"Whiting, Party of Four..."

Family Pictures

2009-11-08T11:11:00.000-08:00

This is a late post, but hopefully everyone enjoys it anyway. I really wanted to have newborn pictures done of both of my girls, but after Ella things in our lives were super crazy, so it never got done. So, the second time around I wanted to make sure we captured little Paige and Ella together in the very beginning. The amazingly talented Becki Crosby did the pictures for us, and I cannot say enough good things about them! They turned out great, and look so beautiful. Thanks Becki, you did an amazing job! I love them!!!

360 Degrees Of Emotion

2009-11-03T20:35:00.000-08:00

Props to all those who picked up on the "Anchor Man" reference. Oh yeah, the day finally came. U2 in University of Phoenix Stadium. Tuesday, October 20th is a day that Trey and I will always remember. Not only for the amazing concert, but also the CRAZY events that led us there.

If anyone knows Trey, they also know what a HUGE fan he is of U2. So naturally, being the amazing wife I am, thought I'd pull some strings and try to get an all access pass for the two of us. Turns out a client of mine has a friend who is in the music business and could make it all happen, or so we thought. So day of, we're super stoked, and then we get the call. Don't worry, my client's "friend" lets us know hours before the show that our supposed "all access press packages" are being pulled because apparently the venue over sold the show. Whatever, we still aren't sure who was full of crap, my client or her friend or both. I'm gonna bank on both!

So, there we are in our living room totally devastated. But like we would let that stop us. Bono was in town, we weren't missing this for anything! To make a long story short, we drove down to Glendale, scalped us a few floor tickets, and had the most amazing, rockin' time ever!!!

To my sweet husband, thanks for being with me on my first U2 experience. I love that we love the same things, and I love that you sing all the words at the top of your lungs, I especially love it when you do it right in my ear :)

The Stage... In October's Rolling Stone Magazine, it said the 360 Degree Tour stage is the biggest ever built for a tour... EVER!

SO EXCITED WE CAN BARELY STAND IT!!!

Behold Greatness... BONO
sorry it's blurry, but can you believe how close we are!!! I could literally see the sweat on his neck!!! AHHH!!!

Adam Clayton and The Edge jamming right in front of us, SWEET!!!

We met up with Trev and Clea after the show,

so glad we all got to go :)

The long awaited debut!

2009-10-01T18:27:00.000-07:00

Finally! Here are some pictures of our new beauty. We've been so luck to have this angel in our home. She's a super good baby and Ella loves her so much. She's done so well with the transition, I'm so pround of her. Things the second time around have been so much easier than the first. Maybe beacause I'm an old Pro now :) Anyway, we're just enjoying our newest edition, and waiting for the cool weather to come.... if it ever does.

Paigey Poo in dreamland
Papa Gene admiring great grandaughter #2

Sleeping with Mom in the hospital

Ella and Paige getting aquainted for the first time

And then there were four...

2009-09-15T21:39:00.001-07:00

On thursday, September 10th at 11:54 pm we welcomed Paige Lorraine Whiting into the world. Weighing a whopping 6lbs 8 oz and 19 in long, our new arrival is a little pocket-sized angel. We are so thankful for another healthy, beautiful baby girl.

Rabbits...

2009-08-16T21:49:00.001-07:00

So, Ella's hair is finally long enough to put in pig tails. This is a major BIG deal for us, especially me, the hairdresser mom. Sometimes we do pig tails, sometimes we do messy bun pig tails, complete with ribbons, of course. I was getting her ready for the day on Saturday, and I said, "Should we do ponies?" She then replys, "No, I want rabbits." I look at Trey, totally confused. What the heck was she talking about, rabbits??? Then Trey asked her, "Do you mean bunnies?" "Yeah, Daddy, I want Bunnies today, not ponies." We both started cracking up, I thought I was gonna pee my pants! What 2-yr-old would make the connection between "messy buns (bunnies) " and "rabbits"? My silly Ella, I just love her :)

*Sorry the picture isn't great, but you get the idea*

NO MOMS ALLOWED...

2009-08-13T19:05:00.001-07:00

Not really. Mom is just to pregnant to travel, or camp, for that matter. Trey and Ella went to the annual Whiting reunion a couple of weeks ago. She is such a Daddy's girl, its the cutest thing ever. As we were giving kisses goodbye, I asked her if Mommy could come, and she told me, "No Mommy, you no can come. Just Daddy and Ella, ok." For the whole week before, all I heard about was how her and Daddy were going to sleep in the tent, and ride on the motorcycles. And she wanted to wear the yellow hat (helmet). Thanks to all the Whiting women who helped my dear Trey take care of our crazy Ella : )

Turning Two

2009-06-14T21:05:00.001-07:00

On June 2nd, our little Ella turned two! This summer has all ready been packed and crazy, so fitting in a time that worked for all family members to get together for a party was challenging, so we decided to have a party with just the three of us. And where else would we go, but Burger King! Anywhere that she could have "chicken and cries" (that's fries in Ella language) would make her happy as a clown. It was so fun to be there together, just us three, to celebrate. I savor the moments the three of us have together, because soon we'll be a party of four.

Waiting so patiently...

Still waiting, come on all ready!
Sweet sugar at last! Mmmm!!!

Then, the following Sunday we met at Nana and Papa Walker's house for family dinner, complete with mashed potatoes and gravy, one of Ella's favorite dishes. Dinner was followed by presents, running through the sprinklers, and of course, "Happy Birthday Cake!" Auntie Nee nee made the cake, confetti with a big, red Mickey head, since now all Ella does is eat, sleep, and watch/sing/think all things Disney these days.

I can't believe our little Peanut is two! It goes by so fast. I love our little family so much. What a blessing she has been in our lives. These last few months have been challenging for us, but taking time to enjoy the little things in life, especially together as a family, has really helped us grow together. We count our blessings every day, and thank our Heavenly Father for all he has blessed us with, especially our sweet little girl.

Round Two

2009-04-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, my sister Meghan and I went to my ultrasound appointment and learned the sex of our new little bundle. And the winner is.... GIRL!!! Yes, in September Ella will have a new little sister, and we're so excited. Everything looked great on the ultrasound, and now we can finally get to planning. We have a few names that we like, but haven't made any decisions yet. As much as we both would have liked a boy, I'm really excited to be able to do all the bows and headbands and PINK, PINK, PINK again!

Utah Vacation

2009-03-28T21:21:00.001-07:00

Trey's birthday was on the 14th, but being the procrastiator that I am, you all get to hear about it a few weeks late. That's right, 27 BIG ones! We had planned a while ago to go visit family in Utah for the festivities. But, after some recent, pretty major changes in our lives, we questioned if going was the right thing to do. So after some discussion, and learning that the plane tickets were totally nonrefundable, we made the trip. And we're so glad we did! It was a really nice break from life, and just gave us time to relax and enjoy time with family.

Trey, I'm sure, would say the highlight of his trip was the "flash over" he participated in with his brothers, Devon and John E. John E is a fireman up in Utah, and also teaches some fire science classes at the university. A "flash over" is basically when they set a trailor on fire and make the students, a.k.a. firemen in training, dress in the full gear and sit in the heat for about an hour. It was a great opportunity for Trey to see what he's getting himself into, since he soon will be taking EMT and fire 1 & 2 classes in pursuit of a career as a fireman. Pretty exciting stuff!

HOT, HOT, HOT!!!

John E and Trey in their fireman turnouts

After the boys got back, and showered, we went to Salt Lake to meet up with Eric and Laura Allred and their super cute kidos at Rodezio's Brazillian Grill. Yummy! We love you guys and miss you tons! It was good to see you :)

All in all, love Utah, but love Mesa more. Guess we won't be moving anytime soon. Thanks to Amber and John E, and Devon and Nicole for housing and feeding us. Love you guys and miss you . And I know Ella misses Paxon, she asks for him at least a couple times a week.

Seriously, the cutest terrible twosome ever!

Why it's been a while...

2009-03-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

You might want to ask me, "why has it been so long since you updated?" Well, if one were to ask that question, one might also ask, "Why haven't your floors been mopped in a while?" Or, "Why are you tired all the time?" Maybe then you would ask, "Why is your nose so stuffy all the time?" and "Why haven't you gotten out of your pajamas today?" But, if someone was really interested in knowing the reasons for my why's, all they would have to do is look at the oh-so-subtle bump I'm sporting these days, which would in turn be the reason why I can't button my jeans anymore and use a rubber band to hold those babies up, and why there's not a chance in heck of wearing a belt for the next 5 or so months.

On or somewhere around September 16th, our party of 3 will become 4. That's the reason for my "Why's". The greatest reason in the world! We're so excited for our new little one to join us, even though it won't be for a while still. So far, pregnancy #2 has gone great. Very few morning puke sessions, and no weight gained as of this morning at my doc appointment. As for Ella, she of course is awesome. She's started potty training all on her own. No big girl panties yet, but hopefully they're not too far off. We feel very blessed to be adding a new addition to our little family and that the baby is doing well. We'll find out in a month or so if it's girl #2 or a little boy. I guess only time will tell.

Happy Birthday, Papa!

2009-01-20T07:33:00.000-08:00

On Sunday we celebrated my Dad's birthday. It was so fun to spend time with family, and see him open his presents. The big present this year was an ipod touch. He's been talking about getting a palm pilot to load the scriptures on. But good luck trying to find one of those now a days. Anyway, so Trey, being the techie he is, loaded the standard works for him, and he's been playing with it ever since. You think I would have gotten some pictures of it, but no. The only ones we got were of Ella enjoying some birthday cake and ice cream. Hilarious!!!

Christmas, a month later...

2009-01-16T08:33:00.000-08:00

It's almost been a month since Christmas, so it seems a little silly to post about it, but we had so much fun,so here goes. We spent Christmas in Mesa this year with my family. Ella was so much fun this year, as I'm sure you can imagine. Her big gift from my parents was here new play kitchen, and then Trey and I gave her a stroller to push all her little babies around in, she's such a girl. I LOVE it! After she got the two big gifts, it was a major chore to make her open the rest, so I guess we've learned our lesson for next year. We had family pictures taken too, thanks to the amazing talents of Becki Crosby. Thanks again girl, they turned out so great!

The day after Christmas, after a very plentiful shopping trip with the girls, we made the trip up to Springerville to be with Trey's family. Let's just say, I'm thankful we survived the trip. After the road closers, ice and much more scariness, we finally made it there 7 hours later, at 3am. Fun times. We visited, and ate, and opened presents, and ate, and even had the super cute kidos act out our navivity this year, and then we ate some more. All in all, our Christmas was great, and we're so thankful for such great families, on both sides.

Today's Mission...

2009-01-13T08:22:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know it's been a while. I've been needing to update about Christmas for a while, but I can't find my camera ANYWHERE!!! I'm kinda freaking out, since I'm one of those people who keeps all my pictures on my memory card and never erases them, so that when something like this happens I might potentially lose them all. YIKES!!! So, either it's somewhere right under my nose and I'm just not seeing it, or we're in serious trouble. Cross your fingers for me :)

First Haircut, Thanksgiving, and California Christmas

2008-12-10T09:18:00.000-08:00

So, for anyone who has seen Ella's hair lately, you know how mullet-like is was starting to become. And for the daughter of a hairstylist to have an 80's hairdo was not gonna fly with me. So after her bath one night, we pulled out the shears, and off came the tail. She always loves getting her hair done in the morning, so getting her to sit semi-still wasn't too hard. And I have to say, her hair looks a lot thicker since we finally shaped it up.

Did I mention how stinkin' cute she is? I know I'm partial, but look at that face! Oh, and did I mention she's a poser.... she's cute and she knows it, Heaven help us!

Since it's been a while since I've updated, I'm going to squeeze Thanksgiving in here too. We decided a little late to make the trip to Cali for the holiday with my Grandma Lucita and my aunts and uncles on my Mom's side. It was Ella's first time on the airplane, ans she did fabulous!!! On the ride there, she got a little restless towards the end, but the sweet couple behind us played peek-a-boo with her and helped keep her happy. When we landed, they praised her for being such a good girl, so of course she yelled, "Yeah!" and started clapping for herself. To our surprise, the whole plane started to clap for her too! It was the cutest thing ever, and once again, Little Lovebug stole the show!

Then it was Turkey Time! Look at that bird, it was HUGE. But, 22 pounds fed all of us quite nicely with plenty of leftovers to enjoy. My Mom is an amazing cook. She always does such a nice job making sure everything is perfect. After we ate, we all did a gift exchange. We never spend Christmas with that side of the family, so why not smash two holidays into one? I'm so glad we got to spend that special day together. I'm so thankful for my family, especially my wonderful Trey! He had to work the day after Thanksgiving, but did it so willingly, and never complained. He's a hard worker, an amazing Father, and the best husband I could have ever asked for. Love you , honey, you're so awesome!!!

Meghan and Ashlee looking as HOT as ever!

Ella neeed a little help from Charly

Pickin' Pumpkins

2008-11-03T15:57:00.001-08:00

Halloween Fun

2008-11-03T10:53:00.000-08:00

On Friday evening we went over to my sister's house and had a little Halloween get together for our family. I'm so glad that everyone was able to be there. Our little lady actually dressed up as "Lady" from the Disney movie "Lady and the Tramp" Would any of you expect anything less from a Disney addict like me? Anyway, Ella just mainly wanted to hug the coustume before I got it on her, because she thought it was a toy. I know I'm partial, but seriously, could she look any cuter!!! It was so fun to get to spend time with family and have them be there for Ella's first trick-or-treating experience.

Chantz, Melinda, & Charly the lady bug
A puppy this cute deserves a treat!

Enjoying her first sucker

Trick or treating with Dad

2008-11-03T10:51:00.001-08:00

How big is Ella...SO BIG

2008-10-28T14:51:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday we finally got Ella off of her bottle. Hurray! Don't worry, we survived the day. Trey and I decided on Sunday that Monday was a good a time as any to finally break the habit. So, first thing Monday morning when she woke up, we gave her the bottle and let her throw it in the trash herself, I think that was the key. She asked for a it a few times that day, and naptime was a little rough, but all in all she did really well. I'm so proud of my girl! Well, I guess that means potty training is next. Heaven help us!

Bye bye bottles!

2008-10-28T14:35:00.001-07:00

Here we are...

2008-10-14T14:50:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Here it is, our blog. I know, I got on the bandwagon a bit late, as you can tell by the picture, it's only a year and 4 months old :) Anyway, here's us in a nutshell...

It's been 16 months since we became "Whiting, party of three." And wow, it's been amazing. I'm not going to lie, we've had our fair share of sleepless nights, messy diapers and spit up accidents, but we've also had so many laughs and amazing memories this last year. Ella Rene joined our family on June 2nd, 2007. Who knew that the love of our lives would be a red-headed little girl! (I have a soft spot for my red heads) She's sooooo much fun! She's walking and talking up a storm now. Every morning, I go into her room to get her out of bed and her first words of the day are " Hi Mama." It melts my heart every time.

As for Dad and Mom...

Trey is working for Infusion software. He's really loving it there, and just got a new position in sales that we're super excitied about. Oh, and did I mention, he's the world's best dad! Ella adores her Daddy!!! He never runs out of patience and love for his little lovebug.

I am still working at my salon doing hair a couple of days a week. It works out really well. I get to me home with my girl during the week, and still get some grown up conversation on my two-day-a-week schedule. It's great being a mom, i wouldn't trade it for anything, but I love my job and am really thankful for the ability I have to juggle both.

Well, I guess that's it for now. Be patient with me, I'm learning. Hopefully I'll be better at updating this blog than I am at sending pictures and letters and things. So, stay tuned....