The Ricks

Christmas 2011

2012-01-18T19:32:00.000-08:00

Christmas was an all day event this year. With Christmas falling on a Sunday church as at noon and my poor parents had to give talks! We spent the morning with the gift Santa left us in our stockings and then got ready for church. The talks were perfect (so much better then some of the musical pieces) and FINALLY Grandma and Grandpa could relax and enjoy their Christmas (last time Christmas fell on a Sunday they had to give talks!). After Church we then opened the gifts. What fun it was to spend Christmas at home with family! Nothing is better then family!

The night before Christmas 2011

2012-01-18T19:16:00.001-08:00

Christmas...My FAVORITE time of the year! This year we spent Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Gropp in WA. I love going home for Christmas, my parents decorate every inch of the house and I love it! Not to mention the mounts of cookies and goodies just begging to be eaten. Relaxing on the couch with Dad (aka Grandpa)enjoying the warmth of the fireplace and helping mom (aka Grandma) in the kitchen making all sorts of yummy things!
This Christmas was especially fun. Lucy is getting old enough that she can start to understand what Christmas is about and participate in all the fun. Below are pictures of Lucy talking with Santa (aka dad)and the yummy cookies she made with auntie Summer for Santa. Also pictured is Liam, he had the most fun crawling around the house pulling down all the beautiful decor.

Thanksgiving/Vegas

2011-12-01T18:31:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving was spent with the Ricks family in sunny warm Las Vegas NV! We arrived Wednesday and spent the day with family. Once the kids were down for the night Sterling and I hit the strip. This was my first experience in Vegas so I was realy excited. The first thing we did was hit New York New York and rode the huge roller coaster. That was totally awesome! I wish we could have purchased one of the pictures they take while on the ride....it was so funny. After New York New York we headed up the strip going in and out of various casinos. We hit some slots at he Bellagio, kind of a wast of money if you ask me but I had no clue what I was doing haha. After that I needed something for my dry mouth (I hadn't slept in 24 hours so I was in over drive trying to keep up) so we headed over to the Caesars Palace. After Caesars Palace we headed back to the Bellagio and looked at their fall display...wow...seriously the coolest thing ever. Please don't judge how I look in some of these pictures it was like 1 in the morning and again I hadn't slept in 24 hours.
There is so much to do on the strip and we didn't even get to half of it! As we walked from casino to casino I couldn't help but think why are there so many family's out this late! Seriously it was midnight and later and we saw SO many family's out and about.
Thanksgiving was great! We spent the day in with family eating loads of delicious food. Later that night Jeanie, Jamie and I went to the theater (located in a casino lol) and watched twilight!! I loved the ending!! Seriously cant wait for part 2. Day after Thanksgiving we were surprised with tickets to a show called Le Reve at the Wynn. What an awesome show! After that we enjoyed a wonder dinner located at the fashion show mall. Loads of things to do in Vegas but never enough time! Maybe for a little weekend get away Sterling and I can head back and hit some more rides and all you can eat restaurants :). Never a place I will take the kids, just to much smoke and "garbage" shoved in your face.

Gropp grand babies

2011-11-01T19:18:00.001-07:00

Summer and I couldn't help but do a little Halloween baby photo taking...was it easy...maybe a little easier if Lucy hadn't had a wild, fun, sugar filled day (when I say sugar I mean 1 fun size snickers lol). Got to love Liam...I think he realized that he was the only guy there. And sweet Payton, she wanted to know who all of these weird people were.

Happy Halloween!!

2011-11-01T18:59:00.001-07:00

For Halloween this year we spent the day with Aunt Summer and her kindergarten class. We played all sorts of games and colored pumpkins. Both Lucy and Liam had a blast!! After the party Summer and I braved taking THREE babies out to dinner....it was interesting....I was covered in something sticky by the time we left but it was worth it just seeing how happy Lucy was.

after her ice cream cone...i think she was satisfied

Pre Halloween at Thanksgiving point!!

2011-11-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

We took a pre-Halloween family day and spent it at Thanksgiving point. Poor Lucy was so excited that she wouldn't go down for a morning nap and ended up falling asleep right as we drove up. She was so out of it that it took amount twenty minutes of looking at the animals for her to realize something was different. Lucy enjoyed all the different animals and even ventured to pet some. She LOVED the pony ride!! And story time was a blast. The hay ride could have been a little "smoother" but she handled it just fine.

Our pretty little Witch

2011-10-26T07:08:00.000-07:00

Here is Lucy showing off her Halloween costume that we made (well the little tutu). She loves wearing it around the house and can wait to show it off at the Halloween party next Monday!

Getting ready for Halloween

2011-10-19T17:53:00.001-07:00

I learned from last year that it takes me about a month to figure out a halloween costume for Lucy so this year I started early and found exactly what I wanted for her. Lucy will be a Witch and Liam will be a Airforce Pilot! Very excited....now we just need to find a bunch of Halloween partys to go to!

He started to cry when we told him that we didnt have a REAL fighter jet for him to fly...sorry little guy

A much needed update!!

2011-10-03T07:01:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened in our home... Lucy started Nursery last month (thats Lu with her drawing from nursery). Liam is rolling circles around the house and is trying to sit up on his own more and more. The Master bedroom construction is FINALLY complete now the painting begins and the front door is getting replaced next week (hopefully, construction always takes longer then they say!) More post are coming, until then enjoy the pictures!

Our Second Anniversary

2011-08-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

For our second anniversary we decided to take the whole family and enjoy Temple Square. It was a blast. The kids loved it and Lucy even meet some new friends. We had lunch at the Olive Garden and called it a day with an assorted pastry platter compliments of Mr. Perfect AKA Sterling. Looking forward to all eternity with my man and our precious kids.

I love to see the Temple...

2011-08-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite songs to sing at night is I Love to see the Temple (Next to popcorn popping on the apricot tree, in which she knows ALL the hand signs to!). When we are at church and Lucy hears the Primary kids singing this song, she goes running over while trying to sing the song herself. Now that we are getting closer to our sealing Lucy's excitement is multiplying. I have no doubt she knows just how special of a day this will be for our family. She will point to her pretty white dress in the closet and scream in excitement! What a blessing it is for Sterling and I to be able to be sealed to our precious children for time and ALL eternity. Finally I will be able to sleep better a night knowing we are an eternal family!

We couldn't help our self and decided to do a little dress up ;)

Liam

2011-08-24T15:16:00.001-07:00

Our little guy is growing up so fast! Last Friday he decided he was going to start to roll over. Of course he did it when I wasnt looking! Its hard to beleive he is now four months old! There are times when it feels longer and times like this where I think it was just yesterday he was born! Below are some pictures I captured after his third roll over in one night!

Super Savings!!!

2011-08-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

Everyday cost about $120
We paid $30

laughing in the bathroom...

2011-07-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

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talking...well sorta

2011-07-18T16:24:00.000-07:00

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Our 4th of July

2011-07-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

We started our 4th of July off by heading over to the Provo Freedom Festival, kind of disappointing, it was just a bunch of vendors selling crap. The cutest part was when we were waiting for the crowds of people to move when Lucy spotted two dogs, she started to say woof woof and pointed right at them. The owner was nice enough to let Lucy pet them. When she gets excited she stiffs her legs and gets really tense throughout her body, it rather cute if you know why she is doing it. We were however able fit in a spot in the kid corner and color a picture of a flag. Lucy is trying out the crayons, still very cautious seeing how everything goes right to her mouth with out question.
After the Freedom Festival we decided we needed to cool down with some ice cream. we got Lucy her very own ice cream cone and she loved it! Ate the whole thing by herself! Once home we lite up some sparklers and smoke bombs that Sterling picked up. Next year we plan on purchasing bigger fireworks seeing how both kiddos were totally chill with all the noise of the other fireworks going on. Off to the park we went afterward. Lucy was so tired after the long day and heat that it was just a relaxing time. There were loads of families there celebrating together and it really made me miss our families. On our walk home we stopped and chatted with some friends/neighbors, being so late in the day we called it a night and headed home for bed. That was our 4th of July-totally low key, but hey with two kids it was fun and exhausting!

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Pumkins anyone?!!

2011-07-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

This year we tried the whole farmer thing and planted starter seeds in the house. Totally unsuccessful due to winter like weather up until mid April we gave up. All of our starter seeds died in one after noon when placed out on the porch to get some sun when a freak snow storm killed them all. We didn't totally give up, we decided to try planting pumpkins in what was the flower beds,today we surprisingly have some what of a garden of pumpkins. Since the successful growth of our pumpkins we ventured to be back yard and have planted acorn squash, zucchini, rhubarb, tomatoes and white pumpkins! I cant wait for next year, we will be planting much more with hopes we can find someone with a commercial grade rototiller.

100,000 miles

2011-07-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

This past Friday we watched as the odometer turn 100k miles in the Kia. A little history about our Kia- My sister Summer and I bought the car back in 2006, Valentines day to be exact (funny enough we purchased all three cars on Valentines day, in three consecutive years). We purchased the Kia with only 1200k miles. After college I ended up with the Kia and Summer kept the Alero. A many times did I think about trading it in only to realize I couldn't find a better car. Fast forward to present time- I can still say its the best little car ever! My only hope is to be able to see our Kia last long enough for Lucy to enjoy when she starts to drive.

Liam smiles

2011-07-05T17:58:00.000-07:00

This is about three weeks late (better late then never I guess). Liam has officially start to smile! At 10 weeks Liam has kept his big blue eyes which look gorgeous with his big love able smile. As Sterling would say he is our "ginger child" with his red hair. He is a people person and hates to be left alone. Liam loves to watch his big sister play while he sits in the swing, he also loves it when Lucy reads to him. Below are some of the first smiles we have on camera.

Song

2011-06-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

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The Sweet Ones that bless our lives.

2011-06-17T23:21:00.001-07:00

Up until now I haven't written anything in the blog. This is really Chelsea's thing but I would feel remiss if I didn't write about the things that happened this week. My perceptions and role as a parent has changed. What I thought and especially, what I felt have increased so dramatically.

A few weeks agi Chelsea started showing our daughter Lucy how to pray. Being the sharp little thing that she is she has caught on very fast. She puts her little hands together and bows her head a bit. Well earlier this week Chelsea was nursing Lucy through a painful bout of teething, not even orajel and little fevers could help this time around. In what seemed to be an especially frustrating and very painful time for our daughter and with tears running down her cheeks she put her hands together and leaned her head on momma and eeked out a tiny little prayer. Were her words long or even recognizable? No. But thats not really the point is it? Chelsea said she really didnt say anything. But at such a young age to fall toward what her mother had taught her. There is no doubt in my mind our little 14 month old knows what prayer is.

I am home for the next five days and this gives me serious quality time with Liam and Lucy. When mommma got home today we got ready to head out to the ward party. As I walked into my room to change I saw Lucy standing next to the window with one of my t-shirts in hand. She had it draped around her neck and was trying to put it on. With her back facing me I stood in the doorway and watched as she hugged and squeezed my shirt. I could hear ooooo's and ooooh's coming from her as she did her best to bring the collar over her head. Momma walked in and helped her and lucy turned and walked out of the bedroom.

Wondering what had just happen Chelsea told me that Lucy comes in our room after I have left for work and grabs one of my t-shirts that I leave out. She told me Lucy wears it around the house for hours and will even go in my closet to try and put on a pair of my shoes taking the time to feel my ties. Given the fact that Lucy gets into every single thing she can, pulling clothes out of drawers, pans off the shelves, she finds it funny Lucy will walk into my closet and not pull a single thing off the hangers. She just feels my clothes and ties.

Chelsea then reminded me of what it was like when she was pregnant with Lucy and how she would toss and twist in the womb when I called, and when I would come home. How when she was first born and for about three months after Lucy would wake right up when I came home from work, no matter what time it was.

Watching my sweet little girl we feel God has given us a unique special little girl with such and immense capicity for love, more than we realized. Im sure as Liam grows and his personality begins to show he to will surprize us.

Just my thoughts. A grateful and very loved father.

My small but extreme coupon deals

2011-06-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to do the whole EXTREME coupon thing, like the tv show, but lets be honest it take ALOT of work. Its so hard to get out and go from store to store ESPECIALLY with two kids. I dont get a Sunday paper so I mostly print coupons from online or contact the manufacture and request coupons (which take forever to get). I learned that Target has their own coupons which you can double up with a manufacture coupon! So check out my first attempt to EXTREME coupon!
Target-
$1.26
Walgreens-
$0.61

Its Summer time!

2011-06-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

Our little walker

2011-06-14T17:37:00.000-07:00

click here

our growing family!

2011-06-05T08:31:00.001-07:00

First steps

2011-05-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

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The kidos

2011-05-20T19:23:00.000-07:00

Graduation

2011-05-17T19:05:00.000-07:00

Congrats Shane on your graduation!! Wish I was there celebrating your accomplishment with you... we shall have our own Gropp family celebration for you this summer. Sure love ya!

Monkey

2011-05-09T18:18:00.001-07:00

Chelsea and I laid in bed and listened to Lucy talk on and on for a good ten minutes and when Chelsea went into check on her this is what she found. Realizing she had been laying in bed talking to monkey, sometimes monkey is the only one that understands her.

Liam

2011-05-04T17:12:00.001-07:00

A day of birthdays

2011-04-28T17:43:00.001-07:00

Liam Sterling Ricks
born April 23 2011
6 pounds 9 ounces
18.5 inches

Happy Birthday Grandma Gropp

2011-04-10T19:54:00.000-07:00

Please click here

Pregnancy/Induction

2011-04-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

ITS OFFICIAL!! LIKE IT OR NOT LITTLE BOY RICKS WILL BE HERE APRIL 25TH!!! I was so excited to schedule my induction this week! I wish it was the 18th (that way I get more of Sterling at home with paid leave) but I have a feeling this little guy will be here before the 25th. WARNING: THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION MIGHT BE TMI FOR SOME PEOPLE-YOU WERE WARNED! I was checked and am measuring in at 3 centimeters and 40% effacted. My next appointment is Thursday, every week now, and I am hoping that I will have made even more progress. I seriously think this little guy will be here around the 18-23 but that's just my opinion.
Enjoy the pictures because I seriously hesitate posting them, I dislike looking at the double/triple chins (among other things)....definitely not the buck twenty little perky girl I was seeing the in mirror two years ago. Its scary how big I have gotten with this pregnancy. Sadly I hit my ending weight with Lucy at my last check up! (Mind you I put on 55 pounds with her) But I was told boys are typically bigger then girls. I told Sterling if little boy Ricks pops out at a whopping 10 pounds I would jump for joy. On the other hand if he is as small as Lucy (6 pounds 13 ounces) the first words out of his mouth better be, honey don't worry I just ordered you a treadmill!
I'm getting more and more excited to see what this little one looks like. I think he will be a sleeper (hooray!) Lucy had a schedule before she was even born, she was up when I was and would wake up just before Sterling got home from work, a little miniature adult. This guy..well there have been times where I have layed in bed crying because I am so tired and all he wants to do is play with my ribs or do somersaults and then sleeps all day. I still have so much to prepare. With all the construction going on its been seriously hard to keep my house as clean as I would like it. But its been so wonderful to have things completed. I am hoping the last of the current construction will be done Tuesday and then I can super clean my house AGAIN. I wish I had money to hire someone to clean my floors its such a chore being this big. Thankfully Sterling does most of the scrubbing. I will be posting pictures of our new fireplace and windows/frames. Outside of the house being in construction I feel like I have everything I need. I just need to pack my hospital bag, which I can finally do tomorrow (I got all the laundry done, FINALLY).

My therapy spout

2011-04-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

Whats the difference between standing up for yourself and pride? A very interesting question when you think about it. It can be hard to know when to shut-up or speak up. The situation in question takes place at work.

(A very condensed synopsis)
Owner/only license agent beside myself- suffers from serious lack of management skills. Secretary of 5 years, prints off her emails to read them (serious lack of tech skills)among other things. Client, good friends of secretary, lacks the responsibility of paying her insurance and likes to hit people with car in parking lots. Clients policies non-renew (notice from insurance company given 3 months ago). Owner gives secretary responsibly to find a new company before final cancellation. 2 months later insured wants to know where insurance is going, secretary fails to complete any quotes. Owner passes responsibility to me. Quotes completed and ready for signature with in 2 days. Client fails to show, 3 weeks later client shows up to complete applications same time and day I start interviews for a new secretary. Current secretary makes client wait for me to help her when all that is needed are signatures from insured, a simple click of the mouse and print job(not rock science and license not required. Client whom I have never met face to face, never spoken more than 3 words is giving me the look of death. I enthusiastically ask client question in regards to billing options when client walks out of office. Owner calls client. Client proceeds to tell owner that I should be fired and have my license pulled. Owner apologizes for any miscommunication and asks for client to schedule time for owner to personally complete policies. Client shows up next day and explains rather prophetically my lack of professionalism, manners and respect. I look at owner for explanation for clients rant. Owner is looking at me. I say nothing to client or Owner- next interviewer shows up. I leave work. Next day office meeting owner tells me client expect that I call her with apology. Secretary seconds that request, I laugh.

Ok, so its short there are alot of stupid (rather irritating) details left out but you get what happened. Its like a lemon in my mouth that I just cant seem to wash out. Seriously! An apology for what? Doing the job the secretary couldn't get done in 2 months - being the "bigger person" and letting the client "put me in my place". If this client thinks for one second that I'm going to call her and apologize she is mistaken. I would like to know what she thinks I need to apologize for. Unless asking someone how they will be paying their bill is offensive I don't know where this lady is coming from. Maybe, just maybe it could be all the crap her good friend/Secretary is feeding her....
I had a really hard time Wednesday letting the insured tell me off, I knew this lady was mad at me, for what, I couldn't tell you. The owner told me to just let is "side off your back"- "old people like to be sucked up to". He assured me that I said nothing wrong to client and that "I of anyone in the office was most capable of getting the job done". But then he sits there and lets the client talk to me the way she did, doesn't let the client know that good friend/Secretary had 2 months to do the job but couldn't AND then explains to me that the client wants an apology. When I laugh at such a request he says "the client is always right". I have a few choice words for you my boss and they are in no way Christ like! How did I become the cow in the slaughter house? Can my boss be any more unprofessional? How much more can my co-worker/secretary talk crap about me and get away with it? She has known since mid January that her job will end once I am back from maternity leave. I don't think she believed the owner/boss until I started calling people in to interview for her job. Now all of the sudden she is realizing that shortly she will be unemployed. The owner told me that in talking with secretary, secretary asked if he was really going to let her go! Doesn't that speak for its self...like I said the owner seriously lacks the management skills needed to run a professional business.

Every time I start to think about what happened I pray the Lord will help me let go of my harbored anger and move on. I prayed for forgiveness, I want to be the bigger person, more Christ like. But the whole thing keeps dragging out and I feel like I'm getting walked over. I realize its all about the dollar to him and him letting the client express herself can be my pride letting me stew over what happened. But at what point do you stand up for yourself and what do you say that wont get you fired.

Presents!

2011-03-20T20:29:00.000-07:00

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Lucys Birthday

2011-03-20T19:27:00.001-07:00

Birthday Party!

2011-03-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

tickle time

2011-03-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

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Lucy pre-birthday photos

2011-02-26T20:57:00.001-08:00

I was bored and wanted to play around with the camera, Lucy became my target. I wish she would hold still sometimes but this is what I got. Seriously wish I was better as getting a good shot but for now I will blame my 6 year old camera.

Spring, where are you?

2011-02-26T20:02:00.000-08:00

February is coming to a close and spring is just around the corner, at least I hope it is. The amount of snow fall in the last couple of days would suggest otherwise. For Valentines Day Sterling and Lucy brought me flowers at work and later took me out for dinner at Mimi's Cafe! What a lovely surprise. It was a load of fun to get out of the house and Lucy was able to get a feel for her new car seat which she loves!! When ever we are out everyone compliments on how beautiful Lucy is and how well mannered she is. We were truly blessed with just the sweetest little girl.
Construction on the fireplace starts next week! I am so excited!! Not only are we blessed with a house but also the means to remodel just the way we want. It can get hard waiting but I know in the end we will have our custom dream home. Thankfully Sterling has loads of experience as a superintendent of commercial construction when he lived in California, so all I have to do is pick out what I want and its done.
Work and church callings are going great. New beginning's was last week and it was a blast to get to know all the new beehives coming in this year. Hopefully our ward will continue to grow with families and not retirees.
Lucy is growing at an impressive rate, in the matter of weeks she has completely grown out of her 9 month clothing (that were fitting perfectly might I add) to 12 month. I only note this because she was still wearing some 6 month clothing at 9-10 months. She can pull herself up and will walk across the couch and other things. In the last couple of days she has been daring enough to let go of the couch and try to one-two step it to mom or dad. Of course that is only if she has a deathly tight grip on our hands/arms. The new shoes really help with the hardwood floors. It can get pretty hard for her to walk across things with socks or in her PJ's. Not to mention Mom loves shopping for shoes ;)
Loads of things coming up... keep posted.

All about Lucy!

2011-02-12T11:11:00.001-08:00

Updates

2011-02-07T17:19:00.001-08:00

So this year has already seemed to fly by! Its February and I have only blogged once...sadly I don't think those numbers will increase any time soon. Lets start with my pregnancy count down! As you remember my due date was bumped up, leaving me with about 76 more days until our little man is here. This pregnancy has been so much harder physically. But I would think that is because the two pregnancy's are only 3 months apart- my poor body wants a break! Still have some last minute shopping but nothing I cant knock out in a weekend with the help of my sister! I think we have finally picked out a name too! I'm going to keep it top secret just in case we end up changing it again. I'm really starting to wonder how I am going to do it with two kids....in diapers...but I know the Lord will bless me.
I'm loving my new job. Its keeping me very busy the hours I am there. My primary job thus far been setting up an Instar system so the office becomes paperless. It will take most of the year, being I am the only employee he has that knows how to work the Internet let alone start a computer! (I kind you not on that fact!). I love the that I dont work full time every day. Even more then that-Lucy never has to go to a daycare! What a (huge) blessing!
I love all my time here at home with Lucy. I have picked up on baking (mostly cookies) and some new recipes for on the go dinners for Sterling. And I have finally taken the time to make home made baby wipes! Super easy to make and WAY cheaper! I have been seriously thinking about using cloth diapers for the little guy but hesitate just a little because my lack of experience. If anyone has done cloth diapers let me know what your experience was like. I was told once that using cloth diapers helps down the road with toilet training. I also have some really cute sewing project in the works. I completed a pair of boy burp rags and will be starting on a couple of onies with ties (kind of like the ones you see in the mall, except way cheaper!). If only I knew how to make those really cute shoe/socks....I just might break down and get some. I am also sewing PJ bottoms for both sterling and I. Now all I need is about 3 hours of un-interrupted time to complete all of what I have started!
Last Sunday I received my first calling in our ward! I will be int he Young Womens presidency! I am super excited to be working with the youth! We dont have a very large group of girls (yes we live in Utah) 12 to be exact. I will be over the beehives of which there are 4 girls! Our theme this year is the 12th Article of Faith. Right away we have new beginnings, and I acquire 3 of those 4 beehives next month! I have already started planning out some of my lessons, hand outs and personal progress binders for each girl.
Construction on the house...well the lack there of. The contractor that was to come out to start on our fireplace suffered from a near heart attack and had bypass surgery the day before he was to work on our fireplace. SO....according to the contractor he hopes to be back on his feet and working on our place no later then end of March, about the same time we have our other contractor working on the master bedroom and living room. If anything it leaves us some additional time to same money up for my maternity leave, especially after this tax season....as Sterling would say "we got bent over this year in taxes".
This Spring looks very busy. There is the birth of little boy Ricks, the two baby blessings and our temple sealing! We are really looking forward to scheduling our sealing. We haven't decided where but we know for sure it will be as soon as we have our temple recommends! Hopefully I will be able to blogger more then once a month, keeping my fingers crossed;)

Lucy saying Hi to little brother...she want his to come out to play!

10 months

2011-01-18T15:36:00.001-08:00

Food Storage

2011-01-18T15:16:00.000-08:00

With great thanks to a food storage elf we have ourselves a Shelf Reliance Food Storage rotation system!! Its absolutely perfect! We were even lucky enough to hit a case lot sale at Smiths. There is a great calming effect when you know you have the start of a great food storage. Special thanks to our food storage elf (you know who you are;)

Houston we have take off!!!

2011-01-10T17:57:00.001-08:00

To start of the new year our family came down with the flu, Sterling unfortunately with influenza! Lucky after 4+ hours in the ER, spinal meningitis was ruled out AFTER a spinal tap...OUCH! Thankfully the Doc sent him home with some powerful medication. On the down side he was so out of it that he couldn't take care of Lucy while I was to start my new job! A huge blessing-Sterling's father came down to help! I was able to put in the hours needed and Sterling was able to recover. Not to mention all the ice on the back steps is no longer, the kitchen now has light (new bulbs) and the shelf reliance storage system is completely assembled! Thank you Pops!
Lucy is currently in the process of teething combo with the flu. Nights have been kind of ruff for her. However she is getting loads of sleep and naps, the only downer- she doesn't want to be alone. She wants to be held, kind of hard to say no sometimes, other times it would be nice if she would play with out me sitting there with her. She was finally mastered pulling her self up! Below are some of the first attempts of her standing while in her crib. She is really getting the hang of it. The other night she was crying and when I walked in to get her she was standing at the end of her bed! That woke me up! I wonder if she was standing there for very long? Now that she can pull herself up there are all sorts of new things to get into! Grandma Ricks bought her some shoes awhile back and now that they fit her better she can really get a grip on the hardwood floors, where as socks made it much harder to stand.
Baby boy Ricks has a new due date! April 22! Yes that's right a day before my birthday! Wouldn't it be something if he was born on the 23rd! Double birthdays=more cake and ice cream ;) We still haven't officially picked one of the two names, don't worry, we will- might not be till April though. Outside of the change in due dates everything is looking great!

Eggnog contest Round #2

2011-01-01T15:58:00.000-08:00

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Little Lucys first Christmas!

2011-01-01T14:38:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2010 was spent in Sunnyside WA with all of Sterling's family. We had a blast! Lucy meet cousin Max for the first time, I think he motivated her to crawl more because she can really move now. She also learned how to clap and wave hello. Its truly the cutest thing ever! I think the funnest part was the eggnog contest and the Ricks Dynamite Christmas video. I loved how the whole family dressed in Christmas pjs and played games. On our way home we made a pit stop in Othello to visit my family. I only wish there was more time to spend with both of our families.

The Ricks Dynamite Christmas

2011-01-01T12:42:00.000-08:00

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Oh Christmas Tree..

2010-12-16T19:27:00.001-08:00

Lucy was so excited to help put up the Christmas tree. She has done so well not to destroy any decorations on the tree but she has hit it a couple of times with her car. She loves to crawl up to the tree and look back at mom and dad to see if we will stop her, its so cute. There are still decorations to be put up, but with life going at mock speed- the change of daycare, job and just everyday life I'm just glad we got the tree up! I have some really cute craft project that are almost done and will hopefully post pictures soon.

Note to self...DO NOT GET CANDY FOR JARS NEXT YEAR (sadly we have almost gone through the M&MS)

Our Snow family

Lucy

2010-12-16T19:19:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when she feeds herself....

Lucy styling in her new outfit from Aunt Summer!

First day of new daycare

2010-12-15T17:05:00.000-08:00

She had so much fun it completely wore her out! She fell asleep on the ride home and all through the night!

update

2010-12-13T13:43:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. Its been awhile since I updated my blog but we have been really busy! This year we spent Thanksgiving with my family in good ole Othello WA. The weather held up pretty good, being that the state of Utah basically shut down from the threat of a blizzard(Orem didn't even get a skiff of snow! Some blizzard!). The roads were pretty good on the way up but the trip back was a nightmare!! Thanksgiving was very relaxing, we spent thanksgiving stuffing our bellies and enjoying the comfort of being at home. With Lucy crawling keeping her out of the Christmas tree was quite the chore, luckily the family had a blast holding her. We had a early Gropp Christmas for Lucy, she loves the gifts grandma and grandpa, Uncle Tyrel & Kristian gave her. Below are some pictures of Lucy opening her gifts.

Upon getting home from Thanksgiving we have been dealing with our daycare provider. To say the least it has kept me up several nights worrying/crying and praying things would get better. After a lot of praying and Sterling doing some research when at home we ended up changing daycare providers. We took a tour last Friday and was it was confirmed that changing daycare was what we had to do.

On the lighter end of things, Lucy has taken a great interest in feeding herself. A very messy venture. She loves her graham crackers and Gerber crackers. Fresh bananas are a new addition, being that she cant stand the Gerber mashed banana mix. Its weird that she prefers one over the other, but some of that baby food out there doesn't even smell like food. I am really looking forward to feeding her more and more adult food. She has her 9 month check up this Friday along with my 20 week ultrasound. I will be posting updates on that come Friday.

Its a BOY!!!!

2010-11-19T11:15:00.001-08:00

8 months

2010-11-18T07:04:00.000-08:00

Cuddle Time

2010-11-13T17:46:00.000-08:00

I love when Lucy gets settled down enough to want to cuddle. I especially love it when she wakes up and is super cuddly. Here is a picture of mom and Lucy waking up from our Sunday nap.

Splish splash I was taken a bath...

2010-11-08T19:09:00.000-08:00

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Boy or Girl??

2010-11-03T13:32:00.001-07:00

November 19th bright and early at 10am we get to find out the sex of the baby! I have placed a poll on the blog, lets see what you think we are having.

My Lucy girl

2010-10-28T18:36:00.001-07:00

Lucy is growing up so fast! These past months she has learned a great deal! We are teaching her to wave hello and goodbye. Its so cute, when I drop her off at daycare I wave to her as I walk to the car, she will stair at me from the window and have her hand down to the side slowly waving. Its like she sees me wave and not knowingly waves back. She has learned sit up all by her self which is really fun! She loves sitting in the highchairs when we are out eating because she can see whats going on and try to chew on the table. She is to small yet to sit in carts at the grocery store but hopefully soon she will be big enough. At her 6 month check up she weighed in at 13 pounds 10 ounces. There is a baby in our ward that is only weeks old that weighs more then she does! But the doctor gives her a clean bill of health and has since packed on some weight. I think she will be a petite girl with a high metabolism like her father.
She LOVES kids. She gets so excited when she can see kids playing, she will be a social one I can tell. Oh and the newest thing to happen are her two lower front teeth. Yep they are coming in at the same time and she is doing so well. We have only had a couple of nights where the pain really gets to her, but with a little infant Tylenol and lots of love cures the pain (well at least until the Tylenol wears off). I am really looking forward to spending the holidays with family. Hopefully by thanksgiving we will have her crawling at least a good army crawl going. So family you are forewarned! Baby proof the house now! I look forward to teaching her how to care for a baby doll, at least teach her how to hold and softly touch a baby. All in prep for baby #2. She will be such a wonderful big sister. I honestly think the Lord gave us another child so soon knowing that Lucy needs a playmate. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful, smart, easy going baby. Sometimes I feel like I am more of a baby then Lucy.
Here are some pictures taken this morning as we were getting ready for the day, as you can tell she really doesn't like the huge flower she kept trying to pull it off. The last picture was from Sunday, she feel asleep all wrapped up on my lap...so precious!

First Snow Fall!

2010-10-28T18:29:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning, bright and early, I woke up to Lucy talking and laughing (as every morning) waiting for me to pick her up. As I was changing her diaper I opened the blinds (Its still dark outside and never turn on the lights that early)and notice it was snowing! Its like the kid in me comes out when I see the first snow fall. So I grabbed the camera and Lucy and I took some pictures!

Baby #2 at 14 weeks

2010-10-28T18:25:00.001-07:00

Today I had my 14 week check up with Dr. Glenn. HOORAY I am in my 2ND trimester!! All stats on mom are looking good. The only downer- I hit the 150 mark (but I blame that on the shoes, I normal take them off but my toes look so gross lately). Blood pressure is really good and overall health is perfect. The baby has a good strong heartbeat and is measuring in perfectly. November 19Th we get our first ultrasound for the gender check. So keep your phones close family, you don't want to miss this call!
No more morning sickness THANK HEAVENS! Food cravings come and go as fast as I think of them sometimes. The one thing I seem to crave a lot of is a California sushi roll with a little of the green stuff, sorry forgot what its called. I have no real cravings for sweet things like I did with Lucy, in fact I have had serious cravings for roast. Not that sterling minds but we have had roast for Sunday dinners for the last couple of weeks. I cant eat fast food or it will literally make me so ill that all I want to do is curl up in bed and die. Don't get me wrong we eat out a time or two during the month but it we keep it as healthy as one can eating out. I have been cooking a lot more this pregnancy, mostly because lean cuisine or any pre-made frozen meal make me sick. I have found a lot of great recipes and some not so great. But I love that I can print any recipe off of Betty Crocker.com. I make a menu for a week or so and then a grocery list from that and of course pull my coupons and the worst part- grocery shopping. Ah, why cant food magically appear in your kitchen when needed!??
I notice that I am as tired as I was with Lucy but sometimes notice my weeks are harder than normal if I don't get a Sunday nap. We are doing really well with our daily schedule. Sometimes it can seem like its overwhelming and I feel like I never get the one on one time I want but every night I get to cuddle with my little one as we settle in for the night. The best time of the day is when I get to cuddle with my love bug. Talking of sleep...its late (well for me it is). Goodnight!

7 Months Old

2010-10-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

Our Pretty Pretty Princess!!!

2010-10-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

Pumpkins

2010-10-10T18:54:00.001-07:00

More laughin

2010-10-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

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Lil Lu Laughing

2010-10-09T20:14:00.000-07:00

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Birthday wishes

2010-10-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday!!

Lucy giving glow worm loves

2010-10-04T18:31:00.000-07:00

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Surprise!

2010-09-13T20:39:00.000-07:00

Click here to for the exciting news!

Lucy loves her books!

2010-09-13T20:18:00.000-07:00

In the hunt for teething toys I came across these padded Sesame Street books at the dollar store. All I can say is PERFECT!! She loves her books! She can look at the pictures/colors and chew on them with out ruining the pages! Here is Lucy reading one of her books while Mom was getting ready for the day.

25 weeks

2010-09-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

Mmm Mmm Doritos

2010-09-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

Doritos coma....

Must have more!

Good to the last lick!

Lucy on a Sunday afternoon

2010-09-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

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week 24

2010-09-05T16:22:00.001-07:00

week 23

2010-09-05T16:16:00.001-07:00

5 months

2010-08-21T14:36:00.001-07:00

21 weeks

2010-08-16T06:59:00.000-07:00

20 weeks!

2010-08-11T06:57:00.001-07:00

19 WEEKS

2010-07-30T14:56:00.001-07:00

High chair for Lucy!

2010-07-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

I have been looking for a high chair for weeks, trying to find just the right one with a good price. If you dont know high chairs are not cheap! I mean come on! $120 for a high chair!!! The kid is only going to mess it all up with baby food. Of course you can get a really cheap high chair at walmart but I wonder just how long will that last. Last week at work I mentioned to my co work just how expensive high chairs are when she told me that she had a sister in law who was going to try to sell hers and said that she would be willing to give it to me for free!! Score I thought!! My co worker brought it to work the next day and we loaded it into my tiny car. My first impression...WHAT A MESS!! The chair it self was in perfect working condition but looked like it had been in a food fight. I was told it had been sitting in their garage for some time. Which would explain the layers of dirt and cat hair. There was a huge spider web on the bottom and the seat cushion had bleach marks. I thought well if anything I will just give it away to someone if I can get it clean enough to use. After work I picked up Lucy and ran to the dollar store, purchased $4.25 worth of cleaning supplies and headed home. After nearly 4 hours meticulous cleaning I was finished. Pleased with how well the chair cleaned up I decided that it would stay except the cushion, that would need to be redone. I found some really adorable fabric at Joann and some vinyl covering to help protect the fabric and make it easy to clean. So another $11 and woah-laa a almost new high chair for $15!

BEFORE

AFTER

The Zoo!

2010-07-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

Lucy and I talked Sterling into taking the evening off from his second job so we could go to the zoo together!! It was so much fun!

18 weeks

2010-07-24T18:10:00.000-07:00

4 month update

2010-07-20T09:54:00.001-07:00

I can’t believe my little Lu is 4 months old!! She is growing ever so fast, learning new things every day! Just this Sunday she rolled over all by herself. I left her on the play mat while I took the laundry out of the dryer and when I returned I found her rolled over and trying to look up at me like hey roll me back over. It was the cute-ist thing ever! She is constantly rolling over now but struggles to find a way to get back. It’s just a matter of time before she will be rolling circles around the house. We have started to feed Lucy baby cereal with just a little applesauce, banana, and rice cereal mix. We tried to feed her just the baby cereal and she wasn’t having it (as you can tell by the little clip we posted). But mixing it with the other baby food she seems to gobble it right up! It really helps her sleep through the night. I was feeding her around 7 or 8 pm and she would wake up at 1am hungry. But the real reason…I have been really REALLY looking forward to this experience. I love seeing her reaction to the taste of food.
The other day I was at the dollar store and ended up in the children’s book row. I got all excited when I saw the cute girly coloring books and the bright boxes full of crayola crayons. I had my arms full of coloring books and crayons when it hit me….when do children start to draw? I called my mom and was so disappointed when she told me “not for a while longer”. I thought well hopefully next summer she will be ready and we can get a bunch of coloring books, sidewalk chalk and bubbles. I also look forward to her helping me in the kitchen! I have a super cute design for an apron with Lucy’s name embroider on the top. We will be making loads of cookies, brownies and breads As you can tell I am more then excited for Lucy to grow up and do all these fun things with me but at the same time I don’t want her to grow up.
Lucy is the best part of my day. I love hearing her talk and giggle. When I walk into her room in the morning to get her up I sing to her and I just love seeing her smile from ear to ear with such excitement. I love it when I call her name she looks right at me and smiles. She is the best!

Baby food

2010-07-19T17:49:00.000-07:00

here

Gigglin

2010-07-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

Here

17 weeks

2010-07-15T07:12:00.000-07:00

16 weeks

2010-07-15T07:09:00.000-07:00

Roll Over

2010-07-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

Watch Lucy roll over...well almost

Update on my personal goal

2010-07-07T10:59:00.000-07:00

July 4th has come and gone and I need to update you on my progress with my goal. I ended up taking my measurements and weight July 3rd because July 4th was a Sunday and I don't own a scale so I had to use on in the store. (I cant bring myself to own one). First let me recap on my starting stats: 6 weeks post delivery I weighed in at a whopping 165, 55 pounds heavier. My goal: to lose 55 pounds and get back into my size 4 closet!
Today (July 3rd): My weight: 148!! Yep I lost a total of 17 pounds in 11.5 weeks! I still have 18 more pounds to go but I am positive that I will be down to 130 by the end of September, first of October. Just in time for the holidays ha ha. Here are some before and after pictures.

Happy 4th of July everyone!!

2010-07-04T15:18:00.000-07:00

15 weeks

2010-07-01T07:06:00.001-07:00

14 weeks

2010-07-01T06:52:00.000-07:00

Orem fest!

2010-06-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

The only thing that I love about Orem fest days is the Fireworks on Saturday night. Lucy seemed to love them too!

Lets hit the beach

2010-06-19T15:31:00.000-07:00

13 weeks

Now thats something to laught at!

2010-06-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

Check it out here

12 weeks

2010-06-12T16:25:00.000-07:00

Dealing with stalkers

2010-06-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

Dear Traci,
I find it hard to see no offense in your comments, though I do not take any (view comments here). I am unaware of any mutual friends we might have unless you are referring to Sterling, in which he isn’t a mutual friend but an former friend you can’t seem to leave alone. From your comment it sounds like you are married, no? I wonder if your husband is aware of your comments, or the fact that you have created an account to make comments on my blog. Do you know what psychiatrist call people like you? A STALKER!!! In case you are unaware of what a stalker is let me give you the definition: Stalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted attention by individuals to others.
If you feel like I am trying to point you out Traci, your right I am!! It’s people like you that make people like me put their blog on private settings. So to all of those who follow my blog lets give Traci a nice big round of applause. Thank you Traci for making the world of blogging problematic. And to those of you that aren't stalkers please send me your email so I can add you to my list of readers as I will be making this blog private starting Saturday.

Lucy getting her kick on!

2010-06-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

Check it out here

Lucy 11 weeks

2010-06-03T18:16:00.000-07:00

just words...

2010-06-03T15:52:00.001-07:00

Today is seriously the longest and boring day EVER!! Work hasn’t been exactly that great so to speak, and today has been especially hard. To help pass time I browsed threw my past blog entries, starting with the very first blog. I was so good at blogging. Now days I just post pictures and hope that everyone understand my lack of time. Lucy and Sterling are the center of my world and everything else is somewhere behind them. SO in efforts to improve my blogging I am going to take some time (yes at work) to “update” everyone. Let me start with how crazy of a year it has been!
I realized that a year ago today Sterling and I had our engagement pictures taken! This year Sterling will be working both jobs and I will be doing my normal nightly routine with Lucy. Crazy how fast our lives have changed! One minute we are taken engagement pictures then wedding next ultrasound, reception and now baby pictures! As many of you know Sterling and I officially got engaged April 19th 2009. July 16th we were married and November had our dinner reception. August we were surprised with an unplanned pregnancy and can I tell you that Lucy is the best “unplanned” thing to have ever happened in my life! Crazy to think that next month will mark our one year anniversary!! I am so excited to spend the rest of my life and eternity with Sterling (and of course Lucy)! In March we proudly announced the arrival of our first child, Lucy Ann Ricks. Born March 18th at 4:33pm, weighing in at 6 pounds 13 ounces and 19.5 inches long.
I will never forget that day! I was overdue and schedule for induction on Thursday the 18th. Sterling’s parent drove into town Wednesday night. We went to Red Robin for dinner and then out Nestle to visit Sterling. After that we went back to the house to call it a night because I was scheduled to start induction at 5:30am!! I folded the last of the laundry in the drier and jumped into bed to read my scriptures. I feel asleep and woke up to Sterling’s phone call at 12:35. He called to see how I was feeling and wondered if I was able to get any sleep it was at that time I new my water had broke but wasn’t quite sure because of the position I was in on the bed. I told him I was doing fine and had to go to the bathroom. He said ok I will see you shortly. After getting off the phone I moved to get off the bed and sure enough my water had broke. I wobbled to the bathroom to clean up and then wobbled back to the bedroom to call Sterling. He was so excited when I told him my water broke! He later admitted that he was 3 block way from the house and immediately put the petal to the metal. Once Sterling got home he woke his parent up and called the hospital to inform them that we were on our way. I got dressed and grab my bag and hugged everyone as we rushed out the door. We called my parents as we drove to the hospital (it was about 1am at this time). Once we got to the hospital we parked and rushed into the hospital. It was kind of funny because there was another couple walking in at the same time so it was like a race to the elevator. She looked like she was in a lot more pain then I so I wasn’t too irritated that they helped her first. Once we signed the paperwork the nurse had us walk back to a room where they had me change into a gown and then hooked up all these monitors. It was all pretty exciting and nerve racking at the same time. Once they verified my water had broke the fun began. I immediately requested an epidural. The epidural was SO EASY!! Again I was excepting the worse but the anesthesiologist knew what he was doing and what seemed like seconds the epidural was in and working perfectly! Shortly after that Sterling’s parents showed up. I kind of felt bad because it was so early (2am) and those chairs did NOT look comfortable! I of course was completely comfortable, but a little too wound up to sleep. My progress was going great and around 2pm was fully dilated. The doctor allowed me to start pushing and then stopped me because of Lucy’s heart rate. So we waited. At 4pm the doctor had me start pushing again and about 15-20 minutes later Lucy was born! It was absolutely the most amazing experience EVER!!!
After everything was all said and done they wheeled us to our room and then took Lucy to the Nursery to get cleaned up. Sterling and his parents went with Lucy to the Nursery which left me alone. As I sat there I felt so proud! I had done it! I had given birth to this little girl! I was so overwhelmed and tired. I remember later that night when Sterling’s parents left for the night, I though “ah how lucky, they get to go to bed!” I had a very hard time sleeping while in the hospital, mostly because I was feeding Lucy every 2 hours, and then there was all the noises from other babies and the nurses coming in and out constantly. And when I did fall asleep I would constantly have this dream that Lucy would fall out of her bed or out of someone’s hands, ah!! That all went away when we got released and was in the comfort of our own home. I was so excited to finally have out little Lu!
Fast forward to present: Lucy is now 11 weeks old! Crazy how fast it goes by. She loves to smile, giggle and talk. We are trying to teach her to sit up on her own and she is slowing getting the hang of it but it will be awhile. Her hair is slowly growing redder which I love!! Thankfully it isn’t bright red but more of a brownish red. At her 2 month check up she weighed in at 10 pounds and 6 ounces and 22 inches long! She has periodically been sleeping threw the night which I just love!! It wont be to much longer before its an every night occurrence which is awesome, makes waking up at 5:45 to work out just a little more easy to do. As for the parents, well let’s just say we couldn’t be more happy and proud of our little Lu. We love every minute we get to spend with her. It’s been really hard for me going back to work. But I know it won’t be permanent. Still makes it hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thankfully we have a daycare/babysitter that we know and trust. Make it a minute easier.
Ok so there’s my little update on the big events of the year so far. Keep checking in for more!

Dad and Lucy singing

2010-06-03T07:15:00.000-07:00

A must see! And this one too!