Month 29

Dear Luke:

I have been meaning to write a letter for weeks and I just can't seem to get into it again. It's really bothering me because I feel like I'm forgetting important things (or will forget them if I don't write them here). The other night Daddy and I were talking in bed and laughing at some of the things you had said or did that day. Dad said, "You really need to blog." That was the last thing on my mind but he is right! I never want to forget a single funny moment or memory that our sweet boy gives us, and the only way to be sure of that is documenting them! You are talking so much and are just so full of energy every time we turn around you are dancing, jumping, yelling, singing, making some funny or weird facial expression, etc. A couple funny stories:

-We were shopping the other day for a couple things at a Halloween store for our annual Murder Mystery party. (yay!) and the new Train song came on the radio (50 Ways To Say Goodbye). Out of the blue I heard you singing, "Help me, help me....nananana light na na na goodbye." It's so funny to me how you pick up on things even when we have no hand in the matter.

-A couple weeks ago we finished reading your bedtime stories and you looked at me very seriously, held up your little pointer finger, burrowed your eyebrows and said, "One more!" It was very cute at the time even though you kept arguing with us for one more. NOW it's not as cute and is kind of becoming a problem because you'll ask to do something "One more time" before you have even been given permission to do it once. We were at Target and you stood up in the cart and said "Jump?" And I said "No jumping!" and you said, "One more time!" Again very seriously. It's hard not to laugh at times like that but you cute little dude sure know how to manipulate.

-You were obsessed with all things Halloween. Our neighbors go all out on decorating their yards and houses. They have big blow up pumpkins, witches, cats, etc. Every single day you wake up asking to go see the blow up things or pumpkins. You love driving around just looking at them. And if we go to any store that has pumpkins your day is made. You absolutely loved the pumpkin patch.  We took you a couple of weeks ago and you loved it.  You could have stayed in the jump house for days.  It took Daddy a little while to convince you to go down the huge blow up slide, but once you did, you wanted to "One more time!"

-Our favorite thing you have started doing is calling Daddy, Drew. Haha. Forget about daddy. If you need something you call, "Drew!" from the other room. I guess we should probably start teaching you that isn't proper "respect" but it's too dang cute for the time being.

Our lives have been really busy as daddy has started his Masters and is gone Monday and Wednesday nights from 5-8, and Saturday mornings from 8-3. :( It's a huge adjustment but getting one on one time with you has been fun. This pregnancy is so much different having a crazy toddler to care for, but I wouldn't change it for the world. I am thankful more and more for you every single day, little buddy. You light up our world and every day is a new adventure. We watched a bunch of old videos of you last night from you under your jaundice lights to dancing around in the living room and everything in between. Can't believe you will be 2 and a half this month. So crazy. Not a baby anymore that's for sure! But that's okay because we'll have one of those around here soon enough. I just hope we can get you potty trained and sleeping better before that day! Love you little man.

Mom

My new BFF/arch nemesis

So this time I really have a good excuse for not blogging. I've been a little busy with my new bff. Or my new arch nemesis. We have a love hate relationship. Here he is:

Not who you were expecting? Well let me explain. I've held off on introducing him to you because well,

I'M PREGNANT!

And the reason I have him is due to that. Posting about him or posting about how sick I've been would give away that tiny detail. :)

I am due April 3rd, I am 11 weeks today, and I have been more sick than I ever thought possible. I wasn't this bad with Luke, so this is kind of new to me.

This little guy is a zofran pump. It's basically a pump that controls a syringe full of zofran (anti-nausea medication) so that I get a constant supply of it 24/7. The pills weren't working their magic like they did with Luke's pregnancy, so this was the only option so I could avoid hospitalization/iv fluids. I've already had to get fluids 3 times with the pump, so without it, I would be much worse off. It's really not that bad except for having to poke myself every day. The sites where the catheter goes get pretty lumpy and sore, so I change it every day to a new spot. The good news is, I am getting better each day! I even took my pump off a couple days this week to test how bad I got, and it wasn't too bad. So I'm hoping it's gone for good soon.

We are going to Disneyland this weekend with my family, and I am going to bring the pump but not wear it and just see how I do.

Drew has been a saint through it all because I really haven't been able to do anything for myself or for Luke in the evenings. From 3 pm until bed time all I can do is lay on the couch and whine. My poor hubby and toddler. It's really hard to stay positive and see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I know it will pass and I will be so happy with the result. We couldn't be happier to be bringing another blessing into our lives! We will probably be able to get at least a good guess on gender in a couple weeks. Working at a perinatal office with expert sonographers helps when you're pregnant! ;)

Anyway, I have a lot of catching up and posting to do! And now that I'm feeling a little better, I plan on doing just that. Heres to getting better soon so I can celebrate how happy we are!

Dear Luke-

Summer is flying by and we are having so much fun! It's going a little too fast and I hope it slows down because soon enough daddy will be going back to work and all the fun will be gone! You are having a blast being home with daddy every day by yourself since mommy is working an extra day per week. 4 days a week is too much to be away from you and I am looking forward to 3 days a week again in August. We have been swimming, traveling, and visiting family so much! We have had weddings, baby blessings, and missionary farewells the last couple of months on both sides of the family, so we are lucky to get to live close enough to attend important things! You are a little swimmer already. I guess that's what you get when you live in 110 degree heat and have to get in the pool every day to survive! You can swim all by yourself with floaties on :)

You are talking SO much and are as busy as ever. You are all boy and love to wrestle with daddy, jump off furniture, color on the walls, and scream as you run in circles around the house. We wouldn't have it any other way. You are still my sweet boy and give me kisses and say "Yuv you."

You are obsessed with spiderman right now. You can say "spider" but for some reason you call spiderman, "Bite-ber-man." You point him out wherever you see him, and we even thought about taking you to the movie that just came out. We didn't because you are still a little too busy to sit for an extended amount of time.

You love Disney movies and I feel like a bad mom because you watch them a lot. We are trying to cut back but it just makes you so happy and how can we resist you when you come up to us holding the case and say, "(Daddy) or (Mommy) I want thisss..." in the sweetest voice. Your favorites this week are Wall-E, Tangled, and Bugs Life, and Princess and the Frog. (You love princesses...oops.)

You are still not the best eater and I think it's because you don't feel like you have time to sit and eat a meal. You would rather take a bite, then run around, then take a bite, etc, etc. You have days where you will eat 2 bowls of oatmeal, a full PB & J, and then whatever we are having for dinner (without being picky at all.) But then other days you get by with some fruit snacks and a cheese taquito. Hopefully you start eating a more consistent diet so I can keep up with you. ;)

You still go to bed at 7:30 ish and sleep until 7:00 ish in your big boy bed. It is heaven. We are thinking about taking on the next "big boy" step, potty training. We figure with daddy home with you all day, it is a great time to try. So after our trip to California in a week and a half, we will try!

You REALLY love babies and are around them a lot. You have two new baby cousins, and mommy and daddy have some friends who just had babies as well. You love giving kisses and holding them, but you sometimes think they like to play a little bit more rough than they do. So we have to keep a close eye on you!

We love you little buddy. You make us laugh every day and watching you learn and grow is our greatest joy in life.

Love, Mom

Festivities

Argh! I am sorry. My blog is slacking big time. We have been super crazy busy the past two months! Granted some of the things we have been busy with are things like going to the new splash pad by our house, or celebrating birthdays/our anniversary/weddings, etc. But nonethless, we have been busy.

Most of you probably saw my birthday suprise on facebook but goodness it was so cute I should probably post about it here too. :) So I woke up on my birthday, walked out of my room and saw a sign that said, "10 reasons I love you." Then I looked down the stairs and there were 10 brightly colored signs going down the stairs. I couldn't read them right away because I was on my way to get Luke out of his crib and ready for the day when I saw the sign. So I put it on hold for a few minutes. Then once Luke was dressed and ready, and I had showered, I decided to go read the signs. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I turned the corner and there was a sign that said, "and 90 more...". My silly little brain read, "and so many more." So I turned around and went back upstairs thinking, "Oh my husband is so cute and thoughtful!" Once I got ready and Luke and I came downstairs to eat breakfast, I read the sign at the bottom of the stairs again and gasped when I realized it said 90. I turned to the kitchen and there were brightly colored papers EVERYWHERE with reasons Drew loved me. I literally gasped out loud and Luke said, "WHOA!" Haha. How cute is my hubs?! I love him so much, and to top it off he made me my favorite cake, too. He's the best.

For our anniversary, Drew was in Salt Lake at a DECA competition, and I was in Henderson working so we didn't get to do too much that day. I did turn around all his signs he wrote me and wrote reasons I love him. (They were still hanging since my birthday because we hadn't been home for a week.) Then we went out that weekend. I can't believe it's been 4 years! Time flies when you're having fun. :) Drew also bought me this sweet necklace for our anniversary. The little note goes inside the envelope...it has a little message on there. "I was born to tell you I love you."

My little brother, Garrett got married a couple weeks ago in the Salt Lake Temple! It was a really fun week. We were able to go through the temple with Gavin on Wednesday, Chellcee (Garrett's new wife) on Thursday, had the reception Friday night, and the wedding Saturday morning! It was a perfect weekend full of lots of family time. Now Gav leaves in a couple weeks for Mexico on his mission. Can't believe the baby of the fam is already almost 20! We are OLD. Hopefully we get pics from the wedding sometime soon! But here is Luke looking handsome at the reception.

Luke had his 2nd birthday and we had a Toy Story party at the park near our house. It was perfect! I can't believe he is two and he is such a little man. My parents came into town for his actual birthday day and we went to Toys r Us, then to Town Square to shop, ride the little train and eat at Yard House. (Best. Restaraunt. Ever.) Everyone come to Vegas so we can go eat there with you. You won't be dissapointed!

Now that we're sort of cought up, hopefully I can blog more this summer! Or maybe Drew can since I will be working 4 days a week, and he won't be working at all. ;) We don't have as many trips planned this summer as we did last summer just because I am working now, but we will still have plenty of fun I'm sure!

I had lots more pics to post but Blogger is being weird and I'm too impatient right now!!

Dear Luke,

You are now 2 years and 2 days old. I haven't written to you in a while, and today I am really sad that I didn't write you this whole year. Although I was planning on writing you this letter, I was more inspired to do so today. A couple weeks ago, a tragedy hit my small home town of Heber. A car accident killed a few members of a well-known and well-loved family in the community, one of them being an almost 2 year old. Not even as big as you, yet. Immediately, I found her parents' blog, (I know members of the family, and know OF the little girls' dad, but not personally) and I couldn't help but cry reading her monthly letters to her little girl. She was doing the same things you do. Saying the same words and throwing the same tantrums. Seeing her precious pictures made me think of my own sweet baby boy. How blessed I felt to be able to still hold you and kiss you. I even had trouble sleeping for a while because of the anxiety I felt if I lost you. Now, 3 weeks later, you had a birthday and I have thought a lot the past two days about the little things in our life that make me love you even more.

I love your cute little voice that seems to have an expanding vocabulary every day. You can repeat almost anything we ask you to, (which isn't always good because daddy thinks he's funny having you repeat some words I won't state here....). You have the sweetest heart and are so concerned if you think anything is wrong with me, or anyone else. Although you are a complete terror and your favorite thing to do is tear through your toys (or anything really) as if you are the Tazmanian Devil, you still find time to cuddle and sing, "I Am a Child of God" with me.

You change so much every day, and I can't keep up with it unless I write you letters. So I'm going to try to do this again. Because I want to cherish every. single. moment. I have with you. Even the peanut-butter-in-your hair and spilled juice moments. I want to remember the cute things you say and the cute sounds you make when you're excited.

You are still our world. You light up our lives. And you make me happier than I ever thought  a tiny thing could make me! I can't believe you are 2 whole years old! It still feels like I should be strapping you into your baby swing or crawling around on the floor with you. But instead I'm chasing you around full speed and begging you to slow down so I can kiss you. I love you little man. Until next month when I write you again, remember that!


Love, Mom

Tagged!

I'm bored at work, and my dear friend Lauren tagged me to do this a couple days ago. So here we go!

Rules:
1. post these rules
2. post 11 random things about yourself
3. answer the questions provided by the one who tagged you
4. create 11 new questions for the people you tag
5. tag 11 people

Random Things:

1-I don't have a spleen, a galbladder, an appendix, my tonsils or my wisdom teeth!

2-I don't eat meat.

3-I love to travel and have been blessed to see many beautiful places in my life so far. Including 46 of the 50 United States, Australia, and Mexico!

4-I am the only girl, with 5 brothers, and when I was born they wanted to flush me down the toilet.

5-I absolutely hate bubble gum. It's soo gross. I hate the smell, the taste...everything. So please don't chew it around me.;)

6-When I was 3 years old, I lost a lot of my hair. My doctor told my mom it was "due to stress". (What kind of stress does a 3 year old have you ask? We moved across town from my bff!) I am a huge stress ball...and when I get stressed I pull at my hair. Resulting in hair loss! :(

7-I've lived in only 3 places (Heber City, Cedar City, and Henderson) but have moved 10 times.

8-I have the cutest little boy in the entire universe, his name is Luke!

9-I love to sing and dance. I miss performing.

10-I took piano for 11 years and I was the Music Sterling Scholar in High School.

11-I am a really messy person. :( My closet has clothes everywhere 99.9% of the time. Poor Drew.

My questions to answer:

1. if someone was holding a gun to your best friend's head and told you to smoke a cigarette or they would shoot your friend, would you?
Yes! Without a doubt, yes!

2. soda, pop, or soda pop?

Before I met Drew, it was pop. He hates it called that so now..soda.

3. dream vacation destination?

Anywhere in Europe or Chile.

4. ever bought something off an infomercial? what?

Acutally, no! I was super tempted to buy some pajama jeans though. (lol)

5. chipotle or cafe rio?

Mmmm..mexican food...cafe rio!

6. guilty pleasure movie or tv show?

I watch too much tv, which I am guilty about, in and of itself! BUT, my guilty pleasure is 16 and pregnant, and Teen Mom. haha

7. favorite britney spears song?

Hmm..Dear Diary. HAHA JK! Womanizer is pretty catchy..

8. do you floss? be honest.

To be honest, nope. :( My permanent retainer on bottom gets in my way and then I just avoid it completely! Alyse, help me!

9. favorite app?
Drew bought me the People magazine app. Guilty pleasure #2. Also, Draw Something is super fun! Is that an app? (Lauren, you are the queen of apps...help me out.)

10. dream career? i mean, if you could do anything for the rest of your life, what would you do? and don't be practical about making money or how much schooling you'd need. what would you love to do?

Definitely a sonographer. I work with them every day and see what they get to do and I have to do it someday. It will happen.

11. what's currently on your shopping wish list?

I need some new bare minerals foundation powder! My birthday is coming up! ;)

New Questions:

1. What are 5 foods you couldn't live without?

2. What is something you're afraid of?

3. Favorite book?

4. If you could spend a day with anyone famous, who would it be and why?

5. Coke or Pepsi?

6. What is your most fond memory of your childhood?

7. In a perfect world, where would you live? What would you do every day? (job, kids, etc.)

8. Favorite Michael Jackson song?

9. Biggest pet peeve?

10. Favorite tv show or movie?

11. Most embarassing moment?

I tag: Leesha, Jenna, Alyse, Alison, Lily, Mal, Katy, Micah, Jayme, Lola, and Cassie!

Did you learn something new about me? :) Have fun!

BAHAMAS 2012

I heart cruises. They are amazing. Seriously, if you have never been on a cruise, I highly recommend you put it on your "Vacations to take" list. I know you have a list! Add the cruise! They are just soo much fun. You get to see so many cool places, you get loads of yummy food of all different kinds, you get to sit on the boat at night time staring out at the ocean while eating ice cream cones, and best of all SOMETIMES you get to swim with dolphins! It's just the way to vacation I tell you. Although you pay for your food and your views and your activities, it doesn't seem like it because once you get on the ship you don't have to pay for anything! (Unless you want extra stuff...like to swim with dolphins or parasail or jet ski...) Just go on a cruise, that's all I'm going to say :)

Our cruise was soo much fun! I could go on and on about all the cool things we saw and did, but here are some pics instead. (In no specific order because that takes too much work! ;)

Disclaimer: I know most of you are on the edge of your seats waiting to hear about my dolphin encounter, but that post is going to have to wait because I had to order the pics! They wouldn't let me take my own camera, so I had the photographer take some, and after I order them, I will post about that specific activity. Because it was amazing, and needs it's own post.