2011 In Review

Alot happened this year and it was all GREAT stuff!

- Welcomed a fun, new nephew to the family.
- Sewed lots of stuff for our new arrival.
- Chase continued serving in the bishopric.
- Lauren made her arrival (a whole week late!)on March 31 and has been our world ever since!
- Chase managed to finish Spring semester while getting pretty much no sleep.
- My little sister got married!
- I continued working part-time as a sample testing technician.
- Spent a night in Park City with my best friends since high school.
- Went to my little brother's high school graduation!
- Had a great summer vacation with my family in Bear Lake.
- Moved (again) due to a very unexpected rent increase at our old place.
- Celebrated Chase's 26th birthday.
- Played lots with cousins.
- Chase got several raises at work and applied for a Systems Administrator position.
- Went to New Mexico for a cousin's wedding. (Flying with a baby is no longer scary.)
- Back to the old grind of school in August. But it was our last semester!
- Celebrated my 24th birthday.
- Had a fun Halloween at my sister's and Lauren dressed up as a Lady Bug.
- Discovered Pinterest.
- Spent a great weekend at an Island Park cabin with Chase's family.
- Chase passed his CCNT certification. (Means he knows alot about computers and networking.)
-Spent Thanksgiving with my family.
- Found out we'll have a new nephew or niece on the Christensen side of the family!
- Lauren learned how to army crawl, wave, clap, give cheese grins, fake laugh, pull herself up in her crib, say Dadda and Momma, spit, stick out her tongue, roll over, sit up, open drawers, and all of the other fun stuff babies bring!
- My Dad found a great job close to family.
- Chase graduated!
- Spent Christmas in Idaho Falls with the Christensen's.
- Chase started his "new" job full-time and salaried.

Funny how life can change in such a short time. Our small family has completely changed, we're living in a new place, family members are doing new things with their lives, new jobs, good opportunities. Who would have thought we'd be here right now doing the things we are?

2012 is shaping up to be an eventful year as well. We're looking forward to:

- Me quitting work in the next month or so.
- Losing all of this pregnancy weight.
- Chase getting used to the new job.
- Learning cake decorating.
- Chase rebuilding his computer... again. :)
- Enjoying evenings at home together without homework and school stress.
- Finding a HOUSE... our apartment renting days are numbered!
- Lauren having her first birthday.

I feel like we've just ended a chapter of our lives and started a new one. I remember talking to my sister about what it would be like when we were no longer students but "real adults". We're there, and it's a little scary. We know how to do school. we've never NOT known school. But we're excited to see what the next few years will bring with all the changes and adventures.

Christmas 2011

We were thoroughly spoiled this year! We were able to spend a day with my family to have our family Christmas then headed to IF for Christmas Eve and Day to spend with Chase's family. Lauren had a great time playing in and eating the wrapping paper,



hanging out with her grandparents,



watching Daddy open presents with his cheesy grin,


playing on the awesome rocking horse grandpa made for her,




and smiling big for the camera!



It was a great Christmas and thanks to all of our friends and family for making it so!

HE DID IT!

Chase graduated! (And I pretty much feel like Mickey here!) I really don't even know what to say to express how happy and proud I am of him. Schhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifool has been a rough go so I am glad to see the rewards of his endless hours of hard work.

So here's to those night-after-night of homework until midnight, Bishopric meetings, group projects, and full-time work hours.(Now you only have to worry about two of those things instead of all four!)

We have been blessed and really couldn't be happier. Chase has a full-time salaried job with a great, stable company that will allow us to stay where we are, the cutest little girl ever, a new job for my dad, and good friends and family.

Love you babe and all the hard work you endured for us. :)

pic from here

Eight Months

She's growing like a weed! She's not quite crawling yet but working on it. She's been trying to figure out how to pull her knees up under her this week. She puts her head down on the floor and tries as hard as she can to pull her knees up but just can't quite get it. It's pretty funny to watch. She's really good at pivoting around in circles on that little pot-belly of hers though. :)

She loves her tongue and runs it back and forth on her bottom lip almost non-stop. Or sticks it out. She's started giving cheese grins all the time and has the cutest giggle.

She loves peek-a-boo, reading books, and playing with her cousins. And she's sleeping so much better these days!

She's getting a little temper. She does NOT like to be left alone. :)

She can clap her hands when we say "Yay!" and we like to think she can say mama and dada.

She's charmed the whole ward because she stands on the bench and grins and laughs at everyone.

She sure has been alot of fun! :)

Thought Processes

Lauren slept through the whole night! 6:30 to 6:30. Man I hope this stage lasts awhile!

Almost all done with Christmas. But now what do I do now that I'm done?

Lauren needs shoes. I'm going to make her some, but sewing things that tiny is just really hard so I've been putting it off. Her chubby little feet just don't want to squeeze into any of the ones she has. Seriously, I have never seen a baby with skinny feet, so why don't they make baby shoes that fit chubby little toes?

Two and a half more weeks. We can do this.

Not sure what to do with the pretty yellow and white fabric I got. Thought it would make a good skirt for me, but I'm just not feelin' it.

We're out of ice cream and I would really like a little chocolate now.

Work Christmas party is tomorrow night. Yay for yummy, free food.

Mashed up mouse brains the other day at work. Pretty sure that was the most disgusting sample set yet I've dealt with. Thankfully whole tissue samples don't come in very often. Yuck.

My nephews just make me smile.

Finally made some pumpkin cookies. I should make them more often since they're just so good.

We had a fun Thanksgiving and were able to spend some time with my family. We all squished together at Grandma's house and had a great dinner. Lauren likes stuffing and mashed potatoes.

Quote from institute today: "Having a sensitive conscience is a sign of a healthy spirit." It was from a general authority but can't remember who. Made me feel better since I tend to feel guilty about alot of things, like not putting the cart back in the thingy since it's raining and Lauren is crying, or leaving the restaurant table an absolute mess when we're done.

I wish tubs (and bathrooms in general) were self-cleaning. I don't know what it is but it's harder to get them looking clean in a rental apartment. (Maybe it's just the hard water.) One day I will have a house where the bathroom will actually look like I scrubbed the tub.

I love that Lauren will reach for me when she's sad. It makes me feel loved and important. I love it that she grins when I walk through the door and she giggles when I get her out of the crib.

Excited for our girl's weekend!

House Hunting Itch

Since Chase will be graduating here in a few weeks, (YAAAAAYYY!) and with him having a job waiting for him, the idea of buying a house within the next year is a possible reality. Finally!

But being as this is quite a "grown-up" thing to do, we have never done it before. So how does one go about finding the perfect house? Where do you even start looking? How do you make sure all your finances are in order? Where do you find all those killer deals like short sales and the like?

It's kind of scary. A house seems so... permanent. With apartments if they raise the rent you just move to another one! No big deal. So what things did you all consider when looking for a house?

p.s. Lauren only woke up once last night! :)

Sleeping

We're not doing much of it around here lately.

Our fantastic sleeper used to go 10-12 hours a night without a peep, then she would wake up once a night to eat and go right back to sleep. Now she is suddenly waking up every 2 to 3 hours and not wanting to go back to sleep.

I don't know what changed.

We still put her to bed at the same time. We feed her cereal and a bottle before she goes down. We have a bed-time routine. She has her blanket and puppy. We've tried the "Sleep Easy Solution" that promised fail-proof results, but I think it screwed her up even more.

She was taking one 2 hour nap a day and two 1 hour naps. Now I can barely get her to take two 1 hour naps. She wakes up and won't go back to sleep but I can tell that she's still tired. I miss my constantly happy baby. She's still been pretty good, but a lot more whiny.

We've wondered if she doesn't feel well, if she's teething, if she's too hot or cold. We just don't know.

Any ideas or suggestions?
I know we don't really have it that bad. I shouldn't complain. But we're all tired!

Thinkings

Christmas. Not sure how I feel about it yet. Excited but not wanting it to be winter at the same time.

What to get people for Christmas. Hmm...

Almost done with Lauren's coat. It's a good thing since it's getting colder! At least the sleeves are done. That's the hardest part.

Got my free wedding book (four and a half years late) in the mail today. It turned out pretty good. I love getting mail. I got it from Paper Coterie. They have discount codes out all the time. I made Lauren an awesome baby book for 8 bucks.

Chase has four weeks of school left. It doesn't seem real. I remember sitting in our "first" apartment talking to my mom about how we would be in school forever. She said the time would go by faster that we thought. Sometimes it did. But man! It's been a long road.

Took Lauren to work with me today. That was an adventure.

Don't know what to make yet for the dinner I'm taking out tonight.

Finally rearranged some of my cupboards that were driving me nuts.

Chase has been gone almost everyday/night for the last two months. Although I'm grateful for the blessings we have since he's been gone so much doing bishopric stuff.

Got a new muffler on the car. We can hear ourselves think again!

Finally put away the canned applesauce that's been siting on our table for two weeks.

Lauren learned how to scoot backwards yesterday. I'm halfway in between being horrified at her soon-to-be mobility and excited that she will be mobile to get her toys when she throws them.

Pinterest is too addicting. It makes me want to spend money. Which is funny, because alot of the ideas on there are meant to save money. But really, for me, all they do is bring up new ideas that I wouldn't have done otherwise and have done fine without. Conundrum...

Onesies are far too expensive for what they are made from.

Me and about ten other girls from the ward got the same diaper bag at the JJ Cole sale this weekend. :) We joked that we need to have an activity and make tags for them so we don't all grab the wrong bag.

Dreyer's was on sale at the store today. Yippee!

That's about it.

Vacation

This last weekend we headed up to Island Park with Chase's family to a friend's cabin. It was a much needed get-away and we had a great time watching movies, taking naps and eating. This cabin was amazing! Huge does not even begin to describe how big it was. We could have all had our own bedrooms and bathroom. It snowed two feet while we were there but Chase and Chance dug us out so we could get home.

Lauren even had a great time taking a bath in one of the two kitchen sinks.


And we celebrated Callee's birthday. I'm trying to learn cake decorating and her Batman cake was my first attempt. Not too bad...good thing Chase had a shirt with the Batman logo on it to copy!

Halloween 2011

Lauren was the cutest little lady bug ever. Could we get her to look at the camera though? Heavens no, there was too much fun stuff going on! She got to go Trick-or-Treating at Chase's work and then we went to my family's Halloween party.

Taking pictures with the cousins. We were missing our T-Rex though. He wanted to TAKE the picture, not be IN the picture. :)


No Halloween party is complete without bobbing for donuts. Here are the guys scoping out their prospective donuts.


And doing anything possible, including smashing your donut against an opponent's face, to get their donut off the string first.


And in the end, everyone looks like this. :)


And I couldn't resist putting this one of Thomas on here. "Holy Cow! Look at all that candy!" Halloween must be heaven for a kid. :)

Lauren Meets a Pumpkin

We carved pumpkins today. It was great fun!

Chuckles

My mom sent this to me today. It made me chuckle. :)

You'll never guess what this ad is for...click here.

Wednesday Thoughts

Institute on Wednesdays is great.

Institute on Wednesday is the most organized chaos I have ever seen. (It's a mother's class so everyone brings their kids. All I can say it's amazing that anyone can hear the lesson!)

Finally feel like I've fallen into a rhythm being at home all day. It's been hard to stay busy and not fall into the trap of "I have tomorrow, I'll just do it then."

Work has been crazy busy. It's either pouring rain or drought around there, I'll be glad when the storm passes. After next week though, I should have time to breathe.

Making Lauren a fleece coat. I'm pretty excited about it. Joann's had a great sale on fleece a few weeks ago and I found some pretty cute pink and brown plaid.

The furnace has started kicking on in the mornings. One of my favorite sounds in the world.

Lauren's personality has really come out in the last week or so. She's such a cute little stinker!

Laundry day. Blah. At least I don't have to do it like this.

Pic from here.

I could try to imagine myself elegantly doing laundry like this in my perfectly ironed dress and high heels like this. :)

Work Converstions

Since the start of this new semester I have been going in to work later at nights so I can be at home with Lauren during the day. I'm not thrilled with it, but it's what we have to do at the moment.

At work there are is alot of equipment and instruments that randomly turn on at different times making weird noises. This building is also known as the "Maze" since there are so many hidden rooms and random hallways that all connect to each other, you just have to know how to find them. Anyway...

I've never been much of a jumpy person, so going in at night all by myself hasn't been a big deal. The noises didn't bother me, since I didn't notice them. The dark hallways and rooms didn't bother me since I've been in all of them. And there is an ear-piercing alarm system if anyone tries to break in, or even pushes the button at the wrong time. (Believe me, it's loud! I set it off accidentally before.)

The last few times I've been in at night there have been some other coworkers that have come in to finish an experiment etc. Every single one of them asks if I am okay there alone and proceeds to tell me how freaked out they are when they come alone at night. Gee thanks. One in particular told me a story about how the temporary construction worker (who was not the sharpest tool in the shed and doesn't work there anymore) was hiding in an empty room when she went in and scared her half to death. Gee thanks.

Last night when two of the guys left they asked again if I was okay there alone. And ya know? I was until everyone started telling me freaky stories and being all worried about me!

(Yes I know it's probably not the safest thing to do. But I always make sure the alarms are on and all the doors are locked. I also turn on all the lights and make sure I have my phone with me all the time. I have my key ready to unlock the car when I go out. And I've been fine!)

So thanks, fellow coworkers. Last night after all of your stories I thoroughly freaked myself out!

Time

I read an article once about the perception of time. Time seems to go so slow when we're little and so fast the older we get. This article said is was because when we are little we notice everything, as everything is a new thing we haven't experienced before. As we get older we get used to the everyday things so we don't take the time to stop and notice them.

I spend alot of time on here. And although at times it helps with my mental health, sometimes I think it hinders it. It's nice to get away for awhile and forget that I have laundry to fold. But I waste a lot of time too. Time that I could be using to notice the little everyday things I take for granted. This time while Lauren sleeps could be used for other things that I love to do.

So I'm not giving this up completely, as I think it would be stupid to give up something that I really do enjoy. But I won't be around quite as much.

Confession

Halloween is NOT my favorite holiday. Not even close. So It will be great when all the hullabaloo with the Halloween crafts is over. I just like fall, and Thanksgiving. The only thing I like about Halloween is Trick-or-Treating. It's just too bad that I would get weird looks if I went out now being older than the acceptable age to Trick-or-Treat. (I tried once when I was 15 or so and nobody would give me any candy since they thought I was the kid's chaperone!) But Lauren will get to go this year! Holidays are MUCH funner with kids.

6 Months

Oh if only this one wasn't blurry. It was my favorite one!

Six months ago we were sitting in the NICU watching Conference and listening to Lauren's monitors beep. Now we are watching her roll around and sit up. Crazy what can happen in six months. Her personality is getting more and more fun. We sure love our little Sweetie Bug!

Pictures

We took Lauren's 6 month pictures the other day and while loading those onto the computer I found all of these fun ones!

Sitting

She sits! (And falls over occasionally!)

Lauren-In Her Own Words

Just laying here playing, minding my own business.

Watcha' doin' mom?

Oh... taking pictures... again.

Back to playing... minding my own business.

You're STILL taking my picture?!

Comment Slacker

I love getting comments, seeing those emails in my inbox makes me smile. It makes me feel a little less silly posting about our lives when I know that people actually read them.

So really, if I love getting comments so much, I should be able to comment on other people's blogs right? No. I am horrible at it.

It's not that I don't read them. I read them all ALL the time. And I really like to see what everyone else is up to. Call me nosy. So just so all of you out there know. I do read your blogs and I love reading them!

Hall Mommy

Lauren is a great baby, she really is. She's usually happy and smiley. But she's getting to the point that she wants to be moving around... all the time, and when she can't she gets ornery. So I have become what I call a "Hall Mommy" on Sundays. Although I am fortunate because she will usually let me sit through 3/4 of Sacrament Meeting, Sunday School and Relief Society before she's had enough. A lot of moms are out there the entire three hours. (She's so wiggly now, I can't even imagine what it'll be like when she crawls!)

While I was out in the hall one Sunday a fellow Hall Mommy made the comment that she didn't know why she came to church since she was just out in the halls the whole time. I was starting to feel the same way since I have Lauren the majority of the time at church.

But just like President Uchtdorf said in the Relief Society Broadcast our smallest efforts will be known. So even though I might not hear a lick of the institute lesson or lesson in Relief Society, the effort for going will not go unnoticed.

And really, for Hall Mommy's that have kids that can walk, you could seriously get in a good workout doing laps around the building!

Sewing in a Closet

Little people take up alot of space for being so little. Chase is, shall we say... miffed, that his man cave went from a whole room to half a room, and is now a corner of a room. That's okay though, for when Baby sleeps everyone is MUCH happier. He's a good sport. :)

Since Lauren gets her own room now, my sewing was moved into a closet. Makes me feel like Harry Potter but this closet is actually decent sized and I don't have to sleep in it. I found this idea on Pinterest and went about turning my big mess into a closet that I could use. And the best part is, it didn't cost me a cent to put it together.

This is the Pinterest picture I found. Lots of colors and wow! a ton of scissors.



And my more humble version. But is has everything I need!


Okay so maybe really the best part is when I make huge mess... all I have to do is close the doors! Yes!

You know your neighbors live too close when...

You can hear them sneeze with the windows closed. (Sheesh! Don't think I've ever heard such loud sneezes!)

Don't you just love the faces we make when we sneeze?

Holy cow, Neighbor is STILL sneezing.

How to Be a Happy Mom

This article was on one of the blogs I like to read "The Idea Room." The full post is here. These are just the eight things they listed.

1. Happy Moms Avoid Comparisons
2. Happy Moms Recognize Their Worth
3. Happy Moms Choose Good Friends
4. Happy Moms Have Faith and Pray
5. Happy Moms Make Time For Themselves
6. Happy Moms Simplify
7. Happy Moms Stop Worrying
8. Happy Moms Smile and Laugh

Just thought all us mom's could use it. :)

In the Mind of a Baby

Lauren as the most expressive face I've ever seen a baby have. (Maybe I just notice it more since I'm with her all the time.)

This morning I had her on the bathroom floor with some toys while I got ready for work. She just laid there and stared at me with the most serious eyebrow-furrowed look.

Yesterday while I was swaddling her up for her nap, she just burst out laughing and giggling. She wouldn't stop smiling at me! (Made it hard to leave her to go to sleep!)

Last Sunday in Relief Society she was on the floor playing and she just all of a sudden looked up at me and started chuckling, and she wouldn't stop! (I guess disrupting the lesson for a laughing baby is better than a screaming baby?!)

She was on the counter in her bumbo a few days ago while I cleaned up the kitchen. I turned on the disposal and she got the most horrified look on her face the whole time it was running.

When she's tired and I'm trying to get her to smile she just stares blankly at me and then turns her head as if she's giving me an eye roll: "Mom, I am so done with you right now."

She had a toy mirror that she loves to play with. She stares at herself in wide-eyed awe and then starts talking to herself.

Watching her go to sleep is funny. Right when she's on the verge of being awake and asleep she will grin with her eyes closed.

I just wonder what's going on in that little bald head of hers.

Five Months

Time flies when you're having fun! The little stinker didn't smile the whole time we were taking her pictures but started grinning as soon as the camera was put away. :) And the red spot on her head is a birthmark, just for clarification, every time our nephews see her they point to her head and say "owie!"

Pinterest Project

I found this Babysitting notes picture on Pinterest but couldn't ever get it to print out. So I figured I could just make my own with colors that I liked better. So here is the finished product. Quite happy that at least one of my pins has been turned into a real thing.

You're Not the Boss of Me!

I will take suggestions and well-intentioned advice, but please don't tell me what I SHOULD do. I have enough things that I "should" be doing. I feel better about myself when I don't dwell on things that I "should" be doing but instead on what I CAN do.

Venting done.

Thoughts on Wednesday Again

Not much going on around here. Kinda nice to have a lull before the rush of school starts again.

Last semester for Chase! There were some days I never thought it would come. He did it!

He also found a "cheap" Mac at the USU surplus sale so he can do his senior project at home instead of spending all his nights on campus away from us. Yay!

I think Lauren is starting to teethe, all of a sudden she's not sleeping good and just seems more discontent. She's also learned how to scream: a high-pitched, shatter glass scream. Thankfully she only seems to do it when she's really tired or really hungry. She's been so fun though, she's getting more and more personality every day. She's tired of her toys though, she wants to eat and grab everything she can't have!

Work has been crazy busy. Haven't had a chance to catch my breath for the last three weeks. But as of today, I am all caught up.

We were kinda worried about how our schedules would work out with Chase starting school. But I again underestimated my boss and she was more than willing to work with the schedule we came up with. (Did I mention I love my job!) So either one of us can still be at home with Lauren 4 out of 5 days of the week. Phew.

We did get to go up the canyon and roast hot dogs this last weekend as a last hurrah to summer.

Our fridge died last night. Funny since our neighbor's died just a few days ago. Must be a fridge plague going around. Good thing the milk is almost gone!

Still missing my sewing machine. Didn't realize how much I used it until I haven't had it to use!

Finally got around to hanging our family picture. Who knew that frame was a totally weird size?

And the princess is awake! Done for now!

New Mexico

We made it there and back and didn't melt on the sidewalk!

We now have more confidence traveling with Lauren, she did great on the plane and through the whole trip. How did we get such a good baby?

It was fun to see the Christensen side of the family and get out of town for a few days. And boy! Do the Christensen's know how to throw a great party!

Depression Discussion

I never had any intentions to post about my depression. But for some reason I feel like I need to: maybe there is someone out there who needs to hear this. I know it helped me knowing there were others dealing with this too.

I'm not a doctor, I'm not an expert, I still deal with depression, and I don't have all the answers. I don't need sympathy or pity, but understanding goes a long way. I deal with depression and that's all there is to it. It's just like having diabetes or ADD; it's just what it is.

Sometimes it's frustrating to me that alot of people don't understand what depression is. Some people express the opinion that "we just need to get over it," or it's just a few-day episode like the chicken pox. But that's the thing about depression, those who have it just can't "get over it", that's what makes it depression. For alot of people it's chronic, meaning that it's like diabetes where we have to deal with the effects every day, not just once in our lives.

There are different types of depression. Some experience one major depressive event in their lives. Others deal with it for a few weeks or months at a time intermittently throughout their lives. I don't know what mine would be classified as, but I call it "mine" because the feelings that come with it are specific to me. I know that not everyone with depression might feel the same things I do. I don't mean to detract or belittle anyone who has dealt with depression, this has just been my experience with it.

Looking back now I think there were times in my life, especially in later elementary and junior high, that I dealt with depression but didn't realize it. After getting married and dealing with a jerk of a boss it came to a head. I couldn't think straight, everything anyone said to me made me burst into tears, I felt like the whole world was against me, I felt worthless, like I couldn't do anything right. I was scared to talk and reach out to people. I would get up and not even feel awake. I went through the motions of going to work and class without having any emotion about anything.

I figured there was something up, but when you're in that state, it's hard to be pro-active and think rationally. So I just went on without doing anything about it. I started a summer internship at the student wellness center (2 summers ago) and while I was working on a presentation about depression it slammed me in the face that I had it. But I didn't know what to do about it, I was ashamed that I couldn't control what was going on in my own head. I hated the idea of the stigma people would put on me if they knew. I felt broken.

I was getting ready to graduate and life was looming in the distance and I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I felt like a horrible wife because I would take all my frustration out on Chase which made me feel worse. Finally, after realizing that I couldn't fix this on my own, and at Chase's insistence, I talked to my parents. They were supportive and just talking to them helped me a lot. After that I went to the doctor and finally got some medication.

It's hard to deal with a sickness that's inside your head. It's hard to distinguish if what you're feeling is really you or the depression. I hated the idea of taking pills to "make me happy." I felt like I should be able to make myself happy. After countless blessings and support from Chase I felt better about taking them. And they worked. All of a sudden I felt like I could think through things again. I could take criticism without bawling, I wasn't offended, I could feel the Spirit again, I felt like talking to people again, my life had purpose and direction.

I still have to watch myself. There are days when I can feel it creeping back. But now that I can recognize it, it's easier to fend off. I still have "down days" occasionally but I can deal with them. If I'm tired or bored it seems to come back. Now, the medication is not what makes me happy, it gives me the ability to think clearly and rationally so I can make the decision to be happy.

The biggest lesson I learned from this all was how loved I am. By Chase, who was there and is there all the time; who took my bawling fits and irrational "tantrums". My parents who helped me get the help I needed, my in-laws for being supportive, and mostly Heavenly Father. Looking back now, I can see the help that He gave me along the way even though I didn't recognize it at the time.

So I guess I just wanted to get this out there, to let anyone know who's dealing with this that there is hope. There are people who understand, Heavenly Father understands and is there. You're not broken, just blessed with this particular trial. A trial that can be overcome.

EDIT: I just want to say that I am completely fine and happy. This all happened over two years ago and I just had the impression that someone out there needed to hear it. Thanks for the encouraging words, I appreciate it, but I really am OK and doing great!

Cereal- In Pictures

I don't know about this mom...


What in heaven's name did you just put in my mouth?


Okay maybe it's not so bad... it's kind of yummy...


More please!


Overall I think Lauren's first experience with rice cereal was a success!

Random Thinkings

When will my hair stop falling out? I've heard of post-partum hair loss but this is a little ridiculous.

Packing for New Mexico. I'm afraid we're all going to melt on the sidewalk!

I'm a little nervous about flying with Lauren. We're supposed to board and everything right when she usually goes to bed.

Missing my sewing machine. I've been spoiled with a really nice one these last few years.

Wal-mart doesn't believe in yellow or green clothes.

Discovered Pinterest. I'm afraid that there are so many cute things I want to do I'll go crazy because now there's a way to remember that I want to do all of them. (Does that make sense?) And there's only so much room in an apartment before you run out of room for more decorations.

Went to the Martin Harris Pageant last night to see my sister-in-law and it was awesome!

I could live in Clarkston... or Mendon, or Newton.

It's about time to see my cute nephews again. It's been more than a week!

It's funny how Lauren responds differently to different people. Chase can't ever get her to fall asleep but she will fall asleep instantly in my arms, and she saves her biggest grins and giggles for dad while I get those little smiles. (Which I still love.)

I'm excited to see family this weekend!

There are alot of really amazing people out there, ya' know?

For Science

Some things you never expect to hear. Like:

"Hey Amy, would you like to pee in this test tube for science?"


Ummm....no. There are some things that just aren't worth my dignity.

4 Months

Pretty sure she's the cutest little girl ever. :)

Question

So I know that my body will never quite be the same after having a baby. I also know that I'm not built to be super skinny. And I'm really okay with that.

I know that eating right and exercising is the best way to stay healthy and maintain a healthy weight.

But try as I might, these extra pounds from being pregnant are just NOT going anywhere.

Partly because I'm just a little too addicted to ice cream, and finding time to exercise, be a mom, and work is hard. But I've tried to be better and everyone told me that nursing would help me lose the baby fat. It's not helping.

Any ideas? What do all of you do to find the time and stay motivated?

Growing

I feel like Lauren has grown and learned a ton just in the last week. Things she can't seem to quite get one day she's a pro at the next.

Just the last two days she's found her voice and has been screeching, singing and gurgling almost non-stop. All during sacrament meeting too!

I found her like this the other day when i went to check on her: eyes peeking out of her blanket with her binky perched on the side of her head.

And this is how she usually sleeps. Our little drama queen with one arm across her eyes/forehead. (Sorry it's blurry.)

She has been the best baby ever. She had a little bug last week and wasn't very happy for a few days, but it's passed and she's happier than ever. She's still trying to figure out how to roll over consistently. She just gets mad when she's on her tummy. She still sleeps really well. Three naps a day and 10-12 hours at night. Can't ask for much more than that! We sure do love her!