This little piggy (tail)

Ivy had her first piggy tail the other day thanks to Jacque Ferguson. :) I was afraid to do it. She sure looked like a little peanut!

Last weekend the fam went to dinner and a movie. What a funny night it was. It really was one of the funnest nights I've had in a long time. :)

End of March Update

My Fabulous little lady would rather be in her bumbo than lay down anymore. She can hold her head up high and scans the room for Barbie who she'll just stare at forever!!

I thought this ruffle bum onesie deserved a post in itself. It's so darling and it just makes me want to squeeze my little sweetie!

Angie's boy Preston turned 9 years old! We had a great party at Falcon Field with him. He loves all things aviation right now so most of his gifts were things that fly! He is such a special nephew. Ethan shared the tire swing with a girl. I love this last photo of Aimee and Heath. He has such beautiful brown eyes!

Smiles

Ivy laughed for the first time today. Ethan ran around the corner of the couch shaking a mighty bean and Barbie was following after him. I'm not quite sure what did it, or if it was a combination of it all, but Ivy just giggled for a few seconds. I was ecstatic! We kept trying to recreate the moment again for her, but I guess the moment will just have to be spontaneous!


After I put Ivy down for the night, Ethan and I flew airplanes around the house and jumped over pillows as we ran. Ethan laughs so hard when Barbie chases us and jumps up. Love my kids!

The Ladies who Lunch

For years I've wanted to host a Legends Ball of sorts where all of the ladies who I grew up admiring and learning from would come and we would treat them like queens and tell them how much they changed our lifes and really thank them for being so fantastic. Well I hope to still do that one day, but as it would be a HUGE undertaking I was happy to see that Sidney Madsen decided to throw and mommy daughter luncheon to honor all of the mommies and daughters from the '6th ward' as I call it. The name has since changed. Here are some of the photos:

It was such a fun time. We had yummy food and everyone who was present got the opportunity to talk about their current station in life and also share a memory they had from the ward. Finally, I had my chance to thank Sister Poulsen for being such an amazing influence in my life as she was my leader most of childhood. The memories were hilarious and there was so much laughter. So I know it's never too late for me to plan the Legends Ball, so that will have to wait, and for now, this made me happy knowing I could reconnect with my childhood heroes and friends.

I snapped this photo of my old house while I was driving home from the luncheon. It's massive and there's so many memories for me inside that house! The balcony was so fun to have sleepovers on! The front yard was so fun to hide in. And millions more...

He's catching on quick...

Me: "Hey Ethan, let's clean up our toys..."

Ethan: "Why, is someone coming over?"

'nuff said.

Lazer tag

We got some friends together last weekend to have dinner and play lazer tag! We met at the Salty seniorita which the atmosphere was like drift wood meets glam, very cool. The food was so-so. But the conversation was great.

Then we went over the stratum to play lazer tag. We played two crazy games. I realized how out of shape I am as I was sweating and sore by the end. It's good fun though, they pumped loud music in there and the glow of the black lights are everywhere. You can't help but feel hyper and totally 'cool' running around shooting people with your phazer. I love that word "phazer". We all agreed that we'll have to go back very soon!

Stealing Time

Lately I feel like I'm trying to steal time to do everything.

But at the same time, at the end of a day of doing everything,

I can't remember what I did...

1. take care of the children
2. work
3. clean
4. cook
5. Sleep
6. Have a social life
7. worship
8. spend quality time with hubby

Those are all things that need to get done at some point in the day.

I wish I could just stop time, just for a minute so I could take it all in, really be in the moment. I want to look at my as it is now and just be..................

I see the elderly at church and know that I'll be there soon. All they can do is talk about the past because that's all they have, and that's what I'm living right now, the life they wish they could go back to. It's a funny paradigm.

Ivy's Blessing day

We had a wonderful day when all of the family came to visit for Ivy's baby blessing. Church was at 9am so we were especially grateful to see everyone so early! Ivy's dress was absolutely fabulous. I wish they had it in my size! She was the bell of the ball and Daddy's blessing was so sweet!

After church we all came to our house for subs and mom's famous bowtie salad. Oh yah and yummy lofthouse cookies too! The family talked and laughed and the kids played and played.

After all the fun had ended, Ivy was zonked out. She needed some beauty sleep.

Home Sweet Home

Well, being a new mommy again, I stay at home a lot more that I used to! It's just more difficult to get out of the house! So we find fun things to do around the house like play with Ethan's big legos! He loves to stack and stack over again, so we decided to use ALL of his blocks and build a castle. It was lots o' fun! And then of course the giant robot lived in the castle. Ethan keeps me on my toes all day long, but is a big helper too. Thank goodness for naps.

Ivy gets to play dress up at her mommy's request. I am living vicariously through her when it comes to pink and tutus because when I was little I could never get enough of that stuff! Anything sparkly or girly always caught my eye! She'll be blessed this Sunday. I can't wait to take photos of her in her blessing dress, it's fabulous!

Joe told me he's ready to get started on his master degree next year so we're gearing up for that!

I'm an Etsy Freak Lately, I love all things boutique on there. Also, we've seen AVATAR twice now, and I'm definately wanting to see it again before it leaves theatres. I LOVE that movie. I got the soundtrack to it and listen to it when I do my graphic design. It makes me happy! I tell Joe I wish he and I could travel to a bioluminescent world and be mated in front of the spirit tree... was that TMI? Well this is MY journal!

My kiddies / The newest...

Aren't they cute?

So the newest with Ivy: She's such a good sleeper! A couple of nights this week, she 's only woken up 1 time to feed. She got sick again a couple of weeks ago and couldn't breathe, but now that she's breathing better, she's such a happier baby. She smiles so much and loves to squeek and squak about everything. She loves to crawl up things when you push up her little feetsies, she'll make a little grunting noise and rocket forward. You gotta gaurd your noise or she'll bonk right into you! She's got such a strong neck.

The newest with Ethan: This boy is hilarious! The other day Joe said, "Ethan, did you make any new friends at the playplace?" Ethan said, "No, Heavenly Father made them." He's been asking us who made everything, and most of the time it's Heavenly Father who makes things so he just assumed Heavenly Father made the friends. :) He also loves to remind us to turn off the water when we brush our teeth. :) He's adjusting well to Ivy. He loves to call her a "little fella" for some reason. And he loves it when she "talks" to us. He tells her silly stories and sings her songs when she cries. He LOVES family night. That is so precious to me because I know he values the time we spend together. He's my little buddy.

The newest with Joe: we are planning a Valentines Day getaway, one night stay at a hotel somewhere. Not on Valentines Day because Grandma will be busy, but sometime around then. We are both chomping at the bit to get some alone time and relax. He LOVES his calling with the young men. He goes to game night every week from 9pm to sometimes midnight where he hangs with the boys.

Newest with me: Design to the 3rd power. I guess I feel the need to make up for lost time when I was pregnant, but I'm a graphic making fool. I forgot how much I love it! I love to lay Ivy on my lap and talk with her and smile with her. I love to give her baths. I love to cuddle with Ethan on the couch, and I love to sit at the breakfast table and plan out my day with him. Joe and I put Ethan in the movie daycare and brought Ivy with is to see Sherlock Holmes. It was a good time, and it was nice to spend time with my hubby. :)

Welcome Ivy

We are so excited to welcome baby ivy into our family. She's an angel. Ethan loves her so much already and wants to touch and kiss her any chance he gets! There's more details to come, but here are some photos to start. She's such a big girl! These pictures look like she's already one month old, but she's only 4 days old in these photos!

The Wheel of Responsibility

During this pregnancy, Joe and I have been spinning the wheel of responsibility to determine who does the daily duties around the house. It sure makes life easy for me.

Okay so we really haven't been using it, but I thought the idea was funny. I mean, I'm the one who 'gets' to be pregnant for nine months. Joe always tells me he would gladly be pregnant for me if he could. BUT knowing all that comes along with pregnancy, I'm not so sure he would stick with that agreement for very long.

But seriously, my due date is in 3 days. If Ivy doesn't come by then, there's a scheduled enducing Thursday. Thank goodness. I can't wait to get on with life with a new baby. I'm sure she can't wait to come out too because she does the hippie hippie shake on top of my bladder any time she gets the chance!

Here's to an exciting week!

My baby brunch

I had fun designing this invitation for my brunch, so I had to show it off!

Thanks to my sister Aimee for taking these pictures, I have felt horrible for forgetting to take any pictures at her shower the beginning of this year, and yet, out of the kindness of her heart, she took pictures at mine!

Mommy and me.



Me at the breakfast table. There was lots of yummy treats.

The party went really well! Many of the ladies brought their kids and let them play at the park while they snacked and socialized. There was so many adorable handmade gifts, I can't believe the creativity of the people around me! Baby Ivy is going to have a headband to wear for every day of her bald headed life. :)

The weather was great too, a little warm, but nothing to complain about. The problem was the bees. We sprayed them with poison, but they kept coming back for the fruit! Thank goodness no one was stung!

Thanks to Mom and Aimee for throwing the shower, and thank you to everyone who came. What a treat!