Pearce Party of Four:: The Past Five Months

It's hard to believe I haven't updated our blog in five months! I guess I've been too busy chasing around a toddler to have time to dedicate to it. I am going to try harder to update it more frequently now. So here's a break down of what we have been up to recently...

December

The last month of the year was packed with events for us. At the beginning of December, Ryan and I decided to celebrate our last year in our 20s by throwing an ugly Christmas sweater/birthday party. It was a great celebration and so funny to see all the tacky sweaters!

My mom and her boyfriend came to visit and spend time with Riley while Ryan and I headed off to Vegas with another couple for some fun. We stayed at the Mandalay Bay and went to the Michael Jackson Cirque-du-Soleil show (which actually wasn't as great as we hoped it would have been). Ryan also was able to ice skate for the first time. Going to Vegas during December was awesome because there wasn't a lot of people there and all the resorts were decorated for the holidays.

Riley celebrated her second Christmas with us in AZ and she received probably too many new toys. Her favorites were her new modes of transportation...a wagon and two tricycles :) It was wonderful to spend the holidays here...having a child makes all the festivities so much more fun.

Vegas!

January

Nothing really new happened in the January. Ryan and I knew that after the holidays we wanted to start trying for our second baby. Little did we know how quickly that would happen!

February

I discovered I was pregnany right before Valentine's Day. I decided to tell Ryan by creating a Valentine's gift bag with chocolates and other goodies. In the bag, I also included a digital pregnancy test. When he opened it, he kept looking at the test in a strange way. I was waiting for a reaction and finally he understood what I was trying to tell him and he said "Are you serious?!" Later he confessed he initially thought the pregnancy test was a thermometer! haha No wonder he was confused ;) We are so excited to expand our family and can't wait to meet our new little one in October!

Later during that week, we headed off to visit Ryan's family in Alabama. It was my first official trip to the south and I had a great time. I don't think I've ever eaten so much fried food in my life but, being pregnant I wasn't complaining ;) This trip was so special because it was the very first time Ryan and all his siblings were in one spot at the same time. One of the highlights of the trip was driving to the world famous aquarium in Atlanta. It was amazing how big it was! We had such a wonderful trip and hope to visit again soon.

our announcement

loving on grandpa

playing on grandma's piano

ryan and all his siblings

watching a 3D movie together

March

In March we took a trip to California to visit my family. During that trip, Riley was able to walk on the beach for the very first time. Even though it was cold, it was a great experience for her and so much fun for us to see her run around in the sand.

During this trip, we were also able to attend the wedding of some great friends. It was so much fun because I was able to see many of my friends from high school that I hadn't seen in years. Congrats Mark and Becca! The wedding was so much fun and we appreciate that you included us :)

A few weeks after we got back from our trip, I started to get really sick from the pregnancy. I wasn't able to eat or drink anything without throwing up. I was admitted to the ER for IV fluids because I was so dehydrated. I ended up loosing nine pounds in three days and was put on meds and bedrest for a week. Ryan was very supportive and helpful duirng that time. My mom was also able to come down and help me with Riley which was a life saver. I am happy to report I am now feeling much better now and have slowly started to gain back the weight that I lost (even though it really doesn't look like I lost any). This pregnancy I started showing way earlier than I did with Riley but my doctor said that's totally normal. I'm just glad the baby wasn't hurt by my illness.

With summer being right around the corner, I decided to sign Riley up for her first swim lessons. We go once a week and she absolutely loves it! We plan to spend many days in our pool this summer, especially since just the other day it was 100 degrees!

first time walking in the sand

the happy couple

first day at swim lessons

April

This month we were able to take our final trip of the year to visit family and friends in Oregon. We were able to enjoy some Easter celebrations with Riley prior to leaving. I was interested to see how Riley would react to the Easter bunny since she hated Santa this past Christmas. She seemed to be more confused than anything. I was just happy she didn't cry. She really did love filling up her Easter basket with eggs though.

Our trip to Oregon was a lot of fun and went by too fast! Ryan was able to spend quality time with his family and friends and I was also able to see many of my friends from college. Hope it's not too long before we get to see them again. Thank you all so much for your hospitality!

Today, I went to my four month check up. This pregnancy is going by so fast. In just a few weeks I'll be half way done! We decided to keep the sex of the baby a surprise this time around. If you believe the old wives tale, based on the heart rate today it may be a girl (they say girls have faster heart rates than boys: the normal range is supposed to be from 120-160...our baby has a heart rate of 161!). We are hoping for a boy but are preparing ourselves for another girl. Either way we will be happy as long as the baby is healthy. I really would like to be done with two kids. However, I promised Ryan a long time ago that if we have two girls that we could try one more time for a boy but, three is my max. With our luck we will have three girls!! haha

We will continue to keep you all updated on the latest from our family in AZ! Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Have a great weekend :)