Oh, Hi

Yes, I do still have this pitiful blog ( I really don't like blogging). But there are just way to many cute pictures of SJ to put on FB with out being that annoying mom, so I'll put them here.

We live a pretty simple life, which I'm grateful for. Our daily routine goes pretty much like this:

Morning: walk around town or go hike in Boulder, eat and sleep.
Afternoon: play, read books, go uptown, cry, eat and sleep.
Evenings: cook, play, read books, cry, go for another walk, eat and sleep.

"What do you do all day?" The question every stay at home mom LOVES to hear.

SJ is about 5 1/2 months here.

The jogging stroller had a flat tire so we had to go for a walk in the car seat and frame thing. SJ was not pleased.

Almost 6 months in these. He has finally started to get some chub and it's so darling.

Check out that tummy! More chub, mixed with his two bottom teeth make for such a big boy! Time goes by so fast :(

I love the stage his is in right now. He is sleeping 105% better, jabbering all the time (mamamama and papapapa are his favorite right now). He gets mad when I take things away, he blows raspberries when his mouth is full of beans, and will splash in the bath tub till the whole bathroom is wet. He is such a social boy. He hates to be left alone, and will smile at almost anyone. I love this last picture with SJ and Rumples. I have had that bear since I was probably 4 years old. Confession: when Stephen is gone for work I sleep with Rumps. SJ isn't quite sure about him yet, but we're getting there.

Stephen was so excited to find out he would be working in Minnesota this week because that's where he served his mission. So we all packed up and went for the weekend. Stephen showed us Rochester, St. Paul and the little towns of Pine City and Mora. It was cold but very pretty too.

This is the house that Stephen lived in when he was SJ's age. So glad we got to see it!

Ahh the weird phenomenon of milk in a bag (pronounced with the long a). The only thing I can think of to explain this is that buying two half gallons of milk in a bag is cheaper than buying a gallon (not in a bag). Still...weird.

Our route took us along the Mississippi river as we were driving all over the south-eastern half. We had a great time seeing all the trees and old, adorable houses. We debated the difference between a bluff and a hill the whole trip. The rolling corn fields were more beautiful than I expected them to be, and all of the small farm houses, big red barns and silos were just enchanting. Oh, I forgot to mention how much SJ loves to swing. He always laughs and giggles as he goes higher and higher.

St. Paul is such a beautiful city full of grand old houses, ghetto parts and fun little stores. We drove past Mickey's diner (famous in several movies, including The Mighty Ducks), and F. Scott Fitzgerald's house on Grand Avenue. As most of you know the Mississippi river separates St. Paul and Minneapolis. On the St. Paul side there is a beautiful path that follows the river along with gigantic vintage houses. We had a blast imagining where Daisy Buchanan lived and which balcony Gatsby would stand on and look at her from across the river.

We also went into the St. Paul cathedral. It was so beautiful and bigger than any I saw in Mexico. The stained glass as well as the detail in everything was breathtaking. SJ had fun screeching and hearing his voice echo. No one gave us dirty looks, thank goodness!

We also walked around the University of Minnesota campus. We felt so old being around all of the college kids, even though they were more than likely our age. Everyone commented on how cute SJ is. I love visiting/living where babies are rare.

Overall we had a great time. I was so grateful for a nice, old couple who I sat by on the plane ride home. They played with SJ and helped me so much.


To be honest, it has been a hard adjustment becoming a mom, being home all the time and having to do it all with Stephen being gone half of the time. But the more I do it, the better I get at it. Church keeps us busy and finding new ways to improve on my "talents" is fun. I have also realized how grateful I am for Stephen. He works so hard and loves us so much. I love him with all my heart and always cherish the time when he is home.



 

Christmas Tree!!

We wanted to get a real tree this year since it's our first Christmas with just us. I knew it would be a hassle but it has turned out to be so pretty! We were looking around for tree lots, but didn't really want to deal with tree lot guys. We found out that Costco sells real trees so we borrowed Marty's truck and drove down. The tree didn't look that big all set up in Costco. It didn't look that big all bundled up with twine. It seemed a little bigger when we had to haul it up the stairs. It seemed really tall when we put it in the tree stand and we were grateful for the vaulted ceiling by the kitchen window. Then came time to cut the twine. The scene from the Griswold's Family Christmas tree revealing flashed through my head. Luckily we had moved the stand away from the window beforehand :) Stephen cut and slowly but surely that tree got bigger and bigger. It pretty much takes up the whole kitchen, but it looks lovely.

We moved the cart closer to the window so we could put the table on that wall as well.

 

We unbundled it two days ago so the branches could settle. Then last night we started on the lights. We had to go to Wal-Mart again to buy more lights. It took 10 strands of the 100 strand lights to cover that tree...1000 twinkle lights! Yes, that is a big bowl of Muddy Buddies on the table :) While Stephen was doing the lights we watched The Griswolds and I made Muddy Buddies for a little treat.

I also have to tell about dinner! I have been wanting to make Posole (that Mexican soup) forever! Yesterday was the perfect day because it FINALLY got cold and snowed! My soup turned out so delicious! I doctored up a soup recipie from Rachel Ray. I added garbonzo beans, more spices and some Avocado to make it Posole. I'm glad we have left overs. I also used a new ingredient! Chilies in Adobo sauce. They aren't very hot, but more of a smokey sweet flavor. They were so good! I only used three from the can so I froze the rest for the next time I make the soup.

Once we got the lights on the tree we vacuumed up all the pine needles and moved it into position.

 

Thank you Dad for the new Peter Pan Pants. They are very comfy :) Thank you Mom for the extra fabric that works quite well for a little tree skirt. Ok, the Santa hat will not stay up there forever. I haven't found a tree topper I like or am willing to pay for, so for now (even though it seems a little disrespectful) we have the Santa hat...Stephen's idea of course.

I think our BIG tree looks so nice. When it was all said and done we sat down on the floor in front of the tree with the lights off and just thought how blessed we are and how cozy it is to be together in a warm house on a cold night. We are so excited to keep old traditions and start new ones. This Christmas will always be special because it's our first one on our own and it's our last one without little ones. We are cherishing this time along together, but we are also excited for next Christmas with little SJ :)

New Beginnings

It has been a crazy summer! We found out we are staying in Colorado, which we are so happy about. We love living here. We found a nice little condo to rent and are primary teachers in our ward. We also are having a little boy in March! If feels like our grown-up lives are coming together! Graduated from college, Stephen has a "big boy" job, and we are going to be parents!

This is little SJ. I wasn't super excited to have a little boy at first, but I come to love him more everyday. I can feel him move now and he is so funny. I'm so excited to get to know his little personality. We felt so loved from all of the Congratulations and likes we got when Stephen posted our good news on FB. We have great family and friends!

I'll be honest, I'm super intimidated to be a mother. It is a big job and I want to do it right. It's hard to read so many blogs/articles on Pinterest about how other people do things at their house and then feel pressure to have it that way at our house. But I know if I educate myself and develop my own ways of doing things that it will work for us. What works at one house, might not work at another. It is also such a great comfort and assurance to know that my Heavenly Father knows me and Stephen and SJ. He will help Stephen and I know how to help SJ grow and feel loved. We will struggle but I'm up for the challenge because I know I will always have help and support.

Stephen has been a huge help while I have been sick and tired. He does his chores (laundry and vacuuming) but is so good about helping out with dishes, scrubbing the tub and going to the store with me. I hate going by myself, I'm a big baby about this! He always makes it a point to tell me I'm beautiful, especially when I feel like a huge, fat whale. It's so sweet when he puts his hand on my belly and talks to SJ. Talk about making my heart melt!!

Stephen is my best friend, I knew that a week after meeting him. I thought I couldn't love him more when we got married. Then I realized how little I loved him when we got married, after we had been married for 2 years! I love him now 1000X more than I did back then, but I know nothing will ever live up to the day I see him hold our babies. I think this is what Heavenly Father intends. As we go through life, we struggle through hard times, we have a blast during the great times and we grow closer. Our love is meant to grow, forever.

A little of everything

Well Stephen has been in Cali the whole week for a company wide training. He has learned a lot, played volleyball on the beach, played in the annual softball tournament, and had a bonfire on the beach with all of his buddies. 

 I'm just glad it's August because I get to go see Holly and Dave and the boys instead of sit in the basement trying to think of things to keep myself busy!  

But on my runs/walks around the open space in the mornings there have been tons of geese in the fields and ducks in the pond. The pics I got aren't real great but it gives you a little idea of where we live.

The next picture is of my crazy baking day! I made Olive Garden soup. It turned out so good even though I used ground turkey instead of sausage and 2percent milk instead of heavy cream. Stephen said he wanted my homemade Alfredo when he got home tonight so I made that too. It was so fun to cook again! 

Fishing and Sewing

California was great! I got to run along the beach, watch some awesome surfers and just relax while I read the next book in my favorite series, INFERNO by Dan Brown. The main character Robert Langdon never ceases to amaze me. I love how he thinks and puts all of the pieces of the puzzle together to solve the mystery. I also love reading about the art and history of Italy and other places in Europe. Stephen gave it to me for my birthday and I loved it! While we were in Cali we had really great pizza and some interesting Korean food (not really the high light of the trip for me, but Stephen seemed to like it) and we went deep sea fishing. No, I didn't catch anything grand, but it was still fun to catch some little Bass and a red poisonous fish (yeah, I don't know its real name). The boat crew were very helpful about getting snags out and helping  get the fish off the hook, especially the poisonous one! Stephen caught 7 and I caught 5. It was a blast!

We also found out that we will be staying on Colorado! I was ready to move back East, but I'm so grateful we get to stay by the beautiful mountains and be close to family. I'm also very grateful that I won't have to live in humidity. Even when we were in Cali my hair was frizzy and puffy the whole time. We don't know what town we will be living in yet, but we are very excited for Stephen to get his territory and not have to travel as much.
Finally, I finished my little sewing project that I, yes, copied from something I saw on Pinterest. I thought it was so dang cute that I just had to make one for us.

Love Birds!! I thought the fabric suited us well too. Stephen recently bought an orange dress shirt to wear to work. I didn't like it at first and made fun of him. But he wore it home one Friday and when I saw him in the Airport he looked quite dashing after all. So I decided to get orange for Stephen's bird and flowers for mine. This will always remind me of our wedding day and how we really are silly love birds :)

The Mountain Goat

I love to hike! So while we are in Colorado I am trying to take advantage of all the mountains and trails so close by. This past weekend Stephen looked at me with a look like 'no more hiking!' when I asked him what we should do over the weekend. So we spend a lazy Saturday sleeping in, seeing the latest Superman movie and going to a friend's wedding reception.
But a few hikes a go I was smart enough to actually USE my camera and take a few pictures. We went to White Ranch and did a 5 mile loop. It was amazing! There were some mansions up there and a beautiful lake. There were a few too many mountain bikers on the main trail so we took a loop and were all alone to enjoy the beauty.

 The mansions!

Top Right, just above the plateau you can see Denver-it's so pretty!

Well, here it is.

Yes, I started a blog. What a Mormon Mother thing of me to do! But no, I'm not going to be a mother any time soon, but I did feel the need to let my family know what is going on with Stephen and I. I'll try to remember to take pictures and document the fun things we do.  But for now, we love you all! :)