Catching Up!

I haven't blogged in almost 6 months!! I'm pregnant and lazy, so cut me some slack :)  Luckily, I have been contributing to the family newsletter... so here are our excerpts for the last few months!

March was another busy month for our family!  Steve finished his training and spent time with us while he waited for his IOE (Initial Operating Experience).  Thanks to some clerical errors and a lost employee file, we got to hang out all month!  We had Joe and Tom and Grandma and Kate and Luke and Amie all come visit in March!  We took our first trip on our very own non-rev passes!  We went to Philadelphia for a week to visit Kathleen's dad and also so Kathleen could go to a bachelorette party and bridal shower for her friend.  We went to the Musical Instrument Museum.  We have had fun playing with Matt & McKensie's family.  I think we have spent more time at their house than we have our own lately!  April is looking equally busy!  We applied for an apartment and will hopefully be moving sometime soon!

April was full of playing with cousins, traveling to Idaho for Erin's graduation, signing a lease on our new apartment, and some big news for our family!  Surprise!  We found out we're having another baby!  

May went by too quickly.  Lots of swimming and playing.  Steve flew to Dallas and drove a truck of our stuff up to our new apartment.  Week-long stomach bugs that hit Ruthie and George both (separately... so we cleaned up barf for almost 2 weeks).  Grandma and Grandpa came for to AZ for the day to pick up our car and drive it to Missouri! They are wonderful!! Kathleen went to Tampa for a few days to be the matron of honor in her friend's wedding.  Once Steve had a few days off in a row, he flew to AZ and all 4 of us flew to our new home!  Steve almost didn't make it on our flight, so Kathleen was prepping to fly by herself (and totally scared with the amount of luggage we had)!  Luckily, there was a seat for him at the last second and we all made it together!  We are not quite all moved in... we are still trying to figure out how we are going to organize everything.  We miss Matt & McKensie and the boys, but we like it here so far!  That takes us to the end of the month! 

June was a blur!  We finished our move, explored our new neighborhood, and just enjoyed being all together as a family.  We started to make new friends and took care of all of our past-due doctor's appointments!  We celebrated our 5th anniversary, father's day, and Steve's birthday!  

July was a great month! We had so much fun seeing everyone at the family reunion! After the family reunion, we went to Philadelphia for a layover that ended up being a week! Kathleen and the kids hung out with her dad & step-mom while Steve had a trip. We spent a lot of time at the playground and splash pad! Steve did a lot of flying in July. We went to the St. Louis temple for the first time and then took the kids to check out the zoo... which is FREE here! July feels like it came and went so quickly! That means we are one month closer to fall!! We are ready for some cooler weather! 

August was a pretty mellow month! Kathleen had her 20 week ultrasound and we found out we're having another girl!  And no, we don't have a name picked out yet!  We have a few contenders, but we haven't chosen anything!  Kathleen and the kids flew to AZ and Steve was there for 2 days, too.  We saw Matt & McKensie and the boys, celebrated Kathleen's sister's baby shower, went to the train park, and went swimming.  It was a fun week!  Kathleen survived TWO plane rides by herself with the kids.  George is getting very interested in the new baby and asking all sorts of questions... including "how did the baby get in there?" and "how does the baby get out of there?" There are some more innocent questions, too... like "Can the baby (watch tv/eat food/hear me)?"  He is excited to have another little sister... we just wish he would be this nice to the sister he already has!  As Ruthie approaches 2, she has become much less agreeable.  She basically just wants the opposite of whatever we give her or try to get her to do.  She is talking a lot more.. and her favorite word is "no."  So... fun times around here!  

Ok, so that's the end of the newsletter blurbs... but here's more catching up... 

September so far has been great!  We celebrated my 28th birthday by going to the temple and then I got a haircut!  Steve made me delicious steak and veggies for dinner and got me a "gooey butter cake," which I guess is a St Louis thing... and it is delicious!  I had another check-up and baby is looking great!  For the first time, I have a kid with a normal-sized head!  She was measuring in the 56th percentile!  Whoa!  I was shocked!  George has a chart where he gets stars for going to bed nicely (without a fight and without it taking 2+ hours).  Yesterday, George finally earned enough stars (14) to get a lego set.  While we were grocery shopping, I took him to the toy aisle and let him pick out a duplo set.  Let's just say, we set the goal a little low for a prize that big... and next month, if he gets 20 stars, he gets a happy meal!  He loves his legos, though... they kept him occupied all day yesterday and half of the day so far today (we've been lazy and watching tv). 

Free Printable.

I know I haven't posted in a while.  March and April were busy and we did a lot of traveling.  Then I found out I was pregnant and I was lazy.  Seriously... all I did was lay on the couch and watch tv.  Next thing I knew, 6 months had passed since I updated my poor blog!  I will update in more detail later.. but for now, I want to share something I made with the Pinterest world.

So, I am trying to decorate our hall bathroom... the one that the kids use... and pretty much only the kids since we haven't had many people over yet.  It doesn't even have a shower curtain yet.  I decided on a cute printable I found on Pinterest and it said it was free.  Welllll.... I got to the website and the girl only offered it for free in one color and it wasn't the color I needed.  So I took matters into my own hands and recreated it myself... in the color I wanted.  I printed it in 8x10" and am putting it in an 11x14" frame with a mat. And now I am posting it here... for free.  Like, actual free... I hope this helps someone save an hour of their time.  I will post pictures once I am done decorating the bathroom.  Enjoy!

8x10 format:

Stuff I Like

Ok, so... being a good friend, I feel like I need to tell you about some new things that I have found and love.

Olay Regenerist Microdermabrasion & Peel System - Ok, so I got an Ulta giftcard for Christmas.  I don't wear expensive makeup, so I was torn... do I splurge and get something fancy or do I stick to the drugstore-type-side and make my giftcard last the whole year?  I looked around and really wanted a microdermabrasion set... but the first one I found was just too expensive!  I settled in the middle.  I went to the drugstore-type-side and decided to go with Olay.  Can I just say that I LOVE this set?? I also use the Olay Regenerist Regenerating Serum.  At first, I used it 2x/week, like it says on the bottle, but then I took it down to once a week.  I use the serum every night after I wash my face.  I have noticed a total change in my skin.  I used Accutane in college, so my breakouts are nothing like they used to be, but I still noticed a change in my face at certain times (about once a month, ladies).  I've been using this system for about 2 months and I haven't broken out at all.  Not even during that week.  Don't buy it at Target.  For some reason, the set is $20 cheaper at Ulta.  Same stuff.  Same size bottles.  Very weird.  Also, I saw a bigger bottle of serum at Costco on sale with a coupon.  So there.  Now you know.

Call the Midwife - I have run out of tv shows to watch.  Thanks to the stupid winter olympics, all of my shows are on hiatus and I have caught up on everything.  Netflix suggested this because I like Downton Abbey.  I saw it on a Pinterest post about shows I might like, too.  So far, I am only 2 1/2 episodes in and both episodes I finished made me cry toward the end!  Confession:  I don't understand accents well and sometimes their accents are too thick... so I only understand about 3/4 of what is going on! Haha.. but I love it!

Things I don't like:

-Winter Sports

-The Winter Olympics

What We're Doing!

George is at it again.  Here are some conversations that I have to record.

George (handing me an Etchasketch):  Mom, draw Woody and Buzz.

Me:  Uhh....

(Clearly Toy Story has given him unrealistic expectations about what I should be able to do on an Etchasketch).

And in the event that you think your children aren't listening when you have small arguments in the car, check this out.

George (while stopped at a red light):  Mom.  That's a red arrow.  You said Daddy ran the red arrow and he said, "no I did not!" but you said he did.

George:  I don't know how to do the dishes.

Me:  Someday you will learn and then I will put you to work!

George:  I can't go to work!  I'm not a Daddy!"

Potty-training Update:  George is like 90% pee trained and about 0% poo trained.  He tells me he has to poo and we go to the bathroom, but he has no patience... so if he doesn't go right away, he doesn't go... and then he goes in his pants 30 seconds later.  I try to get him to spend more time on the potty, but that just leads to a lot of yelling and crying (from both of us).  We're working on it.  He also likes to visit bathrooms all over the city... whether he has to go or not.  He also hit a big milestone:  he can now pee outside when I need him to... like when we're half-way through our walk and far from home.

And some cute pictures:

Baby cousins at church!

Baby cousins playing!

Celebrating Grandma's and Henry's birthday!

All of his sippy cups were dirty, so I got creative...

I turned around for 2 seconds and she was eating a whole bag of donuts!

George & his prize for going poo on the potty the first time!

I left him alone for 30 seconds.

That is (was) a whole roll of tp.

Ruthie is helping me put sodas in the fridge!

Ruthie ate all the frosting off of that cupcake...

...with a butter knife.

We love morning walks!

My Interests, According to Pinterest.

I logged into Pinterest just now and it asked me to preview a new feature that lets me "explore [my] interests."  

Boy did I learn something about myself.  According to Pinterest, these are some of my interests:

Weekly Menus

Rosemary Bread

Yarn Wreaths

Trail Mix Recipes/Road Trip Snacks

Deep Fried Snickers

Fuzzy Socks

Toddlers (activities, menus, etc)

Joke's on you, Pinterest.  The only one of those I have ever successfully completed was a yarn wreath.  The rest are just aspirational/to make me feel better/to make me look good.

The Temple

When we lived in Texas, Steve and I would go to the temple and take turns.  One night, while I was outside with the kids, George asked if he could go inside.  I took him into the lobby and we sat on the couch and talked about Heavenly Father's house.  Then we went outside and played with bubbles in Heavenly Father's yard... haha.

Well, last week we had a special opportunity to tour the new Gilbert, AZ temple.  Once temples are completed, there is an "open house" where it is open for tours to the public.  This was the first time that I got to take sweet George into the temple.  He was very well behaved!  We talked about being reverent in Heavenly Father's house.  He liked the "white shoes" (little paper booties everyone put on over their shoes to save the carpet during the tours).  He especially liked the tile in the baptismal font... and he kept asking if there were fish in there.  Haha.. nope, no fish!  It's not a fish tank!  George and Ruthie probably won't remember their first time inside the temple, but it was a special day and I look forward to the day when we can take them back!

The local news station aired a special called "Gilbert Mormon Temple:  What Happens Inside LDS Temples."  Check it out below.  The link from ABC is here. I am trying to figure out how to embed it, but it's not working right now!)  It's a 4-part series... definitely worth watching and really well done.  To check out more about what we believe, click here.

2013!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Create your own personalized photo books at Shutterfly.com.

2013 was a good year for our little family and putting this album together was so fun!  I love looking back at pictures of my children smiling and having fun.  I especially needed it on a day like today!  I make Shutterfly books for everything,  I know... but I especially love making family albums.  I started this with our 2011 pictures, but let's be honest... we don't have any pictures before we had kids.  Enjoy!

THREE!

I haven't posted in a few weeks because there was a lot going on and then I was intimidated by how behind I was.  Now it's the wee hours of the night and I am going to totally regret this in the morning, but here we go!

George turned THREE in December!  How on earth did that happen?? It feels like it was just yesterday that he joined our family!  He's a crazy kid.

He likes:  trains, cars, books, TV, Goldfish, Ruthie, Daddy, his binky, his blanky, jumping on furniture, NKOTB "(I like the) Remix," Taylor Swift, new people/making friends, waking up with the sun.

He dislikes:  vegetables, being told what to do, sitting still, when his foot comes out from under his blankets in the middle of the night, staying in his bed when he wakes up, looking for things himself.

He's our social, talkative little boy and he is just so funny!  The other night, when he woke up coughing (we have all been sick, sick, sick over here!), I told him to roll on his tummy as I put him back to bed.  He handed me the covers and said, "You hold this.  I will roll." and he did.  He rolled like you do when you get a massage... and the masseuse holds the blanket so you don't get all tangled and stay under it?  Just like that.  It was the funniest thing I ever heard... in the middle of the night... and it kept me up laughing for what felt like forever, but was really probably just a second.

Here are some cute pictures from the birthday party that we had for him:

Grandma made the mistake of asking what kind of cake he wanted.  George kept saying he wanted a "fishy cake," so my mom had the lady at the bakery make one... which consisted of her using random fish... idk... freshwater?  I'm pretty sure they were multi-colored trout?  He loved it, so I guess it was just what he wanted!  He sure is strange sometimes...

Mommy & Daddy with the Birthday Boy!

His party was the night before his birthday due to some scheduling issues.  This is a picture of him at 1:15 cst on his actual birthday.  He fell asleep cuddled on me at church.  He was so sweet, but when he woke up, he wanted nothing to do with nursery.  So far I have a picture of him at 1:15 on all all four 12/8s that he has been alive.  It's a cute little tradition... although I just realized that I don't have one of Ruthie on her first birthday at her time... darn it! Someday, her favorite hashtag is going to be #2ndchildproblems.

My baby is getting too big!  He has opinions and stuff.  I miss when he was just little and smiley... but I suppose this is the way it is supposed to be, right?  He will be a Sunbeam this Sunday at church!  He should have been last week, but we all had fevers and gross noses and coughs, so we didn't go.  He was so sad to miss his first official week of Primary!  He's such an adaptable kid (always has been), so I know he will be a great Sunbeam!  I don't know if I can handle it, though!

We are so lucky to have Georgie in our family!  We love him so much!!

George Wisdom

Here are some funny Georgeisms lately.  They're especially funny in the middle of the night now that we temporarily share a room:

G (At 2 am):  Mommy!  Mackenzie taked care of us! (It's true.  Mackenzie watched them and put them to bed that night so that I could go to the Relief Society Christmas Party)

G (Sometime in the middle of the night):  Mommy, do blankets make me warm?

Me (from bed):  Yes, George, blankets make you warm.  Close your eyes.

G:  Mommy, can you make the blankets make me warm?

G:  Mommy, I need to go to trick or treating and get more Halloween candy.  You ate all of my Halloween candy.

Also, he laughs in his sleep... a lot... and it's kind of creepy.

When Mommy & Daddy Were Little

Click here to view this photo book larger

I got this idea a little while ago because George loves to look at pictures of babies... and he loves for Steve to tell him stories.  With help from my mom, mother-in-law, and a great sister-in-law, I finally ordered it today!! Thanks to a coupon from Target, it only cost me $8!  Seriously, check those Target coupons that you get at check-out!  I have gotten some really good ones lately!  Also, enter your Coke Rewards points... that's how I paid for our family album last year and I am going to do the same this year!

Enjoy our little book and feel free to copy this idea :)