The Gouldings

Mexico

2011-11-06T14:07:00.000-08:00

So, we decided to get together with my family in October instead of at Thanksgiving. And where better to go but Mexico! OK, so there is that whole drug cartel/ border war going on, but who are we to be deterred from a little gun fire! (Actually, I took it really seriously and looked at travel advisories, we traveled during daylight, and were careful.) We went to Rocky Point where my family has been going since I was in high school. We stayed at a resort and it was the best place with kids. We had a kitchen & living room attached to our room, the pool had a kid section Shayne could walk around without help in, and the beach had tide pools and minimal surf.

Everyday we basically, got up, ate breakfast, went to the beach, went to the pool, ate lunch, took a nap, and then either made dinner or went into town for fish tacos. You think that that would get boring over a whole week. But it didn't. It was awesome.

Shayne and Avery were little buddies. They get along. . . .most of the time.

One day we painted pottery by the pool.
My bowl for Shayne's room turned out really good. It looked even better when I finished it.
Face painting by the pool.

Ahhhh, Mexico. For the next couple of weeks after our trip, Danny kept saying, "Mexico was so nice." I'm glad he loves it as much as I do.

Must Be All in the Family

2011-11-01T15:02:00.000-07:00

Where does this nut get this cheesy smile?

Oh. Let me just defend myself by saying that this was early in the morning and was taken by a 2 year old.

Fall Fun

2011-11-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

This has been a great fall. The leaves are beautiful and the weather has been pretty warm up until now. We realized we used to go up Millcreek Canyon a couple of times a week in our 'married without kids' days and this summer we went up maybe once with all of us. Maybe not even that. So, FHE was spent taking a hike up the canyon a couple of weeks ago.

Being close to the canyons is one of the reasons we chose to live where we do, so we better take advantage of it.

This is how the hike back looked from Danny's point of view. I was on repeat saying "Hurry up Shayne," "OK I'm leaving you Shayne," "Don't get muddy Shayne." And then I realized she's 2 and should live life a little.
So then I resisted the swirling thoughts in my mind that said "I'm going to have to do laundry again tonight if she gets her clothes muddy," "I just got her that coat," "Now I'm going to have to give her a bath and she's not going to get to bed before nine." And I let her do this:
Buddies:We went to Gardner Village for their Witch Fest twice before Halloween. It was so fun. They make it really cute over there and then we get a cookie over at the bakery before we go home. Shayne's favorite witch was witchy-poo, which was a witch reading a newspaper in an outhouse. I thought only little boys would be obsessed with potty humor, but my daughter also is.
Everybody havin' fun!

Brooklyn- 11 months

2011-11-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

So, poor Brooklyn is suffering the fate of all 2nd, 3rd, etc. children whose parents chronicle their lives much less than their older siblings. But I thought this post could be all about her today.

This is one sweet baby girl. She is walking now which has just started in the last couple of weeks. And she gets around pretty good. She has said "mama," "dada," and "hi." She waves and claps. She's got two teeth on the bottom and two fangs (second teeth out) on the top. Some others are coming in to hopefully fill in the gaps soon. She is the biggest mommy's girl which has its positives (it's nice to be someone's first preference) and negatives (she is like a homing pigeon and I am her homebase). Her favorite pastime is to find me, crawl up my pant leg, and hold on for dear life. She is our blond haired, blued eyed little girl.

She is super cuddly, which is really fun especially since her older sister is not. I can already see that she wants to run with her older sister and other kids. She is such a sweet little lady!

Mommy Training

2011-08-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

I think potty training should be called mommy training because that is seriously what it is. And the word 'training' is also very appropriate too. So far, there has been no magical switch. I think it's going to have to be like forming a new habit: a lot of effort, over weeks, and hopefully at some point it will feel like it's working.

I have tested the waters a couple of times with Shayne to potty train her, but if I received any resistance I just stopped because I didn't want to push it too much. Lots of people have told me to wait until she's 3, but I want to do it now. I don't know why I want to so bad, I just do. And some have told me not to use rewards because it should be a self motivated thing. Not so sure about that one either.

It seriously is the most frustrating thing I've had to do with Shayne. I know she can do it. She's done it before for short periods of time. We just have to make it a habit and get her over the resistance to doing something new and uncomfortable. I didn't know it was going to be so frustrating though. I really didn't.

Right now the plan is to stick with it. It may change at any moment though......

Addendum: Thanks for the encouragement and advice. I decided that Rome was not built in a day- or 3 days- and so we are just taking this as a slow slide into potty training. It isn't going perfectly, but progress is being made. So far, at home I would say she is potty trained, but we are working on it in the outside world. Such a scary place. . . . so many scary toilets- even I think so. I cringe when I have to sit her on some. And my frustration level is so much lower since I just decided to relax and not make this my accomplishment. It can be hers.

Family Summer Photos

2011-08-22T19:40:00.001-07:00

What a Nut

2011-06-30T21:00:00.001-07:00

Out of the Mouth of Babes

2011-05-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

After reading 2 books before nap-

S: One more book.

Me: Ok, but just because you are so cute.

S: And you make me happy.

Me: Yes, Shayne. I love it when you're happy.

And this one is just new. And funny too:

S: Tandy mommy.

Me: Shaynie, I don't have any candy.

S: YES YOU DOOOOO!

Me: Shayne. I don't have any candy (just then I remember that I actually do have some in my purse. oh well.) and that is not a very nice way of asking for candy.

S: Tandy mommy please.

Me: That was such a nice way of asking. But I still don't have any candy.

S: YES YOU DOOOO! YES YOU DOOOO! YES YOU DOOOO!

(How did she know??. . . . . still-no candy)

Sometimes I sing songs to Shayne while she sits on the toilet during the rare times she wants to attempt potty training. Today she returned the favor. How nice : ) She sang Itsy Bitsy Spider to me with actions and all. So funny!

Shayne: Mommy, I run so fast my diaper come off! (what an imagination)

It's great to be 2!!

2011-05-18T18:44:00.000-07:00

This girl loves to be 2. Frequently, when you ask her what her name is she says "Me two." We're working on it. This girl also loves her 'babas.' We'll work on getting rid of those at some point, after potty training for sure. This is how she goes to sleep. She's got 6 binkies in this picture and I think she could hold on to probably 3 more if we had them.

This girl loves chocolate cookies. We met up with Danny's folks at the Gateway for lunch & a treat last weekend.
This girl loves train (Trax) rides. We rode Trax down to the Gateway for the fun of it. Shayne thought it was the coolest.
And I love this girl.

Babies & Bacon

2011-05-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

So, Danny asked me if all I thought he was good for was makin' babies & bringin' home the bacon because I never report about/brag about him. He's right- I need to write more about him. Here are some of his recent goings on. He started and then hired someone to do a little re-landscaping of our yard. My favorite part is the garden box in the back that was built for me. It hasn't been quite warm enough for long enough (snowed yesterday- yeah. . . ) for me to actually plant something in it yet, but I have a salsa & herb garden planned.

Oh yeah, back to Danny. He has also been practicing riding his motorcycle up and down the street while taking Shayne on rides for the last couple of months in preparation for this:
I think he is feeling his manliness coming back after being stuck with lots of females & a baby all winter long.

Mother's Day

2011-05-18T18:42:00.000-07:00

I had a great Mother's Day in a couple of different ways. First, for Mother's Day weekend I met up with Katie & Carrie in SoCal. Carrie & James hosted us for a girls' weekend and I went- get this- kid free! Danny took care of the girls up at his parent's place in WY. We ate out, talked a lot, played with my cute nephew Braeden, I read my book on the plane uninterrupted, we went to the beach, got our nails done, and just relaxed. It was awesome to have a weekend without responsibility. I came back feeling refreshed.

Also, I've been doing a lot of thinking about motherhood. I was having a hard time a few weeks ago- just with spring fever, the compilation of 5 months of sleep deprivation, and feeling burdened with my kids needs (it happens sometimes). I found myself thinking 'what am I doing- I don't want to be this grumpy person- I think I'm losing myself- maybe I should think about working more.' Then I read this book about motherhood and it really inspired me & made me start thinking about why I am a staying at home with my kids.

I know that there are tons of reasons that you can name for staying at home: being there for you kids whenever they need you, being able to keep your house organized, making dinner, giving your family consistency, blah, blah, blah. They are all good things and are true. But I realized, for me, the real reason that I am staying at home with our kids is to take advantage of the moments when I can teach my kids that they have a Heavenly Father who knows them and loves them. That's really it. That's it.

So, I have been trying to keep this in mind everyday. The other day I was at the park with Shayne and it came to my mind just to talk to her about how Heavenly Father made the trees, sky, and grass. It's simple things right now and I know it will get more complex, but I think I'm up for it.

Sticker Fun

2011-05-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

One day I was busy doing whatever it is I do all day long and the girls were in the same room together. I heard a lot of silence, which is never a good thing- so I decided to see what was going on and this was it. Sticker fun! Shayne decided to decorate herself and her sister with stickers.

This is about how much fun Brook thought it was:
The finished product:

I'm glad Shayne finds Brook entertaining already- in her own way.

Girlies- oh yeah, and this guy

2011-05-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

Danny's such a trooper to deal with all of these women in his life:

The cutest smile around our house these days:

Wyoming Easter

2011-04-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

Danny went to Atlanta to visit his brother for a golfing & playing video game weekend, so I went to Wyoming to see his family for Easter weekend. We had a great time. We went to a farm to feed baby goats and see goats, chicks, chickens, turkeys, geese, sheep, llamas, & dogs. I think I might have loved it even more than Shayne did. We ate like kings thanks to my mother-in-law and her gourmet cooking, went to church, and went to dinner at Granny's house. I got to go on a couple of good walks on my own where I saw tons of deer just walking around town.

Here's what Brook did most of the time:

We dyed some Easter eggs for the fun of it:
The llama was the coolest thing to see so closely:
Feeding the baby goats. They were only a day old and they were a set of triplets:

Epiglottis

2011-04-26T19:15:00.001-07:00

I am about to reveal what a speech therapy nerd I am. I think I would have loved to have gone to medical school. Anyway, I was looking in Shayne's mouth to see if her molars had come in and I noticed that I could see her epiglottis! Um, it's not normal in an adult to be able to see the epiglottis when you open your mouth. But if you look at this picture you can see a white shiny thing at the back of her throat. That's it! It's a little leaf shaped cartilage everybody has in their throat. It helps to protect your airway from anything getting into it. But kids' throats are more horizontal than adults', so it does make some sense that I can see hers. But it was still a shock. Now it also makes sense why kids choke so easily, because their airway is right at the back of their tongue. It's the cutest little epiglottis I've ever seen!

New Finds

2011-04-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

Lately I cannot get enough of this salsa. It's a green salsa, it has spice, it's fire roasted, it has good texture, it's delicious alone so you know it's good in recipes too. I think it is my favorite salsa EVER- that includes restaurant salsas, homemade, and any fresh or bottled salsa I've ever tried. And I love salsa a lot. This company's red salsas are also good too.

Everyday this week I have been eating my favorite salsa with my favorite chips I found at my local grocery store. Soooooo good.
Another great find are these Rachael Ray dishes. She has them in a bunch of different colors. It's a pan, it's a bowl, it's a platter, you can cook in it, you can serve out of it. I saw them on her show one day and decided I needed them for my Easter gift. Happy Easter to me!

AZ Trip

2011-04-07T12:47:00.001-07:00

This year, I decided to spend two whole weeks in Arizona with my family. Half of the time at my sister's house and half with my parents. We, honestly, had a great time. The weather was perfect, except for the one day when it was 99-degrees and I decided that I can never live there again. I could, I would just have to get used to it I think.

We went to the zoo- twice, to a train park, saw some friends I hadn't seen in a while, ate at my favorite Mexican restaurant-Rosa's, got our teeth cleaned by my sister, got a facial by my other sister, had a dinner with my cousins at my uncle & aunt's house, went to the park multiple times, had a family breakfast cook-out (just like old times), and just tried to enjoy the sunshine. I really, really love sunshine- especially when it is so gray during the winter up here.

At Usery Pass for breakfast cookout:

Feeding the giraffe at the zoo:
Playing in the backyard:
The zoo has these splash parks and this one had a cave with waterslides. It was pretty cool:

At the train park with Uncle Brett & Avery:
Brooke did a lot of chillin' in the shade:
We also set up a splash pool for the little girls and they loved to play:
Shayne was obsessed with my brother's little puppy. She'd chase it around and trying to hold it which mostly ended up with her strangling the poor thing. My parents and sister also have inside dogs so Shayne was in heaven to be able to run around the house with dogs chasing her.
Shayne did get ear infections while we were there so she was miserable for a couple of days before the antibiotics kicked in. She also stepped on a huge long thorn with her foot. And I stepped on a scorpion and got stung while we were there. At first I thought, "Do I need to go to the ER or something?" but it's really like a bad bee sting and then your foot in numb for about 24 hours. Luckily, Sarah pulverized that thing with a broomstick.

I'm definitely going to do this again next year. It was a great trip!

Lately

2011-04-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

This post is basically to chronicle my kids and a few other things. It's probably going to turn into an 'ode' to how great my kids are with lots of writing and no pictures, so if I were you I wouldn't read it. And because really- I only look at the pictures on your blog anyway and skip over everything you actually have to read- heaven forbid.

Shayne: She's turning into a true 2 year old with tantrums and everything. Man, are they over-the-top too. I'm trying to give her lots of choices and she seems to like that and it helps a little with getting her to cooperate during the day. That kid- she doesn't want to do anything you want her to which includes- going to bed, getting dressed, changing her diaper, getting in her car seat, doing her hair, brushing her teeth- you name it and I could add it to this list.

I've noticed lately that she's really emotional, like her emotions are coming out more and starting to develop. She's never been one that wants me to hold her a lot, but lately she'll just sit in my lap and let me rock her for a long time. Shayne has always been really aware even when she was an infant. Just aware of her surroundings and of people and social boundaries. So now she is really aware of her body and other people's bodies and how it makes people uncomfortable to mention certain body things. Like every time she sees one of my friends she has to point out HER "booboos." A little awkward!

She is talking up a storm and she says funny things all the time. Like this morning Shayne and I had a very intellectual conversation about how we drink cow milk, but not horse milk because it's yucky. She then concluded that it must have pee and poo in it and that's what makes it yucky. Sure!

Brooklyn: Also known as Deedee, Brooke, Brookie, and Baby Girl around our house. She's a very happy baby. She's a pretty textbook baby- sleeping and eating great. She's trying to roll over and grabs things with her hands all the time. She's pretty big for her age and a lot longer and leaner than Shayne was as a baby. So far she is still pretty light haired and has blue eyes. I wonder if she'll take after Danny's grandmother Lilly who was tall and blonde. We'll see.

We're just trying to keep cabin fever at bay as spring tries to make its way here in Utah. The other day we came home to snow with green grass poking up through it. So typical of spring in Utah. One day you're in shorts,the next day you're pulling on a coat. Can't wait for warmer weather.

Questions I ask Myself

2011-02-28T12:45:00.000-08:00

1. How did my morning workout before Shayne's dance class turn into a Coke at McDonald's playland at 9:30 am in my gym clothes? Here's how: time consuming outfit blowout (not mine) + sleep deprivation induced semi-coma like state (this one's mine).

2. Is it mean to make your child stand in the garage alone while eating a cup of ice (her choice-which could get very messy) without a coat on (also her choice) during the middle of winter?

3. How do my children know to start crying at the exact moment I sit down to relax or begin a project? It's really quite impressive.

4. 'Didn't I just do this?' For 'this' you can insert: mop, sweep, pick this up, clean this up, load this, unload that, change your diaper, feed you, give you a bath, tell you not to touch that, put you in time out 5 times in a row, etc. Motherhood is really a perpetual groundhog day.

5. Why does my 2 year old have a screaming melt down when she sees steam in the shower? Honestly, I have never let her watch Psycho. Honestly.

Things to ponder.

Sisters!

2011-02-16T16:24:00.000-08:00

Shayne loves her sister. She loves to hear her 'talking,' she loves to take a bath with her, she loves reading books together, she loves to hug her. Hopefully, she'll feel the same way in 10 years.

Guns, Germs, & Steel, minus the guns and steel

2011-02-16T16:14:00.000-08:00

Both of the girls have been sick the past few days so it has been a week of staying home and wiping noses. Shayne has been really whiny while she's been sick. This sounds calloused but one day I just started saying to her "Shayne, stop crying. Stop crying." I know she felt bad but with two of them crying my frustrations were building.

Then today I took her to her 2 year appointment and found out she has double ear infections! Please hand me the award for Mother of the Year. I should have seen the signs- waking up at night, miserable, high fever, congestion. I just chalked it up to being sick. She's never really had ear infections before either.

Anyway, parenting guilt aside, Shayne's feeling better and Brooklyn hopefully will be soon. Then we can get back to having some fun!

2 Years & 2 Months

2011-01-19T13:30:00.001-08:00

Shayne turned 2!! This year we took her to the dollar store where she got to pick out some toys to spend her birthday money on and then we went to an ice cream parlor where she got her own hot fudge sundae. She loved her "nummy" as she called it. It was a little bigger than I had anticipated so when she kept eating and eating it long after Danny & I had called it quits on ours, we finally stopped her before we thought she had hit the sick-to-my-stomach-throw-up mark. Here are some things that she is doing:

*She is a serious chatterbox-- everything is either "big daddy" or "little baby" sized, she calls Brooklyn 'deedee,' if you set her up somewhere high she always says 'whoa whoa me fall,' she doesn't like it when Danny holds Brooklyn 'no deedee daddy, deedeee momma,' 'my nummy' when she wants something to eat, 'my yuck' usually 'my big daddy yuck,' first thing in the morning 'me see deedee' or 'see deedee yuck'

* She can name and identify some colors and shapes. She loves to color pictures, play with playdough, go to dance and tumbling classes, play with Brooklyn on the ground, play with other kids, help me cook ('stir egg' is her favorite), sing songs ['oh night' (silent night), 'happy you' (happy birthday to you)], and rough house with Danny.

Brooklyn also hit the 2 month mark. She is in the 91% for weight! My pediatrician just started clapping for me at the start of her 2 month appointment and said, "Well I don't need to ask how feeding is going." I guess that means she's eating enough. She's getting cuter and cuter, especially since her baby acne is subsiding. She smiles quite a bit now and is the best napping buddy. I was hoping her new hair growth would lighten up and I would get a blonde baby (I was blonde until I was about 5) but she's looking like she might stay dark haired. Although her eyes are still pretty light blue, so we'll see what color they turn out.

I am just grateful for two healthy and happy girls. Danny is doing great at work and feeling good about it. I am trying to get enough sleep, take care of the kiddos, and talk to another adult at least once a day : )

Blessed

2011-01-19T13:14:00.001-08:00

We blessed Brooklyn a couple of weeks ago. We were lucky to be able to get my parents and my in-laws in the same place for the blessing before Brooklyn is 5 months old (which is how long we waited to do Shayne's!). Even though we don't have our parents living here, they really make effort to be able to be here when we need them. Danny did a great job with the blessing and Brooklyn was great during it. She is such a great baby, just like Shayne was. Both of them have really predictable routines during the day and are pretty easily comforted. She is a great addition to our family.

More Pictures

2010-12-19T11:13:00.001-08:00

1 Month!

2010-12-19T11:03:00.000-08:00

So it's been a month since Brooklyn was born. I had help from family for almost 3 weeks which was wonderful! This last week was the first on my own and I have to admit we stuck around home most of the time and I usually gave Danny a lunchtime phone call asking when he would be home. I have figured out that if I keep my expectations low for each day, then I don't get as frustrated with how little I accomplish. Here's how my goals for the day usually go: 1) get everyone fed 2) get everyone dressed 3) do my OCD picking up/cleaning/making beds routine 4) get Shayne out of the house somewhere 5) everyone take a nap 6) pull something out of the freezer to eat for dinner. Ta-da! That's about it right now. I keep telling myself I just need to enjoy this stage that I'm in because it will change soon enough. So I am.

She's Here!

2010-11-23T14:56:00.001-08:00

Brooklyn Louise was born on 11/18 at 2:48 pm and weighed 7 lbs. 14 oz. She has been such a wonderful baby so far, a very sleepy one too. My MD said she would induce me a few days before my due date and I decided that sounded like a great idea. So, we headed to the hospital Thursday morning around 10. By 11 I was all hooked up and going and by 3 I had her. It was such a calm, serene, easy delivery. We just kept saying "That's it? I can't believe that was it!"

It was fun to deliver at the hospital I work at because I know some of the staff on the post-partum floor. And I had a couple of nurses that I knew- although I did have to say to them "Sorry you are going to see more of me than you ever really wanted to" : )

I am tired of course but feeling really great, which is a lot different from the last time. Brooklyn is healthy and doing great. Shayne is a little confused about what is going on, but we are trying to give her lots of attention and keep our regular routine together. Danny is super helpful and helps keep Shayne occupied.

When we first had Brooklyn, both of us were wondering if we were really going to be able to love this little wiggle worm as much as we love Shayne. It's already done for me- I am loving all of her little noises and movements, and I just stare at her and wonder what she's going to be like as she grows. I am just trying to enjoy this as much as I can.

Thanks to everyone for your notes, gifts, meals, and calls!

You know you're pregnant when . . . .

2010-11-17T22:12:00.000-08:00

You go through the McDonald's drive-thru and order a Coke and french fry, except the guy tells you that they aren't serving french fries yet but they do have hash browns. And you reply "Yes, I'll have two of those."

38 Weeks+2 Days & Miss Independent

2010-11-11T11:27:00.001-08:00

Contractions. Contractions. Contractions. And no results. I seem to have never ending contractions these days that come and then go and then come again and wake me up in the night. But they never get intense enough or stick around for more than an hour at a time. My body's gearing up for something, I'm just not sure it's figured out what it is yet. But we are excited and pretty nervous about adding this new one to our family soon. I think I remember how to do this- it hasn't been that long!

Shayne is so funny these days. She's definitely had her word spurt and is saying all sorts of funny things. The other day I heard her calling me from the basement, but she wasn't saying "mommie." What I heard was "haaaa-wee, haaaa-wee" and I thought "Is she really saying 'Holly'?" Yes, she is. Is my 1 year old really that grown-up that she thinks she can call me Holly instead of Mommie?!

Other things she is saying: my, mine, and me are a large part of her vocabulary right now, my sit (my seat), more nuke (more milk), my hum me (means I'm hungry), snow, more nak (more snack), ugh blue/een/ ink (it's blue/green/pink- can mostly identify blue, the others are sketchy still), wets do zoom (let's go in the car), I'll have to write down more as I think of them. . . . .

I transitioned her into her new room in the basement and into a twin bed. I wanted to get her set up before the baby came. It actually has gone easier than I thought it would. The first few nights she would wake up and cry once, but now she sleeps through the night. I might start cracking the door open after she goes to sleep though because we usually wake up in the morning to her trying to kick down the door.

She really is becoming more independent. Whenever I drop her off at nursery or a neighbor's house or a sitter comes over, she just says "bye-bye mommie," gives me a hug and a kiss, and that is that. It's great to know she's OK without us.

Halloween

2010-11-03T14:11:00.000-07:00

Trick or Treat! Shayne was the littlest cowgirl on the block! She was able to go out this year, which was fun, but she still didn't really get the whole concept. She just wanted to eat candy. And we did. It was great, 3 houses and we were done! Happy Halloween!

NYC

2010-11-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

In September, Danny & I met up with Katie & Todd and hit NYC. It was so fun to get away on a trip- I call it babymoon #2. My mom was a gem and came and stayed with Shayne for 5 days for us. We walked all over that town! We walked so much that on the 3rd day I thought I was going to go into labor. Usually at least once a day I would feel like I couldn't walk/stand anymore, then we'd take a break, usually eating some sort of delicious cupcake or ice cream treat, and then I could keep going.

Both of us really liked New York, in fact I think we both liked it more than we even thought we would. The restaurants are awesome- there were so many more places we wanted to try than we had time or stomach room for. Shopping looked awesome, although at 7 months pregnant I wasn't too into it this time around. We saw two Broadway shows: Next to Normal (so amazing- the cast was so good) and In the Heights (Jordan Sparks was in it- good singer, not good actress).

It is just amazing what a different way of life it is to live in a big city like this. The apartment we stayed in was on the Upper West Side of the park, which we really liked, and we noticed there were a lot of families there. I also noticed a TON of nannies everywhere with kids that obviously weren't their own. Also, 4 & 5 year old kids were always in strollers, just to be able to get them around town. Sunday morning there were lots of families out at a farmer's market we happened by- in such a crowded town you see why it's only possible to have a child or two. You couldn't keep track of more than that just trying to get around town.

Times square:

NYSE- money, money, money!:
Wall Street:
Uh, we were going to take a picture at the bull, but it was surrounded by tons of Asian tourists, many who were taking pictures back in the bull's butt. I guess that's where our economy is right now anyway:
We checked out the Statue of Liberty from Battery Park:
Central Park:
The Met. We were disappointed by the Museum of Natural History but I loved the Met. I want to go back there and actually do the audio tour next time.

Funny moment. So some friends told us that at the Natural History Museum they act like the admission charge is a set fee, but really it's a donation. It's a racket. They even have kiosks set up to charge you an automatic amount of $22 each. So Danny went up in the line to a cashier and he asked if we would like to see the special exhibits today.

Danny: Yes, I would like to see all of them.

Cashier: That will be $33 each then.

Danny: I would like to donate $1 for each ticket (and hands the man a $5 bill).

Cashier: Would you like to donate the whole $5 sir.

Danny: No, I would just like to donate $1 each thanks (gets $1 in change back).

Haha!
We had to go to a Yankees vs. Red Sox game at Yankee Stadium. I've never been to a game where there were so many big hits made. It made it fun!
Central Park:
Manhatten & Brooklyn Bridge in the background:
Plaza Hotel. We just sat there and watched the cars pull up and people come and go for a while. I love to people watch.
I think both of us would do this trip again in a heartbeat! And it was good to know that we still actually like to be around each other and have fun together.

Artist

2010-11-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

This is what my child did with a Sharpee marker 10 minutes before we were supposed to be at church. At least she didn't have a dress on yet!

Cowgirl at Heart

2010-11-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

Shayne loves these boots that her Aunt Katie got for her. She hasn't stopped wearing them over the past two weeks!

Box Y-August

2010-11-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

Every year we go to Wyoming to the Box Y for Danny's family reunion. We always get to see his cousins, hike, eat good food, and just relax. Being there makes it easy since there is no cell phone service, internet, or TV. So we bring a good book and sit on the porch a lot.

Shayne loved it this year. Besides having issues with dirt getting on her feet- she took her shoes off about a million times- she had a ball and loved riding on or in anything such as horses, wagons, four wheelers, and motorcycles. For being such a shrimp, that girl doesn't have any fear.

Cousins wagon ride:

In front of the lodge:
Giddy-up!:
Boat races:
Ride with Daddy:
Up at Barstow Lake:
Danny's cousin Casey decided to snorkel in the lake. And this lake is freeeeeezing! I think he saw a lot of logs, dirt, and a few trout.
Not too interested in swimming in the lake after getting her toes in it:
Playing with Granny:

Angels & Bullies

2010-10-09T21:02:00.001-07:00

So today Danny's grandma and mom came down from Wyoming and we made and canned applesauce. Yummy! We are going to love it during the next couple of years. Our applesauce looks even better than this picture. My mother-in-law is the best. She did most of the work, let me take a nap, AND did most of the clean up (dishes, sweeping, mopping!). It was a fun although intense project and there's no way I could have done it myself- ever pretty much.

Later today, I took Shayne to the park just to get her out and about. As we are playing on the playground set, a group of 9-10 year old looking kids come over and start hanging around the playground set. I hear one of the girls loudly whisper to her other friend the following:

"I see London, I see France,

I see a baby hanging out your underpants."

I slowly realized that she was laughing and pointing at my very pregnant self! OK- so her mocking song is not the most original or the most bright, but she hit a sensitive mark. Then this little twerp decided to again loudly whisper the same thing to each of her other friends and continue to laugh in delight at how clever she felt she was.

If I would have been my 10 year old self, I might have said something creative like "Shut up you bratface," but I am the adult here so I decided to say "I can hear you" hoping that might scare her enough to be quiet. Oh no, not a chance. So then I took the high, mature road and ignored them. This seemed to work and we continued on our way across the playground. I can't believe I was bullied by a 10 year old!

Chatterbox

2010-09-30T16:25:00.000-07:00

The other day we had a conversation that went like this:

Me: Shayne, where's your other baba?

Shayne: Baba side A'i hum-hum.

Translation:

Me: Shayne, where's your other binkie?

Shayne: The binkie's outside where Ally (our dog) is eating it.

Funny girl!

18 Months Old

2010-08-18T13:15:00.001-07:00

I love, love, love this girl. I've been having a hard day with her today, but then this picture came on my laptop wallpaper and I just thought how much I love her. This is one of my favorite pictures of her. I know the name of this blog is "The Gouldings" and not "Ode to Shayne" but I can't help myself. She is such a spunky, busy girl right now. And I love that she is this way even though it makes it tough to take her places. She is so interested in animals, babies, grasshoppers, bees (every bug is a bee right now), taking her shoes and socks off to find out what miniscule grain of sand is on her foot, trying different foods usually if I let her feed it to mom first, my pregnant belly, telling Ally to 'sit,' playing in the car, and riding on anything that goes (horses, motorcycles, 4 wheelers, bikes, in a wagon). She's a lot of work to keep track of, but she is sure fun!

Randomness

2010-07-12T19:49:00.001-07:00

This is Shayne's "say cheese" face. You've got to love it!

This is her "show me your teeth" face.
For the 4th of July, we started the day by going to our neighborhood parade. It was actually really fun and Shayne loved the cops on their motorcycles. I thought she wouldn't like the noise but she wanted more of it. She also ruined her 4th of July shirt after about 20 minutes of wearing it due to all the candy she was eating at the parade! That afternoon we met my Henderson cousins and grandparents at Tucano's for lunch and then headed down to Stadium of Fire to see Carrie Underwood. She was awesome in concert and the show was super fun. Shayne was not into the fireworks in the least and so we watched them as we walked to our car from the stadium. So fun!
Shhhhhh. Don't tell anyone that Shayne may take a naked ride on her ladybug rocker every now and then.
Here's a 5 month very unpregnant-looking pregnant photo. 20 weeks to go and probably 20-25 pounds more to gain!! AHHH! Besides being tired (I seriously take a nap almost everyday, it's awesome), I feel pretty good. And I don't think I mentioned it, but we are having another GIRL. We are excited to have two little girlies in the house!

James Reunion

2010-07-12T19:44:00.001-07:00

We went for a week up to some cabins in the Uintas for my mom's family reunion. It was really fun. I hadn't seen Avery since she was 2 weeks old. She is the cutest little combo of Brett & Sarah. I just loved holding her and kissing her and I kept telling Sarah to enjoy it while she can't tell you 'no' or get away from you or hit you in the face while you snuggle her.

Sarah and the little munchkin:
On a walk, we found something interesting to walk through. Although I have to say everything is interesting to a 18 month old. Shayne loves to looks at ants, clouds, birds, trees, flowers, cars, dirt clods, grass. . . anything.
Cousins in the tub together:
We decided to go on a hike one day. We just didn't realize that we would have to first hike over snowbanks to get to the road. Seriously, this was in June and there were still huge snowbanks. In fact, one night there was a storm while we were there and there was snow on the ground in the morning. It's June people, June!!
Dad & Shaynie:
You may notice that there are no pictures of Shayne with my parents. She was so clinging to me the whole week that I don't think I even had a chance to take a picture with either one of them. Luckily once we got home, she mellowed out to her usual self. Whew!

Wyoming

2010-07-12T19:34:00.001-07:00

My sister-in-law Katie came to town and we headed up to Wyoming with our kids. Shayne taking a ride on the lawn mower:

Shayne got sick one night and I was having a horrible time calming her down. She was just having the longest meltdown she's ever had. So I did what every other desperate mom would do. I turned on "Finding Nemo" and she watched it while she took a bath, got her pjs on, and ate dinner. This was the aftermath-- zombie face-- before she want to bed. She loves to watch movies, animal videos, and animal cartoons and always goes into super zombie mode. I have to keep it to a minimum, but it is nice to pull out if I ever need it.
We went to a farm and checked out the chickens, ducks, dogs, sheep, and cows.
Cousin Clark fell in the mud and was not happy about it. I can't blame him, it was cold and the mud was in the sheep pasture--ew.
Great Granny & Shayne:

Before we went to Wyoming, Katie and I took the kiddies to the zoo.

Swing of Summer

2010-07-12T19:30:00.001-07:00

I love, love, love summer! Maybe it is my Arizona roots, but I would rather have the heat right now than the cold. I love not ever needing a jacket, I love not having to wear socks, I love the fruit and cold treats, I love being able to be outside with Shayne, I love the vacations, the reunions, how beautiful the mountains are in summer, how good a cold drink tastes, I love it. When else do you get to do this:

Cousin Pics

2010-06-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

My mom, dad, sister, and her little 5 month old Avery came up to go to a family reunion (more on that later when I get into blogging mode again). My mom got them some matchy outfits and wanted to get some pictures taken. Shayne is such an unwilling participant sometimes when it comes to anything you are 'trying' to get her to do. She just wants to move and discover and not be bothered by anything else. Funny girl! But the photographer still got some cute ones of her (although smiles were hard to come by). Here's a link to her blog with some of the pictures:

http://www.corihenderson.com/blog/?p=2071

Addition #2

2010-05-19T11:57:00.001-07:00

We are expecting baby #2 the week of Thanksgiving! But for me that might mean two weeks into December. We are really excited and overwhelmed to add another kiddo to the family. This is a picture from my 10 week appointment. My MD said it looked like a "healthy jellybean" as far as she could tell. I've been sick more than I remember last time, but it's manageable. I am starting the 'really tired' stage though, which I know goes on for about the next year from now. I am even starting to have guilt about taking attention and love away from Shayne for another baby. She's just so little still. But I know in time she'll love her buddy since they'll be close in age, a couple months shy of 2 years. We are excited!

Vegas Trip & WY

2010-05-19T11:39:00.001-07:00

Kidding!!

I just got back from a weekend in Las Vegas with 3 of my high school friends. It was so fun, despite being the only one who was ready to go to bed at 9'o'clock every night : ) One day we just walked the strip, shopped, and rode the NY roller coaster; one day we hung out at the pool, ate at a buffet, and went to a show, KA, that night; and the last day we checked out the outlets. It was so fun to just talk and hear about everybody's lives and have some time away. And to maybe gossip about everyone from high school--let the truth be spoken. It was great!

Although I do have to say that Vegas has gotten a lot worse than I remember it in college when we used to go. I don't know that I'd ever want to take Danny there--but the shows and food are pretty great.

Danny also got some time away doing his favorite thing--outdoor guy stuff with his cousins in WY. He went 'fencing' (not with swords, but where you repair barbed wire fences all over a ranch) and rode dirt bikes- of which he has been looking online at them ever since.

Shayne, in the meantime, got to spend some time with Danny's folks in WY where he dropped her off on his way. She got to see lots of farm animals and their babies and spend time with Granny and Grandpa. Sounds like she loved it!

It's nice to be apart for a little bit, but it was also so nice to come home and be together again.

15 month old Stats!

2010-05-19T11:16:00.001-07:00

This girl is growing up everyday. Here are her 15 month stats (although she is 16 months now):

Weight: 21.5 lbs.--35%

Height: 28 inches. --30%

Head: uh, large. . . .95%

1. Things she likes: music, dancing, squeaky shoes, animals-any and all, going on walks in the stroller, going on bike rides in the trailer, her toy car, books, rough play with dad, playground, swinging, loves my neighbor Ann, loves animal movies, milk, coloring, Ally & her water dish, watching other kids, naptime

2. Does not like: someone knocking on the door, getting dressed, getting hair done, getting diaper changed, noise of rain on the window, thunder, chaos of too many kids, anything else that she decides she doesn't want to do

3. Things she's eating: cheese, crackers, tomatoes, beans, apples, oranges, grapes, chicken, beef, carrot sticks, PB & J, suckers, noodles, raspberries, cantaloupe, peas, and anything sweet

4. Things to work on: throwing food/eating utensils, hitting people in the face, coloring on the walls

5. Things she's saying: nini (night night), daddy, mommy, hi, bye-bye, no, bowl, more, animal sounds (horse, cow, turkey, bird, duck, dog, cat, elephant, monkey, bear), uh-huh

She is a great, fun kid and we love her!

Top 10!

2010-05-04T20:58:00.000-07:00

I have to brag about my husband just for one little, tiny post. He just found out he is in the top 10% of salesman for 2009 in his company--worldwide! This is his second year in a row making it in the top 10-- and he's pretty excited about it. Anyway, nice job honey. You deserve it!

Dinner Fiasco!

2010-04-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

So a friend and I decided to do a dinner exchange one night a week. Sweet! And I thought I would start off the fun. So yesterday, I decided to make this:

And this:

And some of these. . . yummy!

Delicious! However. . . things did not go as planned. First, I made the base of the brownies earlier in the day. I baked them in your typical glass Pyrex plan. Well, when I took them out I set them on the countertop. It had probably been sitting there for a full minute or two and I wasn't even touching the pan, when it shattered into pieces. And not just a couple of pieces, it broke into tons of tiny pieces on the counter and floor! Ugh! So I had to sweep and mop while keeping a 15 month old out of the kitchen.

Ok, I could have dealt with just that. But as I was cooking everything, our power went out! And didn't come on for about 5 hours, by the way. So, the sandwiches I just had to assemble as I thought she might want to cook them in her George Forman at home (aka panini grill) so they were fresh. But the soup!- it was cooked, but you are supposed to blend half of it to make it good before you eat it. Well, no power, no blender. And at this point I am doing everything in dim lighting as it's getting darker.

So, OK- I have half finished soup and half finished sandwiches, but the brownies are complete. I pack it all up and head over to her house. But I'm in a hurry and do I remember that I have a bowl of soup on the floor-no! Soup-everywhere on the floor of the car! Ugh!

I figure it can't go any worse next time. It can only get better!

Hawaii, Encore!

2010-04-18T18:28:00.000-07:00

So. . .Danny had to go to Hawaii for work. I know--HAWAII! They were completing a job on the Hawaii temple. He asked me if I wanted to go, and at first I said "No way!" Taking a 15 month old on a 6 hour flight there and back after I swore I would never do it again was just not appealing to me. But then the thought of Danny calling me from the beach while sipping some POG (papaya, orange, guava juice- so delicious) while I was stuck here in the snow was too much to handle. So I decided to go.

However, two days before going, I got strep throat of all things. My mom was still here from her Easter weekend trip so she took care of Shayne for me while I laid on the couch both of those days. You are a lifesaver mom! Then, a few hours before my mom was supposed to fly home, she suggested that she could take Shayne home with her while we went to Hawaii (we were leaving the next day). Perfect right! You would think with all my doubts about taking Shayne with us, my illness, and the fact that we don't get offers like this often that I would have jumped at the chance, right???? I COULDN'T DO IT! Everytime I looked at Shayne and thought about it, I started crying thinking how much I would miss her. Danny told me after my mom left that I made a "big mistake!" I know! I blame it on being sick.

Not sure why I can't get these pics in order, but this was the after effect of a red-eye flight and a 4 hour time change. We are still adjusting.

But once we got there and adjusted to the time change, we had a great time. We stayed on the north shore of Oahu at Turtle Bay Condos. I would totally recommend it for anyone. Heated pool just out of our condo with the beach only a few step beyond that. The north shore is true Hawaii- no shopping, not a lot of restaurants, tons of surfers, and big waves. We did go to the PCC show and dinner one night, to town to get a snow cone, and drove around BYU Hawaii once, but otherwise it was the beach and the pool for us.

On our way out of town, we went to Pearl Harbor. Danny's true calling in life:

Beach girl:

Sunset beach:
Turtle Bay:

We had a great time! And I am now putting this in writing-- I will never take a 15 month old on a 6 hour OR red-eye flight again. Standing in the back of the plane with a wiggling kid on your hip for 2 hours is not all that fun.

Easter Weekend

2010-04-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

So I begged my parents to come and visit for Easter weekend. I played the guilty "don't you want to see your grandchild?" card. Totally worked. Shayne loved my parents and especially my mom who stayed a few days longer. Soon I found her following my mom all around the house instead of me! Sweet! My mom had been telling me I needed to get Shayne a haircut, so we went to a little kid's haircut place and got her hair done. However, despite the balloon and sucker in her hands, movie playing, and cute car chair to sit in, she had an absolute fit!

On Easter Sunday, we had my parents, Danny's parents, my grandmother, and Danny's grandfather over for lunch in between conference sessions.
Shayne got a kitty movie (Aristocats), bunny potato head, and some empty easter eggs from the Easter Bunny. She couldn't have been happier. And her favorite gift was. . . . the empty easter eggs!
Cute dress my mom got for her:

St. George Trip

2010-04-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to St. George in March. Danny had to go for work and so I wasn't about to be left behind! We loved escaping the winter to get some sunshine in. Our friends came down too and we did some hiking, shopping, eating, and swimming in the pool. It was a great break from the usual schedule.

Cutie kids:

Cowboy up!

2010-03-07T15:10:00.000-08:00

So I went with a friend to the Zac Brown Band concert this weekend. And yes, I wore my cowboy boots and my friend wore her red ones. I have to say that there was a was quite a bit more ratted hair, sequined tank tops, and drunken-fool, dancing around people than you would typically see in the general population. I don't know what it is about country music that brings that out. People watching is always so fascinating. But, the band played and they were REALLY good. However, I have realized that I am becoming so soft in my old age. By the end, my feet hurt from standing, my neck hurt from looking over everyone's shoulder, and it was past my bedtime. I really like this groups music though. I love groups where they are real musicians and can play instruments really well as well as sing. Loved it!!

P.S. We saw a couple with what looked like a 3 year old and an 18 month old at the concert! What??? At least they put headphones for ear protection on them, but come on!

My New Niece!

2010-02-10T19:02:00.000-08:00

I took a quick trip to Arizona with Shayne to go meet my new niece, Avery, my sister Sarah's little girl. No better time to visit warm, sunny AZ then during the cold, smoggy month of February in Utah. She's a cute little thing.

Big yawn:
I felt like this trip to AZ was also a trip down memory lane for me. We did some things that I did a lot of growing up. We went to a duck park with a pond that I remember fishing in with a little kid's 'tony the tiger' fishing pole. There were several people fishing in it the day we went and I couldn't help but wondering what kind of wacky, terrible tasting fish you could catch in this murky, stagnant gutter-run off pond. Yuck!

My mom and I took Shayne to the Phoenix Zoo. It was sooo much fun and Shayne really enjoyed it. I remember going to the petting zoo at the zoo and being surrounded by goats. I remember them eating a paper out of my dad's pocket once. When I took Shayne in to pet the goats, most of them were asleep and lying on the ground. We found one just the right size for her though:I was wondering what had changed with the goats and I realized that they used to let you feed them pellets. Well, no longer and, therefore, they are no longer much interested in you. Shayne was a little wary of Pedro the donkey, but he was nice.
My mom took Shayne into the monkey exhibit where you enter into a big cage with a bunch of little spider monkeys. They do have warning signs saying that the monkeys may jump on you, bite you, and the guide warned her to stand back a certain distance or you could get peed on! I was quite proud of my mom for taking the chance.
One night we introduced Shayne to the magic of bubbles:
And picked ripe, sweet oranges off the tree in my parents' backyard to eat. I think I ate 3 a day the whole time I was there.
I didn't get pictures of it, but Shayne's favorite thing during the trip was my parent's little mini schnauzer. She would follow her all around, sit in her dog bed, and ask for her in her own way (shrugging her shoulders and doing her 'woof woof' dog sound) everytime she was out of sight. Ah, Arizona I miss you.

I am ONE!

2010-01-31T18:32:00.000-08:00

I don't think I know a cuter 1 year old!! OK- I know there are many darling 1 year olds, I know several, this one just has a special place in my heart for obvious genetic reasons. Here's an update on this girl:

1. She is a walking machine. Everywhere. Every waking minute.

2. She does signs for more, eat, drink (consists of sticking her thumb in her mouth and wiggling her fingers- so funny!), and baby is a favorite one to do.

3. She has a few words, her favorites being "Hi" and "Hi Ally" (our dog). Occasionally we get a 'dada' (said 'tata') or a 'mama.'

4. She really enjoys peek-a-boo and doing a shoulder shrug when asked "where's daddy or where's ally?" then going to find them.

5. Her table manners have gone downhill recently. Throwing food is a favorite pastime. Along with refusing to eat any foods beside applesauce, peas, pears, cheese, breads, and sweets. We are just going to keep trying to expand her palate.

6. She gives the sweetest little kisses ever! We love this girl!

Hawaii 2009

2010-01-31T18:25:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, we went with Danny's family to Hawaii this year. We spent a couple of days on Maui and then the rest of the time on Kauai. It was awesome. When your only choice of the day is "pool or beach" you know you are in a good place. Shayne loved the pool and the beach and hanging out with her cousin Clark. Oh, did I mention she loved to eat sand. I just let her.

Dinner on Christmas day:
Playing with Granny, Grandpa, and cousin Clarkus:

I went on a Napali Coastline boat excursion with Carrie and James. It was supposed to be a snorkeling tour, but the gale-like winds, pelting rain, and fog made snorkeling impossible. We did get to see several dolphins and whales. That and the company made it worth it.
Ahhh, Hawaii I miss you.

Birthday Girl!!

2010-01-31T18:18:00.000-08:00

So I considered just giving Shayne a cupcake and calling that good for her birthday. She would of course be fine with that, but would I was the real question. And I decided I wouldn't, so we had a big party with family and friends! You only turn 1 once ever, right!!

So I can't say the birthday girl enjoyed the party as much as everyone else did. In this photo, I am opening her gifts while Danny holds her and gives her a cup of milk so she will stop crying. When she was trying to hit everyone who said "Hi" to her, I knew the party was over.

Here is our fishing game. It was pretty lame, but AnLi really enjoyed it!
I did a Hawaiian themed party to try to channel the vibe of the islands. We had leis, teriyaki chicken skewers, pineapple, and delicious cupcakes.
Oh and a little limbo for the kiddies!
Happy First Birthday Shayne! I can't believe it's been a whole year since we brought you home!

Ouch!

2010-01-31T18:16:00.000-08:00

Shayne's face meets cement stair. It's actually healed now, but man it looked bad that first day!

Happy New Decade!!!

2010-01-05T20:37:00.000-08:00

The day after New Year's I was driving home from a day of work at the hospital and was contemplating all the things I wanted to accomplish this coming year. I just had had a productive day at work and was feeling pretty good as I drove home. I thought about taking a photography class, a creative writing class, getting my continuing education done, planning a fantastic, whimsical first birthday party for Shayne, finally hanging some pictures in our house, getting to those pilates classes at the gym more, getting all of our pictures put together in books, reading more classics and fewer gruesome murder mysteries, doing more with friends, starting my 2 new callings, organizing all of my closets, etc., etc., etc.

As I pulled into the garage and walked into the house, I was greeted with the deeply disturbing sight of clutter on all surfaces in the kitchen and living room left over from our unfinished unpacking from our trip and from two days of working instead of being home to do my routine clutter inspections. So I started in on the dishes in the sink to alleviate the mental anguish and no more than a couple of seconds later, a little bitty, crying, clinging girl had firmly attached herself to my leg making it impossible to move more than a few steps.

So, I threw in the towel, picked her up, gave that girl some love and attention, and decided I had better make the above mentioned goals my 'goals of the decade' if I actually want to feasibly accomplish them. So here's to 2010-2020!!!!

Christmas pictures/post to follow soon. . . . . . . .

1st WORD!!!!

2009-11-18T18:57:00.000-08:00

That's right. Shayne has said her first word. I am counting it. And I think my affirmation means more than just the proud mother's because I've taken classes where we discussed such things as 1st words and what really counts as one. So, it is the cutest thing. One day I am folding laundry in her room and my cell phone is on the ground. She picks it up and places it near her ear and says. . . "Ha." She does this several times on either ear so I know it isn't just a fluke. So she is spontaneously using it, in the correct context, and she does it several times so I know it's really what I think it is. . She said "Hi!" Since then she has actually said it where is sounds more like 'hi' and less like 'ha', but she also has used a sock and a block instead of a phone. And one time she pointed to a lady in the grocery store on her phone and said "hi." Funny girl!
You can't see it but that's my phone she's holding in her hand.

Sunny Days in AZ

2009-11-18T18:46:00.001-08:00

We took a little trip down to AZ to visit my family. It was really so much fun. I loved not having to put on several layers of warm clothing on myself and on Shayne just to get out of the house. It really made me miss my family down there and the warm weather (I know, 6 months out of the year it's hotter than h*** as Danny kept reminding me when I would say, "you should look for a job in Arizona"). Sarah had her baby shower and it was fun to go to and to talk to her about baby stuff. I feel like I know so much now : )
Thank you Brett for Shayne's fashionable look on this day. Really, I was doing laundry because I ran out of onesies for her. The 80s are coming back, you KNOW you did the one shoulder overalls.

Both of my sisters took care of me while I was down there. Sarah cleaned our teeth and Jamie gave me a facial one day. It was seriously heaven. Going down to Grandpa's office:

Until next time. . . .

Halloween!

2009-11-18T18:37:00.001-08:00

Our little lady bug! My mom got this costume for her and I just laughed with adoration when I put it on her. Friday, I took her down to Danny's work in her outfit and showed her around. Then Saturday we went to a few houses and delivered some apple cider donuts (homemade by myself and delicious I thought--I was very impressed with how far I've come) to a few neighbors as a reverse trick-or-treat.

Eating leaves is a favorite pastime this fall:

The end.

Snowbird

2009-11-18T17:50:00.000-08:00

Danny's sister from CA came to visit and we thought we'd go ride the tram up at Snowbird and see the fall colors. It was a gorgeous day! There were a couple of problems though: the tram was closed for cleaning and the leaves were all off of the trees up the canyon. So we ate lunch instead outside and took some photos.

Got this darling pic of Shayne. Not sure why it won't rotate though : (

Grandparents Visit and BYU Game

2009-11-18T14:04:00.000-08:00

My parents came to visit for a fall football game. What a treat! My mom was gracious enough to watch Shayne for me so I could go. The day was snowy/ rainy and BYU did not play the best, but we had a great time anyway.
Trying to show our school spirit. Our friend Allison was a trooper to enter into the evil Lavell Edwards Stadium as she is a definite, bone-i-fied Ute fan.

Danny signed us up for the tailgate party in the alumni house before the game. We even saw some guys from our freshman year there. Allison thought it was a bit different from the Ute tailgate parties she had been a part of back in the day.

My mom brought some Christmas presents for Shayne and I convinced her that it was much more fun to open them while she was here. Christmas in October! If you know me, you know I cannot stand to wait for surprises/gifts and I can't stand not knowing things too-- if there is a secret, I'm usually dying to know it.

The joy of opening gifts:

Thanks mom and dad!

Shayne: 9 months

2009-10-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

Shayne had her 9 month appointment today and here are her stats:
Height: 26.5 inches- 13%
Weight: 17.25 pounds- 18%
Head: 17.7 inches- 75%

Now it all makes sense as to why we call her "the shrimp!"

Also my MD made several comments such as: "she is so calm," "do you get the sense that she is really smart," "she is so clued in socially," "how do you not just eat her up," "she is just something else!" All I have to say is--does he know his target audience or what!!

Along healthcare lines, we have been trying to keep Shayne away from large crowds, especially of kids lately. My MD said he thinks that the peak of the swine flu will probably pass in the next few weeks, but then of course you just get into other viruses like RSV season in December. I have to just call into my MD's office to see when he will get flu shots and swine flu vaccines in for the under 2 population. So, we are spending a lot of time together and at home. I thought I was done with this once she passed the 3 month mark-- oh well!

Adventures of Shayne

2009-10-12T13:05:00.001-07:00

Night in Park City. It's always fun to explore new places especially when you are crawling everywhere and standing up on everything you can.
I couldn't help myself when I saw this hat in a store. And I couldn't help myself when I put it on her and took pictures several times, and I can't help but post one here.

She loves crawling all around the house. . . . especially naked.

Attacking Ally is also another favorite. Especially when she gets her fingers right in her eyes. Ally just sits there and takes it. What a good dog!

Grandparents

2009-10-12T12:32:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to take Shayne with me and go help out my grandparents in Price. My grandma just loved Shayne to death. It's so interesting to get to know your grandparents as an adult. Same with your parents I think. You see them in a different way since you have created your own adult life and ways of doing things. I also think your relationship changes from always being the one being taken care of to taking care of them more and more. I love all my grandparents and it's hard to see them getting older. There are not very many people in your life who have known you since you were born and who love you for just being you. Here are some memories of my grandparents:

'J' grandparents: Climbing the mountains in their backyard, playing dress-up in the basement and fighting over the high heels with my sisters, the scary hallway leading to the bathroom in the basement that I would always run through (I honestly still wanted to do this a couple of weeks ago when I was there), eating Smurffle Berry cereal at their house, going to the wave pool, all the great books my grandpa gave me, riding in the Corvette, lotion and socks from grandma at Christmas, Sunday dinners during college, grandma's magic medicine (oh that stuff would sting!)

Grandma Jo: the stars on her ceiling (really glitter on her popcorn ceilings), going to church history sites, her potato salad, how she once told me she thought Charles Barkley was 'sexy'- I was shocked to say the least, Avon for Christmas, how she loves to hold and play with Shayne, how scared I was of her cat Patches, how she wouldn't miss a graduation if it killed her

Grandpa Arlo: hearing about his growing up years on a ranch, his relatives, and when he was in the mortuary business, how he reminds me of Santa Claus, his ingenuity, when he gave me my flute, he came to visit one time and liked our miniature schnauzer and playing Nintendo so much that when he went home he bought a Nintendo and a dog just like ours

I will miss them when they are gone.

Goals

2009-10-12T12:11:00.000-07:00

So lately I have taken up a few projects with some goals in mind. Now of course I am not putting timelines on myself here or else I would be destined for failure as I have never been very good with timelines. Here are a few:
1. Learning to Cook: I have decided that I really don't know how to cook. I know how to follow a few recipes, but I don't know much about techniques, spices, things like yeast, how to use a knife, etc. I saw that movie "Julie & Julia" and it started me thinking along these lines. I realized- I just need to start doing it and learning along the way. Here are some things I have learned so far: you really do need to sift when a recipe calls for it or you will get chunks of salty baking soda in a cake, cooking a pizza on the grill is DIVINE, mangos are not ripe when they are white on the inside and have the consistency of plywood, I like more other stuff than actual salad in my salad, and onion salt/ garlic salt is not the same thing as onion powder/ garlic powder. Live and learn, huh?!
2. Exercise: I have been running a couple of days a week trying to get rid of baby weight. I have realized that I have hit some sort of wall with my body. 30 is around the corner and MAN I feel like it. I think exercise will be painful and not-very-fun for the rest of my life. But I do feel good afterwards, or is it 'less guilty' when I eat something chocolate later that day.
3. Book of Mormon: Lately I have been hearing some religious discussions at work and it had got me thinking that I need to read the Book of Mormon again. But I know myself and I know I start with the best of intentions and then die out without even getting through 1st Nephi. Seriously! Anyone have any great ways they get through their scripture reading? Study guides? This one is going to take some work.

Our Girl!

2009-09-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

I was thinking that it has been too long since I have gushed about our Shaynie. She is such a fun baby. She is 8 months old now, is pretty much crawling and getting into things, and has two teeth coming up on the bottom. She loves to swing at the park, watch Ally (our dog) and grab her face/eyes/tongue, go for walks/jogs in the stroller in the morning, eat Cheerios, and never let her mother leave her sight. She has always been a really good sleeper and her parents are VERY happy about that still. She likes to make noise with anything she can find- blocks/paper/her hand on a hard surface, pull her shoes and socks off, and do the cutest little wave I have ever seen--especially at strangers because then she gets lots of attention. Grandma Nettie taught her how to do "the Indian"-- pat your hand on her mouth a bunch of times while she says 'ah' and it sounds like an Indian call. And she says lots of 'nana,' 'tutu,' and 'dudu's. She is our girl and we love her!!!

Cousins

2009-09-18T18:51:00.001-07:00

Over the last couple of months, Shayne has been able to spend lots of time getting to know her cousins. We had such a fun time with all of them.

And there is an announcement. Not for me of course, for my sister Sarah! She is having a girl in January! Yea, more cousins!!

Trips, trips, trips. . . . .

2009-09-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a very LONG blog as it has been a very LONG time since I have blogged. And we have been all over the place in the last month and a half. So here goes. . . .

This is in backwards order but I'm just going to go with it. So the last trip we took was to Austin, Texas to visit Danny's sister Katie, her husband Todd, and their little boy who is the same age as Shayne. We went to the pool, went on walks, ate BBQ, and took care of kids. I LOVED their grocery store called HEB and really wish we had one here. It had a huge selection with lots of natural and organic foods. It carried Whole Foods brand products too. Here, I have to go to 2 different stores to find the same stuff, if at all : (
They have a teacup chihuahua named Bella that Shayne was mesmerized by. Shayne is a bit of an excessive drooler, but with Bella around I didn't even need to wipe her mouth because Bella just licked it off Shayne's face or out of her mouth. Sweet!

I also did a road trip with my mom to Washington to visit my grandpa for his birthday. It was really interesting to hear all about his growing up on a ranch in northwestern Utah. One night at our hotel, Shayne was really tired and went to bed at 5 pm. So my mom and I were prisoners in the room and could only whisper and watch TV with the captions on until we finally gave up and went to bed at 9. Ha!

We spent almost a week and a half up at the Box Y in August. I love the perks of being a stay-at-home mom. Vacation, anytime, anywhere, as long as you like. One part of the trip we were there with Danny's extended family, another we were there with some friends, and the last part Danny hosted high adventure camp for our ward.

Shayne and I spent a lot of time doing this:

Our friends with their two for a picnic:

Early morning hike. We saw a moose in the mist, it was beautiful.

We did a campfire just about every night with s'mores and banana boats:

And we went out on a boat ride on day with Danny's family. I hadn't gotten out on a wakeboard for a couple of years. It was fun.

Grandpa and cousins:

Domesticity and Thievery

2009-07-17T19:04:00.000-07:00

How do these two things go together you ask. . . .well they did during this last week. First of all, I spent a day cooking. This doesn't happen often (just ask Danny), but when it does, I am pretty dang proud of myself. I made the best granola (thank you Teddy for the recipe). We'll eat it for weeks. Don't you just get tired of the cereals in the store for breakfast? Well if you do here is a great recipe:

In a pot, boil together until the sugar is smooth:
6 c. oil
4 c. honey
2 c. brown sugar
1-2 tsp. vanilla
*dash of salt

Add this to:
4 large canister of oats
*wheat germ: maybe about 3-4 cups
*millet-if you can find it: maybe 2-3 cups
Coat oat mixture thoroughly and then spread onto cookie sheets. Bake each at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. After it is baked add dried fruit like craisins, raisins, dried cherries and toasted nuts like flax, almond slivers, pumpkins seeds, walnut gems, sesame seeds. Let it completely cool before storing.

Now the thievery. I went up the canyon with a friend to hike a little. When we got back to our cars, both had a window busted and our purses stolen!!!! Such a pain!! Both of our wallets were stolen and my cell phone. And when I called my phone they actually answered it, didn't say anything, but my friend gave them a good PG-rated cursing. They charged some stuff at gas stations on her credit cards too. Please, is that the best you can do. At least buy some expensive leather boots or something nice. When I got my cellphone re-routed to a new phone, I had a voicemail from a woman named Amber who in a lovely gravely, smokers voice asked why I hadn't called her back yet. Awesome. Anyway, I think I have finally learned my lesson. If you give people the opportunity to take advantage of you, they will-so be cautious!

California Adventures

2009-07-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

We took a quick weekend trip to the OC to visit Carrie and James. We loved it. You can see why people love to live and vacation there. Good weather, the beach, lots to do, awesome shopping. And houses are so reasonably priced. Seriously, gorgeous there!

Here's little Shaynie checking out Uncle James:
Danny took a tumble in a wave at the beach and got knocked to the bottom. He had blurred vision for a little bit after but was OK. Just a little road rash.

With Auntie Carrie on a duffy boat ride in the harbour around Balboa. We saw so many gorgeous yachts and sailboats. We saw one yacht called 'Terrible' which cost tens of millions of dollars. Ri-dic-u-lous. It was ridiculous.

So much fun. We also went to a tennis match that night. Thanks for hosting us for a great weekend C & J!

Love Affairs

2009-07-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

We have been having a busy, but fun summer! Here's a recap. Danny's sister Katie came to visit with Clark. He and Shayne are two days apart in age. He is such a little man! I can't say they truly had a love affair, but they didn't seem to mind each other at least.

My gym class instructor said that your first child is the greatest love affair you will ever have. I think we are finding that to be true. We love everything she does even if it involves slober, snot, and poop.

We went to a family reunion at Aspen Family Camp with a bunch of my cousins and my family was all there. It was so fun to catch up with everyone and my sisters/mom were great and watched Shayne so I got to get out and bike, play badmitton, take a ski lift ride, and play some volleyball. Danny got in some mountain biking too. He's always looking for a buddy to go with......anyone??

The funniest thing though was that my older brother LOVED Shayne. He wanted to watch her and carry her in her baby Bjorn. He said he wants to adopt but I told him I think he should find a wife first. We also spent almost a week with our friends near Lake Tahoe. It is so beautful there. Their two little boys also LOVED Shayne, especially the older one. B- Shayne misses your cute little high pitched voice calling out "baby Shayne" to her. He was so good with her and helpful. And her most recent love affair is with sweet potatoes. And squash, and carrots, and bananas, and water. She is starting to be an eater!!
Next on our list is a quick weekend trip to Newport Beach to visit Danny's sister and then Danny's family reunion at the Box Y. I LOVE summer.

Oh and any advice on this?? Shayne is waking herself up all the time because she can flip from her back to her tummy but not the other way yet. Is there anything I can do or do you just get through this stage????

Hope you are having a great summer.

Is this getting to be too much???

2009-05-31T19:06:00.000-07:00

AZ Trip & Chopsticks

2009-05-31T17:30:00.000-07:00

So I am starting to realize that we don't take pictures of ourselves anymore. They all seem to be of one specific person. I think we need to work on getting in photos so she know we were actually around at the time.

Anyway, we recently went to Arizona and had a great time. We saw friends and family, ate some good Mexican food- I really miss that, and took a dip in the pool. Shayne didn't seem to mind the water, but she wasn't quite as enthusiastic as she is in the tub. She just kept staring at the water.

Here she is in a swing my mom got for her. Roar!

The other day we tried some rice cereal for the first time. Um. . . . she didn't really get the whole concept. Mostly is just fell out of her mouth with a lot of drool. But we will keep trying to get her used to the idea.
This picture looks like she is voraciously going for the spoon, but really I am pouring it into her mouth and she is making that face due to the taste.

And this is just so stinkin' cute:

Mystery Solved.....Problem soon-to-be Solved

2009-05-08T18:59:00.000-07:00

So lately we kept hearing this loud banging noise in our house all throughout the day. It seemed to me that it was coming from the fireplace, but Danny thought it was probably pipes in the wall. We kept trying to keep track of what was going on when the noise happened, but nothing really made sense. So Danny set up a plumber to come check it out. But the night before, we were sitting outside and heard the noise and looked up on top of our house and saw this:

A Woodpecker!!! Apparently he's been working on our house for some time because all the shiny, metal vents on the top of the house are dented up. Danny immediately called a friend to get a pellet gun and set up a vigil on the back lawn. I made him make sure there wasn't a nest up there with babies before I gave him my blessing. So now it's a waiting game-- who will win, Danny or the woodpecker. . . . .

Blessing Day

2009-05-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday we finally blessed Shayne in church. Danny did such a great job. We had a brunch before with some of our aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, grandparents. and our parents. It really was so fun. And Shayne did so great! Not a peep out of her during the blessing. In the testimony meeting that followed, everyone seemed to focus on mothers and motherhood. I feel so grateful to be a mom to such a beautiful, sweet girl. It is really exactly what I want to be doing with my life right now. I realize I am truly blessed.

Recent Events

2009-05-05T18:54:00.000-07:00

So mostly we have just been hanging around home these days. Shayne goes to bed at night between 5:30-6:30! So we don't get out much. But here are some recent happenings:

We sold the green machine. It was a good car, but was getting pretty heavy on miles. I drove it for 9 years and Danny drove it for 4 months before he decided that it was just too unsafe in the snow. Figure that one out!

Shayne discovered her left foot one day:
And then her right!

We attempted the jumper, but it was a better chew toy than a leg work-out:

And she has started grabbing anything within her reach- her binkie, toy rings, clothes, my hair- and it all goes right into the mouth.

Later this month we are taking our first plane trip to Arizona and I'm flying there by myself. Hope everything goes Ok!

Daddy-Daughter Days

2009-04-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

So I started working again at the hospital although it is really, really part-time (every other weekend). I actually liked working more than I thought I would. Although I missed the shrimp, it's nice to have a little break and for daddy to take care of her.

On Easter, I came home and Shayne was dressed in a darling pink and green Easter outfit with neon orange camouflage print socks on. Lovely. Another day I worked, I came home and she was still in her pajamas and Danny said, "We had pajama day!"

But fashion aside, he is taking such great care of her. She is well fed, well rested, and they have fun together. Here are some pictures of their adventures:

I think he is trying to get Ally and Shayne to be friends, but Ally doesn't seem too interested right now. If she can't fetch her, chew on her, or chase her- she's not all that fun in Ally's eyes.
Maybe she can chew on her?! Or at least get a good sniff of a dirty diaper.

Off to the park in the front pack:

Playing Hooky

2009-04-10T14:18:00.000-07:00

So Shayne was not napping well today and after 40 minutes of trying to get her to go back to sleep, I decided to bag it. Instead, I thought we'd have some good times in her Bumbo chair and get a good trunk and neck work-out. Here's how it went:

For the first 2 mintues, we were having a good time:

During the next 2 minutes, storm clouds started to appear:

And 2 minutes later the fun was over and it was naptime again:

Luckily, she is back to sleep right now but you never know for how long. . . .

Look who's Talking!

2009-04-02T13:32:00.001-07:00

OK-I use 'talking' in a very general sense as in constantly cooing, gurgling, and doing raspberries. Shayne is such a chatterbox these days. She also has rolled from her stomach to her back three times on her own, is holding her head up during tummy time, and occasionally laughs when smiling. She is such a joy in our lives right now. She has a really good eating, awake, nap cycle right now during the day, although we are still working on the night time routine. A six hour stretch is about the maximum she goes at night right now.

So I got another book to try to get the 'sleeping through the night' thing going and the first page I read said this, " Warning: If your child does not sleep well, he may become an incurable insomniac, chronically disabled from sleepiness and dependent on sleeping pills." WOW! Just what every parent needs to hear! Although initially turned off, I am going to remain open minded as I read it.

So my littlest sister, Jamie, came for a visit. She was great- she helped me out with Shayne, kept me company, and made me laugh a lot. We loved having her live with us last year and it made me miss her even more when she left.

Last bit of news, I joined a gym to get my pre-baby body back- here's hoping! The coolest thing about this gym is that they have two classes during the week where you get to bring your baby (those who are not old enough to go into the child care center they have) while you work out! Of course our first time Shayne was the only baby to cry during class and she pooped up the back of her outfit, which I didn't see until we got home. But the class totally rocked my body- I've got a long way to go!

Here are some more recent pictures of the bambino (not sure why these pictures are turned the wrong way-I'll have to work on it):

Books, books, books

2009-03-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

So I have joined two books clubs due to my new mommy schedule which includes lots of time at home while the 'shrimp' (as Danny calls her) is napping. It's also a way for me to have some good adult interaction, meet new people, and let Danny take care of Shayne for a few hours. Here are the two lists of books for the year:

1. In the time of the Butterflies
2. The last lecture
3. Animal dreams
4. The book thief
5. The constant gardner
6. Nickel and dimed
7. Book of a thousand days
8. The miraculous journey of edward tulane
9. Three cups of tea

1. A tree grows in Brooklyn
2. Confessions of an ugly stepsister
3. Into thin air
4. Peony in love
5. The year of living biblically
6. The Nazi officer's wife
7. Uglies
8. The glass castle
9. I capture the castle
10. The guernsey literary and potato peel pie society
11. the scarlet pimpernel

The other day I was just thinking of some of my favorite books. I love the book Snow Falling on Cedars. If you haven't read it, pick it up sometime. I love, love, love to read- and have ever since I was a kid. My mom says she could always find me in my room with a book (of course then I used to read horrible teenage romance or pioneer/christian romance stories- I know. . . .) I do have a goal of reading more non-fiction and political/ current event literature this year. Let's see if I get to it with all my book club reading to do!

Pink, Blue, and Bling

2009-03-11T14:16:00.000-07:00

So spring is coming! Finally! The sun is out and it's getting warm, although I'm sure there are still some snow showers coming. For Danny spring means that we are one season closer to football season starting again. So in honor we took some pictures of our little BYU cougar.

The double chin and pot belly have begun:

It seems every time I try to take a smiling picture of her she changes into a frown just in time for the picture. This is as close as I have gotten thus far:

Hil-ar-i-ous

2009-02-19T20:56:00.000-08:00

This is so funny I had to do it. I totally stole this from my brother-in-law's blog (thank you Todd) because I think it is stinkin' hilarious. All I have to say is. . . only guys would think this up. Take a look!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keWCS942iFM

Tragedy in the Name of Beauty

2009-02-19T11:37:00.000-08:00

So last week we had a small, although sad, tragedy. Shayne's hair fell out! But only on the top of her head--not the sides, not the lugano she still has on her back-- but the most important part. I am dealing with it and decided she just has to wear a bow or a hat on her head until it grows back. I may be delusional, but I still think she's cute!

Lately we have just been hanging out at home and taking a few outings here and there. Here are some of our recent adventures:

Bath time:

Park with the dog:

Tummy time:

Pretty exciting these days! But we are having fun with it.

Advice needed from all the Mommies out there

2009-02-05T12:07:00.001-08:00

So the first few weeks of motherhood have been pretty good. Everyone tells me that she is a pretty good baby and I have to agree. She already smiles at you- and I know it's not gas because she is looking right at you when she breaks into a huge grin! She's a good eater and she easily goes back to sleep during the night after she wakes up for a feeding. She has had so many visitors from our ward, family, and friends. We are going to attempt an overnight trip to Wyoming next week and stay with Danny's folks as he has to do some work up there one day. We'll see how it goes. But I do have some questions for all the mommies out there. Here they are:

1. So Babywise is all the rage and I am attempting to follow it, BUT she'll sleep for 2-3 hours at a time during the day which doesn't follow the Babywise model of eat, awake, sleep every 3 hours. So. . . do you wake her up or let her sleep when it comes to the 3 hour time limit?

2. Let's say I have freshly diapered her, fed her, and now I am putting her down for a nap. She's half way asleep and then you hear the dreaded poop bombs going off. Do you leave her in it for possibly a couple hours or wake her up and change her when you know she is going to have a hard time going back to sleep?

3. How long to you let a 3 week old cry-it-out before you go pick her up? What if her binkie fell out and you know if you go put it back in her mouth she'll go back to sleep, but then you end up doing that 10 times before she does sleep?

Any thoughts on these questions would be greatly appreciated!

And thanks for all the phone calls, gifts, dinners, and posts from everyone. It's great to have friends like you all!

Again...and Again...II

2009-01-24T14:38:00.000-08:00

Again...and Again...

2009-01-24T14:34:00.000-08:00

Shayne...Again...

2009-01-22T19:38:00.001-08:00

Shayne - Born January 15th

2009-01-17T19:38:00.000-08:00

More to come...

Due Date + 5

2009-01-12T09:12:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post. We are now five days past my due date and still no chance of a baby! She is getting so strong in there as she pushes around and stretches. I have received lots of advice as to how to get her out- some of which I have tried and some of which I am not quite desperate enough to try yet. Here are a few of the repeatable, non-pornographic ones:

5. Drink castor oil: although my MD said "Don't drink it. It won't work and will only make you sick."
4. Walking: Danny's job this weekend was to walk me and the dog. So Saturday we hiked up Millcreek Canyon- uphill- for about 2 and 1/2 hours. Still no baby. . . .
3. Spicy Food: I may need to give this one some more effort.
2. Drink balsamic vinegar- a full 8 oz. glass: Someone told me their Italian mother-in-law made them do this and it worked.
1. And I quote "The only way to get it out of there is the same way it got in there."

Any other good ideas? Luckily, Wednesday is our cut-off date and my MD will induce me. Hallelujah!

Tick, tock, tick, tock. . . . .

2009-01-07T12:53:00.000-08:00

So today is my official due date and guess what- no baby still!!!! I am scheduled to be induced a week from today if she doesn't come before then. I really would like her to come on her own but my impatience is going to win out just about around next Wednesday. My Dr. seems to think she'll come on her own, but she may just be trying to make me feel better. Hmmm. . . . . But I am really, really ready. The nursery is done, my bag is packed, everyone is on the alert, I've started my maternity leave from work-- we are ready!! I even tried to have a good heart to heart with Miss Unnamed Goulding about it being time to 'be born' and how I was going to help her through this. Hopefully, she listened and will get to work!

We had a good friend take some maternity pictures right before Christmas and they turned out so nice! I never thought I could get so big, but it has happened. Luckily, I am near the peak of largeness and going on the downside- I hope : ) We will post an update with pictures when the little one arrives.

2008 Update

2009-01-07T12:52:00.000-08:00

So I thought I should update everyone on our life up through the end of 2008, especially since I am new to the blogging thing and I didn't send out a Holiday letter. Here are a few highlights from this last year:

1. Danny had an awesome year at work! This year he did transfer over to the dreaded-by-every-wife-Blackberry and I have been waking up to email, text, and phone call alerts ever since. I have also had to lay down some rules about emailing and driving- at least when I am in the car.

2. I am an official speech langauge pathologist as I finished my certification year and received my license-just in time to go to part, part time (1 day a week), which I will continue to do after my maternity leave. 3. Back to ye ol' lands of ore: Danny and I spent two weeks in England and Ireland- just the two of us. We had an awesome time exploring, talking to people, and seeing lots of history and sheep.

4. Roomie: We had my little sister Jamie live with us for most of the year as she was finishing school. In a way, we feel like she was our first parenting experiment and we both have missed her since she moved back to AZ.

5. Ally: Our other child- the furry, smelly one- is still terrorizing all the neighborhood cats and even some small neighborhood children.

6. Robbery: We got robbed! Unfortunately, we can blame no one but ourselves as we left the front door unlocked. Oops! The guys took a laptop, camera, money, my flute, and jewelry. At least they left the place in good condition so that I was home for an hour before I even realized someone had been in our house. We are very conscious about locking our doors now.

7. Holidays: We hosted both Thanksgiving (Danny's family) and Christmas (my family) at our house this year. It was really fun to have the space and room for everyone to come and hang out.
8. Our Baby: Our biggest news is that after over 6 years of being married-Danny and I finally decided it was time to expand our family. We found out we are having a baby girl and couldn't be more excited! This is a fetal foto I had taken at 28 weeks. When Danny saw it he asked where his DNA was, so I guess that means he thinks she looks like me.

And that is pretty much our year in a nutshell! Hope you all had very merry holidays!