Courtney, Joshua, and Lucy

15 Months

2012-01-12T11:34:00.000-08:00

This little sunshine is almost 16 months old, so it's probably time for me to do her 15 month update. At her 15 month doctor appointment her doctor confirmed what we already knew: that she is tiny, to quote the Dr, 'extremely socially advanced', considerably more flexible than other kids/babies, one of the busiest babies she has ever seen, right on track with verbal and motor skills, and about to get a top tooth. At 15 months Lucy is also:

walking everywhere! She started doing this at about 14.5 months. Finally! She had been standing and taking a few steps here and there for 3 months. Then, one day, she decided to give up crawling and was an expert walker. She just wanted to teach us a lesson in patience.
still obsessed with Home Alone and imitates Kevin's aftershave face smacking/screaming scene every time she knows it's coming. She even does it randomly throughout the day while playing, eating and trying to go to sleep.
loves to do somersaults, be tossed on the couch and have pillow fights. This is no delicate baby here.
likes to color for a few minutes here and there, especially on the walls, floor and her toys. We're working on that one.
loves bath time and races up the stairs to take one.
still happy pretty much all the time, but when she's not, she'll let you know. Her tantrums are short lived, thank goodness, and usually don't last more than 15 seconds.
still eats like a champ. She especially loves guacamole and cold oatmeal with blueberries (yes, cold oatmeal...so gross!). She loves to mooch off of our plates. If we are eating a snack, she comes right over to us and rubs out backs and gives kisses and then signs 'eat' and 'please' so we'll give her a bite.
does several signs and says a few words to communicate.
loves to have a dance party. She came up with a little marchy dance that she does that she thinks is hilarious.
Still loves other babies and little kids. She is so social, it makes me a little nervous. She isn't afraid of anyone and I'm afraid she is just going to walk away with someone if I turn my back for more than half a second.
only 17 lbs. and has officially dropped below the 0% mark on the charts. She is now 35% for height and 5% for head size. She is just a tiny little bean, like her mama.
climbs on anything and everything she can.
LOVES to be outside, even in the middle of a frigid Utah winter. She will bring me her coat and boots and then walk to the front door and sign please. It's so cute, I have to take her out there even if it's just for a few minutes.
still loves her accessories and shoes. She brings me scarves, shoes and bows throughout the day to help her put them on.
loves to crawl and walk around with shirts, blankets, etc over her head. She would do this all day long if I would let her.
knows where her and your eyes, ears, teeth, and belly button are.
loves her baby dolls. She puts them up on her shoulder and pats their back and gives them kisses. She will take any toy really, and pretend it's a baby and do the same to the block, ball, chap stick, blanket, etc.
still the busiest baby I have ever seen. She is Spiker through and through. The child NEVER stops moving. Ever. It is exhausting, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I just wish I had a little more of her energy. We are all very tired by the end of the day.

We couldn't love this firecracker any more than we do. She owns our hearts and we wouldn't have it any other way. She has the most precious face on earth and it probably keeps her from getting in trouble when she's naughty. She is smart, and happy, and feisty, and lovable in every possible way. We love her so completely.

I was going to wait until the blog was private to do anymore posts, but it will only let me add 50 readers to my list. Does anyone know how to add more readers than that?

14 Months

2011-11-23T06:58:00.001-08:00

Our precious girl is 14 months old! She continues to grow and shine, learn and play every single day. She is still the busiest baby ever and is hilarious to watch. Every little thing she does is magic and we are entertained by her 100% of the day.

At 14 months, Lucy:

is obsessed with the movie Home Alone. She especially loves the part where Kevin attacks the burglars. She doesn't even blink for those 15 minutes. It is the only thing on earth she will sit still for. It's amazing, really.
can walk, well take enough steps to get from one room to the next, but still chooses to crawl.
is teething. She still only has 2 bottom teeth, but her top right tooth will be poking through any day.
still sleeps and naps well. She used to do 12 hours at night, but since day light savings, she's been doing more like 11 hours a night, with two 2 hour naps a day.
loves other kids and babies.
gives kisses voluntarily throughout the day. She makes the cutest 'ooooooooo' sounds when she wants to kiss you. We love it. She is showing more signs of becoming a cuddler, but she can't keep from moving long enough to actually do it. She gives hugs, short little snuggles, and pats you on the back which is the cutest thing ever.
is still the tiniest little thing. She weighs about 16.5-17 lbs. She can still wear half of her 3-6 month clothes from last winter. Even though she is a bean, I get tired and achy when I hold her too much.
has shown the beginnings of a temper. Finn and her battled it out over a book the other day and when he finally took it from her she clenched her fists, turned red, growled and her whole body shook!
loves to make messes and empty any box, drawer, or container that she can.
can climb up and down the stairs.
loves to pretend she is talking on the phone. She puts it up to her ear, says 'yep', nods and speaks gibberish. She can unlock my phone and I often find all of my settings messed up.
can sign please, eat, and more. It is so cute. She just started doing it one day. I never really pushed the signing thing with her, I would just do it a few times a day when I would talk to her, and then one day she just started doing it. She knows when to use each sign to tell me what she wants, and it's actually been really convenient.
still isn't talking too much. She says dada, hot, soft, nigh nigh, yep, woof, moo, and moe for more. I got her to say Santa (sa-ta) twice, but she mostly just laughs at me and shakes her head when I try to get her to talk. She mostly grunts and leans when she wants something.
still loves her accessories. She plays with them throughout the day. Her favorite thing is still a scarf. She also loves shoes.
loves to go outside. She just plays with the leaves and we dance, and she crawls around on a blanket. She LOVES it. She loves the wind, always has, and gets so happy when a breeze hits her. We go on walks almost daily. She gets so excited when she knows we're going outside.
loves her dad! She gets so excited when he comes home from work. It's the most darling thing ever. She still will take me over him though most of the time. I think the further away from nursing we get, that will change.
doesn't nurse anymore. We stopped about 3.5 weeks ago. It's been very bittersweet. She is doing great without it though, which makes me feel better about stopping. I think the transition was slow and long enough that it wasn't shocking to her when we were done. She now drinks almond milk with a little bit of whole milk mixed in.
is so smiley, and playful, happy and fun. I love that she is such a happy baby, and that is shows on her face. She seriously smiles all day long. It brings joy to my heart.
looks like Cindy Lou Who, especially when her hair is in pigtails. She is the cutest baby ever.

I think that's it for her 14 month update. We feel like she changes in some way everyday. She is constantly learning something new, or hitting another milestone. It's amazing and we couldn't be more proud of her. We love every last ounce of you Lucy Lu!

Private

2011-11-21T06:00:00.001-08:00

I think the time has come for us to go private. I was really hoping we wouldn't have to do this, because private blogs are such a pain, but I think it's something we need to do. So, if you would like an invite, leave your email in the comment section below (my comment moderator is on so no one will see your addresses). I will take our blog private sometime in the next few weeks. I really will make more of an effort to update our BHBH blog more often, which will stay public, so you can still follow along there for an occasional, small Lucy update.

And to the lovely anonymous person who left that oh-so-special comment for me last week, please don't ask for an invite to our blog. I hope that you will respect this request of mine.

Our Family

2011-11-06T08:22:00.000-08:00

Pictures by the most talented, Jen Herem.

13 Months

2011-10-26T17:57:00.000-07:00

My little pumpkin baby is 13 months! I can't believe it. I swear with each passing month I get more and more confused as to how it's possible for her to be as old as she is. Lucy continues to fill our home with pure joy, belly laughs, and wet kisses. She is the joy of our lives and we are so blessed to be her parents.

At 13 months, Lucy:

has officially taken her first steps!
walks really well while pushing her little car toy.
stands freely in the middle of the room, has for a while.
is still the busiest child who has ever lived. She doesn't stop for 10 seconds all day long, unless it's nap time. She even wiggles and kicks her feet throughout every meal.
is very curious about everything that is going on around her at all times.
can climb onto anything and everything she can see.
is very very fast.
is very playful and giggly.
LOVES the princess car we got her for her birthday. She scoots around the house all day long on that thing. She knows where she needs to duck to get under the island and the tables and uses it to open drawers she usually wouldn't be able to reach.
loves to empty cabinets and drawers we don't have child locks on. There are a few that we have that aren't compatible with the child safety latches so we just have to deal with the constant emptying and cleaning up. Don't worry, the only things in those drawers and cupboards are completely harmless.
still loves to do somersaults. I find her upside down, waiting to be tipped over several times a day.
still loves her hats and scarves. She also now loves shoes and sunglasses. She still tries to dress herself.
is a little tornado baby. She leaves a huge mess in every room she crawls into.
is a fantastic eater. She still loves everything and is mostly on a fruit and veggie diet with grains and legumes thrown in there as well. She eats salmon every now and then and we have started introducing cheese and yogurt into the mix.
gets distracted and bored very easily. She plays with a toy for about 1 minute before she throws it behind her and she's onto the next thing (with the exception of her car and stacking rings). She can put all of the stacking rings on the pole by herself! She claps after every single one she puts on, it's pretty funny.
still loves attention from anyone and everyone who will give it to her, which is pretty much anyone who ever sees her.
has discovered toilet paper and loves to unravel and shred the entire roll.
is afraid of the vacuum.
got her first ear infection. It was soooo sad. She was miserable, but is doing great now. It was the first time she's really been sick. She had a minor cold when she was a few months old, but other than that, this is it. We were so sad for her.
still smiles from ear to ear all day long- my favorite thing about her. She is a very happy little baby.
still nurses morning and night but only for a couple more days.
has a terrible sounding whine that comes out when she's tired.
loves playing with other kids and babies. She is very social, always has been.
says hot, woof woof, moo, yep, and dada.
loves to play peek-a-boo, patty cake and chasing games.
still loves her bink, although we aren't giving it to her quite as often.
nods yes and shakes her head no when you ask her questions and knows what she's doing. She always says 'yep' when she nods and does it very deliberately. It's so cute and funny!
still the tiniest baby in the bunch. Her pants all fall off and are baggy in the legs. She's just tiny.
loves to kiss herself in the mirror and in pictures.
loves to turn light switches off and help me open the curtains.
still puts everything in her mouth.
instantly shoots her hand up to her ear every time she hears a phone ring or I get a text. She loves to pretend to talk on the phone and play games on it as well.
is smart and funny, cleaver and sneaky. She is the cutest baby I have ever seen.

I'm sure there are things I'm missing that I will have to add as they pop into my mind. Lucy is my happy. She is completely adorable in every way and is loved by all who know her. I am so lucky to be her mama. I couldn't ask for more. She completes my life.

Fall Festivities

2011-10-24T08:25:00.000-07:00

We have been loving this Autumn weather and have been trying to take advantage of it as much as possible. This past week we took Lucy to the pumpkin patch. She loved it, we loved it- it was a great evening.

Last week, we went to the cabin to spend some time with my family. Sundance is absolutely gorgeous this time of year. We hiked, played outside, ate delicious food, took naps- it was perfect.

Like Mother Like Daughter

2011-10-04T07:26:00.000-07:00

My Lucy is hilarious! This girl loves accessories. She got some scarves for her birthday and they are one of her very favorite things these days. She will dig them out of her basket in her room and drape them around her shoulders. If she doesn't have an actual scarf she will take whatever she can find- dish towels, gym pants, t-shirts, bras, etc, and wrap herself in them. She gets so frustrated when she can't get them to stay on. She does the same thing with hats. Whatever she can find to go on her head instantly becomes a hat. She has put bloomers, blocks, boxes, towels, bowls, etc on her head to make a hat. She loves to wear my headbands as necklaces and takes the rubber bands out of my hair and wears them as bracelets. While I fold the laundry, she tries to dress herself. She is smart and knows where each piece of clothing goes, but gets so mad when she can't put her shirt, socks, or pants on by herself. She is becoming very independent already. I'm sure we have some very frustrating moments to come because of this. I feel like she is too young to be wanting to do things herself! Her newest thing is wanting to feed herself using utensils. Oye! She is a very smart and determined little girl and I love that about her.

Lucy's accessories:

One

2011-09-26T06:58:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Lucy turned one!!! We celebrated her birthday a few days early with many of our close friends and family. We are so grateful to everyone who came to celebrate our dream baby's life. We are so lucky she is ours and we couldn't be more blessed.

Lucy's party was held in our backyard. It was raining and stormy the entire day and night before, which really really delayed the party set up. We weren't able to set up everything that I had planned because of the rain, but the party was still a success. Luckily Lindsay and Ashley were here to help me set up what we could the morning of. Without them, the party would have been a total flop. They are amazing.

Lucy enjoyed the day full of attention, yummy food, her first taste of sugar, and tons and tons of presents.

Mari made these willow-esque garlands, and I made the fabric poms hanging from our cherry tree.

The treat table:

The grilled cheese and Autumn soup table:

The kiddies spent the day blowing bubbles, coloring with chalk and running around the yard.

This was the look Lucy had on her face the entire time we sang 'Happy Birthday' to her. She was so confused!

First taste of sugar:

The paparazzi.

Lucy's favorite gift of the day:

She seriously LOVES this baby doll. Thanks Grandma Judy!

A crown, fit for the queen:

Lucy has blessed our lives more than we could ever express. We love her more than anything on Earth. She is the most adorable, crazy, energetic, happy, smiley, loveable, cutest baby ever. She is the best part of our lives. She is amazing in ever way.

At one year, Lucy:

can stand up! Only for about 30 seconds at a time, but she's making progress.
still has more energy than we do.
has 2 teeth.
eats amazingly well and still loves everything.
nurses 3 times a day.
loves to clap, play 'Patty Cake', roll her little fists (sooo cute!), and play hide and seek using her hands or an object.
does (assisted) somersaults
sleeps very well.
loves people, especially other babies and blonde women.
gets so excited when she hears someone coming her way, or when her dad comes through the door after work.
can climb up our stairs in about 2 seconds flat.
can climb onto the ottoman and the couch, and can get down from all furniture by herself.
loves her baby doll and gets so excited, giving her hugs and kisses, every time she sees her.
is obsessed with accessories, especially scarves and hats. She loves the scarves she got for her birthday. If she doesn't have one on, she will take a dish towel, pants, whatever she can find, and wrap them around her shoulders and neck to make a scarf. She likes to try to put her clothes and shoes on, and gets frustrated when they don't stay.
loves when we praise her for anything she does (which is pretty much all day long).
is still the smiliest baby ever! She has the best smile in the world, and flashes it all day long.
is teeny tiny. She still only weighs just over 16 lbs (1st percentile!), is 29.5 inches tall (68 percentile) and her head is now in the 5th percentile. She is a feather.
impressed her Dr with all of her tricks and her social abilities.
can tell you what a doggy says. She thinks she loves dogs, and gets so excited to see one, until they get close.
loves to stack blocks.
is starting to show small signs of being cuddly. She climbs on my lap several times a day and rests her head on my chest or shoulder for about 2-4 seconds. Then she's off again!

This is a slideshow I made to document Lucy's first year of life:

Eleven Months

2011-08-24T06:46:00.000-07:00

My baby is growing up before my eyes! How is it possible she is already 11 months old? It breaks my heart that she is growing so quickly.

At 11 months Lucy:

is still just the tiniest baby ever. She is light as a feather and still has a tiny little head, but is very tall.
is the sweetest thing in the world right when she wakes up in the morning. She is all smiles and coos. I love it.
is more social than ever and LOVES to get the attention of random people at restaurants, stores, wherever. She turns on the charm and sucks them right in. She still loves other babies and kids and is in Heaven when she gets to play with them.
still has more energy than I do. We both are exhausted by the end of the day. She is too busy to sit and read with me anymore. She has been for a couple of months now. I have to sit on the floor and read to her. She comes and goes to look at a page every now and then. Texture books seem to keep her attention a little better than normal books.
is the life of the party everywhere we go. Everyone wants to hold her and play with her. She loves it.
loves her mama and it thrills me. She still wants me all the time and it's the best thing ever.
knows when Josh comes home from work. She hears the keys turn in the door and lets out an excited shriek as she bolts to the front door to greet him.
initiates kisses and it's the best thing ever!
is still too busy to cuddle with us. I am reluctant to stop nursing her because that is the thing closest to cuddling that I get to do with her.
still nurses throughout the day. We have cut out one feeding, but still nurse about 5 times a day. I will probably cut another one out in the next couple of weeks. I can't believe we are at this point already.
loves to play with 'toys' that aren't toys at all. If it could potentially be dangerous, she's all over it!
dances and it's the cutest thing ever!
can pull herself up to stand and can walk while holding onto furniture. I think we are still a couple of months from real walking though.
finally clapped, but has only done it a couple of times. She can point to things she wants and has been doing so for a little over a month.
has a really cute wave.
still eats fantastically well. She still has a vegan diet, only eating fruits, veggies, grains and legumes. I haven't seen the need for her to have anything else up to this point. She gets plenty of nutrient rich calories and is as healthy as can be. She still hasn't had sugar outside of the fruit she eats, or anything processed. I will probably introduce fish and some dairy in the next few weeks. I wouldn't give her dairy at all if I wasn't going to wean her. I want to get pregnant though, so nursing will slowly be coming to an end in the next few months, and she will switch to whole milk. Boo!
doesn't nap quite as much as she used to. She naps on average 6 hours a day. A couple of months ago she would do up to 9 hours in a day. She still sleeps between 10 and 12 hours a night, usually 11 though.
loves to be outside. I think she loves having freedom to crawl anywhere she wants. Our house is small and old so we don't have any huge empty play areas for her. You can tell how excited she gets to be in a big open space and it makes me sad that we don't really have that for her in our home. She loves to swing on the swing her daddy built for her last year. It's so cute!
only has two teeth.
still puts EVERYTHING in her mouth. I would have thought she would be less interested in this by now but I was wrong! She still puts every little thing she possibly can in there. Naughty pants.
still loves the camera and totally poses for pictures.
is the sunshine in our day. Lucy is the best thing that has ever happened to us. We couldn't be more in love with her. She makes us laugh all day long and is the greatest thing in the world. We are so proud to be her parents.

Recent mobile uploads

2011-08-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

Five Years

2011-08-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

And every minute of it has been amazing. We are so blessed.

July

2011-08-10T07:01:00.000-07:00

The month of July was insanely busy for us. I'm going to let the pictures do most of the explaining, but we spent more than half of it in CA, Josh was flying back and forth between UT and CA during that time, we went to the cabin, spent time with family and friends, went to two outdoor concerts and still took care of normal life stuff. We are happy to be home and get back in the swing of things. Here are pictures from the first half of July:

Fourth of July celebration in Utah, on the second.

The actual fourth was spent at my parents house.

Lucy cheesing it up with Aunt Lindsay.

Shopping with our lovely friend Whit. We love her.

We spent a week and a half in Newport Beach. It was awesome. Lucy loved the water, and playing with her cousins, who aren't really cousins, that's just what we call them. We ate delicious food, played with family, Reesey and Ash came down for a sleepover, we shopped, swam, sunbathed, went for a boat ride, did a segway tour on Balboa Island, and had BBQs aroung the fire pit. It was perfect.

Lucy's 9 and 10 month updates

2011-07-22T10:04:00.000-07:00

At 9 months Lucy:

had been army crawling for 3 weeks. She is a little speed demon! She can find me anywhere in the house and loves being able to get around on her own.
weighed 15 lbs (4%) and was 28.5 inches tall (80%) and still had a tiny 4% head. I'm really happy about that though because the 3-6 month hats that she couldn't fit into last winter will fit her this year. I tried them on her a couple of days ago and they are still a little big.
still slept like a newborn and could only go 2 hours without taking a 2-3 hour nap.
was the happiest baby ever. The girl seriously smiles all day long.
was a great little eater. She eats EVERYTHING we give her and is the healthiest eater ever! She loves avocado, mangoes, asparagus, strawberries, broccoli, couscous, quinoa, blueberries, sweet potatoes, hummus, tomatoes, etc.
still breast fed throughout the day.
was very social. She would get so so excited anytime she would see another baby or little kid.
got her first tooth!
was always on the go and never stopped moving.
loved to play her Uncle Luke's ukulele and drums.
was the light in her mama and daddy's life.

At ten months Lucy:

is the cutest, happiest, most energetic baby alive. She never stops moving-EVER!
puts everything in her mouth. Seriously, EVERYTHING!
prefers to play with things that aren't actual toys. Tupperware lids, lip gloss tubes, wisks, and cardboard boxes are magical to her.
is still a tiny peanut. She is as light as a feather! She is now very much noticeably smaller than all of her friends who are the same age. Somehow she still dominates them, out of love of course.
can crawl, but still prefers to army crawl. She is insanely fast too. She can climb stairs, although I've only let her go up two. I don't want her to get comfortable with that quite yet. Our house has officially been baby proofed, gate, electric covers and all.
loves water. She loves to swim, dip her feet in the ocean, and take baths. She thinks splashing in a puddle is the best thing ever!
can finally go a little longer without a nap. I'm actually kind of excited about this one. I'm starting to cut out one of her naps (the last and shortest of them all). It makes getting things done outside of the house much easier for me. She still naps for 7 hours a day.
loves to drink mango puree and water out of a sippy cup.
chows down at meal time. It's actually amazing how much the girl eats. It shocks people. She still has loved everything we have given her. She LOVES to feed herself and is really good at it. She chooses to eat her veggies before her grains, which I love.
still breast feeds before each meal and in between meals- usually 7 times a day. She is starting to get more distracted during nursing time, but generally still does really well with it. I will probably start weaning her sometime next month and I'm really sad at the thought. I want to try for #2 soon though, so the time is coming. We'll go until she's at least one though.
makes the Forest Gump heaving noise when she gets really excited. It's so weird, and really funny. Sometimes she is so strange, but I love it! She is a spaz like her mother.
is loved by EVERYONE! Seriously. Our family and friends can't get enough of her. Even strangers melt over her. She just draws everyone in with her smile and warm personality. She loves people, and people love her back.
got her second tooth.
is getting really good at playing on her own. Sometimes she prefers a little time by herself to crawl around and play with her toys. She will fake cough every few minutes to make sure I know she's still there, and then she gives me a huge smile when I glance her way and then she goes right back to playing.
loves the camera and poses for it. She knows to smile when I pull it out and she'll even kind of flirt with me when I'm taking her picture.
loves playing with the iPad. She likes Fruit Ninja, and Paint Sparkles. She also likes to watch short videos of animals, and look at pictures.
loves her flash cards, counting, singing, and doing ABC's. She still just laughs when I try to get her to do signs. She thinks it's hilarious and doesn't get that I'm trying to teach her to communicate.
is totally uninterested in walking. It's quite amusing to watch because she just so does not want to do it. She'll definitely be a late walker.
still loves her bink but doesn't rely on it quite as much as she used to. We play a new binki game with her where we bite the plastic end of it and she has to come get it from us with her mouth. She thinks it's the greatest thing ever.
can wave, but still no clapping.
makes tons of different consonant/vowel combination sounds, and jibber jabbers all day long.
is the busiest, craziest, most entertaining child ever. I miss her when she naps. She keeps me laughing and busy all day long, and I love every second of it.

Lucy Lu, you are the greatest joy in our lives. You make our hearts burst with happiness and you are the best thing that has ever happened to our family. We are so grateful we have been blessed enough to raise you. You are the perfect match for us and we couldn't love you more. You are completely adored by everyone who knows you. You are a dream come true and we love you more than you'll ever understand.

Love,
Mama and Daddy

First boating trip of the season

2011-06-30T06:25:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we took the boat out for the first time this year! Josh was in Heaven. Boating is seriously his favorite thing ever. Lucy is probably the only thing that makes him happier. He loves everything from preparing the boat, to getting behind it on his board.

Lucy and Finn did fabulously. They couldn't have been better, which was such a relief for me. Lucy still relies on her naps so much, that I was worried we would have a tired and cranky baby who just wanted to sleep all day. She did awesome though and was such a champ. Neither she or Finner were fans of their life jackets. They couldn't move in them! Lucy just sat perfectly still (for the first time in her life) for the first two hours, sulking because we were making her wear it. I've never seen her so calm, it was amazing. Maybe I'll just have to pull that life vest out when I get tired from chasing her around, at the end of the day.

She fell over when we first put it on and was just stuck like this for a few minutes. She couldn't get herself back up and we of course all thought it was hilarious. She didn't seem to mind!

She loved playing with her Aunty Tiff and Uncle Jared.

Finny kept trying to eat the wind. It was hilarious.

Joshy doing his favorite thing!

Our sulker.

She loved playing in the water with her daddy.

Our little boating family.

I would say the first boating trip of the season was a success! The boat worked perfectly, the baby was happy and we had a perfect day with some of our closest friends.

Lucy Lu

2011-06-20T07:09:00.001-07:00

I had the fantastic Jen Herem take pictures of L for Josh and my dad for Father's Day. They turned out amazing, beautiful, magnificent! Jen is seriously talented, I definitely recommend her. I'm going to have her photograph my next birth, she does the most incredible birth stories. Anyway, Lucy was a dream for this session. I love that we have been able to capture so much of her life in photographs. She is growing up so quickly and I love to go back and look at her sweet little life and remember how things used to be. We are so blessed to have a healthy, happy baby. We love her so dearly.

Our Spring CA Trip

2011-06-02T15:07:00.000-07:00

We spent almost a week in CA this past month, and it was wonderful as always. We had at trip packed with good friends, family time, swimming, a day trip to Santa Barbara, the zoo, a child-less date night with Joe and Tori, pilates, walks around the lake, shopping, and Lucy was finally able to 'meet' her Uncle Patrick.

Lucy was a champ pretty much the whole trip. She had a little melt down around nap time one of the days we spent at the pool, and got antsy at a restaurant one of the nights, but other than that she was awesome. She LOVED the flamingos at the zoo, and really enjoyed seeing all of the animals for that matter. We were able to Skype with my brother, Patrick, who is serving a mission in Argentina, on Mother's Day. It was so good to see him in action, happy and doing well. I love and miss that kid.

Lucy fell in love with a mylar balloon when we were at Walgreens one evening, so of course it came home with us. She thought it was the coolest and funniest thing ever. She loved playing with her friends. We were able to see Finn, Luke and Reese while we were there.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip. We always love being able to spend time with my family, and love soaking up that California sun.

8 months

2011-05-25T06:18:00.000-07:00

Our sweet baby is 8 months old! I really don't understand how that is possible, wasn't she just born? Lucy is the most amazing baby ever. She smiles alllllll day long, and I love every second of it. She is such an incredible little person, who only makes the world a better place. I tell her all the time how proud I am of her always bringing joy to people's hearts. We have thoroughly enjoyed being Lucy's parents and love this little girl more than we ever could have imagined.

Here are some recent phone pictures of the little munchkin:

Some things about Lucy at 8 months:

She really is the happiest baby ever. She smiles and giggles, even to herself all day long.
She LOVES attention. If you play with her, or even look her way, you will become her best friend pretty much instantly. She smiles at everyone everywhere we go! She is a day maker.
She has more personality than we may know what to do with in a few years. This is no boring child! She is hyper, and energetic, and funny, and completely loveable.
She never lays still. If she is laying on the floor, she is rolling around. I will find her 10 feet from where I layed her down, 30 seconds after I put her there. She even scoots while she sits.
She can get up on her hands and knees or elbows and knees, and has started rocking. I think we'll have a crawler in a few more weeks.
She loves to play in her exersaucer. It keeps her busy and entertained forever.
She likes to stand up and hold herself up with the help of the couch or ottoman.
She sleeps between 10 and 12 hours at night and still naps for between 7 and 9 hours a day.
She LOVES to be outside. When she sees that we are walking toward the front door, she squeals with excitement, her legs kick and her whole body tenses up. It's so funny.
She grabs everything all the time.
When she gets happy or excited about something she sticks her arms out and squeezes her hands into little fists, like she is grabbing the air. So cute.
She babbles and talks all day long. She says, 'dada' non stop and mimics us when we talk to her.
She loves to make spitting fart noises and sometimes thinks she's hilarious when she does.
Bath time is one of her favorite times of day.
Girlfriend has still only ever had breast milk, and some water to drink. I still make all her food.
She is getting bigger, but is still a tiny little thing.
She will only take a bottle if the milk is hot hot hot.
She has started posing for pictures. She knows when I hold the camera up to look and smile. I rarely have to say anything to her anymore, she just does it. Maybe I take way too many pictures of her, but I can't help myself.
She loves to be thrown in the air, to swing, to be bounced, etc. We may have a little dare devil on our hands.
She giggles and is sooo happy when we go to get her out of her crib in the morning or after a nap.
She puts everything in her mouth and hates when you take something away from her (like the wad of paper she had shoved in her mouth the other day...lovely).
She LOVES other babies and little kids. She would play with them all day if she could. It make me excited for her to have a sibling one day. I wish she had a cousin her age. She does have some good little friends who are her age, which we all love.
She still has no social anxiety whatsoever.
She is very curious and loves to explore and learn about everything she can.

Lucy is the best thing that has ever happened to this family. She is the greatest joy of our lives. We love her so completely. Every little thing she does is magic, and we are so lucky to be part of it all.

Will post soon

2011-05-16T14:46:00.000-07:00

I've been busy squeezing this delicious face, all day every day.

7 Months

2011-04-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

Our sweet baby girl turned 7 months old last week! How is this possible? I can't believe it has already been 7 months. It feels like yesterday that I birthed her, but like she has been with us forever. Lucy continues to be a ray of sunshine in our lives and home. She is the sweetest baby around and we love her so unbelievably much.

At 7 months, Lucy:

can sit up on her own! She has only taken one fall while sitting and she's been doing it for almost a month. She has great balance and control.
rolls allllll over the place all the time. She is a little tumble weed and is never in the same place I put her, even after just a few seconds.
reaches for EVERYTHING! Whether we are holding her, she is in her stroller, or she's on the ground, she tries to touch everything in sight. Who knew the vacuum handle, wall corners, remote controls, door knobs, etc could be so interesting? I try to let her touch as much as possible, because I know that is how she learns at this age. I love that she is so interested and that she loves to learn.
eats a ton! She still loves to nurse, and she is a champion with solids. Girlfriend eats everything we give her. The only thing she hasn't liked is edemame, which I'm ok with because it is a soy bean and I don't want her to eat a lot of soy. I still make all her food. She loves everything from mangoes to lentil soup and has had no tummy issues with anything we've given her. She still hasn't had any gluten, dairy, or meat- only fruits, veggies, grains, and legumes. I will probably introduce the other foods groups to her in the next couple of months.
still naps 6-7 hours a day. She is such a good little sleeper. She sleeps through the night most nights. For a while she had stopped, I think between traveling and growth spurts, she was waking up once a night. She just needed her bink and she'd fall asleep again. Now she's back on track and we all are loving it!
is still toothless, which I love! I thought for sure she was teething a few weeks ago, but there are no teeth in sight yet. I love her gummy little grin.
is extra squishy! I love her rolls and her quadruple chin. Yum!
notices other babies and little kids. She gets so excited when she sees another little one. She has to touch them and giggles. It's pretty cute.
gives me kisses and I love it! They are open mouthed, wet and amazing. I love her.
loves her mama and daddy. She smiles at us all day long and thinks we are the greatest people om Earth. We love it and will take it while it lasts. I hate to think that one day we will embarrass her and that she won't need us anymore.
has started to notice when I'm not paying attention to her and she fake coughs/gags to get me to look her way. Little stinker.
has terrible eczema. We all hate it. She scratches at it all day, and even in her sleep sometimes. It bleeds and scabs, and looks so uncomfortable. I'm determined to figure out the cause of her eczema and eliminate it completely.
loves to suck on her toes! It's so funny.
is still the happiest, funniest baby ever. She smiles at everyone and is just a bundle of happiness.

We love our little Lucy! She continues to amaze us, every day. We feel so lucky she is ours.
We are so very blessed.

Tulip Festival

2011-04-27T09:17:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point. It was a gorgeous day and it was so nice to be outside enjoying the lovely colors of spring!

We all loved this bridge and want to replicate it at the cabin, crossing our stream.

Lucy and her favorite uncle, Luke.

Lindsay and I always wanted these ribbon crowns when we were little, so of course when I saw them there I had to get one for Lucy.

Luke, my dad and my mom.

Joshy taking care of his Lucy pants baby-cakes.

She was exhausted by the end of the day. She was such a champ. She missed 2 of her naps and still managed to be happy through everything!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T10:26:00.000-07:00

Our sweet girl

2011-04-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

We had Lucy's 6 month pictures taken a few weeks back. They are quite precious, if I do say so myself. I was sure none of them turned out. It happened to be during her nap time, she face planted within minutes of starting, and then I poked her eye. I was happy to see that I was wrong, and that the pictures came out beautifully. I will cherish them forever.

I just snapped these in our yard, quickly the other morning because she was being so dang cute.

Our funny girl

2011-04-19T20:04:00.000-07:00

So long sweet swaddle

2011-04-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

The time has come for us to say goodbye to Lucy's beloved swaddle. I know this probably seems over due (seeing that she is 6 months old) and like no big deal to everyone except me, Josh and Lucy, but it really is a big deal for us. It means our baby is growing up and it breaks my heart. I knew that this would have to happen eventually, and that I would never be ready for it. Lucy has loved being wrapped up all tight since birth. I think it's because she was living in such tight quarters, inside me for so long. Her swaddle always made her feel safe and comforted. It calmed her instantly when she would start to get upset before bedtime. It was our go-to source of relief. She would get so excited when we would start to swaddle her and was always so happy and calm when she was all wrapped up. It was her sleep cue and it worked wonders. We had a little bedtime routine. We would bathe, put jammies on, read, do kisses and loves, etc., then we would swaddle her and lay her in her crib and press her little glow seahorse. Instantly she would turn slightly to her right, arch her back and conk out. It was hilarious. She would fall asleep instantly once she was snug in her little cocoon. She looked like my own little caterpillar when she was swaddled. Her face always looked so cute and fat sticking out of the top of her little burrito wrapped body. Oooooh, I love her.

Our pediatrician told us that once she could roll over we needed to stop swaddling her. Two months later, we have listened to her advice. We tried to take it away a couple of times, but poor little Luc just wasn't ready. She would cry and seemed so confused as to why she was in her crib without her wrap. She never would fall asleep and it was miserable for all of us. So, we kept swaddling her. We would leave her legs out sometimes to try to ween her of it.

Eventually she started rolling over, and waking herself up, several times a night. Once it started to affect her sleep in a negative way, we decided it was time for a change. We started with her morning nap, just to see how it would go. I was dreading this. She fussed and whined for about 5 minutes, but fell asleep! Her nap only lasted about an hour and 15 minutes, but it was waaaay better than I expected. She continued to surprise us by falling right to sleep, and eventually her naps got longer and longer. It took about a week for her to start sleeping through the night again. Her naps are now getting back up to between 2 and 3 hours and she is doing great (most of the time)! She is so funny. We put a couple extra binkies in her crib so she can always find one. A few times when I've gone in to get her, she'll have one in her mouth and one in each hand. As much as I have missed and will miss seeing her little face poking out of her swaddle, I do love seeing her tiny little body in her cute jammies all the time. She sleeps on her tummy now and her bum just looks so cute in her jams, I love it!

Part of me feels terribly guilty for taking something she loved so very much away from her. I know it seems so small but it was the first time I had to make a hard choice in her behalf. I feel like she has grown up so much over the past week and that I forced it upon her- I hate that. I washed her swaddles and folded them for the last time two nights ago. My eyes were watering and I wanted so badly to go get her from her crib and wrap her up again. I always want her to be my sweet little tiny baby, and I felt like she was still so new when she was all bundled up. So, I've been mourning the fact that my baby is growing. Things are changing and it really is truly wonderful, a blessing really, but it kills me sometimes.

She gets more and more fun every single day. She laughs and plays with me. She grabs my face and gives me a big wet open mouthed kisses. She smiles every time I look at her. She loves to nurse and to cuddle with me in our rocking chair. She thinks the wind is hilarious, it's so funny to watch. She loves to be outside! She really is a happy little girl. It brings bliss to my heart to see her enjoying everything around her. She is so smart and I can't wait to see what she chooses to do with her life. I have so enjoyed having Lucy as my daughter. She has been the greatest source joy Josh and I have ever known. She is a wonder and we love her to the moon and back.

Lucy's swaddle journey from birth to 6 months:

And now, without her swaddle. Could her arms be any cuter? Seriously.

Lucy happy as a clam, all wrapped up. Don't mind the red eye, I had the night vision on, or the booger in her eye. Kinda gross.

25

2011-03-24T10:13:00.000-07:00

Josh is the best husband ever and planned a 2 week getaway to CA for my birthday. I turned 25, twenty-five! this month. We packed our bags and flew to the sunny state to enjoy some much needed time away from the smoggy cold that Utah provides this time of year. It was a glorious 2 weeks. We took daily walks around my parents amazing neighborhood, went to the pool, shopped, ate, played with friends, did yoga, went to San Diego, and enjoyed family time. It was perfect.

On the first of our many lake-side strolls. I'm excited to take Lucy out to feed the ducks one day. I know she's going to love exploring in my parents backyard.

For my birthday we went to Americana for a day of food, shopping, and the farmer's market. That evening we had some family and friends over for a BBQ. The weather was spectacular and we enjoyed every second of it.

Lucy enjoyed not being crammed into long sleeves and coats every day. We think she looked pretty cute in her sun dresses and rompers (thank you Eloise for this yellow number!).

Some randoms: Lucy woke up with a complete mowhawk one morning. Luke and Lucy- best friends. Reese was much more excited about Lucy this time around. She made sure she had her paci in at all times. We gave Lucy a sippy cup for the first time.

We were able to meet my sweet Aunt Pam for lunch in Pasadena one afternoon. It was lovely. I love and miss her. She is hot and I hope I look half as good as her when I'm in my 50s.

That afternoon we took Lu to the pool. She loved it as I knew she would. Her legs were going crazy under water and she splashed around. She is so fun and I can't wait to play outside with her every day this summer.

We left Lucy with my parents for a couple of days for a weekend away in San Diego. I cried handing her over to my mom and teared up throughout the first day away from her. I felt so confused and anxious not having her with me. I missed nursing her and wanted to cuddle and love on her. It was good to spend time alone with Josh though. We ate at the most amazing restaurants ever, had massages, shopped, and enjoyed the perfect weather. We were going to go to the beach and go on a boat ride but everything was closed due to the tsunami. So, our plans changed and we made the best of the situation. We enjoyed being together- our loved ones were all safe and sound and that's all that mattered.

Lucy enjoyed plenty of cuddle time with my family. I know she was loved and taken care of which I am very thankful for. I missed her so much and was so happy to be with her again. Unfortunately, I got mastitis (most likely) from not nursing her for 2.5 days and only pumping during that time. This is the 3rd time I've had it since she was born and it sucked every bit as bad as the other 2 times.

We had a little dessert party on our last night in town with some family and friends. It was lovely seeing and catching up with everyone. I miss all of my CA friends. Lucy had some play time with her little friends too.

Our trip was perfect. It made me want to move, even more, to CA. Maybe one day- maybe not. For now, we will enjoy our pretty house in UT and the seasons we have here (minus winter).

Thank you Joshy for my birthday trip. It was perfect. You are the best and I love you.

Lucy is Six Months Old!

2011-03-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

My sweet little Lucy is 6 months old today. How is that possible? Wasn't I just pregnant, and dying for her to come out? Well as baffled as I am, I am completely grateful for and pleased with these past 6 months. They have been more amazing than I ever dreamed. Lucy has been the single greatest blessing in mine and Josh's lives. We put her to bed at the end of every day and stand outside of her room amazed at what we have created. We then proceed to talk about her until we fall asleep ourselves. She consumes our lives in the best way possible. She is our little angel baby. We couldn't enjoy being parents more than we do. She makes it easy. We are so very blessed.

Lucy had her six month well-check this morning. Her doctor commented that she has never seen a smilier or happier baby than Lucy. Lucy is growing great, she's tiny, but right on track. Her stats are as follows:

13 lbs. 11 oz. (10%)
25.75 inches long (52%)
15.9 inch head circumference (6%)

She is our tiny little flower but she is as healthy as can be. We love her so.

Here are L's 6 month mobile uploads:

Some things to know about Lucy at this age/some of my favorite things about Lucy are:

She really is as happy as all her pictures make her seem. She smiles ALL DAY long. Even when she gets fussy right before bed, she smiles through it- it's hilarious.
She giggles and coos to herself for up to a half hour when she wakes up in the morning before she's ready to get out of her crib.
She is so very social. Everywhere we go, everyone loves her! She is very engaging. She makes eye contact with total strangers then flashes her amazing, gummy smile and giggles at them. This will go on for minutes and minutes with anyone that looks her way. Everyone tells me she makes their day. She has no social anxiety, that's for sure. If you look her way, you are her new best friend. She turns heads all the time because she will just sit in her stroller, smiling. She's so freaking cute.
She loves playing with Josh. She thinks he is hilarious!
She can finally roll over from tummy to back! This was something I was quite excited about because she would get so frustrated when she would roll onto her belly and get stuck. I would have to go roll her over every few minutes. This went on for 2 months! Last week she finally figured it out and she's so much happier playing on her own now. We worked with her, and tried everything to get her to do it on her own, and it finally happened last week.
She is close to sitting up on her own. She can do it for a little while and then collapses. I think within a week or so she'll be a sitting queen.
She loves to stand with the support of furniture or our hands.
Lucy loves going out to run errands. She loves being in her stroller and looking around. She is very inquisitive and loves to explore. I think Whole Foods is her favorite place to go.
She started making a very high pitched excited squeak in the past couple of weeks.
She is busy most of the time but will still stop to cuddle with us, which we LOVE. She has been extra cuddly the past few days and I have enjoyed every second of it.
She still sleeps 10 hours at night, and naps 9 hours a day. That is about to change though. I think we're both ready for her to be awake more. I think we'll go down to 6 hours of napping a day.
She loves me and I think it's the best thing in the world. She kisses me, and cuddles me, and loves to nurse. I love being her mom. I know one day she won't love me as much, and she will get embarrassed by me and I can't stand the thought. I always want her to want me and need me like she does now. Taking care of her has been the most fulfilling thing I've done in my life.
Her favorite foods are mango, avocado, and butternut squash. I make all her baby food and she has only had breast milk to drink.
She still loves her paci. She can find it and put it in herself now.
She has become a thumb sucker this past month! I think it's so cute. She doesn't do it enough that it will be a hard habit to break when the time comes. I think the bink will give us more problems in that department.
She clasps her hands, and raises her eyebrows when she talks to you. It's the cutest and sweetest thing in the entire world.
She still loves to be swaddled, which is a problem because it's time to do away with it (says Josh).

Lucy has been such an pure source of joy for us. She is our best little friend. I don't know what we did before her. She really is the happiest and easiest baby I have every known. We are so lucky to have her as our own. We couldn't love her more. Happy half-birthday Sunshine!

Our snowed-in weekend at the cabin

2011-03-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

So, I have failed at updating our blog once a week, so I have a lot of catching up to do. What else is new? We have been so busy lately, we spent a long weekend at the cabin, and 2 weeks in California. Lucy has been a champ through it all and is truly an angel baby.

The weekend we spent at the cabin with my family was a little crazy! We got snowed in and lost power for a day or so. The plows couldn't get to our driveway until a day after the crazy storm so we were trapped at the cabin, which isn't such a bad place to be stuck. With the power out, Lucy had to wear a hat inside and was swaddled pretty much all day. She didn't seem to notice and enjoyed the extra cuddle time. We went snow shoeing a couple of times, sat in the hot tub, did puzzles, watched movies, and enjoyed being together.

We are lucky to have such a beautiful place to visit. This is our driveway, my dad trying to make some progress on the cars before the plow could get to us, and the view from the front door.

The mountain of snow in front of the cabin, after the cars had been moved.

Our first snow shoe adventure was at night. We bundled Lucy up in her snow gear, and loaded her in our pack. She loved it! She was cooing and singing to herself the whole time. She is such a good sport and loves to be outside.

She also LOVES the hot tub. She looked pretty darn cute in her bathing suit if I do say so, myself.

Staying warm with the power being out. We can't even use our fireplace when the power goes out so blankets and clothes kept the wee one warm all day.

Lucy loves her mini recliner.

LOVE

2011-02-14T11:28:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day to my true loves, Joshua Ray and Miss Lucy June. I love you both more than words can express.

Lucy wishes all of you a Happy Valentine's Day too.

Lucy in action

2011-02-04T09:26:00.000-08:00

So my husband informed me about something I am already aware of, all I ever blog about is our edible daughter. One of these days I'll document some of our activities, etc. For now, I'm going to enjoy these clips of my scrumptious baby.

Four months already?

2011-01-26T08:52:00.002-08:00

Our sweet Lucy is 4 months old, already! Where has the time gone? We love and adore every itty bitty piece of her. She is the sweetest, happiest baby ever and we are so thankful she is ours. We are one proud little family.

Our greatest joy:

I love the following pictures, not because they are great pictures by any stretch of the imagination, but they are so very Lucy. She is so animated and always raises her eyebrows when we are talking to her, or when she is talking to us. She is so dang cute, I can't stand it.

On her 4 month mark, she rolled over for the first time. Josh and I both missed it which we were sad about, but she did it! This is her right after, when I found her on her tummy.

The prettiest little face I've ever seen.

She really is the sweetest little thing ever.

She did it again the next morning.

We took her to her 4 month check up yesterday and she is still long and lean with a bitty head. She is getting chubbier by the day. Her rolls must be filled with air. Her head is tiny, but it looks enormous in photos.

Height: 24 3/4 inches (68%)
Weight: 11 lbs 15 oz (14%)
Head: 15 2/5 inches (5%)

Here are some things Lucy is doing and that we love about her at this age:

She rolls over from back to tummy over her right side.
She sleeps on her side with her back arched. It looks so uncomfortable but she loves it.
She giggles and it is music to our ears.
She LOVES the ABC's and has a smile from ear to ear when we sing it to her.
Lucy watches and listens intently when we count to her and show her numbers with our hands.
She loves to sit with us and read books and do flash cards. We think she will be a smarty.
She loves her doorway bouncer.
She is very strong and stands on our laps and will hold herself up against the ottoman.
She is great at sitting in her Bumbo and has great core and neck strength.
Lucy still is a great nurser and loves to eat. She does what we call the 'shark attack' and she chows down at meal time.
She still takes one 3 hour nap and three 2 hour naps, daily. She always wakes up so happy and seems so excited about life.
She was sleeping 10 hours a night until about 2 weeks ago. She went through a growth spurt and started to wake up to eat. She's getting back to her regular night schedule and is sleeping about 8 hours before waking up, then she wakes up and falls back to sleep for another 2 hours.
She loves getting her diaper changed. One of her happy places is on her changing table. She also loves taking a bath. We have to give her daily baths because her double chin fat catches everything and anything it can, and by the end of the day her hair is a nappy mess.
Lucy love love loves her bink but will also suck on anything in sight. She will put her whole fist in her mouth and gag herself. She also sucks on her index finger, which is what her daddy did when he was a baby.
Lucy always has her hands together, fingers clasped, and holds them up by her cheek. It's the cutest, sweetest thing on earth. She also crosses her ankles all the time. She's such a lady.
She is so fat and squishy, we love it! She's very soft and comfortable to hold.
She loves attention and will do anything for it. She has started to squeal in excitement. It's pretty funny.
She never cries, and when she starts to whine, she stops almost instantly with very little effort on our part.
She smiles all day long. Even when she gets whiny, she can't help but smile through it. It's pretty adorable. She reminds me of my brother, Patrick, in that way.
Lu loves to be held and to cuddle. She gets very relaxed and melts into you, which of course we love. She still loves to be swaddled. It calms her down immediately, and almost puts her to sleep. I don't know what we are going to do when she outgrows her swaddles, because I don't see her not wanting to be wrapped tightly anytime soon.

Well, if you can't tell, we are thoroughly enjoying being parents. It is by far the best thing we have ever been a part of in our lives. Lucy has only strengthened our family and brought peace to our home. She is so pure, beautiful, and happy. She is what we want to be. We love her more than we could have possibly imagined before she was with us. We always want to protect her, provide her with every opportunity we can, ensure a happy life for her, teach her everything we can, raise her to be a good, happy and confident person, and a leader among her peers. We couldn't adore anything more and we are so very pleased with her. She only makes us happy and we couldn't ask for more.

We love you little June Bug!

Lucy's Mobile Uploads, Part 2

2011-01-18T08:57:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the trusty iPhone, I have pictures of Miss Lu from pretty much every day since she was born. Here is our mobile upload catch up for pretty much the past two months.

Lucy at two months old:

Her tiny head still doesn't fit into most of her hats, maybe next year.

Cute kicks Aunt Mari gave her:

We had some fun with the Elf Your Face app.

In my favorite jammies. My heart is breaking, I think she only has one more wear out of these before they are far too small.

Girlfriend has some pretty amazing bed head:

3 months old:

On Christmas morning

Napping with my babe.

Our very own Houdini escaped her jammies. When I unswaddled her this is what I found:

Practicing sitting in the Bumbo. She improved a ton in just a few days.

Much better, only 2 days later:

Partying down with Finn and Eloise on NYE:

Cuddling with Daddy before he left for Pittsburgh:

Lucy and I went to CA to be with my family while Josh was in PA. We just played and relaxed all week. It was lovely.

Lucy is crazy strong and balanced herself for 3 minutes, without a single wobble, the first time I let her do this. She loves to stand and can even pull herself up to a seated position when she's laying on us. She takes after her daddy.

Shopping with Grandma:

My dad's famous baby balancing trick:

She's the cutest baby in the world- bed head, spit up and all.

She fell asleep in the car and her hat fell over her face, it was pretty funny.

Hanging out in her personal mini-recliner at the cabin.

Big girl standing again.

Lately, she has been hating tummy time. This particular time she didn't even try to hold her head up. She just collapsed and had a little pitty party for 5 minutes.

Lucy June, we love you more than we can possibly express. You have brought more joy into our home than we could have ever hoped for or imagined possible. You are our sunshine.
We love you so completely.

Our Christmas

2011-01-12T09:18:00.000-08:00

Time to play catch up! We had a fantastic Christmas filled with family, friends, and happiness. Of course this was Lucy's first Christmas and she was spoiled beyond belief. She had no clue what was going on but it was still so fun to have her with us. We especially loved that Santa came to our house for the first time in a long time. Here is a recap of our holiday.

We bought our tree the first Saturday of December. It was cold, but Lucy stayed nice and toasty dressed as a 'red bowed reindeer'. She loved looking at our decorated Christmas tree.

We stopped by Temple Square to see the Christmas display in all its glory. It never disappoints.

As tradition goes, we had an ugly sweater party with our friends. We enjoyed good company, good food and a white elephant party that left us with a live mouse. Lovely. We let it out in a field before we left because there was no way in you-know-what that that thing was coming home with us.

We headed to CA to spend Christmas with my family. It was a blast as always. Lucy did great on the way down there. She slept the whole time and never made a peep. She's an angel I tell ya! She loved the non stop attention she received all week long, and we enjoyed having other people hold her during meals.

I was able to grab some breakfast with friends from high school while I was down there. I loved catching up with everyone!

The next morning, my friend Jacque and baby Luke came over to play.

Ash was also able to meet Lucy for the first time! They loved each other. Reese, on the other hand, wasn't so excited to share the attention with someone else.

We celebrated Luke's 18th birthday on the 19th! I can't believe my baby brother is 18 years old.

We picked out my parent's Christmas tree and decorated it on Luke's birthday.

Christmas Eve was spent at my Grandma Rita's house. We did a gift exchange and enjoyed a lovely dinner.

Once we got home, Josh and Lucy opened their Christmas jammies. Luke serenaded Lucy on his new ukulele. She LOVES when he plays for her. It's so sweet, she just stares and smiles the whole time. On Christmas morning we opened presents and had a great breakfast.

Christmas night we had my mom's side of the family over. Everyone went crazy over Lucy and we loved seeing her with them.

It was another successful and fun Christmas. It flew by this year, as always, and we loved every second.

2010-12-31T10:42:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, from our family to yours.

You are my sunshine

2010-12-15T08:40:00.000-08:00

You make me happy when skies are gray.

Clearing Out

2010-12-08T08:18:00.001-08:00

It's time for me to finally get rid of the remainder of my P&P inventory. Everything must go! We need to make space for books and toys for our wee babe. Nothing is priced over $10 and most items are $5. I have hats, headbands, and flower clips for babies, boys, girls, and women. Head on over to my Etsy shop by clicking here. These are great, cheap, friend gifts or stocking stuffers for the holidays.

Lucy's Blessing Day

2010-12-05T08:50:00.000-08:00

Our sweet Lucy was blessed in our home, last Sunday, November 28. It was a wonderful experience. Josh gave her a beautiful blessing. It was an emotional moment for everyone present. She is a lucky girl to have a dad who loves her so much. She was her perfect angel baby self, as always, and didn't make a peep the whole time. Lucy is the sweetest babe in the world. We are so blessed to have her as our first born, we couldn't love anything more.

Lucy wore the Christening gown I wore when I was a baby. Hopefully she'll have a daughter one day who will wear the same dress on her blessing day.

Eloise, Lucy and Finn

Eloise was very interested in Lucy. It was pretty funny. Lucy looks really mad in these pictures but her anger only lasted a few seconds.

With all our friends who participated in the blessing.

Thank you to all our friends and family for coming to support our lovely baby. We love you all so much and are so happy Lucy has so many people who love and adore her. She is the greatest thing that has ever happened to either of us and we feel so completely blessed she is ours for eternity.

Thanksgiving Week

2010-12-02T06:19:00.000-08:00

We had an awesome Thanksgiving week. My family came up to the cabin, where we spent most of our time. It is a gorgeous winter wonderland here in Utah right now. The cabin and Sundance in general are magical this time of year. We did a lot of relaxing, eating, and enjoyed our time together.

Lucy with my amazing Grandma Rita, whom I love so dearly.

Chris and Mari met Lucy for the fist time this past week! It was very exciting. Mari stayed with us one night and was able to hold and play with Lucy all morning, which is her best time of day.

My family came into town Monday night and stayed the whole week. Everyone was so excited to see Lucy, I felt like I didn't get to spend any time with her all week. I only got to be with her when it was time for her to eat!

Luke might love Lucy the third most, right behind me and Josh. He adores her so much, it's amazing.

She just cuddled right into him and fell asleep.

We hot tubbed in the negative degree weather. It felt so good to relax in there, but it was so miserable getting out and walking/running to the cabin through the snow. Aaaah, I've never felt cold like that before.

Sweet Lucy on her way to meet Uncle Chris for the first time.

They are naturals, and I can't wait for them to have their own one day.

Cuddling with Grandma Linda before bed.

Napping with my girl.

Linds enjoyed smooching on Lucy and fought off anyone who came within feet of them and looked like they might want a turn with the teeny babe.

Notice Lu holding Lukey's finger, so sweet.

Hanging out in the backyard with Grandpa and Uncle Luke.

One of my favorite things about this age is that her arms don't reach above her head. I think it's just about the cutest thing ever.

Thanksgiving day was spent at Josh's mom's house. A lovely meal was prepared, the kiddies played, the boys watched football, and fun was had by all.

My two true loves:

Lucy's Thanksgiving feast of breast milk made her super sleepy. It's hard being a baby.

Enjoying a good nap on Grandma Bonnie.

Mobile Uploads

2010-11-29T08:36:00.001-08:00

Here are two months worth of pictures from my phone. I wish I had a real camera readily available for some of these moments. I would love to have them in better quality but my camera is in another room a lot of the time and my phone is always on me, so the iphone it is.

Starting with Lucy's birth. This was the first time we had skin to skin contact. I melted instantly and never wanted it to end.

Still, on her birthday.

Two days old.

Six days old.

Nine days old, with her friend Eloise who was 4 1/2 months old.

Sleeping on Josh's lap at 2 weeks old.

Running errands at 2 1/2 weeks old.

Napping on Josh with attitude, 3 weeks old.

My sweet little sleeper, 1 month old.

Five weeks old.

Massive poop explosion at 5 weeks. How on earth did she manage to get it on her shoulder and down her arm? She is a talented girl.

Smiling at 5 weeks old!

Visiting Josh's office for Halloween at 5 1/2 weeks old.

Smiling at her daddy, almost 6 weeks old.

Such an angel.

Little sassy pants, 6 weeks old.

Going on a run with mom, 6 weeks old.

LOVE her bed head. You'll notice she has bed head in a lot of these pictures. Seven weeks old.

My personal favorite, 7 weeks old.

Morning smiles, 7 1/2 weeks.

Lucy can take care of herself, watch out!

Reading the Snowmen book, she will even follow the page as I turn it- pretty impressive.

Getting ready for her Thanksgiving nap, 9 weeks.

Tired of shopping with Mom and Dad, 9 1/2 weeks.

Josh's Birthday and a Great-Grandma Visits

2010-11-17T10:18:00.000-08:00

The first week of the month was a busy one for us. We had 2 sets of out of town visitors, and Josh's birthday to celebrate.

We went on our first date, sans Lucy, since she was born. It was weird being without her but we had a great time together and are looking forward to another night out alone. We enjoyed Red Iguana, our favorite Mexican restaurant in Utah and a stroll around Gateway. We both handled being away from Lucy much better than we expected. We fully trusted our babysitters so I'm sure that's why we felt so calm.

For Josh's birthday he got a tracing of Lucy's hand and foot, a picture of her for his office, and tickets to the U/TCU football game, and the Jazz/Clippers game. He enjoyed an entire day of sports, including his own flag football game.

Lucy with her first babysitters, Brett and Heather.

Thanks Brett and Heather for taking such great care of our little babe.

Happy Birthday to my Joshua Ray. I love you more than I know how to express. You are such an amazing father and are the best husband I could imagine. Lucy and I are both so lucky to have you as our own. We love you!

My Grandma Judy and her boyfriend Bob came to SLC to meet sweet Lucy June. We loved having them in town and it was really exciting for my grandma to meet her first great-grandchild. We enjoyed dinners together, cuddle time with Lucy, and they were also able to visit temple square and Park City while they were here.

We love you Grandma, thank you for coming to visit us!

Halloween

2010-11-15T14:41:00.000-08:00

Boy oh boy, am I behind! I haven't updated our blog in almost a month, and didn't even notice until last week. I have been enjoying our sweet Lucy so much, I totally forgot about this lil journal of mine. I am loving every second I have with our precious little babe, but I'll go into that in another post.

We were pretty lame this year for Halloween. I put very little effort into our costumes as you'll see below. It was a fairly low key weekend for us.

We went to Gardner Village to look at their Halloween setup. It is a must if you live anywhere near Salt Lake City. I love it there, especially around this time of year. They always have the best holiday decorations.

This is such a classic Lucy face.

Josh's office has a trick-or-treat for all the kiddies every year. This time was the first we were able to take a little one of our own. It was so fun watching Josh show off his little beauty. He is so proud of her. She was a big hit! Everyone was in shock over how tiny she was. Four people actually thought she was a doll.

We also went to a Halloween party at Dustin and Carly's house. We had some friends who went all out with their costumes and we felt pretty lame about ours once we got there. It was fun having some social time. I'm glad Lucy makes it easy for us to still spend time with our friends. She's a great addition to our group and is just a joy to be around.

Tori, Finn, and Joe went as a ghost buster, a ghost, and a marshmallow man.

The 3 Amigos. They made these costumes and they were amazing!

The Morrisons were a little farm family. Baby Eloise was the cutest little chick ever.

We went as a family of Antoine Dodsons. If you don't know who he is, watch the video below and you'll find out.

No words...

2010-10-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

Lucy's newborn pictures were taken one week after her birth, by the fabulous Heather Gay.

Life with Lucy

2010-10-12T10:16:00.000-07:00

We have loved every second of having our Lucy home with us. She has filled our home with pure joy and we couldn't be more thrilled to have her as a member of our family. She is a true blessing.

Lucy is almost 3 weeks old now. That makes me want to cry. I want her to stop growing right now. She is so precious and sweet. I always want her to be this way. I love that she depends on us for everything. We love taking care of her and she makes it so easy, she's just so loveable.

Luce had her 2 week check up last week. She is as healthy as can be and is a tiny little bean. Her head is in the 6 percentile. What a little peanut! She weighed 6 lbs 15 oz, which put her in the 12 percentile for weight, and was 20.25 inches long which is in the 46 percentile for height. She had to have her heel pricked for a blood draw and it was heartbreaking to watch. She was so calm and didn't expect what was coming. She looked at me like, 'Why did you let them do that to me Mom?' and it broke my heart. Her cry wasn't an angry one, she just sounded so completely devastated. It took everything I had in me to not bawl right along side her.

Lucy is a great nurser. She has been from the first time she came to breast. She loves to eat, like her mama and daddy. It's so funny to watch, when she knows it's coming she goes crazy! Her little head squirms frantically and her mouth is gaping wide. She has a strong suck and already eats about 4 oz at each feeding. She does not mess around when it comes to getting a full tummy. Lucy is already a great sleeper and has consistently given us a 6-7 hour block of sleep at night followed by a 3-5 hour block, since she was 1 week old. She only wakes up to eat and to get a diaper change, then she's back to bed. We have had her in her crib, in her room, from night one and it has worked out great. I think we all sleep better that way. Her schedule is coming along great and she is really taking to it well. I thought it would be much more challenging to get her on a good schedule, but so far so good. She eats every 2.5-3 hours during the day, has wake time, and sleep time. We keep her up later in the day which helps her sleep better at night. She is a dream.

Lucy is such an easy baby. I'm sure the fact that she eats and sleeps so well is the reason she is so happy all the time. The only time she cries is when she's hungry. She will fuss every now and then when she loses her binki, or if she has a dirty diaper, but is as happy and content as can be other than that. Lucy has a very strong sucking reflex. She loves the boob, the binki, she'll latch onto my chin, she'll suck her hand, arm, pretty much anything that she can get her mouth on, she'll suck. She is such a cuddler and loves to be wrapped and held tight. She loves cuddle tummy time with either of us. My favorite time with her is right after she eats when she rests her head on my chest and falls asleep. She looks so peaceful and completely satisfied. She often smiles too when she is resting on me and that's the best thing in the world. Lucy loves when her dad bathes her. She also loves when he bounces her, it puts her in a trans. She really is just the best thing in the entire world.

Here are some pictures from the first 2 weeks of her life:

Just home from the hospital, so teeny tiny in her car seat.

Her favorite way to be burped. She loves sitting like this. She's my little rag doll.

She always looks so sweet when she sleeps.

Cuddling with Daddy.

A little sleeping smile.

She stretched her arms and when she brought them back down this is where they landed. She's a smarty this one, always deep in thought.

More cuddly tummy time.

Kisses from Grandma Linda.

Lucy has very big blue eyes, she's the cutest thing that has ever existed.

She hated her first bath but now LOVES bath time.

More time with Dad after her bath.

Josh had the 2 weeks following Lucy's birth off from work. It was so nice to have him home. We loved the that time together as a family. We have missed him this past week, as he's gone back to work. He loved his time home with Lucy. They have a very strong bond already. He adores every ounce of her. He has been so helpful with her. I got mastitis when she was 10 days old and had a fever of 103.5 for a couple of days. I felt completely miserable, I had 2 clogged ducts, a fever, body aches, chills, etc. He was so good to me during that time. It was so nice to know I didn't have to worry about a thing. He took care of meals and the house, fed Lucy pumped milk so I could sleep (luckily she'll take a bottle and thank goodness for breast pumps), brought her in to nurse, took care of her every need, went to the pharmacy 4 times for me, carried me to bed, brought me cold wet towels, and made sure we were all ok at all times. He was amazing during that time. I am so grateful for him, he is an incredible husband and an amazing dad. We are lucky to have him.

My mom was also around for about the first 2 weeks of Lucy's life. She was fantastic and made us great meals, entertained and cuddled Lucy so we could rest, and helped in any way we needed. I was so lucky to have so much help and company for the first several days of mommyhood. We miss her dearly and are excited to see her again.

Well, if you can't tell, we are completely obsessed with our precious little Lucy. She is a dream come true and we couldn't love her more. We are enjoying every second of life with her. She is our favorite person in the world. We are so blessed she is ours.

Lucy's Birth

2010-09-30T06:57:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little Lucy blessed our lives by joining us on Wednesday, September 22 at 6:06 pm. It was the best day ever. We were instantly in love.

Tuesday night I went to bed, frustrated that my due date had come and gone. I woke up an hour later to more contractions. I had been having them for a month now and consistently for the past 5 days. I was not happy to spend another sleepless night, having contractions that seemed to be getting me nowhere closer to having my baby. I contracted every five minutes throughout the night. They were stronger than they had ever been but weren't getting stronger throughout the night, or closer together. I thought it was definitely false labor once again. I didn't sleep a wink all night. At 4:30 I just started crying. I was so frustrated, in pain, and was completely exhausted which is a sorry combination for me. I was having quite the pity party for myself. When I was finally able to calm myself down, around 5:45, I felt a little trickle. I stood up out of bed to go to the bathroom, when bam, a gush of amniotic fluid came splashing out. My water had broken! I was shocked and was pleasantly surprised. I immediately woke Josh up. We showered, grabbed our bags, and headed to the hospital.

We got to the hospital just before 7:00 am. We were admitted, I changed into a hospital gown, and was hooked up to an IV. It took them 3 or 4 tries to get the IV in. I have teeny tiny little veins and it is always an issue when I need an IV. Eventually they got it to work, but my arms are still so bruised I look like a drug addict. They are pretty much brown, blue and purple from my wrist to elbow and don't seem to be getting any better. They started pumping me full of saline, and an antibiotic because I tested positive for the strep B bacteria.

I was having contractions and was slightly dilated, the baby was extremely low and I was completely effaced. I stayed like that for a few hours with no progression in the dilation department. The Dr ordered some pitocin to get me to dilate, which I wasn't thrilled about but it did the trick. It took me about 4 hours to go from a 1 to a 3, 2 hours to go from a 3 to a 6 (at which point I got my epidural, hallelujah!), and under an hour to go from a 6 to a 10. I was in shock when they told me it was time to start pushing! Everything suddenly became very real.

I pushed for an hour total. It was a really amazing and fun experience. I had my sister, my mom, my dad and Josh's mom all in the room with me. We were able to joke and laugh and enjoy the entire experience together and it was awesome. Josh and Lindsay each held one of my legs while I pushed. My mom and Bonnie helped support my head and back and my dad was on camera duty above my head. Since I couldn't feel a thing, I had them bring a mirror over a few times throughout the delivery so I could see the progress I was making. It was a fascinating thing to watch and I would recommend it to anyone giving birth. It was really encouraging to see all my work paying off. About 45 minutes into my pushing my doctor came in to check on things. She discovered that Lucy was facing the wrong direction. She quickly flipped her right around. I didn't realize how quickly things would move after she had rotated the baby and didn't know I was on my last push when I was. It was amazing. She said that if she had been facing the right way, I would have only had to push for about 20 minutes. I didn't mind the hour of pushing and actually kind of enjoyed it. With 3 pushes after she was rotated, Lucy was born. It was love at first sight for all of us. She was gorgeous, pink and round with tons of long dark hair.
Our lives changed forever, we were overjoyed.

Just arrived at the hospital

40 weeks 1 day pregnant

Contractions getting a wee bit stronger

The awesome anesthesiologist. After he helped me I was able to fully enjoy the birth of our daughter.

Trying to rest up before the delivery.

Lindsay was my official ice chip feeder.

Josh's mom and my mom

My daddy

Welcome to the world Sweet Lucy.

Our blue little baby. The cord had been wrapped around her neck 2 times.

First contact

I did it!

Our gorgeous little babe.

6 lbs 12 oz

After her birth, Lucy had to have fluid drained from her lungs. She was breathing alright, she was just grunting instead of letting out wailing cries. She had inhaled gunk on her way out, luckily no miconium though, just some goop. While I was being stitched up and taken care of (I had a level 2 tear), they took her to the NICU for about an hour to watch her and make sure everything was perfect before they brought her back to us. She is perfectly healthy and we are so grateful she is so. We missed her so much while she was gone.

So in love.

Our family of 3.

Lucy with Grandma Bonnie.

Grandma Linda

Grandpa Steve

Aunt Lindsay

Cuddling with my precious little babe.

Daddy is already smitten.

With Brooke

Matt and Dr Brock

Aunt Rachel

Tori

Rebecca

Grandpa Steve

Joe

Aunt Becca

Proud Uncle Luke

Brett and Heather

Dusty and Carly

Grandma Linda

Aunt Lindsay

Giving birth was the best experience I've had in my life. I loved every minute of it and can not wait to do it again. I am so thankful I'm a woman and that I have the ability to bare children. It is a true blessing.

We are living in Lala Land right now. We couldn't be happier or more in love with our precious daughter. Words can not possibly describe the joy she has brought to our home. We are so very blessed.

Meet Lucy

2010-09-28T07:11:00.000-07:00

Lucy June

September 22, 2010
6 lbs 12 oz
20 inches tall

We are in love.

Baby update, or the lack thereof.

2010-09-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I progressed very little this week...like 1/2 a cm and no effacing. Baby is still sitting right where she has been. I didn't expect any progress this week because, heck, that's the trend I follow. We had to set a temporary induction date (Sept 28) and I really, really hope I don't get that far. The placenta starts to disintegrate approximately 10 days after the date the baby is due, so they really want the baby out around that time. My Dr also said there is a window (7-10 days past due date) that the likelihood of needing a c-section is decreased when being induced, after that point it skyrockets. So that's what we'll aim for if completely necessary.

Please keep your fingers crossed, and say a prayer or two, that Baby will come on her own before the induction date. I hope she is obedient and listens to what her mama wants.

It's Official

2010-09-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

I look like I'm about to pop.

38 Weeks Pregnant and despite my expression I am happy about life, just not thrilled to be taking a picture looking the way I do.

So apparently that nurse who said there was NO way I was going to make it to my due date was wrong. I'm 9 days out and think I still have 2 weeks to go. I feel no different than I did 2 months ago and have not progressed even the tiniest bit. We are anxious to meet this little lady who is growing inside of me- she's all we can think about!

Some fun new pregnancy facts:

Good sleep has become a thing of the past. It has just recently become uncomfortable for me. I can't find a good position and I wake up all the time. Oh well, I definitely enjoyed it while it lasted, the first 24 years of my life. Maybe one day I'll be able to do it again, maybe I won't.
I go into Baby's nursery every morning when I wake up and just stare at everything. I don't ever get bored of it either. We plan on having her in her own room from night one.
I have contractions throughout the day almost every day these days. Some are stronger than others. One night last week we thought I could possibly be in the beginning stages of labor. My contractions were strong and coming on every 3-5 minutes for 3.5 hours. I just didn't think it was something to worry about so we didn't go to the hospital. Turns out I was right. They just decided to stop and I was really sad about it.
Baby has dropped quite a bit and the bottom of my belly hangs out of my shirts now. Yes, I have belly cleavage. It's so white trash but I can't do anything about it.
I have gained 17.5 lbs over the past 9 months, and still don't have any stretch marks or swelling, hallelujah! I use Mother's Special Blend oil on my tummy, hips and butt 1-2 times a day. I love the stuff. I'm not sure if it has actually helped, or if I am just genetically blessed in the skin department, but I will use it with every pregnancy from here on out!
I still exercise lightly, but get contractions throughout my work out. My work outs consist of incline walking, stairs and light weights. I'm excited to run again and to be able to really push myself.
We have completed our birthing and breast feeding classes. I feel good about both things but am more nervous about breast feeding. I feel it's a very important thing to do and I'm worried that for some reason or another we'll struggle with it. I guess if we do, we do and it will all work out eventually.
I'm also pretty set on having Baby on a schedule. I know people have varying opinions on this but I think it can only bring security and happiness to the baby in the long run. I know it will take some time to figure out and that we will have to be flexible but it's something I really want to achieve asap. Good sleeping and eating patterns make everyone happy, don't they?
I won't be induced until she is at least 10 days past her due date. I personally am not a fan of induction, even though I've obviously never been through one. I think that babies come when they're good and ready and that any artificial drug isn't good for mom or baby so it's best to limit the use of them. I also think it's best to avoid risking a c-section where you can and inducement only adds to the likelihood of having to have one. If I get desperate, I'll try other natural options before I get induced. If they don't work we'll re-evaluate our situation at that point. I'm hoping she just comes on time, on her own, like a good little girl.
My sister is as anxious as Josh and I. I get a text, voice mail, or Facebook message every day from her requesting I force my baby out. She's getting very frustrated with us.

Well I guess that's it for now. I am trying to stay busy with house chores and such until she arrives. I hope she comes sooner than later. She consumes my every thought. We are ready for you nameless little baby! Come join our family. We're a fun bunch, I promise!

Baby Showers Galore!

2010-09-03T06:26:00.000-07:00

I have had 3 baby showers in Utah in the past month. We are so spoiled and so lucky to have such excited, generous and loving friends and family. Here's a recap of the three.

Brooke threw a double shower for me and Tori. It was really fun because Tori and I have known each other since we were 3 years old. She is due with a boy 3 weeks after I'm due. The shower was so beautiful, the food was incredible, and all our darling friends showed up to support us. It was amazing.

The brunch spread consisted of fresh fruit, yogurt and Carly's homemade granola, it was delicious.

Brooke's homemade cinnamon rolls, which are the best I've ever had in my life-seriously.

And Kim's savory quiche. Every bite of this food left my taste buds thrilled.

We got so many great gifts and are so lucky.

Me and Brookey

Me and Tori

Will, the little boy I watch, his mom Kate, and me

Some of our cute girl friends

The girls at my salon threw me such a fun shower. Again, the food was amazing. I know some great cooks. Nicole hosted the shower and went above and beyond. She is wonder woman. She has a 6 week old newborn and a 2 year old and she still managed to pull this all of with grace and looked gorgeous while doing it. She even made home made rolls and cupcakes for the event. I didn't get many pictures of all the decor, food, or girls. She has better ones than I do on her blog so pay a visit to see everything.

The cupcakes she made, so cute!

Me and Kristi who is due with a girl, Journee, in December.

Cassi, who is having a boy the 15 of this month, Bree, Ally, and Holly. I love these girls!

Josh's mom and sisters threw me a shower with all of the extended family. It was great to see everyone. The food, again, was delicious. I wish I had snapped some better pictures. On the menu we had peanut chicken kabobs, berry salad, homemade rolls, fresh fruit and lots of treats. It was seriously amazing. They had the house decorated so cute and I loved every detail.

Isn't this cradle amazing?

Me with all my R Spiker girl cousins.

Josh's sisters Rebecca, Rachel and his mom Bonnie

Thank you to everyone who put time and energy into my showers, and to everyone who came to them. I loved being with each of you. We feel so lucky and blessed to know so many great people. We are all spoiled and our baby isn't even here yet. Our daughter has more clothes than we know what to do with, I don't know that she'll ever repeat an outfit!

Anniversary Weekend

2010-08-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

On the 12th of this month we celebrated our 4 year anniversary. It happened to fall on a Thursday this year and ended up being a busy day for both of us, so we had dinner together exchanged a gift or two, and decided to celebrate later. Last weekend Josh surprised me with a getaway to Park City. Although PC is about 15 minutes from home it feels like it's worlds away. We stayed at the swanky 5 star St Regis, enjoyed the hot tub, amazing dinners out, hiking, a movie, strolling Main Street, the farmers and craft markets, outdoor fires at night and each other. It was the perfect 2 day escape. I loved every second of it and the uninterrupted time I got with Josh. He is, after all, my favorite person in this world.

This is where we stayed, and yes it was as cool as it looks:

Within minutes of arriving the hotel delivered us the most delectable chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling cider, in honor of our anniversary and in celebration of our baby on the way.

Josh so happy to have nothing on the agenda:

On our ski lift ride up a mountain we saw this buck below:

The view from our nature walk:

We had a rock throwing contest and I lost, surprise surprise!

We also saw these odd chickens walking down the street:

Well the weekend was 100% enjoyable. We were both a little sad to come home after only 2 days to a cute little house with no TVs built into the bathroom mirrors, and where someone doesn't turn your bed covers down every evening, lay your slippers out, dim the lights, and leave classical music on for you. I guess that's why vacations are so great.

To my Joshua Ray, I love you to death. I could squeeze you to prove it but you are too big and strong. Thank you for making my life so easy and happy these past 4 years. You are the best companion I can imagine and I am lucky to have you. You will be a fantastic father and I know our kids will adore every ounce of you, as I do. I think it's pretty darn rad that we are still best friends and still look forward to time together. You are the coolest fool in town. I love your guts.

Our Future

2010-08-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

We have a love/hate relationship with this commercial. This is our future. It's so sad when babies grow up.

35 Week Pregnancy Stats

2010-08-18T05:39:00.000-07:00

Well folks, I went to the doctor yesterday for one of my weekly check ups. Everything is looking great and she certainly doesn't think I will be going past my due date with how things are progressing! I was certain I was going to go over, so we'll see how things go from here (remember how I was certain we were having a boy?).

My 35 weeks stats are as follows:

70% effaced
1 cm dilated
Baby's head is at a station -2 (she's already entering my pelvis)
Baby is upside down and facing left, she has been for several weeks now
16 lb total weight gain
less karate kicks these days, more pushing, butting, elbowing, pressing, rolling
still only the top portion of my belly button is protruding, I don't think I'll get a full outie
36'' waist- started out with a 22'' waist, will I ever see it again?
still no swelling or stretch marks, hopefully I can claim this one until the end
Baby is measuring a little small, nothing scary, most likely because I am petite (and we thought she was going to take after Josh size-wise, thank goodness for me she isn't). She'll probably end up in the 6-7 lb range.
get contractions when I stand for a long time, when I exercise and walk up stairs, when I get startled, in the afternoon and evening, and every time we go to Home Depot-seriously
have completed birthing class and feel somewhat prepared for what I'm about to endure
could eat strawberries all day, every day. Fruit has definitely been my food of choice these past 9 months.
still mostly comfortable. The only times I'm uncomfortable are when she is pressing her butt into my ribs and when I over eat.

We are so excited for our little babe to be with us. We know she will bring us more joy than we can imagine. I can't believe my time pregnant has almost come to an end. Some days it feels like it's been the longest 9 months of my life and others it seems as if it's flown by. We are wrapping up on the baby preparations. Her nursery is almost complete and I LOVE how it turned out. Josh put a lot of blood and sweat into that room and I am so grateful for all his work. I will post pictures as soon as it is complete.

As excited as we are for this blessing to join our family, we get a teeny bit sad that it will never be just the 2 of us again. I will miss my alone time with Josh. I love him so much and have thoroughly enjoyed having him to myself over the past 4 years. We have enjoyed our alone time so much and I am so glad we waited to have a baby. It was perfect for us. We were able to become 100% secure in our relationship which I feel can only help us once the baby is here. We are in the perfect place, for us, to welcome this baby into our family. We have been talking a lot and both feel we need to set aside time for each other, once she is here. With how much Josh works, the baby, church callings, daily life, continuing house projects, etc. it will be easy for us to neglect each other and we won't allow that to happen. So we decided that after the delivery, as soon as I'm feeling well enough and we have a good milk supply for the baby, we will start dating again. A date a week is what we plan on. I am already excited for it and I still have Josh to myself.

We couldn't be more excited to add to our family of two. We feel blessed everything has gone as smoothly as possible. We are grateful for our health and for the knowledge we have to help this baby grow to be as healthy as we can. We can't wait to see her, have her, hold her, love her, teach her, and watch her become what she chooses for herself. We can't wait for her arrival!

Maternity Photo Shoot

2010-08-11T16:12:00.000-07:00

We had some maternity photos taken while we were vacationing in Newport Beach. I love how they turned out and am glad we took the time to get them done.

Help!

2010-08-08T20:33:00.000-07:00

Josh and I are having a particularly hard time tackling a name for our little female on the way (we, of course, had boy names decided on and were ready to name our first born- until we found out we were having a girl). We are running out of time and I would like to decide on something rather quickly. We might just have to go to the hospital with a list and take a look at the little babe before making any decisions.

We thought we had her name selected a few weeks ago but now we aren't so sure. As of now we have a list of about 10 names we are open to but nothing feels quite right. So, we are open to new ideas and suggestions. If anyone has any ideas to throw our way we'd appreciate it. We like more classic/old fashioned names than super trendy soooo 2000-something names. Help!

Lake Powell

2010-08-02T05:43:00.001-07:00

So to top off our other vacations we spent 4 days in Lake Powell last week. We went with our friends, stayed on a house boat/tent, and enjoyed the few days we had there.

I will admit I have hated Lake Powell in the past and I was dreading this trip. Knowing how the past trips there have gone and being 8 months pregnant, I was not looking forward to it. I actually had a lot of fun and it was by far the best Lake Powell vacation I have been on. Josh was in Heaven and that is something I love to see. He loves it there, it's his happy place. He is happiest when he gets to be with his friends playing sports or wake boarding.

We had great weather, I floated in the water, everyone else surfed and wake boarded and we enjoyed some quality time with our friends before the baby is here which was nice. It was also nice that Dr./Uncle Brock didn't have to deliver Tori's or my baby. That wouldn't have been ok with me.

Our friend Mark goes so huge when he boards. He didn't land this particular roll but you can see how crazy he is. And to the right is one of Joshy.