Easter Fun

For a few years I didn't really like holidays like Easter. It was a little bit lame to fill an Easter basket for Devin and myself just to celebrate. Makayla, however, has totally changed holidays around our house. She gets so excited! She was telling me about the Easter Bunny and that he would bring, in her words, "num nums".

To get her into the whole idea of hunting Easter eggs, we took her to the South Ogden Easter Egg Hunt on the Saturday morning before Easter. She was in the 0-2 age group, and she claimed quite a few eggs. We weren't sure how many she would get, or if she would even understand the concept, but when I told her the eggs had "num nums" in them, she went crazy. She filled her basket within about a minute and I had to start ramming some in my pockets so she could keep going. She was so cute. Once we finished she immediately wanted to open the eggs to get all the goodies out. What can I say? My child is very fond of candy :-).

This was shortly after she was told about the "num nums". She probably had enough eggs to fill that basket twice by the time we were done.

Here is our little miss on Easter morning. Apparently our Saturday activities wore her out. We woke her up, because Devin had church meetings and didn't want to miss the fun. It is hard to wake a kid that is sleeping so well...

The Easter Bunny left out a basket, and hid some eggs around the house. She was so thrilled to get candy.

The egg hunt the day before was a good idea, because she knew exactly what to do when it came to the real deal on Easter morning.

Here she is when she sees her basket for the first time. She went straight for the gobstoppers. She loves those things.

Thrilled to pieces to have collected all of her eggs.

The Big News!

Wow. It has been a while since I updated this page. I have been busy organizing all the wedding stuff for the business. I am slowly working on setting things up to take pictures for the website. I have small windows of opportunity while Makayla naps, but I think I will be able to get a lot more done now that it is getting warmer outside. It is much easier to set things up and take some nice pictures outside.

We did a quinceanera last weekend, and this is the backdrop we set up. It turned out pretty great for us. I have more pictures of the website. http://www.tietheknotutah.com/

Well, Devin and I went on a wild ride last fall while we were dealing with infertility stuff. It is expensive, and really hard on my body. In December I felt like I needed to take a small break from everything, because I just wasn't feeling like myself with all the crazy hormone treatments, so we decided to put all of our eggs in one basket, so to speak, and put more money into an artificial insemination and hoped for the best. We figured if it didn't work out we would just take a break and try again maybe six months or so later. However, luck was on our side, because it worked! I am now about 18 weeks along with a sweet baby boy!!! WE ARE THRILLED. I am relieved and excited to get to be a mommy again. So far, I haven't gotten any super good pictures of him, but my next appointment is one that they check everything, so I should be able to get some. I will put a nice picture of the cute little guy on here in about two weeks :)

Here is what we have been up to lately....

Devin has been teaching Makayla how to make a grumpy face. It is really funny when she does it.

This is what Makayla does when she is surprised or excited. She will go back and forth between grumpy and surprised. So funny to watch.

We got a pass to the Tree House Museum for her, and she really likes it. We usually go with her cousin, Korbin. They run all over that place together.

Here they are in the music room. I think that is by far Makayla's favorite part of the whole place. She loves to bang the drums and shake all the other little instruments they have.

It didn't take long to figure out how to make noise!

Here she is sitting on the firetruck ready to go rescue someone! The museum has a lot of fun things for them to do.

There is a HUGE map of Utah in one room, and for some reason Makayla really likes it. She likes to find pictures of horses and things. It is really colorful, so maybe that is why she likes it so much.

Ah....sweet Makayla

Devin and I took Makayla to the doctor this week for her 18 month appointment. Guess what? Our child is huge. She was leveling off for a few months, and then hit a massive growth spurt. She weighs about thirty pounds and is tall enough the be off the charts (go figure...). She is happy, healthy, and smart. Couldn't ask for more!

So, I do a lot of babysitting during the week. Nieces and nephews frequent our house often, but Makayla loves it. Today, I was watching my brothers three daughters, and Makayla was in heaven. I think her favorite of the bunch is Kyla, although I am not sure why. Kyla was sitting on the floor, minding her own business, when Makayla just plopped down right in her lap. Kyla seemed to be enjoying the fact that her little cousin was loving her, so they just hung out that way for a while. I couldn't resist taking some pictures.

I have people tell me that these two look alike, and I guess this picture proves it. They do kind of look alike.

I got a huge box of diapers recently, and my intentions were to put some of Makayla's clothes that are too small in it to store. Yes, I was ready to stash her 2T clothes. She is getting so big we had to break into the 3T department. I don't know how I will ever keep up with her growth spurts! Anyway, Makayla won't let me put clothes in the box because it has become her new favorite toy. She loves to fill it with toys then climb right in. Good to know I don't need to spend money on birthdays or Christmas. Just give the kid a box with nothing in it!

My mom came down to visit a few weeks ago. There was a little spot of sunlight on the carpet, and when my mom would stand close to it the shadow of her legs would make it disappear. Makayla caught onto that pretty quick and immediately wanted to make the sun disappear herself. This hilarious picture is of her trying to spread her legs far enough apart to let the sun shine on the floor. She was just too little to really make it work, but she sure tried for a good ten minutes. Too funny.

Korbin is another cousin that comes to our house a few times a week. He and Makayla are only a month apart in age, and they are BEST friends. Makayla gets super excited when I tell her Korbin is coming to play. There is only one problem with the two of them.....they are trouble! Serious trouble! One morning I attempted to take a quick shower (I was gone ten minutes, tops) and the two of them were just playing in her room. When I got done this is the mess I found. When I first walked in the room, Korbin was sitting in the bookshelf--yes, in--but by the time I got back with the camera he had moved. Oh the messes they make.

Makayla has been able to open the fridge for like a month now, and that has been a problem. I got a few packages of yogurt for super cheap, and she quickly fell in love with them. She would bring me like 5 of them a day. Most of the time she was really good about letting me help her since it was so messy, but every now and then she just couldn't help it and had to do it herself. I usually would let her if I had a bib handy. You can see why I made her use one.....

Why can't they just make yogurt for kids that is white? Would it be that hard to just avoid the artificial coloring?? We did lots of laundry while we had the supply of yogurt. I think I came home with like 48 of them, and they lasted maybe a week. What am I going to do when I have more kids? I won't be able to keep them fed!

Changing Beds

I woke up to a big THUD this morning. I shot out of bed and ran straight to Makayla's room. Indeed, my worst fears had been affirmed. Makalya fell out of the crib. She was already back on her feet when I got there, and once I held her for a minute or two she stopped crying and wanted to get a book to read to me. My heart was pounding. I have no idea how she landed. It could have been on her head for all I know, but I watched her close all morning, and she seemed just fine. I called Devin and told him what had happened, and even though we didn't plan on doing it so soon, we decided we would put her in a toddler bed sooner rather than later.

This, however, is not where the story ends. When I went to get Makayla from her nap, she was NOT in her crib. Apparently, she leared how to climb out. Luckily, I heard no big thuds, so I assume she didn't fall out again. If she did, she was very quiet about it and didn't cry. After conversing with Devin again, we decided that to avoid any broken arms or legs, and tonight will be her first night in her big girl bed. Wish us luck!

The second I got it all set up she was in love. I can't get her to leave the bedroom. She has been stacking things on the bed, and loves the fact that she can climb up on it. Now, if we can just get her to sleep in it tonight instead of play with it.....

Makayla's Potty Adventures

Makayla is far from potty training, but I didn't know how to label this post without it being gross. Here is the story. The other day Makayla was sitting in her chair eating lunch. When I went to get her out of the chair, she had a large bulge in the back of her pants. Yes folks, this is her poop sticking out. It is pretty funny. Devin tried to hold her still so I could take a picture, but she ended up sitting down which squished the poop a little. You can still see it though. Easiest poopy diaper change we've ever had.

Christmas

We had a great Christmas at our house this year! It was great to have Devin home for about two weeks to enjoy the time together as a little family. Makayla was fun this year. She has that little magical glow in her eyes on Christmas morning, and she definitely caught on to the idea of presents. If it had only snowed just a little bit, I think everything would have been perfect!

Makayla seeing what Santa brought her for the first time.

She LOVES this little piano. She carries it around with her all over the house. I think of everything she got, this is her favorite. Who would have thought?

She also carries this bad boy around. Hopefully it can help her learn letters. It is however, the LOUDEST toy ever created, and you cannot adjust the volume. What were those elves thinking?

Here is Devin showing her how to use her piano. We may have a mini Beethoven on our hands.

Makayla helping Mommy open more presents. She just couldn't part with hers though, so we had to unwrap around it.

Here she is in her little Christmas dress that I made (I don't know why I didn't take a good picture of it! It has sparkly little presents on the front of it.)

Books are always a favorite around our house.

We spent Christmas Eve with the Hubbard Family. We ate pizza and played some games. Makayla was mostly interested in playing with her cousin, Bentley. They are cute together.

Makayla with her Aunt Megan.

Here is the crazy duo. All night long they were climbing up Grandma's stairs to get to the bathroom. They always have so much energy when they are together. Makayla attempts to say Bentley, and Bentley calls Makayla "Tayla". It is fun to watch them.

Ah....December

For any of you who know me well, you know that I love Christmas. I think it is the best time of the year! I love all the houses with lights. I love, love, love having a Christmas tree in my living room. I love buying presents for people. I love the music. I started listening to it before Thanksgiving because I just couldn't help myself. Most years I am thrilled to see December come. This year, however, I have had the worst December. It all started with that stupid wind storm that I like to refer to as Hurricane Utah. Our freakin' neighbor had a freakin' tree fall on the freakin' power lines, so we went without power for four freakin' days! Luckily my parents, who live 2 houses away had power so we were able to stay with them. Don't ask why they had power and we didn't--if I think about it too much it makes me want to freak out all over again. For three lovely nights we got to stay at the Hotel Rounds. Makayla seemed to have a wonderful time. She had a grandma to play with her all day long. It gave me a nice break, but I was really bored at the same time. I was so out of my routine I didn't know what to do with myself. My dad had a nice remedy for that though....

While I was staying with my parents, my dad got a nasty case of the flu. Well, apparently he was dehydrated because he kept passing out after running to the bathroom. My mom got him all cleaned up and back in bed after the first episode, but a few minutes later I heard her screaming for help. When I got to her bathroom my dad was passed out on the bathroom floor and he wasn't breathing. Devin called 911 while my mom and I tried to rearrange him so he could breathe. His head was rammed up against the tub, and when we moved him we saw that he had cut his head open. His cheek was also bloody and gross. The nice EMTs came in to help and took him to the hospital. I don't know what it is about me, but every time my dad does something like this it seems that I am the child that is there dealing with it. Next time, someone else needs to be there when he tried to have a heart attack or has the most violent case of the flu I have ever seen. It is not fun to see your dad lying on the floor not breathing. I think my brother Ryan, being the oldest, should be obligated to be present for any future episodes.

The baby making process has not been fun this month either. I don't know if it has been all the extra pregnancy announcements or what, but I am really struggling this month. I just don't want to deal with any of it anymore. I stopped taking any form of birth control almost a year ago, and I am reaching that limit of sanity. I just don't understand why it seems that I get the short end of the stick when it comes to having babies. I guess we each have our trials. I look forward to the day when this trial can end--until we want another baby.

I am really hoping that the rest of this month will be happy. I know that if I find out next week that I am again, not pregnant I will have a rough few days, but I won't let it ruin my holidays. I am really excited to have Devin home for a few days, and to see the little glimmer of magic in Makayla's eyes. I have a ton of presents wrapped under my tree, and I can't wait until we get to open them. It is going to be a great Christmas!