I'm an Auntie!

Ok, time to catch up here! It's been a tiny bit hectic with our newest family member around here, meet Mr. Chase Ryan Callies - my adorable nephew weighing in at a healthy and chunky 9lbs, 14oz, and 23" long!



Tracy and Jason really lucked out here! Not only is he the cutest little boy baby ever (I can say that because I had the cutest girl baby ever, of course), but he is really good and laid-back, only crying when he is really hungry (he probably got that from me, haha!) I've had so much fun getting to know this little man, and have gotten to practice juggling him and Rylie every so often when I'm left alone to babysit both of them. Rylie has been pretty good with him, besides the occasional "tough love" pat here and there. But she does give him the sweetest kisses. :) Tracy is becoming a great mother right before our eyes, it's so amazing to see such an incredible bond created within the first moments of mother meeting her child. Jason is a great daddy as well, and we love having him around too!

In other news, we are getting used to Chris being gone more again sadly. But at least he isn't as far away this time, and hopefully once his schedule gets more consistent, he'll be able to come home at least once a week. He's about three hours away, working out of Needles, CA at the moment. But he's enjoying it, and thanks again to Todd for letting him borrow your RV! It's definitely come in handy! We miss you daddy, but I know we will see you soon!



So as of now we are just trying to beat the heat around here, swimming when we can and enjoying inside activities. Hope you all are having a great summer so far!!

Daddy's Home and Rylie is TWO!!

When people told me our lives would never be the same when Chris started working for the railroad, I wasn't sure what they meant. But let me tell you, it has been quite a ride so far... but I hope this change will be the most long-lasting so far! From Trinidad, Colorado one week, back home to Phoenix the next! Chris was able to snag a spot here and decided to take it while he could, which we could not be more happy about (except for the two days of road trip and packing up an apartment into one pickup!) We are hoping that once he gets "familiarized" with the tracks here in Phoenix that he will be able to work out of Winslow, AZ (about three hours away) and come home a couple times a week. We are just happy that he is closer and we get to see him more! And I'm also glad to not be packing up my entire house just yet...

In other news, Tracy is about to pop out Mr. Chase Ryan any day now!! (Sooner rather than later we all hope!) Her official due date is June 15th, we were hoping maybe her little one would share Rylie's birthday, but no such luck! ;) She's been such a trooper, but is getting sick and tired of being pregnant, and we all want to meet the little man very badly!

Miss Rylie turned two this week!! It sorta snuck up on us in the midst of Chris moving back home and starting work here, but we had a pretty fabulous day/weekend! A couple of days before, she received her first presents from Nana Brock and Grandaddy, a cute new baby doll and monkey towel! I love that she is practicing feeding and holding her (just in time for little Chase!) On her birthday, she woke up to a big box of what else -- "Olivia" books!! She was super excited about that as you can tell. We spread out the presents and surprises throughout the day (I learned my lesson from this past Christmas...) and she was excited again about all of her new outfits and more "Olivia" stuff! We concluded with a wonderful evening out on our "new" deck, that we are finally being able to use thanks to Nana Lene and Grandpa Todd for paying for deck railing! We love it out here, and it's especially nice because it's shaded right at the best time in the evening for some outside play!

And on another note, we want to again thank my Dad and Jeanette and Aunt Denise and Jo for taking in our cats for us and providing them good homes full of love. It was a very hard decision to decide to give them up, but in the end it's what our family needed to retain sanity (mostly my sanity from dealing with FIVE animals and a toddler) and also make moving/being away from home a little easier on everyone involved. We are happy too that we will be able to visit them and get updates from you all, which you have been fabulous about doing for us! I leave you with the last photos of Cleo and Gracie here at home, we are glad they are doing well in their new homes and hope that they continue to become acclimated :)

I Just Love...

Having my own personal little model to wear all my sewn creations! :) This one was made in about an hour, using two old shirts that no longer fit me. I just love finding all these great blogs with free sewing tutorials like this one:

http://sewingin-nomansland.blogspot.com/2011/05/color-my-summer-baby-in-red.html

Calling all cat lovers!!

UPDATE! We found a home for her, thank you guys!!

We need to find a home for our adorable domestic medium hair cat, Gracie! She is a little shy, but very friendly once she knows you, she's great with dogs, kids, and other cats. If you or anyone you know is interested, please let me know asap! It's getting way too hard with all these animals AND a crazy toddler running around - plus, with Chris's job we don't know how many times we'll have to move in the next couple of years so it will be much less stressful with less animals. Please help!! Thank you! Email me tonyaj3456@hotmail.com for more info or pics :)

With the heat of the summer in full swing...

Rylie and I got to miss about three weeks of the Phoenix heat and headed to Albuquerque with my mom and sister for her baby shower! We had a lot of fun seeing everyone, and Rylie had fun thinking all those baby gifts were for her of course! Thanks again to the Morrison family for hosting another great shower and opening up their home to our friends and family! So now we wait about a month or so (Tracy thinks this boy is coming sooner than later, we'll see) for little Chase to arrive! It was great to see everyone and hang out!





From Albuquerque, we ventured up north to Santa Fe and spent some time with our good friends from Las Cruces, the Seays - Brandon will be deployed next month for a year in Afghanistan, we will miss him so much and I was so happy we got to say goodbye! Chris surprised us all when he decided overnight to leave Edgemont and drive down to Trinidad, Colorado where spots where open for him to work! It was a great surprise when he drove ALL the way to Santa Fe to see all us! So, instead of heading back to Las Cruces as I had planned, instead Rylie and I drove with Chris back to Trinidad and got him settled in for work. We stayed about two weeks, and had a great time hanging with dad! Chris's sister and her boyfriend, Colin, are only about 3 hours from Trinidad, so they came down to visit also! Whew - we had a busy couple of weeks. I'm glad to be home now, and I don't think I'll be planning any trips for a while. Three weeks living out of a suitcase (sharing with Rylie, by the way) is long enough for me! :)







So, back to the heat! But perfect timing for the pool permit to come for my mom and Todd's house! Let's hope that REALLY soon we can be splashing around and cooling off in their backyard (I see someone's second birthday party coming up... hmm... pool party?!)