Time flies and I feel like this winter cold (sickness), will never end.  We keep transferring it back and forth to each other and I wish that I could just rip it out and throw it in the garbage!
Wally:
 Wally loves to reach for things, face toys people…., he still loves being held and doesn’t like being left alone to play.  Wally has recently figured out the Johnny Jump Up and loves it!  He loves bouncing and turning round and round. 

At his 6 months check up Wally weighed 17.5 lbs and was 27.5 inches long.  He is becoming quite the solid boy.  He loves food and is wanting to eat our food more and more.  I am introducing a sippy cup and he is slowly figuring out how to drink out of it. 

            Wally has become much more content in the last 2 months.  He loves to give big smiles and loves laughing at Bella.  They are now wanting to play with the same toy and Bella is not doing the greatest job of sharing.  If Wally has it then she wants it, we are trying to learn patience and sharing!  If you lay Wally down on his back he will lift up his head and legs in a pike position instead of relaxing and laying down.  He has started to reach out his arms when he wants you to pick him up. It is so sweet!

He still does not have any teeth but loves to chew on his tongue, suck on his sleep sack, pajamas, or blanket while he falls asleep, and put whatever he can in his mouth.

Wally is still challenging me daily and He and Bella are frustrating me often and I am continually learning patience and more patience.  I have realized that the life of a mother is never what you expected it to be before you had kids!  It is equally fun and challenging and a hundred times more surprising that you could ever have thought!

Bella is in dance class and loves it!  She has a harder time focusing but I'm pretty sure that runs in the family!  Bella enjoys singing and dancing and blowing bubbles.  She likes showing Wally that she is the older sister by stealing his toys and pushing him over when she thinks that I'm not looking.  Bella loves to talk and knows all of her cousins and aunts and uncles and grand parents and friends names and faces!  This girl is very smart in her mothers opinion!

Little Maxi Skirt

I've been thinking about this idea for a long time and finally decided to construct it yesterday.  Originally I was going to make it for myself and then thought how adorable it would be on Bella.  I am now even more excited to make one for me soon!

My sweet B

Andrew came home from work today and was playing with Bella in our bedroom.  I went in to join the fun and Bella looks at me and says "go away mom."  I guess she needs a little alone time with dad every once in awhile!

Jan. 13

Our New Year has started out with sore throats and colds.  Lets hope that we are just getting them over with early so that we can enjoy time later, my fingers are crossed!

This morning I asked:
 "Bells what do you want for breakfast?"
Her answer:
"Um, marshmallows."
I laughed because she is the cutest thing ever and then scrambled up some eggs for us to enjoy!

Over the Holiday we decided to check out the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point.  I think that we all enjoyed it, Andrew and myself a little more than Wally and Bella.  I think we will go back again but it might not be until they are both a little older!

We had amazing weather and took advantage with some walks around the neighborhood! 

 And the finally the snow arrived!  But sadly has not lasted long.  I love our street after a snowstorm! 

 Wally is a growing fool.  He absolutely loves his big sister and looks at her with awe.  Bella loves Wally as well and shows this often by crawling all over him.  Wally is also very anxious to sit up but is to wobbly to sit still on his own so instead he does this.  He does have some rock hard abs now!

Wally and Bella are both getting so big!  Bella has started to talk back which is so surprising but helps me to reevaluate my actions at times!  I do laugh inside a little when I see her getting stern with me but then think of how this will probably hurt when she is a teenager and really means it.  - Goal be more patient!
Wally is also a little screamer but he is forgiven since this is his only way to communicate.  He screams when he wants you to pick him up, or he his hungry, or especially when he is board.  He will also scream in the car whenever we come to a red stoplight,  this makes city driving a little anxiety inducing.

Bella love to dance whenever I put on music.  She is so sweet always asking but actually demanding "mommy dance please."   

Hello 2012

2011 was a year of changes. 

Andrew started with a new company and really enjoys it, (at least I hope so).  We added wonderful Wallace to our family. I was able to quit my job and become a full time mother, woohoo; and am now learning how to really budget and bargain hunt!  
I am really looking forward to this new year and am hoping to:

• Have a little more consistency in our life
• Be happier
• Keep an organized and clean home
• Teach my children that they are loved by a Heavenly Father 
• Become more selfless

Looking back on Christmas and New Years.

Bella loved Christmas this year.  She absolutely loves parties and of course goodies and presents!  We were able to make it to all our parties this year and enjoyed spending time with family, especially those that we do not see very often. 

The  Rydalch family Christmas party on Christmas Eve.

 Bella was the cutest angel.  Instead of standing in the back with the other angels she went right up to baby Jesus and sat in front of everyone.  She has such a mind of her own!

 The night before Christmas in their new pajamas.

 Christmas morning was so much fun!  Bella and Wally both woke up around 7 am which gave us enough time to open presents before we went to church.

 Bella loved everything, it made Christmas way more fun watching her get so excited!  She made sure to play with every toy before we could leave the house!

 Bella got a doll and stroller from her Uncle James.  We now get woken up by Bella pushing her baby Mia into our room in the mornings!

 Wally was a trooper.  It is very rare for him to fall asleep in the middle of so much action.  

Happy New Year!

We went up to my parents in Oakley to celebrate the new year!  We decided to ring in the new year a little early for the kids sack, and really for mine.  the kids popped poppers, we drank sparkling cider and danced to some rockin tunes.

 My little party animals!

Our life is a wonderful mess and I am hoping that I will do a better job of tracking it because I know that if I don't I will wish that I had!
Wally will be 5 months old the day after Christmas and I am so sad to see the newborn stage end, even though I struggle with this stage, I still miss it when it is over.  For Wally's first 3 months of life he was not a happy man, (which only added to my anxiety of a newborn).  Wally had acid reflux and cried for the majority of everyday.  Medicine didn't do much to relieve his discomfort and I am happy that he only had to deal with the pain for 3 months and not any longer.  
For the last two months I have been trying to come out of the trance that I put myself in while dealing with the rough earlier months.  It is a lot harder than I hoped it would be.  I have realized that you loose a lot of yourself when you are living in survival mode and I am thankful that I have the ability to make the decision to change!  I have two amazing children who fill me with joy everyday and an absolutely wonderful husband to keeps us together and who is constantly willing to put up with me.  I am a lucky woman!
So there is a little background on our last few months and my goal is to now document the wonderful happenings of our daily life.  Whether good or bad I want to remember the fun that we've had!  I am a rhyming fool today!

 I love picking out a Christmas tree and I think that Bell's loved it too!  She was sad to leave but I think that Wally had had enough!  I am already excited for next year.  Having kids makes all holidays better!

Wally has such a personality.  He loves to smile and laugh but he is also very particular and can have quite a temper.

His likes: Being held, standing up, always moving, sucking on his hands, grabbing things, smiling, laughing, motion, noise, ceiling fans, baby food, his big sister.

His dislikes: laying on his back, being left alone in a room, car seat, rolling over, being uncomfortable in anyway.

Our Bella is so much fun!  She loves her brother and is so helpful.  She always wants to know where he is.  She loves to cuddle him and climb on top of him.  Bella is two and is very smart.  She knows her letters, colors, shapes, and numbers.  She loves to sing and dance.  Bella is a jabber mouth and her new saying is, "Mom I need a treat, or I need to watch a show."  She keeps us smiling.  Bella is very energetic but can also be very timid around new faces and places.

Her likes: Wally, pet shops, puzzles, Mickey Mouse, Curious George, Grandma's house, iPhone, dancing, singing, candy or any kind of treat, riding the 4wheeler, kitty cats, presents, birthdays, coloring, helping mom cook, and her cousins.

Her dislikes: sitting down to eat, sharing, bows in her hair,  sitting in her car seat, driving around, staying still.

Merry Christmas!

July 26th, 2011

Baby Wally has arrived!!

Wally's birth story:

Baby W was born exactly on his due date which was so shocking to me since I swear I had another week and a half to go.    We had been in Bear Lake the few days before and I was feeling great!  I went on the boat, the jet ski, paddled in the canoe and felt like I could do a lot more but didn't since I was nine months pregnant but felt like I was six or seven.  On Sunday the 24th we headed home but decided to take a detour to Oakley. We stayed the night there and my mom came home with us on Monday to help me clean the house.  I was feeling a bit tired but figured that it was just from the busy weekend.  That night I was talking to my little sis, and I remember telling her that I was not expecting this baby anytime soon.  I think at that point I knew that something was going on but I wasn't about to set myself up for disappointment.  A and I started to watch Harry Potter 7 part 1 and around 9 p.m. I started to feel a little uncomfortable.  I moved over to the birth ball to try and relive my discomfort but that did little since I was having back labor.  A little after 11 p.m. I told Andrew that I was done with the movie and needed to get in the tub to relax.  I sat in the tub from 11:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. only getting out a few times because I was a little warm.  Around 1:30 a.m. I woke up Andrew and let him know that we should get ready to head to the hospital.  He was a little hesitant but got up anyway and was very helpful.  He stepped right in with putting counter pressure on my back and keeping me calm.  At 2 a.m. we called his dad and asked him if he would come down here and stay with little B.  

At this point I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to make it.  I was telling A that we needed to get to the hospital because I needed medicine now.  B's labor was 14 hours not counting the pre-labor for two nights before, so I was thinking that I still had a ways to go!  A's dad finally arrived just before 2:30 a.m. and I was just finishing up another contraction.  At this point I was laying on our bed on my side in the fetal position, and A was grabbing the last few things and giving his dad some instructions.  I had one more contraction before we left and I remember feeling a bit embarrassed that his dad was listening to my deep moaning and a bit of screaming while I worked through the contraction.  I got in our car and was just praying that we wouldn't hit any traffic lights.  We had called my Doula around 2 a.m. so she was on her way as well.  My initial goal was to labor at our house with Angie my Doula.  Little did I know that this was going to be much faster, even though they say to expect your labor to be cut in half the second time I just didn't believe it.  We called labor and delivery on our way so that they would be ready as soon as we arrived.  While driving I had two more contractions.  A pulled up to the hospital and I wobbled into L&D as fast as I could.  Right when we arrived I had another contraction and had to sit down.  My nurse asked if I needed a wheelchair and I let out a forced yes.  Within 5 minutes I was in our room changed and checked.  I was dilated to a 9 plus!!  Those words were the most beautiful thing that I had ever heard.  Once I knew how progressed I was I was so relieved.  My Doctor was on call that night, thank goodness, and she was in the room within 5 minutes.  Within 15 minutes I was trying to bear Wally down.  Luckily he was posterior, which is why I was having back labor, or else I would of had him at our house or in the car.  I had an amazing nurse that was helping A give me counter pressure, helping hold my legs, and giving me encouragement, water and snacks.  My Doula arrived around 3:25 am as I was bearing down.  At this point my water had not broken.  Sam (my doctor), was so wonderful, she kept me informed the whole time and followed my Birth Plan perfectly.  I had Sam break my placenta since I new that I didn't have the mind power to break the sac as well as deliver Wally.  During the last contractions I would push and then sit back and completely relax to regain my energy.  

Once Wally was crowing Sam told me that I couldn't relax anymore and that I just needed to push.  This to me is the hardest part. Knowing that you are so close but being so exhausted makes it hard for me to finish the task.  At that point I would almost rather make it all go away and just stay pregnant.  But then I think about my sweet baby almost ready to meet the world and I find that strength and I push.  Once his head cleared life was easy.  Wally was born at 3:45 a.m. and was given straight to me where I held him skin to skin for almost 2 hours.  The nurse did all of the newborn procedures while I was holding him and waited to to everything else until we were ready to head up to the room.Sam delivered my placenta and showed it to us which I thought was amazing, knowing that this it was kept my baby alive is incredible.   

There is no way that I can adequately describe the feelings I have at that moment when my babies are born, lifted up so that I can see them, and then handed to me.  This is the greatest joy that I think I will ever feel.  

Wallace Larsen Richards weight 7 lbs 1 oz and measured 22 inches long.