What the....?

When I asked Makenna to get J.J. ONE toy, this is what she got. I think her face says it all;)

BooBoo

Jordyn was starting to cry when I was trying to hurry and get dressed. I asked Makenna if she would get J.J. a toy or something. A couple minutes later, she comes back and says, "Mom, she just needs her booboo!"

Happy Birthday Mommy

I just wanted to wish my mom a very Happy Birthday. She is the best mom and I'm so thankful that I was sent to her. She is always there when I need her and helps us out so much. I ask her for advice, complain to her when I'm upset and call her when I just want to talk. I'm so thankful when she watches my girls. I can leave knowing they are happy and safe because she loves them as much as I do. I love my mom dearly and I don't know what I would do without her. I am so grateful that she is my mom and that she is my girls' grandma. I hope you have the best birthday ever Mom because you deserve it;)

Way-Back Wednesday

Ashley and Kelli showed their yellow and red McDonalds dresses last week so I had to post mine this week. They must have been popular colors back in the day. Don't you love my brother's brown pants. What was with that ugly color of brown anyway?

This is proof that it snows in Las Vegas. I'm in the middle with my brother and dad. And that's our sweet dog Daisy. In every picture we find with her in it, she is trying to get some love from someone. That isn't the best looking snowman but we didn't get a lot of chances to practice;)

And this picture was taken right after my mom chopped my hair because I hated my hair brushed. I actually think it's pretty cute but I probably didn't think so back then.

Glenn Beck on Hinckley

My hubby showed this to me last night and I thought it was neat that someone on CNN would show his emotions on tv about our beloved President Hinckley.

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/200/5127/

And in this one he is talking about his conversion to mormonism. I thought it was pretty cool.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wKtAPT9KEfM

My little thumb sucker

So J.J. has taken a big liking to her thumb. It is so cute because they are these cute little stubby thumbs but I know I will hate it if she is doing it when she is a lot older. So, my question is, if I let her do it now, will she get into the habit or is she just chewing on her fingers because she is just teething? I know she is probably teething. I'm just wondering if she will continue to do it. Makenna loved her binky but that didn't do anything to her teeth and I was able to take it away. With the thumb, they can push their teeth out and you can't take their thumb away. Anyway, has anyone had a thumb sucker at this age but not have problems with it when they got a little older?



These pics are just too cute.

More Makenna sayings

Makenna had me and Travis laughing today. She was just saying the cutest things like she was a grown up. I don't know if you have to hear her saying these to make them funny but I still had to share. First, I was making a sandwich before church because we have the late block and I asked Makenna if she wanted to eat something before we left. She bops in the kitchen and says, "Nah, I'm good". Then after church, we were changing our clothes and she lets out this big toot. Travis asked her playfully what that was. And she said it was just her 'tooter'. You just had to hear her say it. Finally, we were driving to my moms for dinner and out of nowhere, she yells, "Dang dude" again. She had said that the other day but then she says, "slow down buddy". It was so funny. She totally got that one from me. She just keeps reminding me that everything that comes out of my mouth (especially when I'm driving) needs to be PG!!!!

Motherhood

So true!! There's just never enough hours in the day!

Dutchess

My mother in law sent me this e-mail that is so cute. It reminded me of a dog from my childhood but first, here is the e-mail;

An old, tired-looking dog wandered into the yard. I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home. He followed me into the house, down the hall, and fell asleep in a corner. An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out. The next day he was back, resumed his position in the hall, and slept for an hour. This continued for several weeks.
Curious, I pinned a note to his collar: "Every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap."
The next day he arrived with a different note pinned to his collar: "He lives in a home with ten children -- he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?"

This made me smile because there was a dog named Dutchess that would do the exact same thing to us when I was little. She lived across the street and when her parents left, she would jump her fence, jump our fence and ask to be let in. As you can see in the pictures, she made herself at home and you can also see that we didn't mind one bit.

Dutchess on my bed with covers and all;)

Here she is with me and my dad. She was a very sweet dog.

Way-Back Wednesday

Who loves short shorts??? The first one is on the fourth of July (hence the fireworks) and we always went to my grandma's house to light them. You gotta love the brown pinto!!! The second one is me with our dog Poco. He was my 'baby'. I had a ladybug stroller and I would put him in that and push him all over the house. I had to catch him first which was tricky at times but once I had him in there, he just went for the ride.


In this one, I took the scissors and cut my bangs right before we left for the pictures. My mom was not happy with me but I still think it's a cute picture.

Ouch!

All of my muscles hurt! For some reason, I just decided that I would do my Tae Bo dvd this morning. I know....laugh. But that is my best at home workout. I need Billy Banks to yell at me to "Tighten those abs!!!" I walk an hour with my mom everyday but a kickboxing workout works a lot more muscles. I lost 30 pounds with the help of Tae Bo about 8 years ago and I would be happy with even half of that. So I am planning on waking up before the kids get up and do my dvd. It was fine while they were up. I just gave Makenna some paper and crayons and put Jordyn in the swing but I was sweating big time. So unless I want bad hair days everyday, I'm going to have to do it before. Plus, Makenna was very nice to inform me that I stink. That was so nice of her, don't you think? It's a good thing I'm not going anywhere today;)

I just don't understand

When I was pregnant with Jordyn, I would look on the babycenter boards where there were other women that were due in the same month as I was. One day, someone posted a story about a family who had a 6 month old boy who was shaken by his daycare provider. He was unconscious for three months but is thankfully getting better. There were a few times where I would sit at the computer bawling while I read her blog. I'm sure it wasn't smart to read while pregnant but I just had to know how this sweet little baby was doing. I looked at her blog tonight and while he is doing better, at a year old, he still can't even hold up his head or eat. I found myself tearing up again and wondering where this world is going to. There are so many horrible stories about people doing things to their kids and it makes no sense. Just walk away!! Put them down!! My mother in law and I were talking about something similar and she said that when Travis' niece was a baby (she's almost 17 now), he stood over her and said, "how do people hurt little babies?" I concur. How do people hurt these precious, little souls that are so innocent? I just don't understand.....

Random

What a sweet little baby we have. I had just put J.J. down for the night in her crib (yes, she is doing very well) and I realized that Travis hadn't yet ironed his clothes for tomorrow. We had been using that room as our throw whatever in room and that is where the ironing board ended up. And since Travis irons EVERY day, it's just easier to leave up. I just told him to be as quiet as he could but as soon as he started, she turned her head and opened her eyes. She didn't make a sound as he ironed. She just watched for a bit and then yawned and turned her head and went back to sleep. Ahh, what a good baby.
As for my parrot Makenna, we were driving in the car yesterday when there were a couple of idiot drivers out on the road. One of them didn't want to stop for the stop sign as I was already going through the intersection which unfortunately happens a lot. Anyway, my daughter yells out, "Dang dude!!!" And then down the street another car did the same thing and she said "goodness sakes". I guess I'm ok just as long as I don't say anything worse. I've been known to give these drivers a tongue lashing while out and about. I am proud to say that we have quit saying the 'bad' word 'punk'. Travis and I would playfully call each other that and I didn't realize how often we did until she started saying it. It doesn't sound so nice coming from a two year old. So we decided that we would all stop saying it. It was hard to get out of the habit at first but we are all 'punk' free now.

My first Caucus

Well, I went to my first caucus this morning and I now know how a caucus works. Well, sorta. I guess I do. What a weird process but it was neat to be a part of it. It was nice to have people there that you actually know. They split you up in precincts (neighborhoods) so there were quite a few from our ward. The guy in charge was actually in our ward as well. It was funny because one of the ladies said, "go see Brother L to sign in". You pretty much elect delegates to go to the convention and represent you (and who hopefully has the same views as you). Four out of six of our delegates were Mormon so that was good. And then you take a straw poll and pick which candidate you like. They count it all up and the candidate who gets the most votes gets our six delegates which was Mitt Romney. If you have watched the news at all, he pretty much won big time in our state. Anyway, that was about it. It was nice to have a tiny little say in who might be our next president. We've got to start praying because this election scares me. The wrong person in there will not be a good thing.

On another note, I did put Jordyn in her crib last night and she did awesome!! She slept from 9-7 without a peep. And I was very proud of myself. I didn't get up in the middle of the night to check on her. I only checked on her about five times BEFORE I went to bed;)

Grandma and Papa

Dear Mom and Dad/ Grandma and Papa,

Thank you for taking us with you when you go grocery shopping on Fridays. You make grocery shopping actually fun. Thank you for taking one kid while I have the other so I'm not overwhelmed and can shop in peace. And thank you for taking us out to lunch afterwards each week. Yummy McDonalds!! We look forward to it every week. Makenna loves it when her Papa is off work and can spend time with her and I know J.J. feels the same way. (She just can't say so yet;)

Love, Us

Too big, too fast!

My beautiful baby is four months old today!! Can you believe it? She has gotten so big. And tonight might be the night that I put her in her crib. She has started to wake up at 6:00 right when Travis gets up. So I'm hoping if she doesn't hear us, then she might not wake up as easily. I know some might say....four months and still in her cradle??? But it's hard for me to make that move. It's a biggie in my eyes. When they are right next to me, all I have to do is look over to make sure they are ok. I just worry when they are down the hall. Besides, Jordyn is such a shortie that she still fits in her cradle and I haven't had to move her. But I guess it's time. Wish me luck!!

Farewell beautiful cradle


I'm a big girl now!

Way-Back Wednesday

I thought I would post pics of me and Travis when we were in the 8th grade and then about a year before we got married. Boy have we changed!

We've known each other since the 7th grade but became close in the 8th grade. We had so much fun in the 8th grade. We were both hall monitors so we got to get out of class five minutes earlier than everyone else and hang out. Yes, we were the bomb. He was so nice to me. Who knew that these "kids" would be married with two kids of our own someday. (Gotta love the bangs....the higher, the better!!)


No wonder I wanted to date him after his mission. He grew into such a handsome man if I do say so myself!! These were probably about eight years ago. It's crazy how time flies! (Ahh!! No double chins!! We'll get there again someday!)

Uh oh....time out!!

I guess Makenna's baby was naughty and needed a time out!! I don't know why she is naked. She took her clothes off the day she got her and she's been naked ever since;)

Happy Birthday Nancy

I just wanted to wish my mother in law a happy birthday. We got to go to Outback to celebrate last night and it was nice, minus the whining two year old. Travis and I keep saying we won't take her again until she is older but we keep doing it anyway. She was fine once I held her but it's a little hard cutting steak with her on my lap. Plus, J.J. started fussing and I had to nurse her while I got weird looks from the people next to us. It was like they had never seen a baby before. That's how you feed them people!!! I'm not going to go out in the car in the cold or in a nasty bathroom because you don't like it!!! Get over it!! All you can see is a blanket over me anyway! What is up with that? It was still nice though to get out and go somewhere for a change. I have also figured out that Jordyn does not like crowds. She is a wonderful baby and I tell people so when they ask me. But then she makes me look like a liar when she starts screaming. I did notice, though, that she does it when there are a lot of people around. We had an extended family get together the other day because my aunt and uncle were in town and it got to be pretty loud. She started screaming and we decided it was time to go. Then at church today, she got real fussy and once I went to the nursing lounge, she calmed right down. I think she just gets overstimulated when there are a lot of people around or noise going on. This is a new thing since she slept through a wedding with VERY loud music playing at the reception when she was a few weeks old. But I guess this is how she is right now. But what do you do when you know you are going to be around a lot of people like church? How do I make her stay calm and relaxed when there is a lot of noise? I need baby earmuffs;) We have the late block in church this year and it seemed like every kid at church was crying today. Thankfully, Makenna was awesome. I think she was just excited to be back at church after being sick the last couple of weeks. I'm so glad that she loves nursery. That makes life a lot easier:)

Sometimes I want to be the Dad

Not all the time! Don't get me wrong. I love being a mom. I wouldn't change it for the world. I love the closeness I feel with my girls and the love that they give me in return. Just sometimes. Sometimes I just wish I could take one day and give Travis my boobs and just take off. Let him nurse her and take care of the girls. It would be nice to be able to leave the house without making sure the baby eats first and to be able to be gone as long as I want without running home before she gets hungry again. And it would be nice to be able to take a bath or even a shower in peace. I don't think men realize how nice it is to be able to do just the simplest of things without worry or having to hurry. I'm not trying to complain. I'm just saying....

Throw back Thursday

So, my friend does way back Wednesday and I was going to do this yesterday but forgot. So, I'm doing it today. The one to the right is of me and my brother at Disneyland. And yes, I was a blond for awhile!!! Don't you just love those knee high socks!! Thanks mom for dressing me so beautifully;) I put that pic over the one of me in the bath to cover up my older brother. You could see his wee wee;) I don't think he would appreciate it.

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Our little trumpet player

This is a video of Makenna playing Trumpet. She has her very own trumpet that her daddy gave her and she loves it. It's funny to watch her get her trumpet out of the case, put the mouthpiece on and start playing. She gets a really good sound out and always looks at Travis' sheet music like she knows whats on it. Usually, she has him drop the music stand down to her height so she can look at it while she plays. Oh so cute.

Sorry that it's so dark but we don't have very good lighting in that room. And ignore the mess in the background of all her toys scattered all over the floor;)

Back to work

It was Travis' first day back to work in 2 1/2 weeks. I'm bummed but happy to get back to a schedule again. It didn't even seem like that long. It was a whirlwind of doctor's appointments, pharmacy visits, Disneyland, Christmas, birthday and more doctors and pharmacy visits. We have just been trying to get Makenna healthy and she is just about there. It was a pretty rough couple of weeks because all she wanted was me!! Constantly whining and only wanting mommy!!! I couldn't get anything done. I'm so glad to see a glimpse of my happy daughter back the last two days. I was hoping the whining wasn't permanent:)
Also, as I sit here nursing my beautiful baby, I am thinking about having to go back to work. I'm torn because I'm partially excited to get out of the house and to get our financial situation a whole lot better. But at the same time, I am dreading it. I was thinking about it this morning and I got a panic attack. My chest got tight and my stomach went into knots. I want to cry when I think about leaving my baby. It's easier when they are older because they need more interaction with other people anyway but not when they are babies. They need their mommies when they are this small. And their mommies need them. I stayed home for a year with Makenna and I wish I could do that with Jordyn but it's just not possible. So I just need to suck it up and do it. I'm still going to make it a gradual process like maybe in the next month. I need to make sure Jordyn will take the bottle and that she is on a schedule but it will be pretty soon. I'm so thankful for having such a good baby. I know that will make it easier because I know she's mellow unless she is hungry or tired. But I'm still a mom so I will still worry. Thankfully, I have an occupation where I can make pretty good money and I will only be working a couple of days a week. It's just going to be very emotional when I have to go for the first time. I wish we were like Europe who gives their new mommies one year off maternity leave PAID!!! Ugh!!

Christmas pics continued

On Christmas Day, we opened our presents that we got the girls and then headed over to my parents house. We are so fortunate that we live five minutes away from each of our parents. One lives to the east of us and the other to the west and we love it. We had breakfast and then opened presents. Makenna was still feeling yucky so she didn't get as into it as she normally would but we still had fun. Her cousin Gunnar is around the same age and they always have fun together.

Cousins!!

I love that both my sisters kids and mine are around the same age! We can already tell these two are going to be good friends as well!

Sick eyes!! And yes, that is a transformer that she is holding! I do believe my girl is going to be a tomboy like her mommy!!

Baby Santa!!

This is one of Jordyn's gifts. She only looked at herself in the mirror at first but I am happy to announce that she started batting at the toys today!!! She's getting so big!!

Christmas pics...finally!!!

We spent Christmas Eve with Travis' parents and family with a yummy turkey and ham dinner. Then Grandpa read Luke 2 while Travis helped Makenna put stickers on a picture to match. Unfortunately, Makenna was sick for Christmas so she had a runny nose and tired eyes while she opened presents. She definitely has the knack of ripping those presents open though.

She put the stickers on some funny places.

She got some cute, new jammies!!

My poor sick little girl.

J.J. got a Christmas bear!

This is one of Makenna's favorite gifts from Santa on Christmas morning. A drum!!! It's funny. We didn't take many pics at our house.