He's Here!

Viliamu Olsen Ripley

11.12.10
7 lbs 8.5 oz
21 in.

Wow I have so much to catch up on, but that will all have to wait. Here are some pics of our sweet baby boy.

Dress Up

One of my sisters roommates and life long friends Marci dressed Ella up the other when we were over there visiting. Ella thought she looked so cool. I thought she looked adorable, and too grown up.

Thanksgiving Point

One of Ella's very favorite things to do is ride horses, so they day before her birthday we took her to the farm at Thanksgiving Point. We have been there numerous times but it is always a big hit!

Happy 3rd Birthday Ella!

Ella turned 3 on July 18th. We kept it simple with cake and ice cream with family and friends over at Aunt Nikki's house.

Disneyland

We went to Disneyland and Newport Beach back in the beginning of June with all the Given side of my family. Ella has talked about it literally EVERY day since. The highlight of the trip for Ella was definitely the Princesses. Other favorites were the Tea Cups and It's a Small World. Sita enjoyed Tower of Terror and body surfing at the beach. My favorite part was spending time with family and relaxing.

Given Family Reunion

Our little family, with the one on the way!

Ella and Dad in front of her favorite princess Sleeping Beauty's Castle

Waiting to see the Princesses

Sita says he will be her only prince for a long time!

Ella and Sleeping Beauty

Ella and Belle

Ella and Tiana

Ella and Cinderella

Ella and Pluto

Ella and Mickey

Toon Town with Aunt Maggie

Lots of waiting in line (Sita sticks out like a sore thumb in my short family hahaha)

It's a Small World. Everyone had enough after one ride. Ella and I went 4 or 5 times. :)

I thought she would be scared. She LOVED it! She giggled the whole time.

Bugs Life 3D. Poor thing...I have never seen her so scared in her entire life.

I Got Bored

I need to remember to think before I act when I'm bored. I decided to cut Ella some bangs one day. While they look as cute as can be, I should have thought about this a little more before I did it. With her super natural curly hair it wasn't my brightest idea. When she started to get hot and sweaty they curled right up and looked silly. We have been growing them out ever since.

Pregnancy Update

First of all I need to apologize for not having any recent pictures. I can't find the cord to upload them anywhere. I am quite upset cause I have some cute ones from Disneyland and Ella's Birthday that I need to put up. When I say cute I mean of Ella and my family. I on the other hand am not looking so "cute" these days and try to avoid the camera at all costs. Anyway, here are the answers to some questions I am frequently asked.

How are you feeling?

Overall I would say I feel good. I have no major problems. I think just the normal things at this stage. I seem to be a lot more tired, I have a harder time falling asleep, and just feel big and uncomfortable sometimes.

Have you picked out a name?

I know a lot of people out there are timid about sharing the name before the baby is born for fear that others might "take" it. But I don't see a lot of you out there wanting to steal the name Viliamu. Hahaha As for now this is the name at the top of our list. My dad's full name is William Albert Given the 4th. The name was supposed to be carried on, but my dad had all girls, so that didn't happen. We have really been thinking about naming him the Samoan version of William in honor of my dad and grandfathers which is Viliamu.

How far along are you?

I am almost 23 weeks. Only 4 months to go!

Has this pregnancy been different than your first?

Yes, with Ella I never really felt pregnant until the very end. This time around, I got sick the first trimester. I never threw up, but felt sick to my stomach every day. I am just feeling more pregnant than I did the first time.

Have you had any weird cravings?

For some reason I can't get enough of anything sour.

Is your family excited to have a boy?

Like I said before my dad had all girls. Not only that, but he was the only boy, and neither of his parents had any brothers. Sita was the only boy in his family as well. So they are EXCITED to say the least. Both Sita and my dad are manly men. :) They already have all these plans for our son. What sports he is going to play, what position he will play, and what teams he will like. I can't wait for the day when he decides to take up ballet.

Does Ella understand what's going on?

I don't think Ella really understands what is going on. She will come up to my tummy and talk to her little brother, but sometimes she will surprise me with a smack on the belly as well. She knows she is not supposed to do that but she gets this evil little grin and does it anyway. She is already trying to steal the attention. :) She also tells me she has a baby in her tummy. The other day she had a tummy ache and she came up to me holding her tummy and told me her baby brother hurt. Hahaha She is going to be in for a BIG surprise!

In case you haven't heard...

It's a

BOY!

Due November 22, 2010

Made Me Smile!

It was 11:00 PM we got a flat tire on the freeway. I was sitting in the passenger's seat complaining to myself about the situation (mind you I didn't have to do a thing). When all of a sudden I look out the window at my husband on his hands and knees in the FREEZING cold rain changing the flat when I hear him start SINGING away. Really?!?...who just has a good ol' time changing a tire on the side of the freeway in the rain and cold at 11:00 at night?

One of the MANY reasons I love this guy. I hope our kids inherit his patience and positive attitude. I sure do love this guy!

Double Trouble

I was looking at this old picture of my lil' baby. It made me realize how time flies and how short a time we have here and blah blah blah....yadda yadda yadda. Yeah. All that stuff.

I think one of the difficult things that I have gone through as a parent is wanting my baby to stay a baby. Yes, I love watching her mature. Yes, I love watching her mind develop and personality mold. Yes, I love seeing her learn things she shouldn't do, watch her try to do them, pretend I'm mad at her for doing them, and laughing about it where she can't see me. I love that part of parenting.

But I also loved when she fit perfectly in my forearm, when she just laid on her back and didn't make much noise, and when all her food was free because Shalie breast fed her.

Shalie and I both missed that.....

so we decided to have another one.

We found out that Shalie's pregnant and due sometime in November! We're so excited! Ella doesn't seem to understand, but we're saying that she's excited because that's what parents do: pretend their kids feel the same way they do until they physically say otherwise.

Here's to late nights and early mornings. Constant crying and tons of diapers. Teething and a jealous big sister.

Here's to the best thing about this life. Here's to family and to our newest lil' member!

Picture Vomit!

Here are some pics I need on here for the record.

Some cute pics of Ella and her best buddy.Giving her daddy a "biiiiiiiiig kiss"!
I straightened Ella's hair for the first time the other day. She looked so cute, but I prefer the fro!
My little sis turned 23.She's gorgeous and single!Visiting auntie at work (The Garden Restaurant).

She loves to see the temple.

Our cute nephew Losepeli turned 8!

Sita was lucky enough to get to baptize him!I took Ella and my sister Maggie to Disney On Ice.
If you know Maggie it won't surprise you that she chose the Mater souvenir.
Ella of course chose Tinkerbell. Don't mind the snow cone all over her face.Nikki couldn't resist when I told her we were going.
Ella and I went to the Zoo last week. The weather was PERFECT!
Here we are on the train!The gorilla was sleeping with his butt in the air and Ella just kept saying "stinky poo".The Merry-Go-Round. Ella about choked me to death. She would not let go of my neck.Ella's favorite...the tigers!She loved the real ones, and apparently the fake ones too.She thought she was so brave.

She was mesmerized by the Mommy and Baby Elephants.I LOVE this picture!