The Onken Family

Catch up time!

2011-01-02T17:03:00.000-08:00

Here is my pathetic approach of trying to get caught up on this blog. I just uploaded pictures from my camera onto the computer and saw that I had over 300! I hadn't uploaded since before Andrew's birthday in October. So here is a little slide show from pumpkin craving to our Christmas blizzard. Hope you enjoy!

Sadie's Blessing

2010-08-21T16:36:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we had Sadie blessed in the Wilshire ward (our last ward) which just so happens to also be my sister Lindsey's ward, so we were able to have both of our babies blessed on the same day. We had a big entourage with us that day. My sister Alyssa and her family had just flown in from Texas the night before as well as my grandma and Nick's brother Skyler and his wife. It was so special to be able to not only have all our family there but also be with such good friends.
Another thing that was special about the blessing was Sadie's dress. Our friend Peggy Curtis from our home ward here in Boston made Sadie the most unbelievable dress. It was absolutely beautiful, thank you Peggy!

If you click on the picture below it will take you to the album with all the pretty pictures.

2010-07-18T22:06:00.000-07:00

This week Nick and I left Andrew with grandpa and brought Sadie along on a date out to Catalina Island. It was a perfect 80 degree sunny not a could in the sky day and we had a blast. (And from what I hear Andrew did also, thanks Dad!) We took a boat out from Marina Del Rey and two hours later we were on the island. I was kind of dreading the ride because I have a history of sea sickness (got sick twice on our honeymoon) but it actually went pretty smoothly.
Since we had Sadie we couldn't do a lot of the activities like kayaking, zip-lining or snorkeling but we still had a great time. We went to the museum which told the history of the island from the Native Americans to the Wrigley family who made the island what it is today along with great photos and stories of old films that were shot there. We then walked up to the botanical gardens and around the town. We ended the day with a great meal (because with me it all comes back to the food) and on the boat ride home we saw a Blue Whale and a big pod of dolphins (it had to have been at least 50-60 in the water). we definitely will do it again but will probably spend a night and consider taking the boat from Long Beach for a 1 hour trip or the helicopter which is a 14 minute trip.

View of Catalina from the boat

View from the Wrigley Monument

The next day I went to work and left Nick to be Mr. Mom for the day. He took Andrew to the park and had a little photo shoot and of course said that the kids were absolutely perfect all day.

What we've been up to

2010-07-05T13:33:00.001-07:00

Nick has been busy working

Jamie has been busy chasing

Andrew has been busy playing

and Sadie has been busy growing

Here are some pictures to prove it...

*I know this is lame post and maybe one of these days I will feel like doing a real post again, but for now this will do.

My kid is seriously cute...

2010-06-20T20:15:00.000-07:00

Notice that when he realizes that he can see himself he starts to make faces. He is pretty funny not to mention a great dancer.

packing and cleaning

2010-05-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

Wednesday we're flying back home and will be hanging out with friends and family by Thursday. Its crazy that its already here, this year has gone by so fast. The other day we realized that Andrew has lived in Boston longer than he had lived in L.A., but we are hoping that doesn't mean he's a Celtics fan.
Anyway, all we are doing today is packing and getting the house ready to be vacant for the next two and a half months. We are really excited but to be honest I'm also feeling a little sad. I thought when the summer came I'd be jumping out of my skin to get back to California but I'll miss our apartment and our friends and maybe even the kids in nursery. But I am so excited to meet my new nephew and have everyone be able to meet Sadie. I also have my husband back from the dead (finals). It has been a very long couple of months and I am in need of a vacation and I have made that known to Nick, so hopefully we'll be able to get away this summer for a couple of days and relax a little.

This is what I found today when Nick and I were both busy doing various chores:

Andrew had found some lipstick and thought he'd see if he liked the color. Meanwhile Sadie was asleep in her bouncer like the little angel she is:

Our little girl...

2010-05-14T07:21:00.000-07:00

My talented friend Kristen took these amazing newborn pictures of Sadie. Here are a few of my favorites. I still need to upload pictures from my camera. Hopefully I'll get that done sometime before she turns one.

Two weeks already?

2010-04-27T06:06:00.000-07:00

Where has all the help gone?

2010-04-26T05:49:00.000-07:00

For the last two weeks I have had nothing but help around here. First my wonderful Mom came a couple of days before Sadie was born and stayed for a little more than a week. I loved having her here (and not just because my house was spotless and I had yummy food cooked for me) It was so fun for me to have her come out and see where we live and spend some time with her before the baby got here. Andrew was in love with his grandma and loved every second he was able to spend with her. Thanks Mom for helping me so much and for being the best mom ever! I love you!

On the day that my Mom was flying out, Debi (Nick's Mom) came into town. She spoiled us as well with cooking and cleaning and of course smothered ("you never hear of anyone being sfathered"- Modern Family) her grandchildren with attention. As a bonus Nick's Dad Martin was able to come into town for the weekend and enjoy the new baby while spoiling Andrew with trips to the park every morning (something I think he got used to when my Mom was in town)

Unfortunately, they had to leave and we are getting back to normal around here. I found myself looking around the house today wondering how in the world it could've been so clean for two weeks and after one day of us being alone I have so much to do. I didn't lift a finger yesterday, instead we hung out in our p.j.'s all day and cuddled on the couch. Andrew actually wanted to just cuddle and so how could I turn him down? It was a great day to spend as a family with just the four of us. I loved it, and if I had it my way that is how every day would be. But now it's back to reality, which basically means cleaning, laundry, cooking and learning how to be as good of a mom to two kids as I was with one. I'm looking forward to it!

the last few weeks

2010-03-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

These last few weeks have been pretty eventful for us. We had Nicks spring break and took advantage of it by heading down to Mystic, Connecticut. While there we visited a great aquarium, which Andrew absolutely loved and for the first time since we moved had good Chinese food. On our way home stopped by Newport, Rhode Island. We spent the day there window shopping and driving around the amazing mansions. We can't wait to go back there when its not off season and we can actually go inside of them.

Then my friend Rachel threw me a nice little baby shower (which was great because I hadn't really bought anything for this little girl) and it was just so much fun hanging out with the girls. And the rest of the time has been spent going to doctor appointments (twice a week) and getting the house ready to welcome our new addition. This is probably the last time I'll be posting anything until the baby comes, and I figure that if I wait any longer these pictures may never get up here, so enjoy!

Andrew and I hanging out by the Whales

Rachel has the majority of the pictures on her camera but I think you can get the idea. Everyone was so generous, me and this baby girl felt very loved, which is nice when you're so far from home.

This is his "look", he gives us this look and then cracks up. He thinks he is pretty funny.

I can't get over that smile!

Long over due...

2010-03-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

I have been such a big slacker when it has come to blogging lately. So I feel like I need to place a "WARNING": This is not going to be a great (or even a good) post, but I thought that it's better than nothing.

Saturday was one of the best days in a long time. To start off with it was a sunny 55 degrees which meant that we were actually able to get outside and enjoy ourselves. Saturday was also the first official day of Nick's spring break and it is great to not see him stressed out or really to see him at all. In the morning Nick and Andrew made a fort in the living room, I'm not sure who had more fun but it sure was cute watching them play together. Then we decided to get out and explore the south shore a little bit. We drove down to Scituate because we have heard from several people that there are some charming stores and nice restaurants. We first went to the harbor where we had lunch and window shopped, then we headed up to North Scituate where we had remembered seeing a nice playground, which Andrew ended up loving. You can definitely tell that I am a mom to a toddler because I got so excited about this playground. A lot of the playgrounds are on the bigger side for Andrew still, but this one was made for toddlers. It was so cute, we ended up staying for a couple of hours until Andrew had to tell us he wanted to leave by repeatedly walking over to the fence and pointing to the car, he then promptly fell asleep for the drive home.

The boys doing their thing

At the playground

Nick and Andrew looking at the ducks

This ramp kept Andrew busy for a good 20 minutes while I went in to all the shops I wanted. He was really sad when we left it.

Andrew and Elliot playing in his crib (one of their favorite activities)

I made these delish sugar cookies today with my left over Ricotta cheese. Heres the recipe:

Ricotta Cheese Sugar Cookies
Makes 3-4 dozen

1 c. butter, softened
2 c. sugar
1 16-oz. container whole-milk ricotta cheese
2 eggs
3 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 c. flour

Glaze
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
A few drops almond extract (optional)
2-4 Tbsp. milk, half-and-half, or cream
Sprinkles or colored sugar, for decorating

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Using a mixer, combine butter and sugar until well blended. Mix in ricotta, eggs, and vanilla. Add baking soda and salt. Then mix in flour.

The dough will have the texture of mashed potatoes that have been sitting out too long. In fact, it looks like that, too. But it tastes very different, I assure you.

3. Drop teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 12-14 minutes, until cookies are golden on the bottom but still very light on top. Remove from pans and place on cooling racks.

I then made a lemon icing (powdered sugar, lemon juice, and a little milk until consistency you want) and dipped them or drizzle icing on top.

Sunday Funday

2010-01-24T08:08:00.000-08:00

So, the day started off to a good. We woke up, got ready and got out of the house by 9:30, which meant that we were running about 5 min. early to church.

Maybe a little background is needed.... when we got home from California we needed to immediately take our car into the shop to get it looked at. It was making odd noises and the oil light was on (even though there was plenty of oil in the car). So, we had it towed to this auto shop around the corner but unfortunately he couldn't help us because he didn't work on engines so he recommended another guy in the area. The so called engine guy was very nice but he also couldn't help us because he didn't work on Toyota Corollas, but he recommended that we take it to the dealership to get a diagnostic done, which we did. The dealership informed us that it was the starter and battery (even though we had very recently gotten a new battery) and said that all was fixed and we were good to go, that is after we pay the bill of $500.

That was about a week and a half ago and these past few days our car has sounded like a diesel engine and the oil light comes and goes as it pleases. We've talked to Toyota and had an appointment to bring in the car Monday morning.

This morning we are driving down the freeway and all of a sudden the engine started acting odd and even though Nicks foot was on the peddle we started losing speed, then it started making a crazy high pitched whine with weird smells, and then Nick put then car in neutral and we lost power.

Luckily we were right next to the exit where the Toyota dealership is, so we got off the freeway and almost made it. If it wasn't for the hill it was on we could've costed the whole way to the dealership. Unfortunately, Nick and I both had left our cells at home and no one was at Toyota. But we were conveniently right next to the T station (thank you Boston for your public transit) and were able to hop on and get home.

So, now our car has been towed once again to the dealership and we will hopefully know what the problem is tomorrow. Update to come...

Kennebunkport

2010-01-17T16:04:00.000-08:00

*Christmas is still to come. I need Nick around for longer than 10 min. so he can help me with the video.

This weekend we were able to get away to Kennebunkport, Maine for our 6th anniversary, thanks to our great friends and neighbors the Blanchards who watched Andrew for us.

I was really looking forward to getting away with Nick and having some alone time and we really picked the best place to go. Kennebunkport is about an hour and a half away and quite charming. We left our place at around 11:30 and planed on stopping and getting something to eat on the way up. We had never made the drive and were disappointed when we were about 45 min in and realized that there was NOTHING for miles. So we decided to wait until we got into town and I'm glad we did. We got there at about 1 o'clock and checked into our cute bed and breakfast Captain Fairfield Inn. When you are booking online you never really know what you're going to get. People can take a picture of something that is mediocre and make it look amazing, but I am happy to say that the Inn and our room lived up to every expectation. Upon ariving we checked in and Finn (the owner) recommended a great place to eat that was a short walking distance. By the way, this was the perfect weekend to get away because all day Saturday New England was having a heat wave at about 47 degrees. ( I know did I really just say heat wave?) Anyway, we took advantage of the nice weather and walked into town. We ate at Alisson's which did not disappoint. I had a lobster roll and a bowl of clam chowder (how more new england can I get?) and Nick had A Fish Called Wanda, which was just basically a really yummy fired fish sandwich. While we were waiting for our food the tables had Trivial Pursuit cards and so Nick and I took to quizzing each other. I must admit that this game is not my strong point unless it is the 90's version which I rock at.

After lunch we walked around town and window shopped (for the most part). I ended up finding snow boots which I needed desperately (Ugg's I have found are not good in the snow) but never wanted to get because they are all so ugly. But I found a boot that fits my needs and is not bad to look at. I also got a really cute $5 scarf and a hat for 1/2 off. On our way back to the Inn before dinner we stopped into a gallery that is attached to the painters home. Nick had already made it clear earlier that stores/galleries or anything really that either looks like a house or is attached to a house creeps him out. (I know, he is strange) We went in anyway and were charmed by the whole thing. It was the gallery of a W. Robert Paine and he was there to show us around and answer any questions that we might have had. His paintings are not my style but I can certainly appreciate his talent and I have become a fan of him. He treated us as though we were his grandchildren and was telling us all kinds of stories about his paintings and his life. He is also friends with President Bush (41) and was telling us how Barbara is a spitfire. He was commissioned to do a painting of them for the Bush presidential library in Texas and showed us a drawing of a painting that is hanging up in their Texas home. The Bush's have a home (or compound) in Kennebunkport and they had Mr. Paine paint their back yard/view of the ocean so they can see it all year round. Anyway, he is a very interesting man and I asked him if we can come and visit him when we are in town again. That is how much I loved this guy.

Well, after that we headed back to the Inn to take a look at the menus of the different restaurants around town. We ended up deciding on Bandaloop because Nick was feeling steak and they had a steak that sound amazing. And it was. We both ended up getting the steak and for dessert I had I think the best creme brulee ever and Nick had the fruit crisp. It was simply delicious and I could barely move afterward.

The next morning we woke up and realized that we didn't have to get a crying baby and feed him, no we can lay there and be lazy all we want. So that is exactly what we did, until we got hungry that is. We went downstairs to find breakfast waiting for us. It is a pepper sautéed pear with an arugula and gorgonzola salad with candied walnuts. I have never had a salad for breakfast before but let me tell you it was great! Then they come out with this homemade scallion biscuit (you should've seen Nicks face at this point, it was priceless.) He thought that the pear and salad were it as far as food went and he got so happy to find out there was going to be more. They then had us choose between a yummy buttermilk waffle with a cranberry reduction or eggs benedict. How do you choose??? We didn't, we got one of each and they both were so yummy. After breakfast it was time to get ready and pack up and we were checked out by 11. We drove by the Bush compound (although it is not as big as you would imagine with people using the word compound you expect something a lot bigger) and Nick had his GPS so we did some much needed geocaching before heading home.

It was a great little getaway and we look forward to heading back for a day trip in the warmer months with the kids (wow, I still can't believe that I will have more than one here in a couple of months)

Me with the one and only Captain Fairfield (don't be jealous)

The Bush Home

Nick doing what he does best... geocaching. Notice that he has on a short sleeve shirt and it is probably 33 degrees out. He said that he was using the temprature as his timer, if he hadn't found the cashe before his hands went numb then he would leave.

we're not dead

2010-01-14T06:21:00.000-08:00

I just haven't uploaded any video or pictures from the holidays yet. We took last week to get settled home again and then we all got hit with the stomach flu and everything else you can imagine. I promise to update by next week (not this week because my house is a disaster and Nick and I are going away this weekend for our 6 year anniversary!) But we had a great time being home for the holidays and we'll tell about all the festivies soon (if you even care)

First Snow

2009-12-09T12:01:00.000-08:00

Well at least first real snow. In October it snowed for about an hour and then went back to raining. This whole time I've been here the weather man has kept on telling me that it is warm outside and that it is usually a lot colder this time of year. I didn't believe this so called weather man. I mean it has been in the 40's and 50's with a dip here and there in the 30's, how much colder can it get? Well, we have found out and I have a feeling that this is only the beginning. On Saturday night it snowed all night and we woke to everything covered in white and this morning we woke up to a lot more snow. I have come to the conclusion that I like the rain and I like the snow but I don't like it when they are together. It gets really messy and nasty outside. I know for a lot of you this isn't a big deal but when you put two Southern Californians in the snow it becomes a bigger deal.

Nick and Andrew in front of our place before church. Our house is on the side of the street with more sun so by the time we got outside a lot of the snow had already melted.

This is the parking lot at church so you can get a better idea of the snow.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-09T08:28:00.000-08:00

I am finally getting around to doing a post on our Thanksgiving. This year we have a lot to be thankful for and I love that there is a day set aside to ponder over our many blessings. But I discovered this year that there isn't a whole lot of pondering going on when you are cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 18 people. We had two families from the ward over and a few people from Nicks school. Needless to say they made me feel like our little apartment was indeed very little especially when you have 6 kids running around, but I loved it. I loved the noise and chaos.

Here is about half of our party trying to work off dinner by playing a game of Bang. I don't think it helped very much.

Egg Nog anyone?

2009-11-27T19:22:00.000-08:00

Double-click on the video to see the full un-cropped version!

It's a GIRL!!!!!!!!

2009-11-20T05:52:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago we found out that we are having a baby girl. We couldn't be more excited! I had no idea what we were having but I couldn't be happier. This is my second ultra sound this pregnancy (the first was when I was 7 weeks) and I am so happy I got it done. Since I haven't been to the doctor very often it didn't seem real but being able to see her little hands and feet and her little heart beating was truly awesome! They said that she is right on target and we should still expect her around the first week of April.

I usually think 3d ultra sound pictures are scary and wrong but I think my little girl is very photogenic. She is snuggling in the first picture and the second is a good profile shot.

Andrew loves:

2009-11-17T07:20:00.000-08:00

-To look at himself in the mirror. If he is ever cranky or in a bad mood just take him to a mirror and he gets a huge grin on his face. I think he knows just how cute he is.

-Fake sneezing. He just started this the other day, he thinks this is really funny

-His life size toy aka: Nick. He especially loves putting things in Nicks mouth just to watch Nick project them to the other side of the room.

-Bananas. If I would let him he would eat a whole banana in one bite. (this could really go for any food)

-His Elmo and Abby book. I got this at my shower and I wish I could remember who gave it to him. He loves it! It is one of the only things that will distract him on our long plane rides.

-Big kids, especially his cousins who can always make him laugh.

-Playing in the front seat of the car. He thinks he is so cool when he does this.

-Sippy cups. He is officially off the bottle

2009-11-13T14:04:00.000-08:00

I saw this quote on my friend Liz's blog today and I started crying (emotional much??) because I truly found the man that Present Hinkley spoke of and I couldn't be more thankful or more happy than I am today.

"Girls, Aim high, but do not aim so high that you totally miss the target. What really matters is that he will love you, that he will respect you, that he will honor you, that he will be absolutely true to you, that he will give you the freedom of expression and let you fly in the development of your own talents. He is not going to be perfect, but if he is kind and thoughtful, if he knows how to work and earn a living, if he is honest and full of faith, the chances are you will not go wrong, that you will be immensely happy...True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well-being of one's companion."

- Gordon B. Hinckley

Happy Halloween

2009-11-03T07:33:00.000-08:00

This year Andrew had two great costumes, Yoda and Dumbo. We had a trunk or treat at church on Friday night and decided that Yoda would be the best choice because Andrew could move/walk around in it more freely. It took him awhile to get used to my black hair but once he did he started having the best time. I was so surprised that he kept his little ears on the whole night, he must have forgotten about them. He was so happy the whole night chasing after the bigger kids. I think he thinks that he is really 3 or 4 because he would just get right in with the older kids and follow them around. It was the cutest thing. There was an older boy (around 5) who was also Yoda, and the boy told Nick that he just wanted to hug the other Yoda so much! (how cute is that)

On Saturday Nick had to go into school in the morning, so Andrew and I met him at school and we walked to Newbury St (for those of you who don't know it is a street with lots of fun shops and restaurants) We grabbed a bit to eat and got stopped constantly with people telling us that we have the cutest kid. (like we didn't know) For Saturday we dressed Andrew in his Dumbo outfit.

Beautiful fall leaves on Mass. Ave a couple of streets up from Nicks school.

Dumbo after a long but fun Halloween

Jamie, have you put on a few lbs?

2009-10-31T05:46:00.000-07:00

Well, yes I have because... I'm pregnant! I'm due April 4th and we are so excited. I wasn't going to announce it for a few weeks, but I know when I see some of you next week in California it will be hard to keep it a secret.

One of the reasons that I haven't told anyone is that I haven't even been to the doctor here yet. I just got approved for our insurance and so I now have an appointment for the week I get back into town. So hopefully if everything is going as it should I should know the sex in the next couple of weeks.

I feel good, pretty much exactly how I felt with Andrew with just a little less morning sickness. My belly is growing and my back hurts so I take that as a good sign. :)

Cranberry Festival

2009-10-11T12:50:00.000-07:00

So, this weekend we went to a cranberry festival in Wareham, Ma which is about a 45 min drive from us. We heard about it from Debi and Martin who were in town visiting last week. (We did a ton of fun things with them but unfortunately don't have much pictures to prove it) They took one day and went down to Cape Cod and the surrounding areas and heard about these festivals while they were checking out a cranberry bog.

There were a couple of cranberry festivals going on and we choose this one mainly because it was only $2 to get in. There was a bus that took you around to see some cranberry bogs and explain how they get picked etc. There was also a music circle that Andrew loved! He was so cute, banging drums and shaking maracas. It was cold, but thanks to his Nana he was suited up perfectly with his cute hat and sweater. The only way we could get him to keep his hat on was to have Nick have his hood on. It is so cute that Andrew already wants to be just like his Daddy.

For me the highlight was the food. We couldn't decide between fried dough and a fried snickers bar, so of course we got both. They were both amazing, although I think I prefer my fried dough with just cinnamon and sugar instead of the powdered sugar the dude that was making it poured on without even asking.

I came home with 6 lbs of cranberries and so I just made this yummy cranberry orange bread. I know I'm going to use some for Thanksgiving cranberry sauce but if you guys have any other yummy cranberry suggestions or recipes please throw them my way.

My two handsome boys

Our little drummer boy

Scarfing down our fried dough. We didn't give this to him, he just launched at it. (who could blame him?)

Below is a video of me trying a fried snickers for the first time. It was pretty amazing.

Birthday Boy

2009-10-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

Well, my baby turned one on Monday and he is still just about the cutest thing I have ever seen. On Saturday we had a small party for him with some people from the ward that we have met. At first he was a little overwhelmed by having all those people over but as you can see in the pictures below he soon warmed up to the idea.

Unfortunately we have yet to get the walking on video. But I love this picture because it shows him walking and how excited he is when he does it.

What we've been up to...

2009-09-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

Sorry, no house pictures yet. I have been just so lazy about blogging that I thought I'd do an easy one to start out with. Here are a few things that have been keeping us occupied.

Here is Andrew at a beach near our house. I could only handle it for about an hour before I had to leave. Andrew would not stop eating the sand, and it was disgusting. The next day he cried every time he went poop because it was so sandy.

View of Boston from a park near our home

Waiting for Nick to find his geo cache (why do you think we went to that park?)

A couple of times we have met Nick at the Frog Pond at the Common after he got out of school. It is about a 15 min walk from his school.

The inside of Nick's school

This is the main thing that has been keeping us so busy. I have been soooooo spoiled this last year having Nick around so much. He is so good with Andrew and such a team player when it comes to the house that I've been a little lost trying to get by without him. Andrew has been teething now for a while (it seems just as one tooth comes out another one starts to hurt him) so he has been more needy than usual, so I start something and it never seems to get finished. Thankfully my husband is understanding and loves me even if our house is a disaster.

Random tidbits

2009-09-04T07:08:00.000-07:00

Nick had his first day of school on Wednesday. But my favorite part was when he came home. Andrew got so excited! He started dancing and didn't want to let Nick out of sight. I loved it and I teared up a little bit.But if you want details about the school day that will have to wait for when Nick has time to post.

Today we are going to a BBQ for Nick's school, Andrew and I are going to head out to the city a little early with another wife and baby of a student at NECO to do some sight seeing.

Our stuff is arriving on Sunday anytime from 4-8 pm, so we should be able to upload some pictures early next week. And I have my first hair appointment on Saturday, hopefully she'll help me rein in all the ladies form the ward.

The move...

2009-08-27T13:36:00.000-07:00

So, today is my 6th day in Quincy (suburb of Boston) and my second day with internet so I thought I should get blogging.

Last Monday Nick set out on his 4 day road trip across the country. He didn't do much but drive and he only got one geo cashe, if you can believe it. He said that he was on a schedule and needed to stick to it. I feel bad for him because I thought that geo cashing would at least make his ride easier or more fun. But, he definitely stayed on schedule, he got into town Thursday night and stayed with some friends. Friday was the day that he came and saw our place (pictures to come in another post) and was supposed to have signed the lease but we still haven't done that yet. He also picked Andrew and I up at the airport on Friday afternoon. Andrew did great on the flight except for when he had dirty diapers (which was when we were taking off and landing when I couldn't change him)

We moved into a duplex with neighbors on the top floor and us on the bottom. We are very lucky because we have had some instant friends. Our neighbors are in our ward and have a one year old and Nick had known a couple from his school who also have a baby and are in our ward. It's been fun and a lot of help.

Our stuff isn't here yet and they have until September 11th to get it to us, but I am praying that it doesn't take that long because I need something to sit on other than this blow up mattress and I feel bad for Andrew, I know his play pin isn't very comfy. We went into the city yesterday to explore a bit. Nick took me to his school and I got to learn the subway, we also walked around Boston common. When I am able to up load pictures that will be my next post. I have noticed two things about this place, #1 a lot of people smoke, coming from L.A. where there are a ton of smoking regulations it is quite annoying, #2 it is beautiful, there are huge trees and it is green everywhere and the architecture in the city is amazing.

So, overall we really like it here, but I'm sure that come winter I will be singing a different tune. Keep your eye out for some picture posts, hopefully they will be up soon.

I'm Fat

2009-07-23T22:18:00.000-07:00

I am and I'm annoyed by it.

Tonight I ate an apple with peanut butter for dessert, not because I was hungry but because I NEED something yummy (preferably sweet) in the evenings and that is all I had in my house. And now I'm sitting here with a stuffed belly looking like I'm 5 months pregnant again. Ever since I went on vacation earlier in the month I feel like I'm eating everything in sight, and because I am no longer nursing I have gained a few lbs. :(

So, now what? I've put it out there and so hopefully I will get my butt into shape. My goal is to lose 10 lbs in ...oh, what's a good amount of time? I want to say "My goal is to lose 10 lbs in 2 weeks" because that is what I wish was possible. I guess I'll settle for realistic and say September 15th. That gives me time. So please cross your figures for me and help keep me motivated!

Texas

2009-07-11T07:53:00.001-07:00

Last week we took a tip to Texas to visit my sister in Dallas and go to a family reunion in Austin with the Onken's (well, really Debi's side). We had so much fun being with family all week. The only down fall was the heat it was over 100 everyday we were there, but at Alyssa's we were either inside or in her pool and when we got to the ranch for the reunion Nick's grandma Corrine surprised everyone with a pool that just got done being built the week before. Needless to say that is where we spent most of our time. Nicks Aunt Ellie just moved a few miles from his grandmas ranch to a beautiful house on 5 acres full of oak tress, it was great to be able to see, and we are so happy for her!

Andrews first plane ride went great! He did so well that people were coming up to us afterward and telling us how much they enjoyed having him on the plane. He was making friends left and right with his big smile, he really enjoyed hanging upside down in the aisle to see what everyone was doing and he spent the other part of the flight trying to squeeze his head in-between the seats to see the lady behind us that was making him laugh.

Lucy, Samuel, Andrew and Nick.

We had so much fun with the kids. They are so good and adored their baby cousin (hopefully they will feel the same about their new brother in October)

Aunt Alyssa got Andrew a floaty so he would be left out in the pool. He mostly liked it but we found that he wanted to drink all the water that collected inside.

At these family reunions there always seems to be a big puzzle going. This year we got two done.

Andrew and his two year old cousin Juan.

One of the horses. I didn't ride this year (mostly because I was lazy) but Trent overcame his fear and got on.

Nick's eight year old cousin Ian put together a football game for the boys. Nick was very proud because he scored two out his teams four touchdowns, but the game ended up being a tie.

Nana and Andrew

Some of us went to the these cool caves (see below). We were so excited because it said that the temp in the caves was 75 degrees but what we didn't know was that the humidity down there was 80 percent or more! Oh, well it was fun anyway.

Andrew LOVES the pool. He got dunked under the water for the first time by his Aunt Chelsea and loved it.

This is just outside the ranch, I couldn't get closer but just behind the deer in the back round there were about 5 other deer. So cute!

Happy Fathers Day!

2009-06-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

Nick, thank you for being the kind of father that Andrew can look up to and admire. We love you!

I am so blessed to have had such a great example of what a Father is and should be. Dad, thanks for always making me laugh and showing me what to look for in a husband and father for my kids, I love you!

I couldn't resist

2009-06-15T08:37:00.000-07:00

I apologize in advance for my voice on the videos. I don't know why but I hate hearing myself, it makes me feel sorry for nick and those of you who have to hear me talk on a semi-regular basis.

This morning I got up when I heard Drew start to whine but since he has been weaning himself this last week I made a bottle for him before going in his room to get him. This is what I found when I went in, he had fallen back asleep but siting up. It was pretty funny.

My mom got us this umbrella stroller for the many plane/car trips this summer, I can't believe Andrew is big enough to be in it!

Andrew and his bff Tanner

This is his new thing. He likes to lift his hands over his head like he just won a race and have us all cheer for him.

Great Day!

2009-05-30T18:53:00.000-07:00

I woke up excited to go to work today. I hadn't been to the salon for almost 2 weeks and was looking forward to being artistic and making some money. When I got home the baby was taking a nap so Nick and I had some good one on one time which was nice sense Andrew has become a mamas boy the last few days and wants me to hold him all the time (which half of me loves and the other half hates)

We then went to Best Buy to get a GPS for our car. One of the first things Nick said when he he got home from his trip this week was "We have to get a GPS". He says that the streets in Boston are crazy and we will be getting lost 24/7 if we don't have one. So, that made Nicks day. Thankfully he had his leatherman (pocket knife) in his pocket, so as soon as we got in the car the package was open and the GPS was on the windshield. Anytime he gets a new gadget to play with he is happy.

We then get home and decide to go to the annual Art Walk in L.A. Lucky for us it is on Wilshire and La Brea so we just had to cross the street. All the galleries were open and all the museums were free for the day. They even had displays up at the Tar Pits of Bamboo DNA and some other fun stuff. Unfortunately we didn't have our camera and were to lazy to walk home and get it, so we don't have any pictures for you to see. I also found this great jewelry maker with super unique things called La Petite Puce Jewelry . I didn't buy anything but I have my eye on a couple of different things that I want.

We then finished the day with Kogi BBQ . They had the truck right at the Tar Pits and we were one of the first in line. You can't beat that!

Nick must have been living under a rock

2009-05-23T22:37:00.001-07:00

Last night Nick and I were trying to decide on a movie to watch when I find out that he has never seen "She's All That" or "Can't Hardly Wait". As you know these are two classic teen movies from the 90's. I didn't believe it was possible for someone having been in high school in the late 90's to not have seen these. Wasn't it required to graduate? Unbelievable! So I made him pick and She's all That was chosen. I hadn't seen this in probably about 9 or 10 years but I remembered quite a bit.

Who could forget these great lines:

"My soul is an island, my car is a Ford" -midget in the art show

"You're totally wiggin"- this was even funny/lame back then because no one ever used that word that I know of.

Or that NASTY pub scene in the cafeteria. "Those are his pub's man" I almost threw up just thinking about it.

And the awesome dance sequence at the prom.

We also saw that Usher and Lil' Kim are in it!

Now I need to talk him into watching Can't Hardly Wait.

Congratulations Lindsey!

2009-05-14T16:23:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of my sister. Today is her last day of student teaching and after a long road she is finally done with school, good job Lindsey! Its been rough at times but you stuck it out. I know you'll be the best teacher! I love you!

The not so world wide web

2009-05-13T23:27:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, Raul Castro is once again taking away more freedom (if that is possible) from the Cuban people. The already limited access to the internet has been scaled back even further. They can now no longer buy "internet time" at the hotels. It is only for the tourists. And our President wants to open communication with this kind of government? I'm all for helping the Cuban people but I think the way to do it is to make more people aware of the life (or lack there of) that people have there.

A few days ago she posted this on her blog:

I have gone a couple of days without connecting to the Internet, because a new complication has appeared in the road of alternative bloggers. Several hotels in the country demand, in order to connect to the web, that you prove a life in a place outside the Cuban archipelago. The desk clerks tell me—even though they are just as native as I am—that that blue card will not allow me to dive into the vast World Wide Web. “It’s a decision that comes from above,” a woman says to me, as if a decision of this type could be taken at a level other than the offices of the government.
I see it will be hard to change myself into a foreigner overnight. So the only thing left is to protest against such a ban and to make public the existence of a new apartheid. I will have to go back in the guise of a tourist, although this time I will have to learn a language as complicated as Hungarian to fool those who sell the access cards. Maybe I can prowl around the hotels, ready to ask the foreigners to buy—for me—this forbidden entrance key, this safe conduct I need “to not be Cuban.”

Her and her husband went to see for themselves if they could get on the internet. If you click on the link there is a video on Yoani's blog that will explain way better than I can what I am talking about. It is the second post.

and its only wednessday...

2009-05-06T19:39:00.000-07:00

Wow, I don't even know where to begin. Nick thinks I should tell you guys our week thus far in 24 talk, aka: at 0 200 hours such and such happened. Sorry Nick but it is just not in me today!

First- I have been sick for a week with the flu. It sucks. I am getting better but I can still "smell the sickness". That is the only way I know how to explain it. Nick said he understood what I meant (which is rare) so I figure some of you might also.

Second- My grandma is in the hospital (went in on Monday night). :( I feel so bad for her. She'll be ok, but is just very weak. I don't want to get old. My sister Jessica explained it best, "shoot me at 75 if this is what 80 is". I know that sounds bad but it is amazing the change that has happened with my grandma in just the last 2 years. It has again made me realize how important it is to take good care of yourself when you're young because much of my grandmas issues could have been somewhat preventable.

Third- Tuesday night we found the tenant that lives in #119 dead. It was pretty sad. We're not sure how long it had been. The last time anyone had seen/heard from her was last Thursday night. It was pretty horrible.

Forth- I'm tired.

Fifth- Andrew exploded from his butt today. Literally. He was in his jumper and he just exploded, poor guy. It got all over the carpet. Nick cleaned it up.

Sixth- It started smelling like death downstairs in the hallway of 119. What are we suppose to do??? They took her body last night. I don't know what the protocol is for this stuff. We are taking out the carpet where she was laying tomorrow.

Seventh- The oven in #310 caught on fire today, filled the third floor with smoke. I don't know how it happened and I don't care. Nick put out the fire.

Eighth- I put Andrew to bed an hour ago and he just woke up screaming.

Did I mention that I'm tired????

Joe, my love...

2009-05-03T09:29:00.000-07:00

As a few of you know I've been having an affair with Joe. He is one of a kind, and is so good to me. There is no need to hind it from Nick, in fact I don't know how I could keep this love a secret from anyone. Nick has come to terms with it, especially because Joe always sends me home with something to put a smile on Nicks face. Like the other day when he gave me a guacamole kit for Nick. Anyway, when we decided to move to Boston we considered our family and friends and the awesome living situation we have here but ultimately decided that Boston was the right place for us. It was only a couple of weeks ago that I realized that I would also have to leave Joe behind. Nick tried to be supportive by telling me that I'd find someone that I liked just as well, but nothing could console me. But the other day I heard that Joe not only has one place in Boston but three or four places. I was so happy I almost cried!(seriously) I know what you may be thinking, I try not to show that kind of emotion for Joe in front of Nick but I couldn't help it. I am even narrowing our apartment search to where Joe is.
I love you Joe!

Zoolander's evil twin

2009-04-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

Girls night with...Joss Stone

2009-04-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting time to do some blogging while Andrew is napping.
Well, the other day my friend Whitney called me up to see if I was up for going to a concert. She and our friend Kinohi had gotten free tickets off of Twitter for Joss Stone that night. I was excited because I knew who Joss Stone was, but I couldn't think of any of her music but I remembered liking it.
Well, she turned out being way better in person than I would've thought. Lots of energy, and she was pretty sassy with the crowd. I am a little sad that I didn't get a picture of the creppy guy in front of us but he kind of scared me. Everytime she would turn her head to our side of the stage he would throw his arms up and yell her name until he thought she heard/saw him (I don't see how she could've missed it) I think because of this she favored the other side a bit but who could blame her? I was a little creeped out for her. Although he did make me wonder for a split second if that is how BBMAK felt about Marisa and I (if you don't know what I am referring to, believe me its better that way.or if you really want to know come over and if you're luckly you'll see the album) But then I remembered that we were two super cute 18 year olds and not a nasty 40-something crazy with a wedding ring on.
But I have to say that the best part were her back up singers. There were three of them and they were great! The one farthest from us was the quintessential back up girl. Cool, good voice and not to showy. The guy in the middle was just brusting at the seems for not being center stage, all his moves were exagerated and you could tell he wasn't content being the one in the backround. The one closest to us was the best! She had serious attitude in everything she did, her dancing had attitude and her facial expesions were classic, she was by far my favorite. Check out the video to see what I'm talking about.
All and all we had a great night, it's always good to get out for some girl time.

2009-04-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter! Unfortunately these are the only pictures I got. But aren't they cute???
Don't they look like they got caught doing something wrong?

How many people does it take to put a baby in a carrier?

2009-04-13T14:07:00.000-07:00

apparently 3!

Utard trip

2009-04-09T08:17:00.000-07:00

Andrew in the snow for the first time
We met Skyler's new girlfriend Sarah for the first time

We went up to conference last weekend. We first drove to Vegas and visited with my grandma, aunt and cousins before heading to Salt Lake. It was great spending time with family and friends. We also had Cafe Rio for the first time, which is kind of a big deal if you know our friends.

some pictures

2009-03-31T07:49:00.001-07:00

I finally got him a jumper and he LOVES it! I'm sad that I waited as long as I did.

King Andrew in his throne and we are all just his loyal subjects.....

Action shot of Andrew playing with his favorite toy...the keyboard

So I'm going to sound like a bad mother, but here it goes....Andrew was playing on our bed being happy and I had to run to the bathroom but he was so nice and happy that I didn't want to move him so I put our laundry basket full of clean clothes on the side of the bed right underneath where he was playing thinking that if he rolled it would break his fall but not really thinking he would because he was so into doing what he was doing that he hadn't moved for a couple of minutes and this is what I found when I came out not 20 seconds later.

Prank Calls

2009-03-26T06:46:00.000-07:00

So I am going to change names in this story because the person who told this to me didn't tell the parents this was happening and to not get this kid in trouble...here it goes:

After church a couple of weeks ago Jane, a lady in our ward was talking to the Smiths (who are big talkers but are also the nicest people you've ever met) She can't remember what they were talking about, it wasn't important but it was a long conversion because like I said before they like to talk a lot. So, as Jane is listening she gets a little bored and decides to tune them out and figure out what their little 8 year old boy was doing with the phone in the foyer. As she was acting like she was paying attention with giving them little "hmm's" and "yes, I know all about that" she was listening intently on what the little boy was saying.

She saw him rummaging through the phone book that we have propped up on a self underneath the phone. He'd find a name then dial their phone number and after the person picked up he would say "idiot, your stupid" and hang up with the straightest face. Then she sees him get another name out of the phone book and do the same thing only this time he says "fart, I just farted" and hangs up. He did all that without even cranking a smile. This went on for the whole conversion, picking random names and prank calling these people, like he was on a mission or something. Jane said that the parents would chime in once in a while and tell him not to play with the phone but they had no idea what he was really doing.
She said it was so entertaining and she had to hold back lots of laughs. When she told this to me on Sunday I was crying I was laughing so hard.

A Better Opinion

2009-03-19T07:28:00.000-07:00

Hypothetical question: If you wanted to know if you should go see some movie that's out in theaters right now, who would you ask for their opinion: some stranger on the street, or a friend whose taste in movies you share?

This is the idea with "A Better Opinion."

My (Nick's) friend Jordan is in the process of rolling out a new business venture: it's called "aBetterOpinion.com" (ABO) and is a website that "is able to determine which movies, books, and video games you will and will not like." This is how it works:

After signing in you tell ABO what your taste in movies/books/video games is like by rating them with a simple thumbs up or thumbs down. ABO can then find other users with your same tastes and tell you how those people felt about a certain movie/book/video game that you're interested in.

This is way better than going to some ratings website and looking up how many stars that one movie got. How do you know if the people who rated have your same taste in movies? Normal ratings websites = stranger on the street. ABO = your friend with the same tastes as you have.

The website is currently in beta (meaning it has some tweaks that still need to be worked on) but it's still easy to use and understand. Now that you understand how the website works, you can see how important it is to have established a good base of users upon which to make matches with other users. That's why I'm coming to you: will you help out by creating an account and rating some movies or video games? (Books aren't up yet). Jordan writes:

"In exchange for your help, I will designate all of you as Founding Members on your profile. (and if you live in the LA area, Ill take you to dinner, buy you some drinks, give you a high five, etc.) I hope this will bring you great pride as we all contribute in making this thing happen."

I found the easiest method was going through the list of movies that a friend had already rated, and rating them for myself. Both me and Jamie are "friends" with Jordan, so when you look at his profile and see the list of his friends, click on us. I'm "That was rad" and Jamie is... wait for it... " jamie."

Here's the link for the website: aBetterOpinion.com . Have fun!

2009-03-16T18:47:00.000-07:00

So I've come to the conclusion that I'll need a new wardrobe for Boston (like I can afford it, but that's another post) Here are some things on my wish list....Nick you better be paying attention!

New clothes for a new city - by mrs.onken on Polyvore.com

"I'm so excited to laugh tonight"

2009-03-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

Saturday night Nick and I went to see Joel McHale with my sister Lindsey and her husband Jude. At first I was worried that he wasn't going to be that funny because for the first 10 min he was just making fun of Ryan Seacrest (which was funny but gets old quick) but thankfully he moved on to making fun of his wife and kid. He even threw in some jokes on mormons. I haven't laughed that hard in quite a while, he was hilarious. If you have never heard of him, check him out on his show The Soup on E!

Here are some more pictures of the night:

And judging from the last two pictures I think my husband might be retarded, what do you think?

Better late than never!

2009-02-25T17:17:00.000-08:00

After a month of him really wanting/trying to roll over he finally did on Tuesday! Here is a video for you all to enjoy....

Andrew's favorite past time...looking out the window. Whenever he gets fussy (or anytime really) we put him in his seat (thanks Heather) and he immediately quiets down and enjoys the view.

In other news...............

I have a very good husband. The other day he came home home school with roses and ice cream(he knows me so well). I couldn't ask for anyone better. Thanks babe!

Identity Crisis

2009-02-21T08:11:00.000-08:00

I have never considered myself anything but American and I have had trouble in the past understanding why those who have been born in this great country consider themselves whatever it is that is in there family tree, whether that be Mexican, Cuban, Italian etc.(especially if you've never been to the said country, like when you meet someone and they say they are Mexican but have never actually been to Mexico) I've always checked the Caucasian box on applications and have never felt inclined to put Hispanic(maybe it steams from when I was little no one believed me that I was half Cuban, like a 1st grader would lie about where her mother was born. I would literally have my teachers tell me that I was wrong). But that is not to say that I don't identify at all with those that are of my same heritage. Even though I have never been to Cuba I feel a kinship with those who live there. It has always been a place that I have dreamed of visiting since I was a little girl. Maybe so I could understand a part of my mother that I've never known, I don't know.
But recently I have been reading two blogs Generation Y and Without Evasion by two women living in Cuba. They were born after the revolution and have only ever known life with Castro. This means that they've lived without the simple freedoms that we take for granted every day; free speech,freedom of religion, colored televisions the list can go on and on. The author of Without Evasion in her new post wrote about how her husband's job was threatened among other things because the government knew that she writes a blog. Can you imagine what that must be like?
I have come to deeply respect these strong women for having the self-respect to stand for what they believe in, even if that means that their husband might lose his job or that they might go to jail etc. Reading these blogs gives me hope for Cuba and the Cuban people. That one day they will win there fight for basic human rights and freedoms. Hopefully they know that they have support from those of us who have a bit of an identity crisis, who have never been to their country but love it all the same.

2009-02-13T09:59:00.000-08:00

I love this and I want it for Andrew's room. I usually don't like "mormon" art. It is all a bit cheesy for me, but I found this chick on Etsy and I really like her stuff.

Happy 1/2 Birthday to me!

2009-02-13T09:13:00.000-08:00

Today is my half birthday and I'm going to celebrate by doing 1/2 my laundry, clean 1/2 the house and cook 1/2 a dinner. Ha Ha Ha. (I am delirious from lack of sleep)

Andrew has been doing really well with his sleeping. Some of you might remember my previous post when I explained how we were starting sleep training. It took him two nights but after that he has been sleeping for 10 hours every night non- interrupted(for the most part) for three weeks. It's been heaven!
Yesterday we went to the doctor for his 4 month visit, and she told us what we already knew. He's PERFECT! But sadly he had to get his vaccinations (3 shots in one leg and 2 in the other :( and that is why we were up from 3- 5:30am. Poor guy, even though he seemed fine last night I gave him some Tylenol before he went to sleep. He woke up at 3 crying, so Nick went in and tried to sooth him but after he was still crying 10 minutes later( he never does that) we gave him some more Tylenol thinking that the medicine had worn off. He stopped crying and was quite for 10 min when he started up again. By this time he was up for almost an hour and I went and got him, I couldn't bear the thought of him hurting. It was definitely the shots that kept him up, you could tell that he was uncomfortable all over. About a little more than an hour after that we put him back down and he is still sleeping.
He was such a champ at the doctor, he didn't even make a peep at the first shot and then just little whimpers the last four. Here are his stats from the Doc:

Weight: 17.8 lbs 90%tile
Height: 25 1/2 the doctor said between 50 and 70%, so I'll take that as 60%tile
Head: I don't remember (the paper is in my car) but I think it was in the 60%tile as well

Some random videos

2009-01-25T10:21:00.000-08:00

some pictures....sorry nothing more

2009-01-24T11:46:00.001-08:00

Our little birdie perched on Daddy..I especially like the lady in the back round!

He found his toes and feet this week and won't let them go

Andrew and Porter

Andrews first trip to the beach...don't worry we had his head covered

Update...

2009-01-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

Well, we've been doing the sleep training now for 5 days (4 nights). The first night sucked! He was up every hour or so ( I think I mentioned that in my last post). The second night he slept through the night 8:30pm - 7 am. Not bad, I was very happy. The third night he slept until 3 and didn't go back to sleep until 4:15(crying the whole hour, so sad) he then slept till about 5 then went back to sleep until 6 when he was up fpr the day. I put him down that night at 7:30 and I think it was to early for him and he hadn't had great naps that day either. Last night we put him down at 8:30 and he slept again until 7! So, hopefully this is working and he'll do the same tonight!

Sleepess nights

2009-01-21T15:58:00.001-08:00

So for some reason we didn't end up with the kind of baby that sleeps through the night all by himself. (I know, right? not fair) So my sister Alyssa sent me a book called Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems which she said has really helped her with her kids. Andrew is not a bad sleeper, he is actually quite good I think, but he is waking up in the middle of the night still (usually once but sometimes twice) and the only thing that puts him back to sleep is me feeding him. I know that he is old enough now that he doesn't need to eat at night and I don't want to start a bad habit that will be hard to stop later.
So, what the book recommends is that instead of just letting him cry all night you go in after 5 min. and sooth him but don't pick him up, then leave. And repeat as necessary with the waiting time increasing 5 min every time you go in. For example (assuming your baby continues to cry):

Day 1: Wait 5 mins, soothe for 2. Wait 10 mins, soothe for 2. Wait 15 mins, soothe 2. Continue every 15 mins.
Day 2: Wait 10 mins, soothe for 2. Wait 15 mins, soothe for 2. Wait 20 mins, soothe 2. Continue every 20 mins.

And you do this until your baby realizes that it is not worth crying for 20 min if he isn't going to be held or nursed. And eventually (usually within a week) he will be sleeping through the night every night.

Last night was the first night we tried this and it went pretty well except for the fact that Andrew woke up about every 1 1/2 hours, which is totally unlike him. I think he did this because he was confused about what was going on and it was out of the norm. Nick or I went in but just told him to go back to sleep and rubbed his belly a little and left. He is used to me going in and feeding him and then immediately falls back asleep. So, hopefully tonight will be better. I've already noticed an improvement in his naps today. I'll keep you posted on how he progresses.

5 Years

2009-01-13T09:13:00.000-08:00

Today is our 5th anniversary. We have grown so much from then I can't hardly believe it, but he is still my best friend and I love him even more than I did then. So far marrying Nick has been the best decision I have ever made. Thanks for being the funniest, kindest, most loving, and compassionate person I know. I love you baby! Oh, and your not bad looking either.

like father like son

2009-01-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

Nick took Andrew on his first Geocaching experience on Saturday. I'm a little surprised that it took this long. They had a lot of fun and I have a feeling that this won't be the last time they do this together.

It's been awhile...

2009-01-05T18:54:00.001-08:00

I'm not in the mood to write a long post so here are a couple of pictures from the last few weeks. We've been busy but have been having so much fun. Unfortunately I was sick on Nick's birthday so we have no pictures of birthday fun because we didn't have any. (poor nick) But I'm feeling better and am so excited to start the new year. I hope everyone had a great time over the holidays and we love you all!

We finally got Jeff to hold the baby...and it didn't kill him! There is hope yet!

some good friends that I haven't seen in way to long...MEH

This was as good as it looked, I loved our Cuban Christmas

"Santa Monkey"

TWINS....almost.

YUMMY!

what a cute face!

Andrew and his best bud Tanner...just chill'n

2008-12-16T08:56:00.000-08:00

As some of you might remember I had a baby shower. At this baby shower my super cute friend Lora had an idea for all the guests to write messages to me and Nick in the diapers to cheer us up during middle of the night duties. Well, we are just about done with those diapers and I must say they were pretty entertaining, I especially like the one from my friend Erika who wrote down a very long but classic line from Napoleon Dynamite, or from all my sisters who seem to think alike and wrote that they are Andrew's favorite aunt. But on Sunday morning when I went to change him, I got more than just a message written on the diaper--it was also written on his butt! With bright pink marker the message had transferred onto his skin. I put him in the bath hoping to get him clean but to no avail! It is just now starting to fade(two days later).

Unfortunately I thought of taking pictures after I had given him the bath...but it gets the point across

My blessed baby

2008-12-13T09:32:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we were able have Andrews baby blessing, and its me that comes out of it feeling blessed. I have the most wonderful husband and son, I couldn't love them more or be happier. I am so thankful that so many of our friends and family were able to make it, your support means the world to us!

Chunky Monkey

2008-12-09T16:24:00.000-08:00

We went to the doctor yesterday and found out that we have quite a little chunk on our hands. I know most of you don't care(this is mainly for the grandmas)

Andrew weighs 14.3 lbs - 94% for his age and is 23 1/2 inches long which is 69%.

and the winner is...BOSTON!

2008-12-06T15:42:00.000-08:00

We are so excited to finally know where we are going to be next year. We'll be very sad to leave our family and friends but at the same time are anxious to get started with this new chapter of our lives. We know that this is where we are suppose to go, and feel completely at peace with our decision.
We won't be leaving until late summer but I've already browsed craigslist for apartments and saw a couple postings for move-ins for 9-1-09, so I'll have to keep my eye out. If any of you know the city please feel free to tell us where you think might be the best places to live. I'm not sure how I feel about the cold factor yet but at least I have an excuse to buy the cute coat I saw the other day!(you know me, always looking at the positive!)

...and we have smiles!! :)

2008-12-05T09:01:00.000-08:00

At around Thanksgiving time, Andrew began to smile in response to stimuli. We caught a few smiles on camera!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T09:34:00.000-08:00

This year the boys and I went up to Lake Arrowhead with Nick's family for Thanksgiving. It was nice to get away for a few days and do nothing but spend time with the fam. We had a great dinner (thanks to Debi) and ate a lot all weekend. It was especially fun to see Nick's brother Skyler with Andrew for the first time. I wasn't sure how he would be since I've never really seen him with a baby. But there was no need to fear because as long as Andrew wasn't spitting up or pooping, his uncle Skyler was around to hold him and make him laugh. It is too bad he doesn't live closer. I also know that Nick enjoyed some guy time with Skyler and his brother-in-law Trenton (he finally had people to play Settlers of Zarahemla with him). The only thing that was missing was Natalie. We missed you!

New Peeps!

2008-12-01T09:15:00.000-08:00

This past week was really fun, Andrew was able to meet so many new people who love him so much! He also has started to smile quite a bit but I have to go through all my pictures to find the best one.

My friend Summer

Andrew with his Uncle Skyler

Andrew with his great grandma Connie

Great Anut Ellie

Go Elf Yourself!

2008-11-25T21:57:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Empanadas...yum!

2008-11-25T09:15:00.000-08:00

I am reading lots of cooking blogs recently and I've decided to start making one new recipe a week. Last week I saw this recipe for empanadas and I was already going to make my favorite Cuban dish that night, so I substituted the recipes meat with my yummy picadillo meat and made some pretty good empanadas! The dough was cream cheese based, need I say more? Check it out!

Time Flys When You're Having Fun! six weeks already!

2008-11-20T10:02:00.000-08:00

up close and personal

Nick at six weeks

2008-11-15T08:23:00.000-08:00

Aunt Alyssa with almost all the cousins: Chase, Jillian, Ryan, Andrew and Lucy.
Samuel giving his baby cousin a kiss

This past weekend I was lucky enough to have my sister Alyssa and her two kids come into town to meet baby Drew. I miss them so much and it was so great to be able to share my baby with them. Thanks for coming guys! Love ya!

Divine Intervention

2008-11-13T18:05:00.000-08:00

Tuesday night we went out to dinner with some friends. We had looked up a place called Texas BBQ on the Zagat website. It had a score over 20 so we thought that we couldn't be bad. We were wrong. We did a drive by and saw that no one was in the parking lot (first sign) and then noticed that the place was rated a C. NASTY!

We were in the ghetto and decided to stop and eat at the first place where it didn't look like we would get shot.

Our friend Matt later that night said that it was divine intervention because the food we ended up with was so much better than it would've been at Texas BBQ.

NEWS FLASH!

2008-11-07T11:50:00.000-08:00

Okay, as you all know we named our baby Andrew. I am very happy with the name and I think it fits him. There are two nick names for someone named Andrew (Andy and Drew). When he was born we didn't care what he was called but I've since changed my mind. I've tried calling him Andy and I didn't like it, I've heard other people call him Andy and I wasn't a fan. It's not the name that I don't like but it's calling him that name that I don't like. Am I making sense? After getting to know him for the last month I have come to the conclusion that he is a Drew. So, the big news flash is that we have decided that he should be called Andrew or Drew. Please, no more Andy!

In other Andrew news:

He stayed home with daddy yesterday while I went back to work :( But I am happy to report that he was a very good boy! It was the first time he was given the bottle and he took it like a champ! Now Nick and I can actually think about going on a date alone!

Halloween Pictures! (Alyssa)

2008-11-04T11:41:00.000-08:00

A big thanks to Samuel for letting us use his costume! After I put Drew in this I called Nick in the room and I thought he was going to pee his pants he was laughing so hard!

Happy Election Day!

2008-11-04T08:02:00.000-08:00

I know I may sound weird but I love to vote! I enjoy the whole political process and I love that I live in a country where my voice matters. Whenever election day comes around I am reminded of how lucky I was to be born into this free country. I am so thankful that my mom and grandma sacrificed so much and came here to be free. I am thankful for the soldiers that have died and that are fighting for us to keep that same freedom right now. I hope that everyone goes out today and exercises their right to vote and be a part of this wonderful process. No matter what the turn out of the election today we still live in the greatest country on earth and should all feel very grateful.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-10-29T16:54:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Andrew

Today is my Moms birthday so I thought I give her a shout out! On Saturday my family celebrated my mom and sister Lindsey's birthdays. My mom made yummy paella and we had the Doolan staple desert (yellow cake with chocolate frosting) It was so fun to be with everyone the only thing that could have made it better is if my sister Alyssa and her family were there.

2008-10-23T18:56:00.000-07:00

2008-10-23T14:49:00.000-07:00

i guess i don't know how to upload videos. when drew is sleeping i'll try to do it again.

2008-10-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

I love my baby! For some reason Nick and I were blessed with the sweetest little boy. I really enjoy being a mom. Yes I am so tired but I am in awe of him. Nick and I can't believe how we can just stare at him for 20 minutes and not find it a waste of time, in fact we think its the greatest thing in the world. I am sure that everyone that has had a baby has felt exactly the same way. We don't have a ton of pictures this week but the videos are pretty cute.
We started off this week with Andrew meeting some family friends who I am convinced love him almost as much as I do. He also met his future wife Emrys who was born about 3 weeks before him. Other than that this week has not been all that exciting.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that Andrew had his first trip(of many, poor guy) to Nordstroms this week. He wasn't crazy about the shoes I was looking at but he did seem to like the woman's lounge.

some more pictures

2008-10-15T18:55:00.000-07:00

I'll do a real post later but I like these pictures and there are new ones every day to keep up with.

Baby Drew's first week

2008-10-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

Most of you who will read this will be utterly bored I am sure but I know that there are a couple of you who really want to know this, so here is a break down of babys first week.
We came home from the hospital Monday afternoon. Aunt Lindsey and Nana(Nicks mom) came over and hung out for a while so I Nick and I could shower and feel semi- human again.
My Mom came over on Tuesday while Nick went to school to give me some help and much needed rest.
Wednesday we went to Andrews first doctors visit and at night Lindsey and Jude came over for dinner and so Uncle Jude could meet Andrew.
Thursday my Mom and Debi came over again while Nick was at school and Nicks dad and sister Chelsea came over for dinner.
Friday Andrew met the first of 3 great grandmas. Nicks grandma Corrine came over for a short visit, and later that night we had the Vandermydes , the Shelley's, the Snedecor's, and the Brewers all came by. The Shelley's made us an excellent dinner and we had so much fun comparing Porter, Tanner and Andrew. Espeacilly becasue Porter looks like a giant next to Tanner and Andrew. It is amazing how much differance there is in a 3 moth old compared to our little week old.
We went for our first outing (other than to the doctor) on Saturday to meet Great Grandma Lorraine and to see his cousins.He also meet his Nana at Sharky's for his first lunch date.
Like I said before I know that most of you feel like you've wasted time reading this post( I know I would) but hopefully the really cute pictures make up for it!

Introducing Andrew Nicholas Onken

2008-10-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

Early Friday morning, October 3rd, Jamie woke up with small contractions at about 4:30 am that nonetheless kept her from sleeping. The whole day we spent walking, timing contractions, and breathing (plus a stop at Cheesecake Factory for some Buffalo Blasts). By roughly 5 am on Saturday the contractions had become 1 minute long and 5 minutes apart, so we packed up the car and headed over to the hospital. There we found that Jamie was not dilated at all and we were therefore sent back home. It was a somber 6 minute car ride.

The rest of Saturday was spent waiting for the contractions to become longer in duration and perhaps less spaced out. In addition to our lack of sleep it soon became apparent that Jamie was having some intense back labor, which increased our anxiety. It wasn't until 10 pm Saturday night that we decided to head back into the hospital. A quick check showed that Jamie had dilated to 4.5 cm, and we were admitted. By this time the pain in Jamie's back had become unbearable and an epidural helped ease that. It turns out that Jamie is a natural pusher and was able to give very productive pushes despite not being able to feel a thing. Her spirits remained high throughout the entire process and she even cracked off a few jokes in between pushes. Accompanied by both grandmas and Jamie's sister Lindsey, Jamie gave birth to a beautiful baby boy at 7:36 am Sunday morning, October 5th. He weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces and measured 20.5 inches long. And we're still deciding who he looks like.

Polls

2008-10-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

The polls that I've created were requested by my sister Alyssa. Have fun!

BIG belly

2008-09-27T09:06:00.001-07:00

Before I took this picture I didn't realize how huge I look.

Nursery

2008-09-27T08:46:00.000-07:00

Very Funny

2008-09-14T21:23:00.001-07:00

The first time I saw Gov. Palin I said that she looked exactly like Tina Fey and I couldn't wait for this.

I gave in

2008-09-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

Finally after months and months of hearing about these books I gave in and read them. I wasn't planing on it because for some weird reason I really didn't want to read them even though everyone said how much they loved them.
A couple of weeks ago I was at the Onken's house and Debi was reading them and she offered them to me. I couldn't resist. After 9 months of reading about pregnancy and baby I needed some kind of entertainment.

So, the verdit is that they are......... good. Not great and deffenitly not the best thing I've ever read but the author succeds in taking you into this other world and she takes your mind out of reality. Which I like now and then. So, long story short I would recommend these books but I wouldn't make them out to be the best thing ever because you will be dissopointed if thats what you expect.

P.S.
I was a little dissapointed at the end of the last book. I was looking forward to some gore.

This is incredible

2008-09-03T22:17:00.000-07:00

It all started when I read this article. I saw the words "John Muir" and it reminded me that I really didn't know anything about Mr. Muir. So I opened up Wikipedia and started reading about John Muir. But then I came to the part about Muir's studies of the "...distribution and ecology of isolated groves of Giant Sequoia..." and I remembered that I had always wanted to learn more about Giant Sequoias. So I opened up that article and found something that blew my mind:

"The oldest known Giant Sequoia based on ring count is 3,500 years old."

!!!!3,500!!! holy crap!!!!

That would mean that this tree was "born" (are trees born? maybe "germinated") roughly in the year 1,500 B.C. So I looked up "1,500 BC" in Wikipedia and came up with this article which says, among other things, that "...according to Simcha Jacobovich," the Biblical Exodus took place at this time. The Exodus!!! But I wondered what the Church's date for the Exodus was so I looked in the Chronological Tables in the Bible Dictionary. Unfortunately we're not really given an estimate for the Exodus, but one of the next closest things was

1063: David anointed by Samuel.

1055: David king in Hebron.

Which means that this tree was already roughly 500 years old by the time David slew Goliath!

I seriously almost cried it was so incredible.

A talent

2008-09-03T10:50:00.000-07:00

This is Nick. (Not in the photo--the author). And this is my talent.

Jennie-O turkey dogs on toasted white buns with light mayonnaise and medium cheddar cheese on the bottom, grilled hard salami on the sides, and garnished with sweet pickle relish, peperoncinis, pomegranate mango chipotle sauce, and ketchup.

That is all. Thank you.

EDIT: I use a turkey dog to make it healthy.

Tummy Trouble

2008-09-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

My belly is getting in the way. I keep smashing it into walls and getting attacked by the can opener(don't ask). But I draw the line at being burned. I was trying to be a good wife and make dinner, but when I went to drain the pasta from the pot I got a second degree burn. I should have taken some earlier pictures when it was really gross and bubbly but I thought I would spare you. It now looks like someone kissed my belly with red lipstick on.

2008-08-27T08:22:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to be able to see my friend Summer on Sunday. She was in town for the weekend from Utah and we hadn't seen each other for 2 years. It was great to catch up with her. She reminded me of how I should be. She is such a great example and I admire her so much! Summer, I love you and miss you and I hope you guys move back home!( I just hope Nick and I don't leave when you do)

Baby Shower

2008-08-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my incredible sister Lindsey and friend Lora I had a great baby shower. It is so great celebrating this new little guy that is coming into the world. It was great to see so many friends and family that I feel like I never get to see. Thank you to everyone who has been so generous, I couldn't ask for better people in my life. (I know I'm cheesy but I don't care)

I wish I had a picture with everyone but half is better than nothing

Two VERY excited winners of a game

Me and two of my sisters

Me and my beautiful mom

Me, Lindsey and Lora

Paris for President

2008-08-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

This makes me like Paris Hilton a little bit.

Paris Hilton Responds to McCain Adfunny videosFunnyOrDie.com

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Bye Bye Wickhams

2008-07-28T10:40:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a going away party for our friends the Wickhams. They have been in our ward with us for the past four years and have become great friends, and are now moving to North Carolina. We'll miss them.

4th of July

2008-07-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

We had a great 4th this year. We went down to Dana Point with some friends and ate(lots of candy),watched fireworks and went to the beach. It was such a nice weekend. Thanks Adam and Melissa!

The whole group at the beach

I have a total crush on Nick. I just think he is the cutest thing on this planet!

Hopefully Cado turns out like his daddy

Nick and Adam being the crazy party animals that they are

The girls looking cute as usual

The boys BBQing

Cado

2008-06-09T09:18:00.000-07:00

I've gotten a couple of questions about Cado. I guess I need to explain myself. I get an email from Baby Center every week telling me how my baby is growing at that week and the average size of the baby (they compare it to different foods) and I got in the habit of for that week calling it whatever fruit or veggie it was. A couple of months ago it said that our baby was the size of an avocado and of course it being me (I tend to shorten words, Nick thinks it might be impossible for me to say a full word) I started calling him Cado. After that, none of the other fruits or veggies fit. For example, I couldn't call him turnip and so the name Cado was born.

Can we join the blogging club?

2008-06-08T22:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a big belly shot

We decided to be cool like all of you who have their own blogs and start one of our own. I think it will take me awhile to get the hang of this but hopefully by the time Cado arrives we'll have it down.

Me and Nick at Chelsea's wedding