Life as we know it...

Emma's 4th Birthday!

2012-01-27T09:17:00.000-08:00

My oldest daughter, Emma, celebrated her 4th year of life this last week. She helped make and decorate cupcakes, and she requested her favorite lunch, PB&J!!! We got her a Snow White barbie and a Prince Charming barbie - we figured it was about time, she doesn't have any guys in her collection. And Grandpa and Grammie J came over the next day with pizza and presents and we got to have cupcakes again and sing the birthday song again, which she thought was really cool.

Emma's birth was a hellish ordeal that I try not to revisit very often, but look at what fabulous results. She is the most compassionate and caring four year old I have ever met. She is very sensitive to the needs of everyone around her. She is incredibly smart, although she very much likes to learn things on her own time table. If she watches a show twice, she can have that thing memorized. She loves to try and read books, and have them read to her. She loves singing and is surprisingly on pitch most of the time :) The girl dances, skips and bounces more than she actually walks. She loves her family so much and is extremely excited to meet her new baby brother. Emma is also a serious little firecracker, which I am assuming she gets from me :) She is as stubborn as the day is long, but loves to help out with anything. She asks most days what she can do for "chores." She loves her friends, Haylee and Rylee, Sam, and Alli. And she misses her old friends Kimball, Andrew and Hyrum. She is one of the best kids I know, and I am so glad that she is ours. It is especially poignant for me right now, to look back at her baby pictures and wonder how she ever used to be that small. Here are some of my favorites...

And just look at her now. 4 years old going on 11.
I love you Emma!

Our poor purple car.

2012-01-27T09:09:00.000-08:00

This is our sad car. We took Emma to see it because she was having a really hard time with the rental, and the fact that she wanted her purple seat in the purple car. When we pulled up and she saw it, she said, " Hello purple car, did you miss me?" So cute! And then she talked about the owies and was near tears when she asked Grandpa J if he could fix it. He said he would try his best :) Still no progress from the other insurance company. Lame.

This is our sad car. We took Emma to see it because she was having a really hard time with the rental, and the fact that she wanted her purple seat in the purple car. When we pulled up and she saw it, she said, " Hello purple car, did you miss me?" So cute! And then she talked about the owies and was near tears when she asked Grandpa J if he could fix it. He said he would try his best :)

We Just Can't Catch a Break.

2012-01-21T15:58:00.000-08:00

So, here's a fun little story...I woke up this morning in quite a bit of constant pain, along with contraction pain - which was really irregular. Then after trying to eat a muffin for breakfast, I had a violent little bout of vomiting, which left my throat bleeding. I called my midwife and she wanted me to head into the hospital to get checked out just to be safe. Wahoo, that's my favorite thing. My mom came to watch the girls, and Luke and I headed out the door. It was raining really badly, so we were driving a little slower than normal (about 30mph) as we approached the intersection of 300 South and University Avenue in Provo. The light was green as we proceeded through the intersection, when some guy just turned right in front of us. Even if it wasn't raining, we wouldn't have had time to stop. The front passenger corner of our car slammed into the back passenger door of his car. I instinctively covered my belly with my arms and raised my legs to help protect my baby. My knees slammed hard into the dash board, and my seat belt worked so well, it felt like someone had punched me in the chest. Luke was okay enough to yell, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" I was shaking, badly. We pulled one way out of the intersection, and the other driver pulled down another street. We called 911 and in about 3 minutes some cops and an ambulance showed up. They were asking me questions that I had a hard time answering because I was shaking and crying so hard. After assessing the damage to our car, and to us, they loaded us in an ambulance and called for a tow truck. My first ambulance ride was not so fun. Every bump felt like a knife in my abdomen. Luke it turns out, was totally fine, he is having a little back pain now, which we have no idea if it's related to the accident or the immense stress we are under. We get to the hospital and apparently, all of the mean people are working on Saturday. The nurse who checked me was not pleasant and did so in a semi-violent manner. That was fun. And maybe it was coincidence that the ultrasound tech was never told that I was there for abdominal pain, as he jabbed me in the belly repeatedly - totally uncaring about me crying out in pain or the tears running down my face. We were there for 4 hours. Because that is apparently the law for pregnant women who have been in a car accident. (?) I was in a lot of pain, and had a lot of very big contractions. Unfortunately, there was no rhyme or reason to it. A week ago (HAHA, last time I was at the hospital, this sure is getting old!) I was barely dialated at all, I was 1.5 cm today - a super awesome leap forward - not. Amidst all of this enjoyment, a cop showed up to get Luke's statement and to give him the other guys insurance information, since it was of course his fault. And since our car was out of commission, perhaps forever, we needed a rental car from them. Oops, its Saturday and no one is around until Monday. Yeah. You can imagine the thoughts running through my head about going into actual labor and not being able to get to the hospital. Scary! Luckily, my AWESOME mother in law, lent us her car for the weekend, and we can get all set up on Monday. And then begin the arduous process of everything involved in a car accident. We finally got home and I am still having the same kinds of pain and contractions as before. So, unless something changes or gets worse, this is shaping up to be one fun, very uneventful rest of the weekend.

A Sad, Sad Post.

2012-01-19T13:18:00.000-08:00

So, Luke hasn't worked a single day this week. Yeah, that's about how good I'm doing. Between Lilah having croup and basically being inconsolable for the last 3 days, and me not being able to do anything, that's what we've had to do. When I say I can't do ANYTHING, that is no dramatization. I used to be able to do all the laundry, fold it and put it away myself. Now I get so exhausted just sorting it and putting it in the washer. I can walk from the front room to the bedroom, and on a bad day, I can't even do that by myself. I can't pick up either one of my kids, without almost falling over myself. I haven't been able to stand long enough in the kitchen to cook, even with Luke's help for weeks now. What do we eat, you may ask? Packaged food. Mac and cheese, frozen pizzas and the meals our ward brings over. It is a very sad existence. If you have seen me leaving my house, always in pj's, it's due to a doctor's appt (which now come weekly, unless something is abnormally painful, in which case, it's a trip to the hospital), or to go for a drive in the car - either for my sanity, or lately for Lilah's. And worst of all, I am basically green with envy over the women I know who keep getting their babies early, sometimes weeks early. I feel that in my situation, I am certainly deserving of such a miracle, but for some reason, my babies are super cozy. I asked Luke today how they could be so comfy inside when I am in so much pain on the outside. He didn't have an answer. That's another awful thing. My poor husband, who has just stuck lovingly by my side through all of this, is suffering too. He wants so badly just to help me, and ease some of my pain or depression, and he feels horrible when I honestly say there is nothing he can do. We talk everyday about how we just want it to be over. The only piece of good news, is that my induction is set for the 6th of February. Exactly 39 weeks. Which means I have 17 days left. It seems like not a lot, but everyday is like an eternity that won't end. I get excited for bedtime, because it means another day is gone, but then I realize I can't sleep well because of all the pain, and I get sad again. I know there are so many people praying for us, and we appreciate it so much! If you are one of them, please keep doing it. That is the one thing that we need most.

An Interesting Revelation.

2012-01-15T12:52:00.000-08:00

I had something very interesting happen to me today. I was searching for a specific song on itunes, I thought I knew who sang it, but had no idea about the title. It was quite frustrating, but in the process I came across one Matt Nathanson. I had never heard of him, or any of his music before, but I instantly loved his song "Come on get Higher." So, I checked out the others from that album, and was pleasantly surprised that I really liked all of them. I don't often get excited about music, so I went to tell Luke about it. As soon as I said "Have you ever heard of Matt Nathanson?" He started laughing at me. Then he went to the bedroom and pulled out his Nathanson cd from 1997. Luke said he had actually seen him live back then and really like the sound and meant to get more Nathanson cd's but never had. I was super shocked. You have to understand that Luke and I have NOTHING in common, musically speaking. Which is sorta odd since we both consider ourselves fairly open minded when it comes to music. We both like pop, bluegrass, country, rap, r&b, blah blah blah...etc, etc. But, when your tastes are a decade apart, that tends to put a little kink in things. I tend to be more mainstream, but if I hear something I like, that's really all that matters. Luke however, tends to be a little more off the beaten path. He really likes things that aren't the norm. Road trip music is a huge compromise for both of us. Anyhow, I just thought it was super cool that for the first time in 5 years of marriage, we both really like the same artist. And we do have something in common, musically, after all. :)

Christmas 2011.

2011-12-26T15:25:00.000-08:00

Christmas was an interesting affair at our house. Some good, some bad. Christmas Eve, trying to read about Jesus' birth was unruly. Emma cried the whole time wanting to watch a show, and Lilah just wandered around. The girls thankfully went right to sleep, Luke and I however didn't sleep hardly at all that night. Not in Christmas anticipation, but for some other weirdo reason. We were SO tired. We had originally planned to eat breakfast first and open presents after, but when 6:30am rolled around the thought of eating pancakes made me want to throw up everything I had eaten the night before, we opted for presents first. An hour later I managed to choke down some breakfast. My parents came at 11am to do presents with the girls and have some gourmet hot cocoa and danish. Super yummy. It was really nice having them come to us this year, especially since moving isn't my forte right now. But, they had other stops to make, and had to leave us. (enjoy the following photos)

This is the first year we have actually left cookies and milk for Santa, and Emma was super excited. We also left out a nativity picture so that Santa would know about Jesus too.

Our awesome tree. I love it, and it still smells wonderful, even after weeks of having it. Also, that may look like a ton of presents, but there is actually nothing under the tree. Our tree was so full at the bottom, we just had to stack gifts in front of it. And notice how only the top half is decorated. That's how we roll.
Our stockings.
Happy girl Lilah. She must've run around with that present for 15 minutes just laughing.
Reading one of her new books.
New jammies.
Mulan and Tiana princess barbies.
The girls and their new piggy banks.
So, we bought this scooter for Emma back in the summer (yeah, that's when I start Christmas shopping), and she was actually with us and has been asking for it since then. So when she unwrapped it, she was SO excited. The problem was, so was Lilah. Emma was super nice and tried giving Lilah a turn, but being so small, she doesn't understand sharing and just knew she had a super fun turn and didn't want to give it up. So, the new scooter spent a lot of Christmas in the closet, so we could avoid a lot of high pitched wailing from both parties.
Our little family photo. Yes I am extremely pregnant and in a lot of pain, and yes, we wore pj's all day long. It was nice not to have to change the girls for bed :)

We didn't take any more pictures for the rest of the day, my bad. Luckily, we weren't bored for very long, because we were heading down to Luke's parents house. But when we got in our car and tried to drive away, there was a horribly loud rattling sound. We found out later that it was a big problem with the Catalack Converter (?) Which is basically the thingy that sends the exhaust from the engine to the muffler and out the tailpipe. So it sounded as if there were no muffler. Good times. I was so embarrassed driving around. We managed to see everyone once we got to Springville though, even though some left just as we got there, and some got there just as we were leaving. We all had a good time and there were lots of tasty treats. And I actually felt pretty good while we were there, as long as I moved slow. We headed home and that's when the fighting broke out, once again over the scooter. And then over the blocks, and the barbies, and the books, and finally, bed time came early. And I ended up yelling, and crying. But then Luke and I got to relax and eat dinner (really late) and just enjoy each others company. This morning though, I really payed for everything I did yesterday. I hung out around the house, barely moving and getting the girls what they needed while Luke fixed the car with my Dad. It took a lot of hours, but now sounds as good as new - THANK YOU SO MUCH DAD, I LOVE YOU!

And in other good/bad news, I have only 6 weeks left. It may not sound like a lot, but it sure feels like it. My only hope is to keep myself distracted....somehow. Anyway, Happy Christmas! I hope yours was fantastic and filled with the spirit of Christ.

Luke's Birthday.

2011-12-26T15:19:00.000-08:00

My wonderful husband turned 36 last week. Yeah, that's old, but he's still smokin hot to me :) Anyhow, because of my lame sauce condition, we didn't get to do a whole lot, but we did have some fun and he had a good birthday.

The super awesome birthday sign that Emma and I made while Lilah slept.
Emma helped me make and decorate some cupcakes for Daddy, and a bunch for the neighbors.
Luke finally got a wallet that he loves. (Yes, I wrapped it in a huge box trying to throw him off the scent.) He told me all that's left is to get a nice butt print in it. I guess it's a weird guy thing :)

So....Bedrest.

2011-12-19T09:07:00.000-08:00

It's official. At 32 weeks, I am now on "modified bed rest." It means, I can still do some, not a lot, but some things, and I don't have to lay down 100% of the time. Reason being...round the clock intense pain, and almost passing out on a daily basis. Sounds like fun huh? Not so much. Luke had to basically carry me out of the shower yesterday. It's a good thing I have no pride left, because that would've been embarrassing. It's really just more of what I have already been doing. Lay down as much as I can during the day. Try not to lift Lilah more than I have to. Read a lot, watch a lot of movies, try not to be depressed. Eat prepackaged foods so I don't have to cook. Don't go anywhere. That kinda thing. I have 7 for sure weeks left. That's 49 days. Unless, he decides to come early, which I doubt. My babies are super comfy inside of me, even when I'm not. So, that's about all. Hope your day is better than mine.

Christmastime Again.

2011-12-15T10:30:00.000-08:00

So, things have been super difficult as of late. But, we are all trying to stay positive and happy. Of course some days are better than others, and this was one of them. We got our Christmas tree! The girls had such a fun time playing hide and seek at the tree lot. We found one that was perfect for us and brought it home. I always grew up having a real tree and it's something that has been very important to me ever since I got married. We decided to decorate while Lilah was napping and cut back on some drama. Emma had a great time helping Luke put all the ornaments and lights on. Lilah was so excited when she woke up to see our beautiful tree. Weeks later, it is still alive and still smells so good. My favorite time of day is when the girls are asleep and I can just sit by the tree with a book and smell it. It reminds me of home, being outdoors and everything I love about the holidays. That was a good day. In other news, I have 7 weeks, 4 days left. Yeah.

2011-12-05T10:57:00.001-08:00

So...this morning I was crazy nauseated and couldn't get out of bed. In the shower the water hitting my belly was painful. I was running super late to my OB appt and ended up driving 80 in a 55. I am 30 weeks measuring at 32 cm. Which would be awesome if they would move up my due date, but they won't. I can feel him getting bigger and bigger and it hurts, a lot. And that stresses me out, because I had a hard enough delivery/recovery with my 7lb 5 oz babies, and I am worried how big he will actually end up being. Luke is struggling to study for finals and finish final projects, which means he is at school every day this week, and then works every night until Friday. He just got told that he will basically have 15 days off for Christmas, only 2 of which are paid. Not to mention the days he has already missed because I was in the hospital or in too much pain to take care of my kids. Rough. I try so hard not to stress about all of this, but really, when you can't do much, all you can do is think. And think. And think, mostly about stuff that sucks. I am so close. Only 9 weeks left. I am praying for a little divine intervention, I NEED to feel well enough to at least feed the girls while Luke is gone. 9 weeks = 63 days.

A Trip to the Hospital.

2011-11-30T08:52:00.000-08:00

So yesterday, I had a mild breakdown and Luke suggested that I get out of the house for awhile. Well, being sick and not really able to walk anywhere, I called up my friend Jana and we went to see Breaking Dawn. I was super excited because I hadn't been to a movie with a friend since New Moon. Yeah, that long. However, the instant I sat down in the theater I was in pain. I shifted around, sat up, laid back, rubbed my belly, and nothing helped, it just seemed to get worse. I did make it through the whole movie, but towards the end when the baby is trying to get out, I felt like something was trying to claw its way out of me. I returned home thinking that if I laid down and drank some water I would feel better, but that only seemed to intensify things. When the chest pain started, and the crying wouldn't stop, I knew it was time to do something. I called my doctor who said to go straight to the ER. They took one look at me and sent me up to labor and delivery in case of preterm labor. Having had two previous babies, I knew that wasn't it. This was something completely different. They hooked me up to monitors, checked my cervix, took blood, exploded a vein - that was fun, did a urine sample, and gave me an antacid. Luke watched helplessly while I writhed in pain and cried every time the baby moved. Then, 3 hours later, it was gone. All of it. Every test came back normal, my uterus wasn't contracting, baby is normal, my cervix was still good. So what had happened to me? They have no freaking idea. The chest pain was unexplainable. As far as the belly pain, MAYBE (they are grasping at straws again) a combination of irritable uterus, slight dehydration, and severe acid reflux? That was the doctor's best guess. Having an irritable uterus is rare anyhow, but basically my body rejects pregnancy. Awesome. The whole time the baby is growing, my body is simultaneously trying to throw it out and attempting to keep it inside. It hit me while I was laying there, that I am in a semi-Bella situation. I am just grateful I don't have to drink blood :) Seriously though, if I had been in labor, that was THE WORST possible movie I could have watched just before! Anyhow, I was warned that things will be getting worse the bigger baby gets. Only ten weeks until I can be induced. It's like a mantra. Hopefully your Tuesday evening was less eventful than mine.

Still here.

2011-11-19T18:50:00.000-08:00

So, we are still here. Things are very rough, but somehow, we are surviving. We finally got our computer fixed, only took two months and a lot of trial and error. But in the end we took it to PC Discounters in Orem, and they fixed it up for us for pretty cheap. They were super nice too. I would definitely recommend them. Luke and I had our 5 year anniversary this month. We weren't able to really celebrate, for a lot of reasons, but we were able to be together, in our home, and that was enough for us this year.

Emma is so stinking smart. I feel like she picks up something new everyday. She has started making up her own songs, especially when we tell her she can't have something. She will go in her room and start singing a song about how much she wants it. So funny! Emma loves to play with Lilah and is always watching out for her. She is our little worrier. If I say 'Ow,' she immediately comes to me and says, "Mom what hurts? Is it your back, or your tummy or your head, or baby brother?" She always wants to take my hand and help me get back to the bedroom or the couch because she sees Luke helping me all the time. She is such a sweet wonderful little girl, with an incredible stubborn streak. Lately, she has been refusing to eat anything other than pb&j, so she misses a lot of meals because she doesn't want to eat. I am hoping I will win that argument eventually! She also wakes up crying and screaming a lot. If we go in and see what's wrong, she will get up every half hour for the rest of the night. But, if we ignore her, she eventually settles down and stays asleep until 5:30/6am. Trust me, that is AWESOME progress.

Lilah is the happiest little girl I have ever met. She always has smiles and laughter to spare. It is so hard to be unhappy around that little face. She has a golden bunny that we named Butterscotch and she loves that thing so much. She laughs out loud every time she sees Mickey Mouse, whether its a picture, stuffed animal, or on TV. She is learning how to communicate really well. We usually understand most of what she wants. She says ickey for Mickey, and she has started saying ilk, for milk. Speaking of milk, she has been off bottles for a few months and loves her sippy cups. We were about to get rid of the pacifyers when she got croup, and it was the only thing that made her feel better. Maybe in another month of so. Lilah loves to spin and dance with her sister. She LOVES it when daddy comes home. She has all of her teeth except for the top two eye teeth and her last four molars - which she won't get for awhile, I think. She claps and tries to sings songs :) She is our little ball of sunshine.

Luke is my hero. He always does so much. He is doing well in both of his classes, and working as much as he can. He picks up all the slack on the many days when I am unable to move or do anything. He is constantly trying to lift my spirits and he keeps telling me that it will all be over soon. I don't know how he does it. With so little sleep, he just keeps plugging away. It is a huge relief and a weight off our shoulders knowing that we never have to do this again. Luke is the most amazing man I have ever met and I am so incredibly grateful for him and all that he does for our family.

I. am. trying. That is the best I can say about me. Some days I feel descent enough to attempt some house work, but every time I do, I end up on the couch or the bed in so much pain. I try to cook meals, or bake treats, usually with Luke's assistance. I try to remember that I am "almost" 30 weeks, and after that, there are only 9 weeks left. It's hard to imagine that I will get more uncomfortable than I already am. I am so grateful for the friends who haven't abandoned me to my fate, and for a good visiting teacher, and the help of all the awesome people in our ward. Music and singing help me almost as much as the Prozac. I read a lot, mostly books I have already read, but I did get to finish the Eragon series with the last book that came out. It was really good.

Anyhow, that is about all for us. I hope to keep updating, but you never know what might knock me flat on my back next :)

Our many fall happenings...

2011-11-19T18:27:00.000-08:00

Emma had a lot of fun in October. She loved everything. Lilah, not so much. But you really can't blame her, being mostly confined to a stroller leaves you with much to be desired. Here is October in pictures. (We also went trick or treating in our neighborhood which was the absolute highlight for Emma. She had a blast running to and from doors and saying trick or treat and making sure to get a treat for Lilah's bucket as well :) Such a good sister.)

Lilah as a lady bug fairy, who hated her costume, the wings, and the stroller. Poor kid. Hopefully she will have more fun next year.
Luke and I waiting to start trick or treating with the girls down Main Street in Springville. Pretty sure I was dying by the time we were done. Good thing we went home for a little break and had dinner with our friends the Hartman's.
This year Emma was Snow White. She kept flip flopping back and forth between a pirate, a princess and a cowgirl.
Cotton candy and cupcakes at my parents ward Halloween party.
I was really bored one day...
Sister loves with all the stuffed animals.
Emma wanted her's carved into a mickey, so I helped her out, but she thought daddy's pumpkin looked very sad and asked him if he could make it happy. He said maybe next year :)
Grandma J grew pumpkins in her garden this year and invited Emma to come over and pick one. She was super excited about it :)

Emma falls asleep in many places. By the couch, on the toilet, in the car, but the kitchen chairs seems to be one of her favorites lately.

Temple Square

2011-11-19T18:19:00.000-08:00

Around the end of September, Emma kept asking if Jesus could come play. So cute right, only she kept asking and asking, so I said we could go see Him. Up to Salt Lake we journeyed. Only walking around a little, and very slowly for my benefit, we ended up having a good time.

Emma by the fountains at the new mall.

So fuzzy, but such a stinkin cute picture!

Emma with the big Jesus.

The Skinny.

2011-09-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

I am basically confined to my house for the next 5 months. Yeah. Here is how we came to this sad, yet honest realization: Luke and I went on a date last night, super simple. Dinner, movie, very little movement and/or walking. Today I went to a check up at 8:30am, and I was hurting while walking back to the ultrasound room. Things escalated from there. I tried to convince myself it was nothing while we ate lunch, but by the end of our meal, I was almost doubled over in pain. Rested for a few hours at home, the only change was that I was now so exhausted I could barely walk from one room to the next. Needless to say, Luke had to stay home from work, again. We are SO tired of this. Not because I don't want him home, not because he doesn't want to be home, but because he NEEDS to be at work. And when I am broken and can't care for the kiddos, there really isn't any other option. So, we did a lot of talking and crying (me) and thought back to each time when I felt like this and we found a pattern. Then, we figured out what we have to do. I am only allowed to leave the house on days when Luke doesn't have to work. And if he works the following day, it has to be a small outing like a quick trip to the grocery store. If I want to do something big, like go for a walk or make a fun meal, I have to wait until he has two days off in a row. Just in case my body decides to wig out and I can't function for awhile. Exciting huh? I have no idea what I will do for the duration of this pregnancy. There is absolutely no "medicinal" reason for what is going on with me. The lightheadedness (?) is due to low blood pressure and slightly low protein intake - trust me ever since I heard that I have been trying to eat it like crazy, yet it's not really helping. I just got the results from the EKG and heart monitor tests, and I am completely healthy in the heart region. I had the routine ultrasound done today and baby is growing perfectly, absolutely nothing wrong with him, and also nothing wrong with my stomach, ovaries, bladder or kidneys. Honestly, I think the problem is that when I am pregnant my body becomes way overly sensitive to everything. When I get a little bruise it literally can take weeks to disappear. I just think this is weird stuff that I just hafta soldier through. 5 months isn't really all that long, but it really feels ridiculously long. In happy news, I lost 6 pounds at the beginning of my pregnancy and I have just now gained that all back. So at five months, I am still at my pre-pregnancy weight. It just means less to lose. Funny thing, I asked Luke today, if he could be anywhere doing anything right now what would it be? And he said, probably at home in bed sleeping. We laughed and he asked me the same thing, and I said in the hospital in February having this baby. I just thought it was so interesting that we both wanted such practical things. Not spending a million dollars, or on a vacation somewhere, just getting the rest we need, or meeting our new son. Something to think about. If you could be anywhere, doing anything, what would it be?

Pregnancy Update:

2011-09-15T07:06:00.000-07:00

So the most exciting thing that has happened thus far in my pregnancy is that about a week ago, we found out we are having a baby boy! (about the only other exciting/happy thing that will happen is for this kid to get born!) We are all so excited and Emma says hello to baby brother every morning :) There are a few reservations though. I have a little anxiety over the fact that its a boy. I knew before I got pregnant that he would be, but I was still hoping for another little girl. Don't hate on me! Girls are easy to me, I mean, I am one and I have two ya know. Boys are different, foreign to me. It will definitely take some getting used to. In one of those rare moments when are girls are playing together and laughing, Luke looks over at me and said, "Part of me kinda wishes we were having a girl. Not because I don't want a boy, but why wouldn't I want more girls, look at them, they're so cute!" He also feels a lot of pressure to teach our son "man things" because that's "the dad's job." I calmly reassured him that our son would know how to cook and do his own laundry and change the oil in the car. That we would teach our kids all the same things together. He felt a little better after that :) Anyhow, so as an ending to our happy news, here is the name of our new son: William Jennings Moore, after both Grandpas, who will mostly be known as Will.

Now, onto other news. I have been getting really dizzy, lightheaded, and shaky lately and have almost passed out a few times. I have slightly low blood pressure and slightly low iron levels, but not enough to affect me like this. So I was thought to maybe have heart problems. On Monday I had an EKG and was hooked up to a heart monitor for a few days. I won't get an results back for like a week and a half. But they did take the extremely sticky monitor things off yesterday and hooray, I had blisters underneath all of them. Some big, some little. Super hot especially when you are wearing anything other than a turtleneck. But that will soon pass. Unfortunately, I don't see my excessive neediness going away anytime soon. I cry every time Luke leaves for work or school. I just don't want to be left alone. I need my husband. Mostly because I know no matter how many times I puke, complain, pee my pants, struggle to think straight, can't get off the couch to make dinner, get depressed, or cry for no reason, I know he will still love me. He is my best friend and I can tell him anything. Plus the fact that Emma has started acting horrendous lately doesn't help either. Literally so defiant about everything. When to eat, what to eat, when to go to bed, where to sit on the couch, what to play with, pretty much anything you can imagine. Regular Emma is hard to deal with when I am sick and tired. But now it's independent Emma and teething Lilah (premolars) and those are on the days when I can actually function. I am getting incredibly depressed because I am already so uncomfortable and in pain most of the time, and I am not even to my half way mark yet. How will I get through the next five months? I literally don't know. We were planning a trip to the zoo, but I don't think I can do that much walking, and I would feel bad if I ruined it for everyone else. I am reading books like a crazy person, but even that is starting to get boring. Hopefully soon it will be fall, that always makes me feel better. Anyways, that is how I am doing. If you need someone to visit, please let it be me. My kids are always better when others are around and I can always use some adult conversation not centered on Mickey or Elmo.

Things I love...

2011-08-31T18:13:00.000-07:00

So normally I am negative pessimistic type who has to try incredibly hard to find the good in things, especially during a trial. But today, I felt like posting about the many things I do like/love. Hopefully you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :)

*I love belting along with Charlotte Church, Beyonce, Idina Menzel, and Lea Michelle. I may not have the same quality to my voice, but I can hit the high notes with the best of them. And not in a screechy kinda way either.

*I love it when Emma randomly says "Guess what mom, I love you." Or when Lilah gives me her cheesiest smile and comes running towards me and fast as she can and gives me a huge hug.

*I love the times when Luke looks at me and I see the same sparkle in his eye that I saw on our first date.

*I really enjoy going out to eat by myself and just taking along a book - it's great alone time!

* I love it when Luke is home and the girls are asleep. Especially lately when there has been a bunch of storms, we will go outside together for a few minutes and just enjoy the weather.

*I love being in the hospital with my new babies. There is help if I need it, my husband is there sometimes, and my kid(s) are there sometimes - which I love, but mostly I love just being with my newborn all by ourselves getting to know each other :)

*I like pillows that are fluffed just right.

* I love it when I am exhausted and fall into bed, and it feels like the most comfortable place on earth.

* I love accomplishing goals, even little ones like doing the laundry - its a big deal right now.

*I love it when a new recipe turns out just how I thought it should, perfect.

* I love my eyes. Through all the years of fatter and thinner and stretch marks and giant bellies, and injuries and scars, I have hated most of myself at one time of another. But I have never hated my eyes. They may not be the brightest blue and my eyelashes may not be the longest, but they are beautiful and I LOVE them!

* I love, and will always be grateful for my ability to walk, talk, sing, see, run, chew, smile, whistle (badly), drive, love, write, and pray.

* I like modern technology. I seriously would've been one BAD pioneer!

* I love the feeling of success after a good workout.

* I LOVE my family, all of them.

* I love having friends whether they were in my life for a few weeks, many years, a few minutes, or an afternoon. They have all made an impression on me.

*I Love the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am not great at living it, but I know it to be true with all my heart.

* I love to dance. It's gotten lost over the years, but I hope to get back to it eventually.

* I love the food network. Giada, Chopped, Cupcake Wars, Barefoot Contessa, Iron Chef, all of it!

* I love being outside. I love the grass, the flowers and trees, the smell of the air - especially before it rains, I love the smell of dirt, and when the wind blows.

* I love to read. Man do I love to read!

* I love Luke, more than my own life. He's the reason I am still here.

*I like candy. Especially when I am pregnant.

* I love Disneyland. If you didn't know that about me, we probably shouldn't be friends.

* I love Autumn. I love Halloween, my anniversary (obviously), and Thanksgiving.

* I love Christmas!!! So much! I love to get gifts for other people. And I won't lie, I love presents too. But more than that, I love the spirit of Christmas. I love the festivity and the lights. I love the spirituality of it all, the nativity and the music. I love the baking and spending time with family. I love seeing my love of Christmas reflected on Emma's face when she frosts a cookie or helps to decorate the tree, or begs all year long to see the Christmas lights by Jesus' castle :) I love that Luke indulges me around that time of the year and even if he thinks its ridiculous to get all dressed warmly just to go walk in the snow and drink hot chocolate, he won't say so and comes along with a huge smile on his face because he knows how magical that moment is for me. I love Christmas! And it wouldn't be the same with just one of these pieces missing. This is what makes it such a beautiful holiday to me.

* And lastly, I love my savior. For everything he has done for me, and will continue to do for me. For sending me such an amazing companion who is such a perfect fit for me. If I had been left up to my own devices, I am such I would not have done so well. And for my two beautiful daughters who continue to amaze me, and teach me, every single day. And for the little peanut inside of me who keeps on growing and will soon be here to love and to cuddle. I can't believe he would entrust to me all these incredible souls, but he has. And I will do my absolute best to live worthy of such an astounding blessing.

Reflections

2011-08-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

So I was sitting here, and reading my list of goals on the right side trying to figure out what I could get started with. Depressingly enough, there is about nothing on there that I can do while pregnant, except maybe the pedicure. A lot of things other women could do while pregnant, me not so much. And on a related note. I had postponed my writing until I felt better, but now I think I will have to put it off until a few months postpartum. My brain works differently when I am pregnant, and I think if I wrote now, I wouldn't be real happy with the results and end up changing so much. So that is the sum of my life right now. No goals, no progression, just staying stationary. Well, in all reality, I am trying my hardest every single day not to go backwards. I have a really hard time with not being able to do "normal" things, when I know there are women out there who are able to work until they deliver, or work out until they go into labor, or eat healthy without puking it all back up. I know I am making a baby and that's hard work and everything, I just don't like it, at all. When I go to my doctor's appointments and the nurses ask me how I am doing and I answer with a mundane, "I'm fine." They get these horrified looks on there faces as if to say, "Why are you not glowing with the sparkle of a thousand diamonds, you have life growing inside of you!" The truth is because I'm just not that thrilled about it. I do the pregnancy thing because that's how you get babies here. If there were another way that didn't cost thousands of dollars, I would seriously look into it. I LOVE my babies once they get here, I just don't bond with them in utero. Maybe I go through all of this so that one day when my daughters, friends or even women I don't know well are going through the same rough things, and are looking for a little compassion and empathy, I can be the one to give it to them. I can say, "You know what, I have been there, and it is horrible, and definitely no fun. The good news, is that it doesn't last forever. It came to pass, not to stay." That to me is the silver lining, being able to help others through my trials and experiences.

Picture Overload.

2011-08-13T18:52:00.000-07:00

So, the last couple of weeks of July and the first couple weeks in August were crazy. First, we had my sister Kara and her family here from Canada, then Lilah's first birthday, then Luke's sister Jennie and her family came from Washington, and Luke's brother Matt and his family (whom I have never met) came to town from Texas. Whew. It was exhausting just to type all of that. And to say I was not feeling my best during all of this would be a massive understatement. Many days resulted in uncontrollable headaches, and vomiting simply because I had overdone it the previous day. So hard, especially when you want to hang out with everyone, and be doing everything they are doing. Anyhow, I made it and am now recovered enough to blog. So here we go...(please excuse the awful quality of some of the pictures, we have a point and shoot. The good ones however, were taken by my sister, Kara.)

Okay, I guess I am starting with the most recent. Our family (as in Luke, Emma, Lilah and I) were able to go have lunch with all of Luke's family and the kids got to play in the water. Below is
an awesome inflatable water slide that the Alvey's borrowed from their neighbors. All of the kids had a ton of fun on that thing. If we had a yard, I would buy one.
Emma loved the pool even though she only went down the slide twice and was shivering the entire time. She enjoyed kicking water at the bigger kids, it was really her only line of defense.
My beautiful little one year old.
Later that day we all got take out and ate dinner at the park, followed by family pictures, which were mostly painless, my girls apparently have an aversion to following any kind of order. I am praying it is an age thing and that eventually they will start listening to their mama and papa. Maybe when they are like 23, yeah? Anyhow, we also were able to go out with most of the adults in Luke's family. Loves to cousin Asia who watched my girls. After that, Luke had to work the rest of the week and I was too sick to tote my kids anywhere. Sad.

Okay, the order of my pictures is so whacked. Whatever, at least they are here.
This is Lilah's first birthday. Everyone had a great time, except for probably me. I had planned this before I got sick, and once I was barfing I realized I was in WAY over my head, so thanks to everyone that helped out! I ripped my capris on one of the park tables and was so tired and sick by the time it was over. Good thing it wasn't for me!

Brielle, Lilah and Emma checkin out Lilah's new stuff.
Emma's cheesiest face.
Mama and sista.
Micah on the playground with Peansies.
Our new friends and neighbors, the Hartman's.
The two best neighbors! Miss you guys!
Part of our family. There are a couple of Moores, a few Alvey's and a Sowards' or two.
A super cute picture of my niece, Brielle.

Sharing a swing like good baby cousins.
My favorite picture of Luke and I that night.
I love my crazy parents :)
My sister Rachel with her fiancee, Micah.
I love her face!

Grandpa J cheated and gave Lilah a cupcake early, she wasn't put out in the least :)

So that's about it. There were many other pictures, but these are my favorites. In other news, I am now in my second trimester, so here is to decreasing sickness, hopefully!

BIG NEWS!

2011-07-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

It's almost been an entire month since I blogged last. Here is what we've been up to...not much. Really there is only one reason, I am pregnant, again. This was planned, and so we are extremely thrilled, and also very happy that this will be the last one. I am about ten weeks along, and we tried to hide it, but I have been so ill, that our neighbors and ward knew, and our family didn't. So we announced it. That, and my belly has exploded virtually overnight. Ok, not really, but I have some theories, one, It hasn't even been a year since I had a baby, and my body remembers well. 2, since this is my third one, my muscles are very stretched out already. Who cares? I totally don't. I lost the baby weight from Lilah but no more than that. I am over it. I will be done having kids before I am even 26 and then I will have lots of time to exercise as they grow and get older, and BONUS, I will still be young enough that it won't be insanely difficult to lose weight. So that is our big news. I am due early February. Also, in light of my recent and often all day illness, I have put the halt on my writing for a few months until I start feeling better. This also goes for house work, laundry, activities. Bummer. But, we knew how it was going to be for me when we thought this through, so Luke and I have much better attitudes, and outlooks even though we are often trapped inside, and eating stuff out of a can or a drive thru. And let me just say, I have the most wonderful husband ever! Most days I can barely walk myself out to the couch and lay down (all day long) and he has just taken over everything. Before he goes to work he feeds the girls breakfast and lunch, gives them baths, plays with them, makes sure I eat, does the dishes, picks up the toys, and is in a good mood while doing it. It is hard for me to watch him work so hard before he goes to work, while I lay there. But, I know that is how it has to be for right now. Hopefully before school starts again, I will regain some energy and not be so barfy. A fun side note, I picked up Emma the other day and almost passed out, a little scary, but now I know not to lift more than 32 pounds. Anyhow, here are some pictures of stuff we did, before I got really sick.

These are pictures from Thanksgiving Point and the barnyard animals.
Emma riding a horse for the very first time. She was so happy and cried so much when her time was over.
In jail, Emma loves to do this every time we go.
A picture of my girls on the giant cow.

This was at the end of June and I felt like puking the entire time, just check out the grimace.
Emma got her first haircut. Joy took about two inches off the bottom to even it out. Emma was freaking, cue the sucker in her mouth and me in the chair.

The Real Deal.

2011-06-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

A lot of times, I see things that people say about their lives on a blog or on facebook, and I am simply in awe. I wonder, how could someone have time in their day for all of that, or I wish I was good at that. If I let myself, I can get really down, and really jealous. Thankfully, this is not one of those days. But, even though I see myself in a pretty realistic light, because I am the one here day in and day out, I realized that others might not. Its so hard when you see the woman at church who looks gorgeous, skinny - even though she just had a baby, designer clothes, perfect hair, and with her the hunk of a husband and the four beautiful children who are perfectly behaved, and perfectly dressed. That is a hard day for me, but what you don't see if what happens behind the scenes. Its so hard to remember that. So, I thought today, I would be brutally honest and tell you how my life really is. Take it for what its worth. If you thought my life was super glamorous (I really don't know how you could) or if you thought my life was a living hell, you will find it is a mash up of both. Enjoy.

* Luke and I have an amazing marriage! We have communication issues, and get frustrated with each other occasionally, and it took us awhile to get here. Those first few years, with a baby, and getting fired, and me discovering just how bad my depression is, those were extremely scary, but somehow we made it through and we are better for it. But seriously, my ONLY complaint in our marriage is that I wish he were around more, and we got more alone time.

* I yell at my kids, yes I that includes my 10.5 month baby. Okay, I don't yell at her, but when I get really frustrated, I will just scream really loudly and it freaks her out and she starts to cry and then I feel really bad. But Emma, I feel like I can say things 30 times and she still won't listen. I guess she is just one of THOSE kids. Oh well. I love my babies more than my own life, and would do anything for them. But some days, I can definitely handle their all day screaming and whining better than other days :)

* We don't eat very well. Like, Luke and I don't eat vegetables at all, Luke won't eat fruit. Emma will drink green smoothies which is good, but she also only eats PB&J, mac and cheese, and chili - only from the can. We eat way too many calories and way too much sugar. I figure if I am going to eat something it had better taste really good. That is part of my problem. We love to eat out. I am a pretty decent cook. Put any kind of recipe in front of me, and it usually turns out good. If it doesn't, I keep at it until it does.

* We love TV. Yup, I said it. We have more than 550 movies, and we love them all. It is something my kids can do when I am needing to be alone or do something else, and by the way, I only let them watch clean stuff. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sesame Street, Disney movies, Little Einsteins, that kind of thing. It is also something Luke and I can do, that sorta seems like a date when all the kiddies are asleep and we are exhausted. We used to play board games at night, but we have so much fun and laugh so loud that we end up waking the little ones. But, my kids do end up watching too much TV most of the time. It's how I stay sane. Ya do what works for you.

* I very rarely need time away. I often need time away with Luke, but never away from him. And usually not even away from my kids. I am not one of those people that could take a vacation without my family, or with friends. I would just miss them too much. I would rather spend time with my little family than with anyone else.

* I feel like showering is overrated. Doesn't mean I don't do it. I have really dry skin and hair so I can only shower every couple of days anyway. I just am so over it. It takes forever. And I hate getting ready after wards, takes even longer. I love the feeling of being clean, but with that comes dry itchy skin. If only I could sit in a tub full of lotion just after, that would be perfect. Unfortunately my girls have the same problem, but also with eczema. Maybe we just need a more humid climate. Every time we go to California, their eczema clears up in the four days we are there, and comes right back as soon as we hit Vegas.

* I am pretty fanatical about having a clean house. But, this is the first thing to go when I get pregnant or am sick. Its almost like a switch gets flipped and I just don't care anymore.

* We don't go to the temple very often. Mostly because we only get a date once every couple of months. Our last one was January, and then we had one last night. So sad, but maybe this is just not the season of our life to do that. There will come a time when our kids are a little older, and not so needy, when we can actually afford to pay a sitter and not just hope our family will take pity on us and watch out kids, and Luke will be out of school, and we will be able to have a date once a week. Luke and I have already decided that two of those dates a month will be spent at the temple. Not because we have to, but because we want to be there.

* I have no friends. Seriously. If you think you are super isolated because you just had a baby, or just got married and your single friends won't have you anymore, I am worse. I LITERALLY have 5 or 6 people in my life that I call friends. A couple live by me, but will be moving, and the others live anywhere between 15 to 45 minutes away. But, I made my bed. I said before, that I would rather spend my time with my family than anyone else.

* Lastly, I am writing a book. I know right? Anyone who really knows me probably thinks, just as I did, that that is not a possibility. But I am. And it is seriously cool. It is a young adult fiction, the genre I would say is mystery/intrigue/romance/action. Sounds weird right, but if you read it, you would love it. This is my release. Its my own thing, I write at night and it has nothing to do with my kids or my husband, or anyone else, just me. That is a big deal for a stay at home mom who never got to go to college, and is basically a slave to her kids. I am almost done with my fourth chapter, and I can't stop. I have to know the rest of the story. It is definitely something that I would love to read. So, yeah! I will let you know when I get published :)

So, that's it. Take a brief look into my life. It's not sad or happy or lonely or excited, scared, eccentric, lazy, romantic, wonderful, or weird. It's all of the above!

Addendum.

2011-06-03T04:12:00.000-07:00

I am making a change to my 30 goals. I am removing the 'look smokin hot in a bikini.' Not because I don't want to anymore, but because that will happen naturally when I 'reach my goal weight.' Well, I will look as hot as someone can with faded scars all over their stomach and chest. I will add 'write a novel' to the list instead. Not because I am writing one, but because I think that is definitely something of note if accomplished. Perfect. Change made :)

30 b4 30

2011-05-23T14:22:00.000-07:00

If you would look to the left-------->
I have made a list. It would be awesome if I came up with this by myself, but alas, I stole the idea from Stephanie (Thanks!). It is a list of 30 things that I wish to accomplish before I turn 30. I just had my birthday, so that gives me almost exactly 5 years from now. As you look over it, you may think that some of these things are silly, but they are all important to me. They are also things that I have never done, or that I haven't done in a VERY long time. I will probably blog about it once I accomplish something, since they are important to me, but I will also list the date it was completed under the goal. So if you want to follow my progress, that is where it will be. I am rather excited about this. It's nice to have goals other than the laundry and dishes :) Thanks for your support and encouragement!

Double Birthday #3

2011-05-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

I love it when birthdays are weeks or months long. I feel sad when others only get one day of fun things and partying. Life is something to celebrate! So, here is what I did next. I went out last Saturday with my Mom to breakfast and a movie. We went to Mimi's and I thought the food was exceptional, the movie, not so much. We saw Something Borrowed, which I thought looked really cute. Apparently the best part were in the previews. I definitely do not recommend it. Sorry mom for the awful choice! But we had a great time just hanging out together. It had been years since I had done something just with my mom. Then on Tuesday morning my cute neighbors, Amy and Jessica invited me upstairs for breakfast. We had all sorts of yummy food, but it was the company that I enjoyed the most. We talked a lot and laughed even more :) I seriously love these ladies. In the almost 5 years since Luke and I have been married, we have never had good neighbors. It might have something to do with the fact that we have only lived in poor people, shady places, but when that's all you can afford, that's where you go. But when we moved here a year ago, we were so surprised by how nice everyone was. It really does mean a lot to have good neighbors and good friends :) So, Happy Birthday to me!

B-day #2:

2011-05-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

This morning I was woken up early by both of my parents calling to wish me a Happy Birthday. My dad loves to tell me that on the day I was born, my mom went into labor while he was pulling a motor out of a car. And my mom loves to tell me that I was her firstborn in the wilderness of Michigan. I love my eccentric parents :) When Emma woke up I said, "Guess what? Its mommy's birthday today!" And she said, "Yeah! Let's make the cake and have a birthday party!" (We have had the cake mix for a couple of days and she kept asking everyday if today was the birthday party:) So Luke helped Emma make the cake and frost it, and later my mother in law was in the area and stopped by to say Happy Birthday and give me a card, and bonus - $20! Which is currently all the money we possess, so THANK YOU SANDY! We are rich now! After that we packed up lunch and headed to the new Springville park and had us a little picnic complete with bubbles and a little sun tan for Luke and I. A couple of hours later, amidst many tears (Lilah was tired and Emma didn't want to leave her picnic-ground) we went home for some naps. For dinner we made chicken a la John - if you are a Moore you will know what that is. We paired it with crispy potatoes instead of rice this time and it was super delish. Emma was also super delighted to sing Happy Birthday to me for the 3rd time today and even happier to help me eat the cake :) We ended the night by giving the girls baths and watching American Idol. It was an amazing day, made even more so by my amazing family. My absolute favorite part of the entire day is the fact that we finally got a picture of all four of us (see above). It only took like 30 shots to get the right one :) Stay tuned for birthdays 4 and 5 coming in the next couple of weeks. Oh yes, there is more.

You can tell just how excited Emma is from this picture!
Check out my killer cake pedestal - courtesy of Michelle Christmas 2009
Luke tried out our new food markers...still unsure if we like them.
Enjoying bubble guns at the park - such a great investment!
Lilah being really unsure about the bubbles, she didn't smile until they were all gone!

The girl definitely loves to swing.

The 25th birthday portrait.

Birthday 1

2011-05-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

Since I have been married, I haven't done anything with my friends for my birthday. That kinda happens when babies, sickness, surgeries and pregnancies come into play. And I can count on probably one or two hands the times other than birthdays that I have gone out with friends since becoming a wife and mama. Don't feel sad, I chose my life and I love it, but I definitely wanted to celebrate my birthday this year with lots of fun things. So, birthday post #1, yesterday I got to go to dinner at La Jolla Groves with some of my friends. Other than the food being phenomenal, so was the company. I had such a great time with Chantel, Erin, Cora and Kate. We talked about old times and new times, and laughed like crazy, and I stayed out until midnight - haven't done that in awhile as well. I had forgotten how much fun friends are (add in a sigh of nostalgia). Luke was happy to see me when I got home because he said he had missed me all night - LOVE him!

Here is Kate, Me, Cora, Erin & Chantel
My incredible dessert - lemon cake with creme anglaise & an amazing sugar spun dome.

I have officially been tagged.

2011-05-04T11:19:00.000-07:00

I was tagged in this game by my sister, Kara and I have to write three things about myself. So, here we go...

Numero Uno: I am a bakeaholic. True story. I love to cook really good food, but there is nothing like baking. Its like food art. A pastry class is at the very top of my list when I can actually go to school, in like 50 years! I love creating my own recipes and adapting others' recipes to my own liking. I am not one of those people that tries to bake healthy, my mom definitely does and sometimes it turns out pretty good, but my motto is, if you are going to enjoy something it better be pretty freakin good. The only problem I see with this, is too much sugar and fat, which totally leads to a fat person. PS, I am listening to Nelly: Hot in Here right now and I just heard the part, "Checkin your reflection and tellin your best friend, Girl I think my butt's getting big!" I laughed so hard!

#2: Here is what I look at when I am working out. Positive messages: "I can make my weaknesses strengths!" "I deserve to be happy!" "I am a good person, a good wife, & a good mother!" "I am beautiful" Now some of you may think that this is insanely cheesy, but I have had enough negative messages drilled into my head, mostly by myself, that hopefully if I look at happy positive messages every single day and repeat them over and over that they will start to stick and I will have better self esteem. I also look at pictures. Not fat pictures, I would not feel motivated by horrific images. If I wanna see fat, I just hafta look in the mirror, ya know? They are happy pictures from different periods in my life, single, married without kids, married with kids, me at my skinniest, me at my happiest, stuff like that.

Number 3: I LOVE to sing and dance! Some of you may know this about me, and some not. But I am at my absolute happiest when I can belt out an awesome song or when I can pull off some serious dance moves. It has been many years since I have been able to do a double pirouette, go out dancing with my friends, or only shake one part of my body at a time :) but that hasn't lessened my passion for it. Both of these topics are also at the top of my school to do list, if and when I get the chance. And even if I don't I will always love to do them, even if its just in the privacy of my own home.

And lastly, a picture that I love. And like others before me, I tend to lean to before I had kids, not because I was happier then, but because I did more for myself and I was so much in love. I was surrounded by family, old and new and lots of friends. And I was looking a lot better in the skinny department than I do now :) This was a very good day! But check out those ginormous boobs, I sure don't miss those!

Now, here is who I will tag. I am never really sure who actually reads my blog so I will go with...
#1: Chantel
#2: Vaylene
#3: Cora
Enjoy ladies :)

2011-05-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

So here is our newest goal...other than trying to eat less and much healthier, which we have been doing surprisingly well at, minus the sugar - so hard to live without! Anyhow, latest goal...Luke and I will each do 3 miles on the treadmill, everyday but Sunday. Here's how we will accomplish it: Luke isn't doing Summer school, so he is home everyday until 3pm on the days that he works, but we also have to correlate with children, meals and nap schedules. So, we each have 1 hour to complete the 3 miles. It doesn't matter if you walk, run, or jog, or even if you have to stop and take some breaks, as long as you do 3 miles in one hour. We started this today. Luke is still unable to actually start yet because his back is still tender and he is still getting used to being back at work. But I did 3 miles today. Some walking, some running, and mostly dying by the time I was finished. But I did it. Then I went out this afternoon with my lovely neighbor and her cutie son & my girls and went for a walk to the park and back. Lots more exercising and lots more activity throughout the day. But I have to be careful not to overdo it. If I pushed myself I could probably run 3 miles, but then I wouldn't be able to do it for the rest of the week because my knees would be screaming. It's all about knowing your body and knowing what works best for you. So have a happy day every one and try not to end up with a case of the Mondays :)

2011-04-28T14:45:00.000-07:00

Easter was pretty good despite all of our collected drama. The girls both LOVED to play with all of those eggs. Speaking of playing, Emma has found a new best friend in Lilah. She loves to play with her and is sometimes a little rough, but mostly they just laugh and laugh together. It makes me so extremely happy. I really hope it continues as they grow older. It is a little frustrating when Lilah is taking a nap and Emma is bored and sneaks out of the room and goes to wake up Lilah. They when we catch, her and shoo her out to the living room, she cries, "I just want to play with my Lilah!" Despite the fact that Luke couldn't go to school for all of April, and was barely able to go sit for his finals, he only failed one of his three classes. And that one class is the class most failed by all UVU students. Yes, that is an actual fact people. So even though, this will be the 3rd time around for this one, we can at least take comfort in the fact that he is not alone. Oh my goodness, there is silence in the other room. Could it be that both of my girls are asleep at the same time?! I am pretty sure I am going to have myself a party! Gotta go, I have lots of relaxing to get to :)

2011-04-21T09:11:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of us enjoying the Springtime. Although, there are none of me, but somehow, I am just fine with that :)

Something Learned.

2011-04-21T08:55:00.001-07:00

I have made the most incredible, monumental discovery of my entire life over the past couple of weeks. Are you ready for it....I cannot do everything. And to attempt to do so would leave me looking a fool. Some of you may say, DUH of course you can't do everything, of course you can't be perfect, but it is something that has taken me a very long time to realize. For most of my life I have tried as hard as I can to be perfect and have beaten myself up quite badly when that hasn't been achieved. Again, some of you may say, "That was striving for perfection?!" Yes I know, not always well executed. But along with this amazing discovery, has come the very important part, the trying. If you strive for perfection and expect that result in this life, you will always be disappointed. But if you strive for perfection and expect that you won't reach it, but do your absolute very best, then you will always be happy with the result. You will keep learning and growing and becoming a better person. I was telling Luke last night, that sometimes my very best amounts to eating ice cream from the carton and lying on the couch! And you know what, that is okay. I am perfectly happy with that. I have also realized that I am constantly going to be judged and under scrutiny by family, friends, and strangers. Everyone will have the "right" opinion of how I should be living my life, or losing weight or taking care of my kids, or the clothes I should be wearing. Some of it will be intentional, most of it won't. But the beautiful thing is, as long as my father in heaven is proud of the way I am living my life, and as long as Luke and I try our absolute best, nothing else will matter. There have been some very hard things going on in our house this month, and some big decisions to be made, but we have come through it with a feeling of peace and knowing we did all we could. This really is quite a liberating thing to realize, that my life doesn't have to be perfect. My dishes don't always have to get done right away, it's okay to cancel appointments if other things take priority, it's alright if I don't wear makeup all the time, and I wear yoga pants around my house. There is nothing wrong with that, and that makes me feel extremely happy and grateful. :)

Picture Time!

2011-04-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted any pictures in awhile, so here are a few...enjoy!

This is my absolute favorite picture as of late. My little girl is growing up so fast. This is a couple of Sundays ago before church. So beautiful!
Lilah loves it when I start the laundry and it starts spinning and getting soapy. She will sit there for at least 5 minutes just staring.
Here is Lilah at 8 months.
Emma finally got her "Punzel" doll and was super happy to trade her clothes around, all day.
Emma is getting excited about potty training, but Luke's face shows just how awful that first day really was!
A fruit pizza I made a couple of weeks ago...so delish!
Here is Lilah enjoying her new crawling skills and getting stuck under a chair. She is getting so fast!

Mostly, potty training.

2011-04-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

It's been a couple of weeks since my last update, so here is whats new with us...Lilah is crawling all over the place, and she is getting quicker everyday. However, she only crawls out of necessity. If we will hold her hands, she loves to jump up and down and she loves to walk around the house. I have a feeling she will be walking soon. She is starting to pull herself up on things, but is still unsure about that and falls quite a bit. It also seems like she is constantly teething. Always in pain, always drooling, but nothing ever pops up. Hmmmm....I guess we shall see. This is also Luke's five day weekend so we are all trying to make the most of our time with him. It is so nice every three weeks when they roll around, but it is really hard, especially on the girls when he finally has to go back to work. Our biggest news though, is that we are potty training Emma! Aaaaaand, there has been SUCCESS! This is the 4th time we have tried and each time she has been incredibly stubborn. Our pediatrician said, let it go until she is ready. So we took his advice for 3 months and then Emma developed a rash on her hiney and we couldn't get it to leave, so this seemed like the only real option. We started on Friday and it was seriously the day from Hell! She has always been so resistant to giving up diapers and trying her big girl undies, and this time was no different. There was much screaming from all parties, Lilah included. (Yes, it was a family event) And there was a lot of hit and miss, but by the end of the day, she was telling us exactly when she had to go, even if she didn't make it in time. That is a big deal for Emma. She had a pull up on at night because she is a very heavy sleeper, normally. This morning she had a bad dream, I think and was up for good at 3am. But not before waking up Lilah too. I am sure our neighbors don't appreciate all the screaming going on last night, again, from all parties. So we had a super early start today and it's almost 3pm, and still no accidents! I am thrilled! We promised her she could have a Rapunzel barbie doll if she did the deed, and today she totally did! I hate that doll though, so much hair. Two minutes out of the box and she was Tangled in her hair - haha, pun intended! So I braided it down her back like they do later on in the movie. I was actually really surprised how little Emma has gone for the potty training gimmicks. The first couple times she asked for a candy, which we had promised, but after that, even when she made it, she never asked. She was just super happy about what she had done and that we were so pleased too. Although, we haven't braved a store, or the park, or a friend's house yet, but all in good time. So what started out as an awful weekend, has actually ended up really happy :)

My Favorite Day Ever.

2011-03-17T19:21:00.000-07:00

A lot of people enjoy St. Patrick's day. Ya know, the green pancakes, pinching people, wearing as little or as much green as you can get away with. But it is my absolute favorite "holiday" of the year. Reason being: Five years ago today, on March 17th, Luke and I had our very first date. I always have it marked on the calendar and we always reminisce about that night and how much we liked each other and how much fun we had. And how it led to about a million break ups, and make ups, and how almost eight months later, we were married. And shortly after that, we had Emma and 2.5 years after that, Lilah came along, and here we are today. It's crazy how time flies by. FIVE YEARS. That is a long time, and life is good.

So Happy!

2011-03-14T15:28:00.001-07:00

So we got our tax refund at the end of February and it was a ton of money! Like $3000 more than we got last year. So awesome. And now it is gone. We paid off ALL of our debt including our parents and we got to buy some fun things. We got a brand new Lg front load washer and dryer - so nice! Plus for buying that, we got $75 from the city for going green or saving energy or whatever. All I know is it's good for our utility bill. We were also able to get a Blu Ray player and an IPod Classic - we are so behind on all of that stuff, but we finally saw that we had a need. PS I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Ipod when I am on the treadmill and Lilah is sleeping so I can't play loud music. My fave workout tunes are from Glee and Burlesque - stupid movie, but good music. Speaking of workouts, I got some new clothes and a "Dancing with the Stars" DVD. I have actually never watched that show ever, but they have great dance routines that are incredible cardio and I am loving it. It has also made me realize not only how out of shape I am, but how out of dance shape I am in. After the first time I tried it I told Luke I feel like a dance loser now. Anyways, we also bought a kitchen aid. I have been wanting one forever and we finally got one in Red and I love it. We bought clothes and shoes for everyone but me - that was my punishment for being fat. I only allowed myself to get workout clothes. Reason: when I get not fat, I already have a ton of clothes that will fit me. Other than that, we put a bunch in savings and had a whole lot of fun shopping for new dishes and kitchen towels and other nick nacks for our house. And we ate out a whole bunch, because we could and it was fun. At first I was really bummed that all of our money was gone but then I realized it would be nice to get back to normal and enjoy all of our recent purchases. :)

My Crazy Girls

2011-03-11T07:35:00.000-08:00

Emma climbed up into the highchair for a nap. And Lilah is starting to crawl.

2011-03-02T07:20:00.000-08:00

This morning Emma asked me to find her a Goofy song (as in from the Goofy Movie Soundtrack). So I tried the only three songs we have from that movie and apparently none of them were what she was wanting cause she just sat down on the floor in a huff, folded her arms and said, "Mama you drive me crazy." She just sat there pouting while Luke and I were busting a gut. And then like any true three year old, she started laughing with us for no reason. I love me little girl!

The Winter Blahs.

2011-02-28T15:05:00.000-08:00

Raise your hand if you are so tired of Winter you could scream? I would be there with both hands in the air screaming my freakin head off. I actually enjoy being out in the cold weather sometimes, but with the kiddies, it is so not ideal. We are so bored of being indoors and every time we go to the grocery store Lilah smiles and giggles and Emma asks if we can go to the park. I feel so bad. I love that I have outdoorsy kids, but it's difficult when they are too little to handle the chilly weather. We have tried taking little walks here and there but it's not enough. I truly hate February. Worst month of the year in my opinion. March is semi-crappy, but half way through the month something happens. The sky is more blue, the grass starts to look green and the air warms up. And it's just a feeling you get inside that is so happy, something akin to hope I think. It seems to jump start everything inside of me. I have a serious desire to eat healthier, and exercise and do a bunch of spring cleaning. We are almost there. Just a few more weeks of the yucky and then a lot of months of warm weather. I just have to figure out what to do with myself for the next couple of weeks...

2011-02-21T09:07:00.000-08:00

So, strep throat. That was fun. Not really though. This was the first time I had ever had it and it was combined with a bad reaction to a higher dose of antidepressant medication. It was all last week and even though I am no longer contagious, or hurting, I am still really exhausted and weak. Hopefully that will only last a couple more days though. Luke was incredible taking care of me and the girls and allowing me to stay holed up in our room so no one else got sick, which I am so glad about. But he didn't get much homework done, so that is how we are spending our President's Day. That and buying a new washer and dryer. Yeah! Here are some recent pictures. Most were taken by Luke while I was off grid.
Little peanut sitting up just like her Tigger.
I finally got a picture of Emma in her new apron.

Lilah in her cute new duds.
I am pretty sure that I have the most beautiful 3 year old in all the land :)
Lilah sucking on the musical castle. If you look closely you can see her two little teeth.
Luke cuddling with his two little girls.

Finished, Finally.

2011-02-12T11:24:00.001-08:00

Last night I finally finished the apron I was making for Emma. I bought the material last summer, and started it in November. Such is the life of a women of two wiggly children. I was so excited to show it to Emma this morning, but being Emma, she takes a while to warm up to new things, and wouldn't even go near it. I am not gunna lie, I felt really bad. But then I remembered that she is three and doesn't understand. So, Lilah was happy to model it for me, and even thought it tasted good. Emma got jealous that Lilah was playing with her "new purple dress" and tried to rip it off her. Slightly reminiscent of Cinderella... So I hung it up in the pantry for the next time Emma wants to do dishes or help me cook. This was the first apron I have ever made and it doesn't look fantastic, but it's for Emma and once she gets used to it, she won't want to take it off :) I am going to make me an apron that says 'Head Chef' so I thought it would be cute if Emma and Lilah both got ones that said 'Sous Chef.' Also, a happy little side note, I was able to get in 3 workouts this week, and clean my house from top to bottom and I lost 4 pounds. Loving it.

2011-02-10T10:54:00.001-08:00

What do you do when you are sad and don't want to do anything or see anyone?

2011-02-09T09:58:00.000-08:00

I love this mask! I got it at The Body Shop in the University Mall and it is fantastic! I love all things tea tree. If you have ever had a scalp treatment done, it's like that, for your face. So awesome.

2011-02-08T10:19:00.000-08:00

We started our no sugar period yesterday and my resolve lasted about 6 hours. We had made brownies on Sunday in an effort to use up all of our sugar stuff and not have to throw it out. Well, those brownies weren't quite gone on Monday morning and when I woke up, they were sitting on the counter calling to me. I resisted clear until 1pm. I had eaten lunch and felt like I needed that something sweet to finish my meal off. Big mistake! So I had a brownie and I hated myself for it. But apparently that wasn't good enough because round about 4pm, I decided I wanted more. Luke had eaten the rest of the brownies, so I went ahead and made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and homemade mac and cheese for dinner. In my defense, Luke and I were both really stressed out. He had stayed home from work yesterday because just as he was about to walk out the door, Lilah threw up everywhere. All over him, the carpet, the couch. And I just gave him a look and he said, I am going to call off. Long story short, both of our girls have the flu, not terribly bad, but they have all of the nasty symptoms and slight fevers, but mostly they have both been insanely grumpy. So yes, we were stress eating. Anyhow, I came to the realization that I can't even have baking ingredients in the house. So I am giving them all away. This literally is like going through detox and if I was an alcoholic I wouldn't surround myself with booze and then try to not partake. So since I had cookies this morning, boo I know, we will start again fresh tomorrow with our house completely sugar free. I know I can do better!

2011-02-07T10:17:00.000-08:00

We recently had the opportunity to go up North for my cousin's baptism. He is the cutest kid ever and absolutely loves the scriptures. Emma had a lot of fun playing with her cousins. And the boys had a lot of fun "fighting" with Luke :) They were so sad when we left, but we promised to come back another day. It was really nice to visit with family.

Here is Emma with Randy (the newest member of the church) and Luke.
Randy and Spookus both took turns holding Lilah.

A Time Out For Sugar.

2011-02-02T08:08:00.000-08:00

I have come to realize that my family is so completely addicted to sugar. I thought that if I stopped baking for awhile that this would make a difference, but nope. We just go to the grocery store and get some cookies or candy. Luke and I were talking last night and realize it has to stop. So, starting next week, we are doing a sugar detox. We will not have any treats until Easter. That is a good 2.5 months. Hopefully by then, we will be eating a lot better and not have insane cravings for all things chocolate. Why not start today you may ask? I am having a lot of the cramping this week if you catch my drift, and without a little chocolate to make me feel better, I might kill everyone within a ten mile radius. I know my limits, so we will start next week. I am sure I will update everyone on how this plan is going and with Luke on my side, we might actually stand a chance!

Birthdays All Around

2011-01-28T09:51:00.000-08:00

On the 25th was Emma's third birthday and on the 26th was Lilah's sixth month birthday. We spent the entire month celebrating. Starting with Disneyland. We got Emma a Mickey stuffed animal since she has been begging for one. And we got Lilah one of those really cool name paintings with a character. They are super cute and Emma already has a Cinderella one, so we got Lilah a Tinkerbell one. About a week after we got back, I stupidly picked up a cake mix at the store and everyday Emma would go to the pantry and say, "It's my birthday, let's have some cake." Then she would cry when I would tell her that she had to wait. After a few days of this behavior, I got tired and decided to just make the cake. So we made cupcakes and she loved it even though she was sick. A few days after that, we went to Ikea for lunch and to let Emma play around (which she loves). And we picked up a chalkboard/whiteboard easel for her. We also bought her one of those leap frog pens where you can point it a word on a book and it helps you learn how to read. Pricey, but definitely worth it. On her actual birth date, we took her to brick oven so she could get her free pizza, and apparently not eat a bite of it. Oh well. And today, we went to the doctor for both of the girls and they were declared growing very well and extremely healthy in spite of their bad colds. Here are the stats: Emma at 3 years old weighs almost 33 pounds and is in the 70%, and is 39.5 inches tall and in the 95% super tall and skinny little girl. Lilah at 6 months old weighs just over 15 pounds and is in the 34% and she is just over 26 inches tall and in the 70% another tall and skinny kid, but not as drastically so as her big sister. Even if you aren't worried about your child's health, it is always a relief to know they are doing good. They both got immunizations but we opted out of the flu shot. Luke is still doing good in school. And I am still doing good at home. This time of year is hard for both of us. Winter just keeps dragging on, and all I wish for is blue skies and a warm breeze. It will happen soon enough. I suppose that is about all from us. I am not on facebook anymore, so here is the only place to catch the updates. There are a bunch of pictures and a couple of videos below. Hope you enjoy! Have a great weekend.

Here is Emma testing out her easel.
Checking out her new leap frog stuff with Daddy.
Getting ready to blow out her 3 little candles.
You probably can't read it but they say, "Happy 3rd Birthday Emma!"
Lilah at 6 months messing around with some veggies. PS, I NEVER have let one of my kids get this messy while eating, it was hard not to cringe.
Here is a dang funny video of Emma's color dance, and one of her shakin her peanut to a little old school Salt n Peppa. :)

Invictus

2011-01-13T08:33:00.000-08:00

This is one of the most incredible poems I have ever read. I had never heard of it before we saw the movie (With Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon). It was a really good show with a great message, and caused me to seek out the poem. It is recited in the movie, but I was curious to find out what kind of power it had for Nelson Mandela. If you have never read it, here it is:

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

- William Ernest Henley

I realized what is was. Everyone, for their entire lives, struggles with self-mastery. Everyone has challenges and trials, and horrible things that will undoubtedly affect their lives. Things that makes us want to fall apart, bow down and say, I just can't do this anymore. When that happens though, the thing that gives me strength is knowing that my Savior is waiting there with open arms wanting me to ask for the help that I so desperately need. I am so grateful for my convictions. But that is not actually what I wanted to write about. The last two lines of the poem,

I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.

That is what makes me feel like things are possible. I have always been one of those people that likes to blame other people or things for my lot in life. Definitely not admirable, but that is kind of how I have always been. It's not my fault I suffer with depression, I am fat because it runs through my genetic code, I am onery because of my period, whatever it may be. And truly, some of those things are not my fault, but it is my attitude that is so scary. Yes I may be fat and have depression and be grumpy sometimes, but that does not mean, in any way, that I cannot change those things about myself. If I am having a bad day, I definitely have the ability to stop and change that around.

So here is my one and only New Year's Resolution: be the master of my fate and the captain of my soul. It is huge, but as long as I can at least get started, I will have succeeded.

2011-01-11T09:41:00.000-08:00

This is the first of many Disneyland trips for our complete little family of four! We had a great time, and it was just the thing we all needed before Luke started school again.

2011.

2011-01-04T13:00:00.000-08:00

I realized this morning that I have never done a post on New Year's Eve. Reason being: Because we have never done anything on New Year's Eve. Mostly because of the kiddies or pregnancy related issues. So continuing with tradition, we did the same thing this year. We put our children to sleep at 8pm and watched Inception and Eclipse and played a little trivial pursuit. Luke and I kissed at midnight and discussed what the coming year might entail. Here are some things that happened to us last year:

*Luke had his first hospital stay because of a ruptured spleen and an infection because of said injury. All due to the fact that he was screwing around on a snowboard.

*Emma turned 2 and 2.5 and became a big sister. She is probably the best big sister in the whole world. So loving, and willing to share and never hurtful. Lets hope it sticks :)

*I was extremely ill and on bed rest because of my pregnancy and then had my beautiful baby Lilah in July. I also had surgery on my wrist to remove a cyst.

*Lilah has been smiling since the day she was born, she also turned 5 months old, rolled over, started teething, and loves laughing at her sister.

Here are a few of the things that are going to happen this year:

*First of all, we are going to Disneyland tomorrow. Weird I know. We said we would never go with a baby and bottles and all of that, but she will still sleep a ton, and we just want to. Emma is insanely excited, its all she will talk about, and it will be nice taking her just before she turns 3 so we don't have to pay for her yet :)

*Emma is going to turn 3 and Lilah will turn 6 months around the same day.

*I am determined that Emma WILL be potty trained and maybe Lilah too, just for good measure. HAHA! Wouldn't that be nice!

*Luke will be continuing his education at UVU and getting his bachelor's in the new surveying program they just started. He will be going during the Spring and Fall semesters, but taking the summer off, so we can all have some much needed family time.

*I will be working my butt off and starting to eat crazy healthy. We actually made sure that all the junk food was eaten or thrown away by the beginning of the year. I will be eating many salads (yuck!) and lean proteins and fruits and whole grains. I will miss my junk food greatly, but I am sure I will be much happier. And I will get to a place where I can eat a little again and not go way overboard (Luke and I have both been on a junk food binge as of late). I also figured out a workout routine that has nothing to do with my kids, so my working out doesn't depend on them at all. Translation: if someone doesn't take a nap on time, I can't blame them for not working out. I am quite excited and hope to lose at least 40 pounds by my birthday. That is 4 months away. Hopefully I can do it.

*Emma will be staying in Nursery for another year, but I am actually really glad about that, because all she talks about during Sacrament meeting are going to play with friends and toys. She will actually be moved out of Nursery a few weeks before Lilah is moved into Nursery.

*Lilah will start walking and talking and eating on her own. This year will be a big year for her with lots of developmental milestones. I can't wait to see how things will go :)

So here is to a brand new year. Hoping that it will be filled with challenges and trials so that we may learn and grow, but also filled with many good and happy things. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-28T10:26:00.000-08:00

I have so not wanted to do this, maybe I am just extremely lazy lately. We had a really good Christmas. We spent time with both of our families and most importantly with our little family. That's about all I have to say, sorry lame blog, but maybe the pictures will help :)

Our tree that is mostly dead because our tree stand had a major leak in it, don't worry I didn't figure it our for like two weeks. Our carpet was soaked.
Emma and Lilah on Christmas morning :)
Me loving on my new kitchen stuff.
Luke with his new drill.
Emma in her Minnie dress up outfit.
This is the "ice cream" Emma and I made with her new play dough ice cream maker

Luke's Birthday

2010-12-28T10:18:00.000-08:00

As with every year, it is really hard to find the time to celebrate Luke's birthday because of all the Christmas hubub, but I always try to make it really special. This year, Luke's sister Michelle (love you!!!) watched our girls while we went and saw Tron. I thought it was going to be super lame, but I actually ended up liking it a lot. Then we went to Goodwood and ate some meat. It was pretty good. The potato skins were off the hizo. I had also unintentionally stressed myself out with making Christmas treats because in all of my pre-xmas planning I had forgotten to plan for the fact that I still have a 5 month old babe who needs quite a bit of attention. Oh well, you live and you learn. Next year, only a few treats. Anyway, long story, long, I was too exhausted to make a birthday cake, so we went to the Sweet Tooth Fairy Bakery and just got some cupcakes. They were super good. This is Emma singing to Luke while he makes a wish.

Some recent pictures of the girls.

2010-12-19T15:35:00.000-08:00

I can't ever get the pictures to line up right! :)

2010-12-11T12:05:00.000-08:00

Today I made pumpkin cupcakes. This is pretty much the best pumpkin cupcake I have ever had. I got the recipe off of someone's cupcake blog, I totally don't remember which one, and I made them, and made a few changes, and BAM, best thing ever. I had made these particular cupcakes a few weeks ago for Luke's Thanksgiving work party and they were such a huge hit. His friend Josh from work said, "Ask your wife if she will make me a batch of those. I will totally pay for the ingredients and for her time. Just ask her how much she wants." HAPPY! I have never been paid for my baking skills before! It's only $20, but that will definitely buy something good. Or, help us pay our rent :) This was just such a huge thing for me that I had to blog about it. I have had a couple people joke around about me doing their holiday baking and paying me for it, but to have someone who was actually serious was such an incredible thing for me. One sheet pan is for him, and the other is for family dinner tomorrow. Happy Saturday!

2010-12-10T14:13:00.001-08:00

So I totally had a duh moment and an epiphany at the same time today. Emma was once again crying for cookies. We usually don't let her have any at all unless she finishes all of her lunch or dinner, and even then we give her low sugar ones like animal crackers or those healthy organic baby ones. But, making sugar cookies at home kinda puts a damper on my neatly crafted little plan. She knows they are around, she totally helped make them, and until they are gone and she sees the empty container, she will still keep asking for them. So here is my "dumb dumb" epiphany for the day: If there aren't any cookies around, she won't ask for them! I know, so retarded! So since I am going to be on a healthy kick anyhow, I think after the holidays are over I will cease baking at all for a few months, unless I am doing super healthy, whole wheat, oat bran banana muffins. Those she can eat. Especially those, because she calls them cake :) Maybe thats what I will make for her birthday in January instead of cake! I am such an evil genius! Muuuahhhahahaha! Speaking of ingenious ideas, we keep all of Emma's clothes in her dresser, so we use her closet as storage space, and currently it is semi-empty. About every other inch of space in our apartment is occupied. So Emma's closet is where I keep the Christmas presents! They are right under her nose! I am sooooo sneaky.

Cookie Time.

2010-12-09T10:30:00.000-08:00

Every Christmas, no matter what other goodies I plan on making for the holiday season, things that I don't necessarily want "help" with, I always make sugar cookies so Emma can help. This was the first year that she actually decorated instead of just eating everything :) We had a lot of fun while Lilah was busy napping.

What we have been up to...

2010-12-05T15:35:00.000-08:00

We had thanksgiving first with Luke's family, and then we drove up to my brother's condo in Herriman for thanksgiving dinner there. Both were fun and both were yummy. Although for some strange reasons I was really glad I wasn't hosting this year and there would be no leftovers for us. I really wasn't feeling the turkey or pie. Like I said, super strange. Lilah also turned four months old and we went for her routine check up, she was 13 lbs 1 oz (40%), 24 inches long (43%), and 16.3 inches for her head circumference (63% - yeah she has a big head). She also had her first ear infection and we all did pretty good considering I had never dealt with that before, and she was actually pretty calm. Lilah got her first taste of "real" food if you can call it that, I think it smells nasty. She hated the rice cereal though, so I tried oatmeal, she hated that, so I mixed some oatmeal with apples, and she gobbled it right up :) Emma has also recently really gotten into the spirit of Christmas, she tells Jesus, Happy Birthday, and she loves to watch The Polar Express and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. She was also extremely stoked to decorate our fresh pine tree. And was equally impressed by the fact that we could actually have a tree in our house! We went to temple square on December 1st, and decided that will have to be a new tradition, there were not a whole lot of people there so it was really nice and we could take our time. Except it was totally freezing that night, it was a lot of fun. And a HUGE shout out to my mother in law, Sandy who made my lovely pink scarf, it seriously kept me so warm, so thank you, thank you, thank you! Lilah would get mad when we would try to put a blanket over her carrier, she just wanted to see the lights and be a part of things. When we left, Emma cried the whole way home saying, "I don't want Christmas to be over yet!" We tried to explain to her that there were still a lot of fun holiday things left to do, but sadly she was inconsolable. Since then, we have been decorating, and listening to Christmas music and shopping and wrapping gifts. That's about all. And sorry about the picture overload, it's been awhile since I last blogged. I am now going to go enjoy the yummy smell of my tree and the beautiful Christmas lights with my little family.Emma eating the snow at Temple Square.
Do you love the couple posing in the background of our picture?

Little snow bunny.
The pink lights are my very favorite.

Emma in the visitors center.
Lilah's first food experience :)
Snuggling with Grandpa J. and playing with Ryan's rocks on Thanksgiving Day.
Me and Rachel.

Lilah and Grandpa

Jacobs Annual Family Pictures

2010-11-20T15:10:00.000-08:00

Every year we take family pictures with my side of the family. This year, the pictures of me were not so hot, but the good thing is, there is always next year! HAHA! Anyhow, here are a couple pictures of my insanely beautiful little girls :)

Happy Anniversary-ness.

2010-11-11T15:30:00.000-08:00

So four years ago on Tuesday, Luke and I knelt across from each other in the Timpanogos Temple and decided we were going to stick together forever and for always. That was the absolute best decision I have ever made. And I am sure Luke would say the same thing. We have had some serious struggles and some things in our lives that probably would make other people say, "I'm out." But no matter what, we have stayed by each other during the good times and the bad. We had a wonderful day shopping and eating, and just celebrating our marriage. And we wrapped it all up by singing our girls to sleep, which seemed quite fitting. Here are some pictures of us while we were waiting for our food. The lighting is bad, and we were playing with the settings on our camera so they are kinda fuzzy, but you can tell how much fun we were having :)

Milestones.

2010-11-11T15:24:00.000-08:00

So today Lilah rolled over for the first time. She rolled over completely from her tummy to her back, and then this is a picture of her rolling from her back to her tummy. It was a very good attempt, but I am not sure it counts yet because she is still struggling to pull that arm out from under her :) She was trying so hard though, and Luke, Emma and I were all around her saying, "Go Lilah Go!" Good times.

Our Crazy Three Days of Halloween

2010-10-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

We had a ward Halloween activity, we did trick or treating on Main Street in Springville with Emma's cousins, and then on Saturday we went trick or treating at the Provo and Orem Malls. We also tried to do a few houses around in our neighborhood with some friends, but we got seriously rained and even hailed on. I was soaked from head to toe in the 7 minutes that it took us to get home. Emma had fun though and woke up this morning saying, "We goes trick or treating wif friends today?" and I said, "There's no more trick or treating until next year." Yeah, that didn't go over so well.

Emma at the mall collecting all of her loot :)
Tiny little Nike Shox that we got when Emma was born. Thanks Kyle!
Lilah LOVES to stand up.
Emma, Lilah, Afton & Charlotte

Happy Things.

2010-10-27T08:09:00.000-07:00

So I am trying to be less negative (which is totally my nature) and more positive (which is not my nature) Hopefully this will help the depression status and make my outlook on life better :) So here are a few happy things:

* My wrist is healing up nicely. The infection is all gone and I can bend it even more than I could last week.

* Lilah usually sleeps at least 6 hours at a time, sometimes 7. But last night she slept for 8 hours and 45 minutes! Wahoo! And then When she goes back down by 7am, she sleeps again until 10am, even when Emma barges into her room in search of Daddy's car book :)

* Emma is so sweet with Lilah. She is always wanting to hold her and feed her.

* Lilah smiles and laughs all the time at my silly faces.

* My prozac is starting to work! Yeah!

* I have the most amazing, loving, gifted, hard working, wonderful husband in the world.

* Even though Fall is my favorite time of year, and I have been enjoying the leaves and cool weather lately, it snowed last night and I woke up and was surprisingly very excited. Reason why: snow means it is that much closer to Christmas, which is my favorite holiday!

* Between the ward party and trick or treating with Emma, we are having three days of Halloween starting on Thursday. And Luke actually gets to be here for one of them!

* It is supposed to be sunny and 60 ish degrees on Thursday and Friday and only a few showers on Saturday.

* I have a ton of acquaintances, but I don't have a lot of friends, but the few that I do have are really great. I know that if I ever needed anything, that I could totally call them and they would be there in a second.

* I have great parents and great in-laws.

That's about all I can think of right now. Have a happy day.

2010-09-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

So surgery on Wednesday went well. I am in quite a bit of pain, but it should be tapering off soon. Lilah is two months old today and is such a joy to have around. I think she is growing well, but we will find out in a few days are her 2 month well check up visit. Here are some pictures of her a couple of days ago, I finally caught a smile! Life is happy :)

The children were nestled all snug in their beds...

2010-09-16T20:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, both of my kids are down for the night and it's only 9pm! Yeah! Lilah will be up at 4am, but that's awhile off. I am savoring the quiet right now :) I am also savoring some chocolate orange rice pudding that I made which is super delish. I love me a little treat after the kiddies are asleep. Anyway, here is whats new with us...

Luke has been in school for a couple weeks now, and after the summer break, the first few weeks are always the hardest. He is having a rough time adjusting to only 3 or 4 hours of sleep a night and this week he even had to put in 60 hours at work. Poor guy! We are trying to keep things happy at home, like making his favorite peanut butter cookies for him to take to work :)

I don't know what is up with me, but apparently I get all the freak stuff. I am having a giant cyst cut out of my wrist next Wednesday because every time I bend my wrist the cyst pinches my nerves and it gets quite painful. They asked me if I just wanted my arm numbed, or if I wanted to be knocked out completely. Hello! KNOCK ME OUT! I don't want to be tempted to look over at my hand all cut open. Ew. I also have tendonitis in my shoulder, because I started exercising and it flared up, again. I got a shot of cortizone, but that just seemed to make it worse. I was told it should be better in a couple of weeks. Until then, I am trying to not be bitter about having to abstain from the exercise world. I was so desperate for some endorphins I tried to walk without swinging my arms at all. If you want an awkward experience that requires waaaaay too much thinking, that would be it :)

Emma is, well, she is 2.5. That's really all you need to say. She is super independent and has a stubborn streak in her a mile wide. The worst is trying to brush her teeth. Which by the way, did you know at that age, you are supposed to be flossing their teeth if they touch? If I tried that, Emma would bite my hand off! She is really cute though and starting to put together her own sentences. The other day I told her Afton (her cousin) was coming over to play, and she said, "Afton coming to play with ME?! YEAH!" And when Lilah starts to cry, she goes over and says, "Whasa matter Lala? It's ok." So adorable.

Lilah is as precious as ever :) She really is such a wonderful happy baby. She is starting to make the cutest little noises. Her favorite positions are, surprisingly, sitting up or standing up. She only likes to be held in the crook of the arm if she is being fed or falling asleep.

Anyhow, that is about all for our little family. I will now go fold some laundry and get some much needed sleep!

2010-09-05T14:36:00.000-07:00

Today Luke was able to bless our little daughter Lilah in church. It was a happy day filled with good memories, family, and friends. Here's some pictures of the guest of honor :)

We tried to get Emma in this picture but she was super grouchy today and not in a posing sort of mood. Also featured: my new cut and color, I feel like I am slowly starting to look human again :)
A tired little girl that was full of yawns :)

The back of her dress...
The front of her dress...
and her tiny little feet.

2010-09-03T08:22:00.000-07:00

I was able to go to the temple yesterday with my wonderful husband courtesy of our great neighbors, Tim & Jessica who volunteered to watch our kids. It had been awhile since we had gone, and we were both having kind of a crappy day, and thought what a great place to go and serve when you are feeling down. We had such a great time and had an amazing feeling of peace when we got home. :)

2010-08-29T18:24:00.000-07:00

We love it when Mike and Deb offer to take pictures for us because they are always so good! This was when Lilah was about 3 weeks old. Here are some of my favorites. Thanks Deb! We love you guys! :)

2010-08-17T07:40:00.000-07:00

I just hafta say, I LOVE the movie PS I Love You! It is so good and I cry every time I watch it. It is one of those movies that is so sad but so happy at the same time, like The Notebook, or Time Traveler's Wife. Not to mention, that Gerard Butler is the hottest thing ever, and all of his singing in this movie just makes it even better :) So, if you haven't seen it, go out and rent it. Or maybe not since every movie store is out of business except for redbox, so just come and borrow it from me.

Anyhow, I figured it was time for an update. Things are going really well for us. Having two children is so not as hard as I was expecting it to be. Probably the hardest thing is rotating both kids' schedules like feeding around each other so that they don't end up crying at the same time and I have a meltdown. But, other than that, it is good. I am really happy :) I also "started" my exercising officially yesterday. Since I have vowed to start off easy so as not to give myself unnecessary injuries, we went walking up the bridal veil trail. We went a lot farther than I thought we would, and only turned back because Emma was getting tired and cranky. In addition to this new half-exercising each day, I have started eating better too. More fruits, some veggies (since I hate them), whole grains, and not so much sugary treats - so hard for me! I love my desserts! I don't ever deprive myself if I really want it, but just enjoy in moderation.

We took Lilah for her two week appointment and she had gained back all the weight she lost and was tipping the scales at 7 lbs 13 oz. She had also grown 1 1/2 inches. She was in the 35% which is a lot smaller than Emma was at 2 weeks at the 90%. I can't help comparing them especially since they were the same weight at birth. Who knows, maybe I will have one really tall kid and one little shorty :)

Luke starts school on the 25th. We are both seriously nervous. He has school Monday through Friday and is still working full time. He is nervous about only getting 3 hours of sleep on the nights when he has both work and school in the morning, about his classes - because they are supposed to be some of the hard ones, and about having time to get everything done and still be with his family. I am nervous about doing everything myself. Luke will literally never be home and so I will be feeling like a single parent. I will also be getting up with Lilah all night every night by myself. I am starting that right now so I can get used to it, and I gotta say, I'm not loving it. But, we both do what we have to. Only 4 more semesters to go.

Anyhow, I think that is about all that's going on.

2010-08-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

So yesterday round about 7pm, Emma smacked Lilah on the head with her play stroller. It was a total accident, but the damage was done. Lilah has two big scratches down her head and a nice big red bump. She screamed for about ten minutes, but I would too if someone hit me in the head. After about 30 minutes of serious debate on whether I was overreacting or not, I called the after hours pediatrician place and asked some questions. They told me I could either bring her in to be checked out, or I could wake her up every 20 minutes, all night. So I called Luke to come home from work since we only have one car, and I took her in. They examined her and said that she looked fine, but they wanted to do a cat scan to make sure there were no fractures or hemorrhaging. So we went down to UVRMC and I put my precious baby girl on a table so they could radiate her. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to watch. I cried the whole time. We got the results an hour later and Lilah was declared normal, but we were still to watch her for anything unusual. I was so happy she was fine, but still so upset that my little two week old was subjected to unnecessary radiation. But Luke reminded me that its better to be safe than sorry.

The past week...

2010-08-10T10:21:00.000-07:00

Emma got a fat lip from falling into the empty bathtub face first. This is her first real injury.
Emma climbs into Lilah's crib quite often to try and bounce her or steal her bunny.
Us hanging out at discovery park in PG.

Luke and Emma enjoying the massive rain and thunderstorm we had a few days ago.

Luke cuddling his newest baby girl.
Emma sporting my sandals and purse.
This is the tail end of one of Lilah's smiles :)
This is Emma laying all over the bookshelf.

Lilah Elizabeth Moore

2010-07-28T17:12:00.000-07:00

Here's how it happened: I was finally able to be induced on Monday, July 26th. We went in at 10am after dropping Emma off at Aunt Annie's. They broke my water, got my IV started - which was harder than it should've been. They finally had to call in someone special to do it, like they usually do with me, but I now have massive bruises on both hands because of the nurses that "tried" so many times before the one that succeeded. I was started on pitocin at 11:30am and was at 2cm, had a couple of contractions at got my epidural at noon. Why wait? If you are going to get it, you should just get it. After that, I slept and watched Rachel Ray much to Luke's dismay, but I was the one in labor so I got to pick :) Then at 2:30pm I was at a 6, and at 3:15pm I was fully dilated and started to push. Lilah was born at 3:31pm. She weighed in at 7 pounds, 5 ounces - exactly what Emma weighed, but she was one inch shorter than Emma at 19 inches long. She has tons of hair and is so adorable. Things went well for me too. I just got an itty bitty episiotomy and I am doing great. Super tired, but great :)

My giant belly at 40 weeks and 1 day.
Little baby Lilah
Me and my two best girls :)

Emma totally passed out on the hospital couch in my room.
Giving her new sister hugs and kisses.

Such a good daddy.

Emma was being a total pill, but we just tried to go with it.

My Tuesday.

2010-07-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

Here is what is new with me. I had to stop taking my vitamins for depression. Reason: because I would take them at night so that I didn't have to burp up fish oil (which if you have you know that it is revolting on a good day). So that flew out the window about 3 months ago when I had to get up in the night to pee about a thousand times, and started to taste it in the night and threw up a bunch. I had been doing really good with the sadness until a few weeks ago and then a few days ago, it got really bad. So, I broke down and asked for an anti depressant. I know it will help now and for the first couple of months when the postpartum stuff is so bad you want to scream. And then I can go back on my vitamins since they work so well. Anyways, on Saturday I was given a dosage that was too high for me, probably due to the bad condition I was in, and it put me in a really bad place. Lets just say I was so sick I couldn't even think about being depressed. I only got out of my bed to use the bathroom. I barely ate, I threw up, headaches, body aches, the works. It went on like that until Monday afternoon when I knew that I had to get something resolved because it wasn't normal. So, I got put on a much lower dose and was told I should start feeling more normal in 48 hours. Normal! Yeah! I can go back to barely moving instead of not moving at all :) Seriously though, I am super grateful that they figured out what was bothering me because as much as I want this baby out, I would not want to do it feeling like that. Speaking of which, in the midst of all this, Sunday at 1am I started having contractions, and they slowly got worse and worse. I was told to wait until they were 60 seconds long to come in, but after about 8 hours, they started to taper off. So disappointed. Oh well. I only have 14 days exactly until induction day. I am hoping she will come out before then, but I am super scared that I won't get to the hospital in time. I am so so so grateful to my sister in law Annie for offering to tend Emma anytime, day or night for the big day. It is such a relief to know that Emma will have some place to be where she is comfortable and happy. She has so much fun with her two girls. :) Anyways, that's about all for now. If I feel up to it, I will try to take a picture of the belly and post it.

The hits just keep on coming...

2010-07-08T14:02:00.000-07:00

So I thought I would do a happy fourth of July post before this one since it is not so cheery. I don't even know why I am surprised that bad things keep happening to me. It seems to be the natural pattern of our life. Once again, we are sick. Yup. Wanna know how? One guess: Nursery. I am so freaking tired of stupid parents taking their dumb sick kids to church just for the sake of not wanting to miss a meeting. Don't they know that it just gets spread around and comes back to them? I guess not. It's not a huge deal this time because we all just have a cold. Of course Emma got the worst of it, and with that comes irritability, no appetite, and a bad sleeping schedule. All things that we could definitely have done without. For me, it just means less sleep at night. About 3 hours to be exact. Between all the peeing and not being able to breathe, my body just gives up after awhile. I used to watch the clock and anxiously await bedtime just so I could escape all the pain I have during the day, but no more. And I can only nap during the day when Luke is here because I am scared to death that Emma will find another way out of the apartment and run away again. Although I can't say I blame her. I wouldn't want to hang out with me either. Oh, and the best part is, the few visitors that I did have, can't come anymore. I mean, would you want to go visit someone only to leave with a cold? I sure wouldn't. So being confined to my apartment and bed most of the time just got worse. And I didn't think it was possible. The one bright spot in this was tomorrow, our insurance company (weird I know) is doing a "best customers" promo thing where they rented out a theater and were going to show the new twilight movie, which of course I haven't seen yet. They are having snacks and a giveaway and its all free. I was so looking forward to going and Luke was even going to be a good sport and go with me. But now we can't have anyone watch Emma because of her green boogey situation. I guess it's probably for the best anyway. I probably would've had a hard time sitting through it. My depression has taken a considerable dive. I am not even sure Luke knows how bad it is. I try to not tell him because I know he worries about me so much, but he sees through all my crap most of the time. He just left for work. It took all of the energy that I possess not to jump into his arms and beg him not to leave me. He has been my anchor through all of this, but even he can't fix it. So, I let him go. We need the money so badly. So the rule is, if I can physically take care of myself and Emma, then he has to go to work. Especially because there are so many times where I can't take care of myself let alone Emma, that he has to stay home. It's been very rough, but hopefully it will be over soon. On the upside, maybe I will go into labor tonight, but probably not. Oh well.

2010-07-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

Here is what our 4th of July weekend looked like. These pictures are all out of sequence. On Saturday we went for a little drive around Provo. On Sunday we had a BBQ with my family and did fireworks. On Monday we went and visited with Jennie and her kids for a bit before they left town. Luke, Emma and I had a lot of fun, but I sure paid for it. I could barely move most of Monday and all day Tuesday. That's how it goes when you do stuff you know you shouldn't.

Clayton, Emma and Asia
Fireworks
Rachel and her boyfriend Micah and Emma
Luke and I
Emma and Rachel
S'Mores brownies that Luke and I made.
Emma looking cheesy and eating chips.
Ems smiling for the camera.

So Aggravated.

2010-07-02T13:40:00.000-07:00

I just got back from my weekly appointment and I am quite peeved. After waiting for an hour because they were behind in their schedule, a well meaning nurse is taking my weight and blood pressure and says to me, "So, you're almost 35 weeks huh?" And I said, "What? I am almost 37 weeks along." So she checks her little laptop and that's what it says. So I talk to the midwife that I am seeing that day, and said that this doesn't really add up with the whole first day of my last cycle thing, and all the ultrasounds that have been done. When I was at 20 weeks and we found out it was a girl, to my knowledge, that was the last time they changed my due date to July 25th. Now they are saying it is August 5th. So she checks out my uterus and I am measuring to exactly 37 weeks. So I said, "Are you going to change it back to the 25th?" And she said, "Well, it's a little late in the game to be changing due dates, so we'll just leave it as it is." So normally I wouldn't be so upset by this. Babies come when they are good and ready. But, I wanted to be induced at 39 weeks, which is the earliest they would do it. But now, my induction of "39 weeks" is set for the 28th of July. Which will put me at 40 weeks and 3 days. Awesome. If I wasn't in so much pain, and we didn't live 1/2 hour from the hospital in which I am required to deliver at for insurance reasons, and if I didn't have a 2 year old that I have to find someone to watch her before I can go anywhere, I wouldn't care. But those are all the reasons I REALLY wanted to be induced. Now I am very upset. But, hopefully things will work out and I will be able to get to the hospital in time to get some drugs, and find someone to watch Emma. Yet another reason why I am so wanting to be done with two kids.

2010-06-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

Does nail cutting time ever look like this at your house? You would think we were cutting her toes off by the way she lets loose. Her hair looks like that from all the tears. Sad, but necessary.

My Days Are Getting Longer.

2010-06-25T14:24:00.000-07:00

Another OB appointment come and gone. Nothing new. Except for the extreme pain I am constantly in, I am totally healthy and so is baby. I have about 4 weeks until my due date, and about 3 weeks until they will induce me. Which I will definitely do if she doesn't bust out before then. By the end of the end of next week I will be 37 weeks and be considered full term. Interesting side note, if you are not planning on breast feeding, after your baby is born, they will give you pitocin/oxytocin to help contract your uterus, I never knew that. People are vicious about bottle feeding. I was reading an article in one of the parenting mags at the OB office and I was kind of appalled. Several women were saying that choosing to give your baby formula over the breast was akin to feeding your baby poison. Horrible huh? Especially to the women who have no control or not over whether they can breast feed. I say talk to me when you have had depression so bad you almost killed yourself, or a breast reduction because of chest pain. I was one who decided to bottle feed right from the start with my first baby. I came to realize that my health was severely at risk and that I could not do it. It is a personal choice for every woman and every situation is so different. People still give me weird looks when I say I don't breastfeed, but whatever. I know why, they don't need to, and they can judge if they want. I was also told to drink caffeine for my headaches. I am not a soda drinker and so I totally forgot that people do that. We shall see if it works for me. Anyways, I must go and lie down again.

The Usual Update...

2010-06-16T12:20:00.000-07:00

My life begins and ends with my bed. I usually can't even get out of bed until 10am because of the intense pains I now have. Because of my crazy sensitive uterus, the bigger Lilah gets, the more I hurt. And this is just her normal rolling around, she isn't an overly active baby, it feels like knives. Each time I start hurting, I just wish to be in labor. I know it will hurt a lot more, but at least then it would be over. It is getting to the point where I spend most of my day laying down instead of sitting in the recliner. I crave the outside world and sometimes I make Luke take me on short car rides. But we always turn around and come home when I can't stand the pain anymore, and am wishing that I hadn't gone at all. We eat a lot of PB&J because that is something I can make for Emma and I that takes about ten seconds. Each time Luke leaves for work, I wonder how I will make it through the night. Emma understands a little bit I think, and is trying to be so good for me most of the time. But, I know she gets frustrated with being in the house so much too. The problem is, she has been so clingy ever since we moved in here. I think she thinks we might leave her here and never come back. In any event, it makes it really hard for people who want to take her out places because she never wants to leave without mommy or daddy. Rough. I have 39 days left. Anyways, Art City Days in Springville was this past weekend and Luke took Emma for just a little bit. (I think he is scared to leave me here alone for very long. Plus I get really lonely.) Emma had a blast at Mike & Deb's photo booth and with their two boys. She always thinks little boys are so funny! In some of the pictures it looks like I gave birth to Harry Potter's baby :)

34 weeks.

2010-06-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

What's New? Absolutely NOTHING!

2010-06-07T10:24:00.000-07:00

Lately Emma has decided that she will remind us exactly what its like to have a newborn around. She cries when we leave the room, she screams for everything - dinner, bath, nap time, bed time - you name it, she wakes up at least twice in the night crying and usually comes to get us, then she finally gets up and won't go back to sleep at 6am. In our old apartment the part of the door knob that was in her room was broken so she couldn't get out unless we got her. That was awesome! In this apartment, we have the horizontal knobs, not the round ones. So, after much searching, we found one of the illusive child safety locks for these weird door knobs (cost = $16 each). Luke brings it home, and it doesn't fit. He tries to reposition the door knob and it still doesn't fit. So we return it to the store and resign ourselves to getting up a hundred times a night. Then Luke had a flash of genius! We have three doors that lock, kids bathroom, our bathroom and our bedroom. So he takes the door knob off our bathroom and switches it with Emma's door knob, but he puts the push lock on the outside! It is awesome! Now she has to stay in there all the time until we get her. One problem solved. We also decided that we can't potty train her right now. Because I physically can't do it, and Luke is gone so much. So we will try a few months after Lilah is born and things get settled down. Hopefully she will be so ready that it will be like nothing. As for me, I have given up. It seems that everything I enjoy doing has been taken from me. I find myself staring at the wall for hours at a time, and just thinking about what a miserable existence this is. This really is BED rest. If I sit up for too long I start to really hurt and I have to lay down. Luke is in charge of everything. Cooking, cleaning, working, errands, grocery shopping, Emma stuff, taking care of me. All he wants from me is to try and be happy, but he understands why I can't. Before I got put on bed rest, I had only gained 9 pounds my whole pregnancy. I had really been trying to watch my portion control and not over indulge in things. But now that all I can do is lay around, I find myself eating just for something to do. So sad. And also, my appetite has increased an insane amount. What the heck. In the last 2 weeks, I have gained 4 pounds. That is a lot for me! If I keep this up, I am looking at another 14 pounds before I am done! Ew. Some of you would say, that is not so much, but with Emma I gained 35 pounds on top of being over weight before hand. I was determined not to do that this time. It seems like no matter how prepared I am going into pregnancy I always get knocked flat. Pity party for one? I know I would feel better if I could just go out and serve someone but when I can barely take care of myself that doesn't really seem like an option. Boo.

Here is the latest.

2010-06-03T19:12:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning with a whole ton of pain in belly region. So, I thought it would go away, and naturally, it did not. I called into the OB office and they rushed me right in. They checked my pee twice and my cervix twice - such a joy. Then I got an ultrasound in which everything was pronounced fine. I am thinning, which is normal, but not dilating, which is good. No preterm labor. Prognosis: my uterus sucks. I have all this pain for no reason except that one. Solution: pelvic and complete bed rest for the next 3 weeks, and then if I feel slightly better (which they don't think I should) then I am allowed to go back to partial bed rest. Lucky me! They might induce me early because this is seriously awful, but who knows. We are going to take it week by week. But really, it is such a relief to know that nothing is wrong, yet (knock on wood) and that I just have to sit here and take it. Anyways, that is the latest.

A Flood of Posts.

2010-06-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

I am probably going to blog a lot more than I normally do just because sitting at the computer for 15 minutes and composing is actually something that I can do, only if I lay down right after. Today I packed my hospital bag. Way too early you may say? I agree. But, soon I may not be able to do anything so I am getting it done now. Also, I am bringing a duffel bag to the hospital. Is that way too big? It has all of my stuff and some for Luke and some for Lilah. Oh well, they can think that I am staying forever :) I have also instructed Luke on where to find all the last minute stuff in case I am seriously out of it. I am going to make one freezer meal a day for the next week as long as I don't hurt too bad. But really, I can feel myself getting worse. I rode in the car yesterday, to get books from my mom, from Provo to Orem and by the time we came back my belly was killing me. Rough. I also got my new recipe box done! I had previously had all my recipes in a binder. But, when I am constantly testing and changing recipes, it isn't such a great idea to have said recipe on a page with 6 other recipes. So, I have returned to the recipe box and I love it. Its just in a tupperware, but I have everything organized the way that I want. And Luke said one day he will make me a really nice mahogany box to put everything in. He does love me :) I had also had hopes to finish the aprons I started to sew for Emma and I, but I am not sure if I will be able to. I am up to date on all of my scrapbooks, and I now journal at least once a week. This is me trying to look on the positive side.

So bored.

2010-05-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

I am so bored. That is basically it. If anyone has any ideas as to what I could do with all my "resting" time please let me know! But, it can't include books or movies and I have to be able to do it around a 2.5 year old. I am starting to get down. I cry every day. Is it hormones or my current environment? Who knows. I also recently acquired a cold and then felt the need to share it with my family. They too are sick. We are quarantined in our new apartment. Life is currently a bummer.

2010-05-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

I am now on partial bed rest, with the promise that things will get worse before the end comes. This is the news I was given at my appointment today. Yeah! I am basically allowed to walk to and from the car, around the house, cook like 2 meals a week - if that doesn't bother my tummy, and that's all. I cannot get groceries, or go for a walk, or take Emma to the park, or clean anything, or lift Emma, or enjoy my life for the next two months. I am also supposed to be laying or sitting as much as possible while I am at home. I know that some people would be like - "Hey, super cool you get a free pass to do nothing for awhile!" But, those who have had hard pregnancies, or have been on bed rest know that it is not so happy to be confined to certain places. Movies get old, books get old, you never want company because you always look horrendous. Also my poor, tired, already over-worked husband is having to pick up all the slack. He has been completely wonderful and gracious about everything, and constantly keeps assuring me that I am not a burden. But if it were me, and I got very little sleep at night, I would be so tired of shouldering all the responsibility by myself. I am trying so hard not to get down about it. The good news, is that Lilah is perfect. She is growing well and has a super strong heart beat. And no matter how hard this is for us, we will soon have a new little member of our family and that will be worth all it took to get her here :) Please pray for us. It is only 8 weeks, but it will feel like an eternity.

Our New Casa.

2010-05-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

So this is our new apartment. We love it! We moved in last Saturday and had everything unpacked by Tuesday. I hate being in a place with clutter. I can't have boxes sitting around for weeks and weeks. Plus it just doesn't feel like home until all of your stuff is out. Anyway, here are some pictures for your enjoyment. :)
Living Room.
Living Room.
Our Bathroom.
Kids Bathroom.
Dining Room.
Kitchen.
Kitchen.

Emma's Room.
Emma's Room.
Lilah's Room.
Our Bedroom.
Our Bedroom.

A Happy Day :)

2010-05-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

Luke had the weekend off, so we went on a drive up to squaw peak. Emma had never been and thought it was really cool. It was very windy!

Looking quite windblown and quite pregnant!

2010-05-07T12:07:00.000-07:00

So the verdict is in, and I don't have gestational diabetes! Yeah! I can always breathe a little easier after I get those results. But, there is some bad news along with that. Even with my ever present back pain, I was still jazzed to go walking outside with Emma once the weather warmed up. But it turns out that I won't be doing that. Every time I would try to go for a walk, and mind you - this is slow, pregnant lady walking - not like power walking :) But every time I went out even for 5 minutes I would get stabbing pains all across my belly and have to return home. I tried this out about 15 times in the last month wondering if maybe I was just seriously out of shape. But each time produced the same result, incredible pain. It even happened one time while I was walking through the grocery store with Luke and Emma. So while I was at my OB visit last week, I asked about that and they said I have an over-extended uterus. They said it is very uncommon, especially in women who have only had one other child. When it does happen it is usually to women who are on their 6th, 8th, 10th, child...It is what it sounds like. My uterus is extremely worn out and tired for some reason. So obviously they told me that I am not allowed to walk any where any more. That is a serious downer for me, but I am trying to remember that I only have 11 weeks left and I can deal with that. It also came with some other potentially bad news that we are still trying to process and don't really want to share yet. Needless to say, my depression has been kind of on the bad side lately. On a happier note though, we are moving in a week. Luke and I are both thrilled. Not only because we will have 1150 sq feet, 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, but because we have horrible neighbors and we live in the ghetto. We are gunna be soooo glad to be rid of them! Also, Emma has recently learned how to count to ten all by herself and does it quite often :) Anyhow, that is about all the news for now.

2010-05-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

My belly at 28 weeks. Apparently I will always be wearing a black shirt when I take these pictures!

Good News Minute.

2010-05-02T11:19:00.000-07:00

Here is our good news: Luke aced his finals. Lilah weighs over 2 lbs and is 15 inches long. Arika only has 12 weeks left of pregnancy. Our friend Chantel had her new baby this weekend and we get to go see her. Luke gets to be home for the next few days and we get to have lots of family time. School is done for the semester! Emma tickled her bear Carter the other day. Lilah is dancing in my belly right now while we are listening to Disney songs :) The End.

What a Cutie!

2010-04-26T06:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Emma was trying to watch a Mickey Mouse show on tv, and Luke and I were having a conversation. Apparently we were talking to loudly, and so Emma shushed us. We didn't know she was talking directly to us, so we went about our conversing. She does it again, and after no response or quieting from us, she comes over, puts her finger to each of our lips and says, "SHUSH!" Then, while we are busting up from the assertiveness of our little girl, she starts to sing the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song. It was so cute, and she knows almost all the words. She also now points to my belly and says, "Baby LaLa." That's the best she can do with Lilah. :) I love her, so much. She is such a huge bright spot in my day and my life.

2010-04-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

So this year for Easter, we decided to take Emma out to the Orem City Easter Egg Hunt. It takes place at Mountain View High School, and I think it's super cool because they divide it up into age ranges. So Emma was in the 0-3 range. We woke up the Saturday before Easter and it was freezing. We still went. Emma had a very hard time being patient when the eggs were right there in front of her, especially with it being so cold and the wind blowing in her face. They said they would start at 9am sharp, so we got there a half hour early, they didn't start until like 9:30am. There were people lining up behind us, and when they finally blew the whistle, a lady behind me totally knocked me down. Don't worry that I am pregnant or anything. She was holding a nine month old baby and running and plowing down little kids so she could get a bunch of free candy for her self, not her tiny babe. If you are that hard up, come to my house and I will give you some. There were actually a lot of parents that were grabbing stuff for their kids. I had to grab an egg for Emma just so she would get one. It made me feel sad because it ruins it for the kids when the parents act that way. Oh well, Emma seemed to have fun, and that's why we went. She also really enjoyed her Easter basket too.

2010-04-07T08:04:00.000-07:00

So this is the 2 weeks that Luke has off of work, not by choice, but because the economy is so bad. Hey, it's totally better than being laid off. Anyway, so he has been catching up on his homework a bunch which is great because the semester is over in 3 weeks. We also decided that he should take a break for summer (we were debating whether or not he should go for the summer semester). So only 3 weeks and then Luke will be home a lot more for the next 4 months at least.

Emma is good. She asks 'what's that' a lot, and she wonders where daddy is always going. She gives the belly hugs and kisses and says 'hi baby'. It is so cute. She is going to be such a great big sister. We are also potty training her this weekend, which we are hoping will go smooth because she now asks to sit on the big potty even though nothing happens yet. We are trying out the method where she is totally naked for 3 days. It's supposed to launch kids right into it. We'll see how it goes. We have never done this before. She also loves to sing and play the piano with me.

As for me, I am just heading into the 'so sick of being pregnant phase.' Always enjoyable. It has been much better than the first one, as far as throwing up goes, but much worse as far as heartburn and back pain go. I have been to the chiropractor 3 times so far and I never stay adjusted. Reason: because my babies always like my spine more than my belly button. If I sit around all day and do nothing, I am totally fine. But every time I try to clean the kitchen or clean the bathroom, or go for a walk, my back just spasms and I have to spend the rest of the day on the heating pad and basically not moving. Yesterday was the third time that has happened. The only way to fix it, is to be not pregnant anymore. Too bad that is another 15 weeks away. My depression is only a tenth of what is was last time, but I am starting to get so frustrated with myself. I feel like I might as well be on bed rest. I can't clean, I can rarely cook - because most smells nauseate me, I can't exercise, and I am just tired and nauseated enough that I never want to go anywhere. I am just tired of feeling so grumpy and weepy and unmotivated. And even though I know it will all go away in 4 months, it still seems so far away. Boo. I am grumpy. If anyone has words of encouragement, they would be so appreciated. I know Luke is probably about out of encouraging words by now! :)

2010-03-25T16:02:00.000-07:00

The coolest thing happened today. Instead of getting up at the butt crack of dawn to get ready and go to school, Luke decided to sleep in a little today. He rolled over this morning to give me cuddles, which he never gets to do because he is usually gone, anyways, so he puts his hand on my belly and he felt the baby kicking for the very first time. :) He was so excited and was sad when she stopped bumping around. That is my absolute favorite part of being pregnant. For me it is real from the moment I see the plus sign. But for Luke it takes awhile to feel like it is all actually happening, and one of the big steps for him is feeling the baby for the first time. We were both so happy because if he had gotten up on time for school, he would have already been gone and missed this. Even though I had one of those really rough pregnancy days today (really hard vomiting, bleeding throat, no appetite, intense fatigue, and aches) that totally got everything started off on a good note.

BIG NEWS!

2010-03-08T08:46:00.000-08:00

So first and foremost, here is the exciting news....I had my 20 week ultrasound and our little baby is happy and healthy! They told me the placenta is in the front and that is why I can't feel a whole lot of movement and that I will start to feel the actual kicks around 28 weeks instead of the fishy feeling. They also changed my due date back to August 1st. I don't really mind. I figure, the baby will come when its ready and a date on the calendar won't change that. So we are figuring, end of July, beginning of August. And I think that is about it. HAHAHA! Just Kidding! We are having another little girl! I can't believe I kept that in for a week and a half! We are so excited! I am especially happy since all of Emma's clothes are still in really good condition, we don't have to buy any clothes. That is a big deal since the baby clothes I like the best aren't necessarily the cheapest. I have a total thing for adorable tiny clothes. :) I love all things in the miniature. Luke always laughs at me when I see something tiny like a dog or a dress, or tiny shoes, and ohhhhh at it. Other than that, we are all doing good. Just trying to patiently await Springtime, and the end of the semester. This is a picture of the belly at 21 weeks.

2010-02-27T13:09:00.000-08:00

So not much has been going on in our house lately. Luke is back at work and doing good. Emma has stopped taking her clothes off for the most part. She does cry about 20 times a day, with full on tears and everything. Oh well, just the terrible twos. I am doing good. I feel the baby move about every other day. Swimming around like I ate a little fishy. I do really miss cooking since I feel yucky most of the time, but at least we are eating. We did buy a new sectional that is awesome! It has two recliners and we are loving life with the absence of our nasty blue couches. Yeah! We also went to Barnes and Noble today and bought Emma some Bernstein Bears books. That took me back. I used to love to read those. Here are a couple of cool pictures I took of Emma jammin on the piano - she has a book that she likes to "play" from, and one of her on our new couch. Have a happy day!

2010-02-06T16:49:00.000-08:00

I was told that I should do a pregnancy blog, but I think I will forgo that because I am quite cynical when it comes to being pregnant. It is so not a walk in the park for me, and I hate taking pictures of myself because I feel so disgusting all the time. So I thought that I would put up some occasional info up on this blog. Here is what's new with me. I am 16 weeks along. I still haven't felt the baby move yet, but it's only a matter of time. Also, I seem to be getting bigger a lot faster than last time. I am told its because of muscle memory and that my abs remember being on my back instead of on my front :) Its all fine with me. I wanted to lose 50 pounds before I got pregnant again, but life intervened and I only got 20 off. I have kept it off, and have lost an additional 5 so far. I also haven't been exercising at all because I have been so lucky to be keeping my food down that I didn't want to push my luck by running. Now I am at a point where I don't feel comfortable running (I am just scared I will kill my baby even though I got the okay), so today I just started walking 4 miles again, and doing yoga-lates. It makes me quite tired, but thats okay cause I know its good for me and the little one. I also go through food trends, my latest is for breakfast I love a pint of fresh raspberries and a piece of sourdough toast. So good! Also something weird that I don't know if I have ever told anyone, when I was little I used to eat dirt. Not a lot, just like a 1/2 tsp or something. Anywho, whenever I get pregnant, I immediately crave dirt. Is that so awkward? Even weirder, they sell organically grown dirt at the health food store. So if I wanted to I could find some at 3am. HAHAHA! I am having the usual stream of extremely weird and sometimes frightening dreams, and the heart burn. Happy news, I haven't had any really bad depression so far (knock on wood) and I am really pleased. Its nice to feel semi-normal. Luke and I are both excited to find out what we are having. We have been feeling boy vibes, but would love a girl too. Anyhow, that is about all for me.

Emma lately has taken to stripping naked, all the time, and sometimes pooping on her dresser, or peeing on the floor. Even though it's such a joy to clean up, I got tired of it, and started duct taping her diaper. Super ghetto, but it gets the job done. Now she takes her clothes off, but not her diaper! Yeah! She can freeze if she wants, but I am not cleaning up any more messes for awhile. She also just had her 2 yr check up and is healthy and doing great. She is 3ft tall, and 29lbs. Still in the 90%, but she seems to be slowing down. She is also talking more and more.

Luke is doing okay. That is about all there is to say healthwise, we are just playing the waiting game. He is tirelessly trying to make up all his missed homework and doing a great job. He should be headed back to work next wednesday provided nothing else happens. He is definitely the rock in our family. He has let none of this get him down and is constantly telling me that everything will be okay when I break out in tears. Its been really hard for me to hold it together, but he has been awesome! That is about all for us. Thanks everyone for your prayers and meals and phone calls. They have been very much appreciated! We love you all.

Emma modeling her duct taped diaper, surrounded by her discarded clothes :)

Silver Linings

2010-01-29T16:26:00.000-08:00

As most of you probably know, Luke has been in and out of the hospital for the past 2 weeks. They still don't know what is wrong with him, but have been pumping him full of different antibiotics hoping they will help. He found out today that in addition to all of that, he now has an upper UTI which is extremely rare especially in men. Fun. So they switched him to a different antibiotic that is $50 for 10 pills. They better be freakin magic pills. Also, I have been on pelvic rest due to cramping and spotting. I had an ultrasound done today and they said that the baby is fine and growing normally, but the reason for my pain, is because my cyst burst. OUCH! Yeah, it has seriously been hurting, but now things should go back to normal, as far as pregnancy is concerned. Anyway, in between all of this going on, Emma turned 2 years old! Luckily, Luke got out of the hospital that day and was able to participate a little.

I bought a cake because I got distracted and burned the cupcakes I had made. Yeah, I burned a cake mix! Who does that! :) Then I was too tired to try again.
Emma loved her balloons so much that she was dancing around and got all tangled up.

Happy little birthday girl :)We went to the Mcdonald's play land because she loves it and all the kids around, and it was most important to me to do something that she would have tons of fun doing.
Blowing out the candles.
Eating her cake.
Opening presents.
Her new Cinderella dress up shoes.
All her new toys and things.
Our new tiny baby at 15 weeks. Who is now due to arrive on July 23rd.
Little tiny baby toes.

Going Private.

2010-01-10T15:23:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have now gone private. I got a really creepy email from someone I didn't know on facebook and it has caused me to close up everything to people that I do not know. So if you are my friend, have no fear.

And so it goes.

2010-01-08T15:48:00.000-08:00

So here is the latest. Luke has started school again, amid the snowboarding accident - which he seems to be recovering from quite well, I guess we will see - it's his first night back to work since it happened. Hopefully he will have an easy job today. He only had to spend $250 on books this semester which is awesome! The bummer thing is, that he goes to school before Emma wakes up, and then only comes back home for a half an hour (on the nights he works) to make a lunch and by then, Emma is down for her "quiet time" but that means that he doesn't get to see her all day. Like this week, he won't catch a glimpse of Emma until Friday afternoon. So Sad. She hates when he is not around. Hopefully we can make it through this rough semester though.

In other news, Emma will be 2 years old in a couple of weeks! Yeah! She really seems to be growing up so fast. She is talking more and more especially in her version of Chinese. She has no interest in "the big potty" yet, which is cool with me. I bought all the stuff, but I definitely want to wait until she is ready so it doesn't take 6 months to potty train her. She loves to sing and dance with me and Luke, especially when it is to miley cyrus/hannah montana (whichever you prefer). She says her own little prayer at night, with some prompting, and has started reading books to us. But, all in her own language. Still cute. We are teaching her to take care of her baby doll so she is all ready to be gentle when her sibling makes an appearance.

On to me...I am still the same. Still sick and barfing and absolutely exhausted all the time. It means that I have no energy to clean my house, which for anyone that knows me at all - knows that I should be insane right about now. But, I am slowly learning not to care. It feels nice. As long as we have clean dishes, clothes and bodies, I am good. I am currently 11 weeks. Hoping that means that the sickness should ease up, but according to the last one, I am in for the long haul. I think next time I get pregnant (hahaha!) I will just schedule an entire year where I don't have anything to do, then I don't have to feel bad at all :) I also just read this book called: Pregnancy Sucks by Joanne Kimes. It is so awesome and definitely validating and also made me appreciate how good my pregnancy is so far with no serious problems (knock on wood) . Its nice that we are now allowed to say, yeah pregnancy does suck and it isn't a wonderful experience for everyone, without getting a dirty look. Someone once asked me how I was doing at the doctor's office, and I didn't lie and said I was awful and really sick. She actually had the gall to tell me that I should cherish this time and be grateful for all the aches and pains and vomiting. I really don't agree. I am crappy and it's okay to say. I will so cherish this, when it's over. It does say something though, that with my first experience, that I am willing to jump into it a second time. I really couldn't be happier, but that for sure doesn't make it easy :) That's about all. We are happy and healthy, for the most part.

Our life as of December 10th.

2009-12-10T13:32:00.000-08:00

So here is what has been going on. Luke is done with school except for his finals next week. He failed his math class because his teacher was an absolute idiot, and it was up to him to learn it out of the book by himself. Not the easiest thing to do when you are taking 11 other credits and working 40-60 hours a week and you have a family. He tried his best but decided to call it quits a week ago. He is going to retake it next semester with a teacher he knows is good. Needless to say, a lot of other people failed that class this semester too. After finals, Luke will have a two week break and get back to it in January. "A Means to an End." That is our mantra. Also, for those who don't know yet, I am pregnant again. We were going to wait a few months before saying anything but then people started asking and I didn't want to lie, and then conversations were overheard and feelings got hurt. Even though it really is our news to tell, we didn't want to, but we gave in and told everyone else who didn't know. I am due August 1st, 2010, which makes me almost 7 weeks. Way too early to be saying anything, but its out now. That is 3 weeks less than I "should" be, according to my last cycle, but that is what happens when you have those pesky cysts. Speaking of which, I had an ultrasound done today (that is how they figured out the EDD) and they said I have a pretty large cysts on my left ovary, so they will be watching that and making sure it doesn't get any worse. I also have tendonitis in my right shoulder, which means that I shouldn't be typing right now, oh well. I have to wear a sling until the end of December because they don't want to give me steroids because of the pregnancy. It is hard sitting around doing nothing all day, especially when I can't drive. But Luke is super nice and takes me out for a drive occasionally :) Also, I threw up for the first time, and that was yucky. I think I am figuring out how to manage the nausea though. I just have to eat an ounce of something every hour. All in all, I am actually doing really well. They say it's all in your attitude and mine is quite upbeat for the time being. I was very surprised. I think a lot of why I am so positive is because we are really excited for this baby! We had been told it would take a long time to concieve, and so we were geared up to wait for at least another year, and the news just came so unexpectedly. We are both thrilled. Christmas for us this year is going to be very modest. That is the game when you are poor. No tree, no gifts. Well, we got a couple things for Emma to open. But that is about it. We are focusing on other things, and how blessed we really are. Also Luke and Emma's birthdays are both coming up, and we just decided it's going to be the three of us, for both events. We really cannot get enough time together as a family :) Anyways, that is what is going on in our neck of the woods. We hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T07:13:00.000-08:00

So this year for Halloween, Luke had to work the whole weekend, so on Friday, Emma and I went to my Mom's ward Halloween party. Emma had a ton of fun, me not so much. I spent the entire time chasing her around because she still does not understand that when you leave, you have to come back eventually. Oh well. Then on Saturday we went to my niece Isabel's baptism early, and I forgot to take pictures, because we were rushing, and ended up being late. Later that day, we went trick-or-treating with my sister in law Rachel and her kids, Isabel, Elliott, and Hazel. We got treats up and down Main Street in Springville, then we had some pizza and did a few more houses in their neighborhood. I was exhausting, but fun. Emma kept trying to take a million pieces of candy from everyone who was handing it out. :) She ended up filling up her entire pumpkin. Now I don't know what to do with all that candy! It was nice though, because we went out early enough that Emma was in bed by 7:30pm, and I was in bed by 9pm, after some much needed relaxation time. Here is some pictures of the whole event.

Emma's first experience eating a sour punch twizzlers candy.
Playing the games.
Grammie J and Emma eating a cupcake she got from the cake walk.
Main Street in Springville.