto. The longest she's stood is about 15 seconds and then she slowly lowers herself back down to the floor. She's totally over her baby food mush and pretty much spits out every bite I attempt to feed her. So big girl food it is...Liv's first solids: eggs, Avocados, blueberries, broccoli, yogurt, applesauce, rice, small pieces of pasta, banana...today i gave her some pieces of raisin bread and small pieces of banana pancakes and she was in heaven. Seriously I just love her to pieces. I can't get enough of her sweetness. I can't wait to just watch her learn more and more. The most incredible part of being a mommy is the love that I feel for my baby girl, and knowing that I have a great responsibility in showering her with the love that will help make her healthy and whole, and being apart of her growth everyday! Knowing that I play a huge roll in her development and who she turns out to be. She absolutely LOVES her daddy, and her papa and that makes my heart happy, knowing she has some amazing men in her life who shower her with love and affection. She loves books, and she loves to play. She can play on her own for hours. Cutest thing to watch. Pete and I celebrated our one year anniversary on the 30th of January! What a year it's been. In the first year of our marriage we did a whole loft remodel (while I was pregnant and wanting to nest) I went to school for my esthetician hours, we had Olivia Love on June 2nd, Pete started the planning for his meat business, we moved to Truckee and well it was a very eventful year. But honestly the best year of my life so far. It's hard to describe being a mommy for the first time. These moments that Pete and I are experiencing with our first little girl will never be lived again. I want to freeze this precious time and soak it all in. Appreciate even the challenging times that make life all the more sweeter with hard growth and growing pains. Our first year of marriage definitely won't go down in the books as our easiest. It was hard. At some points I wanted to run away. (I'm sure a lot of it being crazy hormones) But there is something beautiful about the journey with one single other person who sees you at your ugliest moments and stays put. Stays by your side to work through the toughest of times. In the end what a blessing it is to look back on a life with the one person you went through it with and say we did it. We know each other in and out. saw each other through the struggles and the changes and we are still here. And I love you more today then I ever have before. I can imagine thats what it will feel like. Especially after a hard year with a lot of challenges and then looking at him on the night of our one year anniversary in complete love and adoration looking forward to continuing doing life with him, promising that I will never give up. Olivia's birth brought us together this year in a way that we will never forget. Not being oblivious to the fact that it will get hard at times still, and we will bug each other at times and I will feel like flipping him off. But there is growth and love at the end of the day. And a deep appreciation for sticking it out. I love my man. Not to mention it is so darn attractive

that he is the best daddy to his little girl. Here's to another great year and lot of new memories to be made...

Sweet Livvy eyes, September 2011

So all of these posts are a tad bit out of order. Leave it to me to do it all on one day. These pictures were taken by Erin Lizardo and they have to be some of my favorite pictures I have of her. She looks so sweet and shy in them. It was the day of a bridal fashion show and I didn't even know Erin was taking them until they showed up in my inbox a week later. Love them. I love my daughters eyes. I think she is just the cutest sweetest thing i've ever laid eyes on...I'm writing this when she's almost 8 months old so when I see these pictures she has grown so much. She's still a little peanut tho. Time really does fly.

Stocker Cup October 2011

Stocker Cup is an annual Golf Tournament that takes place in Carmel in honor of Pete's dad. It brings people from all over to celebrate and honor his memory for a 5 day tournament on a beautiful course. Each year it happens in the fall at some point (this year October) and the whole family heads down to Carmel for the fun-filled weekend. This year Pete invited my parents up to join in the festivities which includes a dinner in a huge beautiful barn with great food, people and dancing. This year was my second time attending and it's always a good time. Carmel is so beautiful and it was an extra plus having my parents there with us. Liv was as cute as can be and definitely got a lot of ooos and ahhhs. I just realized that every picture I posted on here she's wailing!! haha!! She was almost 6 months old...

Halloween 2011

I have to post the silliness of our Halloween this past year. It was a last minute costume thrown together after finding wigs at a nearby store the day of Halloween. I totally lagged on getting Liv a costume. We had big plans for her to be several things but never made the order. Soooo after a quick run to Walgreens and a fabric store we had the goal to look like a mini family of off the hook rockstars. Instead after slapping tatoos all over our arms and chests (which stayed on for an extra week) Pete looked like Joe Dirt, I looked like a ghetto gangsta and Liv just hated her headband and cried until I took off her costume. It was a fun and mellow night anyway...We headed over the bridge to Marin to hang with Petes family, eat and drink and be merry and pass out candy. I have NEVER seen a street more packed and raging then in Mill Valley on that Halloween night. Kids EVERYWHERE. Wonder where we'll be in 2012?!?!

December 5th 2011, Pete's 33rd Birthday

This year for Pete's Birthday we went to the beautiful Nick's Cove in Tamalis Bay. His Birthday falls on the 5th of December, (obviously i'm a little behind on my blogging) so it is very important to him that we celebrate his day of birth before decking the halls for Christmas....After spending a night at this cozy little cove, kind of a hidden treasure tucked away on the coastline with a deck over looking the bay, complete with a quaint little wood burning stove fireplace, we decided that we would make this an annual birthday tradition. It will be a getaway that we'll look forward to every year and a place that will make hubby happy on his day. Walking distance from the little cottages is Nicks restaurant, where we enjoyed a birthday dinner, with Pete's brother Erik and his wife Lindsay (two Lindsey Stockers). Liv was such an angel all dinner.
We found out that night the hard way that 6 months was too big to let her sleep unbuckeled in her carseat. The waitress kindly offered the empty table next to us to put her on. Something inside of me knew it was unsafe because she is definitely a tosser in her sleep. I went for it anyway since she looked so tucked away and sound asleep (don't ever let the guys talk you into something if your motherly instinct tells you otherwise) ( ; Next thing we know, during a yummy dinner and good conversation, out of the corner of my eye I see her wriggling her way out of her seat, and in slow motion her little body slipped out of the carseat and headed for the hardwood floor. Lindsay and I stood up and screamed (the motherly thing to do of course) which catapulted Erik and Pete to their feet dashing toward Liv. Erik, being the closest to her and the hero of the evening caught her with about 6 inches until she hit the hard floor. Ugggghhhhhhh worst feeling EVER. My heart pounded along with everyone else for the next 15 minutes. Apparently she had no clue what had happened because she awoke and gave Erik a huge smile like he had been holding her throughout her whole sleep. So happy that my wiggly baby girl was ok. A lesson learned, and a huge relief that we didn't end up in the E.R. making sure she didn't have a concussion.
Happy Birthday to my sweets and here's to a GREAT 33rd year!

Today is Thursday, December 8th. I was at home all day with Liv, and realized that I was trying to keep this busy little bee (6 month old) happy so that I could scurry around and clean, and clean, then clean some more. She felt frustrated and I could tell that if she could use her words she would say mommy, I just want you to get down on the floor and be with me. Sometimes I get so over this never ending ride of cleaning, laundry, bills, what's for dinner whats for lunch, time for bed. Sometimes I get the feeling that we are robots, living in this society that tells us to go go go all of the time. Even Christmas now is a huge list of to do's that make you feel like you are never doing enough. I watched a Target commercial today that showed a bunch of people separately doing things and crossing them off of their mile long list while saying "done". It made me tired just watching it and I looked over at the sink and the morning breakfast dishes, and then down at my daughter who was looking up at me with needy eyes. I am a human being, not a human doing. Yes, of course I will do things, this grind is part of life. But what I don't want to do is get so caught up in the go go going that I forget to be, to stop and be. I feel like so many people have bought into the idea that the more you do, the more you have, the more accomplished you feel. Pete, my husband, just recently gifted me with some money to go shopping. Really sweet. After the money was gone, and I had things, I found myself wanting more things. I got sick of my things really fast. Now that I have more things, where do I have to go in my things? I mean, am I really gonna go anywhere where these things are gonna make me feel better? I'm not trying to sound like a pessimist, although I know I can be one at times. I think having Liv makes me re-evaluate often. Because the thing I never ever will grow tired of is time with her, quality time with my family, being with friends, yes enjoying the holidays, but not feeling guilty if I don't have all the decorations up by December 8th. Pete's birthday is December 5th, and he wants to make it known to me that we will celebrate his birthday before we decorate for Christmas! And yeah, we should! It is his birthday afterall, and what's the big deal in waiting one more week to decorate? I'm sitting here with cookies and a glass of milk, it is 5:50 pm, Pete gets off at 6, and tonight we are going to get our tree. What i'm excited about this year is experiencing Livs first Christmas. She is growing so much. There's nothing I would rather be doing then being her mommy.

4 months old, and Autumn in the city

My sister is great at reminding me that I need to write another post...
Crazy how time gets away from me...how many things I constantly have swirling in my noggin of all that I should do or need to get done. (blogging being one of them) There is always another load of laundry, another bag to pack or unpack, it feels like we are always on the go, or the complete opposite, hangin in the loft for little peanut to have some good down time, just her daddy and i. I know the times we are living now are ones that I will wish for again come 5 years from now. There is always a part of me that is nostalgic for the past. And these moments with Liv as a baby girl will be one of those times in life I will wish for again in the future. So for now, while I have her little, I'm reminded to enjoy where we are RIGHT now, hold her a little longer, enjoy every minute with her even in the wee hours of the night when she's waking up a little extra because of teething, and kiss her tiny little soft cheeks a few extra times a day. (this little girl gets kissed A LOT). I'm okay with letting the laundry wait sometimes at this season in my life. Or else I need to stay up a couple extra hours a night to get these household things done...
Life flies by, on Sunday October 2nd she will be 4 months old. There is so much change in her that takes place weekly, daily even. She becomes more aware of her surroundings every single day. She loves pulling and grabbing her hanging toys and ends up getting pretty frustrated with them I think because she's waiting to hear them talk to her... She grabs things I put in front of her and puts them directly into her mouth, she's a little drool queen right now, but quite the talker and the fusser at certain times of the day. Also, blowing bubbles and spitting at me is her way of having conversation with me. It's the cutest thing and it makes me laugh. Definitely my fault since i've been doing that to her since day one. She's so smiley in the morning, and the best part about this past month is hearing her giggle for the first time. It usually happens when I startle her and say peek-a-boo, or peek my head over her crib after she's been playing with her furry friends...What can I say, I'm completely in love and obsessed with my daughter. We took her to her first Giants game at the beginning of September, and sadly they lost but we had a lot of fun. She stared at me the whole time from her Ergo seat and it cracked us up. I was wearing a hat and I think she was pretty curious about it. We took her to Santa Cruz this past weekend and she had her first experience on the beach and I think she quite liked it. ( :
We're so in love with her. She's the best thing that has EVER happened to us. As crazy as it may sound, Pete and I talk about having a big family and already somewhat planning on our next babe. Obviously we want to wait a little while and enjoy our time with Liv, but part of me would love to just grow our family quickly over the next 5 years. Pregnant next fall? Maybe just maybe....I love it that we have friends and cousins who are talking about starting their families soon too. Exciting times...
Pete is currently looking into a business opportunity in the foothills, which would take us out of the city and closer to my family. I think we would look at living in Nevada city/Grass Valley area if this business opportunity goes through. Right now its all in the works, and beginning stages but we shall see what happens. Never really imagined myself in that area, but you never know what life has in store... For now we are enjoying this beautiful Autumn weather in the city, taking lots of walk in the Marina, and hikes in Marin. I finally sent in my check for state board so I should be a licensed esthetician in the next few months after passing my test. I'm so excited for the upcoming holiday season, the Fall decor is out and the Halloween costume is in the works.
So much to look forward to but most importantly enjoying the moments RIGHT now, and the season we are in RIGHT now, watching Liv grow and seeing our relationship with one another grow and mature as well. All we have is right now...and learning to live in the moment is a great thing to get ahold of...