Pumpkin Carving

I really like this tradition of touching all this gooey stuff!
Elise came over with some of her friends from BYU and they helped us have a really good time . . .
The end result . . .

*Daddy is not in any of the pictures beacause he ate a pumpkin treat right before he got sick so the smell of pumpkins didn't sit too well with him.*

Happy Halloween!!!

I'm the witch, my Mom is my black cat and my Dad is my broom!

What were you for Halloween?

Pumpkinland

Getting our pumpkins (we found the cutest pumpkin of all). . .
The corn maze . . .
The jumping castle . . .
More pumpkins . . .

Quarantined

Hi, I've been sick since Saturday night and I am so good at sharing that I have passed it on to my Mommy AND my Daddy!
Oh and the bump on my nose is from when I was playing at my friend's house on Friday night and I fell off their couch while Mommy and Daddy were on a date. We're a bit of a mess right now.

A Little News . . .

If you look to the left, you will see we have a little news to share from our family . . .
*We are thrilled! Lucy and the baby will be 19 months apart. We should find out if we're having a boy or a girl in January. The official due date is June 5th. Oh, and I am doing great: nauseous, exhausted, etc. etc. but still great!*

Mobility

I am trying to get this crawling thing down, but I mostly go backwards and then get stuck against a wall and then I get very frustrated. Any suggestions?

Halloween is Coming . . .

Here is a sneak peak at what I am going to be . . .

Do you have your costume ready?

Brian & Joe Show

Mommy & Daddy snuck away for a date while I played with Tessa Williams (her Mom and Dad took me to a pumpkin patch).

For Mommy & Daddy's date they saw the art exhibit of Brian & Joe. Brian Kershisnik is one of their favorite artists and he partners with Joe every few years to put on the Biran & Joe Show.
For those of you who have been to our home, you may remember that we have one of Brian & Joe's pieces hanging in our front room, it's called "The Guitar". Brian remembered the piece.

They Are Becoming Friends

I used to think I'd never let Lucy touch Memphis' toys. I got over it . . .

The cutest part is that Memphis totally pulls way less with Lucy than he does with us. He's starting to see that this baby thing isn't too bad of after all!

Just to Bring a Smile to Your Face

Lucy in her elephant towel from her sisters . . .
Does she even get how cute she is???

The Day You Were Born . . .

I was reading my friend Ani's blog about the day her daughter was born and thought I'd like to write down the events of the special day Lucy entered our world . . .

Lucy was born on Wednesday, November 7th, 2007, but let me begin a little before that. It appears that the women in my family are smaller in the birth canal region and do best by having their babies via c-section. I thought for sure I could be different and have my baby not only vaginally, but 100% naturally as well. I got a Doula and met with her faithfully etc, etc. Bottom line, as Lucy's due date got closer, my body was showing no signs of her dropping or getting ready to push a baby out.

Marc and I discussed the options and it was so clear to us that having our baby via c-section was the right thing to do. It was immediate peace. We went into the doctor on November 6th for our scheduled appointment and after he checked me you could tell he was gearing up for a big speach about thinking more seriously about having a c-section. I stopped him and said, "Ever since we left last week, Marc and I have felt very at peace about having a c-section". He said, "Well then let's have this baby". He made some phone calls and came back in and said, "You'll have your baby sometime tomorrow between 11am-2pm".

It was so fun to call our family and friends and say, "We're having a baby tomorrow between 11am-2pm". We knew we wouldn't sleep well that night so Marc and his Dad gave me a blessing, we got pizza, rented a movie and stayed up until 2am. The next morning we got up at 7:30am, went for a walk, showered, got ready, packed a few last minute things, my parents met us at the house and then we went to the hospital (dropping the video we had rented off on our way).

When we arrived at the hospital, we leisurely checked ourselves in (they already had a room ready for me). We got set up in a room where they put a heart rate monitor on the baby and got me hooked up to some IV's. Everyone got to be in the room with us while we waited our turn.

It was really a very enjoybale experience mixed with some anxiety, but Marc was so good to play music for me, tell me stories and keep me calm. I know people really fear c-sections, but if I could, I would be the Doula of c-sections because they really can be a wonderful thing.
Then Marc got ready to go in to the operating room with this great outfit that we have kept . . .
I just walked in to the operating room. When I sat on the operating table, I actually grabbed the camera from Marc and took some pictures. You get enough medicine to make you VERY numb from the waist down and just enough to make you relaxed, but you are still very aware and I remember all of it (even the parts I wish I could forget when I kept rambling about everything from the BYU nursing students having a nice experience, to telling my doctor he was the best doctor ever to breaking out in tears and telling Marc how lucky we were to have a baby . . . I was non-stop!)
This picture is amazing to me. Lucy is literally coming out of me. To date, her birth is the most spiritual experience I have ever had. I had a completely overwhelming feeling and I knew the very moment she left the presence of her Heavenly Father and entered this world as a new spirit to join our family.
After her birth, Marc was running back and forth taking pictures of Lucy while still tending to me and showing me pictures of her.
She had a little bit of a hard time breathing right after she was born so she was placed on a c-pap machine for a few hours. I love this picture of her, I am sure she is thinking, what on earth just happened.
Marc would run to the NICU and take pictures of Lucy and then run back to show me her pictures. I could not wait to hold my baby.
By the time I was transferred down to my room, they brought Lucy to me. I loved her immediately. A lot of people were in the room at the time, but despite their prsence, for a brief moment it was just me and my daughter. This little thing that I had bonded with for the past 9 months was finally here for me to meet her on the outside. I just had to hold her tight while my heart overflowed with grattitude. The statement "My cup runneth over" had never been more true in all my life.

Fire Station Open House

I went with Tessa to see her Daddy at the fire station. It was amazing! They had all kinds of big trucks set up, you could practice spraying the hose, eat popcorn and Mom stocked up on free batteries for our smoke alarms.
Lifeflight even landed and we got to go right up to it and see how everything works inside. It was a very exciting day. Too bad my Dad is just a Neuropsychologist (Mom says I'll appreciate it someday).

Moments I am Glad I Taught Special Ed BEFORE I Became a Mom . . .

I'll spare you any pictures, but Lucy just spilled a bowl of oatmeal in my "lap" while eating her lunch. She didn't want to eat, but wanted me to hold her instead. I found myself just leaving the mess as it was and holding and loving my little girl without really skipping a beat. I can imagine that the countless days of chaos when I taught school only prepared me all the more for this new adventure I call Motherhood.

Fall Photo Shoot

I won a photo contest from my friend Marybeth's blog. She did such a great job. The following are just some of my favorites:

Eleven Months

Dear Lucy-

As you approach your one year anniversary, it's exciting to see you develop and learn new things. Here are some things I've observed this past month:

1. Sitting is your preferred posture, and you've learned to spin around in order to access items of interest.
2. Memphis, the Fat Pug, is the most interesting toy you have. He's warming up to the idea that the two of you can be friends. I wish his brain worked better so he could understand how much fun the two of you could have.
3. Teeth. You have five of them now, and every once in a while you will grind them a few times as you figure out what to do with them. Don't worry about wearing them out; you'll get new ones in a few years.
4. Tubby-time is a highlight of your day, and your favorite part of tubby-time is when the water is draining and reaches the level where when you kick your legs together, the splash is maximized. You know when this is happening and your kicking intensifies.
   
5. One day you said, "BOO-shay" as if it were something miraculous and mysterious. You've said something similar a few times, but it sounds like a word describing what comes from the north end of a south-facing bull.
   
6. When I pick you up, you put your arms on my shoulders and give me pats. I like that.
7. We play a game on the bed at night where I ask you, "Are you being silly?" and you smile, roll your eyes, and flop over. After I tickle you, you sit up and we do it all over again.
8. It's nice to see you excited for Mom when she comes home after being gone for a while. It's clear that you love her and that you feel safe when she is holding you. She's a great Mom.
   
9. I can say, "Give some to Dad," and you will hold what you have up to my face.
   
10. One of the highlights of my day is saying hello to you when I come home from work. The excitement is mutual.

Love,

Dad

One Month Shy of a Year!

How can my little baby be turning into such a little lady so quickly?

Lucy, it has been 11 wonderfully entertaining months since you entered our world and oh how I have learned so much in the process . . .

1) Your giggle is just about the cutest sound to ever exist.
2) I am a pretty good dancer and singer if you are the only one around to be the judge.
3) If you do not hit a developmental milestone perfectly, EVERYONE will have their 2 cents to say about it.
4) I can't help but to hold you up to the mirror and show you how cute you are right after a bath as you are wrapped in your elephant towel.
5) I love how you are turning into my little sidekick wherever I go.
6) You display a love of books already and you really enjoy turning the pages.
7) No matter how hard I try to distract you, you do NOT like to have clothes put on over your head!
8) Holidays are becoming nothing short of magical and I find myself looking forward to them like I did when I was a kid.
9) Your Daddy is sooooo patient! (I am not)
10) The day you wanted me to comfort you more than a bottle was the day I knew I really was a Mom.

Pretty in Pink

This is my Mom and me in our matching pink suits. Don't we look cute.

And this was my reaction when my Mom said we could always dress the same even when I am in high school!

Why Grab a Kleenex?

Most parents upon seeing this would quickly grab a Kleenex, but not mine---they grabbed the camera! Oh bless their hearts.

A Tag of 8

Should be working since Lucy is sleeping, but just got tagged by a friend so I am going to blog instead:

Eight TV Shows I Love to Watch (in no particular order)
1. Biggest Loser
2. Flip That House
3. Extreme Makeover Home Edition
4. Amazing Race
Sorry, it was a stretch to get those 4, not going to be able to come up with 8.

Eight Things That Happened Yesterday
1. Slept in-thanks Marc!
2. Watched conference
3. Enjoyed watching my husband and baby play together.
4. Went to the in-laws and ate some yummy food.
5. Enjoyed being with family-Clayton, my nephew, cracks me up!
6. Accidentally doubled a batch of potato soup with Heidi.
7. Had a nice excuse to have Ryan & Jayna over for yummy food.
8. Read scriptures with my husband, I love him.

Eight Favorite Places to Eat (in no particular order)
1. Bombay House
2. Cheesecake Factory
3. Gloria's Little Italy
4. Ginger's Cafe
5. Koronet's Pizza in NYC
6. My Mom's
7. My sister-in-law, Tiffany's
8. Grandma's house

Eight Things I'm Looking Forward To
1. Halloween and seeing Lucy dressed up like an adorable witch
2. Lucy learning to crawl
3. Christmas
4. Going to Disneyland when Lucy is old enough to enjoy it.
5. My brother-in-law coming home from serving overseas
6. Marc getting home from work.
7. Jayna having her baby girl.
8. Heidi getting married.

Eight Things on My Wish List
1. For Heidi to get married.
2. Windsor Pilates DVD's
3. A really great rocking chair.
4. My necklace from Losee Jewelers
5. A food storage pantry.
6. Two full bathrooms in my house.
7. A Maclaren stroller.
8. A trip to Tennessee.

People I Tag
1. Karissa
2. Jayna
3. Jen
4. Cheryl

Shhhh!

I won't get this cute quilt until my birthday next month, but since Mommy made it, I already got a sneak peek. Mommy said she is pleasantly surprised at how it turned out since her sewing skills are no where near Grandma's.
***Mommy also said that no one should look at it too closely.

Around Here . . .

We bleed BLUE!