Brianna turns 30!

My amazing sister Brianna turned 30 on October 15. Like only Brianna can, she threw one amazing party at her house. She truly puts any party planner to shame. She is so amazing at what she does and i was just so glad that I was able to go to it.

Darcy, Me, Bri, Molly, and Rachel
She got these great pillows and blankets which came in handy when it got colder in the evening.

She had these cute pictures of her framed all over her yard.

An amazing bar. Of course I stayed to the yummy spa water and fanta.

You almost did not want to eat off the table because it looked so beautiful. Luckily the food looked really good so i got over it.

The girl is a genius when it comes to catering.

She made homemade baked potato soup and meatballs. So yummy.

The best cheesecake ever.

Brianna's amazing red velvet cake.

James and John enjoying the food and the bar.

Okay, so I had worked all day on Friday and then rushed over after getting ready to help Bri get set-up. It hit about 10pm and I was starting to fade fast. James on the other hand wanted to party all night. It took me 40 minutes to finally agree to go home and he came about and hour and a half later with Rachel. That says a lot about what a great party Brianna threw. It was a really fun night and it was so great to see Brianna surrounded by so many people who love her and know how great she is.

Pumpkin Patch

I find that every year I try to find another fun thing that our family can do as a tradition. Something other then going to Lake Topaz which is the ulitmate tradition, but I am always looking for something on a smaller scale. Last year, my good friend Angel and Anthony invited us out to this great farm and pumpkin patch out by their house. We had a great time together. When we got to October this year, we planned another trip together. I invited my niece Lindley up this time and we had lots of fun together.

Lindley and Liana watching the pig races.
Having fun at Underwood Family Farm

The fun Corn Maze. Okay, this looks really fun, but got ridiculous how hard it was to actually get out of. I was starting to wish we had James' GPS.

We got very cornfused

You can tell they are cousins, right? Here we are on our wagon ride around the farm.

The girls had a great time picking out their little pumpkins.

Whose is bigger?

Fun was had by all.

James' Jack-O-Lantern

Liana's Jack-O-Lantern

They kinda have the same smile, don't you think?

Lindley did not mind the slimey insides at all.

While everyone was outside carving pumpkins, my friend Angel and I were busy making pumpkin buns. Very yummy.

30 Weeks Down Ten To Go!

I realized that I have not posted anything about my pregnancy on my blog. Maybe that is because the first 15 weeks I was attached to the toilet with all the horrible morning sickness. Today, I am 30 weeks pregnant. I am so excited to be only 10 weeks away from meeting our little baby. When Liana was almost two, James and I decided that it would be a good time start on a sibling. Unfortunately, the Lord had other plans for us. After 2 1/2 years of trying and a miscarriage we finally got a surprise last March that we were finally expecting. Now, I am not generally an pessimistic kind of person, but after having a miscarriage, I suddenly became one. I wouldn't let myself get excited. I was so sure that we would lose this one too. Of course I was hoping that would not be the case. At my first appointment at 8 weeks, Liana, James and I all got to see a very strong heartbeat. Then came my 12 week. They couldn't find one. I remember laying on the table thinking to myself that I could just not go through this again. My Dr. took me into the ultrasound room and immediately found a very strong heartbeat. That is when i got emotional.

The morning sickness hit me right away. And it was much worse then Liana. With Liana, I was sick for 21 weeks, but it would just be pockets of the day. With this one, it was literally from the moment I woke till I closed my eyes at night, I felt horrible. Only throwing up 4 times a day was a good day for me, but most was about 7-8 times. I was working with two year olds and the parents in my class were very supportive and so kind. But it was not fun at all. Once I finally started feeling better I started allowing myself to enjoy the pregnancy. Liana was amazing during this time. We would get home from school and she would tell me to go to bed and rest a while and that she would just go play in her room. She is a true blessing.

Everything has been going really well. James and I are really getting more excited about meeting this little gift. Of course, I am nervous. Liana was the best baby ever. She slept good and ate good and has pretty much been more then we could ever ask for. This has set the bar pretty high for this new one.

We don't know what we are having. It drives everyone else crazy, but I love not knowing. I am not a planner and organizer so it works out not knowing. We do have names picked out. Elijah Benjamin for a boy and Abigail Joy for a girl. My due date is Dec. 20 and we are hoping for early or at least on the due date. I am going to the same Dr. I had with Liana who I am really happy with.

So we will see what these next ten weeks hold. I dream of the day that I get to hold this little life in my arms that we have waited so long for. You will all be the first to know.

Catalina

Last Sunday, Liana and I left with some friends of mine from work for a three night vacation on Catalina Island. I had not been there since I was 20 and I didn't stay in Avalon so I was really looking forward to the time away. We rented a house which ended up being only a two minute walk from the beach and downtown. It was perfect for us. James unfortunately was unable to come because they were black out weeks for his school. We missed him a lot, but had a great time. We enjoyed relaxing days at the beach, boat tours, and playing games in the evening. Liana had a fantastic time and really enjoyed the vacation as well. It is definitely a vacation we will have to take again.

Long Beach Jr. Concert Band

Last Saturday, my dad invited us down to Bolsa Chica Beach to hear him in his drum corp. It is all people who were or are drummers in the Long Beach Concert Band. My dad started it when he was in Jr. High and is the oldest drummer to actually play. There was one guy older them him, but he didn't play. It is very cool. It is men of all ages and some of them are still in the current band. They all meet once a year at the beach to do this concert and it is so awsome. My dad's drum is the one with the orange tassles in the back.

He plays the snare drum and here is a picture of all the guys who are the snares.
Sophie loved it, but it was so loud that Rachel was afraid she would blow out an ear drum.

Liana didn't enjoy it as much. She hates anything loud.

Here is the fam before they started.

My dad getting ready.

The Domingo Family

Here is a small taste of what it was like. It was actually really cool and my dad was really glad that we all went there.

Vienna Joyce Swanson Arrives

Saturday, July 25 started with an early morning phone call from my sister Molly. She had apparently been violently throwing up since 2 a.m. and after calling her Dr. was on the way to hospital to get checked out. There was an original thought that this could be the onset of labor which we were all hoping for. Unfortunately, things did not go so easily for poor Molly. Apparently, she had some bad stomach virus that was also causing her to have a high fever. After a long day of feeling horrible and being monitored, her Dr. recommended that they do a C-section and get this baby out. With Molly's fever and all they had no way of monitoring the baby to see if it was fighting the same virus Molly had. A quick call from Molly sent my mom and I flying to the hospital with the news that a C-section was going to happen. After literally just walking into the hospital I get a call from Molly asking if I would mind going into the operating room with John. Anyone who knows Molly's husband knows he is a bit squeamish and she wanted someone else in there in case John went down. I quickly agreed and got gowned up.

John did amazing. It was quite an amazing experience to be a part of. Molly kept asking John how he was doing and John kept assuring him he was fine and kept asking her how she was doing. He did amazing and to be honest, I probably did not need to be there at all. He was a star. Unfortunately, because of Molly's fever they let Molly kiss her quickly and John got a quick hold and then they rushed her off the NICU to do tests to make sure she was okay.

Her she is. All 6lbs. and 14oz. and 19 1/2 in. They had her on a lot of monitors and even had her on an IV for feedings, but it all was just precautionary until they got all the test results back saying she was free of any virus. Molly continued to feel bad and not being able to hold or even see her daughter for the first 48 hours was heart wrenching. But she is a tough cookie and held up great.

The nurses in the NICU were great and took wonderful care of our little one.

Molly and Vienna got to go home on Wednesday and are both doing well. Here is James holding his new niece and Liana loving on her new cousin. Any new mom knows that there is a lot to get adjusted to, but overall Vienna is doing great and she has two of the proudest parents around. It has been absolutely wonderful to see her proud daddy John. He can't stop smiling or bragging about her. She is stinkin' cute, though, so I don't blame him.

We have waited a long time to meet you, little girl. Welcome to the family.