Monday Fabruary 28th, 2011

Our family of three was about to grow by one any day now. We weren't sure if we would have a new baby by Christmas or not so we waited until the very last minute to do our Christmas cards :) While we were there we thought it would be cute to get some photos of Marley and Riley while she was still in my tummy :)
Riley is here and is 2 months old already! Life is speeding by at this point. We are having a blast...that must be why it is going so fast :) I am playing around with some new functionality of my blog...trying to make it work more for my needs so I can get back into it. Hoping to post at least once a week from now on.
Greg and I enjoyed a nice dinner and some wine at Bistro West Steak House on December 29th as we celebrated the last night of being a family of 3. We were scheduled to go in for a C-section the next morning at 7 AM. It was so nice to sit and talk...we never get date nights. Marley was at Garrett and Leah's house for the night. They got to bring her to meet her little sister for the first time the next day!


December 30th, 2010 was the big day. Riley Lucille Hartgraves was born at 9:57 AM and weighed 7 lbs 8 oz and measured 19 1/2 " long. A little shorter and fatter than her older sister was at birth. Dr. Dunn delivered us and did an amazing job of course. The C-section, although scheduled, was still extremely scary for me. I do not recommend that to anyone, but it got both my babies out safely and that is what matters most! Riley came out and she was PERFECT! To our surprise, she looked so much like Marley it was crazy! Here I was expecting this totally different kid to pop out and it was Marley all over again with less hair. The recovery sure was a lot easier second time around. I knew what to expect with both baby and post-op so our 4 day stay at the hospital was honestly like a 4 day vacation. Sure the meds contributed a bit :) Riley latched right on and was a great little eater right from the start. And she slept all through the night her very first night and has been great since!

Monday December 20th, 2010

A watched belly never goes into labor!!! I just want Riley to come out now! Ever since our false labor last Friday night, we have been literally waiting. We are packed and ready to go to the hospital, car seat is sitting right here, bassinet is put together and Riley's room is ready! That is actually why I had false labor....I did a little too much while I was in super nesting mode last weekend :) Tonight is a full moon lunar eclipse, so maybe tonight...... :)

Sitting here with the fam watchin Monday night football eating dinner that Greg just cooked :) Marley just found the Pandora app on my iphone and plugged it in and had herself a little dance party. Her personality is developing so fast now and it is always hilarious. Life sure is fun with her around. Even though today I thought I was going to lose it because she was being a little shit and not listening to a word I said. Sometimes I just can't get mad...she is trying so hard to be a pain but it is so darn cute :) Dean, Sharla and the boys are coming tomorrow and staying through Christmas! And then it's family, family, family all coming into town for the entire month of January to meet Riley :)

Wednesday November 17th 2010

My how life has changed in two months and is getting ready to change even more!

I got laid off on October 5th. Really shitty situation that I don't even care to comment on because it is so upsetting, but now that I have had time to recover a bit, I am looking forward to moving on!

Riley is due in 5 weeks so I am finally trying to focus on her and preparing for her arrival. My shower was last Sunday. Lindsey through it for me and it was perfect! Great girlfriends, amazing food and tons of fun! Riley is so big and active....I am quite uncomfortable because she is moving so much and I feel like I am constantly pushing down on her because her limbs are so forceful pushing outwards on my tummy. Kinda freaky actually. I don't remember feeling this way with Marley...like she was strong enough to burst through my skin! Still trying to decide if I am going to try for a V-bac or have a C-section. Leaning more towards the V-bac because I can't stand the thought of not being able to pick Marley up for 6 weeks while I recover from the surgery. Although, there is something nice about the idea of knowing what day and time you will have a baby and knowing it will only take 15 minutes to deliver...with no pain or pushing. mmmmmm...we'll see. I think I can wait as late as 37 or 38 weeks before I have to decide.

I think Marley is really starting to understand the concept of having a little sister. She loves babies and is such a good helper already...I am sure she is going to be the best big sister!! Marley is certainly growing up fast...I really can't believe the things she is doing now. She isn't even two yet and she is in her big girl bed, eats at the table in a regular chair, gets herself dressed, communicates perfectly...she even knows how to get to the app she wants on the iphone!

I will have to get a good video of her dancing. I was laughing so hard I was crying last night. She has these moves that we have no idea where they came from and they are so stinkin cute!

Dad and Marge are coming this weekend which is exciting. I think we may finally clean out Riley's room, paint and set up the crib. I do need to start getting out the old carseat, bassinet, swings, clothes, etc... too which will probably be this weekend. Although it is Marley's 2nd birthday which we will be celebrating too!!! I am thinking low key family beach day :) Heck we can walk to the beach now from our new house so we might as well! I chose not to do the big birthday party thing because she is only two so she won't care or remember and we just have so much going on and too much stress with me losing my job :( Another big reason was that we just had a housewarming party and a baby shower so I hate asking our friends to give up another one of their weekend days for us! Marley will have a great day...Mommy has a brand new princess scooter for her!!!!!

Friday July 23, 2010

Thank you to all those who have inspired me to get back to blogging!!! Life got the best of me and I reverted back to my written journal because I found it so relaxing to get off the computer every now and then. Who am I kidding though.....it's the sharing of these precious memories that makes it so wonderful :) So here we are!

A lot going on at this moment in time. Marley is 19 months, I am 4 1/2 months pregnant with #2 and we are moving into our new house on the beach in Oceanside in just a couple weeks!! It sounds all great, but I have been stressin! We own three houses now and that is just too much for me. Greg and I have quickly learned that the potential 30 year return on investment is not worth the 30 years of dealing with the shit that comes along with rental management. We will most likely sell the AZ and CA houses just as soon as they are worth what we paid for them!

Sorry about that, guess I needed to vent a bit huh?! This is MY journal, so I have the right to do that every now and then LOL!

Overall, Life could not be better. Marley is such an amazing little spirit that makes any worry feel so insignificant. She is hilarious! Definitely a perfect mix of Greg and I. Athletic, smart, GORGEOUS, PERSONALITY like you wouldn't believe, I could go on and on LOL :) The crazy thing is that she is only 1 1/2 yet she acts all grown up. She talks great for her age, but for not being able to really talk, she communicates unbelievably! If you ask her a question, she answers in yes or no. She says "peaze" and thank you and even "wuv you"! This girl is amazingly affectionate, which I have to put my stamp on :) She snuggles and gives hugs and kisses. She is TOUGH. Daddy taught her when she falls to "brush it off" so she never cries, she just gets up and brushes her self off. She sings and counts and makes animal noises. She opens the door to let "Pike" in the house and tells him to "sit pike" when he is trying to eat her food.She wants to brush her teeth every morning and night and even just started putting on her own pants.

How do you really catch up on a year's worth of life? Let's see, I think my last entry was last Aug., so let's start there. In September we went to NY for 10 days! We flew into Maine first and went to Josh and Bonnie's wedding, which was breathtaking! We took the train up to NY and rented an apartment in the West Village for a week and went to Chris and Lindsey's wedding the following weekend. It was incredible. I would love to go back just Greg and I so that we could experience a lot more of the night life, but having Marley there was so fun. We were that cute young couple living in the west village. SO FUN! We were home for the month of October, which was Marley's first Halloween :) Then it was off to Maui in November for our family vacation. We had a two bedroom condo right on the beach! Maui can be cheap when you can stock up at Costco and make your own meals! We hung out at the beach most of the time, but did end up braving the drive to Hana! Incredible experience!!!

Marley turned 1 when we got back from Maui and what a party that was! Here is a pic of all her friends :)

She started walking about a week after her first bday and then it was Christmas. Her second Christmas technically but it felt like her first because it was the first time she was able to open a present and we got to watch her face light up!

Christmas came and went which brings me to April :) It had been a couple years since we had been able to do a fun adult trip so we planned a big Vegas trip with a bunch of friends for my Birthday!

Tuesday August, 11th 2009

Okay NOW its going by way too fast!

Marley is 8 1/2 months, has 6 teeth, says "mama mama mama ma ma ma" all day long, holds herself up and stands by herself, and has graduated from sleepers to jammies :) It is amazing how much love I have for that little girl. I race home from the gym every morning knowing that she will be awake in her crib by the time I get home. When I open her bedroom door, she turns and looks for me with those big, bright, beautiful eyes that show her smile since her actual smile is hidden behind her binky :) I pick her up and squeeze her and smell her and kiss her and tell her how much I love her...awwwwww, it is absolutely the highlight of every day!!
Our routine is pretty much the same every day lately. On daycare days (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday) after I get home from the gym and snuggle Marley for a bit I make coffee for Greg and put on Sid the Science Kid for Marley (frickin awesome show btw!) and jump in the shower. I get dressed, feed Marley, get her dressed and we are out the door by 8 AM to head to "aunt Jan's" house! Jan is Marley's daycare provider who is amazing! She lives right down the street and most days Marley is the only one there so she gets tons of one-on-one time. Marley loves going to aunt Jan's and aunt Jan LOVES Marley! Marley is so chill and good. Jan says that she has still never cried!!! Greg gets home from work, goes for a run and then picks Marley up right about 5. In addition to Marley's 12 hours of sleep at night, she also takes a two hour nap in the morning and another in the afternoon. She wakes up from her afternoon nap right before 5, so then when Greg brings her home we all eat dinner, hang out, go for a walk, hang with the neighbors, and then at 7 its bottle, bath and books to be in bed by 8! Marley goes right to sleep when we put her down in the crib...such a good girl!


Mike and Kate came to visit last month! We spent a lot of time at the beach that weekend. Marley loved them both, but especially her uncle Mike!! Everytime she saw him, she would get this cute grin on her face.

Marley has still shown no interest in crawling, let alone even being on her tummy and instead has become closer to walking than anything. I give her another month to two months to be walking and not sure she will ever crawl!


Not too many pictures this time. To be honest, I have been so consumed with starting a new job and transitioning Marley into daycare and just adjusting to a new life all together that I have not taken many pictures. BUT, I am going to do better at taking more and posting them consistently! I still need to figure out how to print this blog so that I can make it into a photo journal for Marley to have one day too...mmmmm if anyone reading this has any ideas, let me know! Thanks. xoxoxoxoxox Steph

Saturday July 11th 2009

I am so sick right now :( Marley has started to cough too but I can't tell if she is really sick or just imitating mom. I haven't been sick in at least a year and I can't help but think its probably because of the stress of starting a new job and Marley starting daycare. Funny thing is I'm really excited about the job....it's the daycare that I'm a little nervous about. Not the actual daycare itself, but the idea of leaving Marley somewhere all day. It will be fine I'm sure though. Jan was a referral through my girlfriend Alison and she is so nice. She lives right down the street from our home and she only has one other kid...a 4 year old girl named Jaden. Really, it couldn't be a more perfect situation. Marley is starting to develop separation anxiety where she needs mommy (I must admit this feels so good!) so we figure it is a good thing that we are starting her in daycare now before it get's too much harder later. It's funny how just three weeks ago I decided that I was going to start looking for a job assuming that it would take at least 3-5 months in this economy, with the goal of starting something at the beginning of the new year...2010. It's amazing how the opportunity found me instead and I start Monday....yes the last couple of weeks have been very surreal, but the road ahead is so exciting!!! They are allowing me to transition into the job so that I can transition Marley into daycare which is amazing of them!





We went to southern Oregon this past weekend for the 4th of July to see Nana and Papa and all the Banry's. It was also for Greg's 15 year high school reunion that Melissa Fricke coordinated through Facebook. We flew in 10 AM Friday morning and went out that night with all the Crater '94 grads! It was a ton of fun.



The next morning was the Central Point 4th of July parade....SO cute!! Marley's first parade :)She really enjoyed her cousins Gavin and JJ and boy did they embrace her! JJ couldn't stop saying "she is the cutest baby I have ever seen. She is the cutest thing I have ever seen!" And Gavin just couldn't stop snugglin her and doing anything he could to make her laugh....including jumping up in the air and landing in the splits position while grabbing his crotch and saying "aaaaaaaahhhhh, my privates!". I have the video too to show his girfriend in about 15 years :)
On Sunday, Greg, Brian and Jared Goff all went golfing and Danielle and I tool all the kids to Lithia park in Ashland. I had never been...it is so beautiful there! Such an adorable town with the cutest little shops. We had a picnic in the park and then went on the swings and then did a little shopping. I got some cute pictures in the park and this one of Marley with a wig on!!!

Tuesday June 16th 2009

Time is flying now. I used to think people were so full of shit when they would say, "it goes by way too fast" because the first couple of months after having Marley seemed like the longest couple of months of my life. I thought something was wrong with me there for awhile because I wasn't overwhelmingly in love and time was not flying by by any means. I can only be this honest because now I can proudly admit that I am so in love and want every moment to last that I can now agree that it goes by way too fast. Marley is so amazing....she can lay there sleeping and I can watch her and be having the best time. The other day I watched her taking her nap and I honestly had to fight myself not to wake her up. I just wanted to squeeze her and kiss her all over (which is what I do any chance I get). This feeling of being a mom and having this little person that you created look at you in the eyes like you are the best thing in the world is such an indescribable feeling. It really makes you empathize for the people who cannot or decide not to have kids. Awwwwwww, she makes me so happy. It is the best feeling when your heart melts everytime you see or even think of someone. The way she smiles with her eyes is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It's okay that she can't tell me she loves me with words quite yet because she tells me everytime she looks at me!!
It has been over a month since I updated this thing. Im thinking about switching back to my handwritten journal because it was much more convenient and enjoyable....just not as efficient which time is so precious these days so we'll see. On that note, I did start looking for jobs again. working from home is nice but I'm not making much money and I really miss getting all cute, going into an office, running meetings, and all that other stuff that comes with an office job. Yeah the grass is always greener but I think I am ready to try the other side for now and at least for a little while. I'm not looking for anything immediately, but I have started some conversations and have some things set up. It's nice to be at a stage in my career where I have enough of a reputation and enough contacts to put the word out there and have all these great opportunities come looking for me.
So Marley. Marley, Marley, Marley ahhhhhhhhh :) She is almost 7 months now and so big. She weighs 18 lbs and is 27 inches long. Her eyes have changed to be exactly like mine. Her hair is getting so long and so blonde with a tint of strawberry. This girl is strong! She can sit up and stand for hours at a time and she loves to bounce! Gosh there is so much to catch up on.....
We had Jamie come over the house shortly after my last post on Marley's half birthday to take pics of us feeding her food for the first time. We got some great pics of her and daddy and a really great family photo with Spike.



After Marley ate her first solids, we went into the bedroom where Jamie wanted to get some pics of Greg with his shirt off holding Marley naked for some nice black and white candids of him holding her. Sure enough about 2 minutes into it she peed all over his chest which was cute and funny for all of us. Jamie kept shooting pictures and about another 2 minutes later Marley's first solids came out and landed all over her daddy! We couldn't believe it and lost it! I have never laughed so hard. As I stood there laughing, Jamie continued to take more pictures as she laughed as well! Poor Greg just sat there holding Marley helpless, so we finally got him all cleaned up and called it a day :)
We took Marley to her first Padres game! Well actually Chris and Lindsey did....they treated us all to a baseball game! It was June 7th (Sunday) and we rode the train downtown for a 1PM game. We had the best time!!! Although the game lasted 18 innings and the only train back on Sundays is an hour after the game ends so we got stuck down there for a bit and ended up having a few too many drinks, but Marley had a great time and luckily I had packed extra everything to get her fed and changed and to sleep on the train ride home.





Last weekend was our third annual Hartgraves Halfway Thanksgiving. This year I really went all out to make it comfy and nice. My table set for 16 was gorgeous. I had a kids area which they all enjoyed. I had a martini bar with 7 different flavors to choose from, tons of food, wine, beer, dessert....it was a very nice time. Of course Greg and I don't talk to eachother or anyone really the entire time because we are so busy making food and drinks for guests, but it is all worth it. When dinner is finally finished and everyone is sat at the table, we give eachother this look like "ahhhhh now WE can relax and enjoy" and we did. We stayed up late playing games and telling stories....the best part of our dinner parties. Maybe we should just start skipping the dinner part and just have drinking games and talking parties :)