Our Family

Baby Name Poll

2012-01-28T16:30:00.003-07:00

Steven and I have been thinking over and it's not like we want to keep our baby names secret, it's just some people can be a little too honest! You would think if we tell you we are considering a name that you wouldn't tell us how much you hate it! Oh well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. We decided to give everyone a chance to vote on the 6 names we have decided on. If you really hate a name we are considering, that's fine, just don't tell me. Our process to get to these 6 names took a long time and we are very happy with this list. Simply vote on the one you like the most. Thanks so much!

The 6 names are:

Audrey

Claire

Violet

Olivia

Daphne

Allison

The poll is on the right side of our blog, please go vote! You can select more than 1 name. We will keep it probably until sometime in March.

First Month of School

2012-01-28T13:57:00.002-07:00

Well here we are finishing up our first month of classes and it has been a busy but rewarding month.

Jenna: For only having two courses this semester, I am shocked at my work load. Especially since one course is a Geo 101, a freshmen level class! And my other course is the only one I have left to take for my major but its only a 300 level course! Between the 2 classes I have 9 tests. Geo has 3 tests which is about normal but Geo is a block class which means it is only 8 weeks instead of 16 weeks but you still have to cover everything in 8 weeks as you would in 16 weeks (like a spring/summer class). So class sessions are 2 hours instead of 1 and the class requires A LOT of outside work like going to the Geology lab to identify rocks, taking field trips, and other homework that involves meeting outside of class with people. I don't like classes that require a lot of outside class meetings. This was supposed to be my easy "filler" class where I just showed up and did the homework and did fine! Oh well. Good news: Geology ends Feb. 24th and I will go from class every single day to only class on Tuesdays and Thursday for only 75 minute class sessions!

Steven: Steven is keeping busy with his work load. Hopefully this semester seems less stressful for him since I am home more and he doesn't have to take time away from his studies to tend Lily as much as he did before. He doesn't complain so I can't really tell you how he feels this semester. He still gets up at 4:30 am to study and he likes that his classes are all in the morning now verses last semester where they were in the afternoon.

Lily: She loves having me home in the morning. Steven gets up and leaves by 7:30 and then Lily and I just hang out. Since my classes don't start until 12 and 3, we have plenty of time in the morning to do stuff. Since I am home in the morning now with no rush to get out the door, she gets to sleep in and she loves it. She used to wake up between 6 and 7 and now she wakes up between 8 and 9! She loved going my friend Jennie's home twice a week last semester and playing with Jennie's daughter so I think she is getting bored having no where to really go or having set "play dates" every week. I am trying to set up more play dates with friends so Lily has something to do.

All and all, school is great. Steven and I were discussing last night how we both have basically gone the last 3 years of school with no breaks. Even the semester I had Lily, I took classes. Plus the 2 years I did at UNLV before my 3 years at BYU. And Steven took a year long financial certification course the year before we started BYU. I can feel that I am crashing burning, maybe it is the sense of being so close to finishing or being pregnant. Steven takes his work load very well and it is very comforting to know that he graduates in December. He starts his internship this May and then his LAST semester in September. Yay for 2012!

Our Name Game

2012-01-25T12:54:00.003-07:00

Some of you may remember the process Steven and I went through when we were trying to decide on a name for Lily. Click here to review that process! We actually did that same process this time around but added a little more to it.

This time around, we decided to look at the 1000 top girl names on the social security website for 2010. We went through every single name on that list just to get an idea of what names were out there and how popular they were. We did that when I was about 16 weeks pregnant. Then for the last few months we would talk about a name from the list or test it out. Around 32 weeks we decided it was time to use the same naming process we used with Lily. And here how it goes...

Steven and I made separate lists and we had to have 20 names on each list. Then we compared our lists and any names that we both picked went to the second round. We only had 7 names that matched so then we each got to pick 13 additional names from each other's lists that we liked (I picked 7 from his list and he picked 6 from mine). So we went from roughly 40 names to 20.

Next, we made a list of questions to "test" out on each of the 20 names. The first series of questions included:
1. How does the name sound with Smith?
*2. How does the name sound with any of the possible middle names we are considering?
3. What are the possibly nicknames?
4. Does this name have any significance to us?
5. Are there any reasons we shouldn't use this name?

**6. How does the name sound with Lily?

(*Last time we knew the middle name would be Diane (my middle name is Diane). This time around we haven't completely settled on a middle name yet)

(**this question was added this time around)

Each name then got a plus or negative based off our responses to these questions. There were 6 names that had a score of 3 or less so we dropped those.

So now our list is down to 14 names... then we made a list of 2 more questions to test out on the remaining names. We could have added these last 2 questions to the questions above but we decided to rounds instead.

1. What is the meaning of the name? (We looked up all the names online)
2. How popular is the name? (We looked them up on the Social Security Website, 2010)

It got a negative for the meaning if it weird and it got a negative for any in the top 50. Then we dropped the ones with lowest scores and our list now had 10 left.

Then Steven and I made separate lists again based off the 10 we had left and picked our top 5. If we had the same name on both lists, it got 2 points and on 1 list it got 1 point. No list, we got rid of the name.

Finally, we got the list down to our top 6 (our lists were almost exactly the same besides 1 name!) and this is where we stand! We feel good about this list and these are the names we are taking to the hospital. Last time we ended with 6 names and then the week I was due we cut it down to 3 names so we will probably do that again.We are not leaving that hospital without naming our baby so this list better help us. We are still open to other name suggestions but for now, this is our list and we are sticking to it.

Wish us luck!

(Since we haven't decided on a name, we decided not to post the list so we aren't swayed one way or another. Sorry! We will announce the name when she comes, I hope...)

Baby # 2: 32 Weeks

2012-01-23T15:57:00.008-07:00

Here we are, 32 weeks and still strong! LESS THAN 2 MONTHS UNTIL BABY GIRL IS IN OUR ARMS! I can't believe how fast time has flown by but at the same time how there is still 2 months to go which still seems like forever!

Anyway, here are a few things about my pregnancy up to this point:

- I had my doctor's appointment this morning and checked out

good. The baby's heart beat was strong and the results from my glucose tests were normal! One less thing to worry about!

- Remember my post about my hospital visit? Click here to read about that. Well the 2 weeks have obviously come and gone and everything looks good! Thank goodness! I guess I have a funny story to tell about the time I peed my pants my senior year of college (in class)!

- We get an ultrasound of baby girl in 2 weeks! Last one before she is here! They want to check her growth, the cysts, and my c-section incision.

- My c-section incision has been really bothering me lately so today I mentioned it to my OB and he is going to take an ultrasound of my incision. If it looks like there is tearing (in the inside layers) then he wants to take baby girl 2 weeks early! He wanted to avoid things tearing and putting the baby and myself at risk. That shocked me a little bit but sightly excited. Of course he will only take her if she is healthy and ready.

- We THINK we have a name all picked out for her. We have a few other names that are on our short list so we won't make a final decision until we see her. I am happy with our list!

- I had a hard time sleeping for the last few weeks. Falling asleep was almost impossible and then staying asleep was even harder. But I think my body has gotten so tired that it is playing catch up and I have been sleeping a little better the last few days. Thank goodness!

- I wake up in the morning feeling awful! It usually takes me a good hour of laying around and making myself get up to feel better. I usually have a bad headache and my body aches.

- My feet and legs are getting huge and swollen and it actually hurts at night.

- I need to use the restroom a lot more.

- Bending over is awful and hurts my tummy. Putting pants and shoes on are becoming difficult.

- Baby girl is moving more and more. She likes to move mainly first thing in the morning (she is my alarm clock) and just before bed. She moves throughout the day but mainly when something is touching my tummy, like when I rest my arms on my tummy or Lily pokes my tummy.

- I think she is in a transverse position in my tummy which doesn't really matter since I am having a c-section anyway. I think she is in this position because when I lay down, I can feel her move (at the same time) on my left and right side. I think her head is on my right side because if I am laying on my right I feel a lot of movement on my left side. I just imagine her little feet are kicking my left side and she is telling me she doesn't want to be upside down! Then I lay on my left side and she moves less, she likes to be right side up.

- Even though I have 8 weeks to go, I feel so blessed to have baby girl still safe inside my tummy. I have had a number of my friends who's babies have come earlier than planned and it is so hard on them. I am grateful for my uneventful and long pregnancies.

All and all, I have my good moments and bad, sometimes I feel great and sometimes I feel huge and awful. Steven is going a great job helping me out and keeping the house in order. Lily is getting a little rough with me and I think she can sense something is about to change. I am feeling pretty overwhelmed but I think that is just due to school.

And here I am at 32 weeks!

Yup, I got bigger. Just wait until I hit 38-39 weeks. WHOA!

Hospital Visit Take 3

2012-01-11T16:43:00.005-07:00

Today was a rather eventful day for our little family! I was sitting in my geology class which is 2 hours long. After about an hour of class we usually have a break for about 10 minutes. So I get up from my seat and all of a sudden I feel my pants get wet. Since being pregnant and having a baby, I am pretty used to feeling a little tickle of something (TMI). But this time it was A LOT. Enough to soak through my jeans. So I quickly waddle (with every step I took I felt another tickle of something) to the bathroom where I had to get in line behind 5 other girls. Finally I get into a stall and check things out. No blood (thank goodness) but whatever it was was clear, not yellow and it didn't smell like pee or anything. That is when the panic started.

I called my OB and was told to head to labor and delivery to make sure it wasn't my water breaking. I hurry back into class and gather my stuff together. I have to walk all the way back to my car which took me about 10 minutes and the whole way I am crying. I called Steven who was pretty calm but quickly got Lily and himself ready to go. Then I called my mom because I was freaking out. Then I called my sister-in-law because she had her water break at home with all four of her kids. Everyone told me to hurry to the hospital! I get home and get Lily and Steven and off we go. I get to the hospital and get all checked in.

Long story short, I had about a million tests done to see if the fluid was amniotic (which it wasn't), an ultrasound to check on my cervix and to see if I was dilating. I had to be monitored for hours to check the baby's heart beat and monitor my contractions. I was having contractions but not in a constant enough pattern or intensity to be too worried. I was sent to radiology and after all the tests were done, there was one test that really concerned my doctor. I tested positive with the test that is supposed to tell you if you will deliver within 2 weeks. Of all tests to get positive! My OB said that test is great at telling you if you won't deliver within 2 weeks but when it comes up positive there is cause for concern but still a chance I won't deliver in 2 weeks. But since I wasn't dilated and my cervix length (d0n't know what this really means) was above 3 (I was at a 5, anything 3 or lower is an issue) by OB felt comfortable sending me home with directions to rest as much as possible and to come back within 2 weeks for some follow up.

Thank goodness! It was scary but everything should be okay. My OB did sit down and go through all the "what could happen" and such. He said as long as the baby stays in place for another month then after 34 weeks they will let her come. Ummm, let her come!? That scared me half to death! But I am sure he was just going over all the situations that could happen. He explained that if I "leaked" again to come back or if my contractions got worse. If I was leaking amniotic fluid I would have to sent to Utah Valley Hospital on bed rest. I have a friend there right now (she went in at 23 weeks and it now 30 weeks) and no offence, I do not want to go on bed rest!

Hopefully the next 2 weeks go by very smoothly and this baby girl stays in place for another 9-10 weeks! Her health is the number one priority! But I also need her to stay in place because this is my last semester in school!

I am pretty embarrassed about this hospital trip. This was my THIRD trip to the hospital during this pregnancy. The nurses and my OB never make me feel silly or stupid for going, they are usually the ones who tell me to go! I went to the hospital during my first trimester because I got really sick and couldn't eat or drink and was throwing up (sounds like morning sickness but it was by far the worst feeling ever!). My OB had me go and get some meds and fluid because I was dehydrated. Second visit was a month ago. Baby girl was not moving at all, it had been over 24 hrs since she lasted moved and I was about 27 weeks along. This was really odd because Lily was a big mover! So again, I was told to go to the hospital and get monitored. With my pregnancy with Lily I only went to the hospital one other time aside from the day I was being induced. My urine tested positive for some things so my OB sent me to labor and delivery and I had a UTI and had to get meds through an IV. I hope this was my last visit to the hospital with this pregnancy. I want baby girl to stay put, safe and sound until March! I know it could be a lot worse so I am grateful that everything is okay and we will just wait and see what happens over the next 2 weeks!

22 Months

2012-01-09T13:32:00.003-07:00

- 2 months until she is a big sister!

- She can peel a banana by herself (and eat the whole thing)

- When she wants an apple she gets up on our table and gets one of the fruit bowl. Then she bites right into it!

- She loves to get into the baby stuff I have set out. She keeps thinking that the tiny baby shoes for her little sister are actually for her baby doll. It is very funny to watch her try and put clothing and shoes on her baby.

- She follows instructions and directions really well. When we tell her to put her toys away, she knows exactly where to put her toys. When we tell her to put her milk away, she walks right into the kitchen, opens up the fridge and puts it back (same spot every time).

- She loves to help us clean up. Even when she draws on the walls with chalk and we make her wipe the walls down...

- She also can open the fridge and get her milk out on her own (or any other foods which is helpful). She will often get out her own grapes or a juice box.

- She LOVES washing her hands. We got a little stool for the bathroom and she climbs right onto to wash her hands.

- She loves Elmo's World and the other day she walked up to our piano, opened the lid, and started "playing" the keys and singing Elmo's World, Elmo's World (over and over again) So cute!

- She loves books, sitting down and reading to herself and having us read to her. Her favorite book right now is "Excuse Me!" I do not recommend the book, its about burping and learning to say excuse me. It was a gift.

- She loves coloring. We got an art easel for Christmas and she loves to draw with chalk and canyons. She is very deliberate in her drawings (or at least it seems)

- She loves to sing with us and sing in general.

- She loves jewelry, she has a bunch of bracelets that she loves to put on her wrists and her baby dolls' wrist.

- She still loves everything that has to do with babies. She now has 3 babies and 2 strollers and they go everywhere with her.

- At her dentist appointment she had 16 of the 20 teeth she should have by age 2. She has her 4- 2 year old molars that need to come in.

- She is getting really good at talking. We can understand a lot of what she says and she seems to be forming sentences really well.

- Everyday it seems like she is learning something new!

- She is learning cause and effect very well.

- When you sneeze she says bless you. When you cough, scream because you see a spider or do something out of the ordinary with some type of fear/concern Lily is very quick to ask you, "You okay?" and she will continue to ask if you are okay until you respond with yes or no. And if you say yes, she says, "oh good". And if you ask her if she is okay she will respond with yes (generally) or no.

Baby # 2: 29 Weeks

2012-01-05T16:00:00.003-07:00

Time is flying by and I am loving it. We are officially in the
3rd trimester and its 2012 which is the year of her birth! Yay! Little update on my pregnancy:

• I am still feeling great. I get uncomfortable at times, like bending over but other wise I am happy.
• The braxton hicks are strong and pretty constant but I actually enjoy feeling them.
• She moves but not like Lily did. Sometimes I worry about her lack of movement but she always reassures me with a kick here and there.
• I had another doctor appointment today and I checked out great. I am measuring right at 29 weeks which is good. I start having my appointments every 2 weeks now! And I will take the 1 hr glucose test on tomorrow. I passed just fine with Lily

so I am not too worried.
• My ankles are getting pretty swollen at night.

• I am still nesting like crazy which is good.

• I am lucky enough to have a baby shower next month! I wasn't even thinking about having a shower since this is my second kid, plus its another girl. But since I didn't have a shower (in Utah) with Lily, my friends want to throw me one!

• I have ALMOST everything ready for this baby. Lily's new room is basically set up and ready for her, she just needs to adjust to a big girl bed. But all the baby clothes are washed and ready.

•I started packing my hospital bag. Just like a take home outfit and a book I want to read, not much.

• Lily and baby girl like to fight over who gets to sit in my lap. Well, Lily tries to sit in my lap and baby girl likes to kick and kick until Lily gets off. It's funny.

And here I am at 29 weeks!

First Day of School

2012-01-04T10:24:00.004-07:00

Today officially kicks off the first day of winter classes at BYU. It is a great feeling to have another semester down and be starting fresh. I have class every day for less than 2 hours in the afternoon until February 24th, then I will finish one of my classes (it is a block class- 3 credits in 8 weeks and everything just moves super fast like spring/summer semesters) then I will only have one class until April. Yay! I should have class today but my professor is stuck in Antarctica so that class is canceled until Monday! (That is my block class, I am taking a random geological sciences class) So I only have class tomorrow which is nice. The LAST first day of school for me. It feels so nice to say that!

Steven started classes today and it is so exciting! He is in his second to last semester of grad school (ya, he just started his first semester in the fall, it is a 2 year program (4 semesters total) but he took courses over spring/summer semesters so he can finish a semester early!) He has been taking afternoon classes for the last year so I could take morning classes and this semester he goes back to morning classes and he is excited. We were lucky not to need a babysitter this semester between my smaller class load so I am sure Lily will be happy. She will always be with me or Steven during the day. Thank goodness!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T18:11:00.003-07:00

2011 Recap

January: Lily turned 10 months old this month! She started crawling and pulling herself up. She even learned how to walk using her walking toy. She also got very sick this month with Bronchitis and a right ear infection. But she recovered quickly and that didn't stop her from becoming a pro crawler! We also discovered that she had curly hair which was a very nice surprise! This is also the month Steven and I started another semester of school, Steven was in his second semester of the Jr. Core and I decided to try taking 9 credits. Steven decided for sure to apply to the Masters of Accountancy program at BYU.

February: This month Lily discovered the piano in our family room and could finally reach the keys. She loves going up to the piano and hitting the keys. Her hair also finally became long enough to have little piggy tails! My little brother, Jason, also got his acceptance letter to BYU and was going to be joining us in Provo that summer.

March: Lily turned 1 year old this month! She upgraded to a big girl car seat and I signed her up for swimming lessons for the summer time. We purchased bikes and a bike trailer so we could go on family bike rides during the spring and summer. Steven and I signed up for Fall 2011 classes which was the start to my last year of college!

April: This was an exciting month for us. I threw a baby shower for one of my best friends, Alyssa but she actually went into labor at 31 weeks and delivered twin baby girls! Steven and I wrapped up the semester with a load of finals and found out we both were awarded full ride scholarships for the next year. Steven and I also celebrated 3 years of marriage. Steven applied for four leadership programs and was offered three! And we had the chance to travel down to Vegas for Easter. It snowed over general conference weekend.

May: Steven got his acceptance letter into BYU's Masters of Accountancy program. We celebrated my second mother's day which was wonderful. Spring was finally surfacing! Steven did his Leadership externship in SLC at Deloitte.

June: Steven and I enjoyed a short break before jumping into our spring classes. We celebrated Steven's second father's day. Lily and I flew down to Vegas to visit my family and attend my brother's graduation from high school. Lily and I did a Mommy-and-Me swim lesson class and it was so much fun! And Lily got her first hair cut (which I will never do again!)

July: We had a little 4th of July celebration with our friends. We drove up to Rexburg and attended Steven's 10 year high school reunion. Lily turned 16 months old! Lily tripped in our kitchen and flew on her nose. This was our first blood experience with Lily and it was pretty scary. Her nose looked pretty bad for a few days, black and purple and swollen! Spring classes ended and summer classes started! We found out we were having another baby! I made another trip down to Vegas to visit my family and told them the good news of the new baby. Steven did his Leadership program in LA for PWC.

August: All of my sisters and brother came up to run a half Marathon. My brother moved up to Provo this month and got settled at BYU. Summer classes came to an end and school started at the end of the month. We also got an opportunity to move the week before fall classes started so we moved as quickly as we could!

September: School was in full force and this was the first semester (and only) that Steven was taking 15 credits and I was taking 14 credits (with Lily). Things got crazy fast! We announced we were having another baby! And we had our first OB appointment and got to see our little baby on camera.

October: We found out we were having another baby girl! Steven had been interviewing with various companies for the last several months and this month he decided to accept an offer with KPMG in SLC. We celebrated a great Halloween with pumpkin carving, haunted hay rides, and trick or treating. Lily was a cute little kitty cat!

November: I was halfway through my pregnancy this month! We traveled to Vegas for Thanksgiving and that was a lot of fun. We had another little scare with Lily when she popped her elbow out of place (nursemaid elbow) and had to see a doctor to get it placed.

December: We traveled to Rexburg for Christmas which was fun. It barely snowed before Christmas and we didn't have a white Christmas in Provo or Rexburg. Another semester ended and we were so grateful for it to end. We went to the zoo and aquarium for the first time. Lily went to her first dentist appointment. She also went pee pee in the potty for the first time!

This was actually a busy year for us but since I started blogging in 2009, this year had the least amount of blog posts!

2009- 120 blog post

2010- 108 blog post

2011- 80 blog post

I think we just got wrapped up in other stuff and I didn't write everything down like usual. Regardless, I am very proud that I have kept blogging considering how many people have stopped. This isn't just a blog for us to brag or complain. This is a blog to share our family memories and experiences and to record memories! I have printed off every single blog post this year and added it to my journal. I hope everyone had a good 2011 like we did. We are so ready for 2012 though. We have been counting down the years. 2012 is our year, baby! Steven and I both graduate from COLLEGE! Our little family gets to grow again! (I hear that you aren't really a "family" until you have at least 2 kids.) We will hopefully be moving sometime this year closer to Steven's job (probably not until November or December). And the list goes on and on! 12 is Steven and my favorite numbers so it's no wonder 2012 holds a lot of good stuff for us! Happy New Year!

Finishing of 2011 at the Aquarium

2011-12-31T22:13:00.005-07:00

To finish off 2011 we decided to take Lily to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. It was so much fun and she loved every minute of it. I liked the aquarium better then the zoo because it was in doors, the lay out was a lot better so we didn't miss any of the exhibits, and we didn't have to do a lot of walking.

Hogle Zoo Trip

2011-12-28T21:18:00.003-07:00

During the months of November, December, January, and February Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City has a free zoo day (last Wednesday of every month). Since we are winter break we decided to head up there and check it out. It was worth the hour drive there! IT was a little cold but no snow which made it great. We were surprised at how much Lily loved all the animals and how much fun she had. We are going to try and go back this summer. These are just a few pictures from our visit. I am so glad Steven was able to come!

We had to stop for a chicken crossing!

We walked up to this display and this monkey came flying over to the glass and made Lily laugh so hard. Then the monkey put their hand on the window and Lily put her hands on the monkey's hand it was so cute!

Lily is trying to feed the peacock some of her PB & J. The peacock might have gotten some if I didn't stop it.

Lily's 1st Dentist Visit

2011-12-28T21:06:00.003-07:00

Today Lily had her first dentist appointment. Some may say it was a little early to take her while others say I should of taken her in at a year. I wanted her to see a dentist by 2 years but with the new baby coming in March and school, I decided going during winter break would be a good time. The dentist office was amazing. They had an arcade and a giant playhouse and toys everywhere and a huge television. Lily was not bored for one minute which made the wait nice. The dentist was awesome and the staff were so kind and gentle with Lily. Lily did a great job, no crying or tears. Even during the x-ray, she opened big and listened very well to their instructions. Her teeth checked out great, no decay, no hygiene issues, and the spacing of her teeth is perfect. This made me feel good because Steven and I are the ones who actually do the brushing so I was happy we were doing a good job.

The doctor gave her a pair of sunglasses to help keep the lights from hurting her eyes. She loves her sunglasses! In the back they even had someone making balloon animals to help keep the kids happy.

Christmas 2011: Smith

2011-12-27T17:45:00.006-07:00

This year we had the opportunity to travel to Rexburg, Idaho and have Christmas with Steven's family. This year was going to be a big year because all of the kids were coming home for Christmas (4 kids including Steven) but at the beginning of the month Steven's brother and his family decided it would be better not to come for Christmas. They are having a baby on January 3rd and didn't feel safe traveling so close to the due date (and no would could blame them). Even though it was sad they couldn't come, it was still fun! We drove down on Tuesday morning and then Steven's sister, Julie, flew in on Thursday afternoon, and then Steven's other sister, Marie and her family, drove down Friday night. It was a good week and we were sad to come home on Monday.

There were 12 people total (including kids) and we had church at 9 so we didn't get to open presents until around 11 am. And Steven's family has the tradition of wrapping every single gift and then we open gifts one at a time, youngest to oldest. Needless to say, it took us from 11 to 3 to open all the gifts (about a 30-45 min intermission during those hours). But it was worth it! It made Christmas last longer and we got to see whatever else got!

Christmas Eve, opening our PJs

Christmas Eve, Grandma Lorna reading a Christmas book before bed

Just woke up and waiting to go see what Santa brought! (although we had church at 9 am so all the kids could look but no touching until we got home. We didn't get to open presents until around 11 am the kids were good about it!)

Christmas morning

All the kids in their Christmas church outfits

Heading to church on Christmas morning

Lily saw these babies and freaked out. She was trying to get them out of the box as fast as she could!

This big box was a decoy! There were 3 other boxes inside each other that the boxes kept getting smaller and smaller. The final gift was a Kindle Fire.

Dora from Grandma and Grandpa Bradshaw

Lily likes my new Kindle A LOT

Lily and Josie watching Dora on my Kindle

2011-12-27T17:32:00.003-07:00

Today was a big day in our home. We have been slowly trying to get Lily potty trained. I am not really following any method or anything, I just wanted to get her used to the idea of potty training. She will be 2 in March and I have heard that potty training doesn't even started until like 2-3 1/2 years old so I wasn't thinking she would catch on. But she caught on sooner than I thought. We bought her a little potty and each night and morning we have been putting her on the potty. We have been teaching her what poop and pee are and she started telli
ng us when she goes in her diaper. And this last week she started asking us to sit on the potty (her tiny potty and even the big potty). And then this morning, I put her on the potty and when she got up she actually went pee! That was the first time she actually went in the potty. It was a great moment. I am on the fence about potty training because of the accidents and messes I will have to deal with and now I have to drop everything when she has to go potty (like if we are in the middle of grocery shopping). But it is a small price to pay when you think about the money I will save not buying 2 sizes of diapers! We will see how things go, I am not entirely ready to get things going in full force. I want to get a book to read or something.

Doesn't she look so proud?

Lily's Christmas Dresses

2011-12-22T16:15:00.003-07:00

This year Lily got lucky when it came to Christmas dresses. I bought her a Christmas dress on sale in November and then someone gave her 2 more dresses! Good thing there were plenty of Sundays so Lily could wear them to church!

Days of Christmas

2011-12-15T13:33:00.003-07:00

Day 6: Mail out Christmas Cards

I tried to get every one's addresses (through Facebook) so I hope you all got your cards!

Day 7: Read a Christmas Book

We have variety of Christmas books so we read through a number of them including some other books.

Day 8: Go out for a Christmas treat

Ya, it's the middle of winter but we went out to get ice cream.

Day 9: Steven's Christmas Work party

I believe this was our 3rd year going to Steven's Christmas work party. We have a dessert competition where every couple/person needs to bring a dessert (one they have never made before) and we vote on which one was the best. We played games and had a white elephant gift exchange.

Day 10: Ward Christmas Party

This was our first Christmas party with our new ward and we were really excited after the great Trunk-or-Treat we had in October. The food was good and the company was great. It was a very nice night!

Day 11: Watch a Christmas Movie

We started the Muppets Christmas Carol and we made it about 30 mins in before Lily got bored. We will try a better movie next time...

Day 12: Go see a Christmas Carol

This was more of an event for Steven and I. Our friends babysat for us and we went to see this at the Hale Center Theater.

Day 13: Read a Christmas Book

Day 14: Go Visit Santa Clause.

We were able to go see Santa last night at the Riverwoods mall. It was nice because we didn't have to pay for the pictures, we got to take our own pictures so that was nice. Lily didn't cry like she did last year but she would not look at Santa. She wouldn't even look at the camera for the picture!

We still a lot left to do before Christmas in 10 days! I wish it would snow and have the snow stick to the ground so we could go out and play in it. Hopefully we get a white Christmas this year!

99 Days...

2011-12-11T15:17:00.003-07:00

According to the multiple count downs I have, we have finally reached double digits! This little girl's due date is in 99 days. I can't believe March 19th seems so close yet so far! But the good news is, there is NO WAY she is staying in any longer than 99 days. My OB does scheduled c-sections Monday-Thursday and he will take me as early as a week before my due date. We are thinking somewhere between the 12th and 15th we will schedule the c-section. It just depends once school starts up and what we have going on at that time. I am hoping for the 15th because Steven has no class on Fridays so he would really only need to miss Thursday classes and then hopefully I will be home by that Sunday or Monday. And since I only have my one class that meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I should only have to miss one day of class! (Yes, I am planning on heading right back to class after I have this baby. I only have class twice a week for about an hour. Plus, at that point I will have 3 weeks of class left!) Last time they recommended I stay 5 days in the hospital but I left after 4 so I think I will be fine to leave by Sunday. I know, its silly to really be thinking about all this when I have 99 days to go but we are just so excited! So I have roughly 3 more months to go! Tomorrow I am officially 26 weeks!

21 Months

2011-12-09T09:56:00.004-07:00

Although I am sad that Lily is another month older, I am getting really excited because that means another month closer to having a new baby!

- The picture above is Lily with her baby. She wanted baby to come outside with her but Lily told me it was cold! So I put baby in her jacket and zipped it up! Lily loved that.

- She is great at following directions! When she gets something out to play with and I tell her to put it away because its bed time or something- she puts it back right where she got it!

- She is getting sneaky. We are finding her sippy cups and toys in every corner of the house!

- Sacrament has gotten A LOT better. We used to have to leave all the time or just sit in the hallway the whole time. But the last few weeks she has been a great girl and is quiet and good during sacrament.

- She was doing AWFUL at sleeping. She would get up every night around 1 and would scream and scream until we put her in bed with us. It was awful. So this last week we had to re-sleep train her. And after about 2 nights of screaming for almost an hour, I am happy to report she is sleeping through the night again! Which means we are sleeping through the night too!

- She is getting confused with the words mama and dada. She thinks they are interchangeable. Steven is trying not to respond to her when she calls him mama and I won't respond when she calls me dada.

- I have decided that after Christmas I am going to start hard core potty training. I am 99% sure she is ready. She tells me when she has filled her diaper, she follows direction and understands what I say (a potty training book told me that is a sign), she already sits down on her little pink potty and I would love to not have to buy twice as many diapers when the new baby comes!

- She is getting a sense of wit. She actually makes fun of us, like mocks us! And she loves to retell stores about what happens during the day. I know that doesn't make sense but let me explain. One day we were trying to load up in the car so I opened up the side door to the driveway and I turned around to grab Lily and when I turn back around the UPS man is standing in my door way. I screamed! Lily started laughing soooo hard. Steven was also home when that happened. So the whole time we were in the car, she kept saying, "Mom, you went ahhh" (screaming noise) and then she would giggled a lot. She told me that story over and over over. It was pretty funny.

- She has a great memory. When we pull up to her friend's house she will say, "Mom, Gracie's house?" And she is remembering her friend's names.

- She has awesome eye sight. We were in some gym the other day and there were balloons way up in the ceiling and I didn't even notice them. But Lily starts saying, "balloons, balloons, balloons!" and starts pointing to them.

- She has great hearing. The second she hears a plane she looks up in the sky and starts looking and saying "plane, plane, plane!"

- She only has 2 trucks. Between all her jewelry, baby dolls, and other toys, she is in love with these 2 trucks. She wants to sleep with them, constantly hold them, she loves those trucks!

- She is so cuddly and loving. She is so sweet. One night I was watching a TV show and started crying and she went into the bathroom and got me some toilet paper and gave it to me!

- She likes to go run and hide from us and have us find her.

- I thought we would have a problem with Christmas presents under the tree but she has only opened one so far and after that, she hasn't touched them since.

- She will be a big sister in 3 months!!!

- She still doesn't eat very much but she is getting better. We started putting a little chocolate in her whole milk and she is drinking a lot more milk.

- Grocery shopping is awful. I am going to have to start going when Steven can go with me or he can stay home with her. Which will be a nice break for me!

- She loves to put things down her shirt and watch them come out the bottom of her shirt. But I started putting oneies on just to help layer to keep her warm and she is getting very confused why stuff won't come out of her shirt!

- She has know how to jump for awhile but she finally made the connection when someone says jump, she jumps!

- She started do all the actions and responding to Dora and Sesame Street. It's so cute!

- She is recognizing pictures in books and can identify what they are. Like if she sees a ball in the book, she points and says ball!

- She likes to growl like monsters in her books.

- Lily has a posse that she has to go to bed with. Her posse includes: Baby, Baby's blanket, Dollie, Backpack (Dora), Boots, and 2 toy cars. And when she wakes up in the morning, we have to get every single person out of her crib so she can hold them.

- Her baby doll cries when you squeeze it so whenever baby cries, Lily will cradle the baby in her arms and say "shhh"

- She loves to have us burrito wrap her baby in a blanket. Its really cute!

- Since I started to set up stuff for our baby that is coming in March, Lily thinks that all the tiny stuff is for HER baby. She has gotten out the newborn diapers and asked us to put a diaper on her baby. She has taken out the tiny shoes and put them on her baby. It's really funny.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, I have taken a lot in the last month but I already posted most of those pictures from Thanksgiving and stuff. Next month I will have more! Thanks!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-08T16:20:00.002-07:00

Here is another card my fabulous sister-in-law made for my parents. A card to send out with pictures of all the grand kids!!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-08T16:16:00.000-07:00

Last Day of School

2011-12-08T13:53:00.002-07:00

Today is the last day of Fall classes. Steven and I want to celebrate but we still have a week's worth of finals ahead of us. So this time next week we will really be partying!

This is going to sound cheesy but as I walked into my last class today, I started to cry! This was by the far the hardest semester on Steven and me. I don't mean hard as in the class material (although those were tough too) but hard in all other areas! Between my 14 credits, Steven's 15 credits, Steven's job, Lily, the house work, babysitters, homework, projects, essays, etc. I started to cry because we survived. We actually did what we thought was the impossible. This was the first (and only) semester where I took that many credits and it took its toll on us. But we survived. All I ever wanted was a college degree (along with marriage and kids-obviously) but a college degree was a life long goal of mine. Not any college degree, a degree from BYU-Provo. And when I didn't get accepted to BYU the first time around I was devastated. But deep down, I knew I would go there. I knew the Lord had a plan for me and in that plan I was going to graduate from BYU. Within 3 months of my rejection letter, Steven came along and we go married only 10 months after I graduated high school. I was going to UNLV and Steven was living his dreams in a rock band! And look at us now. Who would have thought! We are both at BYU, Steven is getting his graduate degree from one of the top accounting programs in the nation! (ya, I know I say that A LOT!) And I am one class away from graduating with my undergrad. One class.

I couldn't have made it this far with the help of A LOT of people. I don't want to specifically name people so I don't leave anyone out but it would be so selfish of me not to mention 3 people.

My dear friend Jennie. She had been watching Lily for 2 of the last 3 semesters. From the goodness of her heart she offered to watch my baby (even though she had her own daughter to take care of) and did so much for us. She took a lot of stress out of my life because I knew I could count on Jennie to be there for Lily and I knew Lily was in safe hands! Thank you Jennie!

To my little girl, Lily. Her whole life (aside from a spring/summer term) I have been going to school. I have had to leave her with Jennie or someone else while I went to class, study sessions, took tests, did homework, etc. I look back at the (almost) last 2 years of her life I am so sorry that I wasn't there more for her. But I know that finishing my college education will benefit her just as much as it benefits me. I look forward to the time we will now have together and making up for all the time I took away from her the last 2 years. She is an amazing baby and we were so blessed to have her in our lives. I just hope she doesn't remember the times I had to leave her when all she wanted was her mama. I hope she remembers how hard I worked to help her future. And all the good times we are going to have now because I am almost done.

And to my husband, Steven. I wouldn't be where I am today without him. He sacrificed so much to let me finish school. He worked so hard to help me achieve my goals and my goals became his goals. He gave up countless hours that he could have been studying, going to school, working, etc just so I could go to school. I would have never made it to graduation without him, we made it together. Regardless of all the time and effort he put into helping and making things work for me, he still managed to keep himself going strong. He has been getting up 4:30 am EVERY SINGLE DAY for the last 2 years! (Even during Thanksgiving break he got up that early) He gets up that early to do homework and to study. He gets up that early because he knows all the time he has to spend during the day HELPING ME. He gets up that early because he wants his evenings free so he can spend time with his family. He gets up that early because that is when Lily and I are asleep and that is one of the few times during an entire day he won't be taking away from his family or from helping me. And he still manages to bring home straight A's every semester. He still manages to turn in every single assignment, study and take every single test, and keep his GPA at/above 3.9 to keep his full ride scholarship. I don't know how he does it but I know he does it all! And without him doing it all, I wouldn't be able to do anything!

Thank you thank you to everyone. Yes, I know I still have one semester left but its one class. At this point, one class and one semester seem like nothing. Steven and I survived the last 2 years together and nothing is going to stop us now! Wish us luck on finals!

300th Blog Post

2011-12-06T16:14:00.002-07:00

This is our 300th blog post! I can't believe we had that much stuff to blog about. We started this blog January 21, 2009 to help us write down things going on in our lives. We started this family blog to help share our lives with family and friends and keep an accurate journal of events in our lives. I am so grateful that I have been blogging for almost 3 years now because I have written down so many memories that I probably would have forgotten by now. I have printed out our blog posts and have been keeping them in a separate journal. I am grateful for those of you who actually read our blog and care about what is going on in our little family. This blog has helped us keep in touch with our families who live near and far. I hope as our family continues to grow that we will continue to blog the memories we create. I enjoy reading other people's blogs so please keep writing and I will do the same! Thanks so much!

Days of Christmas

2011-12-06T16:07:00.002-07:00

Day 3: Open the family Christmas gift. We don’t usually open the family gift before Christmas day but Steven picked out the gift this year and it was too large and hard to wrap up and he didn’t want to haul it all the way to Rexburg. So we just decided to use it now. We got a new trash can! Sounds like an odd gift but we needed to replace our old one. I LOVE the new trash can. Its bigger, holds smells in better, and the lid opens automatically.

Day 4: Watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. We thought we could stream this on the Internet and we didn’t have much luck. We will watch this as soon as we can find it online. So instead we decided to spend time with friends! We had friends over for dinner and games and it was a lot of fun!

Day 5: Family Home Evening/ watch a Christmas church video and get a treat! We don’t have cable so we recently purchased a Roku to stream stuff from the Internet to our TV and it is awesome. We were able to download the Mormon Channel and BYU TV so we have access to a lot of church context. So for the last couple of FHEs we have been sitting down and watching little 5 minute videos that the church has made. We decided to start doing this because it has helped us actually have FHE because there is really no lesson prep involved (it’s a start!) and Lily actually pays attention!

Baby # 2: 25 Weeks

2011-12-05T16:28:00.004-07:00

Here is a little pregnancy update!

- This little girl is moving more and more but she doesn't move as much as I remember Lily moving at this point. As she gets bigger I am sure I will feel her move more!

- I had a doctor's appointment today, everything checked out great (heartbeat in the 130s and my weight gain is... gaining!) I go back January 5th for another appointment and the glucose test!

- I have already started nesting which is kind of nice. I already got out all the boxes of baby clothes and washed all the newborn and 0-3 months clothing and its hung up in the closet! Ya, sounds crazy but I was in the mood and I figured why not. Plus, I think I am a little paranoid because I had one friend deliver at 31 weeks, 2 friends deliver at 34 weeks and another friend who's water just broke at 23 weeks and now she is on bed rest at the hospital until at least 34 weeks. I just want to be ready!

- I don't feel huge and I don't think I look huge but others may beg to differ.

- I am very comfortable right now aside from some hip pain and lower back pain. I went to see a chiropractor last week and really enjoyed it. I am going back this week so hopefully my pains will decrease a bit.

- Some days it feels like time is flying by and other days I realize I still have over 3 months left.

And here I am at 25 weeks!

Days of Christmas

2011-12-02T17:59:00.004-07:00

Last year my sister-in-law added little activities to their advent calendar to do each day and since Lily is getting older I thought it would be a fun tradition to start! Some activities may still be a bit advanced for her understanding but it's fun either way

Day 1: Write a letter to Santa

Of course Lily couldn't write he own letter so I wrote it and then she drew "pictures" of what she wanted. We hung her little letter up on the fridge and I love looking at it!

Day 2: Color Christmas pictures

Tonight we printed some coloring pages off the internet and we all colored. It was a lot of fun and I think Lily really enjoyed all of us coloring together.