My Happy List

This song:



I can't understand much of the lyrics but I love this song.

My jogger stroller: The Britax B-scene (The one I have is on the right).


Our neighborhood is doing a PHAT Challenge. It's a way to get healthy. You get points for losing weight, exercising, eating your veggies, saying no to sweets and sodas, and sleeping for a good 7 hours (a little hard for new moms). In the end whoever has the most points wins. So I decided it's now or never to get back into jogging. And let me be honest, I have NEVER liked jogging. Even when I was jogging 6 miles a day in college, I hated it. It just so happens to be the best method of losing weight for me, and to keep the weight off. Anyway, this nice jogging stroller just makes it a little more tolerable.

NOT ON MY HAPPY LIST:

Let me introduce you to Public Enemy #1:


I started the challenge 2 weeks ago. I also started lifting weights to get toned. I weighed myself at the beginning and again 2 days ago. 5 pounds... GAINED. Not happy. I understand that, yes I am building muscle and it weighs heavier than fat blah blah blah; HOWEVER, IT SUCKS. Very de-motivating. But not to worry I have come to a resolution: I won't step on the scale again (well, not soon anyway).

I'm Guilty of This...

Visitors

Brad's sister came to town with her family. We had a week load of fun. This was the first time I could actually be apart of the festivities (I always had to work). I kept forgetting my camera so the only photos I have are on my phone, which reminds me, hey! SILs! I need copies of your photos!

But my favorite part of the whole trip were the little helpers I had:

Janna, and the babe.

Miss S, loved and I mean LOVED the babies. She was such a good little mommy. She would even miss out on some fun just to help me with the little Apple. I asked her [teasingly, but not really ;)]if I could keep her over the summer to help me, her response, "Ummm, I think my mom would miss me." And I'm sure she would.

3 months, really?

Some things about this girl:

• She is a great sleeper (pretty much has been since she was a month old). Currently, she sleeps from about 8:30 - 6:00 am (give or take an hour when she wakes up).
  
• She takes 2 naps a day about 2 hours long each. She doesn't sleep well unless she is in her bed.
  
• She is 13 pounds.
• She wears 3 -6 months and can still fit in a few 0-3 month clothes (the ones that run a bit bigger).
• Her feet are tiny. She still wears newborn shoes.
  
• She hates her car seat and hates car rides. If she isn't sleeping (from exhausting herself from crying) she is crying.
  
• Last week I started adding cereal to her milk for her last feeding in the day (she started getting up twice in the middle of the night for feedings, which is unusual for her, and the cereal did the trick).
• She loves baths.
  
• After her evening bath, she doesn't like to be massaged or rubbed with lotion she wants to eat and wants her bed - no messing around.
• We started transitioning her to the crib during nap time and she has done great.
• She went on her first plane ride to Portland (pictures to come). The ride there she did fantastic the flight back, we are pretty sure we convinced a lot of people to never have kids :)
• She likes her swing (now).
  
• She loves her bumbo. She likes to sit up and be with the crowd.
• She prefers to be held facing out so she can see the world.
• If she is crying she calms down when I sing, "Hush little baby" and "You are my sunshine"
• She smiles when I sing the "Alphabet Song" and "Take me Out to the Ball Game".
  
• She has discovered her hands. She will study them for several minutes at a time.
  
• She loves her thumb.
  
• She has cute little dimples.
• She has started to notice the dogs. She will just sit and stare at them. As most babies she doesn't like to be alone, I'm fairly certain she doesn't feel alone when the dogs are around because she doesn't cry when I leave the room and Sydney or Dixie are by her.
  

Okay, sorry you had to read all that. I wanted to get it down before I forgot. (I'm a terrible journal keeper).

I changed sides...

I joined the mac side.

Remember this laptop? Yeah, the one I just got in December. Well, it's a dud, and dell has been an absolute joke. It was going on it's 4th, yes that's right, 4th mother board since December. My last lap top that is 6 years old, 1 motherboard in it's life. It was returned, and Brad got me this baby instead. I am so excited for it! All the things I can do.

Bling Bling

This is what happens when two little girls find a victim without opposable thumbs. ;) I'm pretty sure Syd liked the attention.

favorite times of the day

(I thought I would keep it a clean blog and spare you a nursing pic)

I love this time, the one on one time with my child. Well, most of our time is one on one time anyway. I enjoy it. However, especially with my smart phone, I find it tempting to browse the internet while doing so thus missing the whole experience, which we all know how time goes, will be over before we know it. I force myself during this time to slow down and savor my baby, who will not be my baby forever.

My neighbor, who is an amazing mother of three girls gave me the best mothering advice that left the strongest impression that I wrote it down, and she didn't even know she was giving me advice (she told me this long before I was pregnant. My neighbor took 8 years, a whole lot of surgeries and lots of money to get pregnant with her first. After that she got pregnant 2 more times on her own. While we were chatting and I was complimenting her on her amazing hands on mom skills. She said to me, "my girls will not be young forever. They want to be with me now and there will be a day when they won't so I am taking every opportunity to spend it with them. Besides, it took me too long and too much money to get them here to sit them infront of a tv."

One day I will be eternally grateful that I listened.

Yeah, she does :)

We are BFFs... and I LOVE it.

Blessing

We blessed the babe on Sunday, July 3rd.
[In the LDS Faith a blessing is bestowed upon an infant, usually done by the father. The purpose is to name the child before God, and present the name of the child by which he/she will have in this life. Also during this time blessings are given to the child that will carry with them throughout their mortal life.]

Brad performed the blessing and it was beautiful. He was a nervous wreck (imagine that?) but as always he did marvelous.

Here she is before our church meeting.

Here she is in the beautiful dress my aunt made especially for her with love.

My parents flew out for the occasion.

After the blessing we had a barbeque at our house.
My talented sister-in-law Andrea made these strawberries. And, yes, they are as good as they look. I ate a ton of them.

Matthew and Nancy came to support us.

And in case this blog post didn't have enough pictures of the Apple, here is collage of pictures of just her! ;) I'm a first time mom, who was completely swept off my feet by this child, please bear with me.

This is the darling cake Nancy made. Amazing. And it was so delicious. Nancy is a phenomenal cake decorator if you didn't notice.

Umm, yeah they were up to no good.

The feast. Only Matthew cooperated.

Andrea watering my wilted flowers.

It was a wonderful day surrounded by our loved ones.

Gratitude

Tonight as I rocked my darling baby to sleep I was overwhelmed with gratitude. Grateful that I could rock my baby. Grateful that she is healthy. Grateful that I can hear her cry. I am grateful for those first 2 weeks of sleep deprivation because it meant my baby was healthy, grateful to have the opportunity to have those first 2 weeks.

My dear friend gave birth to her baby girl yesterday. A day that began as one of the happiest turned to one of the most devastating and painful. In the moment she got to hold her baby and set her eyes on the most beautiful being she has ever seen, her baby was taken from her arms. Her baby was born with a congenital heart defect, a sad surprise in the words of her mother. Her heart was born on the wrong side and is missing a ventricle. The baby was flown to a children’s hospital to be seen by top cardiologists, and will undergo the first of 3 major heart surgeries on Wednesday.

With a baby two months old my first moments after birth are still vivid. I can only imagine the pain of my dear friend. The emptiness she is feeling, and I begin to feel terrible that I complained about those first 2 weeks. I had the audacity to complain when my dear friend and so many others would give anything to have those first 2 rough weeks. I am grateful for the most extraordinary experiences and opportunities my beautiful baby brings to me. Grateful she came into my life safe and sound.

I am grateful for the reassurance I feel from the Lord; knowing there is a higher power Who is in control, and the knowledge we can seek Him.



"I will say of the Lord. He is my refuge and my fortress: In Him will I trust."
- Psalm 91:2