Home Improvement...

We had a great Memorial Day weekend and were grateful for the chance to remember those that have gone before us as well as those that are serving our country.
And, what better way to spend a long weekend than working on some home improvement?

Here's our little plumber, ready to help out... (ok, really she was getting ready to climb in the tub, but she was sporting this awesome look for a few minutes)


We found some bar stools at Ikea (I love that place) and Dan put these together on Saturday. We got four of them and I'd show them around the island but the island is covered with clutter from last night's project, so that will have to wait. But it gives us a new spot for friends to sit!


This was Monday's project...our emergency preparedness/Father's day purchase! Is that a happy man or is that a happy man? He even made us grilled burgers for lunch.


This was Tuesday night's project...it looks good doesn't it? We like it a lot better now than we did last night. We are not exactly home improvement gurus, but we figure if we can read, we can figure things out, right? After 2 1/2 hours of assembly (during which we had to repeat one step 3 times because we missed something the first two), we turned the breaker back on and Voila! NOTHING.
Apparently, we didn't know which wire the ground wire was. But after a few calls to our trusty home improvement experts (we tried our Dads, but they weren't home, so thank you Brian Wilcox!), we got to take it down one last time and connect the ground wire correctly and then it worked. Yay. And hopefully when we assemble the fan for Megan's room we'll be speedier and make less mistakes...


I just like this picture of Megan and thought I'd throw it in. We are so lucky to have little girls all over our neighborhood and this is our friend Megan. She just lives a few streets away and the Megans seem to enjoy each other. This was their favorite spot that day--the glass-less coffee table.

Belly, Belly

29 4/7 weeks...

With Megan (August 18, 2007)


With new baby (May 5, 2009)

18 Months

This is a few weeks late, but here we go anyway...
Megan is now 18 months old! We can't believe it. She's been going to nursery with us since Dan and I were put in as nursery workers in March, but now she's all official!

*This a cute dress made by Granny because I wanted to make Megan a purse and once we got started, we just couldn't stop. So Megan has a dress and purse and there are matching dresses for cousins Hailey and Chloe and for our new baby!


We love watching her interact with other kids her age and figure out social rules. She's definitely learned to defend herself (and the toys she's playing with) but isn't too aggressive. She has learned only to bully kids that are smaller than her (like her cousin Chloe).



Her climbing skills (and her falls) are becoming more spectacular. Her new favorite thing is climbing in and out of the big tub in our bathroom while I'm in the shower. She fell off the other day and I thought she'd want some comfort hugs, but NOOO--all she wanted was for me to help her get back up there to climb in again!

She had her 18 month checkup and ENT consult back on May 5.
She weighed 22 lbs, 3 oz (20th percentile) and was 32 inches tall (60th percentile). She is growing great and learning new words every day. She's got close to 50 words now and when she is in the right mood, she'll attempt to repeat anything you say! Our favorite thing to see is how good she's gotten at folding her arms and saying "Amen!". It's too cute. We're transitioning to one nap (Megan would like to transition to NO naps, but I'm not on board with that).
She's picked up a few naughty skills as well (jumping on the kitchen table, hitting, running off down the street when she gets the chance, etc) so we have more timeouts than we'd like. We've learned that when she is repeating a naughty skill over and over again, it's because she just wants more attention. So we're working on giving her attention BEFORE she turns to naughtiness!



She keeps us endlessly entertained and we feel so blessed to have such a happy, beautiful baby!

Four Years and Counting...

Hurray for us! We've now been married for as long as we were in high school! (Ok, Dan's high school was only 3 years, but I'm writing this, so 4 years for high school it is)



Compared to 50 or even 10, 4 doesn't seem like very many but I'm sure if time keeps speeding up, it won't feel like much time at all until we hit those milestones too.
I'm so thankful that we were married for time and all eternity--there are many more anniversary's to come!



Dan, you are amazing and I love being your wife. Thank you for everything you do for me. I'm glad we still have so much fun together and hope that will always be true. I love you!



I tried to think of things with a 4 in them that are significant to us as a couple. Here are as many as I could think of off the top of my head:
1. We first held hands on the lawn of Dan's aunt and uncle's house during a fireworks show for the 24th of July.
2. We started dating and got engaged in 2004.
3. Our first kiss was on August 4, 2004.
4. We graduated from high school 4 years apart.
5. We're about to become a family of 4.
6. We'd been dating for 4 months when we took a road trip to visit my extended family in Seattle and decided to get married.

Are you kidding?

So Monday is my busy "make the menu for the week and get the grocery shopping done" day. I know that doesn't sound like a lot to do in a day, but there you have it :)
If I'm really on the ball, we leave for Walmart by 9 am so we can be home at 10 am for a nap for Megan. Today I was a little slow. I was ready at 9:30 but I knew if we went then Megan would be super-cranky in the cart and ready for a nap so I figured I'd just wait til after her nap. I put her down at 10 and she was quiet for a while and I thought, GREAT! She's asleep. We'll have some lunch at 11 (or when she wakes up) and head on out.
But then, at 10:20, she starts jabbering...
Was she asleep and is now awake and done sleeping?
Was she never asleep and will soon fall asleep?
Will her crib break because she uses it as a trampoline?
I let her jabber away and got her up at 11 (because hey--quiet time is good for Mom AND Megan, even if it doesn't involve sleep).
I started getting lunch out. She downed her cheese stick and started on her PB&H. I started making myself a sandwich and glanced up to see her sitting very still--I (of course) panic and assume she must have silently choked and is now passed out so I rush over and say "Megan! Are you ok?" while trying to see if she's breathing. Her head snaps up for a second (she IS breathing) and then drops again. WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
You're sleeping now? I'm ready to go! I want to be done with going out for the day! You just had a whole hour to sleep! Don't you know we only have 1 diaper left in the house?!?
So I wiped off her little peanut buttery hands and carried her upstairs where she is now sleeping soundly.
Sigh. She did look cute though all passed out in her sandwich.
That's what I get for not being speedy this morning and getting out the door by 9...
I guess I'll go clean the bathroom.

One whole year and some random stories...

Nothing too exciting happened this week. But it does mark the one year anniversary of lots of things including:
1. My last shift as a nurse in UVRMC's NICU. I was shocked to realize it had been so long. During my last shift, I got to be the "admit" nurse--this means I had an easy baby to care for and was responsible for any new babies that came. One of my favorite nurses was the charge nurse (her job is to help all the other nurses with their babies and keep the unit running smoothly).
Well, sure enough we got some new babies. 32 weeks twins were delivered by emergency c-section. I got to "catch" the babies (meaning the doctor pulled the baby out of Momma, cut the cord, and handed it to me, then I took the first one to a warmer for another nurse to start caring for while I went back to get the other one) and then care for one of the twins. It was busy but the charge nurse was great (thanks Trudy!) and I got to practice all my skills one last time--it was really a perfect last shift. It seems crazy that those twins are now fat, happy 1 year olds! I just looked for a picture of me at work or in scrubs or something--but in 2 years and 8 months of working there, I don't have a single one! Aah! How did I not document that at all?

2. Dan graduating

3. The easiest pack job ever (in 4 hours our entire apt was professionally packed and loaded into a truck to meet us in Houston)

4. Our move to Houston!

Now for the random stories:
Our builder called last Wednesday to ask if they could show our house to some people looking to build our floorplan--they would give us $50 for our trouble. So we spent the end of last week doing some little projects that had been sitting around (hanging decorations, hemming Megan's drapes, finishing the downstairs blinds, cleaning the house, mowing/edging/etc) but unfortunately the showing was canceled, so no $50. Really though, it feels so nice to have all those little projects done. I guess I just need the thought of $50 to get motivated sometimes :)

Guest room...


Powder bath...


Master bath...


Master bath with our cute new decoration--thanks Stephanie!...


So about 3 weeks ago, Dan mowed the lawn for the first time. And it was HOT. And our yard is big. And it took a long time. And after those 3 hours of sweating it out in the yard, he came in and said we needed to talk about our savings goals. I could tell he'd spent most of his time out there thinking about this when he said, "First, we need to save enough to hire a yard crew." I started laughing, but he was serious and ignored my smile as he continued. "Second, we need to start saving for a pool. The purpose of the pool is twofold: one, it is refreshing to jump into a pool after spending all day in the yard. And two, it decreases the amount of lawn we have to mow." At this point I was laughing so hard I was crying, but he wasn't done yet. "Third, we need to have boys. Lots of boys. And we need to have them as soon as possible." To this I reminded him that seeing as how I am currently pregnant with another girl, this last goal will take some time. I guess we'll just train our girls to mow the lawn!


One last thing. I went garage-saling last weekend and pretty much think it's the greatest thing ever. I got cute clothes, toys, a baby swing, an art easel for Megan and all of this for $30. Now I'm hoping to find a slide/climbing toy for the backyard.

Talk, talk, talk

Oh this little girl. She is "napping" but really is yelling and jumping like a crazy in the crib. She just has so much to say these days. Lately she likes to sing to herself and pretend to put her bunny to bed. She makes us laugh all the time and is so opinionated. If we take something away from her or choose not to give her something (like scissors/glassware/etc), she lets us know exactly how mean we are by morphing into a boneless glob and melting onto the floor. Ah, the almost 2 year old. We just love her.

I finally bought some teeny-tiny rubberbands for Megan's teeny-tiny hair. I think it's a pretty cute look (and yes, she thinks it's torture for me to yank her hair like that--if she'd only sit still it wouldn't hurt!).


The other day while yelling and jumping, she also got her shirt off--how did she figure that out?


I just love this picture. It's Megan in her full conversation mode. Good luck getting a word in edgewise.

Visitors!

Lucky for us, our good friends/cousins/former roommates have another family member in the Houston area and they decided to spend a week on vacation in the Lone Star State! Wahoo!
We had so much fun with Nathan and Stephanie and their adorable little Wills. We only wished they could have stayed for a year or so instead of a week.
Last Friday, while Nathan went fishing with Stephanie's uncle and some others, the girls and babies (me, Megan, Stephanie, Wills, Stephanie's aunt and cousins) spent a day wandering around Old Town Spring. It is a really fun little shopping area with lots of home decor, collectible items, toys, crafts, etc. to look at.
After Easter weekend, we picked up Nate, Steph, and Wills on Tuesday morning from her aunt's house and headed to the coast. We walked around the Kemah Boardwalk, drove down to Galveston and played on the beach, went out for a delicious Mexican dinner (yum, Pappasito's), and headed home to eat Blue Bell Ice Cream, play games, and stay up way too late chatting and catching up. Dan was able to take the day off and we had so much fun. I dropped them off at the airport Wednesday and they had to leave the beautiful 75 and breezy weather and go back to some snowy/rainy weather in Utah.
They were our first out of town guests and I thought that was a great excuse to use the money set aside for the guest room and buy a queen size bed, comforter set, and pillows to make their stay a little more comfy than our leaky air mattress. And they said they slept great--so to all our other out of town loved ones--consider this your invitation! We've got a nice little room all ready for you, just come!

On the boardwalk


The Kemah splash zone (it was a little cold for Megan)


What a cutie (this was her 2nd outfit of the day--by the end, she was just in a onesie)


Megan and Wills waiting for Dan, Nate, and Steph to ride the roller coaster--Wills is only 2 pounds lighter than her!


On the beach. Megan LOVED playing in the sand.



Stephanie, William, Amber, and Megan

Easter Sunday

We had a quiet Easter morning (as quiet as every Sunday is trying to get out the door by 7:55 for church). We had an Easter Egg dye kit...but didn't actually dye eggs. Maybe next year when Megan actually cares :). She did get a basket and a new bunny.
Dan and I are in the younger nursery at church (a class for kids from 18 months to about 2 years) and we taught the lesson. We thought it would be fun to bring some empty plastic eggs and let the kids "find" them and play with them. Well--the kids were really excited for about 2 minutes until they shook all the eggs and realized there was nothing in them--and at that point, they ignored them!
After church, we went to my parents' house for some yummy ham dinner and a few Easter egg hunts. My brother and his wife and kids were there and they and some neighbors participated in the hunt. Megan had a good time running around the yard and I was glad I had her in a onesie and not her dress since she found some good mud and puddles to play in. She did decide that mud doesn't taste as good as jelly beans (and she ate more of those than she should have).
The adults had some fun egg toss action after the hunt ended. Dan and my brothers and Dad even tried the toss with raw eggs (eww).
It was a really nice Easter and we are glad we could spend it with family. It was my first Easter with my parents in 7 years!
We are grateful for the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and for the hope that it gives us. We hope you each enjoyed your Easter!

After church...


Splish, splash!





Sorry my voice sounds terrible...I've been fighting a cold!

Easter Egg Hunt

On Saturday our neighborhood had a fun Easter egg hunt for the kids. There were sections of eggs roped off for each age group and Megan was very excited BEFORE the hunt started. Once they let them start hunting, she found 2 eggs and felt pretty good about that. We helped her find 2 more and at that point, 90 seconds had passed and all 600 eggs were gone. Kids are crazy, what can we say :)
We wondered why some of the eggs had cow spots on them and let Megan pick one of those so we could find out. Next year, we're training her to ONLY get those ones--they had Chick-Fil-A coupons in them!

What We Do All Day...

It often amazes me when another week has flown by and I can't seem to remember what on earth we have done every day, only that the days are gone and felt busy.
Some of our favorite things to do these days include: go to the park (this has been a favorite of ours for a long time), play in the backyard (especially with bubbles), read books over AND OVER AND OVER again (my memorizing skills are quite sharp), run errands in the car (ca! ca! as Megan says), check the mail, wave at doggies (woof! woof!), go to Granny's house (she's started saying grandpa- "pampa"), and go on walks.
We also manage to make dinner, keep the house picked up and clean, stock the pantry and fridge, and take the occasional nap (most of the time at least).
I'm so grateful that I get to be home with Megan every day--thank you Dan for working hard for us! I love this little cutie.

Movie night with her big cousins Hailey and Zach


A beautiful park day






A little dinner action...


What a funny face. For some reason it reminds me of her cousin Tyler

NYC #3

I've determined that this will be the last post from our trip--life has kept marching on and I have other things to post about...but it means very limited pictures from a very fun trip! If you want to see more pictures, check out my mom's blog.

The family went into the city Thursday , Friday, and Saturday (March 19-21). Thursday, my sister Jamie watched the babies (Megan and Chloe) and we trekked in with me, Dan, my brother Shad and his wife Amy and their two older kids (Hailey and Zach), my sister Carrie, my brother Tyler, my parents, and Jamie's youngest girl (Madelyn).

We rode the train in from Connecticut and saw Grand Central and Times Square. We had lunch on Times Square and then took a subway to the Museum of Natural History and wandered around for a few hours. After the museum, we went to the Staten Island Ferry and the Trinity Church and Ground Zero. Ground Zero wasn't as cool as I hoped it would be--it's just a big construction site right now. Trinity Church was beautiful and we got to see the Statue of Liberty from the ferry (and a good view of the skyline). We had dinner in Grand Central and then headed back to Jamie's house. It was EXHAUSTING! But also very fun and I enjoyed my first taste of the Big Apple.

Dan and I with "Dum-Dum"


On the Staten Island Ferry--see the Statue of Liberty?


Friday was a pretty small group--Dan, Mom, Dad, Tyler, Carrie, and Shad. Amy, Jamie, and I stayed at the house with all the kids and relaxed for the day. They went to Pier 17 to pick up some half price Broadway tickets for the whole family, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rockefeller Center, and some other big pretty church.

One of Dan's favorites at the MMA--a Van Gogh


Shad, Dan, and Ty at Rockefeller


Saturday, the WHOLE FAMILY (that's 18 people!) took the train in. We formed quite the entourage as we made our way through town--2 double strollers, 1 single stroller, and a bunch of kids and adults all walking in a group. We had lunch at the McDonald's on times square, walked around the M&M store, saw some amazing views from Trent's office building, and saw Shrek, The Musical. The show was fantastic. The kids all did great (which was good because the manager almost didn't let them in--despite the fact that they had tickets and everything--but we convinced him they were angels and he relented). After the show we walked to the Manhattan Temple, through Central Park, down 5th Avenue, past Rockefeller Center, and back to Grand Central. I got to see my old roommate Karen for a few minutes (she met up with us at the temple) and my friend from high school Holly (she came to Grand Central). It was so fun to see them even though they were very VERY brief visits and I'm glad they were in town and able to meet up with our crazy group.

On the train


Sweet view...


My parents and siblings


Broadway!!


The whole group outside the theater