Meet Jocelyn Focha Ricks

Jocelyn is finally here! I'll write more about the experience later but I wanted to put up some pictures for those who don't have Facebook. Jocelyn was born Tuesday, December 7 at 10:27pm. She weighed 7 lbs 8 oz and was 20 in. long. We are all doing great and are just glad to be home with baby and that Grandma could be here to help out so much while we get used to this new life. Anyway, without further adeau, here is Jocelyn.

Don't worry. There will be more to come!

"Babies Everywhere!"

So our little bundle of joy has decided she isn't ready for the world. Her due date was yesterday and at my doctor's appointment they said I was still only dilated to 1cm (like the week before). They also wouldn't be able to strip my membranes because I was still in a posterior position and my doctor said if she tried, I would be in tears. So we are waiting for another week. I am scheduled to be induced next Thursday, Dec. 9th. I'm hoping she still comes earlier than that but apparently she has her own time frame. I guess she'll come when she is ready. The good news about waiting a few extra days is that I'm able to get over a cold so I can fully enjoy her when she does decide to join us.

Anyway, here are some pictures of her little corner in our room. I painted the "J" and made the name sign. I got the idea from a friend. Enjoy and pray that little Jocelyn comes before next Thursday. It would be much appreciated. :)

Halloween Parties and Cupcakes

So I was finally able to get the pictures uploaded for this post. It took for ever. Anyway, here you go.

We had 3 Halloween parties in 2 days and I have to admit I was a little partied out before Halloween ever came. I had two on a Friday, one at work and the other at a friend's house later that night. Dave wasn't able to make it to the work party so I had two different costumes because one would be more cool with Dave's costume. So for work, I was a bag of Jelly Bellies. I was really pleased with the way it turned out. When I was younger I saw a little kid as a bag of Jelly Beans and thought it was a really cool costume, so I copied it. We found a clear trash bag and cut out leg holes and then tied the top of the bag around my arms and filled it with little balloons. I printed off the Jelly Belly logo and taped it to the front of the bag. It was awesome. I only wore it for the party and not all of work because it was hard to move around in and sit in without having to move balloons away from my butt so I wouldn't sit on them and pop them.

My Jelly Belly.

This is Annie and Jeff/ Cop and Robber.

Franco slept in so he didn't have time to get dressed. :)

Meet Denae and Danielle/ the coolest girls ever/ Slash and Axl Rose.

This is Bill and his family/ Pinocchio characters.

Then that night, we went to a party at a friend's house. I was a ghost and Dave was a Ghost Buster. His costume was sweet and mine worked very nicely with a big belly. All of the other couples at the party had great costumes too. Here are just a few pictures.

Who you gonna call?

Snow White and Prince Charming.

Fred and Wilma.

Indians. Aren't they intense?

Patrick and Mr. Krabs.

Even Richard Simons came for the party.

Then Saturday, we had our ward Halloween party. We went as a ghost and Ghost Buster again. The activities committee did an awesome job. We had dinner and then they had crafts, games, and a haunted room for the little kids. Since it was raining, they moved the Trunk or Treat inside. So everyone lined the halls or went in classrooms and handed out candy. It was a great night. On actual Halloween we went to Dave's dad's house and helped them pass out candy and played games.

Here is a picture of the cupcakes I made for my work party. They were pretty cool if I do say so myself.

Anyway, I hope you all had a HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!

Birthdays and Baby Showers

I've been meaning to post this for a long time. I wrote a couple of posts at work a month ago and was waiting to get home to add pictures and it never happened because of laziness and because our computer died. So now that we have a new computer, I'm going to catch up.

October is a very busy birthday month in Dave and I's families. Dave's dad, brother, Matt, mom, sister-in-law, Tara, and my sister, Jenn, all have birthdays. There is a lot of singing and eating of cake but what's not to love about that? Here are some pictures of the birthdays we were able to take part in.

Jacob and Michael surprised Dad by driving all the way to CA from UT. It was a fun day. We went out to lunch, played miniature golf, went out to dinner, and then opened presents and ate cake.

Matt taught himself how to play the harmonica and now with the cool head piece, he can play it at the same time he plays the piano. It's pretty cool.

Matt turned the big 16 this year!

Also, in the month of October, I had 2 1/2 more baby showers. Remember how I already had one in Utah back in August? I had one in my ward, another from Dave's home ward/work, and then the young women in our ward threw one for both myself and my friend Marianne. Needless to say, our baby girl is all set. Here are some pictures.

This is at my ward baby shower. Thanks Kim and Joylynn for putting it together. You're the best!

This is from Dave's home ward/work baby shower. Thanks Natalee!

Thank you everyone for your generosity, love, and support. We are very excited to meet our little girl, Jocelyn!

This is who I married.

If you know Dave, my husband, then you know he can be quite the goofball. Here's proof.

This is how he prepped his hair for a haircut. I sure do love this guy. He always makes me laugh. And he sweats a lot (this was after he worked out.)

Getting Crafty

So since we're having a baby girl and she will have her own little corner in our bedroom, I thought she definitely needed a little bit of something to make it all her own. So I went to Michaels and picked up a wood letter, some paint, ribbon, and stencils. I made it harder than it needed to be because it took me a little bit to figure out the technique for making the dots just right. By the last couple of dots, I finally figured out the easiest way to do it and I really like how it turned out. I first painted the letter green and then painted the pink dots using a stencil. I sealed it will Modge Podge and then glued on the ribbon. It is hanging over the changing table. You'll have pictures soon of her area. Anyway, here's the finished project. In case you don't know, we're naming our baby girl, Jocelyn, hence the "J." And I love polka dots so that's the theme and the colors are green, pink, and purple to match the canvas drawers on the baby changing table.

In Loving Memory of Kathleen Hardy Ricks

In the middle of August, Dave's mom passed away. She had been battling breast cancer for six years. It all happened very quickly, which is a blessing, but also took us by surprise. The weekend I headed to Utah to visit family and for Josh and Tara's wedding, she took a turn for the worse. She went to the hospital and to make a long story short, her liver had started to fail and they put a time frame on her life. They said she only had a couple of days or weeks to live. I wish that I could have been there but I did get to talk to her for a little bit on the phone a couple of days before she passed away. Dave, all five of his brothers, Tara, and Dad were all by her side when she passed. I'm glad they were all there. I know that's how she would have wanted it.

Her funeral was on August 21st. There were so many family members and friends that came. It was a very beautiful ceremony and burial service. She was a wonderful lady and I learned so many things from her. Thankfully through most of her cancer years she was able to maintain a normal lifestyle and never had to slow down much but was able to keep up with her busy life. I'm grateful that I got to spend so much time with and know her for as long as I did. I love her and will miss her a lot.

Friends and a Wedding

After a few days at home, I headed up north to Provo for a wedding but before I get to that, I did get to meet up with a couple friends, Lindsay and Kaelynn, that I hadn't seen for a while. We met up for dinner and got to catch up. It was a lot of fun and a very tasty dinner. Also on my way back down to Enoch, Dave and I had breakfast with our friend, Kassie, and then stopped in Beaver to visit my grandma and my friend Alicia. It was great to me able to meet up with so many friends.

Me, Kaelynn, and Lindsay at Shoots.

So now to the wedding. Dave’s brother Josh got married to Tara. They got married up in Orem in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. It was a very nice day. We had a luncheon at BYU with some very tasty food. After the luncheon, we just hung out for a few hours because the wedding wasn’t until 4:00pm. The wedding ceremony was also very nice and extra special because of the circumstances. Dave’s mom passed away the day before the wedding and so it was really nice to be able to go to the temple where I believe she was able to attend her son’s wedding, which she wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise since she had gotten so sick the days leading up to it. It also allowed Dave’s dad to make it too. It was so peaceful inside and it was great to have so many family members there. Josh and Tara looked so happy and beautiful and I’m very excited to have another girl in the family.

Josh and Tara, the newlyweds.

Just the kids.

Boys will be boys.

Josh and Tara with Dad.

They had the reception that night outside their chapel in a pavilion. It was beautiful. Weddings are such happy events. I love seeing two families come together. Congratulations Josh and Tara!

Utah Baby Shower

Well it’s time to catch up. A couple of weeks ago, I flew out to visit my family for a few days in southern Utah before I headed up north for a wedding (that post will be later). While I was home, I got some of my first maternity clothes. My mom spoiled me but it sure does feel good to actually fit in clothes again. I also had my first Baby Shower while there. It was most of the family that lives near by along with some of my best friends. I also had a joint Baby Shower with my cousin Kaela, who is due with her first in October. She’s having a boy and I’m having girl. It was a lot of fun to get so many new things, mostly clothes. When I told Dave that we got a lot of clothes, he told me we were going to have to get a storage unit. We had already started a collection of clothes that friends had handed down to us, so Dave was a little worried but I assured him, it will all work out. We just had our baby changing table delivered which has shelf space to start storing clothes and I bought some hanging shelves for the closet. I’m super excited to start organizing. Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of the Baby Shower.

Me and my cousin Kaela, with some cute clothes.

This is a super cute diaper cake that my friend gave me.

MUCHOS Celebrations!

The next few days after Dave's birthday were busy with other celebrations. One of Dave's brothers, Jacob, got home from his mission to Veracruz, Mexico. The whole family was able to make it to the airport to welcome him home. Even the McCaffree clan, Grandpa Ricks, and cousin Brian made it.

What a welcoming group! I made the sign.

Welcome Home JACOB!

I took several more pictures but most of them were of Jacob hugging everyone, mom crying, and us standing around while his suitcase situation got taken care of. One of his suitcases didn't make it all the way. Someone from the airport did show up the next morning with it. It must have been on a later flight. Just glad he got it.

The next day was Pioneer Day. We went to a park for the big celebration and ate good food and listened to music. Then we went home to finish off the celebrations. We celebrated Dave's birthday, Jacob's homecoming, and Josh & Tara's engagement. And yes, we did sing for each person.

For Dave we sang some rendition of "Happy Birthday."

For Jacob, we sang our own special version of "We're so glad when Jacob comes home" (sung to the tune of "I'm so glad when Daddy comes home").

For Josh and Tara we sang, "Josh and Tara sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G...."

This is a Sam's Club cake. It is super tasty. I put the writing on it. In case you can't read it, it says, "Welcome Home," "Happy B-day", and "Congrats."

Then a couple of days later, we celebrated Grandpa Ricks' 90th Birthday. We had a scrumptious dinner, opened presents, listened to Grandpa recite poetry, and ate more cake. It was a very busy week but it was a lot of fun to see and spend so much time with family.

27 and Counting

Yep, that's right, Dave turned 27 this year. He's still got the good looks too! Anyway, his birthday was in the middle of the week so we didn't do anything too wild and crazy. Being the good wife that I am, I got up and made him breakfast and then he opened up his presents. I only took one picture that morning because he wasn't too thrilled about pictures that early in the morning. I gave him 2 movies (National Treasure 2 and Night At The Museum 2) and two new work shirts. He's a sexy man.

After work we made tacos and then got ready for his birthday party. We invited a few friends over and the night was spent chit-chatting and eating junk food, mmm my favorite. Happy Birthday Dave! I love you!

Dave blowing out the candles. April's daughter helped me put the candles on. She was super excited about the cake.

Dave with Ben, Josh, and Jeremy. This isn't everyone that came but I didn't take very many pictures that night. But thanks to everyone who came!

It's a...GIRL?!

Dave here. As many of you have already heard, Kathryn and I found out this last week that she is going to be giving birth to a real live human girl on December 4 (ish), 2010. All I have to say about this is, huh? It took quite a while for the sonographer to identify the gender, because besides being a thumb sucker, our little kiddo is also a leg-crosser. While looking at the ultrasound pictures that were coming up, two thoughts went through my head: "Wow, this is really quite voyeuristic," and "That totally looks like a dude's head." Here's a shot from our ultrasound:

As you can see, it's all good. (Actual ultrasound shots will come later--we forgot to scan them when we were at my parents' house.)

I have five younger brothers, so I am used to growing up around young, immature boys. I can handle little boys, and I know how they behave (and misbehave). Therefore, the news that we were having a girl came somewhat as a shock to me (and to Kathryn, who was practially telling everyone that we were going to have a boy). My reaction echos that of my father's, who, when he heard the news, said, "What?! What went wrong?" I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it. I mean, all that...pink! The dolls, the dress-up, princesses, ponies...I know nothing about this stuff! I'm hoping I can convince her to get into GI Joes so that I can play too, but I don't know if I can handle tea parties (or, in our case, juice parties). This is going to introduce me to a whole new world in which I am a complete alien (I come in peace...usually). As if being a first time father wasn't enough! And now with my brother Josh getting married next month, the estrogen levels in the Ricks family are on the rise, and I'm starting to get defensive (we will still outnumber them 7-4 though, but we're losing ground).

This is not to say that I'm not excited about having a daughter. I am. I'm also really excited that this totally gets me out of the "birds and the bees" talk (it's never too early to be aprehensive about that piece of awkwardness). But this does mean that training bras and slumber parties of giggling girls are on the horizon (although I, fortunately, will have nothing to do with the training bras either).

You may be thinking to yourself, "Dave, you're the most macho of all macho men that I know. How does this feminocity bode for your manliness?" Good question, thoughtful reader. Let me tell you: it will only increase it, because I will have to become an even greater protector than I naturally am. Everyone knows that all girls are wimpy and fragile and cry incessantly. They need a pillar of strength that they can rely on, with rippling muscles and possibly a battle axe (mine is coming through FedEx). I can be, and am, that man. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.

If you're wondering how Kathryn feels, the answer can be summed up in one word: really excited. She has already bought the baby's first pair of clothes, but we are waiting (at my request) to buy the bigger stuff. We're both just excited that the baby (whose name shall be Jocelyn Focha Ricks) appears to be healthy so far.

Thanks to everyone for your support. We (Kathryn) will keep you updated.

Lots of Posts

I just caught up. There are 5 new posts below so make sure you scroll all the way down. Enjoy!

"Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun"

The day after we got back from the family reunion, I had a Young Women's sleepover. I am the Beehive Advisor. The girls are so much fun. We had a dinner and then we played lots of games like these:

The Skittles Game. You were only allowed to chew the Skittles in your mouth if you guessed the right color you drew out of the bag.

There was freeze tag and tunnel tag. Myself, along with 2 other leaders didn't play because we are all pregnant and due within about a week of each other.

This is the Fruit game. You couldn't show your teeth or you were out.

We tried to teach the girls some useful skills such as lock picking.

There were mud masks and toenail and fingernail painting.

We played other games and talked alot and the night ended with "The Princess Bride." Then it was sleepy time.