YEEEHAWWW!!!!

Our new little cowboy has arrived!
This is going to be quick, since I have a feeding to attend to in about a half an hour. Basically since my last post we've been running back and forth to the hospital about three times a week to be monitored, trying to keep the little man on the inside to cook a bit longer. Well, Monday we made it to 37 weeks, and they sent me over to Labor & Delivery to be induced. Overall, this was a completely wonderful experience. Although painful at times, this one went a lot smoother than Dyl's birth. At 6:14 pm on Tuesday I gave birth to Bodie Taylor. He weighed in at 5lbs, 11 oz. Just another little peanut. He had to stay in the NICU for a couple of days to watch his breathing and his eating, but he came home today. Big brother Dylan was super excited, didn't want to nap today. He later fell asleep on the floor next to his new little bro. Here' s a shot of one of the more peaceful moments of the day.

I'll upload more info & pics in a day or two, but now...time to feed the little guy!
Thank you everyone for your prayers & thoughts! It means so much to me!

Baby Drama

I was induced with Dyl at 35 weeks because of low amniotic fluid. This time they started monitoring me at week 28 with non-stress testing twice a week to keep an eye on things. Tuesday, my birthday, I go in for my test only to find there is seriously low fluid. All they can see is cord and baby....but no good pockets of amniotic fluid. They call in the big gun Dr. who has a look and finds the same thing. He keeps saying, "It's too early to have this baby...he's not developed enough..."
So I spent my birthday in a funk. What if he comes too early and has to do some hard time in the NICU? What if his heart or his kidneys aren't functioning properly... Why can't I provide the safe haven I'm supposed to for my babies? They had me come back in on Wednesday for some hardcore doppler ultrasound. Thankfully Michael went with me.... I really needed to have him there. The test was actually really interesting. It was kind of a 3-D ultrasound. The Dr checked the baby's heart, all four chambers working properly... kidney's functioning, no blockage in the bladder, thorough checking of the cord shows good blood supply to the brain. Placenta looked good. It was nice to rule out all of the big worries. But the fluid is still really low considering I have 7 more weeks to go. So now I'll be going in twice a week for non-stress testing & once a week for that intense ultrasound. Each time I have to bring my overnight bag in case something changes, but the Doc thinks as long as baby is getting the blood flow he needs, we can squeeze out a few more weeks so that he's a little more develped and the lungs can mature a bit more. I'll be thankful when all of this is over (not too soon though!) I just want him here as healthy as possible. Thank goodness this is the last baby we plan on having, although he was actually a bit of a surprise himself :) Apparently my body is under the impression that pregnancy is only an 8 month process....

In other news, we had this little sickly bird in our backyard hopping around and hiding in the bushes. The other day I called Mike in to check out this other big bird on our patio. It was a hawk and he started ruffling around in our Hydrangea plants right ouside of our sliding glass door. In an instant he got the little sick bird and flew over to the neighbors yard, perching on stake. I ran (wobbled) upstairs and grabbed the camera for a quick shot.
Haven't been getting much sketching or painting done these days as it's been back and forth to the hospital. Lots of ideas for future paintings rummaging around in my brain, just need to get them onto paper.....

Art Collection

I guess it's the voyeur in me, I always like to know what other people have up on their walls. So I thought I'd post a few pics of some of our art collection. This is a little taste. We have a few more originals, prints and toys that I didnt' include. But here's a good smattering of some of the art that surrounds us. Some of them were trades, and some of them were purchased from galleries here & there.
Colin Johnson & Michael Slack

Brook Slane & Lisa Petrucci

Amanda Visell & Joe Sorren print, bowling pins by Luke Scanlan

Amanda Veisell original top, and print bottom

Fellow Art Center alumni Levon Jihanian (Left) and Patrick Williams Right

Bwana Spoons & Kevin Titzer

Todd Marrone & a piece I did for 'Field & Stream'

Dave Cooper original study for Bunny Girl, a print on the right and Miles Thompson print

Tim Biskup original from the Lucky stack & Dan Santat OG from his book "The Guild of Geniuses"

A big 6.5 foot long pack of Bubblicious I made back in school

Jeff Soto

Brandon Steen

Alex Meyer

Lisa Scollan
I know these weren't the best pictures. Photos can never do the original artwork justice.

Last wednesday we went over to the Soto's for a playdate. Of course Jeff is an amazing talent in the art world, but I'm not sure if many of you realize he and Jennifer are pretty bad-ass in the kitchen as well. They made us a killer burrito spread with slow cooked pork loin. Mmmmmmm....

Here's Jennifer & I swingin' with our peanuts

That was a good time there :)

Wow, I just realized that I look like a sherman tank.....

Mother's Day Weekend

Hope all of you other Momma's out there enjoyed your day! This weekend was pretty packed for us. Friday night Michael bought some new wheels. We were at the dealership until midnight. I was starving (what's new) and super tired by the time we left. But the truck is awesome. I love my bug, but I feel so much safer in this ride. It's the first brand new vehicle either of us has ever had. Nothing beats that new car smell...

Saturday morning we went up to camp Wrightwood. Our friends Sloan & Joseph run the camp, so we toodle up whenever they have a break from campers. Sloan is actually one of my best friends since third grade. Plus it's cool because I used to be a camp counselor back in the day... so we sing funky songs, and do silly little campy things when we get together. Here's a pic of Sloan & Joseph (This one was actually taken a few months back, didn't get any of them together on Saturday)

Here's Dylan meeting Felix, the camp snake

and checking out a cool, old hollowed out tree stump. It made me think of the tree that Boo Radley hid things in, or Pippy Longstocking...

Sunday was a day of running around, trying to see both sides of the family and spreading some Mom's day cheer.
I also had to finish up a little painting for the Wind-Up Gallery show that opens this weekend. I just went with the tattoo theme again for this little gal.


Tomorrow morning I have to go take this really crappy 3 hour long test for glucose tolerance. Hopefully everything works out cool in the end. I'm thinking on my next post I'll take some pics of our art collection. I always like to see what other artists have hanging on their walls. Until then, adios amoebas!

I've been thinking about setting one of these things up for awhile now.
Hmmm, now where to start.....
So I'm an artist living in Yucaipa, CA. I have a Hubby, Michael Carrillo, a two year old son, and am 7 and a half months pregnant with another boy. This is the last time I plan on being pregnant in my life. I'm trying to enjoy it, but it's getting to that point where I'm looking forward to having my body back to myself. Michael and I got in a good shag last night, and it's just a really weird thing to feel your unborn baby moving around during the action. I took this picture today in the studio.

Tyring to get things painted for upcoming shows, but it's really getting difficult, with being tired and chasing a two year old around. I've been painting during Dyl's naptimes and at night after he goes to bed. I'm in a group show right now at the Alcove in GA. and I also have a four person show opening this weekend at DVA Gallery.

Some new paintings



I've been feeling lately that my artwork has become a bit stagnant, not progressing. I guess it's because I havent' really had enough hours in the day to devote to it. And I suppose it's going to be a long while before I get that kind of time on my hands again. :)
So Dyl celebrated his second birthday last weekend. We had the party at a local park because we didnt' want to see our house destroyed by the plethora of children. Here's Dylan and his homegirl Shannon Daisy Soto. Atta boy Bub, the chicks dig a hot set of wheels.
So it's about time for me to wrap up this first post. I'm getting hungry, and it's not a pretty sight these days when hunger calls. Hopefully I can be diligent enough to post here regularly. I enjoy seeing everyone else's blogs, and getting a little sneak peek at their day to day lives.